[PRP] Teach Me To Shoot! (Poeias & Luxara)

[purplerosesbeauty]

when: late, after midnight
where: The swamp
what: A young man looks for a new teacher.

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

Poe checked it over, again and again. He ran his fingers along the long edge, put his darts in and out of it, checked the spring mechanisms worked properly, the trigger was in good condition. He could make sure it worked a billion times, this thing he made with his own two hands out of scrap and stolen goods he'd gathered on outings. It would allow him to use darts as a weapon, just like he always wanted. He put his dart gun across his lap and sighed.

He wanted to learn to shoot though. He always thought he was pretty good at it, but how much was luck? Pure chance? And did carnival games really count as "being good" at shooting? Would he fail if he needed to do it for real? How would he be able to protect others if he was unskilled?

Not too far away, he saw an answer to his problem. Luxara, just returning. She was really good at shooting, doing a lot of hunting and living in the woods with guns her whole life. If she could teach him.... He gripped the dart gun with one hand, pushed his hair out of his eyes, and ran across the swamp to her.

"Luxara! Teach me how to shoot guns as good as you do, please!" he said firmly, determined. He had to learn!

Gl!tch~

hope this is good! demanding boy

 

[Gl!tch~]

Luxara had long since figured that if they hunted too many swampbeasts, there wouldn't be any left to make more. And they needed them for, well, food, possible lusii, and also possible training pits. One of the days she'd have to mark some nests she'd want everyone to keep untouched so she could work on shaping up rising rebels.

For now, she was happy enough to drag back a long-legged flapbeast. Long legs, long beak, nice crest. Unfortunately, it was more length than viable dinner. But it could feed at least a gaggle of people. And Luxara's legs burned, which made her feel like a job well done.

As she continued through the fringes of the outpost, she heard someone call her name. Her name, but not a voice she was used to saying it. "Yeah?"

She looked over. Someone vaguely familiar. Ish. Sort of. The symbol she definitely recognized, but not the face. Why not the face? The hand and hair though...booth kid? The one who didn't have a face, right? Okay, maybe that made sense.

"Ha ha, I'm flattered, kid!" Someone wanting her to teach them was certainly nice in and of itself. But did he know what he was in for? "You're from Trigger Happy a few sweeps back, right? Anyway. Learning to shoot's not easy. It's definitely not something you can master in one night. Keep that in mind, you know? Just preparing you for being frustrated because this stuff is frustrating. But whenever you're free we can start some lessons if you're still interested."

purplerosesbeauty

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

Poe grinned. Lux remembered him, even from back then! That was where they first met, wasn't it? Her shooting booth with Forera... he had felt so proud of himself for doing somewhat well with that game. He never really thought he'd one day be able to own a gun, let alone make one himself. "Yeah, it's Poe!"

He was determined though. He knew it wouldn't be easy. But he needed to know, to be useful and able to protect the people he cared for. Maybe he wouldn't be a great hunter or something, that really wasn't his thing. He looked at the leggy beast Lux had in her grasp. No, but maybe he could learn to fight. And defend others.

"I understand. I don't need to become a master, not really, just... better than I am. I didn't really have eyes to learn to shoot good with when I was younger! But I have them now and I know you're good at it..." He opened and closed his hand a little. He did get frustrated easily. But he wanted to learn. He was so eager. "I'm free right now if you wanted to start right away!"

Gl!tch~

 

[Gl!tch~]

"Poe? Nice. I like that." Nicknames falling into her pattern were always excellent. "Congrats on being able to see- I guess you were...? Oh, yeah, you weren't the loud highblood. Greenblood with horns in your face. Good thing you never shot anybody! That would've been super bad, huh? For and I would've looked like total idiots for letting you use a gun. But, yeah. If you're dead-set on doing it now let me take care of this first, okay?"

Luxara jabbed a thumb towards the heron she was carrying. "I gotta get it to the stores before it starts mega-rotting. How about you meet me by my hive? You'll be able to tell which one it is cuz of the big patches of worn bark on the tree trunk."

She turned, and called to what seemed to be no one in particular, "Thanks, Stagdad!"

She turned back to Poe. "Does that sound good?"

purplerosesbeauty

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

"I've never shot anyone! Well, I've thrown darts, that perhaps, have hit people, but not any bullets or bullet-like objects, actually," he said. He looked at the big dead heron she was carrying. He definitely would not be like that good, but, just good enough.

"Oh yeah, that is, probably a good idea. To take care of that first. I'll see you by your hive in a little bit then! That sounds very good," he said, beaming and rocking on his feet a little. Finally, he could learn to be less useless. More... useful. If he could master his dart gun, he'd have another line of defense to use in battle, be able to protect people a little better...

---

He waited a bit, before standing outside of Luxara's hive. He gripped the dart gun tightly in his hand, fidgeting. Idly, he started running his fingers along the edge. Mechanism worked, trigger could be pulled, safety in place, darts loaded in and out. It worked, but could he use it? He looked pensively at the scrap-gun. "Luxara?" he called tentatively.

Gl!tch~*

he waits

 

[Gl!tch~]

Luxara dropped down, possibly out of nowhere (or from her deck, but who can say). Sometimes going for a little spook was fun! And anyway, the safety was on, from what her tracker showed her. No harm no matter what happened.

"Howdy!" she greeted, landing in a cool crouch, coat tails fluttering down behind her. With that, Luxara stood up, and rested her crossbow over her shoulder. She grinned and got a better look at Poe's weapon.

"So that's your peashooter? Cute!"

purplerosesbeauty

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

Poe startled slightly at Luxara's sudden appearance. He was focused on his gun and didn't see... "Oh! Hi!" he sputtered, holding tightly to the dart gun, twisting it in his hands.

"It shoots darts, not peas. I made it myself, and, that's something I'm very proud of, actually," he said, beaming a little. He worked for so long on it, testing and retesting, adjusting and fiddling until he knew it would work as a weapon. The missing piece was really the user, if Poe couldn't learn how to shoot things...

"So... can you teach me, how to use it good?"

Gl!tch~