dysproslogs | Target Practice [OPEN]

Who: Zoe and OPEN
What: Shooting stationary objects and doing chores
When: Flammedi, 21th of Rosefrucht
Where: Outside the Gazelle and Child and in the nearer environs to it
Rating: PG probably for mild space-western swearing

First on the list of things to do that morning: target practice. Zoe settled herself in at the shooting range beside the Gazelle and Chine, the side meant more for gunners than for rangers, and took aim again and again at the targets there. She needed to keep her hand in, when she wasn't going out targeting living things, and she hadn't enough rank-- or money-- for a horse of her own to go out with, so the moving target range wasn't available.

Plus, she kept trying to get the gun to change shape, like she'd been told it would do, but it so far stubbornly remained a shotgun. She favored shotguns, fair enough, but she sure did wish she could get a shape change in practice rather than out in the field some day when it would take her by surprise.

Then came an early lunch and walking out some of the horses that the more higher-ranked archers had taken out for the morning, and taking them back in to groom. At least that was an easy enough chore; she'd rather have that than mucking out their stables, which she did yesterday. Besides, that let her lead the horses around the nearby streets, and see who might be out and about. After a few weeks here without many friends, she was starting to open up at least a little and greet people.

Just a little, though.

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"I was raised on a spaceship," Zoe replied. "But didn't get to stay on it my whole life. Spent some time planet-side, spent some time in the military-- lot of places didn't have any kinda travel but horses or yer own two feet. Here, watch me."

She slid a hand down the horse's leg, and it was much more amenable to lifting it for her to take. "He knows what he's supposed t'do. You just gotta make sure he recognizes it." She braced the hoof against one thigh and started picing mud clods out.

"I see..."

After tucking a piece of hair back behind her ear, Asami pulls up a bucket and sits next to Zoe. She idly watches the muck spill out of Chewy's hoof, learning from her motions, but the topic of spaceships might be a bit of a distraction.

"So tell me more about this spaceship deal! That sounds way too good to be true." As in, it can't just be what it sounds like. Not even Future Industries has mapped out a blueprint for such a thing!

"Oh, it's true. Just I guess it ain't a common sort of thing, most folk here got no idea what a spaceship even is. But I live on one, was born on one, spend my days in the black goin' from planet to planet. It's just how it is." Zoe shakes her head, gives the hoof in question a final dig, then lets it fall and pats the horse's shoulder.

"Here, you try his other front hoof." She offers the hoof pick. Zoe isn't doing all your work for you, roomie....

Asami takes the pick from her and awkwardly positions herself to start. It's easy enough to prompt his leg up, to her surprise, but she approaches the hoof cleaning with too much care at first. It takes some adjustment to find the right pressure to effectively clean the hoof.

"This isn't so bad," she comments quietly before returning to conversation. "But yeah, that's absolutely extraordinary to me. I'd think you were fooling me if you didn't come across so sincere. Do you have experience with guns as well?"

"You can go harder," Zoe suggests, referring to the hoof-pick, standing by the horse's nose and stroking it idly. "They don't feel as strongly there as you or I would. He walks on it all day, after all. Like somebody who never wears shoes get stronger soles."

Horseshoes didn't really count, after all, they didn't protect the whole hoof.

"Promise I ain't foolin', though. Born and work on an honest-to-god spaceship. Also, spent several years in a war, so yeah, pretty familiar with guns. Brought two with me, though gettin' new ammo for 'em has been tricky."

Asami grinds the pick against his hoof a little harder per Zoe's suggestion. Now she's beginning to see some results.

"Sounds like you've had a busy life. This is my first time handling guns, myself, although the concept's so simple I'm surprised I haven't seen any prototypes at home." The Equalists would have had a field day, although the goal was more about taking away bending than it was actually killing benders.

"Dependin' on how far along your folk are, might not be long," Zoe offers with a shrug. "Where you from? And how'd you decide to take up with gunners if you ain't used a gun before?" That is admittedly a little puzzling, because, well, why go with something so completely foreign to you? Even if she does find it simple, now that she's tried it.

"I'm from Republic City. It's the capital of a place called the United Republic of Nations. So, if... it isn't clear, you could say I'm a city girl." She smiles up at Zoe, brow quirked as if acknowledging she doesn't expect her to know where that is.

"But we're getting pretty industrial now. Up until maybe eighty years ago, I'd say we've mostly relied on benders for all the hard work. And I'm not a bender; I grew up around factories, like I said, so the guns caught my eye. I can do self-defense maneuvers on my own."

"Industrialization does tend t'happen, once you got th'people and th'goods for it." Yep, she guessed right that Zoe has no idea where that is. She does, however, cock her head to one side at the mention of "benders". That sounds familiar, and it only takes her a beat to come up with where from. "You from the same place that Korra girl's from, then? She said she used to be a bender, back home. Some kinda magic user, right?"

"That's right! Korra's a bender, yes." She has reservations about calling it magic. It's quite different from that. "She's actually a pretty special one at that. She's the Avatar. Usually benders can only control one element, but Korra can control all four."

"Well, she's stuck jest learnin' whatever they're teachin' her here, special or not," Zoe points out, sounding vaguely amused. "She's a good kid, though, at least, I'll give her that. Good t'know she's got more friends here."

It's been a long time since Zoe's had to fly it alone. At least the younger folk seem to have somebody they know.

"Y'good with that horse, now? Or need me for the back end?"

Asami half-smiles at Zoe's regard for Korra. She sees what a good person Korra is, too, although she wishes she could give some sort of hearty affirmation. They're friends, but they aren't as close as they could be, Asami can only nod along with impressions in mind.

Maybe this is the time to fix that.

"Oh, thanks, I think I'm good. Don't let me keep you if there's somewhere you need to be."

"Jest a horse to walk out, who prob'ly ain't gettin' any looser or cooler just standin' there." Zoe gives the horse's forehead a final scratch and steps back from the stall, offering Asami a smile of her own. She seems a good woman, at least, and potentially good to have at your pack. She'd have to pay a little more attention in the shooting range.

So she finishes with: "See you back in the yard for practice this afternoon?"

Target Practice [OPEN]

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