"Target practice." he says, nodding towards the bullseyes attached to a thick tree trunk. "I meant to show you how to do this sooner. But then everything with Lulu and Darkrai happened." and it had all but slipped his mind.

Killian moves closer to her, pulling a 9mm pistol out from the back of his jacket. He doesn't hand it to her right away. Instead, keeping it safely in his hand and pointed towards the ground.

"I don't need to tell you how careful you need to be when holding this do I?" he's teasing her obviously. Lex had been around enough mobsters and criminals to know the dangers of a firearm. They wouldn't work very well against Pokemon - but people? Lethal.

Alexandra Briarwood

Her eyes move from the bullseye back to Killian. There’s a bit of shock hidden within them. This wasn’t what she was expecting to be doing tonight. Well, her entire day surprised her so this shouldn’t be too unexpected.

Instinctively, Lex flinches away when he pulls out the 9mm. She had seen plenty of firearms in the past, but they usually wound up being pointed at her if they weren’t pointed at someone that was on Kaito’s bad side. She trusts the man holding this particular one so she steps closer, taking her eyes off the weapon and bringing them up to meet Killian’s, “Are you sure this is . . . necessary?” She knows the answer to the question, especially after tonight’s events but the pressure of handling such dangerous weapon and what that implies only makes her more nervous.

Killian Decker

The hesitation and shock are visible. It's almost enough to make Killian reconsider. "I do." he replies, "But I won't make you do this if you don't want to." although his tone says otherwise.

His grip on the gun changes, hand laying flat over the top but still keeping it aimed slightly to the ground. The handle pointed towards Lex. he holds the gun out for her to take.

"Keep your finger off the trigger for now but don't be nervous. So long as your careful, nothing bad will happen."

Alexandra Briarwood

She doesn’t verbally respond, only nods in understanding. It’s just another tool she can reach for if shit gets bad (which it likely will). Killian would probably feel better knowing she knew what to do with one. Despite her hesitation, she reaches for the gun, carefully cradling it in her palm with her finger stretched straight cross the side, far away from the trigger. The barrel remains slightly pointed down and away from Killian. It’s heavy and cool to the touch. She can feel the spike in her heart rate, but breaths easily to keep her hand from shaking. She trusts Killian when he says nothing bad will happen, “Is it already loaded?” she asks, assuming she knows the answer to that too.

Killian Decker

Killian notes the way she takes hold of the firearm. It's filled with nervous energy that's going to make things difficult moving forward. He can see that she's trying to hide it. The way her chest inhales and exhales deeply to calm her nerves.

Aside from that, she is holding it well and keeping it pointed downward. "I didn't even need to tell you how to grab it. You can do this Lex, just relax a bit more." encouragement always worked better than chastising her.

He chuckles to help ease the tension in the air. "Hand you a loaded gun after we spent weeks arguing? What do I look like, crazy?" Killian smiles softly. A hand reaches into his jacket for the magazine.

"First, make sure the safety is on. You'll find it on the side of the gun, above the trigger. It should be on, but it's always good to double-check."

Alexandra Briarwood

Soft encouragement and humor, it made her smile and laugh lightly. It was welcome after weeks of uncertainty and coldness. The warmth in his voice smoothed out the unevenness of the nerves that made her tremble slightly, “I don’t know, Ian. You can do some pretty stupid things sometimes,” she teases as she turns the pistol over in her hand to inspect it. A finger of her other hand points towards a little switch near the trigger, “That one?” she tilts it slightly to show Killian what she’s pointing at, “So that’s on?”

Killian Decker

"You're not wrong. I did have the audacity to choose a couch underwater over a bed with you." one of the biggest mistakes of his life. His smile fades as his expression turns more focused. He nods, inspecting the area Lex is pointing to.

"Correct, that's on. If you press the switch up, you'll turn the safety off. The gun won't fire as long as the safety is on, obviously, but you again, you can't be too careful. So be sure to keep the gun pointed downward until your ready to fire."

Killian's familiarity with a firearm might come as a bit of a surprise to Lex. For as long as they've been together, she's never actually seen him handle one before. No one had, really. He'd gone to great lengths to keep it a secret. Hidden talents worked best when no one knew you had them.

He pulls the magazine from his pocket and hands it to her. "To load it, you'll need to do a couple of things. The first is to slide back the top of the gun. When you do, you'll want to flip the slide catch - you'll find that right here," he points to its location, "So that it stays in place. Then you push the magazine into the bottom of the handle and pull back on the slide again."

Alexandra Briarwood

“Yeah, you missed a lot of Lex alone time,” she grinned along with a light laugh. Although she trusts it was mostly over based on his promise, the deep loneliness she felt was still fresh. She doesn’t find it all too amusing, but the laugh is to help her start getting over it. It won’t take too long as long as he keeps his promise.

She turns her focus back to the firearm, using her finger to gently click the safety on and off before letting it rest “on”. She takes the magazine with her opposite hand and follows his instructions carefully. The top of the gun is harder to slide back than she expects, and it slips and snaps back into place making her jump before she gives it another shot – harder this time. She tilts the gun to physically look at the bottom of the handle where the magazine is supposed to go. In an all too delicate fashion, she slowly slides it in knowing that the gun is now loaded. The slide snaps back into place when she pulls on it.

“You seem to know a lot about guns, Killian,” she comments suspiciously, giving him an equally curious look, “Almost as if you’ve been practicing,” the tone is accusatory but playful. It doesn’t upset her that he has hobbies of his own that he keeps to himself. As long as it doesn’t involve boning another woman (or man) she’s accepting.

Killian Decker

The laugh is clearly a fake one. It stings, but Killian understands. Things still needed time to heal before he could start making jokes. Best to just focus on the firearm training for now.

He's tense as he watches her handle it. The way she jumps as it snaps back during her first attempt isn't a good sign. Killian's lips start to move to offer some advice, but he stops himself. Nodding as she tries again - this time with more oomph and succeeds.

Eyes drift towards her as she speaks. "I've been practicing since I was about fifteen." no point in keeping the truth from her. "Back when I still handled everything myself. I had a meeting go wrong, and Loveless wasn't around to help. It opened my eyes."

Alexandra Briarwood

“Hm,” she looks back at him with a bit of wonder surprise. Been a long time for him it seems. But it makes sense. Killian’s success was due to his work and his alone. There was a time he didn’t have people to delegate his tasks to. Lex has only known his success, but the road there must not have been easy.

“Sounds like I have the best teacher then,” she smiles, looking back down at the now loaded gun, “So, um, what now?” her eyes drift up to look at the target

Killian Decker

"Let's get through this first and then see how you feel about my teaching." he's only half-joking. Killian had taught Lex many things, but nothing quite like this.

"Now it's time for you to shoot." a single step carries him closer, and another puts him behind her. His breath hits the back of her neck as he presses against her.

Hands slide down both her arms, "You'll want to hold it like this." he guides her carefully.

"Grip it with both hands firmly. Make sure that your square with the target and that your feet are a shoulder's width apart." using his feet, Killian spreads her legs to the appropriate width.

"Keep the foot of your dominant hand, the one you'll be firing with, behind you for support."

He's hesitant to step away. Killian hadn't meant for the instructions to be so intimate, but it is, for him at least. "Whenever you feel like you're ready, you can turn the safety off and fire. he says, forcing himself to back away.

Alexandra Briarwood

Lex grins at his half-joke. Killian had taught her a lot in the past and she has no doubts he’ll teach her well now. Especially if it meant her safety.

“Shoot, right,” there’s hesitation in her voice and the nerves begin to creep back up. She’s holding back a tremble when she feels him press up behind her. He soothes her nerves with the gentle guidance of his hands. It’s hard to focus on the task at hand with his breath tickling the back of her neck, “You’re quite distracting,” she murmurs with a grin during the struggle to keep her attention where it mattered. Still, he manipulates her into a proper stance before backing away.

She becomes surprisingly aware of sudden coolness on her back without him there. It’s unsettling, but she focuses. Aiming down the sights and towards the target proves harder than she though. She bites her lip in concentration. A finger clicks off the safety and her heart begins to race. It feels like her heart is pounding in her ears and the second drag by slowly. Lex takes a steadying breath, moving a finger to the trigger. Lex can’t help but tense in anticipation as she squeezes. Her brows furrow anxiously before the loud POP. The pistol recoils a bit in her hands which surprises her enough to make her flinch. A finger quickly flicks the safety back on. She’s uncertain about how she feels but it looks like the bullet went somewhere else because the target was still flawless. She looks towards Killian with the same uncertainty, seeking instruction.

Killian Decker

"Now you know how I feel when I'm trying to study." he smiles.

It's the nerves that screw her over when she fires. The anxious furrow of her brow and the sudden tension that weighs down her shoulders throws her aim off course. Killian's expression flattens as she looks at him.

"You're putting too much tension in your shoulders. It's throwing off your aim. You have to relax, babe."

Picking apart her performance isn't something he enjoys, but it's needed. "The recoil, I know it'll take some getting used, but try not to flinch. You might drop the gun, and you don't want that to happen." He thinks for a second. Perhaps if she watched him fire off a few shots, she'd get a better idea of what to do.

"Would you like me to show you?"

Alexandra Briarwood