WEEK 2: April 8th - April 12th

[cartesio]

Second Week

Seven days have passed. Quite peaceful days, almost too peaceful. The town has welcomed you, excited to see tourists for the first time in many, many, many years. Some may have liked the peace, others may have been annoyed by it, but it was undeniable Cartesio seemed like such a nice and safe place it was hard to believe you had been told to kill each other.

But the threat is still up in the air. What's more: how much patience does the Sergeant have left?

Every time you take a look into the Lodge, you see the Sergeant. Lately he's looking more and more annoyed. Even though you can't see his face, you can feel he's getting frustrated. How long will it be before he lashes out and does something about these peaceful days?

Nobody in the town could suspect the harrowing times that'd befall Cartesio.

When you wake up on Sunday, you'll find new maps in the map rack and brochures on the table, showing places you hadn't noticed in the town before. Enjoy!

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the second week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

[quickpersuader]

[Millium receives a nod in return as Kino begins walking once more. Bullets (a box of 500) and a maintenance kit both go onto the counter as well.]

We'll see how you do in the shooting range for a while. After that, we can disassemble the gun, perform maintenance, and reassemble it. You should practice and then clean it often if you want to learn how to use it properly.

[doublelammy]

[Millium digs out her debit card as Kino piles that onto the counter. There is no way the shop owner isn't judging the heck out of both of them right now after yesterday, but the chances either of these two care are near zero.]

Okay.

[Millium checks out, putting on her usual cheer as she thanks the owner, which probably only serves to make her look a lot creepier. She turns back to Kino once she's got her supplies.]

Thanks for all this, Kino. I owe you one.

[quickpersuader]

I might have to call on you for a favor someday, then.

[Kino is, if nothing else, a pragmatist.]

For now, let's just make sure that if you do have to fire at someone, you only hit what you meant to.

[And with that, it's time to go over to the shooting range. Kino will lead Millium through the basics - checking the gun to see if it's loaded (it is not), the basic parts of the revolver, a good stance for firing. She won't be learning how to hit targets while on the move or anything, but she'll learn how to aim and shoot accurately to begin with.]

Okay, let's get it loaded for practice. [And here, Kino reaches into one of the pouches attached to the belt at the hip, pulling out a cotton ball that is soon torn into two pieces, each rolled between thumb and index finger into a ball.]

Put these in your ears, too.

[doublelammy]

Roger.

[Millium can understand that mentality, so she sees no problem with this.

She follows along after Kino, following their instructions as closely as she possibly can. At least her lack of energy otherwise means she can put what she does have toward being an attentive student.]

Ohh, to protect 'em from the sound, right? Okay.

[She takes the cotton rounds gratefully and pops them into her ears.]

...Ehe. It kinda tickles.

[She's gonna get on loading that revolver. Kino's welcome to walk her through more of the steps, but she does at least seem to know the basics of this, like she said.]

[quickpersuader]

It feels weird at first, but you get used to it.

[Kino's got them in pretty regularly, too. And Kino will actually take out a set of cotton ball rounds as well, putting them in before this next part.]

Okay. Now, take off the safety and aim for the center with the sight. Remember, you want a smooth pull on the trigger.

[doublelammy]

[Nod.

Safety off, check. Ready, aim...

Fire!

It's... not the best shot, but it hit the target?]

[quickpersuader]

[It did!]

Raise it just a little, and to the left. Don't lock your arms to the point where they shake, or that will throw you off, too.

[doublelammy]

Roger. Okay, let's try this again...

[Ready! Aim! Not locking arms! Aaaand, fire!

Much better this time.]

[quickpersuader]

There. Now you try adjusting your aim to try to hit the center - and keep track of how many rounds you have left.

[Kino's just gonna settle in and watch.]

[doublelammy]

[A sharp nod, and Millium gets to work.

8 round capacity, she's shot twice. 6 to go.

And off they fire, six gunshots, not in any particular cadence as she keeps stopping to adjust herself between.

But on the sixth and final one, she hits just at the edge of the bulls-eye.

Say what you will about this tyke bomb, but she's a quick learner.]

[quickpersuader]

Good. Now reload and try it again.

[They can run through this until Millium can shoot more consistently and reload comfortably.]

[doublelammy]

[And so they will!

It takes a while, but eventually, she gets the hang of it. She seems pretty proud of herself, too, especially after she finally manages to hit the bulls-eye dead on.]

Ha! How's that, Kino?

[Be proud of her, senpai~]

[quickpersuader]

Good. You're a quick learner.

[And this time, Kino will approach, holding out a hand for the revolver.]

That's probably enough practice for today. Let's take it apart for cleaning. It's a good chance to make sure it hasn't been damaged, too.

I recommend checking it every day if you can. You want it to be in the best possible shape.

[doublelammy]

[Millium beams. Yes, praise her!]

Okay! I can keep up with that!

[Millium hands the revolver over without a second thought. Once she's done so, it briefly occurs to her that Kino could kill her right here if they really wanted to...

...Well. She told Oda about her plans, at least. If she dies here, she can at least be sure it'll be easier to bring Kino to justice than it was Mira.]

[quickpersuader]

[It's okay Millium, if Kino wanted you dead, there would have been many opportunities before now.

Kino settles down on the ground with the kit, expertly beginning to take it apart. Each piece will be explained and shown to Millium as Kino does so, making sure Millium sees how they go together before they are taken apart. Instructions on cleaning, and then...]

Do you remember how to put it together again, or do you want me to walk you through it?

[doublelammy]

[Millium watches intently, sitting cross-legged in front of her with the gun between them.]

Umm... I think so, but walk me through it just in case.

[quickpersuader]

Okay.

[And Kino will go ahead and put it together, pausing each time so Millium can see the pieces where and when they connect. Once finished, Kino hands it over to Millium.]

Now you try. Disassemble and reassemble.

[doublelammy]

[Millium takes it back, taking it apart and reassembling it as requested.

It takes some time, with Millium occasionally pausing and looking up at Kino for guidance or assurance that she's doing the right thing, but eventually, she gets through it.]

There!

[quickpersuader]

[Kino provides that guidance when needed, giving a final nod once the revolver is properly reassembled.]

Good job. It will get easier the more you do it.

[And so Kino stands again, stretching lightly.]

That's about all I have to teach you.

[doublelammy]

Okay. I'll keep practicing!

[Millium gathers up her things and stands as well, also stretching with a little hum.]

Thanks again, Kino.

[quickpersuader]

Persuaders like these are available to everyone. I'd prefer if you fire, it's with purpose.

[Getting a favor out of it is good, too.]

Anyway, I'll be going. Where did you plan to go next?

[doublelammy]

Yeah. That's my goal, so don't worry about that.

Umm... prolly just back to the motel. I've been pretty tired today, so I was gonna try to wind down n' turn in early. You?

[quickpersuader]

I should probably feed the chicken... [Though Kino looks considerably less enthused about this.] I'll go to the diner and ask for something, I guess.

[doublelammy]

...

The chicken?

[Okay, forget Millium's previous plans, she's wholly invested in this now.]

[quickpersuader]

Yeah, I found one in my room after last night.