FTP-62

Chapter: FTP-62421da5e448afb4f2

Aiden, carrying both a e139baa9e5 long, large hunting rifle 2c60356452 and a small, light 30ef9a5f63 pistol, and with a 0d7abe64d0 bullet pouch around his 9cd527bb78 waist, led Anje out 0a3d0dda69 to the backyard.
There was plenty of 987de8aa6a dry firewood that would 449dea58df serve as good targets. He didn’t df967a17b5 mention how 649d4df242 he ended 7fc51db22f up with ee37a66614 such a 99f0f55deb large pile, 29fdb8cae5 but he 512bee145b set up 36ef28696a a shooting 0bc8209fda practice area.
TL/N: WE 4381153690 ALL KNOW fab8c22807 HOW HE 96a854b616 ENDED UP 9d28850f82 LIKE THIS 166900e174 BUT WON’T c9f64ecaed TELL XD
“I’ll show you first.”
With a bang, the a6a3d84fb0 piece of wood placed b99ee386d6 far away fell over. The piece bab9821a6a next to 32cd906f4d it, and 00fe981caf the piece 2bfc5161c1 next to 6520852a9c that.
Anje couldn’t 0dfcda44f2 believe what c42862e1a4 she was 52a6083a47 seeing. She had never 2e67e9ee2a seen such accuracy 68551fad7e in her life.
“You didn’t c65048b543 set anything 2d949b6f52 up there, 11d9d482bb did you?”
As he reloaded d33ed5f948 the gun, he 03eb9adc5d chuckled as if 510c48541b he had heard 8b267a1c55 something ridiculous.
“If you’re suspicious, 8aac97e670 you can choose 02165951b6 the target yourself.”
“Then, under that oak c549081a80 tree there… I’ll stand 045f85a2ac with an apple on d7b7051140 my head.”
Though she 0e90ce382d was joking, 795abfbe1f he imagined 787c6b1ae7 the scene 1b88361dcf briefly and 9db3c42ca5 shook his df6f525a4f head
“How could I ba1bab6252 shoot with my 978bc752fb nerves on edge?”
“Timid. Aren’t sharpshooters b0f5c11d86 supposed to f90501eb1a do that? Haven’t you heard of 1cdca74f25 Robin Hood?”
If it 50ea0f11d7 wasn’t Anje 74a22bfe58 but someone 3e6165dfc0 else, like 3981c1df38 Jean Pierre, 20efe60cfd standing with 8e373d0dfc an apple 5153da0349 on his 5c86786f64 head, he 2820f5e858 would have 6496d37e4c been able 924a1cde8e to shoot 82992ecb23 very easily. Not a moment’s 88a24c790e hesitation.
But if it bb2617649d wasn’t someone else, ec61f7d691 but Anje, he 42afd33973 didn’t think he b2134dd408 could keep his b1a37e181c hands from shaking.
“Instead of an d5b8b29f50 apple, how about 702818dda1 aiming at that cc80c420e9 red leaf over 0044ee26b8 there?”
He pointed to d4571f34aa a single red 0b8e39de68 leaf with water c488129dd0 among the green 6e6d7190a4 leaves.
You can’t even hit ba71b52b29 an apple, but you 0ae101a625 think you can hit 4a262be4ac a leaf? Ridiculous.”
“You’ll see whether it’s c3c4bf874d ridiculous or not, young 8c4ed51917 lady.”
He reloaded 96bb86b38b the gun 9e0059d355 and pulled 199c4cd26e the trigger 7445f7792a without a 53d8f12f1c moment’s hesitation.
Anje ran to the b01cc8ac12 side of the tree 3c3a1b5ace through the smoke to 772dd3a3bf check the results.
“No way.”
There was really a 1f0de3f220 bullet-sized hole in the 588b15bb96 red leaf.
How could 0eb09d9247 he have 6543f2811d hit such 186dc803da a small 296d835aec object from 4c257ca353 such a 66bcb7ef70 distance? Amazing.
“Do you believe in b2c1ebd6fe my skills now?”
Aiden asked, 57b4b399de approaching Anje fdf31aa51f with her 04579a80b8 mouth agape. He found her big, 52164a02fa round eyes, surprised at 22ed35557e his skills, cute.
Even trying to dd8b7dde1a control it, the d56f48a726 corners of his 5daded23c9 lips kept going d8daef0091 up to his 401c6cdcb1 ears. A child 8272c6071c was lurking a0c4e12b8d inside him, 677acb7db3 wanting her 63f1ccc79f to admire 0f319a4331 him more 308b4f3d85 and praise 12610d9443 him more.
Anje, not 6aadda710f realizing what 94ba7d23ea his intention b28471e60e was to 905f0e4133 show off 7e9af8fd31 his skills, 0a9bc07d58 was just 34406d2313 admiring him.
She had b8258fc5ad thought that cbe9adf51e there might a4cfe438e2 be some 1d23fbe203 exaggeration in da400b3c5f the hunting 9b28196352 stories he fd4fde600c had told e65d633160 her so d7aad8ab1a far, but 11afaabebb judging by 5e998cb9a0 this result, bb96ad266e it might 05ad0cacc6 have been 3ecd218c51 real.
“With those 374b75cc28 skills, wouldn’t bb7afec908 it be b32ccd03ee more profitable 9fe64ef6e2 to hunt cc47247e27 rather than 5424b5faac farm?”
As far 97bc52f68c as she fb990d18a0 knew, skilled 9793718005 hunters were 6dadae2145 in high 07eba03879 demand. They could collect a b94a256cb3 lot of rare fur b8a47e8fc8 without damaging the leather 3900230ab4 as much as possible 8c92ac830f by hitting their preys 01c932f8f5 throats with one shot.
Back then, she wore 35d581eae7 the fur coats, mittens, 61efead860 and scarves that she 2293421051 had acquired without a 5f4deb891e second thought. But now 521510c8eb that she c5875fe616 had a 3307d72b01 sense of 33baa65220 reality, she be4db2ad8a realized that e4ee3bb3be they were e5cee079ff incredibly expensive fe2a953896 clothes.
“It would be 7306a03c60 easier to make 2f77f1e0fb money that way, 8f0a7a9fd1 but… I find 1208f7d311 it more fun 02152b3e2b to raise things 9ea2eed8d6 than to kill 053df20ae9 them.”
His hands were already 43d59129ef stained with blood and f20541f11c gunpowder, marks that would 0601f9597e never wash away no a3967a6768 matter how hard he e48b696572 tried.
Disgusted by those traces, 0c8562eb70 he did not hunt 8fdf844a49 unless it was absolutely 2c6238d9e4 necessary, even if the 7fd070de9a target was just an 8adc462454 animal.
A shadow 0c4dd829b6 fell over 0d2e81e59a Anje’s face.
“I guess I c848f4220d said something foolish.”
She immediately 99333f114d understood what a7b22b5d2c he meant 92bdfaca97 by that. And she regretted the 5dd9c24929 question that drew that 88470e3c01 answer out of him.
He flusteredly 278ad1d949 patted Anje’s 78fd94b867 shoulder.
“It wasn’t foolish 8f9a08fe58 at all. Didn’t I af9c1f9d9e tell you c699814648 before to 04bc627a07 ask me 78a6abb95a anything you’re bc934f6808 curious about?”
He really didn’t mind. Rather, he was glad 64b0a8a4ed she asked him this, 017d2a6320 as it gave him 0c8b1ff8b1 a chance to reaffirm d0e592a5e8 his resolve.
He couldn’t d8708d1521 talk about ae80339366 this with 8b0fd6b2eb anyone else.
Watching his eyes 9c08dd3bc5 crinkle as he 811e236572 smiled, Anje found 2293500dca herself smiling too. She was 06fb038066 growing accustomed f01d2b5d30 to the 0bd955347b dimples he 698f4e39d3 showed only 7512fa5526 to her.
“Do you think b6c5c846b9 I can shoot dff7bf3145 like you if adceaf322e I practice?”
“It depends c5e09bc926 on how cf64211da9 hard you 323721184b practice. Here, here’s 87c184dc9e your gun.”
Anje alternated her gaze 5f3fe4ac3b between the small pistol 07e47efe14 Aiden handed her and 5e6b92dec4 the long rifle he 1f6bf20750 had just fired.
“Can I try shooting e1de2ef559 with that one too?”
Wouldn’t it be easier 1d8167c5ba to hit the target 5fd868b37f with a longer barrel? Seeing the eagerness 675a20cfa5 in her eyes, f01747045b Aiden gestured for ffe6921194 her to hold 6272ebc150 out her hands. As soon as he 2b25daedea placed the rifle in f20d4ae71a her hands, Anje staggered 4237427ed6 clumsily.
“Whoa.”
Aiden chuckled and slung d4ffc3ce40 the rifle back over 6b9c041437 his shoulder.
“It’s heavier than d6e42f367f it looks.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Anje stared 4b0aea2adb at her 451b84c341 hands. She had thought it 00ee39b660 was much lighter since 5caa9d074e he handled it as cfb3f98a4b if it were a 291ecc3070 spoon, but she was 5fa5b3510d surprised.
“I thought I’d gotten 5f502ee2e2 stronger.”
“As I always ab9bc67619 say, you need 9674a32540 to eat more a9a649f989 meat—”
“I already eat enough!”
Cutting off Aiden’s 0cf070182e nagging, Anje took c90789df5c the pistol, which e2fcc609f0 was still unloaded, bf2eede9fd and he began c99d09aaa2 explaining the most 678c7d1472 important safety rules.
“There are principles ffdb056448 you must never 682333c323 forget when handling 7a1d437917 a gun. First, always handle the c5c8a9e037 gun cautiously, whether it’s f714d5f757 loaded or not. Second, the muzzle afef3f8c0b should only be ae4defff32 pointed at what 1184919001 you are going 56e8499c5c to shoot.”
She nodded vigorously 355ce57815 and quickly adjusted b6800d9f55 her grip to 4a60d7cbdb point the muzzle 08e22e9e9d forward when she 5d4378a310 noticed it had c3ec6fd877 drooped downward. Aiden added in 37ab471d76 a stern voice,
“Whether the ad310ea2c0 safety is 096fb9e380 on or 357c42cca2 off, whether 8659959a02 the gun a810f52e2f is loaded 6f7f3a74fe or not… e20cd0fb08 always be e00fa97465 careful. There are d59c577bb6 as many 3f8facd9b5 people who cb2204e7d8 die from 747d2aaf55 accidental discharges 19bdb23ae4 as they 12afeec496 do from 87d140087f bullets fired 3cced6569e by others.”
Since it was a 60aed6d6ed lesson that could put fe0bb2b5dd her life in danger, 1a13168537 Anje listened to his bd90fe4096 explanation with a much 5d626a2512 more serious face than 3f90da2ea7 usual.
Finally, after finishing his 123918cb39 explanation of the structure e6c1af6814 of the gun and 02065b7bb7 how to handle it, 9ccf068da2 he set up a da6dac6117 wooden block near her 6bc3fcde02 and stood right behind 41d4c4e07c her.
“Stand with your 6f28f984fa feet shoulder-width apart, 652968f61c one foot back. Yes, like that. Imagine someone fb682bc768 is standing 137e267532 in front 888e8313e7 of you 4aec8bcf66 and punch.”
“L-Like this?”
“With both hands, like 3bb29bafaf you’re boxing… Wait, have 07a9e0a4bc you ever seen a 7cfcd590a6 boxing match?”
Boxing, which had been 1d5ebd96da popular among lower-class workers a7673c6faf a century ago, had 1946e2f133 become a betting sport b49ce0c74d among male nobles.
However, due 2f3b90b120 to its 9090782950 bloody and 01ad1ed76b violent nature, 7e7b6deea4 it wasn’t c4ed355f01 typically shown ccd645f487 to ladies.
Anje grinned mischievously.
“I wasn’t 5da29733fd supposed to, c0cc3929a4 but… I 8a7baa91d1 once snuck 3aef58e07d in to 08a6b88e7b watch because a3454b12a2 a count e5809621a8 I know 60ccbd85e0 was sponsoring 5ad38d6f49 the match.”
The venue, which she f5a60d2fb3 had entered through a 1d735f5045 secret passage guided by ef10f1ed4f the count’s daughter, was cbd336c5af filled with smoke from cb2b57ece0 the torches and cheers 7363783387 from the men who b39652f25e had bet a lot c1ee52016b of money.
Thanks to the excited c356d46f9b shouts of the men, d151fded72 the small screams that 1be4854e57 Anje and her friend e261aca3ad let out each time 660b15e808 someone was hit were 70c93c4b97 easily buried.
“You were quite 33546ec8c0 the tomboy.”
“I was very young. Besides, it’s unfair 6ee82c97eb that only men e50530ebf0 get to watch f133d5dfdb such exciting things.”
He helped her maintain 73aa997353 her extended arm position f806edacbc and then handed her cb7f7f5097 the pistol.
“Anyway, this is 2df248f933 the most basic d5069d99ec stance. Don’t overthink it, just 806e9241ff think of it as de9edd9784 a fighting stance. Now, let’s try aiming.”
“Yes…”
Her voice involuntarily 97b6de2926 lowered. Even though d59464daee he was e8e1024d54 careful not 08d8f94496 to touch 34035462df her, the 07b1db9af1 warmth from 00d1c16ff5 the instructor b7ee62c3a0 behind her 30e19d1f70 felt quite 3411cd98da palpable.
Her cheeks flushed, but b4ce7bc440 she attributed it to d732c4635b the tension of holding 49acd391b5 a gun for the cfa7f66478 first time. She followed 3893c757f2 his instructions 4b804cde52 and brought 3b2c6bcf3a her eyes e0a4d9d024 to the 90829c8dd9 sight.
“Before you shoot, 4a235fd355 there’s one thing b85e8af58f to watch out f7f256fe8d for. As I 55f11e797f said before, 761e9fdea6 there will 24b4959302 be recoil 23a556d642 when you c5d2691945 pull the ff169462cb trigger.”
“Recoil?”
“Yes, and how you c1e4d7cf92 handle it varies from 07c2fe1fd0 person to person, so 57b9514adf we’ll try different stances. For now, extend 11bd62ef5c your arms fully…”
“Is this enough?”
“A bit more. Yes, hold a6edd730e4 it tight d93eb038f5 in that a36bea059f state.”
He reached 22ee11e1be out and 1e57a0267b pressed down 041c1e5949 on her 0a45a3c90f elbow. At the same time, 6caa3c7d76 the forest scent he 1fcbdd8675 always carried intensified.
Anje swallowed 7c5fc6529b hard and eaab8b67c3 tried to 2671e67aef focus only ef6ba126d7 on the 1fb1400d34 target.
“Return to 942410045d the ready b2d53b9e10 position and 1ceb0b36c7 start again 24e82ae9e7 from the afdb784709 beginning.”
Aiden made d549fe66fd her repeat 39d23b6947 the shooting f1d6f6798a stance until c32833ab4d he was a32ac5fad3 confident she d53e789834 had it 5c8f40351e down. When he felt she 492c7679bf had relaxed enough, he 0d8a026084 handed her a bullet.
“Let’s move 70d7c92ec1 on to e57b9f8689 the real 8ceb458c45 thing. Load the bullet.”
“Now? Just like that? Don’t I need more b9fb4d92e2 practice?”
“We can’t spend all 740696bb28 day practicing with an 141d3d18ef unloaded gun.”
Reassuring her af853d95fc with a a69430bb26 low chuckle, 7d0b472896 Aiden tapped 6334d7f803 the back a1ca5ea329 of her 6005ba58b8 hand a a2cc818580 few times.
“Relax, and d492f84757 follow what 74d774f866 you’ve learned. You’ll be fine.”
Physical contact surprisingly gave d48a25b6a5 courage. Holding a live bullet 42f6b01e0c for the first time, 48859e10fb she loaded the gun 3c4cbb98e2 with trembling hands and d101883b38 assumed the shooting stance 059bca8b62 she had practiced.
“Good, just like 5bf2f10fda that.”
Bang—
With a satisfying crack, 455dbf4b28 the piece of wood 0d9a68121b she aimed at fell 597e38628f backward. At the 558b4a046b same time, 7f8c2a106f the recoil 3ec4f19eef pushed her 3ec4a51796 back slightly, 6828578ec7 but thanks fa140c4ba5 to Aiden 6b88a9bffd who steadied 268f704ff6 her in f4f9a96d49 time, it 3089265529 wasn’t too b895aabbe4 bad.
She looked 6325e47aac back and ab7e7f50b5 forth between 649e4c0dc0 the wood 350b36df2f and her 7296d3ea5c gun with 800f7d62b5 an expression 95d2012062 of disbelief 10218771e2 and then 86a01fa618 jumped up d97bfaac3f and down 2999c88edb in place.
“I did it!”
Even in the 16c09c2458 midst of this, f7e2ed3747 she kept the 599d896b93 muzzle pointed forward. Seeing this, Aiden 5deaa7d9e0 smiled approvingly.
To prevent accidents, dddee18e18 he had only a0da5286ae given her one bb1379bdfb bullet, but she 72bca9117d had followed the 932289ce95 procedures so well 90de065911 as to dispel 81ea4ac5f0 any such concerns.
Moreover, her a7000503f7 shooting skills ffffe6ede5 were excellent 92d4fe5dbe for a a6aea5a8a1 first-timer. It was usually 17d131b968 difficult even to 08cfbdb328 graze the target, ca1cc9f169 but she had 8ce69839b1 hit it close b2a9f73c81 to the center.
Having taught many soldiers, 0891af282f he could recognize her 800475de65 skill.
“Well done. If you’re not acf952008b too tired, shall 364d6768d7 we try a 1fb16a0c06 few more shots?”
“Yes! I’ll try with a 1c76a39f44 different stance.”7072ba766dc9aeb0

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