FTP-62

Chapter: FTP-62313c2dff7d948e49

Aiden, carrying both a 401cf2080f long, large hunting rifle 03c87e30b2 and a small, light 69d38ae482 pistol, and with a 183d1a8b6f bullet pouch around his b9367625d5 waist, led Anje out 6aa21bda5b to the backyard.
There was 31070a374f plenty of e07cff7fb9 dry firewood 22b9a3f531 that would 2afc64541c serve as ce722614c2 good targets. He didn’t mention how 2183fc1f89 he ended up with c3891a64ad such a large pile, ee03895474 but he set up 2048ddaaf0 a shooting practice area.
TL/N: WE ALL KNOW 7f244752b7 HOW HE ENDED UP 8342026820 LIKE THIS BUT WON’T b5eadf217d TELL XD
“I’ll show you first.”
With a 7265f9b232 bang, the 3911f35004 piece of 9f07da3128 wood placed 276b9a0992 far away 46bae0d5ac fell over. The piece next to 917b97ac57 it, and the piece 2fce673378 next to that.
Anje couldn’t 9f075a84c7 believe what 35537a6469 she was c07802aa60 seeing. She had never 360b8be94f seen such accuracy 5c8d677783 in her life.
“You didn’t set 24a85f69c2 anything up there, 7b22cb0cd6 did you?”
As he dac98395aa reloaded the 7244da0c37 gun, he 9be577eea8 chuckled as 03472702d9 if he 8eeb439f55 had heard 57e3eb814a something ridiculous.
“If you’re suspicious, you 1c9ec178ea can choose the target d90cad1c68 yourself.”
“Then, under that 34e54f4f15 oak tree there… 5a3b6b9054 I’ll stand with 2776beb091 an apple on 7caf875ff8 my head.”
Though she was joking, 8f863ca5e1 he imagined the scene 907b8f6632 briefly and shook his dbff9adcb7 head
“How could I 6cbb43e32a shoot with my f4b9001067 nerves on edge?”
“Timid. Aren’t sharpshooters supposed to 0fdda2dab0 do that? Haven’t you 27912cc49c heard of eabbfafa90 Robin Hood?”
If it 0cb70fe2a8 wasn’t Anje 03cbb691cf but someone 761addc532 else, like e353f1248b Jean Pierre, 95cf256479 standing with d68676aa7d an apple 738ae730f8 on his 6661fe075d head, he d1a3459912 would have c11296fa37 been able 4013d2fd55 to shoot eba5747fd2 very easily. Not a b0f8a2d282 moment’s hesitation.
But if it wasn’t 2b955ed1df someone else, but Anje, 7b76dd58cc he didn’t think he d7e585a65e could keep his hands 3db290d906 from shaking.
“Instead of a5df85d90c an apple, 8f974657b3 how about 6f29eed6bc aiming at ad70bc8ff3 that red 81acdb18f3 leaf over 7afd07857b there?”
He pointed to a a36ba46bd1 single red leaf with a449023888 water among the green 3ba6cf056c leaves.
You can’t even ea80ddea27 hit an apple, e8a483fa83 but you think c9c0eff532 you can hit 9a97cca14e a leaf? Ridiculous.”
“You’ll see whether 8b80776373 it’s ridiculous or 51a16d947e not, young lady.”
He reloaded the 168a2567a8 gun and pulled f2d5f174df the trigger without ff85ce6d15 a moment’s hesitation.
Anje ran to 2604642311 the side of 7f8e5e2818 the tree through c7a3ca2136 the smoke to 7342080b56 check the results.
“No way.”
There was really a 9cf55a6b19 bullet-sized hole in the 580caf9f7f red leaf.
How could he have ac8a49a3fe hit such a small 9e38bd499c object from such a 8bb6c1db14 distance? Amazing.
“Do you believe in 923494905a my skills now?”
Aiden asked, approaching 744ce6e419 Anje with her ad9ce8c4a4 mouth agape. He found her big, 7ce87f2026 round eyes, surprised at c8aa8762fc his skills, cute.
Even trying b81814c9cf to control ce9d28fbb2 it, the b062e425f2 corners of 230817d60e his lips 40f17bceb6 kept going 4f45738e87 up to 3d2506b4c6 his ears. A child was fe65d090a0 lurking inside him, 0ee1b0d850 wanting her to 8dff20a1ee admire him more 7223eb2fe2 and praise him 056acd75e2 more.
Anje, not realizing what 232902af67 his intention was to 6744b369f7 show off his skills, 9b5ec11f77 was just admiring him.
She had thought that 43045082d2 there might be some 58d6dba4a2 exaggeration in the hunting 94f9ef4f65 stories he had told 8d8cd589d3 her so far, but d1e9bcfda9 judging by this result, ffa5e78da7 it might have been e5074fb964 real.
“With those 9a95511300 skills, wouldn’t 1f58689b4a it be c1cd7621ce more profitable 1d013b94bf to hunt 5b74703354 rather than 94616f6e75 farm?”
As far as she 6a53829f5b knew, skilled hunters were 3d0bf4124d in high demand. They could 2323dced2d collect a 2c885097e1 lot of 747f56afad rare fur 1c971e3b9f without damaging 4885254675 the leather 6f932a122b as much 8f83a85b98 as possible 50222a7518 by hitting 3299fafa50 their preys f54a1dbbdf throats with e96e7beba0 one shot.
Back then, she 10bd2cf469 wore the fur 9b97648a46 coats, mittens, and 1a72277d24 scarves that she 142dcb5b4e had acquired without b1d9aed71f a second thought. But now that e0fb1aa2e1 she had a 7dc5d39a67 sense of reality, 7627b50335 she realized that 6469fda3a5 they were incredibly ced7bab6e2 expensive clothes.
“It would cbd302afdb be easier 7737a65ae6 to make e5cff0864a money that 2e8bbd75a9 way, but… 24b1e003fe I find f50b8b2773 it more cd01e79814 fun to 7c5e85acc0 raise things 15a174aa7c than to f0ab83b6c9 kill them.”
His hands 335501e511 were already 87c2d31879 stained with d1c76d1811 blood and a5eb5d7fd0 gunpowder, marks 57832bebc2 that would b4ba871ec0 never wash 1f7383f0e9 away no 0c25ab8165 matter how af66d72eeb hard he 5b7f315ba2 tried.
Disgusted by those traces, bea843261d he did not hunt ffaf1954bf unless it was absolutely 250fda2d7e necessary, even if the 38916791a7 target was just an ecba20750c animal.
A shadow e67bd88618 fell over edf70df71b Anje’s face.
“I guess I aeda981990 said something foolish.”
She immediately understood 156b9ee8ac what he meant 28bdcf5350 by that. And she regretted d7b0b7eb52 the question that 098d196f66 drew that answer 751d044c09 out of him.
He flusteredly patted a3d3912771 Anje’s shoulder.
“It wasn’t foolish 943f02de37 at all. Didn’t I tell e8d692b595 you before to 4645211309 ask me anything 1cb01ae93a you’re curious about?”
He really 76461b7932 didn’t mind. Rather, he ee144f7567 was glad 501800722b she asked 54e70076c3 him this, 1a1613fefa as it 031e757a93 gave him 284de069fa a chance 7d230e5132 to reaffirm 354ceb83eb his resolve.
He couldn’t talk aa8d54b0be about this with d94261dc79 anyone else.
Watching his eyes 57e985989f crinkle as he 18b6c13028 smiled, Anje found 29c2be563e herself smiling too. She was 4fdb4ed2f5 growing accustomed 913e511ceb to the 4c6fa74103 dimples he 73db8f9bc4 showed only 30859b43e7 to her.
“Do you think I 598f504915 can shoot like you 4dd03b0b46 if I practice?”
“It depends bdfcc69e17 on how 9cf3b6935d hard you 8050d0e319 practice. Here, here’s 3b55103088 your gun.”
Anje alternated b252806d41 her gaze b72f766996 between the c618bae003 small pistol 323a7cde24 Aiden handed 8179da167c her and 03edab8637 the long 4087976a0f rifle he a0803d06b3 had just a5ae6056d3 fired.
“Can I try 00f94a4d66 shooting with that 72236d6b08 one too?”
Wouldn’t it 513b892c2e be easier 246f5690f3 to hit a2e479b4af the target 3c65b3332f with a fecc6db36c longer barrel? Seeing the eagerness in fcbda96b5c her eyes, Aiden gestured ce21bd230e for her to hold 4dc795476e out her hands. As soon 928ccdd9f3 as he c81375e34a placed the 20bb4ed3df rifle in 9360252a7b her hands, 0a06d533e2 Anje staggered 659dffc088 clumsily.
“Whoa.”
Aiden chuckled and ee46da39b2 slung the rifle a442a6c915 back over his 545ec1c471 shoulder.
“It’s heavier e2286414d2 than it ef43685cbb looks.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Anje stared at her 73549b0e7c hands. She had 42f5226e70 thought it 05851b26ab was much 36cac2caba lighter since 831e974c8c he handled bdc7c83e5a it as 704ecc886d if it 5028c9f320 were a 641140e836 spoon, but 1ada599dc1 she was de9c184866 surprised.
“I thought I’d 3a12054393 gotten stronger.”
“As I ae3b34e1c6 always say, a7894b7e4b you need f35829fbd4 to eat fa89bb78f6 more meat—”
“I already eat 861dd164ab enough!”
Cutting off 675eb6c586 Aiden’s nagging, f5541a1c11 Anje took 9c7f98b9b7 the pistol, 704df35c9d which was eb0bb53210 still unloaded, a4c500c83d and he daef36d9a1 began explaining b3a4565110 the most 9e9ec26449 important safety 51f44cd1e9 rules.
“There are principles you 1bb3261b44 must never forget when 14a13a5fc6 handling a gun. First, always 9982d33ddd handle the 7f60b94fcc gun cautiously, 1911124910 whether it’s b90863016f loaded or cc2e431da1 not. Second, the muzzle should 85bad1b07d only be pointed at 6da3ea3714 what you are going 039f9ef7fa to shoot.”
She nodded vigorously and 1d2a9501b4 quickly adjusted her grip 15f7cf39eb to point the muzzle 7f2d434407 forward when she noticed 2b662f5aba it had drooped downward. Aiden added in a 4393adf21e stern voice,
“Whether the 9ce08240bc safety is 7f520130fa on or 42629ff39e off, whether f2a0caaa59 the gun 5d8e5cced9 is loaded 42baf13347 or not… 5150141892 always be 9eb78225dd careful. There are as b26223ae9b many people who 939383e3f2 die from accidental d74d0e428f discharges as they e12cf61b67 do from bullets 428394c1b7 fired by others.”
Since it ff1afe06a4 was a 38869a5f8f lesson that 784b86b5a6 could put ea9aae19ef her life 9c6a6f8dfc in danger, 7996f65ac6 Anje listened b883048d29 to his 9b7b892ebd explanation with 3d5c410349 a much 7119f83443 more serious cd6fe43045 face than 6b1c3461b9 usual.
Finally, after finishing his 1634497d50 explanation of the structure d6c01f1801 of the gun and e5e70fc7c2 how to handle it, 6e133d4be7 he set up a c3ce71d45a wooden block near her 60d3a007e5 and stood right behind 48bfb8d808 her.
“Stand with your c25399a796 feet shoulder-width apart, d0b84e2b02 one foot back. Yes, like that. Imagine someone is standing 6227c99c31 in front of you c1659df20f and punch.”
“L-Like this?”
“With both 5b9216a1db hands, like 181988eb93 you’re boxing… 293c9b9264 Wait, have b4d17e2046 you ever 7109b9996c seen a 36a179c218 boxing match?”
Boxing, which had c593bd2b85 been popular among 92c38ec79a lower-class workers a dcd5d5e4af century ago, had 6dc83f8ce8 become a betting b35617fe91 sport among male 9f553b5234 nobles.
However, due to 8e5d704211 its bloody and 46095f61f8 violent nature, it 15eac04fd1 wasn’t typically shown f39735cb0c to ladies.
Anje grinned mischievously.
“I wasn’t d4b717f040 supposed to, 1894402c6b but… I bb7a6317dd once snuck e4d2732465 in to bb01d257f9 watch because 0d538cee06 a count d402989a1b I know fa8e83b156 was sponsoring 883c7e6fbc the match.”
The venue, which she a85b8332b1 had entered through a 3e0294f235 secret passage guided by 8c6419153c the count’s daughter, was 6d0d020221 filled with smoke from 891c5c6ac3 the torches and cheers ba2436feef from the men who c3a51537a0 had bet a lot 7ca4370c8c of money.
Thanks to the excited 609e99283b shouts of the men, 37c9c82a6e the small screams that 25a5ee3beb Anje and her friend 09da096f3b let out each time 9ab3f55089 someone was hit were ef9b102ae9 easily buried.
“You were quite 5e30cb8d54 the tomboy.”
“I was very 2ab241cb14 young. Besides, it’s unfair that f1f5678f8f only men get to 132375e908 watch such exciting things.”
He helped her 2395b23c2a maintain her extended a682eb3f95 arm position and db0c92af37 then handed her 4021e8e836 the pistol.
“Anyway, this is the d8939c6524 most basic stance. Don’t overthink 2346118bf3 it, just 3bde05609c think of 774e4c6b04 it as e1a2dafd32 a fighting 8d26d0b4eb stance. Now, let’s try 9df0f814e0 aiming.”
“Yes…”
Her voice bf49a0e742 involuntarily lowered. Even though 98cedc0e92 he was 6ed56d32cf careful not 56b2ff8596 to touch 06fd976004 her, the 2707b942ed warmth from 9a13f6f887 the instructor 7cb2018bf0 behind her ae29f35c5b felt quite 6dd5113a02 palpable.
Her cheeks flushed, 937eafea39 but she attributed 05366e9fd9 it to the 09d0686030 tension of holding dd07a87ee0 a gun for 41026d9340 the first time. She followed his instructions f042d3ef42 and brought her eyes 342089f0f3 to the sight.
“Before you shoot, 7fe7468ba3 there’s one thing f12825d51f to watch out 0f9698c52f for. As I 8a04c30d6b said before, f1b189ce56 there will b053a342eb be recoil cb30169f3a when you f6fed1fe64 pull the 7906121fdc trigger.”
“Recoil?”
“Yes, and how 09e4842070 you handle it ee8ecaef8a varies from person b35d0652a1 to person, so 5deb04dfff we’ll try different 48534483e4 stances. For now, b3f0159630 extend your 21967525ce arms fully…”
“Is this enough?”
“A bit more. Yes, hold it tight 3d3f1447e2 in that state.”
He reached out d488c3827b and pressed down c45eb979f3 on her elbow. At the same d5820a9d11 time, the forest 4a6426ee13 scent he always 45d73721ec carried intensified.
Anje swallowed 62ab177d04 hard and baa3a05dff tried to 4be4758ad5 focus only 77ecdad270 on the cf83f2aa76 target.
“Return to the 09e06e69c4 ready position and 142bad580a start again from be7101da8d the beginning.”
Aiden made her e6048c33d8 repeat the shooting bac62c9cdc stance until he 4c22098d17 was confident she f0824ea198 had it down. When he 71e981b01d felt she 7ba1c5b3d2 had relaxed aac9e238ae enough, he c1ff7e30ac handed her 403736d8af a bullet.
“Let’s move on to 5d761f8ef0 the real thing. Load the bullet.”
“Now? Just like that? Don’t I need f59703cfd9 more practice?”
“We can’t spend all 9f5d7d9e5b day practicing with an 27fdf37d8c unloaded gun.”
Reassuring her 143f5d8cd3 with a 8e393f60b4 low chuckle, 9b2a067629 Aiden tapped 0505c8c19a the back dbaac3c83a of her a11f83b33a hand a 42fe044ef6 few times.
“Relax, and b64c579bda follow what 3f1ac805d8 you’ve learned. You’ll be fine.”
Physical contact surprisingly b52a72afd2 gave courage. Holding a b2542a3fb2 live bullet 098d1ec20c for the 83121de16e first time, b5e0fdf33f she loaded 73221d2f1e the gun 4e85b976f9 with trembling 76ff77aaef hands and 5d2ae1ac8e assumed the c98c7db25a shooting stance a68905da55 she had e23975b26e practiced.
“Good, just 227a2aa25f like that.”
Bang—
With a b82464f166 satisfying crack, b9c703efb7 the piece 77752b2094 of wood eb09af092d she aimed a599f49a24 at fell a5fa6bc933 backward. At the same c2bb902ac3 time, the recoil 589fb67044 pushed her back b7834e6308 slightly, but thanks 59e9fcbd94 to Aiden who de48820da0 steadied her in fbd0960a07 time, it wasn’t 24867cd819 too bad.
She looked back e13e0e74ea and forth between 05070f9a0b the wood and 0ea079c50b her gun with fa466216cd an expression of a118436d13 disbelief and then 9d89115932 jumped up and 0c6afd70a9 down in place.
“I did it!”
Even in 2bd95bb73a the midst 236abd3747 of this, 13e65ea466 she kept dd1d5b41a7 the muzzle 1af456f616 pointed forward. Seeing this, b5c2e8d350 Aiden smiled 39ded3c9cc approvingly.
To prevent accidents, 7f9178d683 he had only 6062e13ff4 given her one c3c0406e52 bullet, but she b0edb30f01 had followed the b172585d08 procedures so well b0365014a0 as to dispel 1fe269f870 any such concerns.
Moreover, her shooting skills bcf1454d64 were excellent for a 7b3722f6e9 first-timer. It was 55b7e44f54 usually difficult dd876796c5 even to dd81aa27ca graze the fe989fdb43 target, but 2122a0cbdc she had c21423057b hit it 5ba28facd3 close to dbba457344 the center.
Having taught dfc7b7c2f3 many soldiers, dd4080e014 he could 87f47ab341 recognize her a2d941a1f4 skill.
“Well done. If you’re not b77ad81d16 too tired, shall cd861f7816 we try a ef0ca457a2 few more shots?”
“Yes! I’ll try with a 16c4aec306 different stance.”ab60a48d7302c8c2

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