#caleraine

azrielthephantomking

He hand-picked a few weapons for her in the morning; he’d let her try the massive long-range cannon of a rifle he favored (well, not favored, he was best with it but he hated how immobile it made him at times), a medium-weight one that he rather liked as it was a more modernized beam-style weapon rather than shooting conventional lead rounds, though that meant it drew more attention, and a light, highly portable piece that was ideal for situations in which a shooter would be required to change vantage points frequently, though it traded maneuverability for accuracy. And then there was the assortment of handguns, assault rifles and the prototype beam rifles that were good for both kill shots and simply stunning a target. 

Silently he hoped she’d choose this specialty over one of the others, though he truly believed she could have done equally well in something else. Something about her was different, and he wanted to take her under his wing…not just in shooting, but in the field in general. 

En route to the motor pool to load the weapons into a vehicle he halted at the scent of blood; seconds after he’d been alerted a bloodied and dazed Naarkha limped past him down the hall, flanked by two of his buddies. The rivals shared a glance full of mixed messages before the other, clearly the loser of the spar challenge against Ryde, hobbled on his way back to his room, leaning heavily on his silent escorts. Leraine couldn’t help but grin smugly as he turned back around. Ryde had been challenged many times, and never defeated - there was a lingering rage in him that came out in combat, whether his intent was to kill or not, and after a while any belligerents - with the obvious exception - had learned that any challenges to his decisions were best made verbally across a desk, where he would most always consider them or at least explain his reasoning rather than crush his opponent until they begged him to stop. 

Cal was up early again the next morning, enjoying that the showers were always empty at four in the morning. The girls' shower had a small population anyhow, due to the minority of women on base, but she still didn't like the thin and muscular human girls staring at her, wondering how the hell she was deemed as army fit, especially when she was naked.

She showered and did her morning workout, but was interrupted when she heard other people entering the gym. Slowing from her run on the treadmill she noticed Naarkha and his gang, and she all but hid behind the arsenal of machines between them and her. They crossed into another room, a padded room used for sparring, and she saw that he was quickly followed by Ryde. Cal knew without a question what was going to happen, so she finished her workout early and slunk away.

She went back to her room to get ready for the shooting range, even applying a bit of makeup again. As she moved to step out of her room, she could see Naarkha limping down the hallway. He did not see her, so she ducked back into her room for another minute or two before peeking out again. She saw Leraine alone in the hallway instead.