{EDCT} Just Remember to Relax (Open)

[Corey Spencer]

"Just remember to relax." Corey said quietly as he peered through the binoculars at the small target that was nailed to a tree roughly 100 meters away. One of the reasons the Academy liked arranging these camping trips was to strip away distractions from the students.  The world around the young mutants was a volatile one and it seemed as though every day brought another worry for the teens and college students.  Getting them away from it all for a long weekend was seen as cathartic, a form or relaxation therapy.  Or something like that.  Corey wasn't a psychiatrist, even though he knew some people (himself included) had needed and escape at some point in their lives.  Corey had been ordered to therapy himself during his career in the Army and had seen many good soldiers crippled by wounds no one could see. While he would debate the methods the Academy happened to be using, the goal here was, at the very least, to try and find some common ground between the students and staff. And if Corey was able to break out his scoped AR-15 assault rifle for some practice, then all the better.

At the moment Corey, and a lucky student were laying in the brush on a stretch of flat, grassy terrain. He'd secured the vaguely person-shaped silhouetted target to a tree at a distance that would be a challenge, without being impossible. He would probably be chastised if the board of directors knew he'd handed a student a loaded, 5.56 caliber assault rifle but he really didn't care. He'd always found something oddly therapeutic about shooting and, if anything, he figured it would show the student he had a certain amount of trust.

"Alright. Make sure you've got you stable base." Corey lowered the binoculars and looked over the student to make sure their prone shooting position was satisfactory. His eyes traveled along the teenager's body, checking the lines and angles for proper form. He nodded a little and shifted some, bringing the binoculars up so he could get an up close look at the target. "Just like I showed you." He directed, his tone low. "Exhale, hold, switch the weapon from 'safe' to 'semi' and pull the trigger."

[Stella Davenport]

Stella for what it was worth was trying to relax. She hadn't been so far from the onslaught of wavelengths in a while. She was decidedly happy with her choice to go on the trip. Even IG she could truly never get away there seemnto be less colors here, less static, less noise. She could deal with that, she was holding the rifle just like she was told. It was oddly relaxing and thrilling that he had handed her the rifle. Hell her own parents probably wouldn't trust her with a rubber duck and her was this school official giving her a loaded weapon.

She took a steady breath, exhaled, switched the safety off and squeezed the trigger. Spencers blue voice was drowned by a bright orange pop. As strange as it was, she felt a little less stressed. She felt like she wanted to do it again. The constant stream if colors was long forgotten with the curiosity she held.

"Did I hit it?" She asked not wanting to move from her position in the grass. At least someone trusted her to some degree.

[Corey Spencer]

Corey peered through the binoculars, waiting until that familiar crack of the single round fired from the rifle would echo through the trees. It was an oddly comforting sound, even if in Corey's mind it meant so much more than a bullet hurdling toward a cardboard target. There was something that felt like home in the sound of the weapon, the big man figured he would probably always feel that way around such instruments. Few more than Corey understood that 'home' wasn't always good.

"You got the cardboard." Corey said, lowering the binoculars so he could shift his eyes over to the young lady who was holding the rifle against her shoulder. "But you just missed the target." He shifted his weight so he could better reach and arm over to tweak slightly at the scope mounted on the rifle. "You're a little high, are you aiming center mass or trying to go for a head shot?" He chuckled a bit at that even if the humor may escape anyone who hadn't undergone formal training. "Alright." He said with a nod to himself. After the small adjustment to the scope was made he returned to his prone position and brought the binoculars back up to his face. "Mind your breathing and give let's go with three shots, center mass." He hunkered in a bit, focusing his view on the target. "Move the selector switch from 'safe' to 'semi' and fire when ready."

[Stella Davenport]

Stella scrunched her nose at the sound of the rifle firing and then at the slightly darker sound of the bullet actaully hitting something. She hadn't actually thought she would hit something the first time, at least not close enough to the target. It was slightly thrilling if not for all the wrong reason...she just like the thrill of doing things she probably shouldn't be doing. She knew that Spencer was military and any one could probably guess that. She just didn't think about how much guns and stuff would effect him. What was good wholesome fun for her, could've been flashback inducing for him...she was at that stage in her life where she was too self-centered to spare a passing thought.

"Actually...I was just aiming at it in general..hoping to hit something" She admitted sheepishly a slight trace of a smile on her face. She didn't really get the humor or that there was any humor. She just took it as normal questions an instructor would ask. To be honest she was kind of glad that Spencer didn't say much besides the ocassional instruction. She nodded slightly, blinking before switching the safety off and firing the three shots. She wasn't sure if she minded her breathing towards the end. What started off as a steady breath turned to her putting the safety back on and groaning at her swimming vision. How could the same noises sound like different colors, each one louder than the last.

She was too disorenited from the rapid color change to look to see if she hit it at all. She turned towards the adult "Uh, sorry did I hit it?"

[Corey Spencer]

Thankfully the relatively small round of the AR-15 was nowhere near as loud as many of its much larger counterparts. Even then, Corey had handed out a pair of ear plugs to Stella before setting off on their little excursion and he, himself, was wearing a bulky set of electronic ear muffs while staring intently through his binoculars.

A slow, thoughtful nod followed the trio of shots that echoed through the trees. "You started off perfect." He said, lowering the binoculars and casting a short glance toward the young woman. His brow furrowed, though, as he caught the oddly disoriented look on her face. He shifted a bit, pushing up off the ground some and studied her for a moment with a worried expression. "Miss Davenport?" He said curiously. "Are you alright?" He leaned in just enough to steal a quick glance at the side of the weapon and confirm it was on safe. Seeing that it was, his attention immediately returned to the student under his watch.