Zanna watches him and could practically feel her temperament slipping away. She kept herself calm and simply crossed her arms. "Since you've proven yourself to be such an 'expert marksman,' why don't you try the plasma blaster?" She then gestured to arguably the fanciest looking gun on the wall (and also the biggest might she add).
Kal grins. "See? I'm not as stupid as I seem." He studies the blaster, noting its size, and can't help but feel a little nervous. "Oh, uh, yeah. I bet I could shoot that." He nervously saunters over to the gun, almost falling when he picks it up, practically dragging it back over. "Lets see… this one is to shoot, right?" He says, pointing to the wrong button.
Zanna couldn't help but snicker as she reached to take the gun back from him, "Nope. Guess you're not ready for this one hotshot." She moved with the blaster as if it were made for her to use and put it back on the wall. She instead grabbed a smaller gun, one a little more complicated than a pistol, but no where near the size or complexity of the blaster, "Why don't you try this one instead?"
Kal flinches when she takes it from him, a little bit embarrassed that he did, and quickly takes the other gun from her. He smirks, studying it. "I think I might be able to figure this out." He points at the plasma field again, shooting, but missing drastically, hitting the wall. The burly woman looks at him with murder in her eyes. Kal steps back. "Well, shoot." He says, laughing at his own joke
Zanna shakes her head and let's out a sigh. She did not want Kal's poor aim to get her into trouble, "Here." She placed herself behind him hating every moment they were in this close of proximity and grabbed his arms to correct both his aim and posture, "You need to hold it like this otherwise you'll fire all over the place. It looks easy to shoot, but the fire power it has requires a studier stance."
Kal surprisingly didn’t flinch when she grabbed his arms. Granted, it did hurt a bit, and he was fighting every urge to pull away, but he didn’t flinch. I’m fact, he kind of liked it? He blushed as she corrected his stance. Nodding as he listened to her words. “O-okay.” Still with her hands over his, he shot the gun again, hitting the field dead center. “I did it!!” He grinned excitedly, turning around to face Zanna.
Zanna spotted his slight blush when he turned to face her and she quickly let go and pulled away from him. She gave him a hesitant and forced smile as she fake cheered, "You did it. Now can you fire it correctly without me holding you?" No, no that was worded poorly. She couldn't take it back and she felt her own cheeks heat up ever so slightly at her poor wording and the situation she had just been in.
Kal looked down, scratching the back of his neck as the gun dangled in one hand. "The fuck did she just say?" He smirks, but doesn't say anything, already flustered enough. "Uh.. yeah. I think I can. Th-thanks." He mutters, then points the gun back at the field, taking a deep breath as he mimicked what Zanna had shown him. But, without her arms on his he still had lousy aim. The bullet still went into the field though, barely. "Aw, shit…" he muttered, then turned around and shrugged at Zanna with an innocent smile. "yayy" He mocked.
Zanna took the time he prepped getting shot to get her emotions back in check. She barely managed to catch sight of his lousy shot, if you could even call it a shot at that. She reached back over and corrected his stance once more without placing herself completely around him like last time. She stepped back once she was happy with Kal's stance and crossed her arms, "Try again. Oh, and try and let the moment of the gun flow through you rather than fight it. Makes keeping a steady aim a hella lot easier."
Kal sighed, nodding as he was corrected again. He didn't like it when she touched him. He didn't. he didn't? He did. No, he didn't. Did he? Kal shook off the thought as he took another breath, repeating her words. "flow through me…" he muttered, smiling at her last quip. he pulls the trigger, slowly, then keeps his stance as the gun fires, hitting the field with better aim. Granted, not good aim still, but better. His smile widens. "Okay, you better have seen that one." He grins.
"I did, and you can still improve, but it's better," Zanna fought the slight tug on her lips that wanted her to smile. She was just proud of Kal's improvement like she would be for anyone she helped out, that's all. After a moment of contemplation, and debating which gun he should probably try next she glanced back at him, "Can you fire that one more time? And this time don't be so hesitant to pull the trigger. When you get out on the field, the enemy won't hesitate to pull the trigger on you."
Kal grinned, glad he did something right for once. maybe this pilot thing will be alright. Kal sighs, steadying his stance and nods as she relays her instructions. “Don’t hesitate” he muttered again, pulling the trigger hard. It hit the field dead on. This time, he cheered like he was at a zieball game, then collected himself, clearing his throat. “Um, yeah. That helped a lot. Thanks.”
"I'm glad," Zanna couldn't help but snicker at his overdramatic reaction to hitting the field. She reached out and grabbed a slightly larger and more advanced weapon then the one he had just fired, "but, now can you do it with this one?"
Kal smiled warmly, which immediately dropped to horror at the sight of the next gun. He resumed his nonchalant expression, putting hands on his hips. “Uh, of course I can. I’m pretty much an expert now.” He takes the gun, resuming is outward confidence, and tries to keep from shaking when he aims it. He closes his eyes, and pictures Zanna’s words. Steady stance. Let it flow through you. Pull the trigger. He opens his eyes to another shot into the field again. “I’m doing it…” he says, mostly in disbelief.
Zanna lightly hit his arm, the one not near the trigger, as she laughed, "That you are. It's not so hard once you get the basics down. But I want you to fire this one three more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke." She was proud of Kal right now, a rare feeling for her towards him. So she was maybe going to be a bit kinder than normal.
Kal winced and stepped back a bit when she touched him, then laughed nervously. “Yeah, I’ve mastered it.” He rolls his eyes as he turns back toward the field. “And it wasn’t a fluke!” He says behind his shoulder, as he shoots a few more times. He couldn’t help but notice how differently she was acting towards him. A small smile crossed his face, before he focused on shooting again.
"Uh-huh, less talking more shooting," Zanna commented before she realized just how friendly she was being towards him. In an instant her demeanor returned back to what it had been that morning especially after seeing the wince from when she had lightly hit him. She wasn't here to make friends, she was here to do a job.
Kal finishes a round, turning back and swinging the gun around. “I’ve got it down! I’ll be blowin the enemy straight out of the water.” He laughs, expecting Zanna to smile, to keep up her kindness towards him, but he saw her face return to its cold demeanor. He sighed. “Well, what next.”
Zanna felt something pang in her chest and immediately brushed it away. She glanced at the wall of weapons finding herself unable to choose the next weapon, "Well, since you're getting the hang of this, why don't you pick the next weapon to try?"
Kal shrugged, surveying the wall for something new. Maybe she was just unimpressed. Maybe I need to show her I can actually be good at this stuff. He picks a formidable gun off the wall, not quite the largest or most complex, but definitely not his speed. He hoists it to his shoulder, then waltzes back over. She can't be disappointed now. He grins, shakily holding the weapon out as he aimed.
Zanna frowned as he picked one of the more advanced guns off of the wall. She winced ever so slightly at the way he handled the gun and before he got the chance to shoot she stepped in. Why he picked this specific gun, she had no idea, but she definitely wasn't going to let him shoot it if he was shaking just holding it to aim, "Are you sure this is the one you want to try? Cause you're sorta shaking right now."
Kal scowled, then looked at her with a slight, fake grin. “What, you doubt me now? I thought I was an expert.” He attempts to steady himself, the heavy metal weighing down his sore arms. “And I’m not shaking. I can shoot it.” He tries to sidestep Zanna, desperately needing to prove himself somehow.
Zanna stepped back in front of him and used her metal prosthetic to push down the weapon hoping that would dissuade him enough. She was frowning heavily wondering how this went wrong, "I'm not doubting you. I just know that if you shoot that gun you'll likely either hit the wall or hurt someone including yourself. So please, just put the gun down and try a different one."
Kal sighs. "Fine, fine." He looks at her, and can't help but feel something… odd. Does she… does she care about me? He lowers the gun, about to bring it back when a funny sound comes out it, and all the sudden his leg is on fire. He stares at the wound, blood spattered all over him as he starts to feel dizzy. "ow… fuckk…" Is the last thing he says before he passes out cold, hot blood rising from the hole through his jumpsuit, staining his left leg red.
(You really had to do it didn't you? XD)
Zanna's eyes went wide as she watched the gun fire and go straight through his leg. She felt adrenaline pump through her as she went to catch Kal before he hit the floor despite the fact she knew at least half of her limbs were metal. She called out, "WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!" before trying to stop the blood as best she could. In between curses, she was muttering, "I told him not to. But would he listen to me noo, and when he did this happened. Don't die on me Kal."
(Of course! XD)
The burly woman in charge stomped over, rolling her eyes. "Calm gown, girlie. Its just his leg. You little friend will live." She rips some cloth off her sleeve with her teeth, tying it slightly above where the wound was, then slaps Kal across the face. "WAKE UP, YOU LITTLE SHIT." Kal blinks his eyes open, then realizes what's going on. A large string of obscenities follows as he rubs the place he was slapped. The burly woman rolls her eyes again. "These kids aren't gonna make it past first wave."
"Sorry I have a little trauma when it comes to leg injuries," Zanna couldn't help the sass in her tone as she half gestured to her prosthetic leg. She did fine in most stressful situations, but a few things tended to send her into a panic. She looked at his leg and hen back to the lady, "And he does have a hold through his fucking leg. Doesn't matter if you stop the blood flow, it still needs to be taken care of as soon as possible."
The woman nods. "I understand. Been through a bit myself." She pulls up her cargo pants to reveal a metal leg similar to Zanna's. "He'll be fine. This is nothing compared to what i've seen. Help me take him to the med bay, will ya?" Kal is hysterical, trying to keep in sobs and swearing whenever he has a breath. "God dammit, Why the hell am I so stupid!!?" The woman rolls her eyes again, picking up Kal under one arm, gesturing to Zanna to get the other one. By now, most of the room is watching, some scared, some laughing, like this is the best entertainment they could possibly get.
"You'll be fine Kal," Zanna said as she grabbed his other arm and helped hoist him up. She glanced up to see others looking at them and barked out, "What the hell are you looking at? Do you guys want to end up like him? Cause if you keep staring I can guarantee it." She then, without prompting, began to move Kal out of the shooting range and over towards the med bay.
Kal smiled at Zanna as the rest of the people quickly tuned away, as if nothing had happened. "G-geez… you'd make a good commander.." He says almost drunkenly, half laughing and half crying at the same time. He limps down the hall as they carry him, pain exploding from his wounded leg with every step he took. The burly woman looks down the hall. "Just a few more meters, kid. You'll be alright."