prismatica | video; u/n lynx

[ Superspeed or invisible? Ash has only a fraction of a second to decide. While he would label this as something to be disclosed, it's not a bad ability to test advanced students. It'd be too much for beginners, but Ash is hoping they get people of all skills.

Either way, even if he's invisible, Faust isn't in front of him. People didn't go invisible and then retreat to attack. He's coming from the side or behind. Removing one possibility still leaves three, and there's only one way to handle all three.

While entirely human, his senses are as trained as the rest of his body, so much so that Ash was able to successfully shoot a man that was behind him while blind. Even with such honed hearing and perfected instincts, a human is a human. While his ears do pique for any sound, Ash is already taking action.

A roundhouse kick. Spinning his foot, one long leg shoots out, beginning the arch early so that it's high enough to do damage should Faust be at his side. It arches once his body has rotated a full 180 degrees at the height where Faust's head would be should he be directly behind Ash.

Instead of finishing the arc, he brings his foot down roughly for a stronger kick, his body now facing what was previously his back. ]

[Maybe it was playing a little dirty for him not to have mentioned his abilities up front, but in Faust's mind it seemed like the natural thing to do in any situation where he didn't know the other person involved. One never shows all their cards at the start of the game.

... Hm. Perhaps Mephisto's way of thinking rubbed off on him more than he realized. But back in Terra most of his skills were fairly well-known by enemies and allies alike so it's easy to forget that his name doesn't carry the same infamy here. Regardless he doesn't plan on using more of his Arts than this; while he doesn't intend to take the sparring lightly he's also not going to go all out and waste too much Chroma either.

Of course Faust doesn't expect Ash to just let himself be grappled but the arch and power of the kick is still impressive. The blonde's leg connects with his side to knock the wind out of the sniper who stumbles briefly before trying to push through the pain and keep up momentum. Trying to buy himself room he steps back just enough to barely dodge the foot coming down before using Ash's move from earlier to try and sweep his legs out from under him.

It's clear that landing a significant hit is going to be difficult when he's at a disadvantage with strength, so he's opted for just trying to defend and keep him down as much as possible.]

[ In a normal fight, it makes sense to keep your aces up your sleeve. As honorable as it would be to have a discussion before the first punch is ever thrown, that isn't the way life works. As Ash said before they started, there's nothing dirty about using your abilities. The only drawback is that the fight is meant the measure Faust's skill in hand-to-hand for the sake of teaching, but this is useful as well. It's not something those at the beginning stages can use, but it's a challenge they can offer seasoned fighters that Ash himself couldn't have produced on his own.

Besides, Faust also seems to be competent even without it. The kick has managed to take out men much bigger. It's impressive that his opponent is capable of staying on his feet.

If the kick didn't land and buy Ash enough time, it's likely the counterattack would have landed. Thankfully for the blond, he has enough time to jump back but instead of countering, he holds up a hand. ]

Wait.

[ This isn't about fighting for a victory. It's an assesstment. ]

That's enough for now.

[ Ash has seen Faust attack, dodge, and take a blow. It's a decent start. ]

What about holds? Can you break free of them?

[Faust halts when he's told and takes a step back, instinctively putting distance between them again. While he's just as capable of shooting accurately at close range it's just a habit- and preference- to have more space between himself and others.

He does tilt his head a little at the question though.] ... Probably. But usually people can never grab me in the first place so I don't know for sure.

[Between generally being stealthy, agile, and heavily armed with a whole squadron of other heavily armed people under his command there had rarely been opportunities for anyone to get him in a hold. But he realizes that things are different here and he's not above acknowledging that he doesn't know everything. Not only does he have to ration using his Arts but none of the other Phantom Crossbowmen are here either so he might have to adapt should the situation arise.]

[ So, even if he can, it's not something he's familiar with on the level required to teach. ]

Your fighting's not bad. You'd have to hold back on the powers when you're teaching, but you worked good enough with your hands and feet.

[ Ash is very careful never to overcompliment. Perhaps too careful. ]

We'll leave the escapes to me.

If you're still interested, we'll give you a practice student. See how you feel about teaching. If it goes well, it can be a full-time thing. In exchange, I'll teach you to shoot. If it turns out teaching's not your thing, you can pay me for the lessons instead.

That move back there? Did you disappear or just have enhanced speed?

[As someone who's generally received very little praise in his life- and gives very little himself- Faust is unfazed by the measured compliment. It's actually much easier for him to handle straightforward people like this; someone who direct who seems to make their own decisions and also be level-headed.]

There are plenty here who have supernatural abilities so people should be prepared to face anything, it's how I was trained. But I can hold back if someone isn't able to handle it, I've trained others a bit before.

["A bit" is really something if an understatement, but while Faust is confident in his what he can do he's not boastful. He pauses briefly then, clearly gauging how much to elaborate before finally adding:]

I can alter the refraction of light around people to conceal them. I also paid attention to your eye movements and moved when you blinked.

If somebody comes into an advanced class, it'll be useful, but most of our people are gonna be new at this.

[ Ash isn't denying the role it could play in training, but it needs to be right place, right time. It's also why he's not complaining that Faust used it against him. If you're going to truly become skilled, you can't be stuck saying 'not fair'. ]

You have experience already? [ Ash hadn't known. ] Should go pretty smooth, then.

Conceal them?

[ The line of Ash's shoulder relaxes. It's never fully off-guard, but he's going to relax a little more between fights. ]

You can use it on other people?

[A nod.] I figured saying that up front was useless without facing you first.

[Faust has always been more of an "actions speak louder than words" type of person, after all. And anyone could claim to have experience but it ultimately means little if they can't back it up or don't know how to apply what they know.]

Yes. But if I use it on other people they have to keep relatively still otherwise the illusion can be detected, so it's only useful if someone is in a situation where they can stay in one spot for a while or move quickly.

[Hence the name "Phantom Crossbowmen". It's one thing to have a single sniper who you can't spot but it's another matter entirely to be up against a whole squadron of them who can remain virtually invisible, giving the illusion of seemingly shooting from everywhere.]

Good to know. If we get raided, we have a built-in escape route.

[ He's not serious, but he things Faust is probably the kind to assume he is. Then again, he hasn't known the guy very long.

Reaching behind him, Ash lifts his shirt slightly to produce not one, but two guns; it's why he wears a belt. ]

It's a simple handgun. Common. Try the feel.

[ Keeping one for himself, the other is passed along. ]

[The sniper does indeed seem to take the idea seriously, nodding solemnly. He's never really lived anywhere without being in constant danger and having to fight tooth and nail for survival so it's hard to get out of that mindset, even here.

Faust looks at the gun before shifting his oversized jacket aside to produce his crossbow from where it was secured, placing it carefully on the ground. It's a single-shot crossbow with a mounted scope and a few other modifications, but for the most part it looks fairly unspectacular. Of course the weapon's power comes more from its owner than the bow itself.

With that set aside the takes the handgun from Ash, immediately noting the difference in weight compared to how compact it looks. He's seen Sankta use guns so he somewhat knows how one should be held generally speaking, but it's still very odd to feel for himself.]

The weight and balance are pretty different. [He tries to adjust his grip a little to get a better feel.]

Lesson 1: never point it at anything you're not planning to shoot.

[ Ash allows his arm to fall to his side, barrel facing the floor. ]

If you're holding a gun, you've got to always know where it's pointing. It becomes second nature eventually, but you got to get there first.

[ Says the guy who uses a barrell to wake people up. Do as he says, not as he does. ]

Finger off the trigger until we're ready to use it. Keep your fingers firm on the grip. People've died because of dropped guns.

[Oh, that makes sense. Faust is careful to follow suit, keeping the barrel trained downwards like Ash does and making sure to keep his finger away from the trigger. It's similar logic to what he's used to but he's still not going to act flippantly with a weapon he doesn't know as well.]

How many rounds does this hold?

[He knows that different types of gun can hold different amounts and varieties of ammunition but he's always just been accustomed to dealing with one bolt at a time.]

That one holds 18, 17 of them's in the magazine and one's in the chamber. Most guns will count the one in the chamber so if you hear 13, assume 12 in the magazine, one in the chamber. That's good to know if somebody grabs the gun and removes the magazine, assuming it's gonna disarm you. If they don't fire a shot, you usually still got one chance.

Glock 17. Handgun. It's what we call semi-automatic, which means it gets rid of the casing and loads the next one until the magazine's empty or it jams, but that's not as likely to happen as it used to be.

If you grab a gun and it has the word 'machine' or 'automatic' in it, that means it's a different kind. They're called automatic guns. A semi fires a single shot for every pull of the trigger, but an automatic fires more per pull. The third kind's manual, which means you got to do everything manually after every shot. You'll usually see it in shotguns. Bowguns would count, too.

For now, we'll stick to semi-auto. They're the kind you're most likely to find, anyway.

[Faust nods once in a while, listening to Ash and clearly taking everything in as solemnly as he seems to do with everything. There's something almost familiar and reassuring about learning about weapons again, in not being expected to navigate the more social and "normal" side of this place. W would probably scold him if she finds out, though.

He only speaks up again once the blonde has finished his explanation, punctuating it with another nod.]

I'm used to manual. [Of course reloading a gun would be different but he's used to the concept and timing in the heat of battle.]

What's the range? Usually it isn't a problem with my crossbow but I don't know if I can enhance weapons here the same since the materials are different so if I'm going to have to get closer than normal I want to know.

Open air, the official range is about 50 meters. It's still going to travel further than that, and do more damage the closer you are, but like an arrow, it's going to be less effective outside of that range.

Other stuff can slow it down, but it takes a lot. As a general rule, semis are the everyday use. It's faster than a manual but most manuals have a lot more power. They're still strong enough that unless something is far enough away or made from really strong stuff, it's going to puncture. But like distance, if it has to travel through something, it's going to lose power. An open shot's the best bet, but something's not safe just because it's behind a wall.

[ To Ash, this is every day life. He's willing to bet that's not unique to him. ]

I see, that make sense.

[He wonders if his Arts would allow him to effect a bullet's range even without any Originium in the weapon. Part of what had made him a force to be reckoned with back home was being able to hit anything regardless of the usual restrictions of the weapon or surroundings. But... Should he even be worrying about that here? It's not like he exactly wants to pick back up his mantle as a sniper but he also just wants to be prepared.]

Is there anything else I should know?

Right now? No. When we start the lessons, we'll go someplace else, a place with more room and fewer people since treating gunshot wounds is an entirely different class.

How long you been shooting the bow?

[Faust isn't necessarily surprised about getting some questions, but he is a little surprised that it took this long. Oh well.]

A couple years. I trained with all sorts of people but I guess you could say that the bow was what ended up suiting me.

By all sorts, you mean all kinds of weapons.

[ Guns wasn't among them, it seems. ]

Were swords one of them?

[Oddly specific, but he doesn't comment.]

There were some of the others who used swords but mostly I just sparred against them.

[ The question has a purpose. Ash gets his answer, and then he decides to drop it. It's not the reply that can further said purpose. ]

Give me an idea of what days you're free for the gun training. I'll set up a range. Of cans. Beginner's practice doesn't have to be fancy.

[Another nod. Debris or whatever things could be "borrowed" and shot at were the sorts of practice targets available back home so he has no complaints about the lack of flair. He prefers it that way, really.]

Any day. There isn't much for me to do here.

[His existence here is solitary and while he didn't really take joy in the work he did before he does miss the learning. And maybe if he can eventually get to a point where he can help someone- anyone- here... Well. That would be more good than he did in Reunion.]

[ It's understandable. They all went from their worlds with their lives and everything that they had built or created to a new world where almost everyone was a stranger. Ash knows all of their time is limited which doesn't encourage them to create new lives here. ]

Give me a couple of days. I'll set something up, and then we'll get started. I plan on opening this place up in about a month. I'll need you to be ready to teach by then.

[While Faust doesn't doubt that their time here is limited in some way he also knows that he quite literally has nothing to return to in Terra. This is it for him.

Where before his expression was stoic and unreadable it now takes on a stern certainty that's well beyond the years of the age he seems to be.]

All right. But when we start don't worry about holding back, I can handle it. I'll be ready.

[ A grin spreads across his face. ]

How do you think people usually hold back in gun practice? Even if I don't, you're not gonna be the target.

video; u/n lynx

we can keep going <3

okay! <3

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