Who:  Selphie Tilmitt, Selphie Tilmitt
Where:  Garden Training Center
Why: Irvine is actually teaching Selphie what exactly he does.
Date of Log:  9/6/00




Yaaay. Learning how to snii~iipe. o/~ And here's Selphie Tilmitt, beating the snot out of a grat, for no apparent reason. With her nunchakus, of course. Perhaps she's just working off energy, which isn't something that she's -done- lately. Really, in the long run, this is a -good- thing. THWUP. Dodge. THWAP. Dodge. KHUNK. And the monster falls, leaving Selphie to do her little victory pose. No music plays, however, as she hop, hop, hop!s, and wags that little rear of hers. "--Whoo!" She's feelin' good today! Now, if only Irvine would get here... (Despite the fact she's here -early.-)

Having arrived somewhere from behind Selphie, Irvine has to stop and admire the little wonder in yellow as she thoroughly thwack the hell out of the poor grat. It didn't stand a chance, really. Of course, the victory dance is the main reason he was waiting without disturbing her. That little wriggle is far too inticing. Ahem, anyway. He's got the Valiant, as usual, and also a small cloth case with him that contains a low powered sniper rifle, something without a lot of recoil. He actually had to get it from the stock room, seeing as most of his guns are already modified for his use.
Finally making his presence known, he starts clapping, whistling to cheer Selphie on.

"--!" Turning around to the sudden applause, Selphie does look slightly surprised. Since when do monsters whistle and clap? --Oh! Irvy! Hee. Beaming, the SeeD 'curtsies' as far as that dress will allow her too. "Thank you, thank you," she melodramatics, then hops up and waves her nunchaku in the air, holding both sticks in one hand. "--Shyeah! The ever-talented and totally awesome super-hero-SeeD, Selphie Tilmitt, wins -again-!" She could be in a comic. But being that she's not, Selphie then goes trotting up to the cowboy, eagerly. Hop, bounce, hop. "So? So? You're not backing out, right? Let's -do- this!"

Irvine didn't think one -could- curtsey in that little dress. However, since she attempts, he just gets this odd little smile on his face, watching her. Probably seeing something she's not aware that she's revealing as she bounces up and down. Ahem. He finally manages to push these thoughts away as she trots up to him, still bouncing and hopping. Holding out the cloth bound sniper rifle, he grins, "Of course not."

Clapping her hands together at his assurance, her eyes then fall to the mini-rifle-type-thing. "--Oo~, is this -mine-?" Well, you know, hers as in 'for training.' Taking it with all the caution of someone carrying a full glass of sulfuric acid, Selphie blinks rapidly down at the package. She sobered -real- quick. "Do I hafta put it together?", she asks, curiously. (And of -course- she's not aware of any Panty Shots (tm) given. That's the beauty of it all.)

Irvine shakes his head, "No, Darlin', I assembled it already for you. I'll show you that soon enough." Though he adores the ground Selphie walks on, guns are dangerous, and he'd be afraid she'd do something incorrectly which could trigger a backfire or something equally nasty. "Open it up, get a feel for it. It's not loaded yet." He made doubly sure of that.

"...Maa~aan," is Selphie's delayed reply. She always loved watching people put guns together and take them apart, most likely for the same reason she likes watching people put together musical instruments -- like a flute, or a clarinet. But she complies easily enough, doing as she's told, removing the rifle from it's precious 'casing.' She -did- have to use firearms at one point in her training to be a SeeD, but it wasn't stresse, since she wasn't specializing in it. Looking the thing up and down, she realizes that it's not at all exactly like the ones in the arcade that she likes to play on. Hrm. "A -feel- for it?" Even as she asks, the girl squints one eye, looking at the barrel. Eesh.

Irvine can't help but chuckle as he watches Selphie check out the gun itself. He had to learn blunt weaponry too, though he royally sucked at it, and then someone handed him a gun. They never bothered him with anything else after that. Glancing around the training center, he gestures for Selphie to follow him. "How much you know about sniping, Darlin'?" He might as well ask, there are classes and training provided on it, just very few choose that avenue.

"...Uhmmm~," is the only response given to that question. Given the tone, it most likely means, "I know -you- snipe!" Trotting after the cowboy obdiently, nontheless, Selphie tears her gaze away from the rifle long enough to glance around for one reason or another. -This- SeeD stuck to general studies, not having known what she was really skilled at when she -was- training.

That means, not much if any. Irvine grins, glancing around in the trees for a good perch somewhere. He doesn't -have- to do this sort of thing from a lofty point, he just prefers to. Besides, there are fewer things willing to climb through the trees and foliage then just remain on the ground or in the open air. "Well, Darlin'. I've never tried to teach anyone before, so I guess this'll be a first for us both." Finding a tree that looks relatively simple to climb. (Selphie's in that little dress after all.) He pulls himself onto the lowest branch, gesturing for Sefie to follow him this way too. "Well, Snipers have a number of responsibilities." And now he starts in with the lecture aspect of this. "The importance of the sniper cannot be measured simply by the number of casualties he inflicts upon the enemy. Realization of the sniper's presence instills fear in enemy troop elements and influences their decisions and actions. A sniper enhances a unit's firepower and augments the varied means for destruction and harassment of the enemy." Most of this he'd had drilled into his head while at Galbadia. So it's almost as if he's repeating it verbatim.

Selphie blinks at the tree. She gets to climb a -tree-? Whoo! Happily waiting for Irvine to go first, she then does a rather good job of scaling it -- despite the fact she's in a short little dress and all. Listening intently to the -boring- lecture, she gets distracted quite a few times by the Climbing Experience. How often does she get to climb trees anymore? "--...So... It's kinda like casting Death on them. They get all paranoid cause they think they only have so much time?" ...Kinda.

"Er, something like that, it's more scary cause they can't see me, Darlin', and they don't know where I am. That's why a sniper's important, causes morale loss on the other side," Irvine replies simply enough. Leading Selphie up to another branch, and then two more above that, they finally seem to have a decent perch, at least in his eyes. Of course, when he starting sniper training, he never thought they'd make him an -assassin- too. "There's several parts to getting set up too. First, finding a comfortable position." He grins then, winking, "This good enough you think?"

Well, that makes sense. Sense -enough-, anyway. Obediently following the Cadet, Selphie doesn't seem to have any trouble thus far. Of course, when Irvine finds a good 'perch,' the girl rather has to sit 'side-saddle.' Well, she doesn't -have- to, but. Well. Until she gets frustrated. The grin and wink is lost in her shifting and such, and she glances back up at Irvine after a few seconds of silence. "--Uhm, yes?" See, she's not questioning! She's being a good girl.

Irvine hmms, pausing a long moment to watch Selphie get herself comfortable. "Next time, wear jeans." It's not an admonishment, she's just distracting him as much as she's distracting herself. Offhandedly, he comments, "Don't know why you're bothering to be so modest, Darlin', I've seen it." Then, back to the 'sniper training'. "Well, first thing's completed, the second part is the locating and idenfication of the target." Which means searching around for some unsuspecting critter down below.

"...Yes-sir-," Selphie says, sounding less than thrilled. But really, she's not. Of course, the next comment does cause her to blush faintly, fidgeting in her spot. Having no good response to that, she opts to just stick her tongue out at him, and she's -definately- sitting this way the entire time, -now-. Hrmph! Hee. "Find somethin' to shoot. Hoookay!" She's used to -Squall- and -Vincent- using big ol' words for something that could easily be said with something much less, but Irvine doing it is kinda weird. Either way, she's used to it. Squinting, she lets her gaze sweeop over the training grounds, before stopping on yet another Grat that seems to be taking an afternoon walk. "--Howbout that one?"

Hrmph indeed, Irvine'll have to see about that one -later-, if she decides to continue being a prude, and he did catch that tongue being stuck out at him. "Darlin', don't stick that out at me unless you mean to use it." That's the problem with training your girlfriend on something like this, little moments present themselves that just can't be ignored. He grins as she spots the grat, however, his mind back on business yet again. Yes, he's kinda using the 'big words' but these are what was used in his training, and it makes sense to him, since this is his area of expertise. "Perfect. See, you do have the eye for this." Aw, even a bit of encouraging praise. "Next is estimating the range to the target." Glancing back at Selphie, he clarifies that, "In other words, take aim. Don't fire yet though, you're just figuring out how far away it is."

"--Uh! -Perv-," Selphie retorts, sounding pretty annoyed -- though we all know she's really -not-. Crossing her feet at the ankles, she peers down at her rifle, even as Irvine praises. "...Hey, yeah?" Smiling then, she idly wonders how long it took for Irvine to learn. Prolly no time at -all-, she realizes, even as she looks back to the monster. "...Aim. Okay." Looking warily back to the gun, the SeeD sideglances Irvine as she raises it up as she's seen him do, before. In a sort of 'Is this right?', fashion.

Ignoring the perv comment, Irvine nods as she asks if she's doing it right. He scoots over slightly, then somehow manages to slip around her so now she's mostly in front of him. Climbing around in trees lots does make one eventually dexterous enough to pull that sort of stunt. The branch is rather thick too, it helps. Sitting beside her, he leans in to show her the proper way to hold the gun, where to press the butt of the rifle, the stock, how to rest the non-firing hand. Of course this means he has to touch her a lot, but since when should that ever bother him? "See, the butt of the stock should go about right here, at the pocket of the shoulder. Non-firing hand should be used as a support for the gun, just a little more up the barrell..." he eases her hand forward. "There. Firing hand should be gripping the small of the stock, but don't put anything on the trigger just yet." Reasonably pleased with how she's holding the weapon now, he adds, "Ok, now we haveta find your natural point of aim."

Selphie kinda looks back and behind her as Irvine moves, not at all uncomfortable with this setup. Duh! Extremely sober, even for -Selphie-, the girl lets herself get moved in the Optimum Sniping Position. Craning her neck a little, she examines where exactly her hands have been placed, just to make sure she'll remember next time. Hrm. "Kaay. ...Wait, what?" Natural Point of Aim? What the heck is that? "What're we doing?"

"Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, don't move anything, but let yourself relax," Irvine advises. He sits back now, letting her do this on her own. Best way to learn it. He picked it up almost immediately, but this is his talent. Others have to struggle a bit before picking it up. "Try to picture the rifle as now being a part of you, it's an extension of you. Ok... now open your eyes... find the grat in the crosses of the scope."

Nodding obediently, if not... dubiously... Selphie glances back to Irvine fleetingly before doing as instructed. Hm. Shutting her eyes, she does take a couple of deep breaths, just really wanting to get to the shooting part. --...The rifle as a -part- of her? ...Oka~ay... Somehow, she has a vision of Mr. Barret. Eyes now open, she finds that the mean ol' Grat -moved-. Glancing around quickly, she finds it again, just a little ways off. Hrmph. How -dare- it move when she's gonna snipe it's butt! Squinting one eye as the other does, indeed, try to stay focused on that monster. "...Okaa~aaay," says the girl. This part's easy! But wait, look! Her hand placement has moved a little. Tch tch tch.

Having noticed this, Irvine chuckles, reaching around Selphie to readjust her hand placements again, resisting the urge to touch her anywhere else. "Ok, there you go. Still see that grat in your scope?" Assuming the answer is yes, he says quietly, leaning in a bit so he's pretty much whispering in her ear. Hopefully that won't distract her too badly. "Ok, now, snipers have to control their breathing, because the rise and fall of your chest can knock your aim off. When you're ready, slip your finger on the trigger, breath in, then exhale, hold it and fire, then resume breathing." Of course, the gun isn't loaded presently, this is a practice run before he tries her with actual live ammo.

"--Oh," Selphie says quietly, as Irvine again adjusts her hands. How annoying! Do they have to be -perfect-? Hopefully she'll get the hang of it. She does nod though, minutely, at his question; whispering in her ear doesn't really -distract- her, but it catches her off guard, kinda. "...Gotcha," is her similarly whispered response, even if -she- doesn't need to whisper. Focusing again on that Grat, as if she did actually have ammo in the Rifle, Selphie doesn't waste any time in beginning the process. Finger on the trigger, an inhale, an exhale, a pause... Then she pulls the trigger, fat lot of good it does, and inhales again. "...Bang!", says Selphie. "I killed it!"

Chuckling, Irvine nods, reaching for the gun to take it out of her hands. "Bang bang, it's dead. Got the gist of it now?" Regardless of her answer, he starts to actually load the gun this time, fingers dexterously handling the firearm like someone who's used it for years. Which, he has. "That's the basics. There's a lot more then that, really, but this is where you start. Once you have perfected it, I'll start showing you a few others tricks of the trade." He's actually kinda serious about teaching her this. If she really wanted to know how to do it, she wouldn't want him teaching her in a half-assed way. In other words, he's -not- humoring her.

Beaming happily at her 'kill,' the SeeD girl lets the rifle get taken, turning her head slightly to watch the cowboy load it. "Uh huh. What's so hard about it, anyway? The actual shooting part?" Smiling, Selphie cocks her head to the side. "Or the stress?" Talktalktalktalk. "You think Squallie will want me to be a sniper too? That'd be cool! I'm always stuck in the Ragnarok, or sneaking around in disguise." Not that she -minds-, of course. Backtracking, she asks, "How long did it take for -you- to perfect it? I hope I don't take too long!"

Chatchatchatchat, Irvine mostly listens to her rattle on without actually responding to her. After all, she doesn't give him much of a chance before the next question is fired off at him. "Depends, Darlin'. I've been using guns since I was ten." Seven years then. Nearly eight. And then, if Selphie remembers at all from their childhood, he was always the one with that damn slingshot, which got him into trouble with Seifer and Zell on more then one occasion. "And it seems easy, but wait till you actually have live ammo." He doesn't answer her on how long it took him, not wanting to discourage her. He got it his first day, totally blowing away his instructors and garnering Martine's attention. But, Irvine is to firearms what Mozart is to music, a prodigy, one in a million. "Squall's gonna do what Squall's gonna do. You're far better at demolitions then I am."

"Wo~ow. Ten! That's a -long- time." Of course, really, if you count all the video games Selphie played, she's been practicing for piloting and using the Ragnarok's weapons systems for about the same amount of time. But that's not -really- training, so it doesn't -count- -- right? "I bet some of those guns were bigger than -you-, huh!" A fleeting laugh at the image of chibi-Irvine trying to fire some -huge- gun, then she sobers again, thoughtful. "...Does it jolt you?" The firing part, she means. "It doesn't hurt, right?" Heck if she knows. And, well, yes -- if she knew how quick Irvine was at it, she -would- be discouraged. Yet it would also inspire her -- to try and be -as- good, though of course, she couldn't. So, it's a viscious circle! Rar! "Well, yeah! I guess we all have a calling, huh. I still think it'd be cool to snipe with you, Irvy!"

Aw, that's just so cute. Irvine can't help but look up from his ammo loading to smile at Selphie. "It'd be nice to have you near me, I could use an Observer." Is he -really- entertaining that thought? Actually, yes he is. He likes having Selphie around him. "It does have a recoil, but I got you a light gun, that's why you leave it in the pocket of your shoulder, helps steady the gun, and you." In other words, this isn't one of -his- guns. Those are a lot rougher on the shoulder. As an afterthought, he adds, "You know, Darlin', I think you're a terrific pilot. Don't underestimate your own abilities, ok?" He gets worried about that sometimes, that she doesn't give herself enough credit.

(To be Continued, probably.)