Chapter Text
“You want to teach me to shoot?” Lilith’s voice was doubtful and slightly incredulous, an eyebrow raised and a small sneer curling her lip. Lilith knew how to shoot. She didn’t need some new upstart to show her (really, Lilith didn’t understand what Shannon had ever seen in Mary). Suddenly becoming aware that she and Mary had an audience as her voice had carried in the expansive training room, Lilith crossed her arms and tilted her chin up slightly, an arrogant little glint lighting in her eyes. “Very well. Teach me how to shoot .”
“Don’t be like that, Sister . Everyone has room for improvement, even you.” Mary retorted, her competitive streak immediately triggered by Lilith’s mocking tone. She’d spent time watching her, had seen where Lilith could improve on her stance and aim. It’d be retribution of the greatest kind to correct and humiliate the slightly taller girl. Just because she was well bred or however pretentious rich families called it didn’t mean that she was better than everyone else here. Mary couldn’t wait to prove it to her.
“Well then, you two,” Shannon’s voice suddenly called out from where she was leaning against a pillar, a mischievous smirk curling her lips, “It sounds like you two need to go outside and practice some shooting . Mind if the rest of us watch? It could be an excellent learning opportunity.” Shannon was up to something, Mary just knew it. A glance over at Lilith showed that her eyes were narrowed suspiciously at their friend, brows furrowed and eyes wary. Good. It wasn’t just her. Still, they’d both backed themselves into this corner and now they had to deal with it.
Making their way to the training courtyard in silence, Lilith was very aware of Mary’s presence next to her as they walked. The many footsteps of the group of Sisters trailing behind them echoed softly in the halls, quiet conversations filling the air with the low hum of voices. Lilith could distinctly hear Beatrice and Shannon chatting softly behind them but their voices were low enough to remain unheard. How annoying. The mischief on Shannon’s face stuck with Lilith and despite herself a low curl of anxiety bloomed in her chest, a feeling that had the scowl on her face deepening and her expression turning downright hostile. Still, years of training wouldn’t fail her, Lilith had faith in that much. Their stop by the armory to retrieve a Glock and an M4 didn’t take long (convincing Mother Superion to allow them to, on the other hand..) and before they knew it they were outside, the sun’s oppressive rays beating down upon them.
Mary and Lilith made their way to the shooting range while the other Sisters stayed in the designated spectator area. Several rows of targets lined the shooting alley (7 yards, 10 yards, and 15 yards for the pistol targets and 30 yards, 45 yards and 60 yards for the rifle targets).
Lilith laid the Glock and M4 on the nearby table after double checking that both had their safeties on and neither had a round in the chamber. “Which one first?” Lilith questioned, hands clasped behind her back and feet shoulder length apart. Her focus was solidly on Mary, eyes intense as she practically stared the other girl down. Lilith was confident with both firearms, having used the both of them many times. She was ready for anything Mary threw at her.
“Glock, we’ll start nice and easy.” Mary shot back, hackles raising at the infuriating little smirk that made Mary want to wrap her hands around Lilith’s neck and strangle her. She couldn’t wait to wipe it off of her face. “Get ready to shoot and then stop, I want to see your stance.” Mary commanded.
Lilith lifted the gun, the textured grip settling into her hand as her fingers curled around it flicking off the safety, her pointer finger carefully off the trigger and settled on the frame and out of the trigger guard. She’d been taught trigger discipline from the first time she’d held a gun and even now her mother’s voice echoed in her head, “ Don’t ever put your finger on the trigger of a gun unless you plan on pulling it.” and “ Never point your gun at someone unless you plan on shooting them, Lilith. These aren’t toys. They’re weapons. Always treat a gun as if it is loaded.”
Slipping into the firing stance with ease Lilith spread her weight evenly across both feet, knees bent slightly for shock absorption, right foot slightly further back than the left and arms held straight out and locked, body leaned slightly forward so the pistols’ iron sights were easily found and held by her eye.
“Pretty good..” Mary murmured, circling the woman like a shark. She found no real faults, Lilith was trained and was trained well evidently. “Fire. 3 rounds. One in each target.” Mary instructed, voice level and eye remaining focused on Lilith’s stance.
POP. POP. POP.
Lilith’s stance had remained steady even as she shifted to aim to the next target. Mary finally took her eyes from Lilith’s frame and looked over at the targets.
Center mass, all of them. The first was dead center while the other two were slightly more scattered around the target but every one would have hit center mass on a body and had the potential to be fatal. Mary was reluctantly impressed and intrigued despite herself. Lilith wasn’t that old, only 24. She was shooting like a pro. What the fuck kind of militant childhood had she had?
Brushing the thought aside, Mary glanced back to find Lilith looking at her, a brow raised and her smirk widening when Mary had no criticisms. “That was good.” At that, Lilith’s expression flickered slightly and became slightly unsettled before she blinked and recovered, slowly dropping her stance, flicking the safety of the Glock back on as she did so. Her face was carefully blank again as she replaced the gun on the table.
“Shall we move onto the M4 next?” Lilith questioned, voice level. Her eyes wandered Mary’s face before snapping back up and locking eyes with the older girl. The praise, small as it was, had unsettled Lilith more than she cared to admit. She had never gotten much and receiving it threw her off of her game.
“Go ahead.” Mary waved a hand towards the rifle before resting it on the grip of one of her shotguns. Thoughts swarmed her mind as she watched Lilith lift the assault rifle with ease and idly she couldn’t help but admire the silhouette Lilith cut as she took up the shooting stance, hand a once more and her eyes cut over towards Mary to wait for her ‘go.’ “Again, 3 shots, one in each target.” These targets were much further away but the sight atop the M4 would mitigate the extra distance.
POP. POP. POP.
Lilith lowered the rifle, carefully pointing it away and immediately turned the safety back on as she did so and looking back towards Mary, eyes challenging and alight with the victory she could practically taste . She didn’t need shooting lessons, obviously .
Center mass, again. All three. Lilith’s aim was impeccable, bullet placement dead center for the first two and perhaps an inch off for the final. Now Mary was truly impressed and more curious than before. Narrowing her eyes, Mary waved a hand at the table that held the two guns. “Go ahead, put it back. I got one last challenge for you.” Already Mary was unbuckling the shoulder holster for one of her shotguns, pulling it out and holding it loosely in her hand as she waited for Lilith to turn back around. Their audience was forgotten at this point.
“Here, try with this.” Mary’s lips curled in a smirk as she held out the grip of the shotgun, relishing the shocked expression on Lilith’s face as she hesitantly took the offered weapon. It was no secret that her shotguns were off limits. (Lilith was very confused as to why she was being handed one of them). Normally Mary would threaten to shoot anyone who laid a hand on her shotguns but she had to admit Lilith looked good with one. Getting the chance to see Lilith thrown off was well worth it as well.
Now, Lilith was slightly worried. She’d shot a shotgun before, many times. But she wasn’t extensively trained in them, her skill level nowhere near that of Shotgun Mary’s . Internally crossing herself, Lilith resignedly sighed and hefted the shotgun up. “What am I shooting at?” The downside of shotguns was that they were really only useful in close quarters, the spread of the pellets rendering them useless once out of range.
“Get into your stance.” Mary ordered, crossing her arms and fighting to stop her smirk from spreading. “Don’t worry about shooting anything yet.” Mary stepped close, closer than they’d ever been before. Lilith’s breath immediately caught and her body tensed. Her focus was shot . Lilith had never been good at handling invasions of personal space and this time was no different.
The touch of Mary’s hands on her shoulders had Lilith jumping and chills running down her spine, “What are you-” she began, “Hush.” Mary interrupted. Shockingly, Lilith’s mouth snapped shut and she swallowed back any other words that wanted to escape.
“You have to relax your arms. Not too much or you’ll lose the grip when the recoil hits you, but enough.” Mary’s hands shifted down from Lilith’s shoulders to her biceps, forcing the muscles she found there (and she was pleasantly surprised) to loosen. Lilith’s brain was checked out, rampant thoughts that consisted of an uncharacteristic panic. Why was Mary so close? The feather light press of Mary’s front against her back had Lilith’s jaw clenching and her eyes fluttered shut for a split second before snapping back open. This had to be a special type of Hell.
Mary was probably enjoying this more than she should, using a foot to shift Lilith’s right foot further back. “You’re going to want this foot further back to brace.” She spoke, voice softer than before. They were so close Lilith could feel the puffs of breath brush over her cheek. She’d never been more thankful for the wimple she wore than she was now. At least she didn’t have to feel Mary’s breath on her neck. Already, Lilith’s stomach had twisted itself into knots and her body felt heated, pulse pounding and thundering under her skin. Lilith dreaded to find out if her cheeks were stained with a blush. (Later, Lilith would realize that that’s what Shannon saw in Mary and promptly felt the need to go confess her body’s moment of weakness. She didn’t.)
Reluctantly Mary pulled away and tried to ignore the pleasant thrumming that had taken root low in her gut. It was pointless and there was no use dwelling on it. Lilith had taken the vows. Besides, she didn’t even like the woman, even if she was painfully attractive with her intense eyes, cheekbones that looked as though they’d been cut from marble, and defined eyebrows. She was far too stuck up for Mary to even actually like her. (Even if she did look breathtaking with blown pupils and flushed cheeks.)
Mary took a few steps back and gestured to the nearest target, desperately trying not to stare at the bead of sweat that slipped down the side of Lilith’s face. “Go ahead and take a shot at that. Don’t let the shotgun slip out of your hands when it recoils.”
BAM.
The pellets hit, but were scattered off to the right. No doubt, anyone shot from that range would get a gut full of lead but compared to her aim with the other guns, it was enough of a win for Mary. “Look at that..looks like you still got some learning to do.” She couldn’t help but tease, chuckling a bit as she retrieved the shotgun from Lilith’s grip, deliberately letting their hands brush and her fingers slide over Lilith’s before sliding forward down the barrel of the shotgun and flicking the safety on. “Safety first.” Mary murmured into Lilith’s covered ear (the shiver it produced was delightful ) as she slipped the gun from the younger girl's grip and placed it back in its holster at her side.
“Come to me anytime you want to try again.” Mary couldn’t resist one last little dig, delighting in the furrowed brows and the disbelief on Lilith’s face as she stared at the imperfect shot. Lilith hadn’t not hit the center of a target from that range in years .
Chuckling to herself, Mary retreated back into the walls of Cat’s Cradle. She had no doubt that Lilith would make her pay for the minor humiliation but honestly? Mary couldn’t wait.
Shannon was beside herself with glee, a small smile threatening to break into a shit eating grin as she watched Mary press in close to Lilith. The two would get along like a house on fire, if only they dropped their stubborn pride. “Ohh...Lilith won’t like that.” Shannon muttered to Beatrice, the smaller girl looking concerned as she watched the spectacle in front of them.
“Shannon, if Lilith ends up shooting Mary…” Beatrice’s warning only had Shannon laughing, muffling the sound behind her hand.
“Oh don’t worry Beatrice. Lilith won’t shoot Mary. She will get her back though.”
“And why do you look so happy about that?”
“Lets just say that they’d be better for each other than they realize.”