"Alvin, you fucking rat!" Robyn screamed as the tanned bright-haired woman drew her pistol and placed the barrel against a light blue-haired Miqo'te's forehead.
"Ah Mrs. Mercer, you're looking quite well." The Miqo'te replied with a grin, completely unfazed by the situation.
"Don't give me that crap with your cocky grin, what the hell were you doing attacking Alex?!" She yelled, nudging her pistol against his head again.
"Relax we were just doing a little bit of training. besides if I recall correctly, he was the one who attacked me." Alvin explained.
"Enough of this, Robyn put away your weapon." Came a third voice as two figures approached. Robyn turned her head towards the voice and recognized the pair instantly. One was Gaius Nassau, A tall, brown-haired Au Ra with large glasses, the other was a young Blonde, serious looking Elezen man, Malik White. She nodded to the Au Ra before reluctantly complying with his orders and taking a step back.
"Ah Mr. Nassau, no need to worry. We were just having a friendly chat while awaiting our last training partner to arrive." Alvin lied casually.
"Training partner?" Robyn asked.
"Yes, as Malik's mentoring has been successful for you so far, I have decided it's time you continued your training, and today Mr. Ballard will be your instructor." Gaius explained, ignoring the disgusted look on the woman's face.
"You can't be serious!" Robyn replied.
"What the boss says goes, let's move." Malik urged.
"Right you are Mr. White. And don't worry Mrs. Mercer, since this is your first time training with me I've made preparations to make sure it's a fun time!" Alvin said cheerfully to the reluctant Miqo'te before the trio made their way out of the company building. The group made their way deep into the forests surrounding their home and soon came to a halt as they heard a voice.
"Hello." A male greeted nonchalantly. Looking over to the side, the group noticed a blonde Miqo'te hanging casually from the trunk of a tree that his entire torso was tied to.
"Laris? ...What are you doing up there?" Robyn asked, but before he could answer Alvin cut him off.
"Mr. Aranai in another of your training partners for this afternoon, but for now he has volunteered to aid you in the first part of your training." Alvin explained as he walked up to the bound man. The instructor reached into a bag that was hanging around his shoulder and pulled out an apple and gently placed it on the poor Miqo'te's head.
"Uhhh I don't think we discussed anything about this buddy." Laris said with slight concern.
"Don't worry friend, you'll be fine!" Alvin reassured him before turning back to the group. "Now, I want the two of you to practice your aiming. Starting with you Mr. White, please, demonstrate your ability to shoot the apple upon Mr. Aranai's head without killing him." He instructed.
"What?!" Laris shrieked. but before he could protest further, Malik reached for his bow, drew an arrow and released it in one swift motion, striking the center of the fruit instantly. Laris went almost cross-eyed as he looked up to see the end of the arrow shaft in his view before letting out a relieved sigh.
"Excellent Mr. White, just what I'd expect from you. Now, your turn Mrs. Mercer." Alvin instructed as he placed another piece of fruit on top of the Miqo'te. "When you're ready, aim your pistol and shoot the apple above the target's head."
"Hold on! No way! Robyn's a terrible shot I'm not gonna let her point that thing at me!" Laris screamed in panic as he wriggled about.
"Hey, watch it!" The Miqo'te retorted. "But it's true, my aim isn't one hundred percent yet, what if I miss and hurt him?" She asked.
"You'll do fine! You've spent the past couple weeks training with Mr. White here so you have nothing to worry about. It's time to put your skills to the test and as your instructor, I'm the only one with a say in this so go ahead and shoot!" Alvin grinned as the Miqo'te turned back towards the tree and raised her weapon.
"Ack! Nononononononononono!" Laris screeched and he wriggled and squirmed frantically but to no avail as the rope still bound him firmly.
"If you move around like that there's only a greater chance that she'll shoot you in the head!" Alvin chuckled. Robyn tried to relax and took a deep breath before steadying her hand and aiming down the barrel of her pistol at the fruit a distance in front of her.
"Mummy..." Laris cried to himself in a high pitched voice as he cringed before Robyn closed her eyes out of panic and squeezed the trigger. A loud bang echoed through the air as she fired followed by a long pause of silence.
"I'm alive!" Laris shouted in joy, breaking the silence. Although everyone else's attention was drawn to a small object that had fallen to the ground from far above. At the foot of the tree trunk sat a piece of fruit with a large hole through the middle.
"You told me the shoot the apple above his head, you didn't say which one." Robyn smirked at the Miqo'te who just grinned.
"Very well, I can't argue with that logic. Well done. Now untie Mr. Aranai, it's time to begin the next step for today." He ordered. The two ranged combatants helped the poor Miqo'te down from the tree before being led further into the forest where a figure awaited ahead. It was a young Elezen man who was leaning casually against a tree. He stood upright as he noticed the group approaching him and ran a hand through his perfect brown hair as he greeted the new arrivals.
"It's about time you showed up, I was getting tired of waiting. It was so lonely only having my wonderful self here for company, but now that Robyn's here I feel like I'm finally rewarded." He said with a wink aimed at the Miqo'te woman.
"Knock it off Zaren." Robyn sighed.
"Ohh, always so hard to get." Zaren replied smoothly.
"Alright kids settle down while I explain this next lesson. All four of you are going to be participating in this. Mr. Aranai and Mr. Svent, you two are going to brush up on your evasive skills. Mr. Nassau has reported that you two often find yourselves getting hit from enemy attacks that could easily be avoided and so you're going to master how to dodge such attacks. Mrs. Mercer and Mr. White, you two are going to continue your target practice on these two gentlemen here." Alvin explained.
"Wait I'm not sure I quite understand, what are we doing?" Zaren asked.
"This." Alvin vaguely replied as he snapped his fingers. At that moment a magical barrier formed around Zaren and Laris each. "You two are fully protected from all attacks. Well, almost fully. You won't die or suffer any injuries, but I highly recommend you don't get hit." He instructed.
"Why not?" Laris asked before his attention was drawn to the blonde Elezen as he drew his bow. An arrow shot out towards the Miqo'te with lightning speed and clashed with the barrier as energy traveled through it like a ripple. "...Yeowch!" Laris screamed a second later as a sharp pain struck a nerve inside him.
"Like I said, I highly recommend not getting hit. Now, after 5 seconds these two will begin attacking, you have until then to prepare your positions." Alvin instructed before counting down. The men quickly stepped back and readied themselves before the two attackers began firing their weapons. Laris and Zaren flailed about the area frantically trying to dodge the attacks. Although not without getting hit after every few shots. The pair quickly turned and nodded to each other before taking cover behind a large tree whilst hiding from the barrage of projectiles aimed their way.
"There's only one thing to do in a situation like this." Zaren glared at the Miqo'te seriously.
"Right!" Laris replied as if reading his mind. At that moment the duo sprung forth and sprinted off into the distance screaming. Robyn and Malik withdrew their weapons and walked up to Alvin who had been spectating.
"Don't worry, they won't get far." The instructor reassured them. Soon enough the males' screams became louder and the fear in their voices more apparent as they appeared to be running back towards the group. Behind them followed an enormous swarm of large Keds buzzing loudly as they pursued the pair. Robyn and Malik promptly sprang to action, hastily drawing their weapons as they began to fire upon the monsters. One by one the gnat-like creatures began to fall as the the marksmen attacked relentlessly. Laris and Zaren continued to move hastily, avoiding both the creatures that were lunging out towards them and the projectiles that were being fired their way. By the time the two men reached the rest of the group, the two ranged attackers had finished off what was left of the Keds and both Laris and Zaren fell to their knees panting.
"Oh Robyn, you saved me!" Zaren began as he got back up to his feet and grabbed her hand. "Please allow me to repay you with a romantic evening out, just the two of us." He offered.
"Keep dreaming." She replied, hastily pulling her hand away.
"Well done everyone!" Alvin congratulated them with applause. "That was some fancy shooting you two pulled off, you both managed to take care of that swarm I riled up before without missing a single shot. And you, Mr. Aranai and Mr. Svent managed to dodge every single attack on your return here. I'd say today's training has been quite a success.
"Wait you planned this from the start?!" Laris asked.
"Yep."
"How'd you know we'd run off like that?"
"Let's... just say it was a hunch. In any case you all performed splendidly, I think it's time we called it a day! After all we have much more work to do tomorrow." Alvin said enthusiastically as the two young men just groaned.