Author note: This will be sort of slow building. Not a lot will happen right off the bat, which is expected for how young she is when we meet her. But please be patient and if you have any tips or suggestions I am always open to them.
Natalia had been training with James for a few months now and it had paid off. When it came to her regular fighting lessons she was more excelled than the other girls were now. Was it unfair to them? Perhaps, but she knew she had the potential to be the best and her superiors saw that too. She felt honored to have the opportunity to better her skills and she would always take it. Her sessions with James were awkward at first. He was brand new to her unlike Ivan who had been her handler since she first came here. She didn't know much about him and he didn't say much if it didn't pertain to her training. She didn't mind, she isn't here to make friends. But there was something about him that made him different from the others. He wasn't demanding and cold like the others nor did he threaten her with different punishments if she didn't get something right. He worked with her and showed her the right and wrong ways, took his time with her until she got it all down right. Maybe it was because he was quite a bit younger than the rest of the instructors here. He looked like he could be in his 20s but the way he talked made him sound older at times.
"Again Natalia." James stated. Natalia fired three rounds with the pistol in her right hand and it let go mid air to switch to her left hand. The direction of her aim faltered slightly at the switch up and she grew frustrated with herself. Since her combat training was going well, they decided to have James train her with firearms as well. Which she was pretty excited about since he was a sniper at some point in his life, according to Ivan, and he had great skills. Today was Saturday which meant they had no lessons to be at but they had to be working on something be it something physical or something mental, it also meant she could wear the loose fitting t-shirt and her favorite leggings rather than a uniformed outfit. Natalia chose to work on firearms and James had volunteered to help her even though it was a day off for him. They were in a part of the basement that they used as a sort of shooting range and she was grateful for the jacket she brought with her. The shooting range was mostly gray and concrete which made it feel colder than it really was.
"Just breathe." He reminded. "Here, set it down and stretch for a minute. You're thinking to hard about it." She set the gun down on the table in front of her and stared off in the distance at the target sheet. Most of the shots fired were in the center but you could tell when she switched hands.
"I'm never going to get this perfect and it is killing me." She exasperated. Normally she would never say things like this out loud and especially not in front of a superior, but James was different. He was starting to feel like a peer which was new territory for her. She was feeling comfortable around him and she never let herself get comfortable around anyone. It leaves you vulnerable and that is something she can never be.
"We only started working on switching hands this week. It isn't meant to be easy." He reassured her. "If it was, well then the others would be learning it too." He remarked. She sighed and stretched her arms out. Natalia knew he was right, but she didn't like that she hadn't mastered this yet. "So shake it off and let's try again." Natalia nodded and picked the gun back up in her hand as he switched the target sheet out for a new one. She reloaded and took a few breaths before focusing. "Now, this time I want you to keep switching back until you run out of bullets, okay?" He instructed. "Even if you mess up." Natalia nodded as she raised her right hand and aimed. Three shots. Switch. Mild falter. Three shots. Switch. Perfect. Three shots. Switch. Faltered again. She continued until she was done and set the gun down and exhaled loudly.
"It's your left hand." James stated. "Your right handed and you aren't as confident with your left. That's okay, we'll make you comfortable with it and this will be as easy as breathing for you." He walked over to the target sheet, taking it down and hanging a new one. She always took moments like this to study him as if she would find out something about him by just looking at the little things. He tends to wear dark t-shirts and dark cargo pants and always black boots, this has never changed in the six months she has roughly known him. His dark brown shag of hair that fell just below his jaw never seemed to change length. She doubted he got haircuts just to keep it right where it fell. James had started to walk back over to her as she put the thoughts of him aside for now. "Are you ready to go again." He inquired.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked instead of answering his question. He raised a brow, curious to what it is she wants to know.
"Depends on the something." He stated as he leaned on the metal table in front of them. Natalia chewed her lip for a second, debating on how to word what she wanted to know.
"Why are you so different than the others?" She asked hoping it wouldn't make him mad.
"What do you mean?" He responded, studying the young red head in front of him. Natalia struggled to find the right words in her head and decided to just go for it. He never has been one to just be aggressive in conversation. Not with her at least.
"What I mean is that you seem to not be as...cold...as some of the other instructors here. You don't berate us, strike us, or give punishment if we mess up or don't do something precise." She explained. "You're not bright and cheerful, but you aren't like them."
James sat with this for a minute, his forest green eyes focusing on an answer before responding. "I care if you guys get it wrong or right, so don't think that I don't." He stated. "I also care to find out why you don't get it right. Find the reason out the reason and try to fix it. Especially you Natalia, you are so advanced and have the discipline to be a great spy. My job is to make you the best you can be." Natalia wasn't sure what kind of answer she was expecting to hear from him, but it wasn't quite that. But she can appreciate that he thought she would make a great spy. She was also grateful that he answered her instead of ignoring her or getting upset by the question. "Now, why don't we get back to making you more comfortable with that left hand."