Welcome to Gaia! ::

The recoil on her weapon was more startling than the sound it made, and for a brief moment he thought the power behind it was about to knock Fae-Fae on her backside with how her arms went up and over her head. A part of him felt like he should reach out and make sure she was steady on her feet while the other part demanded he duck in case there was a second shot fired behind her.

A reason to be wary but Fae-Fae righted herself quickly and he moved a few more steps to the side.

Each target took substantial damage and aside from the first shot, he couldn’t really tell if it was worth three or four points with the spread her shotgun head. “We may need to inspect them when we’re done.” From the distance, it looked like he was only one point ahead.

Like before, Cypher took his time with his next three shots; none of them hit center but two were close. While he sought to achieve consistency like his first three shots, this was more in line of what he was expecting.

A Velecian version of the humans unamused ‘resting b***h face’ had seemed to become Cypher’s default expression. Often times he took jokes too literally and found no humor in them. While things that normally brought joy to others, only so much as earned a mild appreciation or consideration.

However, in this moment, it was impossible for him to hide his surprise when another of his targets was essentially obliterated by Fae-Fae’s upgraded weapon. Well… so much for that material.

Cypher brought a hand up to hide the small smile that tugged viciously at the corner of his lips and cleared his throat to cover up the nearly undeniable urge to laugh. The last thing he wanted was for the Corporal to feel embarrassed by his reaction.

“No need,” He replied. “I will do more research on suitable material that can withstand your blaster.” His own bolts did moderate damage but it was only a base model and had no enhancements added to it; not yet anyway. “Kevlar or titanium might be a better option. Alternatively, dragon skin might be useful too.” Cypher pondered that last option a moment. “Then again, they are clay discs but the method used where they overlap is supposed to disburse shots more evenly so it might be easily applied to the other materials.”

Something worth trying he supposed.

Victorious by three points, nothing to really gloat about since he was certain it was more luck than skill that earned him the win. A couple more targets and a few more rounds would have produced a more reliable average but Fae-Fae didn’t seem angry or upset by the outcome.

The clap on his back was a bit jarring but Cypher didn’t mind.

“I hope that as this training area starts coming together that you will not hold back on offering suggestions that will help me rely more on skill as opposed to luck. The improvements you’ve made to your blaster are impressive.” He walked towards the target to inspect, and appreciate, how the bolt had split it in half.

Perhaps if he were to procure a tomato from Andreiya’s greenhouse for her, Fae-Fae might be willing to tell him how she’d come up with the ideas or found the resources to upgrade her weapon. Or if anything, share her secret on maintaining a positive outlook when everything felt so dismal or pointless.

“Would you help me bring the broken pieces back to be disposed of?” Clean the area up a bit so it didn’t look like a dumpsite if others happened upon it while he wasn’t here.