I13DT: Hey Man, Nice Shot

[Graham Jaeger]

Graham stood in the clearing of a virtual forest, his trusty bow at rest with an arrow at the ready. He breathed slowly, calming his nerves and tightening his focus like his father had taught him. There was suddenly a sound and was turned around and aiming within the space of a breath as his target popped into the air and firing before it even reached its apex. Without waiting to see if the arrow hit, he whirled to shoot a second flying target. He continued this until all ten programmed targets were launched.

He went around checking his results. Bulls-eye. Bulls-eye. Bulls-eye. Bulls-eye. Bulls-eye.

"Damnit..." he frowned at target number six, its arrow way off center. He kicked the target in frustration. "Start it again!"

[Brigid Plunder]

"You... er... trying to be Hawkeye's intern?" Brigid asks from the sidelines, watching.

[Graham Jaeger]

"Hold that command," he said to the computer before facing Brigid.

"I really am getting rusty if I didn't notice you come in," he said, perhaps too sharply.

[Brigid Plunder]

"Hey, hey," she says as she puts her hands up defensively. "I'm not trying to mess with anything here."

[Graham Jaeger]

He sighed and looked apologetic. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated."

[Brigid Plunder]

"You're new here, right?"

[Graham Jaeger]

"Yeah," he nodded as he walked over.

"Name's Graham, you?"

[Brigid Plunder]

"Brigid. You're really into this, huh?"

[Graham Jaeger]

"I am. It's... sort of a family thing too. I usually find it calming though."

[Brigid Plunder]

"Like your parents really wanted to get you into it? I can... kind of understand that."

[Graham Jaeger]

"My dad did, yeah. He's real big on wilderness survival stuff."

[Brigid Plunder]

She winces.

"Okay, yeah. That I really get. My parents are the same way."

[Graham Jaeger]

"They rave on about the world ending too?" he asked, some bitterness seeping through the humor.

[Brigid Plunder]

"Not so much but they've got kind of a... natural lifestyle," she settles on.

[Graham Jaeger]

"You make it sound like they're nudists or something," he teased.

[Brigid Plunder]

"Not... quite."

[Graham Jaeger]

"Sounds like my dad would probably approve of them if they taught you how to survive without civilization."

[Brigid Plunder]

"Okay, I'm... trying to be more honest about this, so I'll come right out and say that my parents spend, like, ninety percent of their time in animal skins, hunting things with spears."

[Graham Jaeger]

"Oookay... your parents win at Survivalism."

[Brigid Plunder]

"Your dad probably doesn't live in a hidden part of the Antarctic that's full of dinosaurs, either."

[Graham Jaeger]

That just made him look at her funny.

[Brigid Plunder]

"Yeeeeeah. Okay, so that was an overshare."

[Graham Jaeger]

"You... aren't pulling my leg?"

[Brigid Plunder]

"I'm really not."

[Graham Jaeger]

"Seriously? The Lost World is an actual place?"

[Brigid Plunder]

"It's... actually called the Savage Land, but yeah, it's a real place."

[Graham Jaeger]

"Cool. I think I'll pass on going there though. I'm not cut out for facing hungry dinosaurs just yet."

[Brigid Plunder]

"It's been pretty weird being this far from home, but it's given me a chance to try to live, you know, like a normal person."

[Graham Jaeger]

"That's exactly why I'm here."