Eyes Up, Guardian

Chaper 4

"First Challenge."

     By the time the Ghost and I had made it back to my room, there was already a neat stack of clothes waiting for me inside. The clothes were resting on the counter of the kitchen, I knew it wasn't where clothes were supposed to go, but it didn't bother me, to me it proved that whoever had put them there hadn't want to pry at my things. Not that I had any things besides a couple of guns and some old clothes.
     I picked up the stack and headed to my room, unfolding them to get a look. The clothes were like the armor I'd been wearing the day before, only thinner. Along with them was a set of thin underclothes, slim tank top and leggings along with undergarments that fit like a second skin. They were cool on my skin, I'd never known anything like it, meant to keep me cool under the layers of armor. I then pulled on the armor and saw that it worked, it felt sturdy against my skin, protective. I noticed how it moved exactly the way I did, as if it was breathing with me.
      "The armor is built to become one with the Guardian." The Ghost explained, "It might take some getting used to, but it really does work. When you fall or take heavy impacts, it will move to protect the most vulnerable parts of your body."
     I nodded, pulling on my gauntlets last, looking at my hands in the slim gloves. "Do I need to bring my rifle to the training?" I asked, tying my hair back and picking up my helmet.
     "No, they will have guns you can use." The Ghost answered easily, leading the way back to the door. I followed the Ghost, pausing in the kitchen and tearing off a hunk of bread from the loaf on the counter. I put the bread away then munched on the piece I had torn off as I headed outside. The Ghost gave me a look, but didn't say anything, I was sure if he had eyebrows he'd be raising them.
     We headed back to the hall of the Guardians, but we kept going, down the flight of stairs opposite to the one we'd just come up. The Ghost led me down the stairs, down a few twisting hallways and finally to an open training room. The training room was massive, a row of targets lined one wall, there was a big fighting pit filled with soft sand in one corner, there was a long rope hanging from the celling. A good ten feet away from the celling was a set of rafters, clearly meant for training, as they were padded with foam to protect from head injuries. The celling above them was also layered with large, blue mats, curving slightly downward with age. There was another foam pit under a lower set of rafters, I assumed they were meant for falling off. There were models of tons of enemies along one of the longer walls. There was so much in the room my eyes swam, drinking it all in.
     I spotted Cayde and Ikora standing in front of a wall of weapons, the wall was covered in rifles, side arms, sniper rifles, hand cannons, rocket launchers, machine guns, even a few swords. I headed over to the wall Cayde smiled when he saw me, picking up a gun and tossing it to me. Surprisingly, I caught it, holding it in my hands unfamiliarly, inspecting it.
     "That's an Auto Rifle, they tend to be a fan favorite." He said, "Let's see how you are with a gun." He led the way over to the targets, stopping at a line drawn on the floor.
     I aimed down the sights of the gun, my foster parents had taken it upon themselves to make sure I knew how to shoot plenty of guns, that way I'd be safer when the darkness came. I only wished they'd taken the classes with me. I'd never shot an Auto Rifle like this before the day before, but I assumed I'd get used to it fairly soon. The red dot sight made me glad, I'd always liked red dot sights. I aimed it up to the target on the wall, a little human figure, I shot the figure in the red area, where his heart would be, pleased with my shot, I turned back to Cayde.
     "Good. Now do it faster." He told me, I frowned, then aimed and shot faster than I had before, my shot less precise.
     We continued the drill for a while until I could accurately shoot within a second or two. Then I moved further away from the targets and I had to pop up from behind cover. Once there was a dull ring in all of our ears from the gunshots echoing in the cavernous space, Cayde started teaching me how to used knifes, showing me a bunch of ways how to hold them until we settled on one that would work for me.
     We used wooden training knifes as I learned multiple different motions, Ikora watching and occasionally making a helpful comment on technique.
     After Cayde had 'stabbed' me about a thousand times, he was called away for something Vanguard related, I didn't bother listening. Ikora took the opportunity to explain to me a lot of the more scientific aspects of being a Guardian. She taught me how to take care of my Ghost first, teaching me how to change a Ghost Shell, first on a model, so I didn't accidentally break my own Ghost. She then taught me how to clean the Ghost, not because my Ghost was dirty, but just because. Besides that, the Ghost was mainly self functioning, but she promised that she would teach me how to preform repairs once I actually went into some real combat.
     We took a lunch break, then Cayde came back and the knife work and shooting continued. By the end of the day, my ears were ringing and I was covered in bruises from being 'stabbed.' Progress? Maybe a little bit.