It Takes Time / Reaper x fem!OC

22. The Smell of Steel

Aching slightly from pushing herself so hard that morning, Sienna didn't even wait a day before seeking Jack out.

He didn't even seem surprised, either
Sienna mused as she thought back to their conversation.

As it went, he didn't give her any explanation to that, just told her in his usual gruff manner to meet him after dinner, and prepare for a long night.

Turning up in her training slacks, Sienna was back at the indoor Hall - the one she'd used in her drills with Genji and Tracer. It has been very versatile in its structure back then, so as Sienna walked she couldn't help but wonder:
What has Jack got in store for me?

Genji's work had involved pulling out the climbing walls in the side structures, while Tracer had brought in a lot of the props found in the warehouse to the side - so naturally, Sienna had been expecting something similar from the infamous Soldier 76.

But as she placed her hands on the heavy steel doors, and felt the gust on her face as it slowly opened, Sienna inhaled sharply. The cold, tangy smell of steel hit her immediately, and goosebumps raised her skin.

At a mere glance, it looked almost like one of Sienna's old school fairs, with long tables lined up side by side, filling half the room. The only difference?

As far as her stunned eyes could see, each table was covered in scores of weapons,
'More than I've ever seen, and more than I could ever name too...' she breathed out, slightly shaky.
The sight of so many weapons suddenly brought the reality with it, and Sienna took a step back, bumping into something hard.

Jumping out of her skin, Sienna spun around and stumbled over her feet in her haste, feeling a familiar hand grab her arm and hold her up.

'I hope, for my own sake as well as yours, that you're not this jumpy when you're handling the weapons'
Dressed in his usual uniform, Soldier 76 dropped her arm and look down at her semi-sternly.

Internally face Palling, Sienna flushed red.
'Oh! Jack. I'm sorry, you surprised me.' Tumbling over her words, she continued struggling through her embarrassment.

'I could tell. Well, are you going to go in? There are a lot of weapons in there, and I don't have all day for you to waste, now.' 

Composing herself and reprimanding her childish reactions Sienna turned back around and walked into the grand Hall room, slightly confused by Soldier 76's gruffer-than-usual demeanor.

Completely unsure of what to pick up first, she turned back to face her new mentor, sweeping her hair out of her eyes.
'So' she started, attempting to get him to explain before she embarrassed herself, 'should I just...?'

Having left her question open, Sienna was disappointed at the simple, sweeping arm gesture that Jack provided silently, with the clear message of 'I want to see how you deal with this on your own'.

Mildly annoyed, Sienna turned around in a huff, and swept her dark eyes over each of the tables. Closest to her on the left seemed to be a huge range of guns, starting with long distance sniper rifles,  and followed by progressively shorter distance weapons.
From assault rifles to submachine guns to pistols, Sienna couldn't help but be reminded of unpleasant memories. Recalling her childhood teacher's disappointment at her appalling aim, Sienna's face crumpled slightly at the embarrassing memory.