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[sub][color=AD2841][i]Train to Amone - Trial by Fire[/i][/color][/sub]
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Daniel's nodded [color=AD2841][b]"Thanks."[/b][/color] He said simply, his eyes searched the seating of the cabin and sat across from Diana with a good bit of space separating him from Kalisa [color=AD2841][b]"Hey."[/b][/color] Sentences beyond a few words seemed out of his reach now. He was honestly quite surprised she was allowing him in the first place with so little resistance. To say he was uncomfortable sitting in that cabin was an understatement. That didn't change the fact that there was no slipping away from situations like this. With his promotion came the understanding that he would have to deal with female squad mates. There was no physical pain he couldn't endure but mental pain...that was an entirely different beast. Which is why he tried put himself in the least amount of danger.

He couldn't meet Diana's eyes but he could see the way she was reacting to him. There seemed to be something that she wanted to say to him. That he was an utter ass? That he hurt her feelings? He sat back against the seat, his eyes meeting hers for the first with a look of surprise that quickly shifted back into his usual look of cold indifference [color=AD2841][b]"It's not something I really wanted."[/b][/color] He replied coldly. Once he said it, he bit his tongue inside his closed mouth before continuing [color=AD2841][b]"...but thank you."[/b][/color] Kalisa also expressed her congratulations, to which he let out a short chuckle looking down at the floor between his boots [color=AD2841][b]"That I did. I'm good with a rifle, but I am better fighting up close."[/b][/color] He avoided mentioned his first thought of how similar yet different fighting in the trenches was to fighting in back-street alleys.

Everything was going better than he had hoped and Kalisa's words had gotten him to relax just a little. However, the question that Diana had every right to ask forced him to tighten up again. For a brief moment his eyes burned intensely at Diana with a ember of that anger, before he took a deep breath. Daniel closed his eyes and crossed his arms [color=AD2841][b]"Because some of us weren't born with a golden spoon."[/b][/color] His tone was pensive but he did not go further as a silence filled the air. There was something about the fact she was so care-free that pissed him off.

His eyes centered on the rifle on question and was grateful for the distraction. [color=AD2841][i]Barely Passed?[/i][/color] The idea that a soldier like her even existed was all incomprehensible yet at the same time it...was somewhat sad. He didn't expect to feel that. Daniel without a word reached out and took the rifle from her hands and examined it closely. Dirt and grime covered the mechanical parts which could cause a jam later on the field, an event that could end her life [color=AD2841][b]"Alright, pay attention."[/b][/color] He said strongly with a heavy sigh [color=AD2841][b]"I will show you how to properly clean your rifle. It could cost you your life."[/b][/color] A jammed weapon was much harder to clean when you were being shot at. He took the cleaning process nice and slow, explaining to Diana all of the steps and proper procedures. The entire time his anxiety towards woman seemed to fade away. It wasn't until they stopped that he finished, giving here back the rifle looking a little beat-up but almost good as new [color=AD2841][b]"There. Now you know."[/b][/color] His voice still was expressing much emotion, but it had noticeably lightened up.

[@SMS][@Landaus Five-One]