Re: Shootin' The Breeze [Anton]
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 11:58 pm
She helped him load the ball, and double checked with the ramrod to make sure that the stone ball was packed in tightly with the powder after Anton was through. She was about as careful with it as she was with the weapon's usual ammunition, but a fair bit of 'oomf' was required to ensure a good seal regardless.
She was excited, she realized. She felt a tingle in the tips of her fingers and a swirling in her stomach. She had done little more than set his mind on what could generously be called the right track, but still she felt no small part of mirth to be sharing this moment with him. It didn't matter if the feeling was unearned, because she understood then the thrill of discovery. His studies had once seemed like an inane waste of his talents, but she felt now just a taste of what he must have felt a dozen times over in his research. The feeling was that of the first time she'd captured a ship, or the first time an enemy had surrendered upon seeing her raise the black flag. To feel it now was... curious, but not unwelcome.
She followed behind him to the carriages and handed off a pair of wax earplugs before affixing her own. Even with them in, she listened for the cannon's roar. When it finally came, Vanessa remarked on how different it was. It was quieter, but the sound itself was more brutish and hard. She leaned out from behind cover, and saw the cannonball on the ground.
And immediately burst out into a wild cheer, punching the air. "To the pit with your final!" She shouted, coming up behind Anton and shaking him by the shoulders just as he finished gathering measurements. "It fucking worked, you son of a bitch!" she exclaimed, unable to share his more measured reaction. Joy painted her face, dimples showing. That same light swirled in her aura like liquid flame, so unlike her. He had done it, and that was all that mattered. Not enough powder, too heavy a ball, those details were meaningless when that core truth remained.
"You want more powder? Go ahead, put it in then!" She encouraged, spurred on by his success. She reached down to grab the cannonball. It had cooled somewhat in the time it had taken for Anton to measure its distance, but it was still warm in her hands.