Who: Malcolm Reynolds and Open What: Letting off some steam at the gun range Where: Trigger Town When: Tuesday evening Warning/Status: Mention of firearms? Possibly bad language
Malcolm Reynolds wasn't the type of man that talked about his feelings. He let them fester deep inside, swirling about in his brain and heart until he just couldn't anymore. It had been that way since most of his crew was sent away. First Zoe, then Inara. That one hurt more than he wanted to admit to anyone. At least Kaylee understood him and didn't press for him to talk. They spent many a night in silence in the fake engine room in their house, falling asleep to the hum of what sounded like Serenity's engine.
If he thought about it it was a little on the pathetic side. He lived for being out in the Black, the dark of the 'Verse surrounding him and his crew. Taking off from one planet to the next, taking up odd jobs just to make it through another day or week. If there was anything that Mal prided himself in it was the ability to survive. And yet here he was pining away like some lovesick schoolgirl about a ship and a life he might never see again. He had to move on from this. He had to survive.
But first he needed to let off some steam.
Mal had made his way to the gun range after he finished on the farm. Thank goodness Clark had offered him that farming gig when he did. Inara was right — it was the kind of work that quieted his mind. Sometimes, though, all that quiet made it that much harder to cope. He needed this outlet. It wasn't violent since he wasn't aiming at anyone in particular, but the act of shooting a pistol calmed him. Besides, he could always imagine he was shooting someone, or something. Even if it was something inanimate like the portal that took away his lover.
He had chosen a few pistols and rifles to shoot this evening, and had made his way out to the outdoor range. He put on the ear protection that they insisted he wear even after he argued that no one wore protection in a real life gun fight. He even put on the glasses. He felt silly for it, but at least here he wouldn't get in trouble for shooting bullets. That was important considering all of the talk that had been brewing about town regarding their kind. He needed to keep out of trouble even if that was against his nature.