Of Secrets and Shell Casings (Nyx/Private)

The training arena was quite the interesting place. The silver haired man had concluded upon his initial visit.  It was interesting that it had a designated area for those who practiced with long range, such as those using sniper rifles. Such facilities doubtless required a significant amount of upkeep, especially given how specialized the long-range shooting range within the western most area of the training arena.

Of course, Slynt hadn't come here to merely inspect the facilities, as such a facility would be less than useful given his own equipment and combat style.  No, he had a different reason for his presence. Truly it was nothing but a hunch on his part, and he couldn’t be sure if the person he was looking for was truly there. His assumption wasn't completely without support, the idea that the assassin known simply as “Nightshade” would be but a student at a hunter academy would probably seem ridiculous to most people however.
Then again, Slynt Silber was not most people, he’d figured that given the rumors regarding the assassin’s presence within the country they’d likely setup shop in Bellmuse. A hunter or huntress would be the best cover for such a person in his opinion. The fact he himself was using the same cover also helped, after all it allowed for one to come and go without too much difficulty, seeing as any surprise trips could be passed off as “missions.”
There were, naturally, problems with trying to track “Nightshade” in this manner, assuming his own hunch to be correct, he still didn’t know what the assassin looked like, though he of course had already taken this into account. It was unfortunate, but the only way for him to truly identify the sniper required his presence.

Hence what had brought Slynt here to this specialized part of the training area. He’d found a good spot within, in a small portion of the training area meant for one to manage their equipment. He’d brought with him a rather detailed manual on how to do so. Sitting within the prep area and pretending to read the manual. All the while keeping a careful eye on the equipment of the hunters and huntresses that were within the specialized training area. He’d turn a page on occasion, to lend more credence to the deception.
A rifle case was strategically positioned next to the silver haired man, though if one were to open it they would see that there was nothing inside. Still it helped with his front of simply being a student making the preparations to utilize the range.

He'd already seen a few using the range, however they'd been easily dismissed after a brief look at their equipment. None of which matched what he knew of "Nightshade"'s preferred gear. Still he'd opted to stay, at least until he reached the end of the manual.

It was a rather mundane Tuesday for Nyx as she approached the Preparation Area of the Ultra-Long-Range Shooting range where people could get their gear set up without the risk of getting shot by other people. As Nyx approached the Preparation Area, she quickly caught sight of a silver haired man who was trying in vain to blend in. He was sitting in the Preparation Area "pretending" read a manual on managing your equipment. However, Nyx had been trained in espionage and infiltration tactics so she knew instantly that the silver haired man was faking it. Nyx didn't say anything to the man initially as she set her rifle case on the table which was located next to the table the man was sitting on. Nyx then opened her rifle case and took out her Lobaev Arms SVLK-14S Twilight Ultra Long-Range Sniper Rifle before setting it on the table. Soon after, she turned around towards the silver haired man before speaking.

"С этим тоже завязывай, потому что я вижу тебя насквозь." Nyx spoke calmly with an emotionless expression on her face as she looked at the man seriously.

Slynt had been watching over the entrance well, so when a young blonde girl had walked in he had of course noticed it. One would think she was a normal person had they not had his own keen eye, or experience with individuals that weren’t as they seemed. The way her eyes had assessed the room immediately upon entrance, as though searching through for hidden threats. It would have been missed by most, as her apparent assessment of the room had lasted but a moment. It was the type of thing Slynt had learned to notice early on in his criminal career, as well as a habit he himself no doubt had. Though the girl’s assessment probably still would have been missed had he not already been on guard.

He would have been able to dismiss the assessment had she not began to move to the table next to him, obviously she’d noticed his own assessment of her. He looked over the edge of the manual as the girl removed her rifle from it’s case, his eyes briefly assessing it. The rifle’s characteristics matched the ones believed to be possessed by “Nightshade”’s weapon. Though he couldn’t quite be sure, as firearms had never truly been his field of expertise. He’d need to see the ammunition she used to be sure, but he reasoned that this likely was the one he’d been looking for.

He made a show of turning the page of the manual once again, despite knowing that he likely wasn’t fooling her at this point. A single eyebrow raising when she addressed him in a foreign language. It took a moment to recall the translation, fortunate that he’d picked up a few languages in his travels. The fact she had addressed him in a foreign language was quite interesting to say the least.

“Quite forward, aren’t we?” He asked with a small degree of mirth, not bothering to look up from the book in his hand. “One would think you were expecting some form of confrontation.” The man opted to continue speaking English. He figured her use of a different language was in part a method to avoid the scrutiny of curious ears, though it was interesting that she’d apparently assume himself to be able to understand her.

"Please, it not like you were going to fool me that way. For starters, this range is used by only a few people. Secondly, the Preparation Area is unmanned and is rarely used by students unless they are hand-loading or reloading ammunition. Finally, I remember every detail about everyone who trains on this Firing Range. You simply stick out like a sore thumb." Nyx replied calmly and nonchalantly as she took out her PMM Makarov pistol out of her jacket and placed it on the table next to her rifle.

"Personally, I think you are looking for someone. I can tell that by the scanning your eyes did as I entered this area. In addition to that, I can tell that you were looking for a sniper by the way you glanced at my sniper rifle when I took it out." Nyx continued calmly as she took out the empty magazine out of her PMM Makarov pistol and loaded it with 9×18mm Makarov which she took from an ammo box in her duffle bag. Soon after, she then loaded the full magazine into her pistol before pulling the slide of the handgun. Soon after, Nyx took out a box of standard .408 Cheytac ammunition out of her duffle bag and putting it next to her rifle. This box was unmarked and had no information on the contents or its caliber. Nyx had noticed that the silver-haired man was watching her every move. In response to this, Nyx decided to make sure that he had a hard time figuring out her identity.

Slynt listened to the girl's reasoning without much word, retaining a somewhat mirthful expression, opting to wait before speaking. He noted the handgun, though didn’t give any reaction to its presence. He'd known it was likely he would be spotted, and a similar confrontation to this would have happened. Of course, that was also part of the game in the end, and it appeared to be a game the girl was well-versed in herself if her observations were any indication. "My, you certainly have quite the eye for detail." He commented casually, flipping another page.

The secondary observations on his motives had similarly been intriguing, if not surprising however he'd opted not to reveal his thoughts on those, keeping any visible reaction from showing. Instead he focused his attention on the girl's actions, as well as her possessions. The unmarked box specifically had caught his attention, and while he could only speculate that it was likely the ammunition for the rifle, the box gave little information.

This was telling in its own way, as it gave the impression that if it were ammo, it likely wasn't from a typical manufacturer or distributor, as the tended to leave some indication as to the type. But he opted not to comment on that item for the moment. He made a show of looking from the manual to the rifle instead.

"An interesting weapon that, I am curious as to where you purchased it." The comment was purposefully innocuous and delivered in a somewhat flippant manner as though nothing more than simple small talk. Though the comment wasn’t unwarranted, given the rifle didn’t appear to be any he himself had ever seen previously.

"People often comment that I have the eyes of an Artist." Nyx commented nonchalantly to the man's complement about her observational skills. Despite of this, Nyx had noticed that the silver-haired man had been looking at her sniper rifle with particular interest ever since she had set it out on the table. In addition to this, Nyx picked up on the fact that he had been looking at the unmarked box of ammo with keen interest. From this, she could tell that the man was trying to identify her through her rifle and her ammunition. Unfortunately for him, Nyx didn't have her Hyper Velocity Match-Grade ammunition on her. This ammo was her signature ammo and it usually came in a black and gold box.  

Instead, she had the standard Match-Grade ammunition in the box. This came in a dark green box or the unmarked box which she had on the table. Both types of ammo had extremely different performance as well as completely different specifications. Using this and the fact that the man asked her "where did she purchase her rifle?", this told Nyx that his gun knowledge was somewhat limited. However, Nyx was cautious as he answered the man's question. Despite it seeming to be small talk, Nyx knew that every word this man spoke had a purpose to it.

"A friend gave this rifle to me after I won a shooting competition when I was younger. I don't really know where he got it from since he never told me." Nyx replied calmly. Nyx knew that this bit of small talk could tell the man a whole lot so she decided to reply in a somewhat truthful/untruthful fashion. In addition to this, she also made sure that her expressions and body language didn't give away her plans/intentions.

"Well then your friend certainly has interesting taste." Slynt replied. The weapon appeared custom built if he had to guess, or heavily modified. He couldn't particularly tell, though it didn't really matter either way. He made mental note of it before diverting his attention back to the girl herself. He doubted it was a commercial weapon. The way the girl’s response had been worded also caught his attention, indicating it was likely a mix of truth and falsehood.


Looking at her, the blonde wouldn’t seem like much, it was rather difficult to believe that THIS could be the infamous assassin. Though that would only be to her benefit. He mentally added in amusement. It was quite a surprise, assuming he was correct to believe her to be Nightshade. The fact she wasn’t giving him any easy confirmation made the game more fun than anything. Even presuming the girl wasn’t the famed assassin, there was certainly more to her than meets the eye.

He closed the manual, placing an item inside to act as a bookmark and setting it down on the table. He supposed it was time to make his own move in this little game. “You were correct of course…in assuming that I had come here looking for somebody.” He made a show of turning his head towards the practice range where a few snipers were busy practicing their craft, making a show out of appearing somewhat sentimental. “I came here because I had heard an old friend from Atlas was also enrolled and came to say hello. Unfortunately, we haven’t been in contact for some time.” He gave a sigh as though he were troubled about the situation before continuing. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a recent picture of them, and the rumors only specified them using a rather unique rifle.”

"My friend always was a gun nut of epic proportions. He wouldn't stop jabbering on about guns at times." Nyx replied nonchalantly. Nyx had picked up in the fact that the silvered hair man was not completely believing of her answer. Nyx decided to keep her eye on the man for a bit longer. As she was doing this, Nyx noticed the he was scanning her top to bottom. The extremely slight movement of his forehead told Nyx that he was thinking about something. Nyx also figured out that the man was trying to figure out if she matched someone he had met prior. After a few moments, Nyx replied to the part where the man said “I came here because I had heard an old friend from Atlas was also enrolled and came to say hello. Unfortunately, we haven’t been in contact for some time.” He gave a sigh as though he were troubled about the situation before continuing. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a recent picture of them, and the rumors only specified them using a rather unique rifle.”

"Unfortunately, you must have mistaken me for another person. People from Atlas aren't looked at highly all across the world. In particular, people from Atlas aren't welcome in certain parts of Bellmuse. Most likely, I think they would most likely hide out in Springwood or the suburbs of Bellmuse. That would be your best bet." Nyx replied calmly. She didn't give off any signs to the man that she had been in Atlas previously. To be exact, Nyx had been to Atlas before but that was like years ago.

"A shame, really." Slynt replied, deciding to continue the charade. If nothing else, it would keep their interaction mundane looking. It would be problematic for other to understand the meaning beneath their conversation.  In truth the silver haired criminal was rather satisfied with how their conversation had gone considering. However, he knew better than to press further now, he'd need to gain more information first.Instead he opted for a more strategic option to capitalize on what he had learned, he pretended to be packing up.

  While he hadn’t gotten the confirmation he hoped for, he’d learned quite a bit about his new acquaintance. Or was she an enemy?

The thought was amusing, considering both of their fields left the line between ally and enemy rather blurred, however he wasn’t quite done yet with this little game.  “Well, my apologies then, perhaps we’ll see each other again miss….” He paused as though he’d only just realized neither had introduced themselves. Realistically he doubted she would give a real identity, but then even a fake could help provide some intriguing information.
While doing this he made sure to allow his bookmark to fall out of the book, not paying it any attention as though he hadn’t noticed it happen, no doubt having fallen to the floor.

After a few moments, the silver-haired man replied with "A shame, really." This told Nyx instantly that he had decided to go along with her charade. However, Nyx was still suspicious of the man. The previous part of their conversation told her that the man in front of her wasn't the type to give up that easily. This whole conversation to Nyx felt like Round 1 in a long game of wits between her and the man standing in front of her. The man thought he had the upper hand on her. However, Nyx gave him a hell of a time in his attempt to identify her. In addition to this, she had a little "surprise" for the silver haired man.

Soon after, the silver-haired man got up and began packing up his stuff. As he did so, Nyx noticed that the bookmark of his book fell out and fell on the floor. The silver haired man didn't notice this as he walked out of the area and left. However, Nyx knew from her interaction with the man that he was the type that make sure everything he did had a purpose. Nyx had a suspicion that the man left it there specifically for her to see. After making sure that he was completely out of sight, Nyx then picked up the "bookmark". On it was an address, a date, and a time. This quickly told Nyx that the man wanted to set up another meeting. From the address, Nyx determined that it was off campus. That would be the perfect place for a meeting since it would be entirely away from the prying eyes of the school.

After making a note of this, Nyx left the bookmark on the table before packing up her sniper rifle. Soon after, she took a AWP from the weapons rack behind her. After doing this, she holstered her pistol before heading out of the Preparation Area and took up a slot at the Firing Range where she began shooting at the targets.

[Exit]