Put her in High Spirits? Our Ginny had only just truly been blessed to meet the warrior, and she'd been joyous since the handshake in Ginny's eyes! Or was that projection? Her own joy overflowing from her pores and clouding her vision with a love unparalleled.
Can't just be her, now that she's thinking on it. D'you hear that as clear as she did? By the power vested in She. A meeting in the middle. A firm grip across time and faith, straight to the HEART of it all.
THE TRUTH. Ah, or bits and pieces of it. Snippets and melodies in the now-muffled air. Machinery snapping back into place. A switch being toggled. The impossibly quiet w h i s p e r of lungs being emptied before β Pop! PopPopPopPop!
The first was centre mass, fighting to pierce the front of the ribs, the heart, the vena cava, and the spine all in a line. The next four all went to the same location, they found the same target, and they met the same end. Crushed, their momentum brought to an inglorious halt, and the floor below offered their crushed remains quiet acceptance.
Not even an impact mark upon the beast's hide. She'd apologize for this disrespect later.
Down goes the subsonics, and soon MARIA, SHE OF THE NINE STARS, finds the priestess' palm. Three rounds down range the moment she's woken up, one to the chest, each other to the joints. Right at the shoulders, where it was meant to 'bend and bow'.
Her steel held strong. Her laugh was not louder than the protection could abjure, but even the deaf would be able to hear the laughter rolling from her heart as she grabbed two of her ancestor's finest, one chambered as God intended, and the other carrying 10mm.
Because even scripture must be re-examined from time to time.
On come the rifles. Each one reaching for greater violence. Each one hunting for a weakness created by prior shots. Each one knowing the same defeat as the one before it.
The first, and last, of the flight to know her hand here is the BIG IRON. A touch bigger than her head, heavy as sin, and currently loaded with SIX ways to break an arm, split a man in twain, and deafen an audience. It sits snug in her holster, her fingers playing gently with the walnut on the grip, awaiting the faintest sound of β BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!
A spin. A twirl. Leather filled in the same breath, and gunsmoke ... imbibed of, with great appreciation. A little treat for her, as a reward for her latest creation, her gift to the WARRIOR standing behind her, standing tall and unbothered after six .45-70 government rounds tried, and failed, to pierce its hide.
β Glory. Glory. GLORY! One last light into the Lion's Den, then! β And Our Ginny, her entire body vibrating from a plethora of conditions, makes way to the cage for THE LAST ENEMY.
Once lovingly referred to as 'The Hand of God', it was a system designed solely for the destruction of all it pointed toward. A righteous thing meant only for vengeance as ordained by the Lord. Now, hauled over to the line of scrimmage β β Oh! Watch your head there, lad! Bit unwieldy, she is! β β to see who was truly meant to prosp - Ahhh, of course!
β Of course! Of course... Begging your pardon, ma'am, I ought have offered from the start! Ahh ... Give us a moment, will you? This, suddenly, seems insufficient. β
Had to lug THE LAST ENEMY on back to her cage. Careful to avoid thwacking anyone this go, and apologizing profusely for waking her up and not feeding her. Once she was secured back home, the priestess ducked low and started rifling through the cabinets 'neath the cages.
Had to find 'em. Knew she one in here somewhere, picked up from an Uzbek lump she'd run into a few months - There it was! Army green, and lightly dusty, but very clearly labeled 100 rounds 12.7 x 55mm.
The box of ammunition is hoisted up, swiftly brought back to the line of scrimmage, and popped open so her (now) favorite client could pick and choose as she pleased.
β On the house, ma'am! Lord knows they don't see much use here, and I'd much rather they find a home they'll thrive in. β
Wouldn't be here. Wouldn't be now. They were about to meet the same fate as all who came before, but through no fault of their own! Some mountains just couldn't be toppled.