"It would certainly fit tha bill," he replied sullenly to her question. Cultists, witches, they were all insane for wanting anything from those foul entities.
He could do nothing but frown at what she told him of the magic of her world. So she did require items to cast her magic. That explained the lack of staff and why she was extra vulnerable without it. She had implied it made them even...far from it in truth since she was so weak physically. But the point remained she had done it on purpose and, possibly, as much as for him as any other reason. It made him huff in annoyance but if anything that was only to snuff out any other sentimental emotions that may have formed with the realization.
"But you can do harm with yer magic," he pointed out stubbornly. At this point he was struggling to argue with her but that was his nature. "You can perform unnatural phenomenon with it. And ya wield it as you see fit."
"Yes I can. I absolutely can." Aerith wasn't going to deny it. It would be foolish and be some sort of weird denial. She had wielded it without a thought to defend and attack against monsters without any problem.
"Just like other people can do harm with their knives, or bows, or guns." She paused, glancing at his hands. "Or their hands." Her eyes went up to look back up at his face, to that stubborn gaze.
"Which is why I've been learning self-defense so I don't rely on it. Though...I won't be any good at it for a very long time. But...I am sorry that I cast magic on you without your permission. I won't do that again."
She looked pained at it. "Even if that means...even if that means you stay injured or worse."
Unconsciously, he began to rub at his wrist before it occurred to him what he was doing and he turned the gesture into a tug on his shirt sleeve as if to fix it's fit beneath his suit jacket. She had called him out and he knew she was right and fair to do so. He could do more damage with his hands than most people could manage with a weapon in theirs. He was not only trained but had years of experience and he enjoyed the act so much he'd definitely experimented over the years with his various targets.
That gave him joy. Today, when she looked at him, it almost felt like what he imagined guilt must be like to feel.
He huffed in annoyance but there she went again. Apologizing to him. After all his snarling and teeth-baring like a vicious wolf-like animal. He looked away as if in irritation. Truth be told, he couldn't stand that pained look in her eye. That couldn't be for him. She was just...she was just kind to everyone. It didn't matter.
"Don't go worryin' about that," he said and his voice was gruff from some underlying emotion that he was barking through with stubborn doggedness. "It was a one time happenstance. Ya won't see me doin' anything so foolish again."
The idea in his head was that it had been stupid for him to bother protecting her. That wasn't like him at all. He was a lone wolf and had no attachments. Such things were weaknesses and he didn't need them. He was content with his life as it was.
It would never happen again.
Yet when he looked back at her the stubborn set to his jaw faltered as the flute warbled plaintively at him. The glare that he had intended to pointedly fire at her died before he even had a chance to truly aim it. He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat.
It was almost impossible not to sigh in a huff again. "Now don't go lookin' like that, petal. You'll ruin yer pretty little face with a look like that and there ain't no reason fer you ta over an old dog like this one." A beat passed. "You just do as you see fit in tha future. That's what yer here fer. I ain't got no say in what you wardens do anyway."
Maybe she was kind to everyone. Maybe she was kind even to people who showed her music that brought her joy. Who grabbed her wrist hard enough to bruise. And who even risked their life for her sake.
Life and injury was not something she took lightly. Even if she had been able to save herself, over and over, he had pulled her out of the way and dealt with her monsters.
"You don't know what the future will hold Mr Collins. Not unless you've got some sort of future vision I don't know about."
She stepped forward slowly. And another step. She didn't like the idea of him getting hurt again- even if he might have deserved it with whatever action he took.
But her hand still slowly reached to touch him on the arm.
"Just remember. I might do what I want, but that's as me. Not the warden. Not the witch." Her voice was softer still. "You don't have to keep putting barriers between us Dennis. You know what would be great? If we could be friends."
Collins's eyes dipped to watch Aerith's hand reach out to touch his arm, but he didn't make any move away. If anything he seemed to relax with the contact.
His eyes returned to hers. A retort formed on his tongue but before he could get it out she had continued in her faint voice. His chest constricted though he wasn't altogether certain what for. Maybe it was just another new line from the music. It was doing everything it could to confuse him today.
"I don't know about that, Miss Aerith." He said. He looked as though he considered saying more and then decided to keep his mouth shut after all.
It seemed that Aerith was doing everything to turn his head. At lest she was trying to be careful and gentle with him. Even if it meant he could bark and snarl all he wanted.
"It's a choice." Aerith told him. Her hand went down his forearm to grip his hand. "None of this worthy or not nonsense. You are who you are. Friendship is a choice we can make, again and again."
Being able to bark and snarl all he wanted was probably one of the biggest bonuses that a person could give him. That leniency went a long way with Collins. (However, the hard part was then drawing the line and, for Collins, not hurting someone was rather hard even when he liked that person. He would have to be careful with Aerith lest he finally cross that line and create a rift that could not be mended with time.)
The fingers of his hands twitched at the contact but again there was no indication that he wanted to pull away. Instead, after a hesitant moment, his fingers curled slightly as if to quietly accept. "I do like you, lass. You've a mettle some men on tha battlefield don't even have and a temperament fit fer an angel." He said with a faint smile. "And tha music is always sweeter when yer around."
Sometimes, he needed to learn where the line was. And she needed to know where he needed to draw the line for himself. Some might have said in his snapping and growling, that he went too far in trying to scare her but...they were all right. They would both learn where would be too much as they got to know each other better.
As Collins noticed, Aerith was not exactly a shrinking violet. There was still a lot that she could handle.
Like her holding the hand that could have hurt her so badly with such utter gentleness.
"I like you too. I like being your friend." Aerith told him, smiling. "I always learn something new around you. You're going to fuss, but I know with you- I am safe."
She paused. Well, that was not completely true. "From everyone else at least."
Collins wasn't used to feeling flustered much less over something as innocent as a few compliments. Still, he felt awkward receiving the kind words from Aerith and for a moment it seemed he like he didn't know what to do. That was frustrating but in a mild way now as he settled into a calm demeanor with their conversation having moved past the hardest parts.
He looked away and for a moment he looked more like a grumpy cat turning its back on someone than a fierce wolf. Fortunately for him, her final comment broke the ice.
Collins laughed. "You've learned half yer lesson, I suppose." His voice grew quieter. "It'll have ta do. But don't you forget." Then after a small beat of silence to let that sink in and then dissipate into the air, he allowed his tone to relax again. Lightly, "Sounds like I'll have ta keep charmin' you with new things ta learn. Are you really tryin' ta learn how ta defend yerself without relyin' on magic? You think yer learnin' tha right kind of self defense fer you?"
Aerith hadn't meant to make Collins flustered but...well. Couldn't say she minded it very much. It was much better then some of the other reactions he could have had with her, being as sassy and bold as she was.
At least she managed to make him laugh. She rewarded him with a pert little smile, clearly pleased with the outcome.
"Oh, that's something I won't forget Collins. We'd both suffer." And she meant it too. But she nodded at the slight chance of subject.
"I have no idea." She was honest at least. "Song Zichen is showing me how to slash, Cain how to punch, and Saga some self defense. They're really kind to help me out so- I've been trying everything I can."
Collins's expression soured a bit at the names mentioned. Not only were the majority wardens, but two out of the three personally pissed off the Irishman. The third meant nothing to him but he was pretty sure it was just another person that would be annoying if he knew.
"I see." His tone was more neutral than his face. "It sounds as though yer gettin' a li'l bit of everything. Except one thing: shootin'."
She had no idea of Collins encounters with the others. Song and Saga were perfectly nice wardens, as far as Aerith was concerned.
Cain...well, he was a temperamental feral cat. There was a reason why Abel had thay network call after all.
"I'm kind of dubious about using blades in the first place." She admitted. "But you're right. I don't know how to shoot arrow or bullets at all. And you do know how to shoot."
"Aye, I do." He said with a faint curl to his lips. "It don't take much strength ta shoot a gun neither. Just tha right amount of trainin' and practice."
He made a small gesture and expression that appeared to be an offer. He was not going to presume she would want lessons from him, but he would not deny himself an excuse to play with guns.
She had certainly seen him shoot on the run. And honestly...it had been pretty cool, in retrospect.
"Thank you Collins. I'd like that- the training- very much. I don't know if we can do that in the gym, since it's so loud but..."
She offered a little shrug. "Just let me know when, and we can try things out in the Enclosure. Would you want to teach me normal-sized guns, or big guns?"
Since she knew Collins had the regular hand-sized gun, she thought he might have fun with playing with shotguns and rifles.
He allowed himself a small smile but hid the rest of his excitement over the prospect of playing with guns. And teaching them to someone, of course.
He considered her question seriously for a moment. "Why not both if yer interested? Though you'll need ta work on yer strength a little fer tha larger guns."
Her noodle arms would need some reinforcement. Overall the guns didn't seem that heavy and she could probably easily carry a rifle. But the shooting process, holding the gun up at shoulder height long enough to aim and fire, that took more strength than expected honestly. He was long past the point of remembering what it felt like, but he had seen plenty of greenhorns have that problem.
"Why don't you... get a few guns from yer world, something you would be able ta find and use there, modify them ta be useless here expect fer trainin' purposes, and give them ta me ta get used to them. I'll read up, figure out any differences if there are any, and then I'll teach you how ta use them. I'll show ya mine, too, so you can round out yer knowledge while yer here. Might not be much of any differences, but I won't know till I see 'em."
Aerith would not be surprised if Collins was plain excited at the idea of using weapons. Which wasn't surprising, since violence sang to him like water over stone.
"Well...I'm already trying to work out at the gym at least."
Aerith found herself frowning in thought. "To be honest, I'm used to seeing rifles more than anything. They were more useful against monsters. I mean, other than Vincent's gun, but? That can also house materia- the orbs I mentioned before. So maybe...not his gun as a blueprint."
Aerith shook her head. "But I can look some up, see about getting some practice guns or something? Maybe there's like...training guns? Something that's only usable for the gun range? I'll have to think about it."
Collins nodded and then added, "You can ask tha 'admiral' bastard ta make modifications as you see fit. Weapons that'll only work in tha Enclosure or make them incapable of harmin' anyone. Make 'em not fire except when certain people are holdin' 'em. Nonsense like that."
He didn't sound very enthused by the suggestions but he was being honest. Most of the things he said were based off what he knew some wardens had done by requesting it from the bastard entity that ran the Barge. Collins figured that it might make Aerith feel more safe if she had such restrictions on any weapons she might bring into the mix.
"If that still don't make ya fit yer fancy, I'm sure tha Enclosure can probably whip up something that includes weapons that can't be taken out of its space since they're only illusions. We can just do that."
Aerith frowned, thoughtful. Those were good things to know but...well.
"Sure, the gun could be stolen...but if there's an emergency, I'd just want it to be a normal gun. That way, it'll be less complicated."
Aerith shook her head. She might toss it to Cloud, or someone else who knew how to use a gun. If they were stuck in another hellscape, She'd rather be armed and arming those who needed it without fussing over details. Funny enough, for her it wasn't an issue of safety.
The idea of someone turning the gun on her didn't occur to her.
"Why don't we just go with the Enclosure for now? We can find the one that works best for me without wasting bullets." She decided. "And you can demonstrate with all sorts of models. It might be better to go with a gun from Earth for me, rather than Gaia."
Collins simply raised his brow at her response but he didn't say anything. It was interesting that she didn't want to bother with bringing a gun here unless it were simply a gun and nothing more. If she wasn't worried about it then why not just bring one here.
If she was worried about it then why bother-
It didn't matter. He could still play with guns for a bit and have her company, too. It wouldn't be the same using the fake ones replicated by the Enclosure but the illusion would do for teaching.
He at least liked her last sensibility and nodded with a small smile. "Maybe it will. Maybe you'll like something from me world instead. We'll see then. Those I know how ta get tha Enclosure ta make, simple. You'll have ta help me with anything else. I don't know tha names or models of 'em." He was still smiling though, a hint of amusement lacing his gaze now. "We'll get to it whenever you like, petal. We've all tha free time in tha world."
Mostly she just want to make sure she wasn't energy by getting a gun that didn't suit her at all. She was used to the mentality of gathering only what she needed- and that was part of her upbringing. Dressing up, having materia, these were things that were luxuries.
And bullets, she thought, were expensive, especially since she did not know if they could forge them here. But once she knew what was best for her, she'd ask for one. And only then.
Besides, it might be fun to see how many guns they could come up with. They might even make each other laugh by some crazy illusions the Enclosure would spit out.
"Well- why don't we go right now? The Enclosure can just go by descriptions." Aerith's smile was tentative. "We can write it down or you can describe them. Maybe we can make up some gun models and see if we can use them. Heck- we can see if we can do something like my friend's gun. You might like it. It's giant and weird."
She said it with all the fondness of someone who had no idea how it worked, knew it was custom, but thought Collins might get a kick out of it.
Collins seemed a bit surprised by the suggestion of going to try it out now, but he definitely was not opposed. He smiled hesitantly and then nodded. "Certainly. Why not?"
There was nothing here that he couldn't do later.
"I've had quite a bit of fun with experimental weapons over tha years, but nothin' like what other worlds can offer. Let's see what we can make then."
"Right? It'll be fun! I have no idea if they'll work, but I can't wait to see!"
The Enclosure hadn't let her down yet. She started moving towards the Enclosure, glancing over her shoulder.
"Come on! Let's see what we can make- or what the place will spit out at us!"
She had full intentions to have Collins set it up. He had a better idea of the guns in mind- but she'd try to throw in things too. Fun for both of them.
And a way to soothe over any troubled feelings from before.
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He could do nothing but frown at what she told him of the magic of her world. So she did require items to cast her magic. That explained the lack of staff and why she was extra vulnerable without it. She had implied it made them even...far from it in truth since she was so weak physically. But the point remained she had done it on purpose and, possibly, as much as for him as any other reason. It made him huff in annoyance but if anything that was only to snuff out any other sentimental emotions that may have formed with the realization.
"But you can do harm with yer magic," he pointed out stubbornly. At this point he was struggling to argue with her but that was his nature. "You can perform unnatural phenomenon with it. And ya wield it as you see fit."
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"Just like other people can do harm with their knives, or bows, or guns." She paused, glancing at his hands. "Or their hands." Her eyes went up to look back up at his face, to that stubborn gaze.
"Which is why I've been learning self-defense so I don't rely on it. Though...I won't be any good at it for a very long time. But...I am sorry that I cast magic on you without your permission. I won't do that again."
She looked pained at it. "Even if that means...even if that means you stay injured or worse."
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That gave him joy. Today, when she looked at him, it almost felt like what he imagined guilt must be like to feel.
He huffed in annoyance but there she went again. Apologizing to him. After all his snarling and teeth-baring like a vicious wolf-like animal. He looked away as if in irritation. Truth be told, he couldn't stand that pained look in her eye. That couldn't be for him. She was just...she was just kind to everyone. It didn't matter.
"Don't go worryin' about that," he said and his voice was gruff from some underlying emotion that he was barking through with stubborn doggedness. "It was a one time happenstance. Ya won't see me doin' anything so foolish again."
The idea in his head was that it had been stupid for him to bother protecting her. That wasn't like him at all. He was a lone wolf and had no attachments. Such things were weaknesses and he didn't need them. He was content with his life as it was.
It would never happen again.
Yet when he looked back at her the stubborn set to his jaw faltered as the flute warbled plaintively at him. The glare that he had intended to pointedly fire at her died before he even had a chance to truly aim it. He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat.
It was almost impossible not to sigh in a huff again. "Now don't go lookin' like that, petal. You'll ruin yer pretty little face with a look like that and there ain't no reason fer you ta over an old dog like this one." A beat passed. "You just do as you see fit in tha future. That's what yer here fer. I ain't got no say in what you wardens do anyway."
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Life and injury was not something she took lightly. Even if she had been able to save herself, over and over, he had pulled her out of the way and dealt with her monsters.
"You don't know what the future will hold Mr Collins. Not unless you've got some sort of future vision I don't know about."
She stepped forward slowly. And another step. She didn't like the idea of him getting hurt again- even if he might have deserved it with whatever action he took.
But her hand still slowly reached to touch him on the arm.
"Just remember. I might do what I want, but that's as me. Not the warden. Not the witch." Her voice was softer still. "You don't have to keep putting barriers between us Dennis. You know what would be great? If we could be friends."
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His eyes returned to hers. A retort formed on his tongue but before he could get it out she had continued in her faint voice. His chest constricted though he wasn't altogether certain what for. Maybe it was just another new line from the music. It was doing everything it could to confuse him today.
"I don't know about that, Miss Aerith." He said. He looked as though he considered saying more and then decided to keep his mouth shut after all.
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"It's a choice." Aerith told him. Her hand went down his forearm to grip his hand. "None of this worthy or not nonsense. You are who you are. Friendship is a choice we can make, again and again."
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The fingers of his hands twitched at the contact but again there was no indication that he wanted to pull away. Instead, after a hesitant moment, his fingers curled slightly as if to quietly accept. "I do like you, lass. You've a mettle some men on tha battlefield don't even have and a temperament fit fer an angel." He said with a faint smile. "And tha music is always sweeter when yer around."
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As Collins noticed, Aerith was not exactly a shrinking violet. There was still a lot that she could handle.
Like her holding the hand that could have hurt her so badly with such utter gentleness.
"I like you too. I like being your friend." Aerith told him, smiling. "I always learn something new around you. You're going to fuss, but I know with you- I am safe."
She paused. Well, that was not completely true. "From everyone else at least."
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He looked away and for a moment he looked more like a grumpy cat turning its back on someone than a fierce wolf. Fortunately for him, her final comment broke the ice.
Collins laughed. "You've learned half yer lesson, I suppose." His voice grew quieter. "It'll have ta do. But don't you forget." Then after a small beat of silence to let that sink in and then dissipate into the air, he allowed his tone to relax again. Lightly, "Sounds like I'll have ta keep charmin' you with new things ta learn. Are you really tryin' ta learn how ta defend yerself without relyin' on magic? You think yer learnin' tha right kind of self defense fer you?"
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At least she managed to make him laugh. She rewarded him with a pert little smile, clearly pleased with the outcome.
"Oh, that's something I won't forget Collins. We'd both suffer." And she meant it too. But she nodded at the slight chance of subject.
"I have no idea." She was honest at least. "Song Zichen is showing me how to slash, Cain how to punch, and Saga some self defense. They're really kind to help me out so- I've been trying everything I can."
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"I see." His tone was more neutral than his face. "It sounds as though yer gettin' a li'l bit of everything. Except one thing: shootin'."
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Cain...well, he was a temperamental feral cat. There was a reason why Abel had thay network call after all.
"I'm kind of dubious about using blades in the first place." She admitted. "But you're right. I don't know how to shoot arrow or bullets at all. And you do know how to shoot."
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He made a small gesture and expression that appeared to be an offer. He was not going to presume she would want lessons from him, but he would not deny himself an excuse to play with guns.
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"Thank you Collins. I'd like that- the training- very much. I don't know if we can do that in the gym, since it's so loud but..."
She offered a little shrug. "Just let me know when, and we can try things out in the Enclosure. Would you want to teach me normal-sized guns, or big guns?"
Since she knew Collins had the regular hand-sized gun, she thought he might have fun with playing with shotguns and rifles.
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He considered her question seriously for a moment. "Why not both if yer interested? Though you'll need ta work on yer strength a little fer tha larger guns."
Her noodle arms would need some reinforcement. Overall the guns didn't seem that heavy and she could probably easily carry a rifle. But the shooting process, holding the gun up at shoulder height long enough to aim and fire, that took more strength than expected honestly. He was long past the point of remembering what it felt like, but he had seen plenty of greenhorns have that problem.
"Why don't you... get a few guns from yer world, something you would be able ta find and use there, modify them ta be useless here expect fer trainin' purposes, and give them ta me ta get used to them. I'll read up, figure out any differences if there are any, and then I'll teach you how ta use them. I'll show ya mine, too, so you can round out yer knowledge while yer here. Might not be much of any differences, but I won't know till I see 'em."
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"Well...I'm already trying to work out at the gym at least."
Aerith found herself frowning in thought. "To be honest, I'm used to seeing rifles more than anything. They were more useful against monsters. I mean, other than Vincent's gun, but? That can also house materia- the orbs I mentioned before. So maybe...not his gun as a blueprint."
Aerith shook her head. "But I can look some up, see about getting some practice guns or something? Maybe there's like...training guns? Something that's only usable for the gun range? I'll have to think about it."
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He didn't sound very enthused by the suggestions but he was being honest. Most of the things he said were based off what he knew some wardens had done by requesting it from the bastard entity that ran the Barge. Collins figured that it might make Aerith feel more safe if she had such restrictions on any weapons she might bring into the mix.
"If that still don't make ya fit yer fancy, I'm sure tha Enclosure can probably whip up something that includes weapons that can't be taken out of its space since they're only illusions. We can just do that."
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"Sure, the gun could be stolen...but if there's an emergency, I'd just want it to be a normal gun. That way, it'll be less complicated."
Aerith shook her head. She might toss it to Cloud, or someone else who knew how to use a gun. If they were stuck in another hellscape, She'd rather be armed and arming those who needed it without fussing over details. Funny enough, for her it wasn't an issue of safety.
The idea of someone turning the gun on her didn't occur to her.
"Why don't we just go with the Enclosure for now? We can find the one that works best for me without wasting bullets." She decided. "And you can demonstrate with all sorts of models. It might be better to go with a gun from Earth for me, rather than Gaia."
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If she was worried about it then why bother-
It didn't matter. He could still play with guns for a bit and have her company, too. It wouldn't be the same using the fake ones replicated by the Enclosure but the illusion would do for teaching.
He at least liked her last sensibility and nodded with a small smile. "Maybe it will. Maybe you'll like something from me world instead. We'll see then. Those I know how ta get tha Enclosure ta make, simple. You'll have ta help me with anything else. I don't know tha names or models of 'em." He was still smiling though, a hint of amusement lacing his gaze now. "We'll get to it whenever you like, petal. We've all tha free time in tha world."
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And bullets, she thought, were expensive, especially since she did not know if they could forge them here. But once she knew what was best for her, she'd ask for one. And only then.
Besides, it might be fun to see how many guns they could come up with. They might even make each other laugh by some crazy illusions the Enclosure would spit out.
"Well- why don't we go right now? The Enclosure can just go by descriptions." Aerith's smile was tentative. "We can write it down or you can describe them. Maybe we can make up some gun models and see if we can use them. Heck- we can see if we can do something like my friend's gun. You might like it. It's giant and weird."
She said it with all the fondness of someone who had no idea how it worked, knew it was custom, but thought Collins might get a kick out of it.
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There was nothing here that he couldn't do later.
"I've had quite a bit of fun with experimental weapons over tha years, but nothin' like what other worlds can offer. Let's see what we can make then."
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The Enclosure hadn't let her down yet. She started moving towards the Enclosure, glancing over her shoulder.
"Come on! Let's see what we can make- or what the place will spit out at us!"
She had full intentions to have Collins set it up. He had a better idea of the guns in mind- but she'd try to throw in things too. Fun for both of them.
And a way to soothe over any troubled feelings from before.