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THE SMOOTH METAL OF THE TRIGGER felt strange under her finger, even still after she had learned the basics of how to operate the gun. With a swift movement of her finger, she pulled it and a loud crack echoed. If the Grounders did come back, she wanted to be ready for it. And there was no way she would be if she didn't do any practicing.
The bullet pierced through the hastily made target and she quietly commended herself for actually making it on the target that time. Taylor had not been so lucky every single other time. But it was a learning process, and oh was she determined.
The morale of camp had been lifted somewhat with the arrival of Unity Day. Finn had not exactly approved of her practicing shooting considering the occasion, but she quickly reminded him that he didn't approve of the day itself. She had to admire how much he strived for peace, but this was one of those times where she didn't particularly agree with him.
"Guns on Unity Day? I'm shocked," a sudden voice commented from behind her. Just as the words entered her ear, she pulled the trigger once again and made it closer to the center of the target. She smiled and shrugged with nonchalance, proud that the distraction hadn't impacted her shooting.
"You're starting to sound like Finn," she told Bellamy, not looking back as she already knew who was behind her. It had taken her until just then to realize that the sky was transitioning into the night, the orange glow surrounding them in a haze.
"Then I should stop talking," he replied with a grin she couldn't see, still focused on aiming her gun toward the center of the target in front of her. "You're shooting too low, too far to the left." His fingers brushed on her arm and adjusted her aim slightly. She took in a sharp breath and focused in, pulling the trigger. This time she very nearly made it in the center, closer than she had gotten the entire time.
Lowering the gun, she turned around to face him with a full-blown smile. And she would admit, that felt good after all of the troubles that they had faced. "Seriously, take a break. You've been going non stop lately," he said, gesturing to the festivities that were now beginning around camp, some already heavily enjoying Monty's freshly made 'unity juice'.
"All right. But you have to promise to do the same," Taylor told him and he nodded with a smile. Even though Finn had been talking about how the whole idea of Unity Day was wrong, she couldn't remember the last time everyone around her had smiled this much.
Leaving Bellamy to his own devices, she locked up her gun where they had decided to keep them. A guard, of course, was posted there all hours of the day just as people were posted on watch. She, Bellamy, and Clarke had decided that this would be the best way to handle the guns.
After a few hours, when she was only halfway into her second drink — she thought it would be wise to go easy — Clarke approached her with a lightened, but still grim, look. "Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt —" she began, but Taylor set down her drink on the nearest surface and shook her head.
