"remember, it's a dialogue, not a fight."
drift compatibility trials, between Derek and Avery.
There’s that almost buzzing feeling Avery gets sometimes. Like before his Jaeger Program tests, when he was all keyed up with anticipation and ready to go. The same feeling he got when he met Derek Hutchins, pilot of Peregrine Lord, for the first time.
Avery is bouncing back and forth on his heels in the training room, trying to work out some of his nervous energy, when Wifies and Derek enter the room.
“Avery,” Wifies says with a grin, “Good, you’re here early.”
Derek nods at Avery and offers a small wave, and Avery tries not to look too nervous as he waves back. Derek Hutchins is a mystery- after meeting him, Avery’d tried to find more information, and interestingly, the only thing he’d found was a confirmation that yes, Derek was one of the pilots of Peregrine Lord.
Wifies wants to put him in the same Jaeger as a Ranger who’s piloted a certified legend. They’d studied the Jaeger’s moves and strategies in training, until Avery could probably recognise that particular style of movement anywhere.
Derek’s wearing a jacket, royal-red and gold, and Avery tries his best not to stare at the sight of a Ranger’s jacket, in the Jaeger’s colours. If their trial goes well, he’ll get one too, a new one to match whatever Jaeger they’ve been assigned to.
“Okay,” Wifies says, clapping his hands together, “Get a staff, and let’s get to work!”
From the corner of his eye, Avery sees Derek put something into his mouth and take off his glasses and jacket, setting them all neatly on the ground near the sparring mat; when he gets onto the sparring mat, something about his eyes is different, but Avery doesn’t really have the time to think about it before Derek is offering him a wan smile, staff levelled, "Ready?"
This is the thing about Peregrine Lord; Derek was always the stronger of the two pilots. Peregrine Lord cycled through Rangers quicker than most, because it was hard to find someone who could balance Derek out.
Avery lunges forward first. Derek slides out of the way, and the spar begins.
Derek is a strategist, and an analytical fighter, but for all that he is a genius, he’s not the strongest at pure, instinctive, fighting. Peregrine Lord was never the first to engage; the Jaeger would hang back, observe, and then- once Derek (and technically his co-pilot) got the strategy in order- go in and finish the fight.
“One-zero,” Avery says as he lands a hit, and Derek nods.
Wifies has seen the scans. Derek needs someone with the instinct to match his intellect, needs someone who can cover his weak spots and push forward his strong ones in the same way he can do for them. But the other Ranger has to be a damn good one, already; that makes it so much harder for them to find a Ranger on Derek’s level who can also balance him out.
That’s how it usually goes, Wifies notes as he watches with some amusement; Derek’s opponent will always get the first hits in while he studies them, their movement and their tactics, and then he’ll close the gap in points quickly enough.
They keep going. Fighting. And the more Wifies watches, the more he knows he’s made the right call. No one is scoring anymore. They anticipate each other’s attacks, pull back at the right points, fight like they know every move the other person will make. It is a dance more so than a fight, a conversation, a duet.
Avery and Derek will do excellent, in the Drift.
(i blame @countthelions for this i've been enabled... welcome to the slimeknight jaeger au this one is less so a solid story and more so a collection of little bits and pieces)
(i think avery should have green streaks in his hair just to hammer home a couple of mako mori / raleigh becket parallels. not that there are many parallels, but-)
