Don’t worry. I’ll take it as more of a second opinion than an official order. And I was of the same mind, anyway.
[Maybe it’s what he needed to hear from someone else in his field — the medical one, at least. That the risk is worth it, only for the right set of circumstances.
The drug they’re talking about is as dangerous as any; one hit is all it takes for some substances to hook their claws into an individual, and it’s downhill from there. But restraint? He can perhaps try, if his doses are few and far in-between.]
Small scares over a long period of time, maybe. Enough to generate an ace in the hole spell when the situation’s looking grim.
As for ADI, I can probably answer that for you. They’re not all reactionary. I’m under the impression that they have agents spread out, running missions often. We just aren’t privy to the details because, once again, it’s a matter of trust. I don’t think any of us have earned it.
[it makes her wonder if there's a replacement, ways to taper off when the compulsion was too strong. therapy, a cure - call it naivete, but she refuses to think of it immediately as a lost cause. more and more, what was given up as inevitable was fixed via medicine, or some new treatment, or the stubbornness and refusal to give up.]
No, and they're right to only allow us so much room to run about. It's simply difficult, to be handed the news that the world is under siege and then be told to be patient, to know there's information there and make peace with not knowing.
[A solution — he wonders, too, if it exists, waiting to be uncovered. The man who wants to fix everything, that old shadow of himself, says that there must be if they only look hard enough.
But he thinks back to his home—to Kaecillius, who wanted to circumvent death—and wonders if this is the same mindset of those who took it too far. Was there a transition to something more sinister, slow and insidious, much like what Lehrer warned? Are they flirting with the same outcome just by considering it?
Or are they allowing something terrible to happen merely because their hands are tied, bound by ADI’s authority?
Neither option is great.]
Do you intend to investigate in the field, Doctor Dyer? With or without ADI’s approval.
I understand that not everyone is trusting of the organization that’s taken us under their wing.
Even if I was making plans of that nature - which I am not - there's a large practical setback. My skills lie solely in the field of medicine, I have no combat expertise or experience handling the supernatural. To investigate unearthly threats on my own, with no approval guaranteed, would be tantamount to a suicide mission.
It’s important to have people working support as much as those who choose to investigate. I have some physical training, but without my magic, I’m in the same boat as you. So I understand.
That said, there are plenty here who could teach you the basics of self-defense. Preparation never hurts.
That's a relief to know. I'll take a look around once I know my next week's schedule. Hopefully someone will be willing to be patient with a complete novice.
I wouldn’t have offered if it was an imposition, Doctor Dyer. Besides, it’s for my benefit, too. If I can’t rely on my magic, then I’ll have to rely on my reflexes to make up for it.
Let’s meet up when our schedules allow it. Make sure to wear something easy to move around in.
— — — — — — —
[“When their schedules allow it” is in a few days time, when they’ve managed to steal away from the medical department, their colleagues subtly adamant that they take a break and finally detach themselves from the facilities.
Well, B3 is technically the same floor as the medical department, but Stephen’s nearly sure this counts. There’s a whole area devoted to weapons training, with spacious clearance to move around. The mats on the ground further sell the idea that this is where agents go to hone their hand-to-hand combat skills, or other means of melee — it’s no Kamar-Taj, outdoors and rife with a bracing breeze, but it’ll do.
He’s dressed… well, some would call it oddly. Donned in his sorcerer’s ensemble, minus the Cloak of Levitation, it’s not what he wears when making his rounds as a doctor, but it’s his version of normal. It’s what he equates to “easy to move around in”, and to fight in; it’s seen plenty of danger, after all, both mystical and physical.]
On a scale from 1 to 10, how confident do you feel about this first session?
[she's dressed quite similarly to how she looks at work, with the main change being that she's swapped a long skirt out for pants. decidedly not her usual style, but it seemed appropriate, seeing other women in their training, and her hair won't budge in a windstorm, so she's assuming she's fine.]
But one can't gain confidence in lack of trying, right?
Well, I was a strong “1” when I began my training, so you’re off to a better start than me.
[Which is a perhaps an understatement, given his struggles at the very start. The inability to cast magic, blaming his hands; his laughable attempts in sparring sessions against fellow would-be-sorcerers.
He waits for her to draw closer, to better feel the sensation of the mat beneath their feet.]
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve had to defend yourself?
I’ve been there, too. And it’s enough, until the day that it isn’t.
[Fight for you life! Stephen still remembers Mordo’s barking command from that day, catching Stephen off-guard, driving home just how unprepared he would be if something did try to kill him.]
Say that you have your back against the wall, and I’m a threat. You have no choice but to fight; knowing what you do know about me, how would you go about it?
[Doctor Strange and his useless hands. A trait that does factor into his own fighting style, if it ever comes down to it.]
...I'd take stock of what I had in my surroundings and on my person. Perhaps if something could be thrown either to hit or as a distraction. If you move to dodge it, that could be a gap in your defense, and if it strikes you, that also tells me something.
[the thing she's not saying is that she doesn't expect him to catch it.]
[He can hear that implication clear as day, but hardly takes offense to it. It's the point he was trying to make, and she latched onto it without any further prompting on his part.]
Good, because being clever about how you attack is the only way to gain the advantage when you're otherwise at the disadvantage -- physically, or in terms of abilities.
[Magical, superpowered, or otherwise. He holds up his hands, which she's seen as scarred and weak before.]
You know me well enough to know that these are useless. So, since you have nothing to throw at me here, let me see you attack me yourself. However you like.
[clever, right...and against someone who's a much more experienced fighter than herself. there's not a wrong answer, she knows, but it still feels like a test, like he's evaluating her. in that case, she can only do her best to make a decent mark.
it's clumsy, the way she steps in to try to hit him with her right hand, but she switches before it gets too close to her left, hoping to catch him off guard. her guard's far too open, but the effort is there, trying to be confusing, to be smart about what they're going to do.]
[It is a test, but only marginally. It’s not as though he hasn’t been in that exact position—of not having any experience—but his own trials and tribulations were sometimes literally do-or-die. It makes sense to hammer some practice into her before she faces her own such instance; it would be a shame to lose one of their own, much less one devoted and entrenched in the medical practices that keep otherworlders safe and healthy.
Her misdirection is the right idea, but sloppily executed, and Stephen can read her intent before she approaches. Still, he raises a forearm to block, the force reverberating up to his wrist. It does hurt, a little.]
That’s the right idea. But your body language is giving everything away. Here, let me show you.
[And he does. And he shows her other stances, reveals the schools of thought the sorcerers taught him when it came to offense and defense, favoring precision of technique over the application of brute force. Time passes. It’s enough to have broken a sweat, and Stephen eventually calls the session to an end for now, rubbing the moisture from his brow.]
[it's a far different style from all the thoughts she's had, but it makes sense, like gears in a clockwork fitting their teeth together. she gives her all after that initial hesitation, definitely breathing hard, her forehead shining from exertion, but she never asks to stop. no, that would be counter productive to the exercise.
catching her breath with her hands on her knees, she looks over to him, feeling at once painfully aware of her own inadequacies but also that more determined to fight them.]
It's something, at the very least. Thank you for your instruction, Dr. Strange.
You're very welcome. [He drops his hands to his side, flexing his fingers a little.] Though it's instruction wasted if you're not going to promise to keep it up. Like I said before, there are plenty here who'd be willing to teach you, but if you wanted to schedule a time for us to continue our sessions, I could adjust my schedule accordingly.
[And it wouldn't be just for her benefit, but for his own. He feels utterly inadequate, at times, without his magic. Some physical bolstering would assuage it, if only a little.]
If you're offering, then I'll make that schedule. I admit I'm a fan of your teaching style, and our department will be glad enough to know we're taking breaks.
[workaholics know each other all too well. straightening back up, for all the physical work, she does feel somehow lighter.]
And it would be the best way for you to see that your tutelage isn't being illspent.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cw: brief addiction analogy
[Maybe it’s what he needed to hear from someone else in his field — the medical one, at least. That the risk is worth it, only for the right set of circumstances.
The drug they’re talking about is as dangerous as any; one hit is all it takes for some substances to hook their claws into an individual, and it’s downhill from there. But restraint? He can perhaps try, if his doses are few and far in-between.]
Small scares over a long period of time, maybe. Enough to generate an ace in the hole spell when the situation’s looking grim.
As for ADI, I can probably answer that for you. They’re not all reactionary. I’m under the impression that they have agents spread out, running missions often. We just aren’t privy to the details because, once again, it’s a matter of trust. I don’t think any of us have earned it.
no subject
No, and they're right to only allow us so much room to run about. It's simply difficult, to be handed the news that the world is under siege and then be told to be patient, to know there's information there and make peace with not knowing.
no subject
But he thinks back to his home—to Kaecillius, who wanted to circumvent death—and wonders if this is the same mindset of those who took it too far. Was there a transition to something more sinister, slow and insidious, much like what Lehrer warned? Are they flirting with the same outcome just by considering it?
Or are they allowing something terrible to happen merely because their hands are tied, bound by ADI’s authority?
Neither option is great.]
Do you intend to investigate in the field, Doctor Dyer? With or without ADI’s approval.
I understand that not everyone is trusting of the organization that’s taken us under their wing.
no subject
no subject
[A beat, another message:]
I mean that seriously, not sarcastically.
It’s important to have people working support as much as those who choose to investigate. I have some physical training, but without my magic, I’m in the same boat as you. So I understand.
That said, there are plenty here who could teach you the basics of self-defense. Preparation never hurts.
no subject
no subject
Some people even say I’m patient.
no subject
text -> action, a couple days later
Let’s meet up when our schedules allow it. Make sure to wear something easy to move around in.
[“When their schedules allow it” is in a few days time, when they’ve managed to steal away from the medical department, their colleagues subtly adamant that they take a break and finally detach themselves from the facilities.
Well, B3 is technically the same floor as the medical department, but Stephen’s nearly sure this counts. There’s a whole area devoted to weapons training, with spacious clearance to move around. The mats on the ground further sell the idea that this is where agents go to hone their hand-to-hand combat skills, or other means of melee — it’s no Kamar-Taj, outdoors and rife with a bracing breeze, but it’ll do.
He’s dressed… well, some would call it oddly. Donned in his sorcerer’s ensemble, minus the Cloak of Levitation, it’s not what he wears when making his rounds as a doctor, but it’s his version of normal. It’s what he equates to “easy to move around in”, and to fight in; it’s seen plenty of danger, after all, both mystical and physical.]
On a scale from 1 to 10, how confident do you feel about this first session?
no subject
[she's dressed quite similarly to how she looks at work, with the main change being that she's swapped a long skirt out for pants. decidedly not her usual style, but it seemed appropriate, seeing other women in their training, and her hair won't budge in a windstorm, so she's assuming she's fine.]
But one can't gain confidence in lack of trying, right?
no subject
[Which is a perhaps an understatement, given his struggles at the very start. The inability to cast magic, blaming his hands; his laughable attempts in sparring sessions against fellow would-be-sorcerers.
He waits for her to draw closer, to better feel the sensation of the mat beneath their feet.]
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve had to defend yourself?
no subject
[she'll leave out the parts that make this complicated.]
no subject
[Fight for you life! Stephen still remembers Mordo’s barking command from that day, catching Stephen off-guard, driving home just how unprepared he would be if something did try to kill him.]
Say that you have your back against the wall, and I’m a threat. You have no choice but to fight; knowing what you do know about me, how would you go about it?
[Doctor Strange and his useless hands. A trait that does factor into his own fighting style, if it ever comes down to it.]
no subject
[the thing she's not saying is that she doesn't expect him to catch it.]
no subject
Good, because being clever about how you attack is the only way to gain the advantage when you're otherwise at the disadvantage -- physically, or in terms of abilities.
[Magical, superpowered, or otherwise. He holds up his hands, which she's seen as scarred and weak before.]
You know me well enough to know that these are useless. So, since you have nothing to throw at me here, let me see you attack me yourself. However you like.
no subject
it's clumsy, the way she steps in to try to hit him with her right hand, but she switches before it gets too close to her left, hoping to catch him off guard. her guard's far too open, but the effort is there, trying to be confusing, to be smart about what they're going to do.]
no subject
Her misdirection is the right idea, but sloppily executed, and Stephen can read her intent before she approaches. Still, he raises a forearm to block, the force reverberating up to his wrist. It does hurt, a little.]
That’s the right idea. But your body language is giving everything away. Here, let me show you.
[And he does. And he shows her other stances, reveals the schools of thought the sorcerers taught him when it came to offense and defense, favoring precision of technique over the application of brute force. Time passes. It’s enough to have broken a sweat, and Stephen eventually calls the session to an end for now, rubbing the moisture from his brow.]
Not too bad, Doctor Dyer. It’s a good start.
no subject
catching her breath with her hands on her knees, she looks over to him, feeling at once painfully aware of her own inadequacies but also that more determined to fight them.]
It's something, at the very least. Thank you for your instruction, Dr. Strange.
no subject
[And it wouldn't be just for her benefit, but for his own. He feels utterly inadequate, at times, without his magic. Some physical bolstering would assuage it, if only a little.]
no subject
[workaholics know each other all too well. straightening back up, for all the physical work, she does feel somehow lighter.]
And it would be the best way for you to see that your tutelage isn't being illspent.
no subject
[It’s a joke, of course. (Except when it isn’t.)]
Consider it done. Guess you’re my new student, Doctor.