The first time Jalen tries practicing solo in the rebound chamber he set up, he nearly takes his own head off.
His next few attempts don't go much better. A botched handspring leaves him sprawled ungracefully on his back, groaning from the impact of the floor against his disc port. An attempt to catch a high-speed ricochet ends with a damaged glove and a stinging score across the palm of his hand. By the middle of the session Jalen is panting and disheveled, looking for all the world like he's fought his way out of a gridbug nest, and is pretty well convinced that this is the stupidest idea he's ever had.
He's picking himself up off the floor from his latest near-miss dodge when a voice calls from the sidelines: "You're throwing too hard."
Jalen looks up, startled, to see Tron—of all people—watching him from just outside the chamber's entry port with an amused expression. His immediate urge is to scramble for his disc, dock it, and pretend he's been doing something, anything else, but he has the sinking feeling it's far too late for that.Users, how long has he been watching…?
"Greetings, Tron…I wasn't…I mean, I was just…"
"You're putting too much power into your throws," Tron repeats, entering the chamber. He picks up Jalen's disc from the floor, holding it out to the taller ISO. "Disc Wars matches are about timing and precision as much as speed and strength. I can show you some tricks, if you like."
Jalen's eyes widen, and he takes his disc back with a hesitant, disbelieving smile. "Ah…yes, I would like that. If you've got the time."
Tron nods with a smile of his own, then undocks his own disc, taking up a basic starting stance and motioning Jalen to follow his movements. "Here. Set your feet a bit wider, and pay attention to the angle of your throw. Like so…"
They practice together for the next thirty microcycles or so, and by the time they've parted Jalen's gone from thinking that this was the stupidest idea he's ever had to thinking that maybe, just maybe, he can do this after all.