Just a note, there's a bit more swearing in this chapter than there has been. All from Elsa. And before you ask, she has that reaction because she's already stressed to the breaking point, and who wouldn't get a little steamed, honestly? She doesn't have powers in this, so I feel like without a way to get out her feelings, she tends to bottle them up. Note: I got Sven's last name from a Sami word for a male draft reindeer. Warning: Elsa does get a little pissed and violent, though it's not toward a person, but a wall, so... Anyway, enjoy!
"Now, before we get started, there are few things that you have to understand. The Drift will not only test you mentally, it will also affect you for the rest of your life. There are several conditions that can arise out of the Drift, and you will experience at least one of them, but for now, we're going to discuss the Big Three."
"Bjorgman! Heargi! Get your asses over here!" the combat instructor barked. Kristoff and Sven moved from their places on the wall and jogged over to stand beside him.
"Here's how it goes, recruits: you're all gonna be fighting Kaijus hand-to-hand!" Several murmurs of shock and protest rose up from the seated Jäger pilots, on the floor with their partners. As per the usual, Anna was entirely too close for Elsa's comfort, deciding to sit between her outstretched legs, back pressed against the blonde's front.
When she'd first sat down, intending to stretch, she hadn't realized she'd been giving an open invitation to more touching. Anna hadn't even been touching her at first, but she very slowly started to scoot back, which had led to Elsa scooting back. This little game of cat and mouse ended when Elsa's back made solid contact with the wall, giving her nowhere to go.
"Hand-to-hand? What's he talking about?" Anna turned to look at her sister, bringing their faces extremely close.
"I don't know, just pay attention!" an extremely flustered Elsa muttered.
"Sheesh, okay," Anna grumbled, mistaking Elsa's awkwardness as irritation. She crossed her arms and faced toward the front once more, still not making any motions to move.
Well shit, now she's upset.
Breathe. In eleven, out seven.
"The first is what we affectionately refer to as Mental Cabin Fever, or MCF. This is brought about by being in someone's head for too long. Just picture having to go on a cross country road trip with your best friend. Sure, it's fun at first, but cramped in a tiny space with only one person for too long? You start to snap. That's why we have a rotation system for our Jägers. One mission per three weeks, the minimum rest period."
"I say hand-to-hand, because when they strap you down and connect you, that robot is you. You are the robot, and you and your partner are one person. Take for example Bjorgman and Heargi here." He gestured to the two men, who had linked arms and in somewhat of a fighting stance. He threw a left hook at Kristoff, only to be blocked by Sven. This started a sparring match, the blonde and brunette moving as if they were one, very broad, man.
"Watch how they move, how you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. That is how Jäger pilots must fight. As one. But in order to do that, you have to know how your partner moves. How they fight. How they tense, how they block. Which hand is dominant. You have to know them better than they know themselves, which is why I want you to spar your partner until you fight exactly like each other. It will be a lot easier once you Drift, but we want to see how you do before that." He clapped twice, and everyone in the room jumped to their feet, eager to start.
Elsa sized up her sister nervously. She had no idea what Anna was capable of, but she knew that the girl had more energy than she could ever hope to attain. Anna only grinned, which at any other time would be comforting, but in light of the circumstances, was extremely unnerving. Shit, she wasn't worried at all was she? Then Elsa was on her back, with a gloating Anna above her.
"C'mon, Elsa, I barely bumped into you!" Anna laughed, extending a hand which was taken gratefully.
"I wasn't ready!" Elsa pouted (fucking pouted, what the hell?). Anna was obviously rubbing off on her.
"Is that what you're gonna say when a Kaiju is mauling us? 'Hang on, Mr. Alien Dude, I'm not ready'?" the younger girl teased.
"Shut the fuck up," the blonde growled playfully, charging her sister. She rammed into her with all her might, slamming her shoulder into the girl's gut. Anna, for all her shorter nature, didn't move an inch, and Elsa didn't have to see her to know she had a smug smirk on her face. Bitch.
"What the hell?" Elsa grunted with effort, still making no progress.
"You're such a dainty flower, sis. You should eat more," Anna laughed, easily unwrapping her sister's arms from her torso, picking her up and throwing her over her shoulder.
"We can't all be fucking freaks of nature. Who blasted you with gamma radiation?" the blonde muttered, more than a little peeved. She struggled to escape from Anna's vice grip, only succeeding in slipping further down her back.
"Bruce Banner ain't got nothing on me! And who knew you were such a nerd?" The redhead didn't realize that Elsa's legs were slowly slipping further out of her grasp. However, Elsa did, and started to formulate a plan of escape.
"You knew what I was talking about, so you're in no position to call me a nerd. Besides, I think out of the two of us, I'm Bruce Banner, and you're the Hulk," Elsa grinned. Just a few more inches.
"And why is that, dear sister of mine?" Finally, Elsa's hands were where she wanted them.
"Because while you may be the brawn..." Elsa slammed her hands into the back of Anna's knees, dropping her and allowing Elsa to force her sister face first into the ground. She quickly scrambled to pin Anna's arm behind her back, rendering her immobile.
"...I am the brains," Elsa finished from her place perched atop the stunned redhead. A beat passed, silent, as the two sisters stared at each other, each a little surprised. Suddenly, they burst into laughter, rolling apart from each other, finally getting to be sisters.
And for once, Elsa didn't feel sick.
Breathe. In eleven, out seven.
Of course, positive moments in Elsa's life were always fleeting.
As she gazed at her sister, faces flushed, chests heaving, laying closer than they had since they were small, so too did the weightless feeling escape her. A jolt to her stomach was enough to send her shooting to her feet, distancing herself, and leaving Anna with a disappointed look on her face.
Always the same. Always a disappointment.
"The second is something that most of you have heard of: Drift Sexual Attraction, DSA for short. Having your mind so intimately connected with another will often lead to the need to have the same connection all the time, through physical acts. It's especially prominent when your partner is of your preferred sex, but it happens even when they aren't. There have been several reported cases of pilots realizing their sexualities after a Drift, and that could occur for any of you. Of course, this may cause some discomfort between partners, as one may experience DSA while the other does not. If this should occur, you need to contact one of our psychologists for immediate Drift Compatibility Re-Evaluation."
Breathe. In eleven, out seven.
"You're gonna have to face it sometime. The Drift is dangerous without trust," Kristoff relayed for Sven.
"That's the problem. She trusts me so much. She'll never trust me again." Elsa dropped her head into her hands.
"Two things: one, you don't know that, and two, if she finds out through the Drift, it could become a RABIT, especially if there are specific memories. If she goes in there blind, she could end up chasing it and then you're not only putting you and her in danger, but everyone in LOCCENT, too," Sven frowned, crossing his arms.
"I really wish I knew what you guys were talking about," Kristoff muttered.
"You Drift tomorrow, Elsa. Once you're getting locked in, it's too late to say anything." With that, Sven pushed himself up from the table and went in search of food, Kristoff trailing after him.
Tell her, or let her find out in the Drift. Either way, Elsa was fucked.
Elsa was fucked. Holy shit was she fucked.
"What the hell do you mean the fucking Drift was fucking moved to fucking today? That's absolute fucking bullshit!" she shouted at the quivering tech who'd gotten the unfortunate role of telling her the news. So she swore a lot when she was stressed, fucking sue her.
"I d-don't know what to fu- er, t-tell you, Miss Elsa. All I was told was that the team that was scheduled for today couldn't make it!" the scrawny man cowered, startled by the unexpected reaction. He'd known pilots to be nervous, but none of them had ever been murderously so.
"I am so goddamn fucked!" Elsa slammed her fist into the wall, making a noticeable dent.
"Uh, Miss Elsa?"
"What?" Elsa growled.
"Your h-hand," he pointed. Elsa looked down to see the bloody mess her knuckles had become. Shit.
Breathe. In eleven, out seven.
"The third is the most common, and is sometimes taken to extremes, such as in the case of Kristoff Bjorgman and Sven Heargi. It's the Ghost Drift, where one can hear their partners thoughts or emotions even after the hardware is removed. It can also cause partners to exhibit each other's personalities and habits. Take these two, for example: while Sven is mute, Kristoff can hear his thoughts and speak them. While this is an extreme case and should not be expected between every partner, Ghost Drifting happens in every partnership to some extent."
"Anna, we need to talk."
Breathe. In eleven, out seven.