ruffians | eye of the tiger playing in the distance

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eye of the tiger playing in the distance

[Training for this team has been rougher than Eames really ever expected. SHIELD has already put him through the ringer over the years, but this dream stuff requires a lot of skills he'd never heard of before. And that's before even getting to handling it in the field.]

[Stressful, difficult, and at times painful as it is, it doesn't take Eames that long to get to grips with the fundamentals — using his powers in a dream, learning to navigate something that feels real but isn't, the right checks if he's not sure whether or not he's dreaming — he's dedicated to getting this right, absolutely willing to give everything he's got to it. Plus it helps that Cobb's usually there for the briefings, and he makes an excellent translator when Arthur gets overly technical or theoretical about the whole thing.]

[This part is another one of those things he'd never thought he'd have to learn. A frown on his face when it's just him and Arthur and the plain room they're using, because he wouldn't think someone has to be taught how to handle being killed in a dream, but apparently it's a pretty big deal. Something about being able to take it in stride, to be able to immediately move on to the next thing when you wake up, but surely when you know it's not real, it shouldn't be a problem.]

[He frowns, thumbing over a bottle of light sedative, and glances at Arthur with a raised eyebrow when he asks his question. Seeking a little more information from Arthur's point of view rather than the technical aspects of it.]

So... I have to learn how to die?

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No.

[Arthur appreciates Eames' desire to get straight to business about this.]

I think that's partially because I'm the one in control. When you're dreaming on your own, your brain just wants you to experience the feeling of falling, so it slows down time, feels a little floaty... When I'm in control of the physics, I don't give you those kinds of luxuries because I wouldn't want the mark registering any subtle changes in the environment. Now... with your abilities you might be able to change yourself in some way that would allow you to float or fly out of a situation like that, as long as it didn't give you away, but that's something we can practice another time.

[He waves his hand dismissively.]

Falling's not really our biggest cause of death in dreams anyway.

[He wants to talk about that a little more, but Eames stops himself. They can talk about it any time, but working through this is entirely dependant on Arthur and how much energy he has. So, business it is.]

It being the most familiar makes it the easiest to get to grips with though, right?

[It's a genuine question, he's trying to understand as much of this dream stuff as he can because he has no idea which bits are gonna be the most useful to him going forward.]

[Arthur shrugs.]

It's the easiest to get people to try, it's quick, and it doesn't require an enemy combatant. This is basically just getting used to the feeling of knowing you're going to die but keeping the awareness that you're in a dream so that you don't panic and go off book. Next week we should be able to go under into that same dreamspace and you should be able to jump without a second thought when the mission leader tells you that you need to jump.

[That all makes sense. Eames nods, jaw tight as he thinks and then looks at Arthur.]

Let's do it again.

[Arthur nods in understanding. For someone with a history like Eames has, he sure has an admirable work ethic. Arthur almost likes that about him.]

The same one or should I change it up?

[Career criminals aren't known for being lazy okay. Eames was good at what he did because he worked hard at it, and he fully intends to transfer that dedication to this.]

You know this better than me. [he shrugs a shoulder] Whatever it takes to get me used to it.

[He nods again.]

Let's try something different. [he gestures to the sedative] Whenever you're ready.

[Eames nods and reaches for the bottle to take a fresh one, settling back and closing his eyes as he waits for it to take effect. Silently hoping Arthur isn't planning to make him leap into another ocean.]

[When Arthur opens his eyes he's standing in a dimly light room, far different than the one they fell asleep in, furnished only with the chair Eames is currently tied to and a table between them. On the table is a gnn. This shouldn't be too hard to figure out but Arthur's going to let Eames open his eyes and get a lay of the land before he gets this started.]

[Eames feels the ropes, but he convinces himself it's something else until he opens his eyes and instinctively starts pulling at them to try and get free. He's flying on autopilot, one hand starting to shift to get out of it before he looks up and registers Arthur there across from him.]

[Eames raises an eyebrow, a brief moment of calm before a new sort of anxiety rises in his stomach, but his voice and expression are totally deadpan.]

Really?

Yes.

[Arthur picks up the gun from the table, raising his eyebrows at Eames like he's reprimanding him for not taking this seriously enough. He checks that there are bullets in the chamber and then starts to walk around the table.]

Personally if I have to go this is what I prefer. It's quick and easy.

You tied me to the chair.

[He's (mostly) fine with the gun, it's the chair situation he takes issue with.]

Yeah, we're not here so I can do target practice if you bolt.

[There goes the safety. Arthur's wondering exactly how much time he should give Eames to anticipate this before he finally does it.]

[He feels something drop in his stomach when Arthur turns the safety off, watching the gun in his hand and mentally repeating that this is a dream and he's not about to get murdered for real to try and make himself calm down a little.]

You really think I'm the kind of person who'd try to run? [he shakes his head in apparent dismay] I'm a little offended.

[Arthur's not about to have this conversation. He doesn't have to justify himself for tying Eames to a chair when the exercise is to shoot him in the head. Any sane person would get up to fight and Arthur's not dealing with that.]

[Instead, he's looking across the room at the wall, where he wills a tiny ripple to appear, and it does. It's his own way of grounding himself sometimes when he's about to something that would be horrifying if it were real. He takes a steadying breath and raises the gun so the barrel is an inch away from Eames' temple.]

Eames, I'm going to shoot you in the head, but it's just a dream.

[Without anything further, he pulls the trigger.]

[He's about to say something to that, but then there's a blast and he's waking up with a shout. Short of breath again and he raises a hand to his temple just to make sure there's nothing wrong, as if he wouldn't know if there was a hole in the side of his head.]

[Arthur's awake by the time Eames has shouted and leans over again, hand on the arm of Eames' chair.]

It's okay, you're good.

[His breath evens into a shaky laugh, heart still pounding but it's actually nowhere near as bad as he anticipated. Eames shakes his head, not looking at Arthur just yet but he's obviously not about to freak out about this. At least not yet.]

Well, it's better than falling.

Mm.

[Arthur stands up to stretch out his legs.]

It's a lot more likely, too. Sometimes our targets have had help from a telepathic mutant or they have a bit of telepathy themselves, and even though I can usually get around that it does mean their minds can get a bit... aggressive. Militarized. I've had entire armies bearing down on me because someone's mind is trying to protect itself.

Fucking hell.

[He's not put off by this knowledge, but he is suitably impressed by it, and he lifts his head to look at Arthur.]

This is nothing like what I imagined when I heard about you lot.

[Arthur gives him a dry laugh.]

Hardly anyone knows what to expect when they hear about what I can do or how we use it here. It's a brand new program, obviously - I'm the first mutant they've ever even heard of that can do this - but the higher ups have been pretty happy with the results so far.

I can imagine.

[Shapeshifters are relatively uncommon, but they're far from rare-- hell, Eames isn't even the only one SHIELD has in their pocket. A power like Arthur's though, that's unique. Beyond that, it's amazing. Eames isn't jealous, but the stuff he could do with that.]

[He shakes his head.]

I'll tell you what, I probably wouldn't have gotten caught with a power like yours.

Yeah? How's that?

[He raises an eyebrow at him with a wry smile.]

Who's really going to believe "a man came into my dream and stole all the company secrets"?

[He leans back in his seat and shrugs a shoulder.]

Most people have enough trouble with "my receptionist came in and copied a bunch of files, but it Wasn't my receptionist." Imagine trying to explain-- [he gestures at Arthur's head] This.

Okay, fair enough.

[He paces around the room a little bit.]

It's too bad I never decided to get into a life of crime.

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