It's sad that our misunderstanding has turned into a war, I don't know you anymore
ICly open to friends only.
Ergh...what a night. So many things just kept going on, and the next thing you know, I'm in the gym for the whole time. Not that that's a bad thing, of course. In fact, looking back on the night, it was pretty enjoyable.
It began simply enough. I ran into Paige and Logan in the gym, and I did some exercise--jogging, actually--while Logan ran her through a bunch of physical aptitude tests. I was really excited because I finally broke the seven minute mark for my one-mile run--6:52, if you care--and then Paige beat me in the end. Which sucks for me, but rocks for her. I was quite impressed, actually. She looked really cute in that spandex uniform, too. Right out of the 80's.
Gah, what am I saying.
Talked to Logan a bit...had to explain for the umpteenth time what happened to my hands, but he really just laughed it off, which made me feel a bit better. I should spar him sometime, I bet that'd be a good workout. I've heard that he and Jean go at it a lot--sparring, I mean. I bet that'd be interesting to watch...for some reason, I can't really picture Jean sparring someone like Logan. Heck, fighting anyone at all. But I guess it comes with...well, I guess she just likes it.
Paige fell at the end of her run, and took a pretty bad scrape. Hank came in to investigate, but she fixed herself when she used her metamorph powers to just rip her outer layer of skin off. Which was really odd, but totally awesome--she had some kind of stone-hard material beneath, which would probably be really useful in a fight. Hehe. There I go again, thinking about using our powers and fighting...Jean would kill me if she knew.
The rest of the night, after everyone took off, was spent in the gym talking alone to Gambit. He's a very...interesting person, I must say. I met him the other day, but it's quite a different thing to talk to someone one-on-one. I got rid of some of my preconceived notions that he was a troublemaking jerk like some other students I've met. No, in fact...he seemed kind of lonely. Like he didn't know what he was doing here, or why, and he didn't like how everyone kept getting pissed off at him. But, naturally, when I tried to be nice to him, he pretty much shoved me away. I get that a lot. I think at the end, though, he might've finally gotten the impression that I was trying to be friendly. Annoying, surely, and stubbornly persisten, but still friendly. If that makes any sense.
Ah, well. Maybe I just shouldn't try so hard. Makes me look pretty stupid and nosey sometimes. I need to work on that.
<< XS >> Gymnasium - LvB3
Far more tame than the vexing challenges of the Danger Room, the school's Gymnasium is no less enormous. Although requiring permission to be accessed by students by themselves, classes are occasionally conducted down here under staff supervision. Some of the equipment is a bit unorthodox, but other than that it's a standard-issue gym, the floors mapped out with the designs for a basketball court (to suit the four hoops that flank every wall), although the walls are covered in hard rubber tiling. Small alterations to cater to the needs of occasionally out-of-control mutant powers.
[Exits : [S]torage, and [H]allway ]
[Players : Paige, and Logan ]
Red and yellow spandex work out uniform! Awesome. Paige heads into the Gym wearing the new gear she picked up in the student center, looking about for Logan. She arranged a quick meeting with him to kill a few hours and to start limbering up, hoping for a bit of a sneak peek for what is to come later in the school year when it begins. Her blonde hair is lightly tousled over her shoulders and her blue eyes are bright and keen, glancing about.
Quark enters the gym a few minutes afater Paige does, wearing a loose-fit t-shirt and gym shorts, with the intent of jogging a bit. Or working on some of his kicking. (Apparently, he already overworked the 'boxing' part of kickboxing during a few sessions of pure frustration, as is evident by the bulky bandages around and the several stitches in his hands.) He blinks at the sight of Paige, but offers a small wave before sitting down to stretch his legs a bit. He didn't know anyone else was going to be down here. "Hi," he offers simply.
Logan is down at the gym, wearing a tight fitting tank top and long gym shorts. "Hello," he greets both of the students, fingering a stopwatch idly. "Ah, Paige and...Quark?" He lifts his eyebrows since he wasn't particularly expecting anyone but her.
"Aftahnoon Professor Logan." Paige drawls as she heads over to him, giving a faint grin on her face. Quark? He's here? Glancing over her shoulder, she brightens up a quick grin to the young man, then looks back to Mister Weapon X. "So, ah'm here, as promised. Ah'm kinda looking ta' get on a good work out program.. build some muscle.. put some weight on... um..." She searches. "Kinda.. wanna be more in shape."
Quark grins in spite of himself as he stretches out both legs to the side, leaning over to slowly, slowly bend himself as far as possible. Which is, surprisingly, quite far: he's managed to reach the point where he can /almost/ put his forehead on the ground between his legs. As he holds that position, he replies with a small chuckle, "Konnichiwa, Logan-sensei." He did, after all, have Logan for Japanese classes the last two years, which has made being around him less awkward. He chuckles again at Paige, but then offers an apologetic smile and "Sorry, just teasing."
"Konnichiwa, kid," Logan answers Quark, a twinkle in his eyes as he badly (and intentionally) muddles languages. "Was just gonna get Paige started, like she says, so I'm not sure I should invite ya in on it, but I got no problem with you bein' here if you don't get in our faces." He turns his attention on the southerner. "So, before we really start you on a workout regimine, I better get a baseline for you. Start out with...what have ya done for exercise in the past? Got a favorite sport?"
"... Um. Well, ta' be honest." Paige clears her throat loudly. "Ah' worked on pa's farm all mah' life, tractors, working in tha' fields, taking care of tha' cows in tha' barn. So, ah'm used ta' doing lots ah' yard work. But.. ah' suppose if ah' could play a sport, it'd be volley ball." She sneaks a look to Quark for a moment, then back to Logan once more.
Quark gives a mock-glare at Logan, then laughs quietly from his spot on the floor where stretching. "I suppoooose I could stay out of the way, since you asked so nicely," he quips with a grin. Now, he sits up a bit, folding one leg inwards and leaning down along the length of the other, then switches after another minute or two. He glances at Paige, chuckling under his breath again. She is /such/ an innocent little farm girl. She actually sounds Amish, after that sentence. Mmm-hmm. Any glance from Paige in his direction would reveal a hidden grin as he stretches, as if he finds this really amusing. But she knows he's just teasing. Because he's a flirt and all.
"So lotsa physical activity, not so much with the organized sports," Logan fills in for Paige. He gives Quark a brief raised eyebrow, but poking really isn't going to change anything. "So let's start with getting a few of the old baselines. Hop up on the chin-up bar...see how many you can snap off. Palms facing toward you on the bar."
Nodding her head sharply, Paige makes her way towards the bars, taking in a deep breath. "Just like acrobats when ah' was a kid." She says, then leaps up, snagging the cold bar with her warm palms, dangles for a moment, then digs deep as she starts to lift herself. She makes the first five look easy, then the next three are starting to wear on her. She squeezes out three more, but seems to be really having trouble on number twelve. Her upper arms are trembling, but there is a look in that fierce face of hers, one that doesn't have the ability to give up. She is making her way to the top, inching, painfully slow as she hisses out a breath.
As the teenage girl starts to do her chin-ups, Quark stops grinning, deciding against making her laugh while she's trying to work out. He figures he would be upset if someone did that to himself, anyway. So, he merely stands when he finishes his stretches, taking Logan's expression as a warning of sorts to not interfere. So, he doesn't. Taking a few deep breaths to focus himself, he suddenly starts in a sprint around the edge of the gym, restraining himself enough to not stress his body too much and easing himself into a comfortable speed. As he breathes deeply in and out of his nose instead of mouth--he remembers briefly about learning in biology how the functions of the nostrils are meant for improved respiratory ventilation, after all--he glances over at Paige and Logan. She's pretty good, actually, for someone her size.
Logan watches Paige bob up and down easily, counting and moving over to pick up a clip board. "You know, I sometimes envy you tiny people who weigh...prob'ly less than half what I do. Twelve's good work." Makes one wonder how many Logan could manage. "All right, relax before you strain something." He makes a mark on the clip board. "Next round is gonna be sit ups, give your arms a chance to rest."
Paige drops down to the ground and lands easily upon her yellow sneakers, then starts to wiggle her arms a bit. "Ah'right sir!" She says with a bright grin upon her face, making her way to one of the mats and settling herself down. "Hold mah' feet for me?" She asks, wiggling the bright happy shoes with red laces. Isn't she the cute New Mutant? She gets into position, crossing her arms over her chest, squaring her feet together and drawing her knees up.
Quark continues to watch Paige and Logan out of the corner of his eye, but still continues his run around the gym. He's busy trying to beat his personal record for a one-mile dash, by getting his time below the seven minute mark. Through all of the aerobic exercise he's been doing in his spare time, he's slowly yet steadily managed to lower it minute by minute, but getting it under that mark has eluded him so far. He will do it this time, though! He feels pretty good about himself right now, and for some reason, having Paige in the room makes him want to impress her. See? Flirt. Or maybe it's because he's trying impress Logan, instead. Hrmm.
Logan moves up by Paige, easing the toes of his sneakers (rather predictably black and white) over the toes of Paige's yellow ones. He modulates the pressure carefully so as not to smoosh delicate mutant toes. He glances around at Quark to watch the other student's running, then looks back down at Paige. "Okay. Task is to see how many you can do in a minute, so it's a question of speed. Don't have to get too high. Ready...set...go!"
With that, Paige is off, and she is obviously quick. Up, down, Up, down, Up, down, Up, down. Again, another good thing about not weighing much. She tries her best to not get distracted with Quark in the room and she puts on a pretty good show of it! If anything, its nice to have a fellow student at least close by, even if she does think Logan is Mister Cool. She grunts loud with each bob up, hissing out a breath as she goes back down.
Quark is starting to feel a little out of breath, but he's just over half done, now. He throws a quick glance at the watch on his wrist--almost exactly three and a half minutes. Dang, this could be close. He refuses to fall short of his goal, now, though. Throwing a glance over in Paige's direction, he sets his jaw and improves his speed just a tad: if she can work that hard, so can he! It /is/ nice to have someone else in the same room exercising, because he is quite competitive. Who would've thought. He grinds his teeth, his breaths in and out of his nose becoming more shallow. Still, he pushes on, racing against the clock.
Saving a person from gangbangers in Central Park will tend to elevate a person in the eyes of the person saved. Logan counts and watches the clock at the same time, distracted from Quark's run for the length of Paige's situp trial. "Done!" he calls at the end of a minute. "Good, good." And he steps back carefully off Paige's feet. "All right. How are your arms feeling? You up for some pushups? Other real baseline I want is a mile run, and I think that's best saved for last."
Paige lets out a hard breath as she flops her head back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment, eyes lidding at the bright lights. "Ah'm fine. Ah'm looking forward ta' em'." After a few more moments of letting her body settle, she sits up to her knees, then rolls herself into position. With that, she starts in on the push ups. Now, here is where its a real challenge for her. It is obvious she hasn't done them much in the past and she is struggling as she goes up and down.
Quark is nearing the end of his mile run, and as the time starts to climb--four minutes, four and a half, five...will he make it?--he grits his teeth more and speeds up, although that's not necessarily a great idea. Still he wants to make it, and by as much as possible. He only needs a little bit more...almost there. He gets down to his final lap as the timer climbs up to six minutes and 15 seconds, and Quark runs faster than ever. All attention fixed on the run, the end in sight, he breaks into a full-out sprint at the end--and rushes across his imaginary finish line at a final time of 6:52. Woohoo! He slows down immediately, finishing out his run with a cool-down walk around the gym one more time. His chest visibly rises and falls as he breathes heavily, walking over to get a drink from a water bottle. "...Phew," is all he says, still out of breath. Mwahaha! He turns to watch Paige do push-ups, sipping on his water.
Logan times Paige for the pushups as well. "C'mon, keep going," he encourages Paige as she struggles through the exercise. "Ten more seconds...Five...Time!" He makes another mark on his clip board. "Okay, we might want to work a bit on that. You're still on the upper side of average, but you've been way above average in the other benchmarks." He pauses for a moment. "Oh, wait...Before the run, we should test your sit and reach. Have a seat, straighten your legs, here...feet flat against this little box here. Then lean over the top as far as you can, hands together and hold." As he finishes with the instructions to Paige, he glances up at Quark. "You timing that? How'd you do?"
This Paige remembers from PE in elementary school. Settling herself down as Logan asks, she holds her hands together and then slowly leans forward, curving her back as she bows herself in. She holds her breath as she feels her stomach grow tight.
Quark blinks and looks over at Logan, still taking swigs from that water. He's almost done catching his breath now, thankfully, but his face is still slightly red and partially covered in sweat. "Huh? Ooh...yeah, time. Six minutes, fifty-two seconds," he replies and beams. "New personal record." It's not an amazingly low score for someone his age, but he's very proud of it all the same. He glances over at Paige, commenting, "You were doing pretty good on those sit-ups and stuff, too, Paige." So maybe he's trying to impress Paige /and/ Logan. That must be it. Or maybe he's just beating himself up over something as insignificant as track records.
Logan looks back down at Paige as she leans. "Nice...very good. Hah. This is one of the rare areas in which many of the students can beat the snot out of me." Another notation on his clip board. "Six fifty two, huh? Under seven. Not bad," he informs Quark, then grins down at Paige. "Now it's your turn. See the track marks around the edge of the gym? Eight circuits equal one mile. You want a breather before you start?"
Paige glances to the track, then over to Quark, offering up a quick smile and a blush. Compliments are always hard to take. "Thank yah'." She says, rubbing the back of her neck, then heads over to the track, shaking her arms out, giving herself a few hops in a circle. "Ah'm ready." She says after a few minutes of cool down, crouching down into position, fingers flexed, barely touching the clay. She holds herself in position and waits for Logan's command.
Gambit has arrived.
Quark takes Logan's "not bad" as a praise of sorts, and his smile broadens just slightly. He'll take what he can get. He's sure Logan could easily out-lift or out-perform Quark in any of the areas regarding lifting, push-ups, and the like, as Quark only does enough of those to keep his abs and arms in shape. He always did prefer aerobic exercises more, anyway, so stretching is quite a bit easier for him. He grins and replies to Paige with a friendly wink, "Oh, you're welcome. Good luck!" He idly makes as if to run a hand through his hair, and is once again foiled by the bandages. D'oh! He still has another five or six days to wait before he can take those off. Having cooled off a bit himself, now, he looks around for something to do next. Maybe he'll go work on the punching bag in the corner, but with kicks instead.
"Then ready, set, go!" Logan doesn't give Paige that much of a prep, but she seemed ready to begin all along. He clicks the stopwatch on the last word, then steps out of the way of Paige's inevitable circuit near the edges of the gymnasium. As he steps back he asks Quark, "So, what'd you do to your hands?" The mile run on which Paige is embarking might leave her a little short on breath for conversation.
With that, Paige is off the mark like a cat. Indeed, she can run, and if anyone saw what kind of run she gave those guys in the park, it'd be obvious she would have out run them if it wasn't for that bench in her way. Seems that when all you have is acres and acres of fields to play in with seven other siblings, you are going to be good at something, and that will be Tag, which is promptly followed after Hide and Go Seek. Her eyes are focused, dedicated, the red and yellow spandex uniform moving easily with her body as she bolts. She breathes lightly with short, quick puffs, savoring each one as if it were her last. She seems to have tuned out the rest of the world and only has one thing on her mind, each step she takes, each lap she makes.
Quark watches Paige take off from the sidelines, just standing there and pondering what to do next. Of course, Logan takes care of that as he begins a conversation, and not just any conversation--it's that one he doesn't really want to discuss the details of because it makes him look like a complete fool! Yay! Quark blinks, broad smile turning into a small, sheepish half-grin as he glances down at the bandages on his hands as if for the first time. "Oh...umm, these? Yeah. Well...I came to the gym a few days ago, and was working on the punching bag. And I sort of worked at it a bit too hard. Several times." It's a good thing Quark just got done running, as that red face of his is able to hide the blushing that quickly occurs. "I was trying to beat some frustration out of me, and...well, I got a little carried away." He offers a quiet, weak laugh, adding, "Relationship trouble. What can I say, right?" Erm...ha ha?
As usual, Remy has been wandering. It seems his favorite pastime as of late, but what other choices does the teen have? He can't spend all of his time locked away in the guest room or- tempting as it may be- stalking Rogue. Beside, the mansion is a very large building leaving much to explore. More than he originally believed, actually. It was just this evening that the young man had discovered the elevator leading down to several more floors. Starting at the bottom with the intention of slowly working his way up, Remy had been surprised by the sudden change of decor after stepping into the long, bland hall. His feet- bare due to a attack of laziness this morning- create soft footsteps that echo along the hall while black sweat pants- also worn because of his lazy attitude- drag along at the heel. Peering into one room he discovers the area isn't as deserted as he'd thought. One face he even recognizes. It should be two, however Remy has yet spotted the sprinting Paige. Moving inside, he stops just past the door way, an odd feeling that he doesn't belong here slowly creeping up on him.
Logan gives a little snort at Quark's explanation. "Ah-huh. I would like to claim I can't relate," he says dryly. "Though I think you have to be a little more careful with your hands than I do." Massive healing factors do have an enormous advantage. He glances down to check the time of Paige's early laps. "Heh. She might just beat your best, there, Quark, if she keeps up." This prospect, unsurprisingly, amuses him. Then he glances up and spots Remy. Abruptly, the humor drops from his demeanor to be replaced by hostile suspicion. "Hey. You. What're you doin' down here?"
Whoosh. Paige rushes past the trio again, her feet pounding into the clay. It appears that she isn't even breathing hard, not yet at least. She is on her fourth lap by now and she hasn't slowed down from her steady, shark like path. The clay is her ocean and she is its master. Run. Run. Run. Think of nothing but completing your task. Don't think of Chris, Justin, and definitely not.. Gambit?! He's here, in the Gym. OH geez. She doesn't dare look twice at him as she whooshes past in that yellow and red X-dex, just simply gritting her teeth and maybe, just maybe, running a bit harder.
Quark points out just that as he replies dryly, "Well, we can't all have miraculous self-healing powers," rolling his eyes at Logan. At the mention of Paige, however, Quark turns and watches her race down the track like a bullet. "Damn," he grins and shakes his head at himself. "She really is fast." He'd throw in some excuse about how girls are more limber or something--as if that has any relevance here--but she has yet to beat him. So there! He spots Remy, as well, turning to offer a small wave. Logan's tone causes Quark to frown an arch a slight eyebrow, turning to the Professor with a muttered, "I guess you've met him too, then?"
Eyes slip over the large gymnasium, examining the walls and floors, until a harsh voice draws Remy's attention back to the pair conversing. Obviously that feeling was more of a hunch. He doesn't really want to get on this guy's bad side- he's made enough enemies in the city already. Not to mention going at it with this guy wouldn't likely be as easy as taking down a drunk in a bar, dancing pool tables or not. But a flash of yellow in the corner of his eye momentarily distracts Remy, who turns to watch as Paige hurries past. A small grin appears as he follows her path a second longer before turning to face Quark and the older man again. Nodding in response to the small wave, he takes a few steps forward in an attempt to leave enough for Paige between himself and the wall and to get closer to the other two. "Am I not suppose t'be?" The question comes out in a harsher voice than he means it to.
Logan is somewhat surprised by Quark's muttered question. "No," he mutters back. "This won't be fun, huh." Based on the fact that Quark thinks Logan's defensive reaction is natural and to be expected if he /does/ know the intruder, Logan imagines that he will not enjoy the necessary conversation. "Basement's off limits without staff escort," he says, still sounding aggressive. "Though this gym's the only exception to that, so you're okay here. Though I think maybe I need an introduction." He spares enough attention to grab the split time of Paige's halfway point.
The fifth lap obviously comes a bit quicker than the fourth because she is actually pushing herself now, and Paige is doing her best to get this over with. Gambit is here afterall! Now on the sixth, she is slowly breathing out, taking longer inhales, and shorter exhales. Her face has turned a bit red from the exertion but she is no quitter! Army sign ups here she comes! Once more she rushes past them, yellow sneakers a pidder padder.
Quark blinks and turns to Logan, equally surprised that Logan hasn't met the other teenager yet yet still maintains that tone. Hah...he really must have that effect on people, then. Poor Gambit. He adds to Logan in another mutter that is (hopefully) inaudible to Gambit despite his increasing proximity, "Well, he's not /too/ bad. He just seems to be a bit of a troublemaker," he admits. He turns around to keep an eye on Paige, a grin on his face as he watches her fly by. At this rate, she very well might beat him, but she would deserve it after a hustle like this. "Come on, Paige!" he shouts out, cheering her on. He idly wonders /why/ the gym is on the same floor as some of the school's other, more...secretive rooms. That kind of thing just draws attention to them. Oh well.
The mutters go unheard, as well as unnoticed. Dividing his attention between the intimidating man and more eye-pleasing Paige means that certain things will go unnoticed by Remy, however he isn't paranoid nor intimidated enough to bother with that fact. As he is addressed again and realizes that he really /isn't/ suppose to be there, he expects nothing less than a sharp reprimanding and to be sent straight back up the elevator to prepare to leave the school. But then he finds the loophole and releases a silent sigh of relief. "De name's Gambit." He states, unsure as to whether a hand should be offered as well or not. Finally his right hand leaves his side, only to stop in mid-air as a deck of cards is switched over to the left. Why does he never have pockets when he needs them? "I'm a ... guest here, y'could say."
There is only so much of Logan's tone that can be blamed on anyone else. Logan is cautious (or perhaps paranoid.) Thus, when he sees someone whose clearance he does not know, very near to restricted areas, his hackles raise. He absorbs the information that Quark considers him a troublemaker without any visible sign. "Gambit. A guest, huh." Logan doesn't take Gambit's hand. He can be impolite like that. He does, however, deign to introduce himself. "Logan. Teach gym. Sometimes Japanese. Keep outta trouble, we'll get on fine." Then he looks back to Paige, checks his time and calls out, as she comes up on the last lap, "One more, Paige! Almost there!"
Hearing Logan over the rush of the world in her ears, Paige barrels on ahead, giving it her all as she nearly grinds her sneakers into the clay beneath her. She takes this last lap harder and faster than the previous seven, aiming for the finish line up ahead. Sweat is now dripping from her face and she is panting heavily, but hay field endurance mixed with a need to win determination is what keeps those engines burning, all the way past Logan as she goes by in a 'whoosh!' Trying to slow down, she ends up stumbling instead and taking a hard fall to the ground, tumbling. Ow. A lot of Ow. That looks like its going to be all kinds of hurt.
Hank has arrived.
Quark arches an eyebrow at the playing cards in Gambit's hands, wondering why he always carries them around. Actually, he wonders a lot of things about Gambit: where he's from, why he's here, and what he's capable of as a mutant. Surely, after all, he's a mutant? Logan's defensive tone in regards to Gambit, however, does make him grin just slightly. Aww, he's not really /that/ mean. Really! He turns around to watch Paige, shouting out again, "Come on, Paige! You can d--" He blinks and winces as she takes a fall, running towards her before he realizes it. "Good grief, are you alright? That looked like it hurt..." He stands over here, quickly scanning to see if she has any serious injuries.
The lonely hand drops back to Remy's side, a momentarily lapse appearing in his usual grin. Aren't professors suppose to be polite? Set examples, be good mentors, etc., etc.? Well, nothing else about this school is exactly normal, why should the teachers be? Attention returns to Paige as Logan shouts some encouragement. He would chip in some of his own, but she completes her lap soon enough. And the nasty tumble she takes creates something of a distraction as well. Glad for a chance to get away from the domineering professor, he follows right along at Quark's heels, kneeling down in front of the fallen girl and offering out a hand up. "Y'gotta watch dat last step, it's a doozy."
Logan clicks the stopwatch on Paige's time, saying "Good!" just as she passes. Then there is a slow motion moment where he can see Paige's foot coming down just wrong and...there she goes, before he can properly react. Gambit's, ah, gambit to get out of Logan's presence would be more effective if he did not follow, creating what is probably something of an embarassing crowd around the fallen Paige. "You okay? Need a trip to the infirmary?" Or a skin-peel, but he tactfully doesn't go in that direction. "At least you waited 'til the end. Clocked in at six thirty eight." He smiles wryly at Quark. "Sorry, man." Then his attention is back on Paige, who probably has rather an excess of helping hands on offer at the moment.
At this auspicious moment the doors to the gym swing open and in steps Hank, only to pause on the threshold uncertainly. Oh. "Goodness, I'm sorry, I didn't realize the gym was in use. I was so deep in my own thoughts I never heard anyone inside. Shall I just --" And then he takes a closer look. "Oh dear. Logan, isn't it a bit early to be knocking down our newest students?" He comes into the gym and pauses again, giving the new face a once-over. Smiling, he advances. "Dr. Henry McCoy. Oh, Paige. Are you hurt? It's lucky I came by when I did."
So embarrassing. It hurts /so/ bad. Don't cry Paige, don't cry. Tears well up in her eyes as she sucks in a deep breath. Her palms are scratched up, but her knees are worse. They are bleeding quite easily. Taking Gambit's hand since its the first to be shoved down there, she hops up to her feet slowly, biting on her bottom lip. She was running -real- hard when she took that fall, so no doubt she is probably in a lot of pain. ".. Can fix it..just.... jus' need ta' concentrate..." She whimpers out.
Quark blinks as people just keep showing up and offering to help Paige, and feels really bad for her. This must be quite embarassing. Although, he feels less bad for her when Logan chimes in with her time, causing Quark to roll his eyes and mutter aloud with a grin, "Damn, she /did/ beat me. Bah." Gambit gets an arched eyebrow and a slight frown that says 'I think I can handle this, thank you very much', because a part of him still thinks Gambit is trying to steal Paige--even though Quark's not involved with her anyway! Ah, teenage relationships. He just stands up and takes a step back with a harumph as Hank and Logan take over, as well, causing Quark to cross his arms...he guesses he's not needed afterall. To Paige, he offers, "Hey, that's right! You can probably just grow some skin back or something, can't you?"
Gently pulling Paige up to her feet, Remy releases her hand and opens his mouth to comment when suddenly their number is increased by one. A very big, very blue, and very fuzzy one, that is. Sure, it might be rude to stare, and considering this is the boy with the 'devil eyes' it might be slightly hypocritical, but how can he not? It isn't a cruel or mocking stare, or even one of fright. Simply surprise. And the sudden silence that has overcome the teen clearly illustrates such. Luckily it at least takes one person out of the crowd fawning over Paige's injuries and allows Quark's look to go unnoticed. As Remy is finally addressed he manages to find his voice, and a small grin. "Gambit." Comes the short reply. This time the boy doesn't even bother to offer a hand, quite sure it will be ignored, even if not out of rudeness then in the commotion of ensuring Paige will survive- which judging by the fuss everyone is making one might think she won't.
Logan looks up as the furry Beast enters the gym, looking surprised to see him and then pleased by the timely arrival of the resident medical doctor. "It's never to early," he replies, then motions toward Paige's knees. "She's probably gonna be fine once she uses her power, but we could probably use yer medical --" There is a buzz from Logan's shorts, which is proved to be less weird than it sounds when he removes a cell phone from the pocket and checks the caller ID. "Damn. Gotta take it. Hank, can you supervise..? I was just finishing up in any case...Sorry!" And with that he hurries toward the hallway to accept the telephone call, officially turning responsibility over to Hank. Isn't he nice? Though he might be found later lurking around the bottom floors, making sure Gambit isn't going anywhere he isn't supposed to, having received an official warning.
Logan has left.
Hank blinks as Logan just . . . leaves, but then sighs. "All right, what's going on? What was Logan working on with you -- two? You three?" He gives this Gambit another glance. "I think somebody is going to have to fill me in, please."
"Just.. a physical endurance test... just tripped over mah' feet when running tha' mile... not ah' big deal." Paige says as she hobbles a bit, then takes in a deep breath. Closing her eyes, you can see her lips moving, as if she is counting numbers. Holding her hands up, she readies herself. Five. Four.. Three.. Two... One. *Schlurrrriiiip!* She gives herself a tug, hard, ripping herself in half literally to become the rocky looking brick substance beneath.
Quark waves goodbye to Logan as he leaves and nods at Paige's explanation, adding as he turns to Hank, "I was just doing some exercise. Chatting a bit with Logan, and Gambit here." He nods at the other male teenager before turning back to Hank and shrugging. "She just fell. Nothing major. And she beat my time, too," he repeats to the room at large with a silly grin. He blinks and glances over at Paige, eyes widening slightly and arching an eyebrow at the display of powers. "...Right. That works."
As Logan dashes off, Remy watches not ungratefully. It isn't that the man scares him. No, certainly not that he's frightened. He would just rather stay as far away as possible from anyone that might find the idea of pummeling him jolly good fun. His track record during the past few weeks hasn't been the best and making it worse isn't the greatest way to ensure Xavier lets him stick around. Turning away from the door as it swings shut behind Logan, Remy's eyes fall on Paige just as she gives them all a wonderful display of her powers. Rather cool... in a disgustingly disturbing sort of way. Stunned into silence once more- living a rather secluded life in Lousiana, all this sudden introduction to mutant powers is more than just a little overwhelming- he takes a second to recover before falling back on the familiar grin. "Well dat's handy."
Hank nods. "Well, I think the official class portion of this activity is over for today. Let us retire with as little bloodshed as possible," he remarks, with a grin. Turning the grin to Quark, he observes "well, you'll just have to get better then, won't you?" while he discreetly looks Paige over to make sure she's not in any undue stress. Turning to Gambit last, he offers a paw to shake. "It's nice to meet you, er, Gambit, was it? You must be a new student. We're pleased to have you here."
Standing with both halves of herself hanging in her hands, Paige rumbles in a deep, gravely like throaty growl. "I guess that means you won't be buying me coffee anymore?" She asks, her stoney feature unable to smirk despite the sarcasm she attempts. "It will wear off in a few hours." She says, then starts to crumble up what was once herself and starts off. "Now that I am naked under this new skin, I am going back to my room. Thank you for the concern guys, Doctor." She says with a nod to the teens and then the adult, glancing over her shoulder, catching both of Chris and Gambit's eye.
Quark will still buy you coffee, though! And he can even get you discounts when you come in to his Starbucks and stuff. (Pick me, pick me!) Quark is, more than anything, quite impressed by Paige's display of powers. He shouts out after her, "Hey, for what it's worth, you did a great job today! Congrats on beating me!" As she walks away, he turns to Gambit, rolling his eyes. Amateur. To Hank, he clarifies, "Actually, Gambit isn't a student yet. He's just a guest, right now." That's all he really knows, anyway.
"Only if you'd rather have tea." The reassurance is accompanied with a wink and a small wave added as the girl follows the path Logan had taken only moments before. Remy then turns to Hank, preparing to correct the man's mistake when Quark beats him to the punch. A side glance is cast to the other teen, almost turning to a glare. Why is it people assume he can't speak for himself? It's quite annoying, really. Especially when they don't get the information right. "Non, not a student. I'm not goin' t'be either. Jus' want t'speak with Xavier an' needed a place t'stay for a few days. Rogue brought me, an' Professor Summers was kind enough t'let me stay." There is a hint of simmering sarcasm as Scott is mentioned, but no harsh words are spoken against the man.
Paige has left.
Hank pricks his ears as Gambit relates his tale. "Oh, I see. My apologies. I did rather assume you were a student based on your age. Ah well. You know what they say about people who assume." He smiles a little. "I'm sure you'll be welcome to stay as long as necessary. Well, unless either of you have something you wish to speak to *me* about, I am going to leave you two alone. Quark, you know the rules, no horseplay, and no using the equipment without a teacher present. And don't make your hands worse. Gambit, I'm sure I'll see you around as well. Come see me anytime while you're here." And with that, Hank goes and leaves the gym too, though taking the opposite tack as Paige has.
Hank has left.
Quark blinks and frowns in response to Gambit's expression. What, did he say something...? He offers another wave as Hank gives him more commands, nodding and replying in a drawl, "Yes, sir, no horseplay. I won't use the equipment." He shows his hands to Hank as if to say, 'See? still bandaged like you told me.' And, as soon as he showed up, Hank disappears from the gym...leaving Gambit and Quark alone in the gym. Without supervision. Quark blinks and turns to Gambit with a small, awkward smile, unsure of how to fill the silence. So, he just makes up a topic as he goes. "So...umm...how're you?"
The obvious confusion on Quark's face is ignored, full attention purposely placed on Hank instead. Nodding as the man continues on, he gives a short "I will," as the furry, blue man disappears from sight. Turning to face Quark, similar thoughts run through his own mind, however he doesn't to scrounge up an awkward smile. In fact, he doesn't even face the teen for long. "Jus' fine. Though a bit bored. Ain't dere anything fun t'do around here?" Spinning away, he tosses his cards in a mess against the closest wall then moves over to the punching bag, giving it a few, light experimental hits.
"Depends on how many rules you're trying to break," Quark mutters under his breath with a small grin. If Gambit knew about the Danger Room, the jet, the X-Men, surely he'd be slightly more interested in the school. However, Quark is definitely not going to be the one to let those secrets loose, so he does not mention them. At all. As he watches Remy take a few hits to the punching bag, he ponders aloud, "Well, there's the pool, the rec room...the library if you like that. And we have some basketball courts out in the back, and the gym in here. There might be something you want to do in one of those, maybe? And...you're not stuck here in the school itself, are you? There're ton of things ot do in the city, if you take the time to look around." He wonders if Remy even knows this is secretly a school, a haven, for mutants only, but again worries about giving away some major secret.
"Not technically." Remy replies. He'd already visited the places mentioned by Quark, none of which had appealed much to the teen. But he's never been use to filling his time with normal teen activities. Far from it. "But if I leave an' Xavier finally agrees t'see me..." He trails off before striking out at the bag a few more times, this time with more force and speed. Pausing long enough to glance over at Quark, he gently shakes his head. "Disappointin' though. I figured a school for mutants would be more excitin' dan dis." He then takes up the attack again.
Quark nods, crossing his arms in a very awkward-looking way as he watches Gambit take on the punching bag. "And if you're not here when the Professor's ready to see you, you're not sure when you'll get your next chance," he finishes for Gambit. He tilts his head to one side, adding inquisitively, "...And what? You don't want to stay here longer than you have to?" What exactly is it that he has to talk to Xavier about, anyway? When Gambit mentions this place being a school for mutants, however, Quark's mouth twitches into a slight smile. So, he does know. That, or he's trying to trick Quark into admitting it. "A school for mutants? Who told you that?" he asks in a curious, yet not defensive, tone. And, in a more gentle voice, he adds, "...Are you a mutant, then?"
"Non, it ain't dat. Not exactly." Remy answers, hardly lessening the confusion as to why he wishes to speak with the professor as soon as possible. However he declines to elaborate. Receiving the third degree about his actions and the reasons behind them is also unfamiliar- and unappreciated. What business is any of this to Quark? But Remy continues to humor the boy, though steadfastly refusing to give up anything more than necessary. "Rogue. An' after meetin' some of de students an' staff, it wasn't hard t'guess." He chuckles, thinking of the wonderful example displayed just moments ago. At the next question, he falls still. Is he a mutant? Isn't it obvious? Turning to face Quark as though he were thick, Remy points to his eyes. "Y'know any normal person who got eyes like dis?"
Quark frowns and arches an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond to Gambit. What does he want, anyway? "I'm not trying to pry or anything," he clarifies after a few contemplative moments. "It's just that...well, I think we got off on the wrong foot, and I'm just trying to be nice. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." He was just starting to get the impression that everyone disliked Gambit, and as much of a roguish troublemaker he seemed to be, Quark knew plenty of other people that were here because they had nowhere else to call 'home'. Why should he treat Gambit any different? He blinks and studies Gambit's eyes for the first time, only then noticiing the odd red-on-black coloring. Huh. "...What's wrong with your eyes?" he asks sincerely. "I know several people here that have oddly colored eyes due to their mutations. Even I do," he admits. For a brief moment, he frowns in concentration in order to turn on his X-ray vision--and by doing so, his eyes change from their dark hazel to a bright, bold, neon green. "See? It's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, I used to go to this public school a few years ago, and everyone there picked on me because I couldn't control it...so I came here instead. So I guess I can understand that you had a bunch of people give you crap about your eyes?" Especially since he can't turn his weird coloring on or off, too.
A shrug, followed by "Non, don' worry about it." Is the only answer Quark's remarks get. However, after a second, he does expand somewhat. "I wouldn't mind stickin' around. Jus' not sure what reason I have to. I ain't gonna be a student, an' I sure as hell can't be no teacher." The last statement is made with a grin and soft chuckle, hoping to get the point across that this is no attempt at a sob story. He isn't looking for pity after all. As Quark delves deeper into the subject of his eyes, Remy stiffens and returns to attacking the bag between words. "I ain't ashamed." Talking about his current exploits makes Remy hesitant enough, but there's no way in hell this kid is getting anything out of him about life before New York.
Quark waits until Gambit turns to face the punching bag to roll his eyes. What is he getting at, anyway? He tries to ignore Gambit, and he just keeps coming back to get more attention; he tries to get to know him better, though, and he just shuts people out. "Well, fine," he offers in a decidedly even tone. "But for someone who sure seems to get on everyone's bad side, you'd think you could use someone who at least /tries/ to be friendly." There, he said it. For some reason, Quark always seems to be the one to confront and try to befriend the people that seem left out--and all the time, he gets this kind of reaction. He hated that feeling of isolation at his old school, so he promised himself to never let someone else feel like that again. So why is it that everytime he tries to befriend someone, they give him the cold shoulder? It's a good thing he promised Hank not to hurt himself further, or he might be taking a frustrated go at that punching bag again, regardless of the condition his hands are in. "Anyway...well, the professors never turn away someone from the school if they can help it. You can always just stay without doing anything, if you need to. Professor Xavier only has others' best interests at heart."
The force of the punches increase as Quark becomes blatantly honest with Remy, who suddenly spins to fix the other teen with an intense stare. Not a glare, necessarily, but somewhat bordering on suspicious. "Friendly doesn't mean y'have t'stick y'nose where it don' belong." The words are harsh, but the tone isn't. In fact, if one ignored the words, it would almost sound as if Remy is simply attempting to hand out some friendly advice. Side stepping the punching bag, he begins to gather up the cards strewn all about the place. Once the deck is in a neat enough pile and grasped firmly within his hands, he starts towards the door. Nodding at the information Quark provides him, he fights back the urge to scoff. This might be a safe haven for mutants, but he has a feeling being a criminal is going to cancel out any sympathy the professors might have. "Right, dat Logan certainly wants me t'stay." The joke is made on the way to the door, a quick grin flashed to Quark before the doorway is reached. But instead of stepping through, Remy stops at the door and turns back to catch the other boy's eye. "An' ... thanks." Then there was one.
Quark laughs aloud, his arms still crossed across his chest as if he's not afraid of anything--which is probably untrue--and replies with a small grin, "Gambit, if I had a dollar for every time someone's told me that same thing, I'd have already retired." Persistent little fellow, isn't he? Unfortunately for Remy, being 'blatantly honest' is one of Quark's more obvious personality traits. /Someone/ has to speak their mind in this city. He eyes the playing cards with another curiously arched eyebrow, but says nothing. Everyone is different, anyway. "And Logan's always like that around new people. He's a little...well...defensive, I guess. And aggressive." To say the least, obviously. Quark is actually quite surprised as Gambit actually thanks him, but replies simply, "You're welcome." Maybe he did manage to break through some of that harsh exterior. And with that, he turns around to make sure everything is set for the night, shutting the lights off and whatnot before following Gambit out of the gym, the doors quietly shutting behind them automatically.
OOC: Big round of thanks to everyone involved! That totally rocked. 6 hours of RP in the gym...wow! And I didn't get interrupted by annoying RL stuff once. ;-) Thanks again.
Ergh...what a night. So many things just kept going on, and the next thing you know, I'm in the gym for the whole time. Not that that's a bad thing, of course. In fact, looking back on the night, it was pretty enjoyable.
It began simply enough. I ran into Paige and Logan in the gym, and I did some exercise--jogging, actually--while Logan ran her through a bunch of physical aptitude tests. I was really excited because I finally broke the seven minute mark for my one-mile run--6:52, if you care--and then Paige beat me in the end. Which sucks for me, but rocks for her. I was quite impressed, actually. She looked really cute in that spandex uniform, too. Right out of the 80's.
Gah, what am I saying.
Talked to Logan a bit...had to explain for the umpteenth time what happened to my hands, but he really just laughed it off, which made me feel a bit better. I should spar him sometime, I bet that'd be a good workout. I've heard that he and Jean go at it a lot--sparring, I mean. I bet that'd be interesting to watch...for some reason, I can't really picture Jean sparring someone like Logan. Heck, fighting anyone at all. But I guess it comes with...well, I guess she just likes it.
Paige fell at the end of her run, and took a pretty bad scrape. Hank came in to investigate, but she fixed herself when she used her metamorph powers to just rip her outer layer of skin off. Which was really odd, but totally awesome--she had some kind of stone-hard material beneath, which would probably be really useful in a fight. Hehe. There I go again, thinking about using our powers and fighting...Jean would kill me if she knew.
The rest of the night, after everyone took off, was spent in the gym talking alone to Gambit. He's a very...interesting person, I must say. I met him the other day, but it's quite a different thing to talk to someone one-on-one. I got rid of some of my preconceived notions that he was a troublemaking jerk like some other students I've met. No, in fact...he seemed kind of lonely. Like he didn't know what he was doing here, or why, and he didn't like how everyone kept getting pissed off at him. But, naturally, when I tried to be nice to him, he pretty much shoved me away. I get that a lot. I think at the end, though, he might've finally gotten the impression that I was trying to be friendly. Annoying, surely, and stubbornly persisten, but still friendly. If that makes any sense.
Ah, well. Maybe I just shouldn't try so hard. Makes me look pretty stupid and nosey sometimes. I need to work on that.
<< XS >> Gymnasium - LvB3
Far more tame than the vexing challenges of the Danger Room, the school's Gymnasium is no less enormous. Although requiring permission to be accessed by students by themselves, classes are occasionally conducted down here under staff supervision. Some of the equipment is a bit unorthodox, but other than that it's a standard-issue gym, the floors mapped out with the designs for a basketball court (to suit the four hoops that flank every wall), although the walls are covered in hard rubber tiling. Small alterations to cater to the needs of occasionally out-of-control mutant powers.
[Exits : [S]torage, and [H]allway ]
[Players : Paige, and Logan ]
Red and yellow spandex work out uniform! Awesome. Paige heads into the Gym wearing the new gear she picked up in the student center, looking about for Logan. She arranged a quick meeting with him to kill a few hours and to start limbering up, hoping for a bit of a sneak peek for what is to come later in the school year when it begins. Her blonde hair is lightly tousled over her shoulders and her blue eyes are bright and keen, glancing about.
Quark enters the gym a few minutes afater Paige does, wearing a loose-fit t-shirt and gym shorts, with the intent of jogging a bit. Or working on some of his kicking. (Apparently, he already overworked the 'boxing' part of kickboxing during a few sessions of pure frustration, as is evident by the bulky bandages around and the several stitches in his hands.) He blinks at the sight of Paige, but offers a small wave before sitting down to stretch his legs a bit. He didn't know anyone else was going to be down here. "Hi," he offers simply.
Logan is down at the gym, wearing a tight fitting tank top and long gym shorts. "Hello," he greets both of the students, fingering a stopwatch idly. "Ah, Paige and...Quark?" He lifts his eyebrows since he wasn't particularly expecting anyone but her.
"Aftahnoon Professor Logan." Paige drawls as she heads over to him, giving a faint grin on her face. Quark? He's here? Glancing over her shoulder, she brightens up a quick grin to the young man, then looks back to Mister Weapon X. "So, ah'm here, as promised. Ah'm kinda looking ta' get on a good work out program.. build some muscle.. put some weight on... um..." She searches. "Kinda.. wanna be more in shape."
Quark grins in spite of himself as he stretches out both legs to the side, leaning over to slowly, slowly bend himself as far as possible. Which is, surprisingly, quite far: he's managed to reach the point where he can /almost/ put his forehead on the ground between his legs. As he holds that position, he replies with a small chuckle, "Konnichiwa, Logan-sensei." He did, after all, have Logan for Japanese classes the last two years, which has made being around him less awkward. He chuckles again at Paige, but then offers an apologetic smile and "Sorry, just teasing."
"Konnichiwa, kid," Logan answers Quark, a twinkle in his eyes as he badly (and intentionally) muddles languages. "Was just gonna get Paige started, like she says, so I'm not sure I should invite ya in on it, but I got no problem with you bein' here if you don't get in our faces." He turns his attention on the southerner. "So, before we really start you on a workout regimine, I better get a baseline for you. Start out with...what have ya done for exercise in the past? Got a favorite sport?"
"... Um. Well, ta' be honest." Paige clears her throat loudly. "Ah' worked on pa's farm all mah' life, tractors, working in tha' fields, taking care of tha' cows in tha' barn. So, ah'm used ta' doing lots ah' yard work. But.. ah' suppose if ah' could play a sport, it'd be volley ball." She sneaks a look to Quark for a moment, then back to Logan once more.
Quark gives a mock-glare at Logan, then laughs quietly from his spot on the floor where stretching. "I suppoooose I could stay out of the way, since you asked so nicely," he quips with a grin. Now, he sits up a bit, folding one leg inwards and leaning down along the length of the other, then switches after another minute or two. He glances at Paige, chuckling under his breath again. She is /such/ an innocent little farm girl. She actually sounds Amish, after that sentence. Mmm-hmm. Any glance from Paige in his direction would reveal a hidden grin as he stretches, as if he finds this really amusing. But she knows he's just teasing. Because he's a flirt and all.
"So lotsa physical activity, not so much with the organized sports," Logan fills in for Paige. He gives Quark a brief raised eyebrow, but poking really isn't going to change anything. "So let's start with getting a few of the old baselines. Hop up on the chin-up bar...see how many you can snap off. Palms facing toward you on the bar."
Nodding her head sharply, Paige makes her way towards the bars, taking in a deep breath. "Just like acrobats when ah' was a kid." She says, then leaps up, snagging the cold bar with her warm palms, dangles for a moment, then digs deep as she starts to lift herself. She makes the first five look easy, then the next three are starting to wear on her. She squeezes out three more, but seems to be really having trouble on number twelve. Her upper arms are trembling, but there is a look in that fierce face of hers, one that doesn't have the ability to give up. She is making her way to the top, inching, painfully slow as she hisses out a breath.
As the teenage girl starts to do her chin-ups, Quark stops grinning, deciding against making her laugh while she's trying to work out. He figures he would be upset if someone did that to himself, anyway. So, he merely stands when he finishes his stretches, taking Logan's expression as a warning of sorts to not interfere. So, he doesn't. Taking a few deep breaths to focus himself, he suddenly starts in a sprint around the edge of the gym, restraining himself enough to not stress his body too much and easing himself into a comfortable speed. As he breathes deeply in and out of his nose instead of mouth--he remembers briefly about learning in biology how the functions of the nostrils are meant for improved respiratory ventilation, after all--he glances over at Paige and Logan. She's pretty good, actually, for someone her size.
Logan watches Paige bob up and down easily, counting and moving over to pick up a clip board. "You know, I sometimes envy you tiny people who weigh...prob'ly less than half what I do. Twelve's good work." Makes one wonder how many Logan could manage. "All right, relax before you strain something." He makes a mark on the clip board. "Next round is gonna be sit ups, give your arms a chance to rest."
Paige drops down to the ground and lands easily upon her yellow sneakers, then starts to wiggle her arms a bit. "Ah'right sir!" She says with a bright grin upon her face, making her way to one of the mats and settling herself down. "Hold mah' feet for me?" She asks, wiggling the bright happy shoes with red laces. Isn't she the cute New Mutant? She gets into position, crossing her arms over her chest, squaring her feet together and drawing her knees up.
Quark continues to watch Paige and Logan out of the corner of his eye, but still continues his run around the gym. He's busy trying to beat his personal record for a one-mile dash, by getting his time below the seven minute mark. Through all of the aerobic exercise he's been doing in his spare time, he's slowly yet steadily managed to lower it minute by minute, but getting it under that mark has eluded him so far. He will do it this time, though! He feels pretty good about himself right now, and for some reason, having Paige in the room makes him want to impress her. See? Flirt. Or maybe it's because he's trying impress Logan, instead. Hrmm.
Logan moves up by Paige, easing the toes of his sneakers (rather predictably black and white) over the toes of Paige's yellow ones. He modulates the pressure carefully so as not to smoosh delicate mutant toes. He glances around at Quark to watch the other student's running, then looks back down at Paige. "Okay. Task is to see how many you can do in a minute, so it's a question of speed. Don't have to get too high. Ready...set...go!"
With that, Paige is off, and she is obviously quick. Up, down, Up, down, Up, down, Up, down. Again, another good thing about not weighing much. She tries her best to not get distracted with Quark in the room and she puts on a pretty good show of it! If anything, its nice to have a fellow student at least close by, even if she does think Logan is Mister Cool. She grunts loud with each bob up, hissing out a breath as she goes back down.
Quark is starting to feel a little out of breath, but he's just over half done, now. He throws a quick glance at the watch on his wrist--almost exactly three and a half minutes. Dang, this could be close. He refuses to fall short of his goal, now, though. Throwing a glance over in Paige's direction, he sets his jaw and improves his speed just a tad: if she can work that hard, so can he! It /is/ nice to have someone else in the same room exercising, because he is quite competitive. Who would've thought. He grinds his teeth, his breaths in and out of his nose becoming more shallow. Still, he pushes on, racing against the clock.
Saving a person from gangbangers in Central Park will tend to elevate a person in the eyes of the person saved. Logan counts and watches the clock at the same time, distracted from Quark's run for the length of Paige's situp trial. "Done!" he calls at the end of a minute. "Good, good." And he steps back carefully off Paige's feet. "All right. How are your arms feeling? You up for some pushups? Other real baseline I want is a mile run, and I think that's best saved for last."
Paige lets out a hard breath as she flops her head back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment, eyes lidding at the bright lights. "Ah'm fine. Ah'm looking forward ta' em'." After a few more moments of letting her body settle, she sits up to her knees, then rolls herself into position. With that, she starts in on the push ups. Now, here is where its a real challenge for her. It is obvious she hasn't done them much in the past and she is struggling as she goes up and down.
Quark is nearing the end of his mile run, and as the time starts to climb--four minutes, four and a half, five...will he make it?--he grits his teeth more and speeds up, although that's not necessarily a great idea. Still he wants to make it, and by as much as possible. He only needs a little bit more...almost there. He gets down to his final lap as the timer climbs up to six minutes and 15 seconds, and Quark runs faster than ever. All attention fixed on the run, the end in sight, he breaks into a full-out sprint at the end--and rushes across his imaginary finish line at a final time of 6:52. Woohoo! He slows down immediately, finishing out his run with a cool-down walk around the gym one more time. His chest visibly rises and falls as he breathes heavily, walking over to get a drink from a water bottle. "...Phew," is all he says, still out of breath. Mwahaha! He turns to watch Paige do push-ups, sipping on his water.
Logan times Paige for the pushups as well. "C'mon, keep going," he encourages Paige as she struggles through the exercise. "Ten more seconds...Five...Time!" He makes another mark on his clip board. "Okay, we might want to work a bit on that. You're still on the upper side of average, but you've been way above average in the other benchmarks." He pauses for a moment. "Oh, wait...Before the run, we should test your sit and reach. Have a seat, straighten your legs, here...feet flat against this little box here. Then lean over the top as far as you can, hands together and hold." As he finishes with the instructions to Paige, he glances up at Quark. "You timing that? How'd you do?"
This Paige remembers from PE in elementary school. Settling herself down as Logan asks, she holds her hands together and then slowly leans forward, curving her back as she bows herself in. She holds her breath as she feels her stomach grow tight.
Quark blinks and looks over at Logan, still taking swigs from that water. He's almost done catching his breath now, thankfully, but his face is still slightly red and partially covered in sweat. "Huh? Ooh...yeah, time. Six minutes, fifty-two seconds," he replies and beams. "New personal record." It's not an amazingly low score for someone his age, but he's very proud of it all the same. He glances over at Paige, commenting, "You were doing pretty good on those sit-ups and stuff, too, Paige." So maybe he's trying to impress Paige /and/ Logan. That must be it. Or maybe he's just beating himself up over something as insignificant as track records.
Logan looks back down at Paige as she leans. "Nice...very good. Hah. This is one of the rare areas in which many of the students can beat the snot out of me." Another notation on his clip board. "Six fifty two, huh? Under seven. Not bad," he informs Quark, then grins down at Paige. "Now it's your turn. See the track marks around the edge of the gym? Eight circuits equal one mile. You want a breather before you start?"
Paige glances to the track, then over to Quark, offering up a quick smile and a blush. Compliments are always hard to take. "Thank yah'." She says, rubbing the back of her neck, then heads over to the track, shaking her arms out, giving herself a few hops in a circle. "Ah'm ready." She says after a few minutes of cool down, crouching down into position, fingers flexed, barely touching the clay. She holds herself in position and waits for Logan's command.
Gambit has arrived.
Quark takes Logan's "not bad" as a praise of sorts, and his smile broadens just slightly. He'll take what he can get. He's sure Logan could easily out-lift or out-perform Quark in any of the areas regarding lifting, push-ups, and the like, as Quark only does enough of those to keep his abs and arms in shape. He always did prefer aerobic exercises more, anyway, so stretching is quite a bit easier for him. He grins and replies to Paige with a friendly wink, "Oh, you're welcome. Good luck!" He idly makes as if to run a hand through his hair, and is once again foiled by the bandages. D'oh! He still has another five or six days to wait before he can take those off. Having cooled off a bit himself, now, he looks around for something to do next. Maybe he'll go work on the punching bag in the corner, but with kicks instead.
"Then ready, set, go!" Logan doesn't give Paige that much of a prep, but she seemed ready to begin all along. He clicks the stopwatch on the last word, then steps out of the way of Paige's inevitable circuit near the edges of the gymnasium. As he steps back he asks Quark, "So, what'd you do to your hands?" The mile run on which Paige is embarking might leave her a little short on breath for conversation.
With that, Paige is off the mark like a cat. Indeed, she can run, and if anyone saw what kind of run she gave those guys in the park, it'd be obvious she would have out run them if it wasn't for that bench in her way. Seems that when all you have is acres and acres of fields to play in with seven other siblings, you are going to be good at something, and that will be Tag, which is promptly followed after Hide and Go Seek. Her eyes are focused, dedicated, the red and yellow spandex uniform moving easily with her body as she bolts. She breathes lightly with short, quick puffs, savoring each one as if it were her last. She seems to have tuned out the rest of the world and only has one thing on her mind, each step she takes, each lap she makes.
Quark watches Paige take off from the sidelines, just standing there and pondering what to do next. Of course, Logan takes care of that as he begins a conversation, and not just any conversation--it's that one he doesn't really want to discuss the details of because it makes him look like a complete fool! Yay! Quark blinks, broad smile turning into a small, sheepish half-grin as he glances down at the bandages on his hands as if for the first time. "Oh...umm, these? Yeah. Well...I came to the gym a few days ago, and was working on the punching bag. And I sort of worked at it a bit too hard. Several times." It's a good thing Quark just got done running, as that red face of his is able to hide the blushing that quickly occurs. "I was trying to beat some frustration out of me, and...well, I got a little carried away." He offers a quiet, weak laugh, adding, "Relationship trouble. What can I say, right?" Erm...ha ha?
As usual, Remy has been wandering. It seems his favorite pastime as of late, but what other choices does the teen have? He can't spend all of his time locked away in the guest room or- tempting as it may be- stalking Rogue. Beside, the mansion is a very large building leaving much to explore. More than he originally believed, actually. It was just this evening that the young man had discovered the elevator leading down to several more floors. Starting at the bottom with the intention of slowly working his way up, Remy had been surprised by the sudden change of decor after stepping into the long, bland hall. His feet- bare due to a attack of laziness this morning- create soft footsteps that echo along the hall while black sweat pants- also worn because of his lazy attitude- drag along at the heel. Peering into one room he discovers the area isn't as deserted as he'd thought. One face he even recognizes. It should be two, however Remy has yet spotted the sprinting Paige. Moving inside, he stops just past the door way, an odd feeling that he doesn't belong here slowly creeping up on him.
Logan gives a little snort at Quark's explanation. "Ah-huh. I would like to claim I can't relate," he says dryly. "Though I think you have to be a little more careful with your hands than I do." Massive healing factors do have an enormous advantage. He glances down to check the time of Paige's early laps. "Heh. She might just beat your best, there, Quark, if she keeps up." This prospect, unsurprisingly, amuses him. Then he glances up and spots Remy. Abruptly, the humor drops from his demeanor to be replaced by hostile suspicion. "Hey. You. What're you doin' down here?"
Whoosh. Paige rushes past the trio again, her feet pounding into the clay. It appears that she isn't even breathing hard, not yet at least. She is on her fourth lap by now and she hasn't slowed down from her steady, shark like path. The clay is her ocean and she is its master. Run. Run. Run. Think of nothing but completing your task. Don't think of Chris, Justin, and definitely not.. Gambit?! He's here, in the Gym. OH geez. She doesn't dare look twice at him as she whooshes past in that yellow and red X-dex, just simply gritting her teeth and maybe, just maybe, running a bit harder.
Quark points out just that as he replies dryly, "Well, we can't all have miraculous self-healing powers," rolling his eyes at Logan. At the mention of Paige, however, Quark turns and watches her race down the track like a bullet. "Damn," he grins and shakes his head at himself. "She really is fast." He'd throw in some excuse about how girls are more limber or something--as if that has any relevance here--but she has yet to beat him. So there! He spots Remy, as well, turning to offer a small wave. Logan's tone causes Quark to frown an arch a slight eyebrow, turning to the Professor with a muttered, "I guess you've met him too, then?"
Eyes slip over the large gymnasium, examining the walls and floors, until a harsh voice draws Remy's attention back to the pair conversing. Obviously that feeling was more of a hunch. He doesn't really want to get on this guy's bad side- he's made enough enemies in the city already. Not to mention going at it with this guy wouldn't likely be as easy as taking down a drunk in a bar, dancing pool tables or not. But a flash of yellow in the corner of his eye momentarily distracts Remy, who turns to watch as Paige hurries past. A small grin appears as he follows her path a second longer before turning to face Quark and the older man again. Nodding in response to the small wave, he takes a few steps forward in an attempt to leave enough for Paige between himself and the wall and to get closer to the other two. "Am I not suppose t'be?" The question comes out in a harsher voice than he means it to.
Logan is somewhat surprised by Quark's muttered question. "No," he mutters back. "This won't be fun, huh." Based on the fact that Quark thinks Logan's defensive reaction is natural and to be expected if he /does/ know the intruder, Logan imagines that he will not enjoy the necessary conversation. "Basement's off limits without staff escort," he says, still sounding aggressive. "Though this gym's the only exception to that, so you're okay here. Though I think maybe I need an introduction." He spares enough attention to grab the split time of Paige's halfway point.
The fifth lap obviously comes a bit quicker than the fourth because she is actually pushing herself now, and Paige is doing her best to get this over with. Gambit is here afterall! Now on the sixth, she is slowly breathing out, taking longer inhales, and shorter exhales. Her face has turned a bit red from the exertion but she is no quitter! Army sign ups here she comes! Once more she rushes past them, yellow sneakers a pidder padder.
Quark blinks and turns to Logan, equally surprised that Logan hasn't met the other teenager yet yet still maintains that tone. Hah...he really must have that effect on people, then. Poor Gambit. He adds to Logan in another mutter that is (hopefully) inaudible to Gambit despite his increasing proximity, "Well, he's not /too/ bad. He just seems to be a bit of a troublemaker," he admits. He turns around to keep an eye on Paige, a grin on his face as he watches her fly by. At this rate, she very well might beat him, but she would deserve it after a hustle like this. "Come on, Paige!" he shouts out, cheering her on. He idly wonders /why/ the gym is on the same floor as some of the school's other, more...secretive rooms. That kind of thing just draws attention to them. Oh well.
The mutters go unheard, as well as unnoticed. Dividing his attention between the intimidating man and more eye-pleasing Paige means that certain things will go unnoticed by Remy, however he isn't paranoid nor intimidated enough to bother with that fact. As he is addressed again and realizes that he really /isn't/ suppose to be there, he expects nothing less than a sharp reprimanding and to be sent straight back up the elevator to prepare to leave the school. But then he finds the loophole and releases a silent sigh of relief. "De name's Gambit." He states, unsure as to whether a hand should be offered as well or not. Finally his right hand leaves his side, only to stop in mid-air as a deck of cards is switched over to the left. Why does he never have pockets when he needs them? "I'm a ... guest here, y'could say."
There is only so much of Logan's tone that can be blamed on anyone else. Logan is cautious (or perhaps paranoid.) Thus, when he sees someone whose clearance he does not know, very near to restricted areas, his hackles raise. He absorbs the information that Quark considers him a troublemaker without any visible sign. "Gambit. A guest, huh." Logan doesn't take Gambit's hand. He can be impolite like that. He does, however, deign to introduce himself. "Logan. Teach gym. Sometimes Japanese. Keep outta trouble, we'll get on fine." Then he looks back to Paige, checks his time and calls out, as she comes up on the last lap, "One more, Paige! Almost there!"
Hearing Logan over the rush of the world in her ears, Paige barrels on ahead, giving it her all as she nearly grinds her sneakers into the clay beneath her. She takes this last lap harder and faster than the previous seven, aiming for the finish line up ahead. Sweat is now dripping from her face and she is panting heavily, but hay field endurance mixed with a need to win determination is what keeps those engines burning, all the way past Logan as she goes by in a 'whoosh!' Trying to slow down, she ends up stumbling instead and taking a hard fall to the ground, tumbling. Ow. A lot of Ow. That looks like its going to be all kinds of hurt.
Hank has arrived.
Quark arches an eyebrow at the playing cards in Gambit's hands, wondering why he always carries them around. Actually, he wonders a lot of things about Gambit: where he's from, why he's here, and what he's capable of as a mutant. Surely, after all, he's a mutant? Logan's defensive tone in regards to Gambit, however, does make him grin just slightly. Aww, he's not really /that/ mean. Really! He turns around to watch Paige, shouting out again, "Come on, Paige! You can d--" He blinks and winces as she takes a fall, running towards her before he realizes it. "Good grief, are you alright? That looked like it hurt..." He stands over here, quickly scanning to see if she has any serious injuries.
The lonely hand drops back to Remy's side, a momentarily lapse appearing in his usual grin. Aren't professors suppose to be polite? Set examples, be good mentors, etc., etc.? Well, nothing else about this school is exactly normal, why should the teachers be? Attention returns to Paige as Logan shouts some encouragement. He would chip in some of his own, but she completes her lap soon enough. And the nasty tumble she takes creates something of a distraction as well. Glad for a chance to get away from the domineering professor, he follows right along at Quark's heels, kneeling down in front of the fallen girl and offering out a hand up. "Y'gotta watch dat last step, it's a doozy."
Logan clicks the stopwatch on Paige's time, saying "Good!" just as she passes. Then there is a slow motion moment where he can see Paige's foot coming down just wrong and...there she goes, before he can properly react. Gambit's, ah, gambit to get out of Logan's presence would be more effective if he did not follow, creating what is probably something of an embarassing crowd around the fallen Paige. "You okay? Need a trip to the infirmary?" Or a skin-peel, but he tactfully doesn't go in that direction. "At least you waited 'til the end. Clocked in at six thirty eight." He smiles wryly at Quark. "Sorry, man." Then his attention is back on Paige, who probably has rather an excess of helping hands on offer at the moment.
At this auspicious moment the doors to the gym swing open and in steps Hank, only to pause on the threshold uncertainly. Oh. "Goodness, I'm sorry, I didn't realize the gym was in use. I was so deep in my own thoughts I never heard anyone inside. Shall I just --" And then he takes a closer look. "Oh dear. Logan, isn't it a bit early to be knocking down our newest students?" He comes into the gym and pauses again, giving the new face a once-over. Smiling, he advances. "Dr. Henry McCoy. Oh, Paige. Are you hurt? It's lucky I came by when I did."
So embarrassing. It hurts /so/ bad. Don't cry Paige, don't cry. Tears well up in her eyes as she sucks in a deep breath. Her palms are scratched up, but her knees are worse. They are bleeding quite easily. Taking Gambit's hand since its the first to be shoved down there, she hops up to her feet slowly, biting on her bottom lip. She was running -real- hard when she took that fall, so no doubt she is probably in a lot of pain. ".. Can fix it..just.... jus' need ta' concentrate..." She whimpers out.
Quark blinks as people just keep showing up and offering to help Paige, and feels really bad for her. This must be quite embarassing. Although, he feels less bad for her when Logan chimes in with her time, causing Quark to roll his eyes and mutter aloud with a grin, "Damn, she /did/ beat me. Bah." Gambit gets an arched eyebrow and a slight frown that says 'I think I can handle this, thank you very much', because a part of him still thinks Gambit is trying to steal Paige--even though Quark's not involved with her anyway! Ah, teenage relationships. He just stands up and takes a step back with a harumph as Hank and Logan take over, as well, causing Quark to cross his arms...he guesses he's not needed afterall. To Paige, he offers, "Hey, that's right! You can probably just grow some skin back or something, can't you?"
Gently pulling Paige up to her feet, Remy releases her hand and opens his mouth to comment when suddenly their number is increased by one. A very big, very blue, and very fuzzy one, that is. Sure, it might be rude to stare, and considering this is the boy with the 'devil eyes' it might be slightly hypocritical, but how can he not? It isn't a cruel or mocking stare, or even one of fright. Simply surprise. And the sudden silence that has overcome the teen clearly illustrates such. Luckily it at least takes one person out of the crowd fawning over Paige's injuries and allows Quark's look to go unnoticed. As Remy is finally addressed he manages to find his voice, and a small grin. "Gambit." Comes the short reply. This time the boy doesn't even bother to offer a hand, quite sure it will be ignored, even if not out of rudeness then in the commotion of ensuring Paige will survive- which judging by the fuss everyone is making one might think she won't.
Logan looks up as the furry Beast enters the gym, looking surprised to see him and then pleased by the timely arrival of the resident medical doctor. "It's never to early," he replies, then motions toward Paige's knees. "She's probably gonna be fine once she uses her power, but we could probably use yer medical --" There is a buzz from Logan's shorts, which is proved to be less weird than it sounds when he removes a cell phone from the pocket and checks the caller ID. "Damn. Gotta take it. Hank, can you supervise..? I was just finishing up in any case...Sorry!" And with that he hurries toward the hallway to accept the telephone call, officially turning responsibility over to Hank. Isn't he nice? Though he might be found later lurking around the bottom floors, making sure Gambit isn't going anywhere he isn't supposed to, having received an official warning.
Logan has left.
Hank blinks as Logan just . . . leaves, but then sighs. "All right, what's going on? What was Logan working on with you -- two? You three?" He gives this Gambit another glance. "I think somebody is going to have to fill me in, please."
"Just.. a physical endurance test... just tripped over mah' feet when running tha' mile... not ah' big deal." Paige says as she hobbles a bit, then takes in a deep breath. Closing her eyes, you can see her lips moving, as if she is counting numbers. Holding her hands up, she readies herself. Five. Four.. Three.. Two... One. *Schlurrrriiiip!* She gives herself a tug, hard, ripping herself in half literally to become the rocky looking brick substance beneath.
Quark waves goodbye to Logan as he leaves and nods at Paige's explanation, adding as he turns to Hank, "I was just doing some exercise. Chatting a bit with Logan, and Gambit here." He nods at the other male teenager before turning back to Hank and shrugging. "She just fell. Nothing major. And she beat my time, too," he repeats to the room at large with a silly grin. He blinks and glances over at Paige, eyes widening slightly and arching an eyebrow at the display of powers. "...Right. That works."
As Logan dashes off, Remy watches not ungratefully. It isn't that the man scares him. No, certainly not that he's frightened. He would just rather stay as far away as possible from anyone that might find the idea of pummeling him jolly good fun. His track record during the past few weeks hasn't been the best and making it worse isn't the greatest way to ensure Xavier lets him stick around. Turning away from the door as it swings shut behind Logan, Remy's eyes fall on Paige just as she gives them all a wonderful display of her powers. Rather cool... in a disgustingly disturbing sort of way. Stunned into silence once more- living a rather secluded life in Lousiana, all this sudden introduction to mutant powers is more than just a little overwhelming- he takes a second to recover before falling back on the familiar grin. "Well dat's handy."
Hank nods. "Well, I think the official class portion of this activity is over for today. Let us retire with as little bloodshed as possible," he remarks, with a grin. Turning the grin to Quark, he observes "well, you'll just have to get better then, won't you?" while he discreetly looks Paige over to make sure she's not in any undue stress. Turning to Gambit last, he offers a paw to shake. "It's nice to meet you, er, Gambit, was it? You must be a new student. We're pleased to have you here."
Standing with both halves of herself hanging in her hands, Paige rumbles in a deep, gravely like throaty growl. "I guess that means you won't be buying me coffee anymore?" She asks, her stoney feature unable to smirk despite the sarcasm she attempts. "It will wear off in a few hours." She says, then starts to crumble up what was once herself and starts off. "Now that I am naked under this new skin, I am going back to my room. Thank you for the concern guys, Doctor." She says with a nod to the teens and then the adult, glancing over her shoulder, catching both of Chris and Gambit's eye.
Quark will still buy you coffee, though! And he can even get you discounts when you come in to his Starbucks and stuff. (Pick me, pick me!) Quark is, more than anything, quite impressed by Paige's display of powers. He shouts out after her, "Hey, for what it's worth, you did a great job today! Congrats on beating me!" As she walks away, he turns to Gambit, rolling his eyes. Amateur. To Hank, he clarifies, "Actually, Gambit isn't a student yet. He's just a guest, right now." That's all he really knows, anyway.
"Only if you'd rather have tea." The reassurance is accompanied with a wink and a small wave added as the girl follows the path Logan had taken only moments before. Remy then turns to Hank, preparing to correct the man's mistake when Quark beats him to the punch. A side glance is cast to the other teen, almost turning to a glare. Why is it people assume he can't speak for himself? It's quite annoying, really. Especially when they don't get the information right. "Non, not a student. I'm not goin' t'be either. Jus' want t'speak with Xavier an' needed a place t'stay for a few days. Rogue brought me, an' Professor Summers was kind enough t'let me stay." There is a hint of simmering sarcasm as Scott is mentioned, but no harsh words are spoken against the man.
Paige has left.
Hank pricks his ears as Gambit relates his tale. "Oh, I see. My apologies. I did rather assume you were a student based on your age. Ah well. You know what they say about people who assume." He smiles a little. "I'm sure you'll be welcome to stay as long as necessary. Well, unless either of you have something you wish to speak to *me* about, I am going to leave you two alone. Quark, you know the rules, no horseplay, and no using the equipment without a teacher present. And don't make your hands worse. Gambit, I'm sure I'll see you around as well. Come see me anytime while you're here." And with that, Hank goes and leaves the gym too, though taking the opposite tack as Paige has.
Hank has left.
Quark blinks and frowns in response to Gambit's expression. What, did he say something...? He offers another wave as Hank gives him more commands, nodding and replying in a drawl, "Yes, sir, no horseplay. I won't use the equipment." He shows his hands to Hank as if to say, 'See? still bandaged like you told me.' And, as soon as he showed up, Hank disappears from the gym...leaving Gambit and Quark alone in the gym. Without supervision. Quark blinks and turns to Gambit with a small, awkward smile, unsure of how to fill the silence. So, he just makes up a topic as he goes. "So...umm...how're you?"
The obvious confusion on Quark's face is ignored, full attention purposely placed on Hank instead. Nodding as the man continues on, he gives a short "I will," as the furry, blue man disappears from sight. Turning to face Quark, similar thoughts run through his own mind, however he doesn't to scrounge up an awkward smile. In fact, he doesn't even face the teen for long. "Jus' fine. Though a bit bored. Ain't dere anything fun t'do around here?" Spinning away, he tosses his cards in a mess against the closest wall then moves over to the punching bag, giving it a few, light experimental hits.
"Depends on how many rules you're trying to break," Quark mutters under his breath with a small grin. If Gambit knew about the Danger Room, the jet, the X-Men, surely he'd be slightly more interested in the school. However, Quark is definitely not going to be the one to let those secrets loose, so he does not mention them. At all. As he watches Remy take a few hits to the punching bag, he ponders aloud, "Well, there's the pool, the rec room...the library if you like that. And we have some basketball courts out in the back, and the gym in here. There might be something you want to do in one of those, maybe? And...you're not stuck here in the school itself, are you? There're ton of things ot do in the city, if you take the time to look around." He wonders if Remy even knows this is secretly a school, a haven, for mutants only, but again worries about giving away some major secret.
"Not technically." Remy replies. He'd already visited the places mentioned by Quark, none of which had appealed much to the teen. But he's never been use to filling his time with normal teen activities. Far from it. "But if I leave an' Xavier finally agrees t'see me..." He trails off before striking out at the bag a few more times, this time with more force and speed. Pausing long enough to glance over at Quark, he gently shakes his head. "Disappointin' though. I figured a school for mutants would be more excitin' dan dis." He then takes up the attack again.
Quark nods, crossing his arms in a very awkward-looking way as he watches Gambit take on the punching bag. "And if you're not here when the Professor's ready to see you, you're not sure when you'll get your next chance," he finishes for Gambit. He tilts his head to one side, adding inquisitively, "...And what? You don't want to stay here longer than you have to?" What exactly is it that he has to talk to Xavier about, anyway? When Gambit mentions this place being a school for mutants, however, Quark's mouth twitches into a slight smile. So, he does know. That, or he's trying to trick Quark into admitting it. "A school for mutants? Who told you that?" he asks in a curious, yet not defensive, tone. And, in a more gentle voice, he adds, "...Are you a mutant, then?"
"Non, it ain't dat. Not exactly." Remy answers, hardly lessening the confusion as to why he wishes to speak with the professor as soon as possible. However he declines to elaborate. Receiving the third degree about his actions and the reasons behind them is also unfamiliar- and unappreciated. What business is any of this to Quark? But Remy continues to humor the boy, though steadfastly refusing to give up anything more than necessary. "Rogue. An' after meetin' some of de students an' staff, it wasn't hard t'guess." He chuckles, thinking of the wonderful example displayed just moments ago. At the next question, he falls still. Is he a mutant? Isn't it obvious? Turning to face Quark as though he were thick, Remy points to his eyes. "Y'know any normal person who got eyes like dis?"
Quark frowns and arches an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond to Gambit. What does he want, anyway? "I'm not trying to pry or anything," he clarifies after a few contemplative moments. "It's just that...well, I think we got off on the wrong foot, and I'm just trying to be nice. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." He was just starting to get the impression that everyone disliked Gambit, and as much of a roguish troublemaker he seemed to be, Quark knew plenty of other people that were here because they had nowhere else to call 'home'. Why should he treat Gambit any different? He blinks and studies Gambit's eyes for the first time, only then noticiing the odd red-on-black coloring. Huh. "...What's wrong with your eyes?" he asks sincerely. "I know several people here that have oddly colored eyes due to their mutations. Even I do," he admits. For a brief moment, he frowns in concentration in order to turn on his X-ray vision--and by doing so, his eyes change from their dark hazel to a bright, bold, neon green. "See? It's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, I used to go to this public school a few years ago, and everyone there picked on me because I couldn't control it...so I came here instead. So I guess I can understand that you had a bunch of people give you crap about your eyes?" Especially since he can't turn his weird coloring on or off, too.
A shrug, followed by "Non, don' worry about it." Is the only answer Quark's remarks get. However, after a second, he does expand somewhat. "I wouldn't mind stickin' around. Jus' not sure what reason I have to. I ain't gonna be a student, an' I sure as hell can't be no teacher." The last statement is made with a grin and soft chuckle, hoping to get the point across that this is no attempt at a sob story. He isn't looking for pity after all. As Quark delves deeper into the subject of his eyes, Remy stiffens and returns to attacking the bag between words. "I ain't ashamed." Talking about his current exploits makes Remy hesitant enough, but there's no way in hell this kid is getting anything out of him about life before New York.
Quark waits until Gambit turns to face the punching bag to roll his eyes. What is he getting at, anyway? He tries to ignore Gambit, and he just keeps coming back to get more attention; he tries to get to know him better, though, and he just shuts people out. "Well, fine," he offers in a decidedly even tone. "But for someone who sure seems to get on everyone's bad side, you'd think you could use someone who at least /tries/ to be friendly." There, he said it. For some reason, Quark always seems to be the one to confront and try to befriend the people that seem left out--and all the time, he gets this kind of reaction. He hated that feeling of isolation at his old school, so he promised himself to never let someone else feel like that again. So why is it that everytime he tries to befriend someone, they give him the cold shoulder? It's a good thing he promised Hank not to hurt himself further, or he might be taking a frustrated go at that punching bag again, regardless of the condition his hands are in. "Anyway...well, the professors never turn away someone from the school if they can help it. You can always just stay without doing anything, if you need to. Professor Xavier only has others' best interests at heart."
The force of the punches increase as Quark becomes blatantly honest with Remy, who suddenly spins to fix the other teen with an intense stare. Not a glare, necessarily, but somewhat bordering on suspicious. "Friendly doesn't mean y'have t'stick y'nose where it don' belong." The words are harsh, but the tone isn't. In fact, if one ignored the words, it would almost sound as if Remy is simply attempting to hand out some friendly advice. Side stepping the punching bag, he begins to gather up the cards strewn all about the place. Once the deck is in a neat enough pile and grasped firmly within his hands, he starts towards the door. Nodding at the information Quark provides him, he fights back the urge to scoff. This might be a safe haven for mutants, but he has a feeling being a criminal is going to cancel out any sympathy the professors might have. "Right, dat Logan certainly wants me t'stay." The joke is made on the way to the door, a quick grin flashed to Quark before the doorway is reached. But instead of stepping through, Remy stops at the door and turns back to catch the other boy's eye. "An' ... thanks." Then there was one.
Quark laughs aloud, his arms still crossed across his chest as if he's not afraid of anything--which is probably untrue--and replies with a small grin, "Gambit, if I had a dollar for every time someone's told me that same thing, I'd have already retired." Persistent little fellow, isn't he? Unfortunately for Remy, being 'blatantly honest' is one of Quark's more obvious personality traits. /Someone/ has to speak their mind in this city. He eyes the playing cards with another curiously arched eyebrow, but says nothing. Everyone is different, anyway. "And Logan's always like that around new people. He's a little...well...defensive, I guess. And aggressive." To say the least, obviously. Quark is actually quite surprised as Gambit actually thanks him, but replies simply, "You're welcome." Maybe he did manage to break through some of that harsh exterior. And with that, he turns around to make sure everything is set for the night, shutting the lights off and whatnot before following Gambit out of the gym, the doors quietly shutting behind them automatically.
OOC: Big round of thanks to everyone involved! That totally rocked. 6 hours of RP in the gym...wow! And I didn't get interrupted by annoying RL stuff once. ;-) Thanks again.