Let's play ball! (OTA - nudge to Kurt as I reckon this could make for a fun game!)

[hunt_the_devil]

The arrival of the ping-pong table had been in John's humble opinion one of the most exciting things to happen in a while in camp. Not that he'd go around telling everyone this fact, he instead had played it cool. John had avoided the rec room in hope that the interest and level of activity around the ping-pong table would die down enough so that

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[fuzzylittleprob]

Kurt whistled as he walked down the hallways toward the kitchen. It was a calliope tune, something that had been so ever-present in his life for so long that he hardly heard the sharp, bright melody even as he made it. It echoed a little in the hall and he liked the warble the effect added.

Hands in his pockets, Kurt strolled past the rec room with steps a bit jauntier for the tune... and then backed up about five paces or so, the whistle still issuing from between his lips. He stuck his head into the doorway with a backward lean.

"Fantastisch!" he said, the song broken by the German, and Kurt grinned at the sight of the juggling ball. He backed his body into the doorway along with his head. "You play?"

[hunt_the_devil]

John had heard the whistled tune long before the person whistling it wandered past. He hadn't bothered to look up until the man back-tracked and stuck his head in, the strong accent (which he couldn't place but gathered it was European) surprised John but he smiled at the eagerness.

"Yeah I play. An' from that reaction I guess you do to?"

John lost concentration for a moment and the ping-pong ball bounced off the bat, flew through the air and rolled under the sofa on the opposite side of the room. Sighing John placed the bat on the table.

"Can I interest you in a game?"

John teleported across the room, appearing behind the sofa where he knelt down and rummaged around under the sofa for a moment until he found the ball. He stood up holding the ping-pong ball up like a trophy.

[fuzzylittleprob]

"I do!" Kurt agreed, pulling his hands out of his pockets. He was sure that there were good ping-pong players out of the mutants on the team, but he hadn't found them yet. He took one step into the room and had opened his mouth to answer the man (who reminded Kurt of John Wayne in a powerful and giddy way) when he disappeared and Kurt's jaw dropped.

It was like he'd melted away in a blink.

Like he'd teleported.

John snapping back into existance a breath later across the room proved it and all the air in Kurt's lungs rushed out in one whoosh. "Sie sind ein teleporter," he said so quickly that he hadn't stopped to translate, but even if he had the words might have been so close together as to be unintellegable.

It was like... Christmas. Or the first step into the spotlight in the center ring. The other man didn't look like Kurt did when he teleported--there was no smoke, no stink of brimstone--but he'd done it still. "You're a teleporter!" he repeated in English, a grin rising to split his face ear to ear.

[hunt_the_devil]

The sharp, bark of German startled John and for a moment he tensed wondering if he should get out the room pronto but from the look on the man's face (which was an eclectic mix of joy, wonderment, curiosity, puzzlement and relief) John was quickly calmed. It took him only a moment to realise that the man wasn't horrified by what John had done but instead... pleased

[lightbulbtrix]

Chris wandered into the rec room. A Ping! made him turn his head. He wasn't sure when they had gotten a ping pong table, but John and a newcomer were having a match that had become very fast and intense. It was made only the more complicated by both teleporting back and forth. It was making him dizzy, and he tore his eyes away for a moment.

Looking back, he nodded to John. He hadn't seen his friend in ages. "I'm putting five dollars you winning, cowboy. Don't disappoint me."

[hunt_the_devil]

John acknowledged Bradley with a grin aimed in his general direction just before he teleported again to send the ball falling back across the table.

"Only five bucks? You're a tight one aren't you Bradley?"

It was good to see his friend but John was torn between wanting to win this game and socialise with his friend.

"Bradley meet Kurt," He vanished, reappeared and hit the ball. "Kurt meet Bradley, our resident tech guy."

[lightbulbtrix]

Bradley's head whipped back and forth as he followed the engaging match. "I gamble more with my life than my money. Besides, in Russia, that equals a hundred something rubles."

Chris nodded to the other teleporter. It was interesting watching the other teleport, similar to John, but not quite, with the smoke and that awful stench he couldn't quite place. "Pleased to meet you, Kurt."

[fuzzylittleprob]

"Hallo," Kurt replied with a cheery (if fierce) smile in Bradley's general direction while his eyes followed the ball he'd returned. "And if the cowboy here doesn't want your money--" a small glance spared, eyes as smiling as his mouth, "then maybe you should bet on me. I will win, after all."

[cover_your_ears]

Jessie heard the fierce ping pong game going when she passed the doorway of the rec room. She turned back and went inside to see her new friend, Kurt, playing against the other teleporter, John. She nodded to John and Kurt as she entered.

Two others were watching. She had seen both of them around, but hadn't met either of them yet. They were making bets on the outcome of the game.

"Who's winning so far?"

OOC - this is the new base thread so EVERYONE can tag in on it now since we've got some onlookers!

[hunt_the_devil]

John barely had chance to acknowledge the arrival of Jessie before the return shot, the ping-pong ball was hurtling through the air towards the white line at a surprising speed. John grinned, diving forwards and just managing to hit it upwards but in the process crashing into the edge of the table with a loud 'ooofff.'

However his dramatic efforts were futile as the ball went straight up in the air and promptly landed on the floor beside the table, bouncing a few times with a sharp tap against the floor.

"Dammit!" John never swore but it wasn't in frustration but sheer amusement at the fact he had truly met a suitable ping-pong match. "1 point to Kurt. You get to serve then."

John scooped the ball off of the floor and threw it to Kurt.

Re: OOC - this is the new base thread so EVERYONE can tag in on it now since we've got some onlooker

[fuzzylittleprob]

Kurt threw up his hand in triumph as the ball hit the ground and John swore. Letting go of the wall he dropped to the floor, grinning like a bastard. John was good! He snatched the ball that was tossed to him and waggled his eyebrows in the blonde's direction. "You bet on the right horse, frauline." But he shot a happy smile in John's direction.

"One serving zero."

Kurt made a nice, gentlemanly service across the table.

Re: OOC - this is the new base thread so EVERYONE can tag in on it now since we've got some onlooker

[flowlikemagma]

As Kurt scored, Allison threw an arm up and whooped, grinning at Kurt before looking at Chris.

"Eat it!" She laughed. "You're doing great, John! Keep it up!"

The ping-pong table and the two teleporters might have been the greatest thing ever to come into camp. For the first time since arriving and not on a mission, she wasn't bored.

[hunt_the_devil]

John didn't mind the thought of losing really, though no doubt Bradley would bitch and moan about the money until John paid him back. Kurt was a worthy opponent but thankfully it was early days and John had no intention of bowing out the game just yet.

"Thanks Allison, with friends like you who needs enemies!"

John tapped the ball back just as gently not wanting to get into a full on battle of skills just yet. It was nice to have a bit of conversation as well as a game too.

"So Kurt where were you before you came to this place?"