7633/Meeting the (new

Meeting the (new
Date of Scene:	26 May 2019
Location:	Gym - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	X-Man, Magik

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X-Man has posed:
    The Gym is something that still kind of fascinates Nate, if we're being honest. A place where people go to exercise and workout and keep themselves in shape almost as recreation. Nothing like that existed where he was from. People were in the best shape they could be in due to the rigours of living life in a place where every day was a struggle for survival. In Apocalypse's utopian vision of America, only the strong survived, after all. Having a gym actually strikes Nate as something almost decadent and hedonistic. As if the act of working out itself is an act of narcicissm.

    And yet, it's kind of become one of his absolute favorite places.

    I mean, first of all, he can often sneak in here when no one else is around, and can find peace in the routine of it. Turn his mind off. Go into Zen Mode. Secondly, no one says a word when he's in the gym with no shirt on. Walk into a McDonald's and everyone gives you flak. Walk around the house and you have Doug making passive comments about your abs. Walk into the gym and nobody bats an eyelash.

    So here he is. In the gym, hanging from a bar that's currently about halfway up the salmon ladder now. He is, of course, shirtless, as is his wont. A pair of gray sweatpants are the only thing adorning his body on the lower half. Sweat beads on his skin, and drenches his dark hair, making it look black, with his white bangs clinging to his forehead. His arms, lean muscle etched into slick flesh, tense with veins rising on the surface and the faint lines of sinew becoming noticeable with every extertion as he curls his knees to his chest, first to one side, then lowering them and lifting towards the other. He pulls himself up, only to shunt the bar he hangs from up to the next rung, where he repeats this process. It's worth noting that the common yellow glare of psionic power from his left eye is nowhere to be seen. In its place, only bright blue resides, matching its counterpart in looking pretty, if totally mundane.

Magik has posed:
Unlike many residents of the school, this was not the place where Illyana learned how to fight or to hone the use of her mutant abilities. This was the place where she came to continue keeping her skills up to par while away from the kingdom she'd come to rule in Limbo. More often than not she was trying to use this place, as opposed to needing to use the skills in Limbo where her powere was amplified and the stakes far higher. Tonight was the perfect time to spend some time here.

She wasn't exactly anticipating someone here as well as she strides in wearing the black and gold x-slash suit she wore when working with the XMen as opposed to the armor she sometimes would wear. This was a night for training and nothing more.

Near silent footfalls come as she walks in, blonde head tilted to the side to watch what Nate was doing. She pauses a few yards away with her SoulSword slung over her shoulder having already been summoned before entering. Now she just watches, bemused, at this decidedly unfamiliar method of working out.

"So what happens if you fall?"

X-Man has posed:
    Nate, hearing the voice, looks down at Illyana, and relaxes his arms, letting his weight hang in his grip on the bar. To the best of his ability in such a position, he shrugs. Flashing her a brilliant smile, coupled with a glint in those crystalline blue eyes, Nate just says, "Then I get up and get back at it. It's the only thing you can do when you fall."

    It's then that he notices that she's wearing the X uniform. That shifts his carefree expression to a slightly bemused grin, as his fingers relax, letting his body drop what should be several feet to the floor. However, at the very last moment, his descent falls short of the earth, and he rises ever so slightly back up. His left eye glows, once again, as he hovers there, drifting forward through the air to linger before her.

    "What's with the get up, anyway? It's not exactly gym clothes. You look more like you're prepped for a mission. Or the Danger Room."

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin considers his response with a slow nod of apparent agreement. That was the proper sentiment to have when it came to falling down after all. Get up again. Usually quickly, to avoid a killing blow. In this case to avoid bruising perhaps. When he drops down and floats toward her a single eyebrow raises in turn at him. Showing off much?

"I do not see the point of 'gym clothes'. If you're training in any way, you want to know how your body will move in the attire you intend to fight in. Besides," she adds with a rolling shrug, "It saves on laundry." Practical.

"I've not seen you before. Who are you?"

X-Man has posed:
    "It also makes you the smelly member of the team when we're cramped up in the jet on the way to a mission," Nate points out, as he idly hovers around her in a lackadaisical circle. "Or in the briefing room. Plus... I mean... This is the gym. If you're wanting to train for fighting, wouldn't it be better to use the Danger Room?"

    The question of who he is comes just as his circling brings him back around to face her, and he looks, for a moment, taken aback by the question. His head tilts to one side, his brows crashing down over his mismatched eyes, and his lips pulling down at the corners ever so slightly.

    "We just saw each other the other day. In the kitchen. When Sam made the chicken, and Dougy Fresh made the waffles."

    He shrugs the slight off, drawing in a deep breath that expands his chest. Releasing a sigh, he says, "We spoke about the "shredded abs" thing."

    Pushing out a hand, he offers, "Nate, though. Nate Grey."

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin mmmns quietly when he mentions smelling. "Do you not think I *wash* it after each session? And I have more than one. Tsch." There are a few more, harsh words, she considers saying but leaves it at that when he brings up the mention of the kitchen the other day. Her own blue eyes roll toward the ceiling with a hint of a sigh. Fingers lightly tap on the hilt of her sword.

"Yes, I meant in general. I did not get your name at that time. Simply you are the one with the shredded abs. There were many distractions that day." Like food. Food was a good distraction for many reasons.

Glancing down to the outstretched hand she hesitates. Then the hand holding her sword releases it to swing down and take his hand instead. As for the sword? It disappears in a dazzle of light that seems to sink back into her on some level other than just physical. "Illyana Rasputin. A pleasure."

X-Man has posed:
    "Hey, you said it saves on laundry, so one could reasonably assume that you're not washing it every time. Gym clothes are good for that because you don't have to wash them every time. And you only wear them in the gym. And I have no idea how many of those generic uniforms anyone might have. It's really not my style. They aren't very flattering, if you ask me. You could do way better. Way better."

    His hand shake is brisk and firm, without being forceful or overbearing. Three swift pumps and a retreat back to being shoved into the pockets of his gray sweats. Disappearing swords and other strangeness is sort of par for the course here, so he doesn't seem too surprised when he sees Illy's Soulsword do it's thing when it disappears. He definitely seems curious, but not surprised. His head tilts when he sees the eye rolling, though, and he lifts one thick, dark brow.

    "It's a bit different to say you didn't catch my name than it is to say that you haven't seen me before, though." He pauses, turning his head a bit to the side, so that he's peering at her with that golden, flaring eye out of the corner of it. "Was that eye rolling really that necessary?"

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose as Nate continues on. "Grey you said? You sound more like Scott. Details. Details. This is detail for you: English is not my first language." Granted the Professor DID instill the knowledge of English into her brain telepathically, but that didn't mean she always thought in it one hundred percent. There were still times she got her phrasing incorrect though no where near as much as her brother who had learned it the slower way.

"Yes, very necessary." Comes her reply in regards to the eye rolling. Her arms cross over her chest and she tips a sidelong glance back at him with a half-smug smile. "But if it upsets you, next time I will warn before rolling my eyes so you can look away." Was she teasing him?

X-Man has posed:
    "I'm not Cyclops," He says, with a hint of apprehension lacing his voice, though he presents it very matter of factly. "But yeah. I could tell. The accent sort of gave it away."

    The comment about eye rolling and warning him elicits a lopsided smirk, and a slight narrowing of his eyes. He shrugs his shoulders, hovering back and away from her a bit, before his feet slowly touch down on the floor beneath them and his weight settles. "Yeah, okay."

    He has to bite his tongue to avoid being snarky back. It's in his nature. Something that certainly separates him from his genetic father, perhaps. But still... Maybe it's still lingering nerves after his last "encounter" with Lorna, or maybe it's just the strangeness of trying to interact with someone new, but Nate doesn't feel comfortable being too cavalier. The last thing he needs is to have someone else getting irrationally angry with him for no good reason at all. Sometimes, he still fears he doesn't understand a single person in this world. An eternal outsider.

    "So... uh... I guess since you're in here, you probably want to do some actual... stuff. I guess I'll let you get to it."

Magik has posed:
Odd reaction that. It was clear there were some unpleasant feelings there brought up by mention of him acting like Scott. Very important ones at that. For just a moment there's a hardness behind her blue eyes, as if she'd just latched onto a potential weakness she could exploit--But then she takes a very deep breath, and shuts her eyes. It's let out in a slow exhalation. When they open again her eyes are back to normal without that certain unnerving shadow lingering there.

"I was the one who interrupted you, as I recall," she points out gesturing at the salmon wall he'd been working his way up. "I did want to at least get some practice in with the sword. If I do not use it, I lose it, as you Americans like to say. Though... Perhaps, yes, the Danger Room would be better suited." She shrugs flashing him a smile. "It was good speaking with you though."

X-Man has posed:
    That look in her eyes makes it so that Nate doesn't need his empathic abilities to read it. The calming breath that follows only secures it. His lips pull taut into a frown, and there's a tension in his shoulders, as the muscles bunch up visibly at either side of his neck. Here it comes. He fully expects a burst of outrageous anger directed at him for some slight he either didn't commit or was unaware of. His abdominals tense as his breathing catches and he braces for the yelling.

    And it doesn't come.

    He relaxes just a little bit when she just mentions that she was interrupting him and that the Danger Room might be a better choice for her needs. He opens his mouth and lifts a finger as if he might say something, but then just falls short and nods.

    "Yeah. You too..."