xp_logs | Manuel & Clarice backdated last night.

Manuel seeks Clarice and then they watch a movie.

It was not hard to find her considering she was going to watch a movie, however he could have found her regardless for all that her anger projected. Coming down the stairs was effort in itself and he gripped the banister, jaw set, mouth in a firm thin line at the frustrating suggestion that he is playing a game. Gripping the sterling silver wolf head of his ebony cane, he rounded the corner and slowly headed down the hallway, reining in his impatience as he stopped at the door frame.

"I realize you loath to be in the same room as me however, I appreciate that you are not so reluctant to talk."

Pressing pause as Bowie pawned one of his many wedding rings at a shop for cash, Clarice turned to look at him, "I don't hate you," she stated. She'd moved past hate to resigned indifference when it came to Manuel. She'd given up in him ever changing. You could lead a whore to culture, but you couldn't make her think, "But come in and say your piece," he had asked politely and she would at least hear him out.

"Yet you still assume I am playing games." he walked inside and took a seat carefully next to her.

Sighing, Clarice rolled her eyes, "One, it's an expression and two, you usually seem to be in my experience, even if it's only for your enjoyment. Why don't you say whatever it is you want to say and let me judge for myself?" He had wanted to speak to her so this whole small talk whatever he was, pussyfooting around the topic was sort of annoying.

Was everyone here always an insufferable bitch? Yes, usually, which was why he set his cane aside, leaning into the corner of the couch, his arm draped across the back and resting his ankle on his knee. "I am not here to convince you I am right or wrong. Only to digest the idea that the training - the self defence if you will call it that - is delivered differently."

"How so?" she asked cautiously, giving him the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

"They _are_ mutants. They _will_ go through many ordeals that are horrific and terrible. Powers training and physical self defence are good and well, however they are _still_ not practical enough. I understand that they are thorough, however, unless you train children at a very young age, they will still fall back on pure instinct if put into a stressful situation. It seems physical self defence falls on deaf ears, so to speak. It takes years to train, to mold them so they can react differently. I do not believe more physical or powers training will help. It'll only rob them of their youth quicker. Why not, once a week, train them in the DR, to not use their powers but rather, think their way through scenarios that have already transpired."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and sobered, lowering his tone. "I have been thinking about this since Dani went missing." His admission hung in the air between them, awkward as she was not the person he would have said this to.

Hadn't there been something about Dani and Manuel years ago? But Clarice didn't think she'd heard any gossip about them since he'd come back. Regardless, he was right. Dani was not a fighter. "You skirt a very fine line there, Manuel," she answered seriously, looking him in the eye. "There are laws and things about what makes a child soldier...which is something we won't do and is highly questionable on a national and international levels. And we're not here to train soldiers either. I'm not sure that we can do any more than we are from an ethical standpoint."

He rubbed his forehead, brow creasing under a strain, for an attempt at understanding and expressing his thoughts. It was difficult when your temples throbbed. "They can think without strength. They're crafty and cunning without meaning to be. It is natural for a teenager to think they are better and that they know best. Putting them in situations where they cannot use their powers, where they cannot use physical force requires them to _think_ out of a situation. It is possible to add this to the mandatory course. However, it worries me to think that should they step foot into the DR, they will not retain their innocence."

There was that. "I'm not sure there's a whole lot of innocence left around here to retain," Clarice pointed out sadly. "Why come to me then?"

"Are you not on the team?" he asked. "My position is limited."

"Yeah, but I'm not Scott or Nathan or Ororo. They're the ones you need to talk to, they coordinate the team training and school stuff and Jean Paul is in charge of the high schoolers training like that. So, talk to him," she wasn't in any position of authority on the team, not in any long term manner, though she had shown some leadership in different missions. Mostly, she was quite happy to follow orders from those that new more than her while she gained more experience.

"You are not them, no, however, they are _not_ you." And by that, he meant a great deal of respect in those words. She was head strong and a voice they would listen to. "If I cannot sway you, than I cannot possibly make them listen to me."

She wasn't sure if there was an insult to those words or not. Rather than picking a fight with him though to find out, she decided to assume there was and just move on, "On one hand, high school is designed to prepare kids for the real world. On the other, this place is also supposed to be a haven for mutants," she raised a hand to stop his potential argument, "Not discussing how successful we are at that. But it is the intent. I think destroying their innocence more than what already happens isn't going to help anything. But yes, something does need to change somehow. But I would take this to Jean Paul at least. Even if he says no, he might give him some ideas. I don't work with them, I don't know."

"Very well. I will take my idea to him." He would address this one more time before turning away from it. She agreed with him somewhat and it was a step that felt like a mile. He gestured to the TV and rested his cheek against his fist, thoughts and emotions elsewhere and not what they were watching.