xp_logs | Logan and Paige: You'll Do

Backdated to early Tuesday morning.

It was still early morning when Paige headed for the Fencing Room, towel draped over her neck. She'd just finished her morning run, the only evidence of this her slightly flushed cheeks, and as it was Tuesday, her training with Logan would be for this morning. She'd been looking forward to it all weekend, and so when she opened the door it was with a smile.

Logan's muscles were already burning by the time Paige arrived; his training with Marie had been strenuous and his hair was damp with sweat. He raised an eyebrow as the door swung open, looking up to see his next student. "Hear you've been listenin' t'some of your more lethal instincts lately..."

Paige brushed off the comment as she did the lint on her tanktop once she'd stripped off her fleece. "Marie was in danger. It needed to be done."

He stood up, nodding. "'m glad y'feel that way. Makes things easier in the long run."

"You took me as a different type," Paige observed calmly, folding up her fleece to put by the door and come over to him.

"S'pose I did." He nodded. "Good t'know otherwise." He dropped into the ready stance, letting her follow his lead. He looked at her for a long moment. "Thank you for not hesitatin'." He knew what would've happened, if she had.

Paige fell into the ready stance after him without a second thought. She'd been practicing. She didn't, however, miss the look from her teacher and gave him a slight smile. "Not something you need to be thanking me for, but you're welcome." The flow of stances were simple and graceful as she moved. "Just don't think I did it for my own amusement, sir. I'm not quite that type."

He grinned, moving with her through the stances. "Nah, I didn't think y'were. That's more my style."

Basking in a rare grin, Paige offered one of her own but not without rolling her eyes, ever so slightly. "Of course. Why do you think I asked you for training assistance?"

Logan snorted, moving on to the first of the hand techniques, the Tun Da. "'Cause you're a masochist?"

"Correct! I'm also a fast learner, though. Remember that. I needed someone who could keep up with /me/," Paige replied, following him, her grin widening into something with more teeth but still amused.

He laughed, amused by her confidence, and moved on to the next technique, the Moi Fah, moving slowly so she could see each of the four directions of the footwork. "Modest, aren't you?"

"Only with things that need it." Paige had obviously been reading up on the future lessons as she slowly mimicked Logan's movements back with much more precision than expected. "But really, all this? Is just with you. It'll be our secret."

He raised an eyebrow at both her admission and her precision. Going through the technique again, he sped up a little. After she'd repeated the steps again, he nodded. "By yourself, this time."

She did so, speeding up again with a little smile. Other than the lifting of the corners of her mouth her posture was clean and confident; when Paige did things, she did them right or at least made it look like she had. Paige returned to the ready position when she had finished, raising her eyes to him in question.

He nodded his approval. She was obviously an overachiever; he appreciated that. "Have you practiced the Chum Sam, too?"

"Like you have to ask," Paige replied, smiling.

He grinned in return and began moving through the technique. Knowing it was only a refresher, he went at full speed, his body turning quickly from side to side.

Paige was right with him, her slight frame giving the form a delicate poetry aspect. She was silent out of respect; speak only when spoken to and all that.

He watched her from the corner of his eye and, when they'd completed the form, he nodded his approval again. Deciding it was time she saw the usefulness of what he was teaching, he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. "You do the form. And trust me." He watched her for a response.

Paige only tossed her pony tail over her shoulder, around to her back and started up in the ready position. She was all about the no questions asked. Without even a second thought she moved into the first form.

Logan punched and kicked and blocked against her, careful not to break her form. He wanted her to see /what/ she was learning. That it was more than just a dance.

Pushing against him, Paige allowed herself a little grin. He couldn't break her quite as easily as he thought he could and she wanted that to be apparent. Paige wasn't about flair as she moved, she was by the book and somehow managed to make it beautiful and practical at the same time.

Impressed that she didn't falter as he came at her, he continued with the form and, as they finished, he nodded his approval. "I'm impressed," he admitted with a small smile.

Paige's confident smile turned into a wide grin; not from pride but the pure pleasure of being told she was doing well. It was getting to be a rare occurance, somtimes people forgot that as well as she did at nearly everything, it was only because she worked so hard for it, often nearly killing herself in the process. "Really? You mean it?"

"Really," he said dryly. "I mean it."

Laughing, Paige poked him, nothing but playful. "Sir, I do believe you are mocking me."

He raised an eyebrow, staring at where she'd poked him. "Mebbe."

"Yes, yes you are." She poked him again, coming closer. "There is a large amount of mocking going on. Sir."

A smirk flickered across his face. "Yeah, s'pose there is. You gonna do somethin' about it?" he challenged.

Paige's grin turned slightly pointed as she quirked an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation, Mister Logan?"

Logan's head tilted in obvious curiosity. "Let's see what you can do."

"Try not to break any of my bones. I haven't figured out how to fix those other than the natural way." Paige turned her head, cracking her neck. It wasn't out of show, more a nervous habit. She fell into the ready position without thinking and followed with a series of very percise, well calculated movements against him.

He met each of her movements, if not easily, then without /too/ much effort. To shake her up a little, he kicked out at her left ankle, careful to not, as she'd requested, break any bones.

She went down, simple enough, but she was also smart enough to roll away and get herself back up to her feet in record time, already in a defensive position. She paused, calculating in this safe position.

He was impressed, again, and wondered who she'd been training with. And then he remembered. Sarah. Of course. He grinned and circled around her.

"Is this the part where we start up the witty repartee?" she asked suddenly, keeping her guard up as she moved with him.

He laughed, low and pleased. "I could try, but I'm told I'm not real good at it." He took a quick step forward, then continued circling, his eyes on her.

Paige stepped forward herself, matching him. She didn't so much concentrate on one part of him, such as his footwork or his eyes, but how he moved as a whole. "Tsk. I assumed that was one of the prerequisites of putting on the uniform. Like they gave you a manual or something. Or, let me guess. You didn't read it?"

The only thing about him that changed in response to her taunt was the tilt of his eyebrow. "Y'mean I was s'psed to read that? Huh. Left it in the outhouse." He continued to circle, waiting for her to strike or to show weakness.

"Watch out for paper cuts, sir," Paige chirped in reply, striking out low with a foot with a series of other attacks ready.

He just barely blocked her kick and his eyes widened slightly as he forced his body to keep up with her attacks without hurting her. It wasn't easy.

There was a flurry as they circled, attacked, fell back and started again. It was a calm sort of pattern, in spite of the way Paige was starting to feel the violence in their actions through her shortness of breath, and she grinned at him as surprise lit his face. "Oh so doubtful, sir."

Logan smirked. "Not doubtful of your claims, just cynical 'bout what y'all've learnt while I was gone." He shot forward again, kicking out at her upper arm.

"You were gone?" Paige asked innocently, taking the kick with a grit of the teeth but bending just agilely enough that she rolled around with a twist of spine and was righted again. "Hadn't noticed."

He snorted, coming at her again from the other side with another kick. "Uh huh."

Paige moved for that one, grabbing his leg and tugging. "Quit that, sir." She knew he was going easy on her, but really.

Logan rolled easily, landing back on his feet, and raised an eyebrow. "A'right." He circled for a moment, letting her get used to the motion again, then dove for the floor. He rolled behind her and slid to his feet, kicking at the small of her back.

Using the momentum Paige put her hands out, executing a simple roundoff to face him again. It wasn't perfect, though, and she knew she was vulnerable. She placed her feet again, trying to regain some balance. "I like that one. Teach me when we're done?"

He nodded, eyes narrowing as he studied her, looking for weaknesses to exploit. "Sure. Just as soon as y'finish showin' me y'can hold your own inna fight." He grinned, remembering her mutation, and shook his fists. Six twelve-inch adamantium blades slid from between his knuckles and only someone who knew him very well or who was very observant would notice the slight tightening of his eyes in response to the pain.

Paige's nostrils flared and she unconsciously took a step back. "I liked this shirt," she said sadly and took a quick tug at her hair, issuing forth a sharp shriping noise. A metal husk was revealed, the only form she felt confident in if she was going to be taking on the sharpness of Logan's claws. Crooking a finger at him she beckoned him closer.

Her metal form was exactly what he'd expected; he dove at her, taking an experimental swipe at her thigh.

She attempted to bat the hand away, but he had too much momentum. It was times like these that she thanked her own genius for putting some adamantium into her metal husk alloy as the claws created a slash across her leg instead of slicing off the entire limb. Her eyes narrowed; that hadn't hurt but it certainly wasn't without irritation. Her batting at him had left its own clawmarks where her now very sharp nails had dug into his hand, but they were fading fast.

He spared half a glance for his hand, but his attention was drawn to her thigh, where three perfect creases had appeared in the metal. He backed off immediately, drawing the claws in halfway.

"It's going to take a bit more than that," was all the warning she gave before sending another set of punches and open clawed hands at Logan. The ridges in her leg did nothing to halt her movements as she incorporated heavily armored knees into her well planned attack.

He grunted, surprised by her first round of punches, then began to fight back. He heard the thud of metal-on-metal when he blocked a punch with the side of his arm and grinned, backing off again. "You'll do."

Paige smiled, bowing her head slightly as she brought her feet together and her hands to her sides. "Will you tell me what for someday?"

Logan bowed in return, his claws slipping away as though they'd never been there. "Someday."