xp_logs | Logan and Manuel: You Are Too Angry

Set a little while after this post was made.

The Fencing Hall. Deserted at this time of night, with the shopping trip and the cookies and the Play-Doh and whatnot. Manuel's not having any of all that, preferring instead to strip down to a basic T-shirt and shorts, taking one of the blunted fencing foils from the case and striking at the tennis ball hanging from the ceiling like it was the source of all his problems. Over and over again, barely-coordinated lunges he strikes, missing more often than not.

Dinner was a beer and a twinkie and afterward, Logan pulls on sweatpants and heads down to the Fencing Hall for a little quiet time. Pushing the door open, he stops, surprised. Time alone is obviously not an option in this room. He shrugs and walks in anyway.

Manuel can't help but sense the rough-and-ready emotions from behind him, but he tries to ignore them in favor of the foil and the ball. Unfortunately for him, the foil and the ball don't actually have feelings, so they don't do much to help him focus.

It's not an empty room, but since the other occupant seems determined to ignore him, Logan pulls a staff from the training-weapons closet and sets to work. His mind conjures up a multitude of possible opponents as he begins his kata.

Manuel's already fairly sloppy fencing is getting worse and worse as Logan gets into the martial groove. Eventually, he just gives it up and turns to watch Logan spar his imaginary foes.

Halfway through a strike, Logan realises he's got an audience. Finishing out the form, he turns toward Manuel, holding the staff horizontally in front of himself and hefting it as if to test its weight. "Yeah?"

Manuel is just staring at the short hairy guy, seeing him on two levels. "I do not believe that we have met. You are ... ?"

"Logan." Logan seems unamused by Manuel's tone. The staff spins in his hands. "An' you?"

Deciding that like for like is probably a Really Good Idea, he just answers with "Manuel." He then rubs his forehead like something pains him. ~Do you _have_ to be so angry?~ he mutters under his breath in Castillian.

Logan's eyebrow slides up. He's got no idea what Manuel just said, but he heard it quite clearly. "Got somethin' t'say?"

Manuel quirks an eyebrow. "Many things, but not to you. You are too angry." he says, his accent thickening. "And it pisses me off."

Logan's other eyebrow matches the first. "Yeah?" The students -- hell, even the adults -- don't tend to act openly challenging toward him and it comes as a surprise.

Manuel nods, his grip on the foil tightening. "Yeah." he shoots back, clearly getting more and more pissed off. "And I can't stop being angry. And that just pisses me off more. So just be careful!"

Something is Not Right. Logan's eyes narrow and he shifts his grip on the staff. "What's the deal, kid? Why're y'pushin' like this?"

"I. Can't. Help. It." he growls between gritted teeth. "It's my power." he says, before throwing the foil at the ground and clenching his fists.

Deductive reasoning has never been Logan's strong point and that hasn't changed. He rolls the staff in his palms and cracks his neck. "Y'power."

Manuel nods, looking down at the foil with something approaching real lust in his eyes. "Yeah." he says. "I'm an empath. Control not so good. You're angry, so I'm angry. Get it yet, you hairy freak?"

Logan grinds his teeth. "Y'doin' a great job of keepin' me that way, too, kid." His always-tenuous control over his emotions wars with the urge to let it go and see what happens.

~I told you already, you syphillitic goat-fucker. I can't help it. And this is gonna get real ugly, real fast unless I get a grip.~ he says in Castillian. while his color generally goes reddish. His eyes are now starting to glow red to match his complexion.

Logan doesn't understand the words, but he understands the warning tone and can't help but understand the colour-change in his eyes and skin. He takes a cautious step backward, gauging the young man in front of him.

Manuel fights the urge to step forward, to reclaim his blade and skewer the man before him just because it'd be fun. He fights it hard, with every scrap that he has, and even so his legs are trembling with the effort.

Realisation slowly washes over Logan and he sighs, some of the anger ebbing in the process. He props the staff up beside himself, leaning on it slightly. It towers over him.

As Logan calms, so does Manuel. He exhales deeply, and takes a few deep breaths. "I must ... apologize." he says, still angry but not overwhelmingly hostile.

Logan's eyes narrow again and he takes a good look at Manuel. "Think mebbe that'd be my line."

Manuel shakes his head angrily. "NO! I did this." he says with heat in his voice. Swallowing heavily, he continues in a more normal tone of voice. "It has not been a good day."

Logan nods, pushing down a bit more of his anger as he sees what it's doing to the kid. "Kinda sucks all around, kid. I'll make it easy on you." He turns toward the weapons cabinet to put the staff away.

Manuel swallows again, and wipes the sweat off of his face. "Thank you." he says, his accent receding a bit and making his English more understandable. "We will talk later, when I have control. Do not hate me for this, please. Too many do."

Logan snorts, closing the cabinet. "Kid, if you're feelin' what's in me, you've gotta know I'm gonna be the last t'hate a body for his mutation."

And Manuel can at least sense the truth in -that-. "Thank you." he says, temper cooling even further. He picks up his foil, wipes it off with a cloth, and then re-racks it correctly. "I need to find a place alone." he says to no one in particular.

As Logan opens the door to leave, he looks back at Manuel. "The planetarium's usually empty."

Manuel looks relieved. "I drank your beer. I will convince someone to replace it." he says before heading in a planetarium-type direction.