xp_logs | Angelo and Jake, Saturday afternoon

Angelo and Jake play basketball. Jake loses, but it's not entirely his fault.

Jake dribbled the ball slowly, loosening up. It had been longer than he'd care to admit since he'd had the chance to play any basketball. He grinned at Angelo, hanging back for now. "You sure you're up to this?" he teased.

"Oh, bring it on, Gavin", Angelo shot back with a grin. "An' what the hell are you wearin'?"

Jake snorted. "I ran into a Toxic Death Cloud," he said, stutter-stepping like he was about to drive on Angelo, but then pulling up and taking the shot instead. The ball clanked off of the rim and bounced towards Angelo. "Had to borrow some clothes."

Angelo caught it and started dribbling as he answered. "From who? Kurt's old circus stash?"

"Nah," Jake said, frowning a little in concentration as he stepped in to guard Angelo. "Green-haired girl--Cammie? Kimmie? Something like that."

"Cammie", Angelo said with a nod, circling. "Good kid. Reminds me of me."

Jake smirked at that. "I don't remember you being quite that much of a smart ass, but I could be wrong." He took a swat at the ball in a futile attempt to knock it free from Angelo's hands. "But she seems okay."

Angelo was determinedly keeping this no powers, even if Jake kept tempting him. "Yeah, I had my moments. She's fittin' in pretty well so far."

"When she's not gassing unsuspecting visitors, that is?" he said, although he smiled as he said it. Angelo's patience was frustrating, and he took another swat at the ball.

"Oh, she did the Toxic Death Cloud?" Angelo dropped the ball, but only to bounce it back into his hands, then took his shot. "I was wonderin'."

Jake watched as the ball swished through the net, shaking his head. He was rusty. "You were asking about the clothes?" He caught the ball Angelo bounced to him and immediately drove in for a layup. "Borrowed 'em from Jean-Paul."

"Oh, I thought you meant they were from Cammie... which actually makes no sense, now I think about it." He moved to intercept the ball when it came back down. "Never seen Jean-Paul wear anything like that, either."

"Probably gave me his oldest, least-favorite clothes. S'what I would've done." He held back this time, waiting to see what Angelo would do. "Still, considering I showed up on his doorste smelling like Toxic Death, I can't really complain."

"I'm sure he's seen worse." That came out half-distracted because Angelo was trying to pull off a trick shot.

Jake took the rebound back to the three-point line. "I think I'll take that as a compliment." He took another shot, only to watch as it bounced off of the backboard. "Maybe we should have played Horse."

"Not too late to change, if you can't hack straight one on one", was the cheerfully teasing response.

"Nah. I could use a little embarrassment to remind me why I shouldn't go so long without playing," the shapeshifter replied back just as cheerfully.

"Then embarrassment, my friend, you're gonna get." Mocking was traditional in this game.

"Bring it on, shorty," Jake smirked, stealing the ball and taking a shot. "My great-aunt could beat you with one old, arthritic arm tied behind her scoliosis-wracked back."

"Guess that explains why you're one shot down", Angelo retorted, snatching the ball from mid-air in a temporary abandonment of his own rule.

"Hey!" Jake yelped in protest. "Look, if you're so afraid of losing that you have to cheat..." He trailed off as he bumped Angelo, defending him aggressively.

"You could be six foot six if you wanted to", he laughed, jostling the other man back. "'Course, then you'd be so skinny I'd be afraid of breakin' you."

"Exactly, and yet here I am, not cheating," he dodged in to take another swat at the ball, "because I don't want to watch you cry when I win."

"Cryin', my ass. You just want me to win 'cause the winner buys the beer."

"True," Jake admitted with a grin. "Speaking of beer, I still owe Amanda the chance to introduce me to the pub. Any idea when she's back?"

"Should be soon", Angelo told him. "Sofia sent her off for a week, was the plan, but if it takes longer to figure out what's up with her powers, it'll take longer."

"Makes sense, I suppose," Jake shrugged. He reached in and snagged the ball from Angelo, spinning around to drive to the basket for an off-handed layup. The ball went wide, though, arcing over the rim as his left arm twitched violently. "Dammit," he swore quietly, his right arm cradling his left instinctively as he landed.

Angelo caught the ball and netted another goal before he turned to Jake, eyebrows raised. "Okay, what was that?"

"I don't know," Jake grimaced as another tremor caused his fingers to open and close involuntarily. "I think it's my arm."

"Yeah, I can see it's your arm, I mean - oh." He dropped the ball, letting it bounce away ignored, and crossed quickly to his friend. "You mean your other arm. They're doin' somethin'?"

"Feels like," he said grimly. The tremor passed, and he flexed his fingers, testing them. "This isn't the first time," he admitted. "Although this time it feels like they're electrocuting it or something. Usually it's more like poking."

"That's... really freakin' weird", Angelo said frankly. "So it's like a phantom arm thing but you feel it in your real new arm? An' someone's runnin' tests?"

"Really freaking weird about sums it up," he replied, rubbing at his arm. "If I have an arm to feel it in, yeah. Otherwise it's a really obnoxious phantom limb thing."

"Only you go back an' forth between arm an' no arm", Angelo said wryly. "You seen a doctor about it? They could maybe do a... nerve block... or somethin'..."

"I could give myself a nerve block," he said, clearly frustrated. He walked over to pick up the forgotten ball. "And I have. But it doesn't help, because the nerves in question are ones I can't control." He tossed the ball to Angelo, opting for a wry smile. "Guess I'm gonna have to let you buy my beer."

Angelo caught it and stuck it under his arm. ""Guess you are. Harry's?"

"Sounds good," Jake replied, walking over to pick up the sweater he'd dropped on a bench next to the court. "And next time, I'm bringing my great-aunt to watch her wipe you across the court."

"Only if I get to bring in Mama Lupe to be my second."