xp_logs | Nathan and Julian, Sunday around lunchtime

Nathan summons Julian to the boathouse to talk about more controlled methods of training. The conversation proceeds to get a little deeper than expected.

When Julian came up the stairs to the second level of the boathouse, he found Nathan ensconced on the couch, various files and books arrayed around him. His mentor was unshaven, pale and tired-looking, new lines of pain in his face and rather more gray in his hair than had been there even a month before. He greeted Julian with a warm, if somewhat subdued smile, however, waving at one of the armchairs.

"Sit down," he said. "If you hadn't had lunch, feel free to poach. Various people seem determined to supply me with more food than three of me could eat." The tray on the low table had several sandwich-halfs and a large plate of fruit that looked barely touched on it.

With a smirk Julian strolled over to the fruit, taking a bunch of grapes and an apple from the platter before plopping down in the armchair. It was more comfortable than he would have expected, but tried not to dwell on it as he popped a grape into his mouth. One quick chew later, the protege looked down at the table and books, trying to see what Nathan was working on and hoping that this was not why he'd been called here. Changing the subject, "How are you feeling these days?"

"I'm getting there - slowly," Nathan conceded wryly. "It helps to be back home." The boathouse was flooded with sunlight at this time of the day, and part of him still reveled in it. "Still get tired out too easily, and my attention span sucks the big one, but I thought you and I could manage a bit of a conversation today." A pause. "I heard about the 'fun' in the quarry."

"Practice," Julian quickly corrected him. "I was working on multiple objects and examining how things interacted with each other when free of the universal laws of physics." For a moment he kept a straight face, then broke into a guilty grin. "Okay, so I was having fun, but it really was practice too- I got up to at least thirty chunks of stone."

"Impressive," Nathan said, no edge to his voice. "Although I'd have been more impressed with pennies, rather than rocks..."

Julian was a bit put out by that. He'd been trying hard and thought that the improvement would have impressed him. Unfortunately, he couldn't dispute the fact that it was still trouble for him to pick up a penny. "Okay, so...work harder then? Is that why you wanted to see me?"

"I wanted to see you because I hadn't seen you in a while," Nathan said, smiling (and not quite rolling his eyes). The flash of temper didn't surprise him. He did know his student, after all. "Although I will point out that practicing blindfolded without a spotter is not advisable. Especially not with squishable people in the vicinity."

"You mean Doreen?" Julian said, looking away for a moment before popping another grape in his mouth and meeting Nathan's eyes again.

"She does class as squishable, yes."

With a sigh he nodded, conceding the point, "I guess, but I was in control the entire time-" though the bruises on his chest spoke differently.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "You were pushing your limits," he pointed out. "Much safer to do that in controlled circumstances. I don't mean to be a wet blanket, Julian. I'm sorry if I'm coming across that way. I'd just hate like hell to see you or any of your friends caught in a training accident."

"I'll try not to endanger anyone else in the future, but I'm going to keep practicing," it wasn't defiance, more-so a statement of fact.

"Practicing is good. But practicing in that way, at least often, is not going to solve your primary powers challenge," Nathan said. "I'm all for improving your multitasking. But if you decide to go out and do good with your powers - for example, with the X-Men - you need to be able to multitask with a fine regard for the fragility of the people around you. Plus, oftentimes precision is going to be more important than strength."

He could feel frustration starting to come up again, there was always another roadblock- of course that just made Julian want to prove that he was as good as he knew he was. "Okay, so how do I train that then?"

"Eggs," Nathan said, calmly.

Julian was silent for a quiet beat. "You're joking," he said finally.

"Absolutely not. It's the best of both worlds - you can practice your multitasking, your precision with small objects, and your... delicacy, all at the same time." Nathan met his student's eyes levelly. "You want a challenge, kiddo, I'll give you one."

"Oh," it made sense, but, 'did he just call me kiddo?' "Okay, so...I guess I'm making breakfast for the next few days...how do you like your eggs?"

Nathan laughed - carefully. "Let me think about how we can do this without making too much of a mess. The Danger Room might be the best option, although it'll be a while before I'm able to get down there." He paused. "I'll have more time to train with you, though," he said, not quite lightly. "Once I'm back on my feet."

"I'll put that down on my calendar for next year then," Julian said with a wink.

"No," Nathan said, patiently, even managing a slight smile at the joke. "I mean, I will literally have more time to train with you when I'm back on my feet. I've decided it's time to take a step back from the X-Men. I'll stay on in reserve, and I don't think I would have been permitted not to help with training, even if I hadn't already liked the idea. But I won't be going out with the team anymore unless the world's about to explode. So I should be winding up off my feet much less often."

"Oh," Julian's surprise was clear, so was the thought that floated to the top of his head and the answer that followed. He wondered why his mentor no longer wanted to be on the team, but knew it must have something to do with his constant cycle of injuries. "Nathan...last time I saw you, you said you'd tell me how you got banged up..." he let the comment hang.

Nathan was silent for a moment. "You know how Elpis works with mutant child soldiers," he said. He'd mentioned it to Julian more than once during their training sessions. "Sometimes, the X-Men have to get involved in such situations. There was a program... the people who ran it were breeding mutants, raising them from childhood to be soldiers. Warping their minds, to make them obedient."

Another, "Oh," passed Julian's lips. "So, what they were kidnapping mutant kids and...wow, that's...wow."

"No. Although other groups have done that. They were creating mutant kids," Nathan said. "Those babies who were here? Were created in a lab. Sort of the ultimate commodification of human life."

It seemed inconceivable, "They...made them? I mean, I get the basic principle behind it and everything, but...Jesus, really? That's just..." words failed him. "You rescued them?"

"Yes, we did. We also freed the older kids, the ones who were old enough to have been deployed, or were well into their training."

"That's good," he said, feeling like it was the understatement of the century. "Worth it then, right?"

"Yeah." Nathan eyed him for a moment. "I promised I'd tell you how I got banged up," he said, thinking that maybe it would do Julian good to hear it. Or at least a carefully edited version of it. He really had no doubt in his mind that at some point, his student would be putting leathers on, and he needed to have a better picture of how bad it could get. "I had something the people running the program wanted -some knowledge, to give you the non-complicated version. So we used that to set them up. I had Charles install some memory blocks and I let myself be captured. It was... pretty rough. The team came to get me, and with their help I managed to get out with the location of where the older kids were being kept."

"So...you did this to yourself?" The thought of that kind of self-sacrifice sent a chill up Julian's spine. There had to have been another way, right? "Or I mean, you had them do it to you or whatever."

"Put myself in a position where it would happen." Nathan paused. "You probably noticed that I wound up more hurt. It's because when the babies were found - and this was in a different place, a couple of days later - I went with Moira and Jean to check it out. There wasn't supposed to be another fight." His throat tightened. "But there were people who had ambitions of setting up this program somewhere else, under their control. They tried to grab the babies. They were being led by someone who came from the same program I did. I... had to stop him."

Julian didn't need to press for the meaning of the word 'stop,' it was fairly clear from his hesitation and tone he meant kill. "Nathan, you don't have to tell me about this if you don't want to."

"No, I do," Nathan said, shaking his head. "Because I want you to understand. I know we're not doing this training for fun, Julian - I know there's a point to it beyond gaining control, for you. And I think maybe we need to start taking that more explicitly into account. Not just in what we do, but... in how open I am with you, about what sort of life it can be." He managed a smile. "You're not going to be seventeen forever. It won't be that long before you can start making certain decisions for yourself."

Another moment of silence passed between them, Julian carefully considered the words of the older- and wiser- telekinetic. Finally, with a slight smile, Keller continued, "Thank you." Taking a bite of the apple he leaned back slightly in the chair, "So how many eggs should I start with do you think?"

"I was thinking one." Nathan waited for the inevitable look of disappointment, then grinned. "Kidding. Either three or five - I want you working with uneven numbers for the foreseeable future. It's more of a challenge."

"I had noticed that with rocks, I generally picked them up in pairs." Julian stood up, a slight smile on his lips, "Need anything else from the grocery store while I'm out buying every egg in the county? Or should I just get some chickens?"