xp_logs | LOG: [Yvette, Marius] A noble sacrifice by the ballroom floor

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After Laurie's inadvertant dosing of the graduate suites, neither Yvette nor Marius are in an entirely good mood. This they decide to change.

Marius wasn't often in the library these days, or at least not the one at Xavier's. Still, it did have the advantage of being one of the last places anyone would look for him, which, at the moment, was an appealing prospect. In the end he'd taken to the stacks with the vague idea of re-reading some Voltaire: the man had the duel advantage of being both quotable and French, and Marius derived a certain smug comfort in reading notable works in their original language. He was so preoccupied in his pursuit of the foreign language section he almost failed to notice the small figure in one of the study niches, sitting so still she nearly blended into her surroundings.

"Yvette?"

Yvette started a little, eyes flaring brighter, before realising who had called to her. "Hello, Marius," she said with a small smile. "It is good to see you are up and about again. I did not expect to see you here, however." It was said with a mildly teasing note for her friend's lack of bookishness.

"Even such expansive intellectual horizons as mine may be broadened. An' you know -- activity is good for the recent invalid." The Australian extended a leg and wiggled his bare, clawed toes at her. "Though it is true, my incapacitation lasted but a few hours. However, I was subject to the ministrations of Dr. Voght, so I find the point valid." He cocked his head at Yvette. "And yourself? I've not seen you about lately."

She looked away, hunching a little. "Oh, I have been busy," she replied, attempting to sound casual. "And everyone has been... occupied, so I have been staying out of the way."

"Ah. Yes." He thought of what Kyle had termed his "durp moment" with Yvette on the journals. Yes. That would make one in Yvette's particular situation feel something less than social. It had certainly done so for him.

Marius crossed his arms and shook his head. "I suspect one half of the residents suffer from irritation or awkwardness, whilst the other is still basking in afterglow. Both are somewhat uncomfortable to be around."

She tried to shrug, but her increasing discomfort meant that her skin was growing harder and it came out less fluidly than she wanted. "It is, how you say? The same old thing. Most of the people here spend much of their time talking about... sex, so it is not so great a difference that they are doing it instead. I am just glad that I was not here, as I said to Kyle." She cast a glance at Marius. "It must have been hard for you, with how your mutation works, but to throw yourself out of the window?"

"Yes, that was perhaps not the best plan. But around mutants I rather, you know . . ." Marius hesitated. Yvette's skin was darkening, drawing in the shadows. The girl had a good poker face, but her discomfort tended to express in other physiological ways. He flipped the hair from his eyes and forced his tone lighter.

"Well. All powers have a downside, right? Some have to be careful with control, others can't touch at all. When it comes to other mutants I choose to avoid the former by committing to the latter, an' that's the end of it." Unconsciously, his scarred hands kneaded against his biceps. For an instant Marius' yellow eyes met Yvette's blue before sliding away again. "Still. Must be nice to be like Laurie, havin' a power that, if not altogether safe, can nonetheless acceptably be left unchecked when in the presence of an understanding party."

"She might not agree with you," Yvette replied with something that sounded like a snort. "To hear her complain about not being able to have the normal life." She shook her head, hair spikes rattling. "Still, at least people had fun, yes? After all, that is what is important, it seems, to be able to have the sexy fun times." She sounded far more bitter than anyone might have heard her be before, but there was an unspoken trust in Marius. After all, he understood her powers better than anyone else.

Marius snorted. "Sex is hardly as important as I've seen it made out to be. An' as hypocritical as that may sound coming from myself, I did in fact spend my first year after Monet's generous marrow donation celibate. It was entirely survivable." He paused, then shook his head and let his arms to his sides. "Though I apologise -- I realise this means little when you do not have even the option to partake or abstain."

"It is fine. I know what you meant." Yvette sighed. "Sometimes I think I am in the wrong place. To be in a culture where sex is so... obvious, I suppose? Everything here is pointing people towards the having the romantic partner, or at least having someone to be physically with. But I think to get away from this would require the convent in the remote place. Or the time machine." She gave a small, ironic laugh. "But you know all this. It is the same old problem I am always having and I should just be sucking it up, as Kyle says."

"A certain amount of metaphorical suction may be necessary, yes. Nonetheless, I can't see as that makes the reminders any less tirin'." Talking to Yvette about such things always made him feel petty. Yes, his reaction to Laura had been . . . unsettling. However, the only reactions he had to worry about when in contact with others were his own, and, pheromones and other biological agents aside, these were generally controllable. The complaint seemed unbelievably minor when one was talking to a girl who had to be constantly aware of her proximity to others least a startled movement result in an inadvertent amputation. Even in the mansion, with all its amenities and residents with protective mutations, Yvette must have had to spend at least 95% of her time on some degree of guard. Though he already had ample first-hand experience with his own mutation to support the opinion, sometimes life simply wasn't fair.

An idea began to form. Fortunately, it was far more reasonable than jumping from a window.

"Actually, it is most fortunate I found you," Marius said, his tone suddenly bright. "There is somethin' I had planned to ask you. However, I must first make preparations. Would you perhaps be so kind as to meet me in the ballroom in, say, twenty minutes?"

Yvette blinked as the Australian trotted away. That had been... abrupt, even for Marius. Still, she wasn't going to spoil his surprise, whatever it was.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Yvette dutifully attended at the ballroom doors. The large room wasn't used much, save for the occasional large party like Prom, and it seemed like an odd place for Marius to choose to meet. Gently, she tapped on the doors with her long fingers. "Marius?"

The door opened promptly to reveal a face that was . . . grey.

"Ah, the lady has arrived," said Marius, opening the door all the way and gesturing that Yvette should enter. The hand still bore the claws of Kyle's mutation, but the skin was now as smooth and grey as his face. "Enter, and be welcome."

Her eyes widened. She was one of Marius' 'suppliers' of powers for team reasons and she knew he had access to a small vial of her blood when it was required, but it always surprised her how differently her mutation manifested in him. Not to mention his ability to control it - it was a source of hope and small jealousy. "Thank you, kind sir," she said with a smile as she walked into the large, empty room. Marius' attempt at courtly manners made her feel a bit like a princess from one of their plays. "Would it be rude to ask what the surprise is?"

"Not at all. I wanted to ask you to dance." He knelt by a CD player by the door and held up an empty CD case proclaiming to contain Classic Swing Hits. "If, that is, it pleases the lady." "Dance?" Yvette felt a bit like an echo, repeating what Marius had said, but it hadn't been on the list of potential surprises. Then again, Marius himself tended to be hard to predict. "But why..." She closed her mouth, cutting off her words. Because it was something he thought she would like. Because he had decided to take on her powers so she wouldn't have to worry so much about hurting someone. Because he understood.

She gave him a brilliant smile, eyes glowing in response. "I would like that very much, thank you."

Marius grinned. "Excellent." He turned on the CD player, and the act required little concentration; Yvette's power seemed unusually tied to emotional state, and whilst it manifested in her as sharpness, for Marius it seemed to come more naturally as a simple shell. The protection it offered was no less impenetrable than Yvette's manifestation, but far less dangerous. He'd have to mind the clawtips, but otherwise he had little to worry about. "No worries," he said as he faced the girl, "the music is merely for ambiance. We shall begin simply. You have never ventured swing before, I suppose?"

Yvette shook her head. "Not really, no. I do not dance much at all, really."

"Ah, there's little enough to it. We just need to break it down. Here . . ." Marius moved to stand next to her. "First, the basic step. It is essentially four moves: lift and lower the right foot, lift and lower the left foot, step backwards on the ball of your right foot to cross it behind your left ankle, and then return to the starting position. Like so." He demonstrated. "That is for the ladies, of course. It is reversed for lowly men such as I."

Biting her lip a little in concentration, Yvette followed his example. She might not have danced much, but she did train a lot in leaping and climbing and other gymnastic-type movements, and before long she had realised dancing wasn't so different from sparring. Better, actually, since you didn't get a punch in the nose when you lost track of what you were doing. She looked up from her careful watching of her feet (to make sure she was doing things correctly) to Marius with glowing eyes. "I think I am managing, yes?" "Yes, precisely. Now, let's try together." Marius stepped in front of her and extended both hands.

"Oh, I shouldn't worry about that," said Marius, drumming his clawed toes against the marble with little tik tik tiks as he accepted her hands. "But yes, it is advisable to start in the open position. Stand about half arm's length -- yes, like so. Now, it's right, left, and the cross takes you back to a full arm's length. Bring the foot forward again, and the distance is closed again. You see? Open, then close. Like drawing breath."

She nodded and took a breath, looking down at her feet again. At first her movements were slow and hesitant, but after a little while, she started to get the hang of it and began speeding up. Then, on the back toe-step, her socked foot slipped and she let out a yelp. As she pitched forward, she gripped onto Marius' hands tighter, trying to avoid falling face-first into her dance partner and tearing up his shirt with her skin.

Marius held his arms steady for her, taking her weight. Though heavier than she looked, it posed little problem. "Floor may be a bit overwaxed," he said, adding a grin to show her it was nothing to worry about. "Perhaps you should divest yourself of the socks. You're already bein' tutored by the shoeless, after all."

Yvette paused, obviously thinking about potential damage issues, then shrugged. The floor was marble and as Marius said, he wasn't wearing shoes either. In moments she had tugged off the socks, leaving small scratches on the floor as she flexed her toes slightly. "This is fun," she said with a small smile. "And not so different to the sparring training. Now I understand why Mr. Logan was asking people to dance with him in the Danger Room. I was almost expecting him to start the musical, yes? But now I know it was the nickname for fighting."

"Difficult to say. I've known some who have elevated the literal act to an offensive art form, though in most cases I doubt it was intentional." Once more Marius offered her his hands. The contact tensed him, but it was controllable -- and knowing that was a comfort. He gave Yvette a broad smile.

"Now," he said, "let us swing."