xp_logs | Kurt and Yvette, Thursday

Nightcrawler and Penance have a Danger Room run.

The Danger Room door hissed closed after them and Yvette looked up at her training partner, tugging the sleeves of her uniform into place. "So, shall we flip the coin to see who is 'It' first?"she asked with a grin, her eyes glowing. Around them, the room was formulating the scenario, a classic war torn city in ruins. Lots of places to hide and to climb.

He bowed to her slightly, grinning back. "Unless you would like to choose, as ladies go first, by all means."

"Ah, but the coin is more fun, yes? The random element?" Yvette had trained with Kurt before and she knew he was sneakier than he seemed. Better to leave something to chance so he couldn't trick her. "if you would do the honors?"

Kurt chuckled and drew a coin from the pocket of his leathers. "Of course. And you may call."

"Heads!" she responded immediately as he flipped the coin. Of course, once his eyes were on the spinning coin, she tagged him briefly on the arm: "And you're It!" she cried, diving for a broken sewer pipe at their feet and disappearing from sight.

"...you wicked little cheat!" he called after her, laughing, and dropped down into the sewer pipe in turn. It didn't take long for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light.

Yvette's own eyes were suited to the dark, as well as being a dead giveaway; she pulled her goggles on to shield their glow as she scurried on all fours along the pipe. The advantage of her head start would only last for so long, so she tried to put as many twists and turns between them as she could.

Kurt was straining his ears as hard as he could, listening for the unmistakable sound of Yvette's hardened fingers on the metal of the pipe to indicate which way he should go.

Making a sharp right turn, Yvette found herself at the end of a cul de sac, with no way left to go. Except up; lying on her back, she employed both fingers and toes to the rusting metal, hacking away a Yvette-sized hole through which to escape.

"Very good", Kurt called after her on hearing the sound change, metal scraps clattering down on metal. "Never be afraid to improvise and use what you have." He had caught up slightly, since making a big enough hole took time.

Yvette squeezed herself through the hole and made for a nearby building, scrambling up the brickwork like a monkey. Glancing back, she caught sight of Kurt's glowing yellow eyes peering through the hole she'd made and ducked into an open window to hide.

Kurt had had to pause, punching at the edges of the hole Yvette had made to widen it enough for his larger frame to fit through. He followed as quickly as he could, though, and glanced around as he noticed her absence, listening hard.

Holding her breath, Yvette moved as silently as Logan had taught her, creeping back away from the window and across the shattered floor towards the doorway. There was a large hole in the middle, too large to jump across, but with a beam spanning it. It creaked when she stepped on it and she paused, hoping he hadn't heard her.

He had, and his feet could be heard crunching across the rubble outside, then stopping as he considered the building. More carefully than Yvette had had to, he began climbing up the damaged brickwork.

Yvette scurried across the beam, but as she neared the end, it suddenly collapsed under her weight. She leapt forward, hands outstretched, and managed to snag the edge of the hole, legs dangling in space. With only a few seconds to spare before Kurt entered the room, she had to get herself up and out... or did she? The name of the game was hide and seek, after all - gritting her teeth, she swung her feet up and hooked her toes into the underside of the floor, walking herself back until she was hanging suspended under the floorboards at the edge of the hole.

Kurt dropped in through the window and stopped immediately, unwilling to step too hastily anywhere on the remains of the floor. Sharp yellow eyes took in the room, trying to decide where Yvette might have gone.

She felt the slight shift as Kurt dropped to he floor and held her breath, tightening her hold on the rotting beams. Dust filtered down into her face and she wrinkled her nose, trying desperately not to sneeze. Too late; a small "ah-choo!" escaped her, betraying her hiding place.

He grinned and made for the hole, skirting around the edges until he spotted her, and immediately dropped into an easy crouch to swipe at whatever part of her was in reach. "Tag."

"Stupid dust," she complained as he tagged her shoulder. "I thought it was the very clever hiding place, too." She climbed carefully back onto the remaining floor, rubbing her nose to clear the itch. An ominous creak sounded and without warning, the boards caving in beneath their feet.

"It was very clever", Kurt had started to reassure her before he found them both falling. After a startled second, he twisted in mid-air to grab Yvette, uncaring of whether he touched uncovered skin, and teleported outside.

Blinking dust and brimstone away, Yvette instinctively moved out of Kurt's grasp. "Are you all right?" she asked, looking him over anxiously for signs of blood. "I did not hurt you?"

"I do not think so", he assured her, quickly examining his hands for cuts anyway before turning his attention back to her. "In any case, I would have preferred that to letting you fall."

She frowned at him. "I would not have been hurt," she replied. "Probably. But in a mission, we cannot afford to have X-Men hurting themselves on me, yes?"

"That, my dear, would depend on the situation", Kurt told her. "There might be times when you are the most valuable part of the team, or times when the significant part of the mission is already over."

Yvette would have protested - she hated the idea of injuring anyone who wasn't trying to hurt her or someone else first - but she also knew Kurt was the much more experienced X-Man. "I just do not like the idea," she said lamely. "I would rather be hurt than hurt someone else."

"Of course", he said gently. "Because you are a good person. But there are degrees of hurt, remember, and if you fall far or hard enough, who knows how well even that tough body of yours would stand up to it? Besides, the very things you do to prevent accidental hurt would make it less likely in such a situation too."

"I suppose," she admitted reluctantly. Teamwork was one thing, but trusting her teammates to handle her physically was another. "Shall we continue? It is my turn to chase you, yes?"

Kurt smiled at her and nodded, then added mischievously, "And I dare you to catch up", before taking off at top speed away from the ruined building.