Nathan and Sarah, Friday afternoon-ish...

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Most of the time Sarah isn't quite so growly. It's only when she's been training too long, when it's easier to just hit things than to think, and today was one of those days. She's been there since her last class this afternoon, and her clothes are beginning to snag on the armour starting to form beneath them. She goes at the punching bag for what has to be the millionth time this week, bone plated fingers leaving deep imprints in their wake.

Nathan can hear a familiar noise, even before he enters the gym. When he does and sees the girl pounding at the punching bag, he hesitates warily, all too aware of her mental state. Hell, he was sensing her halfway down the hall, not just hearing her. Perhaps this isn't the best time--but no, he doesn't want to leave it too long. Shinobi was one thing, but he's not sure the determination to apologize to the girl as well will last if he waits. He may have been out of line, but her inability to admit that she'd done anything wrong still nags at him. He doesn't want to give himself too much time to rethink his approach.

"Sarah?" he asks, starting over slowly, suspecting it would be a good idea to keep a certain distance.

Sarah doesn't recognise the voice, so instead of turning around immediately she gives the bag a hard kick steadying it with her hand as she turns to see who's there. A freshly bloody bone covered hand come up to rest on her hip, and she watches him closely as he approaches. "Let me guess. Nathan."

"Good guess," he says with a slight smile, feeling obscurely tickled as he stops well clear of her. The stance, the tone--hell, she reminds me of Dom. No wonder she got under my skin so easily. "Look," he says, keeping his voice calm, any edge he's still feeling out of it. "I don't know if you saw my posts today, but I want to apologize. I was out of line last night."

"It's a talent," she says dryly, pushing the sweaty hair out of her face and behind her bone horns. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. You wouldn't be the first person I've pissed off, and chances are you aren't going to be the last."

He pauses for a moment, analyzing what he's sensing from her, trying to sort out the 'vibe'. She's cautious, a little defensive but not overwhelmingly so. It had been a good choice on his part to come in slowly and start with the apology, he decides. "What you and Shinobi did with that picture meant a lot to her," he says evenly. "Thank you for that."

"I felt bad about the picture. I know what it's like." They're all I've got left, left unsaid. "Shinobi did most of it. I just took it to him."

It strikes him that he could ask whether it's the only thing she feels bad about, but he didn't come down here to pick a fight, so he bites back the automatic reply and nods. "Still," he says quietly. "For what it's worth." He stares down at her for a moment longer, weighing his options. "She's gone to talk to Miles," he says finally. "To explain."

She nods, taking a moment to pull the bone slowly from her shoulder and tossing it to the side. "Good. He deserves that much."

Nathan both hears and senses how much she cares for this boy, and can't help a faint, wistful smile. "I wish I could meet this kid," he says, his mind going back inevitably to Tyler. "His mutant power and mine wouldn't interact very well, though."

"He's a sweet kid. Been through a lot of shit though." She takes a moment to pull the armor on her hands back, rubbing absently at the irritated pink skin. "I guess I get a little protective."

"I can't really blame you, from what Alison told me." Nathan smiles a bit quizzically, tilting his head as he looks down at her. "Well, I suppose I was blaming you, wasn't I?"

"Yeah." She'd smile, but she's still a little uneasy around him... hadn't they just been threatening each other over the journals? "Still. I wouldn't worry about it."

"I get very protective of Moira," he says, wanting her to understand. "She's saved my life--more than once, actually, and I--" He stops, frowning, not quite sure he wants to finish that thought with this girl he hardly knows. "I think we were coming from the same place, is what I'm trying to say."

She nods again. "Yeah, maybe we were." She stretches a little, snapping a bone sticking out from her side in half and holding the shard idly in her hand. A slight grin appears on her face. "How's Moira's aim with those Clancy novels anyway?"

"Scarily good," he says dryly, rubbing at the side of his head. "I suppose I asked for it."

"I'm not touching that." She pulls the other piece of bone from her side, tossing both pieces to the pile on the floor. A bloody spot appears on her tank-top, but doesn't spread. "So. I don't need to worry about trying to take you out next time I pass you in the hallway?" She's kidding, mostly.

"Not unless you really want to," Nathan says lightly, smiling to let her know he's just being a smartass.

She grins, hands returning back to her hips. "That sounded like permission to me."

Oh, yeah. Definitely akin to Dom. "Feel free," he says drolly, "but do me a favor and wait a while, if you're so inclined. No fun trying to take me out if it only takes a nudge to knock me over."

"Maybe not the first time. It'd be really funny at least once." She says with an amused smile, and then shrugs. "But yeah, it'd get old real quick. No fun if there's no challenge involved."

"Give me a few weeks," he offers, part of him distantly amused at what he's doing. "Then if you're still interested, have at it. Before my brain started trying to turn itself inside out I used to be able to give a pretty good accounting of myself." He pauses, smiling a bit mischievously. "I wasn't kidding about the tanks, by the way."

"And I wasn't kidding when I said I'd been learning to give a sound ass kicking to guys twice my size since I was ten." Her grin fades, and she gives him a dark look. "I may not be able to take you down, but I can damn well give it a shot."

He stops, thinking about his next words carefully. "Anyone can be taken down," he says slowly. "Training, power--no matter how much you have, you can always be prey to someone who wants your blood, if they want it badly enough." Another smile, more natural this time, tugs at his lips. "I suspect I wouldn't enjoy it, if you decided you wanted mine that badly."

"Nah, not unless you're into that sort of thing." Ahem---right. Moving right along. "I think I'll stick with tipping you over in hallway ambushes for now."

Nathan purses his lips. "As much fun as it would probably be, please don't," he says more seriously. "I don't know if you've seen much of what I've said on the journals, but I have trouble keeping myself under control when I'm startled. It's instinct. I believe you when you say you're good--" She has that look about her, and the confidence, "--but I really don't want to hurt anyone inadvertently."

"If it makes you feel any better," she says, just as seriously, "It's really hard to do anything that's going to cause me problems for more than an hour or two. Last week, I got run through by a sword, and had my bones pulled out all at once by a telekenetic. Last I checked, I'm still kicking. The healing factor comes in handy sometimes."

"Doesn't mean we need to test it," he points out, the smile coming back almost involuntarily. "But anyway," he continues, shrugging, "I'll let you get back to your training, I guess. Thanks for hearing me out."

Sarah flexes her fingers, the bone armour slowly forming again over her hands. "Yeah. And thanks for coming to apologize." She thinks for a moment and adds, "I'm not sure if I would have."

"Let's just--try not to run head-on coming from the same place again," he suggests lightly. "Aside from the potential for messiness, I don't think either of us really wants that."