xp_logs | Amanda and Korvus: Weight Spotting (Reply)

Amanda meets Korvus in the gym and learns that a couple other people have already had 'the talk' with him.

Korvus had been a resident for a little while now and, never previously having had the opportunity, he wanted to test his mutation; if only a little. He made his way to the gym after his morning routine, when traffic was low. While working on the Beetle he had lifted nearly a ton, so he felt he was certainly pretty safe on the bench press, even as he put as much weight on the bar as it could hold.

The gym wasn't normally on Amanda's list of places to visit when she was at the mansion, but she was looking for Kurt and he wasn't in any of his usual haunts, so she'd decided to try there. The clank of equipment told her someone was there, at least.

Not Kurt, however, when she opened the door. Instead, she found a young man apparently trying to lift all of the weights in the gym. Ah, must be Korvus. She grinned to herself. This could be fun.

"Morning," she called out, a deceptively innocent look on her face as she leaned against the door jamb.

He had been caught in the middle of sitting down and he paused for a moment awkwardly before finishing his descent to sit on the bench. Korvus looked to the door. "Good morning." He offered the greeting with a smile.

"You must be Korvus. I've seen you on the journals." She pushed herself off the door jamb with her shoulder and walked over. "Sorry to barge in. The name's Amanda." She held out her hand for him to shake. "Amanda Sefton."

"I recently met a Kurt Sefton. Your brother, I assume? Making you Meggan's sister by extension?" Korvus shook Amanda's hand, keeping his smile. "I am Korvus Rook'shir. Which you know but it is still the social protocol for me to say so."

"Yeah, that's me. And yes, Meg's my sister. My little sister." She stressed the word slightly. "Nice to meet you at last - I've heard a lot about you."

"What have you heard?" It was self conscious and he knew it but Korvus was curious what his new friends thought of him. He laid back on the bench for a moment before offering to be inclusive. "I believe it is traditional in weight lifting to have a spotter."

"Sure, I can manage to spot for you." It sounded comical, coming from the small blonde woman, but she took up her position behind him. "As for what I've heard... well, Wade and Kurt have been very interested in you, I have to say." So far he hadn't flinched, which she was amused by.

"They have been. I'm beginning to wonder how many people are going to show this same concern for Meggan and what it says about society here." Korvus slowly lifted the bar off its rack, though it didn't seem to be a dangerous amount of weight for him.

"Meg tends to bring out the protective in people," Amanda observed, watching as he took the weight without apparent strain. "We care a lot about her." She paused, letting that sink in, then grinned suddenly. "Of course, she's also old enough to make her own decisions. Which I've learned to respect. So no scary talk from me, at least."

"She has asymmetrical dimples." Korvus pressed the weight only once before returning it to the rack and sitting back up, He turned to the side on the bench to look at Amanda. "Or dimple. Her left cheek. It is very endearing." He offered as if it were explanation.

Amanda snickered at that. "She's also possibly the sweetest person you'll ever meet. And that's not just family loyalty talking - Meg really does think everyone is worth something." The dimple observation said a lot more than Korvus possibly realised - it meant he paid attention and Amanda was pleased with that. He'd learn a lot about things that way.

"She is correct. All sentient beings must have an equivalent value, ethically speaking." Korvus smiled more as he felt the situation was relaxing. "I like her very much because of who she is. I assume that is not something a predator is capable of convincingly relaying. I hope that eases some of your worry."

The witch shrugged, taking a seat on the weight training bench opposite him. "It's Meg. I always worry, it's part of the big sister thing, especially when there's mutant powers and magic involved," she replied. "But like I said, she's old enough to know her own mind and she wouldn't truck with an arsehole any way - she's pretty good at picking up people's true intentions. But I'm glad to hear you like her - you seem like a good sort and she seems to like you well enough too."

"I do not know dating customs very well and I am glad she is forgiving of that fact." Korvus admitted.

"First of all, kid, stop thinking of them as 'dating customs'. There's no set rules about this sort of thing. Just do what comes naturally." Normally Amanda wouldn't think of giving that sort of advice to someone dating Meg, but she was getting a feel for the kid. "And yeah, Meg's very forgiving. You'll make mistakes, but as long as you come clean and explain that you don't intend to hurt her when you do, you'll do all right."

Korvus laughed softly and shook his head. "Oh no, nothing that would hurt a person. To hurt a person in anything but defense of another is to harm us all."

"Yeah, I can see you and Meg are going to get along like a house on fire," Amanda replied with another snort of her own. "And she's definitely in good hands. Let me know if Kurt or Wade or any of the other blokes get in your face again and I'll set them straight."

"Thank you. I no longer have family to do that for me." Korvus said very sincerely, placing his hand over his heart for a moment in a gesture that seems casual enough to suggest it is more common in India than in many other places.

"You're welcome." Amanda's tone was still light, but it had lost the slightly mocking note it often had. "I'm sorry about your family. Hopefully you'll find a place for yourself."

"Here seems to be a better place than most." Korvus smiled and stood. "I still intend to attempt a deadlift and a squat. Would you like to assist or are you otherwise engaged?"

"I've got some time," Amanda replied, amused. "Tho' if you're going to be lifting over a tonne, I might need to bail on you. My shielding spells can only carry so much weight."

"Standard weightlifting bars do not have the structural integrity to hold more weight than I can lift, it seems. I was extending the meeting under the premise of a shared activity." Korvus explained as he knelt down to load the bar he had placed on the floor earlier.

"Well then, we should be just fine. So, super strong... Are you a brick as well?" At his confused look, she continued. "A brick is someone who is invulnerable or tough to damage, like Monet or Garrison."

"I am as resilient as I am strong and agile. I do not know if that meets the qualification for 'brick' as my mutation does not make me unable to be wounded." Korvus squatted down, gripped the bar, and slowly began to stand. He made it halfway through the motion of a deadlift before his grip failed and the bar fell to the rubber mat with a heavy thump. He looked down and actually stroked his beard as he thought about the problem.

"It puts you on the brick side of things," Amanda agreed, watching him. "Garrison isn't bulletproof either, but he is tougher than the average."

"I believe I need..." Korvus looked around for a moment, moving to a pair of straps as he found them. He began to hook them around his wrists while returning to the bar. "I am sorry, I was distracted. I hope that being a 'brick' will be of assistance to the people here at some point in the future."

"Oh, there's always use for someone that's strong and hard to hurt," Amanda replied sagely.