Log: Matt & Kurt

[x-daredevil.livejournal.com]

Matt decides to try his hand at the flying trapeze. After all, he has no fear.



Matt had already had Mr. Sefton as a teacher for dance, which....hadn't been as bad as he had thought it would be if he were being honest. He just didn't have to SAY that. And he had actually learned a lot, not just about dancing, but his powers and movement and his sense of touch. Most of his powers training focused on his hearing and sonar, but the dancing and self defense he learned was more on touch. Given that he was already proficient in gymnastics even if he didn't formally compete, he wanted to try something new. Therefore - trapeze!

Heading into the gymnastics gym, he was glad to find Mr. Sefton there. "Hey, Mr. Sefton," he called, hearing the other man's heartbeat. It seemed quiet overall, which was both useful and slightly problematic given the size of the space, but he was familiar with it. Regardless, he had his cane out just in case.

"Matt!" he said cheerfully, swinging down to the length of the trapeze. "Here again? How are you?"

"Good," Matt replied. The withdrawal was getting easier anyways, as demonstrated by his renewed interest in gymnastics. "I saw something on the journals about the trapeze?" he asked, making sure. "And that you were the one to talk to."

"That would be me. One moment, I will come down." In deference to Matt's heightened senses, he climbed down rather than teleporting.

"You would like to learn?"

Teleporting, while it didn't freak him out as much as it had in the past, still bothered the crap out of Matt. It wasn't scary per se, it was the shock to his senses that he never expected. "Yeah," he agreed, "I've been learning self defense with Wade and Kyle and dance with you. And I've done gymnastics for years. I wanna try trapeze," he grinned, "I'm not scared of heights."

"Then I do not see why you should not try", Kurt agreed. "As long as you promise to keep your sonar active."

Matt's sonar was always active unless he worked to suppress it, but even then that didn't turn it off. "I can do that," he agreed easily. He sort of figured he'd have to actually.

"Then we can begin now, if you like. I had nothing scheduled but my own practice, and that can wait."

"Alright," Matt agreed, pulling off his socks. He had already left his shoes by the door. No shoes allowed. The mats were cool under his feet and he flexed them automatically. "I'm familiar with the uneven bars, high bar and rings. I assume this is sort of similar?"

"Something like", Kurt agreed, "except that you literally fly unsupported between releasing one trapeze and catching the other."

So like the uneven bars, but farther apart and moving. "Sounds like fun," Matt smiled.

"I have always thought so", he said with a smile in return. "The closest to flying anyone can get without wings or levitation."

"Sounds like fun," Matt grinned cockily, "So....there's a net, right? For the newbies?" he didn't gaze upward to the platform, but he knew where it was. The net though was a strong, yet nebulous thing. He couldn't see it or if it was there.

"I prefer to work without it, but there is one in the cupboard. Give me just a few minutes to set it up and then you can begin."

It wasn't that Matt had to have it, but well...it seemed like an idea given that this was practice and not some life or death Genoshan battle. "Alright," he agreed easily, bending over and beginning to warm up with a little stretching.

Kurt, meanwhile, went to rummage in the cupboard and emerged with the net, then proceeded to swarm up and down the walls like he'd been born to it, fixing it to the hooks for that purpose.

Because Matt used sonar instead of his eyes, he received a 360-degree view of the world regardless of which way he was facing. It took some time to understand it, but basically, it allowed him to see behind him. It was pretty cool and 'watching' Mr. Sefton hook the net up was pretty interesting, though once the net was up it basically disappeared from him again. It made no noise and soundwaves didn't much bounce from it. Part of the design of a safety net. "Alright," he stood up once Mr. Sefton was back on the ground. "This is going to be fun!"

"I certainly hope so", Kurt said with a grin. "Now, do you know the basic principles? I think most people do, if only from television and movies."

"Um...swing through the air on one trapeze and then jump to the other?" Matt was pretty sure it was like the monkey bars, but on steroids. He hoped that was the gist of it anyways, because he had been the bomb at the monkey bars. Climbing was fun regardless of what it was.

"That would be the general idea, yes." He glanced up at the trapezes. "The idea is to leave a good amount of space still between the two when you jump, to get the full effect."

"Ah. Well," Matt headed to the ladder. "Guess there's no time like the present to try this. Right?"

"Absolutely." Kurt moved to the matching ladder on the opposite wall and started to climb. "I will be up here just in case, but introducing two-person routines can wait."

Definitely. First, let's play with the one trapeze and work up to the others! Once up there, Matt explored the small platform using both his hands and his sonar. Grabbing the bar, he called out, "So....do I just jump?"

"Yes", Kurt confirmed. "Let yourself swing free on the bar, and then when you feel confident, jump clear and aim for the other one."

Chalking his hands and grabbing the bar, Matt stepped off the platform without hesitation. He couldn't see how high up he was, but regardless, it didn't bother him. He swung through the air with a few powerful shifts of his body just like on the high bar. There wasn't too much difference between the two actually, though the high bar didn't swing like this and the trapeze didn't have the give the bar did. Pulling his body up, he treated it as a high bar, doing a few twists and turns as he got used to it. He wasn't sure how he felt about jumping from one trapeze to another, but it was just like the uneven bars, right?

Kurt watched from the other side, proud of the boy's willingness and skill. "You are doing very well", he called over.

When the second trapeze approached, he released, grabbing at the other one and pulling himself up again to flip over it. Yeah, it was a lot like the uneven bars and sort of like the rings a little too, but not entirely. Rings were about strength and control and this wasn't, it was just high up like the rings. "How's this?" he asked, adjusting his hands and then lost his grip, falling into the net with a bounce.

"Still not bad for a beginner", Kurt reassured him. "At least you caught it, which is more than I would have the first time without my advantages."

"How could you miss it?" Matt asked, trying to scramble awkwardly off the net so he could climb back up again? "It was right there! Clearer than day!" well, clearer to him anyways. Matt couldn't differentiate night and day using his sonar, but the trapeze had made a lovely whooshing noise that he hadn't missed.

"Misjudging the angles, mostly", Kurt told him. "If you pick the wrong moment to let go, or you move wrong... well, that is why everyone starts with a net."

Nets were important. "Alright. Back again," Matt agreed, heading up the ladder. This was FUN!