xp_logs | nathan/warren log

Nathan and Warren talk for the first time, and find that although they get along fine, they really don't have that much in common.

Nathan stepped out onto the flyer's platform. He'd had the vague idea that Amanda might be up here smoking (one of the younger students in the halls had suggested it) but her presence was fairly distinct, and he had known at the bottom of the stairs that she wasn't up here. Still, he'd opted to go up anyway. The mansion was more crowded, with all the students back from spring break, and getting some air was sounding like a good idea.

There was someone already up there, though, a fainter presence that he'd missed, being too distracted by the general psychic babble. He cleared his throat, so that the young man - who had a rather attractive set of wings, he noted; this had to be Warren Worthington - wouldn't be startled by his sudden appearance.

Warren glanced up from the pages of Esquire to see a tall older man peering down at him. Nathan Dayspring. Warren had seen him around, of course, but he'd never really talked to him. "Hi," he said. He glanced about, wondering what Nathan was doing here-- as far as he knew, Nathan couldn't fly. "Can I help you?"

Nathan smiled faintly. "Just... thought I'd get some air, I suppose. I'm not disturbing you?"

Warren returned the smile. "No, not at all. Just doing some light reading." He pointed at the pages of his magazine. After a short but awkward pause, he tried again. "What brings you up here?"

"Looking for Amanda, actually. I didn't sense her up here, but I figured that since I was most of the way here, I'd come up anyway. It's a little noisy down there for a telepath, even a poor excuse of a telepath like me."

Warren nodded. "Nope, haven't seen Amanda around. Been meaning to catch her myself, actually, so when you do find her, tell her I say hello." He closed his magazine and settled back, gazing at the horizon. "Yeah, I know what you mean. You don't have to be a telepath to see that it gets really hectic down there sometimes."

Nathan tilted his head, studying the younger man thoughtfully. "We all need our retreats," he said. "Mine since I got here, I have to admit, has been Moira's room." He looked around, admiring the view again. "I have to say yours has mine beat."

Warren shrugged and smiled. "I wouldn't know." He craned his neck and peered up at Nathan. "If we're going to have any sort of conversation, though, do you think you could sit down? My neck won't be able to keep this up much longer."

Nathan couldn't help a laugh. "Sorry," he said, lowering himself down on the platform a couple of feet away. "Probably safer to sit down, anyway. Last thing I want to do is get hit by a vision and fall off the roof."

"My point exactly." Now that Nathan was sitting, Warren wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to talk to him about. But he knew he could definitely use the company, so he went ahead. "Why were you looking for Amanda, if I may ask?"

"She and I met a couple of times before she went to England," Nathan said lightly. "We were emailing back and forth while she was over there. I picked her up a souvenir in Lake George... sort of an apology for not answering her last email." His mouth quirked in a wry smile. "I was indisposed at the time."

"Ah. Gotcha." Warren winked. "I haven't been able to talk to Amanda much recently, though I've been meaning to. That incident right before the break... gave me quite a scare. How is she, then? She seems better."

"She's on the right path," Nathan said seriously. "It's going to be a fight to walk it for a while, I think. But she's tougher than she gives herself credit for." He smiled, a little more naturally this time. "I've got faith in her."

Warren nodded in what he hoped was a wise and knowing manner. "She'll get through it, I believe it," he agreed.

"We all have baggage," Nathan said with a sigh, leaning back and staring out at the grounds. "Just a question of learning to live with it."

Warren frowned to himself. He didn't think he had that much baggage, actually, but he couldn't exactly say that to Nathan. He opted for changing the subject instead. "So, ah, how do you and Dr. MacTaggart know each other, exactly?"

Nathan laughed, giving Warren a mischievous look. "You want the succinct version, or the whole story?"

Warren raised his eyebrow and grinned. "The whole story, if you don't mind," he replied, leaning in.

"Well, I'll give you the moderately abridged version," Nathan said with a chuckle. "Since I doubt you want to be here all night." He focused on the view for a minute, mentally editing what he was about to say. Once word got out that he and Moira were an 'item', he was undoubtedly going to have to reiterate this multiple times, so he might as well start practicing now.

"She was my doctor," he said easily. "I was in government service, got hurt on an operation, and they dumped me at her clinic because she was the only one really specializing in mutants and their maladies." He gave Warren a lop-sided smile. "Before I knew it, I was coming back every year and spending what amounted to my vacation with her."

"So basically, she got struck with a case of Florence Nightengale syndrome." Warren laughed. "Good thing, though. Seriously. I've never seen her so happy. She's practically become a giddy teenager again."

"It's good to see her happy," Nathan said more quietly. "If I don't get anything else accomplished here, at least there's that."

Warren was happy for Nathan and Dr. MacTaggart, but hearing about how in love they were just made him miss Piotr more. Without meaning to, Warren let a sigh escape his lips. "Yeah, must be nice."

Nathan tilted his head again, studying Warren. "You're projecting," he said. "Just to warn you."

Warren shot Nathan a surprised glance. Lost in his own thoughts, he'd forgotten that the man next to him was a telepath. He felt momentarily embarassed-- here he was, moping about like some teenage schoolboy-- but curiosity quickly took over. "What... I mean, how much can you... tell?"

Nathan shrugged. "That there's someone not here who should be," he said lightly. "That it's someone you miss. That's about it; I'm not much of a telepath, and you've got a fairly disciplined mind. It just wandered for a minute there."

Warren nodded, impressed. "Yeah, my boyfriend... I don't think you ever met him... he's over on the other side of the world, training for some X-Men related stuff." He studied his hands for a minute. "I miss him, but c'est la vie, I suppose."

"The ones who hold down the homefront always have the hardest job," Nathan said with a faint smile.