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[x-mactaggart.livejournal.com]

Moira puts Nathan through his paces with an exercise involving algea. They discuss how he's going about his training and what he could possible do in the future. They touch on Mistra a bit and what's to come with that, as well.



Moira leaned against the counter top in one of the side laboratories and watched as Nathan leaned over the microscope. Idly she flipped through the book in her hand but it wasn't like she was paying it the slightest bit of attention. If it had been upside down, she would only have given it a cursory glance. "Place is actually quite for once," she mused as he concentrated a little more.

Nathan smiled slightly, even as he stared fixedly through the microscope. "Mmm," he said. "Moira, what is this I'm playing with? Looks like algae or something..." He was supposed to be manipulating it, but he wasn't quite there yet. Couldn't quite reach that level of control.

"Volvox. An' yer right, 'tis algae. Pretty stuff, isnae it?" She leaned over his shoulder slightly for a quick look before leaning back against the counter and smiled. It was no surprise that trying to manipulate volvox would be difficult, even for someone of Nathan's power. "Th' colonies are typically up to 0.5mm in diameter, wit' each cell approximately 0.10mm in lengt'. On top o' it' spinnin'."

"Putting me through my paces," Nathan said with a chuckle. "Oh, I bet you've missed this. Sadistic woman." He tried to catch one of the little algae colonies but missed, his forehead creasing with mild frustration. "I should be able to do this," he grumbled. "I do it with the virus..."

"Because ye trained yerself ta do it," she pointed out. "Yer so used ta doin' it wit' th' virus tha' changin' it up is 'ard for ye." Moira paused. "Tha' an' yer bloody well out o' practise."

Nathan actually looked up from the microscope at that. She was giving him that Very Serious look, and he smiled a little, conceding the point. "Been using the TK for large-scale stuff too much," he admitted. "My fine control's not had a workout in a while."

"Ye like blowin' thin's up a wee bit ta much," she chided, reaching over to poke him in the head. "If'n I'm goin' ta run th' kids ta pieces, I bloody well should run ye wit' them as well."

"I suspect you won't be happy until you have me splitting atoms," Nathan quipped, looking back down through the microscope. "Which is a very scary thought."

A response suddenly died off as Moira got a strange look on her face as she thought about the implications of that. "Verra, verra scary indeed," she muttered, shaking her head.

"I wonder if I could," Nathan murmured, staring at one particular Volvox colony. It looked like it had other colonies within the larger sphere, and he concentrated hard, feeling beads of sweat stand out on his forehead as he finally caught the microscopic green sphere. "Fly free, little Volvox," he said, severing the links between the smaller spheres and the larger one.

"Are ye talkin' ta th' Volvox?" she asked, facepalming. But still, she knew what he had done. #Well done.# Though it was a little much for him to talk to it, not like she ever did anything like that.

Nathan leaned back on the stool, rubbing his eyes as they blurred for a moment. "Not too bad," he said thoughtfully. "Once I settled down and concentrated. Though half a millimeter is still pretty big."

"Wee steps, Nathan, wee steps. Ye dinnae get this tha' easily th' first time 'round, remember?" The book was placed on the counter as she pushed her self up to stand behind him. Gently, she started to massage his forehead above the eyes.

"I just want to be able to do it consciously," he said with a sigh, relaxing a little. He'd tensed up more than he'd thought, staring at the Volvox. "It bothers me that I'm not consciously in control of what I do with the virus. I mean, I'm glad I do it, don't get me wrong, but what if I stumble out of it like I stumbled into it?"

"Ye worked 'ard ta get yerself in th' 'abit o' doin' it. Institct is verra 'ard ta unlearn, love, an' ye've got controllin' th' virus down ta a science. Nearly." She curled her arms around his shoulders. "I 'ighly doubt there's verra much tha' can knock ye out o' it."

"Still," Nathan said, unable to help a smile. "I want to try something smaller. Got anything around here that doesn't require me being in a containment suit?"

"Give me some time ta think an' I maybe able ta come up wit' somethin'," she remarked, smiling back. "But for now, I think ye need ta stop. I'm all for ye pushin' yerself but ye've been a wee bit ta gung-ho 'bout it."

His lips quirked upwards a little more. "And back we come to the subject of my exercise regimen."

"Isnae tha' 'ow we normally do thin's? Talk 'bout one thin', go ta another, an' end up back at th' start?"

"True enough," he conceded as she straightened. "Are you still annoyed with me? I know it's not really the prescribed sort of physical therapy, but I know better than to push too hard."

"Worried more than annoyed," Moira assured him. "Jus' worried tha' ye'll strain yerself."

"I just have to do this, Moira," he said with a helpless little laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I have felt... so much better since I started with the running and the swimming and the calisthenics. So much more focused."

"Tha's good. But ye cannae be focused if'n ye drive yerself inta bein' a puddle o' goo on our bedroom floor, now can ye?" She leaned in for a quick kiss on the cheek. "Jus' want ye ta watch yerself an' take some precautions."

"I want someone to spar with," he said wistfully. "But Pete's not up to it."

"Awww, poor baby," Moira mocked, grinning. "Ye'll find someone soon enough, ye'll see. Why nay work out in th' Danger Room? Think Charles' toys could work well wit' ye until ye get a live sparrin' partner, aye?"

Nathan opened his mouth to answer, then closed it, studying her thoughtfully. "Think he'd let me do that? I'm not part of this team of his..."

"Dinnae see why nay. Especially since I'd be in th' boot', watchin'. Worked wit' Cain in there before...before 'e broke stuff." She sighed. "'ide at IHOP for a few 'ours after tha'."

"I'll ask, then," Nathan said, brightening a little. "He and I are still working on my shields and so forth."

"Good. See wha' thinkin' gets ye?"

Nathan laughed, reaching up and pulling her against him. "Nag, nag," he said with a grin, kissing her.

A few seconds went by before she pulled away, smiling down at him as she played with his hair. "Isnae tha' why ye love me?" Moira teased.

"One of the many reasons, impossible woman." He peered intently at her, glad to see that she looked less worried than she had the day before. The package from Mistra had upset her.

"I'm as fine as I can be," she murmured, snuggling in closer to his warmth.

"Good," he said softly. "I need to start drawing up that summary for Pete tonight. Not looking forward to it, but it's a first step." Reviewing his fourteen years at Mistra, month-by-month, was not going to be the most enjoyable thing he'd ever done.

"Need some support, love?" Moira murmured, worried about him.

"Almost certainly," Nathan said with a snort. "Pete wants me to start at the beginning. Which means that first year..." He trailed off, sighing. "I'm liable to have screaming nightmares, just to warn you."

"Consider me warned, love. I can 'andle them if'n it means it can 'elp ye out in th' lon' run."

Her tone had been perfectly matter-of-fact, and Nathan's worry eased a little. "Don't think I'd get violent or anything," he murmured, his arms tightening around her. "I didn't back then, at least. They'd hurt me if I tried. So I stopped."

"An' I trust ye, anyway," she murmured, sighing slightly. "Know ye wouldnae 'urt me."

Nathan gave her a quick hug, then let go. "We'll sort it out," he said briskly. "Right now, I think I've got some more Volvox to make dance?"

Moira blinked but wisely let the subject drop. "Aye, 'bout ten more minutes an' then we get some food inta ye."

"I should try and force them into a particular shape," Nathan said, bending back over the microscope. "A circle, maybe?"

"I like stars," she offered, grinning at the look he shot her.