xp_logs | Shinobi and Nathan, Tuesday night

Passing by Shinobi's suite, Nathan picks up a few agitated stray thoughts and stops to say hello. They wind up talking about Sarah and about training. Quite a productive conversation all around.

He was supposed to be avoiding people. That was the idea, even if it had been a somewhat unsuccessful tactic thus far this week. But as he walked past the half-open door to Shinobi's suite, Nathan couldn't help but pick up the stray thoughts the younger man was letting slip. His own shields were a little ragged still, but given how disciplined a mind Shinobi usually had, leakage like this was unusual, and... well, to hell with it, Nathan thought with a sigh, turning around and going back to the door. He couldn't skulk around the halls forever.

He raised a hand and knocked lightly on the door. "Shinobi?"

The reminder that he wasn't alone - and that some of the people around were telepaths - was enough that Shinobi's shielding rapidly buttoned up at the sound of Nate's voice. It was far from perfect, but it was better than it had been before.

"It's open!" he called from inside, poking his head out of his bedroom and into the suite's common room. He could probably use a break from unpacking his newly-acquired books and music, anyway. "C'mon in."

The leakage stopped immediately, and Nathan felt a flicker of mixed relief and annoyance. Mostly relief. His shields had been worth shit since last weekend, although they were getting better.

He pushed the door open, mustering a slight smile for the rather tired-looking Shaw standing in the bedroom doorway. "Moira would be jumping up and down and applauding," he joked feebly. "Look at me. Seeking out company and all. You look like hell, by the way."

"You're looking rather run-down, yourself," Shinobi replied lightly, offering the older man a grin as he stepped fully into the room. He waved towards the couch, as he tipped his chin towards the kitchenette. "Can I get you a drink or anything?"

"I'm okay," Nathan said a bit vaguely, then realized that it could have been an answer to either of Shinobi's comments. "I mean, no, thank you. Was just passing by..." But he sat down on the couch anyway. His common sense, a small, quiet voice at the best of times, pointed out in a whisper just how much energy he didn't actually have at the moment. But there was another part of him, a part that had been very gradually waking back up over the last several days, and it kept him on the couch. "I would say I haven't seen much of you this week, but that would be redundant. I haven't seen much of anyone." Banter. Not up to his usual standards, but hey.

Shinobi inclined his head, waiting for Nathan to get settled before he crossed over to the couch, himself, claiming a free cushion for his own. No comment was made about how he'd sat down after saying he was just passing by, because really, Shinobi didn't mind the company. And Nate could probably use the human contact, to boot. "I haven't seen much of anyone, either, if it makes you feel better," he chuckled, rubbing at his forehead. "Though I did spend today out in the city with Paige. It was fun. Forgot how nice just going out with a friend can be."

"I think it'll be a while before I'm back in New York," he said with a sigh and a rueful smile. "Glad you had fun, though." He leaned back against the couch, weighing further comments carefully. "Couldn't help but pick up a bit, out in the hall," he said quietly. "Sarah's still in the basement?"

Shinobi nodded, smiling sympathetically . There wasn't anything he could really say to the first.. so, rather than try, he focused on the second. He sighed tiredly, nodding and slouching back against the cushions. "Yeah, she is."

Nathan rubbed at his still tightly-wrapped wrist, thinking. "What does she need, do you think?" he asked finally, wondering if Shinobi would question why he cared. It certainly wasn't as if he and Sarah had ever gotten along. "To get out of the basement."

"I don't know," Shinobi replied helplessly, closing his eyes for a moment in hopes that the help focusing might make an answer come to him. "She just.. doesn't need what she's getting now. It isn't working. It won't."

"I have trouble sometimes with circular thinking," Nathan said, not meeting the younger man's eyes. "My mind goes around and around and can't break out of the loop. Usually because there's a step I can't bring myself to take." He took a deep breath, making himself look back at Shinobi. "She's not taking that step herself. Something's stopping her. Any ideas what?"

Shinobi nodded mutely in response to the man's first words. There was a step there, in the back of his head, that he could take - but he didn't want to, mostly because he didn't think it would work.

"She thinks they want to make her the last Morlock," Shinobi said slowly, lightly pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought. "That they want to hide their past from Miles and Artie. I think she thinks that if she admits that what she did was wrong, agrees not to finish what she started, that she'd be killing the last Morlock. She won't do it."

Nathan thought about it for a long moment. "Isn't she?" he asked, almost gently, even as he went back to avoiding Shinobi's eyes. "The last Morlock, I mean. Miles and Artie... whatever went on in those tunnels, it's going to be memories for them at best. Stories she can tell them. It's not going to define who they are. They're too young not to change, since they've been given the opportunity."

"Being a Shaw doesn't define who I am, but I'm still a Shaw," Shinobi countered gently, finally opening his eyes. "She's the last one who remembers, but she feels like she's carrying the torch. Obligated to keep them alive. She's.. I think she's scared of doing it alone. I can be there with her, but it's not the same. I never lived there."

Nathan was silent for a long moment, thoughts spinning through his mind, variables both practical and emotional bouncing in and out of his mental equation. "It's not going to work, Shinobi," he said, surprising himself by the sadness in his voice. "What she wants. To turn back time..."

"No time travellers in this mansion," Shinobi agreed tiredly, offering the older man a small, sad smile. "I know it won't. It's getting her to accept it that's the problem."

"Liminality," Nathan said suddenly. "Do you know that concept?"

Shinobi paused, his brow furrowing in thought as he hurriedly flipped through his mental dictionary. He should know this one, he knows he should. "You're using SAT words," he joked lightly, before recognition dawned. "Yes, I do. Intimately."

The Askani were whispering at him, making suggestions. "That's where she is," he said very quietly. "On the threshold. She doesn't know who she is, she doesn't really have a life of her own - she lost the one she knew, she doesn't want the one she feels people are pushing on her. No solid identity." He paused, listening. "But she doesn't have any path to follow. Most threshold states do. Rituals, codes of contact, something to get you from point A to point B..."

"I don't know if the path I picked would work for her, if she'd even consider it.. if Charles would even consider it," Shinobi replied thoughtfully, propping his chin up in a hand. "I don't think she can find her way alone. She hates being alone."

"It can't hurt to try. Maybe it won't help, but it can't hurt." Nathan smiled very slightly, and caught himself rubbing at his wrist again. "You know who you ought to talk to? Moira. The two of you have a great deal in common these days."

"I'll talk to Charles about it," Shinobi promised, running his hand over his face before he smiled again, this time with a bit more strength. "Thank you, Nate. I hadn't even thought of any of that."

He paused at the last, though, blinking at the older man and briefly looking a bit puzzled. ..oh. His smile turned wry, and he nodded. "I suppose we sort of do," he agreed. "We both have very important people to help regain their bearings. I need to talk to her anyway - need to figure some things about my powers out."

Nathan blinked suddenly, remembering. "Scott had said something to me... before last Saturday, I mean, about wanting you and I to train together." He smiled a bit wryly. "I don't know if you knew this, but Charles recruited me as a reserve member last Wednesday. Assuming the weekend didn't change his mind."

Shinobi blinked when Nathan did, mostly out of surprise at the suddenness. "I didn't know that last part, but I did know the former," he grinned, brightening considerably. "Welcome aboard. I'm definitely up for training with you, as soon as Moira thinks you're up to it."

"I think I'd be sleeping on the couch if she caught me doing anything that looked like hand-to-hand," he said a bit wistfully, "but there's not a thing wrong with my telekinesis. She had me out in the quarry breaking and reassembling rocks for seven hours yesterday."

"I heard," Shinobi grinned, loosely folding his hands in his lap. "And for the record, I didn't read into your post until Jamie said something, the bastard. What do you think we should be trying to do?"

"I don't know if I ever told you that I did a lot of training work, back when..." His voice stumbled for a moment, as he realized he had been about to make his first casual reference to Mistra since last weekend. He swallowed, then made himself continue. "When I was working for the government. Between field missions. Telekinesis as strong as mine is actually extremely handy when it comes to training. There aren't that many physical mutations I can't counter, or at least shield against, so I was less likely to get hurt."

Shinobi offered what hoped was a reassuring smile at Nathan's stumble, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgement. He was patient - Nate could take as long as he needed to say what he wanted, or to not say it. "I don't recall you mentioning it," he answered lightly, with a shake of his head. "Scott thought that having someone who can manipulate things at the molecular level training me, with the nature of my mutation being the way it is, would be good. I use it as a crutch too much, I think. I still have a habit of letting things pass through, rather than dodging. It's too comfortable. I need to unlearn what I've learned."

"Moira and I ought to tag-team you," Nathan said with a sudden, almost normal smile. "She's scarily devious when it comes to training exercises. And I could be her loyal minion."

"Go for it," Shinobi beamed approvingly, nodding once. "I need pushing, and from the horror stories I've heard, you two would keep me busy for a long time."

"I need to be working on more non-lethal telekinetic techniques, personally," Nathan said, his eyes going distant as he thought about Saturday. "Too easy to flip to the default response, still."

"You need to unlearn what you've learned, too," Shinobi smiled. "You'll get there. You're too damn stubborn not to."

Nathan looked at him for a moment. "Did you see the footage?" he asked finally. If the two of them were going to train together, they probably needed to clear up something.

Shinobi sobered, nodding and gesturing vaguely with one hand. "I did, what footage there was."

"What I did to that one operative... turning him into glass..." Nathan took a deep breath, forcing his voice back to something steadier as he went on. "It was conscious. Just like Moira's Taj Mahal. And if there's one thing I've learned about my telekinesis in all the years I've been using them, once something's conscious it always is." He managed a very wan smile. "So, yeah, this is just me letting you know I won't be turning you into a crystal figurine in the Danger Room by accident or anything like that."

"I didn't think you would," Shinobi replied gently, his tone sincere as he regarded the older man. "If it was an unconscious effect, I would trust you not to use your power on me in a way that may trigger it.. and if it's a conscious one, as you say it is, I still trust you not to use it on me. No matter how irritating a prick I can sometimes be." He grinned slightly. "No worries, mate. We'll be good."

"Good," Nathan said, a bit more strength in his voice. "I'll talk to Moira, see what ideas she has..." He blinked at the clock. "Actually, I should go talk to Moira now. Before she comes looking for me." He managed a slightly more convincing smile. "Apparently she doesn't want me wandering the halls at night. Imagine that."

"Just tell her I distracted you with reassuring words and promises of training," Shinobi chuckled. "Let her know she can give me a hollar whenever she wants to see me about planning training stuff, would you? I can ping her, too, but if you're going to be working together on it, pinging you is almost the same thing." He beamed.

"We are attached at the hip and all," Nathan said dryly, rising. "You get some sleep, all right? I would hate to have to bounce you all over the Danger Room."

Shinobi nodded, keeping his grin as he similarly rose to his feet. "I won't have any trouble sleeping tonight, trust me. Paige is a hard girl to keep entertained."