xp_logs | Nathan and Haroun, Tuesday morning

Haroun is grounded. Nathan is willing to play human punching bag. They trade shots, then talk about experimenting with their powers.

Haroun was in the Gym. He had his incredibly loud obnoxious music going - the type that seemed to be all thrashing guitars, throbbing bass, and incomprehensible screaming. The music was punctuated by Haroun's punches to the heavy bag. By the looks of him, he'd been at this for hours - he was absolutely coated in sweat, and the wraps around his hands were nearly chocolate-colored from absorbing sweat and impact.

Standing in the doorway, Nathan contemplated the scene for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips. #Is it helping?# he projected, having no intention of trying to shout above the music.

Haroun nearly fell on his ass as the projection from Nathan came right in the middle of a swing. "Yes." he shouted over the harsh music, and then stopped to catch his breath for a second.

#I'm a big fan of killing punching bags myself,# Nathan conceded. #I tell myself that it's much better than taking it out on someone. Then again,# he sent wryly, #it's not quite as much fun.#

Haroun walked over to the battered boom box, and turned the music down from earsplitting to merely annoying. "You got something to say, old man? Then say it. Otherwise, go bother someone else."

"People are always assuming I have ulterior motives," Nathan went on aloud, that faint smile still playing on his lips. "I should be offended. But anyway... you do remember that conversation we had about hand-to-hand practice being a more entertaining and productive way of working out your frustrations?" He spread his hands wide. "Well, I'm game if you are. If not, I can go and leave you and the punching bag to have some more alone-time."

Haroun grinned ferally. "You think you got game, old man? Bring it. I'm in the mood to do some _damage_, and you just got elected." Despite his fatigue, he was bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. "To make it fair, you keep your brain to yourself." The very reminder of his power's inaccessability brought another snarl to Haroun's face.

"You think I need the TK to kick your ass?" Nathan asked with a laugh, moving forward and onto the mats. Yeah, Haroun needed a more effective way to vent and he needed it right now. This would have to do. "Not to worry. I'll take it easy on you."

Haroun grinned. "I wouldn't." he said and rushed Nathan, fists swinging.

What was it with people around here and rushing into things? Haroun was a hell of a lot better than any of the kids, obviously, but if they hadn't agreed on no TK, he could have sent him almost straight back through the opposite wall with one swipe. "Ah, but you've had a rough couple of days," he said, content to stay on the defensive and just block for now. "Near-drowning and all..."

Haroun snarled again, and stepped up the intensity of his attacks. He was strong, but more importantly - he was very quick with his hands and on his feet. And he wasn't afraid to fight a little dirty - as the low sweeping kick aimed at Nathan's oft-abused leg demonstrated.

Nathan stepped back adroitly. "I think that leg's taken quite enough damage, thank you," he said with a quick smile and finally moved in on the attack. It was nice to be working with someone he could go flat-out with, he reflected dimly.

Haroun pressed his advantage with a shufffle-step and a straight kick aimed right for Nathan's solar plexus with the same leg he used for the sweep.. He wasn't playing around, and he was looking to hurt someone. Anyone.

All right, maybe he'd save his breath for fighting. #What's the matter?# Nathan sent, going back on the defensive. #Pride get hurt? Not much fun to have someone there jeering at you when you push too far, is it?#

Haroun didn't bother wasting the time to try to reply. He put the kicking foot down, but only long enough to grab for Nathan's leading arm, to try to apply some torque to joints that generally don't like having torque applied. Like, say, shoulders. Or elbows.

Nathan managed to avoid the grab, but doing so left him open for an extremely respectable right cross to the jaw. He stumbled backwards out of range, blinking away stars, and managed a brief grin at Haroun. "Ow," he said in amusement.

Haroun grinned ferally and pressed his advantage - a rain of punches, as fast as he could pull them, all aimed at Nathan's head.

#I told you I wouldn't use my TK. No need to give me a concussion to make sure.# Nathan stopped backing away and blocked the next punch, countering with a strike of his own.

Haroun swayed to one side, to let the punch go by. His thoughts were incoherent - he was barely thinking as it was. What scraps of coherent thought he _did_ have all involved being denied the sky. Haroun screamed and swung a wild punch at Nathan's head again, not trying for finesse or efficiency so much as sheer speed.

Nathan blocked it, then, inside Haroun's guard, lashed out with a punch of his own, giving the younger man the right cross back. With interest. "Frustrating, isn't it?" he asked conversationally as Haroun reeled back. "Not being able to use your power. And you did it to yourself, for no particularly good reason."

Haroun shook his jaw and spat blood, then came at Nathan again. This time he was looking to grapple, not just stand there and get beat on by someone with six inches and maybe a hundred pounds on him. "Fuck you." he managed to spit out.

Nathan had perhaps a split-second to decide what to do. But since this was about letting Haroun get this out of his system... Moira's going to start banning me from the gym. He let Haroun close with him, part of him honestly curious to see how far he was going to take this.

Haroun grabbed Nathan's closest arm by the forearm and upper arm and immediately put pressure on his elbow - in a direction that the elbow is not designed to bend. The look of savage joy on his face was probably fairly disturbing. As a part of the same gesture, he stepped away from Nathan, still holding the arm, to take away his balance.

All right, that was seriously enough of that. He was working on better than a month with four functioning limbs, and he had no intention of letting Haroun break that streak just because he was in a pissy mood. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Nathan moved towards him and aimed for the head.

Haroun's head got worked like a punching bag three times before he let the arm-bar go. Grinning despite (or because of?) the pain, Haroun took a step back from Nathan. "Had enough? I could have broken your arm right there."

The rapid switching back and forth between 'grinning smartass' and 'semi-coherent rage' was... mildly disturbing, Nathan thought. "Only if I'd let you," he pointed out, his voice a bit tighter as he flexed the arm. "In your Real World, I mean."

"Well, you could just break every bone in my body with your telekinesis, so I'll take whatever I can get." he said. "Sorry 'bout that. You've got a nasty right hook." he said as he poked at his jaw and face to get an idea of how bad the bruising was going to be.

Nathan hung back, watching Haroun warily. "Uh-huh. Feeling any better?" He hoped so, because he was feeling... well, worse, suddenly. The calmly cheerful decision to help Haroun vent a little seemed years away, replaced by edgy tension, far too much adrenalin, and a curious sort of anger whose source he didn't really understand. "I'm game to keep going if you are."

Haroun shook his head. "No, I'm good." he said. "And _ow_. I've been at this for too long, my arms are _wrecked_. I sense a very long soak in the tub in my future, plus what Tiger Balm I have left."

"This is what happens when you try and kill the punching bag for hours on end. Trust me, I'm getting to be something of an expert." Telling himself to calm down, Nathan started to trace one of the Askani meditative patterns in his mind as he flexed his arm again.

"You OK? I think I only tagged you the once, and applied some pressure to the elbow. But I don't think I broke it or even strained it much."

"It's fine. Don't worry." Nathan grimaced and closed his eyes, shaking his head a little in aggravation as the meditative pattern unraveled in his mind. "I should go, let you soak," he said curtly, opening his eyes and blinking rapidly as he started to move towards the door. He couldn't settle down and he was starting to realize why. "You ought to take a turn teaching in the self-defense class."

Haroun shook his head. "We have more dedicated combat monsters for that. I'm OK, but I'm not good enough to teach."

"Just a thought," Nathan muttered, rubbing at his arm and forcing himself to focus on Haroun. "Feel free to ignore me. I very often make no sense at all. You're okay?"

"I can cover it for a class or two, but I really don't want to teach it. And I'll live, I think. You? You seem like something's bothering you." he asked as he walked over next to the weight bench and grabbed his water bottle.

He was supposed to be working on this whole 'trusting people' thing, wasn't he? Nathan went over and sat down on the bench against the wall, taking a deep breath. "Same arm," he said, his voice rough but subdued. The memory of the parking lot at Columbia, Morgan looming over him in his exoskeleton and trying to tear his arm out of his socket pushed suddenly, insistently, and Nathan gritted his teeth. "The one that got dislocated at Columbia." Focus. Gym around him, bench beneath him, occasionally-aggravating fellow teacher giving him a slightly quizzical look.

Haroun ahhhed. "Bad memories? Those I can't help you with, other than to say that you're still alive and they're presumably not, so you will always have the option of just pissing on their graves as a free man."

That got a laugh, whether Haroun had intended it to or not. "Just brought it back for a second," Nathan said, more levelly. "But, no flashback this time. And I didn't panic and put you through the wall, either." He gave Haroun a lop-sided smile. "I'd say I'm improving."

"I'd say so." he agreed, sitting down on the ground with only a slight hiss as his muscles protested. "I need to learn to deal with crap better. Bet that sounds familiar, eh?"

"Just a little." Nathan watched him for a moment as that internal pressure eased and it became easier to focus again. He'd beaten it that time, he thought, cheered by the idea. "Bet you're glad I didn't let you dive into the lake the other day, aren't you?"

Haroun smiled at that. "Guess so. Otherwise I may have gone through this all back then."

"Without a link to the medlab open," Nathan pointed out. "Although I suppose I could have gotten you there fairly quickly if necessary." He leaned his head back against the wall behind him. "I wish I could jump as gleefully as you do into experimenting with my powers," he said after a moment.

"You have to be more careful than I do. I fuck up, only person who really gets hurt too badly is me. You fuck up, and you could kill us all. I'd rather you be cautious than overbold. And don't tell me about hypocricy - I was pushing you because otherwise you wouldn't experiment at _all_."

"Well," Nathan said, unable to help a smile, "you can't provide the sort of incentives Moira does, so you're at a natural disadvantage..."

Haroun shuddered. "Nor would I want to. I don't _want_ to know what she's bribing you with. Just be thankful you're getting it at all, old man."

Nathan laughed, but let it go, turning serious again. "We were pushed, at Mistra. Frequently. Past the point of no return whenever possible," he said more quietly, thinking of that endurance test he had mentioned to Lorna. "If I seem balky sometimes, that's why. It's not that I don't appreciate the help, because I do."

Haroun nodded. "I have no intention of ever going that far. I won't ask you to do something I don't think you're capable of doing. I don't get my jollies by watching you fall apart trying."

"I know. I do," Nathan said with a brief smile. "I just have to keep reminding myself that I do." He tilted his head, gazing down at Haroun. "You know," he said slowly, the smile growing a little, tugging at his lips. "I could offer a temporary solution to your current problem."

Haroun shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I did the crime, I'll do the time. Even if I fucking well hate it." he said with a grimace. "But thanks for the spar - or whatever you want to call that."

"You're welcome. I'm actually quite good at playing human punching bag," Nathan said dryly. "Mostly because there's more of me, and I can take more punishment more easily. Thank for not breaking that arm, though."

"You're welcome." Haroun said with a handwave. "Hey, powers application for you. Think you can telekinetically do what Tiger Balm does? Gentle heat applied deep to muscle tissue?"

Nathan frowned, his eyes narrowing as he let his perceptions slide downwards, past that familiar lattice to a less clearly-patterned level. He couldn't see Haroun at all, this far down. There was just a shifting mass of color, vaguely in a human-shape. "I think I could," he said slowly.

Haroun smiled. "Feel like giving it a try? Tendons in the arms are screaming, and my bicep hates me. Think you can relieve some of that pain?"

Haroun really was going all out with the trust thing, Nathan thought dimly. He reached out a hand, distantly shocked by the fact that he could see it, a hyper-clear image against the flickering colors. "Hold still," he murmured, and 'grabbed' some of the streamers of color surrounding what he knew was Haroun - grabbed them and changed them, directing them inwards.

Haroun hissed as he felt the heat seep deep into the abused muscle tissue of his arms. "Good start. Think you can make it stay that way for about the next two hours or so?"

Nathan's eyes narrowed further. "I--" Could he knot them, maybe? Have them feed back into themselves, set up a loop? Some of the Askani were murmuring at him, and he followed the pattern they suggested, careful to keep well-clear of where the colors got strange. Staying away from Haroun's cybernetics as he did this would probably be a very good idea.

"Ever consider a career in sports medicine?" he teased as he forced his body to relax. "And hey, while you're there, can you sense any chlorinated water anywhere in my body?"

Nathan frowned again and shifted down another level of two. "Chlorine," he murmured. "I looked at the pool once like this... I could see the chlorine..."

Haroun leaned his back against the wall, closed his eyes, and just let Nathan do his thing. The telekinetic heat felt _wonderful_, and he was intent on enjoying every last joule of it.

"Traces," Nathan finally said, his voice distant. "Just traces... I can feel the pattern I know is chlorine, but I'm not sure--" He stopped, sucking his breath in on a hiss as his vision fluctuated wildly, colors bleeding into each other, flaring as if with feedback. "Shit!"

Haroun's eyes snapped open, and he looked at Nathan with real alarm. "What?" he snapped. "Talk to me!"

Nathan squeezed his eyes shut, trying to even out his breathing. "Too far down." He swallowed, then went on, trying to keep the edge of panic out of his voice as he tried to shift back upwards slowly. Level by level, like Moira said. "It's seeing things like that," he said, opening his eyes reluctantly. What he saw was dizzying, like he was in the middle of a kaleidoscope... don't panic, just keep shifting up. "Not doing anything, just... seeing it. I sometimes... lose focus, or get stuck..."

Haroun let out the breath he was holding. "OK. For a second there, I thought you saw something weird."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." Nice job, Dayspring... He blinked at where he knew Haroun was, amid the shimmering colors. "Just trace bits of chlorine, like I said. Couldn't pin down where."

"Well, that's reassuring that I got most of the crap out. Just need Hank to run a full diagnostic to make sure the machines or my lungs weren't damaged, and I'll be airborne again."

He could still feel the knotted TK-loops, doing their work. Funny that they hadn't been disrupted... "I'm sure the punching bag will have someone else come along and try to kill it, so it won't miss you."

"That someone is ... you." he said with a grin. "Who else has killed one?"

"I think I'm the only guilty party, yeah. But I put that one back together." He waved in the direction that the punching bag was. He hoped. "You should go soak, still," he suggested. "I'm not sure how long those TK-loops will last."

Haroun nodded. "Oh boy, me and water. I'm half-surprised I'm not aquaphobic by this point. Oh, and hey. Got a favor to ask of you. I'm thinking of taking Alison out somewhere really fun, let her hair down and party a bit. Problem is, my teacher's salary doesn't _quite_ stretch that far. Loan a brother some coin?" he asked with a only-slightly-forced grin. "You're loaded, you'll never miss it."

"I could see my way clear to doing that, yeah. I technically owe you a dinner still, anyway..."

Haroun grinned. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Most of my salary still goes back home, take care of my folks and a few deserving people here and there. I don't keep much for myself, so this whole dating thing really eats at my bottom line."