xp_logs | Angelo and Moira, backdated (Reply)

Another powers training log. They figure out the current limitations on his power.

As arranged following their previous session, Angelo made his way back to the Danger Room to meet Moira. Eager for distraction, he arrived a little early, prepared to wait if she wasn't there yet.

"A wee bit early, lad?" Moira called out as she walked towards Angelo. She'd been running a few minutes behind, some experiments hadn't turned out the way she had planned, but from the looks of things he'd been there for more than a few minutes.

Angelo glanced up at her with a smile, getting up from where he was sitting on the floor. "Yeah, a little bit. 's quiet down here."

"Aye, tha' it 'tis. Me favorite places ta go when thin's get ta noisy upstairs." She shrugged and smiled a little bit. "Nay tha' I'm down 'ere enough, as it 'tis."

"I usually head out to the grounds", he answered lightly. "There's a nice place in the woods, with a bench, don't think too many people've found it yet."

Moira blinked. "Ye're right 'bout tha', this is th' first I'd 'eard o' it. I'll 'ave ta check it out sometime." Reaching over, she pressed the password to the Danger Room and watched the doors slide open. "So, wha' shall it be today?"

Angelo considered, following her into the room. "Well, I do still wanna work on gettin' my range back as close as I can to what it was before."

"Figured as much." She gestured towards the middle of the room where several dummies stood. "Figured ye'd try on somethin' tha' was vaguely 'uman shaped. Start ye off at different distances away an' see 'ow far ye can go before it becomes painful."

Angelo nodded, moving towards the dummies. "You want me to try an' move them?"

"Nay, just try and 'old them. Wrap yer skin around them an' keep it like tha' for a few minutes. Endurance test."

He nodded, approaching one of the dummies and stopping about a foot away before stretching out his fingertips to wrap around its arm. "This far do to start with?"

Moira eyed him and nodded, writing on her paper. "Aye, good enough place ta start."

He turned back to the dummy, concentrating on keeping his grip on its arm for as long as he could, or until Moira told him to stop.

She kept time with her stop watch and after two minutes, clicked it off. "Okay, lad, ye can let go. 'ow do ye feel?"

He relaxed his grip, retracting the skin, and flexed his fingers. "Feels fine. Was maybe startin' to ache a little bit, but only in the same way it would if you held your arm out for two minutes."

Moira nodded. "Good, let's try a wee bit further out this time. Five feet, if ye please."

He nodded back, pacing backwards to roughly five feet away from the mannequins. He knew he wouldn't have been able to manage over a foot more than that at the best of times, but would give this a try. He stretched out the skin and took hold of the dummy's arm as before.

Moira watched carefully, noting the look on Angelo's face. She didn't wait as long as she had the last time to tell him to let go. "Looks like tha's a strain on ye," she said, noting it down. "Ye can let go, I dinnae want ta strain ye ta th' point yer all bruised. Now 'ow do ye feel?"

He considered, rubbing his hand absently when he'd pulled the skin back in. "Kinda sore. Think that's about as far as I can go, or almost. Maybe a few inches more."

"Somethin' ta work on. Ye should, really, be able ta go much further than tha'. But after th' fire..." A shake of the head noted her concern about that. "Well, practise will make thin's easier on ye an' get yer skin used ta bein' stretched again."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. T'be honest, I probably didn't do as much with it as I could've done even before the fire. The second fire, I mean. Hard to say how far it would've stretched without the first fire."

"I really should 'ave noticed tha'," she muttered. "Promise me ye'll start practisin' on yer own? Treat it like exercisin' yer skin because tha's th' only way yer goin' ta gain more control an' versatility over it."

He nodded again, with a wry grin. "Promise. Taught myself how to bring it back in, back after I manifested, but I might as well get some use out of it."

"Good idea. 'Tis a verra useful power, Angelo."

"It... took me awhile to get that, but yeah, I guess it is. Lots of different ways."

"There's probably a lot tha' ye can do wit' it, ye jus' 'ave ta think thin's through."

He smiled slightly. "Startin' to see that now. Not just good for grabbin' the remote without havin' to get up."

Moira thought about that for a second, smiling. "Thoug' tha' is rather useful, at times."

"Especially here", he agreed cheerfully. "I can get it first."

Snickering slightly, she gestured towards the door. "Bet tha' drives th' other ones nuts. An' I think tha' might be all for today, especially if tha's as far as ye can go right now."

He nodded. "Think so. I'll keep workin' on it, like you said."

"Good. Remember, I'll know if'n ye dinnae an' I know where ye sleep, so make sure ta practise. Almost like Santa Clause wit' an accent."

He laughed. "Scout's honor. Not that I ever was a Scout, but it stands anyway."

"I'll keep ye ta tha'."