Players:
Summary: Summary of what happened.
Date: January 18, 2010.
Log Title Weights and Measures
Rating: PG.
Xavier Mansion - Weight Room
All the weight machines are powered by hydraulics, you set the weight you want and your bench-pressing that many pounds, or even tons in some super strong students' cases. Punching bags, stair machines, bicycles, treadmills, weights, and anything found in your standard gym can be found here.
The weight room is fairly quiet this time of evening, since most of the students are at dinner. The lights are dimmed, perhaps to discourage anyone from wandering in thinking the room is occupied and being social but the distinctive whir of the hydraulics of one of the weight stations can be heard. Dallas is almost invisible in the gloom, covered in his shadow and a coat of sweat below that. He's doing squats, hefting the bar over his head. A digital display overhead records the weight lifted at five tons and Dallas lets out a low groan as he comes upright again. He's literally lost count of how many reps he's made and his labored breath and racing heart are the only sounds he can hear.
After spending sometime with Rashmi, Robyn finally decided to get out of his room. He's staying quite clear of the medbay though. He stopped by the cafeteria and grabbed a few cookies before heading down to the weight room. He figured Dallas would be down there and right now he needs a friend, a friend he hopes that won't treat him like he's fragile right now. Wearing an Xavier's t-shirt and sweatpants, and looking like he could use a shower, Robyn wanders into the room. He definitely doesn't care about keeping up his usual fashion style right now. "Hey Dallas, you're here." He says with a slight smile.
Dallas lets out a grunt as Robyn arrives. He hits the safety switch on the weight bar that locks it in place and returns the relative weight to a few pounds. His shadow flees, leaving him standing panting, lank-haired and sweating in just a pair of Xavier's shorts, ankle socks and gym shoes. His breath huffs out as he gives Robyn a nod and, "Yo." Still breathing hard, Dallas swallows and says, "Yea. My usual haunt." He's still burned, battered and bruised looking, so working out can't be particularly fun.
Robyn raises his eyebrows so they hide under his bangs at Dallas. "You sure you should be working out like that?" Robyn himself still has his arm in a cast and a lot of wrapping underneath the shirt cause of his, now broken, ribs and several burns and cuts. Leo was able to heal some but not all. "So I don't think I'll be able to swimming for quite sometime, I'm S.O.L. there." Bad attempt at light humor.
Dallas glances down the length of his torso and legs and says, "Stuff like this usually looks worse than it is." True but evasive. He gives the cookies in Robyn's hand a sardonic look and just says, "Counterproductive." With Robyn here, the urge to look like he's not sweating the workout wars with the urge to sit down a minute and finally, telling himself not to be rude, Dallas gives in to the latter, settling on a bench close to his friend and sighing as his abused calf and thigh muscles start to relax a little.
Robyn shakes his head at Dallas and gives a small smile. "Shut up, I like cookies and I think I'm allowed to have some." He says walking over and sitting next to Dallas and offering him a cookie. Once Robyn gets closer it's easy to tell he probably hasn't' slept much at all. "I think I'm gonna call my parents, maybe go home for a while in a couple weeks. So Dallas, can I ask what your favorite sport is?"
Dallas chuckles at being told to shut up. He takes the cookie, having skipped dinner and takes a bit as Robyn sits down, giving his friend a closer look. That fatigued look doesn't escape his notice and his eyes narrow a bit but he doesn't say anything. Not like he has moral high ground there. He asks, cautiously, "You'd be coming back, right?" And then, with no hesitation, "Football. It's simple and complex at the same time. Tactical. But just being willing to take the hits can make a difference." He shrugs. "Smarter than rugby. Less prissy than basketball. Faster than baseball. Less … Euro … than soccer."
Robyn cant help but chuckle at the last part, the first laugh in a while. "Yeah, I'd be coming back. I just..need time away I think. This place, isn't bad but you know." Robyn says without getting into too much detail. "So what's your favorite team, Patriots right? Cause you wanted the tattoo?" He remembers these things and there is reason for him asking too.
Dallas nods and says, "Yea. Everybody expects you to be Bears fan back home but I like the Pats. Not always the best team, but a lot of heart." He finishes off the cookie and adds, "But the tattoo would probably be a bad idea. I could get old and they'd suck. I'm probably going to get an X-Man symbol or something."
Robyn nods and he plans something in head. "I really want to get another one. I'm going to ask my parents for another tattoo for my birthday since it's coming up. It's all about if you really want that on your body for the rest of your life, but yeah, so the Patriots? Isn't there that…Super Bowl thing coming up soon too?" Yes, Robyn is trying to talk about anything else right now.
Dallas looks faintly amused but he just nods gravely, "Yea, on the seventh of next month. The, uh, Super Bowl 'thing' that is." He arches his eyebrows, "Why? Thinking of watching it? And on tattoos, that's cool. I'm still kind of in awe that your folks like you get inked."
Robyn shrugs. "I don't know, I don't know anything about sports or usually watch them but it might be fun with people who do." Robyn says and it's something different to watch and just keep his mind on something. "Yeah, I want Jack Skellington on my upper arm, and they're cool about it. I just don't know if they can afford to get me another one for my birthday, but I'm gonna ask. I just hope I can venture into the city for it."
Dallas nods and says, "Sure. If you're here you can watch it with me." And despite the dark places they are both living in at the moment, he can't help but tease, "There are, like rules, you'd have to learn. About watching." And then he shrugs and says, "Hey, I heard we have Magneto on the case. Can't tell me this isn't going to end soon."
"So you're going to have to teach me these rules Dallas, like a, teach the art geek sports lessons. I'll have to show you some of my favorite movies in return." Robyn says smiling a bit before the name Magneto is mentioned. "You mean like a mutant terrorist?"
Dallas chuckles and nods. "And that's cool. I like movies." He pauses and his brows knit together as he says, "Yea. I guess he is. But the question is who will do more more damage, at this point, right? Do we let the city and maybe the world get …captured… or do we put somebody horrible on them and hope for the best?" He shrugs and says, "I know how I'd choose."
"If Magneto is able to stop this, good for him." Robyn says nodding as what Dallas just said made perfect sense. "As long I don't have to go out there, I'd just make a mess of things again." He says thinking he's not strong enough to go out there. "But, I do want to be able to visit my parents again. Maybe it'll be over before the twenty seventh."
Dallas nods and sighs. He looks towards Robyn and says, "I know that you care about Jordan but I … I just want them dead, Robyn. All of them. Dead and gone and buried and forgotten. If he comes back to himself, great. But if not…." He shrugs and says, "At this point I don't even know what to think about Na… people who have come back and are …cured." He says that last word as though he doesn't believe it.
Robyn looks down and sighs. "I don't know about the rest, Jordan though, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here. It's hard Dallas cause Lucas and the rest, I don't know. Lucas, he killed people, he has to be stopped." He doesn't say anything about the killed though. "Jordan, I don't know though Dallas, he freed us but…I want to believe he can come back. I have to Dallas or else, I don't know what I'd do. I don't want to rely on him, but I want him back. I want /my/ Jordan back. I think I love him Dallas, and he…I just don't know. And you can say his name, I know he's back." Robyn says his face going expressionless and his voice going cold. "I don't want to see him, and I can't believe Leo brought him back here, and in the same room as me after knowing what he did."
Dallas nods and sighs. "I get that. All of it. And I can understand at least part of it." He turns until he's straddling the weight bench and lays back flat, legs off to either side of the bench so he does put them in Robyn's lap. He sighs despite himself as aching muscles and bones thank him for a momentary respite from gravity with a chorus of tiny twinge and release sensations. Finally, he asks, "So how does the tattoo thing work? You just need to bring in somebody over eighteen with you?"
Robyn happily goes with the subject change and looks back at Dallas, stand up as he lies down so Dallas can work out easier. "Well, it's like bring a legal guardian, at least at the place I went to. So last year they took me to a place and we got it done. I really like tattoos, it's body art that lets you personalize yourself. And since my birthday is in nine days.." Robyn always liked his birthday and he's one of those people who wants others to know, but he's afraid this year. "It's cool to watch the needle but it does hurt a bit."
Dallas sighs and says, "What doesn't?" He gets a grip on the bar and clicks the default setting for a hundred and fifty pound press. More than his body weight. And rather stupid for a work out. The hydraulics whine and whir as he lifts the bar up and then settles it back towards his chest, breathing steady. And then lift again. And settle. The down strokes are almost as controlled as the lifts, since gym etiquette and custom requires one have control of one's lifts. "Hm. Maybe I'll call my folks and ask permission."
Robyn smiles and nods. "Maybe you should, if you want, I'd go with you. If you needed the moral support. Oh, if you want to come with me, I don't mind. Maybe when I go home for my birthday, you can come along too. We can both get out of here and just enjoy some normalcy for a while. Though…my family doesn't have much money so our apartment is kinda small."
Dallas grins at Robyn and says, "I'm not going to horn in on your time at home, man." Not to mention that Robyn's family probably doesn't have the library or Internet resources he needs for what he's trying to find out. "But for the tattoo thing? Sure. I'm not doing it alone! What if they turn it into a Y or or something while I can't see it?" He adds, "It would be cool to meet your family, though, at some point."
Robyn shrugs and tries to hide what he's feeling. "Okay, I just figured having some friends around would be fun, I just don't know when I'd get to celebrate." He says as finds another place to sit down. "Where do you want to get it?"
Dallas tilts his head up at that tone in Robyn's voice and says, "Well, obviously I want to be around for your birthday party, dude." And then his grin turns a little puzzled and thoughtful. "I'm not sure. I just know where I /don't/ want it."
Robyn looks at Dallas and laughs, he can't help it. Maybe he just really needed to laugh, at something. Just get it out. "Yeah, I don't think you should get a tattoo on your ass either, I mean, you're a sports nuts, you'd probably want to show off your colors like any other Jock." He teases lightly as he enjoys what little bit of sanity he can.
Dallas shakes his head at that and says, "Pretty sure that Silver Surfer is the only guy who gets to fight evil in a jockstrap. At least I /hope/ that's a jockstrap. Otherwise Mrs. Surfer is probably unhappy with life." Yes, he's trying to make light of the situation as well. Finally, after ten reps, he sighs and lets the weight bar down, shakily. His arms burn and ache and even he has to admit he's overdoing it and can't keep going. He sits up and slaps his left shoulder, both returning sensation to his arms and marking the spot. "I thought maybe an X-Man badge right there. I'm just afraid that the real X-Men might think I'm, um … pretentious?" He sounds out the last word as though trying it in conversation for the first time.
Robyn notices Dallas's shaking arms and watches him cautiously for a bit. "No, I don't think it is, just whatever you want you should go for. Just know that it'll be there forever. Who care what others think, as long as it's what you want Dal." He says shaking his head before sighing slightly. "I'm getting tired and should try to sleep soon." Probably not going to happen but he's gonna try. "You should too Dallas, you look like you need it."
Dallas nods. "Yea, sleep is probably a good idea." He gives Robyn a faint grin. "I'm going to go hit the showers, I guess. Thanks for the cookie." He stands, rather slowly and cautiously and then grunts once. Looking back to Robyn, he says in an offhand tone, "I /do/ have your back, Robyn. Anytime you want to hang out, just find me. And I'll try to do the same." He gives Robyn's shoulder a light clap as he walks past, "And you should think of something scarier for that tattoo. Like a panther or a dagger through a skull. Something tough and mean." And the scary part is that he seems to mean it. He heads for the door, obviously preparing to depart.
Robyn smiles and nods. "And I have yours too Dallas. Anytime you need me, I am here for you. No matter what you need me for." He says smiling and nods. He has to take a shower but it isn't easy with the cast. "It's gonna be Jack Skellington, I have my heart set on it. My favorite character and a tribute to my favorite movie maker. It'll remind me that that's what I'm gonna do, be a sculptor for the movies."
Dallas pauses in the door and says, "Hm. Maybe I should get a boot then. 'Cause I'm planning on kicking ass." He grins faintly at the idea. "Nah, I'd have to explain it all the time. Nothing worse than having to stop a battle because the villain doesn't understand your ironic ink." And then, "Later, Robyn. Get some sleep." And with that, he's off to the showers. And then back to the library for some more research into mutation enhancement. Sleep can come later. When there's no other choice.
