6433/Sizin' Up the New Guy S'more.

Sizin' Up the New Guy S'more.
Date of Scene:	03 June 2021
Location:	Central Nexus
Synopsis:	A hungover Clarice, tasked with the job of training with the new guy, learns a little more about what he can do and a lot about how bad it sucks to spar with a hangover.
Cast of Characters:	Clarice Ferguson, Nicolai Codona

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Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice is in the training room under duress - dressed in the form-fitting sort of attire that superhero folks tend to prefer for such activities. No powers? And feeling like //this//? Ugh. She takes a drink from the bottle of water she brought with her, then looks across at Nicolai. "I mean. I assume your father made sure you were taught hand-to-hand combat too, right?" she asks as she takes up a defensive posture.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    For his part, Nicolai is dressed in nothing more than a simple pair of navy blue Adidas running pants with white piping down the sides, a white ribbed tank top (...they style that some call a 'beater') and a pair of Adias runners. He shrugs. "Maybe a little." He slides one leg back, most of his weight placed there and asks, "Rules?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice shrugs her shoulders. "Not a lot of rules in real combat. But let's not do choke holds today." She feels awful enough as it is. And the idea isn't to inflict any serious harm, obviously. Just see what you can do - what your reaction time is, and your past training experience..." And to torment her. She's pretty sure part of the goal here is to torment her. She gestures Nicolai forward, allowing him to make the first attack.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "No choke holds," Nicolai repeats. Sure, he can do that. "I'm assuming no..." and before he finishes the sentence, he's on the move rushing at Clarice. He's not inhumanely fast, but he is at the peak of 'normal' human. Before he gets to her, he's airborne in a back flip that aims to catch her under the chin with one foot along the way. If he connects, it'll be just with the tip of his foot, intentionally, he's pulling punches. It might rock her head back a little *if* it connects, but it won't knock her down.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Would it catch her under normal circumstances? No. Probably not. Clarice has trained in combat since a young age herself, and in gymnastics, before being taken under Victor Creed's wing. But you try moving at your fastest with a hangover? The blow rocks her back a step - but she recovers quickly, having known what was about to happen, just before it did. She pivots to the side now, and as she does, she tries to reach for Nicolai's ankle as he is still mid-flip, attempting to fling him off balance and off to the side.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Nicolai knew it would either be a surprise attack or it wouldn't. In the event that it wasn't, he made an educated guess as to what she'd follow with. Part of combat training is anticipating your opponent's reactions after all. His ankle gets snagged and he does get tossed to the side, but he follows with the momentum rather than fighting against it, prepared for it, he hits the ground in a roll and is up on his feet again before it's even clear that he was down. That's something to make a note of... he's definitely skilled. He back pedals and falls into position again and waggles his fingers in a little 'bring it' motion.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Not bad," Clarice remarks - a smile playing across her features, though it quickly fades. Ugh. This //is// like fighting with a full dose of that suppressant-stuff. Or at least she imagines it is. It's awful, and she never wants to do it again.
    Still - this is the task she was given, and it makes sense. She moves in on Nicolai - light on her feet - feinting with a punch, before trying to use her leg to sweep the footing out from under him. If the sweep knocks him off balance, she quickly follows this with a punch to the chest with her other hand, to try to topple him completely.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Feints are also a big part of training in hand to hand. Even when the feints aren't feinted blows. Nicolai takes the sweep to the leg, it *looks* like he's been thrown off balance, for a whole 2.2 seconds. In reality, he uses momentum in his favor again, turning his feinted near fall into a backward roundhouse kick aimed at Clarice's chest. Again, he's pulling 'punches', so if he makes contact it'll just knock her back, not down. He definitely uses feet more than hands! If the kick lands, he'll allow himself to roll into the motion, one hand hitting the ground to spring off and back away from his opponent. He's also like a very capable acrobat, which makes sense giving his explanation of his free running and parkour skills. For a second, once back on his feet, he's shaking off the sting of the sweep. Even when one allows oneself to be hit, it still stings.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice begins to pivot to the side - but not quite in time to avoid a glancing blow, which again rocks her back a step. Nicolai seems to have at least a slight edge in this fight - maybe it would be different if she weren't so distracted by her head, or fighting the urge to puke? "New rule," she adds. "Don't hit me in the stomach unless you want me to hurl." But even as she says it - she's moving towards him again. Her other movements have been lighter, and more acrobatic in nature herself - but this time she seems intent on slamming her shoulder into his chest, to take them both down to the mat. Victor Creed wasn't much of an 'acrobat' by any stretch of the imagination.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Maybe he's not expecting such a blunt, forward attack? Or maybe he just thinks getting pinned to the mat by a cute girl might be fun? Either way, Clarice manages to connect and they both do go tumbling ground-ward. He'll likely have a bruise there tomorrow... if he bruises? Wonder what that looks like if he does? Does it glow under the skin? When he hits the ground, two things happen. First, Nicolai puts his hands behind his head and plants his feet flat on the ground. She weighs less than him, it's a slight advantage in a situation like this. He bucks up, using his body weight to try to throw her off balance and away from him enough (even if it's not all the way off) that he can regain control of the situation. The second is not something he can even control. The practice weapons and anything else, any other small items in the room begin to rattle. It's a gentle sound at first, but it gets louder and louder until a few of them are flying around the room. DUCK Clarice!
    He told them he didn't have any fine control? Was he lying... or is this a reflexive, involuntarily response his mind has to a perceived threat? Of course, now she finds herself on top of the B-Movie ghostly ghoul version of Nicolai rather than the semi attractive human save the glowing eyes version.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    There's a moment of a satisfied smirk, and she throws a few light blows to the side even as they're falling. She tries to fight his attempt to buck her off - but she's starting to slide off to one side as the weapons start to rattle, and then to fly. "Nicolai - Haunt!" she calls - rolling away from him, and towards the nearby wall. Once she has her back to it - she summons a portal in front of herself and hunkers down under her homemade portal until he loses his hold on the now projectile weapons.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Once she's off of him, Nicolai is on his feet in a blink by pushing up with the hands that were already flat on the ground behind his head. Oddly enough, nothing is coming in his direction, all of the chaos of flying crap seems to be centered around Clarice. But as soon as he's clear, it just ... stops and everything falls to the ground.
    Nicolai winces. "Sorry," he mumbles, clearly embarrassed by the turn of events. "Happens sometimes when my adrenaline's really pumping." Y'know, when he's in danger or when... there's a cute girl kinda on top him? He's definitely going to go with it being the former. It begs the question though, if his *subconscious* can turn his telekinesis into a relatively focused attack, certainly he can learn to do the same consciously?

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Once things have calmed down, Clarice drops her portal, and positions herself so she's leaning back more comfortably against the wall. "Nah, it's fine. I mean - eventually we should try to get that under some sort of control. So you don't trigger it inadvertantly. And it really doesn't seem to be indescriminate - that stuff was coming at me, and leaving you alone. It seems." Are her eyes closed? Yes, they are. Her head it pounding. "It seems plausible you might be able to get a good degree of control over it."
    She opens her eyes briefly - glancing at her water bottle. She gestures with a hand and a strange, amorphous blob of purple-ish energy moves to her water bottle, touching it and causing her to blink into her hand, so she can take a drink.
    Portals are handy.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "Was it?" How can he not know? Well, typically when it happens he's in the heat of a life or death fight so he's not paying much attention. Nicolai's brow furrows thoughtfully. "I... guess it was," he murmurs after a moment reflecting on those only moment old events. He crosses the room and offers a hand up if she wants it. "Are you okay"? Did something actually hit you?" Man, that would make him feel super shitty. He rolls his shoulder on the side of his chest she hit him. It is bruising and... it does glow, ever so faintly beneath his skin from the pooling ectoplasm.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice shakes her head at the offered hand - and then regrets it. "I'm... good. Down here. I don't like training in this state," she complains, taking another drink from her water, and waiting for the roiling in the stomach to ease. The pounding of her head is probably a lost cause for the moment.
    "I think I got hit by a baton, but it's fine. Don't worry about it, Nicolai. I promise to do a better job wiping the floor with you next time, though," she quips casually.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Well, if she doesn't stand, he opts to settle down next to her. She's seen the way he drinks, Nicolai is certainly familiar with all the signs. "Well, I'm a little hurt that you didn't invite me to the party," he teases. "Did you take anything before you went to bed. You should always medicate before bed. Advil... lots of water."
    He leans his head against the wall and laughs ever so softly along with, "Don't bet on it. I won't pull punches when you're not hung-over." Has he known the entire time?

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice sighs, giving a small shake her head. "I'm pretty sure I just //passed out//." On Mister Creed. "I don't usually- yesterday was rough, is all." She stares at her waterbottle without taking another sip - letting her stomach just settle for the moment. She's silent before asking, "Your father taught you to fight like that?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "What happened yesterday?" Nicolai's question is casual, like he might be asking about the weather. It's a tactic used to indicate the unspoken - don't feel you have to answer that.
    "Yes, he did. My training started the day after my tenth birthday and never stopped." To this day, he trains constantly. Perhaps to honor his father, or maybe to be sure he doesn't disappoint the man. "Not much else to do in that big old castle in the middle of nowhere, yeah?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I started training earlier," Clarice remarks, her tone neutral. She doesn't offer any other details than that - but she does add, "I wish I'd had a chance to meet him - your father."
    She's silent for a few moments, staring at the waterbottle in her hands before finally commenting, "Went on a job yesterday. It was supposed to be pretty simple and straightforward. Rescue mission - might have to deal with some guards, but nothing that needed to get //that// bloody. Didn't go as planned. Lots of our people died, yesterday.
    "...but that was yesterday. And today we move forward at finding the bastards and making them pay."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "Let me know if you need help with that," Nicolai address that last statement of hers first. "...it's kind of what I do, making them pay." It really is, it's been what he's been trained for his entire life. Cristian loved him dearly and Nicolai loved his father, but his entire life was shaping him to be a weapon for justice... or vengeance.
    "He was a good man," and despite his relatively lonely childhood in some far away land in the middle of nowhere, he means that and the words are spoken with love, devotion and a little bit of choked back emotion. It's been a little under a year, but the wound of that loss is still fresh. "I miss him every day. But I think you would have liked him. ...even if he would have ordered you to train the newbie with a hang-over too."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah, well... we'll see," Clarice replies quietly. She still needs to ask Illyana if she's allowed to bring in Brotherhood resources. She can already picture the look on the woman's face - it's going to be a 'fun' conversation.
    "Why do mentors have to be so cruel?" she asks in a wry tone, before taking another sip of her water. "Mister Creed wasn't any gentler." There's a shocker. "'It's for your own good, kid,'" she quotes - mimicing his voice and tone as best she can. She does it with a fond smile on her features, though.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "It really is for our own good," Nicolai points out. "The world isn't easy. I mean, I guess he could have just let me grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer or something... 'normal', but with the way the world treats Mutants? Father knew, especially with my eyes and what happens when I use my other abilities that normal 'human' life wouldn't be kind to me."
    He falls silent for a moment, but it's not a strained or awkward silence, just reflective. "He saw a need to be filled, the need for people that were willing to stand up when others wouldn't and do something about wrongs others ignored. He gave me purpose and then made sure I was ready to handle those responsibilities. Isn't that what a mentor is supposed to do, cruel or not?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah," Clarice agrees quietly. "Normal, human life was never a choice for me, either. But my parents tried anyways, I guess." And look where that led to? She, too, allows the silence to grow for a while. Just sitting was more appealing than most any other option, after all.
    "I suppose that's what they do," she agrees. "They help you find your place. Point you in the right direction - and count on you, and the training, to do the rest..."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Nicolai bumps his shoulder against Clarice's lightly and then lay his head on her shoulder ever so briefly. It's just a friendly gesture. She doesn't know it yet, but he's actually a pretty affectionate kinda guy. Hugs will likely ensue in the future. Then he's hopping to his feet. "Go get some sleep, take a shower, get something to eat. I'll clean this mess up." Only fair since he made the mess, right?

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    The brief nudge from Nicolai earns a hint of a smile from Clarice, but as he rests his head on her shoulder, the assumed familiarity of the gesture from someone who was still a relatively unfamiliar source earns a puzzled, and slightly cautious look from the young mutant. She keeps her eyes on him as he rises - and after a moment, offers a hand towards him so he can help her to her feet. "Yeah," she agrees. "...I barely slept. I'll check in on Mister Creed, and then turn in." She can't quite shake the feeling that something went //wrong// last night. Or was she remembering a fragment of a nightmare? It felt like a nightmare. Still - she'd feel better after sorting it out. "We'll do this again, sometime," she promises.