11 January

Peripheral Vision. n. 1. all that is visible to the eye outside the central area of focus; side vision


"Again?" Rogue asked, fighting to keep a smile off of her face.

Kurt didn't hold back, but beamed outright. "Ja, weider."

"An' can't Ah refuse?" Rogue joked. She still tried to keep her voice even, but light to keep from hurting him. From their short training session the day before, Rogue had learned how amiable Kurt's personality really was.

"Nein," Kurt grinned. "You're stuck."

"Guess Ah have to take drastic measures."

"I think you're right. I brought friends today."

"What?"

"I brought friends today," Kurt repeated patiently.

"Who?"

"Let me think... Who out of both teams - besides me, that is - doesn't come to school due to appearances?" He looked Rogue square in the face, taunting her with his fanged smile.

"Remy?"

"Ausgezeichnet," Kurt snickered. "One down, one more to go."

Rogue furrowed her brow as she thought. "Uh ... Warren?" With wings on his back, it would be hard pressed for him to blend in with the crowd. Plus, she hadn't ever seen him around the halls, though that wasn't saying much.

"Got a brain on dose shoulders, chere," Remy complimented sarcastically. "Pretty an' brains."

Rogue spun around as Remy and Warren made their presence known. Both had their costumes on, Warren's being blue with a white swatch of fabric across the front as well as with white gloves and boots, Remy's being the one Rogue saw him in previously. They walked across the football field, their footsteps silent as they approached.

"How's the cold weather for you, Rogue?" Warren asked.

"Ah'm glad the costume keeps me warm," Rogue replied. "Dry, too."

"Amen," Kurt agreed. "Imagine how long it would take me to dry off completely." He lightly touched the fuzzy fur on his cheek.

"Could be worse, Kurt. You could be trying to dry out your wings. It gets harder to fly when you're weighed down by rain."

"Y'all are complainers," Remy declared. "We're X-Men an' we live wit' it, d'accord? Yah." He turned to Warren. "Monsieur Wings, you da senior member here, so you got da plan?"

Rogue switched her gaze to the still mysterious teammate. She was vaguely aware of Kurt doing so as well.

Warren shrugged and crossed his arms. "Let's play soccer."

"Fußball, hmm? You venture into dangerous territory, Amerikaner," Kurt replied snidely.

"Really?" Warren ruffled his feathers. "Then you're with Gambit."

"Qu'est-ce?" Remy asked, surprised.

"Nightcrawler, how about you find us a ball to play with? I expect they would be in the gym." Warren continued as if Remy hadn't spoken at all.

"Uh, ja. Here's hoping I don't get lost." With that, he disappeared with the sound of imploding air.

The three remaining X-people remained silent for a moment until Remy suddenly spoke up: "I sure hope y'know how t' play soccer, chere."

Rogue glanced down at her feet before making eye contact a second later. "Act'ly, Ah wasn't ever that good. Okay, Ah guess, but Ah haven't played in a couple years now. Ah ain't exactly a gal that can put herself out there."

Remy cast a confused look in Warren's direction. "Fly-boy, I sure hope y'know how t' play. I ain't never seen you out an' about wit' da rest o' us b'fore. Kurt seems t' be in his element wit' dis game now, an' I gonna tell ya I ain't no push over, neither."

"Worried, Gambit?"

"Non. We gon' t' dribble circles 'round ya."

Warren uncrossed his arms. "Probably."

Rogue blinked; why would Warren put two of the strongest players together? Before she could ask, Kurt reappeared with the requested soccer ball. "There were people in the gym!" he accused loudly. "It's good that they were preoccupied."

Warren nodded and stretched his limbs. "One-on-one. We're using this half of the football field. The goal is the whole sideline on both sides. No. Powers."

"D'accord. You start wit' da ball, Rogue?"

Before Rogue could affirm or reject, Kurt tossed the ball in her direction. She caught the ball with her chest, her arms acting on reflex. As she dropped it to the ground and trapped it with her foot, Warren grabbed her shoulder to gain her attention.

"Play your best, use me, and keep yourself in the action. We won't win, but don't give up until the game is over."

"You planned for us t' lose?" Rogue asked. She barely kept herself from shouting.

"This exercise is for you," Warren informed her. "I'm just relaying instructions." He took his hand away and looked beyond Rogue to the opposing team. "Let's start."

Kurt crept closer to Rogue on Warren's cue, keeping his steps nearly silent. Remy shifted sideways to cover whatever pass Rogue could have made to her teammate. Switching into game mode, Rogue kicked the ball backwards and backtracked a couple of paces. When she saw Kurt following her in her peripheral, she cut suddenly to the right, cutting the German off and avoiding his teammate. Warren shifted up the field, calling for the ball.

"Get there!" Kurt shouted. Rogue smiled before sending the ball after Warren with a hefty kick.