OOC: I'm fine with this being open, but please check with Mirror before adding anything.

Mariusz had spent most of the morning checking out the area of the Mansion where the offices were located, looking for someone affiliated with the X-Men that could help him with trying to become a part of that team. He had spent what seemed like forever waiting and wandering around before he had finally run into someone that had pointed him in the direction of a place called the Danger Room. That same person had also suggested that he dress for a workout and had given him directions to find the room. After returning to his room and changing into a t-shirt suitable for exercise and a pair of basketball shorts in the colors of the Czech flag and grabbing his compound bow, hip quiver, and a pair of goggles that doubled as both safety and flight goggles Mariusz set off in the direction of the Danger Room, following the directions he had been given.

Standing before the doors marked 'Danger Room' Mariusz paused for a moment. Leaning the bow against the wall next to the doors the feathered mutant pulled his goggles onto his head and situated them so they were on his forehead for the time being. Next he took a moment to strap on his hip quiver which was full of arrows. He was not altogether sure whether or not there was an archery range in the Danger Room or not, however it stood to reason that there might be given that it was called the Danger Room and he was keen to get in some practice as it had been a few days since he had been able to properly exercise his skills with the bow. Feeling fully prepared he picked up the bow in his left hand and raised his right hand and knocked on the doors as that seemed the polite thing to do in case someone was already inside.

"Freeze!"

As soon as there was a knock on the door, Maya called a stop to the simulation. Just in case some mansion kid happened to waltz in in the middle of the battle. Nobody wanted that.

Lowering the bow and putting the last arrow back into the quiver, she walked to the Danger Room door. Around her the forest and all the dangers lurking within became slightly transparent as the program was paused. Maya was wearing the shirt and pants of the X-men uniform, complete with her atchery gear, but not the jacket (she lost it earlier in the training program). Her hair was pulled into two shoulder-length pigtails.

"Yeah?" she asked as she pushed the button, and the door slid open "Wha... oh."

If he (?) had not been standing on the other side of the DR door, she would ahve thought he was a glitch in the program. A giant human-size bird of prey? With... goggles?!

"Um..." Maya blinked, trying not to stare "ya must be new here."

"Indeed I am, and it is most pleasant to note that I am not the only archer in the Mansion," Mariusz said by way of greeting, peering over the shoulder of the woman and seeing what looked like a forest behind her. Was the Danger Room an arboretum of some sort? Most peculiar, he had been given to understand that it was a gymnasium of some sort. Still, the woman before him was holding a bow and wearing a quiver so that meant there must be some sort of archery range beyond the doors.

"I am Mariusz Kasparek," he said with a slight English accent, introducing himself and bowing slightly to the woman before him in the process. "I was given to believe that there is a team here that attempts to... how shall I put this? Address the dangers of other mutants who would seek to use their gifts for malicious purposes. I attempted to find someone associated with such a team in the area of the offices earlier and was told that I should look in the Danger Room instead. I was also given to understand that the Danger Room was a gymnasium, hence the attire and weaponry. It appears, however, that the Danger Room is more of an arboretum. This causes me to wonder if, perhaps, it is referred to as the Danger Room because it has a menagerie of dangerous animals within its confines. Of course, I am also curious to learn whether or not I have discovered someone associated with the aforementioned team."

>>"Indeed I am, and it is most pleasant to note that I am not the only archer in the Mansion,"

Maya blinked again. For a giant bird with an accent, this person was very well spoken. Also, one does not see a bird of prey equipped for archery every day...

>>"I am Mariusz Kasparek. I was given to believe that there is a team here that attempts to... how shall I put this? Address the dangers of other mutants who would seek to use their gifts for malicious purposes. I attempted to find someone associated with such a team in the area of the offices earlier and was told that I should look in the Danger Room instead. I was also given to understand that the Danger Room was a gymnasium, hence the attire and weaponry. It appears, however, that the Danger Room is more of an arboretum. This causes me to wonder if, perhaps, it is referred to as the Danger Room because it has a menagerie of dangerous animals within its confines. Of course, I am also curious to learn whether or not I have discovered someone associated with the aforementioned team."

Whoah. Talk about well spoken. Maya tilted her head, looking Mariusz up and down again. The guy (she was pretty sure he was a guy) did not kid around. First day in the Mansion and volunteering for the X-team? She wondered how he even found out about that. Maybe an orientation for the students was in order. Don't tell strange eagles where the X-men train. Seriously. Whatever.

"Suuuure" she said finally, nodding to him to enter the DR and sliding the door closed behind them. "Welcome to the Mansion. My name is Maya and I am an official greeter, as well as a team leader. Most people know me as Mirror. And this...." she nodded at the trees "... is known as the Danger Room."

With a small smirk, she pulled out an arrow.

"Computer: resume training. Upgrade to two participants."

Suddenly, the frozen forest came alive. Animals moved in the shadows, leaves rustled, and an artificial sun was about to set...

"Welcome to the Mansion. My name is Maya and I am an official greeter, as well as a team leader. Most people know me as Mirror. And this... is known as the Danger Room."

"A pleasure," Mariusz replied, stepping into the room and noting that the door slid shut behind him. Maya had not really answered all of his questions, but she had provided enough information for him to at least get the general understanding that he was in the right place. He did not miss the fact that Maya had removed and arrow from the quiver on her back. He was not altogether sure what was coming next, but he assumed he would want full range of motion, so he tugged the shirt off over his head and drew and nocked an arrow of his own, being careful to keep the bow pointed in any direction other than at Maya and he ruffled the feathers on his wings a little as he loosened them up for flight.

"Computer: resume training. Upgrade to two participants."

"I assume the objective is to shoot anything that moves which is not you, ano," he asked Maya, coiling his legs underneath himself and then springing into the air while giving his large wings several powerful flaps. Once he was airborne he hovered at around ten feet off the ground, wings beating steadily to remain airborne. When Maya gave him full instructions so he understood the parameters of the exercise he would head off higher into the air to get a better and safer vantage point from which to shoot.

>>"I assume the objective is to shoot anything that moves which is not you, ano,"

Maya smirked and watched as the bird-man rose into the air. It was quite an impressive sight. Being an archer that could fly had its definite advantages. She's had to tweak the program for that later, to make it more challenging.

"The objective is to shoot anything that is a threat" she corrected him, keeping an eye on the movements among the bushes and trees "Not everythin' that moves is a threat."

Almost as an answer to that a screech came from the woods, almost bird-like, but not quite. Maya tensed up and turned towards the sound, hand ready on the string of the bow. She was not aiming yet; although it looks flashy on a movie screen, real archers rarely ever spent long minutes with their bow drawn before they shot.

Another screech answered the first one. The forest was growing darker by the minute.

"So, Markusz, was it?" she asked, keeping her eyes on her surroundings "What brings you to the Mansion?"

"So, Markusz, was it? What brings you to the Mansion?"

"Mariusz," the winged mutant corrected her from his spot hovering in the air, "My father is the new Czech Ambassador to the U.S. and he heard about this place and passed the information on to me. I thought it might be worthwhile to investigate it, and that it might also make his job here a little bit easier if he did not have a mutant son hovering around, if you will pardon the pun." Like Maya his fingers rested on the bowstring and held the nocked arrow in place. Similar to Maya he also refrained from drawing the bow for the time being, there was no target in sight and zooming around with a drawn bow while waiting for a target was simply inviting disaster should his fingers slip and loose an arrow at an inopportune time or in an inopportune direction.

"So," he asked flying a little higher to rise above the tops of the trees. His keen eyes scanned all around, looking for potential targets and he realized it would be a lot easier if he knew what to expect and what to look for. "So, what exactly am I looking for out here? Bear? Tiger? Something else entirely," he asked, noting that the light level in the room was rapidly dimming despite the fact that it was still barely into the early afternoon. Obviously, this room was used for some sort of training beyond what he had imagined, and though he was still a bit fuzzy on the details he assumed he would figure it out in short order.

>>"Mariusz. My father is the new Czech Ambassador to the U.S. and he heard about this place and passed the information on to me. I thought it might be worthwhile to investigate it, and that it might also make his job here a little bit easier if he did not have a mutant son hovering around, if you will pardon the pun."

Czech ambassador. Now that was... interesting. Not like the X-men had not been involved in diplomacy and politics before, but still, that was going to be up for some discussion if this guy was going to get admitted to the team and the school.

>>"So, what exactly am I looking for out here? Bear? Tiger? Something else entirely,"

"Yes" Maya smirked, turning around in a slow circle to keep an eye out for any motion. "So, how long have you been a mutant?"

""So, how long have you been a mutant?"

"I was born this way, more or less," Mariusz called down from his position as the eye in the sky. It occurred to him that it would be a lot easier for them to communicate without giving their positions away as readily if they both had headset radios and he made a mental note to bring up that point with Maya after the exercise. "I have always had the wings, feathers, bird feet, and mostly hollow bone structure. The talons on my feet started growing in when I was three, the talons on my fingers when I was seven, and I got the vision enhancement when I was fourteen."

The winged man hovered in the air over the rough position where Maya was, turning his head this way and that looking for anything that gave off the appearance of being a target. He was just about the ask Maya exactly what it was that she could do when he turned to the west and saw what appeared to be several small birds taking flight. "Looks like there is something to the west," he called down to Maya, focusing his gaze in that direction. The foliage of the trees was preventing him from having a completely clear line of sight, but the glimpses he was catching were of something that was impossible because it was mythological.

"It looks like a minotaur," he yelled down to Maya, "but minotaurs are mythological. Looks to be a half-mile out, and coming closer." The Czech mutant drew the bowstring back to his cheek and waited, hovering the midair. Most archers used some kind of ocular enhancement or scope on their bows, but he had no need for such a device. The thing, whatever it was, lumbered into a small clearing and stopped, apparently sniffing around.

Mariusz loosed an arrow aimed for the head, but just before the arrow struck the thing lift a hand to scratch its nose. The arrow slammed into the hand and the creature jerked fast enough that even though the arrow went through the hand it struck the thing in the shoulder as it continued on, effectively pinning the creature's right hand to its right shoulder. The minotaur thing roared in anger and pain. "I hit it, and now it is quite angry," Mariusz called down to Maya as the thing began to run in the direction that the arrow had come from.

>>"I was born this way, more or less. I have always had the wings, feathers, bird feet, and mostly hollow bone structure. The talons on my feet started growing in when I was three, the talons on my fingers when I was seven, and I got the vision enhancement when I was fourteen."

"Homeschool, huh" Maya smirked, keeping her eyes on the forest. She was familiar with being a mutant from an early age.
The bird-man interrupted her thoughts.

>>"Looks like there is something to the west... It looks like a minotaur... but minotaurs are mythological. Looks to be a half-mile out, and coming closer."

"If it looks like one it's probably a minotaur" Maya chuckled, turning to the direction he was pointing "Seen stranger things in here. Keep an eye on it."

He did something more than that, though. He drew, he aimed, and he shot.
Half a mile out, he said?

>>"I hit it, and now it is quite angry,"

He did not need to clarify that; Maya heard the angry roar well enough. She looked, but apart from the sound of an angered and wounded minotaur charging their way, she couldn't see anything. Slinging the bow over her shoulder she ran to the nearest tree.

"I need leverage."

Mariusz glanced down towards the forest floor below him and noticed that Maya had run over to one of the bigger trees and seemed ready to climb it, judging by the fact that she had slung her bow. He assumed that teamwork was the order of the day, at the moment anyway, that meant he would need to work with her and demonstrate an ability to be a good teammate. He also assumed that the minotaur would be able to withstand most of the attacks he could make on it since most of his arrows were tipped rather basically, he only had a few arrows with broadheads on them, most of his had target points and field points on them. So, even if he were disinclined to be a team player, which was not the case, he would have to work with Maya since he assumed she was better armed than he was.

He tucked his wings in and dove towards the ground before fanning them about ten feet off of the ground. "Hold up your arm," he shouted to her as he flew in the direction of the woman. He had flown carrying others in the past, so he knew he was capable of carrying the added weight. However, he had never tried to grab someone with a foot before, but he had seen birds of prey do it on several different television programs and documentaries in the past. If they could do it then it stood to reason that he could too, he would just have to be careful not to hurt Maya in the process as his talons were quite sharp.

The guy was nothing if not a quick thinker. Maya didn't even need to turn to see what his plan was. Giant flying teammate - or guest, orwhatever - plus charging minotaur equaled... teamwork?

Holding up her arms Maya braced herself for being picked up. Part of her was curious. Would the guy be able to carry her weight? Also, what was he going to grab her with, hands, talons...? Okay she needed to look.

The sound of the bellowing minotaur was getting closer at an alarming rate. Yup, the computer had definitely recalculated for two players.

Talons or no talons, teamwork it is.

Mariusz skimmed along at low height, just a handful of feet off the ground. He didn't often like to fly at such low heights because it didn't leave a whole lot of room for maneuvering if the need arose. He noticed when Maya held up her arm and, coming up on her position he gave his wings a few powerful downbeats to come to a stop and then start climbing latching a taloned foot around each of the girl's arms at the wrist in the process. With Maya safely captured he began to climb back into the sky, somewhat slower than normal because of the added weight.

"What is the plan," he asked, using his feet to raise Maya until he could grab her hands in his own. That done he lifted her higher and used his feet to clamp around her ankles and slipped an arm around her waist as they rose higher into the sky. Looking down he saw the minotaur burst out into the clearing Maya had been in a few moments before. "My apologies for the close contact but you are much easier to carry when I have your weight better distributed along the same lines as my own. Might I suggest I fly and spot while you shoot? I only have a few broadheads, I did not think I would be doing more than some target practice in here, if that."

>>"What is the plan, My apologies for the close contact but you are much easier to carry when I have your weight better distributed along the same lines as my own. Might I suggest I fly and spot while you shoot? I only have a few broadheads, I did not think I would be doing more than some target practice in here, if that."

Maya tried to not wince as she was hoisted up to the big bird's hands and claws. It was a strange feeling, flying and being carried at the same time. Below them the minotaur burst out of the jungle, roaring in rage.

"I've got arrows" Maya nodded, reaching for the quiver on her hip (now she was very glad she never wore it on her back). Placing an arrow on the string she glanced up at the bird-guy above her.

"All right, then. Spot."

"Well, there is still the matter of our little friend down there," Mariusz said, pointing with his hand. "Three o'clock, low." Down below the Minotaur could still see them and still had the arrow buried in its hand and, judging from the earsplitting bellow it unleashed as it looked skyward it was still anything but happy. "I imagine he might still be a bit unhappy," the avian mutant remarked in a somewhat dry tone.

He circled in the sky until he was in a better position for Maya to shoot, skimming just above the treetops. Coming up for a good head-on shot he beat his large wings down several times to bring them to a stop, hovering in the air more or less level. "At your leisure, I doubt there is much he can do to us from down there."