16: Nightcrawler (Jamie Braddock)

Like all good fencers I could evaluate the physicality of an opponent with ease, he figured he was right about the tail.
I told him that there are loads of books on fencing on the library servers here. “I get that you are enthusiastic about want to fence Kurt. And that is great. We have three student and one faculty fencers here, all will be willing to help tutor you. Now, I have told you what you need to practice, if you want to practice something else I have to question why you have come to us for instruction. There are no shortcuts here Kurt. Any time spent mimicking things you learn in books will not advance you one jot. In fact your progress will slow because you are wasting time doing things that you are not ready for. You can come down to the salle any time to practice, any time. Or you can set up a piste in the gymnasium. Now you may think that I am being harsh here, I’m not. David would have been gentler, but the message would have been the same. Ryusaku… ah… let’s just say you would not have enjoyed the experience one bit.
“We will get you your own kit, jackets, trousers, facemask, shoes, swords, gloves… the whole bit. Okay?”
My eyes went a bit wide because I even heard Kurt’s stomach grumble.
“Lunch! Excellent idea. David. Gil. We are going for lunch, you coming?”
I stripped off my uniform, being momentarily in my boxers did not bother me as I pulled on my jeans. We could leave the kit where it was because we had the piste set up for the day.
As the four of us went back to the mansion I explained to Kurt that the school had a food menu app, you could request certain foods, within reason, and the kitchens would try to accommodate suggestions. “Danny, a new assistant chef, has really mastered the Yorkshire Pudding, a real weakness of mine,” I confided. My cuisine of choice, cliche that it is, was French.
When we were sat eating, I had settled for baked beans on toast as they had sourced some tins of Branston’s beans for me.
“What got me into fencing was growing up in a British stately home that was more of a cross between a museum and a mausoleum and having way too much free time on my hands. And I am not a champion I only competed on the Olympic pentathlon squad, neither I nor the team medalled. Sport was about the only thing I was any good at at school, still is actually. One of the teachers at one of the many schools I attended suggested pentathlon. I got to ride, shoot guns and play with a sword, what eleven year old agent of chaos could resist that? I am pleased you dad would be happy with you doing this? Is your mother okay with it? I understand she is here with you?”