10351/Bubble, Bubble, Toil and... Soup

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and... Soup
Date of Scene:	07 December 2019
Location:	Kitchen - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Chicken soup for the soul turns into talk of recent battles, holiday preparations, and friendships strengthened.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Samuel Morgan, Cannonball

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Nightingale has posed:
     It was a pretty dismal day outside, not fit for man or beast. Or Beast. But it was a perfect day for a large pot of the brew of the day. And who is performing such kitchen sorcery? Why, it's a wild Shannon, of course! She's got her hair tied back, with the exception of her little blue braid, and she's in a simple jeans, white t-shirt, and sneakers. And, by the smell of things--not to mention the tears streaming down her face--yep. You guessed it.

     Onions.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Neither rain nor snow, nor gloom of... well, day today, to be honest... will stay these brave adventurers from their path. Even if the path is slippery, mostly ice and being pelted by an Atlantic storm. Even despite the weather conditions, Bean had still insisted on the usual morning run, across the usual paths, as if the weather was simply a variable to be briefly considered rather than a cauldron of frozen hatred pelting from the sky in an attempt to freeze all life on the East Coast.

    The hot shower afterwards had been wonderful.

    But now it's well past breakfast time, and Bean is wandering the school. There's no classes next week, no structure, no... no lattice to structure his time. And so he's doing what many teens do, following his nose, towards the smells coming from the kitchen. "Mhmmm, onions."

Nightingale has posed:
     The morning run in question is exactly what prompted the mansion's resident winged healer to take to the kitchen once more, and whip up a pot of soup to warm many a heart, soul, and stomach from the winter's chill. With a swipe of the chef's knife across the cutting board as both are angled over the large soup pot, the onions are added to the brew. There are hints of a light, familiar, savory scent that evokes memories of healing and comfort. Could it be? Yes, it is! Chicken soup! With a sniffle and a laugh, she sets the implements back down on the counter island, and waves to Bean. "Hey there! It'll be about half an hour before the soup's done, but pull up a stool and take a load off!"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Don't mind if I do." Bean mentions as he sits, which is unusually verbose for him at this time of day. "Anything I can help with?" Sitting around and doing nothing? Not quite his style, even if there's nothing to be done.

    With a *bonk* the door opens again, and Bear shoulders his way in, following his own nose and coming to a polite sit next to Bean's chair. An affectionate pat and ruffling follows.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon laughs, and just shakes her head, checking to see if Bear has a vest on or anything to indicate he's in work mode. "If you could just keep an eye on that pot and stir it occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn, that'd be a huge help. I'll get these dishes cleaned up." She's chuckling as she heads on over to the sink with the cutting board, knife, and a plate that looks as if it had held some raw chicken. "Maybe the soup could do with a taste, see if the seasoning needs to be adjusted?"

Up to her elbows in suds in the space of a minute or two, she's humming away happily, ruffling her wings behind her. "Oh, you might want to watch out if you have to go to the Wellness Office at all. Kurt brought by five bamf's with him, and they put up mistletoe /everywhere/. Had poor Kurt complaining that they turned the offices into a make-out parlor. His words." She giggles madly and rolls her eyes at the thought.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Noted." is Bean's fairly dry reply, moving from his seat to the soup pot and looking at the soup in progress with an almost absurd focus. But he was to keep an eye on it, so keeping an eye he will. Both eyes, even, wooden spoon held at the ready to stir at precise intervals and at the first sign that it might even be contemplating thoughts of burning. No soup is going to get the drop on him...

    Bear doesn't seem to be wearing a vest, but has every indication of being very recently brushed, sporting just a bit more floof than his usual cuddly GSD self. And because his human is so very interested in this soup, of course so is the dog, hopping up on a stool so it can look with his jaw on Bean's shoulder.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking into the kitchen. He has been helping move furniture today and heads for the fridge to get a drink.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon chuckles softly as she glances back over her shoulder to see Bear. "I think you have a sous chef there, Bean." For a moment, she focuses on her task of cleaning up the dishes, the two working together in companionable silence. Life was good, it was a quiet day.

But, as the moments wear on, Shannon's humming fades, and so does the sound of her washing up. "You know," she muses, keeping her voice down somewhat. "I feel kind of bad even bringing up the protective ritual of a few weeks ago to Kurt. Just when the bamf's showed up too, it spooked me more than I thought it would. It looked like he felt horrible about the ones that attacked us, even though it wasn't his fault. Do you think there's any way to make it up to him a little?"

She turns as Sam comes in, waving to him a little; a few dollops of suds go flying as she does, landing on anyone or anything that happens to be in her immediate vicinity. "Hey there, big brother!"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I think the first thing we should do is never mention how we defeated them." Bean reaches back with his left hand to stroke Bear along the neck as he guards the soup from errant suds with his right, leaning the wooden spoon in the brew for a few moments. Reflexes, it's what saves what's for dinner. And then it's back to focusing on soup. The most modern of all witchcraft.

    "Afternoon Mister Guthrie. The train is getting along well, should have it ready for a test drive next week, if I can work with Forge for the tracks."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods to the two and makes sure he does not get too sudsy. "Oh Bean, is Bear trained to be around cats, Allegra has one and wanting to make sure he is going to be ok." He tells them, and opens his drink to take a sip. What you two up to?

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon scratches the back of her head. "Ummmmm... I sort of did, Bean. And I felt awful about having to take them on at all." She shrugs a little and smiles. "So I helped out the ones he brought with him put up some decorations. Shared a candy cane with one. It was actually pretty freaking cute. But still, want to make it up to him a little, you know?" Great. Just great. Now she has soap suds all up in her hair.

She smiles over at Sam and gives an up-nod towards Bean and the soup pot. "I was just making a little chicken soup, there were some veggies that needed to be used up. Figured it'd be just the thing on a dismal day like this. How's it going with you?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    A wince when Shannon tells Bean that she mentioned the tentacles that, as far as Bean could tell, came straight from the less reputable parts of hell itself. Never something to be mentioned lightly. "We'll have to think of something."

    Two taps along the rim of the pot with the spoon to make sure nothing drips, just so the spoon can be put down on the counter next to the stove, and Bean can turn to give Sam his attention. "He's not specifically trained for other animals. I mean, other service dogs, sure, he gets along great with Brad's, but... as far as the people who introduced us knew, there weren't any other pets in the school. But he's a pretty social creature, so as long as the cat doesn't hate him out of spite, it'll be alright."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and says "Ah don't think Warrior Joe will mess with him he seems a pretty smart cat. He will probably not be seen alot ah think he will spend a bit of time learning what the heck woods are and such for a bit. " He finds himself a seat. "Ok, Sam, been needing to talk to you, and having you both here might work. "What happened with you when Shannon brought bear home?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon blinks, and shakes her head. "No, I didn't mention those orange whip thingys. Just that we had to crack a few bamf skulls. That was bad enough. He did ask a pretty strange question about the whole thing, though." She turns to focus on the dishes for a moment while the two Sam's talk, and work out the particulars of Bear and Allegra's cat, and if they might or might not get along.

But it seems that's not meant to be. "Bear was here at the mansion when I got back, just to clarify. When I saw Bean, Bear was not with him."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bear gets a light tap to indicate it's time for him to get back onto the ground, and the shepherd hops down from the stool so Bean can sit. That way he can talk to Sam and still keep an eye on the soup. "Warrior Joe is a pretty epic name for a cat."

    And there it comes. The question. He'd been expecting it. Especially since speaking with a certain other member of staff unofficially. "As you know very well, Mister Guthrie, I'm not here like most other students. You all treat me like any other student, and I'm grateful for that, but the fact remains that I'm on parole, and that parole has conditions attached. One of those conditions is that I'm available as a consultant to any agency for any reason they deem fit. Late in the morning, two agents came by with an official request for my presence. Having no choice in the matter, I went with them, and they insisted I leave Bear here."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "Well we need to have some word about at least that your going with x person even if not where. We want to make sure your ok, and also not wanting to inspire others thinking that hey we should go disappear for a day or two."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon sighs a little bit, and looks a bit sheepish for her own part. "You'd think that going for a little bit of media-free reflection to a /cemetery/ that's got some pretty hefty protection on it would be safe enough. Sure didn't work out that way."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "There's not a lot of scope for me to ask questions or mention that I've got a history test later, or a book report due, Sam." Bean mentions, stirring the soup left-handed. "They come knocking, I drop everything and leave. That's the deal. If they think I'm stalling, or trying to wriggle out, they'll just not bring me back. Remember that's always still an option for these people."

    He nods over to Shannon. "They weren't sure what was going on, and we didn't even get to the briefing. We drove past the cemetery for a quick look at the grounds before I was going to be briefed on the situation, when the whole spell of hatred thing went off. In my defense, they tried to kill me first, and they're still alive today."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "Well, try to at least leave a message, and contact us when you can, we loose track of you it could be a bad thing."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon raises her eyebrows at Bean. "Okay, that part's news to me. Glad everyone got out alive, though." She shrugs, and smiles grimly. "That spell was kind of hard to shake off. But one thing I've been learning is to turn anger into something positive instead. Saw the way that Enchantress was being targeted, so it wasn't too hard to figure out that was the source of the spell. So, once she was distracted...."

There's an odd look of satisfaction on her face as she turns back to the sink, almost attacking the dishes. The demons of dirt and filth would be slain if it was the last thing she did! "Is it wrong to be just a tiny little bit proud that helping knock her out actually did some real good?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Noted. I'll set up a protocol that if this happens again, there's at least going to be a message with the administration." Bean leans over to taste the soup for a moment, turns his eyes up, and then goes back to talking. "I saw the flying drop kick, so I knew that part was in hand. And the Batmobile was parked next to a hole in the ground right by the tomb, so... always go where the action is."

    He turns back to Sam. "Unfortunately that action involved explosives. Someone had dug a tunnel right into Superman's tomb, and when I followed Batman down the tunnel, I could feel demolition charges being set. I warned the guy in the cheap knockoff power-suit behind me, but he kept on going while I sprinted for the exit. Next thing I know, the whole tunnel exploded just as I got clear."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods his head a bit to this and says "And what else happened with you being gone for a while?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon raises her eyebrows as she listens, intrigued by the answer. "Yeah, I'm kind of curious about that myself. You're gone for a while, then come back the next morning looking like you'd just crawled out of the grave. Which, by the sound of it, you kind of actually did."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Ah yes. That bit. For a moment, it looks like Bean is very, very reluctant to talk about it, but considering it's just Sam and Shannon (plus Bear, who doesn't snitch) in the room...

    "Imagine this. The dust has settled. Justice League has bundled all the weird and magical people into some kind of transport and taken them away. And there you are... having just crawled out of an exploding hole, after assaulting two federal agents who are, by the way, still unconscious in a crashed car owned by the government. One of them woke up, called in an emergency and... let's say I had explaining to do. Quite a bit of explaining. As in, just over twelve hours in an interrogation room level of explaining."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie hmms and says "By others of the same people who called you in, or local cops or what?" He hmms a bit and says "May need to talk to the people who are taking you in to get you come creditials for them to call, to get you out of things like that.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon frowns slightly as she listens; just what the hell had Bean gone through? Pushing away from the sink, she moves over to the stove, to pull him into a gentle hug, wings and all. The only thing she does to mind the soup is to turn off the burners; it should be done by now, and had been guarded very well, besides!

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Same Agency, they kept everything in house, they usually do. Homeland Sec-" Oof. Wing hug! Bean returns the hug with a chuckle and seems to lost the thread of his argument.

    "They knew who to call, Sam, they just didn't. Remember, as far as they were concerned, I was an enemy agent on parole that just assaulted two of their agents and blew up Superman's tomb. At that point, they don't care about point of contact. It's gonna happen again, Sam, it's just something I've come to accept. Best I can do is just do what they ask and stay out of trouble."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie frowns a bit and nods his head. He seems to be thinking but not really sure what to do to help the kid out

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon just holds Bean for a moment or two longer, then lets him go. "Don't know what else to do to help you out," she offers. "But if you do get called, I'll at least do my best to look after Bear. It'll be one less worry on your plate."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Thanks guys. But it really all depends on the agency that comes calling." Bean, at least, seems to be pragmatic about it. "Some of them are always going to be a bit less considerate than others. And I've only been called away twice in four months, so hopefully it's not going to be too frequent." But it might be. It just all depends who needs a pet Technopath for some kind of mission proposal. "Besides, next time agents come calling that absolutely just want me to sit in on a briefing, I'm insisting on taking Bear."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods his head a bit more to this and says "Well, I think I am going to look over the paperwork and make sure of a few things with your conditions

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Thank you Sam. I know you've got my back." And many other angles besides, most likely. Bean never gave it much thought. Any level of freedom was more than he was used to.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "I want you safe, and I want to know where you are both, I don't need to have al of the students out in different directions and not able to find them"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I can't promise you that I'll always be able to tell you where I'm going when these people come calling, Mister Guthrie." Bean states what he believes is the obvious, but figures that it needs to be said regardless. He is, after all, having this discussion with civilians, people who aren't familiar with the concepts of sudden deployment. "Or that they'll be willing to say."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods his head, and about this his phone beeps, and he looks down at it "I need to take this."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
Samuel nods. "Sure thing. Thanks for the talk." And that means Bear gets more of his attention, with a good scritch between the ears.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon is just serving out some soup for both gentlemen, making sure they get to partake before she has any herself. She perches on a stool at the center island, and nibbles on the savory stuff, sighing contently. "I kind of get what you're saying a little bit, Bean," she offers. "It's not like the Grim Reaper can always give my dad warning when his services are needed, either.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    There is nothing like a bowl of chicken soup to warm up. Especially not fresh, home made chicken soup... a treat for the senses. His guardianship of the soup pot over, Bean finds himself his usual seat and gets to eating. "Look, so far I've been lucky. But at some point, a PMO is going to walk through the front door and need my services. And I'm not going to be able to refuse."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon just looks at Bean in mild confusion, stirring her soup around in her bowl a bit. "Ummmm, okay. I know this is going to sound like a stupid question, but what's 'PMO'?" Her cheeks go slightly pink with embarrassment over her ignorance of what should probably be obvious to her.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Ah yes, of course. For a second there, Bean checks himself and wonders if it's a topic suitable for a bowl of delicious soup. But in the end, he has to answer the question... not to do so would be rude. "A paramilitary officer. It's a type of agent from an agency in this country that tends to go places they aren't welcome, to do things nobody is going to ever know about."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs and smiles. "Cool beans, Bean." And that was that, it was enough explanation for her. "As long as my bestie comes back, that's what I care about the most."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Now is clearly not the time to talk bout Colombia, or Nicaragua, or the Gulf, or the Straits... So Bean just nods and smiles, feeling slightly false for not telling his friend the whole truth. "I'll always try my best to come back."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly and smiles, tucking into her soup with a sigh of contentment. "I know you will. It's all any of us can do when we're out there, really. Sam had that talk with me the night of the mutant rights protest. Right before asking me to join the team, actually. We can all try our best, but people do get hurt out there, and sometimes they don't come back. Still... knowing you'll do your best, that's all I can ask."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    And sometimes they're not supposed to. But Bean smiles and eats his soup, with every sign of enjoyment. "You'll love the train I'm building, by the way. Should have enough space and power to seat six students at a time."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon laughs, and grins, a definite twinkle in her eyes at the mention of Christmas preparations. "Looking forward to seeing how that comes out. Oh... when are we going to get everyone outside picking greens for garlands and wreaths? That'll have to be done pretty soon, because all that will take a few good days to make."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Ooh, that's a good question." And one that Bean hadn't thought about. His own preparations have all been of the technical kind. "But it'll have to be soon considering how the weather is turning. Talk to Miss Munroe? She seems like she would be in charge of that."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs, and smiles. "Going out on a hike to gather greens? I was talking to Mr. Rasputin about that. I could ask Miss Munroe, if I see her, but any of the teachers could go out there with us, really." Now she gets a huge grin on her face, and giggles softly. "Best part of the whole thing? We get to come back in to gorge ourselves on cocoa and cookies afterwards!"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    That stops Bean from eating for a moment, frowning just a little. "You know... it seems to me that half of the activities people are planning involve going outside, and then coming back in to remind themselves of what it's like when they're not outside, while complaining about how much they don't like going outside in this kind of weather..."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon laughs, and shakes her head. "I wasn't complaining about going out in this weather. Hell, I have fun with it. If someone else doesn't, well, then that's their loss, isn't it?"