12262/New Mutants 785.5 Tabitha Barr's First Appearance Special Holo Cover

New Mutants 785.5 Tabitha Barr's First Appearance Special Holo Cover
Date of Scene:	29 September 2020
Location:	Maine
Synopsis:	Sam and Dazzler pick up Tabitha for the school.
Cast of Characters:	Cannonball, Dazzler, SpyderByte, Nightingale, Siphon

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Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie was told there was a new possible student that needed to be checked out and to take Allison and a couple of the current students with him. He called Shannon and Jeremy to come along with him. He told them to dress casual nice as they may have to deal with some government agencies, and made sure Shannon brought her inducer. Once the plane has set down, Sam took them in to get a rental car, and headed towards the area where the ping showed up. He looks over to the younger students "You have been on a couple of these now Shannon, but this is your first new contact right Jeremy?"

Dazzler has posed:
Alison Blaire shows up wearing a leather jacket (with the Dazzler starburst logo on the back), nice jeans over boots, and a white blouse with frills on the collar and buttons. Hair is long and natural, her makeup tasteful... no dyes, sparkles, spandex, or stage paint. She's wearing earbuds for a music player, which can occasionally be heard in the background. "Do we know anything about this one, Sam?"

SpyderByte has posed:
The young Gothic technopath that is Jeremy is dressed in a pair of black jeans, a long sleeved black shirt with a Smashing Pumpkins Zero logo on the chest, and a dog collar around his throat. His oversized hoodie is on as well, with the hood pulled up and over his head to reveal a shock of purple colored bangs that blends into his black hair. In his hands he holds his communication device that he squeezes. His voice comes through the speakers.

<< I have made contact before with many, but not in person. I am currently deleting multiple social media accounts and messages in which they seek to harass her. Tabitha Barr. Kids are so mean. >>

That much he knows very well. If only his device can emote through the speakers. << I have found her social media pages but she is not updating them frequently. I can see why. Some people who responded to her last picture of a salad was really cruel. I'm just going to remove those. >>

There is a low mutter under his breath as he gives a visible twitches in his hands as he glances subtly down towards the glowing screen of his device. << Bye. You too. See you later. >>

Nightingale has posed:
     With her image inducer turned on to hide her wings, Shannon looked like any other teenager. Nothing special about her, nothing unusual--unless one counts the thin ice-blue blue braid dangling by the left side of her face. She's dressed in a wine-colored turtleneck, dark blue jeans, and her favorite calf length caramel suede boots. Her little brown leather bag is tied to a belt loop, and she carries a well-loved book of staff paper and a pencil with her. Every so often, she hums a little bit, jotting down a few notations on the staff. A chord here, a note there, snippets of melody beginning to take shape.

     "A few now," she replies to Sam, smiling lightly. She glances over at Jeremy, the smile widening just a wee bit; he had come so far in the time since, alongside Jean and Ms. Braddock, she had gone to find the Goth technopath. "I'm actually loving these trips. It's great to be able to give back the same chance I was given."

     Each mention of social media hell erased earns a smirk from the young healer in training. "Ha. You go get 'em, Jer. Lil' sum'beaches."

Siphon has posed:
    Bar Harbor, Maine is one of those coatal fishing towns that could almost be dropped into any point in US history and only really change a bit in size or decorum. Businesses are about a 70/30 split betweek fishing and tourism and the architecture is coast colonial even in the newer (late 20th century) buildings. The Bar Harbor Orphan's Home started out long ago as one of those types of houses, but has had wings and outbuildings and extra floors added on organicaly over time (often with little regard to sense or asthetics). It's situated on a coastal outcropping and its yard is full of the barely organized chaos found anywhere that holds large numbers of children. An old 1990's school bus sits next to a newer minivan and a sedan that should just be labeled 'government fleet car'.

    What might be the house's entire youth population are sitting in a group under an ancient cedar at the edge of the rocky beach. While a few of the youngest are in their own toddler worlds, most are listening to the guitar music being played by a presumably older girl in a faded colorless jeans, hoodie, fisherman's watch cap... and black lace gloves under leather fingerless gloves with a black lace full veil tucked under the watch cap. She's playing on a doubleneck guitar/bass that seems fourth or fifth hand but is in perfect tune.
    Two adults are watching over things from the patio. An prim looking older woman and a man whose head is even with the woman's even though he's sitting. They look up as the rental pulls up, but otherwise remain in the shade.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will park the SUV, and climbs out of the drivers seat. He is wearing black dress pants and a purple button up with the school's logo on the pocket. He waits for the others to get out, looking around. He does glance down at what most might think is his phone, but is a min cerbro unit to see what it is reading. Once he has the group gathered he starts leading them towards the adults. He offers them a smile, and as he is within speech distance, he will say "Pardon me, but I was wondering if you could tell me where to find a Miss Porter, Ah am with the Xavier School, Ah believe our headmistress sent word that we were coming to speak with her.

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler gets out of the passenger side front, having claimed the 'shotgun' seat. She lets Sam do the talking, stepping over instead towards the girl with the guitar. Hands stuffed into her jacket pockets, she flashes a warm smile and offers. "Sweet guitar." Is Alison recognizable in her more famous role? Only to the truly devoted fans, most likely.

SpyderByte has posed:
After climbing out of the car, Jeremy shuffles along behind the group like a skittish puppy. At the sight of the others gathered and the large orphanage, he presses his lips together tightly for a moment, then swallows down his own throat. He knows what it's like to be abandoned by his family, though at least from this angle it appears they're being taken care of.

The Goth reaches up to draw down his hoodie, followed by a ruffling of his painted hair so that it falls in front of his face. With Sam and Alison taking the lead in conversation, he just quietly monitors, reaching out with his powers to connect himself to any network that the house may have, any device that is in someone's hands. He'll just .. sponge .. everything, though his intent is to dig around in their files to try and find what they have on Tabitha. He'll glance down towards his phone, then around the area as his eyes look up and down, staring at data streams.

Nightingale has posed:
     While the song is unfamiliar to Shannon, the chord progression seems easy enough to follow. Simple, poignant lyrics pair with a haunting melody to create eddies and swirls of emotion within each listener. She closes her eyes, canting her head slightly to one side as she listens, drawn by the music as surely as a moth to a flame, to stand near Dazzler. Softly, she begins to hum along, adding a light harmony in her silky alto voice.

     For now, there are no words--just the music, pure and simple.

Siphon has posed:
    At the patio the older woman nods to Samuel's greeting as the man stands up. And up. And up until he's at his full likely 8-foot height. She offers a tight but genuine smile. "I am Cynthia Porter. Thank you for coming in person. You made excellent time." She gestures to the man, "This is Nathaniel King, one of the house caretakers. You are here to evaluate our Tabitha for your school, yes?" The man doesn't speak just yet, only offering a guarded nod.

    Over at the tree, when Alison speaks up at the end of the girl's song, all of the kids but the youngest pause briefly to look over at her. Then they shift their collective gazes to the other new arrivals in turn then back to the girl. Having strangers show up isn't anything new, and since no one's calling them to gather for 'inspection' then their curiosity mostly goes away.

    The girl in the mismatched clothes can be seen to smile behind her veil at Alison's compliment. "Thank you. It's a 1988 Gibson I found at a yard sale. Been coaxing it back to health since." She doesn't give any outward indication that she recognizes Alison, but she is clearly more attentive about the visitors than the others since she knows who they're here for.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie watches the tall man stand and nods to both him and the woman . "Yes, Ah am Samuel Guthrie, this is Miss Alison Blair, and two of our students Shannon and Jeremy." He says introducing the group. "We would like to talk to Miss Barr, and see if we might be able to help her and how well she would fit in with our school. We have found bringing a couple of the current students with us to talk to possible new students often helps them make the change in location a bit easier, as often they will talk to them about concerns before they will the staff.

Dazzler has posed:
Alison shifts to give Shan a brush with her shoulder, flashing that bright smile as well. When she's introduced, Alison offers a finger-wave to the adults on the porch. Her attention is half-split between them and the singer, naturally enough, especially when the vintage guitar is mentioned. And then she replies to the girl. "Good to see an appreciation for vintage instruments. And you play really well."

SpyderByte has posed:
As the man stands, Jeremy's neck tilts upwards, and upwards, then slowly blinks. He finds himself taking a step back and shuffling behind Sam some and peeking out around him. He gives another glance down at his phone, instantly researching the name of that man and looking to triangulate it with location. His height would stand out. He pulls his device closer to him so that he can squint his eyes, making a show of tapping along the glass with his thumbs even though he doesn't need to.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon smiles warmly at Tabitha, opening her pale azure eyes as the song ends. "That was really beautiful," she says. "Is it one you wrote?" She glances over at Dazzler, flicking one brow upwards in surprise at the shoulder bump. Her smile, though, brightens just a touch in response. She, too, offers a wave to the adults on the porch, before turning back to Tabitha. "A Gibson? Nice! I've got a slightly older Yamaha acoustic, but I also need a whole lot more practice."

     Glancing back at Jeremy, she just gives a knowing smile. Oh, yes. She'd seen him in action enough times to know that if there were any secrets in this facility, they would not remain hidden for very long at all. He was just that good.

Siphon has posed:
    "Thank you. I was lucky to find it, even though it was barely a paperweight at the time." Tabitha's vocal tone is carefully neutral with just enough 'up' so she can't be called out for rudeness by any adults. She nods at Shannon's question about the song. "Yes, it's one of mine."

    "That seems like a very sensible approach to things," is Ms. Porter's response to Sam's explanation. "We have an area for first meetings in the south wing." She gestures to a section of the building that's attached via a short breezeway and is meant to be just separate enough for the children to feel safe while meeting prospective adoptive parents. She then turns towards the gathering of children to get Tabitha's attention with a brief 'come over here' gesture.

    The gesture is clearly noticed to all the kids, as they start to break away from their concert gathering into smaller groups. A couple of them pass close enough by Tabitha to briefly give her hand a squeeze. Her hands detune the doubleneck out of reflex then she stands and hands it from her shoulder. When she's standing up the guitar is more than half as tall as she is. "Looks like Ms. Porter is calling me over to the Meeting House." She looks from Alison to Shannon and then to Sam and Jeremy. "I'm Tabitha. You must be the admissions committee from New York?" She nods to the building and starts to head in its direction.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to the adults, and says "Ah can come with you and we can go over paper work, and make sure all the things are where they need to be while Miss, Blaire and the kids talk to Tabitha, and make sure she feels comfortable with going before all the paper work gets the final signatures. It seems Miss Blair and Shannon are already starting to talk with her." He turns and says "Jeremy, you can go with the girls, I got this." He gives the young goth a way to put more distance between him and the giant.

SpyderByte has posed:
There is a small 'nod-nod' from Jeremy to Sam as he turns his attention towards Tabitha. He offers her up a quick smile, followed by reaching up to shyly give a tug at his dog collar around his neck. He definitely does not fit the ideal welcome committe type of person. He shuffles in closer to Shannon next, fiddling with his phone as he stares down at his feet. He'll just keep working for now, letting the ladies have a chance to talk, or at least speak for him.

Dazzler has posed:
Alison lifts a blonde brow, the smile becoming more knowing as the guitarist is the one selected for the conversation. "I'm Alison." she replies, walking along with the group. "And 'Admissions Committee' is kind of formal, but yes, that's why we're here." she replies. "I'm not really a formal person, myself."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Nice!" Shannon smiles brightly at that, falling into step near Alison and Tabitha, but hanging back a bit to walk a little closer to Jeremy. "Maybe we could both play sometime. I play some piano and write a bit of music, too." With introductions made by the adults, she falls silent, with Dazzler taking point on this one.

Siphon has posed:
    "That sounds like a workable plan," is Cynthia's response as the girls approach. Nathan remains quiet although he does gesture to where Sam should point his steps to reach the office. Tabitha stops in front of Ms. Porter long enough to receive a soft pat on the shoulder and a wordless glance at the girl's veil.

    "I know. Hats /and/ veils off inside," is Tabitha's response. She watches the adults lead Sam off to the office, then turns to lead the others to the entrance of the Meeting House. While she maintains a studiously polite front there is an edge of fear as the group enters what proves to be a fairly cozy room furnished as an efficiency apartment. "I think there's a fridge with drinks and stuff around that wall." She's looking around as if she's never been inside this part of the house before. And while she's sort of tugging at her watch cap and veil she hasn't pulled them off yet.

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler is also quite content to leave the business side of this to Sam and the others. Once the other 'adults' are gone, Alison flashes Tabitha a wry smile and offers. "Don't feel you need to lose the cap on MY account." The blonde does reach into the fridge, however, and rummage around. "You two want anything? There's a lot of soda here." She picks a diet soda for herself. "Shannon's great on piano and she's a pretty good singer. I'm something of a musician myself." she offers.

SpyderByte has posed:
Lifting a hand upwards, Jeremy gives a small wave towards Tabitha, then sinks himself down into a seat. He eases back some, then pulls his phone closer as he taps along the glass. He's obviously a boy of many words, in the way that he hasn't said a single one yet. He just seems to be the skittish type as he glances at the others at times, though most of his focus is on his device in his hands. At the offer of something to drink, he gives a small thumbs up to Dazzler. Yes please.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Bah. Not all that great. Could be better." Shannon turns a bit rosy in the face, chagrined by any compliment to her playing or singing whatsoever--let alone by someone as illustrious as Dazzler. "Never really thought you saw." She's floored into silence, only accepting a soda and stepping back with a smile of thanks. Root beer, anyone?

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha only fidgets with her cap and veil for a few more seconds, shrugging as Alison mentions not needing to take it off. "House manners. And, well... if I'm going to this school I'll have to take it off sometime, yeah?" There are several hitches in her voice as she shows strangers her face with its almost albino pale skin and mostly black eyes with metalic copper irises. Her hair is the same metalic copper save for the thick onyx black part at her left temple.

    She latches onto the music talk as something familiar to use an anchor while waiting for judgements. "I play a lot of instruments. Anything I could get the band teacher to let me try, really. But I only really get to practice with the house piano and The Twins." She pats the doubleneck hanging from her back. Shannon gets a bit of a smile, "If I get in, I'd like to jam with you." Alison gets her attention next. "Are you a teacher? What kind of music do you do?" Then she shifts her focus to Jeremy. "Are you a drummer?" Because he looks like a drummer to her, maybe?

Dazzler has posed:
Alison fishes out drinks and closes the fridge again before opening her diet soda. "Shannon, I teach Contemporary Music. When people play or sing in the halls, I notice." she offers. Her head tilts, then, and she offers Tabitha a wry smile. "I play guitar, piano, and a few other instruments. And I sing, too. Mostly classic rock, but I've done some pop music as well."

SpyderByte has posed:
There is a brief shake of the head from Jeremy as he is asked the question. His cheeks flush for a moment before he blows some purple tipped hair away from his face. He looks over to Shannon for a moment, before he looks to Tabitha. His thumbs tap along the glass of his phone, then his voice can be heard from the speakers. They are still a bit tinny.

<< Hello. I am Jeremy. I do not play instruments. But, I like music. I like The Midnight and I like FM 84. >>

He gives his phone another squeeze, then glances back down towards his worn sneakers as he gives them a wiggle.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon smiles at Tabitha, nodding and raising her root beer in salute. "Sounds like fun. Ever try jamming some blues-type music? Miss Blaire forgot to mention I play flute, too. And compose some." She can, however, see how uncomfortable the young woman seems in removing her hat and veil, almost moving to stop her. But it's a little late, and she says nothing for a moment. "Wow. You're really pretty" She tries to make her smile as reassuring as possible before continuing. "When you get into the school, well... I've never heard of them making anyone take off a veil if they're really uncomfortable with it." This was one time she regretted having to have the image inducer on, but knowing this particular part of New England, as conservative as it tended to be, it paid to be cautious.

     Glancing back at Alison, she simply nods, shrugging and smiling. For now, the subject seems to be dropped, but only for the moment, as her cheeks do deepen a shade or two. "Is it something you've ever given yourself the chance to try, Jer? Who knows, you might actually turn out to be pretty good."

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha glances from Jeremy's face to his phone and back a couple times as the boy talks through it. "Hi, Jeremy. Good to meet you." She nods to Alison's comments about her own music, then Shannon's compliment catches her off guard. Not that she said it, but even to Tabitha's 'orphan's optimism' ears it sounded genuine. She's still holding her veil and watch cap in her hands. The watch cap gets squeezed nervously but the veil she's careful not to crease or wrinkle. While Shannon is asking Jeremy about music she seems to get a bit smaller than she already is. There is an edge of tight concentration in her black eyes and she says something very softly, stops halfway, then says it loud enough to be heard. "Even if the veil or what's under it wouldn't be an issue at your school... there's my... other problem."

Dazzler has posed:
Alison catches the soft comment, her hearing being -quite- clear. She smiles a little. "You'll find, Tabitha, that Xavier's is low on judgement and high on opportunity." Her gaze shifts to Shannon and then to Jeremy before returning to the new girl. In a lower voice she adds. "Everyone has their own gifts. It really comes down to what YOU choose to do with them that matters. But these are things we can talk about more openly at another time."

SpyderByte has posed:
Giving a shake of his head, Jeremy offers Shannon a smile, then taps his wrists gently with his fingers.

<< Carpaltunnels. >>

He looks over to Tabitha next curiously, then offers her up another smile as he nods in agreement with Alison.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods slowly as she looks at Jeremy, reaching out to gently touch his wrists for a moment. "You could see Josh about that, you know. Maybe see if there's anything he can do to help."

     Glancing between Alison and Tabitha, the young woman nods, her little blue braid bobbing and swaying gently, the three little silver beads glittering in the ambient light. "Miss Blaire's right. They're pretty low on judgement at the school. Maybe when we can talk a little bit more openly about it, we can tell you why. She's also right... it's about what you choose to do with your gifts. For me, it's healing, and music. I'm hoping to start studying for the state EMT exam a little after the New Year. Everyone has their strengths." She pauses, tilting her head, brows furrowed with concern. Her voice drops a little bit, going soft and very gentle. "What other problem? Though you don't have to say now if you don't want. We'd get it."

Siphon has posed:
    Alison's remark about lack of judgement at Xaviers causes Tabitha to look at her in a confused/disbelieving manner. As if the idea of anywhere not judging her is a foreign concept. Then when Alison and Shannon both talk about gifts and Jeremy seems to be agreeing with them, "Gifts? I'd hardly call my issue that. More the oppos.. wait." She stares at Shannon. "You said 'healing'. 'Healing' not 'medicine'." Another of those thoughtful 'orphan's optimism' expressions and she seems to come to a decision. "Maybe this thing will turn out to be more than a place to hide until I'm eighteen. But if we have to fly back, I'll need some hot tea to calm down with if we don't want to risk falling from the sky."