10097/The Tao of Taleggio

From United Heroes MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Tao of Taleggio
Date of Scene: 19 November 2019
Location: Kitchen - Xavier's School
Synopsis: The wisdom of the mother of all comfort foods is explored and shared amongst friends and family. Life, happiness, holidays, and the wisdom of seeking help are discussed, with a sprinkling of play-boxing as well!
Cast of Characters: Nightingale, Samuel Morgan, Colossus, Cannonball, Dazzler




Nightingale has posed:
     There is something to be said for the wisdom in indulging in the mother of all comfort foods. With the Tao of Taleggio in mind --or, at the very least, a blend of colby-jack and cheddar--a familiar winged figure has returned to her accustomed place in the kitchen, just sliding a pan of ooey, gooey, bubbly breadcrumb-festooned goodness into the oven, and shutting the door. She sighs softly, but at least is both smiling somewhat, plus... not molting! Now, for the task of cleanup....

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    What stirs in the house, summoned when pasta and cheese are combined? Truth be told a great many, but almost like clockwork Bean manages to find his way into the kitchen. Engrossed in a tablet with study materials, it's only Bear that stops the teenager from running into the furniture or taking a wrong turn. It is, indeed, the German Shepherd that ends the waking rumination, by coming to sit in front of Bean and stopping him from going any further. Good thing too, because another two steps and he would have walked straight into one of the kitchen stools. The abrupt stop tears him from his hyperfocus, and he looks around, momentarily confused. Certain details hint as to the presence of other people, such as their physical presence, and the possibility that food is being prepared. Ergo, he is in the kitchen. Another case solved, my dear Watson.

    "Oh, hi Shannon. How've you been?"

Colossus has posed:
Colossus comes down the stairs and makes his way towards the kitchen, having every intention of making the very dish in question. He ducks in, slightly oversized for the doorways here and smiles as he finds Shannon and Samuel in their usual places around the manor.
A
"I should have anticipated that someone would be already cooking here. And I should have anticipated that it would be you, Shannon," he says, taking a seat at the table and nodding, "Hello, Bean." he says, still getting used to using the boy's nickname.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking in with a whole passel of grocery bags. He has to large carabiners to hold them. He will look around and says "Ok, got most of what we were getting low on Ah think."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon knows all too well that when one pan of mac 'n cheese is made, it's never enough, for often it lures a wild Bean and other inhabitants of the mansion by dint of its heavenly, savory aroma alone. Sure enough, when Mr. Rasputin makes his appearance as well, she just shakes her head and laughs. There may still be circles under her eyes, but fewer shadows within them at least. And when Sam shows up, well, that cinches it. "Ha. I might have known making those extra pans was a good idea. Need a hand with that, big brother?" All three are offered a hug in turn, as she is en route to assisting Sam with unloading the groceries.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Mister Rasputin." Bean nods to return the greeting. The nickname was, by now, second nature to him, much like his other nicknames used to feel entirely natural before coming to the school. A code name is a code name. But dilemma... to accept Shannon's hug or help Sam out with the groceries? Por que no los dos? The hug is therefore, by necessity, somewhat brief, but only so he can then hurry over and reach for half of those bags. "At some point it's more efficient to just organise a human chain to carry those in, you know?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles a bit and says "Oh this is just a medium shopping spree if it was a full fledge one would have a dolly or something to carry everything in. It was more Just capping things off." he does accept hug and help getting stuff in from the station wagon.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon carries in about three or four bags from the station wagon, whereas two might have presented a bit of a challenge when she first arrived. "Good thing, too, with the holidays nearly here!" She plops them down on the counter, taking a moment to make sure that the contents on the top of each bag don't tip out. "Finally had a chance to talk to Kitty again," she offers, both to the Sam-twins, and to Colossus as well. What could it hurt? All three had heard of the same difficulty, so perhaps this might set their minds at ease a bit. "Let her know what's been going on with me for the past few days."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Good." And Bean leaves it at that, carrying several bags in each hand. He's by no means as strong as some people in the school, but is not known to skimp on training and seems to have very little difficulty lifting a rather impressive amount of weight. Bear runs alongside, intrigued by this new activity, clearing the way by running back and forth to make sure nobody wanders in front of the grocery procession. "You know, until just now, I hadn't appreciated just how much food is being eaten in this school."

Colossus has posed:
Colossus gets some groceries as well. He'd have carried more if not for Shannon's alacrity, the helpful girl always one step ahead when it comes to doing for others, it seems. At her words, he nods, "I hope she was of help," he says. He helps to put some of the groceries away, his great size making it easier to reach the top shelves

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will start sorting fridge stuff, pantry stuff, and cabinet stuff. "So Piotr how are you doing, aint had much chance to talk to you since you got back in.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles some at Bean. "You can stand down now. I did ask for help. Kitty's setting me up to see someone." She calls out to Sam, chuckling. "How he's doing is having the unmitigated gall to put down his singing voice when it comes to Christmas carols! I couldn't believe my ears, because it's simply /not/ true... he sings quite well, thank you very much! And as for you, big brother... Bean..." She pokes all three gentlemen in the yarm, chuckling. "Don't let me hear you put yourselves down, okay?"

Colossus has posed:
Colossus blushes a bit and runs a hand through his hair, "You are very kind, Shannon," he says softly. He finishes putting things away, "I do enjoy the carolling, very much. I'm sure we will do well when we make the rounds come December," he says.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smirks a bit over at Shannon and says "Gonna pinch us?" He asks in a teasing tone "Well you know you need anything let me know and I am there." He hmms a bit and says "Piotr you ever do requests with your paintings?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "I'm'a do more than pinch you... I'm'a gonna kick your behinds!" Shannon waggles a finger playfully at them, spreading her wings in a mock-threatening manner. However, the mischievous twinkle in her eyes and the lilt in her voice bordering on laughter gives her away as just messing with them.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Shaking his head at the shenanigans, but smiling as he does, Bean hands things to Piotr to put away on the top shelves. "I'll skip on the caroling, thank you. I'll have a hand at that miniature train around the school though. How many do we need it to carry at a time? Four? Six?"

Dazzler has posed:
Into this rather domestic scene walks one not very domestic sort. Dazzler has her cellphone in her hand, and her attention seems to be fairly well fixed on it and no on who or what is around her.

Colossus has posed:
Colossus smiles to Bean, "I am more than capable of carrying it m yself, but it might be helpful to have additional hands to help maneuver it through narrow spaces. I am working on getting it repainted and refurbished," he says. "And you are welcome to try and kick my behind Shannon, but I would not recommend it. You might break a toe."

He cocks his head at Cannonball, a querulous expression on his face, "I don't know if I've ever had anyone ask. I suppose I might."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and says "Ah was wondering if you might be willing to do something that has the look of an British country side, or maybe an Italian winery scene, Ah can pay for it if ya want, was thinking as a present for Alexis." He will tell them as he is putting things in the fridge. He looks over and says "Hey Alison" As she comes into the room.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grins at Colossus. "You forget, I have two advantages you don't. One on the left, one on the right." As she says this, she extends first one wing, then the other, fluttering them a bit before tucking them back in behind herself. "Come to think of it, I wonder if a dive-bomb would work on you, if I was able to knock down a smaller Sentinel with it."

The interchange between Colossus and Sam gets a cheeky little grin from her, and to Sam, she makes silly little kissy noises. "Oooooo, I think I know who you want a portrait of!" Oh yes, she's loving this whole 'tease the big brother at every given opportunity' thing!

In the midst of this banter, however, she turns about and nearly runs smack into Dazzler. "Ooof! Sorry about that... you okay?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    There is a slight pause. Bean translates the last two phrases that passed between himself and Piotr in two different languages to make sure he parsed the meaning correctly, and then has to do a mental reverse to arrive at the disparity. "Oh. No... no, I mean the miniature train that's supposed to run around the school, not the miniature train set..." Let's try this again. "The actual miniature train that's going to carry students, around the school, not the miniature set containing a miniature train." Clear as crystal, right? "Although I'm happy to help with that too."

    Running out of things to hand over, he reaches for the next bag to be unloaded and so catching sight of Dazzler a mere moment before Bear does. The Shepherd traipses over to sit between Bean and Alison, not knowing who this person is and so automatically marking out the boy's personal space. On the phone, a message 'Impact Warning' will appear, with an arrow pointing at Shannon.

Dazzler has posed:
"Hey, Sam." Dazzler returns in greeting, not looking up from her phone despite the hello being received and returned. It's not until the message flashes on the phone, and she nearly runs into Shannon that she comes to a stop, and actually looks up.

There is a flicker of surprise to be greeted with a full room, then she smoothes out her features to give everyone a smile, "Well hello." The tail end of the portrait talk is heard, and she asks, "Who is getting painted like one of Jack's French girls?"

Colossus has posed:
Colossus shakes his head, "I do not know Jack," he says to Dazzler, then nods to Cannonball, "I would be more than happy to try. No need for compensation, it would be a worthwhile exercise. And I am always happy to be in service of Sir Cupid," he says.

To Bean, he nods, "Ah, I see, a misunderstanding there. I'm sure you can be of great help in either case. I could use smaller hands to help paint the little villagers," he says.

To Shannon, he playfully puts up his dukes, "Careful, devushka, do not make me use my organic steel form. I would not like to pummel you," he says, emphasizing his accent in his best Drago from Rocky.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to Samuel, and says "He could carry both the people mover and the miniture, heck he could carry a real one if he set his mind to it, he could carry a normal sized one. I think Sam is willing to help with both the mini and the people carrier. He would be real useful, making sure all the electronics and such work so we aint sending kids around the school at bullet train speeds." He jokes, and looks over to Shannon "Yup for Alexis, and to Dazzler "If anyone is painting her like that would be trying it myself not looking to get someone else to do the job.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grins a little sheepishly at Dazzler, stepping back. "Hey there. Oh, we're debating on if it's going to be a landscape or Sam's ladyfriend who will be painted. I'd say both." She giggles and grins at Sam, waggling her eyebrows.

Turning back to Colossus, she actually puts up her dukes as well, doing a fairly decent job of covering her torso and face, and taking up a decent fighting stance. Okay, so neither one is perfect. But, giggling, she does take a mock jab at him, without actually connecting. "You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    When fists go up, Bean takes a step away from the counter, putting his hands behind his back. Bear comes to sit so close that he's practically on the boy's shoes, and looks up with a soft 'whurf' of what might be inquiry or reassurance. And so Bean kneels down and hugs the Shepherd, until that long jaw is resting on his right shoulder. "I know, I know. It's only pretend."

    So, other topic, and quickly. "I've got an idea for the shell of the train, it's not too hard with the equipment we have in the garage. But yeah, let's avoid turning the Weihnacht Zug into a bullet train or a rail gun."

Dazzler has posed:
"You..." Dazzler looks stunned. Stunned! "We are going to have to watch that movie then, because you honestly should know who Jack is. It is a very, very important cultural icon."

The cellphone gets tucked away in her backpocket before she shakes her head, offering Sam a nod, "Of course. Of course." Because why wouldn't he be? She offers Shannon a wink, then begins to step around everyone on her way to her original destination, the fridge to dig herself out a small container of yogurt.

Colossus has posed:
Colossus nods, "I will watch whatever movie you like!" he says to Dazzler, although he's a little distracted with his face-off against Shannon. But then he slowly settles down and relaxes his hands, "I confess, I am e ntirely intimidated and must yield to you in my shame. Truly, you are the mighty one and I am but a small woodland creature," he says.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "I got a feeling if you tried the dive bomb kick on him would be similar to what happened out in the yard but better for him than you." He tells Shannon. "Hope you get to meet her sometime soon Alison, she is a musican.""

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon giggles. "Says he who has to duck through a doorway. But I graciously accept your surrender, on the condition that you agree to add your voice to the caroling this season." She makes a grand show of drawing herself up as tall and straight as she can--but still a fair bit smaller than her most worthy opponent.

This show is utterly demolished by further giggling and she turns to Sam. "Huh. Probably so, but still... might be an interesting exercise sometime. I'd probably get my toosh handed to me by either one of you, anyways."

Just then, the oven timer goes off, and she's scrambling to get the trivets and oven mitts, turning off the oven and pulling out three pans full of mac 'n cheese. She's equally as quick to get out of the way once silverware, plates, and a couple serving spoons are set out, grinning and humming the Jaws theme.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The oven! It is... it about to... Bean glances at it before it lets anyone know that the goodness within is nearly done, quickly getting a stack of plates and cutlery, expertly placing settings on the kitchen island for the hungry who may soon help themselves to the communal pans of deliciousness. "Get it while it's hot..." as if it's going to get a chance to cool down...

Dazzler has posed:
"Perfect. We'll watch it sometime this week, then." Dazzler offers Colossus a bright smile before she grabs herself a spoon, then she moves out of the way of Shannon and her mac and cheese. The lid of the yogurt is peeled off, and tossed into the trash before she nods to Sam, "Let me know next time she's around, then. I'd love to officially meet her."

The spoon in her hand is tucked into her mouth before she goes on a search for a pen and slip of paper, which kitchens always have for grocery list making, right? She scrawls something quickly on the paper before she folds it, moving to offer it to Colossus, "Call me. Gentlemen, lady...I bid you all adieu."

Colossus has posed:
Colossus nods to Shannon, "Perhaps we should get in some Danger Room practice sometime. Just for amusement," he says.

He quickly moves to get his portion of mac and cheese, trying to leave enough for others but hungry enough to know he's going to need a Colossus-sized portion.

He takes the paper from Dazzler and gets out his phone, moving to program the number in. This may take a moment. He's not exactly spectacular with electronics or small buttons.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will move to get himself some mac and cheese also, and "I will see what Ah can set up, have actually thought about seeing if she might want to work here as your assistant." He tells Dazzler since she is the music teacher.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Sounds like I'll finally be able to get some guitar classes then." Bean smiles as he helps himself to the pasta perfection, a more than decent portion for a slightly above average appetite.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles at Dazzler and waves, still keeping well away from the feeding frenzy for the moment. But she raises her eyebrows at both Dazzler and Sam for a moment. "Wait, so you're the music teacher here? Neat!" She squirms a little, getting a little fidgety and ducking her head. That class just got a whole lot more intimidating, with a teacher of that caliber. How could she possibly ever measure up?

She does seem to take heart, though, in the distraction from her self-depreciating musings at Colossus' suggestion of Danger Room practice. "That could be fun. I'd be curious to see what you have in mind. When would you want to do that?"

Bean's appreciation of the mac 'n cheese gets a soft chuckle from her, and she hums a familiar tune--'Sweet Dreams'. However, there's that mischievous little twinkle to her eyes, that song forever transformed in her mind.

Dazzler has posed:
There is a wordless pointing with her spoon at Sam, possibly some form of agreement about assistants. Then Bean gets a nod, and another point, "Yes." And then another, "Yes." is given to Shannon about being the music teacher.

Once more the directive to call her is given, then Alison exits the kitchen. Stage right.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and says "Alison is a good person, and Ah am sure you both will enjoy working with her.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "You don't get it, Sam, you just don't get it. There is no freaking way I can measure up to someone of her talent, even if I don't scare the birds from the trees!" A bit agitated, now it's her turn to take advantage of the feeding frenzy, and get a plate of golden, gooey goodness for a more pleasant focus.

Colossus has posed:
Colossus eats rather copiously, large spoonfuls washed down with glasses of milk. That's a lot of dairy, but apparently he handles it well enough. He did grow up on a farm, after all.

"Measuring yourself against others can be good for encouragement, but you cannot let it hold you back. Another person's talent is not a mark against your own abilities."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shoots Colossus a look, and opens her mouth as if to respond. Thinking better of it for the moment, she closes it again, and cracks a wry smile. "Okay, okay. Message received." Her eyebrows raise at the sheer amount of dairy consumed, and she muses half to herself. "If I was having that much dairy, it'd be because I was in the middle of healing. Are you alright?"

Colossus has posed:
Colossus smiles, "I am excellent," he says, wiping his mouth. "This was a solid repast. I rarely get meals with proper weight to them here. Everyone is always watching their calories," he says, patting his ripped stomach. "Carbo-loading serves me well."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon rolls her eyes and laughs. "There's times for watching your calories, and then there's times for good, solid comfort food. This was a day for the latter. It's pretty likely Bean will have me running a lot of this off in the morning, anyways. Plus I'll likely be hitting the gym before bed. Kitty's orders."

Colossus has posed:
Colossus nods, "Exercise helps to expend nervous energy and makes you sleep better. I have received lectures on the subject myself," he says. "This is nothing. You should've seen some of my mother's dishes. Cream sauce and breadcrumbs as far as the eye could see, usually stuffed with lamb or goat."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon wrinkles her nose and laughs. "Goats are good for one thing. Cheese. And lamb is a rare treat, usually around Easter." She chuckles a little bit, and tilts her head, a thought coming to her. "Is there anything similar I might know that'd come close to the kinds of things that would work better for you?" Poking away at her plate of mac 'n cheese, she sends a bit more of the stuff on its way down her gullet, before going on. "See, the last several times I've had to use my healing gift, I've noticed cravings for specific types of things for a few days afterwards, so it's got me curious about those with different gifts needing different things, kind of like that."