11386/'Fence'd In Gardens

'Fence'd In Gardens
Date of Scene:	26 April 2020
Location:	Student Gardens, Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Alexis opens dueling a student name Simone in the gardens as a bit of tutilage in Fencing, with Sam Guthrie making sure that it doesn't go overboard with powers. Scott Summers and Jean Grey get the chance to get some air in after reviewing paperwork, and Shannon arrives fresh out of the medbay. Josiah is introduced to Alexis, and all comes to a stop when Megan Wynn, and her changed appearance, prompt a full stop.
Cast of Characters:	Prismatic, Nightingale, Cannonball, Phoenix, Cyclops, Firefly (Barrows), Pixie

---

Prismatic has posed:
    Ah, the cool air of a late April evening, the promise of rain sometime in the night, the singing of birds, the rustling of small creatures int he underbrush, and the clash of metal on metal.

    On the grounds, there are two using the gravel paths between the student gardens as a practice area. One is clad in white, garbed with protective but thin armor and a mesh face mask.

    The other is using her 'bumblebee' yellow and black, with a black face mask. Sneakers scrape along the gravel walk ways as the two are involved in a pitched battle, the shorter figure in the black and yellow giving direction in easy French to the other, each taking advances and fall backs.

Nightingale has posed:
     If there was one sliver of a silver lining to winding up in the medbay frequently, it was that one's healing factor had a chance to become stronger through necessary use. With some wheedling and promises to remain on school grounds with light activity only for the next day or two, a certain winged healer had a fresh dressing put on her wound, and was discharged, with enjoinders to return to the wellness office for dressing changes. She's ambling at a leisurely pace through the student gardens, with the slight chill of early to mid-Spring still in the air, dressed in a loosely fitting long t-shirt with Tweety Bird dressed as a hippie on the front, bright blue leggings, and though the season was still a bit early, flip-flops with great big white daisies on the toes.

     She pauses at a section that still has few to no plantings, kneeling to run her fingers through the soil with a light smile. "Good spot for some kitchen herbs," she muses to herself. "I'll have to ask miss Munroe if she'll let me plant some here." For all the times she's stepped in to help when there's been trouble, it's clear one other lesson is starting to sink in--balance. What good is it all in the end, if one cannot step back, slow down a little, and take it all in?

     Tell that to the pair doing their dance just a handful of feet away. Shannon glances up to watch the fencing with a critical eye, smiling faintly to herself. Going by the voice speaking in French, it wasn't too difficult to guess who the pair might be. She grins impishly to herself, shaking her head and laughing softly; oh, it had been fun to prank Alexis with the answers on her French exam in Creole. She made a mental note to thank Remy with an offering of extra mac 'n cheese later for that stroke of brilliance.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has found a tree to lean against watching Alexis and the other. The young man, seems impressed, and is watching over a folding table with some gatoraid and such sitting on it. He will whistle softly as a rather skilled lunge, but keeps mostly silent watching not interrupting.

Phoenix has posed:
It may be a weekend, but work never ended. Except for now, when Jean Grey declared they both needed a break from paper to get some fresh air. Dressed more casually for off-office hours, Jean has fitted black jeans with black ankle boots and a long, faintly metallic bronze tunic with three quarter sleeves. It's enough to ward off the seasonal coolness, but stubbornly trying to enjoy it. Her hair is free save the foremost locks which are bound behind her head in a simple bronze clip.

Behind her a pace is Scott, looking like his generally sober-faced self, and the last bits of their conversation can be heard as they come through the door. "There's four in New Orleans alone, all different families. So we will need to plan when we'll approach them and transportation back."

"We'll figure it out." Jean remarks. "Even if it isn't us, I'm sure we can find a few willing to go on a little recruitment field trip. Oh, looks like we found where people are hanging out." She adds with pleasant surprise in her voice as she takes in those present.

Cyclops has posed:
As he walks at Jean's side, Scott is at his usual slower pace. One that has the weight of the world resting heavily upon his shoulders. This weekend just started and already it has been filled with challenging decisions. Fifteen applicants and one still waiting with a large question mark over it. At least that is now in Betsy's hands and not his. His mind is a buzz of loud thoughts to his partner who most likely can hear them vibrating off him.

Dressed in a simple dark green sweater and a pair of khakis, Scott has his red ruby quartz Raybans on to keep his explosive powers intact. "Mm." He murmurs in response to Jean. "I like the idea of making Betsy an ambassador of our school to be sent out to meet these families. Perhaps we can send Pete and Sam as well. Mix things up. I know Remy may seem like an obvious choice to send to New Orleans, but .. I would like to put our best foot forward."

As they come upon the pair fencing in the distance, he tilts his head curiously over in their direction, then swivels his head over to catch sight of Sam and Shannon. "Looks like we are not the only ones enjoying the weather." He gives an upward nod of his head in salutations, one of those quiet ones so not to distract anyone.

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis and the other student remained locked in combat -- though mostly at Alexis's discretion as she gives commands, training the younger student. There was a narrow blow -- the foil almost went to Alexis' faceguard as the student lunges forward with a yell, and then draws up from below, landing the tip of her rapier against the guard and trying to disarm the student -- and the foil goes flying, shimmering in the air --

    Before the student executes a back shoulder roll away from Alexis, looking to put space between themselves and the black-and-yellow clad TA.

    "C'est bon! Restez sur vos gardes et donnez-vous le temps de récupére!" Alexis calls out, unaware so far that they have an audience -- other than Sam.

    The two circle one another a moment, the armed Alexis and the unarmed student -- before the student attempts to kick up their foil -- and ends up hitting themselves in the shin.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon can't resist an impish little grin, calling out to the TA in her 'bees'. "Bon djob, Alexis!" The question is, which language would she reply in this time? Chortling softly, she straightens up, brushing her hand free of soil on the hem of her t-shirt. Her color was improved from the day before, and did not seem to be in too much pain. Serious she might be, but she could on occasion kick back and have a little bit of fun.

     Sam gets a light hug, wings and all, and of course the mother of all noogies. "Hey you, big brother. Been keeping out of trouble?" As if.

     Jean and Scott's approach is noted, with a wing-wave proffered to both. "Hello there!" She seems quite at ease with them around, unlike some students who might be a bit nervous. "Couldn't resist the day out here either, huh?"

Phoenix has posed:
"Yeahno." Jean says abruptly under her breath towards Scott, pulling back the grimace that threatens to take over her expressions, though it quickly shifts into a covert sort of grin. "Besides, that's just sending the fox into the hen house. After the new students are gathered, we can see about assigning them to some of the older or more experienced students to help them get settled in and be mentors. I think it'd be a good challenge for our existing students and give the new kids someone to turn to."

The Headmistress gives a warm wave as she and Scott come within range of the others, bidding a cheerful, "Good evening, hope it's finding everyone alright. Good to see you out and about, Ms. Lance. It was a nice night, so felt it was a good time to get some fresh air before the rain. Are you feeling well?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will give Shannon a soft hug to not hurt her, and says "Hey you, good to see your out and about. Ah take it your cleared to be out here not sneaking around." He teases a bit. He will reach over and offers Shannon a drink from the ones on the table, at the lunge towards the face, he winces a bit and says "Now watch it no points for face shots."

Cyclops has posed:
As he stops at Jean's side, Scott's ruby'd gaze settles upon Shannon for a moment, giving a quick assessment of her injuries before he gives a side glance over towards Sam. One of those looks that clearly says: 'We are going to have an uncomfortable conversation later'. His lips are in a perpetual thin line, brow creased.

"Yes, we needed a bit of a break from our responsibilities to properly reset. Are you feeling okay?" He asks the student with a hint of concern in his voice.

There is another tilt of his head towards the sparring, watching the student critically as he moves about in his form. He can appreciate the art of fencing as a sport and a leisurely activity. He shifts his jaw, then turns his focus back upon the winged student.

Prismatic has posed:
    After the student hit themselves with their own foil, Alexis straigtens up and pulls off her faceguard, shaking her head and giving a smile.

    "I'm not sure if that counts as point three, but when you are on your guard, Simone, you shouldn't do anything fancy that you're not a thousand percent sure you can pull off. Now, go and clean up. I'm sure you're more than ready for the re-test tomorrow." she comments, with a salute of her foil, and the student sheepishly gives a salute, and hurries off to change elsewhere.

    And that point, Alexis turns and notices her audience -- and turns a bright red, straight to her ears, those crystaline structures beneath her skin giving vibrancy to her color.

    "Goodness, I apologize -- ah, a short lesson."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles and says "Looks like they are learning a bit there hon." He will tell Alexis, and looking over to Scott and Jean he will offer them a nod in greeting "Hey there, how you doing?"

Firefly (Barrows) has posed:
    Josiah lands in the student gardens, a large set of wings made of light energy on his back as he lands, spreading about him. Along his body is an old style armor made of pure light, even a helmet which covers his face. The helmet slowly vanishes and the armor does as well as the wings fade from view, revealing the student dressed in a suit. He then looks to the people about him and waves to Samuel. "Hey." he says as he looks to the red girl. "A new teacher?" He asks curiously.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods to Sam, and smiles. "With the condition that I report to the wellness office in the morning for a dressing change, and stick to light activities for another day or two." She steps back a little and smiles a bit more. "Besides," she reminds him. "You're the one telling me to stop and smell the roses once in a while. So I'm taking your advice."

     She turns to Scott and Jean both without so much as flinching, and nods. Her smile does fade somewhat, and her posture straightens further. Uh-oh. AAR incoming. "I'm feeling well enough, but my main concern at the moment is Pixie." She takes a bit of a deep breath, her wings ruffling behind her. "Long and short of it, sir, is that Pixie, Alice, and I were taking a short hike to go on a picnic a couple days ago. Beautiful day, just like this one. You'd think things could stay calm for once." A wry half-smile tells the tale better than words ever can. "Famous last words. I don't know what you've been hearing about gremlin attacks lately, but the worst one yet happened about as soon as we got to a good picnic site. And one of them was armed with a dagger similar in nature to Pixie's. Got her but good in the chest. Missed anything vital, thank Whoever you pray to. And to give Alice credit, she did a fine job improvising a bandage first on Pixie, then on me when I healed her."

     There's a bit of a pause, as she lets this part of the tale sink in. "I have no idea just /what/ he was doing in the area, but let's just say for once I was actually glad to see Doctor Strange. He can confirm this report. He's mentoring Pixie, and apparently knows metal is not an option for her when it comes to healing. At his behest I stepped in. But he noted damage beyond the physical. More on the magical or soul level." She grimaces. "When Pixie was wounded... the changes in her were dramatic. Skin tone changed, her wings lost their sparkle and... just shriveled. I haven't seen her since, if someone could please look in on her?"

     Shannon looks up at the sound of someone else landing not too far off. She smiles some and nods to him. "Hey there. Yeah, that's Alexis Carr, music and dance teacher, fencing expert extroidinaire... although she really needs to work on her Creole." The last gets the return of that little bit of a grin from the young woman.

Prismatic has posed:
    "Louisiana Creole is a Creole and *not* proper French!" Alexis calls back to Shannon, interjecting as she reaches for gatorade.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon calls right back to her, laughing. "Couyon! It is close enough for you to have answered in Italian!" Now the girl is doing her best to hold back fits of laughter, the corners of her eyes crinkling with mirth.

Pixie has posed:
Speak of the devil and She will appear...More or less. Megan is here, sitting quietly in a corner of the garden, kneeling in front of her little plot of flowers,, just..Staring at them. No butterflies came to her garden today and she seems a lot grumpier than her usual hyper self.

Shannon wasn't kidding. She's ok goth like, lacy black shirt, hot pink mini skirt, black combat boots. Her usually hot pink hair is paler, but more black streaks color her hair, pulled back in her characteristic headband. And what the heck is with the lavender skin, claws and..Ooh, grey, creepy bat wings now replace her glittery dragonfly wings.

Cyclops has posed:
As he listens to Shannon explain what has been happening, Scott is attentive. His brow furrows even more, showning the lines of stress that he has grown over the years. "Did Miss Gwynn just disappear? You said she was injured and in the care of Doctor Strange. Did you blink and she was gone? What do you mean you don't know where she is?" Though as he asks the question, it is framed more towards Sam than it is Shannon. "Mister Guthrie. These students are in your care. Why have we not gathered a search party to find her, or reach out to Strange?"

As he glances to Jean, she can practically hear the thoughts vibrating off of him. Frustration. Discomfort. Worry. "I will get Betsy and Logan together. Jean, I need you in Cerebro to try and find her. None of us are going to sleep tonight until we figure out where she is at." His tone is even, though it carries the weight of authority behind it. "Looks as if we don't get a break afterall."

He gives a glance to Alexis, giving her a slight nod of his head as he looks to Sam expectantly. He's obviously going to get strung along for this ride-along. As he turns to head back for the school, he gives a pause as Pixie is clearly just ... sitting there. He frowns visibly. "Nevermind." He says with frustration building in his throat. "Miss Gwynn. Are you okay?"

Phoenix has posed:
At mention of a student still in poor shape, and Scott's leap into action, Jean went quiet momentarily to gather her thoughts. "If this is becoming more common and dangerous, a curfew may be in order. Now, we don't know that she's *gone*, she just may be in a-- oh." Apparently she's right over there. "Is that.. is it." The Headmistress frowns in consideration before settling her expressions and walking towards the morose looking young woman.

Once she's come close enough to Megan, Jean pauses a short distance out of what'd be considered the personal bubble of most people. She's still studying Megan's changed appearance as she says gently, "Hey, good to see you're back. Sounds like that was a rough night. Is everything alright?"

Firefly (Barrows) has posed:
    Josiah chuckles at Alexis. "Just because we arent proper french doesnt mean we understand the many things which makes the french great." Josiah says, his own cajun accent evident in his voice now. He ahs as he reaches into his pack and pulls out some tupperware containers. "My folks made dinner and gave me enough of it to offer to my friends here at school. There are only a few things you northerners do proper." He says as he offers a tupperware of jambayala to Shannon. "Heard you were hurt." He says with a smile. He then looks to Pixie and he moves over to her. He stops when he sees jean and scott near her and decides not to interfere.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon shakes her head in Scott's general direction. "No, she didn't just disappear, sir. But I was already on my way to the medbay, the last I saw of her was back in the clearing. I may dislike Doctor Strange, but I seriously doubt he would have done other than helped her get home. He's prickly, but professional." Great. Note to self, don't get Scott in a panic. Still, she mused to herself, he was a damn good one to have at your back if the fertilizer hit the bladed air cooling system.

     At least the winged teen can let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding when Pixie is spotted a short distance off in the garden. The changes in her, however, were as dramatic and disorienting as from what little she remembered seeing of them that afternoon in the clearing. She opens her mouth to ask how she's doing, but Scott has already stepped in. Better for her to keep quiet this time.

     Josiah gets a little bit of a smile. "Merci," she murmured. "It's hard to say no to a good jambalaya. If you managed to get andouille sausage for it this far north, though, I'll be very surprised." She keeps her gaze mostly on the events surrounding Pixie, however, watching Scott and Jean to see how they handled the situation. Baptism by fire. Lousy way to go, particularly when it was a friend on the line.

Prismatic has posed:
    "I'm sure Mr. Keller will be thrilled with another rule to break." Alexis states dimly as she looks up to Sam, and looks over to Josiah.

    "It isn't that Louisiana Creole isn't a great and beautiful language on its own, but the class was being taught in Parisian French, not in a Creole, and the Creole is a combonation of influences from the Arcadians from Canada, West African languages and -- oh... Megan." she whispers a moment, distracted by Pixie's dull arrival. She breathes out a moment as she looks to the once fairy-like Pixie, and gives a visible wince, hanging back a moment and left speechless.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns a bit, murmuring. "Even the butterflies are afraid of me...And the fairies.." she hangs her head, still kneeling, apparently having blocked out all the banter going on around her...Up until now. When the Headmaster and Headmistress address her directly.

"O-oh.." she swallows, rising slowly to her feet, turning around to face them, bowing her head curtly at both Scott and Jean. "Um...Mister Summers, Miss Grey. I'm alright..Please don't blame the others for what happened. It was supposed to be an innocent picnic..We even got it cleared to hike not far from the school..This wasn't supposed to happen.."

She sighs, clenching and unclenching her hands. "I'm..I'm well enough I suppose..lPhysically anyway..Between Shannon, Josiah and Morgana, my physical wounds at least, were healed..Josiah picked me up and drove me back late last night.."

Megan looks sad, totally lost and totally not okay..

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and says "She did check in with me when she got in, she was not missing." He will inform Scott, and explains why he did not put out the MIA student alert. "Ah am sure with time the good doctor will find a way to get you back to your normal look, and as for the butterflies and such it may just take a bit to get used to.

Firefly (Barrows) has posed:
    Josiah looks to Megan and he watches her. Despite having met her a couple of weeks ago, he felt he knew megan by her bouncy and friendly nature. Seeing her like this seemed to make him feel sadder as well. "Megan. We will get you changed back. This is simply a trial in which I believe you will pass. Give us some time." He says softly. He spent most of life speaking with the downtrodden and the hopeless. He remains away from megan, not wanting to interfere with Mr. Summers and Miss Grey's actions.

Cyclops has posed:
"Details are important, Miss Lance." Scott says to Shannon. "Also never leave a teammate behind. Stephen Strange is a good person, but he is not a representative of this school. The buddy system exists for a reason, especially if there was injury involved."

He sets his jaw for a moment, giving a nod of his head to Sam in affirmation that he heard and understood him. He's off the hook at least. Just miscommunication. "Miss Gwynn, I need you to report to the Med Bay and Jean will persoanlly give you a look over. This is not a suggestion, it is a request." He lifts a pair of fingers and rubs it against his temple before he looks to his partner.

<< If I go bald like Charles because of these children, will you still love me? >>

There is only a faint twitch of his lips, a half-tick, before they flatten once more into his all serious manner. "And Miss Gwynn, I will need to know everything that happened. Not tonight. Later. Once you are checked out and we feel good about what we are working with."

Phoenix has posed:
"Oh no, no no, it's alright." Jean says quickly to Megan, her face shifting rapidly from calm to concern to anger and then sadness before softening again, all in the span of a heartbeat. "This is not your fault. Take it from me, Megan, there are a lot of unfortunate things that happen in the world. Blaming yourself for what was never your's to control will never lead you to a good place."

She does take note of what Josiah says and gives him a nod of her head, summoning up a small smile. "He's right. Try not to look at changes as a punishment or something having gone wrong. Try and see it as a challenge, a chance to discover something new about yourself. Turn it to a strength. For now, though, focus on healing and *please* let us know if you need anything, okay?"

It'd take a keen eye to spot the little sliver of exasperation and even fleeting amusement as she glances sidelong towards the ruby-glassed man. << Hair does not make the man, Scott. Besides, I suppose you could consider it karma. I'm sure we all contributed to his loss in our own ways. >>

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis looks from Megan, to Josiah to Sam, and she leans over and grasps Sam's hand in her own gloved hand, and gives it a little squeeze.

    "She'll be all right. She's strong, remember the DR session?" she comments to him with a little smile to reassure herself as well as him, and she looks out over the groping.

    "How do you contend with balancing their freedom versus your worry, Love?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn glances towards Shannon and Josiah, offering them a weak smile, before looking away quickly, a look of guilt and...Something else in her eyes. "Thank you, for your help Josiah, Shannon.." she states softly, and for a moment she looks like she's gonna cry...Or break, or just plain give up. But she doesn't of course, cuz she's way too stubborn to give up now.

Instead, she looks between Scott and Jean and nods, a bit relieved that they are back. Cuz they're the grown ups, the ones in charge...If anyone can fix this, they can. "Yes sir...Of course." she nods, not even bothering to protest. Maybe Jean can pick up something psychically that might help.

As for Alexis, she too is given a faint nod, her lips turning into a resolved smile...Her, give up? Not likely, dammit!

Firefly (Barrows) has posed:
    Josiah remains quiet while the two teachers speak with megan. He then looks to her and smiles. "We can always talk later when you feel like it, Megan. No matter what, you have my support." He says to the girl as he turns to SAm and Alexis and he offers a hand to Alexis. "I am Josiah Barrows. I work as a faith healer for my family's church. I was recruited to the school by Mr. Guthrie and Miss Pryde." He says calmly.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just straightens a bit and nods. "Yes, sir. The good Doctor might not be a representative of the school, but Alice was still there, so I don't believe the buddy system was ignored." Her cheeks go faintly red at the mild rebuke, but she still smiles faintly. It could have been a lot worse.

     Her smile fades, though, as she turns to Jean. Her brows furrow, and she shakes her head, shrugging. "I don't know about more frequent, miss Grey," she offers. "There's only been a few attacks that I've witnessed myself. Pixie might be a good one to ask for her point of view as well. The attacks I've witnessed, though, have so far been mostly off of school grounds." She rubs her temples lightly, with distinct 'how am I even going to explain some of these details to her without sounding completely off my rocker' thoughts fairly thrumming from her.

     Megan gets a smile, and she reaches out to the other girl. "Hey. I was starting to wonder when you didn't poke your nose into the medbay this time. If you expect your friends to leave you to flounder after the way you reach out to them, you'd have another thing coming."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smirks and says "And one of our three cajun speakers who maybe making your french class more interesting." He tells Alexis and says "Ah have faith in our our students here. They are good people and when they see a challenge as something that slows them down, Ah know with time all our students here will overcome any obstacles put in their path.

Cyclops has posed:
<< I suppose you are right. Though I do believe Bobby should lose the most hair. >> Scott says to Jean through their mental link.

"I would like one of you to write up a full report and have it in my box as soon as you can. Bullet points and high level is appropriate. I do not need a novel. Just the details so that Jean and I understand what it is we are working with."

Picking a piece of fuzz off his sleeve, he clears his thorat. "I am going to head back and finish some paperwork myself. I have fourteen families to call and one still to mull over when I speak with Betsy."

Nodding his head to the group, he looks over to Pixie again. "It is good to see that you are home, Miss Gwynn and safe. We will fix this." He says with assurances in his voice. Confident. With that, he takes his leave as he runs a hand back through his hair.

Firefly (Barrows) has posed:
    Josiah smiles at shannon and walks over to her. "I have been recieving supplies from new orleans. Mostly food stuffs. I can teach you basic creole." He says as he smirks at shannon. "The languages I specialize in is italian latin and spanish. Mostly prayers." He says as his phone rings. "Its my mom. I told her I would call her when I land. I got distracted." He says as he begins to leave to talk to his mom.

Phoenix has posed:
"Maybe not more frequent yet, but given the severity of things, I want to make sure things are prepared in the event we need to face things back on home ground." Jean says as she looks over her shoulder towards Shannon. "I'd prefer to save these halls a few new scars, but above that I intend to make sure all of you stay safe. So please, get us whatever information you've discovered or think would be useful. I assure you, I wouln't let anyone stand who dares harms my students, friends, or family." She says it as calm as can be, but there is a molten core boiling behind that iron veneer of control in her eyes.

With a slow exhale, Jean settles the stiffening line of her shoulders and looks from the gathered towards Scott. "Right, we were just out here for some fresh air. We need to get these papers done by Monday, but if anyone needs us for anything, come find us. We'll be in my office. A pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Barrows! Welcome to Xavier's."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon's eyebrows loft, and she pins Jean with a very intent look. "And what of those who would /help/ the students? Would you be willing to speak with them?" Oh, my. What else was going on?

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis gives a soft sound out in mild disapproval over French Creole in the French class she helps instruct, and she looks up to the sky, shaking her head and brushes her gloved hand over her hair.

    "Well. It was an uneventful evening." she murmurs quietly to Sam, then looks to the blonde Southern boy.

    "Am I gray yet?"

Phoenix has posed:
On her way to the door back into the mansion, Jean pauses and looks back as Shannon asks her question. There's a small narrowing of Jean's eyes, though the expression seems more one of caution than annoyance. "If there is someone not in this school who is also involved, we need to know who they are. The security of this school along with the secrecy of its purpose always needs to be considered. Tell me who they are and what you know. I'll look into it further from there and see if they're someone we need to speak with. Please, excuse me." She bids the lot and then goes inside.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles and playfully looks at the top of Alexis' head and says "Looks good from up here still hon." He grins and holds her close.