11585/Picnic in the Park

Picnic in the Park
Date of Scene:	03 June 2020
Location:	Columbus Park - Chinatown
Synopsis:	Birthday plans segue into more serious talk, but nothing they can't get through together
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Volt

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Nightingale has posed:
     En route to pick up their food, Shannon had received the text with directions to where to meet Drake. It made her smile to think of spending time with him. Didn't matter what they were doing, as long as it was together. With bags of food in hand, and an idea of her destination, she's soon winging her way to Columbus Park. She's in light blue jeans, a cropped off-the-shoulders peasant blouse in soft white cotton, and her daisy-toe flip flops.

     Landing nearby, it doesn't take her long to find Drake, running over and hugging him tightly. "Dang, I missed you!"

Volt has posed:
How she manages to keep flip-flops on in flight is nothing short of her true superpower. This, Drake believes firmly. And seeing her kareen towards the park, he moves quickly to a table to await the inevitably and completely welcome glompage.

She lands.

She glomps.

Drake quickly takes the bags from her to set them aside, and promptly returns the hug, intent on sweeping her up off her feet for a quick spin. "I missed you, too! But you look good! Everything okay? No more lockdowns or anything, right?"

Nightingale has posed:
     The glomping is welcome on more than one front, with Shannon laughing and wrapping both arms and wings around Drake. "Technically I should probably have been chaperoned, but seeing you again is worth it." She's unwilling to let go, especially as she's swept off her feet and swung around. "Guessing the lockdown is semi kind of over," she demurs, with a distinct grin on her face. But in addition to the grin was a very unladylike rumbling in her vicinity. Oh, dear.

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley laughs softly and sets her down to her feet again. "It always feels like so much time between when I get to see you!" His hands shift more to her waist. "And I won't tell on ya. Promise. But-" There's a growling sound. What? He leans back to look her over suspiciously. "Was that.. you... being hungry?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grins a little sheepishly, blushing and nodding. "Yeah. I kind of forgot lunch earlier. Now I'm kind of glad I did. Means I get to spend it with you!" Indeed, there's that rumbling again, leaving no doubt as to the source. "Seems like forever since I saw you last... and now we've got a double birthday to plan out somehow!"

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley tries to usher Shannon to sit at the table, if her wings will retract from around him! "We definitely do. You've gotta tell me more about what you're into. I mean, besides me. You get me either way. But what else? What do you like doing? Bowling? Skating? Water-skiing? D'ya wanna go out for food? Hang with all your friends?," he rambles off.

Nightingale has posed:
     Giggling, she finally retracts her wings, settling them in behind her. "I suck at bowling but have fun at it anyways. In my case, it's not counting strikes or spares, it's tallying up all the gutter balls." Her smile widens. "There is one at school who's got the same birthday as me. Kitty. Found that out the hard way last year for my sweet sixteen."

     But, back to the topic of what she's into. "Let's see... love swimming. Volleyball can be fun, especially on the beach. And would you believe badminton?" One burger is pried from the bag, unwrapped, and chomped down on. "Then there's Minecraft... playing the piano... sewing... but those aren't really great for a birthday party!"

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley lowers to sit beside her, fishing out a burger of his own. He unwraps it as she talks, then snickers when she lists a bunch of things that would likely not suffice for birthday fun. However, one thing she mentions /does/ stand out. "We could do a volleyball thing. You invite your friends, and I invite.. uh.."

He swallows the bite, a contemplative look crossing his face. He has no friends.

"...you invite your friends!," he retreads.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Well, what about your teammates?" Shannon counters, grinning. "Won't they want to celebrate your birthday with you?" She tilts her head, thinking for a moment. "I mean... if you wanted, of course." Canting her head, she peers over at Drake, and smiles lightly. "Ummm, well... I did kind of wind up meeting one of your teammates a few weeks ago, when things were getting kind of strange... and she seemed awfully nice..."

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley offers Shannon a wan smile. "What teammates?," he laments. "They scattered to the corners. And the last one I ran into was kind'a... I dunno. She and I didn't get off on the right foot. Seemed super moody or something. I dunno. And the teammates, when they /were/ around, seemed to really focus on sniping at each other. I'm hoping they'll be in a better place, like, mentally, when they all start to really come back. But for now..?"

For now, Drake feels like it's him holding down the Tower.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon frowns slightly. She hadn't meant to bring him down. But hearing him made her realize just how fortunate she'd been so far. "Koriand'r, I think the name was. Called herself Starfire." Yeah, no, something told her that this was not going to go well. Instead of continuing on with the conversation much farther, she just smiles a bit, leaning in against him and wrapping her wings around them both. "Wish I could help...."

     But, birthdays! And hobbies, and more enjoyable things! "You've had me talking like mad, but what about you? What kind of things do /you/ like? It's not very fair you should find out so much and I don't get to as well!" A light giggle escapes her, and her smile widens a bit.

Volt has posed:
"Yeah, she's the one I ran into that kind've got... aggressively defensive at me or something. I dunno. She's an alien or something." Drake lifts a hand to lightly scratch at his temple. "I should probably cut'er slack for that."

The subject shifts, and he scooches in closer to her side. "A lot of what you said, except the sewing and stuff. I've done some volleyball in the past. And some surfing. So it's basically sounding like a beach party for us."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon giggles and grins. "Surfing? I've never done that." Le gasp! A beach bunny, never done surfing? Tis sacrilege, dear reader, sacrilege! "But I wouldn't mind trying! I mean... ah crap, I don't even have a surfboard!"

Volt has posed:
"Yeah, I don't either," Drake admits, his shoulders hunching. "So I'd have to get one. And you should expect to wind up in the water an awful lot. But also, I mean... not a lot've good waves out here. Except maybe for Coney. Coney might get okay waves. Long Island, not so much." Drake nibbles on the burger again.

Nightingale has posed:
     The burger seems forgotten for the moment as Shannon listens to Drake. "Hmmm, okay so maybe surfing is something we can do another time," she says, giggling softly and looking up at him. "But hey, that'll be fun, and so what if I wind up in the water a lot? I'll have fun trying." She whispers something and just smiles, thinking ahead to their respective birthdays. How could she spoil him?

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley squints suspiciously at the girl, then tilts aside to nudge his shoulder to hers. Nothing said in response to that whisper! Just a squint that becomes more playful with every passing moment. "Alright, beautiful..." He takes a final bite of that burger, chews quickly, and swallows. "Volleyball sounds like the thing we'll do. But you're on my team."

Nightingale has posed:
     Giggling softly, she dips her head in for a quick, if somewhat chaste kiss, reaching up to brush a few crumbs away from the corners of Drake's mouth. "I like the sound of that. Though... most of my friends are from school. You going to be okay with that?" Yeah, she knew his history with her alma mater wasn't great. "We could always play some one-on-one volleyball one of these days..."

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley scrunches his expression a little as she brushes at his face, then snickers. She's so doting! But what she says does merit some additional thought. He'd been determined to not think about it in the moment, but it's been presented unavoidably before him. He exhales a soft sigh and glances to the food bag. "I mean, I guess? It was mostly the faculty I had beef with. Like only one, /maybe/ two students were jerks. And I'm guessing you don't make social calls with teachers."

Nightingale has posed:
     "If it's any help," Shannon begins, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm not too terribly fond of that particular faculty member, either. But I haven't seen hide nor hair of her around for ages, so... I mean, I get along well with the rest, really." The corners of her lips curl upwards, and she plants a quick, cute little kiss on his chin. "It won't be just my birthday we're celebrating here, though, so if you say no to them, that's okay. I'd rather it be just us and have you happy, ya know?"

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley glances down, frowning faintly. "It wasn't just one person. It was all of'em. Complicit. Not caring about the danger they were putting people in." He pauses and shakes his head. "Sorry. I really don't wanna make you.. like.. unhappy.. about your situation in life, or stir crap." He turns his head to nosebump at her cheek. "I'll be fine. Between the two of us, one of us has friends she might wanna spend that day with!"

Nightingale has posed:
     "It's okay. I'd rather it be just us. But you realize I'll kick your butt at volleyball, right?" Shannon giggles softly, nestling a bit closer. It was going to be a wonderful day no matter what!

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley purses his lips slightly. "But it's a celebration. It's good for other people to get to celebrate ya, babe..." He tilts his head to rest gently against hers, not at all shying back from the closeness. Sure, it's warm out. But she's worth some sweat.

Nightingale has posed:
     "The thing is, though, the people who I'd wish could celebrate, are the very ones that make you the least comfortable. It's both of us, not just me." Slender fingers reach up to brush a shock of dark hair away from Drake's eyes, and Shannon smiles softly at him. "Knowing them, they'll be celebrating plenty. Especially since one of them has the same birthday as me. Ooof, was that a shocker to find out last year, two days after I arrived."

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley blinks slowly at her, suddenly leaning back enough to look at her a bit more closely. "The ones I'd have issue with? Specifically? The ones who were making the choices to put students in danger as like a political statement?" Did he even ever specify which ones were doing that? He can't remember. But it's giving him enough pause to evaluate Shannon and her involvement in the group. Specifically the training she's had. "Are they... using you, Shannon?," he asks bluntly. He doesn't know if someone could even give a straight answer to a question like that. But it's at the forefront of his mind now; is she a political tool for them?

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon blinks, looking very, very confused. "Using me, how?" Shaking her head, she sighs, resting her head over Drake's heart, her wing draped over him as she nestles closer. "This is a little confusing. I just don't want you uncomfortable when we celebrate our birthdays. What is it you want to know?"

Volt has posed:
"Using you for really specific politics," Drake replies, unsure how to really put it. But with his experience, and how things were put forward when he was with them, the idea that they're creating what are essentially child soldiers to fight for a political agenda is a severely grimey one he's having trouble shaking. "I mean..." He tries to put it to her delicately. "...training you to be a soldier. For a political agenda. It would explain why they didn't seem to care that they were putting students directly in harm's way for... for what was basically a photo op."

He looks down at her hand, then back to her. They were discussing birthday plans, but it's definitely become something more serious.

Nightingale has posed:
     "That's the one thing they've actually tried to /discourage/, is the idea of child soldiers." Now it's Shannon's turn to frown, lines appearing between her brows to frame her pale azure eyes in etchings of upset. "Hell, you remember that one rally I told you about, the one that went south? I was decompressing to one of the teachers about it, and let me tell you, he's pretty blunt. Told me point blank I was /not/ a soldier who had failed a mission." She cracks a small smile at that. "What agenda are you talking about, though?"

Volt has posed:
"Yeah.. I dunno.. saying you didn't fail a mission isn't saying you shouldn't be putting your life on the line for a political cause..." Drake glances aside to the food bag again, a hand raising to brush over the side of his neck. "The pro-mutant rights thing. Don't get me wrong, it's a good cause. But there's a wrong way to shoot for a good cause. And sacrificing students, or using'em as meatshields is definitely the wrong way to do it. So, just... egh." The hand moves from his neck to rub against his temple. "Sorry, the thing that drove me off from'em is just hitting me again."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I'm not exactly too happy about the idea of meatshields, either." Gentle fingers rub at his temples, and she smiles some. "Did this get started with the hundred pushups thing? You wanna know what /really/ got that started?" She grins wider still, laughing merrily, the twinkle returning to her eyes. "Ice cream. It was a bet over ice cream. And damned if I wasn't going to win! A hundred pushups got the freezer in the kitchen stocked with enough ice cream to last a good month." She snuggles even closer, her smile never fading. "Hell, I love the challenge. And besides, frankly, the training's doing me a lot of good. I don't have much other than flight to keep me safe. There's you now, yes. But I also like knowing I can take care of myself, too. And maybe... just maybe... be some help to others, too."

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley doesn't respond much to the touches aside from a more sullen look, suspecting she isn't taking what he's saying to heart. But he's having to remind himself that someone who's been pulled into a situation like that may not be able to even see it. "It's.. not the pushups thing. It's everything. I don't trust'em. And if you're getting training, and are wearing that uniform I saw... I mean..." He leans forward over the table, elbow propping over it and chin propped in his hand.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon sighs softly, wishing like anything she could erase that sullen look from his face. "What can I do that would help?" For the first time, she came to really start to dislike that uniform, and mentally resolved to not wear it again. Propping her head in her hands, with her elbows on the table, she dips her head slightly to the side so they're touching--literally, and figuratively, putting their heads together.

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley eyeshifts aside to the girl who, if nothing else, is giving nothing but affection. She's an absolute sweetheart, and he isn't sure he's really done much to deserve that. His head tilts to nudge against hers gently. "Don't sweat it. Down the line, I think I'm gonna have to have a serious sit-down with someone over there. And not as a student or subordinate they think they can talk over. But as a peer."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I'm going to worry, though," Shannon replies. "That picture, it was something I was proud of, being able to show you something that when I hinted at it, seemed to make you smile that first day we met." One slender, slightly calloused fingertip is pressed to his lips; it seems someone's been practicing a stringed instrument. Guitar, maybe? "Look. Let's face it. My gift is healing. I ain't no soldier. I'm the one that's going to answer the call of 'Medic!' one day. I want to see a day where that's /not/ needed. But till that day, I'd also like to stay in one piece."

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley frowns, even as she plops a finger across his lips. And when she's finished speaking, he smirks and nips at the finger. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take that away from you. And it's.. I like that you do good things. I just don't want anyone taking advantage of you. Making you think you're doing the right thing, and just... churning you out to support an agenda. Oh my god, I'm doing it again!" He tilts his head to try to set his chin on her shoulder. "You're a uniquely amazing person, Shannon. I don't mean to make you feel bad. Really."

Nightingale has posed:
     "No, it's good to question instead of follow blindly." Even as Drake sets his chin on her shoulder and nips at her finger, Shannon giggles softly, and kisses the top of his head, making no move to get her finger out of the way. "I love that you're looking out for me. And it's good you're keeping me on my toes. You're right. There /are/ some well and truly unscrupulous people out there who /would/ take advantage of someone who wants to go out there and do some good. Or simply for being different. For having a gift." Threading her other arm around Drake, she pulls him in for a fierce hug, wrapping him in a soft, feathery cocoon as well. "I'm sorry if I did a stupid and assumed it wouldn't be okay to have any of my friends join in celebrating our birthdays. That wasn't right of me."

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley blinks a couple times at her apology, then softly groans and pushes his face against her neck. "Mngh. Don't. It's okay. I want you to enjoy your birthday. And if that means involving people I.. may not.. really trust, then that's okay. I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me." He leans back a little from her, and he sets a hand gently over her leg. "It'll be okay. Promise."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I'll worry, though. Ask the sun not to rise, you'll have more success." She smiles and tilts her head slightly to one side, sighing happily. Okay, so she hadn't quite stuck her foot in it /that/ badly. "And it's /our/ celebration, don't forget that."

Volt has posed:
"Maybe. I guess," Drake relents. "But between the two of us, youre the only one who'd have guests." He lifts his hand from her leg, attempting to draw the fingertips along her back - if her wings allow! "I promise I won't make a scene if your teachers and faculty show up."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon lets out a little /meep/, squirming and laughing as she's tickled right between her wings. There's a woosh of wind, the sound of wings flapping, and well... if Drake doesn't duck, he's likely to wind up with a few feathers in his hair for the trouble! "Okay, okay! Besides, we've got weeks to plan anything yet!"

Volt has posed:
Drake Riley doesn't duck! Instead, he gets bapped with a wing. He didn't mean to tickle her! Just show her a smidge of affection! But he snickers, despite. "I knooww! And who knows what'll happen by then!," he supplies.

Nightingale has posed:
     Sure enough a feather or two winds up in Drake's hair--and a twinkle in Shannon's eyes. Sure, that might have tickled, but that smile he loves is back in full force. And she hadn't been trying to get away. Silvery laughter fills the air, and as much to return the affection as to prevent whapping him with her wings again, she folds him up in a great big hug.