11801/Sunday Scorcher

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Sunday Scorcher
Date of Scene: 19 July 2020
Location: Frontyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis: What starts as a calm gathering on the lawn turns into laundry airing instead.
Cast of Characters: SpyderByte, Phoenix, Colossus, Nightingale, Shadowcat




SpyderByte has posed:
Settled on the front steps is Jeremy, who is currently typing away on his laptop. The young lanky teen is as usual buried within his large black hoodie and black jeans with chains hanging off them. His hood is for a change not pulled over his head. At least he has some ventiliation for a change.

It seems he is taking some advice on getting some fresh air and Vitamin D. He has on a pair of thin sunglasses that do not reflect the sun very well and he has to tip his head at times so not to create a flash back on the screen in front of him. For a change, he is /not/ working, but instead entertaining himself with a music video of a band called The Birthday Massacre. It's a goth-vibe of pop music. Lots of synth and moody lyrics.

Phoenix has posed:
The heat of high summer isn't enough to ward off Jean from getting out, though it's within the comfortable bounds of air conditioning. Her vintage Malibu comes rolling down the drive, the sun shifting the metallic paint through the range of red, gold, and green. The doors of the garage are open to let the interior fans help circulate some air and cool the interior, and she pulls into her typical spot and the car turns off. Jean steps out a moment after and pops the trunk, pulling out a few shopping bags which she slings over one shoulder before shutting the trunk with the other.

She bypasses the interior door to the mansion to walk across the drive for the front door, perhaps because she'd spotted the technopath sitting there. "Good afternoon, Jeremy." She bids him with a grin. "I miss anything exciting around here this morning?"

Colossus has posed:
    Stepping out of the front door clad in a baggy pair of khaki shorts and a red tshirt, Piotr pauses just outside the doorway to put on a pair of oakleys. "Bozshi moi." He mutters, his Russian blood rebelling at the heat already. His nose wrinkles with distaste. "Why does anyone live at this latitude?" He mutters. His childhood home is about fifteen degrees north. As he registers the others, it is automatic for Piotr. He simply reaches out his hands to Jean. "Allow me?"
    "Feels like a pool day. Or a stay inside and read day? Was hoping to trim some of the tree branches away from the fence on the far side of the lake." He is playing like he is not going to do it. It is far more likely Piotr will just go do it. It is not like him to shirk from a chore.

Nightingale has posed:
     Not too terribly far off is a familiar winged teen, dressed in some mid-thigh length light blue denim shorts, a halter top tied up beneath her chest to leave her midriff bare, and daisy-toe flip flops. Shannon's got her hair in a simple braid down her back, with the thin little blue braid on the left side of her face hanging freely. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, she's just opening up an acoustic guitar case, cradling the instrument and beginning the process of tuning the strings. Her head is bent over her task, turned so her ear can catch the sound of any strings out of tune, and correct them accordingly.

SpyderByte has posed:
Tapping a button on the comptuer, the next song comes up. LeBrock's Runaway. It's an intense song designed to super charge the adrenaline, but also soaring with passionate lyrics of 'escape'. Jeremy glances upwards at the sight of Jean coming out of her car with the groceries. He hesitates for a moment, looking as if he may push himself up to help her, but the shadow of Piotr falls over him from behind and takes up the offer himself. He glances over his shoulder at the large Russian, then looks back towards the Phoenix.

Giving a shake of his head, he licks his dry lips. "No. I-It's b-b-b-een c-c-c-c.. " He lets out a heavy breath. "QUIET." The word comes out quickly like a bugle's blurt, followed by the hunching of his body over his laptop. He runs a hand over the top of his head, pushing the mop of shag away from his face.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty's fully ready to relax, enjoy herself and laze in the heat of summer. Mostly since it's quiet and relaxing and enjoyable for Kitty to take some time off from being a heroine and just take care of herself. So...Kitty's found a sunny spot to relax in. Sure she's got her summer clothing on, but she's also enjoying this entirely too much. She gives Jeremy an apologetic smile, she needs to talk with him and make this right, after all. Still though, she's got a bottle of water and Lockheed sprawled out by her. Who knew the dragon wanted to soak up the sun, anyhow?

Phoenix has posed:
"Heya Shannon." Jean calls over as she passes by where the winged girl is prepping her instrument. She doesn't disrupt her too much from there. A wave is held up towards two other familiar faces. "And Kitty, Lockheed! Hello to you two too.

"Quiet's good. Means I don't have paperwork waiting for me." Says the headmistress towards Jeremy before looking up to Piotr. "I'd remind you we have actual employees to go trim trees, but then I'd be a hypocrite because I'm out getting groceries." Which she dutifully hands over to the Russian. "So thank you. The pool does sound like a good idea, so I may see about that after. It's too hot out to do much else."

Colossus has posed:
    "And that, Jean, is why you are in charge." Piotr says without batting an eye. His grin is warm and genuine as he continues, carefully taking the bags. "I am happy when I am working. It is a large reason why I am still in college. Always something to do." It is a distant echo of the old Soviet 'Work shall set you free', but still Piotr is happy when he is busy.
    Piotr winks at Jeremy. "Want to help me trim the trees?" he asks as if it's something the younger man would actually want to do. "Afterwards we can go to Harry's? Have a bite?" Again, Piotr seems to think taking Jeremy to local bar and grill would actually be fun. "If traffic is light enough, let you drive on the way back? I was driving Tractors when I was younger than you."

Shadowcat has posed:
Jean gets a wave with the water bottle, cap on. Kitty's not that desperate to cool off, and Piotr gets a wave too andd a smile. He's much better once he's not stuck in the kitchen, really, a fact Kitty relays to him in Russian, a cheery nod to him, then she resumes setling in the sun. "Jeremy, can you drop by my office when you get a moment. I was going to ask your advice on technical related things and I want your input so I've got the best of the best for our students and faculty. And listen. I'll say this in front of everyone. You're right and I was out of line saying what I said yesterday even as a joke. I was completely uncalled for, and I want to apologize sincerely to you and swear it won't ever happen again" Kitty adds hanging her head, though she does look completely and utterly sincere. Piotr told her to sort this. He didn't say sort it oe on one, or in front of everyone. So Kitty is sorting it now. "If you'll accept my apology" she offers to Jeremy. "I'll make up for my misstep and....not really pennance but that general idea" she explains

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon's practice halts even as it barely begins. She just looks up, stares right at Kitty, and lofts one eyebrow. "What did I miss?" she inquires, resting her instrument on her lap. Her wings are spreading out behind her, ever the protecting angel. Someone better not have messed with her friend!

SpyderByte has posed:
The idea of Jeremy and trimming trees goes together as well as a peanutbutter and mustard sandwich. The lanky goth blinks slowly up at Piotr for a few moments, almost as if his brain just broke. ".. Okay." He says, then closes the lid to his laptop with a click. He nudges it to the side and into the shade once he slides it into his level three backpack. A pair of padlocks gets attached to it, followed by a spin of the combinations to ensure they won't be opened. Paranoid a bit?

Pushing himself up to his feet, he dusts off his knees, then unzips his hoodie to peel it off him. The scars along his left arm can be seen now that he is wearing a short sleeve shirt. Nasty trails winds in and out along his skin where someone took a blade to his body. He neatly begins to fold the hoodie up and puts it over on top of his bag as if he was trying to hide it. Really paranoid.

When Kitty puts him on the spot in front of everyone, his eyes glaze over for a moment and suddenly he goes reaching for his hoodie again, like a security blanket. "It's okay." He says as he starts to tug it back over his body. "Ah-aaa-a-p-p.." There is frustration riddled across his face for a moment before he takes a moment to count to three, then lets out a huff. He digs into his pocket and takes out his phone.

<< Apology accepted. It's fine. >> The soft voice of British Lady Siri is heard coming out of the speakers.

He gives a glance over to Shannon for a moment before he tugs his hood over his head, then goes to follow after Pete.

<< Let's go trim trees. You will have to show me how. >>

Phoenix has posed:
There's that tingle in the Force as Jean listens to what Kitty says and the undercurrent of emotions. She turns to look towards the phaser with a questioning lift of a red brow. "That sounds like I have paperwork. But," She slants her gaze over towards Jeremy then and back towards Kitty, with one of those sharp, intense looks that makes the line blurry on if she is or isn't using her powers. Or maybe she just perfected that look over the years to make people think that. "It also sounds like things are on their way towards being resolved, whatever happened. Everything's good then?" This is asked more towards Kitty than Jeremy.

Colossus has posed:
    Piotr nods at Jeremy. "Let me put away groceries, then I will teach you. It will be fun." Piotr really does seem to think it will be fun. Behind Jeremy's back Piotr gives Jean the most thankful look that has crossed his features in some time as he starts to maybe make some progress. "Keep ladies company while I do so, tovarisch?" With another wink, this one at Shannon, Piotr turns towards the door and levers the heavy thing open with his foot and knee before vanishing inside. "Make a hole. On a mission." He can be heard to say as the door starts to swing shut in his wake.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Why was there a need for an apology, anyways?" Oh, now Shannon's dander was up, her feathers ruffling and her voice starting to drop down a little in volume--but not intensity. Her arms cross over her chest, her brows beginning to furrow. Resolved? That had yet to be seen.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty gives Jean and Shannon a look. "I said something without thinking and Jeremy rightly called me out on it. So I've apologized, and it's sorted" Kity nods keenly taking a sip of water, "Shannon, you can relax now, I've made my apology and it's accepteed so settle back down, no need to get in a flap" Kitty nods. She's not even intending to unintentionally make jokes, that was the first word that came to mind, as Kitty lays back on the ground, settling there more and more. See, she's streched out, happy as she can be with the simple pleasures in life, sunning herself and Jeremy's situation sorted from her side of things.

SpyderByte has posed:
The young Goth can barely entertain himself. How is he going to entertain three girls .. women? At once. He just stands there, thumbing the ground with a sneaker as his hands slide back into his pocket after tucking his phone away. He shifts his jaw a bit in thought, then blows some hair out of his face.

<< She said that some of the students are garbage. Comparing them to trash. Freshmen. I accept the apology though the joke was not directed mainly at me. I just do not understand what the joke part was. Perhaps I am too analytical to understand the underlying context. >>

He furrows his brows some, staring at his sneaker as he digs it into the ground at a side to side twisting.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey almost looked satisfied with the response. Almost, and then Jeremy provides the missing context. The headmistress closes her eyes while she draws in a deep breath, and when her eyes reopen that green gaze is fixed on the counselor. "It's not Shannon you need to tell to relax, Kitty." Her voice isn't raised and her tone is even and steady. It's eerily like Charles when he's in one of those disappointed mentor moods. Jean's got a wealth of personal experience in hearing it. "We're going to talk about this later."

Nightingale has posed:
     The silence coming from Shannon's general direction is deafening, her expression now turning into a black scowl. The anger rolling off of her is positively palpable, and there is, for several long moments, no immediate sign of her backing down. Thankfully, however, she is at least biting her tongue, though her eyes seem just about ready to bore holes right into Kitty's skull.

     Finally, she simply snaps her wings back inwards, almost audibly so, tucking them in at her spine. With one smooth motion, she sweeps her hand down to pick up her guitar case, stalking across the lawn to join Jeremy. She can't even bring herself to say one word to Kitty. To Miss Grey, however, she nods slowly, her voice low and thrumming with anger. "Thank you, Miss." Something told her that macarons would not be sufficient to smooth the ruffled feathers of the Phoenix.

     Turning back to Jeremy, her voice somewhat less chilly when talking to him, she remarks, "If you gentlemen don't mind, I just might join you trimming the trees." At least she was turning the anger to more constructive ends, right?

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty doesn't really need holes in her skull, she's got holes for her eyes, hole for her mouth after all. She just nods to Jean, admittedly Kitty isn't, well, she's not liking what she said. It was an off the cuff shoot from the hip remark, and Kitty's got whatever punishment coming, deserved or not.
Kitty sits up and looks over them all, well, well aware she absolutely needs to win them back over and start that as soon as possible however.

She gets to her feet and prety much is impersonating Lockheed in the basking in the sun idea. "Alright, look. I screwed up and I'll take whatever punishment you dole out" Kitty says to Jean. Keep digging, Kitty. Keep digging...

Kitty sweeps her gaze over them all and starts heading for the mansion regardless. She's done enough damage out here. Reaching the steps she turns and looks to them all. "You know you're all family to me regarldess if you're angry with me or not. If you need me I'll be in my office" she says

Colossus has posed:
    The groceries are in mostly the right spot. Mostly. He wasn't too sure about that bag of cookies. Leaving those on the table pretty much guarantees that they will be eaten, though, so that is just as good as putting them away, so that is a win as far Piotr is concerned.

    For such a big man, he is relatively light on his feet. The door opens and Piotr steps out, reaching up to put his sunglasses back on. "So, there. Task accomplished let's?" Piotr trails off. He slowly looks around at the others and his left brow rises in some measure of concern. "What did I miss?" His shoulders droop a little.

SpyderByte has posed:
The Goth is standing off to the side, wincing as it seems he made a mess of things. Jeremy rubs the back of his neck, then lets out a low breath of frustration and embarassment. "Sss. Sssorrr-eee. D-D-Did nnn-ot muh-m-mean t-to.." He scrunches his face up a bit as he takes a swipe under his glasses to rub at his eye. It's so bright outside.

<< She apologized. She was making a joke and it didn't come off right. I don't think she meant any poor intentions. Just a bad choice of words. I guess. >>

His phone chimes from within his pocket.

Nightingale has posed:
     Standing next to Jeremy, with ruffled wing feathers and guitar case in hand, Shannon looks about ready to kill. Her normally cheerful, smiling visage is set in a scowl that makes Siberia seem more like Hawaii--and her voice isn't much better, despite its even tone. "Nobody messes with my friends," she replies to Jeremy. "All the same, it's probably best I join you and Mr. Rasputin in trimming the trees."

     The arrival of the aforementioned art teacher does have her glancing over in that direction, inclining her head by way of greeting. However, she says nothing at the moment--which may be for the best.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey watches Kitty head inside and lets out a lengthy sigh as she rubs a hand against the back of her neck with a groan. In that moment she looks disappointed and weighed down by her own responsibilities. "No, no. Better to bring it up. That's still a poor choice of words even if accidental. As one of the staff, she needs to be more aware of what she says. It'll be alright, but I want to talk to her and see if something caused her to say that."

She looks over towards Piotr as he returns, her green eyes dark and tired. "Just the precursor to a long talk with Kitty. You all go tend to the gardening. I guess I'm going to be needed inside."

Colossus has posed:
    Piotr is not upset as he looks at Jeremy. He starts as if to put a reassuring hand on the younger man's shoulder, but manages to halt himself. Instead, he simply nods his head. "You were right to tell her. I was going to do it myself, later." His voice is quiet and solemn. "Sometimes doing the right thing is harder than it should be. I am proud of you." There is an emphasis on the words 'the right thing' that seems to mean that means a lot to him. Piotr works his jaw from left to right. "Da. Let us get the clippers and remove those branches from over the fence. There is no point in having a fence if you supply a way over it."

SpyderByte has posed:
<< You realize I am not going to be much help trimming trees? I'm scared of heights. I'm not very strong and I have been Googling and downloading instructions on how to do it while we've been standing here and it looks challenging. I am probably better off bringing you lemonade. >>

Jeremy is at least honest. Even if is cheating while using the network to drag the information into his brain. It's one thing to be book smart, it's another to be mechanically capable. That is what he's not.

<< And I am not upset. >> The British voice assures Shannon as he bobs his head. << Was mostly confused. But not upset. Not really. >>

There is another stub of his foot into the ground as he glances up at Jean, giving her a weak, apologetic look. His emotions rise off him like heat on the sidewalk. He feels that he made a mess of things.

Nightingale has posed:
     "You might not be upset, Jeremy... but I am, very much so. Like I've let you down." Shannon sighs deeply, a lot of the anger bleeding off from her rather abruptly, to be replaced by shame and disappointment, as betokened by her now-drooping wings. "Company can make all the difference, so don't count yourself out just yet." She can't really bring herself to say too much more, hanging her head.

Phoenix has posed:
"It'll be fine, Jeremy. Really. Even X-Men say stupid things sometimes." Jean says with a faint smile towards the young goth. "There's an electric cart and wagon in the garage you can use it to carry the branches, or wheelbarrow if you don't need something that big." Hey, at least he can drive?

"Enjoy the sun. I'll probably see you all around dinnertime." And with that said, Jean mounts the front stairs and heads for the ornate front door.

Colossus has posed:
    "That is why we try and why we learn, Jeremy." Piotr says with a soft smile. "If I only did things I was good at, I would accomplish very little in a given day. I mean, listen to me? I have Russian accent so thick that it can be sliced up and eaten between slices of bread. You notice that Storm has no accent? Not like this. Kurt and I though? Accents for days. Makes one wonder, da?" He gestures for Shannon to come along as well.
"Now, Shannon? Why are you holding yourself accountable for things you were not present for. Seems to be an unfair expectation for you to be in every place at every time. You should learn to only hold yourself accountable for mistakes you make."
    Life lessons from Piotr are delivered at a slow pace. That was direct when it comes from him. "Come. If you behave, I will let you both drop branches on me. Could be fun, da?" He gives a respectful, gentlemanly nod to Jean as he spreads his arms wide as if to herd the kids. "Let us allow Jean to get out of the sun. She might freckle."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just pins Colossus with a rather inscrutable look that lasts several long moments. "I did a lot to help bring Jeremy here, and thought he'd be through with things like he had to hear. He's a wonderful person and didn't deserve that." For the moment, though, she is content enough to let herself be herded along into the garden, where there were trees to be trimmed, and perhaps a bit of good lemonade to be shared.

     The bit about accents does draw something of a smile from the young woman, and she inclines her head slightly. "I wouldn't say either accent is a bad thing. I rather like them." Shrugging, she follows both gentlemen to take on the task of trimming trees.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I'm right here guys. >>

Jeremy rubs a hand over his face as he gives as quint to Shannon, then lets out a breath.

<< I'm not upset. She didn't even make the joke about me. I'm a senior. >>

Either way, he goes trudging off to find this electric cart. << Come on, let's go trim trees and have a good time. >>

Colossus has posed:
    "I was not so opinionated when I first arrived. I was always like Yes professor, and I was quiet." Piotr actually banters with the two youngsters. "That was not so long ago..."