12074/Students vs Sabertooth: Round 1

Students vs Sabertooth: Round 1
Date of Scene:	24 August 2020
Location:	Gym - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	No one peed themselves and no one died. It was a splendid picnic.
Cast of Characters:	SpyderByte, Faraday, Grizzly, Nightingale, Aegis, Sabretooth, Ted Gammage

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SpyderByte has posed:
It was a hot and sunny Summer day at Xavier's and the New Mutants decided to have a group bonding trip down by the lake filled with swimming, a pinic and a bon fire for when the sun starts to drop down below. As the sky turns from blue to a more softer lavender and orange from the sun burning the sky one last time, the sound of music can be heard from a radio that is set up. The station must have been changed several times from Heavy Metal, pop, country, to whatever Indie listens to. Trap music? We'll call it Trap Music.

The Techno-Goth, who did not go swimming, is dressed in his heavy black jeans with chains hanging off the sides, a loose fitted long sleeve shirt and a long leather trench coat with a spiked collar around his neck. He is settled in a lawn chair with his phone in his hands as he watches everyone talk while he balances a hotdog on a plate upon his knee.

The fire pit is currently roaring away, sending sparks upwards towards the sky. There is enough items to make s'mores as well, ready to be opened and baked into a gooey chocolate goodness.

Faraday has posed:
Indira enjoys watching the lake, but she has made zero moves to go in it. Her excuse was along the lines of 'I'm electric, but not an eel' as well as something about how she's a 'modified form of blast fishing'. So she's hanging in a chair by the fire pit in denim shorts and a black tank top shot through with bands of neon purple, blue, and pink.

She's peacefully bobbing her head to the music for the most part while she leans back in her chair to soak up the sun. "Ugh, what do we have, 2 weeks of summer break left? I forget what the calendar said."

Grizzly has posed:
After a short while of hanging out in the forest, swimming and then setting up for the picnic and fire fit, Adam couldn't help himself but to spend some time in his bear form. He plodded past the fire, the embers warming his fur, as he went to the cooler and shoved his nose inside. A bit of rustling later and he pulled out a can of soda, which he took a few steps back, then lay down with it gingerly in his mouth. He laid down then in one easy bite, pressed several teeth into the can. The contents erupted in foamy spray in-between when he was lapping it up happily.

Nightingale has posed:
     A promise had been made, and Shannon was determined to keep it. Doing her best to push fear aside, she joined the others by the lake, in a simple black bandeau bikini, with enough coverage front and back that no sensible teacher could argue against it. Flickering light from the bonfire turns the droplets of water from the lake that cling to her skin into a million little living diamonds, glittering with their own inner fire. At the moment, she's actually smiling, heading for the cooler to grab a root beer. "Good call on the picnic, Jer. Thank you."

     As she's turning to answer Indira, there's a metallic crunch, and fizzy spray goes flying, splattering her hip. She yelps and laughs, shaking her head. "Adam, you nut!" Thinking for a moment on Indi's question, she shrugs, ruffling her wings. "Last year, they got kind of an early start, late August, so we're getting close. I think they may be starting early September this year. But don't quote me on that one."

Aegis has posed:
Having ended up as a roommate with Indi, Xiomara tended to hang out with the other gal as well as some of the others in the group. So despite not being part of their superhero team, she was there for the day of fun.

Swimming had been enjoyed although swimming in a lake was a far cry from the pools she had encountered for all her life. She hadn't let on that she was afraid something was going to drag her into the depths and kill her. She'd lose street cred for that. She had been in a bikini for that, a little red number that showed off her darker complexion well.

Now that they were sitting around the fire, she'd pulled a pair of black shorts and a white tank top over the suit, though the material of the top sort of showed through the tank just due to the color difference.

She had her hair down, wild around her head thanks to drying naturally after the swim.

"Only time I ever did a picnic was with my folks in Central Park. Never did a bonfire that wasn't in a can of some sort. So got to admit, this is nice." She has a plate with a half eaten hot dog on it along with a few potato chips. Her own soda is sitting on the ground by her little camp chair.

"Is this the part where we have to join hands and sing Kumbaya? Cause if so, I'm out."

SpyderByte has posed:
Giving a shake of his head, Jeremy's phone chimes out with his electronically altered voice from the speakers.

<<I would not sing it. I am an atheist. But I can find a song about science that we can sing instead. I don't know if it will be as catchy. >>

He lifts his hotdog to take a bite from it as he chews a few times, watching Adam from the corner of his eye being a 'bear'. There's a small giggle from the Goth as he blows some black hair away from his face.

<< Adam, sometimes I think you like being a bear more than a boy. You should be careful, or else you may end up in the zoo. I think visiting you would be weird. They'd also make you eat raw fish. >>

Sabretooth has posed:
    He has been watching from the tree line for some time. He had come out here when the sun was up, but had retreated to the trees as the students approached. He breathes in and out slowly, lifting his nose to catch the scents. Hot dogs and beer always smell good. Leather. Metal. Bear. The scent of the lake on a couple of them. He pauses again as he tries to locate his handler. He had lost the man in the trees at some point, and had been enjoying a bit of freedom in the woods. Now....

    Victor Creed slowly stands up and walks out of the trees. He is wearing a tshirt that was probably a school one at some point, but the logo has been scratched away, ripping the shirt. He wears jeans but nothing on his feet. He approaches from upwind to keep his arrival as quiet as possible, not knowing what the bear can do. He gets to the edge of the fire casting shadows as the sun is dipping before speaking in a low, rough tone. "Cubs."

Faraday has posed:
"Not enough drums and drugs for that song. But real talk." Prompts Indi, "Given that this is some crazy secret mutant school, someone please tell me there is some Loch Break-Ness Monster in there! If not, I'm going to be pretty disappo--"

And then Indira hears the snap-hiss and ducks a spray. "Dude! The rest of us have thumbs, we coulda opened that." She shoots a look Adam before chuckling at what Jeremy says. "Nothing wrong with sushi, except I don't think the bears get wasabi with their's."

But that isn't the only excitement going on. Someone arguably as big and meaner than a bear comes out of the woods and, as Creed's voice comes out of the increasing dark, Indi gives a slight jerk of a start. "Uh... oh." She looks up, and up a slightly bit more. "...hhii?"

Grizzly has posed:
Adam lifted his head, the can in his maw as he looked toward Shannon. He tipped his head back, being able to gulp down more of the soda now, as the fizzy eased. When he was done, because he was not an inconsiderate bear by any means, he got up again to deposit the empty can into the trash bin before headed over to where others were gathered up sitting. He plopped down and then let out a loud belch that cut through any conversation. Licking his maw, he glanced over to Jeremy and winked. Being a bear was fun; if only he could try it sometime. He could pretty much do anything he wanted because A, who's gunna stop him? And B, people just didn't judge animals like they did people.

But he didn't bother Jeremy for attention, this time attempting to nudge at Indi's hand, as she was laying back. He'd push his nose under her hand and arm, which required him to duck his head almost to the ground, as when he sat, he was equally as tall as she was seated. And then a man came out from the woods. If he'd been paying attention, he might have noticed earlier, but his nose was fizzy from cola and he'd just been trying to get some good old fashioned scritches. He lifted his head and glanced toward the man, but remained seated as he waited on the rest of the group's reaction to the intrusion.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Gotta wonder if bears taste wasabi the same way we do?" Shannon muses, eyeing Adam with an impish little smile. It wasn't too difficult to work out the gears turning in her head, though further thought is forestalled at the incredibly loud rumbling that split the air. Her eyes go wide, and she lets out a low whistle. "Holy sh..."

     Whatever oath had been about to escape her trails into nothingness, as a shadow easily as intimidating as any bear seems to separate itself from the ones cast by the bonfire, a monolith of muscles that is nearly impossible to miss. Her wings tense behind her, caught half-opened as she freezes in place. All the color drains from her face as she eyes Victor.

     But she had made a promise.

     With considerable effort, she takes a deep breath, forcing herself to tuck her wings in behind her and nodding once in the man's general direction. "Good evening," she finally manages to say, her voice bearing a hint of tension, but heavily schooled into something otherwise resembling calm. "Hungry? There's enough food if you wanted some."

     She glances over at Jeremy and the others briefly, hoping and praying she is doing the right thing.

Aegis has posed:
"See! I wasn't the only one thinking it!" Xio says as she points at Indi's question about a lake monster. Feeling vindicated, she tosses a chip in her mouth and chews quickly, washing it down with a sip or of her soda.

Hearing the voice, her head snapped around to focus on the figure that had just sort of appeared there. Sure, he had walked but she wasn't really paying attention and he was sort of behind where she was focused. "Que mierda!" Realizing this was an adult, she had the feeling her choice of expletives probably would lead to a reprimand. "You a teache--"

She didn't get the rest of that out, spying the reaction from Shannon. That didn't bode well. Then her eyes went wide as she put two and two together.

"Dios mio, you the guy they hide in the basement! Que pasa, Chunk?" Because in her brain, any monster locked in the basement had to be from the Goonies. Though he looked a helluva lot scarier than Chunk ever did.

SpyderByte has posed:
At the sight of Victor coming out of the woods, followed by the rumble of that gravled voice, Jeremy bolts up from his chair quickly, then steps behind it. It takes him a half second to realize that a lawn chair won't protect him and he is soon crab walking towards Adam. Huge bear. Meat shield.

<< Guys, if I have to throw my phone at him, I'll be out of ammo. >>

Can one's voice come out terrified from a phone's speaker? Jeremy's can.

Once he is safely behind Adam, he peers out from behind his large fuzzy bear shoulder. He is trembling like a leaf in a tornado.

<< Please do not agitate him, Aegis! I have ran all scales and models and we have a zero point three percent chance of survival based upon our current skill-set and that is /with/ Ted being here. He still needs a code name. I want to call him Bulldozer but he wants to go with Rubble but then I told him it would be like a character from Paw Patrol which was really good show and I enjoyed it as a kid. >>

The phone's speaker is rambling and talking quicker as the words come tumbling out. He clenches the phone in his hands tighter.

<< Mister Creed, it is an honor to meet you and I am probably going to pee myself which will be embarrassing and I get teased enough as it is so if you could please not call attention to it that would be really honorable of you. >>

Sabretooth has posed:
    Victor laughs and it is a deep rumble of a sound. "No, I'm not a teacher." Massive clawed hands push his long hair back out of his face and his amber eyes shine in the firelight. "And I ain't hiding either," he growls with a bit of anger in his voice for that one. He walks closer to the group, coming fully into the light. He towers over the kids but the fire light gives them a good look at him. Broad chest. Thick arms and legs. Claws on his fingers and toes.

    "No promises, small fry," he says to Jeremy before he looks at each of them, one at a time. He begins making his way towards the cooler. He flips open the lid. "Got anything besides soda? I thought cubs like you always raided the liquor cabinet." He turns from the cooler to look back at the group. The smile on his face is more like a shark's than anything with real warmth.

Faraday has posed:
Indira seems to have much the same idea to hide behind Adam, but then he did kind of cram himself under her arm. She just makes sure her arm is firmly sunk and hidden in all of that grizzly floof. Hug of death. She shoots a glance over towards Jeremy with her other hand making that throat-slashy kind of stoppitshutup gesture.

"I've heard that you don't touch the hidden beer. I have no idea where any of the rest is. So, uh... rumless cokes, sorry?" She says while shifting her eyes one way and then the other, possibly looking for the handler the emails said was supposed to be around in times like this.

Ted Gammage has posed:
While the others froliced, Ted had wandered a bit off to find a quieter spot to fish. To his credit, or perhaps to his country upbringing, he actually did catch a few, and has them on a line slung low over his shoulder and his fishing rod over the other.. He's wearing his beat up jeans, old t-shirt with a short-sleeved button up shirt that probably wouldn't button across his chest, a pair of work boots and his trusty cowboy hat.

"Hey guys," he calls out from a bit off, "Got us some fish, who wants to learn how to clean um?" Probably meant to tease Jeremy a bit, he can't imagine his friend being down with gutting a fish. But as he nears, he sees someone else there. His pace picks up and before too much longer he stands with the others, expression turning stonier, "Y'all made a friend while ah was out?"

Grizzly has posed:
Despite not knowing Creed, the fear reaction of his friends is enough to trigger his own reaction. Cute and cuddly teddy bear is gone as he raises up to his full, two-legged height. A low rumble escapes his throat as the man passes them by, and dips into their food. With two of his teammates behind him, he hasn't lost any of his human mentality yet, but is just asserting a bit of his protectiveness toward his friends, against his ominous stranger. As Victor looks him over, Adam's still blue eyes narrow and he lets loose grunted snarl. Still not a full roar, just a warning with a bit of show of teeth.

Nightingale has posed:
     Well, at least the show of hospitality was keeping them alive, at least for the moment. Though her hand shook like a leaf, Shannon rested it upon Adam's arm, shaking her head once as if in mild warning. Much the same look is given to Ted while Creed is otherwise occupied rifling through their stash of non-alcoholic potables. "Afraid not this time," she replies, working to keep her voice somewhat even, and flicking her wings behind her.

     She knew all too well what he was capable of. All the more reason to be at least somewhat pleasant, at least for the moment. In that spirit, her voice takes on almost a lighter, teasing sort of tone, though the joviality is belied by the trembling of her hand. "Of course, if you have any suggestions we could try...?"

Aegis has posed:
She never moves. Xio stays in her seat, seemingly relaxed. At the warning from Jeremy, it takes a moment for her to realize he was talking to her. She's the one that made the basement commment and annoyed the giant scary man. Thus, she must be the one that was agitating. "I ain't no ageist. Amo mi abuela," she mutters quite low but she keeps her eye on the behemoth of a man raiding the cooler.

"Don't know where the beer fridge is yet. Next time, si?"

Not agitating! Not irritating. Just conversational and pleasant. Course, those with the right senses can probably tell she is as terrified as some of her friends, she just is doing her best not to outwardly show it.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I said Aegis. Noun. It means to protect and support of a particular person or organization. It is derived from the Greek word of goatskin. In Greek mythology, an Aegis offers protection. It is also considered to be the mantle of Zeus. The protector of Zeus. That is what your power set is. You create shields and deliver shields to your allies. >>

Jeremy's phone squawks out from behind the bear as he taps the volume up a bit with a slide of his thumb. He takes in a deep breath, then glances over to the drink cooler.

<< Our apologies Mister Creed, sir, for not having alcoholic beverages. I promise next time we have a picnic we will sneak some out in case you wish to make another guest appearance. I haven't had beer before. But my dad used to drink all the time. I don't like the smell. It reminds me of urine. It also made him angry, and then he would yell at me. >>

He gives Adam a light pat on the beary shoulder. He knows. They both have crummy dads.

<< If you promise not to kill us, I'll let you know where you're designated handler is currently at so you can continue to evade him. I am currently tracking his phone. In return we will pretend we never saw you? >>

Jeremy, the deal maker! He is totally not a coward. Nope.

Sabretooth has posed:
    Victor drops the basest attempt of humor from his eyes and face as Adam snarls and shows teeth. "Careful there, Yogi. I told Slim I wouldn't bother any of you cubs unless one of you tries to challenge." He turns to face the bear fully, but doesn't get closer at the moment. Still, his claws lengthen as he stands there, and his muscles visably tense. "You think you can, then have a go," he says very quietly with an almost cat like hiss in his tone.

    He remains still but turns his head slightly as Ted approaches, but it would be foolish to assume he has lost sight of Adam. "Slim has been busy collecting you lot, hasn't he?" He seems to relax a little at the show from the rest of the students. Wary. Quiet. "Oh, I know where he is." He lifts his head and sniffs at the air. "Not far off now. If I keep giving him the slip, I doubt Red will let me come out here any more. Can't have that." He is still tense, however, and has not moved back towards the cooler.

Faraday has posed:
"Hey now, there's no reason we can't all be civil." Indira says, even if her attempts at defusing the situation are done from behind the growling bear. "You're a guest, we're students, so hey! We're all stuck here! So, uh... yeah. It's thin common ground, but we're all standing on ground right now. I guess it counts. So let's just sit, eat hot dogs, and not murder one another. Sound cool?"

Grizzly has posed:
Adam wasn't about to attack, not unless given actual cause, however, the friendly hand on his fur did help to keep him at a bit more ease. He snorted heavily through his nose at Victor's own show of intimidation. And even made the very un-bearlike gesture of rolling his eyes. However, he dropped back down to all fours. With that, he leaned gently against Shannon, nudging her arm this time, as it had been on his while he was standing, but had not being doing it's proper job of scratching.

Ted Gammage has posed:
After a moment of sizing up Victor, Ted puts down the rod and fish. He's hoping a brawl won't go down, but hitting someone with a dead fish probably wouldn't be too useful. He gives a look to Adam, gauging his reaction, but he doesn't really appear to be looking for a fight himself. He does, however, instinctivly try to place himself between Victor and some of the squishier members of the group without looking TOO much like he was doing it. "Yeah, he's been scoopin' us up. Ah think he likes showin' off his plane." He crosses his arms over his chest, "You the guy they had in that X-Dungeon thing. Got a lotta folks a bit rattled."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon shrugs, cracking a small smile as she tends to her proper duties. Which consisted, of course, of offering scritches to one very large, surprisingly friendly grizzly bear. Oddly enough, it does a great deal to set her at ease, as well as when Ted makes a discreet move to shield his fellow teammates. She sends a quick smile of gratitude his way, while her fingers work their way through the fur on top of Adam's cranium. "Like we said, there's plenty of food to go around, even if we're short on booze. Come on, take a load off?"

     Step 1 in dealing with a situation such as this? Don't piss the man off. Step 2? Keep one's drawers clean. Step 3? Make sure steps 1 and 2 worked.

Aegis has posed:
"Can we all calm down because there is something way more important here," Xio says as she continues to sit, plate on her lap. She has her hands at slightly different angles than they should be compared to her posture. More palm toward the bear and the other toward Victor. As in, between her and Victor cause now that the X-Dungeon came up again, she is not going to go down without at least trying to defend herself. And maybe the others.

"This is the second time you all mentioned a plane. I had to ride here in a car for hours. And I could've flown? What the fuck? Why didn't I rate?"

Probably something about planes in Spanish Harlem might be noticed. And the words are more to help try to defuse things. Or at least distract.

Sabretooth has posed:
    Victor snorts as the bear drops back down and then turns to look at Ted as the young man moves in. His claws are growing smaller once more. "Word to the wise, kid, dungeon doesn't sit well with me. Best to drop that one. And if I wasn't rattling people, they are foolish. But for now...." He shrugs. "Guess I can give Slim a chance." He looks at Shannon, holding the look for a moment, before turning to go back to the cooler. Even as he turns, it is clear the hairs on his neck are up as he might have felt what Xiomara was doing and still isn't completely calmed down. He lifts and scoops out a soda and raises it to the kids.

    There is a sudden full chorus of voices coming out of the woods. "Victor!" "Victor!" "Victor!" "Victor!" The voices are quickly joined by a near horde of men coming out of the woods. They are all identical. Tall and thin with a shaggy mop of brown hair on his head. He is dressed in a long sleeved shirt with two vertical rows of dots connected with horizontal lines and one vertical running through the middle of the design. "Damn, Victor. You know you are supposed to stay in eye shot," the man calls as the identical men begin to disappear.

Faraday has posed:
Indira Bhandari visibly relaxes and sinks back further into her chair, flexing her fingers to discharge a few restless sparks that disappear before they hit the ground. "Hey, I didn't get to ride in a plane either." She says over to Xiomara with a shrug. "I haven't seen one, but everyone else insists it's real."

Things, however, don't stay quiet. At the emergence of duplicates comes rushing out the trees, the girl gives a long, slow exhale. "...well it isn't a lake monster, but that sure is weird."

Grizzly has posed:
Adam's caught the scent of the fish which now too his attention. He licked his chops and looked at the fish that was now on the ground. Then over to Ted. He'd begun to drool a bit. And yes Jeremy, raw fish was delicious. He tried to distract himself by enjoying the feel of Shannon's fingers. But, he might have edged a little closer to that fish.

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Eh," Ted says "Honestly, can see yer point, My bad. 'magine it'd be ah bit Taboo." Though, he is still one of the first who'd wonder why have a dungeon under a school. Also, he makes notes to remind Jeremy later of the conversation where he said Victor would probably get out. Admittedly, his way was more of "Escape" rather than "Parole" but whatever.

"More'n welcome to hang about if y' want then," he says "Look like you might know how to clean a fish better'n some of these city kids." He grins wryly, but then blinks as the chorus of voices calls out. "Ah, guess yer probably not gonna stay then," he guesses.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< That is Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man. He can create carbon copies of himself which mostly have their own individual personality outside of the prime host. >>

Jeremy is obviously an encyclopedia of Xavier residents. He glances down at the phone for a moment as he pulls the file up with a thought.

<< Not much of a threat level for Victor Creed, but the fact he has unlimited bodies would prove to be obnoxious, even for a highly skilled kil-- hunter such as himself. >>

As he peeks out from behind Adam, he glances down at the fish, then wrinkles his nose a bit, giving his friend a jab in the side with his finger. Gross! Super gross.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon looks straight at Victor, holding his gaze for several long moments. Yes, there was raw fear in her eyes. But there was also a steely resolve beneath that. She is not the first to look away, only turning her attention back to Adam when their erstwhile guest salutes them with his carbonated non-alcoholic drink of choice.

     Following along with Adam, she attempts to put herself between the two teammates, and the freshly-caught trout. "C'mon, bear down and there'll be enough fish for all of us," she says, chuckling, and turning to Ted. "Oi, not all of us are completely unfamiliar with how to clean a fish. THe real trick will be keeping the catch safe long enough to do the job!" she quips.

     Glancing over at Jeremy, she chuckles and nods. "Haven't seen much of Mr. Madrox around lately. Ironic in his case...."

Aegis has posed:
As many versions of the same person show up and the explanation for who it that is was shared by Jeremy, Xio could only shake her head a bit. Now that things were calming a bit more, she rested her hands on the arms of her camp chair again.

"Mr. Madrox. Multiple Man. Okay." She just shakes her head and doesn't even go there.

Sabretooth has posed:
    "Thanks. I appreciate that. Obnoxious was just what I was going for," Jamie says with a half smile and soft groan. He turns to look at Victor. "I thought we had discussed the students being off limits at this point."

    Victor shrugs. "Hot dogs smelled good." He takes a pull from the soda in his hand and gives a slight chuckle. "I would say the kid nailed it perfectly. Obnoxious." He looks back to the kids. "Yeah, looks like party time is over. Guess I will bring the beer next time." It is hard to tell if his voice is gravely and growly with humor or just flat. He sniffs at the air, eyes going to each one of them. "I'm sure I will see you around as long as Particle Man here gives a good report that I didn't hurt any of you." He smiles and his fangs twinkle in the fire light. Again, not sure if humor or threat is in his tone.

Nightingale has posed:
     Pinching the bridge of her nose, Shannon actually laughed lightly, just shaking her head as she glances right over at Victor. That brand of humor was one she recognized all too well from a different source, and it actually drew something of a smile from her. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but if anyone asks, I'll pass on the report myself."

     A smile is given to each teammate in turn, with a little flick of her eyebrows. Somehow, they had managed to survive this one together, too!

Grizzly has posed:
Adam purposely and /very dramatically/, flopped down onto the ground nearby the fish. Huff and sigh. Look at me, I'm FADING AWAY. I'm dying...I need fooooood. Although he was laying down, he caught that last look in his direction by Victor and pointedly stuck his tongue out at him before going back to looking as pathetic as a bear can to garner more sympathy food.