12696/The Cure: Uncertain Waters

The Cure: Uncertain Waters
Date of Scene:	30 January 2021
Location:	Breakstone, Westchester County
Synopsis:	Poseidon and Shannon finally catch up after nearly a year. He finds out about the events in Bushwick, and about Athena's return. Cookies, cocoa, wisdom, and good company are shared.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Poseidon
Tinyplot:	Mutant Cure

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Nightingale has posed:
     A simple, quiet winter's afternoon spent in nature's beauty could be a balm for the soul. It was a path Shannon had trod many a time over the past year, finding her way to a familiar spot in the woods, a short hike from home. There was a natural-looking stone bench that could have been placed there by the gods, right by a little babbling brook that did not seem to freeze over so easily.

     The young woman is dressed for the chill in a pair of dark blue jeans, her favorite calf-length, caramel suede boots, a dove-grey turtleneck sweater, and a grey beanie hat. She's got a backpack slung over her shoulders, which she rests on the ground once she arrives at the spot.

     From within the backpack, she takes some incense, a thermos, and a couple different containers. Once the incense is lit, she just smiles, opening one of the containers and removing... pinecones? Yes, they are pinecones which have been slathered in peanut butter and rolled in bird seed. Homemade bird feeders, to keep the local feathered friends fed throughout the cold. She hums softly as she sets about hanging them from trees near the brook, letting the birds' song provide nature's own music.

     But she would not be flying with them, as she had no wings....

Poseidon has posed:
What is time, if not a relative thing? The single minute of a human, with its living expectancy, can be an eternity for a mouse... And a year, for a human, may be a lot but is barely a second for an immortal being. Busy, in his own way, Poseidon has been away from Earth for the last year or so, not ignoring prayers, but just answering with a feeling of "I'm there, busy but there. Call back later" but now, again on Earth, again relatively free, his awareness is free to scan over his followers, and his friends.
The incense, on the stone bench, triggers his attention, and it only takes a tiny bit of magic for Poseidon to dematerialize from his previous location to appear, soundlessly as always, sitting on the bench itself with his blue eyes already scanning for Shannon.
White hair fall down gently around his serene, ageless face, and his clothes are a plain ocean-blue shirt over jeans and white sneakers, apparently uncaring about the weather.

Nightingale has posed:
     With such a silent appearance, it's a few moments of bedecking the trees with the homemade bird feeders, hanging by gaily colored ribbons in shades of red and gold, before Shannon turns back towards the bench. It had indeed been nearly a year since the last she had seen that ageless, timeless face, Poseidon's sudden appearance eliciting a sound of surprise from her. But that sound melts into a laugh, and god or no, he is greeted with a fierce hug. "Hello there!" she finally says, "It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

Poseidon has posed:
The hug is returned, and Poseidon even adds a smile, before his eyes focus a bit more on the girl, something that prompts his right eyebrow to shoot up questioningly "what happened to you, Shannon?" but he freezes, shaking his head briefly "hello, dear, yes it's been a while, apologies for that..." manners, manners...

Nightingale has posed:
     "It's alright. Figured you were probably busy a lot. I'm just one person, and you've all the world's waters to look after." The raised eyebrow gets a bit of a sigh from Shannon, and she settles down on the bench, offering the thermos to Poseidon. "Bit of cocoa in there if you like. It may sweeten a story I'm pretty sure you won't enjoy hearing."

     Looking to where the incense is burning, she follows the path of the smoke into the sky for a few moments, taking a breath and gathering her thoughts. "There's been a bit of trouble in Bushwick recently. A few weeks ago, there was a mutant protest that did not end well. A sort of 'cure' for mutants whose gifts are truly harmful to themselves or others is out there, and its intent is to give the choice to shed those gifts if desired."

     There is a long silence, and somehow, the girl manages to keep her shoulders straight, and her voice steady. "It was used as a tool of hate that day. I was one of several struck with a dart full of the stuff."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon gratefully accepts the thermos, taking a sip from it "I delegate lots of it now adays, but still..." that said, he falls quiet, listening to what the girl is saying. It takes him a second or two to process it, then he blinks, and does it again. "why, I wonder, humans do always have the gift to take things built for good and turn them into weapons? Why, for fuck's sake, do they always act like selfish children?"
Is it because of the thing itself, or maybe because it involved Shannon whom he considers now as a friend, but the god of the seas, stormbringer, god of earthquakes and all that is pretty upset about it, and the ground even shakes a little. Nothing worrying, but well, it is still noticeable.
"what's being done about it?" he inquires next, trying to bring his voice under control again, as well asthe ground under his feet, that indeed stops shaking.

Nightingale has posed:
     "There's a 'cure' for the Cure in the works, thankfully. Being patient is not easy, though. Things got messy enough that even some assistance from the Avengers has been called in, to further that aim."

     Shannon just smiles a bit grimly, drawing her feet up beneath her as she settles in on the bench. One of the homemade pinecone bird feeders has already attracted the attention of a pair of cardinals--one, a brilliant scarlet red, the other, swathed in duller shades of rose and earth. "This is one battle that will not be won by fighting, but by science. Let's see how well bigots like it when their little darts don't have quite the 'teeth' that they used to."

     The shaking of the earth has the young woman raising her eyebrows, and reaching out to offer a steadying hand on Poseidon's shoulder, with something akin to a smile.

Poseidon has posed:
"curing the cure... As long as there won't be a cure for the cure's cure..." Poseidon sighs, closing his eyes for a few seconds, just contemplating something "sometimes I truly wonder if humans are worth anything, now adays. Seems like all they're doing is finding new ways to destroy, themselves and the world around them. Look at it, pollution, natural resources almost all tapped out, and yet... They still find the time to fight among themselves" It must be, fortunately, just a moment of cynical reacting because Poseidon soon shakes his head and shrugs "oh well, there's still plenty of decent people, but let me tell you for many sides, the modern human sucks, big time..."

Nightingale has posed:
     "And yet there are still decent humans, who try to protect, and preserve those and the world around them," Shannon points out. "Maybe not everybody, but those who do, try their best." She smiles somewhat, a few books poking out of her backpack; they look to be study materials, with a caduceus upon the covers of a couple of them.

     "It'd be easy to be really cynical about the whole thing. It'd be easy to lose it and break down and cry, and scream 'Why?'. Heaven only knows I've come close a few times. I'm angry that it happened, sad that I can't heal with a touch, or fly, but... I'm proud that if it had to happen, it was while I was pulling a friend out of trouble, when they themselves were hit."

     Her brows furrow a little bit, as she continues. "I'm more worried for my friends, than myself. It's the hardest thing I've gone through, but... I can cope. There is still plenty I can and -will- do. Those bigots think they took me out? Ha! They've got another thing coming!"

Poseidon has posed:
"that, Shannon, is the key for true power... Mutants have nice tricks up their sleeve. Flight, healing, all nice, but you do have something in your head that works like a marvelous miracle of natural engineering, and something pulsating in your ribcage which metaphorically can lead your brain on the right path..." Poseidon must have noticed the books and the caduceus, and that brings a smile on his lips "and that's the Shannon I know, which keeps doing what she does no matter what... Though someday you'll have to learn how to help others without always taking all the bullets on yourself, remember that as much as a living Shannon can help tons of people, a dead shannon, maybe, will have helped just one and then no more. Always consider this, when you act."

Nightingale has posed:
     "That's precisely why I'm studying to take the state EMT exam this summer," Shannon replies. "When I finally do get my gifts back, I can rely less on them, keep myself alive, and do a hell of a lot more. Sure, there may be those who cannot be helped any other way. Maybe they're allergic to metal or conventional medicine. But hopefully that will be very rare."

     She purses her lips, crossing her arms even as she leans over to lightly bump shoulders with Poseidon. "The really annoying part of it all? You took the trouble to bless my wings, and now I don't even know if that will still be there when I get them back! I was very annoyed that had to happen to your gift to me!"

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon arches an eyebrow again, then grins and shrugs "oh, yes, the blessing is still on you... You just don't have the, mhm, well how can I explain it without going through plenty of intricacies about magic..." he rubs his chin, thoughtfully staring at the sky "well divine boons stick on you... Unless magically removed, that is. It is like adding a new condition to your existance, writing some sort of new rules about your being. If you have wings, they are waterproof. If you don't the condition is pretty much useless, but if you gain them again, the condition still applies. Does that make sense?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "That does make sense, actually," Shannon replies, her smile lightening her expression considerably. "I'm glad your gift wasn't destroyed. That would really have been upsetting." Chuckling lightly, a third container is withdrawn from her backpack, and inside are some classic chocolate chip cookies, which she offers to Poseidon. "I wasn't sure which of you would be here, if anybody. Athena's been around a few times now, too."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon tilts his head in interest, at the cookies? At Athena? At both? "Havn't seen her in a while, that should be fixed... It's still family, and even the wise smart part of it which, trust me, is rare..." a brief frown crosses his face for a moment, then his hand shoots towards one of the cookies, getting it to take a bite and taste it "delicious... Lets hope she doesn't bring back the fact that I messed up with her protegee because he in his arrogance just blinded one of my protegee... Mah, it'll be fun"

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ohhhh crap. Eheh... ooo boy, hope I didn't create a family SNAFU there... I'm sorry." Shannon blushes, and grins a bit sheepishly, offering a few more of the cookies. "Next time I run into her, I'll let her know you're back in the area, if you like? And... yeah, she already knows about what happened."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon nods simply "please do let her know, yes, if I don't run into her first, that is..." the man states, gladly taking another cookie and smiling approvingly "this is divine I swear..." that said, though, he stands with a sigh "though for now, I'm afraid I must leave, I have, a couple of things to do asap..." a new smile is aimed at shannon, and the god even places his right hand gently on her left shoulder, giving it a light squeeze "do be well, Shannon, and call if you need anything..." Just like dialing a number on the godly phone hoping the signal gets wherever he is!
Like he appeared then, with no sound nor flash of light, he's gone, teleported in his palace again dressed in his armour. "now, who's the responsible for that disaster near Japan, this time?" god of the oceans starting his shift...

Nightingale has posed:
     That reassuring hand has Shannon smiling, and it is followed by a hug. "No, they're just earthly sweets. But the compliment's appreciated! Thank you!" With the incense burned out, the cocoa drunk, and cookies eaten, she cleans up what she brought with her, tucking everything away in her backpack and slinging it over her shoulders. "Be safe and well," she says, starting on her way back home. It would be a bit of a hike, without being able to fly, and the sun was setting fast on a chilly, wintry world....