12804/Day Trips

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Day Trips
Date of Scene: 07 March 2021
Location: Salem Center, Westchester County
Synopsis: Jean and Andrea head out to scout some future home sites and run into Remy and Riana.
Cast of Characters: Phoenix, Rage, Gambit, Wild Rose




Phoenix has posed:
It's a cold day in Salem Center, but the sun is out in force with that tantalizing, soul-warming heat that promises spring isn't too far away. It was the perfect day for Jean Grey to be forcibly thrown outside to get fresh air and distance. She was cleared to leave the med bay but under strict orders to take it easy. No powers and absolutely no work. For good measure someone even changed her login passwords, which has already led to no shortage of restlessly and reflexively trying to check the intranet only to find the 'Access Denied' message mockingly shining back at her.

With nothing else to do, it was decided to arrange a last second day trip to head into town. She even pinged Andrea, whom she needed to catch up with anyway over real estate opportunities. The sleek black SUV pulls up to the curb on the main street. The electric engine doesn't even make a sound, and the only indication as to the origin is a subtle X on the main doors done in a matte black. Jean steps out in mundane dark jeans, a pale rose undershirt, and a knitted duster in various hues of grey. She's got her phone in hand as soon as she's out, and just as soon slips it back in her pocket with a sigh. Bad habits.

Rage has posed:
"Knock it off, you're giving me anxiety." Andrea says to Jean as she climbs out of the car, giving a long stretch of her body. "We made a promise. No phones! We're going to have a proper girl night out, buying expensive houses, or at least entertaining the idea of it." Today, the global celeb pop-starlet is wearing a pair of skinny jeans with destroy and repair along them, as well as a baggy cableknit sweater with her hair pulled up into a messy bun with only a hint of makeup on.

"Okay, so, my realtor picked out at least ten houses for us to walk today. I already got my sights set on one and ran it past Jay, so no fighting me on it. I'll cry or something." She even has a folder with her filled with addresses that she passes to Jean. She printed them all out.

No phones.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau has never been one to just lurk around the mansion. How many times has the Cajun drug himself in just before one of Scott's 5 am training sessions, presumably without sleep. So the fact he wasn't at the Mansion this morning is hardly a surprise... but it apparently wasn't drinking and carousing that kept him out last night. Smiling to the woman with him, he animatedly tells a story. "...so dare 'e is, his face jus' drippin' wit' custard. De guards got de clown pinned to de ground but de whole Guild hall gone quiet. Ah mean yah coulda 'eard a fly fart in dare. And den Papa he reach up, take a single fingerfull off 'is cheek, put it in 'is mouth... an' aftah a dramatic pause says "Ah do believe it's pineapple."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Fiery-haired and befreckled, the woman on Remy's arm lofts one finely-arched titian brow, one corner of her lips tugging upwards in a wry half-grin. "If a fly lets fly that loud, then it's time to flee from the fly." Riana chuckles softly, lifting herself on her toes to brush a kiss across Remy's cheek. "Sweeter than pineapple, cher." She's in plain black jeans, a puffy black parka, and black sneakers that look as if perhaps they might have become someone's chew toy recently--well worn, loved, but mercifully without holes. So far, at any rate.

     "So where is it we're heading to, cher? Don't think we've been this way yet."

Phoenix has posed:
There's a sniff from Jean that is entirely unapologetic and ever so slightly challenging. No one tells her to keep her nose out of things! Except when Charles and Scott team up and suggest - in so many terms - that she wasn't allowed home until nightfall at least. Hypocrites. "I'm not thirteen again." Grouses the woman under her breath as she steps up onto the curb, but she does leave her phone in place. She locks the car with a quiet beep and pockets the key fob, before she pulls out a rare sight - a hair tie - and does quick work of taming back her hair into a loose and low ponytail

"Guess you saw that one link I sent you. I love the place, but that pricetag is so far out of my range it's in a different galaxy. I'm sure the rest on your list are too." Jean says to Andrea with the quirk of a grin. "So at least we wouln't be fighting over property. I'm surprised you decided to look out this way, actually. Figured the city life was more your thing. Bit of his doing, I take it?"

Rage has posed:
"Nope, all my idea. I'm doing this for him. Jay is a country boy with large wings on his back. I wanted to give him and our kids somewhere to roam free in a massive backyard and have a place to really be themselves without photogs chasing us down, or sending drones up to our windows. Also, my penthouse is like .. fifteen million dollars, right? This one is one point two. I can flip the penthouse and essentially buy what looks like a squished down version of the school. Four bedrooms, seven bath, three car garage, massive pool and waterfall, twenty acres of land. It's the best of both worlds."

As Andrea opens up her own folder, she takes out the listing and passes it over to Jean with a grin. "I mean, check it out, gorgeous, right? That is crazy cheap. So, I'm calling dibs. I found a few houses in .. your price range. Trust me, my realtor is crazy good at what she does. She's also cut throat. You give me a price and she will get it for you. She'll kill someone to close a sale. I've seen the rage in her eyes. Bloodlust."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau grins a little bit holding Riana a bit closer. "Dare a wholesaler near 'ere dat sells me cards. Like five 'undred decks foh sixty cents a deck." He grins a bit more, "It's one of dose lil t'ings dat yah really don' t'ink about when yah give yahself a gimmick or trade mark, yah know? Dis is why Captain America only t'row de one shield. He not 'ave ta pay t'ree 'undred dollars outta 'is own pocket foh ammo." Of course he does say it in an amused tone. then he tilts his head as another Familier redhead catches his eye. "Hey dat look like Jean ta yah?" he asks Riana before calling out her name. "Jean?!" and giving a bit of a wave.

Wild Rose has posed:
     "Wouldn't know about that. Only met the guy once, and he wound up out in the field somewhere else that day." Oh, but those sage green eyes bear a glimmer of frightening intensity beneath them that betoken a mind hard at work, and paying attention. A mischievous smile only completes the appearance, with something saucy whispered in Remy's ear.

     Sure enough, though, there was one somewhat recognizeable face among those enjoying a day out. Riana peers in the direction Remy points out, and smiles. "I'll be. I think you're right. Jean?" She, too, calls out, waving to her fellow redhead.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean flips through the folder of papers Andrea gave her, skimming over the listings and confirming her suspicions with a quiet whistle. "Oh it is beautiful. As amazing as it is, no worries. I don't need to move out of one mansion into another, or even let Someone think of trying to foot the bill. Besides, the echoing of that much empty space'd get to me."

There's a light waggle of the folder in Andrea's direction as she adds, "You worry about you first. You're the one who needs to worry about selling. I'll get to it. Scott's primary concern isn't the number of bedrooms, its garage space or space for one. I have some ideas. I may even just grab some land and make it what I want and not the other way around. There's kind of something appealing about building from the ground up. Fresh start, fresh history. I just need to run numbers and make sure it wouldn't cost as much as if I was building a house on the moon."

As she's chatting, she doesn't seem to notice anyone familiar in the area. At least until there's a very distinctive voice calling out her name. Looking up from the folder, she glances down the sidewalk and grins widely at who she spots. "Hey! Fancy running into you two here. How's the day treating you?"

Rage has posed:
"Sound proofing does wonders for echos by the way. You can foam behind the walls and it dampens the noise. Jay and I are going to build a studio right here." Andrea points to one of the pictures. "We're going to have a set up for the entire band, mixing tables and recording booths. It's going to be nutty."

Hearing some people call out to Jean, she gives a glance over towards the pair, then gives an upward nod of her head. "Hey Remy." She says as she brushes some of her loose bangs away from her face as she studies the woman on his arm. "Whatcha up to?"

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau shrugs a little bit, "Jus' doin' some light shoppin'," He says with a smile. "Enjoyin' de turn in de weat'er. Wit' any luck Winter only got one more last gasp left foh it actually gets warm again... Den people c'n start complaining 'bout de 'eat." He says with a grin. "What about you ladies, what's got y'all out an' about?"

Wild Rose has posed:
     "By 'light shopping', he means loading up on decks of cards," Riana adds by way of reply to Jean, chuckling to herself. "Somehow, he managed to drag me away from working on a project down in Bushwick. That got slowed down for a little while. But never mind that!"

     Glancing over at who is with Jean, even the martial artist has to do a double-take, her brows working their way well up her forehead. Aside to Remy, she whispers, "Is that who I think it is, or am I losing the few marbles I've got left?"

Phoenix has posed:
"I'm so hoping winter is almost over." Jean says with a glance towards the sky. "Much as I love sweaters, I am over the snow. I am grateful the sun is steadily staying out longer, though I wouln't be happy until I'm watching the sunset with a cold drink at nearly nine at night. Soon." It's all made worse when your best friend could make that happen, if it wouldn't cause catastrophic weather patterns and all.

"Oh, right! Introductions. Andrea, this is Remy's prettier half, Riana. She's helped us on a few 'excursions'. Riana - judging by your face - this is exactly who you're thinking. Andrea here is one of our alumni."

Rage has posed:
"Sweaters are always in season though. Even in the summer. Just wrap 'em around your waist." Andrea says as she gives a bright smlie to Jean, giving a light tug on her own to let it drag off one shoulder. "See, super trendy." She says as she glances back towards Remy and Riana. Her heightened senses can catch the whisper, but she plays it cool until she is introduced.

"Hi Riana. Nice to meet you." She says with an upbeat tone in her voice. "Jean and I are just out fantasy house shopping and getting some fresh air."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau grins slightly to Andrea, "An' when yah figure dat Ah'm de less pretty 'alf, yah gotta know dat God was 'aving a good day, non?" He says to Andrea with a smile. It's worth noting that his lover's moment of Fan-girling doesn't actually click with the Cajun at first. I mean Andrea is...well Andrea. It's kinda the same with Dazzler... she's Alison. still he just grins a bit when Jean's words cause it to click. He grins a bit and nods to her, "Well den, do dis proper non? Jean, Andrea, dis is mah girlfriend Riana. Ri, Dis is de Deputy Headmistress at de school Ah teach at Jean Grey. And dis is Andrea... She does somet'ing wit' music or somet'ing." He adds in a tone meant to tease both Andrea and Riana just a bit. At Andrea's explanation of her's and Jean's plans he smiles a bit, "Per'aps we c'n join yah? Ah 'ave ta admit Ah do like de beautiful woman to Remy ratio we got goin' on 'ere."

Wild Rose has posed:
     Okay, so perhaps everybody was entitled to a tiny bit of fangirling, just once in their lives. Riana's got a foolish, fertilizer-consuming grin on her face a mile wide, reaching out to shake Andrea's hand. "Pleasure's mine, miss Jackson. Damn good job on your last song, there. I've had that one playing on repeat while I work on my dojo." Her grip is a fairly strong one, though there's a level of restraint there, perhaps born of practice over time.

     Looking back between Remy and Jean, Riana reaches over to her next, to shake her hand. "Nice to meet properly and not just figuring things out on the fly." Of course. If there had been pieces missing in the puzzle which Remy had turned into such an elaborate metaphor, several of them were clicking into place now. She laughs a little bit to herself, shaking her head. "Wish to hell I'd have had a school like that when I was a kid. Had to figure things out on my own."

Phoenix has posed:
"Even gods have their moments." Jean says towards Remy with a quiet chuckle before looking back to Riana with a sympathetic gaze. "Well that's why we're here, to help make sure those kids who need a place have one. Then they can go on to be way more successful in life than their teachers. That's when we know we did our job right." She adds with a wink towards Andrea.

"As for tagging along, we're just going to be looking at some houses. So if you want to give Riana some bad ideas, then by all means come along. Probably going to stop for dinner after we check out some. Sooner rather than later, probably, because I'll just get disgusted by the amount of cleaning that these'd require. Granted, if you can afford their price tag then you probably don't need to do your own dusting."

Rage has posed:
Reaching out to take her hand, Andrea returns the firm grip and shake. "Yeah? Thanks. Stand Tall was written by my boyfriend and I. I can't even take all the credit for it. His band is really talented. I just show up and look pretty really when it comes to them. It's become my favorite song though that I've had a chance to work on. It's special. Really wanted to give the world something to believe in." She taps herself over her heart with a pair of fingers once she lets go of her hand.

"What kinda art do you teach at your dojo? I do kick boxing with my personal trainer." With a tilt of her head towards Jean, she gives a smile and a nod of her head. "Yeah, I kinda want to move out of the city and into something more surburby. You guys should tag along. We have a reservation for this one spot that I fell in love with and wanted to take Jean on a tour."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau grins a little bit, "yah mean convince mah girlfriend dat she shoul' look at ral estate dat not in one of de less reputiable parts of town? By all means let's parish de t'ought." He says mildly amused, even as he takes Riana's hand again after she has shaken hands with the other women. He grins slightly and adds, "what sort of restaurant is it Andrea? Yah know Ah 'ave a very delicate palate." He manages to say that last bit with a straight face. The man whose Gumbo Rating system starts at 'My face, I can't feel my face."

Wild Rose has posed:
     "Delicate, my ass." Riana snickers openly at the very thought of the Cajun having delicate -anything-, whether it be his palate or his sensibilities. "Hell, the first day we met, you were eating Global Thermonuclear hot wings right after we'd kicked five thugs from here to kingdom come, and you try to tell us you've got a 'delicate' palate? And not only that, how many times have you put up with my 'cooking'?" Something about the way that last word was spoken positively dripped with irony.

     Smiling back at Andrea, Riana replied, "Tang soo do. Figure if I can reach one kid with the art the way my teacher reached me, it'll all be worth it. And there's a lot of kids in Bushwick that need something stable like that right now, with all the crap that's been going on."

Phoenix has posed:
"It's delicate because you've scorched a hole through it." Retorts the woman who has a firebird for a soul but still approaches Remy's cooking with caution. Jean seems wholly on Riana's side there, but then she's known the Cajun for many a year. "We haven't decided on food just yet, at least I hadn't. Andrea might have ideas."

"As for the reservation, its is for a house that we're headed to. This isn't the sort that's open market and they let anyone wander through, or invite to break in and throw a house party. So you need to get with the right realtor and prove you're actually a legitimate client. That's Andrea. I'm along for moral support and to live vicariously through her success."

Rage has posed:
"Yeah, Remy. You have to realize that food requires 'taste.' You can't just throw a nuke in someone's mouth and call it food. I won't ever make that mistake again." Andrea had the pleasure of being fire bombed by his gumbo once and that was once enough. She likes it hot, but not hot enough to leave blisters in her throat.

"I don't have any ideas. I guess we can snoop around and find something local. When I buy this place out here, I'm going to need to know the lay of the land and who Door Dashes from where. I won't ever say no to a pizza though, or Italian .. or Chinese .. or food in general." She says as her shoulders lift upwards.

"But, yeah. this is the place we're heading to if you want to take a look." She opens her folder and hands over the listing to Remy and Riana, along with high resolution glossy photos. "Tag along, I could use opinions."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau takes the photos, lowering his shades so that he can look at the picture without the filter. "Definitely a nice place," he agrees with a bit of a grin. "Yah echo gonna 'ave it's own room." He says with a smile, again playfully teasing, flipping through them slowly... "Ah love dis bat'room too..." he says though scrunching up his face as he gets to the end of the stack. "But Ah didn' see a single room in all of dat dat will make a good studio." he adds, not wanting to poopoo his friends enthusiasm but also thinking it a consideration.

Wild Rose has posed:
     Riana lets out a low whistle as she peers over at the photos in Remy's hands. "I could cook on one end of that place, and you'd never smell it on the other. You'd be in heaven!" she jokes, grinning at Remy. "That is one insanely huge place. Could probably fit my whole apartment in the sitting room." As for considerations for a studio and other things? Well, that's something she doesn't weigh in on. Not her forte.

Phoenix has posed:
"Maybe not as it is, but it sounded like they have plans." Jean remarks as she steps back towards the car long enough to grab a purse out of the back so that she can put the folder she has into it. Then the car is locked again and she's gesturing down the street.

"It's nice enough out and it's right here at the edge of town, so we figured we'd walk it. We're due there in a bit. As for takeout, Andrea, I have enough menus to wallpaper one of those powder rooms. I'll get you copies. You can't go too wrong down here. This area has money. They wouln't be content with mystery meat takeout and soggy pizza. Scott swears by Giovanni's. I'm pretty much under strict orders that any house needs to be within delivery radius. So, that's his second requirement in addition to garage space."

Rage has posed:
"They have a partial basement that isn't shown on the gallery. That is where the studio will go. It's the perfect place to sound proof." Andrea explains in regards to the plans for the studio. "We are going to gut and refurb it to be studio ready. It's going to be a big job. But, I figure if I'm going to buy a forever home, this place is perfect to raise a family and have a sense of privacy. So, it's big, yes, but it's also cheap if you consider how much land it comes on and the floor space."

Swinging her arms a bit to loosen herself up, she bobs her head towards Jean. "Giovanni's /is/ really good. I wouldn't mind getting that later this week. But, I'm down to get food before we walk the place if you guys want. We have a few hours yet."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau nods at Andrea's explanation smiling slightly, "Well in dat case looks like yah in business." He says with a smile, tiling his head and grinning just a little bit. "So what yah do den is wait foh de kids dat got weekend detention and press gang dem inta 'elping yah. Ah mean what's de point of 'aving a whole school of kids wit' unique abilities if yah can' exploit dem foh slave labor." he says playfully to Andrea and grins. To riana he points out, "Chere, Ah love yah, Ah really do.. but when yah decide ta commit dinner, everyone in de county knows it." He kisses her cheek to take the sting from his words. An old joke obviously. He does nod though, "Oh, Giovanni's sound like a wonderful idea, if we got dat sort of time."

Wild Rose has posed:
     "Listen to him. 'Commit dinner'. He says it like I'm committing murder or something." Riana rolls her eyes, smiles sweetly, and kisses Remy on the cheek. "It hasn't killed Jack yet, and it certainly hasn't killed you." Other than that, she's content to listen to house plans for a moment, looking just as sweet and innocent as a newborn kitten....

Phoenix has posed:
"Hah. How do you think I earned that fancy school merit badge, Rem'?" Jean slants him knowing ghost of a grin as he mentions child slave labor. Child soldiers is a long and brittle subject amongst the X-Men, but there's rare times it can be a joke at the expense of those who've lived it. "But I will keep that in mind if the grass needs mowed. I'll leave the cooking to myself."

Though it seems sufficient enough to remind her that she's hungry, as her stomach quietly announces. It sets her in motion to start walking down the street. "I used to love doing it, but it's been ages. I'm just usually too busy to make much of a mess in the kitchen these days. Guess I need to get back to it if I'm going to have to start feeding myself. Well since we have a bit, sure, let's grab food. There's never a reason to say no to good Italian. Garlic bread alone is its own food group."

Rage has posed:
"Okay, I'll break our phone rule then to put a reservation in. I know you can't just 'walk' in, but, you know ... " A-List Status Perks.

Andrea slips her phone out of her pocket and taps along the glass a few times, then brings it up to her ear. With a chipper voice, she says, "Hi, it's Andrea Jackson from Sony Records. Can I get a table for four in thirty minutes? Privacy if possible. I am bringing some clients to lunch and I've done nothing but rave about how amazing your lasagne is."

She hums to herself as she's put on hold, then gives a bright smile. "Great. Thank you sooooo much, Maria. I owe you another big one. Make sure to let your manager know that I'm requesting you as our server. Non vedo l'ora di rivederti!"

As she tucks it into her pocket, she gives Jean a firm nod. "Okay, we're good."