12854/Cookies 'n Chat

Cookies 'n Chat
Date of Scene:	17 March 2021
Location:	Kitchen - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Ted asks Shannon about some of her past adventures. The two talk about life, adventures, their gifts, and the wisdom of seeking out help when it's needed.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Ted Gammage

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Nightingale has posed:
     It was a little later in the evening, and for once, Shannon had not had baked goodies on her when a hungry Pixie came looking. This just would not do! So what's a girl to do, but to head into the kitchen, and bake up a batch or two of some cinnamon oatmeal cookies? She's got her hair pulled back in a ponytail, has swapped out her wine-colored turtleneck shirt for a plain white t-shirt, is still wearing her dark blue jeans, and has swapped out her boots for her floofy Old English Sheepdog slippers. She's got her phone out on the counter playing a little New Orleans jazz, and humming along as she slides a pan of cookies into the oven.

Ted Gammage has posed:
Ted's not often too far away when food's cooking. Mutant metabolism demands he eat a pretty good bit. Doesn't hurt that he's dating the usual chef, so its not unusual for him to pop in. He leans against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He's got an Xaviers Institute t-shirt on, his roughed up jeans and workboots. "So," Ted says after a few moments of silence, a wry grin playing on his features. "A yeti?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon's wings ruffle behind her, and she turns about, grinning a bit sheepishly. "Yeah, a yeti," she says. "I haven't thought of that one in a while, but when Thor showed up... you don't forget someone saving your bacon and a teammate's as well." She reaches for another cookie sheet, spraying it down with some cooking spray, and starts spooning out portions of the cookie dough from a large bowl in the center of the island counter.

     "Friend of mine named Samuel Morgan and I were on an afternoon trip to the LexCorp chocolate factory. Venturing out of the school in pairs and all that was and still is pretty much a thing they encourage students to do whenever possible. And I was real glad we didn't ignore that rule that day."

     She pulls over a stool for Ted, and one for herself, so she can continue working while she tells the tale. "The yeti showed up out of nowhere. It actually dipped some of the staff in the vats of chocolate and -ate- them." She shudders a little bit. "I couldn't touch chocolate for a while after that. But anyways, Samuel... we always called him Bean, because we'd mix him up with Sam Guthrie otherwise... he was a technopath, too. We weren't dating or anything. Girls weren't his thing." She shrugs, and doles out a few more spoonfuls of dough. "I helped get some of the folks on the tour out of there, and he got creative with the vats of chocolate. That... was one messy fight. He got frozen damn near solid, and I think if Thor had not shown up when he did, he might not have survived."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Ah'd think y'wouldn't forget about a yeti too. If ah saw a yeti, all mah conversations would start 'Y'all hear about the time ah met a Yeti?'" Ted's grin wides a bit as he listens to her story though, sauntering over to take her up on the offered seat. "Wow. Y'all had a chocolate battle with the Sasquach's northern cousin. Any more wild adventures y'been on? An' apparently ah gotta get out a bit more."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon chuckles a little bit, rolling her eyes and smiling somewhat. "If you only knew," she drawls, holding out a spoonful of dough to Ted. "It seems right from the time I got here, I've wound up in one adventure or another. Where do you want me to begin?"

Ted Gammage has posed:
Ted actually pauses, squinting his eyes a bit as he thinks. "Well, y'met a couple gods, y'got a mythical beast on your bingo card." It takes another moment before he says "Ah'm leanin' toward alien, but rogue AI is kinda on th'list too. Alien first, though. Run inta any little green men?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "Nope, no rogue AI's yet, thank god," Shannon says, breathing a soft sigh of relief. "Gods, yes. Aliens? If you want to get technical, Superman is one, though really, I don't think of it all that much." She purses her lips, drumming her fingers along the edge of the mixing bowl for a second. "Funny, isn't it, we as a race can accept someone from another world like Superman, as one of our own. Yet people like us, mutants, they try to 'cure'. I just don't get it."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Oh, yeah, ah guess ah hadn't thought about it. He does look like us. Wonder if that means ah'm racist....planetist? Damn, ah hope not." Ted frowns in thought for a few moments, leaning back just a little bit. He decides to try something silly. "How bout.... a unicorn? Oh, or Santa Claus? He real?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just looks at Ted strangely for a moment, her lips twitching briefly. The corners of her eyes crinkle up, her lips curl upwards, and she just bursts out laughing. "No unicorns, but there -is- a pegasus out in the stables. Brightwind. He's with Dani Moonstar. Santa Claus? I think he's real in our hearts, but I've never met the guy in person." She chortles softly, shaking her head. "You learn real quick around here that 'impossible' is a very, very dirty word."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Honestly, ah thought maybe th'unicorn was a long shot, but yeh, sure, pegasus, why not." Ted shakes his head with wry amusement. "Y'better not have, because seriously you need t'tell me if you have an in t' being on th' nice list.' He crosses his arms again. "Ah'd be offended if y'were holdin' out on some sweet info like that."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ha. I think all any of us can do about being on the nice list, is just do the best we can to be good to each other." She purses her lips a little bit, shaking her head. "Even if we fail sometimes. I fail, too. But yeah... aliens, I guess you could count giant outerspace robots on that list? Or giant teleporting, telepathic space dogs?" She tilts her head, peering over at Ted to see just what he thinks of -that-.

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Hm, outer space robots might also fall under th' AI thing," Ted notes with a grin. "Wait, are y'kiddin? Also Space dogs? Ugh, y'know, startin' to feel bad ah've missed out on like everything. I'm like super borin'." He looks off a moment, probably having some self doubt for a few moments then puffs out a breath. "Ah well."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon reaches out for Ted's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze if he allows her. "You are -not- super boring. Why do you think that?" She frowns a little bit, and lets out a soft sigh. "Guess I've been right to keep quiet about most of the things I've done. Never wanted to make anybody feel bad about any of it. Least of all, you."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Hah, ah've not had any great adventures yet is all," Ted says, squeezing her hand back. "Guess there's always time, but y'know, no space dogs or anythin'." He rolls a shoulder, "Nah, tell me all of it, seems pretty interestin. Should ah even ask about vampires?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "Nope, no vampires, thank god." Shannon smiles somewhat, just holding Ted's hand, and thinking back on all the things she's done, the living she's done over her time at the school. "There was one healing in particular which gave me hope, though, that normal folks and mutants could someday work together. There was one lady who got hurt real bad by the Friends of Humanity for helping out some mutant kids. She got burned alive by them, and survived. Dr. McCoy called me in to see if I could help. She was totally fine with it, even said she was proud to work with mutants."

     Her smile widens briefly. "Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing of me to do, given she had a lot of second degree burns everywhere. But I took it on, and oof... I was in the medbay for a good week or so after that one. But it was worth it, to help keep a dream alive."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Good on th' vampires. Ah might've wanted to punch um if they were the sparkle-kind. Mopey jerks." Ted's tone is still light, joking a bit. "Hmm, Any other like... spooky stuff y'think? No vampires, but werewolves n'ghosts n'stuff?"

He also listens when she moves to her story about the burns, and makes a soft sound once done. "Was that when ah was around?" he asks. "Ah... sorta remember you bein' a little burn-healy at one point, but ah might be wrong." He shrugs a little, "Sometimes th'brain an' the heart don't agree. Usually th'heart's right though."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon shakes her head a little bit, drumming her heels against the legs of the stool that has become her perch. "No, this was well before you were here, by nearly a year. It's also the one time that Logan ever really growled at me. He pretty well drummed it into my head that I've got to learn to say 'no' sometimes, and set boundaries for myself." She cracks a little bit of a smile, and rubs the back of her neck. "That's the hardest part for me as a healer, is knowing not just when to use my gifts, but in what way, and when to just use conventional means and let nature take its course. It's hard because I don't like letting people suffer if there's something that can be done."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Oh, ah must be thinkin' wrong then. Though t'be fair, y'do get a lot of heal-related injuries." Ted playfully chides, adding a wink. "But yeh, ah bet he was mad. Y'don't heal up like he does. I'd imagine th' first big thing to do for y' would be to know how much you can take without doin' serious harm to yourself. I never asked, but do y'heal faster yourself than most folk do?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "It's true, I don't heal quite as fast as he does. But I do heal faster than most. Say you were to cut yourself, and I took it on. It'd be gone on me in maybe no more than a day, if that. Those burns were worse, and fairly extensive, that's why I was in there longer." The timer on the oven sings its merry little tune, and Shannon slides off of the stool to grab some oven mitts, and retrieve the sweet payload from within. "What's funny is that my healing factor's gotten a bit stronger each time. Probably will never be as strong as his, but it's pretty robust all the same."

     The matter of how much she could take was mentioned, and she pursed her lips. "There's one healing I can't talk about much, that happened well before you got here. It... involved things that are more in the paygrade of miss Grey and Mr. Summers. But it was pretty bad. Should have killed a god, but I survived. It's not something I want to repeat." One pan was emptied of the cookies onto a cooling rack, and the other was slid into the oven, the door closed, and the timer set. "It's one of the other lessons that's been hardest to learn. Sure, I -can- heal others like I do. But will I be leaving them without help later on if they need it, if I'm down for the count? It's why I'm pushing for my state EMT exam, so I can back up my gifts with something more conventional, and save my gifts for a last resort." She smiles a little bit. "There's also something I managed to learn early on here, working with Josh Foley. We managed to figure out that if I partially restrain my gifts, instead of going for a full-on healing, they make a wonderful diagnostic tool instead."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Sounds versatile," Ted says. "And yeah, s'good to know yer limits. Now ah'm a little curious about what you mention, but again don't need t'know, ah'm just glad yer alright." His weight shifts as he turns to watch her move to the oven and empty the tray off, he'd sort of forgotten the cooking while they were talking. "An' good that y'got a nice healin' power. Sounds like ya'got the making of a well rounded medic. Prolly the best one they've seen if they let you use your abilities."

He briefly looks around the quiet room and puffs out a breath, "My body kinda went th' other way. Jus' makes it so ah don't get hurt. Heck, maybe ah got one and just hasn't kicked off yet, right? Who knows?" He chuckles softly. "Though t'be honest I wonder how mine'll advance. If ah'm honest, little worried. If ah get too uncontrollably strong, or I lose feelin' in my skin cause its so tough or something. Kinda thing keeps me up at night."

Nightingale has posed:
     "There's stronger medics and healers than me, but they also don't fly. So in a pinch out in the field, I wouldn't do too badly. Just got to keep training so I can get better at airlifting people out, or supplies in." Still, Shannon's cheeks do take on a lovely rosy hue, and her lips quirk upwards in a smile as she settles back down on the stool across from Ted.

     As he voices his worries about his gifts, she reaches out to hold his hand, never mind that there's still a litte dusting of flour on her forearms. "You know who I'd consider talking to if you're worried about your strength? Mr. Rasputin. You'd never know it, with him teaching art class and all, but word is he's one of the stronger ones here. Maybe he could help." As for Ted's other concern? She just smiles to herself, squeezing his hand gently. "We'll just have to keep an eye on that. It's not something I've heard of happening, but if it'd help put your mind at ease, maybe we could see if Dr. McCoy's heard of anything like that, or if he even feels it could be a concern."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Well, when y'get to where you can pick up me, y'should be good," Ted says playfully. "Can help y'work out if you want? Ah'll just sorta stand there and you can try to heft me up and fly. Probably real helpful."

He smiles again as she sits by him again and takes his hand. "Mm, ah know he's real strong," Ted says. "Ah just feel weird buggin' folk about it. Probably won't be an issue anyways. Though th' sensation thing bugs me. Can still feel ever'thing now though so worryin' ain't gonna do a bit of good."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Why would you feel weird about it? That's the kind of thing they'd -want- to help with." Shannon tilts her head as she listens to Ted, furrowing her brows, a bit perplexed. "It's one of the reasons we're all here. You asking them would be letting them do their job. If they didn't enjoy helping, I doubt they'd be here."

     At the thought of trying to airlift Ted, she just looks him up and down a few times, and giggles softly at the thought. "I may be getting better, but right now I could just about airlift Pixie out of trouble, maybe Miss Grey. And at that, I'm not quite sure how far I could take them. That's going to take some work."

Ted Gammage has posed:
He does think about it for a few long moments before he nods, "Ah... suppose yer right. Ah'll see if he's got any insight fer me. Jus torn between that or just tryin' to put it out of my head since it may not happen, right?" He shrugs his big shoulders a bit.

"Well, gotta start somewhere," Ted says. "Ah guess it'll be strengthenin' the wings, right? Not sure how that works, or what th' limit on something like that'd be."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I guess strengthening the wings is just like working in any other set of muscles. Sometimes when I fly around, I'll put weights on my arms and legs, and same when I go for my oh-dark-stupid in the morning runs." Shannon's wings ruffle slightly, the young woman giving them a light flick outwards before settling them in against her back again. "I guess the one I'd be asking more about that is Mr. Worthington, since his mutation is the closest to mine in that regard. But yeah, Logan's had me working on strength training pretty much ever since I got here. Been glad for it ever since."

     Squeezing Ted's hand once more, she smiles lightly. "If you want, I can let Mr. Rasputin and Dr. McCoy know you're looking for them, unless you'd rather handle that yourself? Or we could just leave that alone. Whichever way you want to go with that's fine, the ball's in your court."

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Never skip wing day, ah guess," Ted says, jovially. "Guessin' it makes perfect sense though." She brings up Warren and he nods, "That does make some sense. Now that ah think about it, wonder if y'all are related some ways."

He squeezes her hand back and shrugs, "Eh, s'fine. If y'see them an' it comes up, y'can mention it. Otherwise, ah'll get around to it." That's him in a nutshell, just easygoing.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shaking her head, Shannon grins. "If I had a buck for every time someone asked me if me and Mr. Worthington are related, I'd be rich. But yeah, whichever of us gets to Mr. Rasputin or Dr. McCoy first, that's perfect either way." Easygoing was a good thing. So were cookies, one of which she picks up off the cooling rack and offers to Ted. "Things will work out as they're meant to, in the end."