12888/Peace Talks

Peace Talks
Date of Scene:	25 March 2021
Location:	Undisclosed Location, Canada
Synopsis:	On Xavier's suggestion, Jean treks to the Wild North to begin a summit with the Phoenix and the two minds she relies on most. The men in question are understandably concerned about their grey matter being reduced to ash. Jean assures them it'll probably be okay.
Cast of Characters:	Phoenix, Cyclops, Wolverine

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Phoenix has posed:
"Have Scott talk to her. Maybe he'll find there's not as much reason to fear."

"Sure, Professor." Jean had lamented verbally in more polite terms than she did internally. "He wouln't want to, but he'll do it." If only because it was her asking. Jean wasn't looking forward to this one bit, but she saw a thin trickle of wisdom in it under the mountains of worries and fears. Forests, however, don't spring from trickles.

On the paranoid level of concerns related to safety, it was decided to have the meeting away from home. A nice, remote place where innocent people, property, and winter-barren landscapes wouldn't go up in flames. Jean, sitting in her accustomed seat in the Blackbird, thought it was a bit overkill but figured arguing wouldn't help assure anyone. So she just quietly thumbs through a book as they fly to keep her mind off of things and not get worked up ahead of the meeting.

Cyclops has posed:
As the trio took the Blackbird out for a ride to Canada, one of Logan's 'chill spots' that was decided upon, Scott is in the cockpit, hands on the steering wheel as he takes them to the programmed destination. He raises his brows up from behind his ruby glasses. "Everything okay back there, Jean?" He can feel the tug on their psychic link, curious of her thoughts.

He is curious as to why she summoned the three together for this type of talk. He has an inkling and not one that he is comfortable with, but he has to face the reality at some point. All three of their lives have changed dramatically in the last few months, so it's important they all find peace with this low hanging thread that needs to be tugged out.

"Need Logan to bring you a beer?"

Wolverine has posed:
Logan is sitting somewhere in the passanger cabin with his boots propped up on the seat in front of him. He is vaguely aware that they're going somewhere, but there's never been much reason not to trust Scott and Jean know what they're doing, so he doesn't generally ask where. So long's there's people to fight or beers to drink at the end.

"Yeah, I brought a cooler of the good stuff." He says back to Jean atop of Scott asking if he should bring her a beer. "None of that crap Scott's been feedin' ya." Wiggling one of the Canadians he's brought along with him.

"Smooth as a babies ass."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean's mind is like looking at the ocean surface out past the roar of the surf. Just miles of seeming placid calm and ripples of passing waves. Calm, serene; then you look down and it's vertigo creeping up your back. Down, down, down it goes into black, far past where the light can no longer reach, and the only thing holding you up between the sky and a seafloor deeper than the highest mountains are a few fickle waves. You're one person sandwiched between an unknown world below and an unknown world above.

And then like a passing bit of flotsam, there's the all too human thought of 'wait, what line was I on'?

"Huh?" Jean mumbles as she looks up from her book at the awareness that someone was talking. "Oh, yah. I'm okay. Just killing time. Why, we about there?" Green eyes flick over towards Logan as beer is brought up and she pulls a face, "Something you ingest should never be related to the ass of an infant." But her words are tinted with a laugh as she holds out an empty hand. "And I /am/ an adult, he doesn't have to feed me anything. And I know where your stashes are."

Cyclops has posed:
There's an amused snort from Scott. "Don't hate on my White Claws, Logan They are delicious." He says in a rare case of humor. "Just arrived, actually. Logan's home away from home away from home."

As the Blackbird twirls in the sky and slowly lowers down in a grove, pushing the blades of grass down with the motion, he cuts the power and rises upwards. He heads past them and dips his hand in to grab a beer from the cooler, cracking it open as he heads for the back where their bags are at for the night. They packed for a few days trip, two at the most.

"I agree with Jean, no baby's asses when it comes to drinking." He gives a grin to the hairy Canadian, taking a sip. "We're here. Looks nice outside. Peaceful. No one around."

Wolverine has posed:
"Unless one wants to explain the precise smoothness of a thing, as there is nothin' smoother than the bottom of a new born babe." Logan drops his boots off the seat in front of him and pops Scott's hand when he reaches out for a beer... then smirks and hands him one with an underhanded toss. The cooler is taken up as they all head out into the Canadian north.

His mind isn't exactly an ocean, so much as a huricane.

Violent on the surface.

Violent a little deeper.

Destruction and chaos.

With a calm eye in the center.

"So what is this, an intervention? I don't have a drinkin' problem, alright?" Of course he knows there's a bit more to this trip than just camping, but the exact nature is still out of reach for him.

Phoenix has posed:
Maybe there's one tiny, sweet, squishy gummy bear sitting there in the storm's eye. It's probably lamenting the winds that threw it there in the first place and swearing at the misfortune.

On second thought, it's a Sour Patch Kid.

"If this was an intervention, why would be going to your frozen flop house with a stocked cooler?" Jean says aside to Logan with a lopsided grin as she cracks open her own unshaken can. "Besides, if we were going to be causing that much trouble up here, we would have had to submit the paperwork to Alpha Flight and I refuse to make more paperwork." So the Phoenix ranks under a sober Logan in terms of destructive potential? Seems right.

Jean's face does turn sober though as she washes away the grimace forming. "I guess... sort of an intervention. The Professor and I had a chat. He's actually asking Lilandra about the Phoenix, he thinks she may know more, but in the meantime he realized there's a lot of... fear, from a few directions, regarding me needing to live with this. So he proposed I have Scott actually speak with her, and I want you there too since you're also likely to run into her more than most. And two on one may make it a little easier. First time having her eyes fixed on you can be-- well, better drink now. But that's why we're out this far. There's less distraction and less risk. I really don't think she'll get angry, but I'd still like to be safe whenever there's a chance that she may actually materialize."

Cyclops has posed:
Coming to a jolt, Scott's eyes widen from behind his glasses. "You want me to speak with her?" He looks a bit overwhelmed for a moment, crinkling the can of beer in his hand before he draws it up for a long slug. "Okay." He says as he can feel that knot rolling about in the pit of his stomach.

The back of the Blackbird opens up as he walks down the ramp after pulling on a thicker jacket, carrying a pair of duffle bags with him towards the small cabin in the distance. He takes in a deep breath, feeling his mind whirl with emotion and anxiety.

This is a talk he was putting off for awhile now.

Wolverine has posed:
That's a hell of a thing.

"That's a hell of a thing...."

Logan's brows elevate in a rare moment of exactly what he was thinking comes out crystal clear. Usually he peppers it up with some profanity or a sideways jab at Scott, but this is serious. This is deadly serious. She might not be able to outright kill him, but then again maybe she can? He's not afraid of her, but if anything was going to make him a little afraid...

There's a glance at Scott, then back to Jean, and Logan leans over to grab another beer. "Welp, better get drunk, Scott. I'm definitely takin' your wife in the will." A vain attempt to implant some normalcy to a situation that severely lacks it.

Phoenix has posed:
Yes, because she asked. Yes, because the Professor's unspoken and joked about orders still color the discussion with the ring of authority. Yes, because some battles you can't run from.

Jean has the can of beer finished in frighteningly record time. It must be smooth.

She tosses the can in the lidded bin before she gets up out of her seat and squares her shoulders back just a few notches in that unconscious habit from all the times she walks down that ramp into a war zone. "I haven't taken all of his money yet, Logan." She says in an attempt at returned humor, though it just reminds her they probably haven't updated their wills in awhile. Only in their line of living were they enrolling in classes and filling out their living wills in the same space.

"It should be fine." She says as her feet hit the ground with her backpack slung over her shoulder. "If things didn't hit the fan during the strike, a meet and greet should be fine. She didn't touch any of you. Even the Professor agrees, that means something."

Cyclops has posed:
As they reach the cabin, Scott puts the bags inside the bedroom, thumping them on the ground before he gives a stretch. He turns and heads back out into the living room, giving a glance at the pair. "I take it we're going to need some clear space?" He asks as his attention looks to Logan. "You know, so we don't blow your place up."

His mouth gives a small twitch upwards, followed by a sigh. He reaches out to take Jean by the hand, fingers curling with hers. "Did you want to do that now, or in the morning?"

Wolverine has posed:
To say Logan is a bit dubious of the outcome is an understatement, but he can appreciate the necessity for trying all the same. "Prolly best to do it in the mornin'. I know a spot just through here-" Pointing with the bottom of his beer towards a crop of trees to the East, "Right alongside a stream. Good'n clear. Most of the animals should be further south until April too, so aint no worries of drawin' them into all this." Because they can be destroyed just as easily as a human.

At the cabin, Logan unlocks the door from a set of keys and pushes it open. There's no electricity out here, though, so he immediately heads towards the stone fireplace to get one going. The Ice box is exactly that. "Later on I'll go huntin', get us somethin' to eat, but I think we aught talk about what the fuck we're gonna do if she decides she doesn't want it to be fine."

Phoenix has posed:
"Someone I doubt any animal will want to be within a hundred miles of us once they get a hint." Jean says with a thoughtful frown as she looks down to Scott's hand in her's. "But I should be able to keep her contained. We aren't here to put on a light show. We're just here to chat, no different than I do everyday with her. Heart to heart, mind to mind. Everything should be fine." She insists, maybe as much to reassure herself as them.

Her green eyes are veiled under a narrowed expression and an long exhale precedes what she says to Logan, "Long as everyone says calm and don't start trying to pick a fight with her, it should be fine. She's just, well, protective of me. Obviously. She knows neither of you are a threat to me." Though Jean is quick to keep going, as if sensing the weird undertones of that statement. "I'm okay to do this whenever you two are comfortable. She knows my plan. If she wasn't willing, I doubt there's any chance in the world I could convince her to do this."

Cyclops has posed:
"I agree with Logan. I'm fine in hashing details out tonight and having the talk tomorrow morning. It's a bit to swallow after a night of travel. I'd rather .." Scott trails off. "Just rest, get some food in me. Talk." He gives her a squeeze of the hand, leaning in to press a kiss to her temple.

"Tomorrow, let's wake up early and have breakfast and we can have a talk and see where it leads. That way we all have clear minds and steady hands." Shrugging out of his jacket, he hangs it up, then steps out of his shoes once he taps them off a few times. He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out. "Do you have a working shower?" He asks Logan curiously.

Wolverine has posed:
"I have a workin' stream." Logan says to Scott, pointing out the open door to the stream about three hundred yards away. "Just watch out for black bears." That part is probably teasing, of course. Maybe... It's Canada. "If ya grab a couple buckets of water, there's a barrel out back hook't to a pressure system. It isn't gonna be high water pressure, but it'll get ya clean." Of course he was teasing.

Logs are stacked up in the firepit and a tinder laid out. The match used to light the bundle also lights his cigar. He puffs a few times and captures it between his fingers as he stands. "So what /is/ the plan if shit goes pear shaped? Run for our lives an' pray to the creator?"

Phoenix has posed:
"Well, I guess the cold water will make sure everyone's awake." Jean may shudder ever so slightly. She's not a cold weather creature. She leans herself into Scott for a lingering moment before gravitating to the fire as it starts to dig its way into the tinder.

"The Phoenix isn't something you can run from. I was thinking of bringing you both with me to the Astral Plane. It takes a good bit of oomph to do it, but, at least then we're not inviting trouble over here. It adds another layer of protection. She may be more comfortable too in something more, er, spiritual. But maybe she doesn't care. Then if things go south, I can pull us back out. I know it's a weird place for you two, but I think it's the safer bet."

She looks between the two as she hunkers down on the floor to begin soaking up the heat. "I can ping the Professor before I do it so he can keep an eye out from a distance and be on the lookout for trouble." She adds, not explicitly calling him an early warning system. But it's there.

Cyclops has posed:
As he settles down in front of the fire with Jean, Scott nods his head as he listens to her idea. He ponders for a long moment, then says, "I feel that plan would be reasonable." He says as he glances to Logan before he looks back to the red head. He whistles out a sigh through his lips.

"As long as it's safe and you are in control. My only concern is damage to our minds if the Phoenix decides to get upset and push back on alien invaders into your mindscape." As he runs his hand back through his hair, he looks thoughtfully at the fire, glaring at it for a moment behind his red shades.

"You good, Logan?"

Wolverine has posed:
"Can't really damage my mind any more than it already is." Logan says while poking at the fire, light dancing in his brown eyes as he stares at the flames. A bit of smoke curls around his stubby fingers on his left hand when they bring his cigar to his lips for a few quick puffs. "It's as safe as anythin', I suppose. If the Pheonix gets pissed off, we're cook't anyways. What's the difference on how we get it? Mentally or physically?"

He gives a heavy shrug and nods to both. Pushing up from the kneel in front of the fire to grab something from one of the closets. A big ol bear fur blanket which he hands out to the pair. "It gets cold. I've had this for a very long time... should do ya fine tonight."

Phoenix has posed:
"Grim, but a valid point." Jean mutters towards Logan before looking back towards Scott. "If she wanted you hurt, she's had plenty of chances. You're already in my head. She knows you."

She collects up the rug, though it's heavy enough that it promptly drops with her arm in tow as soon as she's got it. It takes some work to get it unfurled to serve its purpose, but she manages. "I guess Canada hasn't gotten the memo that spring is coming. Well, let's get some food and rest. In the morning we'll run over the plan again and make sure we didn't think of anything new."

Sleep probably isn't coming to anyone, but it's a nice thought. At least the wilds are quieter than the school.