12915/Morning shadows

Morning shadows
Date of Scene:	29 March 2021
Location:	Backyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jeremy tries his hand at art and talks to Pete, Storm and Alexis. He lets them know that he's chasing down a new mutant who's lost on the streets.
Cast of Characters:	SpyderByte, Colossus, Storm, Prismatic

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SpyderByte has posed:
Settled out on the deck is Jeremy with a sketchbook in his hands. The young Goth technopath is currently dressed in his long leather trench coat, a spike dog collar, black bondage pants with purple straps and a long shirt that says LOSER across the chest in silver font. His hair has become shaggy, a mix of black and brown as the dye wears off.

Hunched over his sketchbook, he is currently working on a picture of a long legged spider with a power button logo in the middle of it's 'rear'. He's not a great artist at all, and most likely is not in one of Pete's classes. His eyes as usual are sunken and rimmed with red from stress and lack of sleep. Next to him is a pair of empty energy drink cans of the maximum capacity type.

Colossus has posed:
Colossus makes his way outside, clad in a pair of sweatpants and an A-line shirt, his metal skin gleaming underneath the hints of sun in the outdoors. He stretches for a moment and trots down the back stairs, raising an eyebrow as he comes across the boy with the sketchbook.

"Das vidanya, Jeremy," he says. "I am pleased to see you at some creative work," he says. He notes the state of the boy and cocks his head, "I hope all is well. Are you having some trouble in your life?" he says sincerely.

Storm has posed:
It was a glorious morning! Ororo was able to get shopping done without harrassment or fanfaire, thanks to her occasionally tucking her hair into a wig or dying it black. Today? Wig. Protective hairstyles all the round even though it makes her head look bigger.

The first thing that follows into the middle of the yard was the wig that she wore. Then soon her. Carrying two bags of fertilizer for the gardens and her own cache of plants, they were both dumped upon the ground with a little huff. Her own outfit is casual. Pair of jeans and a black shirt. Low top, no name sneakers. All chill.

Noticing the two men nearby, she grabs the ends of the bags, dragging them across the yard. Not saying hello yet, but possibly seeing where she can fit herself into the conversation.

SpyderByte has posed:
As he tilts his head upwards toards Piotr, Jeremy stares unblinkingly at the large metal man before he gives another glance to the drawing again. His voice as always comes through the speakers of his phone. It's a soft, female voice of SIRI, programmed to be flat with only slight inflections in the voice.

<< No, I am not having any trouble. Just trying something new. I am currently searching through thouands of pictures of spiders to try and create the pefect symmetrical body, but unfortunately my hands do not work as well as my head. >>

He reaches up to rub at his eyes with his left hand, working it a few times with his knuckles before he lets out a soft sigh. He taps the pencil against his paper a few times, then works the eraser along one of the legs to shorten it.

As his eyes track Ororo, he probably felt the ping of her voice coming into his vicinity. << Hello. >>

Colossus has posed:
Colossus crouches a bit, draping his massive arms across his knees, "Getting the fingers to create what the mind imagines is one of the great difficulties of art. I do not think any have mastered it, even the greatest struggle to lay their dreams bare on simple paper. Perhaps we have not yet created the tools to contain the songs of our souls. However, I would suggest if symmetry is so important, you might try gridded paper at first, to keep the measurements standardized at first. Freehand can be difficult for precision until one is experienced. Of course, if you'd signed up for my art class..." he says with a wry smile.

He looks up to see Ororo as the young mutant greets her, raising a hand at the mutant goddess, "Ororo! A pleasure to see you, as always. I was just talking to young Jeremy about the difficulties of the artistic life and he was dodging my questions about his personal problems."

Storm has posed:
"Hello." Ororo offers with a smile, moving to the side to allow the bags to rest piled up upon the ground. Hearing Piotr's wonderful explanation in regards to art gains a wider smile, her head tilting just a touch to take on a wistful demeanor. Until..

"Ooh. Mr. Jeremy has personal problems? I wouldn't have known it judging by his very sunny demeanor." 'Ro teases.

"Why, I would have thought that Mr. Jeremy was the happiest of the bunch, and did not have a metaphysical or imagined storm cloud trailing his path." She takes up seating next to Jeremy, waiting to at least hear the young man vent. Or something close to it.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I would sign up for one of your classes but I am graduating. Early. >>

Jeremy says as he twirls the pencil around in his fingers slowly, then gives a casual glance down at his phone to a spider that he is trying to reference. Black Widow. The picture versus his drawing is pretty far off. At least one can tell it's a spider. The paper has a lot of smudge marks from being erased over and over again.

<< Yes, I should try gridded paper. This is all that I had in my room. >>

When they question his current mood, he lets out a soft sigh from under his breath, raking his fingers through the back of his shaggy hair.

<< I am fine. I am currently emotionally well adjusted this Monday. I was working all night. >> He pauses. << On homework. >> Probably a lie.

Prismatic has posed:
    "Getting the fingers to do what the mind wants in the best instances sometimes is difficult even for non-artistic pusuits." comes a crisp voice.
    Coming up from the lakeside, brown hair in a braid, tanned features livened by the sun, Alexis Carr gives a small sm ile as she interrupts the group.

    "Piotr. Ororo. Jeremy." she greets each in turn with a warm smile.

Colossus has posed:
Colossus shares a look with Ororo for a moment, "Yes, I am sure it is homework. That is what keeps us all up at night," he sighs. "You are not required to share you troubles with me. Or Storm. But you should find someone in whom to confide. Allowing things to eat away at you from the inside is only allowed when you are infected with alien eggs. Which you should avoid, if possible."

He nods to Alexis, "Greetings and good morning. I hope you are well," he says.

SpyderByte has posed:
There is a furrow of Jeremy's brows as he listens to Piotr, then lets out a soft breath.

<< I have been spending time in the city, tracking a new mutant who is homeless and currently addicted to drugs. He has the powers of invisibility. From what I can see, he can become invisible to all senses. He's pretty good at it. I had a chance to finally talk to him .. right before a 7-11 was about to be robbed so I dealt with that and lost track of him. >>

He taps his pencil a few more times on the notepad, then glances over to Ororo, then Alexis. << Hello Miss Carr. >>

Prismatic has posed:
    Alexis makes a face at Colossus, straightening up a moment.

    "Jeremy, do not allow aliens to eat you from the inside regardless of what anyone says." she counters against Colossus's allowance of alien eggs.

    Alexis then pauses on her walk-by, and she frowns a moment, and rubs the back of her head.

    "Do you have his name? I still have contacts with the homeless and in shelters in the city -- I could try to help out." she states, considering things and twisting the ring on her left hand.

    "It's a big community, even if he's invisible you still gotta eat and find somewhere to sleep."

Colossus has posed:
Colossus nods at Alexis, "Yes, I suppose that is the bigger lesson. Also, things could always be worse. You could be full of alien eggs."

"Invisible to all senses, you say? That sounds like a potent ability, indeed. Do you know if this mutant is immune to telepathic detection? We have several such on-hand. I am pleased to see you taking an interest in the community. We should do more to combat drugs being dealt in Mutant Town. I do not blame any who suffer from seeking escape, but I do blame those who would line their pockets at the expense of perpetuating that misery."

SpyderByte has posed:
Nodding his head, Jeremy rubs at his nose once he puts the pencil down and giving up on the scribbles. He tilts his head to Alexis and smiles.

<< No alien babies in my stomach. I have not put any in someone either. >>

Because he is definitely an alien compared to most.

<< I don't have his name, we only talked briefly and he did not trust me. I tried to get him to join me at Club Evo for a job and introduce him to Mister Guthrie but he panicked and thought I was trying to trick him. >>

Prismatic has posed:
    "... well, yeah. Some kid walks up to you and tells you 'I have a job for you', you can either take a chance and lose your kidneys or your freedom." Alexis points out quietly, and she purses her lips a moment.

    "You can't really combat the drug problem in Mutant Town without taking care of the underlying issues. It is damn boring being homeless. Take away being bored and treat the additions like a disease instead of a moral failing, and eventually the dealers go elsewhere. Or create chances for the dealers to go on the better path... but ah.. I could probably wax poetic and long in the tooth about homelessness." she states quietly, rubbing the back of her head a moment as she looks up to the sky.

Storm has posed:
"Can't we all." Ororo remarks in regards to Alexis' comments. She was quiet all the while, letting everyone speak, soaking in the conversations. While she had input, most of their time spent talking she was lost in another world, as normal.

Colossus has posed:
Colossus frowns, "As I said, I do not blame the users. It is understandable, the desire to escape from tedium and poverty. But that does not forgive the predators who would only keep them trapped in that condition in order to maintain their demand," he sighs. "I am not a criminologist. I do not have solutions."

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I have spent most of last night monitoring security cameras to track him, but it's hard when he disappears frequently. >>

Jeremy says with a yawn. Most likely he hasn't gone to sleep yet and he's just trucking through the day. He puts the sketchbook to the side and slides the pencil into the spirals.

<< But he is about my age. I hope to talk to him again. Maybe tonight if I can get lucky. He doesn't have a phone on him so I could not ping it. >>

Prismatic has posed:
    "I know you're not, Piotr, but you've got this great big heart, lad. Once of the nicest gents I know." Alexis gives a smile to the art teacher, and looks to Ororo and then back to Jeremy.

    "If you'd like, I can go with you. I'm not too far removed from my old digs yet, and there's a couple places I can check that most... well. If you've never been in the situation, you don't know."

Storm has posed:
Ororo stands, walking over towards her dropped bags of fertilizer to pick them up and hoist them upon her shoulders. With both hands occupied, she decidedly takes the easier route to get to her room, at least she knows that's open. "You all take care." With a glance up towards the sky, she bends her knees quickly then pushes off into the air, disappearing from sight.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< If you wish, sure. I know you have experience in this field, where I don't. >>

Jeremy gives a glance over towards Piotr for a moment before he looks back to Alexis with a smile. He still has his black painted fingernails.

<< I may go tonight if I can get another ping on him. But I do have photos of him. >>

Their phones give a 'ping' to reveal a young boy about his age. He looks haggard.