12923/In The Gloaming....

In The Gloaming....
Date of Scene:	30 March 2021
Location:	Breakstone Lake - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	A cookout by the lake to give Old Man Winter the one-fingered salute is held. Recent events discussed, fitness challenges issued, and common ground is found at long last. A good time is had by all.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Cannonball, Rogue, Pixie, Emma Frost

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Nightingale has posed:
     Foul weather and early spring temper tantrums from Mother Nature could only keep students and staff alike indoors for so long. With the vast majority of the snow melted away, and the lake a shimmering mirror in the stillness of twilight, it was the perfect time to get out and combat some serious cases of cabin fever. And what was the perfect way to do so?

     Why, with a campfire cookout, of course!

     After a rather eventful day that first entailed coming home from a flight into the city in blood-stained clothes, and -then- getting called to team duty seeking out a potential new student (after a fresh change of clothing, of course!), Shannon -finally- had a few moments for a breather. The weather report looked promising for the evening, with relatively balmy temperatures for early spring. However, she was just one pair of hands, and so a general call for help in preparing a cookout was sent out among the school.

     At the present moment, she was in a fresh pair of jeans, sneakers, and 'Mutie Cutie' t-shirt, with her hair tied back, and her arms full of the fixings for three campfire classics--hot dogs, bratwurst, and s'mores. A fire pit had been dug, lined, and ringed with rocks for safety's sake, the area cleared of brush and deadfall. A campfire was crackling merrily within its confines, radiating warmth and light. Sparks wafted into the air like a million little fireflies taking flight, bringing the hopes and dreams of those gathered into the heavens.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie heard about the gathering so decided to bring some drinks. He has sodas, water and tea, all in a large cooler. He figured he would make sure everything is ok, classic Sam behavior making sure folks have fun.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is coming in hot! Well, more like she's coming in for a landing from the other side of the school. A newcommer's arrived, but she's more of the mind to let them who should handle it do so, and not crowd the kid. An aerial vantage point gave her prime sight of the building cookout and so she glides in and lands a bit away from those gathering and then walks over. "Finally tryin' ta beat out the winter blues?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn had been pretty restless lately, having had to call off a hiking trip after the weather turned topsy-turvy, and she was once again glad that she could 'cheat' and port herself home, once she actually had her wits about her that is! And someone is bound to lecture her for travelling alone, but it looked sooo nice this morning, and she didn't expect that sudden last minute storm!

So when she gets back late at night, Megan is only too happy to settle by a nice warm campfire and dry her soaking clothes - having been too exhausted to get home, have a shower and get changed after a physically gruelling hike and dash.

Dressed in khaki cargo pants and a white shirt, she at least had the decency to wear a light, green rainjacket over her attire, and sturdy hiking boots. Although it didn't stop her pants from soaking through, or her hair which is still pretty drenched and messy.

Well, whatever. She smiles as she steps towards the warm fire, trying to get close enough without burning herself, which is always a possibility with the sometimes clutzy fairygirl!

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma's had her own eventful day. Certainly, most of the events were of the mundane 'Deal with HR at her company' and 'Subtly threaten the bureacracy she runs up against' sort. So perhaps not eventful. But trying. Draining.

    This was contrasted by a more pleasant early evening, which has a spring in her step as she finds herself in the mood to relax, enjoy the Spring weather, and let her hair down. And so she finds herself wandering to the lakeside to join in the festivities.

    Which is why she's currently dressed down in a white t-shirt, and a pair of jean shorts a far cry from being able to be called cut-offs. No sloppy scissor work savaged a pair of torn jeans into shorts for these.

    And so she finds herself by the fire, practicing her telekinetics... yes, certainly. Practicing. It's by holding a marshmallow over the fire to make a s'more with the intensity of a bomb squad member defusing a bomb... but really, sometimes that's pretty relaxed for Emma.

Nightingale has posed:
     "You better belie... oh! Hello!" This was not a voice Shannon had ever actually expected to hear addressing her directly. Certainly, she'd seen Rogue about here and there, but through whatever circumstance or twist of fate, their paths had never really crossed beyond two ships in the night. She rubs the back of her head and chuckles, grinning a little sheepishly. "Yeah, bit of an eventful day plus cabin fever. Figured it was time to give Old Man Winter the universal salute." Gesturing to the offerings of bratwursts, hot dogs, and s'mores goodies--and the necessary sticks if desired or needed for campfire cookery--she smiles. "Plenty to go around if you're hungry."

     Sam gets a big hug, wings and all, before she moves to help relieve him of one of the coolers and bring it over to the fire. "Hey, big bro! Glad you could make it!"

     Megan gets a bit of a knowing grin from her, and she simply waves, knowing all too well the fairy-winged girl's natural 'grace and poise'. "Heya, Megan! Plenty to go around! Pull up a chair and... oh heck, did I bring enough lawn chairs out?"

     As she looks around to make certain, she catches sight of Emma's unique method of making s'mores, and cannot help but look on in wonder. "I had no idea you had such a sweet tooth, miss Frost! That has got to be the most unique way I've seen of toasting a marshmallow."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and nods to the others hugging Shannon and says "Hey figures I would bring the refreshments, and see who all was about. How is everyone doing?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue offers a slightly warmer than usual smile towards Shannon. "Hey. Hope I ain't intrudin' on anything, just saw the fire and thought I'd see what was goin' on." She offers, then looks around a moment. "Actually food does sound good. Sorry if I don't remember all of your names. Been a bit of a whirlwind of time for me lately." For whatever reason she can insert here as an excuse or just assumes she knows most people... There's a glance to the other few who have gathered before she makes her way towards the cooked foods. "Surely is a nice way to give Old Man Winter the one finger salute and tell 'im ta stay away until next season..." She offers in with a chuckle.

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma falters, but manages to swing her hand holding the awaiting graham cracker in for the rescue, looking up to flash a crooked little smile to Shannon with a little shrug, "Well, I was going to try something in the gym with dribbling a basketball, but... well, if I do -that- wrong I'm liable to hit myself in the face."

    One eyebrow lifts thoughtfully as she eyes her s'more. "...Of course, now that I think about it, I shouldn't practice too hard. Every success now is time in the gym tomorrow like this." She lifts her other hand to Sam in a wave, "Oh, I saw a magic show tonight. It was really quite spectacular. Maybe I should see if people would like something like that as an end of school year event." She flashes a little grin to Rogue and murmurs out dryly, "Oh, absolutely. I mean, I've heard the term 'ice queen' far too often for someone who's been craving Spring's arrival this badly."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles and waves to Shannon, pulling up a chair, shivering a bit as she tries to stay warm. "Mmm, the fire feels sooo nice! Soo who's awesom idea was this? and how you doing Shan, Sam? It's been a while.." she giggles, "Remind me to check the weather more closely next time!"

Emma and Rogue are given a smile and wave too, now they are teammates, things might be a bit different, but it's still hard for her to call 'em by their first names. "Hii Ms. Frost, Rogue! Long time, no see!" mostly, she remembers helping them fend off an evil Emma clone..Fun times..

Nightingale has posed:
     "Speak for yourself, miss Frost. I'll be out on my morning run at oh-dark-stupid anyways, so a couple bratwurst and some s'mores probably won't hurt anything in my case. Plus my healing gift pretty well burns off most anything I eat anyhow." Shannon grins a bit at her, reaching for a forked stick and a couple of raw bratwursts, as it seemed for the moment there was enough seating for everyone.

     Rogue's rather blunt appraisal of what to tell the winter season elicits a giggle from the younger girl. "It's like that old quote from Fiddler On The Roof... 'May God bless him and keep him--far away from us!'." Stick meets meat, meat meets flames and is soon sizzling away. "Name's Shannon. Seen you around the school but we never really got to talk much. Now I regret it. You seem pretty nice."

     Looking over at Megan, Shannon wrinkles her nose and just shakes her head. "You know, I'm just about ready to throw in the towel and give up on ever successfully bringing home dinner from that shawarma place in the city! Every time I go there, something goes pear-shaped!" Uh-oh. "What about you, though? Whatcha been up to?"

     Grinning a little sheepishly at Sam, she perches on top of one of the coolers for the moment. "Like I said to Megan, it's been one of those days." She mutters a little bit, "Someone owes me a new pair of jeans and a turtleneck for bleeding on my old ones!"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises a bit and says "Who got hurt?" He will ask, he does reach deep into the cooler, past the drinks for the kids and pulls out a 6 pack, offering Rogue, and Emma one if they want one.

Rogue has posed:
"No apologies or regrets are needed. I sometimes keep to myself cause of this and that. Still, it's nice to meet ya too, Shannon." Rogue offers this much to the woman before gathering a couple of brats and some s'more stuff on a plate. Cause who doesn't do a cook out without plates? Then she wanders over to the fire and settles, actually choosing to sit on the ground. "What went pear-shaped this time?" She asks Shannon before looking over to Emma and Megan.

Sam gets a head shake, "Thanks but no thanks. I'll just take a soda if you got one." Before she sticks a brat on a fork and pushes it into the fire. "There's a new kid on the block, jus' so y'all know. He's a mite bit on the skittish side, but m'sure all y'all will give 'im a warm welcome."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma reaches out to take the offered beer, after finishing off her s'more, cracking in and taking a slow, deep drink as she sinks down into a folding lawn chair and sighs out in actual contentment. She flashes a grin to Shannon, "Well, run an extra bit for me, yes? I really should just put a treadmill in my office." She smiles brightly and bobs her head to Megan, "Evening, Megan. It's been too long!" She certainly isn't holding a grudge... after all, stabbing her evil doppelganger is an -entire- degree of seperation from the her -most- people who want to stab an Emma Frost try to stab.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Or you'd be welcome to join me, miss Frost." Shannon just smiles sweetly at her, eyes twinkling with a bit of good-natured humor. The question remained, though--would the normally elegant Emma be up for such a thing? Stay tuned, dear reader!

     Looking at both Rogue and Sam, her smile fades a bit. "Turned out Clint Barton got himself in a scrape. And I swear whatever God is out there was looking to do Their business down the barrel of my proverbial rifle, because it just -happened- to be when I was flying overhead en route back from the city. I don't even know the full of what got him into his predicament, but he got dinged up pretty good." There's a very long pause, as if she's weighing just how much to divulge from there. "...I might also have had a crash course in archery to help him see things through. And don't worry," she adds. "I didn't use my healing gift on him. Just normal first aid, and a call to a... mutual acquaintance, to get him to proper medical care among his own."

     She pulls her stick with the bratwurst on it from the fire and pokes at the meat to check it for doneness. Juices drip and sizzle on the hot rocks by the fire. Glancing over at Rogue, she nods, and smiles. "Grey, isn't it? Went out to Bushwick with Indi and Jer to see if we could talk to him. Sounds like he decided to listen after all." She cracks a smile and lets out a long-suffering but good-natured sigh. "I foresee another long night in the kitchen baking some goodies for a welcome basket."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn busies herself with a hotdog, propping it on a stick to heat it on the fire a bit, returning to her seat and just enjoying the lovely warmth for a moment or two. These early days of spring have a tendency to swing back an forth between freezing and warm afterall.

"Hmm, getting in trouble again, eh, Shannon?" she winks at her, "You really are more of a trouble magnet than I am, y'know?" Still, Megan's smile fades a bit at the bleeding part. "Oh, so what happened this time?" To Rogue, she arches a curious brow. "Oh yeah? So what's his name? We seem to be getting quite a few lately.."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises at Shannon, but does not grill her to bad. He hands Emma her drink and gets a beer for himse.f He offers Rogue her prefered Soda, Sam seems prepared for most of the local mansion folks "I am sure we can find some chores around the mansion to help ya work off the marshmellows." He jokes

Rogue has posed:
Rogue raises a brow and then shakes her head. "Well, so long as things got taken care of through as proper channels as they could..." Really doesn't make her want to go into the city for anything anytime soon. Never the less, at Megan's question, the long sleeved and glove clad female tilts her head and then glances to Shannon once more. "Yeah. Gray. Alexis and Jeremy were giving him a welcome when I decided to head off cause there were a few more gathered. Seemed like a crowd wasn't a welcomed thing." She accepts the drink from Sam with a softly offered "Thank you." and pulls her brat from the fire to see if it's cooked enough before taking a bite.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma grins at Shannon and hums softly, "Well, perhaps I will. We'll see how many more s'mores I have, yes?" She sinks back into her seat more and murmurs dryly. "Oh! A potential new student? Well, I suppose it's good I left the greeting to others." She puts on her best deadpan expression and sighs, "I've been told I can be intimidating. I really just don't see it." She huffs and snorts softly at Sam's line, "Hey, the benefit of rank is getting to -delegate- the chores."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn hmms, "Sometimes it's hard, kinda intimidating to be outed as a mutant, especially in front of a crowd of people. I'm sure he'll come round eventually." She yawns and stretches as she starts munching on her bratwurst. "But y'know, I've been on my feet all day, wouldn't mind a little nap underneath the stars!"

Megan giggles a bit at that as she gazes up at the peaceful sparkly sky. "It's good to see you back, Ms. Frost, Rogue!"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods to Rogue and smiles a bit. "Did the best I could with what I had. Nobody died, and I didn't wind up in the medbay this time from trying to heal someone else." Another check of her bratwurst proved it to be cooked through, and she doesn't even bother with any buns or plates. No, this time she is entirely gauche and just noms the savory treat right off of the stick!

     Oh, and the grin on her face as she looked over at Emma was... challenging? "Ha, see you in the morning, then. 5 a.m., front drive." But would she have company on her morning run? Only time would tell!

     She smiles at Megan next, and lets out a little sigh. "Can't remember the last time I slept out under the stars. Not since the summer I manifested, actually. Simpler times... but I wouldn't trade anything that's happened here, or the people I've met, for anything." She smiles at Sam, and silently mouths, 'Later' to him. Oh, dear.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smirks a bit and says "First time for everything huh kiddo?" He jokes at Shannon. He will lean back, and looks to Emma "Most times when I delegate Chores, it is when Shannon's Ball team looses."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue glances around to everyone still gathered while giving a slight wave when Megan takes off. To the others she just smirks and seems to go rather thoughtful. "I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to come up with more creative punishments for detentions..." This and then she takes another bite off her savory treat. "Also, five am is stupid o'clock...but if you'd not mind a third, I could likely use with some physical work so I don't get out of shape.."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma finishes her drink and stands smoothly, pointing a finger at Shannon and grinning downright happily. "Oh, that's it. You're on. I'm there. Or will be there." She sighs and eyes her watch, "But I should turn in now to prepare, you all have a fine evening!" She saunters off, whistling happily, "Oh yes, I'm going to run... and if it tortures me, I'll take it out on someone later in the day!" ...Okay, happy or not, Emma -is- still Emma.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon's eyebrows go up, and she just stares at Emma for a moment--and then grins. "Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong. And as for you, big brother," she adds, calling out to Sam. "I plan on doing the delegating this season, so get used to the thought of washing dishes for the school for a week!"

     With the fire dying down a bit, and much of the food eaten, many were off to do their own thing. The winged healer in training seems to have elected to stay right where she is for the moment, letting out a contented sigh. "Heh. Okay, so that's two for the morning run. Nice. I don't usually have company."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue decides to stand and move to one of the now empty lawn chairs, settling in and relaxing a little. Finishing off the first brat, she seems to go into thinking mode before giving a soft chuckle. "Well, like I said, I don't usually give company...but I also figure it's about time I actually give a little more to this school than just a when I decide to be around sort of presence..." Not that it will be an immediate thing, but small steps are still steps so long as they go in the right direction. "So are you a student or just a staff member I ain't had a chance to properly sit down with?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Incredulous, Shannon just stares at Rogue for a moment, and then bursts out laughing. "Junior year," she replies. "God willing and the creek don't rise, I wouldn't mind staying put and helping out. What about you, though? Never got to ask what you do around here?"

Rogue has posed:
"I ah... officially I'm one of the detention moderators. So most the students I know are the ones who get in trouble.." Rogue offers and then she chuckles. "Otherwise, I pretty much keep to myself. Sometimes I ain't around cause there's a mission I help with." She stabs a marshmellow with a clean fork and shifts to hold it over the barely there flames. "Mostly still gettin' used to bein' round people who ain't scared of me, even if some people are still rightly freaked out."

Nightingale has posed:
     Plenty of rumors abounded about Rogue's gifts. Shannon just shrugged, and smiled a little bit. "Seems we kind of have one thing sort of in common," she finally says, nodding towards Rogue's gloved hands. "If half the scuttlebutt is true, you absorb powers just by touching someone. Me, I absorb injuries. And it wasn't easy to learn to control it." Looking down at her own bare hands, she flexes her fingers a little bit. "A little bit different, but kind of similar, too, since both our gifts depend on touch."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue regards Shannon for a moment and then nods. "I can see how that would be...very challenging." She offers this and then looks to her gloved hands. "Yeah. I can absorb powers...but I can also absorb emotions, personalities...like I can't touch anyone. Ever. Because no matter what, I take something from them..." She puts on a smile and then puts together her smore, but she does stand. "If we're getting up early to run, then sleep might be a thing to get. It was nice to finally meet you." She motions off to...somewhere... "See you in the morning."

Nightingale has posed:
     "That's got to be rough," Shannon admits, offering a sympathetic smile. "One of my favorite quotes fits pretty well, though. 'Where there's life, there's hope.' Neither of us should lose hope." Getting to her feet, she chuckles, and nods. "Good idea. I'll stay just long enough to put out the fire safely and head to bed. See you at oh-dark stupid!"