13642/Birthdays on a Boat: Anchors a-weigh

Birthdays on a Boat: Anchors a-weigh
Date of Scene:	20 July 2021
Location:	Mediterranean - The French Riviera
Synopsis:	Calm Cruising Commences, Crew Catered.
Cast of Characters:	Jax Miller, Cannonball, Nightingale, Kit Killovarras

---

Jax Miller has posed:
    Grand Style.

    That was the way in which the group of mutants invited to go on this mystery 'boating trip' is traveling. At the crack of mid-morning (because even for a vacation you won't catch Jax scheduling things at the crack of dawn), the Air France flight took off from JFK, destined for Nice Côte d'Azur. By now it should come as no surprise to anyone that these are not just any airline seats. Everyone is traveling in first class. Because of course.

    It's an eight hour trip over to Europe, time enough to chat, eat, drink and have a nap on the lay-flat seats that so conveniently become beds at the press of a button. Eight hours of luxury, indolence and pampering.

    But of course, the surprises don't stop there. From Nice a transfer shuttle was waiting for the group at the jetway, and the mutants and their luggage are efficiently hustled over to the private terminal and transboarded onto a helicopter.

    After a mere half hour of flight, a half hour in which Jax grew all the more mysterious, the awe inspiring sight of Monaco hove into view, and the helicopter landed on a private pad near the marina.

    And now, rolling his own luggage, Jax is leading his fellow students out of the helicopter terminal, a larger than usual grin on his face. "Alright guys, not too far now."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises a bit, but oddly enough the country boy seems to understand all the first class things. He is polite to the flight attendants, and is being the grown up as he watches the others. Shannon maybe legal now, but Sam is the one who has to be responsible for the others as it is a "class" trip.

Nightingale has posed:
     There was something to be said for traveling in style.

     It was vastly different from the way that Shannon had last traveled by air, well before manifesting as a mutant. Even the most comfortable economy class, or even business class, had -nothing- on traveling first class. There were wonderful little surprises at every turn, from the 'mocktail' version of a strawberry daquiri that was procured for her upon settling into her seat, to an amenities kit that had the most luxurious lotions, sprays, and goodies one could imagine, to food that rivaled any in a five-star restaurant on the ground. Even the seats-turned-beds were comfy, leaving no doubt in anyone's ears when the winged healer-in-training fell asleep.

     Let's face it. She -snored-.

     She was especially kind to the flight attendants, having worked as a waitress at Evolution for a while now, and recognizing a service job as a hard and thankless one. If she found out where they were originally from, she would at least attempt 'thank you' in their mother tongue--which resulted in some comical mispronunciations, but many a smile for the effort.

     One overseas flight and helicopter trip later, she joins the group by the marina, her wings flaring behind her as she takes a deep breath, a wide smile on her face. "Hey, do you know how long it's been since I've had a whiff of the sea? I'm gonna take a moment to savor this! We're in the flippin' French Riviera, on a gorgeous day, with friends and family, and that's no small thing!"

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There would be an interesting moment in the first leg of this flight for a certain Aardwolf, though for some reason or another when a passport would otherwise be required? The hooded figure that is Kit winds up getting taken aside by TSA, a very short conversation ensues and then? He's allowed to board! No passport to speak of, no other real questions asked. Well that's not strange at all, since a few people at the school would know that dear Kit, is undocumented!

Even if there was an eight hour flight, first class? Nah, Kit's not sleeping through that, he's more likely to take the time to relax and catch up a bit on his reading! Aaand maybe snack a bit.

After a first class flight, chopper ride and all that? Kit would be taking the time to look around a little, letting his eyes and other senses get accustomed to where they are in silence for now. He still hasn't lowered his hood or de-wrapped himself from what he would have been wearing in the terminal for some reason either.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Technically..." Jax begins as he steps through the terminal doors and onto the street, if such a crude description might be used in this area. "... we're in Monaco, not France. Still the Riviera, but... -oof!-"

    It happens in a flash. One moment Jax is talking, looking over his shoulder as he does, the next he's been grabbed by a man.

    A large man. In fact, this man is not just tall, he's wide. And bald like an egg. Dressed in blue shorts and a white polo, this apparition looks like he might have some bear in his ancestry, and that recent. And the face of this great lout splits into a huge grin as he first envelops Jax in a bear hug "Leetle Cat!" and then unceremoniously throws him over his shoulder as if he doesn't weigh a thing, leaving the cat mutant gesticulating practically upside down.

    "This is Gregor. Hey Gregor!"

    And then the man puts Jax down again, still grinning. "Welcome to Monaco. Good weather today. Can I take luggage?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's body shows he started to take a step in to defend the young man, but knowing they are friends. He relaxes a bit more to this. Sam will look to the big man, and says "Ah got mine, but sure the lady and young men could use some help." Sam knows his french is not the best so keeps to english.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Bonne matin, monsieur Gregor, et heureux de faire votre connaissance. Je m'appelle Shannon." Out of all the languages Shannon had taken up in her life thus far, it seemed French was the one she was best acquainted with, not even hesitating to greet Gregor in the language of the region, with a warm smile. "I won't say no to help, and merci." She couldn't help a light giggle, and aside to Sam and Kit, she murmurs by way of complimenting Gregor, "I think he must be part bear, to be so impressively strong. He could probably pick us -all- up and still manage the luggage."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The sudden snatch and grab does cause Kit to tense up for a moment, but then the mountain of a man hugs Jax and slings him over his shoulder and the Aardwolf just loosens up and chuckles quietly. He nods to the man in greeting, though he doesn't have much in the way of luggage. Just a backpack, which he chooses to keep slung over his shoulder.

Shannon's comment gets a little grin and a glance, "I wouldn't doubt that." he says, finally breaking his silence. HE SPEAKS!

Jax Miller has posed:
    "A votre service, mademoiselle." Gregor practically bows and, while already having grabbed Jax' luggage from long habit, easily manages Shannon's as well. The man's accent isn't French, but he seems to speak it fairly well. "Come, this way."

    'This way' appears to be towards a car, in which Gregor starts to quickly stow the luggage. It's a nice car, but it seems oddly like a rental. A very nice rental, but not entirely in keeping with the theme so far.

    Unsurprisingly, Jax claims shotgun.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will put his own luggage in the back. Sam does have a clothes bag for a suit or some such, knowing a bit more about the area than the other guests perhaps. Sam looks about the area, and says "We got time to hit." He names a small hole in the wall restaurant in the area that most might not know of.

Nightingale has posed:
     Despite the luxurious nommage on the flight over, the mere mention of a restaurant elicits a rather unladylike rumble from Shannon's general vicinity. She blushes profusely, and grins a bit sheepishly at Sam and Jax. "Is there a bit of time for Sam's suggestion, or do we need to embark as soon as reasonably possible? My appetite's been going haywire ever since my gifts have been shifting."

     Kit gets something of a grin as he breaks his silence, and she chortles softly to herself, wings ruffling behind her. "Okay, okay, so no shotgun. But if we're all piling in there, I hope nobody ate anything funny." Like termites. Or legumes.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
This as Kit pops a handful of termites into his maw and crunches on them, giving Shannon a glance and a tilt of his head. "You do realize, if anyone did eat anything funny, I'm going to have to ride with my head out a window, right?" he muses with a bit of a grin, then he shrugs a bit and adds, "Wouldn't mind a bite to eat myself." he adds with a smile. Again, this from the individual who has been snacking the ENTIRE TIME!

Jax Miller has posed:
    The suggestion has two very immediate responses. First of, Gregor smiles at Sam as if he's surprised that anyone else knows that address, and as he closes the doors after making sure his passengers are settled in, gives an inquiring look over to Jax. It's a full on 'is this okay, boss?' kind of look, including the fractionally raised eyebrow. For all his easygoing attitude so far, Jax seems to consider it seriously for a moment, and then his smile returns, leaning to the side of his seat so he can look at Sam, Shannon, and Kit. "You'll break Guillaume's heart. But we can have lunch there."

    In fact, at that last, he settles in his seat and looks over to Gregor. "We'll have lunch there." Gregor, for his part, nods and starts the car, rolling down the passenger window for Kit. It seems driving with someone's head out of the window isn't an entirely unknown request to this man.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, a bit and says "If you have someone waiting for us for lunch, we should go there Jas, just a place Berto showed me when he brought me out here in the past. Seems he had some business out here a few years back, and wanted someone to hang out with when he was not in meetings.

Nightingale has posed:
     "It's all good either way, so long as there's something tasty at the end of it all." Shannon looks like a little kid at Christmas, as she piles into the rental with the rest of the others who were joining them on this cruise. She's squirming in her seat as everyone gets in, a bigger smile on her face than has been there for some weeks now.

     The smile fades just a little bit, though, as the enclosed cabin of the vehicle soon works against the group....

Jax Miller has posed:
    It's a short drive. A deceptively short drive. A drive that, in truth, wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to walk... Down the Avenue Pasteur, onto the Avenue du Port, and from there an easy right onto the Avenue d'Ostende and through the gates of the Yacht Club, all at an easy cruising speed. In the front, Jax and Gregor exchange a few cryptic comments with each other.

    "All good?"
    "Good at trials. Will be fine."
    "And the thing?"
    "Done."
    "Awesome!"
    "Oh, and see boss when you have time. She wants word."
    "That bad?"
    "Been worse."

    And that riveting conversation is really all they have time for before Gregor stops the car and cuts the engine, getting out immediately to open the passenger doors. Except Jax's... he gets out by himself straight away, starting to look a bit nervous now. "Remember guys, she's... she's not Ulysses." Whatever that may mean.

    But the car has stopped on the wide quay in front of several anchored yachts, each anchored stern towards the land, bows pointing out into the sea wall of the outer harbor.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie opens his own door as soon as they have stopped, Shannon may want to call him fire farts, but he aint the one who is trying to fumigate the rental car. He does not comment on it, but is taking a break of fresh air one outside.

Nightingale has posed:
     More than one nose begins to wrinkle among the travelers. Air is first cautiously sniffed, then there it is. The tell-tale expression.

     Stank face.

     The moment the door is opened, everyone scrambles out as quickly as they piled in, yet nobody is taking the blame for the incident, despite many a grumbled inquiry amongst themselves.

     Conversation soon shifts towards the more positive side of things, with speculation amongst the travelers as to which boat at anchor is the one that will be their home for the next couple weeks or so. Shannon steps aside from the group for a moment, coming right up to the edge of the quay, kneeling down next to the water and reaching into one pocket of her denim cutoff shorts. A small paper packet is produced, which she opens carefully, tipping out the contents into her right hand. It looks to be a few grains of barley. Her eyes close, and she murmurs a soft prayer before casting the grains onto the water.

     A little extra prayer or two in the right direction never hurt.

Jax Miller has posed:
    As Gregor starts to take care of the luggage, Jax waits for Shannon to finish her private prayer, and then motions for everyone to follow him. It's only a few steps, really, towards a tri-deck yacht that could be easily identified as their home for the next two weeks by two things.


First off, beyond the 'passerelle', the walkway that extends from the starboard transom steps and onto the quay, several members of the crew are waiting in immaculate uniforms and bearing trays of drinks and refreshments.

    The other is the name of the yacht picked out in silvered letters on the transom itself.

    'Surprise'

    With a deep bow, Jax waves Shannon towards the walkway. It is, after all, a cruise in honor of her birthday, and he seems quite insistent that she be the first to go aboard.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will wait for the others to climb on the ship. He looks around the area scanning about to see what is what. He does nod a bit impressed at the yacht.

Nightingale has posed:
     Standing and brushing her knees off, Shannon turns to see where Jax is gesturing. Her brows quirk, her wings ruffling behind her, and her lips curl upwards in a smile. "Beautiful," she finally says. "Utterly beautiful." Despite the indication for her to board first, she is mindful of tradition, requesting permission of the captain before so much as setting foot on board.

     With prayers said, and tradition observed, she boards the yacht, tilting her face up towards the sun and smiling wide. This was going to be quite an adventure--and she'd been on a few in just her short couple years at the school!

Jax Miller has posed:
    There is a smile from one of the crew members standing furthest away from the walkway, near the port gangway that seems to run along the side of the ship, with a matching gangway to starboard. The woman nods in assent. "Welcome aboard. Miss Lance? Welcome to Surprise."

    She points out the other members of the crew. First off all, a rather excitable looking man, thin and immaculately turned out, carrying a tray of canapés. "Our cook, Guillaume"
    "Enchanté, Mademoiselle." the man says with a half bow that, just entirely by coincidence, seems to present the tray without being so crass as to actually offer.

    Next, a man whose only description should be 'polished', except somehow one could easily find room to add 'mischievous' to that description. "The purser, Stavros"
    "A pleasure, Miss. Breakfast has been laid out, at your convenience."

    And finally, a young woman with a confident smile, who gives Shannon a quick wink. "And Anya, she runs the deck."
    "Miss."

    "And I'm sure you've met our engineer, Gregor. I'm Captain Tala."

    For her part, the captain appears somewhat... exotic, for these parts. And is the only one who speaks with a more American accent, with a slight accent, possibly Hawaiian.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will follow the others onto the yacht. He offers each of the crew a nod and a firm handshake in greeting. He looks around the place, and says "A very nice ship you have. Is it ship or boat, Ah can never keep it straight. He finds a place to stand watching the others a smile on his face.

Nightingale has posed:
     Each crew member in turn is greeted with a handshake and a smile, with Shannon careful to keep her wings tucked in a little more tightly behind her. There was no sense in sweeping anybody overboard before the trip even began, after all! The coincidence in the positioning of Guillaume's tray is a welcome one, with a prosciutto canape somehow finding its way into her hand.

     "Truly wonderful to meet all of you, and hopefully it won't be taken amiss if I speak for all of us in thanking you for your part in making this trip possible. I should have known Jax had something planned when he started asking questions a few good weeks ago."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Having lagged behind a little to adjust his senses, something he's been trying to do for a bit, Kit finally catches up with the rest of the group just in time for crew introductions it seems! Or at least the members of the crew who are present. Yup! He's last onto the vessel, looking around himself, still quietly, right up until he gets the chance to greet the members of the crew! Each would be offered a handshake and a kind smile, though again, for some reason Kit has gone strangely silent for the time being.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There's the quirk of a smile on the Captain's lips, and a hasty glance from the other crew members, a definite air of 'here we go again'. "A ship, sir. A vessel of this size could be both, but we have a displacement hull and, I am glad to inform you, we do lean outboard rather than inboard during a turn. Thus, the hull force overcomes the rudder force, qualifying us as a ship rather than a boat, where the rudder force overcomes the hull force and leans inboard, rather than outboard. But I'm happy to say, sir, that with our stabilizers, you'll scarcely notice at all."

    All this is said with a smile, and then suddenly the Captain looks over Sam's shoulder where she spots Jax trying to sneak aboard without being noticed. "Mister Miller. A pleasure. Could I have a word, at your convenience?"

    The fixed smile on Jax's face is betrayed by his ears folding half way, but he does follow the captain along the gangway and forward.

    In the meantime, Stavros opens the doors from the cockpit to the main deck saloon, and a general drift of the crew in that direction seems to steer the guests there as well. "Oh, Mister Miller can be quite crafty. Bordering on the devious. But we wouldn't have him any other way. This way please, sirs, ma'am?"

    'This way', this time around, seems to be through the well furnished main deck saloon, and forward to the dining table, where a continental breakfast has been arranged with places laid for all the guests. Folded napkins, proper silverware, tureens on the side board... the works. The place at the head of the table has clearly been reserved for Shannon, as evidenced by a napkin folded in the shape of a winged angel. All the other seats are equally well marked, with napkins folded artistically in fitting figurines.

    Discreetly, Guillaume hovers near Kit and whispers towards him. "Pardon, sir, but does sir have any particular dietary requirements? We have non-toxic chocolate flavor for most desserts, and sweeteners from animal protein. We are used to catering to Mister Miller, it would be no trouble at all."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will move to slide Shannon's chair out for her. Before moving to his own seat, and has a seat looking over to the others, and says "It seems they have put in the work preparing for us." He smiles a bit to this and looks over "Hope all is ok with Jax."

Nightingale has posed:
     It's becoming harder and harder for Shannon to -not- smile, as each little touch here and there seems designed to elicit just that response from the guests. She smiles with gratitude at Sam, settling into her seat as prim and proper as one could want--at least, this first go-around. There would be plenty of time to let her hair down later, as it were.

     "This is proper spoiling," she remarked, her slightly calloused fingertips tracing the edges of the delicately folded napkin figurine. "I'm almost reluctant to actually use this, it's so pretty." Yet the figurine is eventually unfolded, albeit slowly, as she tries to study just how it was put together in the first place.

     The young woman's brows furrow with concern as she glances towards where Jax and the captain have adjourned for a discussion of some short, allowing herself a small huff of a sigh. "Hope everything's alright...."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Again, Kit remains rather quiet while they're being led around the ship, taking note of his spot at the table with a little smile when they arrive. Then someone talks to him, asking him about his dietary needs and it's about that time that his ears perk up a little, then splay out to the sides a little as he chuckles. "Umm, Normally I can eat just about anything.." Then he pauses and gives the one who addressed him a glance, adding, "Though, my stomach can't handle an excessive amount of greens and.. I sort of have to work some form of insect into my diet each day." He scratches the back of his head and gives an awkward little grin, "Normally things like termites, meal-worms or locust." Yup, so apparently the bugs aren't just a flavor choice after all! But then again, that shouldn't be surprising.

When the others mention Jax, Kit's ears twitch ever so slightly, but then they perk forward. Directional hearing is a thing, so say it with me!: Not gonna pry, not gonna snoop. Nope! Well, not intentionally at least.

By this point, Kit would have pulled his hood down, though it might be worth noting that he hasn't adjusted his tail, which means that it's still hidden away beneath his jeans.

Jax Miller has posed:
    With only a small, knowing nod, Guillaume withdraws and heads... well, out. Forward and to port, for those of a nautical slant, and to the door at the front left of the room for those who aren't. Breakfast is served with little ceremony but in impressive quantity, as Stavros and Guillaume do their best to spoil the guests.

    After about five minutes Jax emerges, coming from the hallway to the front right (or starboard forward), with his usual utterly silent gait. Those with particularly fine hearing might have heard him come down a set of stairs. "Sorry about that, stuff to talk about." He's back to his usual, fully confident self, handing out folded cards to his friends.

    "That's the schedule for the next two weeks. As it stands, anyway, might change. You never know what the wind and the weather is going to do." Even as he sits down, Guillaume puts down a plate for him, far... well, meatier than the others. No dairy, few grains, but lots of protein. Just like a cat prefers it.

    The itinerary is a list of all those places heard of but rarely visited. Genua, Florence, Monte Christo, Ostia, Rome, Napels, Ischia, Capri, Pompeii, Palermo, San Marino, Venice... the whole of the first week seems to be dedicated to the Italian coast.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, a bit and says "When we get to" He says the port nearest Alexis's grandparents "If you want we can take a day and head in to see their vineyards and such, it is a lovely place." He smiles and says "If you have Wine on board you may even have some of theirs." He tells Jax.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon smiles widely at Sam, and can't suppress a little giggle. "And now you see why I was really hoping you could join us, big bro," she comments. "I remembered Alexis' grandparents were in Italy, and I was hoping one of the ports of call would be close enough where you could see her. I know you miss her a lot." There is a brief moment where there is just a hint of shadows in her eyes, mist glistening in the morning light. Perhaps someone she, too, misses, but says nothing about.

     One port of call does catch her attention in particular. "Oooo, Pompeii? That would be fascinating to see. And of course, when in Rome... Jax, I think you might have outdone yourself, and that's just the first week of the trip!" She grins over at Kit, just in time to hear his aside to Guillaume. Though her nose wrinkles, curiosity does get the better of her, as it seems an actual dietary requirement rather than a simple choice of a more exotic cuisine. "I don't get it," she says. "What is it your body needs from those items? I mean... those don't agree with me, but I'm actually curious what benefit they are to you besides taste?"

Kit Killovarras has posed:
When Shannon asks about the dietary requirement, Kit is in the middle of adjusting his tail, finally, since sitting on the damned thing had got to be uncomfortable. He just looks up and tilts his head a little before giving a little shrug, "Not sure really, but everything else just sort of doesn't fill me quite right." He gives a little shrug, his left ear folding to the side slightly as he adds, "I know it's weird. I mean, I could kill a forty ounce steak and still be hungry, but a bowl of fried rice with meal worms or anything involving insects? I'm usually set for at least a couple hours."

Jax Miller has posed:
    It's clear from Guillaume's glance that Sam is going to get a reputation as a gourmet pretty soon. The cook and purser clearly know what vineyard he's talking about, and that means it's practically a certainty that there will be another port added to the schedule. The cat mutant himself doesn't seem to be aware, but he's caught the glance of the crew and grins. "I think we might. But it's always good to have extra stock on board, right Guillaume?"

    "Exactement, Monsieur." the man smiles, appearing by Sam's shoulder to offer him seconds, and probably thirds.

    "Second week will depend on how far we get on the first week. But that'll mostly be Greece. Never know, we might run into some of your friends." Jax grins, before applying himself to breakfast.

    Mutants on a boat in the Med... what could possibly go wrong?