1839/Who's Afraid...

Who's Afraid...
Date of Scene:	05 August 2017
Location:	Xavier's, by the lake
Synopsis:	Doug seeks to apologize to Rahne (happens a couple days after "It's Only A Paper Moon").
Cast of Characters:	Cypher, Wolfsbane

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Cypher has posed:
Doug let Rahne be, for a couple of days. Oh, he kept an EYE out for her, of course. But he never initiated the chase, never came looking. But two days have passed, and now he's looking. It's sunset, and he's walking out into the woods near the campsite. He closes his eyes, and then inhales, slowly, before he quietly attunes himself to the language of the Breakstone forest.

The birds speak to him. The buzzing of insects speak to him. It's a language of movement and pattern that's as clear as day to Doug Ramsey, and it tells him...

"Rahne?" He calls out, quietly. "Rahney? Come out and talk to me. Please?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
It's questionable whether or not Rahne's been hiding from Doug. While she's been around the school since returning, she hasn't especially sought him out. It just so happens she's managed to be in different places than he has, but whether by concidence or focused effort, their paths have not crossed yet. If she was intending to avoid him, her senses would have been good for that.

So it ends up that, as the shadows get longer and daylight begins to fade, he finds the area she's in thanks to signs of wildlife essentially giving her extra space. For someone capable of reading that, it leads him straight to where she is, if not with a direct line of sight.

Upon hearing his words, Wolfsbane stops what she's doing, which at the moment is padding through the woods as a wolf. In the time it's taken her to go back to her mid-form, his words have already registered. "Whit do ye want, Doug?" she answers, still unseen but now more easily located. He may tell she sounds somewhat surprised, but also mildly irritated.

Cypher has posed:
Doug stands where he is.

"I just wanted to say I was sorry." He looks down. "It was... rude. Rude of me to do that, and I didn't think about it enough." He says, "I was... partially I was playing. But I also--" He runs his fingers through his hair. "Rahne. You've always had a shape around you. Something strong, and fierce, and protective, and loyal and loving. I didn't have words for it... before. But I knew it was there. But you always... tried to shrink. Before."

"When I first saw you, I could tell at a glance that you were finally reaching toward the edges of that shape. Even through how tired you were. You were strong and assured and..." He smirks, "Wonderful." He moves to slip his hands into his pockets. "But then we started talking, and it felt like you were starting to try to shrink, again. Why? Is it me? Did you want to be the girl I remembered?"

"Or did you just not want to hurt me? Speak to me. Please."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane moves so she can see him, and he her. She's studying him, seemingly with some sort of guardedness that lingers the more he gives his view of her and things in general.

"Aye, ye it was rude o' ye tae do tha'. It was cruel, an' ye had me feeling so verra angry wi' ye in tha' moment. Did ye know I almost chased ye doon before I was able tae go run it off?" She lets the words sit there for a moment or two before filling him in further. "I'm no' th' wee slip o' a girl ye remembered from..before. I've grown older, an' I've seen some things after..whit happened wi' ye. But tha' other side o' me, it's grown as well, an' sometimes I feel pulled in different directions. Ye have tae be careful, Doug."

It all comes off like a cross between a lecture, a warning, and an explanation. "I'd never hurt ye on purpose, no' if I could help it. But..I'm no' sure about ye thinking I'm shrinking. I understand we canna change th' past. Both o' us are different noo, just like th' others, an'..aye, seeing ye back was a shock a' first. It still is, an' o' course I forgive ye, but just knowing and seeing ye're back is gaunae take more than a few days tae work oot."

Her arms are crossed for much of this, coming off still as self-protecting. "But I do forgive ye."

Cypher has posed:
Doug says, "I'm as able to communicate with you as a wolf as I am as a person, Rahne. Please remember that. If you need to growl at me, or pin me down, or say something as the wolf, *go ahead and do it*. I can speak wolf." He lets out a slow sigh. "Rahney... please humor me? Turn into a wolf. And come to me." He kneels down, with his arms by his sides. "I want to show you that no matter which side of you is dominant, you can *talk* to me."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane's head shakes slowly after a few seconds. Now, she comes off as more conflicted. "I..look, Douglas." She's going between two ways of saying his name, apparently depending on how she's feeling. 'Douglas' appears to be the more polite of the two right now. "Usually when I go tha' far, I dinna /want/ tae talk to someone. Dani can still understand me, but she has tha' link wi' animals. For everyone else, unless I need tae be a wolf because o' something we're doing, it's sort o'..safe space, I suppose." It comes off like an admission to herself as much as Doug or anyone else. She does not approach. Yet.

Cypher has posed:
Doug tilts his head, and then he says, "I won't make you, Rahne. Your comfort matters, to me." He sits, with his back against a tree. He says, quietly, "You know, I've been having nightmares? About that night. I'm still trying to interpret them, but I..." He says, "That was a bad day all around. Did Sam ever tell you what I told him, on the way to New York? The last thing I said to him was, if he wanted to big brother someone, he should go back to Kentucky and boss around one of the fifty brothers and sisters there. And that he wasn't my big brother, so he should quit acting like it. I felt bad about it as soon as it came out of my mouth, but I was so stiff-necked and proud." He closes his eyes. "I figured I could apologize later. I guess my point is, sometimes I can be a real fool. That... doesn't seem to have changed. And now you and Dani and Sam have grown so much and I don't know who I am. But I know I care."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"I had nightmares for a long, long time," Wolfsbane answers, staying safe in her mid-form with the newest outfit in place. "Do ye know how many times I went in th' Danger Room an' replayed whit happened? How many different ways I found tae do just one wee thing another way an' ye'd never ha' died? But none o' it brought ye back. There was nothing any o' us could do tae reverse it."

Then, she admits with a curious tilt of her head, "But noo ye /are/ back, an' tha's all tha' matters. An' I'm sure he did tell us, but there were things we all wished we could ha' said had we known..tha' wid happen." She shakes her head, now beginning to pace this way and that. "Everything happens for a reason. I'm just glad ye're back, however it happened, an' all th' rest can get sorted oot as we go."

She grows quiet for a spell, then she adds, "But if ye play any mean tricks on me again, I might just chase ye doon an' make ye pay for it."

Cypher has posed:
Doug is quiet, for over a minute. "...If you really want to rough me up a little bit, go ahead. I can take it... I won't shatter." He grins, briefly. "...Could I have a hug, Rahney?" He murmurs, "No tricks, I promise. I won't even dunk you if you're already IN the pool." Then he says, softly, "I would do it again... get in front of that Smile-Face. Please don't ever doubt that you were worth dying for. Are worth dying for."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane's head shakes. "Och, ye daft boy. I dinna /want/ tae hurt ye or anyone else. Tha's th' thing!" So maybe she's had a short fuse sometimes, especially when her temper's up. It doesn't make the claim any less true. That said, she finally moves in as her arms uncross. "An' I'll hear nae talk o' dying all over again. Once was bad enough. I dinna think I could take a second time. Ye know I heal faster."

Cypher has posed:
Doug says, "...I don't believe you would ever willingly hurt me. Not even as the wolf. And if you did... we'd settle that between us." He smirks. "Besides, I like to think I'm so cute, it'd mostly just pin me down and want to cuddle!" He blinks, disingenuously. "Right? I mean I'm no Prince Hrimhari, that guy's an Asgardian dreamboat..."

Wolfsbane has posed:
All of a sudden, Wolfsbane's mouth works its way open then closed, and even with the fur that's visible, her blush is /so/ heavy there's no way Doug could miss it in her body language. "..Douglas! I..och!" Not yet in the hug, she just openly stares in her embarrassment.

Cypher has posed:
Doug grins, and maybe his cheeks go a little pink too. "You're so cute when you're scandalized. What else could I do to get that look out of you? Sam and I are usually shirtless when we go for our morning run?" He strokes his chin. "Remember Bobby's swimsuit? The one only held up by the Force?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
The whole encounter with the Asgardian wolf prince is one Wolfsbane has undoubtedly thought a lot about, one way or the other. No matter what the outcomes of those thoughts have been, she hasn't shared them with anybody. Not then, not now, not ever. "He's..ye know he..tha' is, I mean we canna..och. Stop doing this wi' me!" There comes a shove at his shoulder. Is that what he was trying to coax out of her? Some form of aggression?

Cypher has posed:
Doug smirks, and then he leans back... adopting a submissive posture. Showing Rahne his belly (well, he's wearing a shirt), his chin tilted slightly up, exposing his throat. He moves to open his arms, offering that hug. "I know. I'll stop teasing, Rahney. I promise. Well. I'll stop teasing you about cute boys. Of which I am one. Possibly the cutest."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Ye're insufferable, Douglas Ramsey. Ye know tha'?" comes Wolfsbane's pointed answer, and while a brow shoots up at the body language /he/ gives off, she shakes her head to snap out of it. "Dinna..do tha', please. Th'..ye know, th' thing ye just did. Ye're no' a wolf." But then, neither is she..completely. The hug, because of all this - the apology, the conversation, the reminder about who she met in Asgard and was immediately lovestruck with - is a quick one, barely a hug at that.

Cypher has posed:
Doug says, "I know I am." He returns the hug, and buries his face in Rahne's shoulder, briefly, before he lets her go. "You're wonderful, Rahne Sinclair. No matter the shape you're in. You're just... a wonderful girl."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane raises a brow again, mainly at the way he does that against fur and leather. "Ye flatter me so," she points out with a shake of her head, going to rub the back of her neck once the hug is ended. It's a quick one this time due to the subject matter and the way it's got her feeling and thinking, but it still counts as one. No doubt he's got her thinking a lot again about the one called Hrimhari. Oh, how he made her feel with his advances, though she shied away from them as soon as she had her wits about her.

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up, and raises his eyebrows. "Is it flattery if it's honest?" He starts to get up. "The Wolf Prince saw you for what you were. And eventually, so did I. And we both think you're keen, Rahne Sinclair. One day, you'll meet him again." He gives a little smile, only slightly sad, "I can't wait to shake his hand."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Maybe..ye will. I'm no' sure. He probably has a lot o' things he needs tae do for his..pack," Wolfsbane explains, trying to rationalize why she's trying not to get her hopes up too much. "Just..let it go for noo, please. But thank ye, though." She was never great at handling compliments. That much has carried over.

Cypher has posed:
Doug shakes his head, and sticks his hands in his pockets. And silently thinks about all the girls he liked who he never had a chance with, for various reasons. He smirks, and shakes his head. Who could hope to compete? "Okay." He says. "I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore, Rahne."

Wolfsbane has posed:
And how many boys has Rahne never had a chance with, due in large part to her own hang-ups and hesitancy? Maybe not many, but enough. "I canna stay mad a' ye verra long, even if ye deserve it for being a bother," she tells him, a soft 'huff' following.

Cypher has posed:
"Well," Doug says, "I am *adorable*. It's my real mutant power." Then he tilts his head, and says. "...You know, maybe I'll take Sam's advice. I don't know. I don't want to do anything until I know where my mind is at." ...What?

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane returns a further look of confusion compared to anything from before, after a rolling of her eyes at him trying to play up the cuteness factor. That thought comes and goes. "..whit?" Then, she shakes it off, even waving the thought away with a hand. "Ye know, I'd best be getting back inside. It's getting dark oot an' I'm hungry for something."

Cypher has posed:
"I've got studying to do. But I'll cook you a steak. Just waved over the skillet, the way you like it." Doug says, cheerfully enough, though his expression is thoughtful.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"But I like my.." Wolfsbane starts to say, only to change her mind. "Nevermind. I'll..see ye inside, later." Just a muted wave and she's jogging away from him, back in the direction of the buildings. Too much to think about again.