1862/Wrestling With Relationships

Wrestling With Relationships
Date of Scene:	07 August 2017
Location:	Danger Room area, Xavier's School
Synopsis:	After Rahne trains in the Danger Room, she and Sam talk about Doug in particular.
Cast of Characters:	Wolfsbane, Cannonball

---

Wolfsbane has posed:
Stepping out of the Danger Room, Wolfsbane reaches for a towel and a bottle of water. It's been her first session since returning to the school from Muir Island, where she'd spent most of the summer. It didn't hurt that the weather around the place was much, much nicer than a New York summer.

The session itself was just a solo thing, building on her senses of awareness related to various scenarios, picking out bad guys from innocent bystanders, then leading into a chase and the need to use both stealth and speed, agility and reflexes. Some of it required going around as a wolf, as well.

"Tha' felt..good. Good tae get some practice in again," she's heard to say as she passes through the doors.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Ah bet it did." Sam says quietly from the doorway. "Your times were all great. Good awareness. You did not miss anything we had trained for, and you picked up a few things we haven't. That was a truly good scenario, and you passed with flying colors." Sam is leaning in the door, looking over data on his tablet.
    "Ah would like to work on some disaster training, maybe well using your nose to find trapped civilians." Sam say quietly. "Ah think it is the sort of thing you could do, and the sort of thing that if you were seen doing would make an impact."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Ah, thank ye, Sam," Wolfsbane answers, the sound of her 'Ah' very similar to his, only with a different meaning behind it. She dabs at her forehead, the fuzz there slicked with a sheen of perspiration, for she held little back in trying to meet and exceed the guidelines of the scenario. "Even if I felt a wee bit rusty. Are ye sure ye didna have it set on 'easy?'"

She's in the new outfit, something she came across in Scotland and had tailored to fit while remade from Unstable Molecules to work with her unique abilities. "I felt like I could move around th' way I want in this, as well. An' ye may be right about finding people in things like tha'." That is, assuming she keeps it together in the midst of a disaster.

Cannonball has posed:
    "It was not the hardest scenario you have run, no." Sam replies with his frank honesty. "Not the easiest either. a little above average, but not a lot, no." He looks things over. "It was though, very complete. I wanted to see your new baselines, and let the others see how far you have progressed."
    Sam looks over at her. "You have come so far, Rahne. I am very proud of you." He says it with all the affection of an older brother. "I'm really going to miss you."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane gives Sam a wry smile. "I can count on ye no' tae sugarcoat it for me, but ye gave me whit I wanted: a test, but no' something I couldna handle. I just always want tae get better from one tae th' next, somehow." Now, she downs about a third of the water bottle, savoring the cool liquid in her mouth, down her throat.

The towel is draped over her shoulders, around the back of her neck, and she comes over to have a look at the results before pausing at what he says. "Och, ye flatter me so, but whit do ye mean? Are ye going somewhere?" she asks, a hint of concern popping up.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Well, we are done in High School here in a matter of months, Rahne." Sam answers. "Ah do not think all of us are going to become X-Men. Also, well, Ah am going to go to college. That will cut into my time." He says it casually. "Things are going to change for us this year, and Ah think it best if we acknowledge that going into the year." Sam's frown cuts a furrow in his face. "Times change, Rahne. Have you considered your plans?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Och, aye, Sam. I was no' really thinking o' tha' when ye said it. I thought ye were headed off somwehere in th' next few days or so," Wolfsbane admits, a bit of worry coming and going. "I'm no' sure I'm cut oot tae be an X-Man, muhself. It's part o' why I've been spending time oot o' class back a' Muir Island working wi' Lady Moira in her labs an' all."

She adds, rubbing the back of her neck, "An' noo wi' Doug..alive again, I suppose muh mind's been on other things instead o' thinking about classes an' graduating an' all tha'. Have ye decided where ye want tae go, an' whit ye might study?" She looks up at him, literally, thanks to the height difference between them.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Going to go to Columbia and study politics. Try to see if there is a way to continue the dream in a less militant fashion, honestly." Sam answers without batting an eye. Go figure, Sam would have a plan. "And yes. Doug being a live makes it all a little strange. particularly for you.." He clears his throat. "Do you want to talk about that? Ah know Dani might be better suited for that talk, but Ah am here. I will listen?" He settles into the door frame a bit more, letting the tablet slide to his side.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane has a look of surprise on her face at the mention of the Ivy League school. "Wow, Sam. I'm..verra impressed." She's never shown much of an aptitude for or interest in politics, and while she's generally quick to pick up on most things, she's always just been 'adequate' when it comes to classwork. "I was also thinking it might be good tae be a veterinarian someday. I've already been learning things about medicine an' genetics as well, an' I like animals." Go figure.

On the topic of Doug Ramsey, she shakes her head slowly and takes on a more serious expression compared to before. "Maybe another time. Dani let me know he was back a few weeks ago, but it took me until th' other day tae work up th' will tae come see for muhself. I know it's him noo, an' it's all real, an' I'm glad for tha' but I think I still need some time tae make sense o' it all. We've talked, though." And he tossed her in the pool, briefly enraging her.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Ah will not fault you if you need to take care of yourself first." Sam is so even handed about that. "That is rule 1. Others cannot be taken care of if you don't take care of yourself." Sam bites his bottom lip. "But, I also know we tend to forget that. Especially me." He admits it quietly. "Ah think he is messed up inside, and it is suspicious. You knew him best." He sighs. "He has nightmares. I hear 'em." Sam admits it gingerly. "About getting shot. Ah hate to pass the buck, but I think this one is in your hands, Rahne. He cares on some level for you. You might need to help take care of him more for a little bit. Ah know it ain't fair. That is part of family. Family ain't fair."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane's good mood begins to shift, a frown starting to form. "I had nightmares as well, ye know. A lot o' them. I spent hours in there, just trying tae find ways tha' would ha' stopped him from dying. If I reacted faster, or was in another spot, or any number o' other things." She points toward the Danger Room, now bare with the previous scenario completed.

"Aye, it took some time tae deal wi' it all, an' I know it'll take time for him, but if he needs tae see a telepath for any o' it..." She doesn't know what Doug has or hasn't done on that front. "I'm no' sure whit I'm supposed tae do. O' course I'll try tae be there as a friend, though."

Cannonball has posed:
    "Yes, Rahne. Doug has to take care of himself." Sam agrees. His head rests against the doorway as he watches her. "Ah am just not sure ah understand the problem?" He makes it a question, not a statement. "If ah had died, and ah had come back.. ah kind of hope people would be more will'n to help me?" Again, a question. Sam is treading very lightly here. He is almost mincing his words, which is a little odd for him. The blond man rubs at his face and pushes his hair out of his eyes. "Doug made a choice. He got himself shot up for you. Ah do not blame you, neither does he. When you are in dangerous spots, danger happens. Ah cannot be responsible for you all the time." Even if he holds himself responsible. "No more than you can me. he made a choice. he has to deal with the consequences. No one expects you to pick up where you left off with him."
    Sam looks her over with a smile. "Ah am so proud of you and how far you have come. you are so brave." he pushes himself to his full height. "Help him, please? We're -family-. You do not have to be his girlfriend. Just... take care of him like you would me? He's our brother, and he is hurting. that is all ah ask. Ah might be out of line, and if ah I, ah am sorry."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane's brows begin to scrunch up closer together. "I'm..no' sure I understand th' problem either. I said I'd try tae help him th' best way I know, as a friend," she explains, a hand resting against the console that faces the Danger Room. "He..did whit any o' us would ha' done for each other. We were always taught tae look oot for each other, tae have our backs, aye? He died protecting me an' I shed a lot o' tears over it. I've shed some more since I learned he was back, an' after I saw him wi' muh own eyes, but I'm no' sure whit more ye're asking me tae do."

Then, after a twitch of a smile forms at his praise for her, she almost visibly pales even with the fur hiding pale skin. "Is..tha' whit he's hoping for, whit th' rest o' ye are hoping for? Tha' he an' I would get together? Sam..right noo, I'm no' thinking about relationships wi' anyone. I've never even /had/ one tha' was more than just, och, some sort o' childhood crush." Puppy love, so to speak. "I'll support him however I can, but naebody can ask any more from me than tha'." As gently and carefully as Sam's doing the asking, she's trying to do the same with her reply but it's a very serious thing to consider.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Ah do not expect you to. I was hoping you and he might go with Dani and I to Harry's, but ah suppose if that is too much, ah can go there with just Dani. Ah suppose." As if that is a huge sacrifice for him? His own cheeks go a little pink. "Ah think a safe bit of fun might be good for you, Rahne. But your dating life, or lack of it? That is not my business." Sam's smile is warm as it reappears.
    "But if I get shot up for you? I expect at least a kiss over it." Sam points at a spot on his left cheek in an easy gesture. "Right here. Ah expect to be told ah am your hero and I expect you to look nice when you do it." Sam is teasing her a little, but he is also serious.
    Sam pauses. "You are right though. Any of us would have done it for you, and you would do it for any of us. He has not said a single bad thing about it. But, ah imagine ah might get bitter if ah was not thanked." he shrugs his shoulders.
    He points at his cheek. "One for each bullet." he teases her with a wide grin, trying to be a little goofy as this got heavy.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane and 'dating life' really do not go together at all, so far. There were all those crushes she mentioned - each of the New Mutant boys have faced it at one time or another - but then there was the trip to Asgard and what happened when she ended up in the woods. If anything, it's left her /more/ reluctant to express too much interest in anyone. "I..suppose we can do tha', but I dinna want anybody tae get th' wrong idea."

She's noted the change in Sam's body language, or at least the warmer shift to his cheeks, and she raises a brow when he mentions kisses on cheeks and looking nice. "Ye'd better watch it, Sam Guthrie, unless ye fancy another punch in yuir stomach. Dinna think I forgot about tha'." She /sounds/ like she's scoffing, but she's never been the best when it comes to telling jokes.

But, she suddenly shifts to a more self-aware, concerned attitude as her eyes widen and she covers her mouth with a clawed hand. "Och, did I forget tae do tha'? I thought I told him thanks. I know I told him I was sure I'd ha' healed up, but.." A deeper frown. "He must think me ungrateful!"

Cannonball has posed:
    "Ah doubt he thinks you are ungrateful." Sam tells her with a big smile. "But just making sure you say it once? That is probably the best thing. And a kiss. On the cheek. That is safe." Sam says it warmly.
    "I can take a punch in the stomach. Ah earned to first one." He allows. "But, the Harry's bit is optional. It might be taken the wrong way. You might not want to go, and ah understand that." He leans over to attempt to give the girl a big hug. Even if she is a sweaty half-wolf. "You did real good today. Ah am proud of you."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"I'll..I'll make tha' part right," Wolfsbane vows, a determined set to her jaw he's no doubt seen before when she really sets her mind to doing something.

She waves off the talk of fists and guts. "I felt horrible about it later on, Sam. Ye'd..never seen me in anything close tae tha'. I probably wouldna ha' recognized me either, tae be truthful." The embrace is willingly accepted, even if her squeeze is on the gentle, delicate side. "Thank ye, Sam," she murmurs, partly into his shoulder. "When were ye an' Dani thinking o' going?"

Cannonball has posed:
    "You felt horrible? You felt horrible? I felt horrible." Sam winks at her with an almost cheeky grin. "I had a bruise, Rahne Sinclear." Sam's mouth crinkles warmly into a big smile. His hug is fierce. Two pats on the back. "I was foolish. Forgive me?" he asks her.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"I already did," Wolfsbane says simply, a bit of breath squeezed out of her from the force of the hug, but she slips out of it afterward and makes sure the Danger Room is all set for the next person to use it before she leaves, chatting a little more with him about the Harry's plans.