2487/Tigger Momma on Campus

Tigger Momma on Campus
Date of Scene:	17 September 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Okhotnik, Tendril, Black Rose

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Okhotnik has posed:
A note and messages were left. But there's been no sign of Okhotnik - aka Diya, aka 'Tigger Momma' - around the Xavier mansion for a little over two days. Her note, which was the most detailed of the communication, explained that she was going to meet with some people who said they could help her learn how to better understand and control her tiger-self. Whatever her reasons, she apparently trusted whomever this was, and expected she would probably be back in a few days. Not having a phone - cell- or otherwise - she did not exactly leave a means of forwarding contact. She merely promised to return when best she could.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi, not suprisingly, is a little concerned after she's gone for two days. She's aware that Diya can take care of herself...but on the other hand, how would she know if anything went wrong, considering she doesn't know who she was going to see? So, she's a bit preoccupied, but thus far managing to control any wild imaginative theories for what might have happened or is happening.

    Instead, she's in one of the chairs out in the backyard to read some homework....though she's not really reading it well since she's been on the same page for about ten minutes. Very distractable today.

Black Rose has posed:
    It's been a few days that Yana's come out of her normal routine, that being study, study, train, train, eat, study, study, train, sleep. Or, something to that effect. It's also been the same couple of days since Yana had driven back into Xavier's in Kurt's car, with Jean in her Phoenix costume, and let the senior staff members take her to the medical by for a checkup. Curiously, when pestered about the story of what'd happened, Yana had just not really answered. And Jean, who'd made a rather fast recovery and had really just been passed out from exertion, was back to her normal self. Whatever that is.

    The blue-haired girl had been far less concerned with Diya's disapperance than Lexi, by all accounts. But, she's deemed she does need a break from routine, and so she's come out of doors, pausing, as she finds Lexi and Tabitha both there. She holds a moment, then begins to approach, offering a casual, "Hey."

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi twitches slightly, pulled out of her thoughts as she leans her head back, then smiles faintly at Boomer. "Gotta do it sometime." she says absently, though doesn't seem all that upset about closing the book up, as she leans up to plant a soft kiss on Tabby's cheek. She smiles and waves to Yana a bit. "Hey yourself. Um, ya haven't seen Diya yet, have ya?" she says after a moment. Because Yana is the person Diya most talks to besides Lexi, as far as she knows. Well, more than Lexi, in many ways.

Black Rose has posed:
    "She told you she'd be back, Lexi, when she was done. There are things that even the staff here can't teach her. She's not a mutant," Yana points out, for what is probably the tenth time in the last two days. "She'll be back. And, she'll be fine. She keeps her promises," the Russian girl assures with a bit more empathy. She rakes a hand through her hair, and then sits down in the chair opposite Lexi, and sets her grape soda down with her.
    She looks over to Tabby, "She's Russian Special Forces, Tabitha. If she doesn't want to be tracked, she won't be. And, she doesn't want to be. This is something that's private for her. And, we should respect that."

Tendril has posed:
    Tabby shrugs and has to scurry off to class, getting a last quick kiss from Lexi before she jogs inside, leaving Lexi and Yana alone on the area. The silver-haired girl turns to Yana, frowning a bit. "I know, I know....just hate not knowin' if something might go wrong or stuff." she says with a sigh. "It's not like she can't take care of herself, for most stuff, just...' She shakes her head. "...th' tiger, it's hard on her. Like, in her heart, not in her muscles or trainin'. I feel like she doesn't believe she's not evil as th' tiger, unless we're around ta remind her. Like, ta balance her. Center her. Remind her that people care about her."

Black Rose has posed:
    "It's something she is learning. Some lessons take longer than others to learn, for those impacted," Yana offers, rather reasonably. She exhales, some, and then sips her soda, and asks Lexi, "So, what class are you studying for?" The question, of course, to take her mind of Diya. Get the mutant girl focused on something else.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi hesistates, then frowns a little, looking almost embarrassed. "...Russian." she says finally, sighing. "...cuz I know I sound awful." And Monet's comments about her accent hit home more than she was expecting. "Mr. Rasputin is givin' a small class on it." She sets the book down, sighing. "It might as well be Greek, can't concentrate t'day."

Black Rose has posed:
    "You're not Russian. Of course you sound terrible. If I didn't grow up in a Russian household, I would also be terrible," she voices, with that same placating, reasonable tone. "But, if you want help, I can make some time." Then, adds casually, "But, if you want to learn Greek, you'll have to ask someone else."

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya herself was giving a passcode, and she was entered into the security database for the Mansion. So returning from her outing should not have been an issue.

So naturally, she manages to return to the Mansion in the one way that makes things challenging. She comes loping and bouncing along through the woods and leaps the fence line, which will of course be detected by the security systems. Thankfully, the tiger's profile was also added, so the system does not just automatically decide to fry her. But there may be alerts that sound, or lights that flash or something like that.

The first real sign of the tiger, however, is when she comes padding along like she owns the place, right across the wide open manicured back lawn of the Mansion, coming out of the woods. She's not bounding along at some ground-eating pace of blurriness; but she's just padding along casually, a light feline jog.

With a backpack. On her huge tigger back, wrapped around her tigger foreshoulders. Like it happens every day or something.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi snorts. "I'd ask Lara...um, Miss Croft for that." she says, correcting herself. "I probably should learn somethin' like that, if I'm gonna..." She trails off, her eyes flicking to the movement out of the corner of her eyes, before she stands up abruptly. "She's back! And she's...tiggery..." she says, a bit excitedly as she sees the tigress returning.

Black Rose has posed:
    "She doesn't bounce, Lexi," Yana protests, mildly. Diya is a -tiger-, not a -tigger-. At least, in the more practical Russian's mind. Still, she turns to view the tiger, ... with the backpack. And she's quiet for a few moments, as she analyzes this.
    "Though." And there's a pause, "I ... have a theory that she has a bit more control over the tiger, now. I doubt that a primal tiger would allow a backpack on itself. I could be wrong," she admits. Then, she asks the tiger, "Diya?"

Okhotnik has posed:
The gigantic cat lopes across the lawn and approaches the two women, pausing a couple of feet away to regard them as they are talking. Then she lopes over and strops her furred self against the leg of Lexi, then around her chair and across to the one Yana is occupying, doing much the same maneuver there. Then she plops her rump down on the concrete and looks at both young women.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi, of course, promptly abandons her chair to sit besides the tigress, snuggling into her as she hugs her gently. "I'm glad yer back..." she says with a sigh, pulling her legs up against her body as she closes her eyes, snuggling happily. "Mmmm....wait, can you understand us now?" she says curiously.

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana does not seek to pet the tiger, perhaps out of respect for the great beast. But, she does seem pleased at the body-rub against her leg. She watches the tigress in return, thoughtfully. "Do you have control, over your changes, to any degree, now, Diya?" She asks.

Okhotnik has posed:
The tiger tilts her head, considering both women as they speak. She - somewhat hesitantly - nods her head towards Lexi. She turns her head to regard Yana, and this is a much less clear gesture, more of a head-wobble than anything else. But she is responding to her human name, which the tiger has never done before.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi's light up with happiness at that. "You -can-! That's GREAT!" she says excitedly, giving Diya another firm snuggle. It hasn't exactly twigged for her yet that now that Diya is conscious she might no longer be comfortable with tiger snuggles anymore. And really....from Lexi's expression, she's positively joyous about Diya gaining some control over this form.

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana smlles at the tigress, "See? I told you. You will only gain more control, as you practice. I am glad that your trip was worthwhile." She takes another drink of her grape soda, and then leans forwards, resting her elbows on her knees, casually. "You had it in you all along." Yana, of course, is glad she's proven right. But even moreso that Diya has at least begun, perhaps, to find a measure of some peace for her innoer turmoil and fear for what she'd become. "Do you retain your memory, now?"

Okhotnik has posed:
As the tigress, Diya is not quite as openly snuggly as she was. But she is not nearly as standoffish as Diya always has been, either. There seems to be a medium setting in place. She gives another headwobble in answer to Yana's question. It's not entirely a yes, nor entirely a no. She leans her furry head against Lexi, eyeing Yana almost forebearingly.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi reaches up to gently scritch along the scruff of Diya's neck gently, rubbing up and down, nails digging in carefully to her thick fur. "Told ya she was you..." she murmurs softly, resting her cheek against the feline's fur, rubbing gently as she snuggles up against the big cat comfortably. "I'm glad these people helped ya..."

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana can't quite understand tiger-talk, but, despite that, the message is received -- at least part of it. The fact that the tigress might not want so many questions. So, Yana offers instead, a smile. She nods again, exhaling, telling the tigress, "Had my first real - fight, while you were gone. Ms. Grey is --," she pauses, looks to Lexi, as if hesitating, and then looks back to Diya, "Impressive, when she gets down to it."

Okhotnik has posed:
The tiger chuffs at the scritching and then leans against the mauve mutant girl, tail flipping behind her lazily. She keeps those warm amber eyes on Yana, paying attention, listening. Scrunching up her face as she struggles to fully understand makes a rather odd, slightly toothsome expression on the tiger. But she nods after a few moments of socketing all of that information and nuance into a sort of context. OK. Firehair is dangerous? The tiger believes this wholeheartedly; the firehair made her change. Even the pack bonds can't make her change, only suggest it, nudge it along.

After a bit more snuggling with Lexi, Diya stretches out and rolls a bit, bumping the backpack against Lexi's thigh. She makes a chuffing sound again, and then backs up her front half, raising up again on her paws, and then lifting each paw up to rest those massively thewed furry limbs over the young woman's shoulders. Ooof. Heavy tigger.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi peers at Yana. "...ya still haven't said why ya ended up comin' back like that in Kurt's car." she notes. Not that she sounds suprised by this. She's well aware Yana keeps secrets when she feels it's necessary.

    The mauve girl woofs as she's hugged by the tiger, wobbing a bit as she's suddenly partly supporting the huge predator, then slides her arms as best she can around the tigress' chest, hugging her tightly back. She doesn't resist too much if the tigress pushes her back, giggling a bit, her eyes closing. "Mmm, do ya want th' backpack off?" she asks.

Black Rose has posed:
    "I called Ms. Grey when Intergang was about to attack. My father figured it out. And, one of my old mentors was in the caravan from STAR Labs," Yana tells Lexi, and Diya both, quietly. "There was a few people there. But Ms. Grey was probably the more powerful of all of them." Her mouth goes flat, "It was my first real fight. But at the end, Ms. Grey collapsed. And I had to get her out of there as soon as I could. Before the police came, asking questions."
    Jean helped Yana out. And, Yana had to look out for Ms. Grey. Tit for tat.

Okhotnik has posed:
The tiger wasn't actually aiming for a hug, but she accepts it without too much complaining. She does nod, though, when it is asked if she would like to get the backpack off. And she's asking for a little help.

But the tiger's main attention is suddenly focused on Yana. She listens to it all, but she doesn't fully understand. She hasn't the background in what happened. In who Intergang is. In why these powered people were fighting them. But she pays attention to all the details she does get. She may ask more later. Assuming everything works right, and she can remember this conversation later.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi seems content to hold the snuggle, regardless, as a pair of tendrils sprout from her back, curling up as she starts to undo the backpack latches, unbuckling each in turn, before smoothly sliding it off and setting it on a nearby table. While she does, she's listening to Yana, frowning a bit as she relates what happened. "...I wondered if someone attacked ya...most students who know think Jean got in an accident or somethin' an' ya were keepin' it quite, since the windows were all shattered." she says slowly. "Yer okay? Not hurt? Yer friend is okay?" she says slowly. She wrinkles her nose. "Wait, so what was th' brothel then, practice?" she says ruefully. She thought -that- was a pretty serious fight, after all!

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana clears her throat, and looks pointedly at Lexi. Briefly. And then she says, "It's the first big fight I've been in. These guys were serious. That had guns that were shredding buildings and SWAT vehicles like paper. I got a couple of them, most of the other powered people who were there did the real work though. Especially Ms. Grey and this other girl, I think she may have been Captain America's girlfriend? She was wearing all american colors, and a star-spangled top."

Okhotnik has posed:
The tiger chuffs near Lexi's ear and then nuzzles her cheek and neck in thanks as the backpack is removed. Freed, she listens to the conversation as she finally removes her huge and heavy arms and paws from the mauve mutant's shoulders, and then lays down on the concrete, letting her breathing slow.

It is by far not a rapid process. But both these women have seen it before. It is no more pleasant or less agonizing the second time around. Over the course of about three minutes, after about that long centering and focusing and preparing herself, the tiger that is Diya convulses, twists, growls in pain, as bones twist and realign, tendons snap, joints break and twist. She writhes and twists about, as bit by bit she slowly sheds most of the prodigious mass her transformation packs on, shrinking her torso from a length of twelve feet down to a mere three. The tail folds and disappears into her spine. Her jaw shatters and realigns, her skull crunching as it corrects from a muzzled feline structure to that of a human woman. Last but not least comes the receding of the orange, black and white fur through the pores of her skin, disappearing to reveal the naked ash-blonde woman as her scalp grows out, and finally she collapses, panting, eyes closed, no longer moving. And then she groans.

Tendril has posed:
    Lexi's eyes widen as the transformation starts to reverse. She can't help but wince, her expression sympathetic...and she turns away. It feels...too private to be watching. She's seen it before, and Diya nude before, but it still feels...strange, just adding to the confused tangle of emotions she has towards the weretigress.

    Instead, she busies herself opening the backpack and rooting inside to start pulling out a change of clothes for Diya to put on, her golden eyes quickly scanning over the backyard to make sure no one is coming over, before setting down the pile next to Diya, averting her eyes.

Black Rose has posed:
    Yana slips off her chair, and opens up the pack for Diya, not seeming to mind the other woman's nudity. It's nothing she's seen before, and Diya's shown little care for being seen in that same condition. However, she does respect Diya's personal space, and she doesn't rifle through the other woman's things. Instead, she murmurs to Diya, "Pretty impressive. That - looks painful. But, you need to get dressed. Before - someone else sees you."
    She looks over at Lexi, "Why don't you run in and get Diya something to eat, real quick? Whatever you can grab. I'm sure she's probably famished." She's realized, by now, just how much of an appetite the two girls near her have.
    "I'm. Really glad for you, Diya."

Okhotnik has posed:
Diya lays still for a while, beyond the groaning. She definitely doesn't want to touch anyone, or be touched. She will, later, explain that apparently the change creates a hypersensitivity which turns normally simple brushing contact into a fiery agony that sets her off. But for now, thankfully, those with her don't make any mistakes. And after several minutes, she comes down off of the pain enough to move again, reaching out to the stack Lexi laid out, slipping on the clothes bit by slow bit. She doesn't move like she's a half-crippled old person, but she doesn't move with the easy limber that is her norm.

"Thank you, both of you." Diya finally murmurs, her accent a bit stronger than her norm, but still recognizeable english. "My ... 'shifter teacher' helped me get the pack on and let me go, rather than taking me back to the city when I informed them that I had a place to go that was further north and away from the city. I can shift while wearing it, but it pressing against my skin is agony afterwards, for a bit. Thanks for geting it off first." Questions about Intergang and such can wait for a bit later. For now, Diya just sits quietly, dressed, and lets her eyes close, walking herself back from the edge of tension shifting creates.

Black Rose has posed:
    By now, Yana had become 'used' to the step-disks, and emerged into Mutant Town with the others, decked out in her full New Mutant fashion suit. Her blue eyes survey the scene around them, "This," she says, quietly. "Is bad. Is really, really bad." She has her collapsable night-stick with her, on her belt. And, a few other pouches filled with steel ball bearings, playing cards, and other odd 'throwable' things she can weaponize with her abilities.
    "I know I'm not a field leader," she tells her friends, "I know I need experience, but we need someone to keep us organized in this chaos." She looks to Tabitha, meaningfully, making a solid effort to respect Boomer's boundries after they talked. But, Yana knows she has a point. She also knows Diya isn't a leader -- she's a reactor. A fighter. A weapon, when it comes down to it, that needs to be focused. That is where she's at her best. "And if nobody else wants it, ...," well, she trails off.

    "Lexi, remember what we've been over. Stay close to someone. Diya, myself, or Boomer." Regardless if she's field leader or not, that seems to be an order.

    "Let's kick this assholes out of Mutant Town."