5095/Adrift Again

Adrift Again
Date of Scene:	04 August 2018
Location:	Xavier's School, Westchester,New York
Synopsis:	Jessica and Warren meet up for the first time after the death of the oomycetan.
Cast of Characters:	Archangel, Spider-Woman (Drew)

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Archangel has posed:
Warren walks out of the Wellness Centre at the mansion, through the lobby and down the front steps. He texts Jessica as he walks.

<I'm heading to the marina now>

He pockets his phone, spreads his wings and takes off into the cool dark. He gains precious little height, rising no higher than needed to be free of obstructions. The flight was not a long one. His wings flap steadily and the lights of street lights and houses pass by quickly. He is at his own home in no time. Warren moves quietly through the house, not wanting to wake or waste time with his new butler at that moment. He changes quickly into jeans and a fresh polo shirt and floats down from his balcony to the garage. Moments later he is on the road, headed to Staten Island.

Warren drums his fingers on the steering wheel as he drives. He fiddles with the radio, changing through four playlists on his phone. Finally he gives up and turns the radio off, driving in silence. It is Friday and he is hardly alone on the streets. Yellow light surges and fades, undulating rhythmically, as he passes beneath and between street lights, with just the noise of his tires on the road for accompaniment.

Eventually, the traffic thins and he crosses the bridge to Staten Island. Not long after he pulls into the marina's parking lot. The lot is nearly full when he arrives. Weekend boaters have parked and disappeared on their adventures, while others are plying the waves quite happily from the deck of the yacht club restaurant. Warren walks briskly to the gate for his dock and props it open. Soon he is on the Connecticut Dream and has her lights on below deck. It seems like half the slips are empty, including his neighbouring ones. The water murmurs faintly and laps against the hulls of the remaining boats, black and depthless under the night sky.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"The night has a distinct chill compared to the heat released by the earth in the arroyo outside Villa Altagracia in the early nocturnal hours. Jessica wastes no time down the docks to the Connecticut Dream, and she boards quietly, dressed in jeans and a traditional blouse and wrap in earthen green, gifted to her before she departed the arroyo. Spotting Warren from the edge of the deck, she smiles almost euphorically. "Warren..." she says quietly, with the wrap pulled around her warmly. "Thank you...so much...for meeting me tonight. I know it's late. I just...I needed you."

Archangel has posed:
Warren's wingtips flick when he hears Jessica's voice. He turns from watching something in the distance and comes across the deck to her. In the faint light cast off from below decks through the open hatchway, his face is cast half in shadow. But the relief and concern there are plain enough.

He walks up to fold his arms around Jessica. "I would have come any time, gone anywhere," he assures her. His whole body relaxes when he touches Jessica, feels her there with him, releasing more tension than he knew he carried.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Sorrow and fear dissolve in the warmth of Warren's embrace. She tries to speak, to say anything about where she has been, and why. But nothing comes. Her mind is filled with his presence, his warmth, his scent. She buries her face against Warren's chest and just holds him for a long moment.

"I'm sorry. I should have called you sooner. I missed you terribly, but there was so much..." She falters, there. Searching for words, she can only echo. "So much."

Archangel has posed:
Warren looks down at Jessica, concerned, eyes searching her face as she speaks.

"Don't apologize," he says softly with a shake of his head. "I'm just glad you're here now, safe. That is the main thing."

A million different things to say run through Warren's mind. He swallows, biting back any number of them.

"Anything you need, tell me. I just want you to be alright."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
For as many things as Jessica has to say, she has the equal desire to stay quiet and lose herself in this moment. Clinging to Warren, she looks up into his face. Her expression is grateful, sheepish, and enamored, all at once, and her eyes shine with something greater than herself as she lifts a hand to caress a thumb lightly across his cheek.

"How is it I only just met you...."Jessica begins, but she trails off whatever thought followed. "I went to the Dominican Republic after the Oomycetan fell. I had seen too much, and I just needed a place to mend, without breaking anyone else..."

Archangel has posed:
Warren smiles for Jessica, the worry leaving his face. Something lingers in the corners of his eyes, reacting to the woman's unguarded expression. He leans forward and kisses Jessica's forehead.

"Whatever you needed, I'm glad you did it," Warren assures her. He gently guides Jessica to sit with him on the cushioned bench just ahead of the helm. His left wing flares out as he sits and gathers Jessica in with his left arm. Then the wing curves protectively, not crowding Jessica but giving the impression of a space warded from the outside world.

"You didn't have to worry about protecting me from whatever happened," he says. "I've seen a lot, so if you need to talk, it will not bother me."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Well, you'll find out sooner or later what happened, if you haven't already been told." Jessica narrows her eyes a little, her gaze seeking his appraisingly, as she tries to decide which is the case, then unfocuses her gaze out I've the water. "Mainly, I suppose I just learned the true power of a telepath. He commanded me to die, and my body tried to obey." She tries to shrug it off with a soft chuckle. "I guess he didn't know who he was dealing with. I had things to get back to here." She lifts her gaze to his. "And people."

Archangel has posed:
Warren's arm tenses slightly and there is a pause in his breathing when Jessica tells him what the telepath did. He forces himself to relax and holds Jessica tight against him. She can feel his heartbeat beating fast, even as he smiles again meets her gaze.

"Who knew you were that stubborn?" he quips, passably. Warren leans in to kiss Jessica and gives her another squeeze.

"Storm told me you were attacked by a telepath, and that you fought the oomycetan and disappeared after," he confides. "But that is all I knew."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica smiles softly, but shakes her head, unconvinced by Warren's facade. "We knew going in that this could happen...and likely would in some manner," Jessica responds when the kiss is broken. Her green eyes watch his own intently, and her expression has shifted to one of resolve and confidence. "I guess neither of us expected it sooner than later." She raises her arms run her fingers soothingly through his hair and settle her hands cradling the back of his neck. "I don't have to be an empath to know what you're going through. I can feel it, and I can see it in your eyes. But it is behind us now...nothing has changed. Nothing has broken." She sighs, releasing her tension and smiles again. "All I knew was that I would rather be coming home to find you than just...coming home."

Archangel has posed:
"This isn't how this works, I'm supposed to be reassuring you," Warren says with a lopsided smile. "You're the one who just went through h..."

"Worthington!" The voice is male, young and from the sounds of the steps on the dock, he is not alone. "Hey, what are you doing down..."

Two tall dark haired men in their late 20's walk into view along the dock. They come to a stop and laugh. "Oh, hey, sorry, we were just, uh... /damn/ man," he says appreciatively.

The other man pulls on the first one's arm. "We were leaving."

Warren smirks at the two and waves. "Yeah, it's me, thanks," he says wryly. He shakes his head as the two men walk back down the dock to the boat they came from.

"Sorry about that," Warren says and looks back at Jessica.

"I was worried about you, really worried," he admits with no small difficulty then shakes his head. "But that doesn't matter. Are /you/ okay?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jess laughs and steals a brief kiss from Warren. "I can reassure you if I want," she chides. "I'm a progressive woman." With a wink, she adds, "Yeah. I really am okay. I took some time, went down to the arroyo outside Villa Altagracia. I helped them secure the materials to build a school outside the town, and visited with a dear little girl that I'll have to introduce you to, sometime. It did me good." She places her hand on his knee and squeezed it reassuringly. "But so does this. You can't know how much."

Archangel has posed:
Warren blinks. "Wait, you were almost killed by a telepath, then fought a gigantic tentacled mushroom monster... So you took off to build a school in the Dominican and meet a little girl?" he asks with a wondering smile creeping across his face.

"You're incredible," he says with a laugh, relaxing. "I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't that."

Whatever was lingering in his expression fades for now. Warren's easy smile returns and he stretches his wings.

"Just how big was that oomycetan? Storm said it was massive."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"It was huge..." Jessica says, eyes going wide. "The size of a small town, all things considered. The central core was what was visible, and it was the size of a large building, but there was a network under the whole town, where it was rooted. I never imagined it could have been so big. It had tentacles like the squidlings...massive. You should have seen it though. When the Hulk couldn't do anything but punch the thing, there was Kal...He was amazing. He rained down on it like the apocalypse. I never saw anything like it."

Archangel has posed:
Warren just shakes his head. "The Hulk? Superman? When I asked you what surprises you had for a second or third date, I couldn't have imagined this. It was all over the news, they showed satellite footage and the wreck of the town after, Iron Man... And you were right in the middle of it," Warren says with a wry smile.

He looks at Jessica a little more soberly for a moment. "Tennis stars don't get in this kind of trouble," he says. "I'm going to have to get used to this, aren't I?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica arches a brow with a half-grin. "X-Men get into this sort of trouble," she retorts playfully. "I'll get used to it, if you do."