5994/It's not a Holodeck

It's not a Holodeck
Date of Scene:	14 December 2018
Location:	Xavier's School, Westchester, New York
Synopsis:	Forge works on some Danger Room updates.
Cast of Characters:	Forge, Storm

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Forge has posed:
    The lower areas of the X-Men base are empty, as the night grows very late. The lights are on as is often the case, flooding the lower corridors as people pass through them. Tonight, lights show from the viewing room adjacent to the Danger room. There's some type of training scenario going on inside, depicting the night sky as it is outside the mansion to some degree, though the weather differs inside the Danger room itself. There are no clouds. It is a beautiful high full moon inside, open land with high grass, a few streaks of colors in the sky from flares of some kind, oranges and yellows.

Storm has posed:
Late as it is, Ororo is passing through the corridor herself, having locked up a few rooms that were not in use. She hears nothing of note when she passes by the danger room, and pauses to push open the door to see if that room, too, was ready to be locked up.

"Oh," she breathes as she peers inside to see the night sky. Her eyes are adjusting from the brightly lit corridor. "Someone here?"

Forge has posed:
    Entering the Danger room itself causes the door to illuminate like a strange portal into the other location. Perhaps it was upgraded, the tech illusions are beautiful: as the light of the corridor fades out, the real purpose of the current night sky may be evident: it is full of stars and constellations.

    "Yes," comes a somewhat unfamiliar voice: Forge. He's seated a few yards away, shape dark except for glowing moonlight lighting up his back and some of a console he has open, the light from it dim. "Welcome," Forge adds, tone relaxed: she's not interfering.

Storm has posed:
Ororo closes the door behind her and steps silently into the room, looking up at the sky. "A positive improvement on the usual look of the Danger Room, I'll admit," she says quietly, pausing once she's standing near where Forge is sitting. She isn't dressed for battle. In fact, she is still wearing a dress of certain ethnic origin, long and black a draped gold scarf over her shoulders, and gold and turquoise jewelry and accents. "Did you come here to study the stars?" she asks quietly.

Forge has posed:
    Forge turns his head more to take in her dress, brows lifting a little in response. He had expected she might have come to do a training session, from not being able to sleep, or the like.
    "Mmmmm. No," Forge's voice has a smile in it, even as he turns back to his console some. "But I have some upgraded programs I'd worked on at home, that I thought I'd share here. Other environments. The room can train in other ways, not simply physical or teamwork," Forge says thoughtfully. "A meditative space, even. What do you think?"

Storm has posed:
Storm's response is a soft sigh, at first. Thoughtful as she observes the room, and she nods. "It's a good use of the room, to be honest. Not all dangers come from attacks. Some can come from within. On more silent feet." She circles around Forge slowly, her eyes scanning the stars. "You did this, then? I didn't realize you were working on such projects. It seems you may have been underappreciated."

Forge has posed:
    There's only a shrug from Forge. He is seated in the grass, cross-legged; if the blanket under him was brought or if it is part of the Danger room is likely hard to tell just from looking. Or possibly even touching. It has a warm woolen look to it, edged in a fringe of dark brown patterns. "The worst of the dangers can come from inside. Self doubt. Feeling disconnected." Forge rests a wrist on his console pad, and watches her scan the stars for a time. His smile is reserved, but he is rarely closed off.

    "There are several others. This is the one I prefer personally," Forge answers. "But if you are more of a pina colada interest, there is that as well."

Storm has posed:
Shaking her head, Ororo smiles, and moves to seat herself beside him. Her feet are tucked neatly to the side away from him. "That's just a gateway temptation, right there. It /starts/ with pina coladas, but the next thing you know, we're caught in the rain."

She didn't ask to be let in. She didn't ask to sit down. There is a level of comfort that comes from within. It comes from knowing one's own boundaries, and sensing those of others. Being comfortable exactly where one is. Her calm demeanor is contagious, at times. And at this moment, Ororo is at ease beneath the stars, on a blanket that may or may not exist. It's enough for her.

Forge has posed:
    "That is what you are here for, though, isn't it?" Forge asks smoothly, his chuckle comfortable. He dips his head to her in a respectful manner as she seats herself on the side of the blanket. His project itself does not look very interesting, it's a lot of code in arrays of rushing numbers and movement. Forge is treating it much like he is simply relaxing and writing in a diary. To him, it really is that, though.

    "You should be able to direct this 'weather', I hope, though if it feels alien here, I'd like to know, so that I can adjust it," Forge asks of her.

Storm has posed:
Ororo furrows her brow thoughtfully, her eyes darting across the sky, and she lifts a hand, palm up, to one side. A light, warm breeze tousles her silvery hair, and a lone cloud lazily floats across the sky, trailed shortly by three smaller ones that languidly linger, and then disperse. "You've done well," she says simply, glancing at his project, and then shaking her head. "For something that is so welcoming and relaxing, it looks like none of those things from your end."

Forge has posed:
Forge is not looking up, he's looking down into his work while she manipulates things in the Danger Room, monitoring the reality of it and how the program is working. "Try not to look behind the curtain," Forge says with a reserved, thoughtful smile. "To me, it looks much the same. I would say I prefer reality, I think, the truth of soil or metal under me, but there are benefits to something like this, too."

Storm has posed:
"Certainly. There is nothing better than the elements upon bare skin, or the feel of earth beneath you. I don't think that anyone could argue that logic. But for training purposes...a controlled environment can be useful. And when I have just left a room full of smart-mouthed teens raked on caffeine, hormones, and adrenaline, this experience is definitely preferable to a walk down a starkly-lit hallway to darkened rooftop loft." She turns to look sidelong at Forge. "Does looking at the wizard directly count as looking behind the curtain?"

Forge has posed:
    Forge considers her question in his serious way, though he is still smiling. He doesn't give opinions quickly or without thought. It lends a depth to his words when he speaks, that he has weighed what he will say. "In this case, yes, I think it does. Forgetting where we actually are and that it was created much as if I had painted the ceiling, does modify the fantasy of it. Yet perhaps not for the worse?" Forge looks at her, and closes the top of the computer, setting it aside for the moment, and stretches his legs out, looking upwards, outwards. Beyond the sky he created for them to look into, perhaps. Forge has a way of looking through, and deeper, into things.