6109/Pied Piper: Jeremy's Notes

Pied Piper: Jeremy's Notes
Date of Scene:	04 January 2019
Location:	Xavier's School, Westchester, New York
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Shadow King, Phoenix, Storm
Tinyplot:	Pied Piper

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Shadow King has posed:
    It has been some time since Jeremy last arrived at the school. And a lot of things have happened since that time. He returns much in the same way he arrived last time: in the form of a human, no feathers apparent!

    He stays outside in the foyer area, watching some other students run here and there, with a distant expression. There's fewer students: the #BlackSleep has crippled numbers everywhere, including the mansion. Perhaps Jeremy is wondering if classes are canceled. He watches the children with a quiet, distant look, and can be found there, his gaze and mind a million miles away, in time for the meeting.

Phoenix has posed:
It's not long before Jean is alerted to Jeremy's presence, even if this go around was unscheduled, <<Ororo, care to join me at my office? Jeremy is here again...>> she asks a favor telepathically, before making her way towards Jeremy and motioning for him to tag along with her, "good to see you again, have you learned anything new?" She asks, as she starts towards her office, opening the door for them.

Storm has posed:
Ororo's pauses during her meditation, her eyelashes fluttering almost imperceptibly as Jean's request enters her mind. <Don't you ever knock?> she chides. And then, <I will join you, directly.>

True to her word, Ororo appears in a black drapey dress, embedded with silver threads and simple jewelry of that same silvery tone. Her hair is swept up in a neat updo, and she silently glides into the room behind the other two. Gliding? Maybe she's walking. Maybe.

Shadow King has posed:
    "I have more information than anyone seems to even believe I'd be capable of having," laughs the boy, following on her heels, hands burrowed into the warmth of his pockets in his hoodie. If he hadn't turned into a strange magical fae bird the last time he was seen, he'd be just another student. He enters, with a 'burr', glad to enter the warm office. "Where do you want to start?"

Ororo's arrival gets a lift of brows but he doesn't really mind. He nods to her. "Hello. Ororo, right?" he asks. The kid has some good memory.

Phoenix has posed:
<<You're right, I need to work on that,>> Jean replies to Ororo with a smile on her face, she feels much more confidant knowing Ororo will come to back her up. Even though last meeting with Jeremy, for all it's oddity, was more or less amicable. Jean was not expecting company, so she's dressed very casually, just jeans and a top, and not very officious at that.

"Good to hear," Jean is genuinely pleased to hear someone made some progress. "Well, on our end, I can tell you that we have a resident expert in all things magic that is able to release the hold of the Black Sleep from affected individuals, which also means it is one hundred percent a magical affectation."

She nods as he remembers Ororo, "I'd say my friend Ororo, but seeing how she's wiser, in this case she's very much an advisor. So...what do you have for us? Anything that could help Strange?"

Storm has posed:
Ororo smiles warmly to Jeremy. "Kind of you to remember," she says to him. "It is my pleasure to meet with you here again, Jeremy." There is no hint of sarcasm. Not even a hit on the name he has probably chosen for himself. If it is how he wishes to be identified, then who is she to judge a name? She gives Jean the same warm smile as she takes a seat and makes herself comfortable, listening to the exchange.

Shadow King has posed:
    "I don't have a lot of news on Dr. Strange. I focused on the sleep. You're right, it is entirely magical in origin," Jeremy replies. "I'd like to meet with anyone you have that does know magic. I'm hoping that with enough of us, we can do something about this. If we don't, in a few days it will just be a few of us left," he says, with a deep release of breath. "And I'm not sure what will happen then. But demons usually don't care for the state of the world as a whole."

"If there's any magical artifacts or abilities, as well, that can boost power even temporarily, that could help, too." Jeremy sighs, "It's going to be quite a feat, with this many people afflicted, and the number only growing."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean turns to look at Ororo, before asking, "you've dabbled some in magic, while you were in Africa, did you not?" Jean isn't entirely sure if Ororo was only worshipped as a Goddess for her powers, or if she had dabbled in some of the African tribal magic.

She waits for Ororo to answer, before mentioning, "have you ever heard of Illyana Rasputin? I shall introduce you, she is our resident expert in all things magic."

Storm has posed:
There is an almost imperceptible shudder at Jean's question, but Ororo regards her calmly. "My ancestry is such that I have always known that sorcery runs in my veins. But I have never yet sought that source of power. Perhaps now might not be the ideal time to 'dabble,' with so many lives on the line. If I cost even one, the loss would be catastrophic." Again, there is no malignancy in her tone. It is simple matter-of-fact.

Shadow King has posed:
Jeremy blinks at little at Storm's comment about casting magic being catastrophic. He watches her a little too long, but then pulls his attention back to Jean. That tidbit was definitely filed away, though.

He answers, "Actually, I think I've met Illyana. Around my height, blonde, maybe just a bit older than me, or so?" he asks. "Limbo dimension?"

Phoenix has posed:
From the look on Jean's face, she regrets bringing it up, but she is very much concerned and willing to go even to routes she feels are inappropriate. Ororo's willingness to 'dabble' is her own, and it's not for Jean to try and push her this way or that. <<I apologize, 'Ro, it was yours to share, I didn't mean it.>> Jean's quick to apologize on the spot, having noticed Ororo's reply, this question wasn't a mundane one for her friend.

But then it seems Illyana has been doing her own investigating, as Jean had hoped, to have run into Jeremy, "yes...and I believe she is far more knowledgeable than she let on. She's a brilliant and courageous young woman."

Storm has posed:
<Think nothing of it. I felt honesty the best and swiftest course.> Ororo's response to Jean is as genuine as was her audible reply. <That being said, however, it might be worth a conversation with Forge. With the capacity for great power comes the ability to recognize the like in another. We have not yet spoken of it, but there lies within him a familiar spark.> This information is clearly for Jean alone. Ororo would not reveal such information to another. That, too, is Forge's to divulge. Or not.

Neither is Jeremy's look upon her lost to her perception. But as she has not reached into this particular potential, she simply has little more to add.

Shadow King has posed:
Jeremy chuckles, "I guess. Is she the only one? I'd hoped for maybe a few more. Something," he encourages though he's looking dismayed. That this well did not produce any mages doesn't make him happy.

"I can show you a spell or two later, when the world isn't being put into a coma," Jeremy says to Storm, generously.

Phoenix has posed:
"I'm afraid Illyana is the only one I am aware of at this time, but she is on the higher end of it, if I understand correctly..." Jean mentions, not making any other offers or suggestions. "You'll forgive me, but as someone who has never practiced magic, I really am a bit out of my element in this one. I've been focusing my efforts on trying to restore Doctor Strange, who is still trapped in the Astral Plane, I have much better understanding and ability there." She then turns to look at Ororo, "anyone you may know outside of the school that walks the path of magic?"

Storm has posed:
"No one comes to mind that I can readily recommend," Ororo replies. Then she offers Jeremy a smile. "Perhaps, when lives are not at stake, then will be a good time to dabble, yes? I might just find a new calling. I might even pull out a whole tablecloth, without disturbing a single dish."

Shadow King has posed:
    "You can do the tablecloth trick without magic. I can teach that /today/," chuckles the young mage. He then considers, deeper in thought.

    "Well, there could be another idea. Which is, if we can gather up people that are afflicted, that during an attack on the entity responsible, we could also possibly pull all of those people out of the coma. But there's so many, that finding them all is a feat in and of itself. The astral won't help here. If he's using them to empower himself, though, it could be important as a strategic move, one he might not expect while fighting some of the more powerful mages." Jeremy's tone is cautious, as if he were working out the idea while he spoke. "I mean, Illyana mentioned what she did to free them, and I might have an idea on how to power a mass cure, but we can't aim it without targets."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean looks from Jeremy to Ororo and back, trying to stay in the conversation, as she attempts to translate unfamiliar concepts to familiar one. "So amplifying Illyana's affect? Or severing some unseen source that is linking the afflicted with the one drawing on their essence?" She hopes she doesn't sound like an idiot as she speaks according to her estimations.

Storm has posed:
Ororo chuckles softly at Jeremy's assertion in regard to her sleight of hand. But her brow furrows deeply at the mere suggestion of trying to gather all those afflicted into one place. "The probability of gathering all of them together is almost zero, unless we can find a way to track them. Perhaps using the abilities of someone who can sense the invisible threads which link them all to the common source of affliction. I suppose it is not impossible that one could recognize and trace every thread, but it would be an almost insurmountable undertaking, even then."

Shadow King has posed:
"I mean, say for a moment several of us could sever them. But without knowing where they all are, it's just a slow, impossible process. And there's millions. Globally." Jeremy nods at Ororo, but shrugs. "I guess that's a dead end. Have to follow the threads."

"I have, by the way. Followed them, to where they lead. That's how I know there's a demon, collecting them. I didn't linger, though. Astral plane is one thing, this was another."

Phoenix has posed:
"I agree with Ororo, the invisible threads, would be where I'd try to look..." but before Jean can say anymore, Jeremy already points out that a demon is behind this plague, "in that case, couldn't we extend the taskforce from just mages to exorcists or holy men as well?"

Storm has posed:
Ororo sighs and shakes her head. "I don't think it quite works that way. Demons are beings of another plane of existence. They are not storybook villains who succumb to holy water and charades. They are not likely the classic beings of Biblical definition..."

Shadow King has posed:
    Jeremy nods a little, "If the demon were here in this dimension, I'd agree. Where he is? I guess it's just us mystics to save the day. There's also talk of somebody that's channeling a norse god. She's on the news, but she can also extract people. If she's a holy person, maybe she'd know."

    "As for Dr. Strange, I think I can get him out of the Astral. We'll have to work together to sort out his mind. Do you think that's important enough to do first? To maybe have him helping us?"

Phoenix has posed:
Jean looks as if about to say something, before she decides to drop it, and merely nods at Ororo, after all, Ororo may well know better than her when it comes to this subject.

She does, however, look quite pleased at Jeremy's suggestion that he can help with Strange, "my thoughts were to help him, so he can help us...and yes, I heard about that woman from Norway, I didn't know she was channeling a norse god. Was that in the news, or is that something you found out, Jeremy?"

Shadow King has posed:
    "I heard it from a mage that talked to her. That she's some kind of religious zealot, and uses the strength of religion to fix it, she said. So.... something to do with a god," Jeremy says. And then nods. "I'll prepare what I need to do to pull Dr. Strange free, then. I'll bring him here, if I end up able to do it alone." Jeremy starts to get to his feet.

"Maybe after all of this is over, we could talk more about this school, as well as magic tricks?" the teen suggests, with only a little bit of shy hesitation. He smiles, though, and departs.