7417/Sunday Night Creepy Campfire Tale

Sunday Night Creepy Campfire Tale
Date of Scene:	05 May 2019
Location:	Roof - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Lorna tells another scary story to Scott, Rogue and Kitty
Cast of Characters:	Cyclops, Shadowcat, Polaris, Rogue

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Cyclops has posed:
"And that's why her tire kept going flat." Scott says, with his hands up and the flashlight held beneath his chin... "What. That's scary." Scott says with a sigh and passes the flashlight onto the next person in the group as he sits down defeated and picking up a stick to stab through a marshmallow.

Shadowcat has posed:
Lockheed is sitting in the center of the group. As Scott puts a marshmallow on the stick, he begins breath a small but warm flame for Scott to roast it over. Kitty reaches in the bag of graham grackers, pulling one out for Scott and also passing over the Hershey bar for turning it into a s'more.

Kitty flashes a grin over to Scott and says, "Good story. If the tires had been whitewalls I'd have said you have that old Buick on your mind too much." She leans back, resting back on her hands as the group sit up and enjoy the pleasant Spring night, away from the bustle of the students and their video games and smart phones.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shook her head as she reclined in the chair, exhaling a breath as she flicked her wrist and magnetically pulled the flashlight toward her as Scott made to pass it along. "Oooh, I'm so scared. Flat tire. Whatever will I do..." She rolled her eyes and grinned, "Guess I'll just have to fly home." She laughed softly as she flicked the flashlight on and off with a wiggle of her fingers. The tiny light twirled around her hand this way and that as she shifted in her seat.

The green haired woman wore a pair of ripped jeans and a black hoodie, her feet bare save the flip flops that dangled from her toes loosely. "You know with mutant powers scary stories //aren't// that scary. Not when the real thing is out there and like a million times less mysterious. Like seriously.. There's magic, aliens, alternate dimensions, and who knows what else out there?" She drawled lightly.

"Anyways, I guess it's my turn right?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just smirks at Scott's words. She's seated on a fold out chair, the kind you take to a 4th of July fireworks show and unravel out of a nylon bag. She's dressed in jeans and a tshirt with a light jacket overtop of it and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap is atop her head, turned around with the brim and logo behind her head, holding her hair down.

"Classic." She quietly says to Scott and laughs a little at the others. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna lose sleep tonight." And she pauses. "Wonderin' whats wrong with our fearless leader, that is."

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott slumps further some how, "You all suck." The leader says to no one as he takes the graham cracker from Kitty and pulls his smouldering mallow away from the purple dragon. He blows the fire out and them with the cracker on his thigh he squishes the mallow between another piece of cracker and the stick breaks off in the marshmallow causing Scott to frown deeply.

    "Then come up with something scary, if you even can Lorna." Scott says with a lift of his eyebrow from behind his glasses.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde grins over to Scott and says, "I was waiting for it to turn out to be Logan," she says of the flat tires. She adds as soft, "*Snikt* *hissssss*." The young woman grins over to their fearless leader and then starts on a s'more for herself. "Thank you Lockheed. You're the best portable campfire a girl ever had," she says, reaching out to scritch the dragon's head by the horns before starting her own marshmallow roasting.

Kitty nods over to Lorna as she takes possession of the flashlight. "I think you're up," confirms with a nod.

Polaris has posed:
A pause and Lorna arched an eyebrow upward as she considered Scott, she grinned and flicked the flashlight off completely. Why bother with light at all if she was just going to tell a scary story? There was plenty of ambient light for them to see by and she certainly didn't need her eyes to move around. Electromagnetic navigation was sweet sometimes. She leaned back in her chair, "Want a scary story? Sure. Fine. I always think that the scariest stories are ones that could legitimately happen. Man being the worst monster of all and what not.. But I don't think anyone is up for any true crime stories.." She drawled lightly.

"So, scary stories.. Hmm. Ever heard of a Skinwalker before?" She asked in a low voice, glancing toward Rogue. If anyone could dislike those that assumed other shapes and forms, Rogue with her relationship with Mystique would decidedly fit the bill.

Rogue has posed:
"I think you just been hangin' around the younger students a bit muchly, Scott." Rogue replies to him with a sly grin before she shifts her gaze over to Kitty then and watches Lockheed with the marshmallow. "Ooo ooo, me next!" She says, grabbing a poker and a hot dog, she stabs it and holds it out for the Dragon, probably not realizing that he's likely going to just eat it and not cook it for her...

And to make that likelihood worse, she looks over to Lorna without waiting to see what the Dragon decides to do. "Skinwalker?" She says with a grossed out expression on her young face. "God, thats probably what they called that... thing that copied me, that far all I know is still in a freezer in the basement." And that elicits a heavy sigh from the southern belle.

Cyclops has posed:
    "That dead guy in those star war movies?" Scott asks no one before looking at Lorna for clarification but then Rogue throws out her own theory, "No no no, I told you, we burned that." Summers says as he lifts his smores up to his mouth and takes a huge bite before cringing back and spitting a piece of wood out of his mouth. "Gross."

Shadowcat has posed:
"Nah, it's like someone that literally wears someone else's skin to look like them I think. Like a Faceless Man, right?" Kitty says. She tried that one role playing game back when she was a student. The one that had all the made up characters. Werewolves and vampires and mages and...

Ok, maybe not so made up. But it had Skinwalkers too, though maybe not the type that Lorna is talking about. Kitty puts her s'more together, while Lockheed gets to work on Rogue's hot dog. There's a little flare of light and warmth. When Rogue finally does check back she'll find she has a perfectly toasted hot dog. Half of a hot dog at least, while Lockheed is still chewing the other half.

Polaris has posed:
The greenette offered Rogue a nod, "I looked into what might be responsible beyond you know the general idea of 'mutant' or something. I asked around in Genosha, and a guy suggested that." She shrugged lightly, but otherwise exhaled a breath and dragged her fingers through her hair. "Anyways, in Navajo legend they're supposed to be witches or spirits that are evil. But details are scarce because no one wants to share those legends with outsiders. Some people think because talking about them brings them about or something." She dropped her voice low as she glanced at Rogue and Kitty each.

"So, supposed it can range from something that does.. like Kitty says, wears the literal skin of something it killed. Others suggest that it takes on the appearances of someone you know. Only they're wrong somehow. Off. People have been led off the path to the deaths by them mimicking the screams of their loved ones.. But again, legends are all mixed up and this isn't necessarily the truth or anything." She grinned, leaning back in her seat.

"Which, makes them all the more like those things that showed up likes copies.." She added after a minute.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue smirks at Scott's Star Wars reference. "No pop culture references. We made this rule this morning, Hambone won't stop with them. Its wearing everyone out!" She says back before her eyes dart back to find her hotdog at least partially cooked and this gets a smile sent Lockheed's way. "You da greatest, Purple Nurple." She says to Kitty's little winged buddy before she snatches the hotdog off of the stick, bare hands not worried about the heat... cause she's tuff.

She takes a bite while staring at Lorna, chews and listens. Then she points with a pinky finger. "A'course these things exist, I mean... everything thats terrible seems t'be real, I'm pretty sure we live in a dimension where the worst shit is always thrown at us, just to make us... I dunno, tougher? There's probably some alt reality where everything is quiet and boring, and its all just made up stories. But not us, nope, we're stuck with the shit shows." More hotdog chewing then.

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott squits behind his glasses towards Lorna and crosses his arms at his chest and he hmms to himself. Then he lowers his mouth while moving a single hand and tries to bite the smore but missing once before tries again and takes another bite, this time without a piece of stick. Then Scott looks back at Kitty and then to Rogue before he looks back at Lorna, wondering what else her story has to offer. "And?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty relaxes back and listens to Lorna. "The part about them being off is creepier to me than if it was Mystique. Which makes no sense I know, at least you could maybe tell it's not really them," Kitty says. She gives a little frown and a shake of her head, likely thinking about one of the many situations someone wasn't who they appeared to be.

If no one is needing his fire-breathing services for the moment, Lockheed trots over to Kitty and curls up in her lap. Her hand moves over to ruffle at that spot his horn meets his head without Kitty really thinking about it. It's almost a reflex by now. Lockheed has her well-trained.

Kitty glances to Rogue and says, "I don't know. We've come across all manner of alternate realities and pocket dimensions, and I am struggling to think of a good one. I guess though, the 'good dimension' probably wouldn't let us go to it. Else it wouldn't be the good dimension anymore. We're trouble magnets. Even those of us who aren't ACTUAL magnets," Kitty says, giving Lorna a grin and a fingergun.

Polaris has posed:
A shrug, "The guy I talked to in Genosha? He was from out west. He had a farm before, wasn't awful large or anything, but he made enough to get by on. He and his dad worked the farm, up till his powers manifested and what not that is. Anyways, one day he was out checking on the animals and he came across a tree. It was all scratched up at the base like something got to it. Tore through the bar all the way to the wood." She murmured, and paused as Rogue mentioned how //of course// their reality likely had these things too, everything else kept popping up as real.. so why not these things? She winked at Kitty but continued on.

"Anyways.. he's standing there, trying to figure out what the claw marks might be, it wasn't cougar country that he knew of.. and as he's standing there he smells this ... this scent of rotting things. Like maybe a cow had died up the hill and in the brush where he couldn't see it. So the guy goes, stepping into the trees to look for where this stupid cow might've run off to die. But he doesn't find anything at first.. A few more yard, and he finds //another tree// with scratches going up it. But this time higher." She paused and seemed to be trying to remember what was next in the story for a second.

"People don't look up. Most humans just assume that they're the top of the food chain and so they're not used to looking up for predators."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue munches on the hotdog remains and finishes it off then smiles as she raises her hot tea thermos up for a sip. She places her hands onto her thighs and just sits there listening for now, eyes on Kitty get a grin from her and she shakes her head. "Exclusive dimensions, troublesome nerds like us not allowed...."

Her green gaze goes back to the greenette then and she just softly tilts her head as she listens to this tail. Off in the distance though, a wolf howl sounds on the winds and this make Rogue look around where they are. "See?" She says, "Trouble, always around!"

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott has fallen silent, listening intently to Lorna's story, his eyes locked onto the fire lit woman with a kiss of orange upon her face from the flames. Scott chews slowly on his smore, ignoring Kitty and Rogue's quips as he gets engrossed into the story and even leans forwards slightly to rest his elbows on his knees.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde gets one of the chocolate bars out and breaks off a square to nibble on as she listens. She gives a little bit of a shiver despite herself. A hand reaches down for Lockheed to nuzzle against, sign of Kitty unconsciously seeking reassurance. "True that, about looking up. Part of Logan's training," she comments softly. And Ogun's too. Kitty gives a faint scowl at the thought before refocusing on the green-haired storyteller.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna folded her hands on her lap as she leaned forward, seeming to fall into telling the story well and good. "Up in the tree the claw marks went up to the branches, but the foliage was thick, so he couldn't see much. He looked all around, tense and uneasy. That sort of feeling where you feel like you're being watched, but you don't know where from. And the smell was there. That rotten, dead smell." She paused as Rogue made a comment about trouble and her lips faintly twitched.

"It was nasty, and close. But when he looked around there was nothing he could see. He figured, it was time to get his dad, do a check of the cattle and see if they'd lost one. Do a sweep. He goes to turn around and he swore he heard his father's voice from further up the hill, calling him up there." She glanced down at the the fire, and the flames that were reflected up at her from the fire pit.

"So he goes, figuring his father must have already been looking for this damned cow and starts up the hill. Deeper into the brush and woods at the edge of their property. His dad keeps calling, further and further as he walks. And now he's well into the brush. The smell he said was so bad, that he had to stop and cover his nose with his shirt. It's getting dark because from his angle on the hill, the sun is already starting to get below." She exhaled a breath, sitting back as she glanced between the others around the fire.

"That's when he hears a bunch of crashing below, back toward the fields where the cows are, and he sees his dad is down by the tree's edge back down the hill. He's waving and calling up, but he'd just heard his dad calling for him up the hill. But he went back down, and when he gets there. His dad is asking him if he'd seen the claw marks all over the tree and he says yes. And he asks his dad if he'd followed the trail up the hill into the woods. And asked him if he'd smelled that stench.. But his dad just got this confused look on his face." She trailed off.

"His dad had been on the other end of the farm, one of the cows had escaped and he'd spent the past thirty minutes chasing it down and getting back into the pens. He'd just driven up and saw the claw marks. He couldn't have been calling him up the hill." She fell silent then, her green eyes lifting to meet the eyes of the others.

"His dad and him spent the rest of the daylight doing a sweep of the pens and the farm. They hadn't lost any of the cows. And they never found the source of that smell. It was gone when his dad checked."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is quite enthralled by Lorna's tail, but not enough to keep her from snacking on the tasty foods... the snacks seem to actually enhance it the further Lorna gets with the tail and the story of the foul stench and poor farmers.

She just gently shakes her head side to side at it all. "So they never got any answers?" She asks then and there after, holding a little square of chocolate between her thumb and forefinger. "Shit, that'd probably upset me more than anythin', ya know? Never gettin' t'find out what it was..."

Rogue looks away from Lorna and over to Kitty and SCott. "The great and mysterious Tire Popper, I bet." She says with a grin on her red hued lips as she pops a bit of chocolate into her mouth.

Cyclops has posed:
    "We'll all pass without knowing most things." Scott says with a frown at the fire before he looks at his half eaten sticky smore and then underhands it into the fire before he stands up from the pit. "I ... will be back." Scott says, turning to walk towards the trees. He has business to do.

Shadowcat has posed:
As Kitty listens to the story, she takes Lockheed in her arms and holds onto him, hugging him against her torso. At first he just nuzzles there against her. As the son is moving further and further up the hill and the smell is getting worse, though, Lockheed suddenly gives a little bleat and latches his mouth on Kitty's hand, though not enough to hurt.

Kitty looks down at him and gets an embarrassed look. "Sorry," she tells the small dragon, loosening her arms which had gradually tightened on him more and more as she'd listened.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shook her head at Rogue's question, "No, he never got any answers. But he's convinced it was a Skinwalker or something like it at least. His mutant powers manifested the following summer and his family moved to Genosha for him. Like I said, I asked around.. and that's what he suggested it might be. Besides you know the typical it's a mutant or some genetically altered experiment or whatever else." She shrugged and glanced up at Scott as he rose and headed to the woods.

She arched an eyebrow as she looked at the two other women on opposite ends of the fire.

"Well, I hope he looks up." She offered simply.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue laughs softly at Scott. "Don't get eaten out there while you pee!" She then looks over to Kitty and Lockheed and just grins at the two of them before her eyes drift back to Lorna and she nods lightly. "I like it. Love it really." She says while reaching for another hotdog. "I bet it was Laura." She says, speaking of X-23 of course. AS she grins to that she reaches for whwerever the flashlight is.

"I'm next." Dun dun dun!

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott finds a nice tree that away from the light and pees all over it, swaying his hips back and forth making a nice circle against the back as he whistles to himself.

Shadowcat has posed:
Up above Scott, something seems to rustle the tree branches. It's just a sound. Branches shaking as if some thing with enough weight is moving amongst them. A smell starts to be noticed as he's partway through with his biological needs. It isn't so much a rotten smell as it is something... smoky. COuld it be something demonic? Suddenly the noise in the tree escalates as if something is moving rapidly, from branch to branch, starting at the top and heading down towards him!

Cyclops has posed:
    Scott's trickle startles as he looks up and sighs as if he figured it out quickly. "If that's you Lockheed I'll kick you out of the school." The x-man says with a frown as he shakes and zips. Eyes still up towards the branches.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty calls over from where they are sitting. "Lockheed says it's not Lockheed," she says, grinning as the little dragon flies back over to join them at the fire. "It was so Lockheed," she tells ROgue.

"Another s'more?"