8716/The Greatest Show

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The Greatest Show
Date of Scene: 09 August 2019
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Shannon and Kurt become circus friends!
Cast of Characters: Nightcrawler, Polaris, Nightingale




Nightcrawler has posed:
    He was an entertainer once. A someone. Sort of. Everyone but those working with him thought it was make-up. Good makeup. It was a time before he had to worry about being seen. He could bask in the attention and didn't know he had to fear it.

    Kurt is tumbling through the air, body strait, arms across his chest, ankles crossed and he is spinning while he flips. Clear of the trapeze, through a hoop hung in the middle of the big top. He curls into a ball, arresting his pirouette before he springs out, arms and legs wide, tail lashing in space before his toes closes around the next swinging bar and he's smiling.

    He's forgotten it's hard light. It's fake. It's a sham. Like he feels lately. He hears the crowd cheering and clapping and in his chest he feels a pride as he has not in so long. He's off the trapeze as it reaches the apex of its swing and he is twisting through the air again, hands catching a pole that he swings round, building momentum to soar through the air again, streatching into a swan pose, eyes closed, air riffling through his hair as he angles for the tightrope wire.

    It's every circus and none. Munich, Barnum and Bailey, The Shriners, Cirque Du Soleil, Ringling Brothers... mixed together and he is among those acts performing all at once. Free in the air, then landing with hands and feet gripping the wire, Kurt spins and springs again with renewed speed. To pole, to hanging rope, twisting and flipping until he is low enough to tumble in a blue and red ball to the ground. When he hits the sand in a crouch before he stands, arms out wide, chest heaving with the effort and the excitement caused to the crowd, he has forgotten they are fake and responding on an AI algorithm... but he's smiling, eyes crinkled at the corners, welling up even at the feeling.

    It was one of those days that the Danger Room was reporting an 'open' sort of sign, and open invitations for anyone who wished to live a little 'circus life'. Should anyone enter, it would be just as he was coming in to land.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna had been busy to say the least. The Princess of Genosha had run herself ragged in the last few days handling the crisis on Genosha and internationally, sparked by her father. At least for now the fortress wasn't actively moving into US waters and land. So it was small favors when she'd finally gone to sleep and let herself get some much needed shut eye at the Mansion.

Today was a better day that way, she'd slept, showered, and now was looking to get into some training time. The fact that the sign on the Danger Room que was listed as 'open' meant that Polaris stepped into the room without much preamble, her green eyed gaze swung this way and that at the sight of Kurt flying through the air and landing. She tilted her head, a green eyebrow held aloft as she entered.

She was dressed in her battle attire, all metal plates and mesh. A green cloak of a darker hue swung about her shoulders and wafted in the breeze. A green so dark it was nearly black covered her boots, gauntlets, and tiara like head piece. Even more so, a skull nestled firmly at the hollow of her collar bone and completed the image.

"Well, I guess this is what I get for not reading the notes beyond 'open'." She drawled.

Nightingale has posed:
     Curiosity killed the cat, and could very well get a certain winged sophomore in quite a bit of trouble. But, ever since her one training run in the danger room, she'd been curious, and wondering when the chance to venture back there would come around again. It seemed quiet enough to do a little bit of poking about, and see if she could find her way back. She was in such deep shit if she was caught, though! At least her sense of direction hadn't started pushing up daisies on her, though, her memory of the route there at least accurate enough to find her way back. Glancing down the hall one way, then the other, all seemed clear. And, there was an 'open' sign on the door to the danger room itself, to boot! Perhaps it couldn't hurt just to peek inside. She could fly out of there if it looked like she was going to get caught! A quick glance into the room itself revealed the circus, and someone flying about on the trapeze that she'd never met. She covers her mouth, looking on as quietly as she can, and not entering just yet.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Lorna! You are overdressed ja?" Kurt smiles, waving to the false crowd as he nears. He looks good, especially compared to after the news reports of the ganger suicide. Striding up to the green haired woman he sweeps into a bow.
    "New armor? You look good, despite the lack of need." he turns, spotting Shannon in the doorway, waving for her to come in, his grin all pointed teeth. "Lorna, I suppose it would be considered all beneath you and your status, but perhaps you might enjoy a little freedom in the center ring?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna laughed softly as Kurt turned about and told her she was overdressed. She glanced down at herself, and with a wave of her hand, half the armor melted away into filaments of metal that sparkled and glittered in a dust. Now she looked to be wearing more or less, a green jumpsuit with and interesting amount of cut outs and alternating hues to green throughout.

"I guess, rather be over dressed than under though." She drawled, and as Kurt glanced behind her, her focus shifted to include Shannon's presence, she arched a brow once, but otherwise didn't comment on the student's approach.

"I don't really //get// the whole point of it for me Kurt... I fly. I mean.. what's amazing or strange to the regular human is just.. me. Not much of a point in trying to awe a crowd of hard light projections.."

Nightingale has posed:
     Crap. Busted. Well, no help for it now! Shannon offers Kurt a shy, somewhat guilty smile, slipping inside the doorway and trying to blend into the holographic crowd. Somehow, though, she had a funny feeling this was not going to work very well! A similar smile is given to Lorna as well; at least one of the two was not uncompletely familiar to her!

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Just try it. There is no reservation here... It's all part of the show, not like... well. Out there." Kurt bows to Shannon as she approaches. "Guten tag Mein Dame. Welcome." he pauses and gets an idea, quickly going through his memory for student records.
    "Ms. Lance! Open your wings? Wide as you can?" he signals with his tail and a series of spots suddenly hit Shannon, and there is a sound of the crowd collectively taking a breath.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna rolled her eyes and the wafting dust of magnetized metal settles down back to the floor to be used at a later time. Her gaze swings toward Shannon briefly, and she gestures from the young student to Kurt and back. "How about I pass and let her go, hmmm? Again. I fly. I don't do trapeze or high wire or whatever. There's no point for me to do it. I fly. I magnetized my feet to whatever I want.. It's just pointless for me Kurt." She drawled, her head cocked to the side as she glanced around the little show 'ring'.

"And besides, she could use the practice I'm sure."

Nightingale has posed:
     If either Kurt or Lorna had any artistic inclinations, they would surely be able to discover new shades of red in Shannon's face. She had not intended to disrupt anything, but now, well, there was just no help for it. Smiling a bit sheepishly at them both, she spreads her wings to their full span, mindful of the 'crowd' on either side of her in the process. Holographic they might be, but there was no sense treating them as anything other than real. Her eyebrows shoot up immediately as she hears Lorna. No way. Just... no way.

Nightcrawler has posed:
@emit     There's no worry of the crowd being struck. It's the center ring of the circus, and when Shannons wings come out there is a rush of Ohhhhhhs and then wild, approving, applause once they're at full extenstion.
    Kurt smiles, looking around, and towards Shannon for her reactio - golden eyes also scanning Lorna.
    "Fly then. Make it majestic." he winks, grin going lopsided

Polaris has posed:
A bitter twist of her lips followed and Lorna shook her head, "I'm not doing this. But thanks Kurt. It works for you, but I don't need a crowd of onlookers... oo'ing and awing over my abilities. Much less fake ones.." She drawled, and flashed Shannon's beautiful wings a look that was well and truly admiring.

"Might help her though build some confidence. She needs it if she's gonna keep up with the other students." She murmured, and made to turn around and exit the Danger Room scenario. Her magnetized dust trailing behind her obediently in a shower of sparkles and metal filings.

Nightingale has posed:
     It looks as if Shannon was about an inch away from flying, alright--right out the door. How had she gotten herself into this mess? But there was no help for the spotlight. She got herself into this, there was nothing to do but roll with the punches. Her takeoff is a little less than majestic, wings beating downwards to send her skywards within a few strokes. Perhaps someone had been practicing on the sly, who was to tell. She does keep her eye on the exit, though curiosity compels her to see what happens next instead.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Could have done acrobatics as well." Kurt says, looking struck by Lorna, brow knitting together and growling "Not all of us can be Green Haired Princess Barbie you know!" he glowers, "People accept you as some punk chick with dyed hair... Not some freak." trailing off some before he looks back to Shannon.
    The crowd is roaring at the sight and Kurt applauds as well, turning his mind away from Lorna's words, a sweeping airy tune struck up by the big top band and colored gels being swapped in to shade the young lady in shades of blue and bright red.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna exhaled a breath at Kurt's words, shaking her head. "That's not what I was getting at, at all Kurt. Not in the least. I'm out publically. I am a spectacle all the time. I don't want to be one when I come here." She shot back, pausing in the door way before she glanced toward Shannon and she exhaled a breath, and stepped through the door to the Danger Room, shutting it behind her with a wave of her hand.

Nightingale has posed:
     The exchange below was not entirely lost on Shannon, and she frowns, knowing all too well how it felt to be the odd one out. Perhaps she would have to find Lorna later. For the moment, though, there was the simple joy of flight. So what if it was in the middle of a holographic circus? Though her heart ached, hearing the pair below, she hovered only a moment longer, before eyeing the various ropes, poles, and supports to work out a sort of impromptu agility course in her head. There wasn't much to go with, but perhaps a few quick turns around the poles supporting the tightrope? She sets off to see if she can manage it, drawing on her earlier training to reach out and use the poles themselves, grasping them and swinging around each turn in an increasingly tight figure-eight pattern.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Kurt appears in a cloud of smoke in the air, grabbing hold of what is available leaping and twisting through the air. "Need a greater challenge Mein Dame?" grabbing ahold of a dancing rope and swinging along, basking in the cheers of the virtual crowd. "You're flying well, like another I know when he first started!" Hands and feet are one in the same now, moving from trapeze to pole, to tightrope, flipping and spinning along.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Would that someone be named Warren? I've heard that name a few times now since coming here." Greater challenge, huh? Shannon was beginning to warm to the whole scenario; it really -was- nice meeting someone else, after all, who seemed to understand in their way how it felt to stand out. "You've got the advantage of me though... I don't even know your name!" Angling her wings just so, she comes to a halt, hovering a short distance above the tightrope, now peering curiously at who she hoped was a new friend.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "OH! I'm so rude!" Kurt laughs, "I'm Kurt... when I was in the circus, as a child, I was called The Amazing Nightcrawler." he stands as if on a flat surface, bowing theatrically at her. "My pleasure young lady!" He drops, letting his tail catch the rope and spin him up and around to his feet once more.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Nothing so fancy as that for me... just Nightingale. Or Shannon. Just don't call me late for dinner." Chuckling lightly, she rises in the air once again, her wings beating strongly to take her close to the top of the tent. What was she up to, hovering up top, high above the heads of the virtual crowd? As if perhaps skydiving, she pulls her wings in close, dropping towards the ground--would she pull up in time??

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Kurt and the crowd are silent as she dives, watching - even with the safety settings of the Danger Room, even Kurt gasps as she nears the ground, hands folded before him. It's a delight for him, to see someone embracing The Life. He hangs upside down from the rope, waiting to see... or teleport if need be.

Nightingale has posed:
     At the last possible second, Shannon snaps her wings outwards, averting disaster in the form of a very messy landing in the center ring. There is no mistaking the laughter as she soars upwards again, and it's plain that the simple joy of flight is dear to her. It's equally plain that she's warming to the challenges--and to the company, pulling in her wings just enough to spiral upwards, like a figure skater holding their arms close to their body as they pirouette on the ice.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    The crowd is roaring, people standing, and the 'stage' crew respond as well. A triumphant flourish of the band, fireworks exploding in glittering streams, and Kurt his applauding as well, ecstatically, he's even whistling and looks outright overjoyed at the laugh he hears and the look on Shannon's face.

Nightingale has posed:
     Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad after all! It was all a show, but so what? What was the harm in a little bit of fun, for once? Reveling in one's gifts rather than running from them or trying to sweep them under the rug as if they were nothing? Shannon had brought a little bit of joy to at least one person, and that was well worth it all. That made her smile even more, the young mutant hovering in the air to sketch something of a bow, with a little flourish. "Your turn, Kurt!"

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Truly a daughter of the big top! I love it! Wunderbar, Shannon!" Kurt laughs again as he is told it's his turn and he runs along the line as if it weren't even a thin rope before he leaps. Stretching to catch the trapeze, using his momentum to get height. Releasing to twirl into a spinning series of front flips to grab a dancing rope by his tail.
    He twists and spins again and even moves to grab Shannon's feet with his, there's no weight to him as he moves, bending in ways even an Olympic gymnast or master contortionist would be envious of. Grabbing a center pole, spinning round until he gets close enough to the ground to release and tumble into a rolling stop, popping up into a wide armed pose to the howls of the crowd, chest heaving from the effort.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Holy sh...!!!" Shannon's eyes pop open wide at the dizzying twists and turns of the midnight-hued artist, her hands flexing briefly as she watches his descent--a path to the ground that includes a brief stop to tug on her feet, distracting her for the moment and making her laugh. "You're nuts!" How the heck did he move like that? It was poetry in motion, strength and sinew, grace and grandeur all rolled into one incredible sight. She joins in the applause of the crowd, actually cheering for Kurt as he lands, and... grinning?

Nightcrawler has posed:
     In a burst of smoke and the BAMF of displaced air, Kurt re-appears on the tightrope, catching his breath. "I was raised in the circus. It was all I knew for years." he bends over backwards, nearly completely in half, hands gripping the line as he performs a walkover. "Part of my gift... flexible. And the tail" his spade tipped tail flicks back and forth. Superior balance... and my handa and feet stick to surfaces."

Nightingale has posed:
     "In other words, if something I bake disappears from the kitchen, I know who to ask." Shannon giggles softly, perching on the edge of the tightrope platform. She tilts her head, considering Kurt, and the life he must have lead. "I was like most other humans until about two years ago. Guess I'm pretty lucky my family still cares. Not everyone's so fortunate."

Nightcrawler has posed:
    With a frown, Kurt's brow knits at the notion of family. His mouth opens, then shuts, and there's something in his face that screams of tragedy heaped on tragedy. "Most of the Circus life was good. But all good things come to an end." he looks out about the virtual crowd. "I've always looked like this."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon's smile fades almost instantly at the look on Kurt's face, a crystalline tear trickling down her face. With much less fanfare than her flight moments before, she takes to the air again, only to hover near him on the tightrope. She reaches out to gingerly touch Kurt's hand, grieving for the hurt that was caused. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Shannon, you did not. Don't fret." reaching to give her hand a little squeeze. "All lives have pain at one point or another." Kurt draws a hanky from his belt to offer to him. "Some childhoods are happy, and some are not. Mine was, it really was. It was later that some of it made me sad."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Hopefully not all of later made you sad. You seem to have such a zest for life a lot of people lose... it'd be true tragedy to see that light go dim." Shannon dips her head by way of thanks, making quick use of the hanky to dry her tears, though her eyes remain a bit misty. "Something we have in common, then. We both had a happy childhood." Her smile returns, as she glances about the room, the roar of the virtual crowd and the music an anodyne to grief. "Think the last time I was at a circus at all was oh... I couldn't have been more than maybe seven, eight years old." Perhaps something of Kurt was starting to rub off on her, because there's a bit of a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Now what do you think we could do to give these folks one heck of a finale?"

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Some rope dances involve what's called an inverted hawk dive..." Kurt hrmmms, lips pursing in thought. "Spiral dive, my feet holding yours, I might need to hold your shoulders to keep your balance. But like your first dive, you open, twist and do what feels natural to you, I release and... well I know what I can do, ja?" Kurt rubs his hands together. His tail flicks and he points to signal... and virtual crew set up the cannon net. "Trust me."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon grins, azure eyes twinkling as she listens. "This should be fun. Come on!" She laughs, cracking her knuckles as if preparing to play an instrument rather than to be hurled headlong towards a net. However this turned out, this was some of the most fun she'd had in quite a while. Though she barely knew Kurt, something told her that she'd be quite safe through the whole stunt.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Don't tuck your wings tight, or they'll get snagged." Kurt adds before he leaps. Hands on her shoulders, two-towed feed grasping hers "Wings closed!" is huffed in a proper performers huff as he moves to turn them upside down, using his own motion to begin the spiral. "When I let go, open your wings, Like I said. Arrest the fall. Close them again and I'll get you where you need to be."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon barely has time to nod, drawing her wings in but keeping them relaxed enough to avoid snagging on anything. Each turn as they spiral in the air has her trying to keep her eyes on the net, a fixed point to hopefully prevent her becoming completely dizzy. Maybe it was a good thing she'd eaten very lightly at supper! The world seemed to narrow, becoming very focused, the roar of the crowd fading with each turn as she prepared for the release towards the net.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Open now! Arrest and then close!" Kurt uses the speed of their spin to just... not be there anymore. There are rapid fire sounds, BAMFS like a revolver being fanned as he arcs and adjusts his angle, and assuming she does as she was told, wings open to arrest her fall and then close, his hands suddenly close on her ankles and she'll feel herself pulled into a sudden and very strong backflip to send her flying across the big top in a long arc to land against the net while Kurt appears above, to grab the trapeze once more, to help control his momentum and bring him to a halt before he teleports again to appear by the net to help her down once she has her bearings.

Nightingale has posed:
     True to form so far, Shannon opens her wings just in time to slow and nearly halt her headlong trajectory through the air, snapping them shut again once she's just barely on the point of free falling. "Ooof!" Even expecting the abrupt change, the grip on her ankles, didn't quite eliminate the reflexive reaction towards the change in course, heading right for the net. Her landing is a bit less graceful than her flight, with her looking a little more like a fly caught in a spider's web than a performer who had any real clue what they were doing. Still, she's grinning, laughing as she gets her bearings. "That was a blast!" Thankfully, with Kurt's help, her descent to the ground is a bit better than her landing on the net, and she manages a bow, with a flourish of her hand towards Kurt.