9332/Silence, Solitude and Stables.

Silence, Solitude and Stables.
Date of Scene:	26 September 2019
Location:	Horse Stables - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Dealing with the aftermath of Loki's duplicity, the new New Mutants disturb the sound of silence.
Cast of Characters:	Samuel Morgan, Kaydin LeGraize, Nightingale, Cannonball, Cypher

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Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's been just about two weeks since Bean was let out of the Scorpion Pit and into the custody of Xavier's school. Two weeks of adjusting to a new lifestyle, a new sense of freedom, and searching for a new sense of purpose. Two weeks of fitting in, of wearing a friendly face, and building up trust with both the students and the faculty. In short, two weeks of hard work.

    After classes, as soon as he could, Bean slipped away from the rest of the students, away from his minder and stole into the stables via the garage. Now he's sitting on the rafters, leaning against the slope of the roof with his eyes closed, enjoying nothing more than the silence, and the comforting presence of the horses underneath.

Kaydin LeGraize has posed:
    A blur moves through the stables and the sound of feet stepping in fresh horse poop is heard and kaydin stops to investigate how bad he stepped in it. Growling to himself he begins rubbing his foot along the floor of the stables, trying to get it off his feet. "Poop machines with hooves." He complains as he wipes his foot off.

Nightingale has posed:
     For Shannon, it's been a busy week, with a good portion of it spent in the medbay. First there had been the field trip to Horizon Labs, and the Sentinel attack. That had resulted in injuries to both Lorna and Kitty, with Lorna being treated on the spot--trip one to the medbay. Kitty was treated a couple days later, close on the heels of Shannon recovering from healing Lorna. And then after that, the mother of them all, the most intense healing she had ever managed--Loki. She shook her head a little bit, still unable to believe the fact that the Trickster God had sought out the school, and she, unwittingly, had healed him, thinking him to be a teen boy named 'Jeremy'. It was a bold thing, utterly insane in its scope. It could have gotten them both killed. But it hadn't. Somehow, she'd survived the encounter, with help from the medical staff at the school--and no small amount of help from Triage. It was frightening, yet some small part of her took comfort and a bit of pride in the fact that she'd been able to do it.

     But she was no traitor. Had she let one of her heroes down, and given him cause to think otherwise? The thought brought tears to her eyes, and they trickled down her face.

     She heads on over to Brightwind's stall, with an apple in hand, holding it up on the flat of her palm to the magnificent creature. "Shhhhh... I'm sorry, Brightwind, I wasn't here. But they needed me. It... was good to be needed, and actually wanted, for once. Don't worry, I'll make up for lost time, there will be plenty of apples again."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Noises. Movement. People approaching. He could sense them before he could even see them, their personal technology giving them away. Phones and watches, music players... they started to intrude on his solitude, and Bean starts to resent them, hate them for breaking his few precious moments of silent contemplation.

    Voices now. Familiar voices, drifting up from below, into the darkness of the rafters, where bright blue eyes peer from the shroud of concealment without moving. He watches one in particular, feeling as if an iron band wraps around his chest and squeezes. He'd let her get hurt. He ignored his instincts and she got hurt. Because she's kind, and cares for people in a way he never could, and he let her get hurt.

    Even worse, he had, through his ineptitude, let the one who hurt her get away. A failure. Utter, complete failure...

Kaydin LeGraize has posed:
    Kaydin makes his way over to Shannon and smiles. "You know, if you keep feeding the horse apples then they will become fat." He says. He probably gets snorted at and he looks to the girl. "So rumor was you healed loki...You do know he did try to conquer the earth once." He says as he watches the woman.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon groans softly as she hears Kaydin, resting her forehead against the wall. "Look, I had no idea it was him, All I saw was someone suffering. That's not something I can ignore." Her voice is tense, betraying guilt that plagued her for what she had done. "And on top of that, I have zero idea if someone I really look up to thinks I'm a traitor because of it." A light sigh escapes her and she shakes her head, still not looking up. "I seriously doubt Brightwind will become fat. Pretty sure Dani keeps him active enough that something as healthy as an apple won't harm him."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will come walking this way, in his old clothes and a pitchfork in hand. He catches the last but of the conversation "You do realize someone thinking your a traitor for helping someone who was hurt is the same thing Ah am fixing to put in a wheel barrel and spread under the roses right?

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Up in the rafters, Bean listens to the conversation, clenching fists. His knuckles, scratched and abraded from far too long a session punching a heavy bag, turn white where the skin is still intact. The sting reminds him that he had lost the calluses he'd built up over the years, that he had let himself get soft, get comfortable, and ultimately unable to stop Loki. The air up on the rafters suddenly seems to turn very thin, and his eyes narrow when Kaydin steps close to Shannon, seems to upset her.

    He must not lapse back into his old habits. Must not. Cannot... but those instincts were often right, where ignoring them has brought pain. Indecision. Anger.

Kaydin LeGraize has posed:
    Kaydin nods. "It's okay. Sam's right, you did the right thing, even if you were tricked into it." Kaydin says as he watches her. He then looks to horse and blurs out. He comes back with a basket full of apples and smirks. "Lets try and make brightwind fat." He says with a smile.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head, her voice very soft, as if the weight on her heart stopped up her throat somehow. "No. But keep these here, we can treat the horses a little bit every day." Sam the elder just gets a hollow look from her, and silence for several moments. "I hope you're right."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to her, and says "Ah will be honest, Ah can only think of one person who might think ya should have let him die, and even he will respect your decision even while disagreeing with it. He looks to Kaydin "You want a pissed off Valkery? Thats how ya get one, make her pegasus sick."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    In that, most likely Cannonball is mistaken. Up above the conversation, there is someone who very much thinks that Loki deserves everything that's coming to him, making Bean most likely the other person who would have had no qualms. Next time. And there will be a next time. Bean has been planning, researching, plotting...

    It would mean betraying people he has come to respect. And that, for some reason, is not sitting well. More indecision, and it feeds the anger. The day had seen him calm down some after his outburst yesterday, where he was sensibly confined to his room in fear of him happening to someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today was a better day. Had been a better day. But the darkness is back, and he draws it around him like a cloak, like armor. To do what he must do. Soon.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon looks straight at Sam, perfectly deadpan, and yet also with a hint of dread at what the answer might be. "Oh? Who's that?" Sighing softly, she leans back against the wall, looking up into the rafters. She smiles faintly but does not betray Samuel's presence to others. If he is seeking solitude it is likely for a reason.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to her and says "Logan, he may think ya should have killed him, and not helped him. But also knows your not a killer and would not want you to be one. Beside when did you know it was loki?

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    From up there, his perch in the darkness, high above the world of the light, Bean looks back at Shannon. There is about thirty feet of distance between them, but right now it feels like she is half a world and a lifetime apart from him. She is the kind one, he lives in the dark.

    The dark would have kept her safer. If only he had acted on his first instinct, not let doubt cloud his mind. And so his thoughts come full circle, more and more rapidly, expression flickering between sadness and anger with barely any time in between, a war within himself that he must fight.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs a little. "I suspected he might not be who he said he was, when he asked if I knew of old stories, the ones where a stranger comes to visit and asks for help. It was just a little too coincidental, but it was moments before the healing. I didn't find out it was actually Loki till just a little while ago, when Mr. Stark and.. Captain Rogers were here." She runs her fingers through her hair. "Logan's becoming something of a hero to me as well. And... yeah, that sounds kind of like him, I guess."

She closes her eyes, her voice thrumming with worry. "And the worst part about this, is Samuel was there just an hour or so before, with Triage and I, and Betsy. He's probably blaming himself right now. I wish I could tell him that he doesn't have to. What was going to happen was going to happen. He doesn't have to be angry or upset or blame himself. The blame is on my shoulders, not his."

She lets out another deep sigh. "I just hope at least something good comes of it all... why would Loki have done that? What happened to get him hurt in the first place? Probably not an answer we'll ever find out, though...."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to her and says "Sam, was raised as a soldier, he will look at it as a different point of view. We had no clue who it was, and even knowing it was someone hiding their identity we did not know it was someone we fight now and again. And even in an army, those who wear the red cross, often have an issue hurting folks. Your a healer, and even if you had known it was Loki you would have done the same thing. Tell me Ah am wrong."

Cypher has posed:
"Loki, huh?" Doug says, from the doorway. He doesn't go too far in, still dressed in his suit as he is. "...What was that butthole doing here--aside from causing trouble?" He rolls his eyes. "The Magic Man doesn't need to teach us a lesson about what a tool he is -- we *already know*." Then again, Adventure Time went off the air years ago...

Kaydin LeGraize has posed:
    "I am not trying to make the horse sick. Just trying to fatten him up. Best way to tell someone is a good friend is how fat you can make them." Kaydin says as he watches the goings on. He then looks to Shannon and puts a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You did what you believed were right. Dont let anyone tell you differently that it was wrong." He says as he looks to Doug. "So how you doing?" He asks curiously as he offers Cannonball and Doug an apple. They were juicy red apples.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    The worst thing wasn't that Bean hadn't been able to stop Shannon from getting hurt. What's going through his mind is, after having failed to protect her, he then let the culprit get away. Clean away. He'd been within strangling distance, had felt the urge, restrained it. Being a hero, trying to be a hero, had made things worse.

    Blue eyes alight on Cannonball, when Bean for the first time hears the man speak about him when he thinks he's not around. There is blame. And it rests squarely with Sam-Bean. It can be no other way. He'd known Jeremy was suspect, didn't he? Why else had he invited Laura to help search for him? Because he wanted to hurt him, needed to hurt him, and wanted someone there who could stop him. That's a mistake that will not be repeated.

    Doug is, like the other, sensed before he is seen or heard, and Bean beholds him from his perch up in the rafters, in the darkness, still unseen by anyone except Shannon.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Maybe he was raised as a soldier, but he still has no cause to blame himself. Wish I could tell him how proud I am of how he's been doing... of how he was during this whole situation." Shannon closes her eyes tightly, taking a few deep, shuddering breaths, as if fighting back more tears. "I can't tell you that you're wrong, Sam. Even if he were here right now, hurting, I couldn't leave him to suffer. Just the same as I couldn't leave you, or Kaydin, or Doug, or Sam, or anyone else. Could I kill if I ever had to? Maybe, but I'd need to do a -lot- of talking about it after."

     She turns her head towards Doug without opening her eyes, her tone gone slightly sharp and biting. "The only butthole here is me, Doug. Get that through your skull. I'm the fucking idiot who healed him."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie sighs and says "Oh so Sam can't blame himself, but you can? Oh yea that makes a whole hell of a lot of sense. Sam was raised by some very very bad men, but He is learning there is another way. He is learning people have a choice in what they do, as he does. The kid has potential, he wants to help he seems to like being part of our family. If he blames himself Ah would tell him it is hogwash like Ah am telling you. None of us can see all and know all. We are all going to make mistakes and we have to get past them. " He looks over to Doug, and says "Someone once lectured me about forgiving yourself, it is the hardest damn thing to do, but you have to learn to do it. We all are going to fail, but you get up and keep trying. You don't let the bad guys turn you into them. You fight for what you believe in and do your best.

Cypher has posed:
"Well," Doug says, "Wherever Bean is, he needs to come in and eat dinner, the cook made poached salmon with beurre blanc, and his is gonna get cold. And THAT would be a *shame*." Doug perks an eyebrow at Shannon, and his reaction is perhaps idiosyncratic. He *laughs*. "Oh man! I just -- you're beating yourself up because the god of lies pulled a bamboozle on you! That's--" He snorts. "I'm sorry. It's so *precious*. That's what he DOES. And he's gonna do it to you every time you meet him, which hopefully you won't, because, as Sam and I will attest, that guy *sucks* all the way to the bottom. He is *the worst*, and the only thing he has on Mojo is that Loki smells better."

Kaydin LeGraize has posed:
    Kaydin looks to doug. "You know, you could try and not make it sound like she did something wrong." Kaydin says as he shrugs as he sighs and watches the woman. "Dont worry, Karma will pay loki back." He says as he watches the woman.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    So they know he's missing? That was quick. At least now Bean knows roughly how long it takes before his absence is noted, what the maximum window of opportunity might be. But this is the test. As far as he's aware, only Shannon knows he's up here. How is she going to react? Tell someone? Say nothing? Make a gesture to betray his position? Obfuscate? Misdirect? He doesn't know.

    And despite wanting to just show himself, to pretend as if nothing was the matter, to spare Shannon the agony of choice... he must know. And so, despite himself, he does nothing. Watching. Listening.

Nightingale has posed:
     "There -is- another way though, Sam. And he's been seeing that. I hope he keeps on seeing that." A tear rolls down Shannon's face, and she doesn't even bother trying to hide it. "There's times I wish he'd allow a hug... because I think we both need it." She glances over at Doug and frowns slightly. "Thanks. I already feel like crap." A sigh escapes her and she straightens up, spreading her wings. "Please excuse me." Kaydin gets a sorrowful look. "Wish I could believe that, but if he is as evil as all that, what consequences will healing him have to others who come after?" With that, she flies up into the rafters herself, finding a spot to perch and keep to herself, and observe the goings-on down below. She still says nothing else openly.

Cypher has posed:
    "I speak *horse*, Bean." Doug says. "Brightwind ratted you out. He thinks you're too skinny, by the way, and asks how you're going to get the attention of the mares if you're just an itty bitty colt? It's a horse thing, but basically, he's saying you should eat your supper." Then Doug looks at Kaydin, and he says, "That's just it. She didn't do anything wrong, so while her penitent language speaks to her character, it doesn't serve a purpose, because it's exactly the kind of emotional manipulation Loki craves. The only way to *win* is to throw it right back in his face... because this sort of emotional bedlam and turmoil is exactly the kind of crap that... colossal dickbag THRIVES on. He gets to feel clever and you get to feel hurt, used, and humiliated." Then he says, "...I'll be outside. Dessert's apple pie with creme fraiche, by the way. Thank you for the apple, Kaydin, but I'm good." He steps out.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks around "Where is Sam?" He raises a brow, and but says "Sam if your here, aint your fault n more than it is hers. As Doug says it is what he does, and you can;t let him, win by making ya feel worse about yourself or your friends

Kaydin LeGraize has posed:
    Kaydin thinks with his stomach. He has to, being connected to the speedforce means he is constantly burning through his fat reserces and is constantly hungry. He looks up when he sees shannon go up there and he throws an apple at samuel once he sees him. "Here have something to eat. I know I am hungry." He says as he begins eating an apple.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Betrayed! By a horse no less. But by that point Bean no longer cares. There is movement up in the rafters, and the mutant walks across the beam, crouched over to clear the roof, as if he's just on a stroll through the park. without a word, he parks himself next to Shannon, looking the same direction, and trying to think of what to say. Keeping the team going has always been a responsibility of his, and he's supposed to know what to say. Inspiration comes slowly, as the words of the more experienced team leaders start to process through the turmoil inside of him.

    "I let him go." It's perhaps not the best opening gambit, but it's something he had to say. "He's out because I let him go. There will be consequences for that. But everything we do have consequences. That's a truth we have to accept." Hesitantly, his arm reaches around Shannon, and settles on her shoulders, even though Bean is still looking down at the stables. It's not quite a hug, but... well... it's as close as he's ever come. "You healed him. Because you had to. To be yourself. If you hadn't, if you had let him suffer... you'd have lost a bit of yourself. That would have been much worse."

    "We're alive. How many people can say that after meeting that guy?" The apple is caught, and offered to Shannon. "Um zu vergessen, und Uns zu verbessern."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon leans into the hug a little bit. Alright, a -lot-. She's silent for a long time, just shaking as she fights to keep from crying. "He's out because he's a slippery devil, not because you let him go. Just... hope the consequences of healing aren't entirely negative ones." In a twist on Adam and Eve, she's the one to accept the apple, but just holds onto it for a little while. A small smile just barely quirks the corners of her mouth upwards, for a brief moment or two. "I haven't got that little dictionary with me, Samuel. This time, got no idea of what you said."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles and says "We are family, and we face it together. You both did decent, trust me, loki has tricked people with a lot more experience than you guys, heck lost more than me. We came out the other side ok, we did good.

Cypher has posed:
Doug remains outside, with his arms crossed, and his feet crossed at the ankles, leaning against the doorframe.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "It was a wish to go with an offering. To forget what has happened, and to learn from it." Bean translates, although not directly, even smiling a bit. "It takes longer to say in English. Sometimes German is just ... simpler."

    Time to face the music. He deliberately ditched the person watching him, in violation of what he assumes are his parole conditions. "I'll be right down, Mister Guthrie. You can stand down the search." He gives Shannon one last squeeze, and then slips off the beam, landing in a crouch to cushion the impact, before pulling himself upright again. About as formal as he's ever been... and offers his wrists for the handcuffs he expects.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon peers down at the ground, looking a bit hollow and lost as Samuel hugs her briefly, and then hops down. Her brows furrow as she sees him hold his wrists out, also now winging her way to the ground. Bits of hay and dust swirl about on the ground as she lands, folding her wings behind her and staying close to the trio. Just watching, not speaking. Not one single word.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises a bit and he looks at Sam "Dude, your friend was hurt you blamed yourself and went and brooded. Ah think that might be a Sam thing." He offers the guy a smile and says "No one was hurt, you learned a bit from it, all good." He will look at him, and says "Go eat, and if you feel you need to be punished..." He thinks for a moment, and says "Clean Doug's bathroom for a week." He shrugs making something up on the spot "If you don't feel ya need to be punished your good."

Cypher has posed:
"My bathroom is SPOTLESS." Doug says to Sam. "You're thinking of Warlock's bathroom. I don't know how the guy made such a mess in there, he didn't poop and he didn't *need* to bathe."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    That was... surprising. Practically unprecedented. So much so, that Bean stands there for a moment, his hands slowly lowering until they hang loosely at his sides, still boggling at the entire situation. "You... I..." He takes a deep breath and starts again. "You mean to tell me, that I broke the terms of my parole, absconded from your custody... and the consequences will be salmon, apple pie, and light menial work?" Yup. No clue. Bean.exe has crashed, please reset.

Cypher has posed:
"...Kid never saw Warlock's bathroom." Doug says, with a roll of his eyes. He turns, and walks back inside. "Bean... look. You're not on parole. You *didn't even leave the grounds*. You went out to the barn and sulked in the rafters. Kurt was doing that like... last week, and he's a grown man." He can't quite suppress a grin. "Did we take everything so *seriously*, Sam? Was it all so *dire*?" Then he sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look. If you really want some punishment, I'll... put you through a Murderworld danger room scenario. By the time you get out of the pinball machine, you'll *wish* you were dead. Sam has the record for longest game of pinball without throwing up all over himself, by the way. Three whole minutes."

Nightingale has posed:
     The voice that comes from Shannon is so thin, so soft, it barely sounds like her. Her eyes are almost expressionless. "That's what it sounds like. We do need to eat. Can't have that Arschloch catch us with no strength left." She listens to Doug, and just looks between the three, her wings starting to unfurl and... wrap themselves around Sam-bean, as if to shield him from punishment he does not deserve.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to Sam, and says "Ok, well you did ditch who was supposed to be with you, but you came back, and we did not have to come looking for you. Technically you were even still with someone Ah trust. " Looks to Sam, and says "Kid, Ah trust you, Ah think no matter what they put in your head, your heart is good, and you will do the right thing. You should apologize though to who ever you were supposed to be with. As long as your not hurting anyone or yourself Ah am good. Just remember since Ah trust you, you do something bad it looks bad on you and on me." He sighs and looks over to Doug and says "I am going to have to say it ...." He looks back to Sam "Your grounded, no leaving the mansion without a senior staff member, no using your powers except in danger room for 24 hours.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bean bears up under what he assumes is going to be a severe dressing down with as much detachment as he can muster, but the harsh words never come. It seems that his first assessment was correct, and that no serious punishment is to follow. It's... also remarkably hard to look stoic with large wings wrapped around you. He looks at Shannon with a smile and then gives her a wink "Sprache, Fraulein." Not that he doesn't share the sentiment. Being grounded he can live with, not having left the Mansion in a week at any rate, and not using his powers... it'll be good exercise. So Doug gets an austere nod, Sam gets a very earnest "Understood, sir.", and Shannon?

    Shannon gets a hug.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon also waits, silent, prepared for a dressing-down. In fact, she almost seems resigned to it. Samuel's smile gets a light furrowing of her brows, and a hint of her -trying- to smile, but it doesn't quite happen. She does appear to have to think hard for a long moment, closing her eyes. The words are halting, and the pronunciation is likely terrible, but hopefully understandable. "Du sprichst wie Kurt." Her wings stay wrapped around Samuel a moment longer, then begin to unfold. He can step away or not, as he chooses. She stays put, glancing between Sam and Doug, with eyebrows slightly raised.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to Shannon and says "Ah aint punishing you guys for being tricked by Loki. How do you think we ended up in asguard?

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    For a while, at least for a matter of ten seconds, Bean keeps his arms around Shannon. It was a step he had to take, and, having taken it, found that it was nowhere near as difficult as he had feared. Finally though, he steps back, takes a deep breath again, and then looks between Shannon, Doug and Sam... and Brightwind. That pegasus gets a look as well. Who knew a horse could be a rat? But, all's well that ends well... or at least only ends in a grounding. "Shall we go see if that food is still there, before someone eats it all?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly, leaning briefly into the hug. There was still something of her inside. Wounded, but there. "Your tale to tell." And then... a very embarrassing rumble in her general direction, her body protesting the lack of food, rather openly.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie motions the two out "Go get food." he will tell them. He does reach to give Shannon's shoulder a reasurring squeeze and says "It will be ok guys, trust me."