9405/The Lightness of Being... it's Unbearable.

The Lightness of Being... it's Unbearable.
Date of Scene:	03 October 2019
Location:	Rec Room - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Cypher, Samuel Morgan, Nightingale, Cannonball

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Cypher has posed:
There is a light nok nok nok on the doorframe. "Hi." Doug says. "I've been looking for you, and someone said they saw you in here," He says, "...Sitting very quietly."

"Man, the way things change. I don't think we did ANYTHING quietly. We used to sit in front of that TV and watch re-runs of Magnum, P.I. - it's an old TV show, from the 1980s."

"Anyway," Doug says, unshouldering a bag, "I bought you some stuff. I think I want to work on some socialization with you, and I have some hunches, and I generally trust my gut." He sets the bag down.

"I think it's about time you were introduced to some hobbies, Bean."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's an unusual sight to say the least. So unusual, that even when the rec room was supposed to be quite busy, there's practically nobody hanging around. What could possibly so unsettle an entire student body used to things exploding around them?

    It's Bean, lying peacefully on a couch, eyes half closed, watching cartoons. 'Watching' might be saying too much, there's no indication that he's actually seeing anything. But he looks quite the sight. In socked feet, pajama bottoms and a loose shirt, with bruises and bandages going up and down his arms. Both his hands are wrapped up to the knuckles, and the index, middle and ring finger of his left hand have been taped together around a brace. Plenty of evidence that the shirt is hiding some bandaging as well, with the bruises on his face already fading from deep purple to mottled yellow. He looks, in short, like he went three rounds with the Hulk.

    "Whazzat?" Yup. On something. Must be... there's a half eaten plate of chicken nuggets on the coffee table next to him.

Nightingale has posed:
     New hobbies did seem to be the order of the day, with a familiar winged healer ensconced on a well-loved beanbag chair, her phone in hand looking at some pictures and doing a little research. Shannon smiles a bit, her face eerily lit by the glow from her phone, small packages of some sort of clay arrayed in her lap. She's wearing red tartan sweat pants, a baggy grey tank top, and big fluffy slippers that resemble Old English Sheepdogs on her feet. Yep, big black nose, floppy pink tongue, and all. She's also got a small book that looks to be on her nearly all the time these days. Glancing up briefly, she waves at Doug as he enters, and smiles at Sam, a little rosy in the face.

Cypher has posed:
"Oho," Doug says, "I recognize this. I've lived this." He sits on the edge of the couch, lightly. "This is 'I took a hard hit in the Danger Room and now I'm stoned'."

Doug lugs the bag over to you. "Well, it's good for you... builds character. What KIND of character..." He wiggles his hand. "The kind that learns to duck."

He opens the bag. "Anyway. I put together a deck of Magic cards for you. This deck is tournament-legal and I've calibrated it to be lethal based on rules changes for at least the next few years." He holds up the deck of cards.

"Second of all, I got you your own D&D 6th Edition Player's Handbook and your very first set of polyhedral dice." He gets them out, and clatters the dice in their little plastic box. *rattlerattle*

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Sounds and shapes.

    Background noise.

    Someone actually talking and making some kind of sense. Bean swims up through the mental fog he had happily sank into, and focuses. "Those all look expensive." Is the first thing that tries to escape Bean's mouth, and he mentally edits it before it does. "Those... Thank you. 've heard of D&D. Isn't it a small unit asymmetric warfare training simulator with orcs and elves?" Trust him to come up with that.

    "Actually... this is the sort of thing that happens when you learn when not to duck."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon winces and sighs softly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I wish you'd let me help you with that, Samuel..." The frustration and concern ring true in her voice. "Hell, it's the least I could do after you pretty much took on half an armored platoon just to get Pixie and I out of that mess in the Danger Room."

She glances over at Doug, and motions towards Bean, grumbling slightly--although only slightly. More blush-y than grumbly. "That stubborn mule insisted on taking on what seemed like half of HYDRA in there when Kurt set the scenario to go all Kobiyashi Maru on us. And then he won't even let anyone help him after."

Cypher has posed:
    "That's only PART of it." Doug says. "If it was just that, I wouldn't bother with it, since I have the Danger Room and am..." He thinks, "Closely acquainted with Magik, who I am pretty sure is a Hexblade Warlock." He sighs, and says, "It costs *some* money, yes, but that's why I got these for you. There are other kids in the school who play. Find them, befriend them, join their games."

"Anyway, it's about the life of the mind. Collaborative storytelling... exercise of decision-making capabilities and empathy training in a safe environment." He beams. "With dice."

Then he snorts. "Yeah kiddo... I've been *there* too. You're okay. Girls dig bruises."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Yay, dice..." Okay, he's on something pretty strong, but there's a bit of residual stubborn Bean hanging in there. "Thank you. I'mma find a game when the world decides it's gonna stop moving so much, an' make new friends. Thassa promise." Turning his head, first the wrong way and then the right way, he even finds Shannon and wonders how long she's been there. Wheee, what time is it anyway? Does it matter? He's got a note excusing him from pretty much anything for the rest of the week.

    "She was gonna eat four barrels of a flak tank. Nuh-uh. No way. B'sides..." and now he looks back to Cypher, focusing on the third try "... they hadda chance t'get out. I was never gonna make it."

Nightingale has posed:
     "It would've been worth it. Still would be, if you'd at least let me help a little bit." Shannon closes her eyes for a moment, trying to banish the image of Bean taking on the flak tank and armed troops alone. Her wings extend out to the sides somewhat, tense and ruffling as if she is restraining herself from flight. But there is something of a smile, and a warmth to her voice. "I'm glad it was just the Danger Room, though, and you -did- get out."

Cypher has posed:
    "Well, just remember, unless something goes very, very wrong," Doug says to the two of them, "Which it never has, the Danger Room won't kill you. It will just make you wish you were dead. You have to switch off the safety protocols, which generates an alarm. And if there is an injury, medical gets notified."

"Anyway! Say Sam," Doug says, mercilessly taking advantage of the kid's stoned state, "I have three movie tickets I can't use." One of which is for in the back of the theater. "...Why don't you find a chaperone and go with Shannon? I think that'd be fun, right?"

Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha...

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Is Bean in such a state that he's going to be taken advantage of? Can this innocent mutant be lured into the pitfalls of a nefarious friend? Why are you reading this in the voice of an announcer?

    Sam looks at Doug, narrows his eyes for a moment and tries to point with his left hand. It's more of a jab, considering a point has to, perforce, be done with three fingers at the moment. "Your best friend grounded me. Can't go out to see a movie with anyone, 's not allowed."

    Still he looks over to Shannon, which requires him to turn his head again... such a complicated maneuver. "I'mma be alright in a few days. No point in getting yourself hurt to help me get better faster, if I'm gonna get better anyway. B'sides... I get to do nothing for a little while an' not feel guilty about it. 's nice."

Cypher has posed:
    Doug says, "Good thing the tickets are good anytime in the next month."
    He snap-points at Bean. "Trust me when I say that I think I can win you a parole, if only for a night."
    Then his phone buzzes. "Speaking of, I have to make a call." He answers the phone as he walks out. "Moshi-Moshi. Yes, yes, yes... he spilled curry on the server AGAIN? I put a no food or drink sign up on the door! You've got to be kidding me..."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon opens her mouth as if to say something about Doug's suggestion--and then just clamps it shut again. Her face goes rosy pink clear to the tips of her ears, and her wings fold around in front of her like a cocoon, for just a few moments. She reaches for the nearest pillow and tosses it at Doug, giggling. "Maybe it'd be fun... who knows?"

She glances over at Bean and cracks a bit of a smile. "I guess... but that's not going to stop me from worrying about you."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    A pillow goes sailing overhead. It was launched into the sky. Will it hit? Only the fates may know, lest more a cruel fate befall...

    More lucidly, Bean settles himself comfortably on his pillow again and goes back to staring at the ceiling for a moment. "'m sorry I made you worry. B'sides, in the field, it has to get pretty bad to get into that kinda situation. I'd have more options too, 'cause I know their codes..." Ehm. Hang five. He'd never explained to Shannon who or what HYDRA was. And now, in the danger room, she saw them, in all their intolerant hatred and efficiency. Ah crap.

Cypher has posed:
The pillow goes *tump* into the doorframe, and then Doug sticks his head back in. "I used to dodge pillows thrown by a woman who can fire a bow with her *feet* and hit a bullseye every time! Ha!" He ducks back out to take his call.

Nightingale has posed:
     It was a swing aaaaaaaaaaaand... a miss. Cue in the sad trombone. Wah wah wah waaaaaaahhh.

     Shannon just giggles, though, shutting off her phone and nudging the packages of clay aside to get up and retrieve said fluffy ammunition. "Just you wait! When you least expect it... BAM!" She's at least got the decency to replace said pillow in its proper place before heading back over to her spot.

     She drags the beanbag closer to the couch where Bean is still sprawled out, bringing her packets of clay along for the ride. There's a soft /whump/ as she flops back down on the beanbag, half-sprawled out herself. She peers curiously over at Bean, and tilts her head, seemingly accepting his explanation as a matter of course. It was all a part of what had brought him to this point, who he was. "I'm still glad it wasn't in the field, or we wouldn't even be talking now, without a Ouija board."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Nah, I'd just upload myself into the nearest network and trick some tech company into building me a new body." Is that a joke? Is Bean being actually serious? Is it possible to tell? You're still reading this in the voice of an announcer.

    "Seriously... if it was real, an' we'd have gotten into something like that, I'd have taken some time to tell people what I was gonna do long before I did it. I can't fly, I can't teleport, I'm either on foot or in some vehicle, an' when the streets are that thick with enemies... foot soldiers don't come out. You gotta make peace with that..." Bean actually smiles. "An' with sometimes having to let people heal on their own, no matter how much you wanna help, 'cause you healing me makes you weaker, but me healing by myself makes me stronger."

    He finally, finally spots the clay. "No offense, but that's the ugliest vase I've ever seen. An' who fires a bow with their feet? That's just not efficient."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon blinks, looking down at the packages of clay. They had not yet been formed into anything. "No vase, haven't even really made anything with the stuff yet. I was studying a few photos to try and re-create something of mine that got broken." She smiles again, glancing over at Bean. "Healing someone may knock me on my butt for the moment, but in the long run it's actually been making me stronger. The more I get to heal others, the more my body learns to be able to handle. I've been noticing my healing factor has actually been improving a little bit."

Cypher has posed:
"A mutant power's often tethered to our physiology." Doug says, from the doorway. "And using it is like using a muscle. The more you use it, the more you CAN use it." He shrugs his shoulders. "That's how it works for some of us, anyway."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Learning new things. Feels like this is almost a school or something." What did they give Bean? "But you have to learn, you can't just heal everyone. We do get better by ourselves."

    He's not trying to look up the image on the phone, having too much respect for the privacy of his friends. "Maybe I can help making the thing? Got lots of tools in the garage and so much scrap metal it's not even funny."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods a little bit, and smiles faintly. "I know. It's just a lot harder when you care about someone." Indeed, what -did- they give the Bean, and why wasn't he sharing? She gets her phone anyways and brings up the photo of the item she's trying to re-create. It's a pendant made of a strange, deep cobalt blue, crystalline material that seems to have an almost magical inner glow to it. The piece is in the shape of a praying angel. "I'm not sure scrap metal would help with that, but do you have tools that might be able to get some of the detail in the hands and wings? Or should I be maybe asking the art teacher about this? Sculpting... isn't something I've ever tried before."

Nodding at Doug, she smiles a bit. "Seems to be working that way for me. The downside though, is that once people realize just how my gift works, it eliminates a lot of chances to improve. Sort of your classic catch-22."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking into the room, he is pushing one of those little carts with food and drink on it, pizza, popcorn, different kinds of chips, ants on the log, no clue where the uncles went, and some mixed nuts (with all the pecans picked out and in a separate bowl), as well as some little cakes and cookies. "Movie night snackage coming through.' He says as he comes into the room.

Cypher has posed:
Doug steps out of the way, and gives Sam a curious look. "Movie night, huh?" He asks. "Unfortunately, I've got tohead back down to New York a little bit, pulling another all-nighter."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Dremel?" Yeah. Bean is clearly no sculptor. Perhaps best if he sticks to things like cars, motorbikes and tanks.

    He watches Sam come in with the snack cart and thinks for a moment. At long last, he has to stretch his mental faculties and read the day off of Shannon's phone, something which is deceptively trickier to do now that he's on enough pain killers to make a horse drowsy. "Hang on... 's not movie night, is it?" But there's snacks! Some of which he's never seen before.

    Doug gets a tired wave, and as much of a smile as Bean can muster. "Thanks for the games. And the dice. Oh, and the movie tickets I'm totally gonna ask you for at some point."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ants on a log! You remembered!" Shannon's up on her feet to give Sam a big hug, and to pick up a few of the peanut butter stuffed stalks of celery, with raisins lined up on top like--you guessed it--ants on a log. She grins over at Bean, and nods. "Mmhmm. Looks like we're watching Blues Brothers tonight. I've never seen it, and Cannonball here is determined to further my education in popular culture." To Doug, she just pouts and giggles. "Awww, come on, not even going to stay for a little while?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to Doug and says "The girl with wings does not know about The mission from god." He says in a bad impression of the blues brothers. You sure you can;t stay at least for the first one, If you need to get back in town Ah can fly ya back in after, should shave off a little time.' He offers, and to Shannon says "Pulled the pecans out of the mixed nuts, but not sure if you could eat the rest or have to worry about pecan dust or something.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Mission from..." Nope, Bean is not going to ask. He's fine where he is, and it sounds like it's a questions that's going to be answered soon at any rate. Another cultural gap to plug... sometimes he wonders how they were expecting him to ever manage his primary mission. "Mind if I stay to watch too? Can't promise I'll stay awake for all of it, but it's gotta be worth a shot. And the stairs are not my friend today."

Cypher has posed:
"I want to but I really can't." Doug says. "There's guys down there who really need me, and we're bringing an important system online tonight." He holds up his hands. "I'm sorry man. I'll make it up to you, someday." Then he finger-snap-points at Bean. "They're slipped under your door."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "A little pecan dust probably won't hurt me, but eating a few whole pecans will have me praying to the porcelain god." To Bean, she smiles and giggles softly. "Then if the world is still spinning for you, will you at least allow me to get you some snacks? What kind of things would you like?" Doug gets the Puss-In-Boots eyes full force, followed by a pout as she realizes this time it's just not going to work. "Wait, wha... what's slipped under his d... OH..." Yeah. Her face turns very, very pink, and she giggles.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises a bit as he has missed something but not sure what it is. He looks to Doug and says Not even any brown betty left to bribe ya with." He looks over to Sam and says "Of course you can, might have a few questions about the movie but will answer them best Ah can as they come up. This movie was based on two characters that were originally created as Saturday Night Live skit characters.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Effort. Such effort to sit upright and pull the pillow with him so he can still lean against it. The couch is for sitting, not reclining, and at least now there's space for people to sit next to Bean. Hah. Take that, compromised sense of balance! "I'd say something not too unhealthy, but that's not the point, is it? I'll have some pizza."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grins at Bean, finding a small paper plate somewhere on the cart and loading it up with a few pieces of pizza. "A lot of times, 'healthy' food is all but forgotten on a movie night. Don't worry, I'll run an extra mile or two for the next week for this." She deposits the plate on the arm of the couch next to him, going back to see what snacks she could gather together for herself. "Been looking forward to this. Sure we can't talk you into staying at least for a snack before you have to go, Doug? Is it cheat night?"

Cypher has posed:
Doug gives his head a little shake. "Unfortunately I can't." He says, before he holds up his hands. "One day the work'll be done and I can take a vacation. Just--not today." He says, "I leave them in your hands, Sam. Later!"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to the other man and says "Just don't wear yourself to a nub before then, remember we got a couple cons to hit up." He says and gets himself some snackage and grabbing a recliner leaving the couch to the kids. He will set his food down and go grab drinks "Water or want o try something fizzy Sam?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's a conundrum. On the one hand, there's only so much water one can drink, but Bean hadn't hit that limit yet. Water had the advantage of being both healthy, comes sealed bottles, and being a clear liquid means that tampering was usually easy to detect. On the other hand, did he really still believe that people in the school were going to poison him, when they've had ample opportunity to do so in the past day alone? Perhaps it's the medication talking, but ... "Fizzy will do. Surprise me."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon giggles softly, grinning from ear to ear. Did her ears deceive her? She'd get to introduce Bean to the joys of root beer? She moves the snack cart to a more central position, somewhere roughly between the sofa and recliner, so nobody has to go too far for some good eats in the midst of the movie. For herself, she gets some more ants on a log, some pizza, chips, and a bottle of root beer. She likewise gets a bottle of root beer for Bean, and plops herself down on the couch. "Here you go... root beer. Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic, despite the name."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and says "Well Ah was going to let him try yours first see if he liked it before getting him a bottle he teases a bit. He does get himself some red soda, labeled cheerwine. He will move to find his seat after putting a coupld bottles of soda in an ice bucket on the bottom of the cart so they have back ups. "Everyone ready?'

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I've seen you drink it, so it can't be bad." Vote of confidence. Bean gives Sam the thumbs up, and then tries to open the bottle, as usual running his fingers across the seal first. Force of habit, most likely. There he runs into a snag, however. With his left hand practically useless, it's hard to get the cap to twist. Eventually he wedges the bottle between his legs and holds it in place, using his right hand to twist the cap. It's then that he starts to understand why this is called a 'fizzy' drink. He gets it up to his lips just in time to spill most of the excess on his shirt. Oh well...

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon bursts out giggling as Bean contends with his first fizzy drink, grabbing some napkins from the cart and dabbing up some of the excess from his shirt. "The idea is to drink it, not wear it." Her smile widens at the vote of confidence, something she never would have heard from him when he first arrived at the school. Points for creativity opening the bottle like that, though. "Ready over here, Cannonball! Prepare to fast forward!" Yeah, wrong movie reference, but what they hey, this was a night for goofing off!

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and says "You have to be careful with drinks with carbonation in them, they like to do that type of thing if your not careful with them." He tells the other Sam, and then clicks on the Tv to start themovie.