9638/An Angel's Fury

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An Angel's Fury
Date of Scene: 18 October 2019
Location: Breakstone Lake - Xavier's School
Synopsis: Shannon has a lot more to get off her chest than Kitty, Triage, Bean, or even Cannonball thought--but was everything said that needed to be? Or was some still held back?
Cast of Characters: Nightingale, Triage




Nightingale has posed:
     With the last straw dropped on the camel's back in the dining hall just moments before, the mansion's resident winged healer quite literally flew out the door, taking to the freedom and relative calm of the night air. She gains speed quickly, soon spiraling upwards through the air above the lake, higher and higher, to scream her frustration and raw anger where hopefully nobody will be disturbed by it. She's barely a speck in the sky against a waning moon, with only a white feather on the shore marking her passage.

Triage has posed:
Far below, a solitary figure, a shadow on the gray ground, sweeps a flashlight over the grounds. The man stops and raises his voice. "Shannon!" he calls repeatedly. No others have followed. One by one, lights in the mansion wink, signaling that almost everyone has gone to bed.

Nightingale has posed:
     The shadow against the moon stops and hovers, looking down at the ground. She had kept silent for quite a while, done her best to keep her head down and to stay out of the way. She had waited and wondered quietly, hoping for some word from her mentor. But there was none. She tried her best on her own. Why couldn't they understand? WHY?! A wordless scream rends the air high above, perhaps just audible to the searcher below.

Triage has posed:
The man stands, straining his eyes in the darkness, until he spots the tiny speck silhouetted against the moon. He kneels to set the flashlight on the ground. He stands again. "Shannon!" he calls, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Come back! Please! Let's talk!" He repeats the words without taking his eye from that speck against the moon.

Nightingale has posed:
     For a few moments there is silence, with the silhouette against the moon turning towards the searcher on the ground, holding still like that for a moment. Then, the figure's wings are drawn inwards, very tightly, the speck growing larger and larger at an alarming rate. It soon becomes recognizable as the mansion's resident winged healer, and she's barely containing a growl. Just as it looks as if she's going to hit the water, she snaps her wings outwards, skimming across the surface of the lake and heading towards shore, kicking up a little sand as she lands nearby.

Triage has posed:
The man watches until the speck begins to plummet earthward. He snatches his flashlight from the grass but he does not point its beam upward, as some might be tempted to do. Instead, with the light pointing downward, he watches until she lands. He walks slowly toward her. Suddenly aware of the nip in the autumn air, he removes his jacket and offers it to her. "Thank you for coming back," he says. "I came to find you. The others are inside. Kitty will want to talk to you later, but for now, I'm here. Do you want to talk about it?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon growls softly, but accepts the jacket, drawing her wings in tight so it can go over her back. "Right now I'm not so sure I want to talk to Kitty," she growls. "Fuck, does she think I'm an idiot? Does she think I don't know better than to try and take on things like a coma, or severe neurological trauma, or something that would knock me out and leave me unable to finish the job? Because let's face it, sooner or later, you'll be gone again and I'm going to have to make those kinds of calls, and learn on my own. Yeah okay, I get it. She thinks she's protecting me. But has she forgotten that I learned the hard way helping you heal -her-, that yeah okay, it's better to work -with- someone if possible, and to -not- take on things like that if you can at all help it? Has she forgotten I've survived what should have killed a fucking /god/?! Or am I to never live that down, either? I'm not some fucking porcelain doll. Maybe I'm not made of adamantium, but I'm not some china doll or made of glass. It hurts that she doesn't trust me to know when I can't take something on. And if she doesn't, you can bet your ass others don't, either."

She sighs heavily, and runs her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I get it. People don't like seeing me hurt. Hell, it was fucking weird seeing that security footage of healing Loki from the outside. And I don't like it that it has to involve pain. I'm not some masochist that enjoys it. The only thing that gets me through it is I know it's helping someone, and I can heal from it quickly. Yeah, I get it. People worry. But I have to heal, to learn how to be better, because that's the only way left to me, since Josh disappeared. There hasn't /been/ anybody else. I don't expect them to understand so there is little sense in getting into it."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she looks up at the moon. "And as stupid as this sounds, I just want to reach out to what family I have here. But a 'hello' gets ignored. Guess I can get used to that. Going to have to."

"Then there's other things I wish I could talk about but I can't, because unfortunately you weren't there for them. Suffice it to say, Scott and Jean know about those, so does Kitty, but that's stalled and I'm really worried and extremely frustrated and upset about the whole thing. But this whole healing bullshit... that was the last straw. Gaaah!!!"

Triage has posed:
Chris frowns while he listens and Shannon vents. When the final words explode from her mouth, he steps closer to her. "Kitty might have said some of that because other people were in the room, Shannon," he recalls. "She might have wanted /them/ to know what you've faced." He follows her gaze up to the moon. "If those other things are bothering you, and you don't want to talk to me about them, talk to someone." He shifts to look at Shannon. "I don't know what happened to Josh, but his being here obviously meant a great deal to you. If you two were ... involved, I'm sorry that he hurt you and left you wondering." He shrugs. "I'm not him, but I'm here. I'll help you if I can."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "No, he and I weren't involved. One, he's a little bit older than I am and I'm just sixteen. Two, he was already involved with miss Maximoff. I feel bad for her." She sighs softly. "He was one of the first friends I made here. Taught me so much of what I do. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be able to use my gift as a diagnostic tool prior to beginning a healing. He was the one who taught me to keep a healing from happening accidentally so I didn't have to be afraid to get near people. There were a lot of plans to go so much further, to really test and see what these gifts could do. But then he disappeared. No warning, no mention of why. Just... gone. I feel even worse for miss Maximoff, that must have broken her heart. But yes, he meant a lot to me, too. But I have to suck it up, ya know?"

She shakes her head slowly. "Some of those other things... I can't talk to anyone about. I've got one friend who means well, and wanted to know so she could help... but I had to tell her no, and seeing how that hurt her... but that's part and parcel of this life sometimes. I can say that those other things involve the Trickster. But please, leave it there, so I don't break my promise to Scott and Jean."

She turns and looks at Chris for a long moment, her wings ruffling beneath the coat, her brows furrowing. "I can't ask that of you. You had a life you left behind to come back here and to ask anything more would be unbelievably selfish."

Triage has posed:
Chris smiles. "You didn't ask me to come back, not directly. But while we were helping students and staff after that field trip, we talked. You mentioned things, including Josh's disappearance. I wanted to help you." He raises a hand to silence any objections. "I didn't think that you were inadequate. I've seen your work. But you were facing all of this alone. You might not like to admit it, but you need help, a colleague to share the load."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, and hangs her head. "Yeah I do. But that colleague will just be gone again like the last one. And then it will be back to worrying everyone, and having to take it on alone. I can't do this alone, precisely /because/ sooner or later, there's going to be things like a coma, or like the injuries you healed on Andrea, or worse. There's going to be people who are hurt or /die/ because it was beyond what I could handle, but nobody knows that I understand or give two squirts about it. They assume just because I'm maybe a little younger than some, I'm not capable of understanding these things. Did they ever think to /ask/?" A few tears roll down her face. "I know they care. They're trying to protect me. But sometimes the best they can do is just catch me if I fall, because it's the only way I have to learn. Sooner or later, that colleague is going to leave, and then what?"

Triage has posed:
Chris steps closer and pulls a tissue from a pocket. He raises his hand to dry the tears that glisten on Shannon's cheek in the moonlight. "They want to protect you because they care, but you're right. A caged bird never learns to fly. If all goes well, we won't need to worry about that until you've learned how to keep yourself in the air. You're close. The great lesson now is control. As for my leaving, I don't plan to go for a long time."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon's voice is very quiet, just a whisper now. "Neither did he. But he did." Trust had been worn down and finally shattered, left in pieces that have not yet been glued back together. She doesn't pull away as he dabs the tissue across her face, just very, very quiet. "If you mean it... really hope you don't go."

Triage has posed:
"You were angry before you left. You probably didn't hear my conversation with Kitty," Chris guesses. "I asked to stay. She offered a room. This is home."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "I was trying to listen to music and forget about being upset. Usually that kind of music works. It didn't this time." She falls silent once more, listening to him. "Wha...?" Wait, was he serious??

Triage has posed:
Triage nods. "I don't know if the others noticed, but after you tried to talk to Jay, when you sat down with your dinner, your wings closed around you like a cocoon. I could tell that something was bothering you. Those wings don't lie." He reaches to touch one of her wings gently. "That reminds me. Look in the left pocket of my jacket." Earlier, while walking, he had tucked the feathers that Shannon dropped into the pocket. "You don't want someone finding those and asking questions."

Nightingale has posed:
"He's supposed to be like family, too. Same as Cannonball. I want to care about him like that. Like a brother. Not as anything else." She sighs a little bit. "I'm not blind. It's not hard to see Andrea likes him. But I don't think of him like that. It's like, every time I try to just say hi to him, I'm talking to myself." She checks the pocket for the feathers and sure enough, there they are. "What questions would they ask around here? I don't dare leave the school grounds except maybe to go to Evolution off-hours, when I know Cannonball's going to be there. And I'm as safe with him as anyone here."

Triage has posed:
Triage points upward. "You were flying quite high," he answers. I know that you were /technically/ in the perimeter, but if a feather fell out there," he nods to indicate the land beyond the school, "and someone tested it for DNA, that might bring trouble." He glances toward the mansion. "Have you talked to Cannonball about Jay's actions? You're right. Even if Jay likes Andrea, too, he shouldn't be rude."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs. "What good would it do? If he talks to me I want it to be because he wants to, not because someone said something and he feels he /has/ to." She takes the point about the feathers, but isn't sure whether to just leave them in the pocket or take them. Sighing, she plucks them from the pocket. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Triage has posed:
Triage shakes his head. "Don't be sorry. It's a slim chance, but if the feather comes out whole, from the root, it might have enough DNA for a match. If anyone in your family has had genetic testing, and if that data isn't secure, someone could run the right matching tests and cause trouble." He adds, "If Jay wants to snub you, that's his choice, and his loss. You have many other friends." Then he looks back to the mansion. "Are you ready to go home now? Bean expects you to run two extra miles for the next few days, but after that flight, maybe not."

Nightingale has posed:
     "He's not just a friend, though. He's family, or I hope he is. The day he got here, I was so excited to finally get to meet someone else in the clan. Something I wasn't sure would ever happen. So getting brushed off like that... it hurts, maybe more than it should, but it hurts. Cannonball's become like a brother to me, so far as I'm concerned, that extends to the whole family whether I've met them or not. That means Jay, too." She sighs, and ducks her head. "When am I going to learn to stop caring?"

     She rolls her eyes a little bit at the mention of the run. "Just for once... just once, I should forget about that run. Just once. Don't know, I'll think about it." She rubs her temples lightly, closing her eyes. "Don't think anyone in my family's had genetic testing, either, but you're right about the feathers." Whether or not she's ready to go back, though, is up for debate....

Triage has posed:
"I wish that I could help," Chris says with a sigh after Shannon elaborates. "You've been around Sam for a while and you've developed a trust. That takes time. I'm sure that it didn't happen on your first day here. Give Jay time. If it happens, you have another 'brother.' If not, it's his loss." He reaches to close Shannon's hand around the feathers that she still holds. "Whatever you do, please don't stop caring," he urges. "It's fine to limit yourself. It's fine to know when to shake the dust from your feet and move forward, but don't stop caring." He shakes his head. "As for the run, I thought that you liked it. Is Bean too ... military about it?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "No he's not. I do usually like the run. Just for once I want to tell the world to shove off, though." Another tear rolls down her face as he closes her hand around the feathers. "How can I even start to build that trust, though, if I'm ignored? You're right. With Cannonball, it took time, too. He was there right from the start, too, just about as soon as Josh was. Within two days of arriving here." She touches the rune-covered, worn brown leather pouch at her side. "My third day here was my birthday. Funny, it's the same day as Kitty's. I was all set to ignore it, though, because it was her day, and they knew her. Neither of them would let me just let it slide, though. This pouch was from Cannonball. Said it had a history, a connection with Asgard. And one of the other nine realms, though I forget the name. The one that had a connection with the dwarves. Wasn't sure what to do with it at first, but it's become my first aid bag since." She looks down at the feathers, her expression sorrowful. "Just want to care the same way about Jay, and any others of the clan who finally make their way up here. Or if I ever get to go see them." Another tear falls, and she hangs her head. "And I care about Kitty, too, but even knowing she probably said what she said because of being worried... my gifts are as they are. I don't -like- the pain, but if it helps others it's worth it. She's going to worry. That's just her. Or any of the other teachers here."

Her gaze is raised up, looking out over the water. "It might've ticked off Logan a bit when Mr. McCoy called me out for that healing in Metropolis, but... it was nice to be needed, and trusted enough to know if I could or couldn't handle it. Why can't she do the same?"

Triage has posed:
"You were fortunate with Cannonball." Chris nods. "The teachers here, including Kitty, care. They're in a tug-of-war. They're responsible for you, but they should remember from their own experiences that they needed to learn some things about their gifts by using them. If Dr. McCoy hadn't called you, it's probable that another teacher, even Kitty, would have." He squeezes Shannon's hand in his, and smiles. "Even though everyone else will crowd around Kitty in July, unless circumstances or distance prevent it, we'll celebrate your birthday. Okay?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods. "Yeah, I was fortunate. There's someone who's got a heart as big as the sea. It's an incredible thing to see, it really is. She bites her lip, and sighs a bit. "Maybe it's something I'll understand better if I ever wind up teaching here myself--and trust me, that's a very strong possibility in my mind--but you're right, too. They need to remember. Okay, sure, with that healing, if a coma had been involved on the list of injuries instead of just a bit of a concussion, then yeah, I'd have refused and told them to call you. But most of those were injuries I'd handled before, with the exception of a little internal stuff, and even at that, I had complete faith that Mr. McCoy and others would be able to get me through. Has she forgotten what it was like, though, when she was the student here?"

The mention of birthdays gets an eyeroll, and a short, quick laugh. "Oh please. Let them crowd around her in July. It's her day, she was here first. I'll just be happy keeping it simple with a little campfire cookout." Though, knowing Sam Guthrie and others, that was unlikely to be kept just so simple. "But we'll celebrate a -little-."

Triage has posed:
Chris shrugs. "So much has happened, and Kitty has a new life, as a teacher, a leader, almost a surrogate parent to kids who don't have the luxury of real parents, and ... a girlfriend. She might have forgotten those days as a student learning how to use her gifts. It happens. You also need to remember that they've depended on you for a while. She might have worried about that and tried to protect you particularly so that you'd be here to help others." He smiles. "I wouldn't deprive Kitty of her birthday. I'm sure that she'll be the guest at some grand parties, and a fine dinner-date with Mr. Parker." Then he shakes his head. "At the same time, you deserve a celebration if I have my say. There's room enough on the calendar for both of you." The wind from the lake picks up slightly. Chris glances in that direction to be sure that it's natural, and not a hint of trouble. "You'll be here until you graduate. You'll continue to learn and improve. At least you won't carry the load by yourself."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I don't plan on leaving after graduation, either. They're stuck with me. Even if they can be overprotective and hard-headed sometimes. Plus," she tries to smile a little bit here. "...they need to stop getting hurt so damn much. Can't always help it, yeah, but when they get hurt, very literally, so do I. If they don't want me hurt, they need to be careful, too. If possible. Which it may not always be. That's part of this life, too." She pulls the jacket around her a little more, burrowing into its warmth for a moment. "But so's being able to count on your friends and teammates, to trust in each other to either know or find out your limits, work with them, and be there for each other whether or not the chips or down. When I heard Kitty in the dining hall... it felt like she'd forgotten that, and like she thought I didn't understand."

     As she listens to Chris, she turns and gives him a brief hug. "Thank you. It's not going to be easy to learn to trust that you won't disappear. Losing Josh cut deep, but there were others who had it worse. So... I had to shut up. It'll be nice to not have to carry the load alone, at least for a little while." She smiles faintly, just a ghost of a smile. "So where do we start?"

Triage has posed:
Chris grins. "I left because I needed space and time. You don't know how good or important home is until you leave it. I left. I had two years on my own, living an almost normal life, except that I couldn't ignore that instinct, or forget everyone here and their problems that only another like them can understand." He welcomes Shannon's hug and briefly rubs her back between her wings in a comforting gesture. When they step back, he adds, "Now I'm back home and I'm glad." He sighs. "As for where you start, we need to define your limitations, your boundaries. I offered to help Megan with her case of the sniffles, but now I wonder if we should see how your body handles that. We need to know which treatment is best in case we need to help her."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs. "I don't know if I can take on illnesses as well as physical injuries. It's not something I had the chance to try. Josh wanted to see, too, but he left before we could." She purses her lips slightly. "One thing I've noticed on two separate occasions is that once a healing starts, I have no way of stopping it just yet. I saw it first with Loki, but also once with Bean. I was just going to heal his arm, but was unable to stop the process and wound up taking on the injuries to his leg and his concussion as well." She seems to consider things for a moment. "I do know I can handle most cuts, some burns--though I'd rather not try a third-degree just yet, thank you very much--broken limbs, dislocations, torn and overextended muscles--but again, not a top favorite--concussions... those aren't a favorite but I can handle them with the proviso that I rest for a good day or so after to recover... fractures... and even some mild internal injuries. But that last one is definitely not a top favorite, though to a point I can manage. Massive trauma like Andrea, or a coma like Kitty? Thanks, I'll call you in on that one. And I'd still prefer to work with another healer than alone where possible, because it would shorten recovery time on my end. Now, on the up-side of things, this has been strengthening my healing factor, just as if I were learning to use a particular muscle group." She shrugs a little. "The big thing would be finding out first, how to stop mid-healng and two... if the connection was broken from the outside, like if someone had to pull me away, what would it do to me, so it can be prepared for."

Triage has posed:
Chris listens attentively, nodding occasionally when Shannon mentions what seemed to go well or poorly for her. "We should keep a list as we go, so that we'll know what does or doesn't work," he recommends. "In time we might be able to predict the results for other healing. Think of this as an experiment." Then he reminds her, "Above all, remember that you won't be alone. I'll help you. We're a team and I have no plans to leave home." He smiles warmly.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods. "That's what I've been trying to do for myself. You can thank Cannonball for that suggestion, he was the first to bring it up. If it wasn't for that, and Josh... and those extra biology classes and homework from Mr. McCoy, I'd be in a world of hurt."

She hugs him again, briefly, her wings ruffling beneath the jacket as if a huge weight had been lifted from her. "I sure hope not..."

Triage has posed:
Chris hugs Shannon again and feels the stirring of her wings beneath his jacket. He gives her a teasing look. "I hope that you're not planning to take flight again after all of this." Then he shakes his head. "Why should I leave right after telling Kitty that I'd like to stay and help? Both of us know that some people here face death almost daily. As long as groups like Friends of Humanity have enough clout to get Sentinels and other weapons, we'll see more trouble than we could have imagined a few years ago. As for college, I can continue my studies online." He tilts his head to peer at the moon before he looks at Shannon again. "You told Kitty that you'd outgrown costumes for Halloween. Is there more to it than that? If you need to talk about that, or anything else, I'm here for you."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs a little. "Last time I wore a costume was Betsy's birthday. And it took forever to live down that I was in the Hellfire Club even though the only thing I was doing was giving her a birthday present. And... the last time I celebrated Halloween was when I was around nine or ten, before I was told I outgrew the whole trick-or-treating and costumes thing. I'd hoped to maybe celebrate it with my friends at the time, but life always got in the way and by the time we could..." She ruffles her wings again and looks down at her hands. "...by the time we could, we really couldn't anymore. Plus... I lost my maternal grandmother on Halloween, that final year."

Triage has posed:
Chris listens attentively, as if examining each word for nuances of meaning that might lie beneath the surface. He shakes his head when Shannon mentions her loss. "I'm sorry that you lost your grandmother. I hope that she would have been proud of you and what you've become. Some relatives don't accept us. Some pretend to accept us to keep the peace. They should be proud when we use or gifts to help people." Then he smirks. "As for people outgrowing costumes, come to the city on a Halloween night, or even during a science fiction convention, and you'll see more adults in costume than you can imagine. The ones who look normal are the exceptions." Then he shakes his head. "I don't dress up for it but I do like to give out candy to the kids, especially the poor ones who can't afford fancy costumes but make the best of what they have, with their family's help."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, silent for a moment. "I fought with my grandmother a week before she died. Can't even remember what it was over. A day or so later, she was taken away in an ambulance and that was the last I ever saw her. Never even got to make up. She died Halloween night. It was long before my change, so she never even knew I was mutant. Nobody did, at that time, least of all me." Her eyebrows loft slightly, and she looks down at her clothing. "It may be too late to get a costume... but maybe I can bust out the Doric chiton I used on Betsy's birthday, and just leave the wings visible. It's Halloween so who'd really care? But... I still just don't feel the point of it. I'll do it if it'll make everyone else happy." She smiles a little bit, and tilts her head. "Do kids from the community ever come up to the mansion trick-or-treating?"

Triage has posed:
Chris grins. "An old place like this, sitting from from anything and looking as if it should be a set for something from Hollywood?" He asks. "Visitors have been scarce but not rumors that the place is haunted." He laughs. "Of course, some of the staff welcome that. It helps to keep superstitious people away, and since we want to keep this place out of the spotlight, anything that discourages snooping is a good thing." He looks to the hulking mansion and then explains, "I was thinking of kids in New York, and before I came here, in Michigan. You won't be alone if you don't wear a costume. I hadn't thought about it until Kitty mentioned it."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods a little. "I'll wear one so she doesn't feel bad." But her wings droop again. Not good. "Well, what about the younger kids here? Is there anything going for them?" If Chris tries to get her back to the mansion, she doesn't put up a fight, a lot of the anger and fight drained right out of her.

Triage has posed:
Chris eyes Shannon. "They're down again," he tells her. "What's wrong? I don't like that." Then he cocks his head for a moment in thought about the question of the kids. "I haven't heard of anything but that means an opportunity for us to do something of our own for them. Andrea probably has something planned for her Glee Club, but we might be able to make a small haunted house, have a carnival with games, snacks, and prizes, or build a bonfire in the backyard."

Nightingale has posed:
     "It's stupid. But I feel rotten about chewing her out now. Just... don't want to upset her any more than I probably already have. Even if I don't want anything to do with Halloween. It'll... it'll be okay. I'll put on a costume and that'll be all okay." She smiles, but the wings do not ruffle. Damn. "Just... nothing really good about Halloween to me. It's dumb to think like that, but still... "

Triage has posed:
Chris sighs and shakes his head. "Halloween is fun for you only if you're having fun. If you don't want to wear a costume then don't. I told you that I don't have one, and if you were wearing one but I knew that you were miserable, I'd be miserable for you. For what it's worth, I'd prefer to see you happy."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs a little. "It's just one day. Or even a couple hours of one day. At least the costume would see use again. Would you believe it was just a bedsheet creatively pinned? That's all a chiton is, you know, if you read up on it. A length of fabric pinned and draped just so to make the garment." She shakes her head slightly. "You've got no reason to be miserable for me. There's a middle ground on the costume thing, I'm sure."

Triage has posed:
"I remember," Chris answers with a nod. "I also know that one mischievous student who just discovered that he's a telekinetic and can move a pin could undo that, literally," he warns. "So, if you need a good excuse for not wearing that costume, there it is at no charge." Then he nods. "I'd be miserable because I care. You shouldn't feel pressure to worry about something as fleeting as Halloween."

Nightingale has posed:
     "This is why I wore a one-piece swimsuit under the thing. Even if they undid the pins and stitches, they wouldn't see anything that shouldn't be." She tries to smile a little. "A lot of things are fleeting, but they can have a lot of impact. Like that little girl at Salem Center hospital, the first training run I went on with Josh. So... maybe Halloween is fleeting, but a few months or years down the road, it could turn out to have meant a lot to someone."

Triage has posed:
Chris nods. "A wise woman." Then he urges, "Be happy, whether you wear a costume or not. I've seen people in fancy costumes who looked utterly miserable. I've seen kids who were perfectly happy to wear sheets and pretend that they were ghosts. I'll always side with the kids in sheets."