Owner	Pose
Shannon	The day had seemed somewhat normal for a familiar winged resident of the mansion. Shannon had gone about her normal puttering around in the kitchen, assisting with holiday decorations, working on Christmas presents, and the like. But all the same, as soon as an opportunity presented itself, she absented herself from the holiday hubbub, retreating for the peace and relative quiet of the stables, perching on a hay bale and closing her eyes for a few minutes....
Warpath	The resident, borderline Scrooge has stayed out of the way of everyone for the most part. He doesn't want to bring anyone down anymore than he wants to have it forced on his head either. Escaping the house in search of peace and quiet. Finding baby sister is just a bonus.
Shannon	Even with her eyes closed, Shannon had been learning to get a sense of when she was no longer alone--even if she couldn't always tell just who was with her right away. One pale blue eye cracks open, then the other, a light smile tugging the corners of her lips upwards as she sees Warpath. "Hello, you," she says, her voice a little bit tired-sounding. Hay rustles about beneath her as her jeans rasp against the stuff, the girl scooting over to make room on the bale.
Warpath	Walking over and taking a seat next to her, Jimmy settles,"Hello shik'isn. How are you doing?" He looks around the barn knowing she has a tendency to escape the school here when she's had a problem or is upset about something.
Shannon	"Glad to be alive," Shannon replies, almost immediately burrowing in next to Warpath, curling up into a feathery little ball on the hay bale. "Just glad Jeremy and Indi are okay, too... really worried about Dr. McCoy..." What the heck could have happened?
Warpath	"Did you get yourself into a jam again trouble magnet?" he asks softly,"I know I have been hiding in the wings." He pauses at the though of concern about Hank,"What have you gotten into that could have caused harm to Beast? He isn't a lightweight in the worst of circumstances."
Shannon	"No he's not, and he wasn't physically harmed. He's made of tougher stuff than that." Shannon actually flinches at the word 'magnet'. "I don't think I want to hear the word 'magnet' right now. Especially with an 'o' at the end."      Uh-oh.
Warpath	There is a deep breath and a slow exhale,"I had heard he was starting to stir recently." he mutters finally,"So you encountered one of the most dangerous of mutants." he adds softly,"Where did you see him?"
Shannon	"Not the first time I've run into him, though it's the first I've ever actually wound up in his crosshairs." Shannon grimaces, running her fingers through her hair. "It was at the clinic that has that 'cure'." Here, one hand pokes out from the bundle of feathers she has become, making an air quote gesture around the word 'cure'. "Indi, Jeremy, and I were all there together. I couldn't let them go alone. You back up your teammates. Anyways..."      She pauses, trying to gather her thoughts. "Jeremy was doing his tech thing finding out more about the clinic. What exactly he found out, I would go talk to miss Grey about, seriously. It got pretty ugly." Pause. "Dr. McCoy... yeah, you might want to talk to miss Grey about him, too. Things were... rough for him there, but not physically. Emotionally. He's one of the teachers I admire the most here. He was one of the ones to welcome me here. And now I don't know how to reach out to him or help him."      Shannon peers up, burrowing a little bit closer. "Long story short, Jeremy got what he was after, but Magneto's acolytes targeted us. And he himself wasn't far behind."
Warpath	Another deep breath and when he exhales his right hand flexes and closes into a fist. His fingers and knuckles crack loudly and his face glowers darker than usual,"You do have to watch your team mate's back yes. How very like Lenscher to jump to conclusions and send his little pawns to do the heavy lifting or to do the early dying. I didn't care for him when I was with the Hellions and it hasn't changed." He shakes his head and adds,"I'll try to catch up with Jean soon. Hank is made of stern stuff, but like you said we have to look out for our team mates."
Shannon	"Oh, no, he didn't stay out of the fray. I actually managed to airlift Jeremy to a nearby rooftop and he was left alone. But Indi got caught on a fire escape, and I was trying to get her loose. Magneto came after her for the laptop she was carrying that he -thought- had the data from the clinic on it." She wrinkles her nose. "He's gonna be hella pissed when he finds out otherwise."      A little smile softens her features, and she nods. "Yeah, Dr. McCoy's made of strong stuff. Smart as a whip and a heart just as big to match. Just not sure how to reach out to him. He was... well, the whole thing hit him pretty hard. I'd ask miss Grey about the details. It's better coming from her."
Warpath	"He lets others go in first, it lowers the chances he's a casulty." Jimmy remarks darkly,"Once the pieces are on the board and his pieces have softened the opposition he sweeps in to finish things off. The reality is he'd win far more if he'd start the battles instead of sending minions first." He shakes his head and sighs,"It is worth a great deal if he didn't get what he wanted. Just keep your head on a swivel. If he's able to pick you out of a crowd, me might."
Shannon	"Given that it's not the first time I've run into him, there's a very good chance he could." Shannon sighs a little bit. "The last I saw of him was at Lorna's coronation over on Genosha. Things went south and those of us from here who attended actually wound up backing him up. Before that, there were a couple times in the field, where he was actually a huge help." Her brows furrow and she sighs slightly. "One of them was the day Daniel was struck down. Between him and Lorna, he kept a lot more lives from being lost. Daniel was the only fatality. He was also the first to show him some respect. So... I've got pretty mixed feelings about the man."
Warpath	"As I understand it, he lived through Hell." Jimmy comments softly,"He saw World War II upclose. Just something Emma mentioned one time." He nudges her gently,"In many ways he wants very much to be the savior of the mutant race, but a savior complex leads him to make some questionable to outright disasterous choices. He and Xavier are two sides of the same coin, each side having his own way of bringing mankind and mutant kind together. One side by side and the other at the heel."
Shannon	Shannon sighs lightly, hugging her knees to her chest. "When I saw him go off the rails at Lorna's coronation, I really felt for him. At that moment, he was just a father protecting his child, and nobody could rightfully damn him for it. In a way, the way you're describing it, it sounds like he wants to keep mutants safe in that same way. So does the Professor. But they both have such wildly different ways of going about it."
Warpath	"Magneto wants to make sure organizations like the Nazi party never rise again, nevermind the fact that they are all over this country and several others in the world anyway." he comments finally,"If the world is in shades of grey then the shade depends on the person looking at it. In some ways I have agreed with him in the past. I don't always agree with Xavier either. I teach because you kids need someone that teaches without sugar coating things and makes sure you see the world from more than one point of view. More than what the books say happened."
Shannon	"The thing is though, sooner or later, humanity will be changed forever, if it hasn't already been." Shannon smiles a little bit. "We went from chimpanzees in the trees, to running across the savannah, to who knows how many varied branches of humanity. So many of those interbred, changed, merged, evolved. And now there's us. Mutants. It stands to reason it'll happen all over again. But why... why must there be the fighting? Why does there have to be hate?"
Warpath	There is a raise of his brow about something, but he lets it slide for now. Apparently he isn't intersted in that particular arguement at present. To her point he replies,"I think humanity has an easier time accepting the guy that sticks to walls, the one in the flying armor, and the one with the bad temper are easier to accept because they weren't born that way. Well not like we were." he explains,"Part of society's issue is in the fact that they could be, could become, or one of their children could become this way because they were born that way and they don't even know it."
Shannon	"Guess evolution wasn't always a smooth transition, either," Shannon replies, sighing a little bit. "Sometimes it's hard to know what to think. About the only things I'm certain of are my family, my friends, and that I love them all very much." A little smile tugs the corners of her lips upwards, as she looks up at Warpath. "Yes, that means you, shik'sin."
Warpath	There is a moment of silence and then he puts his arm around her shoulders, leans over, and kisses her temple lightly. Then it is gone again, it never happened and nothing to see here,"Love you too shik'isn." he mutters softly and moves on to other things, the one arm hug slipping back as well,"You're one of a short list that makes up my family. One of only two I truly count on anymore."
Shannon	Nothing to see. Nope. No way, no how. Except there was. Shannon's smile widens, and she isn't so inclined to move away when the hug ends. At least her wings aren't wrapped quite so tightly around herself any more. "I hope I can keep on being someone you can count on. Someone the rest of my family here can count on, too. Someday... who knows."
Warpath	"Keep learning and keep getting better everyday. The only way to being the one that can be counted on. Remember who you are though, in the heart you are a healer. I train you with the blade to be able to stand if the world is against you and you back is to the wall. I hope you never have to use it, but I am glad you will be able to if you must."
Shannon	"I hope so, too. But if I do, at least I'll know I was taught well, by the best." Shannon smiles a little bit more, resting her chin atop her knees as she looks out into the stables. The comforting, if somewhat pungent aromas, fill the air, along with the soft whickering of the horses, and the occasional stamping of hooves muffled by hay beneath. "The hardest part for me is actually running from a fight. I have to remind myself there's no shame in it sometimes, but that's... hard. It's like... well, like something in here has to prove I'm not so weak as I might seem, that I can handle myself. That's... not easy to let go of."
Warpath	"You are doing well." he replies softly and looks out towards the house thoughtfully, something on the air besides the horses maybe. He shakes it off and returns to the here and now,"There is no shame in a strategic withdrawl. The shame is remaining in a situation that could get you or your team killed for no other reason than pride. A warrior understands pride only too well, but the first time one of yours falls and you are at fault..." he lets that hang in the air, the rest unspoken. She's going to have to learn to draw conclusions after all,"You're not weak. Everyone has strengths and you have several that I do not. Do not narrow your field of view on who is and isn't strong and rather on what is and isn't strong."
Shannon	"Did pride get the best of you?" It wasn't too hard for Shannon to take a guess, but she wasn't going to pry further. Instead, she leans a little bit on Warpath, as much to offer her support in the only real way she knows how, as anything else.
Warpath	"Something like that." he replies softly and lets her lean without objection. Sometimes it is easier to let it be. The past can haunt you forever,"So you remember next time you are in a spot and I'm not there. I want you to think. Fight the battle, but do not stay in just for the sake of pride. I don't want to see you on the spirit side of things until long after I'm gone. Get it?"
Shannon	"Got it. I will if you will, shik'isn. It's hard to give you a hard time about hugs if you're not here." Indeed, sometimes it was easier to let things be, and so Shannon just leaves the matter of pride alone for now. "There is one slight problem, though..." Though her tone is deadly serious, there is a tell-tale twinkle to her eyes.
Warpath	"Always a catch." he replies softly. There is a hint of amusement in his tone though,"Please, enlighten me on the problem in question." He's relaxed and at ease, so probably he's mostly teasing more than anything, just waiting for the other shoe to fall.
Shannon	"There seem to be some cookies and cocoa that it would be a shame to see go to waste," Shannon replies, now actually starting to giggle. "Nice, fresh gingerbread cookies that I had some help from some of the younger students baking. Don't suppose you know anybody who might be willing to help eat them before they have a chance to go stale?"
Warpath	Shaking his head and chuckles softly and stands up,"I haven't had gingerbread in a long time. It is one of the rare sweets I do enjoy a great deal. My mother used to make ginger snaps. They were the kind you didn't just eat, you needed to dip them in milk or coffee. I mean I could eat them, but they were very strong in flavor and crisp."
Shannon	"Ohhh... those are the best kind!" There is that impish gleam in Shannon's eyes, and a very sly smile that just will not leave her face. "I'd race you back to the kitchen but we both know you'd win."
Warpath	"Eat them slower, so you savor them more and they last longer. You tend to not eat as many either." he agrees and smirks,"Every race has it's upside and down. If it was a race to Lady Liberty you'd have the advantage." he comments, making sure that last lesson gets into her head and heart.
Shannon	Shannon chuckles and grins, nodding. "Yeah, we each have our strengths. At least I'm not so weak as I used to be, physically speaking. Could airlift a lighter teammate out of danger if I had to now. That's something I couldn't even think of a year ago." Oh, there is still that twinkle to her eyes. "Gingersnaps and gingerbread, huh? I'm going to remember that, you know..."
Warpath	"You get better everyday or why bother getting up." he tells you softly and starts walking towards the mansion,"It shouldn't be that surprising really. I like things that are more natural in the sweet category. Didn't you know, all us injuns just eat the natural things and avoid the chocolate and such things since that is not pleasant in it's natural form."
Shannon	"Then I'm up for some coffee and gingerbread if you are," Shannon replies, picking up the pace back inside to a light jog. There's a light giggle from her, and the glimmer of a challenge in her eyes. For all her serious moments, the spirit of play was not dead. It lived on.
Warpath	The spirit of play. It might be mostly dormant in him, but it is still there. Without warning and with speed that probably shocks her, he grabs her, tosses her over his shoulder and takers her for a fast run to the front door. He's no Quicksilver or Flash, but she's probably never covered the distance that fast. He places her back down and waits for her to get her legs under her,"You were faster than you thought."
Shannon	There's a squeal of surprise from Shannon, followed by silvery peals of laughter as she is hauled up and over Warpath's shoulder, to be ferried to the front door in short order--certainly faster than she could have been on her own. It only takes her a second to get her feet under her, before tumbling through the door. "Maybe. Or maybe it's family each backing the other up."
Warpath	"That's what family and teams are for." he agrees and once she is settled he reaches up to open the door and motion her inside,"One of these days maybe you'll give me a ride." Yeah, she is a long way from being able to carry that kind of mass. A long way.
Shannon	Shannon just laughs and shakes her head. "Maybe. That'll also be the day I can fly faster than you can run." The mention of teams does dampen her mood somewhat, but only to the point of her smile fading just a little bit. "One of these days, I'll have to make some actual gingersnaps instead of gingerbread men, and see how they measure up to the ones you remember."
Warpath	"Maybe." He follows her inside and adds,"You have a gift for cooking. I'll look forward to trying them out." The way to the kitchen is easy of course, it's the one place everyone goes everyday after all.