Owner	Pose
Dani Moonstar	It's a Saturday night, and most of the studentbody is... well, first off, most are home for the summer. A few started trickling back early, of course. And of those few, most of them are out doing fun things with other people. And then there's Dani. Feeling a little uncomfortable being too social, she's currently spending her time playing a role-playing game on the video game console. Unlike reality, she is NOT an archer, instead she's actually playing a wizard from all appearances. And taking the time to meticulously plot out tactics and strategy with her party on encounters too. From all appearances, it seems to be working pretty well, as she's coasting through the game... mostly just to occupy her mind.
Doug Ramsey	Raining again. Doug has been busy burning through his High School Equivalency. At the rate he's going, he'll have it done before the end of summer and he'll be ready to start his college courses. But right now, he walks in in his socks and jeans and tank-top, and he blinks at Dani. "What's the matter? Bein' a wallflower?" He asks, before he drapes across a chair and starts making notes. Math. Math is easy. He just blows right through it.
Dani Moonstar	Dani blinks, then grins, "Yeah, guess so. Roomie had something planned, so I just had time to myself, I guess." She hits pause and glances up, "Sorry we woke you up last night with the movie, but it was nice that you stuck around for a bit." She tilts her head, regarding Doug a bit closer, "Did you want to join me?"
Doug Ramsey	Doug considers, and says, "I have a lot of work to do, but I'll sit here while you play." He gestures to his notebook, "I'm trying to burn through this so I'm ready to start my college courses in the fall. Jean's getting my legal status taken care of... I just need to go and talk to my parents." He shakes his head, and taps his pen against his chin. "You're under-level for this dungeon, by the way. You can get through it, but you'll have to use an exploit."
Dani Moonstar	Dani grins, "I know, I didn't want to do the exploit. Wanted to see how I could play it with my current group. Working on some tactical ideas." She glances over at Doug, "Is it... kinda bad that I saw some of the X-Men in a fight and thought 'I could do it better'? Because they were really disorganized the other night. It was weird." And Dani is, if nothing else, an overachiever.
Doug Ramsey	"Actually it sounds like you all over." Doug says, before he shrugs, "You were always the team tactician, you knew what everyone should be doing. Like me, my job was to hide." He shrugs his shoulders, "You weren't wrong." Then he says, "The tactical exploit is that you can throw firestorm spells in the room before the dungeon boss, and then shut the door, and his A.I. pathing won't trigger that you've initiated combat, so he won't activate his defensive spells, he'll just take the damage."
Dani Moonstar	Dani smiles, "Good to know, Doug. Thanks." She then pauses the game again as she catches the hide comment from Doug, and turns her head to look at him, "Doug, I just didn't want you getting hurt. I mean, if something happened..." Well, something did happen. And Dani blamed herself. Because that's what she does, too.
Doug Ramsey	Doug raises an eyebrow, and says, "I said, you weren't wrong. You don't owe me any explanations of why you chose to do the things you did. Honestly, looking back, I don't know if I would do anything differently, but you and Magneto and the others were right. I didn't belong in the same kinds of crisis situations you guys were getting into, and I was taking stupid risks." He makes another note on his paper, and then frowns, because he doodled Warlock in the margin while he wasn't paying attention. "But they were my risks to take."
Dani Moonstar	Dani smiles, "Yeah, but I was the squad leader, so I had to measure all the risks." She then spies out the doodle, and smiles a bit wider, "Selffriend Doug knows SelfDani has all confidence in what Selffriend Doug can do?" Her eyes sparkle a little bit at that, as she tilts her head at Doug.
Doug Ramsey	Doug looks up, and he grins. "And Selffriend Doug knows that Selffriend Dani only ever wants what's best for him and is just looking out for him because she has his back." Then he sighs, "I miss Warlock. As freaky as it might sound, sometimes we were more one person than two. So... it's kind of like I'm missing a limb. I wonder if I'll ever see him again." He shakes his head, and says "...But things can't ever be the way they were."
Dani Moonstar	Dani reaches over and gives Doug a firm hug, "Hey, me too. Warlock was the best." She smiles and nods, "Feels a little bit that way without Sam around. I mean, we butted heads a lot, but I always knew I could bounce an idea off of him and he'd give me good ideas back. Even if I didn't always want to hear them." She looks a bit wistful, and doesn't reflect on the night where she came back to see a breathing living Doug, either.
Doug Ramsey	Doug shakes his head and says "I went to a social event in Gotham City because I heard Bobby was on the guest list, but he bailed. I mean, he and I were never tight, but we were both tight with Warlock, so I thought maybe he'd know--" He pauses, and shakes his head, "You can't just rely on other people coming back into your life. And... maybe there are some people it'd be better if I just left them be. I still don't know how to talk to my parents. Imagine trying to tell... tell..." He says, "I don't even remember who I tackled that night, I just remember it was important."
Dani Moonstar	Dani nods, and pats Doug's hair a bit, even as she lets go of the hug. "Yeah, sounds like Bobby." She looks a bit rueful, "Would be really nice to get the gang back together, that's for sure. But no matter what happens, you still have to keep moving forward. Even without Sa... the rest, well, we're still here." She glances over at Doug, and quirks a wry grin, "So what happened on the date between you and Illyana? Details man!"
Doug Ramsey	"We had dinner, we walked to Mutant Town," Doug says, "We watched the sun come up, called a Lyft home, and I fell asleep in the car. I think she carried me in and put me to bed." Doug says, "It was nice, and I like Illyana, but I don't think anything's gonna come of it. I'm trying to sort out coming back to life," He says, "And she's a demon sorceress. We have our different issues to unpack. It was just a nice night, that's all. We didn't DO anything."
Dani Moonstar	Dani smiles, "Yeah, she does seem pretty interesting. But I'm not sure that she's really your type." She nods a bit, while remaining woefully mum on what Doug's type /is/, as she follows Doug's instructions regarding the exploit, which works like a charm. Of course it does.
Doug Ramsey	Doug watches Dani sidelong, and even if she doesn't speak the question aloud, he does. "So what exactly is 'my type' Dani." He says, his voice wry. "Don't say Psylocke, that ship was never even sea-worthy, I was thirteen."
Dani Moonstar	Dani blushes a bit, "Oh man, that was /so/..." She shakes her head, and grins back at Doug, "I don't know, to be honest. But then, I'm not sure if people really have 'types' the more I think about it. I figure as long as you respect each other, that's the first step. The rest follows along, right? But hey, it's not like I've got any sort of great track record in romance." Since, well, she was a team leader. Romance would be a distraction, right?
Doug Ramsey	Doug considers this, and then says, "I don't know, I always thought you and Jimmy Proudstar made a cute couple. But then again..." He says, "That might just be typing?"
Dani Moonstar	Dani laughs at that, "Me and... Proudstar? Oh man, that would just be the /worst/. We're both way too freaking stubborn for that to ever have a chance of working." She grins, "Besides, I thought you commented about me and..." Okay, she actually can't bring herself to say it, since there's a whole lot of conflicting feelings there.
Doug Ramsey	Doug tilts his head, and says, "Look. I never said anything about it because I knew I'd get socked. YOU felt embarassed because you were all Cheyenne Pride -- a good thing." Then he says, "And then Sam shows up, this blond, blue-eyed hick, and you thought he was HOT. And you felt guilty as hell for feeling that way. I pick up on subtext like whoa." He gestures, dramatically. "But same deal. He big brothers everyone, nobody tells you what to do, least of all not Whitey Mc-Whiteboy from Whiteland, Kentucky..." He shrugs. "It was what it was. I'm not judging."
Dani Moonstar	Dani gives Doug a wry expression, "Yeah, well, wasn't like there was any pressure on me to measure up to being as good as the white boy, since I was just this Rez girl who was picked to be co-leader." She smiles a bit, "He was pretty damn hot, though, in that gawky way of his..." She then gives Doug a side-eye, "Did he ever say..." Then she blushes again, "ARG nevermind I shouldn't ask."
Doug Ramsey	"Oh god," Doug puts his hand over his face, "He thought he was ugly as sin till Lila Cheney schtupped him." He shakes his head. "Still boggles my mind, how he just could not see how girls kept falling at his feet. Him and Bobby both. I mean... I did okay?" He says, "But the closest *I* ever got to action was..." He wrinkles his nose, "Warlock." Then he realizes what he said and holds up his hands. "IT WAS NEVER LIKE THAT!"
Dani Moonstar	Dani gives Doug a serious look, "Hey, it's okay, I would never judge you..." Then she can't help but laugh, the 'serious' look breaking down into mirth as she grins, then mimics a very bad Dracula-like accent, "Ladies, do you not fear... the DREADED MUTANT MENACE!"
Doug Ramsey	Doug quirks his mouth, and then tosses a pillow. "Ha ha, very funny. It's only my dignity..."
Dani Moonstar	Dani Moonstar oofs and catches the pillow belatedly, then grins and lunges, "Oh, a challenge is it!" She swings the pillow at Doug, because he started the pillow fight, but she's gonna finish it!
Doug Ramsey	Doug could fight back, but instead he just lets his hands drop and takes the pillow to the face. He challenged a Cheyenne warrior, after all, and now only victory will assuage her dignity. BOOF! He goes tumbling off the chair.
Dani Moonstar	Dani grins and pounces after Doug, pinning him down with the pillow on his chest, "Aha! Victory is mine!" She looks down at Doug, head tilted as she looks at him, "Not exactly how I'm used to counting coup, though."
Doug Ramsey	Doug looks up at Dani and tilts his head, before he says, "Sam wasn't the only one who had a crush on you. But I admit I fall in love easy." He moves to wriggle out from under the pillow. "I always did. And I also know that you never felt that way about me--" He brushes himself off, "And that's okay. But," He says, "I didn't die and come back to not tell the truth."
Dani Moonstar	Dani, for her part, blinks a bit, "Wait... you, had a crush on me?" She looks, well, to be honest she looks rather surprised, though she does add, "And you were hitting on all the other girls, in all your magnificent adorkableness. You mutant menace." She gives Doug a wry grin at that.
Doug Ramsey	"I had a crush on EVERYONE." Doug says, sitting on a chair. He shrugs, lightly, "And it never got me anywhere." Well, it may or may not have gotten him a hug from a skyclad Betsy Braddock, that's something... "When you're hanging out with Sam Guthrie and Bobby DaCosta, you get overlooked. Facts of life. Also, I am neither dangerous nor exciting, which really kicks your superhero dating life in the butt." Then he snorts again. "I could have totally taken Larry, though."
Dani Moonstar	Dani chuckles, "Yeah, sure you could have." She grins, "But people change, Doug. You always end up looking for someone a little different than you'd expect." She hmms, "You are pretty imaginative, though. And that counts for something."
Doug Ramsey	Doug shakes his head, and says, "And the whole died and came back thing? That's enough to send anyone running for the hills. I'm a mess." He picks up his notebook again, and says, "And honestly..." He scoffs, "I'm not exactly in a hurry to get tied down. I have a big three year blank spot in my memory, and all the friends I've seen have grown up."
Dani Moonstar	Dani chuckles, "Well, maybe, but you came back making up for lost time it seems." She grins and lightly pokes Doug in the stomach, then hmms, "All /I'm/ saying is, maybe you shouldn't be afraid to ask a crush out once in a while. Who knows what they might actually say?" Her eyes get a bit of an impish look at that.
Doug Ramsey	Doug tilts his head at Dani and then says, "Well we could catch a movie or something sometime," He says, "But--" He holds up his hands, "We go into this as just friends, okay? Because like I said, I don't know where I'm at up here," He taps his temple, "And besides, I know the kind of guys you like... I'm WAY too overt-nerd. Even if I CAN speak Cheyenne."
Dani Moonstar	Dani grins, "Well, you just swept me off my feet right there, Doug." She chuckles, "Sure, let's go catch a movie and see how it goes. But my grandpa says no one is ever right in the head when it's all about the heart." Then when he mentions her taste in guys, she makes a bit of a face, "See, now, that's cheating when you can read my subtext like that."
Doug Ramsey	Doug quirks his mouth upward in a tight smirk. "Well, Dani," He says, "I already went out on a date with Illyana. I think my willingness to swallow my fear and go out on the town with intimidating women is well-proved at this point. Hey." He says, "If you want a conventional sweep them off their feet type..." He leans back, "We could call Sam. *I* am the quirky yet huggable nerd."
Dani Moonstar	Dani grins, "Well, you are pretty adorkable. Though I'm not even sure what my type /is/, honestly. And I don't think sweeping me off my feet is going to really be the way to go." She hmmms thoughtfully, "So, say tomorrow night?"
Doug Ramsey	"Well," Doug says, "...Okay. A movie, and then we'll hit up the old ice cream parlor, like the old days." He tilts his head. "But it's not a date, though. We've known each other too long to call it that." He holds up one finger, and says, "And besides, I've been dead and there's a non-zero chance we might get attacked by the Demon Bear or space aliens or something."
Dani Moonstar	Dani nods, "Okay okay okay, totally not a date since we'll be attacked by Space Alien Demon Bears at some point during the evening, no doubt." She rolls her eyes a bit theatrically, then gives Doug a smirk, "We'll just stay local then, if we're gonna hit that ice cream shop before they close on a Sunday."
Doug Ramsey	Doug Ramsey says, "Yup. Just a nice, non-romantic 3 PM movie." Doug rolls his eyes away, and gives a little smile. "Minimal chance of demon bear space alien asgardians." Then he leans back, and picks up his notes again. Back to work for him..."
Dani Moonstar	Dani grins, "Well, Asgardians wouldn't be /bad/, as long as they weren't also demon bear space aliens. I don't see them as often as I'd like." She tilts her head at Doug, "Okay, so 3pm tomorrow on a totally-not-a-date. You bet." Her eyes flash with amusement, "Good luck on those GEDs."
Doug Ramsey	"I... do not ever want to see them again." Doug says. "See? We're already falling out, we're doomed." He says, before is pen's dancing along the paper. "Yeah, I know. I just need to get this out of the way so I can start taking college courses. I figure I'll get a dual degree, Journalism and InfoSec... just, you know, so that when I inevitably wind up teaching here I actually have a degree."
Dani Moonstar	Dani chuckles, "Yeah, I'm still thinking about maybe pre-vet, but not entirely sure." She glances over at Doug, then shakes her head, "Incorrigible adorkableness." With that, she picks up her controller, going back to her game while Doug begins to do his work again.