12016/Kitty's 21st Bday River Rafting

Kitty's 21st Bday River Rafting
Date of Scene:	23 July 2022
Location:	Rogue River, Oregon
Synopsis:	White water rafting in Oregon is Kitty Pryde's 21st birthday party
Cast of Characters:	Kitty Pryde, Betsy Braddock, Tabitha Smith, Azazel, Raven Darkholme, Jean Grey, Colleen Wing, Rogue, James Proudstar, Hope Summers

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Kitty Pryde has posed:
The Rogue River in Oregon was a top ten white water rafting destination. Though in truth, Kitty Pryde saw the name and couldn't help choosing it for that as much as the high ratings it received. The river itself is picturesque, with stretches that are great for just floating and drinking. But then giving way to stretches of rapids where the white water churns and foams as it courses between rocks. There are also several easier ways around the worst of the rapid segments.

With the resources at hand the trip had been an easy one. Arriving the day before, the group settled in at a camp site they'd rented on private land right on the river. Tents and other makeshift dwellings went up, grills and campfires were made for cooking. The night was full of celebrations, which might have made it tough for some to be up the next morning for rafting!

After seeing the qualifications of a few of the group, plus a hefty bonus, the river guides had relented to letting the group take out the rafts on their own, heading down river to the spot they'd pick them up and give them a ride back.

Now the crew, mostly if not all from Xavier's School, prepare to set out, in one or more rafts. There are also kayaks for those who want to go it alone. Kitty is in a raft and has on a blue and white one piece bathing suit. She has on the required crash helmet and life vest over it, and is wearing some aqua socks. She checks her paddle and takes a seat.

"Really looking forward to this," Kitty tells the group. "Thanks for coming, everyone. I couldn't picture a way I'd rather spend this birthday than with all of you," she says warmly.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Elizabeth Braddock chose to kayak on her own... A decision mostly driven by the opportunity to have a matching kayak to her long sleeve rash guard leotard. The Psi-Ninja looks right at home on the river in her sleek purple and and black kayak, mirrored purple aviators, and her hair hidden by a hat to protect her delicate English complexion. Safety gear? Pfft. That's for squibs.

"Of course, Katherine!" Betsy says warmly as she easily cuts into the water. She did a photoshoot one time in a similar river, and is no stranger to kayaking. "It's a pleasure you chose to spend it with us. Thank you for the invitation." The Brit reaches between her legs and opens a cooler, pulling out a bottle. "Beer, luv?"

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Some things very few people know. One of them is that Tabitha is from Roanake, which much like the Rogue River is a pretty hefty tourist destination, largely because it has it's own white water and rafting.

And thank goodness they're in Oregon instead. Cause that would have just been embarrassing. Tabby mostly snuck onto rafting trips just to get the hell away from life with the townies before she got busted and sent back home for more crap.

So there's a Tabby sharing a raft with Kitty. Bright orange vest while wearing a pink bikini with some red cutoffs over the bottoms and a white tank top that really doesn't do much for coverage considering it's already gone translucent. Cheap red sunglasses on her nose and some of those allegedly water resistant sneakers in as close to a color match to her shorts as possible on her feet.

To no one's suprise the girl does know here war around an oar.

Azazel has posed:
    There's a familiar *BAMF* and slight smell of brimstone, which all of Xavier's folks should be completely familiar with. However, there is no Kurt to be found, but instead Mystique and a human appearing man have appeared about twenty feet away from the group. Close enough to avoid a hike, but not so close as to trigger defensive reactions.

    Azazel glances over at Mystique, saying "I told you we'd get here in time." He's got black hair and a goatee, well groomed. He looks to already be kitted out for the trip, wearing an expensive black and red Deboer wetsuit, but no life vest. He also has a small gym bag in his other hand, perhaps for less aquatic clothing.

    Given that he was holding her hand when they popped in, when he starts to move over to the group Mystique will probably come over with him. Once he gets within speaking distance he stops to let her do the introductions.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique, or in this setting, Raven had shown up last year to Kitty's party and decided that it was going to become a tradition. This year being her twenty-first birthday, the cobalt mutant had invested in a selection of rums for the newly legal mutant to try out, though she was pretty sure that Kitty had tasted them all at least once already in her life.

Arriving in a bamf of brimstone, Raven looks perfectly comfortable and natural. Dressed in a pure white wetsuit, she carries the bag with alcohol in the hand not being held by the human looking man.

"Happy birthday Kitty," she announces rather cheerfully upon getting close enough, then sets the bag of alcohol with the other items around the camp. "Allow me to introduce my plus one. This is Lou."

Leaning she places a simple kiss on "Lou's" cheek, then looks back to the others. "Anyone mind if I travel on the raft? Kayaking alone is too much work."

Jean Grey has posed:
Woo, adventure! Water sport! Chances to dunk Rogue!

The day is new and the group has set out, with Jean taking her place in one of the rafts. With Kitty! And dragging Rogue along! She is not some super cool loner, but instead will help them build the ULTIMATE RAFT TEAM. Her swimsuit is a one piece in her usual favorite green, a more conservative choice with all the turbulence and BOUNCING that is anticipated on their journey. She's got that usual little gold wrap-around sarong too, plus the much less fashionable safety gear. See? Even the immortal Phoenix sets a good example for safety!

"Hey, I think we're all grateful for the vacation. And it's great to get out and do something different. We can only take people to get blind drunk at Harry's for their 21sts so many times." Despite her enthusiasm for it, it's clear Jean's actually pretty new to this, although she does know how to paddle a boat - they have plenty of those on the lake at school. It's the crazy white water that's new! So once she's climbed in, she looks up ahead, back to Rogue, and then finally to Tabitha who seems surprisingly competent. "So how do we- what's the plan?"

Behind them, some new guests POOF onto the shore, and she blinks with surprise. "You didn't tell me your whole uh, extended family was coming."

Colleen Wing has posed:
She had been in a Kayak before. She just couldn't remember the last time. Tho, she was not about to miss this party for Kitty and she had hoped it all came back to her. For the most part it did and up until this point she had not managed to go in circles or capsize; yet. She had chosen to take one by herself, more so out of the intial fear she might inhibit a passengers pleasant trip down the river.

She paddles along, more or less beside the raft Kitty was on in a black bikini top with a matching bottom and a black baseball hat with the Japanese flag on it above the words: "Made in Japan" She adjusts her sunglasses and takes a small breath, muttering to Kitty upon the raft. "Nothing cures a hangover like time on a river."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue has a banjo.

Rogue is playing the banjo in Kitty's raft. She'd hopped in a moment ago and is just comfortably strumminb the banjo from one of the corner seats. Rogue is wearing a loose fitting blue and white tshirt with 'Rogue River' across her chestline, and a pair of skimpy black shorts that peak out beneath the shirt. Sunglasses over her eyes, and her hair hidden up inside a straw hat, the Belle is not remotely concerned about her well being, or safety, considering her powerset.

Banjo strumming is paused a moment when Mystique and her guest arrive. She raises her hand up and waves at them. "Heya, new folks! We're gonna go get messed up! JOin us!"

And with a big smile, the southern gal looks back to her raft partners. "Lets get this party goin' damnit."

More banjo strumming ensues.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde smiles over to Betsy, saying, "You can fish us out of the river when we fall in then. She turns to offer Tabitha and Jean highfives as the other women choose the raft. Kitty stage whispers, "We've got the big coolers too!"

A warm chuckle is given to Colleen. "Tends to cause hangovers too, I think," Kitty says, laughing.

She looks up as Raven and Azazel arrive. "Hello," Kitty says in the warmest voice she can manage. "Nice of you to come. Grab a paddle. Oh! Rum sounds fantastic too. Have some Coke to mix it with.

Kitty does quick introductions for any new arrivals who have not met yet. "Shall we set out?"

The river is gentle here, a good spot to start. Drinking that is.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar has on a pair of longshorts over a life vest and crash helmet. Wearing the safety gear was easier than arguing. He is not in the raft with kitty nor did he get a kayak. James due to his particular powerset, outdoor skills and inability to get drunk on beer has been assigned to chaperone the kids raft. Actually, Jim has been on adult duty since overseeing setting up the camp last night, and not requiring sleep being the one to make sure the kids didn't get into too much trouble. So, that's how Jim came to be in a raft with Hambone, a couple of the wilderness kids, maybe a fleeb or two. And some children to be named later <feel free to add your faves!>

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Highfives are eagerly returned and co-distributed with as much leaning and balancing as keeps the blonde from falling out of the boat or her bikini."I swear I should have lifted some wallets from that junket of old gray nomads. Could have paid for this whole trip!" Tabby laments with a more playful grin. "Felt like back "Home" on the "Majestic Blue Ridge Mountains." she states and air quotes.

Jean gets a chuckle. "I've got a few kegs ordered from there for next week guys. This time. We bring Harry's Hideway to us!" she has planned. Not everyone got lucky enough to spend their birthday partying.

Blowing stuff up in the Yukon and then Florida was a mixed bag. But as they say. It's a Birthday, not a Holiday.

"No I did not hire strippers." that she sadly laments. "And yes, cold ass rivers and lakes are good hangover cures. Remember to break the ice on top before dunking someone's head in the water." she adds and rubs the top of her head iin memory from many a yeeting into Breakstone.

Azazel has posed:
    After introductions are done, 'Lou' stashes his bag with whatever else is being carried on the rafts, then settles into a spot on one of the rafts, collecting a paddle as suggested. He apparently feels no need for a lifejacket either, which is probably tied into the way he and Mystique arrived.

    He grins as he picks up the conversation around him, adding "Sounds like some fairly serious plans have been made for this party."

    Looking over to Kitty, he adds "I think you're going to end up not remembering a large portion of this day. Don't feel bad though, we've all got a few of those in us." Backpaddling slightly to keep the raft centered, it appears he may have done this before as well, which is probably a good thing on a raft trip with some serious drinking planned.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Selecting a raft, Raven gathers up a paddle to help out. She never intended to take a free ride, just had no plans for going it alone. She had the skills to kayak of course, but it was just so boring to go alone.

"Are you ready for the obligatory 'old person' comment?" She comments with a grin, adjusting her paddling to match others on the raft. "In my day, turning twenty-one wasn't as big a deal as it is today. There, you've been 'olded', enough of that."

Glancing over to Tabitha, "Is there a reason you didn't arrange strippers? That would have been entertaining, possibly embarrassing for Kitty, and thus even more amusing."

Jean Grey has posed:
HI FIVE.

After she's settled, Jean puts in a bit of elbow grease to help get things going, using the oar to push off against the river-bottom while they're still near the shore, and then taking a couple more strokes to get them moving out toward the river proper. Where the current quickly seems to catch them. This means she can put the oar down for now, and peer into one of these coolers. "Oooh."

A moment later, she's pulled a few things out to distribute, limited only by the fact they're drinking out of a cooler. But there's good canned and small-bottled options, from beers to hard lemonades, to vodka coolers and other canned cocktails. These are promptly offered about, per individual preference. She takes a Two Chicks Vodka Fizz. No one read into it!

Once distributed, and now happily floating, she sits back, looking across at Rogue in her banjo-strumming finery. "You know, you're just asking to turn this into a gruesome horror flick. Bunch of gals in swimwear and that creepy music? We're totally doomed." Yep. Cinema has ruined the banjo for all time.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's shaded eyes look over to James' and the Giant Peach Raft, filled witht he kids that came along on this trip. She grins at the big man loaded up with all the tiny ones, offering them a wave as she continues her banjo playing.

The Belle captures a hard lemonade bottle between her knees when the drinks are handed out by Jean, then she just looks around at the others chatting it up.

"Lookin' good, Betsy1" She calls out to the solo river floater.

Her eyes go back to Jean then and she shrugs her shoulders. "If this trip turns inta a slasher film, hey... least we'll have good memories."

She regards Kitty, and grins at what the others say to her. "Watch her. She's gonna start phasin' out the booze before it hits her bloodstream. Toss a shot back, phase it out the back'a her head. I'm sure'a it."

Strum strum strum.

Rogue eyes Mystique's guest, and smiles at him. "What's your story?" She asks the new BAMFer, Az.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar pushes off and gets everyone in and settled rowing at a relaxed rate as the rivers starts to take them. They head into the main flow getting settled into the river carrying them down Jim keeps the kids paddling a bit more than necessary to keep them occupied.
    It doesn't stop Hambone leaning out so far checking out some rock or tree or bird that he nearly falls out only to be snagged by James' large hand. and placed back in his seat, "Pay attention, Alexander."
    Hambone replies a tad surly "My name's Hamilton!" to which Jim can only snort.
     Jim barks out a laugh and shakes his head, turning to Mystique, "In your day she's have been a spinster. Pryde is stille the baby of the group."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde laughs but maybe with a slight blush at the topic. She instead answers about how the birthday feels. "Well, I got used to being able to drink when I was in the UK. Coming home and suddenly being treated again like I wasn't capable of deciding for myself anymore really kind of sucked."

Rogue's comment gets a laugh from Kitty. "Could probably do that, now you mention it!" she chuckles. Kitty gets a can from Jean and calls to James, "Incoming!" before throwing it over the water to him.

Colleen and Betsy and others in kayaks get drinks passed to them before Kitty makes a rum and Coke.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"That's cause they didn't have things like legal drinking ages and stuff." Tabby points out with a grin to Raven. Then nudges over to indicate Jimmy's raft with the kids, Hamilton, and Fleebs.  

"Last time I had a bunch of people shaking their asses on a small boat... Wait that was Spring Break, and that was Beto's Yacht and no that was wasn't strippers either." recalls and looks over at Rogue and Jean and winks.

"I tried installing the pole but the raft kept sinking." she just explains and chuckles.

Obtaining a canned vodka and orange soda sufficing for the lack of mimosas on the trip. That will be fixed on solid ground.

"By roughly two weeks little sister!" Tabby happily takes some joy in being so slightly older.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
A smile plays across Raven's face as she looks toward James. "I wasn't going to say that, but you're right." Her tone is completely teasing, even if over all the sentiment is correct. "Twenty-one and not married, she's wasted her life already. After all, she'll only live to thirty and now, well... it's alright Kitty, you're family will ensure you live a full, useless life. Take up knitting, that will help you in your spinster years."

Accepting a beer, nothing fancy about it, Raven tucks the bottle between her knees to continue paddling. "America's laws are so prudish regarding drinking, but then I lived through prohibition, and pray it never comes back." She finally twists the top of the bottle and takes a drink. When it came to social drinking, she was pretty simple in her tastes. "American beer also tastes like hop water. I'll get some real beer for you all, then you'll understand the difference."

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen takes the passed drink and stares at it as if it were an ex-boyfriend. "I thought we were done. Haven't you hurt me enough? Even in your abscence you continue to make me feel ill. And yet I cannot resist you inside me." She realizes what she just said and quikly corrects. "I mean on my lips." She shakes her head and stops talking, calling out to Kitty. "Thank you. I'll make sure this goes to good use." She cracks open the beer and takes a small sip gingerly. "I might have a problem."

She allows her kayak to drift back to where James, nodding. "So you got the fun assigment huh? I may or may not need some babysitting as well later. It all depends if they keep tossing me these and my lack of ability to leave them full."

Azazel has posed:
    Choosing a hard lemonade for himself, he checks the river ahead for any obstacles, then turns to look at Rogue. "I'm a friend of Mystique's from way back. I've recently gotten things to the point where I can be around more, so we're seeing how we do as a real couple. Seems to be going pretty well so far."

    Glancing ahead, he dips his paddle in the water to turn the raft just enough to avoid a small rock, then back to Rogue once they pass it. "This sounded like fun, and a chance to meet some of the people who are currently in her life, so here we are. Hopefully not drowning once everyone gets blitzed, but I think we have enough folks here with some ability to recover people who try to swim on their own."

    A smile reveals a dentist's dream, gleaming white teeth that match his overall tailored look, though the incisors seem to be a bit more pointy than is usually seen. Fortunately they are currently in bright sunlight and he isn't on fire, so there's probably no worry about vampires at this point.

Jean Grey has posed:
As Rogue highlights potential booze-y trickery from Kitty, Jean turns a skeptical eye toward the birthday gal. "Better not cheat! Even if it's nothing new, it's mandatory that you make a bit of a sloppy mess of yourself!" And this is the supposed designated adult talking! That means all bets are off!

Jean cracks her can, which is an appropriately hipster-y looking thing covered in flowers, and takes a sip. Meanwhile, all the stripper talk gets a bit of an eye roll. "You're adults! You can hire 'em if you want. Just, you know, not at the SCHOOL where we have CHILDREN and I will be hauled away on endangerment charges." Getting away with training mutant soldiers is one thing, but strippers?! Never. "Or see if Warren or Beto will lend you one of their boats... again." Yes, she remembers that time down in Mexico, or wherever they were! OK she mostly remembers it. "Then you can go out into international waters and do all the stuff! Hmm." Her brow furrows in thought. Perhaps this moment is the genesis of a future Utopia or Krakoa.

Or just idle fantasies of boat-enabled debauchery!

Looking back to Rogue with her strumming, she seems poised to ask something, but the other woman beats her to it, and her gaze shifts from her to Mystique's guest, curious. Couple, he said! A quick look to Rogue, as if to make sure she heard it too. "Well, welcome to the party. We do attract all kinds."

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar snatches the Can from the air while Aaron Fleeb has tried to telekinetically guide it away. Jim pulls it out of the young telekinetics grip with relative ease and raises an eyebrow with a chuckle. He blinks at Colleen's statement but smile when she makes her way next to the raft.Jim laughs, nodding at Colleen then looking over at Kitty, "The kids love Pryde, they would rather be here on the edge of the celebration than anywhere else and any other day Kitty would be here." He smiles and shrugs, "She deserves the day to celebrate. I'll be here when you need me, you can even lie down in the raft if you need to." He smiles at Colleen and nods.
    Then Jim calls to Mystque "And churning butter, that's some hard work." Jim opens the can and takes a drink.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue hasn't lifted a finger to help with the paddling up to this point. She's just lounging in the corner of the main raft with her banjo on her lap and a hard lemonade bottle between her thighs. She gives an updnod to Az at what he says. "Glad t'have ya along then, Mistah." She tells him in her deep Mississippi flavored way.

Her shaded eyes look back to Jean and she offers her a light smile. "I don't need no damn strippers." She says to the Headmistress before she looks around at everyone on the trip, or at least those within her visual range.

"I'm surrounded by beautiful people already."

Rapid strumming!

Rogue then stops a few seconds later, and slips the banjo in to the net pouch on the inside of the raft to keep it securely in-place. She reaches for the lemonade bottle and cracks it open before lifting it up to her pink lips to take a swig from its bubbly contents.

"Hot damn, it's a nice day out..." She says as she cranes her neck then to look behind her toward where they're going... since she had her back to the fore of the boat.

"When does the crazy shit start? Cause I'm gonna be a harsh judge...."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde makes a gesture at what Rogue said as if she summed it up nicely. She takes a long sip from her container, and toasts it towards Mystique who supplied the rum. "Oh I am sure I will be quite the mess before this is all over," she says with a laugh to Jean.

The peaceful float lasts for a bit but up ahead there is a roaring sound. Maybe some rapids?

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Mention of prohibition gets a wider grin from the blonde. "Good beer is not for chugging and getting hammered. We will be using good beer for that back in New York." Tabitha plans and chuckles.

Looking over at the other watercraft and Colleen's half hearted lamentations and then request for help from Tabby's own ex-boyfriend. "You should totally keep your eyes on that one Jimmy Jammer! What kind a hero would you be if you didn't help out a lovely lady clearly in distress!" she encourages with possibly an even brighter grin than her planning future benders.

Back to the raft she's on, she occasionally alternates working her oar in time with other rowing so the damn thing doesn't just spin in a circle. It also has the benefit of showing off all that muscle tone she pretends she doesn't have from spending way more time training to burn off all that excess energy she can't always just BOOM away.

"So one more thing to acknowledge. And this is pretty important Katherine. We are twenty one. We no longer need fake ID unless we're on mission. And weed is legal in both New York and Oregon." she points out. She'd already left a purple bong shaped like a familiar Alien Dragon (With a bag of Tabby's private stash liberated from Cancun and a a vintage Tee shirt in white with the Commodore 64 logo from the nineteen eighties for birthday presents. The tee might be a little small on Kitty. But they probably never expected someone looking that good to ever wear it.

"Rogue totall gonna put on a show when the underage kids are crashed out!" she suggests with a look to the Belle and then to the birthday girl. "To be fair. Get most of us wasted Kitty, and you got your pick! Options!"

The drink she holds between her feet gets picked up and chugged and then the empty dumped in the cooler when she sees Rapid." there's a more manic and excited expression.

"We shoulda brought Beto's yacht for this! Or some jetskis!" she states and ponders speeding the raft through the rapids while she extends a hand palm out and up begind the raft.

No she is not actually going to try and propel them via plasma blast Tabby Rocket. Colleen, Betsy, Jim and everyone else on other rafts might kinda end up sunk and singed at the same time.

Jean Grey has posed:
"Well, shucks," Jean echoes back at Rogue, immitating her accent. "Ain't that sweet. Don't know the last time someone called me stripper-pretty!"

SWIG!

Afterward, she leans back against the side of the raft, and reaches to trail her non-booze hand in the water, feeling the splish-splash of the passing current, watching how its flow deforms around the tiny interruptions of her fingertips. For a brief moment, it's quite fascinating.

"Yeah, Kitty, when does the fun part start?" At least until she sits back up and again echoes Rogue, albeit this time without the accent, but with a similar, and for her uncharacteristic, degree of childish petulance. Naturally, the complaints are rife with dramatic irony, as the rapids lay not far ahead!
She goes back to her finger trailing...

...until, not very long after, she can see it start to churn more around the boat, and hear the sound of the water ahead. She hauls herself back upright, grabbing up the discarded oar. "What do we do?!" She's not so helpess she doesn't put it back in the water, or anything, starting to row a bit into the churning, frothy water. But her technique is undisciplined! So she just kinda wings it! No offense to Colleen. STROKE STROKE strokestrokestroke. "Ahh!" Splash!

Raven Darkholme has posed:
White water, the real action. The tossing and turning of the raft, the bouncing, and splashing of water. Raven puts the beer back between her thighs to hold it in place, cap back on, and paddles with the others on her raft as they head into the bumper ride.

"This is the fun part," she comments over the splashing and roar of the water. "Paddle or hold on for dear life!"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is sipping from her bottle now as she watches the churning water come around the bend. She has a grin creep across her lips then as she looks to the others around her. "Okay... so how much cheat code do we want me t'use on this stuff?" She asks before smirking at Jean imitating her accent. "You wish, Sugah." She responds in-kind to the redhead. "You got your sunscreen on, by the way, Freckles?" She inquires with a grin, knowing full well the Headmisttress can handle the sunlight.

Rogue then points over to James, and his raft of children. "Protect the young ones, James! For they are our future! Should something happen to us, all of humanity will be lost, going forward! ER, wait... I mean Mutantanity! Or whatever..."

Up on her knees in the raft now, Rogue has her hands on the front edge of the boat, watching the rapids gainging on them. "The sea is angry today, my friends!" She calls out over the growing noise!

Kitty Pryde has posed:
"Like am old man sending back soup at a deli!" Kitty finishes for Rogue. She puts her drink aside and grabs her paddle. "It's really simple," Kitty tells Jean. "Look for the rocks, and paddle the other way!"

She looks to see how Colleen and the other raft are doing. The water speeds up, coursing between big jagged rocks!

Azazel has posed:
    As the speed of the raft picks up, 'Lou' turns his attention to the water ahead. One last swig from the bottle, then it is tucked into a drink holder. The paddle he's holding dips into the water and he does his best to sync up with the other paddlers in the raft to make sure they don't slam directly into any rocks.

    So far, things are going fairly well, the raft heading into white water, but not into large rocks. At least not yet. Hearing a cry and a splash, he quickly turns to look around and see if everyone is still where they should be. If someone is missing, he'll scan the water near them and wait just a moment or two to see if 1. The person in the water can get back to the raft under their own power, or 2. Someone who wasn't just introduced to the people here today is going to collect their floating friend.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Rapids? Oh yeah the river had rapids. The drink is set down in front of her and Colleen reaches for the life jacket and helmet she had in her kay and proceeded to put them on. So much for the pleasure cruise. With the life jacket and helmet secured, she gripped the paddle tightly and positioned herself close to the kids raft as well, intent on helping with the raft should it be needed. Of course, deep in her heart she knew she might be trying to make sure she does not tip over herself.

"Oh please don't tip. PLease don't tip." She seems to be doing quite well, perhaps sheis more skilled than she gave herself credit for. She catches Kitty's glance and gives her a reassuring head nod. "I got this." And just as she says that a small little rapid brings the tip of her kayak down, sending water splashing into her face, leaving her with a drenched look. "Oh it's on little river."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"Like Kitty said! The stuff that'll get us flipping ass over tit!" Tabby explains as she paddle when needed. Of course as the water gets loud and rushing and all that rapid stuff she has to put her back into things.

"Save the cheaty code for if we do that whole capsize dashed upon the rocks thing!" Tabby states to Jean. The blonde enjoying the danger potential waaaaay too much. And she gets like that sober. Now she's at least had a couple drinks before getting on the water. So now you can add adrenaline to alcohol.

The blonde's cheer and whoops of much fun and deliberate peril as water splashes everywhere.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Very untrue to form and training, Hope Summers has been sitting in the raft, her knees pressed to her chest, as much as the life jacket would allow, and the white bicycle helmet strapped haphazardly to her head keeps most of the red hair out of her face. Though she is wearing it like a wet clingy cape at this point and the time-traveller is tired of feeling scared, but the rapids are -

    SPLASH

    The rapids are mostly up her nose at this point, yeah? Hope believes she can confirm that. Lifting her hands over her head she might scream, "I don't know how to swim!" Nevermind there's people all around whose very powers could allow her to not have to deal with any of this, she's still terrifed of deep water.

    She isn't aware that the rapids aren't exactly, trecherous.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is just at the front of the raft on her knees with her hands curling around the rope that is linked to the inflatable edge. She's watching the rapids as they get more and more rapid before them all. A grin is present on her visage as she feels the wind picking up around them. Her eyes look back over her shoulder, still shaded by sport sunglasses she bought at the gas station before they got to the river.

"Ya'll remember. This river is named after me, so we'll be fine!" She announces before turning back to the fore of their boaty boat.

And she gets completely smashed with a rushing smash of water that pours over her, around her, and in to the boat itself. Her straw hat falls back off her head, but is caught around her neck by the little rope, leaving it behind her shoulders now, as she points to the starboard side.

"Row that way!" She shouts, like a Captain that nobody elected.

"Now the other way!" She states loudly! "Iceburg! Right ahead!"

Jean Grey has posed:
"No cheating!" Jean declares, defiant! Her head is upheld, face proud against the spray, hair streaming, oar cutting into the-

-a splash hits her in the face, and she coughs. Coughs and SHAKES IT OFF, because this is now a battle against the river, a noble quest, a thing existing to be overcome. And Kitty has given her the very important instructions she needs: aim away from the rock. "You got it, captain Pryde! Oh there's one! LEFT, LEFT! Er, I mean, PORT! Right? I think that's right- I mean, left. You know what I mean!" ROWROWROW. Jean is definitely giving it her all, any nautical confusion aside. Well. Except suddenly they've got two captains, with Rogue ascending to her own post at the prow. "Wait, right ahead like its-" SPLASH.

Well, no one dies. At least yet! However, Jean does glance back with a touch of concern as she hears Hope. Right. Future-land has a different definition of 'fun.' It probably involves more guns. Rather than trying to shout over the sound of the water, she reaches out with a gentle telepathic contact. <<We're alright, it's just for fun. And in the worst, there's a dozen ways for any of us to get out of this. For you, if you wanted to use them.>>

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Following Rogue's suggestions, Raven paddles this way and that, riding the rapids on the raft. She keeps an eye on those with her, making sure none of them are in danger of falling out, but the smile on her face indicates her delight in this fast paced, quite wet, sport.

"Don't worry, no one will be drowning today," she calls out in response to Hope's announcement. "We've got life guards."

Hope Summers has posed:
    Telepathic contact, it's not alien, it's quite familiar to Hope, she was raised by Cable, so she siphoned that power of his quiet a bit, and while some claim there's a signature to each mind, it's more akin to something like a scent, or a presence that a person leaves in a room. Each persons is different and yet it's all relatively same-y. Though Jeans and Cable's are surprisingly and comfortingly alike, so to Hope, it's like, being at Grandma's house and she's doing the soothing comforts, but Hope would never say that to Jean.

    She knows better that this isn't her Cable's Jean, or even her world's Jean, and to push that would be unfair and rude, but she does latch onto the kindess in the message, not the familiarity, "Th-Thank you." Hope says, blinking through the spray as she looks up to Jean. Stealing a glance around at everyone's smiling faces she then burries her face between her knees after as another swell pushes the boat up.

    Yup. Still scared.

Azazel has posed:
    As is normal for whitewater rafting, everyone on the boat is already soaked to the skin from waves and spray breaking around the raft and the rocks it is so far avoiding. 'Lou' has a wide smile as they run this series of rapids, enjoying himself immensely. At this point there's only so much the paddlers can do, mainly keep the raft straight as the river pushes it downstream.

    Shaking his hair out of his face, he keeps his paddle ready to steer or even push off rocks if needed. "We may have to do this kind of thing more often Mystique!" he yells over the roar of the river. "Just not something I've ever gotten around to doing before!"

Rogue has posed:
The Belle of the Boat is crouching down as another gushing spray of water splashes up over the boat and across the people within it! Completely drenched now, she looks back over her shoulder laughing loudly, with her sugnlasses pushes down over her nose to mostly cover her face. "You're doin it! Keep up the paddlin', crew!" She shouts before she's hit by a quick follow-up rush of water!

"Ahhh! It's colder than I expected!" She further shouts before turning back to the front of the boat.

"Wait... we're spinnin'!" She then is calling out. "Don't let us end up goin' backwards!"

And then the boat is sent up high at the front, as it rushes over a rock, sending Rogue up in the air, her bare feet almost fully aimed up to the sky, but her hands hold on to the rope along its edge, and she pulls herself back down...

Yeah, she cheated a little there, most assuredly.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde lets out a cackling laugh as they shoot along through the rapids. The laugh intensifies as Rogue takes the face full of water.

But Kitty isn't spared the river that is her friend's namesake, and soon she's soaked, but grinning.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"So, to do list. Teach Hope to swim. Get her as blitzed as the rest of us! Soldiers tend to party hard on their downtime!" Tabby yells out while paddling.

Paddlin' the school canoe? Oh, you better believe that's a paddlin'.

And paddle she does.

Though it's a raft. Arms work with that lack of super strength while the blonde bombshell catches plenty of splashing as the water bounces everyone around.

At least she bought cheap sunglasses at the same place Rogue did. No point losing some good prescription gear.

Working from the back end of the raft and one side she rows and paddles to try and keep things from literally spinning out of control. Or at least not spinning towards rocks.

This is why they usually don't let people do this drunk.

Thankfully most of the mutants on the raft have an edge when it comes to tis kind of peril.

"Hope. If you wanna feel safe. Sync with Jimmy's power" she suggets with a grin and hopes they're still in range.

For all Tabby knows Jim and the kids are fine and Warpath is totally cheating and making the ride look like the water is calm and flat despite the contrary.

Colleen Wing has posed:
As the rapid's increase, Colleen finds herself getting a little more of a workout than she expected in Wingin' it in Nature (coming to Discovery CHannel this fall). "Oh you spilled my beer." Her arms tense as she paddles to keep herself straight and upright. This clearly has become personal. She goes over a small little drop, sending water up into the kayak a bit and soaking her once more, sending shivers thrugh her as the cold water hits her fully. "Oh that went right down the suit."

She tries her best to stay near the raft with the kids, bumping into it a few times. "Hang on tight kids. It's going to get..." Another mouthful of water."

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar has the kids up and reasy for the rapids, paddling into them and working as a team even the eponumous Hambone is on board as the pick a line to run. James has not told the kids thait's one of the more dangerous lines on this stretch and they paddle threading rocks, riding currents dodiing whirlpools, making all the right moves until they hit the last stretch three small waterfalls.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean doesn't push things beyond that first brush of a contact. A part of getting over any fear is facing it, after all. At least Hope should know she's not doing that alone. And meanwhile...

"Rogue, do you have any idea what you're doing? Who put you in charge! I thought Tabi-" And then, WOOSH. The whole raft bucks up a bit, nearly throwing even brave Captain Rogue. It's not as bad further back, although Jean is likewise set clinging to the side to keep her balance for the few moments they're tossed around. And no doubt, even if she's not 'cheating' now, she's very much keeping track of the rest of the group, especially that kid's raft. No Hambones left behind!

"Hey, maybe if you were helping us steer up there, rather than just playing ballast!" she shouts up at Rogue, very clearly losing faith in their so-called skipper. Instead, she takes up Tabitha's lead, joining in paddling the same direction when she starts trying to steer against the spin. Teamwork makes the dream work! "Row row row our boat!"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Continuing to add her paddle to the mix, Raven gets several face fulls of water, but is keeping her mouth shut to avoid inhaling any of it. Only when there is a moment of no water aimed for the face does she call out to 'Lou', "White water rafting in the summer is the best." Then her mouth gets shut again. No idea what is in this water, and she doesn't really want to find out.

Azazel has posed:
    Letting out a loud whoo as the raft hits the big bump, he's thrown slightly into the air as well, but managed to both keep hold of the paddle and grab a safety line on the raft, making sure he stays in the raft. Paddling is a bit beside the point now that the river has a good hold on them, but he continues to at least attempt to keep the front of the raft pointing downriver.

    How successful this is, we'll just have to see.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope's hands, and feet are shaking from the nerves. Nerves. Trauma. Stress. Fear.

    'Fear is something you feel when you know there's danger. Knowing there's danger means you have a leg up over your foe. Fear can keep you alive if you use it.'

    Hope looks up from her spot on the raft as the boat goes upwards, nearly vertical, or so it feels and she starts to roll, her ball shape doing exactly what balls do. A scream and the urge to pull herself even harder into herself as the fear spikes.

    In that moment, she feels the fear within herself, and the gasps from those on the boat with her, but she feels the adrenaline, and the excitement from everyone else, and she flails a hand about to grab onto the rope on the other side of the lip of the raft.

Rogue has posed:
"Carol did this once!" Rogue shouts back to Jean. "She didn't paddle either! Sometimes ya just gotta let the water do what it wa---" Face full of splash again!

This time, the crew manages to even out their boat, and Rogue looks over to see Colleen still alive. "Keep it up, Dojo! You're doin' it!" She shouts out to the solo adventurer! She can't see James and the kids from this angle though.

But what does draw Rogue's eyes forward now, is the sound of the rushing water, falling...

"Oh god. Everyone hold on t'something!" She cries out as they're headed for a waterfall that is somewhere around 10 feet drop!

Rogue crouches again, completely drenched with water as she holds on to the front of the boat!

Soon the boat will rush right on over the falls though!

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde is clearly loving the rafting, letting out whoops at appropriate moments. And sputtering when she's swamped with water. She paddles hard to try to avoid the worst rocks, and grabs hold of the rope on the edge of the raft as they catch air.

As she hears the warning of the waterfall ahead, she yells, "I'm so glad you all came!"

"I wouldn't want to die alone!"

Tabitha Smith has posed:
It's not that Tabby is much of a leader. She's just grown up around all this kind of thing. It's experience built from trying to avoid being picked on or beaten by th e people that used to be in her life.

Tabitha's reaction to fear and danger is usually a coin flip. She's more likely to run when the danger is emotional. Actual physical peril... That just gets her blood pumping and some of her self destructive tendencies going. Luckily she's with people she gives many, many craps about so she's actually working to keep folks afloat.

The waterfall though. That just jsut gets Tabby grinning and letting out a loud "WOOOOOOO!" like maybe she just exploded a master mold, or got a free double lapdance. Or gave one of the women on the raft one.

Again she really considers how much blast power is needed to propel a flying raft with around a galfdozen or so people on it.

No! Bad Tabby!

Jean Grey has posed:
"ONCE?!" Jean shouts back, half outraged, half laughing. "And I once downloaded an astronaut, but I still let Scott fly the jet!" Weirdo brain-stealy people.

Of course, at a certain point, it becomes clear that they cannot FIGHT what is happening, cannot out-row it. In tandem with Tabitha, perhaps they've at least gotten the raft a little better straightened out. Or maybe not. But now the current has them, and they're going for the edge. "Grab the ropes!" she echoes, now merely for the sake of throwing another voice against the roar of the water. "Hold onnnnnn!" Jean follows her own advice here, reaching for the line that runs along her side of the raft, wrapping it around her arm to get a secure grip. Logically, she may have nothing to fear. Logically, her powers can save them at any moment, pluck them away and gently deposit them on dry land. Logically, this is a tiny trickle of water on a speck of dirt thrown within the vast near-infinity of the universe.

But screw logic, in the moment, she screeches as they reach the edge, clinging to the raft for dear life. "Eeeeee!"

Hope Summers has posed:
    Able to uncurl from the ball, Hope has one hand on the rope and then as Jean shouts, Hope listens and despite the many hours of being a leader in the Outsiders, when Jean says something, the younger Summers tends to obey.

    Both hands on the rope, and maybe a dash of TK to keep her in the boat, Hope screams as well. "Nooooo!"

Colleen Wing has posed:
A waterfall? A friggin waterfall? Collen was certainly not ready for it, but she not do anything to stop her kayak. "Ah tawagoto! Ah tawagoto!" The cry of /Oh Sh*t/ in Japanse can be heard as she goes over it. The next thing she knows she is surfacing and holding onto the capsized kayak and kicking her way towards the shore. She looks like a drown little rat with her hat amazingly still on her head, but down over her eyes. "Colleen one. River zero." Yes, clearly she thinks she beat the river, merely because she was still alive.

She kicks her way using the kayak as a flotation towards dry land, tho her kicks are quite pathetic from the Sensei, almost looking like she is just flailing in the water.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Waterfall. There are a few things in white water rafting that any skilled instructor will teach you... avoiding waterfalls was in the top five.

Raven blinks once at the realization that there was in fact a waterfall coming up, watching as the kayaks just disappeared over it into nothingness, at least from her perspective. Grabbing onto the raft more firmly, she looks back at the others in the raft and says, "Brace and hold on, we're going over."

Rogue has posed:
"Happy Birthday, Kitty!" Rogue is vaguely able to be heard prior to going over the edge of the falls, but then and there after it is all just air, and water, as the main raft goes right on over toward the pool at the base of the 10 foot drop! Screams, raging water, the sounds of birds taking to the air... it's all part of the experience!

But as things do, the time passes and the time on the river flows in to the past!

The sun has set by this point, and the rafts have been returned to where they were rented from. The river goers have returned to their fancy campsite with a variety of tents, and other accommodations are setup. There's a big fire going in the main fire pit, and some of the younger kids are already trying to make S'mores for themselves with long fire-sticks and flaming mallows.

Beer, drinks of all variety, are out on the tables with the food, and Rogue... still in the same clothes, though now she's at least mostly dried off, is walking to one of the little fold-out chairs near to where some music is playing.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" She asks the others who looked as though they did not enjoy the rapids so much. She raises a hotdog up to take a bite out of it, then smiles around it to be a goofus, as per her usual.

Hope Summers has posed:
    It took several minutes to get Hope to let go of the raft after the waterfall incident. Several. Minutes. The poor girl was traumatized, and yet, she kept whispering "Be brave. Be brave. Be brave." Like some sort of mantra.

    Eventually, the red-head is back to normal and is walking up to the enormous fire with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other. As she approaches the flames, she takes the top portion of the can off with a flick of her wrist and then slides the hot dog in. Carefully sipping the excess beer, and then frowning at the taste, she causes the can to float in the air between her hands and then she sends it forwards to cook in the flames. Beer-boiled hot dog. Yum.

    "That was absolutely terrifying." She says over her shoulder towards the group of 'adults' and then towards Kitty, "Also, Happy Birthday."

Azazel has posed:
    When the waterfall is spotted ahead of them, he gets hold of the safety line and paddle tightly and hunkers down in the raft, ready for a bit of freefall. And he is not disappointed, because when the raft passes the waterfall, his hold on the rope is the only thing keeping him connected to it. Somehow, when the raft hits the water ten feet down and straightens back out, he sticks the landing like an acrobat.

    Once they hit the calm water and make it back to the rental place, He recovers his and Mystique's bags (waterproof, of course), hands Mystique hers and then pops into the restroom. When he comes back out, he's in khaki shorts, hiking boots and a blue polo shirt.

    Settling in back at the campsite again, it's not just the kids making s'mores. After a few of the sweet treats are consumed and washed down with a beer, he joins the adult group, seating himself by Mystique. When Rogue asks her question he replies "I thought it was a blast, personally. But then, I've always enjoyed getting a little adrenaline pumping, makes you feel really alive." He takes another swig from the bottle in his hand.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabby eventually emerges from the experienced soaked enough that wringing her clothes was a pointless effort. Plus it's warm enough they'll dry on their own.

She does however wring out her hair and once it's combed through with fingers she leans down and then back up at the hips in a mix of headbanging and hair flippage to get that wild mane back over her shoulders with an adrenaline filled whoop of victory at another adventure that didn't end up with her brain scrambled from blunt force trauma.

Which Tabby celebrates by scrambling her brain via much drinking of alcohol. And maybe sharing the occasional joint. Kitty and Hope offered the first hits. One for the Birthday Girl and the other to help calm a formerly terrified redhead.

She did say it was legal in Oregon.

Double fisting another of those vodka and orange soda drinks and a hotdog of her own. Tabby chomps and drinks.

"Think next time I take a Kayak and see if I can set a record. Bet no one's thought to use rocket propulsion. Maybe it'll catch on and become an Olympic sport!" she ponders with a curious and very dangerous looking grin.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Once on dry land, the solid earth beneath her feet, Mystique thanks whatever force is watching that no one drown then accepts her bag from Lou. There is one truly wonderful thing about being a shapeshifter, and she demonstrates this with a grin.

From the bag she pulls a towel to dry herself off, then wraps it around her long enough to shift her white wetsuit into a pair of blue jeans, white shirt and tan hiking boots. Even her hair is dry when she finishes, which permits her to hang the towel to dry and look refreshed, like she was never in the water at all.

Making her way to the adult campsite, she settles herself down with a new beer in hand. She has no idea what happened to the other one after the waterfall, it just wasn't there any more.

"Thank you for the adventure, Kitty," she offers as she gets comfortable, a moment later joined by Lou. "I forgot how much fun nearly drowning and going off waterfalls could be."

Jean Grey has posed:
In the aftermath of their near drowning, Jean vanishes into one of the tents before re-emerging. It's a rare super casual look to compared to how she tends to dress around the school, some old cutoff denim shorts and a t-shirt ('ESU Athletics'). Her hair's still damp, and she has it loosely tied back and a small towel around her neck and shoulders.

Snagging up some food-bits en route, she likewise makes her way toward the fire, stepping up behind Hope. "Yeah, but you did it. Feels a bit smaller in retrospect, right? Next time it'll be easier." Beat. "But we REALLY oughta get you some swimming lessons. School's got a pool and a lake, you know. And its swimsuit weather." A grin, here. "Chance to show off a little, you know?" Jean's not oblivious: she's well aware Hope didn't have any kind of normal teenage life. So why not play a little catch-up?

Tabitha gets eyed as she approaches... and then Jean demonstrates this philosophy by smirking and shrugging it off. She's got her dog roasting, and looks off to find Rogue. "Not too bad... but next time I vote for another captain. Anyway." Her attention swings back round to Kitty. "Look at you, all grown up." She gives a little sniff. "Feels like our outing to Deerfield was only yesterday." Jean gets nostalgic for parental brainwashing, you see! "Happy birthday, Kitty."

James Proudstar has posed:
The kids scream in typical peanuts summer camp fashion and James digs in guiding the raft over the first one, slamming into the water. They're all soaked and surprised then the second one and the screams are more excited as the splash down into the pool of cold water and by tje third waterfall the kids are woo-ing it up with the best of them as the raft bounces off a stone and lands in tje stillish pool they sit and spin as the make sure everyone else is through and fine. James tosses Colleen a chamie with a wry grin, "Okay everyone that's the first of five." Which is pretty much how the day goes. by.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen eventually reaches the shore. She probably could have simply stood up at some point and walked in, but she just kept kicking until her knees scraped the sand. She dragged the kayak out of the water and kicked it once. "You had one job. One job." She rolls her eyes and makes her way towards the fire; a post-river walk of shame, wiping herself with the gifted chamie. She is soaked, just taking off the life jacket and dropping it behind her, not carring where it falls. She pads her way only in her black bikini and then finds herself by the fire, turning her hat around backwards and trying her best to dry off a bit. "Happy Birthday Kitty. Hope you all took notes on how to kayak." There is sarcasm in her tone.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde spends a few moments with each person, talking and expressing her appreciation for coming. She's also had a few of those rum and Cokes, which leaves her in a very happy mindset.

"Time for food and a fire," she says. "I think there is a guitar too if anyone is feeling musical." Kitty gives people hugs and thanks them as they wish her happy birthday,

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is just listening from her perch on that fold-out chair. She's got her knees together with a plate sitting atop her bare thighs. She's smiling at the conversation from the others while she speaks softly, but in French.

She shakes her head after saying that, and then shoots a look up to Jean. "Best Captain." She translates before tossing the last bite of hotdog in to her mouth and chewing on it before chasing that with a sip of the new alcoholic beverage in her left hand.

From one of the walkways, a teenage girl brings Jeepers on a leash toward Rogue. They exchange some words before the teen hands the leash off, and Rogue pats her dog on his head, who scarfs down a potato chip from her plate, and then lays down on the ground to chew on that, followed by what remains the hotdog bun that Rogue drops down for him as well.

"There's another route we could take tomorrow, if anyone is up for it. Or... we could go to the Cliff Diving area... Hope? You wanna do some cliff divin?" She asks with a little grin.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Jumping slightly when Jean is there behind her, Hope turns, a part of her mind on her can, making sure she doesn't drop it into the flames, and she smirks softly, an embarrased reaction as she lifts a hand to comb some stray hairs behind her ear. "It'd be smart for me to learn how, yeah." Hope says, looking up to Jean, despite being the exact same height. The girl is logical and always thinking about things in terms of tactics and survivability, a remnant of her purely survivalist upbringing in the distant future. "I'm not exactly sure what a swimsuit would be useful for in terms of ... Oh. Nevermind. I- uh- don't have one." She says, wanting to turn away from Jean, but quiets herself when Jean starts to talk with the others.

    Easier to be a wall flower sometimes.

    Hope then turns to Rogue, at the mentions of best captain, and opens her mouth to say something, but remembers this isn't her place to speak up, not here. These are all older, much more experienced people. She tells herself, but perks up and looks to Rogue, "Cliff Diving sounds like great fun." Memories of Cable teaching her how to pack, and use a parachute flashes through her mind. The way the wind made her hair and cloak flap made her feel free from the world and problems she was in.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"That's why I'm planning to rocket my next run." Tabby says and grins as she empties her hot dog hand via eating the thing. Then replaces the contents with glowy plasma.

This time she does let the bombs fly.

Straight up and in a steady constant amount as far up as she can psionically push them.

The end result is the night sky over Rogue River and the campsite getting itself a fireworks display. The bombs are never more than marble sized and just powerful enough Tabby won't burn a forest down or hurt anyone.

Like Jeepers whom is a treasure and must be protected.

But she can pump out enough to give most pyrotechnicians a fit of jelousy at the displays up in the air.

One batch even goes up and detonates shaped like a cat's head.

Hello Kitty!

"If all your friends jumped off a cliff?" she asks playfully to Rogue and Hope "I'm sure we've got a couple suits spare. Skimpy or modest as you like." she offers to the time displaced redhead.

James Proudstar has posed:
James Proudstar comes to the end of the day, with all the kids happy, wet and tired. They wander to shpre as James hathers all the rafts and kayaka and bring them back to be loaded for return to the guides. He places them gently on the truck and nods to the wide eyed River Guide. James callls put to Rogue, "I'm in."

Jean Grey has posed:
"Well, I suppose you did lead us all back safely. Technically." Jean will concede this much, to the late Captain Rogue. "I think I'm whitewatered out, but it'd be fun to try something else. Get the full experience, while we're here! It's such a pretty place, never been anywhere quite like this before." It's one of those incongruous things. She's been to space! But in her 'normal' life? Something like this is new and exciting!

As the fireworks start, she casts her gaze skyward. It's quite a show!

"I... think we can do a little better than a hand-me down," she offers, rejoining the discussion with Hope, now that Tabitha has weighed in on the swimsuits. "Maybe when we get back, we can take you shopping. That way you can pick something you like, yourself." Versus inheriting whatever second-hand X-lady 'fashion.' No reason to throw the poor thing right into the deep end...

At length, she turns from the fire and ambles over to Rogue - and now Jeepers! - munching on her own non-pet variety dog as she does, finally plopping into a nearby fold-out chair. "Gonna need a proper night's sleep though, after all this! And I'm not sure how likely THAT is."