12305/Plum Day for Flying

Plum Day for Flying
Date of Scene:	05 August 2022
Location:	Plum Island, New York City
Synopsis:	Megan and Warren do serious aerial battle over pastries! Megan wins all the cupcakes.
Cast of Characters:	Warren Worthington, Megan Gwynn

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Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren had not forgotten about his passing encounter with Megan or the idea of getting some flying in together. It was easy for the winged mutant to remember, there were few greater pleasures in his life than flying, and even fewer people who could appreciate it in the same way he did. So Warren is in an unusually good mood when he pulls his Escalade into the parking lot at Orient Point Lighthouse.

"Oh, I know it's a childish waste of time," Warren laughs. "But, I've got a reputation to maintain and you've got this one, Aniyah. I'll call you later and we can nail down the details. Just let me know when Frost's legal gets back to us, and clear my schedule for her if she asks for a meeting."

Warren ends the call before his assistant can protest too much and climbs out of the SUV. The breeze is warm and salty, blowing from the east. It pulls at his tan shorts and white polo shirt. He smiles happily, takes a deep breath of the ocean air, and walks off towards the lighthouse to meet Megan.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn was a,says happy to find flying partners, and while she is already an experienced flier, there's still a lot she can learn from the likes of The Angel, about combat flying and defensive flights, and how to stop on a dime. Besides he's quite easy on the eyes..Even if she has recently hooked up with someone. Doesn't mean she can't ogle right?

So Megan is dressed in comfy denim jeans and a simple green long sleeved shirt. In this warm weather she doesn't bother to overdress, although she does wear goggles over her head, expecting that they might go pretty fast. And she's waiting around the base of the lighthouse, stretching and yawning, eating an ice cream.

Warren Worthington has posed:
"Looks delicious," Warren says, sauntering up behind Megan. His hands are in his pockets, thumbs out. He smiles broadly. "The ice cream."

Warren glances skyward then back to Megan. He eyes her outfit. "I like the green, it really works for you. Ready for some flying?"

He shoots Megan a big grin, and without really waiting for an answer, slides past her, turns and stretches his broad, white wings. They pull downwards lazily and he rises upwards. Warren jerks his head towards the east over the water, then rolls over and starts to climb slowly into the breeze.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn meeps as he catches her by surprise. Fortunately she's just about finished her ice cream so at least it doesn't go splat on the ground. Still his compliment does cause her to beam, swallowing the ice cream quickly, which gives her a head freeze. And while she's trying to come up with a clever comeback, suddenly he swoops into the sky all gracefully. "Heey wait up!" she spreads her wings and leaps skywards, fluttering after him, though looking more like a dragonfly than a swan, Grr.

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren looks over and smiles when Megan joins him. He is in no hurry and makes several lazy s-curves as they glide 50' over the water. Sunlight twinkles off the low swell below, giving it a jewelled appearance.

Up ahead, an island covered in manicured grass and well-kept trees quickly grows larger. The island is not large, but it is park-like. There seems to be no one around for the moment. No boats are tied up at the public wharf.

White wings backbeat gently and Warren lands on the rocky shore of the west side of the island. He runs a hand through his hair to even it out after the wind. Nearby is a cooler and a basket. "Lunch, for after. I'm not flying back on an empty stomach!" Warren explains. "I had it dropped off. Did you know you can get drone deliveries now? It's great."

The young man tilts his head. "What do you want to work on?" he asks brightly.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn keeps up with him easily enough, even if she has to beat her wings more quickly to do so. No wonder she eats a lot of sugar all the time. She smiles as she glides through the wind currents, happy ti have a flying partner for a change. "Ooh, I've never tried one of those drones but they look well tidy!"

She giggles as she slows down, admiring his pretty wings, wishing her wings were so pretty. "Ooh, a picnic too?Tidy!" yea, she likes that word a lot. And she probably eats a lot too so, yay! "Oh hmm, I was thinking, it'd be good to learn some defensive flying, how to use my wings as shields, maybe improve on my agility. Your wings are so big but I've seen how agile you are in the air. I'd like to improve on both my speed and agility."

She seems to be sizing him up, trying to figure out just how fast he can fly anyway. Those wings are pretty impressive..

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren puts one hand to his chin and shifts his weight, pushing one hip out to the side. He considers Megan for a moment then snaps his fingers.

"Defensive flying?" he asks with a grin. "Hold on."

Warren goes over to the basket and fishes around inside it. He comes up with a beautiful cupcake in blue-tinged cellophane and tied carefully with a white ribbon. The sculpted chocolate icing on the blends from dark to white and holds a perfectly formed, chocolate-dipped strawberry on top.

"You don't need me to teach you to fly, your instincts are great, I can tell," Warren says. He walks back over to Megan and holds the cupcake out to her. "Defensive flying and shielding aren't really about flying though. Defensive flying is like... Speed dating, except backwards. You need to know yourself and figure get to know the other person really quick. Find all the ways you aren't compatible and do those things."

"Shielding? That's like dancing with someone handsy you're not sure you like yet. Cover what you don't want touched, slide past when you can, and keep what you can be touched if it has to closest to them."

"So the rules are simple," Warren says with an impish grin. "You can go anywhere over the island, but you can't land. If I get the cupcake, I get to eat it. If it gets smooshed, I get to eat the other one. If it's in one piece after 5 minutes, you can have both."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn's eyes widen as he starts comparing flying to dating. Speed dating. And then comes out the incredibly delicious cupcake and already she's starting to salivate. "Whaaaa..? You're gonna play tag with a cupcake? And I have to get it back without squishing it?" she pouts, and then has a brilliant idea, grinning impishly as she holds her hand out. "Oooh, am I allowed to use my other powers?" cuz if she can focus and get close enough, she could just port it out of his hands..

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren laughs as he hands over the cupcake for her to protect during the game.

"You have to keep me from getting it without squishing it. If I get it I'm eating it right away. That thing looks so good," he adds with a chuckle. "And nope. Just flying, and how well you read my moves."

Warren steps back and fingers his watch. His grin widens. "Five minutes.... And go!"

Warren's wings flare. He jumps and downbeats at the same time, clearly trying to get height on Megan.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn bliiinks as he hands her the delicious looking cupcake. And urs gonna be really hard not to just eat the darned thing herself! She swallows and nods, "Um, okay, but, I...Aaah!" she yelps as she's quickly running out of time, holding the cupcake carefully cradled in her hand and close to her body, fearful of slipping it in any pockets incase it is squished. And then her wings spread out, fluttering a million miles an hour as she darts across the sky, tracing a glittering pink stream behind her as she goes, trying to make a# much distance between herself and him.

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren climbs higher, gathering speed. He watches Megan streak away.

"Damn, she's fast," he says to himself with a smile. "Start with the basics."

Long practice means Warren does not need to consciously check the angles, and he is curious whether Megan is just as aware. He banks to bring himself around until he figures he has disappeared into the sun. Warren does a completely unnecessary hammerhead turn for the joy of it, tucks his wings and streaks downwards. When he gets close he tries to reach out for the cupcake.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn is pretty fast, but lacks the long term endurance that comes with large wings designed for gliding. For now she keeps straight ahead, zipping in and out like a dragonfly, wings fluttering at eye blurring speeds as she holds the cupcake close. Still Warren is fast, and probably possesses better acceleration than her. She yelps as he glides in close, closer than she expected, and she nearly loses hold of the cupcake, yanking it back with a Yelp..

And then she suddenly dives downwards for a dead drop..A risky maneuver but a clever one perhaps as the gravity assists in her acceleration towards the earth..

Warren Worthington has posed:
Megan's sudden dive down and away from the angle of Warren's swoop shows three things.

First that Warren either will not or cannot roll head first into an inverted dive when he is moving quickly.

Second that he cannot turn as sharply as she does.

Third, he can accelerate very fast... In a straight line.

The bigger mutant corkscrews around to face the direction Megan went, but is now well behind. He reorients himself and then powers down aggressively after Megan. His eyes narrow, watching carefully for her next move. And the point where the ground is coming up too fast for him.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
"Come on. slow poke! Whatcha waiting for?!" she taunts him with a playful smile. And now she in a dead drop dive, headed for the ground, flying at dangerous speeds..

One good thing about having insectoid wings is that she can take sharp corners and move quickly..However, coming to a sudden stop mid air is harder when your wings are less buoyant in the air..

As the air blurs by her at dizzying speeds and she slips on her goggles to keep the wind out..Suddenly the ground is getting far too close for comfort..And an overconfident laugh is quickly turning in to an alarmed shriek.

This is clearly not a manoeuvre she has tried often in the past, and now Megan is struggling to apply the breaks to her accelerated speed. "Aaaaah!"

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren grins at the taunt as he closes in on Megan. His wings extend just slightly and tilt up and down rapidly, catching and releasing the wind. The difference in the speeds of the two mutants bleeds off. His shadow falls over Megan and blots out her own on the ground as the rocks rush up towards her.

Long experience and near death gives the veteran X-Man a hint of what is coming. When Megan shrieks, Warren pulls his wings. Their relative motion makes the small woman seem to rush up towards him. He rolls over and is suddenly face to face with Megan. He winks. His huge wings nearly flap all the way around her, driving down and across.

The suction is enormous. Close to Warren it wants to draw her horizontally across the landscape after him as he flies backwards and sharply shallows out the dive into level flight. It is just as clear that if Megan keeps braking, the backdraft Warren is creating, combined with her own efforts will propel her back into the sky.

Either way, Warren takes advantage of the moment. Megan can see his arm sweeping in from the right in an attempt to grab the cupcake she has in front of her. Megan is just on the edge of his reach though, it would be a heroic thing indeed to get it before she moves inside or outside the sweep of his arm!

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn has made a risky move, and while agile and quick in the air she lacks the superior aerial manoeuvring tricks that Angel has learned along the way.

Suddenly he's right up in her face and her eyes widen, blushing a bit as his wings cause a cushioning layer to scoop her upwards a bit..Almost too close for comfort..

Megan is so busy ogling the handsome graceful flier that she nearly forgets the cupcake and she gives a Yelp ache reaches out for it, nearly losing her grip on it.."No way!"

She yells and suddenly angles upwards this time, accelerating in the opposite direction, trying to slip free of his overwhelming wings and the updraft caused by them..Which takes a bit of effort..

Warren Worthington has posed:
"Haha, gotcha, it's m..."

The words die in Warren's mouth as the cupcake slips out of reach and soars away. He laughs, powers to a stop and starts to fly back after her.

Then his watch buzzes.

Warren flaps his wings languidly, using slow but powerful downbeats followed by quick upbeats to over in the air. He watches Megan streak away, pink light trailing behind her. "Well, no shit," he says to himself with a smile.

He lets himself float down gently and alights back on the rocks near the picnic basket and cooler. Moments later there a blanket is out and Warren is leaning back on his elbows waiting. Some obscure craft beer was the first thing to come out after the blanket. He shakes his head in good natured bemusement at his aerial defeat!

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn laughs, hovering higher up, surprised that he let her go so easily. "heey! are you giving up already?" she makes a face and dives more carefully towards the picnic layout.

"Oooh, well tidy! You did all of this? for me?" she pouts as she lands lightly on the blanket, unwrapping the cupcake. "You shouldn't have..Here, take it."

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren holds up his wrist with the watch on it. "The alarm went off, five minutes," he says with a shake of his head, then reaches for his beer. He glances at what he had sent over and chuckles.

"Don't give me too much credit. I had someone put it all together for us. Can't starve while we train, right?"

He settles back when Megan offers the cupcake and shakes his head. "That's your cupcake, you earned it. Besides, there's this puff pastry thing in there that's /amazing/. We can fight over it in round two."

Warren shields his eyes from the sun when he looks back up at Megan. "New rule though. Don't die for the pastries," he says with a wink. "You're fun to fly with, splatting would really kill the vibe."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles and nods, munching on the cupcake, getting icing smeared over her face. "Mmmm It's soo good! do you usually set up a picnic for after lessons too?" she grins, picking at the food, so much stuff! she's also hungry after all the flying. "Wow you're pretty impressive in the air, can't believe I beat you, I'll bet you went easy on me.."

Warren Worthington has posed:
"Easy? Yeah, the blind spot dive, I wanted to see what you'd do," Warren admits. "But I thought I had you at the end. That much suction, I figured I'd at least get the cupcake, you'd pulled right in to me and I'd get a second shot if you didn't get your wings closed. You're a lot stronger than you look, you pulled back hard."

Warren twists around so he can see into the cooler. He tucks some errant blond strands over his ear then pulls out an artfully wrapped sandwich. He sets one out for Megan and pulls another for himself, then turns back to her.

"Hey, what we do is hard sometimes, you know? Why not making training fun and treat ourselves after?" Warren shrugs and smiles. "And during. And before. Life is short."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles, settling down, finishing the cupcake, licking her lips and finding napkins to clean her face. What a mess she made.

Ooh and there are drinks snd yummy looking sandwiches! She dives right in with a smile, busy trying a bit of everything with a nod. "Mmm. this is sooo good! let's do this more often!" she giggles. well the first lesson went well, she's pretty sure she lucked out there though.