12995/The M and the Messiah

The M and the Messiah
Date of Scene:	07 October 2022
Location:	Guest Boathouse
Synopsis:	Monet and Hope talk things. Tabby shows up and Hope deals with confusiong emotions in proximity to Tabitha and firearms!
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Hope Summers, Tabitha Smith

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Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix is currently going along through the back yard. She's quiet, and has a passively irritated look on her face that seesm to be her default. Monet is floating, a half inch or so up and off the ground so as to not risk getting a smudge over on her new set of heels flown in from Paris. She's talking into a phone, "Hello Nicole and Claudette, I hope you are doing well.. Yes, do what your nanny says.."

Hope Summers has posed:
    Also in the backyard is a young red headed girl, with her hair tied up with a spare piece of fabric, and a long brown poncho tunic cloak sort of thing hanging from her shoulders. The girl isn't doing anything remarkable at the moment, but is kneeled down next to a large tan Pelican box.

    The latches unlock with a heavy thunk and a thwack before the gaskets within keeping the contents sealed fails when the lid is lifted. Inside the box is a rather odd looking contraption. A large weird looking gun. But it's way too big for any normal sized bullets. The girl then pulls out from within the case something labeled, PAINT ROUNDS, for practice one would hope and she begins to load them into the chambers of the huge revolver.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The sound of scrapings and latches hits Monet St. Croix's sensitive ears like nails being dragged on a chalkboard. She would wince and blanche for a moment over and then would try and evaluate what was going on. She would take a breath, cross her arms, and then go to walk over towards Hope.
    "And waht has you preparing to launch munitions along the lake?" At least she's guessing that's what they are from her angle.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope pauses with the third grenade nearly in the chamber to look up towards Monet as she hover near by. "Practice. Pop said you can't trust an untested and unpracticed soldier." Hope responds, and then looks back down to her hands and meticulously slides the practice artillery into the housing. "I'm not doing anything nefarious." She adds while reaching down to grab the fourth round.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would glance over at Hope, then at the launcher, "And what exactly are you performing that requires you to practice launching grenades?" she would inquire. Monet did a flawless deadpan there. it actually had al itlte more effort in it than it normally did.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope looks up to Monet and then glances away as if the answer was just hanging in the ether to be plucked by any normal person, but she does say it, "I'm performing grenade launching practice..." Hope says eyes dancing back towards Monet, thinking that was a satisfactory answer before she looks back down at her task and sliding the fourth round into the chamber, then spinning the rotary to reveal the fifth chamber before reaching for that one.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod, "Yes, yes you are. And how often do you use grenades out in.." Whatever actually did Hope do or what team was she on? Monet didn't want to admit that she knew little. "Have you considered there are somewhat.. More effective ways in which to utilize ammo that is more efficient and less prone to potentially g umming up the works.." OF the grenade launcher.

Hope Summers has posed:
    "It's not often, but, when you need a handful of grenades placed four hundred yards away, accept no subsitutes." Hope says, patting the weapon on the side as though it were a cherished pet. "And of course I've considered it. Not every situation requires a hammer as not every problem is a nail, but sometimes problems are nails, so use a hammer." She says with a large shit eating grin across her face before she looks back to her task and continues to load the weapon with practice rounds.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would look down in light befuddlement, but then go on, "I meant that using paint rounds.. If they were to break over in the chamber of the weapon while you're practicing with it, you're putting yourself in a situation where you'll have to take a very long time cleaning the weapon. Generally the practice rounds will often be made at far lower standards to save on cost so there is a higher risk of malfunction."

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope bites her lip softly as she slides the fifth round into the canister with a satisfying clunk before she spins the wheel and turns her head to look up at Monet, "Are you suggesting I use live rounds in the school grounds?" The red head asks flatly.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head, "Not in the slightest. I'm very sure that Logan would have words with you if you tried. I was thinking more of something that used chaff or sonics. Less prone to do any sort of damage if there'sa malfunction.." And no huge patterns of paint hwere things hit.

Hope Summers has posed:
    "It's at least water soluable and environmentally safe." Hope responds, as she picks up the sixth shell and holds it in her hand as she stands. Showing the size to Monet, it's just over an inch and a half. Not a small thing. Then she spins it on her palm, making sure the right end is lined up correctly and she pushes it home hard. "These are designed for wargame practice. It's up to the rigors of being loaded by a little girl." Refering to herself.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over at Hope and frown apologetically, "Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding." Wait, is M apologizing? If Hope does pay any particular attention to M (which she very well might not) the algerian mutant does -not- apologize much wihtout prompting.
    "Where then did you learn how to.." Shoot one?

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope smirks and nods her head with a sort of odd bow as accepting the apology and then holds the weapon at rest against her chest with the barrel pointed away and down. "I was taught by my old man." She says a smile crossing her lips briefly before a sublte frown follows, "I-" Hope pauses and thinks about her words carefully. "We had to survive." Is all she says in the end.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix does not bother to try and read Hope's mind. She's not sure if she could even if she tried. But the other girl is choosing her words carefully. And whatever it is.. It is not something that she might wish to share. "I.. Wish I understood."

Hope Summers has posed:
    "I wish I did too." Hope says with a weird sort of frown on half her face before she turns to look back out at the lake. "Wanna squeeze off a round?" She asks, looking at the ripples from the breeze across the pond's surface.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head ,"No, thank you. But I appreciate the offer. And.. I'm sorry that you had the live you had to live." Ther'es sympathy on her face. But not presuming to understand.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope shrugs her shoulders towards Monet and then smirks before turning to square up to the lake. "I'm not sorry. It's just what it is and so I'm gonna keep being good at what I'm good at and use that to help people." She says as she lowers her cheek to the stock, and checks her sights before lifting her head back up and hollars. "CLEAR LANE! TEST 1!"

    THOONK!

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod, "Very well. And for a life, eprhaps, where you do not have ot live it. I.. Hope that you have found what you have been through to have given you meaning and that you continue to find a purpose here." She would offer gently. Even as htere would be a -boom- off in the distance.

Hope Summers has posed:
    "I find meaning through what I can do, not what I have done." Hope says, taking a moment to lower the weapon to double check the neon yellow paint on the surface of the lake is exactly where she expected it to be. "Gotta dial it in a few degrees." She frowns after a few moments. "I don't think I'm done using the things I've learned, regardless of my feelings on the subject."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The school has way better ways to train than setting up painball markers. And when a round sails off and there's a BOOM not far. It usually means a nother boom is audible as well.

This one is the sound of a woman yelling. "NO PAINTBALL! NERF ONLY!" comes the loud voice of Tabitha Smith.

Tabby's working what she sometimes calls her not quite grody hobo punk look. Cropped yellow hoodie missing the good, a quarter of the sleeoves and the hem ljust enough remain to cover her and not getting her arrested, keaving shoulders bare, midriff and those abs, and her wrists. On the front in a big hollow explodey font in magenta is teh word BOOM! in a diagonal setting like an onomatopeia.

Dull faded yellow jeans cling to ler lower half like their life depended on it with clunky red work styled bood with yellow laces looped through to below her knee. They might have once been a pro wrestler's just found at Goodwill. The rest of the accessoriies is is her usualy spiky leather in red and stainless steel. Collar, wrist cuffs, belt slung over a singke loop at her waist band.

Cat eye glasses with yellow lenses keeping her wild blonde hair from her view.

Spying the source of the projectiles. Tabby barely had time to set up a boom ton catch andd evaporate the paintball. She'd walked onto the range without hearing the warning.

"Hope, nerf guns. Blunt darts, less risk of blinding kids. And you can get some good range on a modded blaster." she suggests.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would glance over at Tabitha, "Anyone that would see you in that particular regalia would no doubt plea for the darkness to wash away the visage." Any sort of small emotional openness there had been from the isolated conversation with Hope was immedaitely gone now as M is back to normal.
    "IT's atrocious, even by your normal standards. You look like you blindfolded yourself and went into a shopping mall and grabbed everything and put it on and came out, whether or not it actually fit."

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope bites her lip again as she spies and senses the mind of Tabitha again, and smirks as she lowers her gun to allow her to approach. Looking to Monet as the two interact, the copy cat mutant takes a moment to catch her breath as she feels her heart beat racing. "I did give a warning and did an inspection to make sure down range was clear. It is. Was until you showed up." Hope admits and sticks her tongue out towards Tabby.

    "I don't know what this nurf is." She replies and lowers her large gun to rest once more against her chest.

    Looking to Monet and back to Tabby in regards to the blonde's attire, Hope remains silent, knowing better than to have an opinion on something like that.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"Monet, sometimes a girl just wants to dress comfy. This is me comfy. If it makes you feel better I expect that this is the sort of outfit that will not survive random hero shenanigans. I lost a perfectly good leather jacket and some amazing boots even you would love in Jersey a while back. I'm sticking with expendable in case of unexpected Bovining again." she points out with a snappoint.

Tabby's long used to Monet and others with a more conservative fasion sense commenting on her color choices.

"Hope, Nerf is a brand of toy's specialising in mostly guns and projectile launchers. Usually foam darts so kids can shoot each other safely. There is a whole industry of adult fans that like to modify the blasters so they can shoot faster, harder and longer." This gets her giggling. "That's what she said. But yeahh, range, projectile speed, accuracy. They then sometimes have mock battles with them. Like tactical simulations. Like LARP but for the Tom Clancy Military Espionage Thriller crowd." she explains.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix's expression would remain in it's neutral state of default irritation, and then expanding itself over to a sigh over as Tabitha would approach. Ah well, the sorts of things she had to do with the riff-raff present. Hope would no doubt find that Monet had very particular ideas on fashion and propriety..

    Namely that she had them, and no one else did. she would look over at Tabitha, "And as a result they found children went to find whole new ways to injure htemselves and adults spent a great deal of money paying for marketing, therapy bills, and no doubt medical.."

Hope Summers has posed:
    "Ah. Appreciate the idea Tabitha, but I kind of need practice with the real thing. Not a facsimile." The red head says with a shrug of her shoulders and then lifts the gun back up to brace against her shoulder. Then she steals a glance towards Monet and smirks, "As long as they're allowed to be kids, I won't mind fighting for that." She notes.

    Looking back to Tabby, she offers a gesture with the grenade launcher, "Would you like a try?" Gotta be polite and all.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"Kids can hurt themselves with a pair of socks Monet. And the Nerf mod and war scene gets stupid big on weapon safety. Like up there with most live ammo firearms shooting clubs. But it is still safer than real weapons around kids." Tabby points out to Monet before she grins at Hope.

At least now, when Tabby is around and between two telepaths the three women, if Hope syncs with either, can confirm the range is absolutely clear.

"Alright, look if you wanna test and train, we have the Danger Room. We can actually create simulated ordnance. Hard Light is good for that and the school is built atop of a nuclear bunker. The room can take a beating and as much BOOM as I can manage." she states. "Nerf wars are still good kinda tactical training. And I stand behind the reduced risk of death when you really aren't in that kinda mood."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just look over at Tabitha wiht a rare bit of befuddlement, "Tabitha, since when has the American military industry remotely cared over about weapons safety or their presence around children? Whether it's toy ones or real ones?" She would just shrug over.
    "She's merely doing so to ensure that her skills remain sharp and perhpas over to relax some." M is thrown off by the 'Americans' and 'gun safety' bit!

Hope Summers has posed:
    "I AM being safe..." Hope says somewhat quietly with a spark of fire within her chest, but restrained by her not really knowing Monet while knowing Tabby slightly. It's awkward, and she doesn't exactly feel she has the right to be where she is doing what she's doing, and to relieve that pressure,

    Hope levels the gun once again against her shoulder and squeezes the trigger with a heavy THOONK as the paint round soars through the air to the middle of the lake before it splats neon yellow across the surface. The pressure from the shell being fired pops ears really well but that's just the air around being forced tight for a moment. It'll end most arguments flat by discombobulating most people. "What were you two going on about again?" She asks, cat eating the canary smile on her face.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"You can always play safer is what I'm saying. And holy cow that's Tabby saying it. The world is doomed. But maybe the fact she has a power that is as dangerous as any gun kind of colors her pespective. She's as trained as any of the other New Mutants but she can at least enjoy messing around with stuff like this as the opportunity is present.

So she holds her hand out with a gimme gesture for the launcher. "So you know. Flashbangs and concussion blasts are like easy mode for me right? I been doing that stuff since I was thirteen. Before I could telekinetically control them." she points out.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just shake her head, "If you wish. I'll stay where I am." Namely outside the arc of the gun that's pointing forwards, just in case she has to dive out of the way . Apparently she has about as much faith over in Tabitha's targeting proficiency as she does the girl's taste in fashion.
    The pop and noise makes her look irritble once more, right before it passes again.

Hope Summers has posed:
    Hope smirks largely as she passes the large rotary gun to Tabby and gives the girl the floor. "You look good holding that." Hope says, and then quickly turns beat red, unaware of why she said that and then looking back to Monet and still blushing, unable to focus her eyes on anything for more than a moment.

    "Be careful." She says as she catches her mood and breath.

    Taking a moment to think about the conversation, Hope pauses to realize Monet hasn't made fun of or commented on her clothing. Looking down at herself and looking back up to Monet, "Do I not look good too or what?"

Tabitha Smith has posed:
It may be a shock to the women but Tabby is actually proficient with the weapon, or at least similar weapons enough she does all those checks you do when handed a weapon, loaded or not she treats it like it was and keeps that business end well away from them.

"There was a time I wore wrist mounted launchers It got me a good chunk of extra range. About as far as I can direct on my own now. Longer than I can throw. I am a fantastic pitcher by the way." she says with a giggle. "But what do you expect from someone all about curves." Tabby says and lines up her shot, thumbs a safety catch off. And then lets the shot arc up and over into the middle of the lake with a THOOMP sound.

It is totally an ASMR sound. "You guys know I hate it when people act like I don't have control of my powers right? Like if I flung a bomb at Monet's perfect round ass because I was pissed I can look amazing and hot in neon and she hates it. I could if I wanted to make it hurt. But I'd really only ever make it feel like a slap on an asscheek. Might ruin those pants but she wouldn't actually be hurt.

"Like I am seriously the most responsible irresponsible person on the planet!" she declares

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would glance over at Tabitha, thena t Hope over, "If it makes you feel better, then I'm sure that she can be fine with it. She's worked with such things before." And Tabithas and vastly oversized guns held in suggestively posed scenarios where her feet were not visible and she had numerous bandoilers hanging off her did somehow feel like it would work.
    Tabitha's elaboration seeming to put proof over on it and then she would muse idly and speak to Hope, "For yourself, you look fine. And if.." She would murmur something to the other telepath along hte lines 'if she's your type'.. While over at Tabitha.
    "Yes, we'requite impressed by the amount of control you proclaim to wield, Ms. Smith. I'm sure that you're quite capable of it. You do however seem most skilled in running your mouth."

Hope Summers has posed:
    The snide comments however are not something Hope partakes in. She glances down at Monet's rear end after the mention and then to Tabbys before looking back to the big gun. Yeah. The gun. That's what she's here for. The redhead has to take a moment to catch her breath again and swallows at the nothing in her throat. "Sorry I doubted you Tabitha, and I think you are very self confident, and not at all shy about it." Hope says, kind of repeating what Monet said.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The launcher is checked again as if it was ready to fire, even if it's not and then safely handed back to Hope when she seems green eyes aiming down at hips on the blonde and brunette. <<Think Hope Synched her power to mine.>> she plafylly sends over telepathy to Monet.

Tabby knows what that can do to someone not prepared for the side effects of how her nervous system responds to her bioelectricity being flared up.

"I was running my mouth long before I was a mutant. Boom-Boom was not given for my explosions." she points out. Between temper and a potty mouth. Kids can be pretty cruel and Tabby just ran with it. Words hurt less than fists.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's a bit of a sigh over from Monet, "If you want to appreciate her for that, simply tell it to her." She would nod over at the words from Tabitha, keeping her commentary purely to Hope for the girl's privacy. "Tabitha, can you give her some demonstratiosn then? Hopefully it would help her get an idea for alternative ways of applying her detonations. Hope, if you would like that?"
     It gets Hope over with the girl in combat fatigues and the gatling gun.

Hope Summers has posed:
    "I-" Hope blushes deep red. "I need to go." She says, as she takes the gun from Tabby and then takes a step back and carefully removes the paint rounds from the rotary section. Placing them back in the case and then carefully making sure the gun is properly empty before she stores it back in the Pelican case, she takes a few moments to get this complete and isn't saying much as she works furiously and quickly, but VERY carefully. "Sorry." She says suddenly standing back up and taking the case in hand and trying to escape her emotions.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabby maybe gets the hint that neither woman is all that great when it comes to maybe dealing with attraction and hormones. Tabby just wears it on her sleeve and hopes she doesn't get yeeted into the lake. So Hope running and Monet being extra Monet maybe doesn't need a telepath.

<<Hope, stop! It's okay to feel things like that. And since I expect that you feel that because of me, not entrirely for me.>> she teepathically loops both women in. <<It's new shit right? You can talk to us about them. Well me. Monet don't know swuat I bet trying to keep her shizzle in control but I bet she's like maddeningly frustrated too and has no idea. When you're calmer come see me. We'll sort something out. You too Monet. Jeez no one should be that uptight!"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would just let out a sigh over and then go to speak, "We're not trying to make you uncomfortable. What you're feeling is completely normal and nothing to be ashamed on." This is why M is letting Tabitha handle 'the talk' because M is going to say things that aren't particularly helpful to the post apocalyptic time traveling mutant messiah to hear.
    Monet goes to disengage, while she leaves Tabby to go handle the emotionala ftermath since.. Well, M would just make it worse.