13325/Xaviers: Thanksgiving

Xaviers: Thanksgiving
Date of Scene:	24 November 2022
Location:	Main Kitchen
Synopsis:	It's another Xaivers School Thanksgiving preparation night! Kicking off the holiday seasonal fun times! There's lots of parents at this one, and interesting alternate Thanksgiving meal options discussed, including X-23's dutch oven, Sam Guthrie's deep fried turkey? And Hank suggests a fish! Jean's floating brain ham, and Roberto probably ordered some food from a designer food store that will be delivered any minute! Enjoy reading, whomever I'm talking to here!
Cast of Characters:	Rogue, Monet St. Croix, Samuel Guthrie, Jean Grey, Tabitha Smith, Kitty Pryde, Raven Darkholme, Roberto da Costa, Henry McCoy, Evan Sabahnur, Laura Kinney, Scott Summers

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Rogue has posed:
T'was the night BEFORE Thanksgiving...

This is a special night in Xaviers School, you see.

This is the night where the bulk majority of the cooking takes place. The whole day is dedicated to kitchen work to feed the faculty, residents, and students who all call this place their home. It's not uncommon for guests to come to the holiday dinner as well... so yes, it's a lot of cooking.

This is also the night where the student body is placated by a whole HOST of pizza delivery services showing up bringing stacks of pizza pies to the school, specifically to the students who all are in the recreation lounge just inside the east wing of the mansion. It's like straight out of Home Alone, with kids rushing around the rec room, playing video games, playing pool, playing the pinball machines, and so on in there...

But counter to that, just down the west wing hallway, and through the two doors that lead in to the main kitchen, the faculty is mostly gathered here-in where they are still toiling away at the various turkeys, mashed potato dishes, carrot stuff, and lots of other random dishes that people enjoy... as after all... there is a WIDE array of tastes and preferences here at this crazy boarding school.

IT's 6:45pm, the sun is down, but there's no shortage of activity in the kitchen, in the adjacent dining hall, and out on the patio where Professor Xavier is having a few friends over, as he is one to do on this night. The Professor is enjoying cigars with his 'friends' out at a table while the cooking and mayhem occurs inside.

Rogue is in the dining hall, through the archway in the kitchen, helping setup the dining hall for the next day, her father is with her there, the man in his 40s being a recent addition to the parents around this silly place, and within the kitchen itself? It's pure delightful smells, sights, and more!

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix is in the kitchen herself assisting with food preparation. She finds the wide variety of pizza available can often make for a rather.. Disorienting palette (jelly beans, sardines, pineapples among the saner combinations). So she's over where things are being brought together. Cooking food is very much ritualistic. Ordered. Repetitive.

Follow instructions. Prepare food. Make things according to the pattern. Monitor for small cases where one has to alter slightly. Sometimes change recipies or what food is being used. She finds this sort of thing relaxing. It's all very, very automated.

It's quiet and soothing for the Algerian mutant whom surprisingly is not for once talking back, directing, or making comments about how things are going on or ordering people about.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie has decided to try a few new things with the cooking this year, at least for him. So Sam comes pushing a cart with some normal cooking items, as well as some that might not be normally used. He looks over to his friends. "Ah figured we could do a fried turkey, and then have a few other ideas for trying somethings." He nods to those on the patio as he heads towards a place away from others but close enough to the kitchen to chat to those in there.

Jean Grey has posed:
Indeed, Thanksgiving is a yearly tradition at Xaviers, complete with all the usual tropes as the whacky family gathers around the mansion.

But the day beforehand is ALSO a tradition, well and truly established. It is, as well noted, the day of prep work and cooking, at least of everything that can reasonably be done ahead of time, leaving only what has to be thrown into the oven exactly before it is served for the day itself. No procrastinating! This means a variety of classic dishes, and particularly the most important of all possible foodstuffs: the desserts.

On this day, as on many others, the school's Headmistress reigns over the event, playing 'Mom' to the fullest, and preparing many of her legendary baked goods. Earlier in the day, before the pizza party, she had legions of students working the pastry assembly line, mixing and rolling out doughs of various kinds, filling cake pans and trays. The pies are a special part of the process, each station fitting their crusts into the pans, layering in fillings of choice (apple! cherry! pumpkin! pecan! mince meat!), while the last station applies the upper crust or layers on lattices of dough. It is a massive undertaking, and as ever, there are times when Jean goes full on Fantasia slash Socerer's Apprentice with the whole thing, using her powers to animate various rolling pins and slicing wheels and other implements, sending them flying around the kitchen to help out.

But that was earlier. The pies are now finished, and depending on the variety, they may be cooked ahead of time or refrigerated raw and thrown into the ovens just ahead of dinner tomorrow. The students flee to their pizza, and Jean....

...Jean gets a drink, sipping a glass of brandy as she leans on a countertop near Rogue. "Well, we didn't burn the place down. Yet."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Usually, Tabitha left most of the prepwork for any big mealy holiday times to others. Mostly spending time in the kitchen as part of her chore roster.

This time she got snagged by walking right on in at the time she just wanted to raid a fridge that had more leftovers choices than her own.

Dressed mostly for comfort but mostly to not freeze walking back to her dorm builiding in snug dark blue jeans with knees ripped out and some fishnet poking out the holes. A cropped yellow hoodie with BOOM! printed in magenta on the front while her usual spiky belts and collars and wirst cuffs adorn and accessorises with her red with yellow tinted cateye framed glasses. Some red ugg boots keeping toes warm and snug while she's in and out helping Sam here and there.

"I just started helping Jean. I can do it pretty quickly. If you want blast and fire proofing use my kitchenette next year!" she half jokes. Illyana made her place boom proof but maybe they need to doublecheck that the kitchen here is Tabby proof!.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde isn't present for the early part of the food prep. Where is she? Could she be rushing around the rec room, playing video games, playing pool, playing the pinball machines?

Well that would be an excellent guess. Especially given the height of her cooking skills are usually described as adding milk to Crunchberries. But as it turns out, she was doing something else.

Kitty comes into the kitchen, Lockheed on her shoulder, and behind her is a woman that many of the staff would know. Theresa Pryde, Kitty's mother. "Hey guys. Look who I found wandering around JFK," Kitty says with a big grin.

Theresa shines a warm smile of greeting to everyone. "Jean, Henry, good to see you," she says, greeting first two of the X-men who first showed up at her door to recruit Kitty to Xavier's School.

Kitty tells her mother, "I made sure we have all the ingredients." Then to the others she says, "Mom's going to make her Hasselback spicy carrots, and celery root roasted garlic mashed potatoes. And a pumpkin chocolate babka." Her mother's care packages full of baked goods are quite well known around the school. The woman can cook.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    The American holiday of giving thanks to the Natives who helped the Pilgrims survive their first year on this continent. Best not to go into what the pilgrams later did to the natives, the real 'thank you', even if it played through Mystique's head as she was teleported in to the front lawn. Appearing in the the house, in the middle of a room, that would just plain be wrong.

    Carrying with her a large basket, Raven Darkholme wore a pair of dark blue, almost black slacks and a white silk blouse that maybe was a little lower cut than should be, but no where near as revealing as usual. Her red hair clipped back with silver barrettes that look like feathers, and her feet were bare because truthfully, she hated shoes.

    Making her way into the mansion and through to the kitchen, she paused just outside the room for a moment. Being social, holidays, being... normal-ish, it was all still something she was working on. Taking a deep breath, she put a smile on her face and entered the kitchen.

    "I come bearing a taste of Germany," she announces cheerfully, holding up the basket. "Two of each... Apple Strudel and Kirschmichel Cherry Dessert, and for the adults, German Rum Balls with chocolate and vanilla."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa comes up from a workout in the main gym. He's wearing his Brasilian World Cup team Jersey. It has his name and number 11 on the back. He's shaking his head and carrying a case of Dos Equis. "Tied with /Wales/! So disappointing." He smiles and follows Sam, "That sounds dangerous. Hey, if Brazil makes the finals I'm flying people out for the game!" He checks his watch, "I'm making my specialty, a catering order. Should be here in a bit. So, Sam, should I have not brought the beer?"

Henry McCoy has posed:
Normally Henry was much more involved in the baking and cooking - though with the changes in his fine manipulation with his hands, this year he's helping out in more basic tasks. No dicing or chopping - just working alongside the others with the cooking that needed done. Either way, he's in good spirits - surrounded by family and friends as they put in the effort to make the holiday pleasant for the students. He was wearing his apron, looking quite kitchen-prepared. I mean, aside from the light dusting of flour on some of his deep blue fur.

It'll wash out, honest.

A smile as others arrive, greeting each in turn. "Hello Kitty." He waves over from where he's prepping some stuffing. "How are things?" There's a nod to Raven as well, happy to see another blue-hued mutant in attendance. "Wie gehts?"

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Evan was one of the students dragooned into Jean's pastry factory earlier, and once the students were released had just stayed in the kitchen finding odd jobs to do. He hadn't really made any friends among the students yet, probably because he didn't tend to talk much. Since he had often helped his parents with the cooking, the kitchen seemed like a natural place to gravitate to.

    Sometimes it's entirely possible to miss him in a room, yet somehow he manages to find things to do for the many dishes being put together tonight. Things seem to get chopped, stirred or added to when it's needed. He's actually using his powers as well once he sees Jean doing so, turning his fingers and hands into various kitchen implements (always washing his hands between uses) and occasionally stretching an arm halfway across the kitchen to grab something he needs for the dish he's working on.

Laura Kinney has posed:
It's pretty unusual for Laura to stop by, especially for bigger social occasions, but given how important Xavier's school is to several members of her family. Well it only seems right to show her face every once in a while. Even if she's pretty clueless about what Thanksgiving is or what are acceptable traditions / gifts / things guests bring when they stop by. Festive holidays are not something they teach you about in evil organisation clone assassin kindergarten.

Nor is she really up on giving people advance notice she's showing her face. The former mutant assassin just sort of slinks out of the woods. Dressed all in black like she's either coming from or going to a covert op.

Unsure what's seasonally appropriate she's prepared the one dish she knows how to cook. A hot sauce that has, in the past, been used as a weapon against supervillains. And isn't recommended for anyone with medical conditions, for children or really anyone that wants to taste anything but pain.

She's also got a small wooden box of cigars to leave for Logan. But those maaaaaaaaaybe aren't suitable for sharing with the school at large.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is leaned against the table just between the dining hall and the kitchen when Jean joins her there. She's got a glass of wine that she's sipping from, dressed nicely in a green sweater with black slacks on and one inch heels on her feet also in black. She grins at Jean as the other comes to relax. "You done it again." Rogue tells her with a sweet smile before she glances toward the dining hall to see the others in there getting the furniture back in place for the Hogwarts style of two long tables ready to serve the whole house tomorrow.

Rogue looks then to Kitty, and her mother arriving, a wave offered to the elder Miss Pryde. "Heya, you made it!" Rogue says, taking a step over to Kitty's mom to offer a hug. "Don't worry, I won't zap ya." She whispers to the older woman. "Been workin' on some upgrades." She says with a grin, careful not to spill her drink as she will make that hug.

After that, Rogue nudges Kitty. "The Professah wanted to introduce you to one of his friends outside. Some tech guy. He said you might like chattin' him up." She notes with a nod toward the door.

"Brazil? Have we been to Brazil before?" Rogue asks, glancing back to Jean again briefly after hearing Roberto's declaration. Then, she sees Raven and her eyes widen some.

"Hey!" Rogue says to the redheaded Raven, offering her a wave. "Glad you made it." She tells her adopted mother, moving to her now to offer a hug too.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The new student has gotten Monet St. Croix's attention if distantly. The boy looks unique, but that's about the limit of her review. She quickly glances over at him, then returns her attention over to the food while glancing over at Henry. "Doctor McCoy." She would offer politely. And a more relaxed look is given to Jean and then to Katherine's mother. "Ms. Pryde, a pleasure."

Monet would speak to her in Hebrew, "I'm looking forwards to getting to try things. I'm curious how it will compare to food from home." Her tone having the accent of someone who had read it in a book and was speaking it as if from memory. The joy of instant nrecollection of information.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
There's mention of someone not bringing beer. This earns a frowny face from Tabitha. "'Beto, dude, you should never say that. Beer is always welcome!" she points out sagely with a nod of her head. Her hair bound up and stuck mostly under a pink knitted beanie with a couple bombs with a lit fuse twisted together to look like cherries. The back of the beanie looking rather like the back of a Xenomorph's head. Just with wool and bolden colored hair instead of something icky.

Laura gets a greeting as Tabby finds herself brandishing a potato masher and a pot that could double as a replacement for Jean's Jacuzzi. "Oooh, is that the murder sauce!" Tabby keeps some in her kitchen pantry, and enjoys it. Her opinions are not always to be trusted.

"The X-Men have like been to Brazil a few times. Picking up Roberto, Amara, Iara. I don't think we've just been to go party!" she points out while mashing potatoes and occasionally adds a little milk hear and there in drizzles to make sure it's just the right level of starchy goopness and not too sloppy.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Theresa Pryde moves over to greet Kitty's old roommate, giving Rogue the hug back, and saying of those changes Rogue's been working on, "Oh? Anna-Marie that's wonderful!" She pats Rogue's back a few times before letting the hug.

"And Kitty told me that your father is here too?" she asks, looking around and quickly settling on Owen as likely being the man in question just based on the ages of those in the room. Kitty nods and says, "Mom, this is Owen, Rogue's father. Owen, this is my mother, Theresa."

The mention of the Professor having someone for her to talk to makes Kitty glance over that way. "If it's someone who just needs me to tell them to reboot their computer..." she jokes. "I'll go out and see. Could someone get my mom a glass of wine? And pour one for me too?" she asks as she heads outside. Beast is given a quick side-hug on the way past. Roberto and Sam get interested looks. "Try not to blow up the school," she comments on the way through.

Kitty ducks under Evan's stretchy arm, giving it a pat. She glances at the hot sauce Laura is making. "Mom, do -not- try the hot sauce. Trust me. It's a... mutant thing," she says. "Though I'm sure it's delicious to the right people."

Jean Grey has posed:
"Oh, its fine," Jean tells Tabitha, grinning. "There's still plenty to do if you want to pitch in a little. Still working on the pumpkin rolls, those are a little more delicate construction wise, and we've got plenty of caseroles to throw together." Those, famously, are BETTER when you cook them the night before and then put them in the fridge overnight, as it gives things time to congeal. It's real science! Protein breakdown into their component amino acids. Mmmm, glutamate.

"But please no blasting. We already had one incident earlier." There is in fact some cake batter up on one of the walls. Don't ask.

She's otherwise quite content in her drink, watching the lower-key stage of the kitchen chaos play out, occasionally supervising here or there. "Oh, those look great, Evan." He's proving to be a new star, with the walking-appliance routine. "Go ahead and put them in."

That is until Kitty arrives with her surprise guest. And it's a big surprise! "Oh!" She's genuinely shocked at first, before her expression morphs into pure delight. The care packages are definitely part of the tradition. In fact, it goes further than that. "I was wondering why you hadn't facetimed us yet!" Promptly, she sets the drink down and runs over to give Kitty's mom a big hug. "This is such a wonderful surprise! Are you staying? You must be staying, right?"

The fact that she's not just here, but has come to cook turns it up to 11. "Well in that case," after un-clinging from the woman, she makes a sweeping, overly dramatic bow. "I cede my kitchen to you." Jean may be school mom, but this is a mom-mom! "Just lemme know what you need and if there's anything we can do to help."

More people, more food. "Oh those look amazing," she tells Raven, looking around. "Put them, well..." And a quick glance back to Rogue. "We have a hypersonic jet. I think I've been MOST places. Still," she looks from the woman back over to Roberto, "it's always nice to fly first class."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks over to Berto and says "Oh if anything might not have brought enough, depends who shows up to help and all." He tells his friend. He is starting to put together a propane burner outside to do the turkey in "So, figure we will do one tonight, and we can have something to eat while other stuff is going and depending how long it takes we can make another one or two tonight or tomorrow, but since this is the first time Ah have done this figured we better off with trying a test turkey. He has a metal box with a locked lid on it as well set aside for something. "They do know how to party in Rio, but will warn ya, be prepared for some of the more wild things you ever saw in a party." He looks over to Boomer, and adds "Ah got something for you to explode in a bit, want to try a bombastic mashed taters."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Jean's hug is returned warmly by Theresa Pryde. She's been to the school on a number of occasions, and of course has heard plenty of good about Jean from Kitty. "Yes, I'll be here through the weekend. My flight out is Monday morning," Theresa tells Jean. "Do I smell some of your pies?" she asks, having spent a few holidays here to have had a chance to taste Jean's baking before.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    The basket is set down for a moment, allowing Raven to turn her attention to Rogue and return the hug. "This is still very awkward for me," she admits plainly, letting her yellow eyes look around the room. "But I wasn't about to miss another holiday with my daughter."

    After removing the desserts from the basket to add to the collection of completed foods and desserts, the German Rum Balls are set out and offered to the adults in the area. There really is no reason a child couldn't have one, the alcohol does cook off, but it was far more fun to tempt the kids to try and 'steal' one.

    Once she had settled the desserts, she looked toward Hank and offered the fellow blue mutant a bright smile as she says, "Mir geht es gut, danke mein freund."

    Letting her eyes move slowly around the room, landing for seconds on each person present, she notes Evan being exceptionally helpful. He's getting a good grasp on his powers it seemed and that made her grin. "So, how might I help out with all this prep?" she asks to the room at large. "I've never actually celebrated an American Thanksgiving, but I know the basics."

Rogue has posed:
Owen is stepping out of the dining hall when Kitty's mother is met with his stare. He shows her a friendly smile, and steps over to offer his hand to shake. "Pleasure." He says in his rumbly voice, the man has a thick salt'n'pepper beard that matches his greying hair too, though he's only in his mid fourties, he's lived ... quite a past couple of decades. "This is... quite a festival going on here." The man says after shaking Teresa's hand, his eyes now going to Mystique when she announces herself as Rogue's 'mother'.

"Raven, huh?" He asks, glancing to Rogue, before stepping to her to offer his hand again. "Owen. D'Ancanto. Marie's father. Back from the grave, so to speak." He says to the redheaded Raven. "Nice to meet the person who raised my kid in my absence though... Must say, you did a bang-up job, by all rights."

Rogue didn't tell him a LOT about Raven, just... that she was doing her best to do the right thing these days!

Rogue shows a sheepish smile, and then goes to the counter with the drinks. "Want some wine, Raven?" She asks. "Might help."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa smiles as he slips into helping Sam, placing the case of beer already cold on the counter. Berto sets a beer on the counter next to Tabby with a nod, "So noted." He then stops and frowns looking around the room, "... The World Cup is in Qatar this year, not Brazil... How do you not- Americans!" Berto shakes his head with good natured exasperation.

Berto blinks at the older woman and smiles brightly, "How is it, we've known Kitty for this long and never met her Mother?" He approaches Pryde the elder with a warm handshake and a cheek kiss, "Mrs. Pryde, it is lovely to meet you. Any cute embarassing stories you have about Katherine, or perhaps baby pictures inyour phone? I am here to be your audience."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney gives Tabitha a slight nod and holds the bottle up. "I've adjusted the recipe to include cranberries." Probably a weird hot sauce ingredient but no-one will be tasting it over the heat anyway. "I couldn't think of a way to make it a suitable inclusion. Most of the other attempts left marks on the counter tops...."

She glances over to Sam. "You know if you bury a turkey along with hot coals and leave it for several hours you can cook it like an oven but without the risk of an open fire to draw attention to you."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Theresa Pryde replies to Monet, also in Hebrew, <Oh hello, very nice to meet you. Well, I'm nothing special as as cook, I don't think. Nothing near what my mother and aunts were. They were Polish and on the holidays the house would smell so good you just couldn't stop eating,> she says with a laugh. <I'm just making a few things, Kitty's friends always seemed to like my baked goods, so will be doing a pumpkin chocolate babka.>

She switches back to English then as Roberto comes over. "Very nice to meet you. Latino, handsome. You must be Roberto," she asks, looking over to Kitty. Kitty's eyes flare in a way that her going, "Mom!?" would have been entirely appropriate, though she doesn't say it. "Yes, this is Roberto," she answers instead. Her mother's eyes have a twinkle to it, the same one Kitty gets when she is being clever with someone. "Nice to meet you Roberto. Congratulations on the soccer team. Kitty was telling me about the stadium plans on the drive up from the airport."

Henry McCoy has posed:
There's a nod to Raven, Henry chuckling a bit. "It is good to see you again, Raven. How are things going with you?" Then there's a familial reunion between Rogue and Mystique. He steps back, allowing the two to reconnect. Leaning back against the counter, his attention turns to the interaction between Kitty, Roberto and Theresa. That has him grinning impishly, even as he reaches over to wash his hands. So many chefs, even in this big kitchen!

He steps back, letting the professionals dive in.

He does slip by Roberto and take up one of the beers. He's earned it!

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Smiling a little when Jean compliments his handiwork, the things he has been working on get added to their correct pots and pans. With the sheer amount being done in the kitchen right now you would think it would be chaos, but cooking forces a certain order. If that order isn't followed, you're not going to come out with anything tasty.

    When Mystique comes in, he waves to her after adding some carrots to one of the many pots heating on the stove. Apparently he's already met one of the more infamous mutants who can sometimes be found at the school.

    If anyone was paying attention to him, they would notice that he seems to be relaxing as he works and sees the family atmosphere and general merriment filling the kitchen as they all come together to prepare for tomorrow. It's almost like he's coming more into view from being somewhat faded out.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over at Ms Pryde, "I'm sure that you'll do fine." Still speaking over in Hebrew. "Is the kitchen setup to your requirements?" The actual semantics of kosher dietary law and cleansing were extensive but simple. She would turn her attention over to Raven once more and move to disengage, sweeping about the room over.

Laura is given an analytical survey, even while M starts to hum to herself in thought.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha does not fear carbs. "It's not so much blasting as it is flash frying. I've done it before. Just gotta be really, really, really fast Jean. A little singing and charcoal after doesn't hurt anyone!" the blonde explains and grins.

At least she doesn't ever have to worry about burning herself.

The beanie on her head does protect her when she looks up and cake batter finally drops and lands on her head.

She ain't even mad. There's just a sigh as she lets the potatoes being mashed cor casseraole variation purposes go so she can clean off her head in a near by bin. Chuckling at her expense.

"if you do that Sam, if you do that, wrap the bird in tin foil till it looks like something from a sixties sci-fi show! What? I know what a dutch oven is. And not just the prank version." she states and shrugs as she gets back to slaving over pots.

Well not slave, but she doesn't seem to mind pitching in while everyone else is in and filling the kitchen.

Jean Grey has posed:
They're definitely collecting parents! Just as Jean is finished making sure Theresa's cooking supplies are properly unloaded, she overhears Owen, turning back around. She gives him a sheepish smile. "Yeah we're kind of... a lot. Hope you don't mind the chaos. It'll only be about twice as bad tomorrow," she promises, with a grin. "My folks live in driving distance, so they'll be down tomorrow. I'm sure they'd love to meet you too." Gathering all the olds! "Want a drink?"

She juggles her glass in the air, held aloft in one hand. Maybe that'll help!

With that, she's back to playing kitchen supervisor, taking a round of the various stations where people are still working. "Oh, out of sour cream? We've got more in the fridge. French fried onions in the pantry." The vegetable and green bean casseroles are some of the other more legendary dishes in the non-dessert class. Gotta make sure they come out right!

Circling around, she eventually catches up with Laura and her dish. "That sounds... interesting. But you know, we have a lot of people with a lot of different traditions here, so there's always room to try something new." In fact, this makes her glance over at Monet as well. "You got any personal favorites you wanna add to the menu, last-minute? We've got a surprising amount of stuff in the pantry, probably a lot we can manage."

And then, just a bit too late, "Tabi, no--"

Where'd her brandy go?

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    Raven stared at Owen with slightly narrowed eyes, studying him intently as he spoke, even praised her, and then he was offering his hand in her direction. A smile appeared on her face, the programmed response of one who knows how to pretend, or rather act like they are sincere.

    "A pleasure to meet you Owen," Raven replied, her voice is smooth, calm, no hint to anyone that she may or may not actually mean what she said. She takes the offered hand to shake, the smile remaining in place. "She's a wonderful, strong, and amazing woman, most of which she did completely on her own," she adds, then her hand is withdrawn slowly, even if she wants to yank it back like the man was a plague. One thing Raven knew how to do... act. "And yes Marie, wine is very much required, thank you."

    Later she would have to tell Hank just how grateful she was for him being there, speaking directly to her, his question drawing her away from a man she didn't trust nor like, that man being Owen. This wasn't the time or place to go into the past, to recount what had happened and find out how the hell he came back. That would wait for another time, so for now she collected herself some wine and inched her way over to the other blue mutant.

    "So far nothing has been destroyed, no one has been killed, and I've made it through the haze of lost love to come out the other side," she says more quietly to Hank, though by no means attempting to whisper. "I would say that warrants the response of things are going well enough, thank you for asking."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde pulls her jacket back on and heads outside to meet the Professor's friend. Theresa replies to Monet, in English, "Yes, everything looks fine," she says. "I'll get to it then," she says, setting out the ingredients for the dishes into three distinct groupings. Her experience cooking for her family shows as she's managing to work on all three things at once.

Theresa Pryde looks over to Evan Sabahnur and smiles to him. "I don't think I've met you yet, have I? And apologies if so and I've forgotten. I'm Kitty's mother," she offers. "Are you one of the students, or a graduate?" she inquires of him.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa grins brightly at Mrs Pryde, "Yes, Roberto? Wait, He stage whispers, "She noticed me? She talked about me on the car ride? What did she say, exactly?!" He snickers then considers, looking after Kitty, "Wait, did she pick you up the Lex Auto car? How was it?" Berto sets about helping Mrs. Pryde with set-up and offering be a sous-chef.

"Sam, you know I am here for protein to snack on. That sounds great. I willbe there to help whenever you need... So, is that a no on the baby pictures? The last is offered quietly to Mrs. Pryde.

Rogue has posed:
The tense look that Raven pays Owen just gets a continued smile from the man. "Well, that very much doesn't surprise me. What I've seen of her since finding her is... nothing short of what you describe." He says of his child in the southern belle herself. Owen shifts his eyes over to Henry and offers him a hand to shake too. "Owen, nice to meet you."

Rogue appears beside Hank with one of Mystique's treats she'd brought. She had taken a bite from it, but now is laying her head on Hank's shoulder. "This is Doctah McCoy. He's the bestest." She says to her father to introduce Hank for him, then she lifts her head again to smile at him big and brightly.

Out in the hallway, some of the kids go running by toward the garage direction, a piece of pizza getting dropped on the floor right in the middle of the hallway carpet.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney rolls her shoulders and stares back at Monet. Studying her in return like she'd study a target. She doesn't even break eye contact when she responds to Jean "The hot sauce? It's not really a dish or a tradition. I don't cook many things, just my own hot sauce and I slice some pretty mean raw fish. Of the two the sauce seemed more sensible than bringing any fugu with me."

Eventually she decides that Monet isn't a threat and shakes her head. "Tabitha if you use explosions to cook things you're going to get an uneven cook and a nasty case of food poisoning. Also bits of exploded turkey will go everywhere and the whole mansion will smell of off meat."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks over to Laura, and says "Ah have never done a turkey like that always wanted to try a pig done up like that but aint had the time and chance to do it. If Mara was about could put it together pretty simple." He admits thinking about the pit cooking. He then is putting a large pot on the burner once he has it burning and starts to fill it with oil, it is going to take quite a bit.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott Summers arrives late, which is unusual for him. But he's been finishing up re-certification on his EMT training and the certification office was in Albany. One hard sleet on the roads later and he was late back.

"Sorry, guys. Bad weather. I would've called Ororo, but I figured all the turkey and dressing might make her airsick," he says. He shrugs off his jacket, revealing a Pearl Jam t-shirt underneath a checked flannel button down, the sleeves rolled up. "So: how are all the people I'm thankful for tonight?"

Henry McCoy has posed:
"So, a normal Wednesday?" Henry jokes with Raven, giving her a nod and a chuckle. He's an anchor for folks, generally a calming presense of logic and warmth. He accepted this role happily, enjoying any opportunity to help his friends. A grin then to Rogue, even as he shakes Owen's hand. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Owen. Henry McCoy." It is hard to mistake him for another person, really.

A glance over to Scott, a happy chuckle. "Nice shirt, Scott! Old school." He comments to his long-time friend. "Come on in, plenty of cooking happening - and family being met." He motions to Owen and Theresa.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
There's still stains of cake batter on her beanie, it'll need a wash and maybe along with her top since the yellow catches the darker colors of what was cake mix as easily. This is why you usually wear aprons. Jean had warned her but Tabby is not always that fast on the upate. Even with telepathy to give her warning. She didn't take the Brandy jean had but she definitely could have.

"Not the worst mess to splatter me." she states and chuckles at her own expense.

"I've eaten garbage Laura, I've had to flash cook more than a few things. Food poisoning is sometimes the acceptible risk when starvation is a thing." she states with a nod of her head.

"Sage advice from Hobo Tabby!" she declares. "But I'm not cooking a bird so if I do get sick it's probably because this tiny stomach and abdomen hit capacity!"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's mother laughs and tells Roberto, "Oh, she'd probably be upset if I shared too much. Though yes there's a bath picture that she'd hate for me to pass on."

She motions towards the carrots which need peeling if the Brazilian wants to help, and then she sets to work on mixing the ingredients for the babka.

Though Theresa looks up as Scott Summers comes in. She wipes her hands on a dish towel and smiles to him. "Scott Summers, come here and give an old woman a hug," she says. She's not all that old barely past forty. "How are you doing, and how is your brother?" she asks.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    When addressed directly, Evan shakes his head "I've only been here a week or two, still trying to get the hang of this place. It's way better here than at my old school in Colorado." He seems about to leave it at that when he adds, "Oh, I'm Evan, it's nice to meet you." Manners are important, after all.

    The first round of prep finished, food cooking on the stoves, Evan finds himself watching over a large pot of some kind of vegetables. Observers will probably be happy to note that he is not using his powers, but rather an actual utensil to do the stirring it needs. It may be ok for cutting, but not for stirring the actual food.

    Now that he's not quite so busy, he steps over to one of the refrigerators and gets a bottle of root beer out, opening it and taking a drink as he heads back over to his station to continue to watch the interplay in the kitchen.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would glance over at Scott, "I believe that particular group has aged about as well as Pearls Before Swine, Mister Summers." She would go to keep watching over to the cooking going on, as considerations were going on to food prep.. And Monet would return her attention to Laura's analysis. Interesting.

M looks at Laura without blinking. Then at whatever moment Laura decides M is not a threat M likewise decides that Laura is not one either. The Moroccan mutant gives a low nod at her that's broken in between the comments on explosions.

Jean Grey has posed:
The mere idea of hot sauce alone doesn't seem to worry Jean too much, even if Laura's instinct to not bring any potentially lethal poisonous fish is met with a bit of a... relieved chuckle. "Yeah, probably better to skip that one. Still, I'm sure there's more than a couple people who might enjoy a bit of heat in their meals. The stuff on our 'standard' menu is all, well, it's the usual American Thanksgiving staples. Comfort food to some of us, but I'm sure it might be a little plain to others. So there's always room to spice the menu up! Uh, no pun intended. Oh, actually-" She's suddenly thought of something, and looks back over her shoulder at Rogue. "Is Remy doing his gumbo?"

She has no idea what sort of recipe that is, but it's probably spicy, right?

"Ooh good, worried we'd lost you to the great north!" Jean calls over as Scott makes it in. Albany is practically Canada to New Yorkers! "We're still cooking, getting everything ready for tomorrow. Wanna lend a hand? We've only got, well, a ton left!" There is always more to do! "Or you can just supervise Tabitha and make sure she doesn't destroy anything else." Full name mode AND sending Scott after her?! She's in trouble!

Rogue has posed:
Rogue gives Hank's arm a affectionate squeeze before she separates from him and motions for her father to come to the counter with her. She introduces him to Raven's German Rum Balls, and he too is now trying one, experimentally. the pair are talking about them when Jean asks of Remy, causing her to look to the Headmistress and offer her a simple nod, leaning against the counter now just a little.

"He an' Jeepers are out in the Lake house kitchen makin' his own Thanksgiving meal that he's gonna offer as an alternative t'people who 'actually have tastebuds'. His words. Not mine..." She states, muttering some as she drops her eyes back down to the food on hand for tonight. Another sip of her wine is taken then as Owen spots the pizza on the floor out in the hallway. He moves out there to gather it up now, and bring it in to the kitchen to set it down in the dog food dish bowl that rests empty and clean in the corner of the room.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa has been to enough Boxing Day celebrations to actually know some basic prep skills and he smiles to Mrs. Pryde, "You are going to blow my cover, Mrs. Pryde." He goes about peeling and cutting the carrots, "Julienne? I am a man of business Mrs. Pryde, There is always a price."

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott Summers cocks his head, "Theresa Pryde? Can it be? I hear your voice, but it's coming out of this supermodel," he says, his voice teasing. Yes, he makes Dad jokes and he's only 25. This is who he is and he's learned to lean into it.

He gives Kitty's mother a hug and a backpat. "I'm always happy to see the larger web of our family come together here," he says. "Where's that daughter of yours? How was the drive? I hit a hell of a patch of ice on the highway south of Albany. The holiday traffic didn't help. Brutal. Absolutely brutal. I've fought robots with more mercy than that ice."

He finds himself a drink quickly enough, hitting the holiday punch that he presumes someone remembered to make, since he left a post-it about it on the refrigerator last weekend.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Sometimes it's just looking like a guilty party that's enough to get you under suspicion. There is a pout aimed at Jean as she sics a Scott on her. "Just for that, next blackbird training sim I'm gonna fly sine waves in the air." up and down, up and down.

She'd totally east what Remmy cooks as well. Ex-hobo-girls tends to be less picky about food. The fact she enjoys Laura's sauces a sign of some extra scrambled brain wiring. But it's also entertaining.

"Chop chop 'Berto!" she calls out. That pun painful as it is had to be released into the wild before someone else caught the groans.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's mother tells Roberto, "Just clean them, there's a special way I'll cut them," she says. She pulls out her phone and pulls up a picture of a similar dish to show him.

https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/hasselback-carrots-680x1020.jpg

Theresa Pryde motions towards the door outside. "Kitty went out to meet a friend of Charles'," she tells Scott in answer of where Kitty is. Though just then the door opens and Kitty comes inside. Her cheeks and nose are a little rosy from the cold. She peels off her jacket and moves to join the others in the kitchen.

"Kitty, who did he have you meet," her mother asks.

Kitty replies, "It was Larry Page." The blank and questioning looks her mother gives back in reply lead Kitty to expand on the answer. "He's a founder and majority shareholder of Google," she says. "I think maybe he wanted me in for an interview after we'd talked a bit. Though had to told him I just accepted an offer at Stark Industries." Which she then realizes, is news to people. "Oh, yeah. So, Pepper Potts called after... become aware of some work I did." Thankfully the one person in the room who probably doesn't realize it involved illegal hacking is her mother. "And, it turned into a job offer. I'll still have a day a week free to be here for guidance counseling. But now we have Rahne doing it too, figured could spare the time."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney slinks through the bustle of the kitchen, obtained a few teaspoons on the way, then pours the sauce out into them and offers around. For anyone brave enough to try. Of course it's really not the kind of thing anyone tastes. It's more of an /experience/. The 'oh god why did I do this where is the water' sort of experience. And at least as likely to cause people to be unwell as Tabitha undercooking something with an explosion.

But hey Jean eats Suns she's probably good with spicy too!

"If the cigars aren't suitable for the celebration I'll just leave them somewhere for Logan." It's been so long since she last spoke with her Father she doesn't even know if he smokes cigars himself right now. But given how long Howletts live he'll no doubt change his mind eventually. Either picking up the bad habit again or giving it up. Besides it's the thought that counts.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would go to look over and listen over to the back and forth while looking at the cooking. "Apparently your skills are in quite demand." She would offer to Kitty. "Congratulations. Good luck with your negotiations, and do remember in the end that they'll want you more than you want them. ANd that you can play them against one another in the end for your own benefit. Capitalism does go both ways."

Which so many executives seemed to have a habit of completely forgotting. Okay, make that all of them after all.

She would simply go to try and quickly pluck mentally the sensation of the peppers from someone else's reception and look vaguely annoyed.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    Raven is content with her glass of wine, to remain standing near Henry while listening to the conversations going on around her. Her yellow eyes shift from person to person, but keep finding their way to Owen, before moving on again.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Hands washed, and mostly dried ... dang fur! Henry relaxes with Raven, positioning them both out of the combat theatre... er, cooking prep. He takes a sip of his beer, thinking to offer some to Raven - but she has wine! He watches the bonding, the familiar people moving in concert to complete the tasks at hand.

This is not combat - the kitchen was a different set of teamwork skills. Perhaps it was something to program into the Danger Room? Bake-Off? Iron Chef? Henry's mind is blurring through the possibilities,.

Rogue has posed:
Once back at Rogue's side, Owen gladly accepts one of the tea spoons from Laura. "I'll give it a shot." He bracely announces. Of course, this has Rogue eyeing the results as the man samples the skeery hot sauce. It takes him a few moments after tasting it for him to start to nod his head slowly... "Yep. Regrets." He dryly reviews the stuff. "Wow. That has a kick." He says, reaching for one of the beers that he looks at, then sets aside again before taking up a bottle of tea instead. Twisting the cap off the man tosses back a big swig.

He catches Raven eyeing him, and he wipes at his brow then with the back of his head. Is he sweating? Is Raven's stare boring a hole in to his guilty conscience, and proving that she SHOULD NOT trust him, NOR should anyone ELSE?!

Or is Laura's mysterious hot sauce, just that damn spicy.

Rogue laughs softly, and takes a spoon of it herself to try it next. She too takes a few moments before shaking her head. "I don't... oh... there it is. Ugh...." And more wine is sipped, and more is soon retrieved from the bottle too!

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott Summers extends his hand to Kitty, offering her a shake of congratulations, his other hand going to her shoulder, "Kitty, that's fantastic! Stark's a good choice - Tony's almost as meticulous as me in his operations, even if he lacks some of my discipline," he says. "But I lack his genius, so I think he probably wins. Regardless, they're going to benefit so much from having your expertise on hand. I just hope we don't lose too much of your presence around here, although I'm sure it will cut into some training time.'

He gets out his phone, "Here, let me get out my calendar. I don't want to talk too much team business tonight. It's a festive occasion, people should be able to let their hair down. Even me, maybe. A little bit," he says. "I'll just send you a copy of my team calendar and you can pick any time to do a quick session about keeping you involved in the team. If that's okay with you?"

Jean Grey has posed:
"See? Hear that? We've got our cajun swamprat out back talking trash-- er, I mean we have Remy working on some alternatives for the menu. So you should ask him about the hot sauce, maybe he can incorporate it." See? Jean can work anything into this mad experiment of a family gathering. Of course, being that Laura is offering samples as well, and she's being so encouraging, she's obligated to try some - although she's cautious of just taking a swig of the stuff straight, instead spinning around to grab a chunk of left-over bread end left over from stuffing-making. She dabs THAT in the sauce, and takes a nibble.

Its probably bad when Jean looks nervous about it, right?!

Needless to say, while the Phoenix may indeed feast upon the formative energies of the cosmos, its host is still a human woman from, well, exactly around here, in the quiet Hudson valley. It is not a region known for its spicy cuisine. And whatever broader cosmopolitan personality she's developed seeing the world in that fancy plane... she's still a bit of that small town girl. And so she nibbles. "It's not too-"

It doesn't take long for it to start to have its many effects, the increased circulation flushing her cheeks, the chemicals tricking her brain into thinking she's on fire. And... she's LITERALLY been on fire, plenty of times. "Ah, phew, this is uh, definitely, some strong stuff... excuse me!" With that, she makes a quick line for the fridge, knowing very well that gulping water isn't the way to solve this.

Well there you go. A weakness discovered for the next time she goes on a rampage.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Ok, he can't take it any longer. He's still a teen after all, even if a notably polite and quiet one. Evan gives the pot a stir, lays down the spoon and vanishes out the door to the rest of the school. A couple minutes later he's back with two slices of pizza on a paper plate and returns to his station making sure things don't burn. He munches on the pizza while stirring a couple pots, as more prep finishes and pots get added to the stovetop.

    Being new at the school and not knowing these people in general, he completely misses the slight tension between Mystique and Owen, instead just soaking in the holiday mood. This place is starting to feel like home, and he couldn't be happier. Heck, nobody had teased him about wearing lipstick (he isn't, that's his natural coloration) since he arrived.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabby eyes the cigars with a chuckle. "You've got an easier time passing weed around than tobacco Laura. Logan will at least appreciate them." she points out while she watches everyone else start trying the hot sauce the dark haired feral mutant brings.

"I swear this is probably the funniest thing ever." she states while chuckling at the reactions some of them have. Laura had already seen Tabitha's reaction. "By the way. Somehow you never get used to that feeling. And it's hoing to go alll the way through!" she states. It's a warning but Tabby maybe kind of undersells it with her playful tone.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa nods and grins, headtilting at the image not quite the one he was hoping for, "Looks delicious." He finishes the cleaning and heads back to helping Sam, grabbing a pair of beers on the way.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would get just enough of a vibe from the frantic firewails going to get the gist of the sensation. She would glance at Laura. "EFfective." She would allow. "Would you care to share your supplier? I would be willing to compensate you for it." It's not every day one gets to see the Mansion kitchen end in a one way victory after all.

She'll send it to her sisters, they'll love them!

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks over as Berto comes back out to where he is. He can see folks in the kitchen and chat some, but watching the pot does keep him a bit separate from the others for now. They may have people who are immune to heat and fire, and the mansion may get destroyed on a bi monthly bases, but he does not want to be the cause of that or one of the kids that could be hurt coming about getting curious and them having to find a healer "Thanks man." He tells Berto as he gets to him

Rogue has posed:
Rogue turns away from the wine bottles in time to see Jean's reaction to the hot sauce. this makes her eyes widen in surprise at the redhead actually being affected by it. "Really?" She asks. "God, I should've waited t'see your reaction before I tried it."

The southern gal steps over to the freezer side of the fridge and gets a ice cube from the dispensor before she just raises it up and places it on top of her tongue, and stares... like this.

Owen takes a sip of his tea, and then smirks at the others. "I'll be outside, think I'm going to let the cold try and fight back. I'll go check on Remy at the boat house place, see how his cooking is going." The man adds with a nod coming from Rogue then whilst she holds that ice cube on her extended tongue. "Ooofayf." She says over the ice cube. A moment after that and Owen is stepping outside where Charles is seated with all his friends around the stove fire that is going out on the patio to keep them all warm, the door closing behind him on his way out.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney blinks a few times. "I don't have a supplier?" she notes with a shrug. "I make it myself. A lot of the off the shelf brands are a little timid for my liking. And the logical solution was to simply make my own." And the combination of wanting food to not be bland, being trained to resist extremes of pain and a healing factor.... Well it should really shock anyone her cooking would be unique. Having as much tactical value as it does culinary.

"The important thing is not to touch /anywhere/ delicate until you've washed anything that's been in contact with the sauce. Twice. Just to be safe..." She's not to blame if anyone makes the unwise decision of touching their face anytime soon.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over at Laura, "Even better. So what do you feel is a fair trade for a supply of such?" That's not the way negotiating is supposed to go! When one haggles they're supposed to make an opening offer, which is to then be scoffed at, openly mocked and derided, and then a counter-offer made. And some more back and forth over on it that will eventually settle at a deal.

Or some sort of melee. Oftentimes both. But, M apparently just thinks that it's easier to let teh other person set the exchange rather than go through the -ritual-.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty goes over to the cupboard to get a glass and then pours herself some wine as she answers Scott. "Well, the good news of working for Stark is that there is a bit of extra understanding built in when I have to be away for stretches. Miss Potts said she would make sure the recruiter understood they were going to be flexible with me on hours. But, yes, happy to schedule my day off when there's training if it's during the day. Though, afternoon or evening is better anyway." And given a lot of the team are teachers, that probably is the case a lot anyway.

Taking the wine bottle with her, Kitty tops off her mother, and then goes over to do the same for Rogue. She glances surreptitiously between Mystique and Owen. "So now you know how it was for me during the divorce at holidays," she whispers to Rogue with a little grin.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa says, "You're welcome, my friend. Mrs Pryde had bathtub baby pics of Kitty. And there's some gringo hot sauce making the rounds. So, normal pre-thanksgiving stuff? How is this going? When can we eat?" He leans against the railing, "Hey Sam, I wanted you to give a talk about police mutant relations at the community center. Maybe bring your Sargent?""

Jean Grey has posed:
Milk! It really is an antidote, for another set of science-y reasons. And that's what Jean is going for, pulling out a carton, even as Rogue goes for the more... elemental solution.

"That won't really-" Eh, screw it. She can talk after she MAKES IT STOP. A hand is outheld, a glass FLIES across the room right into her grip, and Jean starts pouring, before taking a big gulping sip. She opens her mouth, pants a little, and then takes another long gulp, before holding the carton to ward Rogue.

"Ah, was trying to say... it FEELS like burning but its not really heat, its chemical." Still playing teacher!

After all that, and whatever accompanying damage to her pride, she looks back over at Laura. "It's... really strong, yeah," she says, obviously avoiding saying anything worse! "But you know, they say it has all kinds of health benefits. Yeah, I'd definitely see how Remy likes it." Whether that's a genuine effort to help out his cooking or some kind of plot to see if she can't best the spicemaster at his own game? Who knows!

Taking Laura's advice, she washes her hands after gulping down the glass, before glancing back over at Kitty. "Sorry, I heard before but-" She was paralyzed with hotsauce. "That's great news. All those big tech guys fighting it out over you."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks over to his friend and says "I can talk to her about it, not everyone in the precinct knows I am a mutant, but she does and is willing to keep it on the low if I need be. but have used my powers a few times in the line of duty. And I think her rank is Captain, she is a good person, even has us based near Bushwick and keeps an eye on the officers who work there.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    Raven's eyes follow Owen until she can no longer see him, then they snap back to look at Jean of all people, but only for a couple of seconds. Taking a small sip of the wine in her hand, followed by a slow, deep breath, she tries to mentally shake off the urge to go kill Owen for existing. She doesn't do that kind of thing any more, hasn't in over a year, but this was her daughter, it was different... still, she managed to keep that urge locked down.

    "Is anyone actually making a ham as well?" she asks, trying to involve herself with the room again and get her mind off the reappearing dead, not dead, cultist. "I could make one tonight to bring tomorrow if no one else is."

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney frowns as Monet tries to make a business deal. "I think you have misunderstood," she says apologetically. "I don't produce it to sell. It's just a hobby I picked up because my friends over in Gotham kept saying I never did anything for fun. And I was sick of eating bland meals."

She nods at Jean. "That is the intent. I've been trained to operate in clouds of tear gas and other riot suppression chemicals, so I had to ensure it could overcome my tolerance levels. If you think that Mister LeBeau would appreciate it I'll drop the bottle off with him." A pause, then she adds. "I can leave the cigars for Logan while I'm at it."

Rogue has posed:
The ice cube has melted enough on Rogue's tongue that she just crunches it now in her mouth and accepts the milk when it arrives from Jean. "Is this Almond Milk?" She asks, being one of 'those' kind of snobs in the school. But if this really is the solution, Rogue just downs the rest of her wine, then pours the milk in to her wine glass and tries that next. "I hate chemicals." She says there-after with a exhale chasing her words.

"I'm proud of Kitty, though I was hopin' she'd end up bein' like that person who hi jacked the WGN network in Chicago back in the 80s and put on that weird, totally creepy, masked halucination thing. That's what Kitty's computer skills should really be goin' toward, I think." She tells the whole room, Kitty's mother included, before smiling to her former roommate.

Then another sip of the milk-wine is had as she looks to Raven again. "Yeah, there's ham too. Honey ham, though it might just be from the store... I'm not sure..."

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Evan looks around the room to see if there is a ham anywhere in the chaos. Not that he's likely to speak up about it, but her question made him curious. Other than that, he's kind of wallflowering with the pots he's watching over, trying to pick up the dynamic of the group. Mostly, they seem to get along pretty well, though it could be that everyone is on their best behavior in front of the small crowd in the kitchen. Mostly though, they seem to get along well, with only the occasional hot-sauce related issue.

Henry McCoy has posed:
The Beast is amused at the reaction to the tongue-fire that Laura had brought. There's no way he's trying that, though. Not with his heightened senses - nope. He does make a face when Rogue pours milk into the freshly-drained wine glass. Ich.

"I was thinking of getting some rabbit as well, if folks wanted to try?" He offers over. "I had a lovely Polish Thanksgiving celebration once - the food there was phenomenal, and plentiful. It was enough to bring about the Thanksgiving food coma, to be sure."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde's cheeks just flush a little bit as Rogue suggests how her hacking skills could be used. No that wasn't her, she wasn't born yet. But... probably best to just leave it at that, with her mother in the room!

She does take a long sip of her wine, and go over to check on how her mother is doing. "Looking good mom. Can't wait to have the babka especially," she says with a grin.

Wandering back over to her friends, Kitty says, "Thanks guys. I'd been debating applying there or Wayne for awhile. Sort of dragging my feet as I knew it would be less time around here. But... well it worked out well. I didn't want to try to call in favors with Janet in applying there, so it was kind of nice having them reach out to me on their own."

Jean Grey has posed:
"We... do have a ham, and that is something we can get started now!" Jean is able to answer both mother and daughter, now that the burning brain sesnsation has faded and she has regained her composure. She starts headng over toward their larger industrial fridge area (you can't really feed a school out of a normal fridge!), briefly vanishing from sight. But her voice can still be heard!

"I think we'll still want to finish it tomorrow before we serve, do the glazing, but that only takes an hour or so. And otherwise it keeps fine." Indeed, it isn't like they went and bought an actual pig, so the ham they have is a large store-bought one, pre-cured/smoked and thus requiring a lower temperature. But still a few hours in the oven! In full cheater mode, it just comes floating along in the air with Jean as she reappears, following her for a while before ultimately maneuvering around to set down on a pristine surface down at one end of the center kitchen aisle.

"Behold, ham!" she does the gameshow hostess arm thing and everything. "Ooh, that sounds interesting, Hank. Still got time if you want. We'll be cooking in the morning tomorrow, too." And naturally, she's all grins for Kitty. "You'd kill it wherever you went, but it really sounds great. I'm - we're - " she quickly adds, looking over to mama Pryde as well, "all so proud of you."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue finishes off her wine milk, and then deposits the glass in the dish washer with all the other dirty dishes waiting to be run through. she actually sets the wash going too with a few clicks and button taps on the display panel, and turns around in time to see Jean doing her game-show Vannah White thing for the ham. "I knew we had one around here somewhere. I kinda prefer honey ham over turkey..." Blasphemous.

Stepping back to the center counter island, Rogue snags up one of those fancy beers that were brought in and she snaps the cap open on it. Raising it up quickly she slurps the bubbles off the top brim before they can overtake the edge of it and run down the edge of the can, then she samples it with a sip.

Eyelash fluttering. "Mmmm, beer-y." She utters.

"Okay, well, are we done in here then for the night?" She asks Jean, stepping over to the ham. "Does this thing need t'thaw in the fridge?" She asks, poking at the side of its plastic wrapped self.

"Oh, and someone should probably go check on the rec room, make sure that Lord of the Flies hasn't taken place in there, and find out the fattest kids have taken up some kind of dictatorship..."

Another beer sip is had then and Rogue snags another one of those German Rum Balls with a quick 'yoinking motion'.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
    Finishing off the glass of win, Raven places the glass in the dishwasher shortly before Rogue gets it running. If she knew how to help more, she would do so, would be a great distraction.

    "If anything else is needed before now and tomorrow evening, please let me know and I'll arrange to have it delivered," she offers toward the staff in the room with a smile. "Anything at all, from anywhere in the world."

    Moving back over to the safe location near Henry, she lays her hand on his arm lightly as she says, "Rabbit sounds really good actually, something new that a lot of people likely haven't had before."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would go to listen for a few moment, "I believe that things are well in hand. And if you're going to prepare a ham, ensure that you're diong it in a separate area in the kitchen." The joys of having such a large one designed for so many students meant it was simple to set aside one area to be readied for Ms Pryde.
    It had to be kosher, after all!

Henry McCoy has posed:
Giving a nod to Jean, he grins. "It really is a lovely dish. I'll prep it and bring it for tomorrow." Henry decides. "At the very least, I'll eat it." A chuckle. And then Raven chimes in. "And Raven will, too." A nod to the other woman as she adds about people not having tried it.

"It's gone a bit away from the mainstream, for certain. I think it's important to keep some of these things alive, in terms of meals, so we don't lose them to time." A chuckle.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa opens his mouth to say something about Kosher and ham but then just decides it's better off not getting involved, "Captain? Good for her, that's part of the issue. Want to encourage positive police relations but also track poor behavior. We've developed an app for tracking interactions with city authorities, starting to put together a database so we have real data when we talk to the city in January."

Jean Grey has posed:
Are they done? Jean stands in the middle of everything, hands on hips, and looks around.

And it's a bloody mess!

But it also looks like most of the dishes have now been completed, some ready to be put in to bake or already in the oven, others neatly saran-wrapped to sit in the fridge until their final fate in the morning. She makes sure those get put where they need to go, and... nods! "I think it looks mostly like we're good," she answers Rogue, after taking a few more moments of survey. "Timers set for the stuff in the oven. And the rest will wait till morning." Like Hank's dish. "Sounds delicious. You're a peach," she tells him, smiling particularly brightly.

And with all of that sorted, she goes to mimick Rogue's choice of additional beverage and snack, grabbing another one of the bottles and a ball to match on her way through. "Alright. Well, now get to kick back." Pause. "Yeah... after I make sure those little monsters haven't killed each other."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie nods his head a bit to Berto as he sips his beer. "Ah am sure she will be glad to talk about it, heck she might even try to talk you into doing a citizen on patrol or something." Yup Sam references an old movie. Hearing the talk of other foods, and says "You know Ah do wish someone was doing some venison as well."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would watch over, "If inventive ways of ensuring that the bodies are not discovered are necessary, I'm sure that amongst the various faculty members here there is some level of experience that can be brought to task." She's joking, probably?
    .. Well among the three ninjas, one or two super assassins..
    Probably not joking.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa smiles, "Well, we have set up some mutual defense groups it wouldn't be a bad thing for them to have formal relations with the police... good idea, Sam. Yeah? Wouldn't mind more seafood myself-" His phone buzzes and Roberto pulls it out of his pocket, frowning at the display. He answers the phone, "What does Papa need, Wilhelm? He-"

    Roberto goes pale looking at Sam wide eyed. "No, he- where? Why was he- But no he nev- Fuck, fuckfuck fuck. How bad? No, no, I- I'll be there as soon as i can." Berto ends the call and looks at Sam mouth opening and closing before dashing put of the room towards the front gate

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie will blink and takes a moment to look into the kitchen and says "Hey someone please keep an eye on the fryer, something has happened, and Ah need to find out what it is." He tells them and "Ah'll fill you in when Ah know what it is." He says and then moves to catch up with Berto.