13784/Mojo GoGo

Mojo GoGo
Date of Scene:	09 January 2023
Location:	Library
Synopsis:	The cards tell a story of fools. Fools are however fought off by friends.
Cast of Characters:	Emma Frost, Marie-Ange Colbert, Gabby Kinney, Rahne Sinclair

---

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost has come in on one of her rare days over to the Mansion. Nothing had been blown up from sledding as of a few days ago, so things seemed rather calm. And there she was, meeting with one of the girls that she was fond of, going to take a seat over in the library.

Cup of tea being brought up and over to her lips, for once not sweetened with anything alcoholic, just a bit too much honey and sdugar in it than was normal.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
There are times for frivolity like the sledding of earlier, and there's times when one has to buckle down and be more serious. For Marie-Ange Colbert, the latter of these two is usually the pointt of course. She takes her responsibilities very seriously; those owed to the Club, the ones she percieves herself owing to Xavier's, that of her own schoolwork, and the various demands of her cards.

That had been her plan for the day, the velvety pouch of her normal deck laying empty on the table and her cards in her hands being carefully cut and shuffled, with her intention being one of her daily readings. Her visible attention is on the other woman at the table, though she doesn't miss a beat with the deck whether through practice or split attention. "It is good to see you again, Madame Frost. Were you in need of my services, or...?"

While she considers Emma a friend, her value of herself as a person isn't the highest -- so most anyone coming to see her, specifically, is often thought of in search of a reading or something else she can provide!

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would come in and smile over at Marie-Ange, "NO, I don't. I value you for more than your abilities, darling. I just thought that I would check in with you while i had a free afternoon and I had to come to the school for business. I take it that the readings have been.. Uneven, like they often can?" THings can be good or bad, chaotic or in order. But rarely passive in so many things.

"I did hear that you enjoyed yourself some. It is good that you were able to get out and engage some with the other students." She would smile, "It's all right to do some things spontaneously at times my dear. And is that a new shuffle?" She would muse over while watching analytically.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
From the hallway comes a happy, carefree sing-song from a voice not heard so often around here these days. Though Gabby had been around for the holidays a bit more frequently it was still rare for her to spend too much time here with her various groups and responsibilities. Which is why it might be odd that she comes in singing happily, "Fuck it all, fuck it aaaaall, don't give a fuck anymooore!" Fuck it all!" To the tune of 'Frozen'. There's a bunch of papers clasped in hand that she waves into the air with a flourish of triumph. "Hi! I'm done with school!" of course she hadn't graduated, so how...?

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"I see." Marie replies -- Emma's words making her lips turn upwards a bit. Even having lived in the States for a few years now, Marie spent a lifetime being generally unwanted and ridiculed otherwise with rare exception. Xavier's serves as her refuge. The place she most considers herself -- potentially -- valued as more than just a service, or abilities. It's one of the many reasons she has the debt she can never repay.

"Oui," to enjoying herself. "The people here are... as wonderful as I remember, Madame Frost. Yes, there is an element of danger which comes from being in their presence, but..." she shrugs a bit, "What fate wills, I cannot change, and I would rather face such dangers with them than without." Notice how she didn't mentioned the spontaneous thing? Sneaky sneaky Marie. "Oui, I was getting ready to perform my reading for the day -- well, my second reading for the day. Something... something is coming, but it is not entirely clear what, yet." Deft hands stop shuffling, there's one final cut and the deck is set face-down on the table. Getting ready.

Although... Gabby's entrance? That stops her from drawing the first card just yet. One, the sight of her in general because, hello again old friend! Two... well. Because the language is enough to turn Marie's cheeks red. Yes, even after rooming with Jenny for a while. "Bonsoir, Gabby!" she greets with a little wave, before breaking eye contact. "Did... did I miss your gradutation?" She sounds suddenly mortified. "I... I have no words. Je suis desole." Gabby was there for hers, afterall!

Emma Frost has posed:
Going to take a moment to relax, Emma Frost would look over. "Ah, hello over to yourself Gabriella. I take it that everything's going well? And wouldn't a more appropraite tune be that school's out for winter and school's out forever?" SHe would go to quip. "And it's good to see you."

She would look from Marie-Ange to Gabby, seeing if there was any indication of familiarity between the two of them. "And sometimes you can change Fate. Look at it sometimes that fate provides opportunities. But it is up to you as to what to make of them. It may or may not give guidance or intuition, but one is still required to actually take advantage of it. Not all goes exactly as foretold. Or sometimes one merely gets the wrong assessment of it." She would smile over at the two. Then going quiet at the 'miss graduation' bit.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney smiles broadly at Marie in greeting, only for her eyes to widen at the realization of what the poor girl is assuming. "Oh! No no you didn't miss anything, I promise," she assures while striding over to give her a hug. Should she allow it at least. "No, I got my GED. It was getting a bit hard to juggle everything I'm doing, and school, without falling behind somewhere. So I made the decision to just take the test and get it over with."

Glancing over to Emma she flashes a grin in amusement. "Bit outside of my generational awareness though. Though 'schools out forever' is pretty apt, at least until someone talks me into college at some point." A little sigh is given over that. It was one of those things that, some day, she would do she knew. "Oh! I haven't seen you do your cards in ages. Mind if I watch? I'm learning a bit more about occulty stuff given my situation."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
There's a shake of Marie's head, "Sometimes Madame Frost," she admits, looking back down towards her deck. "It is less changing Fate, however, and more petitioning it to reconsider. Such as with my own graduation. The Hermit stood in my way time after time, telling me that my fate was to return to France and leave my loved ones behind." There's a hint of sadness in her voice at that, though it passes quickly. "I swear that Jennifer must have used sheer willpower to convince Fate to reconsider, and the Professor was able to extend my visa. Such times are not as common as I might like, however."

She definitely does allow the hug -- Marie has always been welcoming of such things! Touch-starved, that one. The news that she didn't screw up and that there's happier news ahead gets her smiling wider, though. "Oh, tres bien! Congratulations are in order, then." And a gift. She'll have to go shopping. "You most certainly may, I was getting ready to begin." A pause, and a thoughtful look crosses the redhead's features. "You are? Well. If you would care to learn how to read the cards someday, I would be willing to give lessons, too."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would nod over at Marie-Ange while glancing over at her, "Just remember that Fate is not set in stone, and that by force of will one can remake it. It is not something so hard that it is unavoidable. Merely bend existence to oneself at times and that is how you go." She would nod over at Marie-Ange. "A most unique girl." She would mm over.

"And if you're going to perform a reading, do you generally have a specific intent in mind? Or do you merely take the cards and let them speak as they would? Or do you try to focus on a specific thing?"

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
The small redhead appears in the doorway, dragging a blanket behind her. She actually is holding a teddy bear, a real actual brown cloth bear, and looking exhausted. She peers in through the door into the library, then continues on past, until the tip of her draggled blanket vanishes in the hallway.

A moment later she peers in again, looking confused. Did I just see this already a moment ago?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins warmly as she steps back and finds herself a spot to sit. Even if it's right on the floor, such things rarely if ever bothered her. The benefit of youth and a healing factor to ensure getting stiff legs wasn't going to be an issue. "Great! That would be good to know at some point, probably. I've just been kind of winging things a bit." Though she probably shouldn't talk too much about that.

Thankfully there's a little disdtraction as the sound of something dragging along the floor causes her to glance over her shoulder to the doorway. Where she spots Rahne peeking in. Her hand lifts to wave gesturing that she should join. "Hey Rahne! Been awhile. Marie was just about to do a reading."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie tries to gloss over the idea of changing fate; she views herself as fate's servant. She's there to obey, not to demand -- or even suggest -- changes be made to what the cards foretell. To the other questions, though? "It depends, really. A reading such as this serves as general guidance. For myself, for those around me. It's important to know if calamities lie in our future so that we may be as prepared as possible for it."

She can name a handful of them off the top of her head, and there's even more that she'd have to think back on. "But they can be used for many things. To inquire if a new romance will go well, whether one should enter a business dealing... anything can be asked, and they will answer. It is just not always the answer we wish to hear."

Then, glancing over towards Gabby as she takes the first card in her hand. "When I do these simpler readings, I use a three-card spread. The first card I take represents our current situation." She turns it over, placing it on the table. "This card is the Fool, and I drew it in the reversed position. This fits, as there is something... something coming. I've seen it in a few readings this week, but it has not arrived to the point where I know its nature." she explains, going a little more in-depth than usual. "Each card has different meanings, based on the position they're drawn in, the order in the reading and the type of spread being used."

Rahne, meanwhile, gets a cheery wave when Gabby draws Marie's attention to her, "Bonsoir, Rahne!"

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would glance over at Rahne, "Greetings, Ms. Sinclair. Good to have you with us. You do appear like you've been comfortable." Ther'es no immediate judgement over in the commentary of Emma. It kept the younger girl comfortable with herself. Which was something ever so rare in this age.

She would nod over at Gabby as the Honey Badger would speak. And she would turn her attention over to Rahne once more. "You don't seem to be particularly well rested, however." Emma would listen to Marie speaking out about how a reading was organized and done.

As Marie-Ange would go on about 'something coming'. "Isn't there always? Existence seems to move from one calamity to anothese these last few years. It does make for interesting time and greying hairs."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Yawning into her fist, Rahne squinches up her eyes a bit. Then she drags herself into the library and bumps up against Gabby gently. The fact that Rahne is older than most people in this room is irrelevant: it's all in the hips, as they say in baseball.

She peers at the cards, then at the other people. Then she turns around and looks for a place she can curl up and continue her dream. Some people's lives dont need predictions, it seems.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney leans back to bump against Rahne in return in silent greeting. Sometimes things didn't need to be said out loud. Stretching one arm out she tucks it around Rahne's shoulders giving a friendly squeeze and offering a spot to lean for the sleepy girl. Older though she might be. Some people you just caught up with where you left off when you see them again.

"I'm familiar with The Fool," she has to admit with a little nod. "A few of them at least."

"So long as it's not like more old gods or graveyard titans... actually that one wasn't so bad."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"Oh, oui." Marie agrees, "--and especially here. When I was in France, it was far more... mundane events." Other than the natural disaster she predicted. "Here, the events are far more... fluid. Things change as days pass. When..." she pauses, trying to remember the name. "Monsieur Sinister struck. There were... versions of that which I shall not speak of." Especially in front of Emma.

Taking the next card in hand, she starts to explain again. "The second card in this spread represents the obstacle we face. The closer it is, the clearer it becomes," And the less likely it is to change. "with any luck, Fate will tell us the next challenge we face, here." She flips the card.... and it's the Fool again. This time in the upright position. Marie stares. Anyone who knows about tarot cards should also know that each deck contains no duplicates... while Marie does own multiple decks, for her to make such a mistake is unusual, if not unheard of. "This... does not make sense." Doubly so because they're both the /same/ image. Each deck she has has somewhat different images for each card.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would nod over at Marie-Ange and look sad and supportive of her. Her hand would go to reach forwards to squeeze at Marie-Ange's shoulder in a way that was supposed to be reassuring and comforting. She would blink over at it and the cards. Yes, that one had been before that and..

"Is everything all right?" Her tone is reassuring, her hand over on Marie-Ange's shoulders as she goes to mask her own confusion. Even for someone as un-accomplished as she can tell the same card shouldn't show up multiple times.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne Sinclair notices the arm around her, and makes an odd little face. Then she kind of leans against Gabby some more, her eyes closing as she rests against the small lady's shoulder.

Rahne Sinclair has a few talents. One of them is sleeping standing up, apparently. Because she's clearly unconscious, her head on Gabby's shoulder. Moving without distubing her is clearly the obstacle that Gabrielle faces, since...

To be fair, she is not affecting the cards to her knowledge.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Sinister. The name itself was one Gabby hadn't heard in ages. The reaction that comes from her though is rather obvious as her smile instantly turns into a scowl. A tension builds in her along with anger from the memories it drags up. Tempers always did run hot in her family. She allows herself a moment to close her eyes, and calm herself down, with deep and slow breaths while listening to the voices of others around her.

Blinking her eyes open again she glances aside to Rahne who had nodded off on her. Huh. That at least was a distraction enough to keep her from getting further lost in unpleasant memories. As is Marie and Emma's confusion over the cards.

"I'm not a pro but isn't there only one of those in each deck? Usually. This a new one? Maybe it's a mis-print."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"I... do not know. Perhaps the next card can solve the mystery?" Marie asks, glancing at the stack of unturned cards with an unease that she hasn't ever expressed towards the cards. Gabby gets a nod, "Only one of each card, oui -- it is not a new deck... I must have been careless when putting them away last time." Highly unlikely given Marie's attachment to her cards, and with her mental inventory of what she owns. Maybe someone else has a similar deck? It's a big house they live in.

Forcing herself to calm down a bit, she takes a breath, and reaches for the next card in the deck. "The third card in this reading is supposed to offer advice to overcome the obstacle. Even... something such as this we should be able to find an answer for, oui?" She usually can. Even if it's 'do more readings later'. When she turns over the card, though... she gasps and tries to shove her chair away from the table in shock -- rather than sliding, though, it tips and sends the seer sprawling. What's got her so surprised? Well, if anyone looks at the card she drew...

It's the Fool. Not only is it the Fool, but the bardic-looking man in the image is dancing on the edge of a cliff, while a little white dog hops around him. The image on the card is quite literally in motion and, given Marie's reaction and continuing attempts to crawl backwards away from the table -- is not the young woman's doing.

Besides. Her animated images are often much larger. This... is almost like looking at the image on a TV screen, contained within the borders of the card.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost is rarely, rarely taken aback. So as she goes to focus over on the cards - there must be some sort of simple thing here. A random shuffle, some things going together.. Glancing over at Rahne that seems to be snoozing better than most could ever manage rather adorably..

Getting hte sudden stiffness over the name 'Sinister', something she likewise had only read.. She goes to look over at the card. And can only just stare down over at it with her face blank.

"What.. The.. Hell." IF this is some sort of prank then it borders over on the truly assinine. Which means that it's probably something of Bobby's doing. Emma Frost goes to quickly scan about just to try and catch Mister Drake when he would be popping out.. But of course coming up with nothing as this would not be his doing.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne opens one eye slightly. She sees the card, all the sound and attention it's being given enough to intrude upon her nap. She does something then. She leans forward, and sniffs at the card.

Then she makes a face, backing away like she just scented something out of a urinal. "Bleh."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney just stares. It was unexpected to say the least, as was Marie's reaction. While Marie backpedals, and Emma gapes, she reaches up to her neckline to wiggle free a simple necklace she was wearing. After Rahne sniffs the cards she moves forwad.

With hand extended she drops the necklace down overtop the moving card regarding it with lips pressed together in a tight, thin line. And her eyebrows raise glancing between everyone as the necklace glows. "Ths is like my little magical Sting," she explains. "Aaand there's something magicky going on for sure." With that declared she steps back tucking the necklace away again. "Only problem is I couldn't tell you what, or where, or how, or why."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie is... in shock. Recoiling. She wants to do something. Something is very wrong here and people she cares about may be in danger and she can't ask the cards because... they're the source... and she can't use her abilities to summon something because... well, the cards are the problem and she fears what would happen if she tried to animate the images in them now. The Amazons were right. She had to be ready for times when her powers wouldn't be enough -- or wouldn't be there. As it stood? She wasn't as powerless as a human...

She was something far weaker than than a normal human. "Je ne sais pas... je ne sais pas..." she repeats, pulling her knees up to her chest, and seeming on the verge of tears.

Emma Frost has posed:
And then Emma Frost goes over behind Marie-Ange, going to cradle her tightly, "It's all right dear, you're safe." She gestures over at Rahne. <<Please, Ms. Sinclair, your presence would be quite comforting right now>> Meanwhile over on those cards as Marie-Ange goes to curl up and Emma's focus is all on her..
    Each of those cards that had been set down suddenly change. Each of them goes to display a woman. A woman of twisted cybernetic musculature. Six arms. Dancing like a crazed lunatic within their boundaries.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Marie would find a hand on her arm. Smallish, with a bit of red fur on it. Rahne's circled around the table, just to be there for the French girl. She has her eyes open; she'll always wake up when the excrement hits the rotation. She just likes to conserve her energy til then.

Then she looks up at Emma, then at Gabby, and nods firmly at the cards. A message without words. Do it.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney doesn't need another thing to be told. She gazes at the cards, at the woman whom brings a name to mind, and she does what she needs to do. With a quick sweep of her hands she brushes up the cards back into the rest of the deck nice and tidy. There's no shuffling or anything else--they're just stacked quickly.

Then her fist pulls back into the air. With one quick wet shkk her claw stabs out from the back of her hand with a cool blue moonlit glow. The motion finishes as she punches down to stab through the cards themselves to the point that the tip of her claw gets stuck on the table beneath.

A little wiggle of her hand comes to break free. "I'll buy you a new deck, Marie," she assures even as she has full confidence the enchantment on her claws would dispell any magic that the deck was holding.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"Non. Non." Marie shakes her head rapidly, red hair flailing. Marie, the ever-agreeable, in one of her all-too-rare moments of being contrary. She takes a shuddering breath, twisting her head to look towards Rahne, and then Emma. "If I cannot see..." she starts -- English. The comfort of having her friends so close is clearly helping. "...when I saw Brainiac... Sinister... every calamity that has come before. I saw it. If I cannot see... if we cannot prepare for it... doom..."

Of course, that moment of calm quite literally only lasted for moments when she sees what Gabby did. Green eyes go wide as saucers. Mouth hangs agape. Breath quickens... and then? Marie /screams/ as if she herself had been stabbed.

She wasn't, mind, She's just... frankly unhealthily attached to her cards that, even when they betrayed her in such a fashion, what she saw was traumatizing. Fortunately, the collective experiences are enough to cause the girl to faint, so the shriek of terror doesn't last for too long.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would move to give a tight hug over to Marie-Ange even as Gabby goes to reach out to skewer through the cards! They owuld shatter over to pieces, simply being regular playing cards once more - without even any of the marks of Tarot. Just regular playing decks.

As one final thing the six armed woman goes to make a series of rude gestures over with her fingers on the fragments, and in each of them goes tos way her hips as she goes out of sync with the cards, all the while even without noise somehow giving the impression that she was moving to 'Dancing Queen'.

"Marie-Ange, breathe. It is all right. you are safe. Breathe. In and out. We are here, we will protect you." Emma, if allowed goes to hug Marie-Ange gently.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Given that Rahne was woken up, she's doing remarkably well. At least she'll be able to sleep later. Honestly she's slept through worse than this, but she can tell the scent of terror and pain in the air. So she gives an annoyed upnod at the cards as they change, then a real nod to Gabrielle.

Then she lets Emma take Marie under her wing, and goes to sniff the cards again just to make sure that it's ...safe. She'll protect Marie if it's the last thing she does. For someone whose primary goal in life is to nap more than anyone in history, she's remarkably protective.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney winces at the scream from her friend. It wasn't the type of scream you usually heard but a rather heart-wrenching one that she's glad both Rahne and Emma are there to comfort her over. Even if it made her the bad guy for dispelling the spell on the cards in the first place. The broken 'shards' of the deck are regarded along with the gestures given. The urge to flip them off in return is ignored becauuse that would just be adding insult to injury for poor Marie.

"I saw," she states simply, "A woman with multiple arms. The..." Her eyes scrunch trying to recall. "The gameshow. That ... thing where we were brought once." Even she had trouble remembering it to some extent. "Ask around, I'm sure others know."

Reluctantly she looks back toward the other three apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'll get you a new deck, I swear. I know this witch --It'll be the real deal I promise. For now I think..." The regular card peices are regarded. "These are safe to--" Dispose of? To what? She looks helplessly toward Rahne and Emma hoping they get what she means. "I'm sorry Marie."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie's not really in any condition to refuse a hug, not that she would normally, but especially in a traumatizing moment like this. It takes her a little nudging, but she stirs again, green eyes opening slightly. Almost scared to look, given the nightmare that she just experienced.

"I..." she stops herself. Looking to Gabby, then to Rahne, back to Emma, and back to Gabby. "Non. It is I who apologize... I do not know what is happening, but..." She feels responsible. Like she brought a threat to her friends. It's things that she can't quite put into words the way she wants, so she just trails off.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would stroke over at Marie-Ange's hair gently, "I twas not your fault, dear. And it's not something that you've brought upon us or are responsible for." Emma has a few too many memories and file reports of that fat, blubber prone -thing-. "So feel safe." She doesn't voice them but she's not even sure that Marie-Ange's cards -could- predict the coming of that bloated nightmare.

"Nothing to apologize for. You're here amongst friends." That will set the cards on fire or worse.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne isn't there though.

The cards are also not there, having been slipped into her hands when Marie went comatose. She slips out the door, silent as a jaybird. But she stops, just long enough to let Emma and Gabby spot her leaving. Then she's gone, and heading down the hallway.

When she gets to where she's going, she pauses and knocks.

Then waits, til someone responds.

"Yana? I need a favour."

The cards are gone. Do not expect to see them again.