14046/Lorna arrives with food and hospitality

Lorna arrives with food and hospitality
Date of Scene:	06 February 2023
Location:	Main Kitchen
Synopsis:	Lorna invades Xavier's with... hashbrown casserole and is countered with feels.
Cast of Characters:	Lorna Dane, Monet St. Croix, Jean Grey, Rogue, Jamie Madrox

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Lorna Dane has posed:
The winter is not the best time to show up announced. Yet here we are, Lorna Dane, the reigning monarch of the island county of Genosha, and yet she's here, in the kitchen with flour on her arms hands, cheeks and smile. A streak through her hair that she pushed back during her work. Moments like this are rare, and yet this is exactly what's happening tonight.

Dainty hands quickly dive into pot holders and Lorna reaches into the oven before pulling out two large dishes and using a bit of metal to keep them level, she sets them out on the counter and starts to cut them with floating knives. A moment passes and then her voice is raised and calling out to the school after activating the intercom system, "Dinner is served!" The smile audible in her tone.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix is currently entering in to the kitchen after a danger room session that over by the bruises on her did not go well. There's a low grumble in her then that fades over as she catches the scent of well done food. "Thank you." She doesn't add 'Majesty' over to that just as Lorna's likely not the type to want tob e addressed to it.

She would look about. "Good to have you back at the Mansion. Will you be staying here for awhile?"

Jean Grey has posed:
Since it's a less than surprise visit, Jean has made her way down for the fun ahead of the dinner bell, to keep Lorna company. Her 'school mom' persona is well-known to include dominion over the kitchen and the various meals and baked goods crafted therein, although on this occasion, she enjoys the rare treat of letting someone else do (some, most of?) the work! But cooking is a rather social thing, and so even if she's just 'supervising' with a glass of wine in hand, it's fun just to be there. "Oh that smells delicious!" she declares as Lorna pulls her masterpiece out of the oven, giving them all a good blast of the warm, nicely fragrant air within. Pleasant, on another chill winter's night!

"Woman after my own heart," she notes, with a laugh, as the knives animate to do some of the work themselves, and pitches in by remotely opening a cabinet, from which various plates start floating their way out to settle down on the table in anticipation of a slice of home cooking. "Least I could do," she adds, with a grin. Then they're left with Monet's question, which has her turning back to Lorna with a very curious expression. "I hope so! We miss you around here."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is out in the backyard when she hears some of the kids talking about dinner being served. She's already on her way back to the house anyway, and is swiftly moving up the steps to the back patio. On the end of a leash in her hand is her yellow lab dog 'Jeepers'. Jeepers is wearing a cammo sweater with a pair of aviator sunglasses on over his eyes. He's got a rolled up newspaper doggy squeak toy that he's gripping in his teeth, that he and Rogue just got finished throwing around out by the lake.

Wearing a dark green wool knit beanie cap on top of her head, a charcoal colored peacoat, and some blue jeans, Rogue just opens the kitchen patio doors and steps inside, the dog leading their charge inside. Rogue looks around at those who are in the kitchen, and steps over to the coat rack to start to pull her coat off... while Jeepers starts to slurp up water out of a silver dog dish kept tucked away by the corner beside the patio doors.

"Smells nice in here." The young southerner says in her thick voice as she pulls that coat off, showing off her green sweater she's wearing beneath it.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"Did I hear something about a free meal?" Jamie's head pops through the doorway before the rest of him, as he peers in. Not that meals here are not always free to the students and faculty, and not that he is either of those group, but if there is a welcome to come eat, he will take advantage of it.

The rest of Jamie follows suit as he continues through the door. He beams a smile to all present, and even manages a slight bow of his head towards Lorna in greeting. "Smells great," he adds.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna looks up and smiles at the entrance of Monet with a hand slipping out of the glove and tossing a towel towards the woman before answering the question asked. "I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay, I know I need a bit of away time from... *ahem* home, it's so stressful." She says as she continues to cut the casserole with the knives obeying her mental commands. The hashbrown casserole is gooey and creamy and crunchy, with Lorna adding the last bit of chopped chives and bread crumbs on top.

"Grab yourself a slice." Lorna recommends with a smile as a metal spatula dives under the hot square and pulls it out of the dish to place onto one of the plates Jean summoned. "What a team." Lorna teases.

"Tastes better than it smells." Informs Lorna with another plate covered in the dinner and held out towards Rogue and a look down to the dog that she could have sworn was against the rules, but she doesn't voice a concern. Chuckling and showing her white teeth to the entering Jamie, Lorna says "Free meal Jamie, get in here you mooch."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
As the others would enter in, Monet would give a nod, "Yes, I can imagine that." She is sincere for once, which is even rarer. "It's good to have you back here with us at the Mansionf or however long you stay here." The words also rather sincere. Lorna is one of those that has M's respect.

And the food does smell rather good. Monet doesn't mince words at this point when she can mince food. She goes to head ofrwards to start to serve herself, moving to take the first place in line sos eh can get it while it's hot and thus in the most deliscious state.

Jean Grey has posed:
As Rogue makes her way in, Jean looks over with what seems like briefly anticipatory timing - maybe she catches a stray thought that announces the woman's arrival. Or Jeepers'. Can she hear what dogs think? Either way, she's waiting with a smile, that only grows larger as she makes her way in properly, doggo and all. "Doesn't it?" she agrees, about the small. "You two have fun out there? He didn't get cold in the water? Guess it'd have to be frozen over to keep him out."

Then, a quick, wry reminder back in Jamie's direction: "All of everyone's meals here are free!" Gotta love Daddy Xavier.

"You should see me on the holidays," she replies to Lorna, with a touch of pride. "Actually, scratch that, you should come and help next time. I could use a second set of flying silverware." Though this is all quite light and mirthful, her tone turns a slight bit softer as the woman seems less certain of her plans. "Do whatever you feel is right. But you're always welcome here, and I'm sure we can scrounge up a room. Maybe not royal quarters, but at least something with a good exposure." Back to bright grins and joking, lighthearted banter.

After that, she doesn't hesitate to go and grab a plate, doing that part the 'old fashioned' way, although she simultaneously continues the powered shenanigans as she looks around for her wine bottle, finds it, and starts plucking glasses out of another cupboard. "Pour anyone a drink? Or is it all for me?" Don't let the firechicken drink alone!

Rogue has posed:
Rogue sorts her sweater out around her waistline as she watches the others in the kitchen milling about. She upnods to Monet and speaks something to her in French, a simple greeting, before she looks over to Jamie and shoots him a grin. "He appears again." The Belle states.

Jeepers finishes slurping up his water and starts to do his excited tail wag motion, his whole butt shaking along with the motion of his tail, as he goes to greet every single person in-turn, the happy dog making others know just how happy he is to see them, smell them and bump in to them too.

"Yeah, the lake is frozen solid..." Rogue says, her green eyes locked on jean, and a little grin showing. "It's that time'a year again, Red. Less you've finally yielded t'my superior manuevers out there..." She chides the Headmistress, as she's prone to do.

Rogue accepts the food offered by Lorna, and offers her a few words of thanks in French also before she heads over to a chair at the table to seat herself on the edge of one of the chairs. Her right hand goes up to pull her wool knit cap off her head, rustling up her white and chestnut locks of wild hair even more wildly now.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"I mean, you know the magic words to summon me, right?" asks Jamie of Rogue as she comments on his appearance. He does shoot a pair of fingerguns at Jean. "This is one of the many reasons I enjoy spending a me to hang around here."

He makes his way in closer, but lingers at the edge for a moment to let all of the ladies have a chance at collecting their food first. Such a gentleman!

"One of these days, I'll find a way to repay you all for your hospitality."

Lorna Dane has posed:
"I appreciate that Monet-" Lorna begins with a glance towards Jean and a nod to the red head, "To both of you. I'll take whatever room is available, I don't want to be a bother and... if possible ixnay on the oyaltyray." Lorna asks with a pleading look crossing her features.

Lorna bends down at the knees and sits on her heels to lift her hands and rub Jeeper's ears if he'll let her, and also using the dog's fur to get some of the flour off her hands, but don't tell Rogue that. Standing back up Lorna shakes her head at Jamie and urges him to get a plate, "I'm not making food for you to stand around and watch it get cold for the sake of chivalry." A smile creaks through her facade of trying to be a bit of a hard ass towards Jamie. A look finally in Jean's direction, "Pour me with that heavy hand Jean." The daughter of Magnus and the firechicken shall imbibe!

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would look at Lorna with ever so light indifference bordering on amusement. What royalty -didn't- want to have their status brought up at every single point possible? Oh well, the daughter of Lensherr was allowed to be strange.

Then looking at the array of things being brought up and glance at the wine bottle. Taking a sniff. "Acceptable." Was all she would give it. Ah well, one couldn't have perfect culture everywhere they went. M was in full snob mode tonight. But at least wasn't making it blatant nor was she being direct as she usually was with it.

"And yes, you're always welcome to stay here. I'ms orry that I've not had the opportunity to interactw ith you to any extent before. I hope that this lets me remedy this. It's always good to meet others that I'm not familiar with."

Jean Grey has posed:
"I hadn't been out to the lake in a little, but I guess it would be, after these last couple of days we've had." Winter often rears its worst late in the season, in these parts, and the last several days, it's been down under 10 degrees at points! However, there is clearly some greater meaning to the annual great freeze than mere weather trends, as Jean looks back at Rogue, eyes narrowing. "Superior? To Emma, maybe. She's good on those hockey skates, but you're pretty athletic, could probably give her a decent challenge, though I figure she's a bit more aggressive with the stick. But, hmm, in terms of art and grace? I don't know that you'll -ever- measure up."

Everyone else gets front row seats to the opening maneuvers of this perrenial rivalry. Xaviers on Ice!

Before there's even time to sit down, Jean gets a bit of a peck and poke at her slice of casserole as it sits there on a claimed stretch of countertop, giving a satisfied 'mmm!' at the first bite. "Oh that is good." In the background, the wine is doing its thing, filling up a few glasses one after the next. She lets Monet claim one or not, as her sophisticated palate dictate, though as she moves over toward the table after Rogue, she hands off Lorna's directly, rather than floating it over via brain-mail. Safer that way, in case the wine is making her TK wobbly!

"Honestly, you can take whatever's open, they're pretty much all the same, other than a few of the rooms the senior teachers have," she adds, not making much of a fuss over the arrangements. "Did you know your dad's been doing some guest lecturing? He's been working out of the basement here with some uh, odd new pet of his." Long story, that one! More offhandedly to Jamie: "Oh, your omnipresent charm is more than thanks enough."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is sampling the food with a small fork as she listens to the others. Jeepers is accepting the flour wiping over his fur, not giving two cares about it one way or another, he's just happy to have the lady paying him attention. "Ever the helpful one, Mistah Madrox." Rogue says as she sweeps herself up to her feet again, her heeled boots carrying her over to where Jean had prepared some wine. She grabs up one of the glasses and steps back toward the table, taking Jeepers by the collar with one finger and then motioning for him to sit down.

After a sip from the wine, Rogue sets the glass down, then removes Jeepers sunglasses. "I'm not playing Emma in hockey. She is a bruiser like the whole Philly Flyers team." She replies to Jean whilst tucking the dog's aviators in to one of the pockets on the back of his camo doggy sweater.

The dog just looks around now, sweeping his tail back and forth on the kitchen floor beside Rogue's chair.

Back to her food then, the southern gal just samples another small forkful, before looking back to Jean. "So that's how it's gonna be? Interestin'... Mmh. Yes. Perhaps its nigh on time t'get the skates out tonight. Best time t'whoop on a redhead's hiney is when the Moon is out t'make it glow nice'n bright."

Uh oh.


Rogue bites down on the food on her fork, and smiles around it at Jean as she pulls the fork back out from betweenst her lips.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
"You know me," replies Jamie, grinning at Rogue. He points over towards Lorna. "See, even she said, eating this /is/ helping." He does as he is bid, moving over to collect a plate of food, and then he trails over with the rest to take a seat.

"Yeah, I think I'll skip the hockey, too. I suck at it, but eventually, I'd overwhelm you if you started hip checking me." He digs into the meal after flashing a grin, and settles back into his seat to watch the challenge run the course of the table.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna smiles as she takes the cup of wine from Jean and nods with a flash of happiness washing from her cheek bones down. The wine is held before her lips as she focuses on using the spatula to get herself a slice of the casserole. She falls behind to take in the scene. Watching Jean and Rogue... flirt? That causes her to stutter mentally but then shrug before looking to Jamie and then Monet, and for a brief moment Lorna allows her heart to feel full. She feels like she's in a place that's safe. Comfortable. Siiiiip. She allows her shoulders to drop and relax with a soft sigh. "Can I watch your hockey game?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The talk of ice skating has Monet look vaguely disinterested. If disinterest could be expressed as a facial expression in a dictionary, her face would definitely be there! "And how much have you had already, Ms. Grey?" She would inquire over while shifting her attention to Jamie.

"I suppose that Ms. Grey's satisfaction is.. Omnipresent." She would quip over while keeping the mood of the back and forth going on. "And don't you wish to take the opportunity to get rid of Ms. Frost where no one will ever find the body and no one will ever speak of what occurred while the oppotunity presents itself?"

Rogue and Jean's interactions are of course tuned out. Rogue is incorrigible.

Jean Grey has posed:
"Right! I've been drinking!" Jean echoes Monet in vocal protest as Rogue is suddenly demanding a showdown in the precise moment. "And unlike you, it works fine on me!" She takes her place at the table, although just vaguely hip-perched at the edge for now, picking off mouthfuls of casserole. Which, despite wine related protests, she washes down with further sips from her own wine glass. "This is just liek you, waiting to try and capitalize on a moment of weakness."

At some point, a morsel slips from her outheld fork, and Jeepers is quickly there on clean-up duty, not even needing to get up, but rather shimmying just the short distance under Rogue and the table legs to get in tongue range. There's a reason they always hang around when you're eating...

Jean sits properly, so she can reach a hand down to give a bit of a behind the ears scritch as that tongue dilligently scours the floor to make sure not a tiny bit is missed. "Oh, we always let the students out on the lake once the ice is thick enough. Big yearly event. It's only hockey when Emma shows up," she explains to Lorna. "The ice summons the inner Bostonian, and she instantly forgets all that classy CEO stuff and reverts to her true form. It's sort of terrifying."

"But we always have fun with it. I've been figure skating since I was little, its popular up here." Jean is a local! Well, from the next county over. "And I dunno, Jamie, you can always fill out the team numbers if we're short. That's handy."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just leans back in her plush kitchen table chair now, her left arm crossing over her stomach, her right hand still holding her utensil on the table on the edge of her plate. She raises her right leg up in her indigo hued jeans to cross it over her other, leaving her boot up in the air now to bob up and down gently.

All the while, Jeepers just does as Jeepers do. He's the 'Companion Dog' for the school, the Professor said he could stay if the students got a chance to get to know him, and help spread joy and cheer, which he has done in spades for the past 2 and a half years now.

Rogue's left hand goes up to run through her hair again, the white locks wildly falling back down around the sides of her face there-after. "I just absorbed someone who was really good at figure skatin'..." She dryly says then as another forkful of food comes airplaning back to her dusky red hued lips.

It's not true though, Jean knows she skated around on the lake at her Aunt's when she was young and it was actually cold enough to freeze it. More of a pond than a lake, but 'lake' is used as slang more than a official term most of the time anyway.

She casts a glance over to Jamie, and shoots him a grin. "Send a dupe out t'go learn how t'get good at the hockey. Or like six of'em, and get a whole beer league team goin'." She's kidding, of course, she's always kidding.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
For a moment, Jamie sits in awestruck disbelief at Rogue. "Wow, it never occurred to me that you could do that. That's almost like cheating, but also brilliant." He grins around his food as he continues to pile in, thinking on Rogue's 'technique'. He does not know her history well enough to realize it is a joke.

"You know, I've considered that. But /that/ I feel would be cheating too. Any team sport, you get enough Jamie's all thinking alike, no one that could defeat us, especially if we all came fully loaded with the training."

He looks towards Lorna, Jean and Monet in turn. "You see the kind of bad influence she is, right?"

Lorna Dane has posed:
"This is..." Lorna pauses and catches her breath, hiding her face behind the glass of wine, and then taking a long pull from it to try and push her emotions down and suddenly deciding, "I'll... I'll be back in a bit." Then without a second word, Lorna is moving out of the kitchen and putting her back to the wall to listen to the family going on in the room behind her.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's a frown on the face of Monet. As Lorna goes to leave, she looks over her shoulder, gives a quick nod at the otehrs and goes after Lorna. "Are you all right?" She would keep up with the green haired queen if allowed.

Jean Grey has posed:
"... wait, HAVE you absorbed my skills?!" Somewhat like Jamie, it's as if the idea just dawned on Jean, the pieces all finally coming together. And now she looks very offended, turning on Rogue, accusatory! "You probably have! That's how you do it, you've got your know how AND my know how on top of that. All my best tricks, in your head! And you call me the cheater!" Which is sometimes entirely warranted... "Hmph. HMPH! I should go in there, take them back!"

She drowns her wounded pride with more of the wine. If they get her out tonight, she really WILL be going ass first, at this rate!

"We've tried doing more powers-OK games, too, but it's kind of like Jamie is saying, it... usually falls apart pretty fast," she goes on explaining, a crash course on all their whacky activities. "It's hard to set meaningful rules. What's 'too much' cheating? Most games are boring if can control the ball... and even if the teams start even, with Jamie you'll be outnumbered pretty fast. Or Rogue'll just smash the ball through the net or whatever. So the real trick is figuring out how you can cheat just enough to win without anyone noticing to call you out." So, er, like normal cheating!

However, Lorna's retreat causes a bit of a look of concern, and briefly a moment of temptation, though she pulls herself back from it. From just, well, -seeing- whats wrong. "Hope she's OK."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is just all smiles as she watches those at the table with her. She listens to Jean's questioning and just raises her dark eyebrows up as her head wobbles side to side as if she's dodging the accusatory bullets being fired at her, Neo-style, but then she just grins and raises her wine up for another sip.

When she looks up again, her eyes trail after Lorna. "You don't have t'do that out in the Hall, Miss Dane. We'll just blame it on the dog." She quips.

Jeepers looks up then at Rogue, leaning over against the outside of her left thigh and laying his head down over her lap. She reaches down to pet the top of his head. "I'm sorry. But people do what they do, Fella. I know it's not you, you're a big damn gentleman." She soothes the pup's worried nature that he'd done something wrong.

Then she bounces her eyes back up at the others. "So no skatin' tonight then? Fair enough. This weekend though, we gotta. It's tradition. It's my fifth year of bein' here, and I skated on the first night I arrived.... cause the lake was frozen up like the fishsticks at the back of the freezer."

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Watching Jean's dawning realization, Jamie laughs for a few moments. "I mean, at least if she did it, hopefully you got the good way out of it." He continues to savor his food watching the entirety of the conversation evolve. He glances Lorna's way, but whatever is going on where is way out of his depths, so he keeps his nose out of it.

"Gonna run out of eligibility soon, Rogue. Which means you should probably start fixing to graduate sometime soon." Another grin as he takes a big swallow of water.

Lorna Dane has posed:
seated on her backside in the middle of the hall with her back against the wall, Lorna looks up at Monet and laughs as she tries to hide her tears with the heel of her palm. "I'm okay, just, wasn't ready for... that." Lorna says with a motion of her hand to the kitchen and the people within.

"Help me up please." Lorna asks whole extending a hand and pushing herself up mostly.
     After a few moments Lorna returns to the kitchen and says. "Why don't we go skating, I could use the cold air, the summer in Genosha has been brutal this year."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would go to lean in to help Lorna up. "Of course. It can be.. Difficult." The Algerian mutant would look over at Lorna with total understanding and sympathy. "Remember that you're a part of this group and family as well. You are welcome. Here is your home and family just as much as anywhere else and you are always welcome." Lorna is helped up and guided back towards the kitchen as M makes sure gently that she's all right.

Jean Grey has posed:
Only if you wanna scrape my butt off the ice," Jean informs Rogue. And maybe she DOES want this, whether for competitive reasons or otherwise. But it's not very sporting.

Again, Jean raises her wineglass, although by now she finds it disappointingly empty, and spends a moment verifying this fact, holding it up close to her face and peering into the bottom of the cup. "Boo." The bottle soon floats over, wobbling a bit in flight, but then she tries to pour it and finds that it too is empty. "Boo!" The night has turned against her. However, rather than getting more, she sits back and pouts a bit.

"She's teaching now!" Jean informs Jamie, erm, spiritedly. "Even if she's still got a lot to learn, spare-time courses and what-nots. Getting a full teaching license isn't easy!" She knows, as she's done it! Of course, some of their teachers qualify under lesser or more specific standards. Do they call Logan a PE coach on the paperwork? Or is he still the gardener? Hmm...

At this point, Jean hauls herself up from the table, picking up the plate, thoroughly scoured of the prior casserole square. "Lets put the dishes in and... I dunno. We could go for a walk, cold air might be nice. But I'm not skating... not till I'm prepared!"

And maybe less drunk.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's green eyed gaze goes to Jamie who gets a big grin. Jean answers for her though, and Rogue follows it up with a nod to the Headmistress, then a nod toward Jamie. "I'm the Poetry teache'ah, Sugahpie." She fires over at the Man of Multiples. "Teachin' all the kids how best ta see the world, through poetics, both old and new."

With Jean rising up to her feet, Jeepers stands up and follows her as she deals with her empty wine bottle. Rogue looks over to Lorna and Monet. "Ya'll good?" She asks, now rising up to her feet as well and taking her plate to the sink. "Ain't gonna deny the pupper another walk. Lord knows he'd rather do that then go hang out in the room the resta the night..."

With the plate away, the Belle starts back toward the coat rack where she'd left her peacoat hanging on a brass hook. "Fine, no skatin' tonight. But soon, before it's too late, and we gotta bother Bobby t'make the ice. Which just feels less authentic..." She states whilst sorting her coat out over her shoulders and across her form.

Jeepers gets the idea and is already grabbing his leash off the floor by the door, holding it up for Rogue to fit on his collar.

Jamie Madrox has posed:
Slowly shaking his head, Jamie pushes back from his seat and heads over towards the sink with his own plate. "I got this," he says, offering to take care of the plates for all of them. And maybe he will actually do it himself instead of banging out a dupe to take care of it for him. Not that the dupe would want to do it either.

He watches as the group starts to dissolve. "Just make sure I get invited to the real thing," he calls after.