15848/Skate!

Skate!
Date of Scene:	12 September 2023
Location:	Bunny's Burrow
Synopsis:	Bunny teaches Mark how to Roller Skate, and they bump into her brother -- Bastian Macleod, the Other Macleoud Failure
Cast of Characters:	Bunny Macleod, Mark Grayson

---

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny does not skate at roller rinks, or all the time at the boardwalk. Bunny does street skating, acrobatic skating, and occasionally even 'figure' skating (or skate dance), but that's not the best place to learn where to skate.

    So she's given Mark coordinates to a Guerilla Skate session. A bunch of slightly outlaw skaters who get together at abandoned parking garages. They post flyers, spread the word by mouth and hand, and eventually people get together and have a party. There's a couple of (less than legal, but PROBABLY won't give anyone food poisoning) food trucks, along with some guy who's just grilling burgers. Someone's set up a DJ stand and is pumping out sounds to keep the hype.

    The area itself had a flat concrete pad for people to get used to skating; it's surrounded by concrete barriers that have been moved into place to keep everyone who's not used to skating from falling into The Pit.

    The Pit was an old swimming pool, with curves and barriers set up to do tricks off. Poles have been mounted for grinding, ramps for doing air tricks.

    >Meet you there! I have pads and a helmet for you and a pair of skates you can have! <3

Mark Grayson has posed:
When Bunny sent him the address and information, Mark was just coming out of class. He grabs some information on the upcoming test and finally glances at his phone.

<< Sounds good! They're not your old skates are they? My feet are much bigger. ::LOL-emoji:: >>

Once he's back in his dorm, he drops off his bag and takes a quick look around before launching into the air. It's a short flight to the location that Bunny had pinned and he lands about a block away in an alley to cover the fact that he flew and he walks towards the Skate seesion. As he takes it all in, he feels a tightening knot in his stomach. He's not worried about embarassing himself. He's fairly certain that he's going to bust his ass.

He's more worried that he's going to embarass //her// in front of all her friends and she'll lose all the cred she built up with them. His head bobs slightly with the music. He's currently dressed in a light blue t-shirt with a Kitsune resting in an Udon bowl, blue jeans and tennis shoes. Spying Bunny, he raises his hand in greeting to her. "Hey, Bun."

And despite his slight anxiety, just seeing her gives him pause and a smile.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    >Not my old skates, they're a little too bright for you!!< was the response. Bunny was over at the DJ booth, treading on her skates and talking to the DJ -- who has blonde tousseled hair and is wearing a bright red tee with DJ BAZTID on it. He doesn't look too much older than Bunny herself, but as he calls out, Bunny turns. The DJ raises his eyebrows, looking to Mark and tries so hard not to snort-laugh that he reaches for his drink to try and cover the interruption in conversation. Bunny picks up a mesh bag and a paired of black-and-blue leashed skates, and makes her way over to Mark.

    "Hey! Glad you found the place OK. Hope you don't mind that I kinda went monocolor -- this is some of my older brother Bobby's old gear. He doesn't skate anymore, so it's just been in storage at a friends' place." she offers.

    "I febreez'd it all though, so at least it smells good."

Mark Grayson has posed:
When she gets to him, Mark picks up Bunny to squeeze her in a hug and a kiss to her cheek. Then he is quickly setting her down. Again, that worry of embarassing her creeps up. "Yeah, Google got me here pretty quickly." he admits.

When she presents him with the skates and the gear, he glances towards it before accepting them. Oh gosh, she's serious about this. Blowing out a breath between his lips, he nods. "Alright, let me go over here and take a seat to change and all." he looks around, seeing how everyone else is dressed. And he totally stands out as middle suburbia kid that probably should not be here.

And quietly, he hopes a supervillain attacks nearby and he has to excuse himself. "Okay, so while I put this stuff on..." he removes one shoe to start to pull on the skate and lace it up. "...walk me through the basics?"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny gives an 'ee' as she's scooped up and squeezed, and kisses Mark's cheek as well, right up near his ear so he can HEAR the lip-smack sound!

    "Good, I would have given you directions but it would have been through like, six back alleys." she jokes as she's set down again, and her eyebrows rise up. "You don't have to if you don't want to "You're gonna wanna make sure the skate's fit is snug in the boot. Like, it's an extension of your body. Any wiggle room other than in the toe box and it'll affect your skates and sense of balance, or make you lose a skate if you use the toe-break." she advises as she plunks down next to Mark.

    Most everyone is wearing grunge gear, ripped jeans and T-shirts, a few wearing athletic compression, but mostly they're a motley crew of degenerates, as her father would have described them.

    "You're gonna fall, so there's elbow and wrist pads and knee pads. I *do* have a buttpad if you want one, but a lot of first time skaters tend to land on their knees and hands. That's why the wrist protectors are so important. They're basically fingerless gloves. I have plenty of band-aids." she grins, a bit teasingly, knowing he probably won't need them.

    Mark does attract a couple of curious looks. Some skaters pass by in neon workout gear.

    "Hi Bunny! Hi Fanoogy!" one cheerily calls out with a wave, and they both go to the rink section to warm up.

    "Also don't feel bad. EVERYONE falls down. Even those of us who've been at it for a while. Carrie right there is rockin' a raging roadrash on her left side from tripping over a soda can."

Mark Grayson has posed:
Amusement touches on Mark's lips and his eyes. Bunny surely remembers that well... he probably needs none of the offered protection. "I'll pass on the butt pad." he comments with a small smirk. And when he does realize that, he reaches over, giving her hip a small pinch.

"Fanoogy?" he asks, confusion finding his face as he pulls the other skate on and tightens it down. While sitting, he rolls it back and forth a couple of times to get a feel for it. "It feels pretty snug. I'll be okay." He starts to pull on the pads to get those in position. "I wore pads when I was a kid riding a bicycle." he explains.

Because he did NOT have powers back then.

"It's all good," he admits quietly, his eyes lifting up to meet hers. A smile touches his lips and he draws in a breath.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Fah-noo-gui. Freakin' New Guy." Bunny explains as she gives a small smile, giving an ee' at the pinch on her hip. She laughs, and checks over Mark's laces as she hands him a helmet. It's just plain and black, simple brain bucket.

    "Oh cool, BMX? Mountain biking?" Bunny asks as she hops up, treading a little on her wheels. She didn't keep still on her skates, there's always adjustments as her legs move.

    "Once you're ready to stand, we'll stand you up, and we can check your balance."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Uh. Schwinn City Cruiser. Around the neighborhood." Mark is a square. He thought Bunny had realized this by now. She is way out of his league when it comes to being cool and street.

Then she explains what he is. "Oh." he decides, a small frown as he straightens his shirt and pushes up, reaching to catch Bunny's hand, using her assistance to get to his feet.

And he wobbles back and forth, trying to get used to the feel of the skates before going stock still. "Alright, think I got it. At least staying still."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny gives a bright smile. No matter what, Mark's not square. He's...

    ... well, INVINCIBLE.

    "Okay, so we're gonna make sure your skates are just about shoulder-width --" Bunny states, putting one of her skates (she's wearing her pineapple skates today, with teal street wheels), and she pushes Mark's left skate out a little bit.

    "Aaaand we're gonna squat, because your center of balance is too high, and needs to be lower to help keep balance better --" and she squats down a bit.

    "And the first drill is duck walks. So gonna V your feet out a bit like so --" and her feet go from parallel to V, with her heels at the point

    "And we're gonna walk like duckies!"

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark watches Bunny as he takes him through the first drill. "If you ask me to take a turn to the left and pull my knees in tight..." he comments with a chuckle. He probably just misquoted RHPS, but he's not that well versed.

Moving his legs apart, he settles into the squat as he draws down to settle his center of gravity. And he feels like every eye on the place is on him as he twists his ankles in and he takes a first, shaky step. Which holds surprisingly well as he starts to walk with a bit more confidence.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Oh no, Time Warp is DEFINITELY advanced, 'cause of those Pelvic Thrusts. Throw your balance aaaall outta whack." Bunny grins as she turns, shiving her weight as she pushes and skates backwards, holding Mark's hand.

    "All right! Nice! You got your balance under control, you've got the push motion, and now you're gonna straighten the foot you're not pushing backwards with, and let yourself glide on it! You got this!" Bunny says excitedly.

     The DJ is watching Bunny and Mark with a Suspicious Look.

    And the music's switched around https://youtu.be/3gY4ca9pHGA?si=gokQ36nCerJ3KWSn&t=21

    The atmosphere is staying pretty chill, no one's looking around and judging Mark, they're just here to have a good time and vibe.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Whispering something into Bunny's ear while they're close, Mark smiles innocent as he accepts the encouragement and decides to follow the music to start on the first push and slide on the wheels.

And maybe he should have paid more attention to being on the skates instead of flirting with his girlfriend, because his first push is a complete overreach and he has to fight, his skates up and down quickly as he half-steps and half glides before he manages to get himself under control.

He shoots a look at Bunny, cheeks red, but he knows, he totally deserved that!

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny's blushing, but she's not embarrassed for Mark. She keeps a hold of his hand, pink gloves and wrist protectors in his black clad, and she holds him until he gets under control, and then gives him a bright smile.

    "You've got this. It's a game of balance and physics, like flying. You eventually just know how to move in the different winds and speeds and atmospheres, it becomes natural, and you stop thinking about it so much. Smooth it out and you'll be skatin' like butter!" she gives him a smile, doing everything he's doing backwards as she guides him around the concrete flats.

Mark Grayson has posed:
His fingers lace with hers as Mark manages to regain control, and he listens to her. Instead of looking down at the skates, he lifts his eyes to Bunny, meeting her blues with his greys as he starts to gently push and go forward, following after her slowly, but steadily.

So far, so good. But who knows what's going to happen next. However, he does manage to laugh. "Hey! I'm doing it!" he declares happily, even if he is leagues behind everyone else. He releases one of her hands, keeping hold with the other.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Yeah you are Mark! Look at you!" Bunny gives a grin and a little hop as she turns her body so that she's skating with him instead of in front of him, "All right, so stopping, what we're gonna do is you're going to take your right foot --" and she lifts and holds her right foot up, adjusting her balance so that Mark knows which foot "And we're gonna bring the toe down with a firm push to brake. Count of three, ready?"

    "One -- Two -- Three!" Bunny says, and she brings her foot down, pushing her toe break into the concrete to stop, reaching up to grab the back of Mark's shirt in case he needs an extra hand!

Mark Grayson has posed:
Braking? But he had just gotten used to moving forward! But he watches Bunny as she provides instruction on stopping. He lifts up his right foot, a wobble as he gets used to being on one skate. And when she counts down to one, his foot comes down.

And he manages to brake without creating a pothole by toe picking too hard! As he stops, he feels the gentle tug on his shirt and glances aside to Bunny. His smile is wide and bright. Yes, he can fly. He can fly into space. He can fly at Mach 2. But, he looks estatic that Bunny showed him how to skate.

"I can do this!" he says with a surprised laugh, the fear he has shrinking as he did not totally embarass Bunny at all.

He's totally the F'ing New Guy.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny's smile is perfectly infectious. She looks viciously proud of Mark as he manages to brake without tearing a hole in the skate, the concrete, or the crust of the Earth.

    "Yeah! You got this!" she grins and releases his shirt, giving a couple bunny-hops on her skates as she begins to skate around him, orbiting him.

    "So you're doing so well for only having been on wheels for like ten minutes, let's go over to the rink area and you can get some practice speeding up and stopping, and then when you get more confident we'll throw you in the pit, which is where you're gonna need all the pads." Bunny grins, easily skating backwards.

    And the DJ appears to have gone on break, and is rocking his own pair of skates as he glides over and goes to purposefully smack into Bunny.

    "Whoops! Sorry shorty!" he greets her in a friendly fashion. "Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo who's this guy?" he asks, motioning to Mark. "Is he your booooooooyfriend?"

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Rink? Pit?" Mark looks horrified for a moment. He thought they were just going to do the basics today, but nope, Bunny's feeding him into the meatgrinder. "More practice. More practice is good." he agrees.

And he was about to say more when the DJ comes over and smacks into Bunny. Mark watches to see how Bunny reacts, because he doesn't want to overreact, but he does answer the question that was posed to her. A proud smile shows up on Mark's face as he reaches for Bunny's hand anew.

"I'm Mark. And yes, I am her boyfriend." he comments, obvious pride in his posture and expression for the small blonde that captured his heart.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny ducks the blow and attempts to trip up the DJ, who stumbles but gets his bearing back adn give her a friendly punch in the shoulder.

    "I'm Bastian, the other Macleod Family Failure. Nice to meet you Mark-and-yes-I-am-her-boyfriend. What kinna name is THAT?" he asks good naturedly, and he gives a laugh and offers his hand.

    "I DJ the guerilla skate events, along with birthday parties, bar-and-batmitzvahs and pccasionally school dances. " he gives a grin. "How're you liking skating so far?"

    "He's GREAT!" Bunny states with enthusiasm!

Mark Grayson has posed:
"Nice to meet you, Bastian. Your sister has spoken well of you. And it's Grayson. Mark Grayson." No relation to the Flying Graysons.

Even if he can fly.

"It's a new experience, but Bunny has been making sure I get to experience things I didn't get to enjoy as a suburbanite. Before this, I taught her how to surf, though." he explains and grins aside to Bunny, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. "School dances? I just got an email from the school I attended about their homecoming dance." he's reminded. And then to Bunny. "Did you know they have a GED program if you're under 21?"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Nice Segue!

    "You got Bunny in water higher than her bellybutton? Man you must be something special. She's got Thassalaphobia. She didn't even like bubble baths when she was a kid because she couldn't see if there were sharks in it!" Bastian replies with a grin.

    Bunny gets an abjectly horrified look "BAS!"

    And then the subject of getting a GED comes up, and Bunny opens her mouth --

    "Girl go for it! Get your GED, get yourself some college courses, stay out from under dad's thumb, make mad money as a superhero AND paid professiona--"

    Bastian puts his hand over his mouth.

    "Was jokin' about the superhero thing. Also her ex is totally not an assassin."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"I know about her. And her ex." Mark explains patiently. "Even got told that she is Ramona Flowers and I'm Scott Pilgrim." Did he ever tell Bunny about that? He's not sure. He does, however extend his hand to Bastien. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Bastien."

"Don't worry, I know she's got complicated times, but I promised her I'd be here for her. Because she's worth it." he shrugs his shoulders. "At least in the short time I've known her. She even protected me from getting run over by a rogue skateboarder."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "... what, did Gabby say she's going to fight you? I'll fight her. I'll win. I know aaaall her weaknes--ESS!"

    Bunny was not looking where she was skating. She fell into the pit. She can be seen a couple seconds later on the other side of the swimming pool building up speed to get back up with a call of "I'M OKAAAAAY!"

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark was just about to fly in after Bunny, but when she pops back up, he lets out a breath of relief. "Good, good." he says with a minor chuckle. "I think Gabby's just messing with me. Now the big red guy she was with..." he smirks slightly.

"I promised to take Bunny out for ice cream after this, so let me get my skates off so we can go? I'm not ready to wear them all the time like she does." he admits with a smirk.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Aww, why leave now? The fun's just getting started! Have you ever seen Bunny really cut loose? Bastian asks as he looks to Mark.

    Unlike Bunny, Bastian was taller, and leanly built. HIs blonde hair was tosseled anda bit thin in the back, but he's friendly and open.

    "She's hellacious on wheels. She says when she's got 'em on and she's crusing the city, it's like she can outrun everything. She took on a lot. Still does. But man, when she's in her groove -- half expect her to just keep flyin' up." Bastian gives a grin.

    "So, you're not a Local, where you from?"

Mark Grayson has posed:
"I've seen her skate a few times, she is pretty amazing." Mark admits. He stands down a little, but is still moving to take a seat and remove the skates. "Not a local. My parents are out on the West Coast. I came here to go to Empire U on a scholarship after graduating Happy Harbor." he explains.

"She is an extremely gifted skater and excellent in a lot of other things, so I'm glad she agreed to date me." he explains. "And yes, she does do a lot." But can he really say anything on that, since Bunny knows how much HE has going on.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Yeah, you must be something special. Like I said, she's scared of deep water, taking her surfing? Man. What beach did you even hit up?" Bastian asks with a grin, and then turns as people are starting to give cheers.

    Bunny is on the move, she's picked up speed and leaps up, grinding the metal parts of her skates against a rail before athletically flipping off it, landing and backwards-pumping herself up the side of the pool, where she launches herself into the air.

    "It's not flying, but for a second, it looks like she might just keep floating up before she falls down to the bottom of the empty pool, and then goes over the other half of the pipe, comes back, and leaps up, landing on the top of The Pit's rail and skating backwards, back towards Bastian and Mark.

    "Hey! Sorry, y'know. Gotta keep my skills sharp. Spelled with Z's. Z-kill-z Zharp." Bunny gives a grin to Mark and Bastian.

    "Bastian's also kinda persona-non-grata in our family.

    "I refused to drop out of school. Dad wants to start a business? That's on him. We're supposed to still go to school and have lives beyond Macleod Messenging."

Mark Grayson has posed:
Taking out his phone, Mark starts to record Bunny as she skates. It's clear that he's enamored with her before he turns his attention to Bastien. "We went to a beach south of here, took the train down." He can't admit that he took her all the way down to a tropical location.

He stops filming when she comes over and he scrolls, finding a picture of her on the surfboard. "She seemed to enjoy, at least I hope she did." A little frown. "You did not tell me about your fear, Bunny." comes the worried comment. He didn't know. He still has a lot to learn about her.

"Bunny's studying for her GED, and I'm going to help her in any way I can." he explains. "And she's made sure to let me know her father..." not dad. "...is an ass. My father is an author. He writes travel books. Lame, I know."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Oh man! Look at you Bernie! you're on a surf board and in a swimsuit and everything!" Bastian laughs a bit, looking at the pictures. "YEah, all right, this guy's special if he's gettin' you so far out of your comfort zone."
    Bunny turns bright red though, at being caught.

    "... well, I mean, deep water... droawning... not really a strong swimmer -- but you are a strong swimmer. I had faith that you'd catch me... so I took a leap." she gives a smile up at Mark.

    "An' yeah. Our dad? Asshole. Huge asshole. Only books he could write is 'how to drive off your kids for lack of profit' and 'how not to handle being accused of embezzlement' and I'm talking too much aren't I?"

    "Yeah, Bas."

    "Sweet. Well. I guess YOU TWO are going out for ice cream, without me. Jerks." he grins, and gives a punch to Mark's arm.

    Friendly-like.

    "You keep being good to my little sister. I could *probably* take you on in a fight." he grins, and heads back over to his DJ stand.

Mark Grayson has posed:
He may discover it's like punching a steel beam. Mark can't really turn off his invulnerability. He reaches up for Bunny's hand and catches it. "Next time, tell me. So I know." His eyes search hers.

Satisified that she will, he shakes his head at Bas. "Do me a favor, Bastien?" he asks. "Don't tell your father about me?" Clearly, he does not want to stress Bunny out.

"Yeah, I'm sure you could. I'm pretty scrawny." A grin at that. "I mean, you'd have to get in line behind her ex."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Haven't talked to the jerk in two years and Gabby would totally kill me first!" Bastian calls back with a wave, and gets back up to his stand to start spinning out the slaughtermatic sounds to make this live.

    BUnny rubs the back fo ehr neck. "Look, I just didn't want you to think I was afraid of stuff. It *sucked* at first being in water over my head, but I knew you were there. I knew you'd save me, y'know?" she replies to Mark, and gives Mark a squeeze of her hand. "I was safe."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"It's okay. I just would have probably worried that if you went under..." he shakes his head and Mark pulls Bunny close to give her a squeeze. "All good. I got to stop fretting." he admits with a laugh. "Because I know you are more than capable."

Pushing himself to his feet, he uses his free hand to carry the skates. "Ice cream and then home?" he suggests. And with Bastien away, Mark comments. "He seems cool. You have at least one good sib." A wink aside at her. "We could go indepth on that whisper earlier and practice our time warp..." He teases as he starts to walk away.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny was about to say something about her siblings being all right in general when Mark comments about the Time Warp, and she gives a soft squeak of a breath, turning a bright shade of red, and she delivers a nervous little giggle as she looks up to Mark.

    "But... then we have to do the Time Warp Again!" she comments brightly, and giving a laugh, skates off in front of Mark! To Ice creaaaaam!

Mark Grayson has posed:
Watching her skate off is not something Mark may ever get tired of, but he jogs behind her to that he can catch up. And once they are clear of people, he scoops her up in his arm and lifts into the air.

So much faster to get ice cream and go this way.