1592/Graduation Reception

Graduation Reception
Date of Scene:	09 May 2020
Location:	Back Yard
Synopsis:	Graduates were celebrated, food was eaten, fireworks were shot off.
Cast of Characters:	Piotr Rasputin, Samuel Guthrie, Illyana Rasputina, Rogue, Henry McCoy, Scott Summers, James Proudstar, Marie-Ange Colbert, Gabby Kinney, Rahne Sinclair, Kitty Pryde, Jubilation Lee, Julio Richter

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Piotr Rasputin has posed:
It is that time. The seniors have walked, gotten their diplomas, thrown their mortarboards, and have officially graduated from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. With this formality over, in the evening there is a reception being held in their honor, allowing them to socialize and spend one last official school event together, and one that is focused on them and their achievements.

For food and refreshments, there is a buffet with sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, macaroni and cheese, barbecue, roasted vegetables, and other options. Another table has burgers, brats, and other grilled food options. A third table has a salad bar; however, the fourth has the most important food, the desserts. It has cakes (white, chocolate, and strawberry), ice cream (see previous options), cookies, bars, and brownies. There are coolers for sodas, and dispensers for lemonade and iced tea.

Entertainment is being provided by a local DJ, and a couple of bouncy castles, slides, and a ball pit are also present.

Trestle tables have been set up and decorated with the expected graduation-themed balloons, placemats, and copies of the program. There is a screen and a projector that is going through a quick profile of each of the graduates, including their name, hometown, plans after college, a quote, and a few pictures that had to be approved by the staff member given the responsibility for this event, Piotr Rasputin.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie has made sure he was here for his friends he went to classes with most if not all of these guys at times. He grins a bit as the ones who are his closer friends get their profiles flashed.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Food, so much food. It stands that Piotr would be behind arranging an excellent spread of food. Its very abundance speaks to the plenty of the era, the kindness instilled in the elder Rasputin. All a bit bewildering, really, for someone used to the opposite. Just the variety of desserts alone is too much. Strawberry cake in an alarming pink shade, though, gets a -pointed- look from Illyana, as though she cannot fully trust its existence. If it grows legs or wiggles its way off the table, telekinetic legs or not, the sword is coming out and she will put an end to its conquest. Still, though, this might be difficult considering the elegant bouquet of pristine flowers held in her grasp. And -only- her grasp. This could well be because the flowers are exotic, delicate creations that tint gold to eye-popping shades of pink that strangely suit the cake. Possibly because the flowers give off the odd spark now and then.

It's a formal occasion. That calls for presents and awards, so she at least plays her part for that. Sam earns her nod, a greeting as she circulates to find some of the Merry Band of 2020: Berto, Marie-Ange, Tabby. Jenny must be around here somewhere? The Russian mutant narrows her eyes a little more while weaving around the premises, occasionally ensuring the cake is just a pink cake. Or possibly to hide in her brother's much, much bigger shadow. <<Are we expected to do anything?>> she asks Piotr in Russian once lurking behind him. <<This is like waiting for the strafing to start. The bouncing castle will explode soon, yes?>> Clearly kidding. Still.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is around! She had to do a lot of catching up to graduate, but she managed it! Dressed quite nicely in a loose fit dark green top and a pair of black slacks with heeled shoes, her hair is tied back behind her head in a bun with her white bangs left loose framing her face. She has a light amount of makeup on to accentuate her natural facial features and is smiling a lot to those that she's speaking to. She's standing off to the side holding a glass with a bit of non alcoholic bubbly juice in it and is watching some of the younger students in the school go crazy inside of one of the bouncey castles.

"Those are a great way t'keep the youngins' busy. Though t'be honest, I'm thinkin' about jumpin' inta one'a those ball pits." She says then before taking another sip of her drink.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Dressed in a nice white shirt, tie and slacks, is Dr. McCoy. His grin displays the pride in his students, for all to see. Every one of the students taking the gratuate walk earns a hearty handshake from Hank. And then, food! He's got a plate laden with the savory dinner items - holding off for now on the sweets. A glance is cast over to Illyana, and a wry smile. Responding in Russian, "Yes, you're supposed to have fun and congratulate the graduates on their goal achieved."

He pauses there, looking over the arrangement with a smile and a nod. "Well done, Piotr. Well done, friend."

A grin over to Rogue as he heads in her direction. "I can't see any harm in having fun. It's your day, right?" The Beast chuckles.

Scott Summers has posed:
In a rather non-festive mood (to the surprise of no one) Scott lurks at the edges of the celebration. Watching the kids having fun. Most of them are leaving the school to try to become productive citizens, and that worries him. It is always dangerous out there for mutants.

Of course, those staying at Xavier's are getting into much more danger, so it is a bit of a lose-lose situation. Did he prepare them enough? He doubts it. Same thoughts he had last year. Without better solutions to the dilemma. Summers will brood for anyything.

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy Proudstar has taken up a patch of ground that is somewhat out of the way, but not so far out of the way that he's hidden from sight or entirely playing wallflower. He had helped with the setup for everything, and like Illyana, had a few friends that would be graduating today. He's not /entirely/ casual, with a red polo over khakis, but not really fully formal, either. Either way, despite his infamous appetite, he's refrained from the food so far, mostly because the graduates should get first dibs. Besides, he's on-hand to fetch more ice from the kitchen or whatever, too. He lifts a hand in greeting and smiles in Rogue's direction when he spots her, and moves from his position, moving in a slow circuit of the event area, making his greetings and congratulations as he goes.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Thoughout the whole day so far, Marie has been... very Marie. Quiet, unassuming, the picture of prim and proper grace. This had been a day that she was dreading for quite some time. The end of an era. The end, indeed, of her time at Xavier's and in the States altogether.

At least until the combined efforts of Dr. McCoy, Professor Xavier, and one Jennifer Stavros seemed to do what the redhead thought impossible: Altered the machinations of Fate herself.

It's this reason that whil she's been quiet, she's also very much been /smiling./ Enjoying the day she shares with a family closer to her than the one she left behind. Dressed in a properly elegant fashion to befit the occasion, and doing what any girl of her weight should do... raiding the food table. Plate already piled with various delicacies, but held only with one hand to leave the other free for hugs, handshakes, and anything else that might come her way. Returning to France, certainly, would have been the safer option than remaining among the merry band of mutants...

...but really, she'd have it no other way.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is smiling at Hank when he speaks to her and she raises her glass up to what he says. With a grin and a little shake of her head she replies. "It's my night too, Doctah." She sasses back at him with a light grin flickering across her visage. There after, her eyes roam over who all is here and near, she waves to James when she sees him drawing closer, and gives a super not-serious salute to Scott when she thinks she catches his ruby-hued gaze.

"Besides, this means I'm free t'go t'whatever college I want now. Barring... ya know, a sudden windfall'a cash t'pay for it, and threatenin' the admissions departments to take me in or 'else'." She adds with a light smirk.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney was one of the younger sorts not graduating. But most of her friends were among those that were! All the more reason for her to be here. She's even opted to dress up a bit wearing a yellow and white sun dress and sandals. Not quite formal, but for her? This was certainly something far more dressy than her usual attire.

Bobbing and weaving through the crowd of people she hunts out those she intends to properly congratulate. Which is precisely why Marie ends up with someone grabbing her from behind in a big hug. "Marie! So happy for you! Free of school that's awesome!"

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie grins a bit at all of the folks around. He grins a bit and needs to talk to Berto about something that has come to mind. He will stand by the soda and punch playing a bit of bartender and making sure none spike the punch. He is Buzzkill Jr. at times after all.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Yon merry band of mutants contains an awful lot of people, and merry is a word that Illyana fits about as well as a round peg in a universal super-string. She pulls one of the long-stemmed flowers from the bouquet, this a rose with petals like spilled copper and the throat of it paling to speckled frost not quite like first streaks of chill brought with autumn. The leaves shiver as she extricates the blossom from the spray of them curled up in the crook of her arm. Taking it in hand, her offering to the pursuits of graduation sees her nodding to Hank. <<Yes, right.>> Steady, then, her course weaves to Rogue. When there is not too much preoccupying the southern belle, the blonde holds out the gift. "Congratulations. Now you are free of high school! What do you want to do next, da? Windfall or no windfall."

The rose she extends stem first, revealing an array of slippery thorns, but mostly trimmed. More interesting might be the faint threads running up it. "No water, but soil is fine."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Not even the Seer herself saw that one coming.

No, the stealthy predator of Hugsgiving manages to catch the redhead from France unaware, though not entirely unprepared, as she manages to bobble, but not /drop/ the food from her plate. Turning her head to smile at the younger girl, she uses her free hand to reach back and hug her back. "Merci, Mademoiselle Gabby! It is a most exciting day indeed, and I am happy that you and everyone else has come to celebrate with me.... with us!" Yes, she's genuinely enthusiastic. What the future holds is, for the first time in as long as she can remember, not all that clear... so she has a brief moment to focus on, and /enjoy/ the present for a change.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott sees others talking to Piotr and realizes he has yet to congratulate him for organizing the celebration so well. There was about zero chances Scott would have gone for bouncy castles. His brain is just not wired that way. And look at those kids bouncing.

On the way there, he spots Rogue and her super-not-serious salute, which draws a small smile from him.

"Anna-Marie, you are graduating too soon." comments ."And I was so sure you would steal a car and run away by the third day here," that was delivered absolutely deadpan. "Ah, Xavier can write you a recommendation or three. I went to a local community college. Not prestigious, but it worked. Cheap, too."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes go to Illyana when she approaches and thrusts a gift! This gets her eyes to pop open larger and she moves to accept it. The comments and question make her grin to the Limbo Queen, and shake her head softly. "I dunno. I've always wanted t'visit Paris. It was like... Graceland t'my mother. The real one, not the blue one." Take that Mystique. Her green eyes drop down to the offered gift and she now holds it in her gloved hands (the gloves being mesh to keep her hands from being too hot!). "Wow, I didn't know there'd be gifts!" She grins at Illy then. "This is as good as that pie ya gave me? Or that bangin' hat?" She tilts her head then.

Rogue glances to Scott and sticks her tongue out at him, super mature. "Neve'ah unde'ah estimate me."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Hank gives a good-natured laugh at Rogue's response. "Yes, I meant your day." He winks to the graduate. "I'd be happy to help plan, if you're interested in going on to college." The man adds seriously. A nod to Scott as well. "We take care of our students here, both in school and the steps beyond." A laugh at her sticking-out-of-the tongue, and a shake of his head. "Never change, Rogue."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
     There had been some hesitation in deciding whether or not to attend the party from a certain Scottish transplant. Rahne was never much for social events when within her own human skin, so to speak. But, some of her friends are graduating and, social introvert or not, Rahne will do absolutely anything for her friends.

     And that includes wearing shoes.

     Really, more than just shoes. Rahne herself has decided that this, being a special occasion, required equally special attire. She is in a dress. a perfectly innocent sun dress that is completely modest and in keeping with Rahne's conservative nature. But...Rahne is in a dress. When was the last time that happened?

     Rahne makes her way in from the fringes of the party. She hasn't said hello yet...but soon. all in good time.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The rose is a rose until any other rose. It isn't fresh pulled from a forge or any such nonsense, but it is warm all the same. Sunkissed, anyway. "Different than the pie. The hat is incomparable, da? But I can give you the path to Paris any time you want to go. It is best by night." A glimmer of mischief burns in those pale, pale blue eyes, the tug on her lips almost a smirk and absolutely a dare spoken to the southern student. "We might have to sneak through a few places. But to sit atop the Arc de Triomphe and watch traffic go by, see the Louvre or prance around Versailles, well worth it. One ticket, my gift." Easy to offer that as she blithely sails on to find Marie-Ange, for whom undoubtedly there is another rose to be had.

Or at least a flower. It proves not to be a rose, but instead a zantedeschia lily, a spellbinding example of an opalescent lily with a violet heart wrapped around a brindled golden anther. The pretty oriflamme comes free effortlessly from the bundle of flowers. She examines it, twirling the cup-shaped bloom in a long, arcing stem. A swish here, a swish there, painting little by little. Headed to Seer and Dropbear should take no divination practices, but she has her offering to give to the French girl.

On the way, though, there's going to be a double-take at Rahne dolled up, an upnod in her direction. Piotr's words call for a special resolve.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney hops back after the hug with a bright grin, partially just glad that she hadn't accidentally made Marie drop her plate. Loss of food was such a bummer. She grins brightly up at the French teen... adult now? Still quit eproud over the moment as well as the return hug. It was nice when that happened instead of cringes. Okay that was mostly Laura.

"Yeah. I can't wait till I'm done. Though I don't know what I'd do anyway. I mean, I figure I'm going to probably run with one of the teams, that makes the most sense, but I have time to decide still." Plus she was rather enjoying getting to be a kid for awhile. Even as she prattles on a bit she glances over noticing the approach of Illyana which earns another grin. "Oh cool! Looks like Illyana has some flowers for ya!"

And she reaches out to snag a hot dog off one of those serving trays while the Russian approaches. It never hurt to have food at hand.

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy returns the silent nod to Piotr, and his circuit brings him near where Rogue and Scott have gathered. He smiles, chuckling a bit at Anna-Marie's words to Scott.

"I've seen you lift. Wouldn't dream of it. Congratulations, Anna-Marie."

He spares her the questions of future plans or anything of the sort. No doubt all the graduates will get plenty of that and he's not exactly the poster child for forward momentum at present. Scott gets a nod of greeting as well.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie remembers Rahne in a dress, she punched him in the gut for not knowing it was her, thinking he was teasing her. He will smile over at her, and if Rahen ends up near the drinks she will find her favorite of the choices waiting for her. He hmms and says "Wondering if we should pick one of the colleges and do a mutant frat house." He jokes

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott nods to Rogue as in confirmation of -everything- and then walks closer to Piotr. "Good work with the party, Peter. I think it is the best one since we started the school. I rarely get so see the kids so happy."

It -might- have been because the previous years he was in charge and everything was more official and serious. But he chooses to think it is because there are more kids and they have bouncy castles.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue gives a grin over to Hank and nods her head, once, sort of. "I mean, I do. Yes. I just don't know anything about how t'do any'a that. Thats where parents are supposed t'swoop in and be like 'This is how you College'." She smirks at herself then. "I'll figure it out though, and I'll gladly take any pointers ya might have... /Doc/" She likes toying with Hank, but then again she likes toying with everyone.

At Illyana, Rogue tilts her head and moves to hug the Limbo Queen. Carefully of course. "You're the sweetest." She tells the Russian gal. "Any time we can go, I'm all for it, no questions asked, and goin' with you means I don't have to sit on a commercial jet for hours on end." She's not a fan of flying herself across oceans, it's a whole thing.

Jimmy gets a grin from Rogue then and she raises her right arm up to 'flex' for him. "Swole, Patrol." She whispers loudly at him. "And thank ya, sugah." She also adds in a non-whispery voice.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
     When the smile is noticed, Rahne's cheeks flash red...as red as her hair. Seems she remembers a certain slug to the stomach as well. But hey, at least Sam knows Rahne when he sees her now. It is Sam that does get the first greeting from Rahne, consisting of a wave as the Scot does indeed make her way to the drink table.

     There is another nod. This one to Illyana. Yes, Rahne is a bit uncomfortable, but she is making the best of it.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Shoes are over-rated. Hank isn't wearing any! He nods to Rogue, chuckling a bit at the thought of she and Illyana sitting on the various monuments in Paris. "Just don't cause an incident, yes? It would look bad on your transcripts for college." He teases.

After a moment or two, he finds himself a seat and begins enjoying the plate he'd fixed up. He reaches up, loosening the tie he's got on and opening up the collar.

"Quite the affair. Well done, all." He murmurs to no one in particular - smiling at all those in attendance.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Scott gets a nod in thanks from Piotr, "Thank you, I just hope it meets that goal. The downside is that next year will be measured in the same way." He takes a drink and a deep breath, "But at least things are moving along smoothly, and we shouldn't have too many leftover." He glances around, "If there are, then I guess we are eating well for a little bit." The Russian laughs.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie smiles and says "It is all good fire top, we have had our walks, the spotlight is on Berto, and the others now, and you know if anyone liked being the center of attention." He teases about his friend. "So, how have you been doing?" He asks her.

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy grins and flexes back at Rogue with one of those small-tree-trunk sized arms, adding a friendly wink, "Swole Patrol for life." He nods once more and adds, "You're welcome. Now you better grab some of that actual food before the underclassmen throw down on it. You and I both know there won't be much left once that happens."

He chuckles and briefly gets pulled aside to greet and congratulate a couple of other graduates, before moving on to where Gabby and Illyana have gathered, giving Gabby a grin as he approaches, "Kinda surprised you aren't sharking one of the ball pits, Gabby. Or trying to see if you can bounce high enough to shoot through the ceiling of one of those castles."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
"I am only me, da? Tell me when you want to go, we will. Time is not the same for me as you." Truer words never spoken, but there's no point trying to explain. Demon Queen problems, right? She smirks playfully at Rogue and leaves her thus.

Illyana hesitates, briefly pausing to watch Sam and Rahne collide together socially close to where she is. She could veer that way but chooses to keep going until reaching Marie-Ange, offering the lily again stem-first. Given she knows how to handle swords, this might seem a counterintuitive process, but it helps for someone to just manage. Besides, the bouquet in her arms rustles about, throwing sparks, settling in with a telltale humming rattle rather than crackling. The compacted foliage flutters, sparks and shine. Once the French girl has her flower, it's safe to step back and murmur at the /other/ flowers, as if they might need some encouragement to be pretty. Nothing to see there, girl with her face in the flowers. That's all. Jimmy approaching inbound gets that lifted gaze, eyes snow-pale and almost fading into white. "We could jump on either side, see if she can reach to the sky, maybe. There is a game, crack the egg, da?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde has been watching quietly from over in the distance, before finally wandering over towards everyone. She flashes a few small smiles at people here and there. Nodding her head to some and stopping to congratulate others. She makes her way over to Scott, flashing him a quick smile. "Would have been my graduating class," she comments to him as she looks over at some of the grads. Would have been but she left early and enrolled in college in the UK. "Kind of nice to get to see everyone go through. Felt like this was one of those experiences I missed out on, you know?" she tells him.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
     "Ah suppose Ah've been alright, farmboy." Rahne has no qualms throwing around nicknames, too. "Just been doin' mah thing, ye know." Which, honestly, is mostly keeping to herself. With some exceptions. "Ye keepin' yerself out o' trouble?"

     There is a glance to the flowers in Illy's bouquet. An eyebrow raises....flowers don't normally throw sparks like that. But...watching those flowers also leads Rahne's eyes over to Marie-Ange. She gets a small wave and a slight smile...really just the twitter of her fingers, but still a greeting.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances toward James when he steps over toward their newish formed gathering area around the food table. She had even been so nice as to snag a plate rather than just grubby-hands the food. She had SOME manners. Sometimes. "I would but it's hard to shark in a dress, and I think the jumping would be difficult, too," she admits as her hand drops down to pat her skirt. Only to then pinch the fabric lifting it up to reveal her legs beneath which were thankfully covered in gym shorts.

"So that's for *after* food," she explains with a solemn nod. This would happen one way or another, darnit. Whatever other thoughts she has are momentarily forgone in favor of asking, "You eaten yet? Ought to grab something before dad gets here and cleans it out." Then again he may not show being not a fan of crowds. Plus there was... That. She leans a bit closer to James and whispers, "Why is Illyana talking to flowers that look like they're gonna explode? And can I have one?"

Scott Summers has posed:
"Good afternoon, Kitty," greets Scott. "Ah, yes... but you were always in a hurry to do everything. X-Men at thirteen and college over at eighteen. Such an overachiever." He smiles, "not even Hank was that quick."

He nods at Piotr. "He is the man in charge today. And since he did such a great job, I find myself unable to fix anything. I am going inside to grab some coffee and work in some programs for a couple hours. I should be here for the end."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde grins back over to Scott. "Well, you guys did come recruiting me," she reminds him. "And I suppose that was about as true of a recruiting experience as one could have," she adds with a laugh. Those who came to visit her, kidnapped by a bad guy, and the rest of the team having to come and rescue them. She waves goodbye to Scott and then wanders some more through the crowd, stopping to get a plate of food before continuing over towards Piotr. "Looks like a great turnout," she says.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had separated herself from the group after a few pleasant parting words and she was now visible down by the ball pit, picking up some of the younger kids with her gloved hands and throwing them into it! The kid's are waving their arms around in the air as they fly throughest the airest and land in a splash of multi-colored-questionably-sanitary-plastic balls! Joy is being had, down yonder by the good old ball pits that were trucked in earlier this morning!

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry McCoy snickers, after chewing a bite of his meal. "Tut tut, Scott. I stayed in school to get two doctorates." He teases. "Kitty is most certainly gifted, and quite the quick study." He nods to the woman. He leans back a bit in his chair, sense of balance exceptional. Then Scott is taking off, and he gets a wave from the Beast.

"Where does time go?" He muses. "All the fresh faces I see graduating... graduating." A shake of his head. "It went too fast."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr nods to Scott, "I appreciate the vote of confidence. Hopefully the cleanup won't be so bad." He takes a chance to scan the area and sees kids being thrown in the ball pit and he suddenly appears concerned until he spots the gloves and exhales once he realizes how they are being thrown in there. Kitty gets a nod in greeting, "Good to see you, Kitty, glad you could make it." He affords a grin and drains his cup, "Indeed, I am happy to see everybody turn out for the kids. It's only harder for them here on out, may as well leave here having fun.

The sun begins getting a bit low, barely visible over the horizen and a few groundskeepers are seen making their way to the edge of the field.

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy grins at Illyana and notes, "Trying to avoid the bouncy castle myself. Wouldn't want to pop it. Also might need Piotr on the other side to really get the altitude going."

He leans over to listen to Gabby, then grins at her whispered question, "You'd have to ask her, I think." Which answers both of her questions, really. Efficiency! "But yeah, I'll grab something in a couple minutes. Looks like so far there's enough to go around. And bad comes to worse I can always fix something inside."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde takes a bite of bbq, and then follows it up with a bite of macaroni and cheese. "Good food," she comments to Piotr in a complimentary fashion. She turns to watch Rogue over with the kids, tossing them into the ball pit. It makes her laugh softly and she waves over to her sometimes roomie.

As Kitty hears Hank, she flashes him a huge, grateful smile. "That kind of compliment coming from you is saying something, Hank!" she says. "I might have to go get in on some of the play action after I eat."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Due diligence in bestowing gifts mostly done, Illyana has to keep hold of her bouquet as it remains. The thing isn't small; two flowers make zero dent in the profusion of glittering roses with petals throwing sparks now and then in languid sparks. Starstruck warmth pools around her booted feet while Gabby and Jimmy form the other points of a triangle with her furthest from the table. Not one to dig in prodigiously to a meal unless strategically, she hangs back from all the desserts and eyes up any fruit or cheese with a vested interest. "Sharking?" This is a term she should know, but questions, brows raised a little. Or maybe it's the lifting of the dress, which causes exactly no further response, but she smirks at the littlest dropbear. "I cannot eat with..." A nod to the bouquet. "Holding it."

Her hearing is nowhere near on par to Jimmy's or Logan's, but she is horrifying perceptive when not actually engaged in something else. So the hint of a smirk rises while tilting her head, watching balls fly through the air and Kitty wandering to the table. She -can- wave one-handed that way. Mostly. No dropping anything, anyhow.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney hms thoughtfully at Jimmy's answer. Of course that made sense, but she hadn't wanted to interrupt Illyana while she was gifting potentially volatile flowers. Yees. It doesn't stop her from cracking a grin though at Illyana's question of sharking. "Oh yeah! It's like when you're swimming underwater in the pool and grab someone's leg and dunk them, but in a ball pit you can't be seen so it's extra surprise-ey." Nodding firmly at her explanation of the term she grins again.

"I could hold them for you if you need to grab food! It's not like it could hurt me or something." She reasons with a glance to the table. "Or maybe we can find a vase to shove them into for a bit."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"I am pretty fond of it, and no surprise spicy mustard," Piotr says with a nod and a grin, then he turns to Hank "But yes, it does seem everybody keeps getting older, it seems like yesterday I was brought over to help," he takes a breath as he stops to think and then nods to Scott, "Catch you later, Scott.". Piotr then notices Illyana with the bouquet and he raises a brow, though he leaves her to her own devices on this one. Kitty is responded to with a, "Do, it should be fun for everybody. Though I do hope everybody is having fun.

In the distance a bolt of blue shoots into the air and explodes into a ball of silver and blue sparks, followed by others in a wide array of varieties of fireworks.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde mmms as she makes her way slowly through her plate of food. She spots Illyana's wave and grins over to the blond young woman, yelling over in slightly-accented Russian, <<Did you eat? This is delicious!>>

Kitty turns back to the other Rasputin and gives a soft grin at the spicy mustard comment. "We never did get potato knishes did we? Going to have to take you to a good Jewish deli sometime to get some," she says. "Best with spicy mustard on them but you can dip them in anything."

The fireworks get a soft, "Oooo," from Kitty. "Nice. That Jubilee or did we hire someone?" she asks.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Hank is leaning back in his chair, relaxed as he polishes off the last of his supper. Wiping at the corners of his mouth with a napkin, he looks perfectly pleased. "I wonder, sometimes, if I will get silver in my fur." He grins to Piotr. "We'd almost match, then." He teases.

A nod of agreement to Kitty. "You should take the complement. You certainly earned it." A grin. He glances over to Rogue, playing with the youngers in the ball pit. "Good people, the lot of you. No one will convince me otherwise."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
"Alright dudes! It's time to wow these mother fuggahs!" Jubilee, honorary Fireworks expert, is moving back and forth along the lines of firework launchers with her arms up in the small of her back like a Drill Instructor speaking to fresh recruits. "We're going to explode their freakin' brains with it... Harry!" Pointing down the line, the technician frowns over at her, "Thomas..." "Harry, we talked about this... HARRY!"

She stops over in her ankle high sneakers, wearing cut off shorts and a croptop shirt under a thin yellow jacket with bright pink lensed glasses! "You shoot off those fireworks like your life depends on it, on my count... Three.. two... O- Cut it out back there Thomas!" Pointing to the other side, "HARY!" "We talked about this, THOMAS!"

The blast follows. A quiet whistling and then the erruptive explosion of a multiple colored X!

"Heck yah!" Wiggling her fingers up at it, creating smaller explosions of her very own to accentuate the altogether athetics of the fireworks display!

"You're up Greggory!" "Holy crap, she got my name right..." "Not you, you're Michael."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
<<No. I haven't eaten,>> Illyana calls back to Kitty. Hmm, snacks! "Sharking in a pit requires stealth then. It sounds fun. My kind of game." With Gabby's excellent notion of how to lurk in plain sight, terrorizing children and assorted celebrants, she gives that faint little smirk.

Then something goes pop and explodes. Noisily. Fireworks aren't quiet.

It takes her a bit offguard while pondering the delicious nature of ice cream, pop, or a platter of cheeses. That ascending orb reaches a pinnacle and then erupts into colour, snapping her shoulders into a stiff line. Several steps sideways to assess it plunks her squarely into Jimmy, not that she has the means to do more than knock him. Maybe it's the distant shouting that startled her.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie watches the fireworks, and grins a bit more at this and will get himself a drink. He looks over and makes sure the drinks are good and will head towards the grilled table to load up a plate.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty grins and goes to grab a drink, and then makes a small plate of food for Illyana. The Russian girl is one of her besties so she has a good idea of what she likes to eat. Once the plate is filled up, Kitty grabs an extra drink and brings them over to the Russian sorceress. "Here you go," she says with a smile.

"Hey Gabby, having a good time?" she asks. Kitty's eyes go back to the fireworks. "Ahhhh..." she says, making the required sounds as the multi-colored explosions go off. Thankfully in the sky. No repeat of the 2017 graduation desired!

Kitty looks about for Rogue. "So did you frame it already?" she asks with a grin towards the Southern belle.

Rogue has posed:
Meanwhile, at the ballpits.

Rogue is now up in the air and swooping down to playfully grab at children who are trying to hide under the topmost layer of balls! They peak their heads out and she swoops down to try to grab one of them! Much laughter ensues as they try to duck down beneath the layer of protective tiny plastic spheres!

It's a game! Predator and Prey! Rogue is the predator!

"Come here, lil' mousies!" Rogue shouts down at the kids as shw swoops down over head and turns to sweep around the yard just as the fireworks go off and streak right past her making her scream in surprise!

"Jubilee!" Rogue can be heard shouting from the sky! "Gonna set my clothes on fire!"

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy glances down to Illyana when she bumps him, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder, and giving Kitty a nod when she shows up bearing food. After he's sure Illyana isn't getting bowled over, he reaches to take the plate and cup from Kitty, explaining, "I can hold onto 'em while she eats if she doesn't want to hand over flower duty to Gabby."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr nods to Hank, "We certainly would." He then watches the fireworks for a brief moment, realizing that they are going according to plan, at least so far. No unlooked for fires, no injuries, heck, they may even get the deposit back for the inflatables. He finally goes to get a refill of lemonade and joins Jimmy, Kitty, and Illy and asks the group collectively, "Having fun? Also, thanks Jimmy for the help, it made things a lot easier!"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
"ANN MARIE?!" Jubilee spins in a small circle, acting as if she couldn't possibly decipher from which direction Rogue is calling to her! What terrible fate is this?! What shall she do! "Gregory! Hold your dang'on horses buddy! My friend, who cannot be hurt by anything, is up there!" Leaping awkwardly towards him, like an action movie star trying to stop the villain from triggering the final bomb!

Tackling him to the ground even though he was literally nowhere near the trigger. "Get the hell off of me!" "No! Don't burn her clothes! There's children present and even though we all know she /definitely/ wants to get her clothes burned and to be naked, because that's her natural state anyways, We can't allow it! We just can't Gregory! It's you and me, friend.. you and me protecting the innocence of those children.. they cannot see ashirtless Rogue.. their sense of self identity will be forever shattered. Their own feeble, horrible, appearances will hold no value compared to her shapely, perk -..."

The entire fireworks team is staring. "What?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde passes the plate over to James Proudstar readily. "There you go," she tells him, giving the Cape Verde Apache a soft smile. "How've you been doing?" Kitty asks the immense Native American. "Haven't had a chance to talk in awhile. Things going well around here for you? What have you been spending your time at?"

Kitty turns to look over towards Jubilee, an eyebrow going in the air. "That's Michael!" Kitty calls helpfully towards Jubilee. "And she's probably ok," Kitty says, glancing up at Rogue. Kitty gives a wave towards Rogue. "Even if not, she needs the practice dodging anti-air, I figure. Right?"

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy doesn't exactly look over to where Jubilee is wrestling with the fireworks guys, but there's a bit of a perplexed look on his face that indicates he's hearing something that...well, makes about as much sense as Jubilee ever does. In any case, he accepts the plate and gives Kitty a nod, "Doin' all right. Mostly just helping out around the grounds." It's a big property, and the thing Logan does that he's the best at is NOT landscaping.

"It was no trouble, Piotr." He assures the big Russkie, "I'll likely be around for the tear-down, too."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The bouquet decides the impact of bumping into one of the pillars holding up the sky is a bit too much. Most, but not all, of the roses go scrambling speedily up the blonde Russian's arm, a crackling of thorns and petals in liquid motion. The bouquet thing -- cat? Ferret? -- hides under her hair and collar, winding around her neck. That leaves a few actual roses still wound together with a ribbon against her arm, but far fewer than they were. Hence wearing long sleeves, unless she wants to get scratched. Regardless, the claws prick bare skin and earn a slight wince.

Illyana slants a look through her loose bangs towards Kitty, glancing at the piled food on that plate. A friend's judgment on tasty edibles is always wiser than following than a stranger's, and she gives the faintest smile. "Mm? You wha--?" Watch out, wake up. Her words take a moments to catch up. "Gabby might not want to cat-sit." Cat sit, cait-sith, not so different when making a Russian speak Gaelic of any breed. "Da, good, very good, Piotr. I think."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Another nod to Piotr, the Beast simply people-watching for now. "I look forward to that day. Perhaps we can simply watch the young folk take up the fight, yes?" He grins, stretching his arms overhead with a satisfying pop. "Ah... that was perfect." Hank chuckles.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue sweeps out of the sky and lands near to where Jubilee is fuzzling with the fireworks helpers. She puts her hands on her hips and just stares at her yellow jacketed friend. "I'm gonna be here when you graduate, Jubilation, throwin' water balloons at ya or somethin'." She says to the Asian gal with a slight grin. "I'm dressed all nice'n fancy, ya see, I gotta maintain my style t'day, cause I'm no longer a High Schooler. I'm evolvin', becomin' a butterfly... or somethin'. I dunno." She looks back up to the others and folds her arms across her stomach.

As she scans the food and those that are all partaking in it she mutters. "There's gotta be some alcohol around here somewhere." Craning her neck she looks back toward the woods. "Maybe the Breakstone Slasher isn't home. He always keeps a six pack in the back of his toilet."

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Sounds good," Piotr says to Jimmy and then blinks in confusion as Illy's bouquet's actions, taking a few moments to realize what's going on, but does see the wince and frown, "You all right, Illy?" He has a degree of concern in his voice, but lets it slide when he speaks to Hank, "Not as ancient as you yet, old man!" The larger Rasputin gives a grin and takes a big drink from his glass. "But yes, I do hope everyone is all right over there."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
Jubilee mushes her way off of Gregory, or Michael.. she's honestly confused which one it is now, and turns towards Rogue after shooting Kitty a wink and a little finger wave. "You came out of your cacoon, too good for us plebs down in the trenches taking math classes they've no hope of passing without telescope glasses they can see the teachers grade sheet, I would never do that okay! STOP telling people..." Finger to her lips, grinning around the digit.

She doesn't reach out to hug Rogue, since she'd die.

But she does pantomime hugging her! Wrapping her arms close to being around the energy draining black hole of life that is her bestie. "I'm so proud of you! From Mississippi and you graduated High school? That's... I mean that's quite an achievement, you know? Why, I remember when you still spelled it... em eye crooked letter crooked letter, eye, hump back hump back, eye, crooked letter crooked letter, eye..." Wiping a mock tear from her left eye. "They grow up so fast."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Distractions. For just a moment there's a strange look that flits over Gabby's face. It's not one of joy, or laughter, or humor. It's a rather odd look as she tenses at the explosion. It fades quickly though. No stabby attitude here though she does have to take a single deep breath to push that fight urge down. Then she grins again watching as the flowers? Work around Illyana's neck with a bit of wonder. "I could totally cat sit," she points out with a solemn nod. Totally. Of course she has a hot dog in her hand so she munches that first while glancing up to watch the fireworks.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie gets himself a nice plate of food and continues watching the people as well. He looks over towards the firework excitement but is back to watching the folks near him .

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The bouquet-cat, composed mostly of thorns and greenery, continues to be a small, insistent scarf. It doesn't meow, huddling instead on Illyana's shoulder like somehow her hair gives enough protection from it to be seen. Hint, it doesn't, and the only way it might have a chance would be if she wore her armour. Leaf-and-thorn ears go mildly flat, helping that quasi-ferret appearance. She can't exactly pet it, but reaches back to carefully resituate one thorny law off of her shoulder. "Surprised. Was not noticing," she replies to Piotr offhanded, not really paying attention to her English, either.

"He's for Tabby," she explains simply. "A promise, da?" Hmm. Food. This calls for reaching around Jimmy, as much as there is any reaching around him, and plucking something off the plate. It's a half-hug at that rate, to steal a piece of cheese. Hank's popping arms earn a look. "Are you making yourself bigger, doctor? Spooking the little ones?" She smirks, and checks Rogue and Jubilee's antics.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue stands there perfectly still as Jubilee mimes a hug around her. When her friend steps back and throws her shade at being a graduating Mississippian, Rogue reaches into her pants pocket and pulls out a bright red plastic ball from the ball pit and throws it at Jubilee's forehead.

"Thanks, ya big goof." She replies then with a smirk as she walks past her right side and gives her shoulder an affection shove... not enough to throw her over the school or nothing of the sort!

"Food time." Rogue starts walking up one of the hedge paths toward the crowds of folks eating. She moves to gather up a plate and pick some of the tasties for herself!

Henry McCoy has posed:
A good belly-laugh from Hank, shaking his head. "I would imagine not, Piotr." He winks. "I think only Charles has me beat in age here..." The Beast grins. "With age, respect, wisdom and a smooth debonaire attitude." He buffs his claws on his shirt sleeve. "Along with a healthy dose of humility, I might add." He teases.

A wink to Illyana. "Only if they misbehave in class. Or fall asleep. Health education is important, after all." He beams.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
Jubilee stumbles from the shoulder nudge, but it wasn't really hard enough to do so, so she's clearly hamming it up. rubbing her arm as she falls in step beside Rogue on th eway over to the food tables, "Nah, but seriously, I'm real proud of you.." Quiet voice, less someone hear her being serious and it ruin her reputation. "Maybe one day I'll get to graduate, but I probably wont. But if I /do/ I'm definitely going to move to Seattle and join a grunge band." Solumn nod, "That's my post graduate plans." Picking food out for herself, dropping it on a plate. Humming a little tune to herself with glances at all the peeps hear looking all fine and duded up.

James Proudstar has posed:
Jimmy quirks a brow at Illyana's explanation of who the cat-bouquet is for. He doesn't make Illyana work too hard to acquire from the plate that is rightfully hers, but he doesn't switch which hand he's holding the plate in until she's acquired that piece of cheese, shifting it to the closer hand so she won't have to work so hard next time, giving her a brief smile before asking, "So uh...anything we should know about the care and feeding of this thing?" Since well...it's likely to end up living mostly in his room, all things considered.

Julio Richter has posed:
The concussive blasts of fireworks just off your own lawn are hard to miss, especially if you're a bit sensitive to vibration, so shortly after the display begins, Julio emerges from the school, shading his eyes and staring past those assembled for the celebration. "This is... okay, right? We're not drawing too much attention?" he asks, coming up on the rear of the assembled group. "I don't want the humans to get mad and send SWAT teams we have to fight," he continues, stifling a yawn behind one upraised fist. "I'm too sleepy to explode anyone."

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks over and says "If some other things that have happened round here, then the cops aint going to be coming out here for fire works." He grins over at Julio and munches a bit from the food he has

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Illyana's busy making very short work of that cheese. Not exactly mouselike, and neither is she offering a slice of it to the briar-beast on her shoulder. Efficient and quick, she probably takes no more pleasure from cheese than she would from pastrami sandwiches, waffles, or any of life's culinary pleasures. An absolute heathen! Piotr clearly got the genes for food appreciation. She, in turn, accepts the task of a gentle headbump from a heap of prickles and flowers, and sees to it the last of the roses in hand aren't crushed. In case Berto wanders by, or Jenny, there are flowers too. "Later," she replies to Jimmy. "She will know what to do."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue looks over to Jubilee when she joints her at the food tables and she smiles at and leans over to bump shoulders with the girl in the yellow jacket, not hard, just affectionately. "Thank ya, Peach." She says at her. "You're totally gonna graduate and I'll be right here to celebrate when ya do. And... I'll not let ya leave t'go join a grunge band, you're way too sun shiny t'be associatin' with some down'n'out mopey types that just wanna yell about how much their parents stink."

Rogue fills her plate up and looks up to Julio. "Fireworks aren't a mutant-exclusive thing, Julio Roberts. I think we'll be all right." She shows the young man a smile then and sweeps around the table to grab one of the bottled waters from the ice chest they're resting inside of.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
"Well my parents probably /do/ stink, by now." That's a dead parents joke. Jubilee has to get one uncomfortable comedic reference to something tragic out of the way fairly early in the evening... honestly it's in her contract. Likewise turning to Julio, "Come on now.. it's like two months to the 4th of July! If the police show up, we tell them we're celebrating the birth of our nation early because our patriotism knows not the bounds of time passage! We shant be constrained to anual celebratory jubilation! We are anarchy! We are legion of proud United Statesians and a couple Russians! And a German... and probably some other people from places I'm definitely going to leave out and get a strongly worded letter for not including them because people get butt hurt -way- too easily in twenty twenty." Perking up, "Oh hey, pigs in a blanket." Yoink.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio gives Rogue a look as he tries and fails to piece together the reference she's making. Apparently America's sweetheart was less of a thing south of the border, because eventually he just shrugs and replies, "I mean, a noise complaint still means cops asking questions. I assume we're not a fan of that." Seems he's enough of a city boy to assume setting off some explosives in your backyard justifies a call to the cops under all circumstances.

Also, one has to guess that by failing to address the reference, he has consigned himself to at least one school year of being compared to every Julia Roberts role anyone within arm's reach can remember. Language barrier's a bitch.

Before that has time to set in, he gives Jubilee a sidelong look. "Hooray Etados Unidos, land of the. Doritos?" he ventures. "If we are being patriots, maybe I should go back to bed before I am not helpful at all."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry, sharp-eared as always, nods in agreement. "I am certain the authorities are well aware of our campus, and the celebrations that occur around graduation time. I do not doubt that Charles, Scott or Piotr called in in ahead of time." A wry grin from the Beast. He slowly gets to his feet, wiggles his toes, then heads towards the dessert table finally. "Room for sweets, I think." He grins.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The briar-cat on her shoulder, Illyana scritches it behind a pointed, thorny ear. "Congratulations to all. Enjoy the rest of the evening." And with that, she ventures along a winding path.

Samuel Guthrie has posed:
Sam Guthrie looks over and says "And as I said, with some of the things in the past, we are probably known as the weird school that unless it is something bad aint a problem. That and our closest neighbor aint very close, there is actually a decent amount of woods between us and most folks.