17190/Ernesto and the Cajun

Ernesto and the Cajun
Date of Scene:	15 February 2024
Location:	Baskin Robbins
Synopsis:	Remy makes his first trip to the Salem Center Baskin Robbins, where he meets the ice cream artiste, Ernesto!
Cast of Characters:	Kitty Pryde, Remy LeBeau

---

Kitty Pryde has posed:
When the topic of ice cream had come up in the kitchen at Xavier's between some of the students and Remy, Kitty Pryde had just stood by, eating her banana quietly, until the students had left.

And then Remy had heard a woman's voice, made as husky as Kitty could manage, going, "Psst. Hey you. Yeah, you. Come 'ere."

Kitty waited behind Remy, looking around in a conspiratorial way. "You want ice cream? I got connections. Ooooooh do I have connections. Banana split so good you'd think you were in Honduras. Sundaes so artistic you'll want to hang them on your wall in a frame."

Kitty looks around once more. "It's a short drive. You in, Cajun?"

Remy LeBeau has posed:
The cajun in question looks to Kitty in an amused manner, folding his arms across his chest and letting out a little bit of a laugh. "You make it sound like de ice cream is made with somethin' other dan just sugar, chere. Color me intrigued and deal me in. You drivin', or you hopin' on a bike with ole Remy?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
"Oh, let's take the bike," Kitty says, going to grab a jacket. "It's ice cream. But I mean, there's ice cream. And then there's... -ice cream-. Ernesto is a master. When it comes to painting you have Da Vinci, and sculptures you have Michelangelo. And both are good in their own way. But you want ice cream art? Ernesto, my friend," Kitty says, hand going to Remy's shoulder as she calls him my friend.

She'll direct him down the road to nearby Salem Center, and to the Baskin Robbins that sits perched on the main stretch of town. Not looking too different than any other Baskin Robbins. Inside is a man, perhaps of some sort of Mediterranean ancestry, maybe Spanish or Italian somewhere in his past. Dark hair and a moustache, wiping down the counter.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
Shrugging his shoulder, Remy dons his own coat, though not his signature overcoat, and climbs onto the bike. Short drive (made shorter by his speed) later Remy kills the engine and drops the kickstand.

    He opens the door for Kitty to let her into the ice cream shop, and just peers at her through his sunglasses. "It's a Baskin Robbins." The tone is deadpan, like he has been the butt of some bad joke. "You took me to Baskin Robbins."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's eyes just twinkle as she looks to Remy at his comment. She gives a 'follow me' gesture with her head and goes through the door that Remy holds for her.

"My dear Katherine!" the man behind the counter says warmly. "You have returned! I thought maybe you had given up on me!"

Kitty breaks out in a huge grin and comes over to the counter, reaching over to squeeze hands with the man. "I'm working in the city as much as I'm in Westchester, now. But there's no way I'd forget you entirely!" This makes the man beam, and Kitty turns to introduce Remy.

"Remy, this is Ernesto. You can order anything you want, but I suggest telling him what kind of things you like and letting him get creative," Kitty says to the Cajun. "This is my friend Remy. He's a good guy," Kitty says, before pausing, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well. He's ok," she says if after second thought, then grins at Remy.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
The cajun looks skeptical at Kitty as he follows in behind her, his head shaking slightly causing his auburn locks to shimmy on his head.

He looks to Ernesto, then back to Kitty, then back again with a slight nod of his head before he looks back to Kitty with a smirk.

"Ok? Chere you an' I both know dat is a load of bull. I ain't even been 'ok' in mah life. Good sometimes, bad most of de time, but never just 'ok'."

He snorts, shaking his head with a look back over to Ernesto, "Don' buy into her lies."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Ernesto looks to be about 50, or at least late 40s. And he has a nice smile and demeanor about him that make him pretty easy to like. "Ah, a bit of the bad boy then. And for your ice cream flavor then, I'm thinking nothing simple like vanilla or chocolate. Something more like Caramel turtle truffle? Or maybe Jamoca Almond Fudge as a base?" Ernesto asks Remy.

The ice cream vendor glances at Kitty. "Oh, just create away for me. I trust you," she tells Ernesto with a grin before turning back to Remy and winking at him.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
"Peanut butter n' chocolate," retorts Remy to Ernesto with a shrug of his shoulder. "Though I also like a good cookies and cream when de mood suits." His eyes shift between the older man and Kitty, still giving her that 'What have you gotten me into' look before his gaze returns to Ernesto. "So, I guess as the lady says, create away? See what you come up with, non?"

He looks to Kitty with that same look, but with a slightly raised brow and wordlessly mouths, 'It's still Baskin Robbins.'

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde grins as Remy decides to put himself into Ernesto's hands with her. She motions over to a table and moves to take a seat. "Do you think Gogan painted everything in some expensive house overlooking the ocean? Did Bob Dylan pen all of his songs in some high tech recording studio? Judge not by the surroundings, but by the accomplishment, my young Paduwan," Kitty says in a teasing voice as she flashes a grin at Remy.

Ernesto is busy behind the counter for a bit, before he brings out to sundaes. Both of them are... artistic. Waffle cones and chocolate pieces and other confections have been used to turn Kitty's ice cream into a vanilla dove, with wings of white chocolate, seeming to be awing through a fluffy cloud of whipped cream with a sprinkling of white chocolate powder over it.

Remy's chocolate and peanut butter sundae has been shaped into something reminiscent of a riverboat afloat in a chocolate river. The squared off ice cream makes the main boathouse, with tiny waffle cone adornments for decks, and Pirouline waffle cones with hazelnut filling for the smokestacks. Other confections make portholes and other decorations that complete the river boat feeling.

Kitty just sits back, watching Remy's reaction.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
Following Kitty over, Remy takes a seat at the table and leans back trying to get comfortable. He removes the sunglasses for a moment, rubbing his red-irised eyes before slipping them back on. "It's corporate," he mutters to Kitty in a semi-low voice so Ernesto doesn't hear. "Don' dey have to do de same shi..stuff everyone else do? Ain' dat a part of the rules of being in a franchise"

Apperantly not given the creation that is set before him. Remy just looks at the pair of sundaes, then looks up to Ernesto, then back at the sundaes. He glances across at Kitty, then back down to the sundae. "Dis ain' no Baskin Robbins."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty breaks out in a laugh at Remy's reaction. And Ernesto smiles that smile that people get when someone appreciates their choice of creative expression. Kitty tells him, "Thank you Ernesto. You outdid yourself." She reaches out a hand and gets a squeeze back from him.

"Enjoy," Ernesto says warmly, going back behind the counter. Kitty turns to Remy and grins. "I mean they have all the same stuff at every Baskin Robbins. They just don't have an ice cream artiste working at all those other ones." Kitty gets her spoon and digs into the body of the dove, "It's almost a shame to eat," she says. But that doesn't stop her. "I never have asked if he owns the place or not," she muses to Remy.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
Continuing to give the sundae a look over, Remy just shakes his head a bit as he contemplates the confectionary riverboat. "Yeah..but like..."

He lets the thought fade away and shrugs a shoulder as he picks up his spoon to start to eat his own sundae. "You got me, chere. I called de bluff and you got me. How is dis place not packed? Should be a line out de door, non?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty gives a shrug of her shoulders. "Well, it's February so that is probably part of it. Summer it is a lot busier. Also I don't know if he goes to this much effort for everyone, or every time. I've been coming here since I was 14 though, and so we've got that longtime customer-vendor relationship going," she says. "I also tip him really well since I got a real job. Making up for what I couldn't do when I was in school," Kitty adds with a chuckle.

She smiles over to Remy. "So, besides being wowed by the hidden treasures of Salem Center, what have you been up to lately?"

Remy LeBeau has posed:
Remy LeBeau shrugs. "A whole lot of nothin' as I keep my head down, or at least try to. I ended up in a jewelry store not to long ago dat had the unlucky distinction of getting robbed." A pause. "No, I wasn't casin' the joint. Or maybe I was. Either way, don' matter none someone else decided to try and take a withdrawal. I guess She-Hulk was wanderin' by at de same time and came bustin' in to save de day." He continues to eat his sundae as he thinks, "Other dan dat, not much goin' on with ole Remy. Haven't laid eyes on Red or Rogue, unsure if dat is by design or just dumb old fashioned luck at dis point. You?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty is slowly making her way through her own sundae. She gets one of the dove's eyes and mmms softly. "Chocolate," she murmurs. Most of her sundae is vanilla or other 'white' flavors. "Well, work is taking up time," Kitty says. "Doing some really interesting stuff with AI at Stark. Haven't got to play with the ones for his armor though, drat. But I've been building up a new one, making some advancements. You probably would prefer I leave it at that rather than geek out on the details," she says, chuckling at the end.

"She-Hulk, wow. Did she smash the place up or manage to stop them without a lot of collateral damage?" Kitty asks. "I guess she has more control than Bruce does? Though I don't really know her well," the Jewish young woman says.

Perhaps seeming to think that needs an explanation, Kitty gives a little wave of her spoon. "I know Doctor Banner. He gave a technical talk at ESU one day that I attended, and ended up chatting with him. He's recommended a few books to me and we would get together and talk them over after I'd made it through them. Also he might have run rampage through Westchester one day and I helped divert him away. Hulk, that part, not Bruce."

Remy LeBeau has posed:
"Minimal enough," Remy says with a shrug as he continues to slowly eat his sundae. "Could have certainly been more damage, but I don' think she was interested in scuffing up her Jimmy Choo's." He smirks slightly as he uses his spoon as something to gesture in the air with. "I contributed a bit...someone might have lost de use of dere hand, but it you point a gun at me I ain' going to just let you shoot me."

If he wasn't wearing the sunglasses, Kitty might see his eyes start to gloss over as she starts talking geek, but maybe it is in his body language. "Well, dat's good. Least you got somethin' to keep you busy. Can't say I've ever met Banner. Barely met She-Hulk. She was gone almost as soon as she was there. Maybe she was late for court or somethin'."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
"Why not?" Kitty replies about not letting someone just shoot him. "I mean, I normally do," says the girl that the bullet would pass right through. She flashes Remy a grin and then reaches her spoon over towards his sundae. There's a pause there, enough time for him to object. Though if none is given, she scoops up a little bit of the chocolate sauce 'river' on the tip of her spoon.

"So have you given any thought to maybe signing at the school? Doing some teaching? From what I've seen you have the abilities to be able to make a difference," Kitty says.

Remy LeBeau has posed:
Remy LeBeau smirks again, "Some of us don' just turn into a ghost, chere. When I get shot, it hurts." He rolls his eyes behind his glasses, pushing away the last of the sundae in Kit's direction when she goes for the chocolate as he seems to be full.

The cajun purses his lips. "I don know. I know Alex had some ideas but just not sure I am suited to scholastic life. Me wearing a suit and teachin' for a livin'? I'd likely get disowned, if I wasn' already."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
"It would probably be good for you. Rehabilitate you," Kitty says before transferring ice cream to her mouth with her spoon. Her eyes are sparkling in a way that tells the joke of what she's saying. "Make you all decent and presentable. A good member of society. And of course there are the parent-teacher conferences with all of the single mothers..."

She's definitely kidding now. Right? Right!?

Remy LeBeau has posed:
Remy LeBeau smirks. "Yeah, sure. I can see it now. I'm sorry Ms. Howlett, but little James has failed lockpicking and I need to keep him after school for detention." Remy slips off the sunglasses to let his obvious mutant eyes show. "'Sides, I'm still not sure how welcome I am between everything with Rogue and all the Sinister stuff in my baggage, and with this new shit that happened down in NOLA on top of everythin'. Honestly surprised I've been allowed to stay as long as I have." He shrugs his shoulder, "As for rehabilitation, why do you expect miracles, chere? You know I am to far gone for that kind of redemption." He smirks, leaning back into his chair.