20292/Spring is in the Air - A Q's Qegger Event!

Spring is in the Air - A Q's Qegger Event!
Date of Scene:	22 March 2025
Location:	Forest Clearing - Westchester County, NY
Synopsis:	The Qegger was enjoyed by all! Cain met his celebrity crush! Rogue and Doreen enjoyed s'mores! Jubilee was remembered!
Cast of Characters:	Quentin Quire, Rogue, Betsy Braddock, Cain Marko, Doreen Green, Alison Blaire, Douglas Ramsey, Caleb Dykstra, Jubilation Lee

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Quentin Quire has posed:
    Spring is here. Not that you'd know it in Westchester County. Plenty of snow still on the ground, and a nip to the air, barely reaching 60 degrees. But that'd never stop Quintavius Quirinius Quire from throwing a party, something that he's put off for way too long. A healthy enough bribe to the local weather Goddess to keep the wind down and the snow away. Telekinesis to clear the snow out of the chosen clearing, massive snowdrifts surrounding the clearing like fortress walls. A clearing about half a football field in size, with two large bonfires to either end and a couple smaller ones here and there.

    There's a tent with the food and drink tables, covering pretty much every taste one could think of; helps when the party planner's an omega level telepath. Pizza, wings, steak bites, Chinese food, the selection goes on. Drinks are provided as well; red cups for alcoholic, blue cups for soda & NA drinks. Supposedly enforced telepathically, but let's be honest here- as long as you aren't being stupid, Quentin's not going to narc.

    The man himself is moving through the crowd of students, college-aged Xavier's kids, good natured townies, and a smattering of other sociable types. He's finally grown out his customary haircut, mohawk slicked back over clean-shaved sides. Leather jacket over a snarky t-shirt. And a drink in hand as he greets folks.

    There's one of the older students, physically imposing, playing bouncer at the only cutout through the snowbanks, the only entrance into the party. Just to keep up appearances.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue arrived through the gate, having exchanged a bit of revelry with the so called bouncer. With a straw cowgirl hat on her head, her hair loose around her shoulders, and a dark green zip-hoodie zipped up to the middle of her chest, over a black tanktop that showed a necklace of dark beaded chain, with two dark grey dogtags hanging over her chest, the Belle had one hand stuffing her phone in to her jeans pockets, the other swaying at her side, as she walked further in to the set aside yard space. She smiled at the bonfires, and was on her way toward the crowds near the drinks and food, a bag of groceries slung over one forearm, causing the bag to sway gently at her hip.

Someone, one of the college aged Mutant students, approached the Poetry teacher, and offered her one of the red cups. She accepted it with a grin, and a wink, before she sampled the contents. "Well, we're kickin' this right off with a strong bang, aren't we?" She sassed those around with the red cups, before she spotted Quentin, raised her cup up in his direction. "I'm diggin' the hair-doo again, Q-Bert!" She called out to him.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Meanwhile, Betsy seemed to just show up, because even the bouncer didn't seem up to catching a telepathic ninja. Though right now the British woman was wearing a dark purple faux turtleneck sweater, comfortably clingy as she moved with great ease in her black denim jeans. She glanced over towards Rogue and winked at her when she entered, then nodded towards Quentin.

"I made sure the Tanqueray was properly sorted, don't worry." She grinned slightly at Quentin, as of course the Brit was bringing the gin. "Though I think your bartender might be a bit green about how to mix it properly."

Cain Marko has posed:
It's been a rough few weeks for a certain Citizen Cain.

Mr. Marko has been ambushed in public, had his reputation called into question, been lulled into accepting sanctuary from a man who had, for many years, been the source of his most fervent ire and focus -- and now recently..has had one of his favorite safehouses blown to smithereens.

His Dazzler collection and rare paraphenlia...all gone...

With nowhere to go, refusing to set foot on Genosha without good reason and considering his actions the next time he deigns to set foot on Asteroid M...the colossal red-haired bruiser has little choice but to return to the refuge offered im at The Institute - his childhood home.

To spare them any ilegal issues of being seen aiding and abetting a known super criminal...he usually comes and goes by means of simply walking across the bottom of the lake when coming and going from the guest house or taking other round about ways through the woods enveloping the estate. Such is the case when he currently arrives - emerging from the lake as if some sort of armored kaiju, returning from seeing to other affairs to take note of the lights and sounds of the nearby party as it lights up the woodlands a short distance away. For a few moments he considers ignoring it and simply returnig to his place to brood and plan but...an inkling of curiosity and a strange desire for that odd thing called 'socialization' keeps him from simply seeking seclusion. After a few more moments he turns and starts to approach the 'snow walls' - dismissing his armor in a flash of red light as he does - returning towards a more civil size and civil garb of strained and stretched jeans and tee-shirt as he draws near.

"Hn...not like I'd get any relaxation with all this noise anyway...."

Doreen Green has posed:
To the surprise of absolutely no one that knows about the infamous Quinten Qeggers word of the latest iteration has gotten out well past the students of Xaviers. Though at least tried to keep it to mutants and friendly to mutants (is there a term for that, I forget)

It's through that line of word-of-mouth that news of the Qegger even got as far as New York, and why now the one readily recognizable as Squirrel Girl ambles onto the scene after having paused to have a polite chat with the bouncer. After letting him check that the large fluffy tail was indeed real. Now Doreen did not come in costume, but she doesn't do the whole 'secret identity' either so that she's wearing the ever familiar bomber jacket isn't much of a deal. Worn over a t-shirt adorned with a cartoony style squirrel and the text 'Cute But Nuts', with a pair of cargo shorts. She's part Canadian, she can handle it still being cooler weather.

Waves are given with the usual energy she's known for. "Hello everybody!"

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire arrives in her fancy but not too fancy yellow Lexus to support the x-party and the x-students. She gets out and makes quick comments to someone inside the car, maybe telling them to not follow her and protect her like she needs a bodyguard or something. She wears a yellow shirt, jeans, and a GLITTER jacket of blue and pink and more blue and more pink sparkling in the sunlight as she walks through the gate. She has on her silver sunglasses which scoot down to the end of her lil nose cause they're too big for her lil face.

Alison greets the gate bodyguard and then wavewaves to Quentin and Rogue as she parades casually. As students wave to the pop star, she greets them all graciously and stops by a group of teachers in order to say hello to them too, all in support of the x-students and x-party. She is delayed making her way to the table to get a drink but meanders there eventually.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug is... just kind of there. When did he come in? Who can say? He's sitting on the sidelines, a glass of something alcoholic held in one hand as he leans back on the other. He has earbuds in, and his feet up on another chair, and he's quietly enjoying his drink and blissing out. He opens one eye and scans the crowd, before he closes them again, one finger absently tapping his chair to the bass beat, and taking another drink from his solo cup, which is... purple. Wait, did he bring his own?

Quentin Quire has posed:
    "Bartender? Betsy, I think you're misunderstanding what kind of party this is..." Quentin comments as the telepathic ninja appears out of the figurative woodwork. It's not so much a bar with a barkeep as a couple of the older kids filling red solo cups. ANyone looking for something more interesting than a beer or a cup of something over ice is on their own. The Tanqueray was well-received, at least.

    As Rogue comments on his haircut, Quentin brushes a hand over his hair, telekinesis lifting the mohawk straight up briefly. "Just needed it to grow back, that half-assed look was bugging me. The downsides of the job, I guess." he offers with a grin and a lift of his own red cup as he continues. Doreen's arrival gets a wave from the telepath and a call of "Welcome to the Qegger! Get yourself a drink over there! Enjoy!"

    He lifts his voice enough to include Alison and the other new arrivals.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Well, you hear about a party, and you're not gonna waste the opportunity if you got some free time.

Caleb arrives, dressed in a t-shirt that's thick and form-hugging, dark pants, and a black overcoat. He glances around the clearing too take in the mood.

He grabs a drink - non-alcoholic -, and sips, scanning for some potentially familiar faces.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is taking another sip of her drink, and approaching the snack food area, while she sets her bag down on its edge. A hand reaches inside of it, and pulls out a grab bag of pretzels that she no look throws toward Doug. "Heads up, Doug! Salty treat!" She shouts over to the lounging man, probably not hitting the mark, and more likely landing beside him if he doesn't catch it. She grins toward Betsy, and reaches up to tip her hat toward the British woman. "Lovely Betsy. Good ta see ya, as ever." She states, as she upnods toward Alison. "Now it's a party!" She says in an exuberant fashion.

With another gloved hand dipped in to her bag she brought with her, Rogue suddenly tosses Cain a bag of pretzels too, and since he's much harder to miss, they're bound to slap him in the beefy chest, if not caught by a meaty mitt!

Rogue's green eyes scan the party, as she turns to walk toward one of the bonfires, feeling the heat of the fiery flames from many feet away.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire takes the red drink off the table and has a little sip then tells the bartender, "Hey can I have one of these with some booze in it?" she asks and flashes a smile so as to not be TOO obnoxious. She then makes a big deal of waving to Cain, her number one fan, who she hasn't seen in a while. "I wonder why he's been hiding out," she tells the bartender.

Alison takes her NEW drink and toasts Rogue as she meanders on by, "Woo!" she lets out, "Party!" she says, recalling her days as a student herself. "Hey pretzels..." she mutters. She glances around for pretzels.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy gives Cain a friendly smile, and she actually means it, though it seems to falter as she might just catch a bit of a surface thought about that destroyed Dazzler Collection. However, she doesn't seem to shy away from Cain, giving him a friendly nod and a "Good evening, Cain." Her thoughts, though, flicker around the party until she locates...

<< Alison, it's Betsy. We should talk, at some point. >> She doesn't seem to give any indication that she's carrying on two conversations at once, but then again, she's a pretty good telepath. Maybe not quite Jean or Charles, but she's got some game.

Doreen Green has posed:
Upon seeing Alison arrive Doreen waves both hands ethusiastically to her. "Hello!" Then pauses a moment. And looks a little concerned. ".. Please be here to actually enjoy the party and not coming to perform. Even you should get a chance to just relax and be what passes for normal." She knows actual normality isn't really a thing amongst this kind of crowd. "Enjoy yourself~"

If anyone is wondering where her usual companions are, Tippy-Toe and Monkey Joe are sitting up in one of the trees where they won't get underfoot or worry anyone seeing small rodent-like animals running around the party. And by the way they chitter chatter occasionally, they're probably playing Stadler and Wardolf over the party.

Cain Marko has posed:
His surface thoughts are indeed very, very chaotic and muddied right now but certainly, given recent events, some things are going to rise to the surface more then others.

Not all of them are pleasent thoughts either but none of that seems applicable to any present. Let's hope Cortez doesnt' come flouncing in, given that he doesn't know Cain is currently...well...here.

As to his open ind: It is indeed a sign of trust and belief in the honor of the X-ers that Cain wanders about with his mind so exposed... For one, lit's a great white flag to say 'I'm not going to be any trouble' when the one legit thing that can put a stop to you doing whatever you want to do can basically zero right in on you with no defense....and given his reputation of being surly and hesitant to easily trust others ... the sight of him so vulnerable among so many who can just start to weave subliminal thoughts in and out of his mind ...surely must mean something.

It doesn't mean he's -completely- comfortable though and old habits die hard as he looms high over even the bouncer an gives him a baleful look in the aftermath of Doreen making her way in. Fortunantely, Betsy's smile catches his attention and Cain's atention is dragged towards her and in that moment the bouncer slides to the side to allow the behemoth entry.

"Uh..hi." he rumbles before reaching up to absently rub the back of his head, as if trying to recall his limited social graces.

"So...uh...whose this where Charles money is goin' towards these days eh? Rennovatin' my old room and throwin' parties? Maybe I shoulda stayed in college if this is what it's about. Whose runnin' this show?"

Quentin Quire has posed:
    The student body handles Alison's arrival with aplomb; no one loses their mind, but there are definitely some excited squeals and cheering from certain portions of the mass of teens and young adults, and more than a few surreptitious photos, and a couple of dumb stares in the drink tent. But she gets her drink and is able to move on.

Cain's arrival brings a little bit more of a stir, whispers rippling through the crowd as the big man joins the party. Quentin makes it a point to circle around towards the plainclothes Juggernaught. "Hey there, Cain..." he says amicably. Of course, the LAST time Quentin saw Cain, he had just launched him at a retreating Sentinel factory and into the Atlantic Ocean. There may be some bad blood there. "...welcome to my Qegger. Want something to drink?" he asks, answering the question on whose show this is. That Cain's an open book for the moment is taken in stride by the telepath as he still makes with the friendly-friendly.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy laughs softly, "Most of it goes towards the School, though really right now this is just Quentin's party. He does it once every few months just to help folks blow off some steam and relax. I brought along some Tanqueray this time around, because we needed a bit." With that, if Cain permits, she places a hand lightly on his forearm, just enough to do two things.

One, reassure him that he's welcome here and that he's among, if not friends then at least people that mean him no harm. Two, reassure the rest of the partygoers that Cain is okay and Betsy is vouching for him, and if they don't like it, they can bloody well deal with it.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire darts her eyes back and forth suspiciously as she receives telepathic communication. She puts her hand to her temple like she's Professor X or something and mentally concentrates to say <<Sure no problem Betsy, call my cell>>

Alison whews at the mental effort and then smiles as Doreen also meanders by, "Nope, not here to perform! I am a super casual socialite," she tells her and raises her lil cup to Doreen. She puts her hand on her hip and hmms thoughtfully as Cain ignores her cute lil wave of hello as he enters, and talks to this Betsy lady. She maybe wonders what's going on. A student ZAP BAM beelines in front of her while she thinks it over and she graciously gives an autograph. Probably a new student not used to her being around. Afterward, she waves to Caleb who seems to be by himself and goes to stand by him because it's closer to Cain's conversation, "Excuse me, this spot taken?" she asks Caleb, then does a double-take and smiles at him, "Oh hi, how are you?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is making her rounds around the people gathered about the bonfires. Many of them are familiar faces, some of them are friends of the students from Salem Center, or otherwise. She's greeting those who she knows, though, and guarding her drink from the under 21s who make grabs for it.

By the time she works her way back toward the food, her hat is tipped back on the crown of her head, and her eyes are down cast on the snacks and otherwise assorted on the table. "Someone said the squirrels are ammassin' on the trees." Rogue says in-general to anyone nearby. "We better watch this stuff, or its gonna all get stolen out from under our noses..."

She doesn't know Doreen, or what she's capable of!

She crunches on a pretzel, and sips her drink again, before she's met by a familiar face from town herself. One of the Music Center owners, who has refreshed her drink, and swaps her out for the first one. "Thanks, Sugah. that was a good starter, on to the next."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug looks up, and into his cup, and then he gets to his feet. He pulls out his ear buds and stashes them in a pocket, before he picks his way through the crowd - "Scuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me. Scuse me..." - and to where the drinks are being poured. He finds a bottle of a decent brut, and begins to pour himself a drink that's two parts champagne, one part orange juice. He whistles to himself as he pours, and when he sees Quentin meander by, he says, "Nice party! Great spread. Want a Buck's Fizz?"

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green smiles again at Alison's reply, her squirrel-like buck teeth visible between her lips. She taps her glass to the other. "Good, good. Cheers!"

She takes a drink afterwards, and seeing Alison head towards Caleb, wanders that way as well. "Hey hey, no need to be a wall flower... Besides, these walls," she jabs a thumb over her shoulder at where the cleared snow has been stacked up, "are probably too cold for flowers."

Cain Marko has posed:
The gesture catches the giant brute by some surprise. He tenses ever so slightly but then makes no effort to either dislodge Betsy or act truly off put. He seems to relax just a touch more and then finally nods his head and then blinks a few times as she notes whose party this is and then that is in and of itself confirmed by the arrival of the man of the hour himself.

"So...this is -your- gig?" he rumbles, leveling his gaze ont he omega telepath. He holds Quentin in his gaze for a few seconds as if pondering just what he will do or say next. There's a heavy beat and then Cain declares: "Huh. Nice party." Openly approving of the gathering Quentin has put together. "I'm impressed."

Cain doesn't impress easy. He also, seemingly, has that incident that landed him in the bottom of the ocean far from his mind. He's either forgotten about that or it's simply of no consquence anymore.

"Remind me to call you in for the next gig at The Bar With No Name...."

Cain's voice trails off as he does -finally- note Alison's presence. There's alot to take in so he simply missed her wave from before. Both telepaths would feel a sudden surge of emotion. A spark of surprise, shcok, emaressment and pure utter fandom balled up in the giants mind.

"Wh..wh...what is she doing here?" he asks, seemingly freezing in place. so thorwn off that he doesn't even have his usual recoil t seeing Caleb.

"Is..is...uh.. she....gonna perform?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Okay, so there are a few faces here that he does recognize, he ascertains after a while of glancing around.

"Miss Braddock, always a pleasure", he says once he notices her.

He looks at Dazzler, and offer her a greeting, but... He kinda wonders if she would remember him - that tends to happen with famous people, after all.

Not the first time he's met Quentin, though most likely it was from a water gun fight in another party. He gets a friendly wave.

Cain? Yeah, he met Cain, and Cain met him. Wonders if he should keep his distance.

Rogue and Doreen are those he he's seen only briefly, and they get a polite nod.

Doug seems to be the one he never met, so he gets a casual, "Evening."

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire smiles and nods to Caleb, "Hey do you know where the pretzels are?" she asks and then inclines her chin up. Her disappointment dwindles and she smiles, waving again at the Cain, "No! I'm not performing!" she calls out, cause she's in a perfect spot to overhear the conversation and the question, just as she planned. Muhahaha.

Alison looks back at Caleb and then at this Doug who Caleb is talking to, "Hey there," she greets pleasantly.

Rogue has posed:
One such pretzel is placed gently inside Rogue's mouth, as she crunches down upon it. She overhears Alison's voice, asking where the salty treats can be found, and with a crinkle of plastic, Rogue tosses a grab bag of pretzels her way. The bag smacks down on the table right beside Alison's left hip, and following its arrival, Rogue's voice calls out.

"Ask and ye shall recieve, Sugah!" She says over the sounds of others conversing, casting the famous blonde a big grin, and tipping her crumpled-brimmed cowgirl hat in the Dazzler's direction.

Caleb gets a nod back in return, as another face she's seen around town a few times, her assumptions being that he lives in and around the Salem Center area too.

"Ya'll wanna do S'mores? Someone brought all the fixin's for them..." She says, her gloved hands reaching for a bag of marshamallows, as she leans over the table, the dog tags dangling from her neck as she grabs them up, along with the bag of graham crackers.

"Ya can't have a bonfire, and booze, without gooy mallows and chocolate treats." The Belle noates, her smoky voice a bit distracted as she eyes the goods now grasped in her gloved hands.

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green snaps her head up, turning to look one way and then the other, then back at the snack and drink tent. "There was pretzels!?" Then Rogue throws a bag of them towards Alison. "Oh, there's some now."

But while glancing about she also notices the very large form of Cain. He's kind of hard to miss once you do notice him. Could put linebackers and Shwartzeneger to shame without even trying. But being her usual open and nonjudgemental self Doreen just stands on her tiptoes to get a little extra taller so she can wave in his direction. "Hi big guy, enjoy the party!"

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug raises his eyebrows at Alison, and lift his purple solo cup to her and "Hi to you both." He says, before he looks around, and says, "Nice party, isn't it? I'm only in town for a few days, but this really is the event of the spring, so I can't miss it." He sips from his cup, and then says, "Anybody want a Buck's Fizz? It's a Mirror Universe Mimosa."

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy smiles reassuringly over at Cain, then turns and waves over at Caleb, "Hello there. It's good to see you again." She then flashes a grin towards Alison, and then looks back at Cain, "I don't think that she was, but she's a friend of the school, so comes by on occasion. You like her music?" It's pretty obvious to the telepath, but there's a certain British talent of playing coy about things that are transparent.

Quentin Quire has posed:
    That Cain doens't even remember getting launched into the Atlantic is also taken in stride by Kid Omega; if anything, the man's emotional response to Alison takes him more by surprise, putting him on the back foot as he glances from Cain to Alison and back again.

    "Nope. If she's here, she's slumming it with the rest of us..." Q explains with a shake of his head to Cain. "Go on, say hi!" he prompts, with an "...and yeah, I'll do a party at the Bar with No Name sometime, too." tossed in for good measure.

    With Cain sorted out, Quentin turns a confused look towards Doug. Brows furrowing briefly before he plucks the mixture out of surface thoughts. "Why not just call it a mimosa then, Doug?" he asks, even as he takes the offered drink and moves on through the crowd.

As Rogue mentions the fixings for s'mores, everything is snatched up by students eager to get their sugary chocolate grub on. Long forks are passed around for marshmellow toasting.

    "Don't think I've seen you at the school." Quentin says by means of introduction as his travels circle around to Doreen and her prominent tail.

Cain Marko has posed:
"Ah no, no, of course not. You're here to party. Not perform. Because you deserve to party. Because that's a perfectly normal thing to do. Because this isn't shocking at all. No..not at all. Yup, no questions here. Nope. None at all. Just party."

Cain's turns from Alison to stare blankly at Caleb...and then from him over towards Doreen as she waves cheerfully at him. Then just straight ahead as Quentin prompts him to just walk over and say hi. to Ali. As if it was so easy to just go 'hi' to Dazzler!

But...he then tries. "Uh yeah, Hi."

He then settles into a fugue state until he registers Betsy's question and something seems to pull him back to the here and now. The ninja-paths words drawing a sudden animated response from Cain. Verbally animated, that is, less he fling her from him by waving his arms around wildly.

"Do I like her mu--.. Wha...I'm her biggest fan! I had all the vinyls! The rollerskates! The--" His manages to suddenly clamp his mouth shut before he begins a full on rant.

Doreen Green has posed:
"S'mores would be great!" Doreen calls to Rogue. "Do we need sticks? I can get sticks really easily."

Then turns her attention to Quentin when he speaks to her, and looking at her tail. Which she gives a flick, and shrugs. "I'm not a student," she replies. Gestures back at her tail with a hand. "This is genetic, but it's not whatever genetics is considered specifically for 'mutant'. Just mutant adjacent." Then taps a thumb self-indicatedly to her chest. "I'm Squirrel Girl... But for tonight, it's just Doreen Green."

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire takes the pretzels off the ole table where Rogue threw them and she smiles, "Thanks Rogue!" she calls out as she meanders on by again. Boy, Rogue does a lot of meandering by. She offers a pretzel to Caleb.

She hmms and has a bite of her own pretzel. She hmms as she overhears again what Cain is going on and on about, then glances at Caleb again as if he has the answers to what's going on with this here party. She lifts her arm up and waves to Cain, "Heya!" she says and smiles. She then looks concerned and somewhat embarrassed as Cain speaks in the past tense to Betsy. He glances at Caleb again as if this were a serious situation. Past tense! Oh no! OH NO! Is someone burning her records?!?

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    "Because it's different!" Doug calls after Quentin. "The ratios are flipped! Two parts champagne, one part OJ!" Doug shrugged. "I think it's different," He said to himself, before he took another sip of his drink and began to pop his earbuds in. "It is a really nice party..." He took out his phone and thumbed through an extensive list of music to find just the right beats. He settles on Lila Cheney performing a cover of "Heart of Glass."

Rogue has posed:
"Yes, sticks!" rogue called out, as she heard Doreen's offer from down a few paces. She glanced over at the woman, and was about to say something else, when one of the students snagged the marshmallows from her hands. She shot a look back at the younger kid, and reached out for his collar, but he dashed away. Abandoning her red cup at the table, Rogue began chasing after the student in his late teens. "Tommy! I'm gonna hang ya by your toes above the fire!" The Belle said, once more meandering past Alison, but this time at a much faster speed!

The kid was laughing, and shouting for others to help him, as he had a Southern Belle hot on his tracks, chasing him toward the bonfires, where otheres were already cooking hotdogs on their own claimed sticks.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy blinks at Cain, though she quickly sidesteps to avoid the flailing arms of the Juggerfan as he raves about Alison, and she can't help but smile at the enthusiasm. Though she looks a little surprised at the past tense, catching that as well.

"Had? Did something happen to them?" Since, well, with the lifestyles that they lead, heroes and villains alike, it was pretty easy to have treasured things get destroyed in the course of things.

Quentin Quire has posed:
    "Never understood that myself. But that's a whole different debate... welcome to my Qegger!" Quentin says, ever the amicable host, even as Doreen flicks her tail at him. "....everyone's welcome, as long as you don't start nothing." he offers as a gentle reminder to Squirrel Girl, even as he glances back over his shoulder at Rogue chasing down students. With a grin, he turns back to Doreen, "Quentin. Quentin Quire. Pleasure's all mine, Doreen Green."

Cain Marko has posed:
"Nnnghh.."

Cain rubs his nose with the back of his hand, sniffing abit and then trying to get it back together again after that brief character break from menacing titan super villain to Dazzler super-fan. Or is perhaps the super fan the true self. That is something for the psychics to unravel if they dare.

"Awww.....The Acolytes bombed my place.." he finally explains. "I had all my stuff in storage. Had a nice joint in Tribeca. Was payin' big bucks for it... Some netwits I've been feudin' with found it and figured they'd try and teach me a lesson and send a message. Now all my stuff is gone. Favorite shirts. Favorite jackets. Favorite boots. Mosta my Dazzler collectibles....."

He grunts, shaking his head and resting both hands on his waist as he thinks the tradegy over... and punctuates this by adding, "And none of it was pirated or stolen either!. .. So yeah ... had.."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
It will forever be known as a "botched landing."

Without warning, a frantic, high-pitched squealing comes from the top of Rogue's head as a tiny black bat flaps its wings wildly, tangled deep in Rogue's thick, brown hair. Its leathery wings beat in rapid, desperate bursts, but the more it struggles, the worse it gets. The bat's red eyes gleam with distress as it lets out another series of sharp, indignant squeaks, completely immobilized in the mass of hair.

It might just be the imagination playing tricks, but it almost seems like the bat's squealing has the distinct vocal fry of a girl from Beverly Hills.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"So, how's life been treating you fine people?", Caleb asks in general to those who adressed him. And yes, this includes Cain with his blank stare at him.

He watches the conversations a little quieter, eventually glancing at the kids running around with Rogue in pursuit. If he knew, he'd might've brought Sheila along...

He looks at Cain, hearing that his apartment was bombed, "The Acolytes..." He tilts his head, with a 'ah'. "You mean that Cortez's people." He shrugs, "Why'd they do it, if you don't mind my asking?"

And his gaze falls upon the approaching screeching bat. "Poor little thing..."

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green watchs the marshmellow thief and Rogue run by. But that's just usual hijinx, not starting trouble. "Happy to be here. Clearly never a dull moment. Sticks for roasting, comin' right up!" Then grins a bit mischeviously to Quinten. "Want to see what else I can do." Doreen turns towards the woods and holds a hand up to her mouth and... well it's probably equivilent to shouting, but rather than any words it's a string of loud squeaks and chitters. Which gets a response of similar.

A few moments later roughly a dozen or so squirrels scurrying into the party carrying good sized sticks and twigs in their mouths. "Thanks guys, just stack them on a table." Most do so, while a grey one with a pink bow tied around her neck climbs up onto Doreen's shoulder, giving her a stick and getting a pat on the head. "Glad you heard me Tippy, thought you guys might of gone off snoozing." Doreen takes some nuts out of a pocket of her jacket and tosses them to the other squirrels as a sort of payment, and they all scamper back off into the forest.

Rogue has posed:
During her run, chasing the student who stole the S'mores marshmallows, Rogue's cowgirl straw hat was knocked off of her head, by something... She didn't care at first, but as the boy ran off around the fires, cackling about stealing his Poetry teacher's marshmallows, the Belle felt movement in her hair.

"What in the...." She said, reaching up toward her head, until she felt for sure that some kind of a bird was nested in her luscious mane of two-toned locks.

Rogue screamed.

It was an ear piercing sound, followed by undoubtedly a number of sets of eyes going toward her, as she wasn't entirely sure what to do, she just knew she didn't like it.

Jubilee-The-Bat got smacked a few times by gloved fingers, while Rogue was now running straight toward Cain for help!

"Get it out, get it out, get it out!" She frantically said, as she was displaying just how much of a fearless X-Men Tank she really was!

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire elbows Caleb repeatedly, "Didja hear that...?" she asks as she sorta overhears the national tragedy and death of the Dazzler merchandise franchise. "Hey hey didja hear that...? oh my gawd," she asks Caleb quietquietly again because she probably shouldn't be listening in. She looks concerned and upset at this horrible, horrible news. The DEATH of popular and awesome fan merchandise. She has a long drink of her red cup. Le Sigh.

Alison suddenly blinks in surprise, narrowing her eyes as she winces in pain at Rogue's horrible, horrible scream. "Rogue! Stop! Gawd! Someone help her!" she lets out dramatically as the mutant x-woman shoots by like a speeding train (metaphor +1). She takes a step forward to follow where Rogue went.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy blinks in surprise at Cain's admission, and while she wouldn't pry too much, the thoughts are on surface. It might be a bit unethical, but... well, she's resolved to make something right about things. So she gently peeks /just/ enough to get a thorough inventory of everything that Cain lost.

Out loud, she says, "That is horrible, Cain. I'm sorry to hear that." And she genuinely means it, regarding him with a large amount of sympathy before glancing over towards Alison, sending her a quick psychic message, << I have a list of everything that he lost, if you can help me replace it, I'd be very grateful. And I will pay for whatever's needed. >> She pauses, then adds, << And please, Alison, don't put your hand on your head, you look silly. Charming and beautiful as always, but just a touch silly. >>

Betsy would think or say something else, but then Rogue screams because of the... Bat?

Wait, this isn't Gotham!

"Rogue, hold still! Your panicking is just going to make it worse, hold still!" Betsy moves over gracefully towards Rogue, looking at the bat entangled in the Southern belle's hair, "How in the Hell...?"

Quentin Quire has posed:
    As Doreen pulls a Disney Princess act, Quentin gives a bit of a laugh before sipping at the backwards mimosa (asomim?). "See, that's like prime Xaviers right there. You could probably be roommates with the girl that talks to birds." is there such a mutant going to school? Maybe. The odds are good. "...or the one that talks to plants....."

    His head whips around as Rogue goes screeching through the crowd, "..the fu-.." he cuts himself off, giving Doreen a quick, "...be right back..." before Quentin floats off into the air, lavender glow surrounding him as he basically hops over the heads of the crowd, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down Red!" which will surely be super effective as he lands near Rogue and Cain, hands out to the sides. Telekinesis could probably pluck the errant bat free of the tangled two-toned mass, but with the southern belle still in motion that might get messy.

Cain Marko has posed:
""I do mind!" snaps Cain at Caleb. Ah, thre's the classic Cain. But he seems to realize that he needs to at least try and be nicer to the young man, Also his proxmity to Alison might be a bit of a shield there as well. So he sighs and then looks away from him, "I'll explain later... Alright? I don't want to talk about it right now..."

At Betsy's sympathetic comment he seems to soften and further deflate. "Eh...it's just stuff..." he says, not meaning a word of it.

That high pitched scream, however, seems sufficient enough to distract him and likely many others, from their various conversations and Cain turns abit to see the flailing and panicking Rogue racing towards him with a bat stuck in her hair and panic in her eyes. He begins to reach out to try and grasp hold of her but withdraws his large arms at the very last second as Quentin comes dropping in to do a more proper rescue. There's of course, the possiblity, Rogue might still just barrel right forward into Cain as the giant isn't moving out of hte way and there's...well...alot of him to try and dodge around.

"Hey what the--!"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
The bat fights back as best it can, buffeting against the gloved hand with rapid, desperate wing strikes. 'What the hell! Knock it off!' the bat tries to say. It just sounds like the high pitched squeaks and squeals that all bats seem to make all the time. The bat, still hopelessly stuck, hisses and wriggles, flapping in defiance as if it's the one whose entire evening is being ruined by this incident.

'Just stop moving for a second so I can get this right!' the bat says. It just sounds like the rest of its noises. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Hiss. Squeak.

A supernatural chill fills the air as the bat's squeaking is replaced by an odd, shuddering whoosh -- a rush of air that seems to come from nowhere -- as its mass shifts and its body abruptly expands. Where there was once a bat, is Jubilation Lee, tangled like a marionette caught in its own strings. One of her arms is twisted awkwardly behind her back, her hooded sweatshirt bunched up around her shoulders, and ... worst of all ... her foot is still stuck. Jubilee sits helplessly on the ground at Rogue's feet, leg up in the air, as her shoelace remains tangled in the Belle's hair.

"What kind of shampoo are you using these days, Rogue?" Jubilee asks, grinning up at her. "Is that lavender?"

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison squints again as Betsy calls her silly and she lifts her hand dramatically to make an Xavier pose to reply but she self consciously puts her hand behind her back instead <<Where's my thong leotard? Huh? Huh?>> she taunts.

Alison has a little laugh but then it dies away with the realization that her merchandise is also dead as a doornail (metahpor +2). She can't get past this thought. It's like a real metaphor for wilting and dying. Will her career be next? Will everything crumble and DIE? omg.

<<He lost everything? Oh no. Wow. I'm so upset. Of course I'll help--->> she telepathically beams to Betsy but her concentration is broken by Rogue's desperate antics. She frowns, watching Betsy help Rogue. "Be careful!!" she yells from the peanut gallery, "Oh! It's Jubilee!" she announces helpfully. She points.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's hands are behind her head, her head is down, and her black dog tags are dangling down underneath her chest, as she runs head first in to the Juggernaut's stomach!

Thud. She rebounds off of him, and stops running. She knows Betsy is near, and can hear the others that she knew were there too. But still? She doesn't like mice, or bats, or rats, or rodents of any kind, winged or otherwise! As she is frantically trying to pick the bat out of her hair, she hears it squeaking, and sees squirrels running past with sticks, out of the corner of her eyes.

"Are we under attack, or what?!" The Southern Belle calls out, her smokey voice put out with sudden stress hitting its peak.

That is when Jubilee suddenly enlargens, and falls on the ground, leaving her shoe laced tied in Rogue's luscious chestnut locks. This pulls rogue over to a leaning positions, though her sturdy nature makes her pretty damn hard to topple, when she doesn't want to topple. She's left leaning to the left, with Jubilee's feet up in the air, one shoe tied to Rogue's hair.

"Oh, my God... Someone help." Rogue says, her gloved hand reaching out to Betsy for stability, and sanity in this crazy world.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Cain's snapping results in Caleb raising his hands and forfeiting that line of thought. "Forget I asked."

He turns his attention to Alison, "Yeah, it's a touchy subject. I should've known better." He shrugs, "It's what I get when I try to talk to people."

The little bat gets stuck in Rogue's hair, and now she's screaming worse than Banshee - yeah, the mutant. He raises ahis eyebrows, in a deadpan stare. "Well, that docks a few hundred points off your hero card, lady." He sighs, "If my sister were here to see this, she'd burn any cards or posters she has of you."

He the looks at the arriving bat that transforms into the familiar vampire and just... shakes his head. "You need to gain more frequent undead flier miles before certification", he jests. And chuckles, and laughs at the scene. He even wipes a tear. "H-Hey there, Jubilee."

Quentin Quire has posed:
    "Don't I throw the best parties?" Quentin calls out as he lifts his hands towards the crowd, "Move along folks, move along. Go get some s'mores while we sort out our latest arrival..." he announces as he steps closer, crouching down next to the vampiric valley girl. "...when I said you should come, Jubes, I figured you'd walk..." he notes sardonically.

    As the flailing slows, he reaches a hand up to start flicking at the air, telekinetically loosening the knotted mess of hair. "You should probably look into asking Warren for flying lessons, too..." he points out.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy reaches out and holds onto Rogue, steadying her as she says, "Okay, both of you, stay /still/. I'll try to untangle this." She looks a bit wry at Rogue, "Sugah, you just get into the weirdest predicaments... and Jubilation Lee, how precisely did you wind up crashing into Rogue's hair?" Because, quite honestly, the explanation of this should be worth the effort needed to untangle the two of them. And with that, she starts to work, deft fingers working on moving through the strands, aided by a bit of telekinesis to free the two of them.

Cain Marko has posed:
*WHUMP*

Usually running head first into Cain Marko is the last thing anyone wants to do but the circumstanes here are quite unique. One, he's on his best behavior and actually trying - if failing occasionally - to fit in and be social with his sometimes rivals-sometimes enemies-estranged 'family' ...

And two...well Rogue is probably one of thew few who can actually run into him and not worry about sustaining any injury as things currently stand so he manages to act as a good cushion that absobs her impact and repels her backwards towards the ground. Then, suddenly, Jubilee is there and Cain abruptly recoils in surprise at that.. He then sighs and looks heavenwards . "Oi...Man...I think I'm gonna go get a drink now..."

He gives Caleb a glance and rumbles, "I said later, didn't I? Sheesh..."

He gives Alison a final sheepish look and then turns to start to move away tolet them deal with the untangling of Rogue's hair as he starts to move further into the party with intent to finally sample the goods Quentin has assembled.

Speaking of Quentin: "Nice party chum. Yeah, looks like you do know how t'throw 'em. Oh and by the way.... The next time you launch me through a fusion reactor before I'm ready and I end up iin the bottom o'the ocean... We're gonna have to work on some 'teamwork' exercises..."

He gives Quentin a 'look' though it's slightly tempered by a mildly sardonic grin. Looks like he didn't just completely forget about it all after all. Just wasn't the time earlier.

With that he starts tomake his way off.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire goes back to stand by Caleb after Jubilee materializes and everything returns to normal, "Huh? What? Yeah, it's kinda upsetting to me too. I mean, if I lost everything I hold dear about my favorite person in the whole world, I'd be touchy too. But don't worry, I'll get a plan together. The X-Fix is in. Soon," she explains to him and nods her head slowly, trying to talk herself into being okay with the death of her merchandise. It'll be ok. Someday.

OH no! That sheepish look. Alison looks at Cain as he walks off like a very alone guy, now truly alone without his fandom. "Where's he going? Oh he's leaving. I should have said something. God I'm so dumb," she states depressingly. She has another drink from her red cup, the red cup of depression and death.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
Jubilee reaches up and wiggles her foot free, leaving Rogue with an empty sneaker dangling out of her hair.

Vampilee rises in that creepy motion-smoothed way that vampires do in the movies, apparently unapologetic about what she is these nights. She grins at Alison, then Caleb. "Ah, Mr. Van Helsing," she teases, riffing on some of their earlier ...interactions. "Hope you're not here on business."

Hopping away from Rogue on one foot, Jubilee shrugs at Betsy. "Oh, you know how it is. I thought everyone ditched their coats into, like, a big pile for some reason. Imagine my surprise when that big pile of dirty coats turned out to be Rogue's hair."

Quentin gets a big, fangy grin. "I'll text him next chance I get," she promises.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue was making soft whiney noises, as Betsy was beginning the process of freeing her hair from the shoe. When Jubilee's foot came out of it, at least it allowed the Belle to straighten up. She put both of her hands on Betsy's forearm, hold on to it, while Jubilee rose up, and got a glare from Rogue. "Vanilla and lavender. God..." She quietly said in her sassiest voice she could summon.

When the shoe was freed, by Betsy's talented touches, the Belle caught the falling shoe, and held it in her right palm. She glanced to Cain who was stalking off, and then toward Alison. "Go tell him how much he means to ya, Sugah. Ya gotta sing it loud." Is she misreading Alison's intentions toward the Juggernaut? Probably.

At catching the 'pile of dirty coats' comment, Jubilee's shoe hit her in her own butt as she walked away.

"I need a S'mores..." Rogue mumbled, as she saw a collection of sticks sitting on the table, her eyes glancing to Doreen, and a smile sent her way. "Good work." She told the stranger, before Caleb got a dirty look.

Stick snatched, Rogue went to where that Tommy student was, eating the mallows out of the bag.

Quentin Quire has posed:
    Quentin continues to add a little bit of telekinetic nudging to Betsy's disentangling of Jubilee's sneaker from Rogue's hair, plastering a rather scandalized look across his face for a moment as she compares Rogue's luscious locks to a pile of dirty coats. "Careful there, Jubes. She might throw you into the bonfire for that...." he says, helping until the shoe is freed. "...there's a red cooler in with the food, got your name on it." he says to the transformered Jubilee. "...delivery from the bank..." he finishes before clapping her on the shoulder, "Enjoy the party, don't eat anyone!"

    With that crisis adverted, he makes his way on foot back towards Doreen to resume the conversation. "...never a dull moment at one of my Qeggers, eh?" he asks the squirrel girl with a grin.

Doreen Green has posed:
The bat turning into a girl was interesting to see... but hardly weird considering all the other things Doreen has seen in her time. "But those are the best kind of parties," she replies to Quentin. Doesn't ask about the 'red cooler' or it's contents, as context is enough and asking too much would probably be rude.

Instead she just gives Rogue a thumbs up. Then starts chewing the end of her own stick down to a proper point. She's got the teeth for it, might as well make use of them.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire straightens up as Rogue accuses her of not moving and tells her what to do, "What he means...to me? What...are you talking about?" she wonders and squints, as if embarrassed she's missing the point, "You mean...oh I know...I should have said something...about it..." she states depressedly. She drains the rest of her red cup of death. She looks off in the distance for Cain. She can't smile at Jubilee's jokes though she probably should have, instead she frowns and shakes her head. "Maybe I'll dye my hair black..." she ponders. She walks off back to her too-yellow car.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
"Wait, really?" Jubilee questions Quentin. She snap-turns towards where the food and drinks are and spots the red cooler with her very own eyes. She blinks a couple of times, mouth hanging open for a second, as her trademark performative sass is replaced with her more natural genuine appreciation for this kindness. Jubilation leans forward and plants a quick peck on Quentin's cheek, leaving behind a bright pink imprint of her lips.

"No one ever remembers to..." She's cut off by the feeling of sneaker hitting butt cheek.

"Hey!" Jubilee shouts, grinning across the party at Rogue. She shakes her fist in the air before bending over to grab her sneaker and put her foot inside it.

Jubes makes her way towards that oh-so-important red cooler, appearing to almost glide as she walks for a moment or two. "Hey, cool tail. You a new student or something? I don't remember seeing an e-mail or anything, but, like, I also don't check it, so..." she tells Doreen as she passes.

Betsy Braddock has posed:
Betsy sighs and looks around, as Rogue has gone off for the marshmallows directly, not that she can blame the Southern Belle after having the close encounter of the avian kind. And well, at the moment she feels a bit restless, so that means one thing.

Gin. Having some gin. Then seeing what chaos might ensue next.

Quentin Quire has posed:
    "Why wouldn't I remember? I invited you, after all." Quentin replies to Jubilee as she springs up to plant a kiss on his cheek. His attention slips back to Doreen, "..and I always throw the best parties." he points out as he drains the last of the mirror mimosa he got from Doug. "Need another drink?" he asks Doreen, gesturing to her cup and then the tent and its various drinks.

Rogue has posed:
With Rogue over by the fires now, there are a number of people making S'mores, while someone is playing some CCR on a guitar. Her influence has spread to the bonfires, so it would seem. Her cowgirl hat has been reclaimed too, and with a student arriving with a yellow lab on a leash, Rogue's dog is put in to play.

A series of barks from the dog can be heard, as he rushes past the group by the booze and food. He barsk rapidly, on his way toward the fires, bounding right through Jubilee's walking path, cutting her off like a Mario Kart champion who just took over her 1st place position on rainbow road.

The dog joins the group at the fires, Rogue kneeling down to give him a hotdog from one of the plates beside the flickering flames.

His tail wags wildly, as he scarfs it down!

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Nah, I'm just here on the R&R", Caleb grins. "I wasn't hoping to have vampires /crash in/ on the party..." You can almost hear the *ta-dum-tss!*, "...but you took it to a whole new level."

To Alison, "Cain there's a big fan of yours, it seems." He looks towards the ground in thought, "My guess is that he gets a hand on an Acolyte, the Acolyte's gonna wish they never joined the group, regardless of the reasons for it - it's not worth going through the maiming." He nods pensively.

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green grins, tail flicking ethusiastically. "Sure thing. Gotta have drinks to go with the s'mores after all." Tippy-Toe chitters from her shoulder. "Yeah, we'll get some water or juice or something not alcoholic for you and Monkey Joe to share Tippy, no worries."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
Jubilee stops in her tracks and hisses involuntarily at Jeepers the Dog No One Loves.

The unpleasantness is just a momentary interruption and then Jubilee is on her way to the red cooler again, now experienced enough to recover from this incident with relative ease. Soon, she's got a plastic pouch filled with a deep red liquid. Jubilee jams a yellow straw into the donation bag like it's a Capri Sun as she makes her way back.

"You know that's your cousin," Jubilee tells Jeepers as he bites into the hotdog.

"Your dog is an a-hole, Rogue," Jubes adds before taking a healthy slurp from her straw.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire returns from the too-yellow car and looks at Caleb, "The Acolytes?" he wonders, "What a mean thing to do---burn a pop star's records? Who would do that?" she asks, "Don't they have anything better to do?" she adds.

Alison crosses her arms because she doesn't have a red cup of death to drink anymore. She sighs, "Alright, I'm going to leave now. Take care," she tells Caleb. She walks back to the too-yellow car.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had found a sawed-off log to use as a chair beside one of the fires, and was seated on it with her S'mores in hand. Her gloves had been removed, and were sticking out of her left hip pocket, as she prepared to take a bite. This is when Jubilee sat down with her drink nearby, and gave that snappy remark toward Jeepers. Rogue was biting her melted marshmallow treat, though, and just didn't seem to register it.

Jeepers? He finished off the hotdog, and hacked a few times, before he slurped his lips and wagged his tail. He gave Jubilee a side-eye glare for a second, but his focus was on Rogue's treat.

One of the students brought Rogue a fresh drink, and as their bare hands briefly touched, the black dogtags around the Belle's neck gleamed bright blue along the edges of the tags. The college kid drew his hand back, afraid he'd just been zapped by Rogue's touch, but nothing came of it..

Rogue smirked at him, and nodded once. "Thanks for the refill, Sugh." She told him, before she glanced toward the others. "Good party, Quentin. Save for the bats."

She glanced toward Jubes, and shot her a grin. "You really need t'work on your landins..."

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green plops down by the bonfire after she's chewed a point onto her stick, plops a marshmellow on the end, and gets started on her own s'more. Mmmm. Now this is an important part of the party -- the campfire snacks.