3946/Xavier's: Taking A Knife To A Pumpkin

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Xavier's: Taking A Knife To A Pumpkin
Date of Scene: 26 October 2020
Location: Garage
Synopsis: A load of pumpkins for Xavier's turns into a lot of jack-o'-lanterns, pumpkin punching, and Logan-relative sniffing outs.
Cast of Characters: Kitty Pryde, Douglas Ramsey, Rogue, Noriko Ashida, Bobby Drake, Kurt Wagner, Henry McCoy, Jimmy Hudson, Gabby Kinney




Kitty Pryde has posed:
A message goes out to everyone at the school at about the time that the front gate opens to admit a small truck. It rolls up to the school and then does a little 2 point turn to back up to the garage door.

The message? It reads:

    Surprise pumpkin carving will start in the garage... right now! Bring your creativity, leave with the best jack-o'-lantern in the history of the school. There may be prizes for creative works!

The truck comes to a stop and Kitty hops out of the driver's side door. She looks over to Doug as she does, grinning at him. "I just hope no one loses a finger," she says with a laugh. She's already asked someone else to bring a bunch of knives, spoons, melon ballers and anything else someone might want for cutting into pumpkins and scooping their guts out.

There's also a bag full of candles and electronic lights of all sorts.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    "One time, one slip with the gourd cutter and nobody'll ever let you forget it." Doug says, before he sticks his nose out at Kitty. He climbs out of the truck, in his comfortable khakis and Xavier's school sweatshirt, and then circles around to the back to begin off-loading pumpkins, neatly rolling them off and setting them on the floor of the garage.
    He picks one out and sets it aside. "I'll take that to Mr. Kord tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be so excited to carve it he'll cancel the morning meeting."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue quit her job at Mel's Diner today, having decided it to be best not to be a car hop on roller skates when the weather is edging closer toward a bitchin' winter season every passing day. So now, she's got a lot more free time, and coming up from the basement when she gets the message.

The southern gal makes her way through the school's hallways, wearing a grey and white baseball tshirt with the sleeves pushed up, and a hoodie tied around her waist over blue jeans and leather boots, she steps out in to the garage and starts to look about.

When the truck shows up and Kitty and Doug hop out, Rogue is leaning against a wall and watching. "Pumpkins huh? Carvin' those things just reminds me of my lackluster art skills." She says dryly with a smirk.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Why does this feel like a weird pop quiz like when parents try to get kids to learn while doing something 'fun'?" Nori remarks to one of the students in the herd.  "At least there will be knives.  Gonna slay this pumpkin pop quiz."  The blue haired teen is on even keel with her charge levels, or close enough given she sounds normal, like someone with activity finally getting to the pre-frontal cortex.  Occasionally little threads of electricity jump between her metal gauntlets.

Nori's wrapped up in a cyan hoodie and some charcoal colored jeans with some beat up old black chucks.  The sleeves of her hoodie are pushed back above her gauntlets, but she works them back over them when she notices the bunching up at her biceps.  The emerging inconvenience of the gauntlets' bulk visible under her sleeves causes her to sigh.

Sick of waiting for the crawl of the herd, Nori takes off, weaving through the tight spots between bodies to overtake them and arrive near the truck.  "Hey," she says to the others.

Bobby Drake has posed:
The call of pumpkin carving brings Bobby wandering out to the garage to join in the festivities, his own classes having ended earlier on in the afternoon. A couple of the younger kids that are in his class accompany him and he's explaining how he will help them with the carving but they can keep the pumpkins when they are done. He's got on a pair of jeans and a dark blue hoodie with a pair of running shoes on and seems ready for some pumpkin carving fun. "Remember to save the guts so that we can make roasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin muffins and stuff." He's also carrying with him some big bowls into which to store the guts and innards for carrying off to the kitchen.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
There is nothing quite like a brisk, autumn day. The snap to the air, the leaves all different shades of red and orange and yellow. And of course Halloween around the corner. What's not to love about that? The candy, the costumes. Oh yes, Kurt Wagner is definitely in his element with this sort of thing.

Still, the fuzzy blue elf does not rush forward as the haul of pumpkins and pumpkin carving accessories arrive, lingering near the door with a bemused sort of smile on his face, arms folded across his chest. There is varying enthusiasm amongst the students -- no surprise that -- and he keeps an eye out to make sure no one is getting too rambunctious when there are knives about.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry was moving slower, nowadays. Something was afoot - the man looking as if he were burdened, to those that knew him well. Still, he had work to do - in research, teaching and setting an example for the younger Mutants about. He made his way out to the garage, wearing his usual casual attire and an apron. There's no need to get messy, after all!

As he arrives and hears the people present, his grin does spread a bit across his face. Friends and family always helped, after all. "Do we have all the tools needed?" He asks, looking over to Kitty - she's the ringleader for this, after all!

Kitty Pryde has posed:
The back of the truck is opened and there are pumpkins galore. Big pumpkins. Little pumpkins. Normal perfectly shaped pumpkins, and ones that look like they grew around some other item in the pumpkin patch. "Step right up, don't be shy. They don't bite. Not until you give them a mouth anyway," she says with a grin to the students.

She hops in the truck and tells Doug, "Well, at least we have healers about." She grins over at Rogue and says, "Just splash some white paint on the top front and make an eyes, nose and mouth and it can be Pumpkin Rogue," she says.

She hands over some of the orange gourds, nodding in agreement with Bobby. "Those with baking skills, which excludes me, can definitely do a lot with the insides," she agrees. Hoping that the prospect of pumpkin-flavored goods will at least lessen the odds of the pumpkin-innards fight that often results.

Kitty hops down out of the truck, grinning over to Kurt. "Do you guys do jack-o'-lanterns in Germany?" she asks him. The young woman nods to Hank and says, "I think we've got everything. What are you going to make Hank?"

Kitty passes a pumpkin over to Noriko as she zooms up suddenly. "There you go," she says with a grin.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"I don't know how much time I have to linger," Doug says, before he picks out a pumpkin. He rolls it over in his hands, and then he sets it down and pulls out a pocketknife. He opens it, and then begins to rapidly set to work, beginning by opening up the top of it. He reaches in with his black and gold hand and begins pulling out the pumpkin innards.

"It's just not the same without Berto here," Doug says, "I don't have a good reason to throw them at the back of anyone else's head." He rapidly hollows out the interior of his pumpkin, and then pulls a sharpie out of his pocket, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he doodles on it.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue spends some time looking over the pumpkins before she picks one that looks most perfect to her eyes. She picks it up and looks it over before glancing to Kitty and smirking at her. "Mighty Woman, yha mean." She replies in jest at the fake name the media had given her out of Manhattan and her attempts to 'super hero' around there.

The arrival of more makes Rogue look up and smile at them all. Hank gets a saucy look and a saucy response too. "I always have the right tools." She flashes a grin at him there-after before the idea of keeping the guts mills through her head.

"Guess I can go get some bowls from the kitchen..." She starts to carry her claimed pumpkin toward the garage again...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Thanks.  So what's the point of carving pumpkins?  I mean I know it's an American thing but why?" Noriko picks a spot nearby, somewhere in Douglas's vicinity, but still facing the truck.  She picks up the crappy serrated little skinny blade, orange plastic handle and plunges it into the top like Norman Bates near the woody stem.

Noriko looks to Douglas' pumpkin innards pile and lightly presses her lips together.  She goes back for a melon baller and resists the temptation to pump it up into the air like she just drew Excalibur.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
The arrival of the pumpkins at least seems to light a little more interest amongst the most dubious, the ones who are getting 'too old' to appreciate Halloween. Or at least little activities like this.

Which certainly does not seem to include Kurt. Any excuse of a little fun, right? He still lingers near the back of the pack, content to let others pick out their own chosen gourd to carve up, a wry grin on his face as he closes in closer and closer to the back of that pickup as more and more of the students -- and staff -- begin to collect their pumpkins.

"We do. What would halloween be without jack-o'-lanterns," he agrees with a wink for Kitty, finally reaching the back of the trunk and plucking one of the larger pumpkins -- at least of the ones that remain.

At Noriko's question, Kurt flashes a grin her way. "History," he says. Halloween started as a Celtic festival. Carving scary faces into pumpkins or other gourds scared evil spirits away," he offers up.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby picks out a small pumpkin for himself and a couple of other small pumpkins for the kids that came with him, finding a spot to settle in with a plastic-handled pumpkin carving tool and a couple of little tracing patterns. He lays one over one of the pumpkins and lets the kids do the tracings and markings. Then he uses the carving tool to begin making the patterns on the outside once they've been hollowed out and the guts set aside for seed roasting and the like.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty finally picks out a pumpkin for herself after most people have one. She nods at Kurt's answer to Noriko. "Maybe they work on Erik, should he try to come around," she comments, mouth pressed in a thin line after. Though she doesn't let her own comment get her down, the expression soon giving way to a smile as Kitty puts the pumpkin down on a table.

Rogue's comment gets a soft laugh. "Here she comes to save the day! Mighty Woman is on her way!" she says, coopting the Mighty Mouse theme song for the other woman. "Though Mighty Woman doesn't really flow. It needs to be like, Mighty Maid or something like that?" Kitty suggests to her friend.

She looks around and finally spots Thomas. The student has green skin and just a bit of odd shape to his face that gives him an unfortunately froglike feel. She waves over to him. He has his baseball cap on backwards as he walks over to her with a box. "Got everything?" Kitty asks him. Thomas nods his head. "Sure thing, Miss Pryde," he says, setting the box down and opening it up. Kitty grins over to Doug and rubs her hands together. What does she have cooking?

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug finishes doodling on his Jack O'Lantern, and then his wrist goes *beep* - he pulls up the sleeve of his sweatshirt, and then looks up at the others. He sighs, and says, "Work call. I have to take it. Sorry all." He gives his gourd a light slap, and then says, as he sets it aside, "I'll finish this later." He waves a hand, as he trots out. "Later all!"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue picks up a glass bowl on the work bench that has a selection of candies in it for Halloween. She dumps it out and then runs the faucet on the workbench sink to rinse the bowl out. A moment later and she's etting the pumpkin down and pulling her gloves off. She hears Kitty behind her sing a little song, which gets a smirk from her. "Mighty Maid. That sounds like a vacuum cleaner brand."

The Belle bites down on her bottom lip as she tips her punpkin back and looks at where the 'face' is supposed to be. "Scare evil spirits away, huh... Lets see..." She jams her thumb in to the punpkin for one eye hole, then pulls it out and jams it in a couple inches over for the other eye hole...

"Mmm hmm... progress."

Pumpkin guts start oozing out of the eye holes as she starts popping her thumb in for a nose hole...

"Gross." She gasps with a little laugh.

Henry McCoy has posed:
It takes a while for Hank to consider what he's going to carve. He has a pumpkin picked out, a medium-sized one, as to allow the other people to take up the larger behemoths. The man ponders, tracing a finger along the gourd. "Tradition, Noriko. It was one of the things carried over from Irish folklore, and Americanized for Halloween. Generally they were used to represent spirits or supernatural beings - and to ward off evil spirits. Keep one's home clean of trouble, during the witching season." A wry grin.

A claw is extended, the man starting to carve slowly - taking his time and shaving away a bit at a time. "I don't know, Kitty. I am going to just go and see where my thoughts take me, yeah?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby works on the pumpkins that the kids have picked out first, making sure to get their designs done just so, taking instruction from the pair that chose the pumpkin he is currently working on. The face takes shape quickly enough, and the jagged, crooked cartoon like mouth and big round eyes give it comically goofy expression moreso than a scary one. The kids seem satisfied with that though.

He grins as he listens to the others around him talk about the use for jack'o'lanterns and the like. He then picks up the second pumpkin for the other pair and begins working on that one, a more surprised, stunned face on this pumpkin than the first one.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
The pumpkin is just a little too big to tuck under an arm so Kurt carries it in two, glancing about for a free space to set it down and begin his own work. That doesn't prevent him from grinning impishly as new heroic names are suggested for Rogue now that she has a following. "No, no. I feel like Mighty Maid is definitely the way to go," he suggests, those yellow eyes glinting mischeviously. "We can get you a nice frilled apron. And yes, of course you're right, a vaccum with be mandatory. Don't feel like you just have to clean up with it though. You can use it to bash people if you like," he says before making a show of looking her over thoughtfully, that grin not quite suppressed. "And maybe a feather duster. Yes, I think that will be the perfect accompaniment," he suggests. And then he prepares to *bamf*.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh.  That makes sense.  But where's the offering come in?"  Noriko asks with a hint of confusion, perhaps because a carved pumpkin doesn't sound that formidable.  As she scoops the stringy insides, the melon baller slips from her slippery grip into the pumpkin, which only makes it slimy and even more difficult to grip.  After a number of mishaps that feel like playing crane in an arcade, "I'lll be right back."  She zips back toward the school and returns with a dry rag that she wraps around the handle of the melon baller, more to use for grip than cleaning it off as soon becomes apparent.

The knife handle is even harder to grip.  She quickly discards it and pulls a paperclip out of her pocket.  Soon she's melted the bottom of the knife handle and stuck the now straightened paperclip before setting it aside to let it cool.  In the meantime she starts widening out the top opening into a curiously circular shape that is starting to take the shape of a comet whose tail bends outward symmetrically almost like the beginning of twin trails.

And then she takes a moment to watch Rogue's method of carnage, which gets a grin. "Maiden," she comments on the conversation burbling around her.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde laughs as Kurt takes the name for Rogue one step further. "I think that's a winner. I mean, you can have action figures for a get up like that. And different accessories. Sold separately. The cart with the extra towels, limited edition?" Kitty teases.

She helps Thomas pull a few things out of the box. She begins plugging her phone into a cord and then plugging into some kind of projector that Thomas is setting up, pointing it at the pumpkin.

No not a projector as it turns out. A laser projector. Kitty connects it to her phone and it displays an image on the pumpkin, of a vampire's face in silhouette. "Yes!" Kitty says, giving Thomas a high-five. "Now we just need to carve it," she says, getting a knife and going over to start cutting with the laser lines as a guide.

"Miss Pryde," Thomas says. "You know, next year-" Kitty nods and cuts him off. "I know I was thinking the same thing. Higher power laser, let it do the cutting for us?"

Thomas grins.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's really going at her pumpkin's face holes now!

She's got the nose finished and is shoving her fingers in to the mouth, trying to dig out grooves to represent teeth. All the while she's grinning at what she hears the others say. A glance over to Bobby and she snickers. "Look at you, doin' it all proper'n'stuff, Mistah Iceman." She says to the veteran X-Men before looking back to her own abomination that she's crafting with just fingers and imagination.

At Kurt and Kitty's commentary, she shakes her head. "I can think of a few people I might bonk with a vacuum cleaner right now... But hey, I do need a new winter job. Maybe I'll apply for Housekeepin'. Clean this place up right'n proper for once. Frilly clothes'n'dust bunnies'n'all."

Now pumpkin guts are ooooozing out of the mouth holes she's punched out with her fingers and thumbs.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake glances over at Kitty's rig for pumpkin carving and just grins, shaking his head just a little bit. "I think I saw that movie. Isn't that how we end up with a mansion full of popcorn?"

Bobby glances up and over at Rogue then chuckles, giving his shoulders a shrug. "Just the way I was taught to do it a while back and, well.. it works?" The kids seem happy enough with it though one of the girls leans over and whispers, "Next year I want to carve ours with a laser."

Bobby just laughs a little bit and says to Kitty, "Look what you've started."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry McCoy pauses in his 'sketching' on his pumpkin. "I do not know - perhaps they burned incense in the pumpkins?" He wonders, looking over to Noriko. "I suppose that might be buried in the lore and history somewhere - I hadn't read that far back." He grins.

A glance at the teasing being given to Rogue. "Wasn't MegaMaid in Spaceballs?"

Kurt Wagner has posed:
"Lasers would be cheating," Kurt says primly, or at least with the semblance of seriousness, the twitching corners of his mouth suggesting he certainly is not. If anyone would have bought it in the first place. "Hank, don't you dare make them laser," he instructs.

Finally settling in his self at an open expanse of work bench, Kurt carves into the top of his pumpkin, making a circular opening so that he can begin the messy process of scooping out all those innards, his bowl quickly filled with a sloppy mess of seeds and pumpkin guts. While the others might prefer guides and the like, the fuzzy blue elf is apparently content to go with a more freeform approach, judging everything by eye.

It will probably turn out amazing. Or be a hideous abomination of mismatched features. Either way, entirely suitable for the spirit of the holiday.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko goes for the easy parts of her design first, but still flips out her phone to pull up some kind of photo.  She's not sketching first, but she's starting smaller and working her way out to a symmetrical enough design, by her current standards.  She glances over to Rogue at all the maid talk that she finally catches onto in retrospect.  Apparently pumpkin carving is a rather absorbing activity for some.

"Full on French maid?"  Another smile to herself at the mental image before she looks up to Henry.  "I'll make my own offering.  The pumpkin guardian can eat it if she gets hungry."

The handle of her knife is finally hardened back up.  Noriko checks the charge level that the gauntlets are detecting, hrrms, then wraps the little knife handle in rag.  A steady low buzzing crackle starts to get loud enough for even non beastie people to start hearing as little blue bolds vein down to seemingly light up the paperclip after jumping from her knuckles down to the tang of the knife.

Then she starts electro-tattooing out what looks to be curling hairs out from the comet trail.  Sensing this will take forever, she amps up her speed and starts to fill them out.  She's not an artist, but she's not terrible for a beginner either.  The parallel watery lines sometimes veer into each other as she moves the tiny arc welder across the pumpkin's skin.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde laughs over to Bobby. "That was a great movie. Or at least we'll get the smell of cooked pumpkin," she tells him. "Though knowing me I'll burn it." She glances over at Noriko's work. "That's looking really nice," she tells the Asian girl before smiling and going back to work on her own.

Kitty and Thomas trade off doing the cutting and the scooping. Before long it starts to really shape up. "Be careful you don't lose his eye," Thomas tells Kitty. The Jewish girl nods and says, "It's ok we got this." She phases her hand and the knife past the eye to get at the bit they need to cut out.

"Ok, put the light in and let's see how it's looking before we do the touchup?" Kitty suggests. Thomas puts the light instead and Kitty drapes it with some black cloth to help the light stand out.

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Rogue has posed:
Rogue is biting on her bottom lip while she carves out her pumpking with her ungloved hands. "This is definitely gonna scare the evil spirits away, but then again... it's gonna scare the good spirits away too."

As she straightens up, she looks over to Norko and she casts the girl a grin. "Quelqu'un doit garder cette maison propre. Ca pourrait aussi bien etre moi." She tells the former clown college extraordinaire.

With the face done, still oozing insides out through the holes, Rogue just puts her hand through the top and starts to dig a 'cap' out wit her fingers. She pops the top and then tips the thing over to dump guts out in to the bowl on the table.

"I should be sellin' these on Etsy..."

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Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry is focused - it's pretty nice to have your own tools for carving, built in. Add to it some phenomenal agility, and it makes for a good skillset for artsing up a gourd. He nods to Noriko, the man intent on the what he's carving. It takes a bit of time, the man working from memory. By the time most of the people are finished, he's dusting off his claws.

Fancy man.

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Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    It took James Hudson a bit of time to get acclimated to being above ground. To being given the run of the grounds for the time being while he was here and while his charge was still being tended to somewhat down in the medbay. And, at first, he perhaps didn't entirely trust it. So his first hour and some of wandering the mansion was spent just perusing, visiting the more public-facing facilities. Mainly following his nose in more ways than one.
    It first led him to the kitchen, naturally. Where he perhaps felt a twinge of guilt at partaking of some of what he found. Which was some great left over nachos of all things? But then he wandered to one of the classrooms, into the library. Then, for a time, stood at the second floor front hall window and looked at the grounds.
    It was impressive.
    And then he saw that truck rolling on up.
    After some time the front door opened and he headed down the steps, taking his time, footfalls quiet as he headed to the garage. A deep breath was taken and then he ended up leaning in the door way, not exactly announcing his presence. But watching all the same.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
So much work, so little time. While the others are finishing up, Kurt continues to work away, slicing and dicing his pumping with neat little slices.

He should probably be doing this with one of his swords in all fairness.

Even when he is done he disappears into the back of the garage for a few moments, reemerging with the last of the props that he needs to complete his display. An artful mess to be sure. And one with an important message, especially for a bunch of teenagers who will undoubtedly get up to all sorts of trouble on this particular All Hallows Eve.

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Noriko Ashida has posed:
Watching Noriko speed-work like this on a solitary thing while sitting still almost looks like an expression of probability as her hands blur closer, further, and across the pumpkin.  The pumpkin seems to turn as she ups her speed, getting into the zone.  It's like watching a youtube speed video of a photoshop painting coming to life on the 'canvas,' only not as skilled.  The beard magically grows across the emerging pumpkin face, and so on and so forth until Nori finally stops to assess.  It could be considered complete.

The girl tilts her head, discerning at the komainu, the lion dog guardian of temples and shrines.  "Nope.  Damn thing supposed to look...scary."  It's definitely turned out to be more cartoonish like a sardonic trickster.  Nori stares it down as if she were having a showdown with some sliver of self in a mirror. Then suddenly she goes about knocking through the mouth and opening up with two nearly equilateral fangs.  It doesn't really help much.

"At least you won't be toothless at night," comes out at chipmunk speed, though not high-pitched.

"Done!" QUIZ OVER PENCILS DOWN!  Then immediately, "Nope!"  She rushes back into the school to come out with more supplies, a fistful of toothpicks.  She begins sticking them on the inside, creating a diamond like lattice beneath each eyehole.  Then she goes over to get another carving knife and two candles.  The latter are sawed down with the unmodified knife rather quickly with a smoothed end from all the rapid friction.  Then she carefully puts each one on their hidden ledges before lighting them with her mini paperclip welder.

The flames are situated directly in the eyes and light pours out of the twin tailed comet carved out of the top of the head until she puts the crown into the ball of the comet, letting the trails glow.

"Okay /now/ I'm done."

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Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde doesn't know what Jimmy expected to find from a school of mutants. But the scene in the garage is something that could be seen in any high school. Kids enjoying themselves, carving pumpkins. And their teachers too. Or maybe kids in public schools are too cool for that now? But just like the mansion itself is a unique setting for a school, there is a sense of family amongst those assembled that is missing from most normal school settings.

Kitty wipes off her hand and grins at the Count from Sesame Street that she and Thomas carved. "I think we did a great job," Kitty tells the green-skinned student. She holds up her hand for a high five and he gives her one. One that makes Kitty wince a bit. "Thomas. You didn't wipe off your hands of pumpkin guts yet, did you?" she asks.

He sheepishly shakes his head and hands her a towel.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney was here. Of course she was here! The small dark haired girl is squinting with a particular heated interest at the pumpkin situated in front of her. In her hand is held a knife--but of course they didn't trust her with a real knife. NeverMIND she was a trained assassin and probably knew how to use one almost as skillfully as Dr. McCoy. It's a little orange plastic handled doodad with serrated edges that were about as sharp as safety scissors were dull. With an irritable huff she aims, and slices into the pumpkin--Tries to anyway. The dang thing sticks into the thick skin of the perhaps too-large pumpkin she'd chosen. Really it was kind of massive compared to the small teen.

An irritable grumble comes as she tries to saw back and forth with enough force that it causes the pumpkin itself to rock and sway threatening to tip down on her. As others start to holler with their finished jack-o-lanterns she throws her hands up in frustration.

"Oh come ON! This is impossible with this stupid thing! If you guys won't give me a real knife then I'm gonna just..." Scream? Cry? Pout?

SHHHK out the single thick bone claw from the back of her hand which hauls back to stab the pumpkin roughly where she wanted an eye hole to be. "HA! Take that you seasonal gourd of annoyance!" She cries triumphantly at her apparent 'solution' to her issue with the plastic utensiled 'carving kit' that had been handed out to her.

Rogue has posed:
With the guts pulled out of her pumpkin, Rogue lets the thing just sit there on the table beside the bowl full of its brains. She's now moved on to start to inspect other people's work. Kitty gets a grin. "Leave it to you t'choose a muppet. Gonna have t'make one'a Lockers too." She says of the purple dragon.

She wanders over toward Hank, who just gets a shake of her head. "I still haven't ever watched a single episode of Star Trek. But you're capturin' the details perfectly, Doctah."

Rogue, angling her gaze to look at Kurt's... well, he just gets a laugh, a bit harty laugh from the Belle. "Get outta my head, Kurt. You're doin' my design, but bette'ah."

Jimmy gets a wave when she sees him, along with a smile, before she sees Gabby Stabby her pumpkin, which gets a nod. "Fair game. My method, basically, also."

Finally Rogue ends up near Bobby and she just stares at his pumpkin like its an artwork hanging up in a gallery.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry McCoy sits back, wiping the pumpkin from his claws, admiring the creativity of all who worked at their gourds. He's proud to see the diversity of ideas, the humor and the dedication to the work that they all show. "I think Piotr has a good job - teaching art allows you to admire the inspiration from your students." He decides, leaning back against the wall as the others mingle.

He grins to the clever use of powers and skill - nodding at the inventiveness of the people about. "And especially something like this - where our gifts can be used for an unusual task."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    James' presence is not exactly prominent. He stands there somewhat out of the way, now more leaning against the wall in the garage and watching the goings on. He does, however, lift his chin to give a nod to Rogue across the way, and if Kitty meets his gaze while she's helping the green-skinned student or Beast while he's handling his masterpiece, then they're both given the upnod of approval.
    He doesn't make much sound, maybe a slight sniff as he takes in a deep breath, though his eyes do drift over to Gabby as he tilts his head slightly. Something going on with that girl, that's for sure.
    Still.
    His eyebrows do climb a bit, however, when he sees Kurt's creativity on display, smirking slightly. Albeit subdued.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
"Mr. Hudson!"

A voice calls out from a table in the back of the garage. Misha, the girl who the team brought back after her powers ran amok at her school, is carving away on a pumpkin. She waves to her teacher though as she spots him.

Kitty looks over, seeing Jimmy Hudson and flashing him a grin. "Thomas, want to gather up the pumpkin guts for the kitchen?" she asks, and then goes over to where the unclaimed pumpkins are at. She picks one up and carries it over to Jimmy. "Your turn," she says, offering it to him with a grin.

Gabby's creative use of her abilities gets a warm laugh from Kitty. "Nicely done, Gabby," she tells her. "Have you made jack-o'-lanterns before?" she asks her. "If not... well, they look great after it's dark and a bunch of them lined up in the front of the mansion, and people make extra ones to put in their windows."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Which is a little ironic since Bobby hasn't even begun on his own pumpkin. Though he does finish the second little one to help out the kids that he was helping to carve and they run off with their pair of pumpkins and Bobby glances up to notice Rogue staring at his blank pumpkin, just waiting for inspiration. "Are you going to use eye lazors to carve mine and putty Kitty to shame?" he teases just a little bit.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Now that Nori's done, she pockets her makeshift tool and a knife, then speeds over to the supplies to take more which she ends up trying to juggle out of the way of people.  It's...impossible, but she's bored and is protected by metal, so there's lots of clinking and cursing which only stops so she can lean to watch Gabby murder her pumpkin.  Then her gaze shifts, grazing over all the unique takes of the people she was sitting next to and never paid attention to because designs take FOCUS!  Even iff-ily executed ones.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just stares at Bobby's pumpkin until he asks that question, she grins over at him then. "Find me Scott, and we'll be one step close'ah t'that reality, sugah." She tells the Iceman before she flashes him a grin and starts to walk/meander back to her abomination creation at its place on the work bench.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney doesn't immediately notice Jimmy, but that's because there's some pumpkin guts clinging to her claws and other distractions. When Kitty calls out to greet him she looks up curious with a grin. "Nope!" she responds to Kitty with a shake of her head. "My first year out of the labs still. That's why I got the BIG one. To make up for lost time!" She explains with a toothy grin that causes the scars carved into her own face to crinkle in the process.

Attention dropping back to the pumpkin she taps her clawed hand against it. "Might need help carrying it though. It's kind of past my weight limit. I mean not that it matters." Idly she contemplates before her head snaps up again.

A little sniff of the air is taken though she just looks puzzled staring at Jimmy.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Once he is done, Kurt too abandons his creation to wander amongst the others on display, a wry grin on his fuzzy features as he looks over each in turn. He does stop in front of Hank's however and gives a shake of his head. "I think this entry should be banned. We clearly have a ringer here," he protests. "Besides, everyone knows that Halloween isn't a Star Wars holiday. That's Life Day," he chides teasingly before moving on throughout the displays

The Mansion will surely have no shortage of decorations to put up, that much is for certain.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    That call out brings a half-smile to the twenty-something guy leaning against the wall. He pushes off if only to lift a hand in a wave across the distance and then his voice as well as he calls out, "Hey, Misha. Lookin' good there. Show these guys Horizon Art Crew Represent, right?" He double thumps a fist to his chest and then flips a peace sign in Misha's direction...
    Which the rescued child who had been bawling it up only a day ago returns with a military precision as she repeats, "Horzion Art Crew!" And then /barks/ a quick little 'rowf-rowf!' which causes the good Mr. Hudson to grin.
    That done, however, he settles back on his perch and then shoots a glance over at Kitty as well as a shrug as if to say, 'It's a thing.'

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko abandons the knives after she's had her fill of juggling frustration and instead picks up a few more smaller pumpkins, the larger of the pygmies kids draw and paint on.  These are are more like gigantor-pygmies, just large enough to carve out.  She keeps dropping them on her way back to sit down next to Gabby.  Then she gets to work.  The pumpkins in front of her get :o faces in a blink of an eye, though the eyes are burned in with her mini-welder.  Soon more and more little pumpkins join the others.  She's building a pyramid, an army, and they are all staring over at Gabby.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue plops another pumpkin down on the workbench before she perches herself on the edge of one of the stools. With a heavy exhale, she glances over at Jimmeh and just smirks at him. "No school rivalries. Besides, I've seen our art students, they're either..." She motions toward Hank. "Or..." She motions toward her own creation. "You can't quantify spectrums that are that far apart. It isn't fair."

"Pumpkin Action Punch!" Rogue punches the top of her newest sacrifice and puts her hand right in the top of it with a wet THWAUP sound!

Henry McCoy has posed:
The man smiles. "Technical skill is not always art. Mine is just a reproduction of what I recall from a movie. Creativity is what sparks art - the feeling, emotion and passion put into a work." He assures Rogue and Kurt. "I am no ringer - I am a technical precisionist." He waves off.

"Every one of these are worthy of scaring away any would-be evil spirits."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby laughs a little at Rogue and says, "Scott would just make my poor pumpkin question its life choices. You've seen that disapproving glower." He flashes her a grin and then picks up his pumpkin and tucks it under his arm. "Unfortunately, I've gotta see a man about a gourd. Good to see you guys. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with around the mansion." He waves and slips off for the time being.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    Still smiling from the kid shouting across the room, James shakes his head and looks over the others there. Just from pumpkin to pumpkin to pumpkin, gaze wandering. Another faint sniff is taken as he draws a steady breath. His brow knits slightly as he frowns to himself, then pushes a hand through that wild mane of his hair.
    His gaze falls on Gabby for the moment, head tilting to the side curiously, eyes narrowing a bit in what could be a familiar squint. Then he says succinctly, "Hnh."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
"Ahhh, I see. Well, far be it for me to argue with you. Especially when it comes to definitions," Kurt says lightly, casting a grin towards Hank. "It's still pretty impressive. And it's not like it's a screen grab or something that you traced out," he counters before turning towards where Rogue is busy smashing gourds. "Hey! I thought Mighty Maid was supposed to clean up messes, not make them. It's really far too early in your run for a heel turn," he protests disapprovingly.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde wonders aloud, "I wonder if Scott could manage that fine a touch as to just carve in one side of the pumpkin. Without, you know, blowing out the back side. Not to mention, making a fine enough hole to be like a knife. I've seen him get it refined before, but I don't know about that small."

She grins at the exchange between Misha and Jimmy Hudson. "Now you need to represent too," she tells Jimmy, motioning at the pumpkin she brought him. She wanders around, seeing what others have done. Just in time to duck to avoid some of the collateral pumpkin splatter from the Rogue punch. "And here we were worried you might not enjoy this," Kitty teases her.

She stops to look at Hank's. "I like it," she tells him with a grin, resting her hand on the taller man's furry shoulder. As she does, Kitty looks over to Kurt. "Every day is a Star Wars holiday," the uber-geek tells Kurt.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney leans over to look at Noriko's pumpkins watching how she manages to do the carving with her own abilities and tools. A little sniffle is given, and she sits up straight again with a teasing, "Cheater." Even so she grins brightly clearly enjoying herself. Now that she has her own method figured out she can make quick work of this pumpkin.

Another stab is bestowed where the other goes. Then two stabs for a nose. And then a multitude of stabs for a mouth. A very patchwork mouth of holes that interlock together to look as if someone ... stabbed a face into a pumpkin.

"So we set these on fire once we're done?" She asks quietly of the older teen. "That seems a bit... smelly. I mean these things already smell. Not that I'm against setting things on fire, of course."

Grinning again she stands back, hands on hips, to admire her work. It was messy. It was... basic. But it was her first jack-o-lantern. She could tidy it up later though with the rather rough edges it did look a bit gruesome in it's own way. "Okay," she declares, "That's done now. S'cuze me!"

With that she whirls around to practically skip over toward Jimmy beaming a bright grin. Ignore the little bit of pumpkin gut smudge on her cheek. "Hi! I'm Gabby Kinney! Which of my brothers are you? It's so great to meet you!" She gushes out all in one giddy, rushed breath before she lunges in to hug Jimmy with a little squeal of excitement.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is pulling pumpkin brains out of the gourd she's got in front of her now, slopping them down in to the sink beside her when she hears Kurt throwing shade at her. "Gotta make messes t'clean'em up. Just you wait. I'm gonna go give my maid services pitch t'the Staff, like Ororo, or Jean, and then come back with a six figure salary, cause I'm such a great saleswoman." She grins from ear to ear.

Hank's rundown on art gets a shake of her head. "Can't just accept that you're a beatnik artist, and should move down t'Manhattan's Tribeca district, huh, Doctah?"

Of course, she stops what she's doing to look over her shoulder when she hears Gabby. This gets a brow raise....

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    Looking at that pumpkin first, Jimmy isn't paying attention to that clearly predatory approach of the smaller Kinney. He holds up a hand to Kitty as if staving off the offer, "Hey, nah. I'm no good at cuttin' stuff up." He tells her even as in the very shadows the Gabby arrives.
    Just in time to turn to look at her, Mr. Hudson tilts his head. "Hey Gabby." He has time enough to get out before the other words fall like a waterfall presenting to him like a lawyer's argument the premise on which Gabby prepares her hug.
    The hug is delivered.
    And it leaves him saying, "Brother what?" Though, to his credit he does return the hug with a hand going pat-pat-pat delicately on her back. He looks sidelong to Ms. Pryde for help. Perhaps in understanding. Or more likely in extrication.

Henry McCoy has posed:
The Beast nods. "Not just May the fourth..." He agrees with Kitty, grinning widely to Kurt. "And I am always open to debate regarding definitions - as words change so often." The man muses. He sticks his tongue out at Rogue and her comment.

He does watch the hug and overhear the conversation from Gabby, regarding Jimmy. There's a pause, the man sniffing the air as well.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko laughs, perhaps because the so-called mini-welder is a paperclip sticking out of the backside of a melted knife handle wrapped in a rag. "You use your own abilities. I had to use the shitty knife." She grins to the younger girl. "We should totally electrocute and torch the shit out of some of these," she says as she leans closer to whisper.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's right hand snaps out of the pumpkin and flings pumpkin goo all over the place. She points at Jimmy and Gabby with that pumpkin seed'n'goo covered hand. "Ya'll are family?" She asks, dumbfounded and bewildered all at the same time. "You're... one'a Logan's?" The physical likenesses were there after all.

Pumpkin guts fall off of her hand on to the floor while she points. POINTS.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney steps back to peer quizically up at Jimmy when he seems confused by her calling him that. Of course, she could be off a little bit maybe. Another deep breath is taken, and her eyes squint thoughtfully. "I know I'm still getting used to this smelling thing, but ... Pretty sure?" She hazards looking over to Rogue, and Kitty, then Hank as if ton confirm her guess. Somewhere in this moment of indecision she lets poor Jimmy go at least.

"Or did you not know? Maybe?" Here she again looks puzzled. Right before crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. "Got to talk to Logan about not having sex if he isn't gonna keep up with his kids. Eesh! So irresponsible."

It dawns on her after a moment that maybe, just maybe, Jimmy wouldn't want people to know. Both hands lift to clap over her mouth with a soft 'Ooh.'

"Sorry was it a secret? I'm terrible at that."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    Jimmy weathers this for the moment, looking over toward Rogue and he gives her a sort of, 'huh' look. Then he says the word, "Logan's?" Which those that might be able to sense that sort of thing might realize he hasn't heard that word before in such a context.
    Maybe as an airport.
    He looks back at Gabby, listening to her asking those series of questions. About being pretty sure, asking if he knew, maybe not. But, to his credit, he seems to have a talent rolling with the punches. "Sorry. Gabby." He says her name a little slower this time, perhaps not used to it.
    "Not sure I know what you're talking about. Though," He did admit to being a mutant to folks when he arrived here, still some hesitation though before he admits it in public. "You do smell sort of familiar."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney steps back again tipping her head to the side one way or the other as if she was trying to determine if he were telling the truth. She's pretty good at judging people though. In this case? She was pretty sure he was telling the truth. A small frown creeps over her as she clears her throat realizing the implications of this. "Oh. Well that's because..." Here she pauses, glancing around at the others. Most knew her history already.

"Logan's a mutant around here that's pretty well known and he's really super old but he doesn't look it and anyway some people cloned him and then they cloned me from her so he's kind of my dad? And probably yours too if our noses are right. So, uh, welcome to the family?"

Henry McCoy has posed:
The doctor's nostrils flare, looking from Jimmy to Gabby. "There is a commonality there. It is very likely that the relation is familial." He says, regarding Jimmy now. "And now, Mr. Hudson, the question remains - are you a gifted individual?" The Beast asks, as politely as can be.

"Do you have a man named Logan in your family tree?" The man asks, trying to keep it polite. No grilling, really - he's just curious.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just lowers her pumpkin-slayer hand and stands up to step over to the sink wher eshe turns the water on. She runs her arm under the water to let it clea her her hand and wrist off, whilst she listens over her shoulder.

"Are we all Logan's kids?" She asks, everyone. "Is this what the Professah is hidin' from us? Is this actually Xavier's School for Logan's Grumpy Offspring?" She reaches for a towel in the drawer of the bench and then hip-checks it close with her right hip as she turns to face them, staring at Jimmy. "You do look like him, and ya did mention that car accident with the fire that ya... healed from."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Nori?  Just stares at Gabby when she sniffs out a relation and all through her spiel.  "You can sniff out relatives /and/ you're a clone?"  She blinks as her world widens a bit along with her eyes, followed by her grin.

"Yes," we are all Logan's kids, says the Japanese girl without batting an eyelash or even a hint of sarcasm.

Jimmy Hudson has posed:


    "Hnh." Is his answer at first. Just a plain old 'Hnh'. Jimmy sort of looks at Gabby, taking it all in and what she says. Then he looks toward Hank and nods a little, "Yeah. I'm a mutant. My folks adopted me when I was pretty young. But..."
    A look is given over toward Kitty and Rogue, considering if they had known about this. "Never heard of a Logan before, at least... in reference to my family."
    And then, as people build up the idea, Jimmy perhaps a bit naively bites. "So you're serious, we're all brothers and sisters?" A glance is given to Hank before he adds, "In more than the whole kumbaya sorta way."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde has stayed quiet and listened and watched until now. When Jimmy looks her way, she says, "Logan, and Gabby and others related to him, have an ability to heal. Even from great wounds they've suffered. It seems to run in their... well let's call it family tree anyway."

She gazes at Jimmy steadily for a moment and then says, "Not to mention a pretty acute sense of smell. But if so, yes. Not everyone here, but, Gabby and some others," she tells him.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney takes a deep breath before glancing over to Noriko with a little shake of her head. "It's... It's still kind of new to me. The enhanced senses. It's why I've been away awhile. I'm trying to get used to them without being overwhelmed. But there's a certain.. Uhm..." She struggles for a word while her nose crinkles in thought. "Same-ness. Not same though. Like if you smell two different types of roses, they might be similar but not quite the same? If that makes sense?"

"And, ew no, he's not that prolific I hope ew I had to think about it eeew." Sticking her tongue out Gabby shudders at the thought of Logan and prolific in the same sentence. Kitty brings up a good point though, and she perks up instantly. "Oh right! See, we heal really quick!" To prove her point she lifts her hand grabbing hold of a finger which she promptly snaps backwards loud enough it's audible when the bone cracks leaving it being the wrong way. Still she grins the entire time not realizing how potentially traumatizing this may be to others. She doesn't even flinch in pain.

Henry McCoy has posed:
1+1+2+1 - the Classic Clue math! Henry sees it all coming together, the accident - the not needing medical attention after injury. Light bulb. A grin to Rogue and Noriko. "No. We are not related in such a fashion." Of course, he has claws, enhanced senses, a healing factors...

"We are all akin in so far as we are Mutants." A smile to Jimmy. There's a wince at the sound of self-bone breaking. "Gabby, please..."

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    That snapping causes a wince from Jimmy and he nods a little along with what Hank and Kitty said, but he holds up a hand. "Well." He looks at the others, "I'd be interested in knowing what's what. But also..." He lowers that hand. "I'm not exactly inclined to lean on the guy if he's got his own bits of weirdness going on. I had good parents. I've got no grudges or whatever."
    He does look at Gabby, "So. Clones, huh?" He looks at the others as if they'd back up that claim then he nods again and seems to handle it relatively well as he just says.
    "Alright."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Nori remains transfixed.  She's never seen someone break their own bone before.  Sure she got to see Gabby all shredded up like she had a bloody mop for an arm, but this is different.  It's no wonder that she doesn't catch the grins or looks she's spurred.  That one of the do-good teachers would clarify is a foregone conclusion she ignores.  "Can I practice table-knife skills on you sometime?"  Because damn if that isn't every teen's party trick dream...or some.  "Gangster style?  Everyone will think if I do it sped up," which it is. She'd never be able to slowly accelerate through and not skewer someone's vienna sausages. Full speed ahead or nothing. That's life.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue dries her hands off and then drops the towel on the workbench beside her. She places her right hand on it and just winces at Gabby's display of breaking one of her fingers. She raises her left hand up and points at the Kinney kid. "That's nasty." She says in a dead pan sort've way.

Her finger then points to Jimmy, but her eyes go to Hank. "You can doa DNA thingy to his stuff, and then get the results of the stuff and tell him things, can't you, Doc?" She asks, all tecnically savvy about all of this.

At Jimmy she looks now. "The Breakstone Slasher? He always has stuff goin' on, why he's harder to catch than a chicken on on fire. But, I sure as hell wanna see the look on his face if'n when he finds out it's true."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney winces sympathetically only once Dr. McCoy calls out to her. "Oops. Sorry. Yeah I can't feel pain either so..." She shrugs slightly as her hand starts to heal already. It only takes a few more moments before her fingers are looking much alike again, and she flexes her hand a time or two to test the movement. It's quickly shoved in the pocket of her jeans at this point to hide from further mental scarring of the others here.

"Well. That's cool. I mean having a family and all is great! There's nothing wrong with that. But if you want to, I mean, yeah. I kind of look to him as family. Most I've got myself besides my sisters. And most of them are dead. ... Sorry to make things weird." Pausing again she glances around looking for a suitable rock to hide under. Or...

"So are we going to light these things on fire or what?" Noriko's suggestion totally derails that though. "Ooh heck yeah! That'd be cool!"

Jimmy Hudson has posed:
    "Breakstone what now?" Jimmy says as he crosses his arms over his chest, looking from person to person. But he nods toward Gabby, "Yeah, let's find some matches?" Though they're in a garage how hard could it be to find matches?

Rogue has posed:
Rogue walks over to the bags that she saw Kitty take out of the truck with the candles and electronic lights in them. "We should probably put the electronic lights in the ones that are close to the house, and put candles in the ones that are out by the front gate. I'm gonna put my face one out by the gate, so I'll get a candle for it."

She pops a zippo lighter out of her pocket and then grabs a couple candles before she moves back to snag up her pumpkin. A big grin is given to James. "The Breakstone Slasher is the nickname I gave for grumpy Logan, cause he lives in a cabin out in the woods. I'll show you where it is some time if you'd like t'see it." She walks toward the open garage door then toward the front drive.

"Anybody wanna go set a pumpkin out by Greymalkin with me?"