4219/Xavier's On Ice

Xavier's On Ice
Date of Scene:	25 November 2020
Location:	Breakstone Lake
Synopsis:	Some faculty, residents, and students go ice skating on the lake courtesy of Bobby. Rogue and Jean show off. Noriko refuses Emma's help. Noriko asks Jean if she can do independent study.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Lorna Dane, Jean Grey, Douglas Ramsey, Rogue, Emma Frost

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Noriko Ashida has posed:
It's a frosty night and while the faculty isn't so dumb to let the whole damn school go out on the lake all at once, tonight a few have gotten out of the Mansion to try their luck at skating on the ice by moonlight, Noriko light, and other devices.  No doubt this was all tested out in the daylight.

Noriko is wrapped in about a billion thin layers and has been zipping around to keep toasty.  She can always take off, but going back and putting more on would be suuuch a drag wouldn't it?  "This-is-going-to-be-so-much-fun," she says with wide eyes before zagging.  On her next zig though she loses her footing and sliiiiiiiides until a pile of snow stops her.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Following along, Lorna has yet to hit the ice. Checking her laces one last time she looks at Noriko's stop face first into the snow bank and crinkles her eyes. "Well, at least the ice seems stable." She remarks and gives each bow one last tug before pushing up onto her feet.
    Sliding a bit, the green haired mutant's eyes widen briefly and she throws her hands out to counter balance. After a moment she straightens and pushes off. "Still got it. Alright, not off to an embarrassing start." Letting her feet carry her around to the student face deep in snow. "Alright there?" She asks and offers a hand.

Jean Grey has posed:
A very wholesome activity! Jean approved!

The headmistress is doing her usual adult impression for all of this, since there's a non-trivial amount of prep that actually went into the whole thing. They have skates, but they're not exactly Rockerfeller rink and there's a bit of sorting and searching that needs to be done digging through the sports equipment lockers in the Boathouse to make sure they have enough for everyone... and of the right sizes. And that all the pairs match! It's like keeping track of socks. She's also had some of the students carry down some other supplies, including a couple group-sized thermoses, the ones that come with the little serving tap on the side.

So all of this is set out around the lake shore, with a few benches outside the boathouse as well as old fashioned logs providing seating for people to change into their skates.

Jean is on one of said logs, finishing up lacing her own, before standing up and approaching the ice. She's got on one of her usual big green fuzzy turtleneck sweaters and dark thermal tights, as well as a pair of polar bear themed earmufs. "We double-checked the thickness earlier," she confirms to Lorna, making her way out after her. Which may or may not be code for 'Weather, smeather, Bobby made sure we'd have a perfect night!'

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    The young man who comes out is wearing a pom-pom winter hat, a scarf over his face, winter coat and gloves, so only his blue eyes are visible. He pauses to park his keyster on a log outside the lake long enough to take off his shoes and puts on his skates, before he steps out onto the ice, and begins to skate an easy figure eight, his arms out.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is sitting on one of the benches in the corner-of. She's got a black wool knit cap on over her brown and white hair, her phone is in her right hand and a drink is in her left while she leans on her left elbow on to the metal arm of the bench. She doesn't have any skates on her feet, just a pair of heeled leather boots adorn her feet. There ARE a pair of skates beside her on the bench, but she hasn't made any motion to putting them on. Blue jeans, and a charcoal gray Navy Peacoat cover her upper body. She's staring at her phone as she listens to the others skate about.

Something that Jean says makes her snicker though, and shake her head, before she puts her drink down on the log turned over beside the bench acting as a end table. "Gotta do that." She mutters back with a naked thumb peaking out of one of her crimson red gloves to operate her phone with swipes and taps.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko rolls over in a blink with a quick groan and then she's suddenly on her feet as soon as Lorna's hand juts out.  What no one saw was Noriko falling over about a billion times getting snow all over her backside.  The horrible bruises will heal fast enough.

Noriko reaches out to slap Lorna's hand with her own as if giving a high five.  "Thanks," the blue haired girl says of the offer with a smirk and the faintest trace of a Japanese accent.  It looks like an effort when she starts moving, not just to stay on her feet, but also to keep herself from shooting off like a rocket.

Emma Frost has posed:
    You know what they say about arriving late, you only do it because you want to be the center of attention. At least when it's a ball of some sort. Yet that seems to have become a part of Emma's very being. The White Queen wears, again, a borrowed hoodie with a pair of simple fuzzy ear muffs she must has borrowed from someone else, and those sweatpants, and a pair of simple sneakers. She's not exactly afraid of the cold, seemingly used to it.

     With the laces tied together and slung over her shoulder, Emma is not planning on wearing traditional skaters skates. No, she's got a pair of what looks like hockey style skates. She has her hair down, but held back by the muffs she wears and takes a moment to stop next to the bench Rogue is on and watches her own breath. "Any reason you're not out there with everyone else?" Emma asks as she takes a seat next to the southern mutant.

    Frost takes her shoes off after setting the skates down and unties them. One foot at a time. She laces up the thick multipurpose skates and then does the next foot before putting her shoes upside down on the bench behind her as she stands up. "Do you not know how?" Emma asks, not judging but a look to Rogue, like she might offer to teach the girl.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Looking from Noriko to Jean, Lorna shrugs and carries on her own idle circuit of the lake. Hands tuck into her long wool coat and she seems perfectly content to omit the hat or ear muffs. Gliding between each step, Lorna watches Doug in his figure eight with a small nod. "Get those eights going backwards and Bobby might have competition." She offers and moves past. Looking between Emma and Rogue, Lorna's gaze lingers curiously.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
After having moved in his lazy figure eight, the solitary skating boy shifts his weight and then skates backward for several feet, before turning and beginning to circumnavigate the lake. He seems quite comfortable, though with the exception of his little foray into skating backward he's keeping it simple. "I learned how to skate in boy scouts," He muffles at Lorna, "But it's been a few years."

Jean Grey has posed:
Once she's on the ice, Jean pushes off one with her foot, and slides a short way, then takes a few stroking steps to get a bit of distance. She grew up in the Hudson valley, so this has been a winter passtime since she was a little girl. It takes a few steps to get fully back into the swing of it, but after that, she looks rather comfortable, taking a slow turn at the far end of her little excursion and coming back past the others, watching Lorna and Doug doing his basic figures.

"I remember really wanting to do figure skating when I was a little girl," she comments, although the phrasing suggests its one of those things that got put on hold once she started at Xaviers.

Back toward the shore, she does a sharper turn and skids to a stop near where Rogue is sitting. "Are you going to sit and play on that all day, or are you going to join us, hmm?" It seems her and Emma have had the same thought. "I know you can fly. Half of us can fly. But it's still -fun-." Another glance at the freshly emancipated White Queen, who...

She SEEMS like she would fit in, but those skates stand out. "Interesting choice of skates, Emma." And then back to Rogue. "Is that it? Does she have it right? Are we gonna have to teach you?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko ends up suddenly sliding on her ass, but more like someone used her for curling.  She uses her skates to both slow herself down and stand up at the end in one smooth motion, suddenly very pleased with herself.  "Did anyone see that?!" SPLAT.  She falls again after a blurry fight against losing her balance.  "Not that," she tries to say in an understated way, but it only makes it more dramatic.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue doesn't look up at Emma, she just feels the woman's general presence and hears her talking, questioning. Soon to be followed by Jean chiming in, Rogue just starts to visibly grin with the glow of her smart phone's screen casting a dim blue light up upon her features. Her fully gloved hand reaches over to stroke some of her snow-white hair out of her face as she just shakes her head side to side while tapping with her thumb.

"I got adorin' fans, ya know." She tells everyone within ear shot of her. "'Mighty Woman' has a whole social media presence. They want pics, autographs, even meet-ups. I gotta keep up with my fans, Jean."

After she finishes shooting off a text, Rogue's eyes finally come up. She bounces them from Jean, over to Emma, then down to her skates. "I worked as a roller skate-bound waitress at a diner all summe'ah... I could skate circles around an Olympic ice skater, if I so wanted." The bravado!

Rogue's eyes dart over toward where the others are on the ice and she shoots a mature wolf whistle toward Lorna. "Lookin' good, Green Peace." She calls out to her. "Doug, tell her how good she looks!"

"You're gettin' better, Nori!" The Belle calls over to the student out there. "You're gonna definitely not end up makin' the first ice fishin' hole'a the season with your butt." Whatever that means.

Lorna Dane has posed:
"Mmmn." Lorna glosses over her theoretical childhood skating. "I feel like the year hasn't quite been made until the lake's frozen here." Closing her eyes a moment, the cold air makes her skate a little faster. Skirting around Nori she lifts her brows. "Would suggesting you slow down a bit be absurd?" She wonders.
    At Rogue's whistle, Lorna looks over and smiles cheerfully. "Is that because by contrast you can see my face?" She asks and gives Rogue a cheery wave. She tucks her hands back into her coat and carries on with the old push and glide technique. Nothing fancy from the young adult.

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma blinks at Rogue and then a look to Jean with a purse of her lips to the side. Still struggling on earning some semblance of respect it seems. She doesn't voice this, but the blonde telepath seems to let it roll off her back as water on the rock. "In your own time." Emma says simply to Rogue before stepping very carefully onto the ice in the heavier skates. "Daddy wanted me to figure skate too, ... I am more a bruin's kinda girl." Emma says with a playful wink towards Jean and she gets a mental flash of Emma slamming someone into the boards when she was younger wearing the black and gold.

    Emma hits the eyes and wobbles a little bit before her balance comes back and smiles to Doug, "Like riding a bike." She says while catching up to Lorna with a hand reaching out to offer some stability while also offering to skate with the verdant woman. "Noriko seems like she's having trouble, but that speed would be hard to teach."

Jean Grey has posed:
Emma's answer gets a laugh. "You're always a surprise, Miss Frost."

Turning back to her stubborn friend and her phone, Jean can sympathize. She's not unfamiliar with the social media lifestyle. Sadly, she's given up her heady instagram days of her very brief modeling career for the extrmely old-people centric Xavier's Official Facebook Page (yes, it is about as lame as it sounds. It was Charles' idea.) So she sighs at Rogue, lets her get out another tweet or two, and finally puts her foot- well, her skate down. "I'm sure you do. But you agreed to come along and skate, so that's what you're going to do. Come on."

She may also make a note to double check all those social media accounts and /fan centric/ content later. Ahem.

And if just being boss adult about it doesn't work, she has a back-up: "I've been doing this since I was old enough to walk. So if you can skate circles around me- come prove it." Hands on hips, she gives a flip of her red mane and stands there in full challenge. "Well?"

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    "You do look great," Doug says to Lorna as he finishes his navigation of the lake. "I've always been more of a Sabres fan," He admits, "I'm drawn to the underdog. I'm Doug, by the way, ma'am," As he maintains an easy skate, "Douglas Ramsey, school graduate. I'm working for Ted Kord in New York right now, but I keep a room here. Every now and again I come up here for a weekend to try to clear my head."

He's thinking in Min dialect Chinese at the moment.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
For Rogue, maybe it hasn't been that long, but for Noriko has been at it for, awhile for her at least.  "What-are-you-talking-about-I'm-awful-at-this!" she calls out with a laugh that cuts a bit short with a sigh.

Standing, without falling.  It's progress, and Noriko's head tilts to the side with a smirk.  An idea!  She pushes off her back foot with a little push and goes streaks blue with electricity as she slides into a cross-legged position, aiming for a snow bank with a look of determination.

Lorna Dane has posed:
"If you start doing what Roguest says, she's only going to up the ante to see what she can get away with asking." Lorna grins briefly at Doug as she takes Emma's hand so they can skate together. "Trust me on that." Looking over at Emma she lingers on the skates. "I suddenly understand why ours are all the old fashioned ones. Imagine those wild kids tumbling all over each other in those." She clicks her tongue and looks back up. "How's everything in the City Emma?" The streak of blue is tracked and Lorna looks to the ice. "Think Bobby made it thick enough?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue watches Emma go off to get on to the ice. "Did you just say 'Daddy'?" She questions with a stare before shaking it off. She and Emma come from vastly different worlds!

The Belle's eyes go back to Lorna, who gets a grin. "I'm just glad t'see ya out here relaxin' and havin' fun. Feels like a million years since I saw ya doin' somethin' like that." With a smile on her lips though, Rogue looks back to Jean and tilts her head. "Fine, fine." She replies, stuffing her phone away in to her brand new coat that she picked up in town this very fine day.

Sliding herself forward to the edge of the bench, Rogue leans down to pull her boots off of her feet, then gets her skates ready, one by one. It only takes her a few seconds to get the white booted skates on and laced up, almost like she spent months lacing skates over and over.

When she stands up she doesn't step on the ground she just floats over to the ice and lands upon it beside Jean, her arms spreading out and a big smile showing. She does a full teasing 360 twirl with her arms out before she drops her hands back to her thighs with 'claps' and exhales sharply. "I'm the best!" She says, triumphantly, to the Headmistress.

A look is given over to Nori then. "Stop straightenin' your legs, and stop tryin' t'stand on the blades. It's the edges that are sharp, not the bottoms. Bend your knees and use the skate's edges t'stay up."

Emma Frost has posed:
    Caught up to Lorna, Emma smiles soft and lifts one foot before tapping the blade on the ice twice to try and get Lorna's attention. "The dainty old school skate isn't exactly my style. Sorry to disappoint." Emma says with a smile before she lets go of Lorna's hand and moves to skate behind the green woman and peel off towards the blue haired woman and the blond woman in sweats nearly catches up with Noriko, trying to be where the girl is headed towards in the snow bank.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I-go-too-fast," Noriko explains as she sails by Rogue and Jean with her hands resting on her knees serenely like Aladdin's Genie as her skates drag against the ice, slowly doing their job as pure friction breaks.  She's about to swing her legs around and employ some breaks.  That was the plan.

Instead, when she spots Emma, Noriko looks at her, beyond at the others all skating together, and then before she realizes it, she slams into the snow bank with, "Oof," that sounds more like, "f!"  She's kind of planted in it like some cartoon character without birdies flying over her head and without popping up immediately.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug circles around, and since the group seems to be concentrating, he follows along. He tries giving coaching in Japanese instead. "You don't brute your way through it, it's about being light, easy on your feet. Just... think wisteria petals blowing across the ice!"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna lifts up her hands innocently as Emma peels off. Looking at Rogue she calls back "Someone handed me some of Scott's mail. So, before our broody likeness worsens-whee. Fun." Lofting her brows, she quirks a small smile and leaves Emma to chase Nori on her own. Glide and pushing along safely she looks to check on Doug as well since Rogue is dancing around Jean leaving no questions if she can or can't skate.

Jean Grey has posed:
While waiting on Rogue to prep her skates, Jean's gaze suddenly snaps and whips over her shoulder as the blue-ish blur that is Noriko comes zooming along, right past them. "Looking good Nor-" -and into a big pile of snow. She turns slightly, head now turned the other way to track the rest of her progress to the snowbank. She looks concerned a moment, but Nori is Nori and she can tell that she's not in any terrible distress.

Then, just as she's looking away, Rogue is WOOSH gone, only to reappear next to her on the ice a moment later, skipping all that inconvenient walking inbetween. "Flying's still cheating," she points out. "I could be doing sextuple axels if I used my TK."

However, even as they stand there and her friend starts calling over skating advice to the others, Jean realizes that Rogue's game may be a bit more than talk, for once. Still, she's not giving up on the challenge!

"C'mon, see if you can keep up!" And with that she pushes off - skating away backward so that she can watch Rogue watch /her/ go! She skates backward smoothly for a bit, and then starts into some simple crossovers, before lifting one skate from ice, bent her knee, with her arms held out for balance.

Emma Frost has posed:
    "I know it's cheating, but would you like a quick lesson?" Emma says towards Noriko before tapping her head and then pausing to reach her hand down into the Noriko shapped hole in the snow. "Come on, and don't tell anyone I said this, but Doug's kind of right." The white queen whispers before she stands back up and looks over to the showing off of the red-telepath and the ... southerner. "Flying is cheating, the both of yous!" Emma says a hand held up to the side of her mouth and a hint of that Boston accent sneaks out. God she's going to be mocked for that for weeks isn't she. Whatever.

    Emma turns back to help Nori out of the snow. "Offer's on the table to just, pop, some skating into your head."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Oh, there's real skaters on the ice. Lorna takes that as her cue to do that awful running on ice skates on ice thing to the end of the lake where the thermoses are. She's earned what she hopes is hot chocolate. "Flying is soo much safer that strapping metal blades to your feet. And that's coming from me!" Lorna calls over to Emma despite gracelessly hauling herself onto the dock and safe from skaters for her participation reward. Getting a little cup, she dispense herself a warm drink and finds a bench to watch from.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue observes Nori do Nori-stuff, and like a lovable character from a sitcom earns when they do silly stuff, Rogue just smiles and shakes her head. "Don't break your neck, girly." She calls after the other, now breezing past Doug. "Keep an eye on that one, she's trouble." She tells the dutiful employee of one Ted Kord.

Jean's continued taunting/teasing draws the Belle's attention back, it garners a big grin as she reaches uer hands up to adjust her wool hat ontop of her head. "That's the way it's gonna be, huh?" She asks, breath fogging up in front of her face as she exhales. "Alright then." With a quick t-stop, Rogue starts to skate forward, crossing her legs over each other to build up some speed before she sets off after Jean, arms swaying at her sides!

"Admittedly, my 'cheatin' is a little hard t'control at this point. It's become second nature t'use it t'keep myself safe. So... ya wanna blame someone, Red, blame your constant trainin' around here."

Rogue breezes right past Jean, her skates cutting on the ice as she twirls around and sprays a wash of snow up on to the headmistress' pants! SWOOSH!

A quick sharp stop, a big grin shown and a teasing facial expression is also relayed before she starts to skate off again toward the others!

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko grumbles.  She spots the hand and reaches out, but then hesitates.  Finally, she takes her hand.  She sighs and rolls her eyes quickly.  "I am barely pushing off," she emphasizes it like someone slowing it down, way down for someone, but it just comes out normal and at odds with the tone and over annunciation.  In short, it sounds like she's being completely sarcastic, which the eye roll (come on that was ages ago) doesn't help.  Immediately realizing how it must have sounded, she blinks, her expression shifting in an instant just like her emotions.  "I didn't mean it that way.  It's exhausting going slow.  Imagine doing modern dance in super, /super/, slow-mo.  I push off even just a little and I'm flying down the ice.  I'm not sure lessons are going to help."  And it isn't like her mind isn't a very welcoming place.  "Thanks...I think I'll just start bowling," she says, deadpan.  Then she shoots Rogue an electrified peace sign in reply as if to say a-okay.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    "The best advice I ever got was when I overheard someone coaching Sam a long time ago. In order to learn to not crash, he had to first learn how to *enjoy* crashing. When you cease to be afraid of embarassment or misstep, then you can start to transcend it - so even if it seems counter-intuitive," Doug says, "...Learn to enjoy falling. See?" He proceeds to hold out his arms do a butt-skid on the ice.

Jean Grey has posed:
'Real skater' is actually generous for Jean, although no doubt she appreciates Lorna's thought!

Jean meant what she said, she's been doing this since she was a little girl. But the AMOUNT she's been doing? Her dad may have taken her for actual figure skating lessons as a girl, but considering she spent her teen years training with Xavier, fighting Magneto, and at one point near-genociding an alien race... suffice it to say she's rusty.

Also, she's not nearly in the shape Rogue is!

So while Jean is looking pretty smug with her 1st year lesson tricks, her 'I can skate backwards on one leg' routine quickly faces down with Rogue bearing down on her at high speed. Of course, speed and artistry are not the same thing, but combined with her control, tight turns and sharp spins... it leaves even Jean a littl awestruck.

Also snow covered and sputtering. "Woah- hey wait!"

Soon she's taken off in pursuit, and given that Rogue may be cheating -just a little-, she gives herself just enough of a boost to speed along after her, falling into a more rhymic sway as she tries to catch up.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Safe from her perch, Lorna cheers Rogue on with a brief whistle of her own. But seeing her and Jean move really leaves Lorna smug in her well thought out first to the cocoa plan. As Doug butt skids, Lorna makes a face. "No one likes falling Doug. Even practice falling."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is well aware of the redheaded tail she has behind her, and though they're both pretty proficient skaters, she might have the edge on Jean in speed, where Jean is probably indeed a little more artistically sound with her graceful flourishes.

A heavy stop leaves the Belle's skates grinding on the ice again before she's suddenly stopped once more, back to Jean, eyes on Doug, then over to Lorna and the others. She's smiling. "He's pretty right about that, really. I mean it'll help ya t'not be afraid of fallin'. Which you can do by wearin' kneepads." She motions to Emma. "Emma, you got some'a those around, I imagine, why don't ya pass them out?"

Oh god.

Rogue's hands go to her hips and she just starts to slowly spin/turn in place, her eyes going u pto look in to the sky.

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma frowns and gives Noriko a soft smirk. "I mean, I can put some knowhow into your head, but if you don't want, that's fine." Emma says softly as she leans back and looks out towards Jean and Rogue taking over the rink. "Show offs." She mumbles before she figures Jean and someone else might have heard that, Emma puts her hand back up to her mouth again and raises her voice like a child's mother in little league, "Show offs!" Emma rolls her eyes and shuffles over on her hockey skates to sit next to Lorna, or at least near by.

    "They do know flying is cheating yeah?" The white queen asks playfully before a chill begins to fill her bones and without thinking too much about it, the woman looks like she turns into a piece of ice herself. Switching to her diamond form so that she's not concerned about the cold. That's cheating too, but in a totally different way. Emma takes in a deep breath before looking towards Rogue and raising up a single finger in gesture. "Love you too Rogue." She hollars back.

Lorna Dane has posed:
"Totally is. Flyers. Psh." Lorna agrees and looks over as Emma goes diamond. "That's lovely. Did you know there's cocoa?" She gestures with her own cup and lofts green brows at Emma with a little grin. Looking at the teasing between Rogue and Emma, Lorna leans towards the ice. "Sure you don't want to ask for my knee pads Rogueling?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I-sure," Noriko might look a little bit nervous, but she breaks her eyes away from Emma to shout at Doug, "Oh-I-know-how-to-enjoy-crashing!" which has the benefit of being truthful in two ways, but she doesn't seem exactly rushed to demonstrate.  Then she looks back to Emma and shakes her head.  "Never mind.  It's okay.  They're all about dealing with your powers and life and all that I should just probably figure it out the old fast fashioned way."  Now this might be a stretch, a twist, a warping of sentiments she's heard expressed, but they're convenient.

Jean Grey has posed:
No one is flying! If there's cheating going on, its of the very subtle you can't prove nuttin' variety!

Still, even with maybe a slight telekinetic boost, it takes a few moments for Jean to catch up with Rogue where she's stopped. As she nears, she throws her arms open and lifts her back leg from the ice and lifts it straight behind, bending her body into the rather ballet-like classic spiral position. She wobbles a little holding it, but manages a grin all the same as she comes sailing by in that position. There's no quick stop, though, and so she overshoots a bit, but uses the space to do a turn at the far end that turns into a quick spin of a single rotation.

She ends facing back toward Rogue with her hands on her hips again. "Call it a draw?" she calls back, before starting to trek back the extra distance in a bit more casual a fashion. "Shame Bobby couldn't be out here with us." They wouldn't stand a chance!

"I'm sure we do have some safety gear in the boathouse," she offers, once she's rejoined everyone and is no longer doing more than some simple gliding steps along the ice. "But it might be impossible for her to skate the same way we do. The physics are probably completely different, with her speed. Even Rogue wouldn't have much chance in a race, I'm sure!"

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug skids to a halt at the edge of the lake, and sits there. "Funnily enough," He muses, as he sits there on the ice, "I never did!" He blinks, the rest of his face hidden behind his scarf and hat.

Emma Frost has posed:
    "Appreciate the offer Lorna." The diamond woman says with what could be called a smile, it's kind of hard to tell in the light and the way light bounces through her. "I think I'm better suited going to get kneepads for the girls." Emma teases herself slightly before taking a moment to undo the skates off her feet and put the shoes back on.

    "You got it boss. One pair of kneepads coming right up." Emma says towards Jean wondering if they actually expect her to go get some or not. She shrugs the thought away as the woman doesn't bother putting her shoes back on and starts to walk back up towards the mansion. She'll leave kneepads on the counter inside somewhere where they will be found but by someone who wont have a clue what they're there for. That'll give Emma a snicker feeling those brain waves. Yeah. Hilarious Emm.

    Emma lifts her hand and gives a wave to the folks present. "Stay warm out here, it's supposed to get cooler still. Storm front or something." Emma warns as she heads house-ward.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's hands are on her hips, her eyes on Emma who's flipping her off, which just makes her smile at the woman. She sweeps her gaze to the others though, a grin showing for Lorna. "Nah, I'm lucky enough t'be able t'fall down without any harm, yadda yaddaa, humble brag."

The Belle is well aware of the Firebird spinning up behind her and pirouetting past her to show off the fancy move that leaves her rival tonight staring back at her. A soft nod is given to the other for a 'draw'. Fair a'nough. At least for now."

A look is given over to the big fancy boathouse. "It's all dark in there, ain't no guests stayin' over for Thanksivin'? Good. The student's parents are weirder than the students themselves. That one last year kept fallin' asleep in the chair in the foyer, sawin' logs."

She starts to move around a bit more then, gentle sweeping turns and leg motions to carry her around on the ice in front of the boathouse, eying the others, good and hard!

Lorna Dane has posed:
"I suppose it beats the "Disney Parents" option." Lorna muses to Rogue. "Thinking about throwing a house party with it being all empty?" She asks and looks back after Emma. Realizing the diamond woman is carrying her shoes she stares a little longer than is polite. "I'll argue the non-human guests to parents. Emma was gentle as a kitten today." Looking to Jean she tilts her head to one side. "We should screen for drugs." The green haired mutant teases softly.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug tries to get up, and proving that we're all falliable, a skate goes out from under him and he slips and lands on his tuchus on the ice again. Whoop! Oof!"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"That's-what-I've-been-trying-to-tell-them."  The words blaze out of Noriko in Jean's direction.  It's been even more difficult for Nori to sit still since she broke her gauntlets too among other things.  She's one of those kids that will be here year round.

"House-party?" the girl overhears like a lemur, perking up suddenly.  "Screen for-" incredulous disgust.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean continues to play oblivious- she might have arrived late enough to miss the context, or is just making the decision not to follow up on any of it. "If we're finished for tonight, there's no reason to get them, now," she calls after Emma, although apparently too late to stop any of the kerfluffle. "You'll just know where they are for next time, in case you want them, Nori." Regardless of the two sparring ladies, she does take safety seriously! It's one of those adult things.

She's happy to change topics, and apparently this one DOES cause a break in her 'perfect headmistress facade' as she gives a groan when Rogue mentions the parents. Because you know what's also part of her fancy job description? Dealing with all of those people, and every little complaint and issue they have!

"And don't get me started on the dads." Oh my!

Of course, plotting secret parties in front of Jean is probably counterproductive unless you plan to invite her, and she folds her arms in suitably authoritarian fashion. "We'll have plenty of partying going on, I don't think there's any need for a secret one. Although I'm happy if the students want to work on arranging something that's just for them, separate of the faculty," she tells Noriko. "As long as you follow some basic rules."

And they DO screen for drugs! Or at least, Hank does some pretty thorough physicals in general! So she just shakes her head over whatever the fuss is with Emma. "She's still getting used to the change, I'm sure."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Finishing off her cocoa, Lorna grins at Jean. "Adults or faculty?" She wonders and sets her cup to one side. "This was nice however. It's been a bit since I've joined in some skating on the ice." As she rises she looks to Rogue. "But there is still some work to look over so it's probably best to tackle those issues with a nice, clear head." She gives the Xavier's residents a small nod. "Thank you for inviting me out." She tucks her hands in her coat and takes the path left by Emma back toward the mansion.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's casual skating takes her on a turning glide toward the dock in front of the northern side of the boathouse. She turns back to look to the others though and throws her arms up in the air out to her sides. "Can't let a big beautiful place like this just sit here all dark'n sad! It needs liveliness! Revelry! It needs a lil' Rogue in it." She nods her head decisively at this. "Plans shall be made..."

She starts to skate back to them, having seen Emma's diamond form for the first time, she glides to a stop with her right foot back behind the boot of her left to let the blade grind over the ice to stop her.

"Doug is dead." She grimly announces, having seem him take a little tumble on her way back in. She grins at him, before that grin is sent back to Jean, and the 'dad' situation.

"They're a bundle'a joy, I'm sure." She says to the Headmistress, a teasing smile showing, of course.

At Lorna's departure too, Rogue huffs out an exhale. "People goin' back inside, huh? Guess it's just me now. I win... again!" She says whilst turning to skate back out toward the darkness of the deeper parts of the frozen over lake.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Student parties are lame."  That's right Noriko, tell it how it is!  It is progress that she didn't throw in a swear word.  "It's fine.  I'll just do whatever," which is whatever she's grabbed to keep her from going mad between naps.  She watches Emma go and looks down once she pries her eyes away.

Noriko takes no notice of Doug's 'death.'  "I'm-still-here!"  Nori launches like a little cannonball along the top of the ice toward Rogue.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Well, might as well be, as Doug scrambles off the ice to go get his boots back on and go check his apple watch. "See! You're getting it! Lightness! Just think light!" Doug adds. "And don't be afraid to bruise your tailbone, ow."

Jean Grey has posed:
"I wonder, sometimes," Jean echoes back at Lorna. Even about her own supposed adulthood!

Rogue may be prepared to spend her remaining days in the icy wastelands, secure in her self-declared victory and with only the soft blue glow of a smartphone screen to comfort her. Jean, however, has shit to do!

"It looks like we're all heading back," she calls after the woman, just making sure she's aware of the fact, before she finally makes her own way onto the waiting shore. The big thermoses are still there, and she grabs a cup from the stack next to one to pour herself a bit from the tap on the side. Thus, despite her claim, she doesn't quite rush to go in, but rather clutches the hot drink to warm up with, holding it between both hands as the rising steam bathes her face. Maybe she's gonna wait a little.

In the meanwhile, Noriko's 'everything sucks' is met with an unbothered smile. "Well, maybe you can help plan it and make it a little less lame?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Maybe-I'll-be-plan-B," Noriko shouts as she zips across the ice like a billiards ball and ends up shooting way past Rogue and gets onto her feet at the edge of the lake.  Then she trots around to the bench rather than deal with the whole ice thing.  She waits for the hot cocoa to work with gravity into her cup.  She ends up on the bench next, not a drop spilled.  "I just-Hey, did Dr. McCoy ever get to speak with you?"  She looks back to Jean.

Jean Grey has posed:
Fortunately for Jean, she is quite comfortable where she is. She has a warm drink, cozzy clothes, and a decent view of the lake for the ongoing speed trials, although it's hard to really appreciate watching Noriko, since she's more of a blur zipping around than anything. Inbetwen, she casts a glance off toward the building, before barely catching sight of the speed skater on her return path. Evidently, she's gotten used to handling their conversations in bits and pieces as the girl comes and goes, as well. "With Hank?" Her question draws a somewhat perplexed look. "No, I don't think so. Well, not more than our usual- what was it about?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah."  Noriko bends over to loosen her skate laces and they loosen in stop motion as if on their own, though the light blur of Noriko's hands sort of sells the effect.  She sits back up and look over at Jean.  Then again with her mug.  At Jean's answer, there's a micro spike of disappointment and then a slight hesitation.  "Well I was wondering if I might be able to do independent study.  We go so slow, I can barely follow the lectures."  Holding back her speed when she's she's charged up to feeling normal for her is exhausting.  "I just want to work at my own pace."  She tries to keep her words slow even if her mind is often starting to buck and race.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean is definitely a hot drink fan! But they're oh so yummy and feel so nice when its cold outside...

Such borderline addictions aside, she listens to the young woman for a moment before catching on to the general premise of her issue. "Ah, I think I see where you're getting with all of that, and how it could be an issue. We could definitely arrange for you to do some work on your own, especially for subjects that are lecture heavy. But not everything would work that way. There are plenty of classes that have hands-on components, demonstrations, lab requirements, and those sorts of things- and you need a teacher supervising for some of them. And then there's those with group work, discussions, that sort of thing..." She gestures expansively to accompany the point.

"But its more than that, think about what we're training -for-," she finally adds. "You have to be able to operate practically in the world. You have to be able to work with teamates who are slower, but valuable in other ways. Disregarding that part of your training is kind of cheating out on a lot."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Jean's words lead Noriko up and down.  When she's finally done, Noriko looks one way then the other with a little confused in her features.  "I don't cheat at my training," she says, scowling into her hot chocolate.  It's probably one of the few things she works hardest on, but whether it's paying off or not?  Debatable.  Noriko's powers have always been oddly dicey beyond just being influenced by her emotions to an extent.

"This would give me more time, so I could work on what I need to /do/ that.  Right now I can't even take a real shower or go swimming unless I'm lightheaded from discharging.  I just need that time to learn more so I can figure some of this stuff out," the teen seems to be swelling with emotion, that kind of general feeling of being overwhelmed by feelings that seem misplaced or conjoined.

Jean Grey has posed:
"I just mean that if you try and re-arrange everything so that it's easier, well, you may be skipping out on some stuff that would help you improve in the long run," Jean tries to explain. She takes a last sip from her nice toasty mug and then stands up. "You think your teachers go slow. But what about listening to me or Scott when we're out in the field?" she wonders.

However, despite that lingering note of doubt, she's happy to leave some good news. "I'll take a look at your schedule and see which of the classes I think might be appropriate for self-study. Just be prepared that some of them you're going to have to keep doing the normal way. Alright?" Then she takes a quick look around. "Looks like everything is about finished around here. I'm going to put some of this gear back into storage in the boathouse, and then head back. You can feel to go right up, I don't really need any extra arms." As demonstrated by a now-floating pile of ice skates.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh I don't want to do what's easier.  I want to do what's harder.  I'm bored to death," Nori says with a near desperation.  "-when have I ever not done what anyone's told me to do in the field?"  It's not defensive.  She looks disappointed, her features drooping slightly.  Which is worse?  Not listening or not knowing she isn't listening?  All sounds bad to Nori.

"Thanks," Noriko says soberly when Jean finally unveils that she'll indeed look into the possibility of something, anything.  The girl lets out a breath that she'd been holding for all of a moment, apparently.  "Oh...okay."  She watches on as all of the gear just Marry Poppins on out of there with Jean.  "I think I'm going to stay out here just a little bit longer and then head inside."  She lifts a hand, a little zap of electricity crackling out at the air, ending in a pop.

When one has roommates, especially teenage roommates, it's important to flush out all the feelings ahead of time lest they interrogate you with the meticulousness of a coroner in the name of support.  Yes, cocoa and crisp air.