4233/Balcony Above

Balcony Above
Date of Scene:	28 November 2020
Location:	Balcony - Second Floor
Synopsis:	What starts out as a relaxing evening on the northern balcony of Xavier's School, turns into a shopping trip of the bustling Black Friday variety of Manhattan's Bryant Park!
Cast of Characters:	Rogue, Ororo Munroe, Jean Grey, Emma Frost

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Rogue has posed:
Friday night, day after Thanksgiving 2020! Roughly 6:30pm.

The balcony on the north side of Xavier's School (facing the backyard) is a popular hangout for faculty members, because it overlooks the yard, but isn't down on it. This means it can be used to observe student shenanigans, and thusly shout down orders or scaldings toward any of the students who may be down there misbehaving.

Of course, with it being a bit colder out now, there's not many kids outside, what with screens to be stared at indoors... why would kids go outside at all?

Some are though! The good ones! Or the young student couples going on romantic walks together, there's a lot of that in this hormone enriched boarding school too.

It was a busy day today too, a lot of people went out to do holiday shopping, and the Christmas tree was put up in the foyer too. Currently, here and now? Rogue is stepping out on to the balcony with a tray of tea, and hot chocolate, moving toard one of the chairs.

There's also holiday music playing (thankfully quietly) over an external speaker on the school to give a bit of added ambiance. Some of the outdoor lights are popping on now too, with the sun setting.

"Brrrr. It's gonna be cold t'night!" Rogue states, settling in to one of the seats.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo did not attend the Thanksgiving celebrations. Likely because she is not American. That being said, she is still here and is happy to see family gathering regardless of the reason.

"I have ways to deal with little things such as that if you wish, Belle," she says gently, standing near the doorway, her arms crossed. She wears a flowing blouse, pants that show her lines well, and no shoes nor socks. She's the odd type that wears sandals in winter, so there is often fashion faux pas in the offing.

She pushes off from the wall and walks over to the speaker, tilting her head. "This early. Ah." She's not upset, though christmas music this early seems to cause her some amusement.

Jean Grey has posed:
Where there's hot chocolate, Jean Grey is often not far behind!

The Headmistress did in fact spend a lot of the day doing Holiday shopping, both for a variety of personal items, gift needs, and for all manner of things for the school and student body. It's just a great time to stock up. The holiday season means all kinds of events and parties to plan for (a serious undertaking and often large scale purchase for a place as large as the mansion), and of course the students themselves will each be getting stockings with small gifts, as well as more communal boons from Santa like new games for the rec rooms and things like that. So she hits up the electronics places with her fancy school credit card and comes back with quite a haul- and there's more coming from the real Santa, Amazon.com.

With that busy day behind her, warm drinks on the chilly balcony seems a fanastic idea. Plus, she never turns down an excuse to spy on the students!

So Jean follows Rogue out, grinning as she complains of the weather and Ororo naturally offers to FIX it. Jean's plan is simply to get cozy in one of her usual fuzzy turtlenecks, as she comes to grab a seat near where the warm drinks are headed. "But there's no keeping winter away forever," she notes, mourning the slow end of scenic autumn on the Hudson with a touch of melancholy. "Won't be long till its non-stop snowmen and snowball fights. And hopefully a bit more skating- now that I know not to underestimate you, I'm going to have to brush up!"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue, now settling in to a seat at one of the tables with the tray of drinks placed down in front of her, turns to look over at Storm. Ororo gets a big grin from the Belle. "The things that you can do, Storm, never cease t'amaze me." She tells the other, still smiling at her as she reaches for one of the cups of tea. "But I like it at the moment. I'll let ya know when I'm scrapin' ice off'a windshields in a few weeks how much my desire t'endure winter has changed though."

With a cup in gloved hands, Rogue leans back in her chair and cross her legs at the knees, wearing blue jeans and her charcoal hued peacoat, Rogue sips the beverage and then looks away from the horizon over to Jean, who gets a big grin out of her.

"It was that skatin' I did over the summer, I think. Made me super confident on the darn things, even if one is wheels and the other is blades. It just started t'make sense, like the body motions and all that. Course, ice is a lot more slippery, but hey, that's what the gravity defyin' power is for, right? Keep me from butt-plantin'. That bein' said, I'll out skate ya any day, Red." Another grin is given to the Headmistress.

"Joinin' in some drinks, Storm?" She asks of the other. "I got some stuff t'spike it in my pocket if you're interested." She's now grinning super mischievously, of course.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
The smile on Ororo's face is gentle. Almost beatific at times, she has this odd way of things that somehow ends up motherly, when it could so easily distance her instead. "Everyone assumes I mean all these things," she says, as both Jean and Belle comment on her powers. She twinkles her eyes, a neat trick she has that she's always denied is part of her powers; the students have a betting pool on her sometimes. "Honestly I just meant to take you both out walking. A bit of exercise does wonders."

She leans down and accepts a mug of warmth in coca form, inhaling it deep into her dark senses. "Mm." A moment of honest appreciation, for the feeling on her hands and in her heart, she allows herself to silence. Then, "While I can feel this in other ways, there is nothing that says home like simply feeling warmth through your hands. It feels...proper, I suppose?" Then she turns her smile to the ladies, and away from the encroaching night.

"You both skate?" she asks, betraying the level of her isolation. Literally everyone knew, or so they may have thought. Then Ororo, in her tower, knows so much and misses the important things in life.

Jean Grey has posed:
"Yeah, I don't think I've roller-skated since I was a little kid, doing it in the family driveway." That one may be a little old-fashioned even for Jean! "And I never have the time to find an indoor rink to practice. So it's been since last year that I put my skates on," she muses thoughtfully. "But it is sort of like riding a bike. You don't really forget, at least not the basics. The muscle memory is there."

Settled in place, she reaches for one of the chocolates, putting both hands on the cup as if to siphon off some of its warmth into her extremities. The fact that it's Rogue who offers to spike them as well doesn't seem like it's much of a surprise, earning an eye-roll from Jean as opposed to the greater sort of outrage one might expect of a teacher catching underage drinking on the grounds. Instead, she informs the other woman: "Just so you know, I found your stash in the uh, special office, the other day." And confiscated it for her own use, no doubt!

"Yeah, we all went out on the lake a couple nights ago." Jean turns to Ororo as she offers the explanation, and then glances outward toward the direction of of the water. "I grew up in this area, and we've always gotten cold winters, so it ends up being a pretty common seasonal activity. I was actually thinking that sometime we oughta have a trip down to the city with the students and see Rockerfeller Center. You know, see the tree, skate a bit, maybe go over to see the winter market at Bryant Park do do gift shopping."

Emma Frost has posed:
    "I smell hot chocolate." Emma says, her blonde head poking into the room with some fervor she rarely shows for anything. Ice Hockey and family arguments where there's yelling, and throwing of wine flutes across the dinning table. A past time of the Frost family. The former White Queen pokes her head out onto the balcony from within the mansion and she has her nose up in the air and sniffing. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" The woman asks as she steps out, yes still wearing the hoodie and sweatpants. Not the same ones, but the same style.

    A look around reveals to Emma what she could have already felt and heard, "Good afternoon Ororo, Anna, Marie, I'm still not sure what you prefer to think of yourself as, you've got... too many in there." Emma says with a motion of a finger towards Rogue and circles her a few times like a sports broadcaster. "And Jean. Lovely sweet thoughtful Jean." Emma says as she approaches the trio of powerful women, and she looks to lean against the railing with a smile upon her face. "That night on the ice was wonderful, Jean and Rogue are both cheaters though." Emma warns Ororo, if she should dare try and skate with those two.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is smiling over at Storm's words about warmth in her hands, as there's a descriptive comfort to that that plays well in the sweet summer child that Rogue is at heart. Born in the south and all, she grew up in the outdoors, enjoying hot days and steamy nights! "I can drink t'that." She says with a little grin that is shared over toward Jean who speaks of their skating and then of Rogue's hidden stash.

She has to shake her head. "No idea what you're talkin' about, Sugah." Rogue softly says back to the redhead, before partaking in another sip of her drink. "Why I never even go inta that office behind the bookshelf, with the wonderful little window that looks out over the tennis courts." A big smile is held after another sip of her hot tea.

Emma's arrival gets a look over at the woman. She snickers a little at her. "Anna-Marie Elizabeth D'Ancanto Carlyle Rogue, also known as MIghty Woman. But if I were t'choose one, I'd just go with Rogue. It's the easiest... though I do kinda like Marie, as it rolls off the tongue pretty well, wouldn't ya say?"

"And I first started skatin' on a skate board, cause it was easy t'roll around on it, using the flight power t'propel myself along in Salem Center, without raising eyebrows. There's a skate park down there too, in Apple Park, where some'a the kids would help show me how t'do tricks'n such. And ya know, other stuff." She says with another little grin and a smile toward Jean.

"Can I be the 'Mistress' of somethin' here, Jean? So I don't have t'go back t'that diner job next summe'ah?"

Ororo Munroe has posed:
The simplicity of the idea of a trip to the city gains Ororo's thoughts, though not her voice. She feels that the truly obvious things in life should be acted upon, not chattered about. Thus if it is right, it will be made to happen and nothing that they say or do will hinder. Her entire life is based around the mechanisms of fate, so it is unsurprising that she has a philosophy on the same lines.

It also tends to lend to being listened to, when you don't speak unless your words are important. Your intent has power, in life as well as in your own heart.

Emma walks in and draws Ororo's senses. She answers without turning to look; neither of them needs anything so mundane as a glance in order to attend. "You knew, Emma. Come, the cup is of the perfect temperature." Scalding? For all Emma has done, Ororo has rarely spoken a word of judgement. Perhaps because they were both gods, in their own fashion.

Then she turns to look at Rogue a moment. She frowns, then, and seems to lose herself in thought. After an aeon, she speaks, and it isn't what's likely expected. "Emma, would you help me with a name? I haven't the proper words, not for that which you all are, to me. And I think you deserve to know."

Jean Grey has posed:
"Lovely, sweet AND thoughtful? What did I do?" Jean wonders, as this seems the sort of introduction that usually comes when someone has done something wrong... or someone needs a favor. "Or what do you want?" Yet the question is asked with a laugh, a lightness to her overall manner bolstered by the flattery, genuine or otherwise.

However, she does have to correct one point, less Ororo think less of her: "We only cheated a very little. I'm a good skater! But Rogue, one way or another, with her strength or her own cheating, was way too fast to keep up with." It seems essential that her honor be maintained, here!

Quickly to Rogue: "Oh good, then you won't miss it. Good stuff, by the way."

And quickly back to Ororo: "With a name for what?"

And while it might seem like Rogue's question is a little frivolous, likely to be brushed off, Jean actually seems to take it seriously, sitting back into the seat, letting her gaze drift out over the grounds. "If you work here officially, you get a salary," she explains. "The teachers have to live, after all. We're not all Warren or Emma. And the school is a real business, and so we have to observe the various labor laws and things like that." This is the good news. The bad? "But if you work here, you have to work. And follow rules."

Emma Frost has posed:
    "Excuse me, but I busted my ass for my fortune, still do, in fact, ... as I heard Ororo here mentioning, action must be taken, we need to go to the city. I need clothes. Badly." Emma says in a huff before looking towards Rogue and blinking, "I like Marie, but you will now be called Might-Woman. Solely because you said it." Emma then lifts her hand and 'knights' Rogue. "I bequeath thee. Might-Woman."

    Emma lowers her hand from Rogue's shoulder and leans against the banister of the balcony with an elbow, before she lifts her nose to sniff the air again and calmly reaches for the hot cup of chocolate. "What do you have in mind Ororo." The weight of the moment doesn't pass across Emma without her knowing that this is something deeply important to Ororo and she should understand that this isn't trivial.

    Catching on, Emma, reaches out with her hands to take Jean's hand in hers and Rogues in her others, trying to make a circle for them and then a soft nod to Ororo, "Hit us."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes go to Jean primarily, due to the more business-y side of talking about jobs and salaries. A slow grin forms over her lips, as she holds her cup in front of her chin between her green gloved hands. "I'm a lotta things, t'be sure, but lazy isn't one'a them. Ya'll know I only sleep three or four hours a night, right? I'm up by five, always down t'the base for Scott's trainin' and such, then always out and about the rest'a the day. I don't like video games, I grew up /not/ on a cell phone. And truth be told? I kinda liked that job at the diner. It had me outside, talkin' t'folks, and generally they were all pretty receptive toward me, damn near pleased t'see me, no less." Is this a job interview? Is she trying to sell herself?!

Probably not, she loves talking herself up!

Rogue's eyes go over toward Emma as she feels the woman reaching for her hand, and she darts her gaze between the two of them. Emma's words linger in the cool early night air. "You busted your ass for your fortune, or other people bus---" She pauses, lowers the volume of her voice and sips her drink. "Nevermind..."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
"You would do well in a starting position. Perhaps a student advisor." She says this to Rogue, though she is perhaps a touch distracted. She looks to Emma, then her eyes open.

It isn't a mistake. Her eyes, her physical eyes, were there. But they were not truly looking, and for an instant it could be understood what that means. Ororo reaches out to each child here, be it the telepath, the kinetic, or the absorbing one, and truly looks at them. And then...at what they are.

Rogue is not 'Belle' or any word as such. Ororo sees her, and this is shared, and the distance placed about her to protect others becomes a wall. A wall of wind, raising up others toward the skies, Ororo knows her heart. And she shows Belle how the world sees her, how much she tries to keep them all safe. The southern winds, prone to tornadoes, but which also caress the souls of those they care for. This, is how she is seen. This is her true name.

Jean is looked upon as well. The sun's setting, a sign of power untold, hidden but with joy, it cries out to the entire world, I love thee, let me show you your beauty. And it turns the simplest things to gold, with the tiniest bit of what it has within. Jean Grey is the sun itself, you see the lines of power reaching out from her, Ororo sees them every day. The ways the world relies upon her, and she is wanted by...there are too many, too much. She is not self-contained, she is more than the world. And yet, it leaves her somehow distant. Sad, with joy as well. It is an epic sight.

Emma Frost crosses Ororo's vision, and there is an instant before the wall goes back down. A presence that is aware of too much, a cascading reflection. Cascading, that is a good choice of words; as power touches her it grows, reflects inside, and the core...it is simple. For all her dreams, all her wants, there is something simple inside Emma Frost. Emma Frost is a lightning strike, a catalyst. A teaching moment, painted in not ice, but in water.

Then the sight fades. How much is retained of that vision, that is for you to decide.

"Well...yes. An advisor, and perhaps a recruiter. You'd do well to help bring in children in need." She speaks as if this is simply normalcy. For her, perhaps it was.

Jean Grey has posed:
"The winter market I was talking about isn't exactly a place for designer clothing, Emma," Jean points out, lest their newest acquaintance get the wrong idea. "You can get a lot of hats or scarves, gloves, those kind of things? But mostly handmade. It's more of a big crafts fair. But it's a great place to get small, unique things that make great little gifts. And we'll all be needing plenty of those, I figure." But then, a moment later, she admits: "Of course it's still midtown Manhattan so there's no shortage of fancy places you can duck into while the rest of us go deal-hunting in the park!"

That's a sneaky trick, making their poor people thrift-excursion sound like something fun!

Rogue's protestations of an admirable work ethic do nothing but make her smile. As much as she knows her to be a troublemaker, she knows that all of that is true as well. "I think Ororo has the right idea. You're still young, so anything working with the students, you'd have an advantage. Like with Kitty." Which makes her stop, and consider: "Maybe you should -ask- Kitty, as that basically is her job. Or you might be able to help her, somehow." She lifts her hot chocolate, or rather, it's swept up in an expressive gesture and she seems to realize it's there in her hand, and pauses to take a sip. "Point is, there's opportunities."

Whether by psychic feedback or whatever other more esoteric process, she then catches a glimpse of herself in Ororo's mind's eye. It makes her smile, although maybe, there's a feeling of doubt that comes with it. It's a very sunny vision of her, warm. It misses the part that outright burns.

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma does note she's the last to go when being revealed her truest nature by Ororo, and while not Tornado, or a FLIPPING STAR, Emma is pleased with her own assessment, and as such, Emma slowly opens her own eyes, and then... feels more like a blustering thunder at best as she looks down at herself. The woman isn't her truest self while wearing a borrowed grey hoodie and sweatpants combo. Emma takes her hands back and then crosses the two and simply hugs Ororo in a deep and meaningful embrace and whispers two words.

    Letting go, Emma turns to look back at Jean and Rogue. "Can we go now? I need. NEED something custom on my skin. I'm having withdrawls." Emma looks hopeful, expectant, /hungry/ to be back to who she is. She's helping kids and the X-Men now, and now she needs to look like how she feels and who she is.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's focused on Storm's visionary display summing the trio of X-Women up, and her own reaction is to summon a big smile at it, her chin tipped up and her eyes locked on that of the African goddess. She listens to the others reacting to it before she takes her hand back from the woman dying of custom clothing withdrawals.. and blows a kiss to Storm.

"You're the most beautiful, Stormy." Rogue says back to the graceful goddess. "And I definitely feel like a tornado comin' up from the south t'terrorize the north east sometimes. Specially if I get all kindsa worked up..."

As she relaxes back in to her chair, her eyes go back over to Jean, who gets a soft smile and then a glance down at her drink. She shakes her head. "Kitty'n I don't work so well t'gether. She's... ya know... one'a those super smart types. We get along in a social capacity like sisters, but in a work capacity? She ends up just wantin' t'do all the work herself, because she's so so so smart. Sittin' there eatin' a whole box'a Crunchberries, while I just throw snacks at her dragon t'keep myself entertained. Don't think it'd go so well."

Emma gets another look before Rogue motions out toward the darkening skies. "It's like 7 O'Clock, Emma Frost. You wanna drive down t'New York t'buy a buncha crap? You need t'stay in those sweats a lil'longer, if ya ask me..."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
What Ororo may keep inside of her is kept within, now. The glimpse was enough, and apparently worthy of kisses, hugs, and smiles. "I am, perhaps, optimistic," she says to temper the visions, whispering two words back to Emma. "It is your best selves; we all know that there is more to any story."

Then she looks between them, having missed some of the interaction in her vision, lost in space and time. Then says, "Are we to go shopping? I am in need of a scarf." She can cause the world to warm to suit her tastes, and she 'needs' a scarf? It is possible that she lies. Or that she wishes to be fashionable.

Though with those pants, it is likely she merely caught a passing thought.

Jean Grey has posed:
"Part of being a working adult means getting along with your coworkers, even if you don't want to." Yes, Jean is definitely leveraging this situation to force Rogue to face the horrors of adulting. And worse, it seems like she's enjoying it, the sadist that she is. "But we can call this 'to be decided'- there's no reason we have to nail down a job title for you. Think about it, a little. And it's not like we're going to throw you out if you can't make rent." Thus, the Belle is spared the worst horrors of such ponderings, at least for now.

But wait- they're actually talking about turning this trip into something now?

"It is pretty late, Emma. If we want to make it down before things close, we'd really need to make good time." It doesn't sound like she's wholly discounting the possibility. "If you really want to go shopping, maybe we could just go out to Salem Center and see what's still open?"

"... though they really do have nice scarfs," she admits to Ororo. "Beautiful patterns." See? You don't NEED a reason to get a scarf.

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma blushes the briefest red below her eyes as she pulls away from Ororo and then her attention is brought back to the now. Jean and Rogue are basically telling her to suffer longer in this bland old navy clothing. "Please, I didn't even make fun of Rogue for bragging about not having a phone growing up..." Emma says, her eyes turning to plead to Jean, "Lets take that SUV down stairs, the four of us, and I'll get everyone a scarf, I just need to call ahead to the shop and at least one will stay late knowing we're coming." (She means I, but she did say We) Emma explains. She's a known socialite and known to spend great ammounts on her sprees when clothing is the main focus. "Please..." Emma pleads one last time.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
As she has noted earlier, Ororo is not one to talk when fate is controlling things. She will go where the winds carry her. Or in this case, an SUV. Since it is a lightning strike which hits, and with a simple plea, forces Fate's hand.

She walks from the room, lifting her jacket from a peg. It is a soft thing, far too light for the weather, but she cheats and all know this. She will be waiting by the car.

You know. For when Jean and Rogue figure out they're going shopping. Not if, when.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue exhales softly and moves to stand up. "Fine fine..." She says. "It's Friday, after all, I guess." She'd been mulling over what Jean said about Kitty, and she certainly wasn't against working with Kitty... they'd been on again, off again room mates in the past two years anyway. Genuises are just hard to work with is all!

As she rises up she steps over to the balcony's edge and pulls a little silver flask out of her jacket to dump a bunch in to her tea, then downs it and turns to set the cup down. Her gloved hands come up to brush her hair back over her shoulders. "Okay, lets do this...." The Belle announces, marching now toward the double french doors that lead back inside.

Jean Grey has posed:
Are they really doing this?

Well, Ororo is getting up to go, and she's one person even Jean would hesitate to argue with! And maybe Emma kind of deserves a treat for being good.

"Fiiiiine, but- we're going to have to speed. I think it closes around eight and it's easily an hour down to the city without traffic. But if I remember right, sometimes they stay open a little later close to Christmas- I figure they might do the same on Black Friday." All hail consumerism!

She also doesn't point out that three of the four of them have a very convenient shortcut they could use, because that would be mean to Emma.

Cut in a few minutes later, down in the garage. Jean is driving, because Rogue is Rogue (and she might take that bit about speeding a little too seriously) and she assumes Emma is a little too used to having a chauffeur. And she knows the roads pretty well. "Buckle up, kids."

Emma Frost has posed:
    Emma doesn't much wait for Jean and Rogue, but they weren't waiting either, though Rogue did seem content to argue with even the brick work about her getting a free job. "Come along Tornado Alley, I'll get you something yellow, or green." Emma says with a shrug as she leaves the double doors and didn't even get a hot chocolate. She sneaks back for a moment to steal the cup and takes it with her in the SUV.

    "Lets go red! ... This is itchy as ****" Emma says, before taking another sip of her hot chocolate, and refuses to be admonished for having it in the car.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is in the garage waiting by the car. She's got her silver flask and a black thermos. She'd smirked at Emma about the green and yellow comments, everyone knows that they're her favorite colors, though she certainly wears others too!

Inside the Garage though, she's just sipping from her thermos and looking at her phone until the Driver known as Jean Elaine Grey arrives. That's when she opens up the door behind the driver seat and crawls in to sit behind Jean.

"Looks like places are stayin' open later t'night and through the weekend. So Emma got lucky t'get this itch up her butt at this time'a year, I guess." Rogue announces, having been checking store times in Manhattan on her phone.

"Place is gonna be bonkers though, if someone bumps inta me... it's not my fault." Though she's bundled up in dark blue jeans, black leather boots, her dark grey peacoat, a wool knit hat on her head and a dark green v-neck sweater that hangs just over the waistline of her low-cut jeans. So at least she's well covered!

Jean Grey has posed:
For those familiar with Jean Grey: straightlaced Headmistress, the very idea that she could break any law might seem preposterous. But here they are, flying down I-684 at a good fifteen over the limit. Fortunately, the holiday actually works for them here: the busiest traffic day of the year may have been two days ago, but by this subsequent Friday night, most have either made it back home... or were staying where they are through the weekend. So the roads are pretty empty, making this less reckless. And as they get closer to NYC, they're well past rush hour. The FDR proves managable, and soon they're on 42nd, closing in on their destination.

When they're at the light facing the east side of the park, she looks over at Emma. "If you're looking for actual clothes, maybe you'd rather get out here and meet us by the tree?" They are crossing 5th avenue, as it happens. That seems more like the White Queen's style. "Yeah look, there's a ZARA, and there's a couple more." Regardless of whether Emma is going to break down and come FLEA MARKET-ing with them, she turns and soon finds a parking spot. While this might seem normal, the chances of finding one make it more likely she was wide-range telepathically scanning the entire area to know when someone was about to pull out. The things she does for her friends!

"Here we are, kids!" There are numerous entrances, to the park, and beyond the nearest, they can see the lines of temporary store kiosks, as well as the glow of the newly-erected Christmas tree in the distance.

Emma Frost has posed:
    "I just need something to wear that's not grey and that's much more 'me' than this." Emma says with a smile that says 'Sorry-Not Sorry' at the same time, before she turns to Rogue, "If you need, you can walk around with diamond skin for the night, but that'll draw more attention. Though it'll give us, mostly Jean the night off from hearing your pervy thoughts about her." Emma winks up towards the rear view mirror before she's already opening the door, knowing Rogue wont want that power. "I'll go get something real quick and then catch up with you. It's way easier than you might think." Emma smirks devilishly before she's off and walking towards the more upscale shops that are her stomping grounds.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had been in the back of the SUV with Ororo on her right. She'd been talking to the older woman a bit and showing / sharing pics with her between their phones throughout the ride. Mainly pics and video of Jeepers though, Storm seemed to enjoy the little doggie and his rambunctious personality.

When they make it in to the city, Rogue takes the charger out of her phone from the USB port in the center console, then slides the fully charged device into her coat's inner left pocket.

She raises her hand up and adjusts the hat on top of her head, then looks forward to Emma to smirk at her. "Maybe sometime..." She says about the Diamond skin. "If I touch ya for even a few seconds though, you'll be out least the rest'a the night, maybe a whole day, so that's probably a bad idea."

As she's getting out of the vehicle, she hears the 'dirty thoughts about Jean' comment and smirks. "That's misleadin'. I have dirty thoughts about all've ya." She states in a matter-of-fact sort of way, because it's true, she does.

With her hands in her pockets she waits to see Emma off toward her fancy stores. "I feel like we just took Bigfoot back to the forest." Rogue says to Jean in a dry tone of her husky southern voice.

Jean Grey has posed:
"I actually can't imagine that it's hard when you walk in with a black card. Takes all the 'choice' out of the whole thing, really. 'Yes, I'll take... everything.'" Jean's just teasing, though. "We'll see you inside." Of course, taking just a moment for the blonde to depart their presence, she looks over at Rogue's little comment and grins. "Right?" Emma is back with her people!

For the remaining three X-women, the jolly environment of the holiday market is soon upon them. The pop up stores each have their own little temporary building (green, mostly with large display windows all around), all of these laid out in rows with space between them for the shoppers. While cold permeates, many of the shops will have a small space heater on the floor or hanging just over the doorway, blasting the customers, while their owners stand ready to help encourage a sale. Like everything in New York, it's cuthroat business, as she visitors, equally tourists and locals, tend to window shop far more than they buy- so the ability to close a sale is key!

As for the products, well, jewelry, hats and scarves, soaps and body oils, and food items are the major categories. The rest are split between all variety of curious and often truly unique artwork, strange collectibles, some toys and puzzles, and entirely seasonal supplies like Christmas ornaments. Jean actually seeks out a place in this last category first: she's clearly been here before. "I buy a new one every year, its nice to keep adding to thre tree."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is right behind Jean as Ororo is just behind Rogue. Needless to say the three of them garner a lot of looks from people as they walk together through the crowds, and it makes it a little bit more fun because of it.

As they pass through that flowing wave of hot air in to the store, Rogue's eyes first go up to one of the televisions within it. On the television they're running a replay of Wonder Woman participating in a Slam Dunk competition from last night's Knicks half-time show. It's been all over the news all day in fact. Rogue just grins at it and shakes her head before looking around at some of the store's offerings.

"Ororo---" Rogue turns around, but the white haired beauty has already darted off toward the scarves. "She was not kiddin', leaving fire trails behind her." Rogue says to Jean then, quickly looking over to see if the redhead had ditched her too. "You're right though, I should work with Kitty, I just worry about her ... I dunno. Sometimes she makes me feel stupid. Silly, I guess."

Is it though?!

Rogue picks up the edge of a nice dark green and red pancho, running the tassels hanging off of it through her gloved fingers, imagining how soft they must feel, but she can't take her gloves off in a place like this...

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean has not ditched Rogue, not so spectacularly as Ororo anyway- these stores are packed close together, and with the little kiosks on both sides of the pedestrian path, one can browse a little without going far. She's just across the way, looking at the hand-painted glass balls. They're all beautiful, and her difficulty becomes one of picking among too many good choices, rather than finding something she likes. IE, the opposite of being Emma Frost!

But eventually Jean settles, purchasing an ornament with an interesting design: rather than being totally opaquely painted, it has a kind of semi-transluscent frosted glass that gives the impression of looking through a snowstorm, over which the traditional painted elements are added: a few snowy trees, a cabin, and a little pond. Maybe she's thinking back to the skating- or maybe it's just pretty.

Soon, she's back over behind Rogue, watching touch the fabric. Jean reaches out as well, so her hand is next to the young woman's, and in that instant, transmits the feeling to her. "They're pretty lax around here though. You could probably just rub it on your nose."

Rogue has posed:
When Jean appears beside her, Rogue realizes whats happening when she can suddenly feel the material on her fingers which makes her look up and over at the redhead with a big displayed grin. She follows that with a little laugh and a shake of her head. "Nah. I don't wanna get us kicked outta here for wipin' my nose on their inventory." She jests.

Her eyes drop down to that ball that Jean had picked out, she holds her hands out to take a look at it, peaks inside the box and then closes it back up and hands it back. "So pretty." She says to Jean with a little grin. As she turns around though, she starts to walk deeper into the store space. "I'll still skate circles around'a, Red. Don't you forget it."

Rogue ventures toward Ororo, but stops halfway at some Men's items. She sorts through some of the items on offering and finds a set of argyle socks. "Yep. This has the Professah written all over'em." She says as she clearly intends to buy them before adding a scarf of similar pattern. "Gotta keep'im happy, after all, less he wises up and actually design t'toss my ass out inta the snow."

Jean Grey has posed:
"... you realize they actually have a skating rink here, right? I doubt there's time, but you're risking a rematch!"

However, for the time being, Jean contents herself to just shop, and leaves the skating rivalry to be resolved at a later time. She stays with Rogue, rather than taking off for another kiosk, looking around through some of the other knitted goods the place seems to be so full of. "Let me see? Oh yes, those are perfect," she agrees on the Professor Socks. "That's why I love coming here. Its easy to find gifts, and they have... character. Actually, maybe I'll grab something here in a different pattern for Logan." Or someone. Another trick is just buying fun stuff and figuring out if you end up short on gifts later. "I know there's another place that has engraved lighters and flasks and things, so that's another choice."

Also: "I'm the one who decides who gets tossed out on their butts these days, missy. Don't you forget it!"

Emma Frost has posed:
    "Do you two realize how easy it is to find you in a crowd?" Asks the blonde woman who rode with them, only now she's wearing... she's wearing a scarf and holding a cup holder with four different cups of store bought 'coffee'. Emma smiles as she pulls out, "Ororo. This one's yours." And passes it off to the queen.

    "Jean. Here you are." Emma hands Jean a cup with the name spelled 'Geen' Cause Barista.

    Then she finally hands Rogue hers, "Tornado. Oooo." Emma says with a smile, not really being mean, but teasing yeah.

    "You all find anything good or do I need to preemptively order the school a round of tetanus shots?" A look around would show Emma this place is a lot more quality than she might realize, but she does have outrageous standards.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes are down on some of the products, but she's laughing softly at Jean's warning of a possible rematch happening here in the city. "I won't back down, but we might have t'rent the whole rink so everyone is watchin' me school you--" She looks over at Jean, green eyes to green eyes. "Headmistress!" She states, showing a lopsided grin there-after.

She pays for the stuff for Xavier, thanks the merchant and carries the bag they'd put it in with her to catch up to Jean at the next kiosk over. "Logan, huh?" She asks, sidling up behind Jean right over her left shoulder, she leans over it and whispers to the redhead in her flawless French. "Le porterais-tu dans sa cabine pour lui?" She teases, her voice playing up the words she speaks to keep them appropriately playfully spicy.

As she leans back away from the other, her eyes turn then to regard the arrival of Emma with her coffee. A soft smile is shown to the woman as hers is accepted. "Thanks." She says, looking her over. "You look nice." A compliment. Rogue raises her cup up now to sip from it as she starts to scan around the area. "I need t'get something for Hank. I think he and that girl broke up... he needs a pick me up."

Jean Grey has posed:
"It'd probably be a bit more of an attention grabber than we'd want, just at the moment." Indeed, it is about as far as one could get from their lake in terms of being private and rustic-feeling. Well, maybe the actual Rockerfeller rink - star of so many movies - would be worse, but only by fractions. She, too, ends up with a few items here a plaid patterned wool scarf of more the 'keeping warm' than 'fashion accessory' variety, and more socks. Extra gifts are always wise! "No, not these days," she answers - she's not a gifted linguist, but you pick things up when you're a telepath, and 'cabine' comes across pretty much to anyone. "But it's not like I'm not getting all of them something. Scott too, Warren and Han- wait what girl?"

With their loot in hand, and conversation ongoing, Jean and Rogue emerge into the pedestrian walk, which isn't nearly as crowded at these hours as it could be, yet is STILL pretty crowded, because it's New York and the place is open! So it is impressive Emma finds them. But the bigger surprise is the coffees!

"Oh great, thanks, I could really use somethin to warm me up," she offers gratefully, accepting her poorly-spelled cup. "Did you get a chance to shop? I don't see bags. Is it all getting shipped to you?" She seems serious, less than teasing, now. "We've got a few things, but there's still the whole other side to see. Coming with?"

Emma Frost has posed:
    "No, no bags, not yet." Emma reports to Jean, "Custom orders tend to take some time. You know I can't just buy stuff off the rack. I mean, I can, but why should i?" She says with a lift of her hands, as if she really doesn't know why she should wear something that doesn't fit her perfectly. Emma tosses the drink holder into a recycling bin near by and wraps the scarf around her mouth and head twice before she lifts a finger into the air and smiles behind her warmth. "I'm... actually going to borrow the keys and go hide in the car until you're both done. I heard Hank had a hell of a break up, get him something nice for me. You know what he likes more than I do." The White Queen notes before she holds out her hand for the keys and either way will walk that way. "And it's not you I'm looking for, it's the guys staring at you three that I look for. Pervs everywhere." She turns and points at the unknowns around them and raises her voice slightly, "Every one of ya." And with that, Emma turns to go hide in annonymity.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's eyes go from Emma, to Jean, then back to Emma. She watches the woman wrap that brand new scarf around her face and scurry off with the keys, after hearing her talk about her custom made clothing taking time. Only thing Rogue has ever had custom fit made for her is her X-Men suits, the green and gold and the nwer one that is green and white that she hasn't even worn yet.

After Emma calls people near them 'pervs' and runs away, Rogue sips her drink and then looks back to Jean. "Did Bigfoot just come back and steal our car?" She asks, lingering a stare before smiling faintly and turning back toward the other, as Ororo is making her way toward them again too.

"Hank was in a thing with a lady from Gotham all summer, but I heard that that ... uh, ended? Partly why he's been so... ya know, feral lately, I think. I dunno. He's hard t'pin down for a chat, that one. Hidin' in his labs so much."

Bumping shoulders with Jean then, Rogue looks over at her. "Where we headed next?" She asks with a brighter smile then.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean surrenders the keys without any worry, and then likewise watches Emma vanish back into her lair, shaking her head in amusement. She doesn't seem too worried about the SUV. "We're the ones who can fly, so jokes on her. Does she even know how to drive?" See, when you fail at mashed potatoes, people start to question your basic life skills.

"Ah. I didn't know, or well, not any of the details. He does keep busy, and a bit to himself, even in his better moods." Pausing a moment to think back on it, she gives a bit of an 'ah' as she pieces things together. "Must have been after I went down to help him with Jim's checkup, I think that was the last we had any real face-to-face, and I saw how rough he was when we went after Kitty. I guess I thought it was because of what happened with her, not something else."

Prompted where they're going, Jean doesn't actually speak up to answer, letting her feet do the walking while she does the talking. "Unfortunately a broken heart is one of those things where there's no easy fix." The path she leads takes them through more shops. The familiar themes repeat, although there are some fun oddities: a place that sells recycled scrap metal figureines of incredible detail (and sometimes, scale- they have a full size Boba Fett!), a luxury store just for dogs, and another that focuses solely on reprinted photography from Brooklyn in the 70s, now available on a variety of t-shirts, posters, buttons, and other things. Among them, Jean finds the place with the afforementioned custom manly accessories.