4486/Christmas Eve Comes Once A Year

Christmas Eve Comes Once A Year
Date of Scene:	24 December 2020
Location:	Library
Synopsis:	Hot chocolate is the beverage of choice as Drake learns a bit more about the school, and contemplates with Warren and Kitty how he might help out.
Cast of Characters:	Drake Riley, Kitty Pryde, Warren Worthington

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Drake Riley has posed:
The first Christmas spent away from family, far from the west coast. The scenery is debatably better, but the sense of disconnection is pretty severe. It isn't homesickness afflicting Drake, and he doesn't yearn for the situation he'd pulled out of back home. But there remains something intangibly uncomfortable about it; it was a conscious decision to abandon a bad scenario. But this would be a consequence of that decision. Drake isn't entirely sure how to cope with that.

Lacking any real connections within the Institute and nothing meaningful to do with himself this holiday, the teen has placed himself in the library. Not many people here, and for good reason - it's Christmas Eve. Everyone else has places to be, right? But Drake's settled in with a book of what appears to be a particularly dry subject material, seated at a desk. His elbow rests propped on the surface, his cheek subsequently propped in open palm, atypically dull gaze drifting listlessly over the text.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
There's a sound from the hallway. A bit of a fluttering. Is that wings? It surely is, as a few moments later a small purple dragon flies in through the doorway. He hovers just inside of the library for a few moments as he looks around. Yellow eyes without pupils seem to end up directed at Drake.

The dragon's body tips forward and his wings push him that with a long sweep through the air. He comes to alight on the table where Drake is, just a little further down it. His head tilts in what a human would call a quizzical manner as he regards Drake.

Drake Riley has posed:
Fortunately, Drake had met said dragon already. So there will be no freaking out at the sudden appearance of an otherwise mythological creature. It does, however, startle him from his trance-like state with an upright jerk.

"Oh, hey lil' buddy," he greets, the pitch in his voice mildly raised in typical 'I am addressing a cat' manner. "You're... uh..." Shoot. He can't remember the name. He squints slightly, half expecting the creature to helpfully chime in. But with that not happening, he glances over his shoulder. "Your owner around..?" Last he really talked to Kitty was pool-side, and tinged with disappointment. But he's not seeing anyone else. It's down to just a guy and a dragon.

"Out roaming?," he asks, finally returning his gaze to the dragon. "Got nowhere else to be either, huh?"

Warren Worthington has posed:
Making his way into the library from the outside hallway with his face buried in a book, the angelic wings attached to his back folding in just a hair to fit through the doorway. The sometimes Angel takes a couple steps inside, before pausing and looking up as he senses others in the room.

Warren shuts the book closed, and lifts a hand with a smile, "Oh...hey," he says to Drake before shifting his eyes over to Lockhead and his grin widens a bit like someone who just saw a puppy. "Lockhead! How you doing, rascal? Gave you free roam of the place, huh?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
The dragon doesn't gives his name. But he does plop down on the table, sprawling out like he plans to lay there for awhile. When Warren comes in he lifts his head, wings swishing about a bit in what might be called a manner that is happy to see the feathered mutant.

There's the sound of someone else at the doorway. Kitty steps in, wearing a pair of jeans and a thick sweater. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail though a few strands have managed to slip free and dangle along a cheek. She's carrying a tray with steaming mugs on it.

"Anyone interested in hot chocolate?" she asks. She carries the tray over to Drake's table, stopping to give Warren a tiny, playful hip bump on the way. But not too big of one so she doesn't spill. The top of the hot chocolate is frothy marshmallow cream, with a little heart done in darker fluid in the center of each. There's enough mugs for everyone.

Drake Riley has posed:
Ironically, enter an individual immediately after Drake had surveyed the area. But the name called rings a bell, and he quickly adds, "Lockheed! That's right, Lockheed." He lifts his left hand to lightly rub an index finger over the dragon's head - the first attempted contact with the thing-that-probably-shouldn't-be-real. He's come a long way. At least in his mind.

The other dude isn't someone he recognizes, but he gets a polite nod in greeting. And in strolls the erstwhile Kitty, carrying a tray as if she expected to find them. It earns a surprised blink, his gaze trailing her as she joins his table.

"Uh, sure. But..," he pauses, glancing to the hot chocolate. That really did sound good, he wasn't just being polite. But he's abstaining for just a moment longer, if for no other reason than politeness. "Making the rounds with chocolate?," he asks. "How've ya been?"

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren Worthington laughs in amusement as Kitty walks past him and hip-checks him. "Sure, Kat. I'll take one," the winged mutant confirms as he makes his way over towards the table to retrieve one of the mugs and give Lockhead a rub on his head. Teasing Kitty he grins and looks to her, "So, this is what you do around here now a days? Lounge around and drink hot cocoa? I remember it being much more...difficult. But then again, I had other classes at the university and other duties as well. I barely had time to put my feet on the ground."

Warren takes a moment to blow into the hot chocolate, cooling it down enough so he doesn't end up scalding his lips on the liquid prior to taking a sip, offering out his other hand to Drake.

"Warren Worthington, former student, etc."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde sets one of the mugs down in front of Drake, effectively making up his mind for him if he hasn't by then. Lockheed seems to enjoy the attention from everyone, leaning his head into the various scritches and rubs he's getting. Especially when they are given around where his horns meet his head.

Kitty smiles and says, "I'm good. Well, it is Christmas Eve and all. Even if I don't really celebrate it like the rest of you, I figure I can help spread some joy and good cheer," she tells both men. "And so far there haven't been any emergencies that needed us, so I figure take advantage of moments like this while we can, right?"

She picks up her own mug, blowing on it to cool it as well. "Made it with condensed milk," she comments. She can't cook, but Kitty does ok with beverages. "Warren are we still on for lunch and that tour of your place?" she asks. She motions to Warren. "He's got a little company you might have heard of. Worthington Industries," she says. They rival Boeing as an airline manufacturer. And produce a great line of ice creams too. Well-known company.

Drake Riley has posed:
To someone like Drake, the business world is basically whale noises. He's lived in a microcosm of personal tribulations and hard choices, never really having the inclination to look at things in a larger scope. But the last name is at least kind of familiar. Either way, the hand is taken and given a shake with tongue-in-cheek introduction: "Drake Riley, current nobody." The mention of lunch and a tour gets a side-glance to Kitty, then back to Warren, and a polite clearing of his throat.

Attention shifts to the chocolate before him, hands settling around it to move the warm liquid a little further from the open pages more directly in front of him. "'Needed us', huh?," he asks, glancing again to Kitty; once again reminded that she and a couple others at the Institute, are technically superheroes. It remains a point of admiration.

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren Worthington "Oh, I'm sure that isn't true at all," Warren comments as he looks to Drake, reaching his hand out to clasp the younger man's shoulder. "Sometimes it just takes time to find who you are, but it never turns out to be 'nobody'. There is always somebody."

The blonde smiles and takes another sip from his cocoa as he turns to Kitty, "Of course! You know you are welcome anytime, right? Not that I could stop you just dropping in even if I wanted to," he jokes with a wink. "Quiet is always good. Some of my fondest memories of this place were during the downtimes. It's not every day I get to nail Scott in the back of the head with a snowball. I should repeat that...if for no reason other than it is Scott." He grins. "Take it when you can get it. As good a motto for life as it is in business."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde sips her hot chocolate, using both hands to warm them on the cup though she looks warm enough in that thick sweater she's wearing. "Far more than a nobody," Kitty agrees with Warren towards Drake. "We've all been through some version of what you're going through," she tells Drake. "Just ours were a few years in the past. But hopefully we're examples that mutants can find as good of lives as anyone else," she says. "Or better."

Warren's comment on her choice of wording gets a grin from Kitty. "We need a sign, it has been X days since the last alien invasion," she tells him. Lockheed makes a small sound and noses Kitty in the side. She reaches down to pet him. "Yes yes. Except for Lockheed's alien invasion which is still underway, and going swimmingly," she says. She reaches over to the tray and retrieves a little closed tupperware container, opening it up to reveal Cheesy Poofs. She sets the small tub down for Lockheed, who digs in, grabbing one and tossing it up in the air and then catching it in his mouth again on the way down.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley internally cringes a little. It was a joke! He doesn't think poorly of himself! At the worst, he feels fairly useless here and without direction. But it's certainly better than where he's been, and the book he has out in front of him is at least an effort in correcting one of those issues. But there's an awkward smile on his face, regardless, and he raises a hand mildly in halt. "Nono, I'm good, I mean, I'm not down on myself or anything, I was just joking." Yikes.

Hands quickly fold around the mug again, opting to briefly occupy himself with taking a sip from the chocolate; it gives enough of a pause to mentally reset.

He glances to the Cheesy Poofs, then the dragon. A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips in bemusement. "Anyway..," he murmurs, hoping to retread the focus. "I might still be too new to get away with pegging people with snowballs. But do you know if there's anyone who does pool maintenance?" He supports the mug in one hand and taps an index finger against the open pages before him. Upon it, diagrams of filtration systems on one page, and chemical formulae on the other. Thankfully, the latter is a lot less complicated than it appears at first blush. "..figure I could do that to make myself useful. So I'm not just kind'a hanging around."

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren lets out a little 'ah' sound and chuckles. "Got it. Sorry, I've just known to many people come through here that feel that way, so I tend to take it seriously when I hear someone talk like that...and Kitty, well, that's her job. No harm, no foul though. Glad to hear that you are doing well, Drake. As far as pool maintenance, I am almost positive that this place has a pool. At least it did the last time I checked. I don't know who is taking care of it, but I am sure you could help out if you wanted."

Warren grins again, turning to Kitty. "Seriously. If that ever hits triple digits we should throw a huge party, but I think limiting it to alien invasion is a to limiting. We can install it right above the Danger Room. I'm sure Hank can whip something like that up in a nanosecond."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde nods in agreement about the pool maintenance. "Probably something Logan and the Jamies have handled," she says. "Jamie and Jamie and Jamie. I don't know if you've met him yet. But, there's plenty of other stuff they could focus on if that was freed up for them," she tells Drake. Her fingers toy with a Cross of David she's wearing that looks like it has the Tree of Life in the middle of it, adorned with diamonds and topaz. "Then Jamie won't feel pulled so many directions at once." She grins. A joke, that, the kind that probably gets told about the Multiple Man a lot.

Kitty suggests, "Talk to Jean, she can work it out if you'd like to take that on. I think it'd be great," she tells Drake. Another sip is taken of her hot chocolate before she grins and nods to Warren. "As long as it isn't too morale-breaking if it rarely goes above twenty," she teases. "Thank you for bringing out the presents for everyone. That was really nice of you," she tells Warren.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley grins at Warren and bobs a shoulder in a half-shrug. "It's fine. Hard to figure what's gonna hit or miss with this crowd. And it's nice that you two would be real quick with the affirmations. So," he lifts the mug slightly, "cheers," before taking another sip from the contents.

Emerald gaze shifts to Kitty, and he looks disappointed at first. He thought it'd be a solid plan, since he's addicted to the water anyway. He's never done maintenance before on, well, anything. But he's trying to learn. It'd give him more excuse to be around the pool; a setting he finds generally relaxing, centering. And when she suggests talking to Jean, he perks again. It could still work. He needs to study though. He's not likely to be trusted with something on a 'Don't worry, I'll figure it out' basis.

The Danger Room is mentioned, and he spares a glance to Warren. Then to Kitty. Then back to Warren. "The Danger Room? What, the most haunted room in the mansion? A room full of angry gorillas? A room with a springtrapped shotgun on the other side of the door?," he guesses.

Warren Worthington has posed:
At the mention of Logan, Warren mutters, "Ah, that is where you keep him...I was wondering where short and grumpy was," quietly but loud enough. The tone suggests there isn't much love lost between him and Logan. "I was noticing the distinct lack of cigar smoke and animal musk."

He turns to Kitty and smiles again and watching her a moment as she fiddles with the pendant, "Oh, it was the least I could do. I just hope I brought enough... I didn't have a current roster, so I just kinda guessed. If I have to make another run, I'll be happy to do it. I'm glad you liked yours, though. I saw that and it just kind of screamed your name out to me...thought it would be something you would enjoy."

He pauses a moment to take another sip from his mug, leaving a little marshmallow foam mustache over his upper lip. "Scott seemed to be his typical drab self, but maybe even more dower than usual. Anything I should know, or is it just Scott being Scott?"

Drake's comment about the danger room gets a look from Warren, who then turns to look at Kitty? "Opps? Do you want to take this one, or should I? Or should we just push it off onto Hank like irresponsible adults?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde has to stifle a snicker at the cigar and animal musk comment. She tells Drake, "I'm sure Logan or one of the Jamies can help show you the ropes on it too in handing it off. Though honestly I don't know if THEY know what they are doing on it, so probably not a good idea if you read up on it yourself. Logan probably just looks at the water, says, 'Clear enough' and goes to get another beer," Kitty says, affecting a gruff sounding voice for the 'clear enough' quote.

She turns back to Warren, smiling. "I love it," she says, touching the necklace. "You thought right," she confirms. "No, I think Scott was just being himself. You'd think he might be more relaxed. He hasn't had a child from the future show up in months now," she comments.

She perks up at Drake's wondering about the Danger Room. "Oh. Oh that's good," she says, wagging a finger at Drake. She sets down her mug of hot chocolate to pull out her phone and thumb tap on it with a frightening speed. "Room full of angry gorillas. The Simian Simulation," she says as she records the idea. "Would have been great training for dealing with Grod and Sauron's virus that turned people into apes and dinosaurs."

She puts the phone back in her back pocket. "The Danger Room," she says, fielding the question, "Is our training room. It has hard light holograms. So it can be programmed to be most any environment. People can practice flying and fall without hurting themselves. Learn skills, anything from fighting to proper manners at a dinner party for those who didn't grow up with a normal social upbringing," Kitty says. "But as you can tell from the room name, it's original focus was training the hero teams."

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren laughs at the combination of Kitty's joke about Scott's kids plus the excitement she shows about the Simian Simulation. "Oh...great. Now you've done it. I'm going to be flying around dodging flung flaming monkey poo by the end of this visit. Thanks, Drake." the blonde says deadpan, only tossing a good natured wink after a few seconds.

He turns back to Kitty, "So, how many kids is he up to now? Do I even want to know?" He sighs, folding his arms over his chest, "You know, maybe I should be here more often. WI takes up a lot of my time, but I miss....this." he says with a wave of his hand that conveys the mansion grounds.

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley shoots Kitty a wink and bobs his index finger in the air, tracing the letters as he adds, "T-M." Trademarking the angry gorilla room.

The hand lowers again as he studies the necklace, easily noting the intricacy and - perhaps it's the residual hoodrat in him - the latent /price/. There's no way he'd ever be able to afford nice gifts like that. His lower lip is briefly nibbled, distracted by the thought, before the other one comes careening back into focus.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. What?," he asks. The logistics of the Danger Room just landed. "There's a... a frigging holodeck here? That's real? That's a /thing/?"

Questions to be raised about future children and dinosaurs are shelved for the moment. He can only process one mindbending fact at a time!

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde tells Warren, "As far as I know it's still at three. Rachel, Hope and Nate," she tells him. "Not like I'm one to throw stones about people time travelling from the future, after all," she comments to Warren. Warren was there, after all, when Kate Pryde came back 30 years from the future and inhabited Kitty's body to stop the assassination of Senator Kelly, Professor Xavier, and Moira MacTaggert.

Those details are left unspoken though. Just hearing about the time travelers might be enough for Drake to bite off in one sitting without knowing the details. "And yes, the poo will definitely be flaming," Kitty agrees with a grin about the upcoming simulation. She looks back to Drake to confirm. "Yep, pretty much like a holodeck. It makes use of alien technology. People we were with when I met Lockheed," she says, reaching over to pet the space dragon who is still having fun with his food. "It's mainly used for training and all. Myself and Doug and Hank do most of the programming. Forge too sometimes but he tends to prefer working with hardware," she explains.

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren shakes his head as he takes a sip from his mug. "That's got to be a mindf...udge. Meeting your kids from the future. I don't know how Scott and Jean can handle it. If I ever met a future kid, well...it would be interesting to say the least."

Angel give Kitty a raised brow when she confirms flaming poo, "Greeaaaat. Well, more incentive to dodge that is for sure."

He glances from Kitty to Drake and back. "When do we show him? It's easier to believe when seen rather than told."

Drake Riley has posed:
"Uh. Soon," posits Drake in support of Warren's question. "Maybe not literally right this second, because I don't wanna lose my groove with this, but..." How is he even going to focus on something as banal as pool maintenance when there's an actual superhero training facility somewhere on the premesis? That's beyond rad. But he's trying so hard to be responsible and eschew flighty inclinations.

The chocolate probably isn't helping lower the hyper energy.

"And you guys like time-travel and stuff, too? That's insane. You know, just like a month ago I wouldn't have believed that for a second." Beat. "Good chocolate, by the way. Thanks." He's back to sipping.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty gives a nod about showing him the room. "Maybe we could give him a taste of it later tonight," she suggests. She takes her mug back up for a sip, not letting the drink get too cool. "Well, sort of," Kitty says about time travel.

"It's more that people have come back from the future. There are three, children of Scott and Jean. Who aren't together as a couple, so that news was a bit for them to take as you can imagine," Kitty says. "A future me also traveled back in time to warn us about an assassination that led to a bleak future that was on the brink of nuclear war because of it. We stopped that one," she says. "And, that future me, well, I'll never be her now. Because our timeline continued on in a different direction than the one that led me there," she explains. "It's all... well, a lot of theoretical physics. You could talk to Hank though. Or Bishop if you want the more practical aspects."

Warren Worthington has posed:
"It's all over my head," Warren admits. "I just smile and nod when Hank starts going off on his tangents about all this theory on time travel. I got a head for business, not physics. At least not those kind of physics. Airspeed and velocity and things like that, sure..but not time travel."

Warren drains the last of his hot chocolate and places the mug back onto the tray. "But...enough of that. Stick to pools kid. It's safer, and less hard on the brain."

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley bobs his index finger towards Warren in agreement as he details how quantum theoretical physics plays into time travel. He doesn't have a head for velocity and such, but supplies, "You hand me a picture of someone, and I'll know if I'm screwing up if they start to disappear. Got yo ucovered."

Marty McFly references? Anyone?

He does, however, bristle a little at what he's sure wasn't intended to be patronizing. It probably wouldn't have hit that note, had it not included 'kid'. But it only manifests in a slightly lifted eyebrow and skewed lips, and ultimately, a dry chuckle. Over to Kitty, he jokes, "Ouch. Maybe a room full of Drakes, huh?" Self-depricating humor isn't outside of his wheelhouse.

"Aaanyway... it sounds complicated and way above my normie pay-grade."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty muses for a moment and says, "There are a number of simulations that include the school. You could probably practice with the pool in them. Fast forward to see the results of different treatments or maintenance," she suggests. She'll have to disable the Juggernaut Protocols in those simulations of course. Or the Magneto Dilemma, or any number of other attack scenarios they were designed for, in truth. But that's easy enough to do.

She grins and rises to her feet again, setting her mug back on the tray. "Grab me later then and we'll go give it a run," she says. Lockheed sees she seems to be getting ready to depart and gives a few flaps of his wings to fly over and perch on her shoulder. "And I think it's great, you looking for somewhere to help out. Really good idea," Drake," she says approvingly, resting a hand on his shoulder for a moment. "Boys, take care," she tells them with a grin before bussing the tray to head out.

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren Worthington raises a hand to wave as Kitty makes motions to leave. "Yeah, I should be heading back myself. I may have a stronger tolerance to the cold, but that doesn't mean I like to fly in it if I don't have too. Drake, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure you will see me around here again. I'm going to try and be more of a presence. Kitty, you have my number. Call me and we will set up the lunch...if I don't see you before then."

Drake Riley has posed:
Drake Riley also catches the bodylanguage and quickly finishes the mug of chocolate. Still, he doesn't add it back to the tray. Instead, he waves it slightly. "I'll take care of this when I finish up here," he notes. Less weight for her to carry. It just felt polite. She went through the trouble of bringing it, he can at least do that. And with the hand on his shoulder, Kitty's met with a small, appreciative smile. No words; just a smile.

Attention turns next to Warren"Hey, cheers, man," he nods. "Maybe you'll be the first to make a coat with.. like... wing.. sleeves, or something, to keep'em warm?" His eyes uplid slightly, uncertain of his own suggestion. He has no idea how it'd work. "But nice meetin' ya."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
"Resistance to cold, another thing it would be nice to have," Kitty says from the doorway before departing. "Though I wonder if that lessens the enjoyment of slipping on a sweatshirt all toasty warm from out of the dryer. Or relaxing by a warm fire after being outside?" she asks. She gives a wave of her hand. "You can tell me later," she tells Warren with a grin. "Sure, I'll give you a ring if not before," she tells him.

Kitty waves towards Drake. "Study up, we might have an algae bloom in the pool simulation," she says with a wink towards the other mutant. Then she and Lockheed head back out into the hallways of the school.