4560/Operation Glug Glug - Pub Crawl

Operation Glug Glug - Pub Crawl
Date of Scene:	01 January 2021
Location:	Wellness Office
Synopsis:	Part I. A bunch of students are given a mission of sorts on New Years Eve. After the kids have been put to bed and the teachers are playing (or snoozing), a bunch of them (+Simon) go on an epic raid of teacher booze stashes and go party in the woods. Noriko and Jubes re-arrive to only have to endure Simon's chronic foot-in-mouth intoxication syndrome about some fabled relationship between them that plays out in his head aloud, much to the mortification of the two roommates. The following teachers donated...stuff for this mission: Jean, Logan, Scott, and Emma. Thank you for all your donations! Rogue was, kiiinda spared.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Ruth Aldine, Jubilation Lee, Tabitha Smith, Gabby Kinney, Simon Lasker

---

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring-wait.  Creatures /are/ stirring and it is not that night.  Little monsters known otherwise as students, hooligans, delinquents, charming hopefuls, etc, have gathered here today, in the Wellness Office, after hours, to bless this sacred operation.

Operation Glug Glug

Noriko has given each attendant (and some who have not shown up - SUSPICIOUS) a little invitation scrawled out on slips of paper that have the phone number for a person wanting a roommate on the back (totally from Burrito Wagon - so what).  It says in tiny print, will work for rent.

On the paper is written:  Seek out New Year's Wellness at your final hour of abuse (mandatory New Years celebrations - meet at the Wellness Center).  Come alone, dressed for stealth, ready to party, and burn this after reading - for fun!

Someone who no-one-needs-to-know-their-name has made the Wellness Center accessible (though dark) after hours.  It's unsurprising since accidents can happen AT ANY TIME, ANY PLACE!

Noriko is sitting at the wooden disk, her feet propped up with her slick new mid-kicks on.  Blue with orange accents.  Okay she thinks they're cool and bobs her foot up and down at a blurry velocity.  She's not dressed for stealth, but then, when is she not 'dressed' for stealth with getting to speed around like she does?  She tries to balance a guttering flashlight on her gauntlet.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
When Ruth can't see past what was happening tonight, especially after she touched the slip, curiousity was peaked and she felt 'inclined' to show up. Besides, she's only gotten into shenannigans just once. What's another bout of 'You shouldn't do that' going to do? Give her a bad grade?

Dressed for stealth, got it. Ruth wears a shockingly pink Rainbow-Brite t-shirt, which is a little faded, glitter fell and some of the words are probably gone. Pants? Yes. Black and ratted, torn every which way, dusty because she didn't bother washing it for three weeks, yet she sprayed with with Febreeze all the same. Blindfold? Check. Hair? Tied up in a bun. Ruth never wears her hair tied up in a bun unless she's about to get into some shit. That's a lie. She just never really wears her hair in a bun..

So may or may not be the first in the wellness office, she certainly comes up from the shadows in the corner of the room, deliberately making herself known.

"Pardon. I am here. Thank you." Bland as all get out. Ready to break bad.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Sorry I'm late," a contrite voice announces softly. It belongs to none other than Xavier's resident notary and welcome-wagon -- JUBILATION LEE. She's not dressed for stealth, either, and shows up wearing a pink crew-neck sweatshirt with the words WORLD CHAMPION printed in all caps across the breast. She wears a pair of black short-short-short-shorts that are entirely too short for this weather (and general decency), and her typical white heelys sneakers. She skates in, her toes pointed at the ceiling to engage the wheels in her sneaks. Once she stops, Jubilee leans against one of the wooden cabinets and tilts her pink sunglasses down over her eyes.

    Despite the plans that have been laid out, of which she was undoubtedly privied to, Jubilee made a point to come to this thing looking GOOD. Her hair was washed, styled... big yellow loop earrings hanging from her lobes... pink lip gloss... black eyeliner. The whole schmeer. Ruth gets a thumbs-up and some sudden vocal energy. "Ruuuuuth," she exclaims. "You made it! Are you ready for the single greatest night ever experienced on this big dumb planet!" Nori gets a quiet nod, but... Jubilee's eyes fall to the new sneakers on the speedster's feet. She looks up at her roommate with a big toothy smile. But, that's it.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith stands in the hallway a few moments as she tries to get someone's attention because Noriko's instructions confused her, "Psst...Ruth..." she mutters as Ruth wanders past to the Wellness Office, "Did you read those stupid notes?" she wonders. She squints and furrows her brow, hoping she wasn't too loud.

When this mysterious Ruth doesn't stop, Tabitha follows her to the so-called Wellness Room, entering after her. She's wearing a purple graphic t-shirt with a huge NUCLEAR explosion with innocent people and debris flying up into the air. It reads BOOM! YER DEAD! She also wears torn, ratty jeans like they are from the 80s or 90s, because the 80s and 90s rock. To cap it off, she wears her favorite trashy sneakers, which are really ugly. She looks around for a snack, "We're doing something tonight?" she asks.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"I really hope that's not Illyana's. She's got some serious devildom booze that knocks even me for a loop. At least for a little bit," Gabby pipes up from the doorway where she had snuck in just behind Tabby. It's easy not to be seen when you're so damn short. Also when you're *actually* dressed for stealth. She's got a ninja-esque mask on along with tinted goggles that might just give her a hand at seeing in the dark, just a bit. Leather pants (where the HELL did she get leather pants in her size? We'll blame Laura) and boots with tie-dye laces because hey she's got to have some flash.

Giving a thumbs-up at the grouping she sweeps her goggles back up and drops her mask in one smooth movement to flash them all a grin. "I brought the breath mints! You know, for plausible deniability."

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon is up late alot, and this particular day there seems to be something sneeky going on. His bad seed senses tell him so (also he overheard the students talking about it)

Stealth! This calls for the work black-leather-jacket, A black t-shirt, bright red converse and jeans. He has brought a lighter incase of locked doors and a bottle of something alcoholic with a label in cyrillic (so you know it /has/ to be good.) that he found while going about his business in dangerous places. He didn't go drinking that much on account of people being dirty narcs, but he enjoyed doing things he wasn't supposed to none the less.

Simon opens the door to the wellness office, and he is immediately relieved to see that it wasn't a prank or a sting. You can tell because all of the usual troublemakers are here-- Oh and also people besides ruth.

"I hope a delinquent emeritus is welcome. I got us something to start off with. It has some kind of russian written on it, but other than that I have no idea what it is." He holds out the bottle proudly. He hadn't really thought about when he would drink it when he took it, but if he wasn't going to drink after dark with a bunch of fellow miscreants, when was he?

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I am /not/ carrying you all around like brightly splattered babies...whatever."  Yeaaah, whatever that means.  Is Noriko...with it?  Did she get a head start?  There's a bit of grump that invades the line, but it could easily be brushed off as Noriko being that time of the month...or is she like time of the week?  Or is it time of the hour?  How /does/ her bitchy blood moon work?  Either way, she's avoiding looking at Jubilee completely right after Jubes' apology entrance.  In comparison to Jubilee?  Noriko looks like a disaster.  Her clothes are rumpled and the same as the ones she was wearing yesterday, her hair is...well her hair is always windswept and a little on end because how many times can you be bothered to deal with that in a day or minute?  She has circles under her eyes that she hasn't bothered hiding.

"Ruth.  You /are/ aware that your shirt reflects light right?  Go turn it inside out."  Daaamn, this operation is for serious.  Fun is /serious/ tonight.  She is determined to get some friends wasted and will not allow glitter to compromise it.  "You know what?  Never mind.  It's cool," she follows up quickly in her string of thoughts.  When she catches Jubilee's smile, she offers one in return.

"ABORT ABORT ABORT!" Noriko coughs out when she sees Simon.  She doesn't even wait to hear what he's going to say when he opens his mouth.  "Too cool for school, too cool for school," which apparently is now Nori's codename for Simon.  She quicklyquickly glares around at the people already there as if looking for who set them up.

But then Simon speaks and she squints suspiciously like the whole offering is A TRAP!  "Drink that in front of us and solemnly swear you are up to no good."  Is she kidding with that last part?  She says it with a total poker face ridden with scrutiny.

To everyone else, if they aren't in trouble and Simon is a snitch, they're already in trouble in some capacity...plotting and prepping, she doesn't hide anything there.  "Nice thinking Gabby.  Those who can't get fucked up on alcohol?  I got you covered, hopefully."  Her eyes shoot to Jubes quickly.  "What time is it?  I'm allowing a 5 minute grace period but we can't wait forever."  The longer they are here, gathered in groups of 4 or more, the risk goes up exponentially in Nori's mind.

Then her eyes whip back to Simon.  Squiiint.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
It was a good thing that Ruth ignored Tabitha on the way in, stopping to talk would only mean a delay in the fun, and Ruth, bland as she is, was ready to -get- down.

There was no reason for her to even look down at her shirt, she felt the etchings of glitter and even peeled off a few as she walked towards the Wellness Center. "Jubilee." Ruth says in greeting. "Tabitha. Noriko. Gabriella." And awaiting.. "Simon." All greetings were made and now Ruth doesn't have to talk anymore. But follow behind and see what was up, and really.. fell totally insecure about her light-reflecting shirt!

Bad move.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Your shirt!" Jubilee exclaims, grinning at Tabitha. "It's so... violent, I mean, it's like a Tarantino movie -- only, you know, without all the feet!" ... Jubes gives her a snap point before skating towards Gabby. "Yoooo, that mask!" she comments, reaching a hand out to point at it. "...You are up to no good in that thing!" That is, apparently, a good thing.

    "Breakin' the law... Breakin' the law..." Jubes sing-songs under her beath, her eyes closing as she skates around in a little circle. BUT!

    Jubes opens her eyes wide as Nori calls for the sudden abort. She bends down and extends both hands towards the doorway, ready to deliver a clusterbomb of bright lights to blind the intruder and cover their collective escape. She sighs softly and stands down. It's just Simon. She gives him a *look* "You gotta drink that----" she starts, stopping once Nori is able to get through the command first.

    "It's 11:05," Jubes answers, looking at her double-watch-wrist. She rolls in towards Simon and points a finger-gun at his neck, waggling her eyebrows. She waves the finger-shooter in the air, as if to say 'do as she says'

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon Lasker gets someone else to open the bottle, because in his infinite wisdom he forgot a bottle openner. After getting a plastic cup from the cabinet, he slugs back a shot.

"You have serious issues. I'm not drinking age either, and 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'"

He feels a little betrayed that people who were his classmates once upon a time already think he is out to get them. He hands leaves the bottle on the desk and gets some more cups out.

When Noriko starts worrying about Ruth's shirt he chuckles. "We have telepaths and people with nightvision at this school. If anyone is looking we are already busted. That said, be as quiet as you can, because no one will see us if they are asleep." He speaks with the wisdom of years of shenanigans.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith smiles at Jubilee and points at her t-shirt, "I got it from NuclearBlast.Com," she reports and makes her way further inside after Jubilee makes a beeline away from her. She listens to Noriko ramble on endlessly and then takes out her phone, scrolling down to some 90s rock and roll. She then looks up as this Simon guy walks in, and she frowns because she hasn't met this mysterious guy yet. She holds up her phone to Noriko like a beacon and points at the damn time, because she's god damn bored, "You're boring the shit out of me, girl. Look at the time. Let's get this boozefest ooooonnnnnnnn," she says with conviction. She does the longhorn steer fingers with her opposite hand, extending her cute little pinky and her cute pointy finger. "Yeah!" she headbangs.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney nods knowingly at her good idea of mints. Plus, well, it was candy. You can't go wrong with candy. Simon is regarded thoughtfully as well--She hadn't been around the school too much herself until recently, but she's at least not of the abort mission sort. He had brought a bottle after all. When it's opened she crinkles her nose at the smell of it, whatever it was.

"Thanks Jubes. You know I got the gear. ... Okay not as much gear as I used to, being here, but I have a stash in New York for more serious bidness." She fakes an accent at the last giving a solemn nod as she grins again.

"Okay, so I know where Logan keeps his stash but I don't wanna make it too easy plus he might have already emptied it out for his own use tonight."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
When Noriko sees Tabitha she smacks her forehead with her gauntlet, sending out a little spidery radial spray of lightning bolts across her skin that end in little, sharp crackles.  "Tabs.  I thought I could count on you.  Would you wear that to hotwi-Never mind," she cuts herself off so quickly that she's already onto the course of business.

"Too-Cool-For-School has the right idea.  Tonight, we are 'pub crawling' the teacher and resident stashes.  Welcome to Operation Glug Glug."  That's right, that rumor was real, and here is the map.  Noriko has scotch-taped the much larger overarching map onto the desk and flicks on the fancy desk lamp as fast as she can.  "I've already done a /tiny/ bit of recon with Jubes around the most likely targets.  Remy's a big one."  He was getting wasted right in front of her!  "Logan first though."  Noriko doesn't have enough propriety to stick to respectful addressing like Mr. and Ms.  Ain't no one got time for that when your guidance counselor is your own damn age.

"Yeah, you think that's front page news man?"  Noriko rolls her eyes at Simon as if, if he doesn't know this is necessary, whatever, "I don't have time for amateurs.  But you're cool.  You're in."  THE SIP SEALS HIS FATE.  "I can't promise you'll earn a new codename though."

Noriko gives Jubes a no-look thumbs up for the time check-in.  "Dude.  Do you know how much crap I've pulled off and Jean does not give a fuck?"  Of course she does.  "And of course they will be looking, but they'll also be /drinking/ community booze," aka festivities booze.  "We also have telepaths.  You don't think I don't know how to put a team together?"  No, she doesn't, and she really does not know all of the intricate details of the powers of those here, but who cares!  She doesn't.

"Alright, onto-Tabby," Noriko tosses her a flask to...shut her up?  Get her wasted already?  Improve her mood?  Make it less boring?  "Idea is we drink along the way in case we get caught too early.  Gabs and I will be lookouts.  Got it?  Kay.  Let's blow this joint.  Logan's first!"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The students have a relatively clear shot to the Lake House and further to Logan's place.  Noriko now knows that things happen in the Lake House, but she also knows Logan is not dumb enough to keep anything there, so they move on toward his cabin, unless Gabby stops them, directs them to a toolshed, or wherever Logan does is lonely-I-mean-old-manly drinking.

Are there signs of life?  No.  Did Nori recon any security?  Logan is his own security.  Does she even know how to pick a lock?  She's the lookout and 'getaway driver!'  That's not her responsibility!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Once Nori declares Simon as 'cool,' Jubilee holsters her finger-gun. She drops the thumb so it's just an index finger. She points it menacingly up at Simon's face. "You better watch your ass!" she snarls, doing her best impression of a police chief in a buddy cop movie. She holds that pose for a second before grinning from ear to ear. "Glad you made the team!" she adds, converting her hand to thumbs-up.

    For her part on this quest, Jubes stays in the rear of the line, as far from Noriko as she can get while still being part of this thing. During the walk over, each member of the party gets a glowing red orb just in front of their face, courtesy of one Jubilation Lee. Red since it goes best for stealth and doesn't disrupt the night vision.

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon Lasker is glad that at least some people don't immediately take him for a faculty member. He had never thought of himself as that much of a square.

"I'm not an amature. I will have you know that I have been looting staffer stashes since before you got here..." He then realizes that this doesn't help his cause. "And I am probably basically the same age as you." That should fix it.

He is amused at the comment about needing to watch his ass. "Why? Are you a threat to it?"

When he sees where they are going, he directs them to the lab. "They have alcohol in the chem set. You have to water it down and if you drink too much it will make you sick, but it isn't well secured." He has had some rough moments with the stuff, but you will get drunk on it before it kills you.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith catches the flask from Noriko and frowns, "What? Already? What the fudge," she wonders and looks down at the mysterious FLASK, uncorking with a swivel of her cute fingers. She takes a cute swig of the FLASK and nods to what Noriko says, wiping her mouth, "Oh along the way!" she says and laughs at herself loudly, "Yeah, we're not along the way yet, Nori. We're not /along the way/," she says, pointing out of this damn room. "Oh what? Logan first, sweeeeeeeet," she says and has another swig of the damn FLASK. She then offers the flask to Ruth or this Jubilee girl.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth follows along quietly, this time pulling out her cane to tip tap on the ground. She tip-taps lightly, keeping her ears apprised of any noises, attempting to do that 'thing' you do when scanning the area for minds that were unlike the groups.

MAYBE, she would pick up upon the thoughts of those around her, and that totally wouldn't be her fault, she focusing on being stealthy and an alarm! Don't fault her for that!

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney follows along all stealthy like. When at the cabins she gestures with a shrug. "He usually hides them in the veggie drawer in a box labeled 'brussel sprouts'," she explains with a wry grin. Hey she's helping! But the drinking won't do her any good so she's hanging back.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "You better watch it!" Jubilee repeats, pointing her finger menacingly at Simon again, grinning. The One And Only Jubilee (TM) takes the offered flask from Tabitha and looks down at it. Her eyes lift to watch the others for a second, to take inventory of who might be watching, and brings it to her lips. She takes a nervous breath -- Jubilation wasn't as much of a traditional troublemaker as she liked others to believe -- and tilts the bottle back. It ends up being a pretty large gulp for a girl her age and size. Yeeehaw.

    As soon as the bottle is brought down from her mouth, Jubilee makes A FACE. It's a face that screams 'gross' but she quickly turns her head away from the group just in case anyone might be looking back to see it, cast against the red lights hovering in the air. A second or two after the drink goes down, the red orbs that follow the group start to gently sway in the air, now following something similar to a sine wave.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Wow.  It's okay man.  You already made the team," which is the equivalent of Noriko 'sparing' Simon.  "Do you have a job and a 401K?" she whisper teases to Simon with a smirk along the way.  "She's a threat to every ass," pun intended, "You aren't special."  Maybe this is just how Noriko initiates people into her circle.  Maybe Simon hasn't /really/ made it into the circle and this is his /test/...maybe Noriko's just a jerk.

"I mean...if we get desperate.  But we're not desperate," Noriko responds to Simon's legit tip much more levelheaded.  Her attitude seems to flit around as fast as she does, but she appreciates what he says enough to not bite his head off.

"Tabby.  I don't know what the fuck you are talking about."  Noriko's not used to real stealth.  She literally just walks along like she's going to Logan's for tea or something.  About the only thing she's doing is trying to not light up like a rave Christmas Tree.  Surely there is such a thing.  How could there not be?

"Thanks Gabby," Noriko says, hop skipping around the conversations with relative ease.  "Okay, let's talk about what we want to hit next," she whispers to Gabby as they take up their posts.  She pulls out a little disposable vape pen and then tosses one without warning to Gabby.  "Hopefully this works for us.  This night might get pretty dull chaperoning otherwise," she says to Gabby.  Noriko seems to speak to anyone younger as an equal, and they get a bit more slack in the Noriko-grrr department. It's a pattern.

"You guys heard her!  Brussel sprouts!" she stage-whisper-shouts with a thrust of her gauntlet in the air.  It lets out a tiny little burst and snuffs out.

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon Lasker is two shots in and is at the pleasantly buzzed part of the evening. He looks over to his compatriots.

"Wanna go find some place to finish off our booze? I don't know if I wann keep hiking all night. Besides, if we stay near the building, we can't listen to music."

When they get to the cabin he whispers "What kinda music yous guys like anyway?" It comes out a little louder than he meant for it to. He also starts making little flames at the tips of his fingers and blowing them out.

"Waddid Logan have?" He says impatiently as they get into the cabin. the container has a couple beers, but not enough for everyone to have a whole beer to themselves. He hums something angry and 90s.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney reaches up to catch the vape pen from Noriko with a little curious look of surprise. She rolls with it though, figuring the device out after a moment or two of examination. "Yeah, apparently he's not fond of brussel sprouts either. Who woulda thought?" A little grin is given in response. "Thanks. I'll try this in a bit... Maybe it'll work." Whatever it was.

The question about what Logan has is answered with a shrug. "Usually beer. He's a beer guy." Whiskey, too, but that wasn't in the stash. "There's a small camp site near here that we can start a fire at. Keep warm, enjoy the drinks," she suggests with a gesture down the way. "Far enough away from the mansion to avoid being seen or heard." She says nothing of the Breakstone Slasher though.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith grabs the flask back from JubilationNation while she's laughing at her, "That good, huh? I think you downed too much right there, Jubilee," she says amusedly, while she continues to watch her. "We'll never get this shit on the road, so I'm just gonna have another shot," she explains, "And another one," she comments. She gives the FLASK back to Jubilee, "Try again Jubes!"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Thank god Ruth was not an empath. With those around her drinking and her trying to keep her shit straight to see if anyone else is around, she'd be in serious trouble. It's bad enough that tonight she's truly blind, unable to see past whats what, she could only do so much.

"I would like a drink, yes." Ruth says, her hand held out as she marches forward. If no one was at the door, Ruth would be, and a press of a hand would cause whatever hinges to fall apart from their latches. Yeah, something Ruth usually hides because reasons! (Aka, nothing to use unlocking doors via TK with).

There was a pause, and a slight turn towards Noriko, her mouth opening and shutting, before she wanders into the cabin. "Brusell sprouts.." She calls out quietly, as if it would come running. "Brussell sprouuuts.. yesssssssssss..."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The honorable delegate from JubilationNation looks down as the flask is once again in her hands. Oh. She looks up at Tabitha as they trek through the woods. "Thanks..." she says. "I mean, what I'd like to do is drink more of this flask, so... I'm going to do that," she replies, dryly. The contents of that flask was hell made liquid. But... she wouldn't give Tabitha the satisfaction of seeing her flinch.

    She brings the bottle back to her mouth, tips it back, and takes two very large gulps, just enough before she might start coughing. "You're tired already!" Jubilee chirps, grinning at Simon as she brings the bottle down. "We haven't even gotten there, yet!" And then they get there.

    "Isn't this the MANLIEST smelling place you've ever been?" she quips, grinning at the others, still clutching the flask. "...It's like what I imagine sawdust smells like after it's had a few...." Her words are loose, like the Valley Girl pronunciation is getting replaced with how a bowl of pudding might talk. The discussion of Jubilee's particular danger to asses brings a curious wrinkle to the bridge of her nose.

    "I'm not an asssss!" she declares suddenly. She takes a deep breath. Oh boy.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith continues to laugh loudly at Jubilee and her antics, "No no! You're not!" she exclaims. She takes the FLASK from Jubilee and examines it, "Sawdust? There's no sawdust in this, Jubes. It's totally liquid," she says amusedly, trying not to laugh at her. She has another drink before giving it back to Jubilee after careful consideration. "Hey Jubes, where's the lookouts?" she asks, "Are they looking out?" she wonders, thinking that comment is really funny. She laughs. "Ruth! Ruth?! WHere are youuuu?" she wonders, pointing to Jubilee's FLASK, "Come get a drink!"

Simon Lasker has posed:
"Izzit weed?" He whispers so that everyone can hear. He looks at the vape pen expectantly with a hand outstretched. If he is offered he will try it. "Than god I'm 18 now. Don't godda smoke tobacco anymore." Then as if someone asked "Yeh see-- If you are allowed to do something then you are allowed to not do it. If they say you can't then you don't have a choice yeh see?" A few moments later. "Yous guys wanna listen to music?"

He sees Ruth struggling a little and offers a hand. "You can lean on me if ittle help." He whispers to her. He is still whispering to everyone. Ruth would see in his head an image of everybody sitting around a fire and laughing and singing and generally having a good time. This is where he sees the night going.

He hears Jubilee calling out to him. "You threaten me and then hog the booze. Now you call me an old man? I was just thinking that if we don't figure out where we are going now, we will be wandering all night. Truss me I know from esperience." He then asks for the the bottle back. "You sure you aren't? Some of my best friends are asses."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"Brussellllsss!" Ruth calls out, for struggling is an understatement. She bumps into an idle chair, moving it off course, which makes note to Logan when he returns that -someone- was there that shouldn't be (unless fixed!) Simon's whisper gains Ruth a little jump, and a shake of her head. "I am okay, yes." She says. "Pardon, find the brussels." Good instructions, Ruth! People are waiting to get drunk!

Tabitha's call for Ruth to come get a drink has the poor blind girl thumping and tapping away, hand outstretched to be handed the flask so that she could drink with reckless abandon. "Tabithaaaa.." She calls out, much like Brussells. "Tabiithaaaa.."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko nods to Gabby, seemingly cool with whatever the girl wants to do with it.  It's her choice, but Noriko also knows what it's like to feel kinda left out, and she had to try /something/ for the both of them right?  Riiiight.

"You found that.  Got it?  And you found it in town," Noriko up-nods to Gabby.  "Good idea on the fire."  Noriko has raced through the woods faster than she could ever get scared or caught up in whatever lingers there.  There are stories.

"Yeah dude.  Don't freak out, but it's for the booze handicapped," Noriko says /instead of saying/ back off.  Such restraint...seriously, for Nori at least.  "Your problem is you aren't drunk yet.  Everything is more tolerable...I'm told."  Ugh.  With that, Noriko starts to 'blaze.'  She bristles with a little wave of stunted lightning bolts as she leans up against the wall.

"Maybe we should have some people prep the booze spot and split out to go hit Scott and Jean's?  I want to go see if Mind Bitch has anything interesting.  Maybe no one got around to telling her not to bring anything in."  Noriko is, of course, referring to Emma.  'Cool as a cucumber' (ha) she ignores all the antics she can hear inside.  That's what this night is for.  There's a little smile that appears, BUT YOU DIDN'T SEE IT DID YOU?!

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Oh, it is?" Gabby hadn't even questioned WHAT was in the vape until Simon and Noriko confirm what it is. She was just ready to blindly try whatever Noriko handed her. Such a trusting little kid. Her gaze rakes over to Simon with a grin. "Yeah, I could drink everyone in school under the table and only have to stop for a pee break. Wouldn't phase me. And I dunno what music I like. What kinds are there?" she adds with a little shrug before she tips her head.

"Uh. I hear footsteps," she announces in a sudden shushed voice. "Grab the beer and let's go!" With that she hand waves toward Tabby and Ruth in the cabin, "Hurry hurry! Head this way!" Of course there was no sound others could hear. Maybe it was good that they had her along? She was still getting used to her enhanced senses but man they were coming in handy. On to the next target!

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith laughs at Ruth as she swings around grabbing for her, "Ruth, c'mon---I'm the god damn loudest one here," she snickers, "Oh wait, don't grab me! Jubilee has the drinks! Jubilee! Not me! Nooooo!" she lets out, backing up, "I'm totally not here! It's Jubilee! Get 'er!" she says and dodges Ruth and stumbles backwards, falling onto her behind.

Tabitha squints and sighs, "Oh Gabbyyyyyyy, c'mon," she whines, "Now? Okay fine. Fine!" she lets out and gets up from the floor. She hurries toward Gabby, "Gabby you're goin the wrong way."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Well, a lot of /my/ best friends are old men!" Jubes quips right back at Simon. After hearing the words, she frowns at herself and shakes her head. "No...wait..."

    When Tabby calls her out on the sawdust in the flask..."Not /this/!" Jubilee insists, waggling the flask in the air as it's given back to her. "Here! Logan's cabin! It's just about the manliest smelling place in the entire Universe. This place's musk has a musk. I feel like just /being/ here is getting us pregnant! And...after we all agreed /not/ to in that one health class!"

    Jubilee stumbles a little, her foot getting caught on the threshold of the door. Even an accomplished gymnast can stumble! There's hope for the rest of you.

    "I pee like, every day," Jubilee brags, bringing the flask up to her mouth as she looks at Gabby. She gives the other girl a nod of confirmation -- oh, she pees -- and takes another gulp. Jubilee slams the flask down on a wooden table, just free for whoever might claim it. By now, the red plasmoids that had been following everyone have started to unhitch and fly away. Eventually, they would all pop harmlessly.

    FOOTSTEPS. SHIT. "Cheese it!" Jubilee insists, hissing the words out in a stupor. She grabs a beer, as instructed, and starts running for the door! Later on, Jubilee will realize she's holding a can of Barbasol shaving cream and not, in fact, a beer.

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon Lasker helps guide Ruth out of the cabin after he snags a beer or two. He then gets the flask. Thank goodness for jackets AND pants having pockets.

He is dissapointed that Noriko wont share the vape pen. He hears Noriko's idea and shakes his head with a chuckle. "Waddid I say? I thought the point was to stay away from people who might psychicly pick us up through te walls."

He thinks for a bit about what kinds of music Gabby might like. "You seem like you'd like either country or thrash metal. I can't figure which." He gets ready to go when Gabby mentions hearing footsteps.

"Asses seem like more fun than old men. Asses are like donkeys right? Riding donkeys seems like more fun than old men." Simon is a little spooked by the idea that the cabin might get him pregnant. "I don wanna get pregnant." He almost seems concerned that it could actually happen.

Simon will head over to the lab and grab some 96% pure chemists alcohol to go with some soda.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Thankfully aided by Simon (Ruth almost jumped on his back), and making playful swipes at the fallen Tabitha, Ruth.. in all of her weird ass glory gets an idea. "Pardon! I will do the unthinkable. Yes."

Disbanding from the group, Ruth begins to walk right back towards the mansion. She hadn't had a lick of a drink yet, but that would soon to come. Because she was going to Ororo's room for something a little bit more extravagant to lighten the mood.

Taking the same entrance of where they came, Ruth winds through the house like a shadowy spectre, stopping at the student gardens to quietly summon MacTaggert, who was all too happy to trot along with the clicking of his paw. Yet, the climb of the stair was a little bit too much, Ruth really wasn't the athletic sort just yet, but she was continually egged on by her four legged friend. And once at the top, she lifts herself off of the ground just enough for her to slide the tip of her shoes against the ground..

total creep style.

Pushing the door to Ororo's room open, she could hear the soft sounds of her breathing, and as if it wasn't creepy enough, Ruth hoovered into the middle of the room, and quietly begins to burgle. Even if she was careful and quite literally using MacTaggert as a 'seeing' eye dog, she plucks leaflets and growth from each of the plants there, making a pretty bundle of 'stuffs' with one of the bags that were present.

Floating backwards out of the room, she carefully lands upon her feet as she passes the threshhold, attaching the 'stuffs' to MacTaggert's collar. Closing the door, she kneels once more and whispers.. "Go give that to Simon..." And with a pat on the side, the rotweiler was off! Ready to deliver some psyadelic goods to the crew while Ruth wanders off to burgle some more!

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"You do realize this is not a get-to-know-you RA college thing for freshmen right?  Relax man.  This is like my 1000th rodeo with Jean, and you aren't the boss of me." Noriko just side-eyes Simon before taking a big, quick-quick hit off of her pen.  She shakes her head, "Fucking trying to mooch off the handicapped."  Dark smirk.  But when Gabby sounds the alarm, Noriko coughs the rest of her hit out in little quick puffs like a Chipmunk that has had his first cigarette.

"Shit.  Gabs, I'll meet you there."  Noriko's pretty sure she knows the spot, and she could search the likely areas like nobody's business anyways.  Noriko shhhhs back at the noisy-er ones.  Okay maybe another puff puff.  "Would you shut the fuck up?!" she hisses at Simon.

When he goes to grab what equates to paint thinner for people's stomachs, Noriko helps give people little rides to 'the spot' before she takes off and hits /all/ of her targets.  That's right.  She even crosses them off her list on the back of the map.  She knew this would happen, but doesn't seem bummed about it.  Determined though...yes.

First up are the high profile.  Noriko whips over to check Jubilee's watch hit and run style and continues off, bypassing Ruth and being wise enough to not interfere.  She scores one bottle and leaves behind a little paper crane she makes out of the woman's own stationary or whatever she uses.

Next, Scott, because he's her /faaaavorite/.  Ahem.  Yoink!  Another paper crane.  This one she stops to put a little twirly mustache on it.

Then she pops into Rogue's place...but stops, looks around, takes a puff, and immediately departs.  Rogue is /spared/.  Wait, Noriko goes back and rehides Rogue's stash in different places in her room, and puts another paper crane where it was.  Twirly mustache, little top-hat.

Then after some quick 'smash' and grabs, she hits up 'Mind Bitch's' room.  Emma.  Do dee doo...Huh, no booze.  Noriko actually comes fully out of her speediness and stares, look, look, craned.  This one gets a scarf too!  It has little fringe cut into it, and it sits /on/ Emma's stash.

Finally, Noriko checks on Ruth on her way back and Ruth's way back, making sure the girl got 'the' goods Nori knows Ororo is tending to...for nature!

And then she's back!  Apppearing suddenly!  Noriko dumps all of the booze in some tote and a sling she picked up along the way.  "Now it's a party."  Puff puff, grin in the fire light.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Perhaps she should've paced herself. Perhaps this was one of those nights where the destination should've been considered more than the journey to get there. Jubilee was done mid-journey. Fortunately for the teachers, Tabitha's flask had rendered Jubes down for the count for this part of the evening.

    The others would find Jubes sitting at the fire, both legs stuck straight out in front of her. She's strumming at an imaginary ukulele -- she really, really should've brought it. From the look of it, she's playing a really great song, too! Something grand and epic, as only a ukulele can do, to herald the arrival of the booze and more.

    Jubilee drags her strumming hand down quickly against four imaginary nylon strings that are still way back in her room, triumphantly announcing Noriko's arrival. "I'm taking requests over here!" she announces with a grin, making vague gestures to the ukulele she's not holding. Time to party.

Simon Lasker has posed:
Chemists alcohol is technically purer than anything you normally get in a bottle and is therefore to strong to drink normally. This is why Simon gets some soda to water it down. He would be offended by the comparison to paint thinner, but it is almost fair.

As a seasoned reprobate, he has already made molded copies of several of his favorite keys. The science lab is one of those keys that he has. Alcohol is only one of the things that is stored there after all.

He also stops by the kitchen for some chocolate bars, chips and of course the soda. On the way he also gets his jukebox.

He arrives a few minutes later. "I come bearing gifts! I have the components of mixed drinks and also some snacks." He sets the food down in a bowl and puts out some cups and a blanket. "I also brought music." He then settles down in front of the fire.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
A party it is, but judgement is slippery.  The problem is...not everyone maybe makes it back to their beds.  And one of the teachers is voluntold to go around checking all the beds before turning in.  Absences are noted.  There might be interrogations and investigations, and it's not like Noriko did any kind of work on cleaning up after their festivities.

How could she?  Apparently, the vape pen worked for her.  She ends up bobbing her head back and forth as she watches Jubilee strum her air-ukulele through the flames.

"Is this hell?" Noriko asks as she falls back onto the ground.  "It's nice."  It really took her no time at all seemingly to get totally baked out of her mind, and who knows what else she did at those speeds.  "Thanks man," Noriko holds up a thumb, still encased in the metal of her gauntlet toward Simon.  Time to let their guards down and relax...well, time for /Nori/ to start doing that.

In the end, everyone thinks they got off 'scott' free, but, well, some might already find they are being summoned or have a stack of detention or demerit slips waiting on their beds when they find their way back (especially those who don't find their beds till morning).

Noriko Ashida has posed:
It's been an extremely successful haul, between Simon, Noriko, and Ruth's supplemental raids, they've got way more than enough to last them several parties over.  At some point in the festivities, Jubilee proudly announced her mission to pee and wandered off down a path.  Not long after, Noriko 'grabbed' Jubilee's air-ukulele and wandered after her because apparently Jubilee FORGOT HER UKULELE!  It's been a little while, but not terribly long.

However!  During this time, there were some fireworks that shot up above the trees, and somewhere nearish Logan's cabin, the sound of lightning CRACKing as if it hit multiple things resounded far and wide.  Yet there's not a cloud in sight.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
There's a trail of Jubilee goodness that lights Nori's way back to the campfire, but when she stumbles back into the light of the campfire, the girl looks a little worse for wear.  She looks exhausted and one of those ugh feel ill faces.  She uses her little stumble to try and make it look like she was on her way down to sit by the fire anyways, which is ridiculous because it's a few steps off, so she ends up 'traveling' quite a bit.  Her track suit windbreaker material of her outfit looks like it got thrown through some bramble or something.

At the fire, she stares into the flames for quite awhile, like at least ten minutes.  Finally, she decides to reach for her vape pen in her pocket AND FINDS THE MUSHROOM STASH!

"I got the shrooms, sorry," for having wandered off with them, "And I forgot the water."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko also has hair that's...well, it looks like a kid rolled down a hill of leaves and sticks and things.  Little bits of wood detritus here and there embedded in disheveled hair.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith has amazingly enough made it to the campfire and is on her back staring at the sky, probably out of it. She's finished off the flask that SOMEBODY gave to her and has discarded the bottle nearby so SOMEBODY could take it back or bury it. The label is ripped away and the bottle looks mysterious, but could be the vodka she was given earlier or it could be someone else. She's hugging her furry coat around her, and probably thankful that there's a big fire. As Noriko stars talking, Tabitha raises her head and squints over at them, "Nori?" she wonders, "What are you doing? Hey, are there wolves out here?" she asks. She looks back at the sky, "I bet there's wolves out here."

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon Lasker wonders what the cause for fireworks is. He briefely wonders if they Noriko and Jubilee have slipped off for some alone time. "It sounds like someone 's havin a great time." If he weren't three- no four drinks in he would have stopped there. Respectful like. "Geddit? Cuz they're bangin?" He is going to cringe over that one in the morning. Possibly earlier.

Simon then starts in on a bottle of whiskey. The large pile of booty has him pondering things he never pondered before. He spits out a shot of whiskey and ignites it mid air. "I'm a dragon!" He then remembers that he didn't need to burn perfectly good (at least as far as he knows) whiskey.

"Wow, back already. Muss be a speedster thing." He tries to say something else, but he can't it into english now.

"Hey tabby! She and jubes were off bangin in the woods." Turnt Simon just thinks that is just the funniest thing ever. He thinks it is so clever he will happily repeat it a couple more times if he ^thinks someone liked it. He will also happily put flame in people's shots if asked.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The plasmoids that guided Noriko through the trail start to waver in place, as though they suddenly lost orientation. Suddenly, they all start crackling and popping in place, disappearing into the cold night. It might be an omen -- a bad sign that something has happened to Jubilee. Or... she's just too far away to keep track, too engrossed to remember to keep them going. Her mind too preoccupied with something else to properly keep control.

    Soon, the sounds of leaves and bristle crunching could be heard -- the sound of sneakers moving through the trail. They're getting louder and louder, closer and closer. Who is it? A teacher? A serial killer? Worse. It's Jubilation Lee! She comes around the bed, holding a backpack strap slung over one shoulder. "It's just me!" she calls out as she jogs over to the group. She sets the backpack down on the ground in front of Noriko and unzips it. But what's in there?

    A car battery is pulled out by its plastic handles and set down in the brush just in front of Nori. Four bottles of water. A bushel of bananas. A bag of Tootsie Rolls. A sandwich bag full of gummie bears. A bag of potato chips. A four-pack of chocolate pudding cups. And...strapped to the rear of the backpack -- a ukulele. A real one. One that you can see and hear.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith turns her head and squints over at Simon, maybe having forgot who he's talking to, "Me? What'd you say?" she wonders, "Bangin' in the woods? Huh? How do you know? They were just talkin to me a few minutes ago," she adds, inclining her head up again to look around for Noriko and Jubilee.

She sits up on her elbows, looking determined to find Noriko and Jubilee, "They're right over there. Stop being dumb," she reminds him, pointing across the campfire at nothing. "Hey you guys?!" she calls out, "I gotta watch everybody? Gawd," she rambles in a loopy way.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko grins softly when she sees Tabitha with what she assumes is the bottle of vodka Nori bought for Tabby with Jubes' moral and lookout support.  "Hmm?" she squints softly to Tabitha.  "Jubes needed to go to the bathroom."  Paaause.  "She forgot her air ukulele," she says as if this were perfectly natural to make sure it got to her roommate.  "Eh.  I can outrun wolves.  I've run these woods a 1000 times."  It seems to be her standard ballpark number for everything.

Noriko tilts her head to the side at Simon's comment about being back already.  She doesn't know drinking Simon yet, and she doesn't know sober Simon either!  At least she can deduce that he's not dumb enough to only just now realize that getting around fast is a 'speedster thing.'  "What do you mean?"

Oh.  Noriko grits her teeth at Simon's revelation of what he means.  She stays silent, glowering at the guy.  She must have no idea how she looks.  But then Jubilee comes back and at least Noriko is not focusing on wanting to kill Simon.

"Oh, Ukes became a real boy," Noriko comments on the real ukulele.  She reaches for the car battery and pulls it into her cross-legged lap.  It looks much heavier for her than it is for Jubilee.  "Thanks," she mumbles before holding the sides with her gauntlets and begins slowly drawing power.  She must have been pretty low since Jubes and Tabby have probably both seen her suck up a lot of power very very quickly. Or she's being lazy.

"He thinks we were banging," Noriko offers to Jubilee blandly.  "As if I'd leave anyone hanging after a quick quick quickie.  Dude.  I don't know how short the girls you've slept with fake it, but..."  At least she didn't say he was a virgin or something.

Simon Lasker has posed:
"Hey there was fireworks n Lightnin n stuff. Y'know, stuff that goies bang?" He thought it was funny. "Sides they just got back. Coulda did it with super speed." He hadn't meant to say it like that, but buzzed Simon is as buzzed Simon does.

He giggles when Jubilee returns. "Have a good time? I heard there were fireworks." He is a little out of it and this is the one thing he has got to hang on, so he is going to get everything he can out of it. He is also now aware of the presence of an actual ukelele. "Hey, you got a liddle baby guitar! Play freebird!" He has never heard a lynyrd skynyrd song before in his life (ok thats a lie. He mighta heard sweet home alabama.), but that is the thing he knows to say.

He pops a shroom. He wonders how long it is going to take to kick in.

"Hey, no need to be salty. Besides you have all that speed, I was making a joke." ... "Glad to see you get a CHARGE out of that battery. Heh" He has found a new pun to latch onto now. Did the fire always have music in it? "'Sides, I am more into dudes."... Woah, he hadn't realized that white light had ALL the colors in it before. "Hey did stars always used to be squished rainbows, or is that a new thing? These shrooms are good by the tw." He trails off.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Oh... I just needed to go to the bathroom," Jubilee explains to Tabitha, corroborating Noriko's account. Jubilee STARES at Simon. She opens her mouth, ready to verbally pounce, but the words don't come. She looks down at the collection of items she brought back and reaches a hand out to take the bushel of bananas by the stem. "Well, it's New Years Eve," she mutters. "...Probably from in town..." Nevermind the fact that she literally refers to her plasmoids as fireworks.

    Jubilee places the bananas next to Noriko's foot. The Tootsie Rolls go next to the bananas. The water next to the Rolls. The gummie bears are left where they are, far enough so that it seems like they're up for grabs. She sits down next to her roommate and brings the ukulele into her lap. Jubes moves her fingers to the instrument and starts strumming in a down-down ... ... up-down-up sort of way, like many songs on the ukulele. And then the words reach her ears. He thinks we were banging.

    A sudden *twang* announces Jubilee's reaction to that -- one of the ukulele strings breaks. Silence. Her mouth hangs agape. Her shoulders tense.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Get a hobby man," Noriko says /very/ politely, for her.  She looks nauseous and just says, "I'm not feeling well," as if to explain why she's not up for the joke.  "Cool.  That explains a lot.  Enjoy the colorful dick stars."  She flips him a metal 'bird,' but it probably just looks like a blob or something phallic at this point to the poor guy anyways.  Maybe he will be transfixed by 'dick stars' as Nori has so fondly named them.

"They are?"  Noriko looks over at the bananas and the shrooms, back, forth, back, forth.  Sigh.  So far away.  Then Jubilee makes it easier as she starts to set out her trail.  That settles it.  Banana first.  Okay 3.  She eats them at human speeds, picking the ones a little under-ripe since they seem to be easier to peel for her.  "This takes forever.  How can you people do this?" as if eating so slow were as annoying as wiping your butt for a minute straight in a single go.  She watches as Jubes sets out more.  "Are you trying to lure me into a trap?" she teases.

"Thank you."  Jubilee might be the only person Noriko thanks.  She's tucking in half a banana to speed the process, cheeks full of 'nana mash when she hears the string break.  "Oh shit Jubes...is that fixable?"  She tries not to draw attention to anything else related to the 'banging' bomb she just relayed to Jubilee with little discretion.  "Have some gummies and tootsies...they solve everything...even broken strings."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith flops backwards and sets her head back down, staring up at the stars again, "Hey Nori, those stars look like you," she says in a looney fashion.

She frowns as Jubilee breaks her little instrument thingie and starts humming out loud to some well-known 90s song. "Hey Simon, what 90s songs do you like?"

Simon Lasker has posed:
Simon had thought it was just a bad pun, but now that everyone was tensing up, he wasn't so sure. "Come on, fireworks an lightning ... wait did you actually?" All of the sudden he felt a wave of guilt. "I am so sorry, I didn't realize, I was just joking ... Its ok I wont judge ..." The shrooms don't make him see things that aren't there. They just give everything MEANING. Those stars over there? They are 50 billion year old sad, cold and lonely baloons, putting their light out into a cold and lonely void. Simon feels like that sometimes. "Oh god I feel so bad, I didn't mean to ... its supposed to be special ... It wasn't for me, I got caught ... and then your parents hate you and it was just a one night thing and... " God the trees must be cringing so hard right now, or are they just doing that old people chuckle where they have seen it all before and Chris over here got caught with that pine over there who already had a boyfriend, and... He is going to be so pissed if they are just pulling a prank on him "This isn't making things better is it?"

Simon is more an angsty 00s rock kinda guy, but he heard metallica was supposed to be good and they were 90s right? "Metallica... I think they were 90s... " He bets the moon is into prog rock "You think the moon likes Dream Theatre? Oh wait there is no sound in space ... That is so sad ... I bet it can still get the bass from leaning against the subwoofers..."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha Smith laughs out loud at Simon, "Dufus, you can't use a subwoofer in space," she tells him in a looney fashion, "Hey guys, I'm just gonna lay here for a while, don't worry about me. If the teachers ask where I'm at, just tell em I'm over here by the fire staring at the sky waiting for aliens," she explains.

"Metalalalalica..." she chuckles, "Yeah that's badass, I think they were around in the 90s, yeah you're so right, they were around playing music in the 90s," she rambles.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "No we didn't!" Jubilee shouts, standing up suddenly. One hand is balled into a tiny fist down at her side. The other hand is holding the ukulele by the neck like a sword. "Why would you even /think/ that!" With the A string dangling like a noodle, Jubilee's sword has seen better days.

    Jubilee holds that hero pose for a couple of seconds before emptying her lungs. The carefree soul from earlier who had been bragging to Gabby about how much she could pee has been replaced with this little monster. But... Like Nori said, gummie bears and Tootsie Rolls can solve everything. She sighs again and sits back down next to her roommate. Her free hand reaches out and *swipes* the bag of gummie bears. "...Yeah...I have more strings back at the room..." she mutters to Noriko. Tabitha's request for an alien-watching DNR goes in one ear and out the other.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Great.  So I'm dick stars now?"  Noriko is not stoned enough for this.  She pulls out something from another pocket.  A Pez dispenser.  She pops something out into her mouth...two come out.  She shrugs and winces before grabbing the bottled water and washing it down.  Then she chases it with some Tootsie Rolls, because.  Tootsie Rolls.  It suddenly becomes evident how much trouble Noriko has on a regular basis and she seems to channel all her focus and thoughts into it.  Maybe she's just trying to disappear.  She doesn't respond to Simon as she continues to try and fail and fail and fail and fail...she can't get the wrapper off of the first one after untwisting it.

Finally, Noriko throws it into the fire and hunches down over the battery like a roll-y polly trying to armor up.  Tabitha is...it's like Nori never even heard her.  "Okay good," Noriko says in her cocoon to Jubes about her strings.

Simon Lasker has posed:
"look iz ok if things don't go great your firss... Oh my god, you can't break up, you just ..." Are stars heavier than air? Imagine sailing accross the sea on a star. "It gez better, I promise ..." What if they had been together this whole time and this was the last straw? "... I geddit if maybe its over, just wait 'ill the mornin when you're so--" He falls back onto the ground. The fire feels like he tried. sometimes people break up and last ditch boozathons don't work out. The whiskey resents the implication. "-ober" He wonders if booze likes to be drunk. "Who broke up with who?" The beer probably would rather be drunk than get poured into the ground, but whiskey is probably more zen. "Look I know Nori iz tough some timez, but she is worth it (probably)." Its really all the same. whether you get pissed into the ground or poured into it. "I just feel like I ruined everything..." The fire communicates to simon that he has had enough to drink, but maybe a soda would be good about now. "... And now my parents don't talk to eachother anymore."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee, meanwhile, has claimed some of the Tootsie Rolls and dutifuly unwrapped them. She gets through four and holds them out for Nori in the palm of her hand. Four Tootsie Rolls, unwrapped and fresh from the vine. "Here..." she says quietly. The bridge of her nose wrinkles a little, her eyes squinting as she inspects Nori. "...Are you feeling better?"

    And Simon keeps going!

    "Will you /please/ stop!" she pleads, visibly distressed by this. "We obviously didn't 'break up' because we're not dating! We're /friends/. Roommates! And those fireworks you heard were from the Salem Center!" She gives the dirt a little bit of a kick. Pout. "...I'm sorry about your parents," she says softly.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Time to hotbox with her battery.  Noriko pulls out her vape pen without looking and just puff-puff-puff.  Now she's just a little house with a chimney.  As Simon goes on and on and on and on, Noriko wishes she had enough juice to just...run and run and run all the way to the West Coast until she falls into the sea.

Then the armored house with arms reaches out to take the Tootsie Rolls silently and draws them back in to stuff them in her mouth.  This will keep her from saying something stupid and making everything worse?  Gum up the works.  Yeah.  Gah these taste sooooo good.  A brief reprieve from her own mortification and defeat in this grave that poor Simon seems to keep digging for her.  Hey look!  She's disappearing!...into herself.

Noriko doesn't answer Jubilee at first.  She just unfurls to push the battery out and pulls another one in.  "I just want the shrooms."  Nori's never done shrooms.  She has no idea how they will interact with her system, but now seems as good a time as ever to experiment.  "How many did you eat?" Noriko asks Simon dully for a frame of reference.  It's like someone's turn off her lights.  INTOXICATION STAT!  "I've never had them before."  She reaches out to grab some and looks down at them in the palm of her gauntlet.  "Maybe this will just be like some gross salad.  Who knows if it will work."  Before diving into that.  She pops two more 'PEZ.'

"Parents suck."  That's Nori's level of commiseration.

Simon Lasker has posed:
*Epiphany* Simon look at the fire. You are like that fire. Even with out the pyrokinesis, You bring warmth to everyone. That is your real power. Ahhhhhhh. Blisss. "Oh, yeah... I tried ta just be friends with my ex too ... ...Nori you gotta spidditout as soon as you get feelings or you'll be 'just friends' forever." Oh wow that is sooo warm. "I think I had like two." Soda time.

"Is cola made from like liquid deliciousness or izzit juz the booze talkin?"... The moon is smiling at him. "You gotta do something dramatic. Show her how you really feal." ... Thats the warmth they were talking about "Maybe when you get back to your room or somthin..." At this point he is just staring at the stars and mumbling to himself.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Earlier, it didn't matter that her shorts were way way way too short for the weather. She didn't get cold (or so she claimed). Now, though, she regrets her clothing choice. Despite crippling adversity in the form of an inebriated mutant with a fire fixation, Jubilee manages to make lemonade from lemons. She pulls the empty backpack towards herself and slips both feet into the opening and pulls the bag by the handles. It goes most of the way up her shins but, hey, it beats nothing.

    Jubilee doesn't bother arguing with Simon anymore. It's not working. She turns her head to Noriko, intending to give her a nervous smile. Instead, her eyes widen as she catches sight of her cheek illuminated by the fire. Jubes turns away to face forward. She says nothing.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I'll show /you/ how I really feel," Noriko rumbles darkly, eyes directed downward where her gauntlets happen to rest.  It's unlikely Simon can hear it across the crackling fire and that's likely by design, the only sign that some part of Noriko may not hold his intoxicated 'idiocy' against him.  He's remorseful.  HE'S JUST REALLY BAD AT THIS.  We can't all be so talented in areas that destroy other people's ability to remain in a non-blushing state.

"Oh...two."  Noriko shoves four into her mouth.  She hasn't looked at /anyone/ this entire time, so she misses Jubilee's reaction.  She does sense Jubes looking over with her peripheral vision, whether she realizes it's something she actually sees or not.

This was such a nice night.  And now, she still can't bring herself to look at the others gathered.  She reaches up to her hairline to see if she's stopped bleeding.  Noriko's /not/ going to leave until she knows Gabby is back where she needs to be to not get caught or...you know, too stoned, not that there is such a thing if one is generally receptive toward favorable experiences with such a substance.

Finally, Noriko looks over to Jubes.  It seems most people have knocked off or knocked out (effectively) anyways.  "Sorry about all this bullshit.  I didn't think straight."  She looks upwards to her disheveled hair.  Seeing the girl turtled up in the backpack, she reaches up to pull at the velcro of her jacket and offers it out to Jubes.  It's what good friends who can stay warm do, but how Noriko is going to stay warm in her raglan t-shirt is anyone's guess. Even her's.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee looks down at the offered jacket. "Thanks," she says with a smile. The jacket is wrapped around her shoulders, held tightly with her hands between pinched fingers. "...It's fine.." she replies, staring at the fire. "...He's just... having fun." Jubilee doesn't take her eyes off the fire, the flames dancing in the reflections on her eyes.

    And so, Jubilee would spend the rest of New Years Eve sitting by that fire, eating gummie bears, pre-unwrapping Tootsie Rolls, and generally being on hand in case the trip goes bad. When bored, she could play a three-stringed Ukulele. Not a bad night.