5556/Sunshine and Brisket!

Sunshine and Brisket!
Date of Scene:	12 March 2021
Location:	Back Yard
Synopsis:	Relaxing conversation, and promises of food and swimming to Mackey.
Cast of Characters:	Henry McCoy, Kassandra Pagonis, Ruth Aldine

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Henry McCoy has posed:
A warm day! 60F, sun shining - the perfect day for brisket! The scent of the smoking and the brisket cooking has Henry all ready to eat. Of course, there are hours to go before it's ready - but he can certainly enjoy the aroma. Henry is going to be making a mess of cornbread - the ingredients are coming to room temperature in the kitchen. There will be good eating this evening!

For now, Henry was relaxing outside in the sun, letting the warmth beam down on his blue fur. He's got a glass of iced tea, the man looking to be the pinnacle of relaxation.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
There's a part of Kassandra that feels a little bad. With Spring Break coming up, her classes are, thus far, beginner level at best. Sure, she knew her social security number and the like, but it still took time and effort for records to be got, transferred, and the like, so to cut down on time that may be considered wasted, she was going through a battery of tests to determine what she knew and how she knew it. Thankfully, she managed to beg off Friday for Brisket which, when she explained the religious significance to Texans, the counselor, with a chuckle, adjusted the schedule so she could cook. So now, here she sits out by the smoker at the edge of the backyard in a lawnchair, with a folding table next to her. On that table is a large roll of butcher paper, a knife, and a few other things. Oh, and iced tea. Sweet tea. That she sips now and again.

"You know you don't need to sit out here with me all the time, Henry." She says, lifting her tea to sip, making sure her temperatures are in the right spot that they need to be before settling back. "It's a whole bunch of babysitting right now, making sure it doesn't get too hot, pushing the meat through the stall...kind of boring, really."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Well, that happened.

Ruth being woken up by an excited, possibly over fifty pound rotweiler with exclamations and excitement of cooked meat. COOKED meat. Not raw but cooked! And of course, his incessant babbling and ranting as she slipped on her clothes, grabbed her ruana and.. straight to the bathroom. Teeth needed to be brushed, hair needed to look okay. Being a senior.. well, being Ruth, it was a good day to skip a majority of classes simply because she did not feel like it.

Sleep in. Go outside. Sleep some more.

With slippers on, she drags herself through the extended hallways, down stairs, out the backdoor all with a constantly jibbering dog at her side. Ruth says nothing, but follows the trail of good smells into the slightly warm outdoors. Being skinny just wasn't in. She was already cold.

"Hello." Ruth says, then parks it right upon the grass. Wet or not. She'll deal with everything later. It was Mackey who was the one in charge today, she was just there for lip service.

Henry McCoy has posed:
"Tending. Meat tending, Kassandra. Not baby sitting." He chuckles, tapping his chin. "I imagine if you mentioned you were babysitting what was in the smoker, you might need to answer several questions." Henry laughs, stretching out in his chair. "And nonsense, it's a good day, I've got good company - it's good to be out in the fresh air. I get wound up in work, and often get sequestered away in my lab." The Beast grins over to her. "Focus is wonderful, until you let the rest of your life pass by."

A glance to the door at the sound of the hungry rottie and a wave is sent over in that direction. "Ruth! Come down to enjoy the day? Or were you lead by a hungry pup?" He grins. Plenty of chairs around too, should she want to spare herself the grass stains.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
It's often been referred to in certain circles as 'babysitting the brisket,' or shortened to 'babysitting,' but Kassandra can see how that would produce an image that might not be very pleasant. And besides, the smoker's way, way too big for a baby. Wouldn't work, and all the squeaky toys would melt and ruin the smoker. She chuckles and takes a sip of her tea, watching as a woman in pajamas and a very excited dog start their way across the lawn, beckoned by the smell of smoke and cooked meats.

"Two questions or, rather, subjects of conversation. First...who is she? Ain't met her yet. Guessin' a student? And second, not to get you wound up in work, but what'cha working on? Me, I'm busy, but not very. Ororo has me writing a paper on what my ability is and how I've learned what it can do and stuff like that. And testing. Which sucks." She ruefully takes another sip of her drink.

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"Hungry pup." Ruth answers, she wasn't short or curt, she just didn't feel the need to offer up any more information than that. A slight chill runs through her body as she tries to acclimate to being awake and present, tugging the ruana tighter along her arms, hoping to 'hug' the chill away with that motion alone.

"I am Ruth Aldine, yes." She states to the new lady/student, listening of course, recalling the times she went through testing as well and wandered off into a land of pure whatever.

Mackey sits right next to her, height taller than she is now, watching the two as they speak with the usual head tilt of a pup attempting to understand. He huffs in a fuff, foot lifting and touching against the ground as if he were to take off at any moment.

"Process, Mackey, yes. Takes while. Food will not be done, pardon, til it is done." She reaches up to pat his shoulder, then quickly tucks her arm away again for safety.

Henry McCoy has posed:
If Henry could blush visably, he'd be red! "Ah, forgive me. Kassandra Pagonis, this is Ruth Aldine. She's a senior here." A smile is given to both. "Kassandra is newly enrolled - still meeting people. I should have made introductions." He adds sheepishly.

A grin to the rotweiler, but no motion forward. No need to startle him! Henry looks to Kassandra then, canting his head. "It will get easier the more you've practiced, I've heard. And knowing your limits and capabilities is vital to knowing how to control your gifts."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
Oooh, puppy! Kassandra scoots forward to sit on the edge of her chair, reaching out curved fingers for the dog to sniff and, if she's allowed, to scratch him behind the ears. "It's good to meet you, Ruth. I like your dog. And if you're cold, we can get a chair closer to the pit. I mean...It's in the 230 range right now. Kind of nice to sit close." Don't ask about summer. summertime by the pit is difficult, but if you need to lose weight? Do that.

She looks over to Henry. "Yeah, I know. Like working a muscle. I think Ororo wants an idea of what I can do to start on a training regimen or something. She seems to think I can be helpful."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"Like breathing, yes." Ruth expands upon Henry's mention of training. Using them will be much like breathing. Ruth's case was different however, she's had hers since birth. But the interaction between Kassandra and Henry was enough for Ruth to feel comforted. Ususally she doesn't spend time with people, and if she did, it would have been with the same. This was just a breath of fresh air, much like the current air that's slightly blowing..

Mackey feels the same, taking the steps to walk towards Kassandra, head held high and confident. There was no fear, only confidence that he would get the pets and scritches that he so deserved because he was a 'Good boy', as many continue to tell him.

Ruth takes the invitation to sit closer to the pit, taking in the warmth that hits her cheeks first, and sighs. That.. felt good. "Thank you."

Henry McCoy has posed:
"Quite likely, Kass. We do tend to cater our training to better suit the people involved." A smile from Henry. "It only makes sense to work with each individual in honing their gifts." The Beast nods. His hands reach over towards the smoker, as if testing the warmth. Yep! That's warm. He scoots his chair closer, enjoying the heat.

Once Ruth is settled in, he chuckles. "Soon enough it'll be nice and warm out on the regular. Then the pool parties start." He grins, looking over to the now-covered swimming pool.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
"So...I've only met a couple of students so far. The thing that kind of surprised me, getting here, was that people didn't wear little name tags with their powers. Hi, I'm Jean, and I can bend space with my mind. Hi, I'm Scott, I shoot lasers from my face. I know it's silly, but I almost expected a kind of...dance, I guess? Everyone knowing what the other could do. This place is so..." Kassandra looks around. "So normal."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"Normal is abstract." Ruth comments, then nods. There wasn't a glance towards the pool, but Mackey-Tag immediately knew what Henry spoke of. SO much so, that he stood up upon all fours and began to bark in the direction of the covered pool. He too, was wistful.

"We can do that now, yes. Thank you, you are a pup, you can get used to the cold and get warmer quicker than anyone." She reaches out to pat Mack's side, who growls a little in return. Still, no fear. It was just a little disagreement in between friends.

"He wants to know, sorry, when the food is done."

Henry McCoy has posed:
A chuckle as Ruth calms the big dog. "Well, the lake is open - he could go for a swim there, if he wanted." Henry comments, stretching out so his feet are closer to the heat. Toes wiggle and bask in the warmth. Quite the lovely day indeed!

Looking to Kassandra, he considers for a moment. "Most of us want normal, after all. We want to not be gawked at, or prodded. We want to be able to live our life as we see fit - as we should be able to." A wry smile. "Sometimes, looking normal is akin to feeling normal. Sometimes, being the odd person out with your appearance is very ... taxing." A shrug. "Here, we can be us, and not be our powers or gifts. Most people are fine about talking over their gifts, if you ask nicely."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
"The issue you run into with that? Lake has stuff pool does not, and I don't mean fish. I mean mud, rocks, algae and..." Kassandra leans over to peer at the treeline, using what she knows about distance and the like. "'bout five hundred feet of open ground. That's the recipe for a dog that's carryin' their weight in grime back to the clean house and more than likely your bed, Ruth." Ask her how she knows about this.

She's assuming Ruth has animal telepathy of some kind, or can read the dog's moods better than she can, so Kassandra hops up to go check the brisket. Temperature is right so the lid is swung open to reveal four paper-wrapped briskets, a rack of beef ribs, two racks of baby back ribs wrapped in foil, and something that Xi'an Coy Manh put in away from the fire, but somewhere it could get a lot of smoke. There's a click as a pockeknife as it's opened and Kassandra reaches in to cut one of the ribs off, gingerly sliding it out with a paper towel, setting it aside to cool. "When this is cool." she says to the dog. "You can have it. Meat, bone, and all." The lid is closed, one stick of oak is slid into the firebox...and then a second...and then Kassandra sits back down in her seat.

"I think you look just fine, Henry." Kassandra says. "I like the blue."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Lake?! Mackey was all tails and wags, barking a little, huffing and ready to go running. It was clear that he was speaking to Ruth, quite possibly attempting to get permission to go.

"No."

There was still grumping and griping, but Ruth didn't waver, Henry has just created a monster..

"Most have eyes." Ruth comments about the normalcy of the house. Though she was still insecure about her own visage, and managed to keep herself hidden. Often times, her desire to be hidden transfers to others, and they often do not see her or forget she's there. Or maybe she's just too damn quiet.

The attitude of the large pup is soon quelled as Kassandra promises him some sweet and cooked meat, Ruth already craving a bit herself but managing to keep herself under wraps. Patience was key here, especially for good smoked meat. Any meat eater would know this! Mackey calms down, laying upon the grass near Ruth as she comments, "Blue is a wonderful color.." Her head tilts now, slightly turning towards Henry. "..do not change this. Future happiness is illusion. The twentieth formula is wrong.. and.. " Her head tilts again, frowning. "..you will need new beakers."

Henry McCoy has posed:
If he wasn't blushing before, Henry almost certainly is now. A sheepish grin. "I've grown rather fond of the color, thank you." At the comment from Ruth, his brow raises. "I will... take that under advisement, Ruth. Thank you." A smile to the other woman, eyes or no. "Sorry about that Mackey. Soon enough, the pool will be open." He assures the canine.

The Beast inhales deeply when the ribs are opened, his stomach all but growling. "Apologies. That smells divine, Kass." He compliments.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     "Takes a little practice and a lot of time." Kass says with a glance over to Beast, drawing her legs beneath her. "You'll get some too, don't you worry. Now thatI know a pooch is around, I'll do my best to get some bones for you. Big ones for crunching, full of all the good stuff that doggies love."

Leaning back, she looks to Ruth with her bandanna across her eyes and lets out a soft breath, followed by a nod. "Guess you're right on that. Most do, but some don't, and that don't make 'em anything other'n one of us. Just without eyes."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Mackey makes a noise at Henry, indicating that he was accepting of the circumstances and his denial to take a swim. But.. when no ones looking later..

"I'm hungry too, yes.." Ruth murmurs, then scratches her nose with a hand that was hidden within the depths of her ruana. As Kassandra makes her remark, Ruth agrees with but a nod, appreciating the acknowledgement and the wisdom in her words. "Yes, sorry. To be fair, we are boring." Ruth, for once, lets out a little laugh, then stands. "And shower. Bye." And with that, she walks off, leaving Mackey behind to be cared for and pampered because everyone tells him that he's such a good boy.

He deserves it!