6057/Spring is for Flowers and Pie

Spring is for Flowers and Pie
Date of Scene:	27 April 2021
Location:	Xavier's School Front Yard
Synopsis:	Kurt and Kitty do a little gardening and are accomplices to a delicious theft.
Cast of Characters:	Kurt Wagner, Kitty Pryde

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Kurt Wagner has posed:
Ahhhhh, Spring. A time when a mutant's mind can turn back to nicer weather, the sound of bird song to wake up to, love in the air and... yard work?

Okay, the last isn't such a great reminder of the change of seasons and the approaching heat of lazy summer days, but it is pretty important, especially on a property as extensive as the one where Xavier's School sits. Much of it takes care of itself of course, left in it's natural state, wild and free. But enough of it is well manicured, grassy lawns cut short, neatly organized trees and brush and of course flower beds. Is it exciting? Well to some it probably is!

Kurt... is not exactly one of those people. It can be relaxing, true. But gardening lacks a certain... flair that the fuzzy blue elf traditionally goes in for. There is a distinct lack of swordfights and pirate battles when one is planting gardens and a good, solid spade will never be as romantic or dashing as a perfectly balanced rapier!

Still, it is a good excuse to be out and about in the warmer weather, a legitimate reason to be enjoying the sun instead of say, marking the latest round of history essays. So Kurt is out in front of the school, tending to one of the flower beds that encircles a tall oak tree, humming merrily to himself.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Such a perfect spring day. When the green comes back to the world after winter it just seems to become a whole new place. But even as idyllic as Xavier's School's grounds can be, the place has been known to draw various sorts of trouble.

A brief flash of shadow that emanates from behind him is the only warning that Kurt gets. Someone jumps past him, landing with both feet right on the flowers, and then jumping again and again all over to stomp them.

It might take a second or two to realize the flowers seem completely unaffected, as the stompers feet are just passing right through the flowers like she were a ghost. A ghost named Kitty Pryde. A ghost who stops jumping and just flashes a big gleeful grin at Kurt, eye brows going up as if silently asking if she got him there.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Look, it's a nice day and Kurt doesn't mind getting his hands a little dirty. He's all for procrastinating and avoiding doing his real work. But he is not so enamored with gardening that he is eager to redo all the effort he has put in so far just because someone is intent on causing trouble! There are limits afterall.

The sound that comes from the fuzzy blue elf sounds suspiciously like someone being strangled and he gives a start as that shadowed form leaps overhead to land in the freshly planted and fertalized garden, right atop the still new flowers, picked up from the nursery only this past weekend. And then they keep going, hopping onto the next set. It is only with the third jump that seems to leave no destruction in its wake that Kurt raises his head, a hand held up to his forehead to shield those brilliant yellow eyes from the bright sun pouring down it's afternoon warmth.

"You are an absolute monster Miss Pryde," he says, the reproachful tone in his voice definitely entirely undercut by the wicked grin on his face. He is certainly not above the same sort of hijinx afterall, so it is only fair that he learn to take it as well.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty flashes a grin at him as she walks out of the flowers to stand beside Kurt, chuckling despite herself. "Oh, that was fun," she says through that big grin. "Looks like you're doing a great job though. Want a hand?" she offers as she looks over to the flower bed.

The young woman glances around the place. "So where's old Logan Scissorhands? Did you get roped into doing this? Or wanted to beat him to the choice of flowers?" she asks. Assuming Kurt wants an extra set of hands to help share the work, she goes over to get an extra set of tools and bring back over. Kitty pulls on a pair of gloves and then moves to kneel by the flower bed.

She's wearing jeans and a t-shirt today, nothing that a little gardening would ruin. The t-shirt is white with purple on the shoulders and sleeves, and has a Grimace from McDonalds on the front, holding an Arctic Orange shake in one hand and a Shamrock shake in the other, and a perplexed look like he can't decide which to drink.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Some people are far too proud to ask for help, or such perfectionists that they won't trust anyone else to do the job.

Neither of those are failings that Kurt has and he motions to the little toolbox full of gardening supplies, full of an assortment of spades and hand rakes and ties and shears and everything else a burgeoning gardener could need. "You are a saint. Grab your tool of choice and dig in. It's a beautiful day, but the sooner this is done the sooner I can find somewhere to slack off with worrying about Logan tracking me down while I sleep and demanding I get back out here in the middle of the night to finish up," he says with a cheeky grin, reaching for the next flower to fit into the little hole he's just finished.

"He needed some help. And I figured doing this was a better alternative to mowing the whole back lawn," Kurt adds with a smile. He made his choice. He'll stand by it. "What brings you out here on such a lovely day?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty settles in, making holes and then transferring the flowers into them. Adding some plant food and then filling the holes back in. "Have you ever thought about the fact that we eat plants and get bigger. And then we die and our bodies decompose and feed the plants?" Kitty asks Kurt.

She pauses there as if she's letting something sink in before she adds. "They are farming us, Kurt. The plants are farming us for food." She holds up one of the flowers and points her spade at it threateningly. "I'm on to you," she says in a voice of suspicion.

The flower is given a reprieve and planted. "Oh, just figured I'd like to enjoy being outside for a bit. Haven't talked to you in awhile. So win-win if I help you. Also less Logan stabby holes in you are a positive," she says. "So what have you been doing lately?"

Kurt Wagner has posed:
The cycle of life. At it's most disturbing.

As she raises the point, Kurt pauses for a moment in consideration, his efforts in the flowerbed temporarily abandonned as he sits back on his feels and simply eyes those cold hearted flowers in front of him. "I have not ever thought of things that way before. It is possible that I will never consider them in any other way again now," he conceeds, narrowing his eyes towards the colorful display of flowers.

That's how they lure one in, pretty colors and beautiful scents. Then WHAM. You're a corpse, returning to the earth.

"Of course, if you consider this is what Logan asked me to do it would seem that he is really the mastermind behind all of this. I will have to find an appropriate way to let him know that I'm on to him," he says with just a hint of a smile and a firm nod. "Oh, things are rather quiet lately, all in all. Which I suppose is good. I mean, this is supposed to be a school. A lack of disasters is a good thing," he says, sounding very much like someone trying to talk himself into something that he doesn't quite believe. "Anything exciting up on your end?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty digs a series of holes, mounding the removed dirt next to each. And then places flower after flower in them while they talk. "Nothing too terribly exciting. There was the plane with the couple dozen Trask employees that got hijacked. Really kind of burns my butt helping them knowing what they've put us through," she says with a sigh. "I just hope some of them maybe learned a lesson about mutants from it."

She begins filling the holes back in then one after another. "Warren's good. The company seems to be doing well. We're planning a vacation very soon. Trip to the Mediterranean. Rent a yacht and go around Greece enjoying the islands and maybe checking out some of the ruins," she tells Kurt.

"And Lockheed," Kitty says, and pauses, glancing around. She looks up in the sky, shading her head. "I'm not really sure where Lockheed is," she says curiously. Just about then Lockheed can be seen, swooping over the roof of the school from the other side, and gliding down towards them. He's holding a steaming pie in his paws.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
The ironies of their particular vocation can be a little much to deal with at times. So often they are left to help people that would have nothing to do with them if they had their way. Sometimes people who have actively gone out of their way to hurt them, or their friends. It doesn't often change any minds, that they still help. But they can't really stop trying now can they? It is very much a part of who they are.

But it can wear on a person. As bright and cheerful as Kurt can be, as much as he is into the whole turn the other cheek thing, it is still no doubt hard. "We can hope. Perhaps some of them will surprise us this time," he murmurs in agreement. The hope is real and he is certainly an optomist. But he is far from naive.

Continuing to work his way around the tree, adding flowers to that little circular patch of dirt, the fuzzy blue elf flashes a grin her way and nods. "That sounds like quite a bit of fun," he admits. "The Mediterranean is lovely this time of year. Just do remember you have to come back eventually," he points out with a wry smile. "You might also want to consider looking for the opportunity to board a few ships while you're out there. Keeping up with pirating is very important," he says solemnly before turning his gaze heavenward and spotting Lockheed. "See? He has the right idea."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty's hand goes to the Cross of David that she has around her neck. Sometime around Christmas it went from being a plain silver one, to one that has the Tree of Life in the middle of the star, with turquoise stones set in it. "Yes, hopefully it catches on with some of them. Sometimes having your own life at risk has a way of cutting through where other things don't," she says.

Lockheed swoops in for a landing. "Oh no, what do you have now?" she asks the little dragon. Kitty takes off one glove and reaches out a hand over it. "Warm, but I don't know that it's too hot to eat," she says. Given that Lockheed enjoys swims in lava, if it were hot it wouldn't have deterred his bit of larceny at all.

She glances towards the school. "Well," she says, "Not like we have a food shortage around here." Kitty hops up, pulling off the other glove and dropping both. She trots over to her car, pulling out a bag and then coming back. She pulls out a couple of paper plates and a plastic knife. "We can just blame Logan if anyone wonders where it went," she tells Kurt with a grin as she cuts each of them a slice of the pie and plates it. Razzleberry. "I'll ask Warren about the piracy, though we might need a different boat for that," she says with a laugh.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
While the flower bed might not be quite finished, they have definitely put a sizable dent in it. And really, how many flowers are too much anyway? They don't want to overwhelm anyone. Especially themselves. With too much hard work without proper refreshment. That would be most unfortunate and entirely unacceptable!

Fortunately Lockheed has their back. While someone might be a little peeved that their pie has gone missing, the suggestion of blaming it on Logan only makes Kurt grin. "Very nicely done, my flying friend. I trust that you're going to help us get rid of the evidence of this crime?" he suggests to Lockheed before reaching out to take one of the offered paper plates, tilting his head as he does so. "How interesting that you were already prepared. You either know Lockheed very well, or you've learned to always be prepared for stolen pie. Or you were in on the whole thing all along," he points out, that plastic utensil twirled about in his fingers agilely, pointed and thrust her way like a miniature sword before flipping back to dig into the still warm pie.

"Well, I suppose you might have other items on the agenda. Still, it seems like too good an opportunity to miss," Kurt muses with just a hint of a smile on his features. It might be good that he does not often get away on vacation.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty sits up a little straighter as Kurt mentions the coincidence of Kitty having plates and utensils in her car. In a tone of voice like someone might use in replying to questions from a congressional subpoena, Kitty says, "Why Kurt. I am not sure what you mean. I can neither confirm nor deny any prior knowledge or involvement. I have no specific recollection of these circumstances."

She grins over at him and then gets a bite of her pie. "Actually, had a picnic not that long ago and still had the bag in there. Lucky coincidence," she says with a grin.

Kitty looks at the pie and tells Lockheed, "You should probably take it back when you're done. Just with the three slices missing." She reaches over and pats the little dragon.

She glances around. "I guess we're stuck drinking water from the hose though," she tells Kurt with a warm chuckle.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Hey, Kurt is a big fan when it comes to the power of coincidence. Sometimes one just has to rely on that to explain away things that otherwise seem terribly suspicious. It is not as if he hasn't faced accusations of preparing some elaborate prank when clearly he just happened to be caught at the wrong place, at the wrong time. How can that happen to someone so often when they can teleport to and fro in the blink of an eye? Coincidence!

"That seems entirely legitimate and believable to me," he agrees with a smile, the corners of his mouth twitching with mirth as he teases her just a little more before nodding his thanks to their resident space dragon. "My thanks once again, Lockheed. And remember if someone does happen to catch you returning your ill-gotten prize, just remember to point them in Logan's direction. He is ultimately responsible for all of this afterall," he says, that solemn tone given lie by the mischievious smile marking the fuzzy blue elf's features.

"And the hose is perfectly acceptable. We're roughing it. It's an adventure!" he asserts firmly. Sooner or later just about everything is with him!

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Lockheed finishes scarfing down his piece of pie sooner than the rest. He licks his lips and looks at the rest of the tin. "Oh you already had enough. You're going to ruin your appetite. What will I do if we find another nest of Sidra hunters?" she asks the dragon, who ate a nest of the aliens the first time she found out he'd stowed away on their way back to Earth.

Lockheed trots over to the tin, flapping his wings as he picks it up with all four feet and then flies back off into the sky, heading towards the back where the back door to the kitchen is.

She turns back to Kurt, grinning over at him. "So it's been awhile since we've done any pirating down in the Danger Room. High time we had another adventure, isn't it?" she asks him.