7020/Time for that Regret

Time for that Regret
Date of Scene:	21 July 2021
Location:	Cafeteria and Bar
Synopsis:	Lydia and Mystique both offer hangover remedy advice - and the trio continue to discuss Clarice's inability to really wrap her head around the idea of 'hobbies.'
Cast of Characters:	Clarice Ferguson, Lydia Dietrich, Raven Darkholme

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Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Yesterday's oblivion is today's regret - just as Clarice had predicted. The young woman is currently stretched out on one of the couches - ignoring some sort of cooking show on the TV as she's faced up towards the ceiling, with one arm draped over her eyes. A little coffee table beside her holds a mug of ginger tea, and beside that? The same bag of chips she'd been carting around. She was currently nibbling at one with much hunger of enthusiasm, probably in the futile hope that it will somehow help her feel better than she currently does.
    Good luck with that, Clarice.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
With as much time as she's spending on the Asteroid, Lydia may as well have a secondary apartment up here. Today she's decided to check in on Clarice to see how she's faring after last night's drinking binge. It didn't take her long to find Clarice sprawled out on the couch, and seeing the state of her, she decided to make a little 'hair of the dog' that Raven gave her yesterday morning.

"Here," she says, setting it down on the table. "This is for you. Tastes nasty but it helps. Mystique made one for me yesterday and I was mostly functional for the rest of the day. That, water, and aspirin seemed to help." She also thunks down a bottle of water and a pill bottle filled with aspirin.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I already did the asprin thing," Clarice mumbles out after finishing the chip. She lifts her arm from her eyes long enough to peer at Lydia and her offerings before letting it drape back into place again. "How awful was I?" she asks with a groan. "I don't usually get so..." What words do you really use to describe her mood last night?
    She decides not to even try. Surely Lydia knows what she means.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia goes to sit on the couch, and taps Clarice's legs to scooch over to let her sit. "Not as bad as I was. I apparently turn into a party girl when drunk. You were just sullen, though that might be because of why you were drinking."

She sighs at her companion's lack of words. "I know. What we learned yesterday kind of was a stab in the back. You'd thought it was over and then *bam* it's right back in your face."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "And doing the same thing to more kids," Clarice adds quietly - after shifting herself into a partially-upright position. Just saying it makes her stomach turn - as if her stomach wasn't quesy enough already. "We're going to get them out, though." Hopefully before much harm was done to them. Even in an absolute worst case scenario - he couldn't have had his hands on any of the kids for more than five years. Hopefully they're talking less than a year, though.
    As her hand drops from her eyes, she leans forward to pick up the hangover cure, eyeing it with a dubious expression. "What's in this thing?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
With the same stealth that has allows the woman to survive for as long as she had, Mystique had remained unnoticed as she lingered by the doorway leading into the bar. She had been watching to the two in silence, a small smile playing on her lips. It was almost like having a family, and it sort of felt nice, even if Clarice felt particularly horrible right now.

"If she made the same one I did, it's gin, water, tobacco and chili powder," she offers finally walking into the room. "But there's lots of recipes for it."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"This one is raw egg yolk, some tomato juice, hot sauce, and some soy sauce. I looked it up online. Just gulp it down in one go, then you'll probably need this-" she taps on the bottle of water "to help wash the taste out of your mouth." She shrugs. "Something about the egg yolk helps break down some of the toxins that build up in the liver after drinking a bunch and the rest... I dunno. All I know is that it helps.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "...the other one sounds better," Clarice complains. "But - fine." She eyes the glass in her hand for a moment, apparently steeling herself before knocking it back and making a face. She follows it up with a sip of her tea - and another one of her chips. She has plenty of options for getting the taste out of her mouth - see?
    "...did I really propose a group island trip last night?" she asks - looking between Mystique and Lydia. Because, of course, out of everything she'd proposed - //that's// the part that stuck in her mind.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique perches on the arm of the couch, "Yep. You, me, Victor and Lydia, bikini swimming."

She leans herself back a little, getting comfortable. "You made a few other suggestions for group activities as well, but I think it best we not bring those back up. You should try eating some toast or crackers, to help settle your stomach."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"You can always change you mind," Lydia says. "I won't hold you accountable to any suggestions you might make while your drunk. However, if we don't go bikini snorkeling on /your/ island I'm sure we can find another that'll do the trick. Besides," she adds with exaggerated primness, "I want to see my girlfriend in a bikini." She's still getting used to that. Having a /girlfriend/.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I have chips," Clarice counters, digging back into her bag of tortilla chips for another to nibble on. So, she had offered an island trip. To //her// island? She looks between the pair, stalling for time as she nibbles slowly at the chip. Finally she offers, "I'm not going to be the one to tell Mister Creed it's bikini's-required," she deadpans.
    "And we'll need another three sets of snorkels. I've only got the one."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique chuckles, "Clarice, you don't have to take anyone out there. No one expected what you say while your drunk to be a real offer. There's plenty of other places we could go and snorkel. As for Victor, I'll tell him, he'll tell me to fuck off, we'll laugh and he'll wear whatever the hell he wants."

The bartender wanders over long enough to hand Mystique a cup of coffee, then he wanders off again. "I seem to recall talk about learning to SCUBA as well, not last night, just in general. Nothing you said last night stick around."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia nods to Mystique. "When we were brainstorming things that we could do for Clarice for /when/ she takes time off, SCUBA came up and it seemed to tickle her fancy." Since it doesn't look like Clarice is interested in the water, Lydia claims it for herself. "There's this place in New York that does lessons and has an indoor pool that they train you in so you don't have to worry about what time of year it is."

She takes a sip of water, "I also suggested that she get a boat and learn how to sail but that didn't go over quite so well."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I mean. I'm definitely taking time off," Clarice remarks - focusing on sipping more of her ginger tea for the moment. "And the boat thing is simply... well. //Funny//. It's more ridiculous than the motorcycle lessons." Which unfortunately never got very far. But why talk about that?
    "Why not my island, though?" she adds, talking down towards her cup. "I mean, seems silly not to, you know, take people I trust there. And- well. There's already a little shelter there, and water, and some food, and some extra towels and such. And it's not like any of you would just be popping over on your own."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Taking a drink of the coffee, Mystique chuckles a little. "That's what I said last night." She leans over and mock whispers, "We don't need a beach for you to see me in a bikini, you just have to say which me." Then she sits back up for another sip of her coffee.

"Learning to sail or ride a motorcycle isn't about getting someplace, it's about the thrill of the ability to do it /and/ get some place. Sure, the getting there isn't a challenge for you, but being out on a lake or the ocean, controlling the sail boat, it can be fun."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia gives Clarice a languid shrug, "It's /your/ island. A place for you to get away from everything. It's perfectly understandable if you want to keep that kind of space for yourself."

Lydia blushes furiously when Mystique whispers to her. She reaches out and takes her hand, rubbing her thumb against the back of it. "I like both, you know. You're sexy either way."

She nods at what Mystique has to say about sailing, "That's what /I/ said."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Doesn't mean it's not funny," Clarice counters, before taking another sip. "And - I don't know. I suppose I should try //going// sailing, before I try //learning// to sail. You know? But it hardly seems as exciting as a motorcycle. And the motorcycle I can get through portals quite easily."
    She picks up another of her chips, nibbling at it as she watches the interplay between Mystique and Lydia without comment. It was letting Lydia onto the island that gave her a little more pause than Mystique and Creed - not that that should be any real surprise. But was it really warranted. "It can still be my get away - as long as everyone knows they're not allowed without a specific invitation.
    "Except in the case of medical emergencies," she adds in a wry tone.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique slides down onto the couch beside Lydia now, like really beside, squished in there, but the arm wasn't comfortable. "Lydia, are you going to get the exact GPS location of Clarice's island, arrange a ship to take you to the middle of no where to go to the island? No? Didn't think so."

She looks around Lydia to Clarice, "I think that's covered... you know Victor and I won't go out there, and Lydia has no reason to. As for motorcycle, I could teach you if you still want to learn."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia grins at Clarice, "I suppose not. The reason why I suggested sailing was because you could take the boat out to reefs and then snorkel there, but I understand if it doesn't appeal to you."

Lydia moves over a little bit to give Mystique a bit of room (but not /too/ much room). "I'm not even going to bring my phone on this trip so I'll have absolutely /no clue/ as to where we are. I couldn't tell anybody even if I wanted to. Which I don't."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yeah, but I can also just, you know... blink out there, if there's something I want to see further out," Clarice points out. "But there's plenty to see around the island. It really is beautiful." There's a moment of wistfulness in her tone - and a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the thought. "Anyways - you'll like it. Mys- Raven liked it. Once she got over the confusion, anyways.
    "And it might be nice to still learn how to ride a motorcycle. There's something thrilling to going so fast like that."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique reaches around Lydia to nudge Clarice, "You gave me no warning at all and suddenly I'm standing on a stranded island beach. Just be happy you didn't get the normal reaction to that level of shock." She laughs, then just keeps her arm around Lydia.

"I'll get us a good motorcycle, teach you both how to ride. No offense to Toaster, but he lacks speed."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia snuggles into Raven with a contented sigh. "I feel that there's a story behind Raven's sudden appearance on the island," she says.

"And it's true. Toaster isn't fast but he's still my mighty steed."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Since //when// do you need a warning?" Clarice counters. She finally finishes off her tea, shrugging her shoulders before setting the cup aside. "Not much of a story," she admits. "Just- I mean, you were both saying I didn't know how to, umm... relax. That I didn't have any hobbies. That I'm always looking over my shoulder for an attack, so... So I took Mystique to my island, is all." Look, it made sense to her, at the time.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique smirks slightly, "You forgot the part where you offered your hand and bam, we were just there, no context given. As for warning, always. You don't just port me around places that I don't know I'm going, except that once, but we're letting it go."

She wraps her arm more around Lydia, "Though admitted, despite wanting to kill something in that moment, the island's really nice and mellow, and I like it."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I was asking permission!" Clarice counters - with the pair digressing into friendly bickering while the purple skinned mutant continues to nibble at her bag of chips, with poor Lydia 'caught in the middle' - as it were. Once Clarice's stomach has settled enough to tolerate the thought of someone else's teleport and pushes herself to her feet. "I'll see if Mister Creed wants a swim, and go grab my suit," she remarks - leaving Lydia and Mystique to fetch theirs, as well.