Owner	Pose
Jubilation Lee	Now that the weather has started to get warm, Westchester County's best and only ice skating rink -- The Rinkity Rink -- has seen a nice uptick in business. It's a great place to beat the heat with a little indoor ice skating and and it remains a popular first date location among Westchester middle schoolers thanks to its relatively low prices, relatively greasy pizza, and relatively longer hours on the weekend. Normally, a Saturday night would mean popular music playing over the speakers while the snack bar's deep fryer gets pushed to its limits while nervous tweens work up the courage to reach out and grab the hand of that special someone while out on the rink.     Though nothing was posted on their website, the Rinkity Rink has been strangely closed this evening with no explanation given. The pimply faced teenager who would normally work the door has been replaced by a tall, darkly dressed man with a eerie, cadaverous pallor. No one is allowed in tonight -- special occasion -- though strict instructions have been given to make sure that a certain blue-haired speedster is allowed in free-of-charge.     The rink is empty except for four individuals. The DJ has reported for work and is spinning tracks just like it's any other weekend. The snack bar clerk is standing behind the counter waiting to take orders, though a Sprite has been already poured waiting for someone to come by to take it. The third individual is Aldebrand the Castillan, the ancient, unamused majordomo to the vampire Duchess of Westchester. She's here, too.     Under the retro stylings of the 80s single "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, a young Asian woman glides across the ice, flowing like the metal on the edge of a knife. Though she moves swiftly, her form seems weightless as she effortlessly performs one move after the other, skates carving delicate patterns in the smooth glistening surface beneath her. With each twirl and spin, she seems more contented, more delighted, with a bright smile that makes her seem almost ethereal, as though she were a creature from a dream world come to life. Observing a vampire of her variety has a way of playing tricks on the imagination.     In reality, it's a rare moment of simple, unencumbered happiness for Jubilation Lee that her vampire curse expresses with her physical form. With loosely closed eyes, Jubilation leans her head backward while the rest of her proceeds like a poetry in motion. Her hair flows behind her like a river of night, an extension of her spirit, and an expression of her joy. These nights are rare for Jubilee and, soon, it will get even better.
Noriko Ashida	Noriko held her breath for a moment when she realized where she was to meet her fiance.  But then she smiled and strapped a giant green plastic dish which has seen better days onto her back.  It's just one of those things kids use to slide down a hill without any control and plenty of friction...only Noriko's /waxed/ it, for the first time. The speedster strides in confidently...well, after turning sideways to get through the door.  "Jubes?"  She asks softly as if half expecting to find the vampire right there waiting for her.  She pads to the edge of the ring in a slow-for-her blur and leans over to rest her elbows on the side of the rink as she watches Jubilation sail along the sea of ice in slow motion.  Her head tilts to the side as she watches the ripples of hair like ribbons of night, transfixed as she basks in Jubilation's happiness.  She couldn't interrupt it even if she wanted to. Nori has on a pair of her cargo pants and her leather hooded jacket over one of her t-shirts that /doesn't/ have Xaviers branding all over it, second hand.  On her feet?  The blue and orange kicks someone special gave her once upon a time.
Jubilation Lee	Every movement is a gentle expression of youth and beauty. Jubilee just skates across the ice, leaving behind a mesmerizing wake with each and every shift of her legs and hips. As the song begins to wind down, Jubilation's attention shifts back to the here and now, allowing her to finally see that her date has arrived. Her smile changes. Earlier, her smile communicated her emotional state to anyone without special abilities for detecting them, but now her smile is pointed and it's clear what's creating it.     Jubilation lifts one foot and changes edges as she turns towards Noriko, tracing a shape that resembles the number three on the ice. The unique turn absorbs much of her speed, allowing her to slow to a breezy, gentle halt just in front of Noriko at the rink's wooden railing. "Nori-Nori-bo-bori," Jubilee greets with no end of enthusiasm. She shifts her weight over the front of her skate blades, allowing Jubilation to lean over the railing and plant a brief kiss that ends with a slight stumble and grin. "What took you so long?" she teases. "I thought you were supposed to be fast... I knew that was a bunch of B.S." Her smile fades a touch after noticing Noriko's empty-handed.     "Nori, where's your Sprite?" she asks, sounding legitimately confused. Jubilee turns towards Aldebrand, who has been looming silently on a bench. "Aldie, where's Nori's Sprite?" she asks.
Noriko Ashida	Noriko knows that stumble is like the flirtation of a cat dating a dog.  Cats always land on their feet, and after what Nori saw Jubes just do, she highly doubts the vampire could lose her balance unless she wanted to.  Nori can't resist, her grin broadening after the kiss as she leans back over the railing to steal another one.  "Had to wax," well really it was finding the dish that took too long, "this bad boy.  He still needs a name."  In a flash, the dish is off her back and she's gently setting it against the railing like some teenage boy whipping a guitar out for action. "Total B.S." Noriko agrees.  "Hmm?  No clue.-Yeah Aldie, where's my Sprite?  Better be cold."  As if she knew there were a Sprite waiting for her.  "And not watered down...this guy."  Noriko could care less about Aldie's job performance (unless it bothers Jubes), but she can't resist either.  If she were less friendly feeling toward the guy, the ribbing would probably be a lot sharper. "You...wow," is all Noriko can get out...with all the time in the world, she still finds herself speechless.  "Are there any skates waiting for me?" she wonders tentatively, head whipping round like a lemur on alert.
Jubilation Lee	Aldebrand stares at the pair with a blank, lidded expression. Instead of his usual attire of puffy shirts and velvet smoking jackets, Aldebrand wears an outfit that had obviously been chosen by Jubilation. It's an outfit typical for a Gen-Z guy -- a t-shirt with a faded graphic of the 1980s Puff the Magic Dragon cartoon character, hunter green joggers, and brand new pair of Stan Smiths sneakers. He looks absolutely, positively, neutral about it. "Right. Please forgive my error," he drones. "I'll go fetch Miss Ashida's.... Sprite." The amount of venom he uses in how he pronounces the word is equally as unhealthy as the soda itself.     He excuses himself to fetch a Sprite from the snack bar.     It seems to be 80s night, as Tears For Fears gives way to Cyndi Lauper's classic Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Just in time for a rink that's entirely empty except for Jubilee at the edge with Noriko. Once Aldebrand is gone, Jubilation doesn't look away from Nori. She stares, trying to make and maintain eye contact with the speedster, grinning from ear to ear. "Doesn't seem regulation..." Jubilee accuses before giving the dish a couple knocks with her fist. "...It's perfect!" Just for existing, Noriko earns herself another quick peck from Jubilation, leaving a dark purple lip-print on the speedster's cheek.     "Are there skates?" Jubilation repeats. "Jeez, Nori, I didn't think you'd wanna get on the ice again..." She shrugs her shoulders. "And bring some skates for Nori!" Jubilee shouts, drawing out another one of Aldebrand's droll groans that confirm he heard her.
Noriko Ashida	"He's not getting a tip," Noriko informs Jubes as she watches Aldebrand drift along.  "Okay maybe a little one.  I want to tuck it into his pocket."  Tipping Aldebrand a dollar on her way in is her favorite thing to do at court in lieu of not having keys to toss him.  Her gaze returns to Jubilation with that perpetual grin.  "Of course it isn't!" she exclaims, as if anything regulation would be an insult.  There is the slightest tilt of her head toward Jubilation, one of the small things anyone slower wouldn't have the instinct or nuance for in the face of Jubilation's darting exuberance. At Jubilation's repetition, Noriko's eyes widen suddenly.  Yeah, that's like asking if there are shoes in a bowling alley.  She flushes quickly before Jubes can even get her words out.  "I'm trying.  It's just ice," she says with an affected nonchalant shrug like she's not already tensing up at the thought of it.  "We should really slip him a club kid some day." "So is this what you do for your last meeting of the night every morning? Training for the Olympics?"  She reaches out with her gauntlets to slide the cool metal fingers down to Jubilee's hands.  It's a little awkward, but everything is with those gauntlets.
Jubilation Lee	"Oh, he'd like that, I bet. Probably take one look at it and start telling a story about how George Washington took his sister to her first cotillion or something," Jubilee whispers, her smile oppressive and unyielding. "Noriiiii, I didn't mean you had to come here and skate," Jubilation explains, watching the color appear on the speedster's cheeks. She reaches out and gently squeezes one, as if to make it very clear that she saw it and that, no, she would not let Noriko be alone with that. That there's no room to be embarrassed with her. Another kiss is placed, not far from the previous spot on Noriko's cheek. "I just wanted to skate for a little longer instead of wasting all that time going home.... And you're way faster, so, like, I figured we could hang here."     Jubilation once again rises on the front edge of her skate blades so she can get a better view of her majordomo as he starts his return route with Noriko's Sprite. "Oh, yeah, like, someone with pink hair and glow sticks and all that. They're always good for a good time..." she elaborates. Sampling the blood of a human still high on ecstasy is a real treat for a vampire.     "...Or just Q." she adds, rolling her eyes a little for good measure.     Though it was certainly unintentional, Noriko's teasing about training for the Olympics causes Jubilation's light to go out abruptly. The muscles that hold her smile in place relax. Her eyebrows briefly rise in astonishment and then lower as her gaze finds the ice. Memories of her childhood, an eternity ago, when her parents were still alive and she was indeed training for the Olympic games. Gymnastics.     "No," is all she says. Quietly, too.
Noriko Ashida	Noriko smirks cotillion knock, her head tilting at the little pinch of her cheek, her lips pinching together sheepishly.  "Oh.  Yeah....haaang here?" she nuzzles a little at the trailed kiss, the kind of response that cannot be observed, only felt. "Right.  But the ones who are staring at the glow sticks," Nori reminds Jubes like she's telling her not to pick out the right herbs in the countryside.  "Waiit.  What's Q?"  Her brows draw together, unable to hide her interest. The speedster sees the effects of her words before Jubilation even replies.  Her eyes are already down, her head dipped down as she pushes her lips to the side in uncertainty.  "Sorry..."  Sometimes the words come out too fast.  "I-"  She just squeezes Jubilation's hands gently, the lightest buzz, a trickle of it escaping to the vampire.
Jubilation Lee	And that's the story of why Jubilation Lee stands at the edge of the rink, looking down sadly. Next to her, just on the other side of the rink's wooden wall, Noriko Ashida holds her hand, also looking down. Next to her, just over her shoulder, Aldebrand the Castillan stands holding a styrofoam cup. After a few, long seconds, he breaks the silence. "Your Sprite, Miss Ashida," he announces joylessly, holding the cup limply in the air for the speedster to take.     "It's okay," Jubilee replies, looking down at the ice. Her stare is unyielding and doesn't seem like it's going to end. Until it does. Jubilation's first order of business after recovering from that moment is to glare at Aldebrand. "Jeez, Aldie, why do you gotta creep on us like that?" she scolds. It has absolutely no effect on the majordomo's blank expression. He just sets the Sprite on the flat top of the ice rink's half-wall and retires to a nearby bench. If observed for longer, one might seem him begin working on a page from a sudoku book.     "So!" Jubilation calls out abruptly before leaning forward to kiss Noriko's jawline -- just a little reassurance that everything's fine. "What do you wanna do? You wanna stay and try to skate?" Her voice lowers. "You wanna go?" Brow waggle. Her voice normalizes. "Something else? I'm easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey."
Noriko Ashida	In fact, in a rare moment, a little buzz spits out from Nori's gauntlets at Aldebrand's voice, the jump of her shoulders too quick for anyone to see.  At least it keeps her from jumping at Jubilation snapping out of her funk.  She relinquishes Jubilation's hands finally, after the kiss, to grab the cup with both hands.  Slurp, slurp-slurp like a hummingbird with its nectar. "He needs a life," but a beat later Noriko shrugs.  Her mind begins to race at all of the options, all the things she wants to do when Jubes poses the open question.  "Welll, uh-when you put it that way is there really a question?" she decides on after Jubilation throws out some options.  "You have to wear this since I need to wear you," she teases, turning as she kicks a thumb at her back.  Brow waggle it is. The drink...well it lands in the garbage, already finished, a half a moment later.
Jubilation Lee	"He had one," is Jubilation's answer. It's a morose kind of response that comes from dying a couple years ago. Vampires are dead, just not buried. She turns her head in Aldebrand's direction, watching curiously as the older vampire stares absently at his sudoku book. Eventually, she smiles. "I mean, I went from not knowing what the heck a majordomo was to having one of my own. As far as the majordomo lottery goes, I could've done a lot worse," Jubes explains.     "I am flattered, as always," Aldebrand mutters, not looking up from his puzzle. Vampires have good hearing.     WWoah woah woah woah. "You need to wear /me/?" Jubes repeats at a volume a bit higher than would be expected. "Nori!" Jubilation's initial reaction is one born from misunderstanding, but it's not long before she figures it out. Piggy-back ride. "Oh!" It's like a window into her progress through figuring out what Noriko meant. Aldebrand sighs in disgust.     Though not a speedster by any stretch, many vampires are capable of bouts of supernatural speed. It is through these dark powers that Jubilee becomes shorter by two inches and standing next to a pair of rental skates that just got their laces singed off by a quick cloud of miniature, colorful explosions. After climbing over the wooden railing that separates her from Noriko, Jubilation moves the dish out of her way. "When we get back, you gotta give me a few minutes to wash off the smell of all the vampire politics from tonight," Jubilee insists, taking her place behind the speedster. "Say no," she whispers just a moment after getting positioned on Noriko's back. Mush!
Noriko Ashida	"Sure, but-" although delivered with Noriko's usually barbed tone, her slip here makes it clear as day that she said it out of pity instead of sport.  "True," she relents rather than expounding. "Was that wrong?"  Noriko's pretty sure she's heard people be that fast and loose with the English language but sometimes she wonders at the nuances, and sometimes she just lets people think she's wondering at the nuances.  She grins when it clicks for Jubilation, but Aldebrand gets a curious cock of her eyebrow. Right after Jubes is done with her little spurt of speed, which Noriko lets her have without interference, the speedster smiles at the whisper.  "Not a chance."  Was that a no or a no to the no?  Noriko doesn't give Jubilation a chance to think about it before she takes off, forgetting her dish behind.