Owner	Pose
Drake Riley	Day two at the mansion. Drake slept, once again, like a rock. But he made a concerted effort to familiarize himself with the grounds a little more, and start acclimating himself to the local fauna. And so far, it's been alright. Mostly. It's still bizarre, wrapping his head around this other world he's stepped into. And he's yet to so much as demonstrate his powers for more than purely medical and entrance reasons. The tests determined that he's a mutant. If this were the Maury Show, he'd run through a labyrinthine backstage and find somewhere to sob. But it isn't. So he didn't. And he ain't even sad about that. He'd already accepted the idea months ago, so hearing it confirmed doesn't change anything. It just validates his presence among these people with bizarre and amazing powers that they seem to show off all the time. But his priorities had to be straight. He's heard about the pool. He's seen the pool. He needs pool-appropriate attire. Loaner gear for a pool just sounds gross. So he decided to use some of his remaining lottery winnings to fix that situation. It took a while to find something interesting and flashy, but not obnoxious. And by the time he's returned to the mansion and properly suited up, the sun had already started to set. And here he is, the newest arrival at the Xavier Institude. Arms rest folded behind his head, hair and skin still wet from a recent incursion into the water, and eyes contently shut. To his credit, hard living has done wonders for his physique. Any baby fat he started with has trimmed off, and left him lean and toned - a fact all too easily on display thanks to the wardrobe.
Kitty Pryde	Overhead something is in the sky. It passes between Drake and the sun, high enough up to cast a noticeable shadow for that moment it's in the way. It looks like it might be a bird, as it flaps its wings and begins to descend. Though the nearer to the ground it gets, the less that it looks like a bird. Instead it looks like... is that a lizard? A winged lizard? It is! Not just a winged lizard, but an honest-to-goodness dragon with purple skin and sleek horns that run back along his head almost like they were ears. Thankfully it isn't a big dragon anyway. Only the size of a small dog maybe, it comes down nearer and nearer. "Hey, great day for a swim huh!?" Kitty's voice says suddenly as she walks up on the pool area. She's got a towel over her shoulder and is wearing a bikini and sunglasses. She stops to remove her sandals and sets the sunglasses on a lounge chair. The dragon, it flies down and lands on her shoulder, giving her a little headbutt in the cheek though it's clear soon enough it's actually nuzzling her. "Hey boy," she says, reaching up to pet his head.
Drake Riley	In the failing light of sunset, a noticeable shadow is enough to get Drake to refocus on the sky. But it's hard to make much out against the pastel colors above. Brow knit in confusion, he pushes himself to sit up in the lawn chair. And when it lands, that 'sitting up' rapidly evolves to a startled scramble. Drake is instantly on his feet and defensively moving behind the chair, one hand grasping its back. It's a dragon. Or a winged lizard. Or something! He's never seen one! It might bite or something! Its perch then registers, and, naturally, the panic all but immediately subsides in favor of an appreciative - if slightly lingering - glance over the brunette. Kitty, once again, is looking incredible. And the fact that she's a superhero hasn't even begun to lose its punch since he first learned it. Though it does put her in a whole other category than how he sees himself. That's becoming more of a fishslap to the face every time he catches himself thinking about her. He's staring. Crap. Clearing his throat quickly, Drake's gaze lowers to the chair underhand, and he adjusts his footing to attempt to appear more casual and not-at-all spooked by the... whatever it is. "Yeah, sure, I mean, kind'a late for most people. But to me? Nahh. I live for the water."
Kitty Pryde	Kitty smiles over towards Drake and says, "Me too, can handle a swim at any hour." If she noticed his reaction to the little purple dragon, she hasn't really given any sign of it. "Did you meet Lockheed yet? Probably not," she says, turning to walk over towards Drake, the dragon riding her shoulder still. "He's my best friend," she says, giving him a little scritch on his head with her fingers. "Friend not pet. And friendly at that," she says. If Drake appears at all uncomfortable she won't bring him nearer. But if he seems ok she'll walk the rest of the way over to him. The little dragon sits upright a little more as he leans his head towards Drake a bit as if curious. "Feel free to pet him though. He likes scritching where his horns emerge," she tells him, showing Drake the spot.
Drake Riley	Drake Riley lifts his gaze to the girl-plus-dragon again, now having a name. Lockheed, apparently. He looks apprehensive, but in the interests of being a team player and embracing the weird, Drake steels himself and steps out from behind the severely inadequate cover of the lawn chair. He leans back slightly as Lockheed leans in, then starts to raise a hand - only to pause. "Wait, not a pet? What do you mean? He's, like, sentient?" He glances to the dragon, then back to Kitty. "Doesn't that make petting him weird?" It's a blurted question, really. He doesn't mean to make things awkward. But the distinction between friend and pet stuck on him. He's never petted friends before. He imagines they'd not appreciate it.
Kitty Pryde	Kitty considers the question. "Not really. Or, well, I don't know. He likes it anyway. He almost never speaks and most people think of him as a pet. But he's smart. He's not a mutant though if that's what you were wondering," she tells Drake. "Nah, he's an extra-terrestrial dragon," Kitty explains. "So anyway..." she grins at Lockheed and scritches his head and he leans into it. "Maybe in his culture this is just normal behavior? I don't know, he's the only one I've ever seen," she says. Kitty eyes Drake with her head tilting to the side a little. "Is this a guy thing, touching another guy?" she asks, though there's a grin on her lips and her tone is teasing.
Drake Riley	"Oh! Okay! That's totally fine then!," Drake jokingly balks at Kitty at the mention of him being an alien dragon. But it has him staring more inquisitively at the creature. Previously, looking at a rock from the moon was thought to be cool. But naw, now he's being prompted to pet aliens. Totally normal. At Kitty's jab, Drake offhandedly replies, "Well, it's not like you told me to pet /you/, it's just different." He pauses, blinks, and guiltily eyeshifts to her again through the corners. His mouth opens to correct himself, or try to reword that, but he ultimately just opts out. Maybe she won't think anything of it. "We'll call it a guy thing, sure."
Kitty Pryde	Kitty can't help her big grin. If Drake lets her, she'll try to reach out and just briefly brush her fingers through his hair on the side of his head, nails light on his scalp there. "God you're so adorable," she tells him in a warm voice. She turns her attention back to Lockheed. "First time I met him was him showing up out of nowhere to save my life. So he deserves all the scritches and cheesy poofs he wants," she says. She gives him one last pat then and picks him up off her shoulder, giving him a little toss towards the lounger that she'd set her sunglasses down on. He flaps his wings to fly over there nimbly and lay down. He slides his snout under the glasses to put them on his face, or something near to it.
Drake Riley	Heart stops. Breath catches in his throat. Her fingers are running through his hair. Green eyes flit to her forearm, then back to her face like a deer in headlights. The dragon practically vanishes from his existence for a moment, which is a pretty mean feat - it's a gat'dang dragon. Does he pull that trigger? Does he hold back? How did she mean that? Everything she says is delivered so darn /nice/, it's hard to pick up on anything else going on- screw it. "Yeah, well, so are you." There. Bullet is bitten, and a no-evading-it flirt has been made. He chances a smile at her, gaze very briefly shifting to the dragon again if just to mark its trajectory. But those eyes immediately snap back to Kitty.
Kitty Pryde	Kitty Pryde grins at the compliment from Drake. "Thanks," she tells him warmly. "Come on, let's swim some before the sun's all the way down," she says. She turns then to walk over to the pool, diving in gracefully off the side. She disappears into the water, body making a curving arc beneath as she lets her momentum be redirected back up to the surface. Her head reappears, Kitty leaning back to wet her hair and get it to lay smoothly atop her hed.
Drake Riley	A thanks. And then a turn. Swing and a miss. Drake glances off to the side, disappointed. He'll accept another one of those fishslaps now, thank you; it's well-deserved. Two different worlds, communicating via satellite. That's the situation. Keep that perspective, and his foot won't start paying property taxes in his mouth. "Right. Yeah," he says, hand raised to brush against the side of his neck. His approach to the water is a little slower than hers, hoping to give her plenty of time to get settled in before he simply drops in. Unlike her, he'll resume reclining - now submerged to chest-level, but poised against the wall of the pool. It's fine. He needs to think clearly, anyway. Moving on.