June 02, 2018:
Drake comes to the mansion, Remy and Lorna end up the welcoming committee
Characters
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
Drake Riley had been debating the cards he'd been given since coming to New York City. He'd been here a little while, but cards don't usually mount up very fast. One of the cards is battered, featuring a telephone number. Despite recent events, he hadn't thrown it away. He hadn't used it yet, either. The other two cards are identical, and they'd gotten the most of his recent consideration. Things kept happening to prevent him from using the card back when he had only the one; uncertainty gave him hesitation when it became two. So he spent the day on the street, per usual, with nothing to show for it other than festering.
In the end, he's kind of miserable between what could be, and what currently is. Time to roll the dice.
Drake had to ditch a cab and bum a ride to get on the Institute's approach. He still took the last three miles on foot. And now, he's standing outside the gate, staring with mixed feelings at the sprawling architecture beyond. He glances one way, then another, seeking a button or buzzer, something to announce his presence. He's confident he could get past the gate, but he's trying to be respectful; do things right.
*
Lorna was on her way out, or at least that had been the plan. Hair dyed black, a back pack slung over her shoulder, and baby Aurora strapped to her chest in a baby sling. The little chubby infant looked down right irritated at being bundled up as she was, wiggling and fussing as her normally green haired mother walked to a car. Of course, that was before Lorna picked up on the electrostatic presence that was Drake at the gate. She huffed, set the bag down and made her way down the walk toward the gate. It swung open under a wave of her hand well before she actually got to it.
"I'd say it's shocking you showed up… but, no, no, I am going to say it. Pun intended." She murmured, adjusting the way the sling tied around her shoulder uncomfortably. She wore a pair of cut off jeans, and a loose fitting, button up tank top. It was an odd mixture of dressy and her usual graceless beat up look. The infant in the sling looked for all appearances, human. A little cap on her head, and dark brown eyes. She squealed and gurgled excitedly at the sight of Drake. Something new and interesting!
*
There's a deep rumble from up the road that leads up towards the driveway into the private school. A motorcycle, classic in shape and ridden casually with a man on the bike. Pulling up beside Drake and taking his hand off the bar, Remy's thumb hooks the chin of the helmet and flips up the whole front of the helmet revealing his face with a smile to the new arrival and the woman obviously fleeing the scene. "Heya 'Rora an' Lorns. Goin' somewhere's?" The thief inquires as his bike continues to rumble between his legs.
*
Drake Riley doesn't even recognize Lorna at first. That green hair is sort of a big deal - a major part of her image. The gates opening don't even register as odd to him. He figures there must be some automation, likely with cameras catching sight of him, or the woman pressing a button on a remote. But when she gets closer, his eyes widen in surprise.
Her opening line gets a wince, followed by a hesitant, guilty, but ultimately restrained smile. "Come on, don't be funny. I'm still mad at you." His voice lacks venom or conviction, however. "You changed your hair-"
He finally recognizes what the bundle on her chest actually is. The train of thought abruptly shifts tracks. "-Oh my god, is that Aurora?," he asks, voice gently rising in pitch and erring dangerously close to babytalk. He moves forward to offer the tyke a bobbing index finger. "You are just the /cutest/ lil' thing." He steals a squinty-eyed look towards the mother, then all smiles back down at the baby. "And your mommy isn't playing fair, is she? No~," he coos.
The unmistakable sound of a motorcycle rolls in from behind, taking his attention. He doesn't interject, though, letting 'Lorns and Rora' speak. He has no idea what Lorns could stand for. He only knows her as Polaris.
*
Lorna sighed and rolled her eyes, stepping to the side of the drive as Remy rode up in his motorcycle. A small shake of her head followed and she waited for him to pull off the helmet .. Of course then he was asking her where she was going.. Something she didn't particularly plan on sharing. Black hair meant she was going out somewhere that she didn't actually want people to notice her. "Out." She drawled, her voice dry. Then her gaze returned to Drake.
Who was holding Aurora's baby attention all too strongly. She kicked and gurgled happily, and when he reached out his index finger Aurora grabbed for it with both chubby hands, it took her a few tries. But on contact Drake would get a tiny little spark of static in response. Lorna pursed her lips.
"Drake this is Aurora, my daughter. This cajun on a bike, is Remy. Remy, this homeless mutant is Drake. I am assuming since he's here that Scott must've tracked him down after I mentioned it." She turned green eyes back to Drake, arching a brow.
*
Remy clicks his tongue at Lorna's response and frowns "We hate for ya t'go but love t'watch ya leave Lorns." The cajun says with a playful wink before he shakes his own head at his really bad joke. "Don't be gettin' yourself o' 'Rora int'anyt'in' dangerous while ya's goin' out." The thief says before he shuts off his bike with a flick of his thumb.
With a look over to Drake, Remy lets his ruby eyes linger on the homeless mutant. "He ain' homeless no' mo'. He's gonna have a roof ovah his head soon." The cajun says with a hand moving to pat on Drake's shoulda. "Looks like ya can' have Lorn's room if she won' be coming back." The cajun says with a frown as he looks back to Lorna. She would know he would want her to stay, but he wants her to be happy and true to herself.
*
Drake Riley registers the presence of electricity, and it amuses him! But painful? Not by a long shot. He may be one of the few people who could handle Aurora without issue, as attested by his letting the baby keep ahold of his finger for the time being. He only bobs it a little. "Hi, Aurora~! That's a beautiful name," he continues. "I told your mom I liked it when I first met'er, in fact." His nose crinkles a bit at the description she gives of him. "Did mommy just take a shot at me?," he asks in continued high-octave babytalk, as though the infant could answer. "Well, it's fair if it's true, huh?"
Without taking his fingertip away from the baby, Drake turns a curious look back to Remy. Oh, those eyes are profoundly red. He hadn't caught that before. But he pushes the surprise out of his mind with a simple, soft clearing of his throat. "Hey, Remy." He glances back to Polaris, "He did. And the woman who showed up last night also gave me a card, so…"
When Remy mentions him taking Polaris' - presumably Lorn's - room, a startled look is cast between them. "Hey, now wait. Is this because of yesterday?," he asks with a frown. "Can we talk first?"
*
A huff of irritation and Lorna rolled her eyes. "I am not leaving forever. Geeze. It's a day trip. Alright? A night at most. I'll be back tomorrow. Marcos is still very much my room still, by the way. So it's actively being used." She muttered, her hands on her hips as she shifted her weight on her toes. Aurora seemed utterly taken with Drake from the start, and bounced in the sling. She gurgled and released a high pitched noise that could've been part laugh.
"And don't be so worried. Nothing that happened yesterday really matters in the big scheme of things." She murmured toward Drake, an eyebrow lurching upwards as she considered him. "It can all wait though, c'mon.. lets get you a room or something. I dunno where Scott or Jean might be to show you otherwise.."
*
"You are enterin' Xavier's school, ya should always be worried." Remy says with a large grin towards Drake before he cocks an eyebrow up at Lorna, "Gotta get away from dhe husband eh?" Remy teases further with a smirk before he starts to waddle up the drive with his bike between his legs, keeping up with the new mother and the new student prospect.
*
Drake Riley frowns at the former greenette, not looking particularly convinced. But he relents with a quiet sigh, letting his gaze fall to the infant again. It'll be difficult and beyond awkward keeping his hand at her chest-level so the baby can keep his finger as a toy, but he does at first. He'll let her continue to fiddle with his digit until she lets it go, then subtle sneak it away to avoid crying or, if he can help it, a sense of loss. At least he's walking along with them, though.
At this point, Remy gets his attention. "I already graduated," he mentions. "That headache's done with. So I dunno what I'd even be /doing/ here…" Hedging his bets on rejection seems the safer route. So if it doesn't pan out, it'll be fine.
*
Lorna snorted at Remy's explanation. "I've been married all of two weeks. This place is hardly what anyone would call romantic. But no. It's a family thing." She muttered evasively, looking away and clearing her throat to focus on Aurora instead as Drake finally dropped his hand. Aurora started to fuss, but quickly was deflected by her mother floating a little metal ring around her head instead.
Lorna led the way back up the drive more or less.
"This is more than just a school. Scott is also known as Cyclops, and he's the leader of the X-men. You can get training here. Learn to use your powers more if you need it, or learn to expand your combat capabilities. This is sort of a half way house for mutants. School, and beyond.. and all that. I'm not a good seller for it."
*
Remy rolls his eyes. "We can teach ya thin's 'ere about how t'use ya powahs t'elp ot'ahs and how t'mastah ya powers." The thief reports trying to sell the school before he runs his finger across his throat towards Lorna, "Ixnay on dhe men-xay." Then he raises his eyes wide as if to drop the hint that they're a secret group! C'mon Lorna.
*
Drake Riley looks rapidly between Remy and Polaris, ending with a weak snicker. "The cat's outt'a the bag on that one, anyway. She already told me she's one of'em. That 'Storm' woman said the same. Given everyone's giving out these cards, it wasn't a large leap to connect the dots."
The teen slips his hands into the central pouch of his hoodie.
"You can relax, bro," he adds, looking more to Remy. "I can keep secrets. I may not really, uh.. get.. what you people do here yet, but you've all been nice to me. That's gotta be worth something. Silence, at the very least…"
*
Lorna rolled her eyes at Remy. "He's met Storm in uniform, and saw me come as backup for Molly when they ran into Juggernaut last night, Remy. As he said, that ship has sailed." She had been careful in public otherwise.. "Betsy and Scott had cleared him to come, if he was a danger.." She let that hang in the air. Nate could mind wipe him or something..
"Point is, there's more than just a school here for mutants in high school.." She drawled, a hand held out before her as she spun her wedding ring around before Aurora to keep the baby entertained. "And obviously since you're here, you're at least partially interested in what's on offer here." She sighed, and the door to the front popped open.
"The kids that could went home for the Summer. The ones that can't, are still here.. There should still be an open room somewhere. Do you need anything to eat, or a drink?"
*
"Ah didn' go 'ome fo' dhe summah." The thief reports with a wink and a frown before he clarifies. "No booze, Ah'm not lettin' ya int'mah stash." He lets linger for a sinle moment, "Ah don' 'ave a stash." He clarifies with a glance left and right and from Lorna to Drake. "Glad ya gonna stay an' be dhe adult instead of expectin' me t'take care o'dhe kiddo."
*
"The kiddo?," inquires Drake with a knit brow. "You mean Aurora..?" He's so lost right now. He went from being ahead of the game to thinking he's missed something. The baby in question is given a curious look, but she seems perfectly occupied with the metal floating about her. His gaze then lifts to Lorna's face.
There's a subconscious hard swallow at the mention of food and drink. It's almost painful to give this response: "I'm good." He's not. He's a dirty, dirty liar. "I wanna try to, uh, focus on figuring out if I should really be here. Or if I should hit the dusty trail again. Problem is, I don't even know what to ask.."
*
Lorna shot Remy a look, and made a bee line for the kitchen, not really listening to what Drake had to say on the matter. If she was going to delay getting out of there for the day, she might as well take her time. "I didn't mean booze, I have to drive. C'mon.
*
"I can in fact be responsible from time to time. I mean, hell, they expect me to raise this one.." She muttered, looking down at Aurora with a faint smile on her lips as she continued to idly spin the ring in front of her daughter. She went for the fridge in the kitchen, the door swinging open as she rummaged in it. A few forks and spoons floated out of a drawer and settled on the counter. She plated a few slices of pizza, mashed potatoes, some left over vegetables from dinner the previous night too and popped it into the microwave.
"Try the food. That's as good a reason to stay as anywhere."
*
Remy diverges from the two when they start to head inside, as he's still straddling his hog of a motorcycle witha a smirk on his lips as the thief shakes his head judgingly but with comedy of the moment, joy in his eyes as he is excited to see another new student.
*
Drake Riley breaks, thus, from Remy with Lorna and into the kitchen, despite his words. "I.. but.." He's too hungry to let paranoia get the better of him. The prospect of food, leftovers or not, is making him delirius. "Alright. Okay. And, hey. Uh.. wherever you're going.. be safe." He still isn't convinced it has nothing to do with the happenings of yesterday, but he's not going to push. He's in no position to pry.
*
+MEET: Drake Riley has arrived via +meet.
*
Lorna rolled her eyes at Drake before she popped the food out of the microwave and set out the heated plate of left overs on the counter for Drake. Another swing of her hand, and a cabinet opened, where she grabbed a glass and poured him some juice. That too got set out beside the plate. She nodded and imperiously gestured. "Here. Eat something. Then we could get you some sweats and you can get cleaned up. We'll find you a room." She murmured and two stools came floating by to settle beside the tall counter top. It wasn't normal to eat in the kitchen, there was a dinning hall.. But Lorna preferred the smaller space.
She settled on the stool herself with an ease of motion that belied a little magnetic assistance and undid the clasps holding Aurora in the sling. She shifted Aurora in her arms, checking over the squirming infant and drawing all kinds of gurgles and noises from the baby.
*
Drake Riley doesn't need the invitation. As soon as utensils are present, he's already digging into it with all the ravenous ado one might expect of someone who'd barely eaten in some time. But after a moment, he halts and self-consciously checks himself for decorum. In a place this fancy, going wild will surely get him kicked out. He'd hate for that to happen without even getting a handle on things.
He clears his throat politely. Ah-hem.
"Uh.. thanks..," he says more quietly. Then and only then does he actually sit down.
"So you're.. leaving?," he asks. "For a day." That's what she said, right? A day-trip. Nothing to freak about.
*
Lorna checked over Aurora's fussing figure, checking diaper and finding that not the issue of the baby's newest bout of irritation, moved onto gently rocking her back and forth. Green eyes returned to Drake distractedly and she snorted as he cleared his throat and thanked her. "If you live here the fridge is fair game. There's meals served on the regular, usually there's a list for chores. Some people enjoy cooking though and will make extra. Scott has his grilling days." She murmured, and shrugged as she hoisted her daughter higher in her arms so the infant settled against her shoulder.
"I'm taking Aurora to see family." She murmured. Never mind that that family meant some of the world's most wanted, dangerous criminals…
*
Drake Riley has no idea what that family is, or who's involved. Ah, to be new to it all. "And this has nothing to do with yesterday," Drake needles, squinting a little at her. "Because, like…" He hitches, brow furrowing in thought. He isn't even sure what he's trying to say, but he feels like he should say /something/. "…it was.. heated?," he submits. For as much as he's loving real and present food, as well as hearing about future food opportunities, this is bugging him.
*
Lorna arched a brow once, looking vaguely irritated as she once more took off the ring from her hand to spin around idly in front of Aurora's chubby features. "Believe it or not, Drake. I had these plans before. Contrary to your beliefs, it didn't hurt my feelings to be told off. Not by you." She smirked faintly. And was waving her hand to drag out a few more kitchen supplies while she was there. A pot was filled with water and put on the boil. The oven clicked on and baking sheets flew about. She did all of this, of course, without lifting her gaze from him.
"Aurora hasn't had the ability to meet any of my family yet, she's more or less a new born."
*
Drake Riley's expression falls, and he gives a breezy sigh. "Alright," he says, voice a touch flat. "Cool." He looks back down at the food, perhaps a bit burned by /her/ remark instead. "Well, that'll be good for'er. Have a good time."
*
Lorna rolled her eyes, and cookie supplies floated their way into a bowl, and a mixer even turned on. All with her back to them. She slowly shook her head as she got up finally, and plucked a glass bottle and started to make formula by hand. That it would seem, mattered enough for her to use her fully attention on rather than simply going about it with a wave of her hands.
"Look, I'm not the nicest person to be around Drake. Alright? Don't judge the rest of the crew here by me." It was as close to an apology as she'd planned to offer the young man, even as his face fell.
*
"B.S.," Drake replies promptly. "You were nice before. You even- hang on."
Drake fishes into a pants pocket to produce a rumpled, beaten up card with her contact information. He plants it on the table.
"You gave me a way to contact you. You offered to help. To talk. All that stuff. We had a good time, I thought. That's not something a jerk does." His head tilts slightly, looking at all the various differentthings in motion. He can't really make heads or tails of either of them. He's no chef and he's certainly no parent.
*
The bottle was carefully filled and promptly offered to Aurora, only to be ignored and to earn a whine from the baby. Lorna sighed, and rolled her eyes as she glanced back to Drake, sitting back down onto the stool. "What can I say? I have good days and I have bad days. Most of them are bad days." She shrugged wordless for a moment as she set the bottle down and return back to entertaining Aurora until the little girl started to fuss again. Sparks lit up along her mother's hands where they touched the blue haired baby, and Lorna grumbled under her breath.
"The number was a phone I keep through this place. I wasn't sure and I couldn't give you the card here. I'm not cleared to be bringing people here. But I passed on info to Scott and he found you."
*
"So you're a person," Drake summarizes. "Call the presses. Even when you came in and derailed everything, you weren't a jerk. I wasn't happy with you, but that doesn't make you a jerk."
His gaze flits to the fussy infant, and he lifts to his feet. Pacing around the table, he reaches forward to offer his index finger again, bobbing gently. "I probably wouldn't even have been so raw about it if you didn't keep calling me a kid. Don't get me wrong, I know how it is - someone new to something, younger than the others, they get nicknames like that. My dad was a cop, I heard all about it. But that was just…"
Fingerbob.
"…I don't know. Insulting. Patronizing. 'Here to take the kids home.' Come on.."
*
Lorna's eyebrows lifted as she eyed him, not particularly wanting to get into her poor mental state and the bipolar aspect of her personality. Nope. So she ignored and continued to gently bob her daughter in her arms to try to calm her down again. A sigh fell from her lips. "Give me a better code name. I didn't particularly want to go using names around Juggernaut or in public places. People over hear things, and with anti-mutant sentiment being what it is? I try to avoid it. So give me a better name to use." She drawled, even as he came over to offer Aurora a finger.
The infant went from nearly to the point of tears to sharp interest once more. Brown eyes blinked and turned wide, and Drake would feel a sharp prickle of electricity sent back his way. Along with a baby laugh.
*
Drake Riley takes the prickle in stride, smiling warmly at the baby. He dares not send any electricity back, though. He has a strong level of control when it comes to the amount of force his projections put out, but some things just aren't worth the risk. And even if he's curious how the infant would react, this is one of those things.
Drake blinks and slants his gaze askance to Lorna for a few seconds of silence. Then back to the baby. And finally, a sigh. "I'm an idiot. Of course that's what you were doing." Those emerald greens turn to Lorna yet again, frowning. "Sorry I was stupid. I'll try to come up with something."
*
Lorna released another gust of air, half amused, as she watched and let go of the magnetic control she'd put on little Aurora's powers. The little girl seemed to be completely oblivious to the concept that people touching her got shocked. And that those who didn't have the ability to handle it? Well.. Lorna tried to be around constantly to protect them from her daughter's uncontrollable powers.
It amused her though, as she stared at Drake and gurgled and kicked in her arms to watch Aurora more or less become amused with tiny bits of electro-static. She didn't want her daughter to grow up fearing or hating her powers, so she'd figured not chiding Aurora over using them was a good idea.
"Want me to call you Sparky?" She drawled lightly, and then nodded to the oven. "Anyways, I've got cookies started in the oven. They'll be done in another five, ten minutes.. I think." She murmured and shrugged.
*
Drake Riley squints at her. "And you wanted me to think you're a bad person," he scoffs. Bad people don't make cookies, obviously. "I'll come up with something." He can't really think about it right now. Or, more to the point, he doesn't /want/ to think about it right now. He has enough to occupy his mind. Not the least of which, the baby going all static-y with him. It's far removed from anything approaching discomfort for him, thankfully. "So, that guy," he continues, his eyes and expressions still trained on the baby. It may be odd that he's playing a game of goofy expressions with an infant while breaching a serious subject, but he totally is. "What's his deal? Why's he off-limits?"
*
Lorna arched a brow. "Bad people cook." Magneto was an excellent cook. Born of his paranoia that someone else would try to poison him. He wasn't necessarily a good cook for the joy of it. Jean might frown on such a careless use of her powers, but Lorna found it soothing. Even as she shifted to hand Aurora over to Drake to hold. "Here, she likes you, and if she starts crying and throws a wad of electrical current at you, you'll survive." She murmured.
"As far as Juggernaut goes, it's not my place. He's not off limits, but he needs a team to stop. A practiced team that knows that they're doing. I wasn't going to get you or Molly killed or create other structural damage to the area around the bank. We have a bad reputation as it is in some of the public eye.. I'm not causing more." She murmured, her lips pursed together.
*
"Bad people don't cook /cookies/," Drake clarifies. "It's in the rules. And if we're not playing by the rules, then this is just straight up Thunderdome, isn't it~?," he adds, cooing the latter half to the infant. And then he's being passed a baby, and his eyes widen in startlement. "W-whoa, hey, I've never-," he stammers, arms now full with a person. He looks rather uncomfortable with this, but is trying to make do.
"Was that her name? Molly? We were trying to /stop/ the destruction. And, y'know, make him accountable for it." Still trying to manage a baby, Drake tensely turns to try to at least continue facing the former greenette. "That wasn't what I was asking, anyway."
*
Lorna shrugged as she set about checking on the cookies, something that required her to get up as she peered into the oven and back. "Not true. Bad guys like cookies just as much as anyone else." Not that she'd seen Magneto bake cookies, but she was sure, if he wanted to make cookies he would. Make she should ask him if there were any family recipes that he remembered or knew. It would definitely get him to pause.
"She's fine. I'm not one of those hovering mothers. Besides, if you drop her, I can catch her. Not that big a deal." She flexed her hands, and shrugged once more. "Her clothes and all the fabrics she wears are laced with metal fibers." She grinned. "I'll never lose track of where she is."
Dishes were plopped into the sink and she added soap, before returning to sit down. "Molly hasn't been trained on her upper or lower limits… She's just graduating. I'm not going to take her against the Juggernaut without other fully trained team members that know what they're doing. She destroyed a lot last time she punched him. In the middle of the city? There would be casualties."
*
"No, I saw that. She punched him out there, and it was like something off an anime. That big crater in the street? That was from her and him colliding," Drake notes. He's going to gloss right past the cookie thing. The potential humor in the moment has long since passed anyway. "So she just graduated. She was a student here? Is she gonna be one of the, uh.." He glances around quickly before setting his gaze back on Lorna. He's very clearly checking the coast. "..X-Men?"
*
Lorna poured herself a class of water and she shook her head. "That's why I wasn't going to get into a punching contest with her and Juggernaut in the middle of a city. That's got far too much collateral damage, and right now, people hate mutants more than ever. We can't get stuck with being abusive with our powers. Juggernaut needs to be taken out carefully and on our terms. Not on his." She murmured, glancing back to him and holding out her hand for Aurora once more if he wanted to pass the infant along.
"For now? She's not.. but I imagine it will change. She's working on her costume. She'll have to train more of course, but that's up to her." She murmured and exhaled a breath, frowning faintly.
*
Drake Riley looks at her oddly, but passes the infant along as carefully as possible. "So if he attacks something in a city or goes on a rampage, the play is to let it happen and wait? That.. I dunno. Feels wrong." He moves back to the table to prop a hip against it. "And you still haven't told me anything about'em. /Why/ is he given so much leeway? I got that he's super strong and really durable - I saw that much firsthand. I was about to really crank up the current when you arrived, because I didn't see anything less really having an impact. So I'm all ears. What's his deal?"
*
Lorna hefted Aurora in her arms and sighed, frowning. "No. We usually have a team ready to go. But things have been complicated. There's a lot going on. They were occupied else where and I was the only one able to make it. If I'd been told to hold him for the team to get there, I would have. But we didn't have that. It's not my place to go into details, alright? But he's dangerous. If you choose to stick around, talk to Scott. He can tell you everything." She murmured and rocked a sleepy baby in her arms back and forth carefully.
"He's beyond a normal mutant. Brotherhood? Crazy guy wanting to set himself up as dictator? Sentinels, or Trask, or just about anyone else and I'd have been pretty confident in my ability to be enough support for you both. I'm a heavy hitter when it comes to my powers. But I couldn't stop him without significant back up. Alright?"
*
Drake Riley looks at her in silence, mirroring her frown. "Alright, alright." He doesn't really get half of her references, but he's filing it under 'probably big and bad' for the sake of simplicity. "And you sigh at me more than my mom. Geeze."
Arms raise to fold over his chest, his gaze turning aside to study the kitchen distantly. The gaze gradually returns to Lorna, something akin to resignation behind his eyes. "I guess we'll have to see what happens. But I should be getting out of your hair, so.. point me to a room? I'll make myself scarce."
*
A roll of her eyes followed and Lorna waved her hands, freshly baked cookies floating out of the oven, the tray wafting by to sit on a few cooling trays. "I'm not cleared to tell you details. Alright? Neither are you cleared to hear them. Talk to Scott, get things cleared." She shrugged again as she got up and nodded to the hallway.
"Well, I am a mom. I don't sleep and I have the earth's magnetic fields running through my head. So I get extra sighing." She grumbled, leading the way out of the kitchen toward the hall and the stair well where they'd have access to the rooms.
*
Drake Riley doesn't respond right away. Instead, he plucks out his basic smartphone and tilts it onto its side, aiming to take a quick picture of her face. "Hang on." And should she do so, he'll be putting her picture through an app. It's a simple app; goofy, some might call it. But in short order, Drake has taken her picture and applied a pair of wobbly googly eyes over her normal pair. He will then turn it around to show her, along with tilting his camera around enough to let the eyes roll. "Been doing /this/ all night, too," he chides. "And now I have a keepsake."
And though the cookies have been set out and are truly tempting, Drake is sincerely feeling he's wearing out his welcome and things have started to get weird. So he's ready to follow her wherever she leads.
*
Lorna frowned at the picture, blinking at him as he took it and was more than half tempted to erase the phone's memory, or to fry the electronic completely. "Don't take pictures of people randomly. Geeze." She huffed a breath, looking annoyed and frowning as she made to leave the kitchen behind. Irritation clear in the lines of her shoulders and her steps as she walked up the stairs with a tap of her feet against the stairs.
"I roll my eyes at everyone." She offered and turned to the first floor landing and gestured. "There's the student's rooms. There's a rec room around here somewhere. TVs, game stations, board games, and so on. Outside there's a bunch of sports stuff." She continued onward, up the stairs again.
"Second floor is staff, we have a few visitor rooms around here. I figure you don't want to be on the same floor as the students. Marcos and I have a room down that way." She pointed to the other end of the hall. She slowed her steps and stopped, looking back to him.
"I'm not cleared for a lot of things these days. My position on the team is.. shaky, at best. I've had a lot of problems in the last year. So when I'm hesitant to share information.. it's not you. It's me. I'm already on thin ice. I don't want to damage your chances either."
*
"And here I was starting to feel special," remarks Drake in response to her rolling her eyes. The phone is pocketed again as he follows along, absorbing as much as he can. The visitor rooms - one of those will undoubtedly be where he crashes for the night.
When she stops, Drake does as well. He turns to face her, his hands stuffing into the central pouch of his hoodie. "H'okay," he assents. "I'm not gonna bug you for answers or anything, then. But we can talk about other things. For example, what's with 'Lorns'? Is that your actual name?"
*
Lorna's lips twitched in faint amusement, her green eyes flickering over him. "You are special, I don't exactly get tagged with showing people around. I'm not the welcome committee." She drawled and as he said he wouldn't bug her she shook her head slowly, adjusting her grip on Aurora who was completely asleep at this point.
"My name is Lorna Dane. My codename is Polaris." She paused and considered, "Do a google search on me, and you'll find out that my wedding in Genosha was ruined and attacked. I fought and lived there for the past several months. I fought against the old regime there, that saw mutants as slaves. And as a result, I drew international attention." She didn't say it out right, but if Drake googled it, her name was plastered all over the place as 'Magneto's daughter'. But she wasn't going to go down that path.
"You can ask me for things.."
*
Drake Riley purses his lips at her as she insists he's special, but doesn't linger on it. "Lorna Dane. Polaris," he repeats. "Sounds like a real jaunt through Hell. So you've been married for a few months?," he asks. Then he adds, "I'd rather get my spiel from the source. I know the media isn't exactly nice to mutants, so I wouldn't expect the net to have anything positive to say. Or even fair, for that matter."
*
Lorna nodded down the hall, starting to walk down to where she said her room was. Aurora was sleeping, and it was better to put her down for a nap rather than to try to leave with her and upset her.. and shock the hell out of the car or anything else around them. "My wedding was ruined. I was kidnapped." She popped the door open with a wave of her hand and stepped inside. She set Aurora down into the crib and exited.
"We just got married a week or so ago. We hit up Vegas and didn't tell anyone." She grinned and exhaled a breath, her expression pinched.
"People died. I haven't been back since." A glance toward him followed. "What do you know about Genosha?"
*
Drake Riley follows along with her, curious. But when he realizes where they're going and what she's doing, he certainly stays out in the hall and doesn't invade her (or her hubby's) private quarters. When she rejoins him, he's frowning a touch. "Basically nothing. It's an island with mutants. If it wasn't happening in my neck of the woods, or impacting my situation, I probably didn't hear much about it. I had enough going on just in my family. And then just with living day by day…"
*
Lorna nodded and quietly, gently, shut the door behind her. "C'mon, I'll show you a room you can use." A hand reached up and she tucked the hair back behind her ear. "That's fair, I spent most of my life with foster parents. Out in California. They made me dying my hair and keeping my head down. I didn't really know much about the world or mutants in it until I came here." She started down the hallway.
"You got the basics anyways.. The UN gave control over to Magneto after the old regime was toppled. He's got control over the island more or less now. And well, mutates there are finally free. But well.. the old bigots in charge escaped. They're out and about here in the US.. and they brought their advanced tech."
*
"Preaching to the choir. My dad was the same way. Told me to just.. stop. Altogether. To never talk about it, never do anything with it, nothing. I was to be human, like everyone else." Drake lifts his shoulders in a mild shrug. "I thought what I could do was amazing. That I could learn to do stuff with it and maybe use it. But.. nah."
He shakes his head, scattering his bangs.
"So we have high-tech mutant-haters here in the States."
*
Lorna nodded and she offered an awkward pat on his shoulders. "Never let anyone tell you that your powers are anything short of amazing. You are special. Your powers are a gift. I doubt I have to tell you all of this.." She smiled faintly. "But I woke up every day feeling less for my hair.. and that was a long and difficult thing to get over. I understand. Most everyone here understands. You're safe here." She spoke softly and nodded again as he concluded the issue.
"Yeah, they've made collars to block mutant powers. And they work. There's also Sentinels. And mutant experiments. With the registration act threatening to pass? It's looking.. well, you begin to see why I was so hesitant to do anything in public…"
*
The pat on his shoulders gets a surprised look from Drake, one shoulder then the other, followed by a bemused, if guarded smile at Lorna. It fades soon enough, however. "Maybe. Unless I get kicked out. I've not showed in forever, so I know I probably smell epic." He crinkles his nose at the thought. He can't tell, himself, but he can assume. Despite the bit of self-deprecation, Drake /does/ appreciate her words. It's subtle, the hunch in his shoulders, but if she's keen on body language, she may pick up on what isn't spoken.
"So whatever we do, if we're… 'out', we're a walking PSA. Either for or against mutants. Is that it?," Drake surmises.
*
A nod and Lorna grinned, "Don't worry you don't have to stress that badly about getting kicked out. I got kicked out before, and here I am. People here are understanding. Things change, people change. It's okay." She murmured, and shrugged, tucking her hands into her pockets as they walked and she stopped outside a door. "This can be your room for now. There should be a connecting bathroom to the room next door, but it's empty. So it's all your's for now." She exhaled a breath and nodded slowly after a moment's thought.
"If you're an X-man, then yes. You're representing the dream here, that mutants and humans can peacefully co-exist. We always have to be better than the humans that hate us. And yeah, it pisses me off. I lose it more often than not. Hell, like I said, I got arrested for being in a music store before." She drawled.
*
"Doesn't really matter, does it? X-Man, no X-Man, mutant's a mutant, right? At least, that's what they'll think." Drake halts in front of the door and gives a single rock on the balls of his feet. "How did you get arrested in that music store? Did you say something? Did you go off on a cop? Or are they really that antsy about us?"
*
Lorna shrugged, "The clerk called the cops because we looked like trouble. Cops showed up, asked us to leave. Scott was fine with it, but Rogue and I wanted an explanation. She cracked the door when we left, cops pulled a gun. I dismantled it. We got arrested when back up showed up and I spent a night or two in jail." She grumbled and crossed her arms as she nodded to the door.
"Got released, and there were no charges from the music store, but it wasn't pretty." She grimaced. "I have my own set of complications and it was touch and go for a bit there.. not that I told Scott.. still should do that actually."
*
"Yeah, cops get real pissy when you mess with their piece," Drake muses. "I dunno who Rogue is, though. Another super-strong person? Seems to be a lott'a those."
Drake tries the doorhandle before them. It wouldn't do to have a room, but it be locked. Granted, odds are he could disable the lock, but that might send the wrong message. "I'll keep it in mind, though. Promise. I, ah.. don't wanna add to the problem."