| Pool and Sodas at Harry's |
| Summary: | Rachel Grey and James Hudson are at Harry's Hideaway. Douglock brings Serenity out of Xavier's when he wants to investigate an unknown Mutant signature (James). |
| Date: | 2016-08-30 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | Bartender at Harry's implied. |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
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Location: Harry's Hideaway in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York
Rachel Grey owes James Hudson a game of pool, since the last time they were here they ended up deep in conversation with a certain English secret agent about matters that were a lot more important than knocking balls around a table. Maybe Rachel should pick a meeting venue that's further away from the Xavier Institute if she wanted to avoid discussing threats the the multiverse and visitors from other realities.
Even if she herself is one of the latter, as is Jimmy himself.
In any case, she's here, industriously chalking the tip of a pool cue, having announced where she was going to anyone within earshot when she left the mansion. She pauses in her chalking, inspects the cue critically, then looks at Jimmy with an almost predatory grin. "You can break." She offers, magnanimously.
As has become his habit, Doug was watching a feed of data from Cerebro and when he saw a unknown mutant signature at Harry's and Rachel's heading that way he decided to head over to the bar. Knowing that Serenity has spent most of her time alone in the Conservatory, he tracked the young girl down and invited her to accompany him on the outing, suggesting she bring her guitar with her as well.
Serenity would not have normally gone anywhere with Douglock, but she signed her contract with Parker Industries recently, so she's more happy than normal. She borrows a brush to run through her hair and changes into a fresh set of Xavier's t-shirt and sweats before grabbing her guitar and accompany Douglock. His voice still makes her nervous but she has to try to get used to such things. Even so she draws back instinctively at the noise inside Harry's after the quiet of relative Xavier's.
To be honest the conversation with Wisdom was interesting. Maybe even worth missing a game of pool with Rachel. Besides, James knew she would accept a second chance to play. Unless he is misjudging her the life of schoolteacher has to be boring for the redhead. It would positively kill him, and he has a healing factor.
"Right," replies the young man, giving the pool a lazy glance. Then he twirls the pool cue, lowers it with easy dexterity and the second it touches his other hand, he hits the cue ball. Hard enough it hits the ball cluster with a resounding -clack- and sends all other 15 balls rolling quick, scattering in all directions. No one goes into a pocket. James is not even looking at them, though, he is looking at Rachel. "Your turn."
When it comes to her attitude toward teaching classes, Jimmy can read Rachel like a book. Either it's those enhanced senses of his… or it could be that she's made no attempt to hide the fact that she doesn't find being a schoolteacher the most thrilling chapter of her life to date. Rachel leans a hip against the opposite end of the pool table, watching Jimmy's theatrical twirling of the pool cue with a faint smile, and doesn't so much as flinch when the cue ball cracks into the other balls, right next to her.
Unhurriedly, she stands up properly from her easy slouch, glancing across at the door a second or so before it opens when she senses a slightly familiar mind approaching. Catching sight of Serenity - and feeling her unease even with the other minds in the area - Rachel feels a slight stab of guilt that she never actually followed up on her initial encounter with the young woman. « Hey. Glad you could make it. » She says into her mind, and follows it up with a cheerful wave in case Serenity's in any doubt who the local telepath is. Rachel's eyes touch Doug for a moment, and he gets a slightly more cautious nod, before Rachel's attention turns back to Jimmy.
"You're sure you've played this game before?" She asks him, a teasing note in her voice, as she circles the table, finding the best angle, then leaning over the table to line up her shot. "So do I get to ask a question every time I sink a ball, or do I have to win the game?" She asks. Sinking a ball.
Jim smirks at Rachel's question, but glances at Serenity. Ah, the musician. She gets a nod of acknowledgement. "Ask away, Red. I wanted to give you a chance to start. You are not going to win the game," he notes, his smirk widening. "Unless you cheat," he adds.
Doug waits for Serenity to enter Harry's since he's escorting her to the bar but once they do he smiles to Rachel and waves while giving James a less than casual glance. The TO-man also waves to the bartender before he says, ":I'll get you a soda if you'd like to find a place to sit and play or…:" he hesitates before adding, ":We could sit near the pool table, the redhead is a friend of mine.:"
Serenity nods slowly to Douglock as Rachel waves to her and says, "She invited us over." It's not strictly speaking true, but she doesn't care about technicalities like that. "A soda would be nice." She crosses toward the table nearest the pool table while she has to mentally fight down the suspicion that fills her every time a male offers to get her a drink out of her sight.
Rachel pauses from lining up her next shot, twisting around to look over her shoulder at Jimmy. "'Unless I cheat?'" She asks him, in a tone that suggests the very thought had never occurred to her. The attempt at innocence is spoiled by the very obvious smirk pulling at her lips. "We'll see." She says, settling over the table again, narrowing her eyes, and sinking a second ball. She's not been thinking ahead, though, and sinking a third eludes her. She grimaces at the ball, as if it's the inoffensive sphere's fault, and straightens up. "All yours." She tells him, gesturing to the table with her free hand with a bit of a flourish, holding off on the questions for the moment - mostly because the others have sat down close by, and Rachel's still feeling Serenity's unease.
Rachel finds a wall to lean against, close to Doug and Serenity's table, while Jimmy takes his shot. She glances casually across at the other woman. "Hi. I don't think we ever got properly introduced. I'm Rachel." She's trying for easy and reassuring, but she's never been the best at it.
Returning with a Coke and a Sprite, Doug says, ":Her name's Serenity,:" to Rachel and her companion and then to James he adds, ":I'm Doug.:" He then holds out both drinks to Serenity to allow her to make her choice between the two drinks, both of which already have a straw in them.
Serenity nods to Rachel, "That makes sense. You didn't look like a Professor Xavier. I was told Jean, the professor and Rachel were the people who could speak in my mind." She gestures with her guitar, "You think anyone would mind if I play?"
"Your two questions?" Offers James. He tilts his head, studying the table for a few seconds. Then he hits the cue ball. Clack again. Hit hits a ball, pocketing it. "I am Jim," he offers to Serenity and Doug.
The cue ball keeps bouncing. Hits a second ball, pockets it. A third. Also goes down. He smirks at Rachel. "Sorry, Red. Eight-ball pool is too easy." He takes thirty seconds to systematically pocket all other five balls. "Want to pick a pocket for the black?"
Rachel flashes a quick smile at Serenity when she proves to have a sense of humour. She assumes that the other woman's met Jean - Rachel decides not to mention her connection to the other redhead just yet, for the sake of Serenity's sanity. "I try, but I don't look very professorial." Rachel lies. She doesn't try at all. At Serenity's question, Rachel glances around the bar, her eyes go distant for a moment - then she shakes her head with another smile. "No-one's going to mind. Trust me." She says, confidently, before her attention is drawn back to the pool table by the sound of ball after ball being struck and pocketed.
Rachel walks back to the table, eyeing the rapidly declining population of balls on the table. "If I'd have cheated I'd have known you were a hustler." Rachel tells Jim as she walks up beside him, her head turning to regard him with a mock-accusing look. "I guess I'd better ask my questions now while I still have time." She says, gesturing to one of the pockets with her cue. "So was there a 'me' where you came from?" She'd be astonished if the answer was yes - she's been all over the multiverse and never run into 'herself' - but it's only an attempt to lull him into a false sense of security while he sets up his shot. "So. You and Kitty Pryde, huh?" She says, her attempt to make the question sound innocent largely failing. "How did that happen?"
Doug fights the urge to quote Spock but urRamsey doesn't have to and says ("Jim, your name is Jim,") in Douglock's mental space causing his primary to chuckle as his thought is vocalized /somewhere/ even if not where anyone else can hear it.
Still holding both drinks he says, ":If you don't like either they have a full array of Dr. Brown's as well,:" to Serenity referencing the local brand of Soda only found in New York City and immediate surroundings.
At the mention of his first friend at Xaviers, Doug's head jerks away from Serenty to look at Rachel, ":What about Kitty?:" and then realizes she's talking about Kitty /and/ James so quickly regains his composure.
Serenity indicates the sprite for Douglock before she settle the guitar for playing it. She watches the people around her as she begins with a series of Beatles tunes. She doesn't sing at the moment since she can't keep up her end of any conversation that might happen if she does.
James consider the pocket. Rachel has given him a tough shot. Her second question makes him blink, but he just grunts. "No, no Rachel in my world. But Jean wasn't much older than you, so I guess there might have been someone in the future." The second question after he makes his shot. Which involves several ricochets on the sides. "Hell if I know. It wasn't quick. She wasn't even the kind of girl I usually go after. But… I guess she had something. Never giving up no matter the odds, always having smart ideas, always listening to others." The black ball goes into the pocket. "Hell of a woman," finishes Jimmy.
Rachel looks faintly startled by Doug's sudden intensity. She exchanges a quick glance with James before answering quickly. "Jim's not… quite from around here. Different Kitty." That'll take some explaining later… but what in the lives of the X-Men doesn't?
Rachel nods slowly as Jimmy answers her first question. Somehow she thinks… not. Besides, she's more interested in the answer to her second question. For a moment a flicker of disappointment crosses her features, when it seems like she isn't going to get any details, but then she smiles broadly when James describes 'his' Kitty in a few words that resonate with Rachel. "Guess our worlds really aren't that far apart." She says, then smiles to herself as a thought strikes her. "And always ready with an inspiring speech whether you want one or not?" She suggests, but by then the black ball is heading unerringly toward the pocket, and Rachel laughs and shakes her head. "Best out of three?" She suggests, in a resigned tone with a hint of laughter behind it, already setting up the table for the rematch, while Serenity's music washes over them.
Douglock nods to Rachel, understanding intimately the concept the redhead is referring to. Left with the Coke he begins drinking it, converting the sugar into lifeglow and shunting the nearly purified water into a vacuole created for the purpose of storing it for later disposal in a garden or potted plant or the like. He then sits down near Serenity while the other two mutants play pool and listens to her guitar playing.
So long as no one complains about the music, Serenity is willing to sit there and play for Doug and the other mutants. She casually mentions she's been offered a recording contract but it's so soft anyone other than those of enhanced hearing probably miss it. If asked about it though she pretends she didn't hear and continues to play until she's ready to go back to Xavier's.