16373/Waiting and Worry

Waiting and Worry
Date of Scene:	17 June 2024
Location:	Kitchen - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	A pre-dated scene that takes place when Lorna is sick and in the med bay. Kitty and Alex run into each other in the Kitchen. He catches her up on current events and Draculas.
Cast of Characters:	Havok, Shadowcat

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Havok has posed:
News traveled around the mansion that Alex and Lorna showed up at the mansion just at 12 hours ago and that Lorna was sick. They came for Hank - or in this case, Doctor McCoy. It was much more than simple sickness; but it triggered a quarantine in the medical bay so that would keep out visitors. For the most part. Now, it's somewhere past 4am and there's a Ninja blender going on inside the kitchen. The sounds of chopping fruits and blending them into a slurry is quite apparent.

Alex can be found with his back to the main entrance of the kitchen. He's wearing sneakers, jeans, and a black t-shirt. He's preoccupied by blending things and seeing to making some sort of smoothie. He opens the small cap and tosses in a few more berries. The sound of the machine wirrs and grinds, then levels out again. Finally, he turns it off and lifts the pitcher to step with it to the side and pour it into a tall cup.

Shadowcat has posed:
With Lockheed perched on one shoulder, his tail curled around her neck, Kitty steps through the door that leads to the foyer -- not the doorway, the actual door -- phasing through like it simply didn't exist. She didn't even break stride, and she certainly didn't seem to care who might be on the other side coming through.

But that also means she doesn't make a sound, other than the sudden padding of her footfalls as she comes up beside Alex and, without so much as offering a first word of introduction, turns and hops up to sit on the counter a few feet from where he's making his smoothie.

And yes, people prep food there.

"Hey." It's a soft word. Tentative. Questioning. It carries so much more than just a greeting.

Lockheed crawls down her front and into her lap, stretching out his neck and sniffing towards the smoothie ingredients.

Havok has posed:
Nothing much surprises anyone in this house - especially with people sneaking up on one another with mutant powers. Or worse, teleporting in unannounced, catching people with their pants down, whatever. So, when Kitty shows up next to Alex and announces her presence both physical and audible, he simply smiles. He raises his gaze from the glass he just filled to her. He looks tired worn out. He says softy, "Hey Kitty. Lockheed."

Of course he addresses the space-dragon. He's a person too.

Shadowcat has posed:
"I heard -- not much, but I heard you guys were here..."

There's a little tilt of Kitty's head that moves her hair over one shoulder. It's not completely unlike the look Lockheed is giving that drink, actually.

"How's Lorna?"

Curiosity apparently satisfied (and ultimately resulting in disinterest), Lockheed looks back up to Alex at the greeting, and Kitty settles one hand on the counter to prop herself up, the other moving to stroke affectionately down the dragon's back. He curls once and then settles on her legs, like a bored cat.

Havok has posed:
He's got plenty of the smoothie left and he'll pull down another tall glass to pour the rest of the pitcher into it with two straws. One for Kitty, one for Lockheed. All the while he answers, "She's struggling. Hank gave her the anti venom... but it's really wrecking her system. She's not sleeping with really fucked up dreams or something going on. Fever, sweats, hot and cold spells. Her skin is also ruddy. Hank says it's all normal. So I'm just hanging out, letting it happen the way he thinks it should." He offers the dual strawed glass.

Shadowcat has posed:
"Thanks, Alex."

Kitty's smile softens as she takes the glass, and once more, Lockheed is sitting up with renewed interest. She lowers that glass to rest on one thigh and leans forward, dipping her head to pop that straw in her mouth just as Lockheed closes his tinier mouth around the other one.

...And chews.

"No, not like that," Kitty chides when she swallows her sip. "Suck it."

Lockheed bites the straw again, more straight-on.

"Not like... here."

Kitty puts her finger over the end of the straw and pulls it back out of the glass, hovering it over the dragon's nose. He tilts his head up and opens, and when Kitty takes her finger off, he gets a mouth-full of smoothie.

Which he promptly chokes on.

Kitty snorts a laugh.

"What?! You're mad it's not a meat smoothie?"

Lockheed snorts, too, and goes back to curling up on her lap.

"Fine. More for me..." Then her eyes are lifting back to Alex as the glass lifts in front of her. "Anti-venom for what?"

Havok has posed:
Alex watches the exchange and lack of straw usage by the space-dragon. He grins and shakes his head. He chuckles when the choking happens. But then there's a question.

Alex ponders and tries to answer as clearly as possible; since there's so many details that he's probably going to miss, "When we last spoke at Freds, I may have mentioned that she got mixed up with vampires. That there was some doppleganger around the mansion - well, it was one of the vamps. Anyway, there was a Dracula thing going on and well, she got captured. She got bit and it turns out that vampires secrete a venom that makes the victim ... more receptive to being bitten and fed off of? Something."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty stopped sucking with the straw still between her lips, staring at Alex until he's finished, but the look of worry is clear in her eyes.

"You... did not."

The words are flat, her reaction controlled but still a muted mix of concern, surprise, and anger.

"I would have remembered, because I would have had _this_ face..." She points at her nose. "And I didn't. What the hell? I mean, I knew you guys left, but..."

She sighs.

"Do you ever think about how casually we throw around phrases like 'a Dracula thing going on?' Because I feel like I'm getting desensitized to _everything_..."

Beat.

"What was she doing getting mixed up with vampires?"

Havok has posed:
There's a brief nod to his understanding and acknowledgement that he didn't share the information with Kitty on their earlier encounter. He's spoken to so many people, he couldn't keep up with what, who, where, or when. But it's the here and now and he accepts that there's a lot going on, all the time in the mansion and with the X-Men and their charges. "Sorry." comes his answer to her condition of desensitized. "It's always a lot around here - just like out there. I've no idea why vampires are even a thing around here. Or why they even exist at all beyond movies. It was definitely something that the dracula coven planned. Because she seemed targeted by the doppleganger."

Shadowcat has posed:
"Yeah. I've done the whole possession thing." And nearly killed Logan in the process. "Even if the venom doesn't turn you _into_ a vampire, making you want to get bitten again too freaking close to mind control, for me."

Vampires. To say nothing of all of the time she's spent fighting demons in Limbo.

Kitty sighs softly.

"I'm sorry she's going through this, but I'm glad you brought her here."

She reaches a hand out to set on his arm.

"I'm sorry _you're_ going through this."

She purses her lips.

"If there's anything I can do... tell me, okay?"

Havok has posed:
Alex nods, looks down at the hand on his arm and gives a slight nod before turning his gaze back to Kitty. He then says, "Speaking of. I better get back down there. No idea when she's going to wake up again. And I should be there when she does." With that, Alex breaks away, "Good seeing you again, Kitty. Let's catch up more."

Shadowcat has posed:
"Yeah." Kitty nods, still subdued as she watches him -- concerned for a thousand different reasons. "It was good seeing you, too, Alex. I'm glad to see you back here again."

She smiles a bit, not moving from her spot on the counter immediately, but she watches him go.

"Oh! Alex?... Thanks for the smoothie."

She wiggles the glass, smiling more broadly. Lockheed makes a little retching noise, and Kitty rolls her eyes.