etrayalogs | [closed] we're headed to the dive bar we always thought was nice

[ Perhaps it is just a natural progression of things, Ororo reflects, when she realizes that as the population of Etraya grows, people were trying to find places and people with whom they fit best. Kate had Bishop Publishing for the teenagers and young adults, there was a farm that some children (children!, Ororo's heart still hurts just thinking about them and wonders every day if she shouldn't be there, being more present for those kids.) and mutants... had the mansion, even if they didn't really need it. Etraya was a place where they could settle down in any place, and not be hunted for it.

There weren't many places that could profess to be as adults-only as the kids and teens were doing - but she supposes Harry's is close. There's no bouncer, though, so honestly - anyone could come in. Ororo herself was only here not because she needed to be away or that she wanted to a break from everyone, but because... well... perhaps she was chasing ghosts.

She sits in corner booth with a glass of ice water, this time. She'll have something harder later, but... perhaps, if someone were to turn up and keep her company - that'd be a decent excuse to crack open a beer. ]

( since his arrival here to etraya, he feels as if he's been in a constant state of whiplash. from the idea of this place, to the mansion, to jean, to having to relive guilts and memories that have plagued him for months now... he hasn't gotten much in the way of peace and it's beginning to take a toll on him. emotionally, more than physically.

while not a cure by any means, the thought of chasing away even just a fraction of it all with a bit of alcohol is why he's here. leather jacket adorned, ruby quartz shades as always, he slips his way inside. hands in jacket pockets. ignoring the world around him for the most part. that is, until he catches sight of that white hair that would be impossible to miss. not his storm, just as he's not her cyclops. not his jean. yet that doesn't seem to really stop him from going over, what with her being here all by herself. )

Buy you a drink?

( as if that's actually a thing here. it's not. )

[ She glances up at Scott's approach, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. No, he wasn't the Scott she personally knew, but Scott was Scott. She'd worry about him no matter where he hailed from and no matter what they'd gone through together.

His opener's a good one, even if a little tired. The fact that it is not a thing here certainly helps. ]

Do you say that to anyone you meet here?

[ Said bar is well-stocked with beer that she finds familiar. None of it she particularly likes - they all seemed to be imported brews that Kurt and Logan favored, years and years ago. But maybe Scott would find something that appealed to him? ]

What sort of guy do you take me for?

( it’s said gently. a means to try and keep things light despite the very dark shadows stretched across his heart and mind. he does his best to wear them nonchalantly, like always, and takes a moment to look around at what they have to offer here. some strange. some familiar. some you couldn’t pay him to touch. as expected, a little bit of everything. )

But if you’d rather be alone, I promise I can handle the rejection.

( it’s a little dryly said, looking back to ororo as he does. )

Hmm. The sort to buy a friend a drink when he finds them alone. [ She doesn't move from her table, their table, whatever it was now. Props her chin up on her hands, elbows on the surface like a petulant teenager. Something about Scott made her feel less like a leader - mostly because she knew she didn't need to put that face on around him.

She smiles back as he looks at her, fond and a little nostalgic. He feels younger, but the same. He didn't have all the sharp edges that she knew her Scott had - many of those she knows she'd caused herself. ]

Would you surprise me with something from the bar?

Think I can handle that.

( there’s a smile just barely there on his lips. a shadow, to go along with the others he carries with him. making his way off to the bar.

he chooses something he knows the ororo he’s familiar with to like, hoping the two of them might share similar tastes. it’s strange to think about. to have these people here who he’s known for so much of his life - has lived with and been through so much with… only to not really know them at all. familiar. but still strangers to an extent. even he himself is that to them.

the usual sort of beer for himself, he comes back to the table ororo has for herself. sets the drinks down, then joins her. gentle slide of the bottle over to her with a knuckle. his own there in front of him. )

You usually come here when no one’s looking?

[ Some things appear to be same across the universe. Ororo's hair, Scott's eyes... taste in beer, apparently. She makes no effort to hide her smile; it helps them both to know that he's guessed correctly. ]

I was not aware that anyone would be looking. [ Anyone who would be looking would be... Jean, mostly, and all Jean needed to do was scan for her. She'd be easily found. ]

Ah, unless you had need for me, Scott. I'm sorry if I'd been making myself scarce. It was not intentional.

( top cracked off, he brings the bottle up to his lips. pauses. then takes a swig from it. the number of drinks he's had since everything happened back home... )

No, you're good.

( it's said gently, smile still barely there on his lips as he looks to her, taking another swig after. )

There's been a lot going on. ( a shrug of a shoulder. ) Can't blame anyone for wanting to get away for a bit. Or at least as much as one can when they're stuck here.

Edited 2024-06-24 13:04 (UTC)

There's not much in the way of options, for getting away. [ She laughs, and it's a little humorless. All things considered, there isn't exactly much to be amused by. ]

I'd typically be off into the sky, but it felt... right, to stay grounded. [ Grounded and here, in this old-fashioned old bar. The mansion could have helped too, but it was so empty. The pub at least felt a little more lived in, if she looked outside. ]

And yourself? What brings you looking in here?

( again, there’s a one shouldered shrug, taking a moment to lick over his lips after indulging in another sip of his beer. it’s definitely not strong enough to temporarily erase everything that he’s feeling, but. he can get there. has a number of times in the past few months. )

Just needed some air. Different bit of scenery.

( aside from the mansion, he means. )

[In the days after the mess of plushie hunting Cass is tired. There's so much going on with the family while nothing at all she's been avoiding them by getting out and exploring the city. After recently finding Harry's and the pool table Cass has been heading in late at night and playing on quiet evenings. When it's got more then a person or two she won't stay but tonight there's no one there. So she just gets herself a drink from the bar and spends time perfecting her form.

When the door opens she looks up to see Ororo come in and her desire to flee at the idea of strangers is calmed a little bit.]

Your majesty. [She says with a grin clearly teasing this time as she reaches for the drink she's got to help take a little bit of the edge off. ]

[ Ororo blinks once when she hears the term, clearly startled. It takes a moment to remember those cards at the coffeeshop, and when she does she finally offers Cass a faint smile. ]

Just Ororo, please. [ She heads over to the bar instead of going straight to Cass by the pool table. She needs a glass, first! ]

This place is hardly suitable for a regent, or a queen.

Hmm. And you chose this place, for a change of scenery? [ There's no shortage of pleasant views outside. They weren't in the middle of a city - there's a lot of green in between the patchwork of odd buildings cobbled together by... whoever it was, that did the construction. ]

Why this place?

Isn't it obvious?

( as he holds up the beer. he's here to drink. )

No other reason? [ She isn't fishing at all. (yes she is.) ]

Should there be?

( he asks with a glance over to her, taking another swig of his drink, nearly finishing it as he does. )

[ Well, he asked. She looks around at the place; it's some measure of modern, but still a bit old-fashioned in some aesthetics. ]

In my memory, Harry's Hideaway is a bar not too far off from the mansion. [ Her eyes land on the bar and all its drinks as she takes a little sip of her own. Scott's nearly finished his, but she wasn't even halfway through hers. ] When we were still new to the States, Logan and Kurt and Piotr would come here often. I suspect the current stock of beer reflects that. [ Hence the Canadian and German brands in the bar. Piotr, bless his gentle soul, didn't drink much to her memory. But he was in any bar fights the other two were up to.

She looks at Scott, then, once she's shake herself from the memory. ] But I know it has been around even longer than that. Scott and the others had been coming to drink here even when all they could order were milkshakes.

Yeah, well. I'm not here for a milkshake.

( finishing off the rest, he sets the empty bottle down there on the tabletop. takes a moment. then gets himself up. )

I'm getting another. You want one?

[ She rolls her eyes, trying not to smile as she shakes her head. Helpfully lifts up her current bottle, too, because she's still working on it. Obviously. ]

Hmm. Then perhaps we should ask to make milkshakes available here.

( he doesn’t reply to that, simply gives her a half smile at the “suggestion” and makes his way over to fetch another beer. he doesn’t even wait until he’s seated there at the table with ororo before he’s helping himself to a swig from it. takes a second. then drops himself back down.

bottle there between his hands on the table, he drags his teeth over his bottom lip. stares to the neck of the bottle. ororo isn’t a telepath, but if she’s anything like the one he knows, she knows him well enough to know when something is on his mind, never mind bothering him. so, after a moment, )

I saw Jean here. ( a beat. ) Mine, I mean.

( fingers touching the bottle, he brings it up to his lips with a hand. presses it to his lips. pauses. )

She died. A number of months ago.

( and then he’s taking another swig. )

Ah. I'm sorry for your loss. [ Her voice catches a little, and it's impossible to hide the sympathy and grief in her expression no matter how many years of practice she's had in hiding them behind a mask of composure. Not when it's Jean. With how many times she leaves them and their lives, it can be easy to fall into humor about it, but... it wasn't for Ororo. Not for Jean.

At least it explains the drinking. She reaches out to lay a hand on Scott's free wrist, not yet stopping him from drinking, but letting him know that she's still here, and present right next to him. ]

... Did she say anything? This form of Jean that you saw?

( bottle held out before him, he licks over his lips. huff just barely there on them, and he's gently setting his beer down on the tabletop, fingertips rocking it back and forth at the neck. )

That it was my fault.

( he only glances over to ororo for a second before he's looking back down. )

That we couldn't save her. That we let her die.

( the x-men, he means. )

Edited 2024-06-26 00:20 (UTC)

Then it wasn't Jean. [ She says so quietly, automatically, firmly. ]

There has never been a Jean who would have people "let" her do things. Everything she does is what she has wanted to to.

[ This is just a fact to Ororo. And also something she's had to tell herself, many times, in the long years after Jean's first death. ]

Did you say anything back to her?

I said I was sorry.

( he says that as if it should be obvious. )

All I've ever been is sorry. Angry. Upset that she wouldn't let me- ( he cuts himself off there. gives just the faintest shake of his head. ) She didn't even give me a chance.

Don't worry I was kidding. [Cass shoots around the table sinking ball after ball while Ororo gets a drink, her aim and skill in it obvious and she's clearly not trying to hide it. ]

I'd think probably queens or whatever would want some time to escape from real life into a place exactly like this though. [She says once Storm gets her drink.]

Outside of the public eye?

[closed] we're headed to the dive bar we always thought was nice

for scott (@redvisor)

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Starter for Storm

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