Rest and Relaxation(OPEN)

[Warren Worthington III]

The day had begun great with a bright, sunny morning. It was very warm for the season, probably some reaction to global warming. Warren didn't question it though, he was grateful to feel the sun on his skin and feathers. His feathers acted like solar collectors, basically pulling warmth from the air into his body. Leaning back in the comfortable lawn chair, Worthington was truly enjoying himself.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink back into the cushion. It was rare that he allowed himself time to really relax. Lately he had been exceptionally tense. Maybe the fight with his father last week was keeping him on edge. He was getting worked up just thinking about it. His father just wasn't letting the idea of a cure go. And if it wasn't a cure then it was something else that only made Warren feel like he wouldn't ever be good enough for his Dad.

Sighing heavily, the Angel opened his eyes and reached for the cold drink next to him. The tiny bubbles in the Sierra Mist clung to the side of the glass as he lifted it to his mouth to take a sip. He was enjoying himself, knowing full well that his privacy could be shattered at any moment. He was sure that someone would be heading out to the pool on a day like this.

He'd gone out for a sunrise flight and already had breakfast. He had always been an early riser. Just like the birds he took after. He smirked, thinking, at least I don't have to fly South for the winter.

[angeleyes]

Lorna pulled the new swimming suit out of the bag and looked at it skeptically. It was really pretty, a one piece navy blue with tiny shimmery silver stars sewn into the fabric all through the suit. She knew it fit, she'd tried it on at the store, but wasn't so sure about wearing the new suit. She loved her old one but there was only so long that a suit would last and when she'd found the tiny threadbare hole on the side of one breast the other day, she knew it was time to let it go.

Slipping the bathing suit on, she turned in the mirror that hung on her door. It was a pretty suit and it fit her perfectly, not too low in the front and it didn't come up so high that thighs were showing up to her hips. No, considering how much skin her uniform showed, this was pretty conservative but her uniform had a purpose. She could use pieces of it if need be because parts of it were made of metal. The bathing suit wasn't a necessity unless she was going swimming.

Which is what she was doing. Her hair braided down her back and a soft, ivory colored beach towel resting over her shoulders, Lorna made her way down the stairs and out the back door. It wasn't until she was near the pool that she even realized she wasn't alone and Lorna almost, almost, turned and went back inside. However, she knew that she'd probably been heard already and she didn't want to make Warren think she didn't like his company.

That was far from the truth. He was a nice enough guy and had been through hell like so many mutants had during the last year. She just didn't socialize with him much because, well, he was rich and she was so far from the word that she couldn't even see it. Sure, things with his dad may have gone south but he still carried himself like he owned the world and Lorna couldn't help but feel that at least he still had his father. That had to count for something.

Pushing the thoughts aside, knowing they did no good, she walked up the stairs of the pool and opened the gate. Smiling at the winged golden guy, she set her stuff in a lounge chair and said, “Hey, Warren. Pretty gorgeous day, isn't it?”

[Rogue]

Marie missed being in the sunshine. Something about it made her feel less inhibited, less cut off from the world. Things with Bobby were more tense than she would have liked but she couldn't blame him. It was her fault. She was the one pulling away from him. She loved him, would do anything for him. But the one thing she'd tried hadn't been permanent. Seems there was no real cure for being the way she was.

Logan would have told her as much if she'd asked him. It had been a while since Jean's death. She was worried about him. He didn't talk much. She hoped he wasn't holding it all in. Rogue knew first hand how dangerous all that could be.

She allowed the curtain to fall from her fingers, once again casting the room in shadow. She didn't like keeping herself secluded but in the wake of regaining her powers and the events with Carol at the nursing home, she didn't trust herself around others. Still, she told herself, they were her friends...certainly they knew enough to keep their distance. She glanced around her room, "This is ridiculous!"

"Ah want ta go swimmin...why don't Ah just go," she told herself as she opened the dresser drawer and took out the all but forgotten bathing suit. She held up the small bits of clothing and thought of the increasingly pale skin beneath her long sleeved blouse. Nodding her head she tossed the bathing suit onto her bed and decided to change. Once she was wearing the suit, she put the gloves on and wrapped herself into the warm terry cloth folds of her floor length robe.

A few moments later and Rogue was joining Warren and Lorna by the pool. She chose a spot and a lounge chair stationed by itself, both for a bit of protection so she wouldn't accidentally bump into anyone, that and the sun was hitting that area fairly well. She waved to the others and offered a friendly, "Hey ya'll."

She slipped off the robe and placed it carefully over the chair, taking the time to adjust the arms so she could quickly slip her arms back into them if the need arose.

[Cameron Chade]

The cool thing about being at a school for mutants was that life was fairly laid back. Everyone was on the same page, no one calling you mutie scum. No one all up in your face and causing trouble in the halls. Yeah, life her was pretty laid back. And boring.

Cam sighed as he walked across the terrace to the pool. Rogue had just spent three hours adjusting the robe that she was then going to mess up by lying on it. He knew she felt the need to be careful but seriously...whatever. Cam smiled as his used his abilities to shift the fabric of the robe, causing it to slide out from under half her upper body as she lay back on it.

The awesome thing was that he actually got away with it twice before she even looked up at him as he stood casually on the stone steps that lead down to the pool. he smirked as he passed the Southern belle and moved over to the more public area near the green goddess and hot wings, "Hey guys."

He looked down at Lorna and Warren, they were entirely too sedate for his tastes. He smiled, appearing almost innocent. Cameron wished Bobby Drake was here to see this, he would appreciate what was about to happen. Crossing his arms over his chest after tossing his towel onto the empty chair next to Lorna (can you say HOTTIE?), he grinned and asked, "You guys feel like cooling off? You both are too hot for words."

A wall of water rose up out of the pool to former a shelf of water above them. He would have liked to toy with them a bit more but he really didn't have that kind of control yet. As it was he simply allowed the water to sit there for a long moment before putting it all right back into the pool. He laughed then, and shrugged, "Maybe next time?

The way Logan keeps riding my ass, I may learn how to do it this afternoon. So...you guys...watch out." He laughed then and slipped down onto the lounge chair near Lorna. She looked amazing in her swim suit. Normally she hid her body, but getting a good look at it he couldn't understand why.

[Rogue]

Rogue saw Cameron join them and part of her expected trouble. He was just as prone to joking around and showing off as Bobby. Cameron however wasn't her boyfriend so she lacked patience with the boy. He was cute and that only caused her opinion of him to drop a little lower, in her view he was far to fond of his mirror time. She supposed that most gals would enjoy Cameron's show boating but her history made her NOT one of them. She knew first hand how dangerous mutations could be and she was really afraid that he was going to go too far.

She felt the fabric underneath her slide off the chair. Her eyes lifted to see him grinning like a shit eating dog and she narrowed her gaze in his direction. She levitated off the chair, catching the towel in her right hand. It turned out to be a fortuitous move as the fabric of her top had also been manipulated. She was fairly sure he hadn't meant to go that far, but her expression was clearly saying that she was not going to be cutting him any slack. Clutching the towel across the front of her torso uncomfortably, she flew over to loom above him, "Ya might wanna consider bein' a tad more responsible with ya powers, Cameron."

She turned in the air, trying to decide if she wanted to return to the chair or just fly on up to her room in defeat. She looked back at him as she turned back to go back to the chair, "Ah ain't a nudist, don't go tryin' ta make me one in the future, ya here?"

[angeleyes]

Warren was apparently fast asleep because he didn't stir when she greeted him. Not that she could really blame him. The weather was unseasonably warm for autumn and they were all wanting to get the last bits of sun and warmth before the fall season really kicked in. Before they know it, there will be snow on the ground and celebrations for holidays coming up.

For many of them, it was definitely a bittersweet time. She couldn't help but think about those who still missed the X-Men who had died around a year ago. Especially Alex, who's brother had been killed. They'd all lost someone special in Xavier and Jean but he had lost real family. Even she, who'd never had real family in all her life, realized how hard that had to have been.

Lorna was so lost in thoughts that she didn't pay attention to how long she'd been lying there in the chair when she heard, "Hey ya'll." [/b]

She opened her eyes and saw the striped hair Marie taking a chair a few away from her. Smiling, she returned the greeting. “Hello, Marie. I believe Warren is fast asleep over there as he hasn't budged since I got out here. Sort of reminds me of a kitten soaking up the rays of the sunshine filtering through a window.”

Snapping open the bottle of sunscreen that she'd almost forgot to put on, she was busy dealing with that when the young mutant, Cameron Chade, joined them. Lorna had heard of his father but had never met the man and it appeared that as powerful as Wil Chade was, his son was even more so. She had to wonder if it happened that way. If second generation mutants were always more powerful then first. If her parents had lived and one of them had been a mutant, perhaps she'd have been able to find out. As it was, though, she'd never know.

The boy took a seat next to her and Lorna smiled in greeting before rubbing the sunscreen into her left leg. He walked over to the pool and she didn't think anything of it until she heard, "You guys feel like cooling off? You both are too hot for words." [/b]

Lorna looked up quickly to see a wall of water coming toward her. Out of instinct, she erected a shield that would keep her from getting wet and was about to scold Cam for his use of powers like that when he let the water slide back into the pool and added, "Maybe next time? The way Logan keeps riding my ass, I may learn how to do it this afternoon. So...you guys...watch out."[/b]

He flopped down in the chair next to her and she looked over to Marie as the other woman laid into him. "Ya might wanna consider bein' a tad more responsible with ya powers, Cameron. Ah ain't a nudist, don't go tryin' ta make me one in the future, ya here?"[/b]

A dark green eyebrow rose at that as she had no idea what Marie meant by making her a nudist. Deciding she really didn't want to know what the boy had been up to, she finished her arms and shoulders before attempting to get her back the best she could. Looking up at Cam, she had to add her own two cents. “You realize what could have happened if you'd got me wet? I'm a walking electrical cord, Cam. Water and electricity do not mix. I could have electrocuted you without meaning to,” she warned him.

Granted, electricity wasn't her primary power but it was so close to magnetism that she still had control over electrical units and could even create something as powerful as lightning if she had to. It would take its toll on her but if it was necessary to save someone, she wouldn't hesitate to do it. It's why she was often placed with the children who controlled electricity. Their powers only fed her own, they never harmed her at all.

((OOC: I'm just assuming Warren is snoozing for the sake of trying to keep things moving along. Besides, it's my only active thread with Lorna now. ))

[Warren Worthington III]

Warren was deep into dreamland. The flight that morning coupled with his light breakfast and the warmth of the sun had all conspired to send him quickly into nap time. Sprawled out along the chair, the Angel's body did nothing to reveal where his dreams had taken him. He was flying as usual, but the terrain was not the usual.

Gone were the green, gold and red leafed trees. Gone were the spires of churches and the clock tower of Salem Centre's central square. He was not anywhere near Westchester at all. At least not in his mind.

Desert sands whipped through the air. The hot sun over the Sahara west of the Nile reflected off his wings and attacked his eyes with a vengeance. But he held no care for such things. He was flying faster than he ever had. A newfound purpose filled his heart even as the blood in his veins urged him onward. He pushed himself as he never had, knowing full well the joy of oblivion.

"You guys feel like cooling off? You both are too hot for words."

Warren opened his eyes. He was groggy, more tired than he should have been.. Had he been dreaming? He couldn't remember. He looked up at Cam and smiled, something in his eyes daring the boy to 'go for it.'

"Maybe next time? The way Logan keeps riding my ass, I may learn how to do it this afternoon. So...you guys...watch out."

"Ya might wanna consider bein' a tad more responsible with ya powers, Cameron. Ah ain't a nudist, don't go tryin' ta make me one in the future, ya here?"

Warren watched Cameron for his reaction. He was curious about what he would do. Glancing over at Lorna he could tell that her words were on the tip of her tongue.

“You realize what could have happened if you'd got me wet? I'm a walking electrical cord, Cam. Water and electricity do not mix. I could have electrocuted you without meaning to,” she warned him.

Warren grinned. He knew that Lorna couldn't really be affected by electricity. But did Cameron? Now as for Rogue...well she was a tough cookie to crack.