ArchivedLogs:Surprise Costumes

Surprise Costumes
Dramatis Personae Billy, Hercules, Jack, Rictor, Shane
In Absentia	2015-10-22 "Loves trying to take a bite out me." (Part of Flu Season TP.)
Location <XS> Forest
Quiet and shady, the trees rise all around here high and thick. In stillness, woodland creatures make appearances, though sudden noises scare them back into the cover. Dappled sunlight filters down between the thick foliage, and the ground underfoot is heavily overgrown, though here and there paths have been worn, by deer or years of students wandering familiar trails. The forest is wearing its stunning autumn colours, and the forest floor has taken on a colourful and crunchy look and feel. Running noisily, purposefully, through the fallen foliage is a tall teen wearing track pants and sweatshirt in Xavier's colours. He seems greatly amused by the crunching sound of the leaves, a broad grin on his face. A small wire runs from the pocket on the front of his sweatshirt up to his head, and faint, tinny-sounding music can be heard. From the amount of dampness on the large teen, it appears he has been running for quite some time. "Tay?! Taaa-aaay?" Fallen leaves crunch under Billy's white harness boots and a twig snaps, making the willowy man jump. He whispers something to himself about how goddamn terrifying these woods are as he pulls the flaps of his white peacoat closer. "Come 'ere, Taylorr!" With a half-chewed leash dragging from one pocket, Billy jingles a ball probably meant more for a cat. Eventually, and with a theatrical roll of his eyes, he gives in, "Come here, /Butch/." ...because some -erm, most of the time the dog answers to that. As something noisily approaches, namely a runner, Billy flinches ...like it might be something scary. Somewhere in these woods, his little white poodle-bichon is having the time of his life. Far less noisily, a much smaller teen is making his way back towards the school. Not quite so dapper as his usual, Shane is just in convertible black cargo pants, a lightweight canvas jacket; he's carrying a bag slung across his back, its shape rather noticeably designed to hold a bow. Hands shoved in his pockets, head tipped up towards the sky, the expression on his face as he meanders through the trees is -- /was/ -- rather peaceful until he hears Billy's voice. His nose twitches. Twitches again. A small growl rumbles up in his throat, then quiets. One thumb jerks over his shoulder after another sniff. "He's just over that way." A few moments later, heading in the direction of the school, Rictor walks up the path panting. He has on a pair of black over-the-ears headphones and a rucksack slung over both shoulders. When he comes up on the others, he pulls back the headphones with one hand and wipes sweat from his brow with the other, pushing strands of wet hair aside as he does. He stops and offers a quick, "Hey," to Shane and Billy, before promptly sneezing. There's aother mutant teen out in the woods right now but he's not out for a run or a hunt. Jack's in his workout pants and a school t-shirt and he's got his backpack with him as he makes his way towards the school too. When voices and figures up ahead catch his attention, Jack slows a little and one sleeve lifts as he waves. "Hey," he calls, adjusting his backpack as he walks. Hercules comes to a stop as he encounters first Billy, and then the others. Panting lightly, the large teen leans against one of the trees. He nods to Billy and smiles. "Did your dog misplace you?", he asks of the man in white. To Shane, he nods, "Hey. Hunting again?" At the sneeze, Herc glances over at Rictor. "Bless you. Oh, I got the email about you being my advisor. Can I pester you sometime next week about a few things, Rictor?" Rictor's name comes out a little scratchy as Hercules covers his mouth with the back of his hand, and coughs a couple times. "Heh, I thought this fresh country air would mean less colds. Ah, hey Jack. How's the haunted house plans coming along?" "He is?! Thank you!" Billy gives a little jump every time someone new makes themselves known, even jumping at the sneeze. "Bless you," he offers politely. "He chewed through his leash, he's only like, six months old..." The corpse-pale man leans forward as if he might wander out in the direction Shane suggested, but hesitating fearfully, he just reaches out with the jingly-cat-ball towards the darkness with a good few shakes. "Oh! Jack! Thank God! Call my dog, he loves you." "Please." He takes a step over a branch in the most awkward, least woodsman-like fashion possible. There's a small flutter of Shane's gills when Rictor joins the group, too, Shane's inner eyelids sliding closed. He lifts a hand, fingers curling in around the strap of his bag as his weight shifts back away from Billy. Towards Jack. "He-e-y." The look he gives Hercules is a little bemused. "With a bow and arrow? Nah. My weapons are better." His brows lift, gaze shifting between Hercules and Rictor at the sneezing and coughing. "Bunch of people all living together means /more/ colds, usually. Think it takes a while to build up boarding-school immunity." Rictor offers a few thanks for blessings, straightens his back some, and gives Hercules a thumbs up. "You bet," he tells him, "we'll find some time to chat." His gaze wanders over the others, settling particularly on Billy, whose frazzled state makes him smile. "You'll find him, Billy. He's probably just playing." He turns to Shane and says, "True. Hopefully it doesn't spread." "Loves trying to take a bite out me," Jack murmurs under his breath. He takes a breath and steps towards the direction Billy's going. "Hey, Tay!" he calls. He glances back at the talk of colds, frowning invisibly. "Doesn't matter where ya are, there's still germs and stuff around. Still cold and wind and all that too," he says. Of course he chuckles quietly at the mention of the haunted house. "I'm practicing a few things..." he trails off with a bit of mischief in his tone. "That sounds positively ominous, Jack. If you need a hand with it, I'd be happy to help out. Hope you get a scream or two out of me too.", the tall teen says with a grin. Hercules nods to Rictor then. "Thank you, sir. Are you planning on being at the Halloween dance, Rictor?" He turns his gaze to Shane, "And you, Shane? Going to dress up?" A glance at the bow has him shrugging. "I don't know much about bows, or your weapons. Target shooting, then?" Herc eyes the man in white for a moment as he starts heading into the woods. Giving his best helpless pout, Billy nods in agreement, "He probably is-" He takes a deep breath, looking back out to fret at the woods. He pauses in his /incessant/ jingling to listen for the shrill bark that comes in response to Jack's voice. He gestures excitedly, "Oh, keep calling him?" Somewhere in the woods, a tiny, fluffy-white hunter locks onto his invisible prey. Shane frowns at Jack's murmur, but doesn't say anything. His fingers tighten around the strap of his bag. "Me? I'm not a student here. Sad I'm gonna miss the awesome spooking, though." Another shrug. The side of his mouth hooks up crookedly. "I used to invite /everyone/ to the dances, though. Like. Literally everyone. Make sure nobody didn't have a date. Anyway, Evolve's throwing a huge-ass party, I'll probably be swamped." Now his smile brightens. Wider. Huuuuge. VERY toothy. His claws lengthen, curling out longer. "I /am/ my own weapons." As Jack and Billy head in search of the dog, Rictor takes a few steps off the path to lean against a flanking tree. To Hercules, he says, "Of course, wouldn't miss it," though it actually sounds more like he hasn't given the event much thought. His attention then moves to Shane as his brows arc. Wherever the two may stand at the moment, he finds something the other man says forcing a grin on his face. Turning away from him, he stares off to the search team and beyond them into the woods. Taking a breath, Jack calls out for the tiny dog again. "Tay!" he calls, looking around for any signs of the dog. He looks back at Hercules a moment. "Thanks but I'm keeping this mysterious. Make it a surprise," he says, shifting his bag to his other shoulder. "Evolve's throwing a Halloween Party too?" that has Jack interested. Hercules grins at Shane at the mention of a party at Evolve. "Is it an open party, or do folks need an invitation?" The toothy grin causes Herc to raise an eyebrow. "Hmm, I didn't know you could do that with your claws. That's pretty cool. And a bit scary." He pauses a moment to cough on the back of his hand again. Jack's answer has Herc nodding, "Fair enough. Will it be a stand alone thing, or like, in with the dance and stuff?" Of Rictor, the tall teen asks, "What are you thinking of going as?" Bounding through the underbrush, Billy's guinea pig sized dog appears as a shock of white against the dark, woodsy backdrop. With wily, determined panting, Taylor makes straight for Jack -- only to be scooped up like the harmless, hamster-snowball-thing that he is. "Yes!" Billy hisses, flashing a bleached, toothy grin as he holds the tiny creature to his chest. He makes to tie the remainder of the leash onto the dog's tiny gemstone collar, but is working one-handed. "Thank you! I can always count on him to want to eat you," he scrunches his nose pleasantly to Jack. And then with more concern, "You're doing a haunted house?" Because he wants to be nowhere near it. Because that will be terrifying. "There's whole big things being planned here --" Shane shrugs. "It'll probably be awesome. Halloween here always is." His claws slide back in, eyes shifting to fix steadily down on the ground. "Mostly only scary if you're a turkey. Anyway, it's a nightclub, it's not invite only. The party at my /house/ after, now, /that/ one --" His grin here, now, is brighter. He nudges Jack lightly in the side with an elbow. "I'm throwing like seventeen /million/ Halloween parties. What are you going as, anyway?" Jack relaxes when Billy intercepts the mini-attack-dog. "Don't know why he wants to eat me, I doubt I taste good," he tries to joke. "I'm going to help out with the haunted house here," he explains. He grins invisibly and laughs a little at the nudge, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hopefully I can come by one. Any party you throw's got to be great," he says. When asked what he's going as, Jack glances at the others and hums. "It's a surprise. I'll show you later if you want." Hercules lets out another cough, and shakes his head. He turns towards the mansion, and offers a wave to the others. "Well, I should get inside, I have to work on my costume a bit more. Glad your dog is safe and sound, sir." The large teen nods to Billy before looking at Rictor, "See you sometime soon, yeah?" Jack and Shane get another wave and a grin, "See you later." With that, he turns and heads up the path. "Thanks," Billy pants, planting a few kisses on the small dog's brow. Another branch snaps under his boot as he steps back onto the path, "I ought to get back inside, too. Early day tomorrow." Still holding the dog rather than letting it out on the half-leash, he says generally, "Night, all!" Despite seeming to step very carefully, his leaf-crunching and twig-snapping can be heard all the way down the path and back to the school. Shane tips his head up in a nod to Hercules, though there's only a soft rumble of growl in his throat as Billy heads off, very low and barely conscious; his smile hasn't actually /left/ his face. "Yeah?" He rocks up onto his toes, nodding to Jack. "Totally. Especially if I'm gonna miss it here. I mean, unless you come to the city. Taylor's coming out, says he'll probably bring some folks, so." Not that anyone would know it, but it's been a while since Rictor celebrated Halloween. The furrow on his brow is related to his thinking about a costume, which is not what he wants to be doing at all. What he wants to do is take a nap. So, as the others begin to part ways, he lifts his hand in a wave and then turns to Jack and Shane. "I should head off, too, get some rest. See you all soon, yeah?" He pushes off the tree, smiles, and starts his way slowly back to school. "Naw, not soon or later," Jack replies flatly. "Bye," he offers to Herc and Billy, sleeve lifting again. He blinks when Rictor starts heading off as well, shirt collar dipping as he nods. "Have a good night, Professor," he says, watching his advisor go. Looking back to Shane, Jack's invisible smile returns. "I'll ask Taylor if I can tag along. I had an idea for a costume that isn't just like...ghost or mummy." The soft growl in Shane's throat continues, through Jack's flat reply. It cuts off into a sharp snort, but his chin tips up to Rictor, as well. "Yyyep. See-ya." The look he gives Jack is a little amused. "I know, right? Like, seriously, how many freaking times can I be jaws? Tell me your costume is awesome." The growl finally gets Jack's attention and he watches Shane. "Something wrong?" he asks. He rubs the back of his neck on the subject of costumes though. "Well...I hope its awesome. It's not all that creative I guess but I'm gonna Star Wars it up...go as Vader. Costume covers everything so no one will see the perma-ghost and I can use my TK to fake Force stuff..." he trails off sheepishly. "Hmwhat? Wrong?" For a moment Shane looks puzzled -- though his gills are fluttering faster and his claws extended juuust a bit longer than they were before. The fluttering stops a moment later, though, smile returning bright and toothy. "Oh man! No, no, that's fantastic. You gotta practice your badass Vader voice though -- the TK'll really fucking /nail/ it, though, man. That is going to be the bomb-/ass/. I love it." "You just seemed a little annoyed. I heard a growl or two," Jack replies with a shrug. He perks up at Shane's reaction though. "I won't be as good as the big guy himself but," he pauses and clears his throat. "I've been working on it," he finishes, making his voice deeper as he tries his Vader impression. He's still working on it. "Thanks. Hearing everyone going on about the new movie and seeing some of the commercials for that game gave me the idea," he adds back in his normal voice. "Oh -- {sorry}." Shane rubs at the back of his neck, glancing back in the direction of the school. "Dude just makes my fucking skin crawl." He gives his head a sharp shake, as if to clear it, and shifts his bag from one shoulder to the other. "Oh, shit, /right/, the movie. My little bro is fucking -- /flipping/ his shit, I'm gonna have to take him. I don't know all that much about Star Wars but it's making racists mad on the internet so I'm glad enough to give it my money." His grin is only wider at Jack's Vader impression. "Right /on/." "Don't have to apologize to me about it. At least its not shaking things like if I get mad," Jack tries to joke again. "Who does?" he asks. He gives a little laugh at the comment though. "Yeah, I heard about them flipping out over that one actor. So stupid," he shakes his head. "What costume are you going to wear?" "Billy. He was lying to Flicker and Matt about me -- I just don't get it. Well, I /do/ get it. I just don't /want/ to get it, because that's even grosser. But I can't stand people who're nice to your /face/ but --" Shane's gills flutter again, a small puff of breath huffed out. "Anyway." A small shiver runs up him, his tongue pressed up under his lip before he admits, nose wrinkling: "... you know, I don't even know?" He sounds uncharacteristically awkward about this. "Between school and work and training and -- work, I -- shit. Just been so busy planning so much other crap I haven't really thought about what /I/ wanted to... do." Quick and bright, his smile returns. "Be Jaws. Clearly." This news surprises Jack. "Wow," he murmurs. He glances up in the direction Billy went, frowning and wondering if Billy's said anything about him. Shane getting awkward gets the empty, floating clothes looking surprised though. "Man...I hope you get a little time to relax soon," he offers. The returned smile gets an unseen grin though. "Best Jaws ever."