Welcome To X-Men: Covenant

[Husk]

"You're being a lone wolf, Kentucky?" Lee asked with a slight bark of laughter to her voice.

Paige glared at the other girl for a moment cause she knew what the laugh was about. Weren't hard to figure out, after all. Most of the time, she was all about preaching for them to stay in line and follow orders like good little soldiers. But sometimes you hadda step outta line a bit, especially if it was important. And she didn't think it was possible for there to be something more important than the future and safety of other mutants/ Heck, they were pretty much protected for the time being but who knew how long all of that was gonna last. Professor Xavier was doing his level best, she was sure, but she thought they belonged on the front ling as much as any of the X-Men did. This was their future, too, after all.

That weren't what Lee was expecting to hear outta her, though, and Paige hadda admit that she likely deserved a few rounds of "I told you so"s from the other girl. Paige crossed her arms over her chest and just looked at her team mate, waiting a moment to see if Lee was gonna say anything else before she answered. When it was evident that Lee was, for once, gonna shut up, she said, "I know it ain't my usual thing, but I don't like the way they're leaving us outta this like we're just a passel of kids. If this fight is on, then it's on for us just as much as it is for them, y'know? So if I gotta bend round some rules of authority, then I'll do just that."

"So, Rebel. What do you want from me, exactly? A promise of quiet, or are you actually asking me to help?"

The new nickname made Paige roll her eyes and consider just throwing her arms up and telling the other girl to forget it. She'd told Lee cause she thought she might be interested in getting involved, working on this instead of just sitting around letting decisions be made around her. But if she was gonna be this way then Paige weren't sure how well the two of them were gonna be able to get along. "Depends on how serious you're gonna take it. This isn't a game. And no telling anybody. We gotta play this hush-hush." This coming from the girl who was ninety eight percent sure that Professor Xavier could hear each and every plan she formulated in her mind before she was even aware of it. So that request was only a little like the pot calling the kettle black. "And if you don't wanna play the game, then just keep it zipped cause some of us don't wanna take a backseat for our own futures."

Yeah, yeah. She was getting a little preachy, but this was important. Lee needed to see that.

[Jubilee]

This was hilarious. Little miss I wanna wear the ruby shades when I grow up, she was saying this. All this stuff. Very subversive stuff. Right out loud and up front about it too. Very Rebel With A Cause. It was neat, she hadn't thought that the blonde girl had it in her. Anywhere. Not even in the depths of her little goody two-shoe wearing heart.

Guess Jubilee had pegged her wrong. And this was so much more interesting then the other way Kentucky had been. Much more radical, definitely in both senses of the term. And if Paige was coming out with this stuff, then she'd probably better sit up and take notice, because that meant it was serious. Most of her own rulebreaking came straight from mischief, but this meant rulebreaking and doing the right and noble thing at the same time. Absolutely awesome.

"Depends on how serious you're gonna take it. This isn't a game. And no telling anybody. We gotta play this hush-hush."

"Saying I can't keep my mouth shut?" Jubilee interjected, raising an eyebrow. Sure, she knew what it seemed like. Motormouth, running off at the smallest thing. Not the best secret keeper. But...that was the thing, wasn't it? Nobody thought she could keep a secret, meant nobody came pushing for her secrets. Easier that way.

"And if you don't wanna play the game, then just keep it zipped cause some of us don't wanna take a backseat for our own futures."

"Some of us? There's more in on this? Who?" she jumped in with questions, ignoring the slur on her honor as a base accusation. The nerve! As if she'd want to be left out on something this big.

[Husk]

For once Lee weren't prattling on at a mile a minute talking `bout the sorta nonsense stuff that sometimes made Paige just wanna shake her head and walk as far away from the other gal as she could get. Cause, yeah, most of the time Lee was a trip and a half--well, when she weren't teasing Paige for some of her more stodgy activities, getting them into trouble or just talking so endlessly that the end of the conversation seemed to stretch well into the next ice age--but she had never been the sorta person that Paige woulda ever thought to go to with serious stuff. She'd expected Lee to roll her eyes, snap her gum and call her paranoid, but her words seemed to be getting through to the other girl. Which was a rather pleasant surprise. As much fun as Paige had doing research and things like that on her own, it never hurt to have some back-up.

Though Lee wouldn't have been her first choice ever. Of course, her options were Lee and Jono considering the fact that she was trying to keep her extracurricular activities secret from the X-Men. Seeing as how she and Jono didn't know each other all that well, that simply left her with Lee as a partner in crime.

Coulda been worse, right?

"Saying I can't keep my mouth shut?"

Paige just shrugged and chose not to answer that. Best to not even begin to acknowledge that sorta thing. No telling how Lee might react. Instead, she continued detailing pieces of her plan. Well, as many pieces of her plan as she felt comfortable discussing. Especially with Lee and especially considering the fact that they were out and about in public.

"Some of us? There's more in on this? Who?"

Frowning, Paige chewed her bottom lip as she realized what she had just gotten herself into. Hands up, head shaking, she said, "No, no. Ah didn't mean it that way. It was a general we. Right now it's just us. Well, uh, if you want in. That's all, though." She rolled her shoulders and glanced around, trying to male sure that there wasn't anyone keeping tabs on them. "Ah mean, yeah, at some point we might wanna expand but right now. Ah'm just. Looking. Y'know. Trying to help. See if Ah can find anything out for Professor Xavier and the X-Men."

[Jubilee]

Point of the fact being, she was probably shocking the pants off Paige by not being completely ditzy about this. Hey, she had layers, deepness. She wasn't shallow. She just tried to project that very strongly. Maybe she shouldn't be so surprised when people believed her, so that when she switched tracks it often confused them. Still, being a Valleygirl motormouth was nice protective coloring.

And besides, like anyone took her seriously anyway. Jubilee would have bet that Paige still wasn't taking her seriously. It was the height, that's what it was. Nobody took short people seriously. Nobody.

"No, no. Ah didn't mean it that way. It was a general we. Right now it's just us. Well, uh, if you want in. That's all, though." She rolled her shoulders and glanced around, trying to male sure that there wasn't anyone keeping tabs on them. "Ah mean, yeah, at some point we might wanna expand but right now. Ah'm just. Looking. Y'know. Trying to help. See if Ah can find anything out for Professor Xavier and the X-Men."

Paige was breaking character. She didn't usually slip this far into the hick accent unless she was rattled as heck. Well, good. She deserved a little rattling.

"I can do groundwork if you need it. Because let's face it, Country Mouse, when it comes to the streets, you ain't got no hope of getting what information you could need." Jubilee smiled, sugary sweet and knowing she was pushing her luck. And Paige's patience. Wasn't anything new though, she did this to Paige all the time. This was probably the most civil they'd been to each other ever, and for such a long time too. "Still, I wonder how much we could handle on our own..."

[Husk]

The fact that Lee weren't just laughing this whole thing off and telling her to just chill out and relax said a whole lot. No matter how loathe she was to admit it, Lee could be serious about things when it mattered. It didn't seem to happen too often, `bout as often as a blue moon Paige figured, but she had seen it. Not a lot. Not enough to really believe that it could be more than a once in a lifetime event until something drastic came along to change the girl's perceptions and make her grow up a little, but that streak seemed to be peeking out again now. And Paige weren't sure whether to be glad to see it or to run away cause she weren't exactly sure how to react to this Lee.

Paige kept people in certain boxes, labeled clearly and stacked in neat rows with her reactions to the various things they did already figured out and simply waiting for her to pick out the right one when the time came. This threw her for a bit of a loop, and she was left mentally scrabbling as she tried to decide how to best interact with the girl standing in front of her. It was all making her increasingly flustered, and her thickening accent gave her away. As much as Lee liked to rub salt into that wound, she was sure her teammate would notice the dip back into more Kentucky phrases and pronunciations, but she was beyond the point of being able to do much about it.

"I can do groundwork if you need it. Because let's face it, Country Mouse, when it comes to the streets, you ain't got no hope of getting what information you could need," Lee said, wearing the sorta smile that Paige had seen on the faces of her younger siblings countless times.

Right before they went and did something that ended up getting them in untold amounts of trouble.

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and began to chew on it, arms still crossed tightly over her chest, as she watched Lee, waiting for the girl to go on. Hadda be more. With Lee, there was always something more to be said it seemed like. She was also keeping a tight reign on her temper. Which wanted to protest what Lee had said no matter that it was likely the truth. When it came to this whole outside information gathering process, she was a little behind the times. Paige was better behind a computer. She was better with books and newspapers and pens and papers in her hands and spread out in front of her. Her world was the academic. Which had been making some of what she was trying to do right difficult to accomplish.

"Still, I wonder how much we could handle on our own..."

That got her. Paige uncrossed her arms, hands flying, forgetting for the moment that she weren't supposed to do anything to draw attention when they were out in public talking `bout something like this. She just couldn't help it, though. What was Lee saying? They hadda do this. There weren't any other choice. "You ain't suggesting that we just let it alone, are you? That we just let alla this pass round us and not do nothing when it involves us and our future. Heck, Lee, we don't know of nobody personally whose been nabbed yet, but it's only gonna be a matter of time. The way these people are, the way they act. I mean, how long? How long till," she trailed off and shrugged, not wanting to ask out loud how long until some of their friends were gone or, infinitely worse, one of her younger siblings. Several of them had already manifested and simply chosen to remain on the farm rather than come here.

"How long till we ain't safe no more?" she asked, tapping her foot on the ground and shaking her head to try and get hair outta her eyes. "How can we sit around and do nothing?"

[Jubilee]

There was nothing she enjoyed more then throwing people for a loop.

"You ain't suggesting that we just let it alone, are you? That we just let alla this pass round us and not do nothing when it involves us and our future. Heck, Lee, we don't know of nobody personally whose been nabbed yet, but it's only gonna be a matter of time. The way these people are, the way they act. I mean, how long? How long till," she trailed off and shrugged, not wanting to ask out loud how long until some of their friends were gone or, infinitely worse, one of her younger siblings. Several of them had already manifested and simply chosen to remain on the farm rather than come here.

"Whoa, chill out," Jubilee half-laughed, raising an eyebrow. She wanted to look around and see if anyone was watching them, but that would have just looked even more suspicious. Maybe they should get outta here and hit a Bucks. Nobody looked twice at two girls yakking it up over stupidly named chilly sugarhigh drinks anymore.

Two girls standing yakking it up in a clothes store? For such a length of time without changing outfits? A mite more suspicious. Paige might have totally missed that memo on teen behaviour, because as far as Jubilee knew the girl had never really had an adolescence. Just a worryfilled mini-adulthood. Yick.

"How long till we ain't safe no more?" she asked, tapping her foot on the ground and shaking her head to try and get hair outta her eyes. "How can we sit around and do nothing?"

"Hold up, cowgirl, that's not what I was saying. What I was saying...was how deep do we get before we turn it over to the de facto 'rents? Or do we just keep diving until we can't see surface anymore? By now you so should know what I'm in favor of doing. And ya know, maybe we should ditch the clothes and go get a shake, whaddaya think? You like chocolate or vanilla, blondie? I'll even buy," she said, chattering away and keeping her voice light and upbeat. And not too loud. Not enough to draw attention.

Because this was the serious stuff they were talking here. And how long did they have anyway before somebody turned up to run them to earth and collect them? Their absence couldn't go unnoticed forever, and it seemed like they had a whole lot of talking to do first.

[Husk]

Paige was aware of the fact that she was acting like a certifiable nut case what with the big eyes and hand gestures. Not to mention the things that were coming outta her mouth. In a public place, no less. She was verging on creating exactly the sorta spectacle that she had been looking to avoid the entire time. Which was part of the reason she'd been so willing to go along with some of the things that Lee had wanted to do. And then when it came right down to it, surprise surprise!, it was her making the scene. Whoever said that there weren't no more surprises in life was apparently dead wrong. Turned out there just didn't seem to be anymore good surprises left in life.

Or maybe it was all simply her luck. Paige didn't really have the time nor the inclination to stop and think `bout it all that much at the moment. There were more important things on her mind. Like not getting thrown outta the store or worse. And what would be worse than that she didn't even wanna contemplate.

"Whoa, chill out," Lee said.

If she hadn't already been so worked up, Lee as the voice of reason likely woulda sent her into shock. As it was, she just managed to catch the words. They went in and then out of her head almost at the same time cause she weren't done yet. Oh no. Not by a long shot. There was still a whole lot more that she wanted to say about the whole thing, though she was fairly sure that Lee likely wouldn't wanna hear. Only she hadda get them out. They just wouldn't sit there in her throat and her mind unsaid.

"How long till we ain't safe no more?" she asked, tapping her foot on the ground and shaking her head to try and get hair outta her eyes. "How can we sit around and do nothing?"

"Hold up, cowgirl, that's not what I was saying. What I was saying...was how deep do we get before we turn it over to the de facto 'rents? Or do we just keep diving until we can't see surface anymore? By now you so should know what I'm in favor of doing. And ya know, maybe we should ditch the clothes and go get a shake, whaddaya think? You like chocolate or vanilla, blondie? I'll even buy."

It weren't lost on Paige that Lee was trying to keep things cool. She understood the reasoning behind it and woulda appreciated it more if she hadn't already gotten herself so tightly wound. Still, though, she did managed to nod her head and roll her shoulders a little, trying to loosen herself back up and smile a touch. She chewed her lip instead, hands twisted together. "I'm thinking if ever there was a time for diving, it's gonna be now." She glanced behind her while tossing her hair outta her face. "And, yeah, let's head. I'm not much in the mood for clothes shopping no more." Not that she had ever been but it had been starting to get a little bit interesting before she went and pulled her crazy card out for all to see.

"I'm gonna," she trailed off and stuck her thumb over her shoulder toward the changing room before ducking into it to get back into her own clothes.

[Jubilee]

The saleslady at the counter was giving them the eye, probably wondering if they were tweaking or something. About to go crazy, wreck her store, make a bummer of her shift. If maybe she should call security. If they were lifting something. Jubilee almost wanted to, just for the kicks. But decided it would be better not to - she didn't have to steal anymore, and most of the time now, she didn't bother.

Paige was almost winding down, seeming to listen to the voice of reason that Jubilee was providing. And just how did she wind up with that position, Jubilee wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't how things usually worked between them. Maybe it was because she was just used to keeping her head. Although, sometimes panic worked just fine too.

"I'm thinking if ever there was a time for diving, it's gonna be now." She glanced behind her while tossing her hair outta her face. "And, yeah, let's head. I'm not much in the mood for clothes shopping no more."

"No kidding," the Asian girl said dryly. She'd failed in her mission to get Paige to buy some new clothes, but they could always try again another day. When Paige wasn't wound so tight. Man, she was failing at this 'get Paige to relax' business. She wasn't used to failing. Then again, it was a people thing. People were hard.

"I'm gonna," she trailed off and stuck her thumb over her shoulder toward the changing room before ducking into it to get back into her own clothes.

"Yeah."

Jubilee pushed her way back into her change room, closing the door behind her. Shimmied out of the clothes she was wearing that belonged to the store, dressed herself in her own clothes and slung her backpack over a shoulder. Gathering up all the discarded clothes and their hangers, she fiddled with the lock for a moment, then pushed it open.

"Oh, good, here ya go," she said cheerfully and dumped the bundle in the arms of the shop assistant who was in the changing area. What she and Paige really needed to do, was get out of here. Prior to another flip out. "Hey, Bluegrass, you ready to jet?"

[Husk]

Yeah, at the moment, clothes shopping was the last thing on Paige's mind, though it had been working. She had been kinda, sorta, maybe acting like a girl for a little bit but then she just hadda go and ruin it by acting like the bookish, slightly obsessive compulsive, worrywart again. As per usual. She was sure that Lee wasn't surprised by her downward spiral back her normal, everyday self in the least.

"No kidding," Lee said.

Paige scowled at Lee over her shoulder and just shook her head. What was there to say in response anyway? She had flipped out and started talking like an insane person in the middle of a public place. That was her problem, and Lee had been right to go ahead and just call her on it cause that was exactly the sorta thing that she needed every now and then. Especially right now when things were so crazy everywhere else in the world.

Once back in the changing room, Paige took the clothes off with the same sort of nonchalance that she woulda had she been husking from one skin to another. It was all the same in the end, wasn't it? It was all a covering. Even her skin, the skin she had been born with, could be peeled back to reveal something else. Putting on her old jeans, hand-me-downs from her brother, and then her shirt, Paige ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down a little bit more so that she didn't continue to act like a crazy person and either draw too much attention to them or get them thrown out of the hall. Neither of those alternatives would have been in the least bit good.

"Hey, Bluegrass, you ready to jet?"

"Just a sec, Lee," Paige called out and then grabbed the clothes she had been coerced into trying on, folding them over her arm and then giving the room one last glance before opening the door. Outside she saw Lee and a shop girl who was almost staggering under a load of clothes. Clicking her tongue at Lee, Paige set her own bundle of shirts and things on the table near the changing rooms and then walked over to join the other girl.

"Ready when you are." Get her outta here as soon as possible.

[Jubilee]

Paige took the unassertive stance of putting her things on the returns table. Jubilee waited for her to catch up, fiddling with her earring. It felt a little tight, but she didn't want to loose it. Maybe it was time for a new pair. The PTB only knew she'd had this pair forever - but where would she find another set with her name on?

It was truly a dilemma.

But perhaps, not as pressing as what was going on here. People disappearing - more to the point, mutie kids disappearing. And out of sight of Xavier as well, it seemed. Maybe she should volunteer for a little undercover. It wasn't like she wasn't used to roughing it, and out of everybody, she was the most likely to fit in. And hence, get picked up. By whatever was doing the picking. Boojums, apparently. Since apparently people just softly and silently vanished away.

"Sure, let's go and talk about the boojums, Kentucky. I'm craving Starsbucksian nectars...chocofrappe with whip, doublepump of vanilla and a pump of caramel. C'mon, I know how to get there fastest."

She headed off, confident in her mental map of where everything commercial in the little town was. She owned the streets, like she was ever going to be caught out if she'd been somewhere more then a week. Jubilee refused to not know where she was and where she was going - ever. And as long as she stuck to urban environments, she was probably a-ok.

[Husk]

Paige took one last look at the pile of clothes that she had left on the returns table, pushed a hand through her hair and then ran over to Lee all the while trying not to look like a complete crazy person who needed to have security called on her before she broke out into a spastic fit. Wouldn't that be something to explain to Xavier. Not to mention her momma. Yep. That was the last thing in the whole world that she needed on top of everything else that was going on currently. And the whole actually sitting down and talking to Lee `bout everything that was going on was sounding like a better idea with each passing second.

As she joined the other girl, she tried not to fidget too much, though it was hard when her energy was running as high as it was. All she really wanted to do was to drag Lee back to the mansion and take her on a long run around the grounds. That was when Paige did her best thinking, though she was sure that Lee likely wouldn't appreciate that as much as heading down to a cafe and filling up on caffeine and sugar.

Yeah, that was exactly what Paige needed right now.

"Sure, let's go and talk about the boojums, Kentucky. I'm craving Starsbucksian nectars...chocofrappe with whip, doublepump of vanilla and a pump of caramel. C'mon, I know how to get there fastest," Lee said.

Paige tried to smile but was sure it probably came out looking more like a grimace. "Lead on, Lee. You know where you're going."

It seemed like Lee had started off before Paige had even managed to get the words outta her mouth. Sometimes it was easy to forget exactly how fast Lee could be when she wanted to move. Though she wasn't exactly slow herself when it came right down to it, and she needed something to do with all of her excess energy anyway. Beginning to speed walk, she easily matched Lee's pace. "Sorry to ruin your shopping."

[Jubilee]

"I always know where I'm going," Jubilee said cheerfully, even though it was a complete lie. But this time, she really did. She made it a mission to memorise the streets where she walked, spent a little time on. All the back alleys too. Escape routes. It was second nature now. She had to have a back way out - had to. Paige kept up with her, surprisingly enough.

"Sorry to ruin your shopping."

"It's ok. If I was mad at you, you'd know, Kentucky," she assured the blonde, flicking her head back to smile at her. Turned her gaze back forwards again, checking off mental landmarks as she went. There and there and there. It was easy enough as long as she could see where she was going.

It was a little bit of walking, down one street, across to another and right, but it wasn't that far. Most of the popular shops tended to be clustered together. Thankfully, it wasn't too busy. They'd get their drinks and be sitting down pretty quickly, Jubilee thought as she considered the baristas behind their counter. Working away like busy bees. Getting to the front of the line, she rattled off her order, then started digging out her wallet.

"I'm paying for hers too. What do you want, Paige?"