Ororo Munroe (mysunflower) wrote in gangs_of_nyx, @ 2010-10-29 11:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | iceman, rogue, storm, wolverine |
Thread: XQ Halloween party
Characters: Rogue, Ororo Munroe, and OT all Brotherhood members, affiliates, guests, friends, and anyone else who wants to drop by and celebrate the holiday.
NPCs: --
Location: The XQ bar, M-Town, NYC.
Timeline: Halloween night: Sunday, October 31, 1975 to Monday, November 1, 1975.
Description: It’s Halloween, and Ororo and Rogue are co-hosting a party at the XQ in order to drum up business and get Rogue a little more socialized. Costumes are highly recommended (by ‘Ro), the bar's all spookified, drinks are flowing, the jukebox is playing, and everyone’s invited!
Rating: PG-13 or higher, likely.
OOC: Meesha isn’t going to be around to tag, but feel free to move Rogue around lightly as needed! Subthread to your heart’s content for any time during the evening; for ease of use, please label your subthread with an approximate time (early, middle, or late evening is fine) and characters involved. Anything goes, but if your character causes problems (which the wrong people could do just by stepping in the door), Ororo will toss them out.
Ororo had closed down shop at her normal time, even though tonight was Halloween and Sun Steps had been fairly crowded with customers looking for last-minute costumes or accessories, especially kids. It made her smile that Halloween was still generally a fun holiday, even here in Mutant Town, where there wasn’t always a lot of fun to be had, at least not of the kind that was kid-friendly. She’d sent one of the neighborhood kids over to Moira’s early in the afternoon with a big bag of candy and decorations for her own family-friendly celebration, but Ororo herself had other plans for tonight.
She was on her way to the XQ after locking the door behind her, toting her own costume (and a bit of a costume for Rogue as well) in one bag and the decorations and supplies she’d promised Rogue she’d rustle up in another. It was good for Rogue to be doing something social like this, was Ororo’s opinion, especially since she’d been different than before since coming back from prison, and it was good for the Brotherhood members to stay in for the night and take their minds off of the political mess that was the new crackdown on unregistered mutants. If all went well, this party could be a good way for Ororo’s friends (and she did consider nearly every Brotherhood member a friend in some way) to relax just a little from the day-to-day pressures of life in Mutant Town.
She stopped at the front door to the XQ, shuffling her bags in her arms to be able to knock. “Rogue?” she called inside. “It’s Ororo. Open up, honey.” As spiky on the outside as Rogue could be, Ororo liked the younger woman, and wasn’t shy about letting her know that.
It didn't take much convincing on Ororo's part to get Rogue to throw a Halloween party at her bar. Business had been slow and she needed the money. Besides, the extra pressure was a good motivator when it came to finishing up repairs on the bar. She spent the week fixing up the outside and while the place still needed a fresh coat of paint at least the gate in the front was now secured and not falling off its track, like it was. The inside was coming along too, there were still a few bits and pieces that needed to get it back to 100%, but other than that it was passable. Really, all a good bar needed was good beer and that she had plenty of.
The lights were on, but the bar wasn't opened just quite yet at this early hour. Rogue was inside giving everything a final once over, mopping the floors, when Ororo arrived. She looked from her task and out the window to see the other woman standing there waiting to be let in. Dumping the mop back into the rusty bucket, Rogue approached the door, flipped the lock and held it open for Ororo with a bit of a hesitant smile as she did. Ororo was one of the few people that Rogue considered a friend, in that she had always been pleasant towards Rogue and not in a sharing "tell me your secrets" kind of way. They were friendly and that went a long way in her book.
"Hows tricks?" she asked the other woman by way of greeting, allowing her entrance into the bar.
Ororo edged her way sideways through the door, and almost immediately dropped the bag holding the costumes on the floor. As practically as she dressed every day of the week for work in her shop, Ororo loved pretty dresses and jewelry, and she wasn’t going to pass up a chance to feel extra-pretty on a night when costumes were all in. The bag containing the decorations she set down more gently -- there were candles in there and a few other bits and pieces she didn’t want broken.
Rogue’s smile pleased her -- that woman didn’t smile enough, it was Ororo’s firm opinion, and it drew an answering smile from her. “Just fine,” she answered. “It’s been a busy one at the shop today. I’m ready for a party.” While she normally might have reached out to touch a friend’s arm at this point, she carefully refrained. She knew Rogue well enough to know that the touch probably wouldn’t be welcomed, no matter whether they were friends or not, and she’d always been careful to respect those boundaries. Instead, she just looked around the place, raising her eyebrows at how much nicer it looked in here than it had last week. “You’ve done a nice job around here, sweetie,” she complimented Rogue, drawing her eyes back to the other woman with a smile. “You cleaned up this place all lickety-split! It looks great.”
Rogue muttered a quick "Thanks," scrubbing her hand through the back of her hair as she returned to where Ororo was rummage through her bag. Rogue arched a brow at the presented cobwebs. Holiday parties? Decorating? Definitely not her thing. She managed a chuckle though and shook her head. "That's good, Ah like it. The fake ones will fit right in with the rest of 'em," she remarked.
The smile was an odd expression on Rogue's usually grim face and soon faded thereafter. In the days that followed her release from prison it was painfully obvious that she wasn't the same happy-go-lucky southern belle she once was. It seemed that the weight of the world wore heavily on her shoulders and manifested itself as what could only be described as a gray countenance. It was good, though, that Ororo suggested the party. Good for business, good for her mental health. "Glad t'hear business is boomin' for ya. Its been a bit slow 'round these parts," she said, speaking to 'Ro over her shoulder as she locked the door once more. Rogue wasn't sure how she felt about the lack of customers. It was good that things were nice and easy but bad in the pocket book.
Ororo grinned and crouched down, rifling through the bag of supplies to pull out a bag of fake spiderwebs she’d picked up on a whim. “Ready to start making it look even better? I’ve got candles, ghosty streamers, black cat cutouts, pumpkin lanterns, you name it.” Yeah, so maybe Ororo brought too much stuff, but this was Halloween! If this party was going to be a success and bring in some much-needed business for Rogue, she really did feel the need to go all out. "Oh, and you have to get into your costume, honey. Don’t think I’m letting you out of that requirement.”
When Ororo dropped the costume bomb on her and Rogue glanced over, a wary expression on her face. "Yer not... oh no... y'can't be serious..." She said all while shaking her head and backing up. If Ororo wanted Rogue in a costume, she was going to had better be prepared for a fight.
Ororo actually laughed; Rogue’s wariness was funny, considering that it was only a costume she was talking about, not some awful thing like making her wear a dress or anything. “Relax,” she told the younger woman, holding up her hands in a gesture of peace, just teasing a little. “I didn’t bring anything you should be scared of, tough girl like you.” She smiled, crossing the room to lug the bag with her own costume in it over to the bar. She pulled out her best idea for Rogue’s costume -- a black cat, complete with ears and a tail -- and laid it out on the bar’s surface, raising an eyebrow at Rogue. “That’s not too bad, is it?”
"Ehh..." Was all Rogue managed at the idea of wearing a costume. "It’s not terrible..." She said, scrunching her nose a bit. It could be worse, yeah, she convinced herself. Besides if Ororo was dressing up there would be safety in numbers, never mind the fact that she didn't expect any of the guys to do so. Rogue trailed over to where she left the mop and took it back up again to finish the rest of the floor. "Let me finish this up here, but you go on and get started an' Ah'll be right with ya."
“Sure will,” Ororo answered cheerfully, and lugged the big bag up again, setting it on an unused table. “You mop that corner, I’ll start in this one, and we’ll have this place looking spooky in no time.“
She was as good as her word, dragging a chair over to the corner she’d picked and climbing up with spiderwebs and pushpins in tow to reach the rafters and begin performing her artistic magic. It was a struggle -- Ororo really was short, and even with the chair she had to go up on tiptoes to reach -- but she was good-humored about it anyway. Making a place look nice with what she had was one of her fortes, and it was relaxing to be doing this with a friend nearby, in preparation for a party.
It wasn’t long before Rogue finished her cleaning and came to assist, and under Ororo’s direction, the decorating went fairly quickly, leaving the two women with time to spare before the bar would open and the customers would start to pour in -- at least, hopefully it would be more of a flood and less of a trickle, for the sake of Rogue’s business. Ororo stood back, hands on her hips, to survey the job, and after a few moments she beamed and nodded and gave Rogue a little salute. “All shipshape and ready to sail, Captain,” she told her with a laugh. “Time for a drink before the men come in and scuff up your nice clean floors?"
After things were all said and done, Rogue stood next to Ororo surveying the place and the job done. "It looks great. Very spooky," with a lift of her chin. Rogue was actually impressed. It was actually starting to look like a party around here. All that was left to do was dump the dirty mop water and crack a beer.