2014.03.12 - To (not so) Missing Friends!

Since her arrival Dani has been a hard girl to find. She's been busy setting her room to rights, with all her gear and equipment and then afterwards, she's been setting the stables to right for a particular winged stallion. In fact, that's where Dani can be found now. She's currently inside the barn, making certain Brightwind is quite comfortable. She's already mucked out his stall and is now throwing some hay into the corner of his stall for him. While normally she'd be wearing her leather jacket against the cold, right now, she has it tossed over the side of an empty stall as all the physical exertion has her working up a sweat.

With one more toss the last pitchfork of hay is placed in the corner and with a pleased sigh, Dani will straighten up. "Okay, Big Fella, now for that brushing." She says to the winged horse, and clearly, he's okay with that as he offers a happy toss of his head and a loud snort. Smiling, Dani will set the pitchfork back in its place and pull one of the curry combs out.

Doug,

''I hear you are among the living again. When you're around, come and find me, I'm sure we have a lot to talk about.''

Dani

That was the note that Doug Ramsey found attached to his desktop keyboard, wedged neatly in place by an arrow.

There was a brief pause, as Doug tilts his head. Mirage- Dani Moonstar, had always been one of the most respected members of his class, and they'd gotten along surprisingly well - perhaps because she wasn't quite as -stern- with him as she was with the others, perhaps because she'd accomodated him a fair bit more.

So it should have been a good thing.

But he'd been a bit wary, lately, considering the roles Valkyries had. And well... Dani -was- one the last time he'd seen her.

But still...

It hadn't taken long to track her current location down, and so Doug approaches the stables, running a hand through his hair and sighing.

Right then, she's not going to -just- haul him off, was she? Not without warning.

"Dani?" Doug calls out, peering around the stable. Seeing her there, the young blond smiles, a bit tentatively, as he approaches. And if she just, well, acts like herself, then he would quite happily engulf her in a hug.

One brush, two brush, by the third brush Brightwind is leaning a good portion of his weight into those brushstrokes. Dani can't help but chuckle at his antics, before the winged stallion alerts her to a presence outside. When the familiar voice calls her name she's definitely not surprised by it, and when she hears who it is, she smiles again.

Doug's death was one of the reason why Dani had originally left Xavier's, among a few others as well. With one last brush to Brightwind's neck, Dani quickly sets the curry comb down and turns to greet her long lost friend. "Douglas - " Begins the dark haired woman, before her words stall in her mouth. Her gaze, which was focused upon his face when he first entered, now flickers to just above his head and her mouth thins to a grim line.

While typically no mortal eye could see what lurks above Doug's head, Dani is not your typical girl. Above him hangs the aura of death and for a second or more Dani is silent. Then she frowns and her eyes narrow as she stares at the image of the Grim Reaper. After another few seconds or more, she'll finally drop her gaze from the aura and say, "I heard you were among the living again." And seeing him go for the hug somewhat hesitantly, Dani will meet him halfway. It's not everyday a dead friend comes back to life.

He'd heard about Dani's deathsight, though he'd never seen it. So the eyes flickering upwards away from his face and drops is registered, but not responded to until after he'd pulled back from the hug.

Searching her face for a moment, Doug's lips curl into a small sardonic smile, hitting first to perhaps lay bare an unpleasant truth. "Yep. For now, I guess... I'm not being dragged to Valhalla anytime soon, so you can tell whatever you're seeing it's not happening."

Dani will pull back from the hug, although she keeps her hands on Doug's arms for a moment, as she gives him a once over. And that final look is also bestowed upon the image that hangs invisibly above his head. Her brows furrow for a long second, as she considers it. Senses that she hasn't used in quite some time are stretched outward, as she tries to understand why he seems to have that shadow lingering above him.

"No, you're definitely not." She agrees, as she drops her eyes once again to his face, "And I don't feel as if Death is truly approaching you, but there's definitely something off about it."

Even Brightwind seems to have focused upon Doug, as the stallion offers a faint snort of breath, before he too tosses his head as if in agreement with Dani.

And while she could likely go on about the image that hangs above him, she instead shifts more to the matters of the living. "It's good to see you again, Doug."

"It's different, is it?" Doug muses, canting his head as he searches Dani's face while her dark eyes flit upward, studying the image. Suddenly, a relieved smile crosses his face as he pulls Dani into a hug once again. "Thank you," he says softly, before withdrawing, gathering himself, and then slowly smiling. "That's what the other Valkyrie said too. But I think it's easier to believe in you."

Letting his arms drop, Doug smiles, before turning his attention to stroking Brightwing's nose. "It's good to see you too. Both of you. What brought you back?"

"Yes, it is different." Murmurs Dani, before she drops her hands, "And you're welcome." She states, when he pulls her into that second hug.

It's his next words that really bring a surprised quirk to an eyebrow, "Really? You met another Valkyrie? That sounds like you're two-timing on me, Mr. Ramsey." Teases the dark haired woman gently, before she turns serious, "THough it's odd to hear that there's another Valkyrie around. Did you happen to catch her name? Perhaps I should look her up." And perhaps check on her as well. In her opinion, trouble only follows the Valkyrie.

The winged horse allows Doug to pet his nose, and he'll even playfully lip at Doug's hands for a few seconds, before Brightwind drops his head towards the hay. His rider shrugs slightly at Doug's last question, "I missed this crazy place and the people. Especially the people. And after coming to terms with a few things, it felt like it was time to head on home. Logan informed me that there's quite a few people who've recently found their way home." Both dead and alive individuals, it would seem. "Apparently he has a daughter?"

Doug's expression runs the gauntlet from cheerfulness to mortification to a sigh and a roll of the eyes. "As if there'll ever be anyone other than you, Dani!" the young mutant retort, putting his right hand over his heart, and letting a longing breathy sigh escape his lips. The wistful look disappears quickly, followed by a laugh. "Yeah, I did- her name was Brunnhilde. She's got a pegasus too, one she called Aragorn."

Smirking briefly at Logan's daughter, Doug nods. "Yeah. Laura Kinney. X-23. She's one of the students here."

Peering at Dani, Doug asks softly, "You find whatever you were looking for?"

Idle hands will be shoved into the pockets of her jeans as she snorts playfully at Doug's expressions.

"Brunnhilde, eh? I'll have to look her up." Dani says, even as Brightwind's head bobs upward. His ears perk forward at the mention of Brunnhilde, as well as Aragorn. He wickers quietly, which causes Dani to glance over at him for a moment. "Hm, it seems Brightwind may know of them already. Hopefully that'll help smooth the way, when we meet them."

As for that last question of his, that earns a rather lopsided smile as she reaches over to playfully jab Doug's arm, "Found some of what I was looking for."

"So - " She says briskly, "Tell me everything else I missed. Logan's daughter is a student here, check. I hear Scott and Jean has a couple of alternate timeline children floating around as well - are there any other shockers I should know about?"

'"Since I died? Illyana went from being Piotr's little sister to being a big girl that throws around magic, Jean returned and then died and returned again... we have a bunch of new students, and... pretty much the usual X-Men stuff, really," Doug responds, hands going into his pockets the same way, returning the lopsided smile. "The usual romances and breakups, a lot of questions coming up and going, and that's about it. Same for you, eh?" '''

His last line actually earns a laugh from the Cherokee, "I wouldn't say it's the same for me, less romances and breakups, and definitely less resurrections." She says simply.

"Still, it'll be good to get a foot in the crazy that happens here." Her jacket, which was off, is pulled back on as she makes one last check of Brightwind's stall, "Okay, boy, you're all set for the night. I'll see you in the morning." Brightwind offers another faint wicker of acknowledgement, before he goes back to the hay.

"I'm starved. Why don't we head in and get something to eat? Then you can fill me in on the real gossip, and don't tell me you don't hear it. You're a linguist, you hear everything. It looks like we have quite a few students since I've been around. How many from our class is around?"

Chuckling, Doug offers an arm to Dani. "A couple... Sam's back, after a short time in SHIELD. Same as me, go figure. C'mon, I think we can get to Harry's... legally this time, anyway, we're finally over 21. I'll buy the beer this time... just don't throw me in the shower afterwards, okay? I've learned my lesson!"

Laughing, Doug doesn't hesitate, as the proffered arm becomes an insistent tugging of Dani's hand. Hell with it, just run.

"Believe me, if you need to be tossed in the shower again, I am so doing it." Mock-threatens Dani, even as her hand is tugged by Doug. "Shield, the both of you? I don't see it, well, I don't see it for you, Doug." Remarks Dani, and she would say more, but soon enough Doug is pulling her along by her hand, and to keep up with him, she has to run as well.

It's almost like they were sixteen again, as the two of them make a race of it to Harry's.

"If you got the beer, then I'll buy the food." Is her last remark, before the two disappear from the grounds and head for Harry's.