1st Card Dealt [Action]

[kineticcajun]

[Luceti, today, there is a very large, sturdy cardboard box lying in the plaza. It’s not walking around, just sitting there, with one foot poking out at a somewhat awkward angle from one corner. It was dumped, at some point in the night, on the front step of the Item Shop, and there it remains. Its occupant has only just now woken up, and he’s not too thrilled. From time to time, the box rustles, and occasionally there are muffled curses in Cajun French.

It’s a tight fit in this here box when you’re too tall to really fit in it.

Eventually, once he’s managed to untangle himself from the knot the Malnosso have practically twisted him into and gotten out of this box, Gambit will be making the rounds through the shops in the plazas. Dressed in just his New Feather pants. He is bent on at least finding his coat. The half-naked part doesn’t bother him in the slightest, but he likes that coat. From there, it’s time to get a feel for the neighborhood. If he’s gonna be stuck here, he’s gonna know his way around.

Feel free to run into Gambit at any point in his adventure~]

Comments

[kineticcajun]

[He notices the lack of Nightcrawler in there. Jubilee mentioned him before. If Rogue isn't offering that information, he's figuring he'd have to look for it himself.

Wherever they're going, he's not too terribly concerned. Even if she's still angry over the New Orleans incident and decides to lay him out for it, he's sure he can still hold his own. But he doubts it'll boil down to that.]

Startin' to look that way. Still missin' some pieces, though.

[Pause.]

Ain't any anti-mutant leagues runnin' around, are dere?

[touchofrogue]

[...

You know what? Screw this. She stops walking, turns to face him, and puts her hands on her hips.]

Just what d'ya think this is, huh? 20 Questions?

[She's not really angry with him anymore. Betrayed - yes. But what else was new? At least he'd had the right reasons.

Although she's not going to forgive him any time soon for making her feel like the two of them had connected only to have it be part of a trick, she's not angry about it. That's just the way he works. Ha, ha, fool me once.

It wasn't that simple.

Maybe not. But she doesn't need him running around and making her life - complicated. If they're going to interact, she wants to know on what grounds.]

Why are you talkin' ta me about this?

[kineticcajun]

[Because he knows he can trust your answers. Sure, Jubilee was pretty open, but he doesn't know much about her. Any number of people here could answer his questions, but he doesn't know how much he can trust them. Rogue, though. He doubts she'd make up things on the spot.

Not to mention he just likes her company.

That connection wasn't all an act, after all. Far from it.]

You're the only one 'round this place I know isn't lyin'.

[And to cover up that roundabout trust, he'll go ahead and add:] 'Sides, a familiar pretty face is always nice.

[touchofrogue]

[...

She can't exactly argue with that. She'd be more likely to tell someone to go to hell than to lie to them. She hates lying. Her natural sympathy is pinged and inclined towards him - dropped in a strange place surrounded by people he's made his enemies, his powers cut in half - this has got to be hard for him.

But she scoffs at that second bit, despite the inward flush of pleasure.]

An' why should I help you?

[She's not unwilling either. But if she's going to be sitting down and talking with Gambit like - like they were some kind of talking buddies then he needs to know that it's not because she's forgotten and it's not because he's tricking her one more time. For her own sake, she's looking for some sort of even ground.

If she even talks to him at all.

Which half the pysches in her head are opinionated about.

And did she mention complicated?]

[kineticcajun]

[So, so stubborn. But hey, that just makes it all that much more interesting.]

Don't suppose "out of the goodness of your own heart" is a good enough reason, neh?

[You X-Men are supposed to do nice things, after all.]

[touchofrogue]

[Snort.]

Try again.

[She doesn't want an apology. She just wants some indication that he'll at least try to play straight. Maybe she wants too much - it's not like they ran into each other back home. She should maybe be telling him everything, just because she knows how capable he is. She doesn't think Gambit would duck and run and ditch her in a fight... she doesn't think he'd do that for anyone else either, once he threw a hand in, but... Kurt. Ororo. Jubilee. Anne.

She's not sure she wants to take that risk.]

[kineticcajun]

[Small shrug. It was worth a try. Somehow, he figured that wouldn't fly with her.]

If nothin' else, I don't think I'd be causin' you or de other X-Men any trouble here. Haven't got any reason to.

[No Magneto, no Jean-Luc, not even any money system to even tempt him to try harassing them. Not much incentive. No enemies around unless the Malnosso could be counted, and from what he's hearing so far, there isn't exactly two factions fighting against them like there were back home with the X-Men and Acolytes.]

[touchofrogue]

[A long level look. And then a sigh.]

All right, fine.

[On the level of answering random introduction questions about Luceti, this will have to be enough. Rogue, however, does not relish having this conversation in a nice public and easily evesdroppable place. She shifts to glance around, trying to decide where to take him.]

[kineticcajun]

[Gambit follows the glance absently. Privacy definitely isn't anything he would fight her over. He hasn't been here long enough to know what sort of area would be best, but he's got a few ideas.

...But he's fairly sure Rogue wouldn't be following him anywhere anytime soon.

...Which doesn't mean he isn't going to give it a shot anyway.]

This way, ma chere?

[And he'll give a nod in a less populated direction. He can definitely make this look like a casual stroll and not a crash course in Luceti.]

[touchofrogue]

[...He's in Luceti little more than a day and he's already trying to tell her where to go?]

Ya know what? Sure.

[Might as well see what he knows.]

But I ain't your anything.

[Which is said in pure self-defense. Since the way his voice deepens when he starts on the French should just be illegal. Or maybe not - because then he'd do it more.]

[kineticcajun]

[Ah, Rogue, you really do make this way more fun than it should be.]

'Course not. [Said with a smile. He's totally unconcerned. Sheer confidence as always.

Totally doesn't matter that he's making up this walking route as he goes. He had some time to explore the outskirts of town just a little bit, but enough to know where it was quiet yesterday. May as well head that way.]

[touchofrogue]

[Sigh. And she rolls her eyes but... yes, follows along.]

So what do ya wanna know?

[kineticcajun]

[His tone turns serious again.]

How much d'you know about the war they've been draggin' us off to?

[Because above all else, that jumped out at him. Especially the part about some of their creatures absorbing energy-based attacks. That just doesn't bode well in the slightest.]

[touchofrogue]

[Oh dear. And just when she'd been feeling so cooperative to. The 'Rogue shuts down' process is a remarkably quick one to behold, blink and you'll miss the way her eyes suddenly go wide, and then the firm downward tweak of her lips until they form a straight line, and then like a shutter drawn, her face is a mask.]

Enough.

[She is looking anywhere but at him.]

[kineticcajun]

[That. Is not a good sign. Gambit pauses, decides that he's not going to push it, and sighs. Sorry, chere. She may not have said much of anything, but it still speaks volumes all its own.]

...Gotcha.

[touchofrogue]

[And not pushing was the exact right thing to do. General information, she can give.]

They're organized by different villagers each time, if ya wanna listen to 'em. Bunch of military strategists from different worlds usually talk among themselves, an' most folks listen. There's - no choice about goin' out there. Just like we can't get out of the barrier, we can't stop 'em from taking anyone.

[kineticcajun]

Didn't sound like we had much choice. An' their little messengers are immune to whatever we can throw at 'em, non?

[Which is probably the part that annoys him the most. These Malnosso have to have some kind of weak point. Those kidnapping drones shouldn't be exempt from being blown sky-high by a well-placed charge, thanks.]

[touchofrogue]

I wouldn't know - my powers don't exactly work against robots. [Just a touch annoyed there. It's not like you'd set her up with a date with a Sentinel, or anything.] An' they haven't come for me yet.

...but they managed to grab Kurt. And he's pretty hard ta catch.

[And thus the source of her extra annoyance is revealed.]

[kineticcajun]

[Merde. There it is. They caught Nightcrawler? If that doesn't defy logic...

But ah, Rogue, for all your tough act, you are a sensitive soul, aren't you? For just a shade of a moment, just long enough to show some support but not long enough to set her off too badly about it, he rests a hand against her back. And then it's over. He knows full well how she is about people getting touchy-feely on her.]

Bound to be some way t'beat 'em, chere. [Although he's starting to wonder what that way might be.] That elf of yours might be the one to find it.

1/2

[touchofrogue]

[Just this, when he touches her.

...

...damn him.]

[touchofrogue]

[She looks away, then. It wouldn't do for him to see the play of wistfulness and vulnerability on her face.]

Maybe. Either way, the drafts are bad news. They'll take anyone. An' it ain't pretty out there.

[kineticcajun]

[Looking away is just as incriminating, you realize.]

Guess I just gotta keep on my toes, then.

[Especially if they really do have those energy-absorbing monsters out there. The Battle Dome will probably be a pretty frequent haunt, he's thinking... that is, if it's worth the time.]

D'they drag people out there very often?

[touchofrogue]

Every few months or so. It seems ta alternate with the experiments.

[kineticcajun]

Jus' full of all kindsa fun here, ain't it?

[If by "fun" we mean "pitfalls."]

[touchofrogue]

C'mon, it ain't all bad. They gave us an amusement park last month.