nobodysbishie | Well, the weather outside is frightful.. (For shard

Bishop slid to a halt at the bottom of the slope, raising his snow goggles up to get another look around as the flakes kept settling lightly to the ground. This really was a nice place, but he supposed that to be one of the main reasons this part of the Alps got so many tourists. At least they weren't to be seen much on the way down..

Speaking of, he looked up to see Shard's progression. She'd been a little leery about this the whole time, but he could hope she'd learn to enjoy herself.

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She wasn't leery. Really. She was just...not exactly trusting of a slippery slope and the boards under her feet.

The class she'd taken in the morning had at least given her the basics of skiing. Still, she wasn't taking a lot of chances, even on the bunny slope. She kept her skis turned into a wedge to keep her progress slow, but eventually that even started to smooth out as she got more confident.

She still wasn't going super fast when she reached Bishop's side, planting the poles in the snow. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

Oh, SUUURE she wasn't. Fine, she's being 'reasonably cautious.'

"Glad to hear it, Sis. Now let's try THAT one!" He points with a ski pole at the Expert Slope, sounding most enthusiastic!

..No, that's not a grin on his face. You must be imagining things!

Hell yes, she's being 'reasonably cautious'. She's trying not to break anything important! Like her head.

She follows his ski pole to the Expert Slope and actually goes pale. Then she catches look at that grin and smacks him. "Not funny, Bish." Okay, the scowl may be ruined by a twitching at the edges of her mouth.

SMACK! "Isn't there ANY holiday we can get through without familial abuse!?" He rubs the back of his head ostentatiously. "Fine, but let's try the proper beginner's slope; I've had enough time with the bunnies."

"Not if you're going to keep doing stuff like that we won't." She snorts, then nods. "All right. But, you know...you don't have to stay with me. I can handle the slopes on my own." Pretty much, at least.

She's getting aggressively one-arm hugged now. Obviously this is an excellent tactic for refuting her! "Jus' what's the point of going skiing with your sister if you don't go skiing with your sister, huh?"

Besides, he really wants to try going on one of those ski lifts. That's not so childish, is it?

"I know, I know." She leans against him for a moment. "Okay. But we're going to be all day on the beginner's slopes, you realize?" At least she hasn't embarrassed herself too badly with the skiing so far. She hasn't fallen down half as many times as she thought she would have by now.

He smiles down at her as she leans against him, feeling a little tender. "'D be that way anyway, Shard. I'm a beginner at this too, remember?" Seriously, it was! He's picking it up a little more easily than she does, but that's no call to do something stupid and childish like rubbing it in.

His brow creases a little, though. "You ARE actually having fun, right?" If she's just pining for the ski lodge, he's going to feel SO damn guilty.

"You certainly don't act like a beginner." If asked, she'd blame it on having to negotiate a physical body again. Which was bullshit, really, but as good an excuse as any when one was needed.

She chuckles a bit at his frown. "I'm fiiine, Bish. Just nervous, that's all. It's weird, this whole skiing thing. I'll get the hang of it sooner or later."

Nodding judiciously, "Probably just that I'm figuring a couple ways to apply my surfing experience. There's a couple similarities in the way you move.. but I am NOT about to try a snowboard!" SUSPICIOUS look, as if she were going to try making him.

He smiled, kissing her cheek. "'S cool. Now let's go get on that ski lift!" After duck-waddling awkwardly over a little and almost falling down a couple times, he FINALLY gives in and unlatches the skis.

..What he's muttering is CERTAINLY not to be repeated in the presence of a lady, though!

"Surfing?" Shard's eyes go a little wide. "Damn. I'm still learning how to swim!" She grins, though. "I might pay to see you on a snowboard, though..."

She doesn't even bother with the duck waddle. The less time she has to spend actually moving the skis, the better. So she just sort of pushes herself along after Bishop.

And really, she was probably saying worse on the way down the bunny slope. So it's not like he has to watch his language on HER account.

Grinning, "I spent some time in the tropics just kickin' it with Sage and some other people after a seriously crazy long-term mission. Just before we came in with the new XSE, in fact.. Learnd surfing and a couple other things. And do NOT even think about trying to make this happen!" He's now suspecting her of potentially bribing guys to tie him to a snowboard and launch him off in his sleep.. He's gonna be verry trigger-happy tonight.

Still, she caught up quickly enough. Bishop started to have to hustle to keep up with her!!

Pfft. Like she'd have to work hard to bribe them.

Okay, she probably would. "Sounds good. You'll have to teach me sometime. Once I have the swimming down. I spent a lot of time stuck on a rock in the Nexus while it was flooded."

Shard slows down so he can catch up. "I definitely need somewhere away from the Nexus these days. Not that I mind it, really, but can't spend the rest of my life in there, you know?"

HEY! Bishop does NOT need to think about his sister using her saucy and salacious future-mutant charm to pick up guys for sinister purposes!

Seriously, BAD THINKY-BRAIN.
Nodding, "Weren't you thinking about something down in that Hawaii we went to? If it's anything at all like the one I know, should be able to help find you a nice place.. and where better than an island to get in swim practice?"

He's not huffing. It's the actual truth! He HAS been keeping in shape, amazing! And then there's the ski-lift.

Y'know, you'd think all the crazy crap he's been through, he wouldn't get this much of a kick out of ski-lift travel. You'd think that, but you'd be WRONG. He's quite happy about going up the slopes and looking at the great snowscape that shows beauty any way he glances!

Yes. Bad Bishop thinky-brain.

"I've been looking at places there. I think I've got a pretty good shot at a decent place. Not great, but they won't ask too many questions about identification. It's just going to take a little bit of time to get myself set up, that's all." She laughs and shakes her head. "You're right, though. Islands are good for swim practice. As long as you stay out of the undertow."

Then there's the ski-lift and Shard can't help laughing at her brother and the way he looks. In fact, she can't help snagging a disposable camera out of her parka and snapping a picture, either!

HE didn't come up with it! ..Well, yes he did. But that's beside the point!

He raised an eyebrow at the not-asking-questions part. "Uh-huh. Did the silence cost extra, or just mean you're living next to Drunken Raoul and his five children in their studio?" He's not about to start pushing money on Shard, but sometimes he really, really wants to.. He doesn't know of her having any source of income outside the Nexus, and Federal agent or no, dying this long means your savings are out the window. Better to get help from family instead of Nexus.. You never know what strings might be attached.

Bishop thinks too much.

"Well yeah, there is that.. But get caught in one and you find out REAL fast just how good a swimmer you are!" He smiles a little, just enjoying a little happy moment at seeing her laugh.

Lasting right until he starts grabbing at the camera. "NO BLACKMAIL!"

Depending on the Nexus for money is never a good idea. But Shard has been able to get some together, thanks to some nice gems that rolled under a couch. At least if they were LOLed, they did it to the conversion machine rather than Shard.

"It's an open-plan studio. Which mostly means that it's a one room apartment, though they're nice enough to put a couple of walls around the bathroom." There might be some money in an account with the government, but getting TO it would be an entirely different question. And would require talking to Val, most likely. Not that Shard necessarily has anything against the woman, but still. "It'll work for a while, I think."

Once he starts reaching for the camera, though, she scoots over as far as she can go, switching the camera to the other hand to stretch out over the snow. "Not a chance! My picture!"

Probably not the best idea in the world to be rough housing on the ski lift.

One could HOPE.. He'd seen a pirate gold conversion machine at one point, and just wasn't even going to ask.

"Huh." He thought about that for a moment, being glad it wasn't one of those where the kitchen and shower stall are right next to each other; could make things a little cramped. "Well, 's your life, Shard.. I just hope I get an invite to the studio-warming party."

It really isn't, is it? He seems to realize that when the lift starts to rock precariously, then gets back onto his side and not giving her reason to squirm. "Fine, fine, whatever.."

As the rocking calmed down, his hand began to slooowly mooooove towards it... and then suddenly flashes over.

"I don't really have a lot of choice when it comes to places to live, Bish. Not until I can actually get a working ID." Which was going to make working difficult too, but she had money enough to handle life for a while. With any luck, she'd be able to get a life and a background before she ran out of money. She wasn't going to ask for help if she could avoid it.

They could both be fucking stubborn when they wanted to be. "And of course you're invited."

Once he settles back, she pulls her hand in and starts to put the camera away. When his hand comes over, though, she squeals, swatting at his hand. "Bishop! Stop that!" She turned a bit, trying to defend the pocket the camera was going into.

"..Okay, point." He wasn't going to harp on the job part, they were both all too aware on that front. And Bishop isn't stubborn! He's just.. firm, yeah. That's it. Surely he was the voice of sweet reason, and everybody else just wouldn't admit it!

He doesn't know where Shard gets it from.

"Glad to hear it.. Should I bring furniture or appliances?" Grin.

And he pulls back a hand quickly, chuckling. "Well, if I have to.." Oh, they're at the top!

And given that all she's ever done is the cop/superhero thing? Finding a job is going to be DIFFICULT.

"The place is furnished, though I could probably use a futon for a guest bed." Though Shard might use it more than the actual bed. No telling where that's been, after all. "And you're funny, you know that? You might want to invest in 'Cooking for Dummies' for me. I can microwave things and that's about it."

She shakes her head, putting the camera deep into her pocket before getting off the lift. With a lot less finesse than she managed while getting on.

The fact that it's that much less and she manages to keep her feet is actually kind of impressive.

Well, she could always go for her Whoppertunity. Just think how darling she'd look in one of those little burger-flipper outfits, the funny hats, the incessant asking 'You want fries with that?' Priceless.

"Deal. On both counts. But c'mon, you have problems with a toaster? A blender? I'm not even talking one of those weird boxer-guy grills!"

Bishop, now, managed rather more aplomb getting off. Mainly because his skis were cradled beneath his arm instead of on his feet, but eh. Now was time for getting them back on, anyway!

There will be no fast food jobs. They'd make her cut off her ponytail.

"What weird boxer-guy grills?" Remember how long she's been out of the loop, Bishop. She's never heard of George Foreman grills. Though, really, she probably couldn't screw that up. "Toaster I can handle, though. But what would I want to blend?"

Shard manages to get her balance back all right, though, planting her polls to help out in that regard.

Pff, like Bishop's going to worry about haircuts.

There's a lot of ground to cover! "Umm, I'll show you once we're done, okay?" Probably a Sears or something in the nearest town that he can show things off at. Hopefully. "I don't know, maybe you had some kinda weird Nexus drink that you wanted to have, or suddenly wanted to make your own chocolate milkshakes. If I suddenly get you a crèpe pan, we can sit down and have a talk, but blender is like having an electric can opener! ..Would you use one of those if I got it for you?"

Reeeal subtle, Bishop. Oh well, skis are on and he's now moving a little more than he'd like, right until he follows Shar'ds lead with the poles! "You ready?" Look at that smile. That smile of incipient sibling-shared fun!

Shard does! It took a lot of time for her to get hair that long!

There is. But that's all right. They'll handle it, somehow. "All right," she says easily, then snorts. "Okay, milkshakes I can probably figure out. And a good reason to have a blender." Though the only drink she likes in the Nexus would probably be a bad thing to try to make, considering the sugar crash afterwards. "Oh. Maybe a coffee maker?" She's not addicted. Really. "And...possibly? Can't screw up canned soup, right?"

She watches him, then grins and nods. "Ready as I'll ever be!" She takes a breath and starts pushing toward the top of the slope.

Then just think how much fun she can have growing it back! :D

He grins. "I still got it. And what, you don't want an espresso machine?" SUUUURE she isn't.. "We can hope. Least they're easier than the boxed stuff.." We're not discussing all of Bishop's Pasta Roni. Just.. No.

He poles his way to the nearby beginning of the newbie run, sets himself and looks at Shard.. and then off he goes!

That's not the word she would use.

"I think the fewer working parts I have to worry about, the better." She vaguely remembers an espresso machine in the X-Factor house. Of course, it's entirely possible that Forge improved it, so maybe it wasn't really a good example. "Right. Soup is good. Hard to screw up soup."

She watches Bishop start down, then takes a deep breath and heads off after him.

And by 'improved' she doubtless means 'turned into a weapon of mass destruction.' People like Forge and Hank really shouldn't be allowed to get too close to household appliances, they always start.. tinkering.

"I'll keep the coffee thing in mind. But hell, can you tell the difference between Folger's and Starchucks' latest foo-foo blend?"

Of course, the last sentence was tossed off as he began hurtling down a hill! He's got a bit of the wobbbbbly-whoa-OAH-HEY!-okay, better- thing going, but he hasn't fallen down yet!

But it made damned good coffee! Or so she was told. Only problem was only Forge or Mystique could operate the damned thing.

"I...probably not? I'm not sure I've had either." She shrugs. "As long as there's caffeine, though, I'm not too fussy."

She's NOT laughing at that. She honestly isn't. She's also approaching this whole skiing thing with a LOT more caution than she approaches just about anything else. At least Bishop isn't the only one flailing.

And at a guess, they didn't share?

"ExACTly." And hey, he's starting to really get it down! Sure, the bunny slope was only a little taller than he was whereas this should be at least five minutes down, but at least there aren't any trees in the way!

..Well, except that one that Bishop's steering WELL away from. Look at that amateurish swoosh of the skis that still manages to look good!

SWOOSH.

That was the real reason Alex went to the Brotherhood. Not because he was being a double agent, but because he wanted his damned coffee!

Shard's staying well away from the sides of the slope. Somewhere in the middle works just fine for her. She was never the cautious one of them, but she'd rather not break anything. Not now, at least.

It explains SO MUCH.

It's not like he's weaving between trees or something! There just HAPPENED to be one in his general vicinity that looked like potential trouble. "Shard, you finding the need to do that foot-wiggle thing the instructor was talkin' about?" Sound sure does carry over snow.

"A little." Actually, she's doing it because that's what her body is telling her she needs to do to keep balance. Otherwise, she probably would have completely forgotten all about it.

Huh. He sure found that wider-narrower, wider-narrower crap to be REALLY counterintuitive, if effective to keep his speed down. It's tricky! He should learn from her.

She's very smart. And has a lower center of gravity. Maybe that's what's helping her. Frankly, if she hasn't fallen over yet, she figures she'll be all right to the bottom of the mountain.

Uh-oh, he's starting to get find it depressingly easy! And in fact even managing to play around some!

Look at him go, honestly. That surfboard practice is starting to really get adapted, it seems. At this rate, he'll be waiting for her at the bottom for at least half a minute, if not a whole one!

He can wait for her down there all he likes! She's not going to be down one second before she's ready to be, damn it! Though, hey, watching him is helping her get more confident too.

Hey, if Bishop were aware of this, he'd be absolutely glad to know! Still, he's startin' to really juke up a storm, little flurries flying from his skis on the big turns. That speed rush just keeps getting stronger.. oh, and there's the bottom in sight!

And that's it. Watching Bishop juking and all just makes Shard absolutely lose it. She doesn't even mind falling over because she's laughing so hard! Besides, the snow is nice and soft. It can handle it.

Okay, something's happening to his sister! Suddenly he's turned sideways trying to find out what the hell, is she under attack or.. WHOOOA!

Bishop just got dumped on his side, FLOPPING over and over into the snow, getting totally covered and gradually sliding to a stop once his momentum had dissipated enough.. and the sounds she's making he figured out as laughter about halfway through.

Spitting out a mouthful of snow, he looked up the slope and grumbled "Yeah, yeah, yuk it up.."

Okay, so he really did like hearing his sister laugh. But did it have to be at HIM?

She looked up just in time to see him fall over. And as soon as she hears him talking and, therefore, is okay? She's off on another peal of laughter, body half twisted so that she's laying on her back with the skis laying perpendicular to her body. It really shouldn't be comfortable, but it's not stopping her from laughing!

Yuk it up? Don't mind if she does.

Hauling himself out-and slipping on the skis a few times, things are a menace even if they're fun- he calls up. "Meet you at the bottom; we're gonna want some serious hot chocolate after this one!"

He's not entirely sure she could hear him over her own laughing, but hopefully his poling off would be a hint.

"I could probably roll down faster!" she calls back, getting herself situated around to get back to her feet. It's hard, what with having the length of the skis to deal with too, but she manages.

This time, she's a little more adventurous going down the slope. A bit faster. She's not going to be winning any medals any time soon, but she doesn't leave Bishop down there waiting for too very long. "So. Hot chocolate?"

"NOT fun. Trust me!" Considering his recent experience? Yeah.

And he's glad, but not about to show it; he still manages to sneak in a "You stop for some already on the way down?"

And then just autododge the inevitable attack, and a hug. "Let's go get warmed up; we can try the slopes again afterwards. Maybe we'll make it all the way down next time!"

Since he's hugging her, she can't hit him. So she sticks out her tongue instead. "Sounds like a good plan to me!" Frankly, anything that involves hot chocolate sounds like a good plan to her. This is not a bad thing.