Dani's "Office Hours"

[demonbearslayer]

Although Danielle Moonstar did have an office in the mansion, just like all the other instructors at Xavier's, she seldom used it. If you wanted to find Dani your best bet was this little room just off to the side of Brightwind's stable. It was close to all the horses. (Although Brightwind had his own private stable because he occasionally went full tilt Asgardian Battle Steed, and that disturbed the others. Also, in horse terms, Brightwind might be a bit of a diva.) It had a coffee maker, a microwave, a small fridge, a heavily modified gaming console with a 60" flat panel monitor and streaming Netflix, a few comfy chairs, and, most importantly, it was far away from the bustle and noise of the mansion.

What more did a girl need?

Comments

[iced_cherub]

Well Bobbi wasn't really searching for Dani, though she had run out of carrots to give to the horses. She was humming some pop song she had stuck in her head as she was brushing one of the horses down.

[demonbearslayer]

Dani silently walked up behind Bobbi.

"That one likes K-Pop. It must be the dancing in that video."

[iced_cherub]

Bobbi actually jumps a little hearing Dani speak.

"Huh... I don't know much K-Pop... I have Muse stuck in my head." Can't even remember the words, just the tune." She patted the horse glad that she hadn't spooked it.

[demonbearslayer]

"It's probably good therapy for him, right boy?"

She patted the horse on the side of the neck. He nuzzled at Dani's hand, looking for a treat. She pulled a small apple out of the pocket of her jacket.

"Better than the prozac hidden in your food."

She was probably kidding.

[iced_cherub]

"Probably." She quirked a brow at the joke.

"I gave them carrots, we hide the prozac in the sugar cubes." She managed to say it completely deadpan as if she wasn't kidding.

[demonbearslayer]

"Actually, the sugar cubes are clean. The prozac is in the oatmeal. The granola on the breakfast parfaits in the cafeteria has the lithium."

[iced_cherub]

"I thought it tasted funny this morning. I thought it was the milk."

[demonbearslayer]

"Nah. We tried using the milk a while back. It turned a funny color."

[nohoundsallowed]

At some point, Rachel knew she had to talk to Dani. She had promised Brooke she would. Also, it may go better if Ray did the talking. Since this required a lot of tact and explanation.

The redhead made her way out to the stables and knocked on the door frame to announce her presence.

[demonbearslayer]

Dani was sitting with her feet propped up on her desk... another perk of the "satellite office".

"Hi Ray. Come on in, I just made the coffee."

She gestured towards the coffee maker sitting on a cabinet against the wall.

[nohoundsallowed]

"Hello, Dani," Rachel greeted with a smile. She stepped in and poured herself a cup of coffee. She lifted the mug before settling into one of the chairs. "Thanks."

She took a sip. "Thought I would pay you a visit out here because I have some school business I need to run by you."

[demonbearslayer]

"Oh, gee, would you look at the time! I promised Brightwind I'd paint his hooves..."

[nohoundsallowed]

"As it concerns Pete, Brightwind might want to put his hoovicure on hold." Rachel arched an amused eyebrow. She knew this amusement wouldn't last. Though she wasn't quite sure how the mythical horse and the turtle boy got along.

"I'll cut right to the chase. Brooke came to me looking to help recruit for the school. I'm not going to send her out there without her proving she can have a level head and the school's best interests in mind. So, I gave her the task of reaching out to one of our most mutationally troubled students. With strict orders to not use her powers on Pete or the turtles."

She cupped her hands around the warm mug. "As you are his guardian, you will oversee what she's doing. You can pull the plug on it at any time you feel Brooke is doing anything detrimental to Pete's well-being."

[demonbearslayer]

"Brooke..."

Dani frowned.

"Brooke is about the last person this side of Mojoworld that I would pick to work with Pete. Are you sure about this?"

[nohoundsallowed]

"I'm sure she won't harm Pete." Well, not on purpose. Brooke needed to prove herself. If she wanted in on the X-Side, she needed to play by their rules and show she could work with others instead of just ordering them around. Rachel was trying her best to keep the best for both people in mind.

"She might also give you the opening we've all been looking for to reach him. If he doesn't finally come out of his shell to her, she'll definitely make his calm, solid guardian the person to turn to."

[demonbearslayer]

Dani took a moment to process that last sentence.

"That's pretty devious, Ray. Traumatize the poor kid into opening up?"

She grinned. She knew that mental trauma wasn't exactly what Ray had in mind for Pete... at least, not severe mental trauma.

"It might backfire and send Brooke screaming into the arms of the Hellfire Club, too. She's never struck me as the patient type."

[nohoundsallowed]

Ray gave a short laugh. "I'm hoping for little to no trauma, but considering the people in the equation, I'll take what I can get."

The redhead figured he already had mental trauma from being a mutant. And being around mutants daily. She just needed to find the right thing for him to reach out to someone.

"Mm. She is already happily affiliated with them. That she's managed to stay on campus this long, not go crazy and try to kill me says she has some patience. Somewhere. I suspect Hellfire activity will ramp up soon. She'll have to make a choice. It'll be interesting to see how much she hesitates if at all before having to make a decision."