11331/Magic in the Attic

Magic in the Attic
Date of Scene:	24 May 2022
Location:	Attic - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	In the Attic of Wayne Manor, Phoebe comes up to check on Cassandra. Cassandra pauses to check on Phoebe. Phoebe is able to, for about two minutes, give Cassandra the Gift of the Gab. Where she offers in a most friendly manner to stick Phoebe full of sharp objects and help unblock her chi.
Cast of Characters:	Cassandra Cain, Phoebe Beacon

---

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass is in the attic. She's perched on a couple of boxes doing pushups, her body dangling over the space between them. With a metal weight on her back, she's increasing the difficulty. How much is hard to tell given that the lights are out.

After being up here a while, a person's eyes would adjust. There is a leak of light from between cracks, and while it is spooky it isn't actually pitch-black. Cass has been up here, in the dark, for two days. She's come down to use the toilet and has been avoiding all human contact.

It may be time to have an intervention.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Interventions are hard. Phoebe's aiming for one herself on reckless useage of magic, especially within the manor.

    There's a knock on the attic door, and then the door opening -- locked or not -- and footsteps of someone irreverent to human decency at times, baring a plate of sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, celery and peanutbutter, just good old fashioned snacks. And a lot of them.

    "Knock knock." she calls out "Anyone home?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass continues her exercise. Because she's not remotely in shape. The eight-pack on her tummy, bared to the world, is not enough. She needs to get healthy again. Apparently, given that that's all she's done lately.

Cass looks over at the opening that allows Phoebe entry. She doesn't lock the door, figuring that if someone gets the drop on her they deserve it. Pausing in a plank position, she lifts one hand and balances. So she can wave.

Sweat all over, she's in a sports bra and matching undies. No shoes, no socks. Every muscle stands out, and she looks as if she's going for some kind of bodybuilding competition.

Or a stroke. Possibly a stroke.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's stance is partially closed. She's hiding something, but her eyes look over Cassandra with that same expression that Alfred might have had, looking with both curiosity and apprasal to her condition, and she exhales. She sits, and she brings up her hand, forming a little, glowing globe to provide a little light so that *she* can see better, setting the plate of veggies and fruits and good stuff down, pushing with a little insistance towards Cass.

    "Feeling okay?" she asks in a soft voice.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass does a complex maneuver then. She takes one foot off of the box, not spilling the weight that's balanced in the center of her back. She carefully places that and the other to the floorboards, then walks her hands down to a cat pose.

Curling up downward, she keeps the plate of metal from spilling. And then uses both hands, grabbing behind her back, to lift the weight up and place it on the ground. Preferably without slamming it down and damaging the floor.

Then she shifts, sitting up, and shuffles her bum over toward the food. She nods, she settles into a comfortable seat. She picks up a carrot stick and eats it in one bite. "No," she says honestly. Which is probably healthier than denying it. Then she leans over and bumps her sweaty right shoulder against Phoebe's left.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    THere are exactly four people on this planet who Phoebe would hug. Cassandra is one of them. She smiles gently and as Cass bumps her shoulder, she bumps right back in a gentle manner. I got you. I'm here.

    She had watched the motions Cass pulled with interest -- after all, there's not a lot that Phoebe can do physically at just this moment, but watching Cass was always something she worried about.

    And quietly, she pushes the platter of food closer, and picks up a celery stick with peanutbutter.

    "Feeling bad?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass sniffs the peanut butter curiously. She never did really expand her diet, and this is a fairly new product for her to try to ingest. "Yes," she says as she does. The increase in her vocabulary is due to Steph mostly, but she feels comfortable enough with Phoebe to try. With anyone she doesn't trust, they get nothing.

She pauses to lick a celery stick with PB on it, then frowns. The experiment is apparently met with distrust and possible rejection. But she looks at Phoebe eating one, and tries again. Crunch.

"Bad..." she pauses, chewing, then pokes at her own head. Not the front where she thinks, but near the back. "Head picture," she says, not knowing what the word she needs is.

"Bad head pictures."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe, on the other hand, loves peanutbutter. She monches the celery stick without fear or revulsion. It's the all natural type, so it's not nearly as sweet as some brands.

    "Bad head pictures. Memories?" she questions, looking to Cass, her brows knitting. "Things that happened before?" she questions gently, pausing her munching on celery sticks with peanutbutter, looking up at Cass's dark eyes.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass takes the word like she's done all of them. Quietly. She takes it in, nodding softly when she realizes how it's used in context. But she pauses then, taking up a towel from a pile, and boffs Phoebe on the face with it.

Before starting to wipe the sweat from herself, her eyes on Phoebe in the dim magical light. She sighs, then she turns to look at Phoebe face-on. "Tell," she says firmly. An upnod directs Phoebe's attention to herself.

She wishes that she could do better, but she really is trying her best. "Phoebe tell?" It's a request, not an order.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is boffed in the face. Her nose wrinkles, and her lips purse a moment as she takes a deep breath.

    "Tell you what happened to me?" she questions, adn she looks to her arm, and she pulls back the shirt on her left shoulder.

    Cass would have seen the burn scar before. One day Phoebe was gone for a long, long while, and when she came back, parts of her arm were angry black and red. This looks like it hurt a lot; some of the scar tissue had sores.

    "Demon. Made me hurt." she explains, and then leans back, rubbing her shoulder a little bit.

    "Bad memories. Not a lot of sleep."

    And her shoulders draw up, and she sheepishly adds: "Alfred scolded me."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass shifts. She looks at the wound, then extends her left hand. She looks at Phoebe's eyes, touching the darker lady's damaged arm, and then lifts the arm by the wrist.

Very carefully, she manipulates the arm and shoulder. She's looking with that serious look on her face, as if this is the most important thing in the world. Pain is noted; range of motion, tested. Carefully, gently.

She proves, without meaning to prove a thing, that she's paying attention. Because Cass knows that she can help if she understands the problem.

It's a lot better than stewing in her own issues after all.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe watches Cass, and she lets the other bat handle her arm. She'd be able to see in the dim light all the scarification that Phoebe's done to herself, burned in sigils and circles where she could get no one else to tattoo them. The remaining tiny scars of the agonizing pins that absorbed her healing power.

    And carefully, the arm is manipulated. Phoebe tries to hide the pain. but the tenseness in her other shoulder, the twitching of her fingers gives it away. It's something that should have healed with her powers, but it's taking its sweet-ass time getting there.

    She breathes out as Cass raises the arm up, a huff of breath, a tightening of her chest and then a soft "I'm okay."

    Because Phoebe, Cass would know, doesn't let just *anyone* touch her. Even in casual meetings, she's oftem arms-crossed and apart from everyone. She didn't like being touched, because being touched reminded her of being hurt.

    And that's why Cass could touch her, and Tim. Only so few others had that privalege.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
"Phoebe," Cass says softly in a tone that's almost upset. Her eyes also have that tone, the way that they look at the wounds. She lowers the arm gingerly, letting Phoebe cradle it in her own lap, then sighs.

She shakes her head, then she pulls in one of her own heels. Clearly thinking on the problem from the look in her eyes.

Then she leans in and kisses the girl on the forehead. Just a moment of her lips, a kiss that could be done in church. But it's so much more, lingering there a moment too long. She cares, damnit.

"Fix?" she offers. Sitting there in her underpants and bra. Yep, that's the doctor you should choose.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a slight smile, letting Cass lower the arm down, looking back to Cass as she gives a wry smile, hiding the injury, hiding the pain as Cass weighs options. The teenage mage gives a little shrug, and shewinces again. Pain isn't supposed to *last* with her...

    And then Cass leans in, and kisses her on the forehead. The mage hitches her breath, a gentle kiss, caring, and Phoeebs just... wilts. Her body seems to fold in on itself, and she leans her head against Cass's shoulder.

    She raises her right hand, and she puts it against her own left shoulder.

    "I'll fix it." she whispers. "Just... need a moment to breathe."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass shifts a little bit. She gathers Phoebe into her arms, keeping her body soft. But you can see that she's got something on her mind.

"Phoebe," she says, and this time it's a very different word from earlier. With one arm about Phoebe, she lifts the other and touches a few things. Little taps. Touch, on the shoulder. One on the forehead. One in the neck, a pattern down the arm.

"Cass help?" she whispers. "Cass..." She pauses, not having the words. She sighs, frustrated once more.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is gathered up into Cass's arms. She lets her keep one arm around. Phoebe's hands shake a little as she watches Cass move, pulling at her a moment, her own heart rattling in her chest. A touch on the shoulder. The forehead -- which makes Phoebe's eyes cross a moment, a touch to the neck, then down her arm.

    Phoebe stiffens a moment as Cass sighs. She raises her own hand a moment, trying to work out what broken communication Orphan is working.

    Phoebe swallows a moment, her eyes tearing up.

    "Cass helps." she replies softly.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass doesn't look as if that was the right answer. It's A right answer, of course, so it mollifies her a little. She sighs, the sound muffled in her chest, but it's a sigh nonetheless.

Cass hugs gently, then releases Phoebe. She shifts around a bit, putting her hands on both of Phoebe's arms, and makes sure to have the young lady's attention. Releasing with the left, she points to her own eyes.

Then, she points to Phoebe. She touches herself this time, on the forehead. Then the nape of the neck, then points down her other arm. As if this is important. But it's just so unclear.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... I can give you the words. The right phrase. The right items --" Phoebe whispers, and she looks at Cassie, dark eyes set to dark eyes, and Phoebe pulls her earbuds from her pocket. She wraps the cord around them, and then she closes her eyes.

    "Erato, carminum musa, auribus et labris hoc commoda, quod amo, lyricos tuos. she whispers, her fingertips glowing gold and rose, and she crushes the earbuds in her hands. The plastic and metal break appart into dust, sacrificed, and Phoebe casts a spell for Cassandra, pleading for the muse of lyric poetry to lend her words to Cassandra's lips and ears.

    And Phoebe kneels, holding her breath a moment as she looks to Cassandra, tensing.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra grew up without using much of her language cortex. She had one, of course, but it was largely dedicated to other arts. The spell has some work to overcome, twisting what the semi-mute girl uses for other things into the recognizable motions.

Cass watches, her eyes thoughtful. Attentive, quiet. She doesn't pull away, showing the trust that's instinctive now. And when she motions questioningly she also says, "What did you do?"

Then she claps her hands over her own mouth, her eyes snapping wide!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe had held her breath. She had no idea on if the spell would work, something she had muse dabout in one of the dusty books, but when Cass watches, not pulling away, showing trust and then she questions -- Phoebe breathes out and she brings her hands up over her own mouth and whispers.

    "The spell won't last long... but I've given you words. All the words. Everything." she whispers back, teetering slightly. Her fingertips are still glowing that pinkish gold.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass blinks, astonishement on her face. She motions something, then says, "So weird.." which is...poosssssibly what her hand signal meant? Probably? Then she nods, focusing. "Won't last long, right." The nod and the change in demeanor meant the same. It's like having subtitles!

Leaning in to Phoebe, she says, "Your channels aren't flowing clearly. I can see them. I have needles. A..."

She stops, her face going blank. Blinks again a few times. Then she stands up and stomps, her face clouding over with the storm clouds of frustration.

She turns back, looking to Phoebe, then spreads her hands helplessly.

So much, but so little time. She just hopes it was enough.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's face was alight. Cass can *SEE* her channels? Chi channels? That made... a weird amount of sense, but then when the spell ends, Phoebe looks as if she's in pain. She felt how much of a pull that took... for so little...

    "Accupuncture needles." Phoebe states quietly. And then she taps her neck, her shoulder, and in approximate patterns down her arms, and raises her eyebrows.

    "You fix the flow?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass's face lights up. Yes, apparently, that's what she was trying to say all this time. She drops to her knees again, and takes Phoebe's hands in her own. She doesn't NEED to nod, to say yes, all of those things. Not when it's written on her face.

There's no hesitancy in it either. She believes what she's 'saying' to be true. Chinese medicine. Cass is Chinese. She leans in and hugs Phoebe, putting her head on the girl's shoulder. And smiles.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    All that spell work for one hug.

    Worth it. Phoebe would give up expensive earphones for the delight that came off Cass's face. If she could bottle it, it could fund World Peace.

    And she grins, hugging Cass back with one arm, and she brings her calloused fingers up to Cass's hair.

    "I would give you all the words if I could, Cass. I'll find a way maybe. We'll fix it." she whispers.

    And Phoebe is crying. Not out of pain (although her shoulder hurts), not out of alarm or sadness or fear. Tears of *joy*.

    Because this is another happy memory. This is another happy moment she can hold onto.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass lifts a hand to Phoebe's hair. She brushes it out of the girl's face, pulling back enough to be able to see her eyes. Then the girl realizes that they're really, really close to each other. And Cass' right cheek quirks into a smile.

She touches Phoebe's forehead with her fingertip, right where she'd been kissed, and her eyes twinkle. Then she brushes away a tear or two with the back of her hand. Gentle, happy. Comfortable, even up close.

She doesn't need to ask why. That's not something Cass could ever mistake, not with her abilities. So she lets Phoebe have a moment, and lays down on the attic floor beside her.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm okay. Happy tears." Phoebe confirms to Cass, and just sort of, leans down, laying down on the floor next to her, and she looks up at the roof of the attic, at that glowing ball of magic that she's powering like a little swing light. She watches it tur n and sway a little bit.

    "... I wonder if I smash up an ancient grammaphone if it'll give us more time."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass nods, taking one of Phoebe's hands in her own. She squeezes it softly, not trying to prove anything. Just there, and content. Though she's gonna work on that shoulder later.

She turns her head and looks at Phoebe's own face a moment, then up at the light. Then she takes a deep breath, and pauses a moment. As if thinking deeply on something.

Then she reaches up toward the light, grasping at it with her hand. She has the strongest arms, so defined. But she's so gentle with them.

And then, she's pushing the light to one side. Making it dark again. Placing sight to a secondary place, where the light is dimmer and she can feel Phoebe there.

And, in the darkness, she turns and kisses Phoebe once. Not on the forehead, and not on the cheek.

Fire extinguisher on standby.