11975/Survivor Talk

Survivor Talk
Date of Scene:	11 July 2022
Location:	Roof - Renovated Theatre - The Roost
Synopsis:	Idu is the bestest of floppy dogs. Phoebe and Gabby have a conversation on the rooftop of the Roost, among the greenery Phoebe's set up. Conversation winds its way from how having to take a life in a life-or-death situation doesn't make you a killer -- it makes you a survivor -- to some of the other personalities in the Justice League Dark, which Phoebe has not returned to. Pheeb gives out Gotham's second-worst-kept secret.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Gabby Kinney

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Tick-tick-tick -- that's the sound of coming up the fire escape and then the little ladder that leads to the rooftop. It was one of the best places to just sit and people watch and think. Sometimes there's even a breeze up here, and it's always several degrees cooler than at street level. The garden that had been perilously tended (by Bart) last year is thriving this year, tomatoes and peppers and peapods, and even berry bushes heavy with fruit now. There are a couple of benches and a patch of grass that someone's laid out for the dogs that tend to make the place home.

    Speaking of, the forty-pound sight hound with the pricked ears and curling tail leaps off Phoebe's shoulders, giving a bark as he makes his way onto the roof.

    Phoebe is dressed ina pair of old jeans and a T-shirt advertising an orange soda brand, and has a bucket with some gardening tools in it.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
It wasn't often that Gabby had made her way up to the roof. She was rather surprised to find the garden already in bloom. It was just a small attempt at gardening last year, and one she hadn't held much hope for given the constant lack of sunlight in Gotham. But it appears it got just enough, and the moisture in the air frequently was sucked up by the hungry plants.

Gabby's seated on the bench with a few purloined sweet peas in her hand that she's carefully munching on while staring off into space. At least until she hears the bark of Idu which pulls her attention over to blink in surprise. "Oh, hey Idu, hey Phoebe," she greets a bit tired sounding. Her own attire is relaxed to say the least. Jogging shorts, a loose t-shirt, and flipflops that she'd slipped off to just be barefoot while up here.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Part of the reason it failed last year: its main gardener was stuck in New York.

    This year? Phoebe is spending a lot of time with the plants.

    The red-and-white tessem hound gives another bark -- Yes! I am Idu! I am awesome! -- and bounds up to Gabby, tail wagging as he tries to flop into her lap, blue eyes looking up to the fighter.

    Phoebe looks up to Gabby and gives a cheery wave, noting the lack of energy in Gabby immediately, her lips pursing a moment. She'd almost never seen Gabby unenergetic.

    The healer walks over to Gabby, and then flops down next to her, wordlessly looking up to Gotham's sky, and then back over to the Honeybadger. She rustles in her pockets a moment, and then draws out one copper coin, and just goes to lay it on Gabby's knee, between wags of Idu's tail.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney reaches out to pet Idu without hesitation. The squirmy puppy was always good to help cheer her up and even now she findsd herself smiling over it. Just as she starts to stroke Idu's ears for a really good scritch Phoebe sets the penny down on her knee causing her eyes to drop down to it.

The corners of her lips twitch a little bit again. "Penny for my thoughts," she murmers knowing that saying well enough. Rolling her head up toward the sky she stares a moment while just petting Idu longer a moment.

"I killed someone in a fight. I would say it wasn't intentional, but my actions were. I thought they were a robot though. Until ..."

One can only imagine how that might have gone. Cutting into someone thought to be robotic only to find out otherwise. "It was a duplicate of Inez, my sister-in-law."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Idu seems to sense the tension, and he gives a little whine, and sets his longboi snout on Gabby's arm and chest, blue eyes staaaaaring.

    Phoebe, on the other hand, remains quiet, tilting her head back and looking up at the sky. She purses her lips, and then reaches over to the bucket. She pulls out her phone, with its cracked screen and lockscreen with an old picture from last summer on it, and types out:

    <Taking a life is not easy. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be a look-alike of someone you know.>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney wraps her arms around Idu to snuggle the puppy the best way she can. It was nice to feel the comfort of someone even if it was just a canine. Caninese were good people. The phone brought out by Phoebe draws her attention to read it, cracked screen or no. A slight nod is given.

"If I'd realized they were clonese instead of... I don't know if I would have done the same thing. They made copies of all of us, though, even myself. Saw her get killed by another."

"Honestly that part wasn't as bad. I watched most of my sisters die and we all shared the same face. That was just." Just. Just... all she could say about it. IT was a memory brought back, but not one that was so fresh she couldn't deal with it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There was a quiet nod, and a sad expression from Phoebe. She had to think on that for a while, how to advise.

    Idu, meanwhile, happily accepts the lovin's. His ears draw back, and his eyes close. The corners of his lips draw up as if giving a happy expression to Gabby, and he more bodily leans against her, all forty pounds of doggo on her.

    Phoebe types something, and then exes it out. She looks lost for just a moment, and then she brings her arm up, and also leans against Gabby, giving her a one-armed hug, the healer pulling Gabby close.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney watches Phoebe start to type on her phone again. Once she starts to ex out of the thing she typed, she offers a smile along with a quiet reassurance of, "It's okay. I don't think there's anything that can be said about that, it's just nice to talk--"

It comes as a little surprise when Phoebe pulls her in for that one armed hug. Caught between the weight of warm and cuddly Idu, and Phoebe, she just tenses a half moment. Right before relaxing to sag against Phoebe's side.

"Thanks." The word is said quietly with a thicker than normal tone. She wasn't crying, yet, but she was a bit tight chested. Her eyes droop shut to just indulge for a few moments while she could.

"Thanks," she says again. "I needed that."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a small breath out, and just keeps her arm around Gabby, and leans her head on the slightly-younger teen's, her calloused hand rubbing at her shoulder a moment before she breathes out. She lets Gabby stay there as long as she needs to, no judgement, no rush, just Phoebe's heartbeat and Idu making happy dog sounds and sniffing Gabby's other ear. Just in case she had treats back there.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney rests there longer than she normally would given she knows Phoebe's unease with contact. A bit selfishly she does linger though. Quietly she speaks, "I made a promise to one of my sisters that I wouldn't become a killer. That's what the labs wanted us to be, and my sisters kept me from it. ... I did so well for so long."

"I know that at some point, in the line of work we're in, I might have to make that choice. Someday. I just wasn't expecting it like this." A slow, deep breath is drawn, before she sits up a bit allowing Phoebe to be free if she needs to be.

"I know you've been through a lot lately, too. I wish I could help somehow."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The phone comes out again. Phoebe's a bit slower, typing with one hand as she tilts her head. She keeps letting Gabby rest there as long as she needs to.

    <The death of someone in a life-or-death fight does not make you a killer. You are a survivor. You survived that fight.> she types in.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Yeah..." The word slips from Gabby as she reads the thought on the phone. A faint nod is given, along with a thankful grin. "Still. I don't think I would have done it the way I had..." She pauses then to think. It actually causes her to tip her head as she recalls exactly what she'd done at the time.

"Actually, maybe? That part I did well. I mean. It was quick. I don't think she would have felt a lot of pain." Somehow that thought helps to further put her at ease, if only a bit. She hadn't dealt a blow that caused a lingering, painful death, but instead it was swift. Instant. If she had to kill someone that was the way to do it: Mercifully.

Idu gets a few more scritches, and she smiles finally looking down to the dog. "So enough about me. How are you doing?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a soft breath of air out, and in order to bolster spirits she ruffles her fingertips lightly through Gabby's hair, which now is an extremely bright shade of cotton-candy blue.

    Phoebe herself shrugs, and motions to the garden around them with her phone-holding hand, and then types in <You are important. Your thoughts and memories matter, and your hurt matters.>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney rolls her eyes upward when she catches sight of a hint of blue from the corner of her eye after that hair ruffle. Lifting her hand she tugs the length of her hair down to peer at it with an emerging grin. That was always a neat trick she got a kick out of, and a temporary change of appearance, too.

"Yeah. So is yours, too, you know," she shoots back with a wry grin at Phoebe. "You also tend to not share when you're upset. You've got lots of people that would be willing to listen, myself included. Or," she adds, "Just sit and keep you company if you don't want to talk. I know it's hard to right now."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe takes a breath, giving a crooked smile as Gabby enjoys the change of haircolor. She leans back, and looks down at Idu (who is snoring happily against Gabby). She looks back and the phone, and then brings up some images. It shows super chibified versions of Phoebe with her braided hair, a grumpy man in a trench coat, and a particular cabbie-bartender turned half-angel. It has SUMMER HOLIDAY 22 on it. It also has a map of every town in the UK with horrible names. Upperthong. Slackbottom. The Knob.

    <Was supposed to celebrate being 18 with some folks by drinking a beer at a pub in each town. I've accepted that the ones I knew are gone.>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney regards the picture a moment with a slow nod. At least she recognized Chas, though she could guess who the other might be given what she knew of Phoebe's past. Looking back up she offers a grin toward her along with a shrug. "Could still do it," she points out. "I'm going to be eighteen soon, too. Or could come up with something entirely different as well, depending on what you feel like."

A deep breath is drawn in, and let out slowly. "I know he wasn't who you expected, and I know he was a demon, but ... That's on him. You cared about him. That still matters. That wasn't fake."

She slides her hand back to rub at her neck thoughtfully. "I don't know if any of this is helping, but I decided a long time ago that how *I* am is what's important. Like... I feel love toward some people who don't reciprocate. And that's okay. I don't think it's wrong to care about people, even if I have to admit they might not be good for me, ultimately. Caring about them isn't wrong. I just need to know that, even if I care about them, I can't trust them to feel the same about me." Her nose crinklles some. "That sounded better in my head."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <Wouldn't feel right.> Phoebe replies, but she leans back and listens to Gabby, her lips pursed as she tilts her head back, and considers Gabby's words.

    <No, makes sense. I hear Gotham U has a fabulous psych program.> she gives a wry smile.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney snorts lightly at that only to shake her head. "I think I've been through enough trauma in my life, I had to figure out ways to cope on my own. But I'll pass on the psych thing. I've seen the trouble Jon goes through regarding that," she points out with a laugh, and reaches out to pat Phoebe's back lightly in turn. "But yeah. I'm not going to be that person who is too scared to care. I don't want to be that person."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe shrugs. <I'm still going for pre-med. taking art electives.> she types in, and purses her lips at the mention of Jon, and then looks down and to the side, tapping her fingers against her side.

    <How are they all doing?>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney purses her lips tightly a bit. "There's some stuff going on," she admits slowly, uncertain of how much she ought to burden poor Phoebe with. "Jon was glad to hear you're back and doing better. He's still hurt though. Said he needs some time. Agnes is doing good. Chas is well. ... I'm supposed to talk to him about this stuff, actually. Jon and Agnes and Cael are on vacation in England right now."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe fiddles with something a moment, and she makes a grumpy face.

    <Always stuff going on. Glad to hear Jon and Agnes and Cael are taking time off. They deserve it. Martin too. Need to j aunt off and just get away from things.> she writes... and then her face gets... softer. She turns her head a moment, giving a frustraited huff of breath.

    <Glad to hear about Chas. I nkow he has asa to help.>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Asa?" Gabby looks confused at a name which was unfamiliar to her, and her own lips purse a moment in thought over the situation. She does give a smile though. "Yeah. They're taking time, which is needed. Rien and Robbie too..." She sighs there a bit. "In their own way. ... I still can't believe I had a crush on him. So stupid," she adds rolling her eyes upward and leaning back to peer up at the sky. "But again that's.. that's not something I'm not going to regret too much. It was kind of nice while it lasted."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <Asariel. Art professor. Nephelim.> she types, and she listens again, and gives a eyebrow rise, and then types in:

    <Can you keep a secret?>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney blinks again. Still didn't ring a bell but she tucks the name away to check up on later. As much as she hung out with them lately, she didn't really KNOW them. That was yet to come.

The question earns a grin. "Of course I can. What's up?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives another crooked grin, and she takes her phone. She flicks through her pictures, and finds one of Red Robin. She shows it to Gabby, making sure she recognizes the Outsiders leader, and then adds in:

    <Huge crush on him when I first joined.>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney claps her hands over her mouth with a little giddly squeal when Tim's image is shown. Her eyes light up a bit, and she nods quickly as they drop away leaving her smiling again. "Yeah, kind of the same for me. I mean. Not a huge one, but he's so nice it's hard not to like him after awhile. Happy for him and Lonnie though," she adds with a laugh.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <Huge. Yooooooooooooooooge. Crush> Phoebe admits, and she leans back. <Lonnie is a jerk. But I get where he's coming from. And share some of the same ideals, and I like him. They make each other happy.> Phoebe smiles, and looks back to Tim's picture. She turns the image of her phone off a moment, and looks up at the sky.

    Idu was roused at the squeal (how rude!), and gives a yawn, showing all those toofers and his tongue curling before he shakes his ears.

    After a moment she picks up her phone again.

    <Fought w/Jon and Chas b4 I left. Havent spoken to any of them.>

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney continues to grin at Phoebe with a knowing smile. Even she has to nod in agreement with regards to Lonnie, but she shrugs a bit. "Yeah, but he's also there for Tim when he needs it, so I can't really fault him completely. Then again I'm used to anarchists. There was this one guy in school who was REALLY really... Wow. Lonnie's tame compared to him." She doesn't even mention Negasonic. She'd been around a lot of people who were into anarchy.

The last has her sigh a single time. "Yeah, I know. Jon mentioned it. He's hurt. You're hurt. I think in time you guys could be okay again, but it'd take some time and shows of trust. He doesn't want to watch you self-destruct and it seemed like that's what you were up to."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Incidentally, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Phoebe had history. Life is weird.

    Phoebe frowns a moment, and she looks at her phone, and then she sets it down.

    Her shoulders rise up a moment. Her eyes focus on the ground, but aren't seeing it. She's Elsewhere, stuck in a memory, and then she gives an apathetic shrug, bringing her knees up and hanging her elbows off them.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
This time Phoebe doesn't get away from the hug. Gabby slides her arm around Phoebe's shoulders squeezing her a good solid moment, and leaning her head down so her chin rests on Phoebe's shoulder. Much like Idu her eyes roll up to peer soulfully at her friend.

"I know. I know that wasn't your intention. I know you were trying to take responsibility for what you feel is your fault, and save everyone else, too. But... Teamwork, yeah? That's what we all signed up for."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives the Wet Cat impression. She turns back down to Gabby, and then just sighs, and turns her head away from the currently blue-haired honeybadger, and then just puts up with the hug.

    And Idu, for his part, draws up, arches like a whale in breech, and flops down to Phoebe's lap, belly up, to keep her pinned in place.

    Phoebe looks at Idu and mouths 'traitor'."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives one last squeeze and bestows a quick belly scritch to Idu, bestest of floppy dogs. Then she sits up allowing Phoebe her freedom from hugs for the time being. "I know, I'm a pain. I'll let them know you said 'hi'," she assures. Looking back to the tools that Phoebe had carried up she chuckles. "I guess I should let you get on with your chores. I should probably check up on some things myself."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Idu *is* the bestest of floppy dogs.

    He wraggles a moment, and then rolls back to his feet, and head-boops one of Gabby's hands, and then circles around to go and check out the grass pad that was set up there.

    Phoebe just... gives a wave to Gabby, unsure how much anything really helped in the end, but she gets out some trimming equipment, and her earbuds, to get to work on the upkeep of the garden on the roof.