12491/A Gift of Duty

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
A Gift of Duty
Date of Scene: 19 August 2022
Location: Themyscira City
Synopsis: Diana springs a new gift on CAssie, a very unusual kind of gift. A project, one that might be the most 'grown up' gift Cassie has ever received!
Cast of Characters: Diana Prince, Cassie Sandsmark




Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had contacted CAssie to let her know that they were taking a trip to the island so that a friend, and ally, could experience the place, and start a family there, no less... Not a normal thing, to be sure!

In the now, though, it's mid day on the island, and the foot traffic through the city is bustling. Diana is walking alongside Cassie, waving to those who recognize them both, sharing greetings and passing words with them.

Her eyes do dart to her young protege though. "I have a surprise for you." She says with that playful style of hers. "Are you ready to be surprised?" She has to ask to play it up even more.

After asking that though, Diana takes a turn away from the busier street that leads toward the main market and heads down the less busy road that is lined with some quieter buildings, one with a noteable taverna where quite a lot of drinking takes place.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
It was definitely an occasion for buzz on the island. They don't see a lot of births, considering!

Cassie, though? Cassie probably slept on the plane. Ok, maybe the trip isn't really long enough to get much in the way of Z's, but she definitely put her headphones on and checked out! Once they arrive? She's off! Because as Diana has likely caught on, Cassie has developed her own particular group of friends among the broader sisterhood. They might (with few exceptions) not have many other 'youngsters' for her to hang out with, but they do have those who are young of heart and spirit! Or at least just perpetually immature (hi Mala), despite their immortality! And every trip, Cassie 'smuggles' them a few goodies from Man's World, and they meet up and exchange goods and gossip.

Yet this isn't to say she doesn't have tim for Diana, and agrees to meet up with her in the city after one of her outings, bringing things to the present moment!

Her reaction is predictably bright and excitable, bobbing her head in quick agreement. She likes surprises! Or at least... "Ooh, did you get me a present?" Spoiled!

With her curiousity now appropriately stoked, the young woman turns to hustle after Diana. She looks here and there, and while it takes her longer to get her bearings than those who've lived ages in the city, she does seem to catch on after a moment. "Uh, if it's this place, Donna's taken me plenty of times before!" The drinking enabler!

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is dressed in a sky blue skirt and top, with a leather bodice of gold and silver covering her midsection. Her hair is braided back, and her lips are painted a deep maroon shade. She looks over to the young blond and just smiles widely at her. "Oh, I am well aware of all of that. Or at least the parts of it I wish to know about." She says as they stroll on past that taverna which is at low capacity at this hour of the day.

"No no... I have something much more special for you today." The nearly-giddy Princess states while they reach the corner of that small street, then turn down another to the north. It is only a few more steps, as Diana emerges from the shade cast down from the taverna, in to the sunlight to the west, that she raises her hands up and motions to a large building across the corner. She just spreads her hands out wide toward it, and happily speaks up.

"Ta da!" She says to Cassie in a melodic sort of way.

The building? Cassie might know it was a clothier store before, but now? It's empty. A two story building, and the front doors are open, with the interior dark, and empty?

Yep, this is odd!

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
As is usually the case when Cassie is on the island, she has changed into local attire as well, though it is substantially less fancy and princess-y! A white dress with a corded belt, sandals, and her Amazon jewelry. Light and airy and nice for a time out in the warm island weather!

They pass the taverna and she turns her head to glance inside, perhaps curious of any familiar faces, but it IS a little early for that kind of thing, and there's little buzz within the catch her attention. Turning back ahead, she continues after Diana for a distance, until they come to what is the now-empty building. Again, her lack of total familiarity means it takes her a second longer to parse out where they are, or what used to be there.

"Oh, it's empty. Wasn't this some kind of shop?" She moves closer, up to the open door, to peer just beyond the threshold. "That's... weird. I didn't think places went 'out of business' on the island. It's not like you've got competitors who're going to move in on you, or a landlord who's gonna jack up the rent like they always do back in the city." It's perplexing to her, clearly!

Diana Prince has posed:
Part of the joy in this for Diana, is just to see the confusion upon Cassie's face. She liked the young woman to be ever confused by what antics the Princess is getting up to in order to amuse herself. She's nearly a thousand years old, yet she still manages to find ways to make herself smile, clearly!

"Shiffa used to operate her clothing manufacturer out of here. But she never liked the place for it. It never had the room she wanted to redesign some of her tools how she envisioned them. Until now. They have finally crafted her a new place, on the edge of the city. Twice the size. She was quite eager to move out, you see."

All of this is explained as Diana walks across the intersection of cobblestone roads toward the open doors to the seemingly empty building. As they get closer, it can be seen that there are large windows on the western walls that allow sunlight in through them to show a wide open factory warehouse style interior.

Once they're at the open doors, Diana pauses there again, so that Cassie can look inside. The place is pretty huge, really. With a balcony level that has a stone railing, and arched columns with a patio area on the far side that opens up to a small park beyond.

"I acquired this place." She starts to explain. "For you." She says with a warm smile for her young sister. "I thought... that you could design something, and I have cleared it with the Social Council. So... how would you like to design the first Themysciran Nightclub?" The Princess then asks as she arches one of her dark eyebrows up whilst staring at the younger woman to her right.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"What took 'em so long?" Cassie wonders, with an emphasis on the last word, like she's imagining this poor woman waiting centuries for her building permits!

Still, jokes aside, Diana's explanation does a good job in reminding her of the familiar quality of the place that she was just, barely, unable to nail down. "Oh right, right. Now I remember. I think I got a few things made here, when I was new to the island and needed a proper wardrobe so I wouldn't, you know, have to lug my whole closet around with me every time I went back and forth." She even reflexively reaches to tug at the shoulder of the outfit she's wearing, although whether it is a 'Shiffa original' or not, who could say. Perhaps it's just a reminder of local fashion on the whole.

As Diana moves closer, she does as well, finally moving fully into the structure and looking around. "She thought this place was too small?" That causes a laugh. "New York rents REALLY seem shitty by comparison..." At this point, her curiousity within the place is meandering and unfocused, just kind of taking it all in. "So what are you going to do with it now?" she starts to ask...

...before Diana goes ahead and explains how this relates to the would-be surprise..

"Uh, wait, you... want me to what?" Surprised she is, to say the least! And this time, it's not as immediately overtaken with the usual enthusiasm she has for more typical gifts, no woo-hoo'ing and zooming off, like she did with her car. She looks a little lost for what to think about any of it. "That's... that's really thoughtful, Di, but I'm not sure... Ibviously I go out a lot but I never... I wouldn't even know where to start!"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana firstly interlaces her fingers as she stands just inside the building, watching Cassie react to the very idea itself. It gets a soft smile from her before she approaches, and places her hands upon the young woman's shoulders at the clear sign of reluctance on knowing what to do.

"It's unusual, I know. But I bring this to you, because I thought you might enjoy getting a chance to show some of the people of Themyscira a bit about how we find fun at night back in New York?" She states, removing her hands from the other's shoulders as she steps in to the larger floor space of the cleaned out building. Her hands spread out on either sides as she walks under one of the beams of light laying across the floor from the large windows.

"You are the best we have at music, and having fun in ways that are not... precisely.... traditional around this City. Plus..." Diana motions past Cassie, as another pair of women step in to the building then.

"Kessa, and Thilia. are here to help you. They will order what needs to be built, to be built. They will see to it to be placed where you would ask it to be placed... and... well?"

Diana turns back toward Cassie and walks to her. "I even thought you could introduce some music here. I got the permission to play whatever we wish, on a stereo system that we will provide. For fun, and new experiences. Something, I'm sure you can imagine, are hard to come by around here." She has a soft grin showing after saying that last part.

Kessa, a blonde woman, and Thilia a brunette, both dressed in white, smile as well.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
It's quite clear and obvious that Cassie is a bit overwhelmed by this. Not in gratitude (not yet, anyway) but in the essence of the task itself. It's quite a project, and not really anything she would have ever expected to happen here.

"Well, I..." she begins, tentatively, and then laughs and shakes her head. "Best you have at music?" This is met with pure doubt. "Di, it seems like just about everyone here plays some kind of ancient instrument, if not several of them! And they've been practicing for millenia. I uh, -listen- to music, but that's not exactly the same thing. Heck, most of the time I just put on spotify, on my phone and some computer algorithm is picking songs for me!"

The future is now!

Still, putting her hands on her hips and looking about, Cassie draws a breath to center herself. "But I guess it's something I could help with, maybe find some people who-"

Speaking of which, more Amazons!

"-oh! Um, hey, hello there. Build, huh? Yeah, I'm gonna... need some time to figure that out too. 'Cause, like, normally you hire some kind of architect or..." Really, she's just reveling in all the necessary skills she does not possess!

After a moment, she turns back. And she definitely looks more doubtful than anything. "I can give it a try, Di. Like, of course, I think it's a fun idea." After all, she's always making efforts to share little bits of her home culture when she visits! "I just think maybe you're overestimating my expertise here, a bit. As in... I have none!"

Diana Prince has posed:
Once more at her side, Diana is looking around the interior of the building again before she looks once more on to Cassie. She just has a light smile showing for the younger one, as her chin lowers just a little. "I know that you have absolutely no experience in this sort of thing. I know that this is completely off your radar, but that is partly why I wanted to do it. I wanted you to have a fingerprint on the city that is truly yours. You are a Themysciran." Diana tells the young blonde, reaching up to place her hand upon the other's shoulder again, showing her a wider smile then.

She spares a glance toward Kessa and Thillia, before looking back again. "The hardest part was just convincing them that music from the outer world, would be a fun new experience. Many are excited for it, others... Mmh... well... they remain yet to be convinced."

Another grin crosses Diana's expression then. "There is no rush for this, and if you want nothing to do with it at all, that is fine too. But here, within these walls... you have the chance to share a bit more of what you think the people here might like, from back where we live now."

There's a pause then as Diana tilts her head. "It's that, or I give the same chance to Donna and Terry, and then... well... who knows what might happen. I wanted the offer to go to you first."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Sure, yeah... I appreciate that, I do," Cassie answers, a little more subdued in tone, but still obviously touched by the thought of all of it. "Though it would have been easier if you just asked me to be in charge of, I don't know... introducing some foreign sports. You know, nice easy court for volleyball, maybe basket ball hoops... pretty sure we could even get a skate park done in a weekend!"

No doubt, it was not -intended- to be easy!

"The music is probably the easiest part, if we can bring in a proper sound system for it. I'm not any kinda DJ either, but just putting together some playlists shouldn't be too hard. You know, start 'em off easy, probably a lot of my work-out list would appeal here, before we move on to the wild stuff." The fact that she is now quietly musing on all of this, nearly talking to herself, does show that despite any outward reservation, she is rather quickly swept up in the whole idea. Diana knows her pretty well!

Finally, given the choice, the freedom to do as much with it as she wishes, or nothing, she again surveys the space before giving a final affirmative nod. "I'll come up with -something-, anyway. I dunno if the exact vibe of a New York club would exactly work here, there's concepts that really just don't translate, but we can play around with it, figure out something that'll fit..."

The final threat has her holding up her hands in defense. "No no, I'll do it!"

Diana Prince has posed:
That last bit has Diana expressing a happy laugh. "Okay, well... good. It felt like you might be about to tell me to 'stuff it' and run out." She jests with another little laugh. Her eyes dart around the interior of the place again, before Kessa and Thillia approach. Thillia offers a leather bound book, kinda large, filled with various blueprints and notes about the property itself. Kessa, speaks up then. "This will be fun, Miss Cassandra. We will happily be here to help you with all of it, and as Princess Diana said, there is no rush. this building was going to be taken down, if this project hadn't saved it. I for one, am happier to see it get a new purpose, rather than be taken away."

Diana smiles to them, and nods her head two small times. "Kessa, and Thillia were two of my strongest supporters for this proposed idea. The night life here in the city has needed something new for a long time. This is why I wanted you to help direct it all, Cassie." She explains, with another soft squeeze to the other's shoulder.

"Take some time to look around, I'm going to go to the taverna to get us some drinks." Diana states then. "What would you like?" She asks as she drops her arm from around Cassie's shoulders then, as she turns toward the doors. "Thillia, come and help me bring some drinks back?" She asks of the brunette who happily goes to help the Princess.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
The idea of Cassie just blowing the whole thing off in an angsty huff earns a laugh, and a shake of her head, gold ponytail swishing, even tickling at the hand resting on her shoulder. "No! Of course not. It's just, haha, well, you know, not really the kind of thing I was expecting. I'm a little overwhelmed, that's all. If you want me to do it, I'll give it my best shot!" The Amazon way!

Turning toward the other two, she reaches out for the book, opening it and idly leafing through a page or two, just curious of the contents, before looking back up from it to offer Kessa a more energetic smile. "Well, glad to help then, if it means saving the place. I guess I never really thought much about it, how much, uh... I don't know, re-development you do around here. I guess I always kinda thought stuff must've stayed the same for the last couple thousand years, but... that'd get kinda dull, huh? Makes sense you'd want something new every so often. Not to mention, who doesn't like to party?" She grins, and then claps the book shut.

"What I'm gonna do... is get some pictures for you two, next time I go back. Well, you could come and see first hand if you really wanted! I think it's gonna be hard to explain a lot of this without a bit more context." Another idle glance around, side to side, wall to wall, ending with the big windows. "With that... well, then we can figure out what's feasible. What we can build with local materials that has a bit of that vibe, but doesn't seem out of place here..."

Yep, now she's plotting, whe gears turning! And thus:

"Grab me one of whatever you're having!" This is all the more notice Diana gets before she's forgotten and Cassie is off to do some exploring of her own, checking out this curious new space!