12839/Justice League Dark: The Mixer

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Justice League Dark: The Mixer
Date of Scene: 02 October 2022
Location: Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis: Nettie, Gabby and Sara introduce themselves to the JLD members as the leadership. People mingle, cakes are had, there's a chocolate fountain. No holds barred on tea. Overall a good evening and introductions for folks.
Cast of Characters: Nettie Crowe, Gabby Kinney, Megan Gwynn, Sara Pezzini, Meggan Puceanu, Tim Drake, Daniel Ketch, Zatanna Zatara, Patience Alperen, Robbie Reyes




Nettie Crowe has posed:
    THE CANDLE, BOOKE AND BELLE

    From the outside, pretentious New-Age Tea Shop. The Specials sign states that it is closed for a Private Event, and has a drawing of a crow going 'eff tea eff!'

    Inside, there seems to be a bit of a riot of color. There's prayer flags from the Himalayas hung about, there's tea in large pots marked with 'Earl Grey' 'Lady Grey' 'Grey's Anatomy' 'Greywitch's Blend' (with a skull and crossbones on it) and 'Coffee' (also with a skull and crossbones on it). There are scones in orange, cranberry and blueberry. There are crumpets with melted cheese and proper Irish butter. There are hot wings, mild wings, dry seasoned salt wings. There is a pile of potato logs, there's Mexican Street Corn on a Stick. There is a pile of chicharrones stacked like crocumbouche. There is a crudite with black pepper parm dressing to dip.

    There's even a chocolate fountain with a large amount of various candies, fruits, and cookies to dip into the chocolate, and about three feet away there is a cheese fountain with different breads and pretzels.

    Along the tea bar there are a number of different little pots with colored powder, with orange marked "MAGICIAN" purple with "TRAVELER" blue for "MAGICAL CREATURE" and bright pink for "NOT MAGICAL BUT VERY FRIENDLY"

    There is a crow hopping around from stool to stool at the tea bar. His pinion feathers are dipped in blue, but judging from some of the splatter it doesn't look like it was voluntary. He wears a pirate hat and has a blue ribbon tied in a bow about his neck.

    The witch herself, in a casual loose-knit grey sweater has her short white hair pulled back and is wearing black leggings with spider webs weaved across it in silver thread, and has bare feet. Every toenail is painted black, and she's got a bit of purple smudge about her cheek.

    "CHUFFIN' HECK YOU MISERABLE CREATURE WHY ON EARTH DID I LET YOU OUT OF THE FREEZER?!" she asks, while wrestling something that looks like a two foot long grasshopper on steroids.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney was already here helping to set some things up. Not giant grasshopper things, but she had a little basket she'd brought full of little goodies for any potential pets/familiars that might come along with people. Hats. A few sizes. Bows. Little capes. Masks. Really she had a back log of tiny costumes in various sizes she's made over the past several years as her little oddball hobby. It's placed down in a corner away from the food and most of the tea but still in sight with a sign that says: 'Free Adornments for Friends!'

Hearing the ... stressful situation from Nettie she glances over with a grin. Her own cheek is streaked with a smudge of the hot pink from the pot of colors. "Do I even want to know what that is, Nettie? Or am I better left keeping my innocent, fragile mind in the dark?"

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn has been here briefly once before, when she was new to JLDark, and now she is back, eager to mingle with others, to exchange information, maybe learn more about what the heck happened to the velvet room anyway. She steps in and peeks around all hyper and bubbly and curious to check everything out.

"Oooh this place is sooo cute. I wonder if they'll make an alcoholic drink for me?" Yknow, with her fake ID and all. And so she heads to 'the bar to order..A "Not Magical but friendly" whatever that is.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
This gathering was important, even if Sara wasn't really a 'party' gal, she had even taken the day off from work (as much as any member of the NYPD could do). With a small box full of single serve tiramisu cakes, donated lovingly (forced into her hands) by her Aunt Ruth, she arrived to the shop a little early to ensure a place for the Italian pastries.

Dressed in a pair of denim jeans with a plain light green t-shirt tucked in at the waist, her feet were encased in her usual hiking boots. A light jean jacket was worn over the shirt to conceal her side arm in the shoulder holster, and her badge was still attached to the black leather belt at her waist.

"Am I late?" she asks as she enters, looking around. "My aunt ambushed me outside my house. There are a hundred little tiramisu cakes in this crate... I'm not taking any home."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
The Constantines have been considerably more absent from New York than not lately. That happens if you live in Gotham. Blonde activism against burning rainforests in the Amazon, the resumption of fracking in northern England, and a multinational corporation hurting low-wage workers has something to do with it. As for the pound-shoppe warlock, responsibilities that a pack of Silk Cuts and a salt-and-silver circle amount to his current absence. "Real life" is a pain in the arse.

Autumn rises, affecting Meggan as the seasons ever do when she peeks in after Sara's arrival. "It smells so good in here! Hullo, hullo!" Her thick hair pulled back in a braid runs the gamut from gold to burnt orange, pointed ears on display after crossing the threshold. Flowers turn where she walks; it's a thing. An ombre sweater manages not to slide right off her shoulder, paired with a knife-pleated skirt and skeletal-leaf printed stockings, right down to battered Doc Martins. The red tie carries the faint scent of Silk Cuts, the rest of her petrichor and dark berries. "You need help with the box of tiramisu? Carrying it in, that is!"

She wiggles her fingers, glancing back to the door again. Hazards of resident empathy.

Tim Drake has posed:
    This is absolutely not the kind of party you show up in full cape-n-costume for. Not to say that an alternate costume is off the table; October is always the easiest month to disguise yourself given the proliferation of holiday celebrations that start earlier and earlier in the month with each passing year. But today it's not the concerningly realistic plague doctor getup or the screen-accurate (complete with dripping acid spit) xenomorph costume that Red Robin busts out for his appearance at the tea shop, it's just a red hoodie and black jeans with a wide pair of sunglasses.

    A flawless disguise, really. And there's an actual embroidered Red Robin symbol on the hoodie's chest. Which begs the question: do the Bat folk make their own merch?

    For now he's made himself a cup of tea and is doing a respectable job at fading into the background in a dark corner. It's a proper Bat lurk, without the whole looming presence thing often employed to stand up the hairs on the backs of criminals' necks. Either he's deliberately trying not to draw attention to himself or just very socially awkward. Probably the former, given how sneaky the Gotham capes tend to be.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "It's an oversized prehistoric Lazarus population sourced ball of horsepucky! A poxy piece of-- oh hello Miss Kinney, dear, no don't fret yourself with this business. Miss Gwynn! Good of you to make an appearance -- mind the tea, it's hot, just came from the steam kettle -- the stuff with the skull an' crossbones is not my best work, mind you. Coffee. Peh. Burnt seed bits with hot water strained through it -- no class to the thing. De-TEC-tive!" Nettie gives a smile "Go ahead and put the crate on the bar, but not too near the chocolate -- don't think tiramisu will stand up to the chocolate and that thing is such a bitch to clean, reet? An' as I live an breathe!" Nettie gives a waggle to Meggan of the struggling giant insect in her arms "I've heard rumours about you madam! Think you're obvious enough without bein' color coded!" she gives Meggan a polite smile, and then she looks to the young man (most people are young compared to her, though, and she turns and points the giant grasshopper at Tim.

    "You must be Gabby's friend, the one good with the technological things, yea? I have a favor to ask of you unrelated to all this nonsense young man."

    Nettie then turns, gives the creature a solid whack against the head. "Make sure you dab yourselves with the markings an' help yourself to the tea. I was going to do nametags but that seems a little too gauche, dossnit?" Nettie asks, the old witch moving to the door marked 'Private' for the moment.

    The crow with the hat and the scarf flits down, takes up a cookie in his beak and goes to dip it in the cheese fountain while mumbling

    "H'lo Gabby! Don't mind me, people tend to think I'm a prop!"

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel is late, which is not unheard off, but anyway... this is not an emergency or anything, it is? Besides, he works. Okay, not in a Saturday, but it was a long night after a nasty day. Whatever. His sleep cycle is out of whack again and he looks like he needs a coffee.

Which is why he sneaks in, vaguely waving to those to who spot him, and goes directly to the coffee pot. Hopefully not magical coffee. Hell, even if it is magical, he will take it.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
No top hat, high heels, or stage makeup adorn the off-stage version of Zatanna. Instead, she likes supporting up-and-coming designers, attending runway shows as a matter of course, and hitting the vintage stores around the Palais Royale and 2nd arrondissement. Whether it is secondhand or a one-of-a-kind dress, it always gets a rise out of Nettie, which the mage enjoys immensely.

The magician pops discreetly into existence in a backroom and straightens her vintage tailored coat in black. Ice-blue silk gauze peeks from under it at the cuffs and the low neckline. Matching peg-legged trousers over boots with a modest heel completes the ensemble.

After listening to the voices in the next room for a moment, she strolls into the room, looks around, and heads toward Nettie.

"Wasn't sure I was going to make it? How has your day been?" She turns to look at the room, giving a finger wave to Meggan and Tim. Her smile widens on seeing Gabby and Pez, and she observes over her shoulder to Nettie, "It's a real magic getting us all in one place at the same time."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen arrives unfashionably late, glancing around as she steps inside. Looking to the others, she seeks out those she has met before. A list that is rather embarrassingly short from the look of it. She offers a smile to Zatanna and a half wave to Gabby and Nettie. She comes bearing her own addition to the snacks, a maple iced bundt cake. Moving over to set it with the other foods, she shrugs off her jacket and finds a place to hang it.

Given the darker sense of humor that tends to run through members of the JLD team, it may be amusing to those who undestand her heritage that she wears a white shirt with the symbol of the Holy Cross upon it and the wording: 'Excuse me, do you have time to talk about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?'

The shirt is worn over frayed denim jeans and canvas sneakers.

Making her way to the drinks, she looks over the offered selection of tea before making her choice. Cup soon in hand, she moves across the room to offer a smile and greeting to Zatanna.

"Hello, it's nice to see you again"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Pausing for a moment to look toward Meggan as she enters, a smile spreads across her lips. "I got the crate, but if you want to lighten the load by a view little cakes, be my guest."

Setting the box on the counter, away from the chocolate, she pulls the top off, and folds one side down to reveal those hundred authentically made, little tiramisu cakes just begging to be devoured. "I love my Aunt Ruth, woman's a pillar of strength and determination like you wouldn't believe, but that does make it difficult to tell her no," she turns the box around to reveal the cakes to the room. "So, cakes... next time it will likely be Maritozzo, she found her great-grandmother's recipe and is mastering them."

It was only then that she noted Nettie wrestling with a giant grasshopper, which does in fact get a double take before the NYPD Detective shrugs her shoulders slightly and just accepts that the witch is in a wrestling match with a two foot grasshopper.

"Nettie, am I going to have to teach you about coffee?" she asks as if this match between insect and woman was not taking place. "Or just bring my own from now on?" This is asked as her eyes follow Daniel over to the coffee pot. She'd find out soon enough how the coffee tasted, that is if the man actually tasted it, he looked like intravenous night be better.

As more people arrive, she offers nods to each, whether she knows them or not, then decides that the Red Robin really has the best idea for dealing with this gathering. This sends Sara in search of a spot that is visible, yet not in the middle of everything, and even as she's looking Witchblade is screaming in her head so she just stops, pulls out a stool and sits down. She's supposed to be in the middle of it all now, for once the over chatty ancient magical artifact was right.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Let's be honest, the chocolate fountain is what got Robbie to agree to show up here today; and he isn't leaving until he tries it. Because, for anyone who knows him, he's not exactly the type of guy who hangs out in chocolate fountains and hors d'oeuvres circles, and when is he going to get this kind of opportunity again?

So here he is, six feet of messy curls, leather, tight denim jeans and tattoos, with a side of half-inch gauges; the left one has a chain and a silver cross hanging from the loop. He's skulking about the edges of the gathering, having collected a plate full of things to ostensibly dip in the fountain.

There's a few familiar faces here -- Gabby, Tim, Megan, Sara -- whom he acknowledges with a quick smile. Except for Daniel, who gets a bit of a scowl.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"Colour coding? Oh, I wasn't prepared for that!" Worry rounds Meggan's unnaturally green eyes, that jade-gold shade from autumn's last festive hurrah before the leaves drop. The brief moment of concern blooms into something broader as she spots the bar, pots in a nice row. Laughter shivers in a bell-dark tone, pretty to the ear but lancing cold, the way the starry night in a wood awakens vestigial memories in the hindbrain. "Fancy that, I'd fit all three neat as you please. We're to pick what suits best, aight?" She double-takes on Tim's choice of excellent hoodie, briefly turning a thumbs-up. "Smashing choice. You look sharp."

Any distraction will do before the most awful of tests faces her. The one where you are, in fact, a magical creature spellcaster raised by the Travellers. Another reason to turn, angling in to Zatanna. "Right magic for a proper cuppa and a celebration at that." Her bag will end up slouched off her shoulder and set aside, the rumbling thump of a few objects within suggestion she's carrying tennis balls in there. Avalonian apples, actually, reaped from the orchards fresh. "I'm not sure had the chance to meet, miss. I'm Meggan." The greeting extends to Patience and probably Megan back there with it. Polishing an apple with her sleeve restores an almost glossy candied sheen, the blush of sunset on the next at odds with the stark red shade that makes Zee very much Snow White in this story. The grasshopper in Nettie's care can be the evil stepinsect.

A third apple goes in the pile, and a few more. "That's wonderful of you to bring tiramisu! And to your aunt." As close as she can get to outright thank yous, Meggan tips her copper-shot braid and swivels to offer said last apple to Robbie. Latest in, why not? "Hullo!"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney looks back over to the door as more people arrive. She finishes setting up her little Halloween Pumpkin bucket full of clothes and goodies for animals of various sizes, and moves instead to the pots labeled with different types of 'who we are' to dip her finger into the pink pot again. "Hey Megan," she greets with a grin. "Scuze me got to do this real quick." Finger dippedin hot pink powder she approaches Tim, aka Red Robin, to do a quick pat to his cheek. Single dot. "Thanks for coming," she offers cheerily with a broad grin. "I know this is awkward but I appreciate the support. You really should try some of her tea though it's awesome. For tea."

Glancing back over her shoulder she lifts a hand to wave at Meggan, and Patience, and Zatanna. "Hey welcome on in!" Of course it was really Nettie's place... so maybe she should let her do the proper greeting. Though when faces show she hasn't seen in awhile she can't help but grin. "Robbie! Lemme know how that fountain is," she calls out cheerily.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Coffee is coffee. Daniel is a non-discriminate drinker. Of coffee or booze, really. In fact, some days he doesn't pay attention to what he is eating, which really, is a good idea considering his cooking skill.

He slows down for the second cup, peering over the brim to see, as usual, some unknown faces along the usual suspects. He should go and introduce himself, it would be the polite thing to do, it could be useful to know more people into the supernatural troubleshooting or troublemaking. So it would be polite and smart.

But he just finds a corner to drink his coffee quietly, scowling to the world in general.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn is just about to try and taste some of the pink powder then jumps a bit as Nettie makes her statement. "Ooh my bad, I thought those word names for teas or drinks or something!" she quickly pulls her hand away and puts some orange powder on her cheeks instead. Because obvious or not, it's still fun! "Oooh herbal tea sounds good, have any of that? And good to see you again Miss Crowe. How you been? Oh, there is sooo much I need to discuss.."

She glances around the room, taking in the sights and sounds of everyone else gathered here today. "Gaby! Heeey, are you gonna give a speech about your new position? I heard the Velvet room is no more..?" She nods and smiles to Sara next, waving at her, "Hiya miss Sara, good t see ya again.." and of course there is Meggan who. she hasn't seen in ever. "Hiii Meggan! How you been?" but it really has been a while and they only met the once. Still she pouts, "Ohh it's me, Megan, Yeaah we met once a while back.." She peers towards Red Robin, but he does such a good job of blending with the background and she doesn't pay much attention or really register him at first glance.

Oh and there's Zatanna who is given a quick smile as well as the two ghost riders. "Ooh everyone's here, where you been, Robbie? Its been forever!" she doesn't know him well but she's so crazy hyper that she just to get to know everyone. Patience is also given a smile and wave as she sips her tea. "Hiii I'm Megan.."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
To be honest Sara didn't really read the tags by the little pots of color, she too thought it was all about the tea. When Megan however notes the mistake, that finally makes Sara look toward the choices.

"Nope, nope, nope... right then, no fricken glitter for me, thank goodness," she swivels her eyes to look at Daniel, "or you, good to see you." and then to Robby. "or you either, nice to see you again Robby."

She looks back toward Nettie with a huge, smart-assed smile on her face as she as she adds, "And we all thank you for not having to glitter up."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"How do you think it is?" Robbie calls back, dimpling a quick grin Gabby's way. "It's a fountain made of fuckin' melted chocolate." He's about to turn around and just dunk his whole damn plate into the fountain wholesale, when he comes face to face with Meggan, offering him an apple. Which is both unexpected, and maybe a little ironic, given what he is-- or, well, has housed in him.

"This ain't poisoned, is it?" he asks with an amused twinkle in those mismatched eyes; one dark, the other a clear, sparkling green. "I'm fresh outta charming princes." He, nevertheless, accepts the fruit in his palm and gives it a light toss. "Don't think we've met."

Sara gets a wink in greeting, before he bites into the apple, and catches a bit of the juice that tries to escape with the pad of his inked thumb.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"Hey, Sara," Daniel greets to the policewoman with the energy of someone still waiting for the caffeine to kick on. "So this is the new place? Not as fancy as a castle in the clouds, but gets lots of points from being in New York."

As usual Danny is wearing an assemble of jeans, boots, old t-shirt and a battered coat. Probably there is a large motorcyle lurking around in a nearby alleyway. Looking evil and stuff.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The coffee is not magical. It is kinda burnt and not particularly good, but it's coffee. There's a little creamer caraffe, sugar and honey stationed nearby.

    "OF COURSE IT'S REAL MAGIC! How many decks do you think I burned for this while you're sprauncing about?" Nettie calls back from over Zatanna's shoulder as she gives a smile, coming out of the back room and giving a wave to Patience. "Hello dear!" she greets Patience with a smile, her bare feet wandering over the familiar wood and throw rugs about the room as she does last moment scurryfunging.

    "Coffee's not my forte, never has been. Oh, had its uses. I used to be able to brew a pot that could be added to the fuel for tanks!" Nettie gives a gnashy, toothy smile to Sara with just the littlist bit of micheviousness.

    "You're colorful and about as subtle as a brick in my shop, dear, you don't need to dress your colors up further. 'Sides, it's more for *my* knowledge than anything else. This old brain doesn't store names and abilities like it used to..." she heaves a theatrically large sigh "Old age, I'm afraid, doesn't agree with me."

    She gives a smile as Gabby dots Tim's cheek, and then she herself hops up onto a pair of stools. Bare feet wiggle a moment, and she gives a mighty whistle.

    "All right you lot! For those of you who 'ave not had the dubious honor of meeting my afflictive self, my name is Nettie Crowe and I am the hostess of this abode, the witch of this sanctum, and current Old Lady Leader of the Justice League Dark." she introduces herself, giving a sweeping, playful bow.

    "As you might've 'erd, thanks to our Zatanna and John Constantine, the Velvet Room, the Castle Astral, 'as been sealed for the protection of the general populace an' 'opefully to stop anythin' from leaking out like a bad toilet. Moment of silences for the items not reclaimed can be made--" she states, pulling a silk pouch out of her pocket as she pulls out a handrolled cigarette, and plants it between her teeth "-- on your own time. NOW FURTHER BUSINESS!" she states, clapping her hands and teetering on the two stools she's using to help her dimunitive self be tall, because when you're a stunted-growth witch and you're dealing with All The People who are taller than you.

    Corvax, in his pirate tricorne and blue bow, lands on NEttie's shoulder. He's got cheese around his beak.

    "If you're unawares, Miss Kinney is your young-go-getter leader, and Detective Pezzini is not only the bringer of an obscene amount of tiramisu -- cheers to that, dove," she raises an imaginary glass to Sara, "But is also the third in our trifeca of truly terrible decisions." Nettie states, and she pats herself down, and pulls out another pot of color from her pocket. She unscrews the top. It's bright Red, and she gives it a careless toss as if the powder flying everywhere might not make a complete mess of things to Sara!

    "So. THe Justice League Dark, from my understanding, we're supposed to be fighting the things that, for some reason, the Justice League don't contend with. We're the ones in the dark an' shadow, the smoke and mirrors and the righters of the dark wrongs. Most of our types aren't going to be finding themselves in super-jails nor in asylums -- /if/ we do our job right. They'll be banished, contained, or otherwise--" she flicks a finger over a bic lighter.

    "No Longer a Concern." she states.

    "And I'd say go around and say names, break ice, whatever, but that's not my preference. We break bread, we break bones, and occasionally some very important laws of physics. Any questions so far?"

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"Promise, can't be poison unless you're Dracula or such. Might turn you green if you've any heritage of the dark elves or huldra." Meggan could be teasing Robbie but it's improbable, given the company. She breaks into a wider smile, and dips forward in something of a theatrical bow. The apple is rare enough for its skin being so dark, but the flesh within is a magenta shade and tastes somewhere between wine and cyser. Spiced slightly, a product of the magic-ridden Otherworld isle it grew on. "Good to meet you."

A dot of powder forthcoming stains Meggan's third eye and wrist, the indented smudge a crescent on her forehead. Freckles form the same multicoloured constellation in nebulous shades indicating magician, magical being, and traveller. Properly decided then! Two Ghost Riders, a Witchblade, several other artifact-wielders, tech wizards, and a posset of sorcerers make for a fabulously complex blend for her to subconsciously imbibe, but the black tea actually covers for where an emotivore acquires nourishment. "You want anything, Zee?" Fetching up a proper cup of tea comes to her as naturally as breathing water to an Atlantean, prepping any leaves and hot water unless they are already blended. She goes quiet from there for Nettie to make the introductions and ribbon-cutting on the event, as things go.

She has a certain fondness for that crow and his cheese. Fantastic birds, crows. The tricorn is something to consider for later.

"None such here. None from John, either." Two blinks and she gives a firm nod. "Right. All good."

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen drifts away from Zatanna after the greeting. There are plenty of others who want to greet the famous magicienne. She migrates her way back to the color pots. When one doesn't fit a given pigeon hole, well it's time to be creative. She takes a little dab of purple of blue and of pink and swipes her cheek. If shes going to get it wrong, she might as well be spectacularly wrong. From a certain point of view they're all as accurate as they're not, really.

Finding her own corner of floor to hold down, she sips at her tea and listens as Nettie begins to speak.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The reaction seems completely natural. A pot of red glitter is being tossed at her, Sara hates glitter, so of course she dives out of the way of it while Witchblade forms a single tendril of metal with a hand at the end and catches it. No one but her will ever have to hear his comments regarding the big, bad NYPD officer dodging red glitter, that is unless Witchblade happens to take over again.

Righting herself with a small snort, the tendril of metal from the bracelet on her right wrist hovering right in her face, she mutters something in Italian under her breath then sighs.

"Right then, Daniel, Robby... looks like we got a color," she adds dryly, before dipping her finger into the glitter and actually wiping it on the shoulder of her coat, not her face. "Come get yourselves a poke into this for Nettie's sake."

She had no control over the pot of red, no that's all Witchblade, and to make it easier the tendril winds through the room toward Daniel to offer up the pot, then over to Robby.

"Quick introduction here, I'm Sara Pezzini, and this is Witchblade being a smart ass." the second part of that is indicating the tendril moving the pot of red around the room. "He's been in just a jovial mood as of late. Anyway, yes I am the third and likely don't know all of you, but I hope to correct that."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney allows Nettie to get her speech out before lifting her hand to wave. "I'm Gabby as most know. I tend to get around in the 'knowing a lot of people' way not the other way don't even make a joke there Robbie I know you're thinking it," she prattles on only to grin broadly none the less. "But to make things clear, yeah, I'm helping to run things. I've pretty much grown up working with teams in one way or another, and I can do the more mundane side of things to let the rest of the team focus on magical stuff."

"That's not to say I can't or won't join in if it comes to a fight. I do know how to do that, and I have some enchantments on weapons that can come in handy. Also," she sweeps a hand toward the little bucket of items she bought. "If any of you have cats, dogs, other pets, or whatever... I've got a little hobby of making tiny clothes. Corvax is currently modeling my latest hat and looks quite dashing if I say so myself," she remarks about the crow on Nettie's shoulder with another grin.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie's evidently not *too* worried about keeling over and dying, given that he's already chewed and swallowed that first bite of apple by the time Meggan finishes speaking to him.

"I'll take my chances," he tells her, sotto voce. Actual freckles generously dust his nose and cheeks, thwarting the look he's got going on: leather-wearing street punk with some obscure metal band tee shirt scrawled in Spanish under a weeping skull.

He pauses to listen to Nettie introduce herself -- and the newly reconfigured JLD -- before turning at the gesture from Witchblade. Red glitter? He looks puzzled, but dips two fingers in obligingly and smears his throat with it.

Gabby's warning gets a snort. "If you're gettin' around in the usual way, I sure don't know about it." Another bite of the apple, which is actually quite good.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"Hi, Patience, thanks. It's good to see you, too." Zatanna glances sideways at Patience, a small smile quirking a corner of her mouth. "Like your button. How's that going for a conversation starter?

Eyes of intense sapphire blue gaze deeply into Meggan's eyes of green tumbling with autumn colors. A slow, lazy smile blossoms as Meggan produces apples from her bag. Not just any apples but fruit of the magic realm. She accepts hers and puts it to her nose for a long leisurely sniff then dips her head in thanks for the gift.

"Tea would be lovely! Tea and company lovelier!" The clink of china ensues, and Zee has a saucer and steaming cup in hand.

"So! We are celebrating Holi, I take it? But not throwing the colors at each other?"

To anyone within earshot, "She's a sly one, our Nettie. She knows how much I love orange. Well, then."

With index and middle finger, Zee dips into the orange and draws a line between her brow. After considering the colors, she adds a delicate line of purple to one side and blue to the other.

"Thought I wouldn't like the colors, didn't you, Nettie?"

Her bindi in place, Zee turns her attention to the others. She offers a smile to Megan when Meggan introduces herself. "Good to see you!"

Patience Alperen has posed:
Patience Alperen adds to Zatanna quietly between comments from others, "Thanks, Zatanna. It's more for the humor of the matter here than anything out in public. Since I spoke to you first, I think it has been successful so far?" She smiles a bit and falls silent again to follow the main conversation.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn pouts a bit, biting her lip. "Huh, so this is the new headquarters, huh..I could get used to it. Sure is cozier than the velvet room." she peers at the cute crow thoughtfully, wondering if that would require feeding the crow regularly or something. "Oh yeah and I'm Megan Gwynn for those who don't know. I'm fairly new to magic stuff but I'm learning quickly all the time. Oh!"

She blinks at a thought, peering around for a moment. "Hmm, I guess Padraigh couldn't make it..He has a creepy cursed Samurai helmet that he acquired from some bad guys. It's something that may be part of a bigger problem pretty soon but hopefully he can tel, us what he learned of it next time..Oh, and I apparently have some sorta faerie hex ability now but it's not entirely under control so uh..I'll try to keep my hands down and my mood calm til I can learn to properly control it."

She still has her hands wrapped around the camomile tea, focusing on that for now.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna shares a look with Nettie and Meggan who far outweigh her in experience and power. She has so far, steadfastly ignored the insect in Nettie's hands. "Good, you've joined us then, Megan." She glances at the two other mages, "You will have plenty of guidance from wiser hands, if you wish it. There is even room to practice in the new Headquarters here."

Magic swirls in the room, eddies of wildness and sagely tamed spells, enough to make a mage giddy if she were prone to it. Hell tamers, demon quellers, hands that can command the elements, sacred lineages and lineages so old they pre-date history. Zatanna takes a deep breath then a sip of tea as her eyes rove the room.

With a faint snort and a nod to Patience, "Like magic."

Polishing the apple on a handkerchief she pulled out of the air, she nods to the man with tats, "Robbie. Good to see you. It's been a while."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
Tea infused by a bit of bergamot meets the reasonably high bar Meggan keeps for good brews, so she contents herself with splashing a bit more water into the cup to level out the meniscus short of the rim. That it practically still boils has no bearing on her, the steam bathing her face and a signal of heat. Swallowing the drink in small sips keeps the Tuath de Danaan occupied.

"Holi paint throwing would be a right way to celebrate." An approving nod. "I'd be one to support or sponsor a proper party."

Her heel rests against nothing as she reclines back some, floating in midair as casually as one does. Scuffed soles and glossy black Doc Martins tip up, the hem of her pleated mini adjusted so as not to be a fashion disaster. Hovering a bit higher comes as she reorients herself, absent a chair or stool. "Faerie hexes? Oh, I've experience aplenty with those. Kind of our people's bread and butter, as you might like," she enthuses without the least kind of hesitation. "If you don't know me, I'm Meggan Constantine. John, you might know?" A wave of her left hand accompanies her talking, the right busy with the teacup. "My better half, that is. He's the right smart one with magic, like Zatanna there. I kind of do a little of everything."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Unfortunately, Corvax just has the form of a crow. From Nettie's shoulder he coughs, his wings giving a flap as he introduces himself, cheese on his beak and all:

    "AND I AM CORVAX! I may look like a crow but INSIDE ME BEATS THE HEART OF A PIRATE! A man with a lady love at every port, born for adventure on the high seas, battling the Spainiards, seeing wonders that those on land would have never thought!" he attempt to bellow, but with little lungs don't do much.

    "Unfortunately he was caught, and hung, and his soul cast into Hell. From there it's a bit fuzzy but now he's a crow. And he wears a hat." Nettie finishes in order to head off any questions about Corvax, and she hops down, walking behind the floating Meggan as she gives a snort. "You're the better half by more than half, dear." she replies in a friendly fashion.

    Nettie, notably, doesn't take an apple. Magic food doesn't agree with her cursed existence.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney steps away from her spot to move for the food. You know, before Robbie ends up taking it all for himself. She snags something that looks tasty and something that looks as if it was okay to dip in chocolate because... yeah she was gonna hit that fountain, too. Robbie gets lightly hip-checked to the side so she can dip a strawberry in.

"Oh, Nettie!" She says after a moment of thought, "We should tell them about the Fledgling Space, too. It's in the back and for training," she explains even before letting Nettie get a chance to. "Though be careful when you enter in case someone's in the middle of a spell." For a moment her expression goes deadpan, and she BITES into the chocolate strawberry viciously. Only to end up giving a little jig in place at the gooey chocolate and strawberry deliciousness.

Tim Drake has posed:
    The thing about blending into the background is that sometimes you try too hard and end up being way too good at it. Like now, where after confirming that he is, indeed, the good-with-the-tech friend of Gabby's, Red Robin has since crouched down and become fully absorbed in the tomes on one of the lower shelves of the bookcase he's been standing besides.

    That's figurative, for clarification. He hasn't physically been consumed by the shelf. He's just a nerd, and there are books, therefore he has spend some time reading. Though how in the world he manages to read at all through the dark lenses of his sunglasses is quite the mystery.

    Once or twice he's managed to tear his eyes away and offer a quick nod of greeting (he glances over using his peripheral vision much more frequently than he lets on) though Meggan's compliment gets the brooding Gothamite to crack an actual smile. Which promptly turns upside down at Gabby's finger-painting of his cheek. That earns her a very Batman-like "Hm," but he doesn't question it.

    Which is a struggle, for Tim. But if he questioned everything he didn't understand about the magic these Justice League Dark folks get up to, then they'd never talk about anything else.

    Notably, he does not step forward to introduce himself. Either you know you know or you don't know and that means you're not from Gotham. Which, honestly, good for you.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie's busying himself trying bits of fruit and pastry dipped in chocolate. As one does, when in attendance at a party with a chocolate fountain. He's got a smudge of it on his nose, unbeknownst to him.

"Encantada de verte de nuevo," he replies in a low rumble to Zatanna, licking chocolate off his thumb. His eyes follow the apple for a moment, then return to her face. "You thinking of hooking back up with this crew?" He, notably, left some time ago, and hasn't quite *officially* returned yet.

"Hey, shortie," he greets Gabby after the hipcheck, and dimples a grin at the look on her face when she bites into the strawberry. "First thing I'm gonna do when we move into a better place is install one of these things." He thumbs toward the fountain.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Given Nattie's report on the coffee, Sara opts for a cup of tea, hoping and praying it's just tea, black tea, but knowing full well there is likely something more to it. Either way, a little sugar and cream and she's perched on the stool again.

The pot of red glitter is carefully placed by the pot of orange on the counter before the tendrils slides back into the bracelet like it was never there at all. The goodies, fruits, foods and cake are left for now, as she falls silent to listen to Witchblade basically narcing on everyone in the place with what he can 'feel' from them, and thus what he believes them to be. Sara doesn't much care, but this is a part of what she had to deal with by being his wielder... him rambling.

"Gabby, Nettie and I agreed on thing," she finally says in general, to anyone who might want to listen. "The most difficult thing for all of us is learning to be a team, and not be just a bunch of individuals who happen to work together. We all got our own way of doing things, I respect that, even I got my own way, so we all need to learn those ways together and learn to focus it into a team effort rather than, as I once heard said... herding cats and getting lucky with success at the end of it."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie manuevers herself around to Tim, and she gives a very slight smile to him.

    "Some of those are fakes. I try not to stock the good stuff where little hands can get it. I've had too many young ladies with heartsick come through and ask if Red Bull is appropriate to use in a love spell." she gives a smile to the young drake, and she pulls a pair of kid gloves on, in grey.

    "I heard you're a Gotham local. When last I visited that blasted city, I helped a young woman in some armor ascend the castle. Quite a mess. She seemed to like the broom, though. Odd place, Gotham. So many bats." she gives a small smile, and she plucks out a relic from her pocket.

    "Gabby told me that you're good with the Book of Faces and possibly do Tumbling, and it seems like my phone's been a bit on the fritz since the last updating. I was wondering if you'd do an old lady a favor and take a look?" she asks.

    And then NEttie produces a Nokia 7650... one of the first cellphones to be able to record a picture available to the consumer market.

    Released in 2001.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna smiles, amused at Corvax's shrill self-introduction but she turns a kind eye on the bird who did not die an easy death. With a clink she places her teacup into its saucer. She lightly touches Meggan's shoulder for no reason other than gladness at seeing her, careful to not tip the floating sorceress.

"I think the scarf suits you, too, Corvax. It is good of you to allow us to expand into your shop, Nettie."

At Gabby's mention of the Fledgling Space, "We should have a sign or lock on it, in case."

With a sideways dip of her head to Robbie, "Egalemente, Robbie. Es bueno verte tambien." Her eyes slide to Gabby and then to Nettie who were instrumental in her return.

"Yes, I'm here now. The past is the past and I won't dwell on it." Nodding several times at Sara's words, "Here for the team when needed."

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"Might be the better some hours, but he's the one reading to the mite an' entertaining as the best nanny this side of Mary Poppins. Here I am, sipping on tea and partying." Meggan shrugs her slim shoulders, offsetting her braid as the same pattern of paint splotches on her brow and freckles on her nose inundate those tresses singed copper and hot, striking orange into gold. Bits of purple streak in threaded lines along her bangs drifting over her nose. "Have you," she asks Corvax, "heard about Brandy? She's a fine girl!"

She'll go about worrying after tiramisu, hopeful that it might float its way over to her without sorcerous intervention. Hope springs eternal about desserts finding their way to the fae goddess. More of interest is everyone else, how they interact, right down to Tim engrossed in his book and Robbie's playful interactions with Zee and Gabby. She is what she is -- and their responses are a smorgasbord of savory and sweet, plucked and savoured in time.

"Working together /is/ important cos throwing spells round or having all these fancy magic items starts to make for conflict, donnit? Or little too much chaos in the mix, and that's pretty problematic for some folks to exploit. Kinda like Mordru, though he's maybe a bad example."

A woeful nod to Zatanna. "He wasn't /trying/ to be especially chaotic last time, was he? Point though."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The boy, of course, shares his soul with a demon; the pair of them an archetypical gordian knot, christened in hellfire. Anyone with a nose for such things might note the faint scent of brimstone, and the bitter, metallic sharpness akin to an electrical fire about to overcome dry brush. But there's also the clove he smoked before stepping into the shoppe, and the engine grease he's most often found elbow-deep in.

"To bygones," he tells Zatanna, holding up the best surrogate he's got for a drink: his half-eaten apple. He favours her with a slight smile, then bites into it. His eyes drift to Sara for a moment, then back to Zatanna and Gabby. "Working well with others ain't Eli's strong point. But takin' marching orders from him ain't mine. So we'll work it out."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney offers Robbie a sympathetic grin in understanding. "Yeah, that seems to be true for a lot. And it's not necessarily about giving out orders and having them be followed so much as knowing how to work with one another. Especially in a fight," she reasons, hands spreading out in a shrug. The half-bitten strawberry is gestured with. "If we're all trying to... to..."

She pauses, looking for a good example. Her eyes fall on Corvax while Meggan regales him with tales of Brandy. "All trying to sail be the captains of our own ships but not knowing how to work with the rest of the fleet, we're probably going to sail right into some rocks." ... "Okay that... didn't quite work but you get my drift."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"He parties enough for two. What's a little tea between friends, I ask you?" Zee tips her head and purses her lips in feigned righteousness. "I've yet to see the tyke. I want to see you all together en famille."

Knowing the goddess's leanings toward sweets, the mages murmurs a few words under her breath, and TWO desserts quit the table with a sotto voce thank you sent to Sara's grandmother. Of the twain, one lands in Zee's out held hand, the other hovers demurely awaiting Meggan.

She raises her dessert to Robbie in a salute and digs in with a spoon that appears from her sleeve.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara takes a small sip of the tea she made, nope not black at all, some herbal concoction, fake your way through it Pezzini, you've had worse!

"I don't intend to go around giving anyone any orders," she stands bluntly. "I do that at work, and I take orders at work. We're all volunteers here, willing to do what needs to be done."

Another small sip, and then she sets the cup down because faking her way through the first sip was easy, second sip was just out of habit and not as easy to get through. "Gabby's right though, this is about knowing what we can all do, knowing that Eli is best against this or that type of thing, where as Witchblade is stronger against this other thing, or something like that. Sorry if I'm not using all the right words to explain this, but it's not about giving orders..."

Whatever that tea was, it wasn't horrible, it just was not at all what Sara was expecting, so once again the cup goes into hand. She'll brave another sip later.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
A thought occurs to Robbie, mid-chew of the apple. "Would this make you my boss, if I decided to join back up?" He looks at Gabby in askance, like he's pretending to size her up. He probably wasn't at all serious about the orders giving, nor particularly concerned about it. But *most* of those here know how capricious Eli can be. Of all the Riders, he's perhaps the most unpredictable-- and bloodthirsty.

"Anyway, I gotta talk to Gabe about it. Promised him I wouldn't take on any new, uh, assignments without getting his okay." Gabe being the brother he's trying to put through college, of course.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "OI. No one's a better nanny than Poppins, and that is *all* that shall be said on the subject." Nettie states, but she does not point at the woman. "Still. I s'pose congradulations are in order for two events then. I s'pose." Nettie purses her lips, then rubs at the back of her ears with her gloved hands.

    Corvax flits about, dropping fine blue dust from his unconsented wing dipping everywhere.

    "An' what a good wife she would be -- but my life, my love my lady was the sea. Heard that one on the radio when it first came out. Never brought no silver from Spain to a lady though; more likely had to turn that in. On account of the wages, you see." the crow states, taking up a perch near Zatanna and Meggan as he looks to Gabby.

    "Aye. A ship sails easier with one captain and a good crew, but there's got to be trust between them, else there's mutiny -- and there's one or more poor souls who get consigned to Hell. That, for your information is *not* what happened to me. But let me tell you, being pulled out of Hell and set about a crow hatchling by a tot barely out of nappies was the second worst embarassment I've felt in my whole fuckin' existence. Whatever creator that deigned to let an eight-year-old pull a soul out of Hell into a hatched chick and had to force to learn how to speak again while being fed on the entrails of hanged men and black hounds." Corvax continues, flitting this way and that, fanning his tail as he tries to weave a frightening tale of his own creation.

    And pecks one of the desserts out of the air for himself.

Meggan Puceanu has posed:
"You're wonderful, you know that?" Again, no simple thank you there, since the simple business of gratitude spoken aloud among other fae is a funny thing. Meggan's not the kind to stint on showing thanks, though. She quite happily uses a fork or spoon as a wicked utensil, skillful as any duelist, on making short work of the tiramisu into a few neat squares. Tidily eaten, too, though it means releasing the cup of tea to float beside her. She scarce but notices any perturbations in the force used to keep the vessel fixed in place.

With a thoughtful, long look to Zatanna after Gabby explains the proverbial perils of sailing -- lots of perils there -- she murmurs, "They need to know particulars about us or...? Now, later?"

The Avalonian apples are ripe, sweet things give a hint of tartness, quite a bit different in profile from any mortal tree. But coming from the Isle of Apples, they probably would. Never mind Meg's trapped humming 'Brandy' for a few more bars. Daydreaming about a Brandy Alexander, as one does.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "I thought some of it seemed more new-age pop-paganism than the real deal," Red Robin responds as he snaps shut a reproduction text of an old herbalism tome. Which he carefully replaces back on the shelf in precisely the same spot it came from. Can't ever be too careful with these sorts of things.

    There's no way to tell if he's rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses as he puts two and two together to realize Gabby has offered him up as informal tech support. All he does is silently hold his hand out for the device, though when Nettie produces a proper antique, his eyebrows do make a (brief) appearance above the top of his sunglasses. "I'm sure I can pull the specs for this off the internet somewhere."

    Cue Tim immediately pulling out his phone to do just that, once again esconced in some dim corner of the shop.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zee's eye's widen for a moment then glint with pleasure. Extravagant words. The apple bulges in her pocket. Its nectar planned to accompany some good hard cheese and a glass of wine later at home.

One shoulder lifts, her head tipping slightly to the side as she acknowledges the question. "I rather hope not. We would be here for hours. Besides..." she looks at both Gabby and Nettie, "...they know your mother."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney looks back toward Nettie and Tim as the phone is produced with a little helpless 'sorry' mouthed his way. She does shrug though. He said he wanted to find some niche for himself to help out a bit! Raising her voice she offers, "I thought maybe you could at least help upgrade her to more user-friendly devices. Maybe. Provided it doesn't cause issues due to the magic... I don't know." It was an idea at least.

Looking back toward Robbie she allows herself a little grin in response. "Pretty much. Is that so bad? At least you know you can trust me, right?" Right? RIGHT ROBBIE?

Her attention shifts to the other conversations in time to see Zatanna gesture their way and mention someone's mother. A look of pure confusion crosses over her. She looks between the magician and the fae only to spread her hands in a helpless shrug. "Maybe...? I've only just met her though. Who's her mother? I do know a lot of people."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "It's all right, lad. I've had that since probably before you were born." Nettie gives a wry smile, and then she pulls out a Samsung Galaxy S21 from a different pocket.

    "Somehow this thing froze up when I was tryin' to upload the Square program to run credit cards with. I've tried contacting their tech support but they couldn't seem to figure it out even after removing and re-installing the app from the market place. I've been running them through my iPad but on the odd occasion with so much magic and energy flying about the iPad gives off weird errors. The phone tends to give me less errors, but with the app continually frozen up like this I canna process anything more than a hand-input number, and I get charged extra per input. And it takes up so much more time than waving a chippy card over the sensor." Nettie explains with a smile.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie sticks his tongue out at Gabby, flashing the silver barbells piercing it. Then, "I'm gonna go grab a smoke." Which is pretty much Roberto Reyes code for 'I need a break from having to actually talk to people for a bit'.

He grimaces at the sight of the phone that's probably older than he is, and prowls for the door after snagging another strawberry to eat. Yoink.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Cake finished. Apple in her pocket. Zatanna gives Corvax and Nettie a small bow from the waist. She fixes Gaea's daughter with an affectionate look.

"Thank you for a lovely time. It was good to see you, Gabby, Tim, Sara. Soon again, I hope." She leaves the way she came in through the backdoor.