13661/Assassin's Crowe

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Assassin's Crowe
Date of Scene: 28 December 2022
Location: East Village
Synopsis: No description
Cast of Characters: Nettie Crowe, Talia al Ghul, Gabby Kinney, Tynan Ireton




Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Christmas has come and gone, and late on Boxing Day (after explaining her shop does not have a return policy for a reason, unless the object is abjectly cursed), Nettie Crow was at the tea counter with the ancient, surely-weighs-hundreds-of-pounds cash register, with a hot cup of tea at her side. This was a smoked tea, from the middle East, its dark red coloring nearly blood-like as she pours over her cards.

    It wasn't often that meanings squeaked by her, as if made of smoke.

    Here, Death, reversed, had taken center-stage. Crossed with the Four of Cups, supported by the Six of Cups and the Eight of Cups.

    Usually it was Nettie in her cups, but tonight felt different. Important.

    And for once, Death wasn't representing herself, that she knew.

    She pulls another card from the century-old tarot deck, chewing on the unlit, handrolled cigarette in her mouth a moment.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
She's out and exploring. To take her mind off things. Talia Al Ghul had a good head for things. And the quiet from her father after several weeks, not sending any tasks to her, not sending any agents, not sending anyone to encourage her over anything.. Something was off. He would have at least sent someone to kill her if he was upset. So the sudden silence from her father is most disquieting.
    But for now Talia is out wandering through the city. Through New York. And just simply going through places, wandering hwere her attention takes her. Not looking for the League, the Hand.. Or anything out of the way. So is it randomness that leads her into this shop?
    She goes to head in as the bell starts to ring to announce her entry, and she moves to look over at the items on display. Glancing to Nettie sitting, "Ah, hello. Who are you doing a reading for?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie would have suggested Synchronicity, but she's the wrong magic user for that trick. She usually just calls things Serandipi-tea -- or finding the cup of tea you didn't know you were looking for.

    The silver-white haired woman glances up, youthful face spreading in a bit of a smile as she places her card down -- the Page of Swords. Curious. *Very* Curious.

    "Well, I don't just know yet. Sometimes the oddest people walk in looking for advice, direction, or a loo." she gives a smile, accent from the North of Britain as she sets her deck down on the cloth.

    "But mostly folks come in here looking for a cup of tea or some supplies -- so tell me, miss, what kind of traveler's made their way into the Candle tonight?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would oh over for a moment, blinking. Soething was soothing about here. If her guard was up, she might think htere was something untoward. But she's distracted. Her mind elsewhere. "Merely a curious one. Family matters. I've not heard from them in awhile. And father is ever so focused on business I wonder if it's devoured him and he's forgotten about me. He's always been so pressed with it and I've alwasy been involved. And it's not like him to let me take some time off."
    Those words come out in a distracted manner. Intents not fully concealed in it, but the general idea there. Even if none of the specifics are. "Very well then. I don't know the portents.. But they do look like interesting results from thsoe revealed."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Ah, then this might be for you, though ordinarily 'Death' isn't the central representative card -- but if I may make an observation?" The woman inquires. She's wearing a gray sweater, left open to show a plain, lighter gray tee beneath, and gray jeans. She turns, pulling another teacup out. This teacup and saucer is blood red, trimmed with gold, bone-white on the inside.

    The smoked tea is poured in, which makes its red coloring all the more vibrant. The smokey notes cling to the nose, the richness of the tea itself clinging to the upper mouth, and the distant and faint finish of something almost fruity, and the cup and saucer is offered to Talia.

    "You've come to a time in your life where there is an opportunity. You're considering taking it. There's much inner change, the shedding of an old skin and you're not quite sure which direction to take. Do I swim, do I run, do I fly? To the rocky mountains of a desert or to the green valleys of a breadbasket, or perhaps the grays of a concrete jungle?" And she points to the Page of Swords.

    "I suspect that there are younger people involved in such thoughts, if this be about you, dear." she states with a smile, and then pushes a plate over.

    "Cranberry Scone?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The door jingle-jangles once again as a little gust of chilly air enters along with a short dark haired young woman. One who bore scars on her face that had grown a rosy pink due to the chill air outside. Gabby claps her hands over her cheeks a time or two helping to bring some warmth back into them, unnecessarily so, but given how she was grinning it was likely just as much due to being overly energetic as to being cold.

"Nettie!" The word blurts from her while she pauses just long enough to give a quick one-two stomp of her feet on the door mat to knock off any remaining snowy slush or salt from the streets. "You are not going to guess what--" she begins before her green eyes dart toward Talia giving the woman a quick nod of acknowlegement.

Then she looks back to Nettie about to continue on. About to. Then she pauses to swivel her head back over toward Talia. Without a word she stares at the woman and steps further into the shop walking over toward the counter Nettie is at where she promptly drops her voice to utter to the older woman, "Nettie what'd you do this time? None of those extra-curricular skulls of yours were ninjas were they? ... No, no that... hm."

"Also why are you drinking what smells like a wet campfire?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would crack a smile, "You would be surprised. Depending on how literally or metaphorically you interpret it. However, I have little talent. Despite the business world being all about making a killing." HEr voice highly amused. Something about the saucer is almost entrancing. Maybe it's the scent of the tea, maybe the incense.. The bright look of the cup and saucer..
    Talia is at ease, as the incense goes to burn. "Yes, I'm.. At a phase where I'm feeling like I'm merely following in my father's footsteps, and all this time I've merely been.. Working. Not for anything beyond merely working. Because that's the path that life has taken me." She looks over at Nettie over in some confusion over as she would translate the woman's queries. "I.. Go where I do and do what I must. One does not resist where they must perform things. One must go where they are drawn." The arrival of Gabby gets a blink from her as part of the trance would be broken. "Ah, hello there."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Thump. Nettie's fist bumps against the counter. "OI KINNEY. Do I just walk in and announce YOUR dubious habits to customers?!" Nettie protests "And this is an experimental smoked Rooibos. You want a cuppa?" she asks of the dark-haired younger leader incredulously, pointing a finger at her as she pulls out a black-and-yellow tea cup with the Boston Bruins symbol on it, and stubbornly pours the Honeybadger a cuppa.

    "And for your information, I *was* discussing a tarot dreading with the nice lady." Nettie sighs in exasperation.

    She turns back to Talia, and she gives a small shrug of her shoulders. "Kids these days." she states, and she gives a nod. "I can understand about following in the footsteps; it's tough to live with a familial obligation and expectation but wanting to be your own person." she states.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"What dubious habits? Eating all the cookies? Yes please," Gabby adds politely at the end in response to the offer of a cup. Even if it smelled weird, and was experimental, she kind of owed it to Nettie to try a drink at this point. It's all said easily enough as her gaze flits between the pair listening in a moment longer. She seems to say something more, but opts not to instead with a shrug.

"Sorry to interrupt then. A good reading I hope?" A glance is turned toward the cards to squint, and she leans over to peer more. "Huh. That's actually a fairly accurate representation of Death. Did I ever tell you I met her once?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
And any sort of theatrics going on with things is fully, fully broken over while Talia glances back. "Friends or employees?" She would gesture over at Gabby. "And I can't take any particular stance on 'kids these days'. I'm told quite often that I'm barely old enough to not qualify as one anymore." RElaxed, going to take another sip of her tea.
    "I'm not quite sure what's left in the readings.." OR if whatever magic ot them is lost now that there's full snarkage going back and forth.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty has been working a bit, and keeping a low profile for the most part. Even her underworld contacts have been trying to figure out just what the lass has been up to as of late. Though all of them have been told not to bother this place. The woman drives up to the place on her motorcycle, and walks up to the door. As per normal, she knocks on the frame of the door. The woman has learned to be polite about crossing thresholds, and about defensive wards.

    Today, Ty looks a bit different. While not carrying any open weapons on her, Ty is kitted out in tactical body armor with strange runic markings in several spots. None of them are active at the moment. Her light combat boots have a slight line of iron running along the edges of them. She has her long cloak on, but its not pulled out. Mostly she's in her work outfit. Either coming from a job, or gearing up for one, it seems. But at the moment, the woman is being respectful, and waiting to be allowed in.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "She's both beautiful and terrifying, but sadly not someone I'm destined to meet any time soon. Unlike our friend here, who is both beautiful and terrifying and someone I've just met." Nettie gives a small grin, which turns into a wry smile.

    "My name is Nettie Crowe. This is my compatriot, Miss Kinney. Might I know your name from your lips, elsewise I may have to steal it from your eyes." NEttie gives a smile.

    Tynan would find a crow coming to meet her, hanging out on the snow on the handrail.

    "G'day Tynan; darkenin' the doorstep again? Go 'head in."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would look over and smile, "My name is Talia. A pleasure to meet you then, Gabby, Nettie, and your little noisemaker." She would peek out the window to see Ty, arching her neck to make out the armor. "And you look like you came off a movie set or you live in Gotham. I do hope that you've survived the clown if you've had to spend a lot of time there." She would glance at Nettie and gesture over.
    "I'd give you the rest but I have a bit of a reputation and I'm in such pleasant company, and I don't wish to spoil it and ruin the delightful time."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney takes the cup of tea that Nettie had poured to raise up for a sniff of the brew. Sure it was only tea, but it did smell suspicious enough for her to hesitate, even if she didn't need to so pointedly sniff it. "She's nice enough, just doesn't like her time being wasted," comes her remark of who it was she met.

Then, she just stares at Nettie as she... "Are you flirting...?" She was flirting. With Talia. This causes her to finally devolve into giggles and she's forced to turn away to keep from flat out laughing over the entire situation. Once Talia greets her by her first name she lifts a hand to waggle fingers over her shoulder while taking another moment to compose herself.

"Ahmmmhm, yes, good to meet you in an unofficial capacity," she offers up simply. Whatever 'official' may be she didn't seem to be jumping for it. Instead she glances over toward Ty squinting at her dubiously. "Come on, I'm not trying Nettie's new brew by myself!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Talia..." Nettie gives a small smile around the unlit cigarette as she looks to Talia, her bluer-than-human eyes looking her up and down until Gabby asks if she was flirting.

    "... Gabriella, you have a remarkable and uncanny observation of the subtle." Nettie states as she gives a sidelong look to the badger.

    "Eh, Miss Kinney's already announced one of my less savory hobbies in that I collect the skulls of Nazis. And Neo Nazis. Special chip on my shoulder, that. Death is just one of our mutual acquaintences, I should think." she gives a smile, raising a hand to Tynan.

    "Oi! Tynan! How goes your work, POppet?"

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty nods her head to Corvax. "Thank you, Corvax. I hope one of my gear bags is here.", she comments, nodding her head to the crow. As she enters, she nods her head to Talia. "Neither. I just have some work that is a little heavier then normal. Plus I come from Madripor.", she comments to Talia. There's a bit of an Irish brouge to her speech, dispite her asian appearence. She raises an eyebrow at Gabby a bit, and starts to pull out a flask...then puts it back. "I have work, so can't drink...", she mutters.

    Ty walks over, and watches whats going on for a second, and then looks at Gabby. "Maybe you can assist me in finding a book to help with ferel werecreatures, Miss Gabby? There seems to be an issue that a friend has asked me to look into near the Black Forest in Germany.", she comments.

    When Nettie makes a comment. "I took a job that might have a pack near a village near Black Forest. And I know thats an area to be very careful of.", she tells. The woman pulls out a small piece of paper, and slides it over to Nettie. Its a contract to investigate several farms that had cattle go missing. The terms...Ty's doing the job for much less then she normally charges...

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance over at Nettie and smile, "Why thank you for the interest." She would glance over at Gabby, "Yes, I'm not here on any particular affairs beyond wandering. And you, young dear.. I've read quite a bit on. And none of it seems to do you any credit." She would deadpan over while folding her hands and going to take a sip of her tea. Not elaborating on what exactly she had read. Maybe a lot. Maybe a little.

What Nettie's passttime was would get a vibrant smile from Talia, "An excellent one to be sure. I fully approve. One that while I could not often get engaged in myself I fully endorse." Even her father sometimes had hesitation on working with Hydra. But he'd still taken very mucha dvantage of things in Argentina.. But so had quite a few people. She goes to give a wink at Nettie and blow a kiss, a hand going forwards to take Nettie's palm if allowed to draw it to her lips to give a gentle kiss over it.

She would glance over at Tynan, and gesture over at the others, "Should I depart if you're speaking about private business?" Private business could mean aything, but she's giving it as a cue if the others want to push her out to do so politely.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"FERAL were..." Gabby actually draws a deep breath which she allows to escape with a tired sigh. The whole 'overly silly dropping truth bombs' attitude fades a bit into a more serious demeanor. "Which *type* of were creature? Also local or imported? Did something happen to trigger this 'feral' issue, or did some one encroach into their territory? I mean. Most of my 'werewolf' knowledge comes from the mutant side of things, but animal behaivor is still kinda similar in a lot of aspects."

Fingers tap lightly on the cup she holds in both hands while frowning at the paper that Tynan hands over to Nettie. Black Forest was really out of her range of expertise after all. Instead it's Talia's response that earns a slow grin from her as she glances back.

"I expect I've read just as much about you, Miss Al-Ghul. I can't imagine there's a lot on me, though. I haven't done much... lately." Not that she'd had long to do much to begin with in her short life. The question of Nazi's and leaving just earns a shake of her head. "And no one minds if you off a few Nazi's, Nettie, just make sure you don't get caught."

"We're non-denominational here with our business."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Nonsense, if these cards give me any inkling-" Nettie's hand slowly retracts as she searches for another teacup for Tynan, "You might have come into a place with several different paths. You see, we're something of a book club, if books are violent evildooers of the mystic and magic bend, those who wish to extinguish life. And we have all manner of walkers of all manner of different lives and paths. And I can get you some of the books on digital if you want, Tynan. I've had one of the young bucks scanning in some of them for fun." she smiles, and she looks to Talia again.

    "You've stumbled into the home of the Justice League Dark. As it so happens, we're in a hiring phase, and I really could use a few more solid fighters to help me keep an eye on things in the field. I've got the magic knowledge, but it's been ages since I've had a sword in my hand."

    1942, in fact.

    "So, we're largely informal, but you get access to all you can drink tea, crash space, workspace, and the protection of a bunch of magical arseholes with less self-preservation instinct than a demented lemming forced to listen to that Justin Beiber fellow before his balls dropped."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
There's a smile given by Talia over to Gabby. Good, the girl has focus. At the barrage of questions from Gabby on the matter, Talia watches. Giving low nods over to her in approval at them. Hands folded together and then adding, "Good thoughts on territorial infringement. Most wouldn't consider that." Having spoken her approval, she goes silent while turning her attention back to Nettie and smiling. At the elaboration of the Justic League Dark, Talia would listen analytically, consider.. And cock her head to the side. Pursing her lips.

Her memory might not be eidetic in the way that Cassandra could fighitng styles.. But she could make evaluations. Remembering various occult groups or clusters that had made noise then to go quiet of a sudden without a major leaguer dropping by.. "Very well, do consider myself interested. It's nice to have something on the side." And nicer to have allies that she could call in favors from. And maybe something that would actually get Bruce's approval. For a slow moment that's her main reasoning.
    Before brushing it away. She might pine for her beloved still.. But he does not for her.

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty looks at Gabby a long moment. "I can only assume that its a Morbach werewolf, but I'm not too sure. A friend of Father's has a son on the US Army base over there, and made a mistake of snuffing the Morbach candle out. His commanding officer flipped out, and lite the candle once more, but they said that something ran just outside the range of its light. The next few weeks, cattle has been disappearing.", she tells.

    "It could be an early Alpha, or just a long lived one, but several cows going missing in the area means more then one...usually. I don't usually take jobs on this level, but its for a family friend.", she tells. THe woman stretches out a little bit.

    "Oi, thank you, Nettie. I'll send over the addy to my tablet, so I can study on the field. And I was trying to pull Miss Gabby away from the flirting so you can have a minor peace.", Ty teases. "Either way, its not a JLD job. Miss Crowe has contracted me on occassion to help out with more...phyiscal targets, but for the most part, I'm usually hired to keep the civvies and norms protected from combat.", the woman says with a nod to Talia. Nettie would notice that Ty..is being very formal. And polite. Usually means something is going that that she's not talking about...

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney places her tea cup down very carefully. Then with tea-warmed hands she reaches out to SMOOSH Tynan's face between her hands. "Don't ever say 'Alpha' and wolf together again, that is such bullshit that has been disproven like a bazillion times and only happens in captivity situations." A little breath is let out, her nose crinkling, and she shakes it off. "Okay. Morbach werewolf, hunting cows, potentially a-" she pauses giving Ty *a look*, "Lone or orphaned wolf that may be attempting to find or make a new pack. Also I don't know what a Morbach wolf is. I'll have to read up."

Talia's approval earns a slight grin. "I can hyper focus and be serious, but when there's no reason to, I don't see why I shouldn't have fun. Everyone's always telling me I should enjoy childhood. Though I *am* a bit past that now." Finally.

"As for the Justice League Dark--" She looks to Nettie with a solemn nod. "The last trio that ran it retired all at once. Including my eldest sister. So now its Nettie, me, and another that run things."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would tap at her chin, "If it's hunting or stalking, that means there's some sort of pattern, even if it's feral. It's doing it for fun and bloodlust or for hunger and to mark territory." She would close her eyes. "So you can track it the traditional ways. Just set some baits and traps in the area. Scatter them about and see if it sets them off. Even something magical is still going to have a level of instinct. So if you cast a wide enough series of nets over a wide enough area, you'll get something. Even if it gest away, you have an idea of where it is." Always a baseline to work with. Hopefully.
    She would listen back to Tynan's comments and then Gabby's, nodding, "Never let that get in the way of your joy unless you have to." Words that are quite hypocritical for her to say, given her family history and her own abilities as world's best mom.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The flirting, whether it was intentional or not, is momentarily forgotten as Nettie gives a snort.

    "Ran off an' left the whole thing in shambles. And I thought 'e was the responsible one." Nettie mutters softly, and she givesd a huff of breath out.

    "Either way, Talia, welcome to the League Dark. We don't do the whole T-shirt and merchandising thing that the public league does, but we have a bit more leeway as far as our means to an end." she gives a small smile, and the short woman sits down on a stool behind the counter, and she points to Talia. "See, Ty, you should join up, we have people who appreciate your talents even more now."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty nods her head a little bit as she listens in to the ideas. She pulls out her small tablet, and taps a few notes in there, and pulls up a map of the area, where she starts marking a few areas off. She grabs her cup, and lightly sniffs the tea before sipping it. The woman takes a deep breath as she looks at Nettie a long moment. "Last time, we discussed that option, and then things fell through.", she says. The woman sighs a little bit, and looks over at Talia a little bit. "I'm not exactly the good girl type. Nor am I stealthy on the field.", she tells.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would sigh, "So long as there's no wet t-shirt contests expected, I'll survive." She would look over at Tynan, "And you've never done basic trapping? Observation of an area? Setting up obsevation posts or alerts for a ways?" That sort of thing made no sense to her. Who didn't start up in life by trying to hunt sabre tooth tigers when they were nine or ten and have to learn to trpa and skin them?

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "We can change that now, though. Miss Kinney, as the other present member of the Triumitive Trihards Tristar Triceratopsicles--" Nettie turns to Gabby "Do you object to being a little bit in charge of helping Tynan keep herself from exploding all over some backwoods hideout?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie makes a FACE.

    "No, nbo because Michael would be in on it. And then for some reason so would Ariah, and that's just not a thought I wish to think about.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney squints just a little bit in response. The tea she'd set down is plucked up to take a sip from, her face scrunching at the odd flavor. "Okay, but this time I'm throwing HER in the duck pond if she gets overheated," she points out simply. "For all of the 'berzerker rage' my family is supposed to have, I guess I can control it at least."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would watch the dynamic back and forth, her hands folded together. "Of course. A ritual I'm rather glad to not partake in." She would deadpan. "And good luck with your hunt and your pursuit of the thing. Remember always that you can go to limit it's mobility. Target the hamstrings. Caltrops deployed over a wide area are effective."

Tynan Ireton has posed:
    Ty shakes her head at Talia. "I was train more for urban trapping. Like finding the officer in charge, studying his or hers habits, dealing with the body, replacing, and either giving bad or false orders, or just destroying the central.", she tells. "I never did rural hunting.", she says. "Personally, I'm going with a 750 meter range finder, and setting up a double claymore post. After that, I have a spell that should...be able to sonar it...Maybe....I've never tried it against something like this."