13934/The Wind Beneath The Wings

The Wind Beneath The Wings
Date of Scene:	22 January 2023
Location:	The Roof, Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Trust is not easily gained, and it is easily lost. Will Jinx be able to earn a place among the alles of the Titans, or does a betrayal loom in the future?
Cast of Characters:	Gar Logan, Terry O'Neil, Kian

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Gar Logan has posed:
Hours pass after Gar's departure from Titans Tower, following the encounter with Jinx. During that time, it's given others a chance to settle back into their routines, whatever is normal for them, but the question to ask is: How's Gar?

Had anything bad happened he'd have returned immediately, but with there being no alerts it let him know that things were peaceful enough. Eventually, a green figure approaches the Tower from the sky. A small bird, as it happens.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Indeed, it has been a few hours since the pizza party came to an end. Long past the bedtime of early birds. The stars shine above the bay, glittering with frosty light in the middle of winter, and Vorpal sits close to Kian, leaning into him. It may be cold, but the Akiar is always capable of generating heat when needed, and the cat is always eager to oblige. Looking over the bay, not noticing the small bird just yet, he asks Kian:

"Do you think he'll come back tonight?" His tone is quiet, subdued. "It's been a bit..."

Kian has posed:
    Because Earth has unacceptable weather in the winter, Kian is generating some excess infrared, and snuggling up close with Terry helps conserve the heat too.  "I should imagine.  I can see his view, they *did* attack us, and that's not something easy to just look past.  I don't know if I trust Jinx, but I trust Donna, so I'm willing to take a chance on the situation for the time being."
    He looks up at the stars.  So few, this close to the city.  He's used to a sky absolutely spattered with them.  "And of course, you weren't here when her group attacked the Tower.  I only barely noticed her, honestly, I had... other problems to deal with."  Like someone blaspheming his exceptional /ki'thar/ and using it to pull the birdman out of the air.  *That* remains pretty high on Kian's list of unforgivable things.
    He rests his head on Terry's shoulder, and curls a wing around him.  "So you and three of his friends were missing, and she and her group attack our home... I can understand why Gar may not be happy with this situation, I think."

Gar Logan has posed:
Just as the green bird makes his approach toward the Tower, a gust of wind carrying down the face of the building causes him to dip with a "Whoa!" that reaches the ears of the two trying to share warmth when they could be inside.

There's a mildly louder *thump* of impact, at which point a pair of green hands appear, clinging to the railing surrounding the rooftop. With a grunt of annoyance, Beast Boy begins to haul himself up and over.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's ears twitch and he locates the source of the sound pretty quickly. Leaping up, he trots over to the edge and reaches over to help Gar get over the railing. Not that Gar needs the help, but -

"Hey greenie..." he says, trying to sound casual. "Nice of you to drop in like that."

He glances at Kian, then back at Gar, stepping back to help him set foot on the ground.

Kian has posed:
    "I... have seen you execute better landings," Kian says, not smirking.  He knows what a downdraft can do, and has been on the wrong end of them before, and also flits over to help Gar up onto the roof.  The cocoon of warmth comes with him.
    "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"  He gives the green one a quick looking-over to rule out any obvious injuries.  "Branches are bad enough; walls are awful."
    Never mind how he knows that.

Gar Logan has posed:
"Don't want to talk about it," is Gar's response. He lets the two aid him the rest of the way over onto the safer side of the roof. Yeah, he would have been fine had he lost his grip, but that's neither here nor there.

The green one adds, if a little bluntly, "And I'm fine. Why are you guys up here in the middle of the night? It's cold, even if.." He gestures toward Kian, given the increased temperature he radiates.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I know you don't," Vorpal says calmly. "And I hear you. But I don't think it's really a good idea to just... hand-wave it away and bottle things up."

He takes a step back and tilts his head, glancing at Kian again, and then at Gar. "We were up here waiting for you. Just... you know. Something boyfriends do?" he gives a faint smile.

Kian has posed:
    "We were worried about you, /tenar'h/," Kian adds.  "And I wish you would talk.  If you keep it close to yourself, then some time either you're going to turn into an Akiar or I'm going to touch you and it's going to be like being punched in the brain."  He tries his own faint smile, slightly lopsided.
    "If you don't want to talk to Donna or to... anyone else down in the Tower, you don't have to.  And I suppose really you don't have to talk to me and Terry... but I think you should.  /We're/ more than just your teammates."

Gar Logan has posed:
There are a few seconds of silence out of Gar, who is dressed in the same casual clothing he wore when he left. "I meant the downdraft, you dorks." Rolling his eyes as they assume it's the /other/ matter, he moves closer to one of the heaters that are also set up on the roof for those who don't have the benefit of generating their own extra warmth.

"And I'm not happy that she's here and being disrespectful. I'm not happy that she doesn't seem to care about anything beyond saving her own butt. I'm not worried about whatever she thinks is coming after us. We've dealt with HIVE before, and we've dealt with them. They attacked us when we were in a bad place and we still kicked their asses."

Gar is irritated as he says all of this, to the point of scowling. "She's the one who has to prove she can be trusted."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well, yes, I agree." Vorpal approaches Gar and slides up to him from behind in order to wrap his arms around him and provide him warmth, provided he is not rebuffed. "But, and I can't even believe I'm going to be the voice of caution here, I suggest you don't dismiss her warnings outright, love. The last thing you ever want to do is underestimate a threat. That's something I've done. Don't be me." He smirks and leans in to press his cold nose against Gar's neck, because he can sometimes be a brat.

"As for the other... yeah. I mean, you know me. I'd like to think she's capable of turning a new leaf. Like Harls. But I get you- if Harls had attacked us before, it'd have been a much harder thing for me to trust her. And Jinx was part of the attack where you were injured..." he touches Gar's shoulder, where Doctor Light had beamed him.

"Now... if HIVE is capable of resurrecting and using Djinni... that's nothing to sneeze at. Djinni can be pretty formidable entities. Heck, the fact that HIVE could allegedly do that is probably going to start some very heated theological debates in some areas..."

He is silent for a moment. "What do you think, Kian?"

Kian has posed:
    "I think if I were told what a d-jinni is, I wouldn't like what I hear?"  Kian gives more than just a faint smile this time.
    He draws a heavy breath.  "I'm not used to having to decide whether or not I trust someone.  We just know, you know.  I have to *make* myself not automatically trust someone.  And I *have* made myself not automatically trust Jinx.  It's an effort, but I can do it."
    He glances down at the floor, as if trying to look through it.  "But I *do* trust Donna.  So I'm willing to give the /situation/ the benefit of the doubt."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan grunts, but accepts the closeness. "I've been you before. It's an experience," is his answer to that, after managing to mostly no-sell the cold nose to the neck. Been there, done that. "And it's about time you learned a little caution."

He turns back toward them, no matter the positions, to point out, "The difference is Harley proved herself. Mostly. She still scares me sometimes, but she's done things Jinx hasn't yet. We don't even know if Jinx is just trying to lure us into a trap. Kian, what she's talking about is kind of like the genie Robin Williams played in Aladdin, only a lot worse. But we've handled pretty much anything that's come our way. If this is really a thing, we'll figure something out."

Ahh, the bravado of youth, dimmed at times, almost snuffed out more than once, but still going.

"But nobody who's attacked us should be trusted up front. We talked about her before she was let in here. Donna's giving Jinx a chance, but that doesn't mean she trusts her. She has to show she can be trusted first. She has to give us something useful that's more than just 'We're all in danger.'"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I hear you. And maybe she needs someone to open up." Vorpal says, tilting his head, thinking. "The opportunity to open up, at least. I think I may be suitable for that... if she is, indeed, here to turn a new leaf, then I'll open the door."

He opens a Rabbit Hole and pulls out an apple from somewhere. Probably the kitchen. He offers it to Gar, knowing he must have been flying around for hours.

"Unless you think there's someone better suited. I am not going to ask you to offer the branch, because there's bad blood between you, and I in no way blame you for it. And Kian... well..." he grins at the bird man. "I think the prospect of a telepath might make her a little too paranoid."

Kian has posed:
    Kian looks blankly at Gar.  "And now you have to explain 'robinwilyams' and 'aladdin'."
    He shakes his head.  "Telepathy means not having to trust but instead just /knowing/ to me.  And it means not trusting telepaths to Earthers.  I still find that hard to figure out.  It doesn't make sense to me, but I accept it."
    He gazes up into the sky.  "Gar, really, I agree with everything you've said.  Even though it goes against my every instinct, I don't trust Jinx, and I want her to earn that.  But if Harley can do it, why not Jinx too?  And I really hope she does."
    He turns his face from the sky towards Gar.  "And I won't assume she has.  I won't treat her as though she has, until she does.  But I really really hope she *does*, and if I can help her turn herself around, I will."
    The birdman laughs shortly.  "And when are we *not* all in danger?"

Gar Logan has posed:
"I'll show you later," Gar assures Kian, regarding Aladdin and all that. He shrugs at the apple and bites into it, finishing that step before going on. "If you guys want to talk to her, I'm not stopping you."

Another bite, then a shake of the head. "If it was me, I have a feeling it's not gonna go very far right now. And like I said, Harley put the effort in. Until Jinx does, I'm gonna be skeptical." He's shown a propensity to quickly trust those who seem to mean well, but when it comes to those who have wronged him, those who have put the Titans in danger, that's a very different story at first.

"I hope she's serious about it. Until I know for sure, this is how it is. I can't just let what they did go like it never happened. It did, and they could have killed us. It's gonna take more than a half-assed 'sorry' for me."

Gesturing toward the way back into the Tower, he adds, "Now why don't we go get some rest?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Why don't you two go on ahead?" the cat says, walking over to the handrail and leaning against it. "I think I'll stay up here for a bit. Think a bit. That sort of thing."

He looks at Gar and Kian, "If I'm going to do this right, I need to think precisely on how I am going to act, and I think best alone. You two can be very distracting." He gives them a wink and a grin, "... not that I mind. Maybe if I am through soon enough, I'll come down in time to be distracted some more?"

Kian has posed:
    Kian finally reaches to give Gar a hug.  "That's fair.  She deserves a chance... but it's up to her to take it."  He takes a step back, hands still on Gar's shoulders.  "I hope she does.  Honestly, the only reason I do is because Donna is willing to give her a chance.  But I also am pretty sure she's not doing that blindly.  If she didn't think there was at least a plausible possibility, then I don't think Jinx would be here, yes?"
    He curls his wings around both Gar and Terry.  "Yes, I'm ready to go back inside.  Don't take too long up here, Terry, okay?"