15094/The Serious Discussion

The Serious Discussion
Date of Scene:	06 June 2023
Location:	Candle, Booke and Belle
Synopsis:	After inviting Namor, King of Abslantis for tea, Gabby has to answer to the Witch of the Candle, Booke and Belle for misdeeds. Nettie holds Gabby accountable like an adult.
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Gabby Kinney

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Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Namor has left the building.

    The weather outside had cooled and turned almost clammy. There was sting of salt and the promise of rain, and the tang of ozone from a summer thunderstorm beginning to set in. The rain begins to patter against the porthole-like window of the shop's door, and against the picture window that Nettie sometimes had set up for different holidays -- it was, after all, still a shop, even if she operated it as a front and hobby.

    However, the energy in the Candle was now a little tense, even before Corvax announced his return with a harsh caw, coming up to land among the shadows and cobwebs of the rafters.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney had already felt that little tense knot building in her stomach from the moment Corvax had such an unexpected reaction to Namor's presence. She busies herself with tidying the mess of the tea she'd served only to remake some that she knew Nettie liked in an effort to offer up some sort of peace offering. It wasn't much of one, given this was Nettie's own tea, but she couldn't leave things as they were currently. Nor could she get some good alcohol to offer up even if she were to Instacart it. She was still too young for that.

When Corvax announces his return she sweeps her gaze up to the rafters with a quiet sigh. "You okay, Corvax? I didn't think he was magical. ... I probably should have realized he was magical," she mutters quieter with a downward gaze. If he were someone she met recently she likely would have, but he was someone she had dealt with years ago before she really became entrenched in this whole 'magic' business. It didn't occur to her.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    The electric lights flicker and dim as the crow looks down at Gabby, speechless for the moment, wings hunching up like in some old horror cartoon before Nettie's smell announces her presence. She smells like tea, like herbs, and graveyard. Like dust and the tingle of your nose just after a sneeze.

    She's sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace, wearing gray leggings and an open cardigan, showing a plain black teeshirt. She was looking over the lenses of her half-moon glasses at Gabby, the too-blue-to-be-true eyes settling on her fellow leader of the Justice League Dark.

    "Miss Kinney."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Even she could be startled now and again. Nettie really could do a decent appear-out-of-nowhere when she wanted to. Gabby stiffens with a quickly drawn breath that she holds for a count of three before allowing herself to exhale slowly. "Nettie," she greets in turn albeit a bit awkwardly.

"I should have warned you about that. I'm sorry." Her fingers twist together fidgeting, wishing she had something she could wring her hands around. Like a very poor and unsuspecting stress ball.

"I imagine you have a lot of questions... so uh... Want do you want to know?" She risks a glance back up to Nettie before offering, "Want some tea?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    It takes years to develop an entrance.

    The Greywitch studies Gabby for a moment, and she takes a deep breath.

    "Let's start at the beginning, shall we?" she asks, and motions both Gabby and the tea over.

    "How is it that you came to know such an individual? You seem to have a knack for finding the most curious friendships."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney takes another breath, at least glad that Nettie is willing to talk. Of course she screwed up, but she hadn't meant to. Hopefully it could get sorted out. The tea she'd brewed is taken over on a tray to place beside the witch, and she even goes so far as to pour her out a cup trying to help butter her up juuust a bit. Maybe. Once done she withdraws to the other seat to sink down in it, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged without thinking about it.

"I'd say it's a long story, but it really isn't. The school I attended is a closely guarded secret where mutants like myself are safe. Those 'in the know' know, and those that don't... Well it's for a reason." Her hands spread lightly. "When I first started there I became friends with one of the alumni of the school. She reminded me of some of my sisters in that she had a LOT of responsibility and no real outlet to actually show her real emotions. I fell into the habit of trying to cheer her up, and it worked."

"That was Lorna Dane, Magento's daughter and the at the time ruler of Genosha."

"I went with her a lot of places. Genosha, to help in fights, all sorts of things. At least until she found out how old I really was. She'd thought I was of age. When she learned I wasn't, she cut off our association to 'keep me safe' instead of being an adult dragging a kid around to dangerous places."

"Before that happened though, I went a lot of places with her. And that's how I met him. They had a relationship at the time. Heck he was there when I learned how to drive because she was the one teaching me."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie listens intently, studying Gabby, keeping her face neutral as she takes up the teacup and saucer, and sips the tea. She gives a soft 'mm' sound.

    "And remained friends after Lorna stopped you from attending to her?" she questions, making a little bit of a leap that Gabby was some sort of Knight of the Garter for the ruler of Genosha.

    She sets the saucer down, and steeples her fingers a little as she watches Gabby, motioning for the younger woman to continue.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney has to consider that a moment before inclining her head in a nod of agreement. "It's been years since I saw him last," she admits. "The last time we interacted some old threat from his world had broken free after an underwater earthquake and was terrorizing a coastal town. He sent out a request for help among those he knew since it would take his people time to get there, and I joined in. That was the last I saw him until recently."

Her head tilts to the side, gaze sweeping over to the array of 'ingredients' Nettie kept that were at once useless to the mundane, yet useful in spells. "Remember those mermaid purses you asked me to find if I could? I was on the beach looking for a few hours and as the sun set he came to the surface by chance. Helped me get as many as I did, so I invited him to tea to thank him for his help."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I see." Nettie replies thoughtfully, and then she looks down to the rug a moment, then takes off her glasses, and sets them to the side. It may be easy to forget, looking at her, that she's old by Human standards; she looks like a college student, but the weight that her thoughts seem to move with was aged, and she steeples her fingers.

    "As you are a fellow leader of our cadre of 'we do what we want, League Proper' types, I trust your decisions, Gabby. I may be the brain and the experience, and Detective Pezzini the arm, but you are most assuredly the /heart/. It takes a certain..." she squints her eyes a moment, and rolls her hand in the air "figurative testicular fortitude to take up the reigns of an organization haphazardly formed, hunt down former members and rebuild it."

    She drops her hands between her knees, looking all the world like a disappointed teacher.

    "You invited the King of Atlantis to my tea shop, out of the blue, and did not tell me. This is not just a shop, or a front for the League Dark, duckie. This is my *home*."

    Nettie straightens up.

    "I would have made crumpets, or at *least* cucumber sandwiches."

    "Neeeetttiiiiiiiiiiie." Corvax groans.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Oooh. Right. I'm still new to the 'tea' thing too." Silly her forgetting such a thing as snacks! She does still have the sense to look guilty though perhaps now with far less tension than before. She'd flubbed but not in a 'you destroyed all my wards!' way as she was fearing. She hoped.

"We can try again later for a take two? Done properly? Though I can't gaurantee I'll manage to get him to put on a shirt again." Here her eyes roll upward with a put upon sigh. "Abslantis just *loves* showing off his superior physique. I can't really say I disagree but is a shirt so much to ask?"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Don't mistake the jovility for a lack of crossness. I /am/ very cross about not being informed; Namor is not a figure to be triffled with. He is very powerful, and from what I gather, very /old/. You are responsible for the safety of all those who put themselves in our care as leaders. I do not need to remind you further of the lines you have crossed --" Nettie states, and she motions to the tea "but you owned up to your mistake, you know not to do it again. I refuse to treat you like a child; you are a leader. I expect you to act like one. But --" her face softens.

    "You are also a person, you are learning about a world that you were not born to, and you deserve the grace and room to make some mistakes."

    Nettie then also gives a flat face.

    "I will admit he is a spetacular example of a man... if you're into that sort of thing."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney draws a long, deep breath. There's no denying that to say the least. "You're right. I took my own familiarity with him for granted, and... I guess I've come to think of this place as home, too, a bit." Her smile softens a bit as she nods in agreement again. Really, she had screwed up, and in retrospect it was impossible to deny.

"Oh, yeah, he totally is. Problem is he knows it too and has absolutely no chill about it. Must be all the swimming."

"But, regardless. He's stated he's my friend too so I don't think we have to fear about him going ape on the league. I'll just have to remember to be more formal with things from now on." Again she glances around the shop before questioning, "Soooo do the wards need fixed or anything? I wasn't expecting such an entrance from him."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "No, but if he slams my door again I'll make him go out and come back in until he does it right." Nettie mutters, picking up her tea again as the crow flaps down, and lands on the arm of Gabby's chair.

    "Also, apologies for /my/ reaction, Miss Kinney. I s'pose since Nettie left me to mind the 'pups' I took the job serious-like." he states, and then he hops off the arm, and flaps to the back of Nettie's chair.

    "Imagine coming into a witch's home and slamming the door! How /rude/." she gives a small smile.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"I meeeean. I could see if maybe he just didn't realize the strength it took to open a door without water pressure..." Gabby plays the devils advocate on the topic, but only for a half second. "But he's old enough he should know."

"Honestly not sure how old he is, but I know he used to know Captain America same as my dad. So easily as old as they are at least."

Her expression turns into a wry grin at Corvax's apology only to shake her head. "Nah, you're fine. I was honestly worried I might have caused some bad memories for you or something. I mean you were a sailor and he's King of Atlantis." Uncrossing her legs she hops to her feet to give a little stretch.

"I mean, to be fair I don't know how you died, but if it was water related I thought that might not be good."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I was captured by pirate-hunters, returned to the coast of Spain and put to death by King Ferdinand of Argon himself, ordered to be executed by beheading!" The crow crows.

    "He shit himself to death after catching the clap from a prostitute in Swansea." The Crowe corrects. "King Ferdinand was two hundred years before your death, you sky-rat."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"PFFFFFFFFFFFT--!" Gabby claps her hands over her mouth to physically block the air escaping her mouth because if she doesn't she's going to outright laugh at that. It didn't seem fair to laugh at someone's death even if it was terrible.

It takes a few moments to school her expression to more neutral, a few quick huffs of breath that she practically swallows so she can croak out, "What a shitty way to die." That's about when she loses it giggling helplessly. "I'm sorry I'm sorry that's awful but...!"

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "No. No it was a shit way to perish." Corvax admits, and gives a huff of air. "But try explaining 'I died shitting in a ditch' to a wide-eyed eight-year-old lass when she asks how you perished. You tend to make things up."

    "Originally he was hung by the neck until dead in the Carolinas." Nettie gives a smile, "and then my brother cracked a dick joke."

    Kids.

    "So. Now that's all settled, I'll leave you to close up the shop as your final pennance while I make myself some supper, and then you're welcome to join me for some gelato." Nettie gives a bright smile to Gabby.