15323/Commiseration and Tea

Commiseration and Tea
Date of Scene:	06 July 2023
Location:	The Crowe's Nest
Synopsis:	Billy comes for consolation and tea. Mary joins in looking for herbal tea. Nettie provides all.
Cast of Characters:	Nettie Crowe, Billy Batson, Mary Bromfield

---

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    New York City is home to such a wide, vibrant and colorful population of so many types, ranging from the truly heroic to the dastardly, and all flavours of people in between.

    It was also a drizzling summer day, reflecting a bit of a sombre mood that has hung over the Candle, Booke and Belle since Nettie returned from a mission. There is an oak box behind the counter for now. The place is clean, and still has some decor from 'Celebrating Captain America's Birthday' because Fourth of July wasn't really her thing.

    The witch herself was working on a book, taking notes from a big black tome, a pot of tea in front of her and steam rising from her violet teacup.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batsonlooked at his phone that morning a long while before closing it and putting it away. He looked at the portrait on his nightstand for a while before turning it face down. He went for a long walk. No patrol, no thoughts of his show. He was on the hyperloop into Manhattan before he realized it and in. front of Miss Nettie's bookstore.

Things happen for a reason, Solomon whispers. He turned his collar to the cold and damp and went in. Maybe they had coffee. On the threshold he rapped sharply to let people know he was there. It was being a good guest. Also so bad idea to surprise a powerful witch. He was pretty sure Nettie could take Endora on Bewitched.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    No one can take Endora on Bewitched.

    The door to the Candle Booke and Belle opens with the ringing of bells, and Nettie herself calls up: "Come in, come in, we're op--" and she looks up.

    Her expression softens a moment as she looks to Billy, and she breathes out.

    "Mr. Batson. Come in, come out of the cold -- would you like a cup of tea?" she asks.

    "Looks like something's on your mind, lad."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson ponders a moment, taking a sip of the tea given with a thanks. "My life. I've been abandoned... a lot. Before the Vasquez took me in, 15 foster homes, before that, my father, then mother. After I went to High School... there was Angelica, then Irie and just drifted apart, then... fire ditched me as a partner... now it looks like Indestructibelle. I mean... Victor and Rosa and my sibs are awesome, but a guy needs friends, you know... maybe girlfriends?" He shrugs.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Ah, affairs of the heart." Nettie states. Billy's teacup is bright blue and white today, stripes, with a matching saucer.

    "Would you like to rant, or would you like the advice of an old witch, Mr. Batson?" Nettie smiles, offering at least before she gets long winded.

    She also slides Billy a blueberry scone. Always easier to contend with issues of the heart when the stomach is full.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson shrugs again. "I'm not ranting. I never rant about this. I'm too used to it. Thank you. I'll get by this. I always do. I have family and friends. I'm the defender of magic and the champion of mankind. I won't fold for this. But I am always ready to listen to you. I appreciate having someone so knowledgeable who adopted us kids." He takes a bit of scone and chews it slowly.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I didn't ask if you were ranting. I asked if you *wanted* to rant on it. Sometimes it's good. Get it all out, stretch the jaws and release the tension." Nettie gives a smile, and she sits in her stool behind the counter as she thinks to herself.

    "I won't give you all the generic advice that's given to lads. Half of it's codswallow and the other half of it doesn't hold water." she states quietly. "Everyone's heart is different, and you have stress immeasurable in your future. As do any who champion the whole of our species, or planet. Or what have you." she reflects.

    "... but the pain of loss become softer over time. Wounds scar over. And you keep your head up, and keep your smile up, and continue walking into the next heartbreak." she reflects.

    "This doesn't mean, mind you, it doesn't -- what's the term that he used --" Nettie muses "'suck giant donkey balls' right in the moment."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson gets a nudge from his book bag. He opens it and Steve pops out to write on a napkin. <<Hello, Miss Nettie. Is Broom available for a visit?>>

Billy rests his head on the bar. "Flipping stylus gets more action than I do." He glances at the stylus and Steve inclines in his direction. "Go ahead... dirty flat leaver." He waves Steve off.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "In all honesty I feel bad at the moment. My besom's been around so long that of course, ambient magic must have affected it." she states, and looks at Steve the Pen.

    "She's downstairs in my study. Might be maudlin. Had a rough time against some skin walkers in Nebraska." she states to the pen like it is totally natural and not unusual at all to be talking to a pen.

    "I'll trade. Eighty year dry spell."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
The door chimes, and Mary Bromfield steps in, speaking of foster siblings. Though she doesn't have Marie-Ange with her, she looks like she's seeking something in particular. So she comes up towards the counter, waving a bit, "Hey, Nettie, I was wondering if you had herbal tea here... oh, Billy, didn't expect to see you here."

She looks a bit surprised to see Billy here, but gives him a smile, particularly when she notices that he's looking a bit down. "I know that look." Mainly because she's had it a fair amount, pre-Marie anyway...

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson stares at Nettie for a long moment then asks bluntly, "Why is that? You're beautiful, clever, and accomplished. You own a successful business. Why are you alone? Not looking? I'm sure you could find someone in a heartbeat. This is on you. I know my problem, I love too easily and not wisely. But I'm 18." He gives his sister a bump on the arm.

"I'm thinking I'm available again. Maybe and... instead of pursuing an answer I know... I'm getting on with things. I do not deserve to be ignored. I mean I know I'm not perfect. In fact some people have said I'm kind of childish as Shazam. But I think I'm getting over that."

"Anyway... I am getting on with things. I mean look at Mary... she got dumped all those times and had those guys who didn't dump her soon enough and things turned out great for her."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "DO I HAVE HERBAL TEA?" Nettie bellows, incredulously. She crosses her arm, and sets out another teacup for Mary. This is red and has a bunch of pink hearts on the inside of the cup. "I have all manner of herbal teas, Miss Bromfield. I would be happy to help you." she states, and she gives a smile over to Billy.

    "My wife was a force to be reckoned with. Six feet tall, Irish Amazon of a woman. Could out drink every officer, out-fight most of them. Met her while I was living in Japan running an illegal tea house. She'd stowed away on a Dutch ship, swam across shark-infested waters to dry land, and made her way to my house because I was one of the very, very few gaijin in the country." Nettie gives a sad sort of smile.

    "Adelaide Flynn. My Addie. Not that there weren't women or some men, maybe, before that I fancied, but she was someone I could really... look up to." Nettie gives a bright smile. Since she's very, very short. Her wife would have been nearly thirty centimeters taller than herself.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins at Nettie, "I knew I came to the right place. And she sounds amazing. And yeah, I got lucky with Marie... before that I was making all sorts of bad mistakes. I mean, Bart wasn't bad except for the overprotectiveness, which was just... smothering. Shoot, it's not like I can't take care of myself, right Billy?" She grins over at her little brother, then sips her tea.

"Sometimes you just don't know what you have until you trip over it. Honestly, I pretty much had given up on looking when Marie stumbled into my life. Despite you and Freddy trying to set me up with other boys." Her eyes dance a bit in remembered amusement.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "Yeah... Freddy might have had an ulterior motive there. Heh."

The reporter, the interviewer side of Billy is in full swing now. Not that he'd just be a jerk about things. "I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Nettie. She must have been a force of nature. So... are you honoring her memory by being alone or is it just not finding anyone to measure up?" Forgotten, Steve hops off the bar and scribbles down to the basement. To be fair, he does not leave a line behind him. He's a housebroken stylus. He also left a << Hi, Mary!>> on a napkin.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "I think it has more to do with the fact that I was fully willing to sacrifice the city of Boston, Lincolnshire to attempt to bring her back. But she went out in the way she would have wanted." Nettie states, sipping tea.

    "Eliminating Enemies and yelling at God to give her a bigger battle to fight."

    And the old witch looks between the two of them, and then breathes out. "I should hope neither of you ever have to fight the battles we have." she murmurs quietly, and pours more tea.

    "Necromancy, also, is no joke. Not even once."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary nods, growing a bit serious at the mention of necromancy, "Yeah, that's for sure." She might not have seen it done herself, but her matrons have, and the attitude they give her is all the answer she needs about that.

"She sounds like a pretty amazing woman though. Would have liked to meet her." She smiles a bit wistfully, then glances over at Billy, "Sometimes you just need time."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "So you seem to be saying you don't know what you'd do if you found and then lost someone... under the stress? I get that. You have a whole different sort of power. I had a different problem with Su... Indestructibelle. She just didn't want me helping her. She had to do things herself. I found I was holding way back for fear of offending her. then these daxamites escaped from a prison ship at the spaceport and snuck up on us. Belle, was magnificent. But totally over matched... I wanted to finish my opponent off and help her. He fired his heat vision at me and I hit him in the eyes with lightning."

He turns to his sister and says, "Do you ever feel it, that godly wrath? Like when you fired lightning from Jupiter? Like you are not a part of this world but above it? It's a rush. It's terrifying. It terrified 'Belle. I just didn't want her hurt."

"Aaand I was willing to move the world to save her... which is not without side effects."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Oh no. I know what I would do. I would attempt to sacrifice a city full of forty thousand people to bring her back, that was the point of sharing 'necromancy is bad'." Nettie states, she doesn't sound offended at all, and she gives a small smile. "And aye. I would have moved the earth for Addie, but I had to let her go on her terms. Death doesn't like to do her job twice, ken?" she trails off a moment, and sips her tea.

    "I won't even pretend to know what the Wizard Shazam gifted your family, remarkable as you all are. All I see in your futures are danger and stress." she shakes her head "Doesn't make for easy romances for anyone."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary nods, "That's the truth. Marie is, thankfully, pretty well aware of things and more than capable of defending herself. It's definitely hard, though, when your partner doesn't quite have your range of powers. Can be hard to avoid being overprotective." She hrms, and looks over at Billy, "Can definitely understand her thoughts about it, but really, you just have to communicate and be honest with each other."

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    "Which means both parties give-and-take." Nettie interrupts. "Impossible to have a long standing relationship without it."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson finishes his tea. "I'm not saying this is over yet. I guess I should figure this out or find out. But, I think it is. She makes too much of a point of needing nothing from me. That's ballocks. Hmmmm, maybe I'll go to Iceland. Haven't been there since... I took her in fact. Well thank you both for the advice and the tea. Mary, would you bring Steve home for me? I don't want to bother him if Broom needs some consoling." He starts to get up.

Nettie Crowe has posed:
    Nettie gives a small smile.

    "Then it sounds like you learned an important lesson from her, duckie." Nettie states with a small nod of her head. "Well learned."

    She then straightens. "Speaking of long term relationships -- /where are you Corvax/?" she asks, tilting her head back and then "... right. Skin walker got him. Eh. Two weeks and he'll be back."