15691/Jogging with a side of Goo

Jogging with a side of Goo
Date of Scene:	23 August 2023
Location:	Wayne Estate - Bristol Township
Synopsis:	Phoebe meets Essix on the grounds of Stately Wayne Manor. The two have both shallow and deep conversations about existence. Idu is NOT amused by the alien.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Essix

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    So, where *DOES* a five hundred pound psychic aggressive Gorilla Grodd sleep? THe question was occupying Phoebe's mind after last night's return and debriefing at the Mansion, as she showered, as she tried to sleep. And finally in the morning she'd given up on sleep, checked her messages, read over the news looking for news of gangers burned to crisps, weird happenstances in Gotham City, and checked over the PAW-Official social media feeds. She'd taken a picture of a moderately clear day and posted it online with "Beautiful Day in Gotham City! #Blessed #GothamWeather #SunsOutBunsOut

    She'd set her pink hair in a pair of braided buns, applied some athletic clothes, and with a whistle to Idu had exited the mansion to go for a a jog.

    So, where does a five hundred pound psychic gorilla sleep?

    She rounds the trail, Idu, who is a red and white sight hound with his tail curled up over his back, is bounding through the woods and back-and-forth on her trail, feeling her heart pumping, some Phonk playing in her earbuds as she runs in the relative safety of the grounds of Stately Wayne Manor

Essix has posed:
The process of learning about everything on a planet wasn't merely reading or looking at things, at least that's not how Essix's people did things. To understand a thing meant being that thing, not merely accepting that it was there. Yesterday the young alien had spent most of the afternoon as tall grass swaying in the wind, that is until a duck tries to nibble her, then she became a duck to swim around on the lake.

Today she had been a raccoon for the first part of the day and now she was a decent sized mud puddle right on the trail. Every time she chose a new thing to be, she learned one more thing about it she hadn't known before. She had in fact seen people using the trail for jogging or walking, but she had followed the instructions given to her by Dick not to go to the manor house itself... even if she really, really wanted to.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe had noticed that there were some raccoons who had gotten into the trash when she was closer to the house, and had taken some time to (magically) correct the mess only to find that .... there were only tracks. No real mess to be found. Life was weird like that.

    Extraordinarily polite raccoons. Not like the one she met in a bar that one time.

    So she continues her run, speeding up down a hill and skidding, leaping between rocks and pulling fancy parkour tricks over the roots.

Essix has posed:
Essix could hear the foot falls of someone approaching, she could feel them in the ground she was a part of. For a moment she considered becoming solid ground, but when she could actually see who it was, a mental smile spread through her. She had met Phoebe at the graduation party, but had no idea she was one of the people who jogged on the trail.

Instead of becoming solid, she actually spread out on the trail to ensure that the young woman would have to step in her, that there was no way around the puddle that she was. This was the little alien's first attempt at a practical joke, at humor.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    And Phoebe had high quality shoes on, they were waterproofed. A little puddle was nothing to be scared of. Idu, though, with his better nose, turns and carefully avoids the puddle on the trail, eyeballing it with a high degree of suspision!

    Phoebe on the other hand?

    Splork!

Essix has posed:
If Essix has a set of lungs as a puddle, the giggling would be audible instead of all inside her. As Phoebe stepped into the puddle, in that few seconds of show connecting with water and dirt, the little alien wrapped herself around the show and hung on.

Idu, already aware something is off, would be the only one likely to notice that the puddle disappeared entirely, but he would also note that the puddle never had a scent of any kind.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Was that... a giggle?

    Phoebe pulls an ear bud out, aware of the sudden additional weight on her foot. She swings her weight to the opposite leg and hops a couple of times as SOMETHING clings to her shoe.

    She tries flicking her foot a couple of times, and then with a pursed lip expression that tries to hide her amusement:

    "... Essix?" she asks, and she pokes the goop. "Is that you?"

Essix has posed:
Clinging tightly as Phoebe shakes her leg, Essix continues to mentally giggle before after only a moment longer a small mouth appears on the back of the shoe. Essix was becoming something of a master at finding a way to form a mouth to speak, without the need for a full set of lungs. Sure, the voice was high pitched as she squeaked out, "Gotcha!" but she clearly enjoyed the moment cause the giggle was now able to be heard as well.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a smile, taking off the shoe and hopping before she balances on one foot, she looks at the mouth on the back and gives a laugh.

    "Yep, you got me good!" she confirms.

Essix has posed:
It was instinct that caused the next events. With Phoebe attempting to balance on one foot, Essix flowed from the shoe to the ground to begin forming a human shape, while at the same time two thicker aqua colored tendrils move to offer the woman support in standing. The last thing Essix wanted was for Phoebe to fall down because of her.

"No falling," she says once her human mouth finishes forming. The entire process was about ten seconds, maybe twenty with the added tendrils. "So this was a successful joke?" She then asks.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe tenses hard on her feet as Essix provides support. She takes a deep breath, steadies herself and gives a soft whisper of "I'm good, I'm good."

    The young woman slips her sneaker back on.

    "No falling, we're good." she agrees, and gives a bright smile.

    "That was a successful prank! Good reaction, both parties are cool, an' it was pretty funny. And best of all? No one got hurt." she smiles, and offers a fist-bump.

Essix has posed:
The head cock Essix offers in response to the hand held up for a fist bumps, coupled with the inquisitive expression on the very much not entirely human face, is almost adorable. It takes her a moment to realize what the fist is for and then she raises her town to 'bump' against Phoebe's.

"Humans are very complex," she says with a broad smile and a far too cheerful tone. "Not merely in forming their faces, but in how they think, act, the things they do... I am trying to learn everything. I learned recently about other aliens, people called mutants and meta-humans. This planet is /filled/ with exciting diversities!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The young woman gives a small laugh, and plunks down in a patch of grass. She leans back against a tree and pulls out a water bottle.

    Idu comes down from a bit of a hill, and sniffs a little bit at Essix.

    "Humans are super complex, between all of our cultures and values, changing and developing as a species." Phoebe explains, and she points to herself.

    "I'm a Meta-Human. My ancestors are called Homo Magi." she explains.

Essix has posed:
Essix retracts the tendrils into herself as she walks to the patch of grass with Phoebe, and once the other woman has sat down she sits across from her. When Idu comes up, she cants her head a little, watching him as intently as he is watching her.

"It is my obligation to learn everything about this planet, and the inhabitants of this planet," she explains bluntly, clearly having no issues sharing about herself, and apparently no issues with asking questions, "Homo magi... mages, you are a mage? You clearly had the right to refuse to answer any questions, but it is my nature to question, so I hope I do not offend."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Well, as long as you're not about to report it to the Daily Planet or Gotham Gazette," Phoebe replies, and she motions to the dog. "This is Idu, he's my dog. He's very smart." she explains, and she takes a deep breath as she considers her words.

    "I'm a mage. I can use magic, and I'm very good at it." she explains, and she brings her left hand up, and with a quiet word, some rocks draw up, circling her palm and wrist in an Earthy orbit.

Essix has posed:
"Dick and I have discussed at length the importance of secrets and maintaining them," Essix says softly, but her tone is quite serious. "I... accidently violated his rights, in how I choose to meet him and introduce myself. I will never do that again, nor will I reveal the secrets of others that I may or may not learn."

Her eyes seem to still remain on Idu, even as she is talking about serious things, then slowly she offers her 'hand' for the dog to smell. It's likely she would have continued to watch the dog had Phoebe not moved to collect rocks. That motion brought the little alien's eyes to stare at her just in time to see the rocks circling.

"That is amazing!" she squeaks out excitedly, leaning closer to the 'show' but making sure not to touch. "You do that with just your will, or is there some kind of spell?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "If you weren't trustworthy, Essix, I know you wouldn't be there. Dick and I might not be the closest, but I trust him with my life. And I know he's trusted me with his." Phoebe replies, and she leans back on the tree, as the canine, weirded out that there's not really a smell on Essix, returns to Phoebe's side and sits pretty.

    "Sometimes it's will. Sometimes it's spells. I'm a bit of an oddity as far as mages go." she explains to Essix, and gives a small laugh.

    She brings her other hand up, and draws one of the more colorful rocks away, and it slowly orbits around Essix's head.

Essix has posed:
Human heads are not supposed to be able to turn completely around and yet Essix's does as she follows the rock a couple of times. "I still feel badly about how I met Dick," she explains, though she doesn't really sound like she feels bad that is likely because she is watching a rock and is excited. "I hope to make it up to him in any way that I can."

Finally her head stops following the rock and her eyes settle on Phoebe again. "I was reading all about spells from a Dungeons and Dragons book online, I doubt they work the same way, but clearly the concept is similar, or so it seems to me..." she pauses, watching Idu again then asks. "It is my lack of a scent that bothers him, right?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "How *did* you and Dick become acquaintences? If you can tell." Phoebe inquires curiously, watching Essix's head turn, and she gives a soft grin and a chuckle.

    "Well, some of the ides behind casting's good. Sometimes you have different components. Sometimes you just have abilities, like you'd see in the MOnstrous Manual." she explains, and then she looks down to Idu.

    "Yeah, he's pretty freaked out. He experiences the world through his nose, the same way humans do through their eyes."

Essix has posed:
For the moment Essix focuses back on Idu, her head tilts as she considers, and then after a moment she extends her hand toward him again. This time she has a scent, a mixture of earth and flowers, but one that she can easily repeat so the canine can 'know' her.

"I..." then begins, chewing at her upper lip before nodding, more to herself than Phoebe. "I caused a problem in Gotham. It was unintentional. I was trying to understand the hatred that seems to linger between gangs, and in doing my research I... I created a /huge/ problem."

Hanging her head, she looks at her fingers as she folds her hands in her lap. "I started a gang war without understanding how or why it was a thing that could happen.... anyway, that's how I met him. I cannot say more than that, it would reveal too much."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    And now it has a scent. But not a humany scent. Not a people scent. Idu gives a long yawn, his tongue curling, and then lays down, still looking at Essix with curiosity.

    "I see... that is a very big subject to open up and explore, Essix." Phoebe admits quietly after Essix speaks up. "And it sounds like you stumbled into it without knowing the first thing about human nature. I'm very glad that Dick found you, though. He's got a big heart."

Essix has posed:
With Idu seeming to be a little more comfortable, which really was all Essix wanted, the young alien turns all of her attention to Phoebe. "He told me that you know," she states quietly. "You are one of the few who knows the whole truth about..." and here she has a problem. She doesn't want to say it directly, in case there are ears in range that aren't supposed to know... but Dick had told her who was safe to talk to about it.

After a few more moment she hmms softly, then leans very close (again not touching) to whisper, "Nightwing." then she sits back. "He is teaching me how to be a hero, and to better understand why humans do what humans do, even though there are some things humans do that I cannot understand at all."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I do know about Nightwing. Matter of fact, I met Nightwing before I met Dick." Phoebe's smile is genuine at that, and she draws her shoulders back to stretch them out.

    "And it took me about six months to peice the two were probably the same." Phoebe explains, and she allows the stones to slowly fall down.

    "He met me under the name Balm." she states, "Red Robin and I were good friends, and I was looking for someone in the Undercity of Old Gotham. Individually we'd come across these..." Phoebe purses her lips a moment, and self-conciously she reaches out to scritch on Idu's ears. Her anxiety was drawing up. "Undead, semi-mystic assassin people, that worked for an organization called The Court of Owls." she explains the simple version. Her face shows flashes of memory crossing her mind. The beginning of a long journey of personal horror for her.

    "Dick was injured, pretty badly. He would have needed a lot of medical attention, maybe even months of recovery. Red Robin knew that I was around, though, and using my magic, I was able to heal Dick. Humans, after all, aren't supposed to have our digestive system on the *outside* of our bodies." she replies quietly.

    "But I made sure he was able to walk away."

Essix has posed:
Essix listens attentively to every word Phoebe says, in fact she looks much like she is hanging on the words of the homo magi so intently that she isn't breathing... technically, she isn't and doesn't need to but still, she should be continuing the image of breathing.

"You are also a hero," she breaths out softly with huge eyes staring. "One of those who stands up for justice, to protect the innocent and save... lives, you saved Dick!" And then she is hugging Phoebe for some reason, clinging to the woman before finally adding, "Thank you for being a hero, and thank you for trusting me. No one will learn it from me, I swear it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The mage tightens up as Essix hugs her, and her breathing in fact gives a stagger.

    "Essix -- Essix, please let go of me." she whispers softly, her heart beating faster, muscles twitching as she fights down her normal response of striking out or setting on fire -- she definitely doesn't want to hurt Essix in any way!

Essix has posed:
The second Phoebe says to let her go, Essix lets go and backs away. She felt the staggered breathing, heard the tone, got the warning signs and it was all confirms by the request.

Making sure she moves herself out of arms reach she blinks a few times up at Phoebe, "I am so sorry, I will never do that again. Please forgive me."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "It's... it's okay. You didn't know." Phoebe breathes out. "... and even people who *do* know *still* hug me and it gets *weird*." she mutters.

    Yes. One of those people are Steph.

    "I was.... a couple years back I was held captive. And the people who held me captive hurt me pretty badly. So I don't... like people touching me a lot. And I know you didn't mean anything by it, Ess. You're good. And logically my brain goes 'Essix doesn't want to hurt me'." she gives a small smile as she relaxes.

    "BUt sometimes, human brains don't do the logic thing, especially when we were hurt in the past. So, sometimes, when I'm not expecting people to hug me, my body tells me to be scared of it."

Essix has posed:
Once again Essix listens to every word intently, trying to understand how a hug could cause pain. Phoebe does a fantastic job of explaining it, the words all make sense even if there is nothing logical about the reaction. The lack of logic in the human mind when it came to emotions was something the little alien was having a great deal of trouble learning to understand, it was taking her quite a lot more time that she would have liked.

"Dick has warned me before about just... touching people," she explains softly, so much concern and regret in her tone. "I forget, it is so easy to forget that there are things that cause a reaction like yours. I cannot yet seem to understand it, and I forget what I should know because I get excited."

She falls silent a moment, considering the information Phoebe shared, and for once there is a mental click, a moment that the light bulb goes off. Phoebe was hurt by someone and being hugged triggers that hurt again... the logic was there and finally she got it.

"I would hurt anyone who hurts you," she then whispers but conviction in her tone. "I would hurt anyone who hurts you or Dick or Stephanie. One human should not hurt another, for any reason... I will protect you all if I can, that us my promise to you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe purses her lips a moment, and she takes a deep breath, and she looks up.

    "Sometimes we have to hurt people, in what we do. Sometimes it's out of defense -- Dick and I for existence, we sometimes have to punch people who mean /us/ or /others/ harm." Phoebe explains, "Sometimes we hurt people's feelings to protect them, like if I have to leave hanging out with a friend because I get called in to do something with Dick, or one of the Bat Family or the Outsiders -- like how you showed up to help us out in Estonia." Phoebe explains.

    "But yes, there's something called Consent. I don't typically give my consent to hug or touch me to people, because I was hurt by someone in the past. Sometimes Stephanie forgets it too. She's *also* a hugger." Phoebe points out, "and if Stephanie, who has --" she pauses dramatically "AS FAR AS I KNOW" she continues ordinarily "been human her *entire life* forgets some times, you might forget in your excitement. And I forgive you." she gives a little smile. "And we protect each other."

Essix has posed:
"Dick explained to me that sometimes people get hurt in the course of being a hero," Essix begins, nodding a few times. "Sometimes there is no other choice in protecting yourself and others against being hurt, but to hurt... but do not kill. I do not think I could kill even if that is what was requested of me. All life in this universe is precious, all life has a purpose, even the ants crawling up and down that tree have a purpose."

She pauses there to watch the ants a moment, moving in line and apparently moving with food to their nest. "I do not know how a family of bats or people outside apply, but Dick mentioned help was needed and I will always be ready to help."

Her big eyes shift back to Phoebe and a soft smile touches her lips. She can't form her eyes and ears correctly, but she got the chin and lips right. "Thank you for forgiving me. I will do my very best to remember that you are a no touch and instead say something like, 'Hugs from a distance' to indicate my desire to offer that form of comfort or affection. Is that acceptable?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That's acceptable." Phoebe agrees with a small nod. "I also bump fists instead. It takes a long time for my body to not be afraid of someone hugging me. And someday, maybe, it won't do it at all if someone new hugs me. We have to train our brains and bodies after someone hurts us so bad that even our *brains* are hurt." Phoebe explains to Essix, and she smiles.

    "It's true. The ants on the tree have a purpose. The bugs in the ground have a purpose. Idu has a purpose. His purpose is to be a companion and be so soft to pet." Phoebe explains.

    Not to mention hunt demons, but she's not going to deep dive THAT one today.

Essix has posed:
The dog being mentioned again causes Essix to look over at him, then in a matter of thirty seconds she melts and forms into a Rottweiler. Even as a dog she says, "Fist bumps are new to me, but I will remember they are acceptable."

Padding around she sits her furry butt down, even wags her tail. She hasn't mastered human faces, but this canine impersonation is perfect in every way. For Idu's sake she maintained the scent she created for herself. "I cannot be ants, or other tiny insects," is said next. "The smallest I can make myself it equal to a golf ball, though I can make myself long and skinny like straws... I like Idu," yep, her brain wandered again. "I have come to prefer animal forms over human, but I think that is because I am still so upset that I cannot make a human face correctly. It gives me away, every time."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Human faces are weird." Phoebe confirms. "I can't change my face. I can change my hair, with some effort." pause "Or a box of hair dye, but this pink color I think is pretty great." Phoebe gives a small smile.

    Idu seems RATHER PETURBED that the Puddle-turned-humanish has now turned into a ROTTWEILER. The much lighter sight hound hops to his feet, large ears drawing up in alarm as his curly-cue tail lowers down!

Essix has posed:
Essix has seen this, she studied canines enough to realize that he was feeling threatened so she lowers her head way down to the ground, allowing her body to follow, then rolls over on her back in the submissive, don't hurt me position.

"You have a very pretty human face," she says as if dogs are supposed to be talking while being submissive. "And that pink color is wonderful! I like pink, and purples, sometimes both together. I understand that humans associate pinks and purples as 'girly', but I am still trying to understand why some people believe girly is a good thing, and others think it is bad."

She pauses there, laying on her back, belly exposed and tail slightly wagging. If Idu wants to get more grumpy, she'll take it, after all this is his territory and Phoebe is his person. "The concept of gender confuses me a great deal," she continues more quietly. "Especially since there are apparently more than two on this planet, but I have only seen two with my eyes."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Well. Gender is the social expression of what biological sex we present. And is a super complicated topic." Phoebe replies, and she says sometehing to Idu, softly, in a different language, and Idu settles down, laying next to Phoebe but still keeping a VERY suspicious eye on Essix.

    "Biologically, humans are in *general* determined by chromosones, which is genetic information. Most are XX -- meaning they're female, or XY meaning they're male. But you can have XX where one of the chromosomes has been corrupted and is born a male, or XY where they are born a female, or are born a female and later they find out 'oh hey no, your physical biology is weird."

    ... Dick how many life lessons do you want Phoebe to teach the goopling?!

    "Some people think girls are weaker and less valuable than boys. They think 'girly' things will make you weaker. I like some girly things. I like to wear dresses. I also like the color pink, and my second favorite color is orange." she ponders a moment.

    "And to the people who think being a girl is a bad thing, or something that should be aspired to only by females think there being only two genders is weirdly important. But you can be whatever you really want to be, I think. If you feel like a girl most of the time, be a girl. Or if you feel like a boy, be a boy. If you feel like you're neither, that's OK too. I have a good friend who was born a girl, and then found out they were *actually* a boy because their mind said they were. And he's a pretty smart boy." Phoebe considers as she leans back "And that is a really big and heavy topic for an afternoon. I don't wanna give you so much information that you go 'splork' in your mind, Ess."

Essix has posed:
When Idu settles, Essix rolls back over but stays laying down. Her ears perk up as gender is explained, and the goopling begins to understand better part of what her natural ability has been telling her.

"I have read a great deal about the biology of humans, I also read some books on deoxyribonucleic," she explains. "Now I have a better comprehension of how all this information actually applies. Thank you, it is so much more clear."

There is only a brief pause before the topic shifts. "I am neither male nor female," she states matter-a-factly. "My species does not have genders, so I am neither, or perhaps I am both. The reason for the human form being female comes solely from the fact that the videos I was shown to learn this language, English, had a female instructor. I have learned a great deal about the gender wars, but only recently found articles on transgender people that were not arguments for or against the idea of it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I can drop some scientific journals on the biology and psychology behind transgender, inter-gender and intersex people later tonight if you want." Phoebe offers with an open hand. "I'm... I wanted to be a doctor when I was little. Being in Dick's family legally is making it much easier for me to accomplish that, because it takes a *lot* of schooling."

    She pauses, and looks out over the woods.

    "SO many years of schooling." she breathes out, and rubs the back of her head.

    "So, you don't feel that you are male or female in particular, but you still use female pronouns and present female because the instruction videos?"

    Phoebe purses her lips.

    "I can only imagine what would have happened if you landed in like, Egypt and was learning Arabic."

Essix has posed:
Her tail starts wagging rather excitedly when Phoebe mentions dropping of something for Essix to read and learn from. "I would love to read scientific journals on transgender, inter-gender and intersex persons. It is my task to learn everything, and so I will. Understanding humans, who are the top of the ladder on this planet, is priority."

Adjusting how she is laying, crossing her front legs, she sniffs at the ground a moment, then looks back to Phoebe. Truly, anyone looking from a distance would see a young woman sitting against a tree with two dogs near by.

"The being who stole my meteor pod from the museum was not particularly interested in teaching me," she explains. "Once I emerged from the pod, and showed signs of sentience, he put a laptop on the lab table and set it to running videos called 'English As A Second Language'. They ran in a loop over and over again for a couple of days, and I finally decides to use her body and face to mimic to tell him to shut it off."

She giggled a little at admitting this moment in her existence, then canted her head as she said, "I have what humans call a 'photographic or eidetic memory', so I learn things very quickly and cannot forget."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Just momentarily misremember like when it comes to not hugging everyone." Phoebe gives a little bit of a tease.

    "In that way I guess we're a little alike. English isn't my first language. My first language is a variant of what's called Coptic -- it's what my uncle spoke to me in. Then, unfortunately, he couldn't take care of me anymore, and I was adopted by a couple from Gotham City. So I sound like my adopted parents." she explains, and then her phone beeps, and she looks to check it.

    "All right, I've got to head back in and grab some lunch. Are you going to be okay out here, Ess?" she questions, eyebrows rising up.

Essix has posed:
Essix stands up on all four canine legs and nods her head, now determined to go and learn Coptic so she can speak to Phoebe in her native language. "I forget some things in excitement, but they are still in my memory," she giggles before taking a few more steps back, giving Phoebe and Idu more than enough room to get up and head back toward the trail.

"I wander the grounds a great deal, and I am always safe," she continues. "I was a duck yesterday, a puddle today, maybe I will be a sparrow or starling later. I stay with Dick and Stephanie, but out of their way... I will be fine. Please have a good evening Phoebe, and if you need assistance with something, let Dick know and I will come assist."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Thank you, Essix. Do your best to be safe -- beware of the hawks! ... And the Dragon-Bat!" she calls out in warning, and gives a whistle to Idu, and the two hop up and jog out.

    "She's a good goo." Phoebe recounts to herself as she jogs back to The Big No No House-- err... Stately Wayne Manor.