16393/Visitations

Visitations
Date of Scene:	22 November 2023
Location:	Sheldon Park - Bleake Island
Synopsis:	Phoebe and Austin share some candid moments while Phoebe checks in on Caroline Beacon. Phoebe admits that she stole her mother's memories of her childhood and existence, to cause Caroline Beacon less stress.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Austin Reese

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's strayed from her usual route. It's something that happens around the major holidays and events in her life. She'll stray from her usual variation of patrol, and loiter in a row of new construction carriage houses for a half hour or so, and then move on to either rejoin Red Robin in a patrol or finish up something solo.

    Tonight was cold. The normal Gotham rain was threatening to turn into sleet, needles and pins on bare skin and making rooftops and high-tensile swings dangerous for those who would guard the city against all ill... no matter the cost to themselves.

    Her hood was dripping, casting her face in shadow with the blue lenses of her domino glowing dully as she went over stats and warnings, an update on her domino was coming due -- she'd have to have it refitted. It was coming due for another refit of the Oriole armor to see what might have been mismeasured. And like usual, it's the left elbow that's the most worn out.

    Turns out that's just the one The Oriole tends to hit people with.

Austin Reese has posed:
This time of year isn't exactly Austin's favorite time either. It wasn't snowing yet. Snow was better than freezing rain, or the sleet that might fill the street before the night is over. Osprey had been on his own patrol route, one that had tracked relatively parallel to Oriole's own. Though as she would occasionally drift off of the pre-figured path, he would usually just check up with her via comms.

It'd been a quiet enough night so far, most of the larger criminal element probably staying inside to keep warm. Osprey was half expecting Mr. Freeze to show up at this rate. It's definitely his type of night. On the rooftop behind Oriole, there's a thud as Osprey's boots make contact with the wet rooftop, "Figured I'd come by and see what you were up to this time in person." He says, as he wanders her way. He's bundled up to the point where his hooded jacket has been closed up around his armored torso. Still looks cold though.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It IS cold. Oriole's wearing thermals under her armor, but it's not winterized yet. Part of the reason it needs to go in for a clean-up and reset is for the cold. She raises a gloved hand in greeting to Osprey, and then she opens her mouth, and then lets it go.

    "Ah. Well. My highschool friends are back in town, we kinda split up all over the world. Nacho went to his uncle's elephant sanctuary in Sri Lanka and will be starting in a veteranary program next year. Nick's at Metropolis, and my buddy JayJay goes to MIT. Let's just say all our parents had high expectations for us."

    She draws one leg up and tucks it under her chin.

    "You doin' Thanksgiving at the manor?"

Austin Reese has posed:
Old friend trouble. He was unfortunately familiar with it, as the people he had run with prior to meeting Phoebe generally were on the opposite side of the law from where Osprey finds himself these days. He steps up to the edge of the roof and then sits down next to her as he listens to her explain where her old crew all wound up, "And here you are sitting above an alley on a freezing night, waiting for some dipshit to try to rob a bank or something." He replies. He does have a bit of a grin on his face, "C'mon, you gotta admit that what we do is cool. Even if it asks a lot."

"As far as Thanksgiving goes, probably. Figured I might swing by New York and watch the parade in the morning though. Never really got a chance to see it live." His parents said they'd take him one year, but they never got the chance. He doesn't bring that part up though, "What about you? You didn't pull holiday patrol duty did you? We did work Halloween after all."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ah... no, they're... checking in on my mom for me actually. I'm just looking over so that no one tries to jump them. This is one of the safer neighborhoods." Phoebe explains quietly.

    "I've never been to the parade. Things kinda went to shit in New York before I could."

    "I might try to see if Robbie and his brother wanna come up. Or barring that, spend it with them after serving at one of the shelters with Tim in the morning for the lunch rush." Phoebe admits quietly.

    "That's my mom's house, right there. The head of Myrmidon Security bought it for her. Well, started it. I finished it."

Austin Reese has posed:
"I mean heck if Robbie and his brother want to come I'm sure Alfred would cook up some extra food." Osprey replies, "Just let me know what you end up deciding. I may end up changing my own plans, you know?"

A bit of a frown crosses over Osprey's face as he listens to the explanation about everything going on. Why she's here in the cold rain. Looking over friends. And probably thinking about bad memories, "You've never told me what happened." He says, "And I've never wanted to pry. I figured you'd tell me when you were ready." To be fair, he hasn't exactly been super forthcoming about his own time before the pair met on that rooftop a few years back.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe makes a face. The face she makes when she's presented with far, far too many options on how to handle something, like walking into a vegetarian-friendly candy shop and finding an entire wall of non-gelatin gummies.

    So many combinations with apples. So little opportunity for carrot-lemon sharks.

    "THe issue isn't... isn't extra food. The issue is Robbie would feel weird about being in the manor, I think. BUt it's going to have to happen sooner or later." she states, delaying talking about what actually's going on in her head.

    "... she doesn't have any memory of me. She doesn't remember the bitter fights we had about how I was going to wear my hair, or about being too 'ghetto'. Or about how the nuns in Sunday school threatened me with a ruler in hand." She purses her lips a moment.

    "... how much do you remember about me from a couple years back, Osprey? Before I kinda lifted up and moved to New York for six months? Before the Angels?"

Austin Reese has posed:
He's quiet for a little bit, as he considers, "Well, to be honest I remember a few run-ins with magical stuff. Definitely a lot more than we've encountered lately." He replies, "To be honest, we kinda didn't run in the same circles until we both ran into Batman fighting Tombstone that one night." He muses, thinking about her mentioning fights with her mom.

"I'm sure you've got a good reason for it, but I've got to ask. If she treated you so bad, why are you sitting in the freezing rain outside of her house?" He never got to have those teenage fights with his parents, so it would make sense that it wouldn't make sense, so to speak. He's never had a problem with cutting off somebody, or showing them first hand they can't treat him bad.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... I used to be a head of the Justice League Dark. In an emergency setting." Osprey recounts quietly. "I was excomunicated because I was convinced I could stop everyone from missing me by using a spell, and taking their memories. Everyone. Batman. Red Robin. Zatanna. You, Robbie, everyone who ever met me would forget me the minute I ceased to be."

    She gives a nod.

    "Caroline Beacon never wanted a kid. But she loved Chuck Beacon, who met this little toddler abandoned in a liquor store and fell in love with her. So... I made her forget me. Nick and Nacho think it's just traumatic amnesia." she states quietly in admission.

    "But I watch over her and take care of her... because I think, before I traded the hope of being someone she would respect, that she did love me, once."

Austin Reese has posed:
There's a quiet moment as she talks, and Osprey just listens. Then without warning his arm comes up around her and he pulls her into a tight hug against him. It's a very brotherly hug, for sure. But he holds her until she makes it clear that she doesn't want to be hugged anymore. He doesn't even say anything, at least at first, though after a little bit he does finally speak up, "I'd be really pissed if I forgot you. I just hope you know that."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is very quiet as she's taken into a hug from Austin. In the rain, which threatens to turn to sleet and make their travels homeward bound more dangerous.

    There's a hitch of a breath. She might have started tearing up behind the domino she was wearing that helps disguise her features.

    And she leans against Austin, unable to hug him back.

    "That seems to be the prevailing feeling about the idea. Even Red Robin was pissed off at the notion."

Austin Reese has posed:
After a bit longer, he eventually releases the hug, and stands up, taking a second to stretch, "If you managed to piss Red Robin off you know it's a bad idea." He says, though there's a hint of mirth in his voice, "C'mon, we'll go grab some Sundollar and sit somewhere warm and I'll tell you about the time I broke into a police station when I was fifteen." The night's not over, that rain will eventually turn to sleet, but the city will at least be able to sleep a little more soundly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Fantastic, I'll trade my now-expunged criminal tresspassing charge at fourteen." Phoebe replies, accepting a hand up, and she rolls her neck a moment before she gives one last look to a trio of college age boys arguing over who gets to stop by for Thanksgiving tofurky (Caroline Beacon was, after all, a vegetarian), and then turns to follow Austin into the night.