16634/Carries and Talias

Carries and Talias
Date of Scene:	19 December 2023
Location:	Library - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Carrie, Talia, and Phoebe talk.
Cast of Characters:	Talia al Ghul, Carrie Kelley, Phoebe Beacon

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Talia al Ghul has posed:
It's somewhat late in the evening in the library. Talia Al Ghul has her legs reclined over in a lotus position. Around her are a series of incense candles. Her eyes are closed and she seems to be completely still, not even seeming to breathe. Not a hair out of place, not a single bit of motion. Still, as if she were a semblance of marble.

The candles are on top of pieces of plastic - even she isn't goin gto dare to make a mess on the floor for Alfred.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie is dressed casually in a pair of black shorts and a Gotham Wildcats T-shirt. She is walking through the manor as she watches a tech vlog on her tablet, listening to it through wireless ear buds. A frown crosses her face.

"That's so dumb, you can just spoof an IP address to get around that," she scolds the tablet as though the vlogger can somehow hear her.

Suddenly Carrie realizes that her wanderings have taken her to the library. Furthermore, Talia is apparently meditating here. "Sorry," she whispers as she starts to pad backwards out of the room.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    And situational awareness is a distraction doubled. Or something. Phoebe had earbuds in as well and was listening to a news report when she looks up and catches the back-end of redhead backing up, and she has to skid to a stop, bringing one hand up to place it lightly on Carrie's back as she herself stumbles a little, wearing a THUG LIFE T-shirt with a vintage My Little Pony on it and a pair of. pajama pants with goats doing yoga on them. All the goats are Baphomet. Very on brand for Phoebe's humor.

    "What address are we getting around?" she questions in a quiet tone, taking out an earbud.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
As the two enter, Talia Al Ghul opens her eyes, "You're not interrupting, I was nearly done." She would keep her legs in the lotus position, shift her arms up to advance her wrists onto her knees, then would prop herself up on her wrists in a light hop to twist her legs, spin them underneath her, and roll upwards on the balls of her feet before going to quickly snuff out the candles and nodding her head to Phoebe and to Carrie.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
When she feels a hand on her back, realizing she has broken all the rules of being a Bat Person and not being taken by surprise, Carrie's cheeks flush almost as red as her hair. She looks over her shoulder and sees Phoebe there. Because she has the ear buds in, she's not very aware of the volume of her own voice. "OH HI, PHOEBE!" she says 'quietly.' Then she takes the ear buds out.

"So, um, a traffic jam in the library, huh?" The ginger-haired girl looks around with some social awkwardness. "Talia," she murmurs, never really knowing what to say when talking to one of the most dangerous assassins in the world.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    One of the most dangerous women in the world. Also mom to Phoebe's 'little brother'.

    "Hey Talia." she greets the Assassin first, and gives a small smile to Carrie. Her own pink hair is pulled back in a pair of buns. "Easy there, Carrie. You're good." she comments gently, and rolls her left shoulder. She has a bandage wrap around her left wrist.

    "Seems to be heavy traffic in the library. What's got everyone in the Book-y mood?" she questions with her eyebrows rising up.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would dip her head to each of them, "I hope that all is reasonable with you two." She would smoothly rise to her feet, moving to carefully pick up the candles to wrap them in wax paper after having made sure that the wicks had been fully dried. The candles then preserved and packed away to reuse later.

"I find here peaceful to meditate within. And it tends not to get as much traffic as the training areas or the roof does." Aka the prime sulking grounds.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie points vaguely upward with one finger when Talia mentions the roof. "Oh, you mean Broody McBroodsville Central Station." A little smile quirks across her unadorned lips. "I heard that the gargoyles started to relocate because the roof became too dark for them."

Anyone? Anyone? Is this thing on? Carrie can never tell if her bad jokes are going to land.

Folding one leg under her, Carrie sits on a padded chair and flicks her finger across her tablet screen to dismiss the vlog.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "No I get it Talia. Same thing with me, Library, Rainstorm, crackling fire and one of the dogs? Perfect for a little mental relaxation and to clear the mind. Though Alfred scolded me for my candle use." Phoebe gives a wry grin, and she gives a soft snort.

    "Did you know they have Cargoyles over the old AutoWOrkers Union building?" she asks of Carrie as she finds a place to land in the Library, opting for on the floor, in front of the couch as she leans her head back.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance at Carrie, "Well, if they are probably best to avoid the area. Risen gargoyles can be particularly nasty. Quite vicious and dangerous. If they're moving in numbers then it means that something bad is going to happen in the area." SHe would say that in complete seriousness.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Narrowing her eyes, Carrie's gaze shifts back and forth between Talia and Phoebe like eyeball ping pong. Are they serious about the gargoyles? She discreetly Googles 'gargoyles' on her tablet, all the while trying to appear like she is not actually Googling 'gargoyles' on her tablet.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Hey, leave George out of this. He did nothing to deserve what happened to him." PHoebe states to Talia.

    And on Carrie's tablet, she may in fact come up on gargoyle like beings being spotted, but mostly blurry pictures. Two are actually Batman.

    She purses her lips a moment, and phoebe looks to Carrie.

    "In my experience, yes. There are some magically animated grotesques that wander around. There's like two in London. Gargoyle however's a misnomer for 'em, since gargoyles are the ones that guide water away from buildings. Hence the 'gargling'." she explains helpfully. Random knowledge.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would glance over at Phoebe, "Don't confuse the poor girl. There's enough contradictions out there for her. Keep it simple to what sorts of things she could actually encounter." She would tease. "Not everyone has the Man of the House's ability to learn and retain unfathomable amounts of knowledge on an incredibly short timespan after all."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Clearing her throat and quickly finger-flicking the gargoyle search off her tablet screen, Carrie ohs to Phoebe. "Back on my Earth the, uh, gargoyles are unionized," she quips.

If she has a reaction to Talia's reductive assessment of her intelligence, she shows zero sign. 'When you react to the words of others,' Bruce told her once, 'you give away your power.'

"So, any Gotham news to share, anyone?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... that is absolutely fascinating -- how did they determine it? What's their group structure like?" Phoebe asks in earnest, because this is something that's interesting to her, and then she takes a deep breath and rubs the back of her head.

    "There's a missing pet that might be making its way through the Gotham underground. Expanded activity of the contract killer Victor Creed?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would deadpa, "Here, Henchmen are. The reason why so many keep working for Joker is that he has to pay them triple wages. That keeps him popular despite all the misgivings wearing facepaint and rubber noses brings." That also might be a slight exaggerating.
    "There has been some.. Presence of the Foot in Gotham. I know that Damian is paying attention to them." Glancing at Phoebe.
    "Gargoyles tend to, at least most of those that operate int he New England area, operate in small packs. Less as hunters, but moreso as groups. There will be ana lpha or pack leader. Dpeending on their specific lineage they may be isolated and spend much time in stone form. Others will have more active pursuits. These pursuits are often, at least by the standards of the primarily human population, somthing to be considered antagonistic."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie stands up from the chair. "It was nice running into you two," she says cheerily. "But if I don't get my butt in the gym I'm going to skip today, which means no ice cream tomorrow." She sighs dramatically. With a warm finger-waggle wave, Carrie heads out of the library.