16672/Last Second Shopping

Last Second Shopping
Date of Scene:	25 December 2023
Location:	Rockefeller Center
Synopsis:	Last second shopping brings together three very different women. Mia finds a present for the man who has everything. Liv makes a new friend. Rachel teaches them both to stay far away when she's shopping. And probably at all other times.
Cast of Characters:	Olivia Gaudin, Cir-El, Rachel Roth

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Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    It's Christmas Eve and those who haven't been fully prepared for Christmas are scrambling! Olivia is not precisely one of those. She's one of the few people in the crowds that looks calm. Out of her costume and make up, she is largely unnoticed. Only the most devoted of fans would recognize her without green skin.

    Still, she is interested in finding a few last second gifts, and so her window shopping goes on as she moves from place to place, humming along with the various Christmas tunes that mingle in the air.

Cir-El has posed:
    What do you get for the man who has everything? A conundrum that many have grappled with over the years. But that's not complicated enough, oh no, not for Cir-El, Daughter of the Future! What do you get /Superman/? It should be an easy answer Super easy.

    But what do you get Superman for Christmas when you're in the past and worried that if you buy the wrong gift it will UNDO TIME ITSELF?! ...Apparently, so far, the Daughter of Next Week (Not Tomorrow, that's Supergirl) is leaning towards a fancy pen.

    Which actually means there's just a rather solemn looking punk gal in an insulated leather jacket and leggings, with buckle-bestowed thick soled boots staring at a window display of fine calligraphy implements with her lips slowly pressing into a more and more severe line as she sighs out, "I... thiiiink... he had that one..." She mumbles under her breath, "But did he have it because I bought it for him in the past and he never told me because I have to not know so I can buy it for him now? Oh my god time travel sucks... maybe I should just ask Aunt Kara if I can say her gift is from 'us'..."

    This, it seems is a /very/ dire choice for the young Kryptonian-Human Hybrid to make, the mumbling continuing on as her brow furrows, only slightly because of a few errant flakes of snow sticking to her forehead. Really, snow doesn't bother you once you've been on the Moon... or at least that's what she's telling herself.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is not a Shopping Person.

    Most of the time, she remains back in the tower, and on the rare occasion she needs to, sends whomever- usually Donna- out with a list. This year, however, she could not pawn off her Christmas shopping onto anyone else. That means that, at the absolute last possible minute... Raven has departed the tower, and is now in Rockefeller Center.

    It isn't exactly local. The Titans operate out of Metropolis more often than not, but as far as places to shop go... This is one that is famous and large. Surely there will be something here to accomplish her gifting goals. What might those be? They are as much a mystery as Raven herself.

    She is a slowly strolling figure amongst the crowd. The hood of her sweater up around her features, and her hands in her pockets, Raven looks... Almost, if not, normal amongst the people present, save for her ineffable slouch and impossible pallor, when her face- the only flesh on her body- can be seen.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Liv can hear very, very well. So well, in fact, that whispers are easy to hear from a great distance. She also has the odd ability to just hear it all at once. She's not used to it. Not used to it at all. This means she cannot easily tell the difference between someone who wants to talk to her and a person who is just speaking to themselves.

    "My father got me a pen from this place. It was a very kind gift and it produced a remarkably steady line. Plus the ink is so easy to refill. I really loved that pen!"

    Olivia thinks this is being helpful. She's smiling as she gets close to Cir-El. Liv is dressed in an almost obnoxiously cute tan coat (the kind with fluffy cuffs and collar). She even has a red ribbon in her hair and her black skirt (ankle length, of course) is perfectly pressed. There's no lint in sight. Even her fuzzy stocking hat fits into the cutesy side of things, with it's big, white, poofy tip.

    She pauses for a moment, then offers a hand. "Sorry, I'm chatty tonight. Well, always, honestly. My friends call me Liv."

    She bounces slightly on her toes. She's excited. Meeting someone new! One gets the sense that this moment is the very highlight of her day. One probably does not get the sense that she's firing off active sonar clicks and kind of... scanning the area.

Cir-El has posed:
    Cir-El would probably instantly bond with the 'My powers are kind of running on autopilot and I don't understand them entirely', on account of her own recent issues with hers.

    Kids, do not suffer head trauma /and/ time travel at once, or you will find yourself drained of solar radiation and feeling oddly off balance. And flying will take several TikTok-worthy spills to get halfway decent again.

    Her hearing's recently gotten back to sharpness, she can hear a pin drop in Metropolis from here. She can hear a fly buzzing in Rikers Island.

    Which is what makes it so surprising when suddenly there's a voice behind her and she nearly shoots into the air. "Oh! OH! Cool! Yeah!! I uhhh..." She clears her throat and puts on her best disaffected teen half-scowl, head gesturing to the window. "I was thinking about the silver one there. I mean, it's for... a reporter."

    She eyes Olivia a little more curiously after that moment of near panic, mostly so she's got a second to steady her breathing, "Oh! No problem, I'm Mia. I... ah... get chatty sometimes too."

    It's mostly during big heroic kerfuffles though. It's nerve-wracking being around the Justice League and stuff, how do you talk to someone who has an action figure like they're just some person?

    And then she's looking past Olivia and her eyebrows are shooting up, voice hissing out softly, "Wait, is that... noooo... it can't be!" She is most definitely locked onto Raven, brow furrowing intently... a lot like how most Kryptonians look using their telescopic vision, but this is just good old fashioned youthful disbelief.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is precognitive. She is psychic. She can extend her mind to reap the emotions of others, and make them feel exactly what she wants them to feel. She can do it on such a scale that if she really, /really/ wanted to, the world would never feel again.

    However.

    When she arrived at this jewelry store, looking over what appears to be a case of rings, she retreated into herself. What she is feeling right now is intensely private. She does not wish for it to bleed into others' emotions, in the unlikely event that she loses even the slightest bit of control.

    Not that you could tell she's feeling anything at all; Raven's expression is as if hewn from marble. As if the entirety of her face is paralyzed, or as if expression were somehow banned.

    She is talking with the proprietor, however. So her face /can/ move. It just can't show anything of what's going on underneath.

    What exactly she's shopping for is anyone's guess, but she's there, plain as day. Hell, her sweater even has ravens on it- a motif of the bird swirling around the hood, back and arms.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia's laughter is meant to be disarming. Hopefully it helps Mia relax. She directs her attention to the indicated pen. "Oh, that is very nice! I'm sure it will be appreciatd." There's this moment where Olivia tries to suppress her excessive curiousity and friendliness.

    She totally fails, of course.

    "A reporter, huh? What kind of reporter?"

    Fortunately, she doesn't misunderstand the whole looking past her and hissing or she'd think Mia is about to fangirl on her for being on Broadway. Instead, she'll turn and look back to see what is causing the problem. And she sees... nothing. Well, other than a whole bunch of people who don't stand out to her. She turns back to Mia.

    "Is everything okay?"

Cir-El has posed:
    Mia does seem to relax a little, or at least, her heightened tension is less 'I am awkward and worried about last minute Christmas gifts' and far more 'I swear I know that purple haired stoic goth'.

    Which is a pretty specific vibe to be throwing off. But she's not so consumed she can't throw a rueful little grin Olivia's way, "Oh, print media... I mean, I think they publish online too, but he's pretty old school. Uses a notepad and everything. I thought about buying him some fancy leatherbound notebook but... you fill a notebook up and that's it, it's full."

    She frowns just a touch, "Oh, I don't know... I think I know that woman. Like, I'm getting hardcore deja vu..." She's like... a solid eighty percent sure it's Raven, like... the bird motif of the sweater alone, the fact she LOOKS like her.

    Well, fortune favors the bold! Which is why Cir-El's setting sudden, measured pace towards the sorceress focused on controlling her emotions and jewelry shopping. Besides! If it /is/ Raven, she might appreciate some help!

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven would not appreciate some help.

    That can't be known, of course. Much akin to walking through a minefield, interacting with Raven is a dangerous test of intuition and logic that, perhaps, one and a half people have not failed on their first try. Exactly like simulating Global Thermonuclear War, the only winning move is not to play.

    By now, Raven has produced a small black band, held delicately between two slender digits. This she hands to the jeweler, which they then take and begin to measure.

    When Cir-El arrives, likely with Olivia in tow, Raven is staring down into the glass case as if it should be eliminated. As if she could do so with a glance. She is... Mostly within herself, but her head visibly raises when they approach. Preturnaturally, as if she could sense their arrival- which she could, with her human ears- and also somehow sense Mia's intent to speak to /her/ specifically, she turns to face them when they approach.

    A quiet, and mystifyingly calm, "Yes?" is all they get as greeting.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia nods, actually paying close attention to Mia's description of the report she's shopping for. She seems pleased. "Wow, I love that he's traditional! You know, it's so important we don't..."

    She trails off as Mia's attention so obviously moves away. And then before Liv can think to get a question in, her new friend is already walking away.

    It poses something of a conundrum, that does. Mia didn't say goodbye, nor did she excuse herself. This leaves much social uncertainty in determining the proper course of action. And yes, Liv thinks about these things.

    Well, in the absence of a clear reason to not stay within social range, she follows. But not too closely. She's not really sure if she is meant to. Deja vu is not much to go by!
    And then the target of deja vu is reached. Yep. As expected, Olivia has no idea who this is. She'll leave this conversation up to Mia. And in short order she will probably be able to figure out if she's staying here or going off to buy her niece another present.

    It's not spoiling if they are cute!

Cir-El has posed:
    Mia is, in fact, capable of reading subtle human signals! And also very obvious signals, like Rachel handing a dark band over to the jeweler, and... well, you know, the whole distant 'I am an island' vibe.

    And so while she /is/ a little befuddled and drags Olivia along in her sudden journey towards trying to figure out why this woman is tickling at the scrambled mess that is her memory of events that haven't happened yet, she's at least got enough level headedness not to blurt out 'I THINK I KNOW YOU IN THE FUTURE!' at Rachel like an absolute lunatic.

    Which... is kind of more awkward as she rocks back on her heels thoughtfully and hums out, "Oh! You uhh... look... familiar. I thought you were someone I knew from... uhh... I thought you were a teacher of mine."

    Smooth, Cir-El! It's not a lie or anything, she's /pretty/ sure she remembers Rachel flinging spells at her when she was learning about her inherent weakness to magic.

    And she's like... 50 percent certain it /was/ training and not future Rachel trying to murder her.

    She smiles lopsidedly, a little sheepishly, and gestures back to Olivia, "Oh, and this is Liv. I just met her. And... uhhh... inadvertantly drug her along when I saw you. Figuratively. ...So uhh... last... minute shopping?"

Rachel Roth has posed:
    There are a number of people on the planet that are impossible to lie to. Raven is one of those people.

    Mia, however, is not lying per se; Raven can understand the amount of hesitation and uncertainty. Her brow raises as she detects those coming from Cir-El. It is the most she expresses, and it doesn't express much. Standing in silence for a time, Raven regards the pair for a while.

    Silently, she IS judging.

    "I can assure you," she begins, after an /uncomfortable/ pause, the length of which is just /barely/ short of the length of time it would take for Mia to decide to leave. "That I was never a teacher of yours."

    Behind her, disregarded for a time, the jeweler has begun to set a few displays upon the counter. Raven is, of course, in front of them. They cannot be seen- by normal means, at least- through her, aside from the jeweler themself. Raven has not looked at the moment.

    When Mia asks that final question Raven nods. "Yes." she responds, leaving an absolute dearth of information. Shopping for what? Shopping for whom? All completely left on the table. At best, what can be known is that she is shopping for a ring, of some kind. There are a lot of mines in this field, and navigation is not recommended.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    Olivia recognizes smooth social actions when she sees them! And.. at the moment she does -not-. She smiles apologetically at Rachel. She's not sure what the apologetic feeling is, exactly. She hasn't a thing to do with this. Does she?

    She will raise a hand and wave. Yep, she's still there. Still wondering if this was social grace or an error in protocol.

    She offers a soft and only somewhat-awkward, "Hi there! Nice to meet you!"

    The level of iciness between these two, though, is kind of remarkable. Olivia can't help but idly wonder if these two are destined to be friends, or lovers, or something else out of this dense wall of awkwardness. She works on Broadway, it's kind of the way things work out!

    While Olivia can easily notice details with her senses, it's rather obvious to say that, "I think you two probably want your privacy. I will just be going! Mia, it was so nice to meet you! I hope you have good luck with that pen for your reporter friend." She doesn't run away, but she lays the groundwork for a polite departure.

Cir-El has posed:
    Mia gives a slow, slowwww nod... although she's a roiling, burbling mass of 'I've felt this judgment before... oh my god, she's staring AT MY SOUL'. She is certain that... this younger woman looks an awful lot like someone from her past.

"Y...eaaaahhh! Hahaha! You'd definitely beeee.... a memorable teacher! Silly me!"

    And then th jeweler is back to do his thing, which is great because /his/ thing is a perfect opening for Mia to chime out, "Oh! I need to go buy that pen before... the... pen store closes! And you should really... be allowed to focus on... uhh... your..." she gestures at the display of jewelry meaningfully.

She smiles as best she can at Liv and sketches a little wave, "I'm totally going to get that one you recommended! Thanks for the shopping help! I'll uhh... let you know how the gift goes over! If I run into you again! When! Around here it... always seems to be 'when'! It's the darnedest thing!"

    And with that, Mia's either remembering training from the future, or at the very least listening to her basic survival instincts to runaway from the proverbial minefield that is the conversation. Regular minefield? Sure, she'll tapdance through one of those.

    It's official Rachel Roth is scarier than a minefield.... to someone who's invulnerable to conventional explosives. It might be a bit of a skewed metric, but 'tis truth nonetheless.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is indeed staring at people's souls.

    That said, she is a lot more... Standoffish, and vaguely threatening, than any news report would make it seem. That makes a deal of sense, though: Raven is not the public face of the Titans. She lets others do that. They're better at it, and answer questions with more grace than she does, and significantly more words.

    This means that Raven has not had to develop a friendly public facade; And indeed, with her insular nature, has benefitted from one that is unfriendly. People tend to leave her alone. Especially after first contact is met with her stoic, stony, penetratingly judgmental gaze.

    "Yes. I would like to focus on my this." she responds, after a moment, seemingly to both Olivia and Mia at the same time. "Thank you." Turning her back on the pair- in a somewhat dismissive way- she returns to what can be seen as a display of rings. Wedding rings, specifically.

    She seems to be comprehending them with a level of... Disdain.

Olivia Gaudin has posed:
    "You know, Mia, I do have a piece of advice. But first, one second..." With a flick of the wrist, she produces a business card. It's one of those fancier ones, that is all black and actually seems to be made of a light metal. It's her personal card, with real numbers, her agent, the whole thing. She offers that to Mia.

    "There, now you can actually reach me! I'd love to hear how the gift goes over. And then, the advice!" She is moving with Mia, away from the apparently unfriendly Rachel! "Deja vu is best left to stew. Rather than focus on the remnants of a past that didn't leave a clear impression, we are best off trying to make something entirely new and wonderful."

    "And now, Merry Christmas. I had best be on my way. Until next time."