17241/Uni for Cassi

Uni for Cassi
Date of Scene:	02 March 2024
Location:	Gotham University
Synopsis:	Cassandra signs up for art class. Sort of. Close enough for Gotham U.
Cast of Characters:	Cassandra Cain, Talia al Ghul, Stephanie Brown, Strix

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Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra is walking through the halls of Gotham U, sour expression on her face after having sat through accounting. What the HELL was that anyway? She managed, but the chance of her ever passing is so remote it may as well be the zeroes she had on her papers.

Looking into a room and seeing canvases on easels waiting for students. Paint palettes set out, the smell of art supplies and charcoals. She stops inside..

"New to the class?" a voice asks. "There's extra room, we're never full up." The person speaking pauses at seeing the expression on the asian girl's face, then chuckles. "Okay, too friendly, I got it. The point stands though."

Standing in the doorway, Cassandra looks around. Drawings on every wall, some of which she might have seen on a child's refrigerator. Others....others are very different.

Art class!

Talia al Ghul has posed:
She's agreed to be here for the first few days just to help make sure that her 'cousin' is adjusting. Talia Al Ghul has put on a few adjustments of makeup to make it a little easier to make the assumption that she's related to Cassandra, and has been sticking close to th girl to as needed be an interpreter and go between. At least until Cassandra has acclimated to classes and to her schedule. Talia is playing a role here. And it's an easygoing one.

She's looking over at the array of paint and things on display, while turning over to Cassandra. "They'll instruct you here on techniques.. But I'm guessing that the first day will probably just be letting you test out things and see what comes naturally."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"You know," Francisco Gracia says as he walks along the hallway past classrooms at Gotham U, "I kind of thought when you and Dick got engaged that maybe Jordanna would..." he says, trailing off as if trying to choose delicate wording.

"Treat me nicer?" Stephanie Brown suggests, which draws a shake of Francisco's head. "Suck up to me hoping to meet some of Dick's wealthy friends?"

That one gets a fingergun back from the tall Gotham U student. "Yeah, that," he says.

Stephanie lets out a soft chuckle. "Nah, she's been remarkably consistent in her feelings about me," the blond coed replies. "I'm just glad she seems to be past the try to worm her way into getting to know Dick to take him away frome me, phase," she says with a soft chuckle.

A glance into one of the doorways they are passing causes Stephanie to stop suddenly. She backs up a step and looks in. "Hey that's my friend, Cass," she says as Francisco comes back to join her after he'd continued another two steps before realizing she'd stopped.

The pair are still out in the hallway, looking in.

Strix has posed:
    There's a gasp of recognition coming from inside the art class, and Mary hustles out to meet Cass. <Hi!> she signs, <New to class? Art is my favorite.> She points over to a painting that's hung up on a wall depicting some kind of masked assassin having just murdered a bowl full of fruit, all of which is bleeding profusely. <That one is mine.>

    And then there's Steph. Her grin only grows wider and she waves enthusiastically at her, beckoning her to come join them. <Hi!>

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Other students also file in, arriving early and choosing their places. There's the guy who looks like he's a football player (which he in fact is), and seems a bit embarrassed to be there. Over the course of the classes it's clear he has some talent but painting isn't the kind of thing his bruhs would really understand so he needs some encouragement along the way.

Next to him is Marjorie. She has her hair in barrettes and a bright smile. WAY too happy and sunny. Especially for Danielle, a goth girl who looks at Marjorie and gives grumbling sighs. She always paints things that are dark, dreary, or deal with death. The teacher waves as he continues setup.

Cass spots Steph and her friend in the hallway, and manages to halfway raise a hand as Talia starts discussing the class. She frowns, then blinks at Mary's enthusiastic greeting. Silent and overwhelmed, she backs away from all the people.

Too much, much too much. She backs herself into a corner and glowers at the entire room at once.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Cassandra will have to figure this out on her own. Talia glances over at her and mouths 'it's okay' and stands ready to if need be be called back to help the girl and to head out to the hallway then if called upon. Turning over to Mary and offering a smile to her, "Let her breathe. She's communicative." Is sign language one of the things that Cassandra knows? She can read intents and people the same way most people would words. She'll be fine whether or not she can get the exact semantics.

SHe goes otu and over into the hallway and muses to herself. "It's hardest starting out. With a few days here and when we can figure out the sorts of accomodations that best fit her circumstances.." Playing the role for now of Cassandra's adjunct while the girl got settled in. Heading out to the hallway to let Cassandra have the class and interact with her fellow students. She goes out then and moves to wait, at an angle where sh could watch things but also not interfere or be in the way. While in her mind the contrast among Cassandra and those related to her stands very, very sharp.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown motions towards the Asian young woman to point out Cass to Francisco. And then Cass is waving a hand towards her and that removes the need for Stephanie to add, "The Asian one," so Francisco knows specifically who she means.

Seeing Strix signing hello to her, Stephanie signs back. <Hello Mary. Art class? Interesting!> The blond coed flashes a big grin into Mary at the end of the signing.

"Woah, you can do sign language?" Francisco asks, the big, jock-like appearing man scratching at his head.

Stephanie turns towards him. "Oh, yeah, have a friend who is mute and uses it that I learned it so we could talk easier. That's her. Mary," she says. "I didn't know they were in a class together."

The girl's blue eyes widen just a bit as she reads Cassandra's body language, backing away. Arms held in closer to her sides in a protective way. If Stephanie can catch Cassandra's eye, she flashes over a soft, loving smile, and moves her hands grasping each other over her heart in a way that conveys a hug in a way that sign language isn't needed for. The blond's smile is gentle and reassuring, and as best as Stephanie can manage, expresses a confidence in Cassandra.

Stephanie looks at Talia then. "Hey, Talia. This is Francisco Gracia. Friend of mine," she says. Stephanie turns to Francisco and says in a voice warm with mischief, "Talia is the mother of a thorn in my side who I want to duct tape to one of the trees in campus some day."

Strix has posed:
    Mary sees Cassandra get overwhelmed, and a look of concern crosses her scarred face, so she stands in front of Cass a bit away so as to give her some breathing room, facing towards the rest of their class, fists on her hips and feet apart. The glower she gives anybody who gets too close is like the rattle of a rattlesnake: Danger! Do not interact! She's... quite good at this.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
There's a lot going on. Sometimes you just need to back off and let a person settle in, and as the teacher looks over, he pauses at the door to ask Talia what's going on. "Is she also unable to speak?" he asks her, seeing that Talia is in some way related to the newcomer. "Mary can help her settle in, if so. This is a safe place."

Cassandra takes in the warmth and care from all of her friends, and completely ignores any side-glances from the normal students. They don't matter...not yet. But then, she looks at where she is.

And frowns. The painting that she's leaning against is wrong. So very wrong. She looks at Mary, then inclines just the tiniest movement of her chin at the painting. It's a dancer, and the dancer is...bodies don't move like that. She grinds her teeth, then grabs a pencil.

And starts correcting it. In red, if she can.

"Um. She's...definitely communicative," the teacher says. And a student speaks up. "Hey! You can't do that. Draw your own!"

The glare from Cassandra suggests that MAYBE I JUST WILL THEN!

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Cassandra has to figure things out for herself. Life lessons teach better than any amount of training can, sometimes. So now out in the hallway, Talia trusts that Cassandra can figure things out for herself. She turns over to the man talking with Stephanie, and bobbles her head over. "Charmed." SHe would speak over with an accent matching that of Gotham's Chinatown district.

"And thorn in your side? Is that a downgrade from the way he usually is? Normally people go with imp or on a good day brat." She would quip. "Pleasure to meet you, Francisco." Offering her hand over to him if taken and shook back. "Do tell me about yourself? Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Casual conversation is something she can do. The daughter of the demon looks relaxed, all the while in her mind there is the complete contrast in her headspace between Cassandra's behavior and someone else close to the girl and yet so far.

Familiar and distinct, unique and alien. Those thoughts are dismissed as Talia goes to focus on the here and now.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Francisco gives Talia a friendly smile even as he chuckles at Stephanie's rendition of how they know each other. "Don't worry about it, ma'am. I know Stephanie, and she'd probably end up duct taping herself to the tree instead." Francisco is already covering up with his arm for the little punch that is immediately forthcoming from Stephanie, along with a 'hey!' of protest from her. "Well I'm majoring in civil engineering, like my father," he replies to Talia.

Stephanie glances back inside, checking on Cassandra Cain and Mary Turner, but then quickly turning her attention back to Talia. "I didn't know she was interested in art class," Stephanie comments about Cassandra.

Inside the room, the professor's teaching assistant watches the interaction. Anthony Drake is a graduate student working on his masters. He's helping one of the other students get the right color mixed, and when he finishes, he moves over to an empty chair and blank canvas. "If you wanted to paint over here," he suggests towards Cass. He touches a jar of brushes and the palette with dabs of paint on it all ready for a student to use.

Strix has posed:
    Mary backs down when it looks like Cass has got her bearings and curiously looks over to see what she's doing when it sounds like she's scribbling on the painting. She nods approvingly at what Cass is doing. Dancers really //don't// move like that.

    When Anthony shows that there's an open easel she snaps her fingers to get Cass's attention. She points enthusiastically to it. <We should begin there!>

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass holds up her hand, a classic 'one moment', to Mary. Then she walks to the door. She steps out, then immediately hugs Stephanie. No pause, no moment's interjection, just 'Oh wow there's Cass and I'm being hugged!' The hug is...a bit tight, a bit scared, but still. Then she lets go, and puts her hands on Stephanie's shoulders. She looks up, nods firmly as if to say, 'you got this, don't be scared.'.

Then she turns to Talia and does THE EXACT SAME THING. Not for Francisco, but there are limits.

Then she turns and strides into the Art class like a girlboss, and high fives Mary as she steps to her easel. She picks up a paint brush and immediately gets paint on her face.

HOW? What the hell, how?

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia would listen attentively over to Francisco, "Oh? Going to be an architect? Things in public works?" She would inquire curiously, listening attentively. Always a good chance to learn details about situations and circumstance. "I never had much of a talent for putting things together." What were those small blocks that children used to build things? "ANd I'm pretty sure that they would both end up taped to one another, stuck in a tree somewhere."
    "When I had Lego sets I'd kind of mash them together, pinch my fingers on one of them, get huffy and throw it away, and then step on it at night after lights went out and I was getting out of bed." At the mention of 'not knowing' about Cassandra, Talia's lips would quirk upwards.
    "And I don't think she did either. But that's part of what college is for. Being experimental and discovering things about yourself."
    Then there's Cassandra in 'what a girl wants, what a girl needs' swing of things as she goes to accept the hug in surprise, and then returns it. "I think she's going to do just fine here." She would smile once more, it reachin gher eyes as she would watch Cassandra go back to the class. "And I think she should make some room in her scheudle to come to this."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"He's in construction," Francisco says, "Though he says it's best to know how to do everything yourself." He gently rubs at the spot that Stephanie had given him the punch, now that she's not paying attention to him. He's big, he's muscular, so she doesn't figure she has to hold back all that much.

When Cassandra comes out and gives Stephanie the hug, she returns it with a tight squeeze. "Give it a try. Love to see what you come up with," Stephanie whispers to Cassandra before letting her go.

She turns back to Francisco and Talia as Cass goes back inside. "A good creative outlet for her could be a positive thing," she comments. She doesn't explain more about Cass to Francisco. He seems easy going enough to just stand by amiably.

Stephanie leans over to be able to see Mary inside the room better, and signs into her, <I'm hopeless at art. I want to see what you make later!>

Strix has posed:
    There is a broken, croaking sound that comes from Mary. Those familiar with her will know that that's what constitutes as her laugh. The other students in the art room have never heard this before and she gets some strange looks, but she doesn't pay them any mind. Instead she finds a clean rag and hands it over to Cass so she can clean herself up.

     When Stephanie catches her attention she gives her a nod. <I have a lot of stuff I can show you,> she signs. <I've been drawing since I broke away from...> she scowls, thinking of a way to talk around the Court of Owls and just settles with <Them.> Capitalization emphasized. <I was bad at art too, but if you keep doing it you get better!>

Cassandra Cain has posed:
There is a teacher's aide in class, who helps get folks what they need, but mostly seems to be just watching. The class today is simple, as the teacher explains. Pick a flower from the flowers in the room, and draw it. Add colour if you feel that you're ready to do so, new students can simply settle in and watch or experiment as they choose.

However, there is an undercurrent to all of this. The teacher's aide has something going on. Large student loans, perhaps. A gallery that's paid some of them off, and a reason to watch any new and upcoming prospects. This is what's really going on in the seedy undercurrent of art society.

Are they scouting new students, to take their work? Is it something more? There's no way to know yet, but for now we can watch as Cass manages to smile, as Mary wipes her face clean, and she watches how you draw the frame of a body. Because of course the class is doing whatever they want. Heck, this is Gotham. You're lucky they even got to school alive.

A little while later though, Cass is showing off her work. She's drawn what might be the worst daffodil ever, managing to have drawn entirely outside the lines and without even a hint of proper art theory. But ...it somehow works.

First try.