2443/Memory: Themyscirans in America

Memory: Themyscirans in America
Date of Scene:	14 July 2020
Location:	Diana's Gallery
Synopsis:	Retro scene. It's 2011 in New York at the gallery where Diana Prince works as an expert in ancient Greek artifacts. Suddenly: Wild TROIA appeared!
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Donna Troy

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Diana Prince has posed:
In the distant past of 2011: On a Saturday evening.

An art show is being held at a New York City gallery. Two stories of ancient Greek art has been brought in after years and years of restoration once it was recovered. The bulk of the recovery started shortly after the second World War, and most of it was stored in a series of warehouses in Europe. Over time, the restoration has been handled primarily by private artists... like Diana Prince. Though she never takes public acclaim, due to a desire to not being found out for her lack of ... well ... aging.

Diana remains in the 'shadows' of the antiques business, using only her closest of friends to deal with the public while she handles a large amount of the work behind the scenes.

This is one of the largest projects that she's had on-going for decades. These art pieces were recovered across much of Europe and Asia. From paintings, to sculptures, to recovered artifacts like parts of ancient monuments or structures that have been able to be identified by specific markings.

It is a big night for the Princess of Themyscira, though publicly only known as 'Diana Prince' in 2011. She stands off to the sides, speaking to those who come up to her, while her co-workers and employees do the main events of speaking to the public.

Currently the Princess is wearing a red dress with sleeves that connect around her wrists, but leave the sides of her arms bare up to her shoulders. The torso of the dress is similar in that it has two slits up the front and back that are cinched around her neck and waist, while the skirt of the dress fades into a darker crimson that only glitters and glints in the ambient light the further down toward her ankles it reaches.

She holds a glass of champagne, and is walking from one exhibit to another, waving a hand to someone who waves to her from across the way.

Donna Troy has posed:
    One of the reasons why Clark Kent's glasses disguise actually works is that people are very good at not seeing things they don't expect to see. They don't expect a famous superhero in a stiff suit and glasses posing as a mild-mannered reporter, and so they don't. This goes some way to explain why Troia wasn't instantly obvious. Diana had never seen her dressed like this and was certainly not expecting to see another Themysciran, let alone her adoptive sister, in New York. You might expect the accent to give it away, but then the only example Diana really has of a Themyisciran speaking English is herself, and she's been in the World of Men for over eighty years, and her accent is not as strong as Troia's is.

    Then of course there's the fact that Diana hasn't seen Troia since she was ten. When Diana had returned to Themyiscira to leave the original invisible jet there and reacquaint herself with her home, her people and her mother, there were few changes to home, but the presence of a child was one of them. It's not that there are never children on Themyscira - it is a traditon there when a female child is shipwrecked in the waters nearby to raise them in the ways of the Amazons and send them back to the World of Men as agents. Those foundlings are not normally found around the palace though. But then Troia was not exactly one of those foundlings, and that story, when Hippolyta explained everything to Diana, was even odder.

    Back then Troia had been a quiet girl. Raised on stories about her amazing sister, she'd been shy when they finally met, but followed her around the island at a distance. Some of the other Amazons used to refer to Troia as 'your little shadow'. Eventually she'd got over the shyness, and the two sisters had spent a good bit of time together. Diana had found she understood her little sister remarkably well; she could almost sense the girl's feelings. Perhaps that was something Hera herself had decreed; a way for Diana to keep a track of the girl, to make sure she was growing as a proper Amazon.

    It's that sense that gives it away now. Maybe the all-too-familiar ponytail was part of it, or maybe there was some slow realization of the accent, but definitely that odd sense was the trigger.

    Troia was oddly dressed, not yet really understanding the styles and manners of the society of the World of Men. Natural suede sand boots, jeans, and what appears to be a men's dress shirt would probably pass more easily in the street than in the gallery. She's standing looking at a photograph on the wall - not the statue itself, but a photograph of how it had appeared, in situ, in a field in western Turkey. She has a flute of champagne in her hands, which she is most definitely too young to be drinking, and she is being accosted by one of the gallery assistants.

    "But you're not meant to be here," the assistant hisses quietly, trying not to make a scene.

    "Incorrect, I am exactly where I mean myself to be," Troia replies. She gestures towards the photograph. "Tell me. This image-frame. Why doesn't it move?"

    "I... it's.. a photograph. Please miss, can you just... if you could come this way. This is a private viewing, come back tomorrow."

    "I think not. Why is your wine so full of air? I don't know the word for this..."

    It's not quite the Donna of six years ago, but then there is a big difference between ten and sixteen. She's grown in confidence, certainly. Yet Diana can sense, behind that confidence, a lot of confusion and trepidation. Troia knows she's taken a very big step. She's determined to face it bravely, but it is still a great step into the unknown.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had been elated to see Donna on Themyscira, six years ago. To see a 'sister' who looked just as she remembered herself looking at that age... it was exciting. Diana had spent some 800 years on Themyscira feeling like a somewhat isolated figure. The other women didn't 'grow up' on the island as she had. Donna was now, or at least then, getting to experience something that only Diana had before. There was a kinship there, even if it took time to forge its strength.

By the time Diana had left the island, she'd felt they'd reached that kinship too. She'd felt like they were true sisters then, and she'd intended to get back to see Donna as soon as she could... but life gets in the way. She'd most certainly sent messages and parcels to Donna though, over the past six years. Updates on her activities and life in general. Whether Hippolyta had let Donna keep the 'gifts' that Diana had included, is another story.

It's the voice that draws Diana's attention foremost. She's an aisle over, having been approached by a middle aged couple holding arms together. They're speaking to Diana when she notices the young girl's voice and it draws her eyes over to see the back/right side of Donna's profile. She... well she recognizes it immediately, though she has to convince herself her eyes aren't playing tricks on her.

As the two bicker, Donna and the gallery attendant, Diana just 'appears' beside her sister, still a ways taller than Donna, but when they stand side by side, the familial similarities are shocking and obvious. "Andrei." Diana speaks to the attendant. "I am sorry, this is my sister. I had meant to inform everyone that she would be haunting the place this evening, but I suppose it slipped my mind." Anyone who knows Diana, knows that nothing ever slips her mind.

Diana puts one hand on Donna's back, gently. "However, I do not recall giving her permission to drink the /champagne./" She says with a grin now for both Donna and the attendant. "There is a drinking age, you must reach, before you are allowed to consume beverages like this, Troia. You are still five years from it."

She's elated to see her sister, as much as she is confused, but she has to play it cool in the moment.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "A drinking age?" Troia asks incredulously. "What foolishness. What happens when people below this age are thirsty?" There's a glint of excitement in her eyes and she's visibly fighting to keep her smile from being /too/ wide. "It is good to see you, sister."

    Andrei laughs politely, assuming Troia is making a joke, nods to the pair and says "I'll leave her to you then, Diana." If he's puzzled by Diana's claim to have forgotten such a detail, he's too polite to bring that up either.

    Troia watches him walk away a few moments, then takes another sip of her forbidden champagne. She's almost as bubbly as the wine is with excitement, but she's doing a good job of surpressing it. "They call you Diana Prince. When I came through Roma, our agent Alexa there told me that in Man's World you need two names. Why did you pick 'Prince' as your other name? It is a masculine form, no? I think you should be Diana Princess. Alexa called me Lady Troia. So that will be my name - DonnaTroia. Troy, they call the city here. I came on a plane. It wasn't invisible though. I have a telephone. I was going to use it to warn you that I was coming, but I have not um... learned the way to use it yet. I have a letter from mother."

    Troia - or Donna as she now wants to be called - gives a little impatient hop and suddenly looks embarrassed, realising she's babbling. She looks around to check that nobody is paying them any particular attention, then darts in for a quick, one-armed hug. "It is so good to see you here Diana. My English is good now I think! I want to fight you soon. It's so exciting to be here!"

Diana Prince has posed:
Another quick smile is given to Andrei as he leaves the two sisters to their own devices, and then Diana's eyes go now to Troi-- "Donna." She says quietly at the name reveal. "That is a good name." She adds before her eyes glance down at the champagne and then up to the young woman holding it. "How many of these have you had?" She asks, not particularly offended by her sister drinking at age 16. She knows she can handle it, or assume as much. "I think we should switch you to water. It is the alcohol that is prohibited by one's age, not the act of drinking itself."

A soft smirk is shown to Donna then as she directs the young girl to walk with her, alongside her. "Prince was an accident, essentially." She explains. "A name given to me by a friend, to help keep my true identity a secret in a moment where it would have only raised uncomfortable questions. It ... stuck after that." She directs Donna around the perimeter of the crowd, toward the bar area where two servers with black vests and white sleeved shirts are handing out drinks to those who stop by.

"Time for fighting will come later." Diana says with a little smile. "Troy is a splendid name as well." She adds then as she pauses before reaching the bar, and turns to face the girl before her. "You have grown so much. It is so very good to see you." And it's then that Diana leans in to, first take the champagne from Donna, then hug her warmly...

Though that's challenging now that she's holding two glasses of drink. After the hug is had though, she pulls back and starts toward the bar again, to set one of the drinks down -- Donna's -- then she motions to the bartender. "Something non-alcoholic?" She asks of the bartender. "Juices?" He in-turn spouts of a list of juices they have in stock.

Diana's eyes sweep back to her sisters, she smiles at her, just soaking in her face, and how much it has aged since she saw her last.

Donna Troy has posed:
    The newly dubbed Donna relinquishes the wine with some reluctance. "I was enjoying it, " she complains. "It has lots of... small... round.. air... ah! /kukios/. I don't know this word in English. This was only my second glass." Hippolyta hadn't allowed her to drink too much wine back home either, though it's possible that restriction has been relaxed in the intervening years.

    "I am much better at fighting now, Diana. I train every day. Already I can beat most of the guards. Soon I will be better than Philippus. I..." She stops at another photograph on the wall, far more fascinated by these than the exhibits themselves, which are just /normal/ artworks, and takes a little more urging to pull herself away and finish the journey to the bar.

    She listens to the list of juices, looking slightly baffled. "Lemon is /kitrion/ yes? Or is that melon? Is the orange sweet or bitter?" So many questions. It's a reminder to Diana just how baffling the World of Men had been to her, all those years ago. It's perhaps a little shocking too that Hippolyta would let Troia leave on her own at such a young age - though perhaps Hippolyta has eased up on the second time around, because Troia had been allowed to learn how to fight (with a lot of care!) from the age of six.

    Presuming 'Donna' really does have their mother's permission to be in America, that is. Donna did claim to have a letter from her though.

    "Mother says I must study when I am in America, " Donna announces. That settles it. What teenager would volunteer that information unless it was real? Perhaps Diana's attempts to persuade Hippolyta that they should pay more attention to the world outside the island are finally bearing fruit.

Diana Prince has posed:
A quick grin is given to Troia's juggling with words. "Bubbles." Diana gives her the word she's looking for. "Carbonation, is what it is called. You will find it in many drinks here in the mainlands." At the bartender, after Donna struggles with the juices, she just nods once to him. "Can we get a small glass of each? She has a lot to learn." The man is, of course, clueless on how that could be, but he moves to do as asked.

Diana then looks back to Donna and turns to face her fully. "I am sure you have come a long way since we last saw one another face to face, dear sister." She says to her. "I am eager to find out just how much. But also... to read this letter you spoke of. I find it a bit peculiar that I was not given advanced warning of your arrival. Is everything back home safe and ... safe?" She asks, her dark eyebrows raising up then after asking that question.

Then from her left, and Donna's right, that same middle aged couple that Diana had been speaking to earlier approaches. The woman of the couple speaks first. "Diana, who is your young friend?" She asks.

Diana looks to them both and then -- with a smile -- motions to them and to Donna. "This is my sister, Donna. I had... not known she would be here tonight, or I would have introduced you already." She tells them. And to Donna she motions to them. "Donna, this is Mister Alan Solana and his wife Misses Abigail Fayne-Solana. They are the owners of this gallery, who have helped me arrange this showing tonight."

At the bar, the bartender returns and sets three glasses of different juices down for Donna to sample.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna thinks very carefully about her answer to Diana's questioning before deciding that honesty is the best policy. It should have been an easier decision to make really, she should know that Diana would be able to tell. "Everything is safe. /Matera/ said... If I am unable to find my way to you within... If I /was/ unable to find my way to you within four days without your help, I must return. Because it would mean I am not ready to deal with the World of Men. She said if you were told, you would help me. And I must not be a burden to you. Today is the third day. I would have been here yesterday, but I wished to see more of Roma. They honor their past there. They have magnificent buildings." She gives a small shrug. "I knew I had plenty of time." Certainly plenty of self-confidence.

    "You are busy and I should have come to you later. I am sorry. Tomorrow do you have more time? Perhaps we can fight some Nazis." There really is a going to be a lot to explain.

    Donna is inspecting glasses of fruit juice when the Solanas arrive, and she's slightly distracted on the introduction. "Miss Teralan Solana and Miss Isabigailfayne Solana?" she attempts. She flashes them a bright, welcoming smile. "It is an honor to meet those who aid my sister in her work. I understand in your country there is a dearth of such artifacts. It must be most pleasing to you to be able to introduce works such as these to your people."

    She gives a sharp nod of her head, and salutes the pair in the traditional Themysciran style, clashing her wrists together. The long sleeves of her shirt hide the bracers beneath, though not the sound.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana wasn't able to respond to Donna's initial words, due to the Solana's arriving. But when they do, she watches and listens to her younger sister's response to them, which draws a pair of unsure stares from the older couple, then a shared glance/look to Diana.

"She has been studying abroad her entire life." Diana explains to them. "Our mother believes in traditional Greek methodologies for raising her daughters, and it has lead to an... adjustment curve when we re-enter the larger world." She says to them both, grinning to show off the sincerity that it should be taken light-heartedly.

Nevermind the *clank* noise when Donna slaps her wrists together, that won't be attempted with an explanation. They can imagine whatever they want!

The husband and wife both softly laugh and nod their heads, the Abigail speaking up. "How nice to hold to such traditions! Your culture is truly remarkable."

Alan speaks up there-after. "Yes, quite. Uh, lets leave them to their reunion then, darling." He takes his wife by the elbow and turns her slowly. "Diana, the evening is going splendidly. We'll be around for a bit longer if you need anything."

"Thank you..." Diana says with a caring voice as the couple departs. Not before adding. "Welcome to New York, Donna. We hope to get to know yhou better." From Abigail.

Diana, looks back to her sister then and smiles at her. "It is a busy night, but I cannot express how pleased I am to see you. Do you want to stay here for awhile, wander and soak it all in? Or would you like a ride to my home here in New York? It is a very lovely apartment, high above the city skyline. It is an amazing view."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna's plenty sharp enough to realise that Diana's making excuses for some slip she's made, but she has no idea what it was. She'll do her best to play along though. She nods her head rapidly and says "I apologize, I have not spoken English until today since I was sent to study abroad. I am afraid my adjustment curve has a large... cycle. I imagine it will take me a few weeks to entirely correct it. I thank you for your welcome, and I wish you a pleasant evening." She gives them another nod as a way of saying goodbye, because /nobody else is saluting/.

    "Diana, you have work you are doing here and I will not take you from your work, but it has been /six years/. Please may I stay a little longer? I shall be quiet. I... when you were done, I would... may I stay at your apartment for a day or two? Until I can purchase an apartment for my own. Mother gave me some coins to purchase things with."

    It might sound absurd at first, but it probably sounds alarming after a few moments thought. It's very likely that Donna has just revealed that she's wandering around with a pocketful of pristine gold staters from Macedon or Athenian silver tetradrachmas. Probably not enough to buy even a small apartment in Manhattan, but certain to get the local antique coin dealers sweating if not handled very carefully indeed.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana just stands before Donna and presses her palms together with her fingers wrapping around the backs of either of her hands. She just... smiles at her sister. "You will stay as long as necessary. You are not an inconvenience for me." She glances to the left, out toward the gallery, and then back to Donna. "You are more important to me than anything here." She tells the other, in a sincere and warm voice.

"As for the living arrangements, you will stay with me there -- too -- as long as necessary. You have gone from a very small island, to now stand within a city that has roughly nine million people all stacked closely together within towering stone structures. There is a lot for you to learn, and I must be there to help you learn it."

The Princess then turns to motion Donna to follow. "Pick your favorite drink, then come." She says. "I will take you around the gallery and show you all the pieces. There are countless stories here-in, and many of them involve rather interesting stories on how the items were recovered... let alone restored." The benefit of being a 'silent' member of the restoration team, is that Diana is not immediately sought-after by the general public... not like she will be some day at events like this. She's just a rather fetching face in the crowd right now.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Why chose a favorite when you can pick two? Donna follows with a glass of orange juice AND a glass of grapefruit juice. It would be wrong to let these drinks go to waste. She smiles at Diana with a hint of the shyness she'd shown back when they first met, but obviously finds Diana's words reassuring.

    "Thank you Diana, you are the best sister I could have ever hoped for. I will endeavor to be no inconvenience or burden. If there is any task you wish of me or anyone who needs to be defeated, you only have to whisper to me and I shall do it for you." She's so earnest, it's endearing really. "Or if you wish me to help with restoration, I will do that too. I was never any good at the healing charms for /keramikos/, but I have spent some time in the forges and if you would like me to beat some metal work back into shape I can do that. " Or possibly alarming. Hopefully she's not about to start punching dents out of the aging bronze statues.

    Juggling the two glaces of juice into one hand, she entwines her arm into Diana's to follow her on the tour of the exhibition. "You wish to show them some echoes of our world," she concludes. "Without being able to show them how much of it truly survives." She gives a small nod. "It must be challenging work. It would be good if mother would allow some of our art to be seen by these people."

    There's a pause. "Diana? Million is not /myriad/, is it? It is one hundred myriads, yes? A thousand of thousands?"

    Her voice grows subdued. "That's a lot of people."

    A moment later the subdued tone is gone. "And can we fight Nazis tomorrow?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana, of course, walks alongside Donna, arm-in-arm together. She waves softly to a few people who look at the duo, it's likely not that hard to tell that they're related either. She gives Donna's wrist a light squeeze, not wanting to spill any of the drink from the two glasses the young woman is carrying though! "I will gladly take you to my studio to show you what it is that I have been doing all of these years." She looks over to her sister then and smiles. "Or, some of it at least. I think you will like it, and you are right about the art from our home. I will be working toward acquiring more of it, from mother, once I do return to the island to see her. I have been formulating... plans, Troia, but I will share those later."

The Princess looks then out across the crowd, then back to Donna. "Nine hundred myriads." She answers, with a playful grin. "Give or take a few thousand."

Diana will then direct them toward the exhibit that she knows Donna will like most. The recovered Ancient Greek warrior displays. On the subject of Nazis, the Princess chooses her words wise as she can. "We will... fight injustices, when the time is right. Nazis? Well... that is a very long story. One we should look in to, perhaps at the museum down the road from here."