2686/Fireside in Gotham

Fireside in Gotham
Date of Scene:	30 July 2020
Location:	Abandoned Subway
Synopsis:	A dance between warriors ends up with a desperate wish...not to dance. It makes sense damnit.
Cast of Characters:	Cassandra Cain, Dinah Lance

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Cassandra Cain has posed:
The subway is only a little bit on fire this evening. It has a lovely atmosphere, with a car burning merrily, two drunks coughing under a slab of wood they've dragged off of someone's house, and the air kind of hazy with leftover fumes from something having exploded.

The perfect place for a moment of privacy, if you're minded to be alone. The feet that spin gently in place are balanced, graceful. A pirouette, someone has chosen this place to do ...it appears to be ballet. The heel comes up the leg, then out. Fingers raise hands to above the head, arms clasping the sky. Though it be stone and concrete above.

The asian girl dances, to no music. No mask. Silence.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah's been spending too much time on the frustrating portions of vigilante work lately. FOllowing leads, abandoned warehouse after warehouse, long stakeouts with nothing to show for it. And she needs to let loose a little. And so she wanders the city, tempting trouble and fate. Of course, she wasn't expecting to encounter a dance during her wandering. Sure, that's another way to blow off steam, but running into an accidental dance is unusual.

Still, it's not like she can resist the opportunity, as she makes her way through the subway, slipping past the denizens, practicing her sealth. At least until she hears soft noises, sees cast shadows. And that brings her up short for a moment. All she can do is watch with alert eyes, eyebrows raising a little.

But it's rude to watch without being known, and so she scuffs her to and -clacks- her heel down on a piece of concrete rubble, even as she's working at the zipper of her leather jacket, calling out. "Dancing alone? I always heard it takes two to tango!" Her lips are already curving in a wild grin, eyes sparkling with excitement, mirth, and something else. She's -definitely- not talking about trying to match the girl in ballet.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The soft spin turns into a slow cartwheel at the sound of noise, tactically getting her head out of the possible range of a sniper while it snaps around. The eyes grasp the situation, the cartwheel lets her feet touch earth. And Cassandra Cain pivots on her heel, leaning backward til she can see.

Then pauses there, using core strength to hold in that spot. Showoff.

She waits for two-three heartbeats, then rolls to her feet again. Shrugs a shoulder, glancing around at the area, then back to Dinah. She pauses, then uses her heel to tap a stacatto, her face in questioning, her head tilting to ask something that she can't say in words.

Dinah Lance has posed:
There's a brief moment where Dinah thinks that maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe she should've just gone out on her bike at an ill-advised rate of speed. It's pretty much when Cassandra holds that backwards lean so smoothly. It's enough to make her eyes narrow in appraisal, and then widen in a hint of awe.

But if she was going to listen to that little voice in her head that told her things were bad ideas, she would've started before now. So why, why not go for it? It'll probably work out.

She looks around, jacket shrugged off her shoulders, tossed onto a crooked piece of rebar sticking up for lack of a coat rack in the smoke-hazed abandoned transit system. One eyebrow lifts and she grins, "Is that an agreement? I mean, I know I could use some sparring... be good to get some practice against someone who's got -talent-."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The asian girl's eyes travel over Dinah. She looks at her with an intensity of thought that Dinah may have seen in professors, scientists. Not usually dancers. She seems to chew on her lip a moment, then it slides into a smile.

Her knees bend slightly and her right foot slips forward, weight on the balls of her feet. Weight below her hips, the stance is an outline, almost a trainer of Shizen-tai. She looked at Dinah for ten seconds, and then dropped into a Judo stance.

No wonder she's smiling. That's a mute acceptance if ever there was one. And a challenge.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah shifts her own stance, a slow relaxation of her upper body, legs tensing, and then she's bouncing, onto the balls of her feet for a moment, each repetition of the rhythm has a little more force in it,until she's hopping foot to foot, hands squared up in front of her face, leading with her left. Seems she's going for classic boxing to start.

Oh, sure, that little voice is a hurricane now, a shrieking wind that this girl -knows her stuff-. Hell, she looks like she knows -Dinah's- stuff. But that's where the thrill is.

And then she's quickstepping in, no words spoken, just the shallow, controlled puffs of breath, and the soft scuffs of her feet rushing across the distance to close, throwing out a feinting left jab, followed by a low right straight.

This is going to be one memorable dance.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The moves are, as expected, ALL dangerous. That's the first mistake rookies make in sparring (or fighting) with Cassandra. They try to feint, and she knows that the moves are garbage so doesn't bother dodging them. Dinah doesn't throw anything that won't land. So she moves.

Boxing is allowed. She weaves under and past the jab, the straight coming in hard. Her face stops smiling, and she shifts just barely enough to let the right hit her clothing, absorbing it with her stance. And tries to lay a hand on the profferred elbow, twisting in and up to try and throw Dinah with a turn of her hips. She's sticking with Judo then? Dinah would know the counter, though it might be unexpected.

Her face is so calm though. No longer the joy it was in a dance.

Dinah Lance has posed:
The blonde vigilante's breaths escape in controlled little puffs, though there's a moment where one's a little more of a -hiss-, her jaw setting as she feels that punch absorbed, expertly countered, feeling the floor suddenly gone from beneath her feet as she's so smoothly tossed. She sucks in a sharp breath then, those long toned legs scissoring and shifting, twisting in mid-air, absorbing a good deal of that momentum. Not enough to completely counter that momentum, but enough she can land facing Cassandra and only have a minimal stumble backwards to bleed off the rest of the momentum, arms drawing in for a more defensive posture.

Her own face is a mask of excitement, of wild abandon as her cheeks flush and she murmurs softly, just a wordless reassurance to herself. Sure, she can handle this. This'll be fine.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
It's not fine. Cassandra threw, Dinah rolled it out, but Cassandra didn't hold still to let her get her breath. She's THERE, right in Dinah's face when she gets into her posture, and forcing Dinah back with an assault of her own!

Strikes from both arms, one coming in over the guard while her foot hooks at Dinah's ankle. Her range is difficult to gauge, she's shifting her balance to adjust it for her own advantage with motions that are unpredictable, sacrificing defense for being in so close, Dinah's forced to fight harder, faster. To lose that breath she's keeping control of.

Cassandra Cain is not going to call this soft and fuzzy. Her right fist comes in, arcing high, and she's suddenly jabbing with an elbow. And her face...nothing. Nothing at all.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah's beginning to think maybe these irresponsible urges she gives into might be kind of a problem. But she's not sure, because she's heaving for breath like a bellows, every motion just barely enough to keep up with Cassandra, or not -quite- enough, the near misses and glancing hits are adding up, building on disruption after disruption. That elbow hits her shoulder solidly as she rushes in, a firm thud that she knows is going to ache, but her shoulder doesn't pop, so it could be worse.

All she can think to do is try and take the blank faced fighting machine down, ducking low, arms hooking her legs, her hips twisting to try and roll and use her own body weight and momentum to throw her opponent off balance.

She's really beginning to think this whole unnaounced sparring idea was in fact a -bad- idea. Maybe. No, no, it must have been a good idea, it's the most challenging fight she's had in a month.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Dinah gets Cassandra's hips, though a hesitation hints that she nearly raised a knee into her face. Either wasn't fast enough, or didn't want to break someone's nose in a sparring session. The shoot attempt takes her to the ground, practiced by Dinah to near perfection. And perfection is what's needed.

The rolling followup isn't standard, and it apparently catches Cassandra off guard! She was ready for a mount attempt, her hips hooking upward to protect her guard. With Dinah moving she actually pauses, a moment where her head was exposed in Dinah's roll, and her eyes widen in surprise.

If not used though, she'll be on her feet in a kippup half a heartbeat later though. Dinah's bought her grace period.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah's in a bit of a rush, she knows every second the sparring goes on is another second Cassandra has to catch her patterns and overcome her. And so she figures she'll throw one last hail mary, sticking to the basics.

As she locks her legs around Cassandra for a moment, her arms move, working tot ry and hook a sleeper hold onto Cassandra as her legs part, giving her the froom of movement to try and slip around behind Cassandra and foil her counter.

But the motions are a little sluggish, her grip weak, and those earlier puffs are ragged, almost rasping breaths. Dinah's beginning to think those couple months off of vacation might've been a mistake. She might need to cut back on the Rocky Road and up her cardio regimen.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Unexpected and unique moves seem to have a lot of sway over Cassandra; Dinah's legs nearly get the lock in around her waist, and the girl brute-forces herself out of the hold before it truly locks in around her neck. She manages to get her feet under her, somehow even though it really seems anatomically impossible, and stands up. Picking up Dinah with her by main force.

She hasn't missed any muscle day, likely sleeps with barbells, because she gets her hands onto Dinah's wrists that are trying to choke her out. And the slightest smile quirks her cheek, finally.

Before she leans back, allowing inertia to perform a throw of the one trying to get her. And what's more, she apparently had the presence of mind to NOT try to chuck her into the fire.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah rolls as she lands from the throw, with the practiced ease of someone who's laid her bike down a time or five, and while the impact has her breath exploding out, it's not nearly the worst she's had, even if she does finishes that roll on her knees, palms pressing down to lift herself up. She lifts her hands, palms out, hair clinging to forehead and cheeks with the sweat gleaming on her skin, dust streaking her costume. Her cheeks are flushed, chest rising and falling with deep breaths.

"Okay okay, you've... got round one... but... I -saw- you smile... that's... totally a moral victory..."

She flashes her own bright as can be smile then, although she's still slightly tensed, after all for all she knows Cassandra wants to kick off round two right now.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Nope. Calm, the smile still there. Apparently Diana earned it, and she's not hiding that victory. The little bruiser is standing, hiding her breaths with the expertise of someone who runs hard, and can keep up with the best.

She seems to have dropped her guard; Dinah wouldn't be dumb enough to assume that's true, or that she even needs one at her level. Dinah herself is that good, so she'd know. But as Cassandra walks closer, she clicks on the floor. Something she wasn't doing before. One, two, three steps. Then the click comes at the wrong time for the motion; she used the sound to mislead, to start moving before the ears tell the mind she's going to move.

Cheap trick. And Cass is coming.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah's own smile grows, hand lifting to run spread fingers through her hair, a few deeper, calming breaths taken.

She relaxes even more as she finds herself falling into that rhythm, smiling even more, shoulders slumping a little as she rolls her head back, body arching in a slow stretch.

Which, of course, is when that off-rhythm click registers.

And so Dinah does the only thing she can think of. That back arching stretch turns into a faster, sharper motion, hands lifting up, planting on the ground in a backwards somersault, and as her left foot kicks up into the air and scissors around to be parallel with the ground, and her right foot lifts to mirror it, her hips swivel, her arms shift, and she -spins-.

Dinah's never going to admit she saw this in a cheesy martial arts movie from the early 90s.

Because she'd rather take a concussion than admit she's watched that movie at least a dozen times.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The move is, apparently, hilarious. The way you can tell is by the way it actually lands, and Cass twists in mid-air to avoid it, committed to the move she'd started. The ribs get struck, then her head, and then she's on the ground.

Shaking, as she lays beneath Dinah's finish of her...move..., her face screwed up in giggles. She just lays there, obviously near to crying. And not from pain.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah clearly wasn't expecting that to work, and so she's not exactly able to capitalize on the opening. Oh sure. She pounces upon Cassandra smoothly, hands pinning her shoulders down. But then all she can do is draw a breathless, desperate gasp... and begin giggling.

And that giggling grows. To laughing... and, well, her eyes -are- tearing as her head droops and she mumbles out. "Okay, okay, I give up... you still win... I'm pretty sure if we keep going you're going to have to... carry me out of here..."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The giggling of her body is finally mimicked by Cassandra's breaths, coming out in short gasps. She allows herself to relax that fierce self-control, and in that vulnerable mounted position she just...doesn't. Doesn't fight, or get out of it. She's good there.

With a sigh, she stops gasping and looks up. The two drunks are kind of watching from the doorway, and she makes a waving motion to shoo them off. Then stretches her arms out to both sides, clearly not in the mood for more workout either.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah manages to lift herself up and stagger over to the chunk of concrete and rebat her jacket is hanging on, so she can sit on the edge and exhale slowly, breathing exercises soon remembered, working to bring her heart rate down. But she keeps her eyes on Cass. It's not a wary look like she thinks she's getting ready for round three. She's confident they've worked -that- out of their systems as she grins crookedly. Her voice is a touch hoarse, raw between deep breaths. "You're good. At dancing."

She pauses a moment, eyes twinkling playfully and smacking her right fist into her left palm. "And better at... dancing, right?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The twist of Cassandra's lips is wry, perhaps a bit awkward, as her eyes watch Dinah speak. She doesn't answer; really it would be more of a surprise if she did. But there's a sadness that passes over her face as Dinah expects her to understand. Words.

The pitch of her fist into her other hand, Cass nods at. But she turns her eyes away, upward. To the city above. She shifts her feet restlessly, then closes her eyes. When they open again she looks at her feet. Then her fist, which she clenches tightly for an instant.

What could she be saying?

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah takes a few long moments to watch Cassandra, taking in every detail of her reactions, teeth worrying her lower lip. She lifts herself up onto her feet, stepping towards Cass slowly, heels clicking, trying to mimic that rhythm from earlier... although there's no sudden change and sneak attack. Just her hand reaching out to lightly rest on the other woman's shoulder.

Her other hand moves to pantomime drinking as she murmurs softly, "Dunno about you, but I'm parched."$R

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra either doesn't tense when Dinah mimics her earlier move, or hides it brilliantly...but when Dinah touches her, she visibly relaxes. She was tense, more than you'd have guessed. And when she turns her eyes to Dinah, she has almost a grateful look on her face. Is that vulnerability? Weakness? Daddy would be ashamed.

She smiles a little though, and nods. Even though she has no idea what Dinah said. It's probably good, and she could use a few minutes...not dancing.