2815/Court of Owls: Patrol

Court of Owls: Patrol
Date of Scene:	07 August 2020
Location:	Kingston - Miagani Island
Synopsis:	Strix, one of the Talons, takes a target of opportunity. Red Robin does not come out better for it.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Strix

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Tim Drake has posed:
Red Robin stands on the edge of the Bank of Gotham building in Kingston, peering off into the distance with a scowl on his lips. It's quiet tonight, which is usually good for a patrol, but it sets him on edge. The police scanners are quiet... for Gotham, which still means busy, but at least it's with the normal stuff: muggings, murders... no clowns, no 8 foot walking crocodilians, no coin-flipping ex-DAs, no psychotic plant people. A part of him idly considers heading back to Chelsea and seeing if Conner or Bart are awake and want to smash something on some brightly-pixeled fighting game; or if Rose was actually around and hadn't slipped off to do something he was probably going to be frustrated to find out about later.

But no, he already blew off work at the R&D labs earlier in the day, and he couldn't justify to himself cutting his nightly patrolling short, too. The scanners keep buzzing in his ear, listening to for something that might catch his attention... if not the usual group of rogues, then more reports of the drugs showing up around Gotham.

But nothing so far.

Strix has posed:
A shadowy figure slinks along the the rooftops at night, silently padding across the edges. Mary, the Talon from the Court of Owls is on a mission tonight, which means that she's up to no good. She slows down, though, when she spies another figure up on the rooftops. It's Red Robin. While not her current target, it /is/ someone the Court would very much like to see taken down.

Dual swords unsheathed, she changes her trajectory towards the young Crusader. Silent and deadly, much like an owl swooping in to catch a mouse, she strikes!

Tim Drake has posed:
There isn't exactly a sound, a breath... anything specific that warns Red Robin of his attacker before she strikes. Honed paranoia, perhaps, from years of training under the Batman. So as the strike comes, it's only by the barest of margins Red Robin dodges to avoid it, rolling across the rooftop and in that motion pulling out his collapsible staff, swinging it to full as he springs to his feet. "Who--?" Swords. League of Assassins? The clothing isn't right. But the only others he's seen with swords of late are Rose and her father, and this is neither.

He brings his staff up defensively. "Who are you?"

Strix has posed:
Red Robin's dodge nearly takes the Talon by surprise. Nearly. Clearly she's dealing with somebody of considerable skill, which would justify why the Court would want him dead. She's quick to close the gap between them, and goes in low for a hamstring, and then high to cut off the dodge.

Her deadly silence is the only answer Red Robin gets from her, an answer that speaks louder than words.

Tim Drake has posed:
It's not the first time someone has tried to kill him without an explanation, and Red Robin is fairly sure it won't be the last. But this is unexpected in how skilled his opponent is, how fast and relentless. It's all he can do to keep his staff blocking her, the low stroke blocked, the high glancing off his staff and his armor, gashing into the red kevlar-backed costume. His face is grim, the whites of his domino mask obscuring his eyes even as the heads-up display feeds him additional information.

That information would usually be useful. But for now, there isn't a time to plan or strategize, just to defend. And that is all he is managing so far: defense. He backs up a step or two at a time with each swing.

Strix has posed:
Every swing from the Talon has multiple purposes. Sure, should they connect it would serve to injure Red Robin, slow him down so she can get the killing blow in, but she recognizes his skill, and how unlikely any individual attack might land. So her attacks serve a different purpose, to herd him towards the edge of the building. Cut off his maneuvering space which would leave him that much more vulnerable.

She manages to land a hit. Good. A deep cut to the thigh. It's not deadly. Not by a long shot, but the pain of the cut should serve to hobble him some.

Tim Drake has posed:
Red Robin takes the wound with surprisingly more grace than most would. Which is to say, there is no scream or yelp of pain, only a hiss from his lips. Comms, comms. He's slowed with the gash to his thigh, but at least it wasn't a fatal one.

"League maybe, Kingston, Old Bank Building," he manages into the comms before slamming his staff back, attempting to push back against the Talon. Still, her steady pushing him back towards the edge of the building is working, even as he keeps blocking most of her slashes and stabs. Mentally, he notes to spar more with Damian, or Rose. There are several smaller battered cuts and dings to his armor.

It's like fighting a machine. She's not tiring.

Strix has posed:
Red Robin's strike against the Talon is the first counterattack he's made against her relentless assault. While it doesn't land it does interrupt the rhythm of slashes and feints that she has fallen into. Sloppy.

So she changes things up a bit, hitting a bit less with her swords, but getting her feet and legs into the melee, pushing the man even further to the edge. She needs to finish this quickly. This was merely an attack of convenience and not her main target. If she were to delay too long she would miss the window of opportunity to strike at her real target.

Tim Drake has posed:
Red Robin feels the ledge of the rooftop at the back of his calves suddenly. Nowhere left to back up. He stutter-steps to the side, but that's as far as he can go.

The staff goes from two handed grip to one. He takes the risk of another, far harder hit being landed to grab the grapple at his waist.

Strix has posed:
Mary has finally pushed the Red Robin to where she wants him: At the ledge and vulnerable, though he does something unexpected that leaves his left side exposed. She doesn't know what it is that's so important that he expose himself like this, but she's not going to let this opportunity pass her by.

She lunges, and plunges her sword deep into the side of her opponent. The only reason why it's not a deadly blow is because the armor there was enough to slow the blow. She hops back and prepares to strike again.

Tim Drake has posed:
Red Robin grunts as the blade cuts deep into his left side, his left hand already gripping the gun for the grapple. A step up. A step back. And he drops, firing at the building across the street to arrest his momentum. He swings across the gap of the street below, slamming into the building side, swearing under his breath. He drops his staff to the street below, grabbing the line with both hands to haul himself up.

It's a staff. He'll live without it, he has others. For now, he needs to get out of here and back to Chelsea... it's closer than the cave. Wounded, bleeding... he's not sure he's going to make it to where he's stashed his motorcycle, but he's damn sure going to try.