3081/When there's reckoning to be reckoned

When there's reckoning to be reckoned
Date of Scene:	24 August 2020
Location:	Thea's apartment in SoHo
Synopsis:	Siblings talk. At least they're talking, right?
Cast of Characters:	Thea Queen, Oliver Queen

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Thea Queen has posed:
Summer in the City is in full swing. Tourists walk the streets of SoHo, a poorer cousin of the Village, but still filled with quaint shops, little hole in the wall bistros, and lots of dog-walkers on the end of 4 dog leashes. The apartments are older; it's one of the original sections of town dating back to the 1700s and some of the architecture reflects that still.

One particular apartment that Thea leases (or rather, her dad) isn't quite that old, but it's got some age to it. Heavy door on street level, walk up with stairs that make a 'hollow' sound when footsteps tred on it, and a landing up top with another old, subtly ornate door at the top with several bolt locks and a peep-hole that is at a level for someone about 6' tall.

Inside the apartment, there's music playing softly.. some indeterminate club techno.. something with no real discernable words and to the 'untrained ear', no real melody.

Oliver Queen has posed:
The kind of influence that Oliver had accumulated over the years was no joke, both with or without the mask. Knowing the right people at the right place, a favor owed here and there. Honestly, he could be quite the villainous 'string-puller' if only he hadn't taken a turn to goodness some time after he returned from his ordeal at Lian Yu..

So he had called in those favors, looking for sightings, talking with some people strategically placed who could run this discreetly. And also, he had known Thea for a long time to know how she thought, how she acted..., and some guesses as to what kind of company she'd be hanging out with. Drugs? He expected no less.

Yet a sighting had finally come through, entering a certain building in SoHo so he had made his way there, just casually dressed. No suit either the green type or a formal one. Just some jeans, a shirt and a jacket. His beard was longer than usual though, all that time searching not having left him with much time for those kind of details.

A knock is heard on the door, followed by another a bit louder. Just in case the techno music is muffling those knocks.

Thea Queen has posed:
There's no answer after the knock, though the music on the other side does lower slightly after a minute's pause. Even with the thinner walls that seem to be part of NYC's zoning laws (a bit of sarcasm there!), there's no movement that can really be heard within. The only hint that someone may be in is, indeed, the volume.

At first, perhaps it may seem that the lowering of the volume is the only response to the rap at the door as if to answer a 'your music is too loud' silent request. But, that too, never happens in NYC. Those are usually followed with bellowing or more good thumps on the door, followed by a 'Turn that sh** down!' and grumbles.

Within, the stupid peephole is too high for the slight Queen, and maybe it's just brotherly intuition, but she is most definitely on the other side of the door. And, 'Queen' will out.. there's the distinct possibility that she can /feel/ him on the other side.

Besides, it hasn't yet been a week.

There, on the other side of the door, Thea's leaning against the frame, her back against it, and her knees slightly bent. A hand runs through unkempt hair and she takes a quick, centering breath before,

The sound of locks on the door opening in a quiet *thunk* and *thunk* comes in response, finally, and the door knob turns. It's when the door opens, there is still a chain across the expanse of a few inches, and a familiar but pale, drawn and un-made up face is on the other side.

"What." It's a statement and a question all in one.

Oliver Queen has posed:
If there is one thing that Oliver is full of that's patience. Other than secrets, that is. So he can very well wait, arms folded over his front, eyes on the doorway. No attempt to force anything but those earlier knocks. And he knows it was heard, considering the shift in volume..

His jaw works back and forth, thoughtful, maybe even considering what he will be /saying/. Truth be told he had been more worried with the search than what the meeting afterwards would be. But how *bad* can it be?

The turn of locks makes him shift his weight, a step closer to the door. Did he expect the door to be fully open? Maybe! So the chain is a bit of a surprise.

But fine, he can deal with chains. "Can we talk?" Still, there's a visible sign of relief on the man's expression when it's actually Thea opening the door, and she actually being mobile.

Thea Queen has posed:
The chain is a way of life in NYC. Even the way Thea stands near it speaks a wariness; one doesn't normally open the door completely, just in case. Always give one more barrier. Granted, it'd only take a second to break the chain, but it's that second more given to the occupant. And if they're good?

A second counts.

Those three words brings a sigh from the younger sibling before she pushes the door closed enough to let the chain slide before she opens the door a little more widely- a tacit offer to him to enter.

Inside, it's a 'prefurnished' effeciency. The kitchen is small and largely unused. The main living area has a television, turned off, a day bed.. and the only bit of 'her', is her backpack that is propped up in a corner.

To see Thea fully, she looks like something the cat dragged in. Pale, her hair in strands of dried sweat and oil.. and dressed in wrinkled sleepwear; fuzzy pants and a tank top.

"About what?" Her voice is quiet, just above the sound of music. "I left because we weren't really talking." She takes those steps away and pulls her arms up and crosses them in front of her. "I thought we were, but I was wrong."

Oliver Queen has posed:
Pff New York! It's one of those things he'd never get used to, chains at the door. But then again, he -is- from Starling, things are always a bit diferent over there. But no motion is made to approach the door or force it before it's finally open up.

Ollie steps inside, clear blue gaze taking in the place, assessing it in that way of his. A small frown is there. Maybe pondering on how he could not find this anywhere on her name, or anything related to her about this.

"Nice place." Just casual words, but his focus is then fully on Thea, taking in the rather pale manner, the unkempt frame.

The words make his brow arch up. "So your solution is to leave?" a certain tension there on his tone but he keeps it even enough, no judgement, simply trying to understand. He takes a moment and then finally adds. "There is much about that island that I have not told you, it's true." he says, clearly showing he knows about what happened. "What do you think would had changed if you knew?"

Thea Queen has posed:
The door is shut behind her brother, and once she's in in the middle of the room, is standing, her expression holding a mixture of emotions. She's trying to keep it together. She's mad as hell to see him, and in the same breath, Thea loves her brother to the ends of the earth, and all this is killing her inside.

Her head rocks up as if to look at the heavens in supplication before she looks back down, her own blues on his. "I would have known who the hell Slade was." The statement is flat.

"You know what? When he realized I had no idea who he was, you know what he did? He didn't //lie// to me. He didn't pat me on the head and let me live in some fantasy world where everything is packed away. He didn't have to.. but he did. He //told// me things. Things I didn't know. Things about my own fa-" Thea pauses as she begins to say those words, and stops there. Instead, those blue eyes remain,

"This.. right here would be different. I'd understand you more. I'd understand our screwed up family more." Shaking her head, Thea looks around her apartment, the one sublet through Malcolm. //Her// father.

"But I understand now." It's a statement, and it sounds.. resigned.

Oliver Queen has posed:
"He knew well what he was doing." Oliver replies after a second of pondering, moving to stand in the middle of the room as well, not too far from Thea, "Or do you think he told you what he did because he believes you deserve the truth?" a shake of his head given.

The mention of Slade does bring a tension to Ollie's shoulders, one that really never disappeared after all these years when he comes to think of what happened at Lian Yu. His eyes stray to look around the room again and he asks. "What do you believe you understand now..?" at least he appears to be wanting to understand.. It's a notch above the 'I am right and you are wrong' that he has often done in the past.

"I didn't lie to you, no more than I did to myself thinking what had happened back then was part of the past. Apparently it has a way of coming back to haunt us. Our father died in that island, and that is the truth."

Thea Queen has posed:
"That wasn't the first time I met him, Ollie. I met him at the club, during the Masquerade. I had too much to drink and, like usual, that last glass was filled with a little too much regret." At least Thea can poke a little fun at herself. She knows she's not perfect; far from it. "No dances, my date left me.. but, to be fair, he wasn't really my date, and it was just a chance to get blind drunk." She's honest! "He talked to me. Me." A chopped hand points to herself, "He.. sat down, talked to me, gave me advice.. and at the end of it, I felt like he cared."

Thea shakes her head to dislodge the spiderwebs. That night isn't too long ago; months, but it seems years.

Thea doesn't move from her spot in the room; she's not taking a seat as if it's going to be a prolonged conversation. Not yet. What little height she has, she wants to use it as part of her own defenses. This isn't a chat with a bowl of ice cream, or fighting over the last of the roast beef.

"So, maybe?" That's her final answer!

Her eyes aren't anywhere near as glassy as they'd been a week earlier; she's not over her withdrawal, but the detoxing is progressing. Now, she crosses the room to pull a water from the refrigerator and unscrews the cap before taking a couple of swallows. She's trying... she is.

"That you really think you're protecting me by not telling me things. That.. I have to wonder if what I am being told is everything, because you're making the decision of what I need to know. Mother is. I'm sure Malcolm is." There's the one person left out of that list.

"He did die on the island. He didn't drown." Thea holds the bottled water in a hand, cradled by the other. "Slade told me. Also told me he must have been a good man." Lifting a hand to wipe at her eyes, she leaves tracks of moisture across before she settles herself again.

"He also told me he would train me."

Oliver Queen has posed:
Now there's another reason Ollie wasn't too happy when Thea started to go around the Hellfire more often. He knew the man was there. Maybe he should have had more hindsight something like this could had happened. But what was done was done. "Do you really think he didn't know who you were when you spoke that first time?" yes, there's clearly a grudge between the two men. "He doesn't help anyone for the goodness of his heart. You do realize there is a reason he returned shortly after to the mainland and I was left there, don't you?" well, not exactly there.., another island. Heh, details.

But then he just shakes his head. "But you are old enough to make your own judgement about the man."

He watches her then when she goes to fetch water, his brows furrowing. "What does Malcolm have to do with any of this?" but then he drifts past that, making his way over to the sofa. Guess he took the decision that it'd be a long talk! And he's bulky, hard to kick him out of that sofa after he sits down..

"Father had his own faults, but he tried to be a good man, that's what mattered.." But whatever he was going to say next is drowned on those last words. A narrowing of his eyes. He refrains from saying 'over my dead body' at least. It's something. Instead he asks her. "Do you truly want to know why I didn't tell you what happened?" there's a certain gravitas to those words, as if it would be in her hands what their future would be.

Thea Queen has posed:
"I don't know," and Thea shakes her head. "But I guess he realized that while he knew who I was, I didn't know who he was. He could have played games with that, Ollie. Taken advantage. But he didn't." Defending Slade? Yes. See, though.. and this is the first time her brother is opening up, feels like he's opening up. Even just a little, and she shakes her head. "No, no I don't."

Thea takes a swallow of her water again, and watches as Ollie makes himself comfortable on the couch. There's not much more furniture in the effeciency, so she wanders towards the kitchen to pull a chair from the dinette area. It's a little better than a folding chair, but not by much. Still, she carries it back one-handed and sets it down before she sits in it. "Malcolm found me.. here, in the city. Offered a place for me to stay." She looks around the little apartment, rent paid by none-other. "So I didn't have to sleep in a park." Or in a hostel.

Once, forever ago, Thea was 'daddy's little girl'. The princess in a fairy tale as told by her parents with a big brother who could do no wrong in her eyes. All that seen through a child's eyes.

The younger sibling can //feel// that tension welling, and her jaw shifts in that 'stubborn' mode she's so famous for. "Why not? You had all the chances. I looked up to you. I had my big brother back.. and all those times you closed the door? I wanted to open it again, wanted to somehow... I don't know.. tell you you were home, and nothing else mattered."

Oliver Queen has posed:
"He found you.." Oliver's brows furrow, considering that information and clearly compartmentalizing it for later. On the 'why' the man would have an interest on Thea. Some kind of suspicion runs over his expression but he doesn't make any of those thoughts known. Instead he focuses on Slade. "I made sure that what he was looking for in that island never left it. He wasn't pleased." to say the least! "He is a mercenary. Through and through."

And with some more light given on what happened on that island he then shifts to study Thea more attentively, noting the shift on the jaw that he knows her so well though. Not that he can blame her for those kind of looks. Hands run over his hair as if he was taking some time to mull over his thoughts, to consider what to say.

Because all seconds matter..

But finally he does speak up. "I didn't want you to become like me." a beat. "I was not a good man when I returned, Thea. Full of vengeance in my head for all those that wronged us. Looking for the culprits of my father's death. Be it Slade or the corrupt of Starling." she shakes his head briefly and then continues. "I did not feel I had the right to put this burden on the rest of you." which seems to imply Moira doesn't know either.

Thea Queen has posed:
From the look on Thea's face, the pronouncement that Slade's a mercenary doesn't really come as any surprise. After all.. she'd found what had been later self-identified as Slade slaughtering a restaurant full of .. bad people. Good. Bad. Things are just not black and white anymore. Not in her heart. Slowly but surely, she's losing that .. naivety. She's no longer that little girl, just like Ollie is no longer tht prince that can fight those dragons for her.

As her big brother speaks, though, she's listening. It's obvious from the very fibre of her being that she wants to listen, wants to believe everything that he's saying. He's got her full attention, and when he's done?

"If you'd have said something, Ollie, anything.. do you really think I wouldn't have wanted to help? I mean, sure.. I was a kid." But she would have, and that's her truth.

"You didn't ask for help."

Thea exhales again, let out slowly in a long breath. "He's helping me." Slade. "And I think he can give me what I need. Someone who will be brutally honest with me, and not allow me to give up on a whim. You can't do that, Ollie. You love me. You want.. to protect me, and that's not a bad thing. He's not going to kill me. I won't let that happen. You gave me that. And I'm going to fight this.." she can't really put words to her addiction, so entrenched it is in her life of the past .. years.

"I'll be okay. I hope we'll be okay."