3188/The dark side of success

The dark side of success
Date of Scene:	01 September 2020
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	A meeting between the Court of Owls and the Family of Bats ends with mercy. Something important begins.
Cast of Characters:	Cassandra Cain, Strix

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Cassandra Cain has posed:
When you're in Gotham, expect darkness.

It's almost a given. The rooftops especially, you almost never see anyone on them until night falls. A passing shadow is often something sinister, and while they may frighten the unwary, the unwary have no place here.

This rooftop is a processing plant's, with the sounds of dripping below. An occasional beep from a fire alarm inside the building with a dying battery, and the ever-present crows that flock the night.

A silhouette can be seen if you look from the right angle as well. It looks human; a closer look would reveal feminine features. A closer listen would give nothing, not a sound at all. It's listening, the eyes closed so to not ruin the vision of the eyes within.

Orphan is scouting the locale. Why? She's not speaking.

Strix has posed:
There's another shadow, just as still, watching the first. Clad all in black, save for gold highlights and the stylized owl themed mask, the Talon watches her quarry intently. This is another on the list of Batman's associates that Strix has been tasked in taking down, and she's been carefully observing her for some time now.

At some signal that is imperceptible by any normal human Strix swoops down from her perch to strike. She's just as silent as her namesake, and just as deadly, twin swords coming down for a heavy attack.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The figure doesn't move. And doesn't move, and doesn't move! The last instant even Strix would expect some kind of reaction, but the eyes don't even open, and the feeling of impact of the swords on her target is real, tangible, and...wrong.

Instantly she'd know; the target is armoured, one sword skidding off of a plate that hides a vital organ, the other slicing through some form of hyper-dense chain maille. A hint of blood is on the blade now, but the target is aware.

And moving, the eyes shining in the darkness. Hands reaching for the blades which have come to attack, she means to disarm her attacker, her fingers moving with intense commitment, and a perfection of speed.

She has vulnerabilities, there are openings. She's buying time, not fighting to kill. Why?

Strix has posed:
Strix is certainly surprised at this tactic of just letting her hit her target. Perhaps she's overconfident that her armor will protect her against all attacks? Still, she's skilled enough that one of Strix's swords go flying, but in a surprising show of speed and agility, she kicks out a foot to change the trajectory of the sword to straight up in the air.

She uses this momentum this generates to lash out with the other sword, aiming for weak spots generally seen in armor. Inside the knees and elbows.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The girl's motions speak volumes. She shifts to an offensive system when the sword is kicked upward, forcing Strix backward. The sudden alteration is planned, an elbow coming up to jam the sword still held, keeping it from her with what seems to be a partial backflip combined with the elbow redirection. Incredibly gutsy, she ends up upside-down as the sword whips over her body.

Just as suddenly though she's slipping out of range. She's forced Strix back a single step, and if she wishes to catch her lost blade she'll have to allow the target a moment's distance. Positioning maneuver, and it lets her get two steps back while the sword is caught.

Unless she's chosen to abandon the second blade, that is.

Strix has posed:
Strix is willing to give her opponent a moment's distance while she positions herself to catch the blade. However before catching it, a trio of throwing daggers is tossed, so that pressure is still applied even though there's two steps between them.

Once the sword is in hand again, the Talon leaps at her prey, closing the distance quickly, lashing out again, swords reversed like a praying mantis.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The daggers never had a chance. She moved between them like a dancer, but they kept her from taking further advantage of the moment's lull. Still, those eyes are a form of death; they give away so little, a trained power of their own. They watch, they're...learning, the girl is learning her. The longer they fight, the more she takes in.

This time she's able to avoid them, though the gap is a hair's breadth. Strix would actually hear her clothing be caught by the edge of the blades, and once again the woman reaches for the blades to try and disarm her opponent. She insists on nonlethal, on taking the blades. Perhaps that could be used against her.

She was close, very close. But when she does this move she leaves her torso open. Predictability is a weakness, and one worth taking advantage of.

Though there's a kick, and a good solid one, Strix's target isn't exposing her limbs nearly enough to be taken out easily. She's good but in a limited fashion.

Strix has posed:
There's a kind of symmetry between the two as they fight. It becomes less a skirmish and more of a dance as the two silently trade blows. There's a rhythm as the two learn each other's styles, and as they fight on, Orphan learns that Strix is more than willing to take blows in order to get a hit in, or put herself in an advantageous position.

It's like the Talon doesn't feel pain the same way people do. At one point during their melee there is a resounding *crunch* of the ribs as Strix actually walks into a kick to make one of her own, aimed to unbalance the other girl. A quick upward swing of the sword follows, again aiming for gaps in the armor.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
And it lands! This is the second time that Strix has put blood on her blade, and while it seems as if the target is getting faster, not slower, she's the only one to make significant contact. The target's left arm is damaged, attacks on that side will be more likely to strike home. It's only a matter of time now.

And both of them seem to know it; Orphan, her methods previously unknown, begins to look, if anything, anxious. She looks for ways to retreat, her eyes glancing to things other than her opponent. At one point she tries a leap off of the roof, only to be pushed back by a sword slice that nearly takes her head.

Strix has her on the ropes. At this level, a small injury means everything.

Strix has posed:
It's like a game of chess. Sacrifice a bit here and there to put Strix in a better position. Check. Sacrifice the ribs, which will heal back within moments to get a slice in on the left arm. This leaves the left flank vulnerable and makes her opponents movements more predictable.

Check. Pressure the left, and let the openings speak for themselves. At one point she nearly decapitates her target, and there's something in the back of her mind that she didn't expect to feel: Regret.

Mate. There's no escaping this blow. The swords swing down and... embed themselves on either side of Orphan's head against the concrete wall she was backed up against, leaving the both of them face to face with mere inches separating them.

Strix's breathing is heavy, yet controlled and even, and there's something in her stance that would be apparent to Orphan. Conflicting emotions course through her. This woman she just fought was more like her than she cared to admit and something in her is telling her to let Orphan go.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
She's quiet, this one. Not a sound from her even now, when she's lost. Her eyes are something else, even now clipping about Strix's body. She holds the right parts of her own body still, knowing how dangerous the blades at her neck are. But the odd thing is, she isn't showing fear. She never did. Merely a tactical decision to retreat.

After a moment though, she looks up. She looks into Strix's eyes, and something in her slows. And a questioning arch raises her eyebrow, wondering something. She may have seen the impulse within Strix; if so, she's better at reading than anyone the assassin has ever met. Even Lady Al Ghul. Even Shiva.

And yet, that potential is being squandered with all that...softness.

Or is it?

Strix has posed:
Orphan's silence is met with a similar silence from the Talon. Strix's body is taught, always a moment away from finishing the job she set out to do, yet she sees herself in her quarry. She feels something that has been absent in all the years she has been an assassin for the Court of Owls: Empathy. Perhaps even compassion.

These are dangerous emotions for a trained killer like she is, yet here they are, and with them other feelings surface that cause her to doubt her position within the Court. And finally she comes to a conclusion.

The swords are pulled out of the concrete and are lowered, as Strix takes two steps back, far enough away for Orphan to slip by. Her stance relaxes, letting the swords drop to her sides, and it's easy to read that she doesn't intend to pursue the young woman anymore. There will be harsh consequences for this.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Orphan, the target with no name, hovers for a moment. Hesitates. It's a lapse of sorts, her face still that stoic rock. Until it suddenly isn't, a half-smile tripping off of her right cheek. There's something important in that, and though she takes the opportunity it isn't without a moment of comraderie.

She steps out of sword's range, her body not quite aware of a couple of Strix's tricks; she could still be hit even at that range, even now. Or she's masterly faking, but either way she is out of -normal- range...and pauses, making a motion with her hands.

She shows a flat hand, palm down, at an exact height. Slightly less than her own not-impressive stature. She then makes a small bat symbol with her fingers, quickly done, and adds a LOOK. A look that says something, almost a question, almost pleading. A shake of the head.

And then she waits for a response.

Strix has posed:
It's hard to tell expression from the full cowl of the Talon's mask but an almost imperceptible tilt of the head at the question. In response she sheathes her swords and turns to go, but hesitates at the last minute.

She reaches out with a clawed hand and scrapes out a message in the concrete. In big, blocky, almost child like letters it says:

            THEY WILL NOT STOP

"They." Not "I," but "They." Having made her decision she turns again and slips silently in the night to consider her own future, and the nature of her relationship with the Court of Owls.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
And Cassandra Cain stands, the last to leave, and slowly straightens herself out. She had no need to run, not after the decision was made. So she did not, and after all there's a stakeout to complete.

Still, the scratchings on the concrete of the roof get her attention long after her opponent has vanished. She looks at them, her eyes squinting, and then shrugs.

Someone should really teach her how to read someday.