443/Kite Flying Weather In New York

Kite Flying Weather In New York
Date of Scene:	11 March 2020
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	Kite flying weather in Central Park turns out a host of people, local and otherwise
Cast of Characters:	Vanessa Carlysle, Lucas Trent, Oliver Queen, Ben Reilly, Carson Deschain

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Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The old saying is that March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. Today seems intent on living up to that adage. The wind is blowing at a good clip, which makes for excellent kite-flying weather. And that is what Vanessa Carlysle is doing on this trip back into New York.

The brunette woman is out on a big expanse of grass in the park with a kite flying high overhead. There are plenty of others with kites, though most of them are children. That doesn't seem to be interfering with Vanessa's fun though.

Her kite has a patriotic motif of red, white and blue, with a long dangling blue tail. She turns the strings to the side to make it dip sideways, ducking underneath a green kite being flown by a boy of twelve. Vanessa turns to flash a grin over towards Oliver Queen.

Lucas Trent has posed:
Lucas Trent seems like he should be bored. Broad shouldered and still, he sits on a park bench, watching people go by. His salt and pepper hair is beneath a black stocking cap, a leather jacket tight over a Harley-Davidson shirt and black jeans. He has his arms draped on either side of the bench.

The kite catches his eye as he looks up. He remembers when those colors meant something to him. When he was willing to die for them. It was a long time ago.

If he meets anyones eyes, he'll nod briefly, a simple acknowledgement. Being cold will only draw attention. Better, then, polite distance.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Being back to New York is always a mixed bag for Oliver, the man always having enjoyed a lot more being in Starling than out in the big apple. Perhaps unhealthily so. But can't fight who we are. Still, as long as the company is good he is appeased.

He is currently sitting down on one of the benches facing that big expanse of grass, dressed in a more casual clothing, jeans, polo, a jacket, a mix of black and brown on them. His blue eyes are on Vanessa while she plays, letting out a brief laugh when she makes that ducking under the kite.

But after a few moments he gets up from his bench, starting to approach, "Didn't know you were a pro. Going to teach me how to fly one?" he asks, even as his eyes briefly roam the surroundings, a brief search. They dwell on Lucas for a couple of seconds just before he dips his own nod of acknowledgement.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly is sitting on a park bench not too far into the park, a backpack sitting next to him, a book open in one hand, and a hand with a pencil scratching notes into a notebook, looking for all the world like he's doing schoolwork. There is an empty hot dog carton sitting on the bench next to him, ear buds whose cords are all wrapped up in black electrical tape are looped up around his neck, but the buds aren't in his ears, music loud enough for him to hear but not drown out the world around him.

His head tips up, glancing over to the kites and specifically a couple not too far from where he's at, watching them flit through the drafts of the wind. "Should let up on the line just a bit. Wind is strong, it'll fly better just a bit farther up." He calls over to the lady flying the kites, then drops his head to look back down into the book, scratching some things onto the notebook paper on the other side.

Carson Deschain has posed:
The park is a decent place for jogging, plenty of path benches, lamp posts - maybe not as much to vault, but plenty to kick off of while he jogs. Clad in shorts over ankle length under-armor and a similar t-shirt with the MonkeyBoy logo over long-sleeved of the same.

It's fast for a jog as well, almost as quick as some sprinters aided by jumps that takes Carson a quarter of a way up, planting and then leaping off with a portion of the absorbed impact to carry him higher, to gain more from the impact of landing on the back of a bench, to the side of a man looking at kites and brooding, before he is up again, turning into a tight, tucked, front flip before landing in a handspring an popping up to stop short. But can he? There's a lot of momentum there.

"Kite fliers!" He does stop, as if he had just taken a single step forward - his movements even lack follow through. He just lands, and pops to his feet with his declaration.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa lets out a laugh as Oliver approaches. "Teach you? Oh, you're probably a skilled pilot too and just going to play dumb about it to make me feel good," she tells him with a warm smile. Vanessa hears Ben's advice and follows it, letting up on it a bit. "Thank you!" she calls over to him, giving him a smile as well.

She'll offer the kite's controls over to Oliver, though without explanation, assuming he already knows how they work. "Thanks for the trip back into the City," Vanessa says. She glances about the area, her own mention of the trip making her thoughts go to why she isn't living here anymore. Eyes scanning the surrounding area quickly, but not seeing the faces she hopes not to see ever again.

One of the younger kids messes up, and his kite takes a nose dive, hitting the ground. It's still ok, but he'll probably need help getting it airborne again.

Lucas Trent has posed:
Lucas Trent lingers for a moment on Oliver. Most people probably couldn't see the training, the ability, in Oliver's stance, his gait, the way he moves his hands. Most people aren't The Midnighter. His tactical computer reads this man as highly dangerous, but he doesn't seem to be aggressive. Still. Worth noting that he's not the only lethal individual in the park today.

He notes Vanessa's momentary nervousness, too. Maybe a pair on the run.

Oliver Queen has posed:
"Oh, so this is like piloting...? Why didn't you say so from the start?" Oliver teases Vanessa with a faint smile to his lips, but then just shakes his head as if saying he isn't exactly a skilled pilot. "I prefer to trust a master kiter instead." yet when Vanessa hands it over to him without explanation he has to take a while getting used to it. Truly doesn't seem like Oliver ever did this in the past.

"Maybe you will be able to visit your friend while we are here." he suggests to Vanessa, but notes that glancing around, a press of his lips and he doing the same again, even if not as overt perhaps.

His attention dwells on Lucas again for a brief moment, perhaps in assessment, then to the others.

He smiles at Ben's suggestion though and allows the kite to go a bit higher. At least he learns fast.

"Oh no!" the young kid says, running over to the downed kite with dismay, trying to untangle it from the ground with difficulty.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly waves a hand right back in Vanessa's direction with a quick smile for her and a curious look in Oliver's direction followed by a gradual narrowing of his eyes. "Heeeey. Aren't you Oliver Queen?" Ben pauses a moment, his head jerking, looking around himself, a bashful expression taking over his features. 'Sorry.' he mouths at Oliver. His book is closed and slid into his backpack. "Didn't mean to announce that to the whole park." A quick glance over to Lucas, and then to the parkour guy before he looks back Oliver and Vanessa. There's a definite curious look on his young features, a slight smirk starting at the corner of his mouth and creeping outwards. "Lucky I'm not paparazzi or something." Or the real spider man. Photographer extroardinaire. "Higher takes a bit more control with the strong wind, but gives you a lot more updraft, and space to recover from an accidental dive. I guess... like a plane. Sort of? Vaguely the same concept."

Carson Deschain has posed:
No one noticed. Works well enough. Well the one man who noticed doesn't seem to have noticed so Carson edges around the group, watching the kid deal with the kite and the string, foot tapping - hyped up and thinking now before he raises a hand.

"If if you, possibly, added strips approximately four inches to either side you may be able to break some of the wind pressure enough to adjust for the higher winds and the higher Newtons of pressure placed on the surface of the kite. Then you would have less side to side pull and thus less chance of a sudden turn and dive."

Hands folding behind his back as he rocks back and forth on his feet.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle steps back away, grinning as Oliver either doesn't quite know what he's doing with the kite, or is pretending that way. "Left is left, right is right. It needs to be upright sooner or later to stay up," she says, staying behind him, sometimes resting a hand on his shoulder.

She smiles over towards Ben as he approaches. "How things might have been different if I was better with famous faces," Vanessa tells Oliver. "I'd probably have been all nervous. Too nervous for blueberry pie." She flashes the smile to him and then over to Ben. "Hello. Great day isn't it? Never know who you'll run into."

Vanessa looks over towards Carson as he makes the suggestion. "I... that sounds very... physics-ee. So probably a good idea?" she says, looking to Oliver as if hoping he knows more about the topic than she. "I just know they don't work well without a tail."

Lucas Trent has posed:
The name Oliver Queen strikes a chord. Ah, yes. The billionaire. Interesting that he would have that kind of movement, that kind of skill. There's a story there, to be sure. But is it something that requires the Midnighter's attention? Maybe.

Still, he finds himself rising up and walking a bit closer, not interjecting - he has no advice on kite flying. Still, he can't resist a little bit.

"Not a lot of billionaires hanging out in public parks."

Oliver Queen has posed:
For his part, Oliver appears to pick up well on the kite. There are some things that are the same no matter what kind of 'vehicle' one is piloting. He is focused on it for a little bit, getting used to how it maneuvers though the smile on his face his genuine. Always good to enjoy himself when he can.

Though when his name is spoken Oliver turns his blue gaze back down and around, towards Ben. "Guilty." he admits but then lifts his shoulders, not appearing too worried about being spotted. But he can't help but laugh at Vanessa, shaking his head. "I don't think you'd ever be too nervous for blueberry pie."

Then a glance towards both Carson and Lucas, "I think the fun part of it is that it's not too stable, sometimes the unexpected can be a good thing." and then his kite takes a dive which he barely can recover back to position. A sigh..

"Like that." but to anyone with a good eye to it his posture has sobered up a bit more with the extra attention they are getting.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Oh I mean I don't know. I run into billionaire CEO's on a pretty daily basis myself so... pretty average day." Ben is... not a good liar. Nor is he trying to be. His neutral tone and face break about halfway through, and by the end he's barely restraining himself from laughing. At himself. "Blueberry pie? Ick. I hate blueberries." Ben's brows furrow a little bit. "I think. Maybe I'm confusing that with a different berry. Rasberries? Blackberries? Those all get stuff stuck in your teeth don't they? I was going to say whichever berry gets stuff stuck in your teeth." His features scrunch a little bit.

"Layman's terms pal." He remarks turning his head to look over at Carson. "Not everyone knows physics." Not that Ben seems confused about what Carson was saying. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns his music off, wrapping the repeatedly repaired cord up around the phone before the whole mess goes back into his pocket. "Sorry. Didn't mean to barge in on your date." Ben offers Vanessa and Oliver both another quick grin before he backs away a few steps, giving them some space, eyeing the bench he was sitting on before he goes over and scoops up the hot dog carrier and folds it up tucking into his pocket to throw away later.

Carson Deschain has posed:
"Personally I think the fun part is when it doesn't come screaming to the ground like a burning wreck simulating a horrific crash." His grin is all teeth, "Hey! He figured it out - I mean it's just a matter of cutting the wind resistance that knocks it off kilter. Its like holding it a certain way during the run-up to make sure it launches without suicide spinning into the ground.

The lanky man approaches, still with hands folded behind his back, no change to the grin, "I mean I could show you the angles for the next run?" and then he's looking to Ben, head to the side, "Maybe some billionaires like the... sort of... not... Well it's air out here in the park at least."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa grins back to Oliver, until she hears Ben's comment about blueberries. She waggles a finger in his direction. "Now that just put you on the 'questionable' list," she warns him.

Vanessa glances at Lucas as he approaches and Ben answers him. She shrugs. "Probably wouldn't know if it you had, I figure," she says. The young woman glances over at the kid whose kite fell to the ground. He's trying to run to get it up in the air while holding the string. "Oh, that's going to be tough to do," she tells him. Vanessa heads over to offer to run with the kite while he holds the string. She takes off, getting the breeze going to lift it up higher where the wind can easily take it.

Lucas Trent has posed:
Lucas Trent keeps his eyes on Oliver for the moment, "Maybe Mr. Queen is a different kind of billionaire. Most of the ones I've met are pretty soft. Crybabies, really. I don't think you are," he says.

He doesn't want to push to any sort of confrontation, though, turning his eyes to the kites, "Nice display of patriotism," he says.

"I do wonder if you're the sort who donates money because he cares or just does it for the tax breaks. Always hard to tell."

Oliver Queen has posed:
"I thought the fun part was getting teeth all stuck with stuff.. Have I been deceived?" Oliver asks Vanessa with amusement playing on his expression, shaking his head lightly to himself. "But not interrupting. We are just enjoying a nice day out." he says to Ben with a reassuring smile. "New York does have a certain charm to it."

His eyes trail back up to the sky and to his kite while he speaks to Carson. "It's like that saying. We fall so we can get up again. Failure is a part of growth, right?" he muses on that for a bit but Lucas's words draw his attention back to the man. He bares a smile that shows some teeth. "Crybabies with the money to normally hire the type that aren't. But I thank you." another glance over at Lucas. "You look the soldier type." he comments.

But then his attention focuses on Vanessa when she helps the kid, watching.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"On the questionable list?" Ben gasps in an overly dramatic tone, putting a hand to his chest. "For not liking blueberries? You know in all honesty all the blueberries I've ever probably had were like... fruit pies and... cereal stuff. Probably have never actually had real blueberries... and... what?" Ben turns to blink a few times and stare at Lucas. "Dude. Not cool." Ben shakes his head slowly while eyeballing Lucas. "Uncool." He even wags a finger at the other guy in reprevement.

"Well isn't that just adorable." Ben remarks as Vanessa goes to help the kid, a quick smile as he watches her. "New York has a lot of charm to it. Amongst other things. But definitely lots of charm. Spending some time in Gotham made me appreciate just how much charm New York has in comparison. Gotham is like... pergatory on earth or something. It's nuts."

Carson Deschain has posed:
"I dunno about that, man. I mean - failure is one thing, falling could be another." chewing his lip a moment, "Granted falling is part of my business. Sort of." He does flip, flop with the flip flippity floppity flip. Carson continues to watch the kites, bouncing on the balls of his feet some as he does so.

"I wonder why I never bothered much with the kite thing though. I'd not thought much about it until now." eyes back on Oliver, "So you're... Queen? I thought I saw you up in the VIP box when Luthor said he wants to be the CIC."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa wanders back to the kid after her little jog, watching him get the kite up higher and higher. "Great job," she tells him before turning to walk back over her, her cheeks just slightly flushed from the run in the still moderately cool air.

She walks back over to the group of men, not having the comment about charitable giving it seems, as she doesn't show any reaction in that direction. "It's the right time of year for it," Vanessa says with a smile to Carson, catching that part at least.

She turns her gaze on Ben. "You probably just haven't found the write blueberry pie then. I know a lady name of Sally. She can hook you up," Vanessa offers.

Lucas Trent has posed:
Lucas Trent watches Queen depart as a result of a phone call, the rich man walking away.

"Yeah. A soldier. Used to be," he says to the departing back of the man.

"Blueberry pie's pretty damn good, although I'm a peach man myself," he says. "Little strudel in the crust. Can't miss it."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly tips his head to the side curiously, a quizzical sort of pose. "Sally? Does Sally live here in New York? Because this kid is waaaaay too broke to go traveling to other cities all the time. I mean not that I wouldn't go get pie in another city if I had the time and the means." Ben tucks his hands into his pants pockets and shrugs, shifting the backpack around on his shoulders into a more comfortable position. "But I mean, we're talking about pies and well... I mean pizza is clearly the best pie. Especially here in New York? Can't get better pizza anywhere. And if someone says Chicago we're going to have a problem okay." He puts up paired fists in an obviously terrible fighting stance. "Also how does one find the right blueberries? I mean aren't blueberries blueberries? And no pizza isn't pizza it's not the same thing. Fruit is just fruit isn't it?" He asks, looking around at the group.

Carson Deschain has posed:
"Minnesota has Sven and Ole's - that's the best pizza. I'll fight anyone who tries to tell me otherwise." Why does Carson know this? How far has he gone for Pizza? How far -would- he go. To space? Cross Dimensions? Michigan? What nightmares would he face.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa returns and rests a hand on Oliver's back until his phone rings and he needs to go and take it. She takes the kite and gives him a little wave as if to say she'll be alright. It is a very public, open area of the park. Whatever had Vanessa looking around earlier, probably wouldn't be a problem here.

She looks to Luca to nods towards him. "Peach isn't bad," she says. "New Lots," Vanessa says then, the brunette's gaze swinging towards Ben. "Corner of Maple and Birch. The Streetcar Diner. Sally works the evening and late shifts. Mel's the cook, but I claim Sally is the reason the pie is so good. Tell her Vanessa sent you. Maybe she'll give me a free coffee on my next visit then," she says with a soft grin.

The young woman turns her sloe eyes towards Carson at his mention of Minnesota. "From there I guess?" she asks. As if people don't just travel to there for the weather. In March.

Lucas Trent has posed:
Lucas Trent holds up a black gloved hand, "I don't get into pizza arguments. I've seen some pretty nasty barfights start that way. Not that I mind a barfight, but I figure not in front of the kiddies."

He does listen to the details that Vanessa gives on potential diner fare. He eats at enough diners, although he usually shows up for the cheeseburgers more than the pie.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben Reilly pulls the hood up on his hoodie against the wind and zips the jacket up fully. "I'll have to check it out next time I have the money to go somewhere. Thanks for the tip." Ben offers Vanessa a quick smile before he narrows his eyes at Carson. "There is no way. Zero chance that there's pizza in Minnefriggingsota that beats New York pizza." He points two fingers at his own eyes, then points them at Carson. He's watching him. "Gotta get going. Sorry for interrupting your date. But thanks for the info. You all have a good night!" He waves at Lucas Vanessa and Carson before he turns and starts to walk off, worn sneakers scuffing on the ground as he goes.

Carson Deschain has posed:
"Wisconsin actually. East side. But I'd been to Minnesota a lot, and up in the boonies where that pizza joint is." He's been a lot of places too, you should see his luggage stickers. But his attention is on the mention of pie "That's not too bad a jaunt from Brooklyn too, they make Berry Medley there? I like to sample a little of everything." even as he stands he has to bounce to land on his heels - the idea of being still seeming to be a far gone concept to Carson.

"Or strawberry peach, the tart sweet with the mellow, it's really good, I mean it. My aunt on dad's side made that. I was weirded out at first, for real." then Ben is on his way, "It's the best! Go out there, totally worth it!" said to the retreating form.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa waggles a finger towards Lucas. "Those are wise words. From someone who has had to dodge several bar fights in my past. Kiddies or no." She glances towards Oliver, who makes motion to let her know they need to go. "Well, it looks like my kite-flying is over," she says, beginning to reel the kite in, wrapping the rope about the handle's loop and bringing it lower and lower.

"Interesting, never heard of strawberry peach. Will have to keep an eye out for it," Vanessa says as the kite gets near enough to the ground it finally dives and bounces off the grass. She goes over to retrieve it, winding up the rest of the string. "Hope you all enjoy the rest of the day," she says, before jogging over to join Oliver.