4645/Dolls and Guys

Dolls and Guys
Date of Scene:	30 September 2020
Location:	Stephanie Brown Apt - University Apartments
Synopsis:	Stephanie's pain from breaking up with Roberto leads her to home, where an unexpected visitor is playing with her doll collection. Combat is entirely within the realm of ponies and stuffed playthings.
Cast of Characters:	Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown

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Cassandra Cain has posed:
Sep 30, 2020.


And I am here to kill you. No, you are not safe hiding behind the couch. The little raggedy anne stalks the dinosaur toy, creeping along with intense focus. Little peep figurines watch from above, horrified by the oncoming scene.

The dinosaur leaps behind a table leg, trying to escape. Oh no, you're so trapped, says the Raggedy Anne. The dinosaur comes out, scared but brave. But it to no avail, and the tickling Raggedy Andy takes it down with a pounce!

The two roll, and the asian girl making them both move in their antics bumps the tabletop with her back. A rain of peeps lands on her head, and she frowns.

She glances over at the toy chest. There were some others in there too. I wonder if they want to do tickle battle to the death. She'll have to ask.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The late September day in Gotham was cool enough that some would call it cold. Leaves were changing and falling, their blowing forms adding to the normal layer of human-originated detritus that one can find in the less-cared for parts of Gotham.

Spoiler's cape flaps about her as she stands on the roof of the tall building nearest to her apartment, the one she regularly uses to come and go at night. Only tonight she's just standing here, looking out at the University grounds across the street, but without really seeing them. Her mask hangs from a gloved hand, leaving her blond hair to blow about in the wind as well, not seeming to care even about those moments it blows across her face and blocks her vision.

Finally she swings down and lands lightly on the roof of her apartment. One of the reasons she took a top floor, and with the fewest other apartments able to see her balcony. Stephanie takes hold of the edge of the roof and lithely slithers past it, using the stealth techniques she's learning from Barbara Gordon to drop down onto the porch with as little chance of being seen as possible.

Stephanie slides her glass door open and steps inside, just in time to see a rain of peeps fall off the table and onto her friend, Cassandra. Stephanie doesn't say anything at first, just stands there surprised. The lids around Stephanie's blue eyes are the color of red from someone who has been crying.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Inside, the view is one of complete disconnect from what Stephanie calls her life, at least tonight. Cassandra rummages in the old chest, the memories of what are inside striking a chord, perhaps unwanted. There are likely no place for memories.

Yet the image of Cassandra pulling out an old doll, one with only one arm, and making it wave at the fallen peep corpses has to be strange. The girl inside Steph's apartment turns her head, the door sliding open getting her attention.

Then Cassandra is standing, the doll clenched in her right fist. Her face is a mask of death as she looks at Stephanie, and she stands there with righteous fury appearing in place of the playfulness which was only just evident.

She is looking Stephanie over and waves of anger come off of her. If she knew who'd caused this level of pain, well. Let's not discuss that.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Seeing Cassandra at the old toy chest is unexpected. The chest has been in Crystal Brown's attic since Stephanie outgrew such toys and toy chests. Only yesterday brought back to Stephanie's apartment for reminiscing before she gives it to charity, figuring something in there might make a nice Christmas gift for a needy family with Christmas a few months away.

But seeing Cassandra actually playing with the toys? THAT would normally make Stephanie gape. And probably grin. And laugh warmly.

But instead she just steps forward to her friend, throwing her arms around her in a tight hug. The control over her emotions that Steph had finally managed during her cold rooftop sojourn crumbles in the presence of one of the few people in Stephanie's group of friends. Stephanie breaks down, the tears starting anew, and sobs shaking her body.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
While Cassandra is rigid with fury for a full second, she can be felt tearing away at that as her muscles melt. It takes a serious act of will to do so, wanting to pummel someone into a rigid state much less conducive to mental activity, but finding herself needing to comfort instead.

She can do it, and though her first atetempt is probably less than perfect, it is real. This is Stephanie, and nobody hurts Stephanie. Not even me.

Cass wraps her arms around Steph, maybe a moment late? Maybe, but she brings up that old doll, letting it rest against Stephanie's cheek, and makes the little remaining hand pat her on the cheek. It's what she's got, and though she holds the girl close she doesn't whisper things.

She listens to the sobs, and is a place where they can wash against like waves in the sea. And reaches with that little doll's hand to pull Steph's hair from her face. It'll go back, but ...well, the doll isn't perfect either.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Cassandra's hug is matched tightly by Stephanie. When did she get this strong? Those workouts with Barbara are showing with how tightly she clings to Cassandra.

But the adorable antics with the toy inject enough to make Stephanie laugh even while she's crying. She lets go with one arm to wipe at her cheeks. And then reaches up to give the doll a hug too before letting it go back to Cassandra's full custody. "I got that Christmas when I was... I don't know. I was little," Stephanie manages to say, hand going to wipe at her eyes again.

She lets Cassandra go finally, touching her friend on the shoulder as if thanking her for her support, and probably apologizing for putting Cassandra in that emotional moment.

The Spoiler cowl is set down on the table, and Stephanie unhooks her cape and drapes it over a chair before moving to get a glass of water. From the tap, the girl who grew up in poverty never having felt she should pay for bottles of water when the faucet works. She drinks it down in one steady go, refilling it and then walking over to take a seat on the couch. The glass is held in both hands between her knees, her elbows on her thighs.

Stephanie clears her throat and looks over to Cassandra. "Roberto and I broke up. It was mutual," she says, head hanging. "Mutual that neither of us wanted to, but it was for the best for both of us."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
There was never any chance of Cassandra trying to make a hug from a crying friend into a competition. She leans closer as Stephanie pulls back, not entirely certain that she wants the young woman to go. As she's given her space she pauses and brushes her own hair back behind her ears, an uncertain look on her features which is rarely there. Cassandra is many things, but uncertain is so rarely one of those.

The fact that she still has a doll in that hand is actually forgotten, and she blinks at it as if surprised to find it there. Then she turns, tossing the doll safely back into the toy chest. So when Stephanie returns with her water, and her face still full of sad, she finds Cass leaning against the arm of Steph's couch.

Words come out of Stephanie, and Cass' eyes track her until she's done. She looks as if she doesn't believe a single words, her face tilting slightly away, eyes looking askance at Steph's face. She stares, waiting for this to all make sense apparently.

But her eyes are suspicious, and she motions to the window with a gesture that is both questioning and idle. She is in no rush, whatever it is she's asking.

Relating it to what Steph has just said, she wants to go..do something...about Roberto? What could she do? Her stance is martial suddenly, answering even that.

Oh. Nobody hurts my friend.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie is never quite sure how much Cassandra understands. Though she would probably surprise herself with how often she is right when it comes to her friend's ability to comprehend the happenings around her, and what's missed.

Stephanie spots that shift in Cassandra's posture, not thinking about whether she'd have noticed it before. But with her training, it's more readily noticed. Steph reaches out an arm, space left beside her, inviting Cass to sit close beside her.

"His family is... an issue," Stephanie says quietly. "Not his mom. She's great. Teaches at the university here. But... his seeing me was tearing his family apart. I... it's too much to go into. If it was affecting just him, he'd have walked away from them. But it was hurting others he cares about. We just... I can't put him in that situation, and he couldn't make me go through what I was because of it."

Stephanie rubs the back of her hand across her eye. "It's for the best," she says, drawing a deep breath, hoping it'll be a cleansing one, and then taking another sip of water.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra knows that Stephanie is talking words at her, and she feels that it explains why she's upset with the boyfriend. No, not boyfriend. Not anymore, she can see that there's a shift. She, and the guy with the name, they're not touching now. There's a separation.

When Steph talks about Roberto's family her face goes from studious hesitant comprehension to frustration, and while she knows that it's about Roberto that she's saying things, Steph's heart is hurting. Hers.

So there's only one thing to do.

Steph finds Cassandra's hand in hers, and she nods and motions for Steph to go on. Though it makes her cringe inside to ask Steph to talk more words, half of which are going over her head, she schools her face to calm. She looks Stephanie in the eyes, holding her hand softly, and nods. A smile barely touches her cheeks, and she listens.

But Steph isn't the only one who's taking a deep breath and hoping it helps. She'd normally take Steph out to jump rooftops, but it feels...wrong.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
As Cassandra takes her hand, Stephanie grips it tightly. She sets down the glass of water, to free up the other hand to rub one more time across one of her eyes.

After, she just sits, staring across the room towards the floor on the other side. Looking like she's so numb one can't tell if she's even thinking. Stephanie sits like that for the longest time and then finally turns towards Cassandra. "I'll be ok," she says softly, leaning over against her friend. "I'll be ok," she says again, the words showing some in her body language. "I'm just... going to be hurting for awhile. But I'll be ok."

Stephanie clears her throat of some emotion. Her eyes look about the room, and find the dinosaur near the corner of the couch. She looks back to the toy chest. "You can have those if you like," she says, looking from them back to Cass.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
See, there are times when Cassandra understands just fine. But she may not necessarily agree. She stands, letting Stephanie have freedom of the hand (not the Hand, that's a different conversation for another time). And then she hunches down by the toys.

She reaches into the toy chest, then comes up with a My Little Pony.

The pony walks along the edge of the toy chest, then starts to fall. It adjusts itself, then leaps into the air, as Cassandra's other hand pulls out something..is that Rainbow Brite?

She sits there, with a toy in each hand, and looks up at Stephanie. She looks young, and so beyond the pain that is causing Stephanie to hurt, so ...human. She just wants to play.

There might be room for someone to join her, and it would ease the longing in those darkling eyes.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The late September day in Gotham was cool enough that some would call it cold. Leaves were changing and falling, their blowing forms adding to the normal layer of human-originated detritus that one can find in the less-cared for parts of Gotham.

A light was on in an 8th floor apartment of University Apartments, sharing it's meager light with the night via the sliding glass door to the balcony.

And within, ponies and dinosaurs and dolls - with one arm, or two - were given life again. One person taken back to old memories that help ease pains of today. Another finding enjoyment in a playtime she'd never known.

And they did it together.