6935/Dangerous to go alone - Take Cass

Dangerous to go alone - Take Cass
Date of Scene:	14 July 2021
Location:	Streets in Chelsea, Gotham City
Synopsis:	When Hair causes someone to go out on a limb, Phoebe gets very confused, and someone has to explain oreos. Next stop: ... a ballet?
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Cassandra Cain

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Early mornings and late nights and worry about the next appearances of giant made-of-clay mastiff creatures whose ugly faces can move between their chests and their backs and weighing nightmares and no-show 'experts' on demons.

    So, today her hair was out of the usual -- it was Au Natural, which means it was poofy, with a side part in it, a few whisps of tightly kinked hair drifting down into her face. She slipped on a thin jacket, and then found a new hole in the seam. She grumped a moment, and then decided for just a T-shirt advertising the local Gotham Rogues team from Gotham U. Those were cheap enough, and everywhere in donation bundles. Then she grabbed a small cross-body bag, looping it over herself as she grabbed her shoes, and began to make her way out of the roost to pick up a few things.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Someone is hanging around outside the Roost. When I say hanging, I mean literally hanging - she's dangling in spider-man style, upside-down, from a line of some sort and looking in through the window. The very fact that she's able to find the place is a sign. The fact that she's not coming in, or at least knocking, another.

She waits, watching from outside. Sooner or later someone will come out of course. When they do they'll find a funky surprise. Let's just hope it's not someone who stabs first and asks questions later.

Of course she sees Phoebe on the way to the exit. Then she sees the hair. She blinks, trying to follow the odd sight, until she gets a full view and it shocks her enough to let go of the line.

The thump as she lands on her head out front is audible. The hair, the hair...

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    So much hair. And Phoebe almost never has it in a 'fro.

    The young woman comes out the side door as most Outsiders do when they're not in their 'work clothes', throwing the door open in surprise as she hears a thump!

    "-- Cass?!" she questions, looking rather surprised. "Are you all right?!"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
She's grinning up at Phoebe as the young lady emerges, but not trying to hide her embarrasment. She pulls her own hair out of her face and looks up at the freckled monster, then tries to get her left foot unhooked from the branch it's caught on.

With her usual lack of verbiage Cassandra manages to convey not only that she's unhurt, by her complete lack of anything looking like an injury, but also that she's willing to allow someone to assist with her getting her damn leg out of the trap built by nature. Her own fault really.

She could have snapped the branch, but that'd be rude.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Aah, I see. Just a mis-step then -- I'm glad. I'd be scared to death of some of the acrobatics I've seen you do." Phoebe gives a relaxed sort of grin to Cass, rubbing the back of her neck a moment as she watches the other Outsider wrestle with the limb on the tree, but seems content to let her work herself out of the branch.

    She motions with a movement of her thumb out to the side. "I was just about to get a walk in and maybe grab some more esoteric grocery stuff, if you wanted to join -- if you were't busy I mean -- kinda going out on a limb -- pun not intended!!"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The pun only gets an odd look from Cass, who has managed to get her left hand underneath her back. She uses it to lift herself, carefully removing her foot from the branches without seriously dislocating a limb. The tree's, not her own. Her own are basically pre-dislocated anyway.

As she rolls to her feet she ends up with her hair in her face again, and blows it out with a pfff and a shake of her head. Then her eyes glance up at Phoebe's own 'do, and her right cheek quirks a touch playfully.

A nod and a grin, but she doesn't lead the way. Instead she reaches for Phoebe's afro hesitantly, as if meeting a new type of life form. She lets her teeth show, but it's just that she kind of likes the look. Headtilt, left then right, and she starts to chuckle. Silently of course.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, I know, puns are lame." Phoebe replies, mindfully watching Cassie untangle herself from the tree and then getting back to her feet. Phoebe looks at the smile, and relaxes, and then looks up to her own hair.

    "Oh, yeah, I ah.. I have to make an appointment at the braiding place. I don't often have my hair like this -- it's just --" she reaches up, and ruffles through the hair at her temples "A lot of hair!" -- and as Cassie reaches up, Phoebe hesitates, just a second, and then she gives a gentle smile and leans forward so that Cass can touch it.

    "Just be gentle -- it's kinda brittle."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The lean forward doesn't get hands ruffling through Phoebe's hair. Instead Cassandra leans forward and puts a soft kiss on the top of Phoebe's forehead, having planned this attack for the last three moves. Not counting the being caught in a tree, that was unintentional.

To be fair, she thinks, Phoebe isn't too hard to predict.

The smile on her face is gentler when Phoebe can see again. She does reach up and gives the hair a soft brush then, keeping it out of Phoebe's face. But she doesn't mess it up too much, leaning back a bit and indicating that they perhaps walk some more with a simple headtilt toward the path.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe would be disappointed that she's seen as easy to predict -- minus the hair.

    She was, however, rather surprised at the soft kiss. She straightens up, the hair fluffing all over the place as she gives a startled look to Cass. She hitches a breath, the hands reaching up to brush back some of her hair, and it's pretty to see that her cheeks and ears darken in surprise at Cass's actions. She gives a swallow, and then just looks in the direction of the headtilt, and then stammers "I -- ah.. -yes?" she blinks.

    Phoebe might have just bluescreened at affection.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass pauses. She moves her hands, opening them with palms upward and her face looks mildly concerned. She leans in a tiny amount and peers into Phoebe's face, waiting for her to reboot and/or respond.

After a moment though her eyes flicker to the path, then back to Phoebe. And she stands up straight, walking a step with a jaunty reel of her shoulders (and hips) and then makes an apologetic face over her shoulder, batting her eyes and somehow looking up at Phoebe.

Forgive me? Even though it was totally on purpose.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's OS restarts, and she blinks, and looks after Cass as Cass walkks, and she opens her mouth, then closes her mouth, raising a hand and with her voice cracking she goes: "Are... is that a flirt? Are you /flirting/ with me Cass? Is that allowed?" she inquires with an incredulous amount of sudden curiosity and feeling as she watches Cass bat her eyes.
    That pun was fully intended too.

    And she steps lightly afterwards "Ah, because I just... it... I don't know I've never been flirted with before!"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra grins. She turns back to Phoebe, then places her hands firmly on Phoebe's shoulders. She gives them a gentle squeeze, eyes on Phoebe's own, and does not lean in to kiss or anything awkward. She just tilts her head forward a little so Phoebe can understand. Well, whatever it is she's trying to say.

Then she lifts her hands free, spreads them in a proper 'I have no idea' gesture, and adds a shrug. Then she thumbs at the way to go with a quizzical look on her face. She adds a motion back inside the Roost as well. Waiting for Phoebe to make a call, one way or the other.

To be fair Cass has always been kind of impatient.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... no, no, I can -- let's go, because other than the nonverbal language barrier and my own complications regarding the affect my healing aura has on the moods of others--" Phoebe begins, walking behind Cass, and taking a few steps forward down the path (alley) out to the street, "-- because I'm not a hundred percent sure if it affects people's affections to me and I.. mean..." she breathes out, and then blurts out: "/Tim/ didn't figure out I was crushing on you, right?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass for once doesn't get it. This is almost unique; she generally gets other people's emotions before they do themselves, and has very few issues understanding what they're getting at so long as it's not psychobabble. Or discussing doritos, Bart's odd about doritos sometimes.

The asian girl says, "No," gently as she hunches down in the alleyway, looking upward at Phoebe. She isn't sure what she's answering, but she meant it to be a general 'no' to the whole emotional confusion. She looks like a puppy who's unsure why their owner is acting weird, but waiting for them to calm down.

In a lot of ways her life is simple. Must be nice.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Bart is very odd about doritos.

    "... no.. nevermind I just..." Phoebe takes a breath, and looks up to the grim Gotham sky, and then exhales. There would be time to properly freak out and overthink everything later. Right now?

    "All right, let's go and get the ingredients I was looking for -- ha-have you ever had fried squash flowers? My dad used to make them when I was little. Because sometimes, summer squash and zuccinni are too prolific, and there's only so much you can do with zuccinni cookies." she explains, and she offers her hand down to Cass, with a gentle smile. "Flowers as food."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
See, that's the kind of psychobabble that makes no sense at all. But at the same time, Cass gets enough to be able to get by. I'm okay. I'm not actually okay, but I'll try to be and let's go get my things anyway. Take my hand. Flowers are food.

Whut?

Cass takes Phoebe's hand with a sudden grin, amused at all of the things being said but not really said, and then she keeps the hand held in her own a moment. Silly things like that make her pause, but she gives Phoebe a wink quickly enough and lets go so the girl can walk without walking directly into a lamppost or something.

And people say that Loki does mischief. Cass isn't even really trying.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
It helps when the target of unintended mischief is as nervous about any sort of relationship beyond 'professional' or 'friendly-professional'. But she hold's Cassandra's hand for a brief moment before it's released -- and nearly doesn't make it dodging the telephone pole, and just gives a slight smile. This was progress. Weird progress, but progress, right?

    Phoebe walks in quiet for a little while, then speaks up again:

    "... if we're lucky, Berlusconi's might have fried some up for you to try."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass listens with her eyes, as is her normal. She makes a little side to side head-movement, thinking about the idea as Phoebe's brought it up, then pauses in her walk. She looks down at her tummy, patting herself on the abs through her hoodie, then grins a little bit. Her diet being what it is, she might be referring to what it'll do to her waistline?

Can you joke about that? Is it allowed?

Pun intended.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... considering the junkfood the rest of our friends eat and their physiques, I think we'll be fine." Phoebe replies to teh pat at her stomach. To not comment would be a waist.

    "And I'm not just talking about Bart -- all the running he does, his caloric intake is re-donk-u-lously high. Even mine's higher than most would think, but I think it's because of my -- ah.." she trails off a moment, casually talking about it "... 'work outs'." she finishes, embarrassedly.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra manages to input an entire conversation into the raising of an eyebrow. She leans in a little closer to Phoebe at the mention of working out, then that eyebrow raise happens and she somehow insists, yes insists, that Phoebe explain more fully.

Partly because she refuses to lower it until the subject is addressed.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... I train a lot on my own. So that if I'm ever needed for things, I can be there." she states quietly to Cassandra, and then she pauses a moment, "also, healing tissue takes up *so* many of my own calories. I'm not sure if others need to eat as much after they recover, but I always have such a sudden *need* for fried foods and protein after I heal someone. Or Oreos. But weirdly that's only Tim."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra smiles, letting it go. Seems like that anyway as she turns to walk aside Phoebe, no stress or tension. She seems to be mulling over what Phoebe's said, but in reality she's gotten a few other messages than what was spoken. Helps to not actually speak English sometimes.

Still, there was one word that stuck out. She says, "O-eo?" with a bit of confusion. She mimes picking up something small and putting it to her own mouth, then shrugs. No real judgement about the food, she's ...changing the topic, possibly.

Either that or she doesn't know her cookies.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, oreo. Like, it's a cookie that's a sandwich. Cookie on the outside, white cream on the inside. Cookie, cream, cookie." Phoebe explains, holding up her hands and miming 'cookie-cream-cookie' "Pretty much any time I've worked with Tim, I've wanted Oreos after." she states, making a turn down another street, pausing at a crosswalk.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra doesn't get it for a moment. Then she does. Then she really does, and she pauses. Then she starts to giggle, just a little, having to reach out and touch Phoebe's shoulder to let her know to slow down. Grinning and raising one hand to her own forehead, Cassandra has to stop in order to giggle.

She can't really explain though, but she just...she just has to. Maybe it's teasing, maybe she's just got a sense of humour after all, but she tries.

She mimes cookie-cream-cookie again, then looks at Phoebe with a slightly raised eyebrow and says, "Tim?" Oh, she's thinking dirty things now. How awful! How absurd!

It's almost like she's really human after all.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... wha... I don--" she pauses.

    And then Phoebe's cheeks turn darker, along with her ears as she mimes the motion again, and then sets her mouth in a straight line.

    "... I have no idea what you're talking about." Phoebe responds in such a tone that makes it clear that the teenager has *every* idea what Cassie might mean, but then bursts into an embarrassed fit of giggling, bringing her hands up to cover her face. "Oh, my god Cass. I'm never going to be able to think about Oreos the same way."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra backs off a step, holding her hands up palms-forward. She's smiling, she's squinching up her nose. She's totally not sorry no matter what she says. But she doesn't keep up the act, only so long as it takes for Phoebe to start laughing herself. She does something totally off the wall then, raising her fingers to her lips and 'turning a key'. She mimes tossing it over her shoulder, then puts her right hand on her own cheek.

Waiting.

She glances up at Phoebe's hair a couple times though, as if the allure of that gigantic structure will never lose its luster. To be fair Phoebe does have long hair.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Good, because if /Tim/ heard what we were thinking -- well. He's a big boy. I'm sure he can handle himself."

    Those double entrendes. Poor Tim. He's not even here to defend himself.

    It's just a quick walk from there to the tiny Italian Grocery, where there were, in fact, a pair of little old men who were making various street foods in the back and are kind enough to make the deep-fried squash flowers.

    And no, Phoebe's hair is gloriously up, and if she straightened those kinks and coils, surely the hair would be to her mid-back.

    Hence why it's *usually* Braided.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Unfortunately Cass isn't there beside Phoebe when she speaks. She misses the squash flowers for the moment, and everything else. Phoebe will be easily able to find her, but when she does she finds Cassandra staring at a picture, a poster, up on a wall.

It looks like an advertisement, for a ballet coming to the area. She stands there, missing all else, and looks at the dancer. Entranced, lost in something so beautiful.

Seems Phoebe will have to take her to a show, sometime soon.