8177/Moving

Moving
Date of Scene:	09 October 2021
Location:	Guest Room - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Cassandra moves into a room in the mansion. She doesn't like it. Expect to see her sleeping on the floor. Also, Tim and Steph!
Cast of Characters:	Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake

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Cassandra Cain has posed:
The room is set up for her already. There's a basket from Alfred that has nice things he rather hopes will get used, like lotions and soaps from Italy and France. There's a little card, which she can't actually read. There's a distinct lack of workout equipment.

Cassandra Cain stands in the doorway wondering how she came to this. She had such a nice cave, a real hole in the ground. It was dank, dark, and had no bed at all! She hasn't got a bag of clothing or even a wallet, as she walks into her new room in the mansion.

She's sure that Batman wants her here. She's sure that Alfred wants her here. But it's all so...weird.

So she looks in, seeing the mahogany and soft pillows, and just kind of stares. Processing.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
It's at a moment like that, when an attack seems least likely, that it comes! A board in the hallway makes a slight noise as someone pushes off quickly after having approached the room stealthily. A blond-haired form darts through the doorway, throwing ninja stars at the rooms new occupant.

Nerf ninja stars, made of brought orange foam rubber. But weighted down nicely enough they fly well. Stephanie launches a trio at her friend, cackling as she lets them go, and staying back out of Cass's range just in case it takes her a moment to realize who it is and what it is that she's being attacked with.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Despite having flown the coop, so to speak, Tim still maintains a frequent presence at the manor. Even though a lot of the time it's just Alfred who he ends up seeing, it's not as if he can begrudge anyone having a busy life. Because, honestly? Same.

    Alfred's home cooking is hard to stay away from, though. And apparently he keeps Tim in supply of homemade dog biscuits for the assorted beasties that roam around the Roost.

    So that's probably how he's aware of what's happening today. What sort of housewarming gift do you get a girl like Cassandra? Well, who knows, but Tim is carrying one, wrapped in nice, shiny paper with a big bow. He comes around the corner just in time to see Stephanie throw herself through the door, and he knows better than to get in the line of fire. Instead he lingers outside and calls out, "I come in peace!" before carefully peeking his head around the doorway.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra is not perfect. She's human, even though she tries to dissuade anyone from realizing it. And in the moment she was in a bit of shock, the room being so very different from her home. This...this is me now? THIS?

so she isn't being alert. The instantaneous way her heart races when she hears a creak, the kind that comes from someone moving fast in an attack posture, has her actually panicking. And she turns and rolls into the room as the first nerf whips past.

The second one hits her square in the face as she crouches, absolutely baffled by Stephanie's assault. She blinks with confusion, she opens her mouth.

She picks up a pillow from the bed, and starts to smile.

Might be smartest thing Tim ever did, getting out of the way. As Steph gets a pillow aimed right at her face, the need to -do something- finally getting an outlet. Luckily a fairly safe one.

I said fairly. It'd be our luck if Cassandra had mastered Pillowjitsu at age twelve.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown takes the pillow in the face with a good-natured squeal of delight. She gives up on the assault then, instead just throwing her arms about Cassandra for a hug, figuring Cass can tell from her body language that's what is coming and not another attack.

"Figured you might enjoy a little action," Stephanie says with a grin before turning towards the door where Tim's voice came from. "Do you bring food? Or beverages? Because we could really use some finger food," she calls towards Tim. "I think it's safe to enter now," she says.

Then Stephanie finally gets a look around the room. "Alfred really went all out for you," she comments, looking over to Cass, and doing her own bit of interpreting body language to see what Cass thinks of the room.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Safely hidden behind the doorframe, Tim waits for the coast to be clear before he dips inside. "Always good to break the room in," he says, nodding his head with a serious air of someone doing an inspection. Like Steph, he takes a look around, and shuffles the gift box under his arm so he can mime holding a clipboard. "First ninja attack, check."

    His expression cracks, and he smiles. "No snacks, sorry. I'm sure Alfred is probably waiting with something already prepared for us to ask, though." Is the Wayne family butler psychic? That's one mystery Tim has never been able to solve.

    The present moves from one hand to the other, like he's hesitant to give it. Or maybe worried about how it will be received. For the moment though he just tips his head, glancing at Cass curiously.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass has a second pillow in hand when the attack becomes hugjitsu, and Cass relents with only a light bop on the noggin. She spins Steph around, giving her back purchase on the floor a moment afterward, then lobs the pillow toward Tim. Such a coward, come out and take your pillow.
Shehe looks at Steph, the girl's smile contagious, and then at the room. Her face falls, and if she could ever be called out for whining, it'd be now. This was not what she wanted. She's never slept in a bed unless she was wounded. This is a lot to take in.

Alfred never needed to be psychic. He simply has manners, and assumes that people need things. It's a talent: common sense.

Looking at Mr Pillow, though, Cass sighs and gives a half-smile, and a nod. Then the same for Steph. They both came, and they're both friends. Or at least she loves them.

Then she looks at the box. The raising of her eyebrow is a question that nobody's ever needed to have clarified.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown moves over to take a seat on the edge of the bed. "You can make it your own space of course," she says, perhaps having read a bit of Cassandra's opinion from her expressions and body language. "I don't think Alfred will take it personally if you change anything. He just wants you to be happy. Like the rest of us," she says with a smile.

The blond coed turns back towards Tim. "Speaking of happy, that looks a big box of happiness," Stephanie says with a nod of her head towards the wrapped present. She flashes Tim a grin, approving of his having brought the room-warming gift apparently.

"Ran into someone who mentioned you. That thing over on campus, extra-dimensional attack stealing everyone's voices as a knowledge grab," she comments. "Though I didn't get a chance to talk to them after. Was with John Constantine, anyway."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Nothing needs to be said for Tim to be suitably chastised. He feels it, and after he's caught the pillow thrown at him, he ducks his head as he tucks it under his elbow. Yeah yeah, he'll take the hits he's due.

    Gotta deal with one thing, first.

    He hands the box over to Cass, and then he rubs the back of his neck. Clearly, Tim is embarrassed. Though it's not immediately obvious why! It's a very nice looking present, with that real bougie wrapping paper that's super thick and textured. This one is gold on black with an embossed pattern of flowers and vines, with a bow made of real ribbon to match.

    "It's nothing," Tim says to Stephanie, shoulders hunched up, and he shakes his head and shrugs at Cass. Like he's trying to brush it off as no big deal, totally okay if she doesn't like it! He steps back and tucks his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

    The news about the campus attack makes his eyes narrow. "One of my classmates?" he asks, but the name that Steph drops after makes him take in a deep, deep breath. "Oh." His nose wrinkles faintly. "Everything wrapped up okay, hopefully?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Tim is forgiven. Cass nods firmly as he shows proper chastisement. Then she chooses to eschew the bed (she'll literally never sleep in it, beds are for invalids in her mind) and drops into a crosslegged posture on the floor. She grins up at Steph, glad to see her, and then looks at Tim.

She relents, then pats the floor next to her. An offering of space. Silly room must be good for something after all.

Then she looks at the thing that he puts into her arms, and turns it over. She inspects the thing, touching the little bumps in the wrapping paper, tracing them slowly, and looks at the entire thing, a little at a time.

It looks as if she's going to be there a while.

Tim Drake has posed:
    After the invite is given, Tim immediately drops down onto the floor, and then he draws his legs up against his chest. "It's nothing," he says again, then rests his chin against his knees.

    The paper is folded more than it's taped, and once unwrapped, inside is... well, a box. A non-descript box, a bit bigger than a shoebox. Opening it reveals a couple of layers of decorative tissue paper that match the wrapping paper because that's just how rich people be, okay. And then inside the tissue paper is...

    Uh, well, it's a stuffed plush. A cat, to be specific, big enough to either cuddle or use as a pillow. It looks remarkably like a chonky version of Mr. Murder Mittens, back at the Roost. There's also a hidden switch that toggles it through a few modes, so when it's squeezed it can either rumble like it's purring--almost like a massage--or it can light up.

    Or it can do neither of those things and just be a plush. But it's obviously a kids toy, made for someone who might be afraid of the dark or uncomfortable sleeping alone. Which is not at all what Tim is implying by buying it for Cass! It's... really just that it looks like her cat.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown moves down from the bed to join them on the floor, not unused to Cassandra's choices when it comes to furniture. Her head tilts to the side a bit as she watches Cassandra open up the present.

Seeing the plush cat brings a soft smile to Stephanie's face. The room with the shelves of dolls and the doll house is not all that far from Cassandra's room after all. And that went over well enough. So hopefully Cassandra will like the gift.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass looks at Tim as she looks at the plush. She's hard to read sometimes, but to be fair she's often deciphering what you all are doing at the same time. This seems to be one of those moments when she's not sure how she's meant to take something.

She holds up the kitty, hands under the armpits the way that kids hold cats when they don't know how to hold cats, and looks at it. Then she looks at Steph, and then at Tim.

The smile that breaks on her face is beautiful. Sunlight, happiness and gratitude. She almost shines with the gratefulness, and even if she isn't sure what you do with the darn thing, she looks as if she's gonna cry because of the thought Tim put into it.

Into her. If that isn't a thank you, nothing ever will be.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim's shoulders begin to creep up towards his ears as the present is unboxed. "It's maybe a little silly," he says, to Steph. "I just thought--." He doesn't finish the sentence, he just runs his hand through his hair. Only for it to fall back in his face because it's at that awkward length where it's both too short and too long at the same time.

    Some of the tension relaxes in his posture when Cass picks up the stuffed animal and doesn't seem to reject it outright. He reaches over to squeeze the toy lightly around the middle, and it starts to rumble.

    "I had something like this when I was a kid." His eyes drop away. "My parents weren't home a lot, so when I was alone I had trouble sleeping. Actually, I think it was one of my nannies who bought it for me." He sits back and tucks his cheek against his palm. "It was a stegosaurus. I think it roared. I wonder what happened to him."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown is just quiet smiles for the moment. The expression she gives Tim is an approving one. She has the luxury of knowing a little bit more about Cassandra's gradual forays into some of the things that other people went through as kids. So she's not surprised to see Cassandra's positive reaction to it.

Stephanie finally says, "I think it's a great gift, Tim." She reaches over and gives Cassandra's shoulder a soft squeeze and smiles at her as well.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The floor-girl doesn't hug the kitty. It might be a while before that kind of thing happens, but she does hug Tim. She smiles at him, the hand on her shoulder a reassurance. And, honestly, one she needs.

This is going to be quite a change. For her, and for anyone who lives in this household. Because Cassandra Cain is come to stay, and she isn't sure if ...what...anything.

It was so much easier when she had something to punch.