8403/Behind the Scenes of Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes of Behind the Scenes
Date of Scene:	24 October 2021
Location:	Central Plaza - Happy Harbor High School
Synopsis:	Raven checks up on Damian. Mike mentions a field trip.
Cast of Characters:	Michael Hannigan, Damian Wayne, Rachel Roth

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Michael Hannigan has posed:
While the sun is out over at the Happy Harbor campus, the slight change to the weather is starting to get noticable. Despite the sun's rays the chill in the air is undeniable. Is it jacket weather? For some, yes. But Mike has not quite reached the point of pulling out the knit cap yet. But he has opted for a longer sleeved shirt to keep the wind chill at bay.

One would think with classes not being in session over the weekend that there might be a bit more foot traffic in the Central Plaza from those staying in the nearby dormitories but that does not seem to be the case. It appears a number of residential students had plans elsewhere over the weekend.

Mike, opting to limit any disruption during actual classtime, finds this the most ideal time to be dropping off paperwork that needs to be looked at first thing Monday morning.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Even though Damian doesn't stay in the dorms over the weekend, he often finds a measure of peace here that he doesn't get in Gotham. Sitting with a copy of the Art of War, he's relaxed, reading the pages at a leisurely pace.

  That was about the time he saw Mike passing through the court, and he raises a hand in greeting to his friend. "Hello." he offers alongside.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    The change in the weather is not at all yet as stark in the change in the personage- as Raven arrives with little ceremony. The key was the presence of Damian, someone who doesn't linger at the tower very much at all, beyond the needs of the job. Finding the young man is a little more difficult- and getting there, too, isn't altogether that easy as the magic isn't as effortless or powerful for her at the moment.

    Despite these tribulations, Raven simply appears there on the opposite end of the bench, leaning calmly on the armguard. She congeals from shadow, but the happening of it is swift enough that it occurs between glances- in one moment, she isn't there, and in the next, she is- fast and casual enough that it'd be relatively easy to convince oneself that her presence was merely missed at first gaze.

    Damian knows betetr, of course.

    Sweater weather is finally upon them, and Raven perhaps looks as normal, for Raven, as she's been looking this past while, since the return from the Underworld. Still though there are small details of difference: She's leaning to a side, instead of sitting proper or curling up. Her hood's down. She's smiling a bit. (That's probably not okay.)

    "R-" She catches herself, and her face scrunches ever so slightly. "Damian. I haven't caught you at the tower lately. I wanted to have a chat if you didn't mind. Shouldn't be too big a deal to have it here."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Hearing the greeting, Mike's steps slow. Turning his head, the Liason between the school and the entertainment inudstry takes note of the off duty hero, sometimes teammate, and sometimes bodyguard. He gives a smile, "Hi Damian. Enjoying your week-"

It's so quick. Mike's eyes simply blinked as they are sometimes want to do and a young woman, possibly similar looking in age to Mike, is sitting next to Damian, smiling to him.

The musician looks over to Raven, perhaps a bit longer than necessary before looking back to Damian. "-end?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Damian's casual dress for the weekend reflects the public Damian Wayne, Gotham City Goliaths shirt, a pair of designer jeans, and sneakers to match.

  The sudden appearance of Raven does not give him a fright. At least none that he physically reacts to. "Yes." He comments to Mike, before putting a bookmark in his book, and closing it. "Mike, this is Rae. He knows who I am." Letting Raven know that there shouldn't be any acrobatics to get around saying heroing things around him. "So...what is it you wanted to speak with me about?" He asks, his voice sounds softer, without the seriousness that usually accompanies him wearing a mask or being behind closed doors.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven looks from Damian to Mike for a moment, a casually inquisitive brow raised to the pair, before she acknolwedges what Damian said first. "Ah, I see. Still going to have to call you Damian for the moment, though. Someone else could walk up at random, and that'd get rather awkward."

    Her gaze shifts to Mike, and she gives him a friendly dip of her head. "Please to meet you, Mike. I'm sure that you're putting a few things together right now, so I don't imagine an introduction is really necessary. I just figured I'd stop by and see how Damian's been doing after his return from Hades and Themyscira- I haven't caught him around the tower since then, and wanted to make sure he's doing okay. He'll tell me he's fine, but I have ways around that."

    Look at that. Raven being a Mother Hen. Isn't that absolutely nightmarish?

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike looks back over to Rae as Damian makes introductions. He starts to offer a hand towards Rae should she like to shake it but aborts upon seeing the head nod. He returns the gesture in kind. "Pleasure as well." He offers to the smiling heroine, looking over to Damian at the mention of her checking up on the youngest one there.

"You would insist on that despite matters." Mike acknowledges, directing the statement towards Damian as he's RIGHT THERE. "Likely part of his charm."

He looks back to Rae. "It is nice to have a face to put to the name. I have heard reference to both your names in passing by a few of your other teammates. More shop talk though."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "I would say that because I -am- fine." Damian adds, before looking to Mike. "Yes, we went to hell and back. Yes, I have gone toe-to-toe with a ghost who had employed demons to kidnap a rock star. None of that compares to what I did when I was younger."

  "Unless there is something I am unaware of, that I should be worried about..." That's one hell of a thing as well. "Should I?" Damian asks; looking to both of the others. His eyes squinting with suspicion.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Changes or not, Raven isn't the shake-hands type. "Of course I would. Even if you're doing /well,/ fine isn't a descriptive term." she offers, addressing Damian's incoming dodge by speaking to Mike. "We could call it charm, and maybe I'd encourage that, but it tends to harm some of the team-y aspects of the Titans more than anyone intends. Either way, you're contractually obligated to tell me anything Troia has said. It's important ammunition."

    Then, she turns her attention to Damian. "/Are/ you fine, Damian? Just fine? Better than fine, just slightly worse? I would have expected that you'd have taken every opportunity to tell your friends about Kerberos. The point is, to frame this in a way you'll appreciate, we're supposed to rely on you in life-or-death situations. When I ask if you're okay, I may want to hear more than the first answer that comes to mind, or what you feel may be the best one to placate me."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"And I appreciate your help with that." Mike replies, with a nod. "Those shows would not have turned out as well as they did if I had to constantly hold back on the off chance that asshole showed up."

He processes the glance he's getting from Damian. Shaking his head, "Just, sharing in the discussion." He holds up a folder, "And dropping off some final paperwork for a fieldtrip to Gotham Cable Studios. Behind the scenes of 'Theme of the Crime'."

He looks back to Rachel as she mentions Damian's behavioral tendencies harimg the team aspect.

"He's still a teenager." Mike comments, "And sometimes the environment you develop your habits in isn't the most... conductive to managing social situations or being able to go on and on about a single topic that could be summed up quickly." He looks back to Damian, "God knows I wasn't making many friends at your age. You've already passed me on that point."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian's posture starts to change, sitting up, feet planted on the ground. "Yes, Mike. I fed the guardian of the underworld, Cerberus, the three headed dog, a piece of jerky the size of a smart car and then rode him through an army of centaurs that were attempting to escape the underworld. I took a selfie with him." He removes his phone, and thumbs through his photos, before raising it up to show Mike. Robin was looking at the camera, giving a huge grin and one of Cerberus' heads giving the dog smile, with its tongue out. The other two heads just look to each other, nipping.

  "I am -right- here." Damian says with a small level of irritability. "If you want to truly know how I am, I am perturbed at my father for allowing a strumpet into our home. Excited that I got to celebrate my birthday with the Titans, and probably the first human friend I made who didn't run off to a safe house somewhere. And the brother I once tried to murder...okay attempted to murder multiple times is now the one I trust the most." His green eyes look from both Rae to Mike, asking without words if that was enough information for the two. "And I am going to that set visit, by the way."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    "Ah, that will be a positively excellent educational adventure and can't possibly go wrong with this particular chemical mixture." On weirder days, Raven is mildly precognitive. On all days, she's extraordinarily sardonic, and at the moment, she may be unacceptably so. There is also the question of how much she actually knows of Happy Harbor, and how its student body would mix with anything that takes place in Gotham.

    All things considered, especially the propensity for even the simplest situation in the spheres of superheroism and even those adjacent, her statement may just be called, as it goes, Out of Line, but Right.

    "Yes, but if we do nothing then that habit continues into adulthood. Besides, as much fun as this is..." As if somehow predictive, that statement comes from Raven just as Damian begins to speak

    , "I just want to hear how you're doing, because you're the only one I'd have to chase down." she begins, offering him a friendly smile, and a hand on his shoulder. "Because there is much there that doesn't sound 'fine.' In the context of all the things we do, I would wager that anything of that that's been bothering you just sounds so absolutely /mundane,/ but it's always those things that eat away at us, I think. Probably something to do with the proximity to the heart. Anyway, you'll have to tell me about this 'strumpet,' the brother you feel like you're supposed to hate- or perhaps that you feel like should hate you, but doesn't- but I feel like the next time you're at the tower might be the best time. I'll even convince Troia to hold a training session, so you can work through your aggression by speaking of your problems while assaulting my partner with various weaponry. Sound fun?"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
As Damian goes into the lengthy detail. Mike's smile strengthens, albeit betraying a bit of amusement to the stories. At the mention of the selfie, the musician looks over to the displayed picture. Smile upgrading to a full out grin to the visual presented.

Doggie!

The mention of attemted fratricide does get a bit of a blink, but considering what Damian's shared with him before it gets skipped over. Mainly because he's not attempting to kill the sibling NOW.

"Glad to hear you've signed up." Mike replies to the set visit, "I believe we've gotten the makeup department on board to also give tips on application and removal for the tour groups since it's so close to Halloween."

Rae's comment about a chemical mixture gets him glancing back over towards Raven. He looks to the school, considering. "You're welcome to volunteer as a chaperone if you're so inclined." Mike offers up, "If students touring a stage set is concerning to you."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Yes, Tim. We are okay now." He admits before turning and looking to Raven. "I am onto you, Raven." He says, but no formal protest or refusal of this plan.

  The invite for Raven to join the group is a little surprising, but he wouldn't say no for sure. He simply nods and motions with his hand. "Join if you wish. It's Gotham City, plenty of opportunity for things to go ass over end."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven ponders Mike's offer for a time, giving it an almost overblown thinking expression before responding. "I'll consider it. Troia and I could make a date of it." Ah yes, it does sound as if should Raven decide to chaperone, it will not be an option for Troia.

    She nods a couple of times, afterwards, and turns to Damian. "You only say this because I have discovered your Pavlovian response to violence." she states, before taking in a breath, and letting it go in a contented sigh.

    "Well. That is what I had come here to do. I am afraid there are other matters I must attend to." With a nod of her head to each in turn- "Mike, it was a pleasure. Damian, I'll see you soon."- Raven casually discorporates into a sentient-seeming darkness, which just ends up being the shadows of the bench.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
The smile on Mike's face fades, before he gives a bit of a nod in agreement to Damian's statement. Gotham IS a place where things can't be taken for granted. Which may be why he's ok with the idea of Raven volunteering as a chaperone. He gives a nod in response to Raven's farewell, "Pleasure's all mine." He replies back, watching as she fades from view. He looks to the shadow for a few moments, quietly.

When some time has gone by, he leans his head towards Damian, "...Is she gone or just invisible?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "The violence is not the catalyst. It's the sparring, do you know how rare it is to find someone who presents a challenge to me?" And then Raven slips into darkness, leaving. "She's gone." He admits, before picking up his book once more. "Don't worry. Between myself and any other chaperones, it will be a good experience for all. Not all bats are nocturnal."

  Damian starts to read the pages again, before commenting. "She's been happy lately..."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Assured that she's left, Mike turns his head fully towards Damian, "Ok. So that's not her normal setting." He surmises, "I was wondering about that."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "No, not her normal setting. Which is funny...everyone is stunned she...seems happier. But that's a Titans thing." He offers, before looking to his friend. "It's not bad, just different. Though some people think it is very strange for her."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Behaviors change over time." Mike muses, "I'm not the same as I was when I was your age. This could very well be her new normal." He glances down to the folder, "I should get to dropping this off. I got to be at the Studio later today."

The smile strengthens a bit more as he nods to the book. "Enjoy your reading. See you Wednesday."