8892/Dagger of the Time

Dagger of the Time
Date of Scene:	01 December 2021
Location:	Sherwood Florist, First Floor
Synopsis:	Old friends reconnect.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Dinah Lance

---

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    It had started that day when Alexander had visited Empire State. It still felt distant, a world disconnected, this place with the normalcy and the steady aspects of mundane that intruded upon the Olympian youth's thoughts since he had been off for some time. It still felt jarring and discordant in some ways to look out upon the world and see all of the people... 'mortals' that his family would call them. And feel a touch apart.
    Yet he did as he had to. Register, arrange payment, arrange logistics. Standing in line with bureaucracy was always a way to rob the magic from a world view. It was only when he was settled on the cement bench in the subway station when he was reminded that there were things other for him.
    It was, at first, little more than a flicker of a curved blade that seemed to float over a train's open door. Not his train, his went uptown. This... went the other way. A long way the other way from the Express displayed on the LCD screen on its side. Yet the ethereal image of the dagger floated there, remained, and after a moment of mixed emotions the young God of Fear pushed off of the bench and darted into the train just as the doors closed.
    The ride was fairly long, uneventful as it brought him out of the city, across the river. Into Jersey. Then it let out in Chelsea where he took the steps a few at a time. No longer wearing his favored pea coat, for the poor thing needed stitching. He was left with a long black winter coat that hung well on his athletic frame, covering the thighs of his blue jeans while his footwear was a black pair of hiking boots. Enough to blend in well with the crowd as he walked out of the sub and tilted his head to catch only the afterimage of the illusory knife that flit off across the street...
    And seemed to lead to the florist shop just there.
    A moment of consideration and then after checking the street he half-jogged across it toward the shop. One hand extended he pushed the door open as the small bell jangled the announcement of his arrival.

Dinah Lance has posed:
"What is it you want from me?!" the blonde in the white coat says in an exasperated tone of voice, back to the door as Alexander enters. "I'm watering, carefully controlling humidity and temperature, giving you the right amount of sunshine. Why can't you just open your damned blossoms!?"

A nervous-looking teen glances across at the woman, then at Alexander as he arrives. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she walks across to the door, professional smile on her face. "Good aftern..."

"Audrey, could you get that?" the blonde calls over from her place at what is obviously some kind of plant nursery, distracted by whatever it is she's working on. The teen makes a face which then vanishes behind the (now slightly strained) smile.

"Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to Sherwood Florist. How may I help you?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The teen is greeted with a small smile, that 'neutral' setting of his features which lets him present that oh so easy-going manner that comes so naturally to him when out and about. And, to be fair, he is fairly handsome with something very California about his features and the way his hazel eyes meet hers without hesitation.
    "Hi, Sherwood Florist?" Did he even look at the sign? He removes his hands from his pockets and unbuttons his jacket a little, revealing the black t-shirt underneath that has a cartoon image of a kitten with an eyepatch brandishing a cutlass and proclaiming in comic sans, 'It's a Mew-tiny!' All terribly interesting assuredly.
    Though he looks around and his lips part as if about to say something, one hand coming up to scritch at his beard thoughtfully before he says. "Actually... I think..."
    He shoots an apologetic smile to the girl, "I was looking for the owner of that voice?" He motions in Dinah's direction. "I can wait though if she's busy."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"I don't think..."

Whatever thought Audrey was going to get gainsaid was overridden by the blonde. "These things are called money trees for a reason," the voice fumes. "It's what you pour into them to keep them alive." Someone appears to be having a bad day.

Dinah turns, then, away from her nursery and the forlorn target of her nurturing hand and withering voice, glancing over at Audrey and Alexander before heading to the counter filled with pots, each of which appearing to be a 'patient' for her to deal with.

She stops mid-step on the way to said counter, glancing over at Alexander again.

"Alex?" she asks, verging on incredulity.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    It's him. Taller, an inch over six foot now? Perhaps a touch more. Broader of shoulders, he fills out that coat and the t-shirt well. But what might be the most remarkable, for her at the least, was when she last saw him he was always so terribly clean shaven. Short hair. But now those almost platinum blond locks are pulled back into a bit of a pony tail, and he has a /beard/ of all things? It just doesn't look right on him. But then again...
    Yeah a bit older, but still so fresh-faced. Especially when his smile broadens and it reaches those pale eyes as he looks to her.
    "Ms. Lance." Then he bites his lower lip and adds, "Or should I say sensei? Maybe hey you?"
    Though then he looks to poor Audrey and his smile shifts a little apologetic before he turns his attention back to Dinah. "It's good to see you."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Or, you know, since we're not in a gym or dojo, just Dinah. How the heck are you?"

The anger at the plant evaporating in an instant, Dinah approaches Alex quickly, trowel in hand, little clods of soil dropping to the floor as she steps forward. Long-suffering Audrey sighs and, after flashing Alex a tight smile, trudges over to the broom to start sweeping after the boss lady.

"You've gotten bigger," the pint-sized plant doctor says, looking up at Alex. "Hair's longer." The obvious continues to be stated. "And we'd better get you to a doctor for that fungal growth all over your cheeks and chin!"

Grinning affably, Dinah slips an arm around Alex for a single-armed greeting hug.

"How the heck are you?" she repeats.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Those eyes lower as he follows that path of earth that trails behind her, his smile growing as she wanders closer and when she comes to a stop he peeks back up from under his brow with a hint of wariness as if she were possibly a crazy woman. It must have been a while since he still has doubts.
    "Dinah." He repeats and affirms, taking instruction just as easily as he tended to in those aforementioned dojos. "Or maybe you've gotten smaller?" He offers that as an option, smile slipping towards the sass that he would never show when they trained. "Yah, I dunno if I like the look. But it's a thing." He offers as he lifts a hand to oh so delicately emphasis his coiffure. Then crinkles his nose at her when she points out the beardiness.
    "Oh yeah? Really? I'll have to see a doc." But then she's moving in for the hug and he mirrors it, his own arm slipping around her shoulders to bring her in for a light /thump-thump/ bro hug, but gentler, even resting his chin on her shoulder slightly as he leans down before he straightens up. Steps back... and meets her gaze.
    "You look great. And hey... this is what you do when you're not hassling students." His gaze lifts up and around, nodding a bit. "Cool. Cool."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Been in the family for generations, actually," Dinah says upon release, looking around her domain with pride. "I'm the latest in the Sherwood Florist line. Like my mother before me and her mother before her."

The presence of the trowel in her hand registers when Audrey approaches and taps Diana's boots with the broom to get her out of the way while she sweeps. It's hastily put away and Dinah clears a path for the girl to clean up.

"Come on in. There's an extra chair over by the nursery and a bottle of five roses under the sales counter. Let's drink to reunions."

Alexander finds himself being dragged and deposited in a chair by a short, energetic woman. Audrey finds herself finished sweeping and re-seats herself in the tall chair nearest the door, turning her attention back to her phone and some game or another.

"Here you go," she says, after rummaging around the counter and pulling out a bottle of bourbon and two glasses, each of which gets filled with two fingers before one is delivered. "To reunions!"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Helping in that small dance step needed to get around and out of the way of the broom, Alexander takes a second glance around the room as she points out that it is part of her family. It's that revelation that causes his eyebrows to raise and for him to give her another look, as if seeing her anew for the first time. Then he nods and follows after at her behest toward the nursery and the chair so offered.
    "Thanks, that's kind of you." His voice is still so easy-going then he moves over and rests a hand on the chair, but tries to wait for Dinah to settle herself before he takes a seat as well, though it's likely she may get him seated simply with her energetic manner. "A drink would be very nice right now."
    Once they're at their ease he grins across the way at her, drawing a leg up and crossing it over his knee. The glass is handed to him and he looks at the bottle, bourbon? His eyes widen again very faintly, then she offers her toast and he hides his smile a little behind him drawing his lower lip between his teeth before he nods with a slight bow of his head.
    "Reunions," there's the /tink/ of glasses struck.
    "You know I had no idea you were here. I was wandering and letting my feet lead me," Which, a detective of her caliber might be able to tell that he's being fairly truthful there. "I thought I'd duck in and get a plant for my apartment since all of them have died. And then here you are."

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Oh, you're in the right place for that!" Dinah laughs, gesturing at the pathetic money tree she'd been trying to nurture. "If you want a house plant that dies if you look at it cross-eyed, I'm your pusher!"

She clinks the glass and downs the bourbon in a smooth, practised gesture.

"Of course I sell less high maintenance plants too. You know, hardy things like rare tropical orchids."

That plant seems to have stepped on a nerve, the way it sits there, lurking, bloom-free, with saggy leaves.

"Or, you know, cacti. Ferns. A whole bunch of flowering things, including some pretty spectacularly large 'mums in an assortment of colours. Pick and choose."

Each of the actual plants mentioned (not the orchids) gets paired with an arm gesture in the direction of where they sit, all without Dinah giving so much as a glance in their direction as she speaks, before the arm rejoins the conversation in lively body language.

"Now what about you? Where have you been in the last year? We missed you at Grant's."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    When she downs her drink he does as well, tilting it back and clearing his throat after, only coughing slightly. Those eyes lower as his smile broadens, he doesn't laugh, but he comes close as he shakes his head. "Yeah, I dunno. It'll have to contend with the ghosts of the other plants, haunting my apartment."
    He leans to the side, resting his arm on the chair and looking past her shoulder for a moment before finding her blue eyes again. "I had to run off with my father, we went on a long trip. No warning, just off to Greece and then..." He waves a hand to the side, not going further into what passed since well. To him Dinah is a normal friend. A normal person. She doesn't need to know all the craziness that follows him nor the tricks that fate play upon him. Such as this one. Clotho at the least must be laughing at him.
    "Maybe a cactus, that sounds about my speed." He looks after the last motion she makes, then meets her gaze again, still smiling.
    "But yah, big trip. Far and away. It's nice to be missed, though. You guys offered me a nice touch of..." For a time he looks up as if seeking the right word, then back down as he murmurs. "Stability."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah's laughter bubbles like fine champagne. "Stability? The crowd at Ted's? Wow is your life screwed!"

Of course she's thinking of the spandex-clad crowd there, not the normies.

"So Greece, eh?" Her brain wracks itself trying to figure out if she'd ever been there with the League or not. Probably.

"Went there once, but only on business." White lies are the best lies. Incomplete truths, call it. "Looked nice enough. I should go there for recreation sometime. But..."

She shrugs helplessly and looks around the shop. "I'm kind of tied down here, running the shop."

That gets a genuine, bona fide snort from Audrey.

"What?" Dinah asks defensively, looking at the teen.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Audrey lies transparently as she looks up. "I was reading stupid people talking on Twitter."

You can practically see Dinah's eyes glaze over in disinterest.

"So," she continues, turning back to Alexander. "If you're back in town, you want to continue getting beat up for fun and profit?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "I could, I could," Alexander says though she can read those eyes as he meets her gaze then lowers them, that smile unable to be hidden now even as he tries to maintain a neutral tone. "I mean, I've been training in my spare time, learning a few tricks here or there,"
    As he speaks about those little tricks his voice starts out low but raises higher almost teasingly even as he adds, "Don't know if having me show up at your dojo now and whupping on everyone will be good for your business. But if you're asking for it I could never say no to you, sensei." That last word given more as a light jab in her direction.
    Of course then he leans forwards and sets his glass near the bottle, figuring that can be the end of the drinking if she wants to spare the bottle, but if she wants to refill his... then who is he to argue?
    "Though in all seriousness, sure, it'd be fun." Fun he says.

Dinah Lance has posed:
"Well, head down there sometime. I work out there..." As Dinah. "...once a week, on Thursdays. Usually because Thursdays just happen to be the day I most feel like punching things. There's a small crowd of us who swap tips and spar, so you'd be welcome to join. And if you're really lucky Uncle Ted might show up."

Of course her real training days are as Black Canary with fellow members of Team Spandex, but ... not really a thing she wants to advertise, now, is it?

No, instead she wants to pour out another shot into each glass and pick hers up.

"So how's Greece anyway? Did you bring me back some authentic olive oil? Proper, home-made feta? Real gyros?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Listening to her, he gives a nod as she speaks, then smiles as she mentions Uncle Ted. He doesn't know him, but it's clear with the way Dinah's features light up when she speaks about him that he's a guy that figures prominently in her life. "That'd be great, I look forward to it."
    But then she's refilling his glass and he'll wait til its offered before accepting it, leaning forward and taking a sip now to make sure it doesn't spill. Then he settles back in the chair and laughs a bit as she suggests that he brought back some lovely presents.
    "Well, actually I sorta... learned how to cook a lot of Greek food. We did a lot of camping, weirdly enough. We were out and about and sometimes just hunkered down at night and threw some lemon chicken and potatoes together. Made some souvlaki once. Orzo soup. Was really nice having hot meals while it was raining and just..."
    As he speaks she can likely see him sort of losing himself a little to the memory, but he stops himself and then looks back to her gaze, smiling as he murmurs. "It was just nice. But yah, I'll cook you something some time. Though I need to get my apartment squared away and cleaned."
    Then he nods, "What have you been up to all this time? Anything super exciting?" Finally he takes another swallow of the bourbon, and though it isn't enough to cloud his senses, she'll likely see it cause that flush of color around his cheeks and nose a bit.

Dinah Lance has posed:
"I've won a few races in the motocross circuit," Dinah says, revealing perhaps a bit more of her wild life not involving flowers. "Uh ... I had a really good pizza the other day?"

A wry face disguises the truth of her life. "Really, just not a very eventful life. My shop. My weekly gang at Ted's. I've got a guy I'm seeing, so we go out every so often, but he's really busy." She pauses. "He's a cop," she adds by way of explanation, though something almost mischievous in her eyes hints at more to the story.

Bourbon cuts into the conversation in another smooth, practiced motion. There are as yet no signs of reaction to the drinks she's had; practiced in more than just the motions it seems.

"I wore a dress in the springtime." Hands are held up in mock surrender. "I know, I know, but it didn't seem right to go to a wake in greasy jeans."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Following along with her, Alexander's smile is warm and amused, even as his cheeks are a little flushed. "That doesn't sound uneventful, that sounds nice." He tilts his head to the side and then scritches his bearded chin, or fungal infection, one or the other. "Good to have like a core of people to be around and keep you steady."
    He chews his lower lip as he murmurs, "I'm going back to college myself, sort of just wandering around lately though. Letting the Fates guide me." Which is so often the case.
    Though when she mentions the dress he smirks and shakes his head, "Pics or it didn't happen." But he leans over and finishes his glass of bourbon then sets it down again. Not really a challenge for another drink, but she being Dinah... she might well imagine it's one.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah does refill, but not seemingly from any sense of competition but rather just, the glasses are there. The bottle is there. Of course!

The haunting smell of charred oak lends its ghost to the powerful scents of a melange of flowers. Again.

"College, eh? Can't say as I've been. Never had the money nor, more importantly, the inclination. I know enough about plants to run a successful flower shop, even with a nursery that keeps plants on their last legs alive. I tinker with the bikes..." She freezes a moment before deciding to just bulldog through it hoping it's not noticed. "It's old-timey, just my speed, you see, so I have to do more maintenance than the modern fancy scrapheaps people drive."

The bourbon washes the omission lie past her throat.

"I do a bit of motocross, win a few events. Some working out to keep in shape." Suspiciously good shape for someone who works out once a week... "I work out aggression by punching friends in the face. You know. A normal life."

Beat.

"Watchya studying?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    It is the nature of things, empty glass, fill!
    But she asks after college and he gives a nod, then the nod grows a little more emphatic as she explains her point of view as he agrees with her. Though there's a point he does look up with an eyebrow quirked, yet it passes as quick as it appeared. She moves on to motorcross and he nods. But when she mentions punching friends he laughs a little, remembering her lessons were always interesting, sometimes entertaining, always bruising.
    "I am studying all the usual things, though I'm aiming towards archaeology, though perhaps classical literature. I don't know."
    He straightens up a little, "I sort of agree with you though about college. I feel right now it's sort of more like... a pause button. Something to do until I figure out what I want to do with my life for reals."