950/Talking with the Tallest of Titans

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Talking with the Tallest of Titans
Date of Scene: 03 April 2020
Location: Teacher's Lounge - Happy Harbor High School
Synopsis: Colette bumps into Caitlin in the teacher's lounge at HH and they talk Titans. Caitlin agreed to visit what remians of her old team.
Cast of Characters: Colette O'Connail, Caitlin Fairchild




Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Now that spring break is over, the halls of Happy Harbor are filled with students once more. This species is most unfortunately indispensible to the running of a high school. It must have been observed by every teacher at every school at least once that things would go so much more smoothly without them. Fortunately there is always respite to be found in the teacher's lounge, the one place Students Shall Not Go.

    It's mid afternoon, and the lounge is quiet. Occupying one corner is Colette, a teaching assistant. Fitting somewhere in the hierarchy between students and teachers, TAs fit an odd middle ground that straddles the spectrum from student to staff, some almost as annoying and needy as the worst student, some dilligently getting on with things and quite useful to have around. Colette seems to be closer to the latter end of the spectrum; she doesn't complain when given the tedious dogsbody tasks such as duplicating lesson notes and hall monitoring so often dumped on TAs, and seems to handle the more tricky things she's asked to do without asking a million questions and requiring almost as much effort as she saves, all the way up to taking classes herself.

    This dilligence is shown in her activity in the lounge today; she's grading essays. Grading, and drinking coffee. Sure characteristics of someone likely to fit in just fine as a teacher one day. The smell of coffee fills the lounge - she must have just brewed a fresh pot.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Coffee coffee coffee," Caitlin mutters, and makes a beeline right for the pot of liquid gold the second that the door swings open. The redhead is dressed in her usual lab gear; despite being immune to pretty much anything a chemistry student might actually concoct, she never skimps on her personal protective gear. Hair back in a bun, clear splash goggles on her face, and a pair of chemical gloves tucked into her lab coat.

There's a little smoke wafting from it still, and the smell of something having been recently burned in her proximity. Must have been an interesting morning in the student labs.

The coffee's boiling hot; Caitlin pours a mugful of it, downs half without blinking, and makes a 'ecch' sound. A second cup is refilled, but this one gets a health dose of milk and sugar. Only then does she sip, savouring the taste, and turn to realize Colette's in the room.

"Eep!" The exclamation slips past Caitlin's lip as she startles. "Oh. Colette, I didn't see you sitting there. Did you make this?" she inquires, wiggling the mug. "This is good, this is way better than what we had last week."

There's a couple of mismatched chairs in the lounge, old steel-frame ones that'll handle Caitlin's weight. She finds it and drops as heavily into the seat as she dares with a sighed exhalation of relief.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette looks up when the door is opened, eyes inevitably going to and lingering for a few moments on the tall figure entering. It's a reaction Caitlin must be well used to by now; it's a rare room where she doesn't command attention. "Doctor Fairchild," she says in greeting as her eyes return to the grading.

    When she's addressed, Colette's eyes rise up from the papers again, and she gives Caitlin a small grin. "Yeah. I don't know who it is, but there's someone on staff who makes terrible coffee." She looks around as if making sure nobody will overhear, and in a stage whisper adds "I threw the old pot away and made this fresh, don't tell anyone."

    Colette flips a sheet back and then forwards again, making a correction before putting her pen down. "I saw you on the news yesterday. That interview you gave about the Titans. I was wondering... is that a hard topic for you? It was pretty heavy stuff that happened to you guys. Losing a couple of members like that." She shakes her head a little. "Are you okay talking about that, or is it a subject you try to avoid?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin shifts uncomfortably as the topic's brought up, bringing herself to a sitting position. When Colette asks if it is a diffcult issue, she straightens reflexively and shakes her head. "What? No, it's--" A hand moves to touch her hair, and Caitlin realizes she's still wearing her goggles. They're removed with a grimace of frustration and then she unpins her hair bun to try and fluff out any tangles the headband might have caused.

"It's ... It's not something I like to just think about all the time," she admits. "But I got through therapy OK. I can discuss it. It was hard losing friends like that. Not just... I mean, the League took some fatalities," she concedes. "But the Titans, we were all close. We lived together. You don't get over that really easily."

An uncomfortable silence falls; Caitlin chisles at a stain on the table with a thumbnail. "Um, why do you ask?" she says, and flicks her eyes up to Colette.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
Colette picks up her pen again, holding it carefully between two fingers of each hand, rolling it backwards and forwards. "Well... to be completely frank, because Garfield is a friend of mine too," she says. Apparently this is not a conversation with wholesale dissembling. She studies the pen carefully, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "I haven't known him long to be honest. But long enough to know that what happened to you guys... it hit him pretty hard. He was the youngest of you... I mean he's still basically a kid. If he was a year younger he could be a student here. It's hard to imagine going through that, at the age he did."

    The pen is dropped with a faint thud on the stack of papers, and Colette looks up, finding Caitlin's eyes. "You were his friend, back then. His team mate. So I kind of wanted... well. I have to admit that what's happening now... you know. I'm worried on his behalf, I guess. I know what he is, who he is. If you make friends with someone like that, you've got to expect them getting themselves in all kinds of dangerous situations, I get that. It's more the..." she tilts her head vaguely from side to side. "The psychological aspects, I guess."

    Colette kicks back in her chair, picks up her cup and takes a sip of coffee, watching Caitlin over the rim of the mug. "So I did want to talk to you about it a little," she says. "About him. But also from seeing what it did to Gar, I realize that you might not be exactly comfortable having that conversation, particularly with someone you barely know."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"It hit everyone hard," Caitlin says softly. "Not just Gar. Everyone took it differently. Nightwing, he was the oldest, he thought it was his fault. Raven did, too. So did I, even-- I was the only one who even had a chance of actually slugging it out with Doo-- it, and I got my clock cleaned so bad I was in a coma for two days and it was a month before my bones healed."

The redhead shifts uncomfortably and flexes a shoulder as if the memory provokes some phantom joint pain. "Gar, I think, it was hard for him because it never really occurred to him that Dove, that... anyone, really, wasn't invulnerable. We'd lost a couple fights, but we'd never really been licked before."

A heavy exhalation rustles the papers on the table. "I don't know how to explain it. I know everyone's lost, like... a grandparent or a pet, or a cousin. Someone they knew personally. The Titans were family. That last day, we were cleaning out their rooms, sending their effects on. Getting our rooms closed up. Raven didn't even come out to say goodbye to anyone. Just locked the doors after we walked out. That was it. It's hard to imagine going back to ... to the Tower, knowing we really failed at our mission."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette winces slightly, before nodding her head. "That's pretty much how Gar tells it. There's a lot of self-recrimination there too. If you went through therapy, I'm sure you've had all that out. People blame themselves if they somehow couldn't do the impossible and save their friends." She sighs slightly and looks over to Caitlin, giving her a small apologetic smile.

    "Maybe it's an age thing, I don't know. Or maybe... well I have no idea what your background was like, doctor. But I feel like the Titans is the only family Gar had that really meant something to him. It sounds like the last few years he's felt pretty empty. He doesn't talk much about his time out west except in the way I figure he assumes people expect him to talk about it. I don't think he enjoyed it very much."

    With another gulp, Colette drains her cup, and holds it between both hands, staring deeply into it. Reading the future in the grounds at the bottom of the cup, perhaps. "That's what is behind... well. What happened. I think those years with you guys were the only time he felt like he really belonged somewhere. I know when he first arrived back he tried contacting all of you about getting the band back together, but nobody seemed interested. So I guess this was inevitable. I'm out." She stands up, gesturing with her cup. "Going to get a refill, how you doing there? Need your cup refreshed?"

    Colette takes a few steps over to Caitlin, but doesn't wait for an answer on the coffee question before the subject drifts back to Titans. "I saw Raven the other day. I suspect that she hasn't left the tower since she locked those doors after you. She's not in a good way. How well did you know her?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin hands her cup off to Colette when the younger woman inquires, and nods grateful thanks for it. "Raven..." Caitlin chews the inside of her cheek. "Honestly, I wasn't close to Raven. I don't think she liked me very much. I hadn't had many friends before the Titans," she admits. "Nightwing did a lot to bring me out of my shell. Raven's scary. She doesn't have a lot of patience for people being foolish. It's one of the reasons I got into baking. I mean, I need to eat a lot anyway, and the rest of us were all training like top athletes, so..."

Caitlin watches Colette move away, come back, and there's a subtle suspicion lurking in her eyes. Dissembling is not something Caitlin does well. "Colette, I'm, uh... not exactly good at subtle stuff," she explains. "Nightwing always did the smooth talking when we needed it. But I get the sense you're not telling me something. I wouldn't have expected a TA to be so... insightful. And you're asking good questions. Like, deep questions. I get the sense we're not just having a casual chat."

Her fingers flex in the air. "Is there something you wanna tell me?" Nightwing might be a master of casuall dissembling and the art of extracting information, but Caitlin takes an opposite tact: she just lets that natural trustworthiness emanate from her face, making no pretense about her curiousity but also not attempting to hide any agenda other than sincere curiousity and mild concern.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
"Was anyone? Close to Raven, I mean." Colette refills both cups and brings them back over, handing Caitlin's over to her before taking a seat closer to Caitlin. "Gar thinks she's scary too. He loves her, but he's terrified of her. And I can see why. He's got through to her a little bit. Cracked the shell, just enough that she's tolerating him being there and doing what he's doing, but she's still hiding out in some corner of that tower, and stewing."

    Resting her cup on her knee, Colette shuffles back in her seat, trying to get comfortable. "I was with him when he cracked her shell. What I saw... well I suspect that not many people other than you guys and one or two of her worst enemies have seen what I saw. I don't know... I don't know /what/ she really is, Doctor. But I do know that she is very alone, and she is unstable. And I get the sense that could be a very bad thing. I also know that Gar is a smart, sweet, big-hearted guy who is trying to do take a massive load on his shoulders that he's not really convinced he's up to, and... Raven on top of that... I don't know."

    She tilts her head sideways, looking at Caitlin with a speculative expression. "It's not entirely casual, no. I told you. Gar is my friend. I care about him. So honestly, I was hoping you could help. What you said to the press," she shakes her head a little. "He needed to hear that from you. From someone on his former team. But I was kind of hoping you might be able to do more. For him, and for Raven."

    The head tilt reverses, and Colette finds a window to stare out of. "I'm not sure how to say this without it sounding like I'm... blaming you. All of you. For abandoning her." She sighs softly. "I don't mean it like that. I mean I've met her, once, for about two minutes, and that was enough to know how easy it would be to not... well. Want to try to deal with that. But she's been on her own for three years, without help, without a friend. And now Gar is trying to fire things up again, and that's a lot of wieght to put on his shoulders."

    Once more Colette turns back to Caitlin. "So if there's something I'm trying to tell you... well I guess it's that." Colette gives a quick shrug. "I think he needs your help. I think she needs... someone's help. I don't know who that would be. I know you've got your own things going on now, I understand the Tower must have bad memories for you, but if you could just visit him some time, I think that would mean a lot to him."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I'll... I'll see what I can do," Caitlin concedes, finally. "We've tried a few times. I mean, the team. Except Raven. Getting together. We did Christmas one year. It was okay until someone mentioned Don and then it got quiet, and then we all went home. It's not that we all--" Caitlin gets to her feet and goes to look out the window. "It's not that we avoid each other. But it's all small doses. Video calls, dinner once in a while. It just feels like..."

She sets her coffee cup down, rubs her arms. "If we get everyone together, all at once, we start realizing who isn't there. I'm glad to see Gar moving on. Maybe the rest of us need to try, too."

She turns and smiles wearily at Colette. "But, um... one thing. Be really careful around Raven," she cautions her. "Gar's the only one who was ever really able to talk to her. The rest of us she just more or less put up with. If she gets mad, really mad, she could blip the whole Tower off the island. Maybe the whole island out of the bay. Raven's... well, one of my minors is in psychology, and I still don't even know where to begin trying to figure -her- out."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Not a reunion then," Colette says, holding her hand palm out. "As you said. If you make an effort to get everyone together, you highlight the people who couldn't make it. You need to repair and reinforce the individual relationships before you could consider the group dynamic anyway. But you... Gar... everyone seems to talk about it as a /family/. Turning your back on that to hide from the pain just means you're never letting the wounds heal. Shared wounds seem smaller when you're apart, but that's an illusion."

    A momentary smirk crosses Colette's face, and she starts running a hand slowly through her hair. Caitlin has enough experience of behavioral psychology to spot a displacement activity when she sees it. No doubt some amusing thought crossed Colette's mind and she's trying not to let herself express it in a way that might be cause offense.

    "Something informal, Doctor. He's staying at the Tower now. If you just dropped in to spend a little time with him, I think that would mean a lot to him." She stops for a thoughtful sip of her coffee. "No need for something as formal as a dinner. He hasn't said as much, but I suspect there's a certain amount of guilt there after the press stories yesterday. None of the rest of the team are with him, at least yet. I'm pretty sure that his deepest hope is that when you guys see what he's doing you'll all rush back to join him. Equally I suspect his deepest fear is that you'll all think he's overstepping himself and doesn't have the right. Just..." a quick shake of the head. "Just being there and not glaring would probably do him the world of good."

    Colette looks up with a quick smile, but the smile fades as she thinks about Raven again. "You don't have to warn me to be careful around Raven - I suspect you're underestimating the danger, if anything. I have no intention of even /being/ around Raven. I was just hoping you... or someone... could. I think she really needs a friend. And you may be wrong when you said you thought she didn't like you."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"He's /in/ the Tower?" Caitlin seems surprised by this information, and looks out the window again. "Last I'd heard, Raven had the door sealed shut. I guess if she's even letting him in, that's some progress."

A deep exhalation settles the tension from Caitlin's shoulders. "All right. I'll talk to Gar. Maybe talk to Raven. See if... I don't know. At least let her know I'm out here," she assures Colette.

The redhead turns and looks at Colette. "Thanks for talking to me about it, Colette. I appreciate it." She flashes a smile. Wan, but real. "I adore Gar. If this is what he needs, I'll be there to help him."

"Um... that goes both ways, Colette," she says, drifting towards the other woman a few steps. "I know you're trying to help. And I know I'm not exactly, um... the best at reading people, but when you're ready to talk to me about stuff, I'm here," she informs Colette. "You're taking a lot on your shoulders. More than you should," she says. "When you're ready to talk about it, I mean."

She glances at the clock on the wall and retrieves her coffee cup. "I'm due back in the labs. I'll let you know how it goes with Gar," she promises.