9594/Twilight Thoughts

Twilight Thoughts
Date of Scene:	12 January 2022
Location:	Roof - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Terry and Roy have a rooftop conversation about scars- and lack of marshmallows.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Roy Harper

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
Sometimes, when life gets hectic and it seems like the world is tearing you in many different directions, it's good to take a breather and collect your thoughts. Listen to your heartbeats. Commune with the skies.

Drink a cup of cocoa.

Up on the roof, the Cheshire Cat is stretched on top of the hot tub-- or rather, the cover to the hot tub. It's a suitable perch where he can sit and stretch out, nurse his cup of coffee, and watch the glittering bay on one side, and the glistening moonlit ocean on the other side. It was truly a sublime, wonderful sight.

"... damnit, I forgot marshmallows," the Cheshire muses, sipping his cup.

Roy Harper has posed:
*thunk* A high-powered magnet strikes a wall. The high-tensile line attached to it goes taught. The whirring sound of someone gliding along the line can be heard as Arsenal comes into view. He releases when he's over the roof, landing gingerly and making a sound of discomfort. He has a small, not-too-bad limp as he moves to retrieve the magnetic arrowhead. He's hurt. He doesn't notice Terry.

The kid tugs back his hood and peels off his mask, revealing a black eye. A frown on his face seems to tell the story of his sense of irritation with himself. He goes down on one knee so he can gather his gear and start stowing the magnetic grapple arrow and line.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry waits for a moment, trying to decide what to do. It is clear that Arsenal has not seen him. And that the boy takes his pride seriously...

Aha. The perfect idea.

Summoning his powers of illusion, the Cheshire on the cover vanishes, and then a *DING* comes from the direction of the elevator. Vorpal appears to emerge from there, and raises his eyebrows, "Oh, hey, Arsenal!" he calls out, speedily approaching the hot tub cover with a cup of hot cocoa, slipping onto the cover quickly so as to actually occupy the position his actual body is in. There, the illusion is complete and Roy gets a chance to hide whatever he wants... if he chooses.

Roy Harper has posed:
There's no way he can put his mask back on to hide the eye without looking like a total d-bag, so basically the jig's up. Figures. He came in via the roof specifically so he wouldn't run into anyone. He stows his gear with a sigh and walks over to where Terry-cat is and lifts a hand somberly. Kid's in a shit mood. The eye's already exposed, so no sense trying to hide the limp. Besides, it's not really that bad of a limp.

Roy sits down on some chair or another. "How's it going..." he starts, but then pauses. "What do I...what do I call you when you're in this form? What's the, y'know, preferred nomenclature and stuff?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The Cheshire cat slips off the cover and walks over to Roy with a slow, measured step. Like would approach a skittish creature. "You can call me whatever you want. I don't have a secret identity anymore, and I don't particularly care. So whatever's good for you." He kneels slowly next to Roy, tilting his head. "... did I ever tell you about the time I got shot?" he says conversationally, sipping his hot cocoa, "Okay. There's been a /couple/ of times I've gotten shot."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy is trying to maintain his sour demeanor. I mean, when you work up a good and proper shit mood it's a shame to waste it. But his new friend's presence does seem to do much to relax him. His overall expression and body language soften a bit.

"Well I think we've only talked like two times before for like ten minutes each, so no, you getting shot didn't really come up." He reaches over and, if Terry permits it, he takes the mug of cocoa and takes a sip, then hands it back. He wrinkles his nose. "No marshmallows."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I know, right? My fatal flaw. I always forget the marshmallows." The Cheshire cat crinkles his nose and winks, and then takes a sip out of his cup. Then he gestures to his right arm. "Right here. POW. The first time was before I got my powers. I was following up a lead down Suicide Alley... and the people I was tailing noticed me. Before you knew it, they were onto me and I got shot..." he chuckles. "Beast Boy was passing through and he saved my ass. Otherwise..."

Roy Harper has posed:
Slowly, Roy starts to unfasten the links between the top part of his carbon-weave armor from the bottom. He moves a bit gingerly, suggesting that there's more going on than just the small limp and the black eye. He tugs the top armor piece up almost to his chest. Kid is ripped asf, sporting a 10-pack or something stupid. On his right side a fresh bruise covers his rubs -- the source of his timid movements. But the left side is where he draws attention where a bullet hole scar resides. "9mm. In and..." He rotates a bit showing the matching scar on the back. "...out. Missed my descending aorta by like an inch."

He snorts as he tugs the armor back down and gets comfortable in the seat again. "I don't have powers so this is where I live: one inch and one second from being dead."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry nods and reaches out to touch Roy's forearm, which is the only part he is certain /isn't/ injured or bruised, yet. "Just because I have powers, does it mean I'm bulletproof. If I'm not careful, someone can put a bullet through my brainpan. In fact..." he turns slightly to show his left arm. He points at two locations, where careful scrutiny will show scarring, "Here... and... here. Two other bullets. Oh, and..." He reaches over and tugs at the hidden zipper on his neck, and rolls it down to his toned stomach. He taps his stomach and traces a rather wide area. "And some crazy energy manipulator dude blasted a hole into my stomach. I almost died," he says quietly. "Friend of mine, Phoebe, healed me with her magic. Otherwise I'd be a goner... so..." he reaches over again and pats Roy's knee with a hand, "You're not alone. Aside from Supergirl and Donna, a lot of us can be easily hurt and don't have powers to stop bullets."

He gives the redhead a little smile.

"Do you want to talk about what happened? Often helps."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy waves off the suggestion of talking about it. It seems he's not a lets-talk-about-it kinda dude. "Doe'n't matter," he intones.

He furrows his forhead. "Phoebe, like from the Outsiders?" he asks. Surely there can't be more than one magical healing Phoebe running around these parts. "She saved my life. I got caught up in some shit with interdimensional bugs from some stolen Fantastic 4 tech. I got injected with a nasty venom. They thought they had me all fixed up at their HQ but it came back later when I was sleeping at the Roost with a vengeance. If Phoebe hadn't been there, no doubt I'm read right now." He shrugs. There is no self-pity or remorse in his words. He's simply telling a story like one might describe a play in a football game.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, people like us? We depend on healers. Nothing wrong with that." The Cheshire cat grins, "Now, we do have a medbay here. Even if you don't need to stay over, you can grab bandages and gels and all sorts of stuff there. Just don't go into the closed off bed... that's where the Mad Hatter is recovering."

He needs to elaborate. "The /real/ Mad Hatter. Not the one from Gotham. The one from Wonderland." He reaches over and stops himself, his hand on it sway to touch Roy's chin, "Sorry. I was going to take a look at that eye. Looks like it could use something cold on it."

Roy Harper has posed:
The ginger-haired archer shakes his head. "I'm good," he says at the suggestion of the med bay. "Nothin' a good night's sleep won't fix."

He gestures to Terry with a nod of his head. "S'what's got you out here in the middle of the night drinkin' cocoa with no stinkin' marshmallows in it?" He doesn't quite smile. He's not there yet. But a lightening of his expression indicates Terry's presence is making him more relaxed, more comfortable.

Incidentally, he doesn't shrink back or pull away from the hand near his chin.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The cat touches Roy's chin, angling his head a little this way and that, if allowed. He lets out a little air between his teeth, and says "Ouch... here..." he extends a hand, and a tiny Rabbit Hole drops something onto his hand, the mist of icy depths streaming from the hole before it closes. "I got an ice pack from my fridge..." he offers it to Roy, "You don't want to ruin a perfect glare by having one eye closed, right?" a wink, "Although rocking an eyepatch temporarily would also make you look bad-ass. But the problem with eyepatches is that you have to resist the urge to talk like a pirate."

He raises his eyebrows and sits back on his haunches, sipping his cocoa, "Oh? Out here? Just taking a breather. So much is happening, I need a moment to regroup. Waiting for the Mad Hatter to wake up is... infuriating. I don't remember things about Wonderland, and he has answers we need. And he's... you know. Coma."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy's eyes sink shut at Terry's touch. It's not any kind of sexual submission. Just the expression of someone who lives a hard fucking life and hasn't been touched in a while. He permits his head to be turned this way than that. The moment passes and he opens his eyes. "Thank you," he says, though surely that must have just killed him to say. He takes the ice and holds it over his eye.

The whole eye-patch, talk-like-a-pirate bit actually coaxes a smile from Roy, which embarrasses him, causing him to look down. "Yer so stupid," he says as the reflexive grin dominates his face, his tone of voice warm.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The eye-closing doesn't go unnoticed, but Terry doesn't remark on it. He is aware of more than most people give him credit for. Being underestimated is something he's good at. "Oh, I'm absolutely /idiotic/, but idiots have their uses, you know." The Cheshire grins, as is mandatory for his brand. He leans over and rests his elbows on Roy's leg and props his chin on his hands, looking up at Roy. "Hey, if you want a laugh, you can try to teach me how to use a bow and arrow sometime. I guarantee you I am clumsy enough I will end up shooting myself in the butt, even if it's physically impossible."

Roy Harper has posed:
Roy Harper carefully makes his way to his feet, all while holding the ice pack to his face. With a gentle snort he says, "With my luck you'll be really good at it and I'll get knocked down from like 18th best archer to 19th."

He quirks a grin at his new friend. "Thanks, my dude," he says earnestly. "AT first I was annoyed when I realized someone else was up here. But now I'm glad that you were. Anyway, I gotta go crash and get some sleep before I pass out on the roof."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry stands up and nods, "Hey, no problem. That's what I'm here for. That, and making Raven constantly swear she will consign my soul to the depths of the stygian abyss. But you know." He shrugs and leans forward to pat Roy on the shoulder, "Sleep. Full eight hours, it's important for the body to heal before you put more stress on it. The tower's the safest place you can be at. After all..." he puts his hands on his hips and gives his best exaggerated Booster Gold pose, "I am here! Now go. I'll go to bed in a few hours, I have monitor duty in thirty."