Owner	Pose
Cassandra Cain	Like a shark in a school of grouper, Cass Cain moves through the throng, coming from her flight. She's just in from China, no bags and no carry-on luggage. She is wearing sunglasses, though she mostly is just watching for anything that might become an isssue. You know, friends, enemies. People with religion. She checks her headsup display, then frowns. There's someone here, someone she hasn't spotted yet. Hrm. Looking around curiously, she's on the alert!
Emiko Queen	Cass has a shadow. One that seems to have detached from her Peter Pan style and is now ghosting her through the airport. Emiko had made a quick trip out to Japan, and frankly, the Gotham airport is less of a hassle than Metropolis or New York. Customs is faster, there's fewer people, fewer questions. So now she stalks her prey, putting the ninja skills to good use by keeping out sight. Not an easy feat when one is following the Bat family! There. She's been spotted. Sensed. Emi darts a glance around, then moves quickly, catching a maintenance door just before it closes and slipping through, but letting it give a small bang as it closes behind her. A clue for her quarry as she hurries along, tri-stepping up a wall and popping one of the cheap foam ceiling tiles to leap up and above. THe tile is replaced, but the inevitable scattering of foam dust is a telltale sing on the floor.
Cassandra Cain	For all Cass' vaunted skills, she is not perfect. She tilts her head and frowns, realizing that whomever was on her has already gotten one up on her, and she lets her eyes rove the crowd. She bends down and takes a sip from her water bottle, using the time to tap her earpiece one time. Just an alert to the team that she might be into something. Then she wanders, all nonchalance and patience, to the door. Her eyes look at the door, then they drift upwards to the ceiling. She glances behind her to see if anyone's watching, then slips through the door without a sound. Into the maintenance area, where the sudden cessation of sound from milling crowds is almost audible in itself. She is prepared to duck, if this were an ambush. Licking her teeth inside her mouth she takes a breath, smelling the air for clues. And touches the wall, feeling it for vibrations. She looks up, then nods. No smiles here, not when this could easily be a fight.
Emiko Queen	Nobody is perfect. Emi left a trail that she could follow. That would have been a lashing and another run at the exercise, looped until she got it right. Well, at one point. Not anymore. She doesn't have to fear lashes now. Now, she takes a small handful of coins from her pocket, tossing a nickel a few tiles over to make it shiver, dust floating down. Then another a few more tiles ahead. As if someone were creeping along but unable to keep from jostling the occasional ceiling tile. In the meantime, breath held, she listens. Waits for the slightest sound to show if her ruse is working. Cassandra will likely detect the faintest hint of vetiver, incense, and cherry blossoms.
Cassandra Cain	Cass hadn't so much as glimpsed whomever was on her earlier, it was more of a feeling in the crowd, reactions that were giveaways and a suggestion of predation in the air. She knew the feeling well, it was a pattern that she gave off herself, when she was working a crowd. The problem is that she didn't know the enemy's capabilities. That could have been movement, or a trap. Those little bumps were easily spotted. Then what? There's no way to tell. So Cass did what she does best. She rearranged the flow of the fight, by going BACK through the door she's entered through, refusing to choose either bad option. Then she quickly, and quickly is definitely the word, circled around and went up the outside wall, aiming to come in from above. You can get outside an airport if you try hard enough. It leaves whomever's in there to stew a moment though.
Emiko Queen	Emi likely wouldn't have known at all that Cass had gone back through the door, but for that tiny 'thnk' of the lock engaging after the door closes. It has her re-evaluating her strategy and how to proceed. She's blind in here, unable to tell where Cass has gone, leaving her with a few options. Down is bad, there's nothing in down but dead ends and corners. Staying put would put her on the defensive, which is not a good spot to be in with an opponent of Cass' skill. She could go UP, but that could be tricky, with employees still scattered around. In the end, she chooses to make lateral moves, creeping across the ceiling tiles and making her way towards where the baggage chutes are. It tends to be sparsely populated, not really requiring much in the way of employee intervention unless one of the routed gets blocked, and it leaves obstacles to be overcome. Emiko makes sure to leave a trail that can be followed. And wonders if they won't end up coming face to face in an unexpected place!
Cassandra Cain	Below, a group of transients are picking at luggage that's coming in from Austin, TX. It takes a bit of time, this being a constant ongoing process, but after a bit things do slow down. There's nothing to do about that but wait it out; luggage takes as long as it takes to process. Then the area becomes silent. Where has the target gotten off to though? She vanished into the crowd, leaving the engagement area. Is she still even playing the game? One suitcase keeps going around and around on the carousel, nobody claiming it for some reason. Until, after an unreasonable period of waiting, it comes out with a glove on it. One that Cass was wearing a moment ago, when being tracked. She had to have put it there, but why?
Emiko Queen	This could be a trick. Almost assuredly it is. But Emi is reckless enough to take the chance, albeit not without some precautions. She drops down to where the transients were picking through luggage, grabbing up a few items that might be useful to her. Tucking them into her pockets, she moves back to where the glove still circles, picking it up and putting it in a back pocket to let it hang out. Then she's listening for the sounds of voices on the other side, waiting until it's quiet to dart through and back out into the airport. She moves immediately for cover behind one of the large 'you are here' maps, then begins a quick recon on the area to see if she can't spot Cass. Barring finding Cassandra herself, Emiko will start looking for more clues to lead her to the young woman.
Cassandra Cain	Oh she's there now. She's riding the carousel, using the sound of the moving luggage rack to hide her entry. She watches as Emiko moves, coming through the entry hole with that circling suitcase, then leaps off of it at Emiko's attempt to hide. She'd find her location rather more occupied than it appeared, what with her target person coming in with both hands outstretched, going for a shoulder throw to put her into the wall.
Emiko Queen	The tactic works! Emiko finds herself being thrown intot he wall, hitting it and rebounding. She comes back with a sweeping kick, more to force Cassandra to move than in trying to ground her. She springs away and grins towards the young woman with a wink. They met the once at Phoebe's party, agreed to a spar. Apparently that spar is now! Emi comes back at herwith a series of quick, testing punches, trying to gauge the other girl's speed and skill.
Cassandra Cain	This isn't a normal fight though. Cass isn't there when Emiko's punches are thrown. She did that big move, bounced Emi off the wall, then backed off a step. She isn't fully engaging, her eyes locking in and movements keeping her from being struck. She glances left just before the left hook comes, her eyes spotting the movement before it's thrown. She notes the kick, then the pattern of moments, ducking and weaving out of the way. She's not -using- her hands, this is all eye movement and evasion. People are good at reading others, or can become so. It appears that Cass is a grandmaster at it. And she's showing that to Emiko, right now. On purpose, to make a point. There is almost no way to hit her, when she's ready to dodge. She's seeing them coming before Emi even decides to make the movement.
Emiko Queen	Emiko cants her head at Cassandra, brows lifting briefly. She sweeps a quick glance around to see if they've been noticed, then looks back to Cass with a grin, "Well this isn't going to get us anywhere. You're good, though, really good." She shrugs and comes up out of the fighting stance, hands tucking into her jacket. She tilts her head towards one of the vendors, "Gonna get a churro. Want one?" And she does, indeed, turn around and start towards the churro cart. Emi offers a smile to the vendor and gets two churros, glancing back at Cass and holding one out towards her, brows riased. "Truce for churros? We can pick up again in a minute."
Cassandra Cain	Cass backs off the moment Emi calls a truce, clearly having read the mood in her face. She looks at the ongoing, at the food thing that Emiko is offering, and her own face looks...horrified. One thing that Emiko likely hasn't learned yet. Cass has never eaten anything unhealthy. She lives on rice, vegetables, and fish. She has yet to encounter chocolate in her life, she's that new at this type of thing. So, when she's faced with the offer of churros, she's not sure how to react. Still. The 'no fight' in Emiko's stance is noted. And the fact that this food thing is possibly a part of that is there, clear as day. So she reaches out for one, just one, churro. And looks at it like she's not sure what to do with the thing. Sniffs it cautiously... her face says 'what now?'
Emiko Queen	Emi's own diet is rather strict, but in dating Bart she's learned the value of 'cheat days'. Sharing good food that is terrible for you is one of those things that people like to do to deepen relationships. So.. churros! When Cass takes the other churro, Emiko smiles and moves to find an out of the way bench they can eat at. Plopping herself down, she looks at Cass, then chuckles at the look on her face. Lifting her churro she takes a bite from the non-wrappered end and chews, smiling at Cass and giving a nod. Not toxic or poisonous, just.. fried pastry dough with some honey and cinnamon-sugar. "I don't normally eat stuff like this, but Bart likes these things, so they can't be bad. Mind, his metabolism kicks my metabolism's ass, but he's right in how good they taste. And I've calcualted out that I can afford to have little things like this without breaking my otherwise strict dietary requirements." She rambles on easily between bites of the churro.
Cassandra Cain	Cass doesn't sit, instead leaning against a wall with her butt. She watches Emiko talk, taking in as much as she can from context; she's not actually much of an English speaker, getting nine tenths of her data from Emiko's facial expressions! That's how she works after all, and it does...alright. Still, she watches the girl eat the first bite, then lifts the churro of her own to her nose. She sniffs, then extends her tongue to lick, just a tiny bit. She takes a moment. She frowns. Then she says, "Poison," nodding firmly, and holding the churro away from her. A shake of her head, she apparently isn't up for refined sugar quite yet. Still, she's not attacking or anything. And yay, wordage!
Emiko Queen	Laughing at Cass' reaction Emi flashes a grin towards her and gives a nod, "Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I was exposed to sugar was... pretty rough. Okay. Lets get you an apple, then. Or a banana. They have some fresh fruit here too..." Pushing up to her feet, she takes the churro from Cassandra and dumps it into a trash bin, motioning for Cass to follow her. Emi wanders down a bit farther til she finds one of the shops that sells fresh fruit and motions to it, "Pick what you want, I'll get us some water." And that's exactly what she does, too! Gets them both a bottle of water. Looking to Cass, she flashes a smile, "Find something you like?"
Cassandra Cain	Cass, the virtual mindreader that she is, lets Emiko drive for a bit. She was going to toss the churro anyway, and possibly alert the team to avoid the stall, though they seem to eat this stuff themselves. Weird, but she's gotten used to it. She looks not at the fruit stall, but at Emiko. It's like she's looking into her soul, and she has yet to actually smile. So when she answers the question Emiko asked by placing her and on top of Emiko's own, it's likely a bit unexpected. Just that, touching her hand. With a bit of concern in her expression. She's got those eyes, they seem to see so much.
Emiko Queen	Emi looks down at the hand on hers, then looks back to Cass. Her smile starts to fade as she looks at Cassandra's expression, then blinks and shakes her head, pulling away, "Don't. It doesn't do anyone any good to dredge up the past." Turning, she steers around Cassandra to go pay for the water, that smile coming back full force as she deals with the lady behind the counter. Once she's paid, she returns to smile at Cass again, handing her a bottle of water. "C'mon. This isn't a good place to get into.. anything." Still smiling, but there's a shadow behind her eyes now. EMiko tucks the bottle of water into a pocket and turns to start off.
Cassandra Cain	Not a talker, Cass follows Emiko with no reference to their earlier combative interaction. She simply moves on, the situation having changed. When Emiko returns, all smiles, Cass' own lips try to quirk upward. It looks like it's an effort though, and she stuffs her thumbs into the hem of her pants, ruining the half-smile with body language. Still, she does pick up her water after a moment to follow. She waits til Emiko is looking at her again before she tries to interact. She's -clearly- a visual-based person, rather like dealing with the deaf. If you assume that she's reading your lips, you're probably safest. When she's in Emi's visual field again though, she pulls out her one glove. Then she taps it on her own wrist thoughtfully. Emi has the other one. After a moment she taps her forearm. A dull thud comes back, showing hidden armor there. It appears she's saying something with the gesture.
Emiko Queen	She doesn't say anything further until they're outside, into the fresh air. Just staring straight ahead, keeping the smile in place, striding out of the airport. Emiko draws in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, looking up into the sky for a long moment. Once she's taken the breath and settled herself, she looks to Cass with a much more natural looking smile in place. Lifting a brow at the glove, Emi pulls the other from her pocket and holds it out to Cassandra with a smile. The tap to the armor has her brows drawing together for a moment. She looks back to Cass, "Armor? The smile? Yeah, you could say that. But its not protecting me. It's protecting everyone else FROM me." She flashes a brief grin, lifting a shrug, that smile never quite making it to her eyes. "Everyone has their problems, you know? They don't need mine."
Cassandra Cain	Cass listens. She's a damn good listener at least, never interrupting anyone else's wordystuff. She actually finds a place to sit down and crosses her legs while Emiko is explaining, never taking her eyes from Emi's face. But her answer, if it counts as one, is to sit and look at Emiko still. Expectantly, patient and open. She looks with those quiet eyes and doesn't interrupt. Emi will say what she chooses to say. Or she won't. Apparently it's good for Cass either way?
Emiko Queen	Emiko follows suit, moving to find a seat where she can twist to still face Cass. She watches Cass watching her, then gives a small shake of her head, "No, you don't need to know it either. It sounds like some really depressing Japanese soap opera epic. One of the ones where everyone dies. Nobody needs that." She lifts a shrug and looks down before remembering that Cass won't know if she isn't looking at her. Her head lifts again and she smiles, "It's good. I'm good. Now. Things are way better now. I have Ollie, and Bart, and I've been making friends. It's fine." Yep, cue the meme of the dog sitting in a burning house.
Cassandra Cain	Which is the exact moment when Cass raises her eyebrow, disbelief evident on her face, and then rolls to her feet with a half-grin appearing. She upnods, then she offers her hand to the other lady. Not a girl, neither of them will ever be a girl again. But she shifts to a stronger stance, able to take some additional weight, and offers to help Emi to her feet. She looks a lot more confident now, less like she's listening and more into movement. It seems as if she's got energy, and motions down the path with a slight tilt of her head. Just that. But she's finally smiling, if only a bit.
Emiko Queen	Taking the offered hand, Emiko rolls up to her feet and smiles back at Cass with a nod, ready to follow her new friend wherever she leads. Surely this can't possibly end badly, right? Right? Right! So she's up and smiling and looking relieved at not having to do that deep talking and instead be on the move!