Owner	Pose
Julia Pennyworth	The study wasn't somewhere people went to kill time, yet here Julia was. She'd already done her daily workout, had a nice run around the grounds, and cleaned up. Now she was standing in front of some of the pictures regarding them with a difficult to read face. Photos of the Waynes. Photos of Bruce, and Alfred. So many photos mixed with the occasional portrait that no doubt was comissioned by Alfred. The photos just continue to pile up with faces of wards, adoptees, and the like.
Damian Wayne	As silent as a whisper, Damian enters the room. A feather landing on a pillow makes more noise that he does. But anyone who spends any amount of time at Wayne Manor quickly gets used to a host of occupants who make ninjas seem awkward and noisy by comparison. He's carrying a laptop and a text on post-World War II European history.     He barely gives Julia a glance as he situates himself on a chair in front of the fireplace. "Hello, Pennyworth," he says as he opens the laptop. "Doing a bit of dusting?"
Julia Pennyworth	Julia Pennyworth stiffens slightly as Damian's greeting shakes her out of whatever thoughts she was currently swept away in. Half-turning toward him she offers a faint smirk in amusement at that with a shake of her head. "I'll leave that to my father. He probably has a Method I don't know about regarding it." Or was it just 'lecture Bruce while dusting to look busy?' A glance is spared back toward the pictures a long moment before she steps away completely to move to a seat herself. "I'm not certain I'm cut out for the butler-life to begin with. My skills lie more toward other areas. Though," she adds with a rolling shrug of her shoulders. "Not against a supporting role of sorts." Again she looks back to the photos with her smile slipping just a bit. "It feels odd seeing pictures of him while he was younger. With Bruce. Heh. The one he chose over me."
Damian Wayne	Tappa-tappa-tap on the keys. Damian opens up a document on the laptop to begin working on his report. The kid has a practiced sort of detachment to him, though it's generally at High Alert when other males are around. He seems to be more at ease in general with females -- with some obvious exceptions of late. He glances up at Julia for a moment, perhaps even regarding her as a full-fledged human for a moment, please don't tell anyone, thank you very much.     "It's a waste of energy to pine for love," the teen says curtly. "I'm a bit of an expert on not being chosen. If you want revenge, then *succeed*."     He flips open his textbook to the chapter he needs to review. "Or plant some damning evidence among his things and place an anonymous call to the police." He's...he's kidding, right? I mean, he must be.
Julia Pennyworth	Julia Pennyworth turns a rather skeptical gaze on Damian at that, her eyebrow raising at the suggestions made. She shifts to lean back into her chair with a quick laugh at the very thought. "Yeah, I'm being stupid and melancholy. And I've thought for years about 'revenge' but it's usually against Brucie. Wouldn't work though, not in your family." Another shrug comes from Julia as she shifts to dip her hand into a pocket pulling out a pack of gum. It's carefully unwrapped to pop a peice into her mouth before she speaks again. "I've gotten over most of that by now. A stint in the Army will put everything into perspective. Besides," she adds with an amused smirk. "I don't think I could get very far pulling something over on The Batman and his kids in this house."
Damian Wayne	There is a twitch of Damian's lips that resembles a slight smirk. His gaze remains on the textbook as he seems to be able to study and talk simultaneously. Being raised in the brutality of the League of Assassins has its advantages. "Especially not after you just told me about it. You should have kept it to yourself and plotted in secret. Now if something unusual happens I'll be forced to kill you," he deadpans.     Damian's gaze shifts briefly from his textbook to Julia. And has Hell itself frozen over, because damned if that's not a playful glint in his eyes!
Julia Pennyworth	"You wouldn't be the first to have tried that," Julia retorts with a grin of her own. She didn't know Damian well enough for this to seem completely out of the ordinary, but she had heard he was a tough nut to crack. It's taken in stride as she risks leaning forward draping her arms over her knees to stare across at him. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt anyone here." A pause before she adds, "But if some whites suddenly turn out pink in the laundry, I disavow all knowledge of the incident."
Damian Wayne	"I don't wear white clothing. It's a sign of submission," he curtly deadpans. He must be...he must be messing with Julia? He starts to quickly type on the laptop. If holding a conversation is hampering his ability to parse the textbook and write cogent thoughts about it, he's making no indication of it. Of course, Julia can't see the screen from where she's sitting. He might just be typing gibbering to show off.     Glancing up at Julia again, Damian studies her right back. Then he looks back to his computer screen. "If you're not part of the staff, then why are you here?" he inquires cooly.
Julia Pennyworth	"Starting over." Julia responds simply and without much detail at all. She is watching how she types, and though she couldn't see the screen she does glance just past him to see if there's any photographs or paintings with a glass front that might reflect it. It never hurt to stay in practice. No such luck in this case, however. Darn Museum quality glass. "And because my unit's cover was blown during a op and now there's a terrorist organization after us. We were 'retired' and disbanded. So I'm here to catch up with family, and consider my options for the future."
Damian Wayne	Damian flips a few pages forward in the textbook and skims the words, his eyes darting back and forth.     "Well if anyone follows you here and tries to do violence on these grounds, it will be the last mistake they ever make." Is he bring...protective? Julia seems to be bringing out the best in Damian this evening. This the Damian-equivalent of gregariousness.     The kid glances up once more at Julia, studying her features. "How much do you know about this place?" he asks cautiously.
Julia Pennyworth	Julia Pennyworth allows herself a genuine smile at that remark with a thankful dip of her head toward Damian. Sure, he was a teen, but she knew he wasn't JUST a teen. She wasn't about to treat him like one. "Appreciate it. Always nice to know someone's got my back. As for this place..." She tips her head toward the statue that would lead to the cave. "I've been breifed. I guess you could say I've got the proper clearance," Julia adds with a little glance cast toward the laptop again, brow furrowing. "That thing doesn't have a webcam does it? We used to scrape so much intel off of data obtained from unguarded webcam mics." At least she's being cautious of how she talks, or attempting to.
Damian Wayne	Damian peers at Julia with his eyebrows raised. She was doing so well, too. Oh well. All good things come to a end, especially when mercurial Damian is concerned. "Really?" he asks dryly. "You say you've been briefed. Do you honestly think we would have computer around here with vulnerable peripherals?" And then before he can even catch himself, Damian brags on Tim Drake. Hopefully Julia is recording this because nobody will ever believe that Damian was at ease with the stranger. "My brother hacks /government satellites/. We don't do security vulnerabilities here."
Julia Pennyworth	Julia Pennyworth holds her hands up palms out to show she means no harm by asking. "You're right, that was a stupid question. Just old habits sometimes are hard to break." Sitting up again she lifts her head to glance at the ceiling in thought. "Which one does that, then? You've got a larger family than my aunties. More useful, too," she adds quieter beneath her breath.
Damian Wayne	The teen flips back a few pages in the textbook then starts typing again. "Questions aren't indiscreet. Answers sometimes are," is all he offers in response to Julia's question.     "So you were in the military, huh? What's that like?" Damian asks Julia. "I did some group battle tactics when I was a kid. But mostly of my training was for solo work."
Julia Pennyworth	"It's..." How do you explain that, exactly? Julia pauses to think on that as she leans back in her chair comfortably. The gum she had tucked into her cheek is chewed on slowly, thoughtfully, contemplating exactly how to respond. "It's diffiuclt. Trying. It will test your limits, and push you past them. You're not alone going through it though, you've got your squad mates with you. You learn to work together, to trust one another. To know how they'll respond before it happens." A deep breath is drawn only to be let out in a puff of breath. "It's frustrating and annoying. You argue and fight at times. Drink and laugh others. In the end though, when the mission is on, you know there's no others you would want by your side."
Damian Wayne	Damian purses his lips dubiously. Then he just starts typing. He types silently for a conversationally inappropriate amount of time. But Julia most likely never encountered anyone who ever said Damian had good social skills.     But just when it seems like he was going to withdraw from the conversation completely, he speaks: "I suppose there is some merit to training in groups," he concedes. "Not every job is suitable for a solo act." He glances up at Julia again, but then looks down at his computer screen and continues typing.
Julia Pennyworth	Julia Pennyworth is patient. Surprisingly so given the typing was all the noise in the room at the moment. If a fire was going it would be a pleasantly calm crackling to add to the ambiance, but as it was this was all there was. Perhaps this was one of the traits she shared with her father: Patience. Damian's reaction earns a smile from her in turn. "We all have our specialties even in a team. There's plenty of training I had to do by myself or with others I wasn't as familiar with, too." She shifts to stand with a little stretch to pop her lower back. "In the end, though? I'd prefer a team myself." There's a pause before she adds, "Once you get used to one there's really no going back. And from what I see, there's a good group here, too."
Damian Wayne	A slight movement in Damian's lips is all that betrays the turmoil he feels at Julia's comments about there being a good group here. His fingers move quickly and smoothly over the keys so rapidly that it almost sounds like a babbling brook. His eyes skitter back and forth, back and forth as he watches the computer screen.     "Some here are...suitably adequate," he quips. "Father is a skilled detective and fierce combatant. My brothers and sisters...have their moments." A quick glance up at Julia, then back to the computer screen.
Julia Pennyworth	"Everyone has their moments, good and bad. That's where the strength of a team really plays out: You cover the gaps for them, they cover for you. Even if it may be few and far between," Julia adds with another chuckle. "You help one another improve, too, if you can. Challenge each other. Of course it's not for everyone I admit." A nod is given to Damian and she turns for the door. "I'll leave you to your studying. I'm going to go raid the kitchen for some protein."
Damian Wayne	"Pennyworth," is all Damian says in way of goodbye to the departing Julia. He continues his rapid typing as he prepares a report for school tomorrow.