Owner	Pose
Emiko Queen	There hasn't been much in the way of communication between Oliver and Emiko in the past few months, their last interaction having occurred at the charity drive hosted by Kamala Khan to aid those affected by the most recent attack on New York City. Then life happened and they both got busy doing what they do, a few scattered texts and calls just to touch bases or share information. But now, Oliver has said he's going to be in the city and was promptly invited over to see the new building that Emiko purchased and had renovated. When he arrives, he might be able to tell the appeal, the two story building was clearly once a commercial business on the bottom with living space up top, which she's has renovated for her own purposes. The bottom half of the building is completely blacked out, no doors anymore, just brick facing on the walls and those mirrored windows that allow the inside to see out without the outside able to see in. There's a set of iron stairs that lead up to the apartment's front door. The door is opened promptly after knocking, showing a smiling Emiko inviting him in. THe door is closed quickly behind him with an offered, "Huginn and Muninn have been trying to escape the apartment lately. We're working on leash training them so they can go for walks... it's going about as you might expect." Leaning in, she gives Oliver a quick hug, then smiles, "So! Want that grand tour?"
Oliver Queen	Indeed, Oliver had looked over the building from the outside, nodding as he saw its appeal from the curb. Once the door is opened and he peers inside, a smile crosses over his face. "Always good to have a secure place," he offers, looking around quickly as he hops inside to insure there were no escapes during his entrance. He returns the hug, and the smile. "Of course, please. Show me what that ridiculous sum of money gets in New York." He laughs softly as he moves to follow. "I think it could buy a skyscraper in Starling." His gaze continues to drift, eager to have the tour, and see what his sister had done with the place.
Emiko Queen	"To be fair, the renovations on the Quiver are the most expensive part! The rest was pretty normal for a building in the middle of New York City that's zoned for both commercial AND residential." Emiko flashes a grin at Oliver before leading him down the hall with a wave to the doors on either side, "My room on the right, guest room on the left. Both have attached bathrooms, though the gues bath also attaches to the living room." Continuing through, she pauses, "Living and dining areas. This is a seating area for quiet conversation without interruption, behind the screen on the left is the entertainment section. Lots of video game stuff for Bart and his friends." Moving forward into the dining area, she points to the stairs against the far wall, "Those go up to the roof. Dining area with a breakfast bar into the kitchen." Then into the kitchen itself, "Kitchen, pantry is at the back to the left, laundry room and half-bath is to the right." Turning towards him, she smiles, "The downstairs is accessed either from the alley out back or from the 'panic room' installed inside my closet." She motions up to the roof, "There's entertaining space, a small outdoor kitchen, and a small greenhouse. I like to grow my own vegetables and herbs."
Oliver Queen	Nodding approvingly at each stop of the tour, Oliver smiles towards Emiko at its conclusion. "It looks perfect. Smart design, tactical advantages." He looks around again, and then back at her. "Definitely good choices here." He looks towards the roof, and then back to her. "A little gardening is good for the soul, I hear." He takes a deep breath. "I'm glad to see that you are settled in here. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was chasing you out of Starling. I think this is good for you - good to be out here, on your own." A pause. "Well, with Bart." There is a bit of a smile there - maybe warming up to the guy. "How are you finding things? In, you know, our line of work?"
Emiko Queen	"And catwalks for Huginn and Muninn to survey their kingdom," Emiko points up towards the high ceilings where perches and slim walkways, stairs, slings, and scratching posts stationed all around the area. And two little furry faces peering down at the pair from overhead. Eah is missing an eye, Huginn the left and Muninn the right. She looks back to Oliver and smiles, "I tried. Front and back doors, roof access, base through two points of access." Moving to grab them both a glass of water, she offers one to Oliver and lifts a shrug, "I understood the sentiment. You wanted me to.. socialize. Be around people my own age. I get it. I don't -like- it, but I get it." Sipping from her glass, she smiles back to him, "He has a key here, but he also keeps his own place, so I wouldn't say we're quite 'living together'. Just sleeping over now and then." Drawing in a deep breath, she lets it out slowly and shrugs, "Frankly? It sucks. There's entirely too many masks in a relatively small area. I've had more luck on the occasions I've hung out in Gotham than I have here. Here I mostly just... stand around and watch the supers do things."
Oliver Queen	The furry creatures earn a slow smile from Oliver. "They do seem content," he says, moving to take the glass of water. "I think it was important. I didn't want you getting pulled into what I was doing, I wanted you to have a chance to forge your own path." He waves his free hand around to indicate the building. "And clearly, you know what you're doing." He listens intently as she discusses the Bart situation. "No judgement here. I was worst at your age." Truly, he was worse at every age. "This place is a bit packed with the enhanced folks," he says, nodding with agreement. "Metropolis isn't much better, truth be told. I was there yesterday, and it ... " he chuckles. "I'm trying to stop a van of weapons smugglers, and then Wonder Woman flies in and takes care of it all." He laughs soflty. "Not that I'm complaining." He looks at Emiko, thinking for a moment. "Where do you want to be? Forget what I say, or anyone else says. What feels like the right place for /you/?"
Emiko Queen	"Just one problem. In Starling City, it's just us. We handle everything because we worked as a team and were able to keep up with it. There's no path to forge out here. You're either Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, or you disappear into one of the dozen 'teams' that exist. This part of the world is just... too saturated with people that can do things that I could never do no matter how hard I train." Emiko lifts a shrug and looks at him. "I can have everything all set up and ready to go and none of it matter sbecause crimes are solved before I ever even arrive on the scene." She chuckles softly and lifts a brow at him, "At my age? You're worse than me now, Ollie. Or have you and the Norse fire chick since parted ways?" Shaking her head, she sips from her water, "I don't know. There's only so many options, Ollie. At this point, I'm just sort of existing. Going to classes, seeing Bart, doing whatever event is on the Queen Industries social calendar... I've -been- Red Arrow maybe twice since I got here."
Oliver Queen	"I can see how that might be a challenge." Ollver chuckles for a moment. "Although I am not sure if I would trade the activity for the ability to have someone else to save our city." He smiles for a moment, thinking on that. "If they did not have to rely upon our team...if we had even one or two beings of power." A soft sigh. "But, Starling is stuck with us, and we are stuck with them. So..." He puts up his hand as if defensively. "Hey, I am trying to be better." He pauses, and as she brings up Hella, he nods. "At least, so I think. I have not seen her, and I've reached out, and..." He shrugs. "She wasn't really for me, Emiko. I'm not sure that there is anyone out there." He turns to gaze outward for a moment. "Who can appreciate both sides of me, and who..." He just shakes his head. "I am happy you found Bart," he transitions." "If you miss it, you could come back. If you wanted." He pauses. "I know I had suggested you leave, but..." He tilts his head, smiling. "Even Oliver Queen can make a mistake sometimes."
Emiko Queen	"No, Starling City is -lucky- to have us. There are metropolitan cities scattered across America that could stand to have some heroes." Emiko smiles towards him before Taking another sip of her water. She sets the glass ont he counter and moves back towards the living space, "And it could certainly do a lot worse than to have the Arrows." She flashes a quick grin at him, then gives a nod, "Yeah... she had you thinking about taking your identity public and... I don't know. I'll support whatever you want to do, of course, but that could be detrimental to pretty much all the rest of the Arrow Team as well." Shrugging, Emiko glances up at him and smiles, "There's someone for you, Ollie. I found mine on accident. Seems to be the best way to go about it." Pausing, she nods, "Thank you, by the way. He's a good man, like his grandfather." Moving to the fridge, she pulls out a waxed paper bag and meausres out a serving into two dishes that then go into a holder set on the floor so the bowls are raised up from the ground. "Come and get it, guys, chow time." Turning to leave the cats to their food, she puts the bag back and looks to Ollie, "I might start splitting my time at least. I can't just leave them here by themselves all the time," she motions to the young cats that have hopped down to eat, "but they -are- cats and will probably appreciate some more time to themselves."
Oliver Queen	"I suppose that is true," admits Oliver, as he moves to follow Emiko. "We are better than nothing. A good spot better." He thinks for a moment. "Maybe I give myself too hard of a time." Understatement of the year. He considers those comments about Hella, nodding. "She didn't really understand....well, any of it." He sighs, swirling the glass in his hand as talk of finding someone drifts on. "I am rather fond of his grandfather." "I feel like cats prefer when we don't bother them," he says with a laugh. "At least, most of the cats I know." He leans againts the ccounter, taking a long sip of water. "Think about it. I don't meant to try to sway you. Just telling you that we are always there. And I am sorry that I let..." He thinks for a moment. "That I let other people into my head, to make me suggest otherwise."
Emiko Queen	"You are your own worst critic, Ollie. We all are. After all, who is more keenly and intimiately aware of our faults and flaws than ourselves?" Emiko smiles, chuckling softly as she leans against the counter, watching him. "Now if you -want- to start adopting every orphan who crosses your path is some strange need for familial revenge, go for it. I'll help you train them. But I'm reserving my revenge for when I can go back in time and punch father in the face." She gives a small nod, "It's not easy for a lot of them to get it. Bart does, but I think he has the advantage of being a legacy kid. Like me. It isn't just something we decided, we were born into it, raised with it. There wasn't ever really another option." She pauses, then adds, "I've met Wally. He's pretty cool. And Irie, she's sweet. Still haven't met the original. Someday!" She smiles as the cats finish their meal (for now) and head over to get cuddles and scritches. "Mostly, but when they want attention, you best be on hand or prepare to be snubbed more thoroughly than Mrs. Van Pelt from the Starling City Fine Art Committee when you decline one of her invitations." Picking up a cat in each hand, she holds one out to him with a smile, "Now pet the cat. It's good for you."
Oliver Queen	Oliver Queen says, "Good point." Oliver takes a long sip from the glass. "We do rather know ourselves well. And our flaws." He sighs deeply, and then shakes his head, letting loose a laugh. "You know, Barry could do that. I wonder if Bart could." He considers. "Just do it at the right time, and don't butterfly effect us out of existence." He considers the legacy. "I mean. Father left my a legacy. Not all of them are good." But before the frown can take shape, there is a cat being presented to him. "No, I mean," he starts to protest, and then there is a cat in his hand. He slowly strokes the cat, listening to it purr. "Ok, I can see the appeal.""
Emiko Queen	"Bart says it's too risky. I'm betting that I could talk one of the others into it. Or get someone with the right magical ability to do it." She flashes a quick grin, then lifts a brow at him, "Oh trust, when I do this, it's going to be some random Thursday afternoon on his way to his club, long after we're all born. I won't say anything, I won't stick around. Just walk up, punch him in the face, then disappear back to this time." Emiko has clearly been planning this for some time. She glances to him and murmurs, "Father left us all a legacy and none of it was -good-, but that's what we're doing. Making good on his bullshit. And making sure we protect the city." She cuddles Huginn to her chest and pets the fluffy fur. Giving a nod, she offers, "Petting cats has real, documentd medical benefits. They relieve stress and anxiety, stimulate endorphin production, and their purring actually helps the healing process on wounds. Apparently the vibrational wavelength of their purring actually helps knit bone and tissue back together."
Oliver Queen	The nature of the full details of the punch to the face starts to concern Oliver. "Uh, it was a joke, Emiko. I've been through what happens when Barry screws with time - it's not pleasant." He sighs. "How about you settle for just making the best possible name for yourself, and screw him for not having done right by you?" A nod. "I wish I knew how he grew to be so misguided. I wish I could say it came from a place of love, of desire to do good, but..." He shrugs. "I wrestle with that, too." Ollie looks down a bit skeptically at the cat. "Really?" He continues to pet the cat, and shrugs. "I don't feel anything."
Emiko Queen	Emiko folds her arms over her chest and lifts a brow at him, "No. And you aren't talking me out of it. There isn't enough 'live well' to make up for what he did. What he caused." She turns away and moves to rinse her glass out, setting it into the dishwasher. "He was a selfish piece of shit, Oliver. That's how. Everything he did was for his own benefit, to satisfy his own ego. Our father was no better than the assholes we put down." She gives a small nod and murmurs, "You won't -feel- it happening, it doesn't give you super healing. It just helps the natural process along faster." Pushing away from the sink, she turns back towards him, face smooth and expressionless. "I'm not going to stop trying. But getting punched in the face is a Hell of a lot better than what he really deserves. I'm aware of the possible consequences to time travel. I'm not trying to make him be better, or change his ways. I'm not trying to save him, or kill him. I'm just going to get the ONE piece of him that I will -ever- get to have. And then I'm going to leave."
Oliver Queen	Oliver's frown deepens. "Look, I'd understand it if we were talking about something that would make a difference - finding a way to undo what he did to people. Make a change for the better. It's still dangerous, but this..." He shakes his head. "What is gained by you doing this? Literally nothing, other than you feeling better." He pauses. "Have you talked to Bart about this? What does he think? He's a better authority on this than I am."
Emiko Queen	"Me feeling better IS the point. You can't time travel to change big things. Barry proved that. You change big things and the entire course of the world changes. But something small? Petty? Those are the things that won't matter. That you can change and it won't affect the current timeline." Emiko lifts a shrug and watches Oliver cooly. "He says he can't guarantee pinpointing a time in the past to go to. And I won't risk going back and ending up at a time that holds significance." She shakes her head, "You don't get it, Oliver. You can't."
Oliver Queen	Sighing deeply, Oliver shakes his head. "I realize that what happened to you is different than what happened to me. But you won't feel THAT much better if you do this. But think of all that might happen." He lifts the cat in his hand. "What if it causes Huginn to not be born?" He sighs deeply. "You don't know what you're messing with."
Emiko Queen	Emiko lifts a brow at him, "You sure about that? I can get a lot of rage out in one punch." She lets out a small sigh and looks aside, "You at least got to have it out with him, Ollie. You got to tell him how much of an asshole he was, how much you hated what he did to you, to your mother. You got more than I will -ever- get... but I'm supposed to just be okay with that. I'm supposed to be okay with him adopting and raising his wife's bastard as his own child while completely ignoring the child he actually fathered. I'm supposed to be okay with having never even -seen- him in person, only pictures and video clips. I'm supposed to be okay with the life HE condemned me to just so he could run back to his wife and son. It was okay for him to be gone and having a relationship with my mother, it was fine for him to stay away... but as soon as I was born, suddenly it was too much. Suddenly he had to return to Starling City. To you and your mother. I'm supposed to just 'be okay' with all of this because a -cat- might not get born?" Emiko looks back to him, "You seriously underestimate the damage I've suffered across the last twenty-two years, Ollie."
Oliver Queen	Oliver closes his eyes, and thinks for a moment. "This isn't about underestimating your pain, Emiko. This is about..." He opens his eyes and looks at her. "Think about it - if he were here /right now/ and you punched him in the face, would that erase the past 22 years of what happened?" He shakes his head. "It doesn't change anything at all, it just makes you feel better, in a fleeting moment. Not even lasting?"
Emiko Queen	"You don't know me, Ollie. I would savor that moment. Hold it close, a treasured memory. Take it out and relive it anytime I needed to. That would be the gold that fills the cracks in my vase..." Emiko lets out a small sigh and shakes her head, "You don't understand, and you never will. It would be gratification, satisfaction that I could pull out at a moment's notice."
Oliver Queen	"Ok." Oliver watches the passion with which Emiko speaks, and he nods. "Ok. Let me help you." He looks down at the ground and shakes his head. "Let me talk to Barry. If it means that much to you...I will do wht I can to get it to happen."
Emiko Queen	Emiko shakes her head and moves towards him, pausing just shy and murmuring, "I don't think it can be through the Speed Force. It isn't precise enough. They can't.. guarantee when they'll arrive. I'm looking into other means. It may take awhile." She lets out a slow breath and adds, "But so long as I feel I'm doing -something- towards the goal... it will be fine." Looking up at him, Emi spreads her arms out to either side, "Everything I was, is because of him. Everything I am, is in spite of him. I need resolution."
Oliver Queen	Oliver nods. "That much, I understand." He places the cat down first, and then the glass of water. "I will do what I can, Emiko, to give you the closure that you speak. I promise." He sighs deeply. "You did not deserve what happened to you. No one does."
Emiko Queen	Emiko offers a wry smile and shakes her head, "No. Nobody does. Now come here, brother. I think I've dragged us down far enough for one visit." She reaches out and pulls him into a tight hug, squeezing him close and smiling up at him, "No matter what happens or not, you'll always be my favorite."
Oliver Queen	Leaning in, Oliver remarks with a bit of a laugh. "I'm your only," he says, wrapping his arms around her, returning the tight hug. "We'll get through all of this together, Emiko. Now that we have each other."
Emiko Queen	"Doesn't make you any less my favorite," Emiko chuckles, then gives a nod. "I know. And I'm sorry for unloading on you like that. It's been... difficult here. Bart has been busier and I haven't really been fitting in with the Titans very well... and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the two friends I've made on my own are both former assassins... or at least were trained as assassins." She looks up at him, "It's hard to make friends with people that don't know where you come from. Don't know what it's like."
Oliver Queen	"I'm happy to have helped, in any way what I can. Unloading, or whatever else." Oliver smiles. He nods on the point of friends. "Well, I will say that when this is what we do, it gives a whole new meaning to the idea of hanging out with a friend from work." He shrugs. "Hard to make a bunch of friends when you're never really avaialable."
Emiko Queen	"It's not... that. Most of these people... they've never killed anyone. Or if they did it was an accident, or in defense of another. They've never... never murdered someone in cold blood. They weren't put through the intense training and... and brainwashing, that happens to make someone an assassin." Emiko frowns a touch and looks to Oliver. "It's not something you can explain."
Oliver Queen	Another sigh, and Oliver places his hand on Emiko's shoulder. "We lead unique leaves, Emiko. No one will ever really be able to understand that except us, and even we don't understand each other sometimes." He gives the shoulder a squeeze, and offers another hug. "Come on. Let me buy you dinner somewhere in this city so I can say I got something from here, and I'll get out of your hair."
Emiko Queen	Nodding at him, she sighs softly, "I guess so. I just... don't like feeling so.. alone." Shaking her head, Emiko smiles at him, "There's an -excellent- steakhouse a few blocks away. C'mon, I bet they can make a table available for the Queens." She grins and turns to head towards the door.