Owner	Pose
Qira Quest	Qira's only been 'active' for a few months. Just long enough for word of 'the Sandcat' to start making its way around the city as a new vigilante in Gotham. One operating outside of the Bat & Birds team. She doesn't have their money, or their tech, making up for it in brutality and skill. More than one criminal has made a stop off at Gotham General before being assigned a cell at the jail. She also tends to rob her marks, taking cash, jewelry, occasionally weapons (though never if the weapon was connected to a crime). It gets her enough to get by, at least for now. Tonight, the girl is dressed in all black, simple ninja-like gear, including the sort of face mask that gets pulled up from the neck to cover mouth and nose but leaves eyes uncovered. The hood that normally covers her hair is down and the long white locks drift on a slight breeze while she perches atop one of the many 'rebuilt' tenements in the city. Watching. Waiting.
Damian Wayne	"Six grown men," comes a voice from behind Sandcat. It's deep enough to hint at manhood, but still with some of the rasp of adolescence. "All members of Penguin's gang. That's impressive. You even left one of them still able to walk. Sort of." The voice...so familiar. ((**You shouldn't have come. Talia bade me kill you.**))     More silent than a slight summer breeze, the vigilante known as Robin swings down from a brick chimney and lands on the rooftop. He is not standing in a combat stance, but his electric aura suggests he could move into one as quickly and naturally as breathing. ((**It's not personal. You would have done the same to me. There is no dishonor in being defeated by a superior foe.**))     "The Penguin isn't the forgive and forget type. You just took a step down a road from which there is no return."
Qira Quest	There's a flinch, slight, subtle, quickly passed, but still present. The sound of that voice causes it. She doesn't turn around, placing him by the sound of his voice, keeping to her crouch on the edge of the building. "They had something I needed. I left them gift-wrapped for the police." ((**I didn't have a choice in the matter.**)) Her own voice has changed little, a slight deepening as she settles in late teens, but the tone, the cadence, it's all there. Would he remember? She was one of many. He had been given many tasks that year. Many assignments. Many deaths. And.. she's supposed to be dead. There's a humorless chuckle to his comment, head turning to pin him with that green-gold gaze, "That step was taken a long, long time ago. I didn't have a choice in the matter." It's her. Somehow. Some way. It's HER.
Damian Wayne	Robin narrows his eyes behind the mask as he cants his head a bit to one side curiously. Could it be? ((**I did as you commanded, mother.**))     Robin begins to slowly pace now, clearly something has him agitated all of a sudden. That cool-as-a-cucumber thing he just had going on is instantly dispelled.     "Where are you from?" Robin asks. Like his pacing, his tone of voice now betrays his mounting agitation.
Qira Quest	"Nowhere." Qira's response is automatic, rote even. She lets out a breath and rises to her feet without further ado. Turning, her heels at the edge of the building, she folds her arms across her chest. "Are you going to tell me to go back where I came from? Gotham doesn't need anymore vigilantes, especially one's running around unchecked?" Way to misread the situation Qira. Those gold-green eyes following his agitated pacing around. "Because if you are, don't. I can't go anywhere yet. Once I've gotten what I need, I'll move on."
Damian Wayne	It is in this existential moment that realization cascades over Damian like an avalanche. He realizes two things at the very same instant: First, this is Qira, an assassin from the League. Second, he has become attached to his new life here in Gotham. And this girl can threaten that.     Robin takes a step forward. He has come to a grim decision. Qira must die again. And nobody must learn what happened here on this dark rooftop high above the unknowing streets of Gotham. No doubt Qira is an accomplished, highly competent warrior. But it can't be an easy thing to see the Grandson of the Demon take a killing step in one's direction. Particularly for one who has already been killed by him before.     But he stops. One step, then he stops. ((**Damian, when killing becomes a valid tool, you will never know a moral high ground. You will never know peace.**)) The words of Bruce. The words of a father whom Damian has grown to love.     Letting his taut form relax, Damian simply says, "Return to Infinity Island and tell them I let you live not out of weakness but out of strength. Don't ever return to this city again or that hour will be your last."
Qira Quest	Qira watches him for a long moment, staring at him. Watching him that that step. She tenses in preparation of the fight that was inevitable, really. She'd known it was only a matter of time before the the Bat Family came after her. She's ready to fight for her right to stay right where she's at. Then he stops, and her expression turns wary, cautious. This isn't what she'd expected. She glances around, as if checking for hints of others of the group coming their way, and for a brief moment, he can see her pupils shine, that sort of nightshine that occurs when you put a light source directly in front of a noctural animal's eyes. His words give her pause, however, thrown back briefly to a time and place before her death. Memories flashing almost quicker than even she can keep up with. Her hands clench to fists and she banishes the memories before they can overwhelm her. "Why would I do that? I haven't been to that place in... four.. years.. how do you know I lived there?" The tension is back in an instant and she growls, "I won't go back there. I'm dead to them. And I don't care who you are. I'm. Not. Leaving."
Damian Wayne	A frown. "I gave you the opportunity to take the Path of the Wind," Robin says, quoting a League of Assassins expression for allowing someone to flee the field of battle. "Instead you chose the Path of Pain."     An eye blink later, the young warrior is in action. He launches brutal punches and kicks at Qira. In this attack sequence, two things are clear:     1.) Robin is heavily trained in League of Assassins combat styles.     2.) He is not attempting to kill Qira.     Any attacks she does not avoid or block will hit with wicked force. Kicks, punches, knees, elbow. A cape whipping to distract. A forearm attempting to strike the windpipe.
Qira Quest	"You gave me no choice at all. Just like your mother, after all," the words are out of Qira's mouth before she really has a chance to realize what she's said. What she's implied. There's a frown, but there's no more time to examine it now. Maintaining her spot on the edge of the building, her stance widens slightly and takes up a defensive stance. Blows come fast and hard, her eyes darting this way and that as she takes them in. Most of them require only small shifts in stance or lean to avoid, a foot liftd and swung out over the drop before placed back on the ledge. Those that demand actual blocks, her hand or forearm seems to be in place before he can fully finish the strike. Her movements almost faster than his eyes can track. Certainly faster than any human she be capable of. The only aggressive move she makes is the occasional attempt at an open palm to his chest, the aim being only to shove him back rather than deal damage. Trying to create space between them.
Damian Wayne	The fifteen seconds of standoff is more intense battle than people will engage in over the course of a lifetime, more skillful fighting on both sides than most people even have the ability to recognize.     But Robin halts his advance on Sandcat. A deep frown is on his face as he rips his mask off and throws it down. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Damian demands. He resumes his pacing. "I killed you. You should have stayed dead. Are you here for your revenge?"
Qira Quest	Qira lifts both brows when he tears his mask off and throws it down. Looking back to him, she frowns. "You make it sound like I had a -choice- in coming back. I was -dead-, it's not like my permission was given." Reaching up, she pulls down the half mask and sneers at him, "And how arrogant to think I'm here because of -you-." Leaning down, she picks up his domino mask and shoves it at him roughly, "I'm here for -me-, Damian. I didn't even know you were in this city." She turns as if to leave, then halts, turns back around and marches right up to him... and sucker punches him in the nose. "That's for the sword through my heart. Now get over yourself, you aren't the center of the universe, -Ibn-." Yeah, the birth name. She went there.
Damian Wayne	Damian's head rocks back as Qira nails him right in the face. A rivulet of blood trickles down and his upper lip starts to fatten a little bit. How many people in the entire world could get away with punching Damian Wayne in the face? But he doesn't counterattack against Qira. Instead, one hand goes up to gingerly touch his nose to assess the damage, and one corner of his mouth actually curls up in a genuine half-grin.     "You punch like a girl," Damian says, eyes glittering. He walks over to the edge of the roof and sits down, dangling his legs over the edge, as he puts his mask back on. "So why *are* you here?"
Qira Quest	"I -am- a girl. And I pulled the punch. Don't need every cape and cowl in the city descending on me because I dared break the precious heir's nose." Qira grumbles and mutters, and the last part is said in just such a tone that he can almost -feel- her stick her tongue out at him after. She sighs and runs a hand through her hair, then gathers it up into a tightly coiled tail and ties it off before moving to join him at the edge. She drops back down into a crouch and stares off into the distance, then sighs and drops her head, "This is where I woke up." She adds quickly, "Not like, here-here, but Gotham-here. I'm missing four years. And I'm... different. Trying to find out what happened to me."
Damian Wayne	Heaving a sigh, Damian glances over at Qira. "The Batman isn't going to like the fact that there is someone from the League here in Gotham. We should probably keep that part of it quiet for now. He's protective of this city in a way that makes grandfather look relaxed and easygoing."     A few moments of quiet. "So they must have put you in a Lazarus pit. I mean obviously. Is being here in Gotham your first memory after I whooped your ass?"
Qira Quest	"I'm not 'from the League'. They didn't send me here... at least.. I don't think they did. I don't know -who- brought me here." Qira lets out a small sigh and rubs at her forehead lightly. "I'm not trying to upset anything, I just want to find out what happened to me." Punching him lightly in the shoulder, she glares sidelong at him and mutters, "You -killed- me, Damian. Don't downplay that. It's disrepectful." Letting out a breath, she looks out over the city, "There's a Lazarus Pit not far outside the city limits. Probably got taken there and revived, but I don't know anything up until... two months ago? March, sometime. I woke up alone, nobody has ever come back to the place where I woke." Qira looks back to him and adds, "I've been staying there, since there's not exactly anywhere else I can go."
Damian Wayne	"Hey," Damian blurts out suddenly, his voice oddly soft. His body is not the only thing that has grown since he returned to Gotham. There is actually a little sprinkle of empathy in there! "I'm sorry that I killed you. Neither one of us had many choices with the League. That's sort of their jam, training people young and taking away their choices." A shrug. "I'm sorry."     He reaches down to one of his boots and tugs out a wicked dagger, which he turns around and put the sharp tip against his sternal notch. He tugs his mask off again and looks directly at Qira. "I offer my own life as payment." Damian's eyes sink shut and he sits there holding the dagger against himself, utterly vulnerable and blind.
Qira Quest	She looks at him, then the dagger, then then back to him. Taking the dagger she... flips it around and bonks him on the head with the hilt. Then makes the dagger disappear into her outfit. New dagger! "I'm not killing you, Damian. I don't hate you. I don't even dislike you. But I'm keeping the dagger. We don't all have tons of money and privilege." For the second time in as many minutes, she picks up his mask and presses it back into his hand. "It wasn't your fault. You had a task to complete. So did I. If I'd been better, I would have survived." She glances at him, "But I think maybe it's better that I didn't. If I had, I would still be their... pawn. Their property. At least now I -have- choices."
Damian Wayne	Damian opens his eyes and watches Qira tuck his dagger away. "That was my...that was my favorite dagger," he murmurs. He tugs one leg up against his body so he can rest his chin on his knee. "And my wealth and privilege are no more my choice than my life as an assassin was. It is a prison all its own. So maybe cut me a little bit of slack? I ain't exactly living a life of freedom and open roads here, Qira."     He gives the girl a punch on the shoulder. "Don't kill anybody with my dagger, please." At first it's a joke until he thinks about it for a bit, blinking a few times rapidly. "Ser-seriously, don't kill anybody with my dagger."
Qira Quest	"You offered it to me. If I'd killed you with it I would still have taken it." Qira looks back to him and shakes her head. "You have to dress up now and then and stand around other rich people. The horror. The tragedy. I have to beat up bad guys to get the money to -eat-, Damian. Pardon me if I'm sensing a disparity in what we consider 'important'." Shifting slightly with the punch, she looks back to him and offers a brief grin, "No promises." Pausing, she lets out a breath, 'I'm trying not to kill anyone." Her brows knit together as she stares down at her own lap, "I.. don't even know -why-, it would be easier. But... I don't know... I don't... want to kill them. They're bad, and they probably deserve it but..." Sighing, she shakes her head, "This is why I'm here. I need to figure out what happened to me. I was... changed. The last four years, I don't remember any of it, but I'm different." That green-gold gaze pierces him again, "You really want to make something up to me... help me find out what the HELL was done to me."
Damian Wayne	Damian stretches out and lays on the rooftop, still unmasked, staring up at the night sky. "That will be no easy feat with so little data. But yes, I will help you." That didn't take long to go from 'Leave Gotham and never return' to giving away daggers and lounging about on the roof. Oddly and unexpectedly this girl from Damian's past seems to be bringing out a side of him that is rarely seen.     "What is the very first thing you remember after your death?"
Qira Quest	"Well... it's not entirely without data. Just... not things I can access. Yet." Qira moves from the crouch to actually sitting on the roof, looking towards him. There's still a wariness to her where he's concerned, but she seems to be trusting him thus far. "Waking up in the defunct lab I've been living in for the past few months. On a table. Steel table. There's still equipment there. Computers. But everything is passworded and firewalled."
Damian Wayne	A bit energized at Qira's latest reveal, Damian sits back up, sitting cross-legged facing the girl. "Computers that are still functioning? Well you should have led with that, Qira. I *might* be able to hack them. But if I can't, my brother Tim could get into them for sure. He lives and breathes computer systems."     He leans closer to Qira. "Qira, I give you my word as the Son of the Bat that I will help you unravel this mystery. Let us put aside our past problems. Let us not allow the League of Assassins to govern our actions or our thoughts. They made our lives a hell. We had to live in that hell when we were kids, but we don't have to live in it now."
Qira Quest	Qira lifts a shrug and mutters, "I wasn't sure I wanted you knowing where I'm living. Still not sure I want you knowing where I'm living." She lets out a breath, "But I don't really have much choice. I'm not getting anywhere trying to find out if the underworld of Gotham knows anything about illegal scientific experiments over the past few years." She looks to Damian in surprise at his suggestion, pressing her lips together as she considers him, then lets out a breath, "Okay. I wasn't looking forward to try to avoid the criminal -and- the Bat Family at the same time..."
Damian Wayne	Damian stands up. He's still unmasked, his mask being tucked into his utility belt. "Qira, I'm not the same person I was when I was with the League. I mean, look at me. I'm dressed like a fucking bird." He gestures down at his Robin costume. "But this is all very sudden. We can take our time. This pretty much affects only you, so you should get to decide how fast things move."
Qira Quest	Qira smiles faintly and rises up to her feet, "Damian, neither of us is the same person we were four years ago. I'm no more part of the League than you are. They think I'm dead, and I'd like to keep it that way. You are literally the only person that knows who I am other than the 'Sandcat'." She holds her hands out to either side and looks at him, "I don't even know who I am anymore. That's... what I'm trying to figure out." She lets out a small sigh and wraps her arms around herself, "I don't.. I don't have the experiences you do, Damian. This whole 'not killing' thing and, and... and -talking- thing. It's new to me. I'm not used to... this. I'm taking a huge step here, and I don't even really understand -why- but... I don't know. Something is telling me I need to trust you. So.. I'm trusting you."