Owner	Pose
Vanessa Carlysle	Her tennis shoes made little sound on the sidewalk of the familiar streets. The small tote bag over her shoulder swayed with her steps, banging into Vanessa's side now and then. Not that many would recognize her just now because of the charcoal-colored hoodie whose hood obscures her face as Vanessa walks over to the door to what used to be the antique store. A few moments of fumbling in her pocket retrieves a key. "Hope it still works," she mutters to herself. "And I hope I don't get eaten by a hyena. That would be kind of poetic though," she adds as she turns the key in the lock, hearing the click that tells her the locks haven't been changed since she was in New Lots last. Vanessa steps inside, closing and locking the door behind her before heading up the steps to the door to April's apartment. The hood is pulled down, and Vanessa pauses then before the door. A few moments pass, just standing there looking at it. Finally she reaches out and softly wraps on the door.
April O'Neil	The antique store is mostly the same as Vanessa remembers it, but when she gets to the back and goes in to the stairwell she'll see the biggest changes are the Hyenas have a rec room in the stairwell area now. There are large beds and lots of Hyena toys laying around, including two timed feeders that look pretty banged up by impatient Hyenas. Up the stairs though there's a new welcome mat in front of the door, but its all the samethere too. The door is knocked upon and a moment goes by before someone opens it. It's April, of course. She's wearing a generic sports shirt with 00's on the front aned back, white shirt with yellow stripes. She's got a pair of black shorts on and her large rimmed glasses are over her eyes. Her eyes go wide. She steps out o fthe apartment and instantly hugs Vanessa. hoodie or not, she knows who it is. She hugs her good and tight. "Are you okay?" April asks first and foremost.
Vanessa Carlysle	The arms that wrap April and hug her back do so just as tightly. Vanessa draws a deep breath, the sound indicating the wealth of emotions stirring in her. "Yeah," she says in a voice similarly clouded with them. "Yeah, I'm ok," she tells April. Vanessa just holds on for a little bit, but eventually relaxes the tightness of the hug. "Sorry for going kind of quiet on you," she says. "It wasn't really intended. I kept meaning to call. And then my phone got shut down and... ah. Yeah. Well. Here I am. Hope you're not too mad at me," she says, Vanessa's eyes drifting away from April and downwards, as if having some remorse at leaving her friend hanging like that.
April O'Neil	April pulls back and puts her hands on the other's arms to squeeze them. "Are you kidding?" She says. "I'm furious." She doesn't sound furious. She smiles softly to show she's not. "Get in here." She practically tugs Van's arm to drag her in to the apartment and shut the door closed behind them. No sign of Harley or the Hyenas, though a bunch of Harley-esque things are surely laying about, from mallets to creepy clown dolls to some classic tv show DVD box sets, okay those might be April's too. "God, I've had so many feelters out looking for you. I even got ahold of whats his face... Stilts." She speaks of the little midget that she and Van busted up at that gift shop that was smuggling diamonds. "He said he'd keep a look out for you and let me know, but of course, never did!" Once inside the well lit apartment that has soft music playing in the background and fresh scented candles keeping the place nice and lovely going, April looks Vanessa over. "God, it's so good to see you."
Vanessa Carlysle	Vanessa Carlysle maintains those small signs of being rueful at making April worry. "I haven't been around New York. Or... or Starling. I just sort of... took off," she says, speaking hesitantly and with a resigned look. A glance is given to the apartment, no doubt noting the touches that indicate the princes of the Clown Princess of Crime. Or, maybe that's not the right name for her anymore. But even Vanessa's apprehension about the woman can't hold her thoughts for long as she looks back to April. "I wandered. Down as far as Tennessee. Some hitchhiking, some not," she says. She reaches up, a hand rifling through her hair. "Even went through Ohio for a bit. Saw the catfish farm. Just, looked at it from the road. Decided I didn't really want to see my uncle," she says, shrugging. Vanessa refocuses on April. "So, what about you? Surely you're an anchor on NBC or CNN or somewhere by now?" she says with a smile.
April O'Neil	April of course is leading them both to the kitchen to get them some drinks and to such started up. She's already reaching for the coffee out of the closet, knowing what Van likes best for hers. She listens closestly to the other's words and exhales softly. "Yeah, I'm glad you didn't see him. Not when you're going through something, anyway." She says of the other's uncle. At the talk of higher forms of News Media April just smirks and shakes her head. "No, if anything I'll be leaving Channel Six and focusing solely on my own thing. Television is dying off, you know." She says as she preps their coffee in the nice maker she has o nthe counter. "So like... why?" April has to say as she turns around holding two coffee mugs. "What happened?" She asks. But she is quick to pause. "Unless you don't wanna tell me. I'm just ... shit. I'm glad to see you." She doesn't curse much, something Van would know about April's morals, only doing it when she really means something.
Vanessa Carlysle	As April moves into the kitchen, Vanessa follows, leaning back against one of the counters. She slips the strap of her bag off of her shoulder and sets it on the floor at her side as her eyes go back to April. The question results in a breath drawn in and held for a moment as Vanessa's dark brown eyes look away and off to the side. Lips move slightly without words, then are touched briefly by her tongue. Finally the breath is exhaled. What comes next is in a tiny, tiny voice. "I... I made a mistake. People died," she says, eyes staring off vacantly across the room again. "I wasn't cut out to be... to do that kind of stuff," she says quietly.
April O'Neil	Once the coffee is brewing and the question is answered, April is looking over to her friend and walking over to embrace her again. She moves to hug the other woman once more and hold on to her help her hopefully feel some measur eof comfort, because it seems she's been lacking in that for awhile now... since whatever happened, happened anyway. "I'm so sorry." April says. She deals with super heroes enough to knwo that mistakes happen, its not a world of cut and dry happiness like the movies like to make it out to be. "You were doing a lot of good things, if something bad happened, you have to remember tha tyou did a ton of good too." It feels like a shallow piece of wisdom, but she still think it means something. April steps back again and takes the other's hands. "What about, you and Ollie?" She asks of the former boyfriend.
Vanessa Carlysle	The hug is swallowed up like it were a source of light trying to banish so much darkness that Vanessa is feeling inside. Her arms tight about her friend until the embrace ends and the brunette steps back, eyes down, until she feels the kitchen counter behind her again. Dark eyes search the floor at the question about Oliver Queen. "I wasn't ever really right for him, was I?" she says, finally looking up to April and putting her best face on it. "He's rich and... a hero. And I'm... this is where I belong to be. And even with all of his skill and confidence, I couldn't do what he does," Vanessa says in a tight voice. "He gave me room and... well when my phone stopped working, I kind of knew then, he'd moved on," she says quietly. "It's all for the best. This is where I should be. I just got into town this morning. And, well, you're my first stop," she says, her hands squeezing April's.
April O'Neil	April merely stands there in front of th eother and keeps hold of her hands, reacting to her words with a sympathetic look. She has to tilt her head though and exhale softly. "Van." She says. "You can't pick up something like that and be amazing at it in a matter of months. Oliver has probably been training for years. Hell, I still can't even figure out how to operate the security cameras Donnie installed here, and he's walked me through it like ten times." She smirks at her own words then steps away toward their coffee to prepare to pour them some cups. "I'm glad you chose me first though, I'll have to admit that right off the bat." She says. "Harley is out walking Bud and Lou, but they'll be back in like an hour. I was gonna get dinner going. You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like." She says turning to offer Vanessa a cup of hot tasty coffee. "We can make up the room down off of the shop. It's got its own bathroom and everything." She says with a small grin. "Casey even put in a new toilet, it's fancier than the one we have up here." She shows a little grin and reaches up to adjust her glasses over her blue eyes before sipping her drink.
Vanessa Carlysle	Vanessa Carlysle takes the cup of coffee from April in hand. Both of her hands close about it, not that she really needs the warmth on the New York summer day. Yet it still has a level of comfort to it. She takes a small sip. "You always have good coffee," she comments quietly. Afterwards a slow nod and them bob of her head gives April an answer. "Maybe tonight. I don't quite want to go back to the Van Dyke," she says, naming her apartment building. "Not tonight anyway. It can wait for tomorrow," she says quietly. Vanessa looks around the apartment before her eyes return to focus on April. "It's good to be home. I'm sorry. Sorry I was away, and worried you," she says quietly.
April O'Neil	April lowers her cup of coffee as she stands there just a arms length away and listens to the other's words. She shows her a smile at the end. "Oh stop." She softly replies. "Yes I was worried, but you're here now and you're okay. That's what matters most." She half turns then toward the living room. "Come on, we'll go sit down and figure out what to have delivered to us for dinner. Maybe we'll get the hot delivery boy that Harley's been trying to set me up with. Though 'boy' might be the wrong word for him, he's ... well he's dreamy." She grins and walks toward the living room. "And don't worry about Bud and Lou either, I've domesticated them." She says with a grin before adding. "Harley too, for that matter. But don't tell her I said that or it'll become a whole 'thing' of who has corrupted whom."
Vanessa Carlysle	Vanessa follows April over, carrying her coffee mug with her and taking a seat on the couch. "I always worried about her being with you. Felt like, if something went wrong at least I had the ability to help, if I was around for it," she says. Her eyes drop to the surface of her cup. "Well, glad it didn't come to that," she says, forcing a smile to her face as she looks back up. "I suppose if nothing has happened after this much time you're probably safe with her. Heck, probably just her presence might deter, other sorts," she concedes. Shifting to sit back a little deeper in the couch, a small smile, a genuine one, comes to Vanessa's lips. "Do tell. Who does he deliver for? And why haven't you gotten him to ask you out? You're easily the most eligible lady in the neighborhood," she says with a grin.