14325/Of Cops and Criminals

Of Cops and Criminals
Date of Scene:	17 April 2022
Location:	Trillium Park, Central Heights
Synopsis:	Aliki and Dick share a walk in the park. He pries. She still has no clue who he really is.
Cast of Characters:	Nightwing, Double Dare

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Nightwing has posed:
    In meeting Margot, it was only fitting that at some point Dick would in turn meet Aliki. For the two sisters, though no longer performing together, they still kept in the circles of each other's world. They met often to talk and gossip and share what passes, so when the evening came around with Margot having to teach her glasses at her gym, it left Aliki with the obligation to entertain Richard Grayson while they were out.
    Or perhaps it was his obligation to entertain her.
    Either way it was their first meeting out and about, and though they had an ease to each other, a casual positive feeling... there was still some small posturing and trepidation. For each had not taken the full measure of the other. Not yet at the least.
    Which led them out and about to Gotham's Trillium Park. The sun hadn't quite set, and it would be a good few hours until Margot was free and they could all gather and share dinner. Walking with his hands in his pockets, jean legs swishing against each other, Dick smiled a bit sidelong. He didn't give off that vibe of a police officer. Didn't have that 'be careful or I'll bust ya' feeling. He was just a handsome man in jeans, a black t-shirt, and a blue windbreaker. Though, to be fair, that windbreaker did say 'Bludhaven Police Department Athletic Team' on the back.
    "So you still perform." He says, lifting his head slightly as he walks. Not exactly a question, for Margot had mentioned that Aliki had to take up with another partner.

Double Dare has posed:
Aliki was the smaller of the sisters. A little shorter, a little lighter. Both were muscular and toned as was needed being aerialists specializing in the trapeze. She wore her red hair long, usually kept in a thick braid. Unlike her sister who preferred short hair. Aliki had always been the flier. Margot the anchor performing the catches and throws.

Aliki was dressed casually. A pair of jeans. A white t-shirt advertising the circus she was currently working for. A light sweater in a soft pastel yellow over the top. Green eyes shifted to Dick a this question and she answered. Her accent was French, a bit thick, tending to sometime change the sounds of an 's' or 'er', depending on the word.

"Oui, I still do. When Margot had her accident, we were unsure. It felt wrong. To continue without her. We have been partnahrs for our entire lives."

She was watching the people in the park instead of focusing on her companion. Seeing families having picnics or playing with a frisbee. Couples walking hand-in-hand. The playground area a bit distant was a buzz of activity.

"But Margot said I should not give up. She knows that I need it like the air in my lungs. I am glad she found something to channel her skills but I miss her. My new partner is good but he will never be as great as my sistahr."

Nightwing has posed:
    As she speaks he watches her sidelong, hands in his pockets and his gaze at times on her, at times drifting to those same families and couples wandering the sidewalks. A pair of dogs dance around each other as they focus on sniffing the world around them. It's a peaceful tableau all told and picturesque in its own way, despite the grimness of the Gotham skyline.
    When she mentions how no one will really replace her sister he nods at that and smiles a little, wanly, but still a thing warm of remembrance. "I felt the same way. Or at least... similarly. Performing with my parents was one thing. I've helped out since I left Haley's, but I don't think I could ever fully go back."
    Then his eyes lift a little as he smiles, "Though I suppose I traded one adrenalin rush for another, joining the BPD and all."

Double Dare has posed:
"Even our leisure time was adrenaline based so zhis has been difficult for Margot to adjust. She was depressed for months. We fought often." That had Aliki frowning. Aliki! She was always life of the party, ready to get into something. But those memories of battling with her sister while Margot was forced to accept the loss of her entire lifestyle. They were unpleasant.

She shook her head, forcing the memories again. Turning to focus on Dick visually and mentally. "It would seem so, oui. What is that saying? Long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror? I would think that is fitting for being a police officahr. It is not always being shot at." Which had her diverting. "Have you been shot at?"

Nightwing has posed:
    "I have..." Dick says as he nods a little, though he doesn't exactly elaborate. Or mention that the times he's been shot at out of uniform outnumber the times in uniform by many many many orders of magnitude. Yet he meets her gaze and smiles, "It's really more... a lot of busy work. Walking. Talking to people. Rarely do things get horrible."
    Then his eyebrows lift, "Even in Bludhaven. It can be bad though. I've seen some tough things that just make you feel sorry for people. But I learned a long time ago that there are a lot of people that need help, more than you can ever really get to. But at least you can make a small difference with..."
    He removes his hands from his pockets, then gestures with them both as if something were before him. "What's right in front of you."

Double Dare has posed:
She considered as he explained. Getting shot at was definitely an adrenaline rush. At least, in her experience. Course, her experience involved running from the police after some heist or other with Margot. Something she'd had to mostly give up after Margot injured her knee. Though Aliki would hit the rooftops when she got the chance. Just to run wild through the night. But the days of daring exploits with her partner-in-crime had been lost.

"I suppose? I have always been of the mind to help myself." Which was true as she had honed herself as not only an athelete but as a fighter. "It is good you are there. Most people are not like me." That was an understatement. "They need a person in a uniform to help them through the hard times."

She was saying all the right words, she was sure of it. But she wrinkled her nose a little as she continued and shared her own truth. "I have never liked police officahrs. My experience with them...they are usually not too bright."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Yeah, I sorta..." Dick tilts his head to the side as he meets Aliki's gaze, though he stops their stroll and takes a seat on a park bench, sitting back but crossing his ankles under the seat as he keeps a good bit of posture. "Got that feeling from you and Margot. I know some people don't care for the police. Bad experiences in the past. And yeah there are..."
    The young acrobat looks away, then back as he smiles a little wanly, "Horror stories about corruption. You can help people a dozen times, but if you fail them in their eyes once then it feels like all the good is wiped clean."
    Shaking his head, "I don't judge. When I was..." He holds a hand up at waist level and half-smirks, "About so high, and being from the circus, my experience with the police involved running away a /lot/."
    Then his smile slips wry, playful as his eyes twinkle. "So with you still being about that tall, it must be even harder for you." That's right, a short joke.

Double Dare has posed:
As he settled on the bench, Aliki did the same. Only she sat then immediately folded her legs up so she was sitting tailor style. Feet tucked under her thighs a bit. Probably some stretch material in those jeans for that maneuver since she didn't wear her pants baggy.

At the joke about her height, she frowned slightly. Then he would feel a sharp elbow /slamming/ into his arm. It was not a friendly nudge but an owie type hit. It's one she would've given a sibling. Not all siblings were like her and Margot though, something that didn't occur to her when she did it. "You are sooo funny." Her tone said he was not.

"It was not so much a belief of corruption. It was more Margot and I, when much younger..." Two years ago. "Were...hellions?" She looked at him to see if that was a proper term. "Running wild and challenging the police. Only they never were able to catch us. So we determined they were not too bright. Or perhaps they didn't now what to do with us if they caught us," she added with a giggle.

Nightwing has posed:
    The response she gains is a plaintive 'Ooowwwwwwuh.' Even as he rubs at his arm as if he had been so horribly wronged by such violence even as he gives her a furrowed brow glower. Then he casually nudges her with his hip, just a little bit to show who is boss around here. But it's a playful thing, similar to siblingness. But not as rough as /hers/.
    Though when she tells him more he nods that indeed Hellion is a likely proper word. But when she reveals that she liked running wild from the police he laughed and nodded a little. "So parkour? I know a lot of people who do that. And I'm sure, if the police caught you they had what... trespassing? Criminal mischief?"
    There was a half-smile as he looked across the park, the sun creeping down slowly and making the shadows of the pedestrians walking around longer and longer. "I am sure the few times you guys got caught some of Gotham's Finest would let you off with a warning."
    Then he says, "Me?" He shakes his head, "Straight to prison, on the paddy wagon, by the book Grayson. That's me."

Double Dare has posed:
"Oui, parkour. I still like to at times. I miss Margot though. I know she misses it." Something she was able to talk to Margot about now. They had not previously.

When he mentioned trespassing, Aliki nodded. Though mentally she added trespassing, breaking and entering, petit theft, grand theft, fleeing and attempt to elude, resisting arrest and her personal favorite, resisting with violence.

Probably not for the best to say all that to the cop sitting next to her.

"You would not fall for our feminine wiles?" Aliki teased verbally, batting her lashes in a silly manner. "Instead you would be a hard bottom?" Wait, that didn't sound right.

Nightwing has posed:
    A small chuff of a scoff is heard as she teases and he crinkles his nose, "Totally immune to those feminine wiles." Which, is to say, not entirely true. But he plays it up as he draws one leg up and tucks it under his knee, casually flexible though not quite as easily implemented as Aliki's own posture.
    "But yes, I would totally be a hard ass." He replies, correcting her as to the phrasing. Though he looks across the way, watches those two dogs that had been playing now walking along with their owners, heading to do their business. He looks back. "Some people..." His brow furrows, "When they work with the law, sometimes they do it by... separating themselves. Work life. Home life. A face for the job, a face for home. I've tried that. It's not entirely for me, though I see the wisdom of it."
    He tilts his head back toward Aliki, "I just try to be the guy I think my parents would be proud of." And his other father.

Double Dare has posed:
"Hard ass." She repeats the words to be sure she has them right. "Merci."

She considered the thoughts of splitting a life. Having two different identities. "I do not think I could separate. My life iz my life. Even if it iz running on a rooftop." She makes it sound so innocent. He knows better. Aliki doesn't know the this is a person she's actually fought on those rooftops in his alter ego.

"I am sure your parents are proud of you," Aliki says, making it first tense. To her, his parents are still there watching over him for her to say such. Perhaps a glimpse into the sisters a bit since they were so alike. "You watch over othahrs'. You help people who cannot help themselves. It is noble. Like knights of old." She giggles because she knows how silly it sounds. "Or perhaps I have read too many romance novels."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Probably," He says, reinforcing her own self-teasing and rests his hands on his knee. His smile is wry, but he does seem amused even as he looks over the park at dusk. A lift of his chin is given when he adds, "I think we've talked enough about me, though."
    He leans a shoulder against hers and gives a solemn nod. "Time for you to fess up." Which might cause a small shock of trepidation for a bare instant. That is until he adds, "All the sekrit things you are totally hiding. All the guilty pleasures and sins and whatnot."
    He nods again, "It's only fair." As if he gave her as much himself.

Double Dare has posed:
Aliki stiffened ever so slightly when he mentioned confessing. Admittedly, he would never have seen it. But since his shoulder was leaning against hers, he actually would be able to feel it. It was only about a second because he continued to speak and alleviated that alarm with the teasing tone.

"Non! I have no secrets! I am an open book." She considered it to be mostly true. She'd admitted to going over the rooftops for fun. Running from the police. Enjoying outsmarting them. Unless it was dishonesty by omission. Which didn't count.

Aliki and Margot had perhaps a unique viewpoint on that.

"Margot and I have been with the circus forever. Respected by colleagues. Admired by fans. Adrenaline is our drogue de choix." Which she followed with "Drug of choice." She pursed her lips a moment. "We live in the now because tomorrow may not happen. Thus if there is something enjoyable, do it. Many people cannot understand this. They get everything mixed with morality."

Nightwing has posed:
    "I can see that, though time changes things I think. I used to feel that way, though I sometimes now... have to plan for the future." Which for some people they might be saying 'grow up' but at least Dick is phrasing it gently. Then he rests his hands on his thighs and says, "But so tragic, no secrets, not even a paramour who is pining sadly for his missing Aliki right at this very moment?"
    Then he affects a hint of accent as he says, "Non, I think this is not so." Perhaps a little more teasing, but his smile is warm even as he pushes himself to his feet.
    "Do you want to head back, see if we can convince Margot to let us train a bit in the gym? I have to head off for the night, but I have a few hours."

Double Dare has posed:
In return for his teasing, Aliki sniffs and stands. Just uncurling to an unright position atop the bench. Then she hops down to the ground in front of the bench as she puts on her best American accent. Which sounds a bit more southern than probably she means to. "I am certain there are many pining for me. I am an amazing lovah and they will spend the rest of their lives trying to replace me. It is so very tragique." But Tragic was pronounced as the French word as she's stretched the limits of her Americanization. Besides, that word sounded better in French. Most words did, in her opinion.

She shook her head at the suggestion of the gym. "She will be training her students. But I have a bettahr idea. We used to share a training space. Before. Now it iz used by my partnahr and I but most of the time gathers dust. Come. We will make sure it iz all in working order. And I can see if you still know how to fly."