14355/Dinner with Double Dare

Dinner with Double Dare
Date of Scene:	03 May 2022
Location:	Trillium Park, Central Heights
Synopsis:	Aliki and Margot introduce Dick to their circus family leading to dinner with the group!
Cast of Characters:	Nightwing, Double Dare

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Nightwing has posed:
    There is something to be said about spending the day amongst that culture of circus folk. Haley's circus is a creature entirely different than Cirque Sensational. The vibe is subtly different, the people European and beyond. But there is a kinship in small things. The connections made, the way the tents are tied or the animals kept, a care in what is done and a professionalism that speaks to the tier the entertainers reach.
    So perhaps it had started out with some tension when Dick Grayson was introduced around. But there was a moment when the sisters were questioned by the ringmaster who seemed perturbed at an unexpected visitor. And a police officer at that...
    But then he caught the words 'Volant Graysons' which caused the others to look at him anew. And there was some sadness, some commiseration. And as quick as that it was almost like he was family. Embraced so and throughout the afternoon he had been welcomed to help the people and crew get settled.
    Which in turn led to the evening when the performers and trainers and everyone went out to one of the nearby bar and grills which had hosted them before and didn't seem to mind that the Cirque Sensational... when it comes into town? Tends to be a little rowdy.
    Which was an understatement as Yuri the strong man /flew/ past their table while he brawled with the bouncer. It was all in good fun of course, a friendly wager. But did they have to do it so near their table? Which had Dick turning to Aliki and Margot, smiling. "Your family are very interesting people."
    Not a fib at all.

Double Dare has posed:
"Twenty on Yuri!"

That scream came from Aliki as she waved the bill of that denomination in the air. Lila, the bearded lady, came by to take it out of her hand then continued down the line as others added their bets. For the moment, Aliki's attention was fully on the brawl.

This left Margot to address Dick's comment, unable to stop a bright smile as she nodded. "Oui. We all believe in embracing life to the fullest." She leaned back as one of the swings came a tad too close to the table but then the two men was heading the opposite direction. "Yuri cannot resist challenging. Sometimes he beats Ryan." The bouncer out there brawling with the strong man. "Sometimes Ryan beats him. Which makes Yuri want to find all the more."

She picked up her beer bottle, putting it to her lips and taking a quick sip. "They are your family too now. Do not forget zhis." For he had been accepted as soon as the circus folk had learned about his past. When they knew he was one who had performed under the big top. One that would understand and respect their lifestyle instead of looking at them sideways which normal people seemed to inevitably do.

Aliki reached over to grab her own beer, taking a long swig then settling back down in her seat. One foot was sitting on the seat so her knee was visible above the table edge. "They are talking about getting you back in the air."

Margot looked at Aliki in confusion a moment then realized she meant Dick. "He is an officahr."

"Oui, but one who can fly. And a comeback tale. It would sell so many tickets."

Nightwing has posed:
    A laugh comes from Dick as he shakes his head, holding his own bottle lightly in one hand. They had a plate of chicken wings at their table, unbreaded but seasoned, as well as carrots and celery sticks to go along with the hot sauce. No decision for a meal for it was mainly time to relax and drink and take one's time with the food because the circus folks here knew how to /pace/ their drinking.
    "I could maybe..." He says this toward Aliki who was sitting next to him so he nudges her with his shoulder, "/Maybe/ be tempted back to help out. But not on a regular basis." Then he looks across the table at Margot and half-smiles, "This life is dear to me, but it's also something I've had to put behind me." He lightly touches the toe of his shoe to Margot's then adds, "For the most part."
    Since there were small aspects of it in his life now.
    Then he straightens up a little and affects a haughty tone, "Unless, of course, I get zee, how you say, top billing?" He crinkles his nose around that smile playfully.

Double Dare has posed:
That set Margot off laughing. Both at his feigned French accent and the fact that was a very 'family' sort of thing for someone to say.

"Non!" Aliki was having none of that though she was barely keeping a laugh contained. "I will remain at zee top." She put one hand in the air, palm parallel to the floor. "You will be here." Then the second hand brought up just below it.

Margot reached over to shift the hands so the bottom one was above the other. "Much better. Return of a Grayson. Top billing."

Aliki made a face, stuck her tongue out at her sister, and dropped her hands back down to focus on her beer again. "Fine. Fine. Though if you could fly too, we could make it a double headliner. Double Dare and the Flying Grayson."

Which had Margot making a face and glancing away toward the continuing brawl. "I could not maintain long enough for a performance worthy of such a headline. Richard will have top billing."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Honestly," Richard looks between them and says with a gentle smile, "You guys are better." He reaches a hand out to rest his on Margot's just lightly, giving a small squeeze. "Back when my family was doing it the game was different. You guys in France, Europe, you were doing the performance, yes. But you also had artistry."
    But so they don't think he's blowing smoke up their bums he says, "I mean, yes my family and I. We had... really good connection, synchronization. As a group of three that was our bread and butter. But some of the acrobatics you guys do are things we couldn't. Different talents."
    He leans back and turns his shoulders, resting his back in the corner of that booth so he can face them both as he smiles. "But." He nods to them as he says, "I look better in tights than the both of you." As he says that he grins and bites a carrot with that crisp /snap/ as if to punctuate those words even as he ducks a little, knowing that reprisal likely will be swift.

Double Dare has posed:
Swift it was. And a two prong attack, though they didn't coordinate. Much like they were when they had performed in the past. Or when running across the rooftops and fighting the vigilante Nightwing. The sisters are so in synch, they don't have to give voice to their intentions. They just know. They can finish each other's sentences.

But they were still different people.

As demonstrated when the slap came against his arm from Margot's side. But Aliki /punched/ his upper arm. Though both women were laughing.

"This we cannot judge since we have not seen you in them," Aliki protests. For though he had shared the trapeze with her shortly after they had met, neither had worn tights.

"I believe that we will need to see and determine. Later tonight. Though, do you still own tights? Or must we find some for you?" Which sounded terrifying but wouldn't be impossible in the Circus Sensational.

Nightwing has posed:
    "Ow, ow, ow!" Dick hunkers up shoulders rising as his hands cover his so vulnerable arms with the sisters giving him thumps and whaps to show their displeasure at his completely true and accurate statement, though he's also laughing through it as he shakes his head, "I give, I give." He holds his hands up in mock surrender, but he grins as he takes another bite of his carrot.
    "I have some back at my apartment," The young Grayson's eyes lift upwards as he considers, likely going through his things mentally. "I think they're in storage, but yah. White with a blue stripe along the legs and chest. Something he hadn't thought about in a while since in some ways it matched his uniform as Nightwing just... brighter.
    Then he looked back toward them and crinkles his nose. "But I dunno if it's a good idea since by then I'll have giganto bruises on my arms from all this rampant meanness." He points at Aliki first, then Margot, and then says, "J'accuse!" With a hint of that accent again.

Double Dare has posed:
"Then we will go to your apartment," Aliki decided.

Margot shook her head. "He will bring them next time to the gym. Or training facilitey." For when she said facility, it came out with that extra special pronunciation instead of something more American. "Will you not?"

Which kind of put him on the spot that he had to agree or else he would have the sisters both ganging up on him again. Which, to be fair, seemed to happen a lot. "You will not have bruises. You are a tough officahr of the law. You laugh in the face of dangahr." She let out a mock laugh as though demonstrating how she was positive he would. Which was more like an exaggerated Ha Ha Ha than an actual laugh.

"Mon Dieu! Ryan has Yuri down!" Aliki folds her arms and frowns. "I am going to lose my money."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Whichever comes first," Richard Grayson offers, for one of the things that he has learned from his time with not just Bruce but Alfred... was diplomacy. So he offers that as a capitulation to chance or motivation, to see which they end up doing first. Though he steals a brief moment to give Margot a wink while Aliki frowns so darkly at the prospect of a loss.
    But something about her pouting look makes the young police officer smile a little as he says, "Well, that is how it must be. Would you like me to win it back for you? Shall I throw my lot into the ring?" Which was a touch of exaggeration since there was none, only a cleared out area between tables that served as a... hostile zone perhaps.
    A look toward Margot, "Though depends on how much longer you both wish to remain here." For a petulant Aliki stuck here for an extended period of time would definitely need mollification in some form.

Double Dare has posed:
While he might have thought that would be something they would laugh over, suddenly he found two sets of green eyes locked on him and curiosity in them. For though they knew he was a police officer, that didn't necessarily mean he was on the same level as the men who had been brawling but were now sharing a beer together over by the bar.

"I know you are an officahr. But zhis is a different kind of fighting," Margot commented.

"Street fighting. With some of zee mixed martial arts," Aliki continued.

"You could get hurt."

"Unless you know what you are doing."

Which had Margot finishing up the tennis match of a conversation. "Are you able to fight like that, Richard?" And Margot was now leaning against his arm a little.

Nightwing has posed:
    Grayson had some awareness there, some knowledge that the sisters had their own talents they kept somewhat hidden, but there was no harm in advancing some indication of his own, albeit keeping it realistic. But his smile is a warm thing, amused on some level as they likely would expect him to be.
    So he replies, "Well, it's true the Bludhaven Police Department will only engage in fisticuffs using the Marquess of Queensbury rules, and if someone stoops to street-fighting then they're immediately thrown off the force." His smile eases more toward the wry as he teases them and then adds, "But I can hold my own."
    Yet as they continue to bore holes through his eyes with the insistence and intensity of their gaze he adds in a more honest tone, "I've trained a good bit, to be fair. After everything happened, and before joining the force. It was a hobby to keep me on the straight and narrow." Which was not a lie at all.
    "I've studied some Jeet Kune Do, Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and some MMA techniques. I'm no stranger to taking a roll now and again. But..." A look toward Yuri and Ryan, "To be fair that Ryan guy does look pretty big."
    Since in that moment it would be wise to present some trepidation. Because Officer Grayson should have some, even if Nightwing had none.

Double Dare has posed:
The intensity did not lessen although he earned a grin from Margot at the fisticuffs bit since she got the joke. Aliki caught on but not for the same reasons. The mention that he had trained to keep himself occupied seemed to satisfy the pair and the intensity lessened. Margot rested her hand on his arm then gave a gentle squeeze, offering support for his tragic past.

Then he outlined what he knew. The sisters exchanged a glance. No words spoken. But at the same instant, they both smiled. Because not only had they found this handsome man to spend time with. It turned out he knew about their type of life. He also knew how to fight. It was like he was made for them!

"Pffft." That was from Aliki. She waved a hand in the air dismissively but then picked up her beer for a sip before continuing. "It is not zee size, it is zee skill."

Which had Margot chuckling softly. "If you know how, you can take down an opponent of any size."

"Though admittedly, we like to fight each other."

"Or together. Though it has been a long time since we did that. Zee knee complicates things."

"Yet Margot could likely still beat Yuri alone even with her knee."

"I do not know that zhis is true." Margot touched his arm again the moved her hand away. "You do not have to do zhis. We just tease."

Nightwing has posed:
    "It is totally the size, tiny people can't beat anyone up, it's a fact." Dick says with a wry grin, so amusing that he's fallen into the role of teasing Aliki since she seems to be the one that needs the most teasing, while with Margot it's more conspiratorial. He shakes his head as if tutting the smaller acrobat but then lifts his shoulder fully expecting another punch.
    Though he looks over at Margot, "Well perhaps if not tonight, then next time. You will get your money back somehow, Aliki Marceau." He offers to her, even speaking the needed accents to say her name oh so correctly.
    He reaches forward and picks up another piece of carrot then gives a nod, "But I'm surprised you both have trained? Any particular reason for it? Something the Cirque Sensationnel encourages?"

Double Dare has posed:
"Not really," Margot answered even as she heard the smack from the other side as Aliki slapped his arm this time instead of punching. "It was more something we picked up. Many of the acrobats had some training."

"So we asked them to teach us. Since we wanted to learn everything we could," Aliki picked right up when Margot paused.

"So no specific type of martial art but lots of bits and pieces."

"Which we learned then modified."

"Into a style that worked like our tag team on the trapeze," Margot finished. "A give and take, working together as a unit instead of singular opponents. We have found it to be extremely effective."

Which all sounded innocent enough except he had fought them, as Nightwing. When he confronted them stealing in his city. He had fought those tactics they had created, making them difficult opponents despite not necessarily having a ranking in any specific martial art to their names.

Nightwing has posed:
    "Ahh, so nothing formal." Which has Dick nodding a little, because they did have some brilliance to their technique, and it seemed to be a collection of other aspects, but also some roughness to it. Though he, of course, gives voice to none of that.
    Instead he looks between them and smiles a little, "Then why don't you two go get Aliki's money back. I doubt Ryan could endure." Which some people might imagine was him teasing them, but his tone and his posture seems to show he's serious in part. Perhaps imagining how that fight would go and likely seeing how Ryan would fail.
    Which, to be fair, he would.

Double Dare has posed:
That threw them both off stride. The idea of actually challenging hadn't really appeared in their brains. Would Yuri be bothered if they beat Ryan when he had not? Though to be fair, he had beaten Ryan plenty of times. It was just a back and forth thing with the pair.

The sisters glanced in the direction of Ryan then Margot looked back to Dick. "Few can against us," she admitted with a hint of a smirk. Was she talking about fighting though? That tone seemed to imply it might be something else.

Aliki was suddenly on her knees on her seat, sitting up a bit and swigging down the last of her beer. She slammed the bottle down and did a mock wiping of her lips with her arm. Since there was nothing to wipe. "We should do it."

Margot looked at her in surprise then shook her head, laughing softly. "There would have to be limits."

"Then tell him your leg is off limits." Then Aliki looked at her big sister, leaning elbows on the table and stretching halfway across between Dick and his beer. "S'il te plait?" but it had that whiny tone that siblings did when they really wanted something.

Margot looked at Dick for a moment as though he might save her. Then she sighed and was moving to slide out of the booth. "Come, Aliki. Let us show Richard how it is done."

Nightwing has posed:
    "I wasn't serious guys!" Dick says as the two start to slide out of the booth, and indeed he has the look on his face of a man whose bluff has been called. He's holding up both hands and reaching out, lightly touching Aliki's as if to hold her oh so briefly, but then let's go.
    Those deep blue eyes go over to Margot as if to seek some help from her since she's /normally/ the one to talk sense to her sister. But in this she actually seems inclined to the wildness of the moment.
    Maybe it was the beer.
    "Seriously, if you got hurt I'd feel super horrible. I couldn't live with myself." There, an appeal to emotion since assuredly they wouldn't wish to make Officahr Grayson the sads.

Double Dare has posed:
Aliki gave a little squeeze of his hand but released quickly.

At the voiced concern, Margot turned to lean over the table. Attempting to give Dick a little peck level kiss on the lips. "You are sweet. I will be fine. It has been...too long." She was giving him a look that showed she might really need this. While she would spar with Aliki from time to time, she hadn't worked with Aliki against an opponent since her knee injury. "Unless you find this... what is the word? Intimidating?" Because some men were not comfortable with a woman who might be able to beat their asses.

Nightwing has posed:
    The small kiss was returned, but there was still a look of trepidation on his features as he looked between Aliki and Margot. The young police officer took a deep breath and shook his head, then smiled a little as he said, "As if I could deny you guys anything."
    He gave a nod to Margot as she slipped away, then added. "And as if you guys would listen." That said with a more sour tone that might be reminiscent of how he grumbles after a certain stubborn vigilante that he's known for a while.
    He grabs his beer with one hand in that way of someone who is exasperated. Though, to be fair, there was part of him that was curious about this side of the sisters and what appealed to them about this.

Double Dare has posed:
The sisters were very similar. Both had those toned acrobatic builds. Aliki was slightly smaller than Margot. Her hair was in a long braid that went all the way down to her bottom. Margot had short hair, slightly stronger in the arms and legs. Both were dressed in jeans with t-shirts advertising the circus.

They moved to the 'ring' set up by the cleared out tables and chairs, into that empty space. "Ryaaaann," Aliki called out, that sing songy cadence to it as she leaned her shoulder against her sister.

"Ready for round two?" Margot asked as she gave him a grin.

Which is when Yuri started laughing. "Don't do it, Ryan."