14736/I Could Use Some Flowers

I Could Use Some Flowers
Date of Scene:	27 February 2023
Location:	Sherwood Florist
Synopsis:	o
Cast of Characters:	Superman, Black Canary

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Superman has posed:
It's about ten to fifteen minutes to close for Sherwood florist. Unless the store owner has cameras pointed in the back, Dinah may miss an interest sight. Something floats down behind the building. Stepping around the building, the figure just walks in front of the store. They'll take a moment to see Robin Hood with notched arrow looking at him.

Openining the door, they steps inside. Taking in the sights, sky blue eyes just swallow all the details. "Hello?" the voice calls out. One that sounds firm, confident, despite the question to the words. Still the figure will look around before pausing when he sees someone. "Hello. I was wondering if you could help me," they ask. And that figure is Superman. Either the real Superman is in Sherwood Florist or someone in an impressive cosplay outfit. Every detail is there from the candy apple red cape, boots and "S." The vibrant blue of the body. Bits of golden yellow around the "S" and here, there. If it's a cosplayer, he's done his homework.

Dinah was just out back in the store room when the old-timey bell rang and announced a customer. She hurriedly grabs the pots she was looking for and rushes out to the front. "HelloandwelcometoSherwoodFlorist" she blurts out as she makes a beeline for the workbench. She lays the pots down and turns.

"Yeah, sorry, was in the back. How can I hel..."

She drops the patter right there, staring.

"Superman?"

She shakes her head a moment, blinks, rubs her eyes. Nope, still standing there.

*Does he know?* her inner voice asks.

"Well, I guess if every villain and villainess in North America can show up on Valentine's to buy flowers, why not also the good guys!?" She says that with a crooked smile on her face. "Welcome to Sherwood Florist, Superman. How can I help you?

Superman rushes and catches the pot. Then he rises near her to hand it back. Then he'll float back to give Dinah space. Well, at least she -knows- it's him.

"You dropped that," Superman says referring to the pot. "I'm here for two reasons. First, I have an order and it's unique. I'm wondering if you could help me with that," he gives Dinah a small smile. Sky blue eyes watching Dinah. "I would love it could be rushed, but understand if it can't. Things take time," he assures her this may not be a last minute hail mary rush job.

"We always try..." Dinah says slowly as it registers that this really IS Kal-el. In her shop. The question is if this is coincidence or ...

*He knows. He's playing. Bastard!*

Still, she's going to play her role. Because she happens to like it.

"I can't make any promise," she restarts. "Except that we try our best each time as long as it doesn't compromise on quality." She pauses. "Uh ... do you mind if I take a Polaroid of us together to hang up on our customer board?" She points to a pinboard that has various people posing with Dinah in the shop, in front of one section or another, usually the embrace picture. Several costumed hero types are on the board: most of Alpha Flight, one of the Spiders, a couple of the Bats, that kind of thing.

"Only if you take two photos," Superman smiles to the question. That seems to be Superman's policy with photos. He always wants one in return. What people don't know is where the photos go. They're at the fortress. They remind him of the reason why he does this. These -are- the faces he fights for.

"About what I want. I need four dozen flowers, but darker in color. Asthetic is key with this," and then he adds the odd thing to the order. "A red carnation with each, too," he figures the last part is probably easier. Sky blue eyes watch her for a moment.

"I've seen flowers from all over the place, but I don't know what would be best. How they would need care. I need an expert," Superman explains. This may, or may not, be true. However, he doesn't let on if it's not.

Superman has posed:
"Two photos. Sounds fine!" Dinah says with a chuckle. "Also, I promise that the photo won't be used for anything but that pinboard. No big poster version that says 'SUPERMAN BUYS FLOWERS HERE!' I promise."

Notably she doesn't immediately run for her camera. She instead starts tapping her teeth with her fingernails as she thinks.

Notably she doesn't immediately run for her camera. She instead starts tapping her teeth with her fingernails as she thinks.

"Live or cut?" she asks first. "I like selling live more, but most people don't have the resources to take care of any but the hardiest plants so ... cuts are my biggestbusiness."

She seems regretful of this. Like she doesn't actually enjoy beheading plants for people to decorate their homes for a short time.

"That's good because I haven't signed anything to give my endorsement. I'm sure lawyers would flip over backwards to represent Superman," he says knowing that the army of lawyers willing to do this would be massive. It's sure to send fear into any business owner.

Superman pauses for a moment, "One set can be live for sure. I'm not sure about the other three," and then he sees the regret. "All of them can be live. I'm not sure how it will work, but I feel like it'll get worked out," he says unable to upset the woman.

"I'm not sure how the carnations would work," he says just making that part clear.

Black Canary has posed:
"Well, live carnations are, to put it bluntly, a pain in the butt," Dinah says. "So those will be cut. I wouldn't inflict live carnations on the Joker."

Small slip there. But Superman won't notice, right?

She starts walking over to the cooler where some of the rarer cut plants are kept, looking them over before casting eyes on the live potted plants next to them.

"What are you communicating with these? Sympathy? Love or desire? Loneliness? I mean I'm not a fan of the 'secret language' nonsense (there's so many inconsistent ones!), but I do think different flowers have connotations that should be kept in mind." She barks out a laugh. "Like you wouldn't give a bouquet of pansies to someone you beat up in a bar brawl, right?"

Like she did. To the Hell's Angels, no less. When she was bored one day and cleaned out one of their bars...

Superman has posed:
Superman nods about the carnations being ut. If he catches that comment about Joker, it's not said. Nor is there a change of expression on his face. It just keeps flipping betwween neutral and a soft smile.

"Admiration. Maybe not quite love, but definitely something positive. It doesn't need to drip with it like a Valentine's Day gift. I do want the recipient to feel special," he says. It's not that Superman doesn't know about the secret meanings. He just heard it's certain colors, types and a lot goes into the code. And that's not a world he wishes to enter at this time.

"No. Maybe a sympathy card, but not pansies," he pauses for a moment. "Unless you were trying to beat them one more time. . ." there's implication with the name and recipient.

"But no. They're not pansies," he says of both the gift and recipient.

Black Canary has posed:
"This is going to be one arrangement, right?" Dinah asks as she starts to arrange a few things: a variety of potted plants surrounded by a forest of cut plants, trying to keep to Superman's theme. "This would be the general idea. Only a prototype for show; it will take me a day or two to assemble the amount you need, but ... is this colouration and build suited?"

She steps aside to let Superman look it over, pointing out key features like the spray of little white flowers that add a subtle accent to the dark bouquet and separate the living core from the cut fence around it.

Superman has posed:
Superman looks at the arrangement. "Make sure the decoration colors are dark. Blacks, reds, maybe a small hint of gold. Not quite dark and brooding, but would get along with that crowd," he says pointing out to the prototype.

Looking back to Dinah, he gives a big smile. One that conveys confidence. "And money isn't an object. I'm not Bruce Wayne rich, but," his gaze goes back to the flowers. "They're worth the money," he says. Clearing his throat, "But yes. This is what I wanted," he says and gives an approving nod. "They'll love it," and there's a small excitement in his voice.

Black Canary has posed:
Dinah removes the accenting white flowers and replaces them with darker golden ones, rearranging the rest to give it the look she's intuiting that Superman is looking for. Nodding, she glances over her stock and purses her lips.

"Two days normally, but for an extra fee..." She makes an apologetic 'what ya gonna do?' expression. "...I can get them shipped in by air and have this assembled for you by end of business day tomorrow."

She winces and looks at Superman with some trepidation. "And it's not a small extra fee. Getting these in by special air is going to be very pricey."

She takes a deep sigh and then heads over to the counter to get her Polaroid (!).

"So while you mull that over, let's get the pictures taken.

Superman has posed:
"I don't mind the fees. Those are irrelevant," sometimes you -do- need to spend. While Superman will not go lavish like Bruce Wayne, he will get others really nice gifts. For some reason people -really- hope to get Clark Kent during the Planet's Secret Santa.

"You're trying to provide and you're not giving me too many upcharges, if any. I do not mind," he says sensing the hesitation. Those sky blue eyes look to her and he gives a small smile. "It's fine Miss Dinah," he gives another nod, trying to assuage her.

Moving toward the woman, Superman leans in close. He's extremely solid. Like a brick wall wrapped in soft muscle. He smiles and prepares himself for the flash.

Black Canary has posed:
"Say cheese!" Dinah says cheesily, grinning her infectious grin up at the tall man of steel before turning to face the camera she aims at the pair with practiced ease. "I'll take a few pics and we'll leave the best to you and the next best up on the pinboard. I'll sell the rest on eBay for ... uh ... or not."

Then the pictures. She takes five in rapid succession from different angles before separating from Superman and, holding the cardboard squares in her hand, she shakes them around in the old-timey ritual of Polaroid fun.

"OK, pick your picture, and I'll pick mine," she says after looking over the five critically, holding them out for Superman to inspect.

Superman has posed:
Superman will smile in all of them. Although he will give her bunny ears in one. Just to add a little levity. "That's the one you should keep," he says to it. And he will take one o fthe nice once that they're smiling in.

"And don't sell the pictures on e-bay. I'd rather you do a silent auction if I sign one," he syas thinking she could get more money that way. Or at least in theory.

Black Canary has posed:
"Hey, no way! I won't be selling any of these!" The bunny-ears get put on the pin board. "The excess go into my private stash so when I die and people have to clean out the crazy flower and cat lady's home they can be astonished that she was on photo terms with Superman!"

She doesn't seem to be joking. About the private stash at least. The crazy cat lady thing ... doesn't seem to be her style, outgoing and brash as she is.

Besides, Superman probably knows who she really is. She's terrible at secret identity and how many people out there match her face, her physique, her height, and her personality?

Exactly.

Still, she's playing the part as if he doesn't. Just in case.

"So, if you don't mind answering ..." Dinah continues talking (as she's wont to do) while she takes down notes with a fountain (!) pen in a notebook, no computer in sight, for her next order to be able to get Superman's bouquet built. "... how did you come to find out about Sherwood Florist? Is it because of that day all the villains from every city on the planet, or so it seems, came here?"

Superman has posed:
"I like puns and need flowers," which isn't exactly a lie. It just omits a detail or two. "And you won't die as the crazy cat-lady. I just have that feeling," although he can totally see Dinah doing everything else.

He does enjoy the fountain pen that writes down various details. "How did you come about the place? What is the story of the store's origins," he will ask and float up just to get a bird's eye view and look over everything for a moment. Superman does that sometimes. Admires the outdoors like they're a living painting. Something about seeing it from various heights makes it -almost- like a still life piece.

Black Canary has posed:
"I needed a place to stay after the dojo burned down," Dinah says with a shrug, telling a half-truth of her own. "This one happened to come with a flower shop attached, so..."

She grins and winks. Superman's not getting any more of the story. Yet.

"Mostly things just kinda happen to me, you understand. I made friends with a guy who ran a small, respected dojo. I lived there, studied there, taught there, then it burned down, so ... now a flower shop. I'm totes a rock star too."

Which Superman knows.

"I just like to take chances on things."

Superman has posed:
"Well, I would like to hear more, if you feel like sharing," Superman looks at her for a moment. "I know you're a rockstar. I saw your show outside of Gotham. I had some of the nosebleed seats for that bar, good set. You wore this one thing," and he explains the outfit. All of it is true. She just doesn't know what he did. Superman doesn't go into sets, because he was at another show. Then just found some photos from the Chicago show. There's truth in every lie. Quietly, Superman thinks he has been around Bruce too much.

"It seems to be paying off for you, too," he gives a soft yet genuine smile and floats back down.

Black Canary has posed:
"Well, I'm going to be on the phone for the next half-hour harassing my suppliers until I can get your special order, but if you're still around after that, what other things do you want to know?"

And she adds, subvocally, just in her throat, at a pitch she knows only Superman can hear, "And if I find out you've been toying with me, I will give you SUCH a headache, Supes!"

Thus, of course, exposing her secret if Superman didn't already know it. Which he probably did.

Superman has posed:
"I can wait if youw ant company," he offers and gives her a soft smile. Then there's a pause from him as he listens to that subvocal message.

"Dinah. How am I toying with you?" he asks her honestly. Sky blue eyes looking at her intently for a moment as he moves close. "I am here to support a local business I heard good reviews about. One I looked into before randomly showing up. This is a gift you're making for me," and he looks down at her for a moment. There's no malice, but Superman is beign fir in this one.

Black Canary has posed:
"You mean ... you didn't know before?" Dinah is genuinely shocked. She's used to people in the scene figuring out who she is within about five seconds. "I figured Bats would have had my name up in some file with that stern look he puts on when he says I don't play well with others. That you were here as a sort of 'I know who you are' thing."

She pauses and grins sheepishly, rubbing her hand through her hair.

"And I guess now if you didn't know I spilled the beans."

Superman has posed:
"You should wear a mask Miss Dinah," he says knowing she outed herself. "A bandit mask, maybe?" Superman suggests since she literally just outed herself. Looking at her for a moment.

"Dinah. Rest assured, I'm here for good reasons. You may not realize it, but I am," he says honestly. Both hands go up and sky blue eyes look to her.

"You do need to learn to trust -someone- Dinah. Trust me," he admits and looks at the woman. "I had to learn that lesson being the sole survivor of an entire species. I know how delicate trust can be," he adds, understanding why someone doesn't play well with others.

Black Canary has posed:
"How long did you know?"

Beat.

"About five seconds into the first meeting of the JL?" Dinah laughs. "I know, I suck at this. I tried wearing a domino before, but ugh. Stupid things are uncomfortable and keep slipping into my field of vision at inopportune moments. It interferes with the fighting."

She laughs and starts making her phone calls, talking periodically between speaking animatedly with her suppliers.

"Who's the gift for anyway? Dark theme. Gotta be someone in the Belfry gang. ... Is it Bats' birthday or something?"

Superman has posed:
"I've known for a lot longer than you give me credit for," Superman says firmly. Sky blue eyes watching her and he shakes his head. "And I've seen your face multiple times. Just because I know your face. . .," he waggles his brow to tell Dinah that maybe they passed each other on the stret and she didn't even know it.

"No one in the belfry, but someone special," he says and that's a complete truth. This is not for any of the Belfry ranks.

Black Canary has posed:
Dinah nods and grins. "Well, what can I say? It's not like I have family to worry about."

Voice is cheerful, but there's a hint of regret in the eyes.

"So it's not so important that I keep everything secret. I assume it's different for you."

Superman has posed:
There's a pause from him. And he can see that regret. "You have your band. They're family," Clark says pointing that out. Canary does have that family.

"You have people rooting for you. I did get an advance of Clark's piece on your band, you mad a fan out of him," he says and looks to Dinah. "He's one of two journalist I trust. He's stiff, but honest," he gives a soft smile and looks to Dinah as he shows the woman there are others rooting for her.

Black Canary has posed:
"Yeah, true," Dinah says. "So of course I have to teach them self-defence because they could be used against me." She rolls her eyes. "Good that Mr. Kent liked us. Not just because a good review will send us sky-high, but also because he'd just a nice guy for a nebbish."

Dinah barks out a laugh.

"He showed a lot more personality than I gave him credit for. I guess that bland thing is a screentime front. He has a sense of humour, he knows things, and he manages to relate even in a world that's completely different from what he was brought up in." A snort, then, "I can smell the cow manure on his shoes. He's so midwest hick it's hilarious, but ... he also relates to things not of his world. Kind of a valuable talent for a reporter, don't you think?"

Superman has posed:
"Nebbish?" Superman is new to that word. It's just some form of jargon he would keep in a personal lexicon.

Dinah brings up Clark's personality. It's weird to think of himself as two personas, but this is part of the dance.

"He started with opinion and articles about people. They all had different walks of life. Different reasons for standing out. It's why I turned to him for stories," Superman admits, whihc isn't exactly a lie on that one.

"Yes. He practically smells of corn fields, but he cares. He cares a lot more than people will give him creit for," Superman admits. And that's the rub. People underestimate Clark and that's by sign. It helps in the field because people will not think Clark can relate. It disarms and comforts. Also, it lets people make presumptions about Clark. Helps distance the pair.

"But yes. He's a good man," he gives a simple nod. Sky blue eyes look upon Dinah.

"I get the feeling you may have a new PR man," Superman says with some sense of understanding. It's a card he owuldn't abuse, but it's nice to have in the backpocket.

Black Canary has posed:
"I've got a PR guy. It's not Mr. Kent. It's dangerous to rely on press for PR. It has the attention span of a goldfish: whatever is the latest important issue gets the front page."

She shrugs.

"But when a pressman is on your side, that's a lovely boost. Especially one known for integrity."

Superman has posed:
Superman nods. "I suppose you're right. How much do I owe you Miss Lance?" he asks softly. "I can pay now, in full," he offers knowing it's going to cost a bit. He'll even add a good twenty percent tip. That's the plan. The execution will come after.

There will be a little blurr of motion, but the man has everything in cash. How? It's easy to find jewels in places that offer mining tours when someone has X-Ray vision.

"Just tell me when it's ready and I'll be here shortly after. It's a pleasure Miss Lance," he says and gives a small nod and he will walk out of the place then fly off. Superman will have his polaroid.

Black Canary has posed:
Dinah winces as she looks at the bill she was writing up and gently slides it toward Superman. "I've got 12-hour guarantees on all the deliveries with penalties being my foot up their asses, so ... raw materials will be here by morning. Give me a couple of hours to set it up nice ... plus some time for the unexpected." She has experience it seems. "Noon tomorrow, call it."

The blur followed by cash causes a blink, then a laugh. "Well," she chuckles, "that's one way not to get mugged. Never carry! I have to do it the old-fashioned way of breaking bones."

Superman has posed:
"I will be here in about that time frame," he's impressed with that service. Soemthing about the quickness is a little unexpected. He didn't expect Dinah to be slow, but that turn around is -much- faster than expected.
"I could still break bones, but it would be a bit unfair," he gives an exasperated shrug.
Noon comes and Superman is there promptly. Landing in front of the store, Superman is bound to gain some attention. Then grabbing his order he's off in a flash, no pun.

A day passes and Ashes on Sunday have an odd day. It's another show and everything is normal until the first encore is done.

Like with any encore everything goes dark, and there's a sudden gust of wind. Various parts of the drum rattle. A guitar falls, thankfully it's not plugged in. Even a door slams open with a "BANG!" but nothing happens. It's like a very isolated gust of wind. Except it leaves something else in its wake. There's a stack of their CD's with a receipt atop. Written on the back it says, "For the fans." Apparently, someone expects the band to give out already paid for product.

The weirdness continues, but only until later. Walking up to their dressing room the guards will mention, "Strange gust of wind. We don't think it was wind," and then when anyone questions, there's the dressing room. Everything is as they left it. There's just some additions. The mixture of the flowers are waiting for the band. Each have their own card and clearly a wine shaped bottle next to them. Each card is written in red ink.

Ditto's Card reads, "You speak more than you."

To Lord Byron, "Even Lords Need to Enjoy themselves and let go."

To Paloma, "Because everyone should feel special for more than a single night."

Dinah's card read, "Make that two shows I've seen."

Resting next to each flower vase is a bottle of wine. The logo is like nothing that can be seen in a typical store. However, some digging via google, would show this bottle comes from all sorts of places. High end specialty liquor shops, wineries, wine bars, and basically any place that uses terms like "High-End." Basically, it's wine with an -actual- kick and tastes great as far as wine goes. It's a red.

Now it's all on Dinah to tell the band, or not, where these gifts came from She knows -exactly- where these flowers came from and -who- bought them.

If she does any snooping it would be discovered there's a lot of dead ends. The guy that sold the CD's describes him as, "Fan. Black band shirt, matching jeans. Solid guy. Wore a hoodie. Talked real wholesome like. Like he belonged at a different show, but he had cash. Paid for everything in cash." The description is a little too vague to pick out the face from the crowd. Even anyone did. He didn't leave his spot. The event has enough people to provide a guard. And the blur is moving too fast to catch anything real useable. If the cameras are in color then there are prominent splashes of red and blue.

Black Canary has posed:
Well ... that was a weird ending to the show. And for a while Dinah does the whole, smug, "I know something you don't know routine". Where "while" is measured in a few dozen seconds. Then she spills the beans.

"Wait, you're saying SUPERMAN!? Is a FAN!?" That's Byron, whose reserve has been bent to the breaking point by this revelation.

"Oh, wow! And here I am without my titanium wedding band!" Paloma, of course. Now plotting landing Superman because obviously SHE is the big catch of the band. Ditto just stares at her flowers and strums ... Nights in White Satin? What?

Probably a dig at Paloma.

And Dinah? She just grabs her bottle, sits back, and starts guzzling it. Laughing.