15524/i'll make this log title magically disappear

i'll make this log title magically disappear
Date of Scene:	25 August 2023
Location:	Iceburg Lounge.
Synopsis:	Kate and Zatanna.
Cast of Characters:	Batwoman, Zatanna Zatara

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Batwoman has posed:
Iceberg Lounge has a sketchy history, run by, at varying times, varying criminal elements of varying avian persuasions. It also happens to be one of the trendiest and most popular nightclubs in Gotham, not the least of which because of the fact that it doubles as a casino. There's no more traditional or coveted venue to hold a show than here.

Which, really, goes to show just where Gotham's at these days, and most days, past, present and future.

At the very least, though, they have nice dressing rooms and generous per diem for their acts!

It's those very backstage halls that Kate Kane finds herself wandering through right now; being a Kane comes with certain benefits, perhaps the least of which being access to certain areas most people aren't allowed to enter without explicit permission (bluffing and/or straight out lying might also help contribute). Dressed in a black waistcoat, white button up, black slacks and bowtie - complete with freshly polished shoes! - the redheaded Kane heiress is making a leisurely stroll of the halls. It's not the first time she's been here; it's not even the first time she's visited tonight's headliner here. She knows all the old, familiar places.

Which is why it takes her no time at all until pale knuckles are rapping gently on the door to the main act's dressing room, her other hand held just behind her back as she calls out in that casually teasing voice,

"Hey. Coming down with the pre-show jitters? I hear it helps if you picture the long and storied Cobblepot lineage naked."

Because she -cares-.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Tap tip tappity tap come shoes up to the door and the door opens just one crack, revealing an elegant face pulling a separate, distinct face.

"I wasn't having any concerns at all until THIS," Zatanna complains, but warmly. "Hold on, I'll let you in. Don't let your sixteen thug escorts in unless they're handsome." Close, unbolt, click, latch, and open again!

Inside... it's a dressing room; Zatanna has not made heavy use of much of the makeup space (though one table has in fact been used to apply the Stage Face, which Zatanna is wearing right now.)

One of the tables has a bird cage. In the bird cage is a dove.

The dove looks directly at Kate and says, "Coo?" with a sort of sense of plaintive appeal. The dove seems unusually alert and focused on the elegantly arriving woman, and Zatanna approaches the cage. "I may need to evict this guy, hold on."

Batwoman has posed:
The door cracks open. Zatanna Zatara bemoans the curse cast upon her.

Kate Kane blows a 'you're welcome' kiss.

"Don't worry, I brought just the thing to solve your dilemma."

The dilemma that Kate created? Perish the thought! She's a hero, saving someone from the burning building of their imagination.

So what if she set the fire?

By the time the door opens, Kate's leaning against the frame; she takes a look to her left; a look to her right; then she blinks, brows lifted, and lifts her shoulders with a hapless shrug.

"Huh. I guess I was the only thug who managed to pass your standards," she announces, before smoothly making her way within.

Be she ever so humble.

It's not an unfamiliar sight; she's seen the dressing rooms of the Iceberg Lounge before, after all. It's why it takes her no time at all to find a spot to place her gift for the curse she's inflicted on Zatanna: a bottle of coconut brandy. From her private stock, of course.

"I figured the drinks here couldn't possibly compare to the proud Kane legacy, so I thought you might appreciate a little gift for after the show," she explains simply, leaning against the countertop; it's at this point she looks sidelong to the caged dove. The dove looks at her. She tilts her head.

'Coo?' asks the dove.

"Coo," responds Kate, as Zee approaches. She listens. A second passes.

"--It's not a magic dove, is it?" she asks abruptly, as if worried of imminent dove hexes.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
A burning heat. A desire for flightless waterfowl. Yes, Kate. That's what you started, and not a queasy consideration of mental image.

"You did dress according to code," Zatanna says. "Not a single gold chain I can see!" And then she reaches forwards, saying as she does, "My God - this does look fancy. What's the occasion? Did you want to -- oh, him?"

"Coo! Coo!" says the bird.

"He's not a magic dove exactly, no," Zatanna says, approaching the cage and picking it up. She turns towards the fire escape door as she opens it up, reaching inside to take firm grasp of the bird who kicks little birdie legs and is then PITCHED outside in a flutter of feathers!

"It'll wear off in ten minutes! Avoid cats! And learn better lines!" Zatanna calls after the bird, before closing the fire escape door afterwards and letting out a sigh.

"So as I was saying, now that we're alone," Zatanna continues, going to set the cage back where it was. "Any particular occasion?"

Batwoman has posed:
Truly, Kate's works are as mighty as they are horrific.

She'd indulge in some lingering smugness over this fact, but instead it's just blinking confusion that overtakes that green stare of hers as she watches Zatanna roughly seize that dove, march it out to the fire exit, and then just lobs the thing out with a dire warning.

Dark lips hang open for three seconds.

"Huh."

Either she witnessed a most cruel and unusual instance of animal cruelty, or--

"I think I'm in love."

--she just witnessed the true power of magic.

"--And I think I need to learn some better lines."

This last line is delivered as Kate runs a hand through that short mane of scarlet red and offers an amused, lopsided smile to the magician. As Zatanna picks up her train of thought, Kate tilts that hand, palm up.

"Does anyone really need a reason to share good drinks with good company?" is her answer, before venturing, "Rosh Hashanah is coming up?" There's a second's stall. "In three weeks?"

That hand hangs in the air for three seconds more before ultimately falling on her knee.

"And I wouldn't mind your help picking at a few problems I've got."

Problems she probably shouldn't speak out loud about in the Iceberg Lounge.

"Would it help if I told you I've been looking for a good excuse to monopolize your personal time a bit, -and- I'm shamelessly willing to sweeten the pot?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna gives Kate a lingering look, enigmatic and glamorous, possibly accidentally so. Her lip quirks up for a moment and she reaches up with one white gloved hand to adjust her top hat.

"I'm honestly ashamed at myself, a little," she continues. "I do that too often, anyway. It's like I said - it wears off pretty quickly, and it makes an impression. He'll probably think it was just a trip or something -- the mind rationalizes events like that pretty well."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"Is it?" Zatanna says, brow furrowing. "Huh." Zatanna, of course, was a good little Catholic girl, even if it's quite likely she only spent a couple of years in the plaid skirt and blazer of legend and lore.

A quick glance at her cuff. "I've got about twenty minutes before final walk through," Zatanna says. "I won't be partaking until after we break the ice -- shit," she mutters, "that's an awful analogy, isn't it. Alright, from the top:"

"I've got about nineteen and a half minutes before final walkthrough; so you'll have to save me some," Zatanna continues, hand on her hip. "But go ahead and pick freely. You'll take my mind off the escape act."