1902/A Cat and a Plant Walk Into a Cafe

A Cat and a Plant Walk Into a Cafe
Date of Scene:	09 August 2017
Location:	A cafe near Saint Mary's Park, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Stop me if you've heard this one before... (Catwoman and Poison Ivy meet away from the park she's taking over.)
Cast of Characters:	Catwoman, Poison Ivy

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Catwoman has posed:
"Can I get a selfie with you?"

"No, you can't get a selfie with me. Go. Away. Now."

It's not every day one of Gotham's costumed vigilantes, villains, or other unique individuals is just hanging out in a cafe, but that's what's happened at The Double Shot not far from Saint Mary's Park, and Catwoman is Not Amused. Ivy's the one who asked for this, to meet away from the plant jungle she's made for herself, and Catwoman sure as hell wasn't going to come here as Selina Kyle.

At least the place stayed open late into the night, the number of patrons in the place having dwindled, but the mixture of people who think she's the real deal or just some fake in a store-bought costume has been no small source of annoyance. Maybe they'll clear out once Ivy shows up.

Poison Ivy has posed:
The thing is - Ivy had an in with this place.

And that was obvious from the moment she walked in, wearing a cloak as though it were Renne Faire season. A crimson thing that matched the color of her hair, fraught with fuzzy white trim. But as soon as she steps into the little cafe, her slender leg of green leaving the cloak to lead her into the place, Ivy brings up her hand, pulling the hood of the cloak down.

Almost immeadiately, the owner quickly rushes to the sign behind Ivy, flipping it from 'open' to 'closed'.

At the same time, the waiter barges forward, grabbing the phone of Mr. Selfie and throwing it to the ground, stomping on it with a heel, as the owner calls out. "Alright, we're closed!"

Ivy treats the owner with one of her smiles, as he and the waiter move to push the rest of the clientele out - some mid-meal, and they kinda... move to look at her with open, hopeful eyes. "Wait for me in the back..." she coos to them. And eagerly - they file out to the back room.

Ivy turns her eyes towards Selina, canting her head to the side. "Do you... want anything to eat, Catwoman? Or drink?"

Catwoman has posed:
Apparently that 'in' meant making Catwoman feel irritated at some of the attention prior to the woman's arrival, or maybe that's just a side benefit. Keep her a little off-balance, and Ivy already holds an advantage over her.

When the green woman in the red cloak strides in like she owns the place, it becomes clear just what kind of pull she has on the cafe. People are ushered out, Mr. Selfie begins to complain about replacing his phone before he quickly finds it's in his best interest to shut up and leave, and others move off to await Ivy with loving, optimistic looks on their faces.

"I see how it is now, why you wanted to meet here. Did you want to show off the power you have over them, Ivy?" Catwoman wonders, maintaining a bored expression for herself. She adds, "You seem to know the place well. Any recommendations? Coffee, extra chlorophyll?"

Poison Ivy has posed:
"As I told you before in my grove. I have... people in this place very willing to work for me, hmm?" she says. "Investing a little time and... attention in the community," says Ivy to the empty cafe now. As for what she drinks? "None of this. I usually just take the water. But some of these pastries seem... popular." Behind the counter, Ivy does pull a selection of those pastries from behind the glass, uncaring of the price signs she knocks over in the stead.

Some of the customers were milling about outside, angry at their treatment. Ivy steps towards the windows, closing the blinds. "I doubt this place will stay in business very long, hmm?" she says, her tone almost haughty as she looks towards Selina. Cup of water in her hand, she sits back against the counter, the vines of her costume - beneath the cloak - creaking and twisting around her arms like the living things they were.

"You're not... jealous, are you, Catwoman?" she asks, taking a sip of the water then.

Catwoman has posed:
Scones, muffins, protein bars, and so on. The sort of nibblers one would expect to find at a place like this, and Catwoman rises from her corner table to approach the counter. "I didn't know you fancied playing barista for me, Ivy," she practically coos, playing up her own sultry, confident side in the wake of entering into a situation that could have any number of hidden variables to it.

A banana nut muffin is selected, the tips of her clawed fingers wrapping around it as Ivy goes to shut out the former patrons from watching them. "Compliments of the owner, I'm guessing. You're right, in a way. Too many freebies and it'd be tough for this place to make it, but I have a feeling it's going to go the other way. Once more people hear we were in here, don't you think some will flock back in hope of another sighting? Some people live for that kind of thing, after all. The thrill, the danger of catching a glimpse of you or I."

She grabs a sealed bottle of water for herself, something that couldn't possibly have been tampered with without her knowing. "Jealous of what? That you can practically snap your fingers and have people fawning over you, hanging on every word? I don't need that, Ivy, but I have my ways of wooing someone if I need to."

Poison Ivy has posed:
"He won't protest," says Ivy, her blossoming hair falling over her shoulder. "And don't consider me a barista - but here - this is my home away from home, hmm? And the chefs cook all sorts of treats for themselves, and my guests." Ivy, however, selected nothing but the water. A little bit of amusement on her features as Selina selects the sealed bottle of water, the woman inclining her head to the other.

"Perhaps. I don't care too much, to tell the truth," she says in regards to the fates of the store.

"You don't need animals flocking at your every beck and call? I thought you enjoyed cats, kitten," she says, her dark green lips curling in a pretty smile that manages to look cruel regardless.

Another few moments more. "Do you believe you're being followed today, as well?" she asks, lifting her chin towards the door proper, quirking her head to the side as she watches Selina with her bright green eyes. Apparently, the distrust went both ways - she was watching to see how the Catwoman responded, exactly.

Catwoman has posed:
"No, I don't suppose he will," Catwoman allows as to the owner of the place. Being 'chosen' by someone like Poison Ivy may not be the best thing for one's immediate future. "But if I like this," she says, pointing to the muffin, "I'll want to come back again for another sometime. It'd be a shame if I couldn't."

They remain engaged in small talk, for them, so far. "Oh, I'm all about cats, but you know we're an independent sort. We like to be admired, but we don't require it. Loyal to those we love, but if you wrong us?" She mimes slashing with a hand.

She takes up a spot against the counter, similar to Ivy, in a way of seeing them more on the same level when compared to the thought of her sitting down and having to look up from there. "The Bat has been on my tail for a little while now. He sounds like he'd just love to catch me in the act of stealing something so he can have an excuse. I don't think he cares about me going into a coffee shop. Nothing very expensive in here."

Poison Ivy has posed:
Ivy pauses a few moments. "So it will be very strange indeed if a Robin or something appears again," says Ivy, her eyes narrowing as her smile widens just a touch further. "If the cafe vanishes, there will be others," says the nymph of myth, waving her hand dismissively.

A thoughtful noise at what Selina says soon after, Ivy hooding her eyes for a moment. "Where the plants remain - and feast on what the animals leave behind. But surely I haven't wronged you, have I, Catwoman?"

A handful of moments more, and Ivy takes a sip of her water, slow and sure, her gaze watching the masked features of the other. "...isn't that why you came to my grove the other day? To be certain that wouldn't happen?"

Catwoman has posed:
"I took a hard-to-follow route," is all Catwoman says to the question of them being surprised by an unexpected visitor. "I wasn't trying to hide myself when I approached you before."

She almost daintily tears off a small piece of the muffin and samples it, getting the taste and freshness, while she studies the woman a few feet away from her. "I don't believe you've ever cost me a score, so on that count we have no issue. I have a general respect for nature, as well. I know what would get you rustling with anger there, and I have no reason to go down that path."

Then, a hint of a smile after a sip of water. "But sometimes animals wander into places they shouldn't be. They don't always know better. If you happen to notice any of my little friends getting too curious, I'm sure you can help them find another place to sniff around."

Poison Ivy has posed:
The implication there was not that Catwoman was going to be followed, but that if she was... it would be highly unlikely, unless said Catwoman was working with Robin. But such implications were subtle, perhaps - and Ivy just makes an annoyed sound at the back of her throat.

"You read my mind, Catwoman," says Ivy with a coo. "Animals often wander into the park - stray cats, stray dogs..." Stray people. "...and I'd be glad to nudge the felines along. As a gift to you," she says, her tone of voice light.

"And my own desires and needs are that of my plants - of my grove. Do not lead Joker's thugs in there as Batman did, and do not destroy the plants there. Ideally... I'd get all of you animals to stop destroying my children - for food or for fun. But alas." A beat. "We have to make do with what we can."

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman makes a face and sets rest of the muffin down. "Bland. I sure hope the coffee's better." Maybe she won't be coming back after all. Implications or not, she isn't expecting Robin or anyone else to show up.

"Well, thank you for that much. Contrary to what you may think from the other night, leading anyone in there is not on my list of things to do and I have better ways of spending my time than cutting up plants just to be spiteful," she explains, resting an arm against the countertop, her other hand at her side with the bottle held between a few fingers.

She stays away from getting into the philosopy of plants vs. animals as a food source, instead probing by asking, "That little jungle of yours isn't all you're up to though, is it?"

Poison Ivy has posed:
Ivy pauses a few moments, lifting her chin up a bit to kinda look towards Selina, her eyes narrowed.

"What have you heard?" she asks, accepting the rest of what she says with nary a flinch of expression. "I can say I haven't heard about what sort of capers /you/ are up to, either," she says, curling her fingers skyward, the vine twisting around her palm.

Catwoman has posed:
"Ohhh, things of little consequence, just enough to satisfy me. A diamond here, some gold trinket there. Half the fun is in figuring out the security systems so I can beat them," Catwoman boasts, making a show of buffing her claws against a collarbone.

She follows up with, "Nothing more than rumor and hearsay so far, and while those are fun to wonder about there's not a whole lot to them. But, I've read about some of your past work from the news reports. You did a few things for Wayne Enterprises, didn't you?"

Poison Ivy has posed:
Another few moments, and Ivy lets the words linger in the air in silence, lifting her chin up as she gazes out of the bottoms of her eyes towards Catwoman. "There is something to be said for cleverness - rather than the brute force my plants and I sometimes use to accomplish our goals," she says.

A beat, and the edges of her lips lift up in a grin.

"I certainly hope I never have something you want enough to steal from me."

The last things said, however, chase that grin away from her lips. "Yes... in another lifetime. Why do you wish to know?"

Catwoman has posed:
"I don't do the whole minion thing. No gangs for me. No profits to spread around," Catwoman notes. "And I enjoy a good challenge, but unless you start hoarding cats I doubt I'll be sneaking into your garden to find a prize."

She returns just enough of a smile to suggest a possible double meaning there, but it could be nothing. It could just be an attempt to draw a reaction from Poison Ivy before she goes on to another, more serious matter, her demeanor shifting to match Pamela's.

"No matter how much we change, nothing fully erases our pasts. They're a large part of what makes us who and what we are. I'd understand if you were looking for revenge against Wayne Enterprises, maybe even Bruce Wayne himself. I probably would if I were in your...vines, or bark, or whatever." She gestures toward the woman's choice of attire. "Just saying."

Poison Ivy has posed:
"Mmmn... how much do you think I pay my minions, dearest Catwoman?" says Ivy, canting her head to one side. Still, her normal casual sultryness might be blunted by the fact that she was still a bit on edge from what Selina said earlier. Another sip of water, and Ivy sets it on the counter of the little cafe.

Although the little double meaning draws a snaky grin from her.

"Bruce Wayne is... certainly a problem," she says. "I won't turn down a chance to hurt him, but I'd like to think it would be more than revenge - more to strike back against his company, and the destructive nature of some of his enterprises."

Another moment. "Are you planning on robbing him?"

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman considers this, a finger idly toying with the ring fashioned into the zipper that's drawn up to her neck. She teases at it further, the zipper sliding down an inch, then back up. "That depends on what they are to you. I know Joker would kill one of his just as soon as look at him, so I don't know what they get out of it unless the money's great or they need a thrill in their lives. You? I know you can twist someone around your finger so firmly that he'd do anything for you, get nothing in return for it, and think it was great. But, that isn't really my business, is it?"

She pushes away from the counter, sauntering her way toward one of the drawn window blinds to have a peek through a small gap in order to see how many people are still gathered outside before she glances over a shoulder, shiny and black. "I know he and his company don't have the finest of reputations in all circles. The corporate world can be even more ruthless than the one we live in."

Then, a rather playful smile forms. "If he had something I wanted, stealing from Bruce Wayne himself might be the biggest caper of all."

Poison Ivy has posed:
Ivy keeps her eyes on Catwoman's own features - the moving zipper not detracting from her gaze one bit. A little smirk dances across her lips at that. "Do you really, really want to know what I think of them?" She does say it isn't really her business, and Ivy accepts this with a flick of her hair.

Most of the crowd had dispersed, but. "If you're concerned, they'll let you out the back. Just say you're with me, hmm?" says Ivy. With a flick of her wrist, she upends her bottle of water into the pastry window, giving her wrist a little flick then.

And she turns her eyes towards Selina proper.

"Bruce Wayne is a playboy and worthless himself. The man was given money and priviliege, and has wasted it his entire life," she says, lips pursing.

Another moment. "If you are wanting to steal something from the man, and I can help... I'm in."

Catwoman has posed:
"Allow me a guess first. They're pawns, expendable as you see fit. Am I close?" Catwoman /thinks/ she knows Ivy well enough to offer up such a hypothesis. "I know you don't think much of the human race in general. You've already made that pretty clear. There are a few, hm, good apples out there, though."

Finished with her inspection of the other side of the window, she waves off the idea of concern. "Not worried about it. They won't try anything, and even if they did? I doubt any of them could lay a finger on me."

The assessment of Bruce Wayne leaves her to stand there quietly for a few extra moments, a thoughtful look in her expression, the fake ears built into her hood possibly coming off as more attentive than usual. "Mmm. I'm still deciding what I think about him. If the day does come where I'm in the mood to help myself to something of his, I'll keep that offer in mind. For now? We seem to be in agreement about cats and plants, so it might be best we don't linger too long just in case I'm still rusty with the whole 'being followed' thing. What do you say, Ivy? Good talk?"

Poison Ivy has posed:
Ivy doesn't quite answer to Selina's guess, but the way her smile sparks a little wider might be a clue there.

"Good talk," she agrees, bringing up a hand to brush through her own hair. "I hope our next meeting is just as... fruitful," says the woman, starting to step towards the back room again.