29/Broken Heart

Broken Heart
Date of Scene:	11 April 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	An attempt to steal a graphics card in hopes of getting meds is stopped by Dick Grayson.
Cast of Characters:	Star Shimmer, Nightwing

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Star Shimmer has posed:
How could he do this again! Her father stole her medication again. Its rare he gets his hands on it but on occasion he does. She does still have some but she can feel the pinch already. She's going to need find a way to make some money or else. So, Autumn is out on the streets this evening.

Loudly she sings will playing a guitar as she tries to make some money. Sadly, its very little that she makes. She's been out here for hours and maybe has 20 dollars in her case. Already she feels the pang inside knowing what is going to have to happen. Its going to be a long evening. Quietly she gathers the money and puts her guitar away. She starts walking towards an Electronics store.

Nightwing has posed:
Dick Grayson happened to be shopping in said electronics store at the moment. He's wearing a light jacket over a Gotham Knights jersey and a pair of jeans. His eyes are hidden behind sunglasses and his hair's grown just long enough to be tied into a small ponytail above the shaved sides of his head, his undercut quite stylish and in season.

He's just supposed to pick up a phone charger, but finds himself flicking through titles in the Gaming section. He's not as up on things as some of the younger members of the 'family', having spent most of his youth away from electronic distractions to focus on training. But now that he had enough independence to allot his own time as he pleased, he found he enjoyed the occasional mindless distraction.

He notes the girl's arrival, because he notes everyone's arrival. That's just standard operating procedure. Always be aware of your surroundings.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater quietly makes her way through the store. She knows where she is headed. Its not her first rodeo. If she is going to make enough from this to get more meds delivered, she's going to need much more then 20. Quickly she moves towards the video cards. They are always needed for the gamers and usually hold their value.

Quietly she picks up one, a cheap one and begins looking over the specs on it. Just a normal shopper. Nothing out of the ordinary here. She even makes a little face. Nope Not the one she wants. She goes for a higher priced on. Several hundred dollars actually. She looks over the specs. Just play it cool for now.

Quietly she begins walking, carrying the expensive card with her. Idly she uses a home made tool to remove the security device without getting inked by it. It works. Quickly she slides it into her coat and moves towards the exit at a leasurely pace.

Nightwing has posed:
The girl might not attract notice to most. A clerk, distracted and focused on sales, might not find her behavior immediately suspicious. But Dick does.

She moves at a measured pace, but she browses too quickly. She knows exactly what she wants and doesn't get distracted by potential side purchases or even the blaring, hi-def TVs displaying some girl being far too loud on an afternoon talk show. And she knows where the cameras are, moving just so, in a planned sequence.

By the time she gets near the door, she'll find Dick walking alongside her, keeping pace. His voice is low, measured, not loud enough to draw attention but just loud enough for her to hear, "Fat security guard probably won't notice, but you're easy enough to scope. I get needing the money, but it's not worth the charges," he says.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Well this sucks. She has someone trying to dissuade her from her goal. She shakes her head. She doesn't want to do this but she has to. "Ever hear the phrase, a fate worse then death?" She whispers back as she keeps moving. She does duck off and move into the gaming section. At least she's going to play things cool. Even if she has to sweet talk a guy.

She begins looking over the computer games and just speaks to the guy in a soft tone. "You have no idea how bad things are. Why would I risk charges otherwise? I'm not stupid after all."

Nightwing has posed:
Dick puts his hands in his pockets, "I've known a lot of thieves and, to be honest, most of them are stupid. I just met you. But you stay you're not dumb and I'm inclined to believe you," he says.

"Tell me about the situation. Maybe I can think of another way to help, one that won't risk getting you a juvenile record. I know they seal those, but it follows you more than they let on. It isn't as cut and dry as it is on SVU," he says.

He nods towards the cafe section of the store, a little spot set aside so people can listen to music and have a cup of coffee while considering their purchase. "Have coffee with me. I'll listen. There's no scanner in there, so, once you're there, ten steps and you're out the door, free and clear. Promise I won't chase you or tell the guard," he says. "Deal?"

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater considers her options. That would be a pretty safe bet there. She thinks a moment her gaze going through the glass to the freedom outside. She sighs and nods. "Alright. Lets talk." She quietly moves over to the cafe.

Making her order she moves to take a seat. "you really want to know this huh?" She asks. HEr attention is everywhere. She's half expecting a bunch of security to come breathing down her neck at any time. "I'm transgendered. Born a boy am trying to transition to be a girl. My mom is supportive. My dad is.... A dick. My mom has had me on T blockers since I was 12. Sometimes my dad will find them and steal them. When he does that I have to make money in a hurry to get my medication. Otherwise I will wind up starting puberty and stuff. I tried to make money legally but... I couldn't make enough."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing signals for a waitress, ordering a coffee for each of them as he listens. He pushes his sunglasses up, revealing eyes the color of sky beneath dark brows, his hair pushed back by the black frames. He lets her talk, adding sugar and creamer in shameless abundance before he takes a sip of the light brown concoction that results.

"Hey, now, not all dicks are bad. That's my name, by the way. Dick," he says. "Is there any way your mom can intervene? If he's behaving that way consistently, that's abuse, period. Depriving your kid of medicine isn't okay, whatever his beliefs," he says.

"I imagine there are some charitable foundations that might be able to help, too," he says. He gets out his card and scribbles a bit on it, "The Leslie Tompkins clinic might be able to help. They deal with a lot of at-risk youth," he says, giving the phone number and the address. "She's a doctor, so she might know better ways to help than I do," he says.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater takes a deep breath. "My father hates that I am a transperson. He's been doing all he can to make me into the boy that he's always wanted. I was like 5 when I knew I was different. He forced me to play Baseball and Football. He wanted to basically pound it into to me that I was a boy. He never hit me."

She pauses as she takes a sip of her coffee. She takes a deep breath. "When I started taking blockers it just pissed him off all the more. He hates that I've not grown into his son. So he does all he can to force the issue. I hide my t-blockers from him. If I don't he will take them and flush them down the toilet. My mom can't do anything to stop him. She works opposite shifts from him. So I dunno if it's abuse. Even if it is, I'm a transgendered girl. Most places don't want anything to do with us. Or don't know how to deal with us."

She smiles a little, "I can try that. I just... Time is of the essence. I have just enough medication to get some delivered as I can't exactly go back to the pharmacy. They will think I'm abusing!"

Nightwing has posed:
Dick shakes his head, "Abuse doesn't have to include hitting. You can abuse someone emotionally. Your father needs to learn to love you, not the version of you that he imagined. It can be hard on them sometimes. I lost my father when I was young, but the man who finished raising me - more like an older brother than a father, really - he has the same problem sometimes. He knows who he wants me to be, but forgets that I'm my own person, first and foremost,' he says.

"Before you say no, I really will turn you in if you steal. I get the whole Robin Hood thing, but it's a slippery slope and I'd rather have you get a reprimand than start down a bad path," he says. He reaches into his jacket and draws out his wallet, pulling out a few hundred dollars in cash, sliding it across the table, "Also, you should know, I'm relatively wealthy, so you don't have to feel too bad about putting me out," he says with a crooked grin.

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing says, "If it really bothers you, pretend you picked my pocket."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater nods slowly, "It's just really difficult. I don't want to turn him in you know? He is my father. I do love him. If that makes any sense? I love my family." She sighs. "I Just want to be loved for who I am not who he wishes I were."

She nods, "I figured. It's why I didn't give my name yet." She pulls the package out from her coat. With a slick motion she sends it sailing across the floor so it's sitting on the floor in front of a game display. "There. Not stealing. I don't like doing that anyway. I used to steal more as a means of rebelling. It was stupid I know. Now I just... It hurts people and I don't want to do that."

Then he drops that huge chunk of change. Well Huge to her. She turns red. "Oh umm. Thank you! That is really nice. Umm... I go to high school a few blocks from here. My name is Autumn. Or at least it will be eventually. Thank you. I am going to place the order when I get home." She frowns. "Maybe things will work out in time."

Nightwing has posed:
He nods, 'I hope so. If they don't, the other number on the card is my number. If you're in trouble or feeling cornered, need a place to turn - or just someone to talk to - you can call me. I keep odd hours, so don't worry about the time," he says.

He takes a long sip of his coffee, "I'm glad to hear you're in school, too. I never got to go myself, not to regular school. But it looks kind of fun on television," he says.

"And yeah, I get not wanting to turn him in. But he does need to get his act together, one way or another. I'm glad you have your mom, at least," he says.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater takes a look at the number. "Thank you Dick." She pockets it with the money, stowing them both in a secret internal pocket within her coat to make sure nothing happens. "I will call you if I ever need anything." She smiles softly.

Then school is brought up. She winces a little. "Ummm Yeah School is not anything like what TV shows. I get picked on a lot. Non stop really. Most of the time its non-physical at least. Still it happens and its beyond the generic bully number 3 from tv. Its a form of torture. A sadistic thing that these people do. Thankfully I graduate in a few months so at least that will end. Then I can start on estrogen and really start my transition!" She beams over that one.

"When I get out of school though, I'm going to have to find a job. I'm really good with computers. I can build them, program them, even wrote my own OS based on Linux. Its actually pretty good!"

Nightwing has posed:
Dick nods, "Yeah, I've seen and heard enough of that, too. I'm glad you're finding a way through it. I'm sure it's not easy. Being different never is," he says. It's hard to imagine how he was different - handsome, athletic, well-off. But there's something else there in the way he speaks. Whatever the cause, he's not a stranger to suffering.

"More school would probably be good, too. Maybe technical school, if you're good at computer, like you said," he says. "I know a few people who help out with that kind of thing, too. If you're looking for a scholarship or an after-school program, I can probably hook you up," he says.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater blinks and smiles bright. "Oh that would be awesome! I love working on computers but my passion is music. I'm sorta hoping to maybe do something with that eventually. Still I like Computers too! Talk about being torn! Maybe I should get a bunch of old Floppy drives together and start making music with them!" She laughs a little.

She thinks a little. "I will definitely get in contact with you about that. I mean the big thing is for me to get out of my home. I love my mom and my dad but, I can't afford having my dad try to sabotage my transition. It is dangerous enough doing this stuff without having someone trying to be a jerk about it."

Nightwing has posed:
Dick nods, "I totally get the need to be independent. Sometimes you just have to walk on your own, even if the people who care about you aren't ready to let go," he says. "Just be careful."

"I can't pretend to understand what you're going through, really - it seems like a tough thing, for sure. But it seems like you've got a good head on your shoulders. And I'm glad it isn't a head that'll show up in a mugshot anytime soon."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater laughs, "Hey I've been caught before. I've mostly gotten warnings and such. Nothing to really destroy my future. You know. A little hell raising in my youth!" She laughs a little.

"I think I am going to go to the old folks home tomorrow..." She thinks out loud. "I go there sometimes to sing and play for the old folks. They really like it and it makes them happy. That makes me happy. I've been doing that since we went there to perform at school."

Nightwing has posed:
Dick nods, "That sounds like an excellent idea,' he says. "I'm sure they'll enjoy it."

He grins, "Hellraising's all fine and dandy. I've done my share, that's for sure. But Gotham...I wouldn't want anyone in a Gotham jail who doesn't belong there. And you definitely don't," he says, paying the waitress and tipping her generously.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater smirks, "I've never done anything bad enough to be held. Even here. You seen how much I actively was going to take. Not a whole lot just a single item. My goal has never been to get rich trying to be some sort of master thief. Its always been to just get by."

Then she almost laughs. "You?! Were a hellraiser? Why do I find that hard to believe? You seem too much of the good guy to actually cause trouble."

Nightwing has posed:
He laughs heartily at that, brushing a bit of hair behind his ear, "I'm a good guy, that's for sure, but I haven't always been great at following the rules myself," he says. "One of the keys, of course, is not getting caught," he says with a wink.

"So - music and computers. A much better goal than master thief. The Catwoman doesn't need the competition," he says.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater laughs, "I don't think I'd fill out the cat suit as well as she does anyway." She snickers. "I like music more anyway. At least that doesn't involve whips. Though the goggles are definitely cute! I might have to get a pair of those just for the fashion statement." She snickers.

Quietly she takes a long sip of her coffee. "Mmmmmm They say coffee will stunt your growth, I can only hope! I'm already too talk!"

Nightwing has posed:
He keeps his peace regarding Catwoman's curves, having seen more of them up close than most average citizens. "Goggles are very cool. Steampunk and all that," he says.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Stillwater nods and smiles. Quietly she stands and grabs her guitar. "I think I am going to head out. I need to make that order after all. Then with a smiles she gives a little wave. She almost goes to give him a kiss on the cheek but, damn her dislike of her own body. She sighs and slips out the door. A glance at the item that she slid across the floor would show that the seal had been broken. She could have easily stolen the product right out from inside it without notice. A look inside would show that everything is intact.