4265/Returning Lost Things

Returning Lost Things
Date of Scene:	13 April 2018
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Cassandra returns Steve's sketchbook that she had taken without permission. The two talk for a time about the images within.
Cast of Characters:	Batgirl (Cain), Captain America

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Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    There were some lines that were very distinct for people. To other people, they were absent. Or just a little blurry. Theft was one of those lines. Theft for the sake of gain was wrong. Theft for the sake of obtaining information? Blurry line. At least, that's what Cassandra had learned in her life. Even before joining Batman on the streets of Gotham, she had known that information was key. To get it, that line had to be smudged.
    That's what she kept telling herself. She knew she shouldn't have taken the sketchbook from the Avengers Mansion when she left. Some compulsion drove her to slip it into her messenger bag on the way out to the front door. She had thought it might give her insight into the man that had her so confused. It had done that but it created more questions instead of really answering any of them.
    What she did know is Steve Rogers was very different from anyone she had ever met. His body language showed that what he presented was him. Pure and simple. No deceit, no games. Just a good man. It was refreshing and had the young woman dumbfounded and a bit obsessed to understand how he could even exist.
    She had headed for the Avengers mansion, intending to return the book with an apology. But when she was almost there, she had seen a couple of them leaving. He apparently had plans to be at a location later in the day. Rather than deal with more than one Avenger at a time, she opted to wait. The morning wore into afternoon and at the appointed time, she was lounging in the park, waiting. She was dressed down in her civilian clothes, much like the night she'd gone to the mansion with the samples. Sweatpants, tank top. hoodie over the top of it. Cap, sunglasses. Her messenger bag was slung across her torso from shoulder to opposite hip, the sketchbook safely inside.

Captain America has posed:
    The man known as Captain America is good at what he does. Over his time as an operative he's been able to pick up a tail pretty quickly, to make someone trailing him have to jump through veritable hoops to have to maintain that contact. Only a few of his comrades are better at it than he is, but he's definitely no slouch. But the woman known as Cassandra Cain could show ninjas a thing or two.
    When he had left the mansion it was on the back of an old motorcycle that despite its age seemed to be maintained by a practiced hand. It roared to life and carried him off onto the streets of Manhattan. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and had a black motorcycle helmet on, blue jeans. Wherever he was going was somewhere informal most likely. Traffic was enough that she likely could track him but she'd have to take to the rooftops to cut across and keep up with the vehicle when the light would change, considering she was without the aid of her grapple line...
    But thankfully he wasn't going somewhere too terribly far away. It was to Riverside Park in the shadow of the U.N., a beautiful touch of green in the city with several rows of trees providing shade on this day, a day that felt like for the first time the true coming of Spring.
    After he parked and swung his leg off of the vehicle, he doffed his helmet and left it on the motorcycle. A moment was taken for him to pull his sunglasses from his jacket pocket and then he puts on his Dodgers baseball hat. Once that's done and sufficiently 'incognito' he starts to walk across the way. At first it might be hard to tell who he was meeting there.
    Would it be a clandestine meeting with a super spy?
    Could it be a stern negotiation with a renegade agent?
    No. The group of people he was walking over towards were the twelve kids of Boy Scout Troop 182 who were there, waiting for him, with their Scout Master...
    Tony would have a field day.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    It had been touch and go there. She'd lost him at least twice. If she hadn't been on the rooftops, he likely would've spotted her in the traffic trying to keep up. Yet somehow, she managed to get to street level just as he was parking. She let him enter the park first. It wasn't too big and she would trail back far enough he hopefully wouldn't be suspicious.
    Besides, she needed the time to cool down a little after that chase. When he started to approach a group, she found a park bench in the shade and settled down. She put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and relaxed. When he was done with what he was doing, she'd approach him.
    Boy scouts. She knew what they were though she didn't understand /what/ they were or the significance for Captain America. Maybe he was just doing a public appearance for the kids? That would make sense. A lot of the Avengers did things like that. Justice League too. Not so much her group. Half the time, they were still considered to be urban legends. Just a story criminals told each other as a fear enducer. Or just to try and mess with the new guy on the squad.
    Nothing to do but wait. With her mentor, she'd had a lot of training doing that.

Captain America has posed:
    From her place afar she'd see him walking up and introducing himself to the scout master. The other man was positively ecstatic but did a good job of keeping his cool amongst the children. But she could see the tale his body language was weaving, it's something she perhaps hasn't seen before. The way some people look on him and the way they seem to light up. There's a handshake and she can read that for his part Cap... is enthused to be there.
    The kids come running up and Steve takes off his glasses. He kneels and meets each one of the kids, shaking their hands and greeting them with all the same enthusiasm. She's seem people in public, famous people, doing the meet and greet and handshake.
    But Captain America is perhaps one of the first ones she has seen to actually mean it when he tells each of them how great it is to meet them.
    He laughs as he talks to one of the kids and the scout master laughs with him. Another he smiles to and when the kid seems to have the sniffles he'll grab a kleenex out of his pocket and encourages him to blow his nose. He even goes so far to help one kid adjust his neckerchief back in place.
    All told it's perhaps forty minutes, forty-five or so spent there. The scout master presents them with some badges and Steve signs them. Once they're done the kids laugh and salute and wave, even as they're shuffled off back towards their event van, though most are still waving and looking over their shoulders with every few steps.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    At first, Cassandra intended to only track him with peeks or peripheral views. But when she saw that body language, it wasn't long before she was staring openly at the greetings.
    Most times she had seen celebrities, it had been at events where the Bat Family was on high alert because something was going to happen. Television wasn't much of a reference for her. She didn't like it because it was just all fake. Everything. Even the people telling the news were fake with their stories but their bodies saying other things. The horrible situation that happened, but their bodies happy or even amused. Movies were mostly the same. There were very few she had seen where the person who was acting in the role was able to chnage themslves enough for her to believe what they were saying. It wasn't worth the effort.
    This is why Steve Rogers fascinated her. He meant what he was saying. He did care about the kids and was excited to get to meet them. He was glad to be able to spend time with them and answer questions.
    Some other heroes were that way. Others? Not so much.
    When he finally was waving goodbye to them, she rose from the bench and started to walk in his direction. Her hand went into the messenger bag and she pulled out the sketchbook to have it in hand when she moved into his line of sight.

Captain America has posed:
    For a time Steve stood there with his hands on his hips, giving a small wave as the kids rush off and he even waits to return what waves they send to him while they're driving off in the van. He gets a faint smile and shakes his head, then starts to walk off down the sidewalk, heading towards where he parked his motorcycle.
    But then he'll see her and she'll see that subtle hitch in his step that anyone else would miss but signals his recognition of her. His head tilts minutely to the side and his eyes drift over her as if searching for weapons or the like, but then catch the sketchpad at her side. It's at that moment... that the smile comes.
    It's a bright thing, warm and inviting, and as he draws close he starts to say. "Oh hey you found my..." But he catches himself and she can also read the sudden shift in his thoughts. It's unlikely she 'found' his sketchpad. And as he makes that connection she can witness the palpable change to his demeanour as abruptly suspicion, tinged with... disappointment? Both of them rear their ugly heads.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    She's a fighter. She's been hit many times. As soon as she could walk, she was being trained in hand-to-hand combat, thanks to some twisted idea her father had. As a little girl, she'd been struck by grown men. She hadn't realized then how it was wrong. Even now, she was in fights on a nightly basis. It wasn't as often that she got hit but there was no way anyone could fight without ever getting tagged once in a while. Even as good as she was.
    The way his body language changed felt just like a fist to the gut.
    It shouldn't matter. This man really meant nothing to her in the grand scheme of things. He was just someone she'd met. Yet somehow, the idea that she disappointed this beacon of goodness made her feel about an inch tall. If that high.
    She offered the sketchbook to him first. When he accepted it, then she quickly signed. <Took it. Was wrong. Sorry. Wanted...> She paused, not sure how to explain it then she just put the words out there that were in her head. <To know you.>
    That was like a giant monologue from the girl for anyone who knew her.

Captain America has posed:
    That suspicion is still there. She can see it in the way his head is turned just enough so as to look at her slightly more with his right eye instead of his left. The way his weight is balanced evenly between his two feet and the slight tension in his knuckles. Nothing conscious, it's all in that silent language she has to herself. Yet she can read so much in it.
    But as he accepts the sketchpad he looks at it and she can see that touch of relief to him. The confusion is there when he looks up and he follows the movements of her hands, the way she signs out that seemingly small handful of words yet a testament for her.
    He takes a breath and gives a nod, the confusion shifting away from wariness but remaining there even as he lightly flips through the book then tucks it under his left arm.
    His smile comes and it might be like a faint glimpse of daylight as he tells her, "Well... you could have asked." And with that, absolution.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    That earns a look of complete confusion. Ask? And he'd just answer? Tell about himself so that she would know more? It's the opposite of everything that Cassandra is used to. She's in a world of secrets and acting in roles. She is one of the only people in the Manor who doesn't have to play another version of herself. All the others are their costumes and their secret identities. If asked questions, they lie or omit information. It's a necessity. She doesn't see it as wrong. They do good because of their roles. They would not be able to be vigilantes if people knew who they really were. They'd have to deal with prosecution at the worst and the constant judgement of others at the least.
    She had it easy, relatively. She didn't exist. So it wasn't a problem for her. At least not on any official records anywhere. Certainly some fake ones would be created for her when the time came that she needed them. But for now, she was a non entity and she was fine with that.
    The idea that he would just have answered her questions seems wrong. Crazy. Besides, where would she start. She gives a brief nod and tucks her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. So much for conversation. She's still not asking those questions.

Captain America has posed:
    For a moment or two he's sort of looking at her, one angle, the other. Then he smiles and says to her, "Want to get a hot dog? I could go for a hot dog. I'm starving." He tells her even as he starts to walk forwards and then he pauses when they're next to the old stone and concrete park bench, just a few dozen feet from the vendor.
    He reaches for his wallet even as he turns back towards her and gives a nod, "Here, what do you want?" He asks her as he seems to take his own sort of read of her and says, "No wait, let me guess." That said he starts to turn around... but then he looks back and his smile is warm as he extends the sketchpad back to her.
    "Here, will you hold this for me?" He asks of her with that gentle smile, that tells her he's willing to trust her again, if she'll take the risk.
    But then he turns to move off the rest of the way back towards the vendor.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    As he asked about getting a hot dog, Cassandra just automatically fell into step with him. Then he stopped and she pulled up short. Fired off the question. Before she could even shrug, because she had no idea what she might want from the vendor, he was already moving on and starting that direction.
    She glanced to the side then caught the motion of something and looked back as he extended the sketchbook. Her eyes went wide behind her sunglasses. Why in the world would he let her hold it again? What if she just took it and didn't bring it back this time? What if she disappeared, which the Bats were so good at doing when they were done with their business? But no, he genuinely believed she would simply hold it. That she would wait.
    Even though he couldn't read her body language, he was right. She took it and pulled it up against her chest, wrapping her arms around it almost in a hug as she watched him head off to the vendor's stand. As she waited, she glanced down at the book and considered looking inside it one more time but then she glanced back to him and realized that would be pushing her luck. Just hold it and prove herself.

Captain America has posed:
    With his back to her and as he stands in line at the hot dog vendor, he doesn't look back. She can read that trust there, that way of telling her that he perhaps knows that the one moment of weakness was a fluke, and that if she'll take on that burden then he'll let her carry it. Some people might not ascribe such merit to that action, but she can read it in the way he allows himself this. As well as allows it of her.
    It only takes a little bit, two, three minutes perhaps. Then she'll see him turn around and he's carrying a pair of hot dogs in one hand and a pair of water bottles in the other. Normally that wouldn't seem like such an ordeal, but it's when she sees exactly how overflowing with toppings the hot dogs are that she might understand the trepidation with his steps as he tries not to let any of it fall.
    And then he's back at the bench and offering her the bottles as well as the mass of napkins. "Here we go." He takes a seat, offers her one of the dogs and then leans forwards and rests his elbows on his knees. For a little bit of time he looks out over the river, the water lapping at the storm wall gently. Eventually he'll take a bite.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    When he returns, Cassandra carefully sets the sketchbook back in her messenger bag so it doesn't get messed up. Especially when she sees the hotdogs. What in the world is all that stuff on top of them? She's used to a normal hotdog. Not that she eats them very often. They aren't really a staple in Wayne Manor. But they've had cookouts and that's when the hot dogs show up. Only, she usually has them with a few condiments and that's it. This thing has condiments and chili and cheese. It's piled up high and leaking out the edges. The pile of napkins are accepted happily.
    She watches him take a bit of his own then realizes he actually believes these are edible. She examines hers critically a moment longer then shrugs and takes a tiny bite. Shockingly, it's excellent. She takes her time eating, using the napkins often since it is such a mess.
    She never speaks. So doesn't sign either, since her hands are full. The meal is passed in silence but it isn't uncomfortable. At least, from her side. She doesn't think he is either. They simply are, sharing the space as they watch the water and enjoy their meal.
    After she is done, she cracks open the water bottle and downs about a third of it to wash down her lunch.

Captain America has posed:
    It's the easy sort of silence when there really isn't a need for anything to be said. Just two people passing the shared moment together and with the spectacle of nature before them to watch. He eats somewhat slowly, though. Taking his time as he occasionally looks over and gives a nod as if to ask her silently, 'It's good, right?' But the smile is there to tell her that he knows it's good and she can read it in his manner.
    It's only after he's finished the last bite and crunched up the garbage that he says to her, "You know, if I'm going to run into you now and again, I should probably call you something that won't draw so much attention as your codename." He extends a hand, offering to take her garbage as well even as he rises to his feet.
    "How about, Beegee?" He asks of her even as he tosses the trash... but then his cellphone buzzes and he draws it from his pocket to swipe his thumb across its surface and peruse the text message.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    When he offered, she passed over her own trash after making sure it was crumpled up with no leaky edges. She's going to have to ask Alfred to get those kinds of hotdogs. With the chili and cheese. It was really very good and she would be willing to have those more often.
    She isn't sure what a Beegee is. It isn't a word she knows. His body language doesn't explain it either. It's just her apparently. She is a Beegee. She gives a shrug, to say she isn't really worried about it but follows with a nod of approval. It isn't a bad word or his body language would give it away. It's just a word that means her.
    As he takes out his phone, she checks to make sure her fingers have no residue from the meal. All good. She takes the sketchbook out of the bag and sets it on her lap, waiting for him to finish what he is doing so she can give it back.
    Despite her good intentions from earlier, she finds herself opening it.
    Then she flips the cover over along the way of the top spiral and the first image is there. It's an abstract thing in part, at least it must be as the most prominent part seems to be an ethereal drawing of a man in uniform's profile. Like a ghost he stands above an old cemetery that seems to have rows upon rows of white tombstones. His legs seem to fade invisible before they would touch the ground and the distant line of trees are visible through his silhouette.
    But at the bottom right corner of the sketch is some handwriting. It just says, 'S. Rogers' and its signed with a date several years past.

Captain America has posed:
    << From Tony Stark: MOLL1 just went through the security footage. Batgirl stole your sketchbook. >>
    For a few moments he takes a bit of time hunting and pecking out his response to the message that was on the phone. If she glanced his way she might see the curious consternation as he replies to that text, but it's tinged with a slight hint of amusement even as his reply is sent winging its way back towards the man who calls himself Iron.
    << I sort of already know. Thanks though. It's resolved. >>
    Which almost immediately flashes back with an image of Tony doing finger guns as if he was saying, 'I got you fam.'
    But once that's done he replaces the phone and looks back at her, "Sorry about that." He's already saying even before he retakes his seat. But then he'll look to the side and his eyes fall upon the sketchbook that she's perusing. At the sight of that first sketch he furrows his brow and then he looks to her sidelong. For a moment he chews the inside of his cheek, but well, he did say he'd tell her if she asked. Perhaps this was how she was asking.
    "He was a friend. I'd thought I lost him. A long time ago. I drew that when I was in Arlington."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    For most people, Arlington would have meaning. Cassandra isn't one. She doesn't know about the place where soldiers are laid to rest. She does read him, watches his reaction to the image. She had wondered if it was someone that he cared about. Now she knows. A friend. But he only thought he lost him?
    She lays the sketchbook on her lap so the page is visible then brings up her free hands to ask the question. It's a single word but it is more the way she communicates. No wasted words, no extra prattle.
    <Thought?> She tilts her head to the side after she signs it, since by the way he said it the friend was not lost.

Captain America has posed:
    His lips part with a small hint of a sigh as he then says, "Long story," But his smile is there and she can read that he said she could ask... and when he says he's going to do something, he tries to do it. One hand lifts up as if trying to push away his own objections as he tells her. "A long time ago we fought together, in the war."
    Steve turns to the side so he can face her, meeting her eyes levelly with his own blue ones as he imparts to her the tale of himself and the Winter Soldier. "We grew up together, best friends, long time pals." He furrows his brow and looks down. For her he is a man that is utterly effortless to read, there's no subterfuge to him, no dissembling. The hesitation is all from choosing the right words, from giving merit to the time that was.
    "He stuck by me through the worst times in my life. And then we both went to war. But there was a time I thought he had died. After a mission. Lost him." He shakes his head, "But some evil men had gotten hold of him. And it was only... well it seems like it was just yesterday that myself and some others... we were able to help him. He's back now. But the time he spent under their influence was hard on him."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    As she listens. Cassandra is watching his movements. He cared a lot for the man in the picture. Pals. Odd word. She knew it was the same as friends but different. Especially the way he said it.
    She found herself pleased that he had found the man again. That they were reunited. When he mentioned the evil man and the influence, something in Cassandra clicks.
    She's been there. Controlled by an evil man, doing the things that were expected of her. She was turned into a killer. She glanced down at the picture then reached up to take off her sunglasses. She folded them, sticking them in the pocket of her hoodie. Then she glanced at the man next to her. She signed a single word as she looked at him, letting him see her face and her eyes for the first time. Those dark eyes are much older than her actual physical age, showing that her life hasn't been anything easy. <Also.> She doesn't explain how she means it. It could easily be taken as she lost someone and found them.
    Then she looks back to the page, flipping it over on that little spiral at the top. She goes to the one that is the most telling in the book, the one at the far back almost hidden.
    This one, she'll see, looks like it may have been worked on for a time longer even than the first.
    The pencil strokes are light, the sketch having been shaded, lined, a small touch of ink marks some of the outlines of the pieces that he may have judged being just right. At first it might look like just a man with his back to the artist. A man seated on what looks like a piano stool or a short seated one. But he's a man dressed almost like a circus performer. His costume is a little loose upon his body, not very flattering though it's clear he's a tall muscular man with his back to the observer. He's seated in front of an easel and in one hand he has an ink quill with which he seems to be drawing on a large canvas. Yet he's leaning to the side in that costume, the stripes and the star on it outlined clearly. He's peering around the side of the easel and looking... into a mirror.
    It's in that mirror's reflection where she'll see the costumed man looking back. Captain America, like one might have seen him in the 40s. Those wings upon his cowl and the look on his face somewhat skeptical as if he still didn't entirely buy the whole mess. But what that figure has drawn on the canvas... it isn't the man in the costume.
    Instead it's a blonde man with that same skeptical look. But he's wearing just a dress shirt of blue and brown pants, perfectly mirroring the man in the mirror save that instead of Captain America. It's just a man.

Captain America has posed:
    As she gestures to herself he watches and it's clear he's perhaps not following along, not entirely at the least. But on some level she seems to be sharing some level of... connection or kinship with the image of Bucky. He cants his head the other way as he looks to her and then says, "People did things to his mind, tried to hurt him... made him hurt other people." He shakes his head and frowns, "War can be horrible."
    That statement hangs there for a time as he looks away, but then his eyes return to her as she flips through the pages. That is until she settles on that one.
    "Ah," For a moment Cap looks at her again and she can see a hint of that wariness again, even as Steve's features might colour slightly. After all... a self-portrait is something of an indulgement, isn't it? But he looks away, a little embarrassed as he shakes his head and looks upon the river..
    "That's just a... sort of Norman Rockwell thing. Homage. I suppose. Self-portrait. But I don't know." Everything he says is mirrored almost perfectly by his manner, the forthrightness of him, the calm, the hint of being a little embarrassed. He takes a breath and looks back to her, "I've been told that it's hard to look at yourself and be entirely happy."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Maybe not the same. She wasn't created in war. She was simply a tool. A weapon. She was used to hurt other people. Still, perhaps it wasn't so much the same after all. She'd have to understand more and Cassandra wasn't sure that was a conversation she wanted to continue. It was emotional for the man next to her and she didn't want him feeling sadness.
    Her perspective differs from hers so she doesn't understand why he would be embarassed at the image. The idea of it being perhaps a vanity to draw it is not a concept she would understand. She notices the hint of color staining his skin, the tilt of his head and the shifting of his eyes to the side.
    She brings a finger down toward the image, pointing at the man on the canvas in the picture. Steve. Then she points to him. Then to the Captain on the stool with the paintbrush in hand with a negative shake of her head. He sees himself as the one, not the other. The words aren't there. She doesn't know how to say it. <Real. You.> She points to the Steve image again.

Captain America has posed:
    Twisting the cap off of the bottle of water, Steve looks towards her even as he lets his eyes drift past her. It might seem he's looking towards the steady foot traffic of the people wandering the park near them, but really his attention is focused off on the distance. On memories. Searching for the words that are proper to put his feelings together.
    "Sort of. Maybe?" Those don't help at all. But he gets a crooked half-smile as he looks back towards her, "When I did..." He touches a hand to his chest and then gestures to the side as if trying to signify everything... the entirety of the time that passed for him, the war, the adventures, the battles. "It sort of felt like for the longest time my life was on hold, treading water. Then I met professor Erskine..." The name perhaps means nothing to her but she can tell by his manner that he is a man that holds Steve's esteem. "And since then it feels like I'm not in a holding pattern, but that ever since then I've been... running. Just all the time."
    He scrunches up one eye and he smiles a little more, "It's hard to explain. But it's just... even with everything..." He gestures with a nod to the picture, "I still feel like that guy just trying to keep his head above water."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    She watches him closely as he begins to explain. Every nuance. Each micro movement. All the details that make him uniquely him. For her, it all comes together and makes sense. Even then, he was a man who wanted to make a difference. Before he became the man in the costume. That part, she doesn't know the details of. Professor and such. How he became what he is. Those are details she's never learned. Perhaps if she had a way to do so without others knowing, she might try. But that would require asking Oracle. She's not sure Babs would understand why she wanted to know about him. Just because he came to the city on his search for the bad guys isn't a reason for Cassandra to suddenly wonder about his history. After all, she's never wondered about any of the other visitors to Gotham.
    Things would get awkward. Mostly because she didn't understand it herself. She just knew she liked being around him.
    She gives a bright smile and a little nod, showing she understands what he's getting at. She takes a moment to look at the picture again. It isn't necessary. It's already commited to her memory. Then she carefully starts to close it when she thinks of one more picture she wants to ask about.
    It's self-inddulgent to do so and she frowns, not sure she should even bother. But he told her to ask what she wanted. She turns to another page.
    For it was her.
    Oh not her face, the one she would see if she looked up towards the mirror in her room. Nor would it even be the one that she would see if she were wearing her costume and reflected on the masked face that she presents to the world. This was her as he remembered her in the moment when he first met her. The her that was barely a silhouette in the dark. It was a study in shadow, the way he drew the dimly lit room and the way she had dropped from the ceiling. Not from his point of view, perhaps drawn from what he imagined the first man she struck must have seen...
    For it was a perfect view of her from the front, her features of the mask perhaps exaggerated. The bat 'ears' were perhaps too long, and her face was so sharp and angular. But it was those eyes, the stitched eyes that seemed to hold such an intensity in them. Not depicting her like some sort of creature of the night. But a shadowy figure. And a woman.
    Not that she was objectified. Nor accentuated. It was simply that with those dark colors of shadow he had the sleek line of her lithe body as she struck at that first man with that flying kick. It was as if she was a force of nature or an angel that had dropped down from on high.
    Yet that image seems to have been the focus of much trial and error, there are eraser marks at points, worn areas where he must have strove for the right angle. It must have taken a time and it's clear he wasn't entirely happy with it... because his name isn't signed. Perhaps it was something he was still working on.

Captain America has posed:
    A small exhalation of a laugh slips from him and he shakes his head again, looking away. He crinkles up one eye as he looks back to her and Steve says, "To be fair, I've not been in Gotham too often. Just a few trips, usually passing through. Never at night." He leans forwards and only then takes a sip of the bottle of water. His brow knits then he looks back to her, "There was something about the costume, and the approach that you and I imagine the Bat affect. It does trigger a sort of instictive... fear?"
    He places he cap back on the bottle and screws it on with a few twists of his wrist. But then he crinkles his nose and turns his head away once again. "Though, mainly I made it to remind myself that when you lead with your left foot you drop your right fist. Just a small bad habit. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get better with time."
    Maybe Cap's decent at reading some people as well, since he knows that might well have an impact on her, having read that... /pride/ she has in her and the Bat. When his blue eyes meet hers she can see the gleam there. Oh he's making light, perhaps as 'teasing' as a man like Steve Rogers can be, but then again... seems like he also believes he's telling the truth.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    For the first part of his explanation, all was well with Cassandra's world. The costume did exactly what it was supposed to. It did evoke a response. Throw in their reputation and it was a powerful combination. It was a pleasure to hear that from someone on the outside who wasn't the bad guy. Since they mostly swore a lot. Unless they were unconscious. She preferred them the latter so they didn't run their mouths. She happened to be very good at putting them in that state.
    But then he continued and she sat bolt upright then lifted the skethbook up to look at the image more closely. He had indeed drawn it the way he described. He believed she had done so.
    She knew he was wrong. She did not drop her fist unless she was preparing for an additional strike using that hand as a follow up. For him to think that it was an earror and that she wouldn't be able to stopo anything coming her way. He had to have lost his mind.
    She frowned a bit as she flipped the sketchbook closed, having one of those moments where she wished she could babble off an explanation of why he was wrong and she was right. She couldn't.
    She laid the book down on her lap then turned a bit to face him more fully. Her hands came up and there was a defiant flash in her dark eyes. She signed two words.
    <Try me.>

Captain America has posed:
    "Hey," Steve's smile is still there, tinged with a hint of a laugh. "I could be wrong, you know." He leans forwards a touch as if it's clear that he's willing to entertain that possibility, but that he still does sort of believe it. After all, Cap has seen a good number of fights in his time and has trained with a lot of experts. Perhaps almost as many as her. "I just..."
    He touches a hand to her fists and gently pushes them down, lowering his head slightly as if trying to defuse the situation. "Had the chance to watch for that bit while you took down those guys. I saw it a few times. But hey... it was dark." That tone of voice he's willing to entertain the idea that he's wrong, he's even going out of his way to make good while he draws his hands back and turns slightly to face her more directly. "Maybe I didn't see it as clearly as I thought..."
    Then he looks down at the sketchpad and then back up into her eyes. "Or maybe you were compensating for something?" And the way he says those things, he perhaps thinks they'll be enough to take away the umbrage he must have given. So it's clear he perhaps doesn't know her very well. Do he?

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    He's trying to be nice. Trying to have her not so annoyed. She can read that much. Yet, she can also read that he believes what he first saw. She is dropping her guard in fights, often enough that it stands out like a sore thumb. At least, to him. He's willing to listen to her explanations. But he really thinks he's right.
    She wants to prove him wrong. Cassandra isn't sure how to do that. Except in the way she just did. If they fought, he'd be able to see that she wasn't dropping. Was she? No! She most definitely was not!
    When he suggests she was compensating, she raises a hand and points at him, a triumphant look on her face. See! She was right.
    Still, she wants to get him on the mats to prove that she knows plenty. She's not egotistical about her skills. She knows there are people out there better. Her pride has been hurt a little though, especially now that she can see it in that image, forever captured so that anyone seeing it will see her flaw.

Captain America has posed:
    Steve keys into some of that, though he definitely gets the sentiment even as she motions towards the sketchbook and he opens his hands in that direction as if trying to present it as evidence. "It's not... necessarily bad." He laughs again and for some reason this objection sort of tickles his sense of humor. He shakes his head and looks away, then lifts a hand to the back of his neck rubbing awkwardly. "You could be trying to draw them in in case there was someone there that could pick up on that. Like me. Maybe it's an elaborate subtle trap?"
    Which hey that might go some distance to settling the ruffled feathers of the Batgirl. But then he adds as if knowing it might get her goat just a little bit. "Even though at the end there it was still a bit low after everyone was knocked out." But this time he's ready for her growly response to his statement of what he perceives as fact and he shifts a little to the side in case she aims to thwok him in the arm.
    But perhaps at the first objection he'll lean over, "But look it's... not a bad image. It's a strong confident woman, nobody could doubt that. Right?" He asks that of her then adds, "Beautiful in its own way?"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    She looks down at the sketchbook and frowns some more. Epic levels of grumpy here. She is already running through moves in her head, trying to analyze and see if he could by some insame random thing be right. Because he can't be. She'd have noticed that. The others would have. Batman would've taken advantage of her and struck through that opening. Unless she was just doing it enough but returning to ready before they could get through. She does have some serious speed.
    He leans closer as she's staring at that picture and gives the final words. Cassandra goes still as a statue. Most definitely she's a strong, confident woman. She's had to be. She was one of those before she was even of age. But it's the last words that have her heart thundering and her eyes widening.
    Beautiful? That isn't what she would think of looking at that picture. It's the bat image, using that primal fear some people have to their advantage. How can he call it beautiful? Her? Beautiful? That furrow of her brow returns. She tilts her head slightly as she tried to look at the image critically, to see what he was seeing.
    She turned to look at him, that obvious confusion there that she might be complimented in such a way. Of course, without language, it could be taken as confusion from anything he'd said and not just that last bit.

Captain America has posed:
    The small smile given to her is warm but it's clear that he isn't getting the entirety of her message. He can just read the confusion and the remaining hints of grumpiness. "It's probably not a big deal." He says, probably referring to the low right. But then he's standing up, getting to his feet and tossing his empty bottle of water into the trash can nearby.
    For a moment he looks between the sketchpad in her lap and her, his blue eyes meeting her gaze as that smile remains. "Hey, why don't you do me a favor?" He gives a nod as he adjusts the hang of his jacket with the sweep of one hand then shifts his weight to the other foot as he turns. She can read in his stance he's getting ready to depart, perhaps getting set to return to the responsibilities this small outing allowed him to shirk.
    "You keep hold of that for me," He nods to the sketchpad, "I'll work in another one and maybe after a while we can meet up again and compare how I've gotten better or worse. Alright?"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    As he starts getting ready to leave, Cassandra rises to her feet. She needs to get back to Gotham. Before anyone notices she's missing.
    Who's she kidding? Batman will have noticed. He notices everything.
    She is holding the pad in her right hand and about to offer it when he makes the suggestion. She tilts her head as she considers him. He can't be serious. It has things that are obviously important to him. The picture of his friends. Particularly the one in the graveyard. Although, with having found out the friend was a live, maybe it wasn't as emotional as it had been when he drew it.
    Meet up again? That she is on board for. An excuse to get to talk to him, again. Maybe she could get him to consider sparring with her sometime in the future. Just to test his theory, of course.
    She shrugs and smiles, tucking the sketchbook back into her messenger bag. Then she picks up her half full bottle of water to take with her.

Captain America has posed:
    "We'll talk again," Cap gives her a nod and then takes a step back, hand lifting. "Good luck, Beegee." And with that said he'll turn and start to walk back towards where his motorcycle is parked, his stride even and at ease. He definitely enjoyed the conversation, such as it was, each step resounded with that same inner ease that she could read in him.
    But then he turned just as he got to the old Norton motorcycle, and he lifted a hand to wave at her even as he pulled on the helmet. A few moments later and the roar of the machine was heard and he was gone.