4415/On a rooftop, under the sky

On a rooftop, under the sky
Date of Scene:	09 May 2018
Location:	Titans Tower
Synopsis:	After the rain, the Titan girls gather for gossip.
Cast of Characters:	Breath, Starfire, Stardust, Wonder Girl

---

Breath has posed:
It *was* raining, earlier - pretty hard actually. Two dreary, dim, rainy days in a row. The air feels nice and fresh now, at least. But now, the rain has just stopped, and the sun is breaking through the clouds, pouring bright sunlight on the rooftop again, shining sunbeams through the windows instead of drearily misting them up.

Lyssa is in the pool, swimming back and forth underwater without surfacing in a two piece blue swimsuit, nothing exceptionally flashy or flirty. She turns on her back and looks up at the sun through four feet of water, lazily kicking along and stretching out a bit.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r is swimming on top of the pool. She's wearing her usual swimwear, an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini. She's not specifically sunbathing, but the storm over the last few days kept her antsy. So she's swimming around. Her usual lounge chair is occupied by the Silkie, who's chewing contentedly on a tuna can. She watches Lyssa swim at the bottom of the pool and wonders if anyone else will come out.

Stardust has posed:
In the air around the tower, flocks of birds wheel low over the waters of the bay, hunting the fish that have been brought to the surface by the rains. Since the clouds broke and the rain stopped, the fish start to move away from the surface, but food is still plentiful, and the clear skies make for better hunting. It's a festival for the birds.

Some way above the flocks, half a dozen further birds circle, black dots against the sky. Birds of prey, picking their targets amongst the feeding flocks below, waiting until they have fed their fill. More nutrition. Slower on the wing.

Higher still, a singular lone dot stands out against the sunlit sky. Not circling, but moving in lazy zig-zags, methodically plotting its way across the sky.

Suddenly the highest dot starts to move, plunging downwards. The six birds of prey startle and split as it plunges through them, but still it plunges downwards, ignoring them, the dot growing ever larger, resolving into a blur of white and gray, and eventually a human form. The lower birds cry indignant screeches as they are scattered by the pallid blur invading their level, and then with a >WHUMP< that sets ripples bouncing through the pool, the figure comes to land, at high speed, on the roof.

Hair bedraggled by her rapid descent, damp from the clouds and glistening slightly with ice crystals, it's Stardust. "Heya Kori, Heya Breathy" she says, with a cheery wave.

Breath has posed:
Lyssa gahs at the thump, silently, and surfaces next to Kori, looking around with some alarm and confusion, raising a hand to wipe water out of her face and brush her hair back. "What the.. Oh! Hiya Dusty, did you just get here? Is.. is that -ice-?" She blows some extra water out of her face lightly and treads water, a little bit confused still. "..Oh, and hi Kori, I wasn't trying to be antisocial." She tilts her head and shrugs a bit, apologetically.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "That's fine - I was just watching the Silkie to see if he was going to choke on that tuna can. He's a smart little love bug." She gazes at Colette. "And it gets cold at high altitudes... perhaps you should work on your landings, Stardust. We just had a contractor redo the patio up here... you didn't crack the tile, did you?" she asks as she floats up to go inspect the impact site.

Stardust has posed:
Stardust looks down to the floor at her feet. "Nah, I missed the tiles. Uh. I'll patch up that cracked concrete. No worries. I wasn't trying to work on my landings though, I was trying to work on my falling. Well, and to see how high I could go." She looks sideways for a moment. "Kind of an act of rebellion, I guess. " She peers over in the direction of Silkie, but he's too busy with his tuna to pay her any attention, so she contents herself with giving him a finger wave, then steps over and drops herself down into one of the poolside seats.

"Sorry guys, didn't know anyone was up here. It was empty when I left. Don't worry though, I could have stopped if I was going to land on you. Actually I was aiming for the pool, but I missed a bit. Still, at least I hit the roof. That's pretty good. How are you two?"

Breath has posed:
Lyssa hmmms. "Well, I wanted to work on my swimming, because of that trip we are probably going to have to make still." She pauses a moment, considering what to say next. "And because I wanted to wear my swimsuit and be in the water a bit. It's peaceful. I've been just kind of thinking of things." She frowns a little bit and treads water slowly, looking around a little and listening.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "Yeah - I've had to fix several things on the tower myself, Stardust. I'm much stronger than I look." She winks. "You looked so peaceful down there, Lyssa, like in your own little world. I could go down there too - I can hold my breath a long time, but... I need the sun more." The Silkie lets go of the can and wriggles over to Stardust and leans against her leg.

Stardust has posed:
"Yeah, I've seen you punch things," Stardust says to Kori. "Apparently you're a lot tougher than the average Tameranean." What would make her think that is hard to guess. But then this is Colette, who has a couple of times said things to Kori in Tamaranean, offering only "someone told me how to say it" as an explanation. "How long *can* you hold your breath, Kori?"

"Suits you," Colette tells Lyssa. "The blue. Good color for you. Good on you for getting in some relaxation. Uh. Listen. Either of you. If I've come across like a bit of an ass towards you lately, I apologize. Things have been a bit... you know."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa nods, "Yeah, and I don't know how to sign or anything, so we couldn't, y'know. Talk down there." She swims over to the side of the pool and climbs out, then stretches, rolling her neck a bit and stretching her shoulders. For a couple moments on account of interesting posture, she might even have been able to draw attention away from Kori, momentarily.. but the moment is fleeting and accidental.

She tilts her head at Colette. "I haven't been able to catch up with you in a few days, so no.. Why, is something going on?" She wanders in Stardust's direction in some minor concern.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r blinks. "Friend Colette, you have not done anyting to offend me," she muses softly as she looks over at her. "But I will accept your apology in case you did do something that I judt did not recognize." She shrugs, shooting a glance Lyssa's way. "What should we do now?"

Stardust has posed:
"Oh just the usual Breathy, X-Face stuff mostly." Colette dismisses the concern with a wave of her hand. "I'm fine, don't let me interrupt your swim." She tilts her head and frowns slightly. "Uh about that Atlantis thing. I don't think they use sign. So I have no idea. Normally Poseidonians do diplomacy on the surface, I think. Maybe you'll write on waterproof tablets, or something. Or they may have a reception area with air for surface dwellers. Or invite them on the sub, or something. I know I said I wouldn't, but if you want me to come along, I will. I've... you know," she says waving a hand around, "Been to embassies and stuff before."

Colette grins and gives a thumbs up to Koriand'r. "Deal. Or count it against the next time I'm an ass, or something. Either of you want a drink, I'm thirsty. I've got soda or water. Some French spring water you might like, Kori. Very mineralized." She hops out of her chair and goes to fetch a backpack she'd stashed in a corner of the roof to pull out bottles -- and a hairbrush.

Breath has posed:
Lyssa ohs, and listens. "Yeah, I know. But I didn't mean for the Atlanteans, I meant to talk to Kori. I don't have any way to talk underwater. Not that I know about anyway. So I mean, she could have come down to visit, but then what?" She gestures vaguely, shruglike. "I mean, do I have to think about things like that?"

She nods at Colette, "Water would be nice. Especially if it's cold." She frowns a bit, not at all believing the dismissal, and not quite sure how to dig out the real story just yet. Maybe something else will drop.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r takes Colette at face value, nodding. "That is a problem, Lyssa. But I assume if we do go down there that there's communiators that can work underwater - those who can't breathe can stay in the sub or wear some kind of scuba gear that has radio equipment...." She trails off. "I'll try this stuff," she states as she gives it a sip.

Stardust has posed:
"It's cold-ish," Colette says with a grin, holding out a bottle of 'Badoit' fizzy water to each of her fellow Titans. She nods her head upwards. "I can put a chill on it if you like, but it'll take a few minutes. You could get some practice in the pool. Speaking underwater, I mean. Maybe Kori can interpret your bubbles." She turns to look at Koriand'r speculatively, then breaks into a silly grin. "Or she could kiss a fish."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa looks confused. "...What?" She looks back at Kori in confusion and bewilderment. She opens her mouth, then closes it, mystified and boggled by that mental image. "...I.... guess cold-ish is fine...?" She holds her hand out blindly, still pretty confused by that. She siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighs a very long breath out, hmmming. She missed something here, obviously...

Wonder Girl has posed:
    Cassie did turn up a few days ago, wound in her shoulder and an incredibly upset attitude. She's calmed down since then, though - spending her time mostly at the school and Themysciran embassies. But such was Cassie's life. It was one of the guys down below that mentioned the gathering up top.

    And so Cassie came up, traversing up the normal way - via elevator. Wearing a pair of oakleys, and a crimson t-shirt, along with jeans - her sandaled feet click on the rooftop as she draws her gaze from Titan to Titan, bringing her glasses up to rest atop her head. "So. I hear there's a party up here," she says to the other women. "Am I invited too, or do I gotta bring pizza?" she asks, canting her head to one side. There might be just a little hint of play at the edges of her lips.

    Only a little.

Stardust has posed:
"Cass!" Colette breaks into a broad grin as she waves her long-absent friend over. "I heard you were back. Sorry for not calling, things have been insane. Look!" she points dramatically towards the picnic area the far side of the pool. "We have our own outdoor pizza oven, now." Perhaps this is what Colette means when she says things have been insane, but probably she's not really talking about the building work. "How was the trip? You've got a tan! Must have been really exciting visiting Themyscira. I still want to go one day. So jealous. Soooo jealous. Still, I almost managed to get the Playstation wired up to the danger room holoprojectors while you were away, so at least I've been being productive."

No breaths are taken during this outburst. It's almost as if Colette loses the requirement for air when she's speaking. Perhaps she should be taken along on the trip to Atlantis purely on the basis that she could probably surivive underwater without scuba gear so long as there was someone there for her to talk at.

On the other hand, would you really want to be stuck in a sub with that?

Colette holds out a hand to Lyssa. "Don't worry about the fish thing. It was a joke."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa ohs! "He-ey! Girl-friend! Come on and join us! Iunno, I mean, I kind of like forgot about the whole pizza thing, but like, I know somebody is about to fix that. They always do, right?" She shrugs. "And maybe like, get wings or something too." Mumblemumble.

"...How was your trip? Any cool stories or, iunno, gossip or something?" She takes the hand with faint confusion, since she was vaguely expecting a beverage before the whole.. fish... thing. Whatever."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Look, just between you and me, it's a little overrated," says Cass, lowering her voice to a little hush. Setting her jaw to one side, she considers, "But it's very peaceful, and there's a lot of art and history that you just can't find anywhere else," says Cass, straightening up again, her smile mirroring Colette's. "Have you talked to the Ambassador about it?" she asks, with a cant of her head to the side. Although her eyebrows shoot up at what Colette says, "No way - has there been any good games that came out? Like... specifically party games? Maybe we can all go down and try one, sooner or later," she says.

Beware, Colette - there's someone who likewise has a penchant for talking in the mix now. But Wonder Girl's smile was... well... Wonderous. "You look so good too! What've you and Lyssa been up to?" she asks. There were hugs being offered, whether or not Colette (or Lyssa) had been swimming. Maybe not tight hugs in those cases, though.

"Fish thing?" asks Cassie of Colette, glancing from her to Lyssa. "What kinda carp are you talking about?" she asks. "Or was I supposed to tuna that bit of the conversation out...?" she inquires. Now that smile was back. Mischievous, this time. "No real cool stories, though, Lys. Just a lot of training, and how to be a better Amazon and person in general, I guess. How about with you?"

Stardust has posed:
Colette looks at Lyssa, one eyebrow slowly climbing up her forehead. A hint of a smirk plays across her lips, but for once she decides not to say anything.

Colette is considerably less wet than Lyssa, though she is slightly damp, having been swimming in the clouds rather than the pool. It's a rather cold hug though. Not from lack of friendly warmth -- Colette is a little cold to the touch. They were rather high clouds.

"Well so far I've mostly been working on getting Grand Theft Auto working, because it's kinda useful having city streets in the danger room holosuite." Colette grins sheepishly, as if she feels guilty that there was some productive use of her time. "But in theory we could get all kinds of things working on it. A DDR style game would be pretty awesome. Next I should get the Nintendo working, we could take up a bunch of chairs and play Maro Kart. That could be a blast. "

    At the mention of tuna, there's an odd mewling from Silkie, who Starfire left on a seat eating some tuna. He's almost run out.

"Really, Cassie?" Colette puts on a mock disapproving frown. "Fish puns? For Cod's sake! There's no plaice for those here. Cut it trout, you! I just suggested that if we need to communicate under water with the Atlanteans, Kori could kiss a fish." She looks in the direction Kori had wandered off. "I hope she didn't take me seriously."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa is dripping wet, but is happy to give an arms length hug! "Iunno. I mean, I put that old maze screen saver in the Danger Room at one point.. That's not much of a party game though. I'm still figuring out how to work it, and like.. I am NOT artsy. And like.. I managed to weird Brick out. So.. um... yeah." Aaawkward confession of poor programming skill. Wow, for trying to avoid awkward thoughts, she is certainly feeling awkward a lot.

...And oh no, Colette is smirking. Doooomed. Doomed. She glances back and forth, trying to figure out what she is being smirked at for now. "..What? Did I say something?" She has a brief mental image of losing at conversational dodge ball.

Wonder Girl has posed:
Cassie was still rather warm - the demigod tended to run a bit hot as a general rule. /And/ she had been inside, catching a little more rest than she was usually able to. There was a bit of a frown at the hugging contact then. More a dimming of that smile, as Colette was a bit chilly. But Cassie doesn't say much; straightening up soon afterwards.

"Oh, like... playing /in/ the game. Not just... displaying it on the walls of the room." A beat. "...whoa. You can do that?" she says, her voice sounding a little bit awestruck. A consideration. "...that'll be really helpful, actually. So long as it doesn't go crazy and get us stuck in a virtual world or anything like that," says Cassie. Not... /fully/ understanding the technology there.

A pout, from Cassie. "...I'm allowed to make fish puns," she says, although the pout was difficult to hold with the counterattacking puns. So after a few moments, there's a smirk on her lips. "She probably did. Part of her charm, right?" she says. Arms length hugs with Lyssa aside, there was a smile given the other.

"I'm sure Brick is okay - unless he like... ran away to his room after and hasn't been seen yet. Do we need to mount an expedition? The team is a little less vibrant without a sportsball guy on it."

Stardust has posed:
"Did you try out the clarinet, Breathmints?" Colette's way of changing the subject, perhaps. "You'll see what I mean if you take a lesson or two. The whole thing of controlling the shape of your muscles when you exhale, and finding resonances"

Colette's back to grinning widely at Cassie. "Yes! Inside the game. It's awesome. And really funny! The characters in that game are so dumb. I switch the simulation on and within like 10 seconds someone's attempted to walk right through me three times, and decided to punch me because I didn't get out of the way. Maybe not the most accurate simulation. And it was hilarious when I first got the physics to work properly. I forgot to tell it to ignore the walls of the room, so all these cars crashed into the real room walls, and the whole place was an inferno of burning gas within seconds. It doesn't do heat though. That would be cool. Hey Breathy, can you call your boyfriend and ask him if they can add head to the machine?" She flashes Lyssa a quick wink. Teasing her about one of the engineers has become a bit of a thing around the tower.

"Brick is always okay, " Colette concludes. "He jumps off cliffs for fun, and he's got his PING box to talk sense into him if he needs it. Don't worry about sportsball guys though, we've got a new one. Have you met Cyborg yet? If you see an evil looking half robot guy wandering around the tower, don't punch him. Also, he'll probably be naked, but don't worry, there's nothing to see."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa does a one-shoulder shrug. "Iunno, I guess I messed up his teleport or something, and he looked around and like.. had a crisis of sanity or something? I mean, *I* haven't seen him since? But iunno where he ever gets to either, so he's probably fine. Probably."

She suddenly gets a glimmer of an idea that she really aught to go on the offense, even if her offense is kind of meh. But then she gets clobbered again. "....We went on *one date*! One! Oh, em, gee. There's like nothing there. What about you and Rayray? And like, the machine totally does heat, duh. Not like dangerous heat, but enough to make you blink and sweat. I had a propane tank in the scatters sim."

Wonder Girl has posed:
The switching of subjects, Cassie's eyes narrow a touch as her mind follows. A nod of her head, and her eyes flicker back towards Lyssa. "You play instruments?" A question, coupled with a smile. But attention returns to Colette as she explains the game further. "That... is..." It actually sounded a little horrific. "...this is all virtual, right? The danger room wasn't like full of fire and death and gas, right?" she asks, glancing worriedly from Colette to Lyssa and then back again.

And now they were fighting about dates! Cassie lifts up her hands - not getting involved in that one.

"Alright, alright. I won't punch the robot guy in the tower," she says, laughing lightly as she gives her head a shake. "And nice - I'll have to see what kinda games he's into. A little basketball isn't totally out of my skillset, after all."

Stardust has posed:
"It does heat?" Colette looks at Lyssa incredulously. "It does? I didn't know. Where? I should read the manual more. I need to make explosions hot! And yeah, Brick is always deranged after a teleport, don't worry about it. I think it's to do with his navigation system. It's using alien technology. It's kinda... well, alien. So when he tries to interface with it, things get confused, I guess."

"The room was totally full of fire and death and gas!" Colette explains to Cassie with a grin. "Just virtual fire and death and gas. Don't worry, I've been messing around with it a while and the only time I got stuck in a virtual world had nothing to do with it at all. I wasn't even at the tower, I was chasing this..." she blinks a few times. "Well, basically a few chunks of downtown turned into a video game with some kinda World War 2 theme. There was this gamer guy who knew the level layout, so we smashed it. Punching digital nazis is awesome. I wanna punch more nazis."

Colette frowns for a moment, then turns a puzzled expression back to Lyssa. "What? Me and Rae Rae? You're crazy."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa blinks some, "Seriously? Iunno, there seemed like there was SOMEthing going on. Just like, I couldn't figure out what. I don't GET that guy. I should probably figure him out? I mean, my boss thinks he's sweet on me, and he was just bored. That was.. weird. He called me at work and suddenly my boss is throwing makeup and nicer clothes and stuff at me. Seriously I have no idea what to even say to her now."

She gestures, "It's in the climate library. You can define big local climate changes. I found it in one of the demos."

Wonder Girl has posed:
As the conversation drifts to the more technical aspects of the simulation, one can almost see the faraway glaze entering Cassie's eyes. A handful of moments, though, and she focuses in a bit. "Yeah - if you can't tell, alien stuff is already a little out there, if you had to /interface/ with it - I'm just surprised we can talk to Brick afterwards."

Smile sparks wider. "I'm down for punching digital nazis. Or... digital anything, really. So long as I can feel it," she says, turning her eyes back towards Lyssa. "Maybe your boss is sweet on you, and she's the one buying you gifts for her?" she offers, sounding hesitant. These were uncharted waters for the Greek-American woman.

Stardust has posed:
"Climate library? There's a climate library?" Colette frowns in momentary annoyance. "That thing is too complicated. All this technology and nobody has figured out a 'just do the stuff I'm thinking of and don't bother me with the details' button. You'd think that would be the highest priority." Guy? He? Who? Colette got lost about that point in Lyssa's speech. A moment ago they were talking about Raven, now Lyssa's brought someone else into it? Unless it's one of those pronoun things that Colette doesn't entirely understand and therefore doesn't question.

Fingersnap. "Yes! Cassie has a really good point. If someone's buying you gifts, maybe they're the one who's interested. Trying to pretty you up!" She grins widely at Lyssa, and flashes a quick wink at Cassie. "What's your boss like? Your type at all?"

"Yeah, you can feel it," Colette confirms to Cassie. "It uses force fields to simulate actual physical stuff. It's scaled down, of course. It's not meant to be too dangerous. Even though it's called a danger room. Actually I got some ninja program from Wolfy and he said don't switch the safety off or they'll kill you. I'll have to try that later."

Breath has posed:
Lyssa frowns a bit. "Well, like.. Ray is a corporate bigwig, and he phoned me up AT WORK... And wanted me to come over to his office. NO explanation. So I mention it to my boss and suddenly she's in full matchmaker mode. It was kind of awkward. And then Kori showed up, and we all went out for steak. I was just like.. what? I mean, I don't even know if he's straight or not, really. Then I get back to the office, and it's like.. we.. had.. lunch? I swear, people are still gossiping behind my back. It's WEIRD."

Wonder Girl has posed:
Cassie usually just got through such conversations by barrelling through them, hanging onto something, and rolling with it. To this, she nods her head at Lyssa. "Ah, well - either way... if it's making things too weird at work, that kinda sucks," she says. A beat further, Cassie catching that wink and flashing one back.

"Cool. I like punching things," she says, driving a fist into the palm of her other hand, the ~crack~ sounding across the tower. "If they aren't real, that makes it a little easier, right?" she says, rolling her neck as a brief twinge reminded her of the robo-ninjas. She had to get faster. "A ninja program, huh? Show me how to set that one up later," she says. "It's important."

Silence. "People are gonna gossip about relationships - a lotta times, it's the only interesting things going on in peoples lives, that kinda drama. You just do you, and let people do their thing," says Cassie to Lyssa. "Either way - I'm gonna go back inside, ladies," she says, flashing a peace sign. "I got some homework to do."

Stardust has posed:
Colette now officially has no idea what Lyssa is talking about. oO("Lyssa went out for steak with Kori and her boss? Who's the... why... what? Raven is a corporate bigwig? Since when? And who's the 'he' who phoned Lyssa up? And Raven as a matchmaker? Come on!")

There's the slightest of ticks in Colette's right eyelid. She turns to Cassie. "Yeah, they're not that tough. Also, you can like stab them and crack skulls and things, and it doesn't matter because nobody's getting hurt. I'll set you up a personal scenario and import the ninjas into it if you like, it's easy." She looks to do the roof door. "Actually, how about now?" An enthusiastic grin spreads across her face. "I mean punching ninjas really is fun, and this is kinda homework too, you know!"

Breath has posed:
Lyssa sighs. "Ugh, me too. I JUST had finals. yay. Now I have to learn how to be ridiculous awesome at chess, because Robin has a thing about me having to be a chess master." She sighs and rolls her eyes a little. "Like, can't he find something a little less stereotypical? Whatever. Okay. If I have to learn how to be an awesome chess player, I guess I get to read about chess. And like.. play chess online or something. Whatever." She sighs a lot. And is oblivious to Colette's bafflement. Which she would find hysterical, but alas.