6900/Journey Ahead

Journey Ahead
Date of Scene:	15 March 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Carrie Kelley, Nightwing

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Carrie Kelley has posed:
The apartment Carrie lived at was currently a bit hectic as she was laying out several items on her bed to decide what to pack, and what not do, for a short trip. A short trip that might require more than the usual bit of a change of clothes unfortunately. With a final look over what she'd laid out, she turns to pace out into the livingroom heading for the kitchen intent on taking a small break.

Her path however is obstructed by a cat suddenly bolting out to dart in front of her, pouncing at her leg on the attack. Not just any cat though: Damian's cat.

"Oh come on! Sneak attacks aren't fair!"

Nightwing has posed:
    "We don't fight fair. One of the first things you learn. Criminals don't, so we can't afford to."

    The disembodied voice is masked with a metallic flange, but Carrie will recognize it instantly, of course. Nightwing. Though there doesn't seem to be any one source for it. It's as if it is coming from all around the room. Everywhere and nowhere.

    But where might the man himself be? A cursory glance provides no clues. It seems as if Carrie, the cat, and her mess are alone, with nothing but a spectral voice haunting them. Until the darkness starts to bleed forth from a corner near the window. At first, it is just an inky blob, indeterminately humanoid. Then, a sheen of blue, sharp and angular, begins to rise, forming two spreading wings. Wings become shoulders, and shoulders become arms, where the figure starts to step out into a space where the light cuts across the darkness. And then, still nestled in the shadows, two pinpricks of baleful white light flare up. Eyes.

    "You know where he went. Tell me."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley reaches down to run her fingers lightly over Abbadon's head between the ears just a split second before that familiar voice breaks out from the corner. There's a little frission of tension that runs between her shoulders though she keeps from jumping completely out of her skin at it. Instead she glances around, eyes darting with a burgeoning frown until they alight upon the figure there.

Then those green eyes merely roll toward the ceiling with an obvious look of exasperation. "Hello to you too, Nightwing," she offers with a shake of her head at the antics. "I don't actually. I have a few possible leads and I was wanting to follow up on them. The best chance of you finding out who might actually know is Red Hood."

Shrugging she gently nudges the cat aside to continue toward the kitchen to open the fridge door and pull out a bottle of iced tea, which she holds up toward him with a little side-to-side wiggle in silent offer. "When we were at the costume ball he asked Jay for supplies. All I know otherwise is that he was with a Titan at the ball. That would be my first guess as to where he's gone... To the Titans. Otherwise, I really don't know."

"Unless he's run off to somewhere important in his old life."

Nightwing has posed:
    He stands stock still, not even a movement when Carrie shrugs off his "antics". The tension bleeding off of him is almost a palpable aura. He remains silent, listening as she speaks. Processing the information. Jason gave Damian supplies? Why on earth would Damian go to Jason for that? He could procur his own. Hell, the kid probably has a hundred weapon caches hidden around Gotham alone. In the shadows, his lips pull taut into a frown.

    "Do you know which one it was that he was with? What did they look like?"

    He steps forward again, completely leaving the darkness, revealing his palid, tense face, partially hidden behind the molded domino mask in blue-black that covers his eyes. His chest expands as he sucks in a deep breath... holds it... and releases. Reaching out, he takes the offered bottle, and asks, "So what leads do you have?"

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley waits until he moves forward to take the bottle from her. For a moment she doesn't release it completely as she straightens up to meet his gaze, much as she could with that mask on. "I know you're worried. I am too. He's smart and skilled, I'm sure he'll be fine," she offers quietly trying to reassure him. Sure she was worried, but not so much as him it seemed. Or at least not to that level of tension. Maybe it was because she'd already decided to take action... Even if it may not pan out.

The bottle is let go finally and she turns back to snag one out for herself as well only to hip-check the fridge door shut.

"A woman. Jason recognized her as a Titan and let me know. Blonde hair, blue eyes. It's about all I could tell really given the outfit she was wearing. And... to be honest... That's about the only lead I have. I'm hoping if it doesn't pan out that I might be able to find something more to point in his direction."

Nightwing has posed:
    "He's young. He's emotional," Nightwing counters to Carrie's smart and skilled. Even the mask can't hide the worry that overtakes his features as his stoic mask cracks. As does his voice. "He's hurt."

    As Carrie finally leaves him the bottle, he lowers it to his waist, holding it in both gloved hands as if he's still unsure as to what to do with it. He looks down, casting his gaze at the floor, and then to the cat. His frown deepens. "Blonde hair and blue eyes. That... could be a number of people. I still have connections among the Titans. I'm not an active member or anything, but I've never fully turned away from them, either. I still have full tower access, too."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"... I know he is. He wasn't hiding it very well. Or at all really, once he saw his father." Carrie scowls more at this only to shake her head. "Whatever the issue was, Bruce shouldn't have publically humiliated him like that either. That... Ugh." A hand lifts to rub over her face a time or two. "He intends to come back. That much is certain, but I don't know what he's planning either. I was going to try to talk to Jason the other day but he had company. It would have outed me and Damian to his new girlfriend."

Carrie tips her head toward Nightwing with a small frown. "Drink that at least. You look like hell. Have you even eaten today yet? I can make a grilled cheese if you need a snack."

Mother henning done she twists off the cap to her own tea bottle to take a long swig. "That might help. I'm a new face and I don't know any of them so far, either. I just figured it'd be easiest for me to go looking. There wouldn't be a gap in keeping the city safe with me gone, and Spring break is about due so I can skip out on classes for a bit."

Nightwing has posed:
    "I should have been there," Dick says. His voice is deep and quiet, the guilt practically dripping off of every spoken syllable. Even his body language twists, his shoulders slumping, his hands fidgeting with that bottle. "I could have mediated between them. Worked it out. I could have done something, but... I try to just... I don't want to be lost in the shadows of that cowl anymore. So I try to maintain a healthy distance. But... Damian needs me. I should be there more. For him. I failed him."

    He looks back down at the bottle as Carrie mentions that he should drink it, and he does twist the cap off to take a small sup. He does raise a hand and quietly shake his head to wave off the option for a grilled cheese, though.

    "It's not like we'd have to take a long trip or anything. We can go talk to them and be back here in the morning. You can maintain your daily life, Carrie. Let me do the heavy lifting."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley sighs softly when he starts to beat himself up. There's a small movement toward him before catching herself, and opts to just reach out to run a hand over his arm lightly. "Hey now. Things were going good as far as we knew. This was abrupt apparently. Something between them."

The mention of going together earns a glance to her room where she had begun trying to pack. "That... might not be a bad idea. It would take me significantly more time to get there and try to convince them to trust me in the first place. But is that going to be okay with your... You know." The corners of her mouth twist in a little uncertain grin. "The GF? I mean, taking a trip with another woman..." She trails off from her attempted joke only to glance down with a quiet sigh. "Sorry. I'm really failing at this cheering you up thing."

Nightwing has posed:
    Nightwing knows she's right, on one hand. But he should have known better, too. Bruce is not the most emotionally intelligent or compassionate man. He is, by no means, a truly abusive person. He's just focused. He's blunt. Not cruel, just blunt. And rigid. Growing up under a man like that was difficult even for the agreeable Dick Grayson. He could only imagine the sort of friction and pressure that Damian must feel under that unrelenting glare. The weight of Bruce's disapproval can be an immeasurable thing.

    "That's just... It's hard. Being where Damian is. I can only imagine that it's just much more difficult because of where he's been. He's still trying to work things out and rewire himself to... to get his father's approval," Dick says, as he lays his free hand not holding a tea bottle over top Carrie's own on his arm. Then, he follows her gaze to where the packing was happening. The mention of Cait only makes him shrug his shoulder, and his lips pull to one side into an indeterminate expression. "She's fine. She trusts me. And quite frankly... this is a Family thing. It's... it's not really up to her."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley smiles softly at the response. "I'd only meant to tease a bit about that. I don't think..." A small deep breath is taken. "I don't think she would begrudge you trying to help out family. If she did I'd have to hit her with a brick. ... That's probably the only way she'd feel me hitting her." Lifting her hand away again she runs it back through her hair only to glance down at Abbadon winding his way through her ankles. "My roommate can watch him at least for a day or two. Damian had left him here on the fire escape for me. So I guess the question is, when are we going?"

For a moment her head tips back toward him with a difficult to read expression as if she might say something more. Instead she glances away opting not to. Not now at least. It would just be a distraction. Instead she adds, "Should we go talk to Jason first?"

Nightwing has posed:
    "She probably wouldn't even feel that," Dick admits with a faint hint of a smile. His eyes, hidden behind the milky white lenses of his mask, fall on to Abbadon, as well. Why wouldn't he have trusted Dick to care for the cat? Dick would have loved to. It'd have given Erik someone to hang out with on the fire escape. "But yeah. She's... sometimes strange. She doesn't think like I do, but... She is very understanding. Very accepting. I actually do adore that about her."

    He does note that look, though, as he raises his head. The way she looks off to the side, avoiding looking at him. He's about to ask what's the issue, but she cuts him off with the question about seeing Jason. He considers it for a long moment. He'd like to talk to Jason, but that talk might not be very productive. Not if Jason decided to supply Damian with weapons. Lethal ones, at least. Or if Jason encouraged Damian to leave. He and Jay may not have been as close as he and Tim had been, but even Jay should have known that he should have encouraged Damien to come talk to Dick.

    "I don't know that that's a good idea."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley listens while Dick talks of his girlfriend with a small smile at the apparent fondness there. Even now it was evident. "I'm glad to hear things worked out, by the way. And judging by how Roy was flirting with Kestrel the other night I'm going to say he may have moved on as well. Unless he's always like that," she reasons with a little thoughtful frown. The thought is shaken off quickly in favor of turning to open the fridge door again.

"Let me just feed Abbadon first. The good stuff I mean. He's had food all day but at night I give him some of the good gooshy food. Easier for a cat to digest."

"Then we can either plan things out more, or get going. Depending how much of a hurry you're in."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Oh? He was, was he?" Remarks Nightwing, with a small, lopsided grin. He shakes his head, opening his mouth to say something, but he thinks better of it. His mouth snaps shut with an audible clicking of his teeth together. Better not to bring up things that could come across as awkward. This isn't the time for it, anyway.

    "He's a good cat. You should give him something really good, like a can of chicken or tuna. He'll be your best friend forever if you do."

    The decision laid out before him gets some consideration. Should they stay or should they go? Dick's always had a bit of a problem with rushing into things. And this is no different. Every fiber of his being wants to go running after any leads he can find on Damian. He really does want to track the young boy down and...

    What?

    He's not even sure what he'll do when he finds Damian. He just wants to do something. And make sure that he's okay.

    "Let's just go."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley glances over her shoulder from the fridge with an arch of an eyebrow at the apparent hesitation to say more about the incident of the prior night she'd mentioned. Instead she nods, and smirks faintly. "No comment, right." Then her attention shifts back to the little plate she pulls from the fridge. It was covered with saran wrap, which she peels off to reveal a little miniature 'cake' of catfood with bits of meat obviously mixed in with it.

"I figured the 'fisherman pate' would work as a treat. Plus it's actually healthy for him according to the nutrient labels I read."

Stooping down she sets the plate there for Abbadon who approaches with tail twitching in excitement before diving in face-first to nom away with mewling nibbles. Happy cat.

Her hands dust off on her sides. "Right, then. Let's go, mon capitan. Let me just change and text the roomie that I'll be out for the night."