8847/Movin' In

Movin' In
Date of Scene:	17 August 2019
Location:	Grounds - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Carrie moves in to the Wayne Manor and Bruce even deigns to tell her about it.
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Carrie Kelley

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Batman has posed:
There hadn't been much discussion at all. Just a brief, mostly one-sided conversation between Bruce and Carrie at their last training session. The gist of it had been that Carrie's commuting and living arrangements were interfering with the process of making her an effective soldier. A day later, movers had arrived to pack her things and spirit it away to Wayne Manor. He works fast when his mind is made up about something.

At the moment, Bruce stands on the expansive front lawn of the house in a dress shirt and vest, watching as the moves carry boxes into the house under the careful and eagle-like supervision of Alfred. He glances sidelong at Carrie, putting on a touch of the happy-go-lucky Bruce Wayne act for the benefit of the outsiders.

"You're on the house payroll as Damian's tutor," he explains, "That's money, room, and board taken care of. You'll still attend your classes, of course, but the rest of it? Here."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Her stuff. All of her STUFF. Which really wasn't much to say the least. The furniture had been a total wash because, let's face it, milk crates and a twin mattress on a rickety old spring frame wasn't the sort of thing one would want in Wayne manor. She'd probably have a *real* bed here. The boxes were mostly filled with the surplus of costumes she had from productions that either didn't pass muster for the stage but were still good quality, or were gifted to her by fellow students on the chance they might fit some future production. Surprisingly there was a lot of that. Makeup. Wigs. Costumes. The there was her actual every day clothes, the video games she'd accumulated, mementos and ... that was about it. It filled maybe fifteen boxes at most.

Carrie just watches it all come in with her arms crossed over her chest trying SO very hard not to let the irritation she felt fill her voice. No, it wouldn't look good to the movers if she were to go off on 'Bruce' right then and there even if she wanted to.

"How very generous of you, Mr. Wayne," she offers back with a too-toothy smile. "So suddenly, too. I barely had time to say goodbye to my roommate. She was quite surprised."

Lower, her voice drops as she adds in a annoyed hiss, "REALLY surprised. Thought only 'family' came here."

Batman has posed:
When Bruce lowers his own voice to not be heard by the movers, his tone changes. For one, it drops to a slightly deeper register and all the emotive inflection goes out of it. There's no doubt that Bruce is a fine actor, though he'd never put his talent to any other use outside of his night job.

"You were 'family' the night I let you in the Batcave. If you ever felt you stood apart, that's not how I see it."

He raises his voice again, hands slipped into his pockets as he begins to walk towards the ornate, double doors of the Manor now flung open to allow the boxes to be moved.

"I'll take care of your half of the rent on your old place," Bruce offers, "Or the whole thing. You can tell your roommate it's remuneration for snapping you up like this. We're moving you into the Regency Room, by the way. It has the most closet space."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
That response actually causes Carrie's irritation to falter. Just a bit. A breath is sucked in, and she responds in a simple, quiet, "Oh." While she was decent at putting things together out in the field, usually, there were still some things she was guarded and overly wary about. Connections with others seemed to be one of them. Stubbornly she mutters, "Still shoulda asked," as she turns to follow him inside the manor.

She'd been here enough times to know where the main rooms were: The foyer here, the kitchen, and the library where she studied often before patrols. There was a good deal she'd still not explored here. "Your bedrooms have *names*? And I don't really need a lot of closet space..." she begins only to glance at a stack of boxes labeled 'costumes' multiple times over. "... Well, for my own stuff, that's... just..." Stuff she wasn't ready to part with by any stretch of the imagination. A thought occurs, and she looks around. "They did bring my sewing machine and computer, right?"

Batman has posed:
"They brought everything your roommate said didn't belong to them," Bruce answers with a nod, looking at the boxes being unloaded on the gravel drive, "I thought you'd prefer to unpack yourself. Get an understanding for what you want to put where."

He lifts his eyebrows slightly at the comment about the rooms: "Wayne Manor has eleven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a conservatory, a ballroom, kitchen and servants quarters - which are just storage these days - a gallery, a dining room, a library, and two studies. That's forty-two thousand, five hundred square feet of house. That's not including the other buildings on the grounds and the ... ... basement. We name the rooms or else you'd get lost."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley tips her head to look back at the manor again appropriately sizing it up much as she could. It was large. She'd always known that. She just hadn't known THAT large. "Well if you put it like that..." A little shrug is given trying to brush it off along with a faint grin. The unpacked boxes are eyed again with a nod. "That would help a bit yes. I'm not used to having people mess around with my things." Again: Not much. But it was *hers* and that was saying something.

"You... do know my parents are still around, right, Mr. Wayne? They might question this if they find out." Not that she was going to tell them. Her arms cross over her chest, and she looks around again before sighing. "Could you show me where this room is then?"

Batman has posed:
"Wayne Manor is about as close to country estates as we get on this side of the Atlantic," Bruce explains as they walk, "Your parents might question it, but the explanation's an easy one. Houses like Wayne Manor need serving staff. You'd be working as a tutor and governess to the scion of one of the wealthiest families in Gotham. They might raise their eyebrows, Carrie, but I trust you've got all the tools you need at your disposal to convince them it's a good deal. Including a six figure salary."

His own attention turns to the Manor for a moment, eyes lifting to one of the balconies that overlooks the grounds: "One thing you need to be ... wary of. Damian's mother is here."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"That's... not really what I'm worried about them finding out for," Carrie starts to explain. "There's a reason I kind of cut ties with them. They..." before she can think to consider how to explain her parents, there's apparently more for her to take in. A startled snap of her head whips her attention back toward him with a simple, plain, blunt, "She *what*?"

It's followed by her jaw clenching, then unclenching, then a hand lifting to scrub over her face. "Does he know? And why? Isn't she I mean... He's told me what his life was like before here."

Batman has posed:
Bruce lets the discussion about Carrie's parents fall by the wayside. There's likely little he could offer to help there, anyway, and changing the subject back to them would prove difficult considering the newest member of the Bat Family's reaction to the news.

"He knows," he begins, "They met. He understands why she's here and he accepts that. He gave her a sword."

The last bit of information causes the corner of his mouth to curve slightly into a half-smile. Once the movers have stepped away from them again, he speaks more frankly.

"She's in danger. She's here so I can keep her safe. She won't cause you any ... problems. Or shouldn't. Try not to show too much familiarity."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley lifts a hand to wave to the movers as they head off, absently calling out a bright and cheery, "Thank you!" in spite of the topic of conversation that was currently underway. Even when distracted she knew how to act appropriately for social reasons. And she always thanked people who helped out, and had jobs that were often overlooked as being unimportant. None of those boxes would have fit in her beat up old 2000 Toyota Camry. That thing was ancient.

Her hand drops back down to scrub over her face again with a groan. "She's in danger. This couldn't possibly be a ploy to get closer to you to infiltrate and perhaps try to get Damian back? Or disrupt your operations? Or just..." The hand slides away and she gives Bruce a look. "You're one of the most paranoid people I know and you believe her?"

Batman has posed:
"I'm alert," Bruce answers shortly, "I'm aware of potential outcomes. Not paranoid. I've known her for a long time. Almost as long as you've been alive. I know a ploy from a genuine call for help. This is the latter. As dangerous as she may be, as big as our differences may be? She is Damian's mother and I won't let her die."

His hands return to his pockets, blue eyes narrowing as they fixate on the middle distance for a moment.

"I won't let things go badly this time."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley blinks slowly as she listens to this. There's a subtle tilt of her head away from him to look toward the balcony she'd seen him glance toward at first. A faint frown follows with her lips pursed tightly together as she just remains quiet listening to what he says. Finally she offers just this: "Not everything that happens is up to you, you know. I'll be sure to be careful around her. Will she know who I am or should I keep playing pretend in the meantime?"

Batman has posed:
Bruce nodes his head.

"She knows. About everything. Not you, specifically, but she'd see through any attempt to hide it. If you prefer we try to obfuscate the real reason you're here, we can, but I don't think there's much of a point to it."

He turns to step in through the Manor's doors, crossing the marble floor that make up the foyer and subsequent Great Hall, "You should be ... fine." He doesn't sound convinced.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"I'm a good actress, Bruce, but if she already knows the behind the scenes, then nothing I do would really work." She does follow along after him, entering the manor and following close on his heels. Not too close, but enough she wasn't about to lose him in this large place.

"She's going to kick my ass more likely. Either to see how good a student of yours I am, or to make sure I'm not going to be a liability to her son. I've heard what she did to his past 'teachers.'" Frowning, she shakes her head trying to get rid of the thought.

"I'm here because I'm poor, pretty much. That's a liability in it's own when you're trying to work nights like we do." Wait. Did he say six figure income?

Batman has posed:
"You're not poor anymore, Carrie," Bruce's answer is sucinct and without inflection, "This tutor job pays well. Your time in the wilderness is over. If you're going to train here - and be serious about it - then I can't afford you to have distractions. Trying to scrape together money for rent and food? That's not acceptable. From now on, everything you need is going to be catered for by me. This is how Dick did it, Barbara - everyone. You're a part of this now."

He pauses for a moment in the gallery, row after row of oil painting depicting members of the Wayne Family long dead staring down at them from the walls.

"You won't give up the mask," he explains, "I know that. So I want to make sure you're fit to wear it. Things get harder from here, but if I didn't think you were ready, you'd still be living in that shoebox."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"No, I won't," Carrie agrees with a succint nod. A faint smile flashes after that. In spite of being irritated at the sudden move he'd said a few things that both made sense, and made her feel more welcome here. She risks a glance aside toward him as he looks over the pictures of the Wayne family portraits. "Thank you. I know I might not seem grateful much. I know I'm pushy and opinionated at times," she adds, "But I do appreciate the chance. I'm not going to screw it up."

Batman has posed:
Bruce smirks once again: "You can be pushy and opinionated, so long as you eventually come to realise that I'm making the right call."

He pauses for a moment at one of the oil paintings, regarding it in silence. The small, brass nameplate affixed to the lower portion of the frame reads 'Alan Wayne' in ornate script. After a moment, he glances sidelong back to Carrie.

"That car you drive," he muses, "It's older than you are. Is it reliable? Does it break down a lot?"

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Ah..." Carrie hesitates as the question catches her off-guard. It wasn't the first time he'd griped about her car. Namely, the time she tried to drive it to the cat sanctuary charity fundraiser held by Selina Kyle when he had insisted they use one of the limosines instead. There had been a lot of talk that night about how 'none of the kids would be seen driving an old car' and the like.

"It's pretty good. I mean it's a bit rusty in spots, but nothing major has broken down on it. It's only got two hundred twenty thousand miles." Only. That was pushing it even for something as reliable as a Toyota. "Radio doesn't work anymore but that's not a big deal. Besides it's paid off and only cost me two thousand." A year and a half ago. Eesh.

Batman has posed:
"I know you're attached to it. I'm not about to admonish you about sentimentality."

Coming from the guy with a cave full of souvenirs from more than a decade of crime-fighting, it's obvious that Bruce does not easily discard things in favor of the newer and better model.

"But there's a garage," Bruce gestures towards the rear of the house where the separate building, almost as large as the Manor itself, holds his family's collection of cars, "You have access to them. They keys are all hanging by the door. The only one I'd ask you to stay away from is the Silver Cloud. The Rolls Royce. It belonged to my father."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley lets her shoulders sag just a bit with relief at that. It wasn't the newest, shiniest or most expensive car in the world but it was hers. She'd worked hard to get it and it had allowed her a lot of the freedom and autonomy that public transit just didn't quite live up to. "Okay. That won't be a problem. Thanks again," she adds before looking back to the manor with a little shake of her head.

"I guess I should go start getting unpacked. Maybe figure my way around this place. I didn't really go past the study and library, really." And that one time in the kitchen for an impromtu dinner.

Batman has posed:
"You've got the run of the place," Bruce says with a nod of his head, stepping away to go off and do whatever it is he does during the day, "Talia won't give you any trouble if you don't give her any. She's mostly spending her time in the library and the study."

He takes a few steps, pauses, and then turns his head slightly to glance back over his shoulder: "It's good to have you here, Carrie."

That said, he leaves the gallery and leaves Carrie to settle in to her new home.