8954/Birbs of a Feather

Birbs of a Feather
Date of Scene:	26 August 2019
Location:	Library - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	A small chat and catching up with current events over some Korean food.
Cast of Characters:	Carrie Kelley, Robin (Wayne)

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Carrie Kelley has posed:
It was a unique place lately, the manor. With Talia here, and Carrie newly moved in, it had made things a bit awkward. At least for Carrie. Assuredly for Damian as well though there was little Carrie could do about that at the moment. She'd kept her distance from Talia as Bruce had warned her to but there came a point in every woman's life when she just had a craving for a certain food and be damned the consequences.

The spicy sweet smell of whatever Carrie is cooking fills the kitchen and surrounding rooms. There's a pot on the stove bubbling away which she hovers over stirring constantly so that it doesn't boil over.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     It was certainly not the family reunion that a younger Damian would have dreamed about. He had been occupying himself by keeping the various animals he enjoyed being with happy. The calm and gentle bat-cow, Abbadon, and Goliath all had extra attention given to them over the last week.

  Damian had not shown much of himself outside of his room or the batcave otherwise. As opposed to Bruce, Damian had not adopted the micro-sleep method, he did spend four hour chunks of time sleeping. A foolhardy attempt at jumpstarting skeletal growth, but he would never admit to that.

  Dressed in a Gotham Knights tee shirt that Alfred had insisted he add to the young man's wardrobe, and a pair of black loose fitting lounge pants, the boy had smelled something, much different than what Alfred would usually cook, therefore some investigation must be done. Damian had looked into the kitchen and started approaching. "What are you making?" He asks gently, not pointed as many a statement he made.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley glances over her shoulder at the quiet voice that had snuck up on her. A smile is flashed to Damian though along with a rolling shrug. "It's called..." Her nose scrunches a little bit before she speaks again. "It's a Korean dish I had at a shop a few years ago. I kind of love it. I recently found a few recipes online, but I'm not great at pronouncing the name." It's an apology before she finally attempts the name. The word is right. The accent? Awful. "Tteokbokki." Dok-bow-ki. Essentially 'rice cakes', really, which would seem as if this should be a very simple dish.

"So far it smells pretty close to what I've had so I'm hoping I did it justice. It's great with some sliced beef, too," she adds only to glance askance at him. "But a lot of times it's just this with some green onions, maybe some rice noodles for extra texure. I just really wanted it lately."

A final stir is given before she taps the spoon on the side of the pot to shake off the excess red peppered sauce. It's set down and instead she reaches for a ladel. "Want to try some?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Contrary to popular belief, when allowed to wake up on his own, and the stars align just right, Damian does indeed wake up a different person than after he's been awake for a couple hours. The mixed-race boy takes a moment to peek over and see what is going on, before he sits down on a barstool. "Sure." He comments, even if he knew how to say the dish, he makes no sharp comment or scathing statement.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley ladels up a bit into a bowl. It's a relatively thin sauce but the smell was potent. Sliding it over toward him she then turns to get a bowl for herself with a simple remark of, "Usually it's served with tooth picks but you can eat it however," she explains before stepping away from the stove to join him at the counter. In one hand is the bowl and the other holds a plate of thin sliced beef that looked as if she'd simply browned it on both sides. No fancy spices or sauces. No burn marks. Just juicy looking sliced beef.

"It is a bit spicy but I imagie you'll do fine. The others might not," she reasons with a grin that softens a bit toward him. "I'm sorry I didn't get to warn you about moving in. Your dad just kind of steamrollered the situation by bringing my stuff here."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian picks up a pair of chopsticks for himself, sniffing at the sauce and chuckles just a little at the spicy comment. "You know me more than the rest, it seems." Yes, he was not afraid of the hot chili oil. Not just adding spice for the sake of it. He takes a slice of beef and dips it, savoring that flavor while he chews.

  "You did not need to warn me. If anything, your addition into the manor is the most welcome thing that has happened in a long while." He comments, high praise from the eternally grumpy Damian. "Even mother coming here. It's different than when I first ran away. Like I can't just hate her and my grandfather like I once did."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley wasn't quite as skilled with chopsticks as Damian was. That doesn't stop her from trying. She could still manage without looking too amatuer, at least. One of the small cylindrical rice cakes is picked up first only to roll a bit of the sliced beef around it. It's this little package she then pops into her mouth to chew with a sigh of satisfaction. The spice was there, but so was the savory depth of the fish sauce, and a hint of sweetness lingering before the chili oil kicked in. "Mmm. Not bad for a first attempt I think." Smiling with satisfaction at her handiwork. Or maybe it was what Damian had said.

"Parents are hard," she finally states with a small nod. "Mine aren't great but they're not at the level you're dealing with, either. They just forget about me." She shrugs indifferently. "It's a relief to not have to stress about rent I admit, but at the same time, I was pretty angry at him for just dragging me here. I worked hard to get where I was. It was holding me back from improving here, though. I'll be able to actually help more often now."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "And you're to be my governess, the irony is not lost on me." Especially when he was the one to give instruction. "Or what was it: 'instructor to the scion of one of the most influential families in the world.'" Damian said with a laugh, taking more of the rice cakes and enjoying the flavor and texture. "You know, when I ran off after the gala, you were the first one to even try to find where I was. Before Father, before Richard." He adds in, it was both a compliment to her, and a read on the rest of his family, aside from Jason.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley snorts faintly at the very thought. "They're guys. American guys at that. There's a certain thing about 'giving space' when another one is angry, usually." Even so she adds, "If it helps any, Nightwing was freaking out about you being gone." Another bite of the ric cakes are taken, and she hums thoughtfully considering the situation. "I don't know about 'governess'. That's a bit old fashioned... but there's not really very many other reasons for me being here." Nevermind the fake dating situation going on with Tim.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Oh he was?" He comments, not knowing at all that he even said a thing. "Governess, like I'm a nine year old." He scoffs, continuing to eat the delicious dish. "I need to make a return to the Tower. I'm sure they have been out of the loop with me." He comments, looking to the bowl and taking some beef, pushing it around in the sauce. "It is at least a better cover than 'I found this orphan, I'm keeping him.'"

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Or 'I'm dating a college girl'," Carrie reasons with a little shudder at the very notion and sticks her tongue out. "I don't know what to suggest. You're right, you don't need a 'governess' at all. If you weren't so obviously multi-lingual I'd just have suggested posing as an interpreter or something." Not that she was much better though. "But you're right, he does have a bad habit of adopting orphans."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian laughs just a bit. at the comment on how Bruce adopts orphans. "So, you're my tutor, and also dating my adoptive brother...that could be enough for the paparazzi to feed on for a while." He posits, the thought of them using that story for at least a couple cycles makes sense.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley leans her head down into her hand with a groan at the mention of it. "I'm starting to regret agreeing to do that to help Tim out. There's no sign of that killer so far... and it IS getting the paparazzi's attention." She smiles ruefully with a shrug as she sits up straight again. "I guess it could be worse though. I'm just not used to that sort of attention from the media. But," she adds with a little nod, "It is a good enough cover story."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian looks to Carrie and gives a small smile. "Perhaps the killer eventually stepped on the wrong toes. The criminal underworld here is especially territorial, take one step out of line and you're getting a Colombian necktie the next day." Damian shrugs, like it isn't any of his business.

  "There are ways of dealing with it that may never get back to us you know." The assassin child just keeps eating, finishing his bowl.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley narrows her eyes at such a remark with her chopsticks left hovering over her bowl. A deep breath is drawn, and she exhales slowly. "This is going to be one of those cases where I probably don't want to ask for details," she mutters with a shake of her head. "Though with your mother in town... Who knows what's going on in that line of work in this city at the moment."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "I don't know what you're talking about." Damian says off-handedly. Though one could look plenty between the lines.

  "As long as it's not Ra's the one doing this...it will take care of itself. One thing Ra's won't stand for is someone trying to kill his family. That's his privilege."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley considers that line of thought a moment. "That's some twisted logic right there, Damian. Though probably also similar to something your father might think. His would probably be more along the lines of 'bring to justice' though... Then again he's surprised me lately with how he regards things." Glancing down at her bowl she slides off her stool, and reaches out to take Damian's empty one as well. "I'm going to clean up and then get some training in."