Owner	Pose
Damian Wayne	Nighttime at the Tower, of course it was night time. He needed the cover of night to hide Goliath's crimson fur and wings. The bat-dragon lands on the roof with a distinct thud of his paws and weight on the structure. He gives a snorf. to the air, keeping Damian protected like always.   He was clad in jeans and a black hoodie, pulled over his head. "Stay here, I won't be long." He comments to the dragon, to which Goliath only gives another snorf.
Colette	Damian and Goliath's arrival does not go unnoticed. Normally at this time of night landing on the roof would go unnoticed by all but the tower security systems, but tonight it's already occupied. Stardust sits on the edge, legs dangling, looking out over the bay and the lights of the city beyond. She's quiet and still, and would be hard to spot but for the faint glow her costume is emitting. It does that sometimes.     As Goliath lands, Stardust swings her legs up and around, swivelling on a palm to get her legs back on the rooftop. It's an unnecessarily gymnastic approach to standing up, particularly for a flyer, but a year and a half as a Titan has made its mark on her. For all her nonchalance and I-don't-really-care approach, for all her reliance on powers granted to her, she does train hard, and it has been starting to show. "Goliath," she calls out, not loudly but carrying well in the night-time silence. "Damian." She may be reacting to his appearance by calling him Damian rather than Robin; on the other hand she tends to call him that anyway when nobody else is around to hear. "Been out on patrol?"
Damian Wayne	Goliath, first and foremost pawed up next to Colette once he saw her turn around. He whined a little as he sat down and sniffed at her.   Damian looked toward Colette and sighed. "No, I have not." He claimed, starting to work on a keypad next to a storage area. A small wall dips into itself and opens up, revealing the Red X uniform, and accompanying accoutrements. "I told him the truth, and he stripped me of my title." He says with a great amount of vitriol. To which Goliath nudges at Colette with his nose, giving another SNORF, turning his head to glance at Damian as he was still in his mood.
Colette	Colette raises an eyebrow at Damian, watching in silence as he fetches the uniform of his alter-ego. She holds her hand up to Goliath's nose, giving him a moment to confirm her scent before petting him, the way you might to a dog that wasn't your own. She studies the bundle Damian has retrieved for a few moments, then turns her attention to Goliath again, fussing over him like he was a giant puppy. "Bats. Your father. That's why you're not in costume. But what truth? I got the impression he watches you pretty closely. What didn't he know? Something he couldn't see. Motivations. Hmm. I don't know what to make of him, honestly. He's obviously incredibly smart. But possibly also a little bit... stupid, in certain ways. Really smart people tend to be. Blind spots. Like you.     She turns away from Goliath again to look at Damian, her eyes glimmering faintly. Catching the glow off her costume maybe. "Was he mad, or was he sad? Is he trying to teach you a lesson, or was he angry enough to push you away?"
Damian Wayne	"I told him what happened. What I did to Vorpal. My opinion on Amythest. And he told me" In Batman's voice:"Right now, you don't deserve to wear that uniform." Back to Damian. "I told him the TRUTH, confessed to him. I-allowed him to know it, and he does that to me."   "Never fucking mind that it was months ago, a year!" He punches the wall which held the Red X gear. "Now what can I do? No longer Robin, no longer in the League." He opens the package, revealing the Red X helmet, and he places his hand over the metal stylized skull.
Colette	"Hmm. The answer to that seems pretty obvious really, Damian." Colette chucks Goliath under the chin, then unslings her slightly battered backpack and pulls out a couple of bottles of water, offering one to Damian. "I mean you're doing it already it seems. Though uh... reflexively. Not thinking it through. It's all about masks, isn't it?" She pauses a moment, then looks down, smirking sheepishly. When she looks up agian, her domino mask has vanished.     "Your mother wanted you to be one thing, your father wanted you to be another thing. You're no longer either? Well, that's normal. It's called growing up. Becoming your own person. Everyone does it." Her lips curl up into a smirk. "Usually in not quite such a dramatically symbolic way, though. "     Colette gestures to the Red X mask with a nod. "Not sure that's such a good idea though. Somehow don't think Vorp would be too happy seeing you drag that out of the closet. More importantly, it feels like you're reacting instead of acting. Falling back on the only mask you feel is still available to you, when maybe the problem is you're so used to wearing masks that are there to shape you into one character or another you're not thinking about trying to be what you actually want to be."
Damian Wayne	Goliath gives Colette an affectionate nuzz before she moves over to Damian. The beast stays put, knowing his friend will listen to her.   Damian kneels, looking to the helmet. "Damn him. Complaining I push people away, but I let him in, and it burned me. I've been burned, stabbed, shot, punched, kicked, strangled, prodded, poked, nearly drowned."   Damian stares at the white lenses he placed in this helmet when he made it. "You push people away more than I do, Damian. Yeah, so I guess that makes you the one to throw stones at a glass house, Bruce." He grips the helmet, but hesitated putting it on. "How dare you make sense of my metaphor, Stardust." He says in a quieter tone, almost like he's just talking to the helmet, should Colette pay attention, the boy sheds a tear or two on the silver and black helmet, landing over the stylized teeth.
Colette	"Well, 'swhat I do. Someone's got to make sense of all the metaphors around here. " Colette flashes Damian a quick grin. "You know what? He's an obsessive who dresses up as a bat. You shouldn't expect him to be exactly perfect. You were brought up to seek perfection and when you realized what your mother offered was flawed, you turned to your father. It's no surprise it hurts to think that he's flawed too, but we all are. Even you. So what that he's guilty of the same mistake he's telling you that you make. Don't think of it as hypocrisy, think of it as parenting. If he can help you avoid his mistakes, that's a good thing. "     Colette steps forwards, standing beside Damian and looking down at the mask he's holding. "You know, you could step away from all of this. You don't /have/ to do it. Just because your parents both want you to be... one aspect of this or another, doesn't mean you have to. It's not like your choices are limited. You're good at a lot of different things. Maybe you could take the sketching more seriously. Become an artist. Or look after animals. Open up a sanctuary." She puts the second bottle of water down on the wall next to Damian, for him to take if he wants it, and takes a swig of her own. "But if it's what you want to do, then ultimately you're going to have to find your own way. Like the first Robin eventually became Nightwing, right? You, me, Cassie... we all got given an identity handed to us. Doesn't mean we have to accept it. Maybe your father wanted this to be your Junior Justice League club house, but it's not. We're the Titans. We made this our own, you know? Done things our own way. Made a mark doing it. Made mistakes on the way? Sure. Saved the world though. I don't know what it would take to impress your father, but Wonder Woman seems to be impressed with us for who we actually are, at least." She gives a shrug of her shoulders.
Damian Wayne	Placing the helmet down, Damian takes the offered water, attempting to calm himself down. It mostly works, though the most outspoken Titan is now at a loss for words.   The kit is put aside for now, and he just sighs. "I don't know. Any of it. You know, I asked him if he regretted taking me in. He said not yet." A little bit of an exaggeration, but close to what was said. "We are much more than the sum of our parts, but mine feel inadequate. And people think I am the worst, or less. My supposed family, I'm a backup plan, or the unplanned kid. Surprise, guess who has a thirteen year old kid?! It's you, Bruce!"
Colette	"Sounds like the Bat idea of tough love to me," Colette suggests cynically. "How old was he when he lost his parents?" The change in tack is a sudden, but the implications of the new direction are pretty obvious. "Imagine. Spending your entire life preparing to be a masked crimefighter hiding away in the night and looking out for the faceless masses, and then one day suddenly discovering you should have been preparing to be a parent all along and looking out for a real person with actual feelings you can't just pretend are an abstraction who's your actual responsibility. That must have come as quite a shock."     The tack changes again, just as suddenly. "Why Robin? I mean... what made him think the ideal sidekick for a guy dressed as a giant bat was a kid dressed as a colorful bird? It's hard not to see that as an attempt to bring a bit of color and light into his darkness. A counter-balance. And when he decides you aren't being that counterbalance to his own darkness, because ultimately you're way too much like him rather than being the exact opposite of him, what do you do? You think about wearing that instead." She jerks her thumb in the direction of the Red X mask. "A skull for a face. Like some medieval igure of death. Does it get more anti-Robin than that? And that's what I meant about reacting rather than acting. What do YOU want to do, Damian? Not someone else's plan for you. Not which parent is more acceptable. What kind of mark do you want to make on the world?"
Damian Wayne	Damian hangs his head down, the whole thing he was escaping answering now can't go unanswered. "I don't know. It's never been up to me."   At this time, Goliath comes trodding up to the two, but takes a moment to lick the back of Damian's head. Like he already knew, Damian holds out a hand and pets at Goliath like he did when he was younger, just petting to feel something soft and comforting. "Mother never saw me do this, she would have never allowed it." He comments, that creature loved him, and it showed. "I thought it was my destiny to take the world, then I thought it was to be Batman." A dream which would never die, as much as he would run from it.
Colette	"Other people's dreams." Colette turns away, stepping up to the edge of the roof and looking out over the city lights. "Well, I can see how that works. Voices in my head spend a lot of time telling me what I ought to be, and their answer is I should be exactly the same as them. It's not always easy to ignore, but... fuck 'em. Honestly though, I can't decide which is worse. My parents were pretty much the opposite of yours. They didn't care what I did so long as I was happy. Sounds good when I put it like that, I suppose. But how can you prove yourself if there is nothing to test yourself against? My mother's a succesful business woman, my father's a career politician. I never mentioned that to you. Not exactly exciting compared to your parents, but compared to most people's parents, that's a lot of achievement to look up to. All I had to do to satisfy them was to be their daughter, and I had that one down early on." She turns to give give Damian a quick grin. "It was a shock to they system suddenly having voices telling me that the way I should be measuring my life is how many planets I've saved."     There's anothe quick one-shouldered shrug, Colette turns back to the view. "So fuck 'em. My voices, your voices. They can advise, but we're the ones who get to make the decisions about our own lives, and nobody else. Being Robin isn't a path to being Batman, anyway. That's a messed-up notion. Why would you want to be Batman, when you know he's flawed? Be something better."
Damian Wayne	Damian keeps petting at Goliath as the two talk. He tuts his tongue as he thinks of what to do. "I liked Robin. But I'm not going to allow him to control wether I am Robin or not, it's my choice. And I'll be goddamned if I keep going back to him like a kicked puppy."   The young teen looks to Goliath, and hugs his face, the bat-dragon was large enough to where Damian could hug his head. "Sta-Colette, do you have plans tomorrow night? It istime Damian Wayne made an appearance in high society. Who else to accompany him than...an equally in the spotlight young lady?" He had a plan, and it was going to come together well.
Colette	"That's more like it. If you're going to be a Robin, be your own Robin. Not his reflection. If you're going to be Robin, make it more than being what he needs. I know you always saw your career path as being Robin as a Batman-in-training, and one day casting aside the Robin costume to take up the bat. Well. That might sound neat to him, but you know what sounds better? Robin stepping out from the shadows and becoming more than Batman ever was." Colette turns back from the view out over the city, and oddly gives Goliath a wink. "If I was you, I'd tell him that one day people will remember Batman as the guy who trained Robin. He can be your Jean the baptist." She pronounces 'John' in a distinctly French way - one of those rare occasions where her American accent slips.     To Damian's question, Colette tilts her head questioningly, one eyebrow arching high. "I'm not in the spotlight. Stardust is. And high society mostly sucks. I may not be a Wayne, but I've seen enough of it to know that much. Still... what did you have in mind?"
Damian Wayne	"I have an engagement to attend in Gotham. Big cat charity, my brothers will be there, I want them to see me once more before I take my leave."   He was planning on a leave from the Waynes, to be alone for a time. Be away from the name and from his father's sphere of influence.
Colette	Colette narrows her eyes a bit. "Why do I get the suspicion you're planning something more than one last evening of shaking hands with a fixed smile on your face, pretending you find people interesting and hoping they're shallow enough to think that a large donation they can easily afford makes them worthwhile human beings?" Maybe she has had some high society experience, at that.     She folds her arms, looking at Damian sternly. "If you're planning to go there to make some kind of a scene, then just remember what I said about acting rather than reacting. You have the potential to be something better than any of them. You don't have to prove yourself to them, you just have to do it. Drama for the sake of drama won't get you anywhere."     The stern expression suddenly breaks into a grin, and Colette unfolds her arms. "On the other hand, it'll be a laugh either way. Sure, count me in."
Damian Wayne	Damian gives a smile, looking to his colleague. "I just want to show them what they're going to be missing. Plus you get to see me dressed as a tiger. It's a masquerade ball." He informs, making Damian Wayne sound better than it had been.   When he finishes, he looks to Goliath, and pets the beast. "I need a bit after that. On my own. No bats. But I'm taking that." He says, motioning to the Red X gear. "And my backup from my room."
Colette	"Just don't forget the Waynes and the Al Ghuls aren't your only families, Damian." Colette breaks into a grin. "You've got another family right here with us. And this is one that helped to make yourself rather than just being born into with a world of expectations you never asked for. If you need some time, take it. But don't cut yourself off from everyone. That's the mistake your father and your grandfather made. Remember, you get to chose your friends."     Colette steps back, and looks down at herself. "Masquerade, huh? More masks. I could have used a bit more time to try to find a costume, but I'll manage. It's a shame that for some mysterious reason I'm able to get instant crimefighting costumes, but as soon as I want to change into something less... practical, oh no, that's impossible. One day I'm going to go on strike until the voices explain that little limitation to me."
Damian Wayne	"I know, that's why my T-com is the only way people are going to be able to reach me. If a bat comes looking, I leave it up to your and Vorpal's discretion on if they get to talk to me." He informs, placing such a task in her hands, the amount of trust he has is much more than others.   "Seriously? That's bullshit. I'd probably do the same. I wouldn't have to spend so much time to go undercover." Damian says with a small smile. "I'll let you know where I am once I'm there. I may not be reachable other than by location, so you have that contingency."
Colette	"It's all bullshit, Damian." Despite the words, there's no obvious rancour; Colette even laughs a little as she says it. "That's how they try to shape us, by feeding us a line of bullshit that suits their agendas. We just have to watch for the little inconsistencies. When we went into space... Ash was not happy with me about that. Gave me so many warnings. Not ready for it, blah blah. No experience. Space is dangerous, one slip and you die. How do you get experience if you don't... experience it? You know my oxygen supply ran out and I didn't notice for a couple of minutes? That's a detail Ash forgot to mention. So when I ask... oh, we didn't think you'd be able to manage that power yet. 'You're lucky it happened while your mind was focused on other things, your subconsious dipped into the source out of pure will to surivive, if you had spent more than two or three minutes in a vacuum, it's almost certain you'd have been in trouble...' So of course I ask... why not tell me it's something I can learn? I could practise holding my breath underwater or something. But no... so many inconsistencies."     There's time for one more shrug, and Colette takes a last swig of water before returning the bottle to her backpack. The zipper catches for a moment before she can get it closed. "I really should get another backpack. This one has seen better days. I've grown kind of attached to it though. It's been with me since I started the heroing thing." She laughs and shakes her head. "It's survived quite a lot. They should mention that in the advertizing. Strong enough for fighting crime! Maybe I could get a sponsorship deal." The pack is slung over her shoulder and she looks back to Damian with a grin. "Well, I guess I should go do a bit of googling and see if I can find a costume store with a something good I can pick up tomorrow. And then maybe get a bit of sleep. Text me the details for the party. Goodnight Damian. Or Robin, or whoever you chose to be."