InsaneJournal

Dick Grayson & Enid Sinclair

BIRD PLOT | AROUND THE STATION | MID
warnings ... bird violence?

He had known it was a bad idea but Dick Grayson wasn’t exactly synonymous with great decision making. In a pinch, sure, he could come up with tactics that saved lives but his own? It was met with a lot of indifference. Which was how he’d been so sure that it would be fine for him to head to work that day, do his thing with the acrobatic training camp and then the trapeze performances later. It should have been fine.

It was not fine. With a huff, Dick forced the door of the lobby closed and winced as he felt a duo of collisions against the glass. If he bothered to turn to look, there would be glitter clinging in the birds’ wake and the ground would have the piles of proof as well. Dick? Oh, he was going to have glitter in his hair for weeks. Dick still wasn’t a fan of elevators (kill boxes) so he headed for the stairwell. He paused, spotting Enid just above and on the stairs, and seemed to consider his next action for all of one second before shaking his hair out like he’d just gotten out of the pool.

“In hindsight, all of today was probably a bad idea,” Dick said, though she hadn’t asked. He flashed a grin.

Enid stopped mid stride at the sight of a glitter covered Dick Grayson. But when he shook out his hair, that was enough to tip her over the edge, laughing at the waterfall of sparkles that floated serenely to the floor. Her smile was impish as she regarded him. “Your first clue might have been the very grouchy birds.”

She’d been out a few times herself, only staying close to the Station, and only long enough to help some people who had been stranded. Not only did she have her claws, she healed quickly, so a few pecks here and there hadn’t been too much of a nuisance. Her attitude was basically that someone needed to help the people in trouble, and it might as well be someone who had ways to protect themselves.

She was very much looking forward to this being over soon though. Because killer birds? Ew. Not on her list of favorite things ever.

Dick gave a careless, what-can-you-do sort of shrug. That demeanor, the one he wore in public, was just as much a costume as the Nightwing uniform was. They served very different purposes. "Something, something, bad life decisions. Very grouchy birds is an understatement. I feel like we're in the Hitchcock film only it's not as terrifying." Not that the movie had given him nightmares or something; he'd already been out as Robin by the time Dick had seen that movie and it was nothing compared to the nightly atrocities in Gotham.

He narrowed his eyes a little and looked over Enid with new interest. "And where are you going?" he asked slowly.

Enid laughed, because okay, point. Understatement for sure. “Oh, ew no. That movie was not it.” She had, naively, thought it wouldn’t be that bad. Never again. She’d stick to her kung fu movies thanks very much.

She started making her way further down the stairs only to stop in her tracks at his question. She didn’t know why the way he asked it made her feel guilty. It shouldn’t have. She was a strong, independent werewolf who didn’t need no…whatever he was. Older worried type? “I was going to see if maybe anyone else needed help.”

Dick knew that stop all too well. He had done it himself many times and all it had taken was B saying it in that tone and just his name. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Going out is a bad idea. I say in a 'do as I say, not as I do' kind of way," Dick said, immediately amending the bad idea statement. He wasn't out as Nightwing; for all Enid knew, he was the hapless human he pretended to be. "Going out without a buddy is a worse idea. And going out without a weapon? Worst idea yet." He lifted a hand to rub his thumb over his lower lip in contemplation and swiftly regretted it. His nose wrinkled and he made little spitting sounds like one would when they got sand in their mouth. Only it was glitter. It was bird glitter.

He eyed her. "Do you have a bat?"

Enid smiled in an ‘I know something you don’t know’ sort of way. “I’ve got a weapon.” She could just hide it really easily. “I’ve already been out on my own twice and had no trouble.”

Her nose wrinkled in sympathy when his did. Ew, dead bird glitter. “I don’t need a bat, though apparently everyone around here is obsessed with them. I have these.” She held up one hand, flicking out her claws to demonstrate part of what she was capable of. The possible danger they represented was countered by the fact they were painted in cheerful pastel pinks, yellows and oranges.

Dick didn't even flinch at the show and had to remind himself to make a surprised face. "Impressive. But a bat or similar is so you aren't completely up close and personal. There's at least a little distance between you and the target," he said.

His brain caught up with him a little more and he couldn't help the quiet laugh that escaped him. "I love that your claws keep the nail polish colors.” But he sighed and eyed Enid with something like resignation. "You really shouldn't go out alone, though. If you are willing to wait, I'm going to go change clothes into something I won't mind just trashing later and to grab-" his escrima "-a bat. Maybe I can borrow a second one for you if everyone around here is obsessed with them. But I'll wade out there with you if you really need to go out there."

“You’d be surprised at what I can do with these.” She got what he was saying, but she thought a bat or whatever would just slow her down.

“Thank you!” She beamed. She happened to be quite proud of her colorful claws, and if she painted them when they were extended the colors held. “I couldn’t ask you to do that, though. I was only going to do it if I could see anyone else who needed help. We could just scope it out together, maybe?” That was a compromise, right? He could agree to that and not be in any real danger.

Dick managed to hide his smile though oh how he wanted to. Her compromise was essentially what his offer had been and the layers meant that she would probably be safer not because he was there but, well, because he was there. That had made a lot more sense in his head the first time he'd thought it. If Enid was busy worrying about him not being in danger, Dick thought she would be content with staying more out of the way.

"You didn't ask me," he pointed out and smiled. "But yeah. We can scope it out. Why don't you come up to the apartment and at least hang out in the hall while I swap clothes real quick and grab a bat. Shouldn't take me long. I'd say come in but if my brother is asleep on the couch or something, that could be awkward." Just like it could be awkward if Jason was on the couch and making out with his boyfriend when Dick walked in. One was far less traumatizing than the other depending on the literal audience.

“That's okay! I’ll just wait downstairs for you. Cross my heart I won’t go outside until you’re back.” He was the squishy human, he needed something besides a bat to keep him safe from the gross death birds. She’d wait for him and they could both go out there together, if at all. “Besides, if your bro really is sleeping I do not want to be that person!”

Blue eyes narrowed for a moment while Dick tried to decide if Enid was telling the truth. Would she go outside while he was gone? No, she seemed the genuine type and Dick knew how to read people. All those little micro-expressions that people didn't even realize they did in their day to day. He pushed his cheerful smile.

"Alright," he relented but then made the I'm watching you gesture with two fingers from his eyes toward her. "I'll be back as fast as I can." And then he was jogging up the stairs like they were nothing, glitter raining down with every bounce until he disappeared from the stairwell.

True to his word, Dick returned in clothes that looked worn and easily discarded without remorse if he decided the glitter was too much to deal with. He had an aluminum bat in his right hand and his grip was sure. Dick spun it carelessly once and flashed a grin at Enid. "Thank you for waiting," he said with the usual cheer. "Which way do you want to go when we're outside and are we walking or jogging?"

Enid wasn’t left waiting long, not that she’d have minded too much. She’d told him she’d wait and she was happy to when it seemed so important to him. And there was some truth to safety in numbers, after all.

She couldn’t help the little smile at the swing of the bat, his casual swagger showing through. Such a boy. “Let’s go right.” There were more places people could have been stuck hiding from the birds that way. “I’m good with jogging if you are.” She continued on down the stairs ahead of him, doing up the zip of her pink hoodie a little higher. It wasn't really the weather for it, but she liked the easy way of losing a layer of glitter, after.

"I could use some cardio today," Dick joked as he followed Enid. "We should probably look at coffee shops and the like where people just need a path to get to their cars."

And then they were outside and Dick automatically turned to go to the right. It was easy to pick up the pace; aerobics were a daily (and nightly) thing and he could run and hold a whole conversation without breaking a sweat. Enid didn't need to know the particulars. Dick heard the wing flaps before he saw what was coming and he paused just long enough to plant his feet and swing behind them. In a spectacular explosion of glitter, the bird was handled and Dick sighed. "I'm thinking I should have grabbed something to cover our faces."

Enid’s claws had extended instinctively at the sound of the bird's wings, but Dick’s bat took care of things in a spray of sparkles, covering her hair again. “It’s a good thing I don’t mind glitter. As long as I don’t think too hard about where it’s come from.” She pulled a face indicating what she thought of that. His idea to check in on some of the coffee shops was a good one, and it didn’t take long before they’d reached the first run of shops. A bird was flapping aggressively at the glass - were they going to figure out how to get inside, next? And Enid easily grabbed it, claws making short work in what would have been a macabre display if they weren’t made of glitter. “After you?” She nodded towards the door, indicating he should go inside first to see who might be needing help.

At her face, Dick pulled a face; he didn't want to think about it too hard, either. Though he was also fairly used to things getting bloody and maybe that should have bothered him more.

"Watch the door," he said and slipped inside though he left a small crack as he kept his fingers on the glass. The workers could deal with fingerprints, he was more interested in being able to better hear Enid while his back was turned. "Anyone want to leave? Now's the time," he called out. People could also just hunker down and stay that way if they wanted but several got up to hurry toward him. A mother with a toddler, for example, who probably needed to get home for a multitude of reasons. "Last call, people!"

With his little ducklings at his back, Dick stepped back outside and readied himself. "Hurry to your cars or whatever. If you need to wait for a bus, you need to get back indoors," he said with maybe a little too much calm. And it was just a little too close to his Nightwing voice, if he examined himself a little too hard.

Enid waited as he slipped inside, taking care of a few more birds who got a bit close for comfort. If you waited for them to get close enough and didn’t let the flapping wings get to you, they weren’t too bad one on one. Of course, now she had a new spattering of glitter covering herself to deal with.

As Dick fired off his calm instructions, she took it upon herself to help a young, scared looking woman who indicated a car not far off. Once everyone who was safe was at least somewhere protected, she joined Dick near the entrance to the cafe. “This is kind of fun! Team bird kill to the rescue.” Trust Enid Sinclair to find the lighter side of killing glittery death birds.

With that line, Dick realized that he and Enid were kindred spirits about how they approached the situations that weren't dire but weren't good. As Robin and then as Nightwing, he'd always been 'way too cheerful' according to some and he always kept up the running commentary. He had been a menace since he'd first put on the pixie boots.

So he grinned at Enid and lifted his fist for a bump. "Let's keep moving down this side of the street and then we'll cross and double-back. We shouldn't get too far from the Station, just in case," Dick said and absently tossed his bat gently, catching it by one end and then the other. "But we can do a fair sort of clover pattern and clear around the Station in the meantime. Who knows? Maybe the birds are attracted to us and they'll tighten up formation."

Dick gripped the bat again and turned his head to look at Enid, still grinning. "Ready?" He swung at another black bird that had been winging in toward them. "You know, morbid thought, but I really hope the non-murdery birds are in hiding or high-tailed it to safer ground. I’d feel bad if we got something that didn’t explode in glitter."

Enid returned the fist bump, nose scrunching up in an adorable little smile in complete contrast to the claw wielding bird killing she’d just been doing. It probably wasn’t ideal to feel a thrill of excitement at what they were doing, but she was a werewolf, after all. And Dick made a good bird fighting buddy.

“Ready!” She confirmed, flicking her claws back out. She couldn’t help the little laugh at his self proclaimed morbid thought. “I’d feel bad for my hair. That is way too many layers of ew.” Shifting from her crouched position, she prepared to cross back to the front of the buildings to enter the next one. “Let’s go.”

"Way too much 'ew'," Dick grimaced and moved to take on their next task of checking the next set of doors. It would be easy to fall into a pattern. Enter the business, get people out, get people moving onward, and get to the next place. Rinse and repeat--which, really, Dick was hoping he'd be able to literally rinse soon enough. He was going to end up caked in glitter by the time they called it.

Well, at least the bat was easy enough to look like an absolutely-normal-human and he wasn't having to get too creative. It wasn't a secret that he was working with the circus and the acrobatics center as his day job but that still felt like toeing the line at all times. "Alright. Next door. Want to go inside this time?" he asked as they continued their slow move down the block.

“I’ve got it,” Enid agreed, slipping in through the door, confident Dick had things well and truly handled outside. He knew his way around a difficult situation, she could see that much. She’d have to ask him about that later, maybe. But not right now. Now was so not the time for deep questions about peoples pasts. She, on the other hand, was winging it (oh no, accidental terrible bird pun!). But she couldn’t make herself stay inside knowing there were people like this, stuck in shops terrified and wanting to get home.

There was only three of them in this particular hole in the wall place, and with a quick explanation and a friendly smile she was herding them out the door ahead of her, on the assurance they all had cars very close by.

It was easy to work with Enid; Dick was used to working with minors in dangerous situations and while he didn't like the idea of someone going out alone, untrained, he wasn't going to stomp on their autonomy unless they were being stupid about it. Enid was intelligent and she'd agreed to waiting for him. She followed direction well so it was easy to predict her location and actions.

"Next," he chirped and tapped the end of the bat against his shoe to get some of the glitter off. Flinging glitter in a fighting space wasn't the brightest idea. He had already lost count of how many of the birds they'd handled; he hadn't lost count of how many people they'd left behind for various reasons. They were safer where they were, he knew, but Dick Grayson had to save everyone--or at least try.

“Next!” She agreed. “I think I have glitter up my nose,” she went on in mock complaint, her cheerful demeanor remaining firmly in place. She moved further down the street, Dick a few paces behind her. She took care of another few birds along the way, hearing him do the same. They made a good team, she thought. Maybe she needed to make a habit of this, maybe it was her calling! But then…maybe not. She had other priorities that needed her attention. And she was not meant for all this dead bird glitter. And if it had been blood? Ew, no thank you.