Who: Katya and Zoe What: First Meetings When: Around 5pm, Feelings Plot Day Where: Bathos (Roger's Apartment) -> Hamartia (Katya's Apartment) Warnings: None!
After assuring the cab driver that she was fine, and that she would continue being fine, she payed him appropriately and headed towards the building. Nothing fancy, just your run-of-the-mill apartment complex. She checked the piece of paper she’d written his address down on and let herself onto the the appropriate floor. There wasn’t a clue in her mind what she was going to say to him first, she didn’t even know how he would react when he saw her, but she hoped that it would at least be a good reaction.
When she reached his door, there was already someone there. A gorgeous redhead (Roger had always had a thing for redheads) just standing there, probably waiting. Was this his girlfriend? She approached the girl with a smile. “Hi, I’m Zoe,” She realized that she must look like some strange drifter with her bags, showing up at her boyfriend’s door, unannounced, “Is this Roger’s place?” Well, that wasn’t going to help.
Katya had gone to Roger’s place after getting the feelings from that woman. She needed to talk to someone about how others perceived her, and Roger would always be honest with her. Plus, whoever that woman was, she knew Roger, had feelings for Roger. So she got into a cab and planned to only stop by for a little bit before work. Kat had lingered for a moment at Gideon’s floor’s landing, but kept walking. She’d deal with her dad later.
She knocked on Roger’s door twice, but there wasn’t any answer. His absence hadn’t been what Katya was expecting, so she sighed and turned to go. Maybe she would visit Gideon instead, though it probably wasn’t the best idea. She was about to turn around when another woman appeared and introduced herself. “Yes it is. I am Katya,” she replied curiously. “How do you know Roger?”
There was a bit of relief Zoe’s her voice that she hadn’t been greeted with any kind of hostility. The accent was a bit of a surprise, but not a bad one. “We’re old friends,” She explained, simply, because she wouldn’t even know where to start with the whole disappearing thing and portals and the other side, “Are you his girlfriend?” She didn’t mean to be nosy, but when it came to Roger, she would find out sooner or later anyways.
Katya’s head tilted to the side at Zoe’s question. “Girl...no, no. I am not having sex with Roger,” she replied, honesty clear across her face. “Old friends?” She paused for a moment, recalling the feelings from before. She was guessing Zoe had never seen her, merely because she didn’t recognize her, but she asked anyway. “Do you know a woman named Max?”
There was a small chuckle at Katya’s shock, “Well I didn’t mean it like that, but you’re just friends then?” It was more of a statement than a question. But there was a small element of skepticism to it.
“Max, like Maxine?” Zoe frowned for a second, trying to recall whether or not she knew a Max, “Um, I don’t think so. Is she another friend of Roger’s?” It seemed like a million years had passed since she’d last seen her friend. She wouldn’t be surprised if he’d met a woman named Max, in that time.
Katya shrugged. “I am not sure. This morning was...odd,” she replied, seemingly brushing off the issue to the side. “I do not believe Roger is here. Was he expecting you?” she asked, turning fully to face Zoe properly. Katya was dressed in conservative jeans and a dark green sweater that still fit her curves nicely, but it wasn’t anywhere near her normal attire.
This caused a raised eyebrow on Zoe’s part, “Wait, tell me about this odd thing.” Was she not the only one who’d had weird things happen to her today? She shook her head, this next part might be hard to explain. “I don’t think he is, no. Actually, I’m new in town,” She gestured at her bags, “I was hoping he was here. I haven’t seen him in a while and I needed a place to stay while I found my own place.”
“Did you...know Roger when he was in New York City? As Police?” A curious question, perhaps, but it would give Katya the necessary information to determine whether or not Zoe was a Creation. It could also explain her experiences with the feelings that other people seemed to be very worried about. Another nagging thought tugged at her, but she didn’t want to expose Roger’s position as Nightwing, and thus wouldn’t ask if Zoe knew.
The question was a surprise, but it was pretty clear that Katya was either A) also from across the portal or B) at least know about people from across the portal. ie. Roger and herself. That made things so much easier. “Yeah, actually. Roger and I have known each other since we were kids. Our grandparents played bingo together,” A fond nostalgic kind of smile on her face as she spoke. Then as an afterthought, she added, “Did you?”
Katya’s entire face broke out into a grin. She might have hugged Zoe if she wasn’t trying so hard to act more appropriately. “I did, but not for very long before he came here. I just arrived a few months ago.” She glanced down at Zoe’s bags. “Would you like to stay with me until you can get in touch with Roger?” she asked, a warm, open smile on her face.
“Yeah actually, that would be great! If you’re sure it won’t be a bother?” It was clear that Zoe had lucked out in meeting someone so genuinely sweet within her first hours in the city. Still, she wondered if this was a common thing, to show up at Rogers and have him not actually be there. If he was still doing the whole vigilante thing, she wouldn’t be surprised. “He kind of disappeared, it’s actually why I’m here at all. I’ve been looking for him. Does he go missing a lot, like this? I tried his phone first, but he didn’t answer.”
Katya smiled widely. “Not at all. My apartment is not the best, but it should be acceptable for a few days,” she replied warmly, reaching to help Zoe with her bags. “I am not sure. I do not usually just drop by, but I was hoping to speak to him about this morning,” she added. “He should be awake by now though, even if he was out last night.”
“Well, thank you then,” Zoe grinned back, handing the other woman one of her bags, “This is very nice of you!” She could already tell that she was going to like this girl.
“Out last night?” She feigned surprise, though she had some idea what Roger might be doing out so late that 5PM was a normal waking time, “On a Sunday night?” She didn’t ask about morning thing again, but she thought about bringing it up again later.
She took the offered bag, the smiled never leaving her face, and began to lead Zoe back down to the lobby. “It is nice to meet some of Roger’s friends. I have spoken with a few of them since arriving here, but I had not had the pleasure of meeting them,” she explained warmly. The fact that she had never met them didn’t bother Katya in the slightest. She wasn’t sure where she stood with Roger, and certainly didn’t want to involve herself in his life unnecessarily. “He has become an owl of the night,” she explained with a bit of a shrug. “He enjoys his evenings and sleeps the day away,” she added with an affectionate smile.
“You’ve spoken to them? Like, on the phone?” That seemed a little odd to Zoe, that Roger would put her on the phone with his friends instead of just taking her out to meet them. Definitely not normal behavior, she couldn’t see why he wouldn’t want her to meet his friends either. The next statement was more on track with Roger’s normal behavior, though, and she grinned in memory of his stories, “He’s kind of always been a little bit nocturnal. I think it’s just the way he was born.” Or maybe it was because he’d spent so much time fighting crime at night that he didn’t have time for other things during the day.
“So,” She segwayed, as she followed Katya to the elevator, “How long have you known Roger?”
Katya gave a half-shrug, ignoring the first question. She had been referring to the Comms, but she realized Zoe probably didn’t know about them. “Nocturnal, right,” she repeated, committing the term to memory. She would need to improve her mannerisms and sayings, and the best way to do that would be to remember all the corrections. “I only knew him for a short while back in New York City. He helped with a break in at my apartment, but I ended up delivering the bad guys to him,” she replied with a bit of a smile. She would have continued on, telling Zoe about her own exploits as a vigilante, but thought better of it.
Once outside, Katya found a cab and climbed in with Zoe. “I do not live in the best of places, like I said, but hopefully you will not mind too much?” she added, though her tone indicated that she wasn’t really sure what Zoe’s reaction would be to Hamartia. “I am attempting to save up to move into the Bathos, but it is a bit of a stretch for myself,” she lamented.
Growing up in an upper-middle class family, Zoe always had the privilege of living somewhere nice. Even when she’d first moved out on her own, she never lived in the more crime-ridden parts of town. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t know how to protect herself, or that she didn’t know what it was like in those places. By the looks of it, Katya wasn’t the kind to just sit around like some damsel in distress either, especially if she’d been living in the sketchier parts of town like she kept telling her.
“It’s completely fine, don’t worry about it!” She assured the redhead again, she really didn’t mind, she felt like enough of a bother as it was, “Oh, are you saving up to move here? It seems like a nice place to live.” She gestured out the window of the towards the building that they were now pulling away from.
Katya smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I work not too far from here as well. It is inconvenient now, but it will be wonderful when I am finally able to move,” she replied, looking out the window as well. “I am hoping that I will be able to work enough shifts at work to save the money. My new boss is very nice. He does not make me wear the hooker heels or the uniform that was a bit too small for me,” she added, sounding enthusiastic, though her new outfit was still rather risque to most people.
“Nice bosses make all the difference,” Zoe nodded in agreement, “what do you do?” She asked with a warm smile, genuinely interested. She didn’t say anything about the comment on the “hooker heels” or the small uniform, though she assumed that she used to work at a local bar or something to that effect. Some of the teachers she used to work with had second jobs as bartenders and waitresses, and the heels meant more tips.
“I am a bartender now. I used to be a bartender and a waitress at this other place that was much different from Dorsia, where I work now. It was a bit of an adjustment, but my boss was very understanding and did not give me any trouble,” Katya explained as they drove through Seattle. It was very easy to see the shift from the area where Bathos was located and where Hamartia was. She felt a tinge of embarrassment, but chose not to say anything about it.
“Will you need a job here? I could speak with Mr. Weisz about a position for you if you need it. Roger might have better contacts though,” she offered, muttering the last part as if she was reprimanding herself. Who knew all those silly feelings would throw her this much?
“Actually, no. I’m a teacher, I transferred here to cover for another teacher who’s on maternity leave,” She explained, smile still on her face, “ But thank you for the offer. That’s very sweet of you.” She caught the mumbles and gave a light-hearted laugh, “I think I bother Roger enough, as it is. I wouldn’t want him running around trying to find me a job, on top of everything I’m sure I’ll need from him at some point in the future.”
Actually, it was kind of nice, being able to stay with Katya for the night. From experience, she could say that female roommates were cleaner than male roommates. Especially if the male roommate in question was Roger.
Katya blushed, realizing Zoe had caught her mumbling. “You are welcome. If you are a friend of Roger’s from back home, surely you are a good person,” she replied, as if it explained Katya’s hospitality. “You are welcome to bother me as well. Roger is very busy, so if there is ever anything you might need, please do not hesitate to ask,” Katya offered with a warm smile just as the cab stopped. Katya pulled out the cash for the cab driver and climbed out of the car with Zoe’s bag. “I am only four floors up. Our elevators do not work,” she explained with a bit of a shrug.
“Thanks,” Zoe wasn’t sure how that logic made sense, but she liked to think that she was a good person and she knew Roger was a good person. And well, all of Roger’s friends that she’d met before seemed like good enough people to render that kind of reaction.
The building definitely didn’t look safe, but Zoe wasn’t one to complain. She was just glad that Katya had plans to move out soon enough. “Thank you,” She was touched by how openly friendly this girl was, especially since had been a complete stranger not too long ago, “And you’re welcome to bother me, too. I’m not sure how helpful I’ll be, but I promise I’m a good listener, if you just need a friend or something.” Four flights of stairs wasn’t that bad. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and followed Katya up to her apartment.