InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Don’t flatter yourself!"

Élan Lot casts (noshadow) wrote in rooms,
@ 2015-07-29 00:53:00

Entry tags:

!dc comics, *journal, *log, destiny, selina kyle

Selina K
[As Destiny.]

Hello. Mind a visit?

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-07-29 02:27 pm UTC (link)

[Selina was in the grey living room, balcony doors open, windows and with Gotham's murky idea of sunlight streaming through the glass. A Victrola played jazz in the corner, and the view was spectacular, high enough to tower over Gotham's cornices and gargoyles, the dark skyline a line of flat surfaces that made Selina itch to run.

But she wasn't running; she was sitting.

Casual in denim and black, legs crossed at the knees, and nothing at all around her to suggest some need of distraction from her thoughts. Just her phone, WayneTech and shiny, at her hip on the couch's grey surface.

And it said something about her nerves, didn't it? That she didn't even flinch when the masculine voice echoed. She looked him over, this man that wasn't a man, head to toe and appreciation of his attire. Her smile warmed, went lush, red, and she chuckled.] A little late for that isn't it? And if you're not a deity, what are you? Don't tell me you're a concept. That got so very tiresome with Em.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-07-31 01:23 pm UTC (link)

[It said something about her nerves that she didn't flinch, but he hadn't expected her to either. Nor did he expect her to present any other face than one of the carefree cat, nothing at all bothering her and why should it?

He tilted his head back and maybe if those dark sunglasses weren't quite so dark, they might have shown his eyes closing as his nostrils flared, taking in the scent of the city and the hotel room mixed together on the slight breeze. Everywhere always smelled so different than his garden - here was the slight undertone of chemical cleaner, fresh flowers on the table, salt and rain and automobile oil from the world outside.

There was the rasp of denim and his head came down, attention seemingly focused on her once again. He couldn't see the smile, but he knew the details of it, and there was a slight movement in his mouth that suggested a smile of his own.] For the future. And yes, I know. Concept is both true and not - we are concepts given flesh and form. Personifications of the abstract. We are not deities. [Though some of them had been worshipped as such, both here on Earth and elsewhere. He paused. The younger self might have been better at this, but this was the easier part of tonight's conversation.] Do you want the philosophy of it? You may not like what you hear.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-07-31 06:43 pm UTC (link)

[She looked him over, even as he looked her over. She wondered, idly, if he always looked like this. Oh, the glasses hid his eyes, but he was tall, broad shoulders in the suit, and he didn't sound particularly young, silly, or riddled. It was interesting, the contradiction between this man and Edward, and the kitty cat would be lying if she didn't admit to comparing the two men. Apples and oranges, that was her first assessment, but it was a fickle thing, changeable and all depending on his actions.

She inclined her head when he talked about concepts, personifications, and she motioned to the couch opposite her.] Does the non-deity want something to drink while we talk? Or is that verboten?

[But his little comment about her possibly not liking what he had to say, the philosophy of it all, it had her pushing herself off the couch in a graceful move, fluid and without effort, as if her bones were made for such facility of movement. She crossed to the bar, and she pulled out a bottle of very dark, very expensive bourbon. She poured herself a sip, the glass crystal, prettily worked and catching the light, and she tipped it back with a smile still on her lips as she regarded him once more.] You'd be amazed at how much I tend to enjoy things I don't like to hear. Go ahead. I'm listening.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-08-01 05:37 am UTC (link)

It is not. [It was physically impossible for him to get drunk, and he'd not yet spent so much time around the mortals here that he had started to blend as his sister had.] I would.

[And he listened as she moved, the grind of denim, quiet feet (though he expected no less. The clink of the decanter, the splash of the bourbon. Yet he remained still, except for the minute tilt of his head to catch the nuances of sound - the gulp of her throat. Dutch courage. He knew enough to not say that and his purpose here was to not needle her excessively.

He did not enjoy needling. There would be enough poking of tender spots without it.] The daughter you wished for, on Valentine's. What did you want for her?

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-08-01 07:11 am UTC (link)

[She poured him a generous serving from the decanter, and she carried it over to him. Arm an elegant extension of wrist as she set the glass down on the side table, and then she returned to her previous spot, her own glass refilled and resting idle between light fingers.

As to his reason for coming, she assumed it was because of Stephanie. Why else would he be here? At least he'd asked, which was more than Em did at the beginning, and the kitty hated those interruptions then, entitled, and entitled made her fur stand on end, irritation and not fear. Though, now that her thoughts flitted over to Em, she supposed it could be the little not-grim-reaper that drew him here.

His question, unexpected as it was, drew merely a darkening of mossy green eyes before she chuckled.] I thought you were telling, not asking.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-08-01 07:34 am UTC (link)

[He took it from her lightly, head turning towards her, warmth coming from proximity and making it that much easier to notice when she was there, and when she moved away.

And yes, he knew about those days that had made her fur rankle from the interruption unasked for and unwanted. Perhaps he was learning quite a lot from Stephanie and from his own sister's missteps when it came to this collection of people.

However, it was neither Stephanie nor Death that had brought him here, though there was a good chance they would turn up in this conversation. Perhaps right now.] I could. But I am told that telling someone about themselves is invasive and you are your own cat. [There was a faint quirk of his mouth again as he swirled the bourbon around lazily against the glass.] I don't think you'd enjoy it. [Though he said think, it was clear in his voice - the correct word was knew, but he was crouching it in the possibility that he could be incorrect.] I'll only ask you one other introspective question this evening.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-08-01 08:19 am UTC (link)

Well, then we're at an impasse. You won't tell, and I won't answer. [Her smile remained, warm and red, genuine as she sipped her drink. And, no, she wasn't interested in sharing her thoughts with someone she'd just met. Well, to be fair, she didn't share her thoughts with anyone these days. Eddie? Eddie got more of her than anyone else. Robert, the one she'd come to trust, was gone. Bruce? She and Bruce weren't even speaking. No, she wasn't going to open up to the man across from her, deity or not, and the fact that he was involved with a little bat? Didn't actually help.]

How about we talk about Stephanie instead? Much better topic. Don't you think? [She finished her drink, and she set it aside comfortably. Oh, he was there, but it was her space, and she didn't rankle easily. Maybe at first, when Em had shown up and claimed to know all kinds of things about the kitty cat's motivations. But she was better at keeping it all contained now, and she could hide her melancholy beneath a red smile like the best-raised Gothamites could.]

And you're to free to ask, but I expect I won't be answering. But, then, you probably already knew that.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-08-01 09:02 am UTC (link)

Then I suppose we won't be discussing the philosophical nature of my existence. [Which, ultimately, he was fine with. It was a side bar, an addendum to the agenda, and ultimately, not of importance. Whatever warmth existed in her smile was lost on him as he remained reclining, face tilted towards hers as though he was looking at her.

Whatever mask she chose, he would never see, but he did note how fast she was going through her bourbon and offered his untouched glass out to her.] We can talk about Stephanie. [There were some things he would never say about her, not to this woman, not to his sister, not to anyone, but that was true of everyone. It wasn't his duty to tell, only to know and telling caused more problems than it had ever fixed - he'd learned that very early on and never tried again.]

That question isn't one I'm expecting an answer to.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-08-01 09:18 am UTC (link)

Well, I think I can live with that. I never did like it when Em went all-knowing on me. I think I might've threatened to kill her a few times. Wait, do you call her Death? Or is there some sibling form of affection you use for one another?

[She was precisely as relaxed as before, as if the question had never happened, as if he didn't poke at a particular sore spot. But, in truth, she had a lot of those these days. She was low, so low she was numb, and she wasn't very good at numb.

But she smiled, all Gotham perseverance, and there was a hint of truth to it, something that held the potential of being entertained.] Can we talk about you and Stephanie? [The kitty cat, she didn't need a peek into the little blonde bat's head. She'd known Stephanie and her demons a very long time.] I think you make her smile. [It was an honest observation, something like fond approval, even if the kitty cat and the bats were at outs.]

Ah, hypotheticals. My favorite.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-08-01 09:32 am UTC (link)

[If she disliked it when Death did it, she would likely like it even less when he did.] Yes. Occasionally, I call her my sister. [She would be Death to him until another came to take her spot within the Endless and then she would be whatever name she had chosen.

And if she thought the family of Bats and Birds was impossible, at least they didn't know everything about each other all of the time.] We are much like any other family. [With a few notable changes, but he didn't feel like that needed to be said.]

We can. And she does. [The fondness, the dip in her tone to suggest it regardless of her standing within the family she craved (and she did, regardless of how much she didn't want to admit it) was noticed.] She enjoyed her time with you in dinosaurs. [Nothing about her worry over the other woman - that was something Stephanie needed to speak to her about.]

No. [And there, almost a hint of warmth.] Not hypothetical. [An ugly truth? No, it wasn't that either, so much as it was a painful one.] We'll get there.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-08-01 10:32 am UTC (link)

[Em was better at it now. No, Em was better at it before this new and fragile mortality that was in every little thing Em did, said, thought.] My sister. How intimate. [She was teasing, the smile warm, and she didn't know enough about the Endless to know Em could be replaced, that she would be replaced. In truth, she didn't think much about their functions at all. People died without Em in the door, and people would keep dying without Em in the door. Some things? Some things, the kitty cat knew, were unavoidable.] I wouldn't know how any other families are. You know how it is in Gotham.

[Once, she'd craved a place in Bruce's nest, but she wasn't sure what she wanted these days. She did know she was tired of trying, tired of fighting. No, she wasn't sure she wanted to be anything to the little birds and bats, not since that incident with Babs, and not since Bruce's return. But that was neither here, nor there.] I think we both wanted hot showers more than we wanted time together, at least by the end. [Also true.]

Ah, pity. I love hypotheticals. I don't love waiting. So, either we get to it before I need to go downstairs, or you take it with you. [The kitty cat, she was a good gambler, and she wasn't afraid to walk away from the table without a show of hands.]

So, how about you tell me why you're here.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-08-02 01:50 am UTC (link)

You know how the Bats and Birds are. [And while they weren't entirely like that-] We have less fighting. [Or moderately less fighting, depending on how long it had been since they'd seen each other and how much they wanted to see one another again. But that was neither here, nor there. The phone, chained to his wrist, lit up as he ran through what she did know of families. There had to be others - no. There weren't. None save for them and the abandonment of her own.

His head dipped when she talked about what they both wanted by the end. Yes, that was true.] If you - feel the urge, write to her. [It wasn't overstepping his bounds to say that much, to hint that Stephanie might like to hear from the Cat.

The quirk returned when she spoke of needing to go downstairs. Patience was not in her long list of abilities, though it may have topped his. When someone had lived as long as they had, waiting a little longer had no meaning.] The daughter - [No need to clarify which one, was there?] - from another world. If she's Bruce's, then she's also yours.

[His voice softened and then came the question. It wasn't a coup de grace; it wasn't even hypothetical.] Why do you think your wish-daughter had the same name she does? [It was phrased as if it was a curiosity, but it wasn't - at least not for him. There was that saying about curiosity and cats.

He stood smoothly, hands running down the line of his coat to straighten it.] Now, you mentioned you have someplace to be, and I have a meeting with Stephanie. Have a good evening, Selina.

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

spacecowboys
2015-08-02 03:29 am UTC (link)

[She couldn't imagine Em fighting, not really, so she wasn't very surprised to hear they fought less, the concepts that weren't concepts at all. She glanced at the phone on his wrist, a mere lift of brow as it lit, and she didn't ask. She didn't want to know. She'd had plenty of fights with Em in the early days, arguments about what was personal, what was private, and she had a feeling that whatever was causing that phone to light up? She would consider it a breech of everything that she felt should be hers and hers alone.]

Stephanie? We write each other. Not today, but I'll check on her soon. [Which was true. She was still figuring out boundaries now, but she was sure she and Stephanie would talk, just like she and Dickie talked. It wasn't like before, but it was something. Like Eddie, she thought maybe it was all for the best.

But, ah, there. Down to brass tacks.] I know. I remember now. [She smiled as if she expected him to say more, because she did. He didn't come all the way here just to say that. And when he added his little bit about names, she chuckled.] Oh, is that it? Something subconscious, of course. Also, something irrelevant at this juncture.

[Her smile returned, smooth, and she didn't stand.] Thank you for the visit. I hope your meeting with Stephanie goes well. [The smile she gave him then was genuine. She really did want the best for the little blonde bat. Stephanie, she deserved a little bit of happiness.]

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Re: The Egyptian: Selina/Destiny

noshadow
2015-08-02 09:05 am UTC (link)

[Oh, he knew about those fights. He knew, too, that this woman valued her privacy so that the knowing that he and his siblings had would blister it uncomfortably. Stephanie valued her privacy too, though he tried to cater to it in ways so it seemed less like a violation. Like asking to visit. Like knocking. They weren't much, but they were something he could opt to do and so he did, with the foresight that there would one day be a time when it wouldn't be an option for him.

He nodded, simply, a bob of his head. It felt - it felt as though he should say more, like in those moments when he and his sister had fought and she needed something from him that he didn't know how to give. Compassion wasn't one of his strengths; it was a behavior that had to be learned and one he could only display, not feel, not to the point where it jeopardized his function.

And no words of compassion, or even honesty, would fix what had been broken. No, that was up to them, the humans that were left to work out their hurts and violations.] The subconscious is always relevant. [There were no smiles to mask the truth in the subconscious, but he didn't say that either.]

As do I. [He set the untouched glass of bourbon down, a shame he didn't get to taste it, but maybe she would drink it once he was gone.] If you should ever feel like asking, you know how to reach me. [And then he was gone with a rustle of unseen pages.]

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