Bruce Wayne (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thingsfall) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sixthiterationlogs2016-10-15 08:04 pm
thingsfall) wrote in sixthiterationlogs2016-10-15 08:04 pm
we do our time like pennies in a jar
WHO: Bruce Wayne
WHERE: The Fountain | The Inn | Fountain Park
WHEN: October 15th and the days following
OPEN TO: all
WARNINGS: to be updated as needed
STATUS: open
arrival; the fountain
He wakes to the sensation of cold and damp, and for a long, hazy moment, all Bruce can think of is Amnesty Bay. The faint light he can sense through his closed eyelids gives that thought fleeting reinforcement--is it the lighthouse?
...No. No, that was weeks ago. He left Amnesty Bay, he came and went from Central City, he forged--he hoped--new alliances. Tomorrow he goes to Detroit. Tonight... tonight he's in Gotham.
His eyes snap open and he breathes in, startled, then shaken as he gets a noseful of water. He holds his breath, nostrils smarting, lungs tight, and on instinct he lunges upward toward the light.
He doesn't so much break the surface of the water in the fountain as he does crash through it, waves smacking the concrete walls, his breath righting itself in coughs and ragged gasps for the few moments it takes him to regain control. He treads water, taking stock: trees, sky, he's in some kind of pool--no, he turns, it's a... fountain? His armor is gone, he's not in Gotham, he knows there's no place like this in Gotham, what's on his back? Where are his clothes?
He strikes out for the edge of the fountain, hauling himself up and over, water dripping from his light gray scrubs, his hair, everything, noisy as it hits the ground around his feet. He sheds the backpack, dropping it onto the fountain wall, digging through its contents.
The sound of someone approaching gets his attention. He turns at once, tense, alert, though he makes no further moves.
"Hello?"
getting settled; the inn
The close quarters already grate on his nerves, and it's only his second full day here.
Bruce closes the door to his assigned room with a very small sigh. It's nothing against everyone else here, far from it. They've all been kind, helpful, friendly if a bit wary about him, and he doesn't blame them for that last part. He's a newcomer, he'd be unsure of him too.
Part of his restlessness, sure, is that he's used to having so much more space. The lake house, the estate grounds, his business properties in both Gotham and Metropolis, all of Gotham at night. But the greater part of it is his usual solitude. It's just been him and Alfred, for a decade now, since...
Since the last time he tried to build a family led to loss and ruin.
It's been easier to work alone, fight alone, grieve alone. But he can't do it all himself. That was a hard lesson to revisit this year, and again it cost him dearly. He gets it, now, that he can't fight alone, that he can't shoulder everything. He's building a team back home, and he's got to, he's sure, become part of the community here.
It just still feels weird.
He sets out, determined to battle his ingrained instincts. He offers the people he passes on his way downstairs a friendly good morning, pausing for more conversation if they'll have it. He joins a few others at breakfast, dialing back his urge to interrogate everyone about everything.
Afterwards, he's out on the front porch, breathing in the fresh air. This place would be so peaceful if he was here by choice.
finding his bearings; fountain park
One of the basic rules of detective work is to start with the scene of the crime. Gather your evidence there. Figure out what happened. Try to make sense of it, let that tell you the story.
He can't think of anything else to try at the moment, so Bruce has returned to where he arrived, hoping maybe something will give him some clue, some idea.
At the start of his reinvestigation, he can be found inspecting the fountain and the immediate area. How was he placed there? Is there a way out? Does the fountain have any significance?
Somewhere in the middle, he climbs the tallest tree nearby. With rather a lot of speed and agility, if you happen to be around, happen to have an eye for that sort of thing. He lingers up there a while, surveying the fountain, the park, but also getting views of the village as a whole, or at least as best he can from this single tree.
There might also be a small comfort in something a bit familiar. Watching the area from on high.
Before he leaves, in the interests of being thorough, he jumps back into the water. He feels his way along the walls, he does his best to reach the floor, he breaks the surface a few times to look up at the trees and sky. Eventually he hauls himself out, the wet weight of his clothes against his body and the soft patter of water dripping from them onto the ground giving him a moment of déjà vu.
WHERE: The Fountain | The Inn | Fountain Park
WHEN: October 15th and the days following
OPEN TO: all
WARNINGS: to be updated as needed
STATUS: open
arrival; the fountain
He wakes to the sensation of cold and damp, and for a long, hazy moment, all Bruce can think of is Amnesty Bay. The faint light he can sense through his closed eyelids gives that thought fleeting reinforcement--is it the lighthouse?
...No. No, that was weeks ago. He left Amnesty Bay, he came and went from Central City, he forged--he hoped--new alliances. Tomorrow he goes to Detroit. Tonight... tonight he's in Gotham.
His eyes snap open and he breathes in, startled, then shaken as he gets a noseful of water. He holds his breath, nostrils smarting, lungs tight, and on instinct he lunges upward toward the light.
He doesn't so much break the surface of the water in the fountain as he does crash through it, waves smacking the concrete walls, his breath righting itself in coughs and ragged gasps for the few moments it takes him to regain control. He treads water, taking stock: trees, sky, he's in some kind of pool--no, he turns, it's a... fountain? His armor is gone, he's not in Gotham, he knows there's no place like this in Gotham, what's on his back? Where are his clothes?
He strikes out for the edge of the fountain, hauling himself up and over, water dripping from his light gray scrubs, his hair, everything, noisy as it hits the ground around his feet. He sheds the backpack, dropping it onto the fountain wall, digging through its contents.
The sound of someone approaching gets his attention. He turns at once, tense, alert, though he makes no further moves.
"Hello?"
getting settled; the inn
The close quarters already grate on his nerves, and it's only his second full day here.
Bruce closes the door to his assigned room with a very small sigh. It's nothing against everyone else here, far from it. They've all been kind, helpful, friendly if a bit wary about him, and he doesn't blame them for that last part. He's a newcomer, he'd be unsure of him too.
Part of his restlessness, sure, is that he's used to having so much more space. The lake house, the estate grounds, his business properties in both Gotham and Metropolis, all of Gotham at night. But the greater part of it is his usual solitude. It's just been him and Alfred, for a decade now, since...
Since the last time he tried to build a family led to loss and ruin.
It's been easier to work alone, fight alone, grieve alone. But he can't do it all himself. That was a hard lesson to revisit this year, and again it cost him dearly. He gets it, now, that he can't fight alone, that he can't shoulder everything. He's building a team back home, and he's got to, he's sure, become part of the community here.
It just still feels weird.
He sets out, determined to battle his ingrained instincts. He offers the people he passes on his way downstairs a friendly good morning, pausing for more conversation if they'll have it. He joins a few others at breakfast, dialing back his urge to interrogate everyone about everything.
Afterwards, he's out on the front porch, breathing in the fresh air. This place would be so peaceful if he was here by choice.
finding his bearings; fountain park
One of the basic rules of detective work is to start with the scene of the crime. Gather your evidence there. Figure out what happened. Try to make sense of it, let that tell you the story.
He can't think of anything else to try at the moment, so Bruce has returned to where he arrived, hoping maybe something will give him some clue, some idea.
At the start of his reinvestigation, he can be found inspecting the fountain and the immediate area. How was he placed there? Is there a way out? Does the fountain have any significance?
Somewhere in the middle, he climbs the tallest tree nearby. With rather a lot of speed and agility, if you happen to be around, happen to have an eye for that sort of thing. He lingers up there a while, surveying the fountain, the park, but also getting views of the village as a whole, or at least as best he can from this single tree.
There might also be a small comfort in something a bit familiar. Watching the area from on high.
Before he leaves, in the interests of being thorough, he jumps back into the water. He feels his way along the walls, he does his best to reach the floor, he breaks the surface a few times to look up at the trees and sky. Eventually he hauls himself out, the wet weight of his clothes against his body and the soft patter of water dripping from them onto the ground giving him a moment of déjà vu.
no subject
"Got stung a couple of times as a kid," he explains. "Other than that... cross-pollination, and we're probably killing them off with pesticides back home."
He smiles. "But I could use something to do."
no subject
"I'm Mark. Sorry if I kind of accosted you out of nowhere, there. It's just been my experience that sitting around doing nothing in this place makes a person crazy, especially at first. Feel free to tell me and my bees to fuck off, I promise I won't take it personally."
no subject
"It's a pleasure, Mark. I'm Bruce." He lets go of Mark's hand, straightening up. "There's nothing to apologize for. I don't feel accosted. I feel grateful, because you're right: having something to do will help. It'll give me something else to focus on besides," he gestures at their surroundings, "all of this and how weird it is to be here."
no subject
"But yes, the good news is that there is lots of distraction to be had. Trying to stay alive is good for that. Come on, I'll show you the apiaries, you can pretend to be interested," I add with a little wave of my hand.
no subject
But it's helpful to have something to focus on. "No, please, by all means," he replies, coming down the front steps, a note of gratitude in his voice. "My interest might not even be entirely feigned."
no subject
The apiaries aren't all that far from the inn if you cut behind the bakery, and it doesn't take long to get there. It would be great to have proper protective gear, but that's a concern for another day.
"You might want to hang back," I say with a knowing arch of my eyebrows as we step into the little clearing. At this point we're just trying to get the hive established before it gets too cold, so there aren't as many bees as I'd like, but it's still plenty enough to get yourself into trouble.
"What did you do back home, Bruce?" I ask as I step carefully to the box and slowly lift the lid.
no subject
He does as he's told, hanging back as Mark moves the lid off the box. They've just covered that he knows very little. He's not enough of a fool to disregard the advice of someone who knows what he's doing.
"I run the family business." After a moment, he adds: "It's a multinational conglomerate: finance, technology, medicine, research and development, and a philanthropic foundation."
no subject
The light's not great back here, but if I angle the lid the right way, I can easily enough see that there's the beginning of a hive attached to the bottom, and I smile. Unpredictable weather aside, I have a feeling it's going to get cold quickly, and this is one less thing we have to worry about on the other side of it.
"Can you see this?" I ask, and step carefully out of the way to try and let Bruce see the little colony. "It'll grow downward from here, through the hollow stump. We should have honey next spring."
I gently replace the lid and head back, brushing off my hands. "So you were CEO?"
no subject
He approaches, careful, mindful, bending just slightly to peer under the lid without shoving his face anywhere it ought not to go.
"So they'll keep building, through the winter?"
no subject
I motion us away and start wandering in the general direction of the field, mostly out of habit.
"I assume you're used to delegating, with your business experience," I say, arching my eyebrows.
no subject
"I delegate. I also shoulder my fair share of the work."
no subject