[open] This is all we got now, scream until your heart stops

[spoileralert]

WHO: Stephanie Brown
WHERE: Various Outdoors
WHEN: After Take Two Part 1
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None anticipated

---

The first thing Steph does when she gets home is take a long, hot shower. Definitely top priority. The second thing she does is head down into the bunker. She’s heard about people using the vending machine and nothing terrible seemed to happen as a result. She deserves a treat, she figures, and she knows exactly what power she wants.

She waits until she’s out in the open again to try it out, and isn’t disappointed. She’s small, yes, but whatever she is, she has wings.

HOUSES

established cr

One of the advantages to being small is that you attract less attention. The same holds true for being a bird. As a robin she can glide into her friend’s houses, moving quickly and then staying still to be sure she wasn’t noticed. From there she has all sorts of fun options. She can perch on top of refrigerators, swoop down and startle someone, or steal food when they aren’t looking. A little more difficult is moving small objects around, but that’s just as fun.

Her favorite, though, is waiting until the person is distracted and landing in their hair. With hollow bones and proper timing they might never notice she’s there.

WOODS

OTA

Being a bird isn't all sunshine and rainbows, of course, and not just because it's early March. Her first real, open-air flight comes to an inelegant end as, failing to out-maneuver a hawk, she changes suddenly back to human shape to foil the poor creature.

She falls with a yelp into the foliage below.

VILLAGES

OTA

When she tires of flying and trolling her friends (which takes a good while, to be sure) Steph decides to wander around both villages, gaining an appreciation of what everything looks like when you're a small handful of inches tall. She also takes the opportunity to unnerve people as much as possible.

Getting some food from the inn? Did you notice that there's a bird on top of the fridge, or the ceiling lamp in the common area?

Sitting outside to soak up what sun there is? Don't look now, but a bird's joined you on the bench, and it looks like it's bird-watching too.

Or maybe you're just going about your business, in the dojo, one of the farms, even the library. Wherever you are, a small bird has taken great interest in your doings.

Comments

[plate_builder]

"Just a little bird that decided to harass me in my own home, which I suppose I can accept seeing as she could go and close my kitchen window for me."

His expression softens. Frankly, he's just glad to see her around. Around and more or less safe.

[skyward_eyes]

"I'm only five-nine," he points out. Four more inches, a bit more poundage. No, what he thought of as big was different because of what he lived through. "I'm from a world with dragons, Steph. So far nothing here has really struck me as truly big."

But yeah, he gets it. Out here where there is no magic to strengthen you, no true weapons, things like that 'Yeti' are probably fearsome enough here.

[spoileralert]

She smiles fondly back.

"But if I do it for you how will you ever learn?"

[spoileralert]

Steph snickers, raises an eyebrow and compares their heights with one hand.

"Four inches? Barely noticeable. Not even worth mentioning. Are you sure it's not the other way around?"

[plate_builder]

"Stephanie Brown," Reeve says, and he hates taking out the full name card, but he has it thanks to the network and he intends to play it. "I am having trouble walking across the entire length of a room and the only reason I am staying warm is because I can literally conjure fire to keep me so. But I would appreciate it if, before you head out, you could do me this favor."

Which is completely reasonable for a man who takes some time to move just about anywhere.

[skyward_eyes]

"Might well be. Reality is what you make it here, shortie," he teases lightly. Yes, it's not the funniest line, but he's going to embrace it anyway. Humor is its own reward. Most of the time. Sometimes. Enough of the time for him to embrace it.

"You going to walk back to down or will you be flying?"

[clouded_heart]

"Oh. Hi. You're incredibly bold. I am... just going to speak in a soft tone of voice and get a decent look at you to try and work out what sort of bird you are, but you have a red breast, so I'm saying you're probably a type a robin."

The medical text he's currently reading is about suitable threads for stitches and making casts and splints for broken bones. The sort of thing someone with modern first aid training might be interested in if they didn't have access to any modern medical equipment.

[spoileralert]

She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. He’s not a point there.

"Reeve Tootsie-Rolls," she counters. She knows his last name, but definitely not how to pronounce it. "Of course I will. Have you thought about staying with somebody? My place has electricity, it’s pretty warm."

Can it be? Is she actually going to share her residence with someone?

[spoileralert]

She snickers some more.

"What makes you think I’m going back at all? Nothing new is broken. I’m getting right back in the air."

[spoileralert]

Antagonistic twist it is, then. That kind of figures.

It takes a lot longer to get the hang of reading like this than she’d like, but after scanning the page she doesn’t find anything she doesn’t already know and have experience in. She gives a short, disappointed trill and hops down from the pile to get a look at the other titles.

He’s certainly got a good variety going. Does she know his name? No, she’s seen him around town but never attached a name to the face. Man, she needs to get out more.

[clouded_heart]

Foggy gives up reading fairly quickly to watch the bird hopping about, fluttering and looking about.

He's getting some suspicions. The way the bird moves is deliberate, showing human like intelligence and a boldness uncommon in small birds. And the fact that it's tilting its head to read the titles is pretty telling.

"You're not a normal bird, are you?"

[spoileralert]

She chuckles, which comes out as a quick series of happy notes. She flies up to settle on the books again, then glides across intending to land on his shoulder and give his cheek a gentle peck.

[plate_builder]

"Tuesti," he corrects, and chuckles. Strangely enough, his world has those, and so he's happy for the reference. "But if you insist, I will accept Tootsie-Rolls. But only from you."

The offer, though, makes him frown. Staying with someone else. What an interesting concept. But he wouldn't know where else to go. And then she's offering, and Reeve smiles softly.

"A generous offer," he says as he smiles up at her. "It isn't a bad short term solution, of course I think I'd drive you mad if I was in close quarters to harass you."

[skyward_eyes]

"Then if you're bait that's your own fault," Nida laughs, shaking his head. Then he considers. Is thoughtful for a long moment.

"Maybe we can learn things together," he says after a moment, looking up at the trees. Sturdy branches. Yeah, he can do that. Easily. And practice his new magic. "If it's cool with you, I'll head up there, keep an eye on the skies, blow the hawk off course as best I can. For a bit. While you're testing your new wings."

Jason cares about her, and that means Steph is important without needing any more reason that that. The people he cares about are those he cares about too.

[onesyllable]

"Well don't go doing that!"

Of course, not as if she has a choice. Damn dog.

"Hey now! That's enough. Get away from there," he calls, moving to shoo the dog away. "Sorry 'bout that. He's barely old enough to take a piss without helping down the stairs. Still working on his manners," he admits, getting the pup to hurry off to explore something else.

"Where'd you go and fall from?" He asks, looking up at the tree and then moving to kneel down beside her. "Anywhere hurt?"

[spoileralert]

She beams, glad to have finally made a reference he gets.

"Oh, it's Jason you'd have to worry about. You start harassing me and I can just--" She pauses to take bird shape again, flying over to land on his shoulder and peck at his face.

[spoileralert]

"Usually is," she retorts cheerily. If bad things keep happening to her it's her own fault, even if just by virtue of karma. So it's extra weird that the Overseers seem to like giving her good things.

"If you're gonna make a game of it you know I'm gonna wanna play."

[spoileralert]

"It's okay," she insists again, though she's a little breathless now. "Rib's still in one piece. It'd be way harder to breath if it wasn't." Definitely still cracked from the yeti, though. She needs to be more careful about her landings or she really is gonna puncture a lung.

With the dog out of the way she lets her arms drops and sighs her relief.

"Fell from the sky. And everywhere hurts. Trees look so much softer from far away..."

[clouded_heart]

"Oh!" He smiles and chuckles, reachin up a finger not to touch, but to let the bird hop on. "You're definitely not just a bird. I'm trying to remember what I saw down on the vending machine and if you're a resident, or something else."

[spoileralert]

She hops over onto the offered finger, then makes use of the extra space to fly across the room into an empty chair. There she changes back into human shape, arms crossed and one leg over the other.

"Not bad. Figured it out pretty quick."

[plate_builder]

Well he chuckles at that, leaning his face a bit away from her pecking.

"The bigger issue is whether either of you can cook, Feathers. I'm not able to and here at least I get two square a day. One at the inn, though with some working, and one when Brigitte decides I've been too much of a hermit and will have forgotten to eat."

[clouded_heart]

He startles, but manages to keep his composure pretty well. "Well, most birds don't read. Nice to meet you. I'm Foggy."

good ftb point?

[skyward_eyes]

"Then let's dance, little robin," Nida smiles. He plants his staff at the bottom of a tree. Then he backs up, takes a few running steps and uses that to push off of the tree to jump up and grab a sturdy branch. He moves as easily up the tree as any caped crusader would over an urban environment, up and up in the tree with confident ease until he was rather sturdily based near the top.

"Fly little one."

He settles himself on a branch, legs gripping around it for sturdiness, and he smiles. This will be fun.

[spoileralert]

She flaps her wings to just brush his cheek a few times before gliding back down to change shape.

"We have to eat too. I don't mind sharing, even if you might hesitate to call it cooking."

She's definitely not comfortable with anyone else knowing where she lives, even if Jason seems to share the information with whoever, whenever.

[spoileralert]

Ah, so she does know him, at least briefly.

"I'm Steph. You look like you've got a long day ahead of you."