capeandcowllogs | maybe we make a deal

Entry tags:

maybe we make a deal

WHO: Dick and Khisanth
WHERE: SOME...WHERE IN THE CITY
WHEN: tonight!
WARNINGS: n/a
SUMMARY: khisanth is being a creepy obsessive stalker as usual, and kidnaps dick for a fly
FORMAT: quick!

[ It never takes her too long to find the people she's looking for. Especially not when she knows they'll be out somewhere in the City at night, with a high probability of rooftops. Her owl eyes pick out Dick— Batman, rather— within three hours of searching, and with a silent sweep of feathers, she finds herself a perch at a nearby streetlight to watch. Just for a little while, as she works out the best way to approach him tonight.

It would be easy, if she were behaving more normally. But according to Vic, you actually have to take care with how you do these things. It's annoying, but she's pretty sure it's right.

So she watches Batman work, a large (small, in comparison) dark shape just out of the cone of a streetlamp's light. ]

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[ With his luck there's busload of screaming kids up there. Maybe dangling off the ledge in a net about to catch fire. Or trapped behind one of those invisible barriers she'd used on Tim.

The perfect end to a perfect night.

He shoots a line up and lets the momentum take him up a few of the early stories before using the windowsill and then the fire escape as touchstones ends up faster. Ten seconds, and he's cleared the roof. ]

[ Lucky Dick, there's no busload of screaming kids. A school bus would be pretty hard to fly with, after all. There's only Khisanth, resettling herself at the edge and folding her wings back in. She's watching Dick as soon as he's at roof level, hunched over like some great cat, neck held in a graceful S-curve. ]

I've said it before. There's no need for this bad blood between us.

You know, there's times I think you might actually believe that. [ But really if she's not in the mood to fight he's pretty far from being in the mood to push the issue. He lets out a heavy sigh, then runs a hand across the cowl. ]

I'll be honest, I'm running a little short on patience tonight. What's this about, Khisanth?

[ She's gone over her lines in this exchange a hundred times, but suddenly all that seems like a stupid way to go about things. She kind of wishes she'd asked Vic what she should say here...

Of course, hesitance doesn't convey very well in a reptilian face, so she only watches him impassively as she considers. ]

Fly with me.

[ ...Looks like the blunt approach wins out. ]

[ This... is one of those odd, rare moments where all at once that reptilian inexpressiveness feels out of place. Not just out of place, utterly incongruent with what's she's saying. With the history they have here, mapped out in front of them. Fly with me.

He needs to say something. Break the silence somehow. ]

...My cape doesn't go that high.

[ It's almost apologetic. ]

[ She hates this. It's a little exhilarating to ask, that's true, she'd literally (and embarrassingly) dreamt of something like this since she'd first discovered a human she'd thought might be her equal (she was wrong back then, of course, but there's hope now), but it's so... vulnerable. Does he even know how much it would sting her pride to be refused? How incredibly rare this offer is? She'd be tempted to kill him again, if he did refuse.

She only blinks, slowly, and is otherwise still. ]

No, fly with me. I'll carry you.

[ There's a few seconds there where he almost can't breathe. Where all he can do is follow the movement of her eyes with his, like somehow that will be the thing that saves him this time.

and then a deep breath. ]

That's a big demand you're making.

[ He steps a calculated hop down off the ledge. Stops just close enough to stand inside her shadow, if there was enough light here for her to cast one. It's closer than he's been to her in months. Closer than he's been to this form, since- ]

Why do I get the feeling you're making me an offer instead?

[ He's not flinching, or cringing. He's approaching. That's good. Anything else would have bee a disappointment. The human that will finally prove worthy of her won't be afraid of her, she knows that much. ]

Because I am. [ She shifts, pulling herself up straighter, more regally. The next few seconds decide if she'll dip a wing down, to offer him a ramp to her back, or if she'll go aloft riderless and without a single glance back. ] Do you refuse?

[ He could refuse. For all the good, sane reasons he has to say no to this kind of proximity. To someone who's already ended his life once. The no is right there on the tip of his tongue, and for a second in the back of his head it sounds like Alfred's voice. ]

Nope. [ He takes another step forward, then stops. Still giving himself enough space to back down, if he needs to. ]

You've got my attention.

[ If it's possible for a giant reptile to look pleased, then that's exactly what's going on here. Her too-toothy smiles are generally meant as threats, so it's in the softened curl of her neck instead, the gentle twitch of the end of her tail. ]

You know that's all I've wanted all along. [ That with some wry amusement, and her head sinks to be a little nearer. She crouches lower, and the wing nearest to him folds down until the outermost digit touches the ground. ] There aren't any saddles to fit me in this dimension, but I'm sure something can be managed with rope.

[ He shakes his head, and for a second there's a smirk in place of the frown he'd been holding on to. A quick leap over the side of the roof and he's gone, reappearing just as fast with the cape spread out like wings. When he's just far enough above her he drops down into a graceful twist, touching down as lightly as he can somewhere in the middle of her back. ]

I know bad guys a whole lot badder than you who'd beg to differ on that being a positive.

[ She watches with interest, which turns to amusement when she understands his acrobatics. Well, she'll grant him that that's a much flashier way of mounting. And— then he's there, on her back. Only the Highlord of the Black Wing has ever enjoyed such prestige (well okay, and James Bond—but that had been a favor, and it was very clear that he wasn't the one in charge of that flight). Her head has twisted around to watch him closely, and she doesn't move.

There's a spot between her wings where the ridge of her spine softens somewhat, and the fin down her neck has sunk back down again. She trusts he'll see the logic of placing himself there, and doesn't bother to direct him. ]

They aren't me. [ It took her a while to answer. She'd been too busy dwelling, staring, evaluating. ] Nor are they worthy of you.

I think they'd say it's more the other way around.

[ Small talk. He rests his hands on her back and takes a cautious step forward; almost, irrationally afraid of hurting her with the ridges of his boots. As if he hadn't hit her with a rocket launcher before without leaving a dent. He slides up further to the softened part of her spine, then takes a seat there as gracefully as possible. There's that sharp sensation of fear again, edging up through the curiosity that's been driving him. why now. ]

We ready?

Edited 2012-07-07 17:20 (UTC)

[ Maldeev had strolled to his place in the saddle like he'd been born deserving it. It's strange that Dick takes more care, and Khisanth isn't sure what to make of it. She watches with her neck curved about sharply, unblinking, crouched and still.

But when he speaks, rather than answer, she makes it her cue. Her head swings back around, her wings snap out, and with a single explosive leap, they're in midair and rapidly rising. She trusts Dick won't be terrible enough to end her expiriment now by falling off. ]

[ He bears with the motion, gripping a little harder with his knees as she lifts off the ground, but really he's ready for this. The dropping out sensation, the freefall and the careful balance of control versus lack of control. He was born to do this. It's hard not to grin, how similar it is to the very first time he'd had this feeling, held in his mother's strong arms. It's as close as family, as intimate as an embrace.

All feelings bound to feel a little discordant when they're associated with Onyx. Khisanth. ]

You do this often?

[ He's craning his neck to see below and shouting above the wind. ]

[ She doesn't bother look back to respond, she knows her voice is loud enough to reach him. And deep enough to be felt in a low rumble in her chest, too. ]

Every chance I get. [ Flying is definitely at the top of her list of pleasurable activities, with only sex sometimes giving it a run for its money. ] Never with a rider.

[ She's rising higher, circling like an enormous bird of prey. But she isn't actually going anywhere, other than up; the flight is curiously directionless. Yet another of the series of tests she has planned for the night. She doesn't want just an idle passenger, she wants a rider. ]

Edited 2012-07-08 04:59 (UTC)

That I gathered. [ Which leads him right back to the question of why now. Why him.

Maybe she'll give him the answer, and maybe she won't. For better or worse, the curiosity alone is enough to keep him here.

He shifts his weight a little more forward, already feeling the giddiness softening the edges of the fear. The directionless circles are an interesting choice, though. ]

What I don't understand is why having me on your back somehow... circumvents the obvious control thing.

[ She cocks her head back with that, one bright orange eye watching him closely. ]

Do you think you're in control?

[ Oh, such a loaded question. ]

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maybe we make a deal

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