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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2014 23:52:37 GMT -5
Of all the things she'd bet on, Charlotte never having encountered Batman herself had never crossed it. So when she sees the girl hesitate, she holds out her hand. Sometimes that's all one needs, no matter their age. Once she feels her hand slipped into, she gives it a light squeeze. "Charlotte, this is Batman. He's a friend of mine. He wanted to make sure you were doing well," Turning from the teen to the rather foreboding looking figure half-in shadow, and half nearly invisible, she narrows his eyes at him.
"Batman, this is Charlotte. She's in my custody for the time being, until we can get her back on her feet."
Before the two can really talk, Selina looks the girl in the eyes again. "I know this is odd, but, with my line of work, I have friends, and acquaintances that may seem a bit odd. As odd, or different as they be, it is safe. But if you ever question that, look to me. Any questions, I'll be here for you." Gently explaining, or at least trying to, she squeezes the girl's hand again warmly.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 10:44:39 GMT -5
Guest. Friend. Acquaintance. Those were very loose terms she was using to describe him with. He very much so doubted said loose terms of description for him would be popularly used with anyone else that had the pleasure to cross paths with the Bat.
Silently taking in every detail, trait, nuance, and manner about Charlotte’s character, Batman didn’t exactly come off as particularly friendly or personable once Selina introduced him. Instead of even acknowledging the youth, Batman appeared to in fact ignore the girl entirely by focusing his eerie white gaze back once again onto Selina.
“We’ll talk about this later.”
Clearly, now was not the time to get into any sort of discussion about Charlotte with the teen standing right there. However, this was a topic of grave importance that needed to be dealt with soon; especially considering the fact Selina had obviously decided to expose the girl to this side of her life. Question was, how much more was Selina planning on exposing to the girl?
With masterful expertise and skill, he seemed to suddenly fade into the darkness of the night behind him. Once fully consumed by the inky blackness of shadow, the Bat completely disappeared in from the ledge of Selina’s balcony – leaving a slightly opened balcony door in his wake.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 0:57:05 GMT -5
With the vast majority of her attention on Batman, it takes a second for Charlotte to even notice Selina's offered hand. But as much as she hesitates to trust anyone, the offered hand is taken as soon as it's noticed - she's quite happy to accept any reassurance that everything is fine right now. Though what Selina says causes her to blink and look at her in surprise. Wait, so Selina not only knows Batman, but he's a friend? She's not at all sure what to make of that.
Or what to make of what Selina says about there being others. There's more? Though the rest of the words are somewhat more reassuring. They seem to help Charlotte break out of her frozen state a bit. If Batman's a friend of Selina's then everything is fine here. She just never thought in a million years that... "...okay..." she responds quietly, simply accepting that information for now. She'll ponder the full ramifications of what that could possibly mean later.
Right now, she ventures just a little further into the room, actually somewhat calmed by the fact that he seems to be ignoring her. This would be way more freaky if he was looking at her. Still, she doesn't go far enough to put herself closer to him than Batman is, as if uncertain whether or not there's some sort of radius around him that you don't infringe upon that Selina may know more about than she does.
But even as she watches him, he seems to disappear. She blinks, suddenly uncertain again - did he just vanish? No, she's quick enough to spot the balcony door. "Holy crap..." she remarks quietly, giving voice to her thoughts and feelings about this.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 4:12:24 GMT -5
She rolled her eyes at his words. He was so obtuse sometimes. Of course they'd discuss this later. She wasn't going to break out in Cat and Bat talk right now. Charlotte barely even knew she had friends, let alone ones in high and low places. Really.
As she watches him from the corner of her eye, she can feel the smaller hand slip into her own. Her breath is held as she waits for any sort of reaction from the teen. And finally, something. Releasing her air, Selina can accept that sort of response. It is a lot, after all.
It isn't a long stay, and of course he has to disappear like he is wont to do. Giving Charlotte's hand a squeeze again, she goes to shut the balcony door, pressing her thumb to a seemingly not-different part of the glass. Now the alarm is set.
Walking the short distance to the bed, Selina sits on the edge, patting it in invitation.
"So, that's Batman. Kinda an ass tonight, but..." She looks over the girl's face, unsure, what to say next. Are there questions? No doubt. But actually speaking the words seem dumb. Very dumb.
"I have friends that may come off as a bit...peculiar. Part of it is due to my job," she starts, hoping in her heart of hearts, something will open up a dialogue with the girl at - her eyes flick to the clock - three twenty in the morning. Hot damn.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 23:04:25 GMT -5
When Selina heads to secure the balcony door, Charlotte folds her arms in front of herself as if slightly cold, her eyes still straying to where Batman was until Selina steps away from the door again - as if it's only then that she can be reassured that he really did just leave like that. Even so, for a second she can only rock on her feet a bit, as if the incident somehow blanked out her mind and it's still running on nothing.
Normally, she wouldn't want to sit on the bed next to Selina and have a nice chat about what just happened, though right now that actually seems kind of like an okay idea. She takes a seat next to Selina, her expression rather blank but her eyes shift quickly as if the gears of her mind are turning quite quickly. "So you know Batman," she says, making the statement not because she's confused but because saying the words makes it seem more real somehow. "Like... a friend," she adds, "Wants to know how I'm doing..." Yes, she can see how that may relate to a security company, but still! It's just... a lot to wrap her mind around.
Though a hint that she's managing to do so comes in the form of getting past stating the simple facts and shifts to the inevitable questions. "And you have other friends? What other friends? How do you even meet Batman in the first place?" she asks, her quite passive expression suddenly seeming to decide which emotions she feels: surprise, confusion, a little incredulity. But happily, there's no longer any hint of fear in her - that left with Batman, actually. Nor is there any of her fairly standard anger. Instead she's surprised enough to actually keep that feeling for awhile rather than quickly moving on to another as tends to be the case with that feeling.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 23:40:00 GMT -5
Selina watches Charlotte, making sure not to make any sudden moves. She's seen someone trapped enough to know the signs. She's been trapped enough to know what it feels like. So she's calm. Collected. And keeps it simple.
So with a nod, she says "Yes." There is a pause, before she continues. "Like a friend. And I do have other friends. But I met him, through my job. I run a security company. A security consulting firm. So, I deal with break-ins, how to prevent them, work with the police when they need my eye for something. We ran into eachother when I was looking over a home one night. And he was the curious one." Ok, one question kinda answers. Standing for a second, she walks the short distance to her desk, looks under a few papers, and pulls out a folder. Black with some silver, it's her 'info' file.
"I know it's a bit dry for reading, but this is what I do." Flipping open the folder, there are different pamphlets, papers, and a CD-ROM. "The cd might be the easiest to look over."
Closing it, she pushes it beside Charlotte, before thinking on her friends. "I have some college friends, one, her name is Elise, runs another company here. Summer Gleeson, is another friend. I count some of the Officers and Detectives as friends. One of them...Bullock. Theo, well that's his middle name, I've known him since I was 17." She smiles a bit at that one.
"But you'll get to know them. I know quite a few people, from several walks of life. So I'm not just some eleclect recluse who goes out at night to work, never sleeps, and has a cat." At the mention of that, Jasper lets out an affirmative 'mmmmmrow' and jumps onto the bed, making his way over to the file and sprawling on it, showing his opinion of her company.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 17:08:09 GMT -5
The folder put beside her gets a glance, though Charlotte doesn't touch it now - she's far too overwhelmed to look through anything that dry and not completely critical. Maybe in a bit. Right now, she's still trying to get her brain to restart. Though it does help that the people she's listing off now sound relatively normal, at least compared to Batman. "I've heard of Summer Gleeson," she comments quietly, though she can't remember where she heard the name before right now - she's heard it.
And she can't help but make a face when Selina mentions cops. She really doesn't like them. While she knows that they're just doing a job and it's not really their fault, it's still cops who took her parents away, cops escorted her and her brother to Maureen's home, cops who caught her when she ran away, cops who took her to juvie, cops who put her in another foster home, cops who caught her again... No, cops always interrupt her life and make it suck worse than it already did whenever they appear in it. That's just what they do.
Though right now she's not really even sure what to say, because even if the rest sound normal - even cops are normal - Batman alone is quite the thing to adjust to. Fortunately, Jasper has good timing. As he settles himself on top of the file, she smiles. In a repeat of what she did the day before, she presents her hand for sniffing before she gently pets his head and scratches behind his ear. "I know, it's just... Batman, holy crap," she says, trying to determine if Jasper is more a fan of behind the ear or under the chin or is simply a fan of the entire process, "Does he, um, visit a lot?"
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 19:30:12 GMT -5
Once the shock wears off slightly, and the words start coming, she gently encourages the dialogue. "Summer is on Gotham Live! She's a friend of mine," she starts, before catching the pulled face at the mention of the police. "Hey, now. I don't like them either. My sister and I were pulled from the house, by police, separated. I was driven to my aunt's by one. I was caught several times. I...almost went to Juvie. But with my record, they almost tried me as an adult. Anyway. Long story short, was that one cop, was nice, and took a chance on me. And without that one chance, I probably would've ended up somewhere entirely else." And so would you, Kit...
As the two lavish attention on Jasper, Selina thinks on how to phrase an answer to a very real question. Nodding, Selina toys with Jasper's thick, bottle-brush tail. "Frequently. But I wouldn't say...a lot. Once a week, tops? Sometimes twice? He can somehow tell when I'm home..." She shrugs it off like a normal happenstance, hoping there are more questions. It's not like she just, oh, texts Batman to come over, or ...if she's out at night, they just meet up. Not at all. She's not that weird.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2014 4:15:31 GMT -5
"Oh yeah," Charlotte replies as Selina mentions the news program - that would be where she heard the name, all right. She doesn't comment but looks impatient as Selina explains about how much she doesn't like cops, because either that's a lie or she was lying a moment ago when she said that they were friends. The woman needs to make up her mind, and either way, she doesn't see how it applies to her.
Fortunately, any cop-related hypocrisy isn't something Charlotte considers worth being upset over given the even bigger concern: Batman. Also, cat. If the way he's shoving his jaw as hard as he can into her fingers is any indication, she managed to find a particularly good spot to scratch him so she keeps it up.
Batman coming by once or twice a week is still way more Batman than she's used to. She hopes that it's normal for it to be at this time of night, since it's probably not going to be normal for her to be up at this hour when she's more settled in - she's pretty sure that she'd rather miss him than see him, even if he only comes by when Selina's here. "What were you talking about?" she asks now, kind of curious - mostly because it was apparently something that couldn't be talked about with her present, given how quickly Batman left. She hadn't caught a word of it - by the time she could hear their voices, she'd been called in.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2014 11:08:11 GMT -5
What were they discussing? Bluntly put, the questionable action of Selina taking in a child. Which is bullshit, considering Batman had done it, how many times? Even the slight reminder of the question made her bristle, and Jasper shift a bit to butt his head against Charlotte's hand.
"Discussing. One doesn't simply talk with Batman, I hate to say." She was quiet for a second or two, before continuing. "He keeps watch over the PD. Nothing really escapes his notice. He probably has informants there. And I had an incident where I was mugged, and he ...choose to keep an eye on me. So, considering you're with me now, we were discussing you." Lame answer, Selina.
She takes a breath, and tries again. "He's curious about why I did it. And he really has no right to ask, considering his own choices in life, too. But he likes to stick his nose in other's business, as he sees fit. He's not alway 100% good, nor are the police. Nor are people. Try to look at their intentions." ...and overlook the fact a major criminal is trying to give you a better life. Even the word 'criminal' made her feel dirty, like it was a label beneath her. Criminals didn't have her finesse. Her prowess. Her skill and tact.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2014 2:17:17 GMT -5
The more that Selina talks, the more that she can feel the surprise wearing off. It's just taking her some time, though she's still hoping that she happens to miss any future Batman visits. The guy is horribly intimidating and gave her the feeling like she did something wrong simply by standing there. And she hasn't done anything wrong! ...Well, nothing really wrong, and nothing at all since she ran into Selina. He shouldn't be paying any attention to her.
Though what especially helps is the way that Selina's griping about him. It makes him seem so much more human than the black bat-monster his costume makes him look like. Then again, those same words also strike Charlotte as being somewhat amusing, and by the time that Selina is finished, she can't help but comment, "He sounds like a mom." Because the way Selina describes it - the keeping an eye on her, the questioning of her choices, the hypocrisy, the nosiness - definitely sounds very mom-like. And even that Selina's complaint about him is that he's not perfect either. She's heard the exact same complaints from so many other people her age...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2014 9:53:14 GMT -5
Now that is a way of describing Batman she's never heard. And it shocks her so much she snorts, a hand shooting to her mouth and nose. But the teen is right. So right. Taking in the worst characteristics of a maternal guardian. "He is. A worry-wart of a mother. But we have come to grips, him and I, about our respective professions. And honestly, he really does care, maybe a bit too much sometimes, especially about children, and those he cares about. So yes, it's odd, but I hate to say, that's one of the less shocking 'odd' things in my life that you will be exposed to."
There really isn't any other way she can think to show Charlotte her life, other than how it unfolds daily. And they'll work through it, each hour, as need be. Because other than being uprooted, and uplifted from the street to luxury isn't enough, there is Batman dropping in, good friends that are police, and the fact it's nearly four am, and Selina looks pretty damn alert, and she has a day job.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2014 14:16:39 GMT -5
When Selina snorts at her observation, Charlotte can't help but smile. Especially when Selina goes on to agree with the accuracy of it. Yeah, she thinks that she can be okay with Selina knowing Batman. She just... kind of wants to steer clear of that herself. After all, she knows trouble when she sees it, and it's been her habit to stay as far away from trouble as possible, run-ins with the law aside. That's more of a bother than real trouble. If you get into real trouble then someone gets hurt.
And her trouble-sense doesn't really like how Selina seems to be warning her that the shocking things don't end with Batman. "Like what? Are you dating the Joker?" she asks, as she's having trouble picturing what sort of thing could be worse than knowing and frequently being visited by Batman. Though there's only a short pause before she suddenly comments, "I'm starving..." She did go to bed without dinner, after all, and even worse she threw up some of lunch - now she's running on nothing and it was only the surprise of suddenly seeing Batman here that momentarily distracted her from that.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2014 17:34:46 GMT -5
Her face screws up at that question, just as well. Shaking her head no, she waves the girl to follow her through the hall, the living area, and to the kitchen. "Let's find something to eat, first. Then I can explain that." She busies herself with making some hot water. Tea for herself can't help, and maybe a bit of hot chocolate for Charlotte will be satisfactory as well.
There are more than enough left-overs in the fridge, it just is a matter of narrowing down what you want. "If nothing in there looks good, there is a diner we can go to on the edge of the park, or we can order something," she adds, going to sit on the counter while the kettle boils. It's a question so keen that Selina can't avoid it, nor does she want to. But the Joker? My god, ew.
"No, I'm not dating the Joker. But while it's not as public as the other, Batman and I ...he is seeing me. And I see him frequently. I'm also seeing Bruce Wayne, but we try to keep our private lives, from the public eye. We're thrust before a camera enough that we try to keep some things sacred. I also have Theo, but we've been friends since I was seventeen," she adds, as if prefacing their history doesn't mean it's romantic. More like they've always been comfortable enough to flirt back and forth. Not to mention the proposal she has standing, but that's a different story, so if Charlotte picks up on the words that aren't being said, of course she'll answer.
"So, he likes to be a Mom, because he cares. I can tell him to chill. You're a good teen. You just need everyone to stop breathing down your neck for a bit, so you can get back on track."
And get up to speed, too.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2014 7:51:11 GMT -5
At Selina's suggestion, Charlotte is very quick to follow. Yes, food while they talk about this sounds like an excellent idea, because she's both very hungry and very eager to know what she's gotten herself into. Still, she's been through enough in her life that she's already sure that it can't be that bad. After all, whatever it is, Selina's apparently surviving it just fine.
When they get to the kitchen, she immediately starts raiding the fridge. Leftovers can get pretty questionable if you weren't around to see what the meal was like when it was fresh, but she spots some spaghetti and that's too basic to question so she pulls that out. "Found something," she announces, shifting it into the microwave to heat it up. But because, like she said, she's starving, while she waits for the microwave she looks back in the fridge for more.
She listens to Selina while she hunts, and when she turns away from the fridge with her findings - an apple and a yogurt - her eyebrow lifts at Selina. "So that's three guys?" she asks, "And those guys?" Well, she has no idea who this 'Theo' is, but Batman and Bruce Wayne... Seriously... "I guess that means I can date anyone," she says with a shake of her head. A pause, and she adds, "And what I need is silverware."
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