Rooted Like A Tree [Shayera]

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Harvey had been on his way home from work today when he heard a particular Jefferson Airplane song on the radio.  Harvey had always loved him some Grace Slick, no one really could compare to a voice like that.  His mother had always loved her too.  The song made him smirk, the thought of Shayera crossed his mind.  He made a quick turn and stopped off at a florist, picking out a nice little bouquet of foxgloves, tulips, and everything else that seemed interesting.

Within twenty minutes he found her place after calling in a favor to figure out where she lived.  He was a little surprised she lived in East End and somehow not surprised.

He looked at the ladder that led up to her door thing or whatever the hell it was.  He groaned and began climbing, one handed, mind you.  After a few minutes of grunting, cursing, and spitting he made it to the hatch that was her door and sighed.

Soon he was knocking at her door,  dark, tired circles under his eyes, coat draped over him with his sling holding his arm firmly in place and holding the bouquet in that same hand.

He hoped she was home.

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Getting to Shayera's apartment takes a combination of knowing that it's there and more than a little bit of desire to get there. It's a tall building, rising a bit higher than its neighbors. At the time it had been built, many decades ago, this had actually been one of the nicer neighborhoods in Gotham, and the apartments within it were considered quite luxurious. But time has not been kind to it - the neighborhood went to hell, the apartments are cramped by modern standards, and it just hasn't been maintained very well. What's the point when nobody who can afford better wants to live in it? Yet the very top of it is simply perfect for Shayera.

Getting there can be a little confusing based on the address, as the 'apartment number' seems to indicate a floor higher than the elevator goes. But if you go to that floor, your options are the door to the penthouse suite, a door to what looks like a maintenance room, or a maintenance ladder that is your only choice if you want to go higher. Fortunately, that's the correct 'door' if you want to get to Shayera's place.

And Shayera is currently within it - she usually is if the sun is down and she doesn't feel like going out somewhere. And she's working at her computer when she hears the sound of the elevator arriving at the floor below. Which is enough to get her attention since she's already figured out the usual schedule of her downstairs neighbor, and he usually gets home much later. Pausing and listening, when she hears the footsteps of whoever it is approaching the ladder, that confirms that she has a guest, though it isn't until she hears him cursing on the ladder that she knows who it is.

"Harvey?" she asks herself in surprise, getting up and walking over to the hatch to let him in. Which requires her to move the five hundred pounds of plates she keeps on the it - better than locking it, as anyone who could get in that way without her help would undoubtedly make for a decent fight. The floor creaks as she shifts the plates, though the weight isn't that difficult to her and of course she made sure that the building could handle her weights before she brought them up here.

That done, she opens the hatch and smirks at him as she peers down at him. "Let me guess: Selina gave you my address," she comments. Not a hard guess, since she doesn't exactly hand that out to just anyone, and Selina apparently knows him. But at least she doesn't look at all upset to see him here. Quite the contrary: she looks amused as she offers him a hand to help him the rest of the way up if he'll take it - not necessarily because she can see that he's climbing one armed, but because the ladder ends at the hatch so the last few steps can be tricky without something to hold onto. Her 'apartment' wasn't necessarily designed to be occupied, so it's not designed to be convenient to get to, but that's all the better for her purposes.

In fact, it's a rather interesting space - this building is topped by a decorative spire that's hollow on the inside, and that's where they are. It covers the entire width and breadth of the building, offering plenty of space at this level, though the walls are slanted inward so that they come to a point some fifty feet overhead. Much of that 'ceiling space' is full of a tangle of arched beams that come down in the center of the single 'room' of the apartment. The only other thing occupying space on this level that isn't Shayera's is the top of the elevator shaft, marked by large square of equipment. Which is surprisingly quiet - if you had super-hearing and a lot of technical know-how and you had to have that in your apartment, then you'd figure out how to make it quiet and keep it that way too.

The rest of the level is all Shayera's. The hatch opens near one corner of the room, which in addition to being her front door (if you're coming here from inside the building), is also her weightlifting area. It's fairly basic - she has an Olympic bar, a very sturdy adjustable bench, and a very large collection of plates and very large dumbbells - she doesn't bother to keep the smaller ones on hand. Continuing clockwise around the room, there's a large hatch-style door to the roof along the wall (her front door if you're coming here from outside the building), and the next corner contains her kitchen. She has all the usual appliances with cupboards hanging above them, but the small island counter next to them with three barstools (backless, naturally) is the only seating. Large white curtains obscure the view of much of the next wall, but given what's missing from the visible parts of the apartment, it's possible to deduce that's a bathroom area. The next corner, and the one opposite from where they are currently, is a bedroom area. Which is dominated by a king sized mattress in the middle of the floorspace there, the boxspring resting directly on the ground, and it's covered in a tangle of blankets and sheets - at least three of each in various colors and patterns. And there's no sign of any pillows, oddly enough. Against the wall behind it, a large dresser has her neglected helmet on top of it, and her mace is hanging from a hook next to it. Her computer is against the wall next to the bedroom area. It's no Batcomputer, but it is six very large monitors arranged two high and three across on a desk with a keyboard and mouse, and underneath and around the desk is a tangled mass of cords and wires, among which are a server and four different computer towers - each with extra holes punched in them so that she could insert extra wires into places that they don't normally go. And, naturally, the seat for working at the computer is another backless stool. The last corner of the room is dominated by a large screen television, and the seating there is a backless couch - why don't they just make them all that way? Against the other wall in the corner is a small, but pricey looking stereo system on a coffee table that also has a small collection of books and random knick-knacks. And the space between that area and the weightlifting area is where the elevator machinery is. The floor of the entire space is made of metal, but there are large brown area rugs where you'd want them - mainly the bedroom area and by the couch.

When Harvey joins her in the room, she glances around at everything and says, "Well, welcome to my home." Based on how she's dressed, she's been relaxing at home - she has on a simple white halter top, a pair of close-fitting black capris, and is barefoot. Not that she really cares much about what sort of impression what she wears at home makes.

[Deleted]

"I won't confirm nor deny that." he responds with a grimace at the mention of Selina.

"I didn't know you knew her..."

He stepped up and in and looked around the place. He was a little taken by it, and he was also severely annoyed that he had to climb a ladder.

"Nice place, Hawk, but I have to admit, I hate your god damned walk way..."

Harvey groaned under his breath and shook his head, snapping himself into a better mood.

"Anyway, gotcha these."

He thrust the flowers to her.

"Wasn't sure if you're even into that sort of thing, I jus'... well I jus' wanted to say thanks for helpin' out a few days ago, during the explosion an' all."

And like a little boy, he looked down at his foot as he twisted the ball of his foot on the floor a bit.

"If you hadn't been there a lot of lives would have been lost. I don't care for vigilantes, but pullin' people out of fires, crumbling buildings, and what not is always a welcome dose of help, an' all."

Harvey felt a little awkward, but he'd work through it. He looked over to her again and noted her dress.

"Man, how do you even put shirts on with those wings?"

And like a little boy, he was curious about things in which the logic of didn't line up in his head.

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"You could say that she's a friend of a friend," Shayera says of Selina. Well, she and Batman aren't exactly friends, and Selina seems to perhaps be a bit more than a friend, but that's approximately the relation anyway.

Closing the hatch behind him, Shayera picks up the stack of plates and puts it back on the hatch. Five hundred isn't exactly nothing to her, but it's definitely no big deal to just move it around. She chuckles at his comment, saying, "It helps keep the undesirables out. I use the other door." Not that there aren't quite a few people who could easily reach the rooftop entrance, but the vast majority of those are on her side.

That done she straightens and smiles when he hands her the bouquet. "Oh, wow, thank you!" she says as she takes them, looking at them for a moment before she says, "Lives were lost even with me - I wish I could have done more." Okay, that was kind of a downer... moving on... "I'll just get these some water," she adds with a smile, heading over to the kitchen area.

She doesn't have a vase, but she does have a tall glass cup that can serve the purpose nicely. As she pulls it out of the cupboard, she smirks as she says, "And shirts can be tricky. This one is stretchy enough to pull over my hips. Failing that, I know a very good tailor - zippers in the right places. Halter tops, tube tops, and other things like that are the easiest, but she's managed to fit a coat or two around my wings. Of course, it was all so much easier on Thanagar where everything was designed with wings in mind." As she explains she partway fills the cup with water and transfers the bouquet from its wrappings to the glass, then places it in the center of her kitchen island. Once she's satisfied with it's placement, she smiles at Harvey as she adds, "Of course, I put my pants on one leg at a time."

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Harvey leaned against a piece of furniture while she went to go put the flowers away.

"Glad ya like 'em."

He watched her as she put them in a glass and then later put water in that glass for them while she talked about her clothing situation.

"I dunno, I think I've managed to put my pants on, both legs at the same time, before."

He continued smirking, the smart ass in him coming out to play.

"Most days though, I do it one leg at a time myself. So, you like it here? Rent not too bad?"

Harvey was just trying to make small talk. He wasn't uncomfortable, but he was in a new environment and he tended to get a little small talky as he would try to wrap his head around a new place. He let his eyes wander through out. It was so open, which he expected, but not this large. He noted how her furniture seemed to favor someone who could not, or at least didn't like to, lean their back against the backs of chairs and couches.

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"Well, aren't you the tricky one?" Shayera responds with a laugh. Well, yes, it's possible to put both legs into your pants at the same time, but difficult enough that you'd pretty much have to do it just to do it.

"Rent is free, actually," she replies to his question as she walks over stand by him as he looks around, adding, "My landlord is a fan, says that nobody else would want to live in the space anyway, and that my presence helps clean up the neighborhood - which is good for business. So that's a win-win for everyone." Well, except for the criminals in the immediate area, but those she hasn't caught already have for the most part moved their business elsewhere.

"So, what do you think of the place?" she asks, with a gesture at the whole of it as that's the burning question on her mind. It isn't very often that she has company, here or any other place that she's set up for herself, and most of the time that company are the exact kind of people who are pretty much used to all sorts of unusual places. So she's actually kind of curious about what Harvey makes of it. "Be honest - I won't be offended if you don't like it," she adds. Yes, she likes the place, but it only stands to reason that her tastes aren't for everyone - no need for ego to get involved in that.

[Deleted]

"Man, maybe my land lord should give me a cop discount, eh?"

Harvey took a seat on the couch nearby, leaning on it sideways, slightly annoyed he couldn't just let himself slump into it, but he'd live. He listened and nodded. Finally he looked around again.

"Its a nice place, but you just don't look like you really live in it. You need some cool stuff, you got a lot of space. I dunno, maybe a pool table, or at least a dart board or sumthin'. Its nice though, doesn't it get cold being so big and open?"

Harvey knew a thing or two about keeping a lady warm, but he wasn't talking about that, he was honestly asking about actually keeping this place warm. Winter was nearing its end, but it always got worse before it got better, especially in Gotham.

"My place ain't this big and open, but its what I need, lived there for nearly twenty years now. And thank god for rent control, if I didn't have that I'd probably be paying three times what I pay now."

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It doesn't escape Shayera's attention that Harvey looks a little annoyed with her couch, but if anything that amuses her. She spends so much time having to adapt to the types of seating that other people prefer, though she tries not to raise a fuss about that, so it seems only fair that they'd have to do the same in her place.

But though she promised not to be offended, she does feel her eyebrows raise when he complains about the lack of 'cool stuff'. "Computer? TV? Weights? ...Mace?" she questions as she gestures toward each. Are these not cool things? Still... "Hmm, a pool table or a dart board would be nice, though..." she says, turning to look at some of the empty space that could accommodate such things. She likes to have plenty of space, but there is still plenty of room.

Moving on from that, she adds, "And the temperature is usually fine - this is basically an attic, you know. Might get a little cold first thing in the morning, but honestly I'm more worried about it getting too hot in the summer. But I have some ideas... And it can't be any harder than making that piece-of-crap elevator quiet." She pauses to frown at the offending contraption, as it's rather old and even with her understanding of mechanical things it had been a bit of a challenge. Of course, she's not one to back down from a challenge.

Looking around the place, she admits, "It does have some drawbacks, yes, but I'd hate living anywhere less open, and for my purposes you can't beat the front door." She gestures not to the way Harvey came in but to the large hatch in the wall that opens to the roof.

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"As much as I don't care for flying, when I leave you're giving me a lift, it ain't so easy to climb with a busted arm an' all."

Harvey looked back to her but then his gaze went to her other stuff.

"Everyone's gotta tele and computer, mace not so much. Do you even have a bedroom or closet or any of that? Every girl's gotta have a place to store all them pretty colors they like to wear so much. By the way, how do you sleep? Do you lay on your stomach or what?"

Harvey was just full of questions.

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Laughing lightly at his request, Shayera says, "No problem." No, she doesn't mind getting him back to street level and sparing him the climb down the ladder - she'd imagine it would be harder climbing down with one arm than up.

When he explains why her computer and TV aren't cool, Shayera can't help but protest his logic further by saying, "Everyone may have a computer, but they don't have that computer." It deserves points for being better than anything one could possibly buy in a store, at the very least. Her TV is pretty nice too, though she'd have to turn it on for him to fully appreciate that, and she doesn't feel the need to do that now. It's not custom, but someone with supersight like her isn't going to buy a crap TV. She's still looking for a sound system that can satisfy her, though.

"Bed, dresser..." she says, flicking her hand in their direction and now looking at him oddly when he questions their existence - they're right next to her mace, after all. Is he now trying to mess with her or did he somehow miss them among her other things - never mind the fact that her bed is huge? Do humans require walls so that they aren't overwhelmed by seeing all of their stuff at once? Though she hasn't met one with that problem before...

Though she's far less weirded out by his other questions. In fact, she laughs as she walks over to sit next to him on the couch and comments, "Most people are too afraid of offending me to ask things like that. But I can sleep on my side if I fold my wings, or on my back. But I prefer to sleep stretched out, and sleeping on my back with my wings stretched out is just asking for a bent flight feather. So yes, I'm a stomach sleeper - usually, anyway."

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Harvey was a series of nods and shrugs. He looked around seeing if he could spot a balcony to smoke from. After a climb like that he could use a stout whiskey and a strong cigarette. He thumbed the flask and cigarette case in his breast pocket. Always prepared.

"Bent flight feather? Oh, wait, I get it. That must blow when it happens. But what about other things, pardon me if it sounds strange, but... that must be something difficult to deal with in a, hmmm, intimate setting and doing intimate things, right?"

Harveywas a bundle of questions. He stood again and cracked his neck again, looking it all over again and then looked back to her.

"How much do you weigh? Don't take that the wrong way."

Harvey wondered if she was heavier than he, with the wings and all that.

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There isn't a balcony per se, but the pair of large metal doors in the slanted sidewall look promising as a way to the outside, though there are no windows to the outside to see for sure. The doors lead to the roof, which only has a small ledge to stand on between the spire rising on one hand and the long drop to the ground on the other - a terrible place to be for anyone who is even remotely afraid of heights, but it's very high up and the view is spectacular so Shayera sometimes goes out there just to sit and think in the fresh air.

Though she's visibly surprised when he next goes there, once the surprise wears off, she's laughing. "Not as much as you might think," she says first, though her grin suddenly grows as she adds, "It depends on the position, though some things are worth a bent flight feather or two..." Or three or four... It's not as if she doesn't have a lot of them, it's just that each one makes its contribution and though she'd have to lose a huge number for it to ground her, it doesn't take that many before it would start to impact her flying. Though is a bit of intimacy with a man she cares for worth risking that? Unless the world is in imminent danger of destruction and she needs to be at her best to fend it off, of course it's worth it.

And after that question was so easily answered, it shouldn't be surprised that being asked her weight doesn't phase her either. "A hundred and twenty pounds," she says, remaining seated on the couch. Anticipating that he won't believe that or at the very least would be surprised by it, she laughs and is quick to add, "I'm a bird, remember - the less I weigh, the better I fly. Being super-light is just as helpful to me as being super-strong."

[Deleted]

Harvey had realized his line of questions might seem a bit rude as soon as she started to answer them. He could feel heat at his cheeks as a little blood rushed to them. He felt a bit like an ass, but what else was new.

"Sorry, that was inappropriate."

He wasn't unsatisfied with her answer, she took it well and without embarrassment, that impressed him. He usually embarrassed and pissed most women off, so it seemed. He even smiled a bit at the tail end of that answer.

I bet it is, toots, he thought.

"A hundred twenty? That's ridiculous, but cool, I can dig it. You should eat more, you're too skinny."

I'm at least two of you, lady.

"You date a lot?"

Shut up, idiot.

[Deleted]

His apology causes a laugh, and Shayera waves it off with a shake of her head as she comments, "There isn't exactly a standard of 'appropriate' when it comes to someone from a planet not fully used to the idea that there's others out there asking questions of pure curiosity." If he could have been expected to have been raised being told what you do and don't do while talking to an alien, that would be different. Yes, one could argue that he should know that the rules are pretty much the same as meeting someone of a different culture, but it's easier said than done to apply that rule, and she knows it. Instead she'll give him the same leeway with asking questions about her that one would give a young child asking questions about anything - you don't punish that, you teach.

She laughs when he calls her skinny, as she certainly isn't. Not that she's the least bit fat, but she's too obviously muscular to be 'skinny'. "It's actually easier for me to put on more muscle than more fat, so you're better off telling me to work out if you want more of me," she replies with a grin, "I'm sure I'd be too fat to fly, otherwise." She's a very good eater, after all.

When compared to the other questions, when he asks about her dating life she actually hesitates to answer just a little. "Not lately. For... normal reasons more than alien reasons," she explains, "Finding someone compatible and not screwing it up is a near universal problem, no matter which planet you're from."

[Deleted]

"Eh, thanks. I just like knowin' things, I suppose."

Harvey took his hat off and placed it on a table nearby and went toward that pair of doors.

"I'm thinkin' I'll have a smoke out there if that's alright. Some people get awful antsy about smokin' indoors."

He headed that way and looked back with a smile at her last words.

"I'd like to think humans ain't the only ones who got problems in that department. Puts my mind at ease, heh."

Harvey gave a little chuckle as he continued to the doors and took his cigarette case and lighter out.