Just Dropping In? [GD & Aly]

[Deleted]

It was a great night to practice flying! The wind was nonexistent and Charlie had her bat in case any muggers decided to show themselves. Then again she was a little more like a mugger than the random people out here, not that she pointed a knife or gun at someone. She just lifted their wallets without them knowing a thing, unless she wanted a chase. Charlie checked her mask, making sure it wouldn't slip off if she just so happened to crash land. Which happened quite a bit.

"Alright!" She said to the trees around her and the shadows that might be listening. Charlie closed her eyes and went through her mess of memories, looking for one that would trigger the feeling of 'getting away'. The first one that came to mind was her tenth birthday, when her parents couldn't make it... again. She had escaped the house and went running down the street and away from her 'party', Charlie felt the urge rise up from the sad memory and surprisingly she smiled.

Her feet had left the ground and she was slowly rising. "Okay Charlie, keep it up," she whispered as she continued to rise. Soon she was above the tree tops and could see the city buildings. "Forward!" Her arm went out and she did a superman pose that actually caused her to move forward. She began to pick up speed which generated a laugh from Charlie. She was flying! She was actually flying!

A sinking feeling brought Charlie's mind back to reality and she noticed the tree's getting closer. "CRAP!" She shouted and completely lost the feeling that propelled her flying. Having done a crash landing before she covered her head and tucked into a ball. Before she could close her eyes she saw a person right where she knew she'd crash. "LOOK OUT!" Charlie screamed as she careened into the innocent bystander.

[Aly]

Her multicolored van stood out among the little cars of Jump City as she inched along in the middle of the later rush hour. Though the other cars had blasting air conditioning, Natalia's old bus was steaming. Apparently the German geniuses of the early seventies were not thinking about ventilation when they made this Volkswagen van. The metal shell basically turned the whole thing into a moving oven. Once there was a break in the traffic, she made her way down a different road, one that was less crowded and framed on each side by little mom and pop stores. The familiar sight of these small types of stores brought a smile to her face, and that smile widened as she saw a cluster of trees in the distance. A park! Well, she probably would have known that was there if she had a GPS or even a smartphone like most of the other American teenagers, but all Nattie had was a very large North American atlas underneath the passenger seat. The sun was just inching down over the horizon by the time she got to the park.

She was thankful that the open parking spot on the side of the road did not have a meter since the old bus would probably be sitting there for a while. Turning the bedazzled key to the off position and putting it in her jean shorts pocket, she hopped out of the van and immediately did a belly-flop onto the grass. Giggling, Nattie stretched her arms out in front of her, reveling in the soft grass beneath her. A couple walking hand-in-hand watching the sunset through the trees turned to stare at her with raised brows. The teenager didn't care what other people thought anymore, really. They could stare all they wanted. The grass beneath her fingers seemed to grow brighter, softer, and longer with her touch, the ends of the blades curling around her delicate fingers. Maybe she would stop here for a while. Bringing her head up to look around the park from her position on the ground, she smiled. She could fix this place up a bit. The trees and flowers looked a little droopy, but she could fix that in a heartbeat. Plus, a few more bushes and better coverage in the trees would attract more animals. Hopefully this city protected this little plot of land in the middle of it and prohibited cruelty to the animal inhabitants. If not, she would just have to enforce her own rules about that.

While she was dreaming up plans for the park, something crashed through the branches above her, screaming a warning as the body streaked towards her. Natalia didn't have time to do much more than gape and move her head out of her direct path before they collided. Rubbing her leg where the girl had bumped off before landing on the little area of grass that seemed quite a bit healthier than that around it, Natalia sat back up and looked strangely at the girl. "Dude, you alright? And do all of the people in this city randomly fall out of trees?"

[Deleted]

OOC: Sorry, I was waiting for Aly to post first. I apologize.

IC:

Ghostdance pulled his hood up over his white capped canine ears. It took a couple of wiggles of his ears in order for them to find sleeves that were made to fit into. The chainmail hidden in between the fabric jingled dully as they shifted into place. He was at least a little bit warmer now though he was shivering at the temperature. That was what he got when his "Costume" consisted of a sleeveless hoodie and a cotton t-shirt. Bare feet probably didn't help either, fur or not. But it was impossible to find a functional show that allowed his weird foot shape and claws.

He'd deal with it though. Just like he always did and probably always would. Though lately that had been harder and harder to do. He didn't want to get out of bed most days. What he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and just stay there until he was forgotten. The strictly Vulcan-esc and logical side of his brain told him it was guilt plain and simple. That he was letting his depression feed upon it. That at the end of the day, the world was better now that Clarence Fielding was gone. There was one less murderer in the world. One less man using magic, something that came from life and the flow of the universe itself for something fundementally against it's nature. Using the same invisible and ineffable energies that made the atoms dance as an executioners blade. From his strictest and most pragmatic view point. It was easy to measure the fact that by this one death he probably saved at the very least six others. That one act of violence saving an unknown amount of lives.

But for once in the logical lycanthropic shapeshifters life his heart was ruling over his brain. It couldn't have come at a worse time. If he was just a little bit faster. If he hadn't punched as hard. If he wouldn't had frozen in fear and watched a guilty man fall to his death. Was that who he was meant to be? A hangman and noose to be set upon things by the unknowable powers that be.

He didn't like the thought of that.

That was the whole reason he was tramping through the park in the dead of night uder the guise of a patrol. He wanted to get out and away from the pressure of the Titans and the seemingly futile attempt to live up to the previous Ghostdane. A chance to reconnect to nature and thus himself. Under the translucent all seeing eye and grand oversoul.

Unfortunately like most things he planned, something got in the way. In this case it was the sight of a collision between a a girl from the sky and another. "I can't get any rest can I?" he asked himself loudly as startled awake birds took off in a flutter. Stepping out from the darkness of the tries and bushes he offered his black clawed hand and offered a fanged wolfish smile. "Are you two okay? I think I have a first aid kit if you need it." he said offering a small wag in an attempt to not appear too much like a terrifying denizen of the dark. Fumbling in pockets he showed off his communicator and clears his throat. "See. Titan. Good guy."

[Deleted]

A groan came from the black clad flying failure, falling was never something Charlie wanted to do but it came with the territory of her powers. She had landed on her bat which would leave a nice long bruise on her back, but for now it was just really sore. With a quick yet thorough assessment of her physical state she found nothing broken was her first observation. Good, no need to go for an annoying hospital visit then. When she heard a voice asking if she was alright Charlie sat up quickly. Crap! She’d crashed into someone! A girl with blonde dreadlocked hair. She’d seen dreadlocks before but that was on some guy her friends in Star City said to say away from, she didn't but ended up hearing some funny stories.

“Wah! Oh my gosh I am so sorry! Are you okay?!” Charlie said in frantic voice, she didn’t like hurting people unless they tried to hurt her or really needed it. She smiled at the girl’s second question, “Not really I’m just a special case. Oh and I am completely fine, see--OW!” After making an attempt to stand up Charlie’s ankle flared with intense pain causing her to fall back to the ground. “Okay, not completely fine...” she mumbled to herself. It was definitely sprained but would probably be fine with some ice and painkillers. She would have to stay off of it, which meant no running for a little bit.

She nearly jumped when out of the forest came a dark figure. With wide eyes and open mouth Charlie sat frozen staring at a blue wolf standing up on two legs. Not only that but he was speaking to them! The masked girl ran through every horror movie scenario involving werewolves, none of them ended very well. Then he pulled something out of his pocket, a communicator but not just any communicator it was a Titans communicator. With that little piece of information Charlie calmed down quite a bit. She’d heard from a few people that Robin only gave those out to trustworthy people. Kind of like badge of honor.

Even with that knowledge Charlie was still a little tense. He was a Titan sure but she was quite the petty thief, she was even starting a collection of police badges she lifted off some unsuspecting cops. Some gave her a good chase, others didn’t even notice it was gone. “I’m fine, we’re fine! Right?” Charlie looked at the girl and stood up again but favored her left leg quite a bit. “Nothing walking off can’t cure,” she said with a smile but flinched when she put weight on her foot. “Nngh...”

[Aly]

Well, it was a relief to hear that there wouldn't be any more teenagers falling out of the trees around here. As the boy/wolf/person/animal walked out of the shadows, she raised her hand slightly, ready to trap his feet in tangled weeds. She wasn't really surprised when he spoke, because hello, it's a blue wolf walking on two legs, wearing clothing. Not the strangest thing she's ever seen, to say the least. It seemed alright when he offered to help, though. She didn't know what a Titan was, nor did she know exactly what the round thing he held out to show them was, but she trusted that he was a good guy as he said. He didn't look like he was going to eat them or anything. "I'm fine, thanks. But I don't think she'll need the first aid kit."

Returning her attention to the girl that fell from above, she raised her eyebrow at her. "I can help with a splint if you want. Here, hold on." She moved her hand up, almost touching the trunk of the tree beside her. She turned back around to the girl, biting her lip. "Don't freak out, okay?" She didn't think the girl would be too frightened, as she didn't run away from the blue wolf-boy, but you never knew.

Natalia turned back to the tree and with a quiet snap, a long piece of its bark perhaps two inches wide fell off of the tree and onto the grass beside her. With another motion of her hand, this time over the ground at the base of the tree, a little patch of tulips sprouted from the ground, growing into three flowers each with two long leaves. After the flowers stopped growing, the leaves continued until they were the length that Natalia needed. "Sorry about this." She whispered to apparently nobody before snapping the leaves off of the pretty flowers.

She took the bark and plants in her hand and turned back to the girl. "This should help until you get it checked out, alright?"

[Deleted]

Ghostdance felt like his insides were lead as both of the girls cast his gaze upon him. And in that moment, as his leaden organs sunk down into the grimy murky depths of depression he knew he had messed up. He knew the look they gave him well enough. He had seen it a lot more times than he would have cared to admit. They were shocked by him, horrified even. It wouldn't be the first time his lupine appearance had terrified the very people he was supposed to help.

And it was completely and one hundred percent his fault. The was no law set in stone saying he was to wear this form. It wasn't like he was Ghost Rider or something. Why he hid in this form, was oddly enough, an entirely human reason. Well, at least if you thought of it in a traditional way. Why he wore the fur and fangs constantly was not for him, but for his family.

He, as much as he didn't like to think about it like this, was a hero. And he had the name, certification, and at this point the experience to prove it. He had made mistakes and enemies. It didn't help that he happened to travel in a circle where something simple like a name held power. They held more power than the information google could provide on him. And with the person or thing that took out his Grandfather still around he couldn't afford to let any of it go. They couldn't protect themselves the same way he could. They didn't have the fur and fangs he did. They didn't have his magic either. They were, just like his reasons, human.

And even though he was cognoscent and acknowledged these facts, it didn't stop the looks from hurting.He was never really the best with people. He got in fights a lot in school and never really was a popular kid. He couldn't imagine now that he got super powers it was going to get any better.And with the recent events of Seattle it hadn't done anything to soothe his thoughts of was he worthy of them. But he kept it in with a playhouse fangy smile and sorrowful eyes.

The wolf man looked incredulously at The falling girl as she started to stand up. "I saw that fall. Carefully not to exacerbate..." he started, extending his black clawed fingers outward in an authoritative manner despite a small stammer. He felt his ears pull back as the girl call out in pain. "it." he concluded finally. His mind quickly ran through a list of healing spells and rituals he knew, his eyes scanning the air as if he was reading an invisible text book. The rituals he knew were potent, but time consuming, expensive, and complicated. They weren't something you used for something as trivial as a sprained ankle, or even a broken leg.

But in his philophizing and reasoning he almost missed the other girl going something quite out of the ordinary. Did she speak to the trees? he thought to himself, his fuzzy brow furrowing in curious inquisition. He didn't react too drastically to it. It was hard to surrounded by teens who were not old enough to drink or drive, but were powerful enough to be classified as weapons of mass destruction. Not to mention the fact he traveled in the realms of gods, spirits, and magical creatures. But it was still interesting.

"I can take a look at it if you want. Basic first aid is kinda mandatory in my line of work, if not more." he says. "I don't think you're going to make it on your own back home without a bit of help or a vehicle. though. I can tell from here. And I don't think you're in any shape to try and fly now." he comments in a dull flat tone as if it was perfectly natural, though he gave a knowing smile to the injured girl.

[Deleted]

“I’m fine! Really!” She said, but her smile was strained a little and she still favored her left leg a little. Charlie’s pride, actually her stubbornness, wouldn’t allow her to ask for help so easily. It was just a sprain, and she could assess how bad it was later with a few pokes and prods to her tendons. She remembered a similar type of pain when she did a year of soccer, some very competitive girl thought it would be funny to ‘accidentally’ slide into her leg with her very sharp cleats. Charlie got some pay back in a later game which broke the other player’s toe. Fun times.

When the girl started to do certainly abnormal things with some plants, Charlie decided it was best not to run away. Well, she couldn’t run right now and flight was a little tricky at the moment since it wasn’t under her complete control. She looked at the wolf boy and was surprised to see something sad in his eyes, and that made her feel a little bad about how she reacted. So she sat back down in the grass and crossed her arms over her chest in defeat. “I won’t freak out,” she said with a little pout. “You just saw me fall out of the sky, making flowers bloom is a little more graceful than my powers.”

Her eyes stared at the grass with some embarrassment. She’d had these powers for nearly a month now and Charlie could only use them when she was being chased or thought of getting away. Maybe she should study some comic books with flying heroes or look into books with just words, she shuddered a little at the thought. She’d reluctantly read a text book every now and then for school but doing it for any other reason wasn’t in Charlie’s best interest.

“Uh… Whoever is better qualified I suppose, though the Titan kinda has a bit of a point,” she looked between the two. At the moment she didn’t trust either of them completely but she really couldn’t do much at the moment. Though the feeling of getting away was just a very slim thread in the weave of emotions in her head at the moment. So flying wouldn’t be possible at the moment and she might as well get outside treatment rather than go to the hospital. It’s not that she didn’t like them, they just asked really stupid questions like ‘how did it happen?’ or ‘does this hurt?’.

[Aly]

"Oh sure dude, wherever you need to go, I have plenty of room in my van over there." Natalia smiled and jerked her head in the direction of her multicolored van that sat not too far away. "And I'm Natalia, by the way." She started to work on the splint for the girl's leg, first tearing the piece of bark in two down the middle so she could put one on each side of the girl's ankle. With careful movements, she cradled the foot in one hand while applying the splint with the other.

Finally, she tied the leaves in place and set the girl's foot down gently on the grass. "So what's a Titan, anyways? You two mentioned the word a couple of times, but I have no idea. I'm new to the area." She wiped her hands off on her thighs and stood, facing the blue wolf-boy. "I haven't seen many people with... abilities like ours. Of course, there's Superman back in Metropolis, but I don't think you guys are aliens. Myself, I have no idea." She shrugged and leaned back against the tree.

[Deleted]

Ghostdance made his way out of the bushes, barely rustling the leave as he passed through them. If he was the type for smoking he would have offered a light to them both at this moment. It probably would make social situations a bit easier to deal with. There always seemed to be a silent comradery to be seen between of the smokers as they huddle around their designated spot. It was enviable.

Ghostdance offered his shoulder to the injured girl with a bit of a small grunt. It was a gesture, a small gesture but a gesture none the less. He was trying. "Here, you shouldn't put weight on it for a little bit. Even if nothing is broken and it's just twisted the strain could mess up your tendons." he said off-handedly as he stared down at the floor.

"The name most people know me by is Ghostdance. It's a borrowed name but it works" he says in a simple tone, the second part seemingly more aimed at himself. Letting the plant manipulating girl lead the way he narrowed his gaze. He strained and bit his bottom lip. If something was there he should be able to see it. He would be able to see it. There wasn't a single time that his pansophical eyes had failed him, even when his glasses were safe in a black case.

And they were working. He could tell that much from the injured girl. To his surprise, she was the one with an aura around her. He always hated using that word to describe it even when it was just himself. It didn't seem fitting for the three consolidating circles of a yellow that reminded him of sun-baked clay pots that made a ring around the girls ankles. Nor did it describe the small but slightly crumpled fluttering wings that stuck out from those ankles.

He could at least make the reasonable deduction that van girls powers were not magic based. "I don't imagine you get CNN or anything in that van do you?" he says as he ears swivel towards the sounds. "The Teen Titans have been around for a few years now and have operations around the world. I know for sure about one in Greece and one in Steel City. They've been in the news a lot. I guess it's a nice convenient way for the JLA to keep an eye on us. Train the next gen of heroes I guess."

[Deleted]

The plant girl, Natalia, was gentle with Charlie’s ankle, yet any movement caused some pain and Charlie bite her lip. This was nothing compared to the broken arm she sustained during her track phase, her powers activated during a pole vault and she missed the cushy mat on the way down. Broke her arm in two places and had to wear that stupid itchy cast for such a long time. She did squeak a little when the girl tied the splint. Charlie examined the all natural splint and was rather impressed with Natalia’s work. The splint wasn’t as itchy as her cast had been thankfully.

When the wolf guy suddenly appeared next to her she jolted ever so slightly in surprise. He was a quiet guy-wolf… dude… She was a little reluctant to take up the Titan’s offer for help but Charlie didn’t have much of a choice. So she carefully stood up and took him up on his offer. His fur was… soft and it caused Charlie to think of her dog Mab. The poor thing was in a big house and no one to play with. Maybe I should get her a toy tomorrow, she thought. To the wolf boy she smiled, “Thanks! Don’t think anything’s broken though, I’ve had broken bones before and this feels more like a sprain. I should be fine in a few days after using the R.I.C.E. treatment.”

“You can just call me C,” Charlie said cheerfully at not using her super name. She hadn’t forgotten that a titan was present and could easily take her in, then again a petty thief wouldn’t show up on the Titan’s radar… would they? She thought for a moment and shifted her bag a little. When moving her shoulders she felt dull pain between her shoulder blades, a definite bruise would be there in the morning. The bag not only held an aluminum bat but a couple of wallets she lifted and shoved in the bottom of her bag.

Charlie looked over at Natalia is shock, “You haven’t heard of the Teen Titans?” After the wolf boy Ghostdance, which she though was a interesting name, explained a little Charlie put in her own bits of information. “They’re a bunch of kids our age who fight crime! Not all of them have super powers like Robin or Speedy,” she said in an elated tone. She may have a wonky moral compass but that didn’t stop her from being a titans fan.

“I’m not an alien like Superman,” Charlie said in definite tone. “All I can do is fly and as you can see I’m not indestructible,” she gestured to her leg. “I’m human but where my powers come from that’s a complete mystery to me.” The history of her familial line was completely unknown to Charlie. Her parents never shared any thing about it and Charlie didn’t really care all that much about her family anymore. Speaking of family, she didn’t need a hospital calling her parents. They might not answer but Charlie didn’t want to take that chance. “Can we not go to the hospital? I’d rather keep my identity secret,” she said in a nonchalant tone.