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multiversallogs2012-01-15 11:51 pm
controlledvariable) wrote in multiversallogs2012-01-15 11:51 pm
Entry tags:
Running is something that I've always done [open]
Who: Steph Brown. Open
What: Training/stress relief
Where: Mog Hill, anywhere else you might wanna run into her
When: Newdi evening, after work
Notes: Feel free to run into her at any point during her evening.
Warnings: None yet.
Meditation has never really worked for Steph; she hates sitting still and when she tries, she ends up getting too distracted by all the movements she wants to make to actually relax. Running has been her form of meditation, so it's what she plans to do when she finishes work for the day and finds herself still feeling stressed out.
She heads home, changing into her work out clothes - the under layer of her Batgirl suit, a loose, long-sleeved shirt and sneakers - then goes out again. She wishes she had her iPod with her, just because it'd make it easier to tune out the city sounds, but she manages without. The thoughts that have been troubling her the last few days slip away, leaving her with nothing but the thump of her footfalls, the controlled rush of her breathing and the prickle of sweat as she pushes herself to run harder.
Her route takes her out of Mog Hill and in a loop through the nearby neighborhoods until she's back near the Valhalla Inn. Rather than going straight back to the Inn, she stops at a park close by to warm down. She stretches first, then starts going through series of kata; she doesn't get them perfect, but they help work out some of the tension. She would normally practice on bad guys, but she's too tired to risk patrolling tonight; Babs would yell at her if she got herself killed. Babs would probably yell at her for doing something like this in public, but it's not like martial arts is all that exotic, so Steph figures she can just say she learned all this at self defence class or something.
She'll be there until late, until her muscles are sore and her mind is clear, then she'll walk the rest of the way home.
late ._. I am sorry.
It's not that he's not good at them, because he does have a base level of competence with a lot of Bat-things, and he picked up a few tricks while on his own goddamn training trip, but there's just something so fundamentally irritating about having to put on a disguise if it's not simply a means to an end. He has disguised himself for purposes of reconnaissance or getting in close to someone or when it's absolutely necessary, here and elsewhere; but putting on a disguise for something like this, which is following someone a bit, that's annoying.
There's no reason to think Stephanie should instantly recognize him, but if she worked for Batman, then she had access to his files, and he is most definitely in Batman's files, albeit perhaps not as he is now. So, resenting the farce, he dyes his hair blond — ugh, dying it back tonight, definitely — and 'borrows' a friendly dog to walk it through the park where he's established Stephanie sometimes goes. A heavy jacket will partially disguise his build, and glasses (such eye-rolling as he puts them on) are as far as he's going to go with this disguise bullshit. The dog, a wolfy-looking dark gray mix of indeterminate breed, is just happy to be out and about. Jason walks him past Stephanie with only a glance, and they pause about thirty or forty paces past while the dog rolls around.
The last he heard of Stephanie Brown, she was dead, yet what he's seeing now is, in his opinion, different from the intel he was given by Talia. She seems older, for one, though not the age of the Tim who's here. She seems... well, he can't say for sure. He never saw her in action.
i forgive you because you gave me the image of blond jason and i'm laughing so hard i'm dying
She could just be being paranoid, though, so she doesn't actually do anything about him yet. Well, not much. She finishes the kata and goes into something more like tai chi; slow and controlled movements that make it easier for her to watch him watching her.
HAHAHA it's just a small step to red from here, jason. he picks up the wrong bottle......... NOO!!!!
"C'mon, buddy," he mutters just audibly. "You're gonna distract tai chi lady."
pretty sure peroxide in rlly black hair could turn it red
NEVERRRRRRRRRR
"He's not mine," he admits, gently fending the dog's tongue off with his hand. "But my sister's sick, so I gotta walk him."
There's no trace of Gotham in his voice, just a hint of Boston.
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"I'd offer some advice on dealing with him, but I'm afraid I don't have much experience with dogs either." But when she's close enough, she crouches down and holds out her hand for the dog to sniff. It might be a little risky coming near this guy, but she's fairly sure he won't start anything in a public park. And even if he does, she's confident she can take him.
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"Woah, c'mon, down boy." He's not really fond of doing the persona thing, either. It's never been central to his plans, or even useful; he doesn't lead two lives at once, he's just Jason Todd, Douchebag Vigilante, all the time. This doesn't come naturally, but he's not tense or watchful. Nate, as he's decided he is for as long as his hair is blond, is just a little awkward around girls. "Sorry... I don't know how to control Bandit, other than bacon."
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After a moment she looks up at Jason, there's still a smile on her face, but her brows are furrowed slightly. He looks familiar, but not enough to work out where she's seen him before. Steph has never met Jason and only seen a few pictures of him, most of those from when he was Robin.
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"Ack, fflth, no, bad dog..." That was dog tongue way too close to his mouth. Seemingly embarrassed, he struggles upright and then to his feet, clutching the leash with one hand and wiping his face with the other. "Uhh, yeah, wow, that was awesome. I've never felt so dignified."
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"At least he's not a slobbery dog?" She offers, because it'd be worse if the dog was a St Bernard or something. Her smile is amused and a little sheepish, she feels kind of guilty for wanting to laugh. "There's a water fountain near that bench over there, if you wanna wash your face."
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That could be the end of this, and he kind of hopes so, because seriously? Seriously? He doesn't do this. He prefers gathering his information through good old-fashioned stalking. But Stephanie isn't a target, meaning ruthlessness is not warranted. Nor is she 'family', per se. She is, but they've never met and they're not even vaguely close, so he simply doesn't feel right following her around at night. (But it's perfectly all right to do that to Dick or Tim, and once upon a time, Bruce. JASON LOGIC.) He doesn't have an agenda with her, and he doesn't want to make his case like he did with Mia. So it's either stalking, or more painful sessions as a blond goofball named Nate, with a dumbass dog that doesn't belong to him. No. No way. Stalking it is. And he should have done that from the beginning, but that feeling, that this-isn't-right feeling, and maybe curiosity (did she die? Did she come back, like him?) brought him to this dumbass situation.
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"I never got your name." It's part question, said before he's out of earshot. The act fairly is convincing and Steph is responding like she usually would - with friendliness. There's still some lingering suspicion, and she's wondering whether she should follow him for a bit, just to confirm his story.
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"Nate," Jason says, the small smile appreciative of her friendliness. Nate is a twerp. But at least he's not Brucie. He turns the smile down at the fountain, focusing on letting the dog have its drink. "You?"
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"No, Palm. Not that I ever use it anyway." He hesitates and then makes a shy attempt to continue the conversation. It's possible he may have to resort to being truly socially stupid to get this to end quickly, but that might also be memorable. Probably it'd be best just to let this come to a close as naturally as possible. "Do you attend TeeMuu?"
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That would make sense. She's probably seen him around campus.
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That's a subject he can thoroughly bullshit, at least. But Jason doesn't really want to answer more questions for Nate. There won't be any opportunity to ask the questions he really wants to know, but casual conversation might yield something like her age.
"Did you just start...?" The direction of his eyes moves just noticeably upward and to the left, where people sometimes look when they try to remember things. Nate is something of an open book, after all.
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"Yeah, I'm pretty new to Baedal but I got a job early, so it's been good." She's lucky that it was Kate who came to let her out of the arrival room, it worked out well.
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What he says next starts out mock solemn but ends up a bit more bitter than Nate intended. "Oh, well, welcome to Baedal, o fellow chosen one. How fortunate we are to have been ripped away from our lives so we can be stomped on by secret police."
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"Secret police, the only thing worse than actual police." She's curious now, his bitterness seemed more genuine than the awkwardness he had going on before, "I hope you haven't had any trouble with them."
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The dog tries to wander off to sniff something else, having exhausted all the possibilities in the immediate area, and Jason lets it pull until his arm is fully extended.
"But you stay here long enough, you'll probably get to know someone who won't be." He shrugs. "Not much I can do. Not interested in politics."
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"Jesus," it's quiet and frustrated-sounding, but she scrubs a hand over her face and tries to regain her composure, "I hope it doesn't ever come to that. It's not--"
Fair, is what she wants to say. But life isn't fair, and she's not gonna solve many problems by complaining about them. "Sorry." She's not sure what exactly the apology is for, it just feels necessary.
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"Nothing to be sorry for," Jason tells Stephanie with painful earnestness. "Unless you're militia."
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He takes a circuitous route back to the house where he absconded with the dog in the first place to make sure Steph hasn't followed him, and leaves the disappointed animal in the yard. The glasses and coat he discards in separate locations. RIP, Nate.
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