Thanksgiving at Wayne Manor

[_nightwing_]

Historically, Thanksgiving has been a mixed bag of emotions and usually an opportunity for high drama where the Bat family is concerned. There was the year they found out about Bruce's satellite, for instance. The year Selina was first in attendance at the table

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[femme_du_chat]

Selina makes her way down the stairs, not making any secret of her presence. Her heels clap against the stone and the subtle scent of her perfume slides along the air as she comes closer and closer to her goal.

[anotherknight]

It's going to take a sledgehammer.

All his focus is directed toward the computer. It has been ever since his conversation with Tatsu Yamashiro outside Gotham General Hospital. What the Outsider had to say only augmented his fear. Someone is hunting his team.

[femme_du_chat]

Selina stands behind his chair and puts her hands on his shoudlers.

[anotherknight]

He's attempting to reconstruct the days prior to the attacks. Where did they go? Who did they see? What did they do? Anything that will answer the nagging question. Why these two specifically? Where they randomly chosen? Were they simply accessible and therefore easy targets?

A moment of silence passes before he addresses her, eyes still on the screen. "Go ahead and start without me," he says quietly.

[femme_du_chat]

"If we start without you, we'll end without you too."

So, obviously, the answer there is no.

[anotherknight]

"That's fine," he counters in a noncommittal tone of voice. It doesn't seem to matter that there are guests and family members waiting upstairs who would miss his presence. There is only the task at hand and answers that need unearthed.

[femme_du_chat]

Selina leans down to put her face near his ear, "No. It isn't. I'm not the head of this family."

"You are."

[anotherknight]

"I think they're all capable of lifting forks to their mouths without my supervision."

Dammit, why won't this search go any faster?

[femme_du_chat]

"If you think they're all here for Alfred's cooking alone you're mistaken." There is actually a little heat in her tone as she says it, cracking through the disaffected mask she'd been wearing.

God, she doesn't want to fight today.

[anotherknight]

He doesn't want to see any more of his teammates die. If that means dedicating every waking moment to the mystery to the exclusion of all else, he's willing and prepared to do so.

"I know why they're here." The frustration seeps through into his words.

[femme_du_chat]

"I'm sorry."

Selina steps back from him.

"You know if I don't bring you up, they'll all take turns coming down."

She doesn't want to fight. It hurts her too much to fight with him like this. It makes her feel old and tired. Especially today.

[anotherknight]

There's truth in her statement. Truth he can't escape. His gaze drops to the keyboard and for a brief moment, he closes his eyes.

The weight of the world seems to rest on his shoulders.

[femme_du_chat]

Selina waits not far from him.

Her expression is worried and a little pained.

[anotherknight]

Looker and Technocrat are not the only individuals on his mind. Another threat has resurfaced recently. One he thought dead and buried. The presence of those gathered above accentuate his worry and remind him of his own vulnerability. Not for the first time in his life, he has a lot to lose.

"Why won't he stay dead?" The question is nearly inaudible.

[femme_du_chat]

"Who?"

No. She doesn't know.

This time, she does step closer to him, concerned.

[anotherknight]

He looks up, meeting her gaze for the first time since her arrival.

"Ra's Al Ghul."