Warning: Contents May Be BITTER.

[tightpantsrawr]

WHO: Jason Todd and no title Ilena.
WHAT: Jason and Ilena were having a Bitter Off when Jason sort of let slip that he died. Ilena wants to know what he meant by that.
WHERE: A rooftop, because Jason plays by Gotham rules even when there are no decent gargoyles.
WHEN: Some time, late afternoon/early evening.

Comments

8D

[whoneedsarms]

It took Ilena a while to make her way towards toward. She had lingered in the jungle a while, looking over her journal and with the intention of speaking to Teresa before she left. Eventually, though, she had simply made off with a quite "tsch" under her breath, and headed towards town. "Thomas", the human child had called himself. Ilena would find him soon enough

[tightpantsrawr]

He noticed her approaching, of course - even with the handful of Gothamites here, it was too early for most of them to consider taking to the rooftops just yet, and if anyone else on the island regularly used them instead of the streets, then they weren't around now either. That, or Jason had just managed to pick a quiet spot. Either way, the fast-moving blonde caught his watchful eye, and he observed her approach. From the graceful and fast movements, she had good reason to be talking about being strong enough to deal with the monsters, though her attitude still rubbed him the wrong way a little.

He wasn't that fond of being underestimated, after all, unless he was doing it deliberately.

He nodded a greeting. "And that'd make you Ilena. Please, step into my office." He smirked humorously, gesturing with one arm and bowing a little, as if inviting her in... to the only mildly enclosed rooftop.

[whoneedsarms]

Ilena has been a little surprised that he'd been waiting on a roof of all places, although she supposed that perhaps she should simply learn not to be surprised any more -- especially when this human claimed to be something a little out of the ordinary. She observed the human carefully as she moved closer. Trained for a human, no doubt, but even now she did not see how a human could even come close to the talents of the warriors.

Her mouth did not turn up in a smile, nor any other show of greeting, her expression remaining neutral and entirely serious. "It does." Raising her right hand, she deftly unclasped the fastening of her cloak and cast it to the side, revealing her missing arm. "You see I am not infallible either. I will tell my tale when you have shared yours."

Ilena was not best suited for small talk, but at least she was forthright.

[OOC: Baaaw, sorry for the delay. The dust, man DX]

[tightpantsrawr]

Jason whistled, low and quiet but clear, when she revealed her arm was missing. Well, that went some way towards explaining her attitude, though he'd have to wait to hear her story before the intricate details would fall into place, of course. Still, it ntched his respect for her back up a level, and he dropped a bit of his facetious mannerisms, becoming more serious to match.

"Can't say fairer than that. And here I was, prepared to have to negotiate some exchange of information - you're refreshingly straightforward to deal with." Compared to talking with some of the people in Gotham, this looked like it was going to be relatively up front, rather than a maze of innuendoes and implications and secrets - not that he didn't enjoy that, but it really was a refreshing change of pace

[whoneedsarms]

The comment almost earned Tommy a smile. The barest flicker at the corners of her mouth though, were all he received, and whether or not he was observant enough to catch them was not of her concern. "I came here to learn. An exchange is only reasonable." After all, she was living among humans, or close enough. Some cooperation would spare her countless hassles

[tightpantsrawr]

Jason just shook his head slightly, tsking under his breath. "Thanks for the advice, really, but you got one thing a little off. I forgive my partner for letting me die. I was aware of the risks when I signed on - even with all my stupid, childish faith in him and - heh, sometimes misplaced bravery. Even with all of that, I knew it wasn't just a game I was playing, or anything like that. So that I died, that's not so much the problem for me, nice as it would've been to survive." There's a definite surge of repressed anger and bitterness that comes flooding in here, though. "What pisses me off is that my partner didn't get rid of the scum that killed me - my death goes unavenged, as you might say. That's the real kicker, as far as I'm concerned, especially with all the things that fucker has done while he's been left alive. Part of me refuses to believe he's even human any more."

He sighs irritably, visibly forcing himself to calm down, and paces away a little, restless now. "I seriously do get that you've gotta be ready for any fight

[whoneedsarms]

The conversation was taking a turn that she hadn't quite expected, and the words bit deep, hitting nerves and poking at a wound that had gone unhealed over many years, for all her attempts to cover it over.

Ilena felt her temper flare, faster and hotter than she would have ever anticipated. She was ice and stone, calm and composed, unmoving no matter what battered at her. Yet, it seemed even ice and stone could crack. "Fool," she bit out harshly, blood roaring in her ears. "Some fights cannot be won. Even the most power warriors in the land cannot be even remotely prepared for some fights, no matter how hard they train. There are some tragedies that can never be avenged." Her eyes almost flashed gold but she shoved down the yoki roughly, the surge in her energy bringing her back to the moment and away from the memories that flooded her mind. "Do not think to lecture me, human! Do not think to understand what it is to fail to avenge someone

[tightpantsrawr]

He tensed up at the obvious agitation - danger - that was suddenly evident in Ilena, his body reflexively hitting alert and his awareness sharpening, though only in his own limited, human way; the result of those years of training and battle.

He was emotionally raw around the edges from spilling his history and having to remember it, again - talk about it seriously, rather than using it as a dig at his family, a process he had numbed himself to. He could feel an answering anger boiling up in him, and it was tempting to snap, to yell at her, maybe start a fight - but another instinct took over, and he smirked nastily. Almost taunting, now.

"Ho-ohh, so that's your story, is it? Failed to save someone and it cost you your arm in the bargain?" His expression dropped a notch back towards cold, hard seriousness, but still laid under a sharp sliver of a smirk. "So you think I haven't lost anyone myself, that it? Think maybe I've never been faced with the chance at that hot and bloody revenge and forced myself to step back because of

[whoneedsarms]

"I was sent to kill my comrade," Ilena snapped back. Best friend more like, but she had never known that, not at that time and not even now. She had never been much for putting thought to such things, after all