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

[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.

Still an uncomfortable subject, though. He shifted a bit. "Cutting right to the chase, then - I used to fight criminals and the occasional monster back when I was a kid, alongside... my partner." There was a twist of bitterness in his tone at those words. "Boss, really, since I was still just a kid, but in the field we worked as partners, too. We had each other's backs and hauled the other out of scrapes when we needed to. But one day, he had to leave me by myself - he was chasing after a convoy of medical supplies that had been tampered with, had to catch up and warn them before they got distributed and people started dying. I was left watching the warehouse where the crooks were, so I could tail them if they left, and I was supposed to wait outside. But my mother was in there, so when I saw her come out... I thought I could get her away from there, so when he got back we could fight without having to worry about her getting caught up in it. I was wrong. When I went to talk to her - when she found out who I really was, a crimefighter - she tricked me, told me the crooks had already left, and got me to come inside with her. She just handed me over to protect her own crooked hide, 'cause she'd been embezzling funds and didn't want to get found out."

He sighed, staring deliberately at a point somewhere over Ilena's shoulder, though his domino mask hid his eyes. The tension in his body and stance were getting to be obvious. "She stood by and watched while they beat me to near-death with a crow-bar. And then they tied us both up and left us next to a bomb. It went off before my partner could get back to get us out, and we both died in the explosion."

[OOC: LMAO it's okay ♥ *dusts Ilena*]

[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.

Ilena watched him carefully, his motions, his expressions the entire time. The subtle shifts were all caught by her sharp silver eyes, unrelenting as his tale progressed. When he finished the tale, she bowed her head, silent for a moment. Her jaw clenched, unclenched and clenched again, the greatest show of emotion she would allow herself. "So even to their own kind and kin, humans are truly unforgivable," the warrior said quietly, voice flat as she turned away for a moment. There was a long, drawn out pause before she spoke again. "I am sorry for what came to pass. Your mistake was an understandable one. There is no infallibility when human emotions come into play." She knew that well enough. Control of her emotions were what granted her the Quick Sword, what granted her strength, and when those emotions threatened to bubble into something more...

Well. The world had ended, hadn't it? Her world, at least. She turned back to him, expression somber. "I did underestimate your experience. You have my apologies for that. And yet, I would urge you understand, from one with years of experience beyond your own, that caution is by far the better course. Some battles may not be won, no matter what is done or should even the strongest warriors take to arms." Her silvery hair fell forward as she bowed her head slightly. "Expecting too much of the unready can bring tragedy on more than just themselves." Especially when the unready become... something else entirely.

[OOC: Sob, my mind is ruined. I can never read the His Dark Materials series again. XD ♥]

[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 you get into, and learn to run the fuck away when you need to. But there are some fights you just can't turn away from, all the same."

[OOC: rofl I haven't even read it XD sorry for the delay, distracted by being TERRIBLE in chat.]

[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!"

Her hand clenched into a fist, knuckles white. "There are things beyond your world and beyond your understanding, Thomas."

[OOC: UHM I THINK HE HIT A NERVE @___@]

[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 someone's ideals? Never faced the consequences of the failings of myself or anyone else?" He barked a short, harsh, humourless laugh. "There's more to knowing me than knowing how I died, Ilena. Just like I expect there's more to you than just knowing how you lost that arm, or what makes your blood boil. Stop making so many goddamned assumptions all the time."

[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.

"I was ordered to hunt her down on by the Organization that ran itself to protect your kind! She was the strongest warrior among us, far beyond anything the rest of us could ever hope to grasp, and because she killed a band of murderers and rapists in defense of a human child she was to be killed!" Rage unbidden and unwelcome was bubbling through her veins, her skin starting to warp to a sickening gray as her yoki spiked. The subject at hand bought out her emotions like nothing else, emotions that she always kept under control, and the shame of her loss of control tangled up with her rage and pain. "When have you ever been made to hunt down one who you'd fought with, side by side? When have you ever seen another of your comrades lose control and turn into the worst kind of demon the world has ever seen, and then murder all your allies before your eyes?" Her eyes turned a bright gold. "No matter grievances have been done against you, nothing can compare! Nothing even comes close to the guilt that you miscalculated! You lead your team to your death and your idol as well!" The fierce energy storming around her dropped, breaths sharp and jagged. "You don't know the shame of being so crippled by fear that you could never face such a creature again. You couldn't even avenge them, and not from any moral code or path of virtue." Ilena's face twisted. "It was all fear and weakness. Tell me what you know of that!"