wild ladies

tandy had been helping the little ones at the ballet studio, when she decided to grab something to eat. she sat down and looked at her phone. she had been looking for Ty ever since she came here. she missed him. she needed him. she had forgotten that she was sitting at the counter ❝oh wow.. thanks i completely forgot where i was❞ she smiled, looking down at her phone hoping to see a message from Ty. 

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A small smile crossed her face at the blonde’s words. She was distracted. That was obvious. You didn’t have to be like her to know that the blonde was distracted by something, or someone? She didn’t know. Was she waiting for someone? Being stood up? None of her business— Cass shook her head a little. “Water is free. You can drink it.”

Tyrone sat at the corner, with the palm of one hand rested on the nape of his neck.  His chocolate brown eyes stared at the counter, as a muted exhale skimmed from the rims of his mouth. It was one of those days he really missed home, if you could even call it that anymore. New Orleans had it’s issues that’s for sure, and as a kid Tyrone can vividly remember wishing he had some sort of powers to try to fix the corrupt system and now that he did, it was harder than one would suspect. Sometimes he questioned if  the universe chose the wrong one,though Tandy would disagree. 

The male by no means disliked Sallow Hills. There were some nice parts of it, sure nothing beats Louisiana’s food, but Tyrone could  make do more easily,  had his family or Tandy been here with him. Without them was growing to be a little difficult, and with the events that took place just a few weeks  prior, made him question how much safer is Sallow Hills than home or anywhere really. No matter where Tyrone found himself, where it was New Orleans, LA , or even Sallow Hills; it seemed tragedy always followed 

 Unexpectedly a woman approached Tyrone. Steadily his eyes lifted as he turned to the side and held a  docile glance on her, as his fingers ran his  through his locs. “ Thanks but you don’t have to do that.” The words slid from the male’s lips in an amicable tone. Tyrone pulled out his wallet, grabbing some bills before pushing the cash towards the woman next to him. “ Uh, how much is it?” 

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Cassandra quietly watched the man in front of her. He had been deep in thought. Maybe interrupting it had been a mistake— or it could have been a good thing. Not thinking enough and thinking too much can both be bad things. She definitely knows many people who do one or the other. Some people do both. Confusing. She used to not think enough, but Babs and Alfred and Bruce had taught her differently.

She tilted her head as bills dropped onto the counter. Why was he trying to give her money? “It’s water,” Cass said quietly. Her voice had no inflections— she was just stating a fact. A glass of water is free. It should be free. Is it not free? She should have checked. No matter; Kate wouldn’t care. Probably. She pushed the glass of water closer to the man. “You should drink it.”

Her eyes followed the duo leaving The White Rabbit. They were drunk— but they came here together. They would probably be okay. As long as they didn’t drive. She turned back to the man, a small smile on her face. Steph told her long ago that she had resting bitch face. Well, that many of them had resting bitch face. Cass knew that she had to be a little more open-looking if she’s going to work here.

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H E R  eyes  moved  around  the  room,  but  not  a  like  a  nervous  tick.    it  was  like  she  was  taking  everything  in.    he  couldn’t  help  but  wanted  what  she  saw.    did  she  see  more  than  anyone  else?    how  did  she  see  it  all?    he  wouldn’t  ask,  not  a  complete  stranger.    but  he  wondered  it  a  lot.    how  everyone  else  saw  the  world.    how  people  walked  around  not  hearing  the  earth  singing.    or  crying  out  for  help,  in  recent  years.    sallow  hills  was  the  most  peaceful  slot  of  earth  he’d  heard  in  too  long  of  a  time.

╷╷╷    he  quickly  tried  to  piece  together  what  he  knew  about  kate’s  family.    not  the  twin  sister    -    very  clearly.    and  the  pictures  that  were  hung  in  the  back  of  the  bar  told  him  it  wasn’t  the  other  woman  she  mentioned  often.    (june?    jules?    julia!)    he  reached,  but  there  wasn’t  much  else  he  knew  by  name.    he  knew  that  her  and  stpeh  had  other  people,  people  they’d  worked  with  before  they  came  here.    vigilantes,  though  steph  avoided  that  talk  a  lot.

╷╷╷    ❝so  you’re  from  gotham?    like  kate  and  steph?❞  what  names  had  steph  told  him?    there  was  the  big  man.    he  didn’t  know  specifics  but  merlin  knew  there  was  someone  who  was  vaguely  in  charge.    there  were  the  two  batarangs  that  were  clearly  not  steph’s.

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She watched as the man thought about it. Why was he thinking— oh. He knows Kate and Steph. Cass leaned forward, smiling at the easy way he said their names. This man was familiar with them, and in a good way, it seemed. The smile on her face was bright and open, the way it normally is when she talks about her family. “Yes. I’m from Gotham, like Kate and Steph. You know them?” Kate and Steph have been here long enough to make friends— to have a bar. What had happened?

This man knows the name Gotham. They talk to him. She should know his name. “I’m Cassandra. What’s your name?” Politeness. Alfred had taught her that when he had taught her how to speak and read. Alfred.  Anyways... this man... is he from here? Here— Sallow Hills— this place felt real— it’s not an alternate reality. It’s not time travel. So how did she get here? How did Kate and Steph get here? Why didn’t she come here when they did? Where are Bruce and Tim and Damian and Dick and Jason and everybody else? Conner? Babs? Oliver Queen? Flash? Thinking about it too much confused her. “And are you from here?”

“Yeah it does. I made sure that the access was as good as it could be. The library may have a lot of books that hold knowledge. But it’s easier to use the internet. Especially if you don’t have the time to read a thick book” he said and nodded. Even though he personally was someone who preferred the books over the internet, he knew better than to push such a mindset onto others. “I have pretty much modernized this place which is a lot coming from me”

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Cassandra nodded along as the man spoke. She agreed. She liked books— she liked tangible things, but she knew that the Internet had a lot, sometimes more than what books could show. “Nice.” Google is amazing. “Oh— and... can we eat inside? Or drink?” She needed to know. She’d made the mistake of eating a donut in a library once— never again.

                                                             ― ･❪ ❁ ❫･ ―

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I T  was  weird  coming  to  the  white  rabbit  without  arthur.    but  he’d  wanted  to  see  steph  away  from  her  house.    where  he  was.    where  he  deserved  his  space.    so,  the  white  rabbit  seemed  like  the  best  spot.    of  course,  he  hadn’t  checked  to  see  if  steph  was  actually  working  today.    which  she  wasn’t.    kate  was,  and  a  girl  merlin  hadn’t  seen  around  before.    though  it  had  been  a  bit  since  he’d  come.

╷╷╷    he  offered  her  a  smile  when  she  placed  a  glass  of  water  down  in  front  of  him.  ❝thanks,  i  probably  do,❞  he  said.    it  was  not  a  night  to  get  drunk.    not  in  this  kind  of  mood  and  not  when  he’d  have  to  walk  through  the  wood  by  himself  to  get  home.    ❝i’m  merlin,  by  the  way.    i  haven’t  seen  you  around  here  before.❞    

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She smiled back at the man. His eyes seemed old, and it was clear when he walked in that Cass wasn’t who he’d expected to see, but he seemed nice. She liked nice. Her eyes wandered the room. Nothing had changed— but maybe the two in the back should leave soon, if the tenseness in their shoulders was a hint. She watched as another man placed a calming hand on both men’s shoulders— the tension melts away. Never mind— they’ll be fine. Although maybe no more alcohol for either of them. Her eyes snapped towards Kate, and a small smile spread across her face as she caught how Kate had noticed the drunken trio too. Kate had it handled.

Cass turned back to the man, realizing that she’d been silent for a bit too long. Oops. “I just arrived,” she replied, breaking the quiet. She pointed at Kate. “Kate’s my—”, and here she hesitated. Aunt wasn’t right. Sister? No. Kate is Bruce’s cousin— how does she explain—Cass quickly shook her head. “Kate is family.”

   the blonde was hypnotized by her own rumination. these were kinds of cases that made her want to run home to her daughter. to embrace her in protection from the ugliest parts of the world. unfortunately, she knew that wouldn’t be realistic. half of her wished that trixie was here with her and the other half is grateful she’s back in los angeles. she still couldn’t quite gauge this town being ideal for her daughter.

  she snapped her head up and stared at the women for a few moments. she blinked a few times before letting out a sigh. “thanks.” she mentioned. “my apologies, i didn’t even know you were there.”

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Snap. Blink. Sigh. The woman wasn’t tired. She was exhausted. It reminded her of Dick coming back from a bad day, or a bad patrol. It wasn’t physical exhaustion, not completely. Cass smiled at the blonde, pushing the glass of water closer to the other woman. The offer was clear— drink the water.

At her words she tilted her head, a smirk (with a hint of smugness) growing on her face. “I know,” Cass replied. She glanced across the room, taking in the duo playing darts. They were drunk, but not too drunk. Probably no injuries. Probably. Hopefully. “We also have pie,” Cass continued. Pie usually makes people happier. “No ice cream though,” she added after a moment, her mouth twitching into a frown. She would have to talk to Kate about that.

“It opens 6 am and closes 10 pm” he told her, nodding. The sleepless nights have made him look older than what he actually was. He even felt like he was a corpse walking around, not an actual human being. Maybe he deserved to be alongside the undead wandering the outskirts of this town. Just studying the younger woman, he sighed. “So you will have plenty of time to study or read in the morning”

----- Cassandra nods in understanding. 6am to 10pm. Plenty of time before she had to go work. Plenty of time to research— hopefully. This place was different, odd. Not in the way Gotham was odd, but just odd. People moved weirdly, and there was clearly danger. Danger— this kind of danger was unfamiliar, but the feeling of danger is familiar. Almost comforting. Danger means that there might be something she can do. She glanced at the building, taking in the arches and sharp slopes before turning back to the man. “Does the library have internet access?”

“Here.” A pause. Cass tilts her head. “You look like you need it.”

i think i just saw CASSANDRA CAIN-WAYNE (she/her, cisfemale)!  don’t you know them? they’re a canon character from DC comics.  have you heard that they remember everything from their previous life?  apparently they appeared here in march 2021 just after fighting Cricket.   crazy, isn’t it?  now they’re 23 years old and working as a bartender at The White Rabbit.   still, they do have that stillness that comes with patience, hands quickly signing, bright smiles, swift kicks to the face, tense muscles.    

“I don't kill... but I don't lose, either.”

— Cassandra Cain (by Kelley Puckett, in Batgirl Volume 1 #8)

Basic Information: Age: 23 years old Gender: Cisfemale Sexuality: Not heterosexual/straight Aliases: Batgirl, Black Bat Items: Black Bat suit (Birth) Parents: David Cain, Sandra Wu-San (Lady Shiva) Canon: New Earth