| Really, Oh My | |||||
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| What: Roy hunts down Cissie for a long overdue chat. | |||||
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That Arsenal was long overdue to actually -talk- to Arrowette out of costume... well, things happened. Cups of coffees with Kori, running around here and there with Lunair, having little discussions with Lian and her mother... well, today, that was about to end. Because Roy Harper was standing outside the Metropolis University, awaiting the departure of one Cissie King-Jones from her classes.
He was alone for the moment, with Lian still in school. "Hi, Cissie," Roy calls. Dressed in a warm thick parka with the familiar glasses and a woolen hat that covered his ears. "Got a moment?"
Cissie has a bulky coat on and a heavy backpack filled with boots and papers. She has her hands shoved into her coat pockets and about jumps out of her skin when her name is called! "Ahhh!" She stares all wide-eyed at Roy, a red fuzzy skull cap on her head. "I...hi. Ummmm," she glances about a little warily, "I guess?" She's young, but definitely legal (other than the fact she is attending college giving away the legal part). She worries her lower lip a bit, not seeming totally confident.
That -air- of nervousness by Cissie? It draws the attention of a campus officer. Especially since Roy has been just -standing- there.
So when Roy smiles, and greets her with a "Thought I'd come by and see if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee and talk," well, the campus officer is -watching- now, just to be sure that the girl wasn't being pressured against her will.
Awkward. But Cissie does respond after a moment or rather two, she nods, "Sure. I rather have hot cocoa though," she confesses. "There is a coffee shop just down the street, Middle Grounds Books and Coffee," she states. "They are pretty good." She's calming down now that she isn't so taken by surprise.
Mollified, that the girl seems calm, the campus officer nods briefly, giving Roy a warning look. Sheepishly acknowledging it once he realizes why security was giving him the stink-eye, Roy decides not to make an issue of it, instead tilting his head towards Cissie and motioning towards ... well... first one arm that way, then the other arm that way. "Um... lead the way!" Roy grins, a slight chagrined look at not being sure which way to go.
Cissie smiles shyly, "Sure!" She really does seem to be a naturally upbeat person when she's paying attention. But she does take the lead, heading for the exit. She didn't seem to have noticed the security guard at all, or that there was potentially any issue! Poor Roy!
The book shop does have a nice sized cafe area. Cissie leads the way right to the counter though and peers at the different hot cocoas they have. They actually have three types. "Oooh, I should try the double chocolate this time!" She apparently gets excited over hot cocoa. Though a little more shyly she asks, "So..how...is Lian doing?" She seems unsure if she should ask.
Well, that was one thing he probably would need to work with Cissie on - being observant, he supposed. One never knew exactly what potential -hazards- or -benefits- could happen from knowing what your environment was like. It would be particularly useful for turning anything into a weapon, for example.
But that was for another time. This was just, well, a civilian chat. Roy Harper to Cissie King-Jones.
Smiling, Roy orders a double-chocolate cocoa, grande, and then a cappucino for himself. "She's doing fine, actually. Happy about having her mother visit." A long sordid story there, though, judging from the not-quite-a-smile on Roy's face.
Leaning against the counter after paying and moving aside, Roy quirks his eyebrows. "So how's life for you? University and..." The way he raised his eyebrows indicated that he -was- going to ask about something deeply personal.
Cissie blinks at the mention of her mother. Oops, someone told her something! But she then nods, "I'm glad she's happy. She's a really sweet girl, you are really lucky." She honestly likes Lian, a lot. Cissie looks a bit confused about the question, apparently not picking up at the undertones, "University is fine. I'm getting decent grades, just a lot of studying. And I'm training hard, the Summer Olympics are just around the corner. I just...feel trapped in a rut, like I'm missing something in my improvement." She presses her lips into a thin line. "It's...really frustrating." She likes the word really, really well.
Tilting his head at Cissie's blink, Roy rubs his chin. "Do you know...?" he begins, before the drinks are placed before him. Taking them and offering Cissie her order, Roy starts for a table. "Oh. What's the problem... you mean you're missing something in your archery?" Wrinkling his nose, Roy comments, "Didn't see anything wrong with your form."
"Ah, thanks," Cissie says as she accepts her drink. She then heads for the table with Roy. She is blushing a bit and totally dodges mentioning Lian's Mom, cause...this is Cissie. Though, she's finding out she's liking Roy more and more as time goes on. He's an excellent archer, a good dad it seems, and actually a really nice guy. She moves to have a seat. "I'm not getting better," Cissie says. "For the last almost three years, I've only been maintaining my skills. It's like I hit a rut and I can't get out of it. I guess...it's part of why I do the extra activities now. It's a new experience, and hopefully while helping others, I'll also help myself, you know? I want to make a difference, but I also want to keep getting better." She raises her double hot cocoa for a careful sip. "I hate missing," she ends quietly. It seems such a simple statement, but it holds heavy emotion with it.
Running his hand through his hair, Roy considers Cissie's situation. "Well, a lot of times, you need to be challenged more. It's not really all that interesting if you're just going through the motions."
Leaning back, sipping his cappuccino, Roy glances at Cissie, searching her face. "Uh, has, you know, our brunette friend told you who she is? Because she might be in a better position to help with her safe-house. There's a lot more... well, moving target. It would probably do you good to try a variety of targets than just the same old archery targets. People like you and me? We probably need more challenges."
"That is what I was thinking," in response to the challenges. But Cissie then blinks, "I met her, but no. She showed me some new techniques though that I found very interesting. I'm still experimenting for them. I'm creative, but apparently she beats me on creativity." Cissie just accepts that. More quietly after another sip of coffee she says, "I've found that when I don't find new targets, I've been enjoying free running. It...is getting really fun now that I'm getting better at it." She smiles shyly at that. She's still new at this, but Cissie appears to be growing to love the life-style.
"Hmmm. Well, I'll call her and see if she'll let me take you there. If so, we can probably get you out of that funk," Roy grins, taking another sip of the cappuccino.
Eyebrows raised, Roy laughs. "Free-running? As in... parkour? You know, you might be in luck... I have a friend who does that stuff -all- the time. I could give him a call, yeah?"
Of course, considering Mia-Speedy had been wanting to get ahold of Nightwing for a while, Arrowette could be lucky enough, since Ollie wasn't keeping -her- busy.
A nod at that, "Yes, parkour. Really?!" Cissie's face lights up with that. She is an eager learner, especially of stuff she finds fun, and a hard trainer apparently. Her smile is warm, "I would like that a lot Roy." Though after another drink of her cocoa, she gets a thoughtful expression.
"I...was wondering though. I really hope I'm not stepping on toes," Cissie says honestly. She may have been told to ask Black Canary, but...Roy is right in front of her..., "Is there a particular reason that Lian can't learn yet? Maybe it just seems extras strange to me, cause I was taught since I could hold a bow and arrow by my mom to train for the Olympics, it's kinda weird to see it from the other direction. I...don't mean to be nosy, just...," Lian's face would light up around arrows. "I'm sorry," she ends more quietly. Cissie really isn't confident when it comes to interpersonal relationships, but she is dreadfully curious...and she has fallen for Lian. Who doesn't?
"I think so, yes," Roy returns the smile, ruffling the scruff on his face as he regards Cissie curiously. "If he's too busy, well, I could probably work with you. I just figured it would be better to be challenged by the best." There's a slight smirk. "And I hate to admit it, but he -is- better at that stuff."
Taking a sip of his coffee, Roy looks up towards Cissie, before shaking his head. "Well... she's been getting too much archery and training. Just... I thought it would be a good idea to slow things down and just enjoy being a kid for a while longer before she gets into what we -do-, you know? I mean, archery isn't all fun and games, and she's already got a taste of what happens to people in our business."
"I...suppose, but it can be fun and games. It depends on what you teach her. I had a lot of stress with it, but sometimes it was really good too, especially when mom and I got along. And in the end, it was good for me too, even with the bad stuff it brought in my life, I can't hate archery. It's...something amazing about it. If you love something, you will get through the good and bad alike I think." Cissie blushes a bit. "Not that I have that much life experience."
Regarding Cissie, Roy leans back. "Man, I got to tell you, your mom... I dunno. I didn't read too much on it, but you know... are you -really- happy with things as it is now? I don't want to encourage Lian to end up making all the same kind of mistakes I did, so I want to give her some time to be, well... a girl. Didn't you...?"
A nod, "I'm not saying my mom is perfect. I...actually left her for a while and called her the worse mom ever," Cissie says quietly. "She really isn't the best mom by far, but I know she loves me in her own way. We worked out our issues a while ago, though we still fight sometimes." She smiles a bit at that. "In the end, I guess it be up to you and Lian to find your balance. Pushing her into risking her life? Uber bad idea," the reason she left her mom and went into the government system for a bit. "However, doing something you both love together I don't think is bad. You are pretty smart Roy, I think you will figure out how to teach her right from wrong, and you really don't want to pressure her and that's...amazing I think. I'm likely not making any sense," she says apologetically.
"Well... it's probably a good idea if I had some other teachers, I suppose," Roy wrinkles his nose. "Because I'm not sure if it's a good thing for a parent to be teaching his... or her... child. At least not alone."
Looking up towards Cissie, the redheaded archer smiles. "What do you think? I know she's had babysitters that showed her all kinds of things. You want to?"
And besides, now that Roy thought about it, having to teach the basics to a beginner might help Cissie find her own basics to work with.
Cissie's eyes get really, really wide! "Ser..seriously?!" She sounds nervous and happy all at the same time! She shouldn't, she should keep her distance, but...does she even want to? "I...I would really love that," she blurts out. She actually loves kids, and she wouldn't find time spent with Lian tedious at all.
"Well, yeah. Though Lian can be a handful," Roy smiles, as he finishes his coffee. Tilting his head, he studies Cissie's sparkling eyes, before smiling a bit. "For one, she takes a lot after me. For another, she's had some... interesting babysitters."
Wrinkling his nose, Roy adds, "And she's had a very interesting mother too. If you run into her, just be very polite, and hope for the best."
A bit of a wince at that, "I guess...if I'm going to watch her some, I should ask about her mother." From Cissie's tone, she doesn't want to, as if she senses it isn't happy stuff. She looks really apologetic for asking too. "I hope I can handle an energetic girl, but I guess I'd find out after watching her the first time. I never babysat before, I was always too busy training. However with being in a rut and having more control over my schedule, I can make time."
"Nah, just me doing something stupid," Roy replies, running his hand through his hair. Making a face, the older archer leans back. "It was one of those things where I was your age and had a... well, affair. You wouldn't believe it, though... but she was a trained assassin."
Rubbing his head, Roy smiles sheepishly. "It's kinda crazy, that, I know. But she's already seen her mother. Though she doesn't -know- the full story..."
A slow blink at that. "Ah..." Oh my. Wow. Cissie's head kinda tilts at that. "So you aren't much older than me." I don't think that was the point of the story! But Cissie then hides her expression while taking a drink of her cocoa. She then nods. "I see, that would be difficult. I suppose, I should perhaps take more martial arts classes."