bittybat | (no subject)

[ Fit... right in? Are other people cursed? It's so bizarre to consider; she's lived with this curse her whole life, hidden it as best as she could, and here he is, still sternly fussing.

It's... a lot. Maybe not to Damian, but tears are already sliding down her face. Still, she moves to rest a hand on Ace's back again. No use refusing now. ]

[Ace at least, being a good doggo, lifts his head to give Kisa's face several sloppy, wide licks. No crying.

Damian doesn't look back only because he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable. His focus is ahead, even if he isn't walking too fast. His stride is certain, steady. Ace happily takes up the back with Kisa.

Bruce's cottage is on the outskirts of Flavo, so it takes them a few minutes to get there. The man has decides to make a nest near the forest--dangerous, maybe, but secluded. Except for... the multitude of animals who greet them when they arrive.

Near the front on one side is a goat and a brown-spotted cow sharing a fence. The cow doesn't really give them any kind of bellow, too engrossed with munching, but the goat greets them with a shrill, silly scream. This stirs the fire-breathing geese who are likewise in a fence, only at the back of the house and further away.

They're rather strange. The four of them waddle quickly to the edge of the fence and huddle in a group, peering beady-eyed out at Damian, Ace, and Kisa as they approach. They're not breathing fire thankfully, and they don't make any noise aside from the occasional grunt.

It's fairly come and go; Damian heads right for the door to open it and hold it for Kisa... and Ace, he guesses. The dog will probably try to squeeze in with her anyway.]

[ Ironically, the goat shriek and the very disconcerting stare of the geese don't seem to bother Kisa at all. She even seems to relax a little when she sees the cow. Familiarity, maybe.

But also... this seems familiar. She hadn't really paid attention to where she'd gone the first day, but something about this house...

She'll think about it later. She's still sticking close to Ace, giving a little instinctive "sorry for the intrusion" bow as she steps inside. Damian's dad must really love animals, though. ]

[Yes. Bruce really loves animals. A whole bunch!!!

The inside of the cottage isn’t especially decorated. It has essentials mostly and a few items of personal value here and there. The strangest thing is probably the random sprinkling of unorganized amidst the organization. Bruce lives much like Damian: seemingly minimalistic, everything hidden and in its place, orderly just verging on neurotic. Selina, however, has a cat’s mess. Small instances of her presence, feminine, found here, there.

Once Kisa and Ace are in, Damian begins gathering what he needs to help. Ace is left to be with Kisa, but someone new emerges: a black and white, tuxedo cat. Sleeping more than likely, as he comes out stretching. The merowl he offers Kisa peaks into a strangled squeak as he yawns mid-noise.

The first thing Damian returns with in the living room is a mug of water and a blanket. He puts the mug in the seat and the blanket on the back for her.] If your clothes are wet and cold, you can take them off in that room [He points to a door adjacent.] and wrap in the blanket. You can sit by the fire.

Are you hungry? I’m going to see if Kyle has some clothes you can borrow.

[ As overwhelmed as she is, Kisa still crouches down a little to try and get the cat to come over. These are important priorities. She's definitely going to have to wrap herself in that blanket, but she looks up as Damian speaks--

But her stomach speaks for her, letting out a rumble that has her flushing darker.

She's been in a hole all day, don't look at her. ]

[Well, it's actually good Kisa can be distracted by the animals Damian has brought and hoarded. For one, Damian doesn't have to do as much leg-work to get her mind off things; two, she'll feel a little more at ease in the house.]

Okay. [Momentarily, his face softens, and it seems almost like he wants to let out a dry laugh, but it never comes.] You can change or stay here by the fire. [It's at the most very low, nearly embers. Too warm for heating, it's used for cooking and boiling water mostly. It'll give her a bit of warmth if she's close, though.]

His name is Alfred Pennyworth. The cat.

[Ace decides to lie down somewhere nearby, being watchful. Pennyworth ventures slowly up to have a sniff at the new girl.

Damian, of course, turns back around to go finish gathering things in the house for her.]

[ Logically, she'd probably feel better if she changed.

But there is a dog nearby and a cat ambling towards her, and so Kisa opts to just settle for the blanket, reaching out to pull it free and wrapping it around herself. She'll also take the mug and settle herself down by the fire to give Alfred Pennyworth the cat time to get acquainted with her.

Of course this is what gets her first smile of the day. ]

[It seems Mr. Pennyworth is a glutton for attention. He hurriedly pads after Kisa and waits, as if knowing, for her to settle down. (Selina has spoiled him more than Damian already had.) Her lap gets a cursory sniff, and then he starts climbing into it to sit in a bunched loaf, purring.

Ace is still nearby, but the dog's ears are lifted and turning to listen to the sound of Damian quietly rummaging in the other parts of the house.

After maybe ten minutes or so, Damian returns again. He has a small bowl of some kind of rice stew with potatoes, mushrooms, blue corn, and meat which looks vague like beef. This he holds in one hand, and in the other, he has a few clothing pieces folded over an arm.]

What do you want first?

You have to hold the stew, or Pennyworth will try to stick his face in it. None of Kyle's clothes would fit you, so you'll have to wear mine.

[ Easy enough. Kisa's still probably going to be surprised by this kindness for a good week or so, but she seems to have tiredly settled down with a purring cat in her lap.

She'll give Damian a grateful look, at least, and then point to the stew because-- well, to be frank, clothes are well and good, but if she doesn't eat something first, she's going to end up transforming again and that's just going to be a pain right now.

Just... let her pet the cat for a second and she'll take the bowl.

(Okay, so maybe she also just doesn't want to move Pennyworth yet. That might also be it.) ]

[It's fine. Once Kisa is ready, Damian hands off the bowl to her, but makes sure it's lowered from above so Pennyworth doesn't immediately faceplant inside of it. Regardless, the cat tips his head back and starts curiously smelling anyway.

The clothes Damian puts nearby in a little pile for when and if she wants to change. And then....... he again isn't sure what to do with himself exactly.

So he opts to sit down out of the way on the other side of Kisa with his knees up and his arms around them. Ace, thankfully, wanders over to flop beside him, and Damian gives the dog a short ruffle on the head.] Good boy. [Just so Ace knows search and rescue is something desired.]

I don't think the hole you fell in was intentionally made for one of us. Whoever made it didn't think about the placement, or how frequently to check it.

Anyway, I'll find out who did it and talk to them.

[ She's carefully maneuvering spoonfuls of stew away from her lap captor, blinking rapidly at Damian before she makes a frazzled kind of gesture, like she's protesting.

If it wasn't made on purpose, then wasn't it her own fault for falling into it? She should have been a little more aware. ]

[It takes a moment, but Damian seems to get the gist of her disagreement, and his face pinches softly.] No, stupid. Anyone could have fallen into that hole. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else.

There's better ways to trap animals or beasts coming out of the forest. Digging a hole is one of the most primitive ways. We're not that lacking in supplies.

Whoever made it should have asked someone how to trap if all they could do was dig a hole.

[ Kisa doesn't look any less guilty, but her shoulders slump a bit in mild acceptance. Or exhaustion, it's hard to say. Arguing is hard when you don't have a voice.

She does look at him briefly, almost resignedly. If he has questions... maybe she can try to answer them. ]

[Her reaction serves to make him feel as bad as he did when he somewhat yelled at her on their walk here. It's... different dealing with someone who is less sure of themselves, someone with less fire in what they're doing and what they can do.

He's so use to his father, Jon, all the other former Robins. Everyone in his family is capable, confident in their abilities, and it's hard for him to pull back and realize not everyone is this way.

So he's quiet for a bit, folding his legs down and crossed, and Ace takes the opportunity to drop a head on Damian's thigh.]

Were you crying? [And before she can deny it, if she had planned to:] Your eyes are red.

[ Kisa is only slightly ashamed to cry, and hardly enough to deny it. There were reasons... there were always reasons.

For now, simply, she nods. He doesn't sound angry about it, and that's the important thing. ]

[Damian just keeps frowning. This is the worst. He's not his father, and he doesn't know how to bridge the connection between knowing compassion and saying it. "I'm sorry," and "Are you okay?" and "I understand," all die short of the back of his throat.

He was always taught to get over it, power through.] You don't have to worry about anyone hurting you despite the ridiculous hole you fell into. No one else in town will bother you.

You can stay here for a while, even when I go back out. Father and his fiancee live here. Father is kind and patient. He'll help you with whatever you need. His name is Bruce Wayne.

Kyle is a bit mischievous, but she's patient. She loves cats, so try not to get her too excited if you tell her what you can transform into.

[ In a sense, the lack of gentle, soothing words helps. Kisa lives in a family of very bizarre people who pick fights, yell loudly, spit sarcasm, apologize incessantly or confidently laugh everything off. People like Tohru and her gentle compassion were rare. But there's a kindness to Damian, despite his brusque manner, that's comforting.

She doesn't think she'll linger after he leaves, if just because Sierra will worry, but she's silently committing all of this to memory.

And lightly shaking her head, because she won't transform. Not--

"I can't control it." ]

[Quickly, Damian runs back over the things occuring when she poofed into a tiger.] Touch? [He...... is too stupid to consider a hug. What's hugging? Surely, he wonders why someone would even think to be squeezing someone else with their whole body.]

You didn't want to get on my back to get out of the hole. [And then when he had grabbed her, she turned into a tiger.

But they hadn't been doing anything when they hit Flavo, not touching for sure.] You changed again. I wasn't touching you that time.

[ "You weren't holding me."

He's almost right, with touch, but she'd touched his hand before and nothing had happened. But it's kind of awkward to bring up that embracing does the trick.

Maybe that's enough of an answer for him to get it? ]

[It's enough. Damian understands to an extent, even if he still doesn't think "hug"--it's more than a touch.

So holding. Don't hold her really. Sounds easy, right!!]

I get it.

You said it was a curse, that you were cursed. Magic? How did you get cursed to begin with?

[ Kisa hesitates now, taking the time to set the empty bowl to the side and scratching under Pennyworth's chin. She doubts he'll mock her for how strange it sounds, after everything. But she's also never told anyone about the curse herself.

It's not as though Akito is going to swoop in and beat her senseless for telling Damian, but a part of her still irrationally fears it. Finally, though--

"Zodiac spirits. I was born like this."

It's kind of a family thing. ]

[Not that Damian thought it was definitely the town, but it's a relief to know the curse wasn't shoved onto her here. He still wishes it wasn't shoved onto her anyway. At least this way, she's experienced, she knows what to expect.]

The Chinese zodiac? [Hm. It's different.] That means there's more of you? One for each animal?

Did you show up with anyone else?

[ This time she holds up ten fingers, puts them down, and adds another three.

But then shakes her head, a little morosely. It's a part of why she's been so upset. Not that she can explain it, not without having to talk, that the Sohmas are a traditional family, that the members of the Zodiac are regarded highly but also kept like prisoners, that being alone here, both as Kisa and as one of the Zodiac is incredibly lonely and painful--

She can't explain that. ]

[The disconnect lies in the fact Damian came with three other people he knew, and another person showed up later. He can sympathize, and he would power on even if they hadn't, even if they return home... but he understands it must be lonely.]

Thirteen. But they aren't here. [He looks away, lips still pulled into a thin frown.] Sorry.

It may... be better, in the end. They're at home. [He doesn't know for certain, but believe this nonetheless.] They're safe. Besides, this town has enough big, soft idiots you can make friends with. And one or two who think everyone is a giant family.

Don't give up, okay?

[ This is... still so strange to her. Being without her family. Being completely alone. And the people here, trying to reach out to her, as though that's fine, like nothing else is weird to them. Maybe it's just because it's a place like this-- like Damian had said, maybe she'd fit in.

But Kisa looks at him uncertainly. He didn't seem like a big, soft idiot. Does that mean he's not including himself in people to be friends with?

... Ah.

"Do I..."

...

"Are you uncomfortable? With me?" ]