Shiera Hall//Nicolette Hall (hawkgirl) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2010-07-09 22:52:00

Entry tags:

inactive - nicolette hall, steven garrick, will freeman

Lone Hawk. (Timebendied to post-Thanagarian Invasion)
Nic sat on the end of her bed in the Brownstone with her mace on her lap, wings tucked and folded behind her and the incantation that Rex had taught her to hide the wings entirely firmly in place--an unusual thing for a girl typically extremely proud of her feathers. She'd been back from the clutches of Tharok for a bit now, but she kept increasingly more to herself. At first it was marginal, but bit by bit she stopped hanging out in the living room, stopped eating with others, stopped training, stopped going out and causing trouble. Now if she escaped her room at all, it was to grab the bacon from the fridge and run back to her room.

Today, though, she hadn't come out at all.

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	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 04:02 am UTC (link)
	"They're problematic. I'm also molting. No one needs a pile of stress-related feathers on the floor, though I hear that they make great pillows and blankets if you collect enough. And they're ugly." She flicked her eyes up to look at him. "What's up?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 04:04 am UTC (link)
	"Huh, I always thought they were pretty. Would it help at all if I combed them out for you? Got to be tough to do." He shrugs. "I came in to talk to you. Missed seeing you around." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

hawkgirl
2010-07-10 04:18 am UTC (link)

"You'd...comb my wings?"

She was a little surprised at that and looked at him warily. No one had actually combed her wings in a very long time. Pet, yes. Comb? Not so much.

"If you wanted to comb them you could." She looked at him again and then slowly unfurled them, stretching them out to full span before letting them rest down at her sides. True to her word, they were a bit on the ugly side.

"I haven't felt much like being around. Everyone's got stuff to do, you know?"

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madeofgoesfast
2010-07-10 04:24 am UTC (link)

He's gone for less than a second, a blur of red before he's back with a fine comb and a brush. "Yeah, why wouldn't I? I wasn't sure if you'd want them touched or not. We'll get them all back in order though." he replies, starting to work through her feathers one at a time.

"I don't. No job, no school, chores done in five seconds. So I think you're stuck with me for a bit."

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	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 04:26 am UTC (link)
	"Good for you I have a LOT of feathers." She smiled, just a little. "No really, why are you in here talking to me? I mean, everyone's tried." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 04:29 am UTC (link)
	"Why not? You're a teammate, and you've always seemed nice enough. And you have a LOT of feathers that could use some help after being tucked away like that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 04:32 am UTC (link)
	"They were worse before I hid them. A week of them being smashed up in a cell was bad for them. That and the damn bikini thing didn't have straps suitable for wings. Bastards." She sat her mace aside. "I figured you'd be glued to Mickey." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

madeofgoesfast
2010-07-10 04:35 am UTC (link)

"I like Mickey, sure. But I don't need to spend every second with her, especially when her best friend could use someone to talk to." he replies, moving to the next little section of feathers, taking his time about the work.
"And sure, they may have been total bastards, but at least you made that bikini look good." he adds, keeping a straight face in teasing her, just a little - sincere as he is.

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hawkgirl
2010-07-10 04:38 am UTC (link)

"It's nth metal. I kept it. Might be useful."

She nods, then suddenly shivers and erupts in The Happy Hawk Noise.

"Oh. Oh you're good at this." Her left wing extends to full span. "Even when I was little Mom didn't even do this that well."

Cooing would continue for a few moments before she settled down.

"You should spend time with Mickey, though. She gets herself into trouble without someone keeping her out of it. I should know. I'm her trouble magnet."

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madeofgoesfast
2010-07-10 04:41 am UTC (link)

"You're still her best friend, and we've only been on one date. Hardly qualifies me. So I think I'm only going to do that if you come with me... we can take her bowling.: he adds pleasantly.

"I'm not done here yet either." he replies. Working like this is slow-motion for him, allowing for a lot of care and precision, making very sure not to end up pulling on the feathers more than necessary.

"Practical, and you did look good in it."

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hawkgirl
2010-07-10 04:45 am UTC (link)

"You...can't date Mickey if you're dragging me along. That'd make me the weird one. Okay weirder than usual one, and I don't know that Mickey'd be down with that. What girl wants to go on a date with Cutie McFastpants and drag the Trouble Magnet along? Though...I rule at bowling. Just sayin'."

Nic can't help but coo more as he gets each feather perfectly. If she were a cat, she'd actually purr and her fingers happily claw at the air.

"I looked good in it? It was kind of embarrassing, you know. And weird. Tharok had some bad ideas but he'd get this weird facial expression when he came to look at me in it. He did that a lot." She frowned. "He liked to touch the feathers."

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madeofgoesfast
2010-07-10 04:49 am UTC (link)

"Just between you and me, she was the one who suggested the two of you take me clubbing. I've never gone. And she likes bowling... good thing for three people too and you can kick my ass at it. Another thing I've never done." he explains while working lower on her feathers, getting in towards her shoulder.

"And yes, you looked amazing in it. Bastard though he was, I can't say I blame him for the expression. You're really pretty when you let yourself be."

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	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 04:50 am UTC (link)
	That got a brow arch. "Explain 'let'." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 04:55 am UTC (link)
	He works in close to the shoulder, then works down from there as he talks. "Mostly when you're around Mickey, when you let yourself relax a little. Most of the time you're so tense, or trying to keep people at a distance. You're always pretty... but you're a lot prettier when you smile." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 05:05 am UTC (link)
	"I smile." She pauses. "Right? I smile when I, uh...crap." Truth was, Nic spent the lion's share of her time with Mickey and when she wasn't with Mickey she was about as friendly as Rex was...which wasn't saying much. She was always a little rough, a little gruff--more Carter, less Shayera. "I think you're the only person who notices." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 05:07 am UTC (link)
	"I'm observant. A couple seconds here and there gives me a lot of time to look around. And yes, every now and then, when you're not thinking about it, you smile... and you should do it more often." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 05:29 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah. Well." She fidgeted a little. And then a lot. "I don't particularly know how. Not a lot to smile about. I can't even properly defend myself." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 05:35 am UTC (link)
	"Pardon the language, but bull. I've seen you handle the mace, I've heard about your skill. I also understand that Thanagar is a warrior culture. Getting taken down by one of their best doesn't mean anything. Any of us would have lost one on one. As for the smile... well, we'll have to work on that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

hawkgirl
2010-07-10 05:37 am UTC (link)

"It's my dad's mace. Well, one of them. I'm probably going to give it back. I'm thinking about turning in the armor and the vambraces and stuff. I shouldn't have been carried off by Tharok the Smelly. And I should have taken better care of my brother."

She shrugged a little.

"How would one work on a smile? This is a serious question. And if the answer involves bacon I'm sold."

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madeofgoesfast
2010-07-10 05:40 am UTC (link)

"You should hang on to it a bit longer. Tharok has a lot of experience on you. Nothing to be ashamed of. And you do the armored look pretty good."

He ponders the second question a little longer. "I don't know, but I'm willing to experiment a bit to help you find out. Hmmm, backrubs, free preening service, clubbing, bowling, double bacon cheeseburger, ice cream... any of those sound like they might help with the smiling practice?"

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hawkgirl
2010-07-10 06:04 am UTC (link)

"They all sound good!" She affords him a smile without realizing she's doing it. "But...you don't have to rub my back or preen me...though you really do a good job with the preening. Do you have preening experience?"

She shakes her head. "You don't gotta do anything special for me. I never turn down a bacon cheeseburger or a trip clubbing, but I don't want to put anyone out."

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	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 06:07 am UTC (link)
	"If it was putting me out I wouldn't offer. I don't have to... I want to. I like seeing you happy, Mickey likes seeing you happy, all works out. And no... no preening experience, or really, experience with anything except running. I just learn fast." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hawkgirl 2010-07-10 06:09 am UTC (link)
	She's quiet a moment, thinking about what he's saying and what he's said. Slowly, she casts a slightly skeptical green-eyed gaze at him. "If you're doing this to get through my Bad Date filter and get to Mickey, I'm really not going to mace you. You're okay. I decided that pretty early on but Mickey called dibs." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	madeofgoesfast 2010-07-10 06:12 am UTC (link)
	"Mickey already accepted a second date... the three of us are going clubbing or bowling, if you're up for it. I'm doing this because I want to. Check out the Garrick family history sometime. We have a long tradition of being too nice for our own good... though I appreciate the lack of macing. You're not getting rid of me that easy though." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

hawkgirl
2010-07-10 06:16 am UTC (link)

"I maintain that it's not a date when you're dragging a third along. Dates are for...possibly getting kisses and snuggles. I think. I'm not clear on this, but I'm reasonably certain they don't include the winggirl. C'mon man...help me out. I'm already having issues enough dealing with change, don't make me watch up close two people I like get close and replace me, okay?"