Summary:While on a stakeout for an illegal arms shipment, Batman and Batgirl (Brown) find a different type of armament. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The Homeport is where the USS The Sullivans is currently docked - the famous Fletcher class destroyer named after the five brothers lost when the USS Juneau was sunk is a silent sentinel over what is used in the summertime as recreational docking - and during the rest of the year holds tugs and transient docking. It's also where the Staten Island Ferry makes it's pick up and drop offs.
At one of the piers, there was a shipment that was coming in tonight. Alerted that there was supposedly a shipment of high-tech arms that was to arrive with it, Batman had taken up a stakeout. Of course, he had kept most of the other Bats away - save one.
Barbara is convinced that Stephanie is ready to be Batgirl. She had given her a suit and the gear. Batman? He wasn't as ready to settle in this idea yet. She had been a Robin perhaps longer than any of the others - but she was also one of the ones that took the mission - perhaps not as seriously as he does.
Perched on a edge of a warehouse, Bruce is currently suited up, watching over the dockyards as a group of dockworkers had decided to have a little fun while waiting for the shipment to arrive. A young Asian woman had been found in the dock yards, looking for food and work - and they had convinced her that they wanted to give her both - little did she know that the work that they had in mind would be the type she really didn't want.
There's currently a circle of them, six in total, that are trying to cajole and bully one of the younger men to try to approach the young woman, just because he's the 'rookie' of the group.
Stephanie Brown finishes her circuit of the area, having reported what she saw over comms to Batman. She moves as quietly as she can, hoping the Dark Knight won't hear her approach until she's there a few feet off to the side of him. She stays low to avoid leaving too much of a silhouette as she looks down at what is going on.
"They… they aren't going to… oh god they are," Stephanie says, her voice hardening severely. Her hand starts to go for a batarang before she stops herself. Stephanie looks towards where the boat is set to arrive and then back to the men. "You can get down there and yell at them angrily to get back to work," she says, using every bit of self-restraint she has to not rush right down there. And if the men go too much further too much sooner, the impulsive young woman probably will. Especially given moments from her own past.
Disturbed from sleep by the ruckus, and the cajoling, another young asian girl emerges. Apparently she'd 'snuck' a bed beneath a tarp alongside the edge of the warehouse. This girl is clearly homeless, simply by the disrepair of her clothing, the slightly matted hair. Still, for all that, she moves well.
The second girl seems to only take a few moments between looking at the girl being threatened, and the group of men before she moves with absolute confidence to place herself between herself and the other asian girl.
This new girl, dressed in only a pair of very loose and very dirty cargo pants, canvas shoes so old they're mud-colored and were probably once white, and a t-shirt that's so old it once was black but now looks more grey and looks like, because of how large it was, it was literally ripped about halfway down so it just goes past her waist instead of her knees looks at the boys.
She does not say anything, she simply waits. It would almost seem she's ready to sacrifice herself, indifferently, in some kind of depressionistic daze.
At least, except to one whose fought the elite of the elite. There is posture, poise, and slack readiness in that pose.
"They're not the target." Bruce starts to say to Stephanie. Surely he's not going to just /let/ this happen, is he? Has he become so calloused to the bigger picture that he's willing to let the harassment of the woman slip by in order to take the bigger prize?
The arrival of the second girl brings surprise to the group of men. "Shit, noone said she brought a friend!" one of them says, and pushes the younger man again. "Go ahead, boy, you have your choice now!" The young man, finally pushed to his limits, starts to aproach the girls. "Uh, I'm sorry.." he starts to say.
This brings laughs and snorts, as one of the men starts to pull him back. "You blew it. Here, let's show you how it's done. Time for some twin fun. You're twins right. You all look alike." the dockworker says as he starts to approach the pair. He's a ham fisted and bearded man, in his late 40s, looking like he's been in more than a few fights. "Ready for the fun, girlies?" he asks, as he starts to aproach the one they corralled, causing her to scream and duck behind the newcomer.
"They are now," Batgirl says as the hesitation amongst the men comes to an end and one makes a move towards the two Asian ladies. Stephanie rises and runs over to the side of the warehouse, shooting her grapple at the roof's edge as she drops off into space, letting the unspooling cable slow her descent until she can drop onto the ground.
She hurries to the corner of the building, pulling out a light from her utility belt which his quite bright for its size. She shines it, swaying it back and forth like it's a light from someone walking their rounds around the docks. Fine to come across some workers who are supposed to be there. Not to fine to find them assaulting any women though.
She swings the bright light over, passing over the small crowd as if not having expected them to be there, then bringing it back over towards them, blinding them with its brilliance. "What's going on over there!?" Stephanie calls out in an authoritative voice, trying to sound as gruff as possible as she hopes having their antics pulled out of the shadows are enough to scare the men back to work.
The second girl does not even seem to look to the girl cowering behind her, but neither does she show any fear, or move to expose the girl. She stands there, now, more like a shield. She looks impassively at the dockworker. She simply waits, taking no action.
And then the lead dockworker gets too close. He makes a move, and with a smooth motion that is the least amount of effort she could exert, she has the man's wrist in one hand and is twisting it, wracking him in pain and causing him to fall down to his knees.
The girl doesn't smile, and seems to be confident that the man knows if he does -anything- she'll snap his wrist in half. Still, she doesn't say anything. The homeless girl remains, and looks at the remaining dockworkers, mouth pressed into a thin, unexpressive line and utterly unaware of the people above watching her.
When the lights come, clearly someone coming to investigate no doubt, she does not even shirk. Nor does she let the dockworker go. She waits with that same slackened readiness that is so dangerously deceptive.
The guy screams out in pain when the Asian girl grabs him. He tries to twist away, and instead, finds himself driven to his knees. "Fuck! Kill this bitch!" he yells at the others, which starts to spur them into action. One of the men grabs a crowbar, advancing on the pair, as another gets a length of chain.
Batman gives a side glance to Batgirl as she makes a decision. Then he makes his own. She's committed to this. And with her committing herself, she committed the Bat as well.
There's a simple hiss of pneumatic line as the form drops from the edge of the building and swoops downwards. When he lands, it's behind the others. And for a moment, he shadows the young man that was trying to retreat - the one that was being pushed the first place.
There's a glower at him that causes him to scream in terror and he takes off running as Batman turns to look from the fleeing young man to the others. And then his cowl focuses on the homeless girl. He's seen her fighting so far - and he's not going to interrupt unless she wants the assistance.
As the dock workers respond to their being revealed by calls to escalate their wicked ways instead of shrinking off into the dark, Stephanie groans, "This is the problem with the world today. No respect for authority!" She rushes forward, a foot hitting a chainlink fence to launch her upwards, one hand on the top as she sails neatly over it to land in the area where the two girls are being assaulted.
Stephanie continues forward, seeing Batman has stopped. She keeps the light on the men as much as possible, but keeping it out of the Asian girl's eyes so it will not hurt her ability to defend herself. Batgirl closes forward, though stops at about the same distance that Batman has. Looking over to him and following his lead, though a pair of batarangs are pulled out, ready to be launched at the men who have grabbed weapons if they continue forward enough to put the girl in further jeopardy.
The homeless girl takes a note of Batman. Of Batgirl. Of the men panicking. Then it's every man for himself, and as the chaos runs wild and they try to break past the homeless girl, she moves into smooth action.
It's a short fight. Despite their swings, and numbers, the girl seems to sidestep each attack like she was instead simply stepping aside to make room for someone walking down the hallway. In each pass, her hand reaches out, stabs into one man, then the next, then the next.
Three of the men go down, unconcious in one single hit to the side of the temple. Two go down in a pile as she leads the attack on her person into them hitting each other with that smooth sidestep, following it up with a leg sweep and a quick follow up to slam each of their heads.
The fifth one? The boy who wanted out of the group, and declined to attack the girl? She lifts her chin to him, and points him towards getting out of here. She knew he had no desire to harm them. So, she holds him no ill will.
Then, brown eyes look to Batman, and Batgirl, silently. Waiting. Expectant. And taking on that same slack readiness. Waiting for them to take action, before she does.
Batman watches the action. Watching, studying, seeing the Hand training, the other skills that Cassandra is so readily putting on display - but that's not all he sees. He sees the lack of humanity in her motion - that it's been drilled into her time and time again. There's a frown that touches the Bat's face. He's not seen one like this before - yet in her - he sees all of his wards and others at one point or another.
With the men downed, he looks around. Tonight, there will be no waiting for the ship to arrive. There will be no assault to stop a shipment of arms and armor arriving in Staten Island.
Instead, Batman steps forward. "Are you hungry?" he asks the two women. One of the girls, the original lets out a cry. "No! I just want to go home. Please, please, just let me go home. Don't kill me!" she whimpers.
Some people buy into the stories of the murderous Bat.
The bright LED light is switched off and returned to her utility belt. Batgirl takes a smaller step forward and flashes a friendly smile towards the original girl. "It's ok, you're going to get to go home. We're not going to hurt you," she offers in a compassionate tone.
The blonde looks back over to Cassandra, and gives her the same soft smile. Maybe she caught part of what Batman did of Cassandra's fighting style. If so, she still reacts with an amiable kindess to her expression. "So you have somewhere to go then?" she asks them in that same soft tone, perhaps doubting whether they do if they are down on the docks at this time of night.
Cassandra watches Batman and Batgirl. The change in her stance is almost imperceptible, but she recognizes almost immediately that neither of these people are going to either attack her, or the other girl. And if the other girl wishes to go? It is clear to all in attendance that Cassandra will not get in her way.
There is a pause from Cassandra, and finally an expression does draw over her features. She can tell the 'help' Batman is offering is genuine. She frowns, looking suspicious through her experiences. It's hesitant, but finally she gives a reluctant nod. Whatever help, she will take.
Still, she doesn't move from where she stands, instead moving to wrap her arms around herself and holding herself tightly. Fighting is easy, after all. It's everything else that's hard.
Pressing a button on his belt, Batman sends out a signal. "All units, 10-10 at The Sullivans." he transmits, letting the NYPD know of the fight on the docks - and to come do clean up. Then he looks between the two women. To the first woman, there's a nod. "The Police will be within three minutes, they will make sure that you get home." he promises her.
And then his attention turns to Stephanie, and then Cassandra. There's a few moments of thoughts, and then Batman decides to make a decision. Pressing another button on his belt, he summons the car to his location. As it pulls up, he glances to Cassandra. "We're leaving." he tells Stephanie. We. He. Stephanie. And apparently Cassandra.
He's made the decision - apparently he's going to take Cassandra 'home'. Somewhat.
One of Batgirl's eyebrows go up as Batman calls for the police. There might have still been a chance to get the boat to dock, though now the flashing police lights will surely prevent that. She turns to glance out towards the water, wondering how far out the ship is. If her mouth presses into a frustrated line, it is only for a moment, her eyes going back to the two girls, and to the men lying about the yard.
Time for the other eyebrow to go up then. Batgirl is a dual threat for curious expressions, it seems. "What's your name?" she asks in such a normal tone towards Cassandra that they could have just bumped into each other at the mall or picking up food somewhere, rather than standing out here on a dock at the scene of a failed sexual assault.
Batgirl glances over as the futuristic Batmobile comes racing around a corner and pulls up to the scene. "It's a kind of nice ride," she confides to Cassandra, giving her a quick smile.
Watching the two, Cassandra debates if she wants to go wherever it is these two can take her, or will take her before quickly realizing it can't be any worse than where she is, or has been the last many years.
A glance to Batgirl as the other girl asks her about her name. She merely shakes her head in negation, still saying nothing. After the comment about the ride, however, she nods once. She frowns again. She has seen cars. She has never ridden in one. Or, for that matter, never seen one quite like the Batmobile.
As it pulls up, she steps forward, unafraid of it, or of the people she's with as if she trusted them implictily.
Waiting for Cassandra to get settled, Stephanie is given a look from Batman. She can probably relate closer to what she can do to communicate with Cassandra then Bruce could. Starting the car up, he pulls out of the dockyards to head back towards the southern half of the Island. It's a round about way - one that doesn't directly take them to the Manor - but instead, it leads to the caverns beneath it.
Entering a subway tunnel that was long since abandoned, the Batmobile heads into the darkness, before coming out on the other side, into the large cave that serves as the lair of the Bats.
.~{:--------------:}~.
Once inside the Batmobile, Batgirl pulls out an energy bar and a container of Gatorade. Both are unopened. "Here, if you're hungry or thirsty, this should take the edge off," she offers as she holds them out towards Cassandra to let her take the offered food if she wants. Batgirl has a pleasant enough expression. "You really kicked butt out there. Impressive. But sorry you ran into that in the first place," Batgirl tells the still nameless-Cassandra.
"It's not far now," she'll say once they entered the darkened area that will make it difficult to tell where they are going or where they are. "So the other girl, she wasn't a friend of yours then? That was nice of you to go help her out," Batgirl says as they ride along and finally emerge into the Batcave.
Cassandra virtually stuffs the energy bar into her mouth, chewing in greedy gulps, but chewing enough to actually eat it. Then, she takes a few deep swigs of the gatorade on the ride in from the Batmobile.
All the while, she watches Batgirl, seemingly 'like a hawk', as the girl expressively engages her in conversation.
There is a headshake at the suggestion she 'ran' into the situation - or maybe the headhake is to indicate she's not sorry, it's hard to tell. And, another headshake in negation to indicate no, she did not know the girl.
Still, after having eaten the energy bar, and with Stephanie's earnest interest, Cassandra does seem to be relaxing some. And, she starts peering interestedly around when they reach the Batcave.
Clearly, she's never seen anywhere like this before.
Batman radioed ahead. He wasn't alone - and it wasn't just Batgirl. Arriving in the cave, the Batmobile pulls up onto the platform that it's assigned to, coming to a halt as it's lowered into place. Already having called to make sure that Alfred had made sure to provide a full meal - plus a change of clothing, and access to the springs, or anything else that could be thought of, the car comes to a halt.
As the doors open to the car, the faint flap of batwings in the distance help with the cave, as lights around the cave show off the impressive area - made for a lab, home away from home, armory, and anything else that not only Batman - but his extended family may need.
Climbing out of the car, Batman gestures towards a nearby table where the first meal has been set. Just some sandwiches and fresh fruit and vegetable, with a bottle of water - not much, but a start.
Tim Drake is parked in front of one of the computer terminals in a swivel chair. He's in his Robin outfit, because he was intending to go out soon enough, having finally finished his homework for the weekend. He's scanning the database to see if there are any new felons on the street this week, the usual Rogues' Gallery having a habit of playing the revolving door game.
He spins the chair as the Batmobile pulls up, facing his mentor and his charge. He had radioed ahead that he wouldn't be alone, which is why is mask is in place. Probably safe, if Batman's bringing them to the cave, but better safe than sorry. He stifles his questions for now, curious though he is, instead just raising a hand in greeting.
Helena should probably not be in costume. She's still healing up after her last runin with the Nightfall. But it's not like it's every day that Batman brings someone back to the cave. It's more like every other year. Come to think of it, they're probably due anyhow.
Nevertheless, she did inherit her mother's curiosity, so she's managed to pull on the lighter part of her suit, put on the holo-mask, put in the golden contacts, and get the mask over the lower part of her face. It's not the full impact, but she certainly doesn't look like Helena Wayne.
She is, however, taking her time down the stairs.
Batgirl pulls out an additional energy bar, passing it over to Cassandra after the first showed her hunger. "We'll have a more complete meal," she says as they are pulling into the Batcave. "Anyone that you're going to meet here? They are good people. I've been through a few rough times and they didn't have to help but. But they did," Stephanie says. She has a simple enough look and small shrug as she relates that matter-of-factly. She leans closer to stage-whisper, "Even if the big guy can be a little gruff-sounding sometimes."
Batgirl gives Cassandra a wink of a blue eye, and then opens up the door and climbs out as they arrive. She'll wait for Cassandra to climb out, before giving her a little nod of her head over towards where the food is at. "Come on, can eat over here," she offers. "And there's a bathroom right over here too if you need it," Batgirl says.
Cassandra continues to at least seem to listen to Stephanie, intently. More, watching her body language than understanding all the word-sounds that are coming from her. But, she'll get there. She understands the heart of the intent, the words, enough though and she nods her comprehension.
Then, she neatly and smoothly extracts herself out of the Batmobile and into the cave. The disshelved girl, clearly homeless, has somewhat matted hair, is wearing 'half' a t-shirt that probably belonged to a man three times her size and had been torn at the waist so the shirt didn't billow down too far, a pair of dirty and very rough loose cargo pants, and mud-colored canvas shoes that were probably once white.
She looks at the other people, the other costumes. She sees Tim's wave, and considers him. She nods as he seems to be expecting an acknowledgement back. And then she looks to Helena.
The girls brown eyes move to the food, and she walks over to the small table, sits, and grabs a sandwhich and begins to eat - there is no 'guarded' nature about her, though, sensing still only that earnest kindness on their part. But she eats in large bites that suggest her last real meal was likely some time ago. Yet, even as she eats, she still watches everyone else.
Tim Drake is definitely curious about the girl, wandering over to Stephanie leaning in a bit conspiratorially, "Anything we should know in particular?" he asked, regarding the newcomer warily. He could read things pretty well himself, being a deductive genius and all, but most of what he can get is that the girl hasn't been taken care of for quite a while. And that she was dangerous. She couldn't hide the way she moved. Deciding that hanging back isn't going to get anything done, Tim makes the choice to approach and get a bit of food himself. Luckily, like many teenage boys, his appetite is endless. "Go for the peanut butter and jelly. That stuff's homemade. Beats Jif anytime," he says.
"Huh." Helena leans against the wall at the base of the stairs as she gets to the floor, head tilting curiously. "That's…the second person in a similar state I've run into in the last month. I really hope this isn't symptomatic of a larger trend. Hi," she adds, a smile in her voice even if her mouth is hidden by the mask. "Welcome. I promise we don't usually all sit around in masks. It's weird. Then again, we're weird, so."
Stephanie Brown looks over to Tim and Helena, waving to them. She moves with Cassandra, to the food table, and pours her both a glass of water, and one of juice as well, setting them both with the Asian young woman. Stephanie gives a soft smile and then walks over to Tim and Helena.
"We were waiting for the weapons shipment to arrive. And the dock workers had this other girl and they were… going to not be nice with her," Stephanie says. "I tried to scare them off like I was a watchmen drawing near. This girl ran out though to protect the other. She had serious movies. Some of them look a little familiar," Stephanie says meaningfully.
"Batman and I didn't even intervene in the fight, she took out all five and let the one decent one who didn't want part of it go. The other girl just wanted to leave. And this one decided to come with us when Batman offered," she says. "Hasn't eaten in awhile, clearly." Stephanie looks to them both and gives a sigh. "And, so the cops came to collect the workers. So no weapons shipment intercepted tonight."
She moves back over to Cassandra then. Stephanie goes and gets a bowl of hot water and a towel in case Cassandra would like to clean up her hands or face there. She also brings over the clothes that were brought down. "Do you speak much English?" Stephanie asks. She pulls out her phone and begins pulling up a translating program. If Cassandra doesn't indicate she understands much English, Stephanie will show her the phone and the list of languages, motioning as if for her to pick an appropriate one.
As Tim suggests the PB&J, Cassandra pauses mid-bite of the turkey sandwhich she was eating, picking up the PB&J with her other hand, and takes a large bite out of that reccomended sandwhich. She chews thoroughly, eyes flitting from person to person - not with any sort of manic building fear, but simply a desire to 'not miss anything'. Someone, rather, taking in all the information she can.
Still chewing, she nods at Helena, and points at herself to include herself as being 'unusual'. She pauses between taking bites of sandwhiches to set each half down and chug a bit of clean water, before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
She looks appreciative of the hot water and the towel, then chugs a bit of the bottled water before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. But before she can take advantage of the water to clean herself up with, she's being shown a phone. Asked, if she speaks. And, Cassandra shakes her head once. Then shakes her head again. She shrugs, pauses, looking to Stephanie to see if the other girl, or any of them understand what she's trying to get across.
Tim Drake purses his lips, "I get the sense there might be a language barrier. Can you hear?" he asks, double checking and gesturing towards his own ears and then towards her to try and convey the question.
"Maybe get her picture, see if we can get her through any of the facial recognition stuff. I doubt she's notorious or even wanted, but if she's as skilled as you say, you never know. I would say it's pretty unusual for a teenager to be a dangerous martial fighter, but…well…current company would argue that point."
"Yeah, you've kind of got the wrong room for that," Helena smiles ruefully over at Tim, pushing away from the wall now that she's had a moment to catch her breath. Cass can no doubt tell she's cautious, but it doesn't mean she isn't friendly. In fact, her mind is working as well, though less on the computer level and more on the personal level.
She doesn't try to communicate just yet, letting Stephanie and Tim try their own ways while she watches Cassandra's responses.
Stephanie Brown says, "I think she can hear. Maybe not speak though. I don't think she's said anything yet." Stephanie will look to Cassandra to see if that gets a reaction. If she is right, or if it doesn't get any reaction, Stephanie goes over to get a pad of paper and a pen that she brings back for the other woman to see if that is something Cassandra would want.
Stephanie will take a seat either way, and give Cassandra a smile. The blond Batgirl gets herself a sandwich as well, and smile over to the Asian girl with that same friendly smile that has been given a few times before. She leans back in her chair and gives a sigh, before putting down her sandwich. Stephanie will pick up the folded shirt and hold it up to check it out, then hold it towards Cassandra as if seeing if it looks like a good fit. "We're about the same size, should work for you," she says with a nod.
Stephanie will stick around close to Cassandra, trying to be a familiar face for her even if she lets the others take the lead in talking.
Cassandra tilts her head at Tim, nods once to the inquiry if she can hear or not, but then the makes a gesture with her hands and shakes her head a little bit.
Stephanie seems to hit the nail on the head - somewhat. She points at Batgirl, and seems to relax a little more. Some fresh food, water, and a clean place will do that for a girl whose lived on the street for many years.
The shirt is offered, and Cassandra takes it, looking from STephanie to Helena, then to Tim.
The shirt is taken, and set in her lap for the time being. SHe'd dress, bathe, but clearly these people have more questions for he, first. And she should at least be polite.
Then, finally there is a pause. She shoves a free hand under her shirt, into her waistband of her pants and pulls out a small, very deteroriated, faded, and worn polaroid. It's a picture of a much younger asian girl dressed in something akin to an exercise or combat suit for young children. The well-worn and very faded permenant marker on it reads: Cassandra Cain. The eyes, though? The eyes are the same.
Tim Drake takes a look at the picture, "Cain? That's…an interesting last name," he says. Not that he immediately links her up to anyone, but it's certainly not what you'd expect of a Chinese refugee found homeless in New York City.
He takes the picture and scans it in quickly, digitizing it and momentarily losing himself in the data as he starts the search process to see if he can find any way to backtrack this girl, returning the picture to her once the scan is made. "Child soldiers are more common in sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East, but there are a few Asian cults that recruit kids. The Hand, League of Shadows, some Yakuza and Triads…" he says.
"The Nightfall," Helena adds to Tim's list, pulling over a rolling chair for herself and lowering into it carefully, leaning back. "Not that it seems likely in this particular situation. Just saying, it seems to be going around." She leans over to get a look at the name, focusing on the first rather than the last. "Cassandra. Nice to meet you," she says, pulling down the mask enough to show…well, the face of the holo-mask, at least. "You can call me Blackbird."
Perhaps not so surprisingly, nothing comes up in Tim's database search. Nothing either for the name, or for her picture. She is the definition of person non-grata.
She takes the picture and stuffs it back where she keeps it, as it's the only thing she has kept from her 'old' life, and the only way anyone has of knowing what her name is.
Cassandra tilts her head at Helena, understanding some of that body language at the very least. And, seeing that smile, along with Helena's tone of voice and Stephanie's continued cheer and support, Cassandra finally smiles just a little bit, conveying her gratitude.
She pauses, then, and slowly stands up to pull out her pockets, and look to those gathered, and makes a disappointed face. This is, afterall, as kind as anyone has been to her in all this time. And she doesn't have anything to repay them with.
Tim Drake turns his chair and bites his lip, running a hand through his black hair and ruffling the gelled locks for a moment, "Well, she's not a notorious supercriminal, insofar as I can see. I'm not finding her in any of the wanted databases and such. I'm guessing Batman wants her kept safe here for now. We certainly have enough rooms to spare," he says, "I'm going to text Alfred to prep one of the West Wing rooms. Give her at least a bit of privacy."
"Maybe…stick with the cave for now?" Helena suggests, tapping at the corner of her eye to point out the masks. "At least until he decides for sure. We can get you a bed set up," she adds to Cassandra, pushing herself carefully out of the chair. "There's a spring over here, if you want to wash up." As she talks, she makes hand gestures with the actions, feeling things out with the girl. "We'll make sure there's plenty to eat, let you get a chance to rest. This is sort of what we do," she smiles crookedly to the empty pockets, shrugging.
Cassandra nods to Helena, her eyes following the other's body language easily. She looks to the spa, then looks back to Tim and Helena.
Finally, the girl rises and starts to kick off those muddy colored canvas shoes, and pulling off the first layer of t-shirt and dropping it next to herself, even as her hands move to pull up the bottom layer shirt as well.
The girl, it appears, is taking Helena's offer quite seriously, starting to strip down to go skinny dipping and wash in the pool. And, also appears to have no issues with privacy.
Tim Drake quickly turns, going a bit red, "Uhhhhhhhhhh…I'm going to go up and, uh…yeah, I'm gonna go. You can handle this, you're right, it's your house anyway, just…make sure she's comfy and stuff and I'll…yeah, I'll be…somewhere else," he says.
Helena can't help it. The kid sister instinct is too strong. When Tim blushes and tries to escape, she snickers. "Wow, Tim. Not even academic interest," she calls after him, grinning broadly. "We're cool here. Don't forget to check the cameras before you come back down. Wouldn't want to run into anything unexpected!"
Cassandra pauses, looking at Helena confusedly as to why Tim is leaving, but she at least understands a bit of what's going on, even if the wordsounds are linking with her brain. That will take some time for her to really begin to understand people's words. But, interactions and solid interaction with people speaking will, certainly, help.
She senses the banter in Helena's gestures, then shrugs before slipping the rest of her clothes off, and moving seamlessly into the water.
The one thing that Helena will notice far more quickly than the solid definition of muscle in this homeless girl is the number of scars on her torso, back, and legs. Bullet wounds. Arrow wounds. Knife, and swords scars all. Almost like someone had used her as a training dummy. Which - isn't that far from the truth. At least they are all very old scars.
Tim Drake pauses, keeping his head turned away but answering before he departs, "Whatever she's been through, she's damaged, hurt and definitely been somebody's a victim, no matter how much she can handle herself. I'm decenet enough not to take advantage of her naivete to get a cheap thrill. I hope you have higher standards for your boyfriends," he says firmly to Helena, then retreats upstairs.