003 | Action + Voice

[noitatnacni]

[It's pretty easy to spot the differences. The apartment Zatanna shares with Artemis suddenly goes from full to half-empty overnight. Everything, from clothing to weaponry to the tools she'd left in a pile on the table are just gone.

She's heard about it happening before. But like they say, hearing about it and going through it? Two completely different things.

Zatanna tries to find her: message over the journal, a locator spell she's been working on, just walking around and looking around the village. Things don't get any better, however. It's even worse by mid-day, when Zatanna pulls out her journal again.]

Uh, hey. [Zatanna's trying to smile--or rather, she's trying not to cry. There's a reason she's not using video for this, but all that emotion is still pretty evident in her voice.] I know some of you know Artemis and Static. They went home, but it's a good thing. They've got to help save the world and all. Teenage superheroes. The job's never done, right?

[She hesitates, wondering if she should say anything else. In the end though, there's only more silence before she closes the journal. She's going to answer the people who reply, eventually. For now, with the book set aside, Zatanna draws her knees up to her chest and just hides. She probably won't be that hard to find if people know where to look: the rooftop of Community Housing 5. But since she's alone--really alone--she lets some of those tears fall. She just can't keep it in anymore.]

Comments

[action]

[teenwonder]

[Robin doesn't reply after Zatanna makes her message. It's not the sort of thing words can fix. There was an ally for her here, a companion that fit from her world in a way nobody else could. You can't just say 'hey that sucks' and move on.

And so Robin will be beside her on that rooftop. Not announced, not bearing greetings. He's just there, tugging her body out of its contraction, offering a hug.]

Re: [action]

[noitatnacni]

[She's not expecting company. Zatanna's not expecting much of anything to be honest, but the feeling of arms around her has her swallowing hard, because she hates anyone seeing her cry.

It doesn't help when she opens her eyes and figures out just who it is, either.]

H-hey. [But even if she doesn't want to keep sobbing in front of him, Zatanna isn't going to turn away from that embrace. She wraps her arms around Robin, clinging more tightly than she realizes to him.] Guess you heard.

[action]

[teenwonder]

[He lets her cling as hard as she needs to do it, resting his chin on her shoulder.]

Yeah. I heard.

[And that 'you invaded my privacy' grudge he'd been holding? They can just forget about all that.]

voice

[stilldontgotit]

...Believe me, I know how that is. Same thing happened to Sora, after all.

[Going back to the worlds he left behind to deal with... whatever it is Xehanort had planned. It's easy to brush it off, say it's for the best, but Riku knows it's not always that simple. You can make a million excuses to try and dull the pain, but how often does it work?]

But if you need some kind of distraction, let me know. Sometimes it's good to just blow off some steam for a while.

Re: voice

[noitatnacni]

[The answer is never; it never works.]

Thanks, Riku. A distraction might be good. [If he's still there; Zatanna hasn't been answering right away. She hasn't been able to pull herself together enough to.] Don't know what you'd have in mind, though.

voice

[stilldontgotit]

We could always beat stuff up in the battle dome. Not the most constructive way to go about it, I guess, but it's worked like a charm in my experience.

[It keeps his mind off of the bad until he's had time to grasp the situation. Of course, that takes energy, and he's not sure if she's in the mood for it.]

voice; filtered 99%

[hero_of_smiles]

[He bites his lip for a moment at this message. A friend gone from Luceti and probably the first time it's left an impact on him.

She was one of his friends and now she was gone. Damn it. He just wants to ask Zatanna to make sure that Artemis was still around. The thought instantly becomes stupid because of course, if these two were such close friends either of them would continue to look for the other until it was fruitless.

He wants to cry himself, but doing so would just be a selfish act right now. Right now, Zatanna probably needed the comfort.

Going on voice he makes his voice even:]

Zatanna...? Do you need anything right now?

Re: voice; filtered 99%

[noitatnacni]

No; I'm okay. [That's a lie, but Zatanna isn't big on the whole asking for help bit. Kind of ironic, considering what she does. But sharing her sadness isn't really something Zatanna's a fan of, which is why she hasn't been answering until she's got a better grip on her emotions.]

What about you? I know you and Artemis were friends.

Re: voice; filtered 99%

[hero_of_smiles]

[He has to take a moment to think on this. He's not going to start blathering how much it sucks to know she's gone. That's not what's needed. So maybe semi honesty is needed?]

Can't say I'm doing cartwheels over the fact, but, I'll be fine. You've got a point I can't really argue with. Young heroes gotta save the day and all. Can't just leave it to the adults, am I right?

voice; filtered

[curiositykills]

[Normally, he'd be all for providing company, but he's sure Dick's already got that covered, so he's not sure how much good it would do. Besides, he knew that sometimes, you needed some time to yourself, so he doesn't want to be pushy or anything.

It feels kind of cheap to just offer condolences, but he can't not say anything, either.]

I'm sorry, Zee. Bet you've heard it a hundred times by now, but we're here for you. We've gotta stick together, you know?

Re: voice; filtered

[noitatnacni]

[It's just a bad situation, no matter how they look at it. Zatanna's trying to keep the positive in mind, but it really isn't helping a lot.

Hearing Jason does though. At least a little.] Yeah, definitely. Just because they are fewer of us doesn't mean we're not still a team.

voice; filtered

[curiositykills]

[Hearing her say that makes him smile. He knows it's hard to lose people in any capacity, really, but he can tell she's trying.]

'Course. I'm sure it's what they'd want, too.

I kinda feel bad, though. You're stuck on a team with a bunch of birds.

[fashionably_strong]

Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. Even if it's good that they're not stuck here anymore.

[She'd just been getting to know them, but she'd considered them friends.]

[noitatnacni]

Yeah, me too. It's kind of weird now; Artemis was the only other person from my world here.

[And now? The closest she comes is the alternate version of the guy she really likes back home--an alternate version she's kind of dating.]

I know she'd be glad not to be here anymore, though.

[fashionably_strong]

If you need some company to help take your mind off of things, let me know.

voice

[deadalready]

I'm sorry.

[He's not really an especially empathetic person but Zatanna was a good person and he could recognize the strain of grief and loneliness in her voice better than he should've been able to.

After all, he'd been lucky enough to have Clove since he arrived here. But he'd seen this happen before - Katniss sticks out in his mind - but Peeta wasn't just a friend to her so....

he really didn't know much about being sympathetic.]

Maybe you'll get out of here next.

Re: voice

[noitatnacni]

Thanks.

[It's appreciated either way. Zatanna knows what he's trying to do, and she smiles a little when he offers his attempt at condolences.]

Maybe. [Although that's kind of touchy now too. Sure, she wants to go home, to see her friends again--but she's started making a life here too. What would Robin or Jason say if she suddenly vanished?]

action

[fervidity]

[First she had heard Zatanna's voice on the broadcast and having talked to her a few times before, the pain she was going through in missing her father during her birthday, that sound of pain isn't hard to miss the second time.

Though instead of answering on the broadcast, she leaves her house and begins walking down the street. She hadn't even gotten past 'They went home-' before she was slipping on shoes and the door was shutting behind her.

Since she had delivered cookies to Zatanna personally, she knows where to go. She knows where to look because when Kushina wanted to hide and think and let some tears fall, this was where she goes. That time had lessened as she got older, learned to be strong but she still remembers the rooftops of a building in a place that wasn't home.

There's the soft sound of feet beside her as she lands a few feet away.

Zatanna.

Re: action

[noitatnacni]

[Kushina's landing and the quiet call of her name gets Zatanna's attention. Of course it's impossible to hide the fact that she's been crying, but Zatanna tries anyway. She's quick to rub her hand against her eyes, trying to wipe away the last of her tears.]

Hey, Kushina.

[stillplaying]

[She hadn't expected this. But maybe that was entirely naive of her. Zevran had disappeared while she had been gone. In someways, it made some sick sort of sense that more than one of her friends had been sent home. She should be happy for them. Any good person would be.

But all she could really feel was a sense of despair. Odds weren't in her favor. And this was a stark reminder that she'd only be losing more people she loved someday. A bitter, sobering thought.

Crying would be too good for the Malnosso. Exactly what they probably wanted. And yet, she could feel the pinprick of tears play at her eyes.]

...oh.

[noitatnacni]

Yeah. [Whether or not crying is what the Malnosso want, it hasn't stopped Zatanna from doing so. Her voice is a little raw after, when she finally gets herself together enough to answer the people who have replied to the announcement. But it's hard, thinking of what to say to each of them. Katniss's reply in many ways is one of the most honest, because in the end there's not much that can be said. Nothing will make it better, or fix things. And wishing Artemis and Static were still around is just selfish.]

I'm sorry, Katniss.

voice.

[halflived]

[He remembers her voice faintly, even if it has been a while. The difference between that first time and now was vast, and he doesn't like what he hears in it.]

Sometimes teenagers need a break, too...

Re: voice.

[noitatnacni]

Oh, yeah. Of course we do. But Artemis at least has a huge battle to fight first. I'm from a little over a day into her future, so I was there for part of it.

[It's really weird, knowing what's about to happen to her friend.]

voice

[folklorist]

I'm...I'm sorry to hear that Zatanna. [ He might not be as close as some of the others here, but after that shift a month ago Helios still has remaining memories and feelings about Rei and Zatanna. Adopted or not in that life he was still a parent to her, maybe not now but he still...wanted to try and help. ]

If you want to t-talk I'm told that I'm a rather good listener. But only if you wish to.

Re: voice

[noitatnacni]

Uh, yeah. Thanks. [Zatanna has her own memories too, of Helios trying to step in where he wasn't wanted. It hadn't been his fault, not by any means, and Zatanna knows that. That fantasy life had just hit a serious nerve, and maybe she hasn't done all that good a job of shaking it just yet.

But he's trying, and Zatanna had thought Helios was pretty cool before everything that had happened. Besides--she's already lost two friends today. She doesn't want to push anyone away.]

Are you busy right now? I can come to wherever you are, if you want.