Location: Training Grounds, Mt. Justice
Interactions: Hex, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Nymph
Talon heard the approach of the young ghost boy, the one who had quickly established himself as the one to check on the others. Talon felt irritated that he needed to be supported at all in this way, but was deep down bedgrudgingly grateful that Hex was willing to approach him at all, with a friendly enough disposition. Talon would be lying however if a part of him didn't feel he was being patronized. Having to have his hand held like his mistake was some sort of game-changing event in their entire training regime. Talon was pissed off, honestly - but unsure how to shake it off. He didn't think it would be kind to take his frustration out on Hex. He felt like lashing out, but the boy was just trying to be nice.
Still...
Hex was sitting next to him now, and despite the kind words that Hex was expressing to Talon, he listened through gritted teeth. Despite only just meeting, Hex was speaking so familiarly with Talon. It was a little overwhelming. Was Talon expected to speak about his past? Did he now owe that to Hex? No, he didn't owe anyone anything. Not now. All he wanted to do was make a place for himself on the team, and instead he gave everyone
else a hero moment. The boy felt like he was shaking from an entire litany of emotions - anger, embarrassment, he felt exposed. He wanted to swing at Hex just for being near him. But that's not what Nightwing would have wanted him to do. Hex began speaking about the shackles of the past, talking about ownership. What did
he expect to know about him? Did he know where Talon had come from? He doubted it - Nightwing wouldn't share any of his past with his new teammates, and the only one who may know about his history with the Court of Owls might have been Rain, as he worked so closely out of Gotham. He scrutinized Hex through the black of his domino mask before faltering. The boy was being too genuine to get irritated with. That just irritated Talon further. He was about to speak up when both Green Arrow and Black Canary finally made their approach.
Black Canary approached him with a serious look and Talon felt like he was about to be reprimanded. Instead, she grabbed his chin in her gloved hand and gave him an inspection of his current wounds. He felt the soreness as soon as she turned his head to the left and the right. Her fingers pinched around his neck and he felt the tenderness of growing bruises. No doubt from Nymph's wrapped vines. He hadn't even noticed that he had small lacerations from them as well. He was dismissed from the others, ordered to go back to the base in order to clean himself up and rest. Nurse his wounds like a small child.
He opened his mouth to protest but she quickly told him it wasn't the time. He pulled the med-kit she offered for him brusquely and stormed off, not looking at the others. If they had anything to say - fine. They should be grateful he gave them a moment to stand out. He was the one that was attacked by an ally, choked by that girl and her out of control powers. But is that what really happened? She had a sunny disposition otherwise, didn't come off as angry and volatile. Maybe it was a mistake? He spared a quick glance at her, but Cybergirl was still huddled with her, trying to help. Still, the whole thing put Talon in a foul mood. He'd have confronted Nymph directly right then and there, but he wasn't sure what he would say. He was angry, and likely would snap at her, like he felt doing with Hex. But his anger at Nymph felt more justified. He was seeing red - What could he do to dispel it? Typically he would spar or something physical - but he didn't want to face any of his teammates right now...
---
Talon was back at the base now - it seemed the others that were on "Team Canary" during the training session were all dismissed at the same time. Talon wondered if they resented that. He wondered if the rest of his new team was more upset with him or Nymph. It was obvious her powers can sometimes run uncontrollably - a risk that many metahumans undoubtedly had to deal with.
He had successfully avoided the others since they had gotten back. He had heard Cybergirl interacting with someone in the kitchen, and so deftly avoided having to see them, stepping silently through the halls of Mt. Justice. He was on his way to the showers, but avoiding the others had him taking a long way around, and so he ended up near the front entrance of base. For some reason he couldn't quite explain, Talon headed outside, his towel in hand. He felt the need to climb a tree - get high up. He always did his best thinking up high, always saw better from a distance. It was the owl-like nature of growing up the way he did. He wasn't suited for ground level...
In the main hall, Talon immediately was noticed by Red Tornado - the group's psuedo-babysitter. He wondered if the android had already been informed of the teams failure earlier this morning. Talon wanted to turn around to avoid conversation, but too late. The android's robotic voice called out to him.
"Talon. The others were looking for you. If you'd like some time for yourself, I'd suggest the fresh air. You may find solace there."Talon nodded. He wasn't able to speak. He stepped outside into the fresh air.
For whatever reason, he opted to take a stroll. The base of Mt Justice was filled with beautiful foliage - a far cry from the urban cityscape he had grown up in in Gotham. Talon was finding the breath of fresh air and lack of light pollution calming in ways he wouldn't have expected. Not far from the base, he came to a small clearing in the grass. There were flowers that Talon couldn't name. He had never been in a garden before. He had never been in the woods before, not really. Everything about his new home was foreign to him. He felt so out of place, so out of his depth. His anger, his loneliness, it all swirled around him in a complex wave of who he was as a person. As he scanned the beautiful greenery before him, he realized that one of the flowery spectacles he was eyeing wasn't in fact a flower at all.
It was a girl.
In fact it was
the girl.
Seemingly on the forest floor, soaking in the sun's rays, was Nymph. She was in her plant form, nearly camouflaged. That would explain while he hadn't noticed her. Talon was carrying around such frustration with her, and if he had spotted her even ten minutes ago inside the building, knew for sure he would have snapped at her, grabbed her and confronted her about what she did to him, how she had embarrassed him. But Talon was struck by her at this moment. She was laying on the earth as if she was a part of it. Talon had a hard time telling where the world ended and she began. He traced the length of her with his eyes, the leaves and vines that had once caused him pain now looked as innocent and harmless as a breeze. As light as the grass he walked on. Talon held his breath and watched as it seemed as though the earth itself breathed along with her.
In that moment, all of Talon's anger seemed to seep away from him, swept away in the same breeze that tossed loose leaves along the ground. Talon knew at that moment he was not angry at Nymph, not upset that she had lost control.
He was mad at himself for failing. He had let himself down. He wondered if he had let Nightwing down too. And oracle.
Talon turned...and ran.
---
Not long after, Talon stood in the hot shower, letting the steam rise among the slick tiles. His dark hair was now down over his eyes. He felt at peace whenever he was in the shower, where he got most of his thinking done. He also didn't want to have to socialize with the others until his bad mood passed. He touched his neck - the light bleeding had already stopped, more like scratches than anything. But he began to have a bruise spread across his neck. He scrubbed the dirt out from under his fingernails, getting the grime he had gripped so tightly as he hung ominously over the obstacle pit. He wasn't sure if the other half of the team had come back yet, or what the plan for the rest of the evening was. He wasn't currently enrolled in school like some of the others, so his days would be pretty much his own until missions or training exercises. He thought he had remembered Nightwing mention to him that there would be social outings during his time spent on the team, and wondered whether he'd ever be willing to take part. He didn't know where he stood with the team, with these Teen Titans, with Young Justice...
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