Never What It Seems (Finished)

[Black Canary]

Players: Black Canary, Vixen
Location(s): A spa in NYC
Plot Summary: Canary and Vixen attempt to have a girl's day out and end up finding trouble, as usual.
--

This felt good. Dinah was certainly feminine, but she wasn't... girly, so this wasn't something she did very often. She felt like she needed it, though. She finally felt like she was emerging from the funk she had been and was more than ready to start living her life again. This usually wasn't how she went about such a thing, but she had figured it couldn't hurt.

The warm water pooled around her ankles as Dinah leaned back in the comfortable seat. "Okay, so I get why people do this," she remarked, her eyes closed. Next to her, in a similar seat, sat Vixen. The two had become friends years ago, though neither was so close to the other that Dinah had to worry about her bringing up any of the touchy topics that she was purposefully trying to avoid that day. It wasn't as though she was trying to ignore everything presently going on, but non-stop brooding wasn't her gig. Dinah wanted to heal and part of that process was to focus on the good in her life. Regardless of her disastrous personal life, she had incredible friends and teammates and she had to remember that. There were a lot of great people surrounding her and she was more than a little happy to focus on the positives again.

Taking a day trip to New York seemed to be helping that quite a bit. Mari was good company, and getting a mani-pedi was a nice change of pace. Dinah couldn't even remember the last time she had had some kind of girly beauty treatment like this done. Generally, there was no point in having her nails done; the shorter she kept them the better, as trying to punch someone with acrylics typically didn't work out in her favor. But heck, she could at least enjoy the foot massage that came with the whole bit, right? And it wouldn't hurt to have her cuticles... have whatever it was done to them that people did to cuticles. If her cooking abilities hadn't done enough damage to the female stereotype, this was definitely helping.

The blonde let out a satisfied groan and sank further into her seat before cracking an eye open and glancing sideways at Mari. "Will they get mad if I just stay here forever?" Dinah asked. She assumed the other woman to be more of an expert on this sort of thing, being the model and all. "Maybe if I ask them really nicely, they'll let me take home one of these foot bath thingies," she mused and closed her eye again. "If not, I'm buying like, fifty of these." Hey, superheroing it up was murder on her feet. It would be nice to come home and soak her toes after getting shot at all night.

[vixen]

Mari chuckled at Dinah's , her totem serenely against her neck. "As much as I like taking a walk on the wild side..." she began, shifting her feet in the warm, bubbly water. "...it can be refreshing to let down your hair every once and awhile."

"We're so busy taking care of others, that we often forget to make a little time for ourselves. We break our backs keeping the world safe, that we don't notice that we're breaking down." Mari concluded, setting the massage setting in her pedicure chair to kneading.

Purring throatily as the chair began to work it's magic, Mari continued.

"You could buy your own, but, there'd be no one to give you a pedicure at home!Plus, you'd miss the soothing atmosphere, and my stimulating conversation." Grinning toothily, Mari turned back to inspect the colors she had chosen.

"Today, Dinah, we are civilians." she stated, stretching her arms above her head. "Although...there are a few men that we know, that could probably use a day like this too."

Especially Batman. He needed it more than any of the rest of the male crime fighters that Mari knew of. Superman probably wouldn't even be able to fit into one of these chairs. Any manicure would be ruined the moment Mari had to become Vixen, because she'd probably have to use her claws, and, well, that would be a waste of money. Crime fighting was pro-bono work, there was no salary, there were no benefits. She had to watch the pennies that she took in by modeling, and had to limit her crimefighting to balance out the two worlds she was a member of.

[Black Canary]

Mari brought up a good point. It seemed like Dinah never actually ended up with any real time to spoil herself, and on the rare occasions that she did, she wound up guilting herself into taking care of someone or something else. She couldn't even remember the last time she had taken a vacation. Life seemed to transition from one hectic scenario to the next with little downtime inbetween. Dinah was hoping to find some of that now that she was living in Gotham, but... well, it was Gotham. The odds of that were not in her favor. Still, she was in the middle of getting her floral shop up and running again, which should help. It kept her busy, but in a relaxing way. It was hard to be really stressed while standing in a room full of sweet-smelling blooms.

"No kidding. My toes are not looking too pretty. Sorry," Dinah apologized to the woman who had hoisted one of her bare feet from the water and proceeded to scrub at her calloused heel. The blonde's dream of purchasing a smaller version of the tubs was soured by Mari once again bringing up a valid point. Damn that woman. "You." She pointed a mockingly accusatory finger at Mari without opening her eyes. "Keep your logic to yourself. I'm fantasizing here." A hot tub for her feet sounded great, but not as good as having someone there to massage them as well. And, as the other woman said, the emptiness of her apartment was no comparison to spending time with a friend.

Perhaps she'd just start taking out more from the impressive savings account she had built up thanks to Oracle's hefty paychecks and start doing this more often. It really was so nice to just relax for once. Dinah rarely allowed herself to be pampered, and dammit, she deserved it. She worked hard and took a lot of crap, so why not?

But speaking of crap...

The blonde made a face. There were plenty of people of the male persuasion who could do with an afternoon like this, followed by a surgical procedure to remove the branch from their rears. "Ugh," Dinah grunted as she twisted her head from side to side to pop her neck. "I don't even want to think about men right now." Maybe she would take her next vacation to Themyscira. She didn't have to worry about any men troubles there. That being said, the idea of Bruce or J'onn sitting in a pedicure chair and having someone massage his feet was pretty entertaining.

[vixen]

Mari couldn't help but smile when Dinah admonished her softly. The dark-skinned super hero closed her eyes and breathed in, even as her toes were begin polished a bright emerald green.

"Oh, the menfolk menfolk do have their rare uses..." she acquiesced, nudging her friend with her elbow. "Their amusing antics and willingness to lift heavy things can be quite...endearing sometimes."

Now, Mari was no damsel in distress, or conventional woman. She commanded her own life after her parents died, and has her own source of income--being one of the most sought after models of her day. She wore no mask, so more fashion labels were eager to hire her since she could easily be found. Her enemies could also find her easily as well. It spoke more of her character, as if she dared anyone to come challenge her. Vixen would grant their wish with her fist, as well as her totem.

"Besides, you have to admit..." she began, a soft purr on her lips as she leaned toward Dinah's chair. "They do look rather dashing when they're all dressed up like that, anxious to save the world." Maybe it was the capes, the masks...or the mystery. Perhaps Mari was thinking of someone in particular. Or, maybe she wasn't...it was too soon to tell.

[Black Canary]

Dinah playfully swatted at her friend's elbow, but that didn't stop her from letting out a light chuckle. Okay, Mari might have a point. Even in her present state, she wasn't so far gone to think that all men were evil. Only stupid blond archers. And it was kind of sweet when they tried to help out - so long as it was because they were just helpful people and not because they had presumed her own weakness and were eager to show off their overflowing masculinity. Dinah had met men of both variety and knew which she preferred. She would never be the sort of woman who was insulted by a door being held open for her, but she had run into a couple of men over the years who had evidently missed the memo that she could take them down with one hand held behind her back.

With both her hands clasped together, Dinah made the most helpless face she could muster. "P-please, sir!" she stammered, her voice several octaves higher than average. "This jar... the lid is on too tight!" She knew men were more useful than such a trivial thing, though. Most of her close friends, teammates and mentors were male, and even Ollie - loveable, stupid Ollie - was never someone she could fully hate. Present company and a few select others excluded, Dinah often found that she didn't get along with other women as well. Even as a kid, her best friend had been a boy. Girls could just get... catty. Men, while sometimes clueless, were at least straightforward. It was much appreciated.

And, as Mari addressed, they were oh so nice to look at. "You're telling me," Dinah snickered. "Whoever decided it was legal for that many fine booties to be stuffed into so many skintight outfits oughta be shot." Hey, she had been single for a while, and she had a fine appreciation for the arts... and some of those men were a work of art. "... Wait, what the hell! How did we even get on this conversation?" She squinted challengingly at Mari. "I blame you one hundred percent." So much for not focusing on men. It wasn't like she wanted to avoid the subject like the plague (okay, maybe she did a little) but as the topic always seemed to lend itself to thoughts of Ollie in her mind, Dinah wasn't sure how much she wanted to bring it up. Besides, she already felt a little guilty for even mentioning that there were other attractive men out there. Separated or not, they were still married. Though, she reminded herself bitterly, it wasn't like fidelity had been the foundation of their relationship.

[vixen]

Mari threw up her hands in mock defeat. "Guilty as charged. Throw me in the pokey, because I vow to never change my ways!" she cried, prompting the stares of the other ladies and gentlemen partaking in the timeless American tradition of fashioning their nails outrageous colors.

"Hey." she said, nudging Dinah. "Kidding aside, I think these places should give superheroes a discount. It's not easy to keep a good manicure after slamming your fist into Grodd's face." Gorilla Grodd, a criminal from Central City, vexed Vixen. On the surface, he was an ape, and she couldn't harm animals. On the other hand, he was a criminal, and she enjoyed harming criminals. Plus, she could harness his mental abilities, since he was technically, more animal than human.

"To be fair, there are some other women we know that could seriously use a day like this as well." Mari raised her eyebrow, wondering if Dinah knew well enough who she was thinking of.

Suddenly, though, a large explosion sounded, trembling the floor beneath them, the other patrons let out various startled yelps, and a few of precious bottles of nail polish fell to the floor, breaking. This included the shade Mari was about to pick.

"Well, now I'm pissed. There was bank two doors down."Mari said, her playful tone turning serious as she sat up in her chair, delicately lifting her feet. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out about half the money that was required for their day of beauty, since they didn't actually get to complete the process.

"You know, I'd think that being a thief or criminal would lose its allure after years of being defeated. One could choose a more secure occupation." Mari quipped, the totem on her neck already glowing.

[Black Canary]

Dinah groaned and shook her head in mock embarrassment at Mari's dramatized actions. None of her friends would ever be normal, though to be fair she supposed that the same could be said for her. While she knew how to get down to business when the situation called for it, very rarely was she the serious one in her social scene. "I think everywhere should give superhero discounts," she grinned. "Considering half this city's probably been rescued by one at this point." Poor New York. It was almost at Gotham-level as far as being the target of all sorts of mayhem, though at least corruption-wise it was a lot better off. Still, she had seen enough with her own eyes (as well as watched enough movies) to know that New York was the last place she was would live. When the world finally went to hell, it was starting here.

Besides, her nails

[/i]were[/i] in pretty miserable shape. Wearing gloves helped protect her hands, but she had to keep her nails pretty short anyway. Making a proper fist was hard with pointy nails. The blonde let out an amused snort as she snuggled back into her chair, tilting her head back slightly as she got more comfortable. "Does it start with an O and end with a giant computer nerd?" Dinah chuckled. She loved Babs, but the one thing the woman didn't know was the definition of 'relaxation.' The redhead was even worse than she was, and that was saying something. That seemed to be a trend with that Bat crowd though. A day off was practically unheard of for them.

And, it would seem, for her. Dinah immediately sat up straight in her seat as the building suddenly shook. In an instant, she was out of her chair and grabbing the nearby towel to dry off her feet before pulling her boots back on. Of course. They could just have one day without having to stop somebody from doing something stupid. There went her rare day of relaxation. But then, Dinah couldn't say she had really expected anything different; when did she ever actually get a break, anyway? Star City, Gotham, New York - it didn't matter. "You'd think," Dinah agreed after paying for her share. "I knew that criminal genius thing was bogus." She had known that for a while, though. Very few criminals seemed to have more than a few brain cells to rub together. These probably would be no different, she predicted as she raced out of the spa and toward the bank Mari had mentioned.

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