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A new day and a new life for Kendra Saunders, back to one that includes being counted among the costumed heros and heroines of the world. After the rescue, Shiera met with her and presented her with wings of her own and a new costume to go with it, then they both worked on making the helmet look just right. It's her first time out wearing everything and she's perched atop one of the taller buildings downtown, looking out at the city of St. Roch below through the eyes of the helmet. The appearance is very Hawkgirl-like, but the red and black motif and brown wings marks Redtail as quite different. There are other subtleties that show the two women are not the same. A Thanagarian mace is clipped at her side, nothing else in terms of weapons for the moment, and after a few more minutes the wings spread and she pushes off into the sky above.
Hawkman knew Redtail was out there but wasn't looking for her as his wings lazily beat and he makes a wide circle of the city, his eyes looking at the ground beneath him as if he's searching for prey. He'd went out on patrol on his own this evening just for a slight change of pace.
In Redtail's case she's not patrolling, just..exploring. It's like leaving the nest for the first time, to an extent. She climbs a couple hundred feet higher but remains below the height Hawkman's chosen. Two 'birds' above is not uncommon here. Not even the identites are, but the circumstances are different. A few times she stops and simply hovers.
Hawkman catching sight of the wings and focuses his eyes on Redtail. He then turns to fly toward her and he falls in formation. "Evening. Out stretching your wings for a bit?" The man asks but his eyes not on her for long.
Redtail turns at the voice nearby, immediately knowing who it is before even having to look. "Yeah..it's all new but at the same time, it's not," she answers, body language hinting at a sense of general awkwardness over relearning something. "And I'm not patrolling, just so you know. We haven't had the chance to talk about a lot of that stuff yet. I just needed to fly."
Hawkman makes a noncomittal sound. "Not stopping you if you are. She's the nurturer. No matter what's happened before and whose feet the blame can be laid at. This is your choice and you've made it. I'm not here to tell you you're doing it wrong or you shouldn't be here. I'm just saying hello and thanks."
"Yeah, and that's probably gonna rub me the wrong way sometimes," Redtail says of Shiera the nurturer. "But I haven't had a great support system all the time. Not saying I need you to do that," she explains, holding up a hand. The old, familiar mummy wrap is back around the forearms and wrists. "This felt like the right thing, though. It's part of who I am now and I'm not hiding from it. Do you think we need to let anyone know? In the 'community,' I mean." She makes quotation marks with her fingers as she asks, then smiles briefly. "Hey right back, and you're welcome. Just glad I was around. You look like you got better fast." As for her, that long gash down her left arm seems good, too.
"Nth metal, works wonders for healing." Hawkman says, "You are both very strong willed women. I'm sure, there will be times when it will be a boon, others a curse. Perhaps for me." He says studying the section of town they're in. "That is your choice. Batman will want to know. But Batman always wants to know. I'm sure some of the old Society memembers would be happy to know."
Redtail nods slowly, answering about the healing, "I remember something about that. Comes in handy, doesn't it?" There's a hint of a smile that passes again at the thought of clashing with Shiera and making things difficult for Carter and she promises, "I'll try not to put you into any awkward situations on purpose." As she looks down with him she adds, "I was thinking about sticking around here a while. I know there's something that happened here that led to my parents being killed and I have to find those answers." The mention of Batman earns a frown as she shifts her position slightly in place, starting to move through the air again as she speaks. "Maybe you can convince him I'm not a clone. I don't think he believed me. And..it'd be nice to see some of the Justice Society again. Maybe we can put the word out that I just..I dunno..used to have the wings and now I have some again."
Hawkman snorts, "Convincing Batman of something? That's impossible. That would also require me talking to him. I don't need the headache. But I may show up in Gotham just to hear, Get out of my city." He nods, "I will speak to Jay, Alan, and Ted when I see them." He nods, "I know you won't make things difficult on me on purpose." He shrugs, "I see Sheira parted with a mace too."
Redtail grows quiet at that, admitting, "He more or less told me the same thing when I got into a fight there." She doesn't say that she basically went looking for one. "I liked Ted," she adds before scanning below through the sharper eyes of the red and black helmet. "She gave it to me, but I think I'll be keeping a spear too. I need to find a place to stay here, like one of those long-term hotel rooms or something."
Hawkman nods, "It won't make a permanent fix but the ship's in the hangar. It has sleeping quarters you're free to use." He wasn't inviting Kendra into their home. He wasn't stupid. "But that makes it hard to have a secret id." He considers for a moment, "I like Ted too. The blustering old goat."
"I guess that could work for now. I'm not loaded with money," Redtail answers, shaking her head. "Speed's helped with a few things but I've been taking a lot of flights over the last couple months. At least now I don't need a plane ticket." There's a wry grin as she adds, "I'll figure something out with the civilian side. And he was no-nonsense but you knew where you stood with him. I remember that much." They continue over a few older parts of St. Roch and she says, "Are you really okay with all this? I know things were..different before." When they'd started getting closer, even if it was Shiera inside.
Hawkman shakes his head. This was the first time he'd really been asked his feelings on the matter. "I, Kendra... I think it's for the best if I don't have an opinion this matter. I'm not sure how anything I can say will turn out right." He says with grunt, "But you're here. Shiera's here. I love Sheira." He nods, "I'm quite sure if things get rough we can help out. But I'm quite sure you don't want Shiera and me in your life constantly. Have you applied for grants and aid for your schooling?"
Ultimately, all of this happened because Carter tried to have Kendra brought back to life and Dr. Occult - intentionally or not - gave him more than he'd bargained for. "You're allowed to have an opinion without me trying to hit you for it," Redtail says as she slows down to face him, the distance apart a rough equivalent to their wingspans. "Yeah, we're all here now and I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable with any of this, but I know it's going to have some ups and downs. The only reason I found the two of you was because something happened from before that left me with a connection to her that I don't really get yet. I felt it like she was getting hit in the head, then a few other things after that." She lets that sink in for a few seconds, going on. "And yeah, I'm working on some of that stuff with the schools. I'm glad to have your help and maybe you're right, but you're more than just other people who wear wings and go out and beat people up to me." They /are/ related.
Carter stops and pulls off his helmet. He beats his wings in midair. "I am in love with Shiera. It was her soul that brought the attraction. But You are a beautiful woman Kendra and you have personality traits that were not Shiera's that I was attracted too also. But Shiera is my love. So I think it's safe to assume you two think of each other as sisters in some way. To me that is fitting, and works. But it makes me the Husband and brother in law that dated you both, I would guess. So it's probably best that I kept my distance for a bit. But you have my blessing and support though it may come through Shiera for the time being." He looks down, "Oliver, damn him, must be laughing his ass off at me somewhere."
Redtail keeps hers on, the visage very much like Hawkgirl's except for the lack of longer hair and the different colors between them. After he's finished, without interruption from her, she nods and mulls over much of it. "I'm not here to try to steal you from her, so that shouldn't be an issue. And I don't know if it's a sister thing or what. I think she sees herself as more of a mother in this setup. I'm not sure what I'm going to make of that yet." In ways she could use a mother type, in others..not so much. "But I get it better now and I'll try to stay out of your way unless we're all doing something or whatever. I don't know yet." She sniffs, shaking her head. "There's a lot of stuff we have to get used to. I'm glad you approve of it though, even if she twisted your arm behind you." Chances are there was some of that. Her head angles slightly in a silent question when Oliver lauging is brought up, something lost on her there. "Anyway, I'll find my own direction, however much that includes the two of you. I don't want us all to be strangers though."
Hawkman smiles, "I know and I didn't mean to imply. I just know my wife though the love of my life is jealous. So it is a thing I do for her." He frowns, "Though don't let her be your mother. I will deny saying that. You have your own mind and strengths. There be dragons that way."
Redtail snorts, definitely a bit of laughter slipping out. "I don't need a mother anyway." Probably a partial lie. "And I won't tell her, but I could tell she was jealous about something." It's a subject she allows to drop, turning to face the city below again. "It's hard to say how good this feels again. I had dreams about it, but the real thing is so much better."
Carter smiles, "It is my secret joy, to be in the air like this." He considers for a moment, "She's complicated, if you haven't figured that out yet." He says with a smile on his lips.
"I don't think I knew how much I missed it, no matter who was who before. It's still in me," Redtail answers, reaching to rub her forehead before bumping her hand against the helmet. It's pushed up just enough to get at the itch and she wears an amused expression. "Still gotta get used to this again, and so am I. We're women. That's the way it works."
Hawkman grins, "The helmet is a weapon and protection. It's not comfort." Carter pulling his helmet back down to conceal his face. His smile disappearing and returning to his frown. He looks at her, "I believe I've heard that before."
"And it looks freaking cool," Redtail adds, more of her amused expression visible before it comes back down to cover normally. Some seriousness takes over again as he replies to the part about them being complicated, then she changes the subject. "We should all train together once in a while. Maybe I'll pick up a few tricks." Or remember certain things.
Hawkman nods, "Perhaps. We should. If Hawkgirl agrees." He says after a moment, "But I have a feeling you know much already." He hmms, "Do you have the ability to see far off yet?"
Redtail sniffs. "I think she's probably already making plans," she points out, then she glances toward the man as her wings move in place. Not needed, but it looks good. "I can see pretty far," she determines.
Hawkman nods, "She probably is and it's best to let her think it's her idea completely." He says with a wan smile. He considers for a moment, "Have you considered reaching out to some of the younger teams? You ask if you should report in? There are some of the teams with heroes closer to be college students than me or the other old timers."
Redtail merely nods without a word to letting Hawkgirl think something's her own idea. "I hadn't got that far yet," she admits. "I've met a couple people who are with the groups, one of the Titans at least, but we didn't really talk about me doing this stuff. I didn't make up my mind about it until the other day."
Carter nods, "You don't have to talk to them about this. Maybe just somebody who knows a bit of what you're going through. Somebody that can listen. It's good to have friends or that's what Shiera and you both have told me."
Redtail could read into this things that may or may not be true, dealing mainly with thoughts of getting her to spend more time around others. Thing is, establishing herself with others closer to her age /is/ a good idea. "I'll see where it goes," she replies with a nod, finding herself unable to say much more than that. She does appear thoughtful though, as much as one can with half the face behind a mask. "There's a lot to think about."
Hawkman chuckles, "It is. Then again there is a time for action and not thought." He extends his wings, "Take care Kendra." Then he turns diving off into the artificial canyons.