Aternaville's nighttime protectors

[futureinmotion]

Who: Alice Cullen, Carrot Ironfoundersson, and Tim Drake
What: Orchestrating a chance encounter
Where:
When: Tuesday evening, March 13
Why: Because Alice likes to keep tabs on her friends
Rating: G? PG?

Comments

[emit_dark]

It was the first evening where the unexpected warmth of the day lingered well after sundown. The days were getting longer, and Tim welcomed it in what Dick had assured him was the time-honored traditional of all Bats and Birds--a little bus-surfing followed by a glide around town. The adjustments The Master had made to his cape were perfect, and he'd been using it almost very night

[futureinmotion]

Alice smiled to herself. She'd wondered how Tim would approach them, since she might know about his dual identities but Carrot didn't. Of course, no sooner had she wondered than she'd known, but even so. How had he gotten changed so fast?

"Hello, Tim! No, of course not. I was just chatting with Carrot. Have you met Tim Drake, Carrot?" Alice slung an arm around the boy's shoulders, turning to look up at a man who made both of them look like dolls. But if his stature was intimidating, his face was nothing but open and friendly. "Tim, this is Carrot Ironfoundersson. You've probably seen him, he's with the police. I've just been hearing all about the world he comes from. Different doesn't begin to cover it!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Carrot said sincerely, touching his helmet with a respectful nod. "I'm sorry we haven't had the opportunity to become acquainted before."

[emit_dark]

"Eh, don't worry about it, I'm in school most of the day anyway and..oh.." Suddenly Tim remembered something about an informal curfew being suggested by the head of the Night Watch in a post on the town forums. A lot of the local parents had been enforcing it on their own anyway, with the monster attacks still happening. All told, he was the only minor on the street at the moment, and the blunder made him wince a little.

'Rookie mistake, Kiddo.' Dick's voice sounded in his head. More and more often he'd been hearing the former Robin as opposed to his mentor.

"Er, I'm not gonna get in trouble, am I, for being out?" Though the police were unlikely to inforce something so informal, Carrot always seemed so up-standing when he saw him on the beat, it was hard for him to gauge. "I know I shouldn't be, with the monsters and all but it was just such a nice day I forgot."

'Play innocent, that always gets them.'The entire time, Tim hadn't really been looking at anything but Carrot's sword where it hung at his hip. Unlike a lot of little

[cptn_carrot]

"No, no trouble, lad," Carrot assured him. "Although it isn't really a good idea for anyone to be out alone at night presently. These monster attacks may be rare, but they're not gone. Does your guardian know you're out?" It wasn't an accusation, but rather a solicitous inquiry. He thought that Tim Drake was the friend of Alba's that the Baron had mentioned, though Balaz hadn't mentioned who Tim's guardian was. Either way, Carrot didn't want to see any harm come to him.

"It's all right," Alice put in, amusement glinting in her light brown eyes. "Tim's always got someone watching out for him." It was an innocuous enough statement and clearly Carrot didn't pick up anything else from it.

"Still. I hope you'll let me walk you home. I'm certain you would be fine, but it would make me feel better."