<div class="floatleft">(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTIzOGEzYzQtMzVkYy00Y2JiLThmZDUtODFkODJjNmUxZGM3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTYwOTMwNjk@._V1_.jpg)</div><strong>NAME:</strong>Helena: Huntress<br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>Loose fitted, cream cotton shirt, warm grey leggings (https://i.pinimg.com/236x/dd/bc/35/ddbc35e511857f0ae8fa6fc922d58b30.jpg)<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>Saturday, August 22<br/><strong>TIME:</strong>About 8:00 PM<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>Brion and Helena’s shared room<br/><strong>CONTENT:</strong>Girlfriend materiel in the making<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Brion; Closed<br/><hr/><em><strong>“I was pretty sure that Batman and Black Lightning chose wrong when they took me in and wanted to train me. I wanted to rage out but it would be rude to destroy the Batcave."</strong></em>Helena chuckled at the thought of Brion closing the earth around the million-dollar Batcave in an extreme tantrum and nodded against his skin.<br/><br/>“Yes, I would imagine that being incredibly rude to your poor host.” The story of Terra broke her heart as there had been fewer things in the world she had wished for growing up then a sibling to share her family’s pain with. She would have been obsessed over her younger brother or sister; it must have been a dark day in Brion’s life to cross her out from his, and Helena smoothed her hands across his hard abdomen in mild comfort of his grief.<br/><br/><em><strong>“I remember walking out in Gotham hoping to find someone to hit...to punish for my situation. I wanted to find a meta and do battle. I was feeling very reckless at that time."</strong></em>A feeling Helena knew all too well. She also learned many nights that when you went out looking for a fight, more often than not you got exactly that. She wanted to ask so badly -what- exactly led to his exile, and by<em>whom</em>? But she didn’t want him to share past his desired level, not on the first date at least.<em><strong>“I thought it was all grand gestures and smashing evil. She just wanted to save a kitten."</strong></em>His hand cupped the side of her hip and his fingers caressed the curve gently, almost absentmindedly. It appeared Brion was just as sensory-obsessed as she was.<em><strong>"How about you? You keep fighting the fight. You keep teaching children. What drives Helena? I get what drives the Huntress."</strong></em><br/><br/>She contemplated that answer for a bit before responding. “You know, some days I can hardly tell the difference between the two. It’s as though when I’m in the classroom my mind is as Huntress, and when the mask is on, my mind is Helena. It’s a fight to go back everyday and teach while it’s a fight to put on the cape. It seems like everything is a struggle, more and more, to figure out how to put that balance in a healthy headspace. I’m worried I’ll never be able to do it....”<br/><br/>She paused before continuing. “Growing up as the only child of Guido Bertinelli I was the full focus of his tyrannical abuse. I learned at a young age how to behave: chin up....eyes narrowed, shoulders back, if he detected any amount of weakness he would fish it out with pain. I remember so many of his harsh lessons when I came back from boarding school in the summer. Like, one time he took me to an execution of someone who was caught stealing from him when one of my best friends stopped hanging out with me. I guess the lesson that night was loyalty? It was so dark, Brion. And cold. I remember the cold but I shivered for every other reason. He lifted the hood on the man and he just.....he.....just pulled the trigger. I was nine. My life was full of violence and yet we would go to church every Sunday and pray and confess and everything seemed ‘forgiven’. And then the cycle continued Monday through Saturday.” She sighed as her story changed directions.<br/><br/>“Those children I teach, a lot of them come from some pretty shitty households. A few of them confide in me and I try to help them in any way I can. I let them know I understand to a degree of what they are going through, and they can trust me to tell me anything. I’ve helped young girl’s through their pregnancies, making sure they continue their education, I’ve helped young boys avoid the gang’s recruitment opportunities. I volunteer in any way I can, feeding those too sick to work, paying for those who couldn’t afford their electric bill that month and their heat getting turned off. I inherited my parent’s wealth and sold a few properties in Sicily. I don’t<em>have</em>to work, but focusing on other’s pain balances out my own, you know? I guess that’s why I stopped fighting you when you drove me here.”<br/><br/>“I hoped I made a difference in those people’s lives, and I know I can make an even bigger difference here in the Justice League, but....people still need those little things. Maybe I’ll open a community center one day, a safe place for people to heal, get a hot meal, and get a few problems solved.” Helena hugged Brion closer then, her left knee bending to slide over his thighs. “I know I<em>barely</em>survived my own pain, and by luck it made me stronger for it, brought out the Huntress. I try to do everything I can to help those young ones I teach to do the same; life sucks sometimes, but be stubborn enough to get through it.”<br/><br/>She grinned at that conclusion as she tilted her chin upwards and kissed Brion’s neck very gently. Helena pressed her lips there and held for a couple consecutive seconds before returning her cheek back on his chest.<br/><br/>“So Damian kicked my ass with swords this morning,” she began mildly playfully, completely switching the gears of the conversation to a lighter fare. “I beat him quite well at grappling, but....I<em>may</em>need a few of those fencing lessons you mentioned earlier....”