Helena would usually only go out at night. The only times she went out, was if she were living in the country, and even then, she liked the night better. She loved the night, especially if there was a full moon out. Well, she always thought, cats do hunt better during the night. At least, her mother used to, as well. Not that she went after the usual prey. Only very special prey, Helena smiled to herself. Despite everything, she had always been proud of her mother. Selina had always shared her days or years rather as Catwoman with her. Helana always found it fascinating. As a child, she would fantasize and wonder if she would ever steal herself. And after all, weren't jewels and other valuable special? It probably was just as much fun and exciting, as any critter her pet cats liked to hunt, could be. Definitely exciting, she thought. But Selina had always told her, as well, that stealing was wrong, although she would add that 'desperate times did call for desperate measures'.
And she would always make sure Helena never had any need to steal, as well. For anything. Whether it was out of greed, for her own personal gain, or even to save wildlife, or homeless animals, she would always, her mother assured her, have plenty of money for anything she wanted.
Now, she pushed a stroller, with two of her cats in it. After all, it was highly unlikely that the vet would see them later than perhaps five in the evening. And the morning was a bit pleasant, she thought. For a city, anyway. Though she wished she could acclimatize to the noise. It was nothing like the sounds of a field. So many people, too.
Terry spotted Helena. It could only be her. She was dressed very differently, of course, but in clothes like he'd never seen anyone wear. Her skirt reached almost to her ankles, her sleeves to her wrists, and she wore gloves. He figured those must be clothes she had been required to wear in the cold weather of European winters.
Helena looked surprised at him, as he said hello. She didn't really expect anyone to speak to her. Usually she would just ignore them or say she was in a hurry, not caring if she seemed rude. Somehow, to her surprise, for some reason, she didn't this time. She stopped, and greeted him.
"Are you sightseeing?"he asked. "What do you think of Gotham so far?"
"No, I'm going to the vet, and I think this city looks very…dismal. Soulless, if you know what I mean. At least compared to other places I've seen. This is very…"she struggled trying to find the right word. "It's depressing."she finished in Portugese.
He looked puzzled. Terry wished he could understand some of the languages she spoke. He could learn to speak any language other than English, he'd never thought about it before. It would help him understand her better, he was sure.
"Why do you think it's depressing? I've never thought it was. Maybe I could show you around."
Helena looked away.
"In a way,"she answered. "it's odd. I didn't think I would see you again. And so soon. Or maybe not ever."she slowly.
"Why did you think that?"
She stared.
"Why would I?"she seemed to ask herself. "Why would I indeed? You have a hard time finding people especially among such crowds of them. Yet I find one I met only the night before."
She looked lost in thought as she stared at him.
"I don't think my mother approved of you. I overheard that much. I don't seem to mind much, though."she added sounding surprised.
"Your mother's very overprotective?"he asked, but he didn't want to know about her mother, he wanted to know about her. "That must make things difficult."
"Why difficult?"
"Well, it would make it hard to meet new people."
"Why would I do want to do that?"she asked.
"To…make friends?"
She looked genuinely surprised.
"Mmm. Friends."she sounded amused, as her hand lowered, and one of the cats went towards it, as if to rub against it. "Friends."she repeated with contempt.
Terry guessed she probably had never had many friends, if her mother kept her so sheltered, and she never stayed in one place for long. Before he could say another word, she spoke again.
"I guess you must have them."she said, more to herself, than to him. "I'm not interested in your acquaintances."she added harshly. "You were…"she stopped.
She seemed at a loss for words. Terry remembered she had mentioned that English wasn't one of her best languages. She seemed to be observing him carefully. He noticed she didn't see to blink.
"So, if you don't have a lot of friends, what do you do with your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?"he asked.
"Several."
"Like?"
"Why would you want to know?"she sounded suspicious.
"Uh, out of curiosity."
"And why would you be curious about me? There's nothing about me."
"I'm sure-"
"I'm sure you…"she hesitated, interrupting him. "You have worked for, um, for quite some time."she finished.
Terry noticed her hands seemed to stiffen, and for the first time he noticed a faint show of interest in her eyes. He guessed she must be just as interested in her father, as he was about her.
"Yeah. I didn't know he had a daughter, though."
"I don't think anyone does, actually, except for him, my mother, me, and Maven. Gloria doesn't, either. He…isn't the type of…person to get married. I guess he never wanted to marry."she didn't look as though the idea bothered her at all. "But Mom would tell me."she added. "I would see him in pictures. She wanted to me to, um, meet him."
"That won't be hard to do. You can always find him at the house, that's for sure."Terry told her.
"Yes. I know."
"So, do you enjoy traveling?"Terry asked, changing the subject.
She didn't answer his question, but looked at her watch.
"I'll be late for the appointment, so I have to go."she said, turning.
"I'll come with you."he offered.
She stopped.
"Why would you do that?"she asked.
"Because I'd like to get to know you better."
Helena looked bewildered.
"Why?"
