Robin's Egg

Clowning Egground

When they weren't trying to hook him or one of his brothers up with their daughter, they were trying desperately to get Bruce's attention for one inane thing or another. So it was surprising to see the normally bright-colored couple wearing the shades and style that their daughter would while standing off to the side trying not to get attention. "...do you want me to go talk to them?" Damian asked ignoring the flicker of surprise that came from Danny. To be honest? He really didn't want to but if this provided the ghost closure in some way then he wasn't going to deny him that.

I... I don't... Danny stumbled over his words as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind when they came to the gala. He was just supposed to keep Damian entertained while pranking some of the rich jerks that weren't on the nice side of things. Then form in front of Damian's family after the party was over. Thinking Sam's parents would attend hadn't crossed his mind. He hadn't seen them since before the explosion. They had been on a rocky truce with them since he did care for Sam and had proved it by protecting her one time and they saw it. They didn't necessarily like him but he was tolerated instead of despised. Which was an improvement! But he had been away from Amity Park for almost a year. A lot changes in a year. They were the first Amity Parkers he had seen since he awoke and there was a deep ache in his core in wanting to see if they were all right. Not that he could really do much for them right now. You know what...? Why not? It would be nice to learn what happened to the town in my absence.

With Danny's approval, Damian took the first available moment to slip away while his Father was distracted. He weaved his way expertly through the crowd of people until he stood not far from the Mansons' who were still in grieving if the way they were dressed and their expressions was anything to go by. Now... how did he start a conversation without making it awkward or worse by mentioning their daughter?

However, he was saved from having to do that when Mrs. Manson went to grab something from her clutch and noticed him. "Oh my! If it isn't Damian Wayne. It's positively lovely to see you again." All of the sorrow that she held on her face was replaced with a carefully masked smile that only an elite socialite could create so fast. Yet just because she could hide the emotion on her face, she couldn't hide the emotion in her eyes. The sorrow was there within them. Carefully tucked away to process in a place that wasn't out in public. "It's been a long while since you have attended one of these."

"Yes... I may have gotten into some trouble a while ago that I am still trying to make amends for." Damian replied more to keep the conversation going than to spare the woman's feelings.

"Kids will be kids, eh?" Mrs. Manson's smile turned kind as her eyes began to water. "How have your endeavors to help animals come along? When I last heard, you were volunteering in shelters and the like."

The sadness that Danny felt calmed as they carried on. Just hearing the parents' of one of his closest friends seemed to help soothe a pain that was deep within him. The conversation continued along these lines until Damian brought up some of the wildlife charities that he personally founded and funded. The Mansons' shared a look before letting their smiles turn solemn. "Actually... that is why we are here. You see... our daughter was involved in an accident about a year ago. She didn't survive." Mrs. Manson's voice choked for a moment but she powered through and continued on. "As we were going through her things... we found plans that she wanted to enact when she was older. Sam was always a strong, bold girl. She was always fighting to save the planet one way or another... Oh... we knew that once she got older, she was going to take the world by storm." Her voice failed and Mr. Manson picked up where she left off.

"We came to this gala in hopes of finding investors to help start up some of the charities and programs that she came up with. Most of them were absolutely brilliant and even though she isn't here anymore to fight..." Now it was Mr. Manson's turn to take a moment before he could continue speaking. "We wanted her dreams to live on though but when we arrived..."