I Do Not own Any of the Characters, except for Kestrel. :D Enjoy

It was a day of contradictions in Gotham. It was as if Mother Nature had failed to decide whether she wanted it rain or not. There was an overall fogginess that seemed to permeate the air and yet some assimilation of the sun still reflected against the glass windows of the skyscrapers that rose out of the ground like metal blades of grass. It was humid out and yet whenever the wind blew there was a certain chill in the air.

Kes walked slowly from her apartment to her job as a paid intern at the world renouned Excell Fashion House. She'd been with the place for only a couple of months, but with her keen eye for textures and colors, she had quickly become an asset to the well-established company. Currently, the company was prepping for a fashion show that would happen in a couple weeks as well as black tie event heldby someone of the Gotham Elite. Normally, Mr. Wayne would have sent for one of the interns, preferably pretty, to come by his house to get his measurements (all of them), for a later fitting (in both senses of the word).

Curiously enough, Bruce Wayne became a recluse, around the same time the Batman went underground. Kes supposed that it was because he had finally gotten sick of the madness that was Gotham.

Gotham.

It was an interesting city to say the least, Kes mused, and it certainly took a certain person to thrive within such a city. She herself had lived down south in Florida before leaving home at the age of 16 to travel around the world before settling in Turkey. There was a magic in the country where the old mixed with the new, where one could walk amongst the past and still step in the present.

She loved the music and the driving rhythm of the drums and the delicate plucking of the lute, but most of all, she loved the dance. Kes found herself taking belly dance classes from Amulya, who was much sought after dancer for weddings and other celebrations. Amulya taught her the basics, instructing her on proper hand and foot placement, and then, seeing Kes's willingness to learn, decided to take her under her wing as per protégé.

Along with learning to dance, Kes learned how to play the instruments that would accompany a bellydaner since it was customary for a troupe to play for another. She also learned how to make bedlahs, or costumes, and that is where she found that she had an eye for design. Beautiful pieces of reds, greens, and blues would blossom from her finger tips, each and every one a unique piece of art in and of itself. Her reputation spread about her elaborate costumes and soon she became a well sought after artist in her own right, although she was very selective with whom she sold her pieces to. It wasn't greed that kept her from selling them, she only accepted the amount it was worth, even if people insisted on trying to pay twice or trice the value. It was more of fact that she wanted her pieces to go to people who would really appreciate the beauty and the culture that went along with them, as she did.

She spent 4 years in Turkey, learning and growing in her craft, before she felt restlessness stir in her soul once more. Kes had a wandering spirit, as her mother did before her. So, after having a long talk with her teacher, in which they both cried and recounted memories, she sold most of her costumes for a plane ticket and found herself on the road once again.

This time, she returned to her roots in Santa Prisca and stayed with her grandmother in the slums working two jobs, one as a maid during the day and a bartender at night. She connected to her islands roots that she was denied as a child and learned to appreciate life with very little. Kes learned to tailor clothes and to reshape old, used clothes, and transform them into something that was wearable again, fashionable even. One of the designers from Excell Fashion House stopped by her stall at the Saturday market where Kes sold and traded her designs. The designer was impressed at her creativity and meticulous hemlines. She insisted that Kes gather together a portfolio at once at send it to their headquarters in Gotham City. Kes agreed and that's how she found herself in the city walking to her job clutching a cup of coffee, huddled in a mustard tweed coat on a day that was full of contradictions.