1230/Sittin' on the Tower by the Bay

Sittin' on the Tower by the Bay
Date of Scene:	18 April 2020
Location:	Roof - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Names and histories can be difficult sometimes.
Cast of Characters:	Kian, Naomi McDuffie

---

Kian has posed:
    Kían has had a pleasant flight.  They usually are—out over the ocean, or even sometimes the glass canyons of downtown Metropolis.  The winds there are unbelievable.  He saves those flights for after dark, though.  He still worries about too many people seeing him, an instinct he picked up during his brief tenure at Happy Harbor.
    Up here on the roof—who cares?  it's not home, but it has a similar feel to the upper level of his own home.  Except for the pool, he didn't have one of those.
    He sits on the edge of the shallow end, dangling his feet in the water, picking at some trivial imperfection in one of his sandals.  If not exactly at peace with himself, he's found a welcome moment of calm.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    "WOOOHOO!"  She really loves opening up at full speed high above things.  She usually keeps high up enough to make it so she doesn't bother too many people and she just cut through the clouds at over Mach 5 before finally slowing and turning back for the tower.  The sound of the air cracking can be heard from high above as the light of Naomi flies in and she spins around once in the air before she flailingly lands carefully on the roof and smiles.  "Wooo."  She adds and laughs a little as she lands on her feet rather than on her face.  She has gotten good at that.  Her turning isn't great yet but her landings are much improved.  She then looks around and blinks.
    "Oh, hey, Kian!"  She waves her hand and starts over to him and smiles as she does.  "Having a good day?" she asks of him even as her glow seems to dampen down to the point where the only light shining off of her is from lights reflecting off her armor.

Kian has posed:
    Maybe the little birdman is getting used to this place; maybe he saw and heard Naomi.  Either way, Kían just turns and waves, rather than the nervous start he so often has greeted people with.  "Ai, kié En.  I am… well," he says.  Slow but noticeable improvements every day.  "How iss?  Hyu are flyed, yis?"  Of course, still room for a few more….

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    "I am doing pretty good.  I just got to open up at full speed."  She nods her head.  "It's very refreshing."  She then settles down next to him.  Her costume, which leaves her feet mostly bare is something she always found interesting about herself.  She often wonders if it was a thing about where she came from, a thing about where her powers came from, or if she wanted to look like this.  She never fully understood it.  She settles in next to Kian either way and nods to him before she looks forward and lets out a sigh.  "It's Naomi, by the way."  She looks over at him and she idly offers her hand to him.

Kian has posed:
    "I am thought hyu name iss En?" Kían asks in mild confusion, and looks at her hand.  "Hyu haf say, hyu no wan' min'd touch.  If touch han', can not not min'd touch.  I am res-pec' hyu min-d."
    He thinks a moment.  "Ne-ó-mi," he tries.  Not bad for a first effort.  "If hyu name iss Neóni, hwy hyu say iss En?  I am not un'er's'tan.  I am Kían, am haf only Kían for name.  Before I'takár am Ta'Kái'Erýn, Two of Kái an' Erýn.  Am take Kían as name at I'takár.  Am haf only one name."

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A sigh and then she looks down.  "You see, I am not supposed to show my powers."  She shakes her head.  "I am not supposed to show off who I am so… I gave you just the first letter."  She offers her hand again and nods to it, "I think we have been through enough that I trust you."  She nods her head to Kian.

Kian has posed:
    "Iss hyu also f-rom the s-chool?" Kían asks mildly.  "Mus' be not see, hwen I there.  Iss hwy I am now here.  I am can fly any ever, am can see others here, not stay apar'."
    He concentrates a second or two, then gingerly takes Naomi's hand.  There is no obvious mental contact, save for a feeling of friendship, curiosity, a little bafflement, that seems to 'feel'—for lack of a word in English—like it's the birdman's.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A blink and she shivers a little.  That was a new feeling.  She wasn't used to that but she is able to maintain things as well as get used to that new feeling.  Either way, she smiles at him and then looks around briefly, not really sure at all how this works.  She considers for a moment before thinking, <Hello… is this on?>  She asks and seems rather unsure.

Kian has posed:
    {You… don't mind?} Kían asks, sliding effortlessly into full mental contact.  {I've convinced myself to avoid it as much as possible, so I can learn Ing-lis more quickly… but Gods and Goddesses, it simplifies things so much.}  His mental 'voice' is really not much different from his speaking voice—although much less hesitant, much more fluent, able to deal with concepts directly rather than the artifice of words.  {Just think clearly what you want to say to me.  I won't 'hear' anything more than your conscious surface thoughts.  I wouldn't dare dig deeper, couldn't without your permission and your coöperation.}  Something in the birdman's body language relaxes.  English has been a painful wall to climb, it's nice to use a gate through it sometimes.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A smile and she nods to him as she hears him, seeming to blink at how fluent he sounds.  Part of her seems confused a little at how this whole thing works.  He can speak English just fine.  From her point of view now.  Still, she doesn't wanna judge.  <I see.  I just, I don't mind I guess.  I mean, we did almost die together.  What I was trying to say is I don't have a codename to hide my identity so I gave you N when we first met.  My real name is Naomi.>  She nods her head.  <I don't even normally look like this but I think you saw that.>

Kian has posed:
    {So many things I don't understand,} Kían replies, amused.  {Well, Gar changes bodies and so does Téri, why not you as well?  Me, I'm always like this, or I'm like this and glowing.  But I don't understand this code name thing.  I mean, how could I be anyone other than Kían, for example?}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    <It is not about being someone else.>  She shakes her head with a smile.  <It is about hiding who you are so those that you know aren't hurt by your actions.>  She then nods her head.  <I didn't know you or anyone else so I was not sure of what I could or should say.>  She nods her head and then looks forward.  <Now I know you.>

Kian has posed:
    {The only people I know are here, or at the school—and really, only the headmistress and Colette there,} Kían replies, {And I have no doubt that Headmistress Mo-ri-gan can take care of more than just herself, somehow.  For that matter, virtually no one knows I was even at that school, however briefly.  Well, Captain Marvel, but again, I have no doubts about her ability to take care of herself.}
    Kían pauses a moment, musing.  {And besides, aren't we using our rhy'thar'yw to do good?  Why should you want to conceal who you really are?}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A smile and then the girl chuckles, <Well, my mother, as an example, has no powers.  She could not take care of herself.>  She then looks over at him.  <And what about those we stop?> she asks and looks at him with a nod.  <The ones that we stop in order so that good can prevail.  Villains.>  She looks at him carefully.  <Do you think they will leave my mother alone if they knew about her and hated me?>

Kian has posed:
    Complete incomprehension.  {What's a 'vil-lan'?} Kían asks, more than a little wide-eyed.  {I have a sense that it means someone who does wrong deliberately, but that makes no sense whatsoever.  Why would anyone do that?  And why wouldn't they be cured of their antisocial behavior at the first opportunity?}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A smile and then a small laugh before she shakes her head before frowning and looking down.  "Villain."  She says it out loud before looking back to him.  <A villain is someone who does something wrong deliberately.  Not all of them will be cured.  Do you recall the large red man from inside of Raven's soul?  Do you think you could cure him of his antisocial behavior?>  She tilts her head and looks at Kian.  <There are those that simply refuse to change.>

Kian has posed:
    {What do their wants have to do with it, if they're broken inside?} Kían persists.  {If I were so badly damaged that I started using my rhy'thar to hurt others, I would have been sedated and the redactors would have fixed whatever was wrong with my brain.}  He 'sends that as though it were the most perfectly obvious thing.  {I don't know about that thing in Raven's mind.  I was in no way going to try to mind-touch it, him, directly.}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    <Not that simple here.  Who is to decide what part of their brain needs changing?  Who can do that?  We do not have enough telepaths here on Earth.>  She nods her head.  <It isn't something we can do.>  She shakes her head and then shrugs before looking at Kian more directly and then looking forward.  <My point is, we have people like that on Earth.  People who cannot be controlled so easily.  Like that being in Raven's mind.>

Kian has posed:
    Kían shudders; his wings spread and re-fold, the feathers bristling and then smoothing again.  {I'm sorry, I can't even conceive of that.  It just doesn't happen on our worlds.  It can't.}
    He sighs, sadly.  {This is because you don't have the mind gift, isn't it?  I guess it's just barely conceivable that if one couldn't feel the injury they caused, they might not care so much, but….}  He shudders again, and a mild wave of nausea rolls through him, echoing faintly through the mental link.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A blink and she lets go of his hand a moment.  She shifts slightly as she stares at him before she takes his hand again and then shakes her head.  <Sorry…I have not felt something like that before.  However, yes.  Without, as you call it, the mind gift, I'm not sure we can so easily fix things.>  She nods her head as she looks at the water a moment.

Kian has posed:
    {I need to apologize, not you.  I should have either maintained better control, or broken contact.  The mindtouch can be intimate.  I'm used to it, you're not.  I was just… not ready for that concept.}
    He shakes his head, almost as if to clear it.  {But that still doesn't explain why you would need a separate name.  I suppose I can see why a 'vil-lan' would use one, but why would I, or you?}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A frown and she looks at him before looking ahead.  <Well, now you know what a villain is and that they are here.>  She nods her head.  <So, then you would know that since people like that exist, what if they found out I was Naomi, find out that my mother has no powers even though I do, and finds out where my mother is.>  She looks at him and tilts her head.  <Knowing what you know of villains now.  Can you imagine what such a person might do to my mother if they were angry over me putting an end to something they wanted to do?>

Kian has posed:
    {No!} Kían 'says'.  {Why would someone try to hurt someone who hadn't injured them, rightly or wrongly?  I just… I can't… no.  That absolutely makes no sense, no.}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A frown and she looks down.  She really feels kinda like she's telling a little kid that Santa Claus isn't real or something.  She shifts a little and almost wants to let go and not be the one to burst that bubble but she looks up.  <Kian… I'm not from Earth.  Not this one anyway.>  She looks at him directly.  <The mother and father who raised me are not my real parents.>  She nods her head.  <My real parents were killed.  Protecting me.  From a villain.>  She looks down and closes her eyes.  <All because that man… that monster.>  She looks up at him with her eyes wet.  <Wanted to kill me.>

Kian has posed:
    Kían stiffens, shudders, and breaks contact.  "Can not un'er's'tan that… no.  Not un'er's'tan.  Iss not hap-pen, is no can hap-pen, iss no make sense."  Might've also made rabbit stew out of the Easter Bunny, as well as Kían seems to be taking this.  Evidently, these are things that are just completely out of his comprehension—completely, not just a little.
    He does not make contact again, just yet.  "Iss no hap-pen, where I f-rom," he finally stammers out, and his already tenuous grasp on English has suffered in direct proportion to his agitation.  "Iss no, can no hap-pen, where I f-rom."

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    Frowning, Naomi looks back forward and lets him pull away.  She closes her eyes deeply and then swallows.  She had never known her real parents but always wanted to know them.  Always wanted to know more.  When her father revealed her past and she touched the gift left to her by her mother… she got a full blast of her memories and a special recording left just for her.  She could feel her mother with her.  Feel her warmth and love and words… and then the deepened loss.
    Worse?  She had been to her homeworld and seen the devastation… and then uppercutted the bastard that did it.  Now… now she was always going to feel empty.  All that hope of finding out the truth, finding her real parents stolen from her.
    "I'm sorry, Kian."

Kian has posed:
    Kían looks up, bites his lower lip… and takes Naomi's hand again.  {I'm sorry too… for your loss, for causing you to think of that.  These things, they never happen among my people.  I can't… I….}
    He trails off unhappily, looking into the water.  {I'm sorry,} he repeats.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A blink as her hand is taken back and she sucks in a breath.  She almost wants to pull away.  She knows he said he couldn't go further into her mind but she feels vulnerable.  Up until about a month ago, she thought she had a past.  One she might go to at some point.  Parents who had reasons to give her up.  Hopefully good ones.  And then… in one fell swoop she found out she did and they did… and they were killed for it.  Because of her.  Because of Zambudo.  It was an open wound.
    She squeezes Kian's hand a little though and then says, <Don't worry, Kian.  I just…you needed to know why.  Why some may keep their mask on while here.>

Kian has posed:
    Wordlessly—and without any clear mental communication either—Kían extends a wing to wrap around Naomi's shoulders, and leans a little closer.  {Maybe we can both find some new family here,} he 'sends, trying—and failing—not to think of his own family, alive but location completely unknown to him, maybe not in this universe for all he knows.  {I can't pretend to understand any of this, but I will respect the privacy of your names.}
    He just sits there quietly for a moment, then adds, {Me, I can't ever be anyone other than Kían.  I swore myself to the Gods under that name.  I suppose you don't swear the same oaths on your coming of age here.}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A blink at the wing hug and then she looks at Kian with a smile before nodding.  <I am sure we will.  Luckily, I have foster parents who love me.>  Sure, one is an alien who saved her life when she was little but she didn't know that till recently.  She looks at the water again.  <Now I have them and I have you guys.  We're both lucky in a way.>  She nods her head.  <The people here seem pretty cool….> Well, she isn't sure about Raven.  She seems… cool.  Scary in a way but cool.

Kian has posed:
    {Very lucky,} Kían agrees.  {Very strange, but very lucky.  I should speak to Raven some time soon, now that you mention.  If she wants to talk to me.  She doesn't seem very social… but I still don't know what is and isn't normal behavior on this world anyway.}  Shrug.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    A laugh despite her still sad eyes and she looks to Kian with a smirk.  <There is no normal, Kian.>  She shakes her head.  <Trust me.>  She then tilts her head and considers.  <Have you ever considered learning English while simultaneously communicating like this?>

Kian has posed:
    "I am haf been lear'n like that also," Kían says aloud, although it mentally translates as a much clearer, {I've been doing that too.}  He laughs softly.  {It helps a lot, but it's such a strange language.  Your verbs do crazy things.  It's a work in progress, but I'm getting there.  Not really a lot of choice in the matter since no one here speaks my language, nor have I yet run into anyone with the mind gift.  Fortunately everyone's been really patient with me so far.  And I'm told that there are more languages than just Ing-lis on this world, which is completely baffling.}

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
    <A lot more languages.  Lucky for you, English is kinda the main one.>  She nods her head.  <So, learning it is a good thing.  Many people speak it here.>  She then looks forward before taking in a breath and slowing getting up to her feet and pulling away.  SHe breaks contact and says out loud, "I am tired, Kian."  She nods her head and yawns to follow that up.  "Too much power use."  She then nods.  "Going to go get food and go to sleep.  See you later, okay?" she asks and tilts her head, hoping he cuaght most of that.

Kian has posed:
    Kían carefully gets to his feet and bows.  "Neómi tavár'h… nnh.  F'ren'd Neómi, yis.  I am here, will see again.  "I am not say, hyu name 'Neómi', yis."  He nods once, apparently pleased with his ability to understand that Naomi must be her code name.
    Well, his English is a work in progress….