13743/Speed2Speed - First Contact!

Speed2Speed - First Contact!
Date of Scene:	04 January 2023
Location:	Midtown
Synopsis:	Carin meets Rave out on the street, the two bond a little and then pizza is promised!
Cast of Characters:	Carin Taylor, Naria Shepard

---

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Just another New York afternoon. The sky is grey, the snow has ceased for now, and Midtown is as crowded as ever. Not far from the Kord Co. building, a girl in a hoodie is jogging. Down the street she's going, well-worn shoes hitting concrete and crunching on rock salt. It's clear she's out for an afternoon of exercise in this cold because while her legs are held snug in some green capris that leave her ankles and parts of her calves bare, she's in a hoodie that's at least two sizes too big! It's black with a faded purple heart design on the chest.

    But other odd details are certainly easy to spot. Her skin is ivory white, what of her hands and legs are visible, and while the hood does a fantastic job of obscuring her head and face, vibrant red hair peeks out here and there, as well as sometimes her white nose and what looks to be... purple-painted lips?

Naria Shepard has posed:
Rave's got a new look...well, kinda. It was still being worked on, so for now she was once more in her hotpants and hoodie jacket of her own, but unlike Carin? Hers fit fine! One might think her mad to be dressed like this in this weather...but when you could be in the tropics in under a minute? Well, it made life easier.

A rush of blue light, like a comet streaking across the city...only this one was running across streets, rooftops, even up the sides of buildings only to materialize as Rave as she flung herself skywards to take a 'selfie' midair and inverted. It only lasted about a second, but that was a lifetime to her!

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Crunch crunch crunch~ Carin sets a good pace for a non-augmented jogger, to be sure. But then. SKRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT! She skids to a halt and stares at the rush of light. Her green eyes go wide and she just watches. To the naked eye, of course, the streak of blue blur is just that, a streak of blue blur. But to Carin? Her hyper-focused reflexes lock on to Rave, her internal HUD marks and lighs and wreathes the neon speedster's form in a thin outline.

    And she just. Stares. Of course she's aware of other speedsters. But to see one like this? She'd only used her heightened perceptions to avoid punches and dodge bullets, but as the world slows to a nanosecond crawl around her, she watches Rave run, jump, and fly. There's enough room for a blink when Rave stops for that picture, but that's all. And Carin? Carin keeps watching. Rapt. Is that what she looks like, too, when she's running at speed? As if anyone could actually see her like that. "...w...whoa..."

Naria Shepard has posed:
Certainly, Rave was a very different sight compared to the Flash family. No costume, no lightning, just light and neon. A rainbow of joy and 'awesomeness' if one were to ask her. Finally though, she skids to a stop on one rooftop, coming to a rest with a stretch of her arms over her head in relief...and of course, to get a selfie from the lifted perspective of the city below.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    And perhaps, right in the corner of that selfie, is Carin, staring up at the rooftop. Her lily-white hands are stuffed into the pockets of her hoodie and her bright green eyes are cast skyward. Or, at least, skyline-ward. How could she not stare? Another girl, and so fast! And so bright! The neon hair of the other speedster is striking, as is her exuberance. The ivory redhead's own insecurities bubble up some. What's keeping her from being like that? Lots of things, really.

    A small lump forms in her throat and her mouth feels dry, but she doesn't stop staring.

Naria Shepard has posed:
Oh huh! Rave pauses, as close to normal speed as one had seen her. She looks in, peering at the screen and then finally squinting for a moment before looking lover her shoulder down at the pale redhead. Those glowing eyes seem to spot her readily, a curious tilt of her head.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    While Carin's own eyes don't glow, they certainly widen. The light hits the hoodie just right from Rave's perspective to make her face easier to see. That white skin. That green lightning bolt tattoo adorning literally half of her face. And. What seems to be a ... really nice makeup job that gives her purple lipstick and some green-tinted eyeshadow. All to compliment her eyes and that shock of red hair under the hoodie. There's obviously something... off about her.

    But when she meets Rave's glowing blues, she freezes before nervously turning her head away and starting to walk down the street in the direction she was already headed, shoulders hunched up and pretending nothing happened.

Naria Shepard has posed:
There was -a- warning. Kinda.

A rush of air, a little flash of neon light and a trail left in her wake.

"Heya!" she offers simply, announcing herself as she leans in, her bright locks glowing even in the daylight. "You were watching me...right?"

Carin Taylor has posed:
    The reaction time is... telling. The world moves in slow motion as Rave approaches, and Carin turns slightly on her heel. She might not be as lightspeed quick as the literal manifestation of light that the other woman is, but she moves. She puts a good six extra inches of space between the two of them, and might even lock eyes in that moment between the space of nanoseconds. And yet. And /yet/. The hoodie-wearing redhead seems reluctant to make eye contact now.

    "I. I. Yes...." she admits shyly.

Naria Shepard has posed:
Too quick to pretend otherwise, Rave clearly noted it. Grinning brightly, her glossed lips only remain in that smile as she leans back, clasping her hands behind her as she lets her head tilt to the other side.

"Huh...that's awesome!"

Well, she was pretty open! "Are you a speedster? A mutant...your hair is pretty awesome too!" Alright, so Rave -might- be a little on the hyper side, but then she'd been racing around the world and energized by enough light to basically be a living sugar rush so...

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Such a counter, such a contrast. The exuberant Rave and the withdrawn Velocity. Naria and Carin are two very, very different people!

    The redhead blinks up at Rave and tries to make herself smaller, peering out of her hoodie. "I. Um. No? Yes? B-both? I..." she trails off, pursing her lips and finally swallowing that lump. "I'm just Carin," she asserts with a shaky breath. Her pale cheeks take on a hint of a blush, though, as her bright red hair, stuffed into her hood as it is, ends up being complimented. That much isn't lost on her.

    "...d...do you think so?" she asks, finally drawing her hands out of her pockets and slowly pulling the hood back. Not enough to pull it /off/, so people can't see her vibrant crimson locks from behind, but enough for Rave to get a better look at her hair and face.

Naria Shepard has posed:
"Mhmm!" Rave offers lightly, grinning lightly as she looks at the pale girl who had the red to her blue...but with a little less glow. "I'm Rave by the way! It's a pleasure to meet you...?" she begins, trailing off to let the other woman give her name before offering her hand out for a shake.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Rave? Carin. Carin? Rave. She looks at the offered hand, and after a long, long, long moment of hesitation, finally reaches out to take it. She's not very strong, it seems like, but her shake does come with enough firmness to register. "...ah... nice... to meet you too. You. You move.. really... really fast.. I.. almost couldn't keep track..." she admits, letting it be known that she could indeed keep a bead on the blue-haired beauty.

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I do!" she exclaims lightly, handshake exchanged. Rave wasn't offering any superstrength of her own either, just a little tingly aura of excess energy before she releases the other hand. "That's about as safe as I can move around the city without breaking things...people get a little mad if you shatter every window in a block."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Carin blinks and re-adjusts her hood to cover herself more. But. She laughs. The older teen that she is, her voice is still a little girlish. But she laughs. "Y-yeah, I uh. I don't. Go very fast, in ... the grand scheme... I can really hurt people or do a lot of damage if I do..." she says quietly. "Still. You're very fast. And. So bright, too!" She bites her lower lip, debating on whether or not to process the next though verbally.

    She pulls the trigger on it, though. "...and so happy...!"

Naria Shepard has posed:
"I mean, I wouldn't be the most exciting 'Rave' if I was miserable, right?" she questions lightly before coming about to twirl a little on the spot. "I'm a living neon rainbow of awesome so...yeah. Sometimes that makes it a little bit easier!"

A beat, she leans forwards, meeting the other girl's eyes if they were to drop while still grinning. "So...how fast can you go? Wanna show me?"

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "I.. I guess.. is.. that your real name?" she asks, hesitantly. She isn't trying to pry. She's staying quiet. In fact, she's been inching towards the nearest wall to be sure she's out of the way of pedestrian traffic. Wouldn't want to get bumped into or anything! She'd be a waifish thing if not for her toned legs and... well, the rest of her body has been devoured by her hoodie.

    "Huh? Show you?" she seems taken aback. Then, simply, she shakes her head. "I can't." It's not a refusal in terms of she isn't fast. It's. "...my clothes..." she nods down at herself. "...wouldn't... survive... and..." She hugs her arms against her chest some. "...I like this hoodie."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"It's the name that's me!" Rave offers in return to the question of her name, moving parallel to the 'waif' in the hoodie before giving a little laugh at the mention of the clothing and giving a little nod.

"Oh! I get it. I did that to myself once or twice when my powers first appeared. Nothing like zooming across the country almost naked and slightly on fire."

She was probably joking, right?

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Given that Carin knows her own powers, and abilities, she just nods solemnly. She doesn't think Rave is joking. "Y-yeah. It's. It's not fun. I mean. It. Won't hurt me to do it. But... um... I don't..." she hugs her hoodie a little more snug around herself. "...I'd rather not draw so much attention to it..." she sighs.

    Then she peeks up at Rave again, "I... think last clock... was mach 3? I'm sure I can go faster but I don't think my body would hold up to it, and I wouldn't want to break anything or hurt anyone..." she loosens her self-grip and looks at her pale hands. "As. Reinforced as I am."

    It sounds very much like Carin doesn't have anything like the Speed Force or Rave's hardlight sheath to protect herself at top speed.

Naria Shepard has posed:
It was....likely a maddening equation that best explained how Rave did what she did...or perhaps ti simply gave physics a middle finger. Still she does nod her head, biting her lip in thought. "No speed then, at least not top speed...but I was going to go get a pizza a few blocks over. Wanna join me? My treat! All it'll cost you is letting me take a picture with you!"

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "I mean. It takes time to cook, right?" Carin asks, biting her lower lip again. It's ruining the pretty purple lipstick that Bailey had applied for her. Oops. She's self conscious of that now, and rubs her lips together, which... saves it a little bit. But not by much. "..I..." she seems lost in thought and then.. she smiles. She smiles at Rave and nods. "...I'd like that. Yes, please. Just. Um..." she rubs the back of her head through her hood.

    "...you aren't... planning on.. posting that on social media... are you?" she asks, sounding a little scared.

Naria Shepard has posed:
A blink, a tilt of her head...as if the idea of fear at posting something on her feed could bring fear was completely new to her. Strange for the girl on the 'hero feed' and member of the Birds. A little shift, she lifts her hands. "Oh uh...I don't have to if you don't want me to!"

Carin Taylor has posed:
    There's a look of relief, and then her expression turns to one that's apologetic. "S-sorry, sorry... I just..." she looks down, stuffing her hands in her pockets again. "...I... nobody... looks like me... and... there's people after me... and have been..." she almost mumbles. Then she's back to looking up at Rave, an almost pleading expression. "I don't want them to find me. Or. Hurt people around me. Is... is that okay? If.. um. You want to get pizza without me... I can.. finish my run and ... maybe see you some other time..."

Naria Shepard has posed:
"Just Pizza, no photos!" Rave offers, even making a 'cross my heart' gesture to punctuate herself before she grins. "In fact, can you climb or run up buildings? Otherwise like...take an elevator! If you want to go up there, to that rooftop you saw me on? I'll pick up the food and meet you there."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "I mean... you can take a picture...!" she blurts out, blushing. "J-just... just don't share it..." she bites her lip again. "...I can take a picture of us, too! Then... we can ... be friends...?" she asks. "...I've never met another... fast mover before..." she says, Carin feeling a bit shy now. Then she glances back up towards the rooftop. "Oh! Sure. I can wait up there? Maybe. Maybe later. We can. Run? I Have a suit that... I can put on..." she explains.

Naria Shepard has posed:
A suit! Interesting! Rave herself was working on finally getting one of those. Sure Helena had helped her out with something once, but it had been more 'defensive and tactical' than built for hitting Mach 20. She still kept it in her closet though, just in case!

"Absolutely!" she offers before grinning. "I ordered while I was running so...it should be ready for pickup."

One last grin and she points towards herself. "I'll be back in a heartbeat!"

And with that, she was gone...but knowing Rave? It was probably literal!