15330/Those White Sandy Beaches

Those White Sandy Beaches
Date of Scene:	07 July 2023
Location:	Hera's Haven Taverna
Synopsis:	Caitlin takes Kara to visit Themyscira.
Cast of Characters:	Caitlin Fairchild, Kara Danvers

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Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's visit to Themyscira was done with largely practical intent. The redhead was struggling with her suture techniques and decided to visit Eponia, who learned the technique from Chiron himself. Three thousand years of stitching up battlefield wounds had certainly made her THE expert at the task.

But it's not all for work, and with Kara along, a short break to Be Social was certainly warranted. After the Invisible Plane had landed and the women disembarked, they visited one of the nicer taverns in the city.

"I am -famished-," Caitlin tells Kara as they walk in. She had changed into a linen tunic and sandals the moment they landed. The balmy temperatures of the Aegean makes lighter garments a necessity for the redheaded powerhouse. "They do really good mouskatta here. Not a whole lot of red meat on the island, mostly ham and sheep," she cautions Kara. Caitlin selects a table and sits down, tucking her skirt behind her legs while she does. The redhead maneuvers carefully so she doesn't upset the table with her knee. "And fish, of course," she amends a beat later. There are menus on the table and she picks one up to examine. Naturally, it's written entirely in Ancient Greek.

Kara Danvers has posed:
There are few bad reasons to go to Themyscira and it doesn't take any great effort to convince Kara to join. No sooner had Caitlin said where they were going that she'd agreed, if only because there's the chance, however slim giving Caitlin's educational intent, that she'd get to visit a drinking hall. While Kara was not a lush by any metric, that was largely due to her inability to get drunk by any beverage on the mainlands of Earth...

On Themyscira? There was a better chance...

And she rather enjoyed getting drunk. Specifically, on mead. Which, if asked, and even if she's not, she enjoyed for the flavor. Because honey is delicious. "I don't mind lamb." Having changed out of travel clothes into a tunic and skirt, something wispy and light even if she weren't terribly concerned by the sun, she pads into the tavern with a broad smile upon her face. Far more visible with her hair clipped short, just along her jaw in an equally springy pixie cut that. "Or ham.. I know there's this whole aversion to pork, but I admire anything that can eat anything and I want to eat that thing." With far less care, she drops down onto a seat and steeples her fingers up near her nose, tapping each side with an index finger.

"So... is it too soon for drinks?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"It is /not/ too soon for drinks," Caitlin says with a beaming smile. "Themyscira's the one place I feel comfortable with having some wine," she explains to Kara. "I know that if I do something drunken and stupid the worst thing I'll have to fix is a broken table."

The hostess comes over and flashes the girls a smile. "<Aikaterine, welcome home,>" she tells Caitlin. The redhead smiles bashfully and ducks her head. "<It is good to see you, Polonia,>" she bids the Amazon. The hostess looks over at Kara and bows her head slightly. "<Kara Zor-El. You are known to me,>" she explains, and touches her chest. "<I am Polonia. Welcome to my tavern. What are you hungry for? We have fresh apricots and cherries, vegetable fritters, and I just put a new rack up for giros.>"

"<Golly, that sounds good. I'll do the apricot and two giros, please,>" Caitlin requests. "<Oh, and some mead. Whatever you recommend.>"

The hostess nods at Caitlin, apparently committing the order to memory, and looks at Kara. "<And for you, honored guest?>"

Kara Danvers has posed:
"I made quite the fool of myself the last I was here, but that was mostly because Jeju was present... To be truly drunken and bafoonish, I would have to carry around a barrel of wine and I'm sure there's rules against that.." Maybe not though. Grinning. Worth asking anyways!

Kara continues that grin when the hostess arives, her own comrehension of Greek is workable, though her command of speaking it leaves many gaps. Switching back and forth from Greek to her own Kryptonian accented English, "<A pleasant..> Uh.. fritters, <Fritters> and.. mead! Also two giros!" Holding up two fingers, "<I am infatuated with your place.>" Motioning around, smiling, "Lovely, it's lovely. I said it was lovely right?" Peering at Caitlin, it doesn't sound like she said lovely to her own ears. With a flick of both hands, she continues smiling up at the hostress.

"I'm still working on speaking. There are so many languages on Earth, and as beautiful as some of them sound, it's rather quite confusing trying to speak between countries. Just pick one... and stick with it. I suggest Mandarin. I think Mandarin is one of the most lovely languages." Switching to the basest formal Mandarin, "<Good afternoon, would you like to join me for dinner at my home as a guest?>" then back to english, "Good mouth feel."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin nods encouragingly at Kara's wording. It was close enough, anyway, and the hostess' smile deepens with amusement at Kara's earnest attempt at a compliment. "<I'll fetch your food,>" she assures them, and gives Caitlin's shoulder a squeeze before heading to the kitchen.

"I envy how fast you pick up languages," Caitlin admits to Kara with a wry amusement. "It took me a year to feel like I could speak Greek correctly. Everyone here was super helpful though, very accommodating. And Donna helped, of course," she amends.

Polonia returns with a bottle of mead and a small sealed clay pot. She uses the candle on the table to melt the wax stopper out and unseal the container, giving it to Caitlin. It is apparently full of canned apricots and cherries.

She pours them both a half a cup of mead and walks back to the kitchen again to start cooking. "Mmm," Caitlin says, sniffing the fruit cup. "Golly that smells good. Want to try some?" she tells Kara, and offers her the container and a fork. "They add some spices to it that are *really* good."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara peers between Polonia and Caitlin, the familiarity of their exchange, and smiles to herself without commentary. Her hands remain laid atop one another on the table, bobbing her head to Caitlin when they are temporarily ammended to their privacy, "We have pretty extensive records of all known Earth languages and a pretty expansive system of accelerated learning. I think it's cheating, myself." Hands up in a small, sheepish, shrug.

"I prefer to learn by listening. Humans facinate me... I'm a little confounded by the vast majority of diverse languages, but I suppose it makes sense for a culture that, until recently anyways, considered itself the center of the universe." Where some might say that scournfully, Kara finds it downright adorable. "But despite my earlier admittance that I wish for them to adopt a singular language, the majority of them are so unique and interesting that I can't quite keep myself from wanting to learn... and anything I want to learn, takes very little time at all."

That's her mother in her.

When Polonia returns, she's greeted with a smile. Reaching out to take her cup and sip some of the beverage within. Eyeing the sealed pot from which the fruits are taken, "Uhh yeah. What kind of spice?" Sniffing as she leans forward a little, "You know they put chili pepper on pineapple in some places? Confounding, but dang if it's not delicious."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin makes a face. "I can't get on board with pineapple. It just sits wrong with me. I think the reaction I have to that one enzyme just takes all the good flavor right out of it," she concludes. "This though, I think it's all-spice and cider vinegar, and--" Caitlin sticks a finger in the pot, then sticks the finger in her mouth to taste the syrup. ".../Pretty/ sure that's cinnamon," she declares.

She gestures again at Kara to sample it first. "I've got my thinking cap, but it just doesn't seem to work as well for languages." She refers to her VR learning headset, currently parked in a side room in the dorms. "Like the vocab is there, but it doesn't quite grok the grammar. And I think on some level, I wanted to learn Greek the old-fashioned way," she admits. "Studying it and speaking it natively. It's something I can be proud of, not just a skill I absorbed in my sleep."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara leans further forward and extends her hand to scissor pinch one of the apricots, juices and all headed right for her open mouth. Fruit chewed, fingers sucked clean, one eye squinting while the other rolls upwards thoughtfully. With the way her senses work she could probably pick apart every single flavor and catalog them individually, but that would be cheating. Instead she just enjoys it with an appreciative grin and a little hicking in her seat. "Oh, that's very good. You know..." Pausing to suck more juice from her thumb, "When I first woke in my capsule, I was so terrified by everything. The food.. the stream of languages everyone spoke. Nothing could hurt me, that much I knew, but the feeling of alienation I felt by everything being... wrong... different to me.."

Her smile faulters, but doesn't quite disappear.

"Imagine if I hadn't liked pizza? Or weiners... I suppose it's a good thing that I don't require much food because nothing on Earth is anything like Krypton. Had physiology been anything other than that what it was, I could have starved to death." Wiggling her finger, "Mother, at least, had the forethought to program my pod to teach me English before I landed.. the rest, however, I aimed to learn myself." Despite the technology that would make it infinitely easier.

Motioning at Caitlin, "For that reason... and my own. If I learn things... anything... from Earth, it makes me feel less isolated from humans. Less of an intruder.. more-" She tilts her head further, thoughtfully squinting her eyes, "-home. It feels more like home. And because of that, I'm less terrified."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"...Kara, you know I know exactly what you're talking about," Caitlin murmurs, not quite meeting her eyes at first. She glances at Kara, then out the window, as if seeing something fascinating out in the distance. Aside from Kara's happy childhood on Krypton, the only difference between them is that one emerged from an escape pod, and the other was decanted from a clone bank.

An awkward beat passes and she manages a smile, looking back at Kara again. "You know, I still don't know why you eat carbohydrates. Protein, ok, fats, OK, you need amino acid and peptides like any mammal. The nitrogen bonding is essential for a lot of life we've encountered. But as far as I can tell, your cells manufacture or store their own energy." She spreads her fingers at Kara apologetically. "It's just one of those shower thoughts I had," she admits. "Why there's an evolutionary demand for carbs, when you clearly don't need to break down glucose for energy."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Having recently come to understand the varied differences and awkward revelations of clones, not necessarily of herself, but someone everyone says is her from another future, she cannot help matching Caitlin's glance out the window. A fractional nod. If not outright understanding to that complicated origin, at least understanding of how the two stories share vast similarities with regards to feeling alien to the world in which they were born.

When Caitlin looks back, Kara grins after sipping her mead. "Oh, well I don't really need proteins either. Or fats... not as often anyways. I've never tested it, but I have gone months without eating anything at all. I guess it's more akin to photosynthesis. Drawing nutrition from the sun as I do my battery of poweer." Tilting and peering up at the sky beyond the window, "When I am called upon to eat, I do so because I want to more than any necessity. And Carbohydrates are delicious. Bread?" Her fingers flare out near her temples, like an explosion, "Mind blowing that someone stumbled upon growing yeast into food, but I suppose nothing about human evolution should surprise me."

She shrugs sheepishly, "I don't need mead, but I sure do love it. And hugs are nice, even if they serve no biological importance."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Science talk is safe. There are no hard memories or unpleasant traumas. Caitlin is likely entirely unaware of the gratitude on her face when Kara joins her on the tangent.

"Months? I didn't know you could do that," she says, brows rising. "Kal said he doesn't need to eat much but I've never really sat down and examined his caloric intake. If it ever comes up again, try to remember what foods you end up craving," she suggests.

Speaking of mead reminds Caitlin to take a sip of hers. She definitely is on the 'flavor over alcohol' side of things, and takes small sips. Themysciran mead is one of those borderline magical aspects of island life that has absolutely no respect for superhuman metabolisms. "Hugs, though--" Caitlin checks herself before she launches into another long-winded explanation, and laughs and shrugs apologetically at Kara. "Hugs /are/ nice," she agrees. "And half the point of food is because it makes us happy, right?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara understands social interactions enough to guage when a topic is broached to avoid something painful. She is nothing at all if not empathetic to the feelings of others. How someone as innately kind as her can be so arbitarially violent by comparison to her cousin is a mystery, even to her.

"I haven't tested the upper limits, but I've never had any reason to. Never been in captivity, that I can recall.. and food is so readily available." At least in America, right? She flashes a genial smile and rests her hands atop one another on the table, "But if it ever comes up, I'll be sure to keep a journal for you." No teasing, she is her mothers daughter. Science is important, even if it's not so fundamental for her, specifically, as it is for her elseworld counterpart: Karen.

"Exactly!" Pointing across the table, the hand then falling to hoist her cup for a sip. Enjoying the flavor in equal measures to the alcohol. In most instances she 'can't' get intoxicated, so the act of doing so is an anomoly. New and interesting. "And carbs make me happy. Short of hugging a kitten, nothing washes away sadness quite like ice cream. That is, in fact, science. Simple sugars breaking down create a temporary rush of energy... did you know the chemical breakdown of chocolate is exactly the same reaction as the experience of love? And I went sixteen years without ever having experienced it... how could I willingly do so now, simply because I don't 'need' it?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Ah-HAH!" Caitlin points at Kara. "See, there you go. You are biologically hard-wired to WANT food, and even break it down chemically like humans do. You just don't *need* it anymore," she says with a triumphant tone. "I'm gonna write this down, this is going in the paper," she mutters, and digs a notebook and pen out of a pouch on her belt to notate the idea.

"OK, so what else about--" She's interrupted by Polonia returning, with bowls heavily laden with food. Apparently she knows Caitlin's appetite, which is downright legendary even on Themyscira, since she gets three times what Kara does. A plate of pickled vegetables are left with the meal and she departs again, leaving the two women to their meal.

"What else about Earth has been your favorite thing? I mean besides movies and food," she amends. "It's so weird to me to think that a culture as advanced as Krypton never came across *chocolate* before. And Kian's basically a one-man drug cartel, selling it to the Ai'kar. I really think it might be our best interstellar export!"

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Well... I don't know about /that/, but I suppose in a round about way? I'm subject to the same inclinations as anyone. Love, happiness, etc. Sometimes that's as simple as a bowl of dates covered in chocolate.. Sometimes it's watching a sappy romantic comedy curled up with a bowl of frozen explosions." Kara says with a widening grin, even more so when Polonia returns with food.

Perhaps mistaking the portion differences.

She doesn't complain. Her ingesting of food remains something she wants to do, rather than any appetite for filling her belly. Nor is she shamed by using her fingers to eat it. Pillowing healthy helpings of lamb onto folded bread with pickled vegetables, which she scissors and leans into bit nearly in half.

One finger held up, chewing... and chewing.. and dramatically swallowing... before speaking. "I know the Earth technology is, by all Kryptonian standards anyways, archaic. Even the most advanced barely scratches at the surface of what I remember from home... but I find it all incredibly interesting." Waving her folded taco of meat and vegetables, "I found a VHS tape at Divine's apartment. I'm uncertain what it contains, likely cartoons given the decorations around the room, but it's less the information and more the method of storing it. Have you ever watched a VHS? The image is terrible! It's incredible." How something can be both an insult and a genuinely appreciative musing is a Karaism.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I keep forgetting, you never met me when I was broke," Caitlin apologizes. "Donna and Di-- Nightwing and Victor made me pitch my VCR. Tapes were the only thing I could afford, the video stores would sell them for like a buck or the library gave them away for free. When we moved into the Tower we had absolutely bonkers internet, we were basically plugged into a T1 line. So we just streamed everything. Once I got used to buying movies on the Tower account, an' watching them on that big TV, I never could go back to my crappy old CRT and the VHS player."

She digs into her food with a will, eating just as fast as politeness permits. Unlike Kara, Caitlin's need for calories is non-negotiable and an incessant demand. She drains her mead cup and offers Kara a refill before topping her own glass off again. "Have you been to the library here? It's pretty comprehensive. They've got classic literature that was lost to Patriarch's World millennia ago. Donna is working on a translation and once she's done every college in the country will be begging her to read it for them."

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Ah, so you know!" Kara motions with the turn of her hands angled in Caitlin's direction, "How truly terrible and incredibly amazing VHS are.. One of the first things I intend to do when the Sanctuary is complete is program the computer to read VHS. Mother scoffs, but.." Another wide bite, sucking her fingers clean. Politely pausing converse to chew her food, at the very least.

"This is good." Pointing down at the meats and vegetables. Abstract.

Again sucking her thumb, she peers out the window and back to Caitlin. "That's a noble goal. To share the wisdom lost to ages and mistake amongst the people. Part of me concerned that it will go unappreciated, but I fear that's cynicism stabbing its ugly claws into me. I'm too young to be a cynic." So instead she grins.

"I would be delighted to have hear teach me, at any rate. I find all human culture incredibly interesting. Even the not so good parts. Not specifically because those parts are enjoyable, as the evolution of society around these terrible events. How it shapes people.. shapes customs and practices. It's ... well.." A sheepish grin, with an equally sheepish shrug.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Just ask her," Caitlin says with a shrug. "Or if you want to come with me to the library, I'll show you around the stacks. Once you get the hang of reading scrolls it's pretty relaxing. I think at this point I know my way around the library better'n Donna does. Some of us are students of history, an' the military commanders are, but for the one who do soldiering or who work in agriculture don't spend a lot of time studying."

The mead's kicking in for Caitlin, who relaxes her impeccable posture and careful enunciation into something with a distinctly Midwestern twang that wouldn't be out of place in Smallville. "I still want to take you up on that offer to go to the Fortress," she reminds Kara. "I mean, if it's still on the table. I just feel weird going up there, I know it's your retreat from the world," she acknowledges. "But I'd be the first person to get a chance to study Kryptonian anthropology and history up close. Heck I could probably submit it to the university as a doctoral thesis, pick up another PhD," she remarks, and laughs at her own ambition.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"I'd be eager to do so, yes!" Kara is also starting to feel the mystical effects of the mead, which doesn't make her any more relaxed. She doesn't go to any great effort to keep her posture, it just comes naturally, but instead her cheeks are flushed a slight pink. Her eyes are a little wider, perhaps even a little more blue if such a thing is even possible. But her grin, it's spread almost ear to ear. Something tacky and dry against the roof of her mouth has her popping her tongue off it between speaking.

"oh, certainly. I never offer anything I'm not willing to follow through. The Fortress is.. well that's Kal's sanctuary. Obviously he's not against sharing it with his kin, but once we've completed the Sanctuary, I would happily take you to visit. Alura has made certain that all of the resources of the Fortress are present.. or will be... once we figure out the computer systems corruption."

She drains what remains in her cup and hisses an appreciative sigh.

Then licks the inside rim of the cup.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Kara!" Caitlin exclaims with a laugh. "Goodness, it's not like we're gonna run out of it," she reminds the blonde. Both drinks are topped up again and Caitlin puts the bottle somewhere she's not going to hit if she starts hand-talking.

"How is it going with Alura, though?" she asks, and looks at Kara with a furrowed brow. The frown relaxes as soon as Kara's fine features come back into focus. Caitlin's Irish heritage betrays her, nose and ears getting a ruddy red hue to them. "I literally can't imagine what a shock that must have been. But you two seem to be getting along OK," she offers hastily. "I just-- I mean is she settling in OK? Are -you- ok with it all? I won't tell anyone anything, I promise," she assures Kara as earnestly as she's able.

Kara Danvers has posed:
The admonishment of her rather flagrent disregard for politeness in licking the rim of the cup has Kara giggling. Quite girlishly, squinting her eyes and hunching her shoulders forward in a childish manner of being caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It relaxes once her cup is filled and she takes another, admittedly large, drink from it.

"mmm..." Alura. Her nose wrinkles, rolling in a way to scratch an itch, "Well... I was in hibernation for the years she was gone and... It's hard to explain. I'd be lying if I said that I could have ever come to terms with the death of my mother, anymore so to say I'd be comfortably certain I'd gotten over the loss of my home." While she's not quite hand-expressive, she does use them. Waving them around carelessly. Which for her, well both of them really, could be quite dangerous.

At least she pays enough care not to destroy the table.

"I was then and am now glad to have my mother. Never mind my sisters... by which I mean a me from another universe and a ... well a clone of her.. which I guess is a clone of me? Indirectly... and Kal's son.. and Kal's clone.. and.." Her brow furrows, hand running down her face. "I have a very big family, where I was led to believe there was only myself and Kal. So that's been fun, if a little awkward, to get use to? But to your point!" She points, "I think she's coming along well.. I have shown her disneyplus. Soon she will appreciate them as much as I do. I know it."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"You and Karen are /nothing/ alike," Caitlin says. "Well-- aside from the temper," she amends.

"Your approaches to life are so different from each other. It's not all genetics," she reminds Kara. "It's about how you were raised, not just by family but by society. Karen's a bit of a Type A. She does the superhero thing, I'm pretty sure her work life is crazy, and she loves to party. And simultaneously, she's a workahlic if I ever met one," she points out.

"But I think she's a little cynical sometimes, and-- you're not," she assures Kara. "Everything is still fun and exciting for you, even after all the time you've been on Earth.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara furrows her brow, cupping her hands across the top of her knuckles with a gentle tap of her fingers against the others. "I know that any series of external stimuli appropriately applied to a subject can dramatically alter the end product regardless of similarities at the genetic level.. It's not so much a fear that I'll become Karen, as it's a concern that I already did..." Because Karen exists.

"Not many people have the very clear perspective that I do." Two fingers point at her eyes, drunkenly pointing them around, "I never have to wonder what would you do if... because I know what I'd do. I need only look at my older sister.. And I guess, in a way, she has the same perspective. Which is why our relationship is one of the most important to me. She can teach me things about who we are that would take other people decades to figure out about themselves and I can teach her how to call the heck down..." Her grin, phantom that it is, "For what little good it does. She does not like disney.."