18246/Pink and Green Infusion or Repulsion

Pink and Green Infusion or Repulsion
Date of Scene:	08 June 2024
Location:	Earth Orbit
Synopsis:	Kyle runs into a Star Sapphire. They compare scars and stories.
Cast of Characters:	Kyle Rayner, Carol Ferris

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Kyle Rayner has posed:
One thing Kyle Rayner does semi-regularly is meditate. He focuses on maintaining a floating posturing while almost meditating. Whenever he has a really good day, or a really bad one, Kyle leans to this exercise. It's to keep his willpower sharp even when there's emotional noise and distortion there. It's a way to make sure willpower overcomes the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And Kyle will often do this near the moon.

To add an extra layer of challenge is what Kyle will do. He'll try to create something to amplify what he feels. Often it's music. A good song to keep a happy memory alive. Depressing, or angry songs, to battle through the down times. "When things Break, Things Shatter," the words by Code Orange's "Shatter" play in his earbuds. Thankfully the energy field around him allows sound to travel.

To those on the emotional spectrum it would be like a seismic reading. Something spikes a little, dies down. Then another spike. In a weird way, it's almost like Kyle's creating a dead spot in the emotion. The will cutting off the emotion when it wants to lash out a little bit. Granted, Kyle doesn't know he's giving off these signals because only those in Pink and Red would see something to play off of. Maybe blue, if it looks hard enough. Still, Kyle tries to keep his calm while just floating in space because this moment, too, shall pass.

Carol Ferris has posed:
From the depths of space, a lavender vortex stretches and returns Carol Ferris to the planet of her birth. As the leader of the Star Sapphires, she often finds herself called away, but something tells her that Earth will need her again, and soon. When has Earth not needed the power of love?

She's in her costume, a mixture of bodysuit and armor, with shoulderpads and bracers, a diadem across her brow and the shining ring of violet gleaming on her finger, encasing her in its energy. She's preparing to streak down into the atmosphere, towards her own apartments, to catch up on her life, her company, her friends. But before she can, seh feels something. Distress. Pain. A broken heart. Love gone wrong. Uncomfortable to most, to Carol it is almost a physical pain. She cannot ignore heartache.

She finds young Kyle Rayner in his meditative state, approaching with a careful shield of her own energies. She knows Hal Jordan, of course, but the other Lanterns tend to come and go. "Lantern, I cannot help but feel the pain dwelling within you," she calls, her ring enabling her to communicate in space, despite the lack of atmosphere. "Perhaps I can be of help."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
Kyle just sees Carol float into view. Training over. His pose untangles and he gets in a fighting stance. "When did the Sapphires get this far out?" Kyle asks as he knows some o fthe other corps spread out pretty far. It's still shocking to see one.

Carol talks about pain, "What pain?" he lies. And he's actively trying to bury that pain further. Carol can probably sense him trying to do that. Even if his face is straight, the words are firm, the painful thing abou tthe emotional spectrum, it can go deeper than skin. Certain rings can find the emotions people try to hide, or shield, from the rest of the universe. And Kyle tries to do this.

"I'm fine." This may, or may not, be a lie. It depends on the time of day. Right now, it's more lie than truth.

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris smiles, "Oh, some time ago. The thing is, I haven't been back to Earth in some time because I had obligations to the rest of my Corps," she says. She sees no need to explain that she's the head Star Sapphire. It's utterly gauche to brag about such things, which is how she knows Hal Jordan would trumpet it from the top of the mountain if he ever leads the Green Lanterns.

"If you know what I am, then you know that lying to me on such matters is pointless," she says. "Love is my power and my domain and your heart calls to me in its brokenness," she says. She raises her hand, fingers splayed, and her ring comes aglow as it taps into the feelings trapped within Kyle, starting to bring them forth to manifest in her violet light.

"Green Lanterns are so stubborn," she sighs.

Kyle Rayner has posed:
Kyle would do similar to Hal, but for completely different reasons. Gouchey behavior be damned.

Kyle tries to float away, to shield himslef, but her constructs come to life. A sigh slips past his lips before the construct's finished taking shape.

A woman either an elf, or an alien with elven features, a short haircut. Skin, and other bits, are hard to make out in the sea of pinks it creates. Constructs are not granted the gift of technicolor.

On her chest is a lantern symbol, her own. Different moments go by, she's smiling at various points and for different reasons. For all intensive purposes she seems happy. Then that face saddens as she's holding a holographic message in her hand. Some races call them "pucks" due to their circular yet thick shape. Others call them anything from "discs" to "coasters."

To those in the freelance space these are typically bounties or warnings. To those part of organizations, they're either marching orders or assignments.

"She was reassigned. She's not sure when, or if, she can get out here," Kyle admits knowing Carol can see it. Well, besides the obvious constructs moving beofre them. Thee constructs just confirm she saw the original emotion.

"Not the first time a lantern has left me. I'll survive," he says. What Kyle doesn't know is the construct changing with his memories. The elven woman turns into a woman with long hair, and to many she's very beautiful. Like someone worthy of winning many contests based upon beauty. A different lantern symbol on her chest. Before the construct takes too much life, a green fist punches through it. An act that dispurses the image. "That's enough down that door."

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris takes in the images and Kyle's words, floating politely as she lets the power do its work. Whereas Green Lanterns push their rings with their will, Carol's relationship with her ring was less one-sided. Symbiotic. Her own heart burned with the ring and she literally felt the pain of Kyle's hearbreak, a few tears escaping her pretty eyes, now tinged as violet as her ring from her utter immersion in its powers.

When he shatters the images, she seems to awaken, as if from a trance, her pupils widening and then focusing on the momentarily angered Lantern, "I did not mean to pry. I cannot help but see the roads of the heart. It is in the nature of a Star Sapphire," she says.

"My name is Carol. It's nice to meet you," she says softly. "Falling in love with one's fellow Lanterns is natural - to fight alongside one another, in dire straits. Living lives that only the other can understand, facing the same challenges, the same responsibilities. Fertile ground for love to take root, deep root. It upsets me that the Oans would disrupt the path of love so callously."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
Kyle doesn't give his name, but he will offer her hand. "Ion," Kyle offers his lantern callsign. A lot of Lanterns use call signs, totally Hal's idea, to help distinguish them when many are in battle. It helps prevents a lot of confusing and is a little more personal than saying "Sixty-Seven reporting for duty!"

I knew the risks. Ever date a military brat?" clearly he does not know this woman's taste in men. "It goes duty, family, everything else. I knew one day, something could have trumped me and it happened," there's no real anger toward the person. He's just a little upset with circumstances. "She got called back," and it's that simple.

"No comment on the Oans," and Kyle leaves that alone from here onward.

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris laughs playfully, "Oh gosh, the superhero name! I love it. I've always just used Star Sapphire on Earth - I'm the only one around this sector, so it doesn't lead to any confusion," she says.

At the mention of dating a military brat, she can't help but laugh, "Oh, you have no idea. My ex, he and I, well...let's just say he puts the other brats to shame. You probably know him, he's another Green Lantern. Hal Jordan," she says, then puts a hand over her mouth. "Oh sorry, the only codename I know for him is Green Lantern, which hardly helps. I knew him before the Sapphire called me. He, too, was very keen to do his duty, even if it was in his own maverick way."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
"There's like forty-seven of us from Earth! We need the distinctions," Kyle says. Okay, maybe it wasn't forty-seven. It's at least four.

"Oh. -That- Carol," he says with recollection of who she is. Hal has apparently talked about her.

"I don't know if he would be mad with me talking to you or not. You two, sound complicated, but I get it," he looks at her. "May you either break free of that, if you want to be free, or simplify it if you want him," Kyle offers unsure how Carol felt about the will they, won't they, nature of Hal and Carol.

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris raises a finger and waves it in Kyle's general direction, "We are new acquaintances, but trust me, we are going to reinvestigate the phrase 'That Carol' at a later time. But I don't want to get distracted by Hal. Hal has distracted me plenty in my life already. You surmise rightly - my feelings towards him are complicated, but I do love him, yes, nonetheless. But loving him doesn't mean we should be together. I would discuss it more with him but I haven't seen him in...well," she says. "And I know he's not on Earth now. I could feel it if he was."

"Dammit, I did get distracted by Hal again!,"she says. "None of which is why I'm here. I'm here because you are feeling the pangs of love. A lot of you other colors think that love means happiness, but it has never meant that. Is Romeo and Juliet a happy story? Some kinds of love are pain. And some kinds of pain are love," she says. "All of which is to say - I am here to help, in any way that I can."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
Kyle nods and looks at her, "I have one of those, too. I get it," someone that you love, but just because you love them doesn't mean they're right for you.

"He was," Kyle confirms. "We had a mission in space. I haven't seen him since. He probably got assigned to look into activities in a different sector immediately after," it's confirmation that Hal isn't here, and he may not be for a bit.

"I mean you could always go for the younger model," Kyle jokingly gestures to himself and he'll wink despite wearing a mask that covers so much.

"It's still recent." There's a pause, "Semi-recent," he'll add. It has been two, or three, weeks. "I'll be fine in the end, just a bump in the road," Kyle shakes his head. "I think we all want our beloved to just show up. Whoever it's meant to be just show up, and make life a little sweeter. But that's the romantic artist in me," he looks back to Carol. "I finished part of my career goals. So, I have more personal than professional ones," it's him just being honest about his situation in life.

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris gives a soft smile, the corners of her full lips curving in amusement. "You be careful what you wish for, kiddo. If you were really listening to Hal, then you know I'm a lot of woman to handle. And, frankly, I haven't known you long enough to know if you could handle me," she says, both directly and playfully.

"Recent is a feeling, not a passage of time," she says. "Healing takes however long that it takes. An artist, you say? That's nice. I have an MBA myself - strange, I never thought of myself as the romantic type back then."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
"Step up, if you're so bold," Kyle grins and says both directly and playfully. "I mean there's a reason a ring eventually chose an artist and broke rank from the seemingly standard military option," he is the "creative" lantern. Often green lanterns are affiliated with some type of military, or law, program with the chosen. However, this isn't all the time. Kyle Rayner is one of many that prove this.

"I know it does. But people like that can sometimes bounce back quicker than most,"and then he looks at her. "What was your preferred medium?" he asks, genuinely curious.

"Pencils for me, but I do charcoals, paints and a few other things," Kyle's not quite testing her, but he's genuine curious about Carol's answer.

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris nods, "We're all more flexible than our stereotypes. The Corps have always had too many conflicts to get to know one another well. Especially since some are raving psychotics," she murmurs.

"I'm glad to know that your heart heals well. You will carry scars, of course. Love can be a vine, twisted and turned in unexpected ways. And you might find a few thorns along the way," she says.

"I'm not surprised you think you're up to the challenge. For all I said a moment ago, I've yet to meet a Green Lantern with a self-esteem issue," she says. But she also remembers - when she first found the Sapphire's power, it consumed her to an unhealthy degree. She had gone mad for a time. She doesn't like to think about it. That, too, had been love, though. She knew that now.

"Oh, I mean a Master's of Business Admministration. I run an aeronautics corporation. Although I have been on sabbatical for some time, but I made arrangements so that I still own the majority shsre. Unless my lawyers were incompetent, of course," she mutters.

"But I am admirer of art. Perhaps you can show me some of your sketches sometime."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
"We are," Kyle agrees about lantern flexibility. He figures that's probably true of most of the emotrional spectrum.

"We all carry scars," Kyle knows that part. He just tries to push past the negative part.

"I am, but are you old enough?" Kyle asks and he's half teasing, half not.

"Damn. Are you going back to the company?" Kyle asks knowing that proximity may be the answer to that question. Carol could be back to resume her role.

"I'll have to take you to the good museums in Europe. I did a lot of research there, getting back into the lantern saddle a little more regularly." There would be some stories out of Europe of a lantern, but it was here, there, very sporadic. Now, Kyle's a regular occurance in New York.

Carol Ferris has posed:
Carol Ferris smiles, "I haven't been to Europe since I was sixteen. I'll take you up on that," she says.

"I intend to stay here for the foreseeable future. Home is where the heart is, they say, and a Star Sapphire goes where the heart draws her," she says. "We aren't assigned sectors the way you lot are. So stiff," she says, shaking her hair, raven waves lashing against her padded shoulders.

"As for my company, I'm not sure yet. I can't say I missed life in an office," she sighs. "Although I always managed to find adventures, even then."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
"Alright then. Let's see if you're bold. I work at the art department in New York," he'll name the college. "Find me. I'll take you to Europe," Kyle grins and starts to float downard, slowly. "Home is where the heart is, but where does your heart lie, Carol?" Kyle's not sure why he's asking that, maybe it's just to be ominous. Maybe it's to make her think.

"I can always take care of it," he jokes and continues to float down. "Let's see if a violet can be bold," and Kyle starts to go down back into Earth's atmosphere, slipping away back down into the big blue planet they both call home.