2577/Surf and Turf

Surf and Turf
Date of Scene:	23 July 2020
Location:	Boardwalk - St Martin's Island
Synopsis:	Tara and Garth meet and make plans. An unlikely friendship begins
Cast of Characters:	Garth, Tara Markov

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Garth has posed:
Garth rises up out of the water, striding casually from the depths and making his way up onto the beach. He turns and raises a hand and, in the ocean, a pair of dolphins leap and criss-cross, tweeting their greetings to the friend. They'd been helping him guide some schools of tuna beyond the reach of nearby fishing nets. Some fishing was fine, but they had been excessively depleting the populations lately and Tempest felt the need to intervene.

Of course, if they kept it up, he might intervene more directly and in ways they would find much less pleasant.

He gazes over at Titans Tower not so far away. Strange how he'd found his way back here after so many years back in Atlantis. Still, it felt almost good to be above water again.

Tara Markov has posed:
This time of day; the boardwalk was naturally somewhat quiet. People still lingered around, walking through with hands held with one another, children skipped along behind their parents with candy and things. Some skate by, holding out their cameras and oblivious to others. Tara wasn't one of those people.

She found her spot not too close from where Garth had rose up from the water; eating a bag of roasted pecans coated with cinnamon and sugar. Her diet; while not all that healthy, consisted of small meals meant to fuel and get her body going. Not to mention, a healthy dose of water where ever she could get it. And that healthy dose was in a labled jug that most health nuts use to track their intake. It was heavy and in her bag at her feet.

But the display of -that- catches her attention; while she has seen some shit and she is -the- shit, she had never seen anything like -that-. So she watches him, not hiding that she's watching, nor making a show that she was trying to hide that fact.

Garth has posed:
Garth notices the young woman watching him and the smell of cinnamon can't help but hit his nose. One thing he couldn't deny, surface cuisine tended to have advantages over Atlantean fare. Nothing like cinnamon existed down in the depths and he finds himself walking in her direction. He's wearing a neck to toe bodysuit, something like scuba gear but with scaled texture, shimmering blue and red mingling with black. His purple eyes gleaming under his brows, dark hair grown long and a bit curled as he drips.

"Could I trouble you for a few of those? I could use the carbs," he grins.

Tara Markov has posed:
Shit.

Here we go.

Tara is going to have to make nice or nasty due to her staring, and that time was coming up soon. She didn't stiffen or bristle in his approach, though her brows do lower to hint that she's ready to scowl our bite his head off at the wrong word. But.. his question to her was unexpected, and it took her a little off guard.

"Huh?" She pauses, then looks down at her bag of nuts, then realizes.. "Oh. Yeah. Sure. Knock yourself out." The bag was tossed towards him, gloved fingers quick. She adjusts herself from where she sits, the crate creaking beneath her weight. "What, couldn't find any trash out there in the ocean to suck on?" That sounded wrong. "My bad. Sorry.."

Garth has posed:
Garth raises an eyebrow at the brusque comment, but doesn't seem offended. He's partnered with Aquaman for most of his life, he's more than used to harsh temperaments. His magickal instructor, the wizard Atlan, wasn't exactly a soft touch.

"I can always find trash in the ocean, sadly. Too many people who live on land treat it as a dumpster. I don't tend to suck on it, though," he says with a chuckle. "Not really my type."

"In a bad mood for any particular reason, or is that just your usual temperament?" he says, popping a nut in his mouth.

Tara Markov has posed:
"Eh, true enough. Once, I had to snip a goddamned straw out of a turtles nose. That. Looked. Painful."

Tara wasn't much of an echo nut, given her own predisposition towards the earth, but wrong is wrong, right is right. Especially if they were defensive.

Both feet kick up to rest upon the lower crates as she leans forward, arms planting upon her knees as she turns her attention to everyone else. While Garth ate portions of her food, she took to people watching while using him as a shield. Still, they were in their own minds and situations, and it seemed to suit Tara just fine.

"I was born this way." Which, could be true. "Lady of horrible temperaments and bad jokes. I'll cringe your ass to death and you'd be dying angry too." See? Bad joke.

"Don't get my bag too wet, man."

Garth has posed:
Garth shows where he's holding the bag at the edge, "I'm being careful," he says, snatching a few more and then tossing the bag easily back to her.

"I can believe it. Nothing wrong with a few sharp edges. Better you cut somebody else than take the pain yourself. I know a few people like that. Hell, I used to be kind of like that. Took me a while to find a bit of peace in this world," he says.

"But I don't recommend my path. I'm not sure how good of a wizard you'd be anyway. Your posture's terrible," he says with a hint of teasing.

Tara Markov has posed:
Tara snaps the bag out of the air easy enough, though her approach crumpled it closed, which was soon shoved into her pocket. She leans over to tug up her bag, pulling the jug of water out of it's depths, popping the cap, and using both hands to take a drink.

"So you're saying it's a defense mechanism." Her nose wrinkles as she pops the top back on, holding onto the jug with two fingers from the strap that lines the top. If that was his assessment, he would be right, though she would not admit it. Hell, she wouldn't even admit that she had no peace, being alone was possibly that.

"What? My posture is -great-." She sits up then, one arm out. "I'm -comfortable-. Chill." She finally smirks.. or smiles.. whatever! "So what, you're like some water wizard or something?" She even leans to the side to look at his neck, looking for magical gills.

Garth has posed:
Garth smiles, "Exactly. They call me Tempest. I'm one of the Titans," he says, gesturing back towards the large T-shaped tower staked on a nearby island. "Well, I was as long time ago. And I am again, but I haven't been active in a while."

"Chill. Yes, I can tell that you are eminently chill," he smirks. He reaches out and gestures towards the waves, his eyes glowing for a moment as the waters sparkle and shimmer with soft light, "Just a simple trick," he says. "I'd show you the fancy stuff, but it tends to be a bit taxing and I've already had a full day."

Tara Markov has posed:
Tara follows his eyes towards the Tower, her lips curling up weirdly as she tilts her head to the side. "That.. is not symmetrical. Someone should blow it up." It was an idle comment, a joke almost, though she was sure that was going to get a little bit of ire. She inhales and turns back towards him, then leans to the side so that she could watch the waters shimmer. It was a neat trick, though she couples it with her own.

No reaching out required, for as the waters themselves shimmer.. so does the sand. It rises and swirls as if the wind had taken it to flight, though there was a specific pattern to it that the wind does not create. Her own eyes glow a faint yellow, the color retaining as soon as the sand settles yet again, none ever touching the boardwalk while she performs.

"You're water. I'm earth. If we find Fire and some other shit we'd form Captain Planet."

Garth has posed:
Garth hadn't expected that, crossing his arms over his chest, "Superhumans do seem to abound these days. Or metas. Is that the current term? I can never remember."

He looks back towards the T and sighs, "I think it looks quite well. It was only blueprints when I went away, just a spark of a thought that we tossed around in between adventures. Now I come back and there it is, rising up into the sky. I feel both wonder and envy at it. As if I should be insulted that the surface world kept going without me," he shrugs. "But that's only when I'm feeling like a selfish bitch."

"I'm not sure who Captain Planet is, but I believe the 'other shit' would be Air."

Tara Markov has posed:
"I don't know. We are whatever we answer to." That was Tara's philosophy.

She looks over at the T as well, this time, standing up from the crates to face it, clunking her jug of water where she once sat to place her hands upon her hips.

For a moment.. no. In -that- moment, she resonated with Garth, not that she would admit it. Back home.. or where ever that truly was, her family.. if she has one, went on without her. She was jealous, angry.. mad.. all of those thoughts made her teeth clench and a hiss of air to blow out of it.

"Yeah. Air. Who needs it. You fuckin' don't. Right?" She reaches out to try to give a friendly, pal, smack upon the arm. Whether she gets him or not, is up to him.

"Want some more nuts?"

Garth has posed:
Garth takes the slap on the arm. "I don't necessarily, no. I'm of two worlds, comfortable in both, belonging to neither. Not fully," he says. "I answer to Aquaman and my friends. All of whom have given me the freedom to be myself," he says.

He takes a few nuts again, tossing them back and offering his own slap on the arm in return, "Are you doing anything with those talents of yours or are you one of those people who want to be a normal person?"

Tara Markov has posed:
Does he even laugh? Smile? If Garth did, she probably missed it.

But most of all, she appreciates how honest he's been, how it just came out like the air that he was breathing and flowed like the water he swam in. It was refreshing, how comfortable he was with a pure stranger and a little bit confident. While she bristled and probably wore her insecurities on her sleeve.

The slap to her arm knocked her right out of her thoughts, and for once she actually laughed. "I'm fine with who I am. I grift mostly. When you live on the streets you have to make money some kind of way. Though sometimes I get contacted for good jobs that give me a week or two motel stays."

Garth has posed:
Garth nods, "Grifting, huh? Sounds like you're kind of wandering, then. I was like that, when I was little. They left me out to die on the rocks, but I didn't die. I just...found clams I could crack open with my smaller hands. Figured out which kind of seaweed I could eat. Made sure to learn how to cover my scrapes with packed mud if I scraped myself on the coral. Made me tough. Made me pretty mad, too. Even then, I knew it wasn't right. I should've had parents. But I didn't. Just cause I had purple eyes. How dumb is that?" he says.

"I'm a wizard, not a fairy godfather. But maybe I could introduce you to some people who could give you a chance to do more than grift. If you wanna. No pressure," he says.

Tara Markov has posed:
"Pretty dumb." Tara admits, but she doesn't tell her own tale, not yet. Or probably ever. There was still a bit of shame there, but she doesn't show it.

"Aimlessly wandering is what I do best, but really, how else is anyone going to see the world unless you move?" Now she was packing up her things, that wanderlust is going to get to her soon enough.

"I don't know." She says quietly. "Doing more than grifting?" She shrugs her shoulders. "To be fair, I really can't see past that, like.. what is -more-?"

Garth has posed:
"Helping people. Making friends. Finding purpose," he says. "Maybe just getting to have a few adventures and kick in the teeth of people who deserve it. That's what I've always done. What my friends do," he says.

"It's not for everyone. Maybe it's not for you. But maybe you should think about trying it sometime. You might like it."

He's not going to drag her off to the Tower and try to get her a membership card. Or measure her for a costume that might not fit right. He wants her to make her own decisions. But he's intrigued, that's for certain.

Tara Markov has posed:
"What makes you think I'm not helping people now?" Tara asks. "All that stuff you're talking about sounds like I'd be working for free." Now, she ties up her bag, testing it, then lifting it to hitch upon her shoulder. "I'll think about it though."

Now she starts to walk, if he was going to follow her, she wasn't going to stop him.

"Y'know, if I could learn some of that magic doo-dad stuff, would make things a -ton- easier. Though, I'm pretty sure I'd probably have to have some disposition to it. Like, Houdini, let me teleport someones wallet to my damn pocket, would make that slight of hand so much easier.."

Garth has posed:
Garth actually does move to walk with her a little bit. It's actually a little frustrating, he catches up and keeps up with her stride easily, his Atlantean physiology making him stronger, faster, untiring. He swims miles of ocean every day after all.

"If you're any good as a pickpocket, using your magick to snatch wallets is kind of a waste of talent. Otherwise, people who steal would've learned magick a long time ago instead of just taking stuff. Also, no offense, but magick is hard and most people who thieve aren't in it for the effort required."

Tara Markov has posed:
"No, we'd be in it for the results." Tara points out.

"You're right though, I also don't really have the patience to learn something new right now unless I had no choice. Like.. right now? Figured I'd get away without knowing your name, but you're trying to invite me to do some -weird- stuff for.. oh, I don't know. Reasons. So.." She stops and holds out her hand. "Tara."

Garth has posed:
Garth had offered his superhero name already, but he didn't really have a secret identity anyway. He didn't even have a last name. "Garth," he says, shaking the hand firmly. "Oh, I haven't invited you to any of the weird stuff yet. Just normal superhero stuff. Like I said, you might like it. It's kinda satisfying. It definitely won't be boring, at the very least, I can promise you that. Not if we do it right."

Tara Markov has posed:
"So you're saying there's a chance.." She didn't let go of his hand yet, to emphasize that hope, but she finally does let it go. She also stops her path. "To be fair, just because me and you are talking, it really doesn't mean that I get along with -all- people. Like.." She looks up towards the sky to try to place the words.

"I don't know man, I'm really used to working alone. Being with.. people?" She makes another sound, then begins to walk again, this time slow. "It's hard. And being a 'hero'? Worse." She grits her teeth. "I mean, truth and justice for all is great, don't get me wrong. But how can anyone BE good if they don't feel that they ARE."

Garth has posed:
Garth shrugs, "Who gets along with all people? Some people will be your friends. Some won't. I've fought alongside people I would die for and I've fought alongside people whose names I can't even remember," he says.

"The way to be good is to try," he shrugs. "Maybe you don't get it done. Maybe you slip. I've done it. I've wallowed in all the mire and muck of my own head. I've walked away and proclaimed that I would only care about m yself from now on. But it wasn't good for me. It didn't make me feel better. It wasn't even much fun," he says.

"I know it's serious business and all that, but one of the secrets of being a superhero? It's fun. Sometimes it's terrifying, too, but so is life. You seem pretty tough to me. I bet you can handle it."

Tara Markov has posed:
Tara listens, she truly does. Even if she says nothing, she takes all the information as he gives it, his thoughts and all to do with it.

"Alright Garth, I tell you what." She says, stopping yet again. This time, she turns to face him, there were no smiles upon her face, nothing that would hint that what he said was a pure joke.

"I'll try it. With just you, to see if that shoe fits. On -ONE- condition." She doesn't say what it is yet, she was waiting to see if he would be at least slightly eager to hear what she had to say.

Garth has posed:
Garth crosses his arms over his chest, "This is usually the part where someone tries to trick you into selling your soul or making you do something terrible. But I'm going to take the chance that you're not an evil djinn in disguise luring me into the path of wickedness and say, 'Sure, of course, Tara, what do you want from me'?" he says. "If it's anything about talking to fish, though, I will be terse. I'm still sensitive about that," says the former Aqualad.

Tara Markov has posed:
Tara doesn't back down. She was going to get him to do something completely terrible, probably outside the realm of being a hero. Or whatever it was that he was used to. His defensive posture (at least to her it was), causes her to take a step forward, creating that impending loom that would have it's affect if she knew she were much taller and much stronger than he was.

Either way, she's doing it.

"You come with me on a grift. I haven't gotten a job in Metropolis yet but certain people do know that I'm here. And when they know, they usually come calling. You don't have to do anything, you just watch. I don't need you to get me out of a bind or anything, but you see what my life is like before I see what yours is."

She doesn't back away from him, probably two inches of space remains between them, which is soon filled by an uplifted hand that carries the half full bag of pecans. "What do you say?"

Garth has posed:
Garth knows that some of the others would probably balk at this. Thinking you have to be an angel come with the territory of superheroing sometimes. But Garth didn't have some of those same hangups. And while his mentor was interested in justice, his sense of justice wasn't based in any sort of petty surface laws. And neither was Garth's.

"Fine. But make sure it's a target that deserves it. I'm not going to help you bilk some little old lady out of her social security check. Not that I think you do that, but you might consider it just to try to teach me a lesson," he says.

"I accept."

Tara Markov has posed:
"Oh ye' of little faith." She shakes the bag of nuts at him, inviting him for a handful. Still not moving.

"If anything, I beat up guys for little old ladies, do you know that if you do them a favor, they repay you ten fold with a full course meal?" If Tara was into visibly swooning, she would. There was this one time, an old lady made her meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. God, she could have died ten times over..

"And like I said, you don't have to help, you can just watch. Especially if it 'hurts' or goes against your better nature. And!" She says, her other hand raising to point a finger to the sky. "Not in the business of teaching lessons. Only giving results. And since you accept, how in the hell am I going to find you? Should I swim out into the middle of the ocean and try to drown myself? Use a boat and do some sirens call? Eat a crab..."

That last sentence had her head bobbing from side to side, a little dance to at least get -something- out of the guy.

Garth has posed:
Garth raises an eyebrow, "You have a cellphone? I have one of those, when I'm on the surface. I stay over there," he says, pointing at the Tower, "So if you don't want to call, you can always just show up and ask. There's a front door and everything. I can even put you on the visitor's list so you don't have to worry about accidentally pissing off the security. Although there are probably some places youc an't go, because people walk around without their masks and they get weird about it. I never wore a mask myself."

Tara Markov has posed:
"Uh.." Yeah, she had a cellphone. Three of them in fact. "I might do both. Give me your number." She pulls the burner phone out of her pocket, a pure flip phone, which would probably seem a little bit odd. Tara wasn't on any social media, she didn't even follow the news unless she happens upon it. Pop culture? Eh! Only when she's bored.

"Go ahead though. Tara Markov." For once she gives a full name. "I'll do the decent thing and call before I stop by. How's that sound?"

Garth has posed:
Garth gives his number and, if he can, gets hers in return, "Calling ahead would be wise. Some of my friends can be overprotective - and capable of bending steel," he says.

"I look forward to seeing you again. This is all very interesting. You surface people are strange but delightful things."