3433/One less missing Titan!

One less missing Titan!
Date of Scene:	19 September 2020
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Koriand'r returns to the Tower and meets Karolina. It is decided that Kori is overwhelming.
Cast of Characters:	Karolina Dean, Koriand'r

---

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Saturday morning! There's no telling where most of the Titans are at this hour, as the sun crests the horizon and open windows allow the bright shine in. Speaking of bright shines, even if Karolina is wearing her dampening bracelet, she's positively radiant. Up with the sun, give or take an hour or so, and in the kitchen. A smartphone sits on the counter island, playing some music, its speaker pointed downward and giving it a slightly muffled, tinny sound.

    She's clad in bedclothes, some sleeping shorts that give her long legs all the room to breathe and a cami top that does the same for her arms. It's in a lovely shade of powder blue, and she's happily barefoot as well. In one hand, a slice of toast, in the other, she's doing something in a frying pan that appears to involve potatoes and vegetables and spices and seasonings. Like some sort of taco-style country potatoes! She's even got some of those technologically marvelous 'eggs but not really eggs' to mix in when the time is right. What's playing on her phone? "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by the Deep Blue Something. She glances over her shoulder as it plays and rolls her eyes, "...adoration of a single song is not the basis for a relationship... it's..." CRUNCH "...an earworm though..." she laughs to herself, licking crumbs from her lips as she tosses some more veggies into her pan.

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori has not been to the Tower since July, whether by happenstance or being busy. Her arrival isn't exactly intrusive either, slipping in the front door and through security with one of the older access codes, she's now following the muffled sounds of music towards the kitchen.

Wearing a loose fit crop topped blouse, slimfit low slung blue jeans, and half calf boots, the mane of fiery red hair cascades down her back like a river of fire. Glowing green eyes taking in the dancing figure of Karolina cooking to the tune of Deep Blue Something, she cannot help the curling secretive green practically bleeding over with amusement.

More so when the young woman voices her inner monologue about the basis for relationships being poorly defined by the music.

"It is a song about the abstract desire to find common ground in the simplist of gestures. Where life has pulled two people apart, their desire to be together regardless has them grasping at a mutual love for a film... It's beautiful really... Hello, I am Koriand'r.. Starfire!" Beaming brightly.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "Well be that as it may, it's the story of a man grasping at straws to maintain a relationship that might be best left parted, people are often so desperate to cling to companionship that they'll endure even the most trying of circumstances," comes Karolina's rebuttal, not even turning around as she works around some green peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Then she pauses, nearly dropping her toast. But she turns, blinking, recognizing a... brand new voice. At least to her.

    "...you... have a remarkable knack for one-hit-wonder bands... I was just playing a random thing... um... hi.." she says, smile a little shy, looking the lovely redhead over. "...gosh there's so many pretty girls here..." she says the quiet part out loud, unable to help herself, then her cheeks darken. She lets the stirring utensil go and smacks herself in the forehead, "...I'm still waking up. Good morning... Koriand'r? Do you prefer Starfire? Or Kori? Ah!" she laughs, getting over her embarassment.

    "I'm Karolina! Um. I'm new here. As of. A few weeks ago. Seeing as you didn't trip any alarms... you must belong here, right?" she thrusts that hand forward, her other still holding half a slice of toasted bread, smeared with some crimson preserves.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Hm." Kori glances down as if to inspect the rebuttal, "I suppose I never looked at it that way.. I just assume that the feeling wasn't exclusive between them." She's hardly put out by the counter to her belief the song is of some great romantic nature, if anything it only draws her grin out even more.

"Yes, I belong here." Said with a clipped nod, definitively. "What are you cooking, Karolina? It smells delicious." Crossing the kitchen and wrapping around the outter edge of the island to stand entirely too close to the other Titan, well within personal space, so that she can get a good look at the potatoes. Leaning down to smell them with an approving sigh.

"This will require a great deal of hot sauce. I look forward to it!" The extended hand is taken, "It is a pleasure to meet you!" Shaking just the ends of the other womans fingers. "What is on your toast?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "Songs are weird," is Karolina's response, smiling. "Are you a fan of music too, then?" she asks. "Oh! I used to live in California, so I loved having fried potatoes with taco seasoning... on... them..." she starts to blush again, having the taller redhead up in her space. "Um..." she blinks, then glances down at the pan, distracting herself. "Soit'ssortofaskillet..." she says quickly, gesturing, breathing, "...the potatoes get crispy, the vegetables get soft... I put on seasoning, and dump in some eggs."

    She gestures to the bottle of not-egg, nodding, "...so it's a skillet scramble, and... there should be lots of hot sauce.. the boys here love it, I think... there always seems to be a new empty bottle..." she muses, though finds the light finger-shake to be a curious gesture. "A... pleasure to meet you too.. Kori.. and... it's raspberry jam!" she holds up her half-eaten toast.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Yes, I love Earth music very much!" Kori says brightly, showing all over her bright white teeth with orange lips peeling back from them in an incredibly expressive display. Once she's released Karolina's fingers, her attention is fully back upon the skillet, nodding appreciatively to the explanation of the intricacies of the dish.

"Siot'ssortofaskillet." Clipped nod.

"I am very happy that you are making this." Looking up just as the toast is thrust at her to show her what is spread upon it... One dark brow raises... and she leans over to take a bite of the toast. Possibly assuming that was the reason it was presented to her in the first place.

"Oh! I have had raspberry jam before! I thought we had preserves..." Squinting, she moves away suddenly towards the fridge to go inspect. Leaning directly over without any care that her butt crack comes out the top of her jeans. She doesn't even notice, honestly. "I would like six pieces of this toast."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "Are you familiar with the Beatles, then?" Karolina asks, daring to hope. "...they're kind of an obsession..." she laughs, returning that bright smile. Then a blink, "Oh, no, I just.. I talk fast when I'm nervous... it's... a skillet. Kind of? Just. Without the skillet. Like..." she rambles on, still nervous! And then her toast is bitten. Crunch! The sound wakes her from her surprise, and she... doesn't seem at all put off. "You.. like it that much?" she asks.

    Bewildered, she watches Kori head to the fridge, "Well... jam and preserves are kind of the same thing, but raspberry preserves are hard to do... they're usually super full of seeds, and there's not big enough pieces of fruit really for proper 'preserves'... strawberries are easier to chunk, and so are other fruits... butt..." she catches herself staring, stammering. Thankfully, Starfire's request for all the toast gives her something to focus on--as does turning away to stir her skillet.

    "Six pieces of toast? Will you have room for this though? I was going to get some tortillas warmed and make this into breakfast burritos once it's all cooked up." Apparently she doesn't know how much a Tamaranean can eat.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Yes! I enjoy the music by the Beatles. I am the Walrus." Starfire giggles from where she's bent over in front of the fridge. Does she know about all the turmoil that's going on with the Titans right now? That some of her closet friends have disappeared following the events in Metropolis? How couldn't she, really...

Her sunny disposition shines through regardless.

Listening to Karolina's explanation about preserves, "It must have been strawberries then. I do not always know what the fruit is, but I know that it tastes good." Unphased, moving along the waves like she's use to being wrong about certain facets of Earths cuisine.

When she returns, standing directly beside Karolina, once more occupying space that absolutely does not belong to her, it's with a giant bottle of hot sauce in one hand and the raspberry jam in the other.

"I eat a great deal of food." She informs the other, "More than any of the boys here, for sure. I have to have a lot of calories because I burn so much energy, constantly... do you like Orange Juice? I love Orange Juice. One Christmas, Dick put champagne in the orange Juice, but I forget what she called it. Is it too early for champagne orange juice?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "That is a very famous song, and... definitely one of their stranger ones..." Karolina laughs, busy working on her food. She sets a second pan to warming, to put the tortillas on. Finally, she adds the eggs, beginning the scramble process. She even moves to the toaster, or maybe there's two toasters. Regardless of how many appliances there are, the barefoot blonde gets toast set to toasting before returning to her other breakfast duties.

    "There might be some strawberries in there?" she suggests, glancing over her shoulder, just in time to see the taller woman get right up there with her once again. And of course, her cheeks tint, but is she going to say anything? Probably not. "Cooking is... kind of my superpower... well, I also am majoring in agricultural sciences, and there's a lot of overlap with a huge variety of food-related things... at least, that's my focus..." she again is just talking to keep her mind off of certain proximities.

    "Oh... you burn a lot of energy? I'm... mostly solar powered..." she smiles, nodding to those open windows, then quirking a brow. "Ah... those are... mimosas! Um. They're traditionally a breakfast thing, yes... and I do love orange juice! I'm just not old enough to drink yet," she laughs. "Everything is almost ready, though. Just waiting for the toast and the tortillas..." she says, absently stirring in the eggs, adding some nice yellow fluff to the pan.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Very famous." Kori says with a bobbing head nod, still right there. Right up in the mix trying to help even though her talent for cooking is directly tied into eating it and that's about it. She can assist though! Handing over spices, constantly handing spices, which says two things: She doesn't know what she's doing AND she really likes spicey food.

"No, raspberries are fine. That is what you have on your toast and it was good, I will have raspberry." Jar placed down near the second of two toasters. There's a lot of mouths to feed at the tower, especially when they're all together eating.. "I miss dinner with my friends.." It may well be the first time she doesn't sound overtly happy. Even this doesn't sound sad so much as... thoughtful? It's a stark enough contrast though.

And temporary.

Beaming a smile at Karolina, "I will never understand United States laws on drinking.. You are old enough to go to war... I was probably half your age when I fought in the insurrection of Tamaranen." Dark, but not said as such.

Forgotten just as quickly, "I will have a mamosa and I will make a second one. You can drink it if you want, it is a breakfast beverage afterall." One long finger presses to her dark orange lips, "Our secret."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina is, for her part, politely refusing to add any more spices to the mix. She might like some spice but it already smells like cayenne and taco in that pan! "I.. well.. you're back now, right? And.. there's more than just me that's new. So... you can have dinner with friends, old and new, right?" she offers, a little ray of sunshine this woman is. She's even got a bright smile.

    The mention of war has her blinking, though. There's a lot of information to take in, really, especially from the beautiful, and taller woman next to her. "I... well... I mean... I'm only 19... you were in a war when you were... what, ten? I.. is there any accounting for the differences in alien physiology?" she asks. "...I mean I'm... not human either but... I was raised as one?" she offers, pursing her lips. She'd done quite a lot before she was old enough to drive, really, and isn't exactly bringing that up.

    The memories do flash, though, and she grimaces for a moment before going back to passively cheerful, "I... if you insist? It's Saturday, and... we can toast to new friends, right?"

Koriand'r has posed:
"I am! I wasn't really gone, though." Kori says with a bright smile, nothing keeping her down for very long, not even Karolina's gentle refusal to add more spices against her best attempts to hand her them... some of which she already handed her once already. Using the distraction of 'Lina blinking up at her to smile majestically, a truly radiant thing like the sun itself, a flash of green energy in her eyes, and her left hand snaking in beneath the other womans to tap some ghost pepper powder onto the scrambler.

Tap tap tap.

"Boop." Tapping the end of her nose with one long finger.

"I like you Karolina. We are going to be best friends, I can already tell." She has one of those personalities, though. She'd have been very popular in high school. "Mmmm.." Physiology? "I do not think so. Very similar to human physiology, mostly. I am a great deal stronger, I suppose, but strength is very rarely measured in physical ability." Moving away only long enough to grab champagne from one of the racks and a bottle of orange juice with two champagne flutes. "Strength of character is far more important to judge a person."

Pouring one mamosa, she holds it out to 'Lina, "To my beautiful new friend Karolina." Lifting her own glass once she's poured a second.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "Hey!" Karolina gasps, but also laughs. That smile is indeed distracting, but she's quick to keep -too- much powder going in. Or she tries to! Then she's booped. Her eyes cross a little, those shining blues meeting Starfire's after a moment, nose wrinkling. "I... um.. I like you too, Kori," she says, cheeks darkening. She might as well have been pulsing red to her normal skin tone all this time.

    "I mean, physical durability does help in a combat situation, doesn't it? And... human children are... not that durable... it's part of why we do what we do here, right? Making sure people are safe?" she smiles gently. "I mean I just like helping people.. seems like I can't get away from doing it... so I'm hapy to be here..." she takes the glass in both hands, looking into it.

    "Ah.... mm.... to my beautiful new friend, Koriand'r?" she offers in return, still seeming just a bit shy!

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori only grins more at Karolina trying to keep her from adding ghost pepper powder, snaking her around around, tapping, in another direction, tapping, more or less intwining them for a few seconds. A weird kitchen hug, as it were. Then she releases the smaller woman and sets the powder down, but the bright, neigh jovial, smile lights up the room... literally by how it glows in her green eyes.

A thumb comes up and gently removes a bit of powder from Karolina's cheek, then comes to Starfire's lips to suck it off. "A lot of human children grow to be strong rather than being born that way.. Look at Nightwing? Robin.. Look at Hawkeye?" She shrugs heavily, sipping her mamosa gingerly with her hip resting against the corner of the counter directly beside 'Lina.

"No, that is not what we do.. that is ONE of the things we do. Our purpose here is to inspire people to protect themselves. Everyone is the agent of their own safety, Karolina, this is an important thing to understand. I do not want to be someones savior, I want to stand behind Humanity as they stand up for themselves." Snaking her neck a little, straightening it out at the compliment.

"Thank you! I am very beautiful. You have nothing to be shy about, but I find it very adorable that you are."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina seems... both bashful and receptive to the whole tangling of bodies in the kitchen. It's a casual little dance that leaves her bumping into places she might otherwise be a little too embarassed to otherwise. But at last, it's done, and she continues to simply blink and blush at all of those casual touches.

    "Well, I mean... I... never thought I was that strong growing up? But. I guess I am now? Circumstances and all..." she says quietly. "I, I mean, I was raised as a human, and... I like to help people. But I grew up here, you didn't, right? So, I mean, everyone has their motives, and their strengths, and weaknesses, and contributions... so, I do what I can. And.. right now... I'm cooking..." she smiles up at Kori, taking another drink and then starting to roll up the burritos.

    "I'm very shy! YOu're... very... um... tactile. And. Um. I like girls. And. You're really, really pretty... and warm... if I didn't have my bracelet on I'd...probably be blinding you right now..." she laughs, "Oh god, shut up Karolina.." she rubs her face, "I talk a lot when I'm nervous..." she repeats.

Koriand'r has posed:
"If I make you uncomfortable, I will stop." Koriand'r says with a small smile, laying a hand on Karolina's shoulder while the other resumes cooking. It's casual, gentle, and genuine. "You do not have to be shy with me, I assure you that you will never offend me... Not to say that you can't, just that I have a good feeling about people and you do not strike me as someone who would." The hand falls down to her side, slapping against her jeans on her left thigh.

"Mmm... Yes, I grew up in a slave camp, mostly. Many years anyways... formative years, as adults here on Earth would say, but I was already who I am by then." Her dark past seems a footnote, which isn't to say she's no feelings on the matter, but she expresses them with brief glimpses that very well could go unnoticed.

A shrug here, a glance away there, but always her smile quickly returns.

"I am a sensual person, yes, but I do not want to force that on those who do not want it! So all you need to say is stop and I will do so." She takes a full step to the side away from Karolina, beaming as brightly as the sun itself. "I would drink up the rays of your radiance, if you were to shine that brightly." Sucking on her teeth, "Drink it right up!"

Laughing quietly, friendly, and happily at Lina's stammering. "You are adorable. Please, never shut up, you have a wonderful voice and say such lovely things."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "No!" Karolina squeaks, putting the drink down and both hands over her mouth suddenly. "No, no, you're... you're not making me uncomfortable. It's just. Very sudden, and... you're very pretty... and very kind. SO, don't.. you can.. stay close?" She seems to not... quite parse the slave camp business. It gets heard, it gets processed, but she isn't sure what to say. Especially while she's in the midst of her own panicking.

    There's a soft sigh, and she's focusing on over-stuffing some burritos, making sure one of them has an extra-generous amount of hot sauce dumped into it. Then CHING! There's the toast. She has at least enough presence of mind to make sure nothing's burning, and that nothing gets cold. At the least, she has something rote to focus on, moving between scooping, rolling, and spreading jam.

    "I ... I can show you, if you want? And... thank you for saying as much..." she sighs, caught so off balance that she has to physically lean on the counter. "You're just.. so delightfully overwhelming!"

Koriand'r has posed:
The suddenness of Karolina's squeaking refusal would be startling, it is actually, if Kori wasn't so caught up in the condensation on the outside of her glass. Her head jerks up and she looks over at the other woman with a frown, unsure where her line of nos is going until she makes herself clear, at which point the frown literally turns upside down. Flipping on the axis into a bright smile.

Accompanied by taking a dramatic, drawn out, step towards 'Lina so that they're side by side.

She says nothing about it otherwise because the food is being finished and she's watching Karolina finish it very intently. Mumbling something... then again... and again. That something is more each time 'Lina stops adding hot sauce.

"Please, let me help." Holding out both hands for the toast, "I can burn water, but I think that I am more than capable of spreading jam on toast without killing anyone!" Nose wrinkling ever so slightly.

Eyes squinting to look at Karolina through tiny slits. There is suddenly a hand on her shoulder to steady her when she goes off balance. "Hm. Interesting." Without context, only a smile. "Is this a statement of good cheer? You are delightfully overwhelming too!"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    More? More. More. She keeps adding sauce until Kori is satisfied, and then artfully wraps up the burrito. She sighs, "Thank you. I'm just... yes. That.." she laughs. "Overwhelmed, but it's good, yes. And thank you for helping. It's a lot of toast!" Karolina exclaims, smiling. She's not panicking anymore, and she's nice and close to the taller woman again. The warmth from her seems to put her at ease, even if she's still unable to keep from blushing up a storm.

    "Ah, here, and here," she hands the spreader and the jar of jam to her friend, and slides over the stack of toasted bread. "I'll... get this finished.." she nods to the burritos. Well, her own now. "How.. am I overwhelming though? Overwhelmed, perhaps, but..." she smiles, shy but now for different reasons. "I'm not even shining yet. I've just been... cooking like mad and panicking... and you've been so warm and calm. So. I'm... not sure I could overwhelm you at all, really..." she says with a sheepish expression on her face. A face which soon has the heel of her palm pressed against her forehead. The silver medicalert bracelet on that wrist jingles a little as she exhales a sigh.

Koriand'r has posed:
There is a warmth that bleeds off of Kori constantly. Energy stored inside her, glowing in her eyes, the brilliance of her teeth, or a thousand little details made more vibrant by the solar power inside her like a duracell battery. The acknowledgement of it is amusing, obviously so, and she bumps her hip against Karolina's after taking the stack of toast to begin smearing healthy amounts of jam on each one, both sides.

A LOT of calories.

"Mmm, probably not." Regarding whether Lina could overwhelm her, "But I did not want you to feel alone in your flustered state. I find you very appealing, I believe some would call it attractive..." Leaning to the side to regard the womans night clothes, "Perhaps we can work on your fashion, not that there is anything particularly WRONG with wearing pajamas.. I do so often.."

One of the slices all but disappears in a few quick bites, sucking jam from her fingers while folding the second in her other hand. "I'll go put plates on the table!" Second slice is gone.

By the time she's slipped away, another gentle nudge of Karolina's hip prior, she's consumed the third and fourth as well. "Here comes the sun, do, dun, do, do..!"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina herself is rather warm, it's no surprise, really. She emits a little squeak with the hip-bump, but bumps back. "I, well.. I'm. Still not used to people being so open. I've... made some mistakes before! But. You're verynice. And. Very attractive. And. I just woke up!" she laughs, folding her arms after folding her burrito, crossing them over her chest. "I'm not planning on wearing this outside, after all... not that it's... um. Scandalous or anything?" she looks down at her legs, making sure that she's decent enough.

    And then Kori is off, and so is the toast. She emits a soft squeak at the second bump, but then follows to the table, mimosa in hand. "Maybe... if you ask nice...I'll show you what I mean," she says with a smile, lightly jiggling her bracelet. "..but first, let's eat? I'm hungry. I only had the one piece of toast so far..." She scoots her way to the table, puts her drink down, and after a few moments of indecision, takes a seat next to Starfire.