3458/Bringing home a puppy

Bringing home a puppy
Date of Scene:	20 September 2020
Location:	5B - Karolina's Greenwich Loft
Synopsis:	Karolina invites Koriand'r to her apartment for lunch, but things get a lot of emotions in the garden.
Cast of Characters:	Karolina Dean, Koriand'r

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Karolina Dean has posed:
    Just after noon, the sun is high, the sky is clear, and it's nice and warm. The cool of autumn is creeping its way in slowly, but not enough to dampen spirits, even while pumpkin spice and Halloween decorations start popping up in places. Karolina has taken a trip back home, departing Metropolis by way of the hyperloop and returning to New York. She's got a new friend in tow, though, and today it's not a new succulent to put on her nightstand.

    No, she's taken Starfire home, having promised to show her garden off, as well as make her more food! After all, nobody in the tower is allowed to do anything until they've had a bowl of curry from the rainbow alien. The blonde carries a sack of groceries, a reusable bag with thermal padding and several I<3NY images in a collage all over it, and leads her new friend up into her Greenwich Loft apartment home.

    "We're here~!" the sunny woman says cheerfully, clad in a powder blue tank top with a rainbow 'swoosh' on it and white wings printed on the back and some hip-hugging short-shorts, all the more for basking in the ample sunlight. She hip-bumps the door after unlocking it, moving immediately to put the bag on the table and open up the windows for the plants to get some sun.

Koriand'r has posed:
It wasn't a hard to sell to get Koriand'r out of the tower, to be quite honest. Lina had simply asked and Kori had agreed without much preamble or explanation as to what they would be getting up to. Suffice that when there was eventually mention of food and a garden, it lit up the Tamaranean princesses expression like a 4th of July celebration.

"Oh! That is delightful! I greatly enjoyed your burritos, I am sure you will wow me completely with your curry." Said, actually, clapping in excitement. Further, the mention of the garden? "Perhaps I will sometime show you my own garden, there are several species from my home.. perhaps the last remaining." It should not be said with such joviality.

Walking through New York now, it is difficult for Kori to not draw attention. She stops at every booth, every vendor, every window.. "I work here." She says, motioning grandularly to all of the city. "I am a model for Janet Van Dyne's clothing line." Which explains why she barely seems to work and has a neigh endless supply of clothes.

Stepping into the apartment with Lina, she leans over to rest her chin on the smaller womans shoulder, "Can I help you with groceries?" Holding her hand straight out, up between the other womans side and elbow.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina has been living in New York City for a few years, and almost exclusively on foot when she's not feeling like flying. So she has a little something to say about a lot of those little places when they pause for Kori to poke her head in, or look at an item, or simply say hello. But finally they make it home!

    "Really? Janet Van Dyne's clothing?" she asks, gently waving off the offer to assist. "There's not a lot to put away, but if you want to eat sooner than later, I should get started. Have a look around? Maybe help me water the plants?" she offers, smiling gently to her friend. "Do you have a garden in the tower? I just grow food and flowers here," she gestures up to the roof with a nod. Arms free, she goes to kick off her shoes, and turn on the stereo.

    "Right then," she grins, as some local station plays some indie rock on a low volume. "...welcome to my home!" she finally opens her arms wide, gesturing around her.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Yes, shortly after Doomsday and the end of the Titans." Kori's arms drop down from between Karolina's so she can start her self tour of the main living area. Periodically leaning over to take a look at this photograph or that album cover. Smiling wide at some of the selections, a large percentage of which seems to be Beatles.

"I started modelling to fill my time. Someone said I had an appealing body, I did not see it, but... Janet found me while working for a lesser known clothing line and offered me a job at her company." Bare shoulders, now that she's slid out of her white button up shirt-jacket. She's wearing a single shoulder shirt with Captain America's shield on the front.

She also wears a pair of low slung slim-jeans in a dark gray with sneakers on her feet. Not much jewelery besides a choker with a lime green stone in the center. "You have a lovely home, Karolina." Smiling over to her host, crossing the living room to stand closer to her. "Thank you for bringing me." Looking towards, if not directly at, the garden. "Oh, yes I do! Caitlin helped me with it at first, but now I have gotten quite the green thumb." Very very proud.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "I'm... glad the Titans are coming back together, even with our missing friends. We'll get them back, they'll find their way home," Karolina says, her smile wavering just slightly, but the underlying hope is there, and her smile returns to being super bright as she turns to look towards Kori. She bites her lower lip for a moment, then laughs, cheeks turning light. "You don't see it? You're tall and gorgeous!" she exclaims, putting her hands on her hips for a moment and shaking her head.

    "I mean, I guess I could've been a model, too, growing up in California and Hollywood, but... blondes are a dime a dozen and I've got a better calling? I mean, even before joining the Titans, I loved my classwork and my music..." she looks towards the windows. "...and I still do! But at least I can do even more, now, right?" she offers, clasping her hands together.

    When Kori gets closer, she reaches out to touch her shoulder, "Right! Cooking first, or garden first? And I look forward to seeing yours sometime. I'm... actually curious about your homeworld's flora, from a scientific standpoint. I promise not to hurt them!"

Koriand'r has posed:
"No, I /didn't/ see it." Kori points out with a bright grin, hands part way in her pockets, just to the second knuckles, because those are some tight jeans. "I see it now, I've been working as a model for six years. You pick up self confidence along the way..." Jerking her hip out to knock against Lina's when the other rests her hand upon a slim shoulder.

"I was young when I came to earth. Wasn't yet comfortable in my skin compared to all the exotic human women who were around me." In the eyes of an alien, a human woman /would/ be very exotic, "What I did not realize was that I was the one that was exotic to them. Perspective is very important."

All grins, she reaches up and rests her palm against the side of Karolina's cheek, "You would make a wonderful model, never think otherwise. I would, however, rather see you as a scientist." Slipping closer to wrap her arms around the smaller woman to give her a warm hug.

Then away before it's had a chance to really settle in.

"Tamaranean flora is very aggressive. It has evolved to defend itself from most predators.. Even if this were not true, I trust you would not harm them. You are my friend, after all! A very good friend." Booping the blondes nose with one extended finger.

"Show me around."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    There's a gasp, and a laugh, not expecting the playful hip check. "Right, you're... well, if you don't mind my saying," she starts off, a little sheepish. "..a lot more openly exotic than I am?" she offers. Then she gestures down at herself, smiling shyly, "...California girl. Not... what'd mom call me... Majesdanian? I mean, look at me..." she gestures down at herself, even when her cheek is touched.

    "Tall, leggy blondes are a dime a dozen on the west coast," she says, but it's not unhappily. "But yes, perspective is important. And so is science. It's funny, though, my flavor of science doesn't help the Titans with tech or physics... but at least I can keep them fed, right?" she laughs. Then sinks into the hug. A brief squeeze is returned, warmth to warmth, and then she reluctantly lets go. The tap to her nose has her crossing her eyes for a moment, blinking, but it follows with another soft laugh.

    "So long as your plants don't try to eat me! Come on, let's head up top first," she gestures to the nearby door leading to that narrow stairs.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Perspective!" Kori says with a jovial lilt to her voice and a bright grin on her face, reaching out to take Karolina's hand when the other motions for them to move topside. Loosely linking her pinky with the other girls, her other hand is in her own back-pocket.

"Majesdanian.. I have not heard of this planet. Do you know the language they speak there?" She wonders, rather an odd question all things considered, but given who is asking it? "You should never undercut the importance of staying well fed, Karolina! We are young, full of energy, and require lots of calories.. food is the basis for what brings people together. There is a great deal of importance applied to eating."

Musing absently as they begin to climb the stairs that lead up to the roof.

"It is not a persons looks that really make them exotic anyways... you have a personality that is appealing and attractive. You should not discredit this, ever."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    It's an odd way of holding hands without holding hands, and Karolina has to take a moment to figure out how the whole pinky-curl thing works before moving forward towards the stairs. "I don't know where it is," she replies, regarding 'home'. "I was born here on Earth, actually. And my parents..." she trails off, opening the door to the roof with her free hand and starting the climb to the outside. "...were really not good people. So I never really thought to dig deeper. Besides... Earth is my home now anyway, and her people are my people. Our people!" she smiles, and laughs.

    "...people full of energy and require a lot of calories. And so far nobody's complained about my vegan cooking at the Tower, but there's plenty of other food to eat if they're not happy with my offerings. I swear, there must be a dozen pizzas that get delivered daily..." she says, diverting from the topic of her family and homeworld.

    "And... thank you, Kori. I appreciate that. Still, I do want you to see the real me. The Titans got to see it! It's taken years for me to come to terms with it, I didn't even know I was an alien until a few years ago. Can you imagine the shock?" she asks, moving towards the garden patch. There's some late summer flowers nearing their end of cycle, and a couple of vegetables hanging on. The fall veggies haven't come into fruiting JUST yet, though. She's got a pumpkin vine or two, of course, and there's a variety of things like cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, and turnips labeled with bright, cheerful stakes that look hand-painted.

Koriand'r has posed:
It's a rather simplistic form, certainly! Which makes it easy to figure out in short order, Kori letting herself be led by that slight connection until they break out into the open sunlight atop the apartment complex amidst a garden of fresh and colorful vegetables. "Ooo, this is exciting!" She says with genuine enthusiasm, grinning from Karolina to the garden around them. Turning a small circle as she sweeps deeper in between short rows of growing vegitation with her glowing green eyes fixing upon the blonde woman.

"You could do a great deal worse than Earth." She says with a nod, looking up at the bright sun beaming down upon them, squinting against the rays washing across her face. Her orange skin sparkles ever so gently in that illumination, as if feeding her, and she does feel warm by the shared connection in their pinky's.

"Perhaps we can find out about your world later, then? Something for us to look into. You were born here on Earth and have only ever known a life as an human, but you should, at least, learn about where you come from." Squeezing that pinky with her own, "Food for thought?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    The rooftop garden is pretty nice, especially for where it is situated in Lower Manhattan. It must not be cheap either. There's even some small terra cotta pots with herbs growing in them! Especially the mint. The mint cannot be allowed to take over, thus it is confined to a pot. Karolina does break the conection of pinkies, though, moving over towards the little patio area to grab a watering can and fill it up with the naked spigot that sits in a corner.

    "To tell the truth, I'm... not so enthused about finding home? My parents never talked about it, so... while I'm a little curious... this is where I am, and this is where I belong now, you know?" she offers, putting the container down on the table. "Oh... you look..." she can't help but laugh softly, "..I was going to say radiant but.. do you absorb sunlight, too?" she asks, unable to recall of Kori had told her as much the other day.

Koriand'r has posed:
"Food for thought." Kori repeats with Karolina's saying she's not really interested, "There are terrible examples of all kinds of species, Lina. Imagine if we based our opinions on the entire species based on the actions of a select few... even if they were our parents." She doesn't intentionally mean to twist any emotional knife, and does so with a level of empathy that might be surprising considering how flampant she seems to be about just about everything else, including her own checkered past.

"It is, ultimately, your decision, though!" Smiling again, she slips her now empty hand into her other back pocket as she walks about the garden. Kneeling to look at a particularly lovely califlower with a lumenous smile. "Oh, yes. It is the basis for all of my abilities. Any sun, really, perhaps radiation or solar energy... I'm not entirely sure, but so long as there is sunlight, I have a rather healthy battery to fuel me." Wrinkling her nose against the glare of the sun when she looks up and over at Karolina.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "True but..." she shrugs those bare shoulders. "...this is still my home, and my home has enough problems to deal with. And people that I call my friends and my family," Karolina smiles. The talk about being charged by the sun has her very interested, though, and she clings to every word. "..you're just like me, then.." she says with a soft laugh. "Well, not JUST like me. I mean... the odds aren't that bad. We're not the only sun-drinking aliens on the planet, right? But..."

    She lingers near tbe table, rapping her fingers on the surface for a moment. Then she reaches for her own wrist, unlocking the clasp on her bracelet. The little silver medic-alert chain sparkles in the sun as she slides it off of her hand and gently plunks it down on the table.

    The moment it leaves contact with her skin, and not a heartbeat later, she practically ignites. She picks up the watering can, even as her bare feet lift about an inch off the ground. She's bathed in sunlight and positively radiant, her skin shining in all of the colors of the rainbow. It's enough that even her clothing seems to shimmer, engulfed in that shine as her hair spreads out behind her.

    The rainbow-blonde, glowing like the daystar in a million colors, clutches the watering can to herself as she floats over to her plants, and closer to Kori. "Hi, this is me," she states.

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori doesn't dispute what Karolina says regarding Earth and the problems faced there, nodding agreement without hesitation, smiling reassuringly to every word. She waves it off with the jerk of her wrist through the air, leaving behind a trail of lime green energy in the shape of a rainbow that does not sparkly nearly as much as Karolina herself does.

The expression on Starfire's face speaks volumes. Lighting up majestically when the bracelet falls away and the girl begins to sparkle like a diamond twisting in the light, "Why hello there, Karolina." Reaching out with one hand to rest a hand against her bare-shoulder, "You truly are lovely... does it hurt?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    The touch on her shoulder earns a dip of her head, Karolina closing her eyes and tilting it as if to lean closer to the hand. She's so warm. Warmer than before now, even. Her arms fall to her front, anchored by the watering can, sloshing and splashing a little.

    "It doesn't hurt at all, actually," she opens her eyes, her smile still so bright. "...this is my natural form. I feel the sun as if it were a part of me. I mean, I think I'm part star as it is, considering things... but... this is what I'm supposed to look like. The bracelet suppresses my powers. I don't glow, I can't fly, I can't fight... but I ... also look.. normal?" she offers a lopsided, conflicted expression while lifting her shoulders.

    "...it means I can go to school and live a regular life without drawing attention, at the least... but I'm glad I can still be a.. hero, too."

Koriand'r has posed:
"Oh, Karolina..." The hand moves from her shoulder to rest against her cheek, cupping it gently with as radiant a smile as Lina is bright in her natural form, "What a world we live in that you think you have to hide who you are to be 'normal'." The alien woman is known as such, has never hid it. Koriand'r is a well documented extraterestrial being and celebrated for that fact.

"You are beautiful, and I do not mean that as simply asthetically pleasing, which is also true, but as a being.. a person. The warmth of your heart glows as brightly as YOU do!" Her hand slips down along her arm reaching for her hand to hold it up, placing her gently green glowing orange fingers in a mirror to those sparkling digits on Lina's hand.

"I hope that you some day understand that you need never hide anything, that you should be no more than yourself, ever.. but for now, I can say only that, with me?" Looking up with the hollow white parts of her glowing green eyes, "You should never dampen your powers. I want to see you for you."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina's cheek is even warmer than her shoulder, brighter. It's possibly obvious that the shine and the heat are because she's blushing, but there's no way to see the red in her cheeks. Instead, it's as if someone turned up the brightness. "I've... I mean..." she stammers, "...I'm still figuring out and understanding and being okay with everything I am. I hung up my fighting shoes until the Titans..." she keeps that lopsided, awkward smile on.

    She relinquishes a hand when it's taken, the watering can sloshing at her side now, held just by the one, as she presses palm to palm, green-orange to coruscating colors. "I.. thank you.." her awkward smile turns into a real one. "I know I have a good heart, it just gets hurt easily, you know?" she asks, exhaling a quiet sigh. "And... I'll... try. To remember. When I'm with you. If you want!" she gets nervous again, "...maybe I just feel like I'm extra distracting like this?"

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori nods definitively, bends Karolina's fingers around her's, and moves it back down to the other womans side. "You're not distracting and, even if you were, who cares?" It's hard under almost any circumstance to dampen the ever vibrant Koriand'r, releasing her grip on the girls wrist and spinning on her heels with a show swish of dark red hair washing out behind her like a crashing wave.

"Now, say something flattering about me. I'm starting to feel left out." She teases, very clearly joking by the way she washes her hand dismissively through the air. "Stop that, you are in no position to be nervous! Unless I make you nervous..." Leaning dangerously into Karolina's personal space, nearly nose to nose, "Do I make you nervous?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    The tangle of fingers gets a reaction, a little bit of tension, but then a squeeze. At least, until it lets go. She seems captivated by that hair and that twirl, and the light that Kori carries with her. Teasing, or not, she still seems to try and find the words. "I mean... you're gorgeous... and your hair is even longer than mine! It's amazing," she says earnestly. Then the other woman is. Right there. Just so close.

    "Ah. Umm..." she blinks, maybe leaning back a little. There's something about flying, though, that means she's not going to fall over. Her float just means she tilts. And probably bumps legs with Kori's. "Yes, yes you do, she admits. "...because you're friendly. Very, very, very friendly, and... suportive... and I think I like you, but I don't want to make the same mistake again?" she confesses. "...but by saying that did I already do it?" For as much as she tries not to let the past lock her into inaction and indecision, there's just times where she panics a little. Like now.

Koriand'r has posed:
With their noses so close it would be impossible for Kori to boop Karolina right now, but one must assume that it's what she's thinking by the way her eyes wrinkle along the bridge of her nose at the compliments and admissions coming from the sparkling girl hovering a foot or two off the ground. So, to make it more of an even footing, Starfire's feet lift off the roof and she rises up to just the same height as Karolina. Her feet bend downward as she elevates until she's bobbing there like a fishing weight.

Grinning brightly.

Which is by no means a new development despite what it is Karolina has just admitted to.

"Do you? Well, good. I like you too. We're going to be very good friends, Karolina." Said matter of factly, not quite grasping the meaning as stated at first. For all the education she may have had over the last 8 years, some things still slip her attention. She's so friendly, all the time, with almost everyone... It gives her blinders? "Why would you mess up anything by telling me you like me?" They are, however, still nose to nose.

So it's not less awkward.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    The thought of being booped again is pretty far from Karolina's mind. The noses almost touching and those shining eyes so close to her are really all she's filled with. There is, of course, the faintest sense of vertigo as her slowly shifting angle reminds her that she's floating and that gravity is a thing, but the woman also somehow doesn't register that Kori can fly too. They stay at that angle, even as the world tilts around them. Even her arm hanging at her side is weighed down by the watering can, forgotten only to the point that she's got her fingers curled around it so it doesn't drop.

    "Yes... friends.." she says quietly, voice falling just slightly, her sunniness dimmming. But they're still nose to nose. The feeling of warm breath. The scent of the sunny afternoon and city breeze swirling around the mix of earth, plants, and her companion here on the roof. She can feel her heart pounding in her throat, or at least, what process in her counts as a heart. Something is forming a rapidly pulsing lump in her throat. Fear? Anxiety? Memories?

    Her head swims, and it's not the angle she's floating at, eyes closing now to give her some momentary grounding. A quick breath, and her head turns slightly one way, and presses forward in the same movement, craning her neck just a little. With noses so close it would be easy to figure out where she's aiming, but her eyes shut, to save herself from having to face her new friend if she, once again, completely misread something.

Koriand'r has posed:
kori isn't aware that they're slowly rotating in a clockwise motion, hovering as they are in the air in direct defiance of gravities attempts to ground them. There is no grounding them in this moment, though, is there? Is this what she'd thought would happen? To say Koriand'r isn't a flirt would be a lie... to say she hadn't been flirting with Karolina, possibly more so, but had she really suspected it would come here to this moment?

Maybe.

There's a long time to think about it in the span of miliseconds where Lina is slowly craning her neck forward and it is entirely obvious for what purpose she's moving to, even, the oblivious Starfire. A reaction first comes in the form of rapid blinking. Then she can feel her cheeks flushing, a sensation to which she is entirely foreign, but this is not embarassment. It's excitement.

As they hover there, now upside down in midair, Kori reaches out to brush the backs of her fingers against Karolina's cheek. Uncurling them just along the back of her jaw, she uses that little connection to guide the younger woman closer until all fears are desolved in the heat of two bright stars lips touching.

One sparkling like a diamond in the sun, the other radiant like a solarflare. It isn't a long kiss, soft, brief, sweet... but it leaves the Tamaranean princess with her heart palpitating in her throat...

"Oh... you /like/ me.." Her hand remains on Karolina's cheek, thumb gently brushing along the curve of cheek just beneath her left eye,

"I /like/ you too."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    The waiting is the worst. Even if it's at milliseconds, measured in single-digit heartbeats, it feels like an eternity for Karolina. Is she going to get pushed away? Is there going to be no feeling at all as she's dodged? Will she make that contact, only to get a gasp and a wide-eyed expression of shock and disgust? There's so many possibilities, and the woman's sharp mind is running throgh all of them, each worse than the last.

    Until...

    There's more than just the gentle brush of a tentative first kiss, of a heart emboldened despite fear. There's the hand, first, figners not sending her away, not impacting. But guiding. Then the meeting of lips, warmed by the sunlight in more ways than one. She reflexively curls and uncurls her fingers, one hand empty, the other relinquishing its hold on the colorful plastic watering can. There's a quiet little sloshy 'thunk' as it lands upright, punctuating the end of the kiss with a dull sound.

    Her eyes open, though, and she takes and exhales a shaky breath, lids fluttering for a moment. She nods, trembling, tilting her head slightly to press into the hand on her face, lifting her own to gently press it more firmly against her cheek. That expression of hers, still a hint of fear, uncertainty, fades the moment Kori emphasizes the /like/. She smiles, exhaling a held breath.

    A kiss. And her very first.

Koriand'r has posed:
What she opens her eyes to is the same beaming smile, the same glowing green eyes, but with a wealth of possibilities radiating in them now that was sorely missing before. Her teeth are white as pearls, more so by the lips pealed back away from them, and her hand continues to lay against the other womans multi-colored sparkling cheek with her thumb gently dancing side to side beneath her eye in a constant caress.

Kori is unaware that they are suspended upside down, but she'd not be bothered by it even if she were. Her attention is centered and focused, fixed really, upon Karolina. With so little needing to be said it is of no real concern that she says nothing at all. Instead she leans forward again, but this time it's only to rest her forehead against the other womans.

Her other hand coming down to gently slide along the other cheek to the first, cupping Lina's face between them. "I told you we would be the best of friends." As if this is some how a prediction come true, but Koriand'r is a very odd woman.