3497/A day before noon

A day before noon
Date of Scene:	22 September 2020
Location:	5B - Karolina's Greenwich Loft
Synopsis:	It is a day before noon, Kori and Lina engage in emotions and do adorable.
Cast of Characters:	Koriand'r, Karolina Dean

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Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r was high for several hours after the situation in the Medbay, head spinning and princess giggling over everything until she finally started to calm down once they got back to Karolina's apartment. She fell asleep around 4am. Laying with her face pillowed hard against the arm of the sofa, one arm up behind her back, the other forward across her abdomen, and her legs still up beneath her where she was sitting on them crossed in the couch.

She slept like a rock.

Dead to the world with hard breathing snorts that blew tendrils of red hair away from her sweaty face.. murmuring periodically, narrating her dreams in Tamaranean.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina wouldn't stand for this. Not at all. When her rock of a girlfriend showed no signs of waking up, even after the rainbow girl had taken care of her shower and dinner and everything, she'd made a decision. And that decision was to very carefully carry the taller, heavily-sleeping woman to bed. No sense in letting her get all weird aches and hurt neck in the morning. Besides, Karolina is pretty strong! So carefully carry she does, an expression of fondness on her face, and gently deposits Kori in her bed.

    It dawns on her that maybe it's not 'her' bed anymore. Their bed? She's still new to the whole relationship thing, and she can't help but smile, a bit tickled at the fact she even can ponder such things. Then she hit the hay herself! Morning would come, and the blonde would be quite asleep, once again, bundled up under the covers despite her rather high ambient body temperature, to say nothing of Kori so close.

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori never once woke up during the process of transplatation from couch to... is it their?... bed. She would be tickled to think those things too! If she were awake enough to have those thoughts... or any thoughts that aren't directly related to dreams.. but whatever thoughts or dreams she may be having, she has them with a smile on her face. Knocked out like Marty McFly at the beginning of Back to the Future.

Knocked out, but cuddled right up against Karolina.

Putting off high amounts of latent body heat in her t-shirt and fleece pajama shorts, which she never got around to taking off before passing out like a dragon on a mound of gold. Which means it's hot in that room, hot enough that most normal people wouldn't be able to sleep, not with both Kori and Karolina radiating as they do. Further, both of them radiating and cuddling up against one another. Two body furnices in the ultimately close proxmity.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina takes much comfort in this warmth. In fact, in such close proximity, with so much extra heat, she gets to sleep even easier than she might have in the last several years. It might've been a long time since she was so relaxed and so secure. The shared heartbeat, the scent, the closeness. It's something she could get addicted to. But for the moment, it's a contest to see who can sleep in the longest.

    What sun coming in through the windows just makes her even more relaxed, being suffused with solar power, body tingling. She hadn't even put on her bracelet, so she's still got a faint glow going under those blankets, like a big rainbow firefly. Dreams of chocolate cake and a bird person, and a giggling Kori most likely. Though probably in some of the most abstract of ways.

Koriand'r has posed:
Sunlight through yander window break.

Right into Koriand'r's face. Not just in her face though, but right into her closed eyes, as if it were a heat seeking sunlight missile zeroed in on her eyelids. Blazing through them like hot knife through warm butter. Forcing her awake rather than gently rousing her as has been the case for the last two days... Green eyes pop open, not yet glowing since that's an abstract effect of using her power in some way, to stare blurry and unseeing through all the hair plastered against her face.

Her mouth is dry!

SO dry...

So dry.

Smacking her lips and adjusting with a little groan, Kori pushes that hair out of her face once she's sitting up on the edge of the bed, sliding it behind her ears. A glance back assures her Karolina is soundly asleep, grinning down at her as she pushes up to walk into towards the kitchen on barefeet to grab a glass of water.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    It's certainly an effect. The moment Kori sits up and detaches herself from contact with Karolina, the rainbow blonde mumbles something. It might just be a nonsense word or three, or 'cold...'. Which has to be impossible because she's so warm anyway! Maybe it's that excessive heat she's craving now, curling a little inward on herself.

    Regardless of what makes her mumble, though, she curls a little inward on herself, pawing at a pillow and yanking it into her arms to squeeze with a little grumble, not -quite- satisfied but her subconscious makes it so. "S'fluffy..."

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori hears the little complaints and she stops in the doorway before departing, gripping the doorframe loosely where her finger gently taps, and watches Karolina with a happy smile on her face. "I will be right back." She whispers, sliding out to make her way to the kitchen for a glass of water or three.

It becomes a whole thing, though.

After her sixth glass of water, she decides she wants cereal. A huge bowl full to the rim, covered in almond milk, which she carries in one hand as she rejoins Karolina in bed. Stepping up onto the mattress and slowly lowering self down beside the sleeping solar battery with her legs curled beneath her.

The bowl is set aside, reaching for the sleeping beauty to brush hair off her forehead to give her soft kiss against the hairline, carefully moving her afterwards so she can use her leg as a pillow.

Now it's breakfast time. Big spoonfuls of cereal to try and eat quietly... which doesn't work, at least not all th-

CRUNCH

Karolina Dean has posed:
    It's so cute. Karolina's still completely dead to the world. Even when Kori finally rejoins her and she's moved so gently. There's a few little moments where she's trying to grasp at the pillow, and instead finds the other woman's leg to hug up nice and tight. She mumbles again, and uses that offered leg-pillow quite properly as she re-settles. How could she not? It's the temperature she's slowly getting used to, the pulse she's becoming familiar with, and a scent that haunts her dreams.

    Perfect.

    Until Kori decides to eat in bed. CRUNCH.

    "AHHH! DON'T EAT ME!" Karolina cries out, jerking and almost flailing. She ends up on her back, arms spread out at her sides, and one of her knees bent. Her chest rises and falls quickly, her head still on Kori's lap, and stares up at her. "...o-oh..."

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r is caught up in how adorable a sleeping Karolina is, so much better than just watching cartoons while eating cereal, and she beams down at her between crunchy mouthfuls of captain crunch cereal. Every slooooow meeeethooodical bite is a series of lower and lower snappy crunchy sounds. She's trying though! She doesn't want to desturb her.

Until she does.

It takes a lot to keep from throwing the bowl in the air, but Kori manages only by sheer determination! Setting it down on the bedside and staring down at Karolina with eyes wide as saucers! Breathing hard, startled a little, hands on Lina's shoulders... "Are you okay? Did you have night terror? Do you need me to kill something for you? I will commit homicide for you." She probably wouldn't, she is trying to be playful, but it's probably hard to tell.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina is adorable when she's sleepily panicking, too. Especially the way her aura flares, her cheeks brighten, and the look on her face is one of complete and utter embarrassment. She hugs herself with her arms, pressing both hands over her chest to slow her quickly beating heart. Thankfully it's not with a face covered in Captain Crunch and almond milk.

    "I... um... y-yes... I'm okay. N-no I don't... need you to kill something for me.... what?" she asks, confused in her sleep-addled state, staring up at her eager, well-meaning partner. "It was the... crunching..." she mumbles, rubbing her face and turning down her glow some more.

    Then she turns her body sideways, and throws her arms around Kori's middle, burying her face in her belly. "Was like I was on a conveyor belt..." She had been moved. "...and then a machine with teeth was ... mmph.." she shakes her head, voice muffled in against Kori-belly.

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori is right there to offer her emotional support through physical contact! Stroking the younger womans hair, running another hand down her arm, assuring her through those little touches that she's there and not going to let some imaginary dream machine eat her up! NOT under Starfire's watch! "That sounds horrible!" She muses with a deep and over exagerated frown curling the corners of her mouth like an inverted bow.

Leaning over at the waist to lay herself down across Karolina's shoulder to engulf her in Kori! It folds her, kind of, atop the woman. She could be the mouth of a conveyor belt! "It is okay though, I am here. If some nefarious individual has constructed a machine with which he hopes, through dent of mad science, to devour you, he will have to get through me first! You are my lesbian girlfriend and I shall not allow such Tom Foolery to transpire under my watch."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina has... a really really unique girlfriend. She keeps her face buried in against that warm midriff, breathing softly. She's calmed now from that decidedly odd nightmare, but doesn't exactly want to stop hugging the other woman. In fact, she seems to just happily melt in even further when her hair is continually stroked. And then she's avalanched upon by a warm body, feeling her upper half engulfed in girlfriend.

    "I..." she starts, voice still muffled against body. "...I have no response to that..." she laughs, and it's a good laugh. If a tired laugh. But she's smiling, and squeezing, and then slowly tries to extricate herself, if only to make a forthcoming embrace at least that much more comfortable. "...thank you..." she says quietly, smile a bit lopsided, still feeling sheepish.

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori assists in this extraction process by sitting up, but wholeheartedly welcomes the return of the Karolina into her warm embrace. Even pulling her gently to join her in her lap so both arms can wrap her waist and hold her close. "Do not thank me. This is a free service of the Koriand'r friend experience... you now have VIP perks exclusive to our relationship, however!" Beaming a very bright smile, one almost as bright as the glow of her green eyes now that she's fully beginning to wake up.

"For instance, you are afforded as many after nightmare cuddles as you can stand, buuut..." Slipping her fingers back, brushing hair from off the younger womans brow. "You can also trade in a cuddle for one shoulder massage and/or kiss. Garanteed to chase away whatever villainy still plagues your mind! Just look at some of thse tesitmonials!"

The Tamaranean waves her hand over to the side of the bed... there is obviously nothing there.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    It's a great assist. Karolina appreciates it, and the wholesomeness of the hug is fully realized. She does, indeed, take that invitation, sliding her shorts-clad bottom into a waiting lap. Sitting side-saddle, Karolina wraps her arms around Kori's shoulders, hugging herself in there good and tight. "VIP perks?" she asks, trying to parse all of this. She laughs again, bright and cheerful. "I don't know, I think... I think I could stand a lot of cuddles..."

    She starts, trying to figure out how to play along, "...I've built up quite a deficit in the last few years... are you sure you can handle that?" she teases. "Do I get some kisses for free also?" she inquires, cheeks turning pink, or at least, her glow brightening there. Then she glances over to where Kori's gesturing. She sees nothing. She knows nothing was there. But she's so caught up in the enthusiasm that she looks, blinks. And. Just starts laughing.

    It's sweet and musical, bright and genuine, and she presses her cheek against Kori's shoulder, shaking her head, reflexively talking as she squeezes the other woman close. "Oh, goodness, I love you, you silly girl."

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r is going through all the motions of wrapping her arms around the younger woman, pressing her cheek against the top of her head where it curves down towards her neck, and pulling her close and protective against her. "Of /course/ you get free kisses! What kind of two bit opperation do you think this is, Lina?" Grinning like the goose who got the gander, she runs her hand up and down the back of Karolina's arm affectionately.

Humming some tune, a Tamaranean pop song as it turns out, to sooth the remnants of that terrible dream out of her girlfriend through the weight of overt positivity. She is a force of loving good in the darkness, smiling so genuinely, so happily. Her own heart pattering in her chest to Lina's own rhythm. In that brief span, they are a unit.

Until there is an L word.

It almost goes over her head.

The connotations are... strong. Kori opens her eyes suddenly and stares sideways across the room, moving them back and forth slowly, and her hand stops rubbing just at Lina's elbow. "Do you mean that?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    The stormclouds of the weird nightmare are gone, the've been gone since Karolina was wrapped up in that hug and settled in that lap. She's just so happy to be here, happy to be held, touched. It's a whole new world for her. A world she hasn't been a part of since, well, since before everything with her parents, when she was just a small person. It fills a void she forgot she had, and it's so warm and deep now, Kori's affections pouring into her.

    The words she said hadn't even been consciously thought. No force, no awkwardness, just in the moment, when everything felt so right, she'd said them. So genuine. So genuine she hadn't even quite registered saying them. So when she's called on it, the moment freezing into gentle silence, she blinks, confused. "Huh?" She looks up, the shining rainbow woman meeting Kori's greens with her radiant blues. She has to rewind her thoughts, the moments counted in heartbeats, before she realizes what she had said exactly.

    It clicks, connections forming, fishing out the threads that made her say such a thing, the shy look on her face turning further bashful as the indication of what means she's blushing grows brighter and brighter. But Karolina grasps those threads, finding the feelings that made the words flow out so easily, unbidden, and holds onto them tight. Just like her arms hug tightly at Kori's being. Her head nods, quicky, almost in a panic, in case the moment to reply was gone.

    "I do," she says quietly.

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r has known love, but it wasn't in the way Karolina likely means it. At least she isn't entirely certain it is? There are so many alternative meanings to such a simple word with such a complex concept. The love between friends? It's just as real and can give the same reactions in a person as with someone far more special than just a friend might. Something intimate, something personal and shared between two people (or more, no exclusions), it's so foreign to the Tamaranean.

She just watches Karolina now. Green eyes looking deep into a sea of blue, her hands uncoil from around the smaller of them so she can stroke the fingers of both hands down either side of sparkling cheeks just where it rounds beneath her eyes.

Swallowing, a little shift in her throat, a thoughtful sound clicking there as well.

She nods, a clipped thing, and begins to smile. Wide and expressive.

"I love you, Lesbian Girlfriend Karolina."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Karolina feels her mouth a little dry. Had she gone too fast? Were her words wrong? Her heart beats hard in her chest, the way her aura pulses like an equalizer, it's easy to tell how rapidly it's going. She hugs onto Kori tight, as if somehow scared all over again, not wanting the other woman to let her go. Just like before, waiting for her own words to come out, a response forthcoming from Starfire feels like an eternity.

    Then they're spoken, her fears melt away like the night's frost under the morning sun. Her arms relax, her embrace goes slack, only to re-engage with renewed vigor as she pulls her whole body firmly up against Kori's, burying her face in her neck. There's a small hint of a laugh there, too, at the title she's given, but it's endearing, and she holds on tight.

Koriand'r has posed:
The sudden rush of affection from Karolina draws out a bemused laugh from the woman onto which she is clinging, "I am made happy, right now. It feels like simple words with very complex meanings are incredibly jovial to say and hear.. especially when they strike true to real feelings and emotion!" Squeeze. Kiss of the top of Lina's head.

She then falls backwards, pulling the other solar powered woman with her. Her legs are still crossed, right up against Karolina, but she's otherwise a perfect body pillow! "Now, I require more of my cereal because it grows less enjoyable the soggier it gets! Could you be lovely and feed me?" As she asks, her mouth opens wide, eyes squinting closed!

"omnomnomnom."

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "I'm very happy, too. I hope it stays that way," Karolina says quietly, smiling, even if she's thinking realistically. But then she's kissed, and pulled down, and laughs, tangling up again with Koriand'r and holding onto her tight for a few moments. "Oh! Right! Breakfast! That's what woke me up!" she chastises playfully, sitting up slowly, and gently tapping Kori's nose with her fingertip.

    Boop.

    Then she reaches for the bowl so carefully set aside, and takes a spoonful of cereal out. And crunches on it herself. Nomf. "You'll want to sit up first!" she says, not feeling like it's safe, or easy, to feed someone when they're laying down. It's a mess waiting to happen!

Koriand'r has posed:
"Buuut Liiiiinaaaa..." Kori whines playfully, crossing her eyes when her nose is booped, she still stares affectionately up at the woman seated above her. Even if she is now sitting up with her palms back on the pillow to brace herself and hair tumbling down the backs of her arms like a river of fire.

Again her mouth opens wide, a little yamch sound made in her throat to accentuate the hinges. Waiting for a spoon full of cereals! Exquisitly enamored byt he whole situation! From waking up with Karolina, to expressions of love, to eating in bed! "I have a great love of bed eating. It is lazy and I enjoy the feeling of being lazy!"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "You are very silly, but also very adorable," Lina says with a smile, and leans in to kiss Kori's forehead. She gets comfortable, leaning some against the other girl, and cradles the bowl in one hand. "I can make us some toast afterwards, or something else, too," she states. Karolina doesn't quite have the same demand for food and drink as her girlfriend does, but she's good to cook at least. For now, however, it's just the cereal.

    A spoonful is carefully ferried to the other girl's mouth, not wanting to spill any almondy goodness or drip on her sheets, and delivers the whole thing without incident. "Is being lazy what you do in your off time?" she asks, curious. "I'm still juggling school and everything else with being a part of the Titans..."

Koriand'r has posed:
"This is something I have been told before, but i do not know what anyone is meaning by it. I am not silly, just eccentric!" A bemused smile and her mouth hinges open to accept the spoon, cleaning it so that there are no milk accidents. The mention of toast, or something else, illicits a very bright shine in Kori's eyes! Swallowing quickly so that she can communicate upon her excitement! "Oh! This is something I would like much! I love your cooking."

There is a brief thought...

"Almost as much as I love you!" Added after-market, but still with a bright smile and squinty, nose wrinkly, eyes.

As to laziness, she shrugs, awkwardly with her hands back behind her, "Sometimes. I do not always have the most time to do things that are not work, but when I do, I do it with much laziness!" Nodding once, she braces her weight forward so her arms can wrap around Karolina. "So, what is it we should do today?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "Mmm, maybe you're right. Whimsical, maybe? I don't mean to insult you! If calling you silly is an insult? Is it? I'm sorry if it is!" Karolina says with a laugh. She trades spoonfuls of cereal, eating one herself, and feeding one to Kori. Back and forth. She's hungry, too! Those words, afterthoguht they might be, still make her smile broadly.

    "As... far as today... oh... I need to water my plants... and... I'll bake more bread... and... I don't have any classes... so that's not a concern... I should... probably go see what I can do at the tower. Maybe bring our friends in the infirmary some home-cooked food?" she offers. "...I'm not good at investigations, so... I'm just happy to help bump morale and help clean up."

Koriand'r has posed:
Each time the spoon comes her way, Kori has her mouth hanging open to accept it, the rest of the time it's set into a fixture of a grin like she has too few expressions and has taken a shine to that one in particular. "No, you have done nothing to insult me, only to make me happy! You will receive top marks on relationship yelp review. FIVE stars. FIVE!" Holding up a hand with her fingers spread!

"FIVE."

Incase she missed it the first two times.

"Would you like to do intercourse?" She doesn't even say it in a very salacious way. It's inquisitive, curious, and kind of innocent despite the obvious connotations that are implied by the question.

Karolina Dean has posed:
    "Wait, are you going to post a Yelp review of our relationship?" Karolina asks, bewildered. She hasn't quite figured out when Kori is joking or not, but the entire thought still makes her laugh. Then she leans in when that hand is helped up, and playfully licks her palm. "Five," she nods firmly, repeating, grinning. By the time the other question is asked, she'd finished clearing the bowl entirely. Which is a good thing, because she almost drops it in the process of setting it back down on the nightstand.

    "What?" she asks, flustered, surprised, and just stares at Kori. The innocent expression on the other woman's face earns, well, more bewilderment from Lina. "I. Um. Um... I.." she stammers, aura fluctuating again, showing her flustered state. "...yesss...? Maybe? I...I don't... I've never..." she taps her fingers together, shrinking down some. "...yes maybe very probably..." she stumbles over her own words and also probably what passes for hormones in her weird physiology.

Koriand'r has posed:
"I might!" Kori says of posting a genuine yelp review of their relationship, "It is not outside possibilities realm that I would, anyways." That's a second thought, however, and not the lion share of where the Tamaranean's attention resides. Oh no. She's watching Karolina stumble through the question like a blind man in a room full of rocking chairs.

It's kind of amusing, generally, but to Koriand'r?

Endlessly so.

Both hands come up, one on either side of Karolina's cheek. Gently moving up and down to caress her face in an affectionate, deeply sensual, but very innocent way. "Shh, this is a thing that is okay! I assume eventually we will do this, that is part of long term relationship, as I understand them! But we do not have to rush..." Her hands move to the side of Karolina's neck, leaning foreward so her forehead is against the other womans. "I am having a great deal of happy emotions that swell around inside me Garthal worms in a Sar'dor corpse! With or without physical intimacy. I am sorry I have flustered you. This was not the intentions of my question!"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Poor Karolina, she's never been so openly asked about so many things. She's grown up with the human standard of everything, and even if lots of her early life had been wrong, there's still the underscore of 'proper human decorum' in all things. She's overwhelmed, and it's adorable. She's flustered, her words aren't all there, and she's got this expression on her face that changes constantly with a furrowed brow, a blink or two here, lips parting then closing.

    It gets even better when she's touched. There's no recoil, she just sort of melts into the warmth of her face being cradled like that, still while swimming in a sea of emotions and feelings as she comes to terms with what's being spoken. "No, I... I'm attracted to you! I just. I've never done this before. Any of this. All of this. It's.. it's..." she deflates, tension leaving her like a fleet of hot air balloons at the end of race day. She just melts into the press on her forehead, resting her own hands on Kori's shoulders and squeezing.

    "...I want the things and I want the things to be with you." The mention of worms in corpses kind of goes over her head, or maybe that was during her expression changing half a dozen times in a few seconds, but the tenderness being shown her washes it away. Just alien girl things.

Koriand'r has posed:
The empty bowl is set aside by a far less flustered Koriand'r so there's no accidents involving projectiles, and she wraps Karolina up in a hug as the woman goes through her commentary on the state of things as she sees them. It is a fair guess that no matter what she said, however, Kori would have been no less enthralled by her. It's been a steady thrill ride of emotions and hormones since they met and haven't shown any sign of peaking... she's delighted. Beyond delighted.

Nuzzling the tip of her nose against Lina's scalp, she's silent for a good while. If not for that gentle contact, it might be awkward, and it still might be when it's Starfire that's silent... she could talk a person into submission, suffice that there's so much warmth coming off of her, it's as if the heat of her body acts as a physical manifestation of growing affection and adoration.

A very real concept for the Tamaranean Princess.

"I also want the things. You light my fire." She says something she heard on a show, movie, or from one of the boys. Grinning brightly when she extends herself out to arms length to look more thoroughly upon Karolina's face. "This is a good thing to say, right?"

Karolina Dean has posed:
    Lina wiggles herself back into Kori's lap, settling in with her again as there's so much warm, comfy contact. Maybe it's awkward. But that's figuring things out. Thoughts and emotions are rolling through her, and the sunny glow of her rainbow aura is a constant, bathing Kori and the whole room in that scintillating shine. She wouldn't be able to concentrate and suppress it right now even if she really wanted to. So she just cings, and listens, and closes her eyes.

    "It's a terrible pickup line," she says, a soft, sincere laugh. But she's smiling, "...the sentiment is wonderful. You are puzzling, wonderful, and beautiful. And I'm glad I didn't make a mistake this time.." she sighs, squeezing tight. "..because that mistake would have been letting you go."

Koriand'r has posed:
Kori is there, comforting the younger woman with a gentle stroke of her fingers running down the outside of her arm where it rests against the t-shirt Kori had been wearing when they got back to the apartment. A big grin on her face hearing everything Lina says, a big grin and a nuzzling of her nose against the back of her ear.

Bathing in that shimmering light is ... wonderful. It's hard to explain how the flickers of light dancing around the room make her feel. How it gives her this sense of belonging that she'd not really known she hadn't had to begin with.

Someone who appreciates the sun as much as she does?

Intoxicating.

Laughing then, she shakes her head, "No, that is not a terrible picking up line!" A deeeeeep breath, "Do you have a belief in love at first sight or should I walk by again?" snorting giggles, rolling her big green eyes, "THAT is a terrible pick up line." There's no way she misses that more emotional sentiment, however, curling a finger beneath Karolina's chin to raise her head for a tender, soft kiss. "You have made no mistake. I am right here. I will always be right here! Until I have to go to work and you have to go to class, but you can text me. So... I may not be right here, but I will be right there." Pointing at her cellphone on the bedside.

She means well.