8950/Birds in the Tower

Birds in the Tower
Date of Scene:	05 December 2021
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Kían's family meets more of the team, and aren't scared off.
Cast of Characters:	Kian, Dick Grayson, Pol Hevonen, Donna Troy, Caitlin Fairchild, Wally West

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Kian has posed:
    Kían is holding court in the kitchen area.  Shíri and Keth are being introduced to Kían's version of purple Kool-Ade… which is basically supersaturated sugar water dyed purple.
    Except Shíri's is blue, and Keth's is… a mistake made trying to create magenta.  It's not magenta.  And none of them have the cutural awareness to say "and it's not Columbia either".
    Oh well, one step at a time.
    They are chatting animatedly in their language, and even if the words are unfamiliar, it sounds a lot like siblings enjoying getting back together.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Having heard that Kian had visitors, Dick has found some time without bats or girlfriend and has made his way to the tower.  He steps off the elevator and scans the room, waving to Kian and his visitors.  Seeing that they are up to something in the kitchen, he heads over to the couch and takes a seat, figuring when they are done, introductions will ensue.
    Out of force of habit, he fires up the gaming system to check on Vic and Gar's high scores in the latest game—some things don't change just because you've gotten older.  He does, however, resist the pull to start playing and shuts it back down, leaning back comfortably in the couch until Kian is ready for introductions.

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    It came as a text from an anonymous device and Pol ignored it for a day, but then he realized that it might actually be something he should pay attention to.
    "You ought to meet Kian's fam while you can."
    "Cas, did you figure out where that came from?"
    "<Magic was involved, hence no way to trace it.  But duh, it's from the Tower.>"
    "Fine, I've been a dreadful grind for months now.  I can take Christmas candy or something."
    Christmas candy is basically chocolate-peppermint bark.  It won't bite, and most of the Titans will be able to eat it.
    Also, for Kian, based on what he's heard, the classic sesame brittle—about a pound and a half of that stuff.  It should work.  Pol is hopeful anyway.  So he shows up at the Tower, candy in hand, looking like a normal too-tall student-type.

Donna Troy has posed:
    INVASION!
    Yes, these birds may be pacifists, but clearly Earth has been invaded once more by aliens seeking to become the Evil Overlords of Planet Earth.  Or just visiting, as the case may be.  Donna had not been present for the party in which Kian's sister, brother and qihar coach had taken a rabbit hole to the tower, but she's aware of the fact that three more Akiar have been added to the tower's security clearance as guests.  With four Akiar, a Tamaranean and Kryptonian, Titans Tower is particularly cosmopolitan right now.  In fact it may well have the highest density of non-Terrestrials on the planet right now.
    It's this close attention paid to the goings on that the tower and knowledge that the Birb Family are present that causes Donna's arrival in the main room to be done without too much drama.  There's no flying up the empty elevator shaft, no appearing with sword in hand, just a polite and not-too-loud "Kie!" as the elevator arrives and the doors open to reveal Donna and Caitlin, arriving from the labs.  The labs?
    «Welcome to Earth, friends and family of Kian,» Donna says, apparently speaking rather fluently in the Akiar language.  This might come as something of a surprise to Kian, who had not been aware that Donna knew more than half a dozen words.  «And welcome to Titans Tower.  We are pleased to have you here as our guests, and for you to have the opportunity to see where Kian is living now, so you can reassure yourselves that he is happy and amongst friends.  My name is Troia.»
    Donna nudges Caitlin, encouraging her to introduce herself to their alien guests.  The sharp-eyed might notice that Donna and Caitlin are wearing matching metal bands on their foreheads… Rannian Menticizers, telepathic translation devices.  Donna has a third of the devices held loosely in her hands.  The intent, obviously to those who know what the devices are, is to solve the problem of communication by letting the birbs wear them.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
    «We are pleased to have you here,» Caitlin adds.  She's wearing what she'd call her Sunday clothes: an olive-hued dress with a knee length skirt and modest neckline.  It looks like at one point she'd had her hair down, but it's currently pinned up in a messy bun with a pencil and a titanium probe stuck through it absent-mindedly.  «And I'm Caitlin Fairchild.  But everyone just calls me Caitlin,» she says with a reassuring smile. «Kian has talked about you so much.  We can't wait to get to meet you properly.»  She's about to say something else when she spots Dick's profile out the corner of her eye.  «Donna, why don't you take them to the dining area so we can sit and talk?»  She rests a palm briefly on Donna's arm with a flickering, pointed eye contact, and then starts drifting towards the rec room area.
    She sticks her head and shoulders halfway into the room through the partially-closed doors.  "Richard!" she hisses.  "Get your feet off the coffee table!  Kian's family is here!"  She makes a pair of furtive, frantic gestures at him to join the others.  Caitlin can't help it; when Dick gets close she fusses at his costume shoulders and tries to pluck at his hair, fingertips seeking to tame those legendary Grayson locks.  "Golly, company always makes me a wreck," she murmurs.  "Out-of-town company is the worst.  I feel like everything has to be perfect."

Kian has posed:
    Kían's siblings look up sharply as people enter the area—unwinged, unspeakably tall people.  Really, other than the lack of wings and the ridiculous height, they almost look normal.
    Kían for his part stares sharply at Donna and Caitlin.  Too shocked to switch back to English, he carries on in Akiár'shak: «What?!  How…!»  Remembering himself—and that neither Pol nor Nightwing speaks his language, unless they have some surprises too, he manages to master himself.  "Nnh.  This iss my older sister Shíri, an' my younger brother Keth.  Kála iss takin' a nap in my room.  It iss a little overwhelmin'.  Like when I firs' arrive here, excep' they haf me to tell them it iss okay, it iss not suppose to make sense."
    He switches back to his language; probably the only words that might be picked out (except by Donna and Caitlin) are 'Nyt-win', 'Pol', 'Dóna', and 'Kéit-lin'—and /tavár'yw/: 'friends'.
    He fixes Donna with a look.  "I do not know what you haf done to get our language, but if you can do it for my family an' frien's—an' explain to me why you haf not let me haf it yet!—that will help a lot while they are here."
    Very slightly testy bird, there.

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    The telepaths might hear the conversation that blips past in a second or two of time.
    Cas:'<That's Nightwing.>'
    Pol:'-I know. Don't grab the hands, I'll drop things.-'
    Cas:'<Why are you acting so blasé', bro.>'
    Pol:'-Remember he could kick your ass by reflex.  Don't fanboy.-'
    And, after a brief pause to set the gifts on the nearest available surface, Pol does a sketchy sort of curtailed bow, and says "Kie," hoping he hasn't turned "greetings" into "your family was delicious."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick grins as Cait moms him, whispering, "That's another dollar in the secret ID jar," before heading over to the rest of the group.  With a wave and nod of his head, he says, "Welcome to the tower, it's nice to meet you Shiri and you as well Keth."  He assumes Kian will translate since he has not managed to learn the language yet.  He slips over to the fridge and grabs a soda, then returns to the group and sits down, also looking at Donna and adding his voice to Kian's, "Yeah, share the secret Troia, that could be handy.

Donna Troy has posed:
    «Oh, I'm good with languages,» Donna tells Kian airily.  «You've seen me speak Kara's language too, right?  It's an Amazon thing.  We learn languages very fast.  Since Caitlin became an Amazon she has been granted the same gift.  We learned your language this morning.»  She heads to the kitchen area, where she picks up the Secret Identity jar and shakes it in Caitlin's direction before putting it down on the edge of the table.  "I heard it too, Cait!" she calls back, using English this time.  "You heard Nightwing.  Let's see the color of your money!"  The various jars have been a point of contention between Caitlin and Donna ever since the Titans moved into the tower, and Donna wouldn't pass up this opportunity for anything.
    "Translation devices," Donna explains to Dick, not choosing to keep up the pretence for poor Kian for any longer.  "We picked them up when we visited Rann in Nadia's new spaceship.  We have four… well, five, but one of them got Victored."
    Switching languages again, she repeats the explanation to Kian's siblings. «Rann is a planet we have some contact with.  A scientist we are friendly with there invented these headbands.  We thought it would make your visit easier if you could communicate with everyone, so we'd like to lend you these for the duration of the stay.  Please take good care of them, they are very valuable.»  She offers the one in her hand to Keth, and takes the one she is wearing off to hand it over to Shiri, demonstrating how they're worn.
    "Hey Pol," she calls out, gesturing for him to join them at the table by pointing to one of the chairs.  A gesture perhaps as much for the nerves of the Akiar as politeness to Pol—the poor birbs are not used to how tall humans are yet, and Pol is particularly tall.  "We've got pizza on the way, thought Kian's family would like to try it.  Want to join us?"

Wally West has posed:
    There's a blur of speed, a motion that occurs seemingly coming from the upstairs space as Wally West, AKA the (other) Flash, makes his appearance in the main community area of the Tower.  "Gooooooood afternoon, everybody!" Wally loudly announces, probably interrupting a ton of conversations happening right about now, though his hands end up finding his pockets as he looks around the place.
    …and noticing a ton of people he doesn't know.
    "Man, if we're doing 'bring your family to work' day, you gotta let me know guys!"  Wally looks a little put out, but his smile never really goes away.  "How's it goin, everybody?"  He looks then to Donna and the others as they speak a foreign language.  "…I should grab my translation device, or make one real quick.  I wonder if Vic has any on standby…."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
    "Wha— bu—" Caitlin sputters as Nightwing slides past her with that cheeky grin, scowling at the back of his head.  Then Donna rattles the coffee can at Caitlin.  She balls her fists up near her waist and (almost) kicks the floor.
    "Crabapples!" she hisses under her breath.  She forces herself to relax her face and walk calmly out of the rec room and head towards the dining area.  She picks up her canvas tote, digs a bill out of it, and takes the can from Donna and makes pointed eye contact while pushing the fee into the slot.  It's placed back on the shelf along with a number of similar looking jars, including 'Swear Jar', 'Leftovers', and one that just says RAVEN in jagged black script.
    "Here, Kian, you can give it to Kala when she's feeling whelmed again."  The translation device is taken off and offered to Kian—a little peace offering, to make up for Donna's ribbing—and she flashes a smile at his guests in welcome.  "Has anyone offered you something to drink or eat?" she inquires of them.

Kian has posed:
    "So, this will translate for us?" Shíri says hesitantly, eyes widening as she realizes that's exactly what it's doing.
    Keth grins.  "It sounds better than you, Kíi!"
    If looks could kill, Keth would be McNuggets right now, although Kían only says primly (after putting the translator on himself), "I had to learn it the hard way."
    Pol gets stared at—well, the other birds aren't meaningfully any taller than Kian, so there's freakishly tall, and then there's Pol.  "Uh, kié," Shíri replies, clearly intimidated.
    "How can he be a Nightwing when he hasn't got wings?" Keth asks in that 'this is a perfectly reasonable and logical question to ask when you're not from this planet' way that Kían often uses.
    Kían's reply is in his language—and he forgets he has the translator on.  "Earth is weird.  There are a lot of rhy'thar holders who use bird names even though they haven't got wings.  I still don't know why."  *blink*  "Uh…."
    Wally's appearance hasn't much effect on Kían—he's gotten used to the speedsters—but both Shíri and Keth are obviously startled until Kían explains that's his rhy'thar.  "I'm starting to think everyone has one here.  No wonder you wanted to come back, you really feel normal here," Shíri comments.  "I really did think it was Gar and Téri and—"
    "Just stop right there," Kían says.  Desperate to change the subject, he adds to Cait, "I've only had the chance to show them my favorite drink, other than Dad's brandy."  He indicates the glucose solutions, with ice and food coloring.  Must be part hummingbird.

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    Chairs.  Yes.  Chairs exist.  Pol nods and smiles to Donna and sits down, all the better to de-stress the alien bird folk.
    '<Don't stare, you look like a predator enough already.>'
    '-You want to drive?-'
    '<YES! Please! It's my turn anyway.>'
    Pol's body-language changes subtly.  He's more relaxed, less intense, but still quite attentive.
    "Hey, Cait, Kian, Shiri, Keth.  And the rest," he says grinning, and gestures towards the packages he brought.
    "Kian, we found a place that makes extra-big sesame brittle, please beware of the other package though.  It's dark chocolate peppermint bark."
    Uh.  Mentioning chocolate peppermint bark in front of at least one speedster.
    "Which is supposed to be for everyone."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Once the guests start speaking English through the translators, Dick smiles and answers Keth's question.  "Those of us who use their abilities to protect the normal folks often take a name that they feel suits them, even if it doesn't always match what we are."  He nods to Shiri's words, "Well, everyone in the tower has some sort of ability, that is why we made the group in the first place, to work together as a team rather than each going our own way.  It makes us stronger to stand together and allows us to defend against things that no one of us could handle alone."
    He takes a drink of his soda then continues, "It's nice that you came to visit Kian, he's fitting in pretty well here, but it's always nice to see your family when you've been away from them for a while."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Kian is exaggerating wildly," Donna tells Keth.  "The vast majority of humans do not have a rhy'thar, or some equivalent.  However, Kian has lived here almost since he arrived on this world and most of us who live in this building, as Nightwing says, have some kind of rhy'thar.  So he perhaps has not had the most conventional exposure to Human society.  We have more contact with alien races than your people do, but it's still quite limited and aliens cannot easily blend in with our society yet.  It was felt that Kian would feel freer and more at home with us, so he was offered the opportunity to come and live here."
    She takes a seat at the table, and gestures to Wally to come and be introduced.  "Wally, this is Keth and Shiri, Kian's siblings.  It is all Terry's fault."  Five words that explain so much when it comes to strange things happening at the tower.  "Keth, Shiri, this is Wally, whose rhy'thar allows him to move at relativistic speeds without suffering the effects of relativity."  It alway sounds a touch weird when the Amazon sciences.
    "No need to offer them food, Cait.  I'm offering them pizza.  It's already on its way."  She tilts her head towards Shiri.  "Traditional Earth food.  And a particular tradition of ours.  Kian eats it a lot, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.  I suggest we wait until after the pizza before we break into Pol's chocolate."  The head tilts moves to Kian.  "Have you explained about the dangers of chocolate to them yet, Kian?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
    "Wa—"  Caitlin's mouth hangs open and she catches the looks from Donna and Dick.  "—oila, everyone, it's The Flash," she announces, with a helpless, vaguely Vanna White gesture in his direction.  Fortunately Donna's got the conversational high points covered as she undertakes some interstellar diplomacy on behalf of the Titans.
    She looks at Kian, nods once; a ready sort of expression, if he needs anything foodwise Caitlin will no doubt vault into action.  "Pol, if you wanna set those chocolates on the counter, I'll make sure no one helps themselves to the whole tray," she promises the him—and very pointedly does NOT look at Wally when she's saying it.

Wally West has posed:
    Wally gives a little wave to Keth and Shiri.  "Why helloooo there."  Wally seems to immediately speed over to the pair of siblings as he looks at the two of them.  "Wow, you guys do really look alike.  Nice to meet you guys, Kian talks so much about you guys."  Even if he doesn't, it's polite to say that, right?  At least it works well enough with the Garricks and the other West-Allens.  He straightens up then before he looks at Donna.  "But if it's Terry's fault, then everything immediately makes sense."
    Eyes turn to Grayson, and he smirks at him.  "Hey man!  Why don't you text me anymore?  Makes me think you don't miss me often."  Wally smirks at him, before his eyes turn to Caitlin.  "It's me, the Flash!  Though I remember when I used to be the Streak.  Ugh, horrible name, terrible branding.  Sounds like I'm gonna get arrested for indecent exposure."
    Wally is doing that thing again where he's talking way too much and somebody should probably shut him up now.  Though talk of a tray of chocolates immediately shuts Wally up and he looks at Caitlyn.  "Chocolate?  Where's chocolate?  I need fuel."
    Hide ALL of the food.

Kian has posed:
    "I have… they know about chocolate, at least what I've told them," Kían says hurriedly, ensuring he's between his siblings and the peppermint bark.  "And that it hits our kind hard.  That's kind of how they got here—Terry opened a hole to Kyshán so we could send some chocolate through to them, and Shíri got the idea somehow that she should drag our brother through with her, and Kála decided to follow them and this is so much easier than having to think about what I'm saying, I can just say it."  He runs his fingers over the surface of the translator.  "When they go home, you're only getting two of these back, Donna."
    Shíri eyes the chocolate; Keth eyes Kían's Terran friends.  "So," he says cautiously, "you're all avatars of your gods?"
    "KETH!"  It comes simultaneously from Kían and Shíri.  "I am not an avatar, I don't care what the priests say!"
    "And even if he is one," Shíri adds, ignoring the wounded look from Kían, "you know he doesn't like that!"
    Kían quickly gets them both (and himself) some of the sesame brittle, partly because it's delicious, mostly because if they're chewing on something, they can't embarrass him.

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    "Yeah that's why we found the sesame brittle," Pol says to Troia.  "I remembered something about hot cocoa and wildness concluding in a prolonged hangover."
    Although, Cas would be amused if they DID get into the stuff.  Pol is more uptight.
    "What's rhy'thar mean?" he asks instead, and says, "No.  I'm an avatar of our myths, our supporting stories."
    Meanwhile in their Astral domain, Pol is over-watch.  Also, food is on the way.  It seems likely, though, that he won't have to ask for specific pizza.  Cait's got an uncanny instinct for getting what people want.
    Hey wait, Flash is looking at the ten pound box of dark chocolate peppermint bark like they were a Snack Size Snickers.
    <-Cas, space-time-violation-boy there is looking at the chocolate.->
    The tall guy looks over at Flash.
    "You know 'The Flash' is just about as bad as 'The Streak.'  You don't own a trenchcoat, I hope?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing chuckles at the question about avatars, "We don't really look at it that way.  It's different for each of us, really. I have met those who do follow a god, but many of us just want to help people.  And unfortunately there are also those who have powers who use them to hurt others.  They are the main reason we have banded together, to make sure we can stop them."
    "Hopefully I'm not touching on anything that will offend you, but the fact is that things work differently here than on your world, from what little I understand of it.  We just try to do our best and help as many people as we can."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "It varies from person to person really," Donna says, amplifying Dick's explanation.  "Two of our number are avatars not of gods, but of personifications of Chaos and Order.  More abstract and older forces than the gods.  My rhy'thar was granted to me as a favor by the goddesses of my people, but I'm no avatar.  I come from a part of Earth where everyone is granted a rhy'thar by the goddesses.  My sister is actually the daughter of one of our gods, so yes they do play a part.  On the other hand the large majority of people on Earth get their rhy'thar from apparently natural mutations.  Others have learned what we call magic… which Kian can explain to you."
    Yeah, Donna's not going to attempt that one.  It took experience for Kian to really get a sense of what magic is, and he gives the impression it mostly annoys him.  Kian's siblings may not have Kian's scientific background and might not be so concerned, but Donna's not taking that chance.
    While Donna is talking, she gets up and pours a sizeable jug of Snacky Shake, and slides it across the table to Wally.  He doesn't even need to ask, he's always hungry, and may not be able to wait for the pizzas to arrive.  It's true that Caitlin is also always hungry, but she doesn't need something to help her stop talking at a mile a minute.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
    "Ah!" Caitlin emits an abortive sound and holds a finger up at Wally just as he's thinking of shifting his feet towards the chocolate.  "I am watching you," she informs him.  "Guests first, then after everyone else has had one, you and I can dig in."  She holds the look for a moment longer, then rests her fingertips on the counter in front of her.
    Wait, when did she end up in the kitchen?  It seems to help her relax slightly, having the cool granite countertop between her and the rest of the crowd.  She leans her weight against the counter, arms locked out and palms resting atop the grey-flecked stone.  "My rhy'thar doesn't hand out superpowers," Caitlin clarifies with a loose wiggle of her shoulders.  "I've just good genetics."
    Well, it's mostly true, anyway.

Wally West has posed:
    "She could probably break a building with her face," Wally tells Kian's siblings iwth a bit of a grin, though speaking of Caitlin, Wally frowns at her words.  "I'm watching you while you're watching me.  HAH!" Wally retorts with all the maturity of a middle schooler, but he frowns at the denial all the same.  "Come oooonnnn spare a few chocolate bites for your favorite speedy-guy?"  Wally clasps his hands together as if he were praying.  "Pleeeeaaaaase?"
    Then Donna, living legend that she is, pours a jug of snacky shake and slides it across the table to him.  The words that come out of Wlaly's mouth are too fast for the normal ear to comprehend.  But those of sound senses can determine something along the lines of 'Thank…For Amazons!" and he proceeds to start downing it in a chug.  Fast legs = fast metabolism.
    "Thanks Don, you're the best beautiful."  He fingerguns at her, maintaining his flirtations.  Though Pol makes him laugh.  "Yeah, I definitely didn't choose the legacy name, but… I mean, come on, I'd rather the Flash because I can use it in the tagline.  You know, 'back in a flash'?"  Wally makes a look like 'get it'? and he gags over the name 'the streak'.  "Sounds like all I do is run around naked while I fight the bad guys."

Kian has posed:
    Shíri picks up this part of the explanations.  "A rhy'thar is a special gift, beyond the ki'thar and the kan'thar, our mind-touch and our wings.  I suppose those would be considered rhy'thar'yw here?  But everyone has those on our worlds.  Kían's ability to tell physics what to do is different.  And there are more in this room with rhy-… with special gifts than have appeared on our worlds in the last couple centuries."  She has the look of a fangirl who's just been dropped into her favorite fictional universe and told it's real.  "That's awesome!"
    Kian pinches the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache.  "Oh, Gods… this isn't one of your crazy novels, Shíi, this is real life!"
    "That's what makes it awesome!" she shoots back, and takes a bite of the sesame brittle.
    Keth has been nibbling on the brittle as well, and regarding Wally up and down.  "You might as well be naked, that outfit doesn't leave a lot to the imagination."
    Kian pinches the bridge of his nose again and only with a supreme effort of will manages to not reach for the chocolate.

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    Okay, Cas is a sucker for puppy-eyes, and Pol just shakes his head in their astral space.  <-Yes you can share.->
    Pol removes a packet from his jacket pocket.  Eight ounces of peppermint bark.  Cas prefers cashew bark; his virtual twin is the one who likes all the mint.
    "Here, you can have mine," he says, ignoring the internal protest, handing it over to the Flash.
    "So," Pol says to Shiri, "rhy'thar means something like 'divine gift' or 'god-power'?  But your species are telepaths.  That's apparently rare.  Other species would call that a god-like power."
    <-Note to selves, get more sesame brittle for Kian later.->
    "So… I don't necessarily tell physics what to do, it's more like I draw on the collective mental template to reorganize reality.  AKA magic.  You don't have that?  What are your myths, your ancestral stories like?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing breaks into a laugh as Shiri goes all fangirl and Keth critiques Wally's outfit, mainly from the look on Kian's face.  Apparently embarrassing your siblings is the job of brothers and sisters the universe over.
    "So how long are you guys visiting for, maybe we could show you a little more of the planet than just the Tower.  It's still got some really beautiful places despite all the cities.  I'm sure we could manage something fun."
    He takes another sip from his soda, saying, "Kian, what sort of things do your siblings enjoy doing that might have a version here?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "It's all a matter of perspective really," Donna tells Shiri.  "Your people are normally able to fly, so it wouldn't be considered a power on your world.  On this world very few can fly without the aid of machines, so it's considered a power.  On your world you might consider the height of Pol or Caitlin to be a power, because probably none of your people can reach as far as they can."
    Donna's T-Com pings and she pulls it out to glance at it before putting it back with a smile.  "Pizzas are downstairs.  Wally, would you mind?"  It's not that she would object to fetching them herself, it's just that having a speedster around is so convenient when it comes to fetching pizzas.  Had she known Wally was going to be around, she might have asked him to go to the restaurant to collect.  "Try not to 'flash' the pizza delivery person with that outfit of yours that doesn't leave a lot to the imagination," she teases with a grin.  It's Keth's fault, he started it.
    Donna stands up and steps behind Caitlin, resting a hand on her old friend's shoulder.  "Cait, as she says… is all genetics.  She is capable of lifting… well, she could easily carry the weight of every person in this room ten times over and more.  No gods nor magic involved.  Nightwing does not have any abilities we would classify as 'powers' in that what he does is within the range of what regular humans are theoretically capable of, but he is so skilled that he can outperform most who have supernatural powers.  If you were to see his acrobatics, you might believe he had been granted a gift by the gods."
    She takes her hand from Caitlin's shoulder and goes to the fridge to fetch drinks for those who haven't been supplied with copious quantities of Kool-aid substitute already, and starts fetching out plates.  "Pol's magic.  Magic is basically the universe's way of letting people break its own rules.  You can view it as being where the conscious intent of a person has the potential to overcome the laws of physics, temporarily re-writing them to create a desired effect. Or sometimes an effect that is not desired."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
    When Wally gives his plea for chocolate, Caitlin does the sensible thing and looks skywards as if seeking divine patience.  But mostly because Wally's puppy-eye starving-waif routine is just a little too effective from time to time.
    Cait pinks a little at the casual praise heaped upon her by Donna, and looks away modestly.  Still, she can't help but add in: "God still helps me.  Just with… y'know.  Non-lifty stuff."
    Wally's getting the pizza so Caitlin starts distributing forks, paper towels, and disposable plates.  There are seats aplenty, both at the kitchen island and the big T-shaped dining table that looks as if it can fit 15 people or more comfortably.

Wally West has posed:
    "Oh come on…" Wally tells Keth with a bit of a frown.  "That's something to do with physics not because it's something I actually enjoy wearing.  See, when I run really fast, I can't usually take a bunch of stuff with me, that's why I'm pretty minimalist.  If I'm running around all bulky, I'll run too fast and it'll pretty much disintegrate.  Then I'd really be naked!" Wally suggests then, attempting to be a solid teacher for the young ones, then Donna is giving him a task.
    "Pizza?  Don't gotta tell me twice."  The comment about flashing gets a roll of the eyes and a laugh.  "You just like staring!" he calls back, before he starts to get moving.  If Caitlin pays attention, one of the chocolates may suddenly go missing just as soon as Wally disappears from sight.
    He's very fast.
    Wally is in the entryway, snatching up a couple of boxes and cracking his neck.  "Whew, man, I should check the internet and see about what new movies might be in theaters, might get lucky with a plus one.  Meh, I'd probably run late anyways," he largely murmers to himself before he's gone again, appearing back in the main room with a stack of pizza boxes.  "Best thing about the Tower—Pizza for life!"

Kian has posed:
    "Also, most Earth people are kind of weird about being skyclad," Kían explains further for Keth's benefit.  "It's an Earth thing, I can't explain it, it just is."
    Shíri nods once at Pol.  "Yes, that's right, a gods'-gift.  I'm not sure what the difference is between magic and what Kían does, but I can't tell reality what to do with itself.  And I'll make sure Kían gets you some of our books."  That earns her a 'oh, thanks sis' look from Kían.  Nightwing's question gets a less certain response, though: "I don't know… I don't know what there is to do here.  Oh!  Kían!"  She whirls on her brother.  "Kála says we are definitely playing qihár while we're here, if you can find a space big enough.  So there's the four of us plus Gar, do any of your other friends here have wings?"
    Unprepared for that, Kían says, "Uh, wings aren't always needed for flight on this world, and we're probably going to have to modify the rules some because… because we will."
    Keth sits up straighter, stretching and re-folding his wings.  "That'll be interesting.  This world's gravity is higher, and only you are used to it.  Gods, the look on Kála's face when you out-flew her, Kíi…."
    "Yeah, but she'll be ready for that now.  But it was great," Kian admits, and starts helping pass out pizza.  "You two have got to try this, it's also great."

Pol Hevonen has posed:
    Pizza is the food of the gods.  This can be verified, if one wishes, by searching the purchase history for Thor, Hercules, and even Loki.  However, that's not easily verified AND Cas is not running the Astral space so he can't do a divination spell there.
    "Some of us fly without wings, but not me.  I haven't attuned to the right constellation yet."
    He selects three slices of whichever has meat and no white sauce plus one Hawaiian, the Great Divider Pizza.
    This is going to be worth pushing homework to tomorrow.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    With a nod, Nightwing agrees with Kian.  "Yeah, pizza is a wonderful thing, without question.  We've got one of the best pizza places I know here on the island, so I'm pretty sure you'll like it.  There are a bunch of different toppings, so feel free to try a little of each to see what you like."  He gestures over at the multiple boxes of pizzas being plundered by the Titans and their guests.
    "And some of us don't fly at all, at least not without a vehicle to carry us.  But we all manage to muddle along while doing the hero thing.  I'll admit I have flight envy though."  A boyish smile shows he's mainly just joking, but then, who hasn't wanted to be able to fly at one point or another?
    Making his way to the pizzas, he takes two slices of one of the meat based pizza and returns to his seat, already biting into one of them.  "Don't worry, we'll find some fun stuff for you to do while you're here."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna takes boxes from Wally and starts serving pizzas, placing pie after pie on the table in front of hungry Titans and birds-folk.  The air is quickly suffused with the glorious scent of fresh baked dough, tomato, herbs, and assorted toppings.  Kian will recognize that special attention has been paid to this—for once there are no toppings of the type that Kian's unhappy exist, and all the toppings that he particularly approves of.  It's simpler than having to explain things to his siblings.
    Donna stops mid-serving to give a grin to Kian, amused at the reversal of roles he finds himself in—for once it is he who has to explain the ways Earth is weird to visiting Akiar.  "It is as Pol says.  If flying is a rhy'thar you don't necessarily need wings," she says… and demonstrates.  Arms held out slightly, she rises slowly and gracefully into the air until she's almost at the ceiling.  She does a quick aerial pirouette, and winks at Nightwing (oh she knows full well of his partly-joking flight envy!) before bobbing back down to the ground and taking her seat again.
    "So.  You can count me in for a game of qihar, Shiri," Donna says with a smile.  Kian has told many stories of your game."
    "As for magic… well, there are those who argue that magic is simply science that you don't understand yet.  I think it's a valid way of viewing it.  Here we might suggest that Kian's rhy'thar is a manipulation of magic.  But… I don't know.  Perhaps what Kian does is to adjust variables, to modify the laws of physics and work with what those modified laws imply, while magic simply ignores the fact that there are laws of physics at all."  She pulls her lasso out from where it's slung at her waist and shows a length of it to Keth and Shiri.  "This item is imbued with magic," she explains.  It starts to glow golden in her hand.  "I cannot explain how it comes to glow like this.  Also it can change length depending on how long I need it to be, within limits, which doesn't make a lot of sense.  Especially as it does not change in weight when doing so.
    She gives a slight shrug of her shoulders, almost apologetic to be exposing the poor Akiar to the nonsense that is magic, and reaches for a slice of pizza.  "And then there is pizza.  There are those who say this is the strongest magic of all.  I suggest you try some!"
    It really does smell good.