"Is this another magic question? Ah, well, it sounds a bit like Gaelic..." He drums the seat for a moment. "Maybe...ah, I dunno. Could ye' write it down?" Still in thought, he slips the tank into a pocket, waiting to put it on after he gets stitched back up.
"I think she meant 'bòidheach'." Kaoru responded, pronouncing the foreign word perfectly.
Kaoru nodded at Cassie's explanation. Sounds like a program *might* be able to speed things up. It would have to allow for a pretty flexible UI though, so the user could tweak values as necessary. It would also need to be intuitive and not just a giant wall-o-text.
Shaun shoots the guy a dirty look. "Very funny Try-Hard. Now f~!@ off, you're not trickin' me into sayin' anythin' embarassin'." He returns his attention to Cassie. "Y'were sayin' bòidheach?"
It's at this point that the comm in Shaun's ear comes alive. "WHOA F#%&! Wha-...BRONWYN! Are ye' a'ight?!...uh huh...yep...yeah, extra pepper, done. We'll see ya' there!" His attention returns to the passengers. "They found Bron, sounds like she's okay! She n' Wingblade are gonna meet us there."
Cassie leaned back and pursed her lips.
And I was just starting to think he wasn't too bad after all.
"No. He's right. That word,.. Boid-each"
Kaoru's eyes narrowed. Here she was being perfectly civil, and the Scotsmans was being an ass for no reason. What's this 'try-hard' sh*t anyway? Last time she'd make that mistake. "Good to hear 'bout Bron." She then got up and headed into the theatre to await the rest of their group.
"...what? Wait, that's actually-?" He glances between Cassie and Kaoru, then clears his throat. "Uh-um...beautiful. That word, bòidheach, means beautiful." The blush begins its return. "W-Why do ye' need ta' know? This f'another spell?"
Oh," Cassie said, surprised at the answer. "Ah, No. Nothing like that. You just kept on calling me that and I wondered what it meant... So Bron's OK like Bran said? Well that's good! We should probably head in then. Should we take her stuff or just leave it in the car?"
"...yea', she said ta' grab her bag n'brin' it ta' th'womens' room...an' grab some nachos with extra peppers..." As he steps out of the beat-up limo, Shaun appears to be deep in thought. "I-...bòidheach I've got no memory of callin'ye' that. Like, never ever. But, I mean I was-...did ye' read my mind? I-Is that part of whatevertaf#@~ ye' did ta' me?" His voice is level, but his face is wracked with concern.
Kaoru was sitting on the railing on the second floor of the theatre, giving her an excellent view of the front doors and general lower level of the atrium of the movie complex. She didn't think Shaun was lying (at least not about this), but nonetheless, she was eager to make sure with her own eyes that Bronwyn was ok. The ushers were giving her wary looks but as of yet, had not approached her to ask her to get down. She felt reasonably certain she wouldn't fall. At least, not so long as she wasn't actually pushed. But even if she did, from this height the worst that was likely to happen was breaking an arm or a leg if she landed funny.
She had already decided to pass up on the movie snacks. As much as she wanted a cherry icee, she didn't want to deal with needing to use the restroom. Because once again, there weren't any gender neutral ones. She had checked. And no drink meant no popcorn unless she wanted to make herself even thirstier with all that salt. Which was ok 'cause she was pretty sure Alexis was buying enough snacks for three of her. Really glad this isn't a date or I'd be the one paying for all that.
Ugg, speaking of, she still needed to figure out how much it cost to buy a limo and rent out an entire showroom for a night, so she could figure out exactly how much this would set her back by. She pulled out her phone to start googling it, alternating between looking at it and glancing up at the doors.
"I brought you candy."
Alexis appears next to Kaoru, holding onto a large tray of snacks - popcorn, slices of pizza, chicken tenders, candy of both chocolate and fruit varieties, as well as several water bottles. Soda was conspicuously absent there, as she set it down and stood next to Kaoru, looking at the screen. It was still playing the reel with canned commercials and movie quote trivia, which she didn't get at all.
"...Do you not like me?" She asked bluntly. "Because I like you. I want to be your friend. But you don't seem to want to be friends. Except with Alexandra. I don't get it." She grips the railing as she looks down.
"...It's okay if you don't like me. I don't like myself a lot of the time. I wish I had the chance to be a normal girl. You saw...how I'm different. If the people in school knew that, I wouldn't be able to go anymore. They would hate me. So, I'm happy that you are giving me a chance," She tells Kaoru.
The girl slinks down to her knees, hugging them. "I need to learn more about how to be a normal girl, so that I can fit in better. But I also need people who are smarter than me to point me in the right direction. Or else I'm just a bare blade, causing indiscriminate damage. I can't try to be a hero alone. I want you with us."
Kaoru is silent for a long moment, thinking through her response as she stares off into space. She doesn't turn when she softly gives her answer. "It's...not that I don't like you. I just don't really know you all that well. And I'm...not that great with people. Asking me out, out of the blue, was really stressful for me. Especially when you kept pushing the issue. It stirred up a lot of things I didn't really want to think about." Yes, and getting kissed totally didn't do that at all, right?
"I'm also pretty sure you're not the only different person at school. I don't know how to look for the signs like...other people might. But Herman's got powers. And Wingblade obviously. There are probably others as well; this is Halcyon. Besides, if they kicked people out just for being powered, I'm pretty sure they'd have a massive lawsuit on their hands."
"But, being a hero is a completely separate issue from being friends. I'm fine with being friends, but I'm not a hero and have no desire to be. I don't have the social skills to tell you how to fit in. I don't have experience fighting or with tactics, so I can't help 'guide' you or whatever. I don't have the instincts that a hero needs. I'm just...some kid with a knack for computers. And the last thing I want is to keep getting put into situations where I'm constantly making things worse and needing to be rescued." She pauses, hearing the edge her voice was starting to develop. She takes a deep breath to recalibrate. "You don't need me. You did fine fighting the dinosaurs by yourself. You would have done better if you hadn't bothered to stop and try to rescue me in the process. Besides, you've already got Wingblade and Bran on your team. With their experience, I'm sure they'll be able to guide and help you in a way I never could."
A few minutes after the others had arrived, Bronwyn came in. Her backup outfit was a pair of jean cutoffs and a simple black tanktop, so the many small bandages along her arms and legs were quite obvious, as was the splint on her arm.
"...Shayera, at some point we've gotta talk about what is and isn't a reasonable way to see a movie. Sometimes it's better to have the energy of a bunch of other people. It was very sweet of you to make sure today would work though. Probably a good thing you did."
"Hey guys! Sorry I killed the mood a bit. Everyone still up for buccaneers, broadsides, and bodices?"
"OK. Well I'll take the bag then." Cassie says as she exits the limo. "Uhhh,.. You've called me that lots of times. Like, almost every time I've seen you. I can't read minds" Even when I've had the charm on!
Shaun is beet red down to the neck. "I-I what!? I mean-, I-, no, I didn't-!" He scrambles to put the tank back on, trying to get anything to break line-of-sight between him and Cassie. "Okay look, this isn't funny. You're, what? Sayin' I called ye' beautiful every time we've met?" How many times have we met? "Look I'm not gonna say I don't like ye' but I think I'd remember if I called you...oh my God." He stops and turns to face Cassie, his posture and tone suddenly completely different. "Ye're Kaoru's friend, aren't ya'? That's how ya' know them! He put ya' up ta' this s$!~ didn't he!? Ta'datin' profile questions, ta' trick with Gaelic, he set this up ta' make me look like an idiot!"
As he starts to go off, Cassie and anyone near the conversation can see a single teardrop of blood drip its way out of the corner of Shaun's left eye. He seems completely oblivious to it. "Un-f@$&in'-believable! That prick really can't let me have one day without his B~$++@#!!" He stuffs his hands into his pockets angrily and starts stomping towards the concession counter, grumbling under his breath.
A tension leaves Kaoru as she finally spots Bronwyn enter the theatre. It's not that she had really thought Shaun was lying about her. But, well, seeing was believing and all that. The girl looked hurt, but definitely nowhere near as bad as some of the things her brain had been conjuring up. She didn't really want to yell across the theatre to greet her though. She almost pulled out her cell phone to text her but wasn't quite socially dumb enough not to know how rude that would be in the middle of her conversation with Alexis. So instead she just tracked Bronwyn with her eyes as she waited for Alexis' response.
After a discrete change back to her dress and makeup, Shayera strides into the theater a few moments after Bronwyn. She makes her way to the concession counter where a bewildered attendant is looking like he's about to call the police. Shayera settles Alexis' tab and buys herself a cherry cola and some popcorn.
Then she contacts the manager about opening the doors for her and her group.
Alexis listened to what Kaoru had to say. She nibbled on some popcorn and glanced over the railing as Bronwyn came in. She saw Kaoru looking at her.
It annoyed Alexis. It was also irritating to hear Kaoru continue to push himself away from the idea of being part of the team.
"...So why did you help stop the truck then?" Alexis asked him. "That was heroic. People would have died without your help. I couldn't have done that on my own. You're better at being a hero than I am. All I can do is hurt people trying to help others. I wish I could be a hero who didn't have to hurt others," She tells him with a sad smile.
She gets back up to her feet, dusting off her skirt. "Shayera's back. I'm going to say hi," Alexis says as she takes her food with her.
"Shayera, do you want some popcorn? Where should we sit?"
Bronwyn gave Shayera a quick smile as she entered. Once the movie starts, I'm definitely sitting next to her, but I'm not letting Kaoru slink off into the shadows.
"So, Halcyon's got some traffic, huh? Listen, thanks for helping out in the limo. I don't think I could've gotten Alexandra away from the clubby one without you."
Bronwyn grinned self-consciously, "Obviously I'm not presently the poster-child for why you should try to help superheroes, but you did the right thing. Thank you."
"Oh, and tell me if I'm wrong, but if I gave you a totally platonic thank-you-hug, you'd be really uncomfortable and hover-hands me, right? 'Cause I'd hug you, but I feel like maybe you'd prefer I not. Plus it'd be a one-armed awkward hug anyways."
As Alexis walks off, Kaoru just calls after her. "Intent matters, Alexis," but doesn't further elaborate. Given what the girl had said earlier about Alexandra, she probably shouldn't explain that she had just been trying to watch her back and keep her out of trouble. But it also wasn't her place to try to tell the girl that just wanting to help was the most important prereq for being a hero. She was sure Wingblade and Bran would be of more help honing her than Kaoru would ever be.
She spent another moment looking over the atrium. I'm not acting *that* differently around Alexandra, am I? I mean, sure, she teases me and I respond, but that's not *my* fault. If Bronwyn teased me like that, I'd respond the same way, wouldn't I? But...if I *am* acting differently around her, does that mean something? Did this mean she shouldn't sit next to Alexandra during the movie like she had planned? But...she didn't seem super comfortable with the other people in the limo. So if I didn't sit next to her, would she be all alone? That thought pretty much decided her course of action. How it looked be damned.
She had just jumped down from the railing and was thoroughly preparing to slink into the shadows find Alexandra and head into the theatre when Bronwyn approached. She vaguely waved away the girl's praise, "Uhhh, yeah, sure. Sorry I wasn't, y'know, paying more attention and didn't grab you before you fell. Glad you're not, y'know, a raccoon pancake or anything. Though, I do believe I told you not to walk the plank." She gave the girl a mock glare to cover as she quickly did another once-over inspection of Bronwyn's physical state now that she was much closer. "I, uhhh, have some aspirin or something, if you want. For your arm." She pulled a pill bottle out of her bag. "And...let me know if you need help carrying stuff or something. Like, books. For school."
She hesitated before answering the question about the hugs. Why...did girls keep bringing hugging up? And isn't that what she had wanted deep down from all this 'pretending to be a guy' stuff? Except guys didn't really do that. So hadn't she just catch-22'd herself or something? At least no one's accusing you of being gay for having girl friends this time... She looked away, "Yeah, guys don't really hug. I'd probably just jostle your arm or something anyway." She awkwardly held out the pill bottle and an unopened bottle of water before suddenly realizing that opening either one-handed would likely prove challenging. "Oh crap, you can't- let me-" She quickly took off the lid to the pill bottle and held it out, ready to tap a few tabs out onto Bronwyn's hand should she want it.
Shayera points Alexis toward the newly opened double doors for their private screening. "Wherever you want!" She holds up her own bag of popcorn and drink. "Got my own, but thanks!"
I should've just stayed as Bronwyn. Jumping off that car just created so many more problems than it solved.
But would they have been able to safely stop that truck without me?
Ugh.
"Yeah, I got kinda lucky there, but I've taken some high-speed falls before, so I at least knew how to keep the important parts protected. Good thing I wasn't in this outfit though, I got enough bruises and scrapes when there actually were clothes in the way." She moved her arm around, wincing a lot less than her actual pain called for. "I think it's just a bad sprain, but I'll get it checked out to make sure."
One side of Bronwyn's mouth twitched and quirked as she took the pills. She popped them in her mouth, reached out to grab a bottle of water and opened it one-handed, bracing it against her chest. "Thanks." She rolled her eyes, "Plenty of guys definitely do hug, but that doesn't mean you have to. Though you would have actually died of awkwardness if I were a cheek-kisser, right?" Her eyes danced with amusement for a moment, but then dimmed as she tried to figure out any kind of segue to what she needed to talk about, eventually deciding to just go for it.
"So you know that basically everyone else here is a superhero, right?"
"Though you would have actually died of awkwardness if I were a cheek-kisser, right?"
Kaoru blushed wildly. Wait, she hasn't seen *Alexandra* do that has she? She quickly reviewed the two (three?) times she had been ambushed. They had...actually all been around that one diner. Where Bronwyn definitely hadn't been. So it was definitely, 100% coincidence.
"So you know that basically everyone else here is a superhero, right?"
"Does that include you? Is that why you've taken high-speed falls before?" She shot back. She frowned and shook her head slightly, looking away. No, supers were often all about secret identities and such. And she'd hate for someone to try to corner her into revealing something she didn't want to. She continued in a softer tone. "Nevermind. Doesn't matter. You don't have to tell me. But yeah, Alexandra mentioned something about that earlier. And I've already had two other people bring it up to me in one way or another. You going to be the third?" She busied herself by slowly putting the cap on the pill bottle back on and replacing it into her bag.
Okay, either he does have a crush damnit, or someone else *is* a cheek-kisser. Or he's so embarrassed by the idea that he would have actually died.
"Ha! No. My high speed falls have been in the 100 meter dash, but it's more similar than you'd think. And I only knew about one of the other pitches, but all good things come in threes, right? And no, you won't see me running around in a cape, but that doesn't mean I don't help out. I work with Wingblade and Bran, mainly Bran as far as superhero stuff goes. I make his armor and his backup weapons, and a couple of talismans, and I generally try to help things go smoother for him when he does have to actually interact with the modern world."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a tiny spear, not much bigger than a toothpick, almost an exact replica for the one that dangled among other charms from her bracelet.
"I also make these. Now, I'm not the only 'Acolyte' no chanting or paganism required or requested who helps Bran out, which is kind of what I'm getting at. I don't know what Shayera and... Alexandra, I guess, have pitched, but you're clearly more than merely talented with computers. I think you could really help us. No cape required."
Don't try to manipulate me, Shaun. Alexandra snaps as he talks baout doing better than dad with teams Better minds have tried. Neither of us belongs on their team. You'll get yourself killed, and I'll drive them apart.. she says
As Shaun admits he was born in Iowa, Alexandra snorts Friggin' Knew it. She mutters to Kaoru her eyes raise at not knowing Coriander as well, and his nervous reaction to talking about what he notices first on a girl... reticence... that's new
She takes a seat next to Alexis in the theater. So, How do you think the Kaoru thing is going? she asks the younger girl.
Cassie stood stunned at Shaun's weird tirade. "What are you talking about, you idiot? You can ask anyone,.. You've called me Bo-dech, or whatever, like 20 times! I don't even know Kaoru very well and why would he want to do anything to you? That was the last time I help you out you massive douche!"
Cassie waits, fuming for a moment before heading into the theatre and heading to the girl's toilet to pass on Bron's bag. As the other girl gets dressed, she tries to get a better look at the charm. "I could fix those for you if you want?" Cassie says when she sees Bron's tattered clothes. "And I could have a go at healing your bruises? I did it in the car for Shaun, but now he's accusing me of playing some kind of trick on him with Kaoru. Are you sure you want him on this team? He's kind've unhinged, and now he's crying blood or something."
Shaun shoots a death glare at the heroine. ”We’ll discuss that later...!”
Shaun nearly broke the glass doors as he stormed up to the concession counter. ”Large nacho, extra pepper. Put it on ta’ tab f’ta’ rented-out screen.” As he waits for the cheesy chips, he stews on Cassie’s last words. G&* d~$n it, why can’t I just get one f~%~ing break here!? I find somebody actually cool, and she not only turns out to be working for the biggest prick on the block, she turns into everybody else when they get pissed at me. He yanks the chips out of the counter worker’s hands and marches over to a waiting table. And of course there’s Alexandra, who is just a complete a*~~%+!. She insults me in the same breath she tries to get sympathy? Yeah f&*+ing right, like that’ll work on me...
- - -
He waited till Bronwyn had finished changing before passing off the nachos and planting himself firmly on the farthest-back seat of the screen, tapping his foot in frustrated anger.
Kaoru's eyes flick to Alexandra at her outburst. If she drives teams apart, then why is she trying to pull me into things? Maybe she would ask later. Though she wasn't really sure if two people constituted a 'team,' so maybe that was different?
"Or bad things come in threes." Kaoru slowly picked up her bag, slinging it over one shoulder as Bronwyn talked. "So basically, to show you feel no spite/you want me to be Bran's acolyte/But first it's time to bow/Kowtow/Until it's my own grave I'll dig/'Cause I'm playing with the big boys now." She had hoped using someone else's words would lighten her tone but it didn't. Her voice still sounded tight. "I think I'll pass. Besides, what would a neanderthal in armor want with a coding monkey anyway. Plus I think the movie is about to start. I should go find a seat." She turned away to leave. God, he's even got her *marking* people like they're his own g*ddamn property. How could she even- Damnit! I'm *not* going to be his fking b*tch. Her insides were a knot of cold anger and a bit more hurt than she'd care to admit.
Kaoru flops down next to Alexandra, angrily propping her shoes on the chair in front of her. She was talking to Alexis, so maybe they're friends. Maybe she didn't need your company. Maybe you should have just picked some lone corner of the theatre to sulk in. Whatever. It was done. She was here. Time to get this movie over with.
Alexis is gnawing on a pretzel when Alexandra sits next to her. She looks at her tray of food, including Bronwyn's order of nachos with extra peppers. She seemed close to wanting to drop it on the floor though.
"...I don't understand. I want to know people better. I want to know Kaoru better. But Kaoru doesn't want to be part of a team. I thought...we all helped people today. It felt really good to do that. And it...*sniff*...it was the best thing I've ever done. For anyone." She struggles with tears in her eyes, sniffling softly in the dim theater.
"And Bronwyn keeps getting all this attention from everyone and I hate that she's so nice and I don't know why," She softly mumbles.
Bronwyn gingerly tried to remove her leggings without damaging them further, but after she audibly failed with a **rrrrrriiip** she exhaled in exasperation, and just yanked them off, awkwardly swapping for her backup shorts with a good deal of hopping (not quite daisy dukes, but shorter and tighter than she normally wore so they and a thin top could fold compactly into her bag).
"Hey, this might be slightly awkward, but I could really use some help with my top. Or you could just get..." Shayera? No, we're about to spend time close together in a dark room. Alexis? Maybe not the most gentle. Alexandra? Good lord no! "...someone else."
"Oh... ummm... Wow, healing might actually be a really good idea. Hadn't thought to ask it of you. And Shaun... Well, he's definitely got some kind of spook or specter after him, but I haven't gotten the details yet. Could be that's why he's seeming a bit on edge. Wait, crying blood? Is that a saying I don't know?"
***
What the hell? Was that... was he trying to rap?
"Hey. Kaoru, this was my idea. I'm the one asking you for help. If that pi- if that makes you mad, I'm sorry. I really am. The acolyte thing's kind of a joke it... I dunno, I thought it'd help show that this wasn't off-the-cuff, and that you'd still be a real member of the team without having to go punch people. I just..." I think you'd be happier if you had people to trust.
"I'm sorry if I screwed that up."
Also, got any thoughts on an impact for that miss?
Kaoru froze briefly on her dramatic exit. "If you want my help, then just try asking next time. Don't try to turn me into someone else's pet monkey. And I have no interest in being part of some hero team. As I've had to say to twice before, I'm not that type of person." Somehow admitting that kept getting harder and harder. And then she continues her storm-off.
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"Hey, no problem." Cassie says. Might be worth trying before you try getting the top on? So, there's some questions I need to ask that'll make it more likely to work.. Some of them are weird, and its better to not answer than to lie. OK?"
Cassie pulls out her notebook... scribbling in it as she asks the questions. "OK," she mutters under her breath, "So, female, and the time is,.." she glances at her watch. And bathroom is water-related for sure, so,.."
First question; When's your birthday? Date, year and time if you know it? And where were you born?
Second; What is your favourite colour?
Third; Are you an owl or a lark?
Fourth; What are your hight and weight?
Fifth; Quick as you can. What's half of 132?
Sixth; Do you sleep on your front, back or side?
Seventh, this one's a bit personal; What,.. physically,.. do you notice first about girls or guys, whichever you're in to,.. and what hair colour do you like or don't you care?
Eighth; Are you scared of spiders?
Last one; Do you scrunch or fold toilet paper?"
OK, eye colour, hair colour, works out so,.. Right. That's it so,.." she begins some calculations in the notebook. "OK then."
she reaches forward and, with two of her fingers begins tracing a complex shape on Bron's breastbone and closes her eyes.
"Το αίμα και το δέρμα γίνονται ολόκληρα.
Δεμένη μαζί, αντλήστε ενέργεια από το φως.
Αίμα, μαύρη χολή, κίτρινη χολή, φλέγμα.
Αέρα, γη, φωτιά, νερό. Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Αίμα, μαύρη χολή, κίτρινη χολή, φλέγμα.
Αέρα, γη, φωτιά, νερό. Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Αίμα, μαύρη χολή, κίτρινη χολή, φλέγμα.
Αέρα, γη, φωτιά, νερό. Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Να γίνει ολόκληρο.
Το αίμα και το δέρμα γίνονται ολόκληρα.
Δεμένη μαζί, αντλήστε ενέργεια από το φως. "
For a moment Bron feels,... something but nothing seems to happen and Cassie's opens her eyes and shrugs. "Sorry. It doesn't seem to be working. I'm real new to this and healing is really hard. I guess you need help with the shirt after all."
Shaun sighed and rested his arms and chin on the back of the seat in front of him. What a day... He idylly looked around the theater, and spied Alexandra and Alexis chatting towards the front. Alexandra’s response from earlier was...weird. She seems so convinced she’ll poison a team. I mean I know her dad’s a piece of s$~&, but did he really get inside her head that much? She seems too smart for that. Folding his arms underneath his head, Shaun starts to carefully watch the heroine as she talks with Alexis, straining his ears to catch pieces of their conversation.
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Bronwyn tried her best to rapid-fire the answers, "I'll be 16 this June 28th at 12:15 pm.
Born here in Halcyon.
My favorite color is... apple red.
I'm a raven.
Five-foot ni- ten. And... 150? 155?
66
I sleep on my back."
One corner of her mouth curved upwards into a half-smile. "First? Eyes.
Hair color's not that important.
Only dangerous spiders."
She winced, "Fold. Who scrunches?"
She wished there were more questions though for during the actual spell. Or that Cassie's spell seemed anything like the imbueings or rituals that she'd done with Mary-Beth so she'd know what was going on. Because instead all she had to focus on was trying really hard to play it cool while Cassie was leaning over and being all witchy. While Bronwyn was pretending it still felt totally normal to be topless in front of a pretty girl. A pretty girl with pale skin and hair that was dark enough to trick her stupid body into thinking she was Shayera. A pretty girl with a hand that Bronwyn could see was tingling with magic even before Cassie started tracing something in between her breasts and she could feel the enchantment for herself.
This was the worst idea I have Ever had.
"Okay! Thanks for trying." she said quickly, already turning around to one-handedly rifle through her bag.
She bent down to grab her top and awkwardly pulled it on slightly more than she really could without help. Okay. Calm down. You're not really even into her. You're just still riding some adrenaline and you decided to be good and rejoin your friends instead of making out with Shayera like you wanted to. Or just tearing off- Come on Bron! Just let Cassie help you with the top and you can go watch Darla Damesly swordfight her way through all her problems... Probably in tight pants and a loose blouse.
Had to be a pirate movie, huh?"
Shayera stands in the corner, watching and listening to the various conversations. She hears Alexis start to sniffle as she talks to Alexandra. She thinks about heading in that direction, since there's no telling what the latest Silver Shadow would say to her.
But then she sees Kaoru about to storm off, looking at first like she's going to sit apart from the group. Shayera intercepts him. "Hey! Um, well, you know my secret now. I totally get that the cape life isn't for everyone. But, ah, you're still going to help out if I need it, right? I mean, Whip's told me that you'll help."
Not bothering to get food or drink Cassie followed Bron into the theatre, where the movie was already playing. She followed Bron and took a nearby seat, taking advantage of the empty theatre to kick off her shoes and rest her feet on the seat in front of her. It wasn't really her kind of movie, but she let herself get caught up in the not-very subtle plot.
Kaoru stumbles mid-storming step as Wingblade approaches her, and she freezes. She catches herself and slowly straightens. She still wasn't quite sure how to feel about the girl. On the one hand, she was clearly terrifying in battle and now basically blackmailing her whether she knew it or not. On the other...she wasn't sure exactly. Not all her behavior added up. It was confusing. But maybe she should give her a chance?
She spoke slowly, watching the other girl's reaction as she dropped the extreme formality. "Yes, if you need technical assistance, I will help out." Ok, well, it wasn't keigo formal anyway. Even if it wasn't exactly casual. Baby steps. She looked away. "And...thanks for earlier. With the drone. And for finding Bronwyn after she fell off the limo." She shifted her weight awkwardly to see if there was supposed to be more to this conversation.
Shayera waves her hand. "No thanks needed. And I appreciate the willingness to help out. I try to get my supercomputer to do all those crazy analyses and extrapolations, you know? But I'm pretty sure I'm only using a part of its potential."
She turns and enters the screening, picking a spot near the center and only a few rows from the very back of the theater. She sits and waits for Bronwyn to arrive, psst-ing and throwing kernels of popcorn to get her attention if she doesn't spot her right away.
Alexandra's heart melts as Alexis starts sniffling You... awww, sweetie. Okay, first off, i don't think Kaoru knows what they want. And... as for the Heroing thing... well, I'm more a thrill seeker than a do-gooder. Same result, but different reason. She says
I think Kay is like that, they don't feel the urge to help like you and Shayerra. And, maybe try to learn about them in your civilian guise. But, if you do, you have to be willing to take the initiative. If you want to kiss them.... or go further than kissing, you'll have to say so explicitly... and even then, you might just have to go for it. She gets a little smirk, And if you ever kiss them, make sure they keep breathing.
And... I don't know either, might be one of her powers, but Bronwyn has a bit of magnetism to her. And, Kaoru feels guilty, like it is her fault that Bron fell. They want to be sure she is okay. Don't take it personal.
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"I don't know if I want to kiss him. But I know that I don't want him to kiss anyone else," Alexis admits in a quiet tone. She wipes her eyes as Alexandra helps her with her messed up feelings that she isn't equipped to deal with right now.
"...It's not her fault that Bronwyn fell. It was the flying one's fault. He shouldn't blame himself." She picks up a napkin, blowing her nose into it, looking at her tray of food, before picking up the box of chocolate malt balls and handing it over to Alexandra.
"Um. You said before at lunch, you kissed him. I felt...weird, like annoyed, when you said that. Did you kiss him because you like him? Why did he let you kiss him when he won't even hug me?" She asked, though the dimming lights indicate that soon the movie will start. Alexis looks at the screen in anticipation, though the questions are still hanging in the air.
Alexandra blanches a little as the living superweapon mentions she doesn't want anyone Kissing the person she had ambush snogged less than 24 hours ago.
Well, If you don't want him to... well, you gotta make your move, or decide if you're going to... or else you can't be upset when someone else makes theirs, and he accepts. Alexandra says, Choosing the hard truth method. People won't wait around because you might decide you like them... well, actually some would, but it isn't a healthy thing.
As for the kiss... well, we had grabbed something to eat after school. I was interrupted by a villain, and Kay... handled it really well, even the part where I stripped to change...well, not totally but... I'm off track. She takes a brief moment to centre herself. I don't know if I like him, but I kissed him to see how he would react, and to tell him that maybe I would be into him. it was just a kiss ont he cheek. That time... then it was on the lips, with an invitation to do more... Her conscience says, before self-preservation overruled it.
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Shaun sighs. She won't hear me. Just like the rest, she thinks I'm an idiot. Heh, actually probably thinks worse than that since she knows-...
He freezes, his breath catches. ...she knows about the accent.
"No."
But she already kn-!
"NO. You know the rules. If you want to be a hero, you have to BE it 24/7. That means you train till it hurts like fire, you fight till you can't throw a punch, and you LIVE. THE. PART. You don't have any crutches laddie, you don't have anything to keep THEM from ignoring you. And what do we do to people who ignore us? Who put us down? Who treat us like nothing? When the world tells us to sit down...?"
...we stand up, Sir.
The open credits music knock Shaun out of his mind. His pulse is elevated, and he realizes with some concern that his hand is back at his own throat. He closes his eyes and starts rhythmically beating his head against the seat in front of him. But if it's me standing up that keeping me from being a hero...what do I do? God, I miss when things were simpler... He lifts his head and stares down at the Alex-es. What was he going to do?
...sorry Sir, but I can't live with everyone hating me at the end of today.
As quietly as he could, Shaun leaves his seat and crouch-walks down to the girls' isle on Alexandra's side. He clears his throat to get the heroine's attention. "Hey, Alex, c-can I talk ta'ye' f'a moment?" he stage-whispers. "About Iowa...outside...please?" He chews on his lower lip as he waits for a reply.
"Oh. I've never kissed anyone before, so I'm hoping that..." She trails off as she whispers during the opening credits rolling to the booming orchestral music, "That my first kiss is as romantic as when when Sebastian kisses Olivia in Twelfth Night. But, I don't want to kiss unless I know that I love that person. That's what's important," She says, nodding quietly.
Her focus is now on the movie, watching the opening scene of a quiet patrol on the ocean suddenly becoming a pirate ambush on a navy caravel! She leans in and watches rapturously as the swashbucklers fly over on ropes, brandishing blades and pistols, and...looks confused as people are stabbed and shot and die dramatically. It takes her a moment to remember that movies weren't supposed to be realistic. So this was better because no one was actually getting hurt.
Content with that knowledge, she settled in to enjoy, as the female lead in disguise as a male sailor starts to put up the greatest fight, slaying several brigands before the ship surrenders.
Kaoru blinked as Wingblade walked away. Wait, *supercomputer*? Was she serious? Why the hell would she have a supercomputer if she needed tech support? Wasn't that some kind of a huge waste of resources? But...it was certainly something that would merit a followup.
Kaoru rubbed her forehead tiredly. The movie was terrible and did nothing to distract her. She had snapped at Bronwyn. Again. And Bronwyn had somehow been the one apologizing to her about it. That is so fked up. Why are you so fked up, K? Why couldn't social interactions be easy any more? They used to be easy. Yeah, maybe because you just stood there and smiled and nodded at everything people said to you. Like some dumb doll. Now she just felt like her nerves were constantly frayed, on the edge of coming unraveled. What was going on in her head?
She should apologize. She pulled out her phone and quickly tapped Bronwyn's number.
> Sorry I snapped at you.
> I'm just tired of everybody trying to make me into someone I'm not.
> 3 in one day was too much
Especially since they all seemed to think it was only that other Kaoru who was actually worthwhile. Why couldn't they just let her be herself? Would *you* really want to spend time with that confused freak who can't even seem to figure out things most people know from kindergarden?
She sighed, slouching further into her chair until she could lean her head back and stare blankly at the ceiling.
...Does she know why couples sit in the back of the theater?
Man I've gotta go for a run.
*bonk* A kernel of popcorn bouncing off her nose roused her from her distraction. She blinked, her quickly unamused face nearly keeping the smile out of her eyes.
I love her.
She gingerly settled down onto Shayera's left, sliding up the armrest in between them to hold her hand.
**contented sigh** Okay. This is enough.
After a few minutes her phone buzzed. She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought about just ignoring it, but with a squeeze she let go of Shayera's hand and fished it out. Just to see who it was. Not like there's anyone in the seats behind us to get annoyed.
Oh.
More slowly than ususal, Bronwyn typed out a message, trying to avoid the cracks running across her phone's screen.
Bronwyn: It's fine, really. Sorry I piled on.
Bronwyn: Are we good?
Bronwyn: tell me later tho. Didn't anyone ever teach you not to text during a movie?
Bronwyn: ;-p
She powered off her phone and tossed it in the cupholder on her left, then with a broad grin on her face, yawned, stretched, and snuggled up.
"Hey Shayera. I think we did it."
Alexandra considers telling him to ask nice or f$@~ off, but decides to just go with it. She could tell him to f&%# off later.
She stands outside, near the doors. Yeah... what about Iowa? She says, not knowing where this goes.
Shayera watches the movie while holding Bronwyn's hand, noticing some very serious flaws in the fighting techniques of the characters. Bronwyn's phone snaps her out of her focus on the movie, and she shifts her position a little to scoot closer to her girlfriend.
When Bronwyn finishes up her texts and snuggles close, Shayera doesn't bother paying attention to the movie any more. "Did what?" she asks, not sure what Bron was talking about.
There's a long silence as Shaun paces back and forth, intermittently biting his lip and rubbing at his neck. Just turn it off. That's it. Not that hard to do. Just. Turn it. Off. He looks at Alexandra, opens his mouth to speak, then snaps it shut and starts pacing again. F*!* off worms I'm trying to concentrate here...!
Then, something stirs in the back of his mind. An old, old memory he didn't even realize he still had. Facing away from Alexandra, he begins to speak. "MacGregor, Iowa was founded in 1874, an' was initially named MacGregor's Landin'." C'mon, focus on how YOU said it...! "Alexandar MacGregor, descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor, came ta'-...t-to America after his clan was persecuted in their native home of Scotland." Slowly but surely, the Scottish accent starts to fade from his speech, replaced by a much subtler Midwestern touch. "MacGregor's Landing operated as a safe-haven for those MacGregors who could make the voyage to America, and to this day MacGregor is the home of many who still claim lineage to the Highlands."
His heart is pounding, his head is swimming, and he feels like he'll collapse any second. But he still turns back to face Alexandra, a look of terrified determination on his face. "I-I wasn't lying when I said I'm Scottish. But, more accurately I'm three-quarters. My old man was born in Edinburgh, my mom was from Milwaukee. But she was half Grant...uh, that's another clan."
He swallows hard. His voice is raspy and makes his throat burn like crazy, but he keeps on. "I barely got to know my mom, and frankly I wish she and my old man switched places. But when it came time for me to choose what kind of hero I wanted to be, I chose the stuff my old man represented. I embraced being Scottish, without being him." Despite his current state of terror, he locks eyes with Alexandra. "You can do the same. You can choose to take what you want from your father. He doesn't define everything about you. Stop saying what the Silver Shadow does, start saying what this Silver Shadow does." He points at her to emphasize the statement. "Because this Silver Shadow can be what she wants to be."
His roll is interrupted by a painfully dry cough that folds him over in pain. "F**#! Ow...God I'm not used to this voice anymore...!" He shakily collapses into a sitting position next to the theater doors.
Bronwyn normally would have used her head to point, but her head was resting very comfortably against Shayera's. So instead she gestured with her bum arm, gently stroking her girlfriend's shoulder with the other.
"I think we made a team."
Kaoru looked down from the ceiling as her phone buzzed. Damnit, she had kinda thought Bronwyn would have silenced her phone. Or turned it off. Or...that it would be in one of those crazy dead spots with no signal that she kept winding up in. She hadn't meant to interrupt the girl's movie experience. Especially since she seemed to actually like pirates. Why hadn't she just waited? Because then you might have actually ended up talking to her face-to-face. And then probably blown up again and made things worse.
Why couldn't all communication be done digitally? Safely behind screens. Where her face or voice could be doing anything and the other person would be none the wiser to how she felt? Plus then she wouldn't be expected to actually be able to read people. She felt pretty good about her ability to notice word choice and such when it was written down and she had plenty of time to analyze (and over-analyze) it. But reading people was almost impossible when she spent roughly 90% of all conversations avoiding looking at the other person.
She tried to return to staring at the ceiling. And when that didn't work, she tried to watch the movie, but the lines were just so cringy. Plus her brain kept trying to come up with responses to Bronwyn's text. When those thoughts started to loop and repeat themselves, she gave in and typed (and then promptly retyped a few more times) a response. She didn't send it though. Just kept it there, ready to be sent at a later point in time.
She almost kept her phone out to start playing a game on it, but she didn't want to ruin the movie any more than she already had (or it already had for that matter) for anyone else. So instead she entertained herself by trying to come up with as many plans as she could for how the villain could defeat and kill the protagonist.