cuddlecity | ( open ) ✘ ❝ i know my call ❞

Entry tags:

( open ) ✘ ❝ i know my call ❞

CHARACTERS: kara zor-el & you.
LOCATIONS: around the city.
WARNINGS: physical violence, angst, general Good Times™
NOTE: forward-dated. spoilers up to supergirl 3.09
SUMMARY: as of january 5, kara's come back from her canon update, and she's ready to ... not be here, mostly.

✘ arrival & arrangements.

( her arrival is... sudden, for lack of a better word. she arrives as swiftly as she'd fallen, blood and bruises still prominent even after the city's administration checks her in. no, she tells them, i want to remember. if she must be here, if she must come back, she wants to be herself.

they offer her the belongings she'd left in their trust — things like her keys, filled with access to everything from the off-site townhome she'd registered with someone else to the back door of a business she barely remembers — but she declines them all. instead, kara quietly accepts a temporary assignment in the alpha building, a room they promise she'll find particularly comfortable on the top floor.

is it comfortable? perhaps it could be, if she wanted comfort. but all kara zor-el can ask for is the one thing she cannot have just yet: peace, brought by the knowledge that what horror she's left behind to flourish in her absence has finally been silenced, and that will not happen until she earns her piece here.

charity, they tell her, or intimate kindness. the idea of being intimate with anyone feels impossible. so here she is, lingering in the hallway of the volunteer center, looking considerably worse for wear, trademark glasses and librarian get-up traded in for dark slacks and a deo-issued grey sweater. )

I'd like to volunteer, please. Somewhere quiet.

✘ the sky & the sea.

( in the middle of the night, the sky is milky black and shimmering from the echoes of the stars dotted across; every so often, the occasional speck of a plane or a light in the distance breaks the scene. if you look closely, though, there's more than just clouds and birds and metal in the sky — there's the faint outline of a girl, too, a blur of colors floating in the distance, the outline of fabric fluttering in the breeze. it's neither a bird nor a plane, however; it's just kara, aimlessly drifting over the city.

from the ground, it might be hard to tell exactly who's up there, but if you've got a higher vantage point — like the high floors of a building, or your own capabilities for flight — you might be able to recognize the shape of the girl afloat, though said shape might be the only thing recognizable. instead of her librarian chic getup or the bright colors of her supergirl cape and boots, kara's dressed a bit... less formally.

warm grey cotton, varying shades from head to toe, might not indicate her current state, but the gentle close of her eyes just might. her hands dangle from her side as she floats, the night breeze carrying her to and fro as she slumbers. sleepflying. it's a thing. maybe you'll care to wake her, or to listen as she murmurs in her sleep. )

... the book of Rao... the symbols... please don't...

✘ of fists & fangs.

( sucker punch, with its dim lighting and the inexplicable coating of dust that seems to settle in everything, is not the sort of place you'd expect to find sunshine incarnate kara danvers. really, it's not even the sort of place you'd expect to hear about her, let alone run into her face-to-face. but if you happen to go in on just the right day, at precisely the right time, you might just find her there.

to be entirely fair, it's not exactly kara danvers, human ray of sunshine, who finds herself settled inside the ring. no, the slim, quiet girl with the echoes of bruising across her cheekbones hardly seems a fair comparison to the chipper sweetheart that had left this city just a week ago.

there's a quiet intensity to her now, intent in each strike of fist against the reinforced metal she's hung in place of a punching bag, resolve in each low exhale of breath as she attempts each move in her memory.

when the metal finally gives way, she lingers near the ropes of the boxing ring, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and her everyday attire exchanged for a rather cozy-looking sweatpants and t-shirt combo, looking more like a skittish potential fighter than a girl who could knock out the hulk with a good right hook. it might be easier to practice there. it's only this knowledge that has her turning to the next person who crosses her path, to murmur: )

I need a sparring partner.

✘ free spaces & wildcards.

( for convenience's sake, i've drawn up a few starters! however, anyone who knows her might notice she's not been at any of her usual hangouts — home, criminales, the alluring warmth of wok and roll on unlimited potstickers day, and so on. feel free to call her out on it, or alternatively, if you fancy a chance meeting with the girl formerly known as kara danvers, by all means, have at it.

feel free to pm me or hit me up at semicolons if you want to hash something out in advance, though! )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ When she says his name, Derek has to assume it's because she's awakened. To think anything else would start to sneak into awkward territory for one or both of them and he's not going there with Kara. So with the assumption that she's awake, Derek speaks back to her. He doesn't shout, but he will if she doesn't hear him. Superman could hear basically anything, if he remembers right. Maybe she can, too, and he'd rather not wake the whole city, if he can avoid it. ]

...what are you doing? Are you okay?

[ There's a short pause then. ]

Where did you go...?

[ Another pause and then he's muttering more to himself than to her, while he gives her time to either respond or not; if she doesn't, he'll assume she hasn't heard and he'll take his chances and yell. ]

I don't even know if you can hear me...

( the world is rumbling, echoing in her ears, and derek's voice is too. even though he's barely speaking above a whisper, it registers loud and clear. but even though she can hear him, she doesn't have any reason to assume her own murmuring will be audible the other direction. wolf hearing isn't exactly one of her knowledge bases. )

No. ( it might be quiet, but at least it's truthful. she aches, all over, bruising and cuts not yet healed, and she's yet to have a restful night sleep since she's arrived. ) I'm so tired.

( but his voice keeps coming, almost sad in its softness; as much as she wants to just lay back down and go back to sleep, she can't just ignore it. so, after a few minutes, kara lets herself float over to the rooftop source of the sound. )

I went back home.

[ Derek's expression drops when she says hat she isn't okay; that she's "so tired" because he can't help wondering whether she said it that quietly with the assumption that he wouldn't be able to hear it. His frown settles into place entirely too naturally, probably because he's had so many years of practice with it in place.

Before he can respond, though, he notices that she's moving toward him and so he waits, because maybe she needs a minute. Maybe she needs more than a minute, really, but he can give her at least the time it takes her to get from her building to his to collect herself, in case he's right in thinking that maybe that confession hadn't been meant for him, but for the night sky itself. ]

I know, I noticed you were gone. What's wrong? Why are you so tired...? Aren't you sleeping?

[ It looks to him like she's in bad shape and concern flickers in his expression before he reminds himself not to jump to conclusions. It could honestly just be the way that the moonlight is cutting shadows across her skin. ]

( derek means well. that's the problem, isn't it? the people she's made friends with here, the ones that care — they're good, at their core. they're kind, and caring, and they want her to be okay. but she isn't okay, and she's not sure when or if she will be, and having to admit that out loud is hard. it takes a kind of strength kara's never had to develop. one she's still learning.

but the concern that's etched across his features, the frown that's turned his mouth upside down, is something kara doesn't want to be the source of. she doesn't want him to worry on her behalf, or draw worse conclusions than the (admittedly not ideal) truth. so, honesty it is. perhaps not entirely frank honesty, and maybe she's leaving things out, but she's not lying. )

No. ( to the sleeping bit, anyway. ) I'm... not sleeping very well.

( flying over to the edge of the roof, pulling herself up, it all brings her into the light; by the time she settles herself to sit, legs dangling off the rooftop, the cuts and bruises are all too visible as they criss-cross her face. )

Worldkiller happened. ( a beat, and then: ) Wouldn't you know it, she kills more than just worlds.

( girls, too. super ones, even. )

[ Some part of Derek kind of half-expected Kara to lie to him and say that she's just fine. It's how he would've reflexively responded if the tables were turned, he's pretty sure, but he can tell just by listening to her heartbeat — still steady, but a little faster and a little louder now that she's awake — that she's telling the truth. ...and it breaks his heart.

Before he can even ask, she's flown to his roof and she's sitting; he can see her face in the moonlight and it looks like someone kicked the crap out of her. That's pretty surprising, considering. Surprising enough that the concern on his expression flashes shock just for a second when he notices. ]

I suppose it's a dumb question to ask if you want to talk about it, but...do you want to talk about it?

About dying?

( it'd be kinder to be softer in her replies, but kara's not feeling very kind lately. she's tired. physically, obviously, from lack of sleep and sheer exertion, but emotionally too. she's given and given and given of herself and her heart and her soul so much, only to watch each opportunity be stomped out — it takes its toll on a girl. so kara doesn't pull punches, at least not right now. maybe someday, when everything feels less overwhelming, she might be able to expend the extra energy to soften the blows. )

It hurts. ( two for two. ) I guess that part's obvious.

( if it didn't hurt her ribs, she might pull her knees up to her chest. instead, kara wraps her arms around herself, fingertips digging in to the flesh of her upper arms as if to keep herself steady. )

The nurse who checked me in said I should heal, though. Eventually.

[ Rather than looking surprised or even flinching with discomfort, Derek just gives her a sympathetic smile, nodding a little.

Fun fact: Derek knows exactly how much it hurts to die. He gets it. ]

Yeah, I didn't love it, either. There is something, however, to be said about appreciating life a little more afterward, so you've got that to look forward to eventually. Once the rest of it wears off.

[ The physical pain; the emotional scars. It takes a lot out of a person to literally die and then come back. It's draining in a lot of ways and Derek knows how that feels, too. It takes a while to bounce back, but if he can do it, Kara the ball of sunshine surely can, can't she?

But to her point that it hurts, Derek reaches for her, putting one hand over hers. After a moment, his veins start to go black and he winces a little, face looking a little pained. Kara will probably feel a change; he's sucking some of her pain out of her and into himself. Maybe in her weakened state, she's not healing as fast, so as her friend, it's the least he can do; he can heal faster still. ]

The beauty of superhuman healing. I don't know what I'd do without it.

[ When he can feel the pain dull to a softer discomfort, he finally removes his hand from hers, closing his eyes and tilting his head up toward the sky a little as if wiling the pain to hurry up and fade again. The inky color fades back out of his veins and he opens his eyes again slowly, looking back at her. ]

Maybe that'll help you get some sleep?

( his hand smooths across her own, palm warm against her skin, and kara has to fight the urge to pull away. she hasn't been touched, not really, since she'd come here. the last touch she'd felt had been worldkiller's fist across her face and body.

but it doesn't take more than a moment before that changes, too. his hand lingers, and the longer it does, the better kara feels — by the time his hand lifts, she's left light-headed and dizzy, but better, as if the tightness in her muscles and the aches in her bones have been swallowed up by his touch. she's left tired, still, but it's as if time had sped up. what should have been days or weeks or even months of healing in just a few moments.

her response is soft, quiet, half-lidded eyes turned in his direction as she struggles to wrap her mind around the touch. )

Derek... what did you do?

[ The way that her body seems to relax a little, beyond the darkness in his veins and the pain that came with it, tells Derek that it's working. He hadn't been completely sure it would, since he doesn't know how her body's makeup works. He's glad it did and when he answers his voice is soft because she still looks tired and it's reflexive to keep his voice down when she's looking sleepy, still. ]

I took your pain.

[ As the last of it fades, he winces just once more, takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly before smiling a little. ]

And now neither of us is dealing with it anymore. Now maybe you can sleep?

Maybe. ( more tellingly, though, is the small smile she manages to give him in return, just for a moment before a soft yawn slips through instead. clearly she's more tired than she realized. ) I didn't know you could do that.

( you didn't have to do that goes unsaid. of course he didn't, but he did, and even in her hazy, muddled brainspace, kara can appreciate a kind gesture. she might not think she's entirely worthy of such gestures, but she knows a kindness when it's offered. perhaps when she's feeling more like herself she'll be able to repay it.

for now, though, kara can only manage a weak thank you, murmured out in the darkness, before she presses two hands to her mouth to stifle a second yawn. )

I can do a lot of things.

[ His voice is still hushed, but he matches her small smile and shrugs his shoulders a little like it's no big deal. Most of it isn't a big deal. Of the things that are, the most impressive is one he won't ever try to do again, out of fear that he'll do permanent damage.

The smile turns sympathetic as he looks back at her when she yawns. ]

Anytime, Kara.

[ He takes a deep breath and then sighs it out softly, eyes shifting up to the moon. ]

You should go get some sleep now. Hopefully, I just made it a little easier.

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