cuddlecity | ( 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

Talk... about being bulletproof?

( there's a fair bit of skepticism coloring her tone, but it isn't malicious. just questioning. she doesn't quite see what talking about her abilities or failures thereof will do, other than remind her of exactly how poorly she'd performed against someone who — in theory — should have been easy for her to subdue. )

There's not really much to talk about. It's part of my biology. A reaction to the solar radiation.

About what happened, since someone apparently bulletproof seems to be concussed.

[ One of the things Claire has grown used to seeing, working with vigilantes, is that nothing they do is motivated by nothing. ]

Like, whoever you went to fight, you didn't know they'd be able to hurt you? Or did you go for it, knowing you could get hurt?

[ Was it over-confidence, or pride, or ignorance, that led to this? Claire asks without asking, looking to read between the lines, her words soft as her tone as she cleans Kara's forehead. ]

Just in case you don't know, by the way, I promise you nothing that you tell me will leave this room. Whatever it is stays between you and me. Okay? Just want you to know that.

I don't know.

( in all honesty, kara's not sure what she was thinking. she'd known this person was aware of ancient kryptonian symbols, sure, but had she expected her to be kryptonian? not exactly. the sheer force she'd been confronted with had been a surprise — and to find that worldkiller was, in fact, so much stronger was enough to put her off her game.

she should have retreated, or recognized her tactical disadvantage and gone back to the deo, but kara hadn't. doing so might have put others in danger — people like her sister, or j'onn, or winn. people who didn't deserve to be hurt (or worse) just because kara was scared.

at least claire's gentle press of a cloth against her forehead means she has opportunity to close her eyes, to concentrate on ensuring her breathing stays slow and steady. )

I wasn't strong enough.

( to defeat her. to protect her city. to protect the people she cared about. kara had failed, when it mattered most — the cuts and bruises that littered her skin was what she deserved. )

And you think it's your job to be strong, am I right?

[ Claire has seen this before. heard this before. Be strong enough to protect the ones you love, and protect your city. Be the strong one when others can't be. The kind of martyr talk that came out of Matt's mouth all the time. The kind of talk that had made Claire walk away, because she'd loved him, and he didn't realize how his self-righteousness and desire to sacrifice himself had killed her inside. ]

Do you think your own life matters less than others?

( she knows the nurse means well. she knows that it's not intended to be careless or unfeeling, but kara can't help but feel a little attacked, her own defensiveness kicking in as hands curl around the edges of the examining table. )

It is my job. That's literally my job, actually. ( that's what she was sent to earth to do, after all. to protect kal-el, and in turn, protect the earth. kal-el didn't need her protection, but the earth still did. her family, her friends, her city... they all needed supergirl. ) If I can't do that...

( if she can't protect people, she has a hard time thinking of what good her life is in that case. )

Hmm. [ While she picks up Kara's defensiveness, Claire doesn't rise up to it. There's no point, and it won't lead to anything of value. Having her doubts is her own right, but Kara is also allowed her choices, and her opinions. Claire doesn't know what it's like for her, back home. ]

I think sometimes, people like you - heroes - [ Her voice is gentle once more, and the accent she puts on the word shows how much she trusts in it, and people like her, because she does. ] - spend so much time being strong for other people, you forget you're also allowed weakness.

[ She gets her suture kit, before making a face - if her skin really is anything like Luke's, it's pointless. Butterfly bandages will have to do. ]

And maybe, right now you can't do it. Maybe right now you're a little weak, and you need a break. That doesn't mean it's going to be that way forever.

( in all honesty, even alex and the deo lack the materials necessary to puncture her skin without a bit of kryptonite dampening, and without the ring so carefully loaned to her by bruce before he'd left, there's nothing kara has access to that will provide it. she can't blame claire for going towards the suture kit. it's just medical instinct. )

Maybe. ( but there's no real point in arguing about it, either. it's not claire's fault she's in pain, or that she couldn't manage to protect her city when it needed protecting. ) I guess that's why I'm here.

Hey.

[ Gently, Claire takes Kara's chin between two fingers, lifting her face up so that she can look in her eyes. It's nothing romantic, but it's gentle, understanding. ]

If you ever, ever need to talk it out, or if you need a hug, or you need a night out drinking to forget about it, I'm here, okay? I know, I know. We just met. But I swore an oath of care, and sometimes it's a lot easier to talk to someone you only know a little, than your closest loved ones. So, I'm here for you, all right?

( open ) ✘ ❝ i know my call ❞

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