( open ) ✘ ❝ i know my call ❞

[advena]

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! )

Comments

[speedforcer]

[whether she'd agreed or not, he knew there was no way he couldn't tell oliver that kara was back. but knowing that she wants to avoid him is enough to make it clear that a few words or prompting isn't going to change that any time soon. he won't push her. won't even tell oliver exactly where she is. which is why--]

We don't have to go back to my apartment. There's somewhere else we can go if you want some space.

[granted it's not technically his apartment. but given that the owner has left the city, he doubts there'll be any complaints made. so if it means giving kara a space to relax where she won't be found easily, he's more than ready to relocate for a while.]

[advena]

As long as it's not Mick's apartment.

( she really should say no. that's the responsible thing to do, isn't it, when all you want to do is just mope in your own bed and feel nothing and talk to no one? but she can't even do that, because the small double bed in the apartment the city's given her feels wrong. it's too narrow, the mattress too hard. none of the pillows have been crushed quite right. most painful of all, there's no comfortable weight beside her, warmth and sturdy support all in one tall body.

maybe it's the bittersweet knowledge that she doesn't have much to go back to in her self-imposed exile that convinces her to take barry's offer. maybe it's just sheer loneliness. maybe a little bit of both. but whatever the reason, kara lets him guide her out of the volunteer center, away from the wandering crowds, until they're safely on their own. until they're in a spot where a sudden burst of wind and crackling electricity isn't likely to set anyone's clothes on fire, so that barry can pick her up in that ever-familiar fireman's cradle and run her — quite literally — over to his intended destination.

when he finally comes to a stop, she offers: ) Are we there yet?

[speedforcer]

[it may not be mick's apartment, but it's a close approximation of it. coming to a halt in the middle of the deserted living room, barry casts a brief look around, stamping down any kind of longing he may feel for the familiar grounds. he'd only visited len's apartment a few times before he'd left, but even now, it's still impossible to miss the signs of ownership still dotted around. but with kara in his arms, it's something he's grateful for.

time slides back to normal, and he blinks back at kara, her question finally sinking in. setting her back to her feet again, he offers up a smile, leading the way over towards the sofa instead. he may not plan on pushing her for answers, but he can at least try to make her a little more comfortable.]

The water's still connected here, if you want a shower or something? I can go get us something to eat too.

[advena]

I'm okay, Barry.

( she doesn't mean to be dismissive. it's just ... well, she hadn't exactly planned on being a social butterfly quite yet, and she's not entirely sure how to feel. part of her wants to give in, to just let him carry the burden of her thoughts, if only for a minute or two. but the other part of her, the one that knows barry's own history, knows that telling him all the things that have been swimming in her conscious since she'd returned is a risk. )

I just... I wasn't expecting him to know I was back already. I thought I'd have a little more time before I had to —

( had to what, kara? she doesn't know how to end that sentence, mostly because she doesn't know what she's going to do. )

[speedforcer]

Hey, woah. Stop.

[his hands move back to her face all over again, though this time it has nothing to do with her injuries. instead, it's to keep that contact, to keep her from looking away as his expression turns thoughtful.

how to put this...]

Kara, you're not okay. But that's alright. Everything that going on out there-- [a beat as his gaze flicks briefly to the top of her head] --or up there? Stays out of this apartment till you're ready to talk, okay? I'm not going to push you for anything.

[so whether that means she talk or not, whether it's with him or not, he doesn't mind. all that matters right now is giving her whatever it is she needs to recover. and if that means sitting in silence, he'll...do his best not to make any noise.]

...if I asked you to come lie down with me a while, would you?