[OPEN] a shade of an angel born

[badcoverband]

Who: badcoverband & you!
When: OOC: 8/23
Where: Outside Niteo, OR inside the CERES game center, OR the Entertainment District shrine, OR your own choice!
What: Kara's return after death and a canon update has her confused more than ever. But she's keeping busy...
Rating/Warning: None for now.

---

[Kara has to be honest with herself. Sitting through the presentation a second time upon her return from canon update brief disappearance of three days, she's had enough of the disorientation she experiences now. Her mind's filled with colors and galaxies and star patterns, and she'd returned to find herself under deep suspicion...and now she's back here again? And now there's a strange glow about her, almost undetectable but undeniably there.

Well, at least she won't find herself under threat of airlock...well, hopefully. Even if she did, wouldn't she just come back? Something...some kind of weird emptiness inside her is different, like she can't reach a part of herself that would make her feel normal again. (Whatever the hell "normal" is.)

There are only a few ways of handling this situation.]

--
scene i.

[Kara takes a trip to the CERES marketplace, armed with her pay card and a picture in her head she needs to get out before she loses it. Some picture that makes her feel closer to her goal, to the destination she'd been trying to reach before she was plucked out again and reshuffled into the mix. It's Earth, actual Earth, the one she's stood on before -- she's sure of it, and she's got to get that star system from her mind to reality.

So she buys twelve cans of paint, sixteen different brushes, a small table, and jars for paint water, and heads to the Entertainment District. She picks one of the blank walls of her very own workplace, Niteo, and begins. Her manager might say something, but since when has that ever stopped Kara Thrace?]

Hey. Isn't that vandalizing?

[She's into her painting but not enough to ignore the voice behind her. She rolls her eyes. Here we go, some kind of BS she doesn't have the energy to deal with. Can't they see she's busy?]
--
scene ii.

[Kara's tired of obsessively thinking about it so she takes a break from painting, covered in various colors, and decides a game of pool and a beer is exactly what she needs. So she heads not to Niteo, but for the CERES game center.

Three beers and the same amount of pool matches later, she has more than the recommended amount of alcohol (but, strangely, she can hold it better than before). When she perceives someone as starting Some Shit™ a.k.a. someone talking about her game, she turns around and decks them right in the face*. (*Or! you can choose for her to break the pool stick over your head! Choose your own adventure~)]
---
scene iii.

[She finds herself wandering on one of her breaks at Niteo she intentionally takes an extra twenty minutes for, when she discovers the little shrine. She enters, feeling oddly out of place, but pulls out the two figures she has, little ones of Aphrodite and Artemis and kneels. She stares and wonders if they're the ones who guided her. Candles flicker over her and she sighs, feeling lost more than ever.

It figures that when she finally knows where Earth is, almost everything in the universe is working against the Fleet and her.]

Lords of Kobol...I don't even know if I should pray to them anymore...
---
scene iv.

Wild card - choose your own adventure!

Comments

[faithfulflame]

Yeah. I know...I know how that can be.

[Rei looks at Kara more intently, stepping closer and offering her hand. They're new acquaintances but she feels a strange kind of bond with this woman, if only because of the Mars and last survivor of a dead world bit.]

You look like you've got a question on your mind, Kara. Ask, I'll answer if I can.

[badcoverband]

[Kara's surprised by the action but takes Rei's hand anyway. Just the presence of another person is enough to calm her momentarily, and she sighs. She feels a kind of bond too, one that seems to transcend time and universes.]

I'm...um...

Well, have you ever known someone who died and came back? Inexplicably, without no possible way that she can find?

[faithfulflame]

[Anyone else might have laughed. Might have shaken the comment off. But not Rei. Not anymore...]

Actually? Yes. Several people.

[badcoverband]

[Kara searches the other woman's eyes for any hint of amusement or joking, but finds none. Instead she finds profound thought and a complete lack of judgement. Thank the gods or...whatever there is now.]

And those people...did they have a purpose? It's the only reason I can think of to bring someone back. Death isn't... it's not what people think it is.

[faithfulflame]

Yes, they did.

[Softly, Rei squeezes Kara's hand and nods.]

I know it isn't. I'm one of those people, Kara. I remember what it's like to die.

[badcoverband]

[Goosebumps start at Kara's scalp and go all the way down to her legs, her mind almost blanking at the fact that she's met someone who's done this who isn't a Cylon or some kind of being from her world at all as far as she can tell.

And of course, she knows people can die here and come back, but it isn't the same. Not like what she'd been through. Without the noise and confusion of Galactica, her mind can focus more on what she thinks she experienced, but it's still in too many pieces to figure out. Like a shattered mirror, or a microscopic puzzle.]

I don't remember as much as I think I should. I know what people told me, and it's clouding what I remember. I remember my mother, and feeling peace.

[faithfulflame]

That's about all I remember, too. I remember...my mother. And I remember my bed, and a few other things, but mostly just quiet.

[It's a little strange, discussing this, even now. It's not like she and the girls have talked extensively about it, because it was so brief. But that'd been different...]

Do you, are you dead at home now? I saw on the network that you'd disappeared for a time.

[badcoverband]

[It's strange for Kara too, because she's never discussed it with anyone. Not Lee, not Sam...she hasn't had the chance to. Even now, she's finding it hard to believe she's found someone with such a similar experience.]

Yes...quiet. And light, for me. Not the end of the tunnel crap people say, but all around.

I think, or I feel, that yes. I'm dead at home. I came back but not long enough to figure out anything except that my friend saw me die. Saw my spaceship blow up.

[She sighs, taking back her hand to run both her hands through her own hair. What is she even talking about? This is all so crazy.]

I guess I went back long enough to die and find Earth, then come back here and...do nothing but try and figure it all out, I guess.

[faithfulflame]

Yeah, that's about right. Like moonlight.

[That was her experience anyway...]

I'm sorry that you went through that, though. I know it's tough. The first time it happened to me, I didn't leave my bed for a week. It was just a lot to take in. But really? What's done is done. And you are back. Moving around, with all your limbs presumably intact.

[Patting Kara's hand, Rei puts on her best smile.]

And here, you've got more time to parse out what to make of all this. And you have time to relax, too.

[badcoverband]

[Kara nods and smiles, snorts at the intact limbs remark.]

As far as I know, everything's still here. I guess there's something to be said for being brought here, anyway. I don't hafta deal with the fallout back home for now.

[Even if she desperately needs to get her message back to them, she could tell from the looks on their faces that it's going to be a struggle whenever it happens. Rei is right. She might as well relax and suss out what she can at her own pace, not under timely or enemy pressure.]

Thanks, Rei. I'm sorry you went through it too. [A pause.] But I have to say, I'm really glad that I know someone who's been through something like that. Knowing what it's like means more than people realize.

[faithfulflame]

It's alright. You get used to it, knowing how strange things are. It's like you've solved the world's greatest mystery, and after that nothing else seems quite so scary anymore.

[And double that if it's happened more than once.]

Hey...why don't we go get a drink, huh? You sound like you could use one.

[badcoverband]

...huh. That's a damn good way of putting it. I still have mysteries to solve, but things really do feel like that after. I wasn't afraid of dying before, but now that I know...well, it's a different 'not afraid.'

[She sighs almost in relief at the mere mention of drinks -- or just anything to distract herself. She tucks her goddess figurines back into her pocket.]

That would be great. Lighten the mood some. [Have a grin, Rei.]

[faithfulflame]

Then I'll buy you one. There's a decent little wine bar not far away. I don't drink a lot, but...I like this place.

[It's definitely not a nightclub, too.]

[badcoverband]

[Thank God for that. Kara's not sure she could handle any kind of overly-noisy place at the moment. Besides, she hasn't had much wine in her life -- preferring whatever they found in the stores on Galactica -- and sharing the experience with Rei sounds really enjoyable.]

You don't have to buy. I feel like I should buy you one.

I...probably should drink less. But going through this kind of stuff, well, it's not unexpected.

[faithfulflame]

Don't start. I offered first.

[Rei puts up a warning hand, not willing to accept that.]

And you're right. It's not unexpected. Just don't overdo it, you know.

[badcoverband]

[Kara huffs, but for once, chooses not to argue. If Rei says so... she feels a kinship with her in that she knows Rei isn't one to be trifled with. (She'd think so even if she hadn't witnessed her Sailor Mars moves.)]

Fine, fine, I accept. And thank you.

[It's nice to have people who don't automatically assume the worst. Not that she doesn't appreciate the Galactica crew -- they're family -- but the change of pace is nice. Even if they were just victims of attempted homicide by previously-inanimate objects.]

I don't think I could if I tried. I just don't have the same taste for it that I used to. But that isn't to say I don't still enjoy it. I'll enjoy the experience with my new friend anyway.

[If Rei's cool with being referred to as a friend. After all she's done for Kara, even just in the short time Kara's been here, she feels like she is.]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei has zero reason to object to that, and so starts off out of the shrine without a word to the contrary. Friends are nice, and while it took her a long time to start accepting that she had friends? It'd become a lot easier for her to make them now, in this time and place.]

I can imagine. I mean, things are different after...[She waves a hand vaguely.]

But then I didn't really have my first drink till years after that incident. Though, I've got a taste for certain things now. Wine mostly, but tequila's pretty alright too.

[badcoverband]

[Once they arrive at the small bar, Kara immediately feels a sense of calm. Its warmth and the quiet atmosphere is a much-needed change from Niteo (even though it's enjoyable to an extent).]

Tequila and I have had our share of times, that's for sure. [Kara laughs, shuddering some.] I don't know if I could do it now even on a dare. Maybe in a drink but...too many shots back in the day.

["Back in the day" as if it's been that long since Kara drank liquor.]

[faithfulflame]

[It's just a quiet little winery, and Rei guides them to a back booth.]

Well, I really only use it in things myself. It burns less than most liquor, really. But wine's more my thing.

[Speaking of, the waiter seems to know her and she'll place an order for a sweet red.]

This place does pasta too, if you're hungry?

[badcoverband]

I just had one too many close calls with death - ha, oh wow, gonna have to think up a new phrase - with tequila. Ambrosia, too, but it doesn't make you hate yourself the way tequila does.

[Kara lights up and orders a dry red wine, never preferring any kind of white.]

Are you kidding? I'm starving. I was actually on the way to get food when I saw the shrine and just felt the need to stop by. I guess I hadn't thought much about where my own beliefs go with what happened.

Anyway.

This is the exact type of place I needed to get away from all that's out there. You have a knack for knowing what to do.

[faithfulflame]

I've never had ambrosia. I think the strongest thing I had was here. Something from another world. A...Romulan ale? Another starfarer shared a glass with me once.

[And what a trip James Tiberius Kirk had been. Rei can honestly say she had not once met a sleazier man claiming to be in the military. She's pleased though, glad she's helping someone else out. Kara obviously needs it, even if it's just dinner and a distraction.]

As for food, though, order whatever you like. The cream sauce here is pretty good, enough that I've not even bothered trying the red sauces.

[Placing her own order for a bit of carbonara as the waiter drops off some bread and their wine, Rei pours out some olive oil for them both to share.]

What's it like, on a starship? I've traveled in space, but it's been by magic, not on a ship.

damn, i wish kara had met kirk because l o l

[badcoverband]

[Kara orders something called "Fettucine Alfredo" because it looks good on the menu, and eagerly dips bread into the oil. She still hasn't gotten used to the taste of real, actual food and not crappy rations, and savors every single bite.]

Romulan ale? That sounds pretty brutal from the name alone. Haven't heard of it though, so it must not have been someone I knew.

[If only.]

Well, I can't lie. It's cramped, constant maintenance, lots of threats of danger...all kinds of fun stuff. But traveling through space is something that never gets old to me, even if we don't always know if we'll even get supplies.

It used to be more peaceful. Ships were more museums than anything. But then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Running from a threat in space definitely isn't all it's cracked up to be. Depends on the atmosphere, I guess.

Magic seems like it'd be a lot faster than fueled ships, though, so at least you don't hafta worry about that.

[faithfulflame]

[Rolling her shoulders, Rei puts thoughts of Kirk aside and nods.]

I admit, star-travel has always interested me. In part because of where I grew up. Humans. The...people I live among, my people. [Awkwardly...she smiles because they're her people, even if she's not human.] We've only just begun to really explore. Traveling fast enough to reach anywhere but our moon takes years. I know one country launched a satellite the year I was born to head to the fifth planet...2 away from us...and it only arrived the year I finished middle school.

[She can't help but be interested in this stuff. She read up after learning her heritage.]

It was a lot faster than that, moving, but it was teleporting. We didn't see much of anything.

[badcoverband]

[Kara remembers tales of the days when space travel took that long for her people. They'd traveled to the Colonies, obviously, but it took a long time to reach FTL capabilities, much less the advanced weaponry aboard the Battlestars.]

Advancements can happen in the blink of an eye, at least that's what it feels like after the fact.

[Kara knows she takes the sight of traveling among the stars at great speeds for granted, but it also reminds her of the danger that lurks among debris and galaxies.]

Seeing the stars pass is nice. We also have a form of teleportation, and it can be rough. But we don't use it until we have to since the ship is so old.

...I guess I shouldn't be speaking in the present tense, huh. [She quirks a smile, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. She leans back appreciatively as the server brings their food and sets it down in front of her.]

Seeing planets come into view...nothing beats that, though.

[faithfulflame]

Old?

[That's a word that sticks out to Rei, more than anything else. A starship shouldn't be old. At least, not in her opinion. The rest of that she'll address in a minute but that word in particular...]