[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

[fishyoldman]

[Should've gone for the bottled stuff and not the cocktail, Kara. Raven's already feeling a warm buzz, even if it's not enough yet to take the edge off what he's about to say.]

...Ten years of living like a dead man.

[It's not something he wants Kara to try, that's for sure.]

[badcoverband]

[For revenge, she snatches up his bottle and downs some of it directly. Ah, yes...that's a little better. Kinda. She could use something stronger, and tries to decide if she wants more whiskey.

Instead, she fixes him with a look that's indecipherable. Wow. Bombshell. Her hazel eyes search his...ah shit. So he's the guy. Duh who tf else did you think he was talking about, Kara]

Ten years? Sounds like a real party. I haven't even been back that long but...well. [She shrugs, more carelessly and bonelessly; it's obvious the sake had some effect.]

[fishyoldman]

Yeah... it's been great.

[He says it dryly, swirling his drink around the bottom of his cup with a faraway look. Yup, bombshell, though how she interprets it he'll leave open for now. He's too distracted to even protest at her taking his drink.]

Anyway, since then I've gotten tangled up in all kinds of messes, and now I have some kids around who're counting on me. So I've gotta stick this out for them. [He looks up at Kara.] You want my advice, then don't wind up a bitter old fogey like Raven, wasting all that time. Find something to keep living for, and don't let go of it.

[badcoverband]

[She takes advantage of his distraction and pours more.]

I've gotta stick mine out for kids, people...everyone's counting on me back home. For this piece of...something, I don't know what, that's in me that I can't get out. It's what I'm living for, but what's the point if I can help them from where I am now?

[Damn, this is getting heavy. Maybe she should pinch his ass or something to lighten the mood.]

People always said I had a special destiny but that's all bullshit. Dying isn't destiny, it's what's s'posed to happen. Not coming back.

[fishyoldman]

Maybe it's the comin' part back that's destiny? Someone or somethin' had bigger plans for ya.

[Raven shrugs, and adds a little self-depracatingly,] Or maybe you're just a poor sap with bad luck who keeps gettin' caught up in other peoples' messes.

[badcoverband]

She laughs bitterly.]

Whoever picked me had to have been drunk off their ass, then. No way am I the one with bigger plans.

[She elbows him in the ribs with one good jab.]

And that description sounds more like me before. Maybe my destiny is to frak up as many people's lives as possible before I really leave forever.

[fishyoldman]

Owww... [He grumbles and rubs his ribs, although the reaction is delayed enough that it's obvious it's faked. Then he grins at her.]

Well, ya can keep comin' back to frak up my life as much as ya like... Just be a little more gentle, would ya? No elbows.

[badcoverband]

Sorry, no can do on being gentle. [She grins suggestively.] I didn't even get to boss you around enough last time, really show you how un-gentle I can be (aka ride that old-man horse til the sun don't shine).

[And leaving him with that thought, she gets up to grab more drinks - okay, just a bottle of Crown whiskey and another helping of sake in case he wants or needs - and this time for free. Intimidation tactics and all.

She gives Raven a sidelong glance when she sits again. Then, after pouring a liberal helping of a shot and tossing it back, she decides to say, softly:]

There's hope for you yet not to stay a bitter old fogey.

[fishyoldman]

Oh boy...

[He lets out a low whistle as she heads over to the bar. Those sure are some... thoughts... she's left him with. Not to mention the sake is giving him more and more of a content buzz. When she sits back down, he's surprised but not about to complain that his booze haul seems to be multiplying.]

What, you agree that I'm one now? How rude. [He drains another cup. He's still not through the first bottle, yet, but he's pacing himself. He's already becoming a little flushed and slurred... then again, that might just be Raven being Raven.] Us old people are sensitive about these things. I hope you're gonna make it up to me.

[He leans all in on her personal space again, leering at her. Two can play at getting suggestive.]

[badcoverband]

[She laughs and clinks her glass together with his.]

So you can call yourself old, but if anyone else does it...mm-hmm, I see. [Her lips curl into a smirk because this is a Healthy Coping Mechanism.]

I don't know if I can make it up to you in a way that'll heal your poor, old heart (haha what heart).

[She leans forward so her forehead is smushed against his.]

But I'll definitely try. Only if you're a good soldier, though.

[fishyoldman]

Glad yer so understandin' of an old man. [He grins lazily as she presses her face to his. The numbing effect of the alcohol is starting to sink in, and that, coupled with the loud music and having Kara so close, all makes for a pretty relaxing combination. He takes another swig of sake.]

A good soldier? So you'll only make it up to me if I keep followin' the captain's orders? Pretty harsh...

[...He's not saying he won't do it, though.]

"did i stutter?" -kara

[badcoverband]

Oh yeah, sympathy's definitely my strong suit. Couldn't you tell?

[She pulls back and takes a swig straight from the bottle, not even fooling with the shot glasses anymore, because what's the point?]

You'll follow the captain's orders or you'll get insubordination points taken off. And we don't want that, do we?

[She hasn't forgotten the weight that's on her shoulders, but she just...doesn't care. Maybe it's the booze or maybe it's that Raven's supposed nonchalance is rubbing off on her, but either way doesn't matter.

So she kisses him and pulls back with a grin.]

Think you can handle getting with an angel?

[fishyoldman]

No ma'am! 'Course we wouldn't.

[There's half a laugh behind it as he says it, amused as he plays along. It's good to know some things never change, whether she'd died or not.

He returns the kiss. Then as she pulls away, he looks her up and down. Yeah, she doesn't seem that different, even if there's something a little off.]

Only one way to find out. Hype it up this much and you're gonna really hafta deliver, y'know.

[badcoverband]

[She arches an eyebrow at him as she swigs some more amber whiskey, eyeing him up and down in return, although she cocks a half-smile once she's done.]

Excuse me? You say that like I don't always deliver.

[She almost instantly changes demeanor and screws on the bottle top, pushing it away. She's pretty damn well buzzed at a good point, even if she still can't numb the thinking as much as she'd like. She puts her cheek on her palm and fixes him with a stare that's somewhat vacant, like her mind is a thousand miles away.]

That radiant thing...was that just a lame pick-up line that I took outta context and now you're a poor old sap caught up in my mess?

[fishyoldman]

Hey, none of my pickup lines are lame! [He sulks, setting down his cup.] Nah... I meant it pretty literally.

[There goes Raven again, saying important things as usual like they're no big deal. Whoops.]

You looked in a mirror lately? 'Cause I thought I was seein' things, but...

[Raven turns on his Cerevice, fumbling a little with the buttons. After a few seconds, he manages to switch on the camera so it projects what's directly in front of the device onto the screen -- in this case, himself. Then he turns the Cerevice over so Kara can look at herself.]

[badcoverband]

[She honestly can't remember the last time she looked in a mirror, which means whatever she'd seen when she did had been unremarkable. But she yanks the Cerevice (thanks for asking, Kara) and looks at herself.

It's like she's used some really, really shiny hair conditioner and face highlighter, or...yeah, she sees what he's talking about. Like looking out at a planet that has a hazy glow over it. They're in a darker space so it's definitely not the weird lighting of Niteo.

She clears her throat and practically shoves the device back at him.]

Maybe this'll get me more tips. [She laughs dryly.]

[fishyoldman]

What, are you gonna sparkle at 'em until they cough up?

[He lightly teases, taking the Cerevice as she shoves it back at him, switching it off and pocketing it.]

Is this kinda thing normal in your world? 'Cause in my world, people only get all glowy and stuff if they're castin' a magic arte.

[badcoverband]

I should. Or maybe it just enhances my natural charm. [She scoffs ("charm") before she gulps down some of the second bottle of sake she'd gotten.]

Wouldn't know. Don't think I ever met a human who died and came back to find out. The ones that died and came back had the technology...they weren't really human in the traditional sense.

Casting magic artes sounds like something out of one of our fairytales. That stuff actually happens where you're from?

[Somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, is a voice that says "don't ask" but she's too boozed up not to:]

Is that how you're - sorry, the 'guy you know' - here?

[fishyoldman]

Huh? [It takes him a second to pick up on what she's asking -- or he's deliberately playing dumb to buy himself a little time while he thinks of how to answer.] Oh, uh... I'll tell you how I'm here when we're somewhere a little more private.

[He didn't want to get into all that stuff with Kara and make it more complicated than it needed to be. But now it's something they have in common, he can't exactly hide it forever and pretend he doesn't know what it feels like.]

As for castin' magic artes, we have technology called blastia that converts aer into magical energy. The more we use bodhi blastia in battle, our artes get more powerful and we learn more. It's kind of a mixture of energy from the aer and a person's inner potential, so everyone's artes are different.

My specialty's wind artes -- they'll blow ya away if you see 'em!

[Ba dum tssh.]

[badcoverband]

Sounds like an elaborate ruse to get me alone.

[She manages a wink, feeling better by the minute. Maybe it's the booze, maybe it's his silliness. Maybe it's knowing she's not alone in these first few days of total confusion.]

You don't hafta, though. I don't even know how I'm here so it's not like I can offer anything in return. I know you like to keep your mysterious old man persona strong too.

[She took what should be her final swill of sake and puts it aside as well. Things have changed already in such a short time. Still, she listens and snorts at the end.]

That sounds real frakkin' useful, actually. We don't have that kinda magic, or any that anyone would consider traditional magic. [She deadpans at his "joke."]

Not before I blow you away, hot stuff.

[Her tone isn't as playful as it usually is, even with him.]

[fishyoldman]

Heh, do ya know me so well already?

[It's not that he cares so much about his self-image so much as how useful it is at keeping others away. Maybe it's for the best to get away with not telling. Kara has her own problems without adding his own to the pile.]

Ya can blow me any way ya like, but at least try ta sound a little less like a downer when you say it. [He punches her lightly on the shoulder. Not sexy, Kara.]

[badcoverband]

[She narrows her eyes and punches him back.]

Do I know you that well already? You and all your secrets...

[But he's right. Even she's tired of being a downer about the whole thing. She's back, somewhere inside her is the way to Earth, and that's enough reason to keep functioning, right?

So she leans close, entwines her fingers in his hair, and smiles against his ear when she murmurs:]

This any better, old man?

[fishyoldman]

Ah, yeah, that's more like it.

[He shifts to make himself comfortable, putting an arm around her shoulders companionably. Then he closes his eyes, enjoying the feel of her fingers in his hair.]

You seem to be pretty into the secrets, so maybe it's better we stay that way.

[badcoverband]

I don't know...you know a pretty big secret of mine. I don't think it's fair not to get at least one of yours.

[Her voice comes out low and her eyes are hooded. Distractions sound good, even if she isn't gonna let him off the hook forever.]

So gimme a good one, if you got it.

[fishyoldman]

I thought I already told ya one. Y'know, about that guy I know...

[He cracks open an eye lazily, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Well, if she's going to be all cute like that, maybe he can manage another.]

All right, listen up. Once upon a time, a younger but equally dashing Raven was a soldier in the Great War.