You Look Familiar

[Gaunt]

Another night, another uneventful patrol. It got kind of frustrating sometimes. Kaie had joined the Titans to do hero stuff, and yet like ninety percent of her hero time was spent wandering around aimlessly, watching nothing happen. Sure, she was a great deterrent, but being a deterrent was BORING! She wanted to scuffle with a villain again, or stop a robbery. Anything to break up the monotony. Well, not quite anything. Some of her hero experiences she REALLY didn't want to repeat. What she needed was a solid point in the win column, that would be nice.

Kaie let out a sigh, heading for home. She was just glad tomorrow wasn't a school day. She'd stayed out a fair bit later than intended, and had been slow getting changed tonight. It was nice being back in her civilian clothes. Her costume had started out baggy, but it was getting a little short for her. She'd grown nearly a foot since getting it. It was probably at least midnight now. Now she had a ways to walk, and she had to walk slowly. Her regular footsteps might wake people up. What time even was it? Kaie stopped, fishing through her pockets for her phone. Little folk had the luxury of walking and texting, but that was too dangerous for her. Yep, 12:17. Ma was gonna be maaaaaaaaaaaaad...

Kaie pocketed the phone again and looked up, noticing there was someone on the sidewalk ahead now. A teenage boy dressed in a black and silver outfit that looked like superhero and/or supervillain attire. His skin had a slight orange hue, and with his reddish ponytail he looked an awful lot like one of her team leaders. Kaie moved in a bit closer, able to make out some of his face now. Big green eyes, tiny little eyebrows. There was a new Tamaranean in town! "Hi there!" Kaie gave a big smile, waving down to him as she got closer. He was a slim little guy, though he looked pretty athletic. Maybe all Tamaraneans had that kind of build. "Are ya a Tamaranean? I were just wondering cuz I work with one, this gal named Starfire. Ya got the same kinda eyebrows, ya know?" Kaie really hoped that wasn't... racist? alienist? Whatever the term was. She knelt down, offering a finger to shake. "My name's Kaie, by the way."

[Sae]

Glinting green eyes squinted at the night sky as Wildfire's vision began to adjust. He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping there, hidden between two dumpsters in the alley, but he was pleased to see that these humans were happy to let him stay there unnoticed and unbothered. Quietly, he crawled out from his hiding spot and crept toward the open street. The humans must all be asleep, he thought, relieved. That meant he should be able to wander about without any problem and--hopefully--find food somewhere.

Gathering his courage, Wildfire took his first step into the dim moonlight, only to be startled by what he could only describe as a giant. Immediately, starbolts warmed his hands and he backed away, wondering how in the universe he hadn't sensed or noticed her coming. If she had been a Citadelian, he might have been captured or killed.

Still keeping his distance, he barely listened as she spoke, too conscious of her body movements to notice much else. When she lowered on her knees and held out her finger, Wildfire nearly attacked her then and there, but the tone of her voice was sweet and had an odd lilt that almost sounded musical and non-threatening. Still, he glared up at her.

"Star...fire?" That was one word he had picked out among the few. "That is... f-familiar. What is it you want?"

He really needed to start listening.

[Gaunt]

For a brief moment, she saw a green glow around his hands. Definitely Tamaranean, from what she knew. Had she spooked him? She couldn't really blame him, new aliens in town probably wouldn't know the giant was gentle. He powered down pretty quick, which had to be a good sign. The color seemed like a good sign, too. From what she'd seen on the news, Blackfire's bolts were purple and Starfire's were green. She was guessing those were the Renegade and Paragon colors respectively, which would put this guy firmly on the nice side of things.

Hoo boy, it was starting to look dangerous again when she knelt down. Luckily Star's name seemed to calm him down. It seemed like he hadn't caught anything before that. The boy was speaking haltingly, as if he was having trouble with the language. Like Star, but more so. How did Tamaraneans learn languages again? Some contact thing? Well, until that happened, Kaie had to slow things down a bit. Her usual motormouthing just seemed to have confused him. "Yeah, we call her Star. Real name's Princess Koriand'r though. She's a Tamaranean too, even got yer Starbolt color." Kaie wiggled her finger a bit. "Round here we shake hands ta say hi, but I'm a lil big so I just use a finger. You shake hands where yer from?" She'd never actually asked Star about things like that. The two of them hadn't talked too much.

He still looked a little hostile. Kaie kept up her friendly smile, hoping her fangs didn't creep him out. The elongated canines gave people a "grind your bones to make my bread" vibe sometimes. "My name's Kaie, whas yers?" Despite the tension and hostility, he was actually sort of adorable. Kaie's first instinct was to hug him, but the boy was already on edge. That would probably put him into full attack mode, and she didn't need a hug turning into a Starbolt Death Blossom. That would probably hurt.

[Sae]

Wildfire listened to her rambling with mild interest. Ah, yes, "Starfire". That was what the people here called his sister-- or the one pretending to be his sister, anyway. Where Princess Koriand'r truly was, well, he had already decided that she would be on Tamaran with her people, which left the Tamaranean here to be a fake.

Green eyes flicked to her hand, trying to remember what Cyrus had told him about "handshakes". Awkwardly, he grabbed her finger and shook it from side to side, hoping he wasn't committing some massive faux pas by doing it the wrong way. What strange, strange customs. 

"I am Ryand'r," he answered simply, still holding onto her finger. How long did handshakes last? Was there even a time limit? "How do you know Kori-- Princess Koriand'r? I do not... English is difficult still."

No need to let anyone know of their relationship yet.

[Gaunt]

He seemed pretty interested at the mention of Starfire. Then again, she was a princess. She imagined any Tamaranean would be at least a little interested if you namedropped royalty from their planet. Ah, the joys of namedropping. It was one of the perks of being a Titan, once you knew the core team you were cool by association. Sure, the lower-ranking Titans weren't nearly as awesome as the original five, but some of it rubbed off a bit.

The giant suppressed a giggle as he gave her a side-to-side finger shake. Clearly, whoever he'd gotten his language skills from hadn't quite covered the gestures. Did that go over in the transfer? She knew Tamaraneans could learn to speak a language by kissing, but did that cover body language too?

"Nice to meet ya!" Did all Tamaraneans have cool names like that? Star had that 'Andr thing too, and she was pretty sure Blackfire had it. Must be a common naming thingamajig there. "Is fine, Star has some trouble too sometimes. You guys speed-learn languages, right? Can ya brush em up that way too?" She was pretty sure the answer would be no. If her suspicions about Robin and Starfire were true, she'd have had more than enough kisses to be 1000% fluent by now.

And he was still shaking her finger. Kaie gave an awkward smile, looking down at him. "I think we can stop shakin now." He was awkward, but in an adorable way. Adorkable. "So, ya got a place ta stay yet? If ya don't, I'm sure the Titans can find a place for ya." This was so cool. Her first chance to do a real-ish recruitment!

[Sae]

"Yeeees... if we choose, but I am not skilled in the assimilation of language," he says, letting his hand drop stiffly back at his side. The questions, though friendly, leave pinpricks of sadness on his heart. In some bizarre way, Kaie reminded him of Starfire when they were young; always asking questions and chattering non-stop. He supposed it should make him happy, but it doesn't and he finds himself wishing he'd just stayed hidden in that alleyway for the rest of the night. Speaking of alley, that brings him to her second question.

"I have place to stay," responds Wildfire, pointing in the direction from which he had come. "It is... adequate for resting."

[Gaunt]

"Oh, okay." The young alien seemed a little uncomfortable. How did Tamaraneans speed-learn anyway? She'd have to ask Starfire about that next time she ran into her. Maybe ask if humans- or humanoids- could do it too. That would be a pretty handy trick to have, being able to pick up languages in a couple minutes. Would certainly give her some easy A's at school, she could use those. Studying wasn't much her bag, she was more about punching giant supervillain monsters in their big dumb faces.

"Oh, thas good. Can be tough comin to new places." She'd met a few alien visitors lately, most of them seemed to be staying at their ships. Maybe he was too. She supposed anything that would be meant for deep space flight would have to have good sleeping accommodations, those could be long trips. Probably. She really wasn't sure how fast some of these things could go, she'd never been in space. Kaie added that to her to-do list. "I know when I came here it took a while ta settle in. Only came from halfway round the planet, though, not from another world. Mus' be a big shock." The giantess gave him a big grin. "An' maybe ya could stop by the Titans Tower sometime, too. Is always good ta meet tha new supers in town, right?" She'd have to report back to them about this, so they wouldn't be too alarmed if he showed up.

[Sae]

That did not seem to quell the young prince's fears, but her constant jabbering was a good thing, he thought. The more she talked, the less he had to. The less he had to talk, the more he could learn about her and this world without giving too much about himself away prematurely. That was an angle he could gladly work with.

"I would rather be taught about you than the Titans," he said. Years of learning to boast and give those he perceived as enemies lip did not lend well to casual conversation. Hopefully it sounded natural enough even with his broken English. "I have heard... that they are dangerous. Where do you come from?"

[Gaunt]

Well, this was a wee bit surprising. Most people she met were mostly interested in the Titans, particularly the Core Team. Kaie had been with the Titans almost two years now, but in a lot of ways she was still a D-lister. She didn't have nearly the fame or respect as the original five did, and probably never would. They'd gotten a head start, and seemed to do this more full-time than Ma would let her. Then again, he seemed to be afraid of the A-listers. "Dangerous? Nah, they're a good bunch. Some are a lil grumpier than others, but they only hurt villains, an' even then they hold back." Kaie wasn't sure how much they held back, but she knew that some were a lot stronger than her. The giantess could cause plenty of property damage if she wasn't careful, she didn't want to think what the likes of Cyborg or Red Star could do if they went all-out.

"Me? I'm from Ireland, island on another part o' the planet." It wasn't often she had to explain what Ireland was, but that happened when you were talking to aliens. "Were nice, but here in Jump there's better support fer supers like me. And people are more used to us, so is easier to make friends. Back in Dublin too many folks were just scared of the giant, but here we got aliens, mages, an' cyborgs runnin round. It's normal."