14451/A Quiet Afternoon in Bay Side

A Quiet Afternoon in Bay Side
Date of Scene:	20 June 2022
Location:	Bay Side, Nantwich
Synopsis:	Kara talked to Ivory about life over ice cream.
Cast of Characters:	Supergirl, Ivory

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Supergirl has posed:
It's a quiet afternoon in Bay Side, Nantwich. Relatively speaking, at least, for Kara Danvers. There's still the overall din and churn of bodies through boardwalks in this charming little chunk of Nantwich. Families are out, children are laughing, teenagers gossiping and taking selfies alongside animals within Gotham Zoo. Kara, on the other hand, seems to be content enough to be on a stroll. With her hands tucked into the pockets (!!!) of her white and blue striped dress, the Girl of Steel strolls alongside the sidewalk filled with street vendors selling a variety of knickknacks and temptuous treats. Her nose does catch the smell of ice cream, which slows her pacing a touch. A soft 'hmmmmh' washes out of her throat, and she turns on her white flat covered heel to head towards where a short line has formed in front of the register.

"Frozen custard! Get your frozen custard!" booms a bassy voice of the man behind the counter. No shortage of folks have lined up for it, though the line does seem to be moving fast enough. With the Earth's hot sun on her bare shoulders, it seems as good a time as any to enjoy the treat.

Ivory has posed:
Bayside is a good spot to loungue, even in the summer heat. Especially if you can just laze around, seated on one of the many pillars of the broadwalk, some four feet above the ground. Which isn't the most comfortable spot for humans, but for Ivory it's just about perfect. Perfect, because it is just big enough for a cat to curl up on and laze. Which is exactly what Ivory is doing.

So there's a white floofy persian cat curled up on one of the rusty old pillars that support the broadwalk and in older times were used to affix ships.

Supergirl has posed:
"What'll it be, young lady?" the man at the register asks to Kara. It's in this exact moment that the Girl of Steel, for all her trials and tribulations, panics. She'd been looking at the menu the entire time -- she'd even selected which exact base custard and toppings to go in her little dish. And yet, when faced with the soul-crushing, anxiety-inducing, existential-crisis-causing question of 'what do you want', Kara folds. Her original order had been: chocolate custard with Oreos crushed up on top in a dish. What does she end up with?

"Ummm, two scoops of vanilla in a waffle cone," she says. "AND SPRINKLES!"

"Coming right up."

And so it came right up, and Kara leaves the line a little disappointed in herself (but not in her frozen custard) while leaning her chin forward to take a lick. Her path does take her in line of Ivory, of course, naturally drawn towards kitty cats like matter is drawn to other matter. Simple laws of the universe.

"Psspsspss, hi friend," Kara says to the kitty cat she's never (?) met. She holds out a hand for the kitty to sniff while taking another lick of her cone.

Ivory has posed:
Ivory raises the head slowly at the talk to the cat, the ears flicking and then a yawn escapes the feline, showing well kept white teeth. There's also that colorful band around the neck, but nothing hanging from it, still the cat answers the look at it, the nose twitching as it closes in on the hand.

A moment there seem to be decisions roll in the head, but then the head does a tiny nod, the eyes focussing on the blonde's the head tilted a tiny bit. The silent go on of a cat.

Supergirl has posed:
When one offers a hand to a cat, one is accepting several different outcomes. One of which is that the cat will bite your finger. Another is that you'll get sniffed, and then nothing. The last, and most coveted, is that there'll be a little boop of the head against one's fingers. Kara has accepted her fate and, when that little nose twitches at her fingertips, she offers a little smile. "Ohhh, hello," she baby-talks, high pitched and a little airy. Non-threatening human sounds. Coo coo coo. "Can I pet you?" she asks without expectation of an answer.

A vocalized one, at least. There is a body language to a cat. She tips her hand up and over, bringing it atop Ivory's head to potentially scritch at the top of that head, should the body language indicate she's able to.

Oh, and another all-important lick of her ice cream cone.

All around her, Kara Danvers can hear the thrumming pulse of the city. The sound of laughter and tears and joy and sorrow. The human condition. It's no wonder that, sometimes, all she wants from an interaction is the simplicity of this. The simplicity of a cat.

Ivory has posed:
Ivory's ears flick twice at the high sounds, then the head tilts a tad to the tother side. Should they or not? Then the hand is already there, and the ears splay a little to either side, giving a little easier access for the fingertips while the tail slowly sways, accepting the dreaded fate of efil headpats and scritchies. What is dignity if you can feel really really good after all? The little indignity of being petted in public while lounging on a pillar of old metal compared to the pleasure of headpats and purring? Clearly something that the cat takes into account.

Supergirl has posed:
It is only with the utmost respect and care that Kara Danvers scritches the top of Ivory's skull, a little giggle bubbling out of her throat while she takes a slow lick of her cone. "Aren't you a pretty thing?" she wonders out loud, watching the bit of hesitation in the cat's expression. Those fingers seem about to retreat until Kara feels the rumble of purrs beneath her nails. A little 'mmmmh!' that she can't quite contain aligns with her pushing herself slightly up onto the tips of her toes. So cute.

"Awww, you're so friendly too. Pretty and friendly, what a combination," Kara says with a little laugh. Her fingers slide down, finding that collar and scritching beneath it. She purses her lips softly and tips that collar towards her. "Somebody's kitty cat? I hope they aren't missing you," she says. A scan around the boardwalk and a widening of her aural senses catches no calls for 'kitty! here kitty kitty!' nearby. "Are we out for a little afternoon sleep?"

Ivory has posed:
Ivory purrs at the fingers start to caress the skull, eyes closing. The little compliment only happens to increase the little bit of good that balances out the indignity of being caressed in public like that. The tail sways slowly, dangling from the pillar as they endure.

There is the collar... or neckband? It doesn't carry a mark though, and seems to be utterly mundane. And of course, this cat doesn't really have a master or someone to care for it but themselves. But at the questions the eyes open, answering the gaze with quite some intelligence but not forming words. Which cat could answer after all, hm? Well, this *might* but why tell?

Supergirl has posed:
There are few things in life more therapeutic than the sound of a cat purring. Kara lets out a sigh through her lips behind the cover of her slow-melting ice cream cone and tips her head to the side. A lick is foregone, replaced instead with an open-mouth chomp at the top of the cone. Lips covering her teeth, of course. Even Kryptonians don't like the feeling of cold ice cream on their teeth.

"Mmmmm, well, kitty. Seems like the two of us could be friends. At least until you have to go home. I don't get a lot of days off like this, you know," she says. Her hands pull away from Ivory a moment later, and Kara leans up against that beam on the boardwalk, feeling the warmth of it push through the breezy fabric of her dress and into the soft skin beneath. She sighs a bit, and takes another lick of that cone.

"Y'wanna smell?" she wonders, and offers the ice cream cone back for Ivory to snoof.

Ivory has posed:
Ivory seems disappointed as the scritching ends, the head tilting and a little sound, almost a meow, escaping their throat. But the eyes continute to look at the kryptonian playing ordinary human, the paw lifting to prod the side of her a little while she leans against the pillar claimed by cat. No claws.

Then, the icecream is helt to smell and instead of just doing that, the cat sticks out the tongue to try. Cat knows what is good, yes? Cat also happily has ears flicking.

Supergirl has posed:
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kara says in response to the bap to the side of her head. Strawberry blonde curls are easily gathered even sans claws, but Kara reaches up to give the kitty an obliging scritch regardless. Soon after, she hears the tell-tale sign of a kitty cat licking the cream. Her freckled nose wrinkles and she laughs softly, turning blue eyes over her shoulder and towards the cat licking at her frozen custard.

"Well, mmm, I'm not sure you should be..." she attempts to protest, but gives a little sigh a moment later. What's she going to do about it, anyway? A few more moments pass where the cat gets their fill of her ice cream, and then it's Kara's turn. She peels it away and starts licking at it herself. She turns her eyes out to the crowd and watches them go by, a small smile on her face.

"Some days I wish I could be just like them. To be normal. Whatever 'normal' means, anyway," she says. There's a bit of wistfulness in her tone. A bit of sadness and longing. Heartaches and pangs. "It must be so... quiet. Tranquil. I envy them."

Ivory has posed:
Ivory seems to be content as the ice is taken away again, the head of the fuzzy feline following the movement just a little before the girl from outer space starts to lament normalty. "Meow?" As if the cat is asking why she's contemplating that, but cats don't talk, right? Or understand humans?

The talk about quiet gets a more affirmative sound though. Does the cat understand after all? Well, cats *would* know about the noise of the world. Tehy are good at hearing after all.

Supergirl has posed:
Kara giggles a little at the cat's affirmational sound. It's absurd, of course, for her to figure that the cat can understand her. It's likely why she's opened up to this furry little creature in the first place. She ought to know better, knowing Gar Logan. There are plenty of ordinary-looking creatures that are anything but. Still, it's a warm summer day, and she's got ice cream. You can't fault a girl for being a touch wistful.

"Listen to me, being all dour. I don't need to trouble little things like you with such big... problems," Kara says. Another lick of ice cream and another nod. She turns her head up now to look at the big blue expanse of the sky above. She reaches her free hand up towards one of the fat, puffy, cumulus clouds that the breeze is blowing across the sky. A slash of white in a sea of blue. She squeezes the air, as if grasping for it.

"I suppose I do get to fly, after all. There are perks."

Ivory has posed:
The cat seems to watch for the moment, a silent listener, the ears flicking a little. Then Kara pipes up about being all dour and talking about problems the cat doesn't have. Or might not? Well, as the talk comes about fly, there's a questioning meow from the feline. Fly? Do cats dream to fly?

Supergirl has posed:
"Oh?" Kara asks, with a tip of her head to the side. She's finishing the last bite of her ice cream cone and licking the little bit of melted cream that she's gotten away from her fingertips. She turns around now, facing the kitty cat in front of her with a thoughtful expression. "Can you keep a secret, I wonder?"

Kara giggles softly.

She reaches out to take the cat into both hands and then tucks Ivory under one arm. What happens next is... instant. Even in a crowded space like this, Kara Danvers can just... disappear. Not in the traditional sense. Not really. Just... blink and you miss her. In one moment she's there, the next, there's just the subtlest hint of a breeze from the air she's displaced.

For Ivory, however, that moment happened quickly. A sudden motion. The rush of water beneath Kara's feet. And then... up. Up into that big blue sky above. Within seconds, they're above every treeline and every building. And then, that motion stops. The pair remain suspended, high above in the sky with the wind delicately ruffling the skirt of Kara Danvers' dress. Up here, that cloud still looks close enough to touch. An illusion, really. The air is still warm and breathable, after all. And Ivory is held securely within both arms, pointed out to the vast expanse of the ocean before them.

"Not so loud up here, kitty cat," Kara says, and plants a smooch right on the top of Ivory's head between her two ears.