5064/Redhead Princess Club, First Meeting

Redhead Princess Club, First Meeting
Date of Scene:	31 July 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Aquawoman, Starfire

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Aquawoman has posed:
For Mera, Princess of Xebel, there are few joys more profound than the freedom of motion that is traversing the water. It's elemental, like children running at a mad sprint for the thrill of speed. The thundering roar of the oceans slipping past and the shocked responses of the fish darting out of the way makes it a loud, thrilling motion.

It also sets off NOAA sensors for a hundred mile stretch as Mera's passage approximates the sound of an underwater volcano for a good stretch. C'est la vie.

The Princess emerges from the water coasting on a wave that grips her hips, ten feet above the lapping ocean and leaving a white foamed trench in her wake. She slows as she approaches the coast and moves to parallel it, her thick red hair whipping behind her and drying in the spray of the ocean breezes while the sun warms her pale features, face turned up to the sky.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r is wearing an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini. (Like the one in the song, except Kory's not shy about wearing it). Laying on the beach, on a towel. A small ice chest near her. The Silkie snuggled up against her side. Her phone chirped an alert about possible seismic activity, but she slept through it. Midday is the best time to sunbathe.

Then... suddenly... KER-SPLASH! A sudden wave crashed over Kory and the Silkie, as Kory suddenly sits up, her hand glowing with emerald energy as the Silkie makes choking spluttering noises (and would look like some kind of overgrown moth larva.)

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera turns towards the beach and the water follows her, a long single wave emerging and shedding the ocean behind as she crashes into the shore with a tremendous surge of spray and salty foam. She wears a singlet of deep green, with a high collar that reaches the curve of her throat. The legs and sleeves have been removed as well, her pale skin a startling contrast against the deep emerald of her attire. She sheds water with a flickering of her hand, every drop flying backwards like flickering a damp sheet in the air. Her hair instantly dries and starts curling at her shoulders, and the Princess of Xebel adjusts her tiara while she walks onto the sandy beach, barefoot.

"It's a lovely day for the sunshine, isn't it?" Mera beams, addressing the nearest person-- Koriand'r, and her poor, extremely saturated Silkie. "I see you just went for a swim as well. Marvelous tidal currents, I could swim in them for days."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r just stares at Mera, her hair dripping as she soothes the Silkie. "I was sunbathing, sound asleep, when some fool dumped half an ocean on me," she states, grabbing a soda can and opens it. "You wouldnt' happen to know the one who did it?" She stares at Mera. "You really need to watch where you splash..."

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera stares blankly at Kori. "Half an--" she looks up the beach, then the other direction. "Oh! I didn't realize people were using the beach but not swimming," she remarks. "How peculiar. It's just a little bow wave," she assures Kori. "I've been asked not to dump oceans on the cities anymore. Something about property damage." She flicks a palm at Kori and the water on the Tamaranean princess-- and the Silkie-- goes *poof* in every direction, leaving her skin and hair perfectly dry. Mera tugs her own hair into place, raking at it carelessly with her nails. "There, is that better?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r sighs happily as the Silkie chitters in agreement as they aren't soaked anymore. "My kind requires large amounts of solar radiation to function - and I like to get as much as possible." She smiles. "I am Koriand'r, Princess of Tamaran. And you're a hydrokinetic I see?" She tosses a soda can to you. It's plain aluminum, no writing on it. "Here. Have a cold beverage."

Aquawoman has posed:
"That's what the surfacers call me," Mera says, catching the can. "But I call myself Mera, Princess of Xebel." She flashes a smile at Kori and makes a gesture that's unfamiliar, but her posture suggests decorum and respect. "Thank you." She eyes the can, unsure of what to do with it, then glances at Kori. Seeing how she's drinking it, Mera stoves in the mouth with a fingertip and takes a sip. Her eyes go wide. "Oh that is... that is..," she trails off with a wince, smacking her lips. "Surfacer food is so, uh, *strong*. It's very... good." She takes another sip, because it's rude to reject an offer of beverage from another sovereign even under informal circumstances.

"I'm not really familiar with Tamaran," she apologizes. "My knowledge of surface geography isn't perfect. I thought I was near the lands they call New York. Is Tamaran far from here?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "Ummmm...." She smiles faintly. "Tamaran is far, far, far, far, far, FAR from here," she whispers, a sad tone entering her voice. "It is a planet two sectors over. I could show you at night." She blinks. "Your geography informatoin is suffcient." She points. "This is indeed New York City, and that tall green lady statue is the Statue of Liberty." She smiles faintly. "So... I'm not really familiar with Xebel. It is near Atlantis?"

Aquawoman has posed:
"Oh! Well, I'd welcome that," Mera tells Koriand'r, solicitously. Her manners are pretty on point, despite her casual attitude. "I had no idea there were worlds so far removed from ours."

She looks over, 'ahh'ing at the sight of Lady Liberty, then brightens at Kori's question.

"It is-- well, it's not *far* from it," she clarifies. "We share an ocean, but Xebel exists in another dimension, as I understand the mystics. But it's not terribly difficult to Atlantis from Xebel," she assures Kori.

She hesitates. "Not to be rude, but I really wasn't expecting to encounter another royal," she confides. "Would it be offensive to you if we made this an informal meeting?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r nods. "Another dimension might as well be far - but there's some kind of way for you to travel there, hmmmm?" She nods slowly. "An informal meeting is fine. I should admit... my title means little these days. My planet is basically gone. I'm a fugutive." She shrugs as she sits on her towel which is now mostly dry from the sun. "Have a seat. Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed my mustard soda. So few people up here will share one with me."

Aquawoman has posed:
"Phew, thank you," Mera says, and she removes her tiara and tossses it negligently in the sand. "I was just out for a quick swim. I know there's supposed to be ceremony and protocols, but I can't remember them and they're boring." She flops heavily into the sand next to Koriand'r. "If anyone asks, we'll just lie later about how incredibly polite we were to one another, right?"

She eyes the mustard soda, and takes another slow sip. Tongue in cheek, eyes watering, she nods. "It's ... really strong," she tells Kori, trying not to cough. "Atlantean cuisine's nothing like surfacer food. It's hard to get spicy or sweet foods unless you hunt for animals and plants that have them. There are little snails that are wonderfully saccharine, I can't get enough of them." She pats her tummy, and sits with her heels tucked in and arms wrapped loosely around her knees. "I'm sorry to hear about your planet," she tells Koriand'r, sincerely. "Disasters come for everyone, eventually. We thought Xebel had reached the end of days a few years ago. We escaped our fate only because of Atlantis and their King assisting us," she says. "But I was quite convinced for a time I was going to be the last princess of Xebel."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "Oh - this is extremely atypical of surface beverages. My people..." She ponders. "What a human thinks is sweet, I think is bitter, and vice-versa. It makse for... some interesting mealtimes with my friends." She nods slowly. "I don't remember any protocols either. But that's not a story for here. Isn't it weird for those of Atlantis to come here?" she asks blankly.

Aquawoman has posed:
"It's uncommon," Mera concedes. "Th-- we've kept to ourselves for a long time. Some skirmishes, particularly with the other nations of Atlantis across the world," she says, nose wrinkling. "We're much less warlike in our land. King Orin has maintained a neutral posture for the surfacers. I don't necessarily *agree* that it's the best way to do things, but-- I'm not Queen of Atlantis, so." She shrugs one shoulder. "So I'm a bit of a ... sensation, I suppose, yes. Probably as uncommon as Tamarans," she says, with a sly grin and a merry laugh.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r nods. "So we're both alien princesses, trying to fit into a world that isn't ours. Me, with up here. You, with down there. At least it helps that though I look different, most people, especially men, find me attractive." She smiles faintly. "Maybe I can show you Titans Tower, where I live. I'm part of a hero team."

Aquawoman has posed:
"You are very pretty," Mera agrees. She seems an honest sort, if a bit on the wild side as far as culture goes. And there are a few scars on her arms and knuckles that one doesn't get sewing doilies. "I've only been on the surface lands a few times. I mean, aside from trips to a few islands or uninhabited areas. The city air tastes terrible," she says, wrinkling her nose. "And it's strange having so much empty space under me. I can't imagine a fall would really hurt me, but my skin still crawls at the idea of falling, let alone falling that far, without having some water to land in. But if the Tower is your home, I'm sure I'd love to see it," she assures Kori. "And of course, you'd be welcome to visit Atlantis as my guest. I don't think you fall into the category of 'surfacer'," she says, dimpling her cheek with a grin again.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r ponders. "Atlantis is... wide-open and stuff, right? I have... issues... with being enclosed in tight spaces..." She smiles faintly. "I can do this," she states as she starts to rise up in the air and starts to idly fly around, her hair looking like it's a living flame as she flies. "I can fly... it's part of my abilities. I can do space travle, but deep ocean stuff... that'd be tricky... how deep is ATlantis?"

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera makes an impressed sounding noise. "I can't fly," she tells Kori, admiring the woman's form as she effortlessly drifts about. "But Atlantis is deep in the ocean. We're not at the bottom of the sea, of course. The seafloor is quite dangerous to the unwitting, and it's dark and very cold. Survivable, but miserable. We avoid the valleys and stick to the crests of the mountains." She dusts sand from her thigh. "But it's deep enough that surfacers cannot swim there. A kilometer or more, I think, if I am using surfacer units of measurement correct."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r nods. "The pressure would be..." She hmmmmms. "I could probably do it with a SCUBA tank." She nods slowly. "I'm far stronger than I look." She then picks up the Silkie and pets the creature who chitters. "This is the Silkie. He's a pet I took from home just before I had to flee. Do you want to pet it?" She offers him over to the other priness. He looks like an overgrown, drooling, pink, moth larva.

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera accepts Silkie with both hands. "It's *adorable*," she croons, holding it carefully. She dances fingers over the creature's fur until it reacts to being scritched, and then she attends it affectionately with her blunt fingernails. "Hello, Silkie," she tells the little creature. "It reminds me of an anemone," she tells Kori. "Is that the right word?" she frowns. "Yes, that's the right word," she concludes after a moment. "I've been improving my surfacer tongues. Our language diverged from most surfacers before they had written history," she explains. "But the names of things are troublesome. So many languages condensed into one tongue."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles faintly. "I can help you translate, maybe... my people have one unusual quirk that makes us ideal for someone. With any physical contact, I can learn any language you can speak. You speak English very well." She smiles. "Some of my friends think my cute little bumgorf is ugly. But he's my favorite of favorite companions."

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera blinks. "My goodness, that is useful. I'm learning by osmosis. It takes time and I get headaches, and the idioms they use are *terrible*. It took me a few days to figure out what 'catch you later' means."

She looks curiously at Kori's offer, and reaches a hand up towards the woman as she drifts closer. "If you can speak Atlantean, I'll be impressed. But I should warn you, my Selkie isn't very good. You might ask for seaweed and insult someone's mother."

"Not that I did that," she says, with a Suspiciously Straight Face.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles as she suddenly leans forward and lays her lips on Mera's and gives her a deep kiss for a few seconds then pulls back. In perfect Atlantean, she states, "I prefer learning the gift of tongues... from the tongue itself. I think it works better." She winks.

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera blinks, a little startled. But she doesn't retreat, eyes fluttering in surprise, and she stares at Kori in shock. But the shock turns to pleased surprise at the sound of Atlantean being spoken, and fluently.

"...I have this feeling that Tamaraneans are either very, very well liked or there are a lot of jealous lovers out there," she says, with a wry tone to cover up her reaction. She laughs and brushes her hair back from her face. "Either way, it's a fine way to make friends, I think." She grins at Kori again, cheeks dimpling. Without the crown and the regal haughteur it requires, there's something a little girlish that seems to have been seriously repressed for a while.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "We are a very open people - most of us at least..." She sighs softly. "I suppose neither of us fit the mold of 'princess' very well. I might've if my sister didn't ruin my life." She ponders. "I could go fetch you a beverage that'd be more to your liking? I didn't pack anything for Terran tastes."

Aquawoman has posed:
"Please, don't go to trouble on my account," Mera tells Kori, earnestly. "And I don't know how a Princess is supposed to act. Not in person, anyway-- most of the neighboring kingdoms had male heirs, and their daughters rarely came on diplomatic envoys. If I visited them, it was all part of very ceremonial affairs. Or I was being tasked to potentially eliminate them," she says, casually. "Father was very paranoid about conquerers. I think his plan was to marry me off to some warmongering neighbor and then have me kill him after the wedding. Ritual combat, or just a garrote and a sharp object."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r ponders as she fishes in her ice chest and tosses a waterbottle. "Here. Mouuntain spring water. At least that's what the label says." She smiles. "Ah - that's an interesting plan. So - what can you do with water?" she asks. "You did that instant-trying trick and your arrival was quite splashy."

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera eyes the water bottle in her hand, and then the cap flies off with a *POP* and goes flying into the distance. Not a drop of water spills, though, and Mera draws the water into the air near her fingers, forming it into a variety of shapes, from the hard to the amorphous. The bottle's discarded as she plays with the fluid. "There's very little I /can't/ do with water," Mera shrugs. "It's a gift of the royal family of Xebel and of Atlantis." She turns it into a flat disc, a perfect sphere, and something like a snowflake. It's formed into an orb and she holds it on her fingertips, and then tosses it at Kori negligently. It's hard, hard as a rock and weirdly, shimmeringly translucent. Like a perfectly frozen icicle in winter. "There are relatively few of us who can focus our will so obdurately. King Orin is the King of the Seas, and it's a title which is well-earned. But if I wish to hold back the tide or empty a lake, I could do so. The consequences of that are rather severe for the marine life, however, so I try not to abuse my capabilities for the sake of showing off."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r catches the solid water. "Interesting. It's not ice. Just solid water." She smiles. "By the way, I was offering you that water to drink - but I guess you didn't need it. I suppose it was silly of me." She smiles. "I have a gift that appears to be unique to me and my sister." She holds her hand up and green energy wreathes it. "The sunlight I absorb? I can concentrate it and fire it in blasts I call starbolts." She smiles.

Aquawoman has posed:
"Oh, fresh water's a rare treat," Mera assures Kori. She draws some water into the air with a twisting of her wrist, and catches it easily in her mouth. Her eyes roll in pleasure and she 'mms' softly. "It's terribly difficult to get fresh water in the ocean. The brine gets everywhere-- one of the hardest things to do is purify water at that scale. It's not worth the effort most of the time. But we sometimes take trips into freshwater streams just to splash around and play."

She holds the 'hard water' like a water bottle and periodically takes sips from it, making it last. "So you can absorb sunlight. Huh. That's novel," she remarks. "I know surface algae can do that, but I don't think I've ever heard of it setting things on fire, either. It's ... what's the word. Photo... synthetics?" she hazards, frowning.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "Technically it's not fire - it's concentrated solar radiation. Yeah, photosynthesis. But I'm no plant. Just... the way my people are." She ponders. "So... you like freshwater? I can get you more. I wonder." She picks up some ice from her chest and throws it your way, to see if you can work with frozen water.

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera manages to swat one ice cube out of the air, but there are a lot of the little ones that pepper her. "Ooh, that's /cold/," she shivers, wiping at her thigh where one of the cubes lands. It melts rapidly enough, though, to form a little puddle, and she flickers it away with a thought to *pft* against the sand, burrowing. "How are you keeping so much ice in that bucket?" Mera inquires, rolling to her hands and knees peering into the container. She blinks at the crystallized water. "I have never seen so much ice in the summer," she marvels, picking one up and popping it into her mouth. She chews on it happily, making a pleased sound.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles faintly. "Easy. Refrigeration. This ice chest is insulated to keep the contents from matching its environment. WE use ice to preserve things like food for future eating. Or - we have means of creatnig as much ice as we want."

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera shakes her head. "We've thought for years that the surfacers were ignorant, backwards savages. Now we're learning they can fly over the land, swim under the sea-- ice and fire and metal machines. Atlantis was on the surface itself the last time humanity had such mastery of their world."

She looks over at Lady Liberty, nods. "Now they have icons and statues that would have been admired even in the time of our distant forefathers. It's impressive to see how far they've come."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "That statue has been there over a century..." And right as we speak, a jetlienr flies overhead, out to sea. "The humans have submarines, aircraft..." She trails off. "They have even went to the moon a few times like thirty years ago. Haven't went lately - it's apparently boring."

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera lays back, propping one knee up and interlacing her fingers behind her head for support. "I've been to the surface just a few times," she admits. "Mostly around the areas we know the surfacers avoid. I counseled King Orin to show more mettle and take an aggressive posture with them. Now I see that they're far, far more than we thought they were. To go to the moon..."

She trails off, silent. "And you can see your homeworld from the beach, you said?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles. "I know which star it is... but it's almost sad to look that way. For I know that even if I go back... there's nothing there... so I don't look up at the nighttime sky very often." She sighs. "Sorry, sorry. If i start thinking about my past I get all mopey. I have... a lot to mope about I guess."

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera sits up, and looks at Kori with a sympathtic frown. "I'm sorry. That was a thoughtless thing for me to ask," she apologizes. "It's quite all right. I'd be upset if I knew Xebel was gone and could not return. The currents of the ocean lead me home every time I swim in them. I hardly call it mopey-- sorrow, maybe, and that's quite justifiable." She hesitates, then gently squeezes Kori's arm. "If it helps, I am truyl sorry for your loss.'

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r nods. "I only have one wish. To murder my sister who caused all of this. Only then, could I rest easy. But that's enough of that. Maybe I can pick up some SCUBA gear and you can show me Atlantis sometime? Do you have to go back, or do you want to see some of the city?"

Aquawoman has posed:
"I have nowhere in particular I need to be," Mera tells Kori. "If you wish to see Atlantis, and you can brave the depths, I'll take you as my personal guest. But if you wish to show me more of the city in the meantime, that would be welcome also." She gets to her feet and uses a splash of water to dash the sand from her legs where she'd been sitting, and then she flickers her tiara to her with the same flickering droplets, to be reset upon her brow again. "To where shall we go, then?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles faintly. "Underwater breathing isn't really my speciality. I can take the pressure... but the breathing thing is a problem. I'd love to see your city. Got anything for that?"

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera hesitates. "Possibly," she says, evasively. "But it's a rare and difficult to obtain item, and I am unsure how it might affect you. It'd take me some time to retrieve it anyway-- but I promise if there is a means I can use to get you to Atlantis, I will do so," she says. One gets the sense that Mera's a little on the impulsive side, but absolutely sincere in her statement all the same.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r nods. "That's fair. You have to ask permission of course. And they might wnat to get to know me before I go down there for I have the power to do a lot of damage. Perfectly legitimate." She smiles faintly, then her phone chirps. "Oh - the Titans need me." She smiles softly. "I'm glad to meet you, Mera. I'll see you again." With that, she bundles up everything and takes off.