8824/Not Exactly a Flock of Seagulls

Not Exactly a Flock of Seagulls
Date of Scene:	15 August 2019
Location:	Roof, Titans Tower - then to Metropolis and back
Synopsis:	Gar finds Kian atop Titans Tower. They get to talking in depth for the first time, then go for a flight.
Cast of Characters:	Kian t'Kaeh, Beast Boy

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Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    One does not often see Kían just sitting around, and of course he's not just sitting around now.  The winds around Titans Tower are interesting, and while he no longer triggers the intruder alert systems, the little birdman is giving the tracking systems a pretty good workout.
    So, a tight turn around the main tower and out along the crossbar of the 'T', then sharply upwards.  At the peak there's a happy "/Kya/!" and then Kían is diving sharply downwards, swooping under the other side of the crossbar and touching down on toe-tips on the very corner of the roof.  He doesn't stay there very long; his legs tense, kick, and he flings himself out into space, spreading his wings and catching the remains of a thermal from far below, letting it carry him lazily higher.
    This is a birdman in his element.

Beast Boy has posed:
The roof of Titans Tower can be a good place to go think, to clear the head. That's something Gar Logan, Beast Boy of the Titans, may have need of right now. Making his way up to the top, dressed in costume, some of the wind up there immediately begins to whip his hair around. It's not super long or anything, but this far above the ground? It's going to get a little messy.

After exiting the elevator, he approaches the full-sized swimming pool but bypasses it in favor of the picnic area, but not even that appears to be his destination. Instead, he stops by a railing and looks out across the water toward the west, where New York City is located, then the north, featuring Metropolis. The green hands curl around the railing, his gaze turning distant.

Motion off to one side draws green eyes.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Something goes *whoosh*, just above the surface of the pool, close enough that whoever it is can dip a toe into the water and kick up a little wake.  And then Kían is rocketing back skywards, to the point where it's hard to tell if that's a near bird or a far birdman.  There's another happy "/Kya/!" somewhere in there.
    It doesn't appear he's noticed anyone might have observed him; instead, the Kían-dot drops rapidly back downwards and stops with breathtaking swiftness on the edge of the roof, and looks like he just steps down out of the sky into a perch, gazing out over the bay.

Beast Boy has posed:
The sound gets more of Gar's attention, spotting the flight over the pool as it leaves a faint trail. Someone's showing off. Pushing away from the railing, the chirp or whatever it actually is gets him watching more closely. By now, his eyes have picked Kian out and begun to follow his path on back toward the rooftop, where he lands at the railing to look around at the view.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself," Beast Boy offers, head canting toward one side.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    The "/Kya/!!" this time is less joyous, more startled.  Kían kicks into the air, pirouettes, and touches down in the same place, this time facing the roof.  The birdman's head tilts, as well.  "You're very green," he says.

Beast Boy has posed:
Beast Boy raises a green brow, studying Kian with green eyes, running a green hand through green hair. "And you're observant, too!" he responds, adding after a moment, "But pretty jumpy. Did I scare you that much? I thought for sure you would have seen me up here. I'm Beast Boy, but you can call me Gar. Most people here do."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "I... have heard your name.  I think I have seen you, once, but I was busy trying not to get clobbered in the Danger Room."  The little -- five feet even, it looks like, not counting the arc of his wings over his head -- birdman hops lightly down from the railing to the roof, and bows slightly.  "Kían," he says by way of introduction.  "I don't have another name.  And that /was/ kind of an obvious observation, wasn't it?"

Beast Boy has posed:
"I've been a little busy the last few weeks," Gar answers, gesturing with a palm up. It's a fairly human thing. He notes the birdman's - birdboy's? - height, then he raises the same hand in a wave after the bow. "At least it proves you aren't colorblind to green. Do you come up here a lot?" he wonders.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían nods.  "I like it up here.  It's... there's no roof on my world.  I find some of the rooms in the tower to be... too small."  His wings fold a little tighter against his back t that last, as if on reflex.
    Then he notices Gar's hand.  "I should not shake hands.  Contact telepath.  You should know that first.  I know Terrans like to keep their minds to themselves...."

Beast Boy has posed:
Beast Boy holds up both hands this time, about chest height. "Oh, I wasn't trying to shake hands, but that's, ah, good to know. It was just a wave," he explains, though he has no idea at this point whether or not Kian understands the concept of a human gesture like that and he doesn't ask. The wings are given a closer look, the green guy's arms lowering back to his sides. "So you don't like being cooped up, or feeling like you are."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían allows himself to be studied; he unfolds his wings a little, flexes them once, and re-folds them neatly, the wing-tips just crossing behind his ankles.  Well, he thinks they're quite nice wings and worthy of being looked at.  "More the last.  I still haven't been in your building's elevator and if I can help it, I never will.  The main area isn't bad, and neither is the Danger Room, at least when Co... Stardust isn't trying to drop things on me in there."

Beast Boy has posed:
The studying comes in the form of leaning a bit closer, hands coming together at Gar's back. It's only a cursory thing; perhaps a reason why will become apparent soon. "If you don't like the idea of being caged, I totally get that. I probably would be too, in your case. So...I thought I heard you aren't from earth? Like Starfire's from another part of the galaxy?" Or was it universe?

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían can't help but look upwards.  "Yes.  I *don't* know where it is, or if it's even in this galaxy... or this universe."  He sighs.  It's a noise more of resignation than anything else.  "Are you from this world, or another outworlder like us?"

Beast Boy has posed:
"Really? How did you get here, then?" Gar asks, a look of confusion showing up before his imagination starts to wander. "Did you sleep for centuries in a stasis pod, unaging, escaping the destruction of your home planet? Did you get exiled to the far ends of the universe by a corrupt space council?" he wonders, tossing out a couple scenarios that could fit into a movie plot. "I'm an earthling," he adds, holding up a hand to make the classic Spock signal from Star Trek, then he throws in the additionally proper gestures with his fingers and thumb as he recites, "Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong," just without actually trying to touch hands with someone who already said contact could be bad. Of course, they've already been speaking English, so.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían just blinks several times at the last statement, then shakes his head as if to discard it.  "No, nothing so easy.  If those had happened, I might know where I was relative to home."  He hops back up onto the railing with a single flit of his wings, perching there with no apparent effort.  "The best I've been able to figure out is that my powers didn't like the way our starships work.  When the tachyon drive powered up, I think I... I don't know, bounced.  And ended up here.  Which is why I don't know if I'm in the same galaxy or universe or reality or what."
    He draws another heavy breath.  "Sometimes I even wonder if I'm just in a coma on the homeworld."

Beast Boy has posed:
Beast Boy's expression shifts, especially as the universal greeting goes unrecognized. Huh! Lowering the hand again, he rubs at some invisible thing against his side for a few seconds as if everything prior was just a preamble to that. "Ohh, so. Unexpected wormhole sending you to a strange and distant land. That was totally going to be my next guess," he claims, his smile perhaps too forced. As Kian takes up a spot on the railing, Gar joins him a few feet away - as a green bald eagle. "I'm pretty sure you're really here. I saw you leave a trail in the pool when you went by."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Still looking up into the sky, Kían remarks, "I think I probably am really here too. My imagination isn't g-*gk*!"
    Zero points for guessing when he looked to his side and saw what was perched there.
    "/Sh-sho tavák'h/?" he stammers, apparently startled back into his native language.  "/Khe/.  No.  G-Gar?  You can turn into a bird?"

Beast Boy has posed:
Gar was, no doubt, waiting to see Kian's reaction once the opportunity presented itself. The expression on his face tells it all, and if an eagle could look like it's laughing, that's what's going on right now. "That's not all I can turn into. How do you think I got the name 'Beast Boy?'" Now it's his turn to spread his wings and tuck them back into place. "What do you think? Handsome bird, aren't I?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "You look a fair bit like a /lykh/," Kían says appraisingly, "although I've never seen a green one.  I don't think there are green ones.  Well, all the big hunting birds are variations on brown anyway.  What are they... you... what you turned into called in English?"

Beast Boy has posed:
"A what?" the shifted version of Gar asks, that head turning almost sideways in a manner that goes along with the question. "Right now I'm an eagle, but here's the thing. Whatever animal I turn into, it's always going to be green. See?" The bird morphs into a shorthair cat, a solid green color rather than anything patterned, and he walks skillfully along the railing so many feet above ground. "And this..is a cat. Not a Vorpal cat, though."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Eagle," Kían repeats with the tone of someone who's mentally filing something away.  "A /lykh/ is a bird on my world that's quite a bit like an eagle, then.  Or an eagle is quite a bit like a /lykh/."
    And as it turns out, actually watching a transformation does not particularly help the birdman process this information.  "No," he agrees, "that would be a purple cat.  I'm afraid we don't have anything like that on our worlds.  Not outside of mythology nor that small, anyway."  He chuckles softly.  "In fact, /khat/ in my language means 'help'."

Beast Boy has posed:
Beast Boy maintains a high level of balance, even with the breeze stronger up here. "I'll take your word for it. That was actually a bald eagle. There's also the golden eagle, the harpy eagle, the crowned eagle, and that's just..heh heh..scratching the surface," he explains, going about washing his face with a paw after speaking before looking up toward the still-perching Kian.

"He /is/ a little short, but don't bring it up or he might get back at you. And if the word for a cat in your language means help, that's just too funny," he says before he appears to fall off the railing and Tower itself! A moment later, a peregrine falcon, green as ever, is circling Kian's head. "Race you to Metropolis!" Is it cheating if he's already zipping off? Is it further cheating if he's doing so as the fastest bird in the world?

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    It all happens too fast for Kían to completely react; by the time he processes that the cat has just fallen off the roof, the cat is a bird and... is taunting him?  "Hey!"  He stands, pivots on one foot and leaps off into the sky, giving chase wthout a second thought.  No, he's not going to be able to catch up with a peregrine falcon that's fully exerting himself.  "No fair, /sho tákrio/!" he yells, but he sounds more amused than anything else.  In fairness, he's pretty fast himself.  He's not peregrine falcon fast, though, and if he does catch up, it'll have to be because Gar let him.

Beast Boy has posed:
It's in large part due to the way those wings taper, and when the falcon goes into a dive it can go above speeds of 200 MPH. While the Garfalcon is certainly moving with the quickness, he doesn't make it impossible for Kian to catch up or even keep up. This is because he does a few wide loops and seems to be enjoying the trip across the water out toward the tallest buildings in Metropolis. Whether or not they could hear each other at this rate remains to be seen, but at one point the falcon slows up enough to hold a steady position and actually gesture with a wing for Kian to go on ahead. Where will /he/ go?

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían nods, apparently understanding the gesture.  The rush of the wind does make normal conversation nearly impossible; at best only a shouted word or two, unless the fliers are willing to get dangerously close to each other.
    What Kían does as they approach what he likes to call the 'glass canyons' is dive sharply, and then pull up along the face of one building, shooting straight upwards, no more than two meters from the glass.

Beast Boy has posed:
What's evident is even if Beast Boy is not normally a bird, he shows no problem flying as if he was the real deal. That is, in fact, the case. As he keeps a slower pace to stay within Kian's apparent speed limits, he watches the display and gives a little 'Heh heh..watch this' to himself, making sure Kian has turned to see what he does. It's the same thing, a fast dive that truly showcases the speed of the peregrine, before similar rise - only his is within a couple feet. Of course, he is much smaller than Kian.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    That brings out a big grin from Kían -- of course a proper bird can do that, he's not going to be envious.
"/Kaí, sho tákrio/!" he calls, not really expecting to be heard or even understood, but it /was/ a good show.
    At the top of the building, Kían spirals up around the radio mast and touches down just below the flashing light, perching there a moment... then diving off again, touching down on a parapet just above the observation deck to greet any observers with a happy "/Kié/!" before diving off again, performing an exquisite but not technically necessary aerial somersault as he passes the observation window.
    Speed, no. Aerobatics, yes.

Beast Boy has posed:
Different forms of showing off, here. In his current form, it's not so easy for Beast Boy to express his thoughts about it, although as he passes by Kian around the apex of the building and then swings by again once he's gone around the window in question, he calls out, "Oh, I see how it is!" Now the falcon swoops down past the same place, going out of sight until catching a draft back up past it - as a flying squirrel. This one appears capable of a cheeky grin.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían laughs and waves at Gar's new form... and quite unexpectedly uses a flagpole to redirect himself ninety degrees towards another building.
    When he clears the edge, a gust catches him squarely and blows him backwards.  Kían turns it into a reverse swoop of sorts, bending around backwards through a full loop until he's heading in his original direction again.

Beast Boy has posed:
Whatever the reasons behind this, it looks as if the two are enjoying themselves in their own ways. Gar doesn't understand most of the alien words Kian is using, but on some level the meanings are at least picked up on. A lot can be read from body language alone. Once he's floated back up high enough, Beast Boy changes again into a green-tailed hawk (and everywhere else, too!) before maintaining a pace with the alien as they go through a variety of aerobatics.

"I don't know how long you can keep this up," he 'skrees,' pulling up alongside Kian to meet his speed, "But any time you're ready to get back to the Tower, we can go get something to eat. I'm getting hungry and I think I want something more filling than those mice down there!" Yes, he can see them.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "And they taste nasty," Kían says with a totally straight face... that only lasts about two seconds before he breaks into giggles.  "Sorry, couldn't resist that... ooo.  Now that is an auspicious form, /kário/."  It can't have gone without notice that Kían's wings are marked like a red-tailed hawk's.  "Sure, we can head back.  I could use a cold drink, at that."

Beast Boy has posed:
Whether it was noticed or not, Beast Boy is not saying. "I'd rather peck at a double cheeseburger and a big pile of fries!" he has to shout over the air blowing past them, but he beats his broad wings and spreads them wide to alternate between picking up speed and maintaining it with a stretch of gliding. As he crosses the water again and descends toward the roof of the Tower, he slows up enough that as he lands he shifts back to normal Gar and touches down as softly as he can. A grin is sent over a shoulder, showing off that one fang from the underbite. "Meet you inside?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían touches down lightly.  "Sure, open a window for me," he says, peeling off his shirt to towel off his face and shoulders.  "Definitely could do with some cold water..."