( closed )

[imaginate]

Characters: Kyle & various.
Date: Catch-all log for July.
Location: All around.
Situation: Various.
Warnings/Rating: War horrors, child abuse, mention of torture, physical and psychological.
Notes: [Action] or prose are all good. Ping me if you'd like a specific setup/threadstarter.

Comments

[imaginate]

Maybe that's all part of my plan to catch you off-guard.

[He slides into a small corner seat, near the window, where he can see the door. Kyle doesn't expect anything to be stupid enough to come after them, but old habits die hard and he's always been wary.]

[wingedwarrior]

You're going to need to be a lot more clever than that to catch me off guard. [Don't worry, Shay's been in the same situation before. At least this time she'll have an extra set of eyes to help. And while a bar is one thing, you don't start a fight in a restaurant.]

[imaginate]

[He waves a spoon at her.]

One day. You're going to get overconfident. And then... I'll strike!

[wingedwarrior]

And I'll still kick your butt. [OHHHHHHHH what now.]

[imaginate]

[Totally deflates.]

Oh come on! At least act like I could get a few punches in.

[wingedwarrior]

[Okay, give her a minute to really think on this.] You... might be able to get a few punches in.

[Worst big sister ever.]

[imaginate]

[GROANS. And then, just. Orders, pointing to the menu.]

This one's good. And that. Try it.

[wingedwarrior]

[SHE LOVES YOU, KYLE, deep down, she loves you. And this is Shayera we're talking about, so she'd normally order both. But he's paying today and she's kinda been teasing him, so it's time to be nice and order the second item he pointed out.] I'll have that one, then.

[... and one more thing.] You did actually pose a challenge in our first fight. Remember, when you shot at me with an arrow?

[imaginate]

[He orders, thanks the waiter, and then glances at her quizzically.]

That was a challenge? [A pause.] I seriously need to brush up on my Thanagarian culture. I didn't accidentally promise you a fight to the death, did I?

[wingedwarrior]

[... oh you know what SHE IS GOING TO GO WITH IT.] No, it was a declaration of war. We have to gather up families of choice, then begin the war at the end of the month.

[Yes, you can hate her.]

[imaginate]

[THE MOST SCEPTICAL STARE.]

Yeah, right.

[wingedwarrior]

[NO, SHE IS NOT BREAKING THIS STRAIGHT-FACED LOOK, NEVER.] Why do you think Thanagar is such a war-ridden world? Because everyone keeps shooting at each other for killing this person and betraying that family.

[She is persistent.]

[imaginate]

[NOPE not convinced. He folds his arms and raises an eyebrow.]

I know you have a strike first policy but that extent is a little ridiculous, don't you think?

[wingedwarrior]

[Oh well, she had her fun.] I would, but that's pretty much the policy they have for me. [Because, you know, every Thanagarian wants her dead. Not that she can blame them.]

[imaginate]

[The teasing's gone, and his expression becomes more serious, questioning, concerned.]

Mind if I ask?

[wingedwarrior]

[She speaks with a certain seriousness, but there's no signs of pain or regret. Yes, she let people down, but she won't wallow in the past anymore.] A few Thanagarians with a grudge tricked me and two other League members and got us trapped on a planet. Though they really only wanted me, but threatened to harm Vigilante and Vixen to get me. [And there were lots of feelings and Shayera felt better afterwards.]

[imaginate]

Some grudge.

[A low whistle, of wow that must suck. He wondered how much of the mess that had been the aftermath of the Rann-Thanagar war he could get out of simply because he'd saved the day there and stopped the fighting. Is that why she was out of touch with the news back home?]

Sorry.

[wingedwarrior]

I am the reason they lost the war. [Not "we". It wasn't her war anymore once she saved Earth, she didn't have that luxury.] It's all right. I've... ["Gotten used to it" is out of the question. That's something you never get used to.] accepted it.

[imaginate]

[And Galatea had shouted a few choice words over the console. This choice was bitter and heavy, and it would only get worse if people drew attention to it or tried to get her to talk about it. Some doors stayed closed, and locked.]

Don't carry it all by yourself forever. It gets really heavy, trust me.

[Despite the content of the words, his tone is light, cheerful. Have a little hope, it says. Share your burden.]

[wingedwarrior]

[It's hard to ignore the optimism from a Green Lantern, much less Kyle.] When you find someone who can share this, give me a call.

[It's said in a partly sarcastic tone. She would like to release part of this burden, but realistically, there aren't many who can.]

[imaginate]

I've got a list. Wanna see it?

[HE WILL SHOVE ALL HIS HOPE AND OPTIMISM AT YOU, SHAYERA, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE]

[wingedwarrior]

[She makes a sweeping gesture with her hand in front of her, as if to invite him to take his best shot.] By all means.

[imaginate]

[He points a very serious finger at her okay!!]

Top of the list. [He holds up the ring.] Why don't you take a few guesses?

[wingedwarrior]

[Her lips twitch into a half smile, and she just shakes her head disbelievingly.] Who, you?

[In all honesty, she is joking. There's only one other person here who knows what happened, and Galatea is a lunatic. Everyone else just mistakes her for someone else.]

[imaginate]

You'd be surprised what I can carry.

[He's matching her joking tone, but there is a brief, dark flicker in his eyes that suggests it's all the truth, he'd never lie about being able to take something that heavy. He knows he's unbreakable; he was made to be.]