video 001

[morallygrayson]

[The feed clicks on, showing a surprised masked man.]

Okay, what did I just--

[He clears his throat.]

Hi. I’ve been trying to hack this terminal for an hour or so, to see if I can verify the information I’ve been given. It’s not really working, so I guess the next option is to ask around.

[He rubs the back of his neck, clearly not used to having to ask for help.

He’s not alone, either. Behind him someone happens to be hovering past the doorway silently at first, but then backtracks and stops in the entrance. Since his back is facing her he probably won’t notice, but she’s definitely noticed him. Her eyes open wide and her jaw drops with an audible gasp.

Yeah, her surprise is definitely apparent.]

Nightwing?! You are here??

[He jerks around in surprise, already brandishing a pair of escrima sticks.]

Who are you?

[Who she is might just have to wait, because (heedless of the weapons, she’s just that excited) before the last word has left his mouth she’s already halfway across the room, throwing her arms around him in relief and accidentally sending them both against the terminal. The last thing that the feed picks up from either of them is a shout (“What in--?!”) from “Nightwing” and a relieved string of WORDS (“I am so relieved to see you are undamaged!”) from the weird orange girl before the feed cuts off rather abruptly.]

[OOC: Answers will come from both Starfire and Nightwing!]

Comments

[thenameofscreen]

[She'd normally probably press the issue, but these circumstances are a bit extreme, and even if he doesn't have any reason to believe it she knows him well enough to recognize the signs of distress-- for Dick, that is. She just swallows back the urge to insist he remember for now, because making sense of things is more important at present. Besides, it wasn't the first time someone from his world had gone and returned older and with no memories of her. This just hurt more.

She lowers her voice and switches to German, then, because she picked that up from Superboy and even though it takes conscious effort to form the words-]

"The story is complicated and long, but please, know that I am a friend, Dick."

[morallygrayson]

You know my name.

[His brows raise behind the mask.]

You know that I speak German.

[He answers in kind, and... well, that's something. That's not something you could tell by looking at him. Not like "you work out" or "you shop at Teenage Superheroes R Us," that's something someone would have to actually ask him to know. He would actually have to tell someone, because it wasn't a skill he was often called on to use, not when Conner spoke it much more fluently and M'gann could act as a psychic translator.

She also knew his personality. She didn't bother defending herself or begging him to understand-- she simply chose a fact, something about him few people would have cause to know, and demonstrated it. She handed him clear, seemingly reliable evidence to support her position.

And it wasn't too personal, beyond the name thing.]

You said your name was... Koriand'r? I'm sorry I can't remember you, but you-- well, I guess you've done your homework.

[thenameofscreen]

[A quiet nod in answer to both statements. She knows who he is and she knows his skill set. She knows him on a more personal level than she knows almost anyone else, though the reasons for that started off entirely unintentional. She keeps up with this language and will continue to do so as long as he sees fit. She's pretty much used to following his lead no matter the world or universe.]

The fault is not yours, there is no need for you to apologize. Seeing you here unharmed is very relieving.

[But she appreciated the compassion all the same, and that statement is accompanied by a small, but very fond smile. Now, she'll do her best to try to explain, just guessing he'll want answers.

She reaches down for the round communicator on her left hip, which then turns into a cell phone type device. She's already tried using it to reach anyone from Somarium and that was a huge failure, but SOME functions still work on it-- just no network ones.]

It is as you say. On Earth, to humans my name is Starfire. I originally hail from the planet Tamaran, however you and I met in a world that was not your own, nor mine, just as we are now. I am also familiar with many of your comrades: Wally, M'gann, Kaldur'ahm, Zatanna, Artemis, Conner, Cassie, and the one known as Robin from her time- yours, if I have not been mistaken...

[morallygrayson]

I am glad that you're relieved.

[Not much else TO be relieved by, after all.

He manages to listen passively until she says the name "Robin." At that point, his face falls ever so slightly as a deep, reverberating pain wells up in his chest. Tim...

But he banishes that thought, shuttles it back into the ether. No time.]

Nothing you've said is wrong so far. Shocking, because... but you've been in a place like this before?

[Pinches the bridge of his nose.]

Just doesn't... it's a lot to swallow, isn't it? This can't be easy.

[thenameofscreen]

[She doesn't miss that, and lack of familiarity, as usual, is NOT enough to stop her from reaching out to offer a hand on his arm. Can't help it, she doesn't even have to think about it after all this time.]

The difficulty of swallowing the strangeness lessens with time. I have seen many strange things since the duration of my residence in Somarium. I believe that our friends remain unharmed, and we will see them again.

[And that isn't even an empty belief. She is one hundred and fifty percent convinced of this.] If my experiences have taught me nothing else, they have taught me this much.

[We're not going to talk about the fact that none of her team showed up in Somarium and we are absolutely, one-thousand percent not thinking about the implications there.]

[morallygrayson]

[He has not the will to hurt her feelings and refuse the touch, but isn't sure he can reciprocate just yet, either. His thoughts are going in five directions at once, and none of them are pleasant.]

I hope you're right. Thinking like that is probably the best way to approach this reality.

[thenameofscreen]

Our friends are very resilient. We only need to have faith. [Smaller smile this time, but she's holding onto that hope with both hands and her teeth. She's not letting go and neither should he- if she has a say.]

But I believe that I am currently... as Beast Boy would say, holding all the cards up my sleeves? I am sure that you must have the questions.

[morallygrayson]

[He cringes slightly, because Gar's just a baby, but he nods.]

He'd also say "Noted," right about here.

But for all the questions I have, I'm really not sure which are the best ones to ask. So let's-- let's save that for when we've both had time to settle in.