Touch the Moonlit Sky

[Ryn]

Ryn enjoys hurting monsters but despite what TV critics might say, Katarina is not yet one and this fills her with all kinds of conflicting emotions. She is, by any sane reckoning, a sadist; has to be to do what she does and revel in but here it turns her stomach. Yet at the same time being this close to Katarina, the Siren trusting her to do this, fills her with a different kind of elation that does not fit the pangs of icy needles she feels every time Katarina lets out a pained sound. And that is not the only way that noise haunts her. It's soft and vulnerable and inexplicably Ryn wishes she could draw that sound from her another way.

She tries to distract herself by listening to Katarina talk about the show and details about what actually happened rather than what they decided to show, a process that takes Ryn an embarrassingly long time to figure out is intentional. She enjoys the truth of it, even if it means that the reckless racecar-driver cops who get results aren't real, which is a shame because Ryn thinks they should be. Maybe with a more reliable car because even she can tell that what they're driving barely stands up to the jumps and swerves they have to put it through to - mistakenly - chase down Katarina. The talky bits in between lose her, she does not follow the common signifiers of beauty pageants or illegal racing. How is it different than what the racing-cops are doing? "Is it the mask?" she asks Katarina but apparently it is not. Still, she enjoys the show even if the explosions are incidental and serve no real purpose. The quality of the acting goes right past her. Of course it's obviously fake, it's meant to be. Calling Greek tragedy masks 'unrealistic' is missing the point.

Partway through de-scaling Katarina she pauses to look at her handiwork. Raw and bleeding skin she should be proud of but just makes her mad. She holds up the lotion but she knows that even if it'll help, applying it will burn. Instead she puts it down and places her palms on either side of the scaly patch, slipping on top of Katarina's legs after all, too focused to be flustered by it now. She takes a deep breath and holds it, letting the magic that knit a broken ankle within a days pool in her lungs. Finally she leans down until her lips are almost touching the small of Katarina's back, faint scent of blood in her nose, and she gently exhales, blowing on the raw skin. It doesn't do as much as Ryn wants it to, her magic is not meant to be shared, but it calms the skin with a chilling air that prickles as the bleeding stops and some of the swelling recedes. She is a Deva and destroy is not all her power does if she wills it so.

[Katarina Kane]

Katarina shivered; goosebumps prickling her skin as Ryn's chilling air hits bloody, raw flesh. It did definitely seem to help some -- more than a regular icepack would? Perhaps, although maybe that was just wishful thinking on the part of the deva.

If Ryn's goal was to produce more of those noises, this seemed to work, as Katarina groaned again as the cold air hit her skin. Not of pain, this time; more the relief from the pain dying down. "Oh, that's nice. Keep going, a little lower...," she sighed, still watching herself on television.

[Ryn]

There's only so much breath Ryn has but what she can spare she let's brush down and along the curve of Katarina's skin. She scoots a little lower and though she definitely does not have to brace herself for balance she finds her hands holding Katarina's waist gently but firmly. And once Katarina's Voice fades from her head she's too startled by what just happened to move. She feels strange and not just because she expended some of her magic to soothe Katarina's wounds. There's an itching in her chest and the soft gooseflesh under her hands makes her want to brush her hands along the fine raised hairs.

[Katarina Kane]

"Mmm," Katarina hummed -- hummed! "Yeah, you're better at this than I am, Ryn. I'd be contorting myself into all sorts of positions to take care of those hard to reach ones."

If Katarina is bothered by Ryn's hands on her waist, she doesn't seem to show it. The dulling of the pain was worth any amount of awkwardness she had to put up with. She also doesn't seem to immediately notice Ryn freezing, still intently watching herself on the TV (teaming up with the cops now, and about to sing some sort of song? At the beauty pageant? Sure, why not.). She did move slightly in Ryn's grip, lifting her legs up to slightly move the deva off of a pressure point, and into a more comfortable position on the back of her legs.

[Ryn]

Ryn shifts easily according to the movement of Katarina's legs and to distract herself she pays closer attention tot he show for a bit. It's definitely not an excuse to sits like this for a little longer before going back to causing Katarina pain to finish the descaling. "You did a lot of the driving yourself." she notes, having paid close enough attention to spot the appearance of stunt drivers even through the quick (and kind of badly edited) cuts of the action sequences.

[Katarina Kane]

"I'd like to think it was because they appreciated my skillset. I suspect it is, in part, because they didn't want to pay a stunt driver."

Ryn knew that Katarina enjoyed cars, but she had never really seen her in action, and Katarina's character on the show had done some fairly impressive maneuvers, even taking into account the various takes and cuts that put everything together.

"It was enough to get me asked back, though that next episode never actually aired. It wasn't a very good show."

Whether it was good or not may be beyond Ryn's ability to really discern at this point in time. It was, after all, a matter of taste -- as was whether or not Katarina's song was any good. As this was obviously at least somewhat intended to boost Katarina's career, of course her character sings a song; why wouldn't she? And so, as officers Donovan and James chased the real baddies (some gambling organization trying to fix the pageant so their chosen person would win? Once again, this show's plot was bonkers), it kept cutting back to Katarina on stage singing her song.

In the neon glow, I see your silhouette,
A force that draws me close, I can't forget,
Electric dreams ignite, my heart's on fire,
You're the star that shines, takes me higher.

In a world so vast, you're my fascination,
Lost within the past, it's a sweet sensation,
No escape in sight, this is my confession,
I'm falling fast into this powerful obsession!

An interstellar dance, our hearts align,
Through time and space, our souls combine,
This passion's like a supernova's light,
Burning bright, igniting the night.

Your touch, a spark, a rush, a flame,
Lost in this feeling, we just can't contain,
A force that's pulling us closer each day,
In this powerful obsession, we will find our way.

In a world so vast, you're my fascination,
Lost within the past, it's a sweet sensation,
No escape in sight, this is my confession,
I'm falling fast into this powerful obsession!

Save me from this powerful obsession!
Lost in the past in this powerful obsession!
Powerful obsession!
Powerful obsession!

[Ryn]

"I like it." Ryn says, though expressing why is trickier. Sure, explosions are fun and she thinks the premise makes sense to willfully ignore pointless human-laws, but that isn't as important as seeing Katarina express herself in ways that have since been denied to her. It's like seeing a caged bird soar through the skies. Something is fundamentally right about it and while she's not necessarily showing it on her face (she is playing a role after all and the quality of her acting is beyond Ryn to assess) Ryn can read the freedom in her movements like she knows the wind from the rustling of leaves. "You were doing what you like to do." words once again fail her in expressing something bigger.

She doesn't grasp the agreed-upon language of 80s pop-song lyrics and romance, but she's enough of a supernatural force that she can take some of them at literal face value and glimpse her own kind of meaning from it. Her heart is on fire like a star in the sky and she's certainly lost in the feelings the song evokes in her. She doesn't even know why she wishes Katarina was singing the song about her, she's never cared for idolation and worship, never had any temples and shrines she paid any mind. Even the warped appearances in man's pantheons she's made throughout the ages tended to understand that by her nature she should not, could not be swayed or appeased. And yet...

Her hands move ever so slightly as if to see if she's trying to see if they might actually produce a spark against Katarina's skin after the burning they'd already left behind on raw skin. It's silly, of course. Neither sparks nor flame are hers to command, but the song is spurring her on and she wants herself to do even a fraction of what the Katarina on screen is singing about and so her fingers brush up along the curve of her ribs.

[Katarina Kane]

"Honestly, the acting is...alright. But the singing and the driving...getting the opportunity to both of those, and to perform? That was worth every aggravating moment on set."

No sparks, no flames -- not literally, at any rate, though the burning sensation inside of Ryn's cheeks my indicate otherwise. If anything, Katarina was still a little cool to the touch after Ryn had used her chilling aura on the siren; tiny goosebumps dotting the flesh. She could feel Katarina's breathing, picking up slightly as Ryn's fingers slid across her ribs.

"Ryn?" Katarina asked. "Is everything alright?

...Have the scales continued to spread?" she asked, with a little quiver in her voice.

[Ryn]

The obvious excuse would be to just say she's checking for early signs of scales forming underneath her skin. Unfortunately Ryn does not have that kind of social savvy and even if she did it's not really in her nature to lie.

"No..." she says quietly, but then realizes she has no follow-up or explanation to give. "I... The song... I thought..." she goes on after too long a pause with no idea what she was actually thinking. And then the hands withdraw and the weight disappears from Katarina's legs as Ryn practically flows backwards and crouches onto the armrest of the couch, looking mortified.

[Katarina Kane]

Katarina tried to sit up, wincing.

"Ryn, what's wrong? Was it the song? Did it..." Katarina said, turning to the TV and thinking. "Did it trigger the Voice somehow? Retroactively?" she said, biting her lower lip.

[Ryn]

Ryn almost wishes that was the case. It would make more sense to her that way.

She shakes her head. "I just liked the song. I wanted it to be about me." It's out before she can stop it and it feels like no power in the world could make her lift her head to look at Katarina right now.

[Katarina Kane]

Katarina blinked, running the song back through her head to try to figure out what Ryn was on about.

"Ryn..." she said, quietly. "Did you have someone? Before you came here? Or maybe during? That you lost?" she asked, putting the pieces together and coming up with the wrong picture entirely. "Another partner?"

[Ryn]

The Agency had tried to assign her a partner before but even Ryn can sort out that that's not the scenario Katarina is imagining. She didn't lose them, if anything she chased them off intentionally.

"I've never had anyone. Not in the way the song feels." she says, shaking her head ever so slightly and still refusing to look at Katarina.

[Katarina Kane]

"Oh, Ryn," Katarina said, sadness and pity in her voice. "You're lonely. I can imagine being stuck here for so long would do that, yes," she frowned, feeling sorry for the poor girl.

[Ryn]

"I'm alone, not lonely." she objects but she can't deny how she felt leaning over Katarina, hands on her hips. What was that if not wanting Katarina to be around. Even now she should just leave rather than listen to Katarina failing to understand what she's trying to say but she doesn't. Because somehow that'd be worse. "But for a moment just then I wasn't."

[Katarina Kane]

"Music can do that," Katarina nodded, almost-but-not-quite understanding. "Music can help draw emotions to the surface; even when it's not backed by weird magical powers. It can be sort of cathartic, at times."

[Ryn]

It hadn't felt like catharsis. Catharsis was the crack of bone and tearing of flesh. This had been something else. A different kind of end to the chase.

Ryn looks dubious and shakes her head a little. "No... What should I have done if I'd caught you that day at the beach? It was like that, confusing and..." Less bloody? Free of pain and suffering? "...harmless?" she settles on.

[Katarina Kane]

It was clear to Ryn that Katarina didn't understand. Communication was hard at the best of times, and with Ryn not fully understanding what was going on with herself, that wasn't making things easier.

"Harmless is good, I suppose," she said, with a smile.

"And, if you'd caught me? I mean, I don't know. I suppose we would have continued our day at the beach; maybe gotten some ice cream; spent some time tanning in the sun. I've been advised not to go swimming if it can be avoided," she said, with a shrug. "I don't know if rides are your thing; it seems to me that that wouldn't be the right kind of adrenaline burst for you."

[Ryn]

"No, not after." she says and officially reaches the end of her verbal line. She feels like her muscles are vibrating. Either she leaves now or she finds another way to communicate. She's still perched on the armrest, Katarina in front of her on the couch and in the moment she fails to keep still. She leaps forward almost too fast for the eye to follow, her hands grabbing Katarina's upper arm and topple her backwards onto the couch. She lands with her legs to the side of her hips, straddling her stomach without putting any weight on her. Other than her grip on Katarina's arms as she leans down, her hair falling down to frame her face and she looks down at Katarina from dark lenses. "Like this..." she whispers.

[Katarina Kane]

Katarina gasped with shock as Ryn pulled her down onto the couch, the smaller girl with impressive upper body strength and speed far outclassing her own.

"Ryn..." Katarina said, her voice quavering. "I want you to think very carefully about what you're doing."

Her heart was racing, as Ryn had her pinned down on the couch. Ryn could see her pupils dilating, could sense her adrenaline pumping. How many monsters had she seen, starting up at her, terrified? That wasn't...quite what Katarina was doing, not at all. She knew what fear smelled like, and Katarina only had some of that going on right now. She stared at her own reflection in Ryn's sunglasses, clearly unnerved and skittish from the other woman's sudden strike.

It didn't help that her back was still open and raw from her scales being removed.

[Ryn]

Ryn doesn't have many names for the many ways adrenaline courses through human and monster alike but she thought she knew them all. And there's just a little prey-fear in Katarina. Not the lingering kind that weakens and gnaws and fills the shadows with dread but the sudden. The freezing when faced with the inescapable. She should feel bad about that but she can't change what she is. And mixed in with that fear is something else. Something spicy-strange and unfamiliar that's making her wish Katarina won't ask her to let go.

"I don't know what I'm doing." she says quietly and somehow the woman pinning her shoulders (but very intentionally not her injured back or her arms) sounds like the helpless one. "But if you tell me to stop I will."

[Katarina Kane]

"I think you need to stop," Katarina said, doing her best to keep her voice level (and un-Voiced). "Until you figure out what it is you are doing."

Katarina's hand dropped over the side of the couch, slipping underneath. Ryn could tell it was taking serious effort for Katarina not to actively freak out at the moment, her heart pounding and threatening to jump out of her chest.

[Ryn]

Ryn's hands let go of Katarina. She's not a complete idiot. As confused as she is, she has a vague notion of what she wanted. The touch of skin, the warmth of beating hearts and hitching of breaths. But Katarina's voice tears her out of it and sends her falling into a different place. Where she is the monster, pinning her friend down and...

"I'm sorry." she manages with strangled voice and as swiftly as she'd been on Katarina she backs up and slides off the the armrest so it's between the two of them. It's an empty gesture, she's shown how quickly she can move and there's not a place in the room from where she could not reach Katarina in the blink of an eye. "I should go." She feels sick. The feeling in her stomach has soured and ice crawls down her arms. She truly is a monster.

[Katarina Kane]

Katrina frowned. "Yes. Yes, I think you'd better have. At least for now, Ryn," she said, her voice still warbling, her heart still pounding.

[Ryn]

Ryn flees. She'd be loath to admit it but there's no other word for it. She runs from Katarina, from the feelings roiling inside of her and the steelband that tightens around her chest. But most of all she runs from herself. She doesn't even bother to obscure her speed or the way she melds into the shadows between stark light cast by fluorescent lightbulbs in the hallway. Katarina has joked about putting a bell on her at witnessing her appear out of seemingly nowhere but for the first time she sees Ryn do the opposite. One moment she's in the doorway looking back at Katarina and in the literal blink of an eye she's disappeared, leaving the pop-star with the lingering unease of not knowing if she's actually gone.