Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 9, 2016 0:39:51 GMT -7
*takes place after the event* Titan paced around the where he arranged the meeting. He had given Siren a call last night, telling her to see him at Viridian Park early in the morning. While she wasn't late, Titan still felt incredibly nervous. It wasn't just that recent events had left him on edge (though that was also the case), but there was something else about the meeting that he wasn't too sure about. He had his doubts about even setting up this meeting in the first place, spending what felt like hours staring at a phone, agonizing over whether or not to call at all. Eventually, he decided to just go for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? But it was't just the mere notion of a meting that made him go a bit on edge, it was what the meeting was going to be about. Seeing Siren work alongside him and the other Bulwarks was inspiring. She would work far better as part of a team than by herself, and with they way she carried herself around the others, she might as well have been another Bulwark. So what he was going to do was extend an invitation to join. He didn't know much about her opinion on this, and whether or not she would accept it, but it was worth a try. But just where was she? Hooded Siren
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 9, 2016 1:19:01 GMT -7
Siren was running to the meeting place that Titan had mentioned last night. When he called she had expected it to be about random trivial things like their days or maybe another round of twenty questions. Though their twenty questions were always more of her pestering him about things in his life until he answered something. But last night... Last night was strange. He seemed tense, nervous. Was he afraid of calling her? He had been a little on edge since the dragon incident. An incident the city was still actively healing from. There was also the damage dealt to his arm and the horror of watching Blue Jay get trapped. She could still see the look on his face as he rushed over to her yelling about helping their friend. The young woman took a deep breath as she arrived at the edge of the park. She needed to calm herself. Both Titan and Blue Jay were safe now. There had to be another reason.
Her brain tried to come up with reasons he called her. Most of them were idiotic and inconsequential. Until the thought of him asking her out crossed her mind. She could feel her face heat up at the thought. Could that truly be why he called her here? There was no way! He could have called or message or even left a note at the boarding house. He wouldn't call her here, early morning to ask her out. Besides he didn't seem like the guy to ask first. She was older than him anyway. Undoubtedly there was some perky cheerleader he had his eyes on. As she reached him, the blush on her face deepened as she struggled to force it away. smiled brightly and hoped her red cheeks weren't too obvious. Wasn't she just telling herself she needed to calm down?
"Sorry about the wait. What do you need?"
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 9, 2016 1:54:28 GMT -7
Eventually, Titan could see Siren approach him from afar, and gave a half-nervous smile to her. She couldn't see it, so it was mostly a reflexive action. As she got closer, he took everything in about her. Her eyes, her hair, the way she walked, even the way her costume looked on her. Why was he thinking about stuff like that? This was just a simple invitation to a group of friends, nothing more. He didn't quite know Siren's opinion on Bulwark, or even what she thought about the other factions like Pandaemonium and the Keepers. Given how she operated independently, he assumed that she just never thought much of joining any of them, which meant that she may have needed some serious convincing to get her to join Bulwark. Titan figured that was what made him so nervous at the moment. He'd take a shot in the dark and see what happens. When she got closer, it looked like Titan needed to do a lot of talking, not something he was used to, "Um...I'd like to...invite you to join...the Bulwarks". Well that was quite the start of a conversation. No formal greetings or ice breaking, just straight to the point. Titan felt like punching himself in the face.
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 9, 2016 3:29:46 GMT -7
Siren was taken aback by Titan's question. Join the Bulwarks? Be a hero? Sure the Bulwarks were better than a few of the other choices in this city but were they right for her? She wasn't exactly heroic. She was a thief whenever she wasn't helping someone out. Surely that counted as a large strike against her. Well at least he was being straight to the point with it. It would have been worse if he had danced around the question.
"I... don't know. I mean I tried the hero thing before. I ended up making things always worse in the end. Hell there was one incident..." she stopped. She wasn't ready to share that. She might never be ready to. No matter how close they got. She shifted uncomfortable where she stood as the memories flickered in front of her. She could almost smell the... NO, not now. Siren would not let herself relive that right now. The pinkette could drink herself stupid later and relive it but right now she needed to be present.
"I don't think I have what it takes to be a Bulwark." she finally said after moments of silence.
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 9, 2016 9:46:14 GMT -7
Titan's heart skipped a beat when she hesitated at his request. Was she going to spit in his face and say no? Was she going to rant about how Bulwarks were destructive hypocrites who were as bad as the criminals they fought? Was she just going to turn around and walk away from him, forever? The wait for her reply seemed like an eternity, as he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Why was he so nervous about this? With anyone else, he could probably handle the stress of rejection, but with her...it was just so different. She was so different. He had never felt this way about anyone, not his parents, and not even his friends like Blue Jay. It was such a strange and foreign feeling to him, yet there was something so...liberating about it.
His torment was ended when Siren finally spoke up. While it was probable that only a few seconds had passed, it felt so much longer than that. Her response both relieved and disappointed Titan. It appeared that it wasn't her opinion on the Bulwarks that prevented her from joining, but that ongoing problem of her critical amount of self doubt. It wasn't something that he hadn't heard before, but every time she expressed her apparent inability to be a hero, his heart sank. It felt like no matter how much he would try to reassure her, he could never get her out of that dark place.
Gripping her by the shoulders, Titan spoke in a voice full of genuine faith, "You do. You may not think it, but I know you do. Even if you or anyone else can't see it, I see it. I saw you save a little girl's life. When the dragon came, threatening to kill us all, you could have ran. But I saw you fight with us, even when you had every opportunity to save yourself. If someone that fights to save the lives of the helpless isn't a hero, I don't know what is. Nobody's perfect, especially the Bulwarks, but we try our best. All I'm asking is for you to try your best too"
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 10, 2016 14:07:07 GMT -7
Siren winced as Titan gripped her left shoulder. Her burn from the encounter with that dragon was still painful when touched but thanks to her vocal control she wouldn't let out a sound. It wouldn't do to look weak infront of Titan right now, especially when his injuries were more exstensive. She listened with a heavy heart as he spoke. He was being so sweet as he attempted to reassure her. She gently placed her hand over his, peeling the weight off her injured shoulder. She looked away before she said the next words, not wanting to see the look in his eyes.
"No, nobody is perfect. Still... Ones with innocent blood on their hands do not get to claim to be heroes."
There. The words that spoke of the biggest mistake of her life. They hung in the air, the weight of their implication threatening to send them crashing into the ground. Her hand rose to rest on her face, fingers curling in frustration as her head hung in shame. He would think differently of her now, that she was sure of. He'd probably recoil or accuse her of lying to him. And she would take it. She would stand there silently and just take it.
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 10, 2016 14:24:18 GMT -7
As he suspected, his words didn't have too much of an effect. In fact, all it really did was further illustrate his own naivety and Siren's own crippling lack of self worth. In all honesty, he felt helpless, watching someone he cared about in so much pain, yet couldn't do a damn thing no matter how hard he tried. This wasn't as easy as overcoming a physical threat, it was all in the mind of someone who he couldn't reach. But everything suddenly changed when she finally spoke. A deep chill went over Titan's spine when what she said registered. What did she mean by 'innocent blood'? His mind was plagued with horrible thoughts of what she could have done, each thought even worse than the last.
Thankfully, he took a moment to compose himself. All he had heard was a vague sentence, nothing concrete. He needed to know the full story, as much as she would have hated to tell him. Perhaps what she said would change everything, but it was better than leaving things to his imagination. Softly putting a hand underneath her chin, he gently pulled her head to face him, his eyes looking almost pleadingly at Siren's, "Please. Tell me. Tell me everything"
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 10, 2016 15:51:00 GMT -7
The pinkette's body stiffened at his response. He wasn't going to berate her or leave in disgust? He wanted to know? Slowly she lifted her head, eyes wide in shock and confusion. Her heart beat wildly as her lungs constricted in her chest. Was she ready to tell this story to someone? To have someone know what harm she cause? She straightened herself and looked at him. Even as her chest tightened she knew she had to get this off her chest.
"I was seventeen when it happened. One of my friends threw a party during the summer on his grandparent's land outside Emerald City," she began, "After a few hours I needed to get out of the crowd for a bit and walked away. Once I was far enough from the loud music I was able to hear someone screaming. I followed the noise to an old barn and stumbled in on my friend and his older brother raping a freshmen they had invited."
She paused and searched Titan's eyes. She was searching for something, anything to signal that he didn't want to hear any more. Finding nothing she carried on with her tale.
"I knew I had to do something and decided to use my powers to scare them off. It worked," she chuckled bitterly, "For a price."
Her feet fidgeted impatiently as her hands clenched into fists. She wished she had something to do with them right now but there was nothing to grab onto or fiddle with. She could hear the roar of her heartbeat in her ears as she continued.
"The barn apparently was on it's last legs. The scream shook it enough to send it tumbling down just as the boys escaped. The girl was struck by a beam and left laying there, unconscious. My own exit was sealed as a heavy support fell in front of the door and pinned my legs to the ground. I could see the girl on through the rubble, bleeding from the wound on her head. I don't know how long we laid there beneath that rubble but it felt like hours. When I heard foot steps I thought we were saved. But I was wrong. Someone, I assumed it was the boys, lit the rubble on fire. Smoke was everywhere, filling my lungs, stinging my eyes. And all I could think about was the poor freshmen who was lying there unconscious and I couldn't help her."
She could feel tears gather in her eyes. She could still feel the helplessness. The desperation to save this unnamed girl. There were times she could feel the burn of the smoke in her lungs even though nothing, not even a cigarette was lit.
"I blacked out after awhile and woke up in the hospital with severe burns covering the back half of my legs and body. The girl had died in the blaze and the cops had written it off as an accident. Faulty wiring or some bullshit. But I know the truth. I know that my useless attempt at heroics caused some poor girl to die when she didn't have to."
She stopped talking and waited. Siren braced herself for anger and blame. She knew it was coming.
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 10, 2016 16:32:44 GMT -7
As she stood there and spilt everything to him, Titan simply listened. Every sentence, perhaps every word, was registered as clearly as possible to him. She clearly expected him to scoff at her, call her a failure and walk away. Maybe even give up on her entirely after putting so much faith in her. The look in her eyes told him that this was the first time she had ever told anyone this part of her past. It was as if she was lifting a terrible weight off her shoulders, something that had been festering inside her for so long that it must have felt like an awful part of her.
The story itself made him sick. Everything about it disgusted him. He could feel anger mounting inside of him, like slow burning flame that threatened to engulf its surroundings at any moment. The way she went into detail about it almost made him want her to stop, but he resisted the urge, simply listening stoically, without a hint of emotion in his eyes. He needed to listen to this, no matter how much he didn't want to.
Stepping forward, Titan looked as if he was going to say something. He didn't. Instead, he carefully wiped the tears from her eyes. Cupping her face in his hands, he crouched down to her height so that their heads were level. Leaning forward, he put his own forehead against hers, in a gesture offering comfort. As he did this, he whispered to her quietly, "You made a mistake. People make mistakes. It doesn't change anything"
It was as if he was seeing the real her for the very first time. As if she had pulled off a mask to reveal what lay underneath. And it was at that moment of helpless vulnerability that Titan realized he cared for her much more than he ever thought he could. Leaning down, he wrapped one arm around her back and the other under her knees, lifting her up into his arms. Holding her closely, he wanted to show that he would always have faith in her.
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 10, 2016 20:13:06 GMT -7
The pinkette's heart throbbed painfully as Titan cupped her face. She waited for the words but he was silent. For once she was glad he was. Feeling the coolness of his forehead against hers she leaned against him, closing her eyes. His whisper reached her ears. Instead of tearing into her heart like his previous reassurances had, this seemed to calm it. It felt like a great weight had been lifted at for the first time in awhile she felt at ease. She didn't noticed the placement of his hands until her feet left the ground. She squeaked slowly in surprised as her hands instictively wrapped around his neck. Her heart returned to it's rapid pace as she felt her body press againt Titan's. Her face was flushed pure red.
"T-Titan?" she whispered.
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 11, 2016 9:36:56 GMT -7
If you asked him, even Titan wouldn't have any idea why he even decided to pick her up. Perhaps it was his own way of displaying affection and a way of providing comfort. It may not have been the most greatest idea, but he wasn't aware of that. Or he was, and just didn't care. His action even seemed to confound Siren, who was more confused than offended. Which was good; bemusement was preferable to a more outright negative reaction. Despite the rather playful nature of what he did, Titan was just glad he had managed to ease her suffering. Who knew how long she had to live with that? While she may not be able to completely shake off the awful memory, at least he could provide her comfort for the time being.
No matter, Titan remembered the original purpose behind the meeting; an invitation to join the Bulwarks. He considered everything that she had told him. What happened was not her fault in the slightest, just an unfortunate occurrence that stemmed from bad luck. The death of that girl was not on her hands, no matter what she may have thought. Without a second thought, he maintained his decision to offer an invitation; she was still a hero at the end of the day. Jostling her a little bit in his arms, Titan chuckled a bit before speaking once again, "My offer still stands. Are you gonna come join us, or do I have to carry you there myself?"
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 11, 2016 13:04:01 GMT -7
The pain coming from her still healing back was pushed to the back of Siren's mind. This playful, almost flirtatious side of him was a side she never thought she'd see. To be honest it nearly put her into shock. Then he repeated his invitation, along with adding a threat to carry her there himself. Her heart was going into hyper drive. She worried that he could feel her heartbeat with the force of it's pounding. God could her face get any warmer? She was almost certian that she looked like a ripe tomato.
Taking a deep breath, Siren looked up at Titan. His offer was coming from a good place and it was easier fighting with others to assist her. However... The way she preferred to operate wasn't exactly in the spirit of the law. Especially when she had one of her info deals. And those were hard to stop considering a good chunk of the money went to helping the boarding house. Sure she spent some on herself, she was no saint after all.
"Even with you knowing that I can't join you. There are things I do that aren't exactly legal Titan and the rewards from them do help out others. So my answer is no." she told him.
"But if you or anyone on the Bulwark need my help don't be afraid to ask."
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 11, 2016 15:17:38 GMT -7
Titan simply stood where he was, Siren still in his arms, while he awaited her answer. While he did so, he took a moment to register just how light she was in his arms. It was a peculiar thing to notice, given how light most things seemed to him, yet interesting nonetheless. That thought was interrupted when she finally spoke up. To his disappointment, Siren had politely turned down the offer to join Bulwarks. He understood the reasoning behind the decision; the other Bulwarks would probably be apprehensive to allow Siren into the group, given her more morally ambiguous tendencies. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. Nodding to show that he had accepted her rejection of the offer, something else came to mind. Something that didn't involve the Bulwarks, "If you're interested, I've got something else planned..."
|
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 11, 2016 19:51:34 GMT -7
As Titan responded to her refusal, Siren could feel relief wash through her. Yes she was still as embarrassed as a school girl around her crush. With the innuendo, intentional or not, it made it easier to handle. Innuendos and bad pick up lines she could deal with. Being held close and having someone speak gentle reassurances on the other hand weren't something she dealt with regularly. A wicked smile broke through the curtain of blush on her face.
"As long as you keep holding me like this, you can take me anywhere big boy."
Her voice came out in sultry purr. Siren's instincts were telling her to get out of his arms but her body wouldn't move. It wasn't until the sting of her healing back snapped back into focus that she said anything.
"While I have to admit I enjoy laying in your arms, I still have some wounds from that dragon. It kinda hurts being held like this."
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 12, 2016 0:01:13 GMT -7
Once again, Siren started doing that flirting thing, Titan could honestly say that it didn't affect him like it used to. Before, he could barely handle it, stammering in shock most of the time, but now, he was strangely used to it. Aside from a brief feeling of warmness coming over him, he didn't quite feel the horrible sensation of discomfort that plagued him before. In fact, he did enjoy a little bit, as much as he would hate to admit. She did change the subject when she told him that he was hurting her a little bit, causing him to become flustered for a bit, "Oh...uh...sorry"
He walked over to a park bench, Siren still cradled in his arms, before carefully setting her down on it. He hadn't intended to hurt her, as he assumed that she must have got her wounds taken care of. Apparently not. Pushing that thought away, Titan began his 'pitch' (so to speak), "Blue and I got something planned. Its not a Bulwark thing, just us. Something for dealing with dragons". He left it at that to pique her interest, but not reveal too much about it.
|
|