I Think I'll Be Okay (Open to two)

The pink haired child was back in her resting place, the meadow. It had been quite some time since her last visit here but the atmosphere was just the same. Immediately she felt the rush of peace flood through her veins and she could breathe easier. A lot had happened in such a short time it seemed that she needed some time just to sort it all out.

It all had started when she woke up. That one day in the hospital. She had no idea who she was, and she still had a long way to go.

Then she moved here and everything seemed to be going swimmingly. She had helped to find the missing Titans Tower! She had a team! But then... she left, because she knew it was the right thing to do. But that never made anything any easier.

After that she focused all of her energy into helping others. She spent her days volunteering and reading in her meadow. One fateful day she met a little girl by the name of Shivering Jemmy and almost immediately adopted her as her own.

She also found her father! Her biological father! He accepted her and invited her into his home! He had a wife! She had a step-mom! ...And then the Zydons came and destroyed everything. Her mom died and she grew apart from her father.

Then she lost her own daughter! Jemmy had erased her from her memories. The pain from looking into your little girl's eyes and realizing she had no idea who you were was so harmful that Bow had almost fallen into a deep depression, but luckily she had her band, Grayline, to help her, right!?

Wrong. She had fallen for a boy in the band. His name was JaK Sage. And just as they confessed to each other, he said he was leaving. He told her to wait for him, but for how long did she expect him to wait? She wasn't even sure he was still alive.

And after he left, the entire band fell apart...

Again she was left to dive into her volunteer work, and this time she did it without any breaks. She would go weeks on end without eating or sleeping, until she literally passed out from exhaustion. It was killing her.

Now though. Now she had a new team. And a new motivation. But would it fall through like everything else did? That's what she was thinking about today. How much more could she take? She needed to be stronger... But not physically. Emotionally.

The girl sat in the middle of her meadow and meditated. A ring of flame encircled her, a cloud of shade sat above her head, light was shining through the cloud, she herself was lifted off the ground a few inches, and the most peculiar... an aura of blue wrapped around her. She was trying to strengthen her soul... But she could use some help...

Help was on it's way...though it hadn't really realized this yet.  

"So where am I going to end up THIS time?"  

"You know how hard that is to answer.." -.-

"We've been here long enough that one would think you could get the transportation honed properly."

"Have you ever tried to shoot a target from a mile away?  In the rain?  Accuracy goes out the window."

"Lay out a mile-long tent between you and the target."

Caroline blinked and pondered that.  "Excellent idea, actually.  The next time you go down there, set one up and I'll gladly use it."

"Is now fine?"

"Of course.  Give me a moment."

Exactly one moment later, space erupted somewhere within the confines of a meadow not far outside Jump city.  Kardus looked out to see trees, flowers, and grass.  "Oh so NOW it appears outside the city...  Wouldn't that have been nice to happen EARLIER?"

"Shooting in the rain, darling.  Shooting in the rain."

"And with wind too, it seems!"

The blue-haired traveler stepped out with his usual pack, as well as a travel bag that he carried over his shoulder.  As he did so, he soon caught sight of a girl not far off to the side.  She was floating, enveloped in a blue light as she hung weightlessly in the air.  Glimpsing at her soul allowed Kardus to see that it was making some self adjustments; or..at least trying to.  Where had he seen this before?  

And so our hero stood, uncertain of whether he should greet the blue-lit woman as a gentleman should, or let her continue without bo-

"..Hello?"

 Never mind, it seems the decision has already been made...  BLATANTLY ignoring the narrator, Kardus called out to the girl he was looking towards, and the portal closed behind him.

Bow slowly opened her violet orbs to the man that is standing before her. As soon as she releases her complete focus on meditation, she fell to the ground and all of her aura faded away almost instantly. She looked up at him and blinked in curiosity. It had become apparent to her that it wasn’t actually a fortress that was an escape from the world. Rather, it was a place where she met some very interesting people.

A smile traced her lips as she spoke sweetly, still in a meditative state. ”Hello there… What are you doing in this beautiful meadow today?” Her eyes were gentle and words smooth as silk.

If he peered into her soul, he would see that right before she opened her eyes, it seemed to fill out the entire meadow. When she opened her eyes, it seemed to shrink, or at least fade in color. As if she didn’t understand the depth of her own soul. She was trying. That’s what she was doing out here today, trying to better understand herself. To find a reason to live without any external motivation. Because that seemed to not work for her. Everything she loved slipped through her fingers, so she had to figure out a way not to depend on that anymore…

Kardus indeed took notice of the way the girl's soul had changed; seeing that, once disturbed, her soul reverted to a smaller form. She was trying either to further develop herself, unlock her full potential, acquire a sense of inner peace and stability, or perhaps a mixture of the three. Either way, her progress was cut short by Kardus' arrival. He really hadn't intended to do that.

Putting that aside for a brief moment, he answered the girl's question. "Mostly just wandering around. Exploring. Sort of by accident. I'm sorry if I interrupted you; you seemed to be in the middle of something."

Kardus only walked a step or two closer, his right arm swaying loosely at his side as the other held the travel bag up on his shoulder. His black skin and blue hair made him stick out as either an alien or meta-human of some kind. Either that or someone obsessed with body paints and wigs.

Bow shook her head with a sweet smile, stretching her arms above her head. ”Actually no, it was nice to be interrupted… I’ve been at this for way too long and haven’t made much progress… So I think a break is just what I needed… So… Thank you!” The pink haired girl giggled and stood up, extending her hand to him. ”My name is Rain Bow, what’s yours?”

It might be declared odd that she didn’t even react to the way he looked, but one would have to realize that she had been desensitized to appearances. In her life, no one was ever what they seemed to be simply based on their looks, so she had chosen never to even make a remark about the cover of their book. She would let the story speak for itself.

Kardus blinked as the girl said she appreciated the distraction from her meditation.  "Ah.  Well in that case, it's nice to meet you.  My name is Kardus." the man replied with a smile, reaching to shake her hand.  "What exactly were you trying to do, may I ask?  You said you were trying to make progress?"  As Kardus asked this he looked around at the surrounding area.  It was a really nice place to be alone and enjoy the silence and solitude.

Bow smiled as she noticed he was looking around and she did the same. "It's truly a beautiful place, isn't it? For the longest time I considered it to be mine and no one else's, but, I've met some truly remarkable people in this little meadow. I'm sure you will be one of them as well." She took in the aroma of sweet lavender and let it settle for a moment before turning back to him with a soft smile.

"I'm here to try and...strengthen my soul, I guess is the best way to put it. I'm sure you don't really want to here about it, but I've been through a lot and... I need for it to stop getting the best of me. If I ever want to rise to my potential. I have to get past externalizing my security and looking for the peace within myself." She looked at him with an endearing smile and determined eyes.

Then she realized that she had ranted and blinked, blushing and giggling. "Sorry! I'm sure you didn't want to hear all that!"

Kardus blinked at what Bow had to say.  "Are you kidding?  Of course I wanted to hear all that.  For one thing, venting your feelings is perfectly healthy.  The fact that you're so self-conscious about it tells me you need to do so more often.  Secondly, do you know who I am?  What I am?"  Kardus took the bag off from his shoulder and held it in his hand.  "At any rate, you are correct.  Inner peace is a sturdy foundation needed to create a sound and stable soul.  I should know, I've struggled to gain that kind of foundation for a long time.  If you want help, I'm the perfect person to ask.  My kind have tremendous power over souls; I could even turn you into a completely different person."  Kardus shifted his gaze.  "But you say you're looking for inner peace?  Why?  Why don't you have it?"

Bow shook her head with a curious gaze on her face when he asked if she knew who or what he was. But then he continued without actually giving her an answer, but it made her smile. When he said that he was the perfect person to ask, her eyes went a little wide and she smiled even brighter... Until he said that he could turn her into a completely different person. Her eyes got worried and she shook her head.

Then he asked a very convoluted question that had her thinking for a long moment. And when she thought of what the answer might be, she bit her lip, unsure of whether or not she wanted to tell this stranger that... But he seemed like he genuinely wanted to help, so she sighed and decided to hold nothing back.

"I still don't fully know myself. I moved to Jump City a little over a year ago... After waking up in a hospital with no memory of who I was. The only thing that I knew was... I..." She had to take a moment before saying the next part without crying. "I killed my parents. Burned the entire house down around us on the day of my 16th birthday. I-I still don't know why I did it, but I think that I lost control... I-I hope that's what it was... I pray I never hurt them on purpose... But I can't be for sure..." Tears filled her eyes and she hugged herself. "I-I can't be sure about anything... And everything keeps failing around me... S-so I must be doing something wrong, right? There must be something wrong with me..."

...Well...She didn't hold anything back.