The Perk | Sunday Afternoon

[pursuedthestars]

Jim was pretty relieved that this weekend wasn't like last weekend and he wasn't out of his mind and thinking he was two people in one body. Honestly, that had given him a massive headache upon waking up normal on Monday.

This weekend, he was just Jim and that was how he liked it. The weather was a little warmer than it had been which meant Jim was outside enjoying the sun. It wasn't beach weather but at least he wasn't freezing his ass off.

He'd ordered a coffee from the barista inside the shop (and flirted a little because he couldn't not) before taking the cup outside and settling at one of the tables. He figured he'd drink the coffee, enjoy the sun for a little while and then get up and find something a lot more exciting to do.

There was only so much peace and serenity a guy could take. He needed to do something exciting and soon.

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[solarhippie]

Even the slightest bit of extra sunlight was something that Karolina was going to welcome with open arms, so there was no other option than being outside.

She looked pretty happy, walking down the street – and almost walking straight past the Perk, before catching sight of Jim. At least she didn't blush this time?

"Oh, hey!"

[pursuedthestars]

"Hey, yourself," Jim said, giving her a little salute with his fingers. "You look like you're about to break into song or something."

[solarhippie]

Well, Karolina was almost a Disney princess...

She chuckled, pushing her sunglasses up to her forehead. "I just like that there's more light right now."

[pursuedthestars]

"Yeah?" Well, he couldn't blame her there. "Sounds like you're saying no fun can be had when the sun goes down. The night can be pretty cool too."

[solarhippie]

Her smile dimmed just a bit, though it was still genuine. "Well, my powers... are kind of dependent on the sun," she shared, with a little shrug. "I kind of feel better when it's out."

[pursuedthestars]

"You can't fly when it's dark?" Huh. "That would seem to be put you at a severe disadvantage with bad guys who only come out at night, right?"

[solarhippie]

"Oh, no, I can still fly when it's dark." And spectacularly so, with all the colors. "But, um... It gets a little less intense at night? I don't know, I need the sun to recharge." She chuckled again, shaking her head. "I know that makes me sound like a solar-powered battery."

[pursuedthestars]

"That or a plant," Jim joked, chuckling. "But, that'll make me worry so much less for you when it's dark and there are just criminals running left and right all over the island."

He was still kidding.

[solarhippie]

That really wouldn't have been as much of a joke back where she was from, but under the circumstances, she took it as one.

"No need to worry. I can still hold my own. Just... a little less brightly."

[pursuedthestars]

"You do a lot of that back where you're from?" Jim wondered, sitting back and sipping his coffee. "Holding your own, I mean. It that bad there?"

[solarhippie]

"It was, for a while." There was another shrug. "Probably not so much, anymore."

Oh, if only she'd known.

[pursuedthestars]

"What happened to make it so bad?" Jim wondered. "I don't think places like that just pop up and appear. If history's right, it's a slow build."

[solarhippie]

Karolina pushed some hair behind her ear, not very good at pretending it wasn't an awkward subject. "Yes, well, someone did build it to go bad."

[pursuedthestars]

Jim knew a nervous action when he saw it. He raised an eyebrow and contemplated letting it drop since she did seem awkward about it.

"Who built it to go bad?"

Sometimes curiosity overtook goodness.

[solarhippie]

Karolina, whose gaze had slid down towards the ground, glanced up only briefly. "The Pride."

And was she going to elaborate on who that was? Well, that remained to be seen.

[pursuedthestars]

"...The Pride of lions?" Well, that was the only pride he knew of. "Must be some crappy lions."

[solarhippie]

Well, to his credit, that got a very small smile out of Karolina, brief though it may have been. "No, the Pride. A... well, an evil organization that used to rule Los Angeles until a few months ago. Made up of six couples."

[pursuedthestars]

"Couples?" That struck him as unusual for some reason. Most criminals he knew were either solo or duo operation with the occasional gang here and there.

"Like husband and wife? Or wife and wife? Or husband and husband? Or something else? Did family dinners just get so boring for these people that they decide to go out and conquer all?"

[solarhippie]

Karolina sank down into a chair. If she was going to tell this story,m might as well be comfortable, right?

Plus, she could rest her hands uneasily on her lap, now. "No, they were... I guess they were summoned by these, um, giants. The giants promised them wealth and power and all that stuff." Sigh. "In exchange for eventually helping them wipe out the entire world."

[pursuedthestars]

"Giants." ...all righty. "Gotta be honest, giants are not something I've heard of before."

And he'd heard a lot.

"Okay, so the giants hate the world. And decided to put their faith in a couple of humans? Why couldn't the giants just, I dunno, crush things?"

[solarhippie]

"Because they needed human sacrifices." And yes, she knew that sounded pretty cliched. Also, horrible. "Once a year. To get stronger. Strong enough to do what they wanted to."

[pursuedthestars]

"Charming," Jim said and didn't really mean it. "I'm gonna take a wild, wild guess and say these giant guys, they probably weren't gonna give these couples what they said they would."

[solarhippie]

"They did, though," she said. "For about tenty years. That's how the Pride ruled the city. They'd even promised that six of them would be spared when, you know, they'd cause the world to end. I don't know if they would've kept that promise, though."

[pursuedthestars]

"Huh." Jim was quiet and thoughtful for a few moments. "And then you and your friends came along and sent the Pride packing or something?"

[solarhippie]

"Kind of. We undid their plans, and the giants' lair collapsed. No bodies were found but... It's doubtful anyone survived."

Karolina chewed on her lip a little and yeah, she was skirting around the thing that made this awkward.