2012-06-28 Finding a New Home

The Themysciran Embassy is about as busy as some might expect an embassy to be. Add to this, the fact that classes are taught at almost all hours on a variety of topics - cooking, self-defense, pottery making, archery, and more - and it is perhaps even busy. But now in the middle of the evening, the political traffic has died down and there remains only one final class. Diana is on the balcony off the camera room of the living quarters, watching the class below, which happens to be an exercise class, using Amazon training techniques.
Still getting used to the layout of the Embassy, Kara has to ask for directions a few times before she finds Diana. She's feeling very comfortable here, as much as she felt at the Kent farm. Here, there's also been enough peace and quiet for Kara to think, and now she wants to ask for some advice. She approaches the Princess, bowing courteously to the woman first. "Good evening, Your Highness. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
Diana of course hears Kara approaching, which is why she has turned to face the teenager. She shakes her head and smiles, beckoning Kara to join her. "Not at all. How are you finding your room? Penthesilea assured me she would see to it that it was prepared for you this morning." Diana did not check into that herself, unfortunately, because she had several meetings to attend.
"Yes, it's wonderful," Kara says with a smile. "To be honest, I've never had a room that big before. But I'm adjusting." She seems a bit nervous, trying to think of how to express her thoughts. "I owe you a great debt. Thanks to your generosity, I feel that my life has finally stabilized." She closes her eyes. "There are many things that have happened to me recently. I haven't had much of a chance to simply think."
"I feel I should explain myself," Diana says, nodding as she listens to Kara. "I firmly believe that if you don't want someone to do something, you need to tell them why, but you should also find a way to help them if it is necessary. What your cousin did... is halfway there. But simply demanding a certain method of comportment isn't the best idea, and people who use his methods may breed resentment." She watches Kara, leaning a little against the railing behind her. "If you were to tell me someone was responsible for your lot in life and you wanted to kill this person, I would insist you shouldn't, but I would explain why. And it would not hinge on my reputation."
"I know," Kara says, a bit sadly. "And I know that what I did was wrong. It's against everything I believe in. I gave into anger and grief, and pain...and I did something I'll always regret." She takes a few breaths, gathering her thoughts. "And Ka...my cousin...he was not concerned about his reputation. He was upset because what I did was wrong, and he thought I was trying to...wash away my mistake." Kara shakes her head. "I don't want to forget what I did. I need to remember so that I will never let it happen again. And I think I haven't explained myself and my feelings properly to the one person that matters the most. My cousin."
"It's possible," Diana says, nodding. "Let things stand as there are for now. Stay with us here. Train with Cassie. You mustn’t rush to show him what you're trying to do to keep things in check. I admittedly don't know your cousin so well, but he may disbelieve." She nods down to the class below. "Did Ariadne provide you with a list of the classes we offer?"
Kara nods. "Yes, she did. There are many that I am interested in. But I am also unsure of what you want me to do here. You mentioned that there were duties I could perform; I'd like to know what you had in mind." She walks over to the railing, gripping it and looking out over the class. "And...I would normally agree with you about waiting. But, there is more to this situation than you know, and I want to resolve this rift with my cousin sooner rather than later."
Diana smiles softly. "That is your choice, Kara. And I will support you." She pointedly does not push for the details Kara has not offered. As for duties... "Simple things. Perhaps help out in the kitchen before a meal once or twice a week. Help the instructors get ready for a class." She puts a hand on Kara's shoulder. "I come from a place where we help one another because we want to help, not because we have to earn our keep. I would like you to do these things because I would like you to meet the others who live here and work here, not because I feel you owe me."
"Then I accept your offer," Kara says with a smile to Diana. "And I will be happy to meet the others that live here. I don't have many friends, but I am always happy to make more." She looks back at the class. "I have learned a bit about the Amazon culture; just a few details. Do you have an aversion to all men?"
Diana shakes her head. "Some of my sisters refuse to deal with men. I can't hold that against them, for I know what they've been through," she says. She too is looking down below, as the class is shown a new move. "Some are willing to believe and understand that all men cannot be held accountable for what a small group did. And some are undecided still."
Kara nods and smile. "And what about you? How do you feel about men?" Then, she reddens and looks away. "Umm....If that's not too personal a question..."
Diana gives Kara an amused look, but she's clearly not offended. "Would you believe it if I told you the first time I'd ever laid my eyes on a man was just over a month ago? Objectively, I knew they existed. I never gave it much thought until then," she admits with a shrug. "I think my sisters are right, and that we can't hold an entire gender responsible for the actions of a few."
"Just as I can't hold one boy responsible for the actions of his parents," Kara says with a nod. She looks at Diana, smiling. "I'm glad you and Cassie met. The fact that she was using items from your people's culture...It makes me think that she was meant to meet you. Are you going to let her be your protege? Wonder Girl, if that's not too silly a name?"
"I think the gods let Cassie find those relics for a reason, just as I think I was meant to run into you both that afternoon for a reason. If she would like to call herself Wonder Girl, I'd be honored." Another smile from the Princess, "But I still want to help you both train."
Kara nods. "Contrary to what my cousin might think, I'm not opposed to training. I just don't want to stop being Supergirl while I wait for someone to decide I'm ready." She sighs and leans back against the railing. "All these powers I have, I can't simply sit around and not use them. Not when I can make a difference and save lives." Her eyes close and her voice grows soft. "I was powerless before and had to watch my family and everyone I knew die. I can't stand by and let more people die, not when I can prevent it."
"I wouldn't dream of refusing to let you go out there and help people." Refusal without explanations. Not what she does. "What I hope is that you take what you learn out there, and use it." The class ends, the students fill out, echoing their thanks, and the instructor tidies up. It becomes very quiet out on the balcony. Just Diana and Kara. "I can't imagine what I'd do if mother died," she murmurs.
Kara nods, a numb expression on her face. "Your...Diana. If I tell you something, do you swear to never tell another person?" She's not looking at the Amazon princess, but Kara is listening intently, hearing the woman's heartbeat and breathing.
Diana's expression turns serious. "I'm incapable of lying, Kara, so when I tell you that you have my word, you can sure I won't tell anyone." Heartbeat doesn't change, and there's no wavering in her voice. She's being honest.
Kara nods slowly. She stays quiet for several seconds, while she mulls over what to tell Diana. She wants to tell the truth, but knows that might make thinsg with Kal worse. "It wasn't just my family that died," she says quietly. "It was my entire village" She looks up at Diana. "My cousin and I are from the same place, he just arrived here before me. There was...a terrible disaster. A Civil War. And my home was wiped out.”
Ever so gently, the Amazon Princess wraps an arm around Kara's shoulders. "Then I am glad you have found one another here, in this place, and I am glad you have found my sisters and I," she says gently. "Does Cassie know?"
Kara nods. "Yes, I told her." She sniffles a bit, but smiles at Diana. "She's my best friend. We don't keep secrets from each other." To a certain extent. She sighs and looks back down at the floor. "That's why I attacked the boy, tried to kill him. He was the son of the man that started the civil war. My cousin and I...were all that's left. I saw him wearing the symbol of the army that slaughtered my home...he said his name..."
Diana nods understandingly. "You had just been through something terrible and traumatic, and you saw something you saw as responsible." She hugs Kara gently. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
Kara hugs Diana back, closing her eyes and holding back her tears. "Everyone says that. That I'm too hard on myself." She takes a shuddering breath, still hugging Diana. "So why haven't I heard that from the one person I want to hear say it?"
Diana keeps holding Kara gently. "At a guess? I would say it's possible he regrets acting so harshly, but is giving you space." It's the only thing she can think of, knowing Clark as poorly as she does - and that's strictly through what Kara has said of him. "He may also be thinking of you in terms of parent and child, rather than cousins. He's older than you, after all"
Kara smirks as she steps back. She lets out a little laugh, as well as some tension. "I understand what you're saying. And maybe he is thinking of me in terms of a parent. He did call me 'the little sister he always wanted.'" Kara turns to look over the now empty training area, leaning over the railing. "I've been telling everyone but my cousin all of this. He's the one I need to sit down and talk with. The one I should be telling all of these feelings to."
Diana easily relinquishes Kara, nodding. "You're welcome to bring him here, if you'd like a private place to speak." She has no doubt that there are other places they could go, but she makes the offer regardless. "Perhaps if he sees that we've accepted you here, as one of our own, he'll understand you're serious about keeping control." Especially if Kara explains Diana's offered to train her. "But for now... it's late, and I feel like a snack." She almost looks mischievous, but it only lasts briefly. "Shall we head to the kitchen?"
Kara smiles and nods eagerly. "Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream? If Cassie were here, we could all hang out and watch a movie. She'd probably also get us to paint our toenails..." The girl laughs and shakes her head. "Why is it important to decorate your toenails when you spend most of your time with your feet covered? No-one will see."
Diana shrugs her shoulders. "I have no idea," she admits, leading the way. "Fashion in Man's World, especially for women, is... a bit overwhelming. I had to find a dress that would fit. I was told wearing my royal stolla would not be enough." She doesn't seem particularly pleased at that.
"And yet, women go out in public wearing considerably less..." Kara rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Women are encouraged to show off their bodies, but condemned when they do. Sometimes, I wonder if I was sent to huge insane asylum..."
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