Work Text:
The ocean spray off the top of peaking waves glittered in the light of the sun. Koriand’r dipped low to run her hand through the water for a moment, giggling at the cut of salt at high speed. She raised her altitude again, gazing at the ocean spread out beneath her as far as the eye could see. This planet’s beauty truly was something to behold. She was glad she had taken the time to fly back to the tower manually rather than joining her team on their jet plane.
Koriand’r loved her friends so much, but even she got tired once in a while of how different everything was here. Her friends were so wonderful, but they still were taken aback at things Koriand’r did or said that were normal where she came from. Oh, they always adapted quickly, and only corrected her when it would do more harm not to, but it got tiring all the same. Sometimes Koriand’r just wished for someone who’s “normal” was the same as hers.
When she got in these moods, it was good for her to take a little time to appreciate the natural beauty of Earth, or even the unnatural beauty of human-created structures. It was good to remind herself of lesser reasons why she loved living here, and then she could once more fully appreciate the much more important reasons of her friends and loved ones on this planet.
She truly did love them, despite their differences, and she knew they loved her in return.
She set her sights on the sky once more, admiring the drifting clouds against their bright blue background. An airplane came racing past, and Koriand’r gently drifted out of the way. A discoloration on the wing caught her eye, and she quickly moved to keep pace with the flying machine. If there was something wrong, if these earthlings were in peril–
But when she focused in on the discoloration, she realized it wasn’t a smoking engine or a broken wing like she had feared. No, instead, a small figure in black and white was sitting on the wing, knees to their chest and arms curled around them.
Koriand’r flew closer alongside the plane. A few people in the windows pointed and waved, and she waved back with a hurried but bright grin. She refocused quickly, drifting to the wing until she was a few feet over the tip.
“Hello?” She called over the wind. “Are you alright, Stranger?”
The figure startled, worrying Koriand’r, but kept their place on the wing. Their head lifted up, revealing a young face with tan skin and bright green eyes. Eyes that almost seemed to glow like Koriand’r’s own, but still with human whites. Immediately Koriand’r’s curiosity heightened, and with it her excitement. The figure’s– no, Koriand’r was sure now, the child’s– blindingly white hair fluttered in the wind, whipping around the child’s face, even pulled back in a ponytail as it was.
“Uh, yeah? I guess? Who are you? Are you a ghost?”
Koriand’r tilted her head. Most humans she knew said spirits were only superstition, but she also had much experience with magic and demons (mostly thanks to Raven). She wondered why a “ghost” was this stranger’s first thought.
“No, I am Starfire, from the planet Tamaran. You may also call me Koriand’r. What is your name? Where are you from?”
The child perked up a bit. “I’m Dani, with an ‘i!’ You’re an alien?”
Koriand’r smiled, drifting closer since the child didn’t seem wary of her. She knew Dick would offer up a pedantic ‘well Kori’s only alien to a human, so–’ but Koriand’r put more stock into how one said ‘alien’ than in whether they used more diplomatic terms. And the child’s eyes were bright with interest, thair form relaxed and comfortable.
“Yes,” Koriand’r said. “I am! It is good to meet you, Dani with an ‘i.’”
“You too,” Dani said shyly. “Man, Danny would be so excited if he was here.”
Koriand’r cocked her head. “Danny without an ‘i?’”
Dani giggled, the sound whipped away by the wind but shown clearly on her scrunched up face. “Yeah! He’s my… he’s family, I guess. He really likes space.” By the end of her sentence, Dani had curled up on herself more, resting her head on her knees again. She sounded almost despondent.
Koriand’r frowned. Something was upsetting this child. “Do you miss him?”
Dani looked at her again, almost startled. She furrowed her brow then, and looked beyond Koriand’r in thought. “I guess..? I don’t really know him that well. Well, I do, but not–” She groaned and buried her face in her arms, muttering something Koriand’r couldn’t catch over the wind. She flew closer, until she was just about in touching distance. She considered touching down to sit next to Dani, but worried about overbalancing the plane and just stayed sideways in the air, as if lounging on the couch at Titan Tower, and continued keeping the same speed as the airplane.
“Are you alright, Dani with an ‘i?’” Koriand’r said, able to speak slightly quieter than a yell now that she was much closer.
Dani groaned in her arms again but then looked back up at Koriand’r.
“Do you– do you have family on Earth? Do you have a home or– or just a spaceship or something?”
Koriand’r blinked. “No,” she said slowly. “My family does not live on Earth. But I have made many wonderful friends, and we have a home together. They are like family now.” Koriand’r smiled to herself. “My Earth family.”
Dani looked at the horizon. “That sounds nice.” She was silent then.
“Are you… not close with Danny without an ‘i?’”
Dani sniffed. “I dunno. I tried to kill him.”
“Ah.”
Dani whipped her head around, hands coming up as if to placate Koriand’r, even though she had not moved. “I didn’t know it was bad! And– and I apologized, and helped him!”
Koriand’r gave her a proud smile. “That is good! I am sure he appreciated it!”
Dani relaxed, gently letting her hands fall when she saw Koriand’r wasn’t hostile now. “Yeah. He said we could be family for real. But it’s… not the safest, at his home?” Now that concerned Koriand’r. “So I left to see the world. And it’s been really cool!” Dani straightened up with genuine excitement. “There’s so many different people, and languages, and ways to live, that I never would’ve known about!” Koriand’r nodded along with her own grin in total agreement. But then Dani slumped again, looking down as she traced her finger in little circles on the metal of the plane wing. “But I just kind of realized that… y’know, most people when they travel, they have somewhere to go to, when they stop. And I don’t think I want to stop, at least not yet, but… I don’t have anywhere to go if I do. I–” Her voice fell, and Koriand’r strained to hear her over the rushing air. “I barely know who I am.”
Koriand’r thought on this. There was clearly more to this child’s story than what had just been said, great glaring holes that seemed very important. But, the clearest thing Koriand’r could picl out, was that this was a child who was lonely. Who didn’t know where to go. She had a whole world of possibilities, but Koriand’r knew well that sometimes when everything was an option, it started to feel more like nothing. The most important thing about the child in front of her was that she needed somewhere to rest, with someone kind.
And Koriand’r knew nowhere better than her own home, with her own friends.
She held out her hand, giving Dani with an ‘i’ her gentlest smile. “Would you like to see where I made a home on this planet? Perhaps,” she said, trying not to get her hopes up too much. “It could become your home as well, and my friends could be your friends.”
Dani looked up at her in slack jawed wonder. Her hand reached out, but didn’t touch Koriand’r’s.
“You– do you mean it? You’re sure?”
Koriand’r nodded, letting her grin turn big and bright. “Yes, I would be delighted if you came home!”
Dani smiled, grin slowly matching Koriand’r’s. She flew up, unfolding her body and finally taking Koriand’r’s hand. “Okay, yeah!”
Koriand’r laughed in delight, tugging along Dani, whose giggles joined in, and they ventured across the ocean, towards the coast and the tower that they both could call home.