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[The fact that he refers to it as alien physiology is... interesting. She only referred to herself that way because it's clear he has no idea what Janirak even is, but she doesn't think of herself as being alien.

He seems to. Curious detail.]

What about the people on your planet?

[ Clark shakes his head. He answers tersely. ]

My family sent me away for my safety. I grew up on a different planet.

[Dryly,]

Let me guess. Earth?

[ He nods. ]

Yes. I'm the only Kryptonian there. If there're others from different planets, they stay hidden.

Edited 2017-04-22 01:26 (UTC)

[It's a terrible thing, to be bereft of one's people. Even though he's well and truly annoyed her over the duration of this conversation, that at least she understands.

Doesn't mean she won't be a dick about it, though.]

Safety in anonymity and all that, I suppose.

[She makes a soft hmm.]

What happened on your world that warranted your being sent away?

[ He's only told Taako that his world is gone. Clark is a private man and doesn't want to share that. He'd evaded the question with Bucky even when he trusts Bucky.

It's too much to put on a stranger. ]

Krypton is uninhabitable. I don't know the exact circumstances.

[If only you knew, Clark.

'Uninhabitable'. Sent away by people who likely didn't survive whatever made it so.

He's more open about it than she'd care to be, which means he's probably never really had someone to discuss it with. An alien stranded on this 'Earth' place, no one like him, eager for-- what, kinship in Otherness? She towels idly at her hair. She's not really here to babysit some wayward culgenic, but she's not entirely heartless.

Liranya might mention Janirak's destruction. Her greatest strength has always been using her vulnerabilities to bolster the confidence and securities others lack, but Shai is fucking selfish. Her history, her demons, her wars-- those are hers. She's not here to tear herself open so other people can find closure in the guts of all she's sacrificed.

She lets the towel stay on her shoulders, and drops one hand to trace the line of her throat. It looks like she's wiping away excess water, nothing more.]

That's a lot to put on anyone's shoulders. You ever talk to anyone about it?

[ Clark shakes his head. ]

It's not a topic of friendly conversation.

[ His adoptive parents didn't know about Krypton to tell him. Zod and his followers are gone after telling him every Kryptonian outpost in the universe is as dead as the people in the scout ship Kal found.

Any other alien on Earth who might be a refugee is (wisely) hiding. ]

Mm. No, I imagine not.

[She tosses the towel off and stretches. She's flexible, but strength has always been more important to her.]

You should see about finding someone here you can unpack that with. Not healthy to keep survivor's guilt bottled up inside.

[It's a guess, assigning a name to whatever his issues are like that. But it's an educated one, and she's dealt with a passel of therapists on the Greyjane payroll who are trying to get into her head on that very same subject. She knows what it looks like, the forms it takes and the specificities of its damage a little too well.]

[ Despite all the books he's read for Ellie and Bucky, it never occurred to him. Clark had never felt traumatised. He knew something was missing. It still is and it's become worse after losing what might have been the last survivors of his planet in favor of his adoptive world.

It's not trauma. Although he feels guilty, he thinks it's for killing Zod. ]

I'll see about it.

[ She's doing the decent thing but he doesn't want to impose. ]

Thank you.

[She laughs.]

Don't thank me, sweetheart, I'm not going to listen to you. Well above my paygrade.

[ He's still not sure he has anything to say.

Clark smiles at her politely. He's polite, she's polite in turn. It will go on forever. ]

All right. It was good to meet you. I'll be seeing you around.

Edited 2017-04-22 04:56 (UTC)

[She's not particularly interested in trying to get him to stay, so she just gives him a little wave.]

Look me up if you ever want a sparring partner.

[ He looks over his shoulder curiously. ]

Are you sure? I'm a lot stronger than I look.

[ Though she's strong and has her electricity, Clark hasn't met a non-Kryptonian with the same physical power. ]

[If he'd asked her that ten years ago she would have bared her teeth in answer.

Her idea of strong is probably quite a bit different than his. He doesn't seem to have much metric for culgenic capabilities, and she does.

She shrugs a bit, conjures up a construct slab of electricity.

It doesn't have to be thick. It's more about molecular density than the specific structure she can dream up. She wears a micro-thin layer of it against her skin at all times, invisible right up until someone tries to shoot or stab her. Closest thing she has to invulnerability.]

If you can break that in one hit, you might be too powerful to engage directly. Doesn't mean you're too much to handle.

Edited 2017-04-22 05:06 (UTC)

[ Clark has fought Marcel and he had to hold back even though Marcel assured him broken bones healed in minutes. He approaches her construct, to measure what he might do to the weakest point. Clark will always hold back unless with another Kryptonian.

A simple boxing stance and he throws a punch like he's been taught. The air cracks with the force.

Nothing happens to the slab. Clark looks at it, bewildered then curious. He hasn't met something he couldn't break.

It's nice. ]

I think that settles it.

[It's still a bit of a shock. She's met plenty of people with something that can be quantified as beyond normal strength, but he's beyond even the best augmentations money can buy, and didn't split his knuckles besides.

Holding her focus against the force of that blow is an effort, one she doesn't give away as having expended. She has been masking stressors for so long it's as if they don't exist - no heightened heartrate, no dilation of the pupils, no frenetic breathing.

She lets the slab collapse on itself in a halo of sparks.]

Then there you have it. Look me up when you want a challenge.

[ He frowns at her curiously when there's neither a jump in her heart-rate nor a change in her breathing. Clark has never met anyone who can confidently say they walked away unscathed from him when he was using his strength.

It can be explained by not being as well trained as she is or as experienced but Clark feels there's much more to her than meets his eye.

He nods. ]

I will. Take care, Shai.

You too.

[It's as close to a 'goodbye' as she'll come, and then she just goes right back to training once he's gone.]