trans_9 | This is not fine art on my planet. [Open, see note]

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This is not fine art on my planet. [Open, see note]

With enough diligence and care, Starfire firmly believed, it was possible to learn most any skill. She wasn't always as firm with herself as she needed to be about learning things such as preparing palatable food for her crewmates, correctly understanding English idioms, or backing away when someone needed to be cheered up, but for a friend? Anything was worth the effort for a dear friend.

And Peter Parker was certainly a dear friend of hers. Now that he was away on a mission, she had the perfect opportunity to finish her gift to him. The car loss that had upset him so much on the planet would be rectified, she swore. Her method for solving this problem was, naturally, the refurbishing of his very own car.

Unfortunately for Starfire, Cyborg was the team mechanic, and he was conspicuously absent from the ship's crew. That left her and the few volunteers kind enough to assist her to finish the job. They were short on available crew, especially now that so many had regressed to childhood, but with enough effort they would finish! And she would then be free to play with the children.

Those were her thoughts as she continued with her work under the hood, carefully consulting the manual that detailed the connection of the last few wires. This was the necessary configuration for the speed he would want, yes? The tires were in place, the body was placed...after this last bit of wiring and testing, all that would remain would be the polishing and painting.

If she had any luck. In reality, she was the grease-coated alien girl floating in the middle of the Hangar, a welcome target for any and all curiosity-seekers. Even young ones, she worried.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she withdrew from the building fumes and removed sludge (now all over her) with a sigh. "I feel as though I am a regurgitated spudling."

((ooc: Open to volunteers, children, and anyone really. It takes place during the early stage of the Galileo's Burden mission, before she knows Peter is captured and about to be sacrificed.))

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"Yes, that is what I heard also. I hope to complete my task before he does." She searched the motors for a little while longer, a light briefly flickering around her hand as well. Everything seemed to check out.

"If you mean that I am not from your planet, then it is very likely. I am from the planet of Tamaran." Her eyes flickered back to normal, wide with embarrassment.

He nodded. "Kind of like a welcome-back present? Well, I hope everything goes well. There always seems to be a wrinkle or two, at least in the missions I've been in so far. Like that T. Rex."

Wait, had he just said something incredibly rude? Argh.

"Oh, I-- I'm sorry. Where I come from, there aren't really any sentient species around -- other than humans, anyway. And they're all from Earth. I didn't mean to... well, you know."

SUPER AWKWARD.

"You encountered a dinosaur! It...does not sound as though you had a pleasant observational experience." Starfire was beginning to worry about him. These missions were never enjoyable, were they?

She waved off his worries with a little laugh. "It is all right. I was forced to retreat to sanctuary on Earth several years ago. You are not the first person I have surprised." Really, she was grateful that he was being kind. She had experienced far more hostile reactions before.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I kind of liked that dinosaur. Even if she was trying to eat me. We even ended up setting her free, so hopefully she's much happier now than she was in the pen they were keeping her in." Zouichi liked animals, even ones that were set on attacking him.

He looked a little relieved that she hadn't taken it personally. "To sanctuary? Did something happen back home?" Why would anyone be hostile to Starfire?

That was good! "I am very glad that she is now free. You must have done very well on your mission."

It was perfect! If only she could have helped.

Ah...and now they were back to her fond memories of her dear sister. "My elder sister became focused on obtaining my planet's crown after our parents died. To rid herself of me, a simple pest, she sold me into slavery. I escaped at a waypoint on Earth before we reached those who would have been my masters."

She sounded sad rather than angry when recounting this. Her poor wayward sister. If only they could have gotten along.

He smiled. "Yes, along with all the other dinosaurs. We did, at least accomplish our mission, even if things didn't quite go as planned." Okay, so the dinosaurs had tried to eat some people. But they were free now!

"Your sister... what?" He looked appalled. "Are you... are you all right? What on earth possessed her to do something like that?" Who would sell their own sister off just to get a crack at some crown.

And that was enough for her. The dinosaurs could resume grazing and living their natural lives in peace. It was a wonder that such majestic Earth creatures of old were still alive somewhere.

"She believed that doing so would cause the invading force that killed our parents to go in peace. As a young princess, I was considered a valuable slave. There was a time when I would have believed that trading me away was the only way, but I wished she would have given us a chance to try something else. And as time went on, her resentment only grew stronger."

She pulled her hair back behind her head, sighing quietly. "I finally defeated Blackfire when she attempted to marry me to someone on a distant planet for a similar reason. It was not best for our planet, but for her own power."

Silly big sisters. Gotta love 'em. "But I am all right now, thank you. I am grateful that I am able to be here and work on this project."

"On my planet, I'm pretty sure what you described would be grounds for disowning your sister. Even if it ended up pacifying the invading force you spoke of," he said, still dismayed. "But why did she resent you? You were the one being sold off."

"I'm very sorry to hear your parents died in such a fashion. And your capacity to forgive is... astonishing." Among other adjectives. "Is that a common trait for people from Tamaran?"

"I was a threat to her rulership of Tamaran," she said simply, shaking her head. "As the elder sister, she was already first in line, but I would take the crown if she was proved to be incompetent in any way. I...believe she also thought little of my survival abilities. I am not as well-versed in social interactions and the cool skills as she is, but she has yet to learn kindness." Every time, Starfire hoped that Blackfire would allow her to teach. It never came to pass.

"I have learned to look for positive thoughts," she explained with a tiny smile as one of her engine parts was wiped down. "No situation is as inescapable as it seems at first, and I have witnessed others changing for the better. It may not always happen, but it can. We can survive, and I believe we may win someday."

She had to believe. It fueled her strength in more ways than one.

"I see. Well, social graces or not, I think you got the better end of that deal." She was so accepting about everything, too. Weird! "So you still talk with your sister now and then?"

"Positive thoughts, huh?" He paused. "Those are kind of in short supply where I come from; I usually get by on cynicism and explosions. But if there's a way to win, I'll find a way to make it happen."

That's what he was made to do, after all.

"Every time I attempt to speak with her, she threatens me in some way. I would try again if she were to awaken here, though."

Starfire agreed with him, waving her little grease cloth in the air. "Yes! We will find the way somehow. It is not always easy to believe, I know, but I have found that it is worth it."

"I... see. Well, I guess I had trouble with my siblings, too. And there were about twenty of us, so there was plenty of trouble to go around."

He glanced over the car's body. "So, what's it going to look like painted? You're not going to paint flames on it or anything, are you?"

"No, but I will draw a spiderweb over the hood," Starfire explained, tracing just such a thing with her fingers. "It is his favorite design. A friend of mine has also installed spider-shaped windshield wipers and insect removal devices."

As she introduced them, one of those little metal spiders skittered across the window. No, they weren't really necessary. But 'Lash' and 'necessary' didn't seem to go together very often.

"Wow, a large family! It must have been very busy."

"Uh... so I guess you're really going all in with the spider theme, huh? Does your friend really like arachnids?"

He raised an eyebrow at the little metal spider. "Erm. What was that? Because it looked like a little spider robot."

"Well, there had to be enough of us to fulfill our mission objectives. But it was indeed quite busy. We all worked it out in the end, though. Mostly."

"Yes. They are special to him," she smiled, sure he probably wanted the particulars of that to remain a secret for the time being.

"That is because it is one. It exists to remove insects and grime from the windshield." Hey, it wasn't her idea! "Lash believed it would be cooler than a simple windshield wiper."

That in mind, she flipped her hair over her shoulder once more and resumed her work around the little spiders. When she clapped her hands a certain way, they retreated and allowed her to study the window more closely.

"Your family embarked on missions together?"

Hmm. Maybe he was an arachnologist or something. Still, painting your car like a spiderweb?

"Well, it's certainly unique. Can they be used while the car is in motion? Or do they not have the necessary traction?" He didn't recognize Lash's name off the top of his head.

"Not exactly. We were created to perform them. And we were generally only sent out in pairs, not all together. That would have severely limited the manner in which we could be deployed."

"I believe they are designed to stick to the window," Starfire tested, poking at one. Indeed, its feet stuck very firmly to the surface.

"I see. Then you are very skilled. Did you have time to enjoy yourself?" That was what she considered life. Having fun. If not...she could make some fun for him.

"Ah, how useful. And slightly frightening, should they ever choose to attack." Which, in Earth movies, they invariably did.

"Enjoy myself?" he blinked. "Enjoy myself how? You mean when I completed an objective?" Yeah, that was a no.

"Lash would not program that function!"

Oh, Starfire, don't kid yourself. She so would. She'd just make it a little fun and tricky to activate.

"In between. Did you ever...attend parties, or play?"

"Well, I think the point is for them to unexpectedly gain sentience on their own, then attack. That's how it works in films, anyway."

Parties? Had Zouichi ever attended an actual party?

...no, probably not.

"Erm... no? There wasn't really any time for either, especially in the situation we were in. That's why I was designed to rarely require sleep. It allowed me to continue working outside even when human personnel were unable to do so."

"I will have to express this concern with her. Peter does not need to be attacked by his own car."

Starfire bit her lip, looking over him in worry. All work and no play...it sounded dreadful. She would have to fix that! How strange it was that he looked so human...and yet he was designed to work for them.

"And I am certain that you work very well. But you can then use your other waking hours to enjoy yourself! You could...play a game with us, or join us at the amusement park, or join a pillow fight! You do not need to entirely focus on work here."

...look out, Zouichi. Someone's given herself a new goal.

"Unless he's very fond of spiders. In that case, it could prove to be an unexpected bonus."

"A pillow fight?" Zouichi blinked. "Well, it's not as though I only do work aboard the ship. I also weed and clean things around the Inn. Or patrol. Or carry heavy things, if someone requires help." Yes, because those are totally normal leisure-related things.

Zouichi is looking out! He just doesn't know what he's looking out for. Certainly not rogue Starfires.

"I will see to it that he is safe."

And that was that, as far as she was concerned. She would make sure Peter was happy, but it sounded like Zouichi might need some assistance in that department as well.

"Everything you have listed is also work," she pointed out, tilting her head in confusion."No, I will invite you to play with us. We will have a game night with the Outsiders!"

She'd make him laugh. Eventually.

"A... game night?" He wasn't sure that he liked the sound of that. "Well, if you feel it's necessary. But I assure you, I also perform activities that are not work. For instance, training simulations." Zouichi was sure Starfire would acknowledge this as Not Work!

Zouichi laughed! Occasionally. Sometimes. A little.

"At any rate, I should be getting back to--" Work?

"...getting back. It was very nice talking with you. I hope your friend likes the car."

"Have a wonderful time!" Starfire waved him off, very suspicious. Of course it would be work. She was very sure that it was work.

And he would be getting a break from work very soon if he didn't watch his back.

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