Marin'ahm

Scanning…Identification Complete. Enter [Marin’ahm], [Child] Of [Kaldur’ahm]. Codename: [Nomura].  A [23] [Third] Year Enrolled In The [Superhuman] Track. Intel Shows They Are [Driven], But Can Also Be [Judgmental]. Abilities Include [Atlantean Physiology]. Facial Recognition Mistakes Them For [Brittany O’Grady].

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Caroline smiled a little. She knew Marina had been dealing with a lot lately, especially when it came to her sister, and she understood wanting to avoid adding anything else to her plate. “I get that,” she said. “I’m actually sort of…unpacking again.” She laughed a little and gestured at her closet. “I thought color coding everything would look better. But I’m almost done.” She shifted the sweaters from one arm to the other and began hanging them up in the proper order. “Have you seen Wren?” she asked, glancing at Marina from the corner of her eye.

Marina gave Caroline a small shrug. She'd shown her earlier what she'd gone through with her father, thankful for her friend's gift. She didn't know if she could talk about the kind of betrayal she felt at her father's request. "well here, let me at least help. im a great color coder. Are we going my sleeve length too?" she asked. At the mention of Warren, she froze. It was only for a second and she hope Caroline hadn't noticed. She'd hardly spoken to him, not for his lack of trying. But Marina....marina had said all that she could. She wasn't going to let herself turn into some heart sick girl. "Did you know in the story Icarus, he doesn't just fall out of the sky? He lands in the ocean and drowns." she answered. She had too many things to deal with than worrying about icarus flying into the sun. He'd have to live with his choices, just as she did. And she wouldn't be sticking around to save him from Mira's clutches. "I already submitted a roommate swap, they'll get back to me if anything becomes available." her tone had a forced lightness.

Riley’s eyes naturally gravitated to Marina’s lips as she spoke, wondering suddenly how that might feel. They did look awfully soft but it wasn’t something that she could think about right now. With a gentle smile she pushed her thoughts aside and gave Marina’s hand a gentle squeeze with her own. “That I can definitely do” she promised, grabbing the book she had been reading and putting it back into her bag. “Let’s do this”

"That's my girl." Marina smiled at Riley with a playful wink. Her curly hair was braided back and bounced while she laughed.  "May I?" she asked dramatically, holding out her arm for Riley to take. If she was going to play a part, she might as well been genuine about it. It wasn't a very hard thing to pretend. Riley was beautiful, and in a life where she would actually put herself before her kingdom, she might have actually wanted to take her out.

Mira blinked in surprise as her sister came into view, schooling her surprised expression quickly as she watched the other curiously. “You know…For somebody that claims to hate me so much, you sure do seem to make a habit of seeking me out, little sister” Mira smirked softly, stirring her drink a few times with her straw before she sat back, taking a long sip as she waited. Marina would never reveal an ulterior motive without being pressed, but she couldn’t help but hope for a hint as to what the younger was up to. “My, my. So catty today” she pretended to chastise her, knowing it would push her buttons. It was almost too easy. “And here I would have thought that a break would have done you some good”

"Don't be too flattered. This is a direct order. If it were up to me, you'd chum for the kraken. " she smiled back, but her eyes were full of fire. Ignoring her sister's almost effective way at getting under her skin, Marina pressed on. "Father wants you to come home." she finally spoke the reason for her sitting down. "Neptune knows why and somehow it's my job to bring you there. But I'd rather lay out in the Sahara desert." Okay was it a tad bit dramatic? Yes. But at least the drama helped with the twitch to jump across the table and strangle her. "So I've decided that you are simply no longer worth the effort. You'll ruin everything yourself, just like you always do and I won't have to do a thing!"

​

“Huh?” Riley looked up from her book, startled by Marina’s sweet voice in her ear out of nowhere. “Oh, Marina, I don’t-” she began to protest before she spotted the loitering freshmen out of the corner of her eye. “Alright” she nodded, folding the book closed with her bookmark. “Girlfriend it is” Riley agreed, pushing down her nerves. It was only pretend, after all. There was no reason to treat it like a bigger deal than it was. “W-what do you need me to do?”

"Don't worry I'm not going to make you like make out with me. The last thing those pervs deserve is a show." she rolled her eyes. She took Riley's hand in her's, touching her lips to it softly. "Just walk out with me and ask where we are going to celebrate our anniversary. Sound ok?" She didn't want Riley doing anything she wasn't comfortable with.

OOOF. not her first body. sure eloise had seen pictures, heard people finding corpses on comms, even seen through their headsets in some situations. but being face to face with the rotting gross smell, and— was this normal?? for people people or even just them, superhero-type people? “is it a student?” she found herself asking. eloise didn’t know why the question was relevant, she didn’t know what else to say. was she supposed to do a prayer? “oh i’m alive.” she assured the girl, eyes remaining fixed on the corpse. “how long do you think they’ve been dead?” marina did say she was familiar with the dead. 

"No thankfully. Just an unlucky guy." Marina bent down, touching the corpe's arm with the back of her hand. "Still warm. The killer might still be in the area." she said standing up. Instantly her blades were out, scanning for anything suspicious. "Call it in to the PD. I'm going to look around." she told her. "Try not to move too much. We don't want to contaminate the crime scene."

Marina stood on the docks, flowers in her hands. She had asked to stay home a few extra days. but the request had been denied. “I’m sorry Akir.” she said softly. Akir’ahm was her brother, lost his life during Mira’s attack on Atlantis. It was why, not matter what anyone said, she would NEVER forgive her. Akir was an innocent. Footsteps were heard and she knew who it was instantly. “When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright were  buried with him.” she said softly, wiping a tear from her eye. She placed the flowers in the water, standing and turning to Dory. “sorry to keep you waiting.” 

Almost as soon as she’d finished unpacking, Caroline had decided she hated everything about the way her closet looked, so she decided to rearrange it. She didn’t pause in what she was doing as she heard footsteps approaching her room – the door swung open by itself to admit Marina. “Hi,” she said, looking over at her, a bunch of sweaters still draped over her arm. She winced as the brunt of Marina’s feelings washed over her, despite the defenses she had up to keep the thoughts and feelings of others from overwhelming her. “I’m guessing you just saw your sister?”

@atlanteanbabe​​

 Marina wasn’t sure when Caroline had become the person she came to when she was upset. After all she was one of Warren’s best friends after all. But somehow the red head ended up being the only person out of late who could pull her out of her thoughts. Probably because she could actually read them. “Not yet. I’m working up to it.” she said to Caroline “Wanted to see if you needed any help unpacking...trying to put this off as long as I can.” she sighed. 

“you don’t look startled to see a dead body.”

“It’s not my first body....hell it’s not even my tenth.” she sighed looking down at the poor soul. They were on a school approved recon and while it all was supposed to be observation shots had ended up being fired and they had been too late. She tried not to show how much that ate her up inside. she was always too late. “are you alright?” she asked as she started to look for evidence. The police would be here soon but maybe she could give a head start. 

“we can sneak out the back..” Marina was suddenly beside Riley. She slid herself in the seat beside her, leaning into her ear. “Don’t look but those freshmen who can’t take a hint has their sights set on us again. If we don’t get out of here I may decapitate them again. So you’re my girlfriend for the next 10 minutes okay?” she asked.

“Name one hero who was happy.“ Marina mumbled to herself as she clicked off another movie where the main character dies at the end. Weather it was reading, watching, or listening.  It seemed to be the only kind of media she could digest of late. Tragedy. After all, her father wanted her to make amends with her sister and find away for her to come home. As if she hadn’t ripped apart their family. As it Akir'ahm hadn’t died because of her. She gripped the glass in her hand too firmly, shattering in her hand. “shit.” she muttered, thankful for the pain. At least it brought her out of her spiraling thoughts. She’d been so consumed, she hadn’t even noticed that Warren had come back to the dorms. “I’m fine.” she muttered moving to go heal her hand before she cleaned up the glass.  

“humor me. what are you drinking?” Marina asked, sitting across from her sister, trying her best to be casual. Emphasis on trying. Despite her relaxed posture, her knuckles were white from clutching the side of her chair. Her time at home was anything but relaxing. Her father practically put her through the ringer about her elder sister. Saying she needed love and support. As if. The only thing Mira needed was the end of blade. YEARS and YEARS of training her to put the kingdom first and when she did she was being punished for it? It was bullshit.  Find a way to bring her sister home? She’d rather die. But that’s what it would take to keep her position then that’s what she had to do,  “Relax, it’s not a trick. That’s your thing. Not mine.” 

“When someone compliments you, just thank them. I don’t give compliments to people who don’t deserve them, you know.” Ren added. “It’s pretty classic. You might even like it.” He wasn’t sure if she was the kind of person who would be into musicals. She’d always been the logical type. A lot of logical people weren’t really into the absurdity of breaking into song. She said she noticed and he cocked his head at her. She was paying attention to him closely enough to notice he was seeing someone else right now? His jaw dropped a little as he took in her words and after the initial shock, he began to frown instead. He knew Mira was in the villain program but he had no idea the two of them were sisters. She seemed nice to him. He wouldn’t have ever expected something like this. Finally, he shook his head. Deciding what this was was jealousy. She was bring up the past Mira was still that person. Trying to poison his opinions on the current her. “Look, Marina. I understand if you’re worried about me but you need to know I’m a big boy. I can make my own judgements on people. I didn’t know she was your sister and trust me, I wouldn’t have went on a date with her if I did… but she’s nice to me. She seems like she’s taking rehabilitation seriously and we’re getting along. Honestly, it’s the first time in a while I’ve felt happy and wanted in a relationship. So just… please don’t say anything to her.” 

“Alright...thank you then Ren.” Marina smiled and nodded. Marina’s heart was racing in her chest as she spoke, each word feeling like a betrayal to herself. She spent so long hiding this from him, now it felt wrong. But he had to know. “Warren you’re not listening to me. Mira isn’t nice without reason. There’s no one on this earth I know better than her. If she’s being nice to you she’s got a motive.” she tried to get him to understand. His last words were like a slap to her face. “ Warren,I know I’ve hurt you. I made mistakes that I will pay for, for the rest of my life. But I’ve worn this every day since I you have it to me.” she removed her hands, pulling the feather from around her neck. She placed it in his hand. Her proof that she had never stopped loving him. “ If you want to be with someone else, I’m not going to stop you. I won’t deter you. You deserve to feel loved. But Mira won’t give you what you’re looking for. She’s going to hurt you. It’s all she knows how to do.” she was practically begging him. “If I see my sister the last thing that will be happening is talking.”

“Do you want me to stop saying things like that?” He asked, curious about what the kinds of stuff he was supposed to be saying to her now. Things were a lot easier on him when she was the one trying to stop him from catching feelings. Now… she was a little more forward with him and he was struggling with the idea of falling for her again. The two of them… together. After everything she did. Years of avoiding him. Months of pushing him away. Then, finally. Her faking going out with Rocky just to get him off her back. Now all of a sudden, she was interested? He didn’t know how to take it. Especially when he’d never really stopped being interested. He just felt so wary. “You should, it’s great. There’s a movie version. We could watch that.” He swallowed at the idea of this being a date. “But… you should know that we’re just hanging out. I’m dating someone right now.” It wasn’t exclusive yet but he felt safer telling her anyway. Now he could be the one keeping his distance.

“No....though I would like some guidance on how to respond?”  she told him honestly. It was a new policy she had been trying in their friendship. No matter how uncomfortable it made her. She wouldn’t lie to him. Not again. “That would be nice. I am pretty behind on surface pop culture. It seems the things I enjoy are considered outdated or classic.” she laughed lightly. But the smile fell. She thought about seeing him at that party with Mira. She had hoped it was just flirting...but this changed things. “Yeah I noticed...” Marina told him. She toyed with how to tell him about her. If she came off too aggressive, he might just think it’s jealousy. She couldn’t let him shut her out like this. “There’s something I need to tell you.” she said to him. “The day I broke things off Atlantis was attacked while I was gone with you. The princess was nearly killed and the city was in chaos. It was my sister who had attacked us.” she stopped taking a breath. “My sister Mir’ahm. Or Mira as she goes by on the surface.” 

“i’m smirking at you!” he explained. “it’s only because you’re looking good–” he told her with still his smirk on his face. “you’re welcome.” he told her as he bowed a little bit to her. “oh this–” he said putting his hands on his shirt. “i guess white t-shirt fits me.” he joked.

“It’s not too much?” she asked him curiously. Especially seeing how under dressed he was. “What’s your costume?” she asked. 

“Of course.” He said gently, “You can wear it as long as you need it.” Ren assured her, just wanting her to feel comfortable. Although he wished she’d realize how beautiful her skin was. “Don’t tell me what I don’t mean.” Ren warned. Of course he meant it. To him, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever set eyes on. Everyone he ever loved after her always came second to Marina. It was a glaring problem and one of the many reasons why he was a bit of a serial dater. “Oh- it’s The Phantom of the Opera. My parents used to take me to musicals and plays a lot when I was a kid. Before my wings grew in, so I didn’t have to strap them down for like 3 to 4 hours. I don’t think I could sit through one now but it was a great memory.” 

Marina pulled at the cape, so it covered her just a bit more. Enough so she could drop her arms Warren’s feather be hidden under the black fabric. “Sorr-” she started to apologize then remembered their conversation from the other. “You’re right. I just don’t ever think I’ll get used to hearing you say things like that. I never know how to respond.” she told him, figuring it was a better route than sorry. “ I’ve never seen it.” she told him, looking at the mask. “Maybe we could find it online? You could come over and we could watch it...together...”