1446/On Kissing and Boundaries

On Kissing and Boundaries
Date of Scene:	23 April 2024
Location:	Penguin Park - Animal Kingdom
Synopsis:	Following their dinner at Korma, Ryoko and Sarah head to the zoo. Ryoko takes Sarah to the Insect House and they end up kissing in front of the scorpions. They're totally just roommates, right?
Cast of Characters:	Ryoko Gushiken, Scorpia

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Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Ryoko led Sarah out of the restaurant by the hand, and then let go as she pointed in the direction of Penguin Park. "It's not too far a walk, you think you can keep up?" She asks so seriously as if she isn't the one wearing stiletto heels, and then just sets off.
    Of course she doesn't actually leave Sarah behind. Indeed she makes sure to stay right by her side the whole way there. It does not take very long for her to reach out and grab hold of Sarah's hand again, either. Because it feels nice. And besides, she wouldn't want her charge wandering off and getting lost.
    As they walk thru the park toward Animal Kingdom, she explains just where they're going. "A zoo is a place they keep various animals. You can go see all sorts of creatures. Seems like a great place for you to go and learn about this world."

Scorpia has posed:
    Sarah marveled at the feel of Ryoko's hand in hers. It was a newer sensation, one that she liked. Very much. She could never hold hands with Perfuma, and that had suited them just fine. But this. This was delightful.
    Focusing more on what the pretty girl at her side was saying, versus how she was feeling about the pretty girl, Sarah eyes were wide and sparkling with her excitement, "Oh oh oh! I can't wait! This is going to be so much fun! We have all sorts of strange animals back home! I wonder what ones here look like?"

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Seeing the excitment on Sarah's face at something so simple as a visit to the zoo, Ryoko was pretty sure she was done for. There was something so pure about this girl who had just stumbled into her life. She knew there was a kernel of darkness inside everyone, a pit of despair and hatred that festered and could grow. That was what she tapped into to make Grimm. But she was pretty sure if she tried to turn Sarah into a Grimm, nothing would happen. It was impossible not to feel good around her.
    "So they've got the animals separated into separate buildings," she says as they walk through the entrance to the zoo, and she guides them toward a pavilion with a map. She points as she says, "I haven't been to this one before, but penguins are usually cute, primates are cool because they're so much like us," she says, as if they aren't primates (she is, at least), "and I always like the insect house."
    Wiggling her fingers so that they lace between Sarah's and then squeeze, she looks from the map up to the other girl's eyes and smiles a little. "Where to?"

Scorpia has posed:
    Ryoko was letting her choose. Laughing with a sound of pure joy, she picked her companion up and hugged her tight, "I want to see it ALL with you Ryoko. Let's go see them all." Setting her back down and grabbing hold of her hand again, Sarah brushed a loose strand of hair from the pretty girl's face, "Let's go see the insects first. For you."

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Ryoko could not help but smile. Sure, she loved the insect house. What girl didn't love creepy crawly things? But really, she'd suggested it because she knew this girl's name was Sarah, and well, the arachnids are in the insect house too. She wondered how her roommate would react to seeing scorpions.
    "The insect house it is," she said, and set off, giving Sarah's hand another squeeze. She wasn't sure what to say then, though, because she was terrible at small talk. Professionally, she almost never had to do it. The only person at DUST Entertainment feared more than The Grim Queen was Ember, her second-in-command. Nobody ever expected her to make idle chit-chat. But this was different. She wanted to know more about this girl.
    "So, where you're from, what did you do to relax or have fun?"

Scorpia has posed:
    There was that smile again. Happiness bubbled up inside of Sarah as they walked towards their destination, giving Ryoko's hand an affectionate squeeze back, "Oh, there's SO much to do in Etheria. Man. I could show you the world, Ryoko. There's everyone's kingdoms we could go do the rounds, and visit everyone! We have a lot of balls! Do you know what balls are? I don't really like dresses, but all the other Princesses wear them! Gosh, they're so pretty. I couldn't have balls in my kingdom. Not yet. The castle isn't done being rebuilt! We would go out on our friend Sea Hawke's boat! Go camping in the Whispering Woods now that's safe. There's a lot of nature there. Not so many big cities and buildings."

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Ryoko listened to her roommate talk as they walked along the path toward the Insect House. She did not know how that girl always managed to have so much energy in her voice. Everything she said with an exclamation point. It wore a person down. Got under their skin. Gave them feelings. Gave her feelings. She did not know what to do with these feelings.
    "Yes, I know what a ball is," she says, her lips twisting into a frown. "My step-family owned a hotel that had several grand ballrooms." That is, until she burned it down around them. She leaves that part out though. "There were balls and banquets all the time, but I never got to go to any of them because I was always working. Things like that were for my step-mother and step-sisters to enjoy."
    They arrive at their destination and she pulls the door open. She looks at Sarah, and she can't help but smile again. "After you."

Scorpia has posed:
    Sarah did not like the look of sadness that shadowed the pretty girl's face. Scooping Ryoko up once again, she walked them off to the side of the building and she just held her there, her arms wrapped protectively around her, her face buried in her hair.
    Pulling back, and resting one of her hands on Ryoko's hip, the other cupping her cheek gently, Sarah's eyes were wide, sincere, and shiny with unshed tears, "I will never let anyone use you like that again, Ryoko. I promise. On my power as a Princess." Standing there and gazing into her pretty friend's pretty eyes, she waited for her words to hit home before releasing her body, only to grab her hand and walk her through the door, "Now. Teach me about insects!"

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Ryoko did not have much of a say in the matter of being taken aside and hugged. She didn't object, though. She certainly didn't mind having Sarah's arms wrapped around her holding her tight, or Sarah's face in her hair breath hot against her scalp, or her face held close to Sarah's chest so that she could hear her heartbeat. She rather liked it actually. She liked it a lot.
    Standing there, she just gazed up at Sarah, leaning her face into the touch on her cheek. This girl was so genuine. So sincere. And so righteous. It was cute how she was already prepared to go to blows for Ryoko. Ryoko definitely liked good minions. But she didn't want this girl to be a minion. Besides, she was entirely certain they were going to cross paths on the other side of the Veil eventually, and they were not going to be on the same side of the fight.
    She smiled. Both of her hands reached up to cup Sarah's face and brush away the unshed tears. "It's so sweet of you to promise," she says, softly. "But I don't get used now. Not any more. My step-family died when their hotel burned down."
    On to the insects! "Okay, so let's go look at my favorite first," she says, and starts to lead Sarah toward the terrarium with praying mantises. "This is a praying mantis. The females are much larger, and sometimes eat the males after they mate."

Scorpia has posed:
    Her heart full, Sarah refused to let go of Ryoko's hand for anything. Glad to know the terrible people in the pretty girl's life were gone, she could focus on keeping them out of her future.
    As they stepped up to the first display and Ryoko started explaining the cute little insects to her, Sarah had her face smooshed against the glass, laughing a full belly laugh, "What fierce warriors! I would gladly have some of them as friends!" Turning to her roommate, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "Show me everything."

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Ryoko did not actually know very much about insects. But it was a zoo and there were informational placards. There were grasshoppers and roaches, termites and ants. But what Ryoko was interested in was something else. She steered them thru the building to the arachnid section. First it was spiders, but then? Then there were several different species of scorpions.
    She taps on one of the aquariums where there is a Brazilian yellow scorpion, and says, "These little menaces have been invading the cities back home. They're the most dangerous scorpions in South America."
    She looked to Sarah to see how she reacted. Everything so far had been just as adorable as she expected. Why was it that the big strong ones were always so weak for cuteness? Why was she so weak for this big strong one?

Scorpia has posed:
    Sarah was learning so much! Her friend was a very good teacher. All these insects were so small, so different from the wildlife back home. When they stopped in front of the case, the one Ryoko said held menaces... she stalled. Eyes wide, with an emotion close to awe, her mouth forming a small 'o', Sarah stepped to the glass and rested one of her human hands against the glass, right next to one of the insects. And she started talking to it, in the softest tone of voice, "Hey there little buddy. Look at you, your tail is so long and pointy! I bet you get all the ladies with that. And your pincers look so strong!" She stood there in silence for a few moments, just watching the scorpions roam around.
    Finally, she turned to look at Kyoko with the gentlest look on her face, "Thank you. For taking me here first. This isn't your actual favorite place in the zoo, is it? Or did you just want to show me this exhibit of my kinfolk?"

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    Kinfolk? Sarah had spilled many beans, including her real name, but she hadn't said anything about being related to scorpions. Ryoko had guessed but to see how the girl talked to the little critters and to hear her call them kinfolk? Then she remembered the other people from this world she knew. Catra is a cat. Glimmer is very glimmery. And Sarah is...
    "Are you telling me you're related to scorpions?" Ryoko turns and looks up at Sarah, with confusion and disbelief all over her face. How? She's clearly human. Well, okay, she's actually clearly not human. She's not even from this world. But scorpions? Ryoko thought she was just being cute about the name. But names have meaning, and in Etheria apparently that meaning is always absolutely literal.
    But it definitely scored points with the girl, so she's absolutely going to take credit for that. She bites her bottom lip as she looks up at Sarah and drags her lip out into a smile. "No, it's not my favorite, but I do love it. I love the mantises especially. But I knew they had scorpions here, and well, your name." She just smiles and looks up at the girl. "I just wanted to see how cute you'd be. Very, in case you were wondering."

Scorpia has posed:
    She almost felt bad about letting it slip she was related to scorpions... but she'd honestly tell the pretty girl anything. This girl had stayed by her side since she got to Earth, and had done nothing but help her, and be kind to her, in her own way at least.
    Sarah had other thoughts about scorpions, and secrets, but they were lost when she saw the look on Ryoko's face. Biting her lip, and then smiling? And then confessing she brought her here to make her happy? She couldn't stop herself, even if she wanted to. Grasping both sides of Ryoko's face with her hands, she leans down and captures those sweet, smiling lips.

Ryoko Gushiken has posed:
    There isn't anything Ryoko can do, really. Sarah's hands take hold and their lips touch before Ryoko even fully realizes what happened. Exactly what she wanted, but it happened so fast she wasn't even ready. With mischief in her heart she broke away and murmured, "Boundaries," before reaching up to wrap her arms around Sarah's neck at the elbows and pull herself back into the kiss. Her eyes close and one foot pops up off the floor. That's how you know it's good.

Scorpia has posed:
    Sarah's heart was beating so fast as this girl, this beautiful girl, brought up their very first conversation ever before continuing the kiss. Smiling into the kiss, she wrapped her arms around Ryoko's waist and kissed her with all the happiness she was feeling.