SKIN TO BONE // OPEN

[Artemis L. Crock]

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"Recognized; Artemis B-07." The computerized welcome drifted through Mount Justice, announcing the archer's arrival as her form materialized in a flash of yellow and white light. Even though she'd only been standing still for a few moment, that first step ached with a soreness that needled through her legs and up her back. Like clockwork, a soft groan escaped her lips as she lifted her hand, fingers grazing the nasty red splotch against the olive colored skin below her ribs. She'd gotten a little over-zealous in that last fist fight; someone had managed to sweep her off her feet, and she'd got a rather lovely kick to the stomach- rand a few matching sets for her thigh and there was probably another or two on her arms and back.

It was nothing she wasn't used to.

Tonight she'd planned to crash at the cave, no matter how much she'd been avoiding it lately. Her mom was out of town with a family friend, and Artemis couldn't bring herself to spend a single night in that house alone, so the cave was the better of the two options. Even if M'gann and Conner were asleep already, she wasn't the only one around.

Fingers traced upward and pressed into the stiff muscles of her neck, eyes fluttering shut as the archer blindly navigated toward the kitchen, opting to find her 'dinner' and something to drink before locking herself in for the rest of the night- if she was lucky, she wouldn't be interrupted. When her fingers failed to work out and of the tension in her muscles, her sighed in defeat, eyes opening as her fingers encircled the handle of the refrigerator, heaving it open and staring at it for a moment.

Ever traditional for someone whom couldn't decide what the hell sounded good at the moment, Artemis remained planted in front of the fridge for a moment before grabbing an apple and a chocolate pudding- the pudding was probably one of Wally's secret stash, but he'd find a way to deal- after all, he owed it to her, right? What kind of 'break' involved sharing a house with another girl?

A soft, bitter snort escaped Artemis as she thumbed the pull tab on the corner, tugging the lid free before discarding it in the waste-bin. Fetching a spoon from the drawer, Artemis made one final trip to the refrigerator for a bottle of water, before stiffly slumping into a chair. Around her, things were silent- aside from the soft hum of the lights- and she couldn't help but feel relieved for the lack of company.

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[Aqualad]

Things had more or less settled down. By no means did Kaldur think that the work was ever done. Even when the entire world was threatened one day, he felt relieved something would go back to the way they always were. The Team was a constant in Kaldur's life, a blessing he would have never imagined and yet, had become indispensable factor for him; a naive assumption he would be surely berated for if he voiced it aloud. He was aware it was dangerous to indulge himself in such an overly optimistic thinking (and sure that people like Kid Flash would dismiss his "pointless worrying"), that is why Kaldur only relished it moment for moment.

Regardless, it was guilty pleasure for Kaldur. He didn't want to risk getting complacent so he would only indulge if and only if he had done work to deserve the reward. This morning, he helped the navy with their search and rescue operation of the two pilots whose helicopter crashed two days ago. They might have been searching for corpses so they asked Aqualad to help speed the process and save resources. A good half and an hour and so, they found the two women alive but in need of immediate medical attention. It must be very difficult for surface-dwellers to navigate through the sea if it would normally take them a week to find people lost at sea.

It was a just the warm-up for the day. Kaldur proceeded to stopping a robbery on Rhode Island, an attempted kidnapping in the park, and a fight just outside the local school. He didn't feel very satisfied with the last one even though it had been the least serious of the three crimes. He had stopped a group of friends from beating their classmate to a pulp today. He merely delayed what could have been the inevitable if the boy couldn't resolve his issues on his own. There was only so much a hero could do especially to people of a different world.

He finished the rest of the day reviewing his Atlantean sorcery books, some of which Tula and Garth had sent from Atlantis so he could continue his studies on his own. When he finished reading through seven hundred fifty-two pages of runes, Kaldur was in a good mood. He deserved to be rewarded for such a productive day.

It was already very late. Perhaps Superboy and Miss Martian were fast asleep now. With Kid Flash away, the kitchen was surely empty. Kaldur couldn't contain his grin. He was being childish but Kaldur would forgive himself tonight. Today had been a very good day.

He exited the library with a thick book at hand, looking proud. He liked a lot of food the surface had to offer, like the cookies M'gann often made. But his pure taste buds, having eaten nothing but the fresh, raw delicacies of Atlantis, could taste every particle of sugar and salt as hot as a chili pepper. One bite was too much already.

He saved those packaged products found on the shelves of the grocery store for special occasions. Today was a very good day. That could count as one. Secretly, Kaldur had been longing to eat another one of those extremely sweet dough-made dessert. He needed an excuse to feast on the pudding he bought a week ago.

Someone was in the lounge - he hoped it wasn't Conner and M'gann. Walking into their private moment would be very awkward. He supposed it was he who was intruding in their home...

The sight of green fiber and golden blond hair pleasantly surprised Kaldur.

"Artemis, I wasn't expecting to see you here." He didn't mean to sound unwelcoming. Quite the contrary, Kaldur was glad to bump into a fellow outsider, on Artemis no less. He hadn't seen her around as often. She must be preoccupied in helping Green Arrow in Star City.

"What brings you..." Kaldur knew Artemis was helping herself with some snack but he didn't saw what it was until now. "Oh...are you...enjoying the pudding?"

He brought himself to smile. It was just a pudding; an easily replaceable pudding. Artemis didn't know. She must have assumed it was from someone else. After all, who would expect Aqualad stashing a pudding in the refrigerator? They would have assumed they had one back in Atlantis, just like how they would assume they had a kitchen with a working stove underwater. Intelligent as his teammates were, Kaldur couldn't help but be exasperated by the lengths of their ignorance sometimes.

ooc: whoo, old thread!

[Artemis L. Crock]

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Artemis was about three bites into the snack pack; having just taken the third bite as the sound of footsteps echoed off the walls of the kitchen and living room, rousing her gaze. Spoon wedged between her lips, she glanced to the right, catching sight of the ever familiar dark skin and short white hair. She supposed she should count her blessings, that if there was anyone that should crash her alone time, it would be Aqualad, the most reserved and polite of them all. Kaldur'ahm had to be one of the easier members of the team to communicate with. Speaking with him at first had been a bit awkward, mainly because he seemed to be wound so tight, but the last year or so on the team had presented Artemis with many oppurtunities to get to know their leader.

"Artemis, I wasn't expecting to see you here."Swallowing the bite, Artemis pulled the spoon from her mouth, "Oh...are you...enjoying the pudding?" Oh Gods; Artemis' mind shifted back to the guilty pleasure in her hands, wondering Kaldur was going to scold her for snagging one of the puddings from the fridge with the pure intent to get at a certain big mouthed red-head. Of course, most of them came and went as they pleased, and since most of the food was paid for by Batman- or at least, that was what Robin had told Wally once- most of the time, asking to eat something from the team's fridge wasn't really nessecary. But again, it wasn't unlike Wally or some of the other members to stash treats and things from home. But if they were outright claimed- there was no way of knowing they weren't part of the free-for-all.

So, of course, Artemis was not in the slightest bit aware that it was Kaldur's snack pack that she'd helped herself to. "Just thought I'd grab something to eat before I call it a night." She paused, glancing up to him from the cup, arching a brow. "I don't think Wally's gotten to the rest of them yet, if you want to grab one. Looks like Bats has the kitchen restocked." She couldn't recall if the stoic Atlantean had ever consumed sweets in front of her, with the exception of M'gann's baking experiments. Another reason she never would have suspected that the treat belonged to Aqualad.

---

RPN// aaaaaaah. KALDUR'S PUDDING. ARTY IS GOING TO FEEL LIKE SUCH A JERK. xD

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[Aqualad]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;]"I understand what you mean," Kaldur said, starring at the half-eaten pudding at her hands. At her suggestion, the end of Kaldur's lips twitched. "Or perhaps someone else had done the shopping," he added conversationally, careful not to put too much meaning into it as he took a seat nearby, placing the thick Atlantean book beside him. Kaldur took a good look of Artemis' appearance. Putting the pudding aside, Kaldur surmised Artemis had gone through a day as busy as his. Stopping by the cave just to eat was rather strange though. Kaldur would have gone straight home underwater to relax. He didn't often stop by the cave, not especially after a long day. If there was one thing the cave reminded him off, it was work. "A long day, has it? How is the vigilante work in Star City?" Kaldur asked. Having been acquainted with the other sidekicks, Robin, Red Arrow and Kid Flash, Kaldur was familiar with all sorts of stories, all different from city to city. But he had never know Artemis' despite the months they had been together as a Team. He assumed she worked in Star City with Green Arrow where Roy used to be.

[Artemis L. Crock]

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Artemis was otherwise oblivious to the stare he offered her guilty snack, completely unaware that it was in fact his. Her gaze lifted to him when he took his seat, brushing off the idea of someone else supplying the snacks, not putting too much though into it. Her mind lingered on the book for a moment, curious as to what he was reading. Artemis was, by no means, unfamiliar to night spent curled up under a blanket with a good book and a flashlight, but Atlantean books were, obviously, unfamiliar to her. A part of her wondered if Kaldur had ever been exposed to storied such as Alice in Wonderland- would he even like that kind of thing?

"A long day, has it? How is the vigilante work in Star City?"

His voice dragged her from her musing, and Artemis offered him a crooked smirk. "You could say that." She responded shortly, ignoring the soft pain in her ribs as she chuckled beneath her breath. "Things have been a bit of a hassle since Red left." She inwardly winced at the topic she'd inadvertently brought up; Roy was a bit of a sore subject for quite a few of them lately. She knew that Kaldur, Wally and Robin had been taking it especially hard, with them all being so close and what not. When she and Wally had been together, it was obvious that the Speedster was bothered by it, no matter how many smiles and cheesy jokes he made to hide it.

And then there was Kaldur; ever the quiet and strong one of the group, Artemis really hadn't had the time to press and see how her friend was doing. Kaldur and Roy had been the closest of all; best friends. Surely this wasn't any easier on him than it was on Green Arrow. Artemis wasn't oblivious to the hopeful glances Green Arrow took across the roof tops of Star City. Red Arrow had been scarce as of late, even with all of their searching for the original Roy Harper. They were looking, but she knew most were on the verge of giving up. She knew what everyone expected- they surmised that he was dead, lost to the world as another victim to Cadmus.

Artemis wasn't sure she believed that though. She respected Roy- the clone- for dedicating himself so strongly to locating that lost piece of him. She'd tried a few times to reach out and offer what help she could, but Red Arrow just seemed so intent on locating him himself. She didn't think less of him for what he was- How could she? Conner was just as much a clone as he was, and he was part of her family.

"Though Star City is nothing compared to Gotham City, I feel bad for Robin and Bats-" Her attempt to redirect the subject failed when that nagging feeling in her gut had her looking back up from her pudding to him. ".... How are you doing with all of this? With Red- and... Y'know."

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[Aqualad]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,text-align:justify;]Whether Kaldur was affected or not by the mention of Roy, he didn't show it. He seemed more interested in what ways Red Arrow's absence had affected Artemis. Once more, Artemis had rarely shared such thoughts to the Team, or perhaps just to Kaldur. This could be a good opportunity to learn more of the archer's life, one that did not have to include dark secrets or scandals. After all, before he was leader, he was a friend. Unfortunately, such kind idea did not let him see the bruises Artemis was hiding. But Kaldur did notice the break in her speech and the hesitance trailing on the dots of her last question. Should Kaldur be surprised? He expected the Team to be aware but being asked out of concern hadn't crossed his mind. He supposed they feared offending him but it would really not. At least not on the topic of Roy. He was everyone's - loosely - friend too, wasn't he? He locked his fingers together and looked at them for a brief moment, gathering the right words to express himself. "Not as easy as anyone else is taking it." It was his turn to look up. "But not as hard either because Roy has many friends, though he may wish he did not," Kaldur said wryly. "He has a lot to take in that mere words cannot comfort and I concur finding the original Roy Harper would be the first step. With the Justice League's resources aiding him in the search, I cannot offer anything better but to wait. I don't believe the circumstances have greatly changed our friendship. I only hope Roy is aware of that." Memories cannot fabricate friendship. Roy must know that Kaldur and the others didn't spend their time with the original Speedy but with him. If it's true that the switch occurred during Speedy's disappearance in North Rhelasia, then the friend Kaldur knew was the Roy they've all known for the past years. Nothing had changed that but to Roy everything was all different, all a lie. He would have to sort out his life to figure out that there were some truths in it and accept them.

[Artemis L. Crock]

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Slim fingers reached out to the water bottle she'd brought along with her snack, twisting the cap open with a soft 'pop' as she listened to Kaldur speak. He didn't seem visibly bothered, which was something Artemis appreciated. Anyone else would have been overly emotional, and she wasn't looking for comforting anyone awkwardly. She was perfectly capable of a level headed conversation, and Kaldur seemed to share the same mentality. Taking a sip of the water, Artemis' gaze lifted to him as his fingers interlinked, noting the look of thoughtfulness that crossed his features. Or what she assume was thoughtfulness. Aqualad really was never an open book.

She met his gaze carefully as he looked up, lower the bottle and setting the cap aside, not bothering to screw it back on. His description of Roy was accurate; even though Artemis did not know the elder archer all too well- only the image painted of him by stories provided from certain members of the team- read: the Red Arrow fan club, read: Wally- as well as those shared by Green Arrow. Oliver Queen was never the most cold hearted soul, and Roy was his son- no matter how much the clone doubted that now.

"I'm sure he is very much aware of it." Artemis replied steadily, fingers idly toying with the bottle-cap. "I'm sure you're right. He just seems to be taking a bit longer for it all to set in. GA is pretty worried for him, though. Red and I aren't the best of friends, but I wish he'd at least find the time, or the heart, to stop by and see him." Truthfully, this wasn't any easier on Artemis. The mission pertaining to Haley's Circus had brought the two of them closer- if not only slightly- and she had a certain height of respect for Roy. She never knew the original, so Roy couldn't really say that she had anything to compare him to. Nope, those hot-headed interactions were theirs alone.

Regardless, with Red Arrow busy looking for the 'original' Roy, Star City was busier than ever. It seemed that most of the attention was on Gotham City lately, which only made things harder for her, Green Arrow, and occasionally Black Canary. "Just hope he finds what he's looking for soon, we could really use him back." She glanced to him again, knowing that Kaldur probably agreed.

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[Aqualad]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,450px,true][atrb=style,width:115px;vertical-align: bottom;] speech - 3886b2 n o t e s artemis (ft. art) t a g s credits to lurker of gs

[atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width:320px; border-left: 1px solid #333333; padding-left: 5px;] Kaldur could neither speak for Roy nor Green Arrow on either his behalf but he saw where Artemis was coming from. And yet, he could also see why Roy would be distancing himself from his mentor more. He was not ready to face the man he had always looked up as a father-figure in his entire life and face him as the son or little brother with a skin and face that no longer felt like flesh, but plastic... Perhaps it would have been easier for Roy if he had someone to blame, if he had a loved one who knew and kept the secret from him. It would have been easier but not right. Not right at all. "Agreed," he said, thoughtful. He didn't voice the rest on his mind, not wishing to spoil the night with pessimistic speculations. Would Roy really come back once his quest was over? Would things automatically return to how they originally were? Kaldur had been pondering about this earlier, the important role of constants. He gave in to them to cherish the evanescent moments but he was aware of the dynamic aspect of life. There was no law, human, Martian or Atlantean, that dictated a state of equilibrium in living. It constantly changed, little by little, detail by detail. While time continued to tick, they would go through the changes whether they were pleasure and pain or joy and sorrow. "So, it has been Red Arrow on your mind lately?" he asked innocently, controlling the width of his smile. He didn't tease others often but it didn't mean he didn't at all.

[Artemis L. Crock]

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Kaldur's reply was curt, simple. It often was when it came to him, but something behind it made her wonder what exactly was going through his mind. Kaldur'ahm had never been particularly expressive when it came to his feelings and thoughts- other than what pertained to the mission or team members for serious matters- and it was rare when he did open up about certain things. But she did know- from both Wally and Robin- that Roy was his closest friend on the surface world. She imagined there would be a lot to think about.

Her mind wandered to Oliver; her 'uncle' and mentor. A quickly developing father figure in her life. None of this felt weightless; in fact, Red's behavior and antics lately were heavy, and as his 'replacement', she was kicking herself every time that look crossed Oliver's face. Was there nothing she could do? Was that relationship between father and son completely severed? And what about the guilt of losing the original Roy? Did Red Arrow blame him? Artemis had a lot of questions, and while sitting on the sidelines wasn't generally her style, she was pretty helpless to the whole situation. She missed the days where it was just them versus the bad guys; not all of this mounting drama and worry for her friends- and well, family.

Artemis practically choked on thin air when Kal'dur's question came out, and her head turned so fast she was surprised it didn't snap from the speed. For a moment, she just stared, completely spacing out for a moment to try and reword his question. Wait. Had the phrasing been intentional? Was he... Making a joke? Oh god she couldn't handle this right now. Instantaneously, Artemis' nose crinkled, as if insulted. "As if." She added in a rush, frustrated with the soft build of color in her cheeks. Really, his question just caught her off guard. "I mean, of course I'm worried for him, he's important to the team and GA. That stubborn idiot could get himself hurt." She added sloppily, shoving a mouthful of chocolate pudding into her mouth as if it might compose her- or force her to think before speaking.

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[Red Arrow]

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[atrb=background, i46.tinypic.com/28sa2xg.png] To be perfectly honest, he was running low on everything. Apparently gallivanting across the globe did put a strain on your budget. He wasn't completely tapped out, there was still a sizable amount left but it was making the archer conscious of the fact that he wasn't actually spending his money. Well, it wasn't like the real holder of the funds was around to use them and Roy was putting them to good use, so there really wasn't any harm. Lying was going to be a favorite past time of his, that he was almost positive of. The last month he spent in Tibet, after an informant told RA that Luthor had recently shipped over an unlisted crate of items to a close off facility. Weeks of sleuthing and he came up empty, he was starting to think that he was always going to come up empty. Roy was certain of one thing though, he was going to find that guy who fed him false information and get his money back, with the liberal use of his bow as a beating stick. After another week wasted in Gotham trying to find the man with his, Roy had given up. He symbolized this 'giving up' by kicking the nearest trash can which he was more than certain landed on a stray cat if the strangled "meow" was anything to go by. Good thing he didn't like cats. The telephone booth was in worse shape than he remembered, the memory of the blonde he confronted here months ago resurfacing. His brow knitted together at the thought, Artemis was connected to the team, the group he hadn't spoken to in months. His instinct was to go to Star and check in with GA first, but if he did that chances were the guilt would resurface and he'd leave the first chance he got. Mind as well see how the junior Justice League was doing before he changed his mind. Pushing aside the folding doors, the archer was instantly engulfed in the familiar white light. Recognized; Red Arrow, B-06 The monotonous voice announcing his arrival, why couldn't there be such a thing as a silence arrival? The cave was the same as he last saw it, but if any of the bits of news that Red Arrow did manage to pick up here and there, he knew there were more bodies running around the place than before. Seeing the main hall was empty, Roy headed to the kitchen, whether the team was there or not, he could still raid the place. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat, his soles of his shoes barely making a sound as he made his way there. Once he was in ear shot he caught the sound of two familiar voices, one in particular grabbed his attention. Was it too late to make a U-turn and pretend that he was never here? Most likely. Sighing, he opted to continue his way. "Hey." he greeted the pair as if him stopping in was nothing out of the ordinary, taking the empty seat next to the other archer. Folding his arms on the counter, he glanced over to Artemis, noticing the pudding cup, "Thanks." he said, taking the nearly empty snack pack and the blonde's spoon then eating a spoonful. "Who's the stubborn idiot." he inquired catching the tail end of their conversation. He already had a pretty good idea who it was.

[Aqualad]

Stubborn was one way to describe Roy but Roy would probably beg to differ about being an idiot. Kaldur smiled peacefully to himself, absently taking the Atlantean book in his hands and began shifting his fingers over its cover as he weighed in his head the decision to leave now or keep Artemis company some more. It wasn't as if there was much walk to go to the zeta tube once they move to their own homes. He supposed he might as well wait and watch Artemis empty Kaldur's dream pudding spoon by spoon.

He had resigned to be silent, lest Artemis brought anything else up, but neither of them needed to wait that long to ponder on a new topic. The computer voice of the zeta tube rang throughout the sleepy halls. Who could it be at this hour? Batman came to Kaldur's mind instantly. This did seem like the appropriate time for him to be active if his name were any indication.

But it wasn't Batman, not even Robin. Of all people and right at this moment, it was...

"Roy!" Kaldur almost stood up from his seat from the surprise. Roy appeared indifferent, acting as if his appearance in the base had no meaning. Kaldur considered that. He was probably just passing by but ran in the unfortunate moment to awkwardly bump into the team members. But what he - they - all wanted for it to be really mean slipped out of his mouth.

"You're back!"

Kaldur didn't backtrack on what he said. He hadn't caught up to it himself.

"We were just talking about you," Kaldur said, "about how worried we are," he amended with a chuckle. "How are you, old friend?"

Tanz:
The main reason I took long to reply
was because I needed a matching template.

[Artemis L. Crock]

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Of all the freaking people to appear from a 'disappearance', it would be Roy freaking Harper. And of course he was going to be a pain in the ass from the moment he stepped into the room. There was a brief, flat look offered in his direction, as if Artemis was trying to decide if this was just a case of seriously dumb luck or if he had some kind of bug in the room so he knew just when to make an appearance. And of course, in the midst of her staring, she was too late to intercept the hand that snatched away her midnight snack.

She had half a mind to shift the conversation to Wally; it was applicable, right? Wally was stubborn. And an idiot. Okay, maybe the last one wasn't true, she'd been there for his science geek ramblings, but Red could believe that, right? After all, she was hardly in the mood for the verbal brawl this was likely taking a turn for. But of course, of course Kaldur had to just toss her right under the bus.

"You're back!"

The words that slipped from Kaldur's lips had her heart slamming against her ribs, and instantly, all fury and irritation over her lost pudding was cast away. Her eyes flashed briefly to the Atlantean, immediately remembering how hard this must have been on him. Kaldur and Roy had always been terribly close, and she knew how much he and the others- her included, though she'd never admit it- missed having Roy around. She was not longer insecure about her place on the team, no, she knew she'd always have a place here, as would Roy.

"We were just talking about you, about how worried we are. How are you, old friend?"

"Some more than others." She added absently, passing Roy a less than amused glance. After all, that was her pudding. She'd deserved it. And who went around stealing half eaten pudding? Not cool. "Where have you been? GA's getting a bald spot and I'm totally not taking responsibility for that." It was a half-true statement; Oliver was worried for Roy. After all, she knew the elder archer was worried about the original Speedy, but Roy had been around just as long and had been a son to him. Okay, so it was a stupid question in the end, she knew where he was. It just annoyed her that he seemed to against the help. Sure, some people were starting to loose hope, but if he wasn't so stubborn, she would have gladly helped. Besides, it wasn't like the life was any stranger to her.

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