Dick I: The Tongue of Languages

Day 1 (Tamaran)

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Soft lips pressed against Dick's. His eyes widened in shock as the redhead shifted more of her weight across his body. He felt his elbows buckle, knowing his back would've hit the ground if not for her strong arm around his neck. If she moved further to her left, she could pin him down. Though she was lighter than him, he estimated she had a six inch height advantage she could effectively use against him. Which, he told himself, was entirely why his whole body was focused on hers, to ensure she didn't attempt to move to the left.

Barbara.

The sensation of her tongue gently sliding across his teeth reminded Dick of his dilemma. Despite his wandering mind, his body had been stuck in an unusual fight or capitulate response. Unable to choose, he resorted to being polite. Holding her shoulders, he gently pushed her up into a sitting position. His upper body was forced to follow hers a moment before she released his lower lip from her teeth. Gasping as oxygen hit his lungs, he remembered what breathing felt like.

At least she seemed to have the same problem, though she was much more delighted by the fact. She smiled down at him, a pull at the corner of her mouth which slowly turned into a full grin. He returned her smile with a small one of his own, wishing for a better means of communication. He had been intending to try forms of nonverbal communication, but forgot what it was when she spoke first.

"Hi. You know, you're really cute?"

"You speak English?"

"Physical contact. I simply absorbed your language."

"You use your tongue to learn," Dick told himself he was twenty-seven, that he should resist, "tongues?" He resolved to resist next time.

"Not necessarily. But it was certainly more enjoyable this way."

"Pouvez-vous apprendre n'importe quelle langue?" Dick almost grimaced after his daft question like a rank amateur.

The woman licked her lips and leaned forward again, pausing when her breath mingled with his. "Numai limbi care sunt cunoscute pentru tine."

Dick recoiled at the sound of the language he hadn't heard in nearly two decades, his curiosity dimmed. Apparently she could absorb any language he knew or had half forgotten. The physical distance between them did allow him to focus again.

"Let's stick with English for now. My name's Richard, but everyone calls me Dick." Dick glanced down at the white linen tunic and pants he was wearing, distinctly aware he was Dick Grayson and not Nightwing. "And you are?"

"Koriand'r."

He repeated her name slowly, attempting to match her inflections. Dick assumed he had said her name correctly when she beamed at him. A moment later she collided their lips together again with such a force that he was knocked over and his feet flew into the air. He attempted to extract himself from her, but his attempts were forgotten when met her eyes. Her eyes were entirely emerald green, and despite the odd skin tone and height, Dick finally understood she was different. She was alien. And while he shouldn't have been able to tell where she was looking, he knew she was staring straight back into his eyes.

Koriand'r pulled back this time. "Why do you blush?"

"Well, where I come from, we generally only kiss people you know."

She wrinkled her nose. "That seems like an odd and restrictive custom. You now know my name. What other sort of things do you need to know about someone before you kiss them?"

"Generally, who they are. Where they came from. Who were those lizard men in gold and pink who were chasing them."

"Generally? You follow this generally?"

"Well," Dick thought he might be blushing harder, "yes."

"Okay, I'll tell you these things. I am Koriand'r of Tamaran. They are the Citadel, a blood hungry race without compassion or love. I was given to them as a child and eventually sold as a slave. They were transporting me, but were not careful enough. I escaped and stole a star-slider which crashed here. They pursued and would've recaptured me had you not interfered. They will persist, but I believe we have lost them for a time."

Dick watched her passion turn to furry then sadness. Having worked these kinds of cases before, Dick knew there was really no correct response. "I'm sorry."

"Do not be. The only thing you are responsible for is my rescue." Her kiss was much softer this time, and Dick realized it was meant to comfort him. He wondered how he must look to an alien being if she thought he needed comfort. He almost corrected her; he hadn't rescued her so much as assisted her. She had fought with a bloodlust that caused his pulse to quicken where the physical exertion hadn't. It was a dangerous sort of excitement he hadn't felt in a time. Fortunately, she didn't give him a chance to speak. "Is your space craft nearby?"

"My space craft?" Dick furrowed his eyebrows in genuine confusion. He could not recall any ship, though he supposed his clothes did remind him of old science fiction films' version of hibernation space travel uniforms.

"Yes, I know you are not from this planet and it is unusual for a foreigner to live here. If we head for your ship, perhaps we can avoid the Citadel."

Dick remembered standing with Bruce at the cave's command center looking at the mission plans on the screen, but he could not remember what they were. He did not remember leaving for the mission let alone what sort of transportation he had taken. That likely meant some sort of head injury which he sustained because, "There was an explosion." Dick spoke the words slowly, as if saying them would trigger the forgotten memories.

"There is nothing salvageable from your ship?"

Dick thought of the lack of technology or civilization where he woke up in an unknown forest, just himself in odd clothes among the trees. "No. You seem to know of this planet. Where are we?"

"This is the planet of my birth, Tamaran, eighth planet of Vega."

This wasn't just another planet, it was another solar system. Dick clenched and unclenched his hands trying to work through the problem. He had no idea how or why he was on Tamaran let alone how to return to Earth. Stranded, Dick felt the first signs of panic. Knowing he couldn't process his situation, he focused on hers instead. "Then we can return to your home and seek assistance."

Koriand'r bit her lower lip and sat back on the ground. Their legs were still touching, though she pulled her arms protectively across herself. "When I was given to the Citadel, it was part of a treaty between our races. One of the provisions was I can never return to Tamaran."

"So returning home could start a war?"

"Yes." Koriand'r nodd darting her eyes away from his. "The Citadel broke through all our planet's defenses. We are warriors, but we were overwhelmed. That's why the treaty was made, to protect the people."

"But there is something else." She was alien, but Dick could still tell when she was holding information back.

"Yes." Sighing, she brushed a stray strand of auburn hair from her eyes before finally meeting his. "I was heir to the throne, which was why I was chosen. I fear if I return, my people may become divided. If there was civil war we would never stand against the Citadel."

"Surely there is still someone who could help you, someone discrete."

"There is one." Surveying their surroundings, Koriand'r pointed slightly to the right of their previous heading. "I believe his home is north from here." She stood up and offered him a hand. Taking it, Dick found himself pulled to his feet with what appeared to be no effort. "It would be quicker if we flew."

"You can fly us both?"

As a response, she scooped him up under his knees with an arm around his back. Without a thought, he slid his arm around her neck for support as she floated a few feet into the air. Dick grinned; he was flying. The singular thought overrode any indignities, though he still wanted to make a Louis Lane joke. "So this someone can get us a ship?"

"If he is still alive, I believe he will help me if I ask for a ship for you."

"Only for me?" He found himself somehow disappointed that this woman he had only met a few hours before would be leaving him. And that left him feeling guilty again about Barb.

"Perhaps I will return home, as you said."

"But the war?"

"I have a duty to my people. That duty will always come first. I will see what has become of my home and do what is best for them."

Her situation was something cosmic, and so beyond Dick's usual pay grade. Koriand'r was war and politics, hedonism and bloodlust, lightening and thunder. She wasn't human and Dick could remember every paranoia Bruce had ever mentioned. But she was also someone in need of aid, which was something Dick understood. "Let me help you."

"You are not part of this, yet you offer assistance?"

"It's in my nature. And if your friend is going to lend me a ship I should return the favor." And figure out how to contact everyone back home. Bruce, Barb, Tim, and Alfred, they were family.

"Okay, I will tell you of my history but you are not obligated to assist me. I don't even know what I am going to do."

"Agreed." Dick watched the forest under them as she began to tell of her past. The thrill of flight and the warmth of her body pressed to his almost drowned out his homesickness.

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Notes: Translations by Google Translator. If there is a correction, please let me know.

"Pouvez-vous apprendre n'importe quelle langue?"
"Numai limbi care sunt cunoscute pentru tine."

French: Can you learn any language?
Romanian: Only languages that are known to you.

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