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'If something tires you out, keep practicing at it.'
Her dad drilled that into her head when she was a child, which is why Zatanna is out on the roofs of Long Island at the moment. She found a quiet place where she could practice. And not attract a ton of attention. Dressed in her work costume, complete with long jacket, she's added on other accessory. A pair of aviator goggles. Why?
Standing on the edge of the roof, she could look so much like a damsel in distress, as she draws in a breath and then steps off into the void. She looks like she's falling.
Quietly, she whispers, "Ylf."
But the free-fall for the moment is nice.
Conner King can fly. Yes. Does he do it that often? Usually only at night. Late. When nobody can see. It's not like he sleeps a lot. Flight is relaxing.
It isn't night time right now, but he's high enough above the ground that he's not too worried about anybody recognizing him. He's got the afternoon off from work — no ships coming in means nothing to haul around — so he took the train out to Long Island, walked until he was sure nobody would see him, and then launched himself into the sky. He's been drifting around since.
Of course, he can't see who Zatanna is from where he is, but he can see a woman stepping off a high roof, and… well, he isn't officially a superhero or anything, but he does try to help where he can. So he dives out of the sky to catch the girl before she can hit the ground.
At about 10 stories off the ground, Zatanna starts to spread her arms so that she can fly, just to find herself colliding with someone that was coming in to rescue her. And it was similar to hitting a brick wall. She makes a soft 'OOF' noise as she finds herself caught, and bright cobalt eyes with a magical light all of their own find themselves staring up at Conner.
"Uh. Hi?" she asks, now that she can catch her breath, the young woman clearly caught off guard as she gives a winning smile. "Usually a guy buys me dinner first before trying to get handsy."
"Zee," says Conner, blinking at her. "You were falling," he adds needlessly. "No… uh… handsiness intended." He hasn't released her yet, but he isn't sure that letting go of her will keep her aloft. As a compromise he takes her elbow so he can keep her up easily if she starts to fall again, then releases the rest of her body. "Sorry about that. If somebody jumps off a building, I kind of feel like I should make sure they don't hit the ground."
"Oh, hi Conner!" Zatanna laughs a little, a touch of colors hitting her cheeks before she pushes some stray hairs back over her ear, once Conner lets go of her arm. "I guess the secrets out, I like to jump off random buildings." she winks cheekily at that as she seems to be able to float just find on her own. Magic? Telekinesis? Mutant ability? She's not saying yet as she seems to be able to float without a problem. "So. Didn't know you could fly there, handsome. What other tricks you have? Besides feeling like you're made out of soild brick." she points out, putting her hand over his chest for a moment.
Conner kind of figures it's magic. She is, after all, a magician. A nice job, if you can get it — and what better disguise for a real magician than doing parlor tricks for little kids?
"I tend to keep it a secret," the youth admits, not minding for a moment having the young woman's hand where it is on his chest — he's dressed in his usual leather jacket, jeans, a blue shirt under the jacket, though it's zipped up for once. He doesn't need much in the way of defense against the cold, but it never hurts. "To be fair," he adds, "I didn't know you could actually levitate, either. And we only met the once. Nice to see you again, though." And this, albeit said somewhat quietly, certainly seems sincere.
"Goodness, that's sweet." Zatanna smiles warmly, her whold demeanor bright and sincere - the ultimate show girl. "Tell you what. Take a girl for a spin around the city above the clouds, and we'll call it even." she says, withdrawing her hand. "I have to practice. I seem to get pretty tired when I fly." comes the admission. "And yes, we've only met just once.. so.." she pulls back to put proper distance between them and her smile turns coy. "Look but don't touch." With that tease, she starts to rise into the air, her leggings hugging her frame as her suit coat flutters in the wind.
Conner pauses a moment, his eyes fixed on her legs as they rise past him, and then gives a telekinetic push against absolutely nothing to catch up to her. "Seems more than fair," he says, then, after a moment, "I was hoping to see you again." There might be a very faint hint of a blush on his cheeks when he says this, though it's hard to tell — he gets a lot of sun in his job.
"Oh? How many times did you visit the Community Center?" Zatanna asks playfully, turning around as she tries to hold both conversation and the spell she had cast as she considers the young man before her, then continiues her little flight as she rises a bit higher in the sky. "So, besides wearing t-shirts that make a girl wonder if they're painted on, and flying, what else do you do, Conner?" she asks curiously, keeping her hands spread palm-down towards the ground - perhaps to keep herself balanced.
Conner hesitates a moment before he replies, because this is stuff he just hasn't shared with anybody. "I'm a weird kind of telekinetic," he explains. "I've got a telekinetic field that clings to my body, and I can use it to lift myself off the ground. I can spread it around other things to carry them, or break them, or whatever. It makes me pretty strong, too." He considers this. "I guess I can probably do other stuff with it, but I really don't have a lot of opportunities to explore what I can do, you know?" He swallows. "I go to the Community Center now and then. Mostly when there's free food. Not often. Just when work's slow and I'm not getting paid as much."
"Did you take that girl up on her job offer?" Zatanna asks, a grin spreading across her features as she nods. "So that's what I felt. Knew it wasn't quite skin." she admits as she turns to consider Conner, half pulling into a sitting Indian pose as she taps a fingernail against her cheek, already red from the cold, giving it a rosy demeanor. "What was her name… Julie?" comes the curious question.
"Yuliya. I haven't heard back from her — she didn't guarantee any job, just said she might have some work for me." He was pretty sure at the time that Yuliya didn't intend anything long-term, for that matter. He has a regular job. It just doesn't pay quite so well as one might hope. His standard flying position is straight, parallel to the ground, arms stretched back along his body, and he glances at Zee as he realizes he's being watched, one eyebrow quirked. "You cold?" He reaches for the zipper of his jacket.
"No need for you to get cold for me. I'm fine." Zatanna offers with a small laugh, before she considers, "Though it is a bit taxing to fly like this while trying to maintain a conversation. Perhaps you should offer to take me to get coffee or a bite to eat." She's clearly teasing in tone and showing that she is a bit old-fashioned - she won't out and out ask Conner, but will gladly make the suggestion.
Conner, despite often being somewhat dense, can take a hint. "I won't get cold," he says first. "It just looks a little strange that I don't. Would you like to go get a cup of coffee, Zee?" Dinner would be better, but for a first date coffee will probably do. If he manages to talk her into a second later, he'll have to save up.
It really wasn't a hint as much as a clue by four. Zatanna smiles in feigned-shock. "Oh, I'll have to check my schedule!" she says, her voice clearly teasing, but she's already floating backwards, like a balloon on the wind, she's allowing the currents to dictate where she may go, it seems. "It's all so sudden, and I'm a very busy girl…" There's something welcoming and challenging in the smile.
Conner smirks slightly — it's a very faint expression. He doesn't often spend a lot of time talking to anybody, so perhaps he's a little out of practice. He does, however, know when he's being teased. He may not have a ton of experience at socialization, but he's not stupid. "Well, if you're too busy," he says mildly. "I guess I'll just have to track down Yuliya and ask her instead." He makes no move at all to do this.
"Awww." Zatanna grins and comes closer to Conner, and then considers him, sizing him up for a moment. Finally, she snaps her fingers and grins brightly at him, mirth in her expression. "She's cute, I'm sure the two of you would have a good time." she offers to the young man. Oops. Probably not the reaction he was expecting her to make as she winks at him. "If you want, I can send you to her?"
Conner shakes his head. "If you're too busy," he says a little more seriously, "I'll probably just go back to my apartment, alone, and listen to the radio. I'd far prefer to take you for coffee — but if I'm getting teased, I -can- return the favor."
There we go. That response gets a smile of approval. "Well, you should never commit to just one girl. Variety is a spice of life after all. But yes, I would love to get a tea or coffee with you, Conner King." she offers warmly, placing a hand on his shoulder for a moment and gives him a serious smile. "My life is very complicated though, I hope you're ready for that."
"Zee," says Conner, the smirk falling off his face, "I'm an alien clone who escaped from the laboratory where I was created. There are people hunting for me. I think I understand 'complicated' pretty well." He offers his arm to her. "Coffee is not commitment," he adds, "but it's a pretty good first date."
"Wow. And here I thought girl that can tap into magical leylines was pretty impressive." Zatanna considers for a moment. "Oh, but coffee leads to a date, and a date leads to a second date, and sometimes by the third date, someone wants a commitment." she winks at him. "And then I have to feed them to my rabbit." But she does rest her hand on Conner's elbow to allow him to lead her on towards the coffee.
It seems to Conner that the best bet is not one of the street vendors he'd usually attend for coffee — but there's a diner down there, someplace still away from the city, and he can guide her down into what appears to be a fairly clean alley to one side. "I'll tell you what: we won't talk about commitment until at least the fourth date. How's that sound?" He winks at her in return, his smile coming more easily now. This is nice — and really, he doesn't have a ton of experience with nice.