Surprising Dreams
This story has been hitting me in the head for the past few weeks, so I decided to fully write it and post it here. It's set in the universe of my main Teen Titans fiction, where they are in a dark, medieval-esque world, filled with dangers in every corner. Jinx is a Gypsy, though that changes not Jinx as a whole. Her appearance has been slightly modified, as well. She maintains her tall, lithe body, and her pale skin, but her bright pink hair is gone! She has pink hair, but she is currently bald.
Jinx's current age is 19, where Raven is 18. Yup, all that nasty Trigon business? Already happened.
Ain't that just dandy for our girls? Well, I think so!
Anyways, on with the story.
Disclaimer: Do we really have to go through this again? It's quite obvious I own none of these characters, otherwise I'd be writing up canon, and not fanfiction. I mean, just look at some of those comics. They're even crazier than some of the stuff we see here. But, 'ey, if you wanna give me the characters, that's all fine by me!
"Do you ever dream?" was the very first thing that Jinx had heard Raven say in the whole week.
It was a cold day, like most preceding it. The girls were sitting on two mattresses located on the half-floor of an abandoned warehouse in the core of the slums—the worst possible place to be in Jump city if you were not either very powerful, or very lucky. The main floor contained hundreds of barrels, and crates—both broken and intact— not to mention a few sacks stuffed with potatoes scattered throughout the floor. It was, like the rest of the warehouse, old, dirty, and a seemingly effective place for spiders of all kinds to breed.
There was a ladder going up to a half floor, where four straw mattresses—two currently occupied— were laid on the floor, close to the walls. Placed on the walls were four candle-holders, one for each mattress. Jinx was shivering visibly, small puffs of hot air ascending from her mouth and reddened nose every second or so, though that much was to be expected. The gypsy, not having prepared for a night spent without the comforts of a warm, cozy place, wore only a simple black fitted tunic covered with a bright purple surcoat, a short black skirt, purple leggings and a very worn-out pair of leather boots.
Raven was, unsurprisingly, largely unaffected. Despite her wearing only a black tunic that managed to cover her whole body, the daemoness did not turn red at the touch of cold, nor was the vapor in her breath visible against the cold nights of Jump city. Her long, blue cloak was, of course, hiding most of those features. If asked, Jinx would affirm vehemently that it was as if Raven was not breathing at all.
After a few seconds of having Jinx staring awkwardly at her as if the sound of her voice was one of the signs of the end of the world, Raven's eyebrow rose to match her curiosity.
"Do you ever dream, Jinx?"
"Wha—of course I dream. What kinda question's that? I was thinking for a moment I'd angered you or something." answered Jinx, sniffling loudly afterward.
"I see." was all the mercenary received from Raven, which made her level of curiosity take a dramatic leap upward.
"Why's that?" asked Jinx, suddenly all grins and wiggling eyebrows. "Want to know if I dream of you?"
Raven, seemingly unfazed by the pink-haired girl's attempt at teasing, continued to stare, causing the thieving minx to shiver even more. It took less than thirty seconds for Jinx to start fidgeting uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at Raven's eyes.
"And what," started Raven again, completely ignoring both the younger woman's lack of comfort and her previous question. "Do you dream about, Jinx?"
In the three odd months that the thief had known Raven, through sour fights and sweet, almost tentative reconciliations, the daemoness had never been one to pry much into other people's lives. Not that she really needed to voice her questions, though, considering her abilities.
Well, this is it, thought Jinx, I'm going to wake up soon and find out that this is one of those really messed up dreams where she turns out to be a normal woman or—or, mercy, one of those crazy inquisitors.
Jinx risked a glance at Raven's eyes, to check if her nightmares hadn't become truth. Raven remained just as she were a few moments ago, but with a slightly cross expression. Jinx didn't quite understand why Raven looked like that.
Oh, Jinx almost face-palmed herself, Empath. Right.
Raven nodded, curtly, and the mercenary decided that answering her was probably a very good idea.
"Well, I dream 'bout lotsa things, Venna," started Jinx, finding the situation oddly curious. "For example, last night I had this crazy dream, and," she tried, giving a soft laugh that was so completely uncharacteristic of her that Raven did a double-take, eyebrows at the ready, "you're going to love it, I know.
"I was in this very dark, very strange place, right? It was all rocky and hazy and purplish and there were these things, these... white, furry things following me, and—ah, I was running from them! Dunno why, though. I kept running for a while, throwing hexes at them every once in a while, and, suddenly, they weren't there anymore. That place was gone, as well. Then," Jinx stopped dramatically, hands rising above her head as she looked around, as if she were her dream-self, confused by the sudden lack of furry creatures and rocks, "I was flying! The skies still had that odd, purplish haze, but it was so great! I mean, I'm no stranger to heights, but that was just—wow.
"I was also eating ice-cream."
Jinx looked pleased with herself for the slightly amused, slightly horrified expression on the Titan's face, and suddenly was all grins and sharp teeth, staring at Raven's form with wide eyes, pupils rounded so much they almost hid the unusual colour of her eyes. She scooted closer to the champion, hooking her pallid, cold arms around hers in a very affectionate manner, and when Raven made no move to undo their half-embrace, the mercenary rested her head on the demi-daemon's shoulders. That the sorceress didn't mind her ax-murderer grin also was a very important plus.
"Why, what about you, sweets? Dream much about me?"
Raven stood silent for a few minutes, which led Jinx to the conclusion that she either stepped into another private matter, or she indeed dreamt about her. She wasn't sure which one was better.
"I... I do not dream." was all Raven said on the matter.
"Of course you dream, Venna. Everyone dreams! I'm sure even that prick of a leader you have dreams, sometimes. At least I hope so." said Jinx, pausing to consider something. After a few seconds, she frowned, "Does he even sleep?"
"Yes, I assure you he does." answered Raven in-between a mirthless chuckle.
Raven opened her mouth, but closed it just as quickly, looking almost...hesitant. Jinx had seldom seen Raven hesitate before something. The sorceress was usually an iron wall of will and resolution.
"You don't understand, Jinx," started Raven, looking at her in the eyes. Jinx could swear she saw a few drops of sadness inside the purple orbs. Raven glanced away before continuing, "It's not that I do not remember my dreams. I am unable to dream."
"What do you mean, you are unable to dream? What happens when you sleep, then?"
Jinx narrowed her eyes, looking questioningly at her lover.
"You do sleep, right?"
Raven sighed. "Yes, my sleeping continues to be a fact. Why are we here, Jinx? You told me you wanted to show me something."
"I did, but now I wanna know what happens when you sleep. Is it...is it just darkness, or...?"
"I wish." answered Raven, giving a small chuckle while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, Jinx, my sleeping moments are filled with old memories."
"What sort of memories?" asked Jinx. She was even more curious now.
"Memories I do not wish to discuss now."
"If not now, then when? Look, Raven, I know we don't exactly have a relationship built on trust, but these memories, whatever the bloody hell they are, are eating at you! I don't need to be an empath to know you're in pain just from remembering them. Why won't you let me in?" asked Jinx, looking at her with an almost hopeful expression. "I just want to make you feel better."
"Well," began Raven, an uncharacteristic playful twinkle dancing on her intense eyes, "You could always start by kissing me."
Jinx hesitated for a few moments, weighting down her options. For one, she could pursue their current conversation, and possibly sate her curiosity... and for another, she could have lots of fun with her Raven. She decided that they could always have more fun later, and opened her mouth to speak, but found her eyes stealing glances at Raven's figure; Her eyes. Her lips. Her chest. Her waist...
The confused mercenary shook her head, but the thoughts of Raven and what she could have been doing with her flooded her mind, and what was it that she was thinking about again? Oh, yeah, kissing Raven. Now that was a good plan.
Jinx grinned widely, and used her free hand to cup Raven's right cheek as she bent forward to kiss the daemoness on the lips, purring with content. As their kiss grew in intensity and passion, all remains of their previous conversation disappeared so thoroughly, it might never have happened in the first place.
One kiss turned into two, two turned into four, and soon Jinx was laying on top of Raven, planting lazy kisses across the champion's neck. Raven had one of her arms around Jinx's waist, while the other gently caressed the mercenary's back. With touch of Jinx's lips on Raven's body, though, the mercenary started to feel a nudge in the depths of her mind. Like a memory, long forgotten, trying to get her attention. Like a...
Dream. Damn...I can't—I can't remember. What dream?
Jinx stopped her kisses to look Raven in the eyes, ready to ask about her odd feeling when she noticed her gaze wasn't being returned. In fact, Raven didn't seem to be facing her at all, which was odd, because not a few moments ago her eyes were glued with that of the pink-haired woman.
"Venna...hey—Venna. What is it?"
Raven hesitated for a few moments, then looked Jinx in the eyes, her expression conveniently blank. That made the thief's senses even more suspicious. She knew Raven was hiding something, and it was related to that strange sensation, but what was it?
"What do you mean?" asked Raven, her voice devoid of any emotion.
"Raven." started Jinx, pushing herself up with her arms to look at Raven from above, her eyes narrowing down considerably. "We both know you already know what I'm talking about, so let's not play this game."
"I thought you loved games. Was I mistaken?" asked Raven, with a voice that was not her own. She spoke with a low, sultry tone that made Jinx shiver, and the voice laced with thoughts and possibilities inside the minx's head. Jinx steeled her will and shook the lewd images away, resolute in the beginning of what she knew was ire. A suitable response for such betrayal.
Oh no, you didn't. You didn't! You—how dare you mess with my thoughts? After everything I've been through!
Raven frowned. She hadn't meant to say those things to Jinx. In fact, she wasn't very sure how they even got in their present situation. One moment she was trying to steer the conversation away from her past, and the next they were mashing lips together. Not that the sorceress would ever complain of such a change of settings, but it seemed and felt wrong to her. And now...
She glanced at Jinx's face, and noted how quickly the emotions were changing. First, there was a deep concentration, with her brows furrowed and her eyes fixed somewhere beyond her. Then, there was surprise, as they shot high in the air, her mouth opening slightly and her pupils dilating. Afterward, however, there was only a deep sense of hurt...and a fury boiling inside Jinx's eyes that Raven hadn't seen in a long time. Not since Brother Blood.
Brother B—that was the connection! Jinx wouldn't act that way unless someone was trying to invade the privacy of her mind. The demi-daemon felt her own ire building up as she allowed her mental barriers to retract slightly, expanding her empathic influence to the near vicinity.
Strange, thought Raven, There's no one near us with telepathic or empathic means. Only...
Raven glanced at Jinx again, and noted how the fury was focused solely on her. It was a terrible thing to behold, and to feel, because without her usual empathy sealed, she could feel the edge of Jinx's mind...and it was disconcerting. She was comparing her to Brother Blood. She...she couldn't be that bad, could she?
Gulping loudly, Raven shrouded herself in a mantle of darkness and disappeared, re-appearing by the edge of the room. She was looking at her lover, and she could just feel the muscles on her own face moving against her will, showing Jinx just how guilty she truly felt. She felt as betrayed as Jinx, but that didn't erase what she did. Raven knew how scared the feline-like woman felt when someone even as much as touched her mind in an intrusive manner. She needed to remedy the situation, and fast. But first...
'Whoever is responsible for this, you better tell me, or I will rip the answers from you,' mentally vocalized Raven, her own voice lacing with a more daemonic sound, a dual-toned torrent of ice and fire.
There was silence for a moment, and then the answers came.
'Uhm, it was—it was me. A-and Fear, we...we thought she was getting too close, too fast. Please don't be mad...' trailed off a voice inside her own head. It was high-pitched, unlike her own voice, and sounded as if it belonged to a child.
'I did not expect this from you. I am extremely disappointed. Who else was part of this?'
Raven could feel her own power slowly suppurating from her core, but she didn't care, not at the moment. Her hair began to float ominously, her eyes were glowing with white, bright power, and the shadows seemed to elongate and twist around her form. There were words threatening to escape her lips, powerful words, terrible words, born from the mouths of old gods and daemons. She could almost taste them, as if they were as part of herself as her Emotions were. Screw fast, she would have to resolve this now, lest something truly beyond her control would happen.
'There, uhm. There were also others. Happiness, and...' answered Timidity, her already fading voice disappearing completely, followed by a loud, surprised squeal.
'And what, Timid? ...Timid?'
'Why so grumpy, mmh, Raven? Timidity and I are just having some fun, aren't we, dear?' answered the accused with her low, sensual voice. The daemoness could swear she heard a muffled voice trying to answer, before something cut off the sound completely.
Raven sighed again. She knew she'd be getting a headache as soon as that particular emotion announced herself. 'Lust...'
'She is right, though, you know. That delicious minx kept prodding and prodding, and you know how the others get...uncomfortable when someone gets close to us. As for me, well,' laughed Lust, sending shivers down Raven's spine, 'Can you really blame me for wanting to have some fun? I mean, just look at her. Those exotic eyes, that sensational voice, and, mmh, don't even get me started on her body. Can you imagine the fun we could have with her? I certainly can...'
Raven blinked, her mind suddenly filled with some very interesting images of herself and Jinx in the most varied of situations. Can a human even bend that far? she caught herself thinking, before she shook her head a few times to try and pull herself out of that lust-induced stupor. It seemed she would have to visit Nevermore sooner than she'd first expected. Her emotions were growing more and more uneasy, not to mention powerful. To influence her in such ways without her even noticing it was...disturbing.
The sorceress willed the physical manifestation of her powers to subside, causing the elongated, menacing shadows and the dark crackles of power to be re-absorbed into her own body. The words that threatened to escape now rolled back into the depths of her mind. Raven stilled herself, and Called the one she felt was the most responsible for the actions. She felt the strings and fractals of Timidity's aura, and willed it to the surface. As powerful as she currently was, Raven knew she didn't have the sheer power to force one of her selves to do something that went against their wishes. Well, at least not easily, or without consequences. Luck seemed to be on her side, however, because soon she saw, rather then felt, the emotion materialize right behind her.
The feeling of two tiny hands clutching on the sides of her pants helped, as well.
"I cannot believe I am telling you this, but... Jinx, meet my timidity."
Jinx opened her mouth, irate, ready give Raven a piece of her mind, but the Titan in question stopped her by shrouding herself in darkness, disappearing not a moment later, causing Jinx to let a startled yelp. The daemoness re-appeared standing by the edge of the half-room, looking at her with might have been the most guilty expression Jinx had ever seen Raven look. The guiltiness was gone just as fast as it appeared, replaced instead with her shining eyes. Jinx couldn't believe what was happening. Was Raven going to attack her now?
What in the Lady's piss is going on here?
The thief was already readying her own hexes, her eyes burning with fuchsia flames when she noted that Raven was releasing even more power. The entire room felt colder, and the shadows were pooling around her, moving in ways they shouldn't be.
And then it was gone. Jinx blinked. This was rapidly becoming one of the weirdest nights of the year. Now Raven seemed more annoyed than angry, pinching the bridge of her nose just like she always did whenever Changeling was around for more than ten minutes.
"Raven, what the fuck is going on?!" she spoke, or rather, she wanted to, but when Jinx opened her mouth, she felt the last drop of her sanity flying straight through the walls, and right into zany-land.
There, standing next to Raven, was a...well, a daemon, for the lack of a better word. The child was as tall as Raven's waistline and had deep, crimson skin. Instead of eyes there were four slits glinting in the most unholy shade of red possible, and she seemed to have four arms, two of which were hugging Raven's right leg. The hair had the same colour as Raven's, but it was shorter, more boyish than that of the Titan's. She almost looked like a child version of Raven, minus the obvious differences, but that was impossible.
"I cannot believe I am telling you this, but... Jinx, meet my timidity." said Raven, motioning for the little daemon-girl hiding behind her legs.
Jinx blinked, before rubbing her eyes. No, the girl was still there. She tried pinching her arms twice, but the apparition wouldn't go away.
Yep, that's it, Jinx, you've finally crossed that line between genius and insanity. Either that, or you're having one of those crazy dreams again.
Jinx laughed a tentative and uncertain laugh, eying the two as if they were nothing more than constructs of her own creation. "Oh, man, this one is definitely the craziest dreams I've had so far. What're you gonna tell me now, that she came from your head? Hah! Wouldn't that'd be convenient."
"Well..." began Raven, as she and the mini-Raven exchanged looks.
"Ah, hell no, you're not going there!"
"Jinx, I'm aware of how ridiculous this might seem to you. Had I been in your position, I would most likely believe it all to be a huge load of bullshit, as well. But I am not, and this is not." Raven looked at the younger version of herself, and nodded once, curtly. "Timid, your turn."
When the child began to speak, Jinx was, again, surprised. Had Raven had such a sweet, high-pitched voice as a child? It was adorable to listen to.
"Do...do I have to?" asked Timidity, looking directly into Raven's eyes, as if hoping for some mercy. She received none. "...ahh—I'm, uhm, sorry for the trouble, and for messing with your thoughts, and, and everything." At the end of the sentence, Jinx could barely make sense of the words leaving the daemonic girl's mouth, and that with her inhuman hearing.
She tried, and she tried still, but the gypsy quickly found that she was unable to stay mad for long with such a cute being looking like she'd start crying at the slightest reaction. Yes, the girl had a deep crimson colour to her skin, had four arms and her eyes were seriously creeping the hell out of her, but she was still just a little girl, and Jinx knew how delicate those could be. All she wanted now was to hug her and tell everything would be okay, but that would probably be too much for someone seemingly made of timidity.
Failing to follow her own line of thoughts, Jinx quickly closed the space between her and the two Ravens, knelt next to Timidity and captured the girl in a bone-crushing hug, whispering comforting things to her little ears. Raven's emotion released a mighty yelp as she squirmed and trashed, and by the look on her face, she seemed to be blushing heavily. Raven quirked one eyebrow at that, and Jinx gave her a flashy grin while she hugged the hell out of the little girl.
Timidity's eyes were darting in all directions, desperately looking for some sort of escape exit, when she stopped, suddenly, and disappeared, almost making the pink-haired girl fall face-first on the floor from the surprise. Jinx steadied herself, all the while enduring a chuckle from somewhere above her.
"I did say she was my timidity." remarked Raven, but all the amusement Jinx had heard before was gone from her face. Now, there was only hesitance...and sadness.
"I am deeply sorry for what happened, Jinx. I—I know no words that would appease the situation. What I did was horrible, even if I was not myself at the moment. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me, but I will understand if you can not."
Jinx was torn. She wanted to be mad at Raven, wanted to say the words that just a few moments ago were on the tip of her tongue, but she also understood that, somehow, it was not Raven's fault. She didn't know the hows or the whys, but it seemed Raven had more in her head than just thoughts, and that would've been scary, had she not been The Raven. Jinx looked at Raven for a long while, and finally sighed, slumping back to the floor in a half-sitting position.
"I'm not mad at you. Not anymore, at least. What you did was horrible, I'll give ya that, but then again, aren't we all a little horrible inside? I know I am." the woman shook her head, and just like that she was grinning again. "But nevermind about this philosophical stuff, tell me more about that little girl! Gods, she was adorable! And red, and—and adorable!" a pause. "Did I mention adorable?"
"I believe I already told you," began Raven, a little confused, "that 'little girl', as you so put, is my Timidity."
"But how? I mean, it's not everyday I get to see someone with real emotions inside their heads. What else is in there?" Jinx seemed pensive for a few seconds, then grinned again. She crouched, and in a second, somersaulted backwards and over Raven's head into a standing position on the mattress. "I bet I could find sugar in there."
That seemed to be enough to make Raven smile again. Jinx was very pleased. "No, there's no sugar, Jinx. It's complicated. Do you remember when I told you I had a particularly...unique childhood?"
"I remember something about awful religious people, but here's me guessing there's a lot more to that, because you can't be religious and not be awful. Also, why did she look all...daemon-y?" The mercenary was genuinely curious at the little Raven's particular appearance.
Raven nodded. "I was raised by monks in a place called Azarath. They believed that, because of the way my powers worked, I had the potential to be a great danger to everyone and everything around me. They decided, when I had reached the age of four, that my emotions should be contained—neutralized. I was taught how to focus, to concentrate, and they focused that concentration into holding my emotions back. But it didn't seem to be enough. From times to times, I would get angry, or sad, and something would explode. So something more...extreme had to be done.
"I was given as a student to a very powerful and respected member of the Azarathean society, whose name was Azar. She was the one who taught me of a way to separate my emotions—all of them, and lock them inside my head. The process was complete on my sixth anniversary. Since then, I've had all my emotions contained inside my own head, as a way to be completely secure that I wouldn't be a danger to everyone else."
Jinx sniffled, a look of complete horror on her face. Oh Vishnu, and all that to a child. No wonder she seemed so broken before, she thought, brushing straying tear drops from her face. She stepped closer to Raven and did the same as she did with Timidity; she hugged her tightly, and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. Raven returned the hug, gently caressing Jinx's back as if she was the one needing comfort right now, and not the sorceress.
"As you may have noticed in the recent past," continued Raven, still massaging Jinx's back, "simply containing my emotions is not working anymore. They have grown in more ways than one since I was six. I believe...I believe they've evolved past the core emotions I had back then. They seem to have their own thoughts and needs now, even though they are still, to a certain degree, reflections of my own thoughts and needs. They are also incredibly more powerful than they were, and, as we saw today, they seem to have found a few different ways to interact with the exterior world without my noticing."
Jinx looked down at the Titan, her face contorted between feeling sad, and feeling confused. "So you're telling me you didn't get into my head...but they did? How's that even possible? I mean do they have the same powers as you do? 'cause that's kinda scary."
Raven nodded. "They don't have all the powers that I do, at least not individually, but yes, they have shown uses of both my soul-self and my empathic abilities. Some...have other skills, things I wouldn't normally use. But that's neither here nor there. Timidity joined with a few other of my selves to influence you, yes. They felt threatened by your curiosity, and thus acted."
"Wait, wait, wait, why did they felt threatened by my curiosity? What, do they have secrets, too?"
The champion paused, as if considering this for the first time. "They might have...they probably do, yes. That explains some of their activities as of lately."
"I'd heard of personal daemons before, but, damn," said Jinx, grinning slightly, "that really tops the cake. And don't even think I've forgotten about my previous question, you slippery one, you!"
"Could we perhaps discuss that particular matter tomorrow? I believe I've done enough damage for just one night."
The gypsy huffed, but eventually agreed. "Alright, alright. I'll drop the questions!", she said. "But what do we do now?"
"I do not know, Jinx. Why don't you show me that which got us here in the first place?" asked Raven.
"Huh? Whaddaya mean?"
"You told me there was something here you wanted to show me. You could show it to me."
Jinx grinned sheepishly, scratching her right cheek. "Oh, that, well," she began, before chuckling, "I'm not sure I'm in the mood for that now."
"...What."
"Well, I kinda brought you here so we could have some fun, but I'm not sure that's, ah, a good idea right now."
"Why not?" asked Raven, her eyebrow seemingly frozen in it's risen state.
Jinx froze. "You...you wanna...? I mean, I'm all up for it, hell knows I've been for some time, but I thought that maybe..." she trailed off, noticing how intensely Raven was looking at her lips, and how her hands were now resting just above her waistline.
Yep, she's all up for it.
"Well, better get comfy, then!" Jinx said, laughing with delight.
Raven was only allowed enough time to register what was happening before Jinx took advantage of their still-entangled bodies to fall backwards, pulling herself and her lover onto the mattress. Once Raven was safely laying on top of her, Jinx wasted no time before wrapping her legs around the Titan's waist and hooking her arms around her neck, her eyes glazing with barely contained lust. She licked the girl's lips once, twice, before initiating an onslaught of nibbles on Raven's earlobe.
Raven shivered under her caresses and purred, her eyes closing in the process. She continued to kiss her girlfriend's ears and neck, all the while mentally shouting and exalting her adoration for the demi-daemon. When she felt Raven give in to her caresses and smile, relaxing in the process, her own emotions swelled.. It was rare for Raven to really let all her worries go, and just enjoy the motions. Jinx couldn't even remember any other occasion where Raven had allowed herself a full moment of peace, and tranquility. Even after everything that happened that night, the thief was beyond happy to be the cause of it.
"You know," stated Raven between a particularly loud purr, "my chambers are the most isolated in the tower. As much as I enjoy your caresses, I do not enjoy these mattresses."
Jinx stopped her kisses to look at her girlfriend, intrigued. She had never been to her chambers before. Just the idea of being in the mystical titan's room was intoxicating to her mind. The sheer possibilities! Raven was bound to have a myriad of interesting things in her room. And magical things. Better yet, both. The pink-haired girl was finding very hard not to appreciate the implicit offer. Not that she would simply accept it, no. She had a reputation to maintain, after all.
"Well, I can't afford to have big, luxurious beds in every safe house I secure, now, can I? And besides, no one will interrupt us here—well, at least no one dangerous. So, anyway, how 'bout you sweeten your offer and—" Jinx was about to finish her sentence when she saw a glimpse of a mischievous grin on Raven's face, before being pulled without her consent into the darkness of her soul-self. The trip took no more than half a second, but by the time her body hit the very soft, intricate texture of the purple satin sheets on Raven's queen-sized bed, Jinx's pupils were completely dilated, her breathing was sporadic and she looked a shade or three paler than usual.
"Damnation, Raven! You know how I hate that stuff. It—" she tried, before visibly shivering again, brushing her arms against each other. "It scares me to death."
Still pale and shaking, the gypsy could feel her vision becoming normal again. She could now see the room they were in—Raven's room. Lady's piss I'm in her room. I'm actually in her room!, thought Jinx, as she tried to absorb everything the space contained. The walls and the floor were made of polished stones, giving the room a grey background. There was a window covered by a deep purple curtain to their left, and an immense bookshelf rested to their left. It had hundreds of books in a varied conditions, colours and languages. Jinx could even identify some written in Sanskrit from her quick glance.
Next to the bookshelf there was a chest, and another, smaller bookshelf filled with what seemed to be random apparatus. The chest was made of a blackened wood that Jinx had never seen before, and there were runes carved deeply on it. The most prominent feature, however, was the lock, or the complete lack thereof. Jinx's thieving instincts almost screamed at the sheer heresy of that, while her natural curiosity picked up considerably. It took the thief no more than three seconds to process all that information, but she didn't have the time to take everything else in, because she felt cold, scared, and Raven was getting on top of her.
"I apologize," said Raven, and she really looked the slightest bit guilty as she crawled her way on top of Jinx's body, pinning the mercenary down with her hands. "I am not that patient a being."
"Yeah, well," sniffled Jinx once more, the colour returning to her body little by little. "Just—just warn me or something the next time you plan to take me through the depression-tunnel with you, right? Hell, even a heads up or something would do."
"Don't worry, I will." answered Raven, pressing their bodies together until her head was directly on top of Jinx's.
The mercenary couldn't help but feel that her well-being was directly tied to the lack of distance between herself and her lover, because she was feeling all sorts of good. Jinx could never get enough of the sensation of being so close to Raven. She was simply intoxicating.
The thief circled her arms around Raven's waist, and pulled her closer, kissing her lightly on the lips and on the tip of her nose. Judging by the way her Titan's eyes glazed over from the kisses, she knew it wouldn't take much time for them to get really intimate.
Not that it mattered, though. For Raven, she'd steal all the time in the world.
Three hours later, and Jinx found herself almost drifting to the merry land of dreams. She was completely drained from their previous activities, but oh was she content. They were spooning under the covers of Raven's bed, and the contrast of the daemoness' skin and that of the satin was something she probably would never stop relishing.
Who would've thought I'd get so lucky, thought Jinx as she scooted closer to Raven, luring a happy, sleepy moan out of the girl.
She would have drifted to sleep in a few more minutes, had she not felt something brush against her back. Raven was in front of her, so it couldn't possibly be her. If it wasn't Raven, then who? She felt the touch again, and this time, it didn't even pretend to stay on her back; it strayed further, and further south, making the gypsy squirm.
"'ey, Venna?" asked Jinx, squirming even more.
"Mmmh?" came the sleepy, mumbled reply.
"Sorry for wakin' you, but...remember when when you made that emotion show up?"
"Mmmh."
"Could they...y'know, just pop up here? Right now?"
Raven stirred, and turned to look her, clearly confused as to Jinx's line of questioning.
"Do we really have to discuss this now?"
"Humor me."
With a groan, Raven replied. "Yes, Jinx, they could, why?"
Jinx nodded, her eyes darting to the edge of her sight, to see if she caught a glimpse of, well, anything. When she found a few strands of purple blurring her peripheral vision, her suspicions were confirmed in full. She smiled uneasily, before suddenly squeaking as the contact grew more intimate.
"And do you—mm—err! Do you have any sort of...y'know...wanting emotion...?" Jinx began, and she could almost see the gears and cogs turning in Raven's mind. She grasped Raven's hand, and continued, "'cause I think one of them is not quite, uhm, satisfied, yet."
It only took her a moment, but Raven reached the logical conclusion. The woman blinked, once, twice, before she jolted up, sitting up and pulling the thief close to her in a clear display of possessiveness.
"Get out!" she screamed, and her voice seemed to twist and echo and lace in Jinx's every thought. The thing behind her did not seem fazed by it, however, for she chuckled with a low, sensual voice that sounded more like a purr than anything else. It made the hair on Jinx's neck stand up, and she felt more warmer than she truly was.
"No need to get so grumpy, I'll leave the two of you alone...for now." said Lust, before disappearing into puffs of incense-scented smoke and a fading chuckle.
Jinx openly stared at Raven, while she calmed herself. She wanted to speak, but felt that it was probably better to let her girlfriend take a moment to find herself again. They sat there for many minutes, Jinx almost fully supported by Raven's possessive hold on her, before Jinx finally opened her mouth to voice her thoughts.
"Are things always gonna be this strange with you?"
Raven sighed, before looking away. "I'm afraid so." The Titan started to apologize, but was quickly silenced when the pink-haired minx's lips crushed against hers.
"Awesome," said Jinx, before kissing her again.
Author's notes!
So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it, I had lots of fun writing it.
Now, here's a bit of lore into this world, and a bit of useless ranting.
As you could see, even though I've made an universe that is by no means modern, I'm writing it in a rather actual manner. That was done because I feel that it can be rather heavy to read a historically-correct medieval text. Plus, I won't even pretend I'd know how to properly write one of those. That'd be rather presumptuous of me.
There are two main settings in this story: The warehouse, and the Titan's tower. The warehouse, as stated, is one of Jinx's safe-houses. She owns approximately five, scattered throughout the city. The warehouse is one of the most secure, being heavily warded against unwanted visitors. Sure, someone with knowledge on arcane matters could go there, but how many arcanists would willingly walk into the Slums, risking being mugged, raped, killed, or any combination of the three? Yeah, not many.
Those places are mainly used as hide-outs, since Jinx leaves all her precious loots where she lives. In this story, Jinx is a gypsy, as I've told you. She's not been born a Gypsy, no. She was born in India, under very specific circumstances. She was born as a Pariah. Her pale skin and her bright, pink hair, coupled with her affinity for magic and bad luck were more than enough for her to be even more ostracized as an omen of bad-luck and death. People called her things; Witch, Daemon, Hellspawn...the list goes. It was not an easy childhood for her.
She joined the secret group known as HIVE when she was 8, taken to be trained and raised as both a mercenary and a thief. Those professions are highly sought for their uses. The World this story takes place is a world of danger. There are threats of war looming in the horizon, daemon incursions have terrorized the planet in the past, and the Court of Faeries are on the brink of a conflict that may as well involve the entire planet. There are spies and murderers almost everywhere, working for both well-known and hidden agendas. It is a world controlled by fanaticism, religion and might. You can see how HIVE would be even more powerful here than it is in the canon setting. I mean, spies, high-profile thieves and assassins? Everybody and their aunts wants those.
Jinx stayed with the HIVE as one of their most prominent students until she was about 16. Then Brother Blood happened. He was taken down, in time, but Jinx, Mammoth and Gizmo did not stay to see it happens. She got all sorts of bad vibes oozing from the man, and promptly fled the place. She was more than capable as she was, and had a nice name for herself, so jobs wouldn't be that much of a problem for her. Because of her desertion, she and the boys were hunted until Blood's demise, five months later. She later, guided by Baran, found a group of wanderers that pretty much went wherever they pleased. It was a group of gypsies, and Mammoth's sister, Shimmer, was a member. There, they've lived until now.
The Titan's Tower was an old, albeit gigantic lighthouse re-purposed by the Titan's into living quarters, training space and base of operations. It currently houses all of the core Titan's members: Richard, Victor, Garfield, Koriand'r, Tara and Raven. Raven's quarters is one of the most isolated, because it is placed on the very top of the Lighthouse, just one floor beneath the observation deck. Hers is the only room in that floor.
This story takes place after the demise of Trigon, in which Raven not only, if you would excuse my language, completely fucked the bastard up, but absorbed the entirety of his power. By taking his power and his titles, she is now Scath, and all that it implies. That means that she's probably the most powerful being you could ever encounter, though much of her power goes unused, or is inaccessible for several reasons.
I wanted to write this to explore more of Raven's natural curiosity, a bright contrast to her usually calm, stoic expressions. While she trusts the Titan's with her life, there are still things she doesn't trust them. She knows they don't understand her, not fully. Some have tried, unsuccessfully, to pry into her past, into her history, into the events that worked to make her. She revealed very little, though it's proven to be a tad too much for some. (Poor, poor Garfield. He's never going near mirrors again. Or Raven's chambers, for that matter.)
And then there's Jinx. They've began a relationship over the past three months, though it is an awkward one. Neither of them is a very trusting in nature, and they could be considered broken on many levels. They had no problems getting to the physical part of a relationship. They relished it, in fact. Raven has none of the prejudices over sex, and Jinx is a very physical creature, not to mention her extreme love for all things fun. But in some other parts, such as the getting-to-know-each-other, well, they still have a lot to go.
It all started with Raven expressing her curiosity over dreams. She's been very curious about it ever since stepping into the Human Domain, but the few questions she's asked other people had been...inconclusive, at best. She'd tried to ask Robin, once, but he was not the best example to go. His dreams were, at best, disturbing, even to her.
Jinx, without the previous knowledge on her lover's heritage, or past, wasn't able to understand why she was curious, but still, she complied. Her curiosity over the whys of Raven's questioning got to the Titan, however, and soon she found herself talking about her past. Some of her Selves didn't like that.
In this story, each of Raven's 'emotions' have a different appearance, to better demonstrate that which they are. Two have appeared in this story, though one was not described. Timid, and Lust.
Timid takes after how Raven looked as a child. Taking after her father's heritage, she had red skin and doubled sets of arms and eyes. She looks that way, because, as a child, that was when Raven felt most timid. She was completely different from everyone else around her, and thus ostracized in more ways than one. She desperately wanted to interact with a society that deeply hated her, but she didn't know how. Most of the Azaratheans wanted distance from her, and the ones who didn't, wished to change her, to 'improve' her. When she had the ritual done, Timid personally took that image as a reminder for both Raven and herself, about how terrible things can be to those who aren't like them.
In my universe, each of Raven's emotions are also incredibly powerful, and they all have a hidden agenda. They all seek more power, more...importance. They all want to have their wishes come true. Sure, at their core, they still are many sides of the same person, but after all those years, they've grown into separate entities. So, whenever Raven gets into a situation that some of her Selves are unhappy with? They might influence her, or use their powers to influence things around her. They can traverse the boundaries of Nevermore into the Physical Realm, though not for long. It takes a lot of power to do so, but sometimes, it pays off. Lust, for example, simply couldn't waste the chance to feel up Jinx by herself. Can't say I blame her, heh.
Timid appeared because Raven asked, well, commanded, and because she didn't want to be on her bad sides. While each of Raven's sides have power enough to be a formidable opponent to any of the Titans, she still holds a lot more power than they do. That's not to say they wouldn't be able to harm her or influence her, though, because that clearly happened there. It's just...hard. It requires cooperation from multiple emotions, and that seldom happens.
Well! That about covers everything that could be confusing, methinks. So, if you have any questions, or want to criticize some stuff, or just plain show me some unsavory bits in the story, feel free to leave me a message. I do love some good conversation. Also, don't forget to rate and review-the writer feeds on it.
See ya!