Out of Fire
A/N: This is a post-show post-canon story taking place over a year after "Trouble in Tokyo" loosely based off of Starfire related comic book back story with very much my own original ideas. It is Starfire-centric/Robin-centric and includes RobStar at first.
Hope you will enjoy. Give me feedback, flames or flattery. All three of which is accepted. I plan on making this an EPIC project. Pray I succeed.
Rated "T" for safety/reader grabbing. Might change to "M" later for "Major change in tone".
Prologue: A Song of Tamaran
"Hear the loud alarum bells - Brazen bells! What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! In the startled ear of night How they scream out their affright! Too much horrified to speak, They can only shriek, shriek, Out of tune, In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire, In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire"
-Edgar Allen Poe, The Bells
Back then even the wind blew differently. The way it was back then was much like the way the wind was back then. The soft caress of a breeze coupled with the sweet scent emitted by the trees.
Tiny fingers swept over the moss on a marble railing. The giggles produced by the girl crumbling the dirt and flora over and over again until the railing lay smooth and bare; the little girl peered into the great wide horizon. She listened to the symphony of the wilds, bustling flora, the rustling fauna, singing their calls in near collaboration. She watched assorted hues break the verdant color scheme of the forest breaking away through the tree tops hopping about them or breaking way to higher ground until they vanished from sight.
She closed her eyes so the sights wouldn't distract her from the song so the echoes of the forest would be all she would feel, the sound of the world borrowed by people who recognized their deal with their world. She raised her arms for the sweet wind to capture them, to capture her hair and toss it into different directions and rise higher and higher as the rest of her ascended higher into the air, and with exaggeration inhaled the intoxicating wilds.
Once she felt there was no need to ascend any higher her eyes opened to the morn lit world to see as far as the eye could. She saw nothing before her resembling civilization beside her isolated home, the high mountains to the east, the wide empty plains barely visible to the far west, and an endless ocean in the northern distance.
Upon seeing this she saw what she didn't see before. A reason her teachers of Okaara showed her their scriptures and ballads all of which tried to capture the story of nature on this planet alone. A world on its own with no scriptures or ballads written down but merely of the spoken tongue. A world vaster and more mysterious than the industrial wastelands of the Vegan System. Hills with something greater to behold than the valleys of other worlds with their colossal structures, impressive but the real great wonder was this: Tamaran the Jewel of X'hal and Vega.
It was sometime later the girl could've remained there in that moment and stare at the distance for far longer unshaken and undisturbed but then the leaves rattled, and the fauna shrieked wildly as their masses rose in higher volume their crescendo climaxed quickly and ceased to be. The wind grew still like the sound. The listener descended back to the balcony. Her eyes fixed as trees crashed upon the ground very near to her and in form of a rising mound the great sea of green broke to red. The mound rose high above the tree tops ascending higher and higher to reveal a lengthy neck, a beaked maw and feathery technicolor crested helm. It's shadow overcast the sun and stared at the little girl before letting it's loud caw ring across the valley.
The little girl held her knees. The overcast cooling her causing her spine to shiver and her body to quiver. Tears streamed down her face before the air in her lungs caused multiple heaves of the chest. She averted her eyes away from the massive beast whose appendages flapped at her. She glimpsed at the humanoid figure behind and let out a cry.
"Galfore! Gal-"
Promptly a hand silenced her. She was lifted head against his shoulder. Hands smoothed out her hair as the large arms cradled her. The tears still streamed down as her face dug into his neck. She watched as Galfore reached out toward the creature and stroke the end of it's beak. She turned away from the sight and pounded her hands against his chest.
"No! Galfore!" she screamed.
"It's ok." He hushed her and stroked her hair once more. "No fear. You are safe."
She looked behind her again as the creature flapped its feathered multi-colored wings high over the castle then back over the horizon tail and long crested helm fluttering in the breeze.
"The And'r." She saw Galfore point toward the horizon. "Your family heirloom."
The lines on the girls face slowly receded, her tears were wiped from her face and her eyes were dried. Something floated from the air and came to rest in her hand all frilled and silky. A feather of that ever docile creature assorted with the colors of her song.
"Come now child your parents await." The man took hold of the little girls hand, guiding her back into her room.
"Where to Galfore?"
"Vacation!" He replied.
Chapter 1: Starfire's Progress or For Over a Year
Thin hands itched the skin beneath a silken purple dress. Her hair tousled by the sea salt air below high horizon was painted the color of a coming dawn it's red and orange bounced against the rolling sea. Behind her stood an ocean of sand littered with the skeletons of developing structures aligned in rows dug into the earth some with their wooden structures surfacing into view. In the center stood another vessel unlike the others built to completion and atop stood two flags both representing two nations, the nation that represented the newest arrivals and the people who had always lived there. A massive doorway stood between pillars with a sign above mentioning the structures name "Myand'r City Hall". In the distance behind her stood the masses. Several people in conversation awaiting the debut of the hero who brought them a new home and if not simply a people who wanted to know who the new settlers of Earth.
Years had past since that fateful day on that far off world. A world not separated by miles, leagues, or light years but separated instead by hours, days, and decades. The girl on the balcony now a woman.
From time to time on the cliffside she would put her hand to her stomach and place her figures on the sides of her temple. She could feel her veins beat and her cheeks flush. She let in a deep breath and let her arms cross her chest. To her left a few feet away stood a stoic figure. His hair black and eyes covered by a mask eyeing the setting sun on the orange-pink painted horizon. She turned to him and stared him down. He donned a suit and tie and hair that reached just below the ears.
"Robin."
He didn't respond.
"Robin!" she repeated.
"Yes Starfire?" Robin reiterated.
"Could you help me?"
"With what?"
"Finding the relaxation."
"What do you mean?"
"I see that you are capable of the relaxing before a city speech and always speak with confidence. So I assume you have to have a strategy perhaps."
"Oh?" Robin sat back on his lawn chair.
"So... will you help me?"
"How?"
"Teach me the way."
He turned his head in her direction and said nothing.
"Robin..."
"Yes, Star?"
"You are feeling the ok, yes?"
At first he was silent. "Of course I am." He put her hand in his and rubbed the inside of her palm. She blushed and stared his eyes before taking a seat into her own respective chair. He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. "This is your big moment after all and I think you will do fine as you've always done. Trust me there is nothing more nerve wracking than presenting a speech before the masses, but, it helps me to remember that I have anticipated far worse things and..."
"And what else Robin?"
"... I got through it with flying colors. Besides I have you and our friends to thank for it and we are here for you." He smiled and relinquished his grasp.
In the background came approaching chatter. A green-skinned adolescent in a suit and a pale-violet haired girl in a navy-blue dress removing her heels advanced toward the seated couple.
"I should have wore flatts...," an inflection of whine in her voice. "I really don't understand the appeal of these."
"I am just surprised that we were able to convince you to come dressed like this." the green boy retorted.
"Ugh... yeah I look so 'cool'," the girl threw up air quotes. "I feel so overdressed."
The girl turned her head toward the crowd behind
"Oh c'mon Rae," the green boy nudged her. "This is Star's big day dude!"
Raven smiled slightly. "Well of course, anything for Star, I guess. Even discomfort."
"Hey dudes! We aren't interrupting right?"
"Of course not friends Beast Boy and Raven!" exclaimed Starfire as she gave them both a bone-crushing hug. "And to what do I owe this occasion?"
"Ommphh... glad... to see... you too..."
She released them and floated up with a both her hands folded into one another with a giggle.
"We just wanted to wish you luck on your speech and congratulate you." Raven said rubbing her arms and smoothing out the newly produced wrinkles on her dress.
"Yeah dood you are gonna rock!" Beast Boy did an air guitar and gave Star a wink.
"I am most honored friends!" exclaimed Starfire. "But what about the schooling and the working?"
"I told Terra I needed a day off on our science project besides Geology is her favorite class she can handle it." Raven explained. For the last six months Raven had been taking highschool classes and unlike Robin she was keen on getting a real Diploma as opposed to a GED. She was in her Junior year.
"Ching-Ching Eggrolls will do fine without me I am fairly certain I got the day off or Pablo to cover for me anyhow. Besides those dudes know I am the best Busboy." Beast Boy decided to take a job after he got his license he found a cheap hook up on a new 2006 Prius model that had surfaced a year ago and had been trying to save up. He was having trouble keeping a job, however, and this was his third job he had in the last year.
Raven cocked her brow. "Haven't you only worked there for a month?," She inquired in monotone.
Beast Boy avoided the question and poked Robin in the temple. "Yo... Earth to Robin?"
Robin snapped back to reality. and turned his head "Oh. Hey Beast Boy. Sorry..." Robin stood up from his seat to turn toward his friends. "What's up guys?"
"Good of you to finally join us Boy Wonder." Raven gave a smile to her leader.
"So when is friend Cyborg going to meet us?" asked Starfire.
"Isn't he doing a mission for the league right now?" Beast Boy asked. "Dudes a busy man."
A speck in the far distance was quickly greeting the sandy cliffside over the sea breaking the water into waves before the red triangular UFO dipped over quickly and landed near the four teens. A stairwell ascended below the ships belly before revealing a suited bald man with a partially cybernetic cranium.
"Booyah!" he shouted. "What is up y'all?"
"Cyborg!" the Titans exclaimed each sprinting toward him and give him a hug one by one excluding Robin.
After most of the Titans embraced him he turned his head toward the ship and waved at a green skinned and red eyed humanoid.
"Thanks for the lift Manhunter!"
The man waved back in a sort of saluting motion before retreating into the confines of the vehicle and in a flash the UFO disappeared into the distance.
"Oh man did I miss you guys. Except you grass stain."
"Hey, not cool dude!" Beast boy nudged Cyborg.
"Naw man I'm joshin ya." Cyborg put Beast Boy in a head lock and gave him a noogie. The green changeling struggled to get out of the mech-man's grasp before slithering out in a snake form.
"Do tell us Cyborg, how was the fighting of crime with The Justice League?" Starfire asked.
"Well I'd love to tell you guys..."
"What is this issue friend Cyborg?"
"It's confidential..."
Beast boy and Starfire groaned.
"I'll tell you all about it over some of that weird Tamaranian food ya got over there. Smells delicious." Cyborg placed his arm over Starfire and Beast Boys shoulders and they trotted over to the crowd of people, humans and Tamaranians alike.
Raven at first started following them then noticed that there were no footsteps behind her. She looked behind her to see her leader still staring out into the void.
"You coming boy wonder?" she called out to him softly without inflection. Robin awoke from his trance quickly one-taking toward her mouth slightly slacked.
"No, I'm good." He said once he came to his senses.
"Ok, suit your self I'm gonna try some of that slop or fried amoeba they are selling." Raven slipped off her heels and ran toward the three ahead of her. Robin said nothing and once again stared out into the open sea.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the beginning of my ballad. Hoping this catches on and people read it and if no one does oh well no biggy.
If hated it let me know. If you loved it let me know. If you think I need to improve it let me know how and why so that the rest of this story will rock your socks off!
With Love Jesusofphilosphy