There they were. The five Teen Titans. Huddled around a small campfire in the middle of the woods.How they got into this mess in the first place was beyond them. FLASHBACK
"Friends, where are we going? Should we not stop and ask for…" Starfire struggled with the right word- "the directions, I believe?"
"Star- Look around- there is no one here. Come on you guys, we've been lost in this forest for over three hours now, and that shack we passed was empty." Raven was getting irritated- those damn mosquitoes just loved her.
"Raven's right, Star. I think we should head back to the shack. Beast Boy, I thought you said you were good out in the wild- you're part animal!"
"Look, Cy- I said what I said to get us out of that Tower for a while and get on a vacation! The Tokyo vacation barely counted- we were only there for three more days… Besides- I've been carrying all the stuff we need out here!"
"That's what you think" Robin had finally caught up. Turns out, he was the one carrying the tents and equipment. Beast Boy had the food. "Cyborg- explain exactly how your GPS system in your arm broke?"
"I told you Rob- the trees are too high- there's no reception from the satellite beneath all these trees. Let's go find the shack."
"I agree." Okay, so Raven was really irritated. END FLASHBACK
"Beast Boy- Since you can change into any animal you want, you can sleep outside. Raven, I know that shack is small, but I also know you like your privacy. You can have the shack- it's not big enough for two people anyways. Starfire, you can sleep in the tent. Cyborg- you and I will sleep outside as well. We're all going to have to take turns keeping watch. Beast Boy, take the first shift after dinner."
"Right-o." The five companions huddled around the tiny fire. Beast Boy had dragged out the backpack he was carrying earlier- In it was his idea of provisions; several large bags of marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate, and tofu, and a few hot dogs. In the side pocket was a tin box with some matches in it and a book titled "Camp fires; Make Life Interesting!"
Beast Boy transformed into an elephant and placed four logs in a circle. He then changed back and created a miniscule fire with great difficulty.
"Dudes! C'mere!"
"What is it, Beast Boy?" Cyborg was curious as to why his bestt friend was so excited.
Beast Boy brought out his book: "Campfire stories! Everyone who eats MUST tell one, and I know you all are reaaaaally hungry!" He wiggled his eyebrows. As if on cue, Starfire's stomach grumbled. Without another word, she zoomed over the puny fire, causing it to go out, and attacked the hot dogs. She grabbed one, flew over to some trees, grabed a large hunk of wood in one hand (for the other held her precious hot dog) and threw it onto the ashes. Driven by hunger, she then fired a starbolt at the center of the wood, causing it to burst into flame and creating a very good-sized fire.
"Aw, Star! Why didn't you do that before?" he whined.
"Mmphh" Starfire was gobbling down her last bite of hot dog.
"Uh, Star- you're supposed to heat the hot dog up, not just hold it over the fire for a second and...nevermind." Robin was too hungry to explain their Earthly ways at the moment. With that said, the three remaining non-vegetarian Titans speared their hot dogs with sticks they had found and sat on the logs, poised to make their dinner. Beast Boy grabbed his bag of tofu and sat down on the log next to Raven's.
"Hey Star, you ate first, so you tell a story first! Just... Just don't make it anything depressing, okay? Or creepy- I don't think I can take creepy right now. Make it a good one!"
"Very well, friend. My story begins on my home planet of Tamaran. On Tamaran, one becomes responsible for themselves when they turn thirteen- they no longer require the assistance of their K'norfka. In light of this situation, my K'norfka Galfore took me out to go Zorkaberry-picking the day before my thirteenth day of birth. We picked almost forty nine glurtspecks of the ripest Zorkaberries ever seen! They are quite amusing for the 'fight of foods,' I believe it is called?" Starfire looked at Robin, who was sitting on the same log, for confirmation that this was the proper phrase.
"Close enough- it's usually called a food fight."
"Yes. A food fight. The End!" Starfire smiled at everyone.
"Wait- that's it? C'mon, you've gotta finish it! A story can't go like that!"
"Well, Beast Boy said no "depressing" things, and-"
"Starfire, if you listen to Beast Boy, you will end up stuck in the middle of a forest, lost, with almost no decent food, and nothing to drink. My point; he doesn't have the best judgment. Just continue with your story." Raven was still irritated with Beast Boy, and she missed her tea.
"As you wish, friend." With that said, she shot a glance at Robin from the corner of her eye. "I will continue. Galfore and I returned to the castle at 10 o'clock; my normal...'curfew'?" Robin nodded and smiled, impressed she remembered the word. "There was something unusual about it. You see- it is customary for the people of my kingdom to sing the song of welcome when the Princess returns, but...The castle- my castle- my home- had been overtaken." She glanced nervously at Robin."Gordanians ran up to us- and hit Galfore. He lost the sight in one of his eyes due to that first hit. The second blow gave him a scar by his eye. The third and fourth rendered him unconcious."She licked her lips out of nervousness "They caught me- they had many weapons, and the fight was unfair. They took several weapons, and some Gordanians hit me from behind. I woke up on their ship later. I was their prisoner for two years. Until I escaped. Until I met all of you. The first day we met, was the eve of my fifteenth day of birth. That is my story."
"Wait- Star- you were attacked??"
"What?! Star, girl, how'd you escape?!"
"It DOES NOT MATTER HOW. I did! I did escape! I endured their torture for years, but I escaped! They are like worms, and they treat their prisoners as such!! They deserve to burn in a rotting rhutwer!" She took a deep breath. "I am sorry, friends. Next story...Please."
"But Star-"
"Next story, NOW." Starfire's eyes had started to glow. Upon seeing this, Robin grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him. Starfire felt herself being pulled and gave in to him. She leaned her head on Robin's shoulder. Robin whispered into her ear, "Star- are you alright? Do you need to talk about it-?" He was at a loss for words. He knew Starfire was almost always a polite, nice person- she would never yell at her friends. It was one of the many reasons why he liked her. However, when she was telling that story- he realized that Starfire only reverted back to her native tongue when she said something dishonorable or cruel. He knew she would normally flinch at these words, but she had a flow of hatred that refused to be stemmed. "No, I am not alright. And yes, I believe I do need to have ' the talk' with someone, but I am not sure if I am ready. Perhaps I shall tell you later, when all are asleep." Although she had not shed a tear, he could definately hear it in her voice. Taking action, his mind raced for another excuse...
"All right, My turn to tell a story!" Crap. He wanted a distraction, but he was not planning on those particular words coming out of his mouth.
"Go Robin!" Cyborg was only too glad to let someone else share. Unfortunately, Robin couldn't think of anything, but as the seconds passed, it became clear to him. He would finally tell his friends of his past; his life before the Dark Knight- and before his parent's deaths.
"All right- I was born into a circus family. We were part of a trapeze act. We were called... The Flying Graysons. " Robin had to close his eyes to block out the memories of his parents falling- their faces as they saw their son, realizing that he had purposefuly missed his cue to jump- realizing that something was wrong- just before plunging to their deaths.
He shook his head."We were the best trapeze artists anywhere. We were what made Haly's Circus great. There's only three people who can do a quadruple flip- Me, my mom, and my dad." Robin mentally hit himself:"'Could do,' damnit, 'could' do a quadruple flip...Now there's only me."
"But those were awesome times... We'd get flowers from fans, and we had our own dressing rooms- I had a friend who was a clown- haven't seen him since I left the circus... His name was George... Sorry, where was I?" He had been so caught up in reminiscing about the past...He gazed around at everyone.
"The last interesting part? You made Haly's circus famous." Raven was actually interested? That or she had forgotten to pack a book.
"Right. Then, after I...uh...left the circus, Batman took me in as his apprentice. Y'know my name? Robin? It was a nickname for me- 'Robin, the Boy Wonder.' I was the youngest person in that circus. Oh and my outfit... That's... That's basically from the circus too... The main outfit- minus my cape and shoes...That's about it, I guess."He looked around, hoping no one would pry him further for information on his background.
Raven had been sensing their emotions all along. She felt Starfire's happiness when she was explaining Zorkaberry-picking and her rage,hatred,and sadness when describing her attack. Robin's story- and Starfire's too, for that matter... There was something more. She felt it. Robin was just more clever in disguising it- Raven felt pain, pure pain, and sorrow when he was not even halfway through his tale. She knew he was trying to be strong, and still be able to keep the rest of his story a secret without being obvious. She decided to cover for him.
"Well...er- I guess it's my turn, isn't it?"