The Gift

by BAColeNC

Just before Christmas, Starfire meets an unusual stranger, and learns something abut belief.

The Gift

Starfire hummed along with the Christmas music playing in the store she was in as she waited for the clerk to total up her purchases. When the woman told her the amount, she gave her the card that Robin had given her. After she had gotten the card back, she placed another item on the counter.

"I'm sorry, I thought I had gotten all your purchases."

"That is correct, for what I wanted to pay for with that card. This I am paying for separately, so that I may surprise Robin."

"I see," the woman said, taking the small box and opening it. "I'm curious to see what I would have that you would find worthy of him." She pulled the leather thong from the box and the figurine attached to it. "Ah, I see. Do you know what, or rather who this represents?"

Starfire looked at the figurine as it slowly twisted and swung on the leather cord. The piece of dark jade work was shaped like a monkey, chips of ruby had been inlaid into the dark green jade giving the creature brilliant red eyes. In it's right hand it held a staff, and it's left was where the leather thong was attached to it.

"This a representation of Sun Hou Tzu," Starfire replied. "The Monkey King in Chinese mythology."

The older woman looked impressed with Starfire's knowledge. "That is correct. What else do you know of him?"

"He was royalty who disliked the way people would treat him because of that, and he was a mighty warrior who even the fiercest of the gods could not defeat. He was a trickster and very cunning. Using his wits he won freedom from Yen lo wang, the god of death, for his people, and immortality for himself. I am hoping that some of his legendary good luck will rub off on Robin."

"Very, very good, young lady. I am most impressed with the thought that you have given to your selecting this for him, and at your taking the time to learn Chinese mythology. If I am not mistaken, the sword set that you purchased is for him as well."

Starfire blushed slightly and fiddled with her fingers. "Yes, well, umm, the swords I will give him while everyone is there. Sun Hou Tzu I will give him in a slightly more private setting."

The older woman behind the counter smiled knowingly as she placed the figurine back into the box and placed it in the bag with the rest of Starfire's purchases, then handed back the bank card that Starfire had given her to pay for the item.

"Um, excuse me, but you did not do the swiping of my card to pay for Sun Hou Tzu."

"Consider it a gift from me."

"I am sorry, but I can not accept gratuities because of my position as a Titan."

"But could you in recognition of your research into the culture of my homeland? It is in that spirit that I make this a gift to you, and I do insist."

Starfire chewed on her lower lip for a moment, then bowed deeply from the waist. "I am honored deeply by your generous gift."

Smiling broadly the woman returned Starfire's bow, "And with your acceptance you honor me."

Just then, Starfire's communicator started beeping. She took it out and looked at the display.

"Is something the matter?"

Starfire looked up and saw the concern in the woman's face. "I am afraid that I must leave at once. I hope that I will be able to return before you close to collect these, but I may not and you will not be open tomorrow because it is Sunday."

"And Christmas is on Monday. I'll tell you what. I will come in tomorrow and open the store so that you may collect them. Now go. Your friends or the city needs you."

"Again, I thank you for you generosity," Starfire said then quickly left the store and mall. Once outside she quickly took flight, heading toward the north as fast as she could. She was just reaching the city limits when her communicator beeped again, and she smiled softly when she saw who was calling. "Yes, Robin?"

"Are you sure you can handle this alone?"

"It is not that I have much choice. I am the only one of us that can fly, and withstand the conditions of outer space, and I am the only one who has the ability to destroy the object that is approaching Earth's atmosphere."

Starfire could tell by the look on Robin's face that he wasn't happy about it, but that he knew she was right. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I shall take great care, Robin," Starfire said and watched Robin's image fade as the channel was closed. She quickly gained altitude and left Earth's atmosphere for the emptiness of space. Empty except for a chunk of rock that was even now touching the edge of the protective bubble of air that surrounded the Earth. She saw the streak of fire that the object's friction with the atmosphere caused and she altered her course to intercept it. As she drew closer she saw that the object was larger than she had first thought. 'As Robin occasionally reminded me, I am neither Superman, or Supergirl, but I must make the attempt to stop this thing,' She thought to herself as she dipped lower into the atmosphere, then turned back on herself and headed straight for the meteor, charging up her fists with star bolt energy. She felt the resistance of her passing through the air lessen as she gained altitude rapidly.

An observatory several miles away had it's telescope trained on the meteor as it hit the atmosphere, and it caught on tape the collision as Starfire slammed into it at her top speed. The impact had the desired effect and the rock was shattered into millions of tiny pieces that would either be scattered back into space or burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere giving the inhabitants of Earth a spectacular display for Christmas.

There was another result of the collision, one that the telescope only barely picked up as a small object fell back to Earth. Starfire had known that the impact would be very forceful, and she had hoped that her star bolt primed fists would protect her from it.

She was mostly right.

If anyone had been in the area, and had continued to look up after the sound of the explosion they would have noticed an object falling towards them. The silence of the snow covered mountains was only broken by the sound of an unconscious Starfire falling through the air and impacting into a deep snowdrift with a muffled whump. After a few moments the plume of snow that the impact had thrown up drifted back to the ground and silence ruled the scene again.

Thing of it is, is that her arrival wasn't unobserved. Dressed for the cold, the man paused in his hiking to look at the slightly discolored crater that Starfire's landing had made in the drift. As his pale blue eyes looked, he took off a glove and rubbed his ice rimed beard then he looked up. "She'll be needing help," he seemed to say to the azure sky. With a sigh he headed off towards her.

Starfire didn't know how long she had lay where she was but she knew that she was in deep trouble. The amount of power she had channeled into the bolts at her fists had drained her energy reserves, and she was very weak. So weak, in fact, that the cold seemed to soak deep into her. A part of her wanted to simply lay back down and rest, but she knew that she had to keep moving. It was a matter of survival for two reasons. First if she kept moving her body would generate it's own heat, and secondly, she had to get down off the mountain and back to her friends. Her first order of business was to get herself up out of the pit she was in now. The struggle she endured to simply sit up was almost nothing compared to the fight to stand and not fall back down. She stood there, panting slightly as she kept a hand on the side of the crater to maintain her balance. She reached to her belt to bring out her communicator, but the bits and pieces that she managed to take from the holder was hardly recognizable as a communicator and was just as functional. "I must get out of here, and back to my friends."

In her favor, the impact of her hitting the snowdrift packed the snow along the sides, enabling her to cut hand and footholds into them so she could climb out. After the first few minutes she stopped looking up to see how much further she had to go, as the distance didn't seem to decrease, so she concentrated on simply climbing, keeping her gaze fixed on where she was using her hands to form the indentations into the packed snow for her hands and feet. She tried once to use her star bolts to cut the holes, but the wave of dizziness forced her to abandon that plan, as did her falling on her face when she tried to fly up and out. Her only clue that she was near the top was when she head a sudden crackling noise as the frozen crust at the rim of the crater started to give way with her weight. "Eeepp!" she cried as the crust gave way and she fell.

Fortunately for her she fell forward into the powdery snow that surrounded the crater. She rolled down the slope and came to a stop after a few dozen feet, with snow flowing down after her and half burying her. After a moment she managed to regain her feet and she stood in the knee deep snow. She turned and looked back up a her trail down the slope.

"Looks like you could use some help, little lady."

Starfire spun towards the unexpected voice, instinctively powering up her star bolts. She barely caught a glimpse of a man with a brown scraggly beard dressed in a white parka before she blacked out.

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Starfire woke with a start and sat upright where she lay.

"Easy now, little lady, I don't mean ya no harm."

Starfire looked over at the source of the voice and saw the man she had glimpsed before. She wasn't sure why, but she felt as though she could trust him. From what she could tell, he looked to be in his thirties, with a roundish face that was covered with a light brown very bushy beard. His eyes were a very pale blue and almost looked gray. She could see the concern on his face as he looked at her. Looking around, she saw that they were now far down the mountain and had reached the tree line. In the lowering light she could make out where the forest they were now in ended. She also saw the trail of the man's footsteps in the snow, almost obliterated by where the travois litter she was fairly sure had carried her was dragged. "I thank you for you assistance. May I ask where you are taking me, and who are you?"

"My name is Andrew, and I aim to take you down to a small town at the bottom of the mountain. There you'll be able to call for your friends to come an get you. Then I'll return to my home in the woods up there."

"Again, I thank you."

"Don't be to generous with your thanks. Of all the fool things to do, I left my cabin without any matches. I managed to gather some wood, but I've got no way to start a fire."

Starfire looked at where the snow had been cleared and some wood laid out for a fire. "I do not wish to alarm you, but I may be able to start the fire for you. I only ask two things. One that you not be fearful of me, and second that you keep me from injuring myself when I fall."

Starfire could see the concern on the man's face. "Hold on there a moment. What do you mean when you fall?"

"I recently had to use a great deal of power, and I am still recharging, so to speak. I am uncertain that I have enough yet to start the fire without making myself lose consciousness again."

"Then I can't let you do it."

"Neither of us has a choice. If we do not have a fire we will freeze to death during the night."

"I can see that what I've heard of you is true. I'm very pleased to meet you, Starfire of Tamaran, and member of the Teen Titans."

Starfire reached out and shook the hand that was being held out to her. "You seem to know about me, and despite my knowing you for a very short time, I feel as though I can trust you. I am very pleased to meet you, Andrew." She watched as Andrew moved behind her, then she quickly fired a beam of energy into the pile of wood, catching them on fire.

"Whoa there, Starfire," Andrew said as she sagged back against him. "You alright?"

"I am well, but until I have sufficient time to rest and recover my strength, I will be far from alright."

"Well you just lay back and rest, I'll get something on for supper."

Starfire realized that it had been a short time later when she stirred from the light sleep she had managed to grab. The sun had not yet fully set and the fire blazed with a cheery warmth. She saw the tripod that held a small pot over the flame, and whatever Andrew had simmering in it smelled absolutely delicious.

"Ah, good, you're awake. I was torn between letting you sleep, and waking you to eat."

"I am happy that I have saved you from that dilemma," Starfire said as she watched him take two large metal coffee cups and ladled some of the contents of the pot into them.

"I'm sorry for the lack of a fork or spoon, but this stew is more gravy then meat and vegetables so it's really more like a soup." Starfire watched as Andrew set his cup down and bowed his head. "We thank Thee, Lord, for these Thy gifts. For life and health and every good. We hope that one day that we will dine in paradise with Thee. Amen."

Starfire realized that she was staring at Andrew when he saw the nervous smile he gave her. "I apologize, but I did not think that you would be so religious."

"Being out here give you an appreciation for Him. That and the deaths of people close to me in an accident that I survived."

Starfire stared into her cup as she tuned it in her hands. "Yes, I can understand how such things could have that effect."

Starfire looked up as Andrew chuckled softly. "And just what would a super heroine such as yourself know of that kind of loss?"

Starfire missed the soft smile on Andrew's face as he r eyes narrowed in anger at the question. "You would be surprised at the losses and sacrifices my friends and myself have endured. You stated before that you know I am from Tamaran, not Earth. Have you ever wondered why I am the only one of my people here?" She was silent for a moment, and Andrew shook his head. "I am one of the royal family, and as such I was given to a race of slavers to seal a treaty between my world and theirs. I was aboard that ship for almost a year before I escaped to Earth. During that time the slave masters tried to break my spirit, to make me more suitable as a menial worker."

"It's quite obvious that they didn't succeed."

"No, they did not. But about six months after I was taken they almost did. In two separate accidents both my parents and my younger brother were killed. Trogaar took great pleasure in telling me of their deaths, and the news almost did what other means could not. For some reason, I was left alone for a few days, and in my isolation I grew more and more depressed to the point that I did not care if they came for me again or not."

"What happened?"

"I had what is called here a crisis of faith. I grew angry that X'Hal had permitted those I held so dear to be killed. Then I remembered some of the lessons my mother had taught me, of how our spirit would go to another place, a better place. I realized that I would see them again, but only if I kept my honor, and that knowledge gave me the strength to continue to resist them."

The silence lengthened then Andrew spoke, his voice so low and soft that Starfire almost didn't hear him. "I'm so sorry, Princess. Please forgive my ignorance."

"It is forgivable. To be honest, that is something that I have told only one other person, and I have no idea why I told you."

Andrew smiled softly, "People just find me easy to talk to. That other person. He must be very special to you. I'll wager that he's very worried about you." Starfire's blush was answer enough for him. Seeing that she had emptied her cup with the small sips she had been taking as she talked. "Well that's enough talking for today. We've got to get an early start in the morning in order to reach the town before sunset tomorrow."

Starfire nodded, then rolled herself up in the blankets she was laying on. After a moment she lifted her head and was going to ask a question, but the soft snore she head from the other side of the fire made her fall silent. "I must remember to ask him tomorrow where he got these blankets. He was not wearing a backpack before." she muttered then fell asleep.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The next sunrise found them on the trail again, and Starfire was relieved to find that she felt much better and was able to walk on her own. She found the answer to her question about the blankets to be surprisingly simple. Andrew used the spot to camp in often so he had a waterproof box buried in the ground with blankets and firewood.

"What is it, Andrew?" Starfire asked when he suddenly stopped.

"We're just about there. The edge of the town is just around that corner."

"That was faster than I thought. Would it be possible for you to stay and meet my friends?"

"I doubt that. We have a little problem."

Starfire looked back down the trail where Andrew was pointing. As she watched several wolves stalked into view. "One that appears to be getting bigger," she said as more wolves showed up.

"If you hit some of the more aggressive ones, the others should scatter," Andrew suggested. "You would need to hit at least seven of them, probably more. Would you be up to that?"

"I am not sure. Would not my hitting the ground in front of them scare them off? I do not wish to harm them for simply doing what comes naturally to them. They are only trying to survive."

The entire time they were talking, Andrew and Starfire were slowly walking backwards. Starfire glanced back over her shoulder and she could see the roofs of several houses.

"Starfire I appreciate your concern for the wolves, but you are going to have to hurt some of them."

"I will do so, but only as a last resort."

Before Andrew could comment a voice cut through the quiet.

"Starrrrfiiierrrrr!"

"Robin!" she said happily, her face split with a broad smile. "Friends! Over here!" she called hearing Cyborg and Beast Boy's voices also calling her.

"Koriand'r! Vana leva!"

Starfire whirled at Andrews shout, not fully realizing that he had just called to her in Tamaranean. She barely had time to launch a low powered star bolt that knocked the wolf that was leaping at her aside. Taking their cue from their leader the pack of ten remaining wolves charged. Aiming carefully Starfire fired a flurry of star bolts into the midst of the pack, taking care not to hit any of them. "You must go, Andrew!" she called. "I do not know how much longer I can continue this!" To be truthful, with each bolt she fired, Starfire could feel her strength ebbing. 'Something is not right,' she thought. 'After my rest and eating last night I should have more strength than this.'

"I am not the one who must leave, but you! You have done well, Princess, and proven yourself worthy, now leave."

Starfire watched as Andrew wielded a wooden branch like a staff, and she noticed that his prowess with the weapon rivaled what she had seen Robin do. "I will not leave you to them! They will kill you!"

"Pe va Zalthand'r, olava du X'Hal. Sho vaya naf anale na."

"Zalthand'r? You can not be the Servant of X'Hal. He is just a myth."

"Do you have another explanation of how I know Tamaranean? Now go!"

Seeing that Andrew was still fighting the wolves, and holding them at bay, Starfire quickly came up with a plan. "I will return with help. My friends are very close." Without waiting for him to reply, Starfire launched another flurry of star bolts, and flew off in the direction she heard Robin's voice.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Robin didn't know why he and the others had followed the man they had, except for the fact that he was leading them in the logical direction for where Starfire must have landed. He also couldn't figure out where he had disappeared to. He had run on ahead, and simply vanished into the copse of trees.

"Robin, those are star bolts." Raven said when she heard the sound of Starfire's first barrage at the wolves.

"Titans! Go!" He shouted, then ran off in the direction of the sound, knowing that the others would follow. They had almost reached the tree line when they saw Starfire flying toward them. 'Something's wrong. She's barely off the ground and it looks like she's having trouble keeping aloft.'

"I see it, Robin." Raven said as she flew up alongside him. "It's almost as if something is draining off her life force as she uses her powers."

They watched as Starfire slowly sank to the snow and collapsed. Robin reached her side first and he cradled her head in his lap.

"Robin, a man that helped me," she said weakly. "Being attacked by wolves."

"Cyborg, Beast Boy, check it out."

"Robin, there is something wrong with me. I know why I was so weak after I stopped the meteor, but I should have recovered more than this by now."

"Just rest, Star. We'll get you back to the Tower and see what the monitors find out."

Starfire nodded and closed her eyes. Robin looked over at Raven when he felt her go limp.

"She's simply asleep. I've never felt this exhausted before."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Andrew?" Starfire called softly as she woke in the med-lab of Titan's Tower. She opened her eyes, and saw Robin sitting beside her bed.

"Hey, Star. I take it that Andrew is the guy you said helped you?"

"Yes. He was most helpful from when I was on the mountain until I was found by you."

Star, I dolt know how to tell you this, but from what we could see, there was nobody with you. Cyborg and Beast Boy found where you fired some star bolts to scare off some wolves, but the only human foot prints were yours."

"That. . . ." Starfire began, but moaned as she sat up. "that is not possible. I was too weak to come down by myself. He carried me on a litter."

"It's okay, Star. He's not the only one who disappeared without a trace yesterday. We pulled into that town at the base of the mountain and someone met us and lead us to you. Right before we heard your star bolts he went into a stand of trees and. . . .well, vanished."

"What did this man look like?"

"Well, he was wearing a white parka. He was in his thirties, had light brown hair and a full beard."

"And light blue eyes."

Robin looked at her and nodded. "How did you know."

"Because you were describing Andrew to me," she said. "Robin, when he and I were facing the wolves I turned when I heard you calling me. Andrew called to me, and told me to look out because a wolf sprang at me when my back was turned," she related. "Robin, he spoke Tamaranean."

"What? How?"

Starfire related the events to him. "He told me that he was Zalthand'r. In Tamaranean mythology, he is a servant of X'Hal, and leads the spirit of a fallen warrior to Grimhallen."

"Grimhallen?"

"It is the paradise that our spirit goes to when we die. The closest I have read about in Earth beliefs is Valhalla. Zalthand'r is also believed to test warriors to ensure that they are worthy of the honor to each Grimhallen."

"So he was like an angel? Testing you?"

"I believe so." Starfire's eyes widened and she gasped softly. "What day is it?"

Robin looked over at the clock on the wall. "Well, seeing as it's six in the morning, let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. Hey what's the matter?"

Starfire looked crestfallen. "This day of Christmas is ruined. The gifts I had purchased for you all, I had to leave at a store when I got the call about the meteor."

"It's okay, Star. Having you back if gift enough for me anyway."

"So, how's my patient this morning?"

"I feel much better, Friend Cyborg, and Merry Christmas to you."

"Good, it looks like we got all that dust off you."

"Dust?"

"Yeah, that meteor you destroyed was made of some strange elements that collect bio-electrical energy. When you collided with it and shattered it, you were covered with some dust. A quick bath took care of that, and your energy levels have been getting back to normal, very quickly."

"Bath? That would mean. . . . . "

"I took care of that," Raven said as she came in. "At Robin's insistence, I might add."

"You up to coming down for breakfast? BB and I have been cooking up a regular feast, and the food will do you good. Help you regain your strength."

The breakfast Cyborg spoke of was everything he said. The team ate heartily on pancakes, waffles, both with milk and eggs and tofu and soy milk, bacon, sausage, and eggs. Once the meal was done, the dishes washed, and put away they headed for the common room.

"Friends, I am most sorry, but the gifts I purchased for each of you are not here because I had to leave them at the store when I got called away." Starfire said as she took her seat beside Robin on the couch.

"What store?"

"Madam Chin's Pagoda, in the mall."

"Oh man." Beast Boy said softly. "Star I don't know how to tell ya, but they had a fire there yesterday morning. The store was a complete loss."

"Okay, this is just too weird," Cyborg said as he poked around under the tree. "There are gifts here from Starfire to us. Here ya go Raven."

"But how is that possible?"

"Whoa, Starfire," Raven said softly. "Thank you, very much. This is really nice" The others looked as Raven held up box, displaying a small earthenware teapot and a selection of herbal teas.

"Star, where did you find this?" Cyborg asked as he held up a very old looking book. The leather cover was engraved with crescent moon. "You guys remember when I got pulled back in time, right?" He paused as he saw the others nod. "This is a book on the history of Sarasim's warrior tribe, and it looks to be more detailed than the one Raven showed me." He closed the book and gently trailed his fingers over the engraving. "Thanks, Star."

"Coooollll," Beast Boy said as he saw what his gift was. The collection of carved ivory figurines in a variety of animal shapes, all about four inches in height.

"I took care to select ones that I have seen you become in combat."

Raven thought to caution the green Titan to handle them carefully, as she could see that they were old, but was pleasantly surprised to see that he already was.

"And last but not least, Robin,"

Robin took the brightly wrapped package and tried to guess what it was by the weight and size, but couldn't.

"Quit trying to guess what it is and open it, Boy Wonder," Raven said.

Robin peeled the paper off and took the cover off the rectangular box. At first he was slightly disappointed that Starfire had gotten him a display set of swords, then he got a good look at them. "Star, these are not what I first thought."

"I do not know how they got here, but I hope they are satisfactory."

Robin stood, and slid the katana from its scabbard. "Starfire where did you find these?"

"Mister Osaka was most helpful when I told him what I was looking for, and he was able to acquire them for me. He told me that a certificate would be enclosed declaring that they were made by a Miyatsu Munetade."

"Star these are more than just swords, these are nearly works of art, and very old."

"Oh," Starfire said, looking down sadly. "Then they are not useable."

"No, Star, that's not what I meant. To not use these would dishonor the sword smith that made these."

The rest of the presents were distributed and Cyborg and Beast Boy were trying out a new game that they had gotten, and Raven was simmering some water to try her new teas. "Penny for your thoughts, Star." Robin said as he walked up behind her on the roof.

"I am thinking on the events of the last few days. Are you certain that none of you went to the mall and picked up my gifts?"

"Positive, Star. We were to busy trying to figure out what happened to you." Robin noticed a small box on the air conditioning unit. "What's this?"

"I am not certain. It was not there when I came up here."

"To Robin, from Kori," Robin read. "What?" he asked when he heard Starfire's surprised gasp.

"I did not know that anyone else would know that you call me that."

"When have I ever called you Kori?"

"Kori is Star in Tamaranean. Kori and'r is Star Fire. Every time you call me Star, I think of it as Kori. Kom and'r is my sister's name in Tamaranean."

"So Kom means black," Robin said, drawing a nod from Starfire. After a pause he tore the wrapping and opened the little box. "So you remembered from when Mumbo had us in his hat, eh?" he asked holding up the jade sculpture.

After a seconds thought Starfire giggled. "No, Robin. Truthfully I did not. That is Sun Hou Tzu," she told him and went on to explain the significance of the totem.

Robin smiled as he slid the leather thong over his head. "Thank you, Star."

"You are most welcome. I still do not understand what has happened. If it was Zalthand'r that I met, then everything that happened was a test and happened for a reason. I know that he told me that I had passed and that I was worthy, but that would mean that Earth was endangered because of me." She looked back at Robin, "Do I accept that he was who he said?"

Robin looked out over the bay, rubbing the back of his neck, "Star, I'm not sure if I'm the one to ask. It's a matter of belief and faith. Unlike you, when my parents were killed, my belief in God didn't grow stronger. I couldn't accept that He would allow them to die, leaving me alone. The only thing that got me through it was Batman's support and honoring my parents by doing what ever I can to bring criminals to justice. Is there some type of spiritual leader among your people that you could ask?"

"I will ask Galfore to have one contact me, the next time I speak with him. Until then I will take it on faith that he was Zalthand'r, and take comfort that he has found me worthy."