A/N: Eh, just felt like doing this. All creatures and characters belong to Teen titans...well maybe a few creatures are mine but hey, alien things are hard to think up. Koriand'r=Starfire. Komand'r= Blackfire. Just in case you didn't already know.

Childhood memories

Starfire

A little girl slept, counting the proverbial Okarins as they jumped over a fence. A loud knocking pulled her rudely out of her sleep. She buried herself further into her pillow, ignoring the demanding pounding on her door.

It is too early, she thought to herself.

She didn't even bother to move as she heard the door open. Maybe if she pretended to be deep in sleep they would go away. She already knew who it was that wished to disturb her rest. The guards would have called out to her while knocking gentle instead of this loud pounding meant to jolt her awake in an unpleasing way, and her parents wouldn't have bothered with knocking at all.

Footsteps approached her bed side as she tried to keep from twitching under her intruder's shadow. For a moment there she thought maybe she fooled them as she heard them walk away but that was before a loud battle cry was called out following a body landed on the bed, nearly bouncing her out of it.

The little girl pushed her face into the pillow to keep her intruder from seeing her face and knowing she was awake.

Rather it worked or not she didn't know.

"Rise and shine little sister!" Her sister turned her over and sat on her stomach.

"Come on, today is a very special day and you know it." She leaned closer to the "sleeping" girl's face, letting her feel that she was being watch.

She smiled as the younger girl's face twitched with the effort to not smile herself. The older one's smile quickly faded as she became impatient and began to pry the little girl's eyes open.

"You do know what day it is, don't you?" She asked harshly before letting the eyelids go with a short pop.

The little girl flinched then sighed. The jig was up. She figured she might as well open her eyes, her sister clearly knew she was awake. She seemed to know everything sometimes.

Looking up at the violet eyes of the girl on top of her, she said."Yes big sister, I know what day it is but can we not celebrate the day of your birth when the Tamaraneans sun is higher in the sky?"

Her sister sat back and placed her hand under her chin as if she was seriously thinking about it.

"Ummm......Nope." She answered as she rolled off the tired little girl. "Now get up already. I'm hungry for some Garblogs and you're going to make them for me."

The little girl sighed and turned over, away from her sister. "Can you not get someone else to prepare them for you? The cooks would gladly do so if you ask nicely."

The older one scoffed. "Now Koriand'r that would be rude to disturb them this early in the day. Besides, I would prefer you to make them for me."

Seeing that the younger red head didn't move, she grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her swiftly out of bed and onto the cold morning floor. Not giving the red head time to get her barrings to get up, she simply continued to drag the girl by her feet as they exited the room. "Let's go. You're my personal little slave today after all."

"Wait, Komand'r. I would very much like to walk on my own please." The little girl wailed as they walk/dragged down the hallway.

----

"Ouch!" Koriand'r yelled, possible for the fourth time, and stick her finger in her mouth.

"Jeez little sister, how many times must I tell you? You can't hold a Garblog like that. You have to hold it by the antenna or it's going to cut your hand open." Komand'r demonstrated, shaking her head at her sister's foolishness.

The little girl looked from the Garblog to her sister and tilted her head. "But if you hold it like that how do you put the blurgle berries in?"

"Well you..um...you slice them up of course. That way they fit into it's mouth." To be honest Komand'r didn't really know. She had seen the cooks prepare this dish and it looked very simple. Komand'r just had the tendency to get distracted by something else when they put the blurgle berries in. Either way, her sister believed her though she wasn't sure if she saw the logic behind it.

"How do we get them in without spilling all the juices out?"

Once again, Komand'r had to think fast. "Well....It's simple. You just have to cut the blurgle berries carefully. Remember how the cooks prepare the Slog glarsh. It's like that I'm sure." Knowing she didn't sound so sure, the older one dropped the Garblog back on the table and pulled out a knife for the blurgle berries.

Koriand'r did the same and listened carefully to her sister's words of wisdom, watching her every move in hopes that she could do it as "perfectly" as possible to win the older one's praise.

Doing her best to look confident in the eyes of her sister, Komand'r began instructing her as if she actually knew what she was doing.

"Okay, now don't put a lot of pressure on the knife, you have to do it gently. And watch where you cut. This thing is full of juice. One wrong cut and it'll--" She cut down into the berry, unfortunately in the wrong spot, as an immediate result was it exploding in a splash of purple goo, some of it landing on her younger sister's face. Since Koriand'r was mimicking her every move the same thing happened and vis versa.

Komand'r wiped her hand across her face, smearing the berry's gunk on her cheeks. Turning to scowl her sister, she found the younger girl wiggling her nose like a hopping gizbar as if the motion would somehow remove the purple goo splattered on it. The older girl laughed at the the sight. In turn, Koriand'r ended up laughing too.

They soon abandoned the idea of cutting the berries and tried a simpler method which consisted of one of them holding the Garblog's mouth open as the other one popped in as many Blurgle berries as they could as fast as possible. They cheered when the finally got one in without it bursting on them then continued to laugh at the other attempts that resulted in each other being covered in berry juice.

Finally when Komand'r thought they had enough berries in they popped it into the oven to cook.

"That's enough I think. Now, I'll go get something we can use to pull the Garblog out when it's done. You can stay here and start cleaning up this mess. I'll be back faster than a racing Glore beetle. Make sure it doesn't burn while I'm gone."

"Okay." Koriand'r said before looking around at the gooey mess they made. Picking up a rag she sighed, but was happy her and her sister were both enjoying themselves this time around.

----

Komand'r stopped her joyful skipping down the hallway and slowed to a near crawl, figuring if she took enough time her sister would finish cleaning without her and she wouldn't have to do anything at all. Amused with her plan, she almost didn't catch the sound of hushed voices coming from the room she just past. Recognizing those voices she turned back to listen in.

A female's voice sounded sadly. "It's too soon dear."

A male replied. "Nonsense. The younger the better. You know that."

"Isn't there another way?"

"You said it yourself. 'Something must be done.' Did you not?"

"I believe I did but--"

"And this is the course of action needed. We need to think of the future."

"I am thinking of the future dear but I'm also thinking about our family. I'm beginning to question if it is not you who needs to think this though more clearly."

"I AM THINKING OF THE FAMILY!" The man's shout silenced the room.

Kormand'r winced, scared briefly by the tone in his voice. Their conversation left her confused and worried. Her parents didn't fight very often, hardly at all, actually. Whatever they were talking about must be serious.

The girl listened closely as her father spoke again, this time in a strained voice, as if talking about it pained him.

"My love, we both know this is for the better. My people...our people would not take Komand'r as their ruler well. She is too different. They will not respect her. That is why Koriand'r should take the throne."

Kormand'r froze.

"Dear, you shouldn't judge Kormand'r so soon. She could be a great leader one day and Koriand'r is so fragile, I fear that-"

"I know of Koriand'r state. That is why we should start their training now. To prepare them for the future. Komand'r has potential. She may even become a great general one day but a ruler? I fear not. The people are too stuck in their ways to accept someone so different. To stuck in tradition."

"People can change, dear."

"Like Clorbag's spit. I will not take any chances with our nation. Any sigh of weakness among us and the Gordanian will not wait to attack."

"But if Koriand'r takes the throne then-"

"Yes, I am aware. But they will accept her much easier then Kormand'r. They will give her a chance to prove herself to them."

"And if she can't?"

Her father fell silent for a while. Kormand'r wasn't sure what to think of this. She just heard that she was past up for the throne for her..sister. Her little sister. Weak, naive, innocent, gullible little Koriand'r. Worse yet, her own father didn't even give her a chance to prove herself worthy. Not one. Well she'll just have to show him then. Open his eyes to the truth. That she was the better leader. She was the better choose. Not Koriand'r. She was-

"They would eat her alive." Her father said gravely.

Kormand'r insides grew cold and began to sink but she still continued to listen to her father's words.

"I fear she would share the same fate as my father before me. I have worked long and hard to win my throne back. I made many mistakes and chooses no one should ever choose from, many chooses that even our people would call barbaric but won their respect and honor. If Koriand'r is to do the same.....if we do not act now.....the cost could be too great. I wish for none of my children to go though such a thing as I have."

-----

The little red head just finished wiping up the last of the purple goo when Kormand'r reentered the room, though it was not the same laughing girl who left to fetch something earlier. This girl frowned, a cruel set to her mouth as her eyes were somewhat cold and distant, as if looking at the room but not really seeing it. This made Koriand'r worry. Her sister was known for her mood swings but none such as this. Or at least not without good reason.

"Sister?" She called to her timidly.

The older girl's mind raged with thoughts. The conversation she overheard played itself over and over in her head. The throne, her people, being passed up. All of it clouded her mind with mixed emotions but one thought continued to ring just a bit louder then the rest.

When she heard Koriand'r call for her she focused in on her sister's presence. The thought rang even louder now.

'They would eat her alive.'

Banishing her thoughts, she grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her along. "Let's go. I don't feel like eating anymore. We're going to find some Bongle slurs to play with."

"Huh, but what about the Garblog?"

"Let it burn. I doubt it would have tasted good anyway."

"Oh sister, don't be so mean."