"You live here?" Raven broke the silence. Again.
"Temporarily," he answered.
They reached at a door and there was a red-headed girl waiting for him. She looked concerned at first but as she saw the boy, she exhaled with relief. She turned her back and spoke to someone inside the house, "Rich has returned! He is unharmed!"
The three of them entered. Raven saw some old furniture like a couch and a dining table. The ceiling was covered with spider webs and the floor was rather dusty. On the couch was a man, he was bigger and taller than any of the three teens. Everything about him seemed normal, except his left arm. It was made of metal and looked kind of robotic. "Who's the girl?" he asked.
"Obviously, she's a victim back there," he answered before turning to Raven, "Sorry for being kinda cold, I had a rough day today." Raven nodded, completely understood. "My name's Richard Grayson. Rich for short. This is Kori Anders and Victor Stone."
"Just call me Vic," the man added.
Kori smiled so wide and she hugged Raven tightly. Raven could feel her trachea was being blocked. "Oh, glorious! It is nice to finally have a friend who is a girl!" Kori squealed.
"Can't... breathed!"
Kori quickly realized that she was suffocating her and she loosened her grip. Raven gasped and coughed, taking in as much oxygen as she needed. "Forgive me. Please, do tell us your name and how did you end up being here?"
"My name's Raven Roth and..."
"Woah, woah, woah!" Victor interrupted, "You're tellin' us that you're Trigon's daughter?"
Raven nodded, causing Victor to be dumbfounded. "Seriously?!"
She nodded again.
"So you're a witch?!" Raven sighed, and she nodded again.
"Well that makes sense," Rich said, "I saw her do her magic when she fought the beast just now." Their eyes began to focus on Raven and she began to feel uncomfortable. She didn't like that much of attention. She lifted up her hood, covering half of her face.
"You killed the beast?" Kori asked. She sat down on the floor, cross-legged. Raven did the same. Rich took a seat on the couch next to Victor.
"I tried to. Rich finished the job." Raven answered simply.
"Cool," Victor said, "So you're heading outta city?"
"Yeah, I'm going to Gotham City actually."
"That makes four of us. You better come with us, there are really a lot of beasts out there. A lot," Rich said. Raven was actually touched when Rich invited her to join his gang. She never expected that anyone would accept her. Before the world was dominated by the beasts, Raven was seen only as Trigon's daughter. She didn't like it when people assume that she was as evil as her father. But these people that she just met were different. And Raven began to like them.
"Why are you heading to Gotham anyway?" Raven took her turn to ask.
Rich explained that the beasts were originally created as an alternative to improve the military system in the country. They were supposed to be used as secret weapons for wars etcetera. Researches about these weapons were carried out at S.T.A.R Labs situated in Gotham City. Somehow, something went wrong, causing this species to spread worldwide. That was why the number of beasts were higher in Gotham City. Rich was determined to stop these numbers from growing.
"How do you know all this? Are you like a detective or something?" Raven asked.
"No, he is not. But his father was," Kori answered proudly.
"Like father like son. I'm just in for the action. Kori, on the other hand has to take care of her boyfriend," Vic said, smirking. Rich started to blush. "How about you? Why are you going to Gotham?"
"My mother grew up there. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I need to know if I have any other relatives there," Raven explained. She didn't give too much details –she wasn't completely comfortable to open up yet.
"It's okay. We would have done the same thing too." Vic said. Raven gave a small smile, glad that he was understanding.
They spent the night sharing stories about each other's lives. Raven just listened with fascination on how they ended up on their own and then found each other. She listened how Vic's arm was amputated when he fought a beast for the first time. His late father managed to replace it and even install a cannon so that he could use it to protect himself. Raven then found the strength to share her story and so she told them how her mother died, how she ran away and how she survived the apocalypse. She also admitted that she wanted to leave the city to avoid her father, which she thought that he's still alive. The gang had rough beginnings and their story just went on. Raven liked how common they were, and she liked the fact that they were becoming friends.
Rich let out a yawn. Kori watched him and later she did the same. The yawn seemed contagious as Raven and Vic followed. "Well, time to hit the sack," Vic said, rubbing his eyes.
"Wait, whose turn is it to watch?" Rich asked. Raven watched as Kori and Vic groaned.
"Do we have too? We're exhausted!" Vic whined. He didn't like staying up to guard the house so they wouldn't be attacked by any beasts.
"Well we don't have to if you want us to get eaten by those monsters!" Rich said in his mother-like manner. For five minutes, the two boys argued. Raven rolled her eyes and sighed, annoyed. Kori just watched silently as she was used to this.
'This is why I travel alone.'
"Hey!" Raven yelled, causing the two to shut their mouths. "Just shut up and let me solve this."
Raven grabbed a plastic bag full of dusts from her backpack. The others watched attentively. Their eyebrows raised as Raven took a handful of the dusts and threw it at the door. She murmured something under her breath, probably chanting.
"Done. The beasts can't break in now. They can't even smell us. But the spell's not permanent. We must get up early tomorrow," she explained.
"Wow, thanks." Rich said. He turned to look at Victor and found out that he passed out on the couch. "The couch's taken. There's a single bed in one of the rooms."
"Then you shall sleep in it. I will accompany Raven," Kori said.
"You sure? You want to sleep on the floor?"
"Yes, I do. Do not worry, Rich. It is not like we are not used to sleeping on floors," Kori giggled. Rich smiled, he said good night and off he went in the room with the bed. Raven laid her head on her backpack. Kori lied on her back, then turned to look at Raven.
"What a day," she sighed.
"At least it is the best day ever. It is nice to meet a new friend. Good night, friend Raven," Kori gave a friendly smile before closing her eyes. Raven too shut her eyes and slowly she smiled too.
'It truly is the best day ever.'
._.
._.
._.
Meanwhile...
There was another boy, leaning against the door outside the apartment. He listened stealthily every part of their conversations. He missed the world before. He missed having friends. He missed guffaws. He missed everything.
His primal side was killing him the whole night. It wanted to be let out. Their scent was really strong, but surprisingly he controlled himself better this time. Because the smell of one of the teenagers inside the apartment stood out. Sure, the odour he breathed in was blended with haemoglobin and iron but the mixture of lavender incense, maybe potpourri and spices made him dizzy. Good dizzy. There were tea and herbs altogether, encouraging him to inhale more.
He couldn't get enough of it.
And suddenly, it stopped. No more fragrance. No more blood. Just the plain air.
'Weird. End of aromatherapy, I guess.'
He stood up and took a good look at the stars above. Their glow faded because of the haze, but their beauty hadn't. He continued gazing them, while waiting for sunrise to come.
._.
I know, it's kinda boring. Sorry :-/
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