Chapter Three: Close Quarters
"What's with the stunned looks, you guys? Do you guys just automatically assume that because I'm here I'm going to cause trouble? I was hoping for a little more respect than that," Blackfire remarked as she strolled as confidently as always into the living room. "It's almost hurtful to see this kind of reaction."
"Well what would you expect, you're a criminal," Robin pointed out.
"I've only broken a few peace disturbing laws on your planet. All the other things were committed on other planets with different laws and different circumstances. Don't go around judging me until you've at least lived a few days in my shoes," Blackfire cleverly retorted, silencing Robin momentarily with an effective use of logic.
"That doesn't change the fact that you tried to frame Starfire, forcibly took over your own planet, and tried to exploit your own sister for personal gain," Robin retaliated and would've gone on further except that Starfire stepped between the two of them to silence the argument.
"I will make sure that my sister does not do anything bad and you will give her the benefit of the doubt. It is only until we are finished tomorrow and not a moment longer, I promise," Starfire explained, feeling a lot more confident now at stopping this situation before it does escalate into something a little more violent. Her concern was mostly with the patience of her sister, which she knew was a bit on the short side. A heated argument might spark violence and everything would go down hill from there.
"Exactly!" Blackfire nodded in agreement.
"And you will be on your absolute best behavior," Starfire turned her attention to her sister next, being much more stern with Blackfire than Robin. "You will show all my friends the highest of respect and you will do as they ask when I am not around. This is your last chance sister – if you betray my trust once more I will never trust you again."
"Okay okay…no need to get so serious sis," Blackfire edged back slightly when her sister first started speaking. "I'll behave, I promise. Just…you know, make sure your friends don't treat me like I'm always up to something." Blackfire knew the next day or so would be a strain on her patience but she was confident that if she just stayed out of everybody's way they'd hardly even notice that she was there. Blackfire realized a while back that her sister's confidence was significantly greater than in their previous encounters. She wouldn't be able to 'bully' Starfire anymore; the only way to get her way was to just reason with her sister, not something that Blackfire enjoyed.
"Starfire could I have a word with you in private?" Robin insisted, taking Starfire by the wrist and dragging her off to the next room. Blackfire just rolled her eyes as she had a good idea what the conversation was going to be about. Robin was probably going to be the most difficult convince – Cyborg and Beast Boy were easy to win back over and Raven would just be…well, either Raven would be completely impossible, moderately easy, or just wouldn't care at all. Either way, Robin was the only person that could really ruin the next few days.
"Blackfire, you promised you'd listen to any request made by the rest of us. I request that you take Robin's place and finish the race in his place," Beast Boy 'commanded', taking advantage of Blackfire's promise in order to relieve his boredom that was brought about by Starfire's interruption. Beast Boy, while just as suspicious of Blackfire as the others, was not about to let that ruin a good opportunity to play against one of the best gamers he's ever challenged.
"Fine…if you want to lose that badly," Blackfire said as she accepted his challenge. Perhaps a few rounds on the game console would help ease some of the tension in this place. She hopped onto the couch and picked up Robins controller to resume where he had left off.
"Not a chance! I'm already three laps ahead of you and it's almost the last lap."
Meanwhile in the next room over, Starfire and Robin find some privacy to discuss the obvious matter at hand. Honestly though, Robin was having trouble finding anything to try and convince Starfire to reconsider her decision. She was adamant in her decision and was unlikely to back down any time soon. However, Robin hoped that he could get a bit more truthful answer from Starfire now that her sister was out of earshot.
"Are you certain that this is a good idea?" Robin attempted to reason with her once more.
"I have given this a great deal of thought Robin and I believe this is the right decision. It has been a while since the events on Tamaran and she has told me that she has done much reflecting upon her life. I think she might be able to turn away from her life of crime if I show her that a peaceful solution is possible."
"I hope you're right…"
"As do I."
"Just keep an eye on your sister, okay? I'm not going to stop you but…I have a bad feeling about all of this."
"Really? That's strange because I have a good feeling about this. I have a feeling we might actually be able to change things for the better between us."
"I must admit I'm a little surprised and impressed to see how easily the two of you can set aside your differences for the sake of tradition. It's almost like you two were a regular pair of siblings…"
"Indeed. It is nice to be able to be around my sister without having to worry…well, worry much that is. Perhaps tomorrow you can see the sister that I grew up with and you will understand why I am willing to take such a risk."
"So what exactly do you two…you know, do on this occasion? You've never really mentioned this tradition before."
"It's more of an informal tradition with my sister. At midnight we start with a toast over a glass of rothulk, which is a traditional drink served at times of celebration or mourning. Afterwards, Galfore would normally share stories of our parents until we both felt well enough to travel. At midday, we would travel to our parents' grave and observe a period of silence and reflection for them. Then we would return to the palace and have a small banquet in their honor. I suppose we will have to change some of the traditions since we will not be on Tamaran but what is important is that my family are friends are here to spend it with."
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A near-deafening and familiar cry came from the other room, pulling Robin away from the conversation as he raced back to the living room to find out what was the source of the commotion. What he found was Beast Boy bashing his head against the coffee table while Blackfire beside him was doing a sort of victory jig in her seat.
"Move over bud, it's my turn to play!" Cyborg said enthusiastically as he pulled Beast Boy from his seat and took his place with controller in hand.
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"Listen Raven…I'm sorry to have to be putting you on the spot like this but I needed somebody to talk to and you were the only one I figured would be…objective about this and I really appreciate that you're willing to listen to me. I know you'd rather be doing something else," Robin apologized before lifting the dumbbell in his left hand. The two Titans were in the gym – Robin sitting amongst the weights and Raven sitting in a chair a few feet away with her feet kicked up and resting atop of a barbell upon its stand. Raven didn't appear to be paying much attention to her teammate though as she was reading a book at the same time.
"Oh believe me, there's nothing I'd rather do than listen to you complain about you friend's sister," Raven sarcastically replied before flipping a page in her book.
"Yeah…like I said, I really appreciate what you're doing."
"What can I say, I'm a people person."
"I want to be supportive for Starfire but…I can't bring myself to trust Blackfire. She's lied and betrayed her twice already and now she's claiming that she'll behave herself because of their parents. She lied to her whole planet…she manipulated everybody in her way to get what she wanted."
"Are you saying a liar can't tell the truth?"
"What? No…that's not what I meant."
"I don't trust her much either, but I'm willing to call a truce if that's what Starfire wants." Raven had her doubts about Blackfire's sincerity but if she tried to dispute Starfire's decision that would just spur an argument from her and Raven figured it'd be easier putting up with Blackfire for one day than put up with Starfire's whining for an equal period of time. "Besides, if Blackfire isn't be honest, I'm pretty sure Starfire is going to raise holy hell about it and I'll be grateful not to be on the receiving end of it."
"I suppose you're right there…"
"I do seem to have a knack for that."
"So…what would you recommend I do? You seem to have a handle on this whole situation," Robin asked, switching arms for the dumbbell.
"What does it matter what I'd do? I'm not you and my way tends to involve keeping my distance from the rest of you," Raven answered honestly. "Besides, this isn't something you should just ignore because if Starfire gets what she wants you can be certain you'll be seeing a lot more of her sister. Even if she were planning something she would've likely taken your skepticism into account."
"So I'm screwed either way, huh?"
"Well…you could do that crazy thing you people call 'getting to know each other' or is that not superhero enough for you?"
"I think I know her well enough…"
"Really now? I don't recall you being the one that grew up with her…or the one that listened to almost an hour-long collection of poetry that was more true to herself than any of her current behavior. I must've gotten myself confused in the middle of it all. You've spent a total of only a couple of days with Blackfire and during most of it you were enjoying yourself like the rest of us. While I can understand your desire to keep her pegged as a no-good criminal, it's not as if she's on the level of Slade or Dr. Light. Before you label her for life, bear in mind that you have a big Red X on your unofficial criminal record."
"Dammit…" Robin groaned as he set the dumbbell down on the stand with the others. "Fine…but that's the last time you get to use that excuse to make me do something."
"That's a lie and you know it. Now hop to it and maybe you'll learn something."
"You already know what it is you want me to find out."
"Of course, I'm smart and I know everything."
"Couldn't you just tell me right now?"
"That, my friend, would rob me of all my entertainment for tomorrow," she answered with a sly smirk, which just aggravated Robin further. She didn't have to just be right - she had to be right and rub it in as well.
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It took a while for Robin to finally swallow his pride and admit that Raven had a very good about Blackfire and it took even longer for him to finally work up the guts to actually do something about it. He was hoping if he just ignored the situation long enough it would go away…but he had a strange feeling that Blackfire wasn't going to be exiting his life any time soon. He had to try and have a civilized conversation with her and try to see what Starfire still saw in that manipulative sister of hers. He found her alone in the living room, standing behind a counter with several large bottle filled various coloured liquids and one smaller, empty bottle.
"Uh, hey Blackfire, um…what are you up to?" Robin struggled a bit with getting that first sentence out. It was so tempting to just walk away and forget it, but this needed to be done. For Starfire's sake, he had to learn how to get along with Blackfire once again. How hard could it be though - he remembered when they were having fun in the weight room the first time Blackfire visited the tower.
"Getting the rothulk ready for tonight. I assume you've talked to Raven already?"
"H…how did you know-"
"You were still bothered by my presence last time I saw you," Blackfire interrupted. "Starfire had said everything she needed to and Cyborg and Beast Boy were too busy having fun playing the gamestation with me so that leaves only one other person. The fact that your talking to me tells me that you're finally ready to give me a second chance…"
"Third chance."
"Oh who's counting?"
"I am," Robin answered though Blackfire didn't give him the benefit of a retort. Robin sighed lightly as he realized this was not what Raven had suggested and he had to try and be a little less…condemning. "So um…Starfire said that rothulk was a traditional drink on Tamaran what sort of drink is it exactly?"
"The closest equivalent would be a hard liquor on your planet. I'd list the ingredients but it would mean absolutely nothing to you. It's very…strong would be a good way to describe it. Very bold and somewhat fruity taste though it's very much an acquired one," Blackfire explained as she began mixing the contents of the large bottles into the small one. "Rothulk is made by mixing these six fruit, root, and grain extracts together in the right proportions and then you serve it chilled. It's only good for a few hours and then the stuff goes bad so it's pretty much every Tamaranean's duty to learn how to make it."
"Uh…that's um, very interesting."
"It's cute to see you trying so hard to treat me as an equal," she joked as she capped the small bottle close and started shaking it like a martini shaker. "The traditional way to drink it is to take it all back in one gulp, however I'm probably the only one in this building who can take it all at once and not pass out so you're more than welcome to just take it in light sips. Even Starfire sips hers…you should've seen her the first time she tried rothulk. She got tipsy and fell into one of the palace fountains." Blackfire chuckled softly as she reflected on the memory, it was a long time ago but she could still remember it like it was yesterday. "I had to jump into the fountain to pull Starfire out. Galfore was furious at me cause I gave it to her despite him telling me not to. It was probably the first time that she really enjoyed the tradition."
"Sounds like you two were pretty close back then."
"Yeah…seems that way doesn't it…" Blackfire let slip without even thinking about her response thoroughly. The immediate, slightly panicked look in her eyes as she glanced away from Robin let him know that it a Freudian slip that he had just witnessed. Was this what Raven was talking about? Robin didn't know if he should press on the slip. Being too assertive could just wind up sealing that slight leak forever. There was an awkward silence between them; the only noise was the gentle shaking of the rothulk bottle.
"Have you and Starfire always been so…hostile with each other?" Robin finally asked, hoping he wasn't treading on thin ice right now.
Blackfire just stared at Robin for a moment before answering. "Sorta. I suppose we've always been rivals since we were younger and for a long while I was always the one coming out on top. She used to look up to like any little sister would but…I guess it was only a matter of time before she got better than me at fighting."
"Since when have you been so…humble?"
"I'm not, I'm just being honest. But hey, I've been working out since the incident on Tamaaran, maybe we'll get a rematch going one day." Blackfire's comment just drew a suspicious glare from Robin, which just made her chuckle softly. "In a friendly spar of course…it's not like I want to risk getting banished from another planet." Robin remained silent as she just watched Blackfire for a little while longer, trying to read between the lines and pick out the snippets of the person that she's trying to keep hidden. Was it possible that beneath the layers of arrogance and anger there was a teenager who was just like the rest of them? "Well I'm sure that's enough Q&A to satisfy your need to feel that you've listened to Raven's advice so you can go back to holding quiet disdain for me for the rest of my stay."
"What if I'm actually interested in listening to you?" Robin tried Raven's other suggestion and that was to do what Blackfire would not expect from him and his usual behavior.
"Those are stories for another time. Hold your rothulk later and maybe you'll get a chance to hear some of it. Go ahead and take a whiff," Blackfire offered as she popped the cap off and held the bottle out for Robin. He only needed to put his nose within a foot of it before he reared back in shock.
"Oh man! That stuff smells…" Robin stated, covering his nose with one hand so he wouldn't have to smell it again. It held a very strong and spicy aroma mixed with hints of a more flowery scent, like a mixture of smelling a rose and inhaling deeply into a jar of mustard. On the bright side at least his sinuses felt a lot clearer now. "And you actually drink that stuff?"
"Tastes better than it smells. That's why you down it all in one go instead of sipping it slowly. That and the impact isn't as great when you sip. Got an ice bucket?"
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Midnight was only a few minutes away, which was when Starfire said that the celebration officially started. The other Titans were somewhat reluctant with the concern that something might happen in the city while they're having a toast, but they had all agreed to take part in this tradition and they weren't going to break their word. The five Titans and their guest had gathered in the living room to indulge themselves in a glass of rothulk, though Blackfire was fairly certain that most of them wouldn't drink much of it.
"First off, I wish to thank you all for your patience in dealing with my sister. I know she can be a handful at times but this day truly means a great deal to the both of us and I am honored to be able to share this moment with you all," Starfire began as her sister pulled the bottle of rothulk, a deep burgundy liquid, from the ice bucket and popped the top off. Each of the Titans had a glass in hand and they were curious as to see what this Tamaranean tradition involved.
"This is rothulk – a drink sometimes used in celebration but always used in times of mourning and remembrance. It calls us to remember that even though something may seem distasteful or unwanted at first, one can still find joy and happiness if you are willing to look for it," she continued as Blackfire went to each of the Titans and poured a reasonable amount for each of them.
"Now it's very strong and we don't expect any of you to drink it the Tamaranean way, which is to just take it all at once. If it makes you feel better, not even Starfire here can take it all at once," Blackfire added as she finished topping off her own glass.
"Actually sister, I will be attempting to drink it in the traditional manner this year," Starfire insisted as she picked up her glass.
"Okay but bear in mind what happened last time you did that." Blackfire was the only one in the room used to taking a whole glass of rothulk at once and usually had more than one if there was any left. The other Titans looked at the contents of their glass, trying hard not to inhale it as they caught of a whiff of it when Blackfire was pouring it for them.
"As our guest, would you care to do the honours sister?"
"Me? You know I'm not very good at these things."
"I know that Galfore is the one who performs the toast but he is not here and you know that I…do not remember much of mother and father."
"Very well then…um, lemme think for a moment," Blackfire muttered softly to herself. Her fingertips rapped upon the side of her glass as she stewed over the right words. "Here goes nothing…" she sighed before clearing her throat. She raised her glass into the air and took a deep breath. "Mother…Father…thank you for everything that you have given us. I hope that wherever you two may be now that you are able to watch us from above and, hopefully, that you are smiling upon us…or at least one of us. G'floir!" Blackfire finished with a Tamaranean equivalent of 'cheers', to which Starfire immediately raised her glass.
"G'floir!"
The other Titans, not exactly certain of what Blackfire had said at the end, simply raised their glasses with a combined 'cheers'. Blackfire then threw her head back and started chugging the rothulk down, not missing a beat and finishing it all in only a few seconds. Starfire soon followed suit while the other four Titans watched with curiosity as Starfire began chugging back the liquid as well. Both sisters let out very large and content sighs after they had finished their drinks, their cheeks flushing red only moments afterwards due to the quick intoxicating effects of the drink. Beast Boy, Robin, and Cyborg both eyed their drinks cautiously and took a very gentle sip from it before all three doubled over in unison, gasping loudly for air. Rothulk was known for its very hard and very fast hitting action somewhat similar to being hit in the stomach by a raspberry the size of a football launched out of a howitzer.
"Whoa…how do you handle all that at once?" Beast Boy asked between gasps. The three boys' attention was then pulled aside to the sound of more chugging and they all looked to their right to see Raven throwing back the rothulk in a fashion akin to the Tamaraneans.
"Not bad…" she finally commented after taking a few deep breaths to fully…appreciate the characteristics of rothulk. The three Titans to her left just stood there dumbfounded after what they had witnessed. Blackfire looked to her sister, whose face had progressively reddened over time but she was still standing at the moment.
"Hey you actually got it all down for a change!" Blackfire chuckled as she gave Starfire a congratulatory pat on the back. Unfortunately, it seemed that Starfire might only have been standing because of a lack of force to the contrary as even the light pat on the back caused Starfire to collapse on the couch that was strategically placed in her path for just such an emergency.
"Well at least you lasted longer than last time," Blackfire commented, though the only response Starfire could give at the moment was a heavily slurred groaning noise.
"Can I have a refill?"
The celebration had continued long into the night and though there were not as many shared stories as in previous years, the Titans managed to find a way to spend their time. Eventually Starfire recovered and resumed drinking along with Blackfire and Raven and good times were had by all. At one point, Starfire even climbed up onto the table and proclaimed her disdain for the unbearable heat in the room before discarding a few layers of her already limited wardrobe to much surprise and/or amusement of the others.
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Morning eventually came many hours after the Titans had either fallen asleep or passed out due to intoxication. Robin was the first to wake back up and not having avoided most of the rothulk the night before felt refreshed and alert when he awoke. In a surprisingly similar turn of events, he had awoken once again to find Starfire unconscious atop of him, though this time her slumber was much, much deeper than the night before and he managed to slip out from underneath her without waking the Tamaranean. Raven was passed out face-first on the couch with Beast Boy on the floor in front of the couch and Cyborg behind it.
"Wait a second…where's Blackfire?" Robin muttered to himself as he realized he could not find the other Tamaranean anywhere in the living room. Was this what she had been waiting for? To get as many people smashed as possible before running amuck in the tower? Robin was about to race out of the living room but when he reached the doorway out it opened to reveal Blackfire on the other side.
"Oh…good morning, or should I say afternoon?"
"Where have you been?"
"The bathroom…unfortunately I flush all the evidence down the toilet so you'll have to take my word for it."
"Oh…sorry."
"By the way, one of your computers was making a lot of noise – the one with the red flashing lights and such."
"What? Agh! That means there's something happening in the city!"
"Calm down. I read the thingie on the screen. It said there was a suspicious sighting at some museum storage facility. Some tall guy with broad shoulder…wearing a weird suit that was mostly black and wearing a blackish helmet."
"Slade! Ah man of all the days!" Robin shouted as he raced back to the couch to awaken his teammates. "Titans, wake up! We got a situation in progress!"
"Please reduce the volume of your voice…" Starfire groaned in response. "Your volume is only making the pounding in my head more intense." Thankfully, Beast Boy and Cyborg were able to wake up relatively faster than their female teammates.
"Come on you guys. There's a possible sighting of Slade at a museum warehouse, we have to go now!" Thankfully the name Slade invoked some more haste from the Titans, though not as much as it had to Robin. None of them were in the mood for fighting but they couldn't ignore this.
"Have fun you guys…I'll um, stay here," Blackfire added with a wave good-bye.
"Oh no you don't, you're coming with us!" Robin ordered as he grabbed Blackfire by the wrist and pulled her along.
Note from the Author: The author wishes to state at this time that while intoxication may be funny in a safe environment, alcohol is not something to be used frivolously. While the Titans may all be under the legal drinking age, please bear in mind that difficult cultures view alcohol consumption with vastly different views. In some cultures alcohol consumption at such a young age is not illegal and considered normal while others ban alcohol altogether. However, please respect the drinking laws in your area and if you are of legal age, please drink responsibly.