The only word to describe it was 'ghastly'. The floor was littered with papers, cups, and various half eaten foods, or what appeared to be food. Due to the discoloration and malformation, it was hard to tell anymore. Disgusting as it was, Beast Boy had to admit, it was both disturbing and impressive.
"So," asked the girl beside him, "what do you think? Pretty good, huh?" A smirk formed on her lips, and she floated over to a small bed in the far right corner of the room. She laid down on it, legs sprawled out in a rather unladylike fashion.
"I gotta hand it to you, Rude. This is…awesome," He replied, with a smile. Beast Boy looked around him, deciding whether or not it was worth a shot trying to step around things, or if it would be easier to simply step on whatever was under his feet. Shrugging, he quickly shifted into the form of a small field mouse. The tiny green mouse scurried quickly across the floor, over the garbage, up the leg of a stool across from the bed, in the opposite corner of the room, next to the only window, and then shifted back into himself. Beast Boy got situated on the stool, and looked at Rude, who was fighting a smile. "What?"
Rude gave up fighting and allowed him to see the smile, "Nothing, nothing. You're just funny." When he gave her a curious look, she waved her hand, dismissing the subject. "Never mind, so you think Raven's alright now? Ya know, after her little 'episode'. No way that girl is gonna let anyone tell her she should take a break. She gets her stubbornness from me, ya know?"
"Not sure. She can be stubborn, can't she? Heh…" Beast Boy looked down a little, a sad smile on his face.
"What's your problem?"
"Huh? Oh no, nothing. Raven's just as stubborn as someone else I once knew….It's why they never really got along."
"Terra," Rude said her name as a statement. No use asking a question she already knew the answer to. "Not the only reason we didn't like her. Shame what happened though. Guess she wasn't a complete traitor after all." Beast Boy stood up so suddenly the force of it knocked the stool to the floor.
"Don't talk about her like that! Don't you have any respect for anything? Terra is not a traitor; we built that gravesite for her to prove it." He took a step toward her, his hands forming fists as he fought to control his voice. His body shook with the effort. "Raven was there, she knows the truth and so do you. How could you say that so close to…the anniversary of her death?" Rude sat up on the bed, swinging her pale legs over the edge of it.
"Beast Boy," she looked down at the ground and kicked an empty soda can, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm Rude, remember?" She laughed bitterly, "Can't be anything I'm not. That's why I'm kinda glad you messed this whole spell thing up. We all are, deep down, I think. This is our shot, our one chance to be something different. We appreciate it, Beast Boy. Even if it was incredibly stupid of you." Rude smiled up at him after that, "Forgive me?"
"Yeah...Yeah…Sorry for blowin' up like that," He scratched the back of his head, nervously. A silence followed and it was indeed awkward. So awkward, in fact, that Rude just couldn't help herself. She opened her mouth and did something that Beast Boy should have expected, considering her name. She burped. Loudly and for quite longer than most burps should take.
When she finished, she coughed and laughed, "Oh man! You can taste that one!" Beast Boy couldn't stop the laughter from escaping his body. He laughed, wholeheartedly, and Rude joined him, rolling over on her bed and kicking her feet in the air. They laughed because it was easy, because through all of the mess that had taken place, sometimes a laugh is the only thing that can keep you from breaking down and cry. The two friends laughed and Beast Boy relished in that laughter. It was so rare for anyone to hear Raven's laugh, if this was the closest he would get to hearing the real thing, then he would enjoy it for as long as he could. Slowly, the laughter turned into a soft chuckling, and eventually left the two sitting across from one another, smiling.
Just a few gateways over, another scene was taking place.
"Raven, please, just take a few seconds to let me explain," a brown cloaked girl begged, backing up slowly.
"You've already explained, Wisdom. I'm perfectly aware of what happened. I leave you and Knowledge in charge, and you can't keep everyone in control for even a few hours before all hell breaks loose. What am I supposed to do? You're supposed to be the wise one here, you tell me. How am I supposed to figure out how to fix this, if you guys can't even get along long enough for me to be outside of my own head?" Raven paced on the snow covered mountain. Snow flakes fell from the sky lightly, but the wind was picking up. "Wisdom, I need you now more than ever, and if I can't count on the two of you to keep things relatively calm in here…." She sighed, rubbing her temples, and placing her hand on her hip.
"Let's go inside the cabin," Wisdom gestured toward the cabin just a few yards away from them, "It's so cold out here. Please, I'll make you some hot chocolate, and we can talk about how we're going to handle this mess." She smiled at her master, who sighed, pulled her cloak around her, and nodded. Wisdom's smile widened, and the two girls floated over toward the promise of a warm fire, hot chocolate, and a snuggly blanket. Some days, even the strongest of women need time to be soft.
Raven pulled the large, knitted green blanket around her legs, as she curled them up closer toward her chest. She traced circles around the rim of the mug; she allowed herself a small smile as she inhaled the smell of the hot chocolate. "You know, normally I don't drink this stuff. Tea pretty much is all I stick to, but," She smiled again, "I think I earned this." Raven took a sip of it, and actually laughed a little. "Thanks, Wisdom."
Wisdom smiled and bowed her head in a small nod. She was leaning against the wall beside the fire place, which provided the lighting in the room, sipping some hot chocolate of her own. "I've never seen you this…domestic before. It's actually very scary." Wisdom shrugged a very Gallic shrug. It was a move that could mean anything and nothing at all at the same time. "I was thinking," Raven again, traced circles around the cup, "is that due to whoever's chakra you have?"
Wisdom shrugged again and took another sip of her drink, "I believe so, but it could be a number of things. This spell has caused changes in all of us, aside from the mix ups of Chakras." The two girls' eyes met. It was a crossroads moment. A moment where a person must decide to ask a question out loud, make it real, or to let it die and pretend there is nothing to be asked. Raven sighed, because she knew she had to ask. She could not afford not to ask questions at this point. She sighed because there is a difference between knowing a decision is the right one, and actually accepting it.
"Wisdom, who's chakra do you have?"
"Affection."
"How long has she been here, Wisdom? Why didn't you tell me who she was?" Raven lowered her legs to the floor, and leaned forward on the couch, "I have a right to know when new emotions are formed, when another dimension is built." She sighed, rubbing her temples again. "This damn headache…."
"When was the last time you slept, Raven?"
"When I passed out after you're little spat in here. You know I actually slapped Cyborg?" Raven lowered her head, "You're changing the subject."
Wisdom smiled at her, "I'm sorry, Raven, but some things you must discover for yourself, I can't give you all of the answers. Would you really have been able to handle me telling you that an emotion has formed that we haven't seen since—"
Raven's head shot up. "Don't. Don't say his name. I know she hasn't been here since I locked him away for forever. That's what frustrates me." Raven looked down again, "Why is she here?" Wisdom looked at the girl, finished her drink, and walked over to her. Raven slowly looked up at her, as Wisdom knelt down to get at eye level. She set her cup on the floor, looked Raven in the eye, and whispered,
"You and I both know that I can not tell you that." Raven scoffed softly and tried to get up. Wisdom placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and held her down. "No. Here, give me your cup, I'll wash them out." The girl in front of her started to argue, but Wisdom grabbed both cups before anything more could be said. She walked over to the sink and washed out the two mugs. "Why don't you just rest here for tonight? We'll meet up with Knowledge when you've had time to rest." She set the mugs in the sink, telling herself to come back, and wash them later. Wisdom, pulled some of her hair back behind her ear, and walked back over to Raven. "You've no idea how much this stress is affecting you physically. We all feel it, Raven. The necessities of life don't stop being necessary just because our world seems to be falling apart at the seams. The world doesn't stop turning, and give you time to catch up with it." Raven nodded, not looking at the girl in front of her. "Raven?" The girl in question looked up. "You know it's always okay to let go here. It's your mind. You're safe here. I won't tell anyone." She winked, and that did it. Raven had felt the lump forming in her throat while Wisdom had been talking; she'd even known she wouldn't be able to hold it together much longer. Seeing the girl in front of her, an exact replica of her own face, winking back at her, so together, so content, it reminded Raven just how broken she was. It reminded her that she wasn't okay, and of how desperately she wished she could be. Perhaps it was the stress from the spell, perhaps it was the confusion of never knowing what's going on in her own head or with her heart, or perhaps she was just tired. Whatever the reason, Raven let go. She leaped at Wisdom, wrapping her arms tight around the girl's neck; she clung to her and cried. She cried because Wisdom was peace. Wisdom had always been peace, and now she was more than that. Now Wisdom was Affection as well. Raven cried because Wisdom now held everything Raven so desperately needed. Wisdom knew everything in the matters of her mind and her heart. Raven cried because it was so unfair. Raven cried because she didn't know what else to do. Raven cried because it was easy. Raven cried for the same reason Beast Boy and Rude we're laughing. When the world is lost to chaos, something has to give. Sometimes you laugh. Sometimes you cry. Sometimes you scream until your lungs give out. In the end, you know it won't change anything, and as soon as you're done, you know you have to face what's made you react this way, but at the time it doesn't matter. So, while the rest of their team worked hard, searching for a counter-spell, Beast Boy and Raven gave themselves over to emotion, one happiness, the other despair, because sometimes even Titans need time to just be human.