Chp. 10 Relations

Huma lead Raven up the stairs and down a long hall filled with portraits of, to Raven, the most bizarre looking people she could imagine. She never saw any likeness among any and wondered if they were just random pictures.

Finally, after many twists and turns, they arrived at a set of wide, white doors that reached the ceiling and were covered in many different designs of trees, mountains, and all kinds of different landscapes.

"Here we are, Dear, your room." With a gesture of her hands, the doors opened to reveal a room of immense size. Too big, Raven decided once she entered it. It was set in black and white. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was either/or or both. The room was cold and empty, too big to fill with any bedroom décor.

Her bed, just like the room, was way too big for her, but she had to admit, it looked awfully comfortable. Also in the room was a make-up counter with a mirror, also overly sized, that reached the ceiling, a large armoire, a full body mirror that was as tall as it was wide with five panels that curved out into a half circle, a black feinting couch, and a mammoth, and possibly dangerous, fireplace. Even with all this extra clutter, which were spaced throughout the room, it still wasn't enough to make the room cozier.

"Why is my room so isolated back here?" Raven asked her flatly as she finally noticed the vast canopy doors leading out to the balcony.

"Harder for people to find it, this room was specially made for me, for...when I wanted no company. No one but me can force their way in here, and if no one knows where this room is, they can't find it, unless, you show them."

Raven, who had wandered out onto the balcony looking out into the garden, glimpsed Welkis and Naten sitting on a stone bench arguing, well Nate was arguing and Welkis was laughing, as she appeared Welkis, and then Naten, stopped their banter and looked up at her, giving them a small wave, she re-entered the room and closed the doors. "Why such high security?"

Huma smiled in answer, "You'll thank me later, when you want some alone time." Smoothing out some of the wrinkles on the bed she sat down and offered the spot next to her for Raven to take. "Have a sit, dear; you and I shall have a little chat."

Raven didn't like the implied command in Huma's voice, but she sat next to her out of courtesy. Without an invitation, Huma grabbed Raven's hand and patted it with a soothing touch.

"First off, let me say that, you, arriving here unattached to Naten is going to cause a bit of a fuss. It would have been fine if we could have kept it quiet, but Marius is a cunning little bastard and by telling, he knows the outcome will be in his favor."

Huma paused here to gather her thoughts, not knowing where to begin. She decided on the beginning.

"Long ago, a disease swept across our realm, killing all Revines in its path. It didn't touch the humans, animals, or the plants, just us. It killed everyone. Our family, rather what's left of our family, are all that are left. But we were not left unscathed; it's left us infertile." Huma's voice faltered and she rubbed Raven's hand comfortingly, whether she was trying to give it or receive it, Raven wasn't sure.

"I wanted many children, I only have two. Many of us wanted many children, but we're lucky with the ones we have, because our children, those who hadn't reached puberty yet, were left unscathed by the disease. They could still have children…to a certain limit. Some tried with humans, but the women couldn't survive the pregnancy, let alone the birthing, and the men weren't sterile enough. So we turned to other beings, fairies, pixies, elves, sorcerers, anyone that we could find, but most had fled the realm before the plague. We can't open the door in-between realms to at least attempt with other creartures. It seemed, for the longest of times, that we would die out here. That is, until Naten stumbled across this weird old man…he said he was a gatekeeper, and he sold my Naten a key that opened the In-between, and Naten, without even consulting us, left. We knew were he was going, he had glimpsed you in the Lady of Destiny's magic mirror, but with him he took the only way for his cousins to find their matches."

"Well he's back now, you can get the key." Raven offered, but Huma was already shaking her head at this.

"The key crumbled into dust the moment Naten returned home, the man never told us it was limited to only a few jumps."

Raven nodded her head, knowing that it would have happened. "So what's all the fuss about then? What does this have to do with me?"

"To put it bluntly," Huma said firmly, looking Raven straight in the eye. "By not being attached to Naten, and outright refusing his proposal, you are now the utmost available female in the entire realm, alone with 9, no, make that 10 young men who know how important it is to procreate and save their species."

"Oh." was all Raven could say.

"Oh indeed." Huma answered as she let Raven's hand go and stood up abruptly. Brushing the wrinkles from her dress, Huma looked back at Raven with a reasonable look on her face. "You know, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by marrying Renatenial now."

"No, I'm good." Raven answered her firmly.

Huma smiled. "You can't blame a mother for trying. Now if I was you, I'd take a nap, because they're all going to show up later to meet you, and you're going to be busy." Smiling once more for encouragement, Huma left Raven to her own devices.

Raven let Huma's words sink in and she wallowed them around in her head in contemplation. By the time Naten entered her room through the balcony windows, she had already decided on what she was going to do.

"Raven, finally, we're alone. Quick before they arrive I have to tell you…" but before he could finish his sentence, a tentacle had wrapped itself around his throat and pinned him to the bed.

"Tell me what?" Raven asked in a deadly calm voice, her back to him as she examined her nails. "That the only reason you sought me out was to hole me up back here and turn me into a baby making machine. Or, by not at least pretending to be engaged to you, I was going to get chased after by a pack of horny Revines. Well? Which one Naten? Which was it, or do you have something else to tell me? And if you do, think hard about what you say, because I am extremely angry with you at the moment." Raven said all this in her monotone voice, the only indication to her inner anger was the manifesting of her demon persona as she finally rounded on him.

"Please." he choked. "It's hard staying afraid when you look like that."

She released him with a huff of disgust. Quickly regaining his breath, Naten tried to explain himself.

"I wasn't going to hole you up here; you would have been free to roam around, at least until the 4th trimester."

Raven growled to show her displeasure.

"Alright, fine…I'm sorry. At first yeah, but as I told you, I love you. I've loved you for a long time, and I'll always love you. None of these guys care about you the way I do. No one ever will, that's just how much I love you. Raven, please, before they come…will you marry me?" Getting on his knees, Nate looked up at her with pleading eyes filled with love.

"Nate, no, I don't love you. I don't love anyone. I care for you, I care for all my friends, I don't know these guys, nor do I care for them…but..."

"Raven!" he cried as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her stomach. "Don't make me kill my relatives!"

"Don't worry Nate," she said soothingly as she gripped his chin and forced him to look at her, "You're the only one I know, and you're the only one who knows me."

He looked at her suspciously with narrowed eyes and he suddenly grew angry. Pushing away from her, he hopped to his feet with his fists clenched angrily to his side. "Stop playing with my mind!"

Raven stared after him with a blank expression. "Naten, I am not happy with you at the moment, you've been lying to me, your family intrigues me, and I'm a demon. I can't pass up this opportunity to have a little fun."

"Damnit, this isn't a game Raven! This is the future of my people! Not everything's about you! Why can't you understand that something's are important to other people?"

"When you stop trying to turn me into the old Raven. She is gone. She accepted her demon heritage and now this is what you get." she ranted all this in her monotone voice as she gestured at herself. "Why can't you understand, that as a demon, I am incapable of things. That some emotions don't come as easily as they once did."

"I don't believe you." Nate continued stubbornly.

"Get out." Raven sighed as her demon persona faded away.

"Get out? Why? What did I do?" Truly confused, Nate watched as Raven's eyelids fell to half mast and he was forced from the room by an unknown force. "Raven please, can we talk about this?"

His answer was to have the doors slammed in his face.

In time, the sky grew dark and the torches along her wall lit up instantly. She had been meditating when she noticed two things. First thing she noticed was the silence. Back home, her night meditations were accompanied by a soft orchestra of crickets and frogs. But here, the night was immensely silent and had woken her from her trance.

The second was the fact that the sun had departed it's throne in the sky only to come stand outside her door.

In reality, the sun had actually been Luci coming to get her. The guest were on their way. Raven, despite her semi fight with Nate, found herself oddly excited at the prospect of meeting the rest of Naten's family. For a brief second, she saw herself as supreme overlord of the dying race with their men fawning over her with false hope of her choosing one of them. She chuckled at the notion and said nothing when the other glanced at her.

She and the family stood in the foyer, awaiting the guests arrival. They stood side by side, with she and Naten pulling up the rear. Said Prince was uncharacteristically quiet, with a face set up for challenge, she found the look endearing and so when the doors opened and he grabbed her hand, she let him. Besides, the procession of Revines was just beginning.

"Nate, behave." Huma ordered out of the corner of her mouth, a smile, though forced, plastered across her face. Next to her, Welkis was grinning in anticipation, looking identical to Luci, who giggled and fidgeted by his side.

Nate acted as if he didn't hear his mother, but the clenching of his jaw and the tightening of his hand let Raven know otherwise.

The doors were now fully open and a family of five entered.

The Sun Lord, Solis, his wife Fidel, Lady of Happiness, and their family.

Solis, Welkis's brother, looked almost identical to his older brother, but were Welkis was a contrast of dark colors, Solis had white blond hair, his skin was golden, his eyes like molten lava, and had a large black sunburst for markings that started somewhere near his stomach.

As they went, they each greeted one of the family, and when Solis finally reached Raven, who stood on the end, his handshake swept warmth throughout her body. She idly noticed that he wasn't as intimidating as his brother.

Fidel was a bubbly woman with curly red hair and freckles. She looked like a regular human from their on, but just being near her, made Raven feel overcome with hope and happiness.

They had three kids; twin boys and a girl.

The twins names were Sonet and Wryth. They were the Lords of Sound and Sense. They were tall and lanky with white hair which bangs covered their eyes. They too looked ordinary, but as she shook their hands she was schooled otherwise. Sonet was the first to grab her hand. Nothing happened, but then he spoke and her world flipped. She had never known that anything as beautiful as his voice could exist, and she never knew before this experience, that a simple sound could entice such a response from her. He smiled, knowing what his voice did to her, but before he could open his mouth again, Wryth had pushed him forcefully out of the way and taken his place.

"Forgive him, he gets drunk on the sound of his own voice." Wryth apologized for his brother briefly, his voice, although identical to his brother's, sounded gruff, idiotic, and clumsy to her ears, but as he grabbed her hand, everything he said was lost to her. At his touch, she became acutely aware of where their bodies were connected. She felt as if her very body was afloat a million tiny bubbles, and she knew, that if he didn't let go, she would go through the roof.

She was rescued from her torment when Nate and Sonet had both gotten enough. Nate tightened his hold on her hand and tugged her closer, growling angrily at Wryth, who had gotten yanked from Raven's presence by an angry Sonet. Free of his touch Raven swayed on her feet, subconsciously noting that the twins were now fighting, much to the displeasure of their parents, who wanted their sons to look mature in front of a potential bride.

Their sister ignored them as she took their place in front of Raven. Their sister, Sino, Lady of Matter, seemed stiff to Raven. She had long blond hair, that fell in a curtain along her back all the way to her knees. She didn't smile as she greeted Raven, and her large black eyes seemed to take Raven in all in one glance. Every inch of her looked sharply focused, making others in her vicinity seem almost blurred. When Raven shook her hand, she mentally put up shields in her mind, just in case the girl was psychic. The girl didn't seem to notice this as she rejoined her family.

While Raven had been greeting Solis's family, others had entered and she was put into a steady greeting cycle.

Another family of five. Lord of the Sea, Marin, his wife, Sato, Lady of Plants, and their three kids; Stipe, Ven, and Imbri.

Marin was fairly short compared to the other men she had met. His skin was blue with thick, curly green hair. Unlike the others, Marin wore a thick beard on his face rather than being clean shaven like the others. Marin made up for his shortage of height by being more muscular than the other men. When he shook Raven's hand, his grip was strong and he smiled warmly at her. When he spoke, his voice was deep and smooth.

Sato, Huma's older sister, was taller and thinner than her husband. Sato's skin was pale green, her red hair, long and straight, fell to her knees and draped around her like a cape. Sato had the same green eyes as her sister and when she walked, she seemed to glide. To Raven, she looked a bit spacey, and when she shook her hand, Raven saw that her nails were long and yellow. She didn't speak.

The youngest daughter, Stipe, Lady of Trees, took after her mother more than her father. Stipe was tall and thin. Her skin was the color of bark, and her hair, which was a dark green, fell to her shoulders and draped over her face in strands, reminding Raven of a weeping willow. Her purple eyes were wide and pupiless, but she seemed to have no problem seeing.

The oldest, Venn, Lord of the Hunt, was a dark and imposing boy. He stood tall and was broad in the shoulders. Two large dear antlers sprouted from the top of his head, and they looked just as dangerous as he did. His skin seemed to be in constant moving shadows, and his eyes were yellow. When he spoke, Raven saw that he had pointed teeth and a blood red tongue. He smiled when he saw her studying him, although on him, the smile was anything but pleasant looking. She found herself smiling back and ignoring Naten squeezing her hand in retained anger.

Imbri, the middle child, was the Lady of Rain, and she looked wet. That was the first thought that went through Raven's mind as she laid eyes on her. She was a mixture of blues and grays. Her black hair hung limply around her, but was so shiny that it looked wet. Her skin was light teal and her eyes were crystal blue.

The next family was only a family of three. Fera, the Lady of Beasts, and her two children, Marius and Flora.

Fera, who had been married to Welkis's older brother, was tall, dark, and beautiful. The first thing Raven noticed about her was that her eyes were illuminated like most animals' tended to be. She had smoky black skin and even darker hair, that fell in curls about her. Her arms were powerfully built, and Raven suspected the rest of her was also.

She had already met Flora and Marius, so they didn't bother with introductions as much as the others and only greeted her with a smile, except Marius who sought to prove where he thought he stood with Raven, by stealing a hug and a kiss on the cheek, this was rewarded by Naten almost attacking, but the Lord of Speed was too fast.

The next two were an odd couple to behold. Vic, the Lord of Time, and his charge, Effie, the Lady of Wildness. Both had lost their family during the plague and now took care of each other.

Vic, was old. That was all Raven could think of to describe him. Vic was old. He didn't look it, but he felt it. His skin was taught and young, but his hair was old and white. His eyes, too were old and long since lost their ability to see, but the milky orbs blinked and glanced about as if they were as young as a newborn babe. When he greeted her, his handshake was as strong as he looked, but his voice belonged to the oldness that held him. Vic was old…and creepy.

Effie, Lady of the Wild, was related to none of the other Revine there, but she had been invited because she was one of the last remaining Revine in the realm. Effie, Raven thought when she saw her, was gorgeous, probably the prettiest girl there. Her skin was a rich mahogany brown, and her thick hair, was an inky black and framed her face beautifully. She seemed unfocused and when she went to shake her hand, Raven found herself gripping a bird's claw.

Catching Raven staring at it, Effie quickly snatched it back. Looking into her face, Raven saw that her eyes never stayed the same color for more than a second. As she stared at her, Raven saw that her skin was just as bizarre as her eyes, for she saw leopard print formed by fish scales along her neck but in a flash it dissolved into feathers and then back into skin.

Effie glanced at the other Revines but they didn't seem to notice. Smiling secretly at Raven, she introduced herself, and Raven saw the forked tongue of a snake for a brief second. Raven smiled back. The girl was beautiful but unstable.

The family after that was composed entirely of men. Nox, the Lord of Night and his two boys; Ignis and Sidus.

Nox, was Welkis's older brother. His skin was dark blue, and he had shoulder length black hair. Like Marin, Nox had a beard, but it was trimmed shorter and neater that Marin's. Nox was taller and more built than his little brother, but Raven still found him less intimidating than Welkis. There was just something about Welkis that made her tremble. When she shook hands with Nox, he looked at her just like the others boys had. Sizing her up for possibilities. Before she could react to this new incident, Nate was growling protectively next to her. Nox smiled and moved on.

Ignis, the youngest, seemed to know what his dad was thinking and was obviously embarrassed by it. Ignis was the Lord of Fire and smelled just like Meashale to Raven…only cleaner. Ignis was a bit on the short side, being evenly matched with Raven, but made up for it, like his uncle Marin, with muscles. His hair was orange and moved about his head like an actual flame. His eyes were red and when she shook his hand, she felt the flames of his inner passion. She felt the fire within her, a sensation she had missed with Meashale being gone, and knew that Ignis felt a similar awareness, if the way he smiled, and how his eyes glowed was anything to go on. Even though she couldn't see it, she felt her hair moving in the waves of heat that radiated throughout her body. She held his hand the longest and as he let her go she smiled widely at him. Much to the annoyance of everyone else, especially Nate who knew the real reason for it.

Sidus, came next and he was simply breathtaking. Sidus, the Lord of the Stars, lived up to his name. His skin was a golden bronze and his short curly hair seemed to be shaped like a star around his head. He was, she admitted, the handsomest out of all the boys, and from how he acted, he knew it too. He was also the tallest, and so when he grabbed her hand, he had to stoop low to place a kiss upon it. When he did, he glanced into her eyes and Raven saw that his were all black with golden specs. Making it seem as if you were looking into the heavens themselves.

The next group brought a smile to Raven's face before she even met them. It was Lady Fas, and her children; Lethar and Scein. And Lethar was an old friend.

Fas, Lady of Destiny, was the Great Aunt of Welkis and Vic's sister. Like Vic, she was old, but unlike him, she looked the part, but she held herself strongly and proudly. She was a sweet woman, and greeted Raven with a little hug, rather than a handshake.

Lethar was the first to greet her, and when he hugged her, she hugged back. Lethar, Lord of Sleep, had been Raven's only salvation when she had been on the run from her father. After she had left Azarath, to hide from her father, Raven had gone to a void. Whilst there, the nothingness would have killed her, but to preserve her sanity, Raven had put herself into a coma like sleep. Lethar had found her there and abated the loneliness that ate at her soul. He had taken her away from the void and hid her in the dream realm, for which he ruled.

Lethar, never opened his eyes fully, and wasn't handsome or strongly built, nor was he tall. He was average in everyway, except his voice. His voice was soft but loud at the same time. His voice was corporeal, and made everybody's dream seem only a step away. His hair, was wild and blue and his skin a sleepy grey.

Scein, Lord of Knowledge, was Lethar's younger brother. He looked more like the Lord of Mischief, for he was constantly smiling. Scein was cute, but was shorter than Raven and completely void of muscles. His brown hair was combed neatly and pulled into a ponytail. When he shook hands with Raven, he stepped closer to her and winked his eyes sensually. Raven bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"I may be small, but I'm the Lord of Knowledge for a reason…I know what you want." Scein whispered this to Raven in a voice too deep for his body. Whether Naten heard him or not was a mystery to Raven, but the next thing she knew was that Scein had been smacked out of her way like a bug.

The last family was a family a two. Brother and sister, Huma's niece and nephew, was all that was left after the plague.

The brother, Warren, had been a kid when the plague struck and was still able to have children. Now he was an adult, although still young, and took care of his little sister, Calci. Warren was the Lord of Warfare. He was tall and broad, with blood red hair and hard black eyes. He looked as if he loved to fight and was good at it. That was as far as he went for his title. When he spoke and moved, he moved gracefully, more like a dancer than a fighter. When he shook her hand, his grip was gentle. He smiled kindly at her, and Raven realized, he would be trying to court her too.

Calci, Warren's little sister, was the Lady of Stone. She was a big awkward girl with a powerful build, but as Raven looked at her, she saw that she lacked much self-esteem. Calci was pretty, but she wasn't as delicate and pretty as her cousins. She had long, thick, black hair, which she had in a braid along her back, and stone colored skin. She stood as tall as the men, and probably almost as muscled. Her eyes were a dull grey and they reeked of sadness. When she spoke, her voice was soft and barely audible, but her grip was strong and true. She seemed to hate that about herself and quickly released Raven's hand after greeting her.

A sudden clap of thunder made Raven jump out of the slight stupor she had fallen into. As her head cleared she noticed something she hadn't noticed a moment before. The clap of thunder had been Welkis clapping his hands to get everyone's attention, and that's when she noticed that the room was utterly quiet.

She thought it had something to do with the built up tension the boys were emitting. No one was looking at each other, there was no growling or teeth baring, better yet, everyone was smiling and paying attention to Welkis, but there a low buzzing in the air, and Nate was gripping her hand painfully tight.

"Now that everyone's here…" Welkis began with a smile, ignoring all the hostility in the air, "…and met our guest, it's time to eat."

With an air of indifference, Welkis headed for a set of double doors on the other side of the hall, no one made a move, waiting until their king reached the doors, but as he passed Raven, he shot his arm out and caught her around the shoulders, bringing her along with him. That's when they moved. It was only a subtle twitching of muscles, but they moved, and Welkis saw them.

Although his back was to them, Welkis knew, and smiled, giving Raven's arm a firm squeeze, deliberately goading them. Raven could do nothing but go along.

As he walked, Welkis never again made any acknowledgement to the other Revine behind him, automatically assuming they were following, and a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that he was right. Raven wondered if their obedience was just for his kingly status, or if they were as intimidated by him as she was.

As they reached the doors, they flew open, showing Raven that their little party, wasn't a little party after all. The dining room, was filled with people. There were five long tables pushed to the side of room. Two on each side and one to the back. She assumed the one to the back was for Welkis's family, for it held the biggest chairs. The other tables, although it occupied guests, had a few spots lefts for the remaining Revine.

"Hope you don't mind the company," Welkis began, nodding to those seated, but as he entered the room they stood, "but these little get togethers are extremely awkward with just the few of us, so the royals were invited to fill up spots."

"Fine by me." Raven mumbled in reply, not liking all the attention centered on her.

"Wonderful!" he said loudly as a bark of laughter escaped his throat, sounding like thunder to her ears.

As she came to find out, the seat fillers, were some of the royal humans of the realm. Kings and Queens with their Princes and Princesses came to enjoy Revine dinning. Among the royals were a few mages, witches, sorcerers, famous, to the Revine realm, heroes, and just special people who were lucky enough to be invited.

She sat at the head table with Naten and his family, with Naten to her immediate left. The food had been delivered by servants, to whom had been absent from her knowledge. The servants were short and extremely thin, with skin the color of a mossy tree stump. They're clothing consisted of strips of material that seemed to be just thrown on them. It covered all important parts, just barely, but left random bits exposed, like an elbow, thigh, or shoulder blade, but would cover another random part, like head, right side of the face, or an eye or ear.

They were quick with the serving and from what she tasted, were excellent cooks too. But as she ate, the only ones that seemed to enjoy the food were herself, Welkis, and a few royals. Everyone, she felt, were anxious and on edge. She could feel eyes on her: studying, observing, wondering.

She ignored them as she continued eating, not once acknowledging them. Next to her, Nate was doing the exact opposite. He was devouring his food viciously, she assumed showing his cousin what he would do to them, and kept his eyes trained on everyone at once.

The seat fillers, she sensed, knew something was up and were quite nervous around the Revine. She didn't blame them, the room was filled with the low buzzing of their frequency, as they tried to retain themselves.

For a brief second, she wondered if she could handle this situation she had gotten herself in, she could easily escape now, morphing into the shadows and making a steady retreat back to the human realm, but it only lasted a second. Of course she could handle a bunch of rowdy boys…she was the Mistress of Seduction after all. With a small smile, she wondered what Beastboy was doing back home.

Back in the human realm, in Jumpcity, at the titan Tower, most of the titans had retired to bed long ago; most.

Not Beastboy, he hadn't slept a full night since Raven left. Like many a times before, he crept from his room, and in the form of some small, night creature, he crept to Raven's door, wondering, if he should enter, would he be invited to stay. But not tonight, tonight Raven wasn't there at all. He was all alone.

A loud clap of thunder sounded throughout titan tower just before the power went out. The titans had awoken from their sleep, and drowsily made their way out into the halls to do a head count. The usual routine, just to make sure the power outage was actually from the storm and not just a crazed villain breaking curfew to get at them. But this time, three titans were missing. Two were gone visiting family, but the third, the third should have been there.

"Beastboy! Beastboy!" they called urgently, now fully awake, as they trekked through the silent tower, the backup power only allowing an eerie glow to show them the way.

It wasn't until they passed Raven's room did they hear it…music.

"You don't think…" Robin asked quietly to his fellow titans as they gathered around the closed door.

"God, I hope not." Cyborg prayed, taking a deep breath before he opened the door.

The room was dark, just the way Raven wanted it, no backup light touched this place, but yet, the only thing that penetrated the dark, quiet tomb, was music. Lionel Richie to be exact…'Hello'.

"Aw, man BB, what are you doing to yourself?" Cyborg whispered as he began to shine his light into the room, looking for the source of the music, and hopefully finding their lost friend.

They found him.

"Avert your eyes Star!" Cyborg yelled to Starfire at the same time Robin through his hands over them. He turned off his light, he didn't want to see it either. "What's wrong with you?"

Green eyes pierced the darkness to stare hungrily at them.

"I want Raven." a voice yelled from the darkness, choked with tears just as a clawed hand raked itself across Raven's ruined bed, tearing up the interior and spilling the innards of the bed onto itself. The music was then joined by the anguished croons of some unknown animal.

And fearing for their lives, their sanity, their eyes, and whatever was making that noise, the titans crept out of the room and closed the door behind them.

A moment of silence elapsed between the three as they glanced at each other cautiously.

"First off," Robin began, "Let's never talk of this again, and secondly, we have got to do something about him. Seriously…he has lost it."

"Agreed, and I suggest," Starfire added, "we barricade friend Raven's room until…further notice."

They all nodded in agreement, just as the crooning behind the door became louder, filled with sounds they'd rather not have heard.

Back in the Revine realm, Raven suddenly felt the attention of a greater force, now she was done, Welkis was now focused on her too.

Putting her fork down, Raven began straightening her cloak unnecessarily. When she did finally look up, she found Welkis still looking at her with a smile on his face.

On catching her attention, Welkis's smiled broadened, and with a thunderous clap of his hands, he gained the attention of the rest of the hall.

"My fellow dignitaries, once again we have been given a great opportunity. The opportunity for a new life. For too long we have lived with the question of whether our race will live. But as always, an answer has been provided for us. This time in the form of a demon. She is the Lady Raven and with her we shall become a greater race. But, as last time, she is unattached. She has no man to call her own, but that will soon be put to rest. As of tonight, after her introduction to our realm, any available male who is so interested should proclaim his proposal tonight, or stay silent throughout the courtship of our new Lady. But be warned, this courtship is not for the slight at heart. You will be competing against your fellows here tonight, all whilst trying to win the heart of a demon. You are not only fighting for a mate, you are also fighting for the future of our people." Welkis fell silent, waiting for the murmurs to quiet down and seeing who were likely to wuss out. He saw nothing that disappointed him.

"Lady Raven," Welkis called, as he abruptly faced her, "as the object of Revine attention, you have a say in this. Do you have anything to add, or wish to decline from these affairs?"

Raven gave Welkis a thoughtful, yet blank, stare, idly noticing that all eyes were on her. "No."

Next to her, Naten began making a low, guttural noises. At first she thought he had been growling at her, but she saw that he was glaring at his cousins, who were more than happy to sneer back. The only ones who weren't acting hostiles, were the girls, Warren, and the adults.

"Wonderful," Welkis exclaimed, and the way he said it made Raven believe that whether she agreed or not, didn't really matter.

"Now," he continued, "we dance."

Dance. That seemed to have been what everyone had been waiting for. In a flurry of movement, tables and chairs went skidding and 8 boys, young adults, were on their feet and rushing across the room. Just as fast, the table she was sitting at went flying over their heads, sending plates, glasses, and food everywhere. Nate was suddenly standing in front of her with his air whip out and waiting for a victim. The other boys either flexed menacingly or produced deadly weapons of their own. The only ones who hadn't joined the barrage were Warren and Lethar.

She hesitated only a second, wondering if she should run or fight. Looking to her left, she noticed Welkis leading a concerned Huma out onto the floor. The other adults too had thrown a blind eye to the on coming rumble, each dancing with their perspective mates, or claiming one of the seat fillers as a partner. The remaining humans were warily watching the boys and hesitating as they began to head for the dance floor.

Her attention was pulled back to the situation at hand as she noticed that the Lord of the Incredibly High Jumping Talent had used his great ability to leap over his cousins head and was currently on a downward slope heading straight for her with an extremely satisfied look on his face.

She smiled up at him and gave him a little wave, and the next thing Mar knew, Raven had disappeared into the shadows, and instead of soft feminine flesh, he landed on hard marble flooring. Seconds after that, he was in the midst of a giant dog pile of cousins.

Raven morphed to a place she knew would be deserted, but as she walked out of the shadows of the garden, she found herself in the company of Revines. The girls had found the inside a bit too traumatic and had deserted their posts as soon as the boys began to rampage. The only girl not present was Luci, who found the fight much more entertaining than girl talk.

As Raven emerged a few of the girls let out little shrieks while the rest merely turned interested heads her way. They were lounging around the stone benches and as she approached all talk hushed, and she was then sure that they had been talking about her.

"We would have thought for sure that you would rather stay and enjoy the boys acting idiotic around you." Sino was the first to say what they were all were thinking.

Raven, who didn't like the tone in which Sino spoke with, gave her a toothy grin, making her teeth look a bit pointier that they need to be. Her response was a hesitant look of fear as Sino's cocky smile faltered.

"Be nice Sino," Flora chided her, making flowers bloom in the bushes that surrounded them. "She's out here for the same reason as us."

"You hate formal functionings to?" Stipe asked, from her twisted position in one of the many trees in the garden, but as Raven looked at her more closely, Stipe looked as if she was merged with it.

"You don't like being around too many people?" Effie offered, her skin changing drastically in texture and species.

"Maybe, she doesn't like being in doors." Imbri, who had been busy looking up into the sky added.

"I just like playing hard to get." Raven told them bluntly.

She got mixed feelings from the girls: Sino frowned in annoyance, Stipe fell out of her tree laughing, Calci, the ever silent Calci, looked embarrassed by the thought, Imbri was smiling at her with fondness, Flora was shocked, and Effie….Effie was stalking a butterfly with a thin coating of black fur and a long black tail trailing her back.

"So," Flora said hurriedly, wanting to change the subject. "how did you meet Naten?"

"I'm a crime fighter in the human realm and he joined my team."

"A crime fighter? Human realm? I had figured all demons were in the demon realm and…well I had assumed they would be villains. Wouldn't you prefer villainy?" Stipe asked, never getting up from the ground and looking up at Raven curiously.

"I prefer to make other villains tremble at the mere mention of my name. Makes me feel badder than them."

"Really? Was Naten a good crime fighter?" Calci asked, her soft voice barely audible.

"Yeah, he was a good crime fighter."

"But?" Flora ventured, knowing that Raven was leaving something out.

"But he's weird and gets on my nerves."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Flora laughed.

"But he must've done something right. You're here." Stipe added with a smile. At this Raven felt the corner of her mouth twitch.

"You know, you're not the first one Naten's brought home to court." This came from Sino and Raven found herself not liking the Lady of Matter much. But she found her anger at Naten rising to push her dislike for Sino to the back of her mind. Secrets and lies were springing up everywhere about her Naten.

Sino seemed to realize she hit a nerve and she smiled nastily. "Yeah, you're the second he's brought home, but only the third he's courted. I'm surprised he hasn't told you."

"I'm not." Raven muttered angrily. It seemed Naten had neglected to tell her a lot of things.