I'm getting bored with this story, but since you all seem to like it... I shall continue... Please review so I have incentive to complete this tragic tale. jk.

Tribal Rituals

~The door beheld a giant dent in the very center and a sobbing emanated from the other side; from then, I was absolutely sure that I could do nothing but hurt the ones I cared for. At first, I was an emotionless bitch who made snide remarks; then, I became the portal for my daddy dearest. Now that I had gotten better, I was killing the one I loved the most little by little. I was the cause, the fall, and the fallen; if I was going down in flames, I was dragging everyone down with me, but I didn't want to take him... a green-eyed angel to a violet-eyed demoness...

~"Raven. Open the fucking door now. I will break this down and will come in the after you. If that happens, things won't be pretty." His voice was terrifyingly calm through his tears and rage.

~Tears only silently streamed down my face at this point. "What if I don't...?" I asked so softly only he could have heard me with his heightened animal senses.

~"Raven... Please... You're killing me slowly, and I'm just... It's just disappointing to know that all I've done has gone to waste." He stopped beating on the door after a moment or two.

~Those words- that I had let him down, that I had hurt him- cut through me sharper than any knife or blade causing me to weep harder. I lay on the floor with my head against the cold tile and forehead resting against the cabinet weeping for him, for love, for life, for my heritage, for my inabilities, for my limitations, for his hurt, for his disappointment... for everything that could possibly be my fault.

~My heart ached and felt like it was hardly beating, but every time there was a pronounced beat, a shot of pain traveled down my arm and into my wrist. My crying quieted a little while after Gar confronted me, and I found my voice.

~"Gar...?" I shivered.'

~No response.

~"I'm just so, so sorry... Just so sorry..." My voice was barely a whisper.

~A pained voice seemed to come up from behind me, and I looked up; there stood Gar, arms wide and inviting with a sober look on his face. I just stared at him numbly feeling nothing but the agony in my wrist and heart, but he obviously felt everything around him. He watched me warily for a moment before wrinkling his nose and scraping me off the floor and out of a pool of my own blood. I turned cold and shivered once in his arms because of his warm body against mine.

~"Oh, Rae, what have you done?" He asked rhetorically.

~I remained silent as if I didn't hear him, and he sat down on the only little chair in the whole bathroom which was a considerable size. Still in his arms, I looked up into his wathcing eyes and simply gazed into them. He just looked back down at me frowning slightly a moment then glancing up and snatching a towel off the bar next to the shower which was within two feet of the chair and pressing down on my weeping gash.

~He looked intently at his work and never looked up even though I knew he could sense my probing stare. "Gar, do you forgive me?" My voice was weak but firm.

~He glanced up form the bloodied rag, at me, then back down. "I will never leave you no matter how stupid you are or what stupid thing you do."

~My masochism got the best of me. "What about this hurts you?" I lifted my blood streaked arm.

~The towel was thrown on the floor; his hand combed through my hair and forced the air passing from my lungs to hitch and stop momentarily. "Everything..." The one hand stayed in my short hair and the other snatched my left hand up. "What about this wouldn't bring me pain? I care for you more than you know. That's why I go around and act stupid to make you laugh and go to Africa to get away when I think I'm having trouble controlling myself and why I am doing this... Wiping up blood from a self inflicted cut..."

~He glared at my wrist in disdain and back up. "Please tell me I'm not wasting my time here..."

~"No..."

~"Good because I don't want to feel that way... You're a very special person to me, Raven."

~I nodded and glanced at my no longer weeping wound. "You are to me as well, Gar..."

~He looked back down in the same area I was gazing upon. "I could stay here all day and night with you, but I think the others are going to miss us... Besides," He slid his arms under my back and knees, stood, and laughed heartily as I scrambled to hold on with a little shriek. "The others already have everything, and all we have to do is climb in the two seater in the back... It's soundproof and stuff so we can talk...?"

~I smiled up at him and nodded in agreement.

~In the T-Jet, I rested my head on Gar's chest and took a light snooze while he sat there stroking my scars. His rough thumb scratched over my sensitive skin and soothed frayed nerves stirred up by accusations thrown around by the other Titans about the loud sounds, crying, and long absence. His warmth pulsed noticeably in the air around him as did his strength. His soft breathing lulled me into a light nap filled with peace and a carefree air filled the small cab. A small touch on my violet hair woke me from my light slumber and I looked up expectantly.

~"Oh... Sorry, Rae... Didn't mean to wake you up..." A light pink blush settled on his forest green skin.

~"It's fine..." I said with a slight smile and I stretched what little I could in the cramped space. "How long was I out?" I looked out over the Jet and noticed we were surrounded by blue.

~"Not very long," He smiled and laughed a little. "We're over the Gulf so... About thirty minutes."

~"Oh, good... I don't need to sleep too long..." I rubbed my eyes self consciously. "The adreneline rush knocked me on my ass."

~"Good God, Raven."

~"What?" I queried.

~"You just... You're just so fragile..." He hung his head and looked up at me. "I don't know how the tribe will take this..."

~I was thoroughly perplexed at this point. "Huh?"

~"They will want to test your strength..."

~"Great..." I said slightly sarcastic and mostly understanding. With this tribe, I assumed that only the strongest would be accepted among the people, and I hoped I would be one of the accepted.

~We flew another hour before sleep crept in on me and filled the comfortable silence between Gar and me. He was the first to take a light snooze and I followed shortly behind thinking about how the tribe might take me.

~The Jet's engine slowed and the noise of its grumbling ceased as we descended. My eyes fluttered open and I panicked, not knowing where I was for a second before hearing a soft snore escaping the parted lips of my dear friend. Sliding back in my chair padded blue chair, I gazed out at the horizon and the orange, setting sun shaded by hazy purple clouds. A vast jungle cut through with a silver river grew closer to us as we dived towards the great unknown, and my stomach fluttered in uneasiness. Gar, however, slept peacefully until the engine changed pitch once again in an attempt to land on a grassy patch of land; his ears twitched slightly and his eyes snapped open with wild excitement.

~I bit my lip without knowing and picked my nails nervously.

~"Nervous?"

~His voice was giddy and child like; whereas, mine was bitter and dry. "Absolutely."

~He giggled and looked about. Cy finally released the hatches, and Gar sprang up, pushed the glass lid off, and grabbed my hand to pull me out of the small pod. I reluctantly gripped is hand, feeling a pain shoot up my arm, and stood from my cramped little space. The sight I beheld stunned me with its astounding beauty. There was just no explaining the bizarre, surreal jungle of Africa where my Garfield grew up... There were bright pink flowers decorating tall trees that created a great canopy overhead through which little shafts of light filtered through.

~Gar bounded out of the Jet and morphed into a green wolf making him blend in with his surroundings in doing so. I could faintly see the dark green spots on a brighter body loafing about happily and occasionally would roll around on the ground. He darted off deeper into the jungle, and I looked back to see the others still getting out of the T-Jet with slow, jerky movements. Seeing them stretching and yawning, I shrugged and shot off to find Gar by using my empathic powers to spot where he was.

~I drifted off into the jungle and felt life all around; this place thrived with green life and animals abounded. I hovered just above the damp ground and continued to search for my green shapeshifter. Out of nowhere, a streak of green flashed across a little clearing and jumped on me, knocking me down.

~"Ugh! Gar!" I giggled despite myself.

~There was a raspy chortle and my eyes opened to see a small wolf resting on my chest with a mouthful of purple flowers. He dropped them on my chest and licked my hand timidly.

~I lifted up the fragile little flowers and Gar rolled off morphing back into his human form. "The tribe says that they like you..." His voice was timid.

~"What?" My once giddy voice was flat as stone.

~"One of the scouts saw you drifting around the jungle," he shrugged. "and the scout said something about your hair and eyes... That color is treasured here and is a sign of royalty sooo..." He shrugged again and looked away blushing.

~I looked up at him and tried to understand but failed. He seemed to sense my confusion. "We have more than one tribal ritual here... And they think you're my um... Yeah... And you're 'royalty' so... Yay for me," He stuck his thumb in his chest and smiled at me.

~"Oh..." I felt my face get hot and my scars tingled and itched for a craving fix as my embarrassment filled me further. "That's... Nice..."

~He laughed, clapped me on the back, and began to say something but was cut off by Cyborg barreling through the jungle alongside Dick and Star.

~"Guys!" Gar roared over the commotion. "Shut up! They can hear you and-"

~Several dark skinned men wearing hardly any clothing but a loincloth and paint over their muscular bodies.

~Gar spoke rapidly in Swahili as I backed up against him and the others drew closer to us. We were surrounded by tribesmen and our only hope was a Swahili speaking green bean... How ironic...