12)

Lion and Lamb

It had been over an hour since anyone had spoken. Cyborg was bent over an examination table, finishing his inspection of the tiny body. Starfire had finally calmed and sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, her green on green eyes cast to the tile floor, clearly lost in thought. Robin leaned heavily on the wall closest to the silent group, his arms crossed over his chest. His chin dipped occasionally, the motion a mixture of contemplation and exhaustion. Raven had retrieved her cowl from her room and she had it wrapped tightly around herself, her hood up. She was pulled as tightly in on herself as she could manage, her eyes closed as she attempted to still her mind as she sat upon the floor. She leaned heavily against the soft heat of Beastboy's side, in the form of a tiger. His tail was wrapped around her middle, one giant paw outstretched before her, ready to strike. Usually she would be self-conscious about being in physical contact with the changeling in front of the others, but she couldn't bring herself to care in the moment. It was easier when he was an animal as well. There was something more acceptable about it in her mind. Finally Cyborg straightened and pulled the sheet over the still form and turned to the others. He looked strangely pale and significantly older as he shook his head wearily.

"It's paint," he muttered, addressing the most pressing question first. "It has no genetic relationship to Beastboy." Everyone nodded mutely, except for the changeling himself who made some grumbling sound in his chest. He had already told the group that it wasn't his child. Instinctually he would have known if he had fathered the infant, just like he had instinctually known that he had sired Raven's baby. "He . . . ummm . . . he was drown in the paint actually."

"The child was born alive?" Robin asked sharply, pushing himself away from the wall.

"Yes. A fetus can be viable at this point in a pregnancy. He was cut from his mother's womb and he was breathing and . . . they drown him in the paint. It's in his lungs." For a moment it appeared Cyborg was going to cry. Starfire herself had started to shed quiet tears again.

"Were you able to get a translation from the page fragment?" Robin questioned, beginning to pace. There had been a yellowed bit of a page from a book in the box. Cyborg brought up an enlarged image of the page on a display monitor and shook his head.

"The language isn't one I have stored in my . . ."

"I can read it," Raven said evenly, pushing her hood off her head. She seemed to skim the words briefly before beginning to read aloud. "And lo, Trigon wandered amongst the wilds and in dream he spoketh to the Lion of Yahweh, saying unto him, 'Thou art an aberration and thou art surely cursed. Abraham's Father hath lain you each twilight in company of lambs, yet thou hunger. Thou graze of the grasses as if a mindless sheep. Come unto me and receive my mark. Be unto me a mighty beast of mine molding. Feast upon the mindless sheep and lay thee in sated slumber having supped upon mine own Lamb'."

"Do you know what book this is from?" Their leader questioned a bit sharply.

"Not the exact book, no. There are a total of seven known books that are considered Trigon's Scripture. The stories and information vary greatly, leading the majority of scholars to believe most were written in more recent times by Trigon pseudo-cults."

"And do you know what the passage means?"

"It means pretty must exactly what it said. In a dream Trigon tempts the Lion of Yahweh, another name for the Hebrew God . . . to join his evil ranks." Robin was still staring, waiting on more information and Raven sighed softly. "The Lion of Yahweh is . . . the passage from the Bible . . . Isaiah I believe. There are verses about carnivorous animals living with and grazing like cattle. The Lion of Yahweh, in demon texts is a physical embodiment of that ideal. An actual creature that denies its nature and doesn't eat meat."

"Sounds like someone we know, doesn't it?" Cyborg grumbled, glancing at green tiger beside her.

"Yes, it's obvious the cult used the passage as a reference to Beastboy." The empath agreed, unconsciously curling her fingers into his plush coat, feeling uneasiness rise from him.

"And the Lamb . . . Trigon's Lamb . . . that's you isn't it?" Robin finally stopped his pacing, coming to stand in front of her.

"Yes."

"Is this part of a prophecy or . . ."

"No. Like I said, the seven books are full of contradictions. The passage doesn't necessarily mean anything, but the fact that they have an actual page from the book . . . that's significant."

"How?" Robin seemed to shift to the balls of his feet in anticipation.

"There is only one bookstore on the west coast this book could have come from."

"This is our first real clue then, our first break." There was no doubt that if his eyes were visible behind his mask they would be shining.


To say Robin had been eager to get started on his investigation would be an understatement. The moment Raven had told them that there was only one bookstore the book could have come from he was instantly making plans. He and Raven would go in the morning to talk to the store owner, a man the empath was acquainted with. And no sooner than the plan was laid out Beastboy objected to it viciously. Cyborg had started work on holo-rings for both Raven and the changeling weeks ago, but he had abandoned the project in favor of keeping Titan Tower more secure. He insisted he could finish his work and have them complete by the end of the week, but Robin had rejected the notion of waiting. There was no time to lose. Which meant to keep a low profile Beastboy would not be able to accompany them. For nearly three hours their fearless leader and the shape shifter shouted back and forth at each other.

"It isn't safe! She isn't going! Especially not without me!"

"You should be more eager than anyone to see the cult brought down Beastboy! Just sitting here will get nothing accomplished!" On and on it went, neither man stopping to question Raven on exactly what she wanted or thought about the situation. Part of her was glad for it. She didn't want to take Robin's side over Garfield's . . . but if asked she would have. Stopping the cult should be their first priority. Not to mention she very much wanted to leave the Tower. She wanted to breathe fresh air and if only briefly, be somewhere different. Anywhere different.

Eventually the fight spiraled nearly out of control, but Beastboy seemed to back off, shouting a demand at Starfire to watch Raven as he stormed out of the room. He was only gone a handful of minutes, no more than ten. When he returned he seemed to have calmed a good deal. He ignored Robin's harsh question about if he was ready to be reasonable. He simply walked back to where Raven stood and offered her his outstretched hand. After a long moment she took his hand and allowed him to lead her out of the med bay. They walked down the hall together and headed back toward the bedroom wing of the Tower. Surprisingly he ushered her into his own bedroom.

"Do you want to try and sleep a little?" He asked her softly, looking at her with concern.

"I can't sleep right now."

"Okay," he sighed and turned away from her for a moment, opening his closet door. "I really don't want you to go Rae." He closed the closet door again with his foot, his felt covered memory box in his hands. "The animal parts of me are screaming to take you and run as far away from here as we can get."

"Gar . . ."

"I know. Can't run from it and all that," he sighed dramatically, suggesting he didn't completely agree with the sentiment. He motioned for her to sit and together they settled on the edge of his unused bed. "My mom . . . she told me a story once about how upset my grandmother was when she found out her and my dad were moving to Africa. She begged my mom not to go. She begged and cried and even threatened not to talk to my mom ever again if she went. But in the end she accepted it. She knew Mom was doing what was right for her. And so my grandma she got a present for my mom," he paused in his story and opened his box, pulling out a little blue satin pouch. He pulled the drawstring open and tipped it upside down, a ring falling into his palm. "It's a moonstone. It was to remind my mom that no matter how far apart they were . . . they could look up at the moon and know that it was a thing both could see and if they could both be under the same moon then they couldn't really be that far apart." He plucked the small ring from his palm and set it in Raven's hand. She studied the pale stone that seemed to nearly glow in the overhead light and the thin band of braided gold. The empath tried to hand the ring back to him, but he shook his head. "I want you to have it."

"I can't. This was your mother's and . . . Gar . . . I just can't."

"You can and you will." He took the ring back, but kept her hand along with the offered piece of jewelry. Gently he slid it on her ring finger. "See, it fits." He sighed again, shaking his head. "I know a trip to a bookstore and back isn't like moving to another continent. But I'd feel better if you wore it Rae."

"I'll wear it if you want and then I'll give it back."

"It looks so pretty on you," he told her, his voice soft and dreamy. "There's no one else in the world I'd rather see wearing it." Raven blushed slightly, looking down on her hand and the ring upon it.

"If you ever change your mind . . ." she began but he made a soft hushing sound.

"My mind has been made up for a long time," he told her somewhat cryptically. The empath raised her face, her eyes meeting his. He smiled at her and leaned forward, kissing lightly the very corner of her mouth. He pulled back slightly, his bright green eyes flickering down to look at her lips. Slowly he leaned back in, his head titling slightly. Raven sensed his intention, but didn't pull away from his approach. Her eyes slipped shut, only to open again when she became aware of a loud "whoop, whoop" sound that could be nothing but an approaching helicopter.

"Who . . ." she began with concern, her eyes darting toward the sound, now right above them.

"That was fast," the changeling muttered with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. He sighed and touched his nose to her own briefly. "It's Rita."

"Rita?"

"She's going with you and Robin."

"Does Robin know that?" Beastboy chuckled at the question and shrugged.

"He will in a minute." He stood and began to move away from the bed when Raven reach out and grabbed his wrist.

"About earlier . . . before the alarm . . ." she began quietly, not meeting his eyes. "I don't want you to . . . I mean . . . my hormones are crazy and I'm not sure I . . ."

"I get that you're still sorting everything out. I know that what happened was . . . a moment that's passed now and not a promise of anything in the future. I don't want you to feel pressured Rae. I want you to know though . . . if you want that sort of relationship . . ."

"I can't ever have that sort of relationship," the empath told him, her voice far more impassive about the statement than her heart.

"You've done tons of things you said you couldn't Raven," he reminded her with a shake of his head. "I more than want that with you. If and when you're ready, I'll be right here, waiting. I lo . . ."

"Beastboy! What did you do!" It was Robin, his voice gruff with annoyance. Green eyes rolled dramatically at the shout. He laughed lightly and held his hand out as the empath struggled to get to her feet.

"He knows now," Raven muttered, accepting his offered hand to help her off the bed.

"I regret nothing."