Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.
CHANGELING
It took me a few minutes to remember the layout of this place. I forgot just how massive this mall is. It's got two levels; clean, waxed floors; colourful and iconic store signs; and lots of vendors with stalls set up in the centre of the hallways.
A shopper's paradise.
It's almost enough to make me forget about the swarm of people around me. Maybe I should have have disguised myself more than just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The green skin sorta stands out.
"U-Um, Ch-Changeling? What do we do?" Crow mumbles while doing his best to avoid the crowd by hiding behind me.
What indeed. Is it too much to ask that I'm not harassed while in the mall?
"'Harassed?' Wow, I'm turning into Robyn; they're just excited, they mean no harm." I roll my eyes. "Right," I say under my breath, "let's just give the crowd what it wants." I address the group of fans who had mobbed us upon our entrance to the mall. Big smile, confident posture, use my normal thick tone for speaking… Right! I can do this! "How did you all know I was here?" I ask jokingly. "Are you all following me? I'm touched, really, you just couldn't get enough of me on T.V. huh?"
The response from the mob is mostly just a lot of laughs, some more forced than others; some just don't laugh or smile at all. I guess some of these 'fans' are actually just bystanders seeing what the commotion is all about.
"Changeling!" A young girl, about ten if I had to guess, pushes to the front of the group. "Can you really turn into any animal?"
"Of course I can!" I boast, deciding to humor her. "Name it!"
"Horsie!" The crowd seems to get the message and backs off to a safe distance while Crow flutters overhead.
It doesn't take much effort; the horse was one of my first 'large' transformations and I remember it well.
The little girl gasps in surprise at the sight of the bright green horse (me!) standing in front of her. I toss my mane majestically and let out a neigh for effect.
"That's so cool!" She squees. Her smile is so bright it could light up a room.
I shift back, returning her smile. It's times like this it feels good to be famous (even if my total famous experience adds up to just last week).
The entire mob rushed forward as soon as my transformation was reverted. The poor little girl was buffeted by the crowd for a moment until a dome of black energy flared to life around her, preventing further jostling.
"Thanks Crow." I clear my throat. "Hey now! Don't shove! There's enough of me to go around!"
I resist the temptation to roll my eyes when this statement prompts a whistle or two. Then again, considering my constant flaunting and intentionally provocative attitude towards the cameras the wolf whistles might be somewhat warranted.
Really though, the reason I hog the cameras is mostly to keep it off my teammates (a certain sorcerer comes to mind, and I'm not sure how well Star would fare). Sure, the attention is nice, but I'm not that desperate.
"Geeze," I sigh dramatically when the crowd doesn't disperse or move back, "can't a girl go shopping without being harassed these days?"
I was only joking, but not a second later the entire crowd (minus the little girl) is shoved back by a wave of black energy. Many of them tumble to the ground as they collide with others.
I pause, surprised, before glancing up at Crow, whose extended hand is flickering with a telltale dark light. "Thanks Crow, but that's kinda unnecessary. I was just joking…"
He winces, quickly drawing his outstretched hand back into his cloak and pulling the hood further over his head.
"S-Sorry…"
"It's fine." I say, waving it off. I turn back to the crowd, who are understandably wary. "Sorry boys," I glance down at the girl, "and girl, but we need to get going, stores to visit, things to buy." Motioning Crow to follow, I strut past them, ignoring the surprised looks, pretending this was all planned.
If they think me a diva, that's fine. I can deal with whatever label they slap on me. When it comes down to it, I can only think of a handful of people whose opinions I really care about.
Once I'm sure the crowd isn't following us, I pointedly pull Crow out of the sky so that he's waking next to me.
"What was that about?" I ask, making sure my tone is soft and concerned (not that I'm not concerned, I'm just putting extra effort into conveying it). "That was rather out of character, you okay?"
"We- I'm fine!" He squeaks, surprisingly void of his normal timid tone. He's looking to the ground again, but is quite twitchy. "Nothing Ru- Wrong!"
I raise an eyebrow. "You can trust me Crow."
He pauses, eyes flicking from side to side underneath his hood. "I'm not insane."
I blink at this. "I never said you were."
His head snaps up, "I'm not!" He protests loudly, as if he didn't hear me. His voice suddenly drops and he frantically whispers, "shush!" under his breath.
People are starting to stare (well, more than they were before), so I quickly corral my teammate into a nearby store. It's one that I intended to visit later: a store filled with a large assortment of household decorations and furniture.
"Alright Crow," I say, glancing outside and noticing with some relief that the bystanders have moved on. "What's going on? More importantly, what can I do?"
"You? Do?" His head shoots up, as if remembering something important. "Right! Shopping!"
"That's not impor-"
"No, no, no! You must shop!" He rambles, cutting me off. "You have to!"
"But-"
"Let's go!" He grabs my hand, startling me, and starts pulling me deeper into the store. "Enjoy yourself!"
"Crow...?" I'm thoroughly freaked out by this point. What's happening to Crow? "You don't seem-"
"Fine!" He practically shouts, his eyes desperate. "Just come!"
A fierce debate rages in my mind for a few seconds. One side wants to just get him the hell out of here and back to the tower. The other side is pushing me to just go along with it, maybe I can find out more by just playing along.
Against my better judgement, I choose the latter.
"Alight!" I say, giving in. "Let's go! Lead on!"
He does just that, running along at a swift pace. I'm concerned he might run into someone, but being early there are very few people in this particular shop. I'm moving at a light jog to keep up with him as he zig-zags deeper into the store.
It doesn't last long. Very quickly he starts to slow down, and soon enough he's moving at a normal walking pace. Whatever drove him to such strange actions seems to mostly fade away, and he seems to realize what he's doing. He soon falls in behind me hiding his face beneath his cloak and holding his arms close to his body.
I make sure to keep glancing behind me as I wander aimlessly around, observing the decorations and furniture as he seemed to have wanted. Any genuine interest is lost, of course, considering my friend just freaked out over seemingly nothing.
"Maybe it was a bad idea to bring him here." I consider, absently fingering a nice blue couch. "I know he's not good with normal society. Maybe I'm moving too fast. Being a hero is one thing, he know's what he has to do then, but shopping, relaxing?" I grimace. "There was a reason why you bought all the groceries in the past Maria! There was a reason!" However, another part of me argues: "But he bought them by himself before; remember the fire in the kitchen he told you about, and how he needed to replace the food?"
My eyes narrow in annoyance. There's something I'm not thinking of, but it's my job to figure it out and help. It's my job to take care of him. Self-imposed, yes, but someone so mentally fragile would never survive on their own.
Plus, he's a perfectly nice person; way too kind for his own good (though how much of that is his servile instinct I don't know). Plus, I can genuinely say I like the guy, strange as he may be. He may have started off as somewhat of a charity case on my part, helping a fellow metahuman and all, but he's a friend now. A friend in need is a friend indeed, and I intend to prove myself his friend; not his master, not his 'mistress' (a title I've learned to despise), but a friend.
Resolute in my decision, I continue to wander the store, keeping an eye on my friend as he follows behind. The whispering starts up again, but it doesn't escalate, so I do my best to listen in.
"Th-There's no w-"
"Yes, yes, no, no!"
"We can't do tha- No! Brave! You made us-"
"Purple? Couch? What couch?"
This last whisper seems to bring him out of his little trance and he stops in place, looking around.
"Crow?" I ask tentatively. "What is it?"
"I-I thought I saw something I…" He trails off. "S-Sorry! I-I didn't-! J-Just go back to whatever you were doing!"
This gives me pause. Remembering that last phrase, I cast around for this supposed purple couch. I locate what I think he might have been talking and stride over to the display, Crow at my heels. "Is this it?"
"I-I… Yes…" He murmurs, almost sounding guilty, as if he's apologizing for something.
It's not actually a couch. I'm not actually sure what it's supposed to be at all. Imagine a cylinder about the size of a double bed, cushioned, with three-quarters of it having a similarly cushioned back. It's like a giant chair or dog bed.
"You like it?" I ask.
"Well…" He seems uncertain, as if pondering whether to admit it or not. "Kinda…"
"Only kinda?"
He fidgets.
"It's fine for you to like it. I'm not looking down on you or anything, I'm just curious."
"I like it alot…"
"Well that's that then." I say firmly, glancing at the price tag. "It's not that expensive, and Rob did give us money. Plus it'll bring some nice color to your room."
"How are we going to take it with us?" He asks softly.
"We won't. They'll deliver it." I shrug. "Do you want to try it?"
"Try it?" He cocks his head, peeking out of his hood to look up at me.
"Sure," I shrug. "You can try all displays, just hop on."
"O-Okay." He takes a tentative step towards it and looks towards me, as if I'll suddenly change my mind. I patiently motion for him to continue.
Deciding that I'm not going to start mocking him or something, he finally sits down on the chair thing. A few seconds pass where he presents a curious expression, seemingly forgetting about me. After those seconds he promptly pulls up his legs and curls into a ball in the center of the chair thing, looking rather content.
"He was wrong." The sorcerer mutters, eyes half-closed. "It's a bed, not a couch."
I'm somewhat amused by his behaviour. It's a welcome change to his normal fearful state. Smiling, I lean over the edge of the cha- bed and ask: "Comfy?"
"Uh-huh." He mutters. "It's a bed."
"Yes it is." I agree, smirking.
"Can we buy it?" He asks, sounding distracted.
"Yes Crow." I say, despite having already told him this.
"Oh that's good." He mumbles to himself. "You were right again Knowledge, Mistress said we could buy it."
I frown, partially because of the name, and partially because of this 'Knowledge' person he's apparently talking to. "Crow, remember what I said about my name?"
"Changeling." He says. His eyes blink rapidly and he seems to return back to his senses. "I-I, u-uh, sorry…" He whispers, sitting up.
"It's fine." I say. Deciding to take a chance, I ask: "Who's Knowledge?"
I know that was something I wasn't supposed to hear by the way he freezes. His eyes grow wide, fearful. "Wh-Wh-What are you talking about?"
"You can trust me." I say soothingly, trying to calm him.
My reassurance is in vain though, as he is already starting to panic. "No! I-I mean, yes I can t-trust you but you can't- Shouldn't- Nothing!" He blurts. "Nothing! You didn't hear anything!"
"Crow." I say softly.
"It was nothing!" He protests shakily. "Nothing wrong with me, nothing to interrupt your day! Nothing!"
"Interrupt my day?" I tilt my head. "Crow, are you hiding something because you think I'll be mad?"
"No!" He squeaks. "You're too ni-" His hands fly to his mouth, stopping himself from speaking any more, his face turning a bit more pale than usual.
A rush of elation sweeps through me. I know he was going to say 'nice', and it's incredibly reassuring to hear that from him, if only partially.
I have other things to worry about at the moment though.
"What's wrong Crow? Why can't you tell me? Is it about you being half-human?" I ask in a hushed tone.
"N-No."
"Is it about your home?"
"N-Not exactly…"
"Then why?"
Brief silence, then-
"I'm not i-insane. I'm not dangerous. I'm helpful."
"I know."
"H-How?"
"You've proven it."
"H-How do you know I'm not a different person now?"
"You are."
"Then how can you know I'm still safe?"
"Because I trust you."
###
In the end, I couldn't get much more out of him concerning his problem, but I wouldn't consider our conversation a waste. Something I said must have reassured him, because he calmed down quickly after protesting the he was, in fact, sane.
Whatever the reason, I'm just glad he's safe. The only piece of information I got out of him after was that whatever he was going through today usually wasn't dangerous, just very, very strange.
In his words: "They can only speak on their own power. They can't hurt anyone unless I want to. Not even he can."
Granted, that's more information than I was expecting. 'They' means that there is more than one of these voices, and I know that 'they' are somehow restricted by Crow's wants.
These thoughts mull through my mind as I help my teammate pay for the bed, (to be delivered tomorrow apparently, now that's service!) I resign myself to not knowing for now and just keeping an eye out for further freak outs.
Much to my surprise though, nothing happens. Throughout the rest of the morning he is perfectly amicable, almost calm as we wander through other stores. The whispering doesn't stop, but it doesn't escalate again.
"I guess 'they' are cooperating?" I wondered weakly during this time. "I wish I knew more…"
However lunchtime comes without incident, so me and Crow made our way over to the Pizza Place as Cybrog had instructed.
I just hope that the rest of today will go smoothly.
Curious. I just noticed how Crow's last chapter was focused a bit on Changeling, and now Changeling's was focused on Crow. Actually, I think I tend to do that a lot: Whoever the chapter focuses on generally isn't the person narrating.
By the way, don't expect the Nevermore equivalent anytime soon. I'm not doing everything in seasonal order. Crow won't be getting much more development for the remainder of this season.
A Person: Spying next chapter! No worries!