An Authors Note: Ladies and gentlemen the reviewer count for this story is…. (drum roll)…10!!!!!
Yes, ten people have taken time out of their busy lives to review this little story!!! I feel so proud! Not sure if I'm proud of myself or my story, but I am one happy little writer.
Oh, and thanks to the three new reviewers who just made themselves known. They are: pimpofthetitans, Beik, and Emote Control. Thanks for reading.
I said a few chapters back that Raven would slowly be going into OOCland, and this is going to be one of those times. Just thought I would warn you.
Now…on with the show.
I'm so glad no one was too offended by the familiar thing…speaking of which…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Talking
After a bit of searching the Titans and their three new companions had found a nice little pool in the forest. It was a rather picturesque spot, the pool was at the bottom of a small, yet very pretty waterfall connected to a gentle stream. While the moody centaur had healed them of all their injuries they were still covered with blood and sweat. In fact, they were a rather smelly group at the moment, and Robin's first priority had been to rectify this situation, hence the search that had lead them to the pool. Jinx, desperate to get clean, had immediately leapt into the pool and had forbidden anyone else from going in while SHE was cleaning off. Afterwards, Winterwing, Illeria and Arcktos had all gone in together, saying that their individual species did not follow "silly human modesty" as they put it.
While the three newcomers where splashing around the pool, Robin decided to confront Raven about the whole familiar thing. He felt that he defiantly deserved to know this, as it was his mind they were talking about. He had always kind of wondered why Raven's mind had left a kind of permanent mark on his own, and now he knew, and he was not sure how he felt about it. On the one hand it could be useful, on the other hand…who knew what side affects there may be? He already figured out that this familiar thing was the reason that he could sometimes tell what Raven was feeling in certain situations, but what else could be achieved by this bond? He needed to know, and he was going to find out.
Robin approached Raven, who was sitting on a stump staring into space, and offered her Whistler, not wanting to start the conversation with accusations.
"Found your sword." He said as he grabbed the blade of the weapon and offered it to her hilt first.
"Thanks." She said as she took it. Robin sat down beside her and tried to collect his thoughts.
"Ummm, Illeria said something really strange in the castle…about that bond we have." Raven's body grew tenser and tenser as Robin talked "She said that the bond we have sounded like a familiar bond…Raven…is it true?"
Raven refused to look at him; she just kind of stared off into the distance. Finally, she nodded.
"Raven why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried to break it." Raven growled "But you can't just break this kind of bond…it's almost always permanent. I thought if I ignored it…it would go away. It hasn't…but I'm still going to ignore it."
"Why?"
"I don't want it. I didn't mean for it to happen. I was just trying to help you. I never meant to do this to you."
"Raven, you should have told me. I need to know why you kept this a secret."
Raven glared at him. "I don't want to talk about this."
"I need to know, it's my mind! Raven, I had to be told by your foster sister and a talking flying wolf that I'm basically your pet-"
"That's not what it's like!" Raven growled.
"Then what is it like! What I'm I supposed to think?"
"How about this? Stop talking about it! Forget it ever happened!"
"NO, tell me what is wrong, damn it!"
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong!" Raven bellowed, stood up, and gave Robin the most evil glare he had ever seen. He almost expected to see the four glowing red eyes.
"First off, a familiar can channel the powers of their wizard; do you know what that means? That means you could potentially access my powers. My curse! You would have to take on all the consequences of my powers, including my demon side! I didn't want to burden you, my friend, with my evil!
Second, there is a certain alien princess who loves you very dearly, damned if I know why! She's my friend too, Robin, and I didn't want to hurt her with this knowledge. How would you feel, Robin, if some other guy had some strange bond with Starfire?! Don't you know how badly this will hurt her?
Thirdly…my mother once had a very special little crow familiar. A familiar who is now dead because of me! That's not going to happen again!
Now, Robin, is this getting through your thick skull to that cobwebby area called your brain? I hope it is BECAUSE I NEVER WANT TO DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU EVER AGAIN!! FORGET! ABOUT! IT!"
With that she got up and stomped toward the pool, passing a group of very puzzled looking Titans. The three others had left the pool and had caught the last few sentences…not to mention everyone within five miles. Winterwing's mouth was open and he was panting heavily, a kind of doggy laugh.
Illeria's ears flicked, getting rid of some of the water that still dripped there. "What did you say to her?" she growled at Robin, looking like she wanted to smack him a good one.
"Yeah, man, you really managed to piss her off." Cyborg said, also glaring at Robin.
"I just…look guys remember when I was seeing Slade everywhere?" the others nodded. "When Raven went into my mind she…kind of…ummm."
Winterwing sighed. "Fool human." He looked at the others. "There is now a familiar bond between Raven and this Prey-Bird."
"Huh?" Cyborg stared at Winterwing, then at Robin. "Ya mean you're her pet?"
Winterwing growled "That is NOT what it is like!"
"What…does this mean?" Starfire asked, looking very puzzled.
Robin then stopped and really thought about Raven had said about him and Starfire. She had been right; this knowledge really could hurt Starfire, especially since Raven and Starfire were practically sisters. It would be a betrayal of the worst kind, and the worst part was Raven honestly never meant any harm. But before he got a chance to tell anyone to shut up a certain wolf was talking, and Robin could not stop him. Despite the fact that Robin desperately tried to get Winterwing's attention so he could tell the beast to shut up, he either ignored Robin or chose not to care. Soon everyone knew exactly what had gone on.
The Titan's reactions were interesting to see. Cyborg looked a little amused by this, as if it was some kind of bizarre joke. He could see much potential in teasing Robin about this, and he was already mentally planning the ridicule. Due to Raven's sensitivity he never thought about teasing her, but Robin was fair game.
Jinx rolled her eyes and looked bored, familiars where not a new thing for her, and to her this was not at all strange. She knew one or two humans with familiar bonds, and she thought that Robin was making a big deal out of nothing. However, she was interested to know why Raven was suddenly so defensive about having a familiar…that was the strange part. Wizards just don't ignore familiars, it just was not done.
Arcktos's expression was unreadable, probably because none of the humans really knew how to read dog facial expressions. Inwardly he was also curious as to why Raven didn't seem to like this bond. He knew that when she was little she had really wanted a familiar, due to the fact that her mother had so many. But Arcktos had not spoken to Raven since they were children, and he wondered how and why she had changed.
Winterwing just looked at Robin as if the human was the most stupid thing on the planet. The wolf made a mental note to have a very long talk with this…fool.
Illeria was simply infuriated. She had already decided that she did not like this arrogant human male, and was doubly angry at the fact that he had somehow hurt her little sister.
Beast Boy was pissed…really…really pissed. Here he was trying to get Raven to like HIM and Mister Boy Wonder had to go and form some wacko bond with her! How in the world was he supposed to compete with Robin! Robin! The handsome guy who had like twenty thousand fan girls drooling over him! Not to mention Starfire! Beast Boy didn't have one freaking fan girl within five miles of the city! Drat! What chance did he have with Raven with Robin in the way?
Starfire felt immense and complete sadness. Ever since the trip to Tokyo she had felt a strong and wonderful love for Robin, and she had thought that he had felt the same things for her. Recently they had started dating, and Starfire had loved every minute of it. But…now he seemed bonded to Raven. A part of her felt like she should be angry and jealous at Raven, but all she felt was sadness and grief. She was so upset that she turned and ran off, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes.
Feeling like a louse, Robin chased after her, hoping to somehow repair the damage. After a few moments Jinx followed with an irritated look, muttering something about soap operas.
Beast Boy slunk away, heading for the pool, and Raven. After hearing this he needed to talk to Raven, if only to find out how she felt about Robin.
Raven dove into the pool, hoping the water would cool her down. She had left her cloak on the bank, now wearing only her leotard. She was upset, and not just at Robin. She had lost her temper, and lost it badly. She had been mentally waiting for trees to break in black energy and things to start flying around. She had expected to feel the surge of evil power that came with her demon side waking up…but it had not happened. She had lost her temper and gotten angry, but nothing bad had happened at all. It was very strange and a little scary.
She ducked under the water, scrubbing her head with her fingers as she tried to get the blood out of it. When she resurfaced she saw a certain green boy sitting on the bank looking at her.
She glared at him "What are you doing here?"
"I…just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?" He did not what to say what he was really feeling, which was immense jealousy toward Robin. He didn't want to ruin what little chance he had left with an angry boyfriend rant. Especially since he was not technically Raven's boyfriend, no matter how much he wanted to be.
"I'm fine." Raven growled and turned away from him.
Beast Boy decided to take a chance. After all, she couldn't really throw him five miles away with her powers right now, so…
He slid into the pool and walked toward Raven. The water was only waist deep, and not that cold. He got within arms length of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Immediately she tensed up, not used to people touching her. Now that he was standing next to her he could tell how upset she really was, and his jealously faded away, replaced by concern.
"You heard most of that…didn't you? You heard about what happened between me and Robin?"
"You were shouting at him, everyone heard. Are you okay?"
"Do any of you know what this means?"
"Winterwing tried to explain it to us, something about two minds touching each other. I really…don't understand it. Are you and Robin-"
"NO!!" Raven bellowed and whirled around to face him with an angry expression. "He's not a boyfriend or a lover or a freaking PET!!!! I never meant it to happen! You were there, Beast Boy! All I was trying to do was keep him from dieing! That's all! But the magic…sometimes when two people that have similar minds and one of them connects the other like that then the stupid bond will just form without either person wanting it."
"So, it was an accident?" He had heard most the conversation, but he really needed to hear her say this.
"FOR THE LAST TIME YES!" Raven shrieked at him. Beast Boy leaped back, almost expecting to get his head blown off. When it didn't happen he relaxed.
"Look, Rae," he said. "I…just…oh heck." Beast Boy could not think of what to say.
They stared at each other for a long moment, neither of them knowing precisely what to say. Finally, Beast Boy could not take the silence anymore.
"Sorry for making you mad. I just wanted to make sure that you are okay.
"I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." Raven said very quietly.
"Hey, it's no problem. You should let your emotions out more often. It might make you feel better."
Raven snorted. "If I did that then everything in the tower would be blown sky high and you know it."
"But they didn't just now, when you shouted at me, and they didn't when you let loose on Robin. I know it is because you don't have your powers anymore, but…maybe now is the perfect time for you to let some of your feelings out. It might do some good. You never know."
"I don't know Beast Boy."
Beast Boy grinned at her. "Hey, just think about it!" Not wanting to get her angry again, and finally realizing that him and her in a wet pool might be the best thing for Mr. Beast Boy's Hormone, Beast Boy turned away and swam to shore. Upon reaching the shore he turned into a dog and shook himself dry. Then he shifted back to human, gave Raven a wave and left.
She sighed and thought about what Beast Boy had said.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe…for a while, she could allow herself to feel.
Robin had finally caught up with Starfire, who was now crying uncontrollably. Every time she sobbed he felt small emotional knives going into his heart, and he felt even more like a total jerk, even though he technically had done nothing wrong.
"Starfire please!" he begged. "I didn't know what she had done. You know I didn't ask for her to do it. It was an accident and…please stop crying." He could not understand her. She was speaking in her native tongue, and Robin had no clue what she meant.
"Oh, would you just stop with the soap opera teenage angst crap!" Jinx growled as she walked up, much to Robin's dislike and irritation. What did she want?
"Starfire, look." Jinx started, ignoring Robin's glare. "I can tell you don't really understand what a familiar really is, so I'm going to help you a bit. Now, first off, just because Robin and Raven have a bit of a mental connection does not mean that they are romantically involved or anything like that. I've met wizards with human familiars before, and it is not that problematic. All it really means is that Robin can do a few things he could not before hand."
"Like what?" Starfire asked, still sniffling.
"Well, like she mentioned he could probably channel her powers." Jinx started listing things off "They could see through each other's eyes if they concentrated. Hear each other in their heads…oh and she could probably use him as a conduct."
"A what?" Robin looked at Jinx.
"Means she could use your mind to support hers with difficult spells." Jinx said. "The point is, Starfire, just because Raven accidentally linked with Robin's mind does not mean that they will run off together. Familiar humans marry all the time without any problems."
Now embarrassed that Jinx had said the M word, but now willing to deny the possibility in case Starfire went on another crying fit, Robin choose to ignore Jinx completely and grabbed Starfire's hand.
"Star, just because my mind is linked to Raven's it does not change what I feel for you. Nothing will ever change what I feel for you."
Starfire's eyes lit up, thankfully not literally, and she threw herself on Robin. Not wanting to see…whatever they were going to do, Jinx turned around and left, hoping that this would help end some of the annoying drama.
Twainisa was just finishing up her report to the Matron, who was not happy at all. Also there was the General, Arucules and Dralor. Frankly, Twainisa wished that Dralor was not there, he could be so unreasonable when it came to some things! Especially when it came to Raven.
Dralor was scowling darkly "I told you we should have keep it locked up." He was referring to Raven.
The General and Arucules were both snarling at this comment, but neither said anything. Technically Dralor outranked both of them, and there was nothing they could do about that, nor was there anything they could do about his unreasonable hatred for Raven.
He's not completely out of line. The General thought Trigon did murder his brother, not to mention the fact that he used the body of his best friend to rape his other friend. At least his hate does not stem from prejudice, like so many others's hatred is.
"The issue is not HER." Arucules stated, emphasizing the word her. "The issue is Sanath and Sanath alone. I do not care what you decide, Matron, but I will do my best to stop him. I'll go to the Nazlar kingdom right now if need be."
The Matron gave him a steady look. She knew that the old minotaur saw many of his fellow priests as weak, but despite his attitude he did have a point. In fact…
"Twainisa, are you certain that Sanath will try to strike us here eventually?"
"More than certain, Matron." The centaur replied.
"Then I believe preemptively striking this army while they are fighting the Nazlar will fit under the Warrior's job description. The one that goes 'protect the Temple at all costs'. Am I correct?"
The General managed not to grin broadly "That is how I interpret it, Matron. Shall I gather the troops?"
"Of course." She said. Somehow the General managed to get out of there swiftly, but never actually ran.
"What will we do with the Halfbloods if this battle is won?" Dralor said. "You know how I feel about genocide, Matron."
"I hope it does not come to that…I truly do not." The Matron said. Most of the time she and Dralor agreed on most issues and it was only concerning Raven that the two found themselves at odds. Dralor was actually a very good man, but he could not forget the pain that Trigon had caused him, and for some reason the very sight of Raven caused those bad memories to surface. However, the Matron did know that Dralor had tried most of his life to be fair to Raven, even when he was overly stern and critical to everything she did, but…
The one time that Raven had transformed into a true demon had been the last straw for Dralor. In that moment he saw not a little girl, but a monster born from his mortal enemy. Dralor had never liked Raven, but after that his dislike had grown to full blown hate. He had never gotten over that, and even after all she had done Dralor still saw Raven as a monster that needed to be restrained…or killed.
"Will you support me in this?" she asked Dralor. "I know the Council will not approve of this and I may need your help. I know how much you despise Raven, but-"
"I will not let my personal feeling for that monster get in the way of what must be done." Dralor said.
The Matron wished she could believe him.
After the others had each gotten a dip in the pool they all sat down for a pellet induced meal of steak and potatoes, most of the potatoes being claimed but Beast Boy, who received even more teasing about his vegan ways. Usually it was just Cyborg, but now Arcktos and Illeria were taking turns needling him. Both were dedicated predators, and did not understand or want to understand Beast Boy's views.
It was very loud.
What was almost as bad for Raven was Starfire. The alien princess was determined to get to the bottom of this bond, and she was firing questions at Raven, who was not enjoying the experience.
Finally, Raven snapped again "I don't like familiars! How many times must I say it, Starfire?"
Arcktos's nose flared. He leaned over and gave Raven an odd look.
"When you were a little girl all you could talk about was having a familiar of your own." He said gently. "Now you twitch every time that someone mentions the word. What changed, Raven?"
What is with these people! I feel like I should just write my stupid memoirs and get it over with! She thought. She looked at the others, who were giving her the now expected "please tell us!" look. She sighed.
"Illeria, Arcktos and Winterwing…you all remember Zipatila?"
"Mother's familiar, he went with you to Earth." Illeria said.
"Yes…" Raven looked over at Titans "Zipatila was a crow, and like Illeria said he was one of my mother's familiars. He…went with me to Earth, but during my first attempt to stop a robbery…they used guns. I did pretty well, but one of the robber's bullets almost got me. It would have, but Zipatila flew in front of it in order to save me." Raven was now looking down at the ground, looking very sad. "He saved my life. I tried to heal him, but I could not."
A crow! Oh my God! I've meet him! Beast Boy thought. HE was the one who led me and Jinx to Raven! Does that mean…DUDE, I saw a ghost!"
A/N: I kind of stole the whole "pet" thing from Agent's comments! Hope you do not mind, but that statement just cracked my up!