(RAVEN'S PERSPECTIVE)
"Mama, when is it going to be sunny again?"
A boy, about eight years old, was sitting in a boat with his parents. The small vessel was wooden, flat-bottomed, and rocked against harsh tides. The father was steering the boat with ores, as the mother and child sat behind him.
Splayed across the floor of the boat, were clothing items, books, papers, several tools, and fruits.
Rain saturated the world below the clouds.
The leaves of trees were hanging low from the weight of rain and animals were hidden in their shelters. Though the showers brought out the green of the earth, the climate was hostile. Winds whipped through the family's clothes and their hair. The once humid air of the region, felt almost arctic in the face of the unfriendly winds.
The mother tenderly responded, "I'm not sure, my love."
"Are you sure, Mama? You and Papa should know everything. After all, you guys are grown-ups." the child smiled.
"Mark, be careful!" the woman yelled as the boat shook violently.
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?!"
"I just want us to be safe."
Bringing the child under her arms, the mother's face appeared to pale in trepidation. Even with water resting on her features, it was easy to read her disturbed facial expression.
"Mama, what's—"
Before the boy could raise his question, the left side of the boat crashed into a rock.
"MARK!"
"Marie, I'm trying to steer this thing, but it isn't working!" the father shouted.
"Try harder!"
"I can't!"
"Ma-M-M- Mama... I'm scared." the child's words choked up in his throat.
"Don't be," the mother cradled his head, "I'm right here."
The child whimpered, burying his face in his mother's shirt.
Abruptly, the rushing of the river turned into loud crashes ahead.
"Son, you're going to have to turn into a bird and fly." the father spoke with a grave heaviness in his voice.
"What? Why?" the child leaned up his head, eyeing what lay beyond the boat.
A cliff.
The blond cried hysterically in his mother's embrace, "I'm not going to! I can't leave you!" he screamed.
The mother eased away and put her arm on the child's shoulder. With tears in her eyes, she braced a delicate smile.
"Your father and I aren't going to make it. You have a tremendous power, dear. Don't be afraid to use it."
The boy hissed through gritted teeth, "I-I'm not afraid of my power... I'm afraid of losing you. I can't, Mama— I'm going to be alone."
The mother tilted the boy's face upward, so their eyes could meet.
"For our sake, and yours, you have to leave us behind." her smile began to lose light.
"No. Please, there has to be another way to—"
The boat thrashed against the tides once more, nearing the steep edge.
"Son, you have to go." Mark faced the boy.
The man's eyes became empty as his fate approached.
"Remember," Marie touched her son's heart, "I'm right here."
She hugged her child for one last time, then kissed his forehead.
"Goodbye, Garfield."
"Raven? Raven. Heeeellooooooo, Earth to Raven!"
I was sitting on the U-shaped couch in the Common Room.
Panting heavily, I felt a tremor ripple throughout my body. Additionally, a cold sweat broke across my back.
"Raven, are you okay?" Beastboy was standing in front of me.
The two of us were the only ones in the room. The other three Titans were probably in other areas of the Tower.
"That felt so... real."
Reality and the vision I experienced was overbearing to fathom all at once. The image in my head painted numerous sensations, sounds, sights, smells, and touch; all that were too vivid to settle into my current actuality.
"What felt real?" the changeling asked.
"N—Nothing. Nothing, Beastboy." I massaged my temples, then resumed reading my novel.
"Oh. Well, I wanted to show you some Demon Slayer manga."
"Demon. Slayer?"
Beastboy's aura was much lighter opposed to a few nights ago. Even so, my empathic senses picked up on a familiar dark streak that was underneath his facade.
"Yuh-huh. It's about this kid whose entire family except his sister got killed by a demon. The guy's name is Tanjiro, and his sister is Nezuko. Although Nezuko managed to live, she was turned into a demon."
I noted the enthusiasm in my teammate's voice. His expressions were vibrant, as I usually knew them.
"Yah, demons survive off of human blood, so basically all they do is slaughter mankind. But Nezuko is different. Even though she's a demon, Nezuko doesn't find an appetite to eat humans. To avenge his family's deaths, Tanjiro trains to become a Demon Slayer, ya know, someone that kills demons. He also believes there is a way to change Nezuko back to a human, so he fights for that, too." his rambles were eager and quick, but I was able to keep up.
"So he pretty much kills people like me?" I rasped.
"Uhhh... yeah, but you're more like Nezuko. You both are good demons and help people. Sometimes, Nezuko is attacked by other Demon Slayers, because they assume she is evil."
"Really? Can I see?"
This story Beastboy was talking about sparked my interest.
"Of course." he handed me the book, then I put my own aside.
"The author likes monochrome, huh?"
"Watchya mean by that?"
"I'm not a fan of color... but these pictures look depressing." I reasoned.
Beastboy chuckled, "Most, if not all manga are like that. It's black and white, but the characters add their own color to the story." the changeling stated profoundly.
"Wow." my eyes scanned curiously across the page.
Beastboy pointed to a girl on the strip, "The demon that reminds me of you has black hair which turns orange at the ends. Her eyes are pale pink, and she has piece of bamboo in her mouth to help her resist biting anyone. She also can't be in sunlight, or she will dissolve into ashes. So when Nezuko travels with Tanjiro in the daytime, she has to sit in a wooden box, which he straps to his back."
"For someone who hasn't read manga or anything of the sort, I'm finding this fascinating." I admitted.
"Yeah, mangas are great, I have a ton of them. Nezuko also sleeps for long periods of times to regenerate her power. Like I said, she doesn't eat demons to enhance her stamina, so that comes with a drawback."
"Just like how I have to meditate daily to keep my emotions in check, she has to do her own things to maintain herself."
Beastboy commented, "Yup. The funniest people in this thing are Inosuke and Zenitsu. They're like parallels to Cy and I." he pointed to an image with two teenage boys.
"Loud, energetic jokesters?" my dark, amethyst eyes clasped with his lively, jade ones.
"Bingo."
We exchanged a brief laugh.
"All jokes aside, this has to be one of my favorite mangas." my friend confessed.
"Why?"
Beastboy's faint smile sank into a straight line,
"Because the main character knows what it's like to lose everything, but still fights for good. Even if it hurts."
It was then I realized, Beastboy was the child in my visions.