The second hand moves way to slow
But where did all those minutes go
I say, you're bringing on the light
There's no right way to do
A wrong thing, I could hear you say
You're bringing on the light
It's a quick trip there and I'm on return
So make the grade or feel the burn
You say, you're bringing on the light
-Bringing on the Light, Goo Goo Dolls
The dog, startled by the scream, bolts to the other side of the toilet, and hunkers down there. Her ears perk as a quick tap tap tap comes racing down the hallway, and the bathroom door is flung open to reveal a slightly short girl with dark, bordering on black, violet hair, her cloak billowing out behind her.
That's...
Raven?
Raven!
The dog's tail thumps quietly against the tile, her heart racing a mile a minute. She can feel a type of doggy smile pull at her lips, her piercing heterochromia eyes wide and excited.
"What's wrong?" She asks, her amethyst eyes wide. Her demeanor instantly changes at Beast Boy's awkward smile and wave. Her narrowing eyes dart between Starfire, Beast Boy, and finally to the dog behind the two, hidden behind the toilet, the only sign of her being her muzzle and ears poked out to inspect the scene with heterochromia eyes, one brown, the other bright blue along with the thick smell of wet dog hanging in the air.
"We kinda wanted to know if you could maybe possibly heal animals?" Beast Boy asks, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"You brought a dog into my bathroom?! And what the hell is a dog even doing here anyway?!" Raven is stiff, angry, her voice only raised the slightest bit, but her level of anger was plain to see, even if she was keeping most of it boxed in.
"We heard howling and when we went to investigate, found her. Richard required her to have a bath before she could stay inside." Star explains, her eyes alight and posture hopeful.
"And that gave you permission to use my bathroom when there are three others that could be used instead?! Garfield! Your bathroom is already trashed, why didn't you use yours?" Raven turns on him, fire in her eyes. Beast Boy cowers.
"Well, you see, I don't have shampoo that would be all that safe to use on her..."
"So you used mine?!" Raven is positively seething, anyone could swear she was about to breathe fire.
"Yeah... I couldn't use mine on her. Well, technically I could have but it's not good to use it on animals."
"You're basically a damn animal, Gar! What are you even talking about?"
"Yeah, well! I'm still technically a person! Look, can you heal the dog or not? Even if you're mad at me for my decision, why should she have to suffer if you can heal her when she didn't do anything?" Beast Boy gets defensive. The hidden dog had to admit that was pretty deep, especially for what she pictured him to be.
"I agree, it is not fair for something living to suffer if they are innocent." Star adds, glancing back at the dog.
Raven looks irritated, obviously feeling as if her hands were tied on the matter, no matter how irritated she may be. "Fine! I'll try my best. Bring her out here, I'm not going in there with that smell. You had better make sure its cleaned up!" She turns and walks away from the door. The duo sigh, deflating.
"Well, that was most pleasant." Star quips, running her hand through her hair./
"Take her to Raven, I'll clean everything up so she won't bury us alive." Beast Boy rolls his eyes and grabs a violet towel from a drawer to begin drying the floor.
"Come here, pretty little dog," Star begins, calling to the startled dog in the corner. "Raven will heal you and make you feel much better! She's not as scary as she looks."
"Star, you have to whistle at them and say 'come' to get them to come to you." Beast Boy laughs as he mops up the drenched floor.
"Raven may have startled her." Star says, concern etched in her features.
"I doubt it." Beast Boy whistles at the dog, calling her to come, and she slowly crawls out from her hiding place, elation and uncertainty clouding her mind.
She hobbles toward Star, her mind working at a million miles a minute. She's baffled by how gorgeous the dark Titan is, as well as her inner fire. Fear floods her lungs momentarily before again disappearing. She refuses to be afraid of her favorite Titan. The fear is simply irrational to her anyway. It wasn't her the fiery girl was mad at, after all.
This was more like a dream come true than anything else. The ebony dog simply can't fully comprehend this. Was this a trick of her mind? A lucid dream? God joking with her? She isn't fully sure.
She cautiously glances between the two Titans, one very displeased as he mops up the filthy floor, the other holding a neutral expression as she moves to open the door. The dog isn't sure if they're going to evaporate any moment or not.
When the door shuts behind the two girls, excitement, uncertainty, adrenaline, and hopefulness jolt through the dog at the speed of a bullet when she spots Raven a little way down the hall leaning against the wall, her hood down, allowing all of her beauty to be showcased. The dog gazes up at the girl in absolute awe.
A whistling whine makes its way past her muzzle as her tail whips back and forth at the speed of light. Picking her injured leg up, she darts at Raven in a hobbling three legged run, jumping up to balance on her hind legs, pawing at the air directly in front of Raven.
The girl shields herself with her arms as if the dog were going to jump on her.
"No, down!" She commands of the dog. Reigning in her excitement, the dog instantly drops down into a sit, wide excited heterochromia eyes trained on the grey skinned girl as her tail brushes over the carpet like a feather duster
Star's laughter rings out like a symphony of bells. "She likes you!"
"What's wrong with it?" Raven quirks an eyebrow at the overly happy canine, crossing her arms across her chest
"She, Raven. I do not see a problem with her behavior, but she does appear to have an injured leg," Star smiles at Raven, interlocking her fingers in front of her chest.
Raven simply knits her eyebrows together slightly as she kneels down, hands folded in her lap. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try. I've never healed animals before."
"That's all we could ever ask of you. We appreciate your attempts, and I'm sure she does too," Star kneels down a few feet away from the two, her hands on her knees. The dog twitches her ear. Damn right she appreciates Raven! Maybe a little more than she should, but still.
Raven looks slightly unsure, before lifting her hand to hover it in front of the charcoal dog's face.
The dog honestly couldn't care less if someone allowed her to sniff their hand or not, but she does so anyway to show acceptance, or whatever the hell it was that was the point of this. She smells of jasmine, and there's that weird pixie smell again. Any more of this and she swears she'll be meeting Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
It occurs to her that maybe Raven doesn't have much experience with dogs, or animals in general. Unless Azarath had animals, but that's completely up in the air.
She pushes her face under Raven's hand after giving it a gentle lick. Startled, Raven rips her hand away. Star laughs, releasing gorgeous peels of laughter. With a sigh, Raven reaches for the dogs injured back leg with her left hand. The ebony dog watches curiously.
When contact is made with the knee joint, Raven quietly recites her mantra. Her eyes flash white, and black energy envelops the dogs leg. The dog yelps, but before she can jump away, Raven wraps her right arm around the dog's neck, keeping her in place.
The dog becomes stunned, all previous elation forgotten. Her body is stiff and her eyes wide. She could... See something. Hear screams... Begging, crying, laughter...
She could SEE something but she couldn't tell exactly what.
The crack of something registers, but she's too busy trying to figure out what it is she's seeing.
When Raven releases her, everything disappears. Her leg is throbbing, but she dares to put all of her weight on it. She finds the throbbing is the worst of it.
"Good... Um, dog." Raven pats the top of her head, causing elation to shoot through her like a shot of adrenaline.
"What a good girl! You did so well!" Star hugs the dog, running her fingers through the short yet soft and damp fur. The dog's tail whips back and forth at a mile a minute, the vision all but forgotten.
"Her knee was dislocated and she had two hairline fractures and a fracture. She's fine now." Raven stands, turning to head back to her room. "I swear, if any of you call me like that again outside of a real emergency there will be hell to pay."
"Understood." Star beams at Raven, which she misses due to her entering her room. The dog's tail droops at her departure, the doggy smile falling from her muzzle.
"BB, Star, I'm back." Cyborg comes walking down the hall, a 20 pound bag of Iams dog food tossed over his shoulder and a plastic bag in hand. The dog perks up once more. "Didn't think I'd find you down here."
Star grins widely. "That is fantastic! You have bought her food?"
"That I have." Cyborg spies the black dog. "Oh, would you look at that! Y'all did great. You clean up nice, little lady." Cyborg grins as he kneels down. The dog, dwarfed even more by the giant robotic man, 'woof's lightly as she jumps up, placing her paws on his knee, her tail going a mile a minute and it almost appears as if she grins happily up at him. With a laugh, Cyborg places the plastic bag on the floor, and rubs at the side of her head, scratching behind the dog's ear. "Let's get her fed."
The trio make their way to the Titan's living room, the dog prancing at their side and the two humans making light conversation about different topics, ranging from names, to Beast Boy cleaning up Raven's bathroom, which baffled Cyborg.
The dog couldn't believe she'd have to eat actual dog food. Actual fucking hard dog food that she hated even feeding her own dog. Her own dog...
She supposed it was a lot better than wet dog food. She'd starve before she ate that. It isn't dampening her mood nonetheless.
They go up a flight of stairs before finally making it to the common room, where the kitchen also happened to be. They walk through the automatic door and over to the kitchen. Yet another spacious room, but that wasn't much of a surprise. The carpet obviously needed to be replaced if the dog had anything to say about it.
What should have been fluffy grey carpet, was worn and matted down. Most likely from all the disgusting crap that has surly needed to be cleaned from it along with years of wear.
Her nails click on the tile of the kitchen, and she looks back up at the two. Cyborg sets the bag of food down on the opposite side of the fridge while Star digs things out of the accompanying plastic bag.
"What's all this?" Star asks as she pulls dog bowls, a collar, and flea medicine from the bag.
"Things she needs. We could have improvised, but something tells me she won't be claimed. If I'm right, I'll go get the rest to the things she'll need." Cyborg informs as he takes the tin bowels to the sink and rinses them out, drying them off when he's done. The dog sits quietly and patiently, her tail never once slowing down.
"Is this a form of special necklace for dogs?" Star asks as she inspects the thick navy colored band while Cyborg fills a bowl with water and sets it down by the dog food. He fills the other silver bowl with food and sets it next to the water. The dog practically pounces at the water, lapping at it desperately.
"Yeah, it's a collar. You put a tag on it for identification." Cyborg explains as a strange little wand comes out of the end of his arm, and he runs it over the dogs back and neck. "Can't find a microchip." He mumbled quietly, returning his arm to normal. He gently pulls the navy colored collar from Star's grasp, and buckles it around the dog's neck. It buckles at the third hole. Perfect. The dog happily looks up toward Cyborg before going back to her water.
The door again swishes open, and in prances Beast Boy
"Ey, having a party without me?" Beast Boy jokes as he comes to a halt a few feet from the rest of them.
"If that's what you wanna call it. I hope you cleaned Rae's bathroom right, or it'll be the end of you." Cyborg snickers while he opens the box of Petarmor flea and tick medication.
Beast Boy looks offended. "Of course I cleaned it right! What do you take me for, man?"
"Not the cleaning type, that's for sure." Cyborg grins and Starfire giggles as he rips the tab from the top of the tube, parting the fur between her shoulder blades and emptying the tube.
"Don't worry, it's clean," Beast Boy reiterates.
The dogs ears perk, and after she lifts her head from the water, looks back toward the Titan's dual purpose TV. A whirring and metallic whining noise hits her erect ears. Before she can question exactly what it is, an alarm blares across the room, causing her to jump.
"Sounds like that's gonna have to wait, BB." Cyborg approaches the computer, typing away with the other two watching curiously. The door slides open again, Robin rushing through this time.
"Report." He demands calmly, coming up beside Cyborg.
"H.I.V.E. Five, jewelry store on 7th." Cyborg says as Raven let's herself into the room via a swirling black portal. The dog again perks up, her tail speeding up, eyes never leaving the cloaked girl.
"Aw man. You'd think they'd be a little more original!" Beast Boy complains.
"Yet that makes our job that much easier." Star says, her eyes glowing green.
"Titans, go!" The five of them race from the room at Robin's command, and everything falls silent.
The dog huffs. They left her alone. Glorious. If it really had been a trap, that really wasn't the smartest or best move they ever made. But it wasn't, so it really didn't matter.
She continues to lap at the water until the bowl is empty, which when the task is complete, she realizes was another horrible move. Her stomach is empty, now completely filled to the brim with water. There was nothing to absorb it, so it wanted to come back up.
She tried to eat, but only got a few bites of the salty food down before she really started feeling sick.
Abandoning the food, she slowly makes her way over to the couch and hops up, laying down in a corner. She curls in on herself, and is instantly asleep.
The banging of pots and pans along with the sound of chattering wakes her from her slumber slowly. She lifts up her head to find the sun is already high over the bay, the water sparkling pristinely down below.
She's shocked.
So this isn't a dream then?
She's really in Titan's Tower?
Again, fiction type shit right here.
The voices of the Titans register along with the delicious smell of cooking food.
This has to be some kind of sick joke God is playing on her. Or her mind. She'd be satisfied with either answer.
She stares, just listening to the sound of the chattering voices for a few minutes before finally deciding to get a move on. She didn't realize a couch could be so comfortable, and she was bordering on disappointment for having to leave her bed. Which also happened to be the TITAN'S couch. Damn.
"... ad up less than an hour ago, almost 8,000 shares and likes, no hits yet though."
"Good start. Social media is a helpful thing."
"Hey! Speak of the devil! No offense Rae."
"Shut up, Garfield."
"May I make a proposition for a name?" Star asks as the dog sits on her haunches to stare up at Cyborg, who was cooking something that smelled absolutely amazing. She felt much better this morning. Aaaand, she's staring up at Cyborg himself and begging him for food. Again, DAMN!
The other Titans, beside Beast Boy who was cooking himself tofu, sat around the bar like counter.
"Shoot." Cyborg encourages, seemingly eager to hear her suggestion.
"Woah woah woah, now. We still don't know if she's going to be claimed. We can't go getting attached to her." Robin buts in. The dog flicks her ear. He might be being realistic, but still.
"Dude, did you see the condition she was in? Cy can't find a microchip and she has no collar. No one's going to claim her. She might have been someone's pet at some point, but not anymore. Go on, Star." Beast Boy reasons, playfully propping his head up on his fist.
Robin rolls his eyes. "I don't want to hear it if someone claims her. Don't come crying to me."
"I was thinking perhaps Mar'i? It is quite a popular name on my home planet. Or perhaps Radi? That one is less popular, yet still attractive."
""I was thinking something more along the lines of Hyco or Daisy."
"Daisy!" Cyborg laughs at Beast Boy's suggestion. "Might as well name her Sweetie!" Beast Boy glares at the robotic man. "I like Hyco. More masculine though."
"Macey, Gypsy, Trixie, Bailey, Ebony."
"Woah! Richard, my man! Getting in on the name game!"
"Quiet, Vic. I'm just helping out, 'cause obviously you guys are useless at coming up with names."
"What about you, Rae? Have any suggestions? You read so much you have to have one or two good ones." Cyborg asks.
"Yes! Suggest something. Even Richard has made suggestions." Star claps her hands together happily.
"Leave me out of it." Raven grumbles as she sips on her morning tea, reading through a new book. The language of the writing appeared to be Latin.
"Aw, c'mon Rae, I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day." Beast Boy gives her puppy eyes from over the counter.
Raven glares at him. "Call her Cerberus for all I care." She looks back down at her book.
"Not the guard dog of Hell!"
The dog decides to abandon begging Cyborg, and walks around to Raven, sitting and staring up at her, her ears erect and eyes alert. Her heart jumps slightly, her tail again becoming a feather duster.
Raven
Her favorite fucking Titan.
What the hell is this coming to?!
She had to resist wanting to tackle the cloaked Titan. Raven notices the dog almost instantly, and glares down at her. "What do you want?" She growls quietly. The dog simply yips at her.
"Hey, what about Apache? After that Bleach character with the different colored eyes?" Beast Boy sounds proud of himself, waving over his eyes for emphasis.
"Ooh! I like it!" Star smiles widely.
"Of course you'd be the one to bring anime into this." Robin sighs. "I don't see a problem with it though."
"I like it, has a nice ring to it with her color. Breakfast is ready y'all!" Cyborg calls, dishing full plates of food out.
"Apache it is then!" Beast Boy calls happily, digging into his tofu eggs and pancakes. "She really likes Raven, doesn't she?"
"Can't imagine why," Raven grumbles with a roll of her eyes.
The newly named Apache is actually quite content with their decision. It could have been way worse. That bowl of water is quickly coming back to bite her though, and she almost pisses herself with the force that it comes on. She holds it though, continuing to beg like any dog would. Raven finally gets overly annoyed, and throws a strip of bacon she didn't want to eat anyway toward the waiting dog. The dog catches it, her jaws snapping together around it. She chews contentedly, then trots toward the door, scratching on it with a whine. She looks back toward the Titan's, a whine in her throat.
It gathers the attention of all five Titans. "Looks like she needs to go out." Robin observes.
"Not it!" Rings out in two sets of masculine voices, then one feminine. The fourth groans loudly.
"Fine, I'll do it, no one get up." Beast Boy puts his fork down a little more firmly than he should have, stomping over to the dog. The door swishes open, and they both disappear through it.