Equilibrium
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
"We are not finished here, young lady-"
"But I am!"
Blackfire stormed out of the throne room, past her sister, past the guards, who feared to stop the princess on her warpath, past the servants, and finally out the door, which she brutally assailed open enough to hear the hinges squeal in outcry.
"That had been quite the eventful evening," Blackfire mused to herself, smiling. It had taken seven suns for her family to find her again. And when they finally found their daughter, conveniently lounging on Altara Prime with a stolen aircraft, she had grown quite thin and considerably leaner. She had recalled smiling smugly up at her father and mother.
"I have completed my training."
Had been all she had said to them. They had gawked at her, speechless, but put up no fuss as their eldest daughter lead them back to their ship. Nevertheless she returned home and received her just punishment for harming her younger sister and leaving the palace in her outburst. The experience still angered her until this very day and her thoughts returned again to her younger sibling.
Starfire.
The one who could do no wrong. The archangel. Starfire was the model Tamarin in everything she did. So what did that leave Blackfire?
Blackfire sighed wearily, suddenly overcome with fatigue. What did that leave her?
Suddenly, she heard it. A beautiful voice in glorious golden tremors, rose above her, around her, through her. Blackfire lifted her head and her gaze drew to the window she stood before. The sun had begun to set and the sky had blazed to a pink-orange glow. A soft breeze had picked up around the Xenthe forest. The forbidden forest. Blackfire's interest had always been drawn to the forest, but she had never taken the time to investigate its depths. Her curiosity plagued her now and she could do little to suppress the urge to venture out into the mysterious flora. After a quick glance over her shoulder, Blackfire took hold of the stone walls and swung her legs over the ledge so that they were out into the open air. With a small grunt, she vaulted from the wall and landed next to some dark green shrubbery. Acronias shrubbery. She stifled the urge to cry out as the plant shot long, sharp thorns, in every direction to protect itself.and a divert possible intruder. Blackfire stumbled away from the plant but could not avoid some of the quick thorns which tore into her forearm. She grit her teeth and pulled the thorns from her arm, stepping far enough away from the Acronias that it withdrew its extended spikes and returned to its harmless façade. Blackfire glared at the plant and massaged her arm which had begun to bleed. She silently cursed the Acronias Shrub and quickly skimmed the horizon with her eyes. Her path clear, Blackfire raced to the forest where she had last heard the singing voice.
* * *
Unfortunately, the voice Blackfire had heard seemed to have other items to attend on its agenda, for it had vanished. She meandered along the edge of the forest aloofly, weaving every now and then into the towering trees. The Xenthe forest was nothing extraordinary; it was like any other forest she had seen. There were no unusual sounds or strange undergrowth to gander at, nor were there any creatures to be seen. The farther she walked, the more disinterested she became.
Blackfire sighed. She had already made up her mind to abandon the woodland when a shimmer caught her eye. The raven- haired girl paused in her stride and took a cautious step back toward the sparkling surface; her interest rekindled at last. It was a pool. The Pool of Exile. Blackfire gulped and could feel her knees buckle as her heart quickened two-fold. The most wicked and vile of her ancestry had been forsaken here, left to die alone in the wilderness. It had been all forest in the distant past, but her expanding people had begun to slowly cut away the resources and cultivate the land. The Pool was so near her home!
Blackfire felt torn. She had heard the tales. Men and women had come to the Pool of Exile and were said to never have returned. The stories were all alike. The exiled would rise up from the pool, or the visitors would fall in-either way, the visitor would die a gruesome death and the ancestor would claim their revenge fulfilled and continue on to the next world.
Her instinct was warring in her to run, but her curiosity was winning her over. On the one hand, she could leave and have the image of the Pool forever burned into her mind, the forever lingering memory behind her closed, sleepless lids and never know what it had held. On the other, she could, quite possibly, meet with her ancestors and perhaps, the goddess willing, find why they had been exiled. Surely they would be just as intrigued to meet their great-granddaughter or great-niece almost as much as she was to them. But was it all worth running the risk of death?
Blackfire stood, quite unsure of what action to take when it came again. The voice. The beautiful voice she had heard from the palace rising and falling in its hauntingly exotic melody. It drew her to the Pool and Blackfire could do naught but comply. She moved, half-entranced, and finally knelt beside the legendary Pool of Exile. With trembling lips and quivering arms, she craned her neck to peer over the edge. A face was coming into view, just as slowly as hers-adrenaline built in her chest, traveling to each limb and her heart pounded in her ears, deafening her on what should have been a still evening.
She gazed into the pool and saw no one but herself. She stared at the reflection in confusion, but the image did not reflect her puzzlement. Her eyes moved about the figure, but the image did not even waver. She lifted her right hand over the water. The reflection did not move. Gathering courage, she stretched her fingers outward, reaching for the depths of the stagnant pool. The tips of her fingers had almost touched the image when the reflection of herself parted her lips and sang. The voice! The voice was issuing from her reflections' throat. Blackfire jolted away as if bitten. Her eyes widened briefly before they narrowed. What trickery was this?
But the entrancing tremors rose in her ears and she slackened her taut muscles. She moved over the edge of the pool again and saw that her image had placed its open palms to the surface of the pool; singing softly in encouragement. Blackfire nodded her understanding and slowly placed one palm, flat on the pool itself where her image's palm was. It held firm. Blackfire gazed at the pool in amazement and mimicked the movement with her other palm. Her reflection drew forward to the surface, as if to examine Blackfire more closely. Blackfire moved forward as well, closer and closer, until she was almost nose to nose to herself. A quiver seized her spine and shook through her body. She closed her eyes. Shuddering in ecstasy of the voice, she fell forward and collapsed entirely into the pool.
* * *
Author's Note: I want to amend myself for the first chapter (as I did not leave an author's note): I do love Starfire! She is my favorite of the Titans (and Raven ranks a close second), but I love Blackfire more, and I had to step into her boots and think like her. Blackfire has a fierce animosity toward her sister and I had to feel it to write it! Much thanks to all who have reviewed and I hope that you all will again! Oh! And just as a note anything inside are thoughts/Italics, since Fanfiction.net is weird about that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
"We are not finished here, young lady-"
"But I am!"
Blackfire stormed out of the throne room, past her sister, past the guards, who feared to stop the princess on her warpath, past the servants, and finally out the door, which she brutally assailed open enough to hear the hinges squeal in outcry.
"That had been quite the eventful evening," Blackfire mused to herself, smiling. It had taken seven suns for her family to find her again. And when they finally found their daughter, conveniently lounging on Altara Prime with a stolen aircraft, she had grown quite thin and considerably leaner. She had recalled smiling smugly up at her father and mother.
"I have completed my training."
Had been all she had said to them. They had gawked at her, speechless, but put up no fuss as their eldest daughter lead them back to their ship. Nevertheless she returned home and received her just punishment for harming her younger sister and leaving the palace in her outburst. The experience still angered her until this very day and her thoughts returned again to her younger sibling.
Starfire.
The one who could do no wrong. The archangel. Starfire was the model Tamarin in everything she did. So what did that leave Blackfire?
Blackfire sighed wearily, suddenly overcome with fatigue. What did that leave her?
Suddenly, she heard it. A beautiful voice in glorious golden tremors, rose above her, around her, through her. Blackfire lifted her head and her gaze drew to the window she stood before. The sun had begun to set and the sky had blazed to a pink-orange glow. A soft breeze had picked up around the Xenthe forest. The forbidden forest. Blackfire's interest had always been drawn to the forest, but she had never taken the time to investigate its depths. Her curiosity plagued her now and she could do little to suppress the urge to venture out into the mysterious flora. After a quick glance over her shoulder, Blackfire took hold of the stone walls and swung her legs over the ledge so that they were out into the open air. With a small grunt, she vaulted from the wall and landed next to some dark green shrubbery. Acronias shrubbery. She stifled the urge to cry out as the plant shot long, sharp thorns, in every direction to protect itself.and a divert possible intruder. Blackfire stumbled away from the plant but could not avoid some of the quick thorns which tore into her forearm. She grit her teeth and pulled the thorns from her arm, stepping far enough away from the Acronias that it withdrew its extended spikes and returned to its harmless façade. Blackfire glared at the plant and massaged her arm which had begun to bleed. She silently cursed the Acronias Shrub and quickly skimmed the horizon with her eyes. Her path clear, Blackfire raced to the forest where she had last heard the singing voice.
* * *
Unfortunately, the voice Blackfire had heard seemed to have other items to attend on its agenda, for it had vanished. She meandered along the edge of the forest aloofly, weaving every now and then into the towering trees. The Xenthe forest was nothing extraordinary; it was like any other forest she had seen. There were no unusual sounds or strange undergrowth to gander at, nor were there any creatures to be seen. The farther she walked, the more disinterested she became.
Blackfire sighed. She had already made up her mind to abandon the woodland when a shimmer caught her eye. The raven- haired girl paused in her stride and took a cautious step back toward the sparkling surface; her interest rekindled at last. It was a pool. The Pool of Exile. Blackfire gulped and could feel her knees buckle as her heart quickened two-fold. The most wicked and vile of her ancestry had been forsaken here, left to die alone in the wilderness. It had been all forest in the distant past, but her expanding people had begun to slowly cut away the resources and cultivate the land. The Pool was so near her home!
Blackfire felt torn. She had heard the tales. Men and women had come to the Pool of Exile and were said to never have returned. The stories were all alike. The exiled would rise up from the pool, or the visitors would fall in-either way, the visitor would die a gruesome death and the ancestor would claim their revenge fulfilled and continue on to the next world.
Her instinct was warring in her to run, but her curiosity was winning her over. On the one hand, she could leave and have the image of the Pool forever burned into her mind, the forever lingering memory behind her closed, sleepless lids and never know what it had held. On the other, she could, quite possibly, meet with her ancestors and perhaps, the goddess willing, find why they had been exiled. Surely they would be just as intrigued to meet their great-granddaughter or great-niece almost as much as she was to them. But was it all worth running the risk of death?
Blackfire stood, quite unsure of what action to take when it came again. The voice. The beautiful voice she had heard from the palace rising and falling in its hauntingly exotic melody. It drew her to the Pool and Blackfire could do naught but comply. She moved, half-entranced, and finally knelt beside the legendary Pool of Exile. With trembling lips and quivering arms, she craned her neck to peer over the edge. A face was coming into view, just as slowly as hers-adrenaline built in her chest, traveling to each limb and her heart pounded in her ears, deafening her on what should have been a still evening.
She gazed into the pool and saw no one but herself. She stared at the reflection in confusion, but the image did not reflect her puzzlement. Her eyes moved about the figure, but the image did not even waver. She lifted her right hand over the water. The reflection did not move. Gathering courage, she stretched her fingers outward, reaching for the depths of the stagnant pool. The tips of her fingers had almost touched the image when the reflection of herself parted her lips and sang. The voice! The voice was issuing from her reflections' throat. Blackfire jolted away as if bitten. Her eyes widened briefly before they narrowed. What trickery was this?
But the entrancing tremors rose in her ears and she slackened her taut muscles. She moved over the edge of the pool again and saw that her image had placed its open palms to the surface of the pool; singing softly in encouragement. Blackfire nodded her understanding and slowly placed one palm, flat on the pool itself where her image's palm was. It held firm. Blackfire gazed at the pool in amazement and mimicked the movement with her other palm. Her reflection drew forward to the surface, as if to examine Blackfire more closely. Blackfire moved forward as well, closer and closer, until she was almost nose to nose to herself. A quiver seized her spine and shook through her body. She closed her eyes. Shuddering in ecstasy of the voice, she fell forward and collapsed entirely into the pool.
* * *
Author's Note: I want to amend myself for the first chapter (as I did not leave an author's note): I do love Starfire! She is my favorite of the Titans (and Raven ranks a close second), but I love Blackfire more, and I had to step into her boots and think like her. Blackfire has a fierce animosity toward her sister and I had to feel it to write it! Much thanks to all who have reviewed and I hope that you all will again! Oh! And just as a note anything inside are thoughts/Italics, since Fanfiction.net is weird about that.