A/N: Time to write a Terra fic. Unfortunately, I can't really write one about her based on a single episode, so I did Raven's view of Terra and also played with Raven's emotions a little.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, it belongs to Cartoon Network
…
Happy, brave, smart, relaxed, timid, a few of Raven's emotions that liked to act up more than the others. She sighed lightly and brushed back her hood before slowly walking down the path of her mind, surrounded by darkness. By her side walked tense Raven, who's shoulders bunched awkwardly, forming a knot in the back of her neck with her formal footsteps, navy blue cape trailing behind her. In front of them, hopping from piece to piece of the forming path, were a few black birds, happily chirping.
"I don't like her." A terse sentence that hid little of the bitterness attached to it.
"Why not?" Calm, curious, but in control.
"She can't control her powers, you know this." A twitch of the hand, flexing of fingers.
"Neither can I." Rolled off the tongue with the ease of one who has no secrets. And here, Raven didn't.
"My point exactly. She can hurt people-"
"She won't." Quick, but not with anger. "I won't."
"Not on purpose. Accidents happen, like Dr. Light."
Raven sighed, not letting the comment under her skin. "That was no accident."
Tense Raven nodded and rolled her shoulders, slowly calming down. "Whatever."
"It wasn't your fault, either." Calm, patient.
Raven ran a hand through her hair and watched her black birds, each carrying a group of memories, take to the air and fly above. By her side walked relaxed Raven, who's shoulders sagged comfortably and bounced with her leisured footsteps, blue cape trailing behind her.
No words passed between the two, Raven's relaxed side rarely spoke. Her eyes wandered over the scenery, taking in the thoughts that drifted through Raven's mind and pondering how they affected her. She was unable to understand which emotion was more appropriate, tense or relaxed, since she could only be a single emotion at one time, but whole Raven seemed to enjoy her more when she was relaxed, because she always comforted tense Raven.
The scenery shifted into Relaxed Raven's domain as she continued to calm. The sky filled with a sun kissed blue, wavy clouds forming on the horizon. Soft, green grass filled the space on either side of the path, a shallow-running brook carving its route to their right, disappearing into a tall forest in the distance. Relaxed Raven walked over to a patch of thick grass and lay down, hands behind her head, admiring the clouds. Raven sat by her side, letting her emotion guide her thoughts.
Relaxed Raven pointed at a cloud above her, "that one looks like a kitten."
Raven peered up, "no it doesn't." The cloud shifted and swirled, expanding until a detailed kitten, complete with big blue eyes, stared down at them.
"Now it does."
"Cheater."
Relaxed Raven waved a hand in the air, "bah. Off you go, other emotions need control."
Raven nodded before standing and brushing herself off, ready to face her most challenging emotion.
She drifted through one of the stone arches and entered a field of wild flowers. By her side walked sad Raven, who's eyes glistened with unshed tears, black cape trailing on the ground. Raven was not entirely sure why sad Raven had appeared with such force, but she needed to find out. This emotion, and its counterpart, affected all others with the most depth, including rage. Thus they required extra attention, like a difficult child. With bipolar.
They continued to walk, Raven realizing that sad Raven was not going to start a conversation. She understood. "What's wrong?"
"They all like her. …More than me." A choked sob escaped, but the tears stayed trapped in her eyes, and Raven realized not even her emotions knew how to cry.
"…Who?" Quiet, with a hint of confusion.
"Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy." Each name said without hate, but heartache.
Sad Raven stopped walking, keeping her eyes on the ground. Her whole turned to face her. "Terra's new, they wanted to make her feel welcome." Sad Raven nodded.
"They're still my friends, and they'll be my friends." A gentle squeeze on the shoulder, sad Raven nodded again. Her cape lightened to a swirl of red and black.
"What else is bothering you?" Calm, patient.
A sniff, "he likes her."
Whole Raven peered down at the bird that had manifested itself by their feet, tears in its eyes as well. Raven recognized it immediately, this bird held all of the memories that were causing happy Raven to revert to sad.
"…Beast Boy?" A light chuckle, rare and unforced. "Yes, he does. She thinks he's funny and-"
"I think he's funny!" Desperate, offended.
"I know. I've grown rather attached to him, haven't I?" Sad Raven nodded, her cape shifting again, but the colors only swirled. "What makes me happy?"
Sad Raven blinked. "…Seeing Beast Boy and my friends happy."
"And Terra makes him happy. He's happy, and Starfire's happy, and Cyborg's happy."
"And Robin?"
Raven rolled her eyes, it was one of happy Raven's favorite things to do. "Robin's… Robin. How about this, it's movie night, I'll join the group and watch the damn movie with them."
Raven continued her walk through the meadow. By her side walked happy Raven, who's shoulders bounced as she skipped circles around her whole, pink cape flowing behind her.
"Can we watch 'Underworld?'"
Raven raised an eyebrow in contemplation. "If Beast Boy promises not to quote the movie for the rest of the week, sure."
"Score!" She stopped skipping and let her cape curl around her, quite pleased. She remembered being sad, but no emotion was attached to it. "I think Smart Raven wanted to chat with you, but I'm not sure, never understood her."
"You going to be ok?"
Happy Raven grinned, "I don't wanna wear you out, arches to pass through, emotions to see!"
Raven nodded and passed through another arch, the meadow and happy Raven disappearing behind her. By her side walked Smart Raven, who pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her finger, yellow cape heavy and solid, only moving slightly with her steps. They stepped into the maze and began to wander.
"She's remarkably vulnerable, you know. She has yet to properly form the self-confidence required to combat evil. I deem that Slade is knowledgeable of this as well, he will try to manipulate her."
Raven looked at her emotion curiously. "Stop being so bombastic." The two shared a smirk. "So… which side are you taking?"
Smart Raven paused and inspected the wall to her left. "Assuming Slade has yet to address Terra, she would be safer as an ally to us than an adversary…"
"But?"
"But I know that Slade has contacted her. He has unquestionably planted a seed of doubt in her mind, almost certainly playing off of her need for control. She is a pawn in a dangerous game, if we let her in I have no doubt that she will betray us. She knows that we cannot give her the help she needs."
The two sat down and began a game of chess, silence surrounding them.
Raven sat back and analyzed the board. "Perhaps you underestimate her need for friendship, a wanderer like herself is lonely."
Smart Raven captured another rook, frowning. "We are not her friends, not yet. …Most of the Titans can survive an attack from her powers, but can we survive her betrayal? I also doubt the sincerity in her desperation, how can we be sure it is not an act, even now?"
"You're asking if it's a risk worth taking."
Smart Raven's eyes shined behind her glasses. "Is it?"
She moved her knight, but Raven wasn't paying attention to the game. Smart Raven frowned, bored. "Assuming that the chaos theory is comparative above the molecular level, our entire geometrical structure is based on relatively falsified mathematical assumptions, therefore constructing an erratic base for our algebra and trigonometry theories, say, for example… your emotions. Each of us is capable of two emotions, each an unequivocal contradictory of the other with the purpose of balancing out, yet each emotion is completely isolated from all others while in essence affecting all others… "
"I don't think they're going to stop teaching math just because of the chaos theory, no matter how much I despise it."
Smart Raven frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, disappointed that the subject was dropped. She cleared the chessboard and replaced it with a reversi game, moving her first piece and switching the topic of conversation to developing a new training program.
…
Raven found her timid side standing on the other side of the arch, waiting for her whole. Her eyes were cast to the ground in shame and embarrassment, hands loosely clasped together and shaking. Timid Raven rarely shifted into her other form; bold, because this emotion was so strongly woven into Raven's personality. It was what made her cautious of others and concerned for herself, it was an emotion that helped control the others by weakening them. An ally found in an enemy.
"Does that mean that she's an enemy found in an ally?" A hesitant, shaking question. Timid Raven smiled sadly. "I want to trust her, like they do, but…"
"I'm not asking you to trust her." Raven put a hand on her emotion's shoulder and pulled her into a loose hug. Timid Raven immediately stopped shaking.
"…You're avoiding her."
Raven frowned, "who?"
"Love."
…
Raven passed through the arch and found herself on a beach of rocks and sand, looking upon a deep, mysterious ocean. On the shore sat Raven, draped in a blood red cape, the ocean's waves lapping at her feet. The midnight sky was empty of stars, but a full moon's light reflected off of the water.
"You left me, sweet, two legacies,—
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;
You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me."
Raven did not step forward to confront love, because she feared looking upon her eyes. Instead she lashed out, troubled. "You're depressing."
"I am broken."
Raven frowned, "who broke me?"
Both continued to watch the ocean. "You did."
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, it belongs to Cartoon Network
…
Happy, brave, smart, relaxed, timid, a few of Raven's emotions that liked to act up more than the others. She sighed lightly and brushed back her hood before slowly walking down the path of her mind, surrounded by darkness. By her side walked tense Raven, who's shoulders bunched awkwardly, forming a knot in the back of her neck with her formal footsteps, navy blue cape trailing behind her. In front of them, hopping from piece to piece of the forming path, were a few black birds, happily chirping.
"I don't like her." A terse sentence that hid little of the bitterness attached to it.
"Why not?" Calm, curious, but in control.
"She can't control her powers, you know this." A twitch of the hand, flexing of fingers.
"Neither can I." Rolled off the tongue with the ease of one who has no secrets. And here, Raven didn't.
"My point exactly. She can hurt people-"
"She won't." Quick, but not with anger. "I won't."
"Not on purpose. Accidents happen, like Dr. Light."
Raven sighed, not letting the comment under her skin. "That was no accident."
Tense Raven nodded and rolled her shoulders, slowly calming down. "Whatever."
"It wasn't your fault, either." Calm, patient.
Raven ran a hand through her hair and watched her black birds, each carrying a group of memories, take to the air and fly above. By her side walked relaxed Raven, who's shoulders sagged comfortably and bounced with her leisured footsteps, blue cape trailing behind her.
No words passed between the two, Raven's relaxed side rarely spoke. Her eyes wandered over the scenery, taking in the thoughts that drifted through Raven's mind and pondering how they affected her. She was unable to understand which emotion was more appropriate, tense or relaxed, since she could only be a single emotion at one time, but whole Raven seemed to enjoy her more when she was relaxed, because she always comforted tense Raven.
The scenery shifted into Relaxed Raven's domain as she continued to calm. The sky filled with a sun kissed blue, wavy clouds forming on the horizon. Soft, green grass filled the space on either side of the path, a shallow-running brook carving its route to their right, disappearing into a tall forest in the distance. Relaxed Raven walked over to a patch of thick grass and lay down, hands behind her head, admiring the clouds. Raven sat by her side, letting her emotion guide her thoughts.
Relaxed Raven pointed at a cloud above her, "that one looks like a kitten."
Raven peered up, "no it doesn't." The cloud shifted and swirled, expanding until a detailed kitten, complete with big blue eyes, stared down at them.
"Now it does."
"Cheater."
Relaxed Raven waved a hand in the air, "bah. Off you go, other emotions need control."
Raven nodded before standing and brushing herself off, ready to face her most challenging emotion.
She drifted through one of the stone arches and entered a field of wild flowers. By her side walked sad Raven, who's eyes glistened with unshed tears, black cape trailing on the ground. Raven was not entirely sure why sad Raven had appeared with such force, but she needed to find out. This emotion, and its counterpart, affected all others with the most depth, including rage. Thus they required extra attention, like a difficult child. With bipolar.
They continued to walk, Raven realizing that sad Raven was not going to start a conversation. She understood. "What's wrong?"
"They all like her. …More than me." A choked sob escaped, but the tears stayed trapped in her eyes, and Raven realized not even her emotions knew how to cry.
"…Who?" Quiet, with a hint of confusion.
"Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy." Each name said without hate, but heartache.
Sad Raven stopped walking, keeping her eyes on the ground. Her whole turned to face her. "Terra's new, they wanted to make her feel welcome." Sad Raven nodded.
"They're still my friends, and they'll be my friends." A gentle squeeze on the shoulder, sad Raven nodded again. Her cape lightened to a swirl of red and black.
"What else is bothering you?" Calm, patient.
A sniff, "he likes her."
Whole Raven peered down at the bird that had manifested itself by their feet, tears in its eyes as well. Raven recognized it immediately, this bird held all of the memories that were causing happy Raven to revert to sad.
"…Beast Boy?" A light chuckle, rare and unforced. "Yes, he does. She thinks he's funny and-"
"I think he's funny!" Desperate, offended.
"I know. I've grown rather attached to him, haven't I?" Sad Raven nodded, her cape shifting again, but the colors only swirled. "What makes me happy?"
Sad Raven blinked. "…Seeing Beast Boy and my friends happy."
"And Terra makes him happy. He's happy, and Starfire's happy, and Cyborg's happy."
"And Robin?"
Raven rolled her eyes, it was one of happy Raven's favorite things to do. "Robin's… Robin. How about this, it's movie night, I'll join the group and watch the damn movie with them."
Raven continued her walk through the meadow. By her side walked happy Raven, who's shoulders bounced as she skipped circles around her whole, pink cape flowing behind her.
"Can we watch 'Underworld?'"
Raven raised an eyebrow in contemplation. "If Beast Boy promises not to quote the movie for the rest of the week, sure."
"Score!" She stopped skipping and let her cape curl around her, quite pleased. She remembered being sad, but no emotion was attached to it. "I think Smart Raven wanted to chat with you, but I'm not sure, never understood her."
"You going to be ok?"
Happy Raven grinned, "I don't wanna wear you out, arches to pass through, emotions to see!"
Raven nodded and passed through another arch, the meadow and happy Raven disappearing behind her. By her side walked Smart Raven, who pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her finger, yellow cape heavy and solid, only moving slightly with her steps. They stepped into the maze and began to wander.
"She's remarkably vulnerable, you know. She has yet to properly form the self-confidence required to combat evil. I deem that Slade is knowledgeable of this as well, he will try to manipulate her."
Raven looked at her emotion curiously. "Stop being so bombastic." The two shared a smirk. "So… which side are you taking?"
Smart Raven paused and inspected the wall to her left. "Assuming Slade has yet to address Terra, she would be safer as an ally to us than an adversary…"
"But?"
"But I know that Slade has contacted her. He has unquestionably planted a seed of doubt in her mind, almost certainly playing off of her need for control. She is a pawn in a dangerous game, if we let her in I have no doubt that she will betray us. She knows that we cannot give her the help she needs."
The two sat down and began a game of chess, silence surrounding them.
Raven sat back and analyzed the board. "Perhaps you underestimate her need for friendship, a wanderer like herself is lonely."
Smart Raven captured another rook, frowning. "We are not her friends, not yet. …Most of the Titans can survive an attack from her powers, but can we survive her betrayal? I also doubt the sincerity in her desperation, how can we be sure it is not an act, even now?"
"You're asking if it's a risk worth taking."
Smart Raven's eyes shined behind her glasses. "Is it?"
She moved her knight, but Raven wasn't paying attention to the game. Smart Raven frowned, bored. "Assuming that the chaos theory is comparative above the molecular level, our entire geometrical structure is based on relatively falsified mathematical assumptions, therefore constructing an erratic base for our algebra and trigonometry theories, say, for example… your emotions. Each of us is capable of two emotions, each an unequivocal contradictory of the other with the purpose of balancing out, yet each emotion is completely isolated from all others while in essence affecting all others… "
"I don't think they're going to stop teaching math just because of the chaos theory, no matter how much I despise it."
Smart Raven frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, disappointed that the subject was dropped. She cleared the chessboard and replaced it with a reversi game, moving her first piece and switching the topic of conversation to developing a new training program.
…
Raven found her timid side standing on the other side of the arch, waiting for her whole. Her eyes were cast to the ground in shame and embarrassment, hands loosely clasped together and shaking. Timid Raven rarely shifted into her other form; bold, because this emotion was so strongly woven into Raven's personality. It was what made her cautious of others and concerned for herself, it was an emotion that helped control the others by weakening them. An ally found in an enemy.
"Does that mean that she's an enemy found in an ally?" A hesitant, shaking question. Timid Raven smiled sadly. "I want to trust her, like they do, but…"
"I'm not asking you to trust her." Raven put a hand on her emotion's shoulder and pulled her into a loose hug. Timid Raven immediately stopped shaking.
"…You're avoiding her."
Raven frowned, "who?"
"Love."
…
Raven passed through the arch and found herself on a beach of rocks and sand, looking upon a deep, mysterious ocean. On the shore sat Raven, draped in a blood red cape, the ocean's waves lapping at her feet. The midnight sky was empty of stars, but a full moon's light reflected off of the water.
"You left me, sweet, two legacies,—
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;
You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me."
Raven did not step forward to confront love, because she feared looking upon her eyes. Instead she lashed out, troubled. "You're depressing."
"I am broken."
Raven frowned, "who broke me?"
Both continued to watch the ocean. "You did."