A/N: In case a few of you are a little confused about my gender, I am not a 'man', I am a 'woman', as in a 'girl', as in a 'female' as in the opposite of 'man'. I am the superior gender of the drow culture. The inferior gender in most old human cultures. I am described as the 'ball and chains' in a marriage relationship. I am one whose wrath is worse than the fires of hell. I am woman, hear me roar. RAAAA(Cough, cough, cough) just a minute (hack, wheeze, pant) I think I hurt something...

Lol .

"Why do you hide, Raven?" A voice asked.

"What are you talking about?" Raven returned.

"Why do you wear a cloak that hides half your face? Are you afraid?"

"Afraid? Afraid of what?" Raven demanded.

"Of me." Rorek's form took shape in the darkness.

"No, I'm not, why would I be afraid of you?" Raven asked, but she backed away. Rorek raised a hand towards her, attempting to touch her, but she sank away from it. Her lips formed a firm line and she gave him a warning look.

"Why are you afraid of me?" He asked, his eyes sad.

"I am not afraid, I just don't like being so close to other people." She snapped.

"You didn't mind it when the others were as close, why not me?" He asked her.

"I don't know you that well, it took a long time for the others go get this close to me." She told him.

"But no one has been this close, have they?" He asked. Suddenly he was right in front of her, her face in his hands, their noses inches apart. She was staring up at his crystal blue eyes, his long white bangs brushing against her forehead.

"Get away from me!" Raven yelled, jerking her face out of his hands. But then he wrapped his arms around her form, trapping her in his iron-like embrace. "What are you doing?! Let me go! Let me go!" She ordered, struggling against him with all her might, but she couldn't break free. Soft, warm lips silenced her by pressing against her own. Raven froze, her body became rigid, no matter what she did she couldn't move.

Raven gasped, sitting straight up in her bead, panting, her brow beaded with sweat. What was that about?! Had she not meditated properly the other day?...

She'd meditated with Rorek...

Raven got up and began to pace her room, trying to find something to get her mind of the dream. Anything that would get her mind off her dream. Finally she settled herself on her bead in a meditative position and floated only a foot above it. "Azrath, Metriom, Zynthos. Azrath, Metriom, Zynthos." She chanted. She went through the steps one at a time, as if she were a beginner. First she relaxed her body, relaxed her head, and in turn was able to relax her mind. She then focused on her center and thought of open fields, endless skies, the limitless outer expanse. The dream came back into her mind like a comet, but now she could figure it out.

Afraid? Was she afraid of Rorek? She searched into herself, she would not fool herself, even if the truth was unfavorable, she had to be in complete control of her emotions, she had to know herself through and through. Was she truly afraid of Rorek?

Yes, but it was a different kind of fear. She wasn't afraid that he might turn on the Titans and kill them all. While that might be a possibility, she wasn't really paranoid enough to suspect it just yet. So why was she afraid of him? And how was she afraid of him? That dream was trying to tell her something, and she had to find out what it was. It was a warning of some kind it seemed, the kiss wasn't at all pleasant after all.

Why am I afraid of him? Why am I afraid to touch him, to get near him, to even get close to him? Raven took in a deep breath and decided to recount the events of the previous day.

After coming back from the 'interview', Raven went to her room to put the 'uniform' up. She then unearthed the CD player Beast Boy had given her to use since her stereo had been destroyed, and started listening to Once again while reading more of her most recent spell book.

The first chapter was all about the element of Lightning, or so it appeared. She had not finished the first page when there was a knock on her door. She set the book aside and went over to see who it was. She'd expected Beast Boy, Starfire, or even Robin, the last person she expected to see was Rorek, or was it?

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you would like to continue our meditation session, we were interrupted rather abruptly last time." He answered.

"Very well, but not for too long, I'd like to get some more reading done before going to work." She answered, coming out of her room. "We can go to the roof." She told him.

So they did, Raven found it quite soothing way up there where all sound seemed muffled. But Rorek was having a hard time focusing when he had to levitate and contend with the wind as well. Perhaps levitation wasn't a natural thing for him as it was Raven, maybe he had to actively use magic in order to fly. If that was the case it would explain why he was having trouble.

Afterwards, Raven went back to her room, and had read only three more pages before Beast Boy had asked her to Referee their next game of Stink Ball. Which, consequentially, the two had drug Rorek into playing as well.

Thankfully the hours went swiftly by and it was time for her to get ready for work. She put on the black jeans, the violet, long-sleeved shirt, the (grimace) corset, the boots Starfire had gotten her that she had turned black, and finally her black cloak.

"I'm going to work." Raven said, floating into the living room with her cloak completely covering her clothes, and the hood over her face.

"Geez Louise Raven! Did you get a job as the Grim Reaper?!" BB exclaimed when he saw her.

"Technically no, but basically yes." She answered.

Work itself was...interesting. Eventually she got the feel for what Aron was expecting, though she felt she already knew, and found that she didn't have to go through any motions. She was manning the counter mostly, while Elsa was stocking the bookshelves, candles, and other assorted items. She read some poetry from the book she had bought (summoning it from her room at the Tower), and preformed a type of meditation that left her aware of everything around her instead of focusing completely on her center. She caught three shop-lifters (scaring them half to death while doing so), saved a breakable item from falling, and, after getting caught levitating by Aron, was promised a large paycheck if she kept up the whole thing. He is much too concerned with appearances. She thought.

Afterwards it was rather late. Even Beast Boy and Cyborg were in bed, the only one in the living room when she came home, was Rorek. "Are you still up?" She asked.

"Oh, you're back. Yes I am. Truth be told I'm more of a night person." He said.

"Me too, unfortunately most of the villains we deal with have day schedules and a strict bed time." Raven told him. Rorek chuckled.

"I see, well in that case I suppose I should also try and make my waking hours during the day as well." He said.

Raven yawned, "I'll see you tomorrow then. I'm going to bed." She said, walking to the door that lead to the stairway.

"Raven," Rorek got up and was walking towards her.

"Yes?" Raven questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Might I ask a question?"

"Go ahead." She answered.

"Why do you avoid me?"

"What?"

"Was it because I went into your room? Perhaps because I saw you in that dress? If it's because of what I did to your room in the first place, please, give me the chance to make up for that. It was merely a misunderstanding and I apologize—"

"What are you talking about?" Raven cut him off. "I'm not avoiding you, I'm always like this. Don't think you're a special case." She told him.

"That is not what I mean. Lady Raven, why can't you look me in the eyes? Don't try to tell me you always do that, I've seen how you work with the strangers you save regularly, you look them in the eyes, wholly and confidently. Why is it that I have yet to see the beauty of your eyes directly?" He asked.

It was the first time she looked at him, the first time she had actually looked at him since she caught him in her room. She looked him directly in the eye, she saw the beautiful, crystal blue of his eyes, his long lashes, his long white hair. But it was the eyes, the eyes that she saw the most, the eyes she knew so well. Her face became a mask, on the outside she was staring at him, coolly, daring him to challenge her. But on the inside her heart was beating, thumping in her ears, her emotions were getting out of control. She forced her facial features to give him a trying glare, and then she turned around.

"Raven," Rorek tried to grab her arm, but ended up getting a handful of her cloak, considering her form was hidden beneath it. It was enough though.

"What?!" Raven demanded, her voice just barely escaped cracking.

"Please, I want to be close to you, I want to be as close as the other Titans, maybe even more. We are so much alike, though we operate on different planes of magic, I think we can truly learn a lot from each other. I have not met a mage as powerful as you in some time, not including the time I spent inside that jewel. But it seems that every time I try to reach out to you, you have been withdrawing from me. Please, tell me what I have to do in order for you to trust me, how can I become your friend?" He asked.

Raven snatched her cloak back, glaring at him in anger. "It takes a long, long time for anyone to get close to me. It is a very gradual thing, so stop trying to push yourself into my circle or I will shove you right back out faster than you can blink." She told him. She didn't care if she promised not to use any more of Malchior's magics, she didn't care that he might recognize it, right now she wanted to be away from him, far from him. So she teleported back into her room, changed swiftly into her nightdress, and went on to bed.

Raven opened her eyes and felt as though her mind was beginning to fully relax. So, she knew why she had had that dream, she knew how and why she was 'afraid' of Rorek, and she was now in complete control of her emotions. The only question, now, was, how was she going to face this? How was she going to fix it? Voting Rorek off the team would allow her a comfortable absence of his presence, but he wouldn't be gone completely. He would haunt her, she knew it, whether it was in her dreams or on the streets, she would not be able to escape him. She had to sort through all of this, she had to make herself see that it was not Rorek who betrayed her, it was Malchior, pretending to be Rorek in order to play with her emotions.

But why had Malchior chosen to portray Rorek? Why not change the story up a bit, maybe even change the way 'Rorek' looked in the book? It would have been a simple matter, really. He altered the names, he could surely alter the pictures as well. After all, how else did that picture of her get into the book? Perhaps there was no reason, perhaps he just wanted to portray Rorek if just to mock him all the more.

She was afraid of Rorek, she was afraid that he would find out what really conspired, she was afraid to let him get close, she was afraid she might fall in love with him, and she was most afraid that he would break her heart, just as Malchior had. But how was she going to get over this? How was she going to forget about Malchior and learn to treat Rorek as his own person?

It was impossible, Rorek acted too much like the wizard Malchior had pretended to be, and Raven associated Rorek far too much with Malchior. Those eyes, those crystal blue eyes, the ones she knew so well from her time with Malchior, the time when she had truly reached limitlessness, when she had been cleansed of her father's influence. She was afraid he would see her recognition, afraid he would realize who she really saw when she looked at him. And if he ever did...what would he do? How would he see her?

Suddenly, Raven discovered something. She was actually worried about what Rorek thought of her, she didn't want him to get too close because she was afraid of what he would see, she was afraid to show him anything, least he see her as less than the powerful sorceress he, perhaps, admired. She, cared, about, his, opinion. Why? No, she knew why, she was still infatuated with those eyes, with that voice. The way he spoke, the way he held himself, what his thoughts were, he was too similar to the one Malchior had pretended to be, the one she had loved so much.

But it was another person, he was another person, yet how could she make herself believe that? How could she learn to look at him the way she would had she never even opened that white, black-cased book?

She couldn't, but she had to, she had to release herself from his iron grip if she was ever going to learn to move on with her life.

"Hey, Raven?" Called a familiar voice from behind the door. "Um, it's 3:00 and you haven't come out of your room yet, I was wondering...did something happen between you and Rorek? He's been acting really weird, I mean, yeah he's kinda weird to begin with, but it's just that...well, are you alright? Because if you're not, we're here for you. We care about you, and we want to know when something's really bothering you." He said.

Raven opened the door so that only half her face was visible, "Nothing's wrong, I just need some time to myself to sort out a few things, I'll be fine, so you don't have to worry." She told BB.

"Okay." Beat Boy said with a nod. Raven then closed her door and went back to her books.

In spite of what she had promised herself, Raven opened up her secret room and began going through all the books that Malchior had magicked into her room. She had already read through most of them, but there were a few piles that she had not even touched. Still, it never hurt to review the basics. Perhaps going through them more slowly, not only would she gain more out of them, but she might find out more about Malchior, and in doing so, maybe she would learn to realize that he was not the same man she had fallen for, and neither was Rorek.

So far she had been skimming through the basics, the books she'd already read, and was now going through one of the more advanced ones, reading it so that she retained every word. For many of these books Malchior had melded their knowledge into her mind, she didn't know them by their words, just by their information and their magic.

The review refreshed her store of Malchior's magic, the magic she swore she wouldn't use, but it did little else. She couldn't find the answers she wanted, or rather, she couldn't find more out about Malchior through merely the spell books. She tried looking through some history books she had, but they gave here absolutely nothing. Which wasn't all that surprising.

But then Raven's eyes wandered over to the chest she had drug out along with the books. She had emptied out the entire room with her mind, so now her main room was littered, not only with books, but with other things, other things that she wish she could get rid of, but wasn't going to chance that they might find themselves in the wrong hands. Malchior's book, however, was the only item that held so much emotional pain for her. Could he see her now? Was he laughing at her? Or was he fuming that she had been able to reseal him? Raven turned her eyes from the chest and focused them on the book in her hands.

"Raven?"

Her eyes shot over to the chest, and then to her door, where Rorek stood surveying her books, the items, and the chest. She had a dark sword against the wall, a staff there as well. There was an orb on her desk that held three black-flaming butterflies, next to it a box that held tainted rosary beads, and then there were two chests. One that was called the Chest of Horrors as well as Pandora's Box, and the other which held Malchior's book. And then there where the books, some of them she had set onto her desk because they were not of the same books Malchior had put in her room, and then there were the ones that currently filled her room, making it almost impossible to walk around in.

"What's all this?" Rorek asked, "I didn't find—"

"And just what are you doing in my room?" Raven hissed, feeling angrier by the moment. How dare he come in here without her permission!

"I felt a disturbance, I was afraid you might...be in trouble...again." He said, now looking rather nervous and backing away, back out the door.

Raven glared at him, but inside her heart was beating fast. What if he recognized the books? "What you're feeling is probably that, and it's perfectly harmless so long as the butterflies are not released." She said, pointing to the orb. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some more research to do." She said, using her power to make the door slam closed in his face.

"No, Raven you don't understand! There's something really dangerous in there, I can sense it!" He called, hammering her door with his fist.

"I am fully aware that I have many dangerous things in my possession but rest assured I am in complete control over all of them!" She called right back, wishing he would just leave her alone.

"Would you at least tell me what you're trying to research?" Rorek called.

Raven slamed her book shut and teleported so she was at her door. She opened it just enough so that half her face was visible, "If you must know," She began, her anger radiating from her in waves of darkness, "I am trying to find a way to destroy Malchior's book." She told him. It was a lie, she knew, but she wasn't about to tell him the real reason she had pulled out all these books.

"Let me help y—"

"No! Just leave me alone!!!" She snapped, slamming her door, once again, in his face. She then looked around her room, the dark mist was coming back again, she was loosing control of her emotions, once again, and all because of him.

It was all her fault, if she had never opened that book, none of this would be happening to her. But how was she suppose to know? For all it seemed, the book was ordinary, she couldn't tell there was anything magical about it on the outside.

Raven sat herself in the air and began to meditate, clearing her mind and emptying herself of all worldly things. Nothing really mattered, it was all merely physical, and the physical can never last. It was all an illusion. She calmed herself, thinking of open plains, of empty spaces, emptying her mind, and cleansing herself of the thoughts that plagued her. She had to suppress her anger, control it. She had to realize what was causing her emotions, and keep it, keep him, from getting to her.

The next time Raven opened her eyes the mist was gone, but it had left something behind. The chest that had previously held Malchior's book looked like the top had been blown off, and the book itself was laying open on the bed before her, and a pair of taunting red eyes stared at her.

A/N: CLIFHANGER!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Bask in my evilness puny mortals!

To all of you who asked, yes I am a monkey, yes it may sound impossible, but I am really a monkey. I live at a house with a family who thinks I'm their biological child and have decided to spend my time writing stories and poetry that I in no way could ever even dream to write because I am a stupid primate. NEWS FLASH! I was being facetious people! You know, as in sarcastic?! I'M NOT A MONKEY I'M A DRAGON! Dra-gon, D-R-A-G-O-N, dragon! I could not be writing all of this if I was some stupid monkey! Why do you think I chose the name 'Hiryuu'?! Does no one use a translator nowadays? They think they know everything? It means 'Flying Dragon' in Japanese people! Which is why I find Malchior (in dragon form of course) so incredibly HOT...oh wait...you weren't suppose to know that.....

J/K! lol, I had you guys going didn't I?