Part A
Robin was walking around the city, not really looking at where he was going. He walked past an alley when he heard a noise. When he walked into the alleyway, he saw a small figure hiding behind a large box. Seeing that the figure was smaller than him, Robin decided that if it did pose a threat, he would be able to handle it.
He walked closer and was surprised when the small figure turned out to be a small girl. He hair was knotted and messy, she had smudges of dirt on her face and arms, her clothes were ripped and in tatters. She looked hungry and tired and scared, and when she looked at Robin, he knew he couldn't leave her here.
Robin slowly walked up to the girl, as carefully as he would a wild animal. When he reached her, he held out his hand to her. He wasn't surprised when she shrank back from him. Now that he could see the girl better, she appeared quite young, maybe two years younger than his fourteen. He still couldn't see her eyes because the alley was too dark.
"It's alright, I won't hurt you." His voice was soothing and reassuring. Robin didn't try and move toward the girl, just continued kneeling and holding his hand out, letting her come to him. It seemed to be working, slowly. The girl was tentatively coming out of her hiding space, crawling towards Robin. As she her hand was about to touch his, another came out and snatched hers away. Robin looked up startled; he hadn't noticed there was anyone else in the alley. Though, now that he did see, it turned out to be another girl; this one slightly bigger and older than the first.
The older girl started speaking quickly to the first, in a language Robin couldn't understand. However, he did get the general idea of what she was saying; not to trust him.
"I'm not going to hurt her, I only wanted to help."
That stopped the flow of speaking, and both girls turned to look at him. He noticed the similarities right away. Both had the same facial features; but where one was harsher, the younger was softer. He still couldn't see their eyes for the darkness. He wanted to help them. He didn't like the idea of the little one living on the streets like she was.
"If you come with me, you won't have to live here."
The older one seemed to understand a little of what he was saying, but the younger one was just watching him.
"I'm sure you're hungry, why don't we get something to eat, and you can think about it then. Does that sound alright?" He was speaking slowly and loudly, as if that would honestly help them understand him better.
At first, Robin was sure he was getting nowhere with them, but the younger girl started to come forward again. And again, her sister tried to pull her back. This time the young one brushed her off. She held her hand out towards Robin, in a similar gesture as what he did. He smiled and held his hand out again. He was pleased when the girl put her hand in his. He gently grabbed hold and started to pull her further out of the darkness. She resisted at first, but a few words of comfort and encouragement from Robin, and she was following. He stood up and pulled her along to the exit of the alley. He noticed the other girl was following, slowly and very cautiously.
When Robin and the girl reached the main street, he got to see what she really looked like. Her hair was dirty and too messy to tell its color, and her skin looked dark, but that too was probably from the dirt. But one thing Robin could clearly see was her eyes. They were the clearest, brightest, emerald green he had ever seen. They were large and looked straight into him, through him.
She was pretty tall for someone her age, or what her age appeared to be, standing a few inches above him. She was thin, either naturally so or because of her lack of eating, Robin wasn't sure. Her outfit was nothing more than a sort of robe, dirty beyond recognition and ripped almost to the point of indecency. He also noticed bruises and healing wounds on her arms and legs, and on the skin showing through the ripped parts of her clothes. He took his jacket off and handed it to her.
The girl looked at it curiously before she took it. She carefully placed it around her shoulders and held it tight about herself. She smiled, and Robin was taken aback by it. The smile was pure and bright, and it lit up her face, showing that despite the dirt, she was a beautiful young girl.
Robin realized he didn't know her name, so he tried to think of a way to fix that. Grinning suddenly, he looked towards the girl, and then pointed toward himself.
"Robin." She cocked her head to the side in confusion and furrowed her eyebrows.
"I'm Robin." She was still looking at him in confusion and he was just about to give up when her face brightened.
"Koriand'r." She was pointing towards herself. And Robin smiled in triumph. However when he tried to pronounce the name, he found he couldn't.
"Coriander."
She laughed, and it sounded like bells.
"Koriand'r." She once again pronounced the name. Robin could hear the difference in pronunciations, but it was subtle. He tried a few more times, and then decided to give up. He wasn't going to get it.
"How about we call you Kori for now?"
Once again her head cocked to the side before she nodded happily. She jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder and turned around to find that her sister was standing there, frowning angrily down at Kori. Now that she was in the light, Robin saw that she was in the same condition as Kori, wearing the same clothes, had bruises too. Only her hair was a little longer, and appeared darker, though that was hard to tell. And her eyes weren't green, they were a deep violet color, and seemed harder and colder than Kori's.
The two started speaking rapidly in their language once again, before they both turned to Robin. The older one stood in front of Kori.
"Why don't we go somewhere that you two can get cleaned up, new clothes, and something to eat? Then you can decide what to do from there. Does that sound alright?"
The older sister seemed to be the one who could understand at least some of what he was saying. She turned back to Kori and was speaking again. The two appeared to be arguing, before finally the older one turned back to Robin in a huff.
"Alright?" She stumbled over the word and posed it as a question, but it was the answer Robin was hoping for.
He smiled and held his hand out to Kori, who took it without any hesitation. Robin took them back to the school where they each took a long, hot shower and changed into clothes that, while not fashionable, were at least clean. Robin found that Kori had amazingly auburn red hair; it was long, just below her shoulder blades. And her sister had dark hair, which he could not tell if it was black or deep purple. Their skin was tanned, almost orange looking in the light, but smooth, except for the bruises, cuts and scrapes.
Then they ate. The older sister, Robin still didn't know her name, dug in heartily, eating as if she hadn't done so for days. But Kori was slower, more refined in her eating.
Robin had spoken with the other students and they all agreed that the two should stay here. All Robin had to do was get their agreement as well.
"I have a suggestion for you two." They stopped eating and gave Robin their full attention. It was slightly disconcerting to be the center of such unwavering attention.
"How would you like to stay here? You would have a place to eat, sleep, live. You could go to school. You would be trained in a special area of study, any one that you would like."
Kori looked over to her sister for an explanation. For her part, she tried to explain to Kori, speaking slowly, as if uncertain of the complete translation. However, she must have been successful because Kori's face lit up in a beauteous smile and she nodded her head emphatically. But her sister didn't look so certain. Kori started speaking quickly and animatedly, trying to convince her sister to stay.
Robin found he liked the sound of her voice; it was soft and light. He noticed that Kori was starting to sway her sister a little. Robin decided to help a little more.
"Think about it, you would be warm, dry, you wouldn't go hungry. If you don't want to decide right now, take the night to think it over. Let me know the answer tomorrow."
This seemed to satisfy her, and Robin let the two finish eating in silence. Afterwards, he showed them to an empty room that had two beds.
"This is where you can stay tonight. Tomorrow, I'll come get you and you can tell me what you've decided."
They nodded their heads, and Robin said goodnight. Before he got very far, he was stopped by a small voice calling his name.
"Robin?"
"Yes?" he turned and saw Kori hadn't gone into the room yet.
She had a look of fierce concentration on her face before it brightened.
"Thank-you." Then she quickly disappeared into the room.
The next morning, Robin took Kori and introduced her to the others.
"This is Cyborg, and this is Changeling and the girl next to him is Terra, that is a guy we like to call Aqualad, and this is…" Robin introduced her to everyone present at the dining hall. Kori just smiled politely and rather shyly, standing next to Robin. Her sister was standing a ways off, putting off an air of inapproachability.
"Everyone, this is Kori."
Someone asked if that was her real name.
"Koriand'r." She spoke softly, so only those closest could hear her. When they tried to pronounce the name, they had the same problem as Robin.
"If she's going to stay here, she is going to need a new name anyway. What do you think it should be?"
There were mutterings until the head master came in the room. Then all talking stopped.
"I see we have two more students." His voice was smoother than silk. He looked directly at Kori, who shifted closer to Robin, then turned his attention to her sister.
"What are your names?" Everyone knew not to answer, that the question was addressed to the two newcomers.
"Komand'r." The older one pointed to herself, then to her sister. "Koriand'r."
The head master smiled.
"Good. But you cannot go by those names here. At this place, everyone starts over. You have no past. We must find a name to fit you two accordingly. Let me think on it for a couple of days; see what you are capable of. Then I will decide what to call you."
The head master left the room.
Part B
Richard woke up and tried to stretch, but found his movements severely limited. When he opened his eyes, he saw red, all over red, and then he remembered that he had a companion in his bed.
Richard had forgotten what sharing a bed with Kori was like. He usually liked his space in bed, so he was surprised that he let her get as close. She was resting her head on his chest and she had an arm thrown across his middle while her legs were tangled with his. For his part, Richard had his arms wrapped around the sleeping girl and they were blanketed in her hair. All in all, not a bad way to start the day. Richard looked at the antique grandfather clock and saw that it had only been three and a half hours since they'd gone to bed the night before. So for the first time since he could remember, Richard decided to sleep in.
He closed his eyes, settled deeper into the pillows, tightened his grip around Kori, closed his eyes, and started to go back to sleep. This lasted for maybe five more minutes because there was a knock at his door. Richard groaned into Kori's hair and prayed that if he didn't answer, whomever was at the door would get the hint and leave. Alas, it was not meant to be.
"Richard? Are you awake?" Pause. "If you don't answer, I'm coming in." Another pause. "That's it." The loud voice belonged to none other than Barbara. And true to her word, she opened the door to find Richard laughing softly into Kori's hair.
Kori vaguely heard the rocket Barbara was making and mumbled sleepily, "Kill that thing and put it out of my misery, or very bad things will happen." She then slid her legs up Richard's and settled into sleep once again.
Richard knew what it looked like; Kori sleeping in his bed with him, and he knew Barbara would ask a million and one question. And what made it worse, his chances of sleeping in after the events of last night were killed to little, bitty, smithereens.
Alfred chose that moment to walk by. He froze only momentarily, that being the only indication of his surprise.
"I trust all is well, Master Richard?"
"Never better, Alfred."
Alfred nodded then walked past and Richard laughed louder and harder, which was enough to cause Kori to fully wake up.
"What are you laughing at, Dick, that cannot wait until you have left the room? I was sleeping, in case you failed to notice."
"Sorry, I'll stop and you can go back to sleep." She glared at him, and Richard's laugh quieted into a small chuckle. Kori, and Barbara, found no humor in the situation.
"Richard what is she doing here?" Barbara's screech was ignored, while Kori calmly stated, "Too late for you now Richard. You have to get up." She then reached around him and pushed a small spot on his lower back that she knew was very sensitive. It had the effect of Richard bolting straight up in bed and letting go of Kori. She took advantage of this and flipped him out of bed.
Luckily for Richard, he was very agile and landed on his feet. That was something else he'd forgotten, Kori's ability to literally toss him out of bed. He glared at her and saw that her shoulders were shaking as she tried to hide her laughs. Richard walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, making sure the water was on cold. He then walked past Barbara, who was watching with a pout on her face at the attention Richard is paying Kori. He picked Kori up; one arm beneath her knees, the other supporting her back, and walked with her into the bathroom. She immediately stopped laughing when Richard picked her up.
"Richard, what are you planning to do? What ever it is, you will regret doing it." Kori held tightly to Richard, some semblance of an idea forming in her head of his plan when she heard the water.
When the two got into the bathroom, Richard surprised Kori. Instead of tossing her into the shower like she thought he would, Richard just walked right in.
"RICHARD!" Still, the water was cold, and because of their positions, Kori was getting it all, while Richard hardly got any water whatsoever. Kori started moving, trying to get out of Richard's grasp.
He just laughed and held her tighter. "There is nothing like a cool, refreshing shower first thing in the morning to wake you up. Don't you think?"
"You, Richard Grayson, are evil." But Kori stopped squirming and just lie in Richard's arms. Once she got past the initial shock of having cold water blasted in her face, Kori did admit, if only to herself, that it did feel nice.
Richard lowered Kori to her feet then turned the water heat up.
"Finish up in here, and I'll find some clothes for you to wear. As pleasing as it would be for the males in the world, you can't go out wearing what you have on now, or what you were wearing last night."
"You sound like you have my day planned for me Richard."
"Pretty much." Richard was getting out of the shower, only being slightly wet, while he was talking. "You need to buy some clothes of your own. And I need to go to my apartment, because I did not come prepared for a sleepover at Bruce's. And you need to go to Victor's because that is where Raven and Logan are."
"Oh. Do you think Raven would like to come shopping with me? I do no think she likes me very much and maybe this will be a way for us to get to know one another better. It would be like having a girl's day out. That sounds like fun. And maybe Barbara would like to come also. Would you ask her? Please?"
Kori's eyes sparkled at the idea. Richard was glad to see it; he'd missed that twinkle more than he'd realized. When he saw Kori at the funeral, the similarities between the girl he knew and the woman he saw seemed few. The woman was older, wiser, colder, more closed off, more burdened. She didn't seem as young and carefree as before. Which led Richard to wonder what happened after he left to cause Kori to change so drastically.
"I'll ask, but I won't guarantee Barbara's willingness to go."
"Yes, she has taken a rather strong dislike to me. Soon, you shall have to tell me why? I am certain it has something to do with you, however." Her smile was impish, she knew exactly why Barbara didn't like her.
Richard smiled, then left the bathroom, grabbing a towel on the way out. He had just closed the door when Barbara rounded on him.
"What was she doing in here, Richard?" It wasn't asked so much as demanded.
"Sleeping?" Richard was going to change, but having Barbara there was a little weird. Even when they were dating, he never changed in front of her.
"In here? When she had a perfectly good bed in a different room?"
Disbelief, or maybe it was incredulity, dripped from her voice. Richard was not about to tell Barbara the real reason Kori had slept with him. Barbara would use that anyway she could against Kori.
"She was in a new house, and she had just gone through a very troubling time. Give her a break Barbara. She does not need you giving her a hard time. So, be nice to her. Please."
"What is she to you?"
"What?" Richard did not like this line of questioning.
"What is your relationship with Kori?"
"At one time she was my best friend."
"And now?" There was anticipation in Barbara's voice.
"I don't know."
"Are you in love with her, Richard?"
Richard definitely did not like this line of questioning. Revealing feelings of any kind about one girl to another girl, who just happens to be an ex with lingering feelings, always leads a guy straight into trouble.
"Richard! Would you please hand me a towel? You took the last one."
"Sure." So what if he was eager to do this simple task. He was really uncomfortable and he didn't want to answer the question, heck, he wasn't even sure he knew the answer to the question.
Kori walked out of the shower and stood in front of the mirror. She had not seen her reflection after the events of last night. She reached up and wiped the fog off the mirror. After it getting wet, Kori had just taken the bandage off from her forehead. She looked closely at the wound, but found that it wasn't too bad. Head injuries generally tended to look worse than they actually were. She then gently touched the bruise on her cheek, and the anger momentarily flared up again.
She next looked down at the rest of her body. She had a bruise on her collarbone and her shoulder that she didn't remember getting. The bruises on her ribs, however, she vividly remembered. Terra managed to land two punches to her there.
Kori rubbed the bruises on her forearms from where she had blocked Terra's punches. Kori absently thought that she should start training again if she were so slow as to allow Terra to get any punches in.
"Kori, I've got your towel."
"Thank you Richard." She walked over to the door and opened it just a crack and stuck her arm through. She waited for Richard to put the towel in her hand. When he did, she pulled her arm back in and shut the door.
Richard was lying on the bed, waiting for Kori to come out of the bathroom. When he heard the door open he sat up. When he saw her his eyes narrowed.
"What?" Kori's question was defensive.
"You have bruises on your legs. Where else are you hurt that I don't know about?"
"That is none of your business Dick. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"Right, that's why you're bruised in the first place. This is Terra; you know what she's capable of. You're lucky you're even alive."
"Richard, I told you last night. Terra was not there to kill me. Now, no more talk of it. Do you have anything for me to where, or am I to address the rest of the world in a towel?"
"Fine, I'll quit, for now. This is something Barbara said she'd lend you." Richard pointed to something he had laid at the foot of the bed.
"Thank-you." Kori reached over to get the outfit, and gasped as bending over put strain on her sore ribs.
"Kori." Richard's voice held warning when he said her name.
"No. Do not overly concern yourself with me right now. I can promise you that I have had worse, and that I will survive this." Kori left Richard and went back into the bathroom. She changed into the clothes and was grateful that she was so skinny. The pants were very small on her, almost too tight to wear. But she could pull it off if she didn't take any great big breaths. The bottom of the jeans reached to just above her ankle so she rolled them up and turned them into Capri's. The shirt on the other hand would not fit no matter what Kori did. So she wrapped the towel around her self again and walked back into the room.
"Do you mind if I borrow a shirt of yours? This one is not going to fit on me."
"Sure."
Kori went to the closet but found nothing but button up dressy shirts.
"Do you not have anything for normal wear?"
"Nope. All the stuff I have to wear for an appearance gets left here. All my everyday stuff is still at my apartment. Just pick something Kori."
"Do not get so exasperated with me Richard. Please." Kori picked out the plainest, least dressy shirt she could find. It turned out to be black. Kori turned around and gave Richard a look. He just raised his eyebrow in challenge.
"Richard." He only looked at her through innocent eyes. As if that would work. Kori huffed out her breath and turned around, not ready to admit total defeat. She unwrapped the towel from around her back and held it in place with one hand. She was about to pull the shirt on when she heard Richard leave the bed.
She tried not to flinch when she felt Richard's hand on her back. He was tracing what she knew to be a scar. His touch was soft, just whispering across her skin, but it seared into her back. The scars weren't obvious or blatant, but they were noticeable. His hand reached to where the pants started. It wasn't the first time he had seen the scars, but there were some new ones he didn't know about.
The room was quiet. Richard settled his hands on Kori's waist and felt her tense, heard her gasp.
"Kori?" He turned her around which caused her to drop the towel the move so surprised Kori.
"Richard. What are you doing?"
He just let out an exasperated breath, but otherwise ignored her. He looked at her ribs.
"Why didn't you say anything about these before?"
"Because, like I said before, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Richard. Now, I think that is enough examining of Kori." She once again turned her back to him and put the shirt on.
"You're going to have to talk to me sooner or later, Kori. If you keep shutting me out, nothing will get solved."
"Richard, you shut me out and that is where your problems began. Now, please do what you need to do. As you stated earlier, we have things to do, and I would like to see Logan and Victor." Having said that, Kori left Richard standing in his room, staring after her.
Part C
Raven woke up at the knock on the door, forgetting for a minute where was and what happened the previous night. So when she got up, she was unprepared for almost toppling back down due to the shorts she was wearing that were four sizes too large. She was getting angry with them what they wouldn't just let her fix them, so as Logan came in to answer the door, the sight he saw was Raven kicking the shorts across the room. He laughed and opened the door. He saw Richard and Kori standing there, the air around them strained.
"So, wanna come in?" He moved out of the way and the two walked in. "Victor is in the kitchen, cooking breakfast."
Kori didn't say anything, she just walked over to Raven, who sat back down on the couch when she saw whom it was.
"Victor is cooking meat. I keep telling him how bad it is for him to eat that stuff, and what they do to the animals; the artificial hormones and stuff, and I even told him how the animals are slaughtered. He still eats meat. I have no idea how to break him of such a habit."
"Logan, you make it sound like he's taken up smoking crack or something. You have to let him be. Does he try to get you to eat meat?"
"Yes."
"Okay, well it's nice to know some things haven't changed. You two still act like children. Keep it up."
Meanwhile, Kori raising her voice caught Logan and Richard's attention.
"Raven. Please, stop being so stubborn. All I would like to do is look at your hand." Raven still wouldn't let Kori look at her. "For crying out loud woman. You are worse than Richard. I would like to make sure that nothing is wrong with you; it is partially my fault that you are in the condition you are in, and all you are doing is making it difficult for me to help you. I happen to know Victor and Logan's abilities when it comes to injuries, and though I would trust them with my life, I would not trust them to bandage my injuries."
"Hey. I resent that."
Kori huffed out a breath. "I am going shopping for some clothes. I would like for you to come with me, please." Coming from anyone else, it may have seemed like a demand. Right now, even coming from Kori, it seemed like a demand.
"Excuse me?" Raven's voice was dark and very dangerous. But Kori was tired and any good mood she may have been in earlier was gone. She was not going to take anything from anyone, especially some moody police detective wannabe.
"I think we need to get to know each other, and for normal women, I believe that includes spending large quantities of money on things like clothes, shoes, make-up and other useless items. You do not have to spend any money, but I need clothes. So, you can come with me, and we can straighten some things out between us. Okay?"
Even Raven recognized that tone; it was imperialistic and brooked no argument or any way to deny it. So she reluctantly agreed to go shopping. But first, she was going to need to seriously calm down. After last night, and now this morning and the plans of shopping with Kori, Raven needed some long meditation time.
Raven went into one of the back rooms, away from everyone else and sat in the center, crossed legged and started chanting some words she heard her father use once upon a time.
"Azareth, Metrion, Zynthos." Over and over she repeated them, finding her center, calming her mind, her body and her soul.
In the other room Kori watched Raven go. Now she felt bad for snapping at the girl, after everything that happened to her last night she didn't deserve to be made to go shopping when she obviously didn't want to go.
"Where is Raven going?"
"She is going to meditate. It is something she does everyday."
"For how long?"
"It depends on the kind of day she had before. Usually it is an hour, but considering the kind of night she had, it may be a lot longer than that."
Kori nodded, then went into the room Raven was in. She sat down across from the girl, but did not say a word.
"What do you want now?" Raven didn't open her eyes, but she knew who was there anyway.
"I wish to apologize for what I did. I should have not been so rude to you. I suppose things have been stressful for you as well as me."
"Apology accepted. Was there anything else?"
"Would you mind if I joined you?"
Now Raven did open her eyes. She was surprised; Kori did not seem like the type who could stay still and silent for any great length of time. Still, she did come in wanting to make amends for her earlier treatment of Raven, so the least she could do was give her a chance.
"Sure. But this takes a lot of concentration. You have to be very disciplined to accomplish anything in meditation. You have to find your center and concentrate. You have to be quiet, and find your inner peace."
"Raven, you have such little faith in me. You shall see, I am far more disciplined than most people give me credit for."
Raven merely raised her eyebrow, but let it go. For the next hour and a half, the two girls sat in absolute silence and complete stillness.
In the kitchen Richard and Logan joined Victor. He asked where the two girls were and was only mildly surprised when he learned that they were meditating together, and then planned on going shopping together later.
"I knew they would either kill each other or get along. So, what happened with Kori last night?"
Even though Richard had called Victor last night, he didn't go into detail about what happened.
"Terra paid her a visit. They got in a fight, and she set Kori's house on fire. Really, that's all. Kori is fine except for a few bruises and a small cut on her forehead. When am I going to be told what happened? If it continues to endanger Kori's life, I need to know about it. And think about Raven. Her life is in danger too. Last night proves it."
"Man, it ain't our place to tell you. Kori should be here. She was the one who had the most to lose."
"The most to lose?"
"Kori's place to tell you. Besides, from what I saw from you two earlier, you still have some stuff to settle. This is something you and her are going to have to work through."
"That, Victor, is easier said than done."
Part D
Raven and Kori were walking through the shops at the mall, trying on clothes. Raven wouldn't voice it, but she was having a good time with Kori. The woman she'd seen was always quiet, and so serious. This Kori was livelier, more talkative and much happier. And Raven found it infectious. She couldn't help but have a good time, even if she didn't outwardly show it.
The two weren't really talking about anything, just what clothes would look good, what was on sale, and the things they would never in a million years buy. They had accumulated a massive amount of bags since they had so much to replace. The only thing they were worrying about, however, was where they were going to put it.
"Are you ready to take a break yet, Kori?"
"Yes. Let us eat. I am hungry after so much shopping."
The two girls went to the food court and waited in line for twenty minutes for submarine sandwiches that turned out to be not so very good.
"Raven, tell me about yourself."
Raven was surprised. She didn't think Kori would be interested. Raven didn't really like talking about her past; it wasn't a pretty thing. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell Kori, she still wasn't sure she trusted her.
"If you do not wish to tell me, that is alright. I would only like to know you better. If you are to help us defeat Terra, and finally Slade, then it would help if we were to understand where the other came from. I shall, in turn, tell you some about myself. That would be a fair trade, would it not?"
It didn't sound so bad, and Raven could gloss over the parts she didn't want Kori to know, some of the uglier parts of her history.
"Okay. I suppose we have a deal. What exactly would you like to know?"
"You could start with your childhood, or why you wanted to become an investigator. Just tell me whatever you wish."
"Okay, my childhood. I guess that is a good place to start. It wasn't a happy childhood. My father was, not the nicest of men. He continually beat my mother and me. I later found out that my father had raped my mother and that is how I was conceived. Not exactly the best of circumstances for one's birth." Raven paused for a moment and let that little piece of information sink in. Kori did nothing more than blink.
"There is a saying, blood will tell. My father later killed my mother. He beat her for so hard and for so long, that eventually she was nothing more than a bloody mass of flesh and blood and bone. She was beyond recognition when I found her. I had just come home from school. My father was sitting at the dining room table, calmly eating the dinner my mother had prepared for him. I don't know what caused him to go off, but what ever it was, he felt no remorse for killing my mother. I was fourteen years old at the time."
Raven remembered that her father had told her to clean up the mess. The mess, like it was nothing more than some dirty clothes on the floor and not her mother's lifeless body. But she had done it; she had cleaned up the blood from the floor and the walls. But as she was clearing up her mother, as she moved some of her mother's hair off of her battered face, something inside Raven snapped. She could still remember it.
"I don't know what it was, but I felt something inside of me get loose. It felt strong, and angry, and evil, and for the first time, I faced my father without any fear or consideration of what he would do to me. I went up to him and I slapped him, hard, in his face."
"How could you do that? How could you just kill my mother? She was good, and beautiful." Raven screamed at her father. How could he just sit there and eat dinner as if he didn't' just murder someone?
Her father didn't say anything. He just calmly put his fork and knife down, and took his napkin from his lap and folded it, them placed it on the table too. He always did have the best of table manners. He got up from the table, and Raven took an involuntary step back. Even if she was being brave at the moment, her father was large. He didn't say anything still, but he did go to the doorway, and from a little hook hanging there, he took the leather belt. It was like the thing barbers in the old days used to sharpen the razors, but Raven never knew the name of it. She only knew what her father used it for.
"You would question me, little girl. Don't you know not to question your elders? You should show respect to those in authority." He walked up to her, slowly, showing no concern whatsoever, proving how little of a threat he found her to be.
Raven's father reached where she was standing and grabbed her arm hard, hard enough to leave a bruise later.
"Your mother was worthless, she was good for nothing. She was a screw up, and it looks like she screwed up for the last time, now don't it? And you know what? You're just like her."
He hit her hard across the face with the back of his hand, and because he was holding the strap, the end of that clipped her, hitting her shoulder. He then hit her again, this time with the strap, catching her on the arm. And again, and again. This was nothing Raven hadn't dealt with before, but this time Raven was different. No longer a child, she knew what she had to do.
"I am not afraid of you anymore." Raven wouldn't cry, she felt no pain, she knew no pain. All she felt was a blinding rage. She used all her power, all her strength, and she fought her father. She hit him back, she kicked him, and she bit him, anything to inflict pain. Anything to make him feel the same thing she felt for years.
Raven didn't noticed when her father stopped hitting her, she didn't notice when her father stopped moving. She didn't even notice that at some point, she had picked up her father's knife and started using that instead of her fists to hit him. All she knew what that when she finally stopped, Raven was covered in her father's blood, and that he was dead.
"I don't really remember much about that night. I think I went to my room and went to sleep. The next day, I went to school, and the teacher noticed that I was still covered in blood, and she noticed the bruises. She called the police, who went to my house where they found my mother and my father. I didn't get in trouble for what I did; they ruled the death of my father as an act of self-defense. I was pretty out of it when they asked me questions. I was put in an orphanage, and went to different foster homes for the next four years.
I had managed to save up some money during those four years doing odd jobs, so when I got out of the orphanage, I rented an apartment, and went to school on a scholarship. It was during those few years that I really got interested in criminal justice, so I changed my major and then decided to become an investigator. I met Victor, he helped me a little, electronic plants, wiretaps, that sort of thing. Then he introduced me to Logan, who had a knack for getting anybody to open up to him and spill their guts, confess to different crimes. He could collect information from anyone, and he was good at reading people. And that is pretty much it."
Raven stopped talking and looked at Kori's face very carefully, trying to decipher what she was feeling. But Kori betrayed no emotion, no stray thought.
"That explains much. You cannot stand for and injustice to not be rectified. You will work hard to solve any mystery. You try to remain aloof, yet you feel very involved with each case. You, Raven, are more complicated, and more compassionate than you like people to know. But you also do not trust people easily. I know you do not trust me, and that is part of the reason I wanted us to spend time together, getting to know one another." Kori paused and took a drink.
"Now it is my turn to tell you some about myself. This is something that Logan does no know, not even Richard knows, and I do not want them to find out. Not yet anyway." She sent a meaningful glance to Raven.
"They won't find out from me. You have my word."
"Good."
That is where I am ending it for right now. It is a lot of stuff, and it seems like it is going no where, but this chapter was mainly to help establish a relationship between Richard and Kori, or at least build more layers on the past relationship, and show some more into what they had. It also is to help establish more of a relationship/friendship between Kori and Raven. And to reveal some of Raven's past. How dark was that? I kind of just went with the flow of things. It just came out while I was typing.
When I was writing the scene when Richard and Kori woke up, I had this cute little part where there was a tickling thing and this whole foray to a different time, a past time when they were younger and more innocent. But I cut it out and changed it because I didn't think it really went with how I was writing the characters. Maybe I'll write it in a different chapter for things I got rid of, just because I really, really liked it. I thought it was cute, and that I really delved into the deeper intricacies of their relationship. This is, after all, a Robin and Starfire or in this case, Richard and Kori, romance story.
More action will come up soon, as well as Kori's story for Raven. I have to argument scene between Kori and Richard all set up, and I have to say, it is beautiful. I am very proud of that. It will tell why Richard left, and what happened to Kori afterwards. Boy is it a hum-dinger. I love it, and hopefully you will too. It should come out in the next chapter.
That is all for now, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, (school willing). I ask for your patience and understanding that for my, school is my first priority.
Thank you, and please Review.
Jemi.