He paused outside the door, not sure if he was hearing correctly. Cyborg turned up the auditory levels, and, sure enough, he could hear soft whimpers coming through the door.
Cautiously he tapped it open. "Raven?" he called.
The quiet snick-snick of scissors was his only answer.
"Raven, what are you doing? What's wrong?" he asked.
The girl turned around. She was sitting on the middle of her bed, a pair of gleaming scissors in her hand. "Get out of my room!" she said, her voice fierce.
"Not until you tell me what's going on," Cyborg insisted, crossing his arms.
Raven sighed. "I'm cutting my hair," she snapped.
With a start Cyborg noticed for the first time that on one side of her head, her hair was shoulder-length and choppy, while the on the other side her long hair flowed over her shoulders to her waist. "Why?" he asked.
Raven set down the scissors and looked at him, yet somehow not seeing him. "Where I come from, the women cut their hair to mourn for someone," she said. "There was...someone. Someone who loved me very much, and I was not permitted to mourn for him." She glanced at the scissors. "This is no ceremonial dagger, but at least I'm remembering him."
"I understand," Cyborg said. "Let me help you."
"I don't need you," Raven spat. "You don't have anyone to mourn over like I do."
"Yes, I do," he countered quietly. "Let me help you, Rae."
Her wide navy eyes stared up at him and then blinked once slowly, her lashes brushing her cheeks. "All right," she conceded.
Cyborg ran his fingers through her long, silky hair and finally brought himself to cut it, the scissors sharp and quick. Soon most of Raven's thick hair littered the floor. "How's that?" he asked.
"Very nice," Raven said. "And now, please leave my room."
Knowing not to push it, Cyborg obeyed. But as he left, he heard a timid voice whisper to him.
"Thank you for calling me Rae."
Author's Note: This is just a brief reentry back into the story! Sorry for the long time without an update. The Beast Boy chapter will be coming soon, and then Starfire. The thing is, I have more ideas for Terra, so I went ahead and wrote her part, but I have to write BB and Star before I can put up Terra! ohthehorror! Anyway...hope you're glad to have me back.