Chapter 14: The Kiss of Gossamer Wings: Part 4

Beast Boy wasn't sure what to think anymore. Things were getting too complicated. It hurt to see all these things… it just reminded him of everything he didn't understand about Raven. He knew what people thought, that he was just a stupid clown trying to be a super hero… maybe he was… maybe he wasn't fit to be with the titans, to be allowed the privilege of being near her, but he was. He was, and he was in the middle of this crisis. He thought now, that he didn't want to be. Things were too much to handle. He didn't like seeing Raven hurting, but he couldn't help. As much as tried… as much as he selfless gave for her… he just wasn't enough. She rejected his every offer when all he'd ever wanted was to mend her broken wings.

All he was to her… was a worthless tag-along. Sure, she told him she needed him… but did she? Did she really? No, no she didn't. Beast Boy cast a cold glance in her direction. He couldn't take it anymore… the way she snubbed him, the way she cut off his questions, the way she acted so tired of him, the way she refused his help, the way she didn't love him. He didn't want to be hard on her, Raven was going through incredibly rough times… her life was on the line for God's sake. Still… the way she left him hanging stung. The two approached a small village in silence. It was strange, the buildings reminiscent of tribal huts. It seemed the walls of the huts were made out of the marble ground and rose only about a foot off the ground. The roofs were made with a pale blue thatched grass mat.

Raven headed confidently towards a hut towards their left. He watched Raven hover off the ground a bit as she went through the door. He watched with interest as she ducked through the entry and seemed to drop down out of sight. He shifted unsurely into a pigeon. Fluttering through the entry he saw the sheer, dark drop down to a small speck of light below. He spiraled down the shaft and landed beside Raven. He glanced quietly, briefly allowing himself to admire her ivory skin as it picked up the soft umber light of the bonfire in the center of the room. He then, for the first time noticed the other inhabitants of the hut. All were garbed in robes of various velvets. Each had, sprouting gloriously from their backs, a pair of golden wings. He heard one creature utter to another some strange and foreign words in a harp-like tongue. He could not see the creature's heads as they all seemed shrouded in a strange fog.

From what he could gather there were some humans in the room, as well, but each of these were dressed in lavish clothes of pale silks and satins. Raven moved quietly to a desk type of object where a man sat lazily behind. Raven's dress caught the light of the fire and seemed glow almost gold. Beast Boy scampered after her and stood stoically behind her. She quietly muttered something to the man and he nodded and handed them a crude wooden key, sizably larger than her hand. She took it and beckoned him to follow him down a hall. The passage way twisted and seemed to drop and there were points where they were forced to fly due to sheer drops. It appeared there was some form of rope ladder provided on the sides of these drops but none of them looked very stable.

Still silent, she unlocked a huge oak door to his right. Torch light illuminated the chamber as the door creaked open on its hinges. Raven entered and moved to one of the big beds in the room. She set her bag down and then crossed to a small area that had a vanity. She rummaged through the drawers and finally produced a pair of scissors. She sent an unemotional glance at Beast Boy before she proceeded to cut her hair. The long maroon locks fell to the marble floor in long strands. After five minutes of utter silence save the soft snip, snip of Raven's scissors, Beast Boy cleared his throat.

"You should heal yourself… I think I'm gonna go take a walk. I think I can find my way back, as long as you're gonna be ok." He said quietly. Raven didn't respond until her hair was cut to its usual length. Turning to him she tilted her head to the side.

"Ok. Just don't get hurt or anything, ok? I'm not exactly aware when I'm healing…" she murmured. Beast Boy nodded. He followed her to the bed and helped her up to the incredibly high mattress. She thanked him curtly and stretched herself across it. Immediately falling into her trance, he sent a final glance in her way before stealing out the door. Finally reaching the surface again, he squinted in the light of the brilliant day star. Sighing, he moved towards a row of what appeared to be little merchandise booths, each with little pots of incense burning on their stands.

"Beast Boy!" he whirled around at the sound of her voice, his heart drumming in his chest… that girl… Terra… he stared at Lark as she came towards him, her head tilted to the side. "Hi! I was hoping to see you again, Raven didn't give you a good first impression of me… but I hope I can change that, I'm really not that bad," she stared at him with imploring blue eyes, her voice innocent and truly hopeful… just as Terra's had been. Beast Boy looked down at the ground.

"To tell the truth… I was hoping to see you again too. I really don't think you're as bad as Raven makes you look at all… in fact," his eyes burned with a sudden determination. Raven wouldn't rule his life anymore. There was something between him and Lark, an immediate connection he had felt the moment he'd laid eyes on her. And it wasn't just because of her striking resemblance to Terra. "In fact… you seemed perfectly fine… wanna go talk somewhere?"


Author's Note: No poem this time... due to paranoia... seriously, I got a review saying I'm drawing this out too long and I really wanna know if that's how you all feel. If that's the truth than I can wrap this thing up in about three chapters... I felt it would be a lot better if I continued showing you all the royal planets but that is only one person's opinion. If you feel differently, please, please tell me so I can change. Thank you. And now I shall eagerly await your responces as to whether or not I need to totally rewrite chapter fifteen... which is the last of the Gossamer series... and is ready to be posted so things can really get started. Dum Dum Dum... enter Lark stage left.