Blue is for Nightmares

PG-13: "I know your secret…" Raven and Starfire are best friends and are room-mates in a boarding school. But Raven's starting to have nightmares, and she doesn't want to ignore these warnings, or else! Based on the book No Flames! R&R Rob/Star - Rae/BB - Star?

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Chapter 1. Waning Moon Spells

I must protect her, save her, she's my best friend, and I WON'T let her down! Raven thought as she looked around the woods for Starfire, she heard his body lurking around. He's going in circles around and around her again. Branches breaking, leaves cracking, a whisper of wind in her ears, and an arch of pain in the low part of her stomach. Raven's nightmares make her dread sleep…

Raven pinches the needle between her two fingers, in a nice grasp. A nice hold. She stares at her blue glittering virgin candle, and starts to write a dearly person to her, her initials of her name. S-T-A-R. Starfire, Raven's best friend. She stares at her friend's nickname, carved deeply. She opens the drawer of her night table and pulls out sage. Perfect for burning, it's essence of scent, dried up olive, grayish, bluish leaves; and a twisted stem. Raven places her orange pot by the side of the bed, then wraps a string around the stem, so the smoke wouldn't be so dark and thick.

Starfire finished writing in her diary and placed it aside, "you are going to bed, yes?" she glances at Raven.

"In a few." Raven didn't take her dark cloud violet eyes away from her project. She unscrews the cap off of the Olive oil, and slips a little bit onto her index finger.

Starfire's mouth opened wide and her eyes shrinking tight to let out a moanful sound. She yawned and stretched. She lay down and starred at Raven. "Please promise me, friend, Raven. Please do not "accidentally" burn down the dorm. I have history home-work, due for a speech tomorrow."

"All the more reason," Raven jokes.

Starfire and I have been roommates for a little over two years, so she's used to rituals like this… well… sometimes she gets it…

Starfire reaches for her old purple stuff animal, bear. Her (it) name was Raven. She slept with it every night. She put the back of the bears head in front of her mouth and pulled the covers close, under the Raven's (the bear) chin. "You must not stay up too late. You might get ill or lobstery-"

Raven interrupts, "Crabby."

"Yes, "crabby", and do not you have a French test tomorrow morning?"

Raven rolls her eyes, "Thanks, mom." Then focuses her eyes back on her project, and then smirks at Starfire. Raven watches her close her emerald forest green glowing eyes, as her lips settle for a deep sleep, the muscles around her forehead and eye brows relax. It was sickening. Even after midnight, with no visible trace of make up, although Starfire only wears mascara. Her hair up in a pony tail on the top, yet under the base in the back of her head, strands of hair lay out. Always a perfect beauty. Pink small pouty lips, red flowing dark locks, and cat-shaped eyes with curled jet black lashes. No wonder why almost every guy at Hillcrest wants her, why every girl hates her and her innocent touch, why Robin likes her.

Raven glances away. She touches the top end of the candle with her oily finger. "As above…" she whispers softly, and shallow. She heads her finger for the bottom, "So below…" she wetting more on her finger. She touches the center and then drags it upward. Return to the center. Then drags it downward again. Carefully, keeping Star's carved letters away.

"Would not it be good perhaps if you just oiled the whole candle at once?" Starfire staring and watching Raven.

Raven blocks the letters with her palm immediately. But is still moistening the circumference in the same fashion. "Probably, but that would confuse the energies."

"Oh. Sorry."

When the candle is fully anointed, Raven lights the wick, then places her long match in to her silver holder her mother gave to her. Before she left Azarath.

Raven closes her eyes, concentrating on the waning moon outside the window before their beds. How it's an opportune night to makes things go away, how the sage had engraved the candle, how it will help. Raven lights her branch and watches it burn, it turns into an orange yellowy flame, then turn black and disappears, the way she pray my nightmares will.

She soon takes the pot to the sink, fills it with water, and watches its blue smoke swivel to the ceiling.

Raven tucks herself in, still facing Star's initials. She takes a red marker, and puts an "S" for Stella. To dream of her mother. She watches the candle, The S was gone, and half of the "A". Raven closes her eyes deeply, and braces herself for a deep sleep.