Author's Note: Okay, a few cameos in today's episode, my ducks.
Just letting you know that:
Wally West: The Flash
Shayera Hol: Hawkgirl
John Stewart: Green Lantern
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
Clark Kent: Superman
Babs: Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl)
(FYI, I got their aliases from the 'Justice League Unlimited' show that's on Cartoon Network so don't shoot me if you don't agree with the names.)
Also, I'm using the physical description of Selina Kyle (Catwoman) from 'Batman: The Animated Series.'
Disclaimer: 'Is that really necessary?' – Sir Galahad (Michael Palin) in Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail.
Blackbirds Singing The In Dead Of Night
Even though the reception hall offers the largest open space in all of Wayne Manor, the substantial crowd of mourners and well-wishers is making claustrophobia my preeminent emotion.
The thick, unintelligible drone of the androgynous crowd makes the air around me feel dense and insalubrious, and, as I press my back farther against the cold stone wall that is providing me with my only sense of refuge, I begin to re-think the idea of breathing regularly. I should have just stayed outside.
My cold hands tighten around the steaming cup of the worst tea I have ever had as I bring the cup to my lips and take a sip out of a combination of boredom and anxiety. It's still too hot to be drinking, but the burning of the liquid sliding down my throat is barely perceived in my concerted endeavor to not draw any form of attention to myself.
I sigh and shrink farther back in to the reasonably isolated corner I immediately gravitated to upon entering the overcrowded reception. There is no way that Batman knew all of these people…
The light streaming in through the massive, stain-glass window distorts the faces of the people nearby, affording me with my only form of vague entertainment in my effort to remain as far away from the superfluous crowd as I can possibly manage… without breaking several laws of physics.
The sting of the teacup's heat defrosting my fingertips offers me a soothing sense of console and assurance, and, as I avoid the inquisitive stares of a few curious attendants, I find myself thankful that the haggard, young servant thrust it in to my hands the moment I stepped in to the room.
I bring the tea once more to my lips, preparing to take another anxiety induced sip, when suddenly, a loud, barking laugh cuts through the otherwise quiet air, startling me with its unexpected volume and causing me to spill a mouthful of the contents still inside the cup down my front. Damnit.
The small brown stain forms a stark contrast against the white dress shirt Starfire borrowed from Beast Boy for me, and, as I attempt to blot away the discolored mark, I begin to wonder what I ever did to deserve this day. I just want this to end.
I calmly hold back the intense desire to levitate whoever it is and bang them repeatedly against the stone wall as my eyes and attention immediately focus on finding the source of the inappropriate fracture… Who could possibly be tactless enough to be laughing at a funeral…?
As soon as my eyes settle upon the originator and the group surrounding him, my questions are answered. It figures.
Wally West and the rest of the Justice League (all incognito mind you, but still embarrassingly easy to identify) are standing in a semi-circle several yards away from me, obviously reminiscing about the more amusing moments of their past escapades.
I smirk despite myself.
Wally is talking enthusiastically about whatever misadventure he and Bruce once shared, his hands whipping around in wild succession as he attempts to recreate the moment for the rest of his team.
Though evidently making pains to not dwell upon his fallen friend, Wally's eyes seem lost somewhere between the mirth of the memory and the misery of never being able to make another of the like. The combination makes his simple gesture of wiping away the tears of laughter from his eyes unbearably poignant.
Beside him, Clark Kent is laughing with the equal delight that only someone who shares the memory of the story could. His grin only widens as he interrupts Wally's animated re-enactment, apparently needing to correct The Flash's misinterpretation of whatever event has the group in such hilarity.
John Stewart butts in as well, and soon the three men are light-heartedly bickering over the exact way the situation played out. Shayera Hol and Diana Prince exchange longsuffering glances and grin as they both roll their eyes simultaneously.
The entire picture they present is so touching and so paradoxical that I can not help but watch their memories in a hungry fascination. Compared the morose aura of the rest of the crowd, Batman's closest allies seem completely committed to only remembering the life of their friend, and not the loss. Somehow, it makes the grief they undeniably feel under their light banter much more profound.
In spite of my attempt to suppress it, an unbelievably morbid part of my psyche begins to wonder if this is how my friends, my family, will look and act at my own funeral someday… if they will value my memory and comfort each other by remembering the times in our lives when all was well, when nothing in the world existed by the fun we could have together and the joy we could bring each other…
A horrifying voice within my eerie mind cuts through my subconscious and gleefully reminds me of just how little joy I have truly brought to my friends in the time we have spent together… of the fire I will soon rain down upon them in the pain of the inescapable… how, in so little time, I will be the cause of an agony that will leave them as nothing but ash and stone, to forever be depicted in the their explicit torture…
Skies will burn, flesh will turn to stone; the sun will set on your world, never to rise again…
A wave of memories and images floods my conscious and it makes my stomach clench in hard, heaving sickness. I stifle back the compelling urge to vomit, but the awful, spinning nausea causes me to drop the teacup that had been precariously resting within my palms.
It crashes to the floor in the kind of slow motion only the horrible inevitable can create. The porcelain splinters in to a thousand glass shards, briefly resembling a russet orchid before diffusing tea and glass in every direction. Oh no…
I do not have to look up from the marble floor to know that every gaze in the room is now directed at me in the awful silence of the inquisitive. So much for remaining inconspicuous…
In the subtle panic of unwanted attention, I quickly bend down and begin scooping the shards of my broken endeavor in to my bare hands, not caring as the glass cuts the skin of my fingers to pieces. Please stop looking at me… please stop looking at me…
Completely absorbed in my empty effort to ignore the stares of a hundred strangers, I do not become aware of a figure beside me until a soft hand reaches out and gently stills my own.
"They'll be no need for that, honey," a warm and husky feminine voice whispers from just above me.
Mortified, I slowly carry my gaze up from the destroyed cup and in to the compassionate jade eyes of a woman whom I loosely remember seeing momentarily at the funeral service standing discreetly between Robin and the butler, Alfred.
"I'm sorry," I say thickly, my voice as monotone as ever.
She smiles and helps me to my feet, "No need to be sorry. Alfred will tell you with a relish that this sort of thing happens all the time." She gestures to the older man beside her, whom I had not noticed before. He's holding a mop and bucket, and smiling as gently as she is.
"Oh yes," he agrees softly, "happens all the time, most principally to Miss Selina."
They exchange jesting smiles and, as they do, a bell rings inside of my head, reminding me of my prior interest as to the identity of the woman whom Robin had mentioned wrote Bruce's epitaph.
I would have to be a moron not to immediately construe that the Selina he had referred to was in fact the woman before me. And, within seconds, I decide that, if they had been anything at all, she and Bruce had been lovers.
Besides the cherished familiarly she visibly shares with her surroundings, the restrained misery of a woman in mourning is glowing sharply from her almond-shaped eyes.
And there is also something else... something very faint in her comportment that ties her to Batman… something indicative of a relationship more intimate than just good friends… something I can not quite put my finger on-
My train of thought is interrupted when Selina's calm consideration returns to my awkward presence. I do not resist as she tenderly takes hold of my hands, raising them between us before turning them palms up, displaying the bloody cuts inflicted in my desperation to avoid the crowds' probing stares.
Selina's quiet intake of breath informs me that my wounds are worse than she had anticipated they would be, and, as I look down upon the gashes, I can not help but be dimly amazed by how much blood a few little cuts can make. Learn something new everyday.
"Come with me, honey," she says as she gently tugs me in the direction of the nearby door, "I'll take care of that for you."
Gratitude rushes like warm water through me as we exit the reception, the eyes of the guests still burning brutal holes in to the back of my tingling neck. There is absolutely no way I'm going back in there.
Selina leads me down a short hallway and through an unobtrusive door that opens to a reveal a large, vacant kitchen. She guides me quietly toward a chrome plated sink, receiving no protest as she places my hands underneath the faucet and turns on the cool water. It hurts for just a moment before beginning to soothe my raw skin.
"So what's your name?" She asks as she reaches down to a cabinet below me and pulls out a miniature first-aide kit. "We have these stashed all around the house," she explains briefly upon noticing my inquisitive glance. Ah.
I nod my head in understanding before answering her previous question. "Raven. My name's Raven." It doesn't even occur to me to use a fictitious name.
"Raven? That's an unusual name," she states as she turns off the faucet and begins closely examining my hands, checking to see if there are any bits of glass still imbedded in my skin. I wince when she does.
"My parents were unusual people." To put it lightly.
"I'm Selina, by the way," she looks up at me for a moment before returning her attention to my wounds, "Selina Kyle."
She takes a nearby towel and begins drying off my wet hands gently. The abrasive fabric of the clean dishtowel makes my skin sting, but I remain expressionless. It's better than being back in the reception.
"So, how did you know Bruce?" She asks casually, although I recognize by her tone that this is a question she has been wondering since well before my accident… Well at least she cuts to the chase…
"I didn't."
"Oh?" She says raising an amused eyebrow, "Just come here for the free tea then?"
"I came here for a friend," I pronounce vaguely, but, after receiving another inquisitive glance, I realize she has no intention on letting me out of here until I've elaborated, so I decide to liberate her curiosity. "Richard Grayson."
She smiles distantly as she begins gauzing and taping my injured hands with the expertise granted to the few who do this sort of thing more often then even they care to admit, "I didn't know Dick had a girlfriend."
Oh God…I flush bright red, embarrassed beyond measure, and instinctively pull my hands away from her gentle grasp and shake my head fervently. "It's not like that," I declare vehemently, surprising even myself by the ferocity in which I proclaim that fact. "We're just friends."
She looks at my skeptically for a moment, as though unable to believe that I could be just friends Robin, before a softened realization flows across her features, "You're a member of the Teen Titan's aren't you?" Gee, and you'd think the name and forehead accessory would give it away…
My expression must have displayed my initial shock at her statement because she did not need to hear me acknowledge it before continuing, "That's what I thought." She smiles conspiratorially, "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody."
I shake off my original surprise and shrug dismissively, "I don't have an alter ego to protect, so it doesn't matter who knows."
Selina opens her mouth to say something but, just as she does, three servants enter in need of some materials from the kitchen.
"How about you and I go to the upstairs drawing room?" She suggests, "I don't really feel like going back in to the reception just yet and I am sure that you don't." How perceptive of you.
I wordlessly agree and follow Selina out of the kitchen and up the grand central staircase.
Although I knew Batman was very rich, I still can not help but be slightly taken aback by the sheer enormity of the Manor and the expensive garnishing around every corner.
Robin's holding back on us, I think dryly as I catch sight of a few randomly placed 15th century Ming vases.
Upon entering the drawing room that Selina has lead me in to, I can not help but be somewhat surprised by how incredibly gothic the room's decorating is, more so than even my own room, which I had previously believe impossible to do. Even Poe would say no one is this dark.
"You'll have to excuse Bruce's taste in decorating," she says, sensing my scrutiny as she opens the heavy burgundy curtains and lets the rays of light stream in, "but, as you can imagine, he was not exactly the sunniest of people." Understatement of the year.
In an attempt to help Selina with her effort to award us with illumination, I stride over to the final curtain and pull on the tassel that spreads the heavy drapes apart. Sunlight floods in and momentarily blinds me with its brilliant disposition.
Once my eyes have adjusted, I can clearly see the vision of dark, ominous clouds in the distance, indicating that, before night falls, we will be graced with a severe thunderstorm. There's the Gotham weather I know and love, I think wryly. That is going to make the drive home a bitch.
Despite my hearty protest and offer to just shadow us here, Robin insisted that we drive the motorcycle Batman gave him for his sixteenth birthday two years ago to the funeral. He said that he 'just wouldn't feel right' arriving in anything else. More like he didn't want to pass up an opportunity to panic the hell out of me.
"Plus," he had said as he strapped his extra helmet on to my head, "if we teleport, people are going to have some questions."
So, being the cream-puff that I have become in regards to Robin's loss, I finally consented and allowed him the satisfaction of hearing me squeal in terror as he rounded corners at 150 mph. How did I know that regret would weigh in heavily somewhere along the line?
"It looks like it's going to rain soon," Selina says, voicing my thoughts as she walks up close beside me.
"Yeah," I say blandly, not turning my eyes from the menacing clouds. Just my luck.
She steps closer to the glass of the window and peers down towards the ground, apparently having seen a flash of something that insisted upon her further investigation, "Oh, well, I see that Babs found Dick," she says nonchalantly to no one in particular.
There are so many things wrong with that statement… "Huh?" I ask as I lean in closer and glance down at the sidewalk below us in an effort to see what Selina is talking about.
My eyes instantly come to rest upon a man whose tousled ebony hair I immediately recognize as Robins' standing with his arms wrapped around a small, red-haired woman in an awkward, but very affectionate, embrace.
His mouth is moving slowly, speaking gentle words of console to the delicate sobbing woman as he begins to rub large, soothing circles in to her shaking back.
She buries her head farther in to his chest as her arms snake up around his neck, her body racking with sadness as she pulls his body closers to hers, her fingers desperately digging in to his thick hair in a gesture that for a moment my tingling skin feels right along with her.
Calmly, I lean forward and rest my head against the cool glass of the window, trying hard to find the will to avert my eyes from the private scene playing before me. I can't.
Unable to turn my eyes away, I watch in the dark attraction of the vicarious as the red-head leans her head back, her mouth forming an intimate, watery smile before placing a gentle kiss on his jawbone… I can feel the heat of his skin and the roughness of his stubble… I can smell his skin like grass and rain…
I close my eyes and suddenly it's like I'm down there with him instead of barricaded so many feet above… Unnecessary panic beats within my veins as I find myself desperate to know him in the same way that the woman below does, to feel his darkness with my own body, to smell his skin for my own experience… I never want to understand why.
A warm hand placed tenderly upon my tingling skin favorably stops the dangerous route of my numb imagination.
I open my eyes and stare up at in to Selina thoughtful features… her eyes conveying a sense of understanding that I can no longer grasp… as though she knows me and my mind in a way I can never even hope too…
For many minutes we are completely silent, time passing swiftly through my slow conscious as I stare in to her benign expression. Something about her in this moment is very familiar to me, or at least should be familiar to me… something I should know and be well acquainted with… something that makes me inadequate for not…
The way she's been so compassionate to a girl she doesn't even know… it's really very tender, almost maternal…
Suddenly, the attachment to Bruce I had not been able to place before snaps firmly in to place and my eyes can not help but widen in surprise. Oh, well that certainly makes things more interesting.
"You're pregnant."
Saying she is galvanized by my monotone declaration might be putting it too simply.
She gasps, placing one hand over her mouth and the other on her abdomen, before stepping back away from me several suspicious feet. I can't really blame her.
There is several minutes of silence before she is composed enough to voice her disbelief. "How did…? But you couldn't possible have… Who told-?"
"-I'm an empath," I interrupt calmly before she can fall in to the hysteria I have no intentions on trying to deal with, "It's flowing through your aura…. I can feel it."
"Feel what?"
The unexpected presence of a third voice startles both Selina and I, and we simultaneously twist around to see a very perplexed Robin standing in the threshold of the door that I hadn't even realized we had left open. That was fast, I think sardonically.
A quick glance from Selina tells me that any mention of our previous discussion will be declared justifiable homicide, so I immediately decide lying would be the best course of action.
"The storm," I say, impressing myself with my own quick thinking, "I can feel the storm that is approaching." Slick.
"Yeah," Robin says as he comes over to the window beside Selina and I, mercifully appearing to believe me, "it looks pretty bad, should make the ride home pretty interesting."
He smirks at my scowl, before looking out the window, his body brushing the length of mine and forcing me to move away from his preventable proximity.
"Why don't the both of you just stay the night?" Selina suggests calmly to my absolute horror, "That way you can be sure to have a safe drive tomorrow."
I have no time to react much less object before Robin speaks for the both of us, "We'd like that," he looks over at me and his eyes implore me imperceptibly, "wouldn't we?"
I'm going to break both of your legs. "Err-"
"-Okay, well, I'll go tell Alfred we're having guests for dinner," Selina interrupts. "Dick why don't you show Raven to the guest room beside yours… let her freshen up before dinner."
Traitor. She quickly escapes before I can even hope to get in a word edgewise, leaving Robin and I alone in the dismal room that is rapidly loosing the relief it shortly provided me.
I close my eyes and lean heavily in to the wall beside me, breathing in deeply in an attempt to calm myself down. Relax. Find your center. It's just one night. It's not the end of the world… Yet. Arguing with him would be pointless, he obviously needs this…just calm down and remember why you are here…
Robins' intense presence moving in closer beside me halts my composed stillness. I swallow impulsively, my eyes remaining closed by their own regard.
"A penny for your thoughts?" His low whisper is nearer than I would have liked.
I open my eyes and raise an eyebrow, "Gee Robin, you're one of the sole stock holders of a billion dollar corporation, one would think you wouldn't be such a cheap bastard." I'm probably being a little brusquer than tact would have presented, but I have too many conflicting emotions in need of meditative restraint to really care.
To my hazy relief, he just smirks. "I prefer the term 'frugal degenerate' myself."
He is becoming far too impervious to my sarcasm.
"So what is on your mind, Raven?" He asks, not allowing me to shrink away from probing questions.
You mean besides the idea of staying overnight in an environment that is gradually becoming my own personal hell? "Actually, I was wondering what it is with you and red-heads."
His eyebrows snap together in what I can only assume is a mixture between befuddlement and irritation, though I have no idea what he has to be irritated with.
I casually point out the window in the general direction of the ground below to help him better understand my inquiry.
He briefly casts his eyes to the sidewalk beneath before paling visibly. "You saw me with Babs…" His jaw is clenched in a curious display of repressed anger.
I nod my head, but find myself eager to avert the continued exploitation of the subject, "And of course there's Starfire..."
At that statement Robins' eyes flash in an emotion I can not identify, "What is it with you people? First Cyborg, now you… I do not have a thing for Starfire."
I raise a skeptical eyebrow, indicating my disbelief at his proclamation.
"Okay," he raises his hands in defeat, "I had a thing for Starfire, but that ended so fast it wasn't even worth mentioning."
I remain insecure in his assurance, but I decide the matter is barely worth discussing much less arguing over so I just raise my hands up in unspoken concession.
Robins' eyes immediately hone in on the bandages wrapped around my wounded hands. His expression sharpens and he steps in closer to me, grasping my wrists and bringing my hands up to his scrutinizing gaze, "What the hell happened, Raven?"
His rough tone makes me wince as I pull my hands timidly back to my body, "It was an accident."
He seizes my wrists once more, much gentler this time, and continues his inspection. The white gauze is stained red making the gashes look worse than they are since my curative powers have taken effect, "Some accident."
"I, uh-" further superfluous explanation ends as he softly brings my hands up farther between us, slowly inclining his head down before placing his warm lips on the inside of each of my pale wrists in the tender succession of soothing reprieve.
I silently gasp as the hushed intimacy of the gesture floods my body and bearing, making my eyelids feel heavy and body shiver. Suddenly the thought of staying the night becomes more tempting than my casual numbness should ever permit.
He gently breaks contact and relief floods the part of my mind still aware of my potential for emotional destruction, and when his hooded eyes meet mine, I become unbearably conscious of the danger he poses to my hard-won control… a danger I never would have thought his familiarity capable of.
"Show me to the guest room, please," I say, averting my eyes from his weighty gaze; my voice remains monotone, veiling my unanticipated understanding of the latent peril floating obliquely at the surface of my psyche.
The air in the room changes abruptly as he nods his head and slowly escorts me out of the room and down the hall.
He leaves me at the door to the guest room beside his; briefly saying he'll see me at dinner, before slowly making his way back down stairs… probably to attend the remainder of the reception. Probably with the red-head.
I open the door and immediately stride over to the unnecessarily large bed, throwing myself facedown on to the crimson feather pillows before releasing the groan of irritation that I have been stifling since the awkward insistent.
I need to meditate, I think as I roll on to my back and stare blankly at the ceiling fan above me.
I sit up and cross my legs, closing my eyes before levitating myself off the bed.
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Titan's of our lives.
To be continued!
Caitlin: Thank you so much. I was terribly afraid people wouldn't like it so I am very glad to see someone did! Hope you continue to read and enjoy!
Majestical: Yeah I really didn't want to dwell too much on the darkness… there will be too much of that later on as it is… plus, in one version I wrote of the chapter, I did do a whole sad, soppy rundown of the event and it just came out awkward. Glad to see you're still reading and enjoying!
Azarathgirl: Glad to see everything worked out! I'm a sucker for happy endings!
Child of Blood: They do belong together, dagnabit! And trust me when I say it is taking every ounce of restraint on my part NOT to have them just start making out already.
The Light of Darkness: I give you a cup of really good tea for getting the Douglas Adams reference, my friend. At the end of the last chapter, one of the reasons I decided to have Raven be kind of obviously comedic was because I really felt like, besides her total awkwardness about the whole situation, she was really just trying to make Robin understand that he didn't owe her anything without actually coming out and saying it. But of course that could just be me desperately trying to make you believe it could happen… (smile) Hope you continue to enjoy!
Shschick07: Thank you so so so so so so very much for your wonderful review! After I reading it, I was like 'Damn, I got to work on my story' so you really helped motivate this chapter. And don't worry about the long review; they are most assuredly my favorite kind! I really just can not express how much I love you for taking the time to write such an inspiring review… I LOVE YOU! And by-the-by, Raven is supposed to be about 17 and four months and Robin is 18 or at least about to turn so. (I know they are a little older than they are supposed to be in the TV show, but just bare with me on this…) Hope you continue to read and enjoy!
Selfless: Since you watch The Honeymooners I officially declare you AWESOME! And also using persnickety will always get you in to the VIP section of my private club… Glad you liked the chapter, as you could tell I was very unsure about it… your review really helped to placate that. Love you to pieces!
Mrazness: Thank you! I'm so happy you weren't disappointed; I was terribly worried everyone would be. Hope you continue to read and enjoy!
Hollywoodstarsandeves: Good to see one of my favorite reviewers again! Glad you liked the chapter… and if worse comes to horrible, I'LL tape the chapters and send 'em to you, hehe! Anyways, I do hope they play 'Birthmark' for you soon… that is going to be the only episode of really any relevance because I've already got my own version of 'The Prophecy' written so I'm going to stray from canon when it comes to the events in that episode… so really the only spoilers will be from 'Birthmark'.
Doza: Yeah, I have to admit that I do feel a bit bad about killing off old Batty. He was good people… Anyways, glad to see you're still interested, hope you stay that way!
The Wings of a Raven: Thank you! Hope you continue to enjoy!
Rinagurl13: I love new reviewers! So nice to know others are reading my little ficcie! Hope you continue to read and enjoy!
Mysti-eyed: Thank you so much! Hope you stick with me!
Zaire: Thank you! Love ya!
Syaoronsangel: Mmmm, cookies. And yes, as you can probably tell by now, Selina is Catwoman. I was always a Catwoman/Batman shipper myself so I figured I'd incorporate it somehow… and plus Selina will be somewhat important in a much later chapter. Love as always!
Miss A. LaRosa: Thank you so much for your lovely review. I appreciate your love of Raven's sarcastic comments and the way she makes light of otherwise depressing circumstances… I figure it's her way of deflecting emotions. Hope you continue to enjoy!
Otakualways: Thanks!
TatsuKitty: Thanks for reviewing! I love to see new people on the board! And yes I agree Robin is much better without the mask….hope you continue to enjoy!
DarkRavenCosmos: Trust me I needed a tissue too. Batty was always one of my favorites as well so it is unfortunate that I had to kill him off… Glad to see you're sticking with me! Hope you continue to enjoy!
Shadow290: I agree… very sad. Hope you continue to read,
Cherry Jade: I am sorry about the shortness of the last chapter, but this one should make up for that, haha! I think this might be the longest chapter yet! I am so horribly sorry for the lack of updating… this week my sister came to visit me so I didn't have as much time to write as I would have liked! Thankfully she's back home now and I once again have copious amounts of time to write my baby. Hopefully the next chapter won't be too far away!
Amethyst Wind: I love to see new reviewers! So glad that you found my fic and are thus far enjoying it! I concede that Raven could be a little more sympathetic, but, from the way I'm playing inside her, I feel that her need to control her emotions and appear nonchalant kind of overrides her sentiments… what I'm really trying to say is 'You're probably right… but please like me anyway!' haha. Hope you stick with me!
Cutter-with-a-cause: You and I would get along well, I think! Haha, anytime there is any amount of Rob/Rae action in a story I'm totally like 'Okay, I love it!' Hope you continue to enjoy!
Rubianca: I'll join you in throwing tomatoes just as soon as I finish this chapter! Haha. Glad to know that one of my favorite reviewers is still impressed! And I can't tell you how cocky it makes me when someone says that I should be a professional writer... Makes me want to strut! Hehe. Hope you continue to enjoy!
Unforeseen: Thank you, thank you! Hope you continue to read!
Suijin: I'm so glad to hear that you can clearly see the events of my story in your head. I really strive for that so it feels so good to know it's working on someone! And it is sooo unbelievably cool that you are sketching any of this out! If you have a scanner you totally have to link me so I can see them. That would just totally rock my world!
Love to all!