Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
Whoops, this is probably the longest chapter yet! Sorry for the wait, but it was worth it (I hope). I'll explain in the end of the chapter.
Raven found herself alone in an unfathomably enormous meadow.
Where's Robin?
And the waterfall?
And the woods?
Frantic, Raven sped in circles through the forest of grass, wondering whether the world had grown or whether she had shrunk. Raven kicked with fury. Looking at her feet, she found a snoozing chipmunk with chestnut brown hair and sunglasses.
Maybe I'm going crazy, thought Raven, but the rodent's wearing clothing, too! Looking closer, Raven recognized the chipmunk to be Roy. Where's Robin? she wondered again.
When Roy caught sight of Raven, he leapt back, horrified, blinking his round, inky eyes. "Ruth," he gasped, pointing at her, "why are you a…chipmunk?"
Raven indignantly thought, I'm not Ruth! She found herself examining her face and hands: tiny, claw-topped paws stared back at her, as well as a pointed nose and a long, spiny tail.
What's happening to me? Is this real? she demanded as her eyes shot toward the pale blue dress she wore. Am I in Ruth's mind or something? Soon, words shot out of Raven's mouth without her realizing it. "It must have been my bracelet. It never worked that well anyway."
"How do we change ourselves back?" questioned Roy.
Raven shrieked, "I don't know!" Feeling an impulse to cover her mouth, Raven concluded, I'm definitely in Ruth's body.
Glancing at Roy, she saw him mouth something, but she had no chance to interpret it.
He and the meadow disappeared in a purplish swirl.
The phenomena wrenched Raven from the scene.
Shreds of grass rose high above her head. She recognized the vengeful waterfall and the grouping of trees before her. Despite her flood of relief, uncertainty remained to disrupt her mind.
Why do I feel so small now? she grunted.
Hoisting herself up, Raven shoved the towering grass aside, revealing a vast patch of moist dirt. Jagged rocks and plump beetles sprinkled its mucky surface. Raven grimaced, watching the insects trudge through the soil.
Cupping her mouth, she called, "Robin!"
Dragging her feet past the mud, Raven searched for her lost friend. She panted from the laborious ordeal, refusing to abandon Robin. Her pace quickened, and she struggled further.
"Rob –" she repeated before tripping on a passing earthworm.
Cussing, Raven wiped the dirt from her face and recognized a furry mound with a black item of clothing draped over its back. She crept toward the foreign object, poking it with a white finger. The furry mound stirred and groaned. Raven perceived a black and white mask.
"Robin?" she gasped.
At the sound of his name, the Boy Wonder looked up with his muddied face, eyes bulging at the sight.
A tan mouse with a blue cloak laid on its back gazed back at him. The creature bore a white chest, and white feet and paws, sustaining its own silence. Robin gulped.
What's going on?
A muffled rustling stabbed the quiet. Robin noticed the mouse's violet eyes, and one name crawled into his mind: Raven.
Wavering, Robin murmured, "Raven?"
Still consumed with appall, she nodded. "Robin, we're…"
"Mice," he finished. "Yeah."
From afar, one can distinguish two clothed, tan rodents idiotically gaping at one another.
Raven cleared her throat after visually examining Robin in his cape and mask, feeling insecure about, well, their natural bareness. After all, Robin's street-light uniform had seemed to dissolve away, as did Raven's skin-tight leotard.
"Y-you better wash up," she flashed at him.
Nodding without a word, Robin stumbled to the nearby river.
Raven pondered her outlandish dream, fingering the navy, Gnizoija jewel on her trinket. My necklace must have had something to do with it, Raven thought. After all, it doesn't seem to work right...
The river soothed Robin's nerves while he stared at his mousy reflection, picking at small sand granules from his fur.
What an adventure, he marveled. I just hope it ends though.
Walking toward Raven's seat in a shaded area, he conjured a casual tone and greeted her.
Eyeing him, she commented, "You look much better."
"Yeah," he replied, scratching his pink ear. "You know, we should get back to the others. They're probably wondering why we've been gone so long."
"All right." Raven pulled her cloak around her, marching forward before halting. "Which way do we go?" She tossed an expectant glance at Robin.
Pausing, Robin pointed with an unsteady finger, "I'm sure it was this way." He turned to the left.
Interpreting the direction, Raven cautioned, "You better be right about this," while trying to direct her eyes from Robin's bare chest.
Robin gave a brief chuckle, eyes twitching.
A deafening uproar manifested from the Teen Titans' camp.
"ROBIN!" yelled Starfire, floating about the area. "RAVEN!"
Beast Boy's pupils shrank as he forced his index fingers into each ear. "Star, you don't have to shout so loud!"
The alien withered away, ashamed. "My apologies, but we must find Robin and friend Raven."
"She's right, B.B.," Cyborg concurred. "All our tracking devices are back at the tower, and we can't afford to wander in these parts. We might get lost, so we might as well shout as loud as we can."
As futile as it was, Beast Boy complained, "Oh, come on! Why doesn't anyone ever take my side!"
Noticing his friends' ear-splitting performance, Beast Boy morphed into a might lion and roared.
Preoccupied, no one recognized a long creature slide toward the three titans. Displaying its keen fangs, the beast bit Beast Boy's ankle before sweeping away, unnoticed, its dark scales gleaming.
The green teenager yelped. "Aw, man! Something bit me!" he remarked at his friends' questioning glances.
Starfire's lips curled back at the crimson blood. "Do not worry, for I shall fetch the 'First-Aid device'," she announced and soared into the cabin.
Beast Boy observed the blood spill from the two miniature wounds, wincing as Cyborg inspected them.
Rubbing his chin, the half-robot noted, "Well, it looks like an animal bite."
"No, DUH, Cy!" scowled Beast Boy.
Neglecting the stinging insult, Cyborg continued, "It must have been an animal with sharp teeth. Let's hope there's no poison."
"POISON!" Beast Boy's face shriveled up in fear.
Starfire returned with the First-Aid. "Please, how does this work?" she inquired, holding a bandage. Pointing at the cotton ball, she asked, "Is this the fluffy, sweet treat people consume at the 'Park of Amusement'?"
"Look, Star, let me handle it, okay?" interfered Cyborg, dabbing Beast Boy's punctures with alcohol, which he had to coax Starfire into not drinking.
Beast Boy thrashed his arms like a toddler in a bathtub as an intense agony spiraled through him. Creases formed at the corners of his eyes when he clamped them shut. Clenching and flattening his hands, he queried, "Is it done yet?"
"Almost…" reassured Cyborg, sealing the minor injury with a bandage while Starfire gazed inquisitively.
Thrilled, she acknowledged, "Oh! I see this device is for healing purposes, yes?"
"Done," declared Cyborg.
Patting the bandage, Beast Boy grinned and chortled. "Thanks, Cy. You're the man!"
Garnering a modest expression, Cyborg noted, "It was nothing, really. After all, it was just a stupid animal bite."
A glower smeared on Raven's fuzzy face promoted a discouraging atmosphere. She crossed her arms, twitching her white paws and eyeing Robin's swishing tail as she walked.
"Robin, face it," she spat. "We're lost."
Facing Raven, the masked mouse retorted, "No we're not! It's just gonna take a while, that's all."
Raven identified his irritation.
"Let's keep on going," he instructed.
Maneuvering past the sprouts of dull greenery, Raven had one episode in mind: the outrageous encounter where she and Robin…almost kissed. The idea frightened her yet also coated her with longing.
It must be this transformation, Raven concluded impulsively. It must've messed up my head.
Determined to shove the memory away, Raven was unaware of Robin sniffing the air. She collided with him, but he remained immobilized.
"Raven," he began, "do you smell something?"
Lifting a brow, Raven asked, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know. There's just this funny feeling in my nose. C'mon, try it yourself and tell me what you think."
Inhaling a rapid gust of air, Raven indeed smelt something – something coming. The sky dimmed. When she looked above, she distinguished gray, billowing clouds bundled together. "Robin," she admitted, "I think a storm's coming. We should find some shelter."
"What! But what about finding our way back to the others?" Robin objected.
"There's no time for that now. We have to find somewhere to hide!" Seizing Robin's arm, Raven dragged him as a noise erupted from above them. "I guess it's a thunderstorm," she informed him, hurrying.
The roar of the lightning startled Robin, so he scrambled after Raven until they were side-by-side, their capes and tails sweeping behind them.
Determined to find cover, Raven unintentionally smashed a thorn. "Ow!" she bawled, hopping on one foot.
Robin stood by her side, a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Squinting, Raven said, "I stepped on a thorn."
"Here, let me carry you."
Raven allowed Robin to hold her without griping. She embraced short neck while her legs dangled from his right arm. Robin felt his face warm.
Raven ordered, "Go to the right!"
Robin turned, passing a cluster of mushrooms as the rain splattered them. "Hey, Raven, I have an idea. Let's hide under a mushroom!"
"What?" she babbled. "No thanks. I'd rather find a tree. Keep going!"
Robin challenged, "Come on, Raven. While we've been walking, have you ever seen another tree?"
A lull followed.
"Exactly. So why don't we find a big enough mushroom and hide under it?"
"Fine," Raven surrendered in a scornful tone.
Robin bolted back to the mushrooms.
"These are too small!" observed Raven.
Her friend disagreed. "No, there's a big one over there! Let's go!" Holding Raven close, Robin raced toward the fungus, dripping wet, as he heard another shriek of thunder.
He climbed under the mushroom's crown and set Raven down. "Here, let me take care of that," the Boy Wonder offered, tearing a long strip from his cape. Reaching for Raven's foot, he wrapped the strip around it.
"Thanks," mumbled Raven. "When do you think this storm's going to end?"
Robin confessed, "I don't know. It might take a while."
Several raindrops dripped from the mushroom's crown.
"You know –" resumed Robin, but he stopped when he caught Raven's lovely, lavender eyes gazing at him. He gulped at how her face was dangerously near.
She whispered, "Yes, Robin?"
Helpless, Robin found his eyes circulating around Raven's purple ones. He forgot about everything else: the storm, their transformation, and the possibility of never reaching the others. Nonetheless, he did not care. He extended his arm to touch Raven's cheek as she inched closer. Tentatively, Robin did the same. Shifting forward, he felt a wonderful pressure under his lips. Raven wrapped her arms around his neck and fiddled with his hair, loving the taste of Robin's lips. Intoxicated, Robin inhaled Raven's sweet aromas.
The storm raged on, but neither seemed to notice.
A/N: Whew! They finally kissed! Tell me what you think!
"Gnizoija" (pronounced "nee-zoi-HA") is the name of the type of stone the gem on Raven's necklace is made out of.
The update was longer than usual because I had already written the prologue and the first four chapters previously. All I had to do was revise and post them, which didn't take that long. However, I had not started chapter 5 (or the later chapters) at all, so posting it took longer. Sorry!
Shortieluvsgg, I don't want to give too much away about Ruth and the book because that would kind of ruin the story, but it's not Raven's life before the TT at all. Mysteriousmagic, thank you so much for reviewing! Take care! Neetfreek, the chapters are supposed to be short, but thanks for the review! I was trying to be befuddling, but it will clear up! X Acheron X, I edited the brown smoke part because I didn't think it fit, so you can check out Rising Emotions again! Blackfire 1108, I don't want to tell you who Carl O'Imh is yet because that would totally ruin the story, but I'm glad you like it! T-Birds-AM, I'm touched that you love the story!