Tears Are For Lovers
IV: Goddess Garb
.o-o.o-o.
Early in the morning, two figures exited Robin's study and made their way towards the kitchen, each wishing for a good, hot cup of coffee. The taller one, with a shock of fiery hair, led the way. Behind her, trailing by a few respectful footsteps, was a young boy in a black cape. In his hands were clutched a leather-bound manual and a couple of printed papers.
They had spent the night over his desk, consulting several different information sources about the legitimacy of the Tamaranian legend, until they had both fallen into an uneasy sleep atop their work. After a couple hours of rest, not nearly enough for the hungry teen bodies, they awoke to the rumbling of the computer and a tremendous cold caused by an open window. Groaning, they pushed themselves away from the desk, closed the window, and decided caffeine was the best way to go.
Hours later, when the sun peeked beyond the eastern horizon with its usual stolid ascent, another teammate descended the stairs of the control room to find Starfire and Robin murmuring to each other over the pages of a yellowing book.
"Yo... did I miss something?" Cyborg grabbed a waffle iron from a cabinet and studied them over the preparation of his breakfast. "Any reason you two are up this early... talking?"
Cy wasn't stupid, nor was he blind. Everyone on the team could feel the currents of attraction running between Starfire and Robin. Thus, he had ample reason to be suspicious.
Robin looked up at him gravely. Forgetting his food, Cyborg slid into the seat across from Starfire. "What's wrong?"
He expected Robin to answer, but Starfire suddenly turned her luminous eyes on him. "It seems," she said slowly, "that I am divine."
"Girl, I know you're beautiful and all, but divine?" joked Cyborg, the humor faltering when Robin glared at him. His leader pushed the book towards him, pointing to a shaky illustration next to a page describing a Tamaranian goddess. There, in billowing robes, stood Starfire, her hands lifted to the sky and her lips parted in song. Behind her, lightning scored the ground and fire rose in waves. Though tattoos marred her skin, and a heavy, thick torc hung about her neck, the resemblance was there. The eyes, the set of the jaw, the nose, the slope of her body, it was all Starfire.
And what was more disconcerting was that, upon further scrutiny, Cyborg realized Picture-Starfire was dressed in a white, empire-waist, translucent gown.
"Holy... this is you?"
Starfire nodded.
"I dunno if I can believe this, Star," Cyborg said, struggling to comprehend the implications of what he'd just learned. As if on cue, Beast Boy entered.
"Good morning people, what's with the mopey faces?"
"It's your turn to spread the news, my friend," said Starfire, her hand on Cyborg's shoulder. Then she rose and went to the computer, Robin falling into step behind her.
Cyborg turned. He was to be the bearer of the tidings, he knew, from that contemplative gaze Starfire gave him.
"Well…."
.o-o.o-o.
They wouldn't miss her. She could stay in her room and heal herself and they wouldn't bother to check in until later, when they realized finally who was missing. It would be fine. The whole Tower was in an uproar, after all. Beast Boy was yelling himself hoarse, and Cyborg's voice was rising to match his. Something was happening outside that preempted any effort to lure her out of her room.
She'd be safe here, wrapped in her sheets and cowering.
Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.
She had mended and restored herself. Every stretch of tattered thought was meticulously patched. Every memory, every prejudice, and every conviction held itself in harmony again. But her trust in her own powers, her belief in her ability and the sanctity of her self was shattered as surely as a crystal vase cast to pieces on a black, marble floor.
Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.
Perhaps she should go back to the home of her youth and find her mother, her mentor, and the monks, so she can shield herself in their peaceable, flinty armor—their strength. But she was too weak to move from her hunched position on her bed, much less cross dimensions into her old home. So Raven resigned herself to her gnawing apprehension and the repetition of the three words that meant the preservation of her sanity.
Azarath, Metrion—"I'm sorry."
His voice stunned her out of her trance, and Raven opened her eyes with a fair amount of foreboding.
A man was standing in the corner of her room, his face sunk in shadows. "I'm sorry, dear one, for hurting you."
"Who—who are you?" asked Raven, scrambling back to push herself against her headboard. A stranger had somehow teleported into her room.
He shook his head. "My name is too archaic to use. You may call me Vyler if you'd like. It's as close to my original name as possible. You need not know who I am for the moment, but I was the one who damaged you. I'm sorry."
She regained some of her courage as he spoke, and her features narrowed into a glare at his apology. "Sorry won't do you any good, not now."
"I know. But please let me make it up to you." He reached out, moving his hand slowly until she could see his skin, so pale she could see intercrossing veins and rock-rigid muscle. "You have no reason to trust me, but I'd like to help you reconstruct your mind."
"Get out. Get out now. I'm not interested in what you have to say."
"Consider it, please."
"No. If you are the one who invaded me, then you'll not get a second chance to do so. Get out." Raven began to tremble, her lips shaking with rage and exhaust. "Leave me alone."
"I can't do that, not when I have to suffer the guilt of what I did to you. I didn't know, not until you finally spoke to me."
"I… I what?"
"When you told me to stop. I couldn't hear you before that, if you did speak at all. Your voice is quiet, and I wasn't used to the conditions in your new mind."
"My new mind?"
"…" The silence trailed on as they came to a standstill. Neither were willing to concede to the will of the other.
"How can I trust you," said Raven at last, making an overture of peace, "if you won't show your face?"
He smiled in amusement. Raven could see his smile because all of a sudden the shadows pulled away and there he was, his hands loose at his sides and the most peculiar expression in his face, something akin to the doting expression of a parent. "Happy?"
Raven's arms fell slack as she stared at his perfect features. His face was beautifully proportioned, his eyebrows slanting up under dark, long lashed eyes. A straight, thin nose and resolved cheekbones followed, and his lips, as they moved, were the most captivating things she'd ever seen. She was positive that there had never been, nor would there ever be again, a man as beautiful as he.
He advanced, catching her unawares, and took her temples into his hands, closing her eyes and reaching into her mind. This time he was gentler, strengthening her inner web and bending her pliant inexperience into a great structure of elegance and power. He invested ability in each gap between the webs and wove a cocoon of magic around them. Soon, they were both lost in the humming music of their psyches, their sense of self lost as each current of crescendoing melody struck the chords of their souls, and old capabilities reawakened.
.o-o.o-o.
"Where is Raven?"
Starfire looked around the little assembly, the hairs on the back of her neck rising with precognition. Something was horribly incorrect. "Where is our friend?"
"She probably has something to do," said Robin offhandedly, shifting the weight of the book in his lap. He flipped to another page and read about Tamarianian rites of sacrifice.
"That is not good, Robin. She should be here with us as we embark on this discovery, for if she is not, she will surely miss out."
"She'll deal." Beast Boy noted in the margins of a print-out background information on Tamarianian religion.
"I believe we should find Raven and involve her in this." Starfire's face grew dark. "Something may be up in the air."
"I think Star's right," said Cyborg, ignoring the alien girl's grammar mistake. "Raven needs to be here. This is important."
Robin sighed, marked the page of the book he was reading, and slammed the tome shut. "Then let's go get her, shall we?"
They rose, Cyborg and Robin and Starfire, single-mindedly heading towards Raven's room.
Beast Boy followed, dragging his feet...
...until he heard a scream.
.o-o.o-o.
Disclaimer: As soon as any of you can prove this is mine, I'll do the cancan. No, even better, Raven and Stalker-Guy will do the can-can. Until then, TT is not mine.
Author's Note: This chapter is noticeably shorter (at least for me) than the other ones. Perhaps because I am lazy and right now, it's 5PM and I want to go to bed. (Yes, I want to go to bed at five. I stay up till 2 AM anyway, so I need my sleep.) I've got the next chappie plotted out, so yeah. And sorry for the slow update. Tests and after-school activities really put a strain on you. Oh, and by the way, Raven is stronger than she appears in this chapter. She was just mesmerized by the guy, Vyler. Till next time, this is Velvet.
Thanks to: diva of the opera, Lady of the Sands, Burning Children, Scorpiored112, StargazerSarah, ChocolateCurlz, OptimusChrist
The rest of you, PLZ comment. I'd like to know how you feel about this fic. My next update will be soon, I promise. You