Chapter 2: Storm Vision
Raven continued to stare out the window. Storms fascinated her. They were bundles of unbridled chaotic energy beyond her control. She'd often sat on the roof of the tower and watched the thunderstorms parade across the ocean. The hurricane possessed all the fury of the other storms she had ever watched, but it was different, instead of chaos she felt order.
Hurricanes are fragile things. Their existence hinges on a perfect set of conditions. When those conditions do occur, the storm's fury builds, feeding upon itself making it stronger and more menacing. Raven could feel the storm focus and build its power as it swept across the ocean. Outside the sea was an angry frothing beast, brought to life by the storm's constant battering winds. Beyond the rain-swept swells Raven could feel the stillness of the eye of the storm, the center and focus of all the fury surrounding it.
A harsh rain-swept burst of wind slammed into the tower and obscured Raven's view. A sudden wave of nausea swept over her. Raven's chin dropped to her chest and her eyes closed as the glass panes violently rattled in front of her. She put her hand on the cool pane of glass to steady herself.
Slowly a vision came into focus. Raven stood in a small clearing surrounded by enormous trees. Blinding sunshine fell from the azure sky above her. Something dropped over her left shoulder and settled in the grass. The wind jostled her hair as a shadow quickly darted through the tall grass in front of her. A large eagle sliced though the air. Once he passed overhead, his wings swung up and thrashed forward several times as he settled in the grass. The eagle turned, neatly folded its wings and then focused a pair of clear yellow eyes on her. Raven stood motionless not quite sure what to do. This eagle was very large. It leaned forward, took a step towards her then cocked its head focusing its eyes near her feet. Raven looked down on the ground trying to determine what caught the bird's attention. Her eyes focused on a serpentine form in the grass several feet in front of her. Curiosity overcame her and she stepped forward, reached down and pulled the object from the grass.
It was a belt of some kind with shell fragments sewn into its face. She firmly grasped one end of the belt and slid her hand towards the other end feeling the bumpy polished surface of the belt. The black and white shell fragments formed a complicated geometric pattern that she couldn't quite make out. As she rotated the belt to get a better look at it the belt's pattern appeared to change. A slight wind hit her face and the belt began to oscillate slowly between her hands. Raven felt as if her surroundings had begun to swirl around her. She looked up and noticed the trees surrounding the clearing were swaying in one direction as if a large whirlwind had descended on the forest. The air in the clearing was strangely still.
The belt began shaking violently between her hands. Raven had a sinking feeling that she had fallen off center, that she had lost control. She tried to pull the ends taunt to stop the belt from oscillating but that only seemed to make the belt to shake even more. Raven looked up and saw the eagle craning its head forward as if suddenly concerned. The light in the clearing began to fade as storm clouds suddenly enveloped the sky above her. The clearing began to contract and the trees appeared to descend upon her. The eagle screamed and began bounding towards her. Raven looked down at the belt. The ends had wrapped tightly around her forearms. She could not let go.
The clearing closed in on her entirely and the loud roar of the raging winds in the trees completely engulfed her. Rain began hitting Raven's face stinging her harshly. She closed her eyes but could not raise her hands to shield herself from the pelting rain. The belt had worked its way up her arms and slowly constricted around her chest. She could feel the tethered ends work their way around her legs and slowly encase her entire body like a cocoon. Raven fought to fill her lungs as the entire forest collapsed upon her. She thought she could hear the eagle scream behind the roar of the wind. When she listened closely she realized it was her voice trying to rise above the din. She slowly suffocated as the storm consumed her and squeezed out the last bit of life. As the sounds of the storm slowly receded Raven heard a woman's voice echo in the darkness.
"Raven? Are you all right?" Robin lightly taped her shoulder. Raven opened her eyes and saw her reflection in the window and beyond it the churning ocean crash onto the island's shore. Her hand was still on the glass. She removed it and quickly straightened up and tried to gather her composure. "I'm ok", she said unconvincingly. "I'll be in my room." Robin thought he caught a small stumble as she stepped away. Her cape flowed behind her as she made her way out of the main room. The others caught a brief glimpse of her face as she exited. Robin kept his silence knowing better than to inquirer about what had just happened.
"What's up with her?" Beast Boy said looking at Robin.
"I'm not sure, she looked like she saw a ghost", Robin replied.
"Gee I thought that make her happy", retorted Beast boy. He reached down, grabbed his drink and took a swig.
"Oh shut up will ya." Cyborg casually swung his hand smacking Beast Boy's drink spilling it over his shirt. In Cyborg's mind the comment was totally unnecessary. He always felt there was something going on between them but he never understood why Beast Boy continually antagonized her.
Beast Boy pulled himself away from his drink attempting to limit the damage. "Hey, what's that for?"
"Ok guys, that's enough." Robin interrupted trying to get a hold of the situation before it got out of hand. He was pretty sure Raven hadn't heard Beast Boy's snide comment so a major catastrophe had been averted for the moment.