Reviews will be answered at the end of chapter…
The girl was two feet fromRichard until he sidestepped and she came to a screeching halt. She was grinning like a maniac just released from the city asylum.
"Hello, new friends! My name is Kori Anders, princess of Tameran. In my homeland, my fellow Tameranians referred to me as Starfire. You may do the same if you wish. What are your names? How many earth years is your lifespan equivalent to? What is your favorite food?" With every question, she bobbed closer. Obviously she had a few personal space issues.
Richard's crystal blue eyes dilated as if he was recently shocked by a taser gun. He recovered and looked to his companion. She quirked an eyebrow, which was her trademark. Richard stepped back slowly and pulled Raven forward. She twisted to glare back at him but he narrowed his eyes to slits and mouthed 'go!' Kori was still smiling, even more so than before.
"Kori-"
"Friend, it is Starfire." She interrupted.
"Starfire, for the next-"
"Are you the black team?"
Both seniors glanced down at their black sashes and Richard could hear Raven gritting her teeth. Her assumption of Michael Strong had been accurate. It made her doubt that the selection of new students was thought out at all.
There was at least one of them each year, a pretty boy that ended up running from the temple because the training was too strenuous. He was a blonde, his hair cut short and spiked. Those brown eyes showed his lack of wisdom but she sensed something different about him, something… buried inside him that she was sure not even he knew of. Raven let it go for now and continued her profiling. Michael was taller than Richard but only by a few inches. She knew her friend would despise that fact for he hated when those of lesser rank could look over his head. How can one be superior when one must crane your neck to yell the appropriate way to do things at them?
"Yes we are, Michael." Raven answered and became confused as his mouth hung open.
"How did you know my name?"
Richard snorted. She wanted to spin around and shout that it was not at all funny, but she would be lying. She ignored it and the previous question and carried on.
"For the next eight weeks, we shall be training you in everything. From tae kwon do to stealth attacks. On your first day of orientation, you were given the rules. Just because we are your peers, does not mean we will give you any leeway in any shape, way, or kind. Do you understand?" Raven rambled off her speech, the same one they had given Brock and Kitten.
The two nodded and she saw the other pupils heading to the dining hall as well as ten first-years under the cherry blossom tree, talking to five monks. The leftovers.
Among them was someone that caught her eye. There was a boy with green skin, green hair, green everything. He looked like a Christmas decoration in his red robe.
"Anyway, my name is Raven Roth and this is-"
"Richard Grayson. If I may recall correctly from the information the third-year students have given me, he is the top of his class and very well-known among our fellow fighters." Kori finished.
"Please don't interrupt me… Starfire. And for reasons of accuracy, we both share that ranking." Raven stated matter-of-factly. Richard finally spoke.
"You have an hour to eat and prepare for training. Go back to your quarters and we will collect you."
"I've heard of Richard Grayson. The guys say that you're a real hard-ass." Michael said out of the blue and Richard smiled.
"Yes, I am. Remember… one hour."
Raven placed a hand on his shoulder and her aura surrounded them. It formed into a black raven and took off into the air.
"That was incredible, was it not?"
"What?" Michael replied, his index finger in his nostril.
The dining hall was in the northern grounds, split into two sections. Tables were set parallel to each other inside the old-fashioned mini-temple. The walls were covered with oil painting of past headmasters, dating back to the early 900's.
The other section was outside, littered with oak trees. Very few people spent their time there, mostly because the highest ranking fourth-years claimed that spot each year and in their free time, they occasionally sparred. No one wanted to disrupt fighting seniors. Inside the building, underclassmen would watch from the windows, hoping to viewa piece of the action.
Last term, Richard and a supervisor from the yellow team, Cyborg his nickname, sparred in the center opens. The rest of the fourth-years observed from the sidelines except for Raven who was supposedly the referee. One would guess it was a private affair, or the reaction was simply for amusement, but once the empath caught them, she sent a wave of black energy their way which landed all onlookers on their backs.
In this area, now in the present, that same black energy flowed in a vertical cylinder until it dissipated completely, revealing the black team.
"What's going on, Rae… Robin?" The cybernetic teen asked. Victor Stone was kindely given the name Cyborg by his friends, namely Richard, immediately after he was seen entering the temple. Over seventy-five percent of his body was layered in metal and at first he despised the name but after Richard received his alias, it grew on him.
Flashback:
"Hey Richard! Get your ass up, man! It's 6:00 already and you know Chase and Lynn'll make us run around the grounds all day! Get up!" Cyborg shouted through Richard's screen that divided their rooms.
Freshman year they shared quarters and a natural dislike of the other had begun forming after only two weeks. Every morning, Cyborg had to scream bloody murder just to wake him up and although it worked, they always managed to be late. Chase and Lynn, their team seniors, ordered them to do laps, at least twenty-five, around the entire school for punishment.
Richard peeked over the thin cotton sheets and saw Cyborg's silhouette.
"I'm up, man. Just go." He grunted and rolled over onto his side.
Victor growled and breathed in deeply.
"You know I can't show up without you. C'mon!" He heard a guttural sound and got no other response. The enraged android violently pushed back the screen and stomped in. There he was, tangled in the navy blue sheet and snoring rather loudly. Cyborg stuck his finger in his mouth, covering it in saliva, and jammed it into Richard's ear.
"What the hell?" Richard twisted and fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap, swiping at his ear and staring up at a laughing Cyborg.
"That's some funny stuff. What is that on your back? A robin?" He indicated the tattoo spread across his shoulder blades that started at the base of his neck.
"It's an eagle, you walking trash compactor. What good is a cybertronic eye if you can't see worth a damn?" Richard insulted in his rage, pushing himself upright.
"It looks like a damn robin to me. I think we should get a second opinion…" He trailed off.
"You wouldn't dare." He dropped his tone, an attempt to intimidate the larger male before him.
"I would… and I will. Oh Raven!" With that Cyborg bolted out of the room and across the hallway to Raven's room with a fuming Richard on his tail.
Cyborg knew of Richard's crush on their next door resident and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion. The way he acted around her made it so obvious.
Mostly everyone was gone for training but Raven also had a problem with getting her partner up in time. Cyborg pounded on the door until his scrawny roommate jumped on his back and caught his wrist. While trying to dislodge Richard from his person, Raven's door swung open.
She was seething from the flames inhabiting her eyes and didn't even greet them with words but her entire demeanor said: 'Don't waste my time, or I'll waste you.'
"What's up, Rae? Did you know our little friend here has a tattoo?" Cyborg's voice was strained but he was clearly being playful. He spun around, showing Richard's back. After he assumed she had seen enough, Cyborg moved to watch her reaction. Her arms were folded across her chest.
"Whatever. I'm already late, so if you could excuse yourselves, Victor… Robin." Raven slammed the door with a tendril of shadow and Richard dropped to the floor.
"I told… you… Robin!" He said between laughs and was gripping both his sides when Robin trudged off.
End Flashback
"It's been four years, can you not stop referring to me as Robin?" He inquired while he and Raven walked closer to their usual group.
Garth was sitting next to the crystal pond with his bare feet soaking in the water. That was his spot and had been since last year. Next to him was a large platter of food: fruits, muffins, etc.. He was the one who carried it outside for them all.
Roy was tossing light blue disks into the air for Karen who was striking them with less intense energy blasts.
Raven scooped up a couple of red apples and flung one across to Robin.
"Will you stop calling me Cyborg?" Cyborg asked, peering down at him. With his artificial components, he could no longer grow but he still remained taller than everyone else no matter how much they grew.
"No."
"Then there's your answer."
The two laughed and the playful tension ebbed as quickly as it came.
Robin watched Raven sit across from Garth, leaning back on her hands, laughing and talking. Jealousy welled up in his chest. Not because of the present but because of their past.
During the second year, Robin had to endure their seven-month relationship without complaint. Maybe it was his fault, as Cyborg had said, with Terra Markov. She was a geokinetic, the only one that had attended the Orion Temple in the past fifty years, and he did ask her out. He didn't know why exactly, maybe it was because Raven seemed to have a growing interest in Garth the previous weeks and Terra was… convenient.
Coincidentally, the next week, word spread that the temple's sorceress and Atlantian were in an exclusive relationship.
Seven months when he wasn't her best friend.
Seven months when he was without her.
Seven months when he was incomplete.
This chapter was a little longer than the last. Okay, the following are explanations:
1.) Kori is thirteen. All first years are.
2.) Michael Strong is an OC and very important to the plot. I'm not sure if I'll allow him any powers.
3.) If you don't know who the green boy is, you just won't know until next chapeter.
4.) Robin was 13 in the flashback therefore… barely struck puberty and scrawny.
5.) Garth (Aqualad), Karen (Bumble Bee), and Roy (Speedy) are the only Titans East characters I will write in. More from them in future chapters. I can'tdo Mas y Menos in any way. If you've read Promotions, you'd see that they have minor rolls. (Hint: They may be the first to be out of the testing.)Plus, they are too young to enter the Orion Temple, so it works out.
6.) The crystal pond has about an eight foot circumference and at the bottom is covered withglowing crystals. It's said to have calming qualities, like aroma therapy but for the eyes.
7.) Garth and Raven's relationship- More info in next chapter. I needed a little bit of drama. THIS WILL BE ROB/RAE!
8.) Terra Markov- I do not like Terra even though she saved the day in Aftershock II. I will tell you though, that she is no longer a student. More info on the reasons why as well as Rob/Terra next chapter.
Reviews:
RavenEmpressofAzarath- Thanks so much. It may be a good start but I am so confused as to where it'll go. I have several options.
FiliaofMortis- The cliffy was not intended, I just got tired of typing and stopped so… I'm just lazy, not evil…. much.
Gilraen Luinuse- Thanks. I didn't want to go overboard with the fantasy world. Raven's overly friendly with close friends and the birds' friendship will be a bit playful, bickering, and immature. Just not in view of everyone. Don't abandon me!
BrokenHummingbirdWings- I'll try to keep things interesting.
Hound Archon- Thank you! I love you, Hound Archon! Good Night!
Sariii- I'm not the most talented writer and I am aware of those mistakes, but with my hectic schedule I have little time to post them, much less correct them. Robin is not a perfect but does have a sense of overconfidence or cockiness, if you will, for future reasons. I want Raven to have telepathic abilities because I see her as a symbol of the mind, finding its secrets and abolishing the fears to help others, like in Haunted. Thank you for your criticism though. I don't want to come off like I'm angry or anything like that. As for being my story's beta-reader, I'll contact you sometime this week if I can.
alena-chan- You reviewed! Yay! I hope this was a good way to handle their first meeting. Richard's wary reaction to Kori might be a little childish but his behavior toward her will change gradually. Not into romance, mind you! Rob and Rae! All the way! Raven is a bit agitated with her already, but not jealous, at least not yet anyway. As for the Promotions update? I really don't know. Thank you!
Please Review,
BirdsOnTheBrain