The props keep coming:
Fatcat11388: Thank you! Perhaps this story has some life left in it yet. (Brain: He'll be sure to kill it.) Hope you like where it goes next…(evil laughter.)
Lady of Faerie (& her evil sidekick): What can I say to you that I have not already? You are one of my favorite reviewers (but you knew that.) I can always count on you to amuse and/or confuse me! Love ya!
E1: Thanks! I wrote some more—hope it does not scare you away…
DM: Thank you, my friend! I don't recall…do you hate yuri? If so, better leave now…
Bunnysquirrel: Ha! I fear no small, furry animal! But brain hates cockroaches…
Visigoth: Dude! It was a joke… (Brain: Not a very good one…) Hey—you know I value your input. (Brain: cough hack wheeze …yeah…)
Saint H: Correct. Robin correctly surmised that Starfire's 'abstain' was a yes vote she was afraid to voice. Now, you know BB would never hit a girl…besides, he would get his ass kicked!
Terra Logan: You're so sweet, the way you insult me and then make up in a half-assed manner. Might as well go away—you're gonna hate this chapter…
Rev. Malcore: Lazy? What is that? (Brain: He's so lazy, he doesn't remember…) Thanks for the props, though…
Lives4life&love: Thanks! Um…yeah…I think you may go back to that original opinion after you read this chappie…
Teentitan/truefriend: Thanks! You are too kind! (Brain: Really.) Don't worry, she stays…but…
Purr-fit little angel: Hmmm…Raven and who? I think I got it wrong…
Tira's host: Thanks! (I think.) (Brain: I notice we share something in common…you have an irritating host also…)
Katie-chan the innocent perv: Thanks! Perhaps you will like this chapter (judging from your name…)
X-Titan: Thanks! I finally did it! Updated, that is. Although the story takes quite a different tack, this time around…
Raven101: Okay, you talked me into it…
Bbluver: Yeah…they become, like, best friends, or something…
"Raven, can I come in?" Terra fidgeted in front of the dark girl's door.
"Why?" Raven called out, without moving from her chair, where she was reading a book on alchemy.
"I just-I just wanna talk?" The little blonde dithered.
Raven scowled. "About what?" she snarled.
Terra considered leaving, but pressed on-she really needed to talk to another girl, and somehow, she did not feel that Starfire was up to the task. "I need your help. With Beastboy." There-she had said it.
Raven perked up. 'This could be interesting,' she thought. "Yeah, okay." She moved to her door, and opening it halfway, motioned in the telekinetic earthmover. The sorceress sat on her bed, and invited Terra to take a seat next to her.
Terra sat, nervously looking around, avoiding the dark girl's piercing gaze.
Raven sighed, and trying to soften her usual threatening countenance somewhat, attempted to subtly suggest that Terra begin the conversation. "You did have something to talk about...?"
"Yeah; heh-heh." Terra blushed. "Sorry, I guess everyone has me kinda scared of you."
Raven blinked, slowly, and continued to stare at the Titan's recent addition.
"Umm...You know that BB likes me..." She started," really likes me?"
"You noticed?" Raven said, caustically, raising one eyebrow slightly. She folded her arms on her chest, a defensive measure, reminding her to control her impatience. Unfortunately, that had the effect of making Terra even more nervous and self-conscious.
"Well, I-I don't know how to tell him..." She spoke haltingly, faltering, "I like him, and all. I really do, but I don't really like him like that, you know?"
"Ah...no." Raven was enjoying Terra's obvious discomfort. "Why don't you tell me?"
"Why do you have to be mean, Raven?" The tiny girl's eyes started to tear up. "I try to like you. I want to be your friend. I need you to be my friend."
"All right-sorry," mumbled the dark one. "Just tell me, what is the point?"
Terra sniffled slightly. "I like Beastboy, as a friend. He's great, you know? He's funny, and easy to hang out with, but I don't feel any attraction to him. I don't want to lead him on, but I don't want to hurt his feelings."
"Just tell him the truth. He'll get over it." Raven stated simply, if perhaps a bit unsympathetically. Seeing the look of horror in the face of her petite teammate, however, made her reconsider. "Look, no one else can do it for you, so you just have to tell him. Believe me, I know how annoying he can be, but he is resilient, if nothing else. And you said you don't want to lead him to get his hopes up."
"Yeah," said Terra, sadly. She got up and turned to leave. "Sorry I bothered you for such a stupid reason, I just didn't think anyone else would understand."
Raven sensed that Terra was speaking truthfully. She genuinely respected Raven's opinion. "Terra," She said. "Wait."
Terra stopped and turned back to face Raven, sniffling. "Huh?"
"I know things haven't been easy for you," started the sorceress, trying not to show too much sympathy. "If you want to stay and talk about it..." She scowled slightly. "I know I haven't exactly been-ah-supportive."
Terra hesitantly closed the space between them. "It's okay," she said shyly, "I kinda rub you the wrong way, sometimes, I know." She smiled a bit.
"Yeah, I guess you do," the dark girl said, smiling slightly herself. "I have a bit of a reputation to that effect, myself."
Terra giggled at Raven's joke. "We're kind of alike in some ways, huh?"
The last comment was met with a bemused expression from Raven. "I have to admit, you may be right," she said. "As much as I hate to admit it..." she trailed off, softly.
"Maybe, sometime, we could go...shopping or something?" Terra suggested, nervously wringing her hands. She averted her eyes to the floor.
Raven shook her head yes. "Sure. So, since you and BB...is there anyone else?"
The slender blonde blushed prettily. "Heh-yeah. But I think I better go." She seemed hurried, almost stumbling as she rushed for the door. "Thanks Rae," she called over her shoulder, as she disappeared around the corner.
Raven shook herself. She had gotten a strange flash of clairvoyance just as Terra had declared her need to leave the room, but the image didn't make sense: a luminous golden entity, her long garment billowing behind her...
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Sighing, Raven settled down on the edge of the roof of Titans Tower. Another long day, and she needed to relax, to meditate.
Brother Blood was on the move again, and the team had been forced to deal with not one, but three of the well-trained HIVE squads in the same day, and were not entirely successful. Although they had jailed one unit of four, another squad had successfully gotten away with a robbery of high-tech electronics, and their nemeses, the squad of Mammoth, Jinx, and Gizmo, had been thwarted, but they had escaped. The Titans were left wondering if they had done any good at all: the two unsuccessful capers may have been diversions, after all...
The dark girl had finally cleared her mind, and was simply relaxing, when she heard the roof door open. Without turning, she opened one eye. "Starfire?" she inquired.
"N-no. It's me, Terra." The powerful little blonde replied hesitantly.
Raven opened both eyes, and reluctantly made contact with the roof, turning to face her teammate. "It's okay," she said carefully, "I completed the essential phase of my meditation."
Terra smiled shyly at that-practically a written invitation, coming from the temperamental sorceress. As she advanced toward Raven, the dark girl noticed the redness around her friend's eyes, and streaking of her eyeliner.
"You told him?"
Terra nodded in the affirmative. "He hates me," She sobbed. "First, he wouldn't listen-he didn't believe me..."
"Then he refused to allow you to leave, and he got angry," continued Raven.
Terra nodded, eyes filling with tears. Raven moved toward her, extending a hand, gently resting it on the shuddering girl's lissome shoulder.
"Oh, Raven," the slight blonde cried, lunging into the arms of a startled sorceress.
Raven allowed her to cry; hesitantly putting her hands on the slender blonde's head, sensing that Terra really needed her. She could sense the genuine anguish emanating from the geokinetic one.
Terra muttered a few unintelligible words, in between sobs. Raven felt ill at ease as it was, with a mournful young girl clinging to her; the vague feeling she got from Terra's words added to the sorceresses' discomfort.
Raven deliberately forced herself to place her hands on the slight blonde's shoulders, attempting to act in a kindly manner. She patted one shoulder gently, speaking softly: "It's okay, he'll be okay. You'll be okay. Umm...you're getting my shirt wet." She forced a pained smile, as Terra lifted her head to stare into Raven's eyes.
The fragile little yellow-haired girl evinced an expression of such pain-such a depth of misery, that Raven's breath caught in her throat. The younger girl tried to smile through her tears, sheepishly removing herself from her teammate's chest. She touched the wet spot on the dark girl's chest wonderingly.
Raven restrained an involuntary gasp, as her nipple hardened at the tender touch of the other girl's hand.
Terra recoiled in shock, as she realized she was fondling Raven's breast. "S-sorry-" she gulped, stuttering. "Shit," she swore softly, "I'm such an idiot!" Her face assuming a deep shade of red, she turned and fled to the safety of the tower.
She never looked back to see her teammate still rigidly fixed in the same spot, her expression a bit dazed...
Raven finished her interrupted meditation. Her thoughts were still confused and conflicted. She couldn't seem to get in touch with her feelings about the 'incident' with Terra, and was therefore deeply disturbed by it. Why had she even made that crack about the wet uniform to her friend? She had intended to comfort the little blonde, such as it was. And why had she allowed Terra to touch her? From the younger girl's reaction, she had obviously not intended anything by it. But then, why had her touch been...no! She wouldn't allow her thoughts to go in that direction.
Sighing slightly, the dark-haired one descended the staircase slowly, vaguely heading in the direction of her room. As much as she hated to admit it, meditation was probably not going to be enough. A trip into the dreaded mirror was needed.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthossssssss…." The darkness engulfed her, and spit her out. Another hard landing. It seemed that she would never grow accustomed to the damn landings.
Raven surveyed her surroundings. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Dark, disjointed fragments of land floated in inky nothingness. In response to gentle prodding from her mind, a pathway assembled itself in front of her, leading to the place of meetings…
Terra flew as fast as she could go, the wind whipping the tears from her eyes, her goggles forgotten in her haste. She finally reached a familiar cave, and settled down to do some thinking.
"Why did I have to touch her like that? I'm such an idiot! I can't go back now-she'll hate me for sure." Terra pounded a few rocks to dust on the opposite wall of the canyon, for emphasis. "And just when she was being nice to me…what am I going to do?"
The first to appear was clad in yellow.
"Knowledge? I'm surprised to see you here first."
"You're welcome. I managed to sidetrack Happy and Lust for a while." The goggle-eyed one looked up from her clipboard at Raven. "Of course you are here to discuss your newly-discovered feelings of-er-tenderness toward Tara."
"Terra. Yeah. I'm a little confused. I've already had several emotional encounters with her, and nothing has been destroyed. Do you have any idea why?"
"Tara is her real name-you know that. And no, I don't know exactly why you are able to suppress your powers while experiencing emotional overload with the girl." Was Raven just imagining, or was Knowledge baiting her with sarcastic remarks? "I do have a theory, however…if you are interested."
"Of course I'm interested! That's why I came here!"
Knowledge continued. "I think it may be a combination of factors that are in play. Happy, of course, is ecstatic, and wields more power. Lust is overjoyed. Evil seems somewhat satiated by the sexual tension in the air. And confidence seems to have gained a lot of-well-confidence. She and Booyah have been hanging out with Timid. They seem to even have improved her self-image a bit." Knowledge blinked her eyes behind huge magnifying lenses.
"So, you think that the increase in self-confidence is helping me to control my powers?" Raven did not seem convinced.
"Love is a very powerful emotion…"
"Love! Who said anything about Love!" Raven spluttered. "I am not in love!"
"Of course. I expected that you would choose to deny-"
"I am not in love! With anyone! Certainly not…not…Terra…" Raven drifted into thought.
The cave was in complete darkness when Terra awoke. She stretched aching limbs, sore from lying on the cold, hard ground. Her dirty face was tear-streaked from all the crying she had done before falling asleep. Still feeling weepy, she sat, still contemplating her miserable condition. She still was no closer to deciding what she would do. Fearful of returning to the Titans, and the derision she was sure to face at the hands of Raven, her strong feelings for the dark enchantress made it impossible for her to make a decision to leave-to decide upon a destination. So she sat unmoving, alone once more.
A soft shuffling sound brought Terra back to her immediate surroundings. "Wh-who is it?" Her confidence dissipated, the tiny blonde's fear made itself known by the quaver in her voice.
"Who's there?" Once more she called out-this time with a bit more force. Loose rocks in the cave began to take on a golden glow, as Terra prepared her defense.
"Terra, it's me. Raven." The voice was soft, and filled with caring. Not casual and dismissive, as it was normally. And not harsh and judgmental, as expected. "Terra, are you there? I really need to talk to you."
"I'm here." She sank to her knees, emotionally drained, and waited for Raven to deliver the inevitable sermon on self-restraint and responsibility.
Soft footsteps approached, and a slightly darker shadow emerged from the gray darkness. The shadow mumbled a few indiscernible words, and a boulder nearby took on an eerie glow, in itself dark, but casting a feeble light in the cavern.
Terra hid her face as Raven seated herself very close beside her. "I'm sorry-for everything," she sobbed. A comforting hand alighted gently on her shoulder.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong." Raven looked at the small girl with gentle eyes as Terra, sniffling, experimentally met her gaze.
"You-you're not mad at me? You don't…hate me?"
"No. I'm not angry with you," Raven soothed. "I was worried about you. Afraid for you…afraid I might not find you." The cloaked one paused a moment. "I was afraid of…losing you."
"Huh?" Terra was not certain she was hearing properly. "You were worried about me leaving? Leaving the team?"
"Not the…team." Raven was sure that the air in the cave must be lacking in oxygen-why else would she be feeling light headed? "Terra, I really care for you as a friend. I want you to stay-to come back with me."
"You really like me?"
"Remember when you told me there was 'someone else' you had feelings for?"
"Yes," replied the smaller girl, glad for the weak lighting for hiding the blush that was spreading over her face.
"I think…I know who you meant. And it's okay. That…person feels similarly…"
"You do-I mean, you really think so?"
"I'm sure," replied the sorceress, smiling lightly. She moved to embrace the small girl, enveloping her gently in her arms.
Terra returned the embrace, laying her head on Raven's shoulder, and began to sob once again.
"Everything's going to be all right. Why are you crying?"
Terra replied, holding tighter. "I'm just so happy, I can't help it. Sorry."
Raven stroked the back of the weeping blonde's head. "I'm happy too. But you're gonna have to stop saying you're sorry about everything. As I said, you have nothing to be sorry about." A mischievous smile crossed the dark girl's face. "Although you are getting my shirt wet again."
Terra giggled softly, raising her head to gaze at the dark girl in her arms. "Raven?"
"Yes?"
"I really think I love you."
"Ummm…"
"It's okay," the blonde continued, "I understand." She ran her fingers from the sorceress's ear, along the angle of her jaw line.
Raven trembled, as black energy caused loose rock in various parts of the cave to vibrate. Terra had both hands on her face now, cradling it, adoring it.
Terra inclined her head, inching closer to Raven, who closed her eyes.
Several rocks exploded simultaneously throughout the cave.
"I don't think I can do this," Raven forced out through clenched teeth. "We might both be killed. I can't allow my emotions to-"
She was cut off, as Terra's lips were suddenly pressed to hers. The two became encased in black energy, which crackled ominously.
Nothing else, though, and the blonde geomancer did not release her hold, her lips pressing insistently against her love's.
The sorceress finally gave herself over to the moment, and returned Terra's passionate embrace, moaning into her lover's mouth.
When they finally broke their embrace, it was to the realization that the black energy had been dissipated, as Rage was pushed from the dark girl's conscious mind.
Raven broke the comfortable silence. "We better get back before the others start worrying about us."
Terra's beautific look changed to one of worry. "Rave—what are the others going to say about—you know—us?"
"We don't need to tell them." Raven worried the clasp on her cape. "Actually, I'd rather they didn't know about our relationship, at least for awhile. I'm not sure I even understand my new—uh—emotion yet."
Terra snuggled up to Raven, trying to conceal a mischievous grin. "Tell me about your emotions, Rave. I've heard you mention them before. I even asked BB about it, but he said it was private."
"You mean to tell me you asked him directly about me, and he actually kept his mouth shut?" Raven was rendered dumbstruck. Terra shook her head in the affirmative, while her partner mumbled to herself something about owing "Alfalfa' an apology.
Raven extricated herself from the blonde, and stepped out of the cave entrance. "I'll tell you about that later—it's pretty involved." The sorceress smiled; a more beautiful smile Terra had never seen. " Take my hand, Tara. Let's go home."
(Brain: Sniff...that was so...)
Don't say it!
(Brain: Contrived? Formulaic crap?)
Thanks, dude.
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