A/N: Well, this author's note was going to be awkward to write no matter what, but anyway, I'm back! Sorry to keep everyone waiting...
A wild review appears!
Whyhow: Right, I only just now noticed that yours is from chapter 3. I hope it's improved at least a little by now, but I'm still finding my footing as a
writer. Looking back, I can see what you mean, but I'd like to think I have a better idea of this story's pace now.
Rook's fanfiction: I'm really excited to hear that! I definitely want to keep reading A Demon's Black Fire. For the harem, right now, the only ones I can confirm are Jinx and Blackfire, though I can also say it won't be just Teen Titans characters.
Imouto's mad house: Thank you for the input! Your reviews have been super helpful and encouraging. Rest assured, I will absolutely attempt to get
out of my writing comfort zone for those scenes, but no promises. I have actually tried my hand at writing lemons, and they were... really bad.
feral creature: Thank you, it's always nice to know I did better than I thought I did, lol
IX
"Sooo, it's been a week, and we haven't seen Cryo, yet." Jinx broke the pervasive silence. "Y'think he's dead?"
"Unlikely." Raven answered. "That would be far too convenient. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say he's probably following Stolas' advice in trying to win my affections."
"And what exactly does that entail?"
Raven shrugged. "It depends on the individual; most go for some sort of display of skill and power to impress the object of their desire. However, given that I'm already aware of what he can do, he's going to have to get creative. Honestly, I'm not sure what he would… oh, well… there he is now." She gestured to the now open door to the lounge area where Cryo stood, looking much worse for wear. His undoubtedly expensive clothes were burnt and torn in several places, and the icy sheen of his hair was visibly duller.
"Damn, dude, what happened to you?" Jinx asked after he'd made his way over to them. She noticed he was keeping his hands behind him, and his gait was missing its usual determined idiosyncrasy.
Cryo cleared his throat, ignoring her in favour of Raven. "I realize that I've come across as just another ignorant mortal, so I hope you can forgive my failings up to now." He cleared his throat again, nervousness showing through. "I did some searching, and I learned that demons prefer to be approached with a token proving the, um, suitor's worth."
"Go on…" Raven prompted.
"Well, I don't have an unstoppable army or the ability to level cities with a thought, and I knew with your social standing among demons, I was going to have to do something a bit unorthodox for this to work." He brought his arms in front of him now, and in his hands was a small red winged lizard, roughly the size of an average house cat.
"Is that a dragon?" Jinx asked in shock.
"It's a Spire Drake." Raven said with muted surprise. "Technically, yes, it does fall under the draconic umbrella, but it's a different sub-class than true dragons. As its name suggests, they tend to make their homes as pests in towers and spires, and once they move in, they're nearly impossible to get rid of."
"And what sounds like the dragon version of a cockroach is supposed to impress royalty?"
"That's not quite correct." Cryo said. "Spire Drakes possess some of the most potent venom in the multiverse, and they're also unruly and aggressive to the point that most people just destroy the building they inhabit rather than try to get a handle on the situation."
"That's right," Raven agreed. "and for a mortal to have tamed one, even a metahuman mortal, is an authentic accomplishment."
"So does that mean it worked?" Cryo asked.
"You've earned your shot." Raven affirmed. "What did you have planned."
"How about we get something to eat?" Cryo suggested. "I think it'd be nice for us to get to know each other better."
"That's acceptable; where and when?"
"How about tomorrow at six, at this address." He hastily wrote on a slip of paper before handing it to her.
Raven nodded. "And what were you planning to do with the drake?"
"I, uh, hadn't quite decided yet." He admitted. "I have a few options, but I don't really have the means to keep her myself."
"Well, it would be a shame to let the work you put into taming her go to waste; I can take her off your hands if you'd like."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? She's still pretty hostile towards other people." Cryo's warning, while sensible, did nothing to dissuade Raven as she reached out with an open palm, waiting patiently for the little reptile to climb on. She ran up and perched on Raven's shoulder, just as calm and well behaved as she was with Cryo.
"You don't need to worry about her with me; all things born of Hell can sense the blood of Trigon, and it has a penchant for instilling docility in the less powerful beings… most of the time."
"That's, uh, that's good to know." Cryo said. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"I'll be there."
"Great, great; I'll just, see myself out, then." He awkwardly exited the room while the girls looked on, Jinx unimpressed, and Raven disinterested.
"So, was all that true, about the little dragon being a legit way to go about this?" Jinx asked. "Or did you just go along with it to make sure he didn't think you were givin' in too easy?"
"Oh, no, he genuinely earned his shot, at least according to the Underworld's customs. Taming a Spire Drake is no laughing matter, and I'm actually quite curious as to how he did it in the span of a week."
"Are you actually planning to keep her? I don't think this place allows pets unless they're essential to your ops."
"I'm not keeping her here." Raven clarified. "I'll be taking her back to Hell with us."
"Does that mean you found a way to keep your dad from frying me?"
"Not quite; I have the beginnings of an idea, but it needs a bit more thought."
"Ah, Raven, there you are." The simple statement surprised both girls, as neither had heard the voice's owner enter the room.
"Hello, Mr. Jacobs." Raven greeted. "I see you've returned unscathed from whatever venture called you away."
"My apologies for the long absence; we'll be able to resume class again tomorrow."
"I look forward to it." Raven nodded. "Jinx, do you still have that photo of the cult symbol?"
"Yep." Jinx pulled the photo up on her communicator and showed it to Mr. Jacobs. "Whaddya make'a that?"
"Hmm." He took the device and examined the picture for a grand total of five seconds before handing it back to Jinx. "I have no idea; I've never seen this symbol." He took out his pocket watch and checked the time before continuing. "Sorry I can't be of more help, but you know where to find me if you have any other questions."
"Well, thanks for tryin', anyway." Jinx said. Mr. Jacobs nodded and left without another word. "Guess we can't rely on him for all the answers."
"It's fine." Raven said. "I'm sure we'll get plenty of information soon enough after tomorrow."
"Are you sure this is all wholly necessary?" Raven asked. "This date wasn't made under Terran custom, you know?"
"I know." Jinx confirmed. "And yes, it's necessary; he may have asked you out like a demon, but it's still an Earth-style date. Now keep your eyes closed and hold still, this is the first time I've ever put makeup on someone with features like yours, and I want to make sure I get it right."
Raven gave a quick sigh, but did as asked, waiting for several more seconds while Jinx put on the finishing touches, turning around to face the vanity when she was finally given the word that she was done.
"Well, what do you think?" Jinx asked.
"I'm not entirely sure." Raven said. "I've never worn makeup before today."
"Why not? Are there no formal events in Hell?"
Raven shook her head. "It's not that, it's just that physical appearances aren't generally any demon's primary focus, except for succubi and incubi."
"Well, what about your parents? Your mom's gotta be some kind of attractive to draw the attention of a god, right?"
"My father is what you would call a 'special case'. He wasn't formed the way most demons were, and he's relatively young, being only about ten thousand years old, compared to others who have been around for several billion years. But yes, I do think most sentient beings would agree that 'beautiful' is a more than apt description for my mother, though she doesn't wear makeup either." Raven stood up and reached for her cloak, only to stop her hand halfway as she took in her full reflection.
Her choice of attire, while befitting of a casual date, looked fairly foreign on her person. She wouldn't be making herself look human as she normally would in public, and her typical casual wear was replaced with a pair of violet hi-top sneakers, black skinny jeans, and a dark purple top just formal enough to not be a t-shirt, while her hair hung behind her in an intricate braid thanks to her roommate.
"No hood?" Jinx asked, honestly surprised.
"Not tonight." Raven continued to look herself over, making sure nothing was out of place. After a satisfactory inspection, she waved a hand in the air, opening a rift to where she was temporarily keeping her new pet. The small pocket dimension held the essentials, enough to sustain the demonic reptile, but it wasn't suitable for anything long-term.
"Sooo… have you thought of a name for her yet?" Jinx asked when Raven closed the miniature portal.
"I've decided on Lilith."
"A role model of yours?" Jinx asked, only half-jokingly.
"Something like that; she was appointed by my father as a private tutor for me and my siblings."
"Interesting choice." Jinx remarked. "You think I could meet her when we go?"
"I don't see why not." Raven shrugged, looking around the room to ensure she was fully prepared. "Well, I suppose it's time to go."
"Yeah…" Neither of them were particularly thrilled about this plan, but gathering information on Cryo and his motives had become a priority. "Don't forget, if shit hits the fan, me and the boys'll be on standby just out of sight."
"I can only hope intervention isn't necessary."
"You and me both."
"Is this the correct location?" Raven thought, sending the question to Jinx. She was standing in a parking lot downtown. The sun had already set, but that suited her just fine. There were only two cars here, neither of any significant notability.
"It should be." Jinx responded. "Does it match what's on the paper he gave you?"
"I wish I could say for sure, but calligraphy isn't as easy for me as plain print, and the building's signage is all glowing cursive."
"Wait, he writes in calligraphy? Weird. Anyway, let me Google it real quick; what name did he write?"
"Hmm. L… Y… D… I… A… … Eight? Ah, no, S. Lydia's, apparently." Several seconds passed before Jinx answered.
"Yeah, Lydia's Café, downtown Jump. Not a bad place, from the looks of it. Hey, this mental link isn't permanent, is it?"
"No." Raven shook her head, then realized Jinx couldn't actually see her. "I can dissolve it as soon as I'm done here. And don't worry about privacy, I can only hear what you intentionally communicate."
Heading inside, it didn't escape her notice that the building was nearly entirely deserted, save for one person sat in a booth towards the back. With the ever-present icy mist emanating from atop his skull, it wasn't exactly a leap to assume it was her date.
The establishment's interior was fairly minimalist; generic decorations lined the walls, the color scheme was subdued, but not bland, and the lighting skirted the line between sufficient and harsh. All in all, it was another diner among the dozens of others across the city, and it would be more than adequate for the night's events.
"You find the place alright?" James asked as she sat down across from him. His outfit came from a seemingly similar mindset, consisting of a navy-blue polo, dark slacks, and casual dress shoes.
"Easily enough. Is there a particular reason you chose this location? It's not terribly interesting." Raven gestured with a look over their surroundings, catching the sight of the register girl, who promptly averted her gaze.
"Well, I didn't want anything too fancy for this, and Lydia's was the only casual place that would let me buy it out for the night." There was surprisingly no smugness behind his words; he wasn't bragging, just stating a fact.
The sound of someone clearing their throat drew the attention of both patrons. The same girl from the register, who was apparently also their waitress, stood by their table with a notepad. She had a nervous smile and a red tinge to her cheeks, clearly embarrassed about being caught staring.
"Are you ready to order?" Her voice was small, but steady.
"Can I get a medium rib-eye and an iced tea?"
"Okay, and for you?" She turned to Raven, but had trouble maintaining eye contact.
"I'll have the same, but don't cook it." The girl hurriedly wrote their orders down, quickly leaving them alone.
"I suppose I should be grateful for the afforded seclusion; humans can often be annoyingly fascinated with the supernatural." Raven picked their conversation back up.
"I know what you mean; being a meta comes with a lot of the same issues. Kinda makes me wonder, though…"
"Why I'm not disguising myself?" Raven guessed, receiving a nod. "Two reasons: I'd like to think of any amount of time spent with you as separate from time with my friends, and because if you expect to court a demon, you'll need to become accustomed to being seen with them."
"No problem for me." He acceded. "Just figured you'd see it as unwanted attention."
"It's not as if I'm not used to it. Or have you already forgotten who I am?"
"It's a little hard to forget that… I feel like your dad could pop up at any second and eviscerate me."
"I suppose that's a valid concern." Raven exhaled a single laugh. "Best not to openly show that if you ever do meet him, though."
"Does that mean you see this progressing to that point, then?" James smirked.
"Not necessarily." Raven said. "There's a decent chance you'll end up there after death."
"And just what would lead you to be so certain I'm destined for damnation?"
"Statistics." She answered simply. "I won't go over all the details, but the afterlife of what humans know as the 'Abrahamic' religions have almost a complete monopoly on human souls. So, with a few rare exceptions, you're essentially guaranteed a spot in one of three realms, and I very much doubt your soul would qualify as pure or worthless, which basically leaves only one option."
Their conversation was halted once again by the arrival of their food. 'Stacy', as Raven had only just now paid attention to her name tag, set their plates down, muttering a quiet "enjoy your meal", and heading back to where she'd come from.
"You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about the selection process." James said, getting back on topic again.
"Well, in the unlikely event of my father's demise, I would be granted the mantle of Hell's ruler. As such, I'm expected to learn the 'ins and outs' of not only how my dimension works, but also how we interact with other dimensions as well. Now, how about you; what's your story?"
"My story?" James took on an introspective expression. "Okay, my father got on good terms with Bruce Wayne pretty early on, and it got him a good job at Wayne Enterprises. He met my mother through work, and a few years later, I entered the picture. My education was nothing out of the ordinary, for the most part, other than a heavier focus on business and finance. That is, until my brother and I found out we were metas. Our parents reacted favourably, on a personal level."
Raven arched a few brows while she cut her food. "Personal, as opposed to…"
"My parents were opportunists, first and foremost. That's not to say they were neglectful or anything; they loved us just fine, but when they saw a chance to get someone else to train us in our abilities, abilities they themselves had no idea how to properly grasp the concept of, let alone teach us how to use, well, they didn't really care much about fine print in that situation. Next thing we knew, Erik and I were shipped off to I-can't-tell-you-where, doing I-can't-tell-you-what alongside thirty other kids just like us."
"It seems to have paid off." Raven noted. "Your combat performance is exceptional."
"I certainly can't deny that." James agreed. "Though, I also can't deny I'm a little bitter about being sent here immediately after getting out of there."
"That's understandable. What about your brother? What exactly was his issue with Jinx to begin with?"
"It wasn't really an issue with her, per se…" James said in slight embarrassment. "He doesn't really 'get' tact, I think he was just nervous because we got here not too long before your group. He probably assumed that picking on another, newer, student would lift some of the focus off of himself, especially after we beat the previously held record for the orientation trial. I could be wrong, though; I didn't ask his motivation, I just gave him a verbal thrashing for it."
"That you did." Raven nodded.
"Back to you, now. How does the heir to the red throne end up in a place like HIVE? And on a team with a chaos magic user, to boot."
"Magical business is hardly a topic fit for dinner conversation. Suffice it to say, I work to protect her for reasons that are irrelevant to you."
"Fair enough." James said. "How about something non-professional, then?"
"Such as?"
"Have you ever accidentally bitten your tongue?" That was unexpected, and actually managed to throw Raven for a loop. She blinked twice, then spoke.
"Once. I pierced through completely and nothing tasted right for a month afterword." She contemplated for a moment before asking her next question. "Have you and your brother ever had any awkward mishaps due to your conflicting powers?"
"A lot actually." James laughed. "If we're indoors and we start arguing for long enough, there's a good chance it'll start raining in whatever room we're in."
"Is that so?" Raven let out her own short chuckle.
"Yeah, it's led to a lot of mopping up for both of us. Let's see… ah! We also have to be extremely sure we keep our wardrobes separated, otherwise clothes end up either falling apart completely or just turning to ash."
"Has that happened often?"
"More so when we first discovered our powers, particularly before our parents started having everything made to resist temperature extremes."
"I can imagine the headache you gave them."
"Alright." James checked his watch. "Oh, guess we need to be finishing up here, they'll be closing soon. I have one last question, though."
"Okay."
"What's it actually like in Hell? On a, um, social, level. Tell me about demonic society."
"Very well. As you can probably well assume, your class in the world is determined by your strength, and class, in turn, determines how you will contribute. The more menial tasks are performed those with little power or little intelligence; waste removal, manual labor, and the like. These are creatures that an exceptionally athletic human could easily dispose of in a confrontation. Bureaucratic duties are fulfilled by mid-class demons, the kind you might hear a hunter tell of in recent quest. Things work slightly differently in army; any willing participant not happy with their current role can join, even the dead, with approval. Succubi and Incubi work outside the confines of this system; their duties are not affected by strength, and they may pass freely between Hell and Earth. Their job is to collect souls, which are used as currency, though not in the way you might think of it."
"I'll be honest, I sort of assumed things would be a little more chaotic, but that's really interesting. Is that all?"
"A summation of it." Raven gave a dismissive wave. "There are a few exceptions and outliers, finer details, and of course the royal family. Our job is… well, whatever we want. I believe we're out of time here, however."
"Right." He stood and straightened his outfit, Raven following suit. I think this went rather well; would you agree?"
"I have to admit, I would have trouble describing this evening as 'unpleasant'. I'd like to give you, er, call it a token of good faith."
"What is it?"
"Close your eyes." He did as asked, and Raven quickly floated up a few inches, lightly pressing her lips to his cheek, leaving a faint mark that glowed for just a couple of seconds before dimming and fading completely. "I should be going."
"Well, don't hold out on me." Jinx was practically bouncing. "Did you get it done?"
"Yes. I might not be able to get into his head, but I can tap into his senses, at the very least."
"Why a kiss, though?" Mammoth asked. "Couldn't you plant the spell on him at any time?"
"It's a matter of intimacy." Raven answered. "The more physical the act, the deeper the magic is seeded; that's why deals are often made through intercourse."
"Magic is weird." Gizmo said. "So, what now?"
"Now," Raven said. "he's headed straight for a meeting with his cult."
A/N: Other updates for this patch include:
1. Removing that awkward scene from chapter 6
2. Fixing a mistake where Raven was referred to as a half-demon instead of just a demon
Coming next update:
A new title (maybe). I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I don't really like the title for this story anymore. The problem is that I suck at coming up with new ones. All suggestions are welcome, or, if it's not a big deal to anyone else and I'm just overthinking it, let me know. Originally, it was going to be relevant more than once, and in fact, the original plan for this story would have had Raven be much more like a symbiote, but plans change, and I think this worked out pretty well. Though I would definitely be interested if someone did write that story...