"Jinx?" Rowan asked as the pair walked down the street together.
"Hmmm?"
"You don't seem like a real bad guy to me. You're really nice." Jinx smiled.
"Sometimes appearances can be deceiving."
"Have you ever tried to be good?"
"My powers can only be used for evil, baby. I'm bad luck. I can't be good."
"Well, think of how much bad luck you can bring to bad guys." Rowan giggled and Jinx joined in. The little girl was holding her hand. "Where are we going anyway?"
"Just for a walk. You were fidgeting so badly I thought you might need an energy outlet." Rowan nodded as she turned a few cartwheels before returning to hold Jinx's hand. Rowan had always been very sensitive to people's emotions, and she could sense that Jinx was upset about something. The girl had been very quiet during the entire walk, and now Rowan could swear she was wiping her eyes a lot more then necessary, even during allergy season.
"Jinx, is something wrong?" she asked.
"What makes you think that something's wrong?"
"You seem like you're upset about something."
"I'm fine."
"You're lying." Jinx smiled at her hyper little companion. Rowan had relinquished her hold on Jinx's hand and was running a little ahead of her, singing to herself as she curiously inspected a little flower. Jinx watched her with amusement. She was dancing on tip-toes, looking at a bird on a tree branch. "Where are we heading, anyway?" Rowan asked.
"This way," Jinx said simply, turning down Main Street. Rowan followed her. She looked curiously over the horizon and saw Titans East Tower. She looked at Jinx curiously, and the witch lifted her gently of the ground, cradling her to her chest, her tears falling freely.
"Jinx, are you ok?" Rowan asked innocently.
"Yes, baby. I'm fine." Jinx wiped her eyes, still holding the little girl close to her. "Listen to me, baby. I love you like a little sister. I lost my own sister years ago. I can't keep you here when you want to keep you away from your sister." She sat down on a rock nearby, resting Rowan on her knee, running a brush through Rowan's curly black hair. "Have I mentioned how much I would kill to have hair like yours?" Rowan nodded, her gold eyes watching Jinx curiously. Jinx was braiding her hair. She finished, tightening the ponytail holder. "You are so cute."
"Jinx, are sure your alright?" Jinx sighed and smoothed a lock of Rowan's hair that had slipped out of the braid.
"Does it ever stay fixed?" Rowan shook her head.
"Quit changing the subject."
"Rowan, do you want to go home?" Rowan thought for a minute.
"I really miss my sister, and my friends. I like you, and maybe even See-More, a lot, and I even kinda liked watching you make Mammoth and Gizmo squirm," Jinx giggled, despite herself. "but…Raven and I are really close. We have a special bond. I miss her." Jinx gave Rowan a sisterly squeeze.
"Then I'll take you home."
Jinx was getting antsy. She knew she had promised to take Rowan home, but she couldn't help but worry that, as soon as the Titans saw her, they would arrest, or at least try to fight with, her. She knew Rowan would object, but she wasn't sure how far their loyalty to the little child went. Rowan seemed to sense her unease, but said nothing. As they got nearer, Rowan stopped in her tracks, forcing Jinx, who had been holding her hand, to stop with her. "What is it?" Rowan said nothing, but pointed over to a bench in a nearby park. Jinx followed her finger and saw Raven sitting with two cats in her lap. Jinx stiffened as the sorceress turned around. Her eyes lingered on Jinx before meeting Rowan's. She smiled softly and stood, sending the two cats to the ground. Rowan looked up at Jinx with a sweet smile on her face, and then she let go of her hand, running into the arms of her sister, her real sister. Raven lifted her up to hold her close, kissing her on the forehead. Jinx stepped tentatively closer, unsure of what the other girl would do. Rowan was resting on Raven's hip, her arms around her neck, before she turned to Jinx, who blushed nervously, staring at her shoes. Rowan looked at Raven and smiled, and Jinx got the idea that they may be sharing silent communication. She had feeling she knew the topic. Raven regarded her for a few minutes before she smiled shyly.
"You brought her back?" Jinx nodded.
"She missed her sister," Jinx said simply. Raven nodded. Raven approached her slowly, a soft smile on her pale face. She reached out her hand and shook Jinx's.
"Thanks for looking out for her," she said. Jinx smiled.
"From one big sister to another." The girls stood there in silence for a little while, Rowan still clinging to her sister, before Raven broke the silence.
"We should get back. The others have been pretty worried about you." Jinx nodded as Rowan slid off of Raven's hip and jumped into Jinx's arms, giving her a quick hug.
"See you later, little munchkin." Jinx said. "I'll keep in mind what you said, about me being good." Rowan giggled and ran back to Raven, who hoisted her back on her hip. Jinx turned to go.
A little sparrow chirped in the distance.
Jinx was almost packed when See-More knocked on her bedroom door. "Hey, Jinx, ya' decent?"
"I'm dressed, if that's what you mean," she said. He opened the door to see the duffel bag on the bed, half filled with clothes.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'm going to find my sister. Having Rowan these last two days has made me realize that I don't want to be apart from her any longer."
"What if she's been adopted?"
"Then I won't interfere. I can't stand not knowing any longer. We've been apart for seven years. I have to know if she's ok, if she ever learned to control her powers…if she still remembers me." See-More nodded.
"How are you going to find her?"
"I'll start with the orphanage we lived at and work from there."
"It's not going to be easy."
"Nothing in life is." He smiled. She stuffed another skirt in the bag before zipping it up. She pulled a framed picture off the dresser and handed it to him. "That's us." In the picture were a smiling man and woman holding two little pink-haired girls. He smiled and handed it back to her. She unzipped her bag and put it inside, zipping it back up.
"I'm going to miss you, Jinx," he said. "Good luck." She smiled.
"Thank-you."
Rowan was hugging Quon and Bumble Bee as Cyborg put the last of the bags in the trunk of the T-car. "Everything's loaded up. Ya'll ready to go?" Raven nodded. Rowan and Quon broke their embrace.
"You'll write, won't you?" Rowan asked Quon as she negotiated Tigress and Jessie into the cat carrier.
"Of course," Quon replied. Rowan climbed into the backseat of the car, sitting in between Raven and Starfire, with her cats in her lap. Cyborg pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the highway.
"Are we there yet?" Rowan asked impatiently. Cyborg rolled his eyes.
"This is going to be a long trip."