A/N: Okay, okay, I couldn't help it. I left myself too many untied strings
that started irritating me and I just had to give 'em a tug.... hehe.
Sooooooo.... This one shot shall now become a fully fledged fanfic. There
will be some Robin/Starfire, but later on I'll be focusing more on
Raven/OC. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Titans and co. with the exception of..... oops! I almost told you! Too bad, you gotta wait.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just A Little Advice
Chapter 1: Fortunes
~*~
Raven closed the door silently and slunk across her room to her bed where she lay down with a long sigh. She stared at the shadowed ceiling for several minutes before rolling over onto her stomach, burying her face into the soft fabric of her bed sheets. All the while thinking, 'How could I have let it slip? To Robin? Starfire already knows some of it, but having one more person knowing is too much.'
She sighed again and grabbed one of her pillows; pressing her cheek against it and hugging it to her chest while lying on her side. Just thinking about anything related to him brought back so many memories... Everyday she labored so hard to keep her emotions in check, she rarely allowed herself to remember him. Everyday she longed to see him, to hear him say her name, his nickname for her... 'Ravi'. He had said it meant 'sun' or something in another language, though why he related her to the sun was beyond her.
She sighed forlornly and sat up, throwing away the pillow. Raven cast her eyes over her room, searching for something else to occupy her mind. Her eyes settled on a small, golden rectangular box in her bookcase, decorated much like a jewelry box. She outstretched one hand, summoning the box to her. It came, engulfed in an aura of her dark spirit energy. Gently, she plucked it from the air, and set it upon the floor. She then slid down from the foot of her bed to sit in front of it. Raven stroked the silver inlaid cover for a moment, admiring the pattern of moon, sun, and stars, before removing the lid and setting it carefully aside.
Once the lid was removed, she could feel the enchantment emanating from the box, all the residual magic from its previous owner, her great, great grandmother, a powerful sorceress dating back to the Middle Ages. Raven then removed a dark violet crushed velvet cloth to reveal the box's contents, a deck of fortune telling cards.
Raven smiled slightly as she traced the design on the back of the top card, almost identical to the design on the box's lid. She caressed it, feeling the complex spells put into them and the magic her ancestor had left behind. She rarely used these cards because they were so powerful, they tended to tire her out quickly, but their predictions were much more precise than the weaker deck she kept in her closet. She took the deck out of its niche, not bothering to shuffle because she didn't need to, these cards shuffled themselves.
Raven turned over the top card to see its front. Blank, no picture. She smiled slightly and put the card back. These weren't just plain old Tarot cards, these were the real thing. Next she fanned the cards out in an arc on the floor before her, curving it just right from practice.
Now came the hard part. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bringing up her hand to hover over the cards, slowly following the arc she had made. She reached out with her mind, and found the power of the cards, seducing herself to their magic. Now she could feel the enchantment, burning in her veins, filling her, taking over her. It took all her concentration just to remember to breathe.
Once Raven was sure she had the cards under the proper control, she gave them her question. She formulated a series of pictures in her head, Robin and Starfire together. The cards understood, because she could feel the magic starting to channel somewhere else than her. She took a deep breath, her eyes still closed.
Her hand hovered over the cards, and now she started to feel for the card the deck wanted her to pick. Raven moved her hand in the air, searching. There, that was the one. She opened her eyes and picked the up the card, turning it over. The blank surface was shimmering, forming a picture.
A rose garden. A dirt path leading through overgrown hedges dappled with crimson, perfectly formed roses. A single rose with sharp thorns lay in the middle of the path. She frowned, thinking of the million things the roses could symbolize. But then again, it could just mean Robin would give Starfire a rose, or they might take a walk through a rose garden. The cards were often known to be literal as well as have hidden meanings.
Raven closed her eyes and outstretched her hand for the next card. When she had found it she opened her eyes again, watching the front shimmer. This time it showed a picture of a white wolf with tangled fur wandering through a barren field, she got the impression it was looking for something with its nose to the ground and its eyes searching. Raven stared at it blankly for a moment. This creature the cards were showing her, he had such striking, ice blue eyes. She knew those eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, and she almost dropped the card, almost lost control. But her mind quickly reprimanded her for thinking she recognized the wolf in the picture, just a coincidence, that was all. Nothing but a coincidence, that's right, it was nothing.
She swallowed the emotions and memories that were trying to fight their way out and closed her eyes to search for the next card. Raven found it after a moment. This time once the picture appeared it showed two swans meeting in a rapid. They were fighting against the current to stay together, as the water was constantly trying to push them apart. The meaning for this one was much easier to grasp. It looked like Robin and Starfire would have things going against them, things keeping them apart, but they would work hard to be together. Whether that was good or bad was difficult to tell, but then again Raven could be misinterpreting it completely.
Raven blinked when she felt the pull of the cards again, they wanted her to take another card. It was rare they let her draw more than three. She reached out, finding the card they wanted her to take. When the picture appeared this time, things were a little less favorable. The cards were showing her a battle field, the armor-clad dead strewn across the landscape. Burned wagons and dead horses lay everywhere. Arrows stuck out of the ground and out of other things as well. She shuddered, seeing the tattered flags that had been dropped and forgotten. The picture had a tan tint to it, like a faded photograph. She frowned, trying to decipher what the cards were trying to tell her.
But the cards were done; she could feel their power withdrawing from her. The burn left her veins and suddenly she felt empty, exhausted. Now that the cards' energy was gone, it was all she could do to get the deck back into the decorative box and then back on their shelf in her bookcase. Stumbling, she crawled into bed, deciding to wait until morning to try and string together the pictures the cards had shown her. Raven didn't even have time to crawl under the covers before sleep claimed her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I know it's a short chapter, but better have a little now than have to wait forever, right? Just think of this as a little teaser, and if I get a lot of reviews... Maybe I'll be inclined to work a little faster...
Disclaimer: I do not own Titans and co. with the exception of..... oops! I almost told you! Too bad, you gotta wait.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just A Little Advice
Chapter 1: Fortunes
~*~
Raven closed the door silently and slunk across her room to her bed where she lay down with a long sigh. She stared at the shadowed ceiling for several minutes before rolling over onto her stomach, burying her face into the soft fabric of her bed sheets. All the while thinking, 'How could I have let it slip? To Robin? Starfire already knows some of it, but having one more person knowing is too much.'
She sighed again and grabbed one of her pillows; pressing her cheek against it and hugging it to her chest while lying on her side. Just thinking about anything related to him brought back so many memories... Everyday she labored so hard to keep her emotions in check, she rarely allowed herself to remember him. Everyday she longed to see him, to hear him say her name, his nickname for her... 'Ravi'. He had said it meant 'sun' or something in another language, though why he related her to the sun was beyond her.
She sighed forlornly and sat up, throwing away the pillow. Raven cast her eyes over her room, searching for something else to occupy her mind. Her eyes settled on a small, golden rectangular box in her bookcase, decorated much like a jewelry box. She outstretched one hand, summoning the box to her. It came, engulfed in an aura of her dark spirit energy. Gently, she plucked it from the air, and set it upon the floor. She then slid down from the foot of her bed to sit in front of it. Raven stroked the silver inlaid cover for a moment, admiring the pattern of moon, sun, and stars, before removing the lid and setting it carefully aside.
Once the lid was removed, she could feel the enchantment emanating from the box, all the residual magic from its previous owner, her great, great grandmother, a powerful sorceress dating back to the Middle Ages. Raven then removed a dark violet crushed velvet cloth to reveal the box's contents, a deck of fortune telling cards.
Raven smiled slightly as she traced the design on the back of the top card, almost identical to the design on the box's lid. She caressed it, feeling the complex spells put into them and the magic her ancestor had left behind. She rarely used these cards because they were so powerful, they tended to tire her out quickly, but their predictions were much more precise than the weaker deck she kept in her closet. She took the deck out of its niche, not bothering to shuffle because she didn't need to, these cards shuffled themselves.
Raven turned over the top card to see its front. Blank, no picture. She smiled slightly and put the card back. These weren't just plain old Tarot cards, these were the real thing. Next she fanned the cards out in an arc on the floor before her, curving it just right from practice.
Now came the hard part. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bringing up her hand to hover over the cards, slowly following the arc she had made. She reached out with her mind, and found the power of the cards, seducing herself to their magic. Now she could feel the enchantment, burning in her veins, filling her, taking over her. It took all her concentration just to remember to breathe.
Once Raven was sure she had the cards under the proper control, she gave them her question. She formulated a series of pictures in her head, Robin and Starfire together. The cards understood, because she could feel the magic starting to channel somewhere else than her. She took a deep breath, her eyes still closed.
Her hand hovered over the cards, and now she started to feel for the card the deck wanted her to pick. Raven moved her hand in the air, searching. There, that was the one. She opened her eyes and picked the up the card, turning it over. The blank surface was shimmering, forming a picture.
A rose garden. A dirt path leading through overgrown hedges dappled with crimson, perfectly formed roses. A single rose with sharp thorns lay in the middle of the path. She frowned, thinking of the million things the roses could symbolize. But then again, it could just mean Robin would give Starfire a rose, or they might take a walk through a rose garden. The cards were often known to be literal as well as have hidden meanings.
Raven closed her eyes and outstretched her hand for the next card. When she had found it she opened her eyes again, watching the front shimmer. This time it showed a picture of a white wolf with tangled fur wandering through a barren field, she got the impression it was looking for something with its nose to the ground and its eyes searching. Raven stared at it blankly for a moment. This creature the cards were showing her, he had such striking, ice blue eyes. She knew those eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, and she almost dropped the card, almost lost control. But her mind quickly reprimanded her for thinking she recognized the wolf in the picture, just a coincidence, that was all. Nothing but a coincidence, that's right, it was nothing.
She swallowed the emotions and memories that were trying to fight their way out and closed her eyes to search for the next card. Raven found it after a moment. This time once the picture appeared it showed two swans meeting in a rapid. They were fighting against the current to stay together, as the water was constantly trying to push them apart. The meaning for this one was much easier to grasp. It looked like Robin and Starfire would have things going against them, things keeping them apart, but they would work hard to be together. Whether that was good or bad was difficult to tell, but then again Raven could be misinterpreting it completely.
Raven blinked when she felt the pull of the cards again, they wanted her to take another card. It was rare they let her draw more than three. She reached out, finding the card they wanted her to take. When the picture appeared this time, things were a little less favorable. The cards were showing her a battle field, the armor-clad dead strewn across the landscape. Burned wagons and dead horses lay everywhere. Arrows stuck out of the ground and out of other things as well. She shuddered, seeing the tattered flags that had been dropped and forgotten. The picture had a tan tint to it, like a faded photograph. She frowned, trying to decipher what the cards were trying to tell her.
But the cards were done; she could feel their power withdrawing from her. The burn left her veins and suddenly she felt empty, exhausted. Now that the cards' energy was gone, it was all she could do to get the deck back into the decorative box and then back on their shelf in her bookcase. Stumbling, she crawled into bed, deciding to wait until morning to try and string together the pictures the cards had shown her. Raven didn't even have time to crawl under the covers before sleep claimed her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I know it's a short chapter, but better have a little now than have to wait forever, right? Just think of this as a little teaser, and if I get a lot of reviews... Maybe I'll be inclined to work a little faster...