The 31st Night
Tria A Nox Noctis
Chapter 7: Invidia
Raven stretched out under her covers feeling the silky blankets pass over her skin. Was it morning already?
Her hand groped the side of her bed for her pocket watch style clock. She brought it up to her bleary gaze.
October 29th, 5:23 AM.
What a horrible hour to be awoken. Then again, it was better than the sleep she had been getting as of recently. Even after finding Robin asleep last night, the aura plagued her.
Counting today, she had three days for the spell to work. So far there had been signs of such effects taking place. Unless that aura was it.
But then why was it so… malevolent?
And why had it been so far from its intended target? She had placed the spell to work on herself and in theory it should stick around her until completing its task.
There was something so suspicious and wrong about it.
She should speak to Robin. She probably should tell him everything. He trusted them all to rely on one another. Work as a team- and as friends.
He had been given a day to recover after their… unfortunate meeting yesterday. The girl had said she'd tell him.
Raven sighed and let the clock drop from her fingers. What a terrific day this was starting out as.
By the time Cyborg reached downstairs, it was busy.
Beast Boy had already run and attached himself to the video games. He was working up the levels of a new zombie game in the spirit of the holiday.
Starfire was, surprisingly, slouching and badly tempered on the couch. He caught her sour expression as he rounded and plopped down beside her. The Tameranian did shuffle slightly to accommodate his weight on the sofa, but her arms remained crossed.
Before asking (and possible getting a literal death glare) Cyborg twisted to scout out the rest of the room.
And spotted the object of her temper. Robin and Raven were sitting at the far side of the table, hunched over a book. Their voices were lowered and they were sitting kind of close…
Yikes.
Didn't Raven know better than to do something like that? Especially where Starfire could see them.
And Robin hadn't shown up for dinner yesterday. Yesterday when Raven excused herself early. Cyborg swallowed a knot. He could see the conclusion she was jumping to. Obviously Raven and Robin couldn't work like that, they both knew Starfire's feelings.
But the alien girl was always too rushed and passionate with her emotions. She didn't take time to ask the questions and think of things logically.
And currently she looked too envious to do anything other than stare holes through the TV.
Cyborg almost worried about the television. He could see her eyes sparking that neon green. He really hated to have to rebuild the thing again.
Glancing back at Raven he stared at her hard wishing her to look his way. Maybe she didn't get it that Starfire was… angry.
Raven had grabbed Robin the moment he dared venture out into the living room. She had the spell book tucked in under her cloak as she pulled him to the table.
He gave her a puzzled and slightly wary look until she slid the old book onto the table top. "I said I'd tell you."
"Ah, Raven about yesterday,"
Raven held up a quick hand to silence him. "Merely a physical wound, I would be more concerned had you violated my mind."
The boy said nothing but nodded. It was still early morning, but the other Titans would be waking soon.
"Shouldn't we talk somewhere more private?" Robin suggested it offhandedly. She had expressed extreme caution on the information of her spell casting. He didn't want to have any flies on the wall if it was truly that personal.
"No, here is fine." Raven could already feel Starfire's aura making its way downstairs. It would be wrong for her to take Robin anywhere Starfire couldn't watch them. Starfire had missed Robin yesterday and probably needed a little reassurance he was okay.
So they would talk in the open. Starfire would naturally stay away from the two if they seemed to be in a conversation. She was always generous enough to let Robin do as he wanted.
Raven cracked the book up, flipping to the page of text. "The spell was designed to work for me. I meant it when I said it."
Her finger pressed to the heading of the page. She translated the language roughly for him, "Succumb of Souls."
"What does it do?" He could hear someone clopping down the stairs to the living room. He pressed away the concern to focus on the dark girl.
"Since Trigon has been pushed back, my emotions have been very unstable. They continue surging past my guard now that Intelligence deems I have no good reason to keep them back."
"And you won't allow that?"
Raven wrinkled her nose at the thought. "A little emotion makes you human. Any more is not necessary."
Robin shrugged at her. She had been without truly feeling for so long… maybe it made sense not to need so much emotion.
"The spell was designed to swallow up my excess emotions. It's a little complicated, but would work as a permanent barrier to keep back most of the emotional force."
"Why didn't you just erect the spell in the first place, before Trigon?"
"He would have prevented such a spell from taking place. And anyway, I needed those emotions in the end."
Robin as looking down at the book, eyes skimming lines of gibberish. "Do you think you could have messed up?"
Raven sighed more to herself. "I have considered it. But I did research and went over this spell countless times. I know the price of messing with magic."
Robin waited for her. She seemed to be contemplating something over in her mind. He could see it working from her eyes to her vocal cords.
"Something must have gone wrong." She now looked down at the spell. There was waves of anger in the room. She had no doubt it was from Starfire, the heat was passionate. She'd have to worry about that later.
"What else do you know?" Raven's hand had been skimming across the lines in frustration. The boy placed a gloved hand over it to catch her attention. "Raven…" He warned.
"There's an aura." She pulled her hand out of his grasp. "It's malevolent."
"Where?"
"I don't know. It occurs randomly throughout the tower. Last night there was one."
"Last night?" Last night… where was he? He had gone to get his clothes…
"Yeah. I followed it to that hallway before it was gone. I went and checked on you. You were sleeping though."
"I don't remember going to bed." It occurred to him all at once. That couldn't be right.
"It's been going around." Raven bit her lip as she reread over her spell. "I know what all these words mean, I can translate it but-"
"Do it." He looked at her through the mask.
"All of it?" She slid the idea over in her head.
"Yeah."
Raven hadn't noticed his gaze. Worse yet, Robin had touched her hand.
Albeit it was briefly, Starfire caught it. She continued to sulk, made angrier just by the fact that no one was acknowledging her emotions. Beast Boy was consumed in his playing and Cyborg was still… afraid.
She was a strong girl. A fierce and slightly intimidating girl. It was better not to meddle in her matters if he didn't have to. As long as she didn't go and try to take out her envious emotions on anyone, he wouldn't have to.
Starfire huffed under her breath. Cyborg could tell it was bait. She wanted him to ask her what was up.
Oh no. Not falling for that.
"Hurry up Beast Boy, I want a turn." He called instead. Cyborg usually tried to be there to talk, but there was some things he wouldn't deal with.
Her and Robin's relationship was a big one. That was theirs alone. He wouldn't get pulled into that tango.
Starfire shot up from her seat still fuming. The boy panicked for a moment, maybe he would have to be the big man-
No. Phew. She was stalking past the couple at the table. Raven turned to look at her strangely. Starfire finished through the room, smashing the button to open the door to the hallway. He'd need to repair that later.
"I guess I could-" Raven had started to give in. A large spike in emotion made her breath pause. She squinted her eyes and turned her head. Starfire was stalking out of the room positively flaming.
It burned her senses and pounded in her mind. And empath could only take so much.
But it was rolling off her. How could her people stand to feel so much? There was a headache brewing from her just being too close.
"Raven?" Robin was watching her curiously. She had just suddenly spaced and she looked to be in pain.
"No, ah-" She could still feel Starfire moving away. And then there was… that aura. Pure evil.
Starfire was moving away, and towards it.
Raven snapped her book shut quickly and snatched it into her arms. Ignoring Robin and his questioning, she started for the door the other girl had just vanished through.
"Raven!" Robin called and started after her. There was something strange going on.
The mystic waved a hand, sparking her magic. A black portal appeared in front of her just as she got to the door. Quick stepping into it, she aimed for the hallway Starfire was still radiating from.
Robin watched her vanish in a black whirlpool as though she had walked right through the door.
"Damn." What had that been all about? Wasn't she just going on about filling him in?
And then she just ran. Without explanation. That girl. He unclenched his hands, feeling four eyes on his back and anger burn in his stomach.
How was she supposed to take that? Robin hadn't even come to dinner the previous night. She had made him a wonderful dinner and pie of pumpkins.
And the next day she didn't even get a 'good morning'? No excuse for his absence? Instead he went right over to chat with Raven.
Bitter. It was in the air all around her. She didn't want to feel sadness, it was better to feel angry.
To feel envy.
Her footsteps were heavy and loud on the floor. She had no idea where she was headed and no care to give it a name or identity. She needed to wear herself out, burn away the anger and spite.
"Te Invidia." The walls were calling to her. Maybe it was her own mind.
But it wasn't any language she was familiar with. Her feet stopped their movement as curiosity took over. "Hello?"
She turned around to look back. There were closed doors down that hall. No signs of a human.
"Devenio a mi. Te."
There it was again. She spun back around, her hair lashed with the quick movements. Still no one.
"Show yourself!" She demanded now. It was no time for foolish trickery.
Something slid down her arm and she shrieked, firing a half-ready star bolt to her right. It buried itself into the wall and a chunk of it crumbled to the floor. Oops.
She glanced down at her arm.
And screamed. It was red. There was blood. Slick and-
Frantic, she wiped a hand across it. She didn't feel hurt? It came off muddily onto her hands. And there was a gash. It marred her skin creatively. Long and curvy and still bleeding heavily.
Smacking a hand over it with a little difficulty she could feel herself trembling.
"Starfire!" There was a voice. Someone… Raven! Yes. Where was Raven?
A floor down? Too far.
"Raven!" She screamed it back at the girl. The empty hallway was now making her edgy. She didn't remember this part of the tower. She should have been questioning where she was.
"Saligia!"
There it was again. It was in her ears, in her head. She spun in a tight circle feeling nauseous. Her hands were glazed in blood.
"Raven!" She yelled again and started running. Her feet lifted off the ground. "Help!" She flew down the hallway picking up speed.
Her heart was pounding. But it was after her, on her. She could feel it.
Raven appeared in the hallway. Starfire was radiating from this point. There was no girl in sight.
"Starfire!" She yelled it. That aura was around here as well. It was mingling with Starfire.
How could they be here… and yet not?
"Raven!" It was her voice. It sounded echoic and muffled. A floor up? A floor down?
Maybe she was in one of the rooms?
She rushed footsteps down the hallway. "Starfire!" She called again and broke into a run.
The energy in the air was building. It was pushing her away. Keeping her back.
Her foot smacked down on something… not quite floor. She slowed her step, taking a glance.
Blood.
It was fresh, she could smell it now. It was almost splattered across the floor, droplets led towards her and in front of her.
Starfire?
A sickness stirred in her stomach. She ran forward again. Where was she? She felt to be everywhere.
Her aura was scattered, the malevolence was suffocating.
"Help!" The call was so soft. Could she?
The walls were bobbing and shaking and… Raven was unstable. A pressure had entered her mind and was lulling her lower. It enticed her mind. She felt sleepy and-
Her knees gave out beneath her. The floor was wet beneath her. Sticky even. Her eyelids were drooping out of her control. She wasn't tired. She was fine.
Starfire needed saving. She needed saving because of her. Because of Raven's own conjuring.
It had to be that.
There was laughing in her ears. Feminine.
The world crashed around her as the bases gave in.
Invidia: Also known as Envy. Starfire, very obviously.
Next chapter: Ira
Translation: You envy. Come to me. You. You commit a deadly sin!
Any guesses on what's going on so far? One sin left my dears.
:Bloody Fae: