Prompt: "Element"
It was raining and frigid the night, they left the hiding place. Raven, shivering in the unusual cold, never felt more out of her element, wrapped in a blanket in Malchior's arms. With Terra in the lead, who insisted her name was not Terra but Jennifer, they stole into night. Despite the chill and ache it left in her bones—a new experience for the Titan—Raven ignored her discomfort, keeping an eye out for any Sladebots as their motley band walked off.
The first resting place was in the inside of a shattered convenience store. Looters had long since carried off anything useful, including the cash register. They waited long enough to catch their breaths before leaving again.
It was at the second rest that one of them finally broke the silence. This time in a decimated ice cream parlor, they broke out "dinner".
"I really really hate energy bars," Melvin announced, glaring at the offending object.
"It's what we have," Raven reminded her.
Melvin sighed and began to eat. "I know…"
"Jennifer," Malchior started, before any more complaints could be voiced. "How much longer until we get to the last rest point for the night?"
Jennifer paused mid-bite of her own bar and swallowed hard. "There's a gym that's still up. That's where we're heading. We can get some more food and shelter there." After a moment, she went on. "Tomorrow, I want to make a detour."
"What kind of a detour?" Gizmo asked, mutiny underlying his voice. Raven was half tempted to kick him for his ungratefulness but settled for glaring at him and Not-Terra-Jennifer.
Terra/Jennifer shifted. "My house."
"Your house!" he snorted in disdain.
"Why?" Malchior asked, cutting him off.
She sighed. "I haven't heard from my foster parents since the morning of the attack," she paused to take a slow bite of her bar. "I want to see…if maybe…." She looked up, determined. "I need to know what happened to them."
Not where they were, or how they were doing.
What happened to them.
Raven quietly chewed her energy bar, uneasy as the silence settled in again. She didn't know how to reassure people, let alone those who (rightly?) are expecting the worst.