WARNING: Malchior's eating habits could possibly be quite unpleasant to some readers. Just saying. (It helps to remember that, yes, Malchior IS a 100 percent dragon in this fic.)

Prompt: Sin

They left the next night; Jennifer—who Raven was slowly, slowly trying to stop calling to her as "Ter—Jennifer"—led them down two streets into an abandoned building. It used to belong to a friend of Jennifer's, a classmate that had tried to leave after Jennifer sunk the school but never reappeared afterward. By far, it was the nicest, most stable house they had stayed in for a long time. It sent a shiver up Raven's spine to realize she based that comparison more along the facts that none of the ceilings leaked or floors dipped rather than if the house was aesthetically pleasing.

They would remain for another three days until they can figure out where to go next. Raven only wanted to head in the direction the mysterious superhero was showing up in to see if it was one of the Titans. Other than that, she cared little. In truth, this was the most anyone could agree on.

There had been an argument earlier between Jennifer, Gizmo, and Malchior which finally broke up when they agreed to decide in the morning. While the others slept, Raven watched Malchior leave. He was gone before she could stop him (she wasn't sure should wanted to stop him anyway) and sat up, careful not to disturb Melvin as she waited for Malchior to return.

It took longer than she thought, but before dawn, he finally returned.

The first thing she noticed about him was that he seemed…softer, like some of his sharp edges were worn down. As she thought on it, she realized that the gauntness she had come to associate with him and his non-diet had vanished. His clothes hung better, almost taunt at the sudden appearance of filled out flesh.

Next was that his scarf was pulled away, hanging loosely around his shoulders and neck.

Then, that there was something thick and dark smeared over his face, like melted chocolate. His tongue—extraordinarily long for a human, but perfectly suitable to a dragon in disguise—was lapping up most of it, while his hands wiped away what it couldn't reach.

And then her stomach rolled when she suddenly realized just what was on his face as he locked eyes with her, his gaze surprised. Obviously, he hadn't thought she, or anyone for that manner, would be up.

"Raven?"

"Is that blood?" She was going to be ill.

Malchior stared for a long time and shrugged. "I didn't kill anyone if that's what you're wondering," he explained. "This is one of the few things that fairytales got right about us dragons. Human flesh is really the only thing that satiates us."

"You ate someone's corpse?"

He finished cleaning his face. "It was just lying there." He paused to stare at her and her horror-stricken expression. "I hate disabusing you of any romantic notions, Raven—you have so few about me, I'm sure—but even I need to eat something."

"You stay away from Melvin," she declared. "You stay far away."

He wrapped his scarf back up around his face. "Like I would hurt a child. Not enough meat for one." She realized, distressingly, that that was a joke. "Go back to sleep, Raven. You can't get rid of me now, not when you all still need me and my magic."

"I can't trust you—I didn't before but-"

Malchior snorted, resting his hip against the couch's arm. "Don't think I'm not aware of that. But at the moment, you really haven't got much choice in the matter."

The worst thing was he was right.

"Goodnight, Raven," he called, walking back towards the door. "I'll be on watch if you need me."

Shaken and wishing desperately for her friends and teammates, Raven laid back down and clutched Melvin to her side, wishing desperately that the last few minutes could just vanish from her memory.