Raven spent the entirety of the next day in her room, seeking her center. It wasn't all that unusual, being more volatile than the other Titans as she was--when she didn't respond to BB's breakfast call they shrugged it off as Raven being Raven.
It wasn't until about six that evening that someone came knocking at her door. It was Starfire, looking particularly pensive. She was holding some over-sized book in her arms.
"Star..." Raven trailed off. She hated apologies. They were always embarrassing and inadequate. Maybe allowing yourself to feel embarrassed and inadequate was the point, but she infinitely preferred Beast Boy's method of just pretending the offense never happened. "Star, I--"
"I have something for you!" the orange girl interrupted with false joviality. With an awkward shrug, Raven stepped aside to let the girl in. Focusing far too intently on the task of sitting in the middle of the floor and opening her scrap book, she pointed out the photos in that same forced tone, "This is a photographic record of our celebration after we reclaimed the Tower from HAEYP."
"Right. See...Star..."
"And this was taken when we reconnoitered into Friend Beast Boy's room during his slumber and applied cosmetics to his face!"
"Uh-huh," Raven ignored her. Where was Star going with this? "Star, how much of that journal did you read? See I, uh, I didn't..."
"And this is Terra with her head cut off!"
"Because I wasn't really--Wait; what?" Sure enough the next two pages were of the group, including Terra. In them, the geomancer had been clearly cut--or sometimes torn--out and tapped back in at some later date. There was Terra and Beast Boy sharing a pizza (Beast Boy having a strange, purplish tint to his cheeks) her face and hair was floating disconnected slightly above her shoulders like a helium balloon about to make an escape. There was another of most of the team engaging in some sort of sport (volleyball, perhaps), and again Terra's head was at some strange, disjointed angle between her upraised arms. Another was a copy of the group pic sitting on Raven's desk; Terra and Star; Terra doing karaoke (when did this happen?); Terra and Beast Boy getting caught playing Seven Minutes in Heaven (Beast Boy was in one corner twiddling his thumbs, Terra was reading Uncanny X-Men). She was decapitated or torn out completely and re-fitted in every single one.
"Star..." Raven blinked trying to absorb this new absurdity. "You...did this?"
"I was angry," Star turned a page and now they were looking at a collection of sketches of various animals the alien had encountered. "I was mad at her, but she was not here to be mad at."
The witch said nothing; her brow lowered and she pursed her lips trying to figure what it was the other girl was trying to say. Although it was only photographs, the message was clear, and clearly wasn't Star. Was Trigon's influence spreading? "So you cut her face."
Starfire nodded, her green glistening with the tears that threatened to fall. She sniffed once and Raven mentally kicked herself. She hated this kind of stuff. She always managed to blunder into other people's feelings in one gauche manner or another. But Star went on, "I got over it. But I had to be angry to get over it, and she wasn't here, Raven."
What the hell does this have to do with me?, Raven wondered glumly. This heart-to-heart stuff was Cyborg's thing. They sat there for a while as Star slowly turned through the scrap book: pressed flowers, photos, written blurbs on human behavior, and an endless supply of photos Robin (there were other Titans too...). Finally, Raven tried again, " You...put her back in though."
Ah. A half-smile this time, so perhaps that was the right thing to say. "I got over it. You shall get over it, Raven. It is okay."
She started at that. "I'm not sure I know what you mean," she said, although the furtive glance at that damn diary said otherwise.
"Nothing, Raven. It is okay."
"I--I don't--"
"It is okay."
xx/xx/xxxx
Sometimes I forget Starfire people aren't the two-dimensional characters they pretend at...For all my observation I don't know the Titans at all. I wonder why. Incidentally, I came across a bizarre use for belladonna involving spiritual-puppetry...
(oooo)
It was early the next day when a sleepy-looking Beast Boy passed her in the hall. He mumbled something resembling G'mornin', Rae, and stumbled his way to the gym for his two-mile run. Raven side-stepped him and continued to hasten in the direction of Starfire's room, the shoebox hidden away in the depths of her heavy night-cloak. Arriving at the door, she gave it a weak, tentative knock and waited thirty seconds before deciding that Star wasn't there and she should dash back to her own room before she made a fool of herself. Just as she turned the door opened.
"Ah. It is truly a glorious morning, Friend Raven, is it not?"
"Uh...right. Good morning. I...I um..." She should have rehearsed this. Instead of explaining, she simply opened the box, choosing not to look at Star as she did so.
It was a box of photos. Raven never cared for them, but Beast Boy had always given her prints anyway. "There's, um...pictures of everyone...I'm sure."
Starfire did that thing where her eyes got all dewy. "Pi-pictures of Terra, you mean?" she sniffled.
"...I suppose," she admitted.
"Ah. Many thanks, Friend." Star hugged her again, which was probably a good sign.
(oooo)
In the middle of the night there was another pounding at Starfire's door. If this is Beast Boy, I shall thrash him, she told herself. But, upon opening the door she found Raven on the other side, in a bit of an agitated state. "Is...something wrong, Friend?" she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes and stifling a yawn.
"No, nothing wrong; it's--can't you feel it?" Raven practically bounced in place. "Come on--we're going to the roof." Waiting for an answer she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The girl stared at Star with an almost manic expression; a faint glow reflecting from somewhere behind her eyes like a cat.
Star narrowed her own eyes at the sight. "Are you the real Raven, this time?" she asked, poking the other girl, as if she might be a holograph.
"What are you talking about?" Without waiting for an answer, Raven turned and headed down the corridor. "Come on," she gestured with one hand. "We'll miss it."
On the roof Star supposed by the position of the moon that it was fairly deep into night--about one in the morning perhaps. Other than that, there was nothing to see. "It is raining," she observed, taking care to avoid any puddles. She had heard the rain earlier of course, but it hadn't occurred to her until now to put something on her feet.
"It's drizzling," Raven corrected, walking out the door and heading for the center of roof. With a wave of the hand, a semi-transparent sphere of black surrounded her to keep her from the rain. Starfire ran after her--Raven may as well keep them both dry.
"It is cold and it is raining," she complained, hugging herself and stomping in place to keep warm--at least until the water splashed up onto her. Apparently Raven wasn't shielding them from the cold roof and puddles. Of course not--Raven had on shoes. "What are we doing here?" Stare grumbled.
"It's drizzling," Raven repeated. "In about three seconds it'll be raining. Haven't had a cloudburst in Jump in three years."
"RAVEN!" Star shouted in an admonishing tone. "What is going--by Freklar's beard!"
Even as she spoke the clouds opened up and heavy sheet after sheet of fat raindrops feel from the sky in such thick waves she could barely see anything else and the deafening sound of so many drops hitting every thing everywhere was akin to thunder. "The sea is falling from the sky!" she observed with wonder.
"A cloudburst," Raven agreed, "extreme rainfall, and sometimes a little hail from very high clouds, sometimes with tops above 15 kilometers. it'll only last a few minutes."
"This is amazing!"
Raven nodded her agreement, although Starfire wasn't looking in her direction. They continued to silently watch the intense rainfall for a few moments before Raven spoke again. "You don't meditate with me any more." It was simple statement, not accusation.
"We no longer shop together, either," Starfire agreed.
Raven nodded at that. She could tolerate shopping, but not enough for Starfire's tastes, and Star's interest in meditation was quite casual. The two were at an impasse for lack of common interest, or perhaps lack of diversity; lack of effort. That was when she recalled something she'd seen in Starfire's photo album and hit upon an idea. "I'm going shopping tomorrow actually--not to the mall," Raven quickly amended, seeing Star's expression. "But I think you'll be interested."
xx/xx/xxxx
Made some stops by the horticulture nurseries--only bought half the items on my list. Starfire seemed particularly enthusiastic about baby's breath and Calopogon orchids. She says her name in Tameranian is Koriand'r. After that, I had to show her the spice her name sounds like...
(oooo)
Meditating was next to impossible what with Star staring at her the past hour. The girl had latched onto her in that famous way of hers and showed up at Raven's door every spare minute she had this past week. It would end soon: even now Star was fidgeting, gazing longingly at all the strange objects that were Serious Business and Not For Touching. When she sighed for the umpteenth time Raven felt she had to either amuse the girl or strangle her.
"Want your future read?"
That was how she discovered that casting bones mystified the alien girl...
"Ah! Again, again!"
"Right...about your sister then?" Raven said scooping the light bird bones, and checking the pattern of dust for any marred sections.
"Marriage!" was Starfire's answer. Of course.
Raven pursed her lips, lightly juggling the small bones like dice and giving then a practice throw. "With something like this, it's far more effective to ask the bones about a specific pairing--"
Starfire was silent a moment, then fidgeted, moving from a kneeling position to shift her weight onto her hip. Raven didn't move; just sat there frowning to the pattern on the floor.
"By your reaction, I judge," Starfire tried to contain her obvious euphoria, " that does not occur often?"
Raven spared her a brief glance, a ghost of a smile flickering across her expression, knowing Star's effort to remain solemn for once. Her eyes drifted back down. "No," she finally answered. "Never."
Another quiet minute stretched out marked only by the steady ticking of a clock Starfire could never find. Finally, Raven stood and walked away from the circle "I'll have to research this in my grimoires," She glanced over her shoulder, her expression almost amused. "What are you going to do?"
"I shall be wed, of course!" Star replied jumping to her feet. Apparently the solemn moment had passed. It was hard to tell with Raven.
Raven laughed, a surprisingly throaty, gravelly melody. The alien girl had this zeal for...everything that had been coaxing that reaction from Raven recently. There was something pleasant about honest laughter that Raven had never noticed, and she felt she could understand a little of Beast Boy now. "I meant how you plan to accomplish that mission."
Silence from Starfire."I...see," Raven smiled to herself. "Well, before we snatch a lock of his hair, let's try the time-tested method for it."
"Time-tested?" Star wondered.
"We're going to ask someone else to push him your way," the witch explained, pulling a tome from the shelf. " I need a minute to study." After Starfire left, Raven looked down at the pattern again, more serious. The magics were often subtle, ambiguous, and often misleading. Never in her experience was anything so explicit and Raven personally didn't trust it. Bending down to scoop up delicate bones which had arranged themselves into the tell-tale letter "R."