I'm rather surprised to hear the knock at my door. It's nighttime outside the window of my room. The Bay Waters reflect starlight and the Cityscape slopes into evening shadows. I've been floating in the middle of the room for the last hour or two straight for late afternoon meditation. I don't even realize that time has flown by.

There's a knock at the door again.

I grumble.

I land on my feet. I pad across my room to the door. I slide it open.

"Yes….?" I drone. "……" I blinke.

A pair of eyes shiver in the hallway. A pair of frightened, green glowing eyes.

I squint into the blackness of the corridor. "Starfire?"

Her voice is a comical blend of trembling and nervousness. Shakily, she utters: "S-S-Sorry to t-t-trouble you, R-Raven….b-b-but might I request f-from you a c-candle or an electric t-torch of bright illumination?"

"What, are you planning on a trip in the basement?" I murmur. "Just flip on the lights, Starfire…."

She trembles. "B-But all the lights in the T-Tower are out!"

"……," I glance both ways up and down the hallway. "They are?"

"Y-Y-Yes. Just m-minutes ago," she's hugging something to her chest. It looks like a pillow or an alien stuffed animal. The fezzy tendrils coming off the huggable object at random locations must be a Tamaranian homemaker's mimic of tentacles. "My t-trek here has been through h-horrible darkness…"

"M-Must be blackout," I utter. "The City does tests of the power grid this time of year anyways. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure it will be on in a matter of hours."

"But it is most certainly d-dark as of th-this moment!"

"Oh, well, I'm sure there are some candles and lighters in the kitchen," I say curtly and move to slide the door close.

Starfire urgently sticks her head forward. "B-B-But your room was c-closer! And all th-the other friends have d-departed for the evening out!"

"Starfire….," my eyes thin as I regard her. "Is there something wrong? Something you're not telling me?"

She bites her lip, hugs her alien….thingy closer and looks aside. "I am…..m-most in need of a candle or a flashlight right about now…."

"Why not just light up a starbolt? That'll help."

"Th-That takes great concentration. Besides….it is not the same…."

I stare at her. And I blink. And I think.

"You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?"

She fidgets.

I roll my eyes. "Well, tough luck. Heroes should be used to unexpected outcomes, and if you can't handle a little blackout then—"

"Pleeeeeease, friend Raven!" Starfire rocks back and forth. "I implore you! I shall not trouble you further from now on! I promise you, if you help me out for this instance I will do my best to prevent all manners of joyful annoyances from assailing your person!"

That sounds promising, actually…..

I look at Starfire. I look at her trembling. In her state, handing her a candle would be a one-way ticket towards burning the Tower down.

"Come on in….," I slide the door open wider.

She trembles, but blinks in confused hesitancy. "R-Raven? But…..th-th-this is your room…."

"I know. It's okay," I smile ever so slightly and gestured inward with a hand. "Just don't knock anything over. It's pretty dark."

"Mmmm….," she whimpers and floats in limply.

I slide the door shut behind her.

Minutes later, I have a ring of candles set on the floor. All of them are lit and flickering gently in the cool, quiet room. A circle of amber warmth glows in the center of my abode, and beyond the cold blue of the night and the watery Bay beyond loom in languid silence.

Starfire sits her trembling self down quite close to the ring of fire, cross-legged, hugging her stuffed extraterrestrial to her chest. She lets out one shuddering sigh of—what I hope is relief.

"I swear, Starfire….," I light one last candle before extinguishing the match in a glass tray. "You have super Tamaranian strength. I've seen you tackle Cinderblock one on one and throw your body through Fang's strong web silk,….but you can't handle a little darkness?"

"Darkness is bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad!" the alien clenches her eyes shut and shakes her head left and right. "It is most difficult to summon joy in a realm that is absent of illumination!"

"Heh….maybe you should start finding yourself a new philosophy."

"It is not that!…..Ohhh…," Starfire hugs her plushie to her chest and looks over at me as I levitate by her. "When I was a young gibforb….I accidentally fell down a slimy Orthax Niche. It was cold and filthy and DARK there. I have not accumulated good memories from that instance. Dark situations have troubled me ever since."

"Oh….um…..th-that's too bad….," I sit on the bed and recline to a book. I flip few a through pages. I pause. I look over at her and the candles. "How long were you in that Niche?"

"F-For as long as it took my fellow neighbors to retrieve me from the nearest Orthax orifice…"

I blush and clear my throat. "Uh…..l-let's keep your mind off the dark and focus on other things, how's that, Starfire?"

"I do apologize, Raven. On my home planet, my sleeping nook is graciously stocked with nightlights. Here in my room, Robin has made great efforts to supply me with similar materials. But alas, a lack of Terran electricity makes that futile…."

"Where are the others, anyways?" I hadn't noticed them take off. I never do. They must be lost in the blackout by now. Should I be concerned? Probably not….

"Robin and Cyborg drove in the T-Car to look at new…erhm….'buh-ling' for Cybort's 'whipp'. I do not know what their expletives meant, but supposedly they are experiencing an endeavor full of realistic canines."

"Ummm…."

"And Beast Boy and Terra ventured out on a trip to raid Italian restaurants of their pasta, or so the changeling enthusiastically declared. But Terra seemed to be preoccupied about something. Bashful, even. Tell me, Raven, what would Beast Boy and Terra need 'protection' for if they already have their Titan communicators with them?"

"Ahem…..you know what….forget about them," I sigh and flip through more pages while on my page. "Nnngh….wish I was a good conversationalist."

"Y-You need not f-force yourself to talk to me, Raven…," Starfire stammers. "Your candles shall suffice nicely."

I blink. "Oh….uhm……..all right."

"……."

I tilt my nose into my book, aided by the edge of amber glow.

Starfire sits on the floor, hugging her plushie.

I am silent.

She is silent.

"………"

"………."

"………you can learn a lot from someone by looking at their candles."

I winced, face tensing. An artery pulsing in my temple. I shake it off and grumble: "Yeah….uh huh…."

"For instance, Raven, your candles are gentle. Scented. Almost magical…," she murmurs while staring gently into a smoothly glowing little flame. "They mimic the grace that you exhibit when fighting crime with your meditation."

"What are you trying to flatter me for this time, Starfire?" I murmur, flipping a page. "I have lent you all the hair braids I have. I don't even use them anymore."

"It is not flattery, Starfire. It is observation," she glances up at me. "Your candles hold a mystery. Something precious like yourself."

"You don't say….."

"Hehehehe….you are humble, yes?"

"I am merely who I am," I mutter as I scan down a page. "It shouldn't interest you more than usual."

"Surely by now, Raven, you must realize that I am always interested in my friends."

"Gee, Starfire, it never occurred to me."

Her green eyes are thin. "Is this the 'blatant sarcasm' that Terra keeps telling me about?"

I glare at her suspiciously. "What does Terra keep telling you about?"

"Eep!" she retreats to the candles and her plushie. "N-Nothing!"

"What does Terra say?"

"M'bittu! F'voratta siul klip!"

"Nnngh…," I sigh and return to my book. "Never mind…"

Starfire slowly turns to look at me again. "Do you think that…..Terra and I make good friends, Raven?"

"You two are certainly noisy enough," I drone.

"Hehehehe….you jest! But seriously, Raven…."

"I dunno, Star….," I half-glance at her with the book in my hand. "I suppose….if you're happy when you hang out with her, that's what matters. Right?" I don't really know.

She hesitates a little. She bites her lip some and says: "No, Raven. I do not believe it is as simple as that."

"Hmmm?"

She tilts her head up to look at me. "I….believe that the best friendships are not dependent on the level of joyfulness…."

"……..," I drop the book and glare at her. "Who are you and what have you done with Starfire?"

"Hehehehehe….please! Listen!"

I lean my chin boredly against my hand.

She proceeds: "A friendship….a true friendship is something that makes you feel safe. Safe and secure."

"Do you not feel safe around Terra or something?" I drone.

"That is not what I insist on conveying…," Starfire says. "But rather…" She smiles gently at me. "I feel much safer and much warmer with you, Raven."

I raise an eyebrow. "Warmer?"

"It is almost like how I feel with Robin. Both happy….a-and safe."

"But….," I blink. "You annoy me half the time, Starfire, and I yell at you."

"Hehehehe….I know…," she sing-songs. "That is how I know."

"How you know what?"

"That you are being honest with me, Raven. And in extreme cases…you will do what's best for me, and what is best for us."

"…………….you're wyrd," and I return to the book.

"I am being honest, friend!" she implores. "In many ways, Raven, you are like the older sister I wish Blackfire was to me….."

"………..," I take a breath. I look at her. "You…..don't really mean that….."

"Oh……but I do….," she nods.

"……..," I glance off into the shadows retreating from the candleflame. "Funny…….I…..don't know what it's like to have a sister……"

"Truly?"

I look at her.

She looks at me.

I say: "I always imagined it being a ruthlessly annoying ezperience."

"Truly?" she smiles. "Hehehehehehe….."

A beat.

"……………….," I take a deep breath. "How are you doing?"

"I-It's not so bad now."

"The candles bright enough for you?"

"Yes, Raven. Voluminous thanks…."

"Here…." I clap the book closed and place it on the bed. I slide off and float over across the candles from her. "…be still."

I place my fingers into a meditative pose and chant.

The flames flicker and glow a bright blue.

The room lights up more.

Starfire palms her two hands together and coos.

My lips curve slightly and I ask if she likes it.

She fervently nods and goes on about an experience with dancing Vegan Flames of the Drenthax Nebula.

I ask her how an alien who has been in the pitch black recesses of space can be afraid of the dark.

She upturns her nose and asks me why I allowed her into a room that is supposedly forbidden to all Titans.

I say 'touche' and then listen as she rambles on about her and her family back at home and bonfires they lit on the Tamaranian countryside for various folklore festivals and activities.

I tell her about the fire meditation rituals in Azarath under the tutelage of the higher acolytes.

She tells me about her teachers back at her Tamaranian learning institutions.

I ask her about her classmates.

She asks me about earthling teenagers.

I ask her about what Robin's been teaching her.

She asks me about boys.

I ask her about boys.

And somewhere two people giggle under the halo of girl talk and on into the night the power flickers back on and the other teammates return home but nobody notices and nobody cares and nobody is none…

The wiser.