"Wow, Bumblebee. Great idea having us all go to somewhere fancy for once!"

"Heh...you call Red Lobster 'fancy', Cyborg?"

"Well, what I mean to say is--"

"Not pizza."

"Right, Speedy."

"Heheheheheee! Oh, it is marvelous to enjoy such festivity with our increased ranks!"

"Hey, I figured--ya know. Steel City... ... ...port town... ...lots of seafood! That's just the perfect thing to treat you guys. I mean--after all--you are the originals!"

"Here here!"

"Unnnghhhh...Where are the biscuits already?"

"Just hang in there, B.B. And order all out!"

"Y-Yeah! Robin's paying...Isn't that right, Robin?"

"Erm..."

"Hehehehe!"

"...can't we do this Dutch?"

"Titan's East can handle it. We've got ourselves a pocketbook of our own!"

"¡No necesitamos mucho dinero para tenemos una noche magnifica!"

"¡Si, es verdad, Menos! Oye, Titanes...¡Gozamos de la cena!"

"Hehehehe...Verily, we shall be joyous in our blessings!"

"All I want are biscuits. Unless they serve a salad here that--like--hasn't been mixed with fish or mollusk or whatnot--which I doubt!"

"Shhh! You're ruining the moment, litlte man! I'm sure they have--I dunno--veggie stuff here..."

"Just give Beast Boy the lobster bib and have done with it."

"HEY!"

"Ha ha ha... ...Hey, I am ALL OVER this smoked salmon!"

"Grouper for me. Oooh! Who wants TROUT?"

"Hay muchos tipos de pescado...Es increible..."

"Take your time everyone. As long as TEN Titans are in the same building, I'm pretty sure Robin's and Bumble Bee's wallets are safe..."

"Heh, that's rich--Whoah, dude, we ARE ten Titans now, aren't we?"

"Uh...Duh?"

"Sorry, I guess I just count Mas and Menos as one person."

"Que va!"

"Hehehe...OOOH! The krill of the popcorn!"

"Shrimp."

"Huh?"

"That's popcorn shrimp, Starfire--"

"Aquatic animals are posessing of hardened kernals?"

"Nnngh... ...Cyborg, you take over for a second while I look through the appetizers."

"Nuh uh. She's your alien, Robin."

"Hehehe!"

"Killer! They got beer--"

"AHEM!"

"...oh...Right. Miss Mouseketeer makes the rules now."

"You bet 'yo ass!"

"I swear to God, I'm sober everytime I carry the quiver--"

"BISCUITS! Thank god they're HERE!"

"Weeee!"

"I get seconds! Seconds!"

Hands reach across the table.

Fingers eagerly grab at the cheddar clumps littered aesthetically throughout the basket.

Smiles and chuckles and all the Norman Rockwell goodness of mutual franchise seafooding.

And I'm sitting here.

And I can't help but pause and blink...

Gazing around and gazing around and gazing around...

"... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ...where's Aqualad?"

"Rae! You gonna eat, girl, or is the Cheddar Bay nirvana gonna go to the rest of us?"

"I'm not hungry. Where's Aqualad?"

"Der... ...I dunno..."

"Oh, I think I saw him outside," Bumble Bee motions with her head.

I squint at her. "When, outside?"

"Uh... .. ...when we got here?"

"... .. ...," I stand up. "Excuse me... ...but I've got somewhere to go..."

"Ain't you hungry, Raven?"

"Eh...," I wave a hand at Cyborg. "Save me a salad..."

"Would not the 'herbal tea' suffice as well, dear friend?" Starfire asks in earnest.

I look at her. I manage a slight smile. "If the have it... ...sure..."

"Keep in contact, Raven," Robin drones.

I leave the table.

Walking...

Walking... ...

Walking... ... ...

I've exited the Red Lobster.

And...

Sure enough...

There he is.

Sitting, hunched over, on a bench bordering the parking lot.

Beyond, the highways and pavement sea of Steel City loom. There is a grayness to them that mimics the cloud hovering over his head.

By the sound of Aqualad's third sigh, I've crept over to his side.

"Oh.. ...h-hi, Raven...," he manages with an awkward smile.

"Salutations," I drone. I sit next to him. "You look... ... ...dry."

"You don't know the half of it...," he mutters.

"... ... ...should I know?"

He smiles tiredly. "Raven, really. You should be inside with the others... ...enjoying yourself."

"Enjoyment is something that... ...is best written down," I lower the hood from my head. Blue strands flutter in the breeze. "And I'm a long...longggg way from cozying up to Coleridge in my warm reading chair."

"Heh... ...I wish I knew what that meant."

"And I wish I knew what was eating at you."

He glances at me from aside. "Wow, so suddenly compassionate, Raven?"

I merely stare at him.

"... ... .. ...," he sighs and stares down at his feet. "I just feel... ... ...like I'm at the entrance to a death camp."

"I'm sorry that your new teammates don't share your sentiment," I murmur.

"Why should you be?" Aqualad grumbles. "Why should anyone be sorry? This isn't my place. This is DRY LAND... ...where the blessed living things of fin and scale are treated like a meat harvest. Unnngh.. ...and there's so much CONCRETE! And INDUSTRY! Hardly a Poseidon-forsaken POOL or LAKE in sight! I feel my skin crackling away already... ...my SKIN, Raven!"

"It must be hard for you..."

"Mmmf..I-I can't complain...," he sighs. "The Eastern Tower is built right into the Water. I have plenty of access to aquatics at our home base. And it really pays to be a member of such an outstanding team. So...I-I really am lucky. Just, with good luck comes some strange vibrations, do you know what I mean?"

"It's not the good time of year for tsunami analogies."

"Not that. Just.. ...I wish I'd just get over it!"

I narrow my eyes. "Get over what, Aqualad?"

"Well, wanting to strangle everyone inside this 'eatery' for munching on some very good friends of mine."

"How do you know they were once friends of yours?" I blink. "...the eaten fish, that is..."

"That's just it. I DON'T know. Ugh... ...I'm so pathetic. Forgive me, I'm really making a big deal out of nothing..."

"... ... ...," I look down at my feet. I suddenly realize that they're dangling just an inch above the ground. I blink at that... ...but think nothing further. "Aqualad..."

"Hmm?"

I tilt my head up and gaze at the gray-blue wane of evening. "When I first came here from Azar...to this dimension... .. ...I was astonished that so many people lived in...joy..."

Aqualad blinks. "... ...really?"

I nod. "The people of Azar--that is, the keepers of the Book of Azar and its teaching--are a melancholy people. They aren't depressed, but they are melancholy. For they have accepted reality for what it is. A losing battle with the fading energy of this universe. Joy is... ...not quite so prevalent in my home-dimension. Nonexistant, no, just not common."

"And when I came here.. ...and I met the Titans... ...I thought they were absolute morons. I was very much glad that they accepted me, but I couldn't understand their levity. I thought they were immature. And--well--in a lot of ways, they are..."

Aqualad slightly smirks at that.

"But I respect them now. It took a lot of time, but I respect them for who they are and the hope and joy they show for life. It took me a while to realize that even the faculties of Azar are limited. Limited by scope and by potency when the spectrum of the world changes under its feet like a slippery carpet."

"You're saying that the culture of Atlantis means nothing here, huh?" Aqualad sighs. "...that I should just get over myself?"

I shake my head gently. "No. I'm just saying that the Atlantean life is simply that. The Atlantean life. You can expect it to help you throughout all your days... ..but you cannot expect it to prepare yourself for all of the changes ahead. For all of the ridiculously wyrd things you may be coming across. This is a new world for you, Aqualad. And who you are is going to be as much about dealing with these sort of differences as it will be about falling back on your own precepts. Yes, the way these people eat fish and walk around on dry land is probably kinda... ...sickening to you. But in time, I think even you can learn to live with it. Cuz there's something to be had in shocking lifestyle if you can just turn the cheek every now and then and.. ..." My lip curves awkwardly. "... ...count it all 'joy'..."

"... ... ...," Aqualad takes a deep breath. He raises a finger: "But I don't have to eat fish, right?"

I drone: "I have yet to sit down for a single hour of video gaming with Beast Boy."

"Heh... ...we all can manage to stay true to ourselves, huh?"

I nod. "And I really think you should talk to your new teammates about where your values lie. Or else they're going to start bringing your friends home in tacos."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh," Aqualad holds a hand over his gut and dramatically bends over.

I raise an eyebrow. "... ...Aqualad?"

"Nothing.. ...j-just... ...nothing..."

"... .. .. ...okay..."

"But, y-you're right, Raven...," he sits up. "Maybe--like--if I told them stories about my time with marine life.. ... ...they'd be a little less like barbarians for the Ocean's sake!"

"Uh... ...Yeah... ...something like that..."

"Hehe...I can tell them this one story! A story about a fish I met at the bottom of the Atlantic Trench!"

"Was it's name 'Wanda'?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing," I lean my chin on my hand and gently smile at him. "By all means... .. ...go on..."