If there was anything that ever fascinated Solor, it was the fair that came to Jump City. Structures made of simple mechanics, designed only for the pleasure of humans, and tasty treats that the half-dragon never even imagined littered the pier. And the lights were almost as beautiful as the stars that he loved so much. Currently, he and Starfire were on the one called the ferris wheel, enjoying the fireworks display as they tasted the treats that he never had before.
"This popcorn is most delicious", Solor exclaimed, taking another clawful of it. "Even though it is not meat, it has a flavor unlike any food I have ever had before!"
"And this cotton candy is very different from the little white balls that Robin has supplied for us", Starfire agreed. "It disappears as you taste how sweet it is!"
"I believe it is the sugar it is made of", Solor said, smiling. "Beast Boy explained it slightly, but again, I am not completely sure…"
"When I first came to this planet, I did not think I would ever fit in", Starfire admitted, smiling slightly. "Earth was full of strange things. But now I see that-"
Her words were interrupted by more explosions, and Solor couldn't help but smile as he saw more of the fireworks light the sky, letting out a pleased rumble from the back of his throat. "Amazing", he whispered.
Had he been looking at his friend, he'd have seen her looking right at him as she said, "Earth is full of amazing things, too."
"Best planet I have ever been to", Solor joked lightly.
His cheer and joy was interrupted by the screams of the tamaranean being abducted by an odd machine. It resembled an octopus, but with only four tentacles. It also appeared to be made of metal. In all honesty, that's all Solor cared about. "Starfire!" he shouted, both in surprise and anger. With a flare of his wings, he began chasing the machine that was attempting to fly off with his friend. As he did, he pulled out his communicator. "Titans, I need your assistance!"
"What?" Robin replied, looking confused. "I thought you were with Star."
At that moment, said alien flew past the half-dragon, with the pink octopus chasing her. Solor quickly banked right, turning around as fast as he could, and chased after them. "That is what I need assistance with!"
He caught up with the group, and landed just in time to hear Beast Boy say, "Who's her new best friend?"
"I dunno, but I can't wait to meet him", Robin replied, punching his fist. When Star rejoined the group, Beast Boy morphed into a crocodile, snapping his jaws at just the wrong moment, barely missing the machine. Raven lifted a hot dog stand and threw it, but it had no effect. Cyborg was the only successful one, grabbing its four tentacles and holding it back.
"I dunno what you did to make this thing mad, Star", Cyborg grunted, using all his might to hold it, "but it couldn't hurt to apologize!"
"I am… sorry?" Starfire tried weakly. Unfortunately, the octopus got loose, only to run into Robin's bo staff, which knocked it into the sea.
"So… did we just win?" Leave it to Beast Boy to jinx everything. It burst out of the dock, flying into the air when Solor had enough. He quickly jumped onto the thing, scanning it's outside.
"No off switch", he muttered, raising his claws. He managed to tear a hole into it's side, and blew fire into its now vulnerable circuitry. Quickly, it began convulsing, and the half-dragon had enough time to jump off before it exploded, joining another session of fireworks. Flaring his wings to slow his descent, he landed next to his friends. "Whatever it was, it cannot harm you any longer, Starfire."
The tamaranean only frowned, slightly worried. "But… why did it wish to hurt me at all?"
XxXxX
When the group arrived at the tower, Starfire immediately seemed to have a change of mood. She called them into the living room, wishing to express her thankfulness with a Tamaranean Poem of Gratitude.
All six thousand verses.
Needless to say, the Titans gave her a stare that said, "Wait, what?"
"I see you haven't changed changed a bit."
The new voice immediately put Solor on edge, letting a low growl escape his lips as he turned to the couch, where some stranger was sitting. His growling stopped when he noted how similar she looked to his teammate. Unlike Starfire, though, this girl had black hair, purple eyes, and armor similar to what the tamaranean was wearing when she originally arrived on Earth.
"When we were little", the girl continued, ignoring the growls, "I was always rescuing Starfire."
Said alien only squealed in delight, and practically glomped the girl. "Sister!" she cried.
The alien, the half-dragon determined, chuckled, before breaking the hug, holding up a green gem attached to a necklace. "Brought you a present."
Starfire immediately gasped. "A Centauri Moon Diamond?! Where did you…?"
"On the Centaury moons, of course!" She slipped it on her little sister's neck, and smiled. "Oh, look, it matches your eyes!" Starfire only beamed as she wore the diamond proudly.
"You must meet my friends!" she decided, grabbing the girl's hand. "Everyone, this is my big sister!"
"Blackfire", the elder alien interrupted, stepping in front of her younger sister. "And since Star told me all about the Titans in her transmissions, let me guess… Cyborg." She pointed at the robotic man, who offered her a handshake.
"Pleased to meet you, little lady." The sound of screeching metal met Solor's ears. "Little lady, big handshake. Well, alright then."
"Raven", Blackfire continued, walking on to the next member of the team. "I like that gemstone on your ajna chakra."
Despite her monotone voice, it held a hint of surprise. "You… know about chakras?" Raven asked.
"I got way into meditation on Altara Prime." Another step, and Blackfire was face to face with the residential elf. "Beast Boy, what's up?"
"Nothing but the ceiling, baby", Beast Boy replied cheekily, causing the older Tamaranean to laugh. "See? She thinks I'm funny!" he boasted to Raven.
"Statistically, I suppose someone had to."
"And you must be Robin." Blackfire immediately took a hold of his black and yellow fashion statement. "Oh, I am loving this cape! It's positively luscious!"
Robin smirked. "Thanks. It's a high density polymerized titanium. Ten times stronger than steel."
"Fascinating", Blackfire said, looking into his eyes. "And this mask makes you look very mysterious." However, a growl interrupted her, and she turned to the final member of the team. "Oh, how could I forget? Solor, the draconic member of the Teen Titans."
Solor glared, getting into Blackfire's face. He sniffed a bit, looking her once over. Something about her made his scales crawl, and he didn't like it. He snarled again, before backing off. "I am retiring for the night", he stated. "Do not let her into my room."
"What's his problem?" Blackfire said, obviously not liking being brushed off by the dragon.
"He's… temperamental", Robin stated.
"More like just plain nasty", Beast Boy countered as soon as the dragon left the room. "It took him a month before he finally stopped threatening to light our rooms on fire if we touched any of his stuff."
The communicator beeped. "I can still hear you, Beast Boy."
XxXxX
The next day, Solor had decided to lazily spend his free time flying. He certainly enjoyed the feeling of wind on his scales and wings, and even enjoyed the feeling of it in his hair. He circled the Tower three times on take off, then began flying to the city, cruising at a slow speed. It was times like this that he enjoyed being a Titan.
"Hey there, scaly. Fancy a race?"
His eyes snapped open, and he turned to his left, seeing Blackfire floating next to him. Immediately his mood soured, and he let out a snort before he flapped his wings hard, jetting in front of the Tamaranean. "What the…?! Hey, get back here!" Despite the anger in her voice, there was a hint of playfulness.
So, she thinks this is a game? Solor mused, not looking behind. Let us see if she can keep up. And so a great chase began. The half-dragon flew all over the city, making his path erratic, filled with fake turns, sudden drops, and plenty of flips. To his surprise, Blackfire had kept up. She matched him, turn for turn, flip for flip, and the occasional spiral for spiral. He would never admit it, but he hadn't had that much fun since he had been a hatchling.
Eventually, Solor lead the black-haired alien back to the Tower, where Starfire was waiting for them, staring in shock. Immediately, Solor felt a pang of guilt, but he didn't know why. He landed, barely panting, but Blackfire seemed out of it, looking exhausted. He had to admit, she looked rather comical. He chuckled slightly. "Nice try, Blackfire. But no one, on this world or any other, can fly like I can." He turned to Starfire, giving her a gentle smile. "Hello, Star. What can I do for you today?"
"Well, friend Solor… I was hoping that I would be able to fly with you today, since I noticed you were not taking your usual nap." She glanced at Blackfire, and Solor could have sworn he saw a hint of a smirk on her face.
"I apologize, but your sister gave me the exercise I needed today", Solor motioned, showing the exhausted Tamaranean. "However, if you wish, we could spar a bit."
That immediately brightened his friend's expression. Solor didn't see it, but Blackfire scowled angrily behind him.
XxXxX
Later that day, close to sundown, Solor could be seen, on the rare occasion, with the rest of the Titans. He was simply sitting on the couch, flexing his three-toed feet a bit, when Starfire walked in, holding stacks of movies, buckets of popcorn, and candy bars. "Friends, I invite you to join me in the togetherness of a stay home movie night", she said, beaming. "I bring you popcorn and non-cotton candies. Tell me, what sort of movie shall we view?"
"Action."
"Comedy!"
"Sci Fi!"
"Horror."
"Fantasy." Everyone turned to stare at the dragon, who looked around uncomfortably. "What? Did I commit another faux pas?"
Starfire dropped the movies, looking a little flustered. "Perhaps a double feature?"
"Forget the flicks, kids!" came the voice of Blackfire. Now, instead of her armor, she wore one of her sister's outfit, showing off her toned belly, arms, and legs. She ignored the questions from Starfire and walked over to the couch. "Heard about a party downtown. Cool crowd, hot music." That got all of the boys, save for the dragon, who only snorted. At least he and Raven weren't going to agree to it.
"And it's in a creepy run down warehouse."
That made Solor frown in disapproval. Now that was just unfair.
"Hey, sweetie", Blackfire called to her sister, "raided your closet. Hope you don't mind me borrowing your look."
"Why not?" Starfire whispered sadly. "You have already borrowed my friends."
"Wish to speak about it?" She turned, seeing her last friend, Solor, approaching her with a concerned look.
"No", she immediately said, putting on a fake smile. "I do not wish to trouble you with my problems. I will be fine."
Solor had a knowing look, and let his wings, horns, and scales fade, taking on a more human look. "Tell you what. I shall stay with you."
"Solor, you do not need-"
"No no, I insist", he said, smiling. "You're just going to have to deal with the more human me."
Starfire looked a little surprised, then put on a real smile this time.
"… which includes carrying me to the party, unfortunately…"
XxXxX
"Step aside, Earthlings! The queen of the galaxy has arrived!"
The party was loud, crowded, dark, and smelled terrible. Why human teenagers enjoyed this, Solor would never know why. He could hear Starfire behind him, crying out when someone stepped on her foot. He turned around, grabbing her hand gently. "Star, it is okay", he said, smiling at her.
"This party is pointless", Raven said when they got close.
"Everything's pointless", said a goth boy who had walked up behind them. "Want to go talk about it?" With a shrug as his response, the two walked off, leaving Starfire and Solor alone.
"Hey hot alien girl! You diggin' the scene?"
At least, as alone as you could be in a filth infested warehouse.
Starfire was obviously flustered, moving closer to her friend. "I… did not know we were supposed to bring shovels." Immediately, the two boys that had approached her started laughing, while Solor snarled.
Finally, he had enough. "If you value your lives, you will leave before I give myself a reason to bring a shovel", he growled, his horns popping up from his scalp. Immediately, they paled, and ran off. Starfire gave him a thankful smile, but still looked fairly embarrassed. Immediately, before he could stop her, she ran off, disappearing into the crowd.
About ten minutes later, he found her on the roof, looking depressed. "Perhaps I do not belong here after all…"
Before Solor could say anything, Robin brushed past him, having heard what his friend said. "Of course you don't. You belong down there, having fun with the rest of us." The dragon growled slightly, but decided Starfire probably needed her leader's comfort at the moment. So, instead, he started going downstairs, only to bump into Blackfire.
"So, this is your human form?" she said, grinning. Her hands slipped under her shirt, feeling the muscles on his stomach. "Ooh, you're a tough one, aren't you?"
Solor shivered a bit at her touch, not expecting that, before he pushed away. Immediately, his scales came back, along with his horns, wings, and tail. "Back off, mortal", he snarled. "If you were not Starfire's sister, I would not hesitate to have you for my meal." He snorted a plume of smoke in her face before he traveled downstairs, rejoining the rest of his friends in the crowded, smelly warehouse.
No more than a minute later, he spotted more of the pink octopuses that had attacked Starfire. Four of them, to be exact. And he snarled as he jumped on the one closest to him, already digging into it. The other three managed to trap Starfire in a dumpster and were beginning to carry her away, when Blackfire suddenly appeared, jetting straight towards them and shooting them down with beams from her eyes.
"Yeah! Good times!" Cyborg shouted out, running to the ever popular Blackfire.
"Nice shooting, Tex!" Beast Boy complimented.
"Very nice", was all that Raven said.
"How did you know where to hit them?" Robin asked, the only one that seemed to not be impressed… besides Solor.
"Lucky guess?" Blackfire responded. That made Solor feel uncomfortable. The elder Tamaranean was hiding something.
And he was going to find out what.
XxXxX
That night ended with Blackfire going to an alien space jail. Who'd've thought?
The half-dragon knew that the elder sister had been hiding something, but to go as far as she did? Pinning all of her crimes on her sister and attempting to take her place? It was despicable. And when she was being taken away from Earth on the Centauri Police cruiser, Solor only smirked and waved cheekily before making a very rude symbol with his claws.
Now, Starfire was watching the sun rise, and her friend couldn't help but join her. "How are you feeling?"
"I am… sad for my sister", she said, hugging her knees.
"And for yourself?"
"I am just glad the truth was discovered before I was replaced."
Solor looked at her, then chuckled. "Is that what you feared?" He let his tail wrap around her shoulders, a comforting gesture for his people. "Starfire of Tamaran, you are not like your sister. You are not a partyer, a video game nerd, a martial artist, or… whatever it is Raven is… but you are you. And no one can replace that."
Starfire beamed once more, and the two leaned into each other as the sun rose on a new day.
XxXxX
Next chapter will be original, I promise