Honorary Titan Fan Week 2021 Prompt 4: Togetherness Summary: Raven visits the monastery to read the Tyke Titans a bedtime story, but it ends up being a little too personal for the kids. Tags: Canon Era, Canon Compliant, Protective Siblings, Reading Aloud, Bedtime Stories, Mild Hurt/Comfort

Storytime

Raven's tomes could not be considered literature for children. They detailed the darkest, dreariest magic known to all. With grim wording and gruesome ramifications, any child would have burst into tears the moment Raven started reading.

That made it quite problematic for her when the time came to put the Tyke Titans to sleep. When they wanted a bedtime story, she was left flummoxed and weaved an awkward tale often touching upon distressing subject matter. The last time she had come up with a story and accidentally slipped in a corpse, Timmy lived up to his name.

Tonight, as the Tyke Titans eyed her from their bed in the monastery, she pursed her lips. She carried a few books in her hands, all of them feeling heavier as she stepped towards them. Levitating, she sat cross-legged in midair and set aside the books. She asked the Tyke Titans to select which cover appealed to them, but the children slowly brought their gazes back to her, their frowns making sweat bead on her brow.

"What?" she asked, glancing among them.

"You always pick the stories for us. We like it when it's a surprise," Melvin said, shrugging.

"Raven picks, or we won't sleep!" Timmy bellowed, bashing his fist into the pillow and shaking the bed. "Won't sleep, won't sleep, won't, won't, won't!"

Grasping his shoulder, Raven gently squeezed it before his screaming would wake the nuns. "Okay, fine, I get it," she said, ushering him back down. She caressed his round cheek, his smile returning as she soothed him. "Well, uh, I got most of these at the grocery store. Don't be too harsh on me if they're bad."

Teether removed his thumb from his mouth with a pop. He babbled in agreement, wiggling his hand at her. Raven offered her finger, telekinetically flipping open a random book and bringing it in front of her. Teether nibbled on her, cooing in delight, drool slipping down her head, and Raven withheld her disgust, her grin tightening.

"Okay, gonna need that," she said, tugging her finger back. She wiped her hand on her cloak and held the book up. "This one is called 'The Donkey That Could' by Amy Torres. It, uh, has a donkey in it, and it sure can do stuff." She showed them the cover, revealing a bright blue donkey decorated in sparkles running on a grassy plain with birds soaring overhead.

"I bet I can make that!" Melvin proclaimed, but Raven quickly extended her hand.

"No making new friends at bedtime," she replied, gesturing at Bobby, who slumbered in the corner of their room. "We both know that will just keep you three awake even longer."

Melvin huffed and crossed her arms, Teether and Timmy chuckling. She stuck her tongue out at them, and they matched her immaturity by blowing raspberries. Raven rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, garnering their attention, tiny grins on their faces.

"So, once upon a time - why does every kid's book start like that?" She paused and shook her head. "Nevermind. So, once upon a time, there was a donkey named Philly. Weird name." She tilted her head. "Unless it's sort of a pun. Because a filly is a small horse-"

Melvin coughed into her palm. Raven hesitated, finding her smile inching closer into one cheek. Realizing she was going off-script, Raven showed them the picture. Philly stood on all the edge of a rocky cliff with the sun beaming down on him, waving at the readers, and Timmy waggled his arm in return.

Turning the page, Raven read, "Philly wanted to fly, but everyone said he couldn't. He wasn't a bird, and donkeys don't have wings." Turning the book to them showed Philly being ostracized by various birds. They pointed at him with their wings, and their beaks stretched wide open in laughter. Philly lowered his head, tears in his eyes.

"They're mean. I hope Philly eats 'em," Timmy huffed.

"Me, too," Raven said, flipping the page. "But Philly still wanted to try his best. So, he went to his friend Pingy-wait, what kind of name is-?"

Melvin coughed again, arching an eyebrow.

Raven sighed. "So, he went to his friend Pingy the Penguin. Pingy couldn't fly either, and he also wanted to fly." The illustration showed Philly and Pingy in Pingy's cottage filled with cool hues. "Together, they decided to try to fly because they believed in themselves. 'Everyone has a right to fly,' Philly said, 'and we can do it if we try.'"

Raven continued to tell them Philly's story. She found it rather juvenile the longer she read. Philly and Pingy were going to teach children a valuable lesson about overcoming obstacles, but there weren't repercussions for the birds who tormented them. Throughout the story, Philly and Pingy endured their bullying, and the birds only stopped when they started to cry.

"The birds went up to their friends - ugh, they're not friends - and wanted to help. 'Let's help you fly,' they said. So, the birds-" Raven clicked her tongue and showed them the final illustration. The birds carried Philly and Pingy across the cliff with smiles on their faces. "-lifted them over the cliff. And so, Philly was able to do it with the kindness of his friends. The end."

She slapped the book shut. The Tyke Titans stared at her, their expressions blank. Cocking her head, Raven glanced around their room, questioning, "What? Didn't you like it?"

"You didn't like it," Melvin stated, pointing at her.

"No, I didn't."

"Why?" Timmy wondered, hugging his favorite blanket.

"Because I don't believe the story should have ended like that." Groaning, Raven dragged her hand down her face. "And here I am criticizing a book aimed at toddlers."

Melvin hummed and tapped her chin. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that," she said, sitting upright. "The birds were mean to Philly and his friend, and they didn't say they're sorry. I thought it was kind of bad that they didn't."

Raven looked her right in the eyes, surprised. "Well, yeah, they bullied them, and that wasn't right."

"And they only stopped because they felt guilty. Most people wouldn't do that," Melvin said, crossing her arms. She glanced over at Bobby, who slumbered peacefully. "People didn't do that for us."

Raven's expression softened, and she floated over to Melvin. She gently stroked her head, Melvin grinning up at her with eyes that suddenly seemed somber. Teether and Timmy leaned into Melvin, and Raven wrapped her arms around them, wondering what they endured before she came into their lives.

"Were people like that to you?" she asked, Teether clinging to her cloak.

"Grown-ups called us problems before we were sent away," Melvin explained, closing her eyes, "and they never said they were sorry."

Raven clutched them tightly to her chest, her heart squeezing. She empathized, remembering the glares from the denizens of Azarath whenever she roamed the streets. They claimed not to hate her, but she sensed their internal fury. She was someone who was destined to doom a realm, the living opposite of their pacifistic ideals, and she spent nearly a lifetime facing the brunt of their scorn.

"They can't hurt you now. The nuns and I won't let anyone treat you three like that again," Raven promised, fixing the blankets around them. She ushered them back into their bed, their smiles filling her with pure joy. "Sorry that I picked the worst book to read."

"That means you owe us another!" Timmy exclaimed, Teether cooing and clapping his hands.

"The book with the red cover looks nice," Melvin offered when Raven swapped through her collection.

"And the title is better, too," Raven replied, holding it up to show a girl and her calico cat. "Okay, this book is called 'Daisy's Day.' Simple and effective."

As she read and the Tyke Titans nodded off, Raven grinned at the children she called her little siblings. When they fell asleep, she fixed their pillows and patted them all on their head before teleporting back to Titans Tower, her heart full of love.