Chapter 9 - Envisioned Fears

Chapter 9: Envisioned Fears

The sun had set three times while she’d been out in the vast forestry she’d labeled as the middle of nowhere. Three days—three days that had just come and gone.

Starfire had spent most of the first day screaming as she’d watching in horror what she’d thought was real—the death of her beloved. She had screamed so hard and long her voice had grown hoarse by the first sunset, and the struggle she’d made to react with no results had left her completely exhausted. By morn of the second day she’d acquired several deep scratches from her struggles, and not enough strength to allow her to even attempt to leave the spot where she lay. She couldn’t cry out with her voice being beyond hoarse as it was.

Even with the Tamaranian resilience and strength of her people contained within her, she was still susceptible to being almost beaten.

Starfire eventually realized that it all had just an illusion—that none of what she’d seen had really happened—but by that time she didn’t have the energy to react even. Being fooled so easily by the madman and his odd new apprentice angered her, but she could do nothing about it.

The other man—the one with the silver hair—he’d played on her fears, she’d realized. She was starting to think that maybe he was capable of monstrous acts like that, but how she didn’t quite yet comprehend. The wave of his hand, what he’d said—all indications to his being responsible—at least in part—for the horrid vision she’d seen, and the fear it had left her paralyzed with.

Fear must be a specialty of his, she thought to herself. That must be the reasoning as to why Slade would have him as his aide—

She couldn’t think too much; exhaustion was weakening her, and the pain took away some of the concentration she did have could devote to thought.

She hoped soon that somebody would come her way by chance and help her get back to where she needed to be. She was hoping that the one of her friends she had earlier feared dead would be the one to save her, and prove that he was very much alive.

She hoped he’d come for her—and find her—very soon—

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The last few days for the separate parties brought together by an odd connection was filled with research and waiting. Not much was learned on the extent of what Slade was really planning, beyond the basics anyways. Tidbits here and there, some old scrolls with cryptic texts unearthed that hadn’t seen the light of day in centuries with a few more pieces to fill in the puzzle even more, but not enough to make it complete.

Starfire hadn’t been spotted yet, and nothing had been heard from the boy wonder either who was out searching for her. For their friends, and the new company they were now associating with in the dawning of the new uprising, the wait was starting to weigh them down.

Paige and Billie—together and separately—infiltrated the demonic faction underground when they could, Paige using her glamouring abilities to her advantage, and Billie her special power of projection.

Cyborg got in contact with Titans East, in hopes of getting a favor out of them to help out. Bumblebee, using her own method—as unique and just as viable as the others—gained access to the above ground activity while remaining unnoticed at a size most would not look for.

All three of them were successful in getting in and out without being noticed or caught, but they were unsuccessful in learning anything really substantial. None of the three had even spotted Slade or his apprenticing Demon of Fear.

None of the three caught word on the whereabouts of the two missing titans, and without there being any success in there searches, the waiting game was getting to be frustrating—for all involved.

RRRRRRRRRR

She might have in the past said that it was best not to worry about people—friends, etc.—as they would come and go, but Raven didn’t live by that philosophy anymore. She was starting to wonder where in hell her two missing teammates were, and even she was bothered by their absence.

She hadn’t been back to the tower since that day she’d left it with the whitelighter calling himself Kane; instead she’d taken shelter at his place the past few days. Artie had been in and out, off doing his own part in what was going on, among other things.

Kane had been there the whole she had been, not leaving the premises without her being in his company. Because of her friends’ absence—she had decided it was best to stay close to Kane—that being her reason for why she didn’t return home to the tower.

The past few days she was given the chance to get to know the supposed guardian angel better—and the world in which he’d existed in for centuries. He filled her in little by little in the Elder-witch-magic lifestyle he knew well, and gave her even more opportunities to explore the confines of Magic School to her own heart’s content. She still found the place to be awe inspiring, even after a few trips.

The Charmed sisters had been to the school a few times while the whitelighter and his charge had been present, giving them opportunities to discuss what they could. Raven presented anything her friends came across, and Piper—with Leo often present—reported anything she, her sisters, or Billie learned. Info was gathered, evaluated, and then given consideration to see if anything could be pieced together from it.

It had been five days since she’d been first introduced to the new lifestyle, and she’d learned more about Kane, the sisters, all they were involved with in general, and what she discovered in the books at magic school then she had about the whereabouts of two of her friends or of the intentions of one of her worst enemies—next to her own father anyways. It was especially starting to bother Raven because of the lack in that one area.

At that time in particular it was about midday, and she was just sitting in a chair in the living room of the place of the two whitelighters she was in the company of, just quietly thinking to herself. It was the first time she’d just taken the chance to think and only think; her mind had been fairly busy over the past three days and nights, and any other times she did have her mind at rest, it was either to rest for the night, or a quick chance for meditating. She didn’t tend to ponder over things in either state, so taking the opportunity to think was something kept totally separate.

She didn’t know where Kane or Artie were exactly; Artie had been gone for hours on some mission, and Kane was just—around. He didn’t bother her; he didn’t want to bug her apparently.

He’s a good guy, she thought to herself. I know he’s supposed to be the guardian angel, and there’s the whitelighter/charge entrust in and consoling thing where he’s supposed to be there to give advice, to listen, or whatever—but even with that it’s still so easy for me to just be able to talk to him and tell him stuff like I never was able to with anyone else. He’s more like a friend then just an advisor or guide—

She sighed for a moment, looking across the room from her at a piece of artwork on the wall, not really paying attention to the detail of the painting itself.

These dreams I’ve been having though, she continued to think, I don’t think I could even get up the nerve to mention them to him. I couldn’t even talk to my friends about them—

She’d had follow-ups to the dream of the first night the past following nights that came after. The one that immediately followed the first had been the same, the next after that a different version of the first two. Something romantic, but she still couldn’t make out the details of the other in the dreams she was dreaming about. She was starting to consider the dreams as premonitions though, because even though she couldn’t identify the dream guy, she knew it was the same one in every dream, and she got the odd sense she knew him somehow—

“What are you caught up in thought with?” she was taken out of her thoughts at that point, instead taking the moment to investigate who’d spoken to her instead. Kane stood not far from her, watching her intently for a response.

“Nothing,” Raven replied. “Um…what have you been up to?”

“Thinking,’ Kane said. “Like you—I guess. I got bored, and came looking for you. Up to something for lunch outdoors?”

“Like—?”

“There’s deli meat and sub rolls if you want sandwiches, and a fresh batch of some berries that just came from the garden if you want them. There’s also veggies and chips inside,” Kane replied. “We can take it out to the table on the porch and eat, maybe chat—if you’re up to it.”

“Sandwiches sound fine,” Raven said. “And a chat does too. Maybe we can chat about things other than magic, the sisters, the crisis, and my friends for once.”

“What did you have in mind to talk about?” Kane asked her.

“Maybe divulge in a conversation just about the two of us,” Raven replied. “Our lives—likes, dislikes—just a chat about who I am—and who you are.”

“A get to know you better chat?” Kane said. “Is that what you mean?”

“Pretty much—yes,” Raven replied.

“Okay—sounds good,” Kane said. “I’ll go get lunch ready, and I’ll join you out on the patio in fifteen.”

“Don’t you want my help?” Raven asked.

“I want to surprise you,” Kane replied, smiling.

“Okay—I’ll just go and wait then,” Raven said.

“I’ll be with you shortly,” Kane replied. “Don’t worry.”

“I won’t,” Raven replied.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKK

When Kane said he’d surprise her, Raven didn’t quite grasp the extent of what he meant by surprise. When he came out to join her, she was pleasantly amazed with what he presented to her as a surprise.

He’d only been in preparing lunch for fifteen minutes, but he came out with a few dishes that were obviously in preparation longer.

“I thought you said there was deli meat and chips,” Raven said. “That isn’t exactly deli meat and chips.”

“It’s not,” Kane replied, setting down one dish with fresh cooked broccoli down on the table. He set another, a plate of grilled seasoned chicken, on the table next to the first, the aroma it produced making her suddenly hungrier then she remembered being. “I kind of made up this—lunch—on a whim.” He stopped, and then added. “Or just magically. I didn’t think sandwiches were the best choice anyways, so I whipped this up—magically—especially for you.”

The aroma was enticing, that much Raven could truly admit to. She had been expecting cold cuts and chips, not a fully cooked meal—

“Magic,” Raven said. “It does smell good—“ She stopped herself from digging in impolitely. He took a seat in a chair not far from her. She looked to him directly after he was seated. “It is okay to serve myself right now—right?”

“Yeah—dig in,” Kane told her. “That’s what I made it for.”

She grabbed a plate from the selection he’d brought out, putting the desired selections of chicken and veggies onto it.

“You said you wanted to talk personal,” Kane said as she continued to prepare her dish before eating. “Where do you want to start?”

“Um—“ Raven put the serving forks down for a moment, caught in thought. “Simple questions to begin with I guess. Like—what’s your favorite color, music, food, things to do—things like that.”

“Well, to answer for the starters—let’s see…” Kane thought to himself for a moment. “Midnight blue, originally blues but more recently taken to grunge, angel food cake—for things to do: watch the sun set, read, travel, and occasionally write.” He shrugged. “I’ve been around a good while, and I’ve picked up a knack for writing literature of different forms.”

“What is your most prevalent style of literature?” Raven asked.

“Poetry,” Kane replied, again shrugging. “I came from an era of poets.”

“I’ll have to read what you’ve done some time,” Raven said. “So, more depth—how old are you, and where did you grow up?”

“You answer the introductory questions first,” Kane said. “And then I’ll get to those.”

“Um…” Raven took a bite of the chicken before she made her reply, continuing when she had swallowed it. “Okay, my answers—blue, grunge/metal/alternative, chocolate—for things to do—read, meditate, travel—that sort of thing.”

“Any particular reason why you’ve taken to meditation?” Kane asked.

“It’s kind of mandatory for me,” Raven replied. “I do enjoy it, but it’s out of necessity more then pleasure. In order to keep control of my emotions I have to meditate, and with my powers being emotionally based, if one thing so much as slips up…”

“Bad things happen,” Kane finished for her. “Am I correct?”

“Yes,” Raven said. “If I lose control of my emotions...I could lose control of myself, and—that can be very dangerous.”

“Well...in a way I can relate. Meditation is a fairly normal ritual for whitelighters, since it helps keep peace of mind, which—in this field—is kind a given,” Kanee said. “Well, getting back to my answers for your second set of inquiries; five or six centuries, and in what is now known today as the United Kingdom—England or whatever. I didn’t tend to keep track exactly.”

“Five—centuries?” Raven stammered. “You don’t look it.”

“Whitelighters are ageless,” Kane replied. “As long as they don’t clip their wings to become human, they remain the same age in appearance.”

“Does your demonic half play a part in that too?” Raven asked.

“They both do,” Kane said. “How old are you, by chance?”

“Eighteen,” Raven responded. “Just as of recent, may I add. I have just reached the dawning of adulthood.” She smiled slightly. “A fraction of time compared to you though.”

“Fascinating,” Kane replied. He had a bite of the veggies, and then spoke. “When I was having those dreams about you—before I knew you existed, that is—I kind of found you to be—fascinating—and exotic. Artie criticized me on them when I first told him.”

“Really?” Raven said. “I said that I had been having dreams about you—right?”

“Yeah, you fainted because of them,” Kane said. “What I meant was—you fainted because you—like me—thought they were just dreams, and the shock of finding out they weren’t overwhelmed you enough to make you black out.”

“Well—“ Raven hesitated momentarily. “I kind of found them to be pleasant myself, and that you were—attractive. I didn’t really have anyone to discuss mine with, like you did with Artie. My friends probably would think I was whacked; I don’t have dreams that are girly like that—or so they think.” She stopped, but then exclaimed, “You thought I was exotic?”

“Not in the blond bimbo way,” Kane assured her. “Artie thought that’s what I meant when I told him. You just seem so—unearthly—and that’s where I got the term exotic coined with you. You are not like any girl I’ve come across in my existence, and you almost had me spellbound to a point when I was researching those scrolls and I didn’t know who you are. I couldn’t help thinking about you for some reason.”

“I was starting to question the significance of those dreams just before you came into the picture as a reality,” Raven said. “I was starting to wonder why—and who—and if you were real. I was too embarrassed to mention them to anyone to discuss it, and having a cute guy in place of the nightmarish dreams I’d been having before was rather refreshing for me—“ She tinted a bit of rouge on her face at that moment. “Cute boy dreams are not my thing.”

“Hell, exotic cute girl dreams are not my thing either,” Kane told her. “Even though I had Artie to tell, I still got teased because of it being out of the norm of my character.”

“That didn’t keep us from having them,” Raven replied. “I’ve been wondering—?“ In mid sentence she was interrupted, caught by surprise when she heard a ringing noise. “What—?” she exclaimed at first, startled by its sudden interference.

“It’s your communication device,” Kane informed her. “Looks like one of your friends wants to check in with you or something.”

“I wonder who it is?” Raven said. “I haven’t heard anything new from BB or Cy in a while—“ She reached for the device, fumbling a bit clumsily with it until she got it securely grasped in her hands. She opened it, and—much to her surprise—it wasn’t the changeling or the half robot.

“Robin,” Raven said, in pure shock.

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