Fan Fiction ❯ The Silkie Factor ❯ Understanding Different Cultures ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Since I obviously don't own the copyright to Teen Titans, I'm taking advantage of the Fair Use Clause of the Copyright laws to write a story with them in it. Who knew the government would protect the little guys? Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

 

Note: The story about to be portrayed is based on actual observations of Teen Titans. If you don't believe me watch the episodes: Can I Keep Him and Betrothed. I reacted much like one of the characters when I figured it out.

 

Understanding Different Cultures

 

Robin sat down on the couch in the operations room and flipped on the TV. The morning had been… disturbing. The revelation that Starfire cleaned Silkie by licking him had been a most unwelcome and disquieting thought. Robin had always been interested in Starfire, but that one fact had nearly put him off entirely. As for Starfire herself, he hadn't seen her since the incident. Right now, Robin sat down and relaxed, wondering where everyone else was. It was then that he heard Cyborg outside the door. He couldn't quite make out the words he was saying, but he seemed to be repeating the same thing over and over again. Already bored, and with nothing better to do, Robin got up and walked to the door.

“… unclean… unclean… unclean…” Cyborg was murmuring repetitively as he walked away from the boy wonder. Robin stared at his friend, who seemed to be in a state of complete shock, walking aimlessly threw the corridors of Titans Tower.

Robin followed him, tapping him lightly on the shoulder, “Cyborg? Is everything alright?”

Cyborg looked at him for a moment, then continued walking down the corridor, “unclean… unclean… unclean…”

Robin watched him and scratched his head, that was… odd, but this day had been following that pattern. He turned around and found himself staring at Starfire's chest. She hovered just inches from his eyes and he stumbled back a step startled. She looked over him, watching as Cyborg turned a corner and walked out of view. Taking a moment, she floated to the floor and smiled at Robin, “What is this… unclean Cyborg speaks of?”

Robin blinked, “I… really don't know Starfire.”

“I fear that the unclean he speaks of is me…” Starfire said, holding her arms across her chest and looking down ashamed.

Robin sighed and walked over to her, “I'm sure that's not the case Starfire. Besides…” Robin suddenly realized he didn't know what to say to the Tamaranian who was watching him with sparkling green eyes waiting for him to reassure her.

“What is besides Robin?” She started to smile weakly as he struggled to find something, anything to tell her.

“Besides… uh… well… you bathed today, right?” She nodded and he sighed thankfully, “Well then he can't be speaking about you.” She gleamed and nearly crushed his ribs as she hugged him.

“Thank you Robin!”

“Star… can't… breathe…” Robin managed to struggle out and she released him, causing him to gasp for air for a moment.

Starfire blushed, “I am afraid I do not know my own strength sometimes.”

Robin clutched at his now sore side and nodded, “That's ok Star… hey… do you know how long he was doing that?”

Starfire put her finger to her lip and pondered for a moment, then threw an arm into the air as a light bulb went off in her mind, “Friends Raven and Cyborg were talking in the hallway. I do not know why, but friend Raven left and Cyborg followed her. I do not know what happened when they talked… but I heard him saying the unclean when he was leaving the door to Raven's room.”

Robin nodded, trying to piece together Starfire's garbled message, “So, Cyborg talked to Raven, and then started acting that way?”

Starfire nodded and smiled warmly, “Yes!”

`What could they have talked about to make Cyborg do that?' Robin's brow furrowed, “Starfire, can you watch Cyborg? I'm going to go talk to Raven.” Starfire nodded and flew off, leaving Robin in the otherwise empty hallway. `I wonder what Raven and Cyborg were talking about when Starfire came over? I know Raven isn't exactly… talkative, but she doesn't usually walk away from Cyborg.' He pondered the rhetorical question as he walked to Raven's room; not exactly sure he wanted to find out.

 

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Raven had finally managed to get that image out of her head, although it would probably haunt her nightmares for the rest of her natural life. Still, meditation had become far easier and she had calmed down significantly since Cyborg had come to her room earlier. Possibly more importantly, she had changed leotards as well, throwing out the one she had been in when she had unceremoniously `worshipped the porcelain god' as Beast Boy had once called it. Her mind had gone wandering and she forced it back to the meditative chant “Azarath… Metrion…”

Before she could finish, there was a knock on the door. “What is it? I'm meditating.” She said a bit louder than she usually did. She really hoped it wasn't Starfire.

“Hey Raven, you know what's up with Cyborg, he's been acting kind of weird… Starfire said he was at your room right before he started acting odd.” Robin's voice echoed through the door. She lowered and then shook her head, telling Cyborg… THAT was a mistake.

“One minute…” She said, putting her cowl up. In a few swift motions she got off her bed walked to the door and opened it a fraction of an inch, “What is it?”

“Do you know what's wrong with Cyborg?” Robin asked. The door closed immediately, and then opened fully. Raven stood before him, looked to see if anyone was with him, and then pulled him into the room.

Robin was about to yell at her when she turned around, “I made a mistake.”

“A mistake? What do you mean?” Confusion was written all over Robin's face.

“Starfire… she has something in her past, I figured it out and I told Cyborg.”

“What is it?”

Raven turned to him and lifted an eyebrow, “You… don't want to know.”

Robin watched her, tilting his head to the side, “You told Cyborg.”

“And you saw how he took it.” Raven turned back around.

“Well, how am I supposed to help him if I don't know what happened to him?” Robin asked frustrated.

“He'll deal with it, give him some time.”

“What happens if the city is attacked before he gets over it? What then? Are we supposed to let him walk around in a daze saying `unclean… unclean…' while we fight? Come on Raven, I have to know.”

“I really don't think…”

“Just tell me, I don't have time to play games and you're certainly not someone I expect to play them with.”

Raven shook her head and lowered her cowl, “Robin, it's about Starfire.”

Robin nodded slowly, “What about her.”

“You know her culture is much different from out own, as you learned this morning.”

“Of course her culture is different, she's from a different planet. Now cut to the point.”

“Look, I really don't think this is a good ideas…”

“Raven, just tell me already.”

“Fine, I warned you. You know how she licked that bug clean?” Robin nodded and opened his mouth to say something but Raven held a hand up, “She told me in the hall that was the duty of a K'Norfka to keep their Bungorf clean. Silkie was her Bungorf.”

Robin paused, “Bugorf… K'Norfka… I remember those, she used them on Tamaran.” Raven nodded, and then Robin turned a sickly green color. Raven didn't wait for him to say anything, quickly guiding him to her bathroom before he stained her carpet.

 

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Starfire watched Beast Boy leave Raven's room, wondering how he had entered Raven's room without noticing. That's when she gasped, it wasn't Beast Boy, it was Robin! Robin had nearly turned green, he looked sick and was holding his stomach, stumbling towards the medical lab, Raven following him. `What is has friend Raven been doing?' Starfire bit her lower lip, `And why is Robin ill?' She floated from around the corner and followed them.

Raven looked back before Starfire had time to hide. She waved at her friend who nodded and continued leading Robin down the hall. Starfire moved to follow, but a hand grabbed her wrist. She turned to find Beast Boy looking down at the floor, “I really don't think that's a good idea Star…”

“Is Robin ill, he has taken the skin color you have?” Starfire asked, worried.

Beast Boy nodded and managed to hold on while she started to fly away, “Star! Wait!” She stopped again and he sighed, “I heard what Raven told Robin, and I think it's what she told Cyborg too.”

“Friend Raven has been… talking about me?” Beast Boy nodded slowly and Starfire shook her head, “I do not understand, why would she talk about me?”

“I don't know, perhaps she needed to get it of her chest… she didn't want to tell Robin, I heard them arguing before she told him.”

Starfire landed, and watched Beast Boy who looked away ashamed, “Beast Boy, what did she tell Robin?”

“I… it… is it true? Do K'Nrokfa clean their Bunghors with their tongues?” He asked sheepishly.

For a moment, she didn't register the mispronunciations then a light bulb when off in her head and she smiled and nodded, “K'Norfka clean their Bunghorf's with their tongues when they are very small. Silkie is very small.” Beast Boy shuddered a little and Starfire looked over at him, “Is something wrong?”

“Starfire… I have something to tell you.” She waited intently while he managed to look up at her wide green eyes, “On earth… that is disgusting.”

Starfire reeled as if she had been slapped, “But I have seen animals do that!”

Beast Boy nodded, “I know, I know Star, I've seen it too. I've been most animals, which is why…” he looked down the hall where Robin and Raven had been when the conversation had started. They were long gone, “… I was ashamed that I was afraid earlier. I'm sorry Starfire, but even now, it's still odd to us.” Beast Boy smiled weakly, and then looked back down at the floor.

“Why?”

“Huh?” Beast Boy looked up to find Starfire watching him curiously.

“Why is it odd?”

“Because it is… here people don't lick things off their kids… it would probably be a form of abuse.”

“But… but how is one supposed to know if their child is truly clean or not?”

Beast Boy shuddered again, a much more visible tremor than before, “Starfire I'm having a bit of trouble with this… maybe you should talk to Raven about it…” He grabbed his stomach and slowly made his way down the hall, leaving her alone.

 

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Raven left Robin in the infirmary, he would probably need to be there for a while. She should probably be in there as well…

“Raven?” She nearly jumped as she heard Starfire from behind, but managed to play it off as if it had been a misplaced step.

“Yes Starfire?” Raven asked without turning, partly out of shame and partly because she wasn't sure if looking at her friend would make those vile images return.

“What did you tell friends Cyborg and Robin?”

Raven paused, Starfire was naïve, and lying to her might get her out of this mess, but would it really be the right thing to do? The mental image struck her mind again, “I… Starfire, please tell me you were playing some sort of joke this morning when you licked Silkie. Please tell me Beast Boy set this entire thing up.”

Starfire floated in front of her friend, Raven was looking down at the floor, cowl covering her face, “It was not. It is a tradition on my planet.”

Raven tried to suppress both disgust and her stomach's urge to release it's contents, “I was hoping I was wrong… did Galfore do that to you as a child?”

“When I was very little.” Raven seemed to shrink when she said that, and her hand wandered to her stomach as Starfire watched, “It is the tradition of my people.”

“Starfire… as much as I understand culture, as much as I read about it, that… that is just far too disturbing for me to ever want to think about.”

“So why did you tell the others if it disturbed you so?” Starfire's voice became harsher, a bit angrier; it was the tone she used in combat, when she was facing an adversary.

“Starfire, I'm sorry I told, I really am… in fact I'm sorry I learned about this in the first place.” Raven felt slightly nauseous and her hand remained at her stomach, “I had to get that thought out of my head, Cyborg came to see what was wrong and I told him… and then Robin came to me about why Cyborg was acting oddly and he forced me to tell him. I'm sorry Star, I really am.”

Raven's head dipped lower and the anger drained away from Starfire, “I did not know it was inappropriation to bath a child with your turmbelt here.”

“I think you mean inappropriate… and I guess turmbelt means tongue on your planet?” Raven said, looking up and Starfire nodded and smiled, Raven looked back down, “Are you still angry at me?”

“I was… and I am not happy with you for not telling me first… but I forgive you.” Starfire said and she put her arm around her friend's shoulder. Raven opened her mouth to complain, but after everything that had happened today, she couldn't bring herself to yell at Starfire for such a simple act of friendship… although one of the light bulbs overhead exploded in the place of her saying anything.

“Maybe I could tell you more about my culture… this way this does not happen again, yes?” Starfire smiled widely, filled with hope.

Raven nodded slowly, “Sure Star… just not today…” Starfire's smile dimmed slightly, but remained, “As it is, I need a shower.”

Starfire shuddered involuntarily, a very small tremor but Raven noticed it immediately, “Is everything ok Starfire?”

Starfire smiled cheerfully… but falsely, “Yes, everything is fine.”

“No, I know something is wrong, what is it?” Raven watched her friend closely, raising an eyebrow.

“I do not understand how you can `shower'.” She replied her smile had faded.

Raven twitched and let the arm fall off her shoulder, “I'm sorry? You don't shower?”

Starfire pulled away from her, “Of course not! I do not understand how you can!” Starfire looked absolutely disgusted and Raven took a step back.

“I know you bathe… please… please tell me you don't use your tongue… Starfire… please.” Raven pleaded, she truly dreaded knowing one of her teammates, specifically the one who occasionally hugged her, cleaned herself with her own tongue.

Starfire starred at her friend utterly confused then smiled sheepishly. “I like bathes.” Raven sighed visibly and Starfire smiled.