Fan Fiction ❯ The Sparrow's Burden ❯ Recovering the Norm ( Chapter 4 )

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The Sparrow’s Burden

4.

Starfire had taken notice of Robin’s quick recovery. However, he was distant
from being capable of resuming his duties as a Titan. Robin found that very frustrating as
she observed. His arm was still in a medical harness, and yet he persisted in the Titan’s
obstacle courses and training simulations. He excelled in them as he always did, but the
Tamarainian’s worry of further injury often got the best of her. In the days gone by she
had flown to his unnecessary aid in the peak of their drills, for she could not bare to see
him push his physical limits so ruthlessly.

Were humans not as she was? Did they not need calm and relief of their trials to
heal? Starfire opened the question to herself upon observing her leader. Beast Boy
seemed to need such things upon the arrival of his virus, however “human” was not a
word to describe Beast Boy well. She eventually came to the conclusion that indeed,
people require rest from troubled minds and bodies, though some humans did not
function in accordance to desires or even necessities. Such behaviour would not be seen
anywhere in the natural world and made these people quite unique.

Something else unnatural and unique had been occurring within the Titan’s Tower
as well. Starfire was not sure precisely what happened to Raven during her struggle with
Sparrow, and was not quite sure what was happening to Raven now. She was different,
somewhat. Her personality was still that of Starfire’s friend, yet there were changes.

In the past, Raven had been out of notice. She did not talk much and spent leisure
time away from the others. Now Raven was present more often, wandering the levels of
the tower instead of fleeing them. She conversed during times of meals and group
outings as well. Talking of matters which were trivial seemed to be of hardship to her
previously, and a conversation would find itself stalled when held only with her. Raven
now seemed to wonder about Starfire’s well being, greeting her by asking “how’s it
going?”, and usually following with a comment about what it was Starfire was doing at
the time.

Raven even laughed once. Beast Boy won the battle against his fever, though not
before several more “sneezes” forced him to shift. Recently, as he and Cyborg performed
dish labors, Beast Boy released a sneeze, transforming him into a giant squid.
Unfortunately, in addition to several china items being wildly thrown aside, Cyborg’s
smooth metallic armour made a perfect surface for the suction cups of Beast Boy’s
tentacles. As the two clumsily tried to remove each other, Raven could be heard laughing
from the couch in the lounge.

Her talk was still of monotone, and while Raven no longer retreated to seclusion
when the boys played their electronic games, she did not participate. She still refused or
lacked the capacity to laugh at many absurdities, although she would lightly smile at
times of joy.

Starfire, driven by sheer curiosity, chose to find the limit of Raven’s shift. Upon a
recent night, she waited outside Raven’s room for her to withdraw and sleep. Seeing her,
Starfire wished her pleasant dreams as she embraced Raven with a hug. Raven’s muscles
tightened as they always did when she was hugged, and Starfire concluded she still
disliked close contact. But something was different in her reaction, and to Starfire, it was
a significant difference. Raven had one hand pinned to her side, the other rested itself
upon Starfire’s back for the duration of the embrace. Once apart, Raven did not roll her
eyes and briskly walk away as she would have. Instead allowed a forgiving smile,
followed by “Goodnight, Star.”

*

In the shadows of her room, Raven tossed aside her cloak. Usually she wore it
until she changed into her night-gown, but it seemed pointless. The hood was heavy, and
cape was confining. Raven wanted to be able to stretch and loosen up a bit in her room.

She shook her head in dismissal. “What’s wrong with me?” She never before
wanted to “loosen up a bit”, not even in the privacy of her room. Raven did not know
exactly why she was behaving the way she was. She would be lying if she said she was
not scared. She felt needy. Although Raven still preferred being alone, she no longer
found seclusion necessary to be content. The trivial arguments of Cyborg and Beast boy
no longer annoyed her to the extent that she was forced to leave. Neither did the loud
stereo or the blazing television. In fact, the arguments mildly amused her, and she
understood how the appliances could provide some leisure.

Raven did not dislike this change, but she certainly did not welcome it. She
meditated constantly, or what she thought was constant. Meditation tended to go by more
quickly, now. Even with Raven scouring every inch of past troublespots in her mind, she
found nothing out of place and returned to her body within minutes.

No, there was no trouble, nothing except for the girl in platinum. She was not a
problem as much as quite an annoyance. The emotion drifted without cause or direction,
only reacting when Raven drew near.

Raven tried to make contact and the girl simply opened her robe, as she did
before. Inside the cape was a person; not Robin, but Starfire. She was gleefully posing as
though she were having her photo taken.

Raven did not appreciate this ambiguous prophecy. They prodded her and
irritated her to no end. “What are you?” Raven hissed at the Platinum girl. “What does
Starfire have to do with anything?”

This happened many times, and the girl’s answer never changed. “You will
know,” it spoke without any emotion of her own. “There is much about Starfire that you
must know, and you will, when she chooses to show you.” It was her answer word for
word, every time. Raven had considered being more aggressive, but this thing did not
look like the fighting type, and she knew better than to go around blasting things that
were harmless.

Raven sat at the edge of the bed now, still in her leotard and emerald waistchain,
her cloak was put away for the night. Sleep would not come readily, because Raven had a
lot to think about. What had Sparrow done to her? What had she done to him? Robin
told her that Sparrow used his telepathy on others, and the results were never like this.
Whatever happened, Raven was sure it was responsible for her current state.

She had no idea what she could do about it. Even if she did, would Raven want to
do anything? That hug from Starfire was not the first, but it was the first Raven did not
try to break out of. It was the first hug of her life that she returned, though fairly
awkwardly. And it was the first hug that felt... nice.

It felt good and so right. Raven felt as though she belonged in Star’s arms, similar
to the way she felt when Cyborg carried her to Sparrow’s body. But that was gratitude. It
was not the same, Starfire’s hug was...

Raven tossed the thought away. She convinced herself what she felt was safety.
Starfire was taller than Raven and her body was warm. Surely Raven had enjoyed the
hug because it brought her to a childlike feeling of safety.

Like all nights, Raven was spent. A dislocated shoulder had not stopped Robin
from pushing the Titans in their exercises. She decided to sleep in her suit, her
nightgown was not all that comfortable anyway.

As she lay her head to rest, she unintentionally took notice of the window. The
night was cloudy, not even a small amount of moonlight could penetrate through. To her
surprise, Raven found herself checking the window at different angles, seeing if the
clouds had parted anywhere to reveal some sky. There were none, none that she could
see from this tiny window, anyway.

Now curious and determined, Raven left her bed and slipped on her shoes. To
herself, Raven snickered. “Raven, what is going on with you?”

*

The clock now passed to the next day and Titan’s Tower seemed asleep itself as
Starfire stood on it’s roof. The clouds blocked all that Starfire wished to see. There was
not even a breeze, so she was fully aware they would linger. The absence of the moon
made the twilight particularly dark. There were no reflections dancing on the water.
Even the lights of the city flickered out, one by one.

Starfire sighed in quiet accordance. Like all things, darkness had beauty about it
as well. It was a beauty, however, that Starfire often found herself in suspicion of, and
she would not revel in it. The city now slept, and so would she.

“It’s very late, you know.” The familiar voice caused Starfire’s heart to initiate
double the normal beats. She had not time to turn to go towards the entrance before
someone approached from behind.

“Raven.” Starfire held her hand to her chest as she noticed her teammate. “You
walk so softly. I was startled.”

When vailed in her cloak, Raven had a tendency to make light noise as she
walked. She did not wear the garment at this time, only the blue leotard and the loosely
fastened belt. Raven made a routine apology. “Why are you up here this late anyway,
Starfire?”

Starfire turned her gaze back towards the sky while speaking her answer. “I do
not know if my Tamarainian biology is different than that of a human, but I seem to
require less sleep than the rest of you. I am normally here until I grow tired myself. You
see, it is quite lovely and . . .” She halted herself, discovering a question of her own.
“Raven,” she turned to her once more. “I am confused as to your purpose here.” In
delivering the question, it resembled that of an accusation

Raven did not speak for a moment, and shrugged her shoulders when she did. “I...
I wanted to see the sky.”

Starfire did not respond. Not hastily, for she could not deduce what Raven meant.
“You are being sarcastic, correct?”

Raven’s emotionless glare did not falter as she explained her words. “No,” a
pause. “I thought there was a full moon tonight. I wanted to see it, but it looks like the
overcast won’t be clearing.”

Starfire nodded superficially. Although Raven spoke with some obvious
discomfort, Starfire strongly felt that there were thoughts her friend dared not to utter.
Did Raven really want to see the full moon? Starfire was not sure, but she could help her
if she was being truthful. “Raven,” Starfire spoke softly. “There is something I feel I
must show you.”

Raven’s eyes opened wide, as though she had been predicting Starfire to make
that very proposal. “Something I need to see?” She bit her lip in contemplation. “Sure,
where is it?”

“Not yet.” Starfire did her best to contain her excitement, careful not to give
anything away. “You must first be equipped with a blindfold.”


Beast Boy: He probably possessing the most phenomenal power among the Titans.
Beast Boy has the ability to shapeshift into any animal he wishes, living or extinct.

Beast boy is covered in a fine green fur. He stands roughly as tall as Robin and has a
similar build, too. Beast Boy wears a purple and black jumpsuit that seems to remain
undamaged when he changes into animal form.

Beast Boy loves his powers, often using them to add humour and fun to a dull day. He is
the clown of the team, always joking even when things are at their worst. This goes
either way with other Titans, and a bombed joke can cause Beast Boy to simply try
harder. Although a showman, he won’t pull punches when it comes to fighting the bad
guys. There’s nothing less funny than a Tiger or Dinosaur with you in it’s sights. He’s
very close to the other Titans, but Beast Boy desperately wants to know he’s cool, and he
doesn’t know it yet.