A Slippery Slope, A Green Horizon.

Broken Rituals

Garfield had fallen asleep beside her.

It was not something that either had planned on, but somewhere in the night talking had become whispers, which became murmuring and that in turn, had shifted into slumber.

Raven was the first of the pair to rise, as she always was. Finding the changeling in her bed was nothing thrilling, as there were few nights over the last week they had spent outside of one another's company. If anything waking up to find Beast Boy curled up at the edge of her bed was almost... Soothing.

His even breaths and half muttered words were familiar to her, even if the language he spoke was beyond her knowledge.

Raven slipped from the bed, gathering her daily clothing and elf boots, floating across the hall to their shared bathroom. As she prepared for the coming day, the sorceress considered her options as Garfield had laid them out to her the night before.

There was the idea that they keep finding one another in secret, hushed words and stolen glances all that constituted their romance until the night, were they fell asleep in one another's embrace.

This wasn't really an option to Raven, considering the damage she had wrought after only a few days of such a relationship. The tension and constant stress of wondering how quick their team mates would be to notice the change in their behavior was unbearable.

Having their relationship in the open however, was just as abhorrent to Raven. The very idea of media cameras seeking a shot of the couple together made the young woman shudder, for she had witnessed how the paparazzi had reacted to Starfire and Robin's relationship. The two could hardly find a moment of peace whilst in the public eye.

Attention was the last thing Raven needed.

And so, she must find a middle ground, a neutral place in what was essentially one of the most emotional experiences of her life.

Smirking at the dramatic tone of that thought, Raven drifted from the bathroom up through the ceiling towards the common area.

Moving as a specter, she fetched her tea pot, brought it to boil and made a calming herbal tea mixture, using the infuser that Robin had gifted her for Christmas last year. Tea in hand she settled at the table, floating her half forgotten novel over from the lounge and turning to the last place she recalled leaving the heroine and her skeletal companion.

Robin's emotions sharpened not a moment later, zipping from one corner of his room to the other before finally marching to the elevator and ascending to their shared living space. As always his confidence and pride shone through, giving way to curiosity only after he had nodded silently to his cloaked friend, set down both his coffee and newspaper on the table and parked himself before them. Gotham had run dry of good news it appeared, a picture of the Penguin plastered over the cover along with the title "Rogues Regroup For Record Crime Spree".

Starfire's jubilant attitude shot through the empath some time later as her alien best friend surfaced from whatever strange, chaotic dreams grasped her in the night. Raven tapped the table, eliciting a second, amused nod from her leader.
"Happy morning my friends!" The princess beamed, shooting across the room to embrace an incredibly startled Raven. Carrying the smaller girl high above the table, Koriand'r only released her once they were past the hearing of Robin who had glanced at the kidnapping with mild interest before returning to his papers. "Friend Raven, I am sorry you were so unhappy with last night's going of the ons. I was most distracted by the children and did not realize you felt so uncomfortable."

"Kori, it's fine. I was dealing with personal issues, it had nothing to do with... Well, it had little to with the gala." Raven reassured her golden friend, levitating from her grip so that the two might speak in hushed tones inches from the common room ceiling. "I'm... I'm going to tell the team something today Kori, and it's going to be big. I'd like if you were on my side, when everything comes out."