Raven

Chapter Seven- Introductions

As their leader's words are heard by the rest of the group and met with murmurs of agreement, I feel my cautious smile widening a little, but at the same time, a faintly embarrassed flush begins to spread across my cheeks. I don't like attention, especially from people I don't know very well at all.

Distracting me from my thoughts, MadMex nods to me again, and says in a deadly serious voice, "Introduce yourself."

I tilt my head slightly to the left, a serious look replacing my happy grin, and raise one eyebrow. I turn my gaze to the others, inclining my head forward slightly for a moment before speaking.

"My name is Raven, but you may call me Estella if you wish. I'm classed as an omen of death and an assassin-in-training. And you all are ...?" I let my words trail off, waiting for the others to supply their names.

And they do. After a few minutes, I find out that MadMex's real name is Wills; the cute green-clad guy's name is Joel (which disappoints me a tiny bit, since I know too many unpleasant Joels, and this guy seems promising) but is also known as Green Arrow; the brunette is Harlekella, and I kind of guessed that her name was Ella before she told me; and the girl in green is Toxic. It is only when she introduces herself as Kira that I place the name. Oh, duh, I knew I recognised her. That's his sister. 'He' is, of course, Harley, whom I knew anyway. So, he doesn't re-introduce himself, but I learn the names of the rest of the gang, which will very likely come in handy later. I stand there, looking at the others' faces and trying to memorize their features in case I meet them later.

It occurs to me that I might look a little bit awkward, but I truly have no idea what to do right now.

"Right. Raven, do you know who our worst enemies are?" Joel asks about a minute later, leaning on his long bow.

I nod, but feel a familiar stab of uncertainty. "The ... Samurai, correct?"

That earns me a ghostly smile from the serious-looking guy. "Yup. You've had a run-in with Black Jack before; that's how we originally knew of you and the Quills."

I grin at the memory; it had been fun to use my Quills against a real enemy, though I hadn't liked the circumstance. Actually, speaking of ... "Do you still have that? My Quill? I'm meant to have five."

Harley nods, and turns to peer at a shelf. After a moment, he makes an 'ah' noise, and turns to rummage through a wooden chest, flinging the lid open with one hand. After a moment, he stands up triumphantly, holding up my missing Quill. "You mean this?" He asks, smiling smugly.

"Yes, that's it. Can I have it back?"

"Mmmm..."

"Just give it here."

"Fine, be that way." Harley pulls a face at me, and tucks it down his singlet. I raise an eyebrow.

"You serious?" I ask incredulously, folding my arms. "You know perfectly well that I will reach down your shirt to get my stuff back, Harley. I've known you too long to be fazed." Actually, no, that was a lie. I would probably be fazed.

He grins, and hands me the familiar blade. "Yeah, I know. I was testing you."

I sigh at him in an exaggerated manner, noticing how dull the edges on my knife are as I run the blade across the tips of my fingers, and make a mental note to sharpen them later. But I'm still smiling, glad that I've gotten the weapon back. Then I turn back to Joel, expression all business again.

"Okay, where were we? Right, the other bad guys."

Wills nods, putting himself into the conversation without warning. "Yes, and you will figure the others out as you go. I'm assigning Acrobolt to teach you the ropes, so stick by him and you'll make a fine commander." Oh goody, is my first sarcastic thought. But, the words perk me up a little bit; being a commander sounds cool. As does being mentored (in a way) by my best friend. Maybe I'll find a way to beat him, one day. Maybe.

"Fine by me," I decide to say at last. "Where should we start?"