The Price of Feathers

Weakest Link

Raven was pulled in every direction and met with looks of joy and scepticism as she re-entered the Dark common area. There was a makeshift feast littered across the various metal benches. Silver talked her ear off about all his plans now that she joined their side. According to the blue-eyed boy, with her on their side, they "couldn't lose", so he was beyond happy.

The Dark team was nobody's first choice, but it was her only choice considering the temptation that existed on the other team. How ridiculous would it be if she betrayed her only reason for getting into this situation in the first place?

Raven zoned out for a few moments, replaying her close call with the temptresses in white and cringed at how little control she had over her own urges. That was not only pitiful, but it also made her heart ache when she thought about how Sage would react to the news if she ever learnt the truth. She was so wrapped up in her own head that she didn't even realise that she was getting pulled into her room.

"What the hell were you thinking?" a dark voice bellowed at her.

The violent question broke Raven out of her daze. Her crystal hazel eyes snapped up to meet the stormy purple glare of her roommate. She only mustered to swallow the lump in her throat but failed to conjure up a single word.

"Is your brain broken? That might explain why you made the worst decision in recent history," Lucifer growled at her roommate as she cowered under her gaze. Her gaze softened slightly when she spotted the glint of fear in the younger girl's eyes. She looked more like a scared child than a victorious killer that has made a name for herself in a sadistic death game over the last couple of days.

"Look, just breathe okay," she sighed and turned around, running her hand over her face, before turning to see the girl finally straighten her posture. "You made a huge mistake. I have to realise that you are all but guaranteed that you will never see that girlfriend you claim to love so much ever again... Nobody chooses Dark... nobody!"

Raven stared at the taller girl in front of her and tried to wrack her brain for a few seconds. If this were anyone else, she'd have no other option but to blush at their concern for her relationship, but this was not just anyone. It was Lucifer. I mean, you don't simply walk around nicknamed after the devil without earning the title a little bit, not to mention the fact that she has not shown a sliver of concern for her up until this point.

"I had to okay!" Raven screamed at her, her eyes immediately widening at the volume of her own voice. She clenched her jaw in embarrassment. The tension in the room was getting too much for her, and she needed to get out before they both suffocated in it.

"What do you mean you had to?" the purple-eyed goddess's voice was far less violent this time but that did not take away from its gravitas. She almost looked a bit gentler. It was freaking Raven out.

"That's not important. Why are you so pissed anyway? Isn't it good to have more members on your team?" Raven was frustrated at how hell-bent her Lucifer was at making her feel unwelcomed on the dark side.

The full belly laugh wiped the scowl off Raven's face and replaced it with one of pure shock. Not only was she surprised at how whimsical the brooding girl's actually was, but she also even sounded like she was giggling in between big bouts of laughter.

"What exactly are you laughing at?" the dragoness snapped at her roommate. She was done playing the meek schoolgirl in her own room. The last few hours had been the longest in her life, and she wasn't even sure if she was technically still alive, so she was not in the mood to be laughed at.

"You still don't get this. This is not the sort of game where teamwork wins the day," the devil's namesake said in a sinister voice and took a slow step towards her roommate. She was about a razorblades width away from the South African before she all but growled out. "The winning team is the last one to stay alive and we're only as strong as our weakest link. So, forgive me for not being willing to bet my life on your ability not to screw this up for us."

That was the last words spoken between the roommates.

Raven flopped on her bed and screamed into her pillow. One of her best-kept secrets from her time in group homes. She couldn't afford to let those brats see her weak and she would not let demon-spawn see her sweat now.

She was stuck between a temptress and a hard ass. But she'd be damned if she let the sisters from hell mess up her only chance to get her life back and return to the only person she's ever truly loved. If it meant working her ass off to prove that she was the furthest thing from dead weight that the dark side, hell either side, had ever seen since the start of this vindictive game. Raven's mind was set. Come morning, she was going to do everything in her power to learn exactly what it takes to win these games and exist through this whole ordeal with her sanity and life still intact.

The first thing she needed to do was figure out what the rules are because there was something that didn't make sense. If they had been playing this game for over 30 years, someone had to know how this game worked and what it really took to survive it long enough to win. Perhaps cutting the Light so soon was a mistake. They had the clear advantage facility-wise, so she needed to figure out what the Dark's edge was, or they were all walking corpses waiting for slaughter.