"Gifts Ungiven"
by Dylan Portnoff
wordbearer2@yahoo.com

It's been a while since I've wrote and hopefully it doesn't show here. Here we are with the adventures of young Raven, Arella, and Azar. I liked writing it at any rate. That's the point isn't it? (Standard FF.net disclaimer) I don’t own Teen Titans in any way, shape, or form. That honor belongs to Cartoon Network, however long they wish to keep showing episodes, and their bevy of lawyers. I seek no profit from this and merely hope to avoid being sued. Please enjoy.


Gifts Ungiven
By Wordbearer2

	As Azar entered the cottage, her white cloak still dripping from the rain pouring outside, she cast a sidelong glimpse at the sickly plant sitting by the window. The shrub was draped in twisted paper chains and topped with a haphazardly-carved wooden star. Crudely-rendered designs were impaled on the branches, products of a child’s sloppy, enthusiastic hand. The high priestess frowned, making her lined cheeks seem even older than her fifty-two years of service did normally. With a shake of her head, Azar schooled her features into serenity and removed her cloak. The action revealed a pair of bone-white arm rings that crackled with suppressed power. Azar looked up as laughter erupted from the other room. Without a word, she moved further into the building and looked at a scene that made her shake her head in regret at what she must do.
	A young woman with thick black hair and clad in a brown shift played with a giggling, chubby two-year old. The child was unusual in coloration with ash grey skin and purple hair. Both of them were absorbed in their play, the young woman snuggling and tickling the child atop a simple cot as it squirmed in her grip, not really trying to get away. The child buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, “Mommy! No fair! Let me get you…” The woman complied and Raven set about attacking Arella’s ticklish spots with the innocent fervor of youth. Arella smiled and crushed Raven to her chest before turning around to face the doorway where Azar stood watching. 
	Instantly, much of the joy in Arella’s eyes faded, replaced with carefully-masked dread. Raven looked up at her mother’s silence, following her gaze to the waiting high priestess. The two of them looked at Azar with eyes that were the same rich azule color, a crimson stone nestling on each of their foreheads. 
       Azar smiled thinly, “Hello, Arella. It has been some time. I apologize for coming unannounced.”  
       Arella put Raven down on the cot and stood up, attempting to make the knee length shift neat-looking. “It is always an honor to meet you. I am… glad to see you today,” returned the young woman quietly.
       “I think we both know you fear my visits more than anything,” replied Azar, “Especially today. You’ve been hiding things from the monks.” Her gaze flickered to Raven as she said this, the child silent and attentive to the conversation occurring above her head.
       Arella followed Azar’s gaze, as she said, “What have I been hiding? I don’t remember anything of note.”
       The high priestess sighed, “Arella, I know you are native to a place that is far more… sophisticated than Azarath, but don’t pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about. You’ve requested four new dishes in the past two weeks. You bear new bruises that you have failed to adequately explain to the caretakers. Stones have been seen flying away from here in bursts of black light. Even without my senses, I would be able to tell that Raven’s powers have begun to wake up. We have been watching for it since the day she was born.”
       Raven’s attention wandered during Azar’s monologue and she dropped off the cot, sitting down and picking up a stuffed bird. The half-daemon played with the toy, happily beating its head against the floor, and singing erratically, “Birdie… Birdie, birdie, birdie…
       Arella frowned, tension darting through her eyes, “Maybe I have been hiding things. I can handle my own daughter. What you would do to her is inhuman. How could you do it to any child, no matter how different?” Her voice trembled.
       “What we do, we do for the good of Azarath. Our own pleasure is nothing in the grand scheme of things. We saved you for a reason. You promised that…”
       “I don’t care what I promised! I made that promise three years ago, a scared child. Now I know what your plan would mean and I won’t allow you to treat my daughter like a mistake,” Arella’s voice bled with emotion and Raven looked up from her play with wide eyes.
       Azar was firm, “Arella. I have given you liberties in the past, given you this cottage, food, and clothing to prepare Raven for her future, even turning a blind eye to your pagan beliefs.” She gestured at the pathetic ‘Christmas tree’ and continued, “We all have a role to play. Happiness is only a fortuitous accident that the God offers us from time to time. It is the height of evil to indulge…”
       Arella was bitter, “That’s easy for you to say. You were born here. You’ve never had anything to give up. Raven is my daughter. She is good and kind. She is the one good thing that I have ever had in twenty years of pain. She is…”
       Raven’s eyes went wide as Azar was engulfed in gold flame. She finished Arella’s sentence for her, “Yes, but she’s also Trigon’s Daughter. Never forget how she was born. That means she is far more than she appears. If she is untrained, she can only bring death on everything.”
       Arella stepped back a step, face calm and eyes dead, “You don’t think I know that? You don’t think I see his eyes in my dreams every night? I can still feel his grip on my arms at times. His... his…” She trailed off as she saw Raven sitting on the floor, shaking with fear at the argument above her. A faint hint of black flame played about the child as she looked up at the two adults.
       Arella whispered, looking away from Azar’s judgmental glare, “Raven is good. Can’t you see that? I want her to be happy. When I think about how other people look at her here, I don’t want to leave her alone with them. Ever.”
       Azar extinguished her power, “I know that, my child. The Law is harsh and sometimes, even I think I might have done wrong by sparing you and your child. But… she could do great things if she’s trained. What is good is rarely easy.” Her voice was laced with a trace of kindness.
       “I want to hate you for what you plan,” sighed Arella, “Why do you have to make it so hard for me to hate you? You will cause her so much pain.” The last was accompanied by a tear as she turned away. The young woman knelt to pick up her daughter.
       Azar continued, “Growth is pain. I can make things easier, Arella. A gift in celebration of your… Christmas.” Her face twisted a little, as she spat out the name of the Christian holiday.
       Arella held her child on her knees, not really listening to Azar as she comforted Raven. She looked up, “What do you mean?”
       “Raven will have to come live at the temple, but I can arrange to get you quarters nearby and allow you to visit her when she is not in instruction,” continued the high-priestess. “It seems like very little to you now, but it is more than we agreed to three years ago. I can’t do more and be loyal to the needs of my faith.” 
       Arella looked up with a measured expression, “That would be everything and nothing. I can’t stop you, can I? I have no choice but to accept whatever crumbs of happiness you throw me out of ‘mercy’.”
       Raven scrambled upwards in her mother’s grip to look at Azar, frowning curiously as the high priestess continued, “Don’t be so bitter. It helps no one. I take no pleasure in this. If I could safely leave Raven in your care, I would.” She closed her eyes and murmured a mantra under her breath before finishing, “Know that I mean no harm, my daughter. I will return in three days for the child. Be ready to go then.”
       Arella shook as she absorbed Azar’s statement, not speaking for a long time. She eventually whispered, “I’ll be ready.” 
       Her blue eyes locked with Azar’s, “I’ll make sure you don’t leave my child alone. You won’t turn her into one of your emotionless initiates if I have any say in this...”
       Azar nodded and turned to go. She paused as Raven squirmed in her mother’s shaking grip, bored again by all the big words. Azar almost spoke, but then she merely shook her head and put on her cloak, raising her hood. She stepped into the rain and disappeared from sight, a momentary shadow in the window that blackened out Arella’s Christmas shrub. 
       Silence reigned for a time, broken by a high childish question, “Mommy? Why are you crying? Did you get hurt?”
       Arella hugged her child close and then let her lean back, smiling stiffly, “No, Raven. I’m just being silly.”
       The half-daemon blinked and continued, “You’re still crying. Are you sure?”
       Arella wiped away a tear or two, “Yes. Come on, let’s have some rice cakes and feel better. It’s Christmas after all.”
       Her features lighting with pleasure at the thought of the fried dessert, Raven let it drop and didn’t say a word as she was carried out of the room.
       
       Fin.
       
       (Standard FF.net closer) So you made it. What did you think? Good, bad, or boring as heck? If you see fit, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think. Thank you for your time.