Raven's Dorm Room, Gotham University, Thursday Evening

[trigons_child]

Raven hadn't been feeling well for the past few days. She didn't get sick; her Soul-Self protected her from earthly illnesses, so she blamed it on stress and unwelcome news from Fandom. Eric had wanted to go out that evening, but she'd called him to leave a message that she would not be able to do so. She felt too tired, and too cold. No matter how many blankets she wrapped around herself she just couldn't seem to get warm. If the feeling didn't fade by the weekend, she told herself she'd call Karla to see if she could sense if something was truly wrong with her.

[For the creeper.]

Comments

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

Eric didn't live in Raven's dorm -- he had an apartment to himself near campus -- but it was easy enough for him to manipulate his student ID to give him access. Even though he'd drained another girl the night before, he was still hungry for the kick that Raven's soul would give him.

He took the elevator up to Raven's floor and knocked on her door.

[trigons_child]

The knocking jolted Raven out of the meditation she'd been attempting. She wearily got to her feet and opened the door. "Eric? What are you doing here? I left you a message. I am sorry, but I am not feeling well tonight."

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"I missed you, babe," Eric said, stepping into the room without waiting to be invited. "And if you're sick, I wanna take care of you."

[trigons_child]

"I am so cold I tremble," Raven admitted. "I do not usually get sick. This is very unusual." It was very cold outside, but inside she should have been fine.

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"Bet I can warn you up," Eric said, putting his arm around her shoulders. He steered her toward her bed and sat down next to her, then wrapped a blanket around her.

[trigons_child]

She was actually grateful for the warmth of his body and the touch of another person, and she gave him a tired smile. "If you are insinuating what I think you are," she said, "I have told you how I feel about that already."

But keeping to that seemingly easy decision seemed to be becoming harder.

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"C'mon, babe," Eric said. He moved his hand to stroke her hair. "There's a connection between us. Can't you feel it?"

[trigons_child]

"I do," Raven said slowly. She couldn't deny that something made her heart beat faster when he was near, and the longer she was with him, the harder it was to think of anything but him.

And that should have alarmed her.

She leaned her head against him, then pulled it back up in alarm when she heard his hiss of pain. "Eric, are you hurt?"

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"It's nothing," he said. "I just leaned up against some metal or something this morning. It was so cold I got frostbite."

[trigons_child]

"Let me see," Raven said, concerned. She pushed up his sleeve and frowned at the four white lines, the size of fingers, on his upper arm. Of course she felt the instinctive need to heal him, but she hesitated. She didn't want him to freak out at a demonstration of her powers.

"I think there are some things I need to tell you, Eric," she said softly. "I have told you that I am not from Gotham. In truth I am not from this world at all."

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"What do you mean?" Eric said, playing dumb. He knew all this already. "You like a meta or something?"

[trigons_child]

"Something like that," she said. "My mother was human, from Gotham, but not this one -- another Gotham in a parallel world. And my father -- he was a demon. But my heritage has given me certain powers...including the power to heal."

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"You're a healer?" Eric said. "See, I told you you were amazing, babe."

[trigons_child]

Raven was relieved he didn't seem frightened by her admission. "Let me show you," she said. She touched her hand gently to his frostbitten fresh and drew the injury into herself. The shock of pain in her own arm surprised her; it seemed stronger than she was expecting, and for a moment, she had to struggle to absorb and banish it.

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

Eric felt the brush of her soul against him as she healed his arm. It made his hunger surge, and he had to struggle to control himself. Instead he drew away from her before she might sense too much. He knew he was having an effect on her powers -- he could generate electrical pulses that muddled her mind -- but he didn't want to chance it.

"Hey, you didn't say it was gonna hurt you, too," he said.

[trigons_child]

"It is the price of my gift, and one I pay willingly," Raven said, though she had to take a moment to catch her breath. Maybe she really was sick. Something wasn't right, either with her powers or with Eric.

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"I don't want you to hurt yourself on my account," Eric said, pushing her hand away when she reached for him again. "I'll be fine, babe, don't worry."

[trigons_child]

"I do not mind," Raven said, but she was too tired to pursue it further. She tugged the blanket around her shoulders tighter. "But...what I am is one of the reasons that I do not think any sort of serious relationship is wise. And I will be leaving at the end of the semester, and going to a place far from here. It would not make sense to embrace such a brief time together."

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

"Or maybe it's all the more reason to enjoy the time you have," Eric said. "Carpe diem, right? Even if you're here for only three more months, that's three months I can make you happy. You deserve it."

[trigons_child]

"I want to be happy," Raven murmured. She couldn't swallow her sorrow forever.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I can sense that you care for me," she said. "But right now I need to feel trust. And this is all so new...."

[souleatingrobot.livejournal.com]

Eric kissed her forehead. "Hey, kid, don't sweat it," he said. "Your terms, babe. I can wait it out. You're worth it."