Raven

Tara stopped by the room on her way to the mixer; she was all in black, but she hadn't put on her butterfly wings or antenna yet.

"Hey," she said, tapping on the doorframe. "Something's up with Jono?"

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"Tara, please come in," Raven said, giving her a warm smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Jono has been through a great deal since Homecoming," she said, trying to be careful with details that weren't hers to give. "It has been only a week for us, but a longer time for him, and it has changed him a great deal. Do you remember seeing him when we were transformed into our future selves earlier this year?"

She frowned a little. No, she couldn't remember Tara being there, could she?

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Tara shook her head uneasily. "Sorry. Kennedy and I both sort of ... slept all weekend or something," she said. "Why, had something happened to him?"

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"His appearance has changed," Raven said softly. "His face is restored, but his skin is grey now, and his lips are blue and the lines of them continue up his cheeks." She drew an imaginary line on her own face to give Tara some idea.

"His time away from us has been very difficult," she went on, hand falling back to her lap to fuss with Joni. "He is in sore need of his friends. I thought it best that I tell them of his change so they will know it is him right away."

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Unfortunately, Tara's mind was still stuck on that description. "...um. His skin is grey and he has a mouth like ~~meta~~ the Joker? Is he ... kind of okay with it?"

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Raven shook her head. "It is not something he asked for. He was not given a choice in how this was done to him. I am grateful that he is alive and back here with those who truly care for him, but the path that brought him here was a dark one, and he still bears those scars. I fear it will take some time for him to heal."

Her expression darkened for a moment. "And those who were his teammates in his world abandoned him. I will not forgive them for that. I cannot."

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"Abandoned him?" Tara repeated, blinking rapidly in shock. "But -- but -- that's kind of the opposite of what being a teammate means. Isn't it?"

"Anyhow," she added, "just -- tell me what you think he needs, and I'll do it, promise."

Edited Date: 2011-10-31 07:12 pm (UTC)

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"That is what I would believe," Raven said, more than just a touch bitter. "And I do not know their side of the story, but from what Jono has told me, I do not know how their behavior can be justified. He was very badly injured, and they know his friends are healers, yet they did not call for us. And when he was missing for a time, only one of them searched for him."

Maybe they couldn't figure out how to get in touch with her or Karla. She could allow that, perhaps. But for him to be missing and them to not try to find him was inexcusable.

She shook her head, trying to push the anger away. It wasn't productive at all. "I wish I knew exactly what to do. I want to help him, but I do not wish to further injure his pride. I think what is best is that he knows his friends are there for him for whatever he needs."

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"Maybe the different time thing made it hard for them to find you," Tara defended, a touch feebly. She didn't really believe what she was saying. "But I like to try to think the best of people, you know?"

She rolled up a strand of hair, twisted it. "What is he doing in town? Is he staying? I ... could maybe stop by and say hi."

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Her heart twisted for a moment. He almost didn't come back. She would have gone after him, unlike her stubborn, prideful other self, but what if she hadn't found him?

"He was convinced to return to Fandom, because his true friends are here," she said. "He is staying at the Boards. He will be working there, and apparently there is an apartment he will be moving into as well."

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"I can stop by," Tara repeated. She hadn't been inside the theater since ... well, not counting what she'd done the weekend she'd been a model, it had been a very long time.

It occurred to her to worry about Raven, not just Jono.

"And, uh, are you okay? It sounds like a -- really big change for a relationship."

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"Thank you," Raven said. "His friends are here and will do all they can to help him. He knows this, but it will help him to actually see it, I think."

She dropped her gaze, scritching Joni's belly until the kitten grabbed her fingers and started nibbling. "It is a big change," she admitted. "But my feelings have not been altered at all, no matter what he looks like. That does not matter to me. I just wish I knew the right things to say and do. His soul is suffering, and I could take away that pain so easily, but I know that is not true healing. That is...cheating."

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"You could try if he asks," Tara said delicately, eyes fixed on the kitten. She thought Raven reached for healing way too fast, but didn't want to be insulting. "I mean, maybe I remember wrong, but ... I thought it, um. Didn't really work when you healed him. So ... maybe wait and see if he wants it when things are less raw?"

She reached out her fingers, made clicking noises to tease Joni a little.

"You love him no matter what," she said. "That part is good, though. That's amazing. Maybe it'll get you through this."

Edited Date: 2011-10-31 08:43 pm (UTC)

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When Squall got the message, he rushed to Raven's room. "What's wrong?!" he demanded worriedly.

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Raven looked up at Squall as he burst in. He was there among their future selves, wasn't he? Yes, she had fuzzy memories of speaking to him at Caritas.

"Hello, Squall," she said. "I do not know if you listened to the radio at all this morning, but Jono has returned to Fandom, and I fear he is in grave need of his friends."

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"I missed the radio today," Squall explained, angry with himself. "What happened? Where is he? Who do we need to attack?"

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She was learning, though! Possibly. Maybe.

"Not a physical healing," Raven said quietly. "I would not presume to try that again." Besides, Apocalypse blood meeting Trigon blood would probably be a bad plan, though Elizabeth seemed to be just fine.

"But yes, love...that is what he needs. Not just from me, from all his friends. I hope that will chase some of the pain away." She knew she was being vague, but she didn't think it was her place to tell Tara everything that Jono had gone through. That would have to be up to him.

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"No one," Raven said, shaking her head. Yet. She still had feelings about the X-Men.

"Do you remember when we were our future selves at all?" she said carefully. "How Jono had changed?"

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Squall nodded. The details were fuzzy, but he remembered. "At the reunion," he said, just to verify that was what she meant. "He... had his face fixed, but wasn't happy about it for some reason." The details were very fuzzy, apparently.

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"It was not his choice," Raven confirmed. "Neither then nor now. He has been changed, and he has been through a great deal of unpleasant experiences. But he is back among friends now, and he is in sore need of our friendship."

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That... was a lot better than he was expecting it to be. Emo was a lot harder to defeat than monsters or enemies, but it was at least less dangerous.

Squall nodded. "Where is he staying?"

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"The Boards," Raven told him. "He will be staying and working there."

She picked up her pillow and hugged it to herself. "Squall. . .we almost lost him."

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Squall stared at the floor moodily and took a deep breath. "What happened?"

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The funny thing was, Tara never minded vague. Hearing details about something she couldn't change just made her sad; she'd listen if someone wanted to talk, but she rarely pried.

"We can try," she said. "I mean, he helped me a lot when my mom died. If I can repay that, even a tiny bit ... it'll make me feel a little more square with the universe, you know?"

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