5892/Bring Your Own Flashlight is Not a Good Theme for an Art Show

Bring Your Own Flashlight is Not a Good Theme for an Art Show
Date of Scene:	01 December 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Raven, Stardust

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Raven has posed:
    Raven is not exactly good at expressing herself- nor is she good at letting others in. Colette approached her door and was at least partially rebuffed. In several ways, even chastised... For trying to help. Part of Raven's problem is that she doesn't understand well enough that you can laud intent without lauding method.

    She's also just kind of mean sometimes, which doesn't exactly help.

    However, not even Raven can deny that Colette is reaching out. To what end, Raven would have to do more than just read emotions to find out, and for the moment, exposing herself like that is not something she is willing to do. It is partially begrudging- Raven respects her own privacy more than anything. It is also quite sincere when she turns herself from the door so that there is room to move.

    "If you want to see the sketches, you can... Come in." For a moment she thought to add some snarky comment about Colette having barged in already when she was gone, but that wouldn't help anything. She keeps it to herself.

Stardust has posed:
Raven will probably never know, but Colette did her best when it came to barging into Raven's room. Yes there was barging, but without barging, there would have been no locating Raven. The barging was very much kept as non-invasive as possible. Admittedly when you're going through the leavings of someone's personal life in an attempt to track down any secrets that might indicate where they would be hiding, it's never going to be all /that/ non-invasive. She tried though. She even glowered threateningly at some of the boys, just in case.

    Maybe that's why Raven is willing to utter the words "Come in." Maybe she feels that her sanctum has already been despoiled by Colette's presence and there's nothing to lose. Colette really isn't sure about Raven, being equipped only with the normal human capabilities to read emotion, which blunt themselves on Raven's meditative armor. She's half convinced Raven hates her, but then Raven did seem oddly eager that Colette recognize her efforts to save her life that time with the portal. It's a mystery.

    Colette satisfies herself with a nod of the head rather than commenting on the invitation, and follows Raven quietly into her lair.

Raven has posed:
    Raven's room is, predictably, pitch black. She has no lights, and the windows are a little darker perhaps than they should be. It may be a feat of magic. She may have the shutters further down than any other room. Whatever concession has been made, Raven's room is incredibly, completely, dark. It is impressive that she can even draw anything at all, and she must have a source of light somewhere- but if Colette is to try the light switch to the room, she will find that it doesn't work. Raven continues to make her way into the room regardless, seemingly knowing her way.

    It is likely that Colette will complain at some point soon, and at that complaint, Raven will snap her fingers and the room illuminates with a few softer-light candles. It's not... Particularly sufficient, nowhere near the amount of light for a normal room, but it's... Enough.

    Raven's room hasn't much in it- it is quite spartan. There are a pair of bookcases that contain a number of different tomes- in a literal sense, some are old, some are new, but many are... Particularly thick. Regardless of that, there is a bed, twin size- nothing too extravagant. On it, rests a small hand mirror. There is a vanity and accompanying set of drawers, and a desk, on which is the only particularly modern thing in the room- a desktop computer, currently off. It would occur that... Everything is -extremely- organized, and almost religiously clean.

    Raven has made her way to an easel next to her bed, on which is a large sketch pad. For the moment, she's obscuring what's on it from Colette's point of view.

Stardust has posed:
    Colette's complaint is virtually instant. "Rae? Your light doesn't work. You're probably unaware of this having never tried the switch." Her delivery is rather flat, the attempt at banter lost in the darkness. It's instinctual at this point; Raven mocks her, she teases back . Always much more gentle than Raven's barbs, but from Colette's view it has only ever been about having a witty comeback at the ready. She's trying to match Raven, not hurt her.

    Except that Raven has gone fully several minutes without any put-downs or insults, and it has put Colette slightly out of sorts. The instinct is there, but she's reacting against a vacuum. She half wishes she could take it back.

    Colette follows closely behind Raven, eager to not bump into and break things. As her eyes adjust to the candle-light, she stops and looks around a little, mostly looking at the differences between a room abandoned by Raven and one filled by Raven. The difference isn't stark. She lets Raven have space at the easel - and a little time, too. The comment she'd made out in the hallway about artists and unfinished works is not forgotten. She's giving Raven time to swap out the picture she was working on, if she wishes.

Raven has posed:
    It isn't that Raven isn't trying to be witty. It's that she's trying not to be as... Abrasive, as standoffish, as she normally is. There is much to be said about Raven's understanding of herself. She knows she can be mean, she knows that people might not like it. She knows that people might consider it something approaching bullying and ninety percent of the time, she doesn't really care about all of that. However, in times like this, when someone was opening up to her and being genuinely concerned, she is... Concerned about the perception.

    The work on the easel is finished- from what Colette can see, at least to the degree that Raven finishes any of them. The level of detail is quite high- when she eventually pulls the sketchbook off of its perch, flipping it to the cover and handing it over- but there are... Perhaps creepy details that someone trying to look into -what- Raven draws will notice.

    She draws many things- always in charcoal, but the end results are buffed smooth with her fingers, and none of them look particularly rough. There are animals, the rare landscape. The rest is... People. The majority of her drawings are of people. There is at least one piece featuring each of the Titans in recent memory. There are also many featuring random civilians, to be sure. It is worth to note that many of the drawings- and all of them that are featuring the most detail- are of women, Titans included.

    Raven doesn't say much. "That is... The most recent book. The rest are... In the closet."

Stardust has posed:
There's irony there. Raven's toning it down out of consideration, but Colette is if anything less comfortable for it. Is Raven mean? Sure, but Colette's run in circles where mean is the social norm. How do you build your social status without knocking down everyone else's? It's just like high school. Being bothered by it is almost as bad as not having a response, and if someone insults you a lot, that probably means you're friends. The funny thing is that in high school, if those mean words come from someone who's social status is inherently low because they're an obvious outsider, the way Rae would be? You don't even have to worry.

    Except this isn't High School, this is the Titans. Rae is a powerful sorceress, and someone Colette fights beside. Someone she would risk her life for, without hesitation. That puts them on an equal standing, regardless of hair color (as Raven might simplify the issue). It's all a bit confusing. When the insults stop, it's more confusing. Colette doesn't quite know how to act.

    It is perhaps all this that leads to the near-silence in which Colette flips through the sketchbook. She takes quite a time looking through it, nodding her head from time to time and occasionally offering a hushed "Nice," or "Good likeness." It's hard to guess what details she's picking up on, but she certainly spends more time with the portraits of the various Titans, paying close attention to the way that Raven has drawn each of them; wondering, perhaps, if the representations are a window into Raven's true feelings towards her team mates.

    When she's finished browsing, Colette sits down carefully at the foot of the bed, and returns the notepad to the easel. "You've got quite a talent, Rae. How often do you sketch from life?" She blinks thoughtfully in the gloom, considering her next words carefully. She reaches a hand out to slide the hand mirror away, an unthinking instinct to protect it from being sat on, as she asks quietly and carefully, "When you say 'in the closet'... would that be somewhat... metaphorical?"

Raven has posed:
    The last sketch in the book, the one that is in a way the least 'done' is... Different, slightly, than the others. The angle is the same as usual, of course. It isn't a particularly differing piece, except that it's of Colette. That much is recognizable. It's the upper portion of the blonde's body, from about mid bicep to head. It is there that the way Raven draws does sort of become apparent. Some titans, and her opinions of them, are apparent: Amarok is drawn somewhat more primitively. Nearly, in fact, two-dimensional. The rest of the opinion- though it does not seem to be a high one- is not one that can be inferred. To contrast, the amount of detail in Colette's facial features is rather stunning. There is one of Damian, wherein he stands mostly in the dark- though there is scenery around him, showing that if he moved somewhat in any direction, he'd be in the light- but has made his choice. It would take a long time to really get most of the messages Raven is conveying in the art. More than Colette has to spend, really.

    It is also somewhat incomplete. Only the most recent Titans Raven interacted with are present, but considering the art, the older books must be a sight. The mirror's danger is averted- As soon as Colette touches it, Raven visibly flinches, what little color is in her face leaving it for half a moment. Luckily, the darkness of the room makes it hard to notice.

    "There is also the -actual- closet, but. I think others know. It doesn't matter in the end."

Stardust has posed:
    Colette was not looking for any reaction when she touched the mirror, so darkness or not, she wouldn't have noticed. She was barely aware she was doing it, her instinct only to avoid the embarrasment of breaking on of Raven's - apparently few - possessions.

    Though who can tell what the next seven years would be like if it's /Raven's/ mirror you break.

    "I guess not," Colette agrees quietly. An agreement that could mean oh so many things, or indeed nothing at all. There's a thoughtful silence of a few moments, before she adds "Thank you. For showing me, I mean. It's... you're a very private person, and this is something from inside. You're probably not comfortable showing me. But you did anyway. I appreciate it."

    Colette rolls her shoulders, and gives the faintest of sighs before leaning back a little and turning to face Raven. "You're complicated. I'm starting to realize how complicated." Her words come slowly, considered and precise. "I'll try not to... underestimate the situation. But you're not always right, Rae. You're not always in control. We're your friends, okay? And if you want to keep your distance, I... guess you have your reasons. So I apologize for pushing you about that before. When you... when I got you angry. But the flip side is, if you run away, you're running from your emotions not controlling them. And you're hiding from the people who are most likely to be able to tell you if you're... slipping. It was the wrong call, at least with the information we have so far. Stick around, at least a while, Okay? And if you do feel the need to go, /justify/ it to us, and we'll respect it."

Raven has posed:
    Raven is silent for... Probably a long time. "I dated for a while. I let myself... Think that it was okay. That I could let it happen." There is kind of a pause there, as Raven sets the piece of Colette back on the easel. She might finish it soon. She's not sure. "I think the worst part is that it didn't end on some sort of horrible, violent note. There was no... Screaming fight. She just wasn't there anymore, and after a while I figured out that she wasn't coming back. She probably tried to tell me. I figure something happened. The way I felt afterwards... I realized it's probably for the best."

    There's another awkward silence. "You are right, but you do not understand what you're saying. The Titans are not- I am not here to help the Titans protect the world from Trigon, as if being around means that we will have some power we didn't before. I am here because, above and beyond everything else, if it happens, if I slip, you are the people I can trust to do what you need to do."

Stardust has posed:
Colette watches the drawing go back on the easel, and stares at it for a while. It's a bit odd looking at a picture of yourself you never knew was being drawn, particularly one that's quite life-like. And most especially when in your mind you half suspected that if such drawings did exist, there would be devils horns drawn on it, or possibly little drawings of daggers sticking out of the back. "You know, I'm not sure that it makes a lot of sense to describe a relationship not ending violently as a bad thing. I mean in the end you had a relationship that didn't have a messy end, and that's a kind of win, Rae. "

    Colette tears her eyes from the drawing and back to Raven. "You said something about Trigon destroying universes. Does he consume them for power? Is that why he is so strong? I'm sorry if that sounds trite. I'm trying to... translate a concept I don't really understand. I've been asking some questions. Of the voices." Her eyes drop down, avoiding Raven's for just a moment before she looks back. "And I know what you're getting at. With 'do what we need to'.But whatever you believe, you /may/ be wrong. This universe is different from others. Something happened to it some billions of years ago that... what might seem certain in other universes is not necessarily certain in this. While that possibility remains, I will look for it. With every... I know you don't have much faith in me Rae, but I'll find something. Or find someone who finds something. But I'll make you a promise that if you're right and I'm wrong... if I don't find... anything. Then I... " She stops a moment, struggling for words. "I understand what you're getting at."

Raven has posed:
    Raven shakes her head. "I think it was the worst way. If we had argued, and screamed at each other, perhaps we would have had the chance to work some things out. Maybe by the end of it we would have understood that it wasn't meant to be. We didn't even fight. We just... Stopped. No chance to... Come to a conclusion. I had time to go through every assumption about it, and I nearly... On my own I did not handle it well. With others, it probably would have been worse. Either way, it is all academic. I know what I am allowed now, which is... Important."

    When Colette looks back, Raven is facing away, looking at the piece of art. "That's a matter for another time. The measure of his power is effectively limitless. Fate, Strange, they are all... Inconsequential, I think, in the face of him. I am his gate. If it comes to it, the gate needs to be kept closed."

Stardust has posed:
    "I SAID I unders..." Colette snaps the answer, and immediately bites it back. Just for a moment, that was the angriest Rae has seen Colette, short of the time she was under the influence of the Bandersnatch's rage. It's gone as quickly as it came, and Colette just nods her head silently. She looks down at her hands for a few moments, then takes a deep breath. "You said he'd been defeated before. Something about a race of sorcerers? So he is not all-powerful. And you say you're his gate. So he can't come here without you. At least - not with his full strength. And that means that in a certain way, you have a power over him. Maybe there's another way to close the gate you just haven't thought of yet."

    Colette stands up again, tilting her hips one way then the other to stretch her legs. "Fuck. Look, I get what you're saying Rae, I really do. But you don't know everything. At least acknowledge the possibility there might be something you've missed. Never give up hope. 'Cos if you do, I'll have to have enough for both of us, and that would be a pain in the ass. Look, can we talk about something a bit more... cheerful? Maybe over some pizza?"