Demons (Damirae)

Chapter Fifteen

White fog swirled in the night air, a product of the biting cold meeting Raven's breath. She allowed herself a moment to watch as the light tendrils dissipated, alongside those of the person besides her.

The cold was creeping in, turning autumn to winter, killing trees and forcing animals in to shelter. Still, it would be beautiful when it came. A beautiful killer. A Venus fly-trap of sorts. 

Raven loved the winter.

Not what one would expect of an entity born of Hellfire, but that's where that ironic line of 'judging a book by its cover' came in handy. The winter was quiet, peaceful. There was a certain tranquillity that blanketed the atmosphere when it came. Raven embraced it wholeheartedly.

Halloween had passed a few days ago. Suffice to say, Raven was glad to see it go. It's not exactly fun watching children dress as replicas of the monsters she knew lurked in the dark, waiting. Monsters like her. Though what was hilarious, was Adyn's reaction to the entire charade.

Raven smirked in wry amusement, drawing the attention of her companion.

"We're supposed to be focusing, Raven.", Damian said, masked eyes still trained on the grime-filled streets of Gotham.

She rolled her eyes at him not-so-discreetly, "My sincerest apologies, truly, my remorse has no measure."

Damian shook his head at her antics, not bothering to hide his smile. One day, that sarcasm was going to get Raven in to major trouble.

From a few streets away, the two heard a feminine shriek before being met my a muffled shouting. Leaping in to action, they arrived in the alleyway within a few seconds (having scaled large buildings with over exaggerated cartwheels and flips).

A mousy woman stood in the corner, besides a metal monstrosity spewing black bags and waste all over the cobbles, surrounded by three predators inching closer and closer towards her. Until, of course, the voices of two superheroes met their ears.

"Step away from the woman and place your weapons on the ground."

"Otherwise we'll have to do things the hard way."

Per usual, the vermin decided to choose the hard way. Raven couldn't help but marvel at the stupidity of some people. It was concerning.

***

Having called the GCPD to pick the criminals up, Raven and Robin were left patrolling the streets once more from the rooftops. For a while, the two aimlessly crossed from building to building, trying to occupy their minds that were on the verge of succumbing to ennui.

After half an hour of tedium, a deep rumbling came from Damian's stomach. Slightly embarrassed, Robin noted that he hadn't eaten since lunch: Damian had begun reading Wuthering Heights at Raven's recommendation -and was becoming increasingly agitated at the female protagonist's poor decision making, seriously, what's the sense in being with the man you don't like because it's apparently 'for the benefit' of the man you actually love.

Meeting Raven's eyes, he was surprised to find concern within the amethyst flames.

"When did you last eat?", she queried, arms folded.

Understanding where this was leading, and knowing that he wouldn't win this fight, Robin confessed, "At lunch."

"Robin,", she began sternly, somehow still retaining her moderately quiet voice, "you need to start taking better care of yourself besides just training. It's not good for you."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair (a habit he had now adopted...along with too many animals), "I know how to care for myself. But I-"

She cut him off, "Why don't we go get something to eat.", quite surprising Damian.