BBAre A Slippery Slope, A Green Horizon

15

He was there again.

The endless drifting stones of Nevermore stretched out further than his sharp eyes could follow, the stone he was on felt familiar, yet the verdant grass that covered it and the flowers blooming around him were a far different sight to the bare rock that he had found Instinct upon last time.

Speaking of, he could not find a trace of Instinct, or any of Raven's emotions. It was just him, on this floating rock in the mind of his girlfriend. Garfield shrugged to himself, and just as he and Cyborg had done so many years ago, he began to walk.

The trees he found along the way were no longer dead and barren, he found on them leaves coloured so many different shades. Many of them were purple, or ink black, but he found trees with leaves of mixed gold and red, of blue and shimmering silver, and of green. So much green.

The red stars above him felt softer somehow, gentler on his skin, the first time he had been here it was an intrusion and he had felt as just that, an intruder. Instinct invited him the second time, and although he was wary, he had not known any sense of temperature or climate. Now it was as though he was returning to a foreign land, but one he had loved visiting, the wind felt warm on his back as it guided him further on.

He came to an unfamiliar corner of Nevermore, a circle of stone seats overgrown with lichen and vines, surrounding a raised dais. Upon the seats were Raven's emotions, some he recognised and others that he did not, intently they listened while the figure on the dais spoke.

“Happy!” Beast Boy called with a laugh. “Good to see you dude!”

The emotions turned to him in varying states of shock, but none more so than Timid (Unsurprising) and Raven. Not Raven's Rage, or her green cloaked Brave, no this Raven wasn't in a cloak at all, but in a camisole and pajama shorts.

“Garfield?” Raven asked with a confused frown, standing up to hug him. “Why are you here?”
“No idea!” Garfield said with a smile. “I'm getting used to it though.”
“Used to it?” Raven held up her hand as he went to reply. “No, wait, I think we should talk about that when I'm awake and meditated.”
“Sure.” He said easily, sitting down on the stone seat beside Raven's vacated space, patting it invitingly. “What were you guys talking about?”
“You.” Anger said accusingly.
“Or more accurately how we can be with you, and not hurt the world around us.” Said Knowledge, adjusting her glasses.
Raven (Or “Girlfriend Prime” as Garfield began referring to her as in his mind) looked around at her emotions, then to her boyfriend, and decided that in the absurdity of her life, this may as well happen. She sat down beside Garfield and slouched against him comfortably.
“Right!” Happiness exclaimed, Gar's presence giving her an extra helping of pep. “Like I was saying guys, we should go on a date with Kori and Dick (Rude, Garfield, and Sloth sniggered) so that we can see how they do it! Kori has emotional powers too, so she might help us figure out control around the Child of Darwin!”

Garfield nodded, liking the idea of a double date, but beside him Raven frowned in confusion. “The child of Darwin?”
Happy raised her eyebrows innocently. “Who? I said Beast Boy?”
Raven looked to Knowledge, who nodded. “Kori'andr also understands how our powers work better than the others. If anyone can explain it for us, she can.”
“She'll also make a huge deal out of it.” Timid groaned. “She'll think it's an advice column in her magazines!”
“Kori isn't like that.” Brave denied with a shake of her head. “She loves us too much to take a request for help lightly. Dick also cares too much to let us linger in darkness, he's shown us before.”
The emotions fell silent as that truth was digested.