Moshi Moshi, mi amigos! Foamy is back with yet another oneshot! This one I had fun with, though I honestly considered making it a full, mulitchapter story directly based off of Tarzan.

Then I realized that I'd never get around to any other stories if I extended every oneshot like that lol.

Anyways, once again Raven might be a tad OOC in this one, but my reasoning behind it is exploring a "lonely" Raven rather than an "In-Love" Raven this time. I'm working with different aspects of the characters so that I have the experience I need to further my writing skills.

Au revoir~

The Legend of the Beast:

Son Of Man

"Hot Spot calling Titans Central, come in."

A figured in black and blue dashed by her sight, racing to the main computer. Raven Roth, half-demon sorceress of the Titans superhero team, looked up from her book in mild curiosity. Her pale, almost gray, skin felt a tad chilly so she pulled her dark blue cloak about her tighter. Indigo eyes watched her team leader Nightwing, formerly known as Robin, accept the call.

Immediately, a younger African man popped up on screen. His name was Hot Spot and he too was a superhero, albeit one who was a literal embodiment of fire. The Titans team he was a part of, Titans South, consisted of himself, a man-beast hybrid known as Wildebeest, a newcomer named Sandstorm (who could manipulate sand), Kilowatt (an electrokinetic young man from a parallel dimension), and Pantha (a super strong and super durable female wrestler from Mexico and close friend of both Hotspot and Wildebeest).

It was clear that Hot Spot was panicking, seeing as he had reverted to his native language of Swahili. Nightwing couldn't understand a single word he was saying and had to shout to get himself noticed.

"Isaiah, calm down!"

It took a moment, but the fiery young man calmed himself. "I am sorry, Nightwing."

"It's alright, Hot Spot. Now tell me what happened." Nightwing stood back from the computer and waited. Raven snorted. Her team leader, while tall with dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a handsome face, was more than a little obsessive about his job and took it far too seriously at times. The last time Hot Spot had called, some months prior, it was because his dog was missing and he was quite upset.

"We're in Africa."

"Why?"

"The Titans chapter here had some sort of mission they couldn't complete and they asked us for help since Wildebeest and I know the country. We didn't know what we were signing up for but our teamwork has improved greatly since Sandstorm joined, so we thought we could handle it." The pyrokinetic shook his head. "This wasn't what we expected."

"What happened?"

"We got here and found that what they wanted us to do was go into the jungle and hunt down some sort of creature that's been attacking poachers and any other criminals that stray into its territory."

Raven finally spoke up. "Why would they want to get rid of it?"

"It's killing people."

Nightwing flinched. Killing was a big no-no in his book. "Alright, where do we come in?"

"Well…we found the creature. Or should I say, it found us." He visibly shuddered. "In the heart of the Congo is where it lairs. We were unprepared but it thankfully didn't kill anyone. Killowat and I are the only ones that didn't get injured, thanks to our powers. I failed, Nightwing. I let my team down and this creature is still out killing."

Nightwing stroked his chin in thought, remembering all the times his team had setbacks and had been defeated. The fights with Slade and Trigon came to mind, and those had happened two years ago. Raven caught his eye and nodded.

"Hot Spot, take your team and return home to heal. Titans Central will take over. Just send us the coordinates." He turned to Raven. "Gather the others."

Raven nodded once more and flew out of the room. It didn't take her long to rally her teammates Cyborg, a half human half machine man, and Starfire, a lightly orange skinned and fiery redheaded alien princess from another planet.

They met in OPS, where all missions were organized. Immediately upon entering, Starfire flew up to Nightwing and wrapped him in a kiss and hug. Raven paused in the doorway and looked away from the sight. Cyborg noticed and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Raven, you okay?"

She shrugged his hand off and spoke quietly. "Of course, Cyborg. It was only two months of my life that he wasted. If things had gotten serious, I'd be upset. As it stands, I'm thankful it never went past a little bit of physical contact."

Cyborg peered at her, noting the lonely look in her eyes. He frowned at the girl next to him, for he considered her his little sister. When they had all met four years ago, she had been quiet and near emotionless, though her temper usually brought buildings down. Two years ago her demonic father, Trigon the Terrible, had possessed her and used her to bring his physical body into this world. He was defeated, of course, by the combined powers of the entire Titans group. The others had delayed him long enough for Robin (Nightwing) to rescue her from a hellish miniature dimension and bring her back to full strength, leading her to defeat her father in a battle that shook the world. Several months afterward Raven, who was learning to feel emotions without fear of her powers destroying things, and Robin, her rescuer and stalwart close friend, started a relationship, much to Starfire's chagrin. It had lasted two months and ended badly. The two teens had made peace, however, and the team was whole again.

Until Robin started seeing Starfire.

The distance between Raven and Robin/Starfire had lengthened over the years as a result. She was still quite civil with both of them, but it was painfully obvious to Cyborg that Raven was lonely and jealous of the way her estranged friends fawned over each other. She had changed over the years too and it was showing more and more lately.

"Look Raven…"

"I know, Victor. One day I'll find a guy that'll fall head over heels for me and I for him." Raven shrugged uncaringly. "I honestly don't see it happening, but you can be optimistic for both of us, I suppose."

Cyborg sighed and watched her approach the couple to reprimand them for public displays of affection while they were on duty. The couple broke apart, blushing furiously. Raven ignored their apologies and sat the table in silence.

Briefing never took long; Nightwing was too organized for that. Within ten minutes, everyone was up to speed on what had happened in Africa and were ready to go. They all made their way to the T-ship, a multipurpose submarine/jet/spaceship, and within another ten minutes left.

Thirty minutes after Hot Spot called was all it took for Titans Central to leap into action. They were the best and that's precisely why he had called them.

Hours later…

Raven stretched as she looked around at the new scenery. She had never been to Africa before. They were in some small village she wasn't going to attempt to pronounce at the edge of a massive jungle. Somewhere in there was some sort of monster that frightened innocents and criminals alike. Some monster that had harmed her friends (though 'friends' might be a strong term for how she viewed them; 'associates' would be a bit closer) and she wasn't going to let it get away with that.

Surprisingly enough, it was Hot Spot who greeted them.

"Karibuni." He waved at them. "Welcome to the village."

"I thought I told you to return to your headquarters and see to your team?" Nightwing frowned as he looked for the remainder of Titans South.

"Do any of you speak Swahili or know the jungle?" Hot Spot snorted when no one answered. "I didn't think so. I do, so I sent everyone back and stayed here to guide you. You'll need the firepower."

Raven rolled her eyes at the pun while Cyborg laughed. Starfire, who didn't get the joke, looked around confusedly as Nightwing groaned.

The team leader shook his head after a moment. "I won't turn away the help then. Lead on, Hot Spot."

"It will take some time to reach the territory of the beast on foot. Have you a quicker way to travel?"

Raven wordlessly created a large black disc out of her dark magic. Without a word, she stepped onto it and waited for the others to follow her. The villagers watched fearfully as the hero's zoomed off into the jungle.

Several more hours later…

Raven set the disc and her companions down in a small clearing and turned to Hot Spot.

"Is this close enough? I'd need a break from carrying everyone." Her monotonous voice hid her fatigue very well, but Cyborg knew that keeping that construct intact for that long had tired her.

"Yes, we are only an hour or so from the beasts' territory." Hot Spot looked around nervously. "Though it has been said that it will pursue trespassers for miles beyond its territory."

Cyborg began to scan the surrounding area. "Thermals and motion sensors are going berserk here. Not sure if they'll be any help. Raven, it might be up to you to keep an eye out."

Raven silently nodded and closed her eyes to focus. "Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos."

A pulse of dark magic washed over the area and further outwards. Raven turned to the others after a moment. "I set up a one hundred yard radius around us that I can monitor. It's not much of a drain on my powers so I can keep it up for a while."

"Good work Raven." Nightwing nodded. "Let's go team."

It was quiet, hot, and humid in the jungle. Raven's eyes were constantly in motion, sweeping the area as her detection circle moved with them. It had never hurt to be too careful in a new environment. In front of her were Starfire and Nightwing, quietly chatting to one another about the various animals they saw as they walked. Raven snorted and looked past them to Hot Spot, who was getting jumpier the closer they got. She turned her head to the side and looked back at Cyborg. He was so out of place in this jungle that it was almost comical to see the way he was warily looking around.

Almost.

In the end, it didn't matter to Raven. It was just another day, another mission. When it was over, they would return to the tower and go about their business. And once again, she would be alone.

Alone.

The purple haired sorceress shook her head, unwilling to go down that lane of thought right now. Her problems could wait until the mission was over. She needed to focus and protect her friends right now. The next hour passed quietly. Raven saw all kinds of plants and wildlife she had never encountered before. Not that she cared. They were pretty, but that was it.

And then, without warning, they found a corpse. Three corpses, to be exact.

"These were not here yesterday." Hot Spot gulped.

"Poachers, from the look of the ivory on them." Nightwing shook his head. "I bet they didn't believe the stories of the beast and came to hunt it."

Starfire could only look at the bodies once before turning away. "Friend Cyborg, what sort of creature has claws like a Glyuian Snarfback? Those only live on the planet of Tribrii Nine in the Tul quadrant."

"I dunno Star, but it looks like these guys were ambushed bigtime." The half metal man crouched down and scanned the bodies. "Claw marks don't match up to anything within wildlife databases either. It's either a new animal…or something way worse."

Raven's detection circle suddenly pinged rapidly and her head snapped up as she shouted. "Something's coming! Back to back!"

Instantly the Titans got in formation and assumed combat stances. But the jungle was quiet, minus the sound of mosquitos in the air. Raven's senses were exploding with danger signs and Cyborgs sensors were going berserk even more. But still they saw nothing.

"I got a really bad feeling about this." Cyborg muttered.

"Raven, where is it?" Nightwing glanced at her.

"I can't tell. It's scattered all over the area. It's right here with us though." The half demon shook her head as she watched several green mosquitos fly by. She didn't know much about insects, but she had never seen or heard of that particular insect being that color. She spoke slowly after a moment.

"Hot Spot, why don't you tell us about this beast?"

The elemental man visibly flinched before speaking low and quiet. "It's huge and vicious, with huge claws and teeth, shaggy fur. Faster than a cheetah, stronger than a gorilla, cleverer than a fox."

"Real descriptive."

"Uh…it's also green."

"Green?"

"Yes, like jungle itself."

Raven eyeballed several more green mosquitos as they buzzed by. She focused for a moment and used her magic to flick one. It was the first mistake.

Without warning, a horde of mosquitos swarmed around the Titans, barely giving Raven time to erect a shield of magic. The insects attacked the shield over and over again, much to everyone's surprise. After a time it seemed the flying parasites realized they weren't breaking through it and they retreated into the surrounding trees. Raven cautiously let the shield down and the Titans spread out. That was the second mistake.

If the Titans hadn't of sensed the creature at the last second, it probably would have killed them. As one, they whirled around to face each other and instead found the beast.

If one took Hot Spots description into account, it would be a bit of an understatement. The beast was easily ten feet tall. It had arms half again as long as its legs, a broad torso, hunched shoulders, and a face that was an odd mixture of an ape, a feline, and a canine. Long fangs sprouted in a feral snarl and its white eyes held nothing but rage. Its green fur was knotty and full of sticks and leaves, giving the creature a truly savage look.

Its' challenging roar shook the area as the Titans scrambled away from its wild swings. Cyborg got caught on his back and was sent crashing in a thick tree with a metallic crunch. He staggered to his feet a moment later, shaking his head. Nightwing ran up a tree and backflipped off of a branch. As his flip arched over the creature, he whipped out a trio of discs and sent them hurling towards the beast. It rolled sideways and bounced up to tackle him in mid-air much faster than anyone was anticipating. Fortunately, Starfire was close enough to rip the beast off of him and throw it against a tree. Unfortunately, it balled up in its own mid-flight, hit the tree feet first, and used the tree as a springboard to launch itself back at Starfire. She cried out as it hit her with enough force to shatter her elbow. She dropped to the ground, leaving Cyborg and Hot Spot to stand over here as Nightwing and Raven looked for an opening. The beast was unpredictable, to say the least.

A sudden roar and charge was all the warning Cyborg got before he was hit again. This time, however, he managed to keep his footing and lock hands with the creature. It roared in his face and pushed him backwards. His feet dug into the ground to no avail as the beast pushed harder. A blast of magic bowled the wild animal over, giving Cyborg a chance to catch his breath. But as he turned back to his opponent, he saw that it had a new target.

"Raven! Look out!" He shouted as it bound over his and the others heads straight towards the sorceress. It landed directly in front of her and roared.

Against her better judgement, Raven let the creature's rage affect her. Her eyes split into crimson shards of pure fury and she rose up into the air swathed in shadows, tendrils of her dark magic whirling around the monster in front of her. She roared out her own challenge, her voice crackling with demonic fury.

The beast paused, surprise evident on its face. It tilted its head and stared at her, its primitive mind trying to figure out the dark creature in front of it. Raven waited for it to begin attacking again, but it never came. Instead, it shuffled forward and began to sniff her.

"Uhhh…Raven?" Cyborg's arm had turned into his trademark sonic cannon and it was pointed at the beast. "I'm not sure what you did, but you need to move."

"Wait." She gestured for them to stand down as she let her own rage fade away. "Right now it's more curious than aggressive."

"I was unaware your empathic abilities work on creatures, friend Raven." Starfire gasped as she sat up and put her back to a tree.

"As was I." Raven's eyebrow raised as the beast circled her, still sniffing. It ducked its head under her cloak and pressed its cold nose against her back. Reflexively, she yelped and shied away from it. Its head still tilted, the beast gave a low and throaty growl that gave her the impression of confusion.

"Raven…" Nightwing sighed irritatedly, getting ready for one of his lectures about not sharing the full scope of her powers with the team.

A low and angry growl filled the air as the beast glared at him. Raven's eyes slid back and forth between Nightwing and the beast as she pondered the reasoning behind the growl. Nightwing snorted and pulled out his telescopic bo staff. A few twirls were all he got before the beast pounced on him, snapped the staff, and pinned him to the ground. It roared in his face.

"Nightwing, bare your throat!" Hot Spot shouted suddenly.

"What?!"

"Bare your throat! It's a sign of submission in the animal kingdom!"

"What the hell makes you think that-"

"Shut up and do it, Dick!" Raven and Cyborg shouted simultaneously. The capeless crusader huffed, but turned his head and barred his throat to the beast. It growled at him again before releasing him. As he got up, Hot Spot spoke up again.

"Now drop to a crouch and hold your hand out, palm up."

"What? Why?"

"It's how apes ask for forgiveness from the leader."

"I'm pretty sure you got that from a movie." Cyborg muttered to his elemental friend, who ignored him.

Nightwing complied begrudgingly. The beast was confused for a moment, but reached out and touched his hand anyways. After the black costumed hero stood, the beast began to stalk around the clearing to inspect the other intruders. It first when to Cyborg, the largest. It sniffed him over, pausing only to run a claw down his metal arm. The metal man was a curiosity to the wild animal, but nothing more. It moved to Starfire next, who shied away from it. The beast sniffed her regardless. After a moment, its nostrils flared and it turned its head towards Nightwing once more, a curious expression on its face.

"I think it knows you and Star are together." Cyborg crossed his arms as his cannon returned to its normal form.

"I would guess this too, if his scent lingers on her." Hot Spot nodded. But when his turn came next, he cowered in front of the towering animal. It could smell the fear and heat radiating off of him. It snorted at him contemptuously and walked back to Raven. It stalked around her, making some odd noises.

"Cyborg, what's it doing?" She asked, annoyed.

"Uhh…I think it's trying to talk to you."

Raven rolled her eyes. "I don't want to talk to it. Shoo, go away and stop killing people."

Something about the annoyed tone of her voice and her waving her hands at the beast caused it to pause. It let out a yowl and dashed off into the trees. Raven stared at the spot in surprise.

"I didn't expect that to work." She said after a moment. Cyborg chuckled.

"Friend Raven…"

Raven snapped out of her state of minor shock and made her way over to Starfire to heal her. It took about ten minutes, but the alien princess was right as rain at the end. After Raven extracted herself from Starfire's trademark back breaking hug she placed her back against a tree and slid down it to sit between the roots. She was exhausted now that the adrenaline wore off and her arm was hurting from healing her friend.

"Iight guys, we're camping here for the night." Cyborg looked at his team leader, who nodded. With a grin, the metallic man popped open a panel on his leg and pulled out a cube with a button. He pressed the button and tossed it onto the ground, where it began to transform into a small cabin.

"That's a terribly convenient piece of tech you have, Cyborg." Raven almost smiled. "Tell me there's a tea machine in there."

"Uhh…sorry Raven."

She sighed and gave him a slight smirk. "Oh well. We can use your arm instead."

"For the last time, I'm not a coffee maker!"

Chuckles sounded in the clearing as the Titans went into the cabin to rest.

Strange noises outside the cabin are what woke the Titans. They ventured out cautiously to find that the beast had returned. It was pacing outside the cabin, trying to figure out what the hell this strange thing was doing in its territory.

Raven sighed. "I'm going to have to go out there and deal with it, aren't I?"

"Well…you are the one that calmed it down to begin with." Nightwing sighed too. He didn't like the idea any more than she did, truthfully speaking. Raven sighed again and walked out to the creature. When it saw her, it stopped pacing immediately.

"And what are you doing back here? I thought I told you to go away?" She looked up at the creature tiredly. The beast leaned down and looked her face to face for a moment before darting away into the bushes. She had just enough time to raise an eyebrow before it returned carrying several somethings, which it laid at her feet.

Raven looked down, trying to see in the dark. After a moment, she gave up and turned back to the cabin. "Cyborg, I need some light."

Light filled the area after a moment, blinding the beast. It whimpered and backed away, leaving Raven alone with a dead leopard, a dead crocodile, and a large dead rock python. The half demoness stared at the bodies for a moment then looked to the beast, which gingerly approached and nudged the leopard towards her.

"Hot Spot…" Raven said quietly, "Why did it…"

The African man paused in thought for a moment. "I'm going to say it either thinks you wanted food or it's trying to impress you."

"Trying to impress me?" Raven pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to stay calm. "You have got to be kidding."

"Raven, why don't you link minds with it for a few minutes and tell it we just want it to stop killing people? Then we'll leave in the morning."

Typical Nightwing, Raven thought bitterly as she said. "Alright."

She stepped over the dead animals and approached the beast. It tilted its head in confusion, seeing how the female in front of him ignored his offerings. Instead, she walked right up to him and reached her arms out towards his head.

Cautiously the beast leaned down and let her hands take his face. Raven inhaled and exhaled slowly, her eyes glowing. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

The others watched as she stiffened suddenly. A small gasp escaped her lips, which made them slowly approach.

"Raven?" Cyborg got closer than the others did, fearing for his little sister.

"He's human." She said almost breathlessly. The other Titan's eyes popped open and jaws dropped as she kept talking. "This beast is actually a human. He's…a shapeshifter…an animal shape shifter. This form is pretty much the apex predator of all the animals in him combined."

She paused. "It's hard to shift through his thoughts, they're wild and scattered, completely unfocused on anything but surviving and protecting his home. He's been in this jungle for a long time…I'm seeing full seasons…ten, no eleven sets…I'm guessing he's been here for eleven years…alone…completely alone…"

"Friend Raven, it is possible for you to return him to the form in which he originated?"

"I'm trying, Starfire, but he doesn't remember or even know what he would look like." Raven face became strained after several more minutes. "I've got something! I might be able to change him. Stay back!"

The sound of bones crackling and popping filled the air as the beasts skin rippled. It began to shrink rapidly, its form becoming more and more humanoid by the second. Within five heartbeats, he stood before them. Raven opened her eyes and could only look at him in awe.

He was easily a head taller than her, a bit over six feet tall at least. His face was a strange combination of boyish and rugged, his wild green eyes staring out at her behind his wild mane of shaggy green hair. His skin was only a shade lighter than his eyes and two shades lighter than his hair. Her eyes traveled down his heavily muscled torso, which was riddled with scars like his arms, and then…

Raven suddenly turned around, a full blush on her face. Cyborg raised his eyebrow and she looked away as she stuttered. "H-he's not wearing any pants."

Cyborg stepped around her and glanced at the green guy in front of him before shaking his head. "Boy, you need to put that thing away."

The green boy, who couldn't be any older than seventeen, tilted his head and blinked. He made a strange noise, a sort of growl, as he realized he wasn't a large animal anymore. His confusion increased as he looked at his body, wondering where his claws and fur were. He reached out and tugged Raven's cape, making another strange noise as if demanding an answer as to what she had done to him.

Raven shook her head. "I'm not looking at you until you put some pants on."

Getting this strange young man some pants wasn't hard. Getting him into the pants was another story. In the end, Nightwing and Hot Spot had to take him into the cabin and repeat the process of putting their own pants on and off until he mimicked them perfectly. Except that the pants were on backwards, making them do it again until he got it right.

When they exited the cabin, Raven glanced up from the book she was reading and almost immediately had to look away. The pants were way too tight on him, leaving little to the imagination. The green boy saw her and headed her way, much to the others wary amusement. She watched him from the corner of her eye, noting the strange way he walked. It was almost a lope, but a shuffle at the same time as he alternated walking like the others (she guessed he was mimicking them) and bounding around on the knuckles of his hands. It was ape-like but at the same time it had a predatory feel to it, like the muscles in his legs were that of a large cat or wolf. It was actually unpredictable, when she fully paid attention to him. He shifted between his movements fluidly, each step (whether human or bestial) perfectly maintained with the previous and next one.

He approached her cautiously, waiting for her to react. At this point he had dropped down to his haunches and used the knuckles on his hands to balance himself in a very apelike way. When she looked at him from behind her book, he sat back on his haunches and made an odd yipping noise as he tilted his head. This continued for several minutes as he went from noise to noise, ending in a very monkey-like chatter.

"I have no idea what you're saying." She said as she put her book down. His head tilted the other way and he gently took the book from her. He sniffed it and held it up, letting it fall open. His eyes opened wide as his free hand waved through the pages, feeling a strange new texture on his hands (paper). His curiosity got the better of him and he opened his mouth.

Raven saw what was about to happen to her book, so she snatched it from him, leaving him to bite himself hard on the finger. He released the digit and looked at it bleed before looking up at her in confusion.

"Not food!" She growled at him. He lowered his head and licked his finger, apparently aware that he had offended her. Raven rolled her eyes and held her hand out. "Give me your hand."

He looked at her hand and back at her several times before he slid his hand into hers. Raven chanted briefly as her warm blue healing magic encompassed his hand. After it was done his eyes opened really wide as he looked at his finger. More strange yipping sounds, along with a yowl of some sort.

Raven could feel a headache starting to form, so she called Cyborg over. "Why don't you teach him how to talk?"

"I dunno Raven, he seems attached to you." The metal man teased. Ravens' eye twitched and a nearby bush exploded. The green boy jumped between the poor bush and Raven, a deep growl resonating from him. Cyborg couldn't stop himself from cracking up.

The next three days were spent trying to teach the jungle boy to talk, with 'trying' being the keyword. But unless Raven was involved, or at least nearby, he just wouldn't pay attention. At this moment, Cyborg was using a flat wall on the cabin to show the boy images projected from his eye.

"Flower." He said, waving his hand at the image of a rose, "Flower."

The boy barked something unintelligible, making Cyborg throw his hands up in the air and stomp off complaining again. The boy followed him all the way to Raven, who was sitting comfortably between the roots of a tree.

"Raven." Cyborg crossed his arms. "I'm pretty sure yer little buddy here doesn't like the idea of learning how to talk. I've been trying to get him to say flower for an hour and all he does is yap at me like a puppy! I know he ain't stupid, he mimics damn near everything we do. How can we be sure he can even talk?"

"We can't. All we can do is try." She said monotonously, marking the page in her book. "Nightwing said we're leaving tomorrow anyways, so we'll take him with us and keep trying to educate him."

"We? I haven't seen you teach him anything!"

"Then you haven't paid attention." Raven turned her eyes towards the green boy. "Come here."

He shuffled out from behind Cyborg and crouched two feet from Raven. She gave him a small smirk as she patted next to her. "Sit."

With a small woof, he sat down next to her. He glanced at her legs crossed in front of her and mimicked it, leaving him sitting Indian style.

"Good boy." Raven pat his head. His eyes lit up and Cyborg started shaking his head.

"Girl, that's so wrong on so many levels."

Raven shrugged and opened her book again.

That evening, Raven made two decisions. First, she was going to cut his hair. Second, they were going to name him. She made Nightwing and Hot Spot drag him to a nearby stream to wash his hair (which the boys would later say was far more trouble than it was worth). Upon their return, the sorceress made him sit near the fire they made to dry his hair faster. He was very curious about the fire at first, until it burned him. They barely managed to stop him from beating it to ashes with a tree.

Yes, a whole tree. He ripped it right out of the ground like it was a turnip.

After that little fiasco, Raven requisitioned a knife from the bodies of the dead poachers (which she made Cyborg go find). She had never cut anyone else's hair before but didn't think he would mind if she made a mess of it. It's not like he could talk anyways.

His hair ended up about four inches long all around and he shook his head many times as he tried to adjust to the new weight. He made himself dizzy and fell back into Raven's lap. Raven set the knife to the side and looked down into those big green eyes of his, quietly wondering who he would have been if he wasn't left in the jungle.

"Alright, time to name him." Nightwing pulled out a list he had made. "I say we name him Jerry."

"What? Like that show host?" Cyborg shook his head. "No way dude."

"Friend Cyborg, what do you think of the name Snorfakerful?" Starfire had her own list, which she was smiling at.

"Uh, Starfire, I'm not sure if I can pronounce that." Nightwing shook his head this time, which led to a large debate that Raven didn't participate in. As it winded down, they all decided to just go down the alphabet naming names until one that fit him really stuck. Thirty minutes into it, something happened.

"…Gunther, Gerry, Gunner, Gray, Grey, Geraldo…" Cyborg listed off on his fingers.

Nightwing took over. "Gil, Gideon, Guy, Griffin, Gareth, Garth…"

Raven, who had been absentmindedly petting the boys' head (he was purring, for crying out loud!), felt his ears twitch. He opened a lazy eye and looked at the others across the fire. Raven's brow furrowed for a moment as she realized he reacted to something that sounded slightly appealing.

"What about Garfield?" She asked after thinking of names that started with 'Gar'.

His head snapped up and he looked right at her, his attention fully hers. She looked down at him in surprise. The others stopped talking. He meowed at her.

"Garfield?" She asked him directly this time. He let out a soft growl and started purring louder, nuzzling her hand.

The others stared at her, each silently disappointed that their names weren't chosen. Minutes later, Nighwing pulled out his wallet and handed Cyborg a twenty dollar bill. Raven raised her eyebrow.

"I bet that you'd be the one that chose the right name." He said smugly as Nightwing scowled.

Raven just rolled her eyes and went back to petting Garfield as the others threw their lists in the fire.

The journey on the T-ship probably would have been uneventful if the Titans didn't discover at the last minute that their new friend was terrified of the vehicle they rode in. As such, he spent the entire trip in the form of a little green mouse hiding on the back of her neck under her hair. Originally he had scrambled all over her in that form only to wind up crawling under her leotard and settling between her breasts. His honest terror of the vehicle overrode her anger towards him just this one time, so she pulled him out and set him where he was now.

Cyborg had spent the entire ordeal laughing his ass off in another part of the ship.

When they finally reached Titan tower, they were greeted by Titans South, who thanked them profusely for taking the mission over. Their gratitude, however, was transformed into sheer terror when they were informed the beast had returned with Titans Central. Raven almost laughed when they got into battle formation. Instead, she reached behind her head and extracted a small green mouse from her hair, where it was still cowering. The other Titans couldn't believe the story she told them at all, so she gently coaxed Garfield into resuming his natural shape.

That certainly made them believe.

The following days were spent attempting to educate Garfield and leaving him in the tower when they had to go out in the city. His education was going decently, though he still hadn't said a word. He managed to pick up basic sign language and could communicate with them to an extent, like when he was hungry or wanted to sleep. Raven had come to the conclusion that returning him to his natural form had released him from the haze of being a less sentient creature. The others, after a debate, agreed. There were things he picked up quickly while others…not so much.

Toiletry came to mind.

Two weeks after bringing Garfield into their 'family', Raven found herself thinking of him rather often. He was rather sweet, in his strange and animalistic sort of way. He tended to follow her around like a puppy, sometimes interacting with her; other times he gave her the impression of just wanting to be around her. It was both annoying and endearing. She and the others were trying harder than ever to teach him to speak but still he made those animal noises. Cyborg came to the conclusion that his vocal cords simply didn't work the way they should. It actually disappointed Raven (not that she showed it) that she wouldn't be able to have a real conversation with this strangely affectionate boy. She really wanted to know why he was so attached to her, the cold hearted half demon sorceress that kept everyone at arm's length.

I suppose I'll never know. She thought bitterly as she watched him press random buttons on the main computer. Cyborg stood next to him and named off things that popped up on the screen.

Cyborg, on the other hand, had become aware of something else recently. Raven was opening up to the strange green boy beside him. Several times, he had caught them just lounging around the common room, with her petting his head as he purred in her lap as she read. Cyborg's cuddling jokes never went over well with Raven, who usually tossed him from the room with her magic. Other times, he had been privy to full length one sided conversations that she had with Garfield. He wasn't sure how much Garfield understood but the look in his eyes showed that he was paying rapt attention to the violet haired girl in front of him.

He had a sneaking suspicion that Raven was falling for the boy and that the boy would return it tenfold. It only made the metal man more adamant about educating the shapeshifter as fast as he could. After all, Raven dearly wanted a companion, whether she would admit it or not, and Garfield was most certainly wanting her attention all the time. It was almost like the boy could tell that just being there for her was all he really needed to do. There was also something odd about the way he listened to everyone talk, almost like he was paying far more attention than he let on.

A tugging on his arm brought him from his musings. Garfield was pointing avidly at something on the screen and signing Want.

Cyborg raised his sole eyebrow. "Why do you want that?"

Want. Get? Please?

His curiosity peaked, Cyborg looked up the nearest location to get the item. Nowhere even remotely close. He scratched his chin in thought for a moment before an idea hit him.

"Hold on, let me call a friend." He grinned.

The sound of a trumpet caught Raven's attention. The Herald stepped out of his dimensional portal to engage in a quiet conversation with Cyborg. She watched the nodding of heads and Garfield's leap for joy. Herald smiled at him and opened another portal with his horn.

"We'll be back in a bit, Raven. Call me if there's trouble." Cyborg grinned and shoved a bouncing Garfield through the portal. Raven nodded and went back to reading, squashing the rising feeling of loneliness inside her with a tide of words.

Some hours later, a trumpet sounded again. Raven, Nightwing, and Starfire looked up from the sandwiches they were eating to see the Herald, Cyborg, and Garfield step through. They were slightly dirty but had triumphant smiles on their faces.

"Where did you guys run off to?" Nightwing sipped his coffee to hide his irritation.

A sly smirk found its way onto Cyborg's face. "Garfield here wanted something, so we went and got it."

"Friend Garfield, what did you wish to acquire that we could not assist you with?" Starfire floated towards her friends, but the shapeshifter darted past her towards Raven.

She recoiled a little bit when he suddenly stopped in front of her. His hands were behind his back and his eyes were lit up like a kid in a candy store.

"Hello Garfield. Did you have fun?" She asked slowly, wondering what he was up to. She knew that Cyborg had been teaching him pranks and was wary about what he would do. He nodded eagerly and did something she never expected from anyone.

He gave her a flower.

Not just any flower though, but a purple lotus.

Her mouth ran dry as she looked down into the rich purple petals. It was settled in a dark blue pot, with the water and mud from its natural environment. This rare and precious flower, recognized worldwide for its mystical inclinations and value to Buddhists, was now sitting in her hands. She looked up at him, unable to speak. His face was scrunched up and he appeared to be struggling with something, a vein bulging on his forehead.

"Raven…pretty…like flower."

All sound in the room disappeared and Raven was absolutely certain reality stopped as he kept talking.

"Raven…smart…pretty…kind….good to Gar…field. Me…no, I…want…" He was struggling with every word but he wouldn't stop despite the obvious pain from speaking in an unfamiliar way.

He paused as he stood up straight, his emerald eyes staring at her as he towered over the small sorceress. His posture was one of absolute seriousness and his breathing was steady, the scars on his body almost shining with resolution. He looked down into her eyes and her heart fluttered like it did a long time ago for a dark hearted and masked boy. Only this time, it was a much stronger flutter. One that was leaving her a bit breathless and dizzy in the head.

He was quiet for another moment before speaking once more, clearly this time. "I want to be Raven's mate."

She fainted.

A/N: I honestly pondered to myself on whether or not this ending was too abrupt, then realized it was feasible via a 'shock' factor. If enough people like this, I may just very well do a legitimate version of it.