fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

It might have been the start of the fall semester, but it was definitely still summer in Fandom. The sun was shining and the temperature was already starting to get high, even as the NPC crew set things up for the day.

Luckily, the school knew how to take care of folks on days like today. Beneath the blue and gold streamers and balloons, tables had been set up with cold drinks and food, and an entire section devoted to offering up different ~~moddable~~ ice cream flavors. As always, there was a stack of nametags set down next two signs: one listing the Big Sibling/Little Sibling pairings, and one listing rooms and roommates for the new students.

With everything set up and the crew out of the way, it was time for the picnic to begin!

[~~Please wait for OCD!~~ The OCD is up! This is part one of the picnic, specifically for meeting siblings, roommates, and teachers. The rest of the picnic is happening here and here, in an effort to keep browsers from breaking for as long as possible. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

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At some point during the afternoon, Raven took a turn at the Reserves table. She was interested to see if there were any potential new members among the new students.

Another one! This girl looked a lot more...darker. And Zatanna felt a twitch at the back of her head. An odd twitch.

Shrugging the feeling away, Zatanna waved a hand towards her. "Hey, you are also in this Reserves thing?"

Raven looked up with a smile that quickly faded. The girl wasn't wearing fishnets and a top hat, but she knew that face. "Zatanna," she said, her voice tight. "Is it not enough that you turned away my pleas for help and disrupted the attempt to bar my father's path into this world? You cannot chase me from here as well. This is my home."

She could feel a surge of anger starting to rise within her. Because of Zatanna, her mother was gone.

"...Huh?"

She looked at the sides, and behind her, and then back at the girl. "Do I...know you?" Could she be wrong? She knew her name though. Something was wrong here. "Girl, I have no idea of who you are, but you apparently do know me, somehow. This must me a misunderstanding." It had to be; those were pretty serious accusations.

If she'd been entirely rational, Raven would've quickly realized that this must be some other version of Zatanna, a younger one who had never met her and never denounced her as evil when she'd gone to the Justice League for help. But this week had already been rough on her, and her emotions were raw.

"I will not allow you to take this home from me," she snapped. "Your magics are wrong. I am not evil!"

"Hey, hey. I am a student, not a world conqueror or something crazy like that." Again the twitch, but stronger, as if something was urging her to take her distance. "wohS em rouy arua." Her eyes flashed as she put a magical enhancement to her eyes...and then took a step back, eyes wide in sheer surprise and fear.

"Oh. My. Goodness." It was...a huge black bird, and darkness, darkness everywhere, extending in deathly coils and wrapping themselves all over the girl. It was a terrifying sight. "What are you!?", asked as she shook her head, dismissing the spell but not looking up. "So much darkness..." She was in shock alright.

Raven didn't know what spell Zatanna had cast, but she was glad she had frightened her. "Someone who is not afraid of you anymore," she said, moving to close the distance between them as the other girl retreated. "I lost my mother because of you. Arella paid the price for your judgment. You will take nothing more from me."

Red light gleamed in her eyes, and she shook as she fought to control her anger.

Someone who is not afraid of you anymore.

What was she, a monster?

"Stay. Away." She looked up, face still showing she was pretty shaken, but her look was a serious one. Serious, and scared. "You look at me and face me as an opponent, yet you don't listen to me. You have already decided that I'm some sort of danger for this place and yourself...even when you have enough darkness to break this plane." Straightening, Zatanna decided life was suddenly turning to be a lot more complicated.

"You are either going to start from the beginning and tell me everything, or I will make you do it." She knew she could. Just as well as she knew the girl could kill her on the spot. Such were the perils of magic. I'm a student, dammit. Not a friggin' superhero.

"You will make me do nothing!" Raven snarled. She could sense Zatanna's fear, and it was sorely tempting to latch on to it and inflame it, making it spiral beyond the girl's control. Make her run in terror and never return to the island again.

But then she would be exactly what Zatanna had accused her of last year. Evil.

"You have no idea what I am," she said. In more ways than one, it seemed.

"I don't wanna make you do nothing!", yelled back as she took a step towards Raven. "I have no idea of who you are or what you want, but you aren't giving me any reason to think you aren't evil." It was starting to annoy her more than scaring her -although the fear was still there, pressing her chest-, feeling as if she had just done something horrible, but being unable to remember it.

"Then please, please tell me what you are. And for the record, I'm making an effort to listen to you." For how long, she didn't know. Zatanna felt like punching her already. Or sewing her mouth. No, I'm better than that. Still, it was irritating.

It was finally starting to register through Raven's anger that Zatanna's confusion was genuine. She really didn't know who Raven was. Or maybe she was doing a great job of pretending -- but why?

"I am Raven," she said, more calmly, though her voice was still tight. "And we have met before. I came to the Justice League seeking their help, and you denounced me as evil and made them chase me away. And you led them to disrupt the ritual to stop my father from entering this world." Which led directly to Arella's sacrifice to bar Trigon's way, and a fresh ache of loss swept through Raven.

"Raven." It made a lot of sense. "We are about the same age, if not the same age. I've only heard of the Justice League from news and my father. I'm not even a fan of them. You met someone else with my name and face, as stupid as it sounds." She took a moment to cool herself, and collect her thoughts.

"I can feel something in you. It...scares me a bit. A lot. But I can't tell, not just after meeting you. I-" She took a step back. "I'm sorry." And then she turned and walked away, feeling both troubled and confused. And scared, but of herself. Did I fail, father? She wasn't too eager to mingle anymore with anyone.

Raven was tempted for a moment to follow after Zatanna and demand more answers from her. But her emotions were still roiling, and she had to tighten her control. She had to get away from the picnic. She wrapped her arms around herself and teleported away, seeking solace elsewhere.

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

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