Author's Note: Yeah, I know, it's been a while since I updated. I'm sorry, but since this is a collection of stories it doesn't really matter for continuity, and I have a truckload of other ideas I want to develop...

Storyteller

"Pwease, auntie Waven?" the little girl whined.

Raven frowned at her, then glared at Sarah. "Auntie? What have you been teaching these kids?"

Sarah hid a giggle behind her hand. "Just tell them a story, Rae. They like your stories."

Raven sighed. "All right, I suppose I can. Just please have them call me something that doesn't make me feel so… old."

Sarah smiled and arranged the small children in a half-circle around Raven, sitting between them and embracing the two smallest ones, one on each side. Raven waited patiently until they were all settled and ready, then made herself comfortable, levitating an inch above the ground in lotus position, her eyes sweeping across the park, making sure everything was right. The older children were busy playing baseball with Cyborg and Changeling, and the baby carriage was safely parked in the shade of a nearby tree, her infant twins sleeping peacefully in it. Satisfied that all was as it should be, she pulled the hood over her head, leaving everything but her mouth in the shadows, her eyes glowing a soft violet from within its depths. She could feel the kids' excitement rise, buoyed up as much by the expectation of the story as by a slight touch of uneasy but delicious apprehension at the sight of the dark, mystic storyteller. Her lips curled up in a small smile and she began her tale.

"A long, long time ago, there was a dragon!" she began, her voice soft and slightly hoarse, but carrying enough for all children to hear well. "A huge, dark, evil dragon called Malchior. He was black as midnight, big as a house, strong as a herd of elephants. His breath was hellfire itself and he was master of powerful magics…"

She opened herself fully to the simple, pure emotions radiating from the kids, letting them wash over her and using them to guide her narrative. It had a mesmerizing effect both on the children and on her, focusing the teller as much as the listeners on the story.

"The powerful wizard Rorek of Nol heard about the plight of the people and hastened to their aid. The villagers tried to persuade him not to go, for the dragon was strong and fierce and merciless. But Rorek heeded them not, and struck out to search for the monster. Following a trail of burned homesteads and scorched fields, he arrived at last at the foot of the mountain where the foul beast made its eyrie…"

A baseball dropped from the sky and bounced and rolled over, coming to rest not far from where they were. Out of the corner of her eye she spied one of the older kids running to pick it up. She dismissed it and returned her attention to the storytelling.

"… and just as the terrible beast was certain it had Rorek at its mercy, the wizard spoke a curse that sucked the dragon into his spellbook and bound it there with powerful magic, to stay imprisoned for a thousand years."

A contented drone rose from her audience. The story was short, but nice. The kids were already slowly getting up to look for other entertainment when a child's voice rang out.

"What happened after the thousand years?"

The question startled her. It was made by the older kid, the same one that came running to pick up the baseball. He held it now in his hand as he crouched behind the small children. He had approached to see what was going on, just to get entangled immediately in Raven's tale.

The little kids began shifting and murmuring. "Yes, Auntie Waven! What happened then?"

"All right, all right! Calm down!" Raven sighed. Now there was no getting out of it. She hid a smile, then growled at the jostling kids and allowed her eyes to glow white for an instant. There was a collective intake of breath and the kids quieted, now all ears.

"By happenstance, Rorek's spellbook came into the possession of a young sorceress," Raven continued the tale. She never thought she would have to tell this part and she wasn't too happy about it, but soon the tide of the children's emotions swept her doubts away and she forgot about her unease. The story flowed out freely and her voice regained that low, captivating tone that pulled the listener in completely.

"Now this sorceress was cursed by an ancient Prophecy," her voice became ominous. "Since she was born, she was told that great evil would come from her, and that she would destroy everything she loved and cared for. So she kept herself aloof, not allowing anyone near, though her soul yearned for friendship and affection."

She felt Garfield and two other kids approach. They were probably looking for the one that was supposed to fetch the baseball, and who was now sitting and listening, entranced and enmeshed in the web of her story. She shrugged it off internally; Garfield knew better than to interrupt her or the children.

"… so Malchior played upon the sorceress' weakness, upon her loneliness and her desire for affection and recognition. And he deceived her with honeyed words and flattering until she was all but lost in his web of deceit. He taught her dark magic, dangerous magic, and he soothed away her apprehension with fake arguments and empty promises. And when he felt that she was completely in his power, he made her release him from the paper prison…"

Nightwing and Starfire returned from their stroll, eating ice cream and holding hands. They sat down quietly in the back. Starfire whispered something in Nightwing's ear and giggled silently. Raven sensed Garfield lower himself beside her, listening intently. Her audience had increased quite a bit since she started, and it looked like it would grow even more; she saw Cyborg and the rest of the older kids approach also.

"The sorceress and her friends gave vicious battle against the terrible black dragon. The sky lit up with green and blue magic, flashed with the silvery streak of swinging swords and slashing claws, burned with the hellfire of the dragon's breath. But it was all in vain; for old and powerful Malchior was, and the heroes were young and inexperienced. One by one he swatted them down, until only the sorceress remained, clutched helplessly in his claw."

Both children and adults listened, bewitched. The smallest kids huddled with Sarah or with the closest older child. Everyone felt the tale drawing to its climactic end, and the anticipation barely allowed them to breathe.

"… and the sorceress recalled Rorek's curse, and spoke it, and captured the evil dragon again within the pages of the spellbook. She made sure to lock it and hide it securely, so that the dragon wouldn't get loose ever again."

Silence fell, but Raven could feel that her audience was still expectant. She raised a puzzled eyebrow. Did she mangle the ending?

"That's not the end," a small child ventured with a whine.

"Yeah, what happened with the sorceress?" an older kid complained. "She was lonely! We want her to be happy! We don't want it to end this way!"

"We want a happy ending! That was not a happy ending!" a general clamor rose from the children.

"I… but there's no more…" Raven stammered ineffectually.

"Oh, but there is!" Garfield spoke suddenly, placing an affectionate arm around Raven's shoulders. "At first, the sorceress hid in her chambers, ashamed and hurt. But a friend came to see her and told her that she wasn't alone, as much as she believed she was. He opened her eyes and made her realize that she did have friends, and people that loved her, and cared for her, and respected her."

The children quieted down quickly, a feeling of satisfaction radiating from them. Raven sighed in relief and fought an urge to kiss Garfield for saving her from the uncomfortable situation. It could wait; she would thank him profusely later, when they were alone.

"Did the sorceress marry her friend?" a small voice piped in. Raven felt heat rising to her face.

"Of course she did!" Garfield came to her rescue again. "They married, and had lots of kids, and lived happily forever after!" he said, then grinned hugely. "They even kissed!" he whispered conspiratorially.

"Eww, gross!" a chorus of disgusted denial swamped them. "Why do grown-ups always have to ruin good stories with all that kissing?"

"That's it, kids! Storytime is over!" Sarah laughed, rose and glanced at Cyborg. "Time for lunch!"

The huge half-robot sprang up. "I'll get the barbecue ready!" he shouted and ran off, followed by a gaggle of laughing youngsters.

Soon Raven and Changeling were left alone. He hugged her tenderly and she snuggled into his embrace, relishing in the feeling of his love pouring into her. Lifting her head, she looked at him and flashed him a crooked smile.

"They had 'lots of kids'?" she growled playfully. "Are the twins not enough for you?"

"Never," he purred. "I was actually hoping we could start working on the next litter… tonight."

"Hmmm. Maybe," she smirked. "But you'll have to do better than that to convince me."

"I could start right away," he waggled his eyebrows at her, making her roll her eyes. He bent his head to kiss her, but she placed a finger on his lips and stopped him, smiling mischievously.

"Kissing? Eww, Garfield. Gross!"