Welcome Back

[Audrey]

As Terra sat, she bounced a little up and down, the springs in the mattress pushing and shrinking under her weight. It felt odd to have a bed. She'd been crashing on floors for years now. A couch was a gift from the gods if she ever managed it, let alone an actual bed. What was even more strange though was knowing the bed was hers. It had been kept here in the tower in the room designated for her ever since she defected and left the Titans. Not that she could remember that at all. She just had the weird situation of being told she had a room and was given all invitation to sleep in it and use it.

She was honestly surprised they had kept the room really. They had many honorary titans come through and even some had moved in. It would've made all manner of sense to tear away this old memory of the room of a traitor. And yet, here it was. Left completely the way it was when Terra had left it, save for a couple dustings. They even dusted it, like she was coming back at a moment's notice. The loyalty in the Titans was just so admirable. They stuck with each other both in pain and in death. Never forgetting and never leaving any Titan behind. Terra knew she had made the right choice to finally affirm her true membership, with of course no ulterior motives involved.

With a smile and a sigh, she dropped the canvas backpack from off herself and onto the bed. She didn't exactly have much in the way of possessions, but she figured she may as well add them while looking through all of her pre-amnesia belongings. She started with the wardrobe in the corner, stopping briefly to admired the carved stone sculptures on top of it. It seemed she had been just as avid a sculptor before as she was now. Some things never changed. She opened the slightly stylized armoire and found several black shirts with Ts that resembled that of the T on the communicator Robin had so kindly returned to her. She smiled. Uniform. Ironed recently even.

She shut the door and looked through the remaining drawers. Mostly just clothes. As she opened the top drawer though, a necklace tumbled out, clattering to the floor and opening up. Jeez, first a pocketwatch hidden in a jacket pocket, now necklaces hidden in drawers? She had to admit she was a touch on the dramatic side before. Sighing once again, she picked up the necklace and looked at the picture. Her and Beast Boy. Sitting together holding hands and just being that weird sort of happy teenagers were. Terra blushed a little and smiled. She slipped the necklace on and tucked it under her shirt. Always nice to have memories on a bad day not a hand-reach away.

She settled, having only found some gems and other collectible items in the rest of the room. She gave it a look over and just still couldn't believe it. She was home. She HAD a home. She had people to go to and hang out with across the hall, people who could be her friends. She had a life. It that little moment, Terra was almost a little convinced she had everything. She happily threw herself onto her bed and just took it all in staring at the ceiling.

[Deleted]

Lips pressed together as he thought.  Was everything prepared to specifications?  The ramen was purchased and flew in, personally.  Warmed to an adequate temperature.  The vegetables, seafood, and steak weren't overcooked in the reheating process.  Plenty of bowls in case other Titans wanted to join in.  Plenty of pairs of chopsticks, and sets of forks and spoons.  A serving spoon.  A tray to carry all of this on.  What was he missing?  Oh yes.  Beverages.

Rummaging through the fridge, he found various sodas and a liter of milk.  Satisfied with the presentation, he loaded everything up on the tray and began walking out of the kitchen.  Terra had moved back into the Tower, and the Titans were all abuzz about it.  New members were great, but reuniting with old friends was truly cause for celebration.  Notably, he had only spent time with the geomancer a few times, and he was sure he didn't make the best impression. 

Actually, between the city battle and the pizza party, he was almost positive he hadn't.  So, this dish was prepared as both a "Welcome to the Tower!" and an extension of friendship.  Hence all of the extra bowls.  Ramen was good, but it was always better to enjoy it with friends.  But, then he stopped, as he realized when he was lost in thought, he past by her room already.  Sweatdropping, he took a few large steps back before stopping before her door. 

Giving himself a quick glance over, he made sure everything was in place.  He was out of uniform,  if you could call jeans and t-shirt a uniform, and was instead in something a little more casual.  A pair of khaki shorts and an In Flames t-shirt.  His blonde hair gelled into place after he got out of the shower.  Afterall, he didn't want to smell like the Pacific Ocean.  Balancing the tray on one hand, he lightly knocked on her door before returning both hands to the tray.

[Audrey]

Tara couldn't help but jump a bit as a knock interrupted her thoughts. She had been so engulfed in her own happiness, she'd practically lost herself. She shook herself out of it and fiddled with the console near her bed. The multitude of buttons for light, door, sound control were ridiculous. Apparently Cyborg saw it fit to supe all the bedrooms in the tower with basically a personal entertainment system. A nice touch, but kind of frustrating when you just wanted to open the door to the room and had no idea what to hit to make that happen. "One sec! I'm trying to figure this stupid thing out!" Terra called out to whoever lied on the other side of the door. She hoped it wasn't Robin, that would be utterly awkward.

She pressed a square button that kind of looked like a door. Instead of the door opening though, a bunch of square panels opened up revealing speakers. With a second of pause, they began blaring music Terra had never even heard before. "Miageta yozora no hoshitachi no hikari! Miageta yozora no hoshitachi no hikari!" came the baritone J-Rock group on the other end of the speakers. Terra vaguely wondered if this was pulling from some central song database in the tower or if she had actually been into Japanese rock'n'roll while she was busy betraying the Titans. Smacking the button once more, the speakers stopped serenading the geomancer with foreign music and retracted back into the wall, prompting Terra to sigh in relief. Now she REALLY hoped it wasn't Robin outside.

She tried another button with the Titans T on it in black and was utterly relieved to see the door lock finally just open. She was a little surprised to see Red Star of all people waiting for her; with a plate of bowls and Ramen no less. As she looked him over, she realized suddenly she was sprawled out all over her bedside button system like a spider monkey or something looking like a beach bum in a white tanktop, unbuttoned blue shirt on top, black converse high tops, and khaki short shorts. She scrambled into a halfway reasonable spot on her bed and waved at the Russian hero who... arguably looked almost as California-chic as she did. "Hey Red Star! What's uhm... going on? Did someone order too much lunch?" she asked, gesturing to the Ramen.

[Deleted]

He got a little nervous when he heard her voice from behind the door.  He took a deep breath, calming himself down.  Bringing his hand he used to knock with back to the tray, balancing the weight easily.  Suddenly, J-rock began blaring from the other side of the door.  He cocked his head to the side, confused with that just happened.  But, after awhile, the music stopped.  The door finally opened and she seemed a bit shocked that he was there.  He gave her a nervous smile.

As she walked back to her bed, he gave her a once-over.  She looked good.  As she waved him in, he entered.  "Hello, Terra.  I just thought I'd bring some lunch to you.  Sort of a way to welcome you back to the Tower.  I hope you don't mind."  A smirk crept up on his face as he approached the bed.  Setting the tray down, he sat in a very traditional, Japanese fashion.  Slowly, he mixed the contents of the bowl as they settled from the trip to her room from the kitchen. 

Picking up a bowl, he slowly served some of the ramen inside of it.  Taking a cloth napkin, he wiped the splatter from the broth off of the sides of the bowl.  Opening a pair of chopsticks, he placed them gingerly across the top of the bowl before handing it to Terra.  "I feel I haven't made the best first impression, and for that, I greatly apologize.  I'm still trying to adjust to being so far away from home.  And living under the guidelines set by my fellow Titans."

As he spoke, he prepared himself a bowl.  Not as focused on presentation as he was with Terra's, yet not being rude about it either.  "This is fresh from Japan.  I hope you like it.  It's a personal favorite of mine." he said with a grin before setting his bowl down.  "Can I get you a soda?" he said, gesturing to the hodgepodge of beverages he put on the tray with the ramen.

[Audrey]

Terra's eyes went a little wide with surprise when Red Star explained the ramen was specifically to commemorate her return to the tower. She understood it was heavily believed she was dead and all, but the last note she left here was a pretty foul one. She honestly expected a lot of resistance to her return for those who honestly believed she was still of that same mindset and was prepped to betray them all over again. She had no idea if she ever met Red Star before. She hoped he would fill her in. What's worse than forgetting someone's name, was forgetting if you ever actually met them in the first place. Talk about awkward. She kicked her shoes off her feet onto the floor, revealing the heel socks on her feet and gestured to the empty dresser near her bed as a nice place for the ramen serving bowl. "Of course I don't mind! Thank you so much, that's so thoughtful of you!" she responded, genuinely touched by the gesture. With the supplies set up, she pat a section of her bed as a perfect spot for Red Star to sit.

She was a bit surprised by his Japanese style of sitting. Kind of funny seeing a burly Russian man sit like a Japanese warrior. She smiled and matched him, aware of the culture herself. She may not like J-Rock, but she was an incredible enthusiast for Japanese culture in it's more traditional sense, which is also why she would entirely welcome a bowl of ramen. "I hope you kept the meat and vegetables separate. Given I actually have a home and somewhat of a reasonable income, I wanna see about going back to being vegetarian again. If you didn't know, it can always wait a week," Terra laughed in response licking her lips as the smell of the soup touched her nostrils. She happily took the bowl and chopsticks and began mixing the contents just how she liked them.

She listened intently to Red Star's apology as she started eating up the parts of her ramen. Oh man, this was authentic stuff. A little on the tough side, but authentic for sure. These green beans were most certainly in the fields of Japan at some point. She looked at Red Star as she swallowed the food she had. "People will be people Red Star. It's just inevitable that my methods and lifestyle will differ from SOMEONE out there. I can't get hung up on that, it's just life," she responded shrugging. She most certainly had no ill will towards the Russian superhero. "Hahaha, you think you're adjusting? I'm adjusting to being alive after being dead. You don't even know how weird it is to hear stories about yourself you can't remember at all," she added with a laugh, intending to assure Red Star he wasn't alone in feeling out of place.

She smiled a bit as he confirmed what she already knew. Imported from Japan. "You can taste it," she conferred to that statement, nodding in approval. "If you have cola over there, I can dig it," she responded to the question onto her soda preference. Apparently she'd picked up her love for cola from Beast Boy unknowingly according to several Titans. She hoped her mentioning of stories she couldn't remember would trigger Red Star to share any adventures the two of them may have had in the past. She could get used to hanging out like this with the Titans.

[Deleted]

"Please.  Just call me Leonid." he said as he relaxed.  It was nice to hear she held no ill will towards him.  He admired the way she joined him in the traditional Japanese seating.  True, it must've been odd to see the mountain of muscle sitting in such a way, but he was always fond of Japanese culture.  All asian culture, really.  "I'm glad you like it." he mused, stirring the contents of his bowl.

Fingers dancing over the various cans, he found a can of cola, passing it to Terra.  He poured himself a glass of milk and set it down on the tray before returning to the ramen.  "You were dead?!" he asked with a mixture of shock and excitement.  His scientific curiosity took hold as he pondered on if he should ask her any questions on the subject.  Slurping up some ramen, he finally worked up the courage to ask her one question.  "Forgive me if I seem too abrasive.  But, do you recall anything from when you were on the other side?"

He was intently curious about life after death.  It was a childhood dream of his to meet up with his mother after he passed on.  He had never gotten the chance to meet her, but his father told him all about her.  She seemed to be a magnificent woman.  So, the thought gave him some comfort whenever times were at their darkest.  "I wish I could fill in the gaps for you, Terra.  But, when you were going through everything you went through, I was still in Russia.

"In truth, I'm here because Starfire goes on and on about how great of a person you are.  When the Princess tells me that someone is a good person, and worth getting to know, I have a tendency to listen.  She's the best friend I've ever had.  And I trust her judgement.  Really, I just trust her wholeheartedly."  He blushed some, talking of Starfire.  He sipped his milk before returning to the bowl of ramen.

[Audrey]

"Oh, uhm... Alright Leonid. I'm not quite used to the supername normal name standard, being mine are phonetically identical and all," she corrected herself and did the ever so typically nervous scratch of the back of the head as she admitted the similarity of Terra and Tara. She was really getting into the meal as Leonid started asking questions. She held her finger out at one point though, in order to silently ask him to hold his words a second. She got up and approached the little mini-fridge that were standard issue in the rooms. If she was anything like herself way back when, she no doubt had a certain something in the fridge. She flipped the door open and smiled.

A red bottle with a green lid was tucked in the door, archaic-styled lettering displaying 'Peregrine Cherry' and a little hawk with a cherry branch in his talons. She pulled it out and poured just a couple drops into the opening in her cola. Putting it back, she sat back how she had been and gestured for Leonid to continue. "I was dead technically yes. I guess the proper term is closer to stasis. We're still figuring out the details, but the theory someone shared with me is I was comatose during the duration of being in stone below Jump City, my organs also not operating. I was brought out of the stasis though when Raven undid what Trigon had done to the world. What happened in between that led me to lose my memories and wind up in the Mojave by myself is anyone's guess though," she explained, feeling a bit like she was shooting his notion down. "Regardless of the truth of the matter though, I have no recollection of anything before waking up by myself, instinctual things like speaking and eating aside."

"It's alright. I'll work everything together eventually," she sighed, trying as best she could to hide her disappointment. It wasn't that she was trying to imitate how she used to be exactly. She was curious where she'd been. Like trying to retrace your steps to figure out where you lost something... She was also curious who still thought she was loyal to Slade. She hoped it never came out that she'd been with Slade the night before joining the Titans. It was a confrontation and all and definitely an entirely moral situation on her part considering she was halfway prepared to sabotage him from the inside out, but speculation made monsters out of good people.

Terra laughed as Leonid brought up it was Starfire that vouched for her integrity. Of course it was. "She's the one who convinced me to stick around here. With a hug no less. I'm just amazed she was so entirely willing to take me back in when our last interaction was my fist in her face. I didn't even say anything to her. Robin had just told me my DNA matched the Terra they had known perfectly and I was completely prepared to fly away and she just came in the room, saw me, and the next thing I knew I was in a Starfire burrito. With hospitality like that that, I don't know how I couldn't stay," she smiled, a noodle ever so attractively slurping into her mouth as she did.

[Deleted]

"You have to understand that she doesn't have many friends.  There are people who are friendly to her, because she's a friendly person.  But, she doesn't have a lot of people who are truly her friends.  Call it xenophobia, but there are just some people who can't aliens are, not only living on Earth, but make up some of their most powerful superheros."  He paused, taking a very long drink of his milk.  Grabbing a napkin, he dried his mouth off.

He picked up the ramen and began to eat it again as he continued.  "So, those that she holds dear to her are always welcomed with open arms.  Her hugs are so strong they can mend broken hearts.  I owe everything to her.  I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."  He smiled at the thought.  Leonid's thoughts traveled to not so long ago when he and Starfire were reunited in a ramen shop in Jump City's Chinatown. 

"So, do you go to school here in Jump?  I finished my schooling while I was working with the government.  Though, come this winter, I'll be trying to get into Moscow State University.  My father teaches there.  He's the Head of the Department of Archaeology.  But, I want to go in for Physics.  I'd really like to be remembered for more than just being Russia's resident strong man." he said with a chuckle.

[Audrey]

"It really isn't just towards aliens though. I dunno if you've been through it as the crowned superman of Russia, but... I haven't exactly been welcome in some places either," Terra began, but soon trailed off, her memories of Smallville, the Parkers, and those thugs that forced her hand emerging into her mind and cutting off whatever explanation she was going to continue with. That whole affair was years ago, but it still seemed fresh in her mind. She couldn't even bare to conjure up the image of Maryanne right now in her little wheelchair. There were times when Tara wondered whether she would be happier if she had kept that life and never rejoined the Titans.

She shook the thought from her mind as Leonid brought up Starfire's healing hugs. She could agree on that. The only thing that beat a Starfire hug was a Robin or a Raven hug and that was only because you could make fun of them for it later on. Not that she didn't want a Beast Boy or Cyborg hug though. Any hug from a Titan was good enough to break you out of an awful mood most of the time. Did she just illustrate a hug hierarchy? Her mind was all over the place right now.

"Well... No. I can't really. I'm technically an illegal alien here since I have no kind of certification I officially came from Markovia. My position with the Titans and my ID that's... probably fake has kept me out of most trouble, but I'd need to go to Markovia and get all my old documentation before I could attend school here. Odds are, it probably isn't there anyway. Most of the royal family's library was destroyed during the Markovian War, or so my brother told me. I had schooling there though. I can't remember any of it, but I have the skills still. I never get a chance with someone as talented as Cyborg around, but I'm pretty well versed in engineering actually," Terra explained with a smile. Someday she'd go to Markovia and reunite with her family. Someday.