Who: Natasha and Raven What: Taking Natasha up on a job offer When: 10 October 2019, morning sometime Where: The Agency Warnings: Should be low Status: Log | Complete
When Natasha had first approached Raven at her early graduation from Columbia about coming back to Orange County to work at the Agency in its Occult Investigation Division plus being on a response team? She had basically said no thanks. There was no real interest in going back to that. New York was peaceful. At least for Raven who had found a semblance of a normal life even as she continued to patrol and help those in need. Some habits after all were hard to kick.
But that had been months ago and in that time? There had been signs. The empath might not know what they meant, but something clearly was happening. Whenever she passed by windows or glass, it was as if her Soul Self was trying to break out, warning her. But warning her to what? Well, that was the question. Because attempts at meditation and anything that might tell her gave her nothing but more questions.
Which was why from the house on Brighton Beach, Raven opened a portal and appeared right behind Natasha in Orange County.
“I’m probably going to regret all of my life choices, but is that job still available?”
One could never have enough magic users in their back pocket, especially one with Raven's skillset. And Nat had never actually forgotten about Hydrabus's demonic soldiers, even if she hadn't seen any in well over a year.
But she wasn't going to pressure anyone to do anything they didn't want to, even if she'd had to deal with a magical emergency already. Had damn near speed dialed Freya but Neena had been insistent on doing it on her own. No one had died, but there'd been at least one point where Nat was three seconds from pulling a trigger.
The worst part though? Paperwork. She ran her fingers through her hair, and then nearly jumped out of her skin.
She was standing with a gun leveled at the voice before she'd even realized she'd moved. Slowly, she lowered it. "Firstly, never sneak up on a spy. Secondly, am I ever glad to see you."
It was hard to know what she wanted to do. And there was still part of Raven that wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to be back and taking up the job offer. That said, all the signs had pointed to her coming back, the sensation that something was coming.
And not whatever that disturbance had been at the start of the month. It might have added to it but it certainly wasn’t the main concern. She just wished she knew what was troubling so much that she had come back, to give some sort of warning.
“Noted.”
It was basically revenge for the surprise visit and job offer. Besides, Teen Titan training basically meant prepare for anything so she wasn’t nearly as phased at having a gun pointed at her that she might otherwise be.
“That’s a new one. So I’m taking that as a yes?”
Nat lost track of how often she fantasized about being just about anywhere else, but she was the last person to shirk responsibility. Even if she worked herself to death.
Sleep? Was for the weak and the not-perpetually-caffinated.
She holstered her pistol and smiled. "Yes, of course. You were always welcome."
Raven had always been told she needed to be a normal teenager, but she never had known how to do that. She might have mellowed out in some regards, gotten better at interacting with people, but she was still herself at her core. Her normal was different and there was nothing wrong with that. And duties weren’t shirked. It went against her entire being.
Nodding some, the empath folded some hair behind her ear that had fallen from the top knot she’d put her hair up in.
“That’s good. Didn’t know if you found someone for the position since May.” It was a valid concern and well… people. But Raven couldn’t shake the feeling that something was on the horizon and that she was going to be needed. So here she was as if portaling to Orange County about a job offer nearly half a year later was a normal thing.
Well. Orange County.
Normal teenagers were not anywhere near Nat's wheelhouse. She shook her head. "No one I'm willing to trust at any rate."
Still, she'd been around long enough to wonder at Raven's timing. Magic users typically didn't do very much that was entirely random and god only knew what she was going to have to deal with.
"Magic senses tingling?"
That got a brow quirk out of Raven. Mostly because, despite making her friends and connections and finding her people, it still somehow managed to always confuse her when she was being trusted. Especially given the nature of what the job entailed.
“Something like that. Too vague for my liking but loud enough that I couldn’t ignore it.” Not anymore at least seeing at how she had kept trying to.
Natasha couldn’t hide her grimace and she didn’t really try to. “Vague and loud has to be one of the worse possible combinations. I can only imagine the headache that has been causing you.”
All it really meant was ‘something was coming’ and she might actually keel over at this rate.
But working was better than not working and it’s not like she had a social life anymore anyway. Dating? She didn’t have time for that!
“It really is. And I’m used to it. But here I am.”
And that was about all there was to say to that. There were vague warnings, enough that she couldn’t ignore them and so she had decided to show up and regret all her life choices.
“I wish you didn’t have to be used to it,” Natasha replied with genuine feeling. She’d yet to find a way to make the worst of the dreams easier for anyone else, nor any way for someone to erase or rewrite a memory.
Sometimes she wanted one of the telepaths she knew of to come back or show up.
“Aside from a great medical plan and dental, you’ll get two offices. One up here and another at the guild itself.” She paused, then added. “Try not to make the one here any kind of void or limbo. Go wild at the guild.”
People always seemed to feel bad about her being used to things and it was strange. Then again, once people stopped trying to insist on Raven living a normal teen life, she had finally started to feel comfortable in her own skin. It was a strange place to be in really. But even if it sucked, Raven would take it over people acting like she wasn’t doing her own version of normal and there was nothing wrong with that.
As nice as rewriting dreams, or memories would be, of erasing the trauma, Raven knew it wasn’t worth it. Life experiences, no matter how painful or stressful, they made you who you were. She wouldn’t be where she was or who she was if it weren’t for the Dreams and trauma, frustrating as it could be. That at least was something Raven had made peace with no matter how annoyed she got at times with the vague.
That certainly answered the question on if the Guild was still in place and Raven actually hadn’t realized that the two were more linked than she previously had thought. She’d been one of its founding members and yet it had always seemed independent. Though she supposed in some way it made sense.
“I’ll do my best, but I make no promises.”
Serious, joking? Who could tell. Not like Raven would actually make an office an interdimensional void or limbo. That was what the soul mirror was for.
Truth be told, Nat was tired of herself being used to it. Though she didn’t want a quiet life, a couple of months without major incidents was all she was asking for.
She knew better than to actually expect it. She just kind of gave Raven the sort of look that was half-way between exasperation and understanding, then whipped out a notepad and scribbled down a generous number. “This will be your salary.”
Being used to it was certainly exhausting in its own right. It just felt weird when she heard people apologize for it. In Orange County, that was simply life. Even after moving to New York, to changing her last name to her mother’s maiden name as if that might help her escape it… in the end, Raven had been unable to do so and had still been compelled to help those in need. Be it with getting to safety or stopping muggers or anything like that. It was her life now, no matter where she was.
The look from Natasha was met with an innocent blink, but then she was taking the paper with the salary listed and quirked a brow. “Noted. Headache inducing coworkers coverage I’m guessing?”
Superheroes and their need to save everyone they could. Natasha wasn’t exempt from that, even as she might often complain about it. Then she’d turn around and save people while simultaneously pushing them away for their own protection. Go figure.
“I can’t afford to pay you that much!”
If there was something that Raven understood, it was the juxtaposition of saving everyone and pushing them away simultaneously. She was simply used to that strange contradiction of her life and most people who got to know her came to expect it as well.
“Fair enough. Luckily I know plenty of meditation techniques.”
“Teach me one of them sometime,” Natasha asked, only half-joking. While she had her own techniques, she was working herself into exhaustion and she knew it.
The comment caused Raven to tilt her head to the side some. She was never quite sure if people meant it when they wanted her to learn meditation techniques but it wasn’t like she would deny anyone that as well. It was something that was necessary. Especially in Orange County.
“Sure.”
“Thanks.” Natasha jerked her chin towards the door. “Your office is number 3. I’ll bring by the handbook when I get lunch later. I can bring you some food too since I’ll be out.”
It was only fair to offer and honestly it was both a reward and a bribe.