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There was never a time in all of Raven‘s memory when he could recall waking up quite so well rested and refreshed as he did the following morning. While his sleep fogged mind stirred towards waking, he could feel LeShana’s weight against his side, her soft warmth tucked up against him. It was, perhaps, the most peaceful feeling he had ever experienced. He almost considered not waking up just so she would remain there with the soft lines of her body pressed up against his side forever, but it was an idea that was doomed for failure. When he finally opened his eyes, she proved to have been awake sometime before him, laying on her side as she stared down at him with a smile on her face.
"What are you doing?" Raven asked her, closing his eyes and turning to face her.
"Just looking at you." She replied, sounding amused.
"You're so weird." With an indignant snort, she picked up one of the pillows and brought it down on his head. "Hey!" Raven protested, turning back around to look at her only to get hit again. With a growl, he grabbed the other pillow and retaliated. Raven gave her as good as he got, but in the end, he had to conceded defeat after she pinned him to the bed. As he laid there, he felt no compelling reason in the universe as to why he should even pretend to try and struggle free.
"Do you give up?" LeShana asked, laughing down at him.
"I believe I have no choice." Raven told her with a bright smile.
"Wise man, but you're now my prisoner. I can do anything I want to you." She whispered teasingly as she sat on his chest, but she simply remained there for a long time simply looking at him.
"What is your fascination with staring at me?" Raven finally asked her .
"Quiet prisoner, or I will have to silence you." She giggled back down at him as one of those wondrous smiles appeared on her face.
"Do your worst." He told her with a chuckle. LeShana leaned over and kissed him. "You will never silence me." Raven told her as they parted, causing her to smile evilly and kissed him even more deeply.
"Had enough?" LeShana asked with a playful, laughing sneer.
"Never." Raven replied. LeShana smiled wickedly and kissed him again, this time leaving both of them breathless for a long time. "Please, no more." LeShana smiled and stopped before their game escalated to a point that neither of them were quite ready to go yet. Suddenly the door opened and Destin stepped through. He took one look at the two of them and his face flushed, his expression becoming one of acute embarrassment and intense discomfort, before he turned back towards the hallway.
"It's all right Destin, I was just torturing our captive." LeShana told him laughingly and stopping him before he could leave. With a cautious smile he turned back towards the pair.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but there is something that you might like to see." Destin told them. LeShana did not need to hear anymore. She rolled off of Raven's chest and pulled on her boots. Not bothering to find his shoes, Raven followed her out of the room and smiled widely as she caught his hand to pull him along, almost as if worried he might decide to linger. Out on the warehouse floor it was clear that a great many others had been working hard to conduct a more complete cleaning, but the agents were all gathered at the far end of the room and huddled close to the TV at that moment.
"What's going on?" LeShana asked, but no one answered her. Instead, her attention was directed towards the television. A reporter was on the screen, standing on the White House lawn, and in the background there were a dozen other reporters and camera crews. It wasn't hard to guess that something big was happening, since there were far more people than he had seen in such scenes before that day.
"Once again, we will be coming to you live with a presidential announcement in just a few minutes. Denise, do we have any information as to the subject of this press conference?" The reporter was asked by the anchor on the other half of the split screen.
"No, Mark we don't. As we reported earlier, this conference was completely unplanned and announced just one hour ago. Our sources at the white house do not know anything about what the president is going to say."
"About the treaty?" LeShana asked Vosthan, who had moved to stand next to her.
"What else could it be?" Vosthan replied, glancing over at Raven with a soft smile. "Ever since the signing of the treaty, there has been very little news to report on." LeShana was about to say something else, but the picture switched to the president as he descended the front steps of the white house. He was followed by the one hundred and sixty Earth delegates of the treaty council, and there were many faces Raven would have quite happily gone the rest of his life without seeing ever again. LeShana looked nervously at the picture and Raven couldn't help but feel the same, since he had certainly played a role in the previous day’s proceedings. The president took the podium as the delegates took their seats behind him.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, citizens of Earth. I come to you today to bring the most momentous announcement ever in our long history. For three years now we, and when I say we, I mean all the countries and peoples of Earth, have been negotiating a comprehensive treaty with the government of another world." The president was forced to pause, as their was a great outpouring of sound from the gallery. "We are at an interesting point in our history. A hundred years from now, the people of Earth will look back and marvel at this time. A time when it did not take an army, a new technology, or the first contact with a new species to usher in a new age for our people. It took one man's belief in the goodness of our way of life." Raven's snort of skepticism, derision, and contempt drew a great many smirking sideways glances of amusement his way. "Through his words, he made the treaty council see through the differences that so often get in the way of true understanding. I want to thank him with all my heart for what he did, because he reminded us that we are in this together. He taught us that we are one people, and that the stuff that binds us together transcends race, country, and politics." Raven really didn't like the way the speech was going, and begged that the heavens might somehow spare him from such a horrible fate as becoming famous. "That man is Raven Sinclair. He showed us the way, and helped us find the path to our planet's destiny. Through his intolerance of the injustices we inflict upon ourselves, he united us with his outrage, and taught us that we are one planet, and one people."
"Ah shit, does this mean I am going to get a medal?" Raven cursed, feeling the sudden need to break things. The agents laughed while LeShana kissed his cheek. The president continued his overblown, high handed speech for quite some time, and as was often the case when the politicians started dolloping out high-handed words, his brain more or less hit his internal mute button.
"In a few hours the treaty council will release a copy of the full proceedings of the events of the last two years. At which time, we hope to hold another press conference and answer any remaining questions. We also have hopes that the other leaders of this new treaty will attend with us." The President turned and descended from the stage. LeShana turned to Raven and kissed him passionately. It was a long time before their lips parted. When they did, the other agents made a full barrage of rude noises.
"Oh grow up." LeShana ordered, laughing at them as just a little color rose to her cheeks. "All right, we have a lot of work to do. Vosthan, get me the other leaders on a conference call. Ogon, get in contact with the press secretary at the White house and get whatever information out of him that you can. Everybody else, start coordinating the other agent groups in our territory and make sure they are ready for whatever may come out of this. Solair, I need you take Raven to his apartment to get his stuff, as this is probably our last chance to do it without having the press snapping at our heels."
"The front way or the back way?" Solair asked. LeShana took one look at the media frenzy going on in front of the white house and then looked back at Solair. "Right." She replied with a bit of happy laughter. LeShana smiled at him before she slipped away on
the heels of everyone else, heading towards the offices on the far side of the building. "We had better get moving, it will not take them long to track you down."
"Even less than that." Raven commented, and followed Solair to where she could create a portal. When it formed, he jumped through and Solair followed him inside what had once been his own private sanctuary. A thought occurred to him as he looked around at the rummaged chaos inside and he refrained from asking her how she knew where to place the portal. Since he had not really seen the apartment as his home, there was very little that he felt compelled to take with him. He ensured that all his important paperwork was boxed up and ready to go.
"What do you want to take back with you?" Solair asked him.
"Let me see." Raven replied as pushed his way into the closet. There was not much there that he would wear under normal circumstances, so he took what he wanted and tossed it on the bed, and Solair then packed it away. It took all of an hour to gather everything together, only adding to some pictures and odds and ends that he would like to keep. As they moved the bags into the living room where they planned take a portal back, Raven peeked out the window and was more than a little surprised that the street was packed with media vans. There were enough reporters present to block traffic. With a shake of his head, he left the window before they spotted him. Solair brought another portal to life, and together they tossed the bags through, Raven took one last look around at his apartment and decided that he was just as glad to be leaving.
Back at the warehouse, the main floor was a flurry of activity. Raven hoped nothing was wrong as he shouldered his bags and started to carry them back to the work-room. Solair helped him move the bags before going to see what had prompted such activity. Raven was not really concerned, after all, if he needed to know something, someone would show up to tell him. He was doing his best to organize the contents of the bags when there was a knock on the door. With the expectancy of bad things moving his way, he scowled and told the person to enter . LeShana stepped through the door and shut it behind her, then threw the bolt before turning back towards him.
"Something wrong?" Raven asked her with concern.
"No, the president wants to have another press conference, and he wants us all to look official, so everyone is running around trying to find their uniforms." LeShana told him with a small smile as she wandered towards him. "I personally needed to escape the chaos."
"Well, I’m pleased that you decided to escape with me." Raven told her, which brightened her smile and brought a much adored sparkle to her eyes.
"Now, where were we?" LeShana asked as if she did not already know. "Oh, I remember." She added, wrapping her leg around Raven's and tripping him back onto the bed.
"It's starting to come back to me." Raven added with a smile. LeShana kissed him with rising passion and he was given little choice but to respond in kind. As if on cue, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Every damn time." LeShana cursed as she jumped up and walked to the door. Raven smoothed out his clothes and wiped the lipstick from his lips. LeShana savagely pulled open the door and practically took the head off the young man standing there.
"Really LeShana, is this anyway to treat your elders?" The man asked in total defiance of his youthful good looks.
"Master Fora?! What are you doing here?" LeShana asked, truly surprised, as if she recognized the voice but not the speaker.
"You, silly girl, I am here to give you the leave you have desperately been needing." He chuckled as he stepped into the room, looking over Raven very closely. "And to take a look at our newest natural diplomat, author, and agent candidate." Master Fora paused before adding. He added. Raven tried to hide the fact that he had heard the last bit, but despite his attempt to control it, he blushed. "Oh, so the rumors are true then." Master Fora remarked, not missing the blush. "There is no need to be embarrassed, my boy, it is not your fault that you cannot help but hear us. Besides, if half of what I hear is true than I think that I already like you."
"And what have you heard?" Raven asked him, just a little curious.
"That you were the most brash, brazen, forthright pain in the ass to inhabit the planet." Master Fora replied with a wicked little smile across his lips.
"Oh good, I was afraid that it was something that was untrue." Raven remarked and they both got a good laugh out of that while LeShana closed the door behind the new arrival.
"Sit, we have much to discuss." Master Fora ordered, taking a seat at the table. Raven took the chair next to him and LeShana took the chair across. "Now, my first question is for you LeShana. Have you started his training?"
"No, you know that I have no gift for teaching." LeShana told him.
"Your gifts lie in other areas, my dear. It is just as well, I do not think you would have had the time anyway. I have heard that you have been quite busy." Master Fora remarked. "I suppose we should begin by finding out what exactly your gifts are." Master Fora held out his hands to Raven, who reluctantly accepted them. "Now relax, this won't hurt." Raven took a deep breath and tried not focus on anything in particular. The palms of his hands started to tingle and he had to fight the urge to scratch the scarred flesh. That was followed by a strange feeling in the back of his mind, like someone rummaging around inside which ended after only a few seconds. "You are a remarkable young man." Master Fora added before he looking at LeShana nodding towards the door. Raven watched as they left and was suddenly afraid that something was wrong. He felt a reassuring flood of emotion come through the bond and decided he could leave things at that for the time being, it wasn't as if he didn't have enough problems at that moment.