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Stephanie woke up thirsty. She literally rolled out of bed, dimly aware that this was Cass’s room. She didn’t remember how she got there, if she had nightmares of if she slept walked or if she just started out in there. She landed on the floor with a slight thud, but Cass didn’t stir. From her spot on the floor, Steph looked up at the clock. It was the middle of the night. She’d only been asleep for about two hours since returning from patrol.
She got up, brushing off her palms and heading for the door. She’d come in Cass’s room often enough that she knew how to get to the door in the dark. She opened it and padded out into the hallway, headed for the kitchen.
She got herself a drink of water and decided to return to her own room. She took a sip of the water and headed back for her room, but something in the hallway made her stop. Little whimpers were coming from Damian’s room. Steph backed up and saw that the door was open a crack, which was odd since Damian normally made sure the door was shut tight. Steph nudged the door open a little more.
At first glance she couldn’t really see anything, then her eyes adjusted to the nightlight (Damian has a nightlight? What?) and she saw that Damian was curled up in a ball on the bed, shaking and crying a little. She rushed to him.
“Damian?” she asked. He didn’t respond and Steph could see that he was asleep. “Damian!” Hie eyes flew open and he sat up, heaving. Steph took a few steps back in shock. Both of them were silent as Damian calmed down and Steph watched.
“What are you doing here, Brown?” he asked.
“I-I just heard y-you, and...wait, I though you didn’t get nightmares?” Damian sighed and layed back down, his hands over his eyes.
“I didn’t,” he growled. “Then I died.”
“Oh,” Steph said. “Well...does talking make them go away?” He turned to face her, surprised. He had said those exact words to her, not that long ago.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I normally meditate to fall asleep again.”
“Well, I’m gonna talk, and you can deal with it, okay?” Steph said, sitting on the edge of his bed. She left her water on his nightstand.
“No,” he said. “Go away.”
“If you really want me to, I will,” she said cheerfully. “But I’d like to repay you for that night.” He was quiet.
“Fine. If it will make you go away, you may talk to me. I won’t respond.”
“That’s good, because I don’t know much cat facts, so I’m gonna tell you a story!” He groaned. She barreled on. “Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom named Gotham, there was a warrior.” Damian perked up a little.
“This warrior was a very, very, good warrior, but he was also vain. Every day, he traveled to the tippy top of a mountain and seeked--”
“Sought,” Damian muttered.
“--and sought out the advice of a woman so smart, they said she could see the future. They called her Oracle. The warrior would ask her, every day, if he would be the best warrior forever. And every day, she said that he would be. Except one day--”
“His grandson was said to beat him? I know how this story goes, Brown,” Damian interrupted.
“Um, excuse you, Mr. Snow White, but not everything is about you,” Steph said, sticking her tongue out. “No, one day, Oracle said that his daughter, CC, would one day become a better warrior than he would. This warrior, whose name was Dave, got very angry. So he stormed back down the mountain and went to his Warrior Hall of Majesty. He decided that the best way to remain the best forever would be to kill CC. But he didn’t want to personally kill his own daughter. So he sent out the second best warrior, whose name was Talia.”
“Are you saying that my mother is second best to David Cain?” Damian asked.
“No, this is a completely fictional story, Damian, with no relations to real life at all, now shut up and let me finish,” Steph said. “Anyways, Talia agreed to kill CC. She told CC that they were gonna train together. Talie was sure she could overpower her. But when they fought, Talia realized she didn’t want to kill her. CC wasn’t even grown yet. So Talia confessed everything to CC, who was very frightened. Talia told CC that there was a safe place to live. To find it, she had to go visit Oracle. Talia gave CC directions to Oracle, and off CC went. CC walked all the way up to the tippy top of Oracle’s mountain, Mount Gordon, and asked her what place Talia meant. Oracle sent her to a cave in the woods. Once CC arrived, she met five birds.”
“Robins?” Damian asked, sounding unamused.
“Yes, actually,” Steph informed him. “Their names were Flippy, Angry, Smarty, Happy, and Stabby.”
“Stabby?” Damian repeated.
“Yes, Damian, stop interrupting. Anyway, CC stayed with the robins for a long time, and she was happy. But little did she know was that Dave had discovered that she was still alive. He decided to hunt her down. He sent out this jerk named Slade to go kill her. But before Slade got too close to the cave, Flippy the robin fought him off. Dave got more determined, so he sent out this maniac named Clown to go kill her. The Joker--I mean Clown-- was fought off by Angry, who almost died, but didn’t. Dave next sent out Two, who was totally bipolar. Smarty managed to keep Two away from the cave. Next Dave got lazy, so he sent out this lame wannabe named Clue. Happy fought him off easily. Dave had one last trick up his sleeve, and he sent him out. His name was Ra. Stabby the bird fought him off too. Dave got really mad that all his henchmen were apprehended. So he decided to go himself. He put on a disguise and went to the cave where the robins and CC lived. He used an enchanted waffle for bait to get the robins out of the way. When they were all trapped, CC realized that the masked man was Dave, her villainous father. She got out her sword and challenged him to a duel. Since she had been living in a cave for many months, her dad thought she was out of shape. He accepted the duel. CC surprised him, and matched him easily. She pinned him to the ground and prepared to kill him. Just then, a giant bat swooped down from the heavens! His name was Glarey. Glarey told CC that killing was bad and wrong. CC said that he had tried to kill her, so she should kill him. Glarey explained that Slade, Clown, Two, Clue, and Ra had killed many, many people, but none of the birds had killed them. CC said that that was their problem, and she was going to kill Dave anyway. Then Glarey told her that if you kill a murderer, there are still the same amount of murderers in the world. CC realized what she had been about to do and she cried. Glarey told her it was alright, then he took Dave to the jail on Mount Gordon. Then CC lived in the cave with Glarey, Flippy, Angry, Smarty, Happy, Stabby, and Cleany, the butler, forever. And everyone was happy the end.”
“Tt,” Damian said sleepily.“That was dreadful.”
“Says you,” Steph said. “I should write that down and publish it.”
“Wouldn’t that be plagiarism?” Damian asked, yawning.
“Possibly, either way, I’ve succeeded here. Goodnight, Damian.”
“Goodnight, Brown.” Steph got up and grabbed her water from the bedside table. She headed for the door. “Oh, and Brown?” She turned. “If you mention the nightmares to anyone….” Steph smirked. Then she winked, although she knew he couldn’t see.
“My lips are sealed,” she promised, before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind her.