A Life I Never Had (Rich and Raven)

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 5:04 am

Raven stood outside Briony's home.
She had only ever been there once before when they had been a couple and she had liked the place very much, it was like her own home only it was warmer, and the ghost there was friendly and nice, it was a place where she would have liked very much to grow old in.

But the reason she was here was not to re-minis about the past, what she was here for was something much more different.

Mist rolled in as she walked through the gates, surprised that Briony had still let her DNA into her house, perhaps she had merely forgotten to take it off the charms system, perhaps she couldn't? For once Raven was determined, and in that determination she was calm, she was not derranged in any of her thoughts, a strong glimmer in her heart urged her forwards.

Seeing there was a tree nearby, she propelled herself up with her magic onto the top brows. Inside the window she could see Briony, her heart ached as she saw her, and she felt herself gasp a little, when she saw that she had her child.

Blinking she looked at the name above the cot. The name that they had chosen to call their child. Raven's face grew pale, all traces of her madness drew away, leaving the beautiful woman that she once was before her mind turned more turbulent from the necromancy, and the development of her own fears of the Doctor. Not believing what she saw, Raven touched her hand to her cheek, and felt there a glimmer of wetness.

Raven.

Briony had called the child, Raven. Unable to stop the smile and the joyous laugh that came from her lips, Raven couldn't tear her eyes from the child, the baby that she had hoped she would have been able to have with Briony only a few years ago.

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 5:13 am

Richard's second set of wards, because he believed that there was nothing wrong with being paranoid, tripped when he was going into the kitchen to get another bottle of milk for little baby Raven. Thanks to Briony's wards his second level of wards were able to tell him exactly who had entered their grounds because she was one of the very few people keyed into the wards.

Raven Drake.

The woman that the small child in the other room was named after and the only person on this planet who loved Briony anywhere close to the same degree as he loved her. She was a million other things of course. Assassin. Crazy. Teacher. Crazy. German-sided. Crazy. The list went on and on. But she still meant something to Briony and Richard was not about to upset Briony by being hostile against Raven.

Setting the bottle of milk down, Richard wandered out into the grounds with his hands in his pockets. He glanced up at the tree and saw Raven crouched there, just watching Briony and little Raven through the window. She was so distracted that she didn't seem to notice him until he jumped up with magic in his legs, landing on the same branch as her but just out of reach,

"Hello Raven." he greeted her softly, nodding towards the window, "I see you've heard the good news. There's more good news too if you care to hear it."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 5:20 am

Raven heard someone rustling underneath her and she frowned lightly, who would be trying to interrupt her viewing here? What could possibly be so important as to interrupt the things that she was thinking about at that present moment.

Glancing down she saw that it was Briony's husband Richard, immediately she felt the strong urge to punch him in the face, with her razor in her hand, but she managed to stifle that thought, her eyes staying the same eerie shade of purple, that she didn't think that Richard had ever seen her hold in her eyes.

When he spoke to her, she only listened for a few moments, before wondering what the good new was, and if she was actually going to want to hear it, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Raven's pale skin reflected the firelight coming from the window, as it flickered and glowed.

"Hello Richard." she said plainly, she still hated him for taking the woman she loved from her, but she had Konig now, the loss however was still deep, Briony was much more to her than just a lover, she was her first friend. "Good news. How I would like some more of that." she chuckled softly.

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 5:27 am

Richard wasn't stupid he could tell by the way that Raven looked at him that she wanted to cause him some harm. Hell he'd be surprised if she didn't want to kill him at this point in time. The eyes said it all. They were just as Briony had described a few times. They truly were terrifying but Richard was made of strong stuff. He met her eyes calmly, unafraid.

He settled down on his haunches much as she was doing because it was the best way to keep your balance on the branch. Pleasantly surprised that she hadn't attacked him yet, Richard decided that perhaps the two of them might actually be able to have a conversation that didn't turn into a battle,

"As you can probably tell by the name on the cot, Briony wanted to name our child after you. She wanted a reminder of how close the two of you were. And I couldn't say no to that reasoning. That and it's actually a very nice name." he chuckled lightly as he looked through the window, marvelling at how close it was that he was the one who lived in this house and didn't have to sit on the branch to see the child, "The other news, good or not is up to you, is that Briony and I would like you to be her godmother. We could think of no one better to trust our daughter with if anything happened to the two of us."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 5:35 am

Raven chuckled a little and nodded her head, she wasn't stupid she could tell that they had named the child after her, unless there was some other Raven that Briony was close to, she was flattered by the fact that they had done this, and more than a little surprised that Richard had allowed it, given what their last meeting had been like, but perhaps he was beginning to understand.

"It's not like I chose my own name, but thank you any way. I believe it suits me fairly well." she smirked, remembering the time she had quoted 'The Raven' to one of the people she was trying to blackmail, it had worked, so she might do it again some time.

Raising her eyebrow, Raven looked at Richard as if he was the most crazy being on the universe, who on Earth would trust her with children? She didn't even know that she had her own children up to a few months ago, and she still wasn't allowed to be with them.

Raven knew however, if this was all that was left of Briony, she would take care of it until her heart stopped beating.

"I will take care of the child if anything should happen to her. For Briony's sake. Not your own." she said simply "I owe you no kindness, as you owe me none."

With a small chuckle Raven shook her head; "You had to pick me, I don't even know how to raise my own children, which I just found out I had, with the man who messed up my brain and raped me, wonderfully happy to see the result of those unions." she sighed.

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 5:43 am

Richard smirked slightly. Of course Raven had figured it out. Although it was a pretty name it was a very uncommon name and there was only one Raven that Briony knew, let alone liked. He chuckled lightly and shook his head,

"I believe it does as well. Hopefully it will suit our little Raven just as well." he smiled a little bit and shuffled on the branch to get slightly more comfortable, "Edgar Alan Poe. The English poet or writer... I'm not sure on the correct term for him. It's not a word I use often. But we have been reciting The Raven to her. Helps her to sleep."

When she looked at him as if he'd grown a second head he couldn't help but laugh lightly. Okay so maybe it did seem a little odd to be giving her responsibility of a child should they die but Briony trusted her to look after Little Raven and, seeing how much she loved Briony, Richard did too. He nodded,

"Thought you'd say that." he chuckled a little bit, "Of course. I understand how our relationship works after all. As long as neither of us upsets Briony we can stay on a sort of shakey truce for now... can't we?"

Richard frowned a little bit. It sounded like Raven had been through a lot of shit in her life but it wasn't for him to know. He nodded a little bit,

"Sounds a little strange to pick you I admit." he agreed before smirking a little bit, "But it's a partnership! You can work with the godfather too if it makes you feel any better."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 5:50 am

Raven raised the other eyebrow when Richard told her that they had been reciting the child 'The Raven' to help her get to sleep, it was more likely going to give her subliminal nightmares for the rest of her life if she managed to take it all in, or her first word was going to be some obscure Victorian crap that nobody knew what the hell it meant any more.

"Are you sure reciting her Victorian horror before bed is going to do her development any good?" she smirked "I quoted that when I was going to kill someone, it was so funny, they literally looked as if they had seen a ghost...although they had...my little Leo."

Humming happily at the thought of her little baby Wraith, Raven turned her attention to the German sitting next to her, the idea of a truce went against everything she had ever wanted to do to the man, but for Briony's sake, while she was in this state of mind, she would make this vow.

"You took the woman I love away from me. I will never like you. I will never respect you. But for the sake of Briony and the child, I will not kill or harm you, do you understand?" she asked, a rather cold tinge to her voice, but her eyes were still soft, showing the pain that Richard had caused her, the pain that this child, their marriage was still causing them.

Smirking she shook her head; "I want to keep away from as many British scum as possible with this new accord."

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 5:57 am

Richard chuckled a little bit at Raven's raised eyebrow. Sure The Raven was probably not everyone's first choice of bedtime story but it helped their daughter get to sleep and that's all that mattered. It wasn't like the brothers Grimm, Richard's second choice, were much nicer after all,

"It helps her to sleep, I don't think she even registers it really. Don't worry we'll try and calm it down when she gets more aware and responsive. Something like the Brother Grimm. Dulled a little of course." he chuckled before he smirked, "That does actually sound pretty funny... Did you do the whole 'nevermore' bit?"

He glanced at Raven. Of course they would never like each other, they loved the same person and apparently one of them had won her heart. He pretended to be wounded when she told him that she would never respect him but didn't really expect her to,

"I understand you'll never like me. God knows I wouldn't like you if our situations were reversed." he agreed before meeting her gaze with his own. He could see how much it hurt her that she wasn't the one that could walk into the house after this little meeting, "I understand."

He chuckled a little bit and scratched his chin,

"I'm sure Cobalt would love to know you count him as British." he smirked, "He tends to think he's Irish actually."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 6:16 am

Raven chuckled when Richard asked her if she had done the famous line from the poem, she really did think that if you were going to quote it, that was the line that you must quote, although she rather did like the opening when it first began to terrify the man in question. With a nod of her head, she smirked at the fond memory of killing that certain person;

"Yes I did, right at the end. It's quite grown on me, I would like to do that more and more often if I am quite honest, although I haven't had the chance, things are quite slow at the moment."

The idea of this man having been together with her Briony, in the way that she once was, killed Raven to think about, she had not thought of it for a while, and when she did she did so in a manner that was fuelled of hate and anger. Although at the moment, her mood would not allow her anger, and the hurt of what had happened to her was beginning to seep through.

Hating herself as she allowed this to happen, tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes; "You will never know how much I hate you for what you caused." Raven muttered "As long as you keep her happy, you can keep your head on your neck. Ever upset her, I wont hesistate about taking your place."

Locking eyes with the man, she fumbled in her pockets and drew out one of her straight razors, holding it out to him, closed with the blade away; "For the child."

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 6:29 am

Richard had to admit that even though he wasn't exactly too fond of Raven, the woman knew how to be badass when the situation called for it. And quoting Poe was pretty damn badass. Especially the Raven. He laughed a little bit when she told him that she had used it right at the very end,

"Oh that is badass Raven!" he chuckled a little bit to himself, "Ah nothing like using a good quote to finish someone off. I've done it a few times but nothing as awesome as Poe. Don't worry, I'm sure business will pick up. There's a war on after all, people die all the time."

He had some idea of what it was like to see the woman you loved with someone else. It pretty much summed up how he had first begun to fall in love with Briony. He'd fallen in love with her only to find out that someone else was in love with her as well. It had killed him inside whenever he'd seen the two of them close, just the possibility that they were together in anyway crushed his soul. He could only imagine what Raven must feel like seeing as he was married to, and now had a child with, the woman she loved. It showed itself in the tears that she couldn't control,

"I felt something similar when I thought Briony loved someone else... but you're right. I won't know. I can't know the pain you know." He nodded slowly, "If I ever hurt her I'll give you a firecall. You have my word on that."

Looking into her eyes, Richard was surprised when she held out one of the razors for him to give to the child. He took the razor slowly, gently,

"I'll have Briony present it to her when she's ready." he told her quietly, "I... I have some idea of how much these razors mean to you. Thank you for giving it to our Little Raven."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 6:41 am

Raven didn't look away from Richard she kept her eyes locked onto his own, she wasn't going to look away until he was sure that she was serious about what she said, and that she meant every word of it, she would happily take Briony's friendship back without a trace of doubt if she extended it again, but then...her mind was cast back to Konig, and she smiled gently.

"You wont need to tell me, I will know, it is what comes of being so strongly attached to someone, you know when they are in pain."

Raven whispered, looking through the window at Briony reading from a book to her child, and she couldn't help but let one of the tears that had been building up in her eyes loose, not caring if Richard was going to see it or not, after all, they were practically family now she was a godmother.

Glad when he realised the significance of the gift, Raven nodded curtly; "You have no idea the value of these razors, but just tell her to keep away from Finley with them." she smirked, only she knowing what the razors were made out of. Not even her own children knew.

Glancing down onto the ground, Raven hissed lightly at showing weakness in front of someone she detested, but couldn't bring herself to stop the feelings from rising to the surface again; "It will take me some time. To come to see the child. If I am allowed."

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 6:54 am

Richard kept Raven's gaze without flinching or looking away. She needed to know that he was very serious and that he knew how serious she was. They both loved the same woman and he knew that neither of them wanted to see her hurt. He knew that both of them would rather die than let that happen. He chuckled a little bit,

"I thought it was only me that got that for Briony. I should have know you'd get that feeling too." he smiled faintly, "It works the other way you know. You hurt her and I come for you. Sound like a deal?"

The tear that feel made Richard's heart go out to Raven, no matter what she'd done in the past. No matter how much she'd tried to hurt him, he couldn't bear her any ill will at the moment. Not when she was in so much pain, pain he could relate to. A part of him wanted to reach out to comfort her but he didn't know how that would be received. She still hated him after all. He raised an eyebrow at her little warning,

"Duely noted." he replied dryly, smirking a little bit, "I do hope that Little Raven doesn't try to cut me up with this little razor like her name sake did. I rather like my blood on the inside."

He nodded before picking up a piece of stone that he carried around with him in case he needed to do some transfiguration. Closing his fist around it, light shone out from his closed fist,

"Until the day when you're ready to see them..." he whisepred quietly. He opened his hand to reveal a silver locket on a silver chain. Opening it, he revealed a picture of baby Raven on one side and a picture of a smiling Briony on the other. He presented the locket to Raven, "Carry them with you. I might not like you all that much and you might hate me... but this is a symbol of my trust in you. The two girls in this locket are the most precious things on this earth to me... I trust you to keep them safe if I cannot."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 7:10 am

Raven watched the man, she only kept quiet as he spoke, nodding her head at his question that she understood it worked the other way around, she knew that she was on thin ice as it was because of what she had done a few years ago, leading the fight on the school like she had done. Hoping that Briony didn't hold that against her, Raven bit her lip, hard.

Seeing that he was working some of his magic, Raven raised an eyebrow as it seemed that he was going to be giving her something, Raven wondered what this thing might be, and when she saw what it was, Raven blinked at the piece of jewelry, not thinking that it was meant for her at first.

Then, as it dawned on her Raven's breath caught in her throat, and she held her hand out to take the locket, but she flinched away from it, as if it was going to bite her, finally she managed to grip it and she looked at the pictures, her love looked so beautiful...the baby looked just like she.

"Raven will grow up to be beautiful, just like her mother." she whispered quietly, her heart being wrenched in her chest as she thought about the past, about her love, and about what she had hoped to do for her, the thing that she hadn't stayed to find out "I...thank you." she said quietly.

Keeping the locket in her hand, she hoped that she would be able to stop these damn tears; "I will keep them safe. You don't need to tell me that's what you wish me to do."

by **Richard Romain** Fri May 11, 2012 7:25 am

Richard could tell that Raven knew it wasn't some kind of idle threat. He knew, and she knew, that it was only because of Briony that he hadn't chased her down after the invasion of the school. And he meant to make good on his end of the deal. If she hurt Briony then he would hunt her down. He wouldn't kill her. He would destroy her. He would take away any chance she had for an after life when he did so.

Seeing her confusion before his explanation, Richard smirked a little bit. She really was in for a surprise. The surprise turned to a kind of numb shock from what he could tell and he merely smiled. He really did trust her with the lives of Briony and Little Raven. She loved Briony so it was very unlikely she'd ever hurt her. He nodded as he looked at the picture as well,

"That she will... I think we'll have to beat the boys away with sticks when she's older." he joked gently, knowing that including Raven in it would mean a lot to her. He smiled and closed Raven's hand around the locket gently, "Just keep them safe if I can't. That's all the thanks I need."

Richard smiled faintly before he looked up at the sky,

"You know Raven... we might not like each other but I think we're quite a lot alike." he commented with a small smile, "We're both very protective. We both have a thing for incredibly hot gothic women... what I'm trying to say is that there is no one I'd rather have helping me to protect my family..."

He smiled at her,

"Our family."

by **Raven 'The Sweeney' Drake** Fri May 11, 2012 6:32 pm

Raven looked at Richard and gave him the first twisted smile of their meeting, the idea of chasing boys away with sticks from the young child was something that she was not opposed to, and would probably quite enjoy. Giggling at the thought, Raven ran her hand through her hair.

"I would quite like to do that, but instead of a stick, might I be able to use a razor? After all there is less chance of them coming back if you use a razor..."

The touch of Richard, even just his hand made her want to hiss and draw it away from her, however, she clenched the locket in her hand and smiled gently, attatching it around her neck. Taking out her smashed and broken pocket watch, Raven peered at it.

Raising her eyebrow lightly, Raven had never been part of a functional family, and it was making her feel a little bit constricted...

"Well, I am glad that you think that. Even if you don't have the faintest clue about me or about my past, I am glad that you think we are alike. That makes you as crazy as I after all." she smirked, standing up on the branch.

by **Richard Romain** Sun May 13, 2012 4:35 am

Richard almost laughed when Raven smiled one of her regular, twisted, smiles. If she had kept acting the way she had been then he'd be worried the woman was becoming sane again. Of course the image of chasing boys away from his little girl with a stick was quite amusing he admitted to himself,

"Mmm perhaps for the persistant ones." he agreed, actually being serious about that point even if it was hidden behind a jokey front, "Beat them with sticks for the most part but if some of them don't get the hint... give them a permanent smile bellow their chins."

He had to admit he'd been expecting her to lash out at him when he'd touched her, even briefly, but thankfully there was no response. Or at least not an overtly hostile one at least. And considering who Raven was, Richard decided to take that as a win,

"Of course I'm crazy." he replied with a crooked grin, "Sociopathic tendencies they tell me. I call it a healthy hatred for anyone I don't know."

He stood up and simply stared at the window for a few moments more before he glanced at Raven,

"Nothing personal but when you tell the German ministry about the child, they probably already know but still..." he smiled without any emotion in his eyes, "If anyone comes after her I will kill all of them. Every last person in the ministry. And their families. And their friends. And anyone connected to them in anyway."

Richard blinked and then grinned cheerfully,

"Add your own personalised message too mkay?"