7

There was a time in Raven's life when she would have killed to be torn between two goddesses who were both vying for her attention. They were in charge of persuading her to join their respective teams.

The prospect of their persuasion strategies involving less than moral methods was undeniably titillating for the teenage orphan. That only lasts for a moment though. A moment too long. Raven forced herself to remember that she was a taken woman. She had Sage. Sage. The love of her life and keeper of her heart for the last 3 years. Sage, the girl who was the only motivation for her escape from this strange and scary place. She was still a red-blooded lesbian. Could she truly be blamed for a momentary lapse in judgement?

Lucifer around and left through the same doors that they entered through. Unlike Angelica, she didn't seem to be using seduction as her tool of persuasion. Raven almost felt disappointed. Before the stoic brunette was completely out of earshot, she looked at Raven.

"Are you coming?" Her tone was as hushed and cold as ever.

"Where are you taking me?" the hazel-eyed orphan asked her confusing roommate.

"Who said I'm taking you anywhere?" She replied in a dry tone.

"I thought you were supposed to convince me to join your team or is the dark side not big on recruiting new members?" Raven asked.

Wasn't she supposed to be wooing me or listing reasons as to why her team was the preferable choice? What was her plan? Play hard to get until I beg for black pompoms to become the new cheerleader for the Dark? Fat chance of that happening!

"Join the Dark. Don't join the Dark. It would appear that the decision is yours to make. Do not burden me with your problems. I merely wish for you to leave this room, it's lunchtime. Unless you wish to starve - again, it's none of my concern." With that, she left and made her way back to the cafeteria.

Lucifer remained silent the entire way back to the cafeteria. Raven trailed behind her gloomy roommate. The leather-clad woman retrieved a plate for herself and then proceeded to grab one for the new victor as well. A gesture that somewhat shocked the silver and raven-haired woman. All she could do was mutter a soft 'thanks' in return. The purple-eyed woman nodded her head and headed off to her usual solo table on the far side of the room. The victor knew better than to join her. Instead, she scanned the room in search of her new "friends". The orphan was very familiar with the concept of sitting alone at lunchtime. She was happy when she spotted Dagne and the rest of her crew. At least she would not have to repeat that here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, behold the legendary, record-breaking, ultra-sexy killing machine, Raven!" Dagne welcomed her to the table in an exaggerated MMA announcer voice. Given her actions in the last hour, she might as well put on some gloves. All the violence of a fistfight with none of the spandex.

"We saved you a seat, Champ," Silver patted the seat beside him.

"Why would she sit there when there is a perfectly good seat right here," Aphrodite patted her lap and winked at her. Raven blushed and shook her head, opting to sit next to Leech. Aphrodite leant over the table, giving the bloody orphan a heart-attack-inducing view of her smooth cleavage. "Why didn't you take the seat I offered? Am I not pretty enough for a lap dance? You don't think I'm pretty enough, Raven?" She purred every syllable, as she spoke.

"Wh... what? No... I mean, yes! I mean you are pretty enough!" the orphan 3was rendered a rambling mess by the seductive vixen across the table.

"Good, so tonight then! I'll leave the door open for you. Wear something pretty; preferably red. I'm sure Dags won't mind. I'm sure she'd enjoy the show as well. Right, baby?" She played with Dagne's blonde locks as she spoke. Raven was flustered and beyond confused. She looked down at the bloodstains in her clothing.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "Excuse me? Wha-what is happening?"

"You are giving us a little late-night lap dance, sexy." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? Why would I do that?" Raven's cheeks were a perfect replacement heat source. At least they had a good replacement if Artemis ever decided to turn off the thermostat.

"Do you not agree with the plan. You're right. You don't need to visit us tonight," Aphrodite said and Raven breathed out in relief. "Why do it tonight when you look perfectly delicious right now and my lap is very much available." She was completely shameless. Raven gawked at her. That was not happening, the orphan told herself.

Unable to think of anything else she blurted out, "I have a girlfriend! I am not going to give anyone a lap dance except her!" She red-faced girl was proud of her public announcement. Her monogamous relationship was finally public knowledge. She hoped it would stop Aphrodite's ruthless pursuit of me.

She was wrong.

"You do? What is her name? It doesn't matter to me. She's not here and what she doesn't know won't hurt her," the temptress continued to lean over the table and reach for her hand. Raven snatched it back and almost fell out of her seat. Dagne and Leech saved her from kissing the floor.

"Her name is Sage and it does matter! She matters! I would never cheat on her! Ever! She's my everything and no girl can compare to her. She possesses my mind, heart and soul. There's nothing left!" She spoke with so much passion that my heart was gunning.

Aphrodite's eyes glowed a deep amber. She stood from her seat and studied her for a second. "You forgot your body! Your body is always left behind after everything else is taken." With that she was sauntered away from the table, taking a smirking Silver by his hand.

Her words left Raven speechless.

"She doesn't take rejection well. I'm fairly certain that was a first for her. Rejection, I mean. but for what it's worth, I think what you have is special. You seem to love her very much. Hold onto that. a place like this can take a lot from a person but don't let it take your love." She gave Leech a sad smile in response.

Dagne jumped in to quickly change the subject," I heard you have the golden ticket. After what happened in the arena, both Light and Dark want you on their team waggon singing kumbaya into the sunset. So which side are you picking? You even have the sexy sisters trying to woo you. You are living my dream right now." The preppy blonde practically pouted at her new prodigy with a dreamy and envy filled look.

"Sexy sisters?"

"Yes, Lucifer and Angelica... how can you not remember them? Angelica, aka Angel, is the sexy saint that pushed you into the arena. They have inspired too many wet dreams to be forgotten so easily; even by you," the fire wielder spoke with a formidable amount of conviction.

"They're sisters?" Raven asked out loud in an uncharacterizable high pitched voice. "How? I mean they don't even look similar! I suppose not all siblings look alike and that would explain their damn-near impossible beauty but I did not expect them to be sisters!" At the end of her rant, she had drawn the attention of half the room. She caught Lucifer's gaze and found her looking stoic as ever but there was a ghost of a smirk tugging at her lips. The orphan snapped her eyes away from her infuriating roommate and turned to glare at Dagne, who was currently crying with laughter.

"You're a riot, Ash! You are. I haven't laughed that hard since ... well, never. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard before." Dagne nudged her glaring friend once she regained her composure. "But as I was saying, which team are you going to pick?"

"Honestly, I don't know. In a place where murder is a sport, is there even a difference between dark and light," Raven replied?

"Don't be so quick to judge, Ash. We may all spill blood but some of us have better reasons." Leech spoke up with an understanding smile and motioned towards the victor's clothing.

"What was your reason, Dagne? How did you get here? How'd you pick your team?" Raven was pulling at straws at this point. She was desperate for answers at this point.

"We are the Dark," The blonde woman waved at the rest of the table. Raven nodded. "Unlike you, none of us passed our tests. We didn't get to pick. You do so choose wisely."

The buzzer sounded for the end of Lunchtime. Everyone gathered their trays and made for their rooms or wherever they were going.

"Ash, just remember that not everyone is given the same opportunities in this life so don't waste yours. We've all made mistakes, that's how we got here, but this can be a fresh start if you allow it to be. Second chances are few and far between - don't waste it." She squeezed Raven's shoulder as she walked past her.

She was still lost in thought as the cafeteria cleared. Only Lucifer remained in the room when Raven finally snapped back to reality. She bit her lip and forced herself not to dwell on her roommate's ever sour mood. She needed to focus on whatever the hell was happening here. The first step was to pick a Side.