They'd danced until the thunderstorm moved on. The curtain of rain was receding to the west, flickering and grumbling in the distance. Now they stood on the damp concrete ledge with the humidity rising as the rain began to evaporate. The city smelled of rain and ozone and gleamed like new.

"It looks beautiful from up here," Leah said.

"You can't see the warts from this height," Raven replied. "But trust me, they're there."

Leah thought about her own childhood experiences with violence and crime. She glanced at the woman. "I know," Leah said. Raven looked at her sidelong, then nodded without asking more. Leah's stomach growled again.

Raven had stepped back and raised an eyebrow. "Someone's hungry," she said.

Leah smiled lopsidedly, a little embarrassed. "...yeah," she said.

"You like Chinese?" Raven asked.

"Great," Raven said when Leah nodded. "C'mon, I know just the place," she added, taking to the air. Leah followed her halfway across the city before Raven drifted down to the streets of Chinatown. Leah followed.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians now that the rain had passed. They drew curious looks as they walked but no one approached them. Raven led Leah to a nondescript building from which emanated the mouth watering scent of food. The only signage was a small brass plaque by the door identifying it as the Golden Palace.

"We're going in there like this?" Leah asked.

Raven pulled the door open and paused, looking at Leah curiously. "Like what?"

"Wearing masks, for one thing," Leah said.

"I'm not," Raven said with an impish grin.

Leah frowned at her. "Fine. Soaked to the skin, then--"

"But we're not," Raven said.

Leah opened her mouth to argue--and then realized that her costume was dry. So was her hair and skin. It was as if she hadn't been rained on at all. Raven looked similarly dry. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Do what?" Raven asked. Her tone was entirely innocent but the smirk gave her away.

"...never mind," Leah said, following her into the building.

Leah recalled reading that Raven was reputed to be able to create illusions or work magic or manipulate reality, depending on who you asked. Whatever the answer was, Leah could understand better now why Raven had such a frightening reputation. When the world around you could change on a whim--at Raven's whim--well, getting on her bad side would be scary.

* * *

Leah dipped a crab puff in Chinese mustard and popped it in her mouth. It was delicious. But then, everything they'd eaten so far was delicious. The Golden Palace was even better than Raven had said it would be.

She and Raven were sitting in a private room just off the kitchen. The owner of the Golden Palace had welcomed them effusively when they entered, escorted them to this room, and seated them personally. Raven, Leah gathered from his heavily accented but enthusiastic description of the event, had protected his family--and his restaurant--during a turf war among the local street gangs and he felt beholden.

"He won't let me pay when I eat here," Raven told Leah while he was out of the room. "So I like to introduce other people to the place. They always come back and spend money, so I don't feel like I'm taking advantage."

"Mission accomplished, then," Leah said. "Any time I'm back in Hudson City, I'll be sure to come by here. The food is fabulous!"

"What are you doing in Hudson City?" Raven asked.

"I'm...visiting," Leah said.

Raven rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She poured herself more tea and picked up her chopsticks. "Tell me something I don't know," she said. She neatly pinched some noodles between the chopsticks and raised them to her mouth.

"What--you're afraid I'll ferret out your secret identity?" she asked before eating the noodles.

"Not afraid," Leah said. "But--cautious. Habits can work for you or work against you. I prefer to have them work for me."

Raven nodded. "Very orderly and organized of you," she said.

"Thank you," Leah said.

Raven shrugged. "It's not necessarily a compliment. Everybody needs a little chaos in their life."

Leah picked up another crab puff and pulled it carefully into quarters, dipping each piece in mustard before eating it. "I've had chaos enough to last a lifetime, thanks," she said between bites. "Doesn't mean there won't be plenty more. It's unavoidable. But I work hard to minimize it."

"To each her own," Raven said with a shrug. She grinned then, eyes bright. "Me, I love chaos."

"So I gathered," Leah said. "Not many people dance on rooftops in thunderstorms."

"Or fly around in them," Raven said. "I wasn't alone up there."

Leah grinned. "Touche," she said.

"So," Raven said, after she'd scooped some kung pao shrimp onto her plate. "I'd ask about your hobbies, but I suspect you'd decline to answer or give me the redacted version. So, no names or anything, but--you gettin' any these days?"

Leah laughed. "Yeah," she said. "I'm doing very well, thank you. How about you?"

"Uh uh," Raven said, wagging a finger. "You don't get off that easily--no pun intended," she added hastily when Leah was about to reply with a pun. "Tell Aunty Raven all about it."

"Why should I give you vicarious jollies?" Leah asked. "You'd be better off getting some jollies of your very own."

"Oh I do," Raven said with a leer. "But when I'm not having sex I like to talk about sex. Fess up!"

Leah smiled down at her plate, amused by Raven's enthusiasm for the subject, and tempted to go along. Raven wasn't the only one with a passion for the subject. "I don't know, though," she said aloud.

"You know you want to," Raven coaxed her. "No names, no places. Just the filthy details."

Leah ate a bite of saut