hand in my hand, and we promised to never let go.

Eda has never been one for sitting around, but when there's nothing else to do in the dead of the night, sitting and doing nothing with the puppet of Raine Whispers doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world.

Before she knows it, however, she finds herself reminiscing about the two's old memories.

THE OWL HOUSE; Eda Clawthorne, Raine Whispers; Pre-S3E2 (For The Future); Gift for Melon_Mastermind.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: to who this is for: thank you for the past amazing two years!! i care about you so much—you're an amazing friend and person, as well as talented and genuinely inspirational, and i hope this makes you happy! <3

Eda Clawthorne, the woman more or less known as The Owl Lady, or whatever nickname the wanted posters decided to give her. Sometimes, there’d be some embarrassing misprint going around, and all she could do was laugh about the oh-so prestigious Emperor’s Coven making such a stupid mistake. It’d be enough to make her day, to know everyone had the chance to see the fact they weren’t as high and mighty as they should be, even if they never took it.

It was enough for Eda Clawthorne, the most powerful and kick-ass witch in all of the Boiling Isles, countlessly slipping past captures again and again. There would be some close calls every now and then, but nothing ever stopped her. She prided herself in her stubbornness—if anyone tried to use it as an insult, she had no shame in embracing it.

But of course, sometimes, she found herself in unfortunate situations. When it comes to protecting those one loves, they end up running into a circumstance they’d rather not be in. Turning back isn’t always an option, however, and the only choice is to keep going.

And now, Eda Clawthorne, The Owl Lady, once known as the most powerful and kick-ass witch on the Boiling Isles, sat inside nothing more than a cage. Bypassing the iron bars wasn’t the issue—if it was, the large hole that sat in the middle of it wouldn’t be there. If anything, those iron bars were the least of her problems.

The woman stayed as quiet as she could, not wanting to stir her sister as she was resting. For the while they’d been stuck here, Lilith had been doing all she could from inside the cell with her, all thanks to King’s aid to set her free. He’d been doing a lot too, Eda had realized long ago; he’d lied for her, claiming she was in no condition to play along with the Collector’s stupid game of pretend, and he’d begged for Lilith’s freedom so she wouldn’t be stuck as a puppet.

And yet, all Eda could do was sit there, completely unhelpful. She hated this sense of uselessness, even if she knew there wasn’t much she actually could do.

She pulled herself off the floor. Sitting around was never her style; she wasn’t sure what good it would have done her to keep in place, anyway. It was late, Lilith was asleep, and hopefully, King was too. The only thing she could do for now was provide her own distraction—and what better way to distract herself than to go see a certain witch just outside her cell?

It was easy enough to step outside the iron bars. Once again, they were the least of her problems. Pushing her shorter hair away from her face, she approached the red, glowing line that prevented her from going far. She placed her hand on the wall, staring down at it for a few moments, then allowing her gaze to follow the line until a certain pair of bedazzled boots came into view.

The puppet of Raine Whispers. It was still undoubtedly them, but Eda felt her stomach turn at seeing them so… lifeless. There was a smile on their face, the same one she had always seen before, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t Raine.

She stepped closer to the puppet. Despite the fact they wouldn’t move unless she stepped outside the line, she was strangely cautious. One wrong move, everything would be messed up. That’s how the last few months have been, even before the Collector’s appearance. Of course, circumstances were less awful back then, but being on the run often had its limitations, as much as Eda tried to push past them.

She raised her hand, positioning it so she couldn’t see the crescent moon imprinted on their forehead. It was the Collector’s signature, in a sense. The more time that passed, the more star and moon shapes began to make her feel sick—yet standing in that specific position, hand over Raine’s forehead, Eda could try and pretend that they could still move and act on their own.

But… Eda had grown sick of pretending recently too. No matter how hard she tried, even temporarily denying the situation wouldn’t help. She tried that already, but of course, it didn’t last long.

The puppet stared back at her with soulless eyes. They were Raine’s eyes, but it wasn’t their eyes. It wasn’t the same. It would never be the same, not even if the Collector gave them words to speak with their voice. It wouldn’t be the same until…

… She didn’t know.

Defeatedly, Eda dropped her arm. For a moment, she contemplated triggering these puppets laid out to guard her, solely to see Raine perform the same thing once more—their eyes glowing yellow, sliding out of their position with the others and cornering Eda. They’d raise a finger in the air, ready to cast whatever spell it took to get her back where she was supposed to be. For a long time, she stood there, taking her time. She could stand out here as long as she wanted, so long as she paid attention to her surroundings too—the Collector was known for being unpredictable, especially because they acted so… young.

Instead of wasting all that time, however, Eda shook her head. It’s not like it would matter anyway, she figured. Raine would only go back to the way they were standing in the end, even if she triggered the puppet. It didn’t matter.

Carefully, the woman set herself on the ground, leaning up against the iron bars. She made sure she was close enough to the hole that allowed her to get this far past the cage, just in case someone other than King decided to come along. She propped her right arm on top of her leg, fixing her gaze on the puppet once more. Even if it wasn’t Raine, it’d be as close as she could get to them. She was willing to take what she could get.

Eda remembered talking to the puppet once, in the dead of the night like now. She didn’t know what she was expecting in response, but sure enough, nothing came. She considered pouring out her guts, her sorrows and everything she never said or did back then. She considered telling them what she should have all those years ago, even if it was all things they knew now.

Yet, she was too much of a coward. She’d considered the possibility that Raine could still hear her, and as unlikely as that chance was, once she implanted the idea into her brain, she couldn’t risk it. She refused to risk it. Even now, letting down her guard was no option she could take—for her own sake, and Lilith’s sake, and King’s. With Luz and the others in the human realm, at the very least, there was less to worry about. The kids were safe somewhere far from here, and that was what counted.

Eda stared at the doll again, her thoughts still running faster than she would have liked. From the side, they didn’t hold that same obvious doll-like appearance. It was apparent when she made herself focus on it, but she could ignore it. Avoiding it wouldn’t work, and pretending the situation wasn’t real wouldn’t fix it, but it would surely make her feel better temporarily.

… No, that was a lie.

She inhaled sharply, shaking her head and looking elsewhere. Despite it, she spoke up, fully aware no answer would come:

“Hey, Rainestorm…”

“Eda…?”

Raine rubbed their eyes, poking their head out the window and squinting. The sun had hardly even risen yet, and normally, Eda knew she’d still be asleep, but something about her was different today. She wasn’t sure what, but it made her feel great . What better way to express that than to beat her older sister by getting to school way earlier than usual? And what better way to execute such a perfect plan than to drag her closest friend into it, the Raine Whispers themself?

“Hey, Rainestorm!” Eda called, throwing another rock at the window, although purposefully missing.

The teenager flinched as the rock came into contact with the side of their house, right next to the window, but quickly recovered. “... Good morning, Eda. I didn’t realize you were such an early bird,” they commented, reaching to the side for a moment. She watched them put on their glasses, blinking a few times to get used to clearer vision once more.

“Oh, you know. What time I wake up is between me and the bed,” Eda commented, an obnoxious snort escaping her. “How about you? I thought you’d be more… I dunno, up and at it! Eager to start the day, y’know!?”

Raine rested their arm on the window sill, placing their head on top of it. “You’re so loud… You’re lucky my parents are heavy sleepers. It’s four in the morning, Eda. Four. Class doesn’t even start until eight!”

Eda arched an eyebrow. No, no way it was that early… She could have sworn that clock at least said seven! Or maybe she hadn’t looked at the clock at all. Probably that one, if she’s being honest with herself. That also seemed to explain why the sun wasn’t up yet, didn’t it?

“... Whoops,” was all she replied with, followed by a light chuckle. "But hey, look at the bright side! That gives us… what? Four hours to mess around? So get out here!"

All Raine did was roll their eyes in reply, though Eda could see the smile spreading across their tired face. That was all she needed to know they accepted the suggestion she laid out.

The window was shut shortly after, and Raine disappeared further into the dimly lit room. She kicked one of the rocks that landed back next to her, watching the way the object soared for just a moment before hitting the ground and rolling off to the side. She considered chasing after it, kicking it once more just for the hell of it, but she knew she’d get distracted if she did—and hanging out with Raine this early wasn’t something she could waste!

Shaking her head, Eda quickly spun on her heel, pushing a hand through her bright orange hair. She’d always had pretty thick hair, so much so that it was a hassle to brush through in the morning. Then again, she wasn’t one for put-together appearances… That was more up Lilith’s alley. It was funny whenever she tried to get her to do the same, though. That was the first time Eda had ever heard her older sister accidentally swear, and she never thought she would ever see her so absolutely embarrassed.

She should tease her about it sometime soon. The way her cheeks would flush and her nose would crinkle right before she covered her face never failed to make Eda laugh. Just thinking about it was enough to make her giggle.

As she reminisced old, silly memories once more, she sort of zoned out. She wasn’t sure how long she hadn’t been mentally present, but eventually, Raine slipped out the front door as quietly as possible, which was all it took to snap her back into reality. A bag was slung over their arm as usual, the zipper wide open for anyone to see the contents inside.

“Your bag,” Eda pointed out for the third time this week.

Raine twisted the knob, slowly letting go once they had pulled the door shut. Then, they looked down at their bag, nodding as soon as they understood what she was pointing out in particular. “Oh, right.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. They weren’t the forgetful type usually, so the fact it was a running thing that zipping their bag closed was something that often slipped Raine’s mind was… just plain funny, really.

Before actually zipping it shut, though, Raine dug their hand into it, searching for something in particular. They moved around the few books they carried everywhere, and Eda recognized some of the designs from Lilith’s ridiculous stash of texts back home. If only she would ever give the time of day to make more friends besides her sister.

After a few seconds, the teenager pulled out two juice boxes. They tossed one towards Eda, to which she caught pretty easily. She turned over the drink in her palm, glancing at the flavor. Please don’t be the ghoul aid flavor. Please don’t be the ghoul aid flavor.

“You like apple blood, right?” Raine inquired, seeming to hope they’d gotten her tastes right.

Quickly, a smile grew on her face, her heart swelling at the fact they remembered. It wasn’t often people actually cared to remember something so arbitrary about her, like her favorite drink—it was nice to have them care about her like that.

“Of course it is! You’re the one who introduced me to it, remember? Or did ya forget that too?” Eda teased, excitedly ripping the straw off the box and tearing off the plastic. She stabbed it into the drink with remarkable ease, and wasted no time taking a sip. “Aw man, it’s as good as I remember it! Thanks, Raine!”

The teenager shook their head, wearing a small smile. “Didn’t you just have some yesterday? You’re acting like it’s been years…”

“It may as well have been! I’m telling you, once you start drinking it, you can’t stop. I’ve been craving it since I finished all of mine yesterday; it’s so good!”

“I think you’re just obsessed,” teased Raine, poking their straw into the juicebox. They took a sip, walking down the few stairs in front of their house.

Eda rolled her eyes. “Of course you wouldn’t get it. You’re no better than Lily.”

“You say that every time I’m right.”

“I do not!”

“Uh huh, sure,” Raine shook their head, chuckling. “Anyway, where are we going? We have four hours, so unless you want me to go back inside…”

“Hold on, jeez!” Eda replied with a scoff. “If you really want to, you can sleep on me while we’re in the air.”

Suddenly, Raine’s grin faltered, shifting into a mix of mild alarm and confusion. “In the air…?”

“Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention it? We’re gonna use Owlbert!”

“Are you sure…?” They inquired, seemingly unsure all of a sudden. “Has Owlbert ever carried more than one person before?”

Eda paused, taking a long sip of the apple blood drink. The answer was certainly no. She’d only just got him last month anyway, courtesy of her father, so it wasn’t likely her new palisman could immediately handle carrying more than one wild teenager.

However, was this going to stop Eda Clawthorne, future powerful witch in the making?

Absolutely not.

Without replying to Raine’s reasonable question, Eda summoned Owlbert. She laid the staff in the air, hopping onto the front of it.

“It’ll be fine! C’mon, Raine!” She exclaimed, gesturing to the remaining space on the staff. “You’re gonna be fine, promise!”

Despite still being uncertain, the teenager carefully climbed behind Eda, grasping onto the stick to steady themself. “If you say so. If we both die, I’m counting on Owlbert to tell everyone it was your fault,” they joked, though the small, nervous chuckle that follows gave way to the fact this was their way of ignoring whatever they were so scared of.

“Nah, Owlbert and I are buddies! He’d never pin such a thing on me , of all people,” Eda replied with a grin, patting the top of the palisman’s head.

Raine shook their head. “Fine, then. Don’t kill us before school actually starts, okay?”

“You got it!”

And with that, Owlbert took to the skies. Despite it being so early in the Boiling Isles, where almost everyone valued getting as much sleep as possible before the screeching alarms sounded, Eda had no shame in letting a loud yell escape her throat out of excitement. Once her throat began to burn from screaming, however, she turned her head, glancing at her friend to see how they were doing.

It wasn’t until that moment she’d realized that Raine had been screaming too, though not so much due to the adrenaline rush and more of the fact they were staring at the ground below them. It was like they were watching it get further and further. They looked horrified , undoubtedly, clutching onto Eda’s new staff for dear life, even though she had done her best to assure them beforehand.

Eda glanced down with them, just to get a good look before saying anything. The height didn’t scare her, but she knew that if either of them were to fall for any reason, it wouldn’t end well. That didn’t freak her out either, of course—who would she be if she were to be scared of something like that?

For Raine, however, it was a different story.

“Hey!” She raised her voice, even when she was a little out of breath. She still wore a smile, hoping it would provide a source of comfort for the other. “Look forward, Raine! It’ll be easier to keep your balance if you aren’t staring down like that.”

“It’s so high ,” Raine noted, shutting their eyes tightly.

Eda gave Owlbert another pat on his head, a silent notion to get her companion to go on autopilot for a few moments. Then, she shifted on the staff, swinging her legs over so they both hung over the same side. She pushed her orange hair out of the way again, partially wishing she would have brought a hair tie or something to temporarily tame the wild mess, and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder.

“Raine.”

They finally looked up, barely meeting Eda’s gaze. Despite their slightly distressed state, she couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her, even if it was a little mean. She reached over, keeping one hand tightly wrapped against the staff and using the other to gently cup Raine’s cheek.

“... Your glasses are all crooked,” Eda noted, pushing it back into its proper position with her thumb. Throughout it, she still wore a smile. “You look silly without them, y’know. Would be a real shame if you ended up dropping it by staring down the whole time.”

Raine’s face heated up from embarrassment, though it did the job of getting them to open their eyes and look over at her. They let one of their hands go from the staff, gently prying Eda’s hand off their face. “I’m… for sure not going to fall, right?”

“Definitely! Owlbert’s pretty good at flying, I’ll have you know. Most palismen are good at that, I’m assuming.” She shrugged, but offered out her hand in a dramatic fashion.

“... And, y’know, if it’ll make you feel better, you can hold onto my hand! That way, if you do end up falling, I’ll totally save you!”

Raine wore a look of doubt, but before she knew it they ended up breaking into a small laugh. She could tell they were trying to keep it together, using this silly laughter as a distraction, and all she could do was hope it was working.

When their laughter had faded, they glanced down at her hand again, almost as if they were studying it. Eda found herself confused for a moment; she didn’t really consider it anything special. Her skin was slightly calloused from Grudgby, and skin care routines were never really her style, so she wasn’t exactly sure what was making them stare at it so intensely.

And then, Raine placed a hand over Eda’s, lacing their fingers between hers. They were gentle, almost hesitant at first, then gave a firm squeeze—a sense of reassurance to themself, she figured.

“... Alright,” they finally replied. “I trust you.”

Eda returned the squeeze, rubbing her thumb over the other’s skin. “That’s the ticket! You can count on me!”

Raine nodded, their lips cracking into another smile. This time, it seemed more… natural. “Thank you.”

The two stayed like this for a little longer, with Owlbert seemingly mindlessly flying across the sky. In all honesty, Eda couldn’t quite remember where she told him to go before throwing rocks at her friend’s window, but for all she knew, she probably just forgot she did. At the very least, the worst place Owlbert ever flew to was an inch away from the Boiling Sea, and that was way back when she couldn’t control him very well yet, so that wouldn’t even count—best not to tell Raine that, though.

Despite the fact that Eda didn’t know where they were going, she certainly didn’t feel afraid. Of course, it was mostly due to the aforementioned reason regarding her palisman—aside from that, however, she felt more or less distracted by something else.

Her sunshine-colored eyes rested on their interlocked hands, completely unaware of the amount of time passing. There was something comforting about being able to provide this sense of safety for Raine, even if they both knew there wasn’t much Eda could do if they did end up falling off somehow. Maybe it was the promise that she would at least try. Maybe that’s all Raine needed. In that case, she could provide that without a doubt.

Eda squeezed their hand again. The last thing she wanted to do was startle them, so she made sure her touch was nothing less than gentle. In response, all they did was drag their thumb across her skin, remaining silent. She didn’t look up to see if they were staring too, and she almost didn’t want to. Knowing her, some comment would bubble up in her throat, and then she’d lose her focus. Right now, she wanted to just… sit here. Nothing more, nothing less.

And so, the two kept their comforting silence. It was far quieter than any other interaction the two have had previously. It lasted longer than ever before. Normally, Eda would get antsy and say something for the sake of conversation, but this time, for whatever reason, the idea of interrupting the wind that rushed past the both of them didn’t seem as tempting to her as it normally would. Maybe she’d end up being the one who fell asleep. Now that she wasn’t running around, she did feel awfully tired…

She exhaled, doing her best to stay awake in order to savor the moment further.

“Guess who!”

With a sing-songy tune in her voice, she covered her partner’s face with her hands. She made sure there was some space between their glasses and the palms of her hands, just so she wouldn’t be pushing it up against their face, while still ensuring they wouldn’t be able to see what was in front of them. What was a surprise without a little bit of mystery, after all?

A soft hum of bemused wonder escaped the teenager, who tapped their pen to their cheek lightly.

“Tough question,” Raine says sarcastically, drumming their fingers against the library desk. "Hmm… Owlbert, is that you? I didn’t realize you had a voice now."

“Yeah, sure, that’s me,” Eda replied with a lighthearted scoff, shaking her head. She uncovered Raine’s face and stepped to the side, though not before playfully flicking their forehead. As always, her fangs stood out through her grin as she rested an arm against the small stack of books next to them. “So what? Did I startle you?”

“Absolutely horrified,” they respond, not in the least phased.

Eda pouted, clearly unhappy with the response. She crossed her arms. “You’re no fun. Couldn’t even try and act for me?”

They glanced over at her, fixing their glasses. At that moment, their lips cracked into a small smile, clearly holding back a wave of their own laughter. “Nice to see you too, Eda,” is all they reply with, closing their notebook and getting up from the table.

Before she could come up with anything to say, Raine walked past her and into the nearest line of bookshelves, leaving Eda tailing behind hurriedly with some incoherent muttering under her breath. Despite it, she heard them chuckle to themself, and that was good enough, at least.

“Why’d you make me come here, anyway?” Eda questions soon enough, raising her voice a bit. She’s met with the collective shushing noise from others in the library, to which she simply responds with a quiet groan. It always sucked having to be extra aware of her own voice’s volume.

“You’ll see! Just keep following me,” replies Raine, turning their head back momentarily to glance at Eda. In that second, she almost wished she could have worn an expression that made her seem more interested—something that didn’t make it seem like she dreaded being here. Not that the library was a place she wanted to be in, but there was worse.

And besides, it couldn’t be all bad if Raine was the one who invited her anyway. They didn’t really strike her as the type to actively put in the effort to study—Eda had a pretty good memory, and any studying she actually did was on behalf of Lilith having no one else to help her out. Nonetheless, she knew the material taught in class already, so it wasn’t like she needed to study for things.

Eda brushed aside the thought, continuing to walk behind the other, despite there clearly being enough space to walk side-by-side. Even with her clear disinterest in reading, she did find herself glancing over the books on the shelf. They were all clearly children’s books, if the bright colors and pictures had anything to say for themselves, so Eda couldn’t care too much for it, but some of them looked cool. Even if they were all probably renditions of stories she’d heard over and over again, it was nice at least.

“Don’t I get a hint? Y’know, as compensation for coming all the way here just to see you?” Eda joked, breaking the silence between them. She never really liked when it was quiet—the noise stimulated her most of the time, so being in the exact place where she was always told to stay as silent as possible wasn't ideal.

Raine shrugged. “We’re in a library, love. There’s not much I can tell you in terms of hints.”

“It’s probably a crappy surprise, then.” She threw her hand in front of Raine’s face, pointing down to the ground with her thumb. “Boo!”

They gently pushed her hand away, turning around with a small grin. “You’re nearly impossible to impress. Can’t even try to act for me?” They reply, reusing her own words from earlier against her.

“Nah, not worth it,” responded Eda, waving her right hand dismissively. “And horrible impression of me, two out of ten. I’d expect better from you, Rainestorm.”

They pressed their hand against their chest in mock shock. “A two? That’s strangely kind for a rating from such a critical person… Could it be that you did like it after all?”

“It’s called pity points! Don’t put words in my mouth!”

Another shush from some indistinct part of the library sounded, cutting their bickering short. After a beat of silence, it left the two with nothing to do but laugh at their own stupidity, placing their hands over their mouths to keep it down. When she pulled to a stop to recollect herself, she heard the movement in front of her seize as well, almost like clockwork.

For a few moments longer, Eda continued to laugh. She leaned over, an arm wrapped around her stomach due to it beginning to feel strained—she couldn’t even pinpoint what exactly had been funny about the whole thing anymore. It was just the way the scenario had played out, and the way the two had exchanged looks when they were told to be quiet was enough to send both of them into a fit of laughter.

At some point, Raine’s laughter quieted down, reduced to heavy breaths as they attempted to catch their breath.

“Are you done yet, Lord Calamity?” They teased, offering a hand out for the other to take. “At this rate, you’re never gonna see the supposed awful surprise I mentioned.”

The teenager’s laughs finally drew to a stop, quieting herself down as if genuinely considering the other’s words. Of course, Eda would never turn down the opportunity to see something Raine wanted to show her—however, being dramatic was a little funny sometimes, and seeing them look at her as if the entire world hung on this simple suggestion was sort of hilarious. And besides, the way their sage-colored eyes stared through their glasses at her made her heart pound, making her feel all warm inside yet again.

“Fine, fine,” she responded with a chuckle, placing her hand in theirs. “Lead the way, Rainedeer! You never know, maybe we’ll get lost if we’re not careful,” she joked.

Raine rolled their eyes, squeezing her hand and not casting much attention to the nickname. “Whatever you say.”

And with that, they lead the two down the remainder of the lane. It wasn’t until those few passing moments that Eda really realized how big the library was when she wasn’t dashing past people on the rare occasions she was here. It was honestly surprising she hadn’t been banned from coming here altogether yet, but maybe she’d just gotten lucky. She’d been kicked out a few times already, so soon enough, she was bound to get her library card revoked or something like that. It’s not like it would really affect her—if anything, it gave her a reason to drop out of dumb writing assignments that had nothing to do with magic.

She kept walking, making sure she was keeping pace so she could keep her grip on Raine’s hand. They were walking next to each other now, making it nearly impossible for Eda to fall behind unless she was actively trying to, but she still wanted to ensure it wouldn’t happen. Their hand was always pretty warm. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she liked holding their hand.

Finally, Raine pulled to a stop in the middle of the next lane. When she glanced around the area, she was certain she was missing something. It was just books on shelves here. It looked like any other part of the library, just… a lot quieter, almost as if they’d wandered into a part of the building no one was really interested in. Eda realized they were specifically in the romance section—why they were there, she couldn’t quite figure it out. She didn’t really care much for books about that stuff, even if she did have a loving partner standing by her side right now. Then again, most books weren’t exactly her taste anyway.

“... Jeez. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’d be murdering me here,” Eda joked, gently nudging Raine with her elbow. “So what’d you wanna show me so badly?”

They stepped close to one of the bookshelves, grabbing onto a particular book, labeled The Lone Witch & Secret Room. Eda couldn’t recall ever seeing the title before, but she wasn’t really the type to remember that sort of thing. “Look at this.”

The bookshelf shook rapidly before she could form a proper response, effectively causing whatever words were in her throat to disperse. Had it not been for the way they were holding her hand, silently reassuring her that there was no actual present danger, she probably would have run off in the other direction, tugging them along despite any protests.

When the shaking finally stopped, Eda tilted her head, perplexed by the sight. The shelf, labeled ’romance’ in big, eye-catching letters, pulled itself aside, revealing a room past it. It wasn’t anything too grand—it was small, and the walls were just more bookshelves, but she still found herself entranced by it.

“Woah…”

It took a moment for Eda to catch onto the fact Raine was staring at her, watching her reaction. As soon as she did, however, she cleared her throat, moving on from that feeling of awe that had overtaken her and left her speechless.

“This looks so neat!” She exclaimed, pulling Raine into the secret room without thinking too much. It was only then she let go of their hand, spinning around to get a good view of the area from all angles. “When’d you find this?”

They stepped to the side, pulling on a book with the same title as the one on the outside. Once more, the bookshelf rumbled, slowly closing the doorway so no one else could get in. It was just the two of them now.

“About two years ago, give or take,” they answered, carefully pushing the book back in its spot. “It was around the time after I met you and transferred to Hexside. I’m not sure why I thought so, but I was worried that the studies would be a little different compared to Saint Epiderm. I didn’t want to fall behind. I just kinda stumbled across this room, and when I asked about it, I got shrugged off, so… It’s mine now, I guess.”

Raine laughed a little at their own explanation, walking past Eda and plopping themself down on the ground in the corner. They fluffed up the pillow behind them, making it a better cushion for their back.

“Well? Is it different?” Eda inquired, mildly curious.

They paused, seemingly forming a more specific answer before talking again. “It’s less strict, for sure… And the uniforms are a lot more comfortable. Aside from that, it’s the same classes, and I’m still doing bard magic, so… Not really?”

“Huh. I thought for sure a fancy private school would have something more to it, y’know? Like… I don’t know—” She made a vague gesture with her hands. “More classes? Maybe more coven choices aside from the main nine? Not that I really care. The coven system’s full of it as far as I know, but for a privately funded school, I assumed there’d be more than just what’s required.”

Raine lightly chuckled at Eda’s comment regarding the covens, shaking their head. “No, not exactly… Honestly, the most notable part of the whole thing is the cost to attend. The teachers were either really good or really bad too, which made at least half of the school day unbearable.”

“You’re telling me that the teachers at Hexside aren’t annoying?” Eda hopped up onto the desk, letting her legs dangle off not too far from the ground. “I swear, each one of them has a different catchphrase that gets repeated every single class! It’s so irritating!”

The bard was quiet for a few moments longer before shrugging their shoulders. “They aren’t that bad. Maybe it’s because you get into trouble all the time…?”

“Well—” Eda stopped, her lips parted as she tried to come up with a reasonable protest. “They’re asking for it! Their rules are stupid! And the classes are stupider! The whole school system sucks, if you ask me.”

Raine tilted their head to the side. “The potions track doesn’t interest you at all?”

“ All the tracks interest me, Raine,” she said with a scoff. She pushed herself off the desk, pacing around and making grand gestures with her arms as she spoke. “It’s not fair that we’re only allowed to choose one! And then what? You join a coven so that you’re even more limited in what magic you can practice? You realize how dumb all of this sounds, right?”

They hummed, although she couldn’t really tell if it was in agreement with her. “When you put it like that… It kind of does sound messed up.”

“ Exactly my point!” She exclaimed, snapping her fingers. “And there’s nothing we can do about it either! The only reason I haven’t been kicked into the detention pit or suspended is because I helped give this school a good reputation all the way back then!”

“So… what? Is there a plan you have in mind to deal with this, or…?”

“I mean, unless I can do something more about the space past that empty room’s chalkboard…”

Raine shook their head, quickly interrupting whatever Eda was about to suggest. “I would advise against that. A good word put in from a coven head will only get you so far! The last thing I want is for you to get into big trouble before you graduate.”

She paused for a few moments, going over their words. Then, she shrugged. “I mean, I’ve already started it, y’know. I’ve been in and out of Principal Faust’s office and detention pits and rooms since before the competition—I know my way around! It’s only every now and then that I actually get caught.”

Raine stared at her for a few moments, their sage-colored eyes staring at her from where they sat. She never really acknowledged how pretty they were. It reminded her of the Boiling Sea, except less threatening.

“... I guess that’s fair,” replied Raine defeatedly. “Just… be careful, okay? It’s weird seeing you in trouble all the time.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can count on me!” Eda offered a grin, hoping that would be enough to soothe the teenager’s worry. “And y’know, if you’re so concerned, you can always just teach me some bard magic so I won’t go sneaking into your classes anymore.”

“You’ve been sneaking into my classes?”

At that, she snorted. “What do you think I do in that secret room in the school? The gossip is nice every now and then, but I like actually listening to all the magic stuff too. Most people think that I can’t even do potion spells because I’m not always in class, but I passed the most recent exam with flying colors!”

“So… If I asked you to whip up any potion, as long as you had the ingredients, you could make it?”

Eda shrugged nonchalantly, although her face lit up with a grin. It’d be a lie to say she knew how to make any potion ever, especially without a recipe accompanying whatever request came, but it sure as hell made her sound cool.

“What, do you want me to blow up part of the library? You’ll have to give me a few days, if so,” she said with a giggle.

Raine chuckled too, and that in itself made her happy. It was nice to see them smile, their teeth peeking past their lips. They shook their head, having to push up their glasses to keep it from falling off.

Adorable.

“No, I’m good. Actually, that reminds me,” they stand up, grabbing onto the table to help steady their balance. "You asked why I brought you here, right?"

Eda nodded, slightly skeptical. She crossed her arms. “Yeah, I did. What are you getting at, Raine Whispers?”

Raine rolled their eyes at her jokingly accusatory tone. “I needed some help clearing out this room… Since we’re graduating in a few months, I wanted to clean out my things so this place is free again, y’know?”

“ What? Are you insane!?” She hadn’t meant to raise her voice so loudly. Raine didn’t seem phased by it, but hearing her own voice ring in her own ears after keeping mostly quiet certainly startled her a little. “This place is a literal goldmine . Nobody knows about it, except you, me, and maybe the people who work here, and it’s a good place to focus! Albeit, a bit small, but…”

Eda paused, shaking her head.

“You cannot be serious about giving this place up!”

The teenager pulled a random book off the shelf, looking over the title of it and skimming its contents. “Why not? It’ll be good for the library. I found this place when I needed it to focus on studying, especially because both of my moms get a little loud sometimes, and I think it’ll be useful for the next person who finds it!”

At their explanation, she paused, carefully considering their words. Then, her heart warmed.

Personally, she would have easily snatched the place for herself, and kept it hidden for as long as she could. Any loser that wanted to take it for themself would have to fight her for it! Finders keepers, losers weepers! And taking in the fact that she herself was pretty well versed in spells, she figured it would be an easy win on her part, granting her the freedom of keeping the room.

… Of course, libraries still weren’t really her thing—they never would be, certainly—but given the opportunity, she knew she’d do something along those lines.

But Raine…

“... Is there something on my face?”

Eda shook her head suddenly, warmth creeping up upon her cheeks. She hadn’t realized she was staring. “No, you’re good. I just… That’s actually really nice of you. Never thought of it like that,” she admitted with a shrug, then laughed. “You’re always like that, y’know? Considerate and all.”

Raine tilted their head. “I am?”

She shot him a pointed look, almost dumbfounded by such a simple reply. “Yeah? I mean, you’re not a pushover, for sure. It’s not like you’d cave if someone kept pestering you to do something you didn’t want to do, but… You’re not selfish. Nobody’s asking you to give up this room, but you just… are. It’s… I dunno.”

“I’m not following… Are you criticizing me?”

They were smiling, despite their confusion. Part of her wondered if they were messing with her, but she still found herself wearing a small frown. The embarrassing flushed color on her face forced her to turn away, rolling her eyes and casting her gaze elsewhere in the room.

“Come on, Raine. You know I’m serious,” she responds, shaking her head. Still unable to put her words together, however, she found herself wildly gesturing to illustrate her point. “You’re just… really cool for that, I guess. I don’t know how else to say it.”

They stared at her for a few moments, still wearing that stupid grin. She glanced over at them, but it didn’t seem like they noticed. It was almost like they zoned out.

“... Did you hear me?” Eda asked, interrupting the little silence between them. She kept her voice quiet; maybe if they didn’t hear her, she could just switch the topic right after. That was a good plan.

Or it sounded like a good plan, up until the very moment she saw Raine nod.

“Yeah, sorry,” they replied, laughing a little. “You just looked cute saying that.”

She opened her mouth, eyebrows furrowing at such a dumb excuse—before realizing she didn’t really have anything exactly clever to say back.

“... But thank you,” Raine added, clearing their throat. “You’re sweet too, I’d say. When you want to be, anyway.”

Now there was something Eda could reply to. She snorted, throwing her head back so far she nearly lost her balance—as long as it hid her embarrassment, however, she didn’t mind. “Hah! You know you love me for it!”

“I guess I do,” they joked, dusting off their sleeves and grasping onto part of the nearest bookshelf for support. Before they could pull themself up, however, Eda quickly offered a hand out for them to take, leaning forward so it wouldn’t strain Raine to accept the help.

They paused, then placed their hand on top of hers. “Thank you, love,” is all they say, promptly catching her off guard.

“Love?” She repeats, teasingly. It’s not the first time she’s heard them say it, but it’s still funny to hear nonetheless. “You sound like your mom.”

Raine’s face flushes just a little as she pulls them up. “... It’s a common pet name, Eda. It’s nothing new,” they reply, shaking their head. They use their free hand to adjust their glasses, looking elsewhere in the small room. Quickly changing the subject, they clear their throat. “But anyway… Are you helping me, or did I invite you here for nothing?”

For once, Eda decided to spare them even more embarrassment. “Right, right! You got it!”

They nodded, letting go of her hand and gesturing to the other side of the room. “Alright. The folded boxes are over there—there isn’t much to pack, but Mom insisted I take more, just in case.”

She mirrored their nod, humming in response. “Gotcha! Let’s get to work!”

“This is so stupid.”

Raine casted her a look of understandable concern as she said it, and it didn’t make Eda feel any better. They gestured to the purple couch that sat in the middle of the Whispers’ Household, one hand placed on her shoulder so she could use them as support.

“Please just… sit down, love,” they urged, their voice holding that same tone of worry that anyone else would give her whenever things like this happened. It made her feel sick.

She rolled her eyes as nonchalantly as she could manage, pulling away from the mint-haired teenager and hopping onto the couch. When she bounced on the cushion, she was only greeted by a surge of pain in her ankle that caused her to hiss, despite her insistence that nothing hurt.

“Eda…!” They were quick to take a seat next to her, carefully reaching for her leg. “Are you alright? Let me see.”

At first, she instinctively moved away, golden eyes widening in the slightest alarm. They seized their movements, eyebrows furrowing in clear confusion. Their eyes met hers, and all she could do was carefully move one hand to cover up the few feathers poking through her skin.

But they had noticed. They were just as observant as she was, sometimes knowing so much more than they initially let on, but the way those sage eyes flicked to her slow movements was all it took for Eda to know she was screwed.

They squinted, even though they were wearing their glasses. "Did… you get attacked by a griffin or something?" They asked, almost in disbelief at what they were seeing.

Still, she found herself nearly relieved by the conclusion Raine came to, latching onto the idea desperately. It was a far simpler explanation, something more understandable than having to reveal she had been keeping some secret hidden, all out of a desire to not be chased off once again. She wasn’t scared—no, that’d be stupid—but she despised the look people gave her. Even if she didn’t care how much she was feared, the feeling associated with those looks of disgust was enough to drive her insane. The idea that if people found out that the rumors of the mysterious individual who showed up to the Emperor’s Coven tryouts were about her was sickening. The fact that if they found out it was Eda Clawthorne, already known for being a problem child, it would put her family in harm’s way potentially too… She couldn’t stand it.

And she was willing to do whatever it took to avoid that possibility.

Her eyes widened, almost as if taken back by Raine’s guess, though it was all fake. Eda wasn’t new to lying, certainly not, but there was something different about it this time. She felt guilty , which wasn’t something that happened often, but Raine couldn’t know. They really couldn’t.

“... Aw, you got me,” she replied, snapping her fingers in an attempt to brush it off. The quicker they moved on from what had exactly happened, the less awful Eda would feel about the whole thing. She forced a laugh. “You know how it is. It’s not as bad as the time I fell off Owlbert while super high in the sky, so I’ll be fine!”

They didn’t seem pleased. “You were limping.”

“And? I fell down, big deal! You’re taking this too seriously, Raine,” she replied with a shrug.

“That’s because it is serious!”

If there was one thing Eda learned after knowing Raine for so long, it was that they didn’t yell very much. She was normally the louder person of the two, more or less due to her problems with her own volume control, but their partner was a whole other story. They laughed a lot, and they could keep their tone straight if the situation called for it, and if they had to yell, there was a good reason for it—and knowing that, it was no wonder her heart began to pound harder.

But then, their expression softened, and their shoulders slumped down a little bit. “You just… ran off, suddenly. I lost you for a few minutes, and then I found you in some random alleyway on the ground. I— I don’t know what happened.”

The whole time, their gaze hadn’t let go of Eda’s attention. It was normally easy to distract her, especially when there were other things to look at in the room, but surely, not this time. She dryly swallowed, trying her best not to look away.

Yet for once, the words didn’t come to her naturally. She was drawing a blank. Her lips parted, but no sounds came out. No lies were formed on her tongue, and no answer for Raine’s worries.

Maybe Raine had noticed her silence. They probably did, considering the fact that they only let out a breath they were holding and got up. For a few moments, they didn’t say anything at all, and that in itself made her uneasy. Since when did she respond to other people’s actions like that? Even the slightest of movements were keeping her on edge… and she knew it wasn’t like her. She would know better than anyone, of course.

“I’m going to grab the first aid kit my mom keeps in her room,” they said, glancing at her.

All she could do was nod, and then they exited the living room.

She waited a little bit, staring at the door and waiting for the other’s footsteps to not sound so close. Once it was quieter, she threw open the flap of her bag, digging through the contents for the temporary fix she’d found while her own mother attempted to continuously buy into the false promises of people who swore they could cure her. After a few years of handling this whole thing, allowing it to take shape in her everyday life despite every attempt to stop it from doing so, she figured that this was just something unfortunate that had to happen to her. It was stupid, without a doubt, but she didn’t have a choice. And Eda was used to not having a choice sometimes.

Even when she told her mother she didn’t need to worry about it anymore, she never listened. Before everything, she had noticed that all she ever did was focus on Lilith, mainly due to the fact she was the star of the two sisters; the one who set the standard for both of them. For whatever reason, her mother had been convinced that if Lilith kept up her good behavior, that she would soon follow—and she did, but it was never in the way others wanted her to.

And now, all her mother ever did was focus on Eda, on “fixing” her because of how awful all this was. It was sickening to be coddled, especially after she’d figured out how to manage with the curse, but it never got through to her. The longer she dwelled on it, the more upset she felt—but now was no time to linger on it.

With a practiced hand, she popped open the elixir bottle with her thumb, the cork falling onto her lap. She took a few sips of the golden liquid, saving the contents just in case she needed to drink more before she could have access to Hexside’s ingredient stash again. It tasted awful, as it always did, but it did the trick—the remaining feathers that poked through her skin sunk back in, almost as if it simply resided under it. The thought made her want to gag, though, so she shook her head.

Of course, the elixir didn’t do anything about the wounds on her legs, which was unfortunate. If she could get back up on her feet, then that’d help soothe Raine a little. She didn’t like seeing them worry.

When she heard movement outside the living room again, she shoved the cork back into the bottle and stashed it back into her bag, peering down at the amulet on her neck just to make sure it was doing its job. As expected, the amulet was a pale yellow. It was one of the few things her mother got for her that actually helped.

Still, Eda found herself slowly getting tired of yellow—bright, sunshine yellow, that always seemed to indicate glee and joy. She knew it was only because that was the color of the potions’ magic, something far out of her control, but it only proved to be a reminder of how much of a problem she was. It didn’t hold that cheery, positive glow to it, nor did it hold the energy of a tempting, burning fire. It was just… yellow. Like her eyes. Like the amulet. Like the potions.

Raine set a small box of supplies on the couch between them. At closer inspection, Eda could spot the Healing Coven’s sigil on the sides. There wasn’t much inside, though—just a few boxes of varying bandage sizes, a liquid that would help clean her wounds, and a patch of fabric to wipe the cleaning agent later on. It was nothing too fancy, and that was nice.

“Did you throw out some of the feathers?” They inquired, glancing over at the garbage can. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be standing up and moving… Take it easy, okay, dear?”

Going along with it, Eda slowly nodded. “... Fine. I was only trying to clean up a little, though.”

“And I appreciate it, I really do.” They cautiously reached out, placing their hands on top of hers. She didn’t flinch away this time, her eyes trained on their movements. “... But I’m worried about you , Eda. Is everything okay?”

It was clear that, for whatever reason, they didn’t fully believe her still. Despite it, she gave the same toothy grin she always did, while doing her best to sound genuine. She may have been lying a little bit, but with complete certainty, it meant a lot that Raine cared.

“Yeah… Everything’s fine, I swear,” she replied. “I got hurt, sure, but it’s not that bad. And plus, I’ve got you, don’t I? You wouldn’t leave me behind. I mean, look at you—you’re more freaked out about this than I am, and I’m the one that got attacked by some random griffin.”

At that, they chuckled, a small smile spreading across their face. “That… does look a little dumb now, doesn’t it?”

“Not really,” Eda said, removing one of her hands from the warmth Raine’s had provided. She reached over, lightly poking their cheek in jest. “It’s really nice of ya. I appreciate it, Dimples.”

Their grin disappeared, instead being placed with a look of feigned offense and slight embarrassment. “That nickname again? And here I’d thought you’d stop calling me that…”

“Aw, come on! It’s cute, y’know.”

“Am I going to be stuck with this until I lose my dimples…?”

She paused, staring at them as if deep in thought. Raine only returned the gaze, clearly seeing past the act. It took a lot out of her just to not laugh at the way their lips formed a straight line, seemingly unamused by her act.

Then, out of the blue, she shrugged, dropping the façade. “I dunno. Guess you’ll have to find out if they fade when we get older!”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You still love me!”

They sighed, rolling their eyes, though she could see the corners of their lips turn upward. It wasn’t enough for her to see their dimples again, but it was good enough. “I guess I do. Now, could you please give me your leg? Your injuries are going to get infected if we don’t clean it up.”

Raine lifted their hands off of Eda’s, moving back just a little so there was enough distance between the two. Carefully, she raised her foot, chewing on the inside of her cheek when one of her wounds brushed slightly against the couch’s cushioning—it stung from when the owl beast crashed into the corner of the building, and somehow, miraculously, only her legs sustained the injuries.

The only thing that got her back to her normal state before Raine found her was a drop of elixir, one of the bottles she carried having been smashed on the ground. She wondered what would have happened if she had been a minute later. Who would’ve spotted the hideous creature this time? Would it have been Raine, or someone else entirely?

She hissed in pain when they poured some of the liquid over her skin. Part of her had meant to swear, but her voice died out before something coherent could escape her lips. Nonetheless, she gripped the sleeve of her sweater, the article of clothing ripped and torn in various places.

Raine quickly grabbed the piece of fabric in the box, gently patting the area around each wound. They were careful not to hit the exposed areas, but they made sure to wipe down as much of the dried blood as possible. Even if it continued to sting, Eda didn’t make much noise otherwise. She just watched, silently; they simply worked, quietly.

When they wiped off the last of the dark red substance, they looked up again, pushing up their glasses with the back of their hand. They used their thumb to point to her other leg, clearing their throat.

“Could you…?”

Without them needing to finish their sentence, Eda nodded, carefully lifting her other foot onto the couch. She slowly adjusted herself, scooting further back so both of her legs were comfortably propped up in front of Raine. They repeated the same process, pouring some of the cleaning agent onto the other leg’s wounds. The same stinging came with it, but this time, she only responded to the pain by harshly biting her lip, which somehow made it hurt a little less.

“Did you get hurt anywhere else?” Raine questioned as they wiped down her leg once more, dragging the cloth between each individual scratch and scrape gently, every movement filled with a sense of care that made her smile when she thought about it for too long. That, paired with the soft tone in their voice that indicated the same concern that always sickened her coming from anyone else, made her chest swell.

“No… Just one really bad fall,” she replied. “Y’know, I’m real lucky these sleeves didn’t rip again. Must have been all the times I’ve had to sew patches to fix it before!”

“I’m glad, then,” they said with a nod, then paused. Even though they were looking down, she very easily spotted the way their eyes widened in realization. “... N–Not about you falling. I’m glad that you’re not too injured aside from this, not… yeah.”

Eda giggled, closing her eyes to avoid tearing up from laughter. "You’re fine," she assured them. They always did overthink a little too much…

“But speaking of injuries…” She continued, opening her eyes again. “Why’d ya take me back to your house instead of… I dunno, finding someone who knew about healing magic? I mean, I know some, but the only thing I can really do is make a shield, which… doesn’t help much in the aftermath.”

Raine was quiet for a few moments, having reached into the small bin and grabbing a box of large bandages. At first, Eda had thought they were avoiding the question, but before she could call them out on it, they spoke again, the words flying past their tongue:

“...I wanted to take care of you myself.”

Eda blinked, dumbfounded by the simple reply. “What?”

“I don’t know, I just—” They paused, pulling one of the bandaids out of the box. “It was kind of my first instinct, I guess. My mom’s part of the Healing Coven, and I was expecting her to be home, but I happened to be wrong. And besides, my other mom insists it’s better that wounds heal naturally. It’s slower, but it heals properly… and sometimes, you get a scar out of it, and I know you of all people would think that’s cool, so…”

They trailed off, not meeting her gaze in favor of peeling back the large bandaid and placing it on one of the scratches. The cotton part was big enough to cover the entirety of it, thankfully. "It… probably sounds dumb, sorry," they added, clearing their throat.

Eda was quick to shake her head. “Are you kidding? That’s like… I mean, yeah, if you asked literally anyone else, it would have been smarter to take me to some stupid professional who’s taken the classes, but the scar thing sounds neat as hell! And hey, I’d trust your parents’ judgment over some Coven System kiss-ass any day.”

“Seriously…?” Raine looked up at her, finally, pushing back some of their hair out of their face. “They’re both part of a coven, though. What makes them any different?”

“Well, duh? They’re your parents?” Eda responded with a nonchalant shrug. When they returned with a confused stare, she continued: “If those people are the ones who raised the Raine Whispers, one of the coolest witches in all of the Boiling Isles, then of course I’d trust them! I trust you, and you’ve trusted them your entire life—what’s the difference, y’know?”

They were quiet for a few more beats, then laughed.

“That’s nice, at least. I still don’t know much about your family, but if you can trust mine, that’s good enough!”

Eda didn’t say much after that, simply returning with a smile. The way they looked at her with such utter adoration, even without saying anything, made her heart melt in a way that felt too cheesy to ever express out loud. In fact, had it not been for them currently placing bandages down to keep each injury from getting infected, one-by-one, she surely would have begun to kick her feet out of excitement. If Raine asked, she would surely become embarrassed instead, but that wasn’t the point.

Though, the longer Eda thought about it, the more guilty she had felt for lying. It wasn’t that she had malicious intentions, of course not, but she still lied. And Raine still believed her. And even if she felt bad, she knew this was for the best—nobody else needed to know about her curse. If the secret ever escaped the walls of the Clawthorne family, and those her mother paid to help whilst staying quiet, then everything Eda had ever known would be screwed.

It was for the best, Eda hoped, and so, she stayed silent, allowing the moment to remain as it was.

Eda paused, the hallway dead quiet as always. What on earth could she say?

“... Do you remember the play we were in back in high school?” She inquired. As expected, the silence was her only answer, but Eda could pretend the puppet of Raine Whispers had said something anyway. “Because I sure do. You were so excited for it, wouldn’t shut up about it for days.”

The woman chuckled, placing her hand on her forehead. “We studied the lines together outside, because you said you noticed I was able to focus better like that. I thought you were pulling my leg, but it helped a lot. We also got to act it out a little, which helped me remember it better too. You were so dramatic during rehearsals—everyone thought you were really good, and they were right to think so. You killed it at auditions! We both did.”

At the recollection of the memories, Eda felt her chest grow heavy. As much as she tried to keep it together, she couldn’t help getting sentimental. That’s what she gets for thinking about those old days, she supposes—back when everything was just a little simpler; when everything was just a bit easier.

Titan, this would be easier if she had some apple blood.

“You would have killed it on opening night, too,” she said, her voice falling quieter; less prideful. “You were so excited. You kept quoting lines left and right, so much so we were basically practicing a scene line-by-line by lunchtime.”

Eda frowned, almost hesitant to keep on talking. It’s not like they hated talking about it, certainly not, but it felt cruel to talk about it as if it were a fond memory. “... And then you just… froze up on stage. We tried to cue you for your line, improvising small talk so the audience would think it was part of the show and all, but then you ran off. I followed after you, remember? The backstage crew kept yelling for both of us to come back, but we kept runnin’, and I found you sitting near some of the lockers. You were crying.”

She wasn’t sure what she was doing, telling the story to Raine as if they couldn’t remember the full thing. She was just talking, letting words flow freely past her lips, even if she hated how uncharacteristically sullen her voice was.

“I didn’t know how to help. Lily would have said something about preparing more in the future, but I know better than anyone you were ready that night. All you did was take one look at that audience, and everything just… went out the window! That wasn’t something ya could have prepared for at the time. I tried to reassure you, but you kept on sobbing. I’ve never seen you so upset in my entire life. I couldn’t say anything else, so I stayed quiet and tried to comfort ya the best I could. I don’t know how much it worked, or if it helped at all to begin with.”

Her gaze fell elsewhere. “And yet, somehow, the next day you showed up and brushed it off. You weren’t any better than me, y’know—you said it was fine, but the next time we had a presentation in class or something, you froze again. Didn’t cry, but you looked like you wanted to run off. Sometimes I think ya only stayed because you knew I didn’t memorize most of the glyphs and stuff… I did my best, though! Guess we both got our pats on the back for something, huh?”

There was a slight breeze in the hallway, Eda realized. She shivered at the cold feeling on her skin, though only slightly inconvenienced by it. Her sleeves only reached just above her elbow, which left the rest of her arm exposed.

Of course, there was no answer coming, so… she kept talking. Now that she started rambling, she couldn’t stop.

“... Y’know, sometimes I wonder how you reacted when you saw me on those wanted posters. You were quickly climbin’ the ranks, weren’t you? I can guarantee that you heard about me all the time, and ’course, that comes with hearing about the curse too. What’d ya think of me?”

Silence, once again. She figured this was a pointless talk from the start, but she had time to burn. Sleeping wasn’t something she wanted to do right now, so this was definitely a better alternative. Raine couldn’t respond to whatever she said, and as long as she didn’t think too hard about whether or not they’d be able to hear her, then she could talk all night—that is, assuming she wouldn’t run out of things to say. Eventually, she’d begin to rehash the same things over and over again, and it would frustrate her to not have anything new to say. She always hated repetition.

“When we met up again… you didn’t seem upset about it. When you saw what the curse could do, you just gave me some weird stare. Like it amazed you, or somethin’. It’s nothing to be in awe about—I’m destroying things, for Titan’s sake—and even now that we were trying to use the curse to our advantage, I just… I dunno,” she shrugged, standing up again, unable to keep still. It would be easier to move around than to sit there, overthinking every word that fell upon no one’s ears but her own in the end.

Eda stepped closer to the puppet again, eyeing Raine for any sign of response. “You weren’t scared of me that day either. What gives, Rainestorm? The owl beast looks cool as hell, don’t get me wrong, but…”

There was a lull in the one-sided conversation.

That day, she recalled Raine giving her a certain look while she was transformed as “ Harpy Eda” . That was the nickname she’d given it, because it certainly wasn’t some scary-looking beast anymore, but instead the result of Eda working with the curse as best as she could. They gave her this look that, even among the blinding lights of the Collector’s colorful stars, became the most vivid thing she could recall at any given moment. If anyone had happened to ask her about it, she thought she knew herself well enough to know that she would have replied with a laugh that radiated her usual confidence and mentioned how badass the whole look really was. She didn’t doubt that in her mind for one moment, because it did look incredibly cool.

Still, all things considered, she knew better than anyone that just because it was more “presentable,” didn’t mean that the reason people feared it, and her by extension, had suddenly disappeared. Part of her figured that had it not been for the whole situation with Belos, and then the Collector right after, she would have been subjected to the same weight of those wanted posters all over again. That was just the way things worked all this time.

For that to suddenly switch up as soon as Eda’s eyes had met their sage-colored ones—all while those blinding, starry lights reflected in their glasses—it surely caught her off guard, now that she had more time to think about it. In the moment, there wasn’t any time, every action pulled on impulse, but now that she had these empty periods of time where it was just her and the husks of people that they once were, it was hard not to think about it. It was the last time she had seen Raine moving on their own, alive and well.

Of course, that wasn’t to say they were dead—if they were, she wouldn’t be sure what to even do with herself—but going as far to say that they were alive right now was… a stretch.

“... Hah. You’re a real riot, Raine,” she said, breaking her own silence. “Afraid of public speaking… yet you’re not afraid of me . You didn’t even know if I could or couldn’t hurt you back then, and you just… still stayed there. You spent your last few moments protecting me, y’know? Most of the coven heads are full of it, but you’re the bravest of all of ’em. I mean it.”

Maybe that’s why she was fond of them from the beginning. They’ve always had that sense of tenacity, and it never had Eda bored. Even when they were hesitant to do something, they were able to push through.

At that, she was able to manage a small smile. No one would see it, but how could she not smile while thinking about them? It was something no one would catch her dead saying, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.

Despite knowing that King would absolutely worry if he found out, she placed her hand on the puppet’s shoulder. Unmistakably, it was like holding onto wood—no warmth radiated off the bard, and it didn’t fail to make her smile falter momentarily. She squeezed their shoulder gently, but of course, it wasn’t the same.

“... We’ll find a way to get you back.”

To desperately hope like that wasn’t something Eda found herself doing a lot. She usually jumped straight into things, figuring the situation out as she went—admittedly, it wasn’t the smartest way of going about problems, but things usually worked themselves out after a while. This time, though, she really couldn’t be sure. How do you turn a situation like this around?

Eda wished she knew.

But still, for now, even though she was certain Raine couldn’t hear her, she quietly added:

“I promise.”

Published April 6, 2023. (Archived December 28, 2023.)