Archive of Our Own

The first time Raine saw Eda after their breakup, they admittedly didn’t handle it well.

To be more exact, they fumbled a note of the song they were playing and accidentally set their own hair on fire.

“Wow,” Aline said, watching as they frantically stuck their head under a blessedly handy fountain. “You really weren’t kidding about that stage fright.”

“I, uh, yeah,” Raine said after spitting out fountain water, glancing around the plaza and feeling their cheeks flame. Objectively, there weren’t that many people looking at them, but they couldn’t help but squirm under the gazes of those who were.

Eda wasn’t one of them. Raine didn’t know how to feel about that. Realistically, she probably just hadn’t seen them, but –

There was always that but, with Eda.

Aline sighed, and Raine hastily dragged their attention back to her. They were still getting to know her – they were still getting to know everyone, really – but they did know that she was a consummate professional. Getting distracted by an ex in the middle of what was meant to be their first public performance probably wouldn’t go down well with her.

“Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes,” Aline said, and Raine blinked.

“What, really?” Raine couldn’t help but ask.

“Hey, stage fright is nobody’s friend,” Aline shrugged, and leaned against the wall behind her as she started to fiddle with her flute. “It’s okay to step back for a minute if you need to. And despite what your nerves are probably telling you, this isn’t an important job. I can play alone for a bit until you’re ready to come back.”

Raine wanted to protest, but running a hand through their dripping hair proved that they at least needed to tidy themself up before everyone started looking at them. They wouldn’t be able to handle that, and completely skipping out on their first job was probably worse than needing to step aside for a little bit.

“Thanks,” Raine said, and weaved around the edges of the plaza as the strains of Aline’s flute started up behind them.

They didn’t actually realize the direction they were headed in until they heard a quiet voice say, “Raine?”

They stopped.

“…Eda,” Raine managed, turning to her.

She looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful – Raine had thought, foolishly, that they wouldn’t react like this now, but if anything their heart was beating even faster than before. It was like they were being hit all over again with just how utterly beautiful she was, now that –

Now that she was no longer theirs. Right. They had to remember that.

Raine averted their eyes and managed to clear their throat. “…How are you?”

Immediately, Raine wanted to groan at themself. It had been three months since that day on the hilltop, three months since the two of them had spoken at all, and that was their opener?

“…Alright,” Eda said. She sounded as hesitant as they felt. “You?”

“I’m playing right now,” Raine said, gesturing back towards Aline, the strains of her flute twisting through the air, the slight shiver of Bard magic prickling against their skin. “I just stepped aside for a minute, because, um.”

They ran their hand through their hair again, and winced. They’d gotten their head under the fountain as quickly as possible, but there was no way there wasn’t at least some charring. The subtle stiffness they felt on their palm just confirmed it. Plus, of course, it was still dripping water onto their collar.

Not how they’d wanted to look when they finally saw Eda again.

“Yeah, I see that,” Eda said, and that made Raine look at her, because they hadn’t heard that hint of laughter in her tone for months and it suddenly hit them like a kick to the chest how much they’d missed that. “Get caught in a rainstorm, Rainstorm?”

“More like a calamity,” Raine couldn’t help but tease, mouth quirking up because Titan, they really had missed this so much.

Eda smiled a little as well, and Raine’s heart lurched at the sight, because they remembered every time she’d smiled like that, every time they had made her smile like that, and –

And then, just like that, her smile wavered and crashed to the ground. She looked away, and Raine felt that chasm between them open up once more.

“It was – it was nice to see you again, Raine,” Eda said, her eyes fixed on the buildings across the plaza. “You know how I feel about Covens, but – if you’re happy, that’s good.”

“I was happy with you,” Raine said, before they could stop themself.

Eda’s eyes flicked back to rest on them, and Raine found themself pinned. Her eyes could have that effect, they’d found. Something about the bright golden color, and the sheer focus she could bring to bear when she felt like it – it was like being stared down by the sun.

“And I ruined it,” Eda said, simply. Not in a self-deprecating way, just – stating a fact.

Raine opened their mouth to protest, but she arched an eyebrow and they fell silent.

She…wasn’t actually wrong about that. It was harsher than Raine would say it, but Eda had been the cause of their breakup. She had lied and evaded and kept secrets and refused to confide in them, refused to explain, when all Raine wanted to do was help. She had been so obviously hurting, bleeding out from some wound Raine couldn’t identify, and had just kept insisting she was fine.

She hadn’t been fine. Raine doubted she was now, either.

But she hadn’t told them what was wrong back when they’d had a right to know, and they didn’t even have that anymore. She wasn’t going to tell them now.

“I’m not upset with you, Eda,” Raine said at last, looking her in the eye. “And – I wish you all the best. I really mean that.”

Eda’s mouth curled up again, but this time it wasn’t the slightest bit amused. It just made her look…sad, in a way Raine had only glimpsed a few times before their breakup, before she would always try to hide it away from them. This had a melancholic edge to it they’d never seen before, though.

“Save your wishes for someone else, Rainstorm,” Eda said. “It’s over between us, remember?” She breathed once, in and out. “It’s over.”

Before Raine could say anything in response, Eda turned and walked away, and Raine was left alone in the plaza, rooted to the spot, watching as fire-bright hair disappeared into the crowd.

**********

It was almost a year before Raine saw Eda again.

One time, that would have been inconceivable. The two of them had been inseparable since they’d met, hardly a day going by when they hadn’t seen each other. Dating didn’t seem so much a possibility as an inevitability, and everyone around them treated it as such. Raine still remembered the look Eda’s father had given them, when the two of them had come back from their first date – it hadn’t been ‘you’d better treat my daughter right’ so much as ‘I know perfectly well you’ll treat my daughter right and I approve wholeheartedly; what kind of breakfast food do you like?’

He had actually said that last part out loud. Raine hadn’t been able to look the man in the eye the entire time rest of the time they’d been dating Eda.

Once, the idea of going an entire year without contacting Eda would have been an impossible thought. Now…well, it was just their life now.

That didn’t mean their life was terrible, or anything. Far from it. Eda may have railed against how the Coven system limited people, but it also formed communities. Raine fit into the Bard Coven like it had been made for them, or they for it. That had never really…happened, before. It was something of a shock to learn there was a place they could belong.

So Raine dove into the Bard Coven and never looked back. They met other Bards, and talked about music, and formed friendships, and found themselves thinking this is what it’s like to be home.

It was a good life. Not perfect, because nothing ever was, but good.

Raine only thought about Eda sometimes, now, in that wistful way where they wished things had gone differently but accepted that it couldn’t have. They hoped she was doing okay, that she too found somewhere she could call home.

And then it seemed like the Titan itself had answered Raine’s idle wishing, because one day, almost a year since they’d seen her in the plaza and just a few hours after thinking of her, Raine ran into Eda while out shopping.

As in, they literally ran into her.

“Oof!” Raine heard as they stumbled and tried to catch their footing. “Watch it, you –”

“Eda?” Raine asked before they could stop themselves, regaining their balance just in time to focus on –

That was Eda alright, stilling in surprise in the middle of rubbing her forehead. She blinked at them, and Raine hadn’t realized until now they’d forgotten the exact shade of her eyes.

“Raine,” she said, sounding just as off-guard as them.

“…Hi,” Raine said, grasping for words. Titan, they hadn’t felt this tongue-tied around Eda since asking her out on their first date. “Um, how have you been?”

“Oh, well enough,” Eda said, and the lightness in her tone was almost convincing. “I’m a regular businesswoman, now.”

“You are?” Raine said, intrigued. They leaned against the display of booberries. “What do you do?”

“Sell potions,” she said. “And some minor bric-a-brac, whenever I find some lying around.”

“…‘Lying around,’” Raine repeated, raising their eyebrows.

She smirked. “Oh, yeah. Amazing what people will just leave…lying around.”

Raine groaned, reaching up to massage the bridge of their nose. They’d more or less accepted this was coming, because it really had been only a matter of time considering Eda’s entire personality, but really? “You’re stealing, you mean.”

“Eh, if you want to call it that,” Eda said, inspecting her nails with a self-satisfied smirk and leaning against the wall of produce behind her. There was a glint in her eyes as she went on, like she was making a joke only she got. “I like to think of it as ‘recycling.’ You wouldn’t believe the snails I can get for something I fished out of the trash. Especially exotic trash.”

“So a conwoman too,” Raine said flatly.

“You bet!” Eda said, winking at them with accompanying finger guns.

Raine could only sigh. “I suppose I’m going to start seeing your wanted posters soon?” Out of the corner of their eye, they saw a passing witch pause, look between the two of them, visibly decide not to get involved, and scurry off.

“Any day now,” Eda said cheerfully. “I have my hopes up about getting one of the cooler handles. Maybe ‘Eda the Great One’ or ‘Eda the Spectacular’. You know, really boost my fame.”

Despite themself, Raine couldn’t stop their mouth from twitching. They shook their head to hide it. “Well,” they said, “I’ll keep an eye out.”

That made Eda pause, and she looked at them with an expression Raine couldn’t quite identify.

“You’re not going to say I should stop being a wild witch and join a Coven already?” she asked.

Now it was Raine’s turn to pause. “…What? Why would I do that? You’d hate being in a Coven.” She really would. The same things that gave Raine and so many others a sense of peace and belonging would grate on Eda, and there would be limbs lost by the end of the day, at minimum.

“Heh,” Eda smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah, I really would. Tell that to Lily, though. She keeps pushing for me to join her in the Emperor’s Coven.”

“…You’d definitely hate being in the Emperor’s Coven,” was all Raine could say to that. They didn’t know everything about the culture of the Emperor’s Coven, but what they’d heard didn’t paint an atmosphere that would mix well with Eda’s…everything.

“Yeah, I know,” Eda said, shaking her head. “I know.” She paused, looked like she was going to say something else, and then just sighed and looked away.

Raine thought about asking her if she was okay. Maybe she would decide to finally be honest, this time. Maybe she would actually answer.

Before they could decide, though, Eda shook herself and straightened up. “It was good to see you, Raine,” and the tone of her voice made it clear she was saying goodbye. She gave them a half-smile to soften it. “Be sure to remember me when you make it to Coven Head, yeah?”

“As long as you remember me when you’re the most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles,” Raine parried back, mirroring her half-smile.

There was a shadow that passed through her eyes, almost too quick to catch, before Eda gave a chuckle and a nod. She waved and sauntered away, humming a tune Raine didn’t know.

The unfamiliar music was almost enough to distract Raine from the shadow they’d seen, that brief moment where it looked like Eda was going to say something too heavy for their incidental chat. Raine knew what it was, because they’d almost said the same thing themself.

As if I could ever forget you.

**********

Over the next few years, Raine steadily gained prestige in the Bard Coven.

Raine had never really bothered with false humility – they were good at Bard magic, and they didn’t have a problem with showing it. Sometimes that inspired jealousy, but they did their best to be friendly enough to offset it (their stage fright problem seemed to help as well, oddly enough).

They became moderately popular in Bard circles, which was unexpected. Raine had never been unpopular, exactly, just…more or less in a category of their own, only really shared by a few others. Most prominently Eda.

Thinking about Eda was a rare thing these days, their mind having finally accepted her absence from their life. It still hurt, of course – Raine doubted it would ever stop hurting completely – but it was a dull ache now, the wistfulness of might-have-been and good-while-it-lasted.

Mostly, what triggered thinking about Eda was seeing her wanted poster. Sure enough, it had come out not long after their last encounter, and Raine couldn’t help but wonder what she thought about the appellation that had been slapped onto her.

‘Eda the Owl Lady.’ It was unique, Raine had to admit, but also a little odd. Owlbert was an owl, true, and Eda had been passingly interested in owls back in high school (which was probably why she had carved Owlbert as an owl, honestly), but really, basing her criminal name on it? That was a little much. Maybe Lilith had had a hand in it.

Raine was thinking that, inspecting the latest version of Eda’s wanted poster (a five thousand snail increase on her bounty, and didn’t Raine want to know what she’d done to provoke that) plastered against a building wall, when they heard, “Damn, they really showed off my best side, didn’t they?”

Instinctively, Raine’s mouth curled into a smile, because they just couldn’t not smile when they heard that voice. They turned and said, “Well, if it isn’t Eda the Owl Lady.”

“In the flesh,” Eda said, smiling right back. Raine was happier to see that than they would ever admit, especially around anyone in the Emperor’s Coven.

“You know, I should really turn you in, being an unrepentant criminal and all,” Raine said, leaning against the poster and crossing their arms.

“Can’t you spare a little mercy for an old friend?” Eda asked, and oh, the look in her eyes…

Raine remembered that look. They had loved that look from the moment they first saw it, the same way they had loved her passion and humor and brilliance and free spirit. The way they still did.

“An old friend, no,” they said. “But you? Of course.”

It wasn’t a particularly wise response, especially after three years without seeing each other, and from the look on Eda’s face she certainly hadn’t been expecting it. But, well. Eda didn’t have a monopoly on impulsiveness.

“Damn,” Eda said, and Raine would have believed the collected tone of her voice if not for the light blush in her cheeks. “You’ve still got it, Rainstorm.”

Now it was Raine’s turn to blush, and their heart thumped almost painfully at hearing that nickname. They honestly hadn’t been sure whether they would ever hear it again.

“So what have you been up to?” Raine asked, grasping for a conversational rope to pull themself out of the hole they’d dug themself into. They gestured vaguely to the poster. “Big things, clearly.”

“Oh, you know,” Eda said, looking at the poster. “This and that. Business is going well; I’m thinking I might start looking for houses soon.”

Translation: she was stealing and conning more than ever. Raine couldn’t even muster up the slightest pretense of surprise. They shook their head and could only say, “A house would be a pretty tempting target for the Emperor’s Coven. Be sure to get a house demon or something to go with it.”

“Naturally,” Eda said with a shrug. She gave them a look. “And you? What’s going on with you these days?”

Raine rubbed the back of their head. “Nothing much,” they said, and hesitated for a moment. “But…I’m thinking of maybe doing an album.”

It was the first time they’d said it out loud. It had only really been a quiet, secret thought before, something they’d fantasized about but never quite imagined as real. They could do it, of course – they knew perfectly well how good they were – but the thought of the amount of attention they could garner if the album was a hit was…intimidating.

But it was worth it to see Eda’s eyes light up. “An album? Damn, Raine, you’re moving up in the world.”

They gave her an embarrassed smile. “I guess so.”

“Always knew you’d get there someday,” she said, and oh, there was another look they remembered so well. The one that said she was remembering everything she loved about them.

“Are you okay, Eda?” Raine blurted out.

They winced at the bluntness of the words as soon as they were out. They’d had so long to mull over how to ask Eda if she was okay, years of time to word it just right, and then they’d just come out and ask her like that?

Eda’s face was briefly the battleground for half a dozen emotions at once – and then, to Raine’s surprise, her expression calmed, and melted into something softer, something very few people had ever seen from the infamous Edalyn Clawthorne.

“…I’m getting there,” she said. “Not yet, and not soon, but…someday. Someday.”

Raine let out a breath they hadn’t even realized they were holding.

“…Okay,” they said. “Okay, that’s – good. That’s good.”

“Yeah,” she said, blinking a couple times. “It is.” She smiled, and tilted her head in a goodbye. “See you around, Raine.”

“See you,” Raine echoed, and watched, once again, as she turned and walked away. The afternoon sunlight glinted against her hair, and Raine blinked and shook their head.

Strange. For a second, the way the light hit had almost made it look like there were a few silver hairs mixed in with Eda’s bright orange locks.

**********

“…I don’t suppose you can just ignore this?” Eda asked hopefully.

Raine stared at her, momentarily too surprised to answer. Then they gathered their thoughts together and sighed, deep and long and loud.

“You’re robbing the Bard Coven,” Raine said flatly.

Eda grinned from where she was standing amongst the sea of instruments. They were in one of the storage rooms underneath the main Bard Coven building, where members could put their belongings that were too unwieldy to cart back and forth from their homes every day. That, along with the security on the building, led to many Bards choosing to store their more valuable instruments and possessions here.

In retrospect, Raine should have guessed Eda would break in at some point. For all they knew, she was making the rounds on every Coven building, just to brag that she could. It would certainly be in-character.

“Do I want to know why you’re here?” Raine asked, partly to Eda but also partly to themself.

“That depends,” Eda said, tapping her chin with her staff. “What are your opinions on scams?”

“Negative,” Raine said, even more flatly than before.

“Even scams against people who really deserve it?” Eda asked, making her eyes big and pleading. It didn’t quite have the effect she was trying for, considering the poorly-concealed amusement on her face.

“Still negative,” Raine said.

“Really?’ Eda said, raising an eyebrow. “Because I remember you were right there next to me when I conned those jerks from Glandus into spelling out ‘Hexside Rulez’ for their cheer routine. And that’s just one example.”

Raine felt a blush climb into their cheeks, and cleared their throat. “That was in high school, Eda,” they said. “I’m an adult now.”

“Ugh, sounds horrible,” Eda said with a shiver. “So, back to my original question: any chance of you just walking away from this?”

Raine weighed their options, looking around the room. They didn’t have their violin with them, since they hadn’t thought they would need to bring it along on a quick trip to the storage room in the middle of the Bard Coven headquarters. Clearly they should have been more paranoid. If this turned into a brawl, they could snatch up one of the other instruments lying around, but fighting with someone else’s weapons was never a very smart move. It would resist them, realizing they weren’t its rightful owner, and the last thing they needed was a handicap if they were going to fight Eda, of all people.

From the amused look on Eda’s face, she knew exactly what they were thinking. She idly tapped a finger against her staff, subtly reminding them that she had everything she needed to win a fight.

Raine let out a breath, and mentally weighed whether they really wanted this to descend into violence.

“…If you leave without touching anything, I won’t say anything,” Raine said at last.

Eda regarded them for a moment, before shrugging. “Eh, works for me. I can always break in again later.”

“Please don’t say that in front of me,” Raine groaned.

“Oh, come on, you know I will,” Eda said.

They did know. They wished otherwise, but they did.

Raine just sighed again, and gestured to the door. Eda winked at them as she walked out of the door. Raine made sure to quickly glance through the room, but it wasn’t like they had memorized an inventory list for this particular storage room, so they honestly couldn’t say whether Eda had stuffed something small (or not-so-small) into her hair before they’d come along.

Oh, well. Getting Eda to leave without a fuss was enough of a victory for today.

Walking down the hallway, Raine finally took the opportunity to look at Eda properly, albeit from the corner of their eye. Sue them, it had been almost two years since their last run-in.

Eda looked as beautiful as ever, of course. Her hair was, if possible, even wilder than they remembered. Her eyes were sharp and bright. She walked a little differently, and it took Raine a minute to realize she was moving with the liquid grace of a natural predator, someone who feared no one because she knew she was the most dangerous person in any room she might care to enter.

…It was unfairly attractive. Raine cleared their throat and averted their eyes.

“I like the earrings,” they said, in an effort to distract themself from imagining Eda putting her increased confidence into action. Like. For example. If she decided she didn’t, actually, want to leave quietly without getting a little something in return, there wasn’t anything Raine could realistically do about that, right? Raine would have to go along with whatever she said. For the good of the Bard Coven, of course.

Raine managed (with so much difficulty they would never admit to anyone) to wrench their mind away from that train of thought just in time to hear Eda say, “Aw, thanks. They were a wedding gift.”

Everything stopped.

“You’re married?” Raine said, voice embarrassingly high.

They barely had time to feel the brutal death of dreams they didn’t even know they still had before Eda grinned, clearly enjoying herself. “Well, that’s a question for the ages, really. I don’t think it’d hold up here, especially since I was under a fake name and I’m pretty sure he was too. Plus it only lasted six hours before I ran off. But hey, he got his tax break, I got his wallet, it was a good day all around.”

“…Oh,” Raine said, feeling roughly forty emotions at once.

Eda must have heard at least a few of those emotions in their voice, because she glanced over at them. “Why, Raine,” she said, a sly look on her face, “Is there something you want to say about my marriage?”

They were almost at the entrance to the Bard Coven, the point where Eda would walk away. Again. Like always. And Raine knew that it was inevitable, they did, but…

It had been years. Years and years, and yet seeing Eda brought every one of those feelings rushing back, as if no time had passed at all. And she – well, she was at least acting like the same was true for her. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

They came to a halt by the door of the Bard Coven, and turned to Eda. She stopped as well, and she looked the picture of ease and grace, effortlessly calm and collected.

That was, if you didn’t notice she was looking at Raine with a focus just a shade too intense to be casual. Raine noticed, however. Even after so long, they could still read her.

“Actually,” Raine said, “I do want to say something.”

Eda’s eyes sharpened, and the tension in the air thickened until Raine could almost taste it.

“Oh?” Eda said.

“Yes,” Raine said. They took a steadying breath. “I –”

“Oh, Raine!”

Raine jerked their head around to see Aline rushing down the hallway. She smiled as she approached, and gave a brief nod to Eda before reaching out to tug on Raine’s sleeve.

“I’m glad I caught you,” she said. “Did you find it?”

“Find –? Oh,” Raine remembered. They had been sent to find a particular harp for tuning. It was the entire reason they’d gone down to the storage room in the first place. “Um, no, sorry.”

Aline frowned. “Really? Damn, I was sure it was there. Oh, well,” she clicked her tongue. “I’ll find it around here at some point. Are you ready to go?”

“Go?” Raine repeated, glancing nervously at Eda. Aline hadn’t reacted to her so far, but Eda’s fame had been steadily growing for the last few years. There was a decent chance Aline would recognize her if she spared a few seconds on it.

“To lunch, Raine,” Aline said, giving them an amused look. “It’s my turn to buy, remember?”

“Oh,” Raine said, chuckling sheepishly and rubbing the back of their head. Aline had been helping them put together their album, since she’d released a couple of her own. This was the fourth such meeting, and Raine had to admit it was nice to have a mentor in this sort of thing. “Right, of course, sorry. Um,” they glanced at Eda again, trying to be surreptitious about it.

There was still so much they wanted to say to her, and they felt that maybe – just maybe – the two of them might be able to work things out if they sat down and talked about it. For real, not just the occasional accidental crossing of paths they’d fallen into. It had been the better part of a decade, but – better late than never, right?

“…Do you want to meet up later?” Raine asked Eda, throwing caution to the wind. Aline wouldn’t think anything of the request, but Eda – Eda would understand the invitation.

Except something was off. Instead of the complicated mix of emotions Raine would have expected to see at hearing their question, Eda’s face was carefully blank and calm. She glanced at Aline, almost too quickly to catch, and rested her eyes on Raine.

“No, thanks,” Eda said, in a perfectly cordial tone Raine had frankly never heard from her before. “I wouldn’t want to get between anything. Bye, Raine. It was nice running into you.”

Then, before Raine could respond to that at all, Eda turned and walked out of the Bard Coven without looking back. Raine was so caught off-balance they could only stare after her, utterly bewildered.

…What? they thought, the only word their mind could conjure.

“Raine?” Aline said. “Who was that?”

Raine opened their mouth, helplessly looking between Aline and the door.

“…An old friend,” Raine managed at last, and felt the ache in their chest grow a little more.

**********

Raine released their album later that year. To their surprise, it was a hit.

And thus was born the bane of their existence: fame.

They didn’t get mobbed while walking down the street or anything, but they did gain a moderate amount of recognition, and the occasional request for an autograph. They turned down a couple of interview offers, but that had the exact opposite effect than they’d hoped, just adding ‘intrigue’ and ‘mystique’.

They had loved making an album, they genuinely had, but more often than not they had to wonder if it was really worth all this attention.

Which led to their next run-in with Eda taking place behind a dumpster in an alleyway, after Raine had ducked away from a man who was not shy about angling for an interview for his up-and-coming vlog. In desperation, Raine had whipped out their violin and summoned up a localized whirlwind, and escaped as the man tried to save his phone.

In Raine’s defense, the man had been livestreaming. Raine felt they really couldn’t be held accountable for the results of their entirely understandable panic.

The one thing they hadn’t foreseen, however (though that phrasing implied this entire thing had been even remotely thought out, which it was not) was that the alley they escaped into was already inhabited. By Eda. Who was now staring at them in surprise, since they had just skidded around the corner and almost crashed into her because they hadn’t thought someone else would be hiding behind a dumpster in a random side-alley, much less Eda.

Shame on them, really. They should’ve known.

Raine had three seconds to mirror her surprise, a tableau that probably looked hilarious from an outside view, before they heard the sound of footsteps running down the street. Instantly, the reality of the situation returned to Raine, and they pressed against the side of the dumpster, violin cradled in their arms, frantically signaling to Eda to stay quiet.

“Raine Whispers!” called the most persistent vlogger on the Boiling Isles. “Come on! Just one interview! It’ll make me famous! Help a guy out here!”

Pressing themself more firmly against the dumpster, Raine let out a breath. They glanced over at Eda, who looked entirely too amused. Raine made a face at her, and she responded with soundless laughter.

Yeah, that tracked.

Questions bubbled up in Raine’s throat – questions like why did you leave like that last time we met and I still want to talk but I won’t wait forever, what do you say and did you like my album and even is that silver in your hair – but they couldn’t say any of them without drawing the attention of the vlogger.

The vlogger who…was starting to come down the alley.

“Raine Whispers?” he said. “Are you down here?”

Raine felt like their panic was extremely justified, considering the circumstances. What if the man was still livestreaming?

Their panic must have shown on their face, because Eda’s eyes sharpened, and her expression turned thoughtful.

Then she winked at Raine, stood up, and twirled her staff as she walked out from behind the dumpster.

“Raine Whispers?” she drawled. “Well, I can’t say I’m much of a singer, but I’d say we’re a good match for attractiveness. Don’t you think?”

She flipped her hair. Raine did their best not to blush.

“Uh,” the vlogger said, clearly caught completely off-guard. “…Hi? Who are you?”

“Oh, my bad,” Eda said, putting a hand on her hip and leaning on her staff, totally at ease. “Eda the Owl Lady. And you are?”

“I’m – wait, Eda the Owl Lady?”

“Hey, no,” Eda said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s me, boyo. Get your own name. And while you’re at it, you got a reason for coming into my alley? It’s bad form to skulk around someone else’s stomping grounds, y’know.”

The vlogger didn’t seem to notice that one of the most powerful witches on the Isles had just indirectly threatened him. Raine’s estimation of the man’s intelligence dropped even lower. Instead, he actually seemed excited when he said, “You’re Eda the Owl Lady? Really her?”

“I know, I know,” Eda sighed fake-modestly. “Try to contain yourself.”

“Will you do an interview for my vlog?” the man asked excitedly.

That made Eda blink, and Raine along with her. They vaguely wondered if they should feel snubbed.

“An interview?” Eda repeated, darting a quick glance at Rain. They shrugged at her helplessly. It wasn’t like they knew the guy or anything.

“Yes!” the man said, gaining steam. “If I can interview you, my vlog will be a total hit! You’re one of the most infamous wild witches on the Boiling Isles, and you’re totally going to outstrip all the others soon enough!”

“Well,” Eda said, clearly pleased, and Raine couldn’t help but roll their eyes. “Flattery will get you everywhere, kid. Let’s talk.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” the man said “Oh, damn, wait till my parents see this! I can too make a living off this!”

“Uh huh,” Eda said, and shot Raine one last look, lifting her free hand slightly to give them a little wave goodbye. Raine’s hand lifted to return it automatically, and they did their best to convey their gratefulness for the save through their face.

Eda’s expression turned wry, and not a little fond, before she walked out of view, following the retreating sound of the vlogger’s gloating. Raine listened to the sound of footsteps until they faded away.

They crept out from behind the dumpster, violin held at the ready in case of any additional Surprise Vloggers (this was going to make them so paranoid, ugh), but there was no one. Slowly, Raine relaxed.

Well, they thought. Not how I expected my path to cross with Eda, but okay. Maybe next time we’ll actually be able to exchange words.

**********

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!” Eda shrieked as she raced down the street. She reached out and yanked on a stall’s support beam, sending the entire thing crashing to the ground and provoking screams from the stall’s owner and most people in the path of the flying wares.

The Golden Coven members chasing her screamed the loudest, being directly in the path of the collapsing stall. They were immediately buried, and Eda cackled as she leapt onto her staff and raced away, fiery hair streaming out behind her.

Literally fiery. As in, it was on fire. Eda didn’t actually seem to notice this, just laughing her head off as she disappeared over the top of the buildings.

Raine surveyed the scene in front of them – the buried Golden Coven members, the widespread destruction, the apoplectic stall owner, the faint scent of burning hair in the breeze, the apathetic bystanders who barely reacted to all of this – and let out a sigh they would never admit to being even a little dreamy.

It’s nice to see her having fun, they thought, and went home with their groceries.

**********

“Do I want to know?” Raine asked in an undertone, arching their eyebrows, as they took Eda’s hand and fell into the movements of the waltz.

Eda – dressed in a gown so beautiful Raine didn’t even care it was probably stolen, with a mask over her face that was probably the only reason she’d made it this far into the very high-status ball meant for notable Coven members only – smirked at them.

“Plausible deniability, Rainstorm,” was all she said.

Raine could only shake their head. They knew perfectly well that whatever Eda was here for, she probably wouldn’t be deterred by anything they could say. It was best to just go with it.

“Do you have time for a dance, at least?” they asked. The waltz was bringing back memories of all the other times they’d danced together, and Raine was selfish enough to want to revel in them.

“For you?” Eda said, the look in her eyes clearly saying she was thinking of those same memories. “Of course.”

They danced, and it – it wasn’t the same. It would never be the same. But it was easy, and it was wonderful, and it was the first time in years that Raine had felt so content around Eda.

The music ended, and they drifted to a stop. They stared at each other.

“…Thank you,” Raine said. “That was – nice. That was really nice. So thank you.”

Eda squeezed their hands, and blinked a couple times. “It was nice, wasn’t it,” she said, and maybe she meant it to sound flippant or cocky, but her voice came out too softly for that.

Raine could only smile at her.

Eda smiled back for a moment, before her eyes flickered to catch on something behind them. “Oh, I – I gotta go. Thanks, Raine.”

“Of course,” Raine said, and then Eda darted around them to plunge into the crowd. They half-turned to watch her go, their smile still lingering on their lips.

**********

Usually, Raine would have loved to hear the sound of Eda’s laughter. It had been – years and years, at least, since they’d heard it. They knew she was doing well – her steadily increasing bounty said that much – but they hadn’t actually seen her in person for far too long.

And yet. Of all the times they could run into each other, it had to be today.

Raine gritted their teeth, and quietly seethed as Eda writhed on the ground in front of them, laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing as tears streamed down her face, her finger pointed straight at them.

“I lost a bet,” Raine gritted out between clenched teeth.

This did not make Eda stop laughing. Actually, she seemed to laugh harder, though it was hard to tell since she had to keep gasping for air. Her face was tomato-red, probably matching their own, though for vastly different reasons.

Raine glanced around to make sure no one else was witnessing their humiliation. There didn’t seem to be, which was a small mercy. They had taken the back alleyways specifically to avoid people seeing them dressed like this, and it had actually worked pretty well. They’d felt very clever, taking a route no reasonable person would take, up until they had abruptly been given a very pertinent reminder of the least reasonable person they knew.

Said person, of course being the still-cackling witch on the ground in front of them.

“It was a bet,” Raine insisted futilely. They weren’t even sure why they bothered.

They could turn her in, Raine thought, almost wistfully. Eda was, uncharacteristically, completely helpless. She probably wouldn’t be able to react in time if they decided to capture her. And turning her in would bring them a lot of prestige in the Bard Coven. And maybe then she would stop laughing already.

…But they would also have to take her to the Emperor’s Coven while looking like this.

Raine sighed. Not worth it.

Which meant they had no reason to stay and listen to Eda’s still-ongoing laughter. Raine straightened, turned, and walked away. It was debatable whether Eda noticed.

One of those Titandamned ears flopped down over their eye, and Raine gritted their teeth and pulled it up again as they started plotting a better, even more clandestine route to the store. The bet had been to go to the store, not actually to go inside it, so theoretically they could get out of this without anyone (well, anyone else) seeing them. It was the one thing that gave them hope.

When they were safely back in the Bard Coven, Raine was going to burn this stupid pink bunny costume, and then they were going to think up their revenge.

**********

Time off was rare, now that Raine had moved up into Covenhead Twoheart's inner circle. They didn’t usually mind the heavier workload, because it gave them a better opportunity to investigate those irregularities they’d noticed a while back, but it was nice to take a break every so often.

It was especially relaxing to go out into Bonesborough and visit a nice little café, sitting at a sidewalk table sipping boolong tea and idly watching people as they walked by. Sometimes Raine entertained themself by making up stories about a particularly interesting-looking person, sometimes they focused on composing a tricky piece of music, sometimes they just luxuriated in the afternoon sunlight. It was honestly the best part of their week, and Raine sipped their tea as they listened to snatches of conversation that passed them by.

“Did you remember to get the tarp?” a witch said, chattering away on a crow. “And don’t forget we need extra sacrificial candles –”

“Oh Titan,” a teenage demon moaned, being patted on the back by a sympathetic friend. “Dad’s gonna kill me, I was supposed to –”

“Mama, Mama, Mama! I want that one, I want it!” a child’s voice came from behind Raine, across the street.

“I already got you a new toy just last week, King,” answered another voice, and.

And.

And that was Eda’s voice.

And she was answering the previous voice, the child’s voice, the one that called her –

“But Mama!”

“No, King,” Eda said.

“But – but,” the child’s voice said, climbing higher and threatening to turn into a wail. “But I want it!”

“Wait, King –” Eda said, and then her sigh was almost buried under the high-pitched squeal of rage and frustration that poured forth.

Raine couldn’t take it any longer. They turned around in their chair.

Sure enough, across the street stood Eda, in cloak that concealed most of her body. It had a hood as well, which covered her hair well enough that someone only passingly familiar with her bounty poster would probably overlook her. Her face was half-shadowed by the hood, and it made her look…older than she should have, considering she’d just broken forty alongside Raine themself. Still as beautiful as ever, though.

Most of Raine’s attention, though, was taken up by the tiny demon Eda was looking down at, who was shrieking like a teakettle at the top of their lungs upon being denied a new toy. Their exact age was unclear – frankly, their exact species was unclear – but their behavior pointed to a toddler.

Eda had a toddler with her. A toddler who called her ‘Mama.’

Oh dear Titan, Eda had a child.

Raine realized they were gaping. They tried to stop, with only partial success.

The toddler’s tantrum was drawing eyes, but Eda didn’t seem to care. All her focus was on her child as she crouched down in front of them.

“King,” she said sternly. “You promised you wouldn’t throw another tantrum if I brought you along today, remember?”

The child – King – let out another high-pitched squeal. Raine winced and rubbed their ear, and the number of disapproving looks from passerby increased.

Eda still didn’t seem to care, or even notice, the looks. She just tsked and straightened up, reaching into her hair. “Alright mister, nighty-night for you.”

That caused King to stop squealing, and he looked up sharply at Eda. “No!”

“Yep,” Eda said casually, rummaging around in her hair. She pulled out an enormous knife, which almost gave Raine a heart attack before she frowned and put it back in to rummage some more. “It’s nap time.”

King stomped his tiny foot. “NO! No naps!”

“Yes naps, kid,” Eda said. “I can’t have you throwing a tantrum whenever you see something you want, I have things to do today – ah! Found you!”

She pulled a backpack-like contraption out of her hair, and slipped it around her arms. It looked like it was on backwards to Raine, but maybe that was on purpose?

King jumped to his feet and tried to run away, but Eda caught him easily. She handled the squirming little demon like she’d been doing it for years, and wrangled him into the reverse-backpack.

The effect on King wasn’t instant, but it was remarkably quick. His eyes drooped, his flailing slowed down, and his squeaking dropped in volume. Within a couple minutes, he was fast asleep.

Eda chuckled to herself. “Damn, this thing is useful,” she said. She stroked a hand along the top of King’s head, and that…

Oh, Raine thought, as their heart flipped and squeezed inside their chest. Oh, she really is a mother.

Unaware of Raine watching from across the street, Eda pet her son’s head a couple more times before she rearranged her cloak to cover him, and set off walking down the block. Soon enough, she turned the corner and was gone.

And Raine sat at their table, staring after her, until their tea had long gone cold.

**********

The…irregularities Raine had noticed weren’t just particular to the Bard Coven.

In fact, from what Raine could determine, they were in every major Coven, and they suspected most if not all of the minor ones as well.

Raine was…not exactly surprised. It wasn’t exactly news that the Boiling Isles was fairly authoritarian. Possibly even somewhat totalitarian. It was just, well – Raine themself hadn’t been born until after the Emperor came to power, but most people who had lived through the Savage Ages agreed that even the Emperor’s worst habits were worth enduring after that.

Raine wondered if those people would still say that if they saw this. Because Raine couldn’t see the entire picture – not yet, not with so many pieces still missing – but the general outline of it was…unsettling.

Officially, wild witches were imprisoned, branded with a sigil, and turned over to the appropriate coven for rehabilitation after a stint in the Conformatorium. If they had a palisman, it was taken away as well, as a punishment for not joining a Coven sooner. It wasn’t kind, and Raine disagreed with it on principle because they knew many people (like, oh, Eda) were just fundamentally incompatible with the Coven structure, not to mention the cruelty of deliberately separating a witch from their palisman. But at least they were alive, and relatively unharmed.

Officially, anyways.

Because between the number of wild witches the Emperor’s Coven captured, and the number of new recruits that were funneled into the various Covens, there were…irregularities.

Irregularities that were hard to spot, that seemed to be deliberately hidden, that Raine themself wouldn’t have noticed if Covenhead Twoheart didn’t shove an annoying amount of her own paperwork onto them after they were promoted to handle more clerical work. But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because Raine doubted they would have gotten any actual evidence for their suspicions otherwise.

Raine didn’t know what was happening to those irregularities. Part of them didn’t want to know.

But they needed to.

Part of it was because, despite what some people said, Raine could be quite the malcontent when they wanted to be. Part of it was because, for all that the Bard Coven was their home, they knew perfectly well that it had its flaws – that just meant everyone had to work harder to fix those flaws. Part of it was because, despite how Raine was doing their best to distance themself from the problem, those irregularities were actual people, who deserved to have someone looking into what had actually happened to them. And part of it was because, Raine had to admit to themself, they were terrified what this would mean for –

“Well, if it isn’t Raine Whispers, musical genius of the Bard Coven,” came a voice from behind them, as if on cue.

Raine whirled around, jolted out of their thoughts, coming face-to-face with none other than Eda.

“Oh,” Raine let slip, staring at her. It was undeniable, now – Eda was definitely aging faster than she should have. Her hair was completely grey, barring a couple valiant but doomed threads of orange here and there, and the lines on her face were graceful but premature.

Her eyes were as sharp as ever, though, and Raine decided not to mention her condition. She undoubtedly knew what was happening, and undoubtedly got a lot of (unwanted, considering Eda) concern from people who knew her much better than Raine did these days.

“Well, if it isn’t Eda the Owl Lady, most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles,” Raine said, recovering quickly. They glanced around. “I have to say, this is the last place I’d expect to find you.”

Eda smirked, and glanced around as well. The Covention was in full swing, booths bustling and bright-eyes children and teens wandering around. Bards were playing in the corner, and Raine themself was slated to play later. Right now, they were helping out at the Bard Coven booth – not in front, because their covenmates had long learned that would only end in disaster, but they were busy working on everything behind the scenes. It was a little startling that Eda had found them, honestly.

“Know your enemy, right?” Eda said.

Raine raised their eyebrows at her. That was a dodge if they’d ever heard one. “Uh huh,” they said. “Is anything going to happen in the next few hours that I should know about?”

“Nah,” Eda said. “I wouldn’t want my name associated with this place.”

Raine rolled their eyes. “You’re usually a better liar than this,” they said.

Eda gave them a sunny, carefree smile. “Well,” she said, “usually I’m talking to suckers.”

“Mm,” Raine said, fiddling with a bent sign. They didn’t quite know what came over them, but the next words out of their mouth were, “Suckers, or your son, right?”

They might have well have slapped Eda across the face. She sucked in a breath, and the smile was wiped away into nothingness. Her eyes focused on them like a spotlight.

“…I, uh, saw you out and about with him a while ago,” Raine clarified, a little unnerved by the strength of her reaction. “His name is King, right?”

Slowly, Eda let out her breath, and her shoulders lost a bit of their tenseness.

“…Yeah,” she said after a moment. “King.”

“Okay,” Raine said. They set down the sign. “And from your reaction, I’m guessing you…don’t want to talk about him.”

“No, I…” Eda sighed, and her shoulders slumped completely. “I don’t mind. Not with you. I just – the Emperor’s Coven doesn’t know about him, or if they do they think he’s just a pet or something. And I don’t want them to think otherwise.”

“Of course,” Raine said at once. “Of course. They certainly won’t hear anything from me.”

“I know,” Eda said. “Thanks. That helps, it does. I just worry.”

Raine could probably count the number of times they had seen Eda actually worried about something on one hand. And the times she had actually admitted she was worried, and why, were far fewer than that. Seeing Eda so obviously caring about her son was…

“You’re a good mother,” Raine told her, sincerity threading through their voice. “King is a lucky kid.”

“He’s a pain in my ass, is what he is,” Eda said, but she couldn’t quash the fondness in her voice. “I swear, he gets brattier every day.”

Raine stifled a chuckle and privately thought that Eda’s parents were probably reveling in the fact that Eda’s son was just as much of a handful as she had been. They knew better than to say so to Eda, though, so they chose a different subject. “How old is he, anyway?”

Eda grimaced. “I don’t actually know, to be honest. He was just starting to speak when I found him, and it’s been…almost five years since then. Wow.”

“You – found him?” Raine repeated. King was clearly adopted, but Raine had thought that Eda had obtained him by…a scam gone wrong, or winning a card game, or something like that. But she’d just found him? Like he’d been abandoned? “Alone?”

“Yeah,” Eda let out a long breath. “Don’t know what happened to his parents or where he came from, or anything, and I kind of doubt I ever will. So. I took him home, and I’m…all he has now.”

“Oh,” Raine swallowed, an uncomfortable lump in their throat.

Unbidden, their covert investigation rose to the forefront of their mind. The wild witches that had vanished behind walls and walls of bureaucracy, leaving no trace.

Eda was the most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles, now. Regardless of the fact that she actually had a very low casualty count, the Emperor wouldn’t go lightly on her if she was ever captured. Whether she was imprisoned or disappeared or – or executed, she wouldn’t be able to go back home again.

And her son would suffer for it.

King was a child, probably no more than six years old, and Eda was all he had. If the Emperor killed her…

Raine swallowed again.

“Eda,” they said, and they didn’t quite manage to hide the emotion in their voice. Eda’s gaze sharpened.

“Raine?” She said, the implicit question clear.

“I…” Raine trailed off.

What could they say? Eda didn’t need more reasons to evade capture. She had to know perfectly well what it would do to King, and she had always been more distrustful of the Emperor. She almost certainly suspected she wouldn’t survive capture very long.

In the end, Raine could only manage a quiet, “Stay safe, okay?”

They could see the witty retort on her tongue, before she looked at their face again and swallowed it down. For once, Eda hesitated.

“…I’ll do my best,” Eda said at last.

Raine nodded mutely. They wanted more, but this was the most Eda could realistically give. All she could do was her best.

The chatter of the Covention swelled briefly, and Raine glanced out to see why. They couldn’t see much besides a crowd around the Construction Coven, though.

“I’d better go,” Eda said, drawing Raine’s attention back to her. “Things to steal, people to scam, you know how it is.”

Raine felt a smile tug on their face. “Alright,” they said. “Have fun.”

“Always do,” Eda tossed off as she walked away. “See you, Raine.”

“See you,” Raine echoed, and then she was gone.

**********

The BATTs were good kids, but they were still kids. Raine wasn’t going to cave to their desire to go public, because they were still so vulnerable. None of them quite agreed – not even Katya, who’d been in the Conformatorium and hadn’t learned a bit of caution from it – but thankfully they abided by Raine’s decision.

They were already dreading the day that the kids decided to push against the boundaries they’d set. The group was relatively new, less than a year old, and everyone was still finding their feet. But the kids were just as discontented and frustrated with the Emperor’s rule as Raine themself was, and much less inclined to be cautious about it.

Ugh. Starting up a covert rebel group working to usurp the Emperor of the Isles was much less glamorous than it sounded. Raine probably should have seen that coming, due to the sole fact that Eda hadn’t bothered to do it.

Speaking of Eda –

“The Owl Lady?” Raine asked, heading over to where two of their coven mates were talking. They’d only heard snatches, but they were certain they’d heard something about Eda.

The two Bards looked up, and both of them straightened when they saw their approach. Raine still hadn’t gotten used to that. Covenhead Twoheart’s health problems were an open secret among most of the Bard Coven, and Raine was the most obvious choice to fill the position. They knew that, and were even looking forward to getting access to even better resources for the BATTs. What they weren’t looking forward to, though, was all the attention that came with it.

But sometimes it was useful, such as when they wanted to know what people were discussing when it didn’t actually have anything to do with them. The female Bard – Raine only vaguely recognized her, so she must have been new – looked a little wide-eyed.

“You haven’t heard?” She asked. “About the Owl Lady?”

“No?” Raine said. “What did she do now?” Something that would lead to a bounty increase, judging by the look on the Bards’ faces.

“She was captured,” the other Bard said.

Raine’s heart skipped a beat.

“…Captured?” They said, throat suddenly dry. “How?”

It had to be a trick. Eda had evaded the Emperor’s Coven for decades; surely she hadn’t been captured now. It had to be some kind of scam, a con she was running with high stakes but even higher reward.

“She fought with her sister,” the female Bard said, tone colored with awe. “A full-on witches duel, right in front of the Emperor’s castle! My cousin is in the Emperor’s Coven, he saw it. He said the Owl Lady got there so fast it should've been impossible, and then she was actually winning, until her sister cursed her to turn into some sort of – owl beast thing, and then she was captured. He thinks – my cousin, I mean – he thinks she’s going to be petrified.”

“If anyone would be, it’s her,” nodded the other Bard.

Raine couldn’t breathe.

“I know, right?” the female Bard said. “She’s the most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles, so if anything would get the Emperor to do a petrification, it’s capturing her. I mean, what Coven would take her?”

“Way too dangerous,” the other Bard said agreeably.

Raine couldn’t breathe.

“Excuse me,” they heard themself say, and managed to walk away without betraying the turmoil inside their head.

They got to an empty practice room before they staggered, putting their hand against the wall to keep themself upright. For the first time in at least a minute, they sucked in air, and the black spots at the edge of their vision slowly receded. That didn’t take away any of the panic soaking through their mind, though.

Eda was captured. Eda was captured.

Normally, Raine would be less upset about this, because they knew firsthand that Eda had a knack for getting herself out of sticky situations. It would still be terrifying, but they could reassure themself with the knowledge that Eda was bending her considerable talent and charm to escaping, and the fact that her boast of being the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles might very well be true gave her escape pretty good odds.

But they couldn’t reassure themself with that. They couldn’t, because the younger Bard’s words were still swirling in their head.

Some sort of owl beast thing. Oh, Raine knew what that was.

Watching Eda’s transformation into whatever that thing was had been one of the most terrifying moments of their life. They’d thought they would get to see Eda and Lilith, two of the best witches they knew, go all out, and instead they’d witnessed their best friend being hijacked by some horrible monster. No matter that Eda had reassured them later that the curse had been brought under control – that moment would forever be etched into Raine’s mind. Especially because, as far as they knew, it was still a mystery as to who cast it.

And now – now, it seemed, the curse had resurfaced at the worst possible time. Whether or not the Bard’s words were accurate and Lilith had managed to intentionally trigger it (and Raine wanted to believe she hadn’t, because the Lilith they had known would never, but the Lilith they had known was thirty years gone and the woman they glimpsed at Coven Head meetings was a different person entirely), the fact remained that it had triggered. And now Eda was transformed into that thing, unable to formulate an escape plan because she didn’t even have her own mind right now.

Raine feverishly tried to think of something they could do. What could they do, what could possibly help her?

They thought, and breathed, and thought, and paced, and thought, and hyperventilated, and thought some more.

And they couldn’t think of anything.

The BATTs were growing in strength, but they weren’t nearly ready to face the full might of the Emperor’s Coven head-on. Raine was a shoe-in for the position of Bard Head, but they didn’t have it yet, or the access it would give them. The castle would no doubt be on lockdown, having just captured the most wanted witch in the Boiling Isles, and Raine would give themself only a fifty-fifty chance of managing to get in on a normal day.

And even besides that – did they even have the right to try and help Eda? Their relationship ended over twenty years ago, for Titan’s sake, and they’d only run into each other a handful of times since then. Barely half of those encounters had even contained a conversation. Surely Eda had other people willing to take up arms for her in her time of need, people who had more claim to her time and attention than Raine did, because Eda had always been charismatic and if she’d opened up enough to have a son then surely she –

Oh, Titan. Her son.

Raine’s heart skipped a beat. Again.

King was only…what, eight? Nine? Around there, Raine thought. Far too young to lose his mother.

…And far too young to be left alone, either.

Raine stilled at the thought.

It was…presumptuous. There was nothing to suggest King was alone. For all Raine knew, Eda had multiple continencies in place to call in a babysitter if she was ever indisposed, and someone to take him in if she was ever captured. They had no evidence King needed help.

But.

But Raine couldn’t see a way to help Eda. The least they could do – the very least – was to check in on her son.

Raine breathed once, in and out. And then they started off towards the Owl House.

**********

The general location of the Owl House wasn’t exactly a secret, per se. It was just that everyone politely pretended not to know, because otherwise they would have to go and confront the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles on her home turf. Raine had even heard that she’d recently defeated a full squadron of Emperor’s Coven scouts who’d had the bright idea of trying to go and arrest her.

Raine could have told them that wouldn’t work. They hoped she hadn’t thrashed them too badly.

So it didn’t take too much wandering to stumble across the house. Looking at it from the treeline, Raine had to admire the place. Eda had done well for herself. If this was the fruits of being a wild witch, maybe Raine had been a bit hasty in joining the Bard Coven.

After a second, Raine refocused on their objective. They didn’t know if it was safe to go right up to the door – Eda couldn’t have gone so long without capture unless she had a lot of security on her house – but they doubted a better approach was going to present itself. Steeling themself, Raine stepped out from the trees.

Instantly, what Raine had thought was an owl-faced decoration on the door snapped its eyes open. It – extended from the door, like a worm from the ground, and opened its beak.

“Hey, who are you?” it said, in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

“Uh,” Raine said, staring. They had known Eda’s security would probably be as eccentric as her, and yet they were still taken aback.

“Hm, let’s see!” The owl tube-thing said, twisting itself to look at them upside-down. “You aren’t anyone I know, so that must mean you’re an intruder.”

Its voice abruptly turned absolutely unholy on the last word, and its eyes flashed red. It reared up, and Raine squeaked and shielded their face.

“I’mheretocheckonKing!” they said, faster than they could ever remember speaking in their life.

They didn’t get instantly murdered, or even maimed, so after a moment Raine cracked open their eye and peeked past their arms.

The tube looked considering, which was a welcome change. It let out a long hmmmm, while eyeing Raine.

“Hold on right there, hoot hoot!” It said, and then dove back towards the house. “LUZ, KING! There’s someone outside!”

Raine stayed very still, in case the house demon took any kind of movement as hostile, but internally, they felt relief. King wasn’t alone. Whoever ‘Luz’ was, they must have been looking after him.

They did their best to look harmless, as faint voices answered the house demon. There was a short conversation they were too far away to hear, but a few seconds later, there was movement in the window.

King’s face popped up from the bottom. He was a little larger, but looked basically the same as he had when Raine had seen him on the street with Eda back then. A sliver of another face peeled out from the side of the window, the one visible eye narrowed in suspicion.

They pulled back, and a moment later King was snatched away as well. Another minute passed.

Then the door opened, and –

Wait. Raine’s mind stalled. Wait, why are there two children.

They blinked, but the scene in front of them didn’t change. Instead of King and a moderately responsible-looking adult, there stood King and a young teenager, who was brandishing a stack of – paper?

“If you think you can come here and arrest us, you’ve got another think coming!” the teenager yelled. She held the paper like a weapon, and – well, maybe it was, but Raine was more intimidated by the house demon wriggling through the air behind her.

Raine held up their hands and tried to push away their questions for the moment. “I’m not here for that,” they said. “I know Eda. I’m a –” a what? Contact? Acquaintance? Ex-lover? Probably not that one. “– a friend. I heard about the arrest and had to check on her son. Hi, King,” they added to the small demon.

He narrowed his eyes at Raine. “I don’t know who you are,” he said bluntly.

“No,” Raine admitted. “You don’t. Eda and I fell out of contact a while ago –” no need to mention exactly how long ago that was, nope, “– but I just heard about the arrest and I wasn’t sure if you were okay. And Eda would kill me if I didn’t even check.”

She would, too. Eda, if she could still think clearly while transformed, had to be worried sick about her son. If she ever learned Raine had the chance to check in on him and didn’t take it, they wouldn’t be surprised if she never spoke to them again. The thought made Raine’s stomach twist unpleasantly.

“And, I’m sorry, I don’t know you?” Raine asked the teenager. The house demon had called her ‘Luz,’ hadn’t it?

She still looked suspicious. “I’m Eda’s apprentice, Luz Noceda,” she said, as if challenging them to say otherwise. “And if you’re Eda’s friend, what’s your name, huh, mister?”

“Oh, sorry. Raine Whispers, Bard Coven. And it’s Mx., actually” Raine studied Luz with interest. They’d had no idea Eda had taken on an apprentice. That was – well, on one hand that was wonderful, because it meant Eda was flourishing. On the other hand, though, that was another child in the line of fire, and Raine had already been on the verge of tearing their hair out about King being involved.

Luz’s face showed surprise, and then changed to absolute mortification. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

They blinked at her. “…What? Why?”

“For calling you, um,” she waved her hand, clearly unwilling to go on.

“Oh,” Raine said, a little bemused. “It’s okay. It happens. And – wait, did you say ‘my god’?” They looked again, and – oh. Oh. Her ears were rounded. “Are you human?”

“You bet she is!” King said, puffing up his chest. “You’re talking to Luz the Human, bucko, so show some respect!”

“HOOT HOOT!” the tube-owl said, apparently just to be involved in the conversation. Luz waved it away, and after making a few faces it retracted into the door again.

“Oh,” Raine said, taking this in. They’d heard a few rumors about a human being sighted around the Boiling Isles, but they hadn’t put much stock into it. Clearly that had been premature. “Well. Okay. Are you…stuck here?”

“For someone who claims to be Mom’s friend, you don’t seem to know a lot about her,” King said, crossing his arms. “She’s had a portal to the Human Realm since forever.”

“She has what –” Raine said, before they caught themself and shook their head. “Wait, no, of course she does. Why wouldn’t she.” It was Eda, after all. Of course she would have a portal to the Human Realm, and take on a human apprentice. The real question was why Raine would ever expect anything less.

“Okay, okay,” Luz said, waving her hands. “We’re getting way off track here! We need to figure out how to rescue Eda!”

“What,” Raine said.

“Right!” King straightened up and put a hand on his chin. “I say we go with a direct assault on the castle. They’ll never see it coming!”

”What,” Raine said.

“King, that will never work,” Luz rebuked him. “What if we get ourselves arrested, instead? They’ll have to take us to where Eda is being held then.”

”What,” Raine said.

“Oh, nice!” King said. “I have some ideas about what we could do. How many pipe bombs can you build in an hour?”

“Oh sweet Titan,” Raine could only whimper.

“And you! Bard-person!” King pointed at Raine. “Are you joining us? More hands make –”

“– more mayhem, yes, I know,” Raine finished wearily.

King paused. “…Huh. Maybe you do know Mom.”

“I do,” Raine said. “I do know your mom, and I know if she were here she’d want you to stay safe.”

“Well, she’s not here right now, is she?” King said furiously. “That’s the whole problem!”

“We’re going to go after her,” Luz said, crossing her arms. “Are you in, or not?”

Raine looked at them, and realized they were serious. These two children were one hundred percent serious about singlehandedly trying to rescue Eda from the most fortified place on the Boiling Isles while she was guarded by the entire Emperor’s Coven and the Emperor himself. They were actually going to attempt that, and nothing Raine could do short of physically restraining them would stop it.

They could restrain them. Eda must have taught the two of them some tricks, but Raine’s imminent ascension to head of the Bard Coven wasn’t just due to politics. If they could get out of the house demon’s range, they could subdue Luz and King and keep them safely tucked away until – until it didn’t matter anymore.

It was what Eda would want. Raine knew that. There was a lot they didn’t know about her now, but that – that they knew.

…And yet.

And yet, every one of their instincts screamed at them that that was the wrong path. Luz and King would never, ever forgive them for it. Would never accept any other help they might offer. Would be set adrift in the Isles, lost without anyone to care for them.

And Eda would be –

Raine swallowed.

There were three options for them, really. That was what it came down to. They could take down Luz and King and keep them safe, which was what Eda would want, and the only cost would be Eda herself. They could walk away right now, and allow two children to go against the Emperor all on their own, and the cost would probably end up being Eda and her kids.

Or they could help.

Put like that, it wasn’t really a choice at all.

“…Okay,” Raine said. “I’m in.”

Luz’s face lit up. “Great! Between the three of us, we’ll be able to save Eda in no time!”

“Actually,” Raine said, pulling their scroll out. “I was thinking we should go bigger.”

“Huh?” King said, tilting his head.

“There’s no reason for it to be just the three of us,” Raine said, and pressed the ‘call’ button. “Let’s just say…I know some people.”