Chapter Text
Everything had gone to shit so quickly. Eda watched as her hope drained away with the remainder of everyone’s magic. Raine’s magic. The bard lay unconscious in her arms- arm-, a pained grimace on their face. If the spell didn’t stop soon-
Eda didn’t want to think about it. If Eda tried very hard, she could almost ignore the thick ribbon of magic arcing into the sky from Raine’s right wrist. She focused on their face instead. Alas, even here she could not escape the present. The yellow of the spell stood out starkly against Raine’s skin. If not for that, she could pretend that they were in days long past, two lovers resting peacefully together on a hill.
It was not meant to be. It was meant to be once, before Eda had pushed them away, afraid of the curse. Of hurting them. Eda had hoped after reconnecting with Raine that it could be again. But now… her hope lay dying. Her precious person. Her Rainestorm.
If only she could stop the spell. If only she could make it so it never happened. Eda didn’t realize that she was crying until the first drops hit Raine’s face. She could do nothing. Their plan had failed, and this was the price they were paying. It wasn’t fair.
Nothing ever was. Eda held Raine close in an attempt to bring them comfort, however slight it may be. This was all she could do. Absently, her hand carded through their hair in that way that she knew they loved.
Eda’s hand stilled abruptly. The ribbon of light was gone. No, no, no, nono, nonononono-
They were- They were- Eda couldn’t bring herself to complete the thought. She broke down, burying her face into Raine’s – the body’s, her traitorous mind whispered- hair and sobbed their name.
“Raine. Raine!”
She wasn’t sure how long she had been crying for by the time she registered the soft chirps of her palisman, Owlbert. As Eda came back to herself, she felt the little owl trying to get her attention. But what was the point? Raine was-
A sharp pain in her forehead broke her out of it. Had Owlbert just headbutted her?! Eda took the distraction for what it was and went to glare at the owl. And then she saw it.
Or rather, the lack of it. Her brows furrowed in confusion. The spell was gone. Over? But… Eda could see people moving down below. If that was the case, they wouldn’t be alive. Unless it failed. Unless it…
Stopped. She glanced upwards at where the energy had been going. Huh. The eclipse was over. But how? The moon was so far away from the sun now. Surely it wouldn’t have moved that much on its own.
Suddenly, she dared to hope. Were they…? Alive? Slowly, Eda moved her hand from Raine’s hair down to their throat, trying to feel a pulse. It took a minute to steady her hand with how frantically her heart was racing, but eventually she managed. Her eyes widened in shock. More tears fell, but this time of relief.
Her Rainestorm was alive.
Eda felt faint as the grief left her. She had been so sure they were dead. That they had left her once more, but permanently this time. Maybe she would get that chance, maybe it was meant to be again. But…
Raine wasn’t waking up. Their pulse was slow. They were covered in angry red marks -burns? - from the draining spell.
Eda looked around. Raine needed a healer. Hettie Cutburn, Head Witch of the Healing Coven and the best healer Eda knew of, was limp off to the side. A quick glance showed all the other coven heads were in a similar state. So it wasn’t just Raine.
Where then, could she find a healer? In the masses below? They were livelier than the coven heads at least, but they all had been affected by the draining spell too. They might be too exhausted to help. They might be too angry to help. If Eda went down there and it turned into a mob… she shuddered.
She wouldn’t risk it unless necessary. Did she know any other healers? Maybe Emira-
Eda’s thoughts were interrupted by her shoulder being shaken. Her sister, Lilith, was by her side, pointing at something in the sky, “Edalyn! We need to move!”
Eda focused on what Lily was gesturing at. What the fuck. How? She shot to her feet, attempting to grab Raine. It wasn’t working well with only one hand. More reached down to help. Raine’s bard students, Katya and Derwin managed to get them up and in a firewitch carry over Katya’s shoulder. Eda made sure to snag Raine’s glasses before they inevitably fell off and tucked them in her hair for safekeeping.
At the same time, Lily and Hooty were getting Darius and Eberwolf. Then they ran, summoning their respective palismen to help them fly away. Before they could, however-
Trouble found them.
Trouble took the form of a kid in star themed pajamas. Despite their rather cute appearance, Eda’s instincts were screaming danger. Maybe it was the fact that the kid had just appeared suddenly. Or perhaps it was how they smiled even with all the people obviously hurt around them. Or maybe it was because Eda had just seen them demolishing the titan’s skull, like one would play with a toy.
The kid floated towards Eda and piped up, “Hellooo.” They held out a hand, grinning, “Wanna play a game?” They looked hopeful.
At any other time, Eda would consider it. Realistically, she should agree. She had seen what they could do. But… “Sorry, kid.” Her eyes flicked towards Raine’s prone form briefly, and her hand clenched in anger, “I’m not in the mood.” She didn’t have time to play games right now.
“I’ll play with you!” Hooty screeched in the background.
The kid glanced at him briefly before deciding to ignore him and turned back to Eda, voice raised, “No!” They pointed at Eda, “You have to play!”
Eda glared at them, “I don’t.” She snarled, turning away. This kid was wasting her time. She needed to go already. She gestured for the others to move.
“You do.” The kid stomped their foot, and a sparkling dome sprang up around the retreating group. “How am I supposed to play Owl House without the Owl Lady?!”
Eda’s brows furrowed and she turned to look at the kid again, confusion momentarily overtaking her frustration, “Owl House? What.” What kind of game was that?
The kid started explaining, “King said-”
“King?!” Eda cut them off, suddenly alarmed. Certainly, they couldn’t mean…
They did, “Yea, my new playmate!” The kid made a gesture as if to pluck something from the air and King, Eda’s son, popped into existence, dangling from where the kid held his arm.
King struggled briefly before he was set down by the kid. He started speaking, “Collector-” before cutting himself off as he looked around. His eyes met Eda’s and a soft gasp escaped him. “Eda?” He breathed out, running up to her.
Eda crouched down to hug him as he crashed into her legs. The force caused her to fall on her butt. She didn’t care and held onto him all the same. “King.” She replied, worry clogging her voice. He wasn’t supposed to be here. A worrying thought struck her, If King was here, where were the rest of the kids?
She didn’t voice her thoughts, instead focusing on the child in front of her. Well, one of the two. The other kid- Collector, King had called them- could wait a minute while she reunited with her kid. A frown marred her face as she took in the crack on King’s skull. He was hurt. “What happened-”
“Oh no, your arm!” King interrupted her, horrified. He was staring at the empty space where her right forearm used to be, “How-”
“It’s not important right now.” Eda murmured, setting him down. It really wasn’t to Eda. All she cared about right now was getting her loved ones out of this situation safe and sound right now. She could think about her arm later.
Eda stood up and gently pushed King slightly behind her. It was laughable to think that she could protect him from the Collector, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try. After all, she was his mother in all but blood. Eda looked the Collector in the eyes and set her new plan in motion, “Fine, I’ll play-”
The kid perked up, looking excited. They opened their mouth to respond.
“-On one condition!” Eda bluffed. She would participate regardless at this point because of King’s presence. But seeing how adamant the kid had been, she might as well try to get something out of it.
The Collector narrowed their eyes and put one finger to their lips in an exaggerated thinking pose, “I’ll consider it.” They gestured for her to get on with her request.
Well, here goes nothing. Eda pointed to where Raine was limp on the floor, “Help them.” Katya must have set them back down after the barrier popped up.
“Oh wow! Isn’t that the Head Bard?” The Collector floated towards Raine, giggling, “Philip was sooooo mad at their little stunt, it was hilarious.” The kid was silent for a moment as they inspected Raine, “What’s wrong with them?”
“The draining spell.” Eda quietly explained.
“Oh that?” The Collector tilted their head, and huffed, “But I already stopped it.”
And for that she was grateful. Truly. Raine (and many others) were still alive because of it. But she was frustrated that they hadn’t woken up yet and it showed, “Yea? Well, they’re still hurting.”
“They’ll live.” The Collector said confidently and poked Raine’s face. There was no response.
It was a relief to hear that, but they didn’t specify in what condition it would be in. Eda decided to ask outright, “Can’t you heal them?”
She was shot down real quick, “Nope!”
Fuck, there goes plan A. She changed tack, “Help me get them somewhere safe then.” Raine couldn’t protect themself while unconscious and she wouldn’t be able to guard them while playing the game. If she knew they were safe at least…
“Hmm.” The Collector considered it for a moment, “I suppose they can stay with King and I.”
Eda didn’t like the sound of that statement, and not just because she would be separated from King. She doubted the two of them knew how to properly take care of someone who was unconscious. “Wait-" She reached out towards Raine somewhat desperately, having a bad feeling about this.
“They’re a bard.” The kid seemed excited, “I bet they know all sorts of stories.” They raised their pinky and Raine started to float.
Cries of dismay rang out around the dome. Clearly no one else thought this was a good idea.
Eda tried to dissuade them, “Raine isn’t in any condition to entertain!” She stepped closer.
“Well duh.” The Collector scoffed, “But they’ll get better soon enough.”
What did she even say to that? Argue that they needed a healer? That sounded like a great way to get some random healer kidnapped too. This kid didn’t seem the type to listen to logic. For once, Eda was lost for words, “B-But…”
Lilith came to the rescue, “How are you supposed to focus on your game if you’re busy nursing Raine back to health?”
Eda threw Lilith a thankful look at her save. Hopefully playing to the Collector’s wants would work.
The Collector stopped and thought a moment and sighed, “You maaayyy have a point.”
The magic dissipated around Raine and they fell a few feet to the ground. Luckily Katya was close enough to catch them in time. Katya shot a glare at the Collector as she set Raine back down, “Careful!” She hissed.
The Collector ignored her, turning back to Eda and Lilith instead, “Where do you suggest then?”
They were quiet for a moment. Where was safe right now? Eda wasn’t sure anywhere on the Boiling Isles would be safe right now. The others where whispering behind her, echoing her thoughts.
Eventually, someone piped up, “The- The Human Realm.” It was Derwin. Everyone turned to stare at him. He continued, “Luz was telling me about it. It sounded… peaceful. Safe.”
“That’s…” Eda trailed off, thinking about it. It would be difficult to get Raine once everything was over in that case. But she did have some allies there…
“A great idea!” King seconded.
Still was it even possible? The portal to the Human Realm was gone.
Apparently, it was. The Collector confirmed, “I can do it.”
“Wait- Really?” Lilith asked, fascinated. She pulled out a piece of paper and started taking notes, seemingly forgetting to be afraid.
Likewise, Katya was also writing something down.
“…Not a bad idea.” Eda finished her thought. It occurred to her that she did know a healer in the Human Realm. She knew Marilyn, who had one day ended up there after falling through what must have been a titan’s blood pool. Eda had offered her a way back, but the other witch had declined in the end. Hopefully she was still staying at Kamar-Taj.
The Collector was impatient and started casting, “One portal to the Human Realm-!”
“Wait!” Eda cried out.
They paused mid motion through drawing a circle, “Do you want me to send them away or not?”
“I do.” Eda answered, “But we can’t just plop them down somewhere randomly.” She crossed her arms, “What if something happened to them?” What if they got run over by a car?
“Ughhh, fine.” The Collector dismissed their magic, looking slightly put out.
“If one of us went with them-” Katya began, still writing.
“Nuh uh. I’m already losing one player.” The kid disagreed, pouting, “I’m not letting another one of you go.”
At those words everyone tensed slightly, reminded that they didn’t really have a choice in the matter.
Eda narrowed her eyes in thought, “Owlbert can go with them.” She reached up to her hair and the owl palisman hopped onto her hand. She brought him to eye level, “You missed Raine, didn’t you?”
The little owl chirped in agreement and hopped closer, nuzzling against her face.
She held him close before holding him out towards Raine, “Well, this is your chance to catch up.” Eda melancholy smiled, “Take care of them for me, won’t you?”
Owlbert hooted as if to say, of course, before flying over to Raine and perching in their mint hair.
“Edalyn, are you sure?” Lilith asked, a concerned note to her voice.
Eda nodded, “I am. Owlbert and Raine are good friends.” She chuckled, “Have been since Owlbert was carved.”
“That’s acceptable.” The Collector inquired, “But how are you going to fly without your palisman, Owl Lady?”
Eda waved her hand dismissively, “I have a way. As for a destination…” One finger tapped against her lips, “How about Kamar-Taj?”
“I don’t know where that is.” The Collector grimaced slightly, as if it hurt them to admit it.
Hmm, In that case… “Can you target people?” She asked.
They answered after a moment, “Only if they have a lot of magic.”
Eda smiled slightly, “In that case… The Sorcerer Supreme.” The Ancient One, or Tao as Eda liked to call her, would probably be at Kamar-Taj. Eda hasn’t been back to Kamar-Taj since she found King, but surely that much wouldn’t have changed.
“Who?” The kid tilted their head, curious.
“Earth’s strongest eldritch magic user. Send Raine to them.” Eda turned slightly to the others and proudly said, “I know her.”
“Okie dokie.” The Collector started casting again, then stopped suddenly, staring at Eda, “Pinky promise me that you’ll play if I do this for you.”
Eda solemnly held out her hand, pinky extended. “I promise,” She whispered, shaking on it. She released their hand and turned to Raine, “Give us a minute, please.”
The others gave Eda some room as she went to Raine’s side, “Goodbye, Rainestorm.” She leaned down and kissed their forehead, whispering, “I love you.” She glanced at Owlbert where he was resting in Raine’s hair, “Both of you.” Eda carefully retrieved their glasses from her hair and gently put them back on.
She stood up, wiping away tears, “Ok, I’m ready.” Eda wasn’t. She never would be, but it was for the best. The sooner Raine left, the sooner they could get treatment. She clenched her hand to keep herself from reaching out again.
Katya rushed up to Raine quickly and placed a paper on top of them. A note? Not a bad idea. Eda wished she had thought of it, but it was too late now.
Finally, the Collector sent Raine away. It was rather quick, all things told. A magic circle drawn; a portal opened. A silly rhyme that they sang as Raine fell through it, “Raine, Raine, go away.”
“Come again another day.” Eda finished quietly, hoping for it to come true. It must.