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“Raine’s Rhapsody? More like Eda’s Requiem, am I right?” Eda dropped the lute into Raine’s hand and turned towards the door. “I’ll leave the playing to the professionals.”
“Wait!” Raine called out, setting the lute gently on a table. “I don’t know what this magic is, if you could even call it that, but… is it doing any more damage to you?” They looked at Eda, concern in their eyes. “I haven’t seen you in so long… I don’t want the curse to drive us apart again.”
Eda’s heart twisted, remembering her fear on a hilltop as she tried to hide the feathers sprouted around her eyes. The fact that she hadn’t seen Raine for years after that had hurt even more. “Raine, you don’t need to worry anymore. I know I’ve said that before, but now there’s been this whole thing with the curse splitting between me and the person who cursed me, it’s a lot to get into now,” she glanced down at the black gem on her chest with an ambivalent smile, “but really, I’ve been stuck with this for so long I know I’d rather have it and talk to you, more than having the curse by myself.”
Raine sighed in relief. “Well, Owl Lady, it’s a pleasure to have you around again after all that.”
“Oh, please, I don’t think we’ve changed that much,” Eda chuckled. “I’ve still got my love of potions and apple blood and you’ve still got your stage fright.”
Raine’s eyes lit up, and Eda raised her eyebrows curiously. Raine started rummaging in a chest near their bed. “Well, lucky for you, rising through the ranks does have its perks,” and brandished in their hands were two cups and a bottle of HoneyTooth apple blood.
Eda gasped. “Damn, Rainestorm, you’ve got the good stuff! I haven’t seen this since we used to peer in the windows of that shop by St.Epiderm’s. ”
Raine held out a cup. “Care to celebrate our mission for a bit?”
————
“Edalyn, wait, what if the kids hear? I can’t explain what happened at Glandus to them!” Raine giggled, trying to keep their voice down.
Eda grinned and swung her legs over the edge of her arm chair swirling her third? fourth? cup of apple blood around. They had been talking and laughing for hours, the night sky beginning to fade into a dark crimson. “Oh please, our band totally deserved the win at that contest. It was only right that we enchanted all their trophies to do the macarena! You even wanted to melt one into the shape of--“
“Shhh!” Raine dramatically whispered, making Eda break out in laughter. “We all did stupid stuff back then, didn’t you let some abominations loose in the cafeteria? Principal Bump was almost impressed.”
“Rightly so! I think they’ve got someone keeping track of everything I did back then.”
“They say the poor man must still be recording to this day,” Raine sighed, and they both looked at each other, and Raine knew their laughter was loud enough to wake at least one of the BATs up. Eda pulled herself up from her chair to reach for the apple blood, still snorting a bit, and Raine rested their head on their elbow, listening to that laugh they hadn’t heard in so long. Just like before, although it was probably too late for anything to happen again, Raine thought.
“I’ve missed this, Rainestorm,” Eda sighed, pouring herself another cup. “Shame to think I messed it up with a curse I’ve still got.” She laughed, a dry, bitter noise in the dim room, and then set down the bottle. She clapped her hands together. “Well! No reason to dwell like that when we’ve got other better memories to talk about.” She dramatically swirled her cup and then pointed it down towards Raine. “Oh, wait, you’ve got to remember that time when…”
Raine watched as Eda stood in front of them, gesturing at the air with excited hands to paint pictures of stories they already knew. Raine heard Eda’s voice, her raspy descriptions curling into Raine’s ears like smoke. Her new eyes, one silver and one gold, both shining brightly like treasure at the bottom of a mine. Eda’s lips looked soft, yet the fang in between looked… enticingly sharp, and they watched as her mouth curled into a smile–
“Raine Whispers. Have you heard anything I’ve said within the last few minutes?” Eda’s shining eyes caught Raine’s. “Because if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were staring.”
Raine felt their cheeks color, and they looked into their drink as they swung it up to their mouth. “You were talking about old stories, I… fell into old habits. Apologies.”
Eda walked over with a half-smug grin, as if her memories were wound tight around the rest of it. “I haven’t had much going on for the past few years, Rainestorm… I don’t mind old habits.”
Raine, despite their earlier words, felt stage fright for a second in front of one person. A whisper of doubts that was quickly drowned out by slamming their mouth into Eda’s before they could think better of it.
Eda’s mouth was as soft as Raine had thought. It froze for a second, until Eda grabbed Raine’s face with both hands and kissed back with familiar, violent passion, her lips pushing into theirs as they both backed up into the chair that Raine had been sitting on, knocking it over.
Neither of them acknowledged it, Raine’s fright gone and replaced with burning butterflies in their stomach, still a bit nervous but with all their attention to wrapping their mouth around Eda’s. They pushed their tongue forward until they felt her fang, and felt a little giddy, their hand wrenching into Eda’s hair harder.
Eda smiled a bit as Raine felt their way near the fang, and Raine could tell she had a joke for another time about the curse having benefits.
The warmth between them made Raine think of orange fire, blazing for who knows how long, the familiar greedy touch of Eda’s hands against their back and tongue against their teeth melting a long frozen desire Raine had carried. Orange swirled into red as Eda tilted her head at a different angle against Raine’s, and suddenly Raine tasted red on their lips.
They jolted back a bit, surprised, a dull ache on the right side of their mouth. Eda blinked in surprise. “Wow, that was… bloody? Wait, that– that was me, I haven’t really had a chance to use the fangs like that, I– We can stop now, if you want, had enough apple blood–”
“Eda! I don’t mind,” Raine smiled and leaned in eagerly, “I would especially not mind if you decided to use that fang down here,” and pointed to their neck, just below their chin. Their breath was short, trying to catch their breath, but also burning to know how those teeth would feel further down.
Eda’s eyes widened, and Raine heard her mutter something about “the ultimate catch” before she leaned in, her mouth catching the corner of Raine’s before biting down their chin.
Breathing properly was far from Raine’s mind as Eda made her way around their neck, despite the fact their mouths weren’t even together. Raine moaned as Eda hit just the right spot on their neck, not caring who could hear at this point. Eda bit harder right next to the spot in response. It was so much, Eda’s teeth were electric to Raine’s entire body, and half an hour slipped away as their cups of apple blood were forgotten on the floor and the two made out like teenagers, more impassioned by the changes since they were that young. The crimson sky shimmered into light pink through the window, then a light purple, and Eda only noticed when the sky was nearly baby blue, the sun like a spotlight on her eyes.
“What light turned on– ah. It’s morning,” Eda said nervously, peering down at Raine in the light of day from her seat in Raine’s lap, her legs around the bard’s waist. “This was… really nice.”
Raine couldn’t agree more, staring up at Eda’s face, her hair in half a ponytail and lips shining red, nearly against theirs. “Yes… that was…” Raine coughed, somehow feeling more awkward than before they had practically jumped on their ex of 15 years and crush of over 30.
“Maybe we should pull this blood out another time,” Eda remarked, staring at the bottle, her expression gleeful and tired and then suddenly panicked. “Oh, Titan, the blood just made me remember, I’ve got worse stuff at home, but I’ve also got the kid at home, and I’ve got to get to her flying event.” She jumped up, taking a chance to peer at her messy reflection in the mirror, before grinning and turning for the door.
“Kid? Eda, you have a kid?” Raine’s head spun, already aching from the abandoned apple blood.
“Well, sort of, I kind of adopted two, and one of them’s a human, but she’s got her real mom, but I still have to be at her race today–”
“You…yes! That sounds important. Be there for your kid.” Raine slumped back in their chair, gesturing at the door.
“Idon’twanttoleaveonsuchshortnotice,” Eda’s words rushed out as she darted back to Raine and pecked them on the cheek, “andIwon’tleavelikethisagain, but,” she darted out and then stuck her head back in the doorway, “I’ll see you again soon! Like this, hopefully.” Her face shone red and she disappeared from the doorway.
Raine stared at the door from their chair, their brain trying to process everything that had happened in the last 12 hours. They looked down at the bruise forming from where their shirt collar had been pulled open, and then let out a small laugh, resting their head back. The sun shone through the windows, resting against the BAT’s rough maps, the half-empty bottle on the floor, and across Raine’s content face.