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The best and worst quality of Raine Whispers are one and the same: Just how observant they are.
On one hand, it’s made them one hell of an ally to have. It was Raine who figured out just how corrupt Belos was all on their own and sniffed out Darius and Eberwolf as two rebels within their midst. Raine who carefully chose their words when Darius was a mere second way from silencing them when they brought it up, instead proving they were willing to take down Belos.
Raine who figured out what was wrong with Snapdragon’s drinks long before Darius had to step in and remind them who they were. Raine who was at the core of it all in ensuring they didn’t get caught while Darius and Eberwolf worked behind the scenes to retrieve information on just what Belos was doing.
Raine was observant and scarily so. Darius thanked his lucky stars that they were on his side every time he saw just how dangerous they could be with the information they equipped themselves with.
The downside however, was that Raine saw too much. Namely right through Darius’ acts and worse, wasn’t afraid to call him out for it.
“So, are we gonna talk about your little outburst back there?”
Darius grits his teeth, not surprised but certainly not happy either. Raine raises an eyebrow expectantly, clearly not willing to let this go. And to make matters worse, Eberwolf lets out a shriek of laughter, having not remembered it until now.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Darius replies, deliberately slowly and making no effort to keep the irritation out of his voice. “I didn’t say anything.”
“But you totally freaked out when you learned about the Golden Brat being in Belos’ mind!” Eberwolf grins toothily, unapologetic and just as tiresome as Raine is when it comes to these sorts of things. Having two people who are unwilling to back down as teammates is forever a blessing and a curse. A double edged sword in which they’re tough enough to stand up to Belos but incredibly maddening to work with.
Particularly because Darius would rather not talk about this. Because he hasn’t made sense of it either and he isn’t sure how to even go about talking about it to anyone, much less two of the most stubborn people he knows.
“I was merely surprised, that’s all.” Darius attempts to add a sharp edge in his voice to let them know to back off. Unfortunately, neither are quite willing to do so yet.
“You’ve been very adamant about keeping Hunter out of harm recently.” Raine presses. Their eyes don’t waver for a second, scrutinizing him carefully. “You couldn’t stand the kid at first. I believe your exact words were, ‘He’s hardly a suitable replacement for the previous Golden Guard.’ Then suddenly he starts walking around with the sigil stitched into his cape— expertly, might I add— and you suddenly seem to think he’s no longer a threat to what we’re planning.”
“He’s sixteen and has no magic outside of his staff, I fail to see where I’m wrong.”
“Plenty of the Emperor’s Coven recruits are just as young as he is and they’re no less a threat.”
Darius groans and turns away, attempting to get a breath in without either of them breathing down his neck. If he could leave right now, he would, but they’re in the middle of nowhere— in the woods, far from Belos and his every watching eyes— and they have to stick around. To find if the human and the Golden Guard really made it out and more importantly, what they saw.
A lump in his throat forms against his will. Darius had been preparing himself for the kind of horrors he might see when he entered Belos’ mind— they all knew it would be bad but weren’t sure of the extent. They braced themselves, they had been ready for it, but the human and the Golden Guard had not. And they were young. Terribly young.
The very thought of what Hunter could’ve seen… It could shake him to his very core. Because he still believes his uncle is good— that he’s serving a cause that is right and necessary. He doesn’t understand what’s really going on. Darius had been hoping to ease him into it slowly in order to break him away from his uncle’s hold on him but if he found out not only so suddenly but jarringly—
A small figure claws its way up his back and clings to his shoulder. Darius jolts at the feeling— it’s by no means unfamiliar but he hadn’t been expecting it and Darius sends a hefty glare at the big pair of yellow eyes when he catches sight of them. He receives only a snicker and not an ounce of regret.
“Awfully deep in your head there,” Eberwolf’s eyes shine with mischief. A look that Darius has come to despise because it’s almost always meant either more work or trouble for him. If they were not such an invaluable partner, Darius might’ve despised them. “Wanna share with the class?”
Darius bats them away. They launch themselves off his shoulder with a cackle, circling Raine before plopping themselves beside them. Raine cocks their head, nodding at Darius to answer Eber’s question. His lip curls up with indignation.
“Do you two have nothing better to do but pester me?” Darius spits venomously. Unfortunately for him, Raine has proven to be able to resist poison, and Eberwolf has bragged multiple times about how immune they are, meaning it has no effect on either of them.
“Pretty much.” Raine answers in a tone that can only be described as cheeky. “We can’t risk returning to the Owl House and gathering information for a while so you’re the most interesting thing we can investigate in the meantime. So, Darius, what exactly happened between you and Hunter? Did you get attached?”
“Never.” Darius denies. “I know better than that.”
“Do you now?” Raine asks teasingly and Darius cannot wait for the day this is all over so he never has to see either of their stupidly smug faces again. “Because it seems to me that you’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for the most recent Golden Guard lately.”
“I have not—”
Darius is cut off when Eberwolf abruptly sobers, standing up straight and swiveling their head around. Their ears twitch and Darius and Raine both hold their breath at the sight of it.
“Disguises on.” They hiss, swiftly pulling down their hood to hide everything but their glowing eyes. “Something is coming.”
Even if they can’t hear it themselves, they know better than to question Eberwolf when they get serious. Darius wastes no time pulling his cloak over himself to hide all of his distinguishing features. Raine does the same, summoning their violin and hiding within their cloak with baited breath.
Within the woods, Darius can finally hear a loud rustling getting closer and rapidly approaching their location. Eberwolf shifts, sharp teeth outgrowing their mouth and sticking out in different directions. Darius morphs one of his arms into a sickle, keeping it at the ready in case of a fight.
The moment it finally bursts from the trees and into their clearing, they’re all ready to strike. The unknown variable however, trips over a stray root just before and ends up stumbling and falling to the ground. Darius catches sight of an all too familiar yellow outfit with blonde hair and immediately reverses his transformation. His hand shoots out— warning Raine and Eberwolf not to strike— and they both freeze in place.
The Golden Guard lays before them, shaking violently and struggling to so much as sit up with how badly his arms tremble. However upon realizing he’s not alone, he nearly throws himself on his back and scrambles, head wildly snapping to each and every one of them. His eyes are filled with absolute terror and it pains Darius to see it.
“You— you three— what are— what do—” Hunter can’t seem to complete a sentence and it doesn’t take a keen eye to see why. He’s breathing far too quickly to get anything out— he isn’t just afraid of them, he’s been fumbling like this long before he saw them— and Darius can only guess why.
Without thinking twice, he kneels to Hunter’s level. His attention zeroes in on him and Hunter holds his hands up defensively as if he’s expecting an attack.
“Wait!” Hunter squeaks out, never looking so small and young as he is until now. “Don’t— please, I’m not a threat to you! I— I’m not— I don’t know anything!”
“Hunter,” Darius says softly, and Hunter flinches.
“How do you— why do you know my name?” He croaks.
“Because I’m a friend.” Darius slowly reaches up as to not spook him any more than he already has and tugs his hood back down. Out of the corner of his eye, Raine and Eberwolf tense but Darius pays them no mind because Hunter stares at him and finally isn’t breathing as hard as he was. “See? It’s just me. I’m on your side, Hunter.”
“But you— you’re—” Hunter fumbles for a moment. Then his shoulders tense up even more as tears fill his eyes and Darius’ heart drops because how did he make things worse? Why is the kid scared of him?
“Please.” Hunter begs, raising his hands again. “I’ll do anything but please— don’t take me back to him. I— I know I messed up but I can’t— I can do better— I’ll do anything you want, just don’t take me back to him!”
“Hunter!” Darius tries but Hunter is talking too fast. He’s breaking down even worse than before, tears streaming down his face as he continues to beg like Darius is holding his life in his hands.
“I don’t want to die!” Hunter wails, hyperventilating. “I can do anything you want— I’ll be anything you want, just don’t kill me! Don’t take me back to him!”
“Hunter— we’re not with him!” Darius finally managed to shout just loud enough for Hunter to hear him through his scrambled state of mind and Hunter’s mouth snapped shut.
There’s a long beat of silence. During it, Raine hisses a warning just loud enough for Darius to hear but he shoots them a clear ‘Let me take care of this’ look. They don’t seem pleased but they don’t argue. Because above all else, the three of them are in the eye of the storm, at the most risk of being found out and facing Belos’ wrath, and they had to learn to trust one another’s judgment.
He’s fortunate that Raine and Eberwolf trust him enough to keep quiet for now. He just has to prove he’s right about this to keep it that way, and he can do that.
Meanwhile, Hunter stares at him, wary and dumbfounded. “You’re not… You’re not with Belos?”
“No.” Darius smiles as earnestly as he can. He feels like he’s walking on ice, trying to make sure he says the right thing or he just might lose the kid. “I haven’t been in a long time. I’m…” Even with how much he trusts the kid, especially after hearing all that, he still hesitates before forcing the words out. “I’m a rebel, Hunter. A spy from the inside.”
“You’re—” A sea of emotions passes on his face. “You’re lying— you’re not— you can’t be— that’s too good to be true. You— you’re just trying to get me to trust you. To lead me back to my uncle.”
“Never.” Darius swears. “I’m never taking you back to your uncle. Not if you don’t want to go. And I’m not lying— you saw me make the spell with my partners here. I tried to get into the Emperor’s mind so I could see what he was planning. I’m committing treason for a reason, Hunter.”
“And— you’re partners?” Hunter swivels to look at them.
“They’re friends.” Darius tells him. He dismisses the idea of telling their names— not unless they choose to. Partnership and trust and all that. “You can trust them.”
“But—!”
Raine lets out a sigh, violin disappearing from their hand. The words in Hunter’s throat die and he stares, on red alert. “I’m trusting you on this, Darius, don’t make me regret it.” Raine reaches up and pulls their hood down. Hunter’s eyes get impossibly bigger and Raine just gives him an awkward smile. “Hi, Hunter. Darius is telling the truth, you can trust us.”
Eberwolf is quick to follow, teeth shrinking back down once they’ve revealed themselves. Hunter is gaping like a fish now, causing them to snicker. “What? You really think I would roll with a guy like Belos? Don’t make me laugh!”
“But you— you’re Coven Leaders!”
“Deep cover spies.” Darius tells him. “We had to be close to the Emperor in order to find out what he was planning. I’ve been in this ever since the previous Golden Guard… Well, he told me a few things. So I could carry on after he was gone.”
“He killed him.”
Hunter’s harsh whisper sends a spike of fear through Darius’ spine. Not because he didn’t know but because Hunter knows.
(His mentor knew what would happen. Warned him that Belos would figure out he was defecting early on because Belos had taken out any of his Golden Guards that had done so in the past and knew what to look for. He knew he would die, but warned Darius about Belos. Admitted that he couldn’t tell him everything yet but admitted as much as he could.
Even if he knew it was coming, it still hurt. The day his mentor died, it was no less devastating and Darius had resented his replacement when he had been instated.)
“Hunter?” Darius reached out to him. Hunter doesn’t notice, squeezing his eyes shut and beginning to breathe heavily again.
“He killed them. Every single one— he’s going to kill me—”
“He won’t.” It’s Raine who cuts in this time, sharp and determined. “Hunter, nobody has to know where you are, we can keep you safe. You never have to see him again— it’s okay.”
“I—” Tears gather in Hunter’s eyes, beginning to spill over. “I don’t want to die.”
Darius outstretches his hand further, urging Hunter to take it. Hunter launches himself at him, clinging to his robe as fat tears roll down his face and his whole body shakes. Without thinking twice, Darius wraps his arms around him and murmurs soft reassurances. Raine and Eberwolf keep a distance so as to not crowd the kid but several emotions flash in their eyes.
Darius meets their gazes and all three of them have a moment of clarity. A silent agreement.
Mutual fury and an overwhelming feeling to protect him at all costs.
Nobody is ever hurting this kid again. They collectively swear. Belos will die and Hunter will live to be happy again. Be a kid again.
“I don’t want to die.” Hunter mumbles over and over again. The silence makes it louder than it would be normally, filling up the clearing for all three of them to hear. “I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die, I don’t—”
“You won’t.” Darius promises. “I swear on my life, you won’t. We’ll keep you safe.”
He means every word.