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“Come on! It’s not much farther!” Eda called excitedly, taking Raine’s hand and starting to run.
Pulled along by the enthusiastic witch, they matched her pace. The pair ran side-by-side along a narrow forest path.
When Eda had asked if they wanted to see one of her favorite places, they agreed instantly. Honestly, they would follow her anywhere. Even sprinting through the woods behind the Clawthorne residence, they felt safe with her. With a burst of affection, Raine noticed how Eda attempted to hold branches and foliage out of their way as they went. She was so considerate, as if looking out for them came naturally to her.
“We’re here!” Bursting into a clearing, Eda skidded to a halt.
Raine stumbled, caught off-guard by her abrupt stop. Eda’s arm snaked around their waist to steady them, holding them securely.
“Careful there, Rainestorm,” Eda chided playfully, letting go of them.
They felt their cheeks heat up at the use of the nickname. Brushing nonexistent dirt off their clothes, they took in their surroundings. Soft moss blanketed the ground, dotted with little pink and white wildflowers. The clearing itself was a perfect circle. Not a single tree grew within the boundaries except one–a gnarled old thing towering up from the center. Only the uppermost branches of the tree had leaves, while the lower branches looked ragged and broken. There was electricity buzzing through the air around them, reminding Raine of the lingering energy from casting a spell circle. It was magic .
“What do you think?” Eda asked, studying Raine’s face as they looked around.
“What is this place?” They asked softly, in awe of their surroundings.
“You’re standing in what’s left of the old palistrom grove. This is one of the last palistrom trees,” Eda explained, walking toward it.
Raine followed her. “That’s incredible! How did you even find it?”
“My dad showed it to me. We took a piece of the tree,” Eda traced her fingers carefully along a cut branch, “and he told me that when I’m ready, we’ll carve my palisman.”
Raine’s heart was warm, watching their girlfriend’s eyes sparkle as she talked about carving her palisman with her father. She spoke with such warmth and adoration.
“Wow,” they breathed, running their hand over the knotted trunk, “that’s going to be amazing.”
“I know!” Eda exclaimed, sitting down at the base of the tree. She sighed, “I just need to figure out what I’m going to carve.”
Raine sat down next to her, leaning against her body. They rested their head on her shoulder and wrapped their arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly close to them.
“I’m sure whatever you do, I’ll be perfect,” they said, “just like you.”
They didn’t even have to see her face to know they made her blush.
“Gross! That’s so mushy ,” Eda groaned, playfully shoving them off her.
Raine laughed, trying to pull Eda back into an embrace, “Don’t kid yourself, you love it.”
“And what if I do?” She let them draw her back into their arms.
“Does that mean Edalyn Clawthorne is going soft on me?” Raine teased, poking her sides where they knew she was ticklish.
“I am not!” Eda tried to protest, but dissolved into laughter when Raine’s fingers danced over her ribs.
Swatting at Raine’s hands, she tried to move out of their reach. They laughed too, holding her even tighter. Her shoulder pushed against their chest with intensity. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but the force knocked them onto their back. Eda grabbed their hands, pinning their arms over their head. She swung a leg over their chest and sat on her knees above them.
“What was that for?” Raine asked indignantly, trying to free their hands from her grasp.
She tightened her grip, asking smugly, “Who’s soft now?”
Raine rolled their eyes.
When they looked back up at Eda, they couldn’t help but admire her. The way the sunlight was illuminating her fiery hair was breathtaking, and her golden eyes were practically glowing. They watched her expression shift from smug to thoughtful, reaching her hands towards Raine’s face. They held their breath as she traced their cheekbones with a gentle touch.
“I can’t wait to see you in the future,” she said tenderly, hovering her fingers at the corners of their eyes.
“What does that mean?” They encouraged her to elaborate, surprised by her sudden change in demeanor.
“You know, like when we’re old and junk. We’ll tell stories and have all these nasty wrinkles, but you’ll have the most gorgeous laughter lines,” She stated definitively, as if she was using oracle magic to look forward in time.
“Aren’t those a bad thing?” They asked tentatively.
“No way! I think they’re the opposite. They show everyone that you laugh a lot and make other witches smile. Which you do. So, I can’t wait to see you with them.” She leaned down to kiss the corner of each eye, right then left.
Before she could pull away, Raine took her face in their hands and brought their lips together in a short, sweet kiss.
“Eda, you never cease to surprise me,” they said fondly, as they watched her blush, “and I can’t wait to see your laughter lines too.”
“Oh Rainestorm,” Eda scoffed, waving a hand in the air, “that’s cute, but I’m not going to have wrinkles.”
“Wait, you said they were a good thing!”
“Rainestorm,” Eda began, looking at herself in the bedroom mirror with a disapproving expression, “do I look old?”
“What?” Raine asked incredulously, looking up from their book. They had been waiting for Eda to come to bed, reading to pass the time.
“Do I look old?” Eda repeated, prodding at the wrinkles around her mouth, “I think I look old. You don’t think so, right?”
They hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. On one hand, they could simply give her the answer she wanted to hear, which was, “No, Calamity, of course you don’t.”
On the other hand, that would only table this issue for the time being. Raine knew Eda better than anyone, and they could tell this was bothering her more than she would admit. If she was feeling insecure, they needed to put an end to it. They calculated their words carefully before settling on what to say.
“Eda,” Raine began, rising from their spot in the nest and joining their girlfriend by the mirror, “you are the most gorgeous witch I’ve ever seen. Everyone knows I’ve always thought so. But, that doesn’t change the fact that we are getting older and–.”
“–Titan, was that the wrong thing to say,” Eda interrupted with a huff, turning away from them.
“Let me finish, love,” they attempted, reaching out for her.
Reluctantly, she let them turn her body to face the mirror again. They ran their hands up and down her arms in a soothing motion.
“We are getting older and there is so much beauty in that,” they explained, watching her reflection’s expression change from annoyed to pensive.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well for one thing, it means we get to be old together,” they said, taking her hands in their own, “and that’s beautiful to me.”
They ran their thumbs over her hands, following the lines and scars etched into them by time.
“Stop being cheesy and get to the point,” Eda mumbled, her cheeks lighting up red.
“All these marks you see as downfalls to aging, aren’t bad things at all. Each one has a story or a memory. They show that you’ve made it this far, and kicked ass doing it.” They moved to cradle her face. Gently running their fingers along the corners of her mouth, tracing the lines she had been angrily jabbing at moments before. They continued, “Plus, a very wise young witch once told me that laughter lines show everyone that you smile a lot and make others laugh…or something like that. And she was right.”
“Raine, you are such a sap! I–”
She gasped as they kissed her cheeks–her laughter lines–one then the other. Before she had the chance to speak, they kissed her lips. She stood stiffly for a split second before melting into them. Resting her hands on their waist, she pulled them flush against her body. They followed her lead, deepening the kiss by tangling their hands in her hair. She hummed against their lips as they pulled gently, the way she liked.
It was Eda who broke away first, trying to catch her breath. She sighed and touched her forehead to Raine’s, “Do you really mean everything you said?”
“Of course I do,” they said earnestly, taking her hands again.
They studied her face, wishing for a way to read her thoughts. Her eyes lit up deviously and she smiled widely.
“You know, Rainestorm,” she said, pulling them back towards the nest, “it’s so hot when you use my own words against me.”