Chapter Text
"Are you sure you packed everything, Witchlet?” Gwen asked for the umpteenth time, and once again she got the same response from her daughter.
"Yes mom, I packed everything. We have warm clothes, food, dad's tent, a first aid kit, and anything else I thought might be useful," the young redhead threw her backpack on the floor," We're not little kids, mom, we can handle a week of being alone,"
"I know, Edalyn, but still, are you sure this is a good idea? What if your curse starts giving you trouble, or someone attacks you there, you two are only teenagers and…”
"Mom!" Eda whined loudly," We've talked about this, Raine and I have been planning this trip for a long time, and you can't change my mind on this. And don't worry, we're not helpless kids, and I've packed a big supply of elixir, and if something happens, Raine knows the drill."
Gwen sighed but still nodded her head in agreement, "You're right, dear, just promise me you won't cause any trouble there, and that Raine's mom won't come at me with knives after something happened to them there."
"I promise, Mom,” Eda assured her before heading back up the stairs to retrieve the last bag from her room.
She had spent several days packing all the things she thought they would need for their week-long adventure. They had been planning this trip for two months, and Eda couldn't believe it was finally time. This plan had started when Eda told her Raine how she, Lilith, and their father had gone on many camping trips on the Knee, and how those were some of Eda's most magical memories with her father. The old stories told how Knee has the strongest magic on the isles, and if you spend enough time there, that magic can influence and make your own magic stronger, Raine who spent half of their childhood on the Knee didn't really want to believe that story, but still, Eda's enthusiasm for the place made them wish they could experience it with their girlfriend. To Raine, the Knee was a cold, ugly place with nothing but ice, snow, a terrible private school, and a tiny village, but Eda saw the place as a magical wonderland of wild opportunities, and she wanted to show them why.
The idea of spending a week with her partner in the middle of a magical snow field, training, dueling, discovering new places, swimming in hot springs, and just enjoying each other's closeness and attention made her heart beat strongly with excitement. The two young lovers hadn't been able to spend as much time together as they would have liked lately, Eda was barely in school and had to spend most of her time with healers trying to find a cure for her curse, and Raine had become a famous young musician, whom several concert halls and theaters tried to get on their stages. Raine naturally didn't like this kind of attention, but they were willing to step over their own shadow in order to make Hexside School happy and support their family financially and save enough money for college. Their communication was mostly not in person but through scrolls, they spent every day communicating through their scrolls, and absolutely every night they spent at least an hour before falling asleep flirting and telling each other about their day's activities. But now it's different, tonight they can be together, and for the first time in weeks, they can sleep in each other's arms.
A lovesick smile appeared on Eda's face, and she didn't even bother to hide her blush. Her smile grew even more when she heard someone knocking on the front door of her home. Quick as lightning, she grabbed her last bag from the floor and ran down the stairs with it, in a matter of seconds she was down the stairs and opened the front door.
"Rainestorm!” she shouted happily when she saw her partner and she jumped towards them, wrapping her arms around their neck, hugging them tightly.
"I missed you too, Calamity," Raine replied with a light giggle, hugging her back," Are you ready to go soon?"
"Hmm, someone is excited?” Eda smirked, placing a light kiss on her partner's blushing cheek.
"I barely slept last night," Raine admitted, "I can't believe we finally get to spend time together, just the two of us."
The young redhead's smile grew at those words, she grabbed Raine's hand and pulled them into the house, brushing the snow off their shoulders and hat with her other hand, "I have everything packed, if Owlbert agrees we can leave now,"
And as summoned, Owlbert flew out and landed on Raine's shoulder, giving them a welcoming, "Hoot!"
"Well hello, Owlbert,” Raine greeted the wooden owl perched on their shoulder, scratching him under the chin with their finger.
Owlbert responded with another happy-sounding, "Hoot!" and then changed into his staff form, and falling into Eda's hands, the young redhead grabbed him and using her staff, she packed all of her and Raine's bags into one magical bag that was light and small enough for Raine to comfortably carry. She then grabbed her warm coat and they both stepped out of the house, completely forgetting to tell Gwendolyn that they were leaving, they were just too excited to waste another second. Eda sat on top of her staff, then held out her hand to Raine, inviting them to join her, and the young Bard accepted the invitation without any hesitation. They sat behind Eda on the staff and wrapped their arms around her waist. When Eda was sure that her partner was safely on the staff, she started the flight.
Flying in winter was not the most enjoyable thing, it was cold, wet, and the snow flying in their face was downright uncomfortable, but luckily for them, their flight was not long and the weather was very calm today. It didn't snow often on the Boiling Islas, but when it did it could be weeks-long blizzards, the Knee was the only place where the weather was consistently snowy and cold no matter what time of year it was, and surprisingly it was the most tolerable in the winter. The closer they got to their destination, the more Eda shivered with excitement and the more Raine shivered with cold, and they tightened their hold around their girlfriend to steal some of her body heat.
"Your okay, Rainestorm?” Eda asked, quickly glancing over her shoulder to see if they were okay, but all she could see was their face flushed from the cold, adorned with their usual big smile that she loved so much.
"I've forgotten how much I hated the cold," they replied, resting their head on Eda's shoulder, "I'm a warm-blooded witch, you know,"
Eda smirked, "How did you survive those thirteen years up here?"
"I have no idea,"
It wasn't long before they arrived and landed on the white snow. There weren't even any footprints around them, nothing but snowy forest and icy glistening mountains. Eda allowed Owlbert to transform into his palisman form, and they both took deep breaths of the fresh icy air.
"Smell that, Rainestorm," she said looking over her shoulder at her partner, "It smells like wild magic and freedom,"
"All I smell is snow and moss,” Raine replied, pulling their jacket tighter against their narrow frame.
"Magical snow and moss,” Eda corrected them.
Raine then just rolled their green eyes and took Eda's backpack off their back, placing it on the snow, and as soon as they opened the bag, all of their bags flew out. The two of them had a lot of bags, they both had one big bag full of food, and at least two bags with clothes and boots inside, you can never have too many dry clothes and boots in the snowy mountains, and Eda had also packed a tent, which she really wanted to show Raine.
"I thought we needed more stuff," Raine said, looking at the bags lying on the snow, "Are you sure you packed all the sleeping bags, mattresses, and stuff?"
Eda grinned big, "Do you mind throwing me that tent," she pointed her finger at the green oblong bag that was in front of Raine's feet.
Raine grabbed the green bag and threw it to Eda who caught it and opened the bag with skilled fingers, as soon as Eda let the mouth of the bag open, a tent popped out and put itself together in front of the two teenagers. This tent was much bigger than they had expected, they had thought it was one of those tents where you could barely stand on your knees, and even then your head was stuck in the ceiling of the tent, but this Clawthorne family tent was tall and looked like a small one-room house that even had a chimney and two transparent windows.
The bard looked at that green tent with such wide eyes that they didn't even notice that Eda had come to their side, and when the girl cleared her voice, they jumped a little, she smiled at them and held out her hand, "You want to look inside?"
They nodded and Eda then led them into the tent. This tent came furnished, it was nothing fancy but enough to provide comfort, there was a small metal fireplace which was not only intended to heat the tent but also to cook food on it, a wooden chest, probably for storing food, two folding beds, but they both knew they were going to use only one of them, and the entire floor of the tent was covered by not the softest but still warm carpet, which protected the people in the tent from the coldness of the ground.
"In this chest, there should be pillows and blankets for us, as well as cutlery, a pan, and a pot, as well as water canisters. We should survive," she told them with a smile.
"When you told me your dad had camping gear, I wasn't expecting anything like this,” Raine mentioned, looking around the tent.
Eda shrugged her shoulders slightly and used her magic to bring all their bags into the tent, "What can I say, we Clawthorns aren't beasts, we enjoy our comfort." she then laughed and added, "Dad was forced to buy this tent after eight-year-old Lilith refused to sleep on the ground, and demanded a proper heating system."
"Hmm...so we can spend a week here, snuggled up in one of these beds under soft blankets, warm and comfortable, looking out the window at the brilliant night sky? Sounds good to me," they sat down on one of the beds, surprised at how soft the mattress was on this camping bed.
Eda's smile grew to her ears, and she strode over to her partner, sitting next to them and wrapping her arms around them, "That sounds absolutely wonderful, I like the way you think."
"But you also had a lot of good ideas, remember? You promised to show me the charms of this cold hell. What are your plans, love?"
"Oh, good you asked, Rainedrop, I have many plans, but first...” she let her body to fall slowly into the bed, pulling Raine down with her, they hadn't expected it but when their brains realized what was going on, they went along with it and cuddled up to their girlfriend, Eda wrapped her arms around them tighter, pulling them closer and closer, "we're going to spend some time here, you're irresistibly warm and my hands are freezing,"
Raine laughed, and closed their eyes, enjoying the moment.
---
Eda and Raine walked hand in hand through the snowy forest, which shone brightly under the rays of the falling sun. The two young teenagers enjoyed a leisurely walk until they could, because in less than half an hour, the sun would set completely, and the forest they were walking in would be too dark to continue their walk. Before they had decided to go for a walk, they had had a playful duel, which had ended with Eda sending Raine flying into a large pile of snow, and the young Bard feigning deep offense, and Eda, playing along, promised them that their next course of action would be something more peaceful, and so Eda had taken them for a walk, taking them to what she believed to be the most beautiful sunset on the Islas, and now Raine thought so too.
"Well, have I made amends to you," Eda asked, looking lovingly at her partner who was looking at the sunset in front of them.
However, hearing their girlfriend talking to them, Raine turned their gaze to Eda, and responded with a kiss on her cheek. They stood there at the edge of the forest, on the hill until the sun had gone down behind the titan's skull, and they both knew that in a matter of minutes it would be so dark outside that they wouldn't be able to see their way back to the tent, so they started their walk back. When they got back and entered the tent, they were greeted by the cozy warm air that neither of the teenagers knew they missed until they were back in it's vicinity.
Raine quickly took off their wet boots, and their snowy jacket, Eda started to do the same, but then she noticed that their supply of firewood might not be enough to last the next week," I'm going to get some twigs from outside, when they dry, we can use them to heat the oven."
"I'm coming to help," Raine replied as they started to pull their jacket back on, but Eda stopped them by taking the jacket from their hands and putting it aside.
"You don't have to, it's not a big deal. I won't be long. Change your clothes and rest,"
Raine made no reply, but smiled gratefully at her, and when Eda had left the tent they took off all the rest of their wet clothes and hung them on a line near the fire, and put their boots up near the fireplace, hoping they would dry by morning. They put on their pajamas, thinking for just a second whether or not they should take off their tight body-hugging binder, but they pushed the thought away, deciding not to, and then crawled into bed between the covers to hide from the cold, waiting for Eda to return.
Eda and Raine had been together since they were fourteen, and they were very close, and deeply in love, but that didn't mean Raine didn't have their fears. Raine knew what Eda's type was, and when it came to looks, Raine knew they fit that type, but they were afraid when it goes deeper, and it's not just what people see, but what's hidden under the clothes, Eda can them reject. A small voice in their head told them it was a ridiculous fear, but Raine wasn't willing to risk it, so they kept it a secret for at least as long as they could.
They heard how the lock of the tent opened and they heard a very familiar voice whistling an even more familiar tune, they opened their eyes a little and smiled when they saw Eda, who was currently putting tree branches to dry behind the fireplace. Then she started to take off her own wet clothes laying them out to dry next to Raine's, instead of finding her pajamas at the bottom of her bag, Eda decided to stay in her black underwear, she had nothing to be ashamed in front of her partner, and she loved how red Raine's face went every time she did that, and this time too Eda smiled when she saw how Raine tried to hide their blushing face under the blanket. She climbed into bed and tilted towards them so that she was hovering over them, she pulled the end of the blanket away from their face and looked at them with a sly smile.
"Like what you see?” she asked, her bright golden eyes looking at them playfully, that same smile still playing on her lips.
Raine just stared at her, they were speechless, she was so beautiful like this above them, her wild red hair in a mess, and so much of her fair skin for them to see.
The redhead smiled even more, leaning closer to them, "Is it hard to resist my charm, Rainestorm?"
"You are beautiful,” they whispered.
"You are too," Eda replied leaning even closer, her head filled with many different not so innocent thoughts, these thoughts had been on her mind quite a lot in the last few months, but she hadn't made any move to let her partner know, for fear that it might scare her shy partner, she was sure they didn't want it and weren't ready for it, and she respected that, "Okay, let me under the covers now, it's actually pretty cold in here,"
Raine laughed a little and let go of the blanket so their girlfriend could crawl under it next to them. She cuddled into their side and rested her head on their chest, her fingers playing with the fabric of their shirt. Raine's mind was foggy, it was hard for them to concentrate with their almost naked girlfriend so close to them. They carefully chose where to place their hands on her body, worried that they would cross the line and make her uncomfortable. But she just smirked at that, and when Raine put one of their arms around her shoulders, Eda gave them the chance to take her right hand, which Raine did, and she gave their hand one tiny squeeze before closing her eyes and began to enjoy the warm closeness what her partner was offering. For quite some time they just lay there cuddling, until finally Eda decided that they could watch some movie, she summoned her scroll and made it play one of the blood-curdling series about Boiling Island's most dangerous and worst serial killers that have ever existed there. Raine had never understood why Eda liked to watch them, she had once told them that she liked the safe fear that those TV series offered and that they weren't terribly cheesy like some romance movies, or full of stupid jokes like comedy movies, Raine had laughed at that and accepted their fate that every romantic movie night they will ever have with their girlfriend will either be a crime documentary or horror movie.
This time though, the show didn't seem to be doing any good for either of them, rather it made them extremely paranoid since they were two teenagers alone in the middle of the woods, so they didn't get very far with the episode before Eda shut it down and put her scroll away again. Now the two slightly frightened teenagers were in silence, and in order not to let their own paranoia make them hear things that weren't really there outside the tent, they tried to find a way to divert their thoughts. Eda turned slightly and lifted her head from their chest and looked up at them, her golden eyes burning as she gazed at them with affection. The Bard felt their face turn red, and they couldn't help their body from shaking slightly.
"Can I help you?" they asked smiling.
"Mhm," she replied, playing with one of Raine's mint green curls, "Keep being so pretty, and I won't have a need to think about what or who might be lurking in the dark forest, but instead I can think about you,"
Raine frowned and held back a laugh, "You're weird,"
"You just noticed it now? Took you what? 3 years?" she laughed, and then lowered her head, and began to kiss their cheeks and chin.
It wasn't anything new for Raine, but still every time Eda did it, Raine swore the sensation was getting bigger and bigger each time, it felt like teasing, like she was trying to test how long it would take for Raine's patience to break, and they will give Eda some kind of sign that they want her as much as she wants them. They moaned lightly as Eda's kisses against their neck became a little sharper and more passionate, and they had to use all their willpower not to pull her closer to them. She decided to tease them for a few more minutes, leaving two faint red marks on their neck before she moved back up and captured their lips with her own. It was like redemption for Raine, because they could finally show their love to their lover the same way she had shown it to them. The kiss between the two lovebirds deepened, and by the time they had begun to gently bite each other's lips, Eda had imperceptibly climbed into Raine's lap completely, and their hands were no longer on Eda's shoulders but had fallen on her waist. And as suddenly as this makeup session had begun, it ended as both teenagers pulled away from each other panting, both eyes wide, and their lips tender and slightly swollen. Their eyes locked into each other's before Eda climbed off of them and lay back down next to them, Raine opening their arms for her again so they could continue their cuddling. After about half an hour, both of them had fallen asleep, the last thoughts on their minds as to when they would have the courage to talk about the growing sexual tension between the two of them.
---
"Come on, Raine, stop going easy on me!” Eda whined, rolling her eyes after another duel between them that had ended with Raine lying in the snow.
They pushed themself off the ground, brushing the snow off their clothes, then tried to dry the lenses of their glasses, "I don't know what you're talking about, Calamity," they replied before putting their glasses back on and smiling at her.
This made Eda roll her eyes even more and she placed her hands on her hips, "Rainestorm, I don't know if you've noticed, but I know you, and I know you're much better and stronger than you're pretending to be right now, " Eda's eyes darted around as she spoke, and she didn't even notice Raine's smile turn sly, "Stop it, don't hold back, neither of us will learn anything from this if we don't give it our all. And if you're worried about my curse..." but suddenly out of nowhere, Eda was startled as she flew backwards, and fell a few meters away into a large pile of snow, she was buried so deep under that pile of snow that only her boots and hair were visible.
She heard Raine's laugh and it came closer to her, she could tell they were amused by the situation, and even though it was so unexpected for Eda, she too couldn't help but giggle a little, but still, as her partner's hand pushed the snow away from her face, and she saw their smiling face, she pretended to be angry with them.
"Really, Raine! That was basically backstabbing!"
"Here's a lesson for you that can save your life, love, never start talking and lose your focus until you know the fight is definitely over," they held out their hand to her and helped Eda out of the snow.
"Okay, okay, you have a point," she admitted, still with a slightly ego-wounded look on her face, but suddenly she jumped towards Raine, wrapping her arms around their neck and pulling them down into the snow with her.
Raine didn't expect it, and a quick shriek came out of their mouth, which then turned into a fit of laughter as Eda pinned them under her and started trying to tickle their sides, but thanks to Raine's thick winter jacket and the shirt and a woolen sweater underneath, they didn't feel anything but light pinching.
"What are you trying to do?” they laughed, not even trying to push her away.
"I have absolutely no idea," Eda answered honestly, and after a few seconds she gave up and stopped attacking her partner's jacket with her fingers, she sighed and sat down in the snow, waiting for Raine to sit up as well, "Will you agree now for one real duel?"
"Sure,” they replied.
And then the two teenagers had a proper duel that lasted over twenty minutes, during which the course of the duel changed several times, and it was difficult to predict who had the upper hand, in the end, it ended with Raine winning, and Eda exclaiming, "Hah! I knew you held back!" and even though she lost and she hates losing, she was so proud of them.
A few hours later, when they had just finished eating their hot lunch, a canned soup they had warmed on the stove in their tent, they decided to go hiking to the highest peak of the Islas. Eda had thought that it would be a good exercise for both of them, but it seemed that the only ones who enjoyed the hike in the end was Raine and Eda herself, who had proposed the plan, was tormented by her inner demon at that moment. It wasn't that the journey was too difficult for her, of course not, the problem was that for some reason that damned bird brain didn't want to stay still and Eda had to work hard to suppress her curse and try look perfectly normal while she did it. She could actually feel new feathers growing on her arms, legs, and neck in every few seconds, but she couldn't allow the curse to come out now. This curse was already a huge life breaker for Eda, and she hated that part of herself more than anything else, and she fought it more than she had ever fought anything else in her life. Right now she had become desperate, she knew it was only a matter of time before her dangerous wild side will came out, and she knew that if she wanted to protect Raine from the monster that lived inside of her, she had to get away from them fast. But she couldn't do that without telling them what is happening, they would start to worry and fear that something had happened to her otherwise. And how are you supposed to run away from someone without them noticing if they were holding your hand? Eda could not imagine anything more terrifying than the image of her hurting her loved ones, and now there was a great danger and probability that in a few minutes she would do exactly that, unless she got away from Raine quickly. However, she had no idea how to get away from them without Raine noticing what was happening. Why did she have to be so stupid to forget her elixir in the tent?
Her hand twitched slightly as her panic began to grow even more, and she noticed jet black spots starting to appear in her vision. Time was running out.
"Eda?" she heard her partner's worried voice, but she couldn't react to it anymore, she was too far gone already.
Her whole body was shaking furiously, and she bit her lip hard, trying to keep the violent wild beast feeling at bay. At one point, Eda tried to push Raine away, hoping they would get the hint and run away before it was too late, but Raine refused to leave her, and they came closer to her. Then Eda tried to run away herself, but in doing so she tripped and fell into the snow, and for a few seconds her vision went completely black before it all disappeared, suddenly those black spots were no longer in her eyes, the feathers on her body disappeared, all that was left of her curse was her fear of it and her severe headache. She was panting heavily, trying to figure out what was going on.
"It's all right, my dear, you are alright, I'm here, and you have nothing to fear." Eda recognized her partner's soft voice, and though her eyes were clouded with fear, confusion, and headache, she couldn't see them, she felt their touch, they held her trembling hand, offering comfort but also giving her the space she needed, "Breathe, Love, it's okay, just breathe for me,"
She did as the voice told her and breathed according to the breathing exercise she had once taught Raine after one of their strong panic attacks after a performance. Not too long after, Eda was able to see more clearly again, and her body was calm but not her mind, she looked up in fright, ready to see her wounded partner, blood and only a titan knows what other horrors, but instead she saw them smiling at her so softly that it could give someone a toothache, there didn't seem to be a drop of blood anywhere, and there didn't seem to be any scratches on their skin, but still Eda wanted to be reassured.
"Did I hurt you?” she asked, her voice small with an obvious tremor in it.
Their smile softened even more and they shook their head slightly, "No, love, you didn't even transform."
"Huh?" Eda was clearly surprised by their words.
Raine raised their left hand a little higher, and Eda noticed that they were holding a round glass bottle that still had a small drop of golden elixir in the bottom, "I always have at least one bottle with me," they said, and Eda felt a strange feeling growing inside of her.
A little over two years ago, when she got her curse on herself, she had promised that no matter what, she refused to let it get the best of her, and she swore that she would never hurt anyone, but she had already broken that promise once, and it had left her with deep emotional wounds and even worse fears, but here was Raine, the witch Eda feared hurting the most, someone she loved more than anything, and without whom her life would be meaningless, someone she wouldn't want to scare away with her monsters. Despite all her fears, Raine was here, smiling at her, having her back, and assuring her with their every action that they were not afraid, and whatever fate brought them, they were ready to fight it through with her, their back straight, their heart full of love for her, a golden elixir in their pocket.
She blinked back her tears and squeezed the hand that offered her comfort before she wrapped her arms around them and hugged them tightly, her head falling on their shoulder. The Bard returned her hug without any hesitation, they pulled Eda into their arms and began rubbing her back soothingly, and although she couldn't feel it very well through her thick winter clothes, it gave her an indescribable warmth, comfort, and feeling of being loved. Every once in a while, Raine placed light soothing kisses on the girl's forehead, cheek, or hairline, and constantly they whispered sweet words of reassurance to her. Eda didn't cry much, just a few tears, but she wasn't sure if they were tears of happiness that they were still here and that nothing terrible had happened, or if she was crying out of fear that someday, on some terrible and unforgiving occasion, things may not go so well. One thing Eda was sure of, however, was that she was lucky to have such a caring and thoughtful partner and that it was thanks to them that she was now safe and sound.
"I love you, Raine,” she whispered against their shoulder, her grip on them growing even tighter.
"I love you too, Eda,” they answered her, placing another kiss on her forehead.
They sat there in the snow for quite some time before Raine suggested that they go back to the tent, and Eda agreed. They spent the rest of the evening in the tent, watching one of their favorite cooking shows, eating not a proper dinner like they probably should but snacks and sweets that they had brought with them to the forest, drinking Eda's favorite appleblood, the kind that even had a few percent of alcohol in it, and cuddling each other until finally, they both fell asleep, but before that Eda promised them that since today had not been as adventurous and conquering new places as they had planned, that tomorrow she would take them somewhere very special, a place that is probably her own favorite place on the Knee.
---
Who would have thought that even in the freezing cold Knee there are places that are warm, and which are still a secret from the larger population. As Eda had promised, at noon the next day, she led Raine to a very secret place, a place she and Lilith had discovered years ago while playing hide and seek. It was a very spacious cave, on the ceiling of which grew bright shining smaracts, which filled the entire cave with purple light, and a large spring of hot water. Raine couldn't believe it at first, they had spent over half their life living in this frozen place and they had never heard of this place, and Eda ventured to guess that very few people even knew it existed, and neither she nor any of her family had never seen another soul here.
A witch with mint green hair, dipped their hand into the slightly steaming water, and their honey skin met a warm sensation, "This is truly amazing," they gasped, and looked over their shoulder at their girlfriend, who had already removed all of her outerwear and was now standing in front Raine in her swim shorts and sports bra cutout swim top.
"What did I tell you," Eda laughed as she walked closer to them, "Do you now believe this snowy place isn't such a big hell?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to convince me a little more," they replied with a smirk and a shake of the head, "I've been through too much in this place for one hot spring to change my faith about it."
"You are such a drama master, I swear to Titan," she playfully rolled her eyes, "I'll wait for you in the water once you get over your skepticism," and before Raine could answer her, Eda jumped into the water with a big bang, splashing Raine who was still fully dressed.
"EDA!" they shouted in annoyance, but the redhead was already swimming away from them, they heard her sly giggle.
They shook their head, and although they didn't like the fact that their jacket and pants now had wet spots of water on them, they laughed along with her. While Eda was already enjoying the pleasures of the warm water, Raine went behind a big rock, behind which Eda had changed her clothes a few minutes ago, all her things were placed on this rock. Behind that same rock, Raine also began to change into their swimwear, putting on their almost knee-length swimming trunks and their swimming tank top, leaving their binder under the tank top. They knew it was a very bad idea, but they felt like they had to do it and that they had no choice. Until a few years ago they had had a separate binder for swimming, one that was a little bigger and not as tight around their torso, but that binder had lost its life after several long years of honorable service, and when Raine's mother, Emily, finally threw it away, it had holes in it. Raine had had a few more binders, but by now they had either outgrown them or they were past their lifespan, and by now all Raine had left was one decent top, and that was what they were currently wearing, and Raine didn't have the funds to buy a new one or two. One would have thought that an item that could be a life saver for so many people would have a suitable price for everyone, but no, they were insanely expensive, and there weren't many companies in their realm that made them of good enough quality to really help anyone.
As soon as they were ready, they made their way to the water at a very quick pace, for although the water warmed the air a little, it was still an open-mouthed cave in the middle of the cold mountains, and the warm steaming water was very inviting to the young musician. They sank into the water, enjoying the warmth that filled their body and warmed them to the bone. Standing in neck-deep water, Raine began looking around for their girlfriend, but the redhead was nowhere to be seen. Raine became a little worried, this cave wasn't very big and it wasn't possible for Eda to successfully hide from them there. A moment before Raine really panicked, they felt someone's arms wrap around their waist from behind, and when they looked over their shoulder, they saw Eda's head coming out of the water, she smiled at them, her eyes shining.
"Did I scare you?” she asked, resting her chin on their shoulder.
"Maybe a little,” they replied.
She bit her lip lightly, and started to pull Raine into deeper water with her so they could swim together, but Raine didn't seem to want to go there, "Still afraid of swimming?"
"I'm not afraid of it, I can't swim, that's entirely another thing. Not wanting to drown isn't a fear if there's a reason for it," Raine said, taking Eda's hands in their's, quietly pulling her with them a little more towards dry land.
"Last summer, you were already quite good at swimming," Eda answered stubbornly.
"It wasn't swimming, it was staying afloat and not sinking," Raine was even more stubborn.
"Huh, fine, whatever you're comfortable with," Eda said last, but then added," But would you be willing to swim with me in this shallow water? And I mean swim, not stand."
Although they were a little nervous, having had very little swimming experience in their life, only a few times in early childhood, and a few times in the summer swimming with Eda and their other friends, they did not say no to her, and were willing to try and learn some more. The whole time they swam, Eda stayed close to Raine, holding one or both of their hands to give them courage. The longer they swam the more confident Raine became, and they were willing to go a little deeper, but they couldn't swim for long, so when they felt too tired they wrapped their arms around Eda's neck and allowed Eda to help them back to shallower water. As Raine's feet touched the boney ground again, they slid off Eda's back and pulled her closer, and this time it was Eda who put her arms around their neck and wrapped her legs around their waist. The wild teen buried her face in Raine's neck, at first just resting her head on it, but then she started kissing over the slight bruises she had left there a few nights ago.
"You know," she said between kisses, "I think we really needed this swim," she pulled away from their neck and looked at them, saying with genuine seriousness, "Three days without a shower in the woods, it was only a matter of time before we would have suffocated from the stench in that tent."
Raine gave her an amused look before they both laughed and they said in agreement, "Especially after all those duels and hikes for sure."
Eda leaned her face closer to them again, this time to their lips, and Raine met her halfway, melting into the kiss. As the seconds and minutes passed, their kiss grew deeper and more passionate, and Eda tried very hard not to let her hands wander under their tanktop or anywhere else. And when Eda sensed again that things were going too far, she pulled away and tried to hide the tension of physical need with her usual playful nature.
She let go of them and playfully shoved them away before swimming away from them and telling them, "Catch me if you can!"
Raine knew there was no way they could catch her, but still they accepted the challenge and began to swim after her. As Raine tried to catch her, Eda wondered how long she could last before her desire for them got the best of her and she scared them away as if her curse wasn't repulsive enough. Oh how she hoped that something would change and that either these desires would go away and she would stop being a hormone filled teenager or she would get some kind of hint that taking the next step was safe and something Raine wanted too.