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Traveling under the cloak of night had become Raine’s favorite way to travel over the past year. Perhaps it was their enhanced eyesight at night making them feel safer in what was once dangerous woods, or maybe it was just the fact that it would greatly decrease the risk of running into anyone who may recognize them, Raine didn’t know. They just knew they liked the night.
They turned and watched Eda walk beside them, slouched over in boredom, not caring as she crunched twigs beneath her high heels. They supposed they were the biggest predators in the woods now - what risk was there in being noisy? Still though, Raine enjoyed the near silence, basking in the moonlight as they traveled. They took in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the woods. They’d really grown to love being away from civilization. It was cleaner here.
“I don’t understand why we’re doing this,” Eda admitted, rubbing at her tired eyes. While she, too, had become more of a night owl, her jobs meant she still had to be up at an acceptable hour to man her stand or do deliveries, whereas Raine was just assisting and brewing and could wake up at any time. Their sleep schedules had definitely flipped from how they used to be.
“I just want to check,” Raine said with a soft shrug, kicking at a rock as they continued to walk. “I doubt they sold the house - it’s been in the family for a while. So some of my stuff might still be in my old room. Would be nice to have some more clothes, at least.”
“We can just steal more,” Eda groaned, wanting to head home.
“This is a crime too, you realize,” Raine pointed out. “We’re breaking and entering. I don’t live there anymore.” Eda perked up a bit at that and sighed.
“Fine, fine, we’ll break into your old house. But I am not doing the heavy lifting back home.”
“We have our palisman, we can just fly home,” Raine said, patting Fiddlesticks where she sat on their shoulder. She yipped and nibbled on their ear, causing them to chuckle. “I just wanted to enjoy a walk for the way there.”
“You’re such a dingus,” Eda said with a roll of her eyes, shoving them. They stumbled a bit but only laughed as they righted themself. They knew Eda was enjoying the walk too, as much as she was complaining.
“Takes one to know one.”
The two chuckled and continued to shove each other as they walked, before returning to a quiet state. Eda stopped slouching so much and looked around, seeming to be enjoying herself more now.
“What are you going to do if it’s all gone?” she eventually asked.
“I don’t know. Just, hopefully get some closure, I guess? Maybe leave them a note in case they ever come back?” Raine shrugged and watched their feet as they walked. “I haven’t really thought this through. I’ve just been thinking about it ever since your mom showed up.”
It had been a few weeks now since Eda’s mother had dropped in unexpectedly at the Owl House. After she had almost poisoned Eda with an attempted ‘cure’ (which, feather growth since then had proved it had failed, thank you very much. She’d send Owlbert off with a letter and a feather stating a very simple ‘Fuck off’.), she had unveiled the news that Raine’s parents had moved back to the knee, essentially giving up on ever seeing their only child again.
Raine still hadn’t fully processed how they felt about the situation, and thought that maybe a trip home would help. They’d been avoiding this area of the woods on their late night walks but now saw no need as their parents had left, hopefully for good. Having to avoid Eda’s family was bad enough.
As they neared their house though, regret began to form in their gut, the feeling that they may be making a mistake quickly overpowering them. Though they didn’t think they were showing it aside from clenching their hands into fists, Eda seemed to pick up on it, as she always seemed to. She flashed them a smile and gently opened one of their fists, placing her hand in theirs.
“Hey. It’s gonna be fine, okay? Worst comes to worst it’s an empty house. I’ve been working on that graffiti spell I did at Hexside, to the lockers? We can leave some fun messages in there if you want.” Raine snickered at their girlfriend’s words, fully believing that she’d vandalize a house for them.
She’d do it for a lot less. Probably for nothing.
“You’re right, you’re right,” they said as they neared the house.
It looked the same as last time they’d been here, from the outside. The plants were perhaps a bit more wilted than usual, but neither of their moms had ever been plant coven witches to begin with. No green thumbs in their family - unless you wanted to count Uncle Nigel, but that was literal, and an entirely separate story.
“It feels weird coming in the front door,” Eda admitted as she used a quick spell to pick the lock. “I think I’ve only ever come in your window.”
“There was that one time, when my moms just glared at you while you sat in the kitchen, remember?” Raine said, reminiscing. “We only stayed for like, twenty minutes before heading to Snapdragon Hill.”
“Oh, right, right. That was awkward.” Eda smirked before continuing, “I stole your mom’s wallet on the way out.”
“Maybe they had a right to hate you,” Raine joked with a laugh. Eda just shrugged unapologetically and let herself into the house.
“So, where do you want to start? Want to finally give me a tour of the whole place, or go straight to your room an-”
“What are you doing here?”
Raine stood still, stunned at the voice. They’d barely moved one foot over the threshold when there, in the living room just off the entryway, stood their mother. Her mint hair was pulled back instead of let down for once, and she had a clipboard in her hands, pen still moving even as they glared at their only child and their partner.
“Um, we should be asking the questions here,” Eda said, saving Raine from needing to come up with a response. Titan, they were glad they brought her. “You guys left. Moved out. Gone. What’re you doing back already?”
“We needed to wrap up some paperwork and grab a few final boxes,” their mother stated, adjusting their thin, rectangular-framed glasses on their face. A complete contrast to Raine’s large, round ones. They remembered their mother being upset when they picked them out, claiming they covered too much of their face, but they’d liked them and stuck with the frames since. “You two are the ones trespassing, how’d you even get in? I know I locked the door.”
“Uh, magic, duh,” Eda said, waving her finger to cast a spell circle that shot a gust of wind at Raine’s mother. She stumbled back a step before catching herself and glaring at Eda. Eda glared right back.
“We just came to see if you left any of my stuff behind,” Raine finally interrupted. This was their chance to finally confront their mother, after all these years. But by the Titan they didn’t know what to say. They’d had days where they practiced what they’d say to their mother in the mirror, how they’d tell her off, but now, all the words were gone.
“Winifred, sweetheart? Is everything alright?” Another woman with long, white hair came strolling down the stairs, and struck still when she reached the bottom steps, looking out to see Raine. “Oh, Rainedrop, you’ve come home!”
“No they have not,” Winifred said with a piercing tone. “They were just leaving.”
“Now, now, dear, don’t mind your mother. She’s just been hurt that you left, but I knew you’d come back!”
“If you knew, then why’d you leave?” Raine accused before Eda could, her mouth opening just as the words left their mouth.
“Well, there was just too much attention on us, you see,” Raine’s mom said, slowly moving closer to Raine. Eda took a side step, blocking her from fully reaching Raine. Titan, they loved that woman. Some people would be embarrassed at their girlfriend protecting them, but honestly, Raine felt like they needed to be protected right now.
This is how their mom worked. This was a trap.
“Aspen, they don’t care what they did to us, otherwise they’d never have gone traipsing with some harpy in the first place,” Winifred said, tapping her pen angrily on her clipboard. “It’s no wonder they got cursed with the company they keep.”
Raine bit down a yell of frustration, but could tell Eda wouldn’t be able to.
“What the fuck is wrong with you! Raine didn’t do anything to deserve being cursed.”
“Oh, you’re right, deary,” Aspen said, now standing beside her wife, seeing that Eda wouldn’t let her through to Raine. “This is entirely your fault, of course. They never behaved so heinously until they met you.”
Raine knew their mom had hit a soft spot on Eda. Eda constantly blamed herself for the two being cursed, but even if it was somehow Eda’s fault, they could never blame her. It’s not like she’d asked to be cursed. At least this way, she wasn’t suffering alone.
“That’s enough,” Raine said, unable to stand up for themself, but finding standing up for their girlfriend much easier. “I won’t let you treat us that way. We didn’t realize you’d be here, obviously, so we’ll just be on our way.”
“Now, now,” Aspen said, spinning her finger. The door slammed shut behind Eda and Raine, blocking their exit. “We were just beginning to talk. It’d be quite rude of you to leave in the middle of our conversation.”
“What conversation?” Eda practically growled. “You’re just beating up on us!”
“We could do that more literally if you’d like,” Winifred offered. “You are trespassing - we’d be well within our rights.”
“Winifred, hush now darling, we want our sweet Rainedrop to come back to us, now, don’t we?” Aspen said in that sickeningly sweet tone that Raine hated so much. They hated the name Rainedrop, too. It was entirely tainted. Rainestorm sounded much better, in their opinion.
“They’ll only be an inconvenience to us unless we solve that curse issue,” Winifred said, no warmth in her eyes. “As it is, they’ll just be a mouth to feed.”
“But they were always so wonderful at the violin. I’ve missed hearing it.” Raine wanted to throw up when their mom pouted. What was she trying to get out of them?
“No one would go to a concert for a raging beast,” Winifred said, rolling her eyes.
“No one has to know,” said Aspen.
“What makes you think you can just put them onstage like a showmonkey, anyways?” Eda demanded, barely being held back by Raine. They had one hand on her shoulder and the other held back one of her arms. “They have stage fright anyways, in case you forgot.”
“These things can be gotten over, my dear,” Aspen said with a flick of her wrist. “And of course my little Rainedrop would perform for us! We raised them, after all. They owe it to us.” Now, Raine’s mom’s sickeningly sweet look turned to a harsh, accusing glare. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint your mothers now, would you?”
Part of Raine’s brain wanted to just say ‘of course, mom,’ and move from Eda’s side, but the larger part wanted to finally stand up for itself. They tightened their grip on Eda’s shoulder, causing their girlfriend to wince slightly. They whispered an apology and rubbed the shoulder before speaking.
“I’m not going with you.”
Simple and to the point.
“Of course you are, dear,” Aspen said, a sickening grin back in place. “Mommy says so.”
“That’s gross,” Eda chimed in.
“You lost your right to call yourself my mom when you didn’t even bother to look for me,” Raine said, determined. “I’ve never been so grateful for your neglect.”
“Neglect?” Winifred seethed. “Us? Neglectful? Who put a roof over your head, clothes on your body? Who paid for your food, your lessons?”
“That’s like, bare minimum parenting,” Eda pointed out.
“You also made me work for a scholarship instead of finding cheaper schooling,” Raine pointed out. “You put intense pressure on me to be the best, and wouldn’t accept any less.”
“Well that’s just because we wanted the best for you!” Aspen said.
“You wanted the best of me, to parade around to your friends and get money off of. So the second I became inconvenient, you were out.” It felt good to finally get their feelings out. Tears were welling up in their mom’s eyes now, but they were pretty sure they were fake. Another ploy to trick them and keep them with them, forever.
“Rainedrop, how could you-”.
“How could I ? How could you! You’ve never cared about what I wanted. I’m lucky I actually like music, because you wouldn’t have cared if I hated it! I had talent at it and you could profit off it, so a bard it was for me!” Raine felt like their magic would explode out of them at any time. Fiddlesticks whined from where she’d hidden under Raine’s jacket. She’d never seen her witch so upset before.
“Raine, I love that you’re getting this all out, but you need to calm down,” Eda said, plucking a feather from their neck. They focused on her voice and took a deep breath, calming themselves as much as they could in the moment. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep the Bat Beast at bay.
“Even without us, you can’t take care of yourself,” Winifred chastised. “You need some poor Clawthorne girl to take care of you. Pathetic.”
“Now, now, Winny, it just shows that they still need their mothers around,” Aspen said, holding an arm out to Raine. “Come now, dear, and you can join us on the knee.”
“Why the hell would they do that?” Eda shouted.
“You’re going to let this harlot treat your mothers like this?” Winifred growled.
“Actually, yeah,” Raine said, sounding a lot calmer now. “I am.”
“How dare you,” Aspen said, a vein beginning to pop out on her forehead.
“No, I’m done with this.” Raine sighed and turned around, casting a spell circle on the door and overpowering their mom’s spell. “I tried to be a good kid, I really, really did. But it was never enough. So now I’m going to live my life for me, and no one else. Not even for Eda. And she’s choosing to be by my side and support my decisions, something you two have never done. I always regretted not being able to say goodbye to you two, but now I can see I saved myself a lot of hassle. I never should have come back here.” They took a step out the door and turned back to Eda. “Ready to go?”
“More than,” she said, pulling Owlbert out of her hair and climbing on the staff. Too upset to fly themself, they climbed on behind Eda and wrapped their arms around their waist. Eda didn’t hesitate, taking off before Raine’s parents could do more than shout after them. “You okay there, Rainestorm?”
“I think I will be,” Raine said into her shoulders. “That was… a lot.”
“Glad you got it out though?” she asked.
“I think I will be later. Right now I just want to curl up and cry for a bit.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Eda comforted.
Fortunately the fly home was pretty short, and they were soon dismounting Owlbert outside of the Owl House. Eda glared down Hooty, keeping him from saying anything as they opened the door and went in. They heard a ‘hoot hoot! Ow!’ as she slammed the door, but ignored it. They weren’t entirely sure if Hooty actually felt pain or just pretended, considering some of the things he did to himself.
Raine headed straight up the stairs, Eda following close behind. They said nothing as they curled up in the nest and finally let the tears burst from their eyes. Once they started, they weren’t sure they could stop. Sobs wrecked their body as Eda curled up beside them, their hands going to clench at her shirt and hold her close.
“I’m sorry,” they choked out. “I don’t know… why I’m so upset.”
“Because your moms are assholes is why,” Eda said, stroking their hair comfortingly. “You’re allowed to be upset. So long as you know they can’t rule over what you do anymore. This was some closure. It was hard, but it’s done now.”
“Since when were you so wise,” Raine teased through their tears.
“I’m a very wise owl,” Eda jokingly preened. Sobbing stopped long enough for Raine to laugh for a moment before commencing again. “Hey. You cry however much you need. That whole ‘tough witches don’t cry’ spiel is wormshit and we both know it.” Raine just gripped her tighter to them and continued to cry. They didn’t know how much time passed before they finally felt able to breathe properly again, sobs no longer escaping them with every attempted breath.
“You okay now?” Eda asked. Raine had honestly thought she’d have fallen asleep by now, but she still held on to them.
“I think so,” Raine answered, too tired now to be sure.
“Let’s get some rest, okay? We can talk more about it tomorrow.”
Raine simply nodded and curled back up into her chest. She resumed stroking their hair, and began to hum Raine’s Rhapsody, making them smile as they slowly drifted to sleep.
Tomorrow would be better.