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Raine woke in the darkness of Eda's room, snuggled up in a surprisingly comfy nest. Something seemed to have woken them. But what? Eda's snoring was the same as always. So was Hooty's. Their palismen were cozied up in their own nest nearby, both silent and still. The weather outside seemed clear and calm.
Something pricked at the edge of their sensitive hearing. Quiet crying, just outside Eda's thick bedroom door. Luz was in the Human Realm tonight, so it could only be one person.
"King?" They whispered, opening the door. "Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?"
He shrank at the sound of the door, tail tucked between his legs. At their words, he just hid his face and whimpered.
"Bad dream?" A tiny nod. "You wanna talk about it?"
King just shook his head. He stretched out his arms wordlessly.
Raine took the hint. They lifted him up, cradling his little body against their chest. He was a little heavier than expected, but the weight settled comfortably in their arms.
"It's okay, kiddo," they murmured. "It's okay, you're okay."
They'd never really done this before. Occasionally they'd held other people's babies for a few moments, but even then, Raine gave them back when they cried. With a twinge of desperation, they tried bouncing him gently. Blessedly, it seemed to help a tiny bit.
"Do you want your mom?"
"Mm-mm," he mumbled into their chest. "Want you."
"Oh." At that, they pulled him a little closer. "O-okay. I'm here."
The child clung to them with tiny paws, tears dampening their nightshirt. Raine could only speculate what was upsetting him. After all they'd been through, he certainly had his pick of nightmare scenarios…
No time to dwell on that, now. It was late, and they both needed sleep. King looked far from it, though.
"You want a lullaby?"
He nodded, still not letting go of their shirt. They adjusted their grip and began to hum familiar lullabies. Ones their mother used to sing, then ones that Scooter and Laurence had written. They only put a little bit of magic into their music. Not enough to force sleep, but just enough to lead him there.
In no time at all, King's sobs subsided, replaced by deepening breathing, then snores. It was funny how he took after his mom like that. Even in sleep they were so alike. They stared down at his sleeping form in their arms. The sight was mesmerizing. He was so little, so innocent, so perfect.
"Let him sleep here tonight."
Only by the grace of the Titan did King not wake when they startled. They turned carefully to see Eda propped up on her remaining elbow, gazing fondly at the pair. "Come back to bed, Rainstorm. Bring the lil guy with you, too."
They returned to the nest slowly, carefully, trying not to wake the child. Once in the nest, they sat down against the edge, resting King in their lap. Eda sat up to join them, wrapping her arms lazily around the pair.
"I love him," they breathed.
"I can tell."
"Not cause he's good, or cause he's ours." A long sigh, as if they were deflating. "I love him cause he exists."
Eda chuckled. "That's the unconditional love thing I warned you about."
"Figured as much."
"How does it feel?"
"Scary. Strong." They hesitated. "Warm. Bright. A lot of other things, too."
She hummed. "That's how it goes. You think you've found a weird dog, but then it turns out you've found family."
"…I don't think that's what 'found family' means."
"'S what it means in this house."
"It started when she found meee!"
"…weh?"
"Hooty!"
Raine shook their head fondly as witch and house demon argued in hushed tones. "Go back to sleep, buddy," they murmured.
"Okay." With the cutest little yawn—and this was coming from someone who'd lived with a pigeon for 30 years—he curled up and went right back to sleep. They settled next to him, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead.
"Sweet dreams, kiddo."