Disclaimer: I don't own The Owl House!
Title: Baby bear fights local bard
Summary: King interrogates an awkward Raine after spending the night at the Owl House.
...
It takes Luz a solid second to double back into the living room as she stumbled, still half-asleep, towards the kitchen. Raine was someone that tended to go under the radar, even when quietly nursing a cup of coffee on the couch. "Oh, hey."
King, half-snoozing in her arms, perked up immediately, the fur on his tail bristling. "The interloper!"
Raine startled at the end of their sip, swallowing heavily. The Bard fixed her a nauseous smile. "Good morning, children. Eda is uh… something about shopping? I fell asleep over some plans last night, and, well…. breakfast? Would you like me to make some for you kids?"
"Only my most trusted subjects are allowed to make my num-yums!" King snapped.
"Thanks, but no thanks," Luz answered. "I'm kinda picky on how I like my griffin eggs."
Raine did a thumbs up motion and went back to staring blearily into their coffee. Luz complacently wandered off, but King wriggled free and skittered to the table.
"Interloper!" he squeaked, climbing up with some difficulty.
"I have a name," Raine said gently.
King jabbed a claw in their face. "The couch is my domain!"
They looked down at the sofa, then up at him. "Oh, uh, my bad? I can go wait in the nest if you-"
"You are captured!" he insisted. "Captured witches on my domain must answer to me!"
"Oh," they repeated, setting the mug down. "Well, alright, then. What would please his majesty today?"
"What are your plans for Eda?"
"My… plans?" Raine blinked at him, blushed, and cleared their throat, ears flat with embarrassment. "I was going to ask her to lunch later this week. Discuss plans on overthrowing the government. And maybe… hold hands once or twice?"
"Ew, gross." King waved them off with a claw. "You say you were childhood friends, but Eda's never spoken about you before. Did you implant false memories in her?"
"I'll take that you think I'm strong enough for that as a compliment," Raine said. "But, no. Eda and I's relationship has always been more on the quiet side. I was never one for a lot of fuss, and Eda respects that."
King crossed his arms with a huff. "You're acting pretty nervous. You aren't lying to me, are you, interloper?"
"I can promise you, this is just my natural state of being."
"And you'll, uh…" King's eyes softened a little, arms falling. "You won't take her away from me- us, will you?"
Raine gently stroked his skull with a tsk. "You make it sound like I could even try. Your mother is the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, you know."
"I know. But she can be kind of a dummy sometimes. You'll… take care of her, right?"
"For as long as she'll have me," Raine promised. "Now, why don't we check on your royal num-yums? They should almost be done by now."
"Yeah, alright." King went to hop down, thought of something, and immediately jabbed his claw in their face. Raine jumped back and held up their hands. "But I'm not callin' you… whatever parental title you feel fits your gender!"
"Raine is fine," they reassured him. "It's a lot better than interloper, anyway."
Author's Note: I wrote this right after Raine's first introduction. I think it holds up well!
-Mandaree1