Potential spoilers for season two if you are not all the way caught up on The Owl House.
Eda sat in her kitchen wearing her pajamas, a cup of slowly warming apple blood in her hands. The Owl House was quiet for a weekend. Usually Luz and her gaggle of friends would be making all sorts of a ruckus, and going off on crazy adventures where they needed their butts saved. Either that, or King loudly declaring his supreme eminence over her and the other inhabitants of the house, only to throw a tantrum when the children inevitably called him adorable. No, there was a distinct lack of life inside the walls of the Owl House today. Just like there had been for a while now.
"Come on Owl Lady" She sighed to herself, setting the cup of apple blood off to the side to be forgotten, "Pull yourself together. Just gotta get used to being alone again." Standing up she slowly made her way over to the living room, which was dirtier than usual. She just had not had the energy to clean anything since the Day of Unity. Shifting a chunk of garbage and clothes off the couch, Eda plopped down and picked up a copy of that weird human book Luz had always been obsessed with. Flipping to her bookmark, Eda picked up where she left off. In her opinion the book was terrible and filled with overly colorful language and fan service. The story itself was also unrealistic, completely farfetched, and designed to keep the reader just interested enough they did not set the book on fire. But Luz had loved this book, and so she was reading it as a way to be close to her even though she couldn't be. As she read, a familiar, overbearing presence made its way next to her.
"What are you doing? Hoot hoot" the over zealous owl demon basically shouted into her ear. Eda quickly smacked him with the book.
"I am trying to read Hooty" she scolded irritably. "And what have I told you about yelling in people's ears?"
"Sorry Eda. I just wanted to talk to someone, Hoot." His voice was softer, and Eda's frown broke. Sighing, she pulled the demon into a sort of hug.
"I get it Hooty," she whispered, "I miss them too." They both stayed there for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company in the quiet of the house. Hooty eventually broke the silence.
"You know," he began, "you could always go and visit them. I'm sure they would love it. Hoot Hoot." Eda released the hug, and just gave the owl demon a sad look.
"Trust me Hooty, if I could go and visit Luz in the Human realm I would. But we don't have another portal, and even if we did, I wouldn't want to get in the way of her life. She finally found a way back, and I'm happy for her. I just wasn't expecting it to be permanent." She felt tears welling up behind her eyes, but she did not let them fall. If she started crying, then Hooty would start crying, and that was something she just could not deal with right now. She could barely take care of herself, let alone the drama queen her house could be.
"That wasn't who I was talking about Eda," Hooty said, more serious than she had ever heard him be. "You're the only person who hasn't gone yet." She realized who Hooty had been talking about, and a small spark of anger crept up into her stomach.
"We have been over this Hooty" she hissed, pointing the Azura book at him. "I am not going. It would just make everything worse, and if you don't stop suggesting it so help me Titan I will beat you to death with this book."
"Fine," He humphed, slowly retracting himself back into the door. "I was just trying to help."
"Well I don't need your advice Hooty" She yelled at the retreating demon.
"You're going to have to face them eventually, Eda" Hooty retorted, before the door slammed shut, leaving Eda alone in the quiet of her house.
"Great going Eda" she muttered, "even Hooty doesn't want to talk to you." In the silence she continued to read, or at least she tried too. The memories of what had happened, and ringing of the silence were just a little too much after the altercation with Hooty. Marking her place in the book, she began to trudge through all the trash on the floor to the stairs, and made her way upstairs for bed. Who cares if she had only woken up a few hours ago, not like she was doing anything else. Luz wasn't going to drag her to the market so they could look at all the stuff there she found so fascinating, or up to Hexside for some grudgby game. There wasn't really any reason for her to do anything or go anywhere. Although she had started scraping the bottom of her food barrel, and should probably get it refiled at some point. But she could make it last another couple of the door to her room, she yawned before curling up in her nest. Hooty's words still ringing in the silence. "You're the only person who hasn't gone yet." He was right, but that did not mean she had to go. "Stupid Hoot" she murmered, eventually falling into an uneasy sleep.
The sun eventually woke her, the sharp rays of the setting sun piercing through her eyelids. Eda covered her eyes as she came to, sitting up. Out of habit she turned to her bedside table for an elixir, but instead of finding one she was met with the couple of pictures she had begun keeping there instead. "
"Right, no more elixir" she reminded herself, still staring at the pictures. One was of her, King, and Luz making funny faces. Just a silly little photo of their silly little family. Now King was off with his dad, learning what kind of demon he was supposed to be or something. He said he would come back and visit, but even after a few weeks she hadn't had so much as a letter. Surely he was just busy. After all, he had literally changed his last name to hers. It would happen, just not right away.
Her eyes flicked to the other picture, and she wished they hadn't. It was the picture of her and Raine on that hill all those years ago. Her hair a fiery orange, and their face bright and full of life. Of course, this was taken moments before disaster, and the memory was still painful. She sighed. Of all the people she had to fall in love with, it was the person after it was all over she couldn't bring herself to hate. If she could have, then maybe getting over them would have been easier. Maybe the Day of Unity wouldn't have been so hard. Once again, Hooty's words rang in her ear. "You could always go and visit them. I'm sure they would love it."
"Titan Dammit Hoot" Eda groaned softly. Slowly crawling out of her nest, Eda got dressed in her usual ripped red dress outfit, the only difference being a nast blackened burn mark along the side. She had initially liked it, thought it added character. But as time had passed it had only served as a reminder of the failure that was the Day of Unity. Making her way slowly down the stairs, she caught her reflection for a moment in a mirror on the wall. Her Grey and white hair was a mess. It looked like she hadn't brushed it for days, which was accurate. Her eyes had more bags than she ever remembered, despite having slept more in the past two weeks than she had ever before. She looked awful, and she was not sure if she cared or not. There was no reason for her to care, because it wasn't like anyone was going to see her.
"Sheesh Eda" she muttered to herself. "Maybe we do need to get out. At least for a walk." Coming to the foot of the stairs, she looked at the horrendous state of the living room. "Definitely need to go for a walk." Walking over to the door, she picked up her staff. "C'mon Owlbert, we need some air that doesn't taste like old ice cream containers and apple blood." The small palisman fluttered over and locked into place. Eda smiled, even in this funk, owlbert was always cute enough to make her feel better. She mentally prepared herself, then opened the door.
"Why hello there" hoot began excitedly, seemingly having brushed off the conversation from earlier. "What got you kahooting out and about Eda?"
"I just need some air Hooty. Could you possibly clean the living room for me before I get back? I'm tired of looking at all the trash."
"Hmmmm," Hooty went, spinning inside of the door. "I could, but what do I get in return?" Eda sighed, knowing it would come to this.
"How about I let you tell owlbert a story when we get back?" Owlbert shot her an angry look, which she met with an apologetic smile.
"With how much trash is here, I need more than a story hoot hoot." Hooty replied matter of factly, still spinning in the door.
"Well what do you want then?"
"I want you to go visit Raine." Hooty's words hit Eda like a cold wind, sending shivers rocketing through her whole body.
"Absolutely not," she retorted angrily. "I'd rather deal with the trash." Eda turned on her heel and stormed off into the woods, Hooty shouting behind her. "You need to face your fears to overcome them. It's the only way to find peace!"
Eda walked angrily for a while, not really paying attention to where her feet were taking her. She was just so mad at Hooty. "I mean, who does he think he is to give me advice," she asked angrily out loud, not really caring that no one could hear her. "Besides, I know I'm not the only one dealing with stuff after the Day of Unity. I heard that Blight kid hasn't been seen for weeks. I'm sure she is hiding in her house too. Why doesn't he go and bother her, huh? Get off my back for once." Continuing on, Eda slowed her pace, not quite recognizing where she was, but hearing the sound of thunder slowly rolling in she panicked for a second. Quickly remembering that the Day of Unity had at least one good thing come out of it; the Boiling Isles had taken on a few attributes of the Human realm. One of those being non-boiling rain. The first time she had experienced it had made her realize why Luz had liked rain so much in the human realm. It was a comforting coolness, rather than a deadly barrage. As she kept walking, the rain began to come down, and she embraced it. Letting the cool water soak her clothes and skin, letting Owlbert hide in her hair. "Sorry little buddy, but momma likes this new fangled rain." She walked for a while longer, eyes mostly closed, just enjoying the sensation of the rain on her skin. Eventually she found herself on the outskirts of Boonesborough. With a somber stare, she took in the sight of the town. Parts of the outer wall were still in ruins, some houses still a mess of fire wood and destroyed lives, and the outskirts lined with temporary tombstones for everyone who had died on the Emperor's Day of Unity.
" Damn you Hooty" Eda muttered, her eyes lingering amongst the graves. "It's the only way to find peace" His words echoing in her head. "Fine Hooty, but only so you clean the house for me." With a goal in mind, Eda began scouring the makeshift cemetery. The longer she searched, the more depressing it got. She recognized a lot of these names. Epiram the baker, Gilbert Park, Morton from the Elixir shop. These people never did anything wrong, they just got caught in the crossfire of Belos's crazy plan. They had stopped him, and saved lives, just not as many as she had hoped. Finally she found the one she was looking for, a small stone with the name Raine Whispers carved into it.
"Hey, friend," she croaked out, a lump forming in her throat. Slowly sitting down in the soaked grass. "Hooty thought I should stop by, said it would help me." She let out a fake laugh. "Can you imagine Raine, Hooty giving me advice? I don't know if that's the craziest part, or if listening to it is?" The only reply to her was the pattern of the rain against the grass around her. Eda could feel the tears beginning to well up and fall, meshing with the rain on her skin. "You know, It's been weird Raine, not having anyone in the house besides Hooty. Luz is back with her Mom in the Human realm, King finally found his dad and is off learning all about himself. Then there's me, the lonely old Owl Lady in her house. I mean, those two always drove me crazy, but without the chaos my life is pretty dull. It's just me, all alone." The last part came out as barely a whisper. The weight of what happened finally resting on her. She was alone, and she didn't like being alone anymore. She had finally learned not to push everyone away, and then they had all left anyway. Eda turned her head to Raines tombstone, their name carved roughly into it.
"You know, I used to think about you alot. At least about that day, on the hill." She was fighting to get words out through the solid knot that had formed in her throat. "I definitely messed up big time. Took me a long time to figure out I was the one in the wrong. I used to blame you, saying that if you hadn't broken up with me, I never would have turned into the owl beast." Sighing, Eda had to calm herself. She'd never really admitted any of this to anyone before, and saying it out loud made her realize how terrible of a person she had been. "After a long while though I came to terms that if I had just been a better partner, and had communicated with you, then maybe we could have worked it out." Eda let out a small chuckle, knowing where her mind had gone next. "Then I thought wow, I hope whoever they end up with treats them so much better than I did. Because I was a wreck of a girlfriend, I'll tell you what. Of course, you know that. Then I saw you again, going against the Emperor, and thought maybe this was the universe giving me another shot. But with the manhunt, the mind control, and the sacrificing, it was way too much huh?" Eda asked the void as images of Raine under Belos's control flashed through her mind. Their eyes a terrifying vibrant red, and having to fight them tooth and nail just to stay alive. It hurt a lot to watch the Emperor's curse destroy them. Then the memory of their final moments filled her head. The red leaving their eyes, and the smile she had loved so much returning to their face. And a simple "Thanks Eda" before they slipped away forever. She had carried their body out of the palace and to the village. She had been the one to bury them. The universe had stripped them out of her hands again, and this time for good.
"You know, I never regretted any of our time together." She continued, pulling a knife out of her hair, beginning to carve something into the stone. "In fact, I cherish all of it. Never think me someone to fear the future we could have had together, because I would run towards it without a second thought if I ever got another chance. I love you Raine, and I always will." Silently finishing the inscription, she read it over. She smiled. "Perfect," she whispered, before making her way back to the Owl House, feeling much better than before.
"The Rhapsody to my Requiem"
I hope anyone who read this enjoyed it. It's just something I thought of at 3 am while listening to poetry. Sorry if it's not the best, I haven't written anything in a while. I feel rusty, and like this is not my best work, but I am just glad to be writing again. It's something I enjoy and am always glad to get back to. Sorry it's so sad, but I was listening to sad poetry. The poem in question is "Right Person, Wrong Time" by Catarine Hancock. You can find them on Tiktok catarinehancock, and I initially heard it performed on tiktok by . She does a lot of poetry readings and, as someone who loves poetry performed, is very nice to listen to. Until we meet again, if we ever do
ReaperofHeroes