"Can I look yet?" Raine asked. Their eyes were shut tight, back turned, as Eda stood behind them in her harpy form.
She had taken them up a neighboring hill for what she said was a special surprise, and she was grateful the night sky was so clear, a beautiful blanket of stars above the two lovers.
Eda smiled down at Raine. She was already significantly taller than them, and her harpy form granted her a foot more in height.
"Alright, turn around."
Raine turned eagerly, and Eda spread her wings with a flourish. As expected, Raine's face flushed a deep crimson. "Wow…Eda…I…" They slowly looked up into Eda's face, and they blushed even deeper than before. "You're in your harpy form."
Eda chuckled. "And how do you feel about that, Rainestorm? Turning a little red I see. I thought you'd be used to this by now."
"Eda!" Raine glared at her.
"What? I was a blushing mess around you before we got back together. Now it's your turn."
She stepped closer, and Raine's eyes widened.
An old fear suddenly crept its way into Eda's heart. Was Raine afraid of her? "Are you okay?"
"Oh yes," said Raine. "Very much okay."
Eda laughed, but not quite the teasing laugh of before. "Good." She was about to change the subject, then caught herself. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes she had in the past. "To be honest, I'm still a little nervous that you're afraid of me."
Raine regained some composure as their expression softened. "I'm not afraid of you, Eda. I never was. And I'm so happy to see you at peace with the owl beast."
Raine stood on their toes to try to reach for a kiss, and Eda laughed. "There's an easier way."
She leaned down to scoop them up and Raine let out a surprised "Eep!", wrapping their arms around her neck as she held them with one arm, granted strength from her harpy form.
With them so close to her face, it was easy to steal a kiss, and she sighed at the familiar feel of their lips. She could do this any time she wanted now, and oh did she regret the years that she couldn't.
Raine relaxed completely into her, letting their limbs dangle.
"Are you really going to make the one armed gal do all the work here?" Eda teased.
"Sorry," Raine breathed. "It's hard to focus when I'm looking at such a beautiful face."
Eda was about to tease them for being so corny, when they asked a question that made her heart stutter. "Do you mind if I touch your wings?"
Her wings. A great third pair of limbs, a mix of muted gray and brown erupting from her back, layers of strong feathers ruffling in the wind. They rose behind her as rounded peaks built of muscle that could knock Raine to the ground in an instant. And Raine loved them.
Eda drew her wings within Raine's reach, and they felt the edge of her left wing, starting out with a gentle tap and then gently stroking the feathers.
They had done this several times before, and each time Eda shivered from it. She wouldn't have thought she could feel much through her feathers, but each time Raine's palm passed over them she was filled with warmth, the sensation at once calm and overwhelmingly powerful, just like Raine's love.
"They're wonderful," said Raine, looking up at her with adoration. "I always thought your feathers were beautiful."
Eda turned her face away. They had said that before, when Eda had first shared about her curse with them, but she couldn't believe it. How could anyone think that about such a monstrosity?
Now, though, she had learned the wonder in their eyes was genuine, had always been genuine. Even before she had gained control of the owl beast, they had seen beauty where even she hadn't.
"It must be wonderful to be able to fly like that, even without Owlbert." Their lips remained upturned, but their eyes sagged, and their voice broke on the last few words.
Raine had always loved to fly. From the moment they received their Palisman, they had used their staff to soar through the air as often as they could. It was those times that they were always at their most confident, strumming their lute for Eda as they balanced on one leg. They were never a risk taker otherwise, but when it came to Eda they made exceptions.
Eda didn't know the details, but she knew what happened to the Palismen of those in the emperor's coven. It was one of those dirty little secrets you only find out if you got in.
Lillith was one of those rare few who got to keep her Palisman, a special reward from the emperor himself. Raine wouldn't have been so lucky.
"It is wonderful," said Eda. This was a perfect segue into the surprise she had planned, and her heart pounded with anticipation. "Would you like to see?"
"W-what?"
"You heard me. How about we fly together?"
"Eda, how would that work?"
"Well…" Eda spread her wings out to their full width, so eager she almost winced from the air force slapping her cheeks.
She relished seeing Raine's jaw slacken.
"Hold on," she whispered, and Raine clung to her while she readjusted her grip on them to make sure they were secure.
Then she launched into the sky, wind whipping her face as she held Raine tucked against her chest.
Raine let out a squeak of surprise, and she looked down to see their eyes closed tight. She chuckled and climbed higher, welcoming the strain as she beat at the air currents, until she was past the treetops.
There she hovered, gazing up into an inky purple expanse, dusted with pulsing blue, gold, and red stars. "Take a look, Rainestorm."
Raine lifted their head, and when they opened their eyes Eda's breath caught at the way the stars reflected in them, shimmering against their glasses and lighting their green eyes with golden light.
"Wow," Raine breathed. "I haven't been this close to the stars since…" They swallowed thickly. "In a long time."
Eda barely let them catch their breath before she dove, cutting the treetops with her wings and rising once more, pushing down with a powerful force and scattering the dislodged leaves into the wind.
Raine gasped, and then the most beautiful of sounds came from them - a genuine, wholehearted laugh she hadn't heard them make since their school days.
"Eda this is amazing!"
She flew with them for a while longer, before she began to tire and gently landed, placing them on the ground in front of her.
"Thank you, Eda. That was incredible."
"Don't mention it. It's worth it to see you so happy."
Raine had the largest smile she had seen on them in as long as she could remember, but as the two gazed at each other the smile slipped.
"Raine? You okay?"
"Yeah. It's…it's just that doing this made me think of Siren."
Siren, Raine's Palisman. "Oh Rainestorm," Eda said, laying a hand on their shoulder.
"It's okay. It was a long time ago." Their eyes, just moments ago lit with starlight, began to fill with tears. "I just…I miss him so much."
They reached for Eda and she folded her wings over them, keeping them secure in a tent of feathers.
"People tried to warn me. There were rumors all over the place about it, about how no one from the emperor's coven was ever seen with a Palisman. But I…I dismissed it, I didn't want to believe it. Until they told us they needed our staffs for security, and Siren gave me this look before transforming. He was terrified, and betrayed, and I thought he was just feeding off my emotion, but then he was gone, and he never came back, and the last he saw of me I was just letting him be taken away."
Raine paused for breath, struggling not to completely break down. "I almost left the coven right then, but they told me that once I knew their secrets there's no getting out, I would be punished, so I had to stay. Had to stay working for the man who killed by best friend."
They finally allowed themselves to break down, shaking and crying while Eda held them tight. There was nothing she could say to comfort them. Nothing would bring Siren back, and the loss of a Palisman, what was supposed to be a life companion, the one creature that would always be there for you, was unimaginable.
Even the former Golden Guard, Hunter, had his Palisman within him. The trauma was hard enough for him, though the two were merged as one, Flapjack existing forever in his mind.
Raine didn't have that solace; their Palisman had been taken and merged with a monster, doomed as a tormented soul trapped within the emperor's mind. Belos had been defeated, and the Palismen souls set free, but Raine would never get to speak to Siren again.
"I'm sorry, Eda," said Raine. "This was supposed to be something happy and romantic."
"No, don't you dare apologize. You've always tried to be there for me, Raine. I didn't always let you, and that's one of the greatest mistakes of my life. So now that we've been given a second chance, let me be there for you."
Raine shuddered as another wave of sobs took over. "Okay."
They sat in silence, until Raine managed to stop crying long enough to say, "We've lost so much, Eda. I always think I'm okay, that I'm able to move on, and then I remember. It hurts so much."
Eda knew how they felt. After the Isles had been remade by the Collector, and hundreds had lost their lives, she had often wondered how she could live and be happy after so much had been stolen, after all the futures she had dreamed of could now never be.
But then there were moments where she'd watch King squeaking and running after Luz with Francois clutched in his claws, watch the kids of Hexside race each other on their staffs, watch Hooty happily compose letters to Lillith, though Lillith herself had died.
Times where she looked at her mom and dad, two people she never thought she would have a relationship with again, and was filled with so much gratitude that they were here that she'd run up and cling to them like she was a child again.
Moments where despite all she had lost, she could see all she still had, all the people still loving and hoping and dreaming. And slowly, those moments grew stronger, until maybe, just maybe, they could match the bad.
"It seems impossible," Eda said after a moment. "But we do it anyway. I never thought I'd be sitting here with you like this and hey, look at us. Somehow, after all this mess, we've made a home."
Raine looked up, face still wet with tears. "Yeah," they said slowly, as the purple sky began to fade into pale pink, signaling the dawn. "I suppose we have."
Silently, Eda took their hand, and the two lovers leaned against each other, watching the deep purple of the sky fade to pale lavender as the world greeted a new day.