The Owl Familia: The Family That Will Grow Forever:
No Longer Waiting on The Raine
"My Dearest Eda," Raine began, pacing in their living room, "I would be most…no, if I start like this, Eda will laugh at me."
The head of foreign trade tore up the paper they were using and let it drop to the floor. A small abomination trailing the ex-bard witch opened its mouth and ate the pieces before they touched the floor.
Raine grabbed a piece of paper off the coffee table and they began again.
"Yo, Eda! I think it would be really cool if…if-AHHHH!" Raine screamed and tore his latest sheet into tiny, really tiny pieces.
They tossed the pieces into the air and the small abomination scrambled to catch all the pieces. With a deep sigh of defeat, Raine walked up and flopped into an armchair.
"At least you stopped your pacing before you fell through the floor," Darius mentioned offhandedly.
Raine looked at his cousin with a weak glare. Darius was on the couch with the "knocked-down" Hunter at his side. The young grimwalker was watching a Flyer Derby match on his scroll. Raine saw the boy's cheeks redden every so often and smiled as they realized he was doing much more than just watching a game.
Whatever good mood they were gaining was lost with what Darius said next.
"I still think you're overthinking this, songbird. That woman wouldn't care how it was done, and you know what she would say."
Raine let out a noise that was a mix of a groan and a sigh and put their head in their hands, "You just don't understand."
"You're right, neither do I want to understand," Darius stated.
That last comment struck Raine the wrong way and they growled. They jumped to their feet and pointed angrily at their cousin.
"I HAVE KNOWN ABOUT EDA'S CURSE SINCE HER FIRST CHANGE!" they screamed bitterly.
The outburst scared Hunter and his body began to glow. Raine and Darius saw this, and the ex-head of the abomination coven sent a warning glare at his cousin.
Raine realized what they did and took a moment to calm down. Once they were calm enough to think rationally, they took a seat and began to explain.
"I was there when Eda first changed. I told myself that I will do anything in my power to help. I even began using her secret doors to study both oracle and healing magic."
With a heavy sigh, Raine buried their face in their hands again and tried to push those old memories back. They still could remember the restless nights they spent trying to find any clue about Eda's curse.
"I gave up not even a year later. Since I couldn't get anyway with my studies, I just wanted to be there for Eda," Raine explained slowly. "But when she began avoiding issues, I got fed up with everything."
With another sigh, they stood up and walked over to the stack of papers on coffee. Darius stopped his cousin by having the stack covered in abomination goo. Raine sent Darius a weak glare and returned to their chair.
"When I joined the Bard Coven, I continued to dig whenever I got the chance," Raine said softly. "Not that it mattered, with what we did on the Day of Unity."
Darius sighed and gently patted his son on the head. Hunter understand what Darius was saying through the gesture and smiled at him.
He stood up and walked over to his cousin. He put his hands on his hips and stared down at Raine.
"I'm not going to pretend I understand what you're going through," Darius spoke calmly. "But all this worrying isn't doing you any favors."
To prove his point, Darius took a strain of hair from Raine's shoulder and showed it to them. The hair was completely white.
"But, you're going to worry yourself bald if you keep this up," Darius stated, "So if you don't march over to that shack and ask that woman, I will be forced to take some drastic measures."
"Like anything you can do could make me feel any worse than I am ready feeling," Raine said depressingly.
"...I will lock you in a room and let Hooty sing to you for two minutes," came Darious' calm reply.
Raine's face was drained of all color as they recalled the last time they heard the house demon singing. They jumped to their feet and made a mad dash to the nearest exit…an opened window.
Darius heard a noise and powered-walked to the window. He peeked his head out and saw as Raine landed on a familiar tamed slighterbeast.
"Hi-Yo, Puffy! AWAY!" Raine screamed as the classic theme music began to play.
Darius watched as the tame beast rose on its back legs, kicked its front legs, and then dashed away.
"AND MAKE SURE MY SON'S NEW PET IS UNHARMED!" Darius called to his cousin and looked to his left. "And would you turn that thing off?"
Eberwolf just smiled innocently at Darius as he pocketed his scroll and jumped off the edge. He summoned a bird with a quick spell circle, and the bird caught him mid-fall. Darius watched as the bird took off with his friend in some random direction.
Darius sighed tiredly and pulled his head back in. "I'm not even going to give a retort. I'm just going to go back to watching the game with my son and worried about the headache those two will give him later.
(SC)
Rain stood outside of the backdoor to the Owl House. They could see the love of their life working on lunch and they could feel their nerves slipping again. Even the fear of hearing the house demon singing couldn't get the lead out of their feet.
"I can't do this," Rain mumbled to themselves and turned around.
"Rainestorm?"
The bard witch felt like cursing the titan out as they turned around. Eda was looking at her longtime partner with mild curiosity as they rubbed the back of their neck.
The two bards quickly fell into an awkward silence and both avoided eye contact.
"So, come here often?" Raine asked awkwardly and could have sworn they heard Darius groaning in the back of their head.
Eda cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead, she returned to the kitchen. Raine decided to follow but hung their head in shame. The second they stepped into the kitchen their nose was assaulted with a heavenly aroma. Raine couldn't help but inhale deeply as this smelled ten times better than the instant meals or half-hearted cooking attempts they or their roommates tried.
"Can I help?" Raine asked.
"Sure," Eda replied casually and pointed at the table. "You can set the table."
Raine nodded and then went to get the plates. The two quickly fell into a rhythm and for a while, things were easy between the two.
"Hmm, not bad" Raine moaned slightly after they tried meat. "Could use some Jinnamon to give it some kick."
"No can do, Rainestorm," Eda retorted. "My bossy boots niece can't have that stuff."
Raine blinked and looked at their long-time crush. They hadn't realized they had spoken so loud and blinked again as Eda's words took hold.
"Wait, is Amity Jinnamon intolerant?" Raine asked, genuinely surprised by this.
"Please, Rainestorm," Eda retorted with a grin. "Like you forgot what happened when Daddy Blight got some of that on his food."
Raine shuddered as they recalled that Alador threw up on them when they were walking past his table. They learned later this happened because someone had loaded that day's meal with Jinnamon, and Alador had a really bad reaction to it.
The ex-bard head tried to push that memory into the back of their mind and continue setting the table. Soon, lunch was ready and Eda went to get the group. This left Raine alone with their thoughts and that turned out to be a bad thing.
With a light sigh, they rubbed the pocket where they kept the box. Part of them wanted nothing more than to run and forget this idea, but the last time Hooty sang to them came back to them, and they shuddered.
Thankfully, they weren't alone with their thoughts for long; the trio of mothers ushered the KDC into the room. Raine frowned curiously when they saw two "knocked-down" witches giving each other the stink eye.
"Who won the game?" they asked.
"It ended in another tie," Lilith replied as she helped Amity into her usual seat.
"So, we're going to play a best-two-out-of-three game," Camila added as she lifted Vee into her seat. "But after lunch, right?"
Raine couldn't help but shuddered when the human mother leveled a glare at the newest member of the Familia. Boscha just turned her nose up and gave her current guardian a defiant glare.
"Right, Boscha Noceda-Trisight?" Camila said sternly.
Whatever defiance Boscha was trying to build was quickly lost and she nodded fearfully. Again, Raine couldn't help but be reminded of one of their mothers.
"Good," Camila said with a warm smile and went to pick up her new charge.
Raine was about to take a seat at the table when they felt someone tug on their pants' leg. They looked down and felt their heartbreak when they saw the downcast face of a certain human.
Raine didn't need to be an oracle to know what was on Luz's mind, and they smiled warmly. They bend down and scoop up before the "knocked-down" human can say anything.
"If you're still worrying about what happened a while ago don't be," Rain said kindly. "You have nothing to be sad about. And heard that you look super cute when you're smiling. So do you think you can smile for your O'Pa Raine?"
Luz still looked sad and this caused Raine's frown to deepen. Lucky for them, both of Luz's mothers knew a trade secret. So, they silently instructed Raine on where Luz was the most ticklish, and they began to tickle the young human.
Luz tried to keep herself from laughing but couldn't, and soon the entire room was filled with the human's laughter. Luz's laughter was contagious as the other "knocked-down" Coven members began to giggle as well. This brought smiles to the faces of the adults.
"You really are cute when you're smiling, my little melody," Rain spoke softly and then planted a kiss on Luz's forehead.
The smiles on the adult's faces grew and some even gushed when Luz's became cuter when she blushed.
Raine chuckled at the sight and put Luz in her usual seat, right between Vee and Amity. Soon, the adults joined the kids, and lunch was underway with the group beginning to chat about different things.
(SC)
After eating lunch and letting it settle for about 40 minutes, Camila and Lilith took the kids out to continue their game. That left Eda and Raine by themselves in the living room. While the bard was more relaxed after sharing a meal with the Familia, they still felt like their skeleton was about to jump out of their body and run off with their spine.
"So, Rainestorm, what did you want to talk about?" Eda asked curiously.
If Raine had something in their mouth at the moment, they would have spitted it out or choked on it. Instead, they just looked at their crush as they tried to form words. Eda watched her crush with a mischievousness growing in her eyes but a warm smile on her face.
Raine took a moment to calm down and collect their thoughts. This was the moment; they wouldn't be like the times they spoke to the public. And they certainly wouldn't make a fool of themselves, like the time they talk to the humans of Gravefield.
No, this was Eda, the woman they were closest to! There was no reason to be so nervous; no reason why this would turn into another disaster like the time they played in front of the entire school and lost their pants.
With their nerves soothed, Raine looked at Eda and felt their confidence crumble because of those golden eyes.
"I want to ask for your hand!" Raine blurted out before their brain could catch up with their mouth.
Raine wanted nothing more than another Day of Unity to happen so they could have their magic painfully drained from their body. Or anything to happen for that matter! Anything would be better than the sudden awkwardness they found themselves in.
Eda, for her part, seemed indifferent. Sure, Raine could see some of the mirths die in her eyes and her smile lost some of its warmth. Otherwise, she wasn't reacting to Raine's words.
"Is that all?" Eda asked, her voice filled with nothing but mischievousness.
The ex-wild witch stood up and walked to the front door. She made sure to swing her hips just enough that Raine couldn't miss it. She stopped at the door and offered Raine a mischievous grin before she left.
Once Eda was out of sight, Raine grabbed two pillows off the couch. They slammed them into their face and screamed nearly at the top of their lungs. They stopped a few seconds later and slumped into the couch.
What were they thinking; sure, the sentence had nothing wrong with it. It was how Raine had said that was embarrassing, and knowing Eda, she didn't take them seriously after she heard it.
The more time Raine dwells on that moment, the more embarrassment they felt. They were about to scream into their pillows again when Eda returned. Raine could see the fading glow of magic surrounding her as she walked up to the couch.
"So, you want my hand, Rainestorm?" Eda asked slyly, "Here you go."
With one fluid swing of her left hand, Eda popped out her right hand and held it out for Raine. The bard witch groaned as they gave the detached hand a sour look.
Leave it to Eda to make jokes about someone's else blunder.
"Thought you wanted my hand, Rainestorm?" Eda asked jokingly. "So, here you go."
To drive her point home, Eda used her detached hand's index finger to lightly poke Raine in the cheek. Raine wanted to be frustrated by this, but all they could think about was their own blunder they made that put them on the spot.
Still, that didn't stop them from getting a little slighted.
"ED-A!" Rain whined, jumping to their feet. "I'm serious! I want to marry you!"
To prove their point, they pulled out a box and opened it. To Eda's surprise, it was an earring shaped like the one Raine wore. The only difference with the new earring was its size and color; the earring was slightly smaller and was colored red.
Eda's eyes lost their mirth as she slowly looked into her lover's eyes.
"OOHHH!" was all that Eda could say as her body went slightly limp and her eyes began to widen.
Raine watched as Eda stood there with a thousand-yard stare before she fell to pieces… literally. Raine sighed when they heard mumbling and placed the box on the table. They walked up to the pile of Eda and gently picked up her head.
"Eda," Raine said, and couldn't help but smile slightly, "You know it's rude to talk without your mouth."
Eda let out the closest thing that passed as a groan without a mouth as Raine grabbed her jaw. They gently reattached the limb and Eda worked it for a bit before grinning.
"So you want to marry me?" Eda asked with a hint of mirth in her voice. "Come closer. No, not come close. No closer, closer. Yeah, that's good!"
Raine had brought Eda's head close to their own when one of Eda's hands threw the other hand into the back of the witch's head. The end result was Eda's head getting pushed into Raine and the two shared a kiss. The kiss didn't last long as Eda's head swing away from Raine.
"Does that answer things?" Eda asked and then frowned when she noticed something. "Raine?"
She couldn't help but groan when she realized her new fiancee had fainted. Even more surprisingly, the bard was still standing.
"Uugg," Eda groaned, "This is the pants thing all over again. Hey, Lily! Cammy! Can you two help a sister out?"
"Certain, sister," Lilith replied as she and the group entered. "But first, I think a picture is in order."
Eda groaned as her sister went to get her camera. There was little the ex-wild witch could do; none of her body parts could do much against Lilith. So, she just grinned and bared it; waiting until she could get another one up on her older sister.
Boscha couldn't help but stare at this scene. After Luz had paused their game so they could spy on the older witches, she didn't know what to expect. Still, something was underwhelming about all of this, and one thought popped into her mind after watching everything.
"Dowks," the three-eyed witch retorted as she walked over to the pile of witch parts.
(M Corner)
This would be told in one of my Daily lives chapters, but my headcanon about marriages in the Boiling Isles isn't like the human realm. The Denizens of the demon realm can purpose to their lovers/partners in any manner they choose, with any item they want.
In Raine's case, they would have used an old family tradition to ask Eda to marry them. Also, the pants thing would be told in a Daily Lives chapter.
Now, for real talk; we're nearing the end folks. Just one final side-story and the final chapter and this one can get a pin. And then it's the story everyone has been waiting for… Camila and the Sisters Clawthorne are getting knocked down!