The Owl Familia: The Family That Will Grow Forever:
Raine's Wild Babysitting Ride
"Whoa, Raine," Eda muttered in disbelief as she entered the room. "Are you doing good?"
The bard in question just groaned as they buried their head under a pillow. Currently, the Owl Familia was in a room of a healing hut, gathered around the former Coven head. Raine had their left hand and their right leg in bandages and the leg was on some pillows.
"What happened, Raine?" Lilith asked curiously. "When I saw you last, you looked fine…not counting the cheese wheel you had on your head."
Raine groaned into their pillow and really didn't feel like recounting the tale. But he knew neither Clawthorne sisters would leave them be until the story was told.
They suddenly felt a hand in theirs and moved the pillow to see. Luz was looking at the former bard's head with sad eyes, and the look just broke Raine's heart.
"Sowwy?" the human witch muttered sadly.
Raine smiled softly and patted Luz on the head.
"It's not your fault, Little Melody," the bard witch spoke warmly, and then sighed as they looked at the group. "Well, we all know how the day began…"
(SC)
Raine looked over themselves one last time and smiled; instead of their usual outfit, the bard witch was wearing a pair of pressed, gray dress pants. They looked at the pair of shoes that looked like they had been shined just an hour ago. They also wore a gray, short-sleeved shirt with a bard coven necklace.
Raine checked themselves over one last time and was pleased that nothing was out of place. Pleased with everything, the witch grabbed a small box with their magic and left their room.
"You know, you're about to babysit a group of children and one that Oracles are debuting about classifying as a level ten plague disaster, right?" Darius asked as his cousin stepped into the living room.
Raine was in too good of a mood to let even Darius's snark get to them. They just smiled at the current head of internal affirms and walked up to the seating area.
"Whoa, Raine, you looked good," Hunter praised his guardian.
Raine smiled at their charge as they took a seat across from him.
"Thank you, Hunter," Raine replied kindly. "If everything goes right, this day will end on a high note."
The young grimwalker gave his guardian a look but chose not to press the matter, and went back to homework.
"If you ask me, you're trying too hard," Darius said with a small grunt. "You know that woman's answer."
Raine just rolled their eyes but chose not to reply. Instead, they just relaxed in their chair and grabbed the paper. It was still early and they didn't need to be at the Owl House for at least a few hours.
A crow suddenly landed in front of Raine and began to crow. Raine immediately answered it.
"Raine Whispers speaking. Lilith? Is everything okay? I see. What, no. It would be no problem. I know someone who owes me a favor and they had babysat before."
Darius and Hunter exchanged looks as Raine finished up their call. The bard let out a faint sigh and released the crow back into the wild.
"What happened?" Hunter asked curiously.
"Oh, Alador Blight's older children got their hands on one of Eda's potions and Lilith doesn't feel comfortable leaving Alaor by himself," Raine replied with a smile.
Hunter frowned as he thought that over, while Darius had a near-sadistic grin on his face.
"But I should be fine," The bard reassured their housemates.
Hunter's frown deepened and even Darius couldn't help but look at his cousin in concern.
"Raine," the former coven head said seriously, "You do remember that the human alone was enough to traumatize Belos to the point he can't even look at any child without turning into a sobbing mess?"
"Yeah, and no offense, but you had very little babysitting experience," Hunter added. "And I know firsthand how hard it is to watch Luz."
Raine dismissed his housemates' concerns with a wave. "Not to worry; like I said over the crow, I know someone who owes me a favor."
(SC)
"STEVE!" the former scout shouted energetically. "Steve finally gets to babysit these little cuties on screen!"
Hunter cocked an eyebrow as he looked at his third parent figure. Raine was currently talking to Eda and Camila. The young Grimwalker took note of how nervous they became as the two mothers went over a few things with the bard.
Hunter turned his attention to the current children and smiled slightly. Luz was looking over Steve's bike, namely the energy glyph that powered the machine. The "knocked-down" human was busy copying the glyph in a notepad.
Hunter made a note to keep his eyes on Luz. He was fully aware of his little sister's meddling habits and what they can cause.
Unfortunately, the titan seems to have had other plans; he heard a noise and looked away, and thereby didn't see when Luz began to mess with the glyph.
Hunter couldn't help but chuckle at the scene; Masha must have said or done something to fluster Vee. The poor demon's entire face was red and her ears were flapping rapidly. This caused the second "knocked-down" human to giggle heartily and this in turn caused Vee to become even more flustered.
Hunter quickly looked back at Luz and saw she was talking with Steve about something. Smiling a bit at this, he turned his attention back to the "knocked-down" couple and studied Masha.
The "knocked-down" human's outfit was simple in every sense of the word; she wore a pair of black leggings, and black flat shoes. She wore a gray shirt with the letter G.H.S. on it and a pale blue skirt with the rim tattered. Finally, Masha's hair had been combed back and kept out of her eyes thanks to a red hair band.
Hunter heard someone coming up to him and looked to his right. Raine walked up to him, rubbing the back of their neck, and looked a little drained.
"And I thought my moms were scary," the bard muttered before they looked at the group. "Can I please have your attention!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered in front of the former coven head and gave them their full attention.
"Luz, Vee, Masha, I know this may be my first time babysitting you, but I would like you to treat me as you would anyone else," Raine said with a warm smile.
The three "knocked-down" coven members returned the warm smile and nodded. Raine's smile grew and they were starting to see why all of their friends were so taken with "knocked-down" humans and witches.
"So. boss-man, what's the plan?" Steve inquired curiously.
"Well, after an early lunch, we will be taking Masha sightseeing," Raine replied, and then frown when they spotted Steve's bike. "But I don't think we all can fit on your bike, Steve."
"Have no fear, Steve has it all clear!" the former scout proclaimed proudly.
He then walked up to his wheels and took something from the compartment under the seat. He set the item down and made a spell circle. A second sidecar quickly expanded and attached itself to Steve's bike.
"See? No problem," Steve said smugly.
Raine just shook their head and, with Hunter's help, got the kids ready. Because of his smaller height, Hunter was left with Vee and Masha as the human did not want to be away from her demon girlfriend. That left Raine with Luz, who was sulking because she didn't get the ride with Steve on the bike.
Steve waited a few minutes for everyone to get their helmets on and then drove off. He didn't see when his energy glyph sparked, all because of what Luz did while everyone else was busy.
(SC)
The drive into Bonesborough was uneventful; Masha had a couple of questions and Hunter answered them to the best of his ability. The group was reaching the town's limits when Steve's bike suddenly jerked in a rather violent fashion.
Raine frowned at this development and looked at the former scout. "Steve, is everything okay with your monstercycle?"
"No worries, boss-man," Steve replied dismissively. "I need to get this old boy in for a check-up, but everything is-"
Steve was cut off when his bike jerked again, only much worse than last time. Hunter frowned and tightened his hold on his little sister and Masha as the bike started to pick up speed. Raine did the same with Luz and watched as the ex-scout struggled to keep his vehicle under his control.
"Steve, st-GAAHH!"
Whatever the former coven head was going to say was lost when the energy glyph exploded with energy and sent a massive overcharge into the monstercycle. This caused the machine to race at dangerously high speeds and everyone began to scream.
Steve tried to keep his bike under control as he zipped around the various citizens of Bonesborough. He was doing a good job and all he hit was a simple stand owned by a very familiar pig-like demon.
"We need to jump off of this thing!" Hunter screamed to Raine, his hold on Vee and Masha tightening.
The former Golden Guard was about to jump but was stopped by Raine.
"NO!" the bard screamed. "At these speeds, we will be paincakes if we try to jump!"
"Hmm, paincakes!" Steve moaned as he opened his mouth and let his tongue hang out.
"EYES ON THE ROAD!" Raine screamed at Steve. "EYES ON THE ROAD, MAN!"
Steve came to his senses and looked forward. Just in time too, as he did a sharp turn to avoid the Babblerstone family. Though, they did get a face full of smoke as the out-of-control vehicle sped by them.
"You will pay for that, you degenerates!" Shin screamed as his wife coughed up a storm.
The threat wasn't heard by the Owl Familia as they made a left turn sharply and headed straight towards the marketplace.
Raine gasped as the group reached the market and saw how busy it was. They decided enough was enough and made a spell circle. They called their violin and were about to use it with a spell when they rammed into a pottery stand.
A rather large vase hit Raine in the arms and their violin went flying out of their hands. The bard winced as they held their left wrist, which was already showing signs of swelling.
"O'pa Raine, you okay?" Luz asked, her voice sounding close to her natural age.
Raine tried to give the "knock-down" human a smile, but it came off as shaky because the pain in their wrist was made worse with all the jolting going on.
"STEVE! LOOK OUT!" Hunter screamed.
Raine looked up and saw that they were about to crash right into a shop. The bard quickly hugged Luz and made their body a shield as they realized Steve wouldn't be able to stop in time.
He dared a glance over at his charge and saw that Hunter was doing the same with Vee and Masha. The two next braced themselves from the crash about to come.
Suddenly, the wall to the shop simply disappeared and the monstercycle raced into the shop. From outside of the shop, bystanders could hear whatever was going on inside mixed with the sound of voices. The gathering crowd quickly scattered when the monstercycle zoomed out of the shop a few seconds later, and the wall to the shop reappeared.
"Uhh," Hunter looked down at his sister and her partner and couldn't help but blink.
Not only was he now holding a large serving platter, but Vee also had on a pair of sunglasses that were shaped like the sun. In front of her, Masha also had gained a pair of sunglasses, one that was shaped like the moon.
The young grimwalker looked over at the machine's owner and saw that Steve was dressed in a full clown costume, make-up, and all. He next looked over at Luz and Raine. Like Vee and Masha, Luz was now sporting heart-shaped sunglasses. However, Hunter couldn't help but crocked an eyebrow when he noticed what Raine was wearing on their head.
"Where did the cheese wheel come from?" he asked himself.
He didn't get a chance to dwell on that question as Steve made a hard right and they passed a familiar Slayground. It was at this time that Raine regained their senses somewhat and decided to scream something.
"JANE PORTER! STOP THIS CRAZY THING!"
The group zoomed by the slaygrounds and continue through the city at dangerous speeds.
"Steve!" Hunter screamed. "can't you do something?"
"NO!" the ex-scout replied. "Nothing like this ever happened before, so I don't know what to do!"
Hunter just groaned as he tightened his hold on Vee and Masha. He once more considered jumping off of the bike; he figured he could use his magic to soften the fall. He was about to tell Raine this when a couple of Beast-keepers and their tame slitherbeast suddenly walked into the bike's path.
The keepers accompanying the beast were able to get out of the way, but the beast wasn't so lucky. The monstercycle hit its headlong and the beast joined the group of witches.
"Oh look, it's Puffy!" Steve said lightheartedly. "You haven't been in a story in a while. How have you been?"
The beast looked at the writer/reader and growled in such a way that it sounded like it was saying "huh?"
(SC)
"Rainestorm, I hate to be that ONE in the room," Eda said, "But I feel like you're just making stuff up."
Eda suddenly heard a whimper and looked to the right of Raine's bed. She blinked when she saw the slitherbeast next to her partner. The beast looked like it had been through the works; all four of its paws were bandaged up, and it had a healing glyph on its forehead.
Eda blinked as she slowly looked at her lover. "Go on," the female bard witch said awkwardly.
(SC)
"STEVE!" Raine screamed. "EYES ON THE ROAD!"
The ex-scout nodded and with a quick spell circle, moved the confused beast behind him. He grabbed the handles of his bike and saw a large overturned chart coming up. Unable to turn in time, the group was sent flying as raced over the chart.
"EVERYONE JUMP!" Raine screamed.
The group did as they were told, and jumped off the bike. Raine whistled as Steve made a spell circle. Magic surrounded the group and they broke apart and softly landed on seats outside of a local Cafe/.
With the danger finally over, Raine sighed with relief. Raine then took off the cheese from their head, and Hunter held out the serving plate. The bard put the wheel on it, and Hunter handed the plate to a waitress.
"Can we get this cut up and served with some crackers?" the grimwalker asked awkwardly. "We will even pay you."
"Why not," the waitress said in a bored fashion and walked towards the cafe. "Why is the crazy family out every time I work?"
The two ex-covens members decided to ignore the last comment and focused on the kids. Say for Masha and Vee being a little shaken up, the kids were unharmed. When Raine looked at Luz, they noticed the sad look the human witch was sporting and smiled.
"Hey, my Little Melody," the bard spoke softly and patted the girl's head with their good hand. "It was an accident, so no need to look so down."
The words did little to cheer the "knocked-down" human and this caused a frown to grace the Bard's lips. They opened their mouth to say something when they heard a crash. The group looked to the right and saw Steve's bike was now lying near them.
The former scout got up and walked over to check to see how bad the damages were. Suddenly, Puffy came right down on the poor witch and everyone couldn't help but wince at the sight.
"Steve! You okay?" Raine asked as they stood up and hurried over to their friend.
"Have no fear!" Steve shouted from under the sligtherbeast, "Steve's secretly a god, reborn from the highest plane of existence! So Steve can take a licking and keep on ticking. Oh, and Steve's one of the reasons why the Collector wouldn't be appearing."
"How did Aunt Lilith put up with that one?" Hunter asked himself.
(SC)
"Raine," Lilith said softly, "Not that this isn't quite the tale, but how did you injure your foot?"
"...Look on Penstagram," Raine moaned in response. "It's trending."
The Sisters Clawthorne exchanged looks before Eda popped out her scroll. She easily found the video and played it as her sisters looked over her shoulder. It wasn't long before she tried and failed to hold in a laugh.
Raine knew what was coming and buried their head under their pillows again.
"PFFFFHHHAAHAHA!" Eda laughed uproariously. "You go through all of that and broke your foot by slipping on some ICE!"
The ex-wild witch continue to laugh uproariously as the Familia, even the still slightly depressed Luz, gave her glares. Finally, Eda calm down and let out one final, awkward laugh.
"Oh, c'mon, I can't be the only one who finds this funny?" the ex-wild witch retorted.
Lilith and Camila just shook their head and focused their attention back on the bard and the "knock-down" human by their side. The human mother walked up to her daughter and gently picked her up. She took a seat and began to soothe Luz the only way a mother could…by singing a song in Spanish.
With Camila handling Luz, Lilith gave her complete attention to her old classmate.
"How bad is your injury?" the historian asked seriously.
Unfortunately, Raine wasn't in the mood to talk. Thankfully, Hunter was able to fill in for them.
"Not bad, actually. It's just a light sprain and they should be good in a couple of days," the young grimwalker informed his aunt-in-all-but blood.
Lilith nodded, glad that her old friend was going to make a full recovery. She frowned as a thought popped into her head.
"Is Steve in another room?" she asked.
Suddenly, said ex-scout appeared beside his former superior. "No, Steve was just getting lunch."
Lilith cocked an eyebrow when she saw that her former underling had only a small bandaid on his left cheek.
With the drama from Raine's tall over, the members of the Owl Familia began to busy themselves as they made plans for later. They were completely unaware of the inner turmoil one certain Bard was going through during this time.
Raine couldn't help but beat themselves up mentally, thinking about Darius. The abomination witch was called to pick Raine and Hunter up shortly after the group reached the hut.
Raine knew his cousin would no doubt find this all ironic and probably also have a good laugh as well. They patted the box in their pocket and sighed as they realized it will be a few weeks until they were confident enough to approach their girlfriend again.
(M Corner)
Don't worry folks, this isn't the end of Raine and Eda's story. But more on that later. Up next… a special Veesha treat for everyone out there.