Nightly Woes
With Camila taking a nap, the two witches decided to make room for the Owl Lady's new house guest. Eda had a walk-in closet, which, while small for adults, would be big enough for someone like Camila. Better, the closet was close to Eda's room.
So, Raine and Eda spent the next few hours cleaning out the closet. They cleaned it out by hand in case they found something that might be of use to the human, like a sleeping bag. Raine also used a chest tucked in one of the corners to act as a make-shift dresser to store the new outfits they brought Camila.
At some point, Camila woke up and, drawn to the noise, joined them. She didn't participate much in the work but would pipe in about something when it caught her interest.
The bard smiled at this; they were starting to think the human wasn't as traumatized as they first believed.
The entire thing took under two hours, and the results weren't the best, but it would do for now.
The witches and one human were admiring their work when a growl reached the witches' ears. They looked down at Camila, who was blushing, and decided a late dinner was in order.
So, they headed into the kitchen, and Eda got to work on dinner. Since she still didn't know what Camila could stomach, she went the safe route and made some griffin steaks and mush potatoes.
Thankfully, the human could stomach the meal, which was another weight off the witches' shoulders. The group ate in comfortable silence. Once everyone was done eating, Eda got up.
"Well, dorks, I need to bounce," Eda informed the two and looked at Raine. "I cook, so you clean, Rainestorm."
Eda then hurried out of the kitchen before anyone could get a word. Raine frowned at this and got up to follow their girlfriend.
"Can you tell me where you're going?" they asked.
"Oh, Rainestorm," Eda replied with a flirty grin, "afraid I will sleep around?"
Raine sighed, pinched the bridge of their nose, and exhaled slowly. "Have you forgotten that a cult is after the human child we're looking after? What if they try to jump while you're out?" they asked.
"Pfft. Please," Eda retorted, "They can't be all that, not if a bard could handle them."
Raine's jaw dropped slightly at this as Eda quickly covered her mouth. The wild witch's eyes widened as she watched her lover's jaw tighten.
"Listen, Edalyn," Raine said slowly and coldly. "Could you just tell me where you're going? I don't want to get to work tomorrow and find out that your unliving body parts were spread across the Isles."
Eda didn't like the tone she was being talked with and grew defiant. She placed a hand on a hip and stared angrily into the bard's eyes.
"Listen here, Whispers," she retorted sharply, "For nearly 14 years, I had lived on my own without problems. So I don't need you to come into my house and tell me what I can and can't do. You sound like-"
"STOP! STOP FIGHTING!" A voice suddenly screamed in distraught.
Startled, the two witches looked to the kitchen entrance and saw Camila. The human child had tears in her eyes. But more alarming was the fading white glow in the human's eyes.
Eda and Raine were shocked, but the bard quickly recovered and reached for the human.
"Camila…" Raine spoke softly.
But Camila wasn't in the mood to talk; the glow faded completely from her eyes as she turned and bolted up the stairs. The witches watched as she disappeared onto the second floor. Raine sighed as they heard a faint noise and looked at their girlfriend.
"Eda…"They spoke softly, "Can you at least tell me where you're going? It will put me at ease while I try to comfort Camila?"
Eda looked at their partner and sighed. "I'm going to see a…freelance night oracle in Latissa who owes me a favor. I want them to look this over."
She took a small bottle out of her hair and held it out for Raine to see. The bard frowned as they saw the swirling mass of magic… purple magic.
"But," Eda suddenly said, putting the bottle back into her hair, "I could go later and help with the squirt?"
"No," Raine replied, sighing, "With what we just saw, I think it's better if we figure out what kind of spells are on Camila. Just please, be careful."
Eda was undecided; it didn't sit right with her that Rain had to handle the human all by themselves. At that same time, if they don't jump on figuring things out with Camila, things could only get worse. So, she made her decision.
Eda walked up to Raine and gave them a quick kiss on the cheek. The bard's face reddened slightly as a soft smile bloomed on their face.
With their course of action decided, the witches broke apart and went about their task. Raine went upstairs, and Eda grabbed a cloak as she exited the house. She gave Hooty a command and didn't wait for the demon's answer before summoning her witch's staff and taking to the air.
Unknown to the witch were the four cultists using a cloaking spell to remain out of sight…of the bird tube.
(SC)
"So, let me see if I got this straight," a demon with boar-like features said, staring at the magic in a bottle. "You scanned a human's mind and discovered this oracle spell."
Eda groaned as she stared at the oracle demon. "Yeah," she replied, slightly annoyed. "Baol, this is the third you asked me that."
The free oracle witch gave the wild witch a dull look and said, "With your rep and what I'm seeing, I can't help but feel the need to confirm this is real."
The wild witch gave the oracle a glare, which Baol was unaffected by. Instead, they looked at the bottle for a second and then back at the wild witch.
"This merely an echo of the spell on the child," Baol explained, "But I can tell it's very powerful from this echo alone. Tell me, when you were collecting this, did you encounter anything unusual?"
Eda frowned as she thought back to earlier in the day. While Raine was out for the day, and the kid was still sleeping, she decided to create the echo the oracle was holding. She used a standard scanning spell for the job.
It should have been easy to create the echo, but it wasn't; it was like the spell on the kid was fighting at her every turn. It took over 30 minutes to create the echo and left her more than just a little winded.
"It was nothing I couldn't handle," the wild witch replied after a minute.
Baol just gave the wild witch a look and then placed the bottle on a table. He looked Eda in the eyes.
"Whatever spell this is, I can tell you that it is powerful, possibly one of the most powerful oracle spells I have ever seen," Baol explained. "It will take me a couple of days just to break down this echo and even get a hint of what kind of spell we're dealing with."
Eda's frown deepened as she looked at the echo once more time. She then looked at the freelanced oracle with a rare serious expression on her face.
"Just tell me when you find out anything," she spoke seriously.
Baol nodded and picked up the bottle again. "I owe you a favor. So I will make this top billing. After that, please never appear before me again."
Eda nodded and took her leave. She took a pocket watch from her hair once she was outside. She made better time than she thought; the entire visit didn't even last 30 minutes.
So, if she pushed it, she could get back home and see how things were going with the squirt. She put her watch away and was about to call her staff. She suddenly looked to her right and thought she saw movement.
Eda narrowed her eyes and then seemingly walked in a random direction. She walked for nearly five minutes before she stopped at a four-way intersection. Eda looked around as she pulled her arm into her cloak.
She suddenly looked to her right, thrusting her arms out from under her cloak, a spell circle in front of her right hand, and screamed, "SPICY TOSS!"
She created a fireball and tossed it at thin air. Her fireball hit something, and two cultists appeared as one was trying to sniff off the fire that was now burning their sleeves.
"Gotta hand it to you," Eda said cockily, creating two fireballs. "You almost got away with it. But I haven't gotten this far without knowing when to look over my shoulder."
The cultists looked at the wild witch and then at each other. They nodded, and one of the cultists made a spell circle.
Suddenly, thick vines shot up from the ground, keeping the wild witch from the cultists. Eda cocked an eyebrow and was about to throw one of her fireballs. She stopped mid-toss when she noticed something odd about the vine.
She snuffed out her fireballs and stepped up to the vine wall. She reached out with her right hand and wasn't surprised when it went right through it.
"Illusionists, figures," Eda muttered.
The wild witch confidently walked through the illusion and went face-first into an actual wall of vines. She pulled herself free and groaned in annoyance as she looked at the wall.
"Okay, I gotta them points for this one," Eda muttered dryly, glaring at the illusion plants.
She walked around the wall and looked around. Eda couldn't see the cultists, but to be sure, she cast a reveal spell on the area. She scowled when her spell revealed nothing, meaning the cultists got away.
"Tch, I'm not telling Rainestorm about this one," Eda grumbled.
She turned and was about to leave when she stepped on something. She frowned as she looked at the badge she just stepped on. She picked it up and saw the small burn marks on it.
Eda frowned as she looked at the badge and noticed how similar it was to the Emperor's Coven symbol.
"Yeah…not going to tell Rainestorm," she muttered as she shoved the badge into her hair.
(SC)
Raine stood outside Camila's new room, uncertainty written on their face. They raised a hand and brought it close to the door. They kept their hand just an inch away from the door, but couldn't bring themselves to knock.
With a sigh, Raine pulled their arm back and was about to leave. They suddenly heard a whimper, and they stopped them dead in their tracks.
"Like it or not, Whispers, that child is now your responsibility," they mumbled to themselves. "And part of that means comforting her when she's sad."
So, with renowned determination, they knocked on the human's door.
"Camila. It's Raine." they wait for a response before continuing. "Is it alright if I come in?"
They didn't get a reply and, after a minute, decided to go in. They grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door. Raine peeked in and saw Camila hiding in her sleeping bag.
With a mute sigh, Raine entered the room and softly closed the door behind them. They slowly walked up to the human and took a seat next to her. They reached out to touch Camila but pulled away at the last second.
They sighed and looked out the window. They looked out the window for a solid minute before they sighed again and looked at the human.
"Camila," Raine said softly, "I don't know what happened to cause you to react like you did. But know that Eda and I love each other very much."
Raine hung their head and felt their hand balled into fists. The fight with Eda flashed back to the front of their head, and they took a minute to calm their thoughts before they continued.
"And that could sometimes be a problem," Raine said remorsefully. "I care so deeply about Eda that it sometimes makes me do or say stupid things."
Raine paused and realized they were close to rambling. They smiled a little melancholily and pushed themselves a little closer to the human.
"But know this," they said gently, "That fight you saw, you didn't cause it. Eda and I are going through some things, and we're still getting used to having you around. But I promise you until we get you home, I will stay by your side… if you want me to."
Raine looked at the sleeping bag, and when they saw no movement, they sighed for the fourth or fifth time that night. They looked away from the sleeping bag and thought about leaving when they felt someone grab their hand.
Raine looked back at the human and saw Camila had emerged from her sleeping bag. She was looking at the bard with an uncertain but hopeful look.
"Will you stay?" The human asked quietly.
Raine smiled warmly at the girl and laid down next to her. They gently placed an arm over Camila and brought her close, allowing the girl to rest her head on their chest.
Camila was surprised when she heard two beats instead of one. She looked up at Raine curiously, and the bard seemed to understand the question on the human's mind.
"What you are hearing is the beat of my Bile-sac," Raine explained kindly. "It's the organ that allows witches to use our magic. It's connected to our hearts."
Camila didn't really understand. Still, she placed her head on Raine's chest. In a few minutes, she had fallen asleep from listening to the beats of the two organs.
Raine smiled at the sight and then whistled a "no-dream" spell. It wouldn't be as powerful as when they used the spell with their violin. Hopefully, it would make the human peaceful enough that she could get more sleep.
Raine stared at the human as they finished with their spell and frowned.
Raine realized Camila watched the fight they had with Eda, and seeing this somehow brought back a memory. This brought up a new set of questions, and this worried Raine.
"...Let's hope Eda's contact could help us understand this spell better," they muttered as they got comfortable.
Suddenly, Raine felt the events of the last day and a half catching up with them, making them tired. They placed their head on the floor and quickly fell asleep.
That's how Eda found the two when she returned an hour later. The wild witch couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight.
"Darn, Raine, you make one good parental figure," the wild witch muttered softly.
She cast a spell and summoned a blanket. She then carefully placed over her partner. She looked at the scene one last time and then went to bed herself.
(G Corner)
Well, nothing like some lover spat to bring out the parent in anyone.