The Daily Lives of The Owl Familia: P2 Raine's Big Moment
Summary: The day is here, and Raine is as nervous as ever as they prepare to address the humans of Gravesfield.
Timeline: A week and a half has passed since the Jacob Incident.
Raine was nervous, probably more nervous than they had ever been before. No, they take that back; there was one other time they were this nervous, and they quickly put that out of their mind.
Raine and the Owl Familia's mothers were in the Gravesfield town hall as the mayor addressed the town and made a speech that the bard wasn't paying attention to.
Raine was looking over their speech, trying to calm their nerve as they were next after the mayor. The bard's state didn't go unnoticed by a certain bard witch.
"Hey," Eda said comfortably, walking up to her partner. "You got this, Rainestorms."
Raine looked at their girlfriend and let out a nervous noise. "I don't think I can do this, Eda," they replied nervously.
Eda smiled in a comforting way and gently grabbed them by the shoulders. She pulled Raine close and softly kissed them. Raine quickly returned the kiss and felt some of their nerves settle.
The two parted after a few seconds and stared deeply into each other's eyes. Eda smiled a soft smile and asked.
"Better?" Raine nodded, and Eda's smile turned a little teasing. "Good. We don't need another pants incident."
"Are you ever going to let that go?" Raine asked, groaning.
Eda just continued to smile teasingly at the bard as they heard the mayor finishing up and began introducing Raine.
Raine sighed and decided it was best to get this done with. They gave Eda a quick kiss on the cheek and then walked onto the stage.
The second they reached the stand, their stomach dropped when they saw how many were in attendance. They nervelessly looked around and couldn't stop the flashback to a certain time during their school days.
(SC)
Raine was tuning their violin, listening as the other bards around them talked. Today was Hexside's annual Bard competition, and they decided to enter.
As Raine was finishing up, he overheard an interesting conversation.
"Come on, you actually believe that rumor?" a witch asked skeptically.
"I didn't need to believe it when I saw it with my own eyes! A friend of mine entered this thing last year, and after they performed, they became so traumatized they couldn't even pick up a triangle without having a panic attack."
Raine chuckled at this; they had heard the same rumor and quickly dismissed it. If just having eyes on you could cause massive stage fright, then they should be a mess.
They had done the I.F.W.O.T. for years with problems, after all.
"Raine Whispers!" they heard a teacher call. "You're on in five."
Raine did once last look over at their violin and gave a string a quick plunk. Satisfied with their work, they stood up and headed over to the edge of the stage. Five minutes later, Raine was on the stage and ready to play.
They looked out at the floor and suddenly froze. Many eyes belonging to witches they still hadn't gotten to know yet stared at them with blank expressions. They began to sweat as they felt like the eyes were bearing deep within their soul.
Raine nearly panicked as they snapped their head around, trying to find Eda or maybe even Lilith. They couldn't see either of the Clawthornes, which made them even more nervous.
Why were they so nervous, all of sudden, Raine wondered. This was just like the I.F.W.O.T., so what was different?
Raine thought they heard someone quip something and tried to steel their nerves and began playing. They had released their bard magic into the air, and things began to float. They bite their lip as they realize they don't want to use their magic and try to stop it while still playing.
Raine played a note wrong and suddenly heard the sound of ripping fabric. They quickly felt a draft and looked down. Raine's entire face went red as they realized they had torn their pants off.
They slowly turned their attention back to the crowd, stunned by what they just saw. That didn't last long; uniformly, the entire gathering burst out laughing, and some even pointed.
Face reddening more, Raine thrust their cowl over their head and hurried off the state.
"Get me out of here!" Raine screamed.
(SC)
Raine was brought out of their head when they heard a familiar tune being whistled. They looked to their right and saw Eda whistling their masterpiece, and couldn't help but smile when they saw Lilith and Camila giving them supporting smiles.
Raine sighed, steeled their nerves, and looked at their speech one last time. They were glad that Kayta didn't add any colorful words like she normally does when she writes speeches.
"T-Today, I stand here not as a witch but as a living being," Raine said nervously. "For far too long, our species have been at odds with each other, either from prejudice, fear, or misdirection. But as the sun rises to replace the moon, this day marks a new beginning for us all For it is on this day that human and demon realms began making peace through this simple act of trading. Hopefully, through this small act, we can foster a long-standing relationship that will transcend time."
Raine's heart was racing a mile a second, but they resisted the urge to hold their chest as they looked out at the crowd.
It was clear the humans weren't going to give them thunderous applause. Raine did see that no one was afraid of them, and they took that as a good sign. Soon, their eyes landed on a certain florist. Drake wore a small smile, and he nodded at the witch.
Raine returned the gesture and began the next part, telling the humans what they could expect when they began trading with the demon realm. Most humans began to get invested in some of the items and even asked a few questions.
Though it was small, the interaction Raine had with the residents of the town was a good one, and they would take that as a victory.
(G Corner)
Well, witches and demons, that's the story of how Raine Whispers lost their pants. This was also my take on how Raine got their stage fright. So, only one more chapter to go, and the "Reveal" arc is done.