Eda and the mysterious stranger named Raine looked at each other intently for a time that seemed infinite... then suddenly Hooty moved and bumped Raine with his long neck, knocking his glasses to the floor, and headed towards Eda and Luz: "Eda, look who's back! It's been a long time since they visited us! Trust me, they are still as good as they used to be! They sound like they are a music god, hoot hoot! You should really..." he stopped when he realized Luz's presence, and especially her long nose. "Ugh… did you tell lies again?"

Luz nodded with a lot of shame. "Please bring my nose back to the size it was before!"

"Hey, who did you take me for, your personal nose trimmer?" Hooty grumbled. "It's the third time already! When will you learn to be honest?"

"Hooty, please! I swear it just slipped out of my mouth!" Luz begged.

The owl closed his eyes and turned his head away. "Tsk! And would that be an excuse? Don't count on my help!"

Luz was already about to drop to her knees and beg even more, but Eda, who until then had remained as still as a statue, ordered: "Hooty, just do it"

The owl seemed surprised by the fairy's direct order, but still he didn't refuse again. "Mh. Okay, but I'm doing it out of my will!" he said, and with a few quick pecks he immediately brought Luz's nose back to normal size. "That's it. And let it be the last time!"

Luz touched her nose several times to make sure it was truly back to normal. "Thanks, Hooty" she said in a grateful voice, and the owl hooted in annoyance.

Meanwhile Raine had bent down to look for his glasses, since without them everything was blurry. Realizing that the man was in obvious difficulty, Luz hurried to help him and picked up his glasses from the floor. "Here, sir" she said, handing them to him.

"Uh, thanks, young girl. You really are..." Raine was about to take the glasses from Luz's hand, but stopped when she saw her. His vision was still blurry, but he could clearly see that what was before him was a girl around fourteen, with brown skin like his own, and brown hair just like Eda's mother, Gwendolyn, and his brown eyes as if they were a perfect combination between the fairy's golden ones and her own aqua green ones... a doubt immediately made its way into his mind; that girl was there at the Owl House with Eda, and she was so similar to her and at the same time to him, and she was fourteen, and about fourteen years ago he and the fairy had... "Um... Eda..." he murmured in panic. "Is she by any chance...?"

"She's not yours!" Eda exclaimed so loudly that it made both him and Luz jump. "Put on your glasses and take a good look at her, she's made of wood! Unless you have trees in your family I doubt she could be yours!"

Raine was confused for a moment, then he took his glasses and put them on his nose, and finally he was able to see things clearly again, and he realized that the one in front of him was actually a puppet. "Hello. I'm Luz Noceda" Luz introduced herself. "Eda is my fairy godmother, and I live here with her. And... I'm not sure what you thought, but I don't belong to anyone. I'm not an object that belongs to a person"

"Of course! That's not what I meant" Raine hurriedly said, blushing visibly, then he tried to compose himself: "So... Luz Noceda, hm? Wait... Is Eda your fairy godmother? Since when has Eda been a fairy godmother?"

"Ok, that's enough" Eda intervened, finally abandoning the statuesque posture she had been maintaining for over ten minutes. She was clearly uncomfortable, but she stepped forward anyway. "Luz, meet Raine Whispers. They are the bard who wrote that song I sang to you when you fell asleep in my arms"

"Really!? Oh, now I understand why that music sounded so familiar! Wait... so your pronouns are they/them? Yes, I should have listened better to Hooty actually... ok, it doesn't matter now" Luz exclaimed shaking her head, then she said: "Mr. Whispers, you are an exceptional composer!"

"Yeah! Even with my enormous wisdom, I can hardly imagine a more skilled musician in this world!" King said, who had also stood up. "That's why I named them my court composer!"

Raine blushed visibly. "Well... modestly, I am quite good..." they murmured.

Despite the situation that was putting a strain on her psyche, Eda found the strength to giggle at their clumsiness. "Look look, still shy just like all those years ago?" she teased them, but then she added: "I'm happy about it. I liked this side of you, and it's nice to see that you haven't changed"

Raine seemed pleased with that statement. Luz looked at Eda in confusion. "Have you two known each other for a long time?"

"Yes, they were lovers" King intervened, pointing to Raine: "When they entered the house I felt obliged to protect the home of my worshipers, so I asked for explanations and they confessed this to me"

Luz was silent for a moment at those words, then her eyes widened and shone and her mouth opened so wide it looked like an oven, and her hands tightened together; and after less than a second she collapsed on the floor in the throes of what seemed like a fit of excitement. "Oh, good, you just broke Luz" Eda grumbled, glaring at King, who totally ignored her and actually grinned with satisfaction at that scene.

Raine was quite worried when they saw the puppet still lying on the ground. "Um... Eda, maybe we should do something..."

"No, I don't think so" Eda sighed, then noticing a familiar light in Luz's eyes she started the countdown: "Three... two... one..."

"I WANT THE DETAILS!" the puppet exclaimed, jumping up. "How did you meet? Where? When? Was it love at first sight? Or maybe you started as friends and then..."

"Hey, slow down, young girl! There's no need to rush like that, I'll tell you how it went right away" Raine told her; even though they found Luz's reaction rather sweet, they had a hard time keeping up with all those questions. As soon as they finished saying those words, Luz sat down on the sofa and looked at them intently, clapping her hands on her knees, clearly waiting for the story and nothing else. "Well, um… where should I start…"

"I say from the beginning. It seems like a good start" Eda teased them again.

Raine tried to ignore the fairy. Apparently Eda had remained exactly the same too, and they didn't mind it at all. "So, we first met at a circus. She was doing some magic to liven up the atmosphere, and I was watching a music show, and well, it wasn't hard for me to notice that the musical instruments were starting to play for their own just as a young girl with orange hair walked by..."

"A circus? Wait... was that Mr. Faust's circus, the one that's now Mr. Bump's? Was that the time you almost got him fired?" Luz asked putting the pieces together.

Raine was somewhat surprised. "Did you tell her that story?" they asked Eda.

The fairy shrugged. "Only the fun parts" she replied with a smirk. "Anyway, kiddo, it was that circus and it was that event. Oh, by the way, Raine, did you know that Bump is apparently still alive?"

"Really!?" Raine's eyes widened in amazement. Evidently they had assumed that after all these years Bump was dead and gone. "Um… anyway, after that event, she came to visit me a few more times. She used her magic to track me down. She said she loved my music and wanted to hear it again and again, and I was happy that someone appreciated my talent. Soon we also started doing duets, and I was looking for the right music to blend with the sound of her voice. And after a while... well, you can imagine, a feeling was born and... don't ask me exactly how it happened because I still don't understand it well either, but I found myself locked in a closet with her stuck to my body and her lips on mine"

Luz was loving that story, but that didn't stop her from raising an eyebrow. "Um... what do you mean in a closet? Can you explain better?"

"I'll show you the dynamics of the situation, since Raine can't do it" Eda said trying not to laugh. "I simply broke into their house by entering their room through the window to surprise them, and they were happy about it... but then their mother came up to tell them something and I hid in their closet. They distracted her and then they came to tell me that I could go out, but they tripped and ended up in the wardrobe with me, and the doors closed behind them because they hadn't opened them properly. So we fell on top of each other... and from there one thing led to another and... well, you're smart, understand that on your own"

Luz was so ecstatic that she was almost salivating at the mouth, and Raine, fearing that she was about to collapse again, hurriedly continued with the story: "Anyway, after that we got together, and we were engaged for a... fair amount of years. The best years of my life, by the way"

Luz was smiling ecstatically, but then she asked: "If it was so good, why did you break up? Wait a minute... you broke up, right? It's not like a long-distance relationship or..."

"No, we broke up" Raine confirmed, and suddenly they seemed unsure of what to say. "As for why... sometimes feelings just end. There's not much more to say"

Looking at their expression, Luz suspected that perhaps Raine hadn't been telling the truth; but after all, she reflected, her question had been a little too personal. "I see" she said, pretending to buy it. "So, what did you do next?"

"I would like to know this too" Eda said in a rather curious voice. "The last time I saw you, you were boarding a freighter saying you wanted to travel the world to find new aspirations for your music. How did it go?"

Even though Raine had a slight shadow on their face, their lips still curved into a smile. "It was… amazing, there's no other way to put it. I saw places so incredible I didn't even think they were possible. I saw jungles full of lush trees so tall they seemed to touch the sky. I saw mountains full of griffins... and I had to escape from some of them. I conversed with an elderly dragon who lived in a cave in a barren wasteland. I saw waterfalls so immense they seemed like the edge of the world, in which the water formed rainbows every once the light hit it, and at night when there was a full moon a rainbow formed of shades of white, a lunar rainbow. I made friends with werewolves and even some vampires. And I even reached the freezing cold north, there where there is always only ice and the night lasts half the year, and I admired the most majestic show of lights that can exist in this world: the legendary Northern Lights..."

"Northern Lights?" Luz, who until then had remained silent and listened in admiration to all those adventures, intervened confused. "What is it?"

"It is the most beautiful thing in the world, there is nothing else comparable. Imagine thousands of colors, far more than any rainbow could have, dancing across the night sky, illuminating the frozen landscape for hours. There is no way to describe its magnificence, you have to see it in person to really understand its beauty. When I was there, I felt like I was watching the work of a god" Raine replied, making Luz's eyes bright like torches. "It was there that I composed my best music, inspired by that celestial masterpiece"

Luz was ecstatic. She hadn't the faintest idea what the Northern Lights were, but Raine's description gave her the impression that it was a sight she absolutely had to admire. "Can we go and see it, Eda? Can we?" she exclaimed hopefully. She absolutely wanted the fairy to take her there, maybe with her friends, so that everyone could observe that beauty of nature... and for some reason, she was imagining in particular her and a certain lavender-haired girl sitting on the ice side by side to admire that show, and that thought caused a certain acceleration of her heartbeat.

But to her great regret, Eda shook her head. "The arctic is far away, Luz. Even with my wings it would take weeks to reach it. Besides, there is almost never night in the arctic this time of year"

Luz became dejected; Raine, to cheer her up, tried to change the subject: "Anyway, to make a long story short, I have actually traveled to many places. And then, some time ago, I came to a desert in the far east, and there I found an ancient temple. That's where I met my best friend, Darius. You know... that guy who I'm sure greeted you outside the door"

"Yes, we met him" Eda confirmed. "Why he was in an ancient temple? Is he an explorer like you, or a treasure hunter?"

"Well... not exactly. Let's just say he was the only one who still believed in the legends of that old temple" Raine said scratching their head. "Don't ask me his story... he'll tell you if he wants"

Luz promised herself to ask the large man outside the door the details of that meeting; even if the birth of a friendship wasn't as interesting as that of a love story, it was still something she was eager to know. "So you two traveled together after that?"

"Yes. Well, not completely alone actually... after leaving the desert we reached a town that was ruled by a tyrannical and cruel emperor. It was there that I chose to put my music at the service of something bigger" Raine narrated. "Every day I stood on a rooftop, a spire, a statue, or anywhere else where people could see and hear me; I wore a mask so I wouldn't be recognize, and I sang songs of freedom, equality, and prosperity. Darius took care to prevent the soldiers from capturing me, and trust me, he was very good at that. More and more people listened to me and soon others joined me and we created a group that we called BATTs, the Bards Against The Throne... it was a cool name and it fit perfectly with the masks we wore, since they were those of a desert bat. And finally the masses, inspired by our music, rebelled and overthrew the tyrannical government"

"So you were a rebel!?" Luz exclaimed. "Cool! I was a rebel too, you know?"

"Well, more of an instigator actually… wait, what do you mean you were a rebel too?" Raine asked rather startled.

"Yes! It happened some time ago, I basically found myself in a city ruled by an evil greater basilisk and I together with some of my friends and the niece of that cruel bitch exposed her! It was a difficult battle, by the way" Luz replied. "I was technically on the front lines when I succeeded, I even participated a little! Oh, and the niece of that greater basilisk became my sweet sister after that"

Raine had taken on such an idiotic expression that it was laughable just to look at their face. Finally they whispered: "Are you real?"

"I'll explain it to you later, it's a long story" Eda told him, giving them a vigorous pat on the shoulder, barely keeping herself from laughing. "So, the young bard who could barely speak in public has become a rebel? My goodness, you have grown more than I expected". Then a sweet smile appeared on her face: "I always knew that your music had the power to change the world"

Raine blushed visibly, and to regain composure they started coughing and tried to get back to the story: "W-Well... um... after that episode the most influential members of BATTs continued to come with us, and together we also freed other towns and villages from tyranny. Then... well, some time ago I felt a little homesick, and I wanted to come and say hello to an old... well... now a friend, I presume... like this I asked Darius to find Eda. He can find anyone if you ask him. And here I am"

"Really? He can find anyone?" Luz asked. "Who is he really? An investigator? A former spy for some great empire?"

"No, he's just really good at finding people. He's good at a lot of things actually, if you ask him in the right way" Raine replied.

Luz seemed to want to ask more, but Eda stopped her: "Okay, it was really... nice to hear this backstory, but now I would like to talk to Raine alone. Kiddo, you can wait outside the house for a while with King?"

"But..." Luz was about to protest, but she stopped when she saw Eda's stern look. So, although very reluctantly, she took King who had fallen asleep in the meantime and left the house, leaving the two alone.

When she was outside, she found that Darius was still sitting in the same spot, fiddling with rocks dancing in the palm of his hand. Luz saw with surprise that even though he was constantly moving his hand, one of the stones remained perfectly balanced on his middle finger. "How do you do it? Is it magic?"

"Nah, just a lot of balance" Darius answered, dropping the rocks, and then he looked at her with a satisfied smile: "They sent you out of the house, hm? Well, I'd say the reunion is going great then. By the way, did you notice if that enterprising rascal of a friend of mine was already undoing their collar?"

Luz was more confused than ever. "Um... why should Eda asking me to leave the house be a good sign? And why should Raine undo his collar?"

"Well, it seems obvious to me. Those two have been separated for over a decade, and trust me when I tell you that Raine still wants that fairy" Darius replied with a grin. "If it's the same for her, by now they'll probably have already left their clothes on the floor and are rolling in bed"

Luz couldn't tell if the man was being serious or making fun of her. "I can't follow you" she admitted in the end.

Darius lost his grin for a moment and looked confused; as he did so he moved slightly and Luz noticed the oil lamp under his cloak again, and this time she was able to see that it appeared to be very well made, which probably meant that it was very valuable. He remained silent for a moment, then he chuckled. "Let me guess: your fairy hasn't given you 'the talk' about how babies are made yet, right?"

"Um... no, not really" Luz replied.

"Well, in that case I'll take the burden" Darius said, rubbing his hands together; he glanced at King to make sure he was really sleeping, and then his voice became lower, as if he were telling her a secret: "You see, young girl, when two people are particularly interested in each other..."

Author: "The situation is too calm, we need a new trauma to give to Luz"

Darius: "Leave it to me"

Author: "Huh? You're not a villain"

Darius: "But I almost made Raine and Eda commit suicide!"

Author: "Yes, but then you changed sides... don't ask me how or when, they didn't show it to us. In any case, you're not a villain"

Darius: "Okay. Anyway, leave it to me, I'm a professional"

Author: "Are you sure?"

Darius: "Yes, yes, don't worry. Oh, this will be fun..."