Work Text:
From a Bard to a Human
Luz was laying in her bed at the C.A.T.S hideout. She couldn’t rest even for a moment. The noise that was coming from several meetings that was happening and mainly the fact that the Day of Unity was so close kept Luz wide awake. She tossed and turned to get comfortable, but it was no use. These beds were understandably not very comfy anyways.
She sighed and got up, deciding to get some fresh air. She sent a worried glance to her palisman’s egg, which was currently wrapped in a fluffy blanket and set on a desk. She knew it hasn’t been that long since she and Eda carved it, but for some reason, she couldn’t lose the nagging voice in her mind telling her that it will never hatch.
She shook her head and started walking to the balcony of the hideout, walking past the meeting that was happening. She already knew what it was about, but Eda, Raine and Darius decided that they needed to tweak some parts of the plan just to be extra cautious. She could listen to it all from Eda later. The Owl Lady was discussing about the extent of witches they might harm in the process of the plan with Darius, King poking out of her hair while listening. Ugh, Luz did not want to hear the answer. She threw herself out of the closed space and felt relief when she saw that the balcony was empty.
She silently walked to the fence, watching the scenery of the isles from afar. Why did Belos felt the need to destroy this place? Why did he need to make everyone’s life worse for no good reason? Luz thought about what she would be doing if Belos’s threat didn’t exist right now. She would probably be hanging out with her friends, or hanging out with Eda and King, or go to Hexside, literally anything else.
She could be spending time with Amity. They didn’t even get to have a real date between all these events. Luz felt like whenever they were hanging out, it was because they were in some kind of adventure. She definitely didn’t hate having adventures with her girlfriend, but she wanted to have some casual, slice of life dates too. Well, as casual as things can get in The Boiling Isles. One more thing Belos took away from her.
She couldn’t hear the meeting as loudly from here, so having a moment of peace felt nice. She stood there for a long while, losing the track of time. She didn’t know how long it took, but she eventually heard the meeting’s voice died down. She was sitting at a nearby chair, having sat after a few minutes of taking in the scenery.
She didn’t go in. She didn’t want to bother Eda with questions, and frankly, she didn’t want to think about them too. Sooner or later Eda would probably come out looking for her anyways.
The door behind her opened. She heard the sound and waited for Eda’s concerned but masked with sassiness voice to come. However, the voice was way gentler and quieter than she was used to.
“Good day today, huh?” said the voice, the tiniest bit of sarcasm noticeable in it’s tone.
Luz quickly turned to see Raine Whispers staring right back at her with a warm expression. “Room for one more?”
Luz gave them a small smile. “Sure.”
They slowly walked nearby her and pulled a chair for themselves. They put one leg above the other and stared thoughtfully into the horizon. Luz narrowed her eyes, wondering why they might be here. “Did Eda sent you to get me or...”
Raine chuckled and shook their head. “Nope. I’m afraid Eda is too heated about everything to notice your absence yet. I noticed you walking outside and decided to check in.”
For some reason, Raine coming here on their own worry made Luz strangely emotional. But she tried not to show that and simply nodded to the bard’s words. “Well, thank you for your concern, but I’m fine actually. As fine as I can be in this situation.”
“Which is not a high bar.” added Raine. “Now, I know that we haven’t spent a long time together, and you may not be eager to talk to someone like me. But I’d be very happy to hear your thoughts about the Day of Unity and our plan about it. You’d both give me a new perspective and a chance to have a heart to heart conversation.”
After a moment of silence, they continued “But I will understand if you don’t want to of course. As skillful as you are, you are still a child and shouldn’t be living these things at the first place. I don’t want to burden you anymore than you are already.”
Luz thought about their words. Sure, they haven’t chatted a lot, but she definitely has taken a liking to the bard. She knew Raine was a rebel against the Emperor way before Luz even met her. They were very brave and a strong witch. Besides, they were one of Eda’s closest friends (Or a partner, Luz wasn’t sure if they got back together properly yet.) so Luz had all the more reason to trust them.
And she wanted to be a part of this. She wanted to be involved in taking down Belos directly. She made so many mistakes and she felt like she had to be the one to fix it all. She couldn’t just sit back and let adults do the work.
She turned to them, who were staring at her with curious eyes. “Well, a word or two wouldn’t hurt.”
Raine seemed pleased and nodded for her to continue. Luz took a breath “Where to start... Well, firstly I don’t like the plan. I don’t like risking Eda no matter the reason. There has to be another way, but I can’t think of any.”
Raine didn’t interrupt or try to tell her why the plan is important, which Luz appreciated and continued. “Even if we go along with this gamble, there is so many things that can go wrong. So many. What if they somehow spot her? What if that illusion coven head sees through the disguise? She wouldn’t even have a chance to do something against all the coven heads.”
“Darius, Eberwolf and I will be there, Luz” said Raine, politely cutting her off. “Even if the worst happens and she gets caught, we will do everything in our power to not let them take her. I am aware that even this isn’t safe enough... But as you can guess, we aren’t too safe here either. Someone has to make a move, or it will be too late for all of the isles. Believe me, if I could even think of another plan, I would not risk Eda’s life this severely. “
Luz sighed. “I know, I know. This is the best shot we’ve got. I shouldn’t complain.”
Raine smiled sadly “You’ve got all the right in the world to complain. Like I said, you shouldn’t even be here. You should be in your home, enjoying your life at this age. You shouldn’t have to deal with stuff like these. I’m sorry.”
Luz shook her head fiercely “That’s the thing! I want to be here. Belos is going to pay for what he has done and I want to be right with you when we make that happen. I... Failed a lot of things, Raine, and I have to make it up to all of my friends. I feel so useless right now.”
Raine seemed to contemplate something for a moment, before speaking softly “May I tell you a story?”
Luz turned at them with a surprised expression, then nodded. Raine smiled and started.
“You already know that I am from the bard coven.” they rubbed their coven tattoo instinctively. “And... Well, when we were little kids, bards weren’t taken seriously. We were seen as entertainers. Nothing more than supports to the ‘main’ branches of magic.”
Luz was confused. “But... You’re like, one of the most powerful witches I’ve seen. How is that possible?”
Raine laughed. “I’m flattered, but those skills came from years of training and dedication. A bard’s starting skills weren’t as fancy as they are now. But they weren’t as useless as the others thought they were either.”
“I was, like a lot of other bards, an outcast. Not many people took my words seriously, nor found my interest for music as a good trait. I was forced to spend time with notes more than I do with talking sounds.”
They sighed dreamily. “And then, there came Eda. Eda Clawthorne.”
Luz nodded. She already knew about the story of her mentor and Raine’s first meeting.
Raine continued “She was one of the only people who thought I was cool and skillful. She willingly spent time with me and she was the reason I moved to Hexside, alongside some financial reasons.”
“I’m sure she told you about these moments. I’d be offended if she didn’t.” they said jokingly, making Luz chuckle.
“The point I’m trying to make here is... Luz, you were never useless. Eda told me about your adventures. You are brave, smart, and surprisingly durable for a human. The only reason you’re feeling useless right now because you feel like you aren’t doing enough. Just like me when I was aspiring to go for the coven head position just to impress someone, anyone. And we all know how that turned out. So you don’t need that.”
They pointed to the door behind them. “Nobody blames you for the things that have happened. Eda was trying to keep you away from this operation because you’ve done so much already. She was just trying to keep you safe. And now that you are here, you are already directly inside the plan of taking down the Day of Unity.”
They gently put their hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Sometimes, having someone who cares about you is enough to feel fulfilled. And... Well... It sure seems like you have a lot of those.” They winked at her. Luz grinned. She felt... Better? She didn’t understand how Raine managed to lift her spirits up, even if it’s the tiniest bit. Bards were probably good with talking, she supposed.
“I... Really don’t know what to say to that. Thank you, Raine. I definitely didn’t expect to have this conversation with you of all people.”
Raine shrugged “Neither did I. I’m not normally good with... Uhm, audiences.” they blushed slightly, still smiling. “But I’m happy I was able to help. I know the circumstances are dire, but know that everyone here is working hard to make things right.”
Luz nodded. She was expecting for Raine to convince her to get her inside again. But the bard gracefully spun a spell circle before summoning their violin. Another spin got them their fiddle. “Would you care for a little ambience music?” They asked a bit shyly. They really were bad with an audience.
“Of course.” she answered eagerly. Raine closed their eyes and started sliding the fiddle through the strings. The melody was... Beautiful to say the least. Luz instinctively closed her own eyes and for only a moment, she felt her worries melt away. She always thought music was magic, way before she stepped into the isles. But listening to what she assumed was actual magical music was an another experience.
She opened her eyes, seeing the environment around them glowing golden. The tips of her hair and small leaves around the balcony was levitating. Raine hadn’t opened their eyes. The air felt lighter.
This continued on for a while, keeping both of them in some sort of a peaceful trance. Until a loud voice interrupted that said peace. “You two having fun?”
As the music stopped, the golden glow disappeared. Luz took a deep breath, feeling like a huge weight has lifted off her shoulders. Both of them turned to the voice.
Of course, Eda was standing there with an amused expression, hands on her hip.
“Didn’t know you had it in you to actually perform to someone you don’t yet know that well, Rainestorm.” she said with the biggest smirk on her face. Raine blushed and scoffed. “I was head of the bard coven for a reason Eda. I can perform, whether you believe it or not.”
“Well, not without a little stutter here and there.” Eda walked to them, putting a hand on Luz’s head. “You okay kiddo? I hope Raine here isn’t making your eardrums suffer.”
Luz chuckled as Raine further reddened. “Eda!” They said while Eda snorted.
“I’m okay, Eda. Not entirely, but who is entirely okay right now anyways?” answered Luz truthfully. Eda stopped laughing for a moment to frown “I hear ya. It’s tough out there, Luz. Hell, it’s tough in here. Titan knows I gave Aboma-Head back there a hard time. Everybody’s on edge and it’s for a good reason.”
Luz nodded grimly. Seeing this, Eda and Raine exchanged glances. “But...” started Eda. “It’s okay to relax for a bit. I have an idea. How about you go on a rescue mission?”
Luz raised her eyebrows, surprised. “You mean, one of the rebels got caught?”
Eda laughed loudly. “What? No! If that was the case, someone else would be dealing with it. No, I’m talking about Boots, kid. I know she was grounded and I can clearly see in your eyes that you want to do something about it. If you promise to go with Goops and Petals, I just might let you go and do that. What do you say?”
“Willow and Gus?” asked Luz excitedly. “Yes! Of course I wanna go! Amity must be so worried right now. And my messages from our kitty phones don’t go to hers for some reason. Thank you Eda!”
She hugged her mentor tight. “Whoa Luz.” gasped Eda. “You’ve gotten a lot stronger with these.”
When Luz let go, she straightened her dress. “Now, why don’t we all go back inside? If you want to save your girlfriend, you gotta have the energy for it. It’s getting pretty late anyways.”
She smiled when Luz nodded and turned her back, walking away. “Alright, King is probably getting antsy without his boo-boo buddy for sleep.”
Luz and Raine stared at each other for a moment. Raine smiled one last time to her. Then started following Eda. Luz hesitated before calling to them. “Wait.”
Raine stopped in their tracks. “Hm?” They said curiously. Luz walked up to them and hold one of their wrists slowly. “Promise me. Promise me that you’ll keep Eda safe, no matter what.”
Raine seemed surprised but it didn’t take long before they nodded firmly. “You have my word, Luz. She won’t get harmed.”
Luz searched their eyes for any sign of doubt. But the bard showed none. She then let their hand go, her heart a little bit calmer. Raine walked inside, and after taking one lost look at the balcony, Luz did the same.