☔ Raeda Oneshots 🌟

Eudaemonia

Ever since she struck her deal with the owl beast, dreams were no longer something Eda worried about. Rather than the stressful nightmares of her young adulthood, many of her dreams nowadays were pleasant and colorful, with a soothing, abstract watercolor palette. The ocean was gold and the air was clean as she sat on the sand, the perfect way to spend the resting hours.

That being said, when Eda began to hear whistling and whining within the dreamscape, she was surprised and disgruntled. The sounds filled her with a certain anxiety like something was wrong, although it was nothing she could identify inside her dream world.

<<<~>>>

Owlbert awoke to the insistent prodding of a cold, wet nose on his wing, digging under his feathers. Curled up in the small nest Eda had granted him, he begrudgingly untucked his head from underneath his wing and glared at the offending palisman. He was about to tell Fiddlesticks to go back to sleep but saw the concern in her eyes and paused.

"Something wrong?" Owlbert asked her.

Fiddlesticks took a few small steps backward as she realized her friend was awake, "Sorry," She started, "Need Edalyn."

Owlbert rose and peeked over the edge of the witch's nest. Eda was still there, lying on her side, snoring mutedly, but Raine was missing. He turned his head to Fiddlesticks, her head low and ears flat, clearly worried for her witch. Owlbert reassuringly cooed at her and fluttered to sit on Eda's hip, digging his small talons into the blanket she was wrapped in as he whistled at her. Fiddlesticks hopped into the nest as well, poking Eda with her front paws and whining.

<<<~>>>

Eda groaned, flinging her arm over her eyes as the landscape of her dream melted away. A wet nose stuck itself in her ear and she shook it off, tiredly pushing Fiddlesticks off of her, "Eugh, what's wrong with you, Fidds," The palisman responded by taking a wad of Eda's hair in her mouth and tugging, only to be batted away once more, "Raine, get up and take care of your palisman," She mumbled, "Some of us actually like to sleep through the night." Eda slung her arm towards Raine's side of the nest in an effort to wake them up, only for her hand to meet cool covers with a soft thump. She groped around for a moment, but immediately sat up when she couldn't feel the warmth of her spouse in the nest.

"Raine?" She whispered, more to herself than anyone. She looked down at the two palisman next to her, their eyes were big with worry and she felt her own heart speed up. She pushed the blanket off, eyeing the eerie orange glow leaking out from the crack underneath the bathroom door. She slowly crawled out of the nest and stood; Fiddlesticks and Owlbert following her to the bathroom.

"Rainestorm?" She tried again, softly rasping her knuckles on the wood of the door, "I'm coming in, okay?" The palismen stepped to the side as Eda cracked open the door, quietly slipping inside. Fiddlesticks and Owlbert looked at each other for a moment before going in after her.

They found her crouched next to the bard, gently running her hand up and down their arm, whispering kind words as they silently cried, body shaking with the emotion they were trying to conceal.

Fiddlesticks slipped between the two as Owlbert flew up to his perch in Eda's mane, she comfortingly pressing her weight into her witch's side. She had seen firsthand the conditioning that caused them to be so quiet during times like these, and she knew as well as they did what would've happened if they had shown weakness. She rubbed her face against their leg, she wished she had a voice to tell them that it wasn't like that anymore.

Raine brought a hand to their mouth as a wave of nausea crawled over them; they scrambled to their knees, displacing Fiddlesticks from her spot at their side, and hunched over the toilet, clinging to the bowl with a vice grip as violent dry heaving wracked their system. New tears sprung in their eyes as their muscles seized. Eda placed her hand on their back, gently scratching up and down their spine with her nails. She frowned, feeling their ribs through their sleep shirt. She was already thinking of what she'd start packing them for lunch. The answer to "What'd you get for lunch today?" had been "Just a coffee." one too many times.

As the nausea faded, Raine was quick to sit back and cautiously envelop Eda in a hug, burying their face in her neck and she pressed kisses into their hair. Fiddlesticks, who had been sitting on the floor patiently, took this as her cue to snuggle up to the bard once again. Raine loosened their grip on Eda and looked down at Fiddlesticks. Their lashes were clumped with tears and their scars were red and irritated, but they smiled at her nonetheless.

"Thank you, Fiddlesticks." They delicately smoothed back the fur on her head. She bumped up against their hand and jumped to lay across their shoulders.

"And thank you, Eda," They took her hand in one of theirs and kissed her, "I'm so lucky to have the two of you."

Owlbert popped his head out of Eda's hair, jumping to land in Raine's instead and immediately preening their fading mint locks; Raine giggled at this, "Yes, Owlbert, you too."

Eda grinned at them, "We're the lucky ones, Rainestorm," she lifted their hand to her lips, placing a chaste kiss on their knuckles, "We love you."

Raine wiped the last of the tears from their eyes, a lovesick grin threatening to split their face, "I love you, too."

<<<~>>>

In the nest, Fiddlesticks awoke to the morning sun warming her fur. Owlbert was next to her, also awake and enjoying the clear morning. They were snugly tucked between the two witches on either side of them. Raine and Eda's legs were tangled and their foreheads pressed together, clingy even in sleep.

Fiddlesticks stretched briefly and laid her head down once more, content to nap the rest of the morning away.