#rainestorm writing

[raineynightswrld]

𖥻 Light my cigarette? 𖥨 🚬

greetings. welcome to my first blog ever :). im going to keep this short and simple, my name is raine and i haven’t seen much vito scaletta fanfics on here, so i decided to step up and share some silly imagine/one shot or whatever. not proofread, cliche trope and lazy ending !

overall warnings: reader is implied to be female, smoking, strangers to lovers, cliche moments, kissing, stealing, romantic tension, swearing, slight ooc, really really lazy ending 😭

setting and fandom: mafia 2, 1951.

It was a normal, rainy night in Empire Bay. The trees were rumbling, as droplets of water fell from the night sky at a slow rate while the moon shined its light on the streets of Small Italy. You’d be either insane in the head or in a rush if you were walking around with this weather going on, especially without an umbrella.

Speaking of people insane in the head, you unwillingly stepped in a big puddle, staining your brand new coat and shoes. You hissed in annoyance and took a step back, raising your arms and cursed under your breath: “Fucking hell… can’t even go somewhere without bad luck smudging my fucking asscheeks! Shit was expensive as fuck too.. goddammit.”

Not only did you stain some expensive clothing and pair of shoes, you also forgot your umbrella at home, making this situation even more worse. You just wanted the earth to split in two, gobble you up and never let go of you again. Your hair was wet, and mascara ran down your cheeks like a river. Your coat didn’t help in keeping your black button up blouse at least semi-dry semi-wet. I’m other words, you looked like shit and looked like you just jumped in a river. The rain wasn’t even heavy!

You were always known for having bad luck. Ever since you were a child, nothing went your way. Not even assignments you pulled all nighters on and knew the answers like the back of your hand. You couldn’t figure out how you didn’t die yet, guess something went right in your life at least once.

Grunting and eventually stomping your foot on the moist cemented floor beneath, you shook your head and began walking towards a nearby 24/7 store, not wanting to go back to whatever route you were taking to go to whatever place. You were late anyways.

Lightening up a cigarette, or, at least attempting to, you groan in annoyance and breathe in to not make a tantrum in the middle of the street at two in the morning. Eventually, you manage to light the thin and long cigarette up, the smell of chocolate and whipped cashmere smoke entered your nostrils, which seemed to have calmed you down a bit.

Opening the door to the medium sized convenience store, you inspected your surroundings, just to see no one was there. Might as well rob the store. Taking a big puff of the cigarette, you walk around the store, blowing the smoke out of your nose and mouth. You find yourself roaming the store endlessly.

Not like you had anything else to do. You were sure as hell you wouldn’t be stepping out until the rain outside stopped.

Eventually getting bored, you grab a new pack of cigarettes you wanted to try out for some time now. You squeeze the cigarette you had in your hand from outside with the tip of your boot, and decide to betray your initial thoughts, going outside through the back door of the store.

You thought you’d be alone - that no one would be there, but just you, your thoughts, and your soul. Startled by the man who was also smoking a cigarette, you take a step back and close your eyes for a bit, breathing in before quietly greeting him. He was a tad bit taller than you. If you weren’t wearing boots with heels, he’d probably be more taller.

Raising his eyebrow at the sudden change of somewhat quiet environment, the stranger eyed you, his brown eyes staring into yours. For a moment, none of you said anything, before the man in front of you broke eye contact and moved his head so he was facing the street, and not you. Were you that ugly? You internally cackled at the thought. Sure, he was attractive, with his gel slicked back hair and the mysterious clothing choice but hell — you weren’t THAT interested.

After a moment of awkward silence, the man takes a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a puff of smoke before finally breaking the quiet tension. "Nice night, huh? Or, at least for me.” he remarks, a faint smirk on his lips.

“Yeah.. I guess.” You didn’t even know you were holding your breath. Exhaling, you open the stolen pack of cigarettes and take one, before stuffing the pack into your coat’s pocket and grabbing your lighter.

You try to light it up, but to no avail, it fails. You try again, and again, and again. Nothing lights up. You sigh loudly, before rolling your eyes. You’re starting to get pissed off.

“Need some help?” The man asks.

“Mama told me to not ask help from strangers.” You smirked and raised an eyebrow, before huffing out a laugh from your somewhat dry throat, then nodding and getting closer to the stranger. He smelled really good. Cigarette and some perfume. “Light my cigarette?”

He first puts his cigarette in his mouth, holding it still as he takes his lighter from his coat’s pocket. Due to the poor lightning, you thought both of you had matching coats - except for the fact that yours was stained with wetness. You point your cigarette to his lighter’s tip, before it shined fire. After the cigarette finally got lit up, you pull back and take a puff.

“Vito.”

“Huh?”

“Name’s Vito. Thought you’d need my name to thank me, sweetheart.”

“Oh!” Your mascara stained cheeks flushed in embarrassment, before huffing out the smoke in another direction than Vito’s face. “Thank you, Vito, for the light.”

You genuinely smiled at him, before you two started to talk about life. Though you were the one who talked more about your job, your overall life.. your bad luck.

“Yeah.. that’s how I got my clothes all wet and dirty. I was actually thinking of going to meet my friends and all at a club but I was already running late and I obviously wouldn’t show up at a club looking like this. When I was walking to the club, I even forgot where I was walking to and just decided to ‘crash’ here.”

You sigh loudly as Vito nods. He already finished his cigarette and didn’t bother lighting up a new one. You, however, were on your second cigarette of the pack you stole. After a few moments of silence, you look at Vito, who was looking at you too.

Your hair was now pretty dry and styled way better. The mascara that ran itself down your cheeks was gone since Vito was kind enough to give you something to wipe the mascara off. The rain stopped a while ago and you just found yourself talking to him endlessly.

Taking one last blow of your cigarette, you flicked it away somewhere on the wet cement and sighed.

“I’m out of things to say.” You laugh and look away before gazing up at Vito, who was slightly smiling.

“That was a lot of stuff to take in.” He huffed out in a slightly raspy voice.

“So.”

“So?”

You blink, breaking the eye contact. There was silence followed, as you breathed in. Leaning in just a bit, you straightened your back a little, before Vito leaned in fully, breaking the tension. His rough lips met your soft ones, as you closed your eyes, placing your palms on his cheeks. Your thumb traced over the scar on his chin, as he held your waist just right. You pulled back for air and breathed in the satisfying post-rain smell. No words were needed. Just a look and another kiss. After another, which turned out sloppier than the other two. Obviously, you stopped at his place after.

Guess you didn’t always have bad luck.

[jennaray143]

Hunter looks so cozy in that baby carrier in the Hunter's Lullaby art with Raine.

I knowwwww😍!!! God he is so cute, sometimes when I’m drawing I have to stop and put my pen down so I can just gush about how cute babies are! This was definitely one of my more satisfying drawings because I had found the perfect panel reference for Raine’s violin and I just really liked how it came together. I just love Raine so much, they are definitely my favorite character. I love everything about them and any day I get to draw Raine is a good day🥰🥰🥰

[idlescree]

Can you hear the Rainestorm? Today we will be doing an analysis on the moral complexities of The Owl House's favorite freedom fighter--Raine Whispers! In our world, the name Raine is gentle and pretty, but on the Boiling Isles the name is basically boiling acid. And frankly, that's just where the danger begins with the truly terrifying Raine.

FOLLOW US https://idlescree.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/idlescree/

BUSINESS EMAIL idlescree@gmail.com

CREDITS Writing/narration Art Editing Music - Eda's Requiem - The Owl House OST (Looped)

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Thank you all so much for watching, and have a wonderful day!

[dazeddoodles]

Eda rolls up to Raines house and just

Eda:“You adopted-no…you KIDNAPPED the kids of a rich family!?”

Raine:“Eda”

Eda:“Ha! Sweet little Raine, breaking the law, *snort* who would’ve thought!”

Raine:“Shut up they needed me!”

Eda:“They didn’t need you Rainestorm, you just missed me soooo much that you went and kidnapped some kids to fill the void in your heart.”

Raine:“Eda”

Eda:“Hush. Now, useully I’d encourage this kind of behavior however you gotta return the kidz. Their bio parents are like super rich and I don’t want you to end up in jail.”

Raine:“But Eda-“

Eda:“Take the kids back Raine,”

Raine:“Eda-“

Eda:“Take the kids back now-“(tiny Amber walks over and makes uppy hands)”aww hi baby!”(Eda picks her up) “how are you doing princess?”

Tiny Amber:(giggles)

(Raine gives Eda a look)

Eda:(covers tiny Ambers ears) shut the fuck up

This is sooo in character. Someone needs to write this fic.

[wolfwrenweek]

day one: devouring heavenly bodies ART: graphite drawing on paper by queer-fangrrrl-daydreaming ☆ obsession by shipping1addict ☆ devouring heavenly bodies by thedivergentbatch ☆ with teeth by cmbdragon98 ☆ excuse for physical contact by im-yotsu ☆ Possessive Love by ali-mart ☆ Bandit Shin by rainestorm-days ☆ sick and tired by rubidimum ☆ they did not let it linger by kokonut713 ☆ devouring heavenly bodies by grimdarkqueen ☆ bites bites bites by somewillwin ☆ 🤍💜 by karasyelena ☆ sketches by rainestorm-days ☆ the wolf and her moon by endoplight ☆ scars and bites by luciouz ☆ Devouring Heavenly Bodies by light-fawn ☆ blood by natchosfarfaraway

WRITING: i am all alone and my only judge is me by nightincarnate ☆ biting + blood by oftenlyshitposting ☆ New haircut? by rainestorm-days ☆ Sugar, We’re Going Down Swinging by tamoline ☆ her mausoleum by shinhatisgirlfriend ☆ devouring heavenly bodies by how-do-i-do-words ☆ Miód Malina by mandalorianfleshenjoyer ☆ Chapter 1: The Hunt by asianscaper ☆ you were the one (I’d have starved with) by schlo-300 ☆ A Biting afFair by veditas ☆ moon-drunk monster by the-lovely-lady-luck ☆ Scars by MJTatch ☆ tongues and teeth by tonsillessscum ☆ It's a Long Way to Peridea by melanie-ohara ☆ Artemis’s Possession by kalevalakryze

EDITS/MUSIC: wolfwren playlist by shipping1addict ☆ Wolf Cento by kalevalakryze ☆ shin hati by triangulore ☆ possessive love by erisyuu ☆ hungry eyes by ssapphos ☆ wish by twocrowssinatrenchcoat ☆ the wren by bailey41 ☆ raw with love by armoralor ☆ Where it Begins by tonsillessscum

Thank you to all the amazing creators that participated in #wolfwrenweek2023! 🗡️❤️ to see a full list of all submissions in one place, we've also created a spreadsheet with of participants [here]. Our blog also has a tab that lists all creations [here]! Special thank you to the amazing event mods that helped make this event week possible: @sapphicsparkles, @coldcutfruit, and @armoralor ❤️

[dio-icarticaae]

12, 19 & 29 for the ask game :D <3 hiiiiiii

Hi!!! :D

12: How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

oh god. So, so many.

I have a planning doc with a bunch of fic ideas I'll write sometimes and that totals to . . . around 150?

I'm actively taking 10 WIPs into 2025 and hoping to get them all finished next year. But I am also planning on participating in every day of Satine Week, get at least 1 fic out for Amazons Week, and write a couple things for Femslash February, and that is not included in that list so there will be A LOT.

And there's also ~6 fics I haven't started writing yet that I'm planning to write so. There will be a lot of fic next year.

19: What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Hmmm. I think cloissteel? They have such an interesting and well-balanced dynamic that I really want to dig into outside of it going on in the background of something else.

29: Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Answer changes daily (and if someone asks this again they'll get a different answer)! At the moment, probably this bit from there's a stranger in my eyes again, I swear to god I don't know him:

Raine laughed and headed down the stairs feeling much more at ease with themself. Downstairs, they found controlled chaos. Hooty was curled around Lilith in a frankly disconcerting way while she argued with Eda about errands. Eberwolf was watching Hooty intently and with great suspicion. King was keeping the Collector occupied, and Luz was talking with Camila and Hunter. Eda navigated the kitchen, using some of the supply of food Darius brought yesterday evening to make a meal for everyone. Raine watched her fondly from the doorway for a few moments, admiring the way she maintained her part in her argument with Lilith while moving smoothly through the kitchen. Raine only stepped in when she fumbled a pan, apparently not entirely used to cooking with one hand yet. "Need a hand there, Calamity?" Eda cackled. “A hand?” Raine flushed, mortified. “Oh, Titan. I am so sorry –” “—don’t apologize Rainestorm this is hilarious –” “—I only meant do you need any help –” “—funniest think that’s happened today and that includes Hooty and Eberwolf growling at each other for ten minutes –" “—didn’t mean to bring it up and I am sorry for that too –” “Raine. Breathe. It’s fine. You saved me and this was hilarious.” Eda smiled at them, her grin making Raine’s heart stutter like it always did. “I’m gonna have to ask for a hand more often.” “You’re sure?” “Yes, Raine, I’m sure.” “Aww, you two are adorable,” Luz piped up from the table. “I think you mean sickening,” King observed.

The funny thing about this is that I automatically wrote the "need a hand" line and then realized. Oh. There is accidental comedy here and the rest just rolled from there.

(ask questions from the AO3 Wrapped ask list)

[randomscropio]

Arguments

Day four of @angelcloves half mil extravaganza, 500 words/free space. Hunter and Luz get into a heated argument and Luz says something that hits Hunter harder than she would have liked. I couldn't write this in just 500 words 😅

Warnings: Arguing, flashback, PTSD, killing (mentioned), guilt, parents, siblings

Hunter and Luz were arguing. Which was normal. But this one was worse than normal. Eda and Rain were trying to get the two teenagers separated before someone got hurt.

"Luz, Hunter, drop it," Eda said firmly as the two teens argued.

"Oh yeah, like how Luz dropped an important document!?" Hunter said.

"That was one time!" Luz said, struggling to get out of Eda's grasp.

"Oh yeah, like how you helped Belos meet the collector?"

"Well, at least I never directly killed anyone!"

Luz didn't even think about what she said until she saw Hunter's reaction. Hunter was frozen. He dropped onto his knees and Raine let his arms go.

"Oh, titan. Why did I say that?" Luz muttered under her breath. "Hunter I'm s-"

"Don't apologize. If anyone is apologizing it should be me."

"Hunter, you don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault!" Eda said as she let Luz go.

"It was my fault! Why are you even giving me hospitality? I killed wild witches, you used to be a wild witch!" Tears were coming from Hunter's eyes.

"Hunter, you're still a kid!" Eda went over to him and squeezed his shoulder. She didn't realize how hard she was squeezing until Hunter kneeled on one knee. "Hunter, no! I am not Belos!" Hunter looked up and his ears went red from embarrassment.

"Sorry about that. It won't happen again."

"I hope you're right. Rainestorm can you please make him some tea?"

Raine nodded, turned on their heel, and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm s-"

"Kid, stop apologizing. Please."

Hunter nodded.

[newwwwusername]

Heyyy :D

Could you do a Raine/Eda cuddle/comfort fic?

I was thinking something along the lines of Eda having a nightmare (about her past with Raine and all the damage the owl beast has done etc.) and Raine comforting her about it?

Thanks :)

Raine woke up to the feeling of Eda thrashing in the nest next to them. They sighed to themself- Not out of misery, no. They were just concerned for their girlfriend.

"Eda" they said soothingly, reaching over to shake her gently while still firm enough to actually work. "Wake up, Calamity" they muttered, getting a pitiful whimper from the wild witch in response. "Come on"

Eda shot up with a strangled yelp, panting heavily from the residual panic of the dream that had plagued her only moments before.

"Hey, hey, hey" Raine soothed, wrapping their arms tight around her, which she appreciated. The pressure helped to ground her back to reality. It reminded her that Raine was there with her and that she was safe and okay.

She halfheartedly noticed some feathers poking out around her neck and blindly grasped around the outside of the nest til she located her night bottle of the potion- She always kept one potion near her nest in case of stuff like this.

She drank a bit of it, slightly miserably as it didn't taste that good, and sighed in relief as the feathers went away. Then she remembered that Raine was still there with her, their arms no longer locked around her.

"Hi" she said timidly, avoiding their gaze. They chuckled.

"Exciting dreams?"

"You could say that" she smiled weakly before yawning. It was still the middle of the night, and her nightmare had taken a lot out of her.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"The usual" Eda shrugged. "The owl beast, Lilith's whole bullshit, and... You" she listed off, scanning Raine's face for anger over the last part but getting nothing of the sort. They just nodded in understanding.

"Lie down" they instructed. Eda raised an eyebrow.

"Raine, I don't think this is the best hour for-"

"Not like that, you pervert" Raine teased her. "I wanna cuddle you" they continued. Eda smiled at them and complied, lying on her side next to them and nuzzling her face into the crook of their neck as they wrapped an arm around her.

"This is nice..."

"See?" Raine smiled. "I knew this would work"

"You're a genius, Rainestorm"

"I know"

Do not repost this to other sites. It will be posted to Wattpad and AO3 under the same username. If you have a request you'd like me to write, you can submit it as an ask here on Tumblr, add it as a prompt to this AO3 collection, or fill out this Google form

[chaos-scribbles]

The Song of the Owl Beast (Work in Progress)

Summary: The night Lilith went to curse Eda, a twist in this Reality would lead to another becoming the Owl Beast,

Authors note: I actually looked for this when I thought of it and was surprised nobody had thought of it seemingly, so I decided I would write it myself. I hope you all enjoy this work in progress!

_________________________________________

It had been super late as Raine ran home, the after school club had been helping to set up Hexsides Field Day, they didn't realize how late it was getting, storm clouds looming ominously,  

Sure enough Raine felt and hissed at the pain of the boiling rains as they came down scalding the witchlet trying to shield themselves, scrambling looking around they spotted the Clawthorne Residence with relief and ran for it, 

Knocking still so politely the door opened showing Gwendolyn, who looked surprised 

"Raine? Oh sweetheart what are you doing outside get inside, come come" She ushered them in fussing over their state"Eda, Get me the healing potions please "

There came a huff and a finnnee , the padding of footsteps and the clinking of bottles before Eda made her appearance, instantly annoyance turned to concern as Raine waved wincing

"Raine?! You doofus what were you doing outside? Especially this late, I got them Mom," 

Gwendolyn chuckled softly as her youngest helped their friend to her room, she went to call Raines moms to let them know their child was alright, 

Raine hissed as Eda lightly dabbed the potion on the scald spots

"I guess I am the dingus this time" they joked making Eda snort

"You think? I know you nerds really like your clubs but one of you should've at least paid attention to the weather," She playfully chastised "and that's coming from me!" 

Raine and her laughed at the irony, as she continued, 

"I think that's it," She announced as Raine smiled 

"Thanks Calamity," 

That made a blush quickly flash on Edas cheeks,

"Of course Rainestorm." 

Gwendolyn came in in that moment,

"Your mother's told me you can stay here tonight to wait for the storm to pass, told me to tell you they'll see you tomorrow, and that they love you," 

The witchlet smiled at the other

"Thank you " 

Raine and Eda shared her bed both witchlets curled around as if protecting the other as Lilith crept in holding a scroll

She looked at the two, it would only be for a day but maybe if Raine lost their powers Eda would focus on them! She didn't need to do it to her sister she focused her attention on Raine whispering the spell 

"Eda, there's something wrong. I-I can't -" Raine did their circle to summon their instrument, and it fizzled 

"Oh dude that's not good, Mom!" Eda cried out, Gwendolyn racing in at the cry of her youngest

"Eda what is it?" 

"Raine can't do their spells" the red haired witchlet said making the Mom turn to look at the Bard track student in concern 

"Show me" 

Raine tried concentrating they managed a circle but it fizzled out, leaving them panting, Gwendolyn cupped their cheek observing them

"Mmm you could be coming down with something or your just drained from last night," 

The pair smiled, it made sense as Raine said,

"Yeah that's probably it." 

Eda met Liliths eyes, the older the sister was terrified her plan hadn't worked like she had hoped and Raine was in the stands eagerly watching as the start of the duel was called

"I refuse to fight my sister" there were gasps as she held her hands up "I forfeit," 

Eda turned to walk off the field as the Emperors Coven Members Surrounded Lilith who was in sheer disbelief but also relieved

When a cry came from the stands however Edas head whipped around as Raine stumbled gripping their head as people tried surrounding them, their younger sister ran leaping shouting for people to get back as finally Raine stumbled falling off as they turned into something that sent horror through the sisters 

A Beast lay where Raine should have been it had mint fur to Eda, almost like…Raines hair 

"Raine?" She carefully approached as the creature stirred whining, looking around frightened before meeting her eyes, 

It then looked up as a rock struck them people crying out in fear and anger, calling it a monster, Eda grabbed on to its minty mane as it ran for it 

"Raine!"

[109s]

Could you write a regresser Raine and caregivers EDA and Darius

Yes of course and thx for the request

Rainestorm where are you yelled eda as she looked for raine they had gotten overwhelmed in class then she heard crying she followed the sound of the crying and saw raine rainestorm are you OK yeah are you OK songbird says daruis who eda see behind her go way says raine no they say as they go to closer to them wait a minute I think I know what this is says daruis what says eda as she looks at him with confusen raine is regressed daruis then explained what that is to eda and eda looks at raine and says raine how old are you right now raine puts two thingers up oh wow two you are so big says eda as she see daruis leave ill be back says daruis he comes back with a bag I got some gear says daruis as he opens the bag ok well let's go somewhere more remote says eda as she picks up raine and they all go to the detention room here you go songbird says daruis as he give raine a teal paci with a music note on it and I got this for you says eda as she put a little xlephon in front of them abd for the rest of the day they just wach little raine

@toh-age-regression

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

The Song of the Owl Beast (Work in Progress)

*Cross Posted from Valana Account Sorry for the double posting. I just decided to move back 😅*

Summary: The night Lilith went to curse Eda, a twist in this Reality would lead to another becoming the Owl Beast,

Authors note: I actually looked for this when I thought of it and was surprised nobody had thought of it seemingly, so I decided I would write it myself. I hope you all enjoy this work in progress!

_________________________________________

It had been super late as Raine ran home, the after school club had been helping to set up Hexsides Field Day, they didn't realize how late it was getting, storm clouds looming ominously,

Sure enough Raine felt and hissed at the pain of the boiling rains as they came down scalding the witchlet trying to shield themselves, scrambling looking around they spotted the Clawthorne Residence with relief and ran for it,

Knocking still so politely the door opened showing Gwendolyn who looked surprised

"Raine? Oh sweetheart what are you doing outside get inside, come come" She ushered them in fussing over their state"Eda, Get me the healing potions please "

There came a huff and finnnee, the padding of footsteps the clinking of bottles before Eda made her appearance, instantly annoyance turned to concern as Raine waved wincing

"Raine?! You doofus what were you doing outside? Especially this late, I got them Mom,"

Gwendolyn chuckled softly as her youngest helped their friend to her room, she went to call Raines moms to let them know their child was alright,

Raine hissed as Eda lightly dabbed the potion on the scald spots

"I guess I am the dingus this time" they joked making Eda snort

"You think? I know you nerds really like your clubs but one of you should've at least paid attention to the weather," She playfully chastised "and that's coming from me!"

Raine and her laughed at the irony, as she continued,

"I think that's it," She announced as Raine smiled

"Thanks Calamity,"

That made a blush quickly flash on Edas cheeks,

"Of course Rainestorm."

Gwendolyn came in in that moment,

"Your mother's told me you can stay here tonight to wait for the storm to pass told me to tell you they'll see you tomorrow, and that they love you,"

The witchlet smiled

"Thank you "

Raine and Eda shared her bed both witchlets curled around as if protecting the other as Lilith crept in holding a scroll

She looked at the two, it would only be for a day but she thought having a thought, maybe if Raine lost their powers Eda would focus on them! Perhaps she didn't need to do it to her sister so she focused her attention on Raine whispering the spell

"Eda there's something wrong I-I can't " Raine did their circle to summon their instrument it fizzled

"Oh dude that's not good, Mom!" Eda called Gwendolyn racing in at the cry of her youngest

"Eda what is it?"

"Raine can't do their spells" the red haired witchlet said making the Mom turn in concern

"Show me"

Raine tried concentrating they managed a circle but it fizzled out, leaving them panting, Gwendolyn cupped their cheek

"You could be coming down with something or your just drained from last night,"

They smiled, it made sense

"Yeah that's probably it."

Eda met Liliths eyes, the older the sister was terrified her plan hadn't worked like she hoped Raine was in the stands eagerly watching,

"I refuse to fight my sister" there were gasps "I forfeit,"

Eda turned to walk off the field as the Emperors Coven Members Surrounded Lilith who was in disbelief

When a cry came from the stands Edas head whipped around as Raine stumbled gripping their head as people tried surrounding them, their younger sister ran leaping shouting for people to get back as Raine stumbled falling off as they turned into something that sent horror through the sisters

A Beast lay where Raine should have been it had mint fur almost like…Raines hair

"Raine?" Eda carefully approached as the creature stirred whining looking around frightened before meeting her eyes,

It then looked up as a rock struck them people crying out in fear and anger, calling it a monster, Eda grabbed on to its minty mane as it ran for it

(*A treat of continuation if you've reread this from before!*)

"Raine!" It ran into the nearby woods she gave an oof as branches hit her, she screamed"RAINESTORM!"

That startled it, making it tumble over itself making the girl go flying, the beast panting as it lay there. Eda winced slowly, standing and limping over but noticing Raine laying in the grass, she ignored the pain choosing to dart over

"Oh my Titan Raine!" Grunting as she rolled them over into her lap, she murmured"You're gonna be okay,"

She heard them let out a soft groan before coughing gasping,

"What-" They groaned again clutching their head"nghh"

"I-I don't know you started crying out. I ran to get to you, and then you fell from the stands and there was a creature...you had turned into it"

Raine blinked, staring at her with disbelief

[jennaray143]

Baby Hunter likes when Darius or Adrian shakes their coin purse in front of him; he likes the sound of the snails jingling inside. Kind of like how most babies like the sound of jingling keys.

Apologies it took me so long to finally finish it it has been an absolutely crazy couple of months with school and now some things within my personal life but luckily exams will end in the next two weeks so any more writing or an art request should be finished in a more timely manner thank y’all again and I hope you enjoy this piece🫶🫶🫶

It was a quiet afternoon in the emperor’s castle, a peaceful aura seemed to cover the castle like a thin mist…or at least it would if a small red faced child were not having fit at the moment. Hunter was being held close to Darius’s chest as the man paced form one end of the room to the other in a feeble attempt to sooth the screaming witchling, the babe cried with no end and had been for the past hour.

“You said walking back and forth would work but he’s still crying” Darius said stopping in his tracks to talk to Adrian who was draped gracefully on Darius’s couch reading a witches digress magazine. In contrast to Darius who was slightly frenzied and going deaf from the excessive crying Adrian held his calm and relaxed composure as he leaned back on the chase lounge flipping another page lazily.

“Did you give him the teething ring?“ Adrian asked boredly as he folded the corner of a page to come back later.

“I tried,” Darius said, his patience wearing thin “he doesn’t want it.”

“What about his paci?”

“He wouldn’t take that either,” Darius said as Hunter cries get louder.

“Have you checked if he’s hungry?”

“I have checked EVERYTHING” he said through gritted teeth.

“Well I don’t know Darius,” Adrain shrugged placing the magazine down on a neat stack on the side table and opening a new one “sometimes babies just cry for hours on end with no reason and there’s just nothing you can do about it”

“Well that information would have been good to know half an hour ago” Darius was practically seething, he wasn’t sure if he could handle much more of this man being in his home, but as painful as it was to admit he needed his help. Not that he was much at the moment.

Darius sighed irritably counting to ten in his mind before he spoke.

“You know I could use a hand.” He said looking down at the infant, Darius could feel his arms starting to burn for holding him.

Adrain barely lifted his eyes for the magazine as he replied in dry sarcasm “But you’re doing sooo well”

That was it, Darius snapped his fingers causing spikes of abomination to sprout for the ground surrounding the couch. They piercing the magazine to shreds causing Adrian to tense at the spot holding his hands up in surrender were the magazine used to be. He gave Darius a deadpan expression as one of the spikes nearly gave him a second ear piercing.

“Testy”

Just then a knock came from the door stopping Darius before he could impale the witch. Darius grumbled to himself as he turned away from his target to open it. Raine stood on the other end, having opened their mouth to say something before holding a perplexed look on their face at the chaos. They looked as though whatever thing they had come to say became second to the situation.

“May I come in”

Darius sighed stepping out of the doorway.

“Join the party” he said before turning to Adrian who collected the paper shreds and was about was to throw them in the trash bin “Those go in the recycling Graye.”

“And where exactly is your recycling?” Graye replied with an unneeded level of attitude.

Darius muttered something under his breath before turning to Raine as they stepped through the door.

“Can you hold him for a minute?” He asked offering up the wailing child causing Raine to stop in their tracks slightly alarmed.

“O-oh um..sure” Raine said carefully taking the witchling before Darius turned doubling on Adrian.

Raine looked mildly uncomfortable standing in the middle of Darius sitting room with Hunter crying into their vest.

“Uhhh there…there” Raine said awkwardly patting Hunter’s back, but the child only continued to bawl.

Growing anxious Raine looked to Darius for help but he was busy in mid argument with Adrian. They sighed racking their brain for some kind of solution. Raine thought about what their Mooma had said worked on them when they wer-

That’s it! Raine thought as their ears twitched at the idea.

They repositioned the babe so he laid on his back across their forearm before reaching onto their back pocket.

“Hey buddy,” Raine said gingerly, holding a small pouch with little music notes embroidered into it above the boy’s head “look at this.”

Raine gently shook the pouch causing a jingly noise to ring out from the snails. Hunter’s cries simmered down to whines as he looked up at the noise. Raine felt a wave a relief come over them as the child settled in their arms staring completely transfixed at the small snail purse. They chuckled when Hunter reached up trying to grab it unaware that Darius and Adrain had stopped their argument to stare in amazement at the impossible silence.

“How did you do that?” Darius asked dumbfounded causing Raine to look up. A deep blush to spread across their nose when they realized all eyes were on them. They paused for a moment unsure on how to answer the question and nervous under pressure.

“I-I don’t know-I just” Raine stuttered scratching the back of their neck, they brought their arm back down when Hunter whined from loosing the pouch “I just…thought it would work?”

Adrian gave a narrowly impressed hum.

“Not bad Whispers.” He said stroking his chin while Darius gawked looking irritated.

“How is everyone better at this than me?” He asked looking between Raine and Adrian.

Adrian took a step forward patting Darius on the back of his shoulder, Darius tensed in disgust at the touch turning to glare at the witch.

“Oh Darius, Darius-Darius-Darius, it’s just a gift,” He said in a false ruse of consolidation before added in a smug tone “One of which you don’t have.”

Adrian would regret his poke at fun in the morning. 

[cethlyarlo]

Hey, thank you for the tag, my dude!!! @kalevalakryze, you're awesome 💜🩶

Get to Know Me Tag:

Last song: Alfadhirhaiti by Heilung (I just saw them in concert for the first time and dude, that was so cool. Total bucket list item)

Currently watching: I don't watch TV much buuuut, I'm making little macrame people out of rope rn, so... I hope that counts 😂 Imma just give them to people at the Renaissance Festival. I like seeing people smile :)

Currently reading: bouncing between The Inheritance Cycle series (again lol) and the Poison Study series

Current obsessions: Wolfwren, creating a Shin Hati cosplay, writing fanfiction, and making chainmail

No pressure tags: @oftenlyshitposting @rainestorm-days

Get To Know Me Tag!

I was tagged by @une-pomm3

Last Song: Better Me by R3hab

Currently Watching: A documentary about bison

Currently Reading: Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelly

Current Obsession: actually drawing again 8)

Tagging: @floralcrematorium, @madam-of-lithuania

[wolfwrenweek]

day five: dreams and madness ART: outfit swap by critter-of-habit ☆ Sith AU by shipping1addict ☆ mermaid AU by thedivergentbatch ☆ ancient greece/rome by im-yotsu ☆ role reversal by luciouz ☆ Shin Tano by somewillwin ☆ Sith AU by karasyelena ☆ enemies with benefits by rubidimum ☆ modern AU by ali-mart ☆ Call It What You Want by rainestorm-days ☆ Werewolf! AU Shin by thlaylisden ☆ judo AU by light-fawn ☆ Jedi Padawan AU by sapphicsparkles ☆ vample/werewolf AU by erisyuu

WRITING: Ogniem I Mieczem by mandalorianfleshenjoyer ☆ I'll Met By Moonlight by tamoline ☆ Akio'me'suum'ika by kalevalakryze ☆ acta, non verba by lunar-lupus ☆ The Countess & The Wolf by roguegona ☆ tonight, tonight by nlghtsisters ☆ in another life we were arsonists by how-do-i-do-words ☆ Paint Me A Picture by cmbdragon98 ☆ Spray Paint Your Heart On My Sleeve by TheMasterTinker

EDITS: wolfwren rights by armoralor ☆ modern au by saddelicate ☆ The King of Terrors by bailey41 ☆ Band/Musician AU by bailey41 ☆ in another life by claumonkey

Thank you to all the amazing creators that participated in #wolfwrenweek2023! 🗡️❤️ to see a full list of all submissions in one place, we've also created a spreadsheet with of participants [here]. Our blog also has a tab that lists all creations [here]! Special thank you to the amazing event mods that helped make this event week possible: @sapphicsparkles, @coldcutfruit, and @armoralor ❤️

[infinitethree]

Dazzzz what are some of your favorite songs???

There’s no indication that Daz heard the question at first. He’s not in the Council rooms, though the room seems to be made of blackstone and obsidian all the same. It’s got cobble, oak planks, and oak logs covering the majority of it, but it’s pretty clear that this is some sort of bunker or safe room. That fact is most obvious by Daz not seeming to feel the need to pretend to be the chatty, bubbly person he had on his first appearance.

Instead his expression is blank to a rather creepy degree and he has a hand of cards. Seated around a table with him are the rest of the Council, who all have poker faces of their own. That’s fitting, because they seem to be playing said game—and by the looks of things, Daz has been winning. Not by much—the rest of them have decently sized piles, too. The smallest of them belongs to Aleph.

There’s only a slight raise of Raine’s eyebrows when he feels the strange sensation of the Observers starting to watch them. “I guess we all get to hear all of the questions directed at any Council member,” he says, earning a soft hum of agreement from Khons. It sounds a little odd because he has his mask on, which feels just a tiny bit like cheating. Then again, he was squarely in the middle as far as winnings went.

“Music,” Daz starts, expression still eerily blank, “Is...a bit weird, for me. If you know about me then you already know I don’t really care about Cat or Mellohi. Those are...relics. Relics of a life I’ve discarded twice over. No, now the music I like is more...mmm. It’s less specific songs and more a specific artist. Orpheus does wonderful work and has become a good friend because of my interest in his music. Not quite as much so as these chucklefucks--” he gestures at the rest of the Council, earning a soft scoff from Raine and a middle finger from Aster, “but moreso than most others. I don’t like them all equally and I don’t like all of them...but overall, I enjoy most of his original pieces and his covers. There’s a flair to them that clicks with me, especially now that I know a decent amount about what his influences are.”

“Make your move. Some of us have places to be.” Khons’ request is quiet, but still heard plenty well enough. Daz grins slightly at it. He gathers his cards and tosses them in the middle. “Fine, fine. I’m folding. Happy?” “Very. Feel free to continue waxing poetic about music,” Khons replies, sounding slightly amused.

“I planned on it. So, while Orph is unquestionably my favorite artist...I’m in the very unique position of having access to a massive library drawing from several realities. I have a bit of an eclectic taste and what I feel a draw to listen to depends on my mood,” Daz continues.

Raine rolls his eyes a little. “I know when he’s brooding because he puts on what I can best describe as opera but metal. It’s his brooding music. I fold too, by the way.” He pushes his own cards forward and then leans back a little. He gets shot a glare by Daz, who sounds indignant. “Go to hell, Raine, I do not brood.” “You definitely do, actually--” Aleph’s answer is cut off by Daz barreling on like he said nothing, “I plot. If someone pissed me off, they will regret that.”

It seems like Raine is enjoying this, if nothing else, because he continues, “I know when something good happened because he puts on pop music--” “Why are you telling them this?!” “--Spite and having fun seeing you show emotions. His sulking music is that sort of rock-alt emo stuff. Then you have the really bouncy stuff with a solid beat—that’s what he puts on when he goes and actually trains. He insists it helps him focus. I’m pretty sure it’s more that he enjoys seeing us be baffled as to what new song he put on the playlist.”

“I raise. Gotta admit,” Aster says, ignoring the righteous fury Daz is directing at Raine, “it does throw you off your game when it switches from an angry breakup song to something about going out to party and getting laid. It’s the worst kind of gamble because there’s no way to win. There are only degrees of losing. Much like anything with Daz--” “Why are you all being assholes?! I’ve done nothing to deserve this treatment--” The protest is met by four loud laughs.

“If you’re going to lie to the Observers,” Khons gasps between wheezes, “at least do it believably!” “You’re all horrible co-workers and I regret gathering you all together,” Daz scoffs, though he doesn’t really seem all that pissed off. More annoyed than anything else.

“Raise. You’re popular today,” Aleph says, that usual Techno monotone holding just a bit of amusement. Daz makes a face, though seems a little displeased by the question. “Dual daggers. We all have armor and weapons from Dee, though we’re not unique in that. There are a decent amount of people who are close with his family who he’s made stuff for. Armor is rarer than weapons because...what was the reason again, Raine?”

“His perfectionist tendencies. If he’s going to do it he’s going to do it right. There’s a lot that goes into making armor perfect for a person—at least, armor that’s been smithed rather than crafted. Weapons are easier, though he doesn’t do those that much more,” Raine answers. Daz leans back in his seat, watching the rest of the table like a hawk. “My style is fast. My favorite game...mm. Again, that depends on my mood. I have a lot of them that I like.” His attention flicks over to Khons, who pushes his cards inwards. “Fold. I’m the one he usually plays those games against. It’s fun, even if he’s insufferable when he wins.”

“You’re just as much so,” Daz says with a shrug. “Call. Also, nah. It’s just satisfying to see you get beat at your own game,” Aleph retorts. Aster sighs as he flips his cards over. “You probably win this one,” he mutters, looking unsurprised when he does, indeed, lose the hand.

Aleph smiles as he pulls the pot to his pile. He’s ahead of Daz now, though that doesn’t seem to bother him much. He rolls his eyes a little as he tells Aleph, “You would excuse anything Khons did. He could kick a three legged puppy and you’d say that the puppy probably deserved it.”

“Well,” the Techno says, eyebrows raising a tiny bit, “considering he’d never normally do that...he would have an explanation.” Khons laughs softly, bumping his shoulder. With a scoff Daz retorts, “That’s my point. He can do no wrong in your eyes—” Aleph cuts him off, eyebrows raising a bit more. “And for good reason. He knows me and I know him. Even if he didn’t have one, I’d still stand by him.”

Khons, despite his mask, is visibly pleased. He leans some of his weight against his friend and says, “Same here. He’s my person. I trust him more than anyone else, including myself.”

The rest of the table bursts into laughter that only grows louder at Daz’s clear confusion. “What the actual fuck are you talking about.” It’s not really a question, more just a statement of bafflement and quite possibly wondering if the asker is sane or not.

“But Daz,” Aster gasps between laughs, “do you have one?” Daz makes a noise of frustration as he says, “I don’t know! What the fuck is an ant brush?!” “Clearly something important,” Raine wheezes out, slumped over on the table from how hard he’s laughing. He manages to compose himself long enough to say, “Oh, that’s—thank you, whichever one of you asked that! He’s going to spend days staring at everything that might possibly be called a brush and wondering if that’s an ant brush. This is the best gift you could have given me.”

Daz glares at him, arms folding over his chest unhappily. “I’m feeling targeted. The rest of you answer the next ones too, or else--”

The threat is cut off by the question, and Daz grins. “I demand everyone else answer first.” “’Leph for both,” Khons says instantly, getting a nod from Aleph. “Moony for me, also both.” “We all get along pretty well—the occasional petty bickering aside,” Aster starts, “But...Raine for talking to, but working with really depends on the task. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.” “I’m close with Aster and Daz, though Khons and Aleph are good friends too. We all have things we do together outside of Council-related work. Partly so that Daz doesn’t lose his mind from the stress of keeping up his batshit web of lies and manipulation.”

“It's not as bad as you’d think,” Daz says, tilting his chair back a little, “it’s fun to keep it up. People are puzzles and talking to them is a game.” This is met by amusement from the rest of them. Aster grins a little and says, “That’s our borderline sociopathic jackass for you. Alright, we answered, your turn.”

Daz makes a soft noise of thought, visibly thinking. “...I get along, for a given value of such, with all of them. Aster the least so, because he’s a prick sometimes--” he pointedly ignores the middle finger he’s given by said alternate version of himself, “--then probably Aleph, then Khons, then Raine. Despite his prick tendencies, Aster is right—working with really depends on the task. For instance, I wouldn’t want Raine to be at my side if I’m trying to beat a problem best solved by brute force. If I need something done without drawing too much attention, Aster is a shit choice—too much focus is on him wherever he goes because of the perception and vague role he has as the public head of the Swords and Shields.”

The rest of them seem entirely unsurprised by the response. Daz gives a slightly sharp grin and adds, “I could rattle off cases where each of them is the best to work with, but why would I go and do that?”

All the good humor among the group vanishes in an instant, especially from the two who were asked the question. Daz turns icy, while Aster has a familiar spark of Tommy anger in his eyes. Even Raine looks pissed.

The ones who look least distressed are Khons and Aleph. It’s not that they’re without anger, it’s more that they have a carefully detached way of showing it. Aleph slowly says, “...We weren’t paying attention to their identities. They didn’t and don’t matter.” Khons says nothing, but there’s a tiny shiver that makes Aleph press against his side protectively.

There’s an edge of dark anger to the frigid tone Daz has. “Leave. You’ll get no more answers, not while you’ve made them feel unsafe.”

Whatever subject was touched on is clearly still raw, and the defensiveness from the rest of them underscores the point that was made—that they’re close, despite any disagreements or bickering. It also underscores that Daz is more than willing to find and use loopholes left in the deal he made.

That could go both ways, though. It’s not out of the question that there are loopholes that favor Observers that could be used in the same way.

Still—there’s nothing else to learn here, not while they remain this angry.

[sergeantsporks]

Writing Request: Raeda and Lumity are both on a date at the same place. Somehow Lilith and Hunter got dragged along. The two aroace third wheels bond over mst3k-ing over those two couple's antics.

I! Do not know what that means! But I can guess!

xxx

Raine bumped into Eda as they both reached for a cabinet. “Oh—" They brought their hand down. “Excuse—”

“Uh—sorry—” Eda started at the same time, moving her hand away.

“Oh—you g—”

“After y—”

They both reached for the door again, but this time, Eda pulled away before Raine could. “You. You go first.”

Despite the obvious indication for them to go first, Raine’s hand stalled. “Are you sure?”

“I just need a mug, I’ll survive two seconds.”

Raine opened the cabinet. “Sorry for getting in your way, Eda.”

“Ahaha, not a problem.”

“But you’d tell me if it were, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course.”

Raine took down two mugs. “I just want to be sure I’m not a bother.”

“You’re not a bother, Rainestorm.” Eda snorted. “Trust me, if you were bothering me, you’d know.”

“Alright.”

Luz watched the whole interaction from the kitchen table, slowly eating cereal. “You two need to go on a date,” she announced.

Eda laughed, then stopped. “Oh, you’re not kidding. What?”

Luz pointed her spoon at the two of them. “You’re out of sync. You don’t know what you share in common now that we’re not at war anymore. You need a date to reconnect, and reestablish who you are, and what you like, and what each other’s boundaries are!”

Eda gave her a pained grin, putting an arm around Luz’s shoulder. “Hehehe… Luz, can I talk to you for a second?”

She whisked Luz outside, keeping her head low so that she and Luz were face to face. “I can’t go on a date with Raine!”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I haven’t been on one in AGES! Not a REAL date, anyway! Not since I… since they broke off our last relationship.”

Luz grabbed her mentor’s shoulders. “That’s exactly why you need to go on one now!”

“It’s just… ahhhhh, I don’t know, what would I even do on a date?”

Luz grinned. “Carnival’s back in town.”

“You mean the one where Tibbles shrank you and put you in a pen of dangerous animals?”

“That’s the one! It’s fine, the odds of that happening again are almost zero. Amity and I are going, why don’t you and Raine come with us? Play some games, win each other some cute, overpriced prizes?”

Eda and Luz glanced back at the house. Raine was leaning against the counter, sipping coffee casually, but their face was blushing red. Eda tugged on her hair, her own face bright as a tomato. “Ooogh. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, why not! I’m the most powerful witch on the boiling isles! I befriended the owl beast curse! I can knock a measly date out of the park!”

“Yeah!” Luz cheered, “And if you need anything, Amity and I will be right there.”

Eda squared her shoulders, marching right back into the house. “Raine Whispers, we are going to the carnival!”

They jumped. “We are?”

“We are.”

Luz hissed in. “Whoof. On second thought, I might need to call in a liiiiiittle more backup.”

Xxx

Hunter jumped as the door to the study room he’d booked in the library slammed open. “Hey!”

“Hunter, I need your help,” Luz announced from the door.

“Shhh,” Amity chided, holding onto Luz’s arm, “Library. You don’t want to get kicked out again, do you?”

“Sorry,” Luz whispered back. “I need your help,” she repeated, more quietly.

Hunter eyed her. “With… what?”

“Amity and I are going on a double date with Eda and Raine, and—”

“Nnnnnnope. Nuh-uh. I’m not tagging along to hold your stuff while you all stare into each other’s eyes.”

“No!!! That’s not what I’m asking!!! I just…” Luz sighed. “Eda and Raine haven’t been on a date in a long time, and I want to make sure it goes smoothly. Do you think you could help me just… make sure things around the area are okay? Maybe rig a few things in our favor?”

Hunter set his pen down, leaning back in his seat. “Where are you going?”

“The carnival.”

Hunter hissed in. “There are a lot of factors, there. Scammers. Large crowds. The weather. The tendency of the roller coasters to fling their occupants out into the sky. I can’t control everything.”

“Don’t worry! I’ve enlisted help,” Luz promised.

“Help? Who? Gus is at the looking glass graveyard today… Willow’s at a seminar on the combative ability of plant magic… and I’m assuming you and Amity are going to be enjoying the carnival as well. King?”

“No, King hates the carnival. Bad memories. C’mon outside, she’s waiting for us.”

She?

Hunter gathered up his supplies and stuffed them into his bag, running out after Luz and Amity. He stopped dead when he saw a familiar poof of black hair. “Oh, no.”

Lilith looked up from her Penstagram scroll (tuned onto one Flora Desplora account), and her face twisted like she’d smelled something rotten. “He’s coming with us?”

“I promised I wouldn’t make you do this alone,” Luz told her, “You and Hunter are going to work together!”

“No, we’re not,” Hunter and Lilith said at the same time.

Lilith shook her head. “I was willing to help you out with Edalyn because I’m getting a liiiiiitle irritated at the pining-across-the-table that goes on during reconstruction meetings. But the golden br—guard and I don’t work well together.”

“It’s Hunter,” he snapped, “And I’m out.”

He turned back towards the library, and Luz ran up next to him. “Hey—Hunter. Hunter. C’mon, don’t… please?”

“It’s not going to work, Luz. Even if I wanted to work with her, she wouldn’t want to work with me. We’ve always been a bad mix.”

“That was back in the coven, Hunter! Things are different now, both of you are different! Lilith’s way more bark than bite, anyway. Please? Try?”

You’ve changed

Maybe she has, too?

Hunter sighed. “Fine. I’m on it. Nothing will go badly. Promise.”

“Ha! Thank you!” Luz tugged him back down the stairs towards Lilith. “Both of you.”

“I’m going to need more elixirs,” Lilith grumbled.

She and Hunter followed Luz and Amity at a distance, and with at least two feet of space between the two of them. Luz and Amity met Raine and Eda at the gates of the carnival, and the moment they were inside of the grounds, Hunter began to scan the area for threats.

Scam stand.

Scam stand.

Future toothache.

Fire hazard.

Scam stand.

Oh!

Hunter traced a plant glyph on the ground, and other carnival goers yelped and jumped to the side as vines sprang out of the ground. One of Lilith’s eyebrows quirked upwards when Hunter lit the vines on fire.

“What, may I ask, are you up to?”

Hunter pointed at a bird, heading on a direct course to intersect with the happy couples.

The glyph fire was big and hot, fueled by the plants, and the heat rising from it created a pull in the air, wind whipping through Hunter’s hair.

The bird drifted ever-so-slightly through the air, lazily soaring off of its original course.

“Birds have a tendency to take a dump,” he explained, “Kept it away from Raine and Eda.”

“I don’t think that’s quite what Luz had in mind when she asked us to make sure there were no problems.”

“I’m taking this very seriously. Why aren’t you?” Hunter surveyed the games. “Those are rigged.”

“Yes, they are. It’s how the carnival makes money.”

“You know Eda and Raine better than I do. Which games would they be most likely to pick?”

Lilith surveyed the games. “Eda will pick ones that show off her strength. The hammer hit. One of the ones where you throw a ball at a target. Raine prefers the shows, as long as they don’t have to participate in them. But if we want them to have a classic ‘romantic’ time to rekindle old feelings, I’d suggest we steer them closer to the roller coasters. They were drawn back together by dangerous times fighting a dangerous enemy. Recreating a sense of danger in a controlled environment and causing an adrenaline rush will push them together.”

Hunter eyed the steep roller coaster. “You don’t think maybe they’re a little… old… for a roller coaster? It might blow out their backs or give them heart failure.”

Lilith spluttered, and too late, Hunter remembered that she was older than Eda. “They are not too old for roller coasters,” Lilith spit out, “Eda regularly does barrel rolls as a giant feathery harpy. Do you really think a roller coaster is too rough for her?”

“In that case, don’t you think after everything, maybe a roller coaster is a little bit boring? Let’s just do the games.”

“You know, I’m not sure this is exactly what Luz had in mind when she asked us to make sure nothing went wrong. I’m almost certain she meant to just make sure they didn’t get their pockets picked, or get attacked by one of their enemies, not set up the best day ever.”

Hunter waved a hand. “Between the two of us, I’m sure we can engineer the perfect date. Then Luz will never ask us to do this ever again, because Eda and Raine will be set.

One of Lilith’s eyebrows quirked upwards. “Because you’ve been on so many perfect dates, golden guard?”

“I told you, it’s Hunter. And I don’t exactly remember your love life being the talk of the coven either, Lilith!”

“Pshhhh. I could get any witch I wanted to. I can name at least three off the top of my head who’d jump at a chance for a date.”

Hunter crossed his arms. “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

“Do you think I want someone slobbering on my face? No thank you. We have a job to do, anyway. Let’s just rig those games already.”

She marched towards a game where the objective was to throw a ball at a circling belt of silhouette creatures and knock them over for points. Hunter remembered patrolling the carnival grounds a few years ago, and the game had been outfitted with cartoonishly sinister wild witches that the player would aim for. They’d been replaced by cutouts of coven scouts, and Hunter winced.

Lilith slammed her hand down on the stall counter. “Hey,” she snapped, “I’ve gotten reports of problems with this game. Management sent me and the mechanic to check it out.” She jerked her head back to indicate Hunter. “Everything alright?”

The witch running the stand shrugged. “Probably just some sore loser kids complained to their parents, and they got bent out of shape. Game’s working as it’s supposed to, if you know what I mean.”

“Ah, parents. I’m sure you’re right. We’ll just take a look anyway, check off all the boxes, alright? Everyone does their jobs, everyone gets paid.”

Hunter slipped around the edge of the stall, snagging a rack of emergency tools. The hinge mechanism that would let the cutouts fall backwards was tight and stiff, and no matter how hard he pushed on a scout cutout, it held firm. Hunter pulled out a screwdriver and loosened the hinges just a bit, enough that a decent push would knock the cutout over. After he loosened all of them a bit, he popped up and gave Lilith a thumbs-up.

“Looks good! Game should run perfectly.”

Lilith glanced over at the roaming carnivalgoers and gave the stall owner a tight grin. “Okay, off we go, other games and rides to check and such, goodbye!”

She grabbed Hunter’s arm and all but yanked him over the counter, hustling him away. Hunter shook off her hand.

“Hey, you don’t get to drag me around! What’s wrong?”

“They’re coming this way. I told you Eda wouldn’t be able to resist the games. She wants to win prizes, impress her partner. Look.”

Lilith ducked behind a stall, and Hunter followed, peering around the corner. Eda wiggled her eyebrows at Raine as she whipped a ball towards the coven scout cutouts.

“Oh, I much prefer this version of the game,” she laughed. The cutouts went down one after another. “Man, they’re just as easy to take down as the real life versions, ha!”

Raine laughed with her.

“Blech,” Lilith and Hunter said in unison.

“It wasn’t even funny,” Hunter complained.

Lilith shook her head. “Their judgement is impaired around her.”

Hunter nodded in agreement. “Speaking of judgement impaired around each other, we should rendezvous with Luz and Amity.”

“About what?” Luz’s voice asked behind them, “Also, hey!”

Hunter jumped. “Don’t do that! What are you doing here?!”

“It’s a double date. We’re staying near Raine and Eda. How’s it going?”

“We’ve got this. I promise.” Hunter glanced at Lilith, then back towards Luz. “Do you think… maybe you could steer them towards the roller coasters?”

“Hm, yeah. Which one?”

“The more dangerous it looks, the better,” Lilith cut in.

“Ahhhh, okay.” Luz took Amity’s hand. “You want to do some rides?”

“There doesn’t happen to be a tunnel of love ride, does there?”

“Awwwww,” Lilith said dryly, “Aren’t you two precious.” She blinked at Amity’s irritated glance. “Oh, that wasn’t sarcastic, you really are quite adorable. Anyway. We’ll keep handling things from the ground, just get them on those rides.”

Amity and Luz nodded, moving towards Eda and Raine. The two couples made their way towards the coasters, Eda showing off the prize she’d one, a large selkidomus plushie that she pushed into Raine’s arms with a magnanimous bow.

Lilith nudged Hunter. “I see you were listening to my advice after all, hm?”

“And you’re sure about the rides? We can’t control the circumstances once they’re up there, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen.”

Lilith gave him an odd look. “Gol—Hunter. I think you’re taking this a little bit too seriously. Take it from Luz’s coolest aunt—”

Hunter held back a snort.

“—you need to learn to let go juuuuuuust a little bit.”

“I know, I just…” Hunter paced back and forth. “I don’t want to fail her.”

“Who? Eda? I don’t think she’ll—”

“No, Luz! She’s counting on me, she’s trusting me, and—”

“And you don’t want to let her down, I understand. Truly, Hunter, I do. Probably better than anyone else does. You’ve been given a second chance and… you don’t want to waste it.” Lilith fidgeted with her glasses. “You just… need to be careful that you’re not simply replacing Belos.”

“What?! I wouldn’t—I don’t replace people, I don’t—”

Lilith raised one eyebrow, and Hunter sighed. “Alright. Finish your speech.”

“Thank you.” Lilith twiddled her thumbs. “I don’t necessarily mean… replacing Belos, not… I just mean that it’s… easy. To slip back into old habits. And you don’t even realize it’s happening because… this time it’s for the right reasons, right? This time, the people you’re following are good, they care about you. They’re actually worth devoting your life to.” Lilith sighed. “But it doesn’t mean that you should worship them the way you did him.”

“Wow. Hear that one from your therapist?”

“Yes, actually. They’ve been wonderful, and excellent at handling the horrors of the emperor’s coven. I highly recommend them, if you’re interested. The point is, Hunter, while of course we want to help Luz, and we don’t want to intentionally fail her, this also isn’t the most life or death scenario in the world, and part of… healing, I suppose… from the coven, is learning what situations call for how much seriousness and control.” Lilith rolled a hand. “She did the hard work of setting this up, and is steering Raine and Eda along, we’re just… backup. Here to make sure that nothing—”

A boom echoed across the carnival, and Lilith was framed by plumes of fire rising up from the rides area. A whoosh of wind swept over them, pushing Lilith’s hair forward. Screams followed, and Lilith’s eye twitched.

“…explodes,” she finished, “Edalyn.” She took a deep breath and gulped down an elixir, brushing a stray feather out of her hair. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“This! Is why! I wanted! To control! The variables!” Hunter yelled as they ran towards the rides, pushing through panicked patrons.

“Normally, I’d agree with that sentiment! But my therapist told me I should try to…” Lilith’s lip curled, and she made air quotes. “‘Re-lax.’”

“Time to ditch the therapist, then?”

“No! I just picked the wrong time to do so! It appears!”

The Wheel Of Torment had tilted off of its axis in a screech of metal. Hunter could spot Luz, lowering people down with vines, into the waiting arms of abominations directed by Amity.

“Oh, good. They’re okay.”

“Hm.” Lilith pointed upwards. “Not for long.”

A flock of Pegasus were flapping towards the carnival, breathing fire.

“Augh,” Hunter groaned, “What is it with the birds today?! Okay, We can handle this, just—”

The wheel screeched again, and more screams tore out.

Lilith pointed to the wheel. “Citizens about to fall to their dooms first. Pegasus second.”

Hunter nodded, and they raced towards Amity. “What’s the situation?!”

“Most broken wheel of all time broke. Surprise!”

“When I said most dangerous, I didn’t mean in an actually will kill you sense!” Lilith yelled. She started drawing glyphs all over the ground, ice pillars and vines rising up to stabilize the wheel.

Hunter jumped onto an ice pillar as it went up, taking him to the carriages. “Come on, I’ve got you.” He drew a plant glyph, securing the vine to the riders’ waists and lowering them down to the ground. Clamber up the wheel. Lower people down. Repeat. At least Lilith had managed to prop the wheel up, and it wasn’t tilting around.

At least until the pegasus hit. They started to attack the supports, breathing fire that melted and burned at Lilith’s magic.

“No, no, n—”

“OUT OF THE WAY!” Eda’s voice called, and she soared through the air in her harpy form, crowing. Raine sat atop her back, sending out beams of light from their viola that sent pegasus flying left and right. Hunter scrambled along the wheel to Luz. “Everyone’s off, we need to—”

The wheel tilted, and Hunter caught Luz’s wrist as she nearly lost her balance.

“Whoa! Okay, we need to get off. If we tie ourselves together, we can create a pulley system that—”

Luz grinned. “Nah, that’ll take too long. I got a better plan.”

“Huh?”

“Hey!” Luz yelled to Amity, “Sweet potato! Catch!”

She grabbed Hunter’s hand and took a flying leap off of the wheel, yanking him off of the wheel. “WHOO!”

“AUGH, NO, NO, NO—”

The ground rose up towards them, but so did an abomination, safely softening their impact and gently lowering them to the ground. Hunter gripped Luz’s hand tightly, panting.

“I—will—kill—you.”

Amity rushed towards them, taking Luz’s face in her hands. “Luz! That was incredibly dangerous, are you trying to get killed?!”

“Aw, I knew you’d catch me. Besides, uh…” Luz pointed upwards as the wheel screeched and groaned, starting to slid out of the weakened supports. “We were about to fall off anyway.” She extracted her hand from Hunter’s, and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, I had a softfall glyph ready just in case, we were always going to be fine.”

“Ooooough, I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’vegotit!” Lilith called, drawing more glyphs and pushing up the wheel before it could fall on them. “I’ve got it. There we are. It’s fine. It’s aaaall fine. I didn’t study architecture just to not be able to properly support a falling wheel of death.”

“Wheel of Torment,” a carnie offered weakly.

“No one asked you.”

Hunter shuffled on his feet, rubbing his arm. “I’m sorry. I was supposed to be your backup. I shouldn’t have let this happen.”

Luz blinked. “Wai—what?! Hunter, literally no one could have predicted this! Except maybe whoever cleared that wheel for rides! And even they couldn’t have predicted the Pegasus attack!” She laughed. “I guess I should have known that a demon realm date had a chance of turning into a high stakes adventure.”

“Yeah, but… Eda and Raine…”

Hunter heard a sigh from Lilith. “No, it worked. Not quite the adrenaline stimulating scenario I had in mind, but I should have known. Look.”

Hunter craned his neck up to see Eda and Raine sharing a midair kiss. “Oh. There they go.”

They broke apart, laughing and complimenting each other on their Pegasus-slaying skills.

Amity took Luz’s hand. “We made a pretty good team back there.”

Luz gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Yeah, we might have a career in ‘saving people from falling carnival rides.’”

Amity laughed. “With the way this carnival tends to go, that might be more necessary than you think.”

Hunter made a face, and turned towards Lilith. “Mission accomplished?”

“Mission accomplished.” She put a hand to her chest, standing up straight. “We made a pretty good team as well, if I do say so myself.” Her nose crinkled. “I’m not kissing you, though.”

Hunter jabbed a thumb towards the remaining roller coasters. “You want to ditch the happy couples and check the safety regulations on the rest of those rides to make sure nothing else is substandard?”

Her eyes lit up, and she produced several screwdrivers from her hair, holding them between her fingers like claws. “Oh, more than anything.”