Chapter Text
Eda’s house was…interesting, to say the least.
Raine eyed the massive, tube, bird, thing stretching out of the door with no small amount of apprehension and bewilderment.
“Heeeeey, you're back, hoot! And you brought a friend!”
The weird not-bird coiled around Eda as soon as she got off her staff and pressed his face to her cheek.
Eda grimaced and pushed him off.
“Yeah, yeah. Nice to see you too, Hooty. This is Raine, by the way. Raine, meet my house demon, Hooty. He protects the property from threats and is a surprisingly good baker, or he was, before my senses started going all wonkey and Roomie decided we aren’t going to tolerate anything sweet anymore.”
“Mark my words, I’ll find a way around that soon, hoot!”
Eda snorted and pulled the door open.
She glanced at Raine.
“You wanna come in?”
“Oh, um, sure.”
They took another look at the house before stepping into the doorway.
“There’s something familiar about this place…”
Eda shrugged.
“You probably saw a picture of it when we were kids at some point. This place is pretty old. Been in the family for a long time, but no one could get in because the wards are picky, or something.”
Raine furrowed their brow in thought.
“Wait…this isn’t…the old Yaga cottage?”
Eda clicked her tongue and shot them a thumbs up.
“Got it in one!”
They took in their surroundings with wide eyes.
It was clear now that this was indeed a very old house. From the weathered wooden beams, covered in candles to the way they could see more modern renovations done over the older framework in a way that reminded them of the way certain wings of Hexside would be remodeled after the disaster of the week wrecked the place.
It was also...nice.
There was a beautiful mural of a raptor on the ceiling and mismatched furniture scattered around, as well as cluttered stacks of books and oddities in every corner.
In other words, it was very Eda .
They felt themselves relax as they stepped further into the house.
“How did you get past the wards? This place was famous in your family for not letting anyone enter for centuries!”
Eda shrugged and flopped down onto the couch, bouncing a little on the cushions before settling down cross-legged.
“No idea. I just touched the door handle and then next thing I know I got this, thing, on my chest and this weird, Old Magic biz connecting me to the house and Hooty was just...asleep? Inactive? I dunno but I guess when the house chose me or whatever he ‘woke up’, scared the shit out of me, and I've been here ever since.”
“Sounds like an interesting day.”
She snorted.
“Pfft, something like that.”
She waved a hand in the air, gesturing vaguely to their surroundings.
“So, this is it. There's three floors, kitchen's over there, bathroom is on the second floor, my room is at the top, and there's a basement accessible by a trap door just outside the kitchen that I use as a potions lab.”
She wiggled her fingers about.
“Aaaand, that's the grand tour!”
Raine chuckled.
Eda gasped and stood up.
“Wait, no, there's actually something specific I wanna show you.”
She took Raine by the hand and led them to the kitchen.
She stopped just outside the doorway and gestured to the wall beside the ancient oven and stove system.
“Look.”
Raine inspected the wall carefully.
Scratched, scrawled, and even painted on the wall were a large collection of dashes with names and dates that went all the way back as far as well before the deadwardian era.
They were measurements, Raine realized, of dozens of generations of children who had grown up in this house.
Eda ran her fingers carefully along the scratches etched into the ancient wood.
“When...I first found out, I was, ergh I basically had a mental breakdown for three days straight. I was shocked, I felt stupid, I felt really fucking terrified out of my mind.”
Raine placed a hand carefully between her shoulder blades in silent comfort and remorse, and she leaned gratefully into their touch.
“I... didn't know what to do. Didn't know what I wanted to do. But, then…”
She took a deep breath and rubbed her thumb along one of the names etched into the wall, a faded ‘Cassandra’.
“I was sitting in here, three or four days after I found out I was knocked up and I hadn't really slept in at all since then so I'm slumped over at the table, tired, nauseous, feeling like death warmed over. And...out of nowhere I'm just staring at this, at all these names of kids who grew up here, and for a second I imagined getting to add...whoever the hell this little shit is gonna turn out to be, of getting to add them to this wall, of marking down the years and the inches and the milestones and I dunno...I just... wanted .”
Eda sniffed and scrubbed at the corner of her eye as discreetly as she could manage.
“Shit, sorry. That probably sounds-”
“ Amazing ,” Raine breathed, looking at the wall with a new kind of wonder.
Eda swallowed at the sudden ache in her throat.
“I-I don’t know how we’re…what’s gonna happen with us, or how we’re gonna make shit work but…it has to be here. I can’t explain it I just-I want them to grow up here.”
Raine only nodded reverently and Eda was struck with the sudden dizzying impression that she could ask them to jump into the boiling sea and they’d happily dive right in.
Well.
That was a fucking terrifying visual.
She cleared her throat.
“Not that moving is likely an option for me anyways,” she said to lighten the mood. “I’m pretty sure there’s a no returns policy when a house with centuries old wards decides to bond itself to you.”
“I’m connected to your souuuuuul! Hoot!” A high pitched voice called from outside the kitchen window.
Both witches jumped.
“Fucking hellfire, Hooty! Do you fucking mind?” Eda cursed violently.
“Nooooope!” He replied eagerly.
Eda cursed again and groaned. She marched over to the window and shooed Hooty away from the window with a few scolding words about minding his own damn business.
Raine grimaced.
“I suppose he takes some getting used to,” they remarked dryly.
She scowled.
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Then, she sighed.
“ But, annoying as he can get, he really does mean well. He’s old , old, a lot more powerful than he looks, and apparently he really likes kids, so there’s that.”
They raised a brow.
“Oh?”
She laughed.
“Oh, yeah. Like I said, he’s annoying, but he’s not bad. He’s actually been pretty helpful lately. You know how bad my memory is, and now I’ve got all this new shit I’m supposed to be careful about, like covering up my face when I’m down in my lab because of the fumes, and various substances and all that shit. Hooty keeps me in check, and despite not having any arms, he’s not a bad helping hand for chores either.”
Raine nodded thoughtfully.
“I’m glad you have the help. I suppose I’ll just have to do my best to adjust to his more…unnerving qualities.”
Eda grinned.
“Let me know when you figure out how. I’m still ‘adjusting to his unnerving qualities’ and I’ve been stuck with Hooty for years now.”
“Hmm, I'll take notes.”
“ snrk haha! You're a riot, Rainestorm!”
“I have my moments.”
--------------------
When she opens her eyes, the world is gray.
“Shit.”
She can see the door and shrouded figure walking towards her bed and she doesn't bother chasing after them to try and see their face, as she often did in years past.
Instead she watches silently in despair, hearing the rustle of parchment, the smell of ink, the blinding light.
Her legs feel heavy, as if weighed down as her childhood room dissolves and she feels a wave of panic at the smell of copper and mud that fills her nose.
Nausea rises to the back of her throat.
The flap of feathers.
Hot breath on her neck.
She tries to run, to scream, to do something but she can't move, can't do anything but wrap her arms around her stomach and shake.
She braces for the roar and the snap of a beak against her throat.
The ground shakes.
A single tear runs down her cheek.
Then, she hears a long, drawn out coo that vibrates in her ears.
A feathery chest presses against her back and a pair of massive wings wrap around her.
Almost like a shield.
“Baby.”
Eda bolted upright in her nest with a shuddering gasp.
She was drenched in sweat, her favorite sleep sweater soaked through and the late April night air felt ice cold as she sucked in heaving breaths.
Roomie was fluttering excitedly in her stomach and she pressed one hand protectively over them while she used the other to push her damp hair off her forehead.
Her heart hammered in her chest, the vividness of her dream still playing out behind her eyes.
“What the fuck.”
Then she felt a wave of nausea and she bolted out of the nest in search of the waste bin by the vanity.