Chapter Text
Raine… didn’t remember much of the past few years. Hell, there were a few blank spots in their memories from all the way down to when they were in college, the question about recent events was what did they remember?
There were a few shaky memories of lying in bed with a headache so bad they felt like they could die, but other than that, nothing.
The reason was obvious, of course. It was just like everyone said, they had the misfortune of catching a particularly destructive brain worm. It had eaten a lot of their memories, and they still had headaches from the damage to their mindscape. That’s why they were drinking this tea, to help repair their mind. The memories were gone for good, sadly, because it wasn’t caught before it was absolutely debilitating, but it wasn’t the end of the world, even if it was confusing. They were okay.
Terra was taking care of them, just in case anything happened. And because they were really bad about remembering to take their meds, and the tea they’d been prescribed for this was no exception.
They were grateful that she was looking out for them, of course. According to her, she and them had been very close over the past few years, but…
They couldn’t see why.
They don’t have anything in particular against her. She’s a fine person. But- she just makes them uncomfortable. They don’t know what it is, really. There’s other things that don’t quite line up, too. She claims they were extremely close, but she doesn’t know stuff that she would definitely know if that was the case. Like their sensory issues, or how they like embroidery, or… anything about them, really. And they don’t have anything in common, so… they’re at a loss as to why they and her got along.
And another thing? They’re a coven head, apparently. They weren’t before a few months ago, but they were close for years. Not so unbelievable on its own, of course, but… everything was so forceful. Wild witches were given a choice between effective exile from society or joining a coven, and there was the whole mess that was the conformatorium. They… don’t know why they’ve been going along with this.
To summarize, either they’ve experienced a drastic personality change as a result of the rapid memory loss, which isn’t- or at least, shouldn’t- be a symptom of a brain worm, or something here is really, really fishy. Either way, they don’t like it.
They’ve been subtly trying to get new information for a while now, but every avenue seems blocked. It’s crossed their mind once or twice that it might be intentional, but they can’t think of any reason that everyone around them would put so much effort into making them live out a false reality.
“You look so cute tonight, Sprout.” Terra says fondly as she steps into the carriage. They smile politely, nodding. It’s really not something they dressed up for, just a Coven Day parade. They were more focused on assuring themself they weren’t going to suddenly forget how to play the violin, contrary to their stage fright.
“This will just be a quick thing, only a few hours, and then we can get back to the castle.” She continues. “Bit of a drag, but you just need to stand there and look pretty. Shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for you.” She smirked. They nodded again, a straight face this time. The way she talks about them, sometimes, is… strange. They don’t want to say objectifying, but certainly uncomfortable. It’s worse when she’s touching them at the same time. Stuff that’s just toeing the line of appropriate. They’ve talked to her about it before and she said she’d stop, but then she just… didn’t. And they don’t have the energy to say no every time she makes them uncomfortable, so they just don’t, lately.
They have no idea how they and her were friends.
“Right.” They mutter.
They hope it’ll be over quickly.
***
“Oh I cannot believe we are being taken against our will!” They hear Kiki yell, and they’re looking around, trying to see through the smoke that’s recently engulfed them. They already have a headache from the bright lights, couldn’t whoever was staging a kidnapping wait a minute?
They hop off the float and walk around it until they see two shadows, and-
They’re being tied up with vines and scooped over someone’s shoulder- what the fuck, Terra?
She carries them over to an alleyway, unties them, and pulls them into a hug-
They realize this isn’t Terra.
It’s Edalyn Clawthorne.
Their ex.
She’s changed a lot since they’ve broken up, her hair is fully grey now and something in their brain tells them she has children, but they don’t have a clue how they know that. Also- was she always heterochromic? They can't seem to picture her past face clearly.
“Eda? What- what are you doing here?” They ask, pushing her away. A wild witch, at one of the most heavily guarded performances of the year?
…now that they think of it, not exactly uncharacteristic of her.
“I had to make sure you were okay after that fight with Darius and Eberwolf!” She says.
“…what fight?” They ask incredulously.
Darius and Eber were acting strangely around them, but- good grief, now their headache is worse. Splendid.
“Wh- it was just a few weeks ago- I was with you?” She asks, reaching out. They stop her hand.
“I spent the last month sick in bed.” They say, trying not to wince in pain. “And we… we haven’t spoken in years.”
She looks hurt. They feel a pang of guilt, but it’s just the truth. She’s the one who started this.
“Listen, I don’t know what you want with me… but I’m head of a coven now. And I can’t associate with wild witches anymore.” Something in them feels wrong about this whole thing, but it’s what they have to say. Lingering feelings for their ex don’t take precedence over the rest of their life. “So move aside.”
She pauses, and something in her eyes change.
“No.” She says firmly, holding up a piece of paper. When she steps on it it sprouts a plethora of vines, not unlike the ones that normally frame Terra. For some reason, that in particular sets off their fight-or-flight instinct. Good to know that’s still intact.
They summon their violin. If they have to fight her… so be it. “Fine. We can do this the hard way.”
And they’re on the offensive, sending sound waves towards her. To their confusion, she mostly dodges. What, she kidnaps them and now she won’t fight back?
“Rainestorm, stop it!” She says, stepping aside from a particularly nasty spell.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Eda.” They say. “But you’re not giving me much of a choice!”
She looks determined. “Come on, Raine. I know when you’re going easy on me!”
“I…” sharp pain in their skull, “ugh!” They mutter, poising their violin again. It summons a storm cloud, sending random bolts of electricity on the ground. She takes out another of those strange pieces of paper, and disappears. They look around in fear for a moment, why is she doing this, and- their bow is caught on something. She reappears. They’re face to face.
“Did you forget this, too?” She demands, holding up a human cassette. They’re filled with a strange sense of nostalgia when they see it, but they don’t know why.
She clicks it, and…
They know that song.
It’s something they composed in high school. Raine’s Rhapsody, they called it, but…
There’s something else. Something in their mind stirs. They’re forgetting something, something they should remember, but they don’t know what. Their head is splitting again. A mandolin comes to mind. Why a mandolin? What is this, what is Eda doing?
They growl in frustration. “Why won’t you just leave me alone!?” They yell, brandishing their violin bow. A single note is played, sending her blasting backwards. They instantly want to take it back, to go comfort her for some Titan-damned reason.
“For old times sake I’ll give you one last chance. Move.” They say. “Please.”
She shakes her head. Softly, almost imperceptible.
“HOOT!” they hear, and they remember that sound instantly. Hooty. Eda’s house guardian. Before they even have time to react, they’re in a dark, wet, small space. It’s squishy. What the fuck?
After what felt like hours but can’t have been more than a few minutes, they’re spat out in a mostly empty room. Just some pipes, an electric panel, and a few boxes.
This place is familiar. Why?