Takes Place: Late February
TW: Death mention, corpse mention
Summary: Raine comes to a difficult realization.
Raine always had big dreams. When they were a kid, they dreamed of being the best Bard on the Isles. Well respected and talented, it wouldn’t matter who Raine was behind their instrument. It wouldn’t matter what they looked like, how they presented, who they were. They would be the performance, they would be the music.
Raine also had a tendency to romanticize things. Their dream had been achieved, but they were not the musician. They were the instrument, used and played by Belos to further his plots and tyranny. People knew them as the Head Bard. For some that was a position that got their respect, for others it was a title to fear. And to some, it was a joke. A mockery of sorcery and the Covens. A puppet to be used by the emperor.
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The emperor was dead. Rotting in a shallow grave—metaphorically speaking, Raine didn’t ask what had been done with his body. They didn’t care. They would have dropped it in the boiling sea if it had been up to them.
They had done what they always did, and romanticized the daydream of a life they would have after the rebellion was over. After spending a lifetime under Belos’s thumb and the better part of two decades scheming for his downfall, they hadn’t wanted to jump right back into rebuilding the Isles. They wanted a chance to live a normal life, to maybe travel, maybe fall in love, get a pet! To maybe find their brother’s family and get to know them.
It seemed, however, a normal life was never meant for them.
Every day was the same. Classes then home. Classes then home. Maybe a night out with a coworker. But no one they would call a near and dear friend, really. They had grown fond of plenty of people in town, but the bonds weren’t tied so tight they couldn’t be severed.
They enjoyed their time at the Court, listening to Jess’s music and chatting with her after a set. They always liked hearing whatever Mads was talking about when their paths would cross on campus—though talking with him always made them realize how much they weren’t traveling the world. They would never forget their time working on the play with Collette and her bedazzled cast. They would think of Mena fondly when picking up a guitar. They would miss whispering with Olivia in the back of Dinner Party Club meetings.
Raine would miss their students as well. They would have to contend with the fact that they may never get word of Joanna recovered. They hoped Linnet would go off and do something truly magical with her music. They would miss the creative ways Luz used her Bard magic.
But despite it all, it was Darius they messaged at the end of every day. It was Hunter and Willow that they would ask about. And Lilith. It was that tug of nostalgia whenever Darius would mention drinking a glass of Apple Blood with dinner. It was the ache of regret whenever he mentioned the struggles of restructuring the government. Those were the feelings that followed them through their empty and silent apartment.
They spoke with the dean. They made arrangements with their landlord. Swynlake was an interesting place, one they would never forget. And one they may return to one day. But for now, they couldn’t stop lamenting what they were missing. They couldn’t escape the guilt of leaving the Isles leaderless and to fend for itself. They couldn’t deny how much they missed their home.
When the shadow passed over the street as the Gigagryphon made its descent, Raine and their few most important belongings walked out the front doors of Castle Suites one last time. Seeing Darius slide off its back almost made them tear up.
Raine couldn’t help it and wrapped their arms around him.
“First you make me come all the way here on one of these things, and now this?” They could hear Darius rolling his eyes. Raine laughed lightly as they stepped back, grinning at their old friend.
“Haven’t you heard? Flying on one of these things puts hair on your chest—though I suppose you’d rather it be on the head,” they teased to a deadpanned Darius. On the back of the Gigagryphon, they could hear Eber snickering.
“That’s strike two, Whispers,” Darius warned, having a small abomination take their bag and violin case to secure them in the Gigagryphon’s claws.
“I missed you,” Raine said with a sincere smile and misty eyes.
“It is good to see you again,” Darius replied. “Are you ready?”
Raine glanced back at the building behind them, then to the beast in front of them. Their stomach turned with the excitement of the unknown, which at one point they may have confused with nervousness over if they were making the right choice. Not this time, though. There was no nervousness here. They had never felt more certain of anything in their life.
Olivia had been invited a handful of times to Dinner Party Club. Half the time it was hosted on Floor 2 of Castle Suites, which made invites all the harder to refuse. Somehow she always managed to run into some member or another in the lobby, though usually the host herself which led to a series of polite excuses that had been accepted with a "next time."
Well, next time was now and Olivia was hovering near the back with who was maybe another victim of Lobby Solicitation.
"She got you, too?" Olivia asks, standing near the window, back against the wall. "Don't tell me if you don't like the chocolate chip cookies. Actually, lie to me, please, if you don't."
She says it all with a smile, watching the people at the party mill about and chat, share stories. Olivia knows she's not the most social. But, from their previous experiences, neither was Raine.
Raine didn't know what convinced them to go to dinner party club. Whether it was Mena asking nicely and their desire to not seem rude or because they really just needed something to do and people to be around, it didn't really matter. Because now they were here.
But thankfully Mena--who was talking to a lot of people--wasn't the only familiar face. They found themself by Olivia.
Raine lets out a small laugh at that comment. "She's been trying to for a while. I kept using the excuse of not knowing what to bring, but she finally said I should just come by and see what it was like commitment free." They had still brought some different beverages of course, they didnt' want to show up empty handed.
"I haven't tried one yet, but they look good," Raine says looking Olivia's way. "So I take it this is your first time coming to Dinner Party Club?"
A new person was at the bar. Someone John certainly hadn't seen before. "Well, that would depend on what you're after. Wine, beer, spirits... all of the above." He kept the smile up in the corners of his cheeks.
"Many people order the manhattans here. If you're looking for something more tequila based, Palomas are a favorite. There's always a classic French 75 because you can't really go wrong with gin and champagne." He spotted a wet patch on the bar and grabbed his rag to wipe it down a bit before tucking it under the countertop again.
"Maybe if you give me a hint on what you're in the mood for we can come up with something?"
That was a lot of options. Good ones, though. Gin and champagne sounded like a nice mix.
"Oh, I'm just sort of looking for something new," Raine replied. "I guess I've been feeling a little stuck in a rut lately and I'm doing my best to try to find new things to like and to do so I don't get consumed by my work or anything. So maybe something that says 'new adventure' or... 'I hope this isn't my midlife crisis starting'." They chuckled a bit. They hadn't considered that but now that they'd said it out loud...
Titan, were they going through a midlife crisis?
"But also preferably not something one of my uni students would claim is 'lifechanging'. I'm not looking to get messed up or anything. Just... have a chill night."
This person really was incredibly kind to be keeping a lookout for her like this. They really didn't need to. Judy could probably have tried to look again herself. But she couldn't hold back the sigh of relief she got when her companion told her that he seemed to be gone. If he was even there at all.
"Uh... you could say that, yes. I mean... I guess technically we never made it official but...we went on dates before... well before I found out he's not a kind person," Judy admitted with a wry smile.
"That's awful," Raine gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, it sounds like his loss, you seem to be a very nice young woman." They felt bad. Maybe it was the hopeless romantic deep inside them that hated whenever things went bad for relationships like that.
To find out someone wasn't who you thought so far into knowing them--especially when you thought better of them--was always so disheartening.
"Oh, of course!" they waved it off like it was nothing. Because it was nothing. It was the least they could do. "There are a lot of shitty men out there, we gotta look out for each other when they might be around, right?"
Mads usually ate in his office, but the hallway where the humanities professors' offices were was filled with his unpleasant smell. So a bunch of them at sought refuge in the campus food court for lunch today. Except with his lunchbox, he couldn't find a single open table.
If he were a student still he'd just ask some random student if he could join them, but...
He scanned the place until he found -- ah! an adult! and one he recognized from the gingerbread house team!
"Hey, Raine-- do you mind if I sit with you? You escaping the mystery smell too?"
Raine also usually ate in their office. It wasn't the smell that drove them to the foodcourt today but rather just wanting to be around people. Hear the chatter, feel the energy and the Reagents. It was like its own little symphony of the life of university students.
A voice that said their name and not 'professor whispers' made them almost jump a little. Raine looked up at the familiar face and smiled.
"I don't mind!" they motioned to the table, telling Mads to sit wherever he'd like. "I was headed out here for lunch anyway--I didn't bring anything so had to buy something and when I heard there was a smell, well... I figured it was safe to stay out here. Any idea what it is?"
"Oh I'm fine, really. You're not hurt either, right?" Judy wanted to confirm. She didn't really feel good about potentially injuring someone just to avoid seeing John Worthington. That was a bit more pitiful and awkward than she had anticipated.
At least they didn't seem to be too upset with her for the mishap. That was a relief. "Ahh, so at least I'm somewhat relatable," Judy replied with a laugh. That was somehow a relief. It made her look a little bit less crazy at least. Even if she still felt it.
Should she have them check? That would definitely give Judy some peace of mind. "Yes please. That would be...amazing," she admitted. "He...has brown hair and facial hair. Probably a cane he's holding onto and...a stupidly charming smile," Judy added with a wrinkle of her nose.
"Oh, no, I'm alright," they smiled. A lot of things didn't hurt Raine as much these days. Not after their fight on the Boiling Isles and the injuries sustained there. Their threshold had gone up by a lot since then.
They smiled, hoping to help her feel at ease over this whole situation.
As she explained who she was avoiding, Raine peeked around the corner looking for anyone matching that description. Though at that last bit, they had a bit of a feeling they understood her reaction even more.
"So I take it this is an ex," they say, sympathetically. "That first time running into one in public is never fun." They scan the streets a little more, no sign of this man.
"But, it looks like its your lucky day; he seems to be gone," Raine turns back to the officer.
Gusteau's was a little slow at the moment. It was shortly before everyone piled into the restaurant for happy hour and post work drinks.
John was keeping himself busy, straightening the tie he was supposed to wear with this uniform and making sure the vest was centered. When that was sorted, he kept his hands busy reorganizing the whole system behind the bar because who in their right mind put the lemon slices so close to the cherries?
Sure, his coworkers would groan that he'd "changed" things on them, but it was his shift and he'd do as he pleased and be well tipped for it. The tips here were certainly more than what he'd gotten over at the Deer when he'd been bartending over there.
Rising up from his position down by the prepared fruit, he saw he was not alone anymore. He smiled at the person across the bar, putting on his most convincing friendly customer service face, making sure it somehow reached his blue eyes as he spoke, "Good Afternoon, can I get you something?"
Raine didn't go out that often, but they figured they ought to try. They needed to be a little more social, they needed to be more active in their community and try new places and experiences!
It was all still an adjustment--living on the isles, being part of such a huge rebellion there, and just trying to be a normal professor in a country they were still getting used to.
So they'd start small with their endeavors looking for new adventures by just... getting out after work more often.
As they sat at the bar, they were ready to order their usual drink of some sort of wine when they realized no. That wasn't very adventurous of them.
"Hello," they replied to the bartender. "Um, yes-- do you have any suggestions? I'm trying to branch out a bit."
Judy did still feel bad for bumping into this person. Just because she was trying to avoid John. Pitiful. And really cowardly of a police officer wasn't it? She just wasn't ready for any kind of confrontation. Or any apologies he might have. She didn't really want to hear it.
She bent to help him pick up his instrument and they knocked heads together as well. Ouch. But considering she had caused this in the first place, she could live with it. "Oh I'm fine," Judy insisted, straightening up once she got a hold of the instrument really and held it out to them.
"Not hurt. And anyway I... well I just thought I saw someone I wasn't ready to see..." Judy admitted with a sheepish smile. "I really am sorry for not paying attention to my surroundings because of it."
"I'm glad you're not hurt," they said, relieved. They didn't really want to hurt anyone, but hurting a cop felt like a bad idea--even if it was an accident.
"Oh, I know that feeling," Raine chuckled a little awkwardly. "I have definitely made a few too many careless dashes to avoid certain people in my time." Though for them it was sometimes someone they just felt like they'd embarrassed themself in front of. They had no clue of the officer's situation. "It's okay, though, no need to apologize to me. I am sorry to hear something's affecting you that much, though. That's never a fun way to go about your day."
Raine didn't really know what they could do to help--not that they had to help, but they did still feel a little bad for their own clumsiness in this whole situation. "Do you want me to check and make sure whoever it was is gone? You can give me a description and I can check. I can be sort of like a look out."
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