This is a fluffy Raeda oneshot set a few years before the timeskip where Raine is having a creative burnout so after lots of encouraging from Eda, she decides to sign them up to perform in front of Bonesbourough...

Headcanons for this chapter:

- Raine has chronic pain almost everywhere after being possessed by Belos, and especially in the heart
- Eda is a little embarrassed of her new hook and still doesn't know how to properly use it yet

*Takes place 1 year before the timeskip in Watching and Dreaming so there will be a few spoilers for that episode*

----------

Raine's POV:

It was a nice, calm day for once. After everything that had happened in the past few years, that's all I've ever really needed.

I woke up to find myself cuddling into Eda, who had obviously gone into Harpy mode during sleep because her wings were over me like a duvet.

I chuckled a little and then tried to stand up and get out of bed, but failed. After being possessed by Emperor Belos, I had started feeling a lot of pain everywhere in my body, and especially my heart.

But because my legs felt so weak, I collapsed on the floor. My glasses fell off, and everything was a blur, but I could tell Eda had heard because she immediately flew out of the nest to check on me.

"Raine, are you okay?" She asked, her voice full of concern.

"I'm fine!" I replied, but honestly, I wasn't.

She picked me up and held my hands as she stood me up straight so I wouldn't fall again.

"Remember you need to tell me before you go anywhere, because otherwise this will keep on happening!" Eda reminded me.

I think the possession effected my brain too, because my memory is a little foggy and some of my oldest memories are starting to be replaced by the memories of the former emperor, back when he was just Philip.

"Sorry, I just didn't want to bother you!" I apologised.

"It's fine, but I feel today it would be better if you just stayed in bed!" Eda replied, "Your legs look a lot weaker than usual!"

I nodded my head because they were. She very gently placed me back into the nest and then fetched some elixir to give to me to help with the pain.

"So what am I supposed to do today if I just have to stay here?" I asked.

"Well," Eda put a finger to her chin in thought, "I know!"

She flew out of the room, and I could hear her do a little rummaging downstairs before flying back up with my violin.

My violin had broken a few years ago, which forced me to release my palismen named Fiddlesticks out of it. Luckily, Hunter managed to remake it exactly.

"I don't think that's a good idea, it's been really hard to think of new song ideas recently!" I sighed, remembering how horrible having creative burnout has been.

"Well then, why don't you go with what you know! Raine's Rhapsody!" Eda suggested, placing the violin in my hands.

"I can't quite remember it, though," I replied, "The memory of that song is because really hazy!"

Eda flew and sat beside me.

"I can't really show you because otherwise the house would probably disintegrate," She sighed, "But I can hum along to it!"

She then began humming the song that I had forgotten, and it started coming back to me. Even though it wasn't magical when she did it like it would be for me and my bard magic, it still felt like it.

"You wanna give it a go?" She then asked.

I really wanted to make her happy and get my creative spark back, so I nodded. But as I tried and tried, I kept on failing.

I was muddling up the strings. My hands were getting really sweaty, and Eda looked like she could barely watch anymore. I felt I was failing her...

"I can't do this anymore!" I exclaimed and threw the violin gently onto the floor so it wouldn't break again.

Eda went and picked it up and handed it back.

"You have to keep on trying, though! It took you a while to master it the first time. You just need patience!" Eda explained.

I guess she was right, I was just getting too frustrated too quickly. Eda said she was heading out to get more elixirs, and so she left me to practice...

An hour later, she ran into the bedroom, and she seemed to be holding something behind her back. Because practice was still frustrating, I stopped to see what she had to say.

"What is that behind your back?" I asked.

She jumped into the nest and sat beside me as she showed me.

"Suprise! I signed you up to have a concert and show your talent off to Bonesbourough!" Eda said, handing me a poster with a drawing of me playing the violin, Katya's signature at the bottom.

"What? I can't possibly do that, I hate crowds, and I can't even remember my own song!" I exclaimed, frustration washing over me.

Eda looked at the floor in disappointment. I hadn't realised I had upset her, so I wrapped my arms around her.

"All you can do is try, I'm sure you'll remember as soon as you hit the stage!" She encouraged me, "Besides, me, Amber, Katya, and Derwin will be there to cheer you on by the side!"

I smiled because I was glad she was trying to do something to cheer me up, and besides, I would have people I love beside me!

For the next few hours, I continued to practice. Even though I still couldn't quite get it and continued to get frustrated at myself, Eda stayed beside me and gave me support. Even King did and dropped in to give me a hug, which was nice.

Then it was finally time. I got dressed, and then after that, Eda turned Harpy mode and picked me up. She then swooped out of the window, and we began flying through the sky.

It was such a nice feeling Eda carrying me in her arms. Although I was still really nervous about the performance, at least I could enjoy that one moment of serenity.

We arrived in the centre of Bonesbourough where a stage had been built and there were posters everywhere about my performance, as if I were a celebrity!

Me and Eda arrived backstage to find the former BATTs. Derwin was playing the violin, Katya was writing food fanfiction, and Amber was taking photos on her scroll, I had missed them so much!

When they noticed us, they gave us a group hug and then explained their plans on how they want the performance to look. They then did a "montage" of adding makeup on me and then added sequins and glitter to my outfit

Once all was done, I peeked through the curtains. Waiting in the audience were regular Bonesbourough villagers, but a few people caught my eye.

Luz and her friends were there , and Darius, Alador, and the rest of my childhood friends were here too!

"Did you invite all of them here just for me?" I turned to Eda and asked.

"Only some of them, the rest are here because they love you and can't wait to see you perform!" Eda explained.

I then turned and peeked out of the curtain again, becoming even more anxious. Eda could tell this and wrapped me into a hug.

"You'll be great, I know you will!" She reassured me and then kissed me on the lips.

My face turned as red as a tomato, but then I heard Amber announcing on stage the performance would start now, so I had to make the feeling disappear. So I took a deep breath and walked through the curtains.

There was instant cheering and clapping from the whole audience, and stage lights shined on me. It all felt so overwhelming, but I knew I could get through and do this.

So, when all turned to silence, I began to play. And at that point, I remembered all of the right chords and strings, the struggles I had learning the song in the first place and the memories of playing it with... Eda!

The rhythm then took over and the whole performance felt like a blur, probably because of my memory problems. But all I know is that near the end, Amber pushed Eda onto stage with a violin in her hand.

Eda was scared to perform because she was embarrassed that she would mess up now that she had a hook for her hand after I ripped it off. And because of that, I decided to give back to encourage her like she did with me.

Once she mastered it, we then performed the final part of the song together. And she didn't disintegrate the stage, which is a bonus!

After it was over, the crowd began cheering and clapping again. Rainbow confetti fell from the ceilings, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Katya jumping in delight at how well it went and kissed both Amber and Derwin, which was nice to see!

But the best part was when I arrived home. King congratulated us, and after all of that, me and Eda slept peacefully in the nest again...