Melody's Whispers (discontinued for a rewrite)

Raine Whispers

I sat quietly in the dirt, playing with abomination goop. Ma hadn't told Luz and King about my... freak-out; she still wanted some form of eyes on me at all times. The pair hung off Owbert's staff at the knees, doing sit-ups. They were preparing for a race. The winner got an interview on Crystal Vision. King wanted to get a message out to his dad. I didn't think it likely to work, but good on him for trying, I guess. My only thought was how it was nice not to be under Ma's constant watch for the time.
    "Alright, King. What's the first thing you're gonna do when you meet your dad?" Luz asked, taking a break from her workout.
    "Well, once we're done training, I'm gonna move out of that closet, that's for sure," he told her. "Then I'm gonna ugly cry. Hard!" I smirked lightly at myself.
    "Have you told Eda about your decision to le-"
    "Shh." King quickly shushed Luz as the large window to Ma's room closed. Surely she heard some of what they said. "I'm not ready yet. I'm not sure how she'll react."
    "Ma will be fine, King," I told him. "I, for one, am excited. Honestly, I'm surprised we hadn't thought of legally changing your surname sooner." King jumped from the staff and ran to me, hugging me tight.
    "We'll be siblings. Legally." We smiled at each other before cracking a giggle.
    "you ready to fly, King?" Luz called. "Come on! We have to train if we wanna win!"
    "Abomination, cower," I commanded of my miniature creation; I'd gotten relatively good at controlling the goop. "I'm gonna go inside, okay? Have fun, you two. Be careful, yeah?"

I flung myself over the couch with a sigh. Being stuck at home was such a drag. Em had invited me out, but Ma didn't want me going out with someone with no 'Owl Beast experience'; that's what she called it.
    "you need to eat. You didn't have dinner last night." I looked up at Ma with a bowl of snacks and her mug of apple blood in hand; She had a notebook tucked under her arm and a pen twisted in her hair. "Come on, sit up." I pulled myself up with a huff. "Don't give me the attitude; eat, please." I raised my eyebrow at her; since when does she say 'please'?
    "You've gone soft, Owl Lady," I told her, sifting through the mixed bowl of snacks. She smirked at me.
    "Yeah... but it's worth it." Her face softened before she kissed the top of my head. "Not being chased down at every waking hour helps." I agreed. "Ah, look at us, Mel, we've lost our touch."
    "Speak for yourself," I told her, resting my head on her shoulder. "I'm acing school, straight As the whole way, and I've just gotten the hang of abomination magic." Ma wrapped her arm around my shoulders, holding me close. "Can I be real with you? You may not like what I'm about to say..." Ma looked at me curiously and nodded. "Im kinda jealous I didn't get this as a kid. kid me would have killed for a moment like this more often." Ma pulled me closer and rested her head on mine. "Don't get me wrong; I don't resent you for it or anything. I'm well aware of our situation. All I'm saying is... this is nice."
    "It's not easy. Ah damn... You know, I didn't believe people when they said 'mum guilt' was a thing. It totally is. But I was already in it deep before you came along. I guess that's half the reason they left...." I wasn't gonna ask; any time I asked, she got edgy. I didn't need the added stress, and neither did she.

We sat together for some time; Ma took to writing in her diary, something she'd taken to a fair bit recently. I scrolled my Penstagram, a peaceful domestic moment. Moments like this tend to be ruined at one point or another; it was a matter of time.
    "Hmm?" Ma looked over at me as I watched a video stream on my socials.
    "And we're back, live from the Emperor's castle. In light of Scooter Crane's retirement, today's ceremony will confirm Raine Whispers as the next head of the Bard Coven."
    "It's about damn time," I sighed, "that old fart's been 'retiring' for months. At least there'll be something interesting happening at school this week." I took note of how Ma leant over me, watching my feed.
    "Do I have to be on camera?" The new head witch stammered.
   "for Titan's sake, just say something." Another grumbled.
    "Ah..." The witch with tanned skin and glasses pulled their cloak's hood down with a nervous smile. "I am honoured to work with Emperor Belos in preparation for the Day of Uni-bee." Their face flushed bright red. "I mean, Uni-ly! I mean—uh—oh, no! This is going all wrong. Get me outta here!" Ma and I watched this new head witch run off stage from the recording screen. The feed was cut.
    "How are you supposed to be Head Bard with stage fright?" Ma taunted at the screen.
    "You know them?" I questioned. Ma's eyes widened briefly.
    "Ah... old school friend," Ma told me, sounding almost nervous. "Raine's always been a bit of a nervous wreck. I haven't spoken to them in years, not since they joined the Bard Coven. They were kinda bitter about my refusal." We were interrupted as Luz and King walked through the door. Luz held in her hands a rancid-smelling backpack.
    "I'm sorry, Luz...." King sighed.
    "It's okay, Buddy." She said before turning to Ma. "Hey, Eda. Got another backpack I can borrow? This one got a little thrown up in." She held it as far away from her body as she could.
    "Closest," Ma replied, watching Luz scurry away.
    "Rinse that outside, please!" I called out after her, "I don't need to clean up the laundry space again!"
    "Why are you suddenly so interested in flying? Did you give up on returning to the human realm?" Ma questioned. "I mean, I guess you can stay here a little longer or whatever." I'm sure Ma was starting to realise that, eventually, we'd be moving out. She'd been desperate to spend as much time as possible with us three.
    "Oh no, I'm still going home," Luz said, returning with a new backpack. "But I keep running into a few setbacks." Just this morning, Hooty had tried eating Luz's Echo mouse. That poor thing, though we got the mouse back, it was traumatised. Things like this happened frequently. "He just needs to recover."
    "In the meantime, this weekend is the Gland Prix!" King cheered. A flying race featuring the best athletes from the best schools on the isles; Hexside, Glandus and St. Epoderm; Known as the Triad of Knowledge. The two explained their plan to win to get King that interview so he could reach out to his dad.
"That's great...." Ma tried to sound excited for them, but she couldn't cover the feeling of being left behind.
"But uh... there's something I'd like to talk to you about first," King said nervously. "You see, I think it's time for me to le-" Ma didn't let him finish.
    "LLLeave the talking for later!" Ma declared, cutting King off. I'm sure she thought something else was happening here. "If you wanna win, there's no time for talk!" She was sweating. "You gotta go practice. Now."
    "Wanna head back out while your tummy's empty?" Luz questioned. King agreed excitedly as the two ran back outside. Ma let out a sigh, dropping her head down.
    "Perhaps you should hear him out," I told her. Nothing's all doom and gloom like you claim." Ma turned her head away.
    "Come on; Mama needs a drink."