Moments Between Them

“Stay close to me, alright?”

“Okay!” The Collector bounced in their steps, nearly skipping along as Raine walked with them.

The Night Market was a place of wonders for The Collector, temporary and easily detachable stands littering the main center of Bonesborough. Each stand was filled with once–and current— forbidden objects and potions that piqued the celestial’s interest. Yet, that wasn’t what they were for.

Raine was searching for a lost artifact that once belonged to the Emperor’s Coven, a glove that contained the spell to brand a witch. The Collector was familiar with the invention, being the one to walk Belos through the contraption. Ideally, they would’ve helped with the reversal process, yet Raine and Eda had told them not to, stating something about being wise and knowledge that The Collector never paid attention to.

The Collector had begged and begged to be of some use, and luckily, Raine caved in just enough to allow them to help the bard.

Hand in hand, the two searched the dark, nearly misty night. The Collector became bored after the first two hours, yet despite the growing tire, they had found a scavenger who wanted nothing to do with Belos’ previous reign.

“You need to watch out,” the hooded, dark-haired witch whispered lowly, their voice almost shaking. “Go home quickly with your.. merchandise. There are… keen eyes on these items.”

The Collector was quickly dragged away from the stand, Raine lowering down to their knees to face the star child. “Hey, bud. Can I ask a favor?”

The Collector smiled, and nodded. “Of course! What is it? ‘You needa ride? ‘You need more snails?”

Raine chuckled, shaking their head. “I need you to take this,” They held out the bag containing two coven branding devices, “and send it over to Darius, so he and Alador have it for tomorrow. Then, we can go home.”

The Collector nodded; with a snap, the bag disappeared into the air. “Done!”

“Thanks, bud. Now, let’s get out of here. You did good today, Collector.”

The child giggled, flapping their hands in their joy.

Raine connected their hands with The Collector, leaving the market toward the forest line. A cold shiver fell down The Collector’s spine, a pitting feeling in their stomach. Yet, looking around, the forest was empty.

“Hey, Raine?” The Collector asked, almost warily.

“Hmm?”

“Do you think that the stand guy was fibbing? Or, Was he telling the truth?”

Raine hummed in thought, before offering The Collector a soft smile. “I think that the people of Bonesborough can be a bit paranoid at times, but it’s also good to watch out. Even if it wasn’t true, we always need to be careful.”

The Collector felt themself relax with a large exhale. “Okay.” He smiled excitingly. “Do you think I can have some of the eye-scream that Eda hides behind her appleblood stash?”

“She hides what?” Raine exclaimed, chuckling after a pause. “Of course, she would. Yeah, bud. I think we deserve a reward for such a job well done.”

The Collector squealed in joy, ignoring the cold, pitting in his stomach. “Yay! Eye-Scream! Eye-Scream!” 

Raine smiled fondly at the jumping child, watching them closely as they skipped happily in front of them.

The Collector usually wasn’t fond of the dark, the trees stretching like arms, creating unnatural figures and bodies in their eyes. Yet, with Raine behind them and the moon full, The Collector felt their mind go blank, taking in the scenery.

The Collector felt that even King would be impressed by the scenery, perhaps the old titan was still looking out for them in their own weird ways.

The night tinted blue, casting an almost iridescent light on the two minutes away from their home. 

Wind swayed the bushes and grass around them, shaking softly behind the two like the chirps of cicadas. The breeze was fresh, yet never stole any warmth from The Collector. The silence was peaceful.

Seconds passed before the Collector looked around once more, hearing the chirps of animals around them. Griffin chicks freshly hatched, insects chittering and singing in the moonlight, the sound of breathing of the person behind them.

The Collector smiled fondly at the organic symphony, wondering how different space sounded now than it did before. The Titan’s breath usually echoed in their ears when the Collector came down, smaller titans chittering in a language that would be forgotten.

A stick had fallen, cracking loudly behind them with a final thud.

The Collector stopped, the cold feeling returning to them again. “Raine?” They looked behind, seeing the brightly lit forest turn black as their body fell to the ground.

The first thing they noticed was the throbbing pain in their head, and the slow liquid dripping from their face. Next, was the piercing ringing in their ears and the soft, echoing muffles from a room nearby.

The Collector gasped awake, clutching the sharp pain in their head as vertigo shook their vision. Their eyes opened to a musty cell, smelling of mold and rusted metals. The floor had a splash of color that The Collector turned away from quickly.

Bars trapped them in the room, revealing multiple layers of other cells around them.

The Collector stood, their legs shaking with the incredible dizziness of lifting themself up. With a stifled groan, The Collector looked around as much as they could, hearing the muffled shouts beside.

“Hello?” Their voice was cracked and shaky, barely able to echo in the former prison’s walls.

A beat, and a rattle shook against the walls of the cell beside them. The voice muffled, trying to sound out words yet trapped by something. They sounded relieved. 

“Raine?” Another beat, and two rattles shook, a pattern being hummed to them. 

.-  .-.  . / -.--  ---  ..- / ---  -.-  .-  -.--//

They shook their head. “I feel sick and dizzy. I’m scared. Where are we?”

Another beat.

-.-.  .-  .--.  -  ..-  .-.  .  -../ .--  ./ -.  .  .  -../ -  ---/ --.  .  -/ ---  ..-  -//

A loud creak silenced The Collector, the star-child gasping softly as he retreated slowly to the corner of his cell.

Raine remained quiet as snide voices chuckled to themselves in conversation.

A man in blue stepped in front of The Collector’s cell. “Ah,” he sighed. “You know, I thought a ‘Child of The Stars’ would be much harder to capture than this.” The man’s tails swished behind him, his voice silky and oddly familiar.

The Collector jolted with a shout. “You! You gave us those gloves, why are you doing this?” They demanded.

The hooded figure rolled his eyes. “Please, child. We’re not letting one of you try to stop our way of life any longer. The Boiling Isles are in chaos because of you.”

The Collector shook their head, “The Boiling Isles was in chaos because of Belos. You guys are waaaay better without his shoddy system in place.”

A vine shot through the cell bars, grabbing The Collector by their neck. Another masked figure stared down the god with a glare. “You don’t say his name with that tongue, little boy.”

The vine threw The Collector back, their head colliding sharply with the wall. They heard coughing, felt their breath struggling to catch up, yet couldn’t sense anything past the persistent, painful ringing that clouded their vision.

The cell opened, revealing an elderly woman that faintly twinged The Collector’s memories. Yet, in the blinding pain that returned to them, they couldn’t make anything out aside from the slight sliver of a wrinkled leaf.

Her face scowled as she looked down at the struggling child. Her voice was sharp, but they couldn’t hear what she was asking. Loud clangs of metal banged against the wall beside The Collector, near deafening in their ears.

Something was wrong, but by the time they could mutter the thought, the figures left for Raine's cell, the door shutting with the slightest kindness of a gentle, booming clack.

The Collector curled into themself, holding their head as a lifeline while Raine’s muffled shouts and struggles faded into his darkened vision. Footsteps walked away from Raine’s cell, eyes piercing on The Collector’s shivering body.

In what seemed like hours, the pain receded, but nausea and vertigo haunted The Collector. They stood up, falling onto their knees with a cry when one of their legs gave away.

Chains faintly rattled, clacking one, two, three times before The Collector managed to crawl to the cage’s bars. “I’m okay, Ray-Ray.” They muttered, leaning their lead-heavy head on the rusty bars.

Raine’s message was slower than last time. The Collector struggled to translate the message, the humming becoming muffled and slurred in their mind.

....  ---  .--/ .-  .-.  ./ -.--  ---  ..-//

The Collector whined, slowly moving their knees to their chest. “Bad, I feel like ‘m gonna throw up.”

-..  ---  .  .../ -.--  ---  ..-  .-./ ....  .  .-  -../ ....  ..-  .-.  -//

“It hurts a lot..” Their mind blanked, eyes blinking slowly. “I feel sticky… and tired.”

The chains rattled loudly, booming against their head. The Collector whined once more, covering their ears.

The chain rattled, -..  ---  -.  -/...  .-..  .  .  .--.//

“Why?” The Collector whimpered, nearly tearing up from the pain.

Raine’s clattering stopped, returning to the much more bearable humming.

-.-.  ---  -.  -.-.  ..-  ...  ...  ..  ---  -.//

“Con–Cus-Shon?” The Collector’s mind swam through foggy memories, yet nothing came of it. “What’s that?”

....  .  .-  -../ ....  ..  -/....  .-  .-.  -..// -..  .-  -.  --.  .  .-.  ---  ..-  ...//

Their heart beat fast against their chest. “Am I going to die?” They paled.

Raine sent a yelp of negative.

.---  ..-  ...  -/ -...  ./ -.-.  .-  .-.  .  ..-.  ..-  .-..// -..  ---  -.  -/ ...  .-..  .  .  .--./ -..  ---  -.  -/ --.  .  -/ ....  ..-  .-.  -/ --  ---  .-.  .//

The Collector grabbed at their head again, willing their heart to slow down. “I.. I can’t..” They groaned. “I don’t understand.”

.  ...  -.-.  .-  .--.  .//

“We… We need to..” The Collector slurred with a nod, feeling more liquid staining his onesie. “D’you know ‘f… they’re comin’ back?”

Raine paused, two negative hums. ....  ..-  .-.  .-.  -.--/ -.  ---/ -  ..  --  .//

The Collector shakily inhaled, clutching their head as they tried to stand. Forcing their way to the bars, they tapped with a single finger, watching the bars click and the gate open. 

The Collector looked around the prison area, sensing no one else around them.

“Raine?” They whispered.

The chains clacked silently, a room to the left of The Collector.

The Collector gaped at Raine’s bruised appearance, quickly opening the door with a trembling hand. As softly as they could, The Collector took the tape off of Raine’s mouth, the bard releasing themself with a soft whistle.

Raine knelt down at the child, steadying their swaying body. “Let’s go home, kiddo. You mind doing a really big task for me?”

The Collector hummed, prompting Raine.

Raine summoned a piece of paper, writing on it quickly before rolling it up. “I need you to send this to Darius for me, okay? It’s really important.”

The Collector nodded, barely registering the bard’s request. The paper was sent, and Raine picked up the tired celestial. A loud creak alerted the two, three figures running up to Raine’s cell. The bard gasped, whistling loudly to undo the bars that made up a window.

A vine wrapped around their leg, Raine falling backwards with a cry. The Collector whimpered softly, unfocused eyes on the figures.

Raine growled as more vines tied onto their body and arms.

“Raine, Raine, Raine.” The elder spoke. “Such a naughty witch, aren’t you? After all I did for you, you still try to get in my way.” She pulled on the vines, dragging Raine away from The Collector’s still body.

“Collector! Run!” They shouted before having vines cover their mouth.

The Collector wearily looked between the two, hearing nothing more than the echoes of laughter from the other two figures. The Collector lifted their hand, snapping their fingers before going entirely limp. Raine shouted through the vines, struggling fiercely.

Terra looked around, snickering before booming laughter escaped her. “Raine, you’ve truly chosen the wrong side if that’s all your little friend can do.”

“Now then,” Terra calmed herself, turning the bard. “What should–huh?”

Raine was missing, a blush flash revealing a mannequin wrapped around Terra’s vines and The Collector nowhere to be seen. The witch growled. “Find them.” She barked at the other two.

The three split up, Terra choosing to search the current ring she was on. “Yoo hoo, Collector! I promise to play nicely if you show yourself!” She sang out, cringing to herself. “Get out here, you little brat.”

Two yells and many plucks of a viola rang out below her, startling the witch.

“You little pest, I’ll clip your arms straight from you, you roaches!” She roared, vines covering the area.

The bodies of Adrian and Vitmir were thrown before her, Raine’s image quickly disappearing with an inhale.

Terra chased after the figure, stopping at a crossroads in the prison. Terra remained quiet, slowly wandering the halls, waiting.

An exhale around the corner, and Terra smirked, slowly approaching the two’s location.

“Collector,” Raine shook The Collector’s limp body. “I need you to wake up, bud, okay? We’ll be home soon.”

The Collector groaned, eyes slowly opening. “Thanks bud,” Raine softly kissed the crown of their head, causing the child to relax into them.

The entrance made way to an almost noon light, Raine sighing heavily as they adjusted the child in their arms.

A vine had grabbed The Collector’s body, the child letting a short gasp before being dragged across the ground to Terra.

Raine quickly charged at her with a shout. “Let them go!”

Terra wrapped a vine around The Collector neck, the smaller struggling weakly against the plant. “Ah, Ah, Ah” She tutted with a sneer. “You wouldn’t want your precious boy to get hurt now, would you, Rainestorm?”

Raine stopped, eyes widening as the vines grew tighter, a pained wheeze from The Collector. “Stop.”

Terra smiled, approaching Raine closely. “If you want me to spare this little… bug, you have to do exactly what I say.”

Raine winced at The Collector’s pitiful struggles becoming weaker, quickly returning their eyes to Terra. “Let them go, and we have a deal. I won’t struggle. I’ll go peacefully.”

Terra smiled, “Wonderful, I suppose we’ll just get rid of this one then.” Her vines dropping The Collector with a thud.

The Collector’s eyes widened at that moment, hands taking a grip on Terra’s ankle.

Terra yelped, kicking the child off of her, a bite mark visible on her flaky skin. “You little!” Her vines raised to attack and fell limply to the tune of a flute. Terra’s body fell, her head cracking against the thin carpet of the exit.

Raine panted, turning to the kid before them. “Hey, hey,” Raine brushed strands of hair across their face, blood flaking off of them. “Kid, are you okay? Answer me, bud.”

The Collector shook in their arms before a loud cry echoed through the prison, their hands gripping onto Raine tightly. “I wanna go home!” They sobbed, coughing harshly.

Raine shushed them, gently petting the crusted hair behind The Collector’s head. “It’s okay, bud. We’re going, we’re going home.”

The way home was filled with stuttering cries that faded with exhaustion. The Collector stared blankly, wincing at the occasional sunbeam that penetrated through the branches of the trees.

Raine suddenly hurried in pace, tightening their grip on the star-child as they broke into a jog.

The Collector felt themselves moving, being somewhat jostled, yet their mind was filled with cotton and static. The ringing in their ears stopped, and the nausea settled, but the only thing they could feel was the burning, deep-setting pain in their body. Their head was heavy, limply moving along Raine’s movements. Raine shouted something at them, words going through their ears but never reaching.

Black encased their vision as The Collector closed their eyes, hearing a door slam open before they succumbed to their exhaustion.

Everything was fuzzy when they opened their eyes, the room lit up with various candles. The moon was dimmer than last time, lighting the sky up yet still hiding secrets behind the shadows of the forestry.

There was a window in front of them. The crystal ball was on, old shows playing in the distance. The Collector felt bandages littered across their body, their hat gone instead replaced by a long wrap of medical supplies on them. 

Someone was breathing slowly, almost sleeping. The Collector felt like sleeping too. It was nighttime, after all. 

Why were they awake?

Why were they so tired?

“You up, sweetie?” A voice whispered to them, honey to his ears.

The Collector nodded, eyes staring blankly at the wall beside.

Eda chuckled, gently lifting The Collector off of her to stand in front of their eyes. “Do you remember anything?”

The Collector thought for a second blinking a few times before tears came to their eyes.

“Aw,” Eda cooed, lifting the celestial into her arm. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe now. Darius and Eberwolf got everything covered, okay, sweetie?”

The Collector sobbed quietly, “‘Was scared.. Couldn’t–Couldn’t do anything.” They stuttered.

.Eda shook her head. “No, no, sweetheart. You did so much. You handled that situation just right, and I’m so proud of you.” She sat on the couch, careful to not jostle the kid in her arms.

The Collector sobbed into her chest, shaking their head. “Raine’s hurt. They got hurt.”

“It’s okay. Raine’s sleeping now, they’re gonna all better, kiddo.” Eda shushed softly. “Do you want me to take you?”

The Collector nodded, taking in a shakily breath. “‘M tired, Eda.” They shuddered before laying their head back on Eda’s shoulders.

“We’ll go to sleep right after, okay?” Eda turned off the crystal ball, trying to balance The Collector in her arm.

The trip upstairs went in a blur, Eda laying the two of them on the now larger nest. “It’s gonna be okay, bud, alright? Everything’s gonna be okay.” She whispered.

The Collector nestled into Eda with a soft sniff, Raine unconsciously shuffling closer to the two. “M’kay..” They sighed softly, closing their eyes. 

“Go and rest up, kiddo. You’ve been through a lot.”

The Collector nodded, muttering a goodnight and a softer ‘I love you,’ feeling Eda and Raine embrace them gently before they drifted off to sleep once more.