#Where Every Paradox Means Wonder || Fae Court Verse

[nostomannia]

Cont. @shatteredwastes

Amata raised an eyebrow. "Are you already drunk?" she asked, setting her drink down. "You're free to take my drink if you want, I suppose, but I doubt you'll like it." She didn't really know what Sol's preferences were, admittedly, but a bitter wine with honey to take the edge off likely wasn't everyone's proverbial cup of tea. At least in this era. "Yours looks. Interesting..." She had never seen a fruit like that. What had that blonde woman called it? Cannibalism? Strange name for a fruit. "I'm not sure how I feel about a green fruit like that."

"Green?!"

Solita looked at her kiwi-filled drink in dismay. Too shocked to even keep her voice at a reasonable level, she couldn't help but pout. "My strawberries... They were taken again..."

She sulkily took Amata's drink and took a sip. "'m not very picky, plus alcohol's alcohol." She tilted her head curiously. "This ain't a bad drink, 's more, like, old-fashioned?"

She frowned at the drink full of kiwis and sighed. "...Well, I mean... Kiwi fruit ain't bad, but..." As she set Amata's drink back down, she twirled a piece of her green hair through her fingers. "Y'know... Strawberries are better anyway!"

[nostomannia]

I may as well talk about Sol's familiars in the Fae Court verse because there is some changes

The first familiar, as gifted by Hriob, is a songbird known also as the "Butcher Bird," a southern white-crowned shrike. It's known for taking prey like bugs, lizards, snakes, and even other birds, and impaling ithem on thorns, barbs, and branches.

The specific bird that is gifted to Solita, that she ends up naming Briar, is a bit different than a normal shrike, though. He's descended from a phoenix, so he's somewhat magical in nature and even different in appearance from a normal shrike. Bigger, longer tailfeathers, and brighter in color. If he were to die, he would revive in the same manner a phoenix does.

Briar is a very chipper bird. Mischievous, curious, sociable, and maybe a touch sadistic. He likes to be affectionate and will often perch on people to preen their hair. And sometimes pluck hairs to help build a nest, depending on the time of year.

Since white-crowned shrikes are highly sociable, Solita often has to care for a small flock, usually only consisting of 3-6 birds, along with Briar. They may also help with tasks and delivering small items for Solita, helping with her job as the court stewardess.

The second is one that people are probably familiar with, it's the horse from her fantasy traveler verse, Sombra.

Seven feet in height, and incredibly heavy to boot. He's a bit too much for Sol to handle sometimes, with as much of a size difference as there is.

He's got a dark coat- not purely black but a deep dark shade of brown. Outside of scars from abuse by his previous owners, and scars made from getting into fights with other horses or animals, he's notably cared for. Well-groomed and glossy coat, and nicely kept mane and tail.

Sombra is big, mean, and stubborn to boot. Even if he trusts Sol and was essentially re-trained by her hand, there's times she struggles to get him to listen. But he's also unyieldingly loyal to Solita.

Rather territorial of his space, and of his person. Get too close and he will bite. Have Solita's attention, and he will make an attempt to bite. He will also bite Sol too if he's looking for attention or plainly just in a bad mood.

Very food-motivated. If you wish to make friends with him, offer him tasty goodies like fruits, sugar, or sweet veggies. He'll slowly start to warm up.

Sombra is Solita's choice of mount. No matter if he is sometimes troublesome to handle, Solita can't help her own sense of comradery with the horse. She would never abandon him or choose something easier for her own convenience over Sombra.

And I made a size chart roughly compared to Solita:

[nostomannia]

Girl's Night || @automaton-otto

Kara leans over and looks at Sol's drink. Unfortunately for Sol, the intrusive cat thoughts won, "Huh, cannibalism. Not bad."

"..Mh?" Solita paused-

Cannibalism? What in the world was she talking about? After staring quizzically for a moment, she glanced down at her drink.

Kiwi.

Her face turned into a scowl before almost slamming her drink on the counter. "...First- Not a kiwi. Second, who's the funny guy who took my damn strawberries?"

[nostomannia]

It's a nice beverage for the night, right?

Wait, who replaced the strawberries with kiwi?

[nostomannia]

"I guess we're goin' and doin' some fighting, then." Solita gave a sigh through her nose as she pulled a pistol from her purse. "Good thing I always come prepared, then."

[nostomannia]

I made a rough idea of what Solita's living space looks like in the Fae Court. I'm pretty happy, especially with the walk-in closet/storage space.

I didn't know what to do with the second small room, so I just slapped down some plants and a "nectar" thing. Partially, a joke that Sol's secretly brewing alcohol for herself to get around being mostly-banned from Hriob's brews, and also a little bit of a garden and storage space for pigments for hand-made paints.

[nostomannia]

@shatteredwastes

(Amata) "Your destiny to get yourself killed in increasingly bizarre ways, or your destiny to be mauled by a wild animal?"

"C'mon, what I do is my business. Not bein' able to die has skewed my danger senses, but if I wanna bring in a wild animal, I say let me deal with those consequences."

[nostomannia]

Unprompted || @entwinedfates

(Amata) "Solita, when was the last time you ate?"

Solita jumped, fumbling with her pencil for a moment before she managed to clutch it to her chest with a sigh of relief. She looked up at Amata. It seemed she was too distracted to notice her approach. Or maybe she simply materialized to check in.

"When was the last time..." She frowned at that question. When was the last time she ate? Hell, when was the last time she had gotten up from her seat?

At that thought Solita shifted in her chair, stretching her legs as the realization made her suddenly aware of the ache in her body from being slouched and sedentary.

She continued to stretch, straightening her back and grunting as it popped. "...What time is it now? Surely it hasn't been uh... That long. Right?"

[nostomannia]

Response || @hriobzagelthewanderer

"Home? Home is not a place, not truly. It is a feeling, Solita. I promised you sanctuary, did I not? 'Home' and 'Sanctuary' are similar in essence, if not strictly in practice, and in protecting and investing yourself in my home and its denizens, are you not making it your home as well, even if only a little?"

When was the last time she considered someplace a home? Solita stopped a long time ago. Nothing lasted. Not for her, at least. At some point she'd have to pick herself up and move on, that's how it always was.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to be different. She wanted her innocence back. To turn back time before she was so broken. But she knew that was impossible.

She knew she was holding herself back. Sol didn't want to set herself up for disappointment again. She was promised sanctuary but a question always itched at the back of her mind. How long will it last? Could she trust herself? Could she trust Deity?

"I don't think I can... Not yet. 'm scared. I don't wanna call this place home 'n- and lose it. I dunno if I have it in me to call it home. Not yet, at least."

[nostomannia]

@cosmicdreamt ♡'d for a starter

"Th' new ambassador in the court, huh?" Solita couldn't help but comment, tucking her journal under her arm as she leaned close for a good look at the newcomer. "I dunno if Hriob's said anything- but 'm Solita, the stewardess. If you need help with any day-to-day shit, I'm your lady."

[nostomannia]

"..."

"Oops."

[nostomannia]

Sol walks into the library in the Halls of the Mountain King.

From a distance, you can hear the explosion, and possibly feel the Halls themselves shake.

[nostomannia]

In Solita's Fae Court verse when she becomes more comfortable with the usage of magic, she ends up taking a familiar in the form of a small bird. A male southern white-crowned shrike.

A songbird known also as the "Butcher Bird" that takes prey and impales it on thorns, barbs, and branches. Despite it's rather small size it will hunt mice, other birds, and lizards.

She ends up naming the bird Briar. Her little companion who helps pass on notes and the like. Because shrikes tend to be social birds, Solita sometimes ends up with a flock of up to six. But that can fluctuate, and Briar is the only one that remains a constant.

[nostomannia]

"You won't keep me from my destiny...!"

[nostomannia]

Send "The Morning After" to have my muse awaken naked and cuddled up to your muse after a night out drinking || @hriobzagelthewanderer

"The Morning After" [Hriob can't get drunk, but that doesn't mean anything...]

"Mmmh."

She regretted drinking as much as she did. Sol needed some water, her tongue felt like it was sticking to the roof of her mouth. She attempted to roll over and reach for her water bottle but was stopped by the feeling of someone's arm around her.

Waking up in bed with someone else wasn't uncommon, especially when she had a little too much to drink. But her head was too foggy and sleep-addled to even remember who was in her bed right now. With a grunt, she sat up, using her fists to rub the sleep from her eyes. She took a glance at Hriob before looking up to reach for her water bottle.

Then stopped and looked at him again.

Hriob.

Not only in her bed but also naked.

That was enough of a shock to jog her memory. She had been drinking to avoid having a bad night, he came to check on her, she probably overwhelmed him with her drunken nonsense and...

The Stewardess stifled a sigh. This sure was awkward. She stared at him for a moment. Had she ever seen him quite this unguarded? She leaned over him to look at his face a little more clearly, a hand coming up to ghost along the scars on his face.

Well, he was going to wake up eventually. The question was, whether or not she should slip out now or wait for him to wake up...

[nostomannia]

She's muttering to herself, scheming.

She may be figuring out how to sneak in a snow leopard again.