eachdraidh | video ( seelie-locked )

Hey, guys. This is- actually kind of tough now that I'm here doing it, but I've committed and I know this is the right thing to do. So.

This [ she turns her locket so this guy is in frame, and he's currently just watching Rachel to see what the heck she's doing and who she's talking to, but then he looks at the thing in her hand, tilting his head left right left right left. very curious! Rachel reaches out to stroke his neck, grinning when he dips his head up and down and shakes his tail feathers a little bit. someone clearly likes to be pet. ] is Apollo. I've had him since he was a little tiny thing, and he's really, really great, but I've come to realize that it's kind of selfish to hang onto him just because he's a great friend. I still have Blackjack, after all, so it's not as if I need him to get around.

He's just really fun to hang out with.

But that's why I'd like to offer him up to one of my fellow Seelies.

[ her voice sounds a little shaky, but she's pushing through it. she's not super sad, but... okay, it's super sad!! it's hard giving away a pet. ]

He's really, really fast, and really protective of his rider, too. He gets a little weird around water, but if you have a lot of ground to cover, he's the best mount you could ask for. Really. He's also capable of magic - healing magic, as far as I can tell - I just never tried to enhance his natural abilities very much. His diet is pretty basic, but he'll just keep eating forever if you let him, so you have to watch out for that. I'm not even sure what else to say, just that I can't sing his praises enough. --Oh, he likes to sing along, too, if you start singing. I'm not about to make my vocal debut on the locket, but trust me, it's very sweet.

If anyone would like meet him to see if you mesh, let me know. We're in the courtyard of the Citadel, if anyone wants to just come by and hang out. But I'm only going to let him hang out with the very best people around, so make sure you bring your A-game when you speak up here. [ she furrows her brow and tries to look really serious when she nods, but she ends up laughing again with a little sniff ] Alright, that's it. Take care.

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This might seem like a silly question, but um, what is he?

[Verity has never seen a bird like that before, so she's curious.]

Oh, wow, right. Apollo is a chocobo. When he was a baby he looked just like a regular baby chick, but he just- got huge. Gracefully huge. [ PLACATING THE BIG FEATHERHEAD, YUS, she's even reaching up to pet him again ] His egg was given to me by a Shardbearer, so I'm not sure if they're actually native to the Drabwurld or her world. I haven't seen many like him, at least.

Yeah, neither have I. I didn't know there were any rideable birds around, native species or not. He's really impressive.

[ "impressive", that's a word Apollo knows. apparently! because he's ruffling his feathers from his tail to his little wings to the tip of his head. YES. LOOK HOW IMPRESSIVE! ]

He needed a little training at the start - he just likes running so much - but he's definitely built to bring a friend along. I think once he got used to having a rider, he actually liked it a little better. There's something in him that makes him very protective, that's for sure. Like, he's not about to just attack people for getting too close, but it's like he knows when he should keep running or when to slow down and make sure I'm okay, that kind of thing. I wish I could explain it, but he's just- intuitive?

[ and now he's bumping his big head in her hair, which jostles her a bit, but she laughs again ]

He's intuitive, and he's an attention hog, yes.

[Wow, what a charming bird. She laughs a little, herself.]

It makes sense, I think. He seems really sweet. Is riding him easier or harder than riding a horse?

Well-!

[ no wait she's gotta think that out ]

I actually am not the best judge of that. The only horse I've ridden recently is actually a pegasus, so I'm used to the wings being right in front of where your knees end up sitting. But in general it's kind of the same. Same saddle, at least. Apollo's "back" is smaller than Blackjack's, but it's still more than enough to get a good seat.

That's okay. I actually don't know anything about riding a horse, so I guess I just wanted to know if that would make riding a bird more difficult or not.

[She shrugs a little.]

I haven't been here long, so I'm still trying to figure out my options when it comes to transportation.

The fairy rings are pretty useful for big trips, but if you want to go standard transportation, horseback is totally an option. There's a stable that's free for the Seelies to take horses from. Well, y'know, borrow. They're all very well trained.

I just got lucky - both Blackjack and Apollo were sort of passed down to me.

Yeah, I've used the fairy rings a few times. I was thinking more about when that's not an option.

I'll probably need some lessons either way. It's just nice to know there are other options out there in case I don't...uh...click with horses.

Oh! [ Rachel brightens up a little more, excited that she can actually help with this. most people look for fight training, which is so not her bag, but riding? YUS. ] I can show you the basics sometime, if you want? You can even ride Blackjack, if you want to try flying, too.

Oh, yeah. That would be great.

[She sounds kind of relieved, honestly]

I haven't really known who to ask about that. Everyone is so focused on battle preparation, I feel silly interrupting for more, um...mundane things.

Hey, believe me, I know what that's like. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, so this was all very new to me at one point, too. It still is, in some ways.

There are a lot of people here who are willing to help out the new kids on the block and show them around, teach them how to hold their own in a fight, but people tend to forget how important the very basics are, after living here for so long. Like, yeah, we're all used to riding horseback, but you probably came from a world that isn't quite so- medieval?

Yeah, actually I live in Manhattan. [Or used to live there. It's still hard for her to think of it entirely in past tense, though. But it's always nice to talk to a fellow New Yorker.] A very modern Manhattan, with smartphones and internet.

Mhm, mhm. That seems right. I don't know for sure if most people are from places like that anymore, but that's how things are where I'm from. It's been a long time since I've been home, but I do remember how weird the transition was.

Yeah. Weird might even be kind of an understatement. I'm doing better than I was my first week or so, anyway.

[She spent her first week feeling disoriented and kind of in shock. At least she's started to make some sense of things by now.]

That's good! I'm glad to hear it. There really isn't any crash course to the Drabwurld, although there really should be. There are pretty recent "history" books in the library to catch people up to speed on what's been going on, but a guide to actually living here? Not so much. ... Not as far as I know, at least.

Maybe we should come up with pamphlets to hang out at the newbie feast or something.

-- Just kidding, nobody has time for that. We should, but I doubt it would go over well anyway.

"Hey, I noticed you're rightfully overwhelmed from being pulled into this world between worlds at random, because a fairy asked you to follow them! Here's a brochure."

Eh.

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ahaha crud, Rachel's from Manhattan too, I don't know why I put Brooklyn. that's okie tho.

haha no problem, I can pretend she said Manhattan

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