Midir had been exploring Homewood, taking in all the sights and sounds and seeing the variety of nouls that lived there. Though after a while, he had grown tired of the shocked and surprised expressions. He was certainly a sight to behold between the jet black crystals growing from his body to the rather noul-like skull that masked his face. He looked imposing and some would say, liking the herald of impending doom. Bit dramatic if you asked him.
From what he saw of Homewood, noul society had made leaps and bounds compared to the life he had been living with his family. They seemed to have stayed in the old ways, being so far removed from Homewood for generations. Midir was intrigued and ready to learn about this side of noul culture. Aside from spooking or shocking the locals, Midir did meet some who were curious about the wanderer in their midst.
Soon the excitement grew too much for the primitive noul and he moved to a quiet spot closer to the barrens. He slumped to the ground and for a moment he found respite from a busy new world. The rustling in bushes nearby had him opening his eyes, ears swiveling towards the sound. A jack hop popped out, paused to groom it’s ears before it noticed Midir. It squeaked in shocked surprise. It’s senses came back when it realized it was simply a noulicorn wearing a mask.
“Oh jeez, you about gave me a heart attack,” the jack hop remarked, breathing in deeply.
“Sorry?” Midir replied, tilting his head.
The jack hop let out a sigh and looked back at Midir, “Well, you’re a noulicorn so I’ll let you know. Brightheart is gearing up to bring a new familiar into the world and is looking for guardians. If you’re interested in taking on this challenge, you’ll find her in her clearing.”
Midir blinked his ruby eyes a couple times. A new familiar? Brightheart? “I’m new here. Where is this clearing?”
The jack hop looked back at the buck, “Ah well, here.” He drew in the dirt with some verbal guidance. “There ya go laddie. Well I must be off now. Grandfather be with you!”
Midir watched as the jack hop raced off once more. Well that was interesting but so was watching an ascended vivify revive a dead species. This was something Midir really wanted to see. Going also meant he was committing to taking on one of these new familiars. Could he handle it? Well, he had been committed to his future mate and their children before her untimely death. His heart gave a squeeze and he gasped. Maybe he could find some healing of his own in caring for a new creature. So he rose back to his feet and made his way to the clearing of this Brightheart.
Upon reaching it, he paused before stepping through. He could see a pale winged doe, wings outstretched, she was studying the bones before her of the species she was preparing to revive. This was it, he could step through and commit or he could hide here and snoop. Snooping seemed like something a creepy guy would do and so far, many had made it clear he looked creepy. Midir let out a sigh of exasperation, then took a deep breath and stepped through. He certainly caught Brightheart by surprise, mostly because he just popped out from the woods but also because he looked creepy. Her feathers looked ruffled a moment but settled once she realized he was just a noul.
“Oh my, aren’t you a unique individual,” she said in a soft voice and a slight chuckle. “Are you here to answer my call?”
Midir cleared his throat, “Uh..yeah…” he looked away from the doe and around the clearing.
“Very well. Please wait here,” she gestured in a sort of semi circle before her. “Just beyond the bones. Need to give them space once I bring them back. Never know how they’ll react.”
“Oh...alright,” he moved carefully to a spot a little ways off. He stayed mostly in the shadows of the trees, feeling slightly uncomfortable with all this newness. He suddenly wished Cordelia was there, she had a way of making him feel comfortable and relaxed. He finally noticed that there were other nouls already waiting and Midir eyed them. One was even a foal, interesting. He looked back to the ascended, she nodded at him with a smile and resumed her study of the bones. At least he was in an approved spot and it had a decent view of what she was going to do. He felt a niggle of excitement and couldn’t help a small smile.
This was his first real activity here in Homewood. He was participating in something truly amazing.
WC: 802
