The Best Day (Fae)

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

Even more than Quidditch, Dreama enjoyed parenting. Her daughter, Stella, was the light of her life, and she had high hopes for her. It wasn't just because she had chosen to name the little girl in memory of her late sister, but it was always in the back of her mind. Dreama wanted her daughter's childhood, unlike hers, to be as carefree as possible.

Fortunately, Hy-Brasil was a good place to raise a child with that approach to life, and Stella was herself half Druid through her father, Dreama's partner. She would get to grow up in a world that was one with nature, like all the other Druid children, and Dreama didn't mind starting her early. With the day off from her work as a bartender at the Flaming Wand, Dreama had been busy running after her toddler as she explored the island.

Since Stella was still so young, she couldn't get far from her mother's sight, nor did Dreama let her. Babbling happily, though, Stella walked along one of the paths that led into the "town" of Boudicca's Grace. Dreama remained close behind, but she wanted Stella to develop confidence in herself and her abilities. If anything bad were to happen, it wasn't the Druids that Dreama felt the need to worry about; it was the tourists.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

The weather was spectacular as of late, though that was most springs on Hy-Brasil. Another year as High Druid had come and gone, eight years in now and it barely felt like a day had passed sometimes. A lot had taken place over the last several years, and finally it seemed like some sort of normalcy had returned both to her life and that of the island. Whilst there seemed to be no way to get Hy-Brasil back to the way it had been with the barrier and all that, things were peaceful now and she couldn't refute that. The Council was happy, the people were happy, and thus, Fae was happy.

As of late, she had decided to spend more time at home. Too many trips made her yearn for a different life - one where she had less responsibilities and could shirk her official duties. Of course she would travel to the mainland should she be required to, but for the time being she wanted to relax at home and take care of the things that the druids needed. Life was meant to be peaceful on Hy-Brasil, and bringing it back to that was her goal.

Gliding through the forest, Fae was headed towards Boudicca's Grace to check on a few things. Nothing of importance, just her daily chores that needed to be done. Time constraints didn't really exist here, which she had missed after spending quite a bit of time on the mainland. They were all about meetings and scheduling. Why couldn't they just go with the flow? It had worked for the druids for centuries. Contemplating all of this as she walked, and when she'd next be able to get more of those butterbeer candies, she didn't even see that the oath she was on was merging with another. Everything was automatic for her on the island, knowing the pathways to everywhere without even having to think about it. So her feet knew she needed to take a right turn at this convergence. The fact that there was someone else traveling in the same direction was definitely different though.

Fae had only glanced to her left briefly as she had begun her turn, but it was long enough to see a tiny figure wobbling her way. A child. She knew everyone on the island, and instantly recognized the little girl as Stella, the child of Cian and Dreama the mainlander. It only took a moment for the mother to appear on the pathway behind the babbling baby, so Fae's immediate concern of a lost child disappeared instantly. The druids were lax with their children, but one year olds was definitely pushing it. "Hello little one," Fae smiled down at Stella. "And Dreama. Are you headed to town too?"

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 462 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

What Stella was able to say in response to Fae's question was pretty incoherent toddler jabber, but Dreama was fortunately available to "interpret" her daughter's speech for the High Druid. It was interpretation in the loosest possible sense, given that Stella wasn't yet capable of stringing together a sentence at her age, so Dreama was more accurately putting words in her little girl's mouth.

"Yes, we're going to Boudicca's Grace," Dreama replied, smiling at Stella and scooping her up so that she was holding her on her hip. "Aren't we, my Stellochka?" It was easier to carry her than to follow behind her the whole way as she teetered along the route. Even giving her daughter that little bit of free rein wouldn't have been feasible everywhere, and she appreciated it. She liked that everyone knew everyone on Hy-Brasil in a non-threatening way. Dreama was perfectly aware that she stood out in a way because she wasn't herself a Druid, but she had been accepted by the people on the island.

With Stella safely in her arms, Dreama looked back over at Fae. "How are you, Fae?"

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

While Fae could speak brasilic, English, and mermish, baby babbling had yet to be achieved and continued to be quite the difficult language to master. If she had it her way, it would probably remain that way for a while yet. So many more important things had to be done in her life before she settled down, even if most of her peers had already done so. They, fortunately, did not have the fate of the entire island resting on their shoulders.

She still showed interest as Stella rambled on incoherently, who seemed to know where she was going just not why. Thankfully Dreama was able to translate (or tell, rather), and Fae continued to direct all of her attention down to the tiny child. "How exciting! It sounds like you will have a fun time there." Watching the little girl get scooped up by her mother, Fae straightened up and moved to the side so that they could share the pathway. They were both heading in the same direction, and she felt like she was overdue on having a full conversation with Dreama. She had been on Hy-Brasil for several years now, and had seemingly integrated. Still, Fae felt it was her job to make sure everything was fine between the druids and the mainlanders that now called the island home. As far as she was concerned, Dreama was one of them, just without the lineage to back it up. But the same could be said by quite a few families if one went back only a generation or two.

"I am doing well. Enjoying the weather and figured it would be remiss of me to not go for a walk," she looked between mother and daughter before making her hair flash into a violently bright pink, an attempt to make Stella laugh. The other children had always found it fun. Being incapable of becoming an animagus or communicate closely with animals like most druids, she liked to use her metamorphmagus ability whenever she could. "Have all the recent guests kept you busy at the Flaming Wand? I saw the guest list for the summer solstice and it seems like we may have more than usual visiting." That included both mainlanders and druids from other communities. It happened occasionally, but something about this year made it extremely popular.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 390 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

When she had first come to Hy-Brasil, Dreama hadn't been familiar with the political system on the island or how the Druids' form of governance differed significantly from governments found elsewhere in the magical world. Being able to have an everyday conversation with the High Druid wasn't anything shocking, though, in the way that it would have been to have a quick chat with the Minister of Magic. Obviously, Fae had a job to do, but Druid life wasn't filled with bureaucracy and departments of this or that. People were able to live their lives and contribute to a community.

Fae answered her and said that she was doing well, explaining that she had decided to go for a walk because the weather was nice. Her hair changed colors around that time, turning a shocking pink. Stella, surprised to see the High Druid's hair change before her eyes, didn't seem sure of what to do at first, but then she reached out eagerly in Fae's direction. Dreama, who wasn't sure if her daughter would try to pull the High Druid's pink hair in the process of trying to gauge its realness, smiled at Stella and made sure that she had a firm hold on her as they continued walking. "It's very pretty, isn't it, Stella?" she agreed jovially. She couldn't see herself dyeing her hair that color, though it worked well on Fae; maybe temporarily, if at all.

"Have all the recent guests kept you busy at the Flaming Wand?" Fae then asked her. "I saw the guest list for the summer solstice," she commented, "and it seems like we may have more than usual visiting."

Hy-Brasil had dealt with larger crowds of Hogwarts students successfully, but the island wasn't so built-up that it could easily absorb countless visitors. If it was going to be as busy as Fae seemed to think, Dreama imagined that there would be some sort of plan put into place so that the lives of the people who lived there weren't interrupted by tourists seeking "authenticity". Granted, some of that responsibility fell on her shoulders, as far as cutting off tourists before they got too drunk.

Despite her own reservations about how the summer solstice might go with so many people around, Dreama tried to remain positive. "It should be manageable," she stated, even if that was more of a hope than a fact. "Everyone will do their part as always." She wasn't too worried about the other Hy-Brasil residents' willingness to chip in where it mattered. In fact, she knew that she could count on the people she considered her friends and neighbors to step up. From the tour guides to the priests, they would work together to ensure everything went smoothly.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

Changing her hair color definitely caught the little girl’s attention, causing Fae to chuckle as a little hand reached out for it. That wasn’t the first time a small one had taken extreme interest in it and taking half a step back to avoid any unwanted tugging, Fae changed half of her head into a bright blue. She had seen colors like this on the mainland during one of their festivals, and she was fairly certain they had called it candy floss. It had certainly tasted like candy, but she failed to see where the floss part came into play. Either way, the colors were fun and both she and children enjoyed the vibrancy. Her normal dull blonde was fine and well for formal occasions when she needed to conduct business and important events. Not for entertainment though. And there were so many more things she could do with her metamorphmagus ability that she had never actually tried. One day, maybe.

”Of course. That is what we pride ourselves on, after all.” Community was everything on Hy-Brasil. Fae had seen it play out a bit in a few of the areas she had visited on the mainland. Mostly the magical towns. It showed that the druid culture, while secluded and somewhat inclusive, did have a lot of things right too. There were still many aspects that she thought they could improve upon now that they were more open to visitors, and the same could be said about the mainland. They had a number of rather rigid thoughts on various things, all of which she wanted to discuss with Dreama at some point without boring poor little Stella in the process.

”I hope those sent from the Ministry are not causing any problems either,” she thought to mention. Nothing bad had happened, but there were times where she worried that not all of their guests would act in accordance. Most were terrified of leaving the main pathways, afraid of getting lost in the trees. Which was fairly easy to do without knowing the island. She didn’t really want to put together a search and rescue because someone was being silly and wandered off.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 362 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

Fae—whose hair had changed to a light blue—also held the view that the residents of Hy-Brasil would have no trouble doing their part to handle the influx of visitors to the island. On the other hand, she brought up that she hoped that the Ministry employees who were occasionally sent from London to Hy-Brasil weren't causing her any issues, either.

For the most part, since they were on the island on government business, the Ministry employees behaved themselves. Some of them obviously thought of the Druids as simpletons and wanted to prove that they were "better" than them, and their attitudes reflected that. Pompousness was practically a given with the types of personalities who ended up in certain Ministry positions, so it wasn't unexpected. On rare occasion, they would get a member of whatever Ministry department felt obligated to send its members to Hy-Brasil who would decide to have more alcohol than they could handle, but there had been no major incidents. Yet.

Dreama shook her head, trying to keep Stella occupied as she and Fae conversed. "No," she said. "They've been alright." They hadn't been causing any trouble for her at work, at least. She didn't have to interact with them as, say, a Guardian or a tour guide, so she had that benefit. She also didn't resemble most of the Druids or sound like them, which might have kept her from experiencing anything problematic. "But they never send people with cultural awareness," she pointed out, almost wondering if that was intentional on the part of the Ministry.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

Gauging public perception of the Ministry was part of her duty, and she would eventually have to report it to the Council and then to the Ministry from there. The last thing she wanted was some sort of international debacle that pitted against the islanders against those on the mainland. She knew that things were tense because of how uneasy the lack of barrier made them all feel, but it was how it was going to be moving forward. There did not seem to be a fix for what they had lost, and even if she did find one, she didn’t know if that would be what Hy-Brasil needed anymore. Modernizing was really what the druids needed to do. That didn’t mean they had to toss their customs and beliefs away, but it did mean that they needed to be able to adapt to the world around them. How could they be in tune with a nature they didn’t actually have a full grasp on? She only realized that herself once she started spending more time on the mainland. It made sense why those that left didn’t want to come back. Everything the mainlanders had was leagues beyond the simple life that living on Hy-Brasil provided. She was here for the long haul, obviously, but in a different time and life, she probably would have left years ago.

At the same time, Hy-Brasil would always be the home of the druids and those that wanted to join them. Dreama was the perfect example of that. Her comment about the ‘cultural awareness’ – or lack thereof by the Ministry employers – made Fae smile. The first image that popped into her head was of James, unknowingly stomping loudly through the woods while she led him along. It did take some getting used to, and from how she saw things, he would eventually. ”I understand,” she responded. ”I have spoken to several of their leaders and explained that it would be easier if those sent here were the same each time. They need to know the island, after all, and having a new Auror every other week is not the most efficient way of protecting us.” The idea that Hy-Brasil and the druids even needed protection was laughable, though she also saw where the Ministry was coming from. They were an asset that safely houses vast quantities of magical flora and fauna. Who wouldn’t want to keep that safe? ”For now, we will have to make do with whomever they send. As annoying as that may be,” Fae added, before making her color change between blue and pink for Stella.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 436 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

With a smile, Fae told Dreama that she understood her point. She said that she had spoken to some of the leaders at the Ministry of Magic and explained to them the importance of having the same people sent to Hy-Brasil regularly. "They need to know the island, after all, and having a new Auror every other week is not the most efficient way of protecting us."

"Absolutely." Dreama smiled, agreeing with Fae wholeheartedly. She liked that idea a lot. It would be better for everyone if the Ministry workers who came to the island were the same few people, provided that they were respectful visitors to Hy-Brasil. Having familiar faces from the Ministry would be better for the people of Hy-Brasil, too. They would be able to develop more trusting relationships with the people who came from the Ministry, hopefully. If there were problems that needed to be addressed, it would be easier to get into communication with someone instead of hoping that the Ministry would care or even notice.

Although she wasn't a Druid by birth, she had adjusted to their way of life and didn't understand what was so difficult about it that some people from the Ministry—and even some paying tourists—thought they were above it.

"For now," continued Fae, "we will have to make do with whomever they send. As annoying as that may be." Fae changed the color of her hair again, switching it back from blue to pink.

"They will learn," Dreama commented. Her attention was focused on Stella, who was still fascinated by Fae's changing hair color. "You like her hair, don't you, Stellochka?" Maybe she could find her a doll that could be enchanted to do the same thing. It wouldn't be quite as fun as a real-life Metamorphmagus, though.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

Dreama was right. The mainlanders would learn. In the same way that she had taken her own time to get to understand London, Diagon Alley, and the Ministry a little better. There was no harm in admitting that the two cultures were relatively ignorant of one another. That came as a result of being secluded for so long. Hopeful cautiousness is what she called it in her mind sometimes. Because she knew that there were steps to maintain Hy-Brasil’s autonomy as it always had been while also utilizing as much of the mainland as they could get. Education, information, and security were all beneficial to the growth of the druids. Fae could see that. Some of her colleagues within the Council…not so much. Adaptation was important for their future though, and she had to keep the island’s present and future interests in mind. While they were out a magical barrier, she could always recant quite a bit of the travel process between the two places if her people so desired it.

”They will,” she agreed, while watching Stella, who was still focused on her hair. As expected. ”I am out of practice, but next time, I will remember how to change my nose for you too. I promise,” she grinned down at the little girl, rotating her hair to a bright green and her eyes to a matching color. The only trick with the facial changes was that she had to make sure she got everything back to the way she liked it. Because Merlin knew it was difficult if she was even a fraction off with the size and shape of an eye or a nostril.

”Do you have butterbeer in stock yet? I have been craving it since my last visit to the mainland,” Fae inquired. She knew the Flaming Wand was her only chance at having it on the island. The problem came with getting to it before the other druids drank the barrels dry. Who knew sugar was so addicting?

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 334 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

"I am out of practice, but next time, I will remember how to change my nose for you too. I promise," Fae assured Stella, accompanied by her changing both her hair and eye color to a bright green.

"She will start asking me why I can't change my appearance like that," Dreama laughed. It was almost a shame that Fae was so busy being the High Druid, because she would have made an excellent babysitter.

On a different note, Fae asked, "Do you have butterbeer in stock yet? I have been craving it since my last visit to the mainland."

"I'm not sure." Dreama shook her head. She hadn't heard anything about the Flaming Wand getting butterbeer in to sell. If Fae had made the request, though, there was a good chance that they would get it delivered. Being High Druid didn't make her a dictator, but Dreama didn't think that anyone would say no to her wanting to have another beverage option available on Hy-Brasil. There were families who made different varieties of alcohol for a living, though butterbeer wasn't similar enough to pose a threat to their livelihoods, and it was likely that the majority of the people who would be interested in drinking butterbeer would be those who had come from the mainland or who had more familiarity with it.

Anything that the tourists would drink would be good to have around, especially if it wouldn't get them to the point of drunken belligerence. "I will have to check," Dreama told Fae. She didn't run the Flaming Wand, so any decisions about butterbeer would be that of her boss. That didn't mean that she couldn't help Fae in acquiring butterbeer from the mainland on her own, though.

"I could import butterbeer for my wedding," Dreama then considered aloud. Personally, she much preferred the fresh, healthy food options that were readily available on Hy-Brasil to the less healthy snack foods and other options that were abundant in much of the rest of the world, but bringing butterbeer to the island for a special occasion wouldn't turn any Druid heads. It was true that, as a former professional athlete, she knew the importance of eating well and taking care of her body and mind so that she could perform at her best. At the same time, Dreama also knew that a serving or two of butterbeer wasn't going to hurt her.

Stella, on the other hand, was far too young to try the beverage, and Dreama didn't want her daughter to get accustomed to eating sweets constantly. Eventually, she would need to introduce those foods to her, but she wanted it to be in moderation.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

Fae had heard that it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for a normal witch or wizard to learn how to manually transfigure their appearance, though it required more than a simple thought like with her. She knew that being gifted with the ability was sort of a waste on her; to only change her hair color and occasionally her eyes if she was feeling something different. Fae had read fictional stories of metamorphmagi that used their power for sabotage and subterfuge, a far cry from what she did. But Merlin…those were exciting to read. Everything the mainland came up with happened to be that way for her. The unfortunate luck of being in her position meant she could never live there full time, while it also allowed her to visit much more frequently than the average druid could. ”I apologize then,” Fae said, trying not to laugh at Dreama’s situation. A never ending asking of ‘why?’ sounded cute though.

While Fae ultimately wanted to drink butterbeer at any chance she could get, she knew the reality of physically getting it to Hy-Brasil was difficult and expensive. If only they could brew it here. That would solve all of her problems in one go! Any excess they had could be sent to the mainland as a sort of alternative, more natural flavor. Didn’t the mainlanders like those sorts of things? Surely she had seen people talk about it on the television once or twice. ”I will absolutely help you with that, if you want,” she said immediately after Dreama mentioned importing the drink for her wedding. ”If the order comes from the High Druid, the brew master will no doubt send it here.” Her position was good for some things, after all. Imports and exports fell under her purview, though she typically handed it all off to the druids that had a better mind for business.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 316 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

Fae apologized for her Metamorphmagus abilities, though Dreama wasn't actually frustrated with her. She could control the ability, and it was a useful skill to have. In general, most Druids seemed to have a good grasp of Transfiguration as a subject of study. Fae was a Metamorphmagus rather than an Animagus because she had been born that way, but a far greater number of Druids were Animagi than their counterparts on the mainland, at least in Britain and Ireland.

Back on the subject of the mainland, Fae offered to help her with her importation of butterbeer. "If the order comes from the High Druid," she reasoned, "the brew master will no doubt send it here."

Dreama nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "That would work." It helped to have friends in high places, as the saying went. "We wouldn't need to import very much. The Flaming Wand could sell the extra," Dreama added. She wasn't planning on having the biggest wedding ever seen on Hy-Brasil, so they wouldn't need anything ridiculous. There was enough alcohol on the island anyway; butterbeer was just an added treat.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

”No, I think we should import quite a bit. I know many druids that enjoy it now that they have had a chance to travel to the mainland more frequently.” Namely herself. Fae’s obsession with it had only grown over the last few years, and if Dreama was going to have butterbeer at her wedding, Fae was going to make sure it happened. And then some. She had heard of some muggles getting champagne fountains for events. What if they did the same, but made it butterbeer? The unending flow of golden, butterscotch brilliance would be a sight to behold! She knew she could get it working with just a couple taps of Merlin’s staff too. They had a solid relationship now, and it seemed to understand everything that she requested of it.

”Are there any other requests you have? I know that the Council takes particular interest whenever a mainlander joins, so I would like to make sure the full transition is as smooth as possible.” She was really only talking about some of the oldest members, who had been on and off the Council for decades now. They were stuffy and boring, always talking about tradition. If not for the destruction of the barrier, they would have continued with their strict immigration policy. Only allowing those every so often to enter had been annoying. Fae had always told them as much too, both when she’d been a tour guide for the island, and then also once she became High Druid.

Dreama never would have been an issue though, even in the before times. Having Stella obviously increased her chances drastically, as no druid would want to separate a family. So Dreama had that going for her too. ”Anything from the mainland, perhaps?” Fae offered as well. Butterbeer would be easy enough, and she’d make sure of that, but she also knew that something from home always went a long way too. She could guarantee almost anything at this point with her position.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 334

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Late April 2028

"No, I think we should import quite a bit," Fae responded about the ideal quantity of butterbeer to import from the mainland. If Fae was for it, Dreama wasn't going to disagree. Not all of it needed to be for the wedding, and Fae knew the people's tastes on Hy-Brasil better to know that a greater amount of butterbeer wouldn't be wasted. In fact, the High Druid stated that she knew that a lot of Druids had come to like the beverage due to traveling to the mainland.

"That's good, then." Dreama nodded thoughtfully. Importing butterbeer might also keep people from leaving Hy-Brasil unnecessarily, too. She knew that the younger generations' interest in the mainland was a concern for many of the older Druids, especially. It wouldn't be as much of an imposition as some of the Muggle technology that had come into use on the mainland, for example, and Dreama couldn't picture butterbeer becoming more popular on Hy-Brasil than the Druid-made wines that drew people from all over to the island.

"Are there any other requests you have? I know that the Council takes particular interest whenever a mainlander joins, so I would like to make sure the full transition is as smooth as possible."

While she appreciated Fae's consideration, on thinking it over, Dreama couldn't come up with anything in particular.

"Anything from the mainland, perhaps?"

"No, I don't think so," she answered gently. Anything imported all the way from Russia would be too much to ask. "Cian and I are hoping to have a traditional Druid wedding. But nothing big, really." She wouldn't have minded seeing some of her former teammates in attendance if they really wanted to come, but she didn't want her family there; she knew that for certain. She had her family now—Cian and Stella.

fae iona cloudbreaker