Second Heartbeat [Sadhbh]

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

With her duties for Samhain completed for the night and feeling like she adequately socialized enough with the people, Fae decided that it was time to retire for the night. There were a few more things to do in the morning, before sunrise, and her participation in any of the late evening activities were sure to make her late for what came tomorrow. She had learned her lesson after her first Samhain as Head Druid, and the Council had been less than pleased with her. In her defense, she had only been in the position for a few months and was still trying to figure out the line where her life as a normal, unassuming druid and the head of their entire culture was drawn. The frivolities of her old life were long gone, and while she was sure there were plenty of her people that would have loved if she decided to join in, this year was definitely not the year for that.

As far as she was aware, the rituals had gone well, considering the month Hy-Brasil had just gone through, and the Council agreed with her that everything seemed the same as always. All they were lacking was a fully functioning magical barrier still. The replacement she had helped build was far from being the perfect wall of magic that Merlin’s staff had granted for centuries, but she also wasn’t Merlin, despite carrying his magical conduit around with her everywhere. There had yet to be any indication of how to repair or reform the barrier even with experts from all over trying to figure it out. As far as she was concerned, and while certainly it was negative to think this way, Hy-Brasil would most likely be moving forward like it currently was. Wishful thinking and research could only do so much, and if they couldn’t recreate the spell that the staff had controlled, then there was no reason to get hung up on it. Either it would happen, or it would not. Trying to flip back to normalcy was difficult, she knew that better than anyone else, but they needed to do it. So with Samhain working as it should, she was pleased. Exhausted, of course, but happy that things went the way they were supposed to.

Saying her farewells to the Council members nearby and her parents, Fae circled around the largest of the bonfires on the island, stopping every so often to talk to anyone that wanted to. Eventually she would make it home, but this was the exact reason for leaving earlier than most. After at least an hour of small discussions here and there, and respectfully declining any inhibitors that her people tended to enjoy during the festivities, Fae felt like she was finally in the clear. Heading towards a path through the woods that would lead home, she heard her name called from somewhere behind her.

sadhbh wormwood ● 485 ● Pretty Great by Fickle Friends

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[sadhbh wormwood]

Firmly in a state of mushroom-induced euphoria, Sadhbh had been enjoying the Samhain festivities as though nothing at all had changed on Hy-Brasil. It was late enough, but the night had only just begun and was likely to continue on for hours. It wasn't typically easy to leave a Druid gathering. Saying goodbye—if only for the night—took a long time in itself; that was probably why people tended to stick around long after they probably should have returned to their homes to sleep.

One person whom Sadhbh hadn't expected would leave the celebrations so soon was Fae, their current High Druid. If anyone needed to be there, she did, but Sadhbh wouldn't have noticed that she had slipped away from the crowds if she hadn't overheard some of the others who had mentioned it. Fae had finished her duties and left, and Sadhbh hadn't had the opportunity to wish her a blessed Samhain.

Fae wasn't anywhere nearby, so Sadhbh continued wandering around the Foxtail Grounds in the Wildwood. There was no sign of Fae there, so she made her way out of the forest and started on the path towards Boudicca's Grace. Only then did she see the shape of a human figure, who must have been Fae. Sadhbh called after her as she continued along the path, trying not to get distracted by the ways in which everything seemed to sway around her in the dark.

"Fae!" Sadhbh spoke out as she readjusted the crown of leaves that Fiona had made for her, not even realizing that she was completely barefoot as she reached the High Druid. Her affect was positively carefree—and definitely intoxicated—as she spoke in their native Brasilic. "I didn't realize you were leaving."

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

At the sound of her name being called, the High Druid stopped walking and straightened her shoulders up from the slouch they had started to go into as she made her escape. Apparently it wasn’t time to decompress yet and her official duties had yet to end. Somewhere in the back of her head, she knew that this was going to happen. With the amount of people that had stopped her on her way out, there was bound to be someone seeing her try to slink off into the woods. She was far from being the stealthiest druid on the island, and the Samhain outfit she was required to wear definitely stuck out amongst the rest of the community. For once, she was thankful her metamorphmagus had been asleep, because her typically vibrant hair was always what got her caught in her attempts to retreat home. She let out a deep sigh before putting an even smile back on her face, and then turned around to face her caller.

It was Sadhbh, who was happily walking towards her while trying to fix what looked to be a flower crown. “Evening,” Fae responded. So she had been found out already. It wasn’t like she had been particularly quiet around the Council members when addressing her leave, but she didn’t think it would have traveled this fast. The reason she made her way around the fire was to make it look like she was interacting with the community, before making her hasty escape. But apparently Sadhbh, in whatever state she was currently in, had been the first one to really notice. “Unfortunately I have to be up in only a few hours to complete more rituals before sunrise,” she said honestly, looking over the other woman’s shoulder at some sort of dance that had broken out around the bonfire. “Even though it’s been a few years, some of the Council grew accustomed to the early nights of my predecessor.” That made it sound like she was bending to their will. In a way, she sort of was, but it was also of her own volition.

sadhbh wormwood ● 353 ● Glitter & Gloss by Skott

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[sadhbh wormwood]

It was because she needed to wake up in a few hours' time, said Fae, that she was leaving the celebrations. She had more rituals to do before sunrise, and the Council had gotten used to the previous High Druid's early nights. The rituals were important to Sadhbh, too, but had Fae really had to leave so soon? Staying awake until the sun rose didn't sound so bad, really.

Sadhbh frowned a little at the explanation. She hated to think that Fae was already so tired. It made her sad for her, but she was certain that she knew how she could improve Fae's night. "Would you like some wine?" she offered her. She understood if Fae didn't want to anger the gods, but she didn't think that they would find any fault with that. "You must take a bottle with you!" she insisted with a smile.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

Even in the darkened, flickering light of the nearby bonfire, Fae could tell that her answer was not going to be sufficient enough for Sadhbh. She was sure that there were plenty amongst the community that felt the same way. They probably wanted more energy out of their young leader, and while she also wanted that, there were still more important things that she needed to take care of now. Responsibility wasn’t nearly as fun as it seemed when she was younger and wanted more of it, but this was how things had to be.

Sadhbh offered her wine, a whole bottle of it, and Fae wavered in place. Admittedly, it was excellent wine. While she didn’t typically drink it outside of ceremonial purposes, mainland customs told her that it was quite common to have a bottle on hand in your home, in case guests wanted some. There were probably druids that partook in this sort of thing regularly, but as far as she knew, her family never had. The Cloudbreakers were a little different, after all. Helping take care of and raising the local griffin herd on top of their farm wasn’t as illustrious as being a winemaker or one of the craftsmen in town.

“I-” She stopped, before even starting to decline the offer. It wasn’t very High Druid-y of her to turn down wine from a neighbor. Even if she wasn’t going to drink it, accepting the gift was better than her other option. “I would love to take one with me. Thank you,” Fae smiled. She made sure to word it in a way that would at least give her an out still. It was unclear if Sadhbh had the bottle on her person, or if it was elsewhere. Regardless, once she got the bottle, she was going to try and make another attempt to leave. The longer she stayed around the bonfire, the more likely she was to get sucked right back into everything.

sadhbh wormwood ● 329 ● Poison In My Veins by Ira Wolf

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[sadhbh wormwood]

"I—" Fae started to speak and then stopped. "I would love to take one with me. Thank you," she agreed, smiling.

"Alright," Sadhbh replied joyfully, still speaking in their native Brasilic. "I'll summon you a bottle." And in no time at all, she had done just that, summoning a bottle of a fine white wine grown by her family, which she held tightly by its neck as it reached her. She then put both hands around it and presented it more properly to Fae.

Sadhbh nodded her head in a little bow in place of a curtsy.

"You don't have to repay me for this," Sadhbh emphasized. There was no obligation on Fae's part to provide her with anything else in return for it. She did enough for all of them as their High Druid; Sadhbh didn't expect Fae to trade something of hers, nor did she want her to. "It's a gift. Really!"

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

Fae had wrongly assumed that Sadhbh would have to leave to retrieve the bottle of wine. That was really the only way that made sense. But the woman instead summoned it to her hands, and it zoomed out from the cover of darkness as it reached the caller. It was quite the impressive feat, and not the kind of magic Fae typically found herself casting. Her style was more…relaxed. She preferred walking to retrieve objects, instead of calling them to her like some were prone to do. It was more about the experience of the action, and how she managed to get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’. And when everything around her was natural, why wouldn’t she want to be able to take in the in-between?

As Sadhbh turned the bottle in her hands and held it out to Fae, the High Druid graciously accepted it, giving it a once over before realizing that she couldn’t see the contents of the bottle in the dark. She knew Wormwood wine though, and it was certainly going to be of exceptional quality and make. The only problem she had was when she supposed to find the time to drink it? Sadhbh would probably be looking for Fae’s thoughts on it the next time they interacted, which could be as soon as a few days from now, or at the very least, the next cultural ritual. She wasn’t exactly a wine drinker, typically only partaking when it was required. The taste was always too bitter for her, and she had yet to find a flavor that mixed well with her taste buds.

“Thank you,” Fae repeated, her hands already starting to tire from gripping the wine bottle. She was going to have to carry it all the way home now. But turning it down would have been worse than dealing with sore hands for a little while. “How has your Samhain been so far?” she added, knowing that this was only going to delay her journey home. It was better to converse and then leave, than trying to run though.

sadhbh wormwood ● 348 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[sadhbh wormwood]

October 31, 2025

Fae thanked her for the wine, which was, of course, Sadhbh's pleasure. If their High Druid didn't enjoy the wine, then what good was it, really? (Well, apart from giving as offerings to the gods, which was still highly important…) Sadhbh was perfectly content, and she beamed to Fae. It was some of her family's finest. "You're welcome," she replied.

"How has your Samhain been so far?"

That her brain was scattered because she was in an intoxicated state notwithstanding, there wasn't just one word to sum up how her Samhain had been, but Sadhbh would certainly try. "Wonderful!" It was such a nice distraction from all of the trouble that they had been put through. The mushrooms were especially good, or maybe it had just been a while since she'd had them. "I'm sorry you're leaving so soon," she frowned. If anyone deserved to have a night of celebration for once, it was Fae. "I hope you enjoyed yourself, though!"

fae iona cloudbreaker
OOC: Maybe one more on your end and then we can call this done?

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

▲

The intoxicated, content glaze that Sadhbh had on her face told the high druid all she needed to know when it came to accepting the gift. While it was certainly a gracious offering, she didn’t want a precedent to be set for every festival or ritual that was held. Fae knew that her people wouldn’t consider it bribery, but she was modest enough when it came to material possessions that she would certainly feel like it was. That entire thought process could be pinned completely on her dealings with the Ministry over the last month, and she disliked it immensely that their negative outlook on life was starting to rub itself off on her. Every now and again wasn’t bad, like Sadhbh’s bottle of wine, but any more and she would be looking down a line of druids trying to give her samples of their food or goods.

Everyone had different experiences with Samhain, and Fae’s (since she became high druid) varied from year to year. Unfortunately this one wasn’t nearly as entertaining as past ones had been, and she felt that had something to do with the current situation. She didn’t think it was right to gloss over everything and continue as usual. But there were traditions she still needed to follow. Unless she received a vision or a sign from a ritual that she needed to do a specific task to fix all of this, her efforts were better used trying to find a solution to the barrier.

But at least some of the community were enjoying themselves. “I will ask for the sun to give me more time next year. Maybe then I could stay longer." She joked as she started backing away from Sadhbh, in the direction of the path that led home, sliding the bottle of wine into her satchel that hung on her side. “Thank you again for this wine. Have a splendid rest of your night.” Fae nodded at the winemaker, and then finally turned and started to speedily walk away from the ritual grounds. She ignored a few calls of her name off in the distance, knowing she’d be trapped for much longer by sober individuals.

[THE END]

sadhbh wormwood ● 364 ● Overkill by Holly Humberstone

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0