Three Twisted Knots

From Lira:

I really mean that. So far, only one of the places I’ve visited has felt like it could become home, and I can’t seem to get back to my original home (that little sojourn with the sky pirate notwithstanding). That was the Island of Callisto, where I met a really nice lady called Dinah and I got my first coffee for free because I rode the teacup ride eighteen times. Miss Dinah teaches at an Academy that teaches magic! I wrote her a letter.

So here I am with the teacup ride. My owl, Uggla (Uggla means owl in Swedish), did not want to be in this picture because he did not like the teacup ride as much as I did. He said it made him sick and he refused to go with me the next day because I said I wanted to ride it more than eighteen times on the second day.

Anyway, Miss Dinah wrote me back, but I’ll try to put everything in time order (insomuch as there is such a thing as time), so I’ll leave that for a bit.

I found a place to sleep near the fairgrounds after Uggla finished his evening hunting, but that’s not where I woke up.

I woke up in such a soft bed, in a beautiful room, and there was a little note on my pillow addressed to Dear Guest.

Dear Guest, it said. Welcome to your home in the aether. We hope you will enjoy the experience and keep this place as your place for as long as you like. Please try the coffee.

It went on to describe several kinds of nightlife I could experience, including a list of bars where I could get drinks that probably are not very good for me.

But the thing I was focused on immediately when I woke up, was the bathtub.

The tub was set right next to—I mean, it wasn’t exactly a window, because there was no glass. It was more sort of an archway. But it was made so I could look out onto the endless starry landscape. And the water was hot, and the bubbles were nice.

After that, I combed out my fringe and ponytail, and I chilled on the couch for a little while.

You know, there’s something surreal about somehow being able to travel to so many places. I’m sure HFM didn’t mean to create me with this ability: I suspect it sort of bled over (bled like laundry, not bled like blood) because she of course has this ability herself.

Some things have changed. I said that although the horns I woke up in were beautiful, I would like smaller ones. So, when I fell into Callisto, I found my horns were smaller. And then of course there is Uggla. Uggla is a snowy owl. Owls are meant to be very smart if you look at the folklore, but Uggla himself is not very smart at all. In fact, he is demonstrably dim. I hope one day I can meet an owl who is actually wise, but Uggla seems to have attached himself to me for now, and I am enjoying his friendship.

Some of the folk I met in Callisto seemed to find me, hm. I mean, I was very excited because there were many folk around and I had not seen many folk at all, except for Lunaria, and thinking about her makes my stomach go funny, so. I guess I was a little talkative. And I couldn’t stop moving. It was just so exciting to be around other folk again. They all seem to interact with one another seamlessly. I mean, maybe they have just known each other forever; I guess that’s possible. But even when they were talking to me, everything just seemed so smooth. And they were all beautiful.

About this time, Uggla came in to land on his perch; he’d been out hunting, I’m sure. So I figured I’d ask him.

‘Am I beautiful, Uggla’? I asked.

‘Not enough feathers’, he said.

I laughed. ‘Well, obviously. I’m not an owl like you. I’m a chimerical librarian’.

‘Would still be nicer with feathers’, he said.

I felt my eyes go up to the top of my eyelids. I have learned recently that this is called “rolling one’s eyes”; additionally there is an old Internet joke that requires someone in your conversation to reply that they roll them back to you if you describe yourself as having rolled your eyes. I don’t think it’s mandatory, but apparently it happens a lot.

Just then, a sweet voice came, softly so as not to startle, out of nowhere.

Dear Guest, it said. If you are concerned about your appearance, please avail yourself of your own personal magic mirror. It’s in the vanity in your room. We also provide a number of upscale cosmetic products from Hexumbra for your use. We hope you enjoy this detail.

How nice! ‘Thank you, Disembodied Voice’, I said. ‘I will check that out’. Uggla made a worried chirrup-hoot. I am not sure he realises that I am every bit as magic as a disembodied voice or a magic mirror. He goes on sometimes about how he distrusts magic of any kind.

And it did seem to be a magic mirror, because it made my face much bigger than it usually appears in mirrors. And it seemed to show only two views: either my side view, like this, or a full on front face view. I was quite sure the magic mirrors were much nicer in Awenia, but I did not say anything about that. I didn’t want the disembodied voice to dislike me.

But I had to agree, the cosmetics were very nice. I think Queen Gwyneth uses this brand, as well. I played with them for a little while until I had a look I liked.

‘So what shall we do for the rest of our… hm’. It was impossible to tell what time of day it was: the night sky hadn’t changed since I’d awakened. ‘Our day? Our evening? I have no idea what time of day it is, Uggla’.

‘Dark now’, said Uggla. ‘Night’.

Dear Guest, said the disembodied voice, The current time is almost eighteen hundred hours, or if you prefer the old world twelve hour clock, nearly six pm. Would you like a seasonal latte?

‘Thank you, Disembodied Voice’, I replied. ‘And of course— I enjoy coffee’.

So I settled into the other couch (there were two!), and the Disembodied voice announced a few seconds later that it was delivering a seasonal latte to me.

I decided to look over Miss Dinah’s letter to me whilst I enjoyed my seasonal latte. I am not sure what the taste was, but it was quite sweet, and it was orange-coloured, so I assumed it was autumn here, as it had been in Callisto.

Miss Dinah said I should write another letter to someone else at her Academy, if I was interested in the technological side of magic, so I resolved to do that. But maybe later. ‘Uggla’, I asked, ‘would you like to go out with me in a little while? We could see the sights’.

‘No teacup rides’, he said.

I laughed. ‘I doubt very much there is a teacup ride here’, I replied. ‘And anyway, I think I am more interested in food. My note did say there were “a variety of restaurants, from fine dining to greasy spoon, offering the best and tastiest fare anywhere in the multiverse”. So what do you say; shall we be adventurous’?

‘Adventure good’, Uggla replied. I really must teach him some verbs.

I like the way this turned out. I hope I can find Hexumbra cosmetics somewhere on the Island of Callisto.

Then, Uggla and I set out for more adventures, because adventure apparently good. I resolved to write my letter to — oh, I’ve blanked on his name — that other teacher, or instructor, or professor, or whatever they call them, when we got back from our evening.

I like this place. I want to come back here again and again. Does that mean it’s like home? Needs more research.

Notes & Credits:

Items from My Lovely Sponsors (or gifted to me by delightful friends):

• Lira’s Skin: Enlight, Gab. Gab was featured at the last Uber event, which has now closed, but you should be able to pick it up at the Enlight Main Store very soon.
• Lira’s Hair: Analog Dog (natch!), Vira. It’s available at the Analog Dog Main Store.
• Eyeshadow: Hexumbra, Lincoln Eye Makeup. It’s available at the Hexumbra Main Store.
• Lipstick: Hexumbra, Robin Lip. It’s available at the Hexumbra Main Store.
• Chest Tat: Hexumbra, Critical Heart Tattoo. It’s available at the Hexumbra Main Store.
• Lira’s Horns: Rivendale, Dainty Horns. Pick them up at the Rivendale Main Store.
• Lira’s Clothes: Jangka, Aela. Includes outfit, armbands, and boots. Available at Enchantment’s Siren Song.
• Uggla the Snowy Owl: CKit Falconry, Snowy Owl Magical Pet Companion. It’s available at the CKit Falconry Store.

Other Fancy Stuff:

• Lira’s Glasses: Wednesday, Half Moon Glasses
• Lira’s Ears: Petrichor, Kefiira ears
• Lira’s Jewellery: Random Matter, Caithe choker and earrings.
• Lira’s Ring: Kunglers, Phoebe Ring
• Lira is styled on a Legacy body with a Lelutka EvoX Prim mesh head.

Environment And Poses:

• The Magical Celestial Possibly A Hotel Room: K&S, Celestial Citadel. (Seriously, y’all, Lira legit lives here now and I am referring to it as her Fortress of Solitude.)
• Bathtub: Thor, MoonChild Bath Tub
• Vanity and Clutter: Thor, Bellatrix Vanity
• Couches: Thor, Celestial Sofa
• Uggla’s Perch: CKit Falconry, Ring Perch
• Seasonal Latte: ChicChica, Pumpkin Mocha
• Tarot Book: Tia, Wizardry Books, Understanding Tarot
• All poses in this post are from Be My Mannequin? poses, except the first (teacup) photo, which is from An Lar