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As dawn broke through the clouds, it crept through the windows of Caelum’s nest. The sun shone far too brightly on her face for her to stay asleep. Not that Caelum were asleep anyway, since the simple mat and cushions didn't make for a restful bed.
She rose, and crossed to the other side of her nest to fetch a pot half filled with water. Getting the fire sigils from the fire prophet was a smart investment they mused as they slowly heated up the water. They might not have had any sink, but this worked for now.
After a light scrub down, they changed into their unofficial uniform. First, the outfit that Frantic Stagehand had gifted them, with its lovely soft boots. Next they shook out their black cape, made of durable material gifted when they helped out the Stretching Lamplighter. She thought for a bit about hair options, but just swept it into a ponytail. Finally, the mask. They carefully clipped the normal one on. That would do.
Blowing out the candles, they left, grabbing their harp as they did.
Caelum stepped out into the hustle and bustle of Aviary village and internally cringed. Since the announcement of the cafe opening, and the balancing of the realm magic, more people had flocked here than before. They slipped over to the home portal and sat down, letting the light wash over them.
Breathing in the peace and quiet, she waved to the sleepy traveler waiting by his boat. Then she leaned forward and tapped the glowing sigil on the shrine. The four balls sprung out of it. A wax gathering quest, a request to spend some time at the bloom tree in Hidden forest, Candles needed lighting, and a spirit wanted to relive memories. Fairly easy enough, all things considered, she thought.
Before leaving, they looked up at their constellations. They sent light to four stars, and accepted a heart sent in response from Apoja. Lighting the candles around the closet and pond elicited the chime of the candle quest completed. She tapped the pulsing sigil on the shrine and a candle appeared. She accepted, tucking it into her pouch. With that done, they stepped into the portal to Hidden Forest.
The softness of Hidden Forest’s sounds washed over them. If she focused she could hear the familiar tune of the realm’s magic. As she moved towards the gate edge she nodded a greeting to the spirits’ gravestones. Balancing on the edge, she breathed in and dropped; her cape expanding behind her as she took flight. Tracing the usual peaks and valleys of the air currents let her quickly descend to the forest floor. She narrowly avoided crashing face first into the stone gate and dusted herself off, heading to the left to reach the bloom tree. One of the Assembly scouts was there today, practicing marching.
Sitting down by the tree, she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She continued with the meditating till she heard a chime, indicating the fulfillment of the task. Standing up she gave the Assembly scout a hug and set off for the main gate.
Someone had already been through so she followed through the open gate and burnt some of the darkness in the courtyard. Stepping to the stairs she released a deep call asking the butterflies to carry her; they did and she spiraled up and over the other gate with her light refreshed.
Landing on the forest floor, she winced as the drops of rain pattered against her head. She ran to the large tree roots on the other side. Darkness was growing there and she burnt it, eliciting another ‘complete’ chime. She skipped through, dodging the rain as she zigzagged between cover. Gathering her light, she flapped up just enough to clear the gate and slip in between the boundary wards. She landed in the area of the forest where a little brook ran though.
Caelum ran to the nearest lightbloom to avoid the rain. The manta’s cries accompanied her as she dashed through to the little patio near the entrance to the forest clearing. Checking the candles revealed one message from Apoja which she sent good feelings for. She slipped down to the brook on the forest floor and trekked to the little hole blocked by darkness. As she burnt the darkness, which crackled and popped, she heard the tell tale shaking of a crab. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to dodge and she was knocked flat on her back. Quickly she let out a deep call to knock them over, and heard the three successful clatters. Standing up, she winced, rubbing her shoulders as she stepped out of the rain and into the little cave. Getting hit by a crab wasn't fatal usually, but it wasn't like it was fun either.
She made her way through to the second chamber, boots sloshing the water on the floor. Breathing out slowly, she touched her candle to the body of Hide and Seek pioneer. The spirit blinked into existence, smiled and ran off to play. Caelum tracked them through hidden Forest until they found the darkness covered body. She raised her candle and the spirit broke free of their body. A chime sounded, indicating that another task was complete.
She looked up at the sky, squinting as she did so. It seemed like she had enough time to go to Grandma's, so she doubled back and headed there. Summoning her candle, she held it to the spirit gate, waiting till it stretched thin enough for her to squeeze through.
Caelum entered the elevated clearing, and made her way to the table of Belonging. Several other skykids were there and she greeted them in a chorus of chirps. She'd gotten there just in time, as Grandma Belonging rang her bell to indicate the feast had started. This feast was special; most of the food wasn't normal food, but instead carefully crafted out of wax. She worked with the other skykids to carefully burn the marked bread to convert it into wax. She'd use the wax to trade for food at the markets later and to fill her candle maker. Eventually, all the wax bread was burnt, and the fresh course of normal bread appeared. Grandma's bread was the best she thought, breathing in the scents of Forest fruit and Isle spices. Stomach full, she gave grandma a hug and found a spot to send herself home. Going home required concentrating on the connection to the home shrine and constellation table.
Once home, she tapped the glowing sigil on the home shrine and received her candle reward. Her day wasn't over however, as she still had shifts at the village theater waiting for her. A job like hers was a bit of a rarity. Most skykids helped with the Ancestors’ quests, but then spent their time living in the realms. Many liked to explore, often documenting their travels; some spent their time composing music; hanging out with others was also popular; some became merchants, selling their wares to other kids. Yet more spent their time designing outfits and spaces. However, she worked backstage, helping with scene changes and maintaining the theater.
Conscious of the time, she stepped into the Valley portal. She landed on the snowy slopes of the social area, and went to go light the treasure candle near the top of the big slope. Then she skipped to the spirit gate set into the rock. As she pushed through, she carefully set her feet for balance on the slippery ice. She bent forward and slid down, picking up speed.
Caelum shot out onto the small ice rink in the Village of Dreams, and turned rapidly to stop herself crashing into the fishing rods. Due to this, she tumbled into a snowbank. Dusting herself off, she headed for the treasure candle located near the boat station. Once she reached it, she found it had already been lit, so she collected the wax. Gathering her light, she angled her body in the direction of the hot spring and took flight. Drained, she landed and waded into the soothing water to light the treasure candle. After she collected it's wax, she went down the mountain to reach the small ice rink with the fishing rods. She checked them, but only found driftwood, a bucket, and a jellyfish, the latter of which she set free. Finally, Caelum headed for the village theater entrance.
When she arrived, she greeted Performance, who waved back as they talked to Stagehand. Caelum got to work, collecting the flowers from the last performance and shaking the wax out. She set them in a neat pile on a shelf inside and went to go see the note wall.
Performance’s spirally writing instructed that tonight's play was a comedic musical set in the Vault. Stagehand’s neat print listed the lighting, stage, and scene arrangements. Calling over Storyteller, they set the background, and moved the stone blocks into position. Stagehand came in to check their work, and nodded in satisfaction. They set Caelum on emote prompts, so she went and dug up the required prompt cards. These cards had a bit of magic in them that allowed everyone to use the emote temporarily, even if they didn't know it. That way, no one felt left out. The prompt cards were slotted in, so all that was left to do was to wait while Performance gave one last pep talk to the crew. The spirits and skykids settled onto the wooden benches outside and the curtain rose to applause.
Caelum was focused on her task, carefully going between the emotes as her script notes dictated. As the curtain descended, she held the applause emote till all the encores had finished. Slowly, she let the lever slide back up. Caelum carefully jumped down, and went outside for the post show meeting. After congratulating the cast on the success of the show, she offered to finish tidying up the theater so they could leave early for the celebrations. They thanked her for offering, and as after gathering their things and changing out of costume, they left through the back entrance of Harmony Hall.
Caelum went back inside and started to reset the theater. First she turned off the stage lights and used the levers to move the blocks back in place. Then she walked along the beams to reach the background sets and pulled the levers to turn it into the default black one. Finally, she turned off the backstage lights.
By this time, it was dark outside, and many houses had gone to sleep. However, Caelum didn't leave yet. When she was sure no-one was coming back till the next morning, she made her way to the little hidey hole under the effects lever. In here, she stored snacks for intermission breaks and also her most precious possession. Her book of scripts she had written herself. Tonight, she turned to the poem about the lost Vault child. Standing on the stage, she acted it out from memory. By the time she finished, and put her script back, it was pitch black outside. She gathered her connection to Home and the constellation table and left.
As she stood on the constellation table, she contemplated staying there. It was a comfortable night, and there were decent spots she could curl up in.
However, she promised Tea-brewer that she'd have breakfast with them. It would be easier to get there if she went back to her nest. So, she waded through the water to reach the portal gate to Aviary village.
The soft sounds of the village at night washed over her as she breathed in the cool air. Yawning, Caelum made her way over the little bridge to the nest block. She pulled the lever for her nest and rode the elevator through the portal space. As she stepped off, she lit the lamp outside on the stone floor to signify that she was home. Inside, she stored her clothes into the closet drawers that came with the nest. Caelum changed into her sleepwear and combed out her hair, neatly rolling the loose strands into a ball to be dealt with later.
She grabbed her heart plush and lay down on the mat and cushions that made up her bed. Within minutes Caelum had fallen asleep, drifting into dreams. As the tower of Aviary softly chimed midnight, her day was complete, and she softly smiled in sleep as her light refreshed.