Another night in Santalicia, Ittindi was very happy he had decided to stay here. After the other night with his new acquaintance Tōga, Ittindi had managed to remove the stains from his suit. So, he cleaned and pressed it, before putting it on for the festivities today. Going to one of the stands, he found the cleanest of the bunch. That was the thing about true cleanliness, people would try to use new to replace the hard labor of maintaining. Ittindi found a stand that fit this description, he could see the years of labor, of real cleaning put into maintain their stand. It wasn’t the same white as a new stand, but it had a vanilla of labor. Ittindi would approach talking to the cute older lady who he’d ask to paint the easiest decoration on his whole face. He’d tip 100% feeling generous with the hospitality of the country, his savings were for things on the horizon, he could still spend here and there. After being dolled up as it was, Ittindi would randomly stroll through the town, he had found the best things that way. He preferred traveling by himself for that reason, it was so easy to go out and get lost in the culture with others their were boundaries that needed to be respected. Ittindi would rather have the experience, but then again he always felt safe with his magic at his side.

It was during his wanderings that he saw the crowd surrounding a magical creature. From far away Ittindi couldn’t be sure, but he was pretty sure it was a fabled fairy. Normally Ittindi wouldn’t be drawn in by such fake special effects, but he had to know if there was anything to the guilds name. Ever since he was a child he had heard passerby’s talk about the guild Fairy Tail, and ever since the first time he wondered…do fairy’s have tails? So Ittindi was working his way through the crowd as people in a variety of languages regaled tales to the fairy. By the time Ittindi had worked his way to the front the fairy was speaking again. Ittindi had no problem understanding, wondering if it was some kind of fairy magic as the whole crowd seemed to understand implicitly. She wanted something from the land of fairies, luckily Ittindi had learned the location while in Era. His mind instantly went to food, a dish he prepared from Caelum it was called cottage pie. He hoped that he could cook a great enough dish for a fairy, and it would only take an hour or so.

Running back through the crowd proved to be much easier than running into, as he made it back to the Rune Knights Council embassy barracks in no time. Once there he’d check the community fridge to see that it was mostly empty, he’d need to go grab some ingredients. Moving from any open grocers through the city, Ittindi managed to acquire all the ingredients he needed for a cottage pie, as well as a pie container to place in the oven. It was a fairly simple dish with the main ingredients being potatoes, carrots, peas, small chunks of celery and beef. All said and done it took him around 2 and a half hours to finish making the cottage pie he’d present to the fairy. Putting a cloth on it folding it over once to place some utensils, Ittindi would move swiftly through the night.

There was still a large crowd around the fairy, but now there was an easier path to present a gift to her. It seemed not many people knew where fairies came from, whether Ittindi’s gift would be acceptable was still yet to be seen. Moving to the front, Ittindi would wait his turn until he was in front of Esperia. Her wings were beautiful, and her childlike demeanor made Ittindi a believer that this was a true fairy. There was no way he’d dare a glance to see if she had a tail. Stammering at first he’d get out his presentation as he showed her his cottage pie.

”Greetings Lady Fairy, I have brought you from your homeland cottage pie. I figured that for me the hardest part of being away from home is the food. I love trying new food, but sometimes a taste of food from home can bring a tear to my eye no matter what country I’m in. Home is home, I hope that I’ve captured some of that in my dish Lady Fairy.”

While Ittindi was no master chef he had cooked quite often in his butlery duties. Cottage pie was a simple enough recipe and one that he had tricked more than one child and adult to a healthier diet with. It was one of the staple meals he made, he had been complimented on it before the trick was creating a flavor like Caelum’s Worchester sauce seasoning. It was a hard flavor to describe, but Ittindi had the real thing enough times to make a decent substitute. The other hard choice was the crust, Ittindi took a risk if the Lady Fairy would enjoy her dish with a crisp pie crust golden brown. Ittindi had learned the trick to this was mixing a decent amount of cheese shredded into the top potato layer that would turn to crust in the oven. Some enjoyed their pie crust lighter or even close too burnt, tastes were weird like that.

WC: 914

Knuckles noticed a large crowd had formed, moving to see what it was about he swore on Odin's beard as he looked at a fey, one of the creatures of his religion. He knew at once what he must do. Rushing back to his camp he gathered the needed ingredients.

Knuckles Shi, a man of contrasting interests and talents, carefully sets about preparing an ancient Norse ritual. He lays out meticulously procured items on a hand-woven mat: an array of rune stones, an intricately carved drinking horn, and a small statue of Freyja — the Norse goddess associated with love, beauty, and, fittingly, fairies. With a deep breath, he begins to chant, his voice echoing the cadence of Old Norse language. His goal is to create a bridge between our world and the realm of the fairies, using this time-honored ritual as his guide.
The primary purpose of the ritual Knuckles Shi is performing is to establish a channel of communication with the fey creature. In Norse mythology, such ceremonies were believed to open doors to alternate dimensions, allowing interactions with mystical entities. The ritual, rooted in reverence and respect for the goddess Freyja, aims to seek her guidance and protection in this endeavor. Beyond mere communication, it also serves to demonstrate honor and recognition of the fey creature, recognizing its role in the complex web of Norse spiritual beliefs. By connecting with the fey, Knuckles hopes to gain wisdom, insight, and perhaps even a touch of the fey's renowned magic.
Freyja holds a position of prominence within Norse mythology as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, but her influence extends far beyond these realms. She is also associated with war, death, and wealth, reflecting the multifaceted nature of her character. Freyja is known to be the leader of the Valkyries, who decide the fate of warriors in battle, and those who die bravely are taken to her heavenly dwelling, known as Folkvangr. This duality of her persona — a symbol of life-giving love and beauty, coupled with association with death — presents her as a complex and highly significant deity. Furthermore, her link with magic and the otherworldly beings like the fey highlights her importance in rituals like the one Knuckles is performing. In this context, invoking Freyja is not only an act of respect but also a strategic move, hoping to leverage her connections with the mystical realm for a successful interaction with the fey.

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