#nitebright

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

Now I can't stop thinking about wings. Do his have nerves and nerve endings in them? If there are, are they tightly packed or more widespread and separated? Would certain parts be numb to pain, or more specifically, if you knew the wing anatomy and where all the nerve endings are, could you pin silvers wings down with pins and have him feel nothing? I know his have cramped before, but I feel like that's more of the muscles that surround and control the wings rather than the wings themselves.

Nitebright wings do not, in fact, have any nerve endings in them. They’re completely numb, but the muscles that control them are highly sensitive. He can feel if something is touching his wing from the muscles in his back: not the wing itself.

Everything about his wings is psychological. (There’s a piece on his master list where he’s forced to destroy his wings that shows this a little clearer) He would never be able to feel it, but that’s almost part of it. It’s something that is critical to his identity, but he can’t feel it. It wouldn’t “hurt” and somehow that feels even worse.

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

Silver Answers!

Never apologize for question dumps @just-a-raccoon-without-a-brain!! I’m sorry it took me a little bit to answer them! 

How would painkillers work on Silver? Would they reach his wings? I know painkillers work through the central nervous system. 

Human medicine is honestly way too strong for him. It wouldn’t be good. BUT the concept of it, like the herbal medicine kind of way, would work fine. It would help where it could. It would reach the muscles in his back which are practically the feeling he has in his wings. 

You can make different kinds of paper airplanes and change the wing shape to make them fly differently, could you shave bits of Silver’s wings to change the way he flies?

His wings are incredibly delicate. I’m sure a very very skilled (and sadistic) person could somehow alter his wings in a way that they still work but make him fly different. But, truth be told, I (as the author) don’t know enough aerodynamics to make that happen.

 And is his colony designed only for sprites who can still fly? I have this book, White sand, where there are sandbenders, and only those with their powers can access their base. Is it like that? I can imagine that some sprites how lost their wings from animals or what not. If only sprites with wings can access all of the colony, is there a system set in place so these wingless sprites can get around, or are they just stuck in one place? . 

As for the colony, it’s designed with flight in mind but that’s more of default. The sprites do still walk around, so pretty much everywhere is accessible by both. Most sprites never really leave the nest unless they have jobs that require foraging or ambassadors to other colonies, so animal attacks are too much or a worry to them. 

Thank you so much for the questions!! 

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

A little world building dump - Silver

@bugs-and-comfort said:  Love this! What do nightbrites naturally eat? I would assume honey or nectar or something like that?

[Am I gonna use this as an excuse to info dump? Yes. Yes I am.]

You would be correct on the honey and nectar! Both Firesparks and Nitebrights mostly feed on those as well as fruits. 

Like humming birds, they need to eat frequently throughout the day to keep up stamina. When in a colony setting, this is pretty easy to do - many hands make light work and yada yada. 

At some point during the week, they will have a heavier meal consisting of some kind of protein; seeds or nuts usually. Grain very rarely. They can tolerate it, but it just breaks down too quickly in their system. These meals can be dangerous as they tend to be sluggish for a bit afterwards. In a colony, the members alternate on nights so there isn’t a time when the entire group is helpless. 

Firesparks have been known to partner with bee hives; providing protection and tending gardens in exchange for honey. This is slightly more rare for Nitebrights, by the nature of them being nocturnal, but it’s not unheard of. 

Nitebrights focus more on fruit for nutrition. Yes, they eat the fruit, but not every time they need to eat through the day, opting for biting and sucking juice out like little fruit vampires. It’s not uncommon to pick a wild grown apple or pear to find half-moons of little teeth marks. (The fruit is safe to eat after, just maybe a little dry or not as sweet)

Firesparks are regularly found in prairies or the edge of tree lines, where Nitebrights are much more common higher in the treetops and deeper in the forest. 

The sugar water is 100% a low blow. It’s sweet, but not nearly enough to keep them healthy or even close to their natural vibrancy. It’ll keep them alive, but the only time they get honey is after... a demonstration. 

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On a separate note, Silver has 100% eaten a spider. Not out of like, hunger or desperation, but simply because someone told him not to. It’s wasn’t awful, but he did really regret it. He did not feel good after. 

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

https://picrew.me/image_maker/322018 this picrew reminded me of silver immediately

Yeah!!! It’s the first picrew I’ve seen with the right wings!!

Here’s Silver: (to the best of what I can they don’t have the right kind of blue)

And here’s Lei! Who is just doing what she has to do, really. Silver respects her for it, in a very distant, detached kind of way.