ALTAIR

ANY PRONOUNS | MASTERLIST ENTRY

One of the many buns raised by Murmur, Altair lived a picturesque childhood filled with every indulgence she could ask for. Her sloth horns grew in due to her enjoying taking life slow, one day at a time. She relished the simple things in life, taking all of the naps her heart desired, no goal or greater motive in sight. Altair devoured every book she could get her hooves on, spending long days reading in natural fields and valleys of the caverns in Hell.

Once Altair reached maturity, life in Burrowgatory was much different than they anticipated. They were thrilled at the idea of having to keep to themself, and do whatever they wanted without anyone watching over them. However, the necessity for carats to live and support themself was stressful. All Altair wanted was to read books and relax out in nature. Given their talents, they started working first at a bookshop, but were fired quickly due to them always browsing the wares rather than selling them. After a string of other minimum-wage jobs, they managed to land an internship at a large magazine publishing house.

Altair was somewhat contented in this position, but it was far from his ideal life. In order to begin saving money, he moved in with a greed bun as a roommate, with a lease that seemed too good to be true. It… was. Their flat was very run-down in a less-than-reputable part of town, and it took everything for Altair to keep the peace and live even a modest lifestyle. Eventually, his roommate constantly nagged him to work harder, make more money, live more modestly, etc. all while demanding more and more for rent. It took Altair way too long to realize that he was being overcharged and swindled for merely living in a shithole. He picked up the few possessions he had and moved to a flat further away from the city center, but cheaper and cleaner overall.

Working even harder to survive was barely balanced out by Altair finally finding solitude again. She was working 14 hour days, 6 days a week for months on end. It was a grueling process, but eventually, she found herself up the corporate ladder as a lead editor for a news magazine. Altair enjoyed investigative journalism and after many successful pieces, she was promoted to the head editor for the entire publishing house, giving her extensive wealth and influence over the world of written literature. She was second-to-none in this field, along with her cushy position and comfortable lifestyle… at a company she barely tolerated. As time progressed, she realized that she wasn’t enjoying life anymore, and wanted to find a spark of inspiration to change that.

Upon the introduction of envy buns to Burrowgatory, Altair’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued. They knew that many still chose to live in the wilderness as they didn’t feel comfortable in the city, and they felt an immediate kinship with them. Packing up a small kit to go for an adventure disguised as research in the wilderness, Altair’s spirit was lifted. After venturing out for a few days, they came across a gorgeous swamp nearby a forest, with a majestic waterfall cascading from a cliff. Altair found two envy buns dutifully crafting a cabin in this place, and they approached with caution. Through some back-and-forth (to be elaborated on in a short story), Altair had become acquainted with Selpie and Decay. Their candor and rapport was heartwarming to Altair, and genuinely saw the happiness they were trying to build in their little slice of woods.

When Altair headed back to his office to work on the interviews and spotlight of these curious envy buns living in the wild, something stirred inside of him. The more he worked on what he considered his magnum opus, the more he realized, what was stopping him from leaving everything behind to join them in the wild and get back to the “simplicity” of life? Nothing but their own understanding of society’s expectations. They never much cared for the rat race anyway.

After finishing her piece, Altair submitted her resignation of her position, with an open invitation to return and continue working whenever she’d like. Once again gathering up her things, she trekked out to the wild and the now-completed home of Selpie and Decay, the Simmering Cauldron. Humbly asking for their guidance, the two reluctantly agreed to take the strange city bun under their proverbial wings in the swamp. Altair was certainly not a survival naturalist, and their natural inclination to relax caused some friction between the three at first, as they simply weren’t used to the heavy manual labor and logistics required to remain as self-sufficient as possible. She was very tip-toey at first, only venturing out with a partner and never for very long or very far. The thought of going it “alone” was much more appealing than the actual activity.

With time however, Altair grew to become a natural caregiver and tender to the Simmering Cauldron, and Selpie and Decay by extension. They grew to be the “mom friend” of the trio, always making sure everyone was well-cared for and loved. Anything the three can’t grow or gather themselves in the wild is picked up by Altair, who does venture back to Burrowgatory regularly for supplies and to sell the books the three make. Though they’ve found the comfortable found family they were craving since childhood, Altair, Selpie, and Decay will have many challenges ahead of them to remain safe in the unforgiving wild.

More to be written and formatted!