"Well, you see, I dream of snakes." Will shudders from an invisible breeze. "I dream of snakes with red eyes. I always die at the end of them. I always wake up with an aching heart." He closes his eyes and rubs his palms over them. "I can never go back to sleep after them." He peers through his fingers at the woman. "Does that mean anything to you?"
She stared at him for a very long, silent moment. "A large snake?" she asked. "Larger than any normal, real snake could possibly be?" there was a note of worry in her voice, which was…strange, to say the least. Why would she be worried about a massive snake appearing in Will's dreams? What kind of awful sign could it be? Nevertheless, she was indeed worried, and she picked up the deck of cards, shuffling through it as she awaited his answer.
"Well-" Will hesitates for a brief moment, clearing his throat. "I never see all of the snake. Most just its face…" He sighs, carding his fingers through his dark brown hair. "The snake varies in size… but…" He pauses. "Yes, the snake is usually larger than usual." He swallows the lump in his throat. "A lot larger than usual."
She swallowed faintly, continuing to shuffle the deck. A card fell out, and she looked at the face of it, and hissed between her teeth. "Does it look like this?" she slid the card across the table so he could see. Painted on the face of the card was an obsidian colored snake with eyes the color of blood. Four white scales were clustered near its head. In the background of the card was the silhouette of a man, void of any details. At the bottom of the card was written "VII. The Snake". The whole card was beautifully painted and wondrous in its detailing, but there was something sinister about the image itself. There was something frightening in it.
Will's eyebrows knit together as he leans closer to the card. His dreams all flash in front of him. The ones where there's a dagger in the tail of the snake, the ones with venom on its fangs, the ones where it's wrapped around Will's chest and constricting. His heart skips a beat. "Yes," He says, his voice barely a whisper. "That is the snake plaguing my dreams." He looks up, wide eyes darting to meet the woman's. "Please, madam, what does this mean?"
She stared at him for a long, silent moment. "Do you know the stories of the Fates?" she asked softly. She waited a beat, then continued. "The Snake is one of the eldest of the living Fates, ranking seventh overall. There are 13 known Fates, though more may surface eventually." she took a breath, eyes moving to the card on the table. "The Snake is a card of great evil. Of pain, and misfortune, and ill-gotten power." her gaze moved back up to Will, taking him in with an intensity she had not had before. "He cares for no one but himself. His destiny is to someday be killed by the ninth Fate, the Martyr." she pulled off the next card on the deck, setting it down before Will. It depicted a young man that looked vaguely similar to him, his throat slit and his eyes crying blood. "The Martyr is a card– and a Fate –of self-sacrifice for the greater good. He is regarded as one of the better of the Fates." she shook her head a little bit. "The fact that The Snake is appearing in your dreams…" she trailed off, looking troubled. "It is not a good sign for anyone."
(by the way, what she means by "living Fates" is that some of the older Fates have already found their destinies and passed on)
Will's eyes flick from the cards to the woman and back to the cards, his heart throbbing so painfully slow in his chest. As she explains the Snake, Will finds his chest tightening… as if the Snake himself had coiled around his ribcage. However, the unsettling, constricting feeling in his chest is meager compared to the plummet of his heart upon seeing the card: The Martyr. "What does this mean?!" Will demands, his voice raw. "What is- what is going to happen to me?"
She shook her head softly. "I…I am afraid that I am not sure. It isn't clear." she got up and poured a small cup of tea, handing it to Will. "Drink this. I can read your tea leaves and it may give be a better understanding of your future." she pulled the two cards back, shuffling them into her deck. "I can also do a card reading for you, and that too will help you to gain clarity." she seemed troubled, her brows pulling together in an uncertain, perturbed line.
(ayyy 69- nice)
Will looks between the woman and the cards, his eyes searching for anything solid and stoic to land on. He jumps slightly when the woman sets the mug down in front of him. One of his hands press to his racing heart while the other shakingly wraps around the mug handle. "I- uh, yes ma'am. Please, would you be so kind to read my cards." He nearly cringes at his stuttering. Will is the fire-tongued and unwavering- why is he so anxious around the woman and her silly card deck?
(ayyy)
She shuffled them for a long moment, then fanned them out. "Pick three. Whichever feel like the best choices to you." she instructed, waiting to see what cards he would pull. "Place them face down on the table." she would flip them over herself; it tended to be better that way, as it made the readings easier.
Will nods, taking a long breath to try and still his shaking hands. His long fingers brush over the fanned cards, plucking two right next to each other from the left end and then a third from the middle. He sets them down on the table in a perfect row in front of him. You better not be fooling me, woman, Will groans internally. I refuse to be a jester for your charlatan establishment.
She set the cards he didn't choose aside, and flipped over the first card. It was the Martyr, those bleeding eyes staring up from the painted card. "Ah. This first card is the one that embodies you. You are prone to sacrifice of yourself for others, though perhaps not to the extent that the Martyr does. You are selfless, and believe in the greater good over your own life. You stand firmly for your beliefs, even if it brings you suffering and anguish." she said slowly, keeping her gaze on the card rather than on Will. She moved to the next card, and flipped it over. This card was of a handsome, but tragic young man with a crown on his head and a rose in his hands. The thorns of the rose had pricked his fingers, and blood ran down them. The man's eyes were averted, looking down at the flower rather than out from the card. The title at the bottom said "VIII. The Prince". She sighed softly. "The Prince stands for starcrossed and doomed love. Love that can never be, and will always end in disaster. Love that goes against the better judgement of all involved, that leads only to the ruin of the two involved."
"Of course," Will mutters upon seeing the Martyr flipped over, sarcasm and venom dripping from his voice. As the woman explains the meaning, Will finds himself relating to her words. It's frightening. His heart is pounding and his eyes are swimming with stars like the ones he sees twinkling on clear nights. The Prince makes his heart squeeze. The fortune teller describes the meaning behind this one, Will's teeth gnawing on his bottom lip. "Oh," He mutters, barely a whisper of his breath.
She flipped over the final card. The Snake. She frowned slightly. "The Snake, as you already know, stands for pain. Given your other two cards, I would guess that this pain is brought about by love, and by your own selflessness. I do not believe that the Snake, in this circumstance, stands for his more common meaning of evil and ill-gotten power. Here, in this context, the Snake is a symbol of pain and misfortune in your future. Given the way your cards are laid out…" she studied the cards for a moment. "The Snake in your life will be a person that you care about, who will bring you pain and suffering. I would think it will be a romantic relationship, but it could simply be platonic. Given the destinies of the Martyr and Snake, you will defeat the Snake in your life, though it will hurt you a great deal." she paused for a moment. "Of course, the Snake in your life is not truly the Fate. The cards merely represent things in your life."
(little does she know–)
Will's jaw sets as the woman finishes reading his future. The Snake. A loved one. One that will send Will through hell and back because of his own selflessness. "The Snake," he says quietly. Someone he loves? Well the only two people in the village Will actually cares for are his mother and father, and they're both too mild, loving and mundane to ever put Will through this prophesied pain.
"Is that all?" Will asks, his voice quiet and his mind still racing. The Snake? Before she answers, Will stands from the colorful stood, his head slightly dizzy from the rush. He isn't sure if he wants to hear more. "How do you accept your payments?"
"You have not drunk your tea yet." she replied softly. "If you do, I can read the leaves and grant you further answers. Or, if you are content with these answers thus far, then we can discuss payment." she pulled the cards back and shuffled them back into the deck, setting it aside. She would cleanse and recharge it later; for now, her focus was on Will.
Will looks down at the mug he had set on the table. It's a sickly color, floating somewhere between a warm brown and bruise-yellow. The smell is pungent and slightly too much mixed with the heavy incense-laced air. "I-" Will starts, choking on the lump in his throat. "I'm good, ma'am. The- the cards and the guidance is enough." He scrambles for his bag strung over his shoulder. "What can I pay you in?"
She nodded slightly. "Coin, and a favor." she replied, mouth pulling faintly. "You can pay me in some coin at the moment, and in the future, you will owe me one favor, that I can use if or when I wish." her gaze rested calmly on Will as she waited for him to agree to her terms. After all, the terms did not seem too unreasonable, right? Simply some money and a favor?
Will doesn't meet the woman's eyes. A favor? That couldn't possibly be that bad… but Will's creeping paranoia refuses to let him believe so. But what would the woman do if he declined? Surely her prophecy seemed frighteningly accurate… she can't be just a charlatan. "Yes, I agree to your terms," He mumbles, fishing through his bag to find an assorted handful of coins. "Just… summon me when you desire to deposit the favor. I live near the brink of the Woods."
She nodded again, standing from her seat and taking the coins that he handed over. "Good." she replied, mouth quirking for a moment. "Would you like a deck of cards to take with you? You seem like you may need it in the future." she had extras; of course she did. What sort of fortune teller– or witch –would she be without extras? And there was something in her eyes that made it clear she knew more than she may have been letting on.
Will sighs, tentivley eyeing one of the boxed decks sitting on the edge of the table. "I suppose," he groans after a moment of silent deliberation. "What's the harm?" Will doesn't miss the odd gleam in the old woman's eyes. They sparkle with unshared knowledge, heavy and shiny and suffocating, much like the room. "I'll be on my way then."
She hummed for a moment. "Of course. Come back if you need anything else." she said, showing him to the door. There was still something in her eyes, some secret that she had not, and would not, share with him. Perhaps he would discover it on his own, or perhaps he would not. Either way, this session may have answered his questions, or…it might not have. Who knew?
Will offers a curt nod and ducks out of the door. The wave of fresh air that hits him is nearly a relief. The cool smells and the open skies instantly lessen his anxieties. With one last quick glance into the fortune teller's cove, Will steps out of the alleyway with a deck of cards in his bag. The bleeding eyes of the Martyr burn into his eyelids, punctuated with a tightening coil around his heart.
(should we maybe timeskip to later in the day,,, evening maybe? Will in the forest and he's snatched up by Kaz's men)
(sure! Want me to handle that, or would you prefer to?)
(I can get it up in my next class! it starts in 20ish minutes akjdksk)
(ohohoho I'm so excited to get this rolling ajjdjsjskka)
(alright!)
(hgjdskdbhf same)
Later that evening, once against rebelling against Mayor Vaine's only constant rule, Will finds himself in the forest. He's barefoot, his boots discarded at the bank of the creek at acts as a barrier between Estonvale and the Woods. He sits under his favorite willow, legs crossed and a journal in his lap. A vine curls around his fingers, swirling around his arm to trail up by his neck. A nervous habit he had picked up a while bag. He twirls a dripping quill in his other hand, watching as the ink falls from the tip and stains the parchment. The card desk sits to his right. He hadn't looked from. He couldn't bring himself to do so.
With the sun drooping beneath the horizon, the Woods grow darker and darker. It's only when the words on his page had disappeared entirely that Will realizes the late hour. He sighs through his nose, blindly packing up his things into his bag.
When he stands, he hears it. His blood goes cold, his eyes fly wide, he freezes in his place. Voices. And they're near.
The soldiers were all Fae; some were more humanoid than others. All wore sashes the color of blood, and all had weapons. Some had drawn their weapons, others just kept their hands hovering by the side, ready to draw it out if necessary.
"His Majesty said to grab someone before dark." one voice said.
"But we haven't seen anyone, you dipshit." another snapped. Then another voice quieted the rest; someone had spotted Will through the underbrush, and the company fanned out. Some were humanoid enough to be less frightening; the only marks of being a fae were pointed ears and canines. Others, though, were far less so. Tall and strangely proportioned, with skin made of bark or stone.
Will's breath hitches, watching the group approach him. For a moment, he almost breathed a sign of relief, but then one's blood red eyes cut through the darkness, locking with Will's forest green ones.
"Shit-" Will hisses. He summons the willows around him to shoot downwards, forming a barrier between Will and the mob. He slings his bag over his shoulder and leaps over a log, scrambling into the darkness. Will had never seen another soul in the forest… Of all days! Will curses internally, using a vine to help him leap safely off of a tall ledge.
(wasn't planning on having Will meet Kaz until he was in the Fae realm, just btw)
The group chased after Will, all of them faster than a normal, powerless human. It didn't take long for them to catch up and surround him, leaving him no gaps to escape through. The leader approached him. He was tall, with horns that arched and swirled back from his forehead, and skin as black as obsidian, with the same texture. "Come with us, human." he sounded bored.