PC: ENDORSI

[headmt]

Comments

w6, saturday.

[fisherwoman]

[Beach.......

She's not really doing anything too interesting when he comes across her, just chilling on the shore again. But when she sees him:]

Hey. Another reading with the card you made last night? And another for you, too.

[headmt]

[sitting down across from her, and digging out the cards.]

Sure.

[Shuffling the deck in his hands, then, quickly. He lays down just two cards, left to right.]

We'll look at the other two first, then visit with your new friend.

[fisherwoman]

[points at one!]

That one first.

[headmt]

[Alright. Over it flips.

Two dragons, one red and one silver, intertwined in a figure eight. or a battle to the death.]

The Tyrant. A conflict long-fought. Wrestling with something. Though that much seems obvious. This place does nothing but test our limits.

[fisherwoman]

[looking it over, thoughtful.]

Does it say what to do about the thing you're wrestling with?

[headmt]

Not by itself. Most of the cards don't say anything entirely by themselves. It's a conversation, the way they speak to each other.

[And then he flips the other one. A masculine figure, hands held out like a pair of scales. One tips lower, weighted down by gold and coin. The other higher, empty. The top of the card says CHARITY. The bottom, closer to the lower scale, says GREED. The ink appears pretty fresh on this one too.]

[fisherwoman]

...Well, I can guess who that one's for, but what does it mean?

[tilting her head.]

[headmt]

[Well there's a long pause, while he considers it. He normally doesn't take this long, but some shit has happened and he's just. in a thinking mood.]

I think ... it's what we managed today. A leap of faith. Giving a piece of ourselves away to each other, to pull off that fucking no vote. A lot of charity in assuming the best of each other, after all of this.

[fisherwoman]

[there’s a little pang of something as he says that, but she nods.]

And the third?

[headmt]

[He'd only put the two down, because he was going to go find the Reel and Line card in his deck - and he does, but he actually puts the deck away and goes to pull out his Sailor Moon manga instead, pulling a card from between the pages and putting it down.

A girl sits on the edge of a shore of dark water, holding a fishing rod, the line bobbing amongst stars. It isn't finished, clearly, ink lines still in progress, no colors yet, and the words not written onto the top and bottom. But he puts it down next to the other two - The Tyrant and Charity, and looks it over.]

. . . Beau used to get really angry when I did these. Told me that I was putting people on false paths.

[fisherwoman]

[she looks at the drawing with a small smile, curious.]

Because you decided on the meaning yourself, or...?

[headmt]

Sure, or that I was a con artist looking to make a few coins off of lost souls looking for advice.

[He peers over the cards too, just reaching to idly touch the new one.]

But I don't decide the meaning myself. There's-- it's not magic, but there's forces in the universe besides magic. I really do believe that. And I'd like to point out I haven't charged you a single copper. And if I wanted to manipulate people there's better ways than some pictures on cards.

[...]

What do you think they mean? All together. The Tyrant, Charity, the Line.

[fisherwoman]

It's hard to charge me for something I don't have, anyways! And I'm not an easy person to manipulate, so at least I know I'm safe from your awful ways, I guess.

[teasing... but she looks back at the third card with a tilt of her head.]

I have to know what that represents before I can decide all together, don't I?

[headmt]

True enough as well!

[He taps at it.]

I'm still sorting it out. It sort of comes to me as I'm drawing it, normally, but I was feeling something like ... the idea of patiently waiting for your catch versus trying to reel it in closer. Patience or the hunt sort of thing. Or even perhaps knowing you've something on the hook, and whether or not to free it or see its face.

[fisherwoman]

So... Conflict, a leap of faith, and deciding whether to wait or to act, basically?

[thinking, thinking...]

You mentioned once that the first is supposed to represent the past, the second the present, and the third one is the future, right?

[headmt]

Seems that way.

[And he nods.]

Correct. Or that's how I've always done it, in the threes.

[fisherwoman]

Well, conflict in the past is pretty easy! Here, obviously, but you know the kind of place I come from, too. Pretty much every test includes some kind of conflict. A leap of faith in the present...

[there’s a spark of nervousness, maybe, or discontent before she continues.]

That could pretty easily refer to today, like you said! It’s the third one I’m not really sure about.

[headmt]

[he sits back a little, tail swaying lightly back and forth while he thinks it over.]

. . . Here's what I think. Right now, we're sitting on the shore with our line in the water, hoping we've got the truth about this place on our hook.

[fisherwoman]

And... We have to decide to act or wait?

[there's a small frown.]

In what way?

[headmt]

If you're asking me and not the cards, I think we're about to drag something onto shore whether we like it or not.

[Though . . . he doesn't know what exactly.]

Last week we heard from the dead, correct?

[fisherwoman]

[there's a little bit of apprehension as he says that, before she nods.]

Some people did, yeah. [tilting her head...] Why?

[headmt]

[He just looks a little lost, for a moment.]

Think they'll do it again?

[fisherwoman]

[oh... there's a strong surge of concern, a little bit of regret, though she keeps her voice neutral.]

If they can, I don't see why they wouldn't.

[headmt]

[he just shrugs a shoulder.]

So we'll probably know more shortly. Besides, I think it's time to start reeling it in. I just get the gut feeling that things are changing from here on out.

[fisherwoman]

I think so, too. It's ready to play or whatever, right? And this is ending soon. But I have to wonder what exactly the game will be.