Closed Nai'a's Fortune.

[Lucas Arias]

Continued from here.

„Oh“, the self proclaimed fortune teller made as Nai’a entered his tent and rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Despite his occupation he hadn’t anticipated her visit. He couldn’t see that she had pink hair because she had her hood down, but even so her appearance was quite unusual. She was wearing a very fine and very pink dress and had very red lips – and a monkey on her shoulder. At least Lucas thought it was a monkey. He had never seen one before. Monkeys weren’t native to this part of the world.

„Yes, I am going to tell you your fortune“, he confirmed, sat up a little straighter and looked directly into her eyes, as if he had been slightly offended by her words. „Fortune tellers aren’t born old and all mysterious. They start out as children just like everybody else, and they have apprentices and such. I assure you, my looks are very deceiving. I’m actually …“ He broke off and shrugged his shoulders as if he had decided that it was better if he didn’t tell her a certain thing. „Well, let’s just say that I have learned my trade from a true master fortune teller and have a few aces up my sleeve.“

He gestured for her to sit down, all the while wondering why she was wearing a hood, what was under it and why she had this strange animal with her. If he tried to stroke it, would it bite his fingers off?

„Anyway, there are several ways I can tell your fortune. I can ask the bones, look into the crystal ball, ask the cards or try to read your palm. Personally I think the bones work best, but the choice is yours. Oh, and do you have a specific question for me? Do you want to know who you are going to marry? Whether you are going to get rich? Or whether there’s going to be a second Valterrian?“

[Nai'a]

Winter 20th 512AV-Late Morning



Nai'a could not help but chuckle at the young boys defensive words, assuring her he was talented, assuring her he had been taught by a very talented fortune teller. Seems that Nai'a had stroke the wrong cord with this one. She assumed someone as young as he would be surrounded by books, with an old man teaching him the ways, and then when he was older letting him try the readings. But once again her assumptions proved faulty, she did not know much about fortune telling anyways, so it was best to just keep those thoughts to herself. She wasn't a very opinionated person verbally anyways, she kept most of that inside her head.

Nai'a looked around the tent at the weird paintings. One in particular made her smile. There was a creature with a fish head, it was quite humorous, but still tasteful. She continued glancing at the paintings as the young boy talked, asking her how she wanted her fortune read and what questions she might want to be asked. Once he was done talking she brought her attention back on the boy.

I like these paintings that you have decorated the tent with, you do them yourself?

Meka was getting frustrated again, he seemed a little to eager to leave. During is little commotion of squeaking and jumping up and down, her hood falling back in the commotion.

Meka calm down little one! We will be on our way shortly I assure you. Nai'a brushed her pink hair out of her face and swung her backpack forward from her shoulder, taking out some of her rationed food handing it to the little monkey. There eat on this and be quiet. Nai'a sighed smoothing her hair down and returning her attention to the young boy. Sorry about that, he doesn't like being in one place too long today, I promised him we would spend the day looking at most of Zeltiva. Nai'a chuckled lightly, and folded her hands in her lap. She was disturbed that her hood had fallen down, she did not want any attention from anyone, but it was too late now. Nai'a sighed it off, and remembered the young man's question.

Oh yes, sorry about that. Uhm, I have no particular question in mind, but you can use the bones and see what pops up, let fate decide what needs to be answered for me. Nai'a smiled looking at the bones then back at the freckled faced boy.

[Lucas Arias]

As Nai’a chuckled, Lucas glared at her. He didn’t like it if people made fun of him. He was just about to say something mildly offensive when he noticed the way she looked at his paintings and changed his mind at once. „Thank you“, he replied. It didn’t happen very often that people complimented him on his art. Most found it just too weird. „I made them all myself. I’ve actually considered studying art at the university. I could paint a portrait of you if you want to. I won’t even charge a single golden miza. What do you say to that?“

While he waited for her answer, he looked at the monkey that was jumping up and down and making strange noises. He was still tempted to stroke it. Or maybe poking it with something first to see if it bit would be better. He had never seen such a strange (and annoying) animal before. Lucas had never had a pet (although he had occasionally considered capturing a Pycon).

„Is that your real hair color?“ He gasped as the hood fell back. He had never seen a woman with pink hair before. „Are you a Morpher? Professor Hadrian is one. He can even change himself into a bird, but I’m quite useless at Morphing. I’m better at Fortune Telling. And Voiding.“

„I see“, he remarked as she explained why the monkey was so annoying. „Then we shouldn’t make him wait any longer than necessary.“ He took the bowl of bones, shook it and then emptied it onto the table. And then he opened Anselm’s oracle book and started murmurring something in Arumenic. Few people spoke that language so it was a great choice if you wanted to sound mysterious. And then he glanced at the bones again, an ominous expresison on his face.

„That’s … highly unusual“, he remarked. „Do you want to know what the bone oracle says?“

[Nai'a]

Nai’a smiled warmly at the boy when he said thank you and told her he would paint a portrait of her if she wanted him to. Such passion for the art, yet he was telling fortune’s to lost souls. I think I would love if you used your talent to paint me, you are very talented and I think you should consider studying this fine art. You can tell that you have such a passion for this. Nai’a waved her hand to indicate the paintings, before placing her hand in her lap once more, smiling at the young man.

She finally got Meka to calm down, his jumping up and down and chattering was becoming slightly annoying. Now that he was quiet and content, she put her attention back on the boy’s astonished face. She forgot about her hood coming down, and she quickly put the hood back over her hair, keeping her face free. Yes that is my natural hair color. No I am not a morpher, yet anyways. I am going to learn more magic eventually, but as it is, the only magic that I know currently is Reminancy and healing. Nai’a gave a light laugh, pausing before she continued. Are you sure you still want to paint me, with the pink hair and all? A lot of people tended to find her strange because of her hair and skin, and then when they found out she did not sweat and was odorless, they tended to find her very inhuman. Which in a sense she was more animal than human, she was a Kelvic after all.

The boy went on to the bones, speaking in a weird tongue when he emptied them onto the table. An ominous expression appeared on his face, and then he said that it was unusual and asked if she wanted to know what the bone oracle says. She honestly did in the beginning, but with that look on his face, she wondered if this was the best plan after all. Considering that sometimes one’s future is best left a secret. She sighed and nodded her head, signaling him to go on with whatever it may of said.

[Lucas Arias]

As Nai’a agreed to being painted, Lucas gave her a huge smile. „Fantastic!“ he exclaimed and clapped his hands. „I’ll do your painting once I’ve told you your fortune. I always have my paints and brushes with me, and I’ll just close my business until we are done!“

Having said that he cast another glance at the monkey which fortunately seemed to have calmed down. Satisfied that the animal wouldn’t cause any trouble for the time being (Lucas was the only one who was allowed to cause trouble here), the redhead focused his attention on Nai’a again.

„I’ve never seen anybody with naturally pink hair before“, he told her. „And I’ve seen a lot of people. Are you a member of some kind of unknown human subrace? Or did your hair change during the great djed storm? I’ve hard that some people mutated because of all the magic that was in the air.“

„I’m sure“, he said. „I like people that look a little unusual. Painting another blonde or brown haired girl would be boring. I’ll leave that up to the more mainstream artists.“

As Nai’a nodded – a little uncertainly – Lucas explained, „As you can see the bones have formed a rectangle. It’s rare that the bones form any kind of recognizable shape when they fall. And look at the marks on them. I won’t bore you with an endless talk about solid and broken things and oracles like Anselm. Instead I’ll get straight to the point.“

He put the bones into the bowl again, emptied it once more, murmurred more strange things in Arumenic, and then he informed Nai’a, „You’ll become famous. You’ll be accepted at the university, but I would advise you to visit Syliras at least once and explore the old magic laboratory there. There is an entrance into the Void, and behind it you’ll find a treasure. Because you are such a nice person, you won’t turn away when somebody in need asks for your help, and as a consequence you’ll meet somebody very special. I would advise you to stay away from goats though. They have a tendency to do inappropriate things. And you should also definitely avoid horses.“

„If you don’t avoid goats, the first child you give birth to will be one, and nobody wants a child with horns that eats garbage. Oh! And before I forget! There’s this professor at the university. He’s been looking for somebody with pink hair all his life, so if you walk up to him and give him a kiss, he’ll give you all his gold.“

„Do you have any questions?“

[Nai'a]

Nai’a was ecstatic that he still wanted to paint her. She loved helping people become better at what they were passionate about. It gave her sense of happiness, knowing that she was able to help them gain more experience. Nai’a noticed that he kept glancing at her friend and companion, Meka, on her shoulder. Nai’a smiled and went on to reassure him. “Meka will not bite, unless of course you give him a reason to bite.. And I am very excited to be a subject for you to paint. I am glad you still want to.”

Nai’a hushed down when the young man began to speak about her hair, asking her generally what her race was. Nai’a sighed softly, and looked at him with an expressionless face. “I am a Kelvic. That is why I have the weird hair color. We tend to take on things of our animal form, while in our human form.” Nai’a gave him a half smile, as they both redirected their attention to the bones.

Nai’a listened intently on what he had to say about the bone’s reading, not missing a single word that came out of his mouth.

„You’ll become famous. You’ll be accepted at the university, but I would advise you to visit Syliras at least once and explore the old magic laboratory there. There is an entrance into the Void, and behind it you’ll find a treasure. Because you are such a nice person, you won’t turn away when somebody in need asks for your help, and as a consequence you’ll meet somebody very special. I would advise you to stay away from goats though. They have a tendency to do inappropriate things. And you should also definitely avoid horses.“

„If you don’t avoid goats, the first child you give birth to will be one, and nobody wants a child with horns that eats garbage. Oh! And before I forget! There’s this professor at the university. He’s been looking for somebody with pink hair all his life, so if you walk up to him and give him a kiss, he’ll give you all his gold.“

Nai’a could not help but chuckle at some of what the boy said. Especially about goats, horses, being famous, and something about kissing someone who was looking for someone with pink hair. She laughed merrily, softly, and then calmed down clearing her throat.

“I am sorry, I am not laughing at you or your ability to read bones. Just what the bones said about me was rather funny, don’t you think? I mean who is this professor that I should kiss? And goats, really? Famous? Nah never. But of course with all things there is sometimes a hidden meaning behind the message received so I will take the message, thank you for taking your time to read what the bones had to say about me.” Nai’a gave him a warm friendly smile that reached her eyes, as she waited for his reaction to her words. Hoping he was not offended or think her rude, it wasn’t him she was laughing at, but rather fate and the bones.

[Lucas Arias]

„Oh“, Lucas made as Nai’a explained that she was a Kelvic. „That explains … no, actually it doesn’t explain anything. I’ve never seen a Kelvic with pink hair before. Most of the time they have normal hair. You are more intelligent than the Kelvic I’ve met so far as well. What’s your animal form?“ His eyes shimmered brightly with curiosity. He didn’t know any pink animals. Birds were sometimes rather colourful, but he couldn’t think of any pink birds. So what was she?

As she chuckled after hearing his fortune telling, Lucas frowned. Hadn’t he been good enough? Hadn’t he been creative enough? Had she realized that it had mostly been a joke, with a little bit of good advice thrown in because he wasn’t an entirely bad person? Was she making fun of him or finding him funny?

„Well, you are a Kelvic, aren’t you? And Kelvic can give birth to children that have a different animal form. So if you marry a goat, you could end up with ugly, garbage eating goat children!“ he insisted. „Never say never. Maybe the goat looks like a really hot guy when he’s human, and that’s why you need to be careful. As for the professor, it wouldn’t be any fun if I told you, would it? You need to find all those things out for yourself. And of course there is a hidden meaning behind all of this. It is very well hidden indeed.“

He smiled at her.

„So shall I paint you now?“ he asked, deciding that it was best to change the topic.

[Nai'a]

When the young man asked her what her Kelvic form was she frozed slightly, it was really none of his business and it was for the Kelvic to disclose that information. But she supposed Lucas meant no harm so she shrugged her shoulders and answered him, ”I am a Pink Dolphin.” She said simply, as the topic shifted to the fortune he had told.

He answered her questions, with a little more questions. This was all becoming slightly funny, a joke one would say, but she kept it to herself and just nodded her head as he talked. When he was done she smiled at him, keeping her expression slightly blank besides the smile, ”Yes, well I suppose you are right.” Nai’a said pleasantly, as she stroked Meka’s soft belly. The topic changed once again, to him painting her. Nai’a laughed lightly and nodded her head, she was excited she had never been painted before.

”Yes, that sounds like fun. How do you want me?” Nai’a had never been painted before, she did not know exactly how this all went about. She did not know whether to stand, sit, lay down, smile, frown, pout, laugh. So she sat there with Meka on her shoulder as she waited for Lucas to tell her what to do. He was the artist after all, and it was whatever his mind created that Nai’a must try and follow.

[Lucas Arias]

„Nonsense“, Lucas immediately retorted as Nai’a informed him that she was a pink dolphin. „Dolphins aren’t pink.“ He had never actually seen a dolphin, but he had seen pictures of them in books, and they had all been kind of grey. „Are you a mutant dolphin?“

„Of course I’m right“, he agred and nodded, and then, as she agreed to being painted he briefly excused himself, retrieved a wooden sign that had been leaning against the wall of the tent so far and put it outside the door. Nai’a could see that it said „Temporarily closed. If you are fine with a second rate fortune teller go to Anselm, if you want the real deal, wait for me.“

„Nobody should interrupt us now“, he said as he returned to his guest. „Just keep on sitting here like that. It would be great if you could smile at me and make sure that the monkey doesn’t move too much.“

With that he took a piece of paper and quickly started sketching her. At this point people were easy for him, but he had never drawn a monkey before. He hoped that it wouldn’t end up looking like some kind of deformed mini human with a tail.

Nai’a could see that he erased something a couple of times before he was halfway content, and then he looked up. „Do you want me to add a background? I could draw you in a beautiful landscape or in front of a castle. Or maybe you’d like a blue or red background.“

[Nai'a]

The boys words made a light laugh emit from her pink lips. That had to be the funniest thing she had ever heard from someone before. "No I assure you I am not a mutant dolphin. Look to the sea that surrounds Zeltiva and when you see a pink dolphin know that it is me. It seems my kind is a little rare in the lands." Nai'a gave him a small smile as the conversation went on, she sat there quietly as the boy talked about how the painting should go.

Nai'a spoke softly, "You are the artist, let your imagination fly. What ever you think will look right, will indeed look right." Nai'a looked over at Meka, "Be still Meka." Nai'a whispered to her friend and placed a genuine warm smile on her face. She was excited to see how exactly this was going to turn out. She had never been painted before, it was a new exciting experience.