Solo Reading the Past

[Asterope]

40th of winter, 519 AV

It had been some time since Aster's visit to the library, and she was beginning to lose hope. It had been exciting to find out a few facts about the Benshira, certainly, but it didn't help her much, and she had found no new information to go off of since then.

Sure, she had spent more time thinking over what she had learned, examining herself again to try and fit the new information in with what she had learned about herself. The callouses on her feet may have been from walking barefoot in the hot, coarse sand; the journal had mentioned music and horses, so perhaps the callouses on her fingers were from gripping reins, or even playing some sort of instrument.

But that was as much as she knew, and as much as she could piece together. Could she sing? Singing had been something that was noted; but when she tried humming to herself one night, she was no more in-tune than she normally was (which is to say she hardly had any tune at all).

She tried meditating, thinking perhaps if she could calm her mind enough that she would have some sort of epiphany; she would lie in her cot at night, hands flat over her stomach with her eyes closed, breathing deeply in and out, mulling over the few facts she had about the puzzle at hand.

Forcing herself to focus only on that information, slowly phasing out the sound of Alard's snoring, and the feeling of the floor beneath her; just trying to tease apart the information she had for something hidden that she hadn't noticed yet.

But it didn't help. Instead she just grew frustrated, and eventually the sound of Alard's snores would reach her ears again, grating like a saw against metal until she rolled over and stuffed her head under her thin pillow in frustration.

She tried praying sometimes, too. Sometimes to Syna, sometimes to Kihala, sometimes just...to whoever might be listening. "Please," she would whisper, staring up at the ceiling in the dark, or out the window at the vast expanse of sky if she was alone in the apartment.

"Please help me, I'm trying so hard. I don't know where to go from here. There's so little I know, and I have so little resources. I'm trying to figure this out, please just...give me a sign, point me in the right direction, anything."

As expected, she never received an answer. It was frustrating; Aster felt like she was going to go insane. She could only do so much soul-searching, so much prayer and meditation, and it could only get her so far if she didn't know enough.

She wanted to yell, but she bit her tongue and kept going from day to day. Why would you do this to me and then not give me answers?! Was the thought that rattled around in her head, louder and louder with each passing day. Was this some sort of test? A cruel joke? A mistake, even? Had whoever done this to her, whether they be gods or human, even meant to? Did they care?

Questions upon questions with no answers. Maybe none of it really mattered, after all. Maybe it was just a strange fluke that was part of her life now, and she should just accept it, forget it, and move on.

She was just slightly too stubborn for that. Still, Aster was feeling rather defeated. When Alard woke up that morning and decided they were going to go to the Seaside Market to get...what had he wanted? Aster honestly didn't remember, she simply nodded.

It was a chance to stretch her legs and get some fresh air, at least. She had no plans of trying to run off this time. The market wasn't close enough to the library to try and get back there again, and it was harder to slip away from Alard, let alone lie about it, when he was sober.

And so she found herself walking alongside Alard, just slightly behind him, as they wandered through the Seaside Market. It was a nice day, warm with a breeze coming in off the ocean; the smell of salt lingered in the air, and Aster inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the tinge of filth that was Sunberth that layered it.

Word Count: 722

[Asterope]

Alard stopped to 'hmm' and 'haw' over a clothing vendor; it was second-hand stuff mostly, from what Aster could see, but the clothes were fine and made of all sorts of luxurious fabrics. Aster had to wonder where the man selling them had gotten them from.

Aster stopped to admire some jewelry at the next stall over while she waited for Alard, and after a few moments of him arguing with the man he left in a huff to rejoin Aster, grabbing her arm non too gently and pulling her along, muttering about scoundrels and robbery. Aster resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

The two continued to wander the various stalls, tents, and carts, Alard looking with a critical eye for anything he deemed good enough to catch his attention. A stall selling all sorts of knickknacks and some jewelry seemed to catch his eyes, and Alard began to peruse the various shinies on display. Aster waited nearby, peering around at the different vendors.

Was that a flower cart? Aster glanced at Alard, but he was busy, and it wasn't far. She wandered the few feet over; the woman behind the cart was busy talking with a customer, so Aster simply browsed over the cart, smelling some of the flowers. It was a nice change from the rest of the atmosphere around her.

As she skimmed over the flowers, her gaze wandered to the business right next to the cart; it was a small yellow tent, and she could see a woman sitting inside. She caught Aster's gaze, and as soon as she did, smiled brightly, waving and motioning for Aster to enter.

Oh. Well then. Caught off-guard but curious, and with nothing better to do since Alard was now haggling with the vendor nearby, Aster wandered over to the tent.

"Hello!" The woman chirped, as Aster ducked inside. The inside was lined with flowers and candles, the floor covered in carpet and cushions. The woman was sitting at a table, shuffling a deck of cards. A tray sat at her elbow, full of...were those cookies?

"Hello," Aster returned the greeting hesitantly, and the woman motioned for her to come further into the tent and to have a seat. Aster shuffled forward, but remained standing. The woman seemed unperturbed, beaming at her. This close, Aster could see a crown of wildflowers resting on top of her mass of white-blonde curls, and the yellow makeup surrounding her eyes and lining her lips.

It was...an interesting look, to say the least. A patch of pale, shimmering scales adorning the woman's forehead caught Aster's attention as well, marking the woman as a Konti.

"Do you want to have your fortune told?" The woman asked, still smiling. "After all, the future is bright!" Aster blinked at her, thrown for a loop. What a strange thing to say, especially in Sunberth. Was her future bright? She could only hope it was. But her future, while a pressing matter, wasn't what interested her.

But...could she say with any confidence that it was her past that interested her instead? She had no confirmation that her mortal forms had anything to do with her past. She had to assume they were somehow tied to her, but...what if they were just random shapes she was given? What if the scars were meaningless?

The thought made her head hurt. No, she was better off believing until proven otherwise that the forms had been people of their own with...some sort of connection to her? Perhaps herself in a time long ago? That made some sense at least.

The woman was looking at her expectantly, her smile fading slightly and curiosity replacing it as she peered up at Aster. "I...would actually be more interested in my past," the Eth finally said. Was that even possible? She knew nothing about fortune telling.

"I don't usually like to look to people's pasts," the Konti woman said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "I prefer to explore the vast potential of the future. But I could. I'll give you a three card reading about your past for one gold."

Aster frowned. In her curiosity and puzzlement, she'd forgotten that this was still a business. "I see. I'll...see if I can get some money and come back, then."

She could see the burning curiosity in the other woman's vivid blue eyes. "Please do," the Konti nodded eagerly. "My name is Aithner'issa. But please, call me Aithne. I look forward to seeing you back!"

Word Count: 746
Total: 1,468

[Asterope]

With a wave, Aster left the tent, mulling it over. Would it even be worth it if she could scrounge up the gold? She wasn't certain how much she believed in fortune tellers. Especially in Sunberth, she had no doubt that plenty of people ran scams, acting as charlatans and preying on people's weaknesses to make their money.

She scanned around, and saw Alard still at the same vendor. When she wandered back over, he glanced up at her, seeming annoyed. "What?" He snapped, and she shook her head.

"Nothing, I'm just looking around." That wasn't a lie. Alard grunted and turned back to the vendor; it looked like they were arguing over the quality of a brooch.

Where was she going to find a gold piece? She'd be lucky to find a copper lying on the ground that hadn't been snatched up yet, let alone a whole gold piece. She supposed she could try asking Alard...but how would she justify it so that he would agree? He was hardly going to give her coin to go and have her past examined by a fortune teller.

Maybe she could do a bit of work at one of the stalls for some coin. She remembered the flower cart right next to Aithne's tent, and looked over her shoulder; sure enough it was still there, and the woman who ran it was alone now, without any customers in sight.

Aster made her way back over, and the woman flashed her a brief smile. "Hello again. Sorry I couldn't help you earlier; I had quite the fussy customer. What can I do for you?"

Aster scuffed her foot in the dirt, suddenly feeling somewhat silly. "Uhm, well. I was wondering if you needed any help with anything here? For a bit of coin? Nothing more than a gold piece."

The woman arched a brow, leaning on her elbow against the cart as she looked at Aster more closely. "And why does a slave want exactly one gold coin, hmm?"

Oh, this was embarrassing. Aster rubbed the back of her neck, glancing aside. "I, uhm. Well, the woman next door...I wanted to have my fortune told."

"Aithne? She managed to get you inside, did she?" Aster nodded, and the woman leaned over her cart somewhat to look over into the tent. Aithne waved enthusiastically, and the woman waved back with a smile and a chuckle, shaking her head.

"Ah, that one. She gives me plenty of business, and I like to consider her a friend. So if it's to help her get a bet of business going her own way..." The woman shook her head again, then squinted at Aster.

"You know anything about flowers?"

Aster stuck her hand out palm down and wriggled it in a 'so-so' motion. "More about herbs than flowers, but if they have medicinal properties, I may know something about them."

"Oh? Is that so?" The woman put one hand on her hip, cocking her head. "Well then. The name's Lana."

"Aster," Aster introduced herself, and shook the woman's hand quickly with her unbranded one.

"Well, Aster. Tell you what. Do a bit of work for me and I might just humour you and give you that coin. Where's your master?"

Aster jerked her thumb over her shoulder towards Alard. Lana hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it is what it is. If you have to leave before I'm satisfied, you won't get your coin."

That was frustrating, but fair. She hoped Alard kept up his bartering and looking around in the near vicinity for awhile longer. "That sounds fair," Aster nodded.

"Glad you agree. Here," the woman rummaged around beneath the cart, and popped back up with a ragged cloth and a watering can. "You can start by watering the fresh flowers I have and cleaning up the cart a bit."

So Aster got to work. The woman watched her, directing her now and then as Aster began to wedge the dented watering can between flowers, sprinkling water into any pots with soil.

"Not so much," Lana would caution, or, "A little more for those ones." Aster did as she was told. There was a surprising amount of flowers and plants packed into the rickety cart now that she was getting even more up close with it, all arranged carefully.

When Lana was satisfied, she took the can from Aster. "That should be more than fine. Go on then," and she motioned to the front of the cart. As one could expect, it was covered in dirt and dust from the plants and the market alike, with loose leaves and petals sticking to the cart and its wheels.

Dropping down into a crouch, Aster got to work. The cloth was already damp, presumably from the watering can, so all she had to do was start scrubbing. She picked the loose bits of plant matter off the side of the cart, brushing any solid, loose pieces of dirt off before she began to scrub with the cloth over the wooden cart, trying to be mindful of her hands to avoid any splinters from the worn wood.

Her hands got sore quickly, her shoulders beginning to ache slightly. Alard often had her clean the apartment, but even with him living there, it was still inside, meaning it didn't usually get that dirty; not to mention the materials were generally easier to clean. This was hard; the rough wood scraped and caught at the cloth, and stubbornly held on to the dirt that had accumulated on it.

Word Count: 923
Total: 2,391

[Asterope]

Aster frowned, scrubbing harder at one particularly stubborn spot, and bit back a yelp when just as she had been trying to avoid, a large piece of wood jammed into her thumb. Mumbling, she hunched over, and tugged at the large splinter. With a few good pulls it finally yanked free, a drop of blood welling where the wood had pierced her skin. Glancing around, Aster covered her hands with the cloth, and gently pressed her other finger to the tiny wound.

The glow was brief and hidden by her torso and the cloth, and a moment later the wound where the splinter had been was no longer bleeding as it aged a day. Flicking the splinter of wood to the side and ignoring Lana, who was peering over the cart at her curiously after she had made a muffled sound and stopped working, Aster straightened up again and got back to work.

Every so often she glanced back up, but Alard was still at the same stall, though the conversation between him and the vendor seemed to have turned friendly. That was actually more promising than an argument; it meant he was more likely to stay longer.

Finally, after much scrubbing and a few more splinters that were so tiny she didn't bother with them except to stop and scrape the wood out of her hands, Aster had washed the front of the cart. Her arms were sore, as were her hands, but the cart was significantly cleaner than it had been.

Lana stepped around to examine it. "Not bad," she finally said. "But you forgot the wheels." The wheels? Aster looked at the dirt-caked wheels of the cart in dismay, and Lana laughed.

"Okay, relax, I'm just teasing. I only usually wash those down at the end of the day. Otherwise it's kind of pointless, and I'm not that mean." Aster relaxed slightly, straightening back up to her feet; her thighs and knees protested, stiff from having been locked in one position for so long.

As Aster stretched out, an older woman approached the cart, and Lana greeted her with a friendly smile, stepping back behind it to her position as owner and seller. The old woman wanted something for her daughter to congratulate her on getting married recently. "Something bright, and cheerful. Her favourite colour is purple, you know?" The old woman said, as she and Lana chatted.

"Of course, I can do that. Aster, grab some lilac and some of those purple hyacinths, won't you? Some baby's breath and heather, too, that will offset it nicely." Lana motioned broadly at the cart and Aster stared at the myriad of flowers.

She knew what lilac was, it had some medicinal uses, so she started with that, gathering a few stems of the flowers...but she had no idea what the others were. Lana seemed to sense her distress, and repeated what she had said, this time pointing out the flowers.

"Hyacinth, baby's breath, and heather. Baby's breath is a wonderful filler for any sort of bouquet. The heather works nicely to fill as well since the purple matches," she explained to both Aster and the woman as Aster gathered up the flowers that had been pointed out.

"No, more of the hyacinth. That should be the main flower. A little more lilac too. Way less baby's breath, a little bit more heather. They should be about equal, but not too much since they're just fillers," Lana said, briskly, watching as Aster picked out the flowers.

She had no idea how Lana knew all that; obviously it was her job and she was experienced with flowers, but it was still a marvel that she knew so easily what flowers would suit each other and in what quantity, just off the top of her head.

Aster handed the flowers over, and Lana rearranged them expertly as the woman watched. "Training a new assistant, dear?" She asked with a chuckled as she glanced at Aster. Lana shook her head, not looking up, too busy tying the bouquet together with a purple ribbon she had pulled out from under the cart.

"No, not an assistant, just some temporary help for today," she explained, tying the ribbon off into a bow and rearranging some of the lilac before nodding, apparently pleased with the arrangement. She rattled off the price to the woman, who dug around in her coin purse before giving Lana the necessary change.

"Thank you, dears," the woman inhaled deeply from the bouquet. "Oh, it's just perfect. I'm sure she'll love it." Lana smiled and waved as the woman left, clutching her bouquet carefully to her chest.

Word Count: 776
Total: 3,167

[Asterope]

Aster continued to do tasks per Lana's request. Trimming leaves that were particularly unruly, cutting stems on non-potted flowers, shooing away insects and rearranging pots in the cart...

Between it all, Aster helped gather flowers for another two customers, Lana pointing out what she needed and watching with a critical eye as Asterope gathered the required flowers. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Lana stood with her hands on her hips and swept her gaze over her cart.

"Oh, fine," she sighed. "I don't have anything left for you to do, but you worked hard enough and spared me a good few chores. Here," she rummaged around in her cart, grabbing a trimmed sunflower from a vase, and handed it to Aster.

"Give that to Aithe, tell her you did some work for me and I'll pay up for your reading later tonight. One gold's worth, mind you! Or I'll come after you with my shears if I hear I owe her anything more," Lana frowned at Aster.

Aster nodded quickly. "Thank you very much, Lana. It was nice doing work for you." That wasn't a lie; even if it had been menial and sweaty tasks like scrubbing the cart, it had somehow been nice. Maybe it was just the flowers and feeling like she was actually doing a job, with something to earn at the end of it, that made the difference.

"It was nice having you work for me," Lana said with a wink. "Now go on, better go get your fortune read before your master over there finally decides it's time to go."

Aster glanced over her shoulder; Alard had moved stalls now, though thankfully something in the next one over had caught his attention. He looked up abruptly, gaze swinging around, then relaxed when it landed on Aster, standing and talking with Lana.

Aster gave a small wave, hiding the sunflower by her side. Alard just jerked his chin and turned back around. "Don't go too far, sunshine," she heard him call over his shoulder. "We're almost done here."

With another quick thanks to Lana, Asterope made her way back to the tent. "Welcome back!" Aithne beamed at her. "I saw you doing some work with Lana. Earn your gold coin yet?"

"Not quite. She said to give you this and that she'd pay you back the one gold for my reading tonight. I guess she didn't want to trust a slave with her money," Aster's voice was slightly bitter, but she understood that sentiment. She'd told Lana one thing, but she could have easily gotten the one gold coin and run off.

Then again, why would Lana care what she used it for? Clearly she was friends with Aithne, so likely that was it. "Did she now?" Aithne asked, sounding amused as she took the sunflower from Aster, twirling it between her fingers.

"Well, I suppose that's fair. It did look like you did your fair share of hard work, anyway. I saw she made you scrub her cart down." Aithne placed the sunflower down gently on the table in front of her. Peering out from behind Aster, she waved at what Asterope could only assume was Lana; turning her head, she saw she was right. Lana flashed a quick smile and a thumbs-up.

"Well, come then, have a seat. You know, I think she's just doing this to humour me, honestly. She never lets me read her fortune, even when I offer to do it for free. Says she doesn't believe in all that...stuff, and that she makes her own future, stuff like that." Aithne laughed, but not unkindly.

"She doesn't listen to me when I try to explain that's not really what fortune telling is." Shaking her head fondly, Aithne watched as Aster knelt on a cushion in front of the short table. "Here, have a cookie while I shuffle!"

Aithne nudged the plate towards Aster as she began to shuffle her deck of cards. Aster hesitantly reached forward to pluck one off the plate, and nibbled at the corner. Oh. That was...not good. She swallowed the small bite she'd taken, smiling at Aithne around her mouth full of crumbs. The cookie was burnt black on the bottom, tasting more like ash than any sort of baked good.

"Is it good? Be honest," Aithne asked, the cards sliding easily between her fingers as she shuffled.

"It's, uhm." Aster swallowed hard. She didn't want to lie about something like this, honesty was the best way to improve, but she didn't want to be too harsh about it, either. "It's a little bit burnt," she finally said, which was true. Mostly. It was more than a little bit burnt. "I'm sure it would be great if not for that." Well, okay, she had no idea if that was true because she couldn't taste anything past the burnt.

Word Count: 812
Total: 3,979

[Asterope]

Aithne sighed heavily. "Darn it, again. Thanks for being honest. Here, you can just put it back if you don't want the rest. I won't be offended, nobody likes burnt food."

Relieved, Aster put the cookie back on the edge of the platter as Aithne began to spread the cards out over the table face-down. "So," Aithne asked, as she adjusted the spread of the cards. "Why your past?"

Aster hesitated. "Do you know anything about Ethaefal?" She asked, looking up at the Konti.

"Oh, yes. Some, at least. I've met a few in my lifetime," Aithne nodded. "Back in Mura, being so close to the water, I even saw one or two come to shore."

In her lifetime? She made it sound like she was ancient, but she looked like she was still a teenager. Did Konti age differently? That was intriguing, but Aster brushed it aside as a question for another time. "So you know we have two forms. One during the day and one at night."

"Yes. Depending on what deity you associate with, isn't that right? Leth and Syna?" Aithe rested her chin on her knuckles, leaning forward, clearly interested.

Aster felt silly explaining her situation to a woman she had just met, but something about the Konti made her feel comfortable. She was rather strange, and perhaps older than she looked, and she wasn't from Sunberth. Aster took a deep breath. "I want to know about the past of my mortal form. Specifically my new one. If it...has anything to do with me, or who they were, what they did."

"New one?" Aithne echoed, eyebrows scrunching, and Aster explained her recent situation as quickly as she could.

"My," Aithne breathed out, sitting back. "That is very strange indeed. I wish you'd just told me that from the start, I'd make an exception and just do your reading for free! I'm curious now," she laughed, and Aster could swear that Aithne paused for a few beats too long, her eyes unfocused for just a second, before she shook her head and smiled.

"Ah well. It is what it is. Let's see now...Pick three cards. Whichever you like." Aithne motioned to the cards spread out on the table. Aster leaned forward, hesitantly looking them over. They all looked identical.

"Just pick whichever ones call to you," Aithne added. She probably though she was being helpful, but Aster was just more confused. That call to her? They were...cards. With a frown, she reached her hand out, fingertips grazing over the edges of the cards as she ran her hand down the curved arc of them.

She felt the sudden urge to stop suddenly, and her fingers settled on one card. Is that what Aithne meant by letting them 'call to you'? Aster uncertainly pulled the card from the spread. "Good," Aithne encouraged. "Flip it over and set it aside for now, don't look at it just yet. Then pick the other two."

Aster did as she was told, repeating the process of letting the cards...call to her, whatever that meant, until she had three cards sitting face-up in front of her. "Good," Aithne repeated, nodding. She shuffled the remaining cards back into a pile, setting them aside and leaning forward to see which cards Aster had drawn.

Word Count: 549
Total: 4,528

[Asterope]

Aster sat back on her haunches, looking down at the cards as well. She blinked, frowning. The first card that stared up at her depicted a bright yellow sun, surrounded by twisting vines and sunflowers. Slightly messy but somehow elegant script stared up at her, reading 'The Sun'.

"Is this some sort of joke?" She asked, out loud, frowning at Aithne, but she was half-talking to the sun goddess herself, as if she was ever listening. Aithne laughed.

"The cards can have a sense of humour, but I assure you the meaning is more than just your relationship with Syna. Let's look over the others too, and see what they have to say." She motioned for Aster to have a look, and the Eth looked back down at the other two cards.

"I made them myself, by the way," Aithne added, clearly proud of the cards. Aster had to admit, they were very pretty. The next one depicted five jeweled cups knocked over, liquid spilling out, and rain drops falling from the sky; it was titled 'The Five of Cups'. The last one depicted an elaborate wheel decorated in threads. 'Wheel of Fortune', the script at the bottom read.

"Interesting," Aithne breathed, looking them over. "There is a deep connection to the sun both for you and your mortal form. She had great joy in her life, she was passionate about what she did and found success in them. But something tragic happened. She lost...dare I say it, perhaps everything."

Aster squinted down at the cards. "Are you sure you're looking at the past?" She asked, somewhat deadpan, but Aithne just hushed her.

"She was deeply upset and in a state of self-pity. But life goes on, and we all face our inevitable fate, whether it is chosen for us or if we make it ourselves," Aithne spoke, her voice suddenly solemn, as she tapped the last card with her nail. Aster stared down at the Wheel of Fortune, frowning slightly.

"Life is like a wheel. It keeps going no matter what, and it never really ends. Cycles continue. Things change, whether we like it or not. Sometimes this change is good, sometimes it is bad. But always, it is change." Aithne fell silent after that, and Aster reached out to tug the card closer, peering at it. Aithne let her.

"There is a deep connection between whoever this woman whose face you now bear was and yourself in the current time. Do you believe in reincarnation, Aster?" Aithne asked, looking at the Eth, her bright blue eyes intense.

Aster blinked. "I don't know. I'm not really sure, I mean, I've considered it. But how does that explain me, or Eth in general, or ghosts? I don't want to say it's impossible, but I don't know that I believe in it," she answered, hesitantly.

"A wise answer. It is okay to say that you don't know when you don't have all of the information you need to make an educated decision. Perhaps that makes me a fool then, but I do believe in reincarnation. As I said, the cycles continue, and life never really ends," Aithne explained, her voice patient and infinitely wise. Aster was certain now that she was older than she appeared.

"My guess, if you would allow it," Aithne continued, "Is that this woman is someone from your past. A past life, that is. Perhaps someone deeply close to you whose soul you knew intimately, or perhaps even...you, yourself. A reflection of a form your soul once took long ago."

Aster blinked, opening her mouth and then shutting it, at a loss for words. It was a theory she had considered before, but never too deeply or seriously. To hear someone else suggest it was...both groundbreaking and unsettling.

"Do not take my words as truth," Aithne added quickly, her voice lightening to its previous cheer. "I'm just speculating based on what you have told me and what the cards say. But consider it, won't you? I don't think it's impossible that this is indeed the case."

Aster nodded slowly. "I'll think about it," she said, and that was certainly the truth. "Thank you very much." Did she believe any of what Aithne had said? Should she? She wasn't sure, but she felt almost dazed.

Aithne smiled at her. "Come back anytime, even just to chat. It was lovely to meet you, Aster."

"It was nice meeting you too. Thank you," Aster nodded, standing, and with a wave she turned for the entrance to the tent.

"Oh, and Aster?" Aithne called after her as she left, and Asterope paused, half in and half out of the tent, glancing over her shoulder. Aithne smiled brightly at her, and waved the sunflower at her. "Remember; the future is bright."

Aster blinked at her, then ducked out of the tent. The midday sun was nearly blinding after sitting inside the dim tent. How long had she been in there? Blinking to clear her vision, Aster looked around. Alard was just exchanging a few coins with a vendor who was handing him a paper bag. He looked up and saw her, and motioned her over, looking irritated.

"Where have you been?" He demanded, as she approached.

"Just...in that tent," she pointed. "There was a fortune teller. We were just talking a bit. She's friends with the flower cart lady." None of that was a lie; Aster just hoped he didn't prod any deeper.

Alard grunted. "Bunch of old hags, fortune tellers," he told her, scowling. "They just talk bullshyke and throw in some nonsense that will scare anyone with only half a brain so you'll give 'em coin to find out more. Stay away from 'em."

Aster nodded absentmindedly, and took the bag that Alard handed to her. "C'mon. I want to look at a few more things and then we'll head back. Already past noon, petch, it's getting late," Alard muttered, and Aster followed him deeper into the Seaside Market, where they would spend another bell or two wandering stalls before returning to the barracks.

Word Count: 1,014
Total: 5,542