Open An Evening In The Grove

[Eilea]

21st Spring 513 That afternoon had been busy. The Vantha had worked herself to the point of exhaustion and was so happy when her last task was finished. Instead of going back to her room to rest, she decided to go on a nice long rewarding walk. With her, she brought her shortbow, as well as a couple arrows. She held the bow over her shoulder and wore her backpack on the other. As she walked, she reflected on her life, what she had learned, who she was, and where she wanted to be, how she wanted to grow in the upcoming seasons. There were so many decisions to make, so many paths she could take. Eilea didn’t pay any attention to where she was wandering to, or even how long she was walking. Something caught her attention. A soft fragrant scent. As she walked she became more aware of it. Her body seemed to move without any objection towards the scent. All she wanted was to be surrounded by it. It made her feel alive. Before she knew it, she was walking down a path surrounded in a circle by the most beautiful trees she had ever seen. The smell was intoxicating. With every breath Eilea found herself being drawn even more, towards the colorful blooming trees. She stood under one and looked up, her mouth open slightly, tasting the air as well as enjoying the scent. Her eyes were closed, for she felt she could see more by imagining with her other senses. That’s when she began to hear the birds. Their song was lovely. It gave her the warmest feeling. She felt so happy, so alive. Eilea couldn’t help but want to see what one of the birds looked like. She opened her eyes, stood on her tiptoes and examined the branches of the tree, looking for what the sound was coming from. The ebony branches made the green leaves and contrasting pastel pink flowers stand out so elegantly. She smiled to herself as she continued looking. Then a bird flew from one branch to another. “Oh!” She exclaimed and giggled, before looking around at the whole grove.

[Kitchi]

Kitchi did not know why she had made her way down to the Cherry Grove on this particular day but she had found her way there. The sickeningly sweet scent had hit her from a distance but she ignored it, having lived in Wind Reach all her life she was used to the beautiful pink leaves and the overpowering scent and smell and the occasional twittering of local birds. Upon arriving she wondered around the grove for a moment or two before she had found herself a spot between two trees, it was slightly hidden away but she could still be seen from the majority of the clearing. Before she sat down she pulled her Katinu from around her and laid it carefully down on the floor, oblivious to the faint wind that seemed to brush its way across the grove occasionally. Her bow and quiver found its way onto the floor, carefully laid down and organised. Once settled her Tarot cards had found the light of day, quickly being shuffled between her slender fingers. Despite the speed of which she shuffled it was obvious that she took great care with each brightly decorated card. Footsteps appeared from nowhere and she glanced up, a small girl with black hair tinted with red and purple had wondered into the forest. The stranger appeared entranced by the forest of pinks. The girl stood under one of the trees, staring up into the leaves with a smile before giggling as a bird escaped from the bundle of pink leaves. Kitchi turned away from the girl, part of her wanted to go and inquire with her, it was obvious she was a Vantha, a race Kitchi had become obsessed with over the years and the opportunity to meet one was incredibly appealing but her Tarot pack demanded her attention back. She shuffled them again, slowly, admiring the pictures that flashed before her blue eyes.

[Eilea]

As her eyes wandered between the trees and the grassy meadow area, Eilea thought to herself about how beautiful it all was. She could just imagine retelling the story back in Avanthal to a painter and having them create a beautiful rendition of the grove. Hell, the vantha was tempted to carve an image of this place when she returned back to the town. She continued to admire the trees, the birds, the She turned her head to the side and froze. There was someone there. Her grey-violet eyes narrowed. It seemed to be an Inarta woman. Eilea noticed that she was doing something. She moved closer, curiously. Cards? Was she playing with cards? Eilea stood, a few meters away and glanced around again, to make sure there wasn’t anyone else around. And from what she could tell, there wasn’t. But, that didn’t mean much, considering she had missed this girl. Not wanting to startle her, Eilea decided to say something. Though the problem was coming up with something to say. She stood there awkwardly, running through scenarios in her head. There were hundreds of things she could say to get the girl’s attention. There was the typical, “Hey, what are you doing under there?” or the usual “Hey, my name is...” or even ”Isn’t this place pretty?”. Though, the last option was a bit ditsy, even for her. 'Goodness, why do I care so much? She seems nice. And she's pretty... Why am I thinking like this? It must be the trees. It just smells so good. But it's making me feel weird... Shaking herself out of her thoughts, the girl took a couple steps forward before settling on what to say. “What kind of cards are those?” Eilea did want to know.

[Kitchi]

Kitchi heard the soft footsteps making their way towards her. It was hard not to, the grass rustled under each step or movement. he turned her blue eyes towards the stranger who approached, it was the girl from earlier and grey violet eyes were fixed back at her. Kitchi wondered for a moment what the colors meant, she knew that Vantha's eyes twisted and changed with their emotions but every single one of them was different, as far as she knew.
“What kind of cards are those?” The stranger spoke and Kitchi smiled at her.
''Tarot cards, they tell the future'' Kitchi stated before turning her attention back down to the cards and shuffling them some more. Her fingers moved quickly again and the cards almost became a blur of colors and words carefully painted onto the cards.

[Eilea]

The breeze blew a whole new variety of beautiful scents through her hair. She took a deep breath, taking it all in as she listened to the quick explanation. ’Tarot cards?’ Eilea wrinkled her nose, tilted her head to the side, and watched as the inarta went back to paying attention to the colorful cards in her hands. She began shuffling the cards through her fingers, as if she was intently looking for something. ’Tell the future? Is that possible?’ “Hm…” She moved over to the girl and sat down next to her. She placed her bow and backpack to the side, and made a mental note that the sun was settling, giving the cherry blossoms a redder coloring. The green branches became more vivid. Everything had an orange glow to them. She turned to look at the girl. Her hair was beautiful, and her eyes stood out against the red-auburn locks. Just in general this inarta was beautiful, gorgeous even. But then again, Eilea thought they all were. Trying not to be too weird, “Do you mind if I sit with you and watch?” She asked, assuming that if the girl didn’t want her around, she’d be blunt about it and in that case, Eilea would gladly move. Her attention turned back to the cards in girl's hands. "So, tell the future?" Her sing-song voice questioned. "How exactly?"

[Kitchi]

The strange girl settled herself beside Kitchi, placing her bow and belongings to the side of them. Kitchi looked up to see the orange glow curling its way around them, the setting sun melting into the landscape.
“Do you mind if I sit with you and watch?” Kitchi half smiled, it seemed a little late to be asking such things but she assumed the stranger was just trying to be polite. Kitchi wondered if the stranger was new to Wind Reach, the habits of its inhabitants had not seemed to be reflected in the girls actions so far. "So, tell the future?" Her sing-song voice questioned. "How exactly?" Kitchi's hands paused once more and she considered for a second.
"I can give you a reading if you want" Kitchi smiled, placing the cards together and straightening them before holding them towards the dark haired Vantha. "Shuffle" She instructed waiting for the girl to respond, either my taking them or rejecting her offer.

[Eilea]

The girl held the cards out towards her, offering to give her a reading. “Alright!” Eilea took the cards in her hands. She looked down at them curiously, and then began to shuffle them between her fingers carefully, not wanting to bend or fray them. It reminded her of something some of the storyteller's from back home used to do. It was similar at least. She looked up out of her thoughts, revealing blue eyes that much reflected the same shade as the girl next to her. “My name’s Eilea.” She said with smile. She arranged the cards into a neat stack, before handing them to the inarta woman. “What’s yours?”

[Kitchi]

Kitchi watched the cards carefully, glad that the stranger was being careful with them as well. Their was always a level of uncertainty when her cards passed into another hands, what would she do if they got damaged? Shaking the thought from her mind she took the set of cards from the girls fingers, barely hearing the words. They felt different, but they always did when she was reading someone.
“My name’s Eilea, what’s yours?” Eilea was smiling at her and Kitchi smiled back.
"Kitchi" She stated simply, shuffling the cards once more and spreading them apart, taking care that at least some of each card was on display. She did not suppose that it mattered particularly, whatever was needed would come out she was sure. "Pick two, place them on the cloak face up' Her blue eyes turned towards the other girl. She was surprised to be greeted by similar blue eyes from Eilea btu she forced it not to show. Kitchi knew that it was possible but she had never seen the change for herself, not that she could remember at least.

[Eilea]

With a nod, Eilea reached forward and choose two cards from the spread. They seemed to stand out to her. Gingerly, she looked at the cards, then placed them on the cloak revealing the faces of the cards. The Vantha tilted her head to the side as she studied them. The one to the left had a violet shade to the whole image. There was a woman that seemed to be flying, with a sort of aura wound her. There were pillars from what looked like beautiful, open architecture that had such a beautiful golden hue to it. The card to the right revealed what looked like an angel. There were feathers and a very mystical feel to the whole image. It was another card with a violet tint. Eilea looked up at Kitchi unsure whether to say something or not.

[Kitchi]

Kitchi stared at the cards as they were revealed to her. It amazed her how the combinations would pour out from the deck. The two purple tinted cards sat against her cloak. A quick glance towards Eilea shows she was waiting, uncertain. She smiled towards the girl and turned her eyes back towards the elegantly decorated pictures.
'Well, we have a very obvious purple theme here, that stands out as protection, either looking after someone or being looked after, typically without asking' She moved her fingers around each card in turn, as if showing off the color she was highlighting Another glance towards the girl. ‘I think it’s the former’ Kitchi was less sure about this, it was more intuition then her ability to read the selected cards, she preyed she would not be wrong, if she was it would throw her skills into question. Her eyes scanned the cards again, waiting for more information to become clear. She hated how little information she would be given sometimes when other times it would flow from her lips before she could even contemplate the words in her own mind. 'This card' She continued, pointing towards the figure flinging herself from the beautiful golden architecture. 'Suggests danger in beauty, something to be wary of for the future' Kitchi nodded to herself as she spoke, she wasn’t sure why exactly but it was not unusual for her to do strange actions when reading people. For a moment she lingered on this though, as if waiting for any more information. Nothing brushed her mind and she shrugged before continuing. ‘Here’ She moved her fingers back to the first card and rested it on the male figure and his long purple wings within. ‘It suggests a strong male influence’ Another pause as she stared at the cards. ‘That’s about all I can get at the moment, feel free to make a donation based on what you think it was worth’ She smiled at the girl as she finished. She wondered if she would receive anything for the reading, it wouldn’t be the first time someone rejected to donate.