Inviting Trouble

by **Rufio** on February 20th, 2016, 1:52 pm

3 winter 515 av
late night, light snow
at the festival of the first frost

　　　　　　　　 snowflakes drifted lightly, stars twinkled joyfully. Plumes of breath huffed from the Drykas' parted lips—
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　—breathless.

Rufio Wildmane lay in grasses, flattening them with her body. Wrapped up in furs, and with the warmth of sweet, honey mead in her belly, she barely noticed Morwen's icy touch on her rosy, freckled cheeks.

Endrykas celebrated Winter's first frost into the wee bells of the night. Firelight danced, reaching its warm glow far into the dim of the grasses. Drykas' voices, deep bass and wistful altos rose and fell in haunting harmony, drums throbbed.

　　　　　　　Rhythmic, compelling.

Delight flickered in the ochre orbs that took in the sparkling sentinels above. Rufio gazed at the stars, contented yet pensive, as she discerned patterns. Seeing scenes in the sky, she felt an unbidden chuckle bubble up from a funny-bone-sensation that rippled within.

"What are you laughing at?" Came Tal'ck's deep bass, Wildmane Ankal. Rufio tore her mead-weary gaze from the stars and glimpsed her cousin standing just at the edges of the firelight in heavy furs.

Though his course ebony hair was woven into a plait, wisps defied the leathers and oil, catching the light behind him, crowning him in a fiery glow. An amused smirk was set in his rectangle face, hidden partly beneath the thick bristles of his beard.

He was handsome, was her father's-brother's-son. "Just...life." Rufio waved a hand to encompass the sky, the Drykas, Semele, letting her limb lazily flop to the ground.

The Wildmane Ankal tucked his hands behind his back and tilted his head back. He "Ohhh"-ed sarcastically. "Well, while you're amusing yourself with the meaning of life, share that mead with your Ankal, ah?"

He held a hand our for the stoppered horn that Rufio hugged in the crook of her arm, and lowered himself down beside her. Rufio mused her thoughts aloud to him as he reached for the mead. "What do you think they're are made of?" Stars.

Tal'ck snorted. "You've had too much to drink." He tipped the horn, and tasted the sweet liquid within, eliciting an appreciative moan. Rufio's eyes narrowed impishly, piqued by his playful jab at her pride.

With a gentle tap of her elbow to his, Tal'ck's arm jolted, the horn with it, spilled mead all over his lower face. "Uhh!-" He cried out, managing to stopper the leaking before more was lost.

Face wet, he glared down at the imp. "Rufio-" His tone held the reprimand of authority. A smile licked at his eyes, though, more importantly, Rufio saw it.

Grinning coyly, she slipped her fingers around the horn, stole it back. "I paid for it, so you best be nice to me, ay." She bribed his good temper, before raising the horn lightly and taking a sip.

As Tal'ck wiped his hands across his jaw and licked the mead off his fingers, he teased. "Ha, with fortune-telling?"
Rufio giggled and argued. "Yes, actually, I've got an apprenticeship with Ferem Silverstone."
"Oh, I see, well then." Tal'ck nodded slowly, faux-impressed.

Rufio snorted at his playful derision and— thwack!—flailed an arm at him with more force than she intended, eliciting a sharp—"Ow!"—followed by a chorus of mutual laughter.

Emboldened by the mead. "Don't try to be Alar'ck. I know you believe in fortunes." Superstitious, heart-kin, like Rufio. She chastised in turn, sounding not unlike Grandmother Raen.

The Wildmane Ankal simply smiled and shook his head—out of his herd, Grandmother Rain was wiliest and Rufio was stepping in her footsteps for sure. He sighed heavily in the quiet that crept in after it, joining her in gazing at the stars.

Yes, he did believe in fortunes, and in curses. A weight settled itself uncomfortably amidst his jumbled thoughts. Together they lay and listened to the celebrations of civilization hum above their heads, mingling with the ominous whisper of the grasslands beyond.

　　　　　　　　An unbidden shiver
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　quivered
　　　　　　　　through their bones...
　

by **Rufio** on January 20th, 2017, 9:49 am

　　
　　　　 tal'ck wrapped an arm around Rufio's shoulders, who had to lift herself lightly in a small sit-up. She felt the pull and tension in her abdomen muscles as she held the awkward position, was grateful she did not have to hold for long.

As she settled herself into the crook of her Ankal's arm, she felt his warmth ebb. Content, she wrapped an arm around his chest, and sighed. A tick of charged silence passed as the Wildmanes wondered at the same thing.

curses...

The Wildmane curse. Yama, Tal'ck's first wife, had gone to see Ferem once. The foreboding, seeing elder had called them "The Wandering Wildmanes", for each of their Ankals, after riding at the head of the pavilion many seasons, would suddenly walk out into the Sea Of Grass and never return.

"The Wandering Wildmane Curse" had stuck like mud since. Do curses exist though? Rufio wondered. Her ochre orbs danced as they took in the stars above, her heart thudded, her inhibitions waxed away by alcholo, creativity poured in.

The thought churned in her like a tidal wave. It changed. "I don't believe we are cursed." She decided, unabashedly giving voice to the tension that lay in the pondering quiet. "Our Ankals left us, but that doesn't mean you will."

Uneasy, agreement, considering danced in Tal'ck features. His silence was charged, wary at the mention of what lay in the atmosphere. Rufio felt it. She shifted to sit, twisted lightly to peer into his face. Ochre orbs held his dark-cocoa, and she smiled.

"It's the choices man makes, and the generosity of-" Caihya, Zulrav, Semele. "-which forges Drykas' paths." Vaguely she thought of The Web, and added. Ancestors "which decide our path."

Tal'ck peered at his cousin, fearful and thoughtful. Chewing on her words, he reached for the mead and took a swig. Rufio's seeking gaze watched him, quietly waiting.

The Ankal took a deep breath, let it out. "I don't know..." He sat up and huffed out a breath that lifted his shoulders. Rufio laid a hand on his forearm with excited inspiration"I should read our fortune."

Surprise, mild-alarm flashed vividly in the Ankal's features, and hung in the shape of his sign as he gestured now, why-for?

Rufio insisted, "Read the Wildmane fortune." She persuaded with "I am not Ferem, I don't see the future. If we touch my mother's cards, it's our spirit-vibrations that draws the message." Subtle meanings she signed. Not spirits, nothing to fear in her half-shrug.

The Ankal seemed to teeter with thought, fingertips twisted in his beard as he considered. Rufio persuaded. "Ever since Yama came home that day you've been carrying the weight of the grasslands on your shoulders..."

Her hands lingered in the air, she let them shape entertainment, fun, distraction "It's not like I'm seeing into the future, it works more like tea-leaves." fun, distraction. "Maybe it will say something n-i-ce."

The word hiccuped out, and the Wildmanes returned to their easy laughter. Rufio's words seemed to sway the superstitious Ankal, who waved his acceptance "Alright, a distraction. Let's see what you've got, oh wise fortune-teller." game

He took a guzzle of the mead, and they shuffled to settle themselves with legs crossed, facing one another, fighting the giggles like children about to do something taboo.

Rufio drew her tarot cards.

by **Rufio** on January 21st, 2017, 11:05 am

　　
　　　　 the Wildmanes sat for a few chimes, fingertips entwined and gently resting on their knees, which touched lightly. The festival was a quieter rumble, as the night wore on and Leth climbed to his throne amidst the snow-laiden clouds.

The deep, throaty voices of the Drykas' were singing a lullaby, a wisful sound. It told of a tragic story, though the words weren't discernible this far away, Rufio felt the drum throb deep within her.

Felt it echo in her bones.

Tal'ck and Rufio were meant to be meditating. Rufio was. Feeling her thoughts calm, her mind drifting, helped by the mead. She took breaths in, held them, and when she let her breath out, she felt all tension ebb with it, an intuitive peace settling within.

Tal'ck, though, kept peeping open an eye to see if Rufio was still meditating. He took a deep breath, and cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders stiffly. After half a chime, he peeked at the fortune-teller, huffed.

He closed his eyes again. Not half a tick passed and the Ankal was unwinding his fingers gently from Rufio's, reaching them towards the mead. The fortune-teller, who had felt the meditation settle her, felt his hands move and knew where they went.

A smirk tugged at her lips. "You're meant to be clearing your mind of and fixing a question in your thoughts for the cards." She chastised with a giggle. The Wildmane Ankal grunted. "I can't sit still like this." He took a swig of the mead.

Rufio felt an amused grin seep across her face and gestured let's begin

The Ankal stoppered the mead-horn and set it aside, shuffling himself to make space between their folded legs. He watched, intrigue leaning in the curve of his shoulders, as Rufio shuffled the tarot cards.

They were made of leather that had toughened with age, stiff plaques, with faded pictures painted on their worn surfaces. When she held the cards out to the Ankal, Tal'ck took them gingerly, and shuffled them between his big, rough hands.

Suspense crept into the din between them, as they listened to the humming of the harmonies behind. It seemed to flicker with the firelight.

As if sensing when it was enough, the Ankal gave the cards back to Rufio, who set the pile on the flattened grass between them. Her head bowed to the cards, her gaze flicked up to her Ankal, who waved superfluously.

With an excited hitch in her breath, Rufio drew the first card and turned it over to reveal the picture painted painstakingly across its surface.

the ace of swords.

Rufio took in a breath, felt her heart skitter, though it might just have been the effects of so much mead seeping into her veins. Tal'ck's deep-cocoa gaze studied the card intently, thick brows knitted together. He gestured over it. What-mean?

Lifted those seeking eyes to Rufio, who raked her memories for the meaning of the card. She knew it was a "bad" card. If a tarot card can be "bad" or "good", a deep instinct within her argued.

She gestured change, sudden loss, swift, holding onto old things and rushed to elaborate its meaning, seeing Tal'ck's eyes widen and his jaw clench in the beginning whispers of alarm.

"The placement of the card is in the Past. It's saying, Wildmanes have suffered loss in the past, there has been upheaval, and change with it. You are holding on to stagnant feelings, carrying old hurts in your heart." It speaks, let go.

The Ankal leaned back and his fingers entwined in his beard in thought. He nodded and gestured truth, acceptance. We ride on. Rufio smiled, admired her Ankal's enduring courage.

She took a breath as she drew the next card. "The next card tells us where we are, how far we have come..."

by **Rufio** on January 31st, 2017, 8:03 pm

　　
　　　　" the present..."

Tal'ck leaned in, his cocoa gaze held his cousin's, pensive. Thoughts swam about his mind, fuzzy, vague, just beyond grasp. It is the mead, he sighed. Bracing himself for the next card that his fortune-teller might draw, he felt his chest tighten as his breath held.

Rufio felt her heart was skittering strangely within her chest, unusually strong was the beat. The mead's warmth permeated her, tamed her excitable temper.

Her fingers brushed the cards, and drew the next, turning it over just as she placed it lightly down on the flattened grasses between their knees beside the first card. Her ochre orbs flickered like candlelight as she took in the painting.

" ten of cups." She named it, identifying this card with a smile. She knew this one, this card, was a "good" card (if cards can be good or bad). Her hands harbored the good tidings that it meant.

Happiness, love, alignment. "This is a good thing. Wildmanes are in a happy season, where there is joy and things flowing well."

Tal'ck chuckled and nodded, taking it as a sign, he reached for the mead and praised his fortune-teller with good humour. "I should tell Yama to seek you for her fortune readings from now on, this isn't so bad."

His cheeks flushed under the mead and his smile sparkled in his eyes. Rufio chuckled and shrugged a shoulder, humble of his praise, Novice yet, much to learn.

Yet, as she took the horn from her Ankal and lifted it to her lips, felt the sweet honey taste on her tongue. As she heard the deep, throaty songs of the Drykas behind, and the stomp and snort and nicker of horse and zibri about them. As she glimpsed the stars in the distance hanging mysteriously above the inky horizon. Rufio felt her interpretation true.

Whether it was the mead, the card, her own filling of quiet contentment, or intuition. Whimsical and wavering like the wind was Rufio's temper, the Wildmane spirit.

The last card in this design, Rufio was sure would bode good tidings. It was the most dreaded, most anticipated position.

the future. Rufio waved, her sign tinged with excitement, apprehension. The card was swept from the top of the pile between them, flicked over to reveal its painted picture and laid down at the end of the row of two—Past and Present—that came before it.

the tower.

　　　　Rufio knew this one was feared, oft dreaded by fortune-teller and fortune-seeker alike. With a tug in her gut, mead-infused heart thudded a little faster. Her thoughts raced to seek the card's meaning under the sense of impending "doom" that danced to the surface of her knowledge.

　　　　　　Tal'ck, who had leaned in, this time with suspense, with bated breath, with apprehension in the set of his shoulders, and a fearful tenseness in the line of his jaw. 'Cursed...' taunted his thoughts. 'You are cursed'...

　　　Silence sat between gruff Ankal and freckled cousin. Leth's light caught in the glint of the gold ring set into Rufio's nose, dancing there with the glow of firelight. Flickering, like her thoughts, as she mused on the meaning of the card.

　　　　　　The Tower represented anguish and pain...
　　

by **Rufio** on January 31st, 2017, 9:13 pm

　　
　　　　 rufio's ochre gaze danced across the broken tower stones painted in green-grey, the vibrant gold lacquer that shaped lightning as it struck the crumbling, burning ruins. Zulrav's warning.

　　　　　Eerie disquiet
　　　　　　　　settled about their shoulders;
　　　　　　　　　　　a heavy,　　　stifling cloak.

　　　　"What does it say?" Tal'ck whispered, hadn't meant to. His words breaking into stronger tones as his query broke into the air. He was hesitant, Rufio realised, wondered if because his reader, she, was.

The freckled Wildmane spoke slowly to give herself time to think, to interpret, for creativity to pour in and mingle with intuition to bear an answer.

"The Tower" Her fingers brushed the card, feeling the roughness despite her drunk-dulled senses lent her strength. "Anguish and pain." She stated without fuss.

Tal'ck's hands twitched with warding. She heard him suck in a breath, the cold air filling his broad chest, lifting his shoulders, as if he braced for the impact of its meaning.

"But—the cards do not always mean what they mean." She gestured over the line of three laid between them, wrinkling her nose lightly, disagreeing with the vagueness of her words. "Like, this card, here, the Ace Of Swords."

　　　　　　　　She began to read the cards, interpreting the symbols by their attributed meanings, mingling meaning with intuitive creativity, letting her mind frame and re-frame the meanings meaningfully with what was meaningful to her, and to the Ankal.

　　　　　　　　Her hands gesturing passionately as her thoughts plodded towards a conclusion that settled well with her, a conclusion that made sense, spiritually and logically. "It means things that might be foreboding, except it is in the position representing Past. These tidings speak of suffering and loss that has happened."

"The Tower, here." Her fingers hovered over it, shaking lightly, with the mead, or more, she couldn't be sure. "It is saying there will be anguish and pain, but, I must take the representations of these three cards together to give your reading."

The Present, the Past, the Future.
The Path. The Message. The Warning.

Her hands gestured, the signs dragged up from some dregs of instinct, making it up as she went along, yet, drawing her inspiration from a true core of superstition and spirituality.

"The Ace Of Swords is telling us that Wildmanes have suffered change and loss in the past, that to move forward, we must change and let go-" Ride on Her hands borrowed the Ankal's earlier sign, as she continued. "So that we might have happiness and joy."

She nodded to the Ten Of Cups with a smile tugging into her worried features, easing the tension that lay there as she put together the pieces of the fortune-telling puzzle. "The Tower is a warning." Her orbs alit on the lightning and a shiver ran down her spine, though she was not cold. "It comes from Zulrav."

Her smile subdued, and her brows furrowed as she reached deeply into creativity, into her intuition, her beliefs, lores of her family and of Tal'ck sitting before her. With a pondering quiet, she wondered. What wisdom does Zulrav leave us in these cards?

It dawned on her that the Ace Of Swords bid a warning, too. Speaking of holding on to past loss. Some creative musing clicked into place, and her wondering settled like a river calming. The oppressive tension lifted suddenly with her superstitious epiphany. The music of the festival flooded into her senses, and the warmth of it ebbed into their little space.

"If you do not let go of what has past, and appreciate the happiness of the present, then you bring anguish with you like a stone in your strider's hoof, and cause pain in the future." Her words lilted rhythmically, almost musically as she interpreted the fortune.

With a satisfied grin, her ochre gaze lifted for the first time since drawing the cards to the Ankal's, dancing across his face. Seeking his thoughts.

The Wildmane Ankal leaned back and his shoulders slumped heavily, as if he carried a ruined tower on his back. He sighed wearily and after a chime, spoke. "You make it sound as if this can be changed." He gestured to the Future, to The Tower.

Surprise flitted beneath his cousin's freckles and she signed warmly, passionately. Strength, courage, conviction, faith. "I believe these draw a path of what might be, not set in stone, based on the way that you are riding now, and the things you carry now. I have faith in my Ankal, in you, Tal'ck."

There are no curses set upon us.
This the undercurrent of her words.

She spoke so surely, with faith in him, that the Wildmane Ankal felt the unease and dread with which he had taken up the Wandering Wildman anchor ebb gently.

There is a rock within the spirit of Rufio, he mused to himself. She annoys me like the wind, blowing all ways, without direction or purpose, but...she is like the rock too. Enduring and faithful.

He realized with surprise that he was glad to have her among his flock, even if she were willful and scattered. Her faith spoke to the strength in himself, reminded him that he had the Drykas spirit within him. It brought comfort. Warmth seep into his weary bones. Dare he let it stay?—dare he trust her faith?...

◽ ◽ ◽

Snow drifted softly, as the stars glittered silently.

by **Khida** on February 23rd, 2017, 3:19 am

Rufio

Skill	Points
Fortune-telling	+4
Meditation	+1
Persuasion	+2
Rhetoric	+3

Fortune-telling: 3-card layout, past, present, future
Fortune-telling: interpretation is inherently ambiguous
Fortune-telling: relying on intuition for interpretations
Meditation: relaxing on measured breaths
Persuasion: tailoring justifications to another's concerns
Tarot, Ace of Swords: sudden change, loss, clinging to old things
Tarot, Ten of Cups: happiness, love, alignment
Tarot, The Tower: anguish, pain

Notes

This was a neat little personal moment. I definitely empathized with Rufio (resident 'expert') explaining the cards and their significances to Tal'ck (representative non-expert), and how she had to double-back and unpack the complexity of interpretation. I've been in that situation a time or three myself... different subjects though.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade. Also, please edit your request to show this thread has been graded.