He'd hopefully given Alys plenty to think about in regards to her own choices and future, and even if she didn't take him up on his suggestions, at least she seemed to appreciate them. The courier's chest swelled momentarily with pride before the reminder that they were about to delve into his romantic life kicked in and he suddenly found himself trying not cough out any of the butterflies twisting around in his stomach.
Pale eyes watched Alys's fingers intently as she flipped the cards over with deft movements. The first card seemed promising, even if it was his past, and Tal chanced an eager glance at his friend's face as she contemplated its meaning. But when his eyes moved downwards again he froze at the sight of the second card. He opened his mouth but the seer continued speaking and Tal shut his jaw with a click so he could swallow past a dry throat. The final card was... that was good, right? Stars were good? As long as they didn't come crashing down during LongNight...
But he knew better than to interrupt while Alys was absorbing the reading and piecing the cards together. He bit his lip to hold in his questions until she was ready to explain, and he gave a slow nod as she launched into her interpretation of the Magician. She wasn't wrong, and she knew that he'd been expanding his business instead of focusing on his love life. Well, except for the disastrous karaoke night...
Pushing that from his mind, he waited with trepidation as she moved on to the Death card. It wasn't hard to guess that it had something to do with Melita, and despite Alys's reassurance of the card's benign nature, her next words seemed to prove it. Let it go, huh? Well, by now he'd already pretty much done that. The memory still stung, sure, but he'd accepted that he'd lost any chance he might have ever had with the Honeybee.
Caught up in his thoughts of the recent past, he almost missed the transition to the future. Healing and spiritual growth, huh? That... didn't really sound like him, Tal was self-aware enough to know. But the words made him twist the ring on his middle finger, spinning its gold-kissed band distractedly. It sounded... well. Too good to be true, and his lips quirked into a wistful, rueful smile. "I don't s'pose the cards say anythin' about how long that'll take?" he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice to cover the flicker of baseless hope that would only lead to disappointment if his past crushes were any indication.
Pale eyes watched Alys's fingers intently as she flipped the cards over with deft movements. The first card seemed promising, even if it was his past, and Tal chanced an eager glance at his friend's face as she contemplated its meaning. But when his eyes moved downwards again he froze at the sight of the second card. He opened his mouth but the seer continued speaking and Tal shut his jaw with a click so he could swallow past a dry throat. The final card was... that was good, right? Stars were good? As long as they didn't come crashing down during LongNight...
But he knew better than to interrupt while Alys was absorbing the reading and piecing the cards together. He bit his lip to hold in his questions until she was ready to explain, and he gave a slow nod as she launched into her interpretation of the Magician. She wasn't wrong, and she knew that he'd been expanding his business instead of focusing on his love life. Well, except for the disastrous karaoke night...
Pushing that from his mind, he waited with trepidation as she moved on to the Death card. It wasn't hard to guess that it had something to do with Melita, and despite Alys's reassurance of the card's benign nature, her next words seemed to prove it. Let it go, huh? Well, by now he'd already pretty much done that. The memory still stung, sure, but he'd accepted that he'd lost any chance he might have ever had with the Honeybee.
Caught up in his thoughts of the recent past, he almost missed the transition to the future. Healing and spiritual growth, huh? That... didn't really sound like him, Tal was self-aware enough to know. But the words made him twist the ring on his middle finger, spinning its gold-kissed band distractedly. It sounded... well. Too good to be true, and his lips quirked into a wistful, rueful smile. "I don't s'pose the cards say anythin' about how long that'll take?" he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice to cover the flicker of baseless hope that would only lead to disappointment if his past crushes were any indication.
