She didn't seem excited to show him, but she didn't seem to be offended, either, and Tal bobbed his head in awkward gratitude for her willingness to go ahead with a reading that he could see from the outside. The cards fairly flew between her hands, shuffled and ruffled and thoroughly mixed as she answered his other query.
He took a breath in preparation for asking a follow up, but then Alys was ready to begin and Tal filled his mouth with a quick drink from his mug instead, watching and listening in silence aside from the rhythmic tapping of his fingers softly on the wood of the table. The cards were laid, their initial meanings were explained, and then the interpretation of how they related to her question began and Tal's brow furrowed with concentration.
"I get the first card," he said slowly. "Halo's always got challenges. The weather. The land. An' just... bein' an outsider here. How can y'tell it's got t'do with your magic?" There was genuine confusion in his question as he tried to follow her reasoning in choosing that path among all others to follow for the interpretations of the other two cards.
He stopped his tapping to point at the middle card. "So, the lion card - Strength - does it guarantee that you'll overcome the challenges? Like, a promise from the go--uh, Universe?" A concept he wasn't entirely comfortable with, but he made an effort. "An' the last card... how d'you know it doesn't mean someone else'll lie to you if you stay?" he asked curiously, fascinated now in spite of his earlier skepticism.
He took a breath in preparation for asking a follow up, but then Alys was ready to begin and Tal filled his mouth with a quick drink from his mug instead, watching and listening in silence aside from the rhythmic tapping of his fingers softly on the wood of the table. The cards were laid, their initial meanings were explained, and then the interpretation of how they related to her question began and Tal's brow furrowed with concentration.
"I get the first card," he said slowly. "Halo's always got challenges. The weather. The land. An' just... bein' an outsider here. How can y'tell it's got t'do with your magic?" There was genuine confusion in his question as he tried to follow her reasoning in choosing that path among all others to follow for the interpretations of the other two cards.
He stopped his tapping to point at the middle card. "So, the lion card - Strength - does it guarantee that you'll overcome the challenges? Like, a promise from the go--uh, Universe?" A concept he wasn't entirely comfortable with, but he made an effort. "An' the last card... how d'you know it doesn't mean someone else'll lie to you if you stay?" he asked curiously, fascinated now in spite of his earlier skepticism.
