how did this asylum become where i sleep
Alys could tell that Tal was trying hard to be gentle with the cards, and she looked on, relieved. They were, after all, irreplaceable - if they were damaged or lost, it would be like losing a dear friend. Like losing a part of her. It was why she always kept them on her person, hidden in her belt-purse, each wrapped carefully in handkerchiefs of silk.
She remained silent as Tal picked up her third deck, the one she'd made herself. The drawings, though dark and eerie at first glance, were mesmerizing in their hidden complexities. There was something deeply personal about designing a tarot deck; she had put a piece of herself into those cards, and they were uniquely hers to interpret. Seeing someone look at them as closely as Tal was made her nervous, but she swallowed hard and resisted the urge to snatch them back. After all, if she'd given him a reading with them, he'd have been able to see them anyway.
It was just different to have him look so closely at them, that's all.
Alys looked up sharply when Tal guessed that the deck was blunter because she had made it, unsure if there was an unsavory implication in the question about her personality. She knew she could be gruff and off-putting - she didn't need him to tell her that! But there seemed to only be curiosity behind the question, and she slowly relaxed, her metaphorically ruffled feathers smoothing out. "Maybe," she admitted. "It's, um - well, it's like it forces me to really look in the mirror. I'm not sure what it would be like to read for someone else with it."
She remained silent as Tal picked up her third deck, the one she'd made herself. The drawings, though dark and eerie at first glance, were mesmerizing in their hidden complexities. There was something deeply personal about designing a tarot deck; she had put a piece of herself into those cards, and they were uniquely hers to interpret. Seeing someone look at them as closely as Tal was made her nervous, but she swallowed hard and resisted the urge to snatch them back. After all, if she'd given him a reading with them, he'd have been able to see them anyway.
It was just different to have him look so closely at them, that's all.
Alys looked up sharply when Tal guessed that the deck was blunter because she had made it, unsure if there was an unsavory implication in the question about her personality. She knew she could be gruff and off-putting - she didn't need him to tell her that! But there seemed to only be curiosity behind the question, and she slowly relaxed, her metaphorically ruffled feathers smoothing out. "Maybe," she admitted. "It's, um - well, it's like it forces me to really look in the mirror. I'm not sure what it would be like to read for someone else with it."
Alys
