2021-02-11: Unsolicited Counsel
- Cutscene: Unsolicited Counsel
- Cast: Xantia
- Where: ???
- Date: February 11, 2021
- Summary: Xantia meets a strange person in a strange place offering strange advice. But is that the whole reason why she feels so strange afterwards...?
Trees. Trees everywhere. Once upon a time, the sight of so many trees so close together had caused wonder on a scale unmatched. Now... now it would sure be nice to see something, anything else than greenery bereft of easily definable landmarks.
How long has she been wandering around here? How did she even get here? ...Where even is 'here'? The more questions she asks herself, the more frustration mounts. Frustration, and fear. Loss of direction is one thing, but what's truly terrifying to consider is the loss of even more memories.
Suddenly, everything changes. One moment, there seemed to be no end to the sea of green. The next, Xantia steps into an open clearing, shielding her eyes from the sudden bright sunlight, no longer blocked by a closed canopy. Beautiful, colorful flowers of various shapes and sizes dot the grassy field that stretches out in front of her, forming an area almost perfectly circular, the forest serving as its natural border. There's something mystical about this place, she finds herself thinking, and the presence she senses at the center of it all would seem to affirm as such.
There sits a single figure on a simple wooden stool, completely obscured within a white hooded cloak. Before them, on the table, cards are spread out on a plain wooden table; another, empty stool on its opposite end, as if waiting for her. Curiously, Xantia steps closer, prompting the figure to speak in a deep, feminine voice.
"I've been waiting for you. Would you like to know your fortune?"
Xantia doesn't bother to hide her thoughts on such matters, chuckling before shaking her head. "Fortune telling? No thanks. I don't believe in things like fate and such. If you could just tell me how to get out of this place, I'll be on my way."
Abruptly, the figure moves, sweeping all the cards off the table in a quick flourish, with such blinding speed that it appears as if the cards just teleported into the figure's hands. They proceed to shuffle in an exaggerated, showy way that one might expect from a card shark, idly passing the deck of cards from one hand to another.
"You misunderstand. I never claimed to know the future. I simply know your current path. I also know where it may possibly lead, but exactly where it does is up to you. All I have to offer is advice. It couldn't hurt to hear me out, could it?" A thin smile can be seen forming beneath the figure's hood. "It's free."
Xantia frowns. This seemed like a waste of time at first, but there's something about this person... she can't quite put her finger on the kind of vibe she's getting from them, but something about them is triggering her fight or flight instincts. Not that she has much of the latter half of that instinct. Far be it from her to back down from anything in her path.
"...Fine," she relents, dropping herself down on the unoccupied seat, feigning casual acceptance. "But make it quick, alright? If this seems boring or stupid, I'm leaving." Not that she has any idea where she'd even go. She starts when, in response, the fortune teller seated opposite her slams the deck of cards down on the table.
"As you wish. Then I will connect everything all at once. Past, present, future... what will we see when we put it all together?"
With deft motions, the hooded figure flicks three cards off the top of the deck, causing them to flip in the air and land on the table face-up, aligned perfectly next to one another. Xantia squints, and blinks several times at the bizarre realization that she can't tell what's depicted on the cards. Their images seem to swirl before her eyes, remaining permanently out of focus no matter how much she tries to concentrate on them. The fortune teller, by contrast, barely regards the cards at all, listing off what each of them apparently is.
"Seven of Wands. Five of Swords. The Hanged Man. An obvious pattern, isn't it?" The question was evidently rhetorical, as they don't wait for an answer, instead motioning to the first card in the sequence.
"You've always had a tendency to fight to get what you want. Your proactive attitude has availed you time and time again in the past, so you see no reason to approach anything differently. Surely if you wish to accomplish something, the bold, straightforward approach will always yield the best and quickest results."
Xantia's eyes open wider. That does describe her pretty well. But does that mean that this person actually has some sort of power, or could this simply be someone who's familiar with her? This is not exactly a secret, after all, anybody who knows her even a little would know that much. She doesn't interject however, listening quietly as the fortune teller's hand moves to hover over the second card.
"However, not every battle can be won. Some may in fact lead to a worse outcome whether the battle was won or not, simply because you were too quick to fight. If you always act in the way you think is best, and fail to consider what would be best for everyone else, you may provoke conflict needlessly, and cause suffering that could have been prevented. Even if you think you're doing the right thing for everyone, how often do you truly weigh all the options and consider alternatives before you act?"
Xantia averts her eyes at those words. This... starts to feel more like her mind is being read. She has often felt concerned that she's done something wrong, if there was more or something else that she could have done to make things end up better than they did. But no one would know that just by looking at her. Only her close friends are aware that for all her bravado, she doubts herself in everything she does, if not in the moment then certainly after the fact.
When she looks up again, her gaze has turned hopeful. If this stranger could somehow tell her the proper way to consider these things, that would help tremendously. She pays close attention as the fortune teller's white gloved finger slowly descends upon the final card.
"Perhaps now is the time to turn your thinking around. Sometimes, the best action of all is to do nothing. When that urge to act is at its strongest, that's exactly when you should pause and reflect on the consequences, and consider doing the exact opposite. When you most want to reject, consider accepting. When you most want to rush in, perhaps patience, or even retreat is in order. When you most want to fight... sometimes, the correct answer is surrender."
Xantia's demeanor instantly swings around. Leaping up from her seat, she slams both hands down on the table, scattering the cards every which way.
"I thought you might have something helpful to tell me, but now you're just talking nonsense! How is surrender ever a good thing!? You can't expect me to believe that it's ever a good idea to just... give up!"
The hooded figure calmly leans back, seeming to have expected this. "Well. I think you're proving my point rather nicely."
Xantia balls her fists, that reaction only angering her further, but now she's starting to suspect that this is exactly what this person was after. They must be antagonizing her on purpose. Maybe she should be careful about giving them exactly what they want. But retreat from them? Surrender to them? That's not going to happen. She tries to calm herself down a little, then slowly leans forward, peering into that dark space beneath the hood, keeping her from discerning the identity of the mysterious fortune teller.
"You think you know everything, don't you? But you're wrong. You don't know me. Nobody /really/ knows me. How well could you possibly know me?"
To her surprise, the fortune teller mimics her action, leaning forward themselves... and raising their hands to their hood. In one swift movement, they finally unmask themselves, revealing... a face identical to her own. Replying to her in a voice identical to her own.
"Better than you know yourself."
A sharp pain strikes Xantia in the back of the head.
"OW!"
Xantia rubs the back of her head, frowning as she looks over her cramped surroundings. This is... the pilot compartment of her Gear. Glancing at the main monitor, the words 'SELF-DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE. 0 ISSUES FOUND.' are displayed. That's right... she was making sure Silvestris was okay, and... did she fall asleep at some point? Well, it was pretty boring waiting for everything to finish...
She breathes a sigh of relief. Just a dream. She wasn't really lost, and she didn't lose any memories. And that person... that person wasn't real, and their words were... probably meaningless. Nothing to worry about. Nothing she should keep thinking about. Ughhh she's going to keep thinking about this, isn't she?
The sound of static draws her attention to the communications systems. Is someone trying to contact her? She's about to reach out for the console, when her hand stops halfway. She can tell just by looking. Communications are switched off. That sound... isn't coming from there.
"...Oh no."