𝐿𝑒𝓈 𝒟𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝐵𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈 | 𝓢𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓻 & 𝓔𝓪𝓻𝓹𝓵𝓾𝓰𝓼

[Saber]

Was there anything more stressful than dealing with family? Especially when there was a death in said family. Funerals were hard to deal with in general without including the fees and extended relatives asking questions, not to mention the legal aspect. It had been some time since Rayna Hale had been to her hometown of Belmonte, at least five years and she hadn't expected to return until her Aunt Delilah had met an untimely demise. She had committed suicide, at least, that's what the police had told her and her family. They hadn't actually gotten to see Aunt Delilah before they had her prepared for her funeral and demanded the casket remained closed. It was strange all around, but Rayna had really come home to help her parents with aftermath. Her father, Delilah's brother, was distraught and trying to get the file from the police on his sister's report, as well as the coroner with no luck.

Rayna had very limited knowledge on how these particular events worked, but she knew that usually the family was called upon to identify the deceased. It seemed extremely odd that the coroner wouldn't even allow her father to see his sister. Even if the body had been unrecognizable, they usually still needed to be identified. So even though she did her best to help her father get answers, it was becoming exhausting both mentally and physically. She was only supposed to be in town for four days, and two of those days had been funeral prep and telephone calls. Now that the funeral was over and they'd hit a proverbial wall with dealing with the coroner and the police, she was ready to have a semi-normal evening.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" Her mother asked as Rayna grabbed her truck keys from the hook hanging by the door. "I'm sure your father would love to have you around this evening." They had only gotten back from the cemetery a few hours ago and the last of the extended family had finally left. Being surrounded by doom and gloom for so long was taking it's toll on her.

"I promised Emily that I would meet up with her at least once while I was in town." Rayna smiled as she opened the door, the warm summer air wafting into the house. "I won't be out long. It's just dinner." She backtracked for a moment to give her mother a hug before glancing at her father who was sleeping soundly in his recliner in the living room. "I'll probably be back before he even wakes up."

As Rayna started her truck, she sighed heavily, resting her forehead against the steering wheel to take a grounding breath. Dealing with the emotions of others was rather taxing for her. Especially when she was too busy guiding people through their own issues than recognizing her own, it was a bad habit she was trying to remedy. After another calming breath, she straightened up and backed out of the driveway, heading towards downtown. Driving down main street was nostalgic. There were shops she recognized and ones she didn't that must've moved in while she was away. One window front caught her attention while she was at a stop light and she made a mental note to stop by before she left town. When she arrived at the diner, she could see Emily waving dramatically as she shifted her vehicle into park. Rayna hadn't seen Emily since she'd left for university across the state after high school. When Rayna entered, the scents of fry oil and grill smoke filled her nose, making her realize how hungry she actually was.

"Rayna!" The bubbly blonde stood and embraced her tightly. Rayna never thought she was tall, she was only five foot and seven inches, but Emily was barely reaching five foot. The brunette laughed lightly before they sat down across from one another in the squeaky pleather booth seats. "Sorry that you're in town for a funeral, but I'm super happy we could meet up! How's your dad? How've you been? Wasn't your birthday last week? You cut your hair!"

Emily had always gone a mile a minute and Rayna chuckled as she held her hands up in surrender to all the questions and comments. "It's good to see you, Ems, it's been a while." A waitress came by and dropped off another menu along with a glass of water. "My dad is...well he's doing the best he can, and I've been all right given the circumstances that I'm in town. And yes, I turned twenty-six last Friday." It was hard to keep up with constant bombardment, so when the waitress returned and they ordered their food, Rayna was glad for the hiatus in conversation.

After they got their food, the topic finally shifted to reminiscing on the times before. What Emily had done after high school and how Rayna had graduated from university with her degree in sports medicine. For a moment, Rayna forgot about why she was originally back in Belmonte as she enjoyed her time catching up with her friend. When the meal was finished and the sun had fully set, the two bid farewell, promising to keep in touch when Rayna left town again. As she was making her way back home, she turned down main street and glanced at the dark windows of the shops that had closed for the night.

As she came to a stop light, there was a dim glow coming from a dilapidated brick building that she had spotted before. Her curiosity got the better of her, and really it would only take a minute to check out the shop. At least that's what she told herself as she turned down the side street and parked. When she found herself standing at the the store front, she tilted her head a bit as she read the words, "Madame Volobrìn, Tarot and Séance Services.". The gold leaf the words had been painted in were cracked and peeling, giving the appearance that this shop had been around for quite some time.

Rayna glanced in the window before reaching for the door handle. As the door creaked open, a bell over head rang and echoed in the ominous space before the door closed gently behind her. "Hello?" She called out gently as she took a few steps further into the shop. "Is anyone here? Your door was unlocked."

 

[EarPlugs]

Fog rolled into the tiny town behind Rayna's truck, slowly obscuring the view of the surrounding area as she parked in front of Madame Volobrìn's parlor. The air cooled several degrees as darkness fell over Belmonte. The light of the stars only cast an eerie blue glow over the thickening mists, which almost appeared to lead the young woman into the parlor's door.

Rayna let herself into the establishment, and the ring of the bell cleared the depressive ambience of the gloomy outdoors, making way for an air of mystery and...the pungent smoky odor of unscented incense. A chilling silence reigned over the tiny little soothsayer's parlor, and whether one found serenity or anxiety within the room depended completely on their current state of mind.
The girl called out, but there came no response. A dim purple glow rose from behind a counter in the back of the space, drawing visitors towards it. Rayna passed shelves chockful of glass jars, each labeled with some kind of spice or other ingredient one might expect to see featured in a witch's cabin. From cardamom to fleshy looking things labeled with Mandarin text she couldn't read. One shelf even had a row of yellowed skulls, belonging to different kinds of animals. Which kind she could only guess. She picked one up. It was small, but looked vaguely humanoid. It couldn't be any larger than an infant's, and was elongated when compared to the skull of a human. The teeth, especially the canines, were long and pointy.
The lower jaw of the skull was attached to the main object by short ends of sisal cord, and it hinged open when not supported by Rayna's hands. A curious look inside the chamber that once held the brain would reveal the inside of the bone to have been etched full of symbol of an unknown language. A shiver would run down her spine and she reached back to the shelf to set it down.

"Macaca Mulatta."
The parlor's proprietor 'appeared' behind Rayna and gave her quite the start. The skull nearly clattered to the floor, but Rayna managed to keep it from falling -though it did bounce around from hand to hand a couple of times- to its demise. No doubt it would have been quite costly to replace.
Madame Volobrìn seemed not to be phased by Rayna almost destroying the display item, though she reached for it to adjust the angle in which it was placed back onto the shelf. The woman's skin was pale. Pale enough for her blood vessels to be visible in places, appearing as blue streaks down her milky arms. Similarly, her eyes had cloudy shapes over them. Perhaps untreated cataracts? Regardless, these traits combined had her appear almost corpse-like.
"The Rhesus Macaque's skull, when properly glyphed, wards off unwanted visitors. Being drawn to it, you must be going through a time of profound loneliness. Be careful miss. You are fated to make new acquaintances soon, and you will wish you hadn't met some of them, in time."
The madame smiiled lightly as she placed her hands over top of each other, atop her lower abdomen. "I am honored to be your first fated meeting. Madame Volobrìn, spirit mystic. Pleasure. With what may I be of service to a young lady in mourning?"

For a moment, Rayna felt unsettled at her time of grief being called out. How did the Madame know? Psychics aren't real, so...how?
The buxom lady cracked a faint smile, and answered the question Rayna never posed to her. "I saw you at the funeral service. Delilah and I were acquainted."
The madame offered no condolences, hinting at either a disdain for the deceased. Or the belief of death merely being a new beginning, perhaps?
She did offer something else, though; "Would you wish for me to read your tarot? It's free." Her arm was raised to motion at a small poster up on the wall, which read; "Our first daily tarot reading is free! First come, first serve!" ...considering the time, the store should likely have been closed hours ago. Apparently the special incentive didn't draw the mystic many clients.

 

[Saber]

Rayna being startled by the sudden appearance of Madame Volobrin, who had seemed to appear out of thin air, was an understatement. Her heart was still racing and a fresh shot of adrenaline was slithering through her veins as her hands began to shake. Not to mention the fear of dropping the skull didn't help matters any. She swallowed hard as she let her eyes wander the pale woman before snapping out of her stupor when she mentioned she had been acquainted with her aunt. Being away from home for so long meant that Rayna didn't know as many people as she used to. Not to mention this woman didn't seem like a native of Belmonte. Her overly curious mind was racing with questions. How had Madame Volobrin come to find herself here? How long had she been living here? And how long had she been a spirit mystic? All these questions wouldn't pass her lips, unfortunately. Perhaps at a later time if they found themselves still conversing.

"You knew Aunt Delilah?" Was the only question that Rayna could manage to get out. Belmonte wasn't a large city, it wasn't abnormal for her aunt to have a social life where almost everyone knew everyone else. Regardless, Rayna was a bit surprised to meet someone who had actually gone to the funeral. Rayna had never really given psychics or the sort a second thought. She didn't believe in it when there was never really any solid evidence that it worked, or that they could even see what they claimed they saw. But since this woman seemed to be a friend of her aunt, what could be the harm? Not to mention it was free.

"I suppose a tarot reading wouldn't hurt." There was a table sat off to the side where a deck of tarot cards sat neatly stacked in the center. She'd never had anything like this done before, so naturally she was a bit apprehensive. Still, Rayna moved and sat down at the table, the gentle scraping of the wood legs against the floor as she scooted the chair forward. "I've never had a tarot card reading before." Rayna admitted as she fidgeted in the chair a little, waiting for instructions.

Rayna didn't know why she was nervous. Maybe it was being somewhere she wasn't familiar with, or maybe it was because this Madame Volobrin was familiar with her and had recognized her at the funeral. It was a possibility that she knew something about her aunt's untimely death, but was there even more to find out? Rayna had to admit, even she was a bit puzzled as to the rush around her aunt's funeral and the lack of information they had received from the coroner. They hadn't even been allowed into her home to clean it out. Something about the police wanting to gather as much evidence as they could, but why if they had deemed it a suicide?

"So what do I have to do?" Rayna sat up a little taller as she readied herself for whatever Madame Volobrin had in store for her.

 

[EarPlugs]

"Yes, your auntie Delilah used to purchase tinctures and totems from my mother's store." The woman replied, taking Rayna's hand gently into her own to lead the guest to the reading table in the corner. A incense burner stood atop it, and the smoking stick held up by it was almost halfway though being burnt. Several candles also stood atop the table, though they weren't lit.
Madame Volobrìn started to go through several motions she must have performed hundred, if not thousands -...no. Considering the low number of clients, probably not thousands- of times. The client would seat themselves, and then she'd go around the store to shutter the blinds on the windows, turn off the lights, and lock the doors. With her parlor properly blacked out, the madame's pale skin stood right out. Like a white spirit in black robe she floated back towards the table, where she sat down on the mirror-side from Rayna. She drew a hidden drawer from the table, underneath the galaxy-motif cloth draped overtop. From the drawer she plucked a bundle of match-sticks, of which she promptly struck one. Her beautiful, porcelain-like face became illuminated by the flame, and her hazy blue eyes stared straight at her guest as she smiled. "A little ambience makes fate feel welcomed." and makes a reading a whole lot more entertaining of an experience. The woman touched the match to the wick of the candles situated around the edge of the table, lighting up the surface just enough for Rayna's tarot to be read. The madame's plump lips pursed near the matchflame, and ended the little ritual by blowing it out.

From under Volobrìn's dress came a stack of cards, neatly wrapped in leather binding, and she pulled the golden cord to free the cards from their wrappings. With deft hands, the madame shuffled the deck, riffling it no more or less than three times, before placing it down in front of her guest. "Please cut the deck into three piles, darling." She said, waiting for Rayna to do as she was instructed. Once the cut had been completed, the piles of cards were put back into a single stack, although the order in which the piles now lay within the deck had changed.
The madame looked at her client intently, fanning the cards out over the table in front of the younger woman. "I'm sure you have questions about current things in your life, but I have elected to give you a general reading, before I answer them. This is your first reading, correct? We will be drawing ten cards, representing you, different aspects in your life, past, present and future. Please pick ten cards from anywhere in the deck and place them in a neat pile on the table. Don't turn them open."

The cards fanned out in front of Rayna all sported shiny black backs, with signs of wear showing their repeated use. Any of the cards would be indistinguishable from any other, assuming one couldn't perfectly remember them by the faint marks of wear. Still, Rayna felt a certain pressure. Like a voice whispering in her ear to hurry her along and pick her cards. Maybe she picked ten cards totally at random, or perhaps ten cards felt 'right'. Regardless, eventually, the madame would have to end up with a neat little pile of the things.

 

[Saber]

As the shop owner went around and effectively blocked out the windows while dousing the lights, Rayna felt a little uneasy when she heard the heavy click of the deadbolt locking. Rayna swallowed hard as her eyes followed the woman until she was sitting across from her. She watched, almost mesmerized, as Madame Volobrin lit the candles and gently snuffed the match. It was strange being in this shop and thinking of her Aunt Delilah, whom she thought was on the conservative side of life, buying things from this shop. She couldn't even see her aunt stepping foot in this establishment, let alone being acquaintances with Madame Volobrin. She'd always thought that her aunt solved her problems with liquor and prayer. It made her curious as to what else Aunt Delilah was involved in. When the woman asked her to cut the deck, it brought Rayna back from the thoughts that were heavily clouding her mind.

"Oh, ok." The brunette cleared her throat lightly as she delicately took the cards with the tips of her fingers, barely lifting the whole deck from the surface of the table. She let her grip loosen a touch, just enough for the cards to fall to the table once more into three, semi-uniformed piles. Rayna straightened the cards that were out of place in the new piles out of habit. When Madame Volobrin spoke again of the possible questions Rayna had, just just nodded silently. After the cards had been fanned out across the table, Rayna analyzed them carefully before finally moving to slide her chosen cards away from the pack.

With low expectations and hardly any knowledge on tarot itself, Rayna chose the cards at random, or what she thought was random. A few of them she felt a strange pull towards, the reasoning behind that feeling she wouldn't be able to explain if someone asked her, and didn't want to try to comprehend it herself at the moment. Perhaps it was the ambiance, or just the overall mood of the shop with the lights off and the soft glow of the candles illuminating what was important at the time. Regardless, in the uniformed fan of cards, she had moved ten away from group and stared carefully at them, only minorly second guessing her choices. She folded her hands carefully in her lap as she waited for Madame Volobrin to flip and explain the cards she had chosen.

There was anticipation and anxiety all balled into the depths of her chest as she kept eyeing her chosen cards. In the back of her mind she knew it was silly for her, someone who relied on logic and proven methods, to expect answers from a set of cards and a woman who knew very little to nothing about her. Still, what was the harm in the grand scheme? This was, after all, just for fun.

 

[EarPlugs]

Madame Volobrìn gingerly took the small stack of cards from her client, brushing a hand over the back of Rayna's as the pile switched ownership. "Good. Thank you, sweetheart. Please, relax. You look terribly tense. Be careful not to upset the spirits in the room." If anything, that likely would have the opposite of the intended effect. But one cannot expect a woman who 'works with ghosts' for a living to have proper people skills, now, can they?
The spiritualist's eyes took on a somber, empty stare as her empty hand hovered over the small deck, which gently lay in the palm of the other. She appeared to concentrated deeply, as if to draw forth the cards that would recount Rayna's past, illuminated her present, and set out a path for her to walk down towards the future. The empty palm turned away from the deck in a smooth motion, with two fingers pointing towards Rayna, then up towards the ceiling. The top card of the pile floated up and after the tips of the outstretched fingers, as if orchestrated by a director, and was guided towards the center of the table, where it landed face-up. Rayna hadn't seen anything like this, before, not even from the street magicians she used to see at the fair. Volobrìn was so close, and the light so high in contrast...how did she hide the strings!? Before she could well and truly contemplate it, though, the Madame's voice drew her attention back towards the first card in her tarot;

Reveal (NSFW)

"Your present is represented by the Ten of Swords" The woman said, somberly. The card portrayed a woman, impaled by -as the name implied- ten swords. "It signifies ruin. A dead end. You have hit rock bottom. But fear not, love. Life can only go in one direction once you've reached this point. It will get better. But, something is stopping you from moving forward."
A second swiping motion from the woman's fingers drew the second card from atop the deck, and it landed across the Ten of Swords at a perfect ninety degree angle.

Reveal (NSFW)

"The Devil...!" The Madame's breath stocked, and Rayna felt the air in the room thicken, as if it was trying to asphyxiate her. The card portrayed three women, one under the biblical Serpent's spell, and two others, seemingly averting their gaze from the sins they were committing. "A dark entity works to undermine you from the shadows, dear... It wishes to stop you from finding out the truth about what happened to your dear auntie Delilah... You are powerless to stop it unaided, as is your family. Why? Let us find out...In your recent past."

A third card flew from the deck, landing face-up to the left of the overlapping cards, separate, but close enough to appear to have influence over the other two.

Reveal

"The five of wands..." The card showed a woman holding a set of the titular wands, pointing either which way, as if they had no guidance. The spiritual woman dragged her teeth against her lower lip, tssk-ing as she sunk into thought. "Your predicament is of no fault of your own. The spirits speak of a conflict, a tension testing the mettle of the relationships in your family. How did this affect you? Where is it taking you? I wonder..."
Another card landed on the right sight of the overlapping cards, this time requiring no instruction from the spirit medium. She hadn't finished her sentence and it was already there, confronting the two women with Rayna's imminent future.

Reveal

"The Ace of Cups!" She said, gasping with delight. The tension in the air tangibly loosened, and both women could breathe more relaxed than before. Even though it may last for but a little while. The card showed a chalice overflowing with water, and from which a bird flew up into the sky. "Your current struggle leads to love. A burgeoning romance, perhaps? Or a new friendship? Spiritual and emotional growth may lie before you, and you are likely to undertake a new creative endeavor. My, miss...are you an artist? If ever you need someone to model for you...well- I've always wanted to pose in the nude. I'm not getting any younger, so don't make me wait long! I'd appreciate it if the ladies could stay fully in frame..."

With a chuckle, Volobrìn coaxed another card from the deck, which hovered face-down above the center cards. "This card will represent your conscious thought as related to your current predicament. The things of which you are currently aware that will help you overcome adversity, or achieve your goal. Let's see, shall we?"
The lady's fingers flourished, and the card twirled in the air until it landed safely on the table.

Reveal (NSFW)

This card showed a naked witch, leisurely floating along on her magic broom, though a certain air of determination could be sensed. She looked at her single coin with intent, as if pondering what she should invest it into. "Ah! The Knight of Pentacles. My sweet, the spirits tell you to dot your I's and cross your T's. Slow and steady wins the race, or in this case, solves your problems. Take your time to turn over every stone, and let no opportunity go to waste. Don't be hasty, or you will blink and you will miss it."
The woman's cloudy eyes peered down at the cards before her client, and then made eye-contact with her. "Your tarot is quite exciting, miss. I hope you return to my parlor so I may read it, again. Shall we see what information waits for us in your unconscious?"

Another card flitted through the air, landing below the other cards to complete the image of a 4-pronged cross.

Reveal

The card landed upside-down, which looked a little odd. Rayna instinctively reached for it to turn it right-side up. However, the girl's vision went darker, as if someone turned the brightness down on her VR goggles, and a dark cloud came over her, intimidating her out of touching the card. Then her vision returned to normal. "Ah, non, mon coeur...!" The Madame said, betraying a French-speaking background that one might have already expected from a woman with her last name. The exclamation lured Rayna's gaze from the round cheeks of the woman on the card, to the soothsayer's face. The Madame's expression looked somber as she regarded the younger female, as if she pitied the girl. "The reverse Ten of Cups. My poor child." The woman reached for Rayna's hands and gently rubbed them, like a mother consoling a crying daughter. "You've seen signs of discord. Unrest. Disharmony. Deep down you know something is not right, but your conscious has not yet caught up. Be strong, child. Come to Madame Volobrìn whenever you need. I will be here."

The cards, laid out in a cross formation, all floated up, moved about six inches to the left, and touched back down unto the table. Where they lay previously, a new card fell into place, displaying;

Reveal

A blindfolded woman, adrift atop a sea of nothing, with clouds obscuring the obstacles and opportunities on her path. Holding a sword in each hand, her arms were crossed, blocking one another from striking whatever hidden foe was near. A symbol of inaction. "You will find yourself unable to act, unable to accept the facts that present themselves to you. You must make a definitive decision, or you will find your hesitancy will become your downfall."

Another card threw itself onto the table, stopping right above Two of Swords from Rayna's perspective. This one remained face-down, provoking a laugh from the spiritualist. "Ah! This one is a bit shy~!" She purred, reaching gingerly for the card and flipping it over. "This card signifies the influence another has upon your path forward. It looks as though that someone is reluctant to show their true selves to you."

Reveal (NSFW)

As the older female's hand moved out of the way so that Rayna could see the card underneath, she thought for a moment that she saw movement on the card. A woman with eyes of pure white was depicted on the card, balancing a ball of fire between her hands. A third eye blinked open with a flash of light, revealing that whoever was captured in the card's image must have been a powerful being indeed.

"Ah! My favorite." Madame Volobrìn cooed, smiling lovingly down at the card she'd just flipped. "The High Priestess. This card depicts my mother, when she was my age. Rather risqué to have your nipples show through the fabric, no? That must have been one lucky artist...I wonder if he and mother- Never mind." She smiled awkwardly for a moment, then pushed past it.
"A mysterious figure watches, my sweet. She guides your hand whenever you don't know where else to turn. Trust the signs, and let your inner voice speak to you."

Only two cards left. The second to last card floated confidently to its spot, flipping over with a quick 'fwip~!'

Reveal

This card looked rather simple. A feminine face looking confidently at the viewer. Though the character looked to be female, the card's title seemed to disagree, for it was; "Ahhh, the Emperor. A common card to show up in the 'Hopes and Fears' locus of the Celtic Cross. Your hope is to find stability, control and protection. I'm sure everything must have been quite the whirlwind, of late. Understandable."

It seemed as though some cards revealed the obvious, but what can you expect?

And finally, the last card. The Madame held it in her palm, and with a flourish, she placed it confidently above the emperor, completing the vertical row of four cards, and with it, the Celtic cross Tarot spread. Her hand remained, keeping the face of the card hidden while she explained this card's place in the girl's Tarot. "We have reached our destination, darling. This last card signifies the end of your current journey. A conclusion to your plight. I hope you'll find it satisfactory."
With that, she revealed the card.

Reveal (NSFW)

The woman on the face of the card brandished a wand, proudly baring her chest from a robe of stars. Her expression screamed confidence.
"The Magician...!" Volobrìn said with an excited trill. "You will find the opportunity to take decisive action. Stay the course, and you will succeed in your undertakings. Both that of your current situation, as well as in love. Take that opportunity with both hands, and you will get that 'Happily ever after.' we princesses always tend to dream of."
The Madame heaved a satisfied sigh, as if she'd just finished a good roll in the hay, and stood up. It took her no time at all to open the windows and turn the lights back on, and she would stand in front of her guest with both hands folded over one another in her lap. "Well, then-!" She purred, looking up at an old, broken cuckoo-clock attached to the wall above the counter. The cuckoo mechanism had long since broken, and the poor bird dangled from the extension arm like a dead pigeon fused to a powerline. "My, would you look at the time! Time sure flies when you are enjoying yourself, no?" Her hand motioned for the clock, whose hands proudly pointed to midnight.

 

[Saber]

Rayna was hypnotized and...very confused as she watched Madame Volobrin flip her cards, explaining each one individually. It was captivating to watch and the woman's voice was oddly soothing. Rayna was speechless, mostly. Until she witnessed the tarot cards start moving on their own. It had to be a parlor trick. There had to be strings, fishing wire, something that would explain the cards hovering and arranging themselves in the air. Rayna inhaled slowly, filling her lungs to max capacity before exhaling again. She didn't believe in this sort of thing, but it had happened right in front of her eyes in real time.

She was finally shaken out of her shock when Madame Volobrin commented on the time. "Midnight!" Rayna stood up abruptly, almost knocking the chair over as she did so. "Shit, my parents are probably reeling right now." The panic that set in shoved the thoughts of the occult out of her mind and she almost completely forgot about the tarot reading until she realized the door to the shop was still locked. That's when she remembered something from one of the cards that Madame Volobrin had told her about.

"You said the Devil signifies that someone is trying to keep me from finding the truth." She turned to face the woman with a firm stare. "Does that mean something foul had happened to my aunt?" Regardless of the hour, Rayna needed answers at some point. Did Madame Volobrin know something about what happened to Delilah? Did she know why the police were trying so hard to keep the family at bay at almost every turn? Now that the reading was over, Rayna's mind was racing with questions once more. Questions, surely, that this woman didn't have the answers to.

"If I come back, would you answer some of the questions I have?" The brunette asked as she looked over her shoulder at the shop owner and she face the door again, unlocking the deadbolt before partially opening the door. She knew it wasn't logical to rely on someone she barely knew and had minimal interactions with her aunt. But she was the only person that might be able to help her, in the long run. "I'd be very interested in carrying on a conversation with you."

 

[EarPlugs]

"I translate the messages of the spirits, my sweet." The older woman replied. "Why they chose to give you said message is beyond my reach. Of course, you are always welcome to come back for another reading." The spirit medium calmly held the door open for her guest, and shot her a warm smile. "However. Although I enjoy your company, I cannot live off of entertaining conversation. Tell you what. You come back whenever you like, and I'll give you a half price reading each time you buy something from the store. I'm sure some of my charms or tinctures would find a good use in your home." A light pat on the girl's butt had Rayna stumbling out the door, and the Madame encouraged her from behind the threshold. "Go on. Your parents must be worried sick. Hurry along, now."
The proprietor closed the door, and waved her hand at the 'Open' sign behind the glass, which promptly turned to 'Closed', seemingly unassisted. Her mottled eyes locked onto Rayna's one last time, and the freckled brunette saw the corner of the Madame's lips curl into a little smile. Then, the raven-haired one stepped away from the window, melding into shadow.

The winding forest roads on the way home hid many things in the shadows around every corner. After the talk about spirits and forces both benign and malevolent, Rayna saw movement in the corner of her eye repeatedly. A pair of eyes closing just as she tried to focus on them, a shape disappearing behind the trees... No matter how many times the brunette tried, she could only conclude the stories must have gotten to her, replacing her usually rational mind with paranoia. The sense something, or someone, was watching her would stay with her the entire trip home. And more than once would she feel a nagging sense of being watched. At least the fog had thinned out. There was that.
That devil card, though...she couldn't get it out of her head.

When the girl arrived at her familial home, she found the lights of the kitchen still on, but the rest of the home looked unlit.

 

[Saber]

There were so many thoughts running through Rayna's mind as she pulled into her parent's driveway. Meeting Madame Volobrin in itself was very mysterious, not even considering the tarot cards and what the woman had told her. Rayna killed the engine to her truck and sat in the dark for a moment to try and make sense of the events of the night. After a few moments, she finally headed inside to see her father sitting in the living room with the lights off and watching something on the television. When she shut the door and locked it, her dad turned around and sighed heavily, a hand moving to his chest in relief.

"Rayna," His voice was hushed as he turned the television volume down. "How was visiting with your friend?" Rayna combed her fingers through her hair before hanging her keys on the hook by the door. She maneuvered her way around the couch and plopped down next to her father. The television was showing a reenactment of a cold case from a few years ago.

"It was fine." She wasn't sure if she should relay all the events of that night, or just stick to the normal happenings of her dinner with Emily. "It was nice catching up with Emily and seeing the old diner. They've really spruced the place up." Her dark eyes glanced at her father who looked more relaxed than she thought he would be after the funeral. "How are you? I'm surprised to still see you awake."

"I couldn't sleep after taking that nap after the wake." His half lidded eyes were glued to the screen as the narrator relayed the story of a mysterious disappearance. "I didn't want to wake your mother by getting into bed, you know what a light sleeper she can be. I'll probably end up spending the night on the couch so she can get some rest. Other than that, I'm doing all right. It's been a long day, that's for sure."

The stress and anxiety must've finally left her father for the most part, just by reading his body language, she could tell that was much more at ease than he had been the past three days. "I'm glad you're doing ok." Rayna sighed as she stood and stretched her arms over her head. She leaned down and gave her father a hug, which he reciprocated. "I'm going to head to bed myself I think."

"Make sure you let your mother know you're home. She was worried when you weren't back before she went to bed." Rayna just nodded as she left the living room down the hallway, stopping by her parent's bedroom and poking her head in. The light from the TV added some ambient lighting to show the silhouette of her mother in bed. Rayna gently knocked on the door frame before taking a step into the bedroom, expecting her mother to stir slightly.

"Hey, I'm home, mom." She said in a half whisper. "I'm sorry I'm back late, Emily and I got to talking and I lost track of time. I just wanted to let you know I'm home safe."

 

[EarPlugs]

Mother turned her head. For a moment, the girl got a start, for in the half-shadow, her face seemed to contort into a sinister shape. Luckily, it was a trick of the light, and Rayna's mom's weary face smiled back at her. "Welcome home, darling. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself enough to come home so late." She cooed, before pulling the covers up to her chin. "Tell your father to come to bed. He'll hurt his back, sleeping on the couch. You must be tired after spending all night with Emily. Let's talk more in the morning. Good night. Don't forget to brush your teeth."

When prompted to go join his wife in the bed, Rayna's father nodded, but didn't immediately stand. "My show's about to finish. You go on ahead. I'll be up in a minute."
The man looked like he'd been fighting off his sleep for several hours, already, so he must've been really enthralled with that cold case documentary of his. What was it about, again? The young female wondered, glancing at the screen for just a moment. The show had cut to a commercial break, but maybe she could ask her dad about it, tomorrow, if she cared to.

By the time Rayna finished showering up -and had brushed her teeth very thoroughly- the television had been turned off. No screen-glow illuminated the stairwell, nor was there any sound. Luckily, Rayna's childhood memory of the house allowed her to still blindly navigate the building, and she found her room by touch alone.
The lamp on her bed-side table cast a dim light over the shelf of knick-knacks atop her old desk she'd collected over the course of her younger years, and nostalgia brought a smile to her face. Glass marbles, shells collected from the beach, old friendship bracelets, you name it. It was all there, neatly and religiously dusted. By mother, no doubt. Father never was much of a neat-freak.
She placed her cellphone atop the desk's surface, and reached for the lamp to turn in for the night. However, as she did so, she accidentally swatted her phone, launching it behind the bed.
Of course. Just her luck.
The next three minutes or so would be spent trying to reach behind the head-board of the bed to grab the silhouette of what she thought was her phone. However, when finally she managed to get a decent hold of it and pulled it free...the young woman didn't recognize it as a phone at all. It appeared to be a box, no larger than a pack of cigarettes. Within the crease of the box' lid was lodged a strip of paper. It turned out to be a written note, neatly folded to fit inside the seam.

"Hello there, my sweet tuft of rugged prairie grass.

Happy 18th birthday! I know you're out there getting your college degree, but I'm content to have you find this when you come back.
Now that you're a proper woman, I want to let you in on our family's little secret.
We're witches! Don't scoff! I know you well enough. You scoffed, didn't you?
I'll explain in more detail when we next see each other, but for now; Your nana used to predict the future. I wanted to give you her old crystal ball, but I think your mother must have tossed it. She never did like our mother's job very much. Poor thing. Who would have guessed a young witch could be converted to Christianity of all things? Anyhow... I trust you won't tell her I told you.

What better to gift a young divination witch than her very first future-telling focus? I bought it from a good friend in town I hope to introduce you to, someday soon. The gift of wicca tends to skip generations, but I was so curious to try it, I couldn't help myself! I must have done something wrong, though, because only the Devil would show up for me, no matter how many times I shuffled the deck!
Apparently using cards you bought is bad luck, and you're supposed to be gifted a deck by somebody else. I really wish the Madame had told me that sooner. Well, all the better to use it as a gift for my budding little witch on her 18th birthday, no?

May they serve you better than they did me,

XOXO

Auntie Delilah"

Well, aunt Delilah never smoked, so that ruled out cigarettes... Why did mom and dad never mention Delilah had left her a gift? She spoke of a deck...Is this what I think it is...?
Nimble fingers plucked at the lid of the box, and Rayna extracted the contents. Indeed, her late auntie had meant to gift her a deck of cards.
The young female flipped over the card atop the deck, curious about its design...and drew the High Priestess.
The card's face looked a lot less stylistic than the one Madame Volobrìn had interpreted for her, earlier, but from the art's appearance, Rayna felt like she could intuit its meaning, without having been trained in the art of Tarot at all. Freaky.

 

[Saber]

Rayna was in a bit of shock. So much so that she must've read the letter at least five more times after she drew the High Priestess card. This was a lot to mull over. Not only was her aunt gone, she had left Rayna with this family secret that her mother had gone to some lengths to keep from her. It had to have been for a good reason, right? Maybe Aunt Delilah had been a bit eccentric and believed that her family had been witches. Was it possible she had some sort of undiagnosed mental illness? But Delilah had always been the most "sane" in the family, or at least she believed that. Could this have been why her aunt had died under...well, mysterious circumstances?

The brunette sat on the floor thinking over the newly attained knowledge until she could no longer keep her eyes open. She finally succeeded in retrieving her phone and placed it back in a safe spot before dousing the lights all together and crawling into bed. Before she succumbed completely to sleep, she made a mental note to show the deck, as well as the letter, to Madame Volobrin the next day. Perhaps she could give her some more insight to what was going on.

Sleep hadn't been calm for Rayna that night. She had images flashing through her mind in the form of dreams and some memories of her aunt. It was hard to discern and by the time the sun had risen, almost all recollection of the dreams had left her memory, but the feeling of something lost lingered behind her eyes in the form of pressure. She was probably dehydrated. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, her rubbed her eyes with a groan. She grabbed her phone, nine in the morning. She'd slept in a bit longer than she'd planned.

With a great yawn, she stood and groggily wandered into the kitchen where she found her mother and father sitting at the kitchen table, drinking their morning coffee. Her father still looked a bit ragged, but he had more color to his face than he had the day before. Her mother, always the morning person, was already dressed and put together for whatever she went about during the day.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Her mother greeted with a warm smile. "Do you want some breakfast? I could make you some scrambled eggs real quick?"

"Sure, mom." Rayna answered as she took a seat at the table. The same chair she'd sat in throughout her childhood at the left of her father. The kitchen was soon filled with the aroma of scrambled eggs with a healthy helping of cheese that was melted in. "I have some things to do in town, if you guys don't need me too much today."

"That should be fine." Her mother answered as she set the plate down in front of Rayna, along with a fork. "I think we just plan to wind down as much as possible, and work through all this food that has been gifted to us."

The rest of the morning went by pretty lazily as Rayna dressed for the day in a pair of slim fitting jeans and a white t-shirt that was maybe a size too big. She pulled on her boots before glancing at her phone, almost noon exactly. Would Madame Volobrin's shop be open at this hour? It didn't matter, Belmonte was a small town, even if the shop wasn't open there'd be chances to run into the woman on the street, surely. Rayna patted the left pocket of her jeans where her deck of cards and Delilah's letter resided. Today was the day she hoped she would get some answers.

 

[EarPlugs]

When Rayna found her parents in the kitchen that morning, her father sat with his back towards the stairs his daughter came down, facing his wife as she cooked breakfast. Normally he sat on the other side of the table, back to the refrigerator. Though surely the current seating arrangement was more conducive to talking to his spouse, it caught Rayna's attention just the same. He sipped his coffee as she walked down the stairs, and the creaking of the boards and the young woman's footfalls caused him to turn his head in her direction, but never far enough to really make eye contact. "Good morning, sweetheart." It's true that he looked a little more rested than before, but his sister in law's death clearly still weighed heavily on them. In contrast, Rayna's mother, though somber, appeared to be falling back into her ordinary daily routine.

Life had returned to the small town on that late Monday morning, and most stores had either open doors, or had their entrances marked with signage to indicate they were open for business. Not so for the Madame's parlor. The door was shut and there was no immediate indication of the soothsayer's establishment being open to clients. The store's schedule was painted on the inside of the glass in silver. "Open all days from Noon to Midnight. Visits outside of normal business hours by appointment only."
Now, noon wasn't far off. Just an hour and a half, at most. Perhaps she could pass the time in her truck, or just head back home for a while-

Right as the young 'witch' turned to return to her truck, she heard the chain lock rattle on the other side of the door, and the shaded silhouette of Volobrìn could be seen through the glass.
The door creaked open, and the woman's deep, ghostly voice called out; "Ah! Back again, are you? I'd claim I was expecting you, but really I wasn't. I was just opening the doors. Come in! Tea?"
It wasn't long before the Madame has cleared a small table near the window of merchandise and curiosities, and pulled in a couple seats. She would instruct her guest to sit, and floated to the back room to go brew a kettle.
She returned with a tray, on which Rayna would detect a container of tea leaf, a tea strainer, coasters, gold trimmed tea cups and saucers, and of course a matching teapot.
The older woman poured her guest her tea and strained it once the leaf had properly soaked, then discarded the used leaf. She repeated the process for her own cup, without straining it.
There was no sugar or spoons on the tray, so Rayna had no reason to believe she would get an offer for sugar.

 

[Saber]

"Oh!" Rayna was a bit startled by the fact that Madame Volobrin was indeed in her shop since she had settled on the fact she was going to kill time around time. She was relieved, of course. Her nerves were on edge and waiting for noon would've been akin to torture. "Uh, t-tea sounds great!"

Entering the shop almost felt like the first time, almost identical to how she'd felt last night. In the light of day, you could see the procurements much better and Rayna's interest was, yet again, peaked as her eyes wandered from shelf to shelf, letting the burning incense fill her lungs. It was comforting, but that alone made her nervous. She sat down at the table when the shop keeper whisked away to prepare tea, only to return seconds (or what seemed like seconds) later with a tray. As Madame Volobrin poured the tea, Rayna remembered the cards and letter in her pocket and yanked them out before setting them both on the tabletop, gently sliding them towards the other woman.

"I found these last night." She said, folding her hands in her lap and taking in the scent of her tea as it steamed in front of her. "It was hidden from me, I think, but could this be right? Was my aunt really a witch?"

The question came out before Rayna could even think to stop it. Perhaps it seemed outrageous to ask, but in which direction...she wasn't sure. Would Madame Volobrin think she was crazy for believing a something year old letter written by her now deceased aunt? Or would she humor her and try and explain something that Rayna couldn't even think about comprehending yet? Regardless of the question, this situation wasn't something that the brunette was taking lightly. Either her aunt was crazy or witches and magic existed. Both seemed...out of reach for the young woman at the moment, but she was trying her best to keep an open mind.

"I was hoping you could give me some insight to this, since you seemed to be acquainted with my aunt." Rayna swallowed before reaching out and taking the teacup gently between her hands, giving it a short kiss of air before bringing it to her lips. It was still hot, but not scalding and the flavor seemed to calm her nerves almost instantly. She'd have to get the brand of tea before she left. "With everything that you've told me and then finding this last night, I'm confused. Could her belief in witches be part of the reason why she died?"