April 2nd, 1888 - The Painted Lady

Well I'm stuck in this fucking rut
Waiting on a second-hand pick-me-up
And I'm over getting older

That August had agreed to go to The Painted Lady with Elsbeth was one miracle. That he had agreed to do so the day after Easter, which was already full of more family interaction than he preferred, was another. And he immensely regretted these decisions already, but there was one reason that he agreed: it had been too long since Elsbeth had pulled something. August was very used to her pulling things, and the longer that it went before his sister did something disastrous, the more likely it was that it would somehow result in his house being on fire. Call it Murphy's Law. So at least going out with Elsbeth meant that he could keep an eye on her.

(Besides that -- Lyra was back in town. August was very worried that Elsbeth would find out, and that would be the worst situation he could even imagine.)

"You look like you're planning something," August said over his newspaper, as they waited for the tea to arrive.

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The following 1 user Likes August Echelon-Arnost's post:1 user Likes August Echelon-Arnost's post
   Declan Wood

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set by Bree

"Nonsense, I never plan anything," She said over her teacup, unable to keep herself from guiltily smirking. Elsbeth hadn't been surprised when August had agreed to come to tea with her. He routinely agreed to whatever she asked of him if she pestered him long enough. He'd been keeping to himself lately, which sent up a red flag in her mind, and made it quite obvious that she needed to check up on him. Something was up. Albeit, she'd avoided seeing him a bit after what had gone down at dinner with Leon a few weeks ago. She didn't think her husband had said anything to her brother, else he likely would have contacted her about it already. She had every plan to just keep it to herself. She didn't need him feeling sorry for her any more than he already did.

She sipped her tea, eyeing him from over the rim, "I've been trying out reading tea leaves. I think I have a knack for it." This was exciting to her, despite her calm demeanor when announcing it. She'd wanted some semblance of magic, some reason to belong to this world she had been an outsider to since she was eleven, that finally being able to find something to cling to - whether it was hogwash or not - was an accomplishment.

  

She was definitely planning something. August made a mental note to change the locks on his house when he still had the chance.

"Tea leaves?" he echoed. Privately, he had never put much (read: any) stock in divination. But compared to most of Elsbeth's hobbies, this seemed rather harmless. "I'm impressed - I've never met anyone who's much good at it before," he said cheerfully.

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set by Bree

"Drink up!" She grinned eagerly, "I'll read yours and prove my divination prowess. Who knows? Maybe we'll get a marriage prediction!" It was about time her brother was married. He was thirty-one for Merlin's sake, he ought to have taken a wife several years ago. Soon, he'd be subjected to the horrific rumors of being a confirmed bachelor. She wanted nieces and nephews! Fully human, normal ones, that she could publicly dote on and not worry about them wanting to suck the blood out of her son at the sight of a papercut or a scraped knee.

  

August started to drink his tea, if only because taking large sips of it gave him an excuse to not talk. The more he spoke, he thought, the more likely it was that he would accidentally tell Elsbeth that divination was a load of shit. Leon would probably tell her that, and so August didn't have to be the person to say so.

He did take a pause to say: "Doesn't it bias your predictions if you're hoping for a particular outcome?"

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set by Bree

She flicked a vaguely annoyed look in his direction and pursed her lips, "No."

At least he was thoroughly downing his tea. Elsbeth had expected him to be supportive — he always was, even when he really shouldn't have been. Really, really, really shouldn't have been. But that was August for you. He wasn't the best decision maker, which is probably why he now had a half-vampire bastard child he'd written off as his ward. She didn't get the sense that he was patronizing her, which was reassuring. Perhaps she had just an inkling of magic after all. Not enough of it to attend Hogwarts — she'd given up on that dream long ago — but if there was just enough there to prove that she did belong in this world, she'd take it and milk it for all its worth.

"Are you any good at divination? Did you even take it? I don't think I really paid attention to your classes." The reason as to why didn't need an explanation.

  

"No," August said, "It was too -" nonsensical? dubiously real? ridiculous? "- 'up in the air' for me. You know how I am." He was hoping that Beth was not inclined to accept that with much argument. He was willing to play along here, unless she tried to set him up with anyone specific. He was lonely, but he wasn't 'Elsbeth's friends' lonely.

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set by Bree

She accepted his answer easily, "I suppose we can't all be mystical savants." August was a black and white kind of guy. Logic this and logic that. He was in law, after all, if that wasn't analytical and non-mystical, she didn't know what was. Elsbeth didn't understand the appeal of such things. It seemed awfully boring and monotonous.

  

Nobly, August did not roll his eyes. Instead, he chugged the last few sips of his tea and slid the cup over to Elsbeth. Hopefully this would occupy her for a few minutes.

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The following 1 user Likes August Echelon-Arnost's post:1 user Likes August Echelon-Arnost's post
   Declan Wood

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set by Bree

She rubbed her hands together gleefully and nearly bounced in her seat as the teacup was slid toward her, "Let's see what your future holds, dear brother." Elsbeth turned the cup counter clockwise, as her books had instructed and then studied the dregs for several long minutes. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

"This is not good," She breathed and as she looked up at him, her eyes brimmed with tears, "Not good at all. August... I fear that..." She faded off and bit at her knuckle, unable to continue the reading.

  

"Oh, please," August said, with sarcasm. He could pretend to indulge this if Els was predicting happy things, but this? Absolutely not.

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set by Bree

She burst into laughter, ignoring the looks from the other patrons, "I'm just teasing, August!" Elsbeth dabbed at her fake tears with the corner of her napkin, chortling to herself all the while, "No no, I see a series of circles aligned - like a chain - and.." She replaced the napkin on her lap and peered into the teacup once more, "A larger circle? With lines through it... a wheel, perhaps?"

  

"A wheel," August echoed. He raised his eyebrows at her. He wished that he still had tea so that he could avoid talking to her, but instead settled for (metaphorically) biting his tongue.

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His dubiousness was becoming more evident the more she went on. Clearly, his patience had begun to run out. Rather than lead him dramatically into his reading (she ought to have known he'd only humor her for so long), she dove right in, "Yes, a wheel. It means change and progress - it's inevitable, which could be bad, but I like to think that progress is a rather optimistic concept, so we'll go with it being good. As for the chain, that usually means responsibility or a series of events."

She sat back in her chair and looked at the dregs thoughtfully, "So perhaps you'll have some progress that will increase your responsibility... the series of events is what leads up to it..." Her face broke out into a brilliant smile as she faced him square on, "It is marriage! It has to be!" She clapped her hands gleefully.

  

August pressed his lips into a flat unamused line. "Quelle surprise," he said, busting out the French to express just how un-surprised he was be Elsbeth's prediction. Elsbeth had been angling to get him married for years, practically, so he should have anticipated this somehow leading into her constant project.

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"Don't be like that," She flashed him a look of mild annoyance, "I didn't plan it. I'm an ethical tarot reader. It's in the cards, August." She tapped them as she spoke as if to nail home her point.