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Ellandra was enjoying an evening out at a carnival. Or rather, she was trying to enjoy an evening out and it just so happened that she'd wandered into a carnival during her walk. She wasn't truly happy this evening - as a matter of fact she was a little overwhelmed. She'd never been to a carnival before, and the combination of sights, sounds, and smells was nearly enough to overwhelm her.

It didn't help that every step she took was accompanied by hawkers trying to get her and other carnival-goers to play games, or to try this, or that, or any number of different things. She tucked her hat down over her face as much as she could and tried to avoid looking at anyone, afraid someone would single her out specifically. She wasn't entirely sure why she hadn't gone home yet, but could find no true excuse to leave the colorful and loud place, not when her entire purpose in leaving had been to get away from the quiet safety of her home.

'Perhaps I'm trying too hard,' she thought idly as she passed a fortune-teller booth.'Maybe I'm trying to change too much, too quickly . . . but I can't just give up and go home now.' She paused in front of the booth, trying to decide whether she should really stay here or not.

Ellandra yelped and nearly jumped out of her skin when the horned fortune-teller called out to her. She bit her lip, ducking her head while a blush spread across her face, highlighting the dust of freckles that ran across her nose against a background of bright red.

"I - I. . . .n-no th-thank you, s-sir," she stammered out, biting her lip. "I - I'm afraid th-the secrets of the - the universe w-would rather I - I not kn-know them." Oh please, please, just leave her be! She didn't believe in fortune telling, although it was a good plot device and she'd used it in a novel or two. This meant that she'd researched it and knew exactly what it was: A scheme with little genuine magic involved, outside of the realm of fiction.

Somehow, though, she remained rooted to the spot, unable to turn away or leave, locked in place by the man's piercing, golden-eyed gaze. She felt like a mouse staring down a hungry cat - too frightened to run away, knowing that she was trapped.

Ellandra was about to force her limbs into motion, to run from this intimidating man who reminded her of a predator stalking her for its next meal, when a. . . wad of scarves - ? - hit the man in the shoulder. She paused when she heard it giggling, and immediately her mind made the connection. Here was another Essentic. Like Misha. She nodded politely to the man and smiled at the tiny, giggling Essentic whose form she couldn't make out around the scarves it was buried in.

"You k-know, sir. . . . I - I'm in-inclined to - to a-agree w-with you. . . b-but I'm s-still n-not w-wanting my f-fortune told."

She wouldn't be budging on that any time soon, either, oh no.

Ellandra bit her lip, terrified once again now that she was inside this dimly lit building with a man that looked decidedly more. . . dangerous to her than he had just a few minutes ago. She lifted her shaking hands to her hat and tugged it down over her face, looking at the tiny Essentic rather than its owner.

"I-i-it's a-al right, s-sir.... I - y-you don't have to . . . I - I'd n-never tell a-anyone a-anyway. . . I - I h-have a f-friend who - who w-works at the - the place I - I'm certain you - you g-got your - p-partner f-f-from. . . M-M-Misha - h-he has r-r-rabbit e-e-ears?" Oh, drat, her stutter was stronger than it had ever been, drastically increased by her fear.

'Don't hurt me, don't threaten me, I promise I'll never tell just please please let me get out of here in one piece!'

Ellandra grew just a little more comfortable when the little Essentic - Ziazan, it seemed - was unwrapped from its scarf-bundle. At its owner's question, she shook her head lightly.

"N-no, I'm not an - an owner. . . I just - k-know Misha, th-that's a-all. He.. ... r-ran into me. . .. . l-literally." She smiled at Ziazan, her eyes losing a touch of their frightened look as she gazed upon the odd little creature. "H-hello there, l-little one. Y-you like scarves?"

Why was it that Essentics were so much easier for her to speak with than humans? She didn't understand. But. . . perhaps this little bit of fortune telling wouldn't be so bad. She'd be willing to pay to let the little one work its purpose - not for her sake, but for its.

. . . And perhaps she'd pick up a colorful scarf the next time she went shopping, one that looked different from these, and bring it back with her to the carnival sometime. If its owner permitted, of course.

Ellandra hesitated a long moment, but at last slid her hat off her head and held it to the tiny Essentic. "I'm . . . I'm not s-sure I can - can think of a - a q-question, though. . ." She paused again, and thought very hard. Then, brushing her hair out of her face, she came up with something - something she didn't quite expect to have ever come up with. "It... that hat was. . . my mother's . . .. or at least - P-papa told me it w-was. . . is there. . . anything you can - can find out about her f-from it. . . ? I'm . . . a-afraid I h-have no q-questions a-about my f-future or - a-anything l-like that. . . "

No getting your hopes up now, and it wasn't important anyway. This was only to satisfy the purpose of the little one.

Ellandra nodded, intrigued a bit by finally having a name for the woman in the portrait she had at her home, but vaguely saddened at well. Still, she summoned up a smile for the tiny Proto, thankful for the bits of information it had managed to come up with, - she didn't doubt that it was telling the truth - and leaned back a bit. She brushed futilely at the long strands of hair that were now falling freely into her face, and said,

"Th-thank you, little one. You're v-very skilled at this."