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 Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 3:00 pm
Private RP Between Count Kaosu (Kaosu xP) and Jynk (Faolan Grady and Ziazan)
Location: Farstep Carnival
Time: Midday : D
Weather: Clear and Sunny
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 3:01 pm
Kaosu stood paralyzed, unable to will himself to enter.
The bustling scene before him was intimidating, to say the least. Farstep sprawled out seemingly endlessly, full everything from carefree to careless to eccentric people of all kinds. Crowds always made the loner uncomfortable, but this place sported a little extra fear factor: the unknown. Kao, in all of his years, had never encountered anything remotely close to a carnival before. He could not read its signs. He could not recognize any of the plethoras of strange sights and sounds. The entire happy, lively tableau left him speechless and confused. As reluctant as he was to step inside, however, he was even more reluctant to leave. He only traveled in straight lines. Whether he was in the city or the middle of nowhere, this OCD dragged him into all kinds of interesting settings. This bright, overwhelming circus was dead in the center of his path.
Finally, after a long period of deliberation, he mustered the courage to proceed. He had never let walls or laws stop him before: why should he ruin his record for a handful of tourists having fun? Thankfully, he had recently sprung for some new clothes. Free from blood stains, tears, and dirt, he blended in and none of the happy-go-lucky visitors paid him a passing glance. No one noticed him. Maybe this would be easier than he had thought? The excitement in the air was contagious. Soon his initial apprehension was replaced by rampant curiosity. What kind of world had he stumbled into, so full of colors and costumes and lights?
Determined to investigate, he paused in front of a particularly puzzling booth. It seemed harmless enough, but he could not surmise what its purpose was. Luckily, he did not have to wonder long. ”Hah, this is great! They even have a fortune teller!” a teen exclaimed as he walked by. Kaosu cocked his head to one side. ”Fortune teller?” the red head repeated for his own benefit, completely unfamiliar with the term. ”Hah. If this has anything to do with “fortune”, I’m probably in the wrong place,” he laughed weakly. Yet another mystery had been handed to him.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm
Faolan leaned the in the doorway of his fortune telling booth, casually sipping a beer and watching the crowd pass by. No one had so far taken his interest enough to call out to and narry a one had approached, either. He shrugged to himself, not bothered too much on it. Someone always came. It was his lot in life to provide hope for those in need . . . even with stories drawn from the pictures on cards.
He glanced back over his shoulder to look at Ziazan sitting in his chair. The alter was quietly laying out tarot patterns, amusing itself while waiting for a customer. Things had gotten easier with their con-artistry now that Zia was older and easier to pass off as a young child that Fao had for an apprentice.
Looking back out into the crowd, he took another long swallow of beer, watching the people pass, hoping to spot someone to be his next client.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 8:40 pm
Kaosu did not like finding holes in his vocabulary. The people around him... Even the teenager who had passed by... they all seemed perfectly comfortable. At home. That could only mean that this place, its fascinating booths included, were part of common knowledge. He was the only one who felt lost. Normally, the crowds and noise would have driven the vagabond out of the carnival in a heartbeat, but this truth made him too frustrated to budge. Every day, he seemed to encounter new ideas and places that were entirely unfamiliar. This made him feel ignorant. He was ignorant. How had he allowed so many years to pass without learning about customs that even children enjoyed?
"The definition of fortune... luck. Fate. Chance," he recalled, thinking aloud as he puzzled over the mysterious term. He was determined to at least solve the "fortune teller" enigma before he left. "The definition of teller... Communicator. Narrator. Bank employee." Frustrated, he shook his head. "No, that makes no sense. This isn't going to work."
If he could not figure out the answer he sought on his own, the next logical course of action was simple. He would have to ask. Nervously, Kao glanced around, searching for a stranger who did not seem threatening. When he spotted Faolan leaning casually in the doorway, he awkwardly headed over to him. "Excuse me," he began, managing to keep his tone even despite the fact that his pride was turning cartwheels in his chest. "Do you know what a "fortune teller" is?" Fully aware that this was most likely a strange question, he added, "I, er... Don't get out much."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 9:05 pm
Faolan regarded the man who had approached, still taking a long sip of beer, one ear raising up in question. He lowered the bottle, licking his lips, and grinned. "Aye, lad. I be the fortune teller." The man might as well had had "easy mark" written on his forehead for all Fao could care. "Come inside, sirrah. We'll see what the cards hold for you." He stepped to the side, one hand back, gesturing that Kaosu should enter. A young child of indeterminate gender looked up from where it was sitting at the table, a deck of cards in hand.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 9:25 pm
Kaosu, his embarrassing question safely in the past, sized the Faolan up more carefully. Those ears... those horns... He certainly had picked up a habit of running into part-demons recently. How unusual. When the stranger responded, Kao was relatively surprised. He had serendipitously met the fortune teller himself! That should have been a turn of good luck. He should have gotten his answers. Instead, he was left with only more mysteries.
"Cards?" Kao repeated incredulously. What did cards have to do with their present situation? The only kind he was familiar came in diamonds, clubs, spades, and hearts. Normally, he might have demanded more of an explanation before playing along, but his curiosity got the better of him. After only a moment of hesitation, he followed Fao inside. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more frank with me." Warily, he eyed the child. "I'm completely unfamiliar with this profession of yours."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 9:56 pm
Faolan chuckled, walking in after the man, shutting the door behind him, and motioned for him to sit at the unoccupied chair. He held out the mostly empty bottle to Zia. "Ay, noo, hinny. Take this t' th' baek." He shooed the kid off to the backroom after it had vacated the chair to take the beer bottle away. Faolan sat down and grinned at the other man. "Now, what sort of questions do you need answering? Something's brought you here, sure enough." He began shuffling the cards the child had been playing with back into the deck.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 10:11 pm
Kaosu was out of his element and it showed. As a result, he managed to keep his mouth shut. Almost obediently, he took his designated seat. "I don't know if you could really say that. I'm kind of... lost," he admitted. It was not entirely the truth, but it was close enough to convey his situation. He shrugged, "The only thing that brought me here was fortune and curiosity." When Fao invited him to ask questions, he complied more than willingly, "Something tells me these aren't the kind of questions you're looking for, but... What is this place? Who are you? What is 'fortune telling' and why do you need cards?" Feeling foolish, he added flatly, "You don't look like much of a poker player to me."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 11:19 pm
Fao looked up at the flood of questions, one ear going straight up and eyes wide. He was clearly thrown off guard by the flood of questions. "Are you a complete bampot, lad? Did you not notice all of outside as you made your way to me? You're in Farstep, lad. My name is Faolan. I read the tarot. If you're not certain of what you seek, you'll get no answers. My deck isn't for the fykie lot." He stroked the deck, watching the man.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:03 am
Farstep. Tarot. Kao sighed, debating how to respond. Every response to his flood of questions only brought up more questions. He probably should give up on open inquiry. He had already been called a "complete bambot", whatever that was, once and decided he had better keep his curiosity and ignorance to himself. Quietly, he worked through the possibilities. Fortune teller. Fate communicator. What could those terms possibly have in common? After puzzling over it a few moment, he finally made the connection he was looking for. "Predictions," he stated out loud, as though he had solved some great mystery.
"If I knew what answers I was looking for, I wouldn't need to ask you," he added bluntly. He was not attempting to be curt; he was simply confused. "What do people normally ask you about? Love? Money? Or just advice?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 2:37 pm
"Aye, sometimes love, sometimes money . . . most they just want to know advice in life," Faolan said, relaxing back in his chair. "Too often I see a lost lamb come through and I can only do so much to help before sendin' them back amongst the wolves."
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 4:38 pm
"Well, love and money aren't exactly my strong points, so I guess I'll stick to advice..." Kaosu reasoned out loud. He had no intentions of heeding advice from anyone, but as long as he was here he might as well play along honestly. The only problem was, what would he ask? The things he really wanted to know about his future he would not dare mention to a stranger. "Err, what do I want to know... Will I ever be comfortable in Vargash again?" That awkward, nervous sensation returned. "Or is that too vague?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:36 pm
Faolan watched him, head tilted a little as he regarded the man across from him. He gestured to Ziazan and the child came over. "Let my apprentice have something of yours that you hold dear." He looked up at the Essentic. "Do the reading from your deck, hinny."
Zia nodded quietly, holding out a small hand to Kaosu. "If you please."
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:50 pm
Something I hold dear? What a peculiar request. How would a sentimental item help the man at all? Kaosu brooded over what to hand the fortune teller's assistant. He did not attach much value to material things, but he wanted to play along with this strange game to the best of his abilities. There was only one item he possessed that he revered as more than a piece of junk, and he was not particularly keen on flashing it in public.
Hesitantly, reluctantly, he drew Robert Lynd's old gun and gingerly gave it to Ziazan. In all honesty, the weapon held more meaning to the tramp than anything else he had ever owned. Not only had it saved his life on countless occasions, but it also marked the turning point in his long career as a scoundrel for a number of reasons. Heck, had he not used it to pick a grudge fight with Dave and Red, they would never have driven him back to civilization. He would never have found Farstep in the first place. "Errr... will that do?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:12 pm
Ziazan leaned forward to examine the gun, rainbow eyes glittering like jewels from the light of the oil lamp on the table. Nodding, it gestured to put the gun on the table, speaking softly. "That should do well." Once the gun was on the table, the youth put a hand on it, closing its eyes.
Faolan watched quietly, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. He was proud of his Essentic having picked up on theatrics so well for this business.
Keeping its hand on the gun, Zia brought out its personal tarot deck, made from the cards molted from its own wings. Shuffling the cards with one hand, it then set them on the table and opened its strange multicolored eyes wide to stare up at Kaosu. "Cut the deck and we'll see how well you really were driven back to civilization."
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