your l.o.v.e. is MINE for the tAkInG! (Echo)

[~echo~]

Finally, Rhea let out a small breath and started speaking. "From a young age, you were forced t depend solely on yourself. That much is clear from your past." She sat down the first card she'd picked up. "Now, you fulfill a job which you wouldn't have dreamt you would fulfill when you were younger." She sat this card down as well in front of the man. "Now, your future is much fuzzier. It... well, give me a second on this one."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He stared at her, his chest tightening. Maybe this had been a bad idea. What if she guessed who he was? What if the cards somehow told her?

[~echo~]

Rhea didn't look up for a while, studying the cards for a while. Her back was hunched over and she seemed rather distant. When she finally looked up, her eyes had turned into an amber color- the same color her bird form took on. She blinked a few times and it was gone, showing the card to John. It was stained with something like coffee. Rhea looked serious. "This means that your future is unsure- you may alter it with your decisions now. But... be careful of the promises you make or else it might affect you. This is all the cards say."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He swallowed nervously. "That's it, huh?" he asked with a nervous laugh. Seemed like a lot to him.

[~echo~]

Rhea gave a small smile and gazed at him. "Yeah. That's it. The cards aren't specific but they aren't typically wrong."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He let out a slow breath. "Well, I couldn't call it helpful, but... somewhat intriguing."

[~echo~]

"It did say to not give promises you can't keep, though," Rhea commented benignly.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"I never make promises I can't keep," he replied.

[~echo~]

Rhea shrugged before taking up the cards and putting them back on their box. "Very smart of you."

[~echo~]

Bump

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"It's common sense," he replied, his voice gruff.

[~echo~]

Rhea blinked and closed the card box, looking at him with a questioning look. She shrugged and averted her eyes, putting the cards between them.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Have you ever had someone read the cards for you?" he asked curiously.

[~echo~]

Rhea shook her head, but then nodded. "Yes, once. When I was little and she was teaching me how to read the cards."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He leaned forward, his forearms resting on the edge of the table. "And what did they say?"

[~echo~]

She hesitated, looke down at the table. "She predicted that I would be in constant danger for most of my life," she confessed quietly.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

He let out a harsh laugh. "Well, she was right about that."

[~echo~]

Rhea scratched her head and shrugged. "Yeah. Pretty accurate."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"How did you land yourself in this life, anyway?" he asked.

[~echo~]

She thought back to her childhood, her beatings from her father, the death of her mother... "I left home when I was fourteen, I hitched a ride on a cargo ship, and ended up on Mars,' she said, not wanting him to know too much about her.