"You have not drunk your tea yet." she replied softly. "If you do, I can read the leaves and grant you further answers. Or, if you are content with these answers thus far, then we can discuss payment." she pulled the cards back and shuffled them back into the deck, setting it aside. She would cleanse and recharge it later; for now, her focus was on Will.
Will looks down at the mug he had set on the table. It's a sickly color, floating somewhere between a warm brown and bruise-yellow. The smell is pungent and slightly too much mixed with the heavy incense-laced air. "I-" Will starts, choking on the lump in his throat. "I'm good, ma'am. The- the cards and the guidance is enough." He scrambles for his bag strung over his shoulder. "What can I pay you in?"
She nodded slightly. "Coin, and a favor." she replied, mouth pulling faintly. "You can pay me in some coin at the moment, and in the future, you will owe me one favor, that I can use if or when I wish." her gaze rested calmly on Will as she waited for him to agree to her terms. After all, the terms did not seem too unreasonable, right? Simply some money and a favor?
Will doesn't meet the woman's eyes. A favor? That couldn't possibly be that bad… but Will's creeping paranoia refuses to let him believe so. But what would the woman do if he declined? Surely her prophecy seemed frighteningly accurate… she can't be just a charlatan. "Yes, I agree to your terms," He mumbles, fishing through his bag to find an assorted handful of coins. "Just… summon me when you desire to deposit the favor. I live near the brink of the Woods."
She nodded again, standing from her seat and taking the coins that he handed over. "Good." she replied, mouth quirking for a moment. "Would you like a deck of cards to take with you? You seem like you may need it in the future." she had extras; of course she did. What sort of fortune teller– or witch –would she be without extras? And there was something in her eyes that made it clear she knew more than she may have been letting on.
Will sighs, tentivley eyeing one of the boxed decks sitting on the edge of the table. "I suppose," he groans after a moment of silent deliberation. "What's the harm?" Will doesn't miss the odd gleam in the old woman's eyes. They sparkle with unshared knowledge, heavy and shiny and suffocating, much like the room. "I'll be on my way then."
She hummed for a moment. "Of course. Come back if you need anything else." she said, showing him to the door. There was still something in her eyes, some secret that she had not, and would not, share with him. Perhaps he would discover it on his own, or perhaps he would not. Either way, this session may have answered his questions, or…it might not have. Who knew?
Will offers a curt nod and ducks out of the door. The wave of fresh air that hits him is nearly a relief. The cool smells and the open skies instantly lessen his anxieties. With one last quick glance into the fortune teller's cove, Will steps out of the alleyway with a deck of cards in his bag. The bleeding eyes of the Martyr burn into his eyelids, punctuated with a tightening coil around his heart.
(should we maybe timeskip to later in the day,,, evening maybe? Will in the forest and he's snatched up by Kaz's men)
(sure! Want me to handle that, or would you prefer to?)
(I can get it up in my next class! it starts in 20ish minutes akjdksk)
(ohohoho I'm so excited to get this rolling ajjdjsjskka)
(alright!)
(hgjdskdbhf same)
Later that evening, once against rebelling against Mayor Vaine's only constant rule, Will finds himself in the forest. He's barefoot, his boots discarded at the bank of the creek at acts as a barrier between Estonvale and the Woods. He sits under his favorite willow, legs crossed and a journal in his lap. A vine curls around his fingers, swirling around his arm to trail up by his neck. A nervous habit he had picked up a while bag. He twirls a dripping quill in his other hand, watching as the ink falls from the tip and stains the parchment. The card desk sits to his right. He hadn't looked from. He couldn't bring himself to do so.
With the sun drooping beneath the horizon, the Woods grow darker and darker. It's only when the words on his page had disappeared entirely that Will realizes the late hour. He sighs through his nose, blindly packing up his things into his bag.
When he stands, he hears it. His blood goes cold, his eyes fly wide, he freezes in his place. Voices. And they're near.
The soldiers were all Fae; some were more humanoid than others. All wore sashes the color of blood, and all had weapons. Some had drawn their weapons, others just kept their hands hovering by the side, ready to draw it out if necessary.
"His Majesty said to grab someone before dark." one voice said.
"But we haven't seen anyone, you dipshit." another snapped. Then another voice quieted the rest; someone had spotted Will through the underbrush, and the company fanned out. Some were humanoid enough to be less frightening; the only marks of being a fae were pointed ears and canines. Others, though, were far less so. Tall and strangely proportioned, with skin made of bark or stone.
Will's breath hitches, watching the group approach him. For a moment, he almost breathed a sign of relief, but then one's blood red eyes cut through the darkness, locking with Will's forest green ones.
"Shit-" Will hisses. He summons the willows around him to shoot downwards, forming a barrier between Will and the mob. He slings his bag over his shoulder and leaps over a log, scrambling into the darkness. Will had never seen another soul in the forest… Of all days! Will curses internally, using a vine to help him leap safely off of a tall ledge.
(wasn't planning on having Will meet Kaz until he was in the Fae realm, just btw)
The group chased after Will, all of them faster than a normal, powerless human. It didn't take long for them to catch up and surround him, leaving him no gaps to escape through. The leader approached him. He was tall, with horns that arched and swirled back from his forehead, and skin as black as obsidian, with the same texture. "Come with us, human." he sounded bored.
(a;dkfj oh yeah i know)
Will looks akin to a caged animal, his eyes wide, lip curled up in a snarl and posture low and ready to fight. He had been in enough playground fights to know his way around… Granted, he hadn't actually won any of them and Will's surrounded by people who are clearly not human! It's fine. Wait- actually no it's not fine in the slightest, but there's no way in hell that Will's going down without a fight. Plus, he's in a forest. There's flora everywhere.
"Human?" Will bites, glaring at the clear leader of the group. "And you're a fool if you believe I'll fold that easily." With a simple wordless command, the lichen cloaking the trees and rocks springs forward. Vines fall from their branches to wrap around the nearest soldiers and heavy roots penetrate from the ground to wrap around the ankles of the men surrounding him.
(alright lol)
A few freaked out at the roots, but most did not. The captain sighed loudly. "Look, human, either you come with us, or you die. It is of course your choice, though I would strongly suggest choosing the option that does not end in your death." he said, shrugging a shoulder as he stepped closer to Will
Will grimaced - both in embarrassment and concern over his own hide - when the vines and roots did little to hinder the people surrounding him. People… If they could be called that. None of them looked like the other, none of them looked distinctly human. He should've heeded the Mayor's warning. Don't go into the Woods. Don't go into the Woods. He should've listened.
Will takes a step back as the man approaches him, tripping over a rock behind him and falling right onto his behind. A shout escapes his lips upon the sudden impact. He pants, eyes frantically searching for a way out. "You-" He starts. There's no way out. "You'll have to drag me out of here,"
The man shrugged. "Fine." he bent, grabbed Will's foot, and began to move away again, hauling Will behind him like a sack of potatoes. This, of course, would mean that Will would hit every snag in the route on the way back to wherever he was being taken. Every root, every stone, would bump and jostle the young man on the route there.
Will yelps when the man grabs his ankle, already being dragged away. "What?!" He screams, shouting out in pain as his head hits a particularly sharp rock. He hisses in pain, eyes screwing shut as tears already form on his lid. "Where are you taking me you animal!?" Will demands, an involuntary cry breaking from his lips as a branch scratches at his back.
The man paused, sighing heavily. "You said to drag you out of here." he replied. "And I am taking you to my king." he looked bored still, looking down at Will. "I cannot imagine why. You are a boring looking human."
"What does your king want with - AGH! - with me?!" Will cries, kicking against the man's grip and trying not to let the pain in his back and head show.
"How would I know?" the fae replied, starting to walk again. "Perhaps he seeks a new concubine. He killed his old one for cheating on him." the man seemed to take pleasure in the idea. "Or maybe he just wants to torture you. Or, perhaps you are to be the troops' concubine." he shrugged again.
Will's nose screws up as the mere thought. "WHAT!?" He screams, kicking again at the man's grip on his ankle. A sharp branch slashes at his back, slicing through his shirt and into his skin. He bites his lip, puncturing the skin and tasting blood.
The fae cackled, still dragging Will along. "Who knows what our most illustrious king wants? He has the power to do anything at all and get anything he wants, and right now, that's a human." maybe the fae was just messing with Will. That was certainly a possibility. The Fae looked at one of the others, speaking rapidly in a low tone. The fae nodded, and a portal opened before the group. They stepped through, the leader still dragging Will.
(sorry for shorter replies, there just isn't a ton to do with these fae right now)