The night air was warm, and every so often a gentle breeze would dance on the skin of the grateful and sweaty festival goers. The dark haired youth was one such person who waited anxiously for every breath of fresh air as he moved between the bodies of people he was completely strange to and intimately familiar with, simultaneously. The way people moved on the floor, it was almost impossible to take a step without running into someone new in the crowded pavilion, but as he finally neared the edge of the platform, the youth jumped down and took a deep breath. The boy was thankful that it was air that wasn't contaminated by the smell and heat of the crowds. It had been almost unbearable in that pavilion, the crowd had been stifling.

Of course, it had been the dance area, so that was to be expected. Even at this distance the tan young man could hear the energetic trumpets and drums that were playing on the crowd. The people were wild with enthusiasm, as everywhere he looked there were smiles, laughs and a few people dancing to the now distant music. But the music was ubiquitous. As he moved from the dancing pavilion that sang the song of energy and spirit, he found himself near a second music station that bled beautiful words and an enchanting tune. It seemed to take control of his feet as they moved in beat with the drums, whose noise permeated the air around him. He smiled. There was no escaping the music, it seemed.

"Vaaaaaaan!"

A young girl's voice called out after the man with wine coloured eyes. There would be no escaping her either, it seemed. He stumbled forward a step as the girl punctuated her cry with a tackle. "Are you trying to leave?" She accused, a pout threatening her bottom lip as her blue eyes took stock of everything about him. Her ears twitched forward, as though to help her sense if he were lying or not.

"No... I just needed some air, Merle." Van looked down at the tiger disguised as his foster sister with a slow smile. The nose of her furry face twitched. "I can smell lies, you know." She told him as she crossed her arms across her chest, a full blown pout growing from where it had rooted itself on her lips.

"Chicanery and Shenanigans, too." The raven haired youth ruffled her hair, that grin still playing on his face as he joked. "Don't worry about me. Go and play in the festival music, I know you enjoy it. This only happens once a year, and I'm not going to listen to you complain all year that I made you miss it." With that he spun her right around and gave one tawny shoulder a gentle push in the direction of the singing trumpets.

But Merle remained stubborn, craning her head back to look at him, giving Van a full dose of her sad kitty pouty face. He gave her an apologetic smile, knowing how much she wanted him to have fun with her, but knew he was too close to winning to give up. "You know festivals really aren't my thing. I'll stick around for the night, but somewhere... less dense." He told her, and his hand on her shoulder still urged her to go towards where her feet wanted to carry her.

"But Van..." She started as she took a step away from him. "No buts, Merle. I'll meet you at the bridge at 1:00. I'll take in the festival in my own way." His tone said that there would be no compromise, and he prayed that she wouldn't argue again, or guilt him into coming with her.

Then, her tail twitched, and Van knew he had won, even before she let her pout fall from her face with her sigh. "Fine." She said, defeat echoing in her voice as she walked away from him. Before heading off completely though, the cat turned, all energy returned to her limbs. "One o'clock, Kay?! Don't be late either!" She shouted at him, her infinite smile, finding it hard to stay hidden, crawled onto her face again. With that, the cat rushed back to the dance pavilion that had kept her so entertained thus far, and soon she was just a blob of bobbing pink, lost in the crowds, music and lights.

Van smiled, and went back to what he had been doing: Escaping

As he found himself in a more deserted area, the tanned young man took in a few more sights and sounds. The music was fading, but still was dancing on his ears in the background. A few solitary figures entertained a small group of people with their story telling. There was a food stand, mostly deserted, no wonder since the public restrooms that had been set up for the event were quite the distance from this particular location. There were still some people around, but for the most part, he ignored them.

Until he saw her.

There was something about her, something otherworldly. It might have been the veil over her face, maybe her overall strange ensemble which involved many coloured fabrics held together seemingly by magic, or maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was alone. She was sitting on a tattered blanket with a strange design, surrounded by her clothing, and was completely alone. No one even looked at her; they simply walked by as though she weren't even there. She seemed to be trapped, swaying between here and there, awake and dreaming, reality and imaginary, a mystery and light. She was a liminal experience unto herself.

He stopped and stared, not sure if what he was seeing was real. When he approached her, he still wasn't sure she was real.

'What is 'reality' anyway?' He asked himself as he sat down across from her, his red shirt billowing out for a second as he lowered himself quickly. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do, and Van couldn't shake the feeling that she had been waiting for him.

"Would you like a reading?" She said in a soft voice as she looked at him. Or, he thought she looked at him. He couldn't quite make out her face behind her veil.

"Shouldn't you already know the answer to that?" He asked rhetorically and sceptically, trying to hide how intrigued he was. Not by her art, but by her. He'd had his fortune read before. Almost every year Merle found a different fortune teller at this festival, and insisted they both get readings. He rarely got any surprises; they all said the same things.

Truth be told, Van hadn't been aware that she was a fortune teller. He hadn't seen anything but her as he'd approached, and now he saw the small sign at her left that was her advert. Upon closer inspection, the tattered blanket they sat on was also covered in runes, symbols and they both sat on their own circle, within a larger circle.

Van could almost kick himself.

This was how fortune tellers attracted suckers. They looked eccentric and interesting. They drew the eye. Magic was all about misdirection, after all. But it was too late to back out now, so Van readied himself for yet another 'fortune telling' session as he brushed her raven locks out of his face. She began shuffling her cards, and he briefly noted that she was shuffling in rhythm with the song that had been following him. She must have mistaken his smile and stifled breath of laughter for another dose of his obvious scepticism though, because the next words out of her mouth were:

"Doubt is part of our very existence. Don't worry so much, but try to believe."

Van nodded and she finished shuffling. Then she did something strange. The girl, for he knew she was a young girl no matter how she tried to disguise her body, reached across the place she'd placed her cards, and took his wrist. Lifting his hand, she placed it on the cards. "I need you to shuffle them three times. We'll just do a simple reading, so while you're shuffling, ask your question. When you're finished, place the deck here." She pointed to the place where their personal circles met.

"What? Just like that?" Black eyebrows shot up as he questioned her.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" She asked, slight concern finding it's way into her voice.

"Well... I mean... fortune tellers usually pull a few cards, and tell me that I'm lucky, or will be lucky, or that I should remember to value my friends, or something, after they've told me a few things about myself to prove that they have real powers." He told her. "This just seems... fishy. Easy, you know? Are you legit?"

The girl clammed up for a minute, and slowly removed her hand from where it had been resting on his, on the deck. Van wondered if he'd said the wrong thing, before realizing that he'd just accused her of being a fake. His train of thought's next stop was how quick he'd have to run to get away from the festival patrol, or her buddies. Then there was movement behind her veil.

"Ask your question in your head then." She told him. And so he shuffled. While he shuffled, his thoughts strayed to what she had said earlier. It was almost as though she had known he was going to doubt her. But on the other end of the scale, she could get that reaction a lot, and the advice she had given him seemed to fit her profession. So he dismissed it, and focused.

'Where will the night take me?' He asked in his mind as he moved the cards to randomize them. The girl behind the veil watched him with her strange eyes. Van had noticed them earlier, but hadn't been able to see them clearly behind her veil. They had attracted him with their mystery, and so here he sat doing the one thing he had hoped to avoid for once.

Apparently, this would be his fate.

As Van finished shuffling, her replaced the deck on the mat between them, and gave a look that prompted her to act, or at least lead him.

"Cut the deck into three separate piles. Draw the top card from each pile." She instructed him simply. He found that odd. Most of these ladies would pile on the glamour and the mystic crap. Apparently, this girl felt that her art spoke for herself. He was begrudgingly impressed. And so, Van did as he was told. The first card that he drew was the four of wands. Second was the ten of chalices. Finally, there was the Prince of Wands.

Of course, Van didn't see any meaning to these, but as the girl looked at them, she smiled. Or at least, he thought she did. "Well?" He asked, rather impertinently.

"Tell me what you see." The young fortune teller ordered him. He was getting annoyed. Did she think that he was going to answer his own question for her? She was being tricky, he felt, and made a mental note to be on his toes. But, he decided to play this thing through, and looked at the first card.

"It's very pink." He said, eyeing the woman in the center of the card. She looked happy, almost as though she were in the middle of a dance, especially the way her dress appeared to be moving. "There are hands reaching towards the dancing woman." He continued. "And she is in the centre of four bamboo poles. Her dress is covered in flower, and she also has pink flowers in her hair. The hands aren't... reaching for her. The palms aren't facing her, they're facing upwards." As he slowed, trying to examine the card closer, in order to absorb any detail her could about it, the girl interrupted him.

"She is enjoying the moment. She is about the present, about the fleeting instant of happiness, or celebration. She is here and now." The girl told him, and her voice started to take on that stereotypical fortune teller tone. Van barely noticed.

"If I were to guess... I'd say she represents this festival. Here for a single day, you have to take it all in a moment before it's gone. She is like life, in that way." The girl informed him, and as he took one last glance at the card, he smiled a little.

"She reminds me of my sister."

"Then that's why you drew her." She calmly replied as he placed the card on the top of the deck. Moving to the next one, he began.

"There are two people on this card. A man and a woman, and she's kissing his forehead. They're sitting in front of... I think a rainbow? Yeah! A rainbow. Everything is painted in... warm colours. There's even a cat and dog sitting with them. What's this one mean?" Her flapped the card in front of her veil for her to see, as though she hadn't studied it a thousand times over.

"Happiness." She said in a clipped tone, and deftly snatched the card from his hand. "The couple, and especially the dog and cat there, should make this obvious to you. It's about harmony between people, true friendship and true love." Van could have sworn that she shot him a quick glare, but couldn't be sure because of that damned veil!

"It's an end to conflicts, how the rainbow will always come out after the rain. What about the next one?" She asked. It was the first question that she'd asked, and Van was a little surprised. Was she... getting annoyed with him?

He complied though, and took a good, hard look at the prince of wands. "Warm colors again, mostly reds." The raven haired boy started.

"His eyes are closed, and he's almost doing a sort of... martial arts stance. While standing on a pole, his hands held palms together at his chest, with one leg lifted in the air. He almost looks like he's praying, and there are flames in the background." Van was getting bored. When was she going to answer his question?

"This prince..." she smiled as though he was an old friend of hers. In a way, he was. "Is the birth of a wish." She told him. "And these three together, seem to be telling me that tonight, something new will be born; Might be born. If you let it, of course. It could lead you to love, friendship, happiness, harmony. Anything."

She finished with a flourish and a smile as she gathered her cards back to her as Van sat, gaping in shock.

"Didn't that answer your question?" She question innocently as she tucked her sign away, and ushered him off the mat as she rolled it up.

"How... did you? What?" Finally the words tumbled out of his mouth.

"I didn't do anything. The tarot answered your heart. It was also telling me that existing means acting, not following." She told him while removing her elaborate headdress, veil and all the excessive scarves that had been swathed around her unnecessarily. "So what are you waiting for? Let's go."

He finally clued into the fact that she had tucked her entire fortune telling persona into a cart, and was now standing before him with a simple white linen dress and bright emerald eyes. She looked... normal.

"What?"

The one word sentences which made him sound oh-so-intelligent continued as he stared dumbfounded at the girl whom he now realized was younger than him. She looked to be something like 14 to his 15. "You heard me. Let's get going."

At the expression which graced his face, she elaborated. "Tonight, the tarot has told you, is going to bring you something. But you need to act." This time she grabbed his wrist, and pulled him along with her, away from the lovely open and deserted area, and back towards the festival.

He finally regained his senses as her hand contacted his wrist. "I don't even know your name!" He told her in an exasperated tone, in a half-assed attempt to get out of this... whatever it was.

"Hitomi." She told him, her sandy brown hair whipping around her ears as she turned to face him, dropping his arm, her green eyes sparkling with something that could have been mischief. "And out of the two of us, I think I should be the one worried. You hear about young girls being abducted at these festivals all the time, especially if they're working there." She shook her head wearily, almost in a mocking manner. "And now you know my name, but I know nothing of you!" She exclaimed in faux-shock.

"It's Van." He grumbled at her, slightly red at her open teasing.

Right then and there, Van decided that no matter how normal she looked, this Hitomi was anything but.

END CHAPTER 1

Huh.

So. I haven't written fanfiction since I was sixteen. I want to pretend that I've improved since then. I'm not sure where this is going, I have just been inspired to write about Van and Hitomi. Specifically, I feel as though the song 'Sunny Moon' by The Cat Empire inspired this potential fic. It has been brewing in my mind for quite some time. In fact, I know that I based this entire fic off of that song.

Go have a listen, if you'd like.