...My name is Casper Rook, daughter of Fenn and Fusia, and my brother should know better than to poke me. I look up at Corbin, the younger of the twins, as he squeezes my cheeks.
"You're always so grumpy Casper. Why don't you smile? Come, dance with your brother!".
He lets go of my cheeks just to grab my hand and drag me across the fairground toward where pipes and string instruments could be heard. I don't understand why he does these things. He knows that I don't enjoy dancing or music. Perhaps it is for his own sake then? My brother does not give me a chance to think on this. Taking my hands and placing my feet atop of his, we are off 'dancing' before I know to leave. I stare dispassionately up at him and think on what I see. His body torn to shreds, teeth and claw marks across his skin. Even in the end, he will still be smiling, though the pain will twist it. It is...unfortunate. I love my brother, though I do not know how to show it. Seeing him as I do, I can not help but grieve for him already. He will die young, torn apart before he is even in the prime of his life. A truly tragic loss, as he brings much happiness to the world.
The music ends and with it the dance. Corbin's face clears once more to his usual happy smile.
"Did you have fun sis? Would you like to dance again?".
I shake my head no and step down from atop his feet, though he hugs me and kisses my cheeks before I can leave. I tolerate it and watch for a moment as he wanders off to find someone else to dance with.
I turn and walk away, the crowd separating before me as I do. They look upon me as...different. Strange and unknown. It is okay. I am those things. I know it as much as I know that the butcher's wife is having an affair, one that will result in childbirth. She'll die then, though she will have a healthy son. Her husband will despair, as the child will have his father's tail rather than his own human features. He will give the boy to his best friend, the real father of the child, before casting himself from the cliffs near my shack.
'Perhaps I will be able to catch a shark that day' I think to myself as I plan on the occasion. As I do I spot my mother and father. She with a hat on most others would deem 'silly', he holding a roll of tickets he won from a strength contest. He nodded to me without saying anything and I nodded back. Mother could never understand my brother Luscious and I. We have our father's stoicism with none of her 'passion for life' as she calls it. It's alright. She's a kind enough woman if a bit empty in the head. My father loves her, and that is enough for us. I leave her to him as I continue on my way. I have a stall to occupy anyway. Money to earn. Clothes aren't paid for by themselves after all, and I have little skill with a needle.
I sit down in my tent and await my first customer. I have a fortune teller's sign on the outside advertising that I'll read anyone's future for the right price. I don't expect to earn much. Miners and fishermen can be suspicious, and a young girl claiming to be able to read the future will be too much for many. Enough will come though. I already know that.
The first is a tall man. He is a fisherman with a large boat who came here to sell lobster and buy a trinket for his wife. As he sits I see his skin turn pale, his eyes vacant and hollow. Water pours from his mouth as he speaks to me and sets three coins on my table. A fortune then... I take his hand and look at it for a moment. Long scars, old and faded, speak of a fight with a Grimm sea creature. He nearly lost his hand. He will lose it in the future when his ship is capsized and he drowns. His hand will be crushed and torn away by an unsecured piece of equipment, and he will fall overboard as his ship rolls.
"I see a happy and profitable future for your family. Your wife will be very sad about something that you will fail to do, but then you will make her very happy. You will have a daughter and a son, twins. They'll love you very much".
The sailor scoffs as he gets up but leaves his coin. That is enough for me. Had I told him the truth he would call me a liar and have me sent home. That's why I lie to my customers now, because they never like the truth when I tell it. I find that parts of the truth work best. His wife will be sad. Her husband will fail to come home soon, lost at sea and taken by the Cruel Woman. The wife will then be happy as her husband's insurance money starts coming in and she learns that she is pregnant with twins. They will grow up with a new father, but their mother will always tell them of her first father and the foresight he had in insuring his cargo.
The next to arrive is a young soldier from Atlas. He looks barely older than my brothers. Weak and thin. No one would look at him and think him a soldier. I take his money nonetheless. I have a crystal ball that my brother Luscious gave to me for my eighth birthday. Sometimes it helps me concentrate, other times it is just a pretty bauble. I look into it and see a great deal about this young man. Huh...I won't even have to lie to him. Interesting.
"You will be a hero someday. A soldier and a leader, and while others will fall, you will protect the people of Remnant. You will be remembered for your heroism and save many lives. It may take time, but if you work at it, you will find happiness".
The soldier smiled. I think he actually believes me. Weird. He leaves me an extra coin and laughs. "Yeah right, I'm no soldier. Look at me, I'm scrawny!".
I look him in the eyes...eye. The other looks to poked out and bleeding. "Join the Atlesian Military and serve Puller Dufraine. People will die if you don't save them".
His smile disappears as quickly as he pales. That's actually kind of funny. "H-how do you know my name?".
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Really? I tell you your future and you wonder how I know your name? When you get to boot camp work with the bigger guns. You'll get stronger. Learn to run too. You'll need it".
Puller slowly backed away from me before running out of my tent. I look down at his coins and pocket them. No one else will come for their fortune today, I know that, but I know that I will have one more visitor. Luscious had the smallest part of his corners tilted upwards as he walked in and sat down. "I'm not sure if I've seen you send someone running that fast before. Did he not like what you told him?". I shrug and look expectantly at him. He sighs and lays five tarot cards out on the table.
One shows an empty wine glass in the rain. One a broken pickaxe. One a cut fishing line. One a discarded shoe and the final showed a graveyard covered in snow.
"...Will you tell me what these mean?".
I look at them, then at Luscious. I see his body fade and burn, then turn metallic and cold before melting. I see sadness and pain... faith and insanity. I sigh, and then he has no doubt about what his cards say.
"It is our deaths Lucius".
He looks at me curiously for the first time before sighing. "Lucius huh... A more appropriate name than Luscious at least... Who will die first?".
I tap the broken pickaxe. Our father. Then I tap the wine glass, our brother. The shoe, our mother. Then the line.
Luscious...Lucius, sighs. He knows that we can not change what will be. Doing so will make things worse. "So...Will I live long?".
I raise an eyebrow and he laughs quietly. Huh, this must really have hurt him if he's showing that much emotion. "Will it be quick?".
I close my eyes before tapping the shoe, the wine glass, and the fishing line.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You know...I hate being able to read these things".
I nod and stand up. He does as well and I take his hand as I walk out.
"Where are we going?".
"You're going to buy me some fried livers brother, then we will share a glass of cider before you join the others for the story tellings".
Lucius smiled slightly. "And you?".
"I will buy a candy apple and go home dear brother. I don't like story time, so I will go fishing". I stop and look at him for a moment as he stands quietly. After some consideration, I hug him. I admit, I do love my brothers, and I miss them when they are away at the Monastery, and while I don't know how to show that I care for them, they are at least warm when I hug them. Father didn't do anything when I hugged him once, and mother got weirded out. I know that she loves me, but like the other townsfolk, she sees me as strange, otherworldly. Father is far closer to the stone he mines than the man that he is. Brother Corbin is strange in his own way and would likely try to dance with me again if I hugged him. Brother Lucius though...He understands. He knows that I don't know how to act and that I care enough not to lie to them. He knows what it is that I see when I look at others. It's hard to care about someone when you know when and how they'll die, and you can see it everytime that you look at them. He doesn't mind that I'm weird, doesn't even see me as a novelty. He admits that I'm not like others, but that's not a bad thing when I'm with him.
We hug for a couple of minutes before I let go. I once more take his hand and lead him to the fried liver stall. He buys me a kabob of livers with peppers and onions, as well as a small loaf of honey-dipped bread. We split the bread, and Lucius knows better than to ask for me to share my livers as they are one of my favorite foods. When we are done he takes the lead and we walk to the next stall. He buys a tankard of cider, one with a fair bit of alcohol in it, and we share it. Sitting next to him, we watch as someone sets off some fireworks and some of the other stalls close for story time.
He takes his coat off and puts it around my shoulders. When I look up at him in confusion he explains that I am little and need to stay warm. I don't say anything but I do close my cloak tighter around my shoulders and put my hood up. My fox ears twitch slightly and I frown. I don't like wearing hoods, but it's better than getting ash stuck in my ears.
We hear the announcement that story time will start soon and many people hurry over to the stage. My brother looks down at me and hugs me once more. "Stay safe little one. I know you'll be safe, but still... I worry about you living alone".
"I've lived alone for a year brother, but thank you for your worry. I will head home now. Go, take care of the others. You'll be needed to keep them safe and sound".
Lucius sighed and nods. Standing up, he bids me farewell as he heads for the stage. The festival is celebrated to celebrate those who die each year, and Lucius is important. Besides, he'll need to let everyone know that he's changing his name to Lucius. Our mother will be disappointed that her son won't be named after her favorite lipstick anymore, but she'll get over it. Besides, Luscious sounds like a stripper's name.
I walk back to my tent and pack some of my things for the night. The tent was rented, so I'll leave it for the owners. I collect my money, my staff, and my crystal ball before beginning the walk back to my hut on the beach. It's not a bad walk, though my feet are sore. Walking several miles each down while barefoot does that. The staff helps with walking, and should anything unpleasant cross me it can give them a good jolt. I smile at it.
My brothers made me this staff when I moved out of our family's house last year. I was eleven, and tired of hearing things said about me. I was called a witch... And while they may be more correct than not, I did not want to deal with the superstitious and suspicious neighbors. So one week my brothers came to visit and they helped me build a hut out of driftwood on a beach a couple of miles outside of town. It is a good place with good fishing. When I'm not telling futures I sell my fish in town. Whatever they think of me, the townspeople still have to eat, so they buy my fish and I buy my cloaks and dresses and fishing line. Economics I think Corbin called it. He also told me that he would teach me how to make a brine that can substitute for a cheap tasting beer in a pinch.
A shame we won't live that long. Oh well. At least he'll find happiness before the end.
When I finally arrive at my hut the sun has long been down and it's pitch black. The shattered moon above is hidden by clouds of ash from the volcanos that give Seven Rings its name. It doesn't matter. I can see fine in the dark. Faunus and all that. My hut still stands, a line of salted fish drying on my wall to be stored for later meals. I lay my staff down as I sit beside the ocean, my sore feet cooling in the surf. I slowly relax and close my eyes. Quiet... No birds live here, no animals, fish don't come near and I have to go further down the beach to find them. Nothing and no one to bother me. It's nice.
I feel my head starting to nod as I begin to fall asleep. Not good. Instead, I stand up and walk back toward my hut. I like the ocean, and I know when and how I'm going to meet my end, but that doesn't mean that there might not be unpleasantness before then. I'd rather not find out that I'd fallen asleep when I'm washed out to sea and get my leg bitten off by one of the many sharks that call our shoreline home.
I sigh as I lay down on my pallet. A thin blanket for comfort on top of a flat piece of slate rock, and my brother's rolled up coat for a pillow. It's not to bad. I've still got my cloak on anyways, so at least I'll stay warm. I think of my brothers and the happiness and sadness that they'll bring to others. I think of the beautiful girl with sad smile I see in their future. I hope I get to meet her. Her rabbit ears look soft. I let my mind drift for a while before I finally sleep and dream of sitting on a beach fishing...
How bothersome. Can't even show emotion in my dreams...
