Ember POV
I ran down the path blindly, my mind racing, tears flowing from my eyes. After all I did to help Dragonair, I was either ignored or mocked. Over the years that I had known him, he teased me occasionally, and that always bothered me, but lately it bothered me more than ever. He had lately begun using the comments that bothered me the most...but it wasn't just him, either. Greta had mentioned them also when I met her. I slammed my fist into a tree, creating a dent in the bark. I winced, jerking my paw back and shaking it in the air.
"Damn, forgot to use Mega Punch," I muttered angrily, changing direction and walking through the trees, leaving the path behind. I just wanted to be alone, to try to calm down a little bit. Maybe I was overreacting and taking his taunting too seriously. I threw myself down at the base of a random tree, staring upwards at the sky, still taking deep breaths. I've always found that lying down and staring at the sky helped me to think. Unfortunately, my thoughts kept returning to various comments that Dragonair made about me, which caused me to become upset all over again. I growled in anger and sent a large fireball at a nearby bush, igniting it, watching as it burned down to cinders.
"Good afternoon. Is this a bad time?" a voice asked and I jumped slightly, turning my head towards the speaker, which was a small purple creature with glittering gem-stone eyes. On its chest was a small red gem.
"Who are you?" I demanded aggressively. The creature nodded serenely.
"My name is Tarot. I am of the Sableye species and unique in the fact that I dislike caves," he explained.
"Sableye?" I repeated. "So you're a ghost type that dislikes dark areas?"
"Close. I dislike caves, but I do prefer dark areas to sunlight, but can still inhabit sunlit areas," he corrected.
"What do you want?" I asked in annoyance. The Sableye blinked its gem-like eyes.
"I noticed you seemed upset and decided to see if there's anything I could do to help."
"Why do you care?" I muttered, turning away from the ghost type. The ghost appeared in my view again, smiling kindly. "Just leave me alone," I snapped. The Sableye nodded understandingly and a small deck of cards appeared in his paws, which he shuffled casually.
"You feel lost...don't you? Like no one cares?" he asked in an oddly soothing voice. "You are uncertain about your future so you try to hide from it. Am I right?" I didn't answer, turning my head away from him.
"Just shut up and go away," I muttered. The Sableye reappeared in my line of sight again, throwing one of the cards he was shuffling into the air, where it hovered in front of me before slowly turning towards me. I stared at it blankly while the Sableye smiled kindly.
"The Moon...this card symbolizes doubt. You doubt yourself, but refuse to admit it. I can help you, if you let me," he said softly. I twitched, but remained silent. The Sableye slowly shuffled the deck, his eyes glittering eerily as he gazed at the floating card.
"How can you help me?" I asked coldly, trying to hide my slight curiosity.
"Let's see here..." he said, tossing 3 cards into the air. "Your past," He pointed, and one of the cards turned around. Like the previous card, it was meaningless to me, just a bizarre picture. It also appeared to be upside down.
"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.
"A tarot reading. This often allows me some insight into certain matters."
"Explains your name," I muttered. I had never actually heard of tarot reading before, so I had to admit I was curious.
"Indeed. The Lovers card is in reverse, as you can see it is upside down. This is interpreted as either a failed relationship or a lack of romantic relationships," Tarot said gently and I got to my feet angrily.
"Shut up! Is everyone going to poke fun at me?!" I shouted. Tarot looked at me passively.
"Not intentionally. I was merely interpreting the card. This spread is to determine the root of the conflict, which is the Moon, the doubt and tension you experience," he said soothingly. "Now the present..." he said, pointing to the middle card, which turned around. "The Chariot. This card symbolizes conquest, should you have the will to achieve it...however, once again, this card is in reverse, warning of failure should you continue to lack the discipline required," Tarot explained.
"So what's the last card? My future?" I asked sarcastically.
"Indeed. You catch on quickly," he said, pointing to the card, which spun around. "The Magician, symbolizing personal power and abilities. This card is in reverse, warning that you do not have the abilities you seek."
"They were all in reverse," I said with a scowl. What did that mean, anyway?
"This makes the Moon all the more important, as it symbolizes doubt within you. You perhaps doubted yourself in the past, and you suffer from the feeling that no one cares for you, proving the Lovers card. In the present, you are in danger of losing your chance of success, for you are slowly losing your will to continue. Lastly, the future warns that you will lack crucial abilities, most likely as the side effect of the present," Tarot said calmly, but there was an aura of power in his words that almost immediately attracted my attention.
"What can I do?" I asked, feeling overwhelmed by the unusual information, yet it seemed so accurate that I couldn't ignore it.
"You must search inside yourself and learn what it is you seek. Then you must determine how you can acquire it. Lastly, you must take the steps to acquire it," the Sableye said, holding out his paw as the four cards slowly dropped, then replaced them in the deck and shuffled before waving his paw, causing the cards to vanish.
"But how do I do that?" I demanded impatiently. Tarot studied me thoughtfully.
"Reflect on it. Your answers can come from unexpected places, but the solution is within you. You just need to find it," the Sableye turned to leave.
"Wait...I think I have a thought," I said and Tarot paused, looking back at me.
"I cannot guide your personal reflection, just lead you to where you journey would take you. Reflect on the thought and search within your heart," he said and then faded away. I growled in frustration.
"What do I need?" I asked aloud, closing my eyes to think. "I need to find the answer to that, and hanging around here isn't going to help me," I stood up and walked back towards the path, continuing in the original direction, further from the area where the others were.
"Ember!" Sapphire's voice called, but I ignored her, looking at the path in front of me. "Ember, wait!" I continued to ignore the female Dragonair's calls until she had caught up with me. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Somewhere," I replied emotionlessly, still walking and ignoring the dragoness' attempts to make eye contact.
"Why are you leaving?" Sapphire asked urgently.
"It doesn't matter," I replied, still avoiding her gaze, slightly annoyed that she was still following me. Didn't she see I wanted to be alone?
"I don't suppose you want to talk about it?" Sapphire asked kindly. I shot her a venomous look.
"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone."
"It often helps to talk about problems. Otherwise you could get more upset later."
"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone, and I don't appreciate you annoying me about it!" I snapped, sending a fireball at the dragoness, who blocked it with her tail. She stared at me passively, but seemed a bit upset by my attack. I turned away once more and walked down the path, noting with satisfaction that she had stopped following me. As I turned a bend, I glanced back and saw that she had turned around and gone back. I smirked in triumph and continued on my way.
