I've been saying this for all my updates: I'm sorry updates take so long but with school/personal priorities, I can't find time every single day to update. I will try to gt them done faster but only time can tell.
Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop. Nor do I own Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way'.
Walk In Their Shoes: Walk This Way
She hadn't told a soul where she planned on going, and she didn't want to. It was her business and her business alone. And it wasn't as if she didn't want to tell someone of the strange out of body experience she had with Jet. She just feared that the someone she told would look at her then laugh in her face. And Faye didn't do well with embarassment. So, like any other woman who would rather keep a secret than tell the entire world that she thinks she's crazy, she set out to find the person who had started it all: Madame Zupotti.
It was all the same, the small street that held little or no people, the dusty old shop that carried the gypsy, but no Madame Zupotti. All the scarves, all the exotic smells- gone. It was as if the someone had taken it all away, along with the mysterious woman. The floorboards creaked underneath Faye's feet and she quietly wandered around the ancient store in hopes that there was some type of evidence that could be used as a lead for what happened to Madame Zupotti.
"You lookin' for someone?" Finally, a person on the same page as Faye! She whirled around to meet and young man in a pin stripe suit, complete with a red tie. Faye looked him over nervously and after a short mental debate, saw no harm in talking to him.
"Yes, actually. I'm looking for the former owner of this store. Dark hair, a bit of an attitude..."
"Overpays?"
"Yes!" Faye's cheeks reddened at her sudden outburst. The man tugged at his tie to loosen it up a bit.
"Morlana Zupotti. She should be around here somewhere. I'm her lawyer. It seems that the husband she ran away from is calling in the community property law in their divorce. All the items inside went to her, which now rest in a storage place somewhere and the store...well...the store went to Mr. Zupotti. Let me guess, she gave you a love potion and it didn't work? I'll go to my car and get the proper forms for you to fill out." Faye had to literally pinch herself to make sure all that was being said wasn't another dream. She stopped the lawyer just as he headed for the door.
"No! There was no love potion." She was almost insulted that he would think she would need one. Then again..."I needed to consult her on something she said to me a couple of days ago." The lawyer nodded and pointed to the bar across the street. Funny, but Faye could've used a place like that the day all this crap began. In three swift motions, Faye was inside the bar, the alcoholic odors wafting through the air. And in the middle of the room, smoking a cigarette and cursing at the female bartender, was Madame Zupotti herself, sipping on a brandy. Faye walked meekly over to the Romany, a smug look resting upon her features.
"Who are you? Armando's little street whore? Take him! I don't want him!" The small glass tilted in her hand as she threw the liquid around in her glass. Faye was disappointed. She expected a mysterious woman laughing at the fact that she wasn't beaten, just merely interrupted. But the woman before her seemed desolate and unwanted.
"I don't know who Armando is, but i'm guessing he's your husband. You don't remember me, do you?" The bounty hunter pulled up a chair beside the woman and reste her arms against the hard wood of the table. Madame Zupotti's eyes narrowed into thin slits of chestnut followed by a egotistical smirk.
"You have to forgive Madame Zupotti. I never forget a face, unless it is shadowed by liquor. What is it that you seek, Ms. Valentine?" Faye held back a smartass comment and settled in to talk about the odd situation that fallen on Faye.
"Well, if you remember correctly, you read my fortune. You had everything right, almost, but at the end you said that I will never be able to break into their hearts if I am not able to walk in their shoes." The gypsy leaned back and took a drag of her nicotine stick.
"Yeah? So? Look at my line of work, kid. It's my job to say creepy things. It keeps you on your feet." Faye shook her head.
"No. You don't understand. I went home, put my crewmates shoes on, and I suddenly fell into his memories. I WAS Jet!!' Madame Zupotti stared blankly at Faye, a giant 'O' forming on her mouth.
"By George, it worked..." Faye leaned in a few more inches to get a better listen.
"What was that?" The gypsy waved her hands about the air and laughed it off.
"So what are you complaining for?! You get to see into these people's lives, know their deepest, most hidden secrets! Be thankful for that gift!" Faye slammed her fists against the wood, sending tiny splinters into the air and one into her thumb. She ignored the tiny wound and continued on with her rampage.
"But I don't want it!!" The Romany simply glared at the vixen and gave a flick of the wrist.
"Too bad." A low growl was emitted from the woman sitting in front of her. "What do you want? I can't take it back. You can't take back a spell!! If that was the case then Sleeping Beauty would have never gotten laid!! And Cinderella would acutally have to PAY for dating services! Besides, you get to know your comrades better! Deal with it." Another dangerous rumble. "Alright. I'll tell you what, if you go along with my spell, I will give you a free tarot reading." Faye folded her arms over her chest and nodded, although she thought deal was a bit sour. Madame Zupotti grinned and pulled out a deck of cards, each one marked with a different picture. Some were beautiful, with intricate drawings of woman and lovers and peaceful scenes of serenity. Others, however, were dark and covered in images of murder and violence. Faye prayed she wouldn't pick any of those. "Okay! I shuffle three times and then you shuffle three times and cut the deck." Both women followed the directions and the Romany flexed her fingers as Faye seperated the deck of cards.
The first card the gypsy put down was a woman in a white dress, blindfolded and holding up a pair of swords. Behind her was a relaxing ocean bearing witness to odd appearance.
"This is what you are...the two of swords. It signifies conformity, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms, affection and intamacy." Faye had to force herself to stay glued to the chair. Conformity? Yeah right! Madame Zupotti continued and placed a card over it. It was graced with a woman in flowers closing the mouth of a lion.
"This is what surrounds you - Strength. It signifies power, energy, action, courage, and magnamity. Quite the exciting life you lead, Faye." The violet haired beauty simply quirked an eyebrow. She was interested, but wouldn't admit it as of yet. Another card was placed over the two previous cards. This one wasn't as pretty or intruiging as the other two. It was dark and marked with a malicious portrait of the devil himself with two demons below him and at his mercy. "The Devil. This is your obstacle. It signifies ravage, violence, vehemence, extraordinary efforts, force, fatality. It is not predestined but is not evil as well." Just her luck. Of course Faye would get something like the Devil card. What was next, death iteself? The next card was placed above the small stack.
"This is the best you can arrive at and what you want but do not presently have. It is the two of cups and it signifies love, passion, friendship, union, sympathy, interrelation of the sexes, and desire, which is not in nature but by which nature is sanctified. Hmm...Spike Spiegel is looking pretty good to you?"
"This is stupid." Faye stood to leave but was quickly pulled back down by the Romany.
"Do not play around with the Tarot. It is simple but true." The gypsy flipped another card and placed it underneath the stack. The picture laying on it was of a woman crying in her bed beneath nine swords. And how was this better than the devil?
"This is the nine of swords. This is your past. It signifies death, failure, delay, deception, disappointment, and despair." Well she got that part right. Yet another card was placed to the right. This one had a picture of a heart pierced by three swords. "This is the three of swords. It signifies what is coming - removal, absence, delay, division." Another card was placed opposite of the swords. It was more graphic than the others, depicting a nude woman surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a ram, and a man and was laid upsidedown. "This is the World. It signifies what is beneath you - inertia, fixity, stagnation, and permanence."
Finally, four more cards were placed to the right of the cross formed by the cards. The first one was an empress reversed. "This is the empress. She signifies your attitude - fruitfullness, action, ignorance, the unknown, difficulty and doubt." The second was flipped. It was that of a man hanging from a tree. "This is the hanged man. He signifies what is around you - wisdom, intuition, divination, prophecy." The second to last card was flipped, revealing a queen surrounded by sticks. "This is the Queen of Wands. She signifies your hopes and fears - friendly, chaste, loving, and honorable." And the last card. It was reeked of good luck. "The last card. The Wheel of Fortune. It signifies what will come- destiny,fortune, success, luck, and happiness." Faye stood up from the table, stretching her limbs.
"That's great and all but I am a little too old for all this." She gave a soft wave goodbye and headed for the door.
"Faye! I fear your Devil card! Something is about to happen! I know it!" With the shake of her hips, Faye was out of the bar, barely giving a second thought to the warning.
She should have, however, listened. For three huge men plucked her right off the street and slammed her thin frame into the back of a vehicle. And to think, she was too old for Tarot readings.
Special thanks to my friend for helping me find Faye's perfect spread!!