Rachel sat there for a few minuets before she rocked back on her heels and stood up. It… the werecat had heard her thoughts and had responded.
She woke up, in a sense, by actually looking a registering her surroundings again and noticed that the group had stopped and the cat was back with the woman again.
"You talked with him?" asked the short, curly brown haired woman staring at her.
"I didn't know I could do that," she replied to the occupants of the tent.
The group stared at the other woman and she nodded to them as if to say 'Go ahead- I'll take care of her'. They went back to talking amongst themselves.
She guided her out of the tent with the werecat in toe brushing against the other woman's feet.
"My name's Angela, by the way," she said, introducing herself. "That there," she gestured to the werecat, "Is Solembum- if he didn't already tell you-"
"No, he didn't," she replied as they took a few sharp turnings through the narrower gaps in the tents to avoid the other people milling about and staring at Rachel's odd apparel.
"Well that wouldn't surprise me," she said as they veered into one of the smaller tents.
Inside there was an abundant of interesting objects that were crammed into the small living space.
"Now where are they? ... Where are they? …" Angela wondered as she sorted through the piles of instruments. "Ah, here they are," she sighed as she brought out a drawstring bag and laid them on the table.
"Sit down, sit down." The words were hurriedly said.
"I have to ask before I start, but do you want your future read?" she asked.
Silence followed the question. After a few minuets the young girl voiced her concerns.
"Isn't that a very imprecise art?" she asked the woman in front of her.
"Only if you're guessing," she replied evasively.
Rachel looked at the curly brown haired woman in front of her and thought that if she was offering that she thought it might help.
"Ok," she replied and straightened her back and looked Angela in her brown eyes. "I'll have my fortune told."
Angela looked back at the girl before her and took the bones out of the bag, laid the cloth of the bag open on the table and raised them.
"Manin! Wyrda! Hugin!" she powerfully pronounced the words and threw the bones in the air and let them scatter on the cloth below.
"This is interesting," she muttered. "Very interesting."
"What is?" Rachel asked, puzzled as to how her life could be interesting.
"This bone here with this symbol," she said pointing at the bone with a circle and a tangent line to it marked on the bone. "That means you will either live forever or and very prolonged life."
Well, she thought, that's possible for a witch. Her mind wondered what was happening back home.
"The wandering path indicates that you have choices to make. Your choices affect people all over this land and the people you meet even more."
"Now," said Angela in an even, hushed voice, "The rose blossom," she showed her on the bone, "Tells me you will find love in a mysterious and handsome young man and the way it lies balanced on the crescent moon says that you will need to overcome difficulties to keep your love. These bones are all intertwined which indicates you need to do all of them to achieve everything."
Angela looked up from her stool at the young girl in front of her. She stared at the brown hair and blue eyes of the girl sitting their taking it in. Solembum leapt onto the girls lap and she stroked him absentmindedly.
"I suppose you're going to tell me not to dwell on it so I live my life or the prophecy will not be fulfilled sitting here doing nothing?" she asked when she finally looked up at Angela.
"Only if you think so," she smiled at the girl.
"Well I'll see you soon," she replied. "Goodbye Angela, Solembum." She got up and went to leave before the werecat stopped her for a minuet. She looked up at Angela.
"He…"
"He said what he said to you and only you dear," she replied, refusing to know what Solembum had not told her, most likely, for a reason.
"Now let's go back to the tent," She said looping her arm through hers with Solembum leading the way.
"Why are we going back?" Rachel asked Angela, determined to get carried away by her fortune.
"Because dear," she explained to the interested girl, "It is best to be at the action rather than hear it second hand. Everyone misses out the important parts."
Rachel stared at her companion for a few minuets as they strode to the tent together. "But you don't seem to be a gossip," she replied curiously.
"I'm not, I'm well informed."
They entered the central tent again. The people inside nodded and carried on as though they had not entered.
Then a noise pierced the area as, suddenly, a knife span through the room towards that dark skinned woman Nasuada. Guards ran after it but they knew they were too late. Nasuada froze in shock as it sped towards her. Eragon and Blödhgarm weren't quick enough to get over there in time.
Abruptly a shout of the word "Expelliarmus!" sounded across the tent and the knife flew on to the floor in the opposite direction. They all turned to see Rachel lowered a wooden stick, known to her as a wand.