7. Admirer

Summary: In which Zesha decides to stay at Mirania's tent for the night and ends up telling the future with tea leaves.

Performers: Illusionist Zesha, Fortuneteller Mirania

Mirania looked up to see one of the Illusionists enter her tent. He looked tired, his pale hair more unkept than usual and his eyes having shadows underneath them.

"Hello, Zesha." She picked up her teapot, ready to pour a cup for her guest. "A cup of tea?" She offered. Zesha nodded wearily, sitting down opposite her as the Fortuneteller poured a cup of tea for him. He thanked her, sipping his tea quietly. MIrania paused, taking a sip of her own tea, before speaking up.

"What brings you here so late? Usually you would be spending time with your brother, Zepha."

The Illusionist looked unhappy at the mention of his brother. "The mood festered and became foul. I escaped to find sanctuary for the night."

Translation? Zepha was basically in a bad mood and that meant that Zesha was fleeing to stay at Mirania's tent for the night. It didn't happen often, but it wasn't a rare occurence either.

What to cheer up Zesha with...? She hated to see him be so down. Mirania knew that eating all day and night wasn't his cup of tea (he never really ate too much anyway compared to her). What could get him back into a merrier mood? Looking down at her teacup, she thought of a most brilliant idea.

"Zesha, how about we predict the future together?"

Zesha raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his tea. He put the teacup down, peering at her curiously. "Predict the future?" He repeated. "With tea leaves...? Sounds mysterious."

Mirania smiled a bit. "All fortune-telling has always been mysterious, Zesha. You know that."

He appeared to smile faintly. "Let's do it."

Mirania got two new cups, with wide brims. She poured the loose-leaf tea into the cups, before the two let the cups of tea cool. They were silent while waiting for the tea to get to room temperature. Mirania then smiled, giving her cup to Zesha.

"Take a sip," She told him, "and focus on a question. Maybe it's something that's been itching at you lately. Make sure you leave a small bit of tea and as much tea leaves as you can in the bottom of the cup." She watched Zesha drink the tea carefully, before drinking her own tea. The two put their cups down after a few moments, before exchanging cups with each other and swirling the tea and leaves left in their cups clockwise three times in their left hands, covering the tops of the cups with their right hands so that none of the tea would spill out by accident.

They looked at the cups quietly, examining the symbols formed by the tea leaves.

Mirania stared at hers. "I see an oyster, a necklace...love. You've got an admirer, Zesha."

"I see a harp," Zesha murmured quietly. "And a necklace, too. Love, that is what it means. You've got an admirer as well, Mirania."

Zesha felt a little bad at discovering this. What if this admirer of Mirania was someone that Mirania liked and that the someone she liked wasn't him? That would be terrible! He wasn't sure what to really think of it if that ended up being true. But then again these tea leaf fortunes were supposed to be kind of vague as they were, so he wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to work. How soon would the fortune come true-in seconds later from now or in months? He would never know, not even Fortuneteller Mirania when it came to that. All they knew was that it would happen in the future...

But surely he should tell her. Before the whoever Mirania's admirer was got to her. Otherwise he might not have a chance-!

"M-Mirania...?" Her name came out of his mouth in an awkward stutter. His face was heating up. Why was he feeling nervous about this, embarrassed?

Well, it wasn't like he had ever confessed a crush before.

Mirania looked up to face him properly. "Yes, Zesha?"

"I...I..."

His mind was yelling at him to say it, the room felt like it was getting a few degress warmer and he should really just say it now.

"I like you." He managed to blurt out. "I mean, not just as-as a friend. I like you in, erm, a romantic way..."

Way to go, Zesha. The Illusionist thought to himself, letting the voice of Lowell say for him in his head. You just made yourself look stupid in front of the girl you like. Way to go...

"Zesha?"

Zesha glanced at Mirania quietly. "Yes?"

The Fortuneteller seemed to be blushing a little, before smiling at him. "I like you in a romantic way, too."

He blinked. Did he just hear that correctly? She liked him back?

"That's...that's great..." He smiled back at her. "Thank you, Mirania..." He then glanced at their leaf-filled cups of tea, before chuckling. "I suppose our fortunes came true, after all. "

That was when Mirania heard a soft harp playing in the background. Turning around to check, she then realized it was a harp, playing by itself. Zesha chuckled a bit, gently grabbing her hand, whispering gently into her ear.

"If music be the food of love," Zesha murmured, "Play on."

And the harp played on, all through the night, until both the Fortuneteller and Illusionist went to sleep.