"Let us see," he murmured, shuffling through his deck. This was something he had wanted to try seeing for a long time, but had never quite gotten around to. Or, rather he was scared to. It was not a question of whether or not Hawkins believed in fate, rather it was a question of why. To blindly put one's faith into something no one has ever seen, heard, or met… It is what makes religion possible. Hawkins saw his cards and his belief in fate as the same. The difference was, his card predictions were incapable of being wrong. His Devil Fruit made it so. Which made what he was about to do all the more terrifying.
Hawkins finished his shuffling, and placed his deck on the desk in front of him. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. He kept the question in his mind, and repeated it over and over. 'What is the possibility that I will reach Raftel?' He drew six cards, and levitated them in front of him. He flipped over the first. 10 of clubs. Card of traveling. Hawkins relaxed. This was good. His journey would be pleasant enough.
He flipped the second card. Jack of diamonds. Card of transaction. This puzzled Hawkins. The card signified news. Good or bad. Hawkins would hear soon of a grand event. On Hawkins scale, and how close the card had appeared to the front, this news would most likely shake the world. Hawkins prayed that it was good news, or that it at least benefitted him.
He flipped the third card. 10 of hearts. Card of gathering. Meaning he should be expecting to join a large group of people soon. 'That can be interpreted in many ways' Hawkins mused, running his finger over the card. Assimilation was the most likely. But Hawkins had not gotten the card of loss yet, which would undoubtedly come before this. That would mean…
"Out of my own will?" he wondered. "I assimilate out of my own will?" That did not seem likely at all…
He flipped the fourth card. Ace of diamonds. Card of messages. Hawkins chuckled. So that's what that meant.
"An alliance, huh?" he mumbled. The ace of diamonds signified a union in business. 'I don't like the sound of that' Hawkins thought. 'Pirate Alliances end in a lot of treachery.'
He flipped the fifth card. 10 of spades. Card of-
"Grief," Hawkins muttered, "shit." Something bad would happen soon. Something that would cause pain and sadness. Most likely, it would be a loss of something. Object, comrade, dream. Hawkins thanked fate that it wasn't the 6th card, for that would indicate the loss of his own life. There was still hope.
He flipped the last card. King of Spades. Card of justice. Someone would become a leader, and it wouldn't be him. Hawkins wrinkled his nose. The cards had disobeyed him for the first time in a long while. They hadn't answered his question, only told his future. Hawkins sighed. He supposed it couldn't be helped. Fate had it's own way of revealing itself. He would try another time…
Shyarly couldn't sleep. Her nightmares, her visions, plagued her. She was the only soothsayer she knew who had no positive visions. She saw only things like flames and destruction. Death and despair. Strife and greed. And the worst part was? She had no way to stop it. She could not tell what time these events would happen, nor where, she just knew they would. And even if she could tell, fate would prevent her from doing anything about it. She hated her powers. She wished she could smash her crystal ball into pieces, but it was too precious to her. She had tried to overcome it, but every time she couldn't help but think 'What if someday I need it again?'.
She had tried to warn Whitebeard that he might die. The Yonko had laughed and said "We all do, Shyarly, eventually." It had been intensely discomforting. The one time she could actually warn someone of their fate, and the senile old man had rushed into battle with zeal. Of course, he had died, and Shyarly had weeped. The man had been good, and she could no longer stand to see her beautiful country in ruins. Charlotte Linlin was a horrible curse on Fishman Island. Shyarly had tried time and time again to see when she might leave, but to no avail. Her visions would not obey her request, so matter how hard she begged them.
The Fates had her swimming on a string. If she yanked for a vision, they yanked back harder, providing her things she did not wish to see. She was absolutely sick of being Lachesis's voodoo puppet alone. She wished she had the power to cut the string, but the rope was too thick, and her scissors of will too frail. She could only pray for a day wherein her powers finally overwhelmed her, and she was forced to put them to rest for her sanity.
Until then, she would try to stay away. She would not fortune-tell unless she absolutely had to, and even then she would try and be reluctant. But knowledge of the future was tempting, and she finally succumbed two years after Whitebeard's death. Her final vision was terrifying. Flames and madness swarmed Fishman Island. At the middle of it all, a boy wearing a straw hat. She had gone mad. She had ordered the boy in front of her to leave her country at once. But it had done no good. He was determined to stay. When he ended up saving Fishman Island, Shyarly could've cried out her relief. Her vision had been wrong. There would be no death in Fishman Island. But there was something in the back of her head that irked her. A voice that whispered 'Not yet, no death yet'. It drove her mad with temptation. This was the final straw. Her breaking point. She smashed her crystal ball into a dozen pieces, and swore she'd never get another. The Fates' strings had been cut. She would no longer be their messenger.
A.N.: Isn't it funny how the two fortune-telling characters in One Piece share a birthday? Reviews, Favourites, Subscriptions, Reader Birthdays, and Requests are welcomed and much appreciated! I'll see you on the 11th for Montblanc Cricket!