Cecilia watched with thinly veiled interest as Bruno set up the area for his vision. She'd never witnessed the actual ceremony before, but they'd grown up together. She'd seen him overtaken by brief glimpses of the future many times as a child.
They'd be in the middle of a school lesson and Bruno's eyes would flash green and he'd give the teacher just enough warning to duck when a stray bird would fly through the window or be able to dodge a spitball from an annoying classmate. Back then, the other kids had thought his ability cool and mysterious when they weren't being jealous of the Madrigals' abilities.
That had been before people forgot the good things Bruno would predict; weddings and joyful births, long awaited proposals and bountiful harvests. When people started focusing on the negatives, the other kids had turned against him and Bruno hid himself away inside La Casita to avoid the whispers and jeers.
Papá had always shied away from the Madrigals' use of magic, not from revulsion, but from a lack of necessity. After all, he didn't really need Pepa's weather control on the rancho or Bruno's visions to decide the future for them. Julieta gave them a jar of homemade candy to help out with any injuries and that was it.
Bruno's latest visit to the rancho would be the first vision for any of its residents and Cece was eager to see his gift in full effect.
She had seen Pepa call up a storm - and been the cause of it more than a time or two - and seen bones retract back into torn skin after a bad break and a bite of Julieta's cooking.
Cecilia bit her lip, watching closely with wide eyes as Bruno used a twig from a smoldering pile of fragrant leaves to light the smaller piles gathered 'round them. A cool breeze swept in, tugging lightly at Cece's long hair. The wind whistled, quietly at first, then steadily louder as Bruno cracked his knuckles.
He offered his hands to the Echevarrías.
Cecilia took his right without hesitation, her calloused palm enveloped by large fingers that didn't know the hard work of caring for horses. Her fingers twitched against his, an unbidden reminder about men not liking women with rough hands coming to the forefront of her mind.
Cece pursed her lips. That little voice sounded like Señora Vargas, the old biddy, and she beat it back ruthlessly.
What did she care what some bitter old woman - or Bruno, for that matter - thought of her hands?
At her side, Papá hesitated. His eyes were wide like Cece's, but full of fear instead of awe.
Perhaps he was more unnerved by the Madrigals' magic than Cecilia had realized.
Around them, sparks of green magic began to illuminate the circle of sand Bruno had drawn around them and Papá lunged forward to complete the link, clutching the younger pair's hands like a lifeline in a storm.
"Are you alright?" Bruno asked uneasily, shying back. Cece wondered if even he could stop his visions once they started.
"I'm fine." Papá coughed. "Just… bad memories. Please, continue."
Cecilia frowned, full of questions that would have to wait for the privacy of their home.
Bruno looked unconvinced and ready to bolt.
Cecilia squeezed his hand. He reminded her of the skittish horses in the stable when spooked. She gentled her expression and softened her voice until it was just audible over the wind that began to scream around them.
"Hey," she smiled easily, causing both of the men to look at her. "We're gonna be fine. I've got you."
And maybe Bruno was more like her father than it seemed, for both of them looked at her like she was the one in control of the ritual, her hands steadying them and her gaze unwavering.
Papá relaxed minutely, mirroring her grin, and nodded at Bruno.
The young prophet looked unconvinced still, but took a deep breath, closing his eyes to focus and call forth the true power of his gift.
Cecilia had never met anyone with eyes as green as her own, but Bruno's literally out shown her own as the vision took over.
She gasped sharply as the sands lifted around them into a dome of dark sandstorm and iridescent green light, casting strange shadows and highlights onto the ground around them.
"I see… a horse." Bruno announced, squinting at the shifting sands behind Cece and her father. They looked over their shoulders to see Altivo's visage slow from a gallop to a stumble. "Is that your Altivo?"
Cece bit her lip, both father and daughter tearing their gaze away from the image of their dying stallion. The skin beneath her teeth split from the force of her contained grief. The words caught in her throat.
"Yes, that's…" Papá's voice was hushed with emotion and he pointedly cleared his throat. He looked at Bruno beseechingly. "If there's any way you can, could you move on to what comes after?"
Bruno nodded guilty, glancing back to the sands with a furrowed brow.
A new horse raced out of the light, tossing his mane imperiously as he burst forth to circle around Cecilia and her father.
Cece flinched at the sensation of rough sand against her cheek and lifted her face to beam at the face of a horse she knew so well.
Hugo whinnied silently at her, giving her face a quick nudge before racing off back into the storm of sand and light.
Bruno gaped at the figure, looking between his sands and Cecilia with disbelief.
"How'd you do that?" he demanded, the light in his eyes flickering.
"Do what?" Cece asked obliviously as she tore her gaze away from the sands.
Bruno looked as confused as she was. "Touch the vision like that!"
Cece frowned exaggeratedly, raising her eyebrows. "I dunno."
"Uh, kids?" Papá said awkwardly, pointing with his lips at the sands. "It's changing again."
Everyone turned their attention back to a humanoid figure whose features sharpened as it turned. Cecilia's own image grinned and stroked the stallion before her before turning to reach for someone else unseen.
The actual woman whistled appreciatively as the image yanked a faceless figure against herself, dipping them into a rather heated kiss. Cecilia grinned.
Whoever she was kissing was most certainly not Amaro Gomez, this figure too short and thin to be the man of her nightmares.
"O-kay," Bruno coughed, his voice cracking uncomfortably as he let the vision come to an end. He released the Echevarrías to catch a forming tablet from the air. "That was totally awkward, seeing you make out with someone - and in front of your dad and all… Do you guys mind if I, uh, just head home now or…"
Papá cleared his throat and accepted the tablet from Bruno. "Let me get those supplies for your mamá and Cecilia will see you out."
The tablet nearly slipped from his grasp, revealing itself to be a pair of jade slabs, one hidden beneath the other.
Papá grimaced at the sight of his daughter lip-locked with a stranger and shoved that particular tablet in her arms. With Hugo's image firmly in hand, Papá practically ran away.
Cecilia cackled to herself at the look on his face.
Papá would make all the jokes he liked about her eating men alive, but couldn't actually handle seeing her with a lover.
Cece stood, tucking the tablet beneath her arm and brushing the sand and dirt from her trousers.
"That was something else." she grinned, looking over her tablet. She wanted a frame for it. "I see the appeal of going to you for a vision, now. You're pretty cool, pequeño Madrigal."
Cece waited for a sarcastic retort from her companion, but only silence met her. She lifted her gaze to him and found Bruno staring contemplatively at his own hands.
"That's a first, too." The dark haired prophet wrung his hands together anxiously. He looked ready to bolt again.
"Bruno?" Cece asked cautiously, kneeling back down beside him. She didn't dare reach out to touch him for fear of him bolting.
He met her eyes, looking rather lost. "I've never had two visions at the same time." He blinked rapidly, flashes of green still settling in his eyes. "I thought I'd have to do the ritual twice, at least - I don't…" Bruno looked frustrated.
Cecilia tried to offer him a bright smile. "Maybe your power is just growing!" she said optimistically.
Bruno looked terrified at the thought. "Oh great - now my Ma'll want me to do group readings."
Cece winced.
Oh yeah, that wasn't a fun idea.