Strangers in Nopal (Asra x Fem OC)

6 - Cards

There was a moment of anxiety lingering as trembling hands hover above the worn, wooden box. Muriel had brought it over as per Mazelinka's request as the big reveal of Alecto's past had only brought her more and more questions, endless and infinite. Somehow, it's all beginning to make sense, but also ot doesn't.

She opens it when weak, trembling, hands, unlocking the latch with a small squeak and then opening it up to a flash of different emotions mixing up altogether. Like a breeze whipping past her, the feelings do likewise as she picks up the first thing that had caught her eye.

A glimmering tarot deck, gold rimmed and decadent, familiar as she picked it up, as voices begin to talk to her all at once. She gasps, drops it into the box, tears rimming her eyes once again as she remembers the feeling. They speak to her once again, another piece of home reunites with her.

And then, more things. A carved mask, a glimmering emerald, books, journals, dried flowers and such, everything speaking to her all at once.

Something had caught her breath as she shuts the box closed, tears falling onto the worn wood. To open up her past was like heartbreak. Mazelinka pits her hand softly on her shoulder.

"We don't have to take them all in now." Muriel tries to console her, although his tone remains uncertain. He was hardly good at consoling, in which Alecto thankfully understood.

Alecto sniffs, shaking her head, as she looks at the wooden box through teary eyes.

"No... " She sniffs. "I can do this. One memory at a time."

Muriel nods, watching as Alecto opens the box pnce again, lips still quivering, tears still falling. The first thing she gathers are the cards, bound together by twine as the gold edge glimmer under the bright sun. It does not just speak to her, but the reveal sent whispers to Muriel of something reminiscent in a cold night. In the gardens of the palace, the whole of Vesuvia in one room. Music, a masquerade, and him.

Muriel swallows a lump in his throat. That is something he knows neither of them were ready for.

"They speak to me." Alecto whispers, going through the cards with hands that fit them perfectly, images and arcanas that she knows she knew very well.

She shuffles through them until she stops at one card.

An owl stares back at her, the High Priestess' blank eyes telling her something.

"Well?" Mazelinka proded. "What are they saying?"

Alecto closes her eyes, cards in her hands and close to her chest, as she listens to the feeling the arcana invokes. She whispers.

"That I'm right... Of trusting my intuition."

She immediately lookes over the horizon, then the waves that crash and slip away.

"I'm right about going up North."

___________________________________________________________________________

The crashing waves of the dock no longer eased her aching heart, that the once calming essence of the sea no longer aided Nadia and her troubles. Tonight heralds a different kind of pain, as her two trusted companions were ready aboard their vessels.

Portia stood beside her, though equally morose, remained strong for the both of them. Even Julian stood by her side.

"Will she be alright?" Portia spoke to Mazelinka, who only looked at the door of the hull briefly, then back to Portia.

"We'll try our best to keep her undisturbed as possible for the whole trip." She reassures her.

"What then once you get to the Scourgelands?"

"We'll hand her over to Morga. With the climate, she will be well-preserved, and undisturbed there. She will be at peace."

With her words, Nadia unconsciously tightend her grip on Portia's hand.

"Nadia..." Portia looks at her, concerned and disheartened.

"It's just... It doesn't feel right... To separate them like this." She finally found her voice, though weak, still held its purpose.

Julian looks down at his feet, as well as Muriel and Mazelinka. They knew that too.

"It's what's necessary, to keep her at the very least alive."

Hope rests in the subtle heartbeat of Alecto's sleeing form, hidden in the hull of the vessel. In eternal rest, she is preserved, so the Scourgelands would preserve her even more. They cannot afford to lose her gain, and not in this way.

"Wait."

Everyone pauses, the unexpected voices and forms of Aisha and Salim emerges from the dark paths from the docks. They welcome themselves with grieving expressions and a box in Aisha's hand.

"I thought thay maybe... This should... " Aisha's words fail to express herself as tears begin to trickle down.

Salim puts a hand on her shoulder, looking over to the company.

"These are all her things we were able to collect, those of which we thought would matter to her."

Aisha hands them the wooden box, finding itself in the large, gentle hands of Muriel.

"It is what connects her to us. And Asra."

The box felt heavy in his hands, now understanding the weight of it all.

"If you can, ask Morga to set it next to her. So in the small chance she does wake up... "

Muriel just nods, and he hands it to Mazelinka, carefully tucking it into the rest of her belongings.

Nadia gazes over at the lovers, who witnesses the final goodbyes between Mazelinka and Muriel, and the rest of them.

"Shouldn't you prepare for your departure as well?" She spoke with soft concern.

"We are." Salim tells her. "But we thought we would be here to witness the final farewells, for the sake of our son."

Nadia nods.

The final goodbyes were exchanhed with heartfelt hugs and reluctant releases, Mazelinka wabing over to Portia and Julian with a pained expression. Though Muriel remained silent, there was tears glimmering in his eyes.

And as they watched them sail away to the south, Aisha and Salim prepare for their family's departure to the north.