Birth of a Crimson Feather

➳PARTNERS➳

He was walking back to the place we first met. I had no other choice but to follow, as I was walking behind him I could see something close to the nape of his neck shining under the moonlight. I had this urge to ask him what that was, right then and there but I decided against it.

My mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, I was so scared I missed my only chance to find the Earth Crystal, I was fidgeting and looking around anxiously, so after a few minutes, he noticed and turned around, looking towards me but at the same time not exactly looking at me directly.

He stopped and gave me a small vile and after seeing the hesitation in my eyes he uttered:

"Do not worry, it is not poison or anything rude. It is simply a chamomile wash, you drink it to feel better..." he smiled softly and took the first sip "See? I did drink first, so you have nothing to worry about now."

"It is not the wash I am afraid of, it is time. Time is of the essence and I feel like I am going backward like walking towards the start. I had made so much progress..."

I wanted to say more but I stopped myself. I knew, if I opened up to him, it will only put me in a tight spot. He was looking at me the whole time I was blabbering, he looked like he was listening carefully and I knew he would have something to say. That was another reason why I stopped.

"You promised to be my partner in this. Remember? And with that promise comes great responsibility. Do not worry your mind about why we are going back. I will answer that now, to make you feel better and make the journey smoother for the both of us."

He sat down and pointed to the space close to where he was, by opening his palm, just like how the gentle princes used to act in the books I read when I was a child. I made my way towards him and took a small rag I had with me out of my purple bag. I placed it on the ground and finally sat next to him.

"I know I promised to be partners, but, you see... I need to be clued in before you decide to make this a thing. I feel afraid and lost, I have no idea why we are going back up the entrance of the Blue Desert. Can you at least answer that?" I told him as I was sipping a small amount of the chamomile wash.

"I will. As I told you before, I am a fortune-teller, and the Rain of the Star Crystals is a very important event in my culture. Just like you came here to gather minerals or whatever it was, for your mid-term exams, I am also here to gather star power for my Tarot Deck, Flow." he mouthed slowly and took a black and silver-colored Tarot Deck out of his pocket to show me.

"Flow? Flow is the name of your deck. Do not tell me you named your tarot deck that!" I laughed so hard I had to hold my belly while I was looking at him with tears in my eyes.

"You named your wand Jinx! Or did I get that wrong? What kind of double standard is this, that allows you to name your inanimate objects but I can't?!" he smirked.

The sunrise was close, it felt like it was dying to meet us in this place. My mind did not feel as worried as before but my heart was racy and beating fast. The time after midnight is when you see and feel everything from this world and the next coming together, like a pretty butterfly dance or the marriage of raindrops when they fall on the blooming flowers.

So beautiful but also calm and quiet. I was waiting, almost holding my breath, for him to start his practice. I had seen a fortune teller prepare for a tarot reading only once before and it did not seem a big deal then. Well, this time is a level-up of magic power, not just a cheap trick to bring in the masses so more money can be gathered.

"Hold this for me, please." that phrase woke my senses up instantly. I felt like I was floating on a dreamboat this whole time. I quickly opened my hand and placed it under his.