Jupiter [Eli]

[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

THE CROWD WAS THINNER BY THE FORTUNE teller's stall. The queues far more dense when there was ice cream being offered at a perfectly reasonable price. Eli felt an elbow in his back and he mumbled an apology as a shiny eyed preteen bounced into the line in front of him and Cordie. Eli eyed her expectantly, unable to make the choice for them both in case Cordie wasn't keen to have her palm read. Instead, she looked as unsure as he was, agreeing with him with a short reply.

Tentatively, he guided them towards the stall with his arm linked with hers. The glimmering swathes of fabric draping down over a tent that was erected just behind the display table. Various crystals and phials of glowing potions scattered across the clothed table. There was no person watching it over, and Eli wondered with a spike of panic if they were closed. "Do you think-?" Eli started, speaking from the corner of his mouth as they hovered side-by-side at the display sign. He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, the curtain pulled from the tent in a flurry of motion as a figure draped in skirts and bangles moved noisily into place.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, opening her arms as if they were old friends. A face that was both young and old all at once. Eli was a bit dumbstruck, watching the way her long black braid seemed to move as if it were sentient, snaking around her bare hips. "Have the young lovers come to pay me a visit?" She grinned and Eli noticed a fine gold tooth glinting near the corner of her large, beautiful smile. Teeth glimmering and just crooked enough to be charming. Her cheeks dimpled and Eli found his face moving to smile along with her. Her words registered a bit late, and he felt his heart jerk in his chest as he cast a quick, panicked look at Cordie.

"Um- we're, I mean, that's-" Eli stuttered. palming the back of his neck as he uncoiled his arm from Cordie in case she started to lose her nerve. "We've come for our fortune... I think?" He frowned over the table, and the teller looked bemused, almost charmed by his lack of confidence. He felt his face might be on fire. "Well, do you want to go together... or... one at a time?" She asked with that same inviting grin, her eyes this time were only for Cordie. 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

▲

Maybe it wasn’t as good of an idea as she was envisioning. Not that she really wanted to do it in the first place, because she wasn’t sure how fortune telling operated when it came to magic. Her question went unanswered as the two of them stepped up to the stall and stared at the sign in the front of it. There wasn’t enough time to see what any of it said, as the curtains started to move, and a woman appeared from within. Cordelia moved slightly behind Eli as they were approached, her free hand gripping onto his forearm as she became increasingly unsure about the situation. Regular, old magic was absolutely fine with her. When it came to this sort of thing, as it was with Divination when she had been forced to take it in school, there was too much uncertainty. Without visibly being able to see the magic, how could they trust it?

As the old (young?) woman started to speak, she asked if the two of them, the lovers, were here for a visit. Cordelia could feel her face instantly start to burn with embarrassment. Is that how they looked right now? All because she was holding onto Eli? She didn’t know what to do, like always, and stayed where she was, still a half-step behind him. Eli apparently didn’t know how to answer to her question either, stammering through his words as he explained that they were just there for a fortune. Cordelia nodded her head at this.

The woman then asked if they wanted to do it together or separately, and she looked up at Eli to see if he would answer for her. The problem was that the fortune teller was staring directly at her, and the uneasiness was only growing. ”Err…w-w-well t-together is f-fine with m-m-me…” she said quietly. That seemed to be enough for the fortune teller, who made a similar noise to when she first appeared, and then stepped back inside the shadows of her tent, beckoning with her spider-like fingers for them to follow. ”Sh-She thinks w-we’re d-d-d-“ Cordelia couldn’t finish her sentence. There were definitely times where she had thought about that, but she knew Eli wouldn’t want to date someone weak-willed and boring like her. Even if he seemed to enjoy her company.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 387

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

THE UNCERTAINTY BETWEEN CORDIE AND ELI was almost palpable. Though neither of them seemed to have the guts to separate themselves, knocking shoulders as they stood before the fortune tellers table like two mismatched wooden dolls. Eli felt tense because he could feel how uncomfortable Cordie was becoming. The attention of the odd, mystical figure leaving them almost dizzy with the fantastical nature of it. Eli felt himself gripping Cordie tighter, instead of letting her go. This, of course, did nothing to dissuade the tellers assumption that they were together. Eli didn't care.

"Together," He nodded, giving Cordie's arm a comforting squeeze as he moved from foot to foot, unsure if he should go left or right around the table. Eventually, he felt the guiding hand of the woman land roughly on his shoulder. It was a big hand for such a small woman and he felt the weight of it burning through his jacket as they were led into the tent with a jangle of bracelets and beaded belts.

"It's fine," Eli turned his head, walking blindly so that he could give Cordie his widest smile. He untangled their arms and dropped his hand to lace their fingers tentatively. The walkway was narrow, and Eli took the lead, leading Cordie behind him as he tried not to trip over the blankets and detritus that littered the fortune tellers tent. "I don't care." He shrugged at Cordie, hoping against hope that Cordie didn't care either. He did care, actually. He cared an awful lot, but perhaps not in the way that Cordie expected. 

Inside it was dark at first, and Eli had to blink to adjust to the change of lighting. Floating candles gathered like winking stars above their heads. The space was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. Eli didn't even't have to stoop to stand and he tilted his head to admire the charm work, nudging Cordie excitedly when he did. It was the sort of thing she would like, he thought with a fizz of excitement.

"Call me Esme, and what shall I call you both?" Esme said, releasing Eli from her hold and turning with a swish of her skirts. Her hands came together, nails long and dangerous as they clacked together. "Please take a seat on the floor with me, I want you both to be comfortable in this space... it's safe, I assure you." She winked like they needed to hear that, lowering herself in one smooth move onto a collection of blankets and tasselled cushions behind a wooden pallet draped with silk. A stack of cards lay face down on the pallets top, along with a beaten bronze bowl filled with a mysterious black liquid, and a fat candle that had melted down the outsides fluttered in a nonexistent wind. 

Eli dithered in place before finally dropping onto the cushions behind the pallet like a good dog. He ran his thumb over the back of Cordie's hand like it might make her feel better, his heart rattling in his chest. "I'm Eli... this is Cordie..." He gestured to Cordie with one hand, pretending he wasn't sweating when he smiled. "We haven't had our fortunes done before," Eli said, though he wasn't sure if that was true for Cordie. He felt the awkwardness ease slightly as he crossed his legs and let the smell of incense make him a little light headed. "You're not going to tell us when we die or something, right?" He joked good-naturedly and Esme threw her head back to laugh. "If I had the ability to do that, do you think I'd be charging you five sickles a go?" She said with a spectacular lift of her sculpted brow. Eli laughed and turned to look at Cordie's expression, checking if she were okay.

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

▲

It was funny how her nervousness liked to battle itself, almost like a race. She should have been more concerned about Eli interlocking their fingers, a reassuring moment for sure, but one that would have made her head fuzzy, and face burn, any other point in time. Having a supposed Seer, if the woman, Esme, was even that, tell their fortunes was way more pressure on her for some reason. Probably because she didn’t want to hear someone else saying something that she already sort of knew about herself. It was bad enough that her mum had inquired about the nature of her relationship with Eli before. The stuttering mess of words that had come out of her were unintelligible but said everything that her mum wanted to hear. Since then, Cordelia hadn’t heard anything, aside from the occasional question on how Eli was doing. Cordelia knew she was biding her time, waiting to hear about the end result. Fat chance, since getting to that point was going to be nigh impossible unless Eli got tired of waiting and outright forced her.

Too focused on putting one foot in front of the other as they entered the tent, Cordelia barely looked around at their surroundings. She would have been amazed by the levitating candles and charmed fabric ceiling, made to look like the night sky. Alas, she was more worried about what kind of wisdom Esme here was about to drop on the two of them. Assuming it was real. There were still frauds even with the existence of magic, which seemed incredible to her.

Cordelia fell into place on a cushion beside Eli, still holding onto his hand tightly. Being worried over this was so stupid but she still didn’t want to hear the answer of whatever it was Esme was going to bestow upon them. Eli questioned whether or not her prophecy would be doom and gloom, and the fortune teller countered back that she wouldn’t be here if that was the case. A small, anxious laugh bubbled out of Cordelia at that, and it somewhat relaxed her. She had noticed Eli was looking at her, probably to gauge how she was doing, and she nodded at him that it was fine to continue. At least death was off the table today.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 384

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

LIKE A DOG WAITING FOR AFFIRMATION, ELI stared at Cordie to gauge their next move. If she were to even flinch in the wrong way, he'd stand back up and make a swift exit. The last thing he wanted was for her to hate the whole charade, it was supposed to be fun. They were going to be told they were coming into money, or something spiffy about luck, and a promotion. That was all, a way to bide their time before they stuffed their faces with ice cream and went home with achy bellies. She nodded, and Eli relaxed just a little bit.

"Okay, Esme." Eli said like they were a couple of old friends, shifting to make room for Cordie on the cushion beside him. "Tell me something I don't know." And he grinned like he was sitting on the verge of laughter, gently arranging himself at Cordie's side and leaning just a little, like the comfort of their shoulders pressed together might make her feel just a little more at ease in the unfamiliar environment. Esme's laugh was rougher than Eli expected, but he found himself pleased that he'd managed to make her laugh.

"That might cost extra," She drawled, winking over the silk pallet at them both and Eli knocked his elbow with Cordie's, like they were sharing a secret. And suddenly, as if pierced by laser focus, Esme turned her full attention to where Cordie had settled in place beside Eli and he felt himself tense at the same time she did. "He likes when you do that," She said with a secret smile, and Eli frowned in confusion, looking between them both. "Come closer, lean on him... humour him." A knot started in Eli's stomach, and he wondered if he'd made a terrible, horrible mistake.

Esme shuffled her deck of cards lazily, attention caught between both Eli and Cordie, as if she were picking them apart. 3 cards laid out across the silks, snapping down with deliberate purpose, and Esme hummed as the smell of incense seemed to double and the candles blurred the edges of their shadows. A bright sun that rippled and beamed, two golden chalices filled with a rippling red liquid, and a great sword that seemed to twinkle and wink dangerously, pointed toward them. They both appeared to watch mutely as Esme ruminated over her results.

"Your love... it is complicated, and yet..." Esme tutted, a slight curl of her lips. "You see this card, this is The Sun, I see new love, a strong love that is undeniable." She looked up then, through her lashes, and Eli couldn't even breathe, never mind to correct her. "And the two of cups, they overflow, show strength and a deep spiritual connection." Her long, dangerous fingernails tapped on the middle card, brows raised, almost smug with her explanation. "But this..." The nail slid across the pallet to the sword, which appeared so real that Eli felt she might cut herself on the edge if she touched it any closer. "I sense a miscommunication, a barrier you both must overcome to enjoy the fruits of your labour."

Eli's fingers flexed where they held Cordie's hand still, but he didn't let go. He was afraid if he did, she might do something entirely normal and run from the strange, ethereal space. "Um..." Eli breathed, but he couldn't bring himself to correct her, because he wasn't a psychic, and he felt silly for the little ball of hope that was lodged at the back of his throat. "Thanks?" He huffed a breath and watched her pull the cards towards her, her eyes flickering between them expectantly. "Have I said something wrong?" 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

▲

Letting Eli take the lead was a no-brainer. In more complicated situations, Cordelia would have maybe felt bad, as if she was imposing on him or making matters worse by lacking in social skills. Being a burden was her biggest worry. There had never been a point where she worried about that with Eli though; she was sure if she ever did come across as one, he would say something about it. She had realized that lately, she desperately craved those kinds of positive affirmations from him. It probably had to do with spending every waking moment with him when they were both free, but it was definitely exactly what she needed.

Caught off guard by the fortune teller grabbing her attention, Cordelia’s brow furrowed. Eli liked when she did what? Sat next to him? Held his hand? Awkwardly laughed at pseudo-‘magic’? For as much as she lacked in the ability to communicate well with others, she was still able to discern what people meant. And fortune tellers would say anything that sounded vaguely correct if it would earn them a couple more coins. Eli seemed to challenge that idea, before both of them were suckered into a card reading without even second guessing it.

She didn’t really understand what power these cards had, aside from being randomly assigned to phrases and the appearance of what the two of them were to the fortune teller. Of course they looked like a couple to the ragged old woman. And she proceeded to drop the L-word without hesitation right from the beginning. Cordelia could feel Eli’s hand tightening around hers, which saved her from doing the same thing. They weren’t in love, were they? Was that what this all was, or at the very least, what it looked like to others? She felt her pulse quicken at this realization, mostly because it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it was true.

The fortune teller asked if she had said something incorrect, and to her, it looked like Eli was frozen from responding again. ”W-We aren’t y-you know…d-dating,” Cordelia forced out while staring down at her lap. That was the correct answer, right? A moment of panic started to form, as she wondered if maybe Eli thought they were, and had been for a while. Quickly looking back up at the fortune teller, and then to him, she got to her feet. She didn’t want to be in the tent any longer. The old woman made her uncomfortable with her silly little game that had no bearing on reality. And who was she to tell them how their relationship was supposed to be?

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 443

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Elijah Theron Fleming]

only dust settles.

feb 5th 2027

ELI DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TIME TO PANIC BEFORE Cordie broke the tense questing silence. Her voice hoarse, like the words had been choked out of her. Hand pulled from his, her face frozen in his minds-eye even after she'd looked away from him quickly. Hair a halo, whites of her eyes so stark it was as if they glowed. She looked terrified and Eli felt his heart sink so low he might've tripped over it.

His hand felt cold where she'd pulled hers free, nearly knocking him over in her hurry to stand and escape. It was exactly what Eli had been frightened would happen, that he'd scare her off. And all it took was the idea that they were dating. He might've laughed, and maybe he did in the seconds after hearing Cordie trip through the silks towards the exit. He didn't look back, couldn't watch her leave, couldn't witness the way her shoulders would heave as she struggled to breathe.

"Reverse Ace of Swords..." The voice was melodic and knowing and pitying too, and so very unwelcome. Eli swallowed and blinked the shock out of his eyes, it was just a stupid fortune. He curled his legs up under him, but paused as he caught the way that long, painted fingernail tapped against the vicious edge of the upside down sword on the glittering card. "It's in the cards, son." She shrugged her shoulder and Eli couldn't help it then, he laughed.

Rubbing at his face, Eli felt heart sore and stupid as he turned to follow Cordie's path to freedom, but as he move through the silks he stopped and turned back. "Can I have it?" He asked boldly, reaching into his pockets and pulling out all the spare coins he had rattling around in there. Maybe the equivalent of 3 galleons at most. "The one with the sun, I want it, can I have it?" He asked, his eyes wide and desperate, face still red from the embarrassment of being rejected in front of her. She sighed, big and heavy, shaking her head instinctively. "You're lucky you're cute, boy." And then she very slowly slid the card across the pallet toward where Eli stood. He didn't hesitate, reaching forward and snatching it from the pallet with a small smile, the coins skittering where he dropped them on the silk. "Thanks," He huffed, turning on a running step as he left.

Outside, the noise of the festival hit Eli like pulling his head out of water. Laughter, the smell of fried dough and flashing lights all hitting him at once. He flinched, tucking the tarot card very carefully into his pocket as he strained his neck trying to see that familiar head of blond hair. For a moment he thought he'd lost her, that she'd moved so fast and so sure she'd run from him. And then he saw her, just at the edge of the crowd, like a statue with her arms awkwardly straight at her sides.

"Cordie," He said with a relieved sigh, picking up the pace to catch up to her. She didn't move, like she couldn't hear him. "Cordie..." His voice softer, hesitating for a moment before he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It was just a stupid fortune, it doesn't-" He couldn't say it, couldn't lie to her face with that card burning a hole in the pocket of his trousers. He pressed a little firmer on her shoulder, his thumb catching the slight flash of pale skin where the collar of her shirt sat. "Is it really that bad?" He muttered, trying to joke but just sounding like a wounded dog. "The idea of- that people- of being with me, together?" 

cordelia regan smith

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[cordelia regan smith]

▲

The typically stifling crowds of Horizont Alley felt like a reprieve after being in the tent. Cordelia took a deep inhale as the cool, February air hit her face. Earlier, she had felt its abrasive nip. Now she welcomed it as she left the perfumes and incense behind her. The claustrophobia of the fortune teller’s tent was far worse than anything she had experienced amongst the throngs of bodies moving about in the street.

She immediately felt horrible for the way she had reacted inside though. Because she honestly wanted to do the opposite of everything the fortune teller had ‘predicted’. Except it had to be on her own terms, not by the nosiness of a witch taking money to say the obvious. Crossing her arms, Cordelia paced back and forth off to the side of the tent entrance, waiting for Eli to emerge. What was taking him so long? She almost thought to bolt off back home, but that would only delay whatever conversation they were about to have to the flat. Amongst strangers in the crowded street, their talk would be more private.

As Eli ducked out from behind the tent flap, and the wave of regret that had bubbled up over the last half minute or so hit at the same time. Her arms dropped to her sides as she stopped her pacing to face him. A few long strides later and he was in front of her, trying to say that the fortune was dumb and didn’t actually mean anything. She knew that, but was the woman wrong? Eli put a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to shift her gaze up from where she’d been boring holes into the ground.

”N-No it’s n-not that. I-I-I j-just…” Wanted to be the one to determine what they were? Not some fortune teller hack? She could hear it in Eli’s voice. Her sudden declaration, while true, had hurt him. ”I-I don’t want s-someone else ch-choosing that f-for…” Cordelia struggled to get out the last part.

Elijah Theron Fleming ● 338

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0