Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris (OPEN)

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

The sound of knocking at the door echoed through Xiulan's Belgravia flat—and right on time. She'd been expecting a new fortune-telling client, an individual who had been referred to her by an acquaintance of theirs who was an existing client of hers, according to their letter. It was no different from how she had gathered most of her clients, who spread the word about her services. Xiulan didn't seek people out on her own; she needed money to maintain the standards to which she lived, but she was above anything that might make her look desperate.

Xiulan Zhou certainly didn't carry herself as someone who rarely saw the outside of her home, even if that was really the case. She didn't hoard anything, and magic kept the place from looking even the least bit untidy. Respectability was something that had been drilled into her from a very young age. While perhaps she hadn't appreciated the lengths to which some of that line of argumentation had gone, not least because of how her Inner Eye was viewed as interfering with it, she closely equated her own upkeep with the value that her services commanded. No one, she thought, would want their fortune told by some disheveled hag—not if they could help it, anyway.

Part of what Xiulan sold, in a way, was an experience. Her clients had the opportunity to enter "her world" temporarily, though most of the people with whom she met were, themselves, of a certain social standing. They were entering her home, yes, but she always dressed as if preparing to go out for a nice meal. It didn't matter what time of the day it was.

Wearing robes similar in appearance to a cheongsam with a loose cardigan over the top for warmth, Xiulan moved to answer the door, a pair of slippers upon her feet so that nothing would get tracked onto her floors without leaving her feet bare. She stepped lightly across the floor, wandlessly shutting the doors to her private rooms as she walked.

Once at the door, Xiulan opened it casually yet with a touch of caution, a polite smile upon her painted red lips. "Hello," she spoke, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself in the Muggle building in which she lived.

OOC: OPEN!

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

Rhys eyes burned with exhaustion. Between the upcoming full moon and the time spent with Maria he just felt exhausted in a new way. A lot had happened physically and emotionally and at least the latter was not something he was used to. One could push through physical pain and exhaustion but anything emotional always seemed to weigh heavier. A friend had recommended he try something different and though Rhys had been and was still incredibly skeptical he felt it couldn’t hurt at this point in his life. Ever since Zombie Island he just had this overwhelming sensation that no matter what step he took in whatever direction something was going to happen that would upset the careful balance of his life. And right now, he carried the weight of very well knowing he was lying to his sisters about Maria. He had said he was done with her and he’d never personally side with anyone against his family but he hadn’t been strong enough to stay away.

He looked down at the small piece of parchment in his hand that had an address written on it and he looked at the letters that labeled the doors as he walked slowly until he stopped at the one he was looking for. It wasn’t a part of London he had ventured into often at all but fortunately his work had taught him how to blend in as well as he could with the locals and especially muggles, he had always been amused by some Wizard’s attempts to blend in as such. Rhys took a breath, still second guessing himself and if he really wanted to do this. But he was here so might as well. Rhys knocked and didn’t have to wait long when the door opened and a woman smiled at him and greeted him. Well, there was no turning back now. ”Hello, I’m Rhys. I was referred.”

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

The young man at the door introduced himself as Rhys and mentioned that he had been referred to her. He was in the right place, of course, though his appearance was hardly that of Xiulan's typical clientele. It wasn't so much that he looked suspicious, though; he simply looked as though he had had the life drained out of him. Some people seemed to mistake her Inner Eye for omniscience, Xiulan knew, especially those who weren't as familiar with her, and she kept her surprise at the way that he came across to herself.

"Yes, wonderful," she nodded, speaking in polished English. "Do come in." She stood back from the door and held it open for him so that he could enter. Having stopped expecting her Western clients to remove their shoes, Xiulan wasn't picky about whether or not Rhys did, though she'd clean up afterwards for her own sake. Beyond the door was the main room of her flat—painstakingly decorated—with a rectangular coffee table in its center and carved wooden chairs on either of the table's longer sides. "Julia Zhou," Xiulan introduced herself once the door was shut, and she locked it again with a smooth wave of her hand.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

She invited him in and moved to let him pass. Rhys entered the flat and noted it was rather immaculate, but after many years in his field there wasn’t much shock value either. He had spent much of his time in Latin America and the Middle East with occasional jobs in Eastern Europe and Asia though not as much as maybe some of the other Curse Breakers so while he maybe not have been as knowledgeable with the artifacts, history and culture it wasn’t strange to him. Rhys heard the click of the lock on the door, while he may not have shown it behind his more serious demeanor, he was a bit nervous.

After his traumatic experience with a pensieve as a child he tended to stay away from certain things. Ironic considering he tracked down dangerously cursed items for the bank, but he’d rather take another almost fatal curse to the chest than ever repeat what had happened to him at that age. ”Nice to meet you.” He tried to be friendly, or at least polite. But they were strangers still and with the full moon a day away and how tired he was it was a bit challenging. ”So, how does this work?” Despite everything, his curiosity always managed to appear in new situations.

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

Rhys said that it was nice to meet her, though his demeanor was still rather uneasy. Xiulan supposed that she couldn't blame him; not everyone was accustomed to having their fortune told, and she imagined that there were people who had never met a true Seer in their lives. An Inner Eye could be faked, she knew, but only to a point; what she offered was the real deal. Rhys, fortunately, didn't seem to be a skeptic, though he asked her how the process would work.

All of that would depend on the type of divination that he wanted her to use, though Xiulan didn't think that he had come looking for anything particularly rare. She charged by the service, not by the hour, as the former wouldn't have made her much at all. Most people knew why they had come to see her. Even if they said so, most people didn't do things on a whim. "If you'd like to make yourself comfortable," Xiulan suggested, motioning to the table and chairs, "you can tell me more about why you've come, and we can get started."

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

Divination and anything related had truly been Rhys’ worst subject in school but perhaps because he asked too many questions. But what did a sixteen-year-old know of these things or of the world at all to question what he couldn’t not see. Now, he was older and had seen many things across the world so while doubt still exited he was more open minded. Plus, what did he have to lose at this point? He was at a strange low point in his life and it was either this or drown himself in another bottle of whiskey that night.

Rhys nodded slightly and took a seat in one of the chairs she had motioned towards and he cleared his throat and paused. ”I—um.” Why was he here? Or how did one put this feeling into words. ”I guess I’m feeling a bit directionless—lost.” He corrected. What was he doing anymore but this endless cycle of drinking and commitment-less engagements and then running into cursed tombs not even able to guarantee if he would make it out alive. ”I’m just tired.” The look on his siblings’ faces when he had spoken, or argued rather, with them had knocked him out of a bit of a haze and then seeing Elias in Maria’s memory had added to that.

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

After Rhys had seated himself at the table, Xiulan seated herself across from him. She kept her legs crossed at the ankles and listened carefully to the words that came out of his mouth, though he faltered some as he spoke. He described himself as feeling directionless, or lost, and then he mentioned that he was just tired.

"Hmmmm…" Xiulan considered what he had just said and nodded her head firmly, pressing her lips together as she thought. She couldn't do much to help with fatigue; she wasn't a Healer and didn't have potions to dispense; however, she could do more to help his feeling "directionless", potentially.

Crystal-gazing was a relatively run-of-the-mill sort of technique, but it was also able to give a person considerable insight into their future. In Rhys's case, Xiulan felt, it would provide him some direction—certainly more than through some other methods of divination. She summoned a crystal ball off of a shelf behind her and levitated it to the middle of the table between them.

"Tell me, Rhys," Xiulan began, still poised, "how familiar are you with the Orb?"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

She didn’t immediately respond to his answer, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Maybe her usual clients came to her for different reasons than his own, was it not a good one? Maybe there were other resources he could have tried or even just tried getting over it as he’d been told too many times in his life. Suddenly she made a motion with her hands and an interesting orb floated over toward them. He was curious if wandless magic was typical in the areas of Divination. It wasn’t a subject he knew much about outside of what he’d learned in school and that was a number of years ago already.

He looked at the orb a bit apprehensively but then his eyes shifted back to her when she asked him another question. ”I’m really not. Nothing really outside of what they taught us in school.” He admitted, his tone calm. It was strange not feeling in control of his situation but was probably a side effect if his work where he had to maintain control in order to stay alive. This entire experience was very new for him, though his friend had spoken quite highly of her and he trusted their opinion. His traveling had introduced him to a very many people that had “the gift” but were really just reading those muggle horoscopes to unsuspecting wizards.

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

As was the case with many people in the magical community, Rhys answered her that he was unfamiliar with the Orb aside from what he had been taught in school. From what Xiulan had gathered from her clientele there in London, Hogwarts didn't have Divination as a mandatory subject of study. Her own schooling had been atypical, though, so it was hardly a frame of reference against which to measure most other schools. Regardless, it gave her the information that she sought at that moment: She would need to ease him into understanding what she might be able to illuminate for him.

With so many fraudulent Seers around the world, it was of paramount importance that her clients trusted in her and the work that she did. One bad experience could tarnish her reputation quickly and dry up any income that she could hope to make, so Xiulan took great care to set herself apart from the typical carnival fortune-telling set. She didn't play games with people's minds to get them to part with their money, and it wasn't a matter of luck. It was all her Inner Eye.

"This," Xiulan explained, "is not just a glass ball," as she was sure that Rhys was aware. "It is the Orb," or a crystal ball, in layman's terms, "and it can provide a person with great insight into their future." It was not something, in other words, to be taken lightly. "First," she instructed him, "I want you to look into the Orb and tell me what you see." She didn't expect him to see any more than some white smoke, at most, on his first attempt, but she knew better than to say anything to influence his perception of what he might see.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

He could remember feeling a sense of relief when he didn’t have to take Divination anymore, it was the one time he remembered realized what it might have been like for others dropping subjects they didn’t care for or didn’t do well in. He’d passed but it wasn’t required for the line of work he had been considering but neither for his current either. Though he supposed it wouldn’t have hurt to have some insight into whether he would be injured the next time he went into a tomb. Rhys looked at her and then the orb again as she explained to him what it was and what to expect.

’I can provide a person with a great inside into the future.’ At this Rhys felt a strange turning in his his stomach and he swalled hard. The future. He was looking for direction, would that help him make a choice? Maybe it scared him because Rhys had learned long ago to not think that far ahead, you would only be met with disappointment. He nodded and per her instruction looked at the glass ball, the Orb. There wasn’t anything immediately visible and he furrowed his brow wondering if he was doing something wrong, he shook his head slightly from side to side. ”I don’t see anything…” He concentrated, maybe he was missing something.

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

Rhys's nerves weren't atypical for a first-time client. People who weren't used to seeing things about the future could be very apprehensive about it. They had reason to be sometimes, Xiulan supposed. Even though she had lived with her Inner Eye for decades and made her living from it, there were certainly times when she, too, was afraid of what she had foretold. As much as she should have been one not to worry so much, she knew how hypocritical it would have sounded, coming from her. She didn't need to let on how much of her time was spent in the same, confined space.

Xiulan watched as Rhys looked into the crystal ball, clearly trying to put all of his effort into focusing on it. He then shook his head. "I don’t see anything…" he said.

It was as she had expected, and Xiulan gave him a nod. "That is perfectly normal for someone without the Sight." She spoke kindly, without being patronizing about it. She would have been more surprised if he had seen something for himself clearly enough to inform her of what it was. "Now," she began, allowing her voice to trail off, "if I were to look into the Orb…"

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

For someone like Rhys, who valued control, the chance to know something that might happen tomorrow was valuable but also terrifying. Maybe he had just gotten used to not planning. Plans meant chances for disappointment, for expectations to be unmet. She assured him that the fact that he had not seen anything was alright. It was expected. He didn't have the 'Sight'. That was a relief. He wondered what kind of omen that might have been if he had seen nothing but fog when he was supposed to have glimpsed something.

Rhys didn't want to admit how hard his heart had started to beat in his chest, and he fidgeted a bit in his chair. She would look any second now, and something would appear, assuming she was as real as her reputation said. Rhys swallowed. There was a slight lump in his throat from anxiety. "Do you see anything?" He asked. He didn't like the suspense, the three seconds that felt like 3 hours all of a sudden. What did she see?

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

Clearing her mind to focus on her Inner Eye and what it was perceiving, Xiulan didn't hear Rhys ask her what she could see, though she could see the fog that had been swirling around inside the Orb parting to reveal something else to her. She was seeing a pair of eyes—not much different from Rhys's own, though she hadn't studied his face enough to make note of his exact eye color—emerging through the fog. Materializing before her were a group of children, and the eldest one among them was a girl. The scene was vivid, though there was no way for her to capture an image of it for Rhys's sake except to describe it.

"Yes…" she murmured as she pulled her attention and Inner Eye away from the depths of what she had seen in the Orb. Rhys's eyes were as blue as those of the girl whom she had seen moments before. In that regard, at least, the girl had been the spitting image of him. It seemed to have been at some time that wasn't in the immediate future, however. "Blue eyes…" Xiulan noted, speaking to herself rather than to Rhys.

Slowly, she then focused her attention back to him and smiled warmly. "Your children are lovely," she told him.

rhys alexander greyback

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

Change my attempt, good intentions

Should I? Could I?

November 4, 2025
xiulan zhou

She focused on the orb, and Rhys watched her for any indication of what she might be seeing or if he was supposed to do something. He stayed quiet, and the few minutes that passed felt like an hour with how silent it had gotten in the room. But then she spoke, and Rhys looked up eagerly. He didn't realize how eager and nervous he was about hearing what she had to say. So far, it had been a completely different experience from the obvious frauds he'd encountered while he traveled, so the straight mix of doubt and suspense sat heavy in his stomach. She spoke softly again, blue eyes... and Rhys' face showed confusion. It wasn't a secret. He had blue eyes. It was plainly obvious against his pale skin and dark hair. But then her attention focused back on him completely, and her expression was...happy? If he had to guess at least by the look in her eyes and the smile on her face. However, she spoke again, and Rhys froze. He blinked a few times. What? Had he heard that correctly? "Wh-what?" He managed to stammer out.

A child? No wait children. "What are you--what does that mean?" No. No. NO. That can't be what she saw. "I don't...I don't have any kids." Was she talking about now? What did this mean? How was this supposed to give him direction? Maybe she was lying, and maybe this wasn't real. But now the thought was planted in his head, regardless of whether she was right or wrong. If she was talking about the past, it meant he wasn't any better than his father, but if it was the future, what the hell did that mean? He felt uncomfortable. He wondered if he had gone pale. He just felt speechless. He didn't know what to say.

[xiulan zhou]

November 2025

Her comments seemed to have sent Rhys into a state of shock. He sputtered, questioning what she had just told him and insisting that he didn't have any children. It was hardly the first time that someone had become defensive over her Inner Eye, yet she couldn't control what she saw; she could only explain it or—possibly—what it might have meant. In Rhys's case, not having any children yet, that didn't mean that he would end up becoming a father right that moment. Maybe it would be in another five years. Maybe ten.

Seeing how much the color had drained from his face, though, Xiulan paused. She wasn't in the business of traumatizing people. Even if Rhys could think of nothing more horrifying than being a father, she didn't want her session to leave a bad taste in his mouth, nor did she want him to faint. She had been through that enough herself to know that it was an awful feeling, and he had looked a little bit unwell from the start.

Carefully, she summoned a drinking glass into her hand and filled it with water that she conjured up from her hand a moment later. She then offered out the glass to Rhys. "Please. Before you faint," she urged him, not at all bothered by his reaction apart from her concern at how he looked. "It's just water." He could test it, if he felt he needed to, but she wouldn't have been able to produce a potion from nothing. "Have a sip."

rhys alexander greyback