strangetrip | [EP] London Lucida

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[EP] London Lucida - OTA

When the egg meant for Emma had opened to reveal what looked like her entire collection of tarot decks – minus the three she'd chosen to take on her trip to London to visit Sabine, and therefore the only ones she'd had with her at the inn – she'd been tempted to pull them all out at once. But she couldn't use all of them at once, and the anticipation of reconnecting with the various decks was appealing too. So she'd decided to begin each day by pulling one deck from the egg, the one on top or first she touched, as one of her decks for the day. Spread out the enjoyment over the better part of a month, at least. She wasn't sure exactly how many decks she had had. The day she pulled out a Mucha-inspired deck she didn't recognize, and that had a copyright date of 2015, she almost decided not to wait, but really it was more fun knowing there might be surprises still to come.

She couldn't have predicted this surprise. Not without a tarot vision giving her a clue.

Today's deck had still been in its original box with associated book. That was rare. Boxes tended to get crumpled or misplaced, and it was simply easier getting to individual cards when the deck was in a pocket or pouch. And when she'd looked to see what deck it was, it wasn't one she knew. London Lucida, it said on the box, along with artwork that felt familiar but wasn't anything she had seen before. It was the name at the bottom of the box that made her really pause, but she had breakfasts to cook, including her own, so exploring the deck had to wait.

It was afternoon before she took the time. She'd found an empty table in the cafe, had a mug of cafe au lait in reach, and now she sat crosslegged in the booth, the entire deck laid out over the table in order. She wasn't trying to See anything, focusing instead on the cards' art, as she picked up one card at a time, studying it in detail. Some of the paintings were obvious London landmarks: the Eye, the Shard, the Tower Bridge. Others were less obvious locations and people, that could possibly have been from any city with some history, but there was still a very English feel to them.

"I can't..." she trailed off shaking her head, not knowing how to finish the sentence. She couldn't believe it, except it was here, proof. The London Lucida Tarot, by Marie-Ange Colbert.

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If her eyes still looked a little bloodshot, it was only because no amount of cold-water-rinsing could clear away an entire day of crying on and off. She would've waited another before emerging, but she couldn't. There were things she needed to know.

Which was why she paid very little attention to the deck of cards on the table when she dropped herself into the booth across from Emma. Another day, or maybe after, she would be curious. But for now...

Kitty lay the deep green true jade pendant on the table in a space between cards. Her fingers rested on the leather cord in a way that said she would be reluctant to let go of it.

"That reading we talked about. Would having something that belonged to her help you See?"

Kitty had been crying. Or she had allergies currently in overdrive, but Emma was guessing the former. Especially with the necklace and asking about a reading. She began gathering up the London deck as she answered. "Touch psychometry has never been my gift, but you having something to focus on, that connects you to her, it could give a clearer, more specific reading." Emma's mind forming its connection to Kitty's, with the necklace strengthening and focusing her thoughts on the woman it had belonged to. It might help.

"We can try, if you're ready now." She hadn't been before, and Emma could understand that. But she could also see that things had changed, and if she could help, she wanted to.

"If you wouldn't mind," Kitty said, aware that she was asking Emma for something extremely personal and she'd been in the middle of something. "If it's not a good time, I can wait." Could and would, but everything in how Kitty held herself said that it would be the painful sort of waiting when you couldn't think of anything else.

She gathered the pendant again, fingers curling around it and her heart also clenching like it, too, could grasp the necklace. She just needed to know. She had to find out.

"I don't mind." She didn't. Her gifts were meant to help people, and she wasn't like Excalibur to help in the big ways. "Now is better than waiting." Not always maybe, but from what she could see of Kitty, waiting would not be a good thing.

Emma tucked the London deck in her bag and instead pulled out the Robin Wood she'd also brought. The bright colors felt maybe a little cartoony for the mood, but it felt more right than a deck she didn't know that seemed to be focused more on place than people.

She curled a hand over Kitty's holding the necklace and gave a gentle squeeze. "While you shuffle the cards, focus on what you most want to know." Kitty had done this before, but it didn't hurt to remind her. "You can think about it, but feel it too. The more real and more focused you make your desire to know, the better results we'll probably get it."

Rather than letting go of the necklace, Kitty picked it up and slipped it over her head, leaving both hands free to shuffle. It wasn't at all difficult to focus on Lara, on whether she had survived her return. That question had been burning in Kitty's mind since Lara left, and it was stronger now.

Although she wasn't focusing on it, her love for Lara was strong and her desire to know whether her feelings were returned also pervaded her mind. And once she'd shuffled the cards and offered them back to Emma, she curled her hand around the pendant and...actually, she prayed.

The woman who appeared in Emma's mind's eye with the first card of the spread was pretty, about Emma and Kitty's age, and very focused. That was the first thing Emma noticed about her. She continued laying out cards, spiraling out in a cross, not saying anything until she had the complete picture. She didn't want to risk missing something or giving a wrong impression that was contradicted by later cards.

"She's looking for you, a way to get back to you." There was so much love there. For a moment, Emma got distracted, wondering if she should be doing more to try to find a way home, to Pyro. But the cards were insistent, the images in her head pushing out other thoughts, so she focused on Kitty and the woman who'd owned the necklace. And it was her necklace. "She hasn't found it yet, but she's not giving up. Some of her things have already found their way to you.

"I can't see... I don't know if you'll find each other again. But there is room for hope." Her eyes refocused on Kitty and she bit the corner of her lip. "Sorry I couldn't see more."

"No." Tears streamed freely from Kitty's eyes, but her smile was strong, even peaceful, when she shook her head. "Don't apologize. I don't need more than that." Eyes closing, she put her hand on the pendant and gave herself a moment to feel relief coursing through her.

When she lifted her head again, her lips curved in a brighter, more impish sort of grin. "I don't want more than that." If she knew, it would either destroy the peace she felt now and replace it with discontent, or it would fill her with yearning that would devalue everything that happened until Lara found her or she found Lara. "We surprised each other the first time and it shouldn't ever be any other way."

Emma almost always had one eye toward the future, but some things she didn't want to know in advance. If she had been in Kitty's place, she wouldn't have wanted to know more either.

She nodded, finding a smile in return, glad she'd been able to give Kitty something that was good news. "But yeah, she's alive and all right, and... not the type to give up easily, from what I can see."

"Lara." It felt good to say her name and she figured after that, Emma had the right to know. "Her name's Lara. She's an archaeologist who deals with paranormal items." Our kind of people, in other words. The kind that dealt with dangers the world never knew about.

And with that question resolved, Kitty turned to another. This one to do with a flash of something that didn't seem related to the reading. "Do you mind if I ask if you're all right? Something... there was just a look in your eyes for a second there..."

Lara. Emma could see her, set in memory like all her readings were. Our kind of people. In Emma's experiences with Sabine, the items were more often mundane, the paranormal being in the form of ghosts connected to those items. But it was close enough, too many things the rest of the world ignored or was protected from.

When Kitty asked if she was all right, it took maybe longer than it should have for Emma to realize what she was talking about. She shook her head. "I'm okay. Patterns, analogies, and connections are how my mind processes... almost everything. It's why my precog works so well with the tarot. I imagine there aren't many of us here who haven't been separated from someone."

"I'm going to guess from how obliquely you said that, you don't want to talk about the someone you're separated from." It was lightly said, a gentle tease that contained an invitation with no pressure. She backed it up with, "It gets hard sometimes. If you ever change your mind about that, you know where to find me."

But that didn't leave a lot to talk about, except Emma's powers and right now, Kitty had some recordings that were suddenly safe to listen to. "If I'm wrong, I'm here. But if not, I'm going to be totally rude and dash. This pendant isn't the only thing of Lara's I got and I'm...curious now."

"Another time, maybe." Probably not, but it was possible. Emma and Kitty weren't really close enough for girl talk, although knowing about Lara did unbalance things some. And there was the part where Kitty might know some version of Pyro, which could be complicated in other ways.

"If I were you, I'd want to spend time with her things, now you know she's okay. That's not rude at all."

Another time, maybe meant 'no,' but Kitty didn't take it personally. Emma knew if she needed Kitty, Kitty would be there, and that was enough. Besides, she really did want to go listen to those recordings. She missed Lara's voice like a physical ache.

She leaned across and partly through the table to kiss Emma's cheek. "Thanks, Emma," she said, and sank through the floor to take her leave.

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[EP] London Lucida - OTA

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