strangetrip | [EP] London Lucida

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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A nod in return. "Your rings are different from his. That's what you got in your egg. A set of rings, lapis set in silver."

In her vision, the redhead gave the rings to Corbie. To a Corbie who felt older than the one sitting in front of Emma, not a lot, but older. "He has them made for you."

Tears welled up in Corbie's eyes as the pit of missing opened up in her stomach. Most days she ignored it. Some days she even ignored it well. But not right then. "Why?"

Emma reached out, wanting to comfort Corbie's obvious pain, but holding back, instead touching the Three of Pentacles. "Because you earn them, and he wants to acknowledge all your hard work and how it's paying off. Because he believes in how much more you'll be capable of doing."

Trying to think of analogies could be more difficult when someone was from a world or time very different from Emma's. There wasn't the same shared cultural understandings. "This is the master craftsman card, at least that's what the image usually evokes." It was really more about another's investment in that craftsman, which fit with giving Corbie rings, if they were important somehow. "So maybe the end of an apprenticeship? If that makes sense?"

Corbie nodded, except... "But we never finished my apprenticeship," she said softly.

Frowning, mostly because she wanted to be able to tell Corbie more, help her understand, but Emma wasn't sure she had enough context to interpret what she was seeing.

"The rings are for you," she insisted, and, "Talk to Regina. She knows... something, I don't know what, but it may help."

Regina. Regina had known her--or a version of her, because of course that made all the sense in the world--in another reality. One Corbie had tidily put away in the back of her mind because it was too confusing to think about. The understanding hit Corbie visibly.

She nodded. "All right."

"I'm sorry I wasn't more help." Sometime the tarot could be so clear, too clear even. But usually there were gaps, in what was shown, or what Emma knew to make sense of the images. And she hated not knowing. Especially when it felt important.

Corbie shook her head. "Don't be sorry. It's more than I had before. Thank you."

[EP] London Lucida - OTA

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Re: Emma & Corbie

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