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With the third member of their party off to find food at one of the booths in the Circus' arcade, Amanda is left taking Danielle to her little vardo. "I hope you don't expect me to wear the costume," Amanda murmurs as she holds the door open for Danielle. Inside is nice and cozy, it even has a fire going in a little wood burning stove. Of course, Amanda has wards to prevent the fire from going out of control - not that she'd say that openly. "I don't mind it, but it gets a little tiring sometimes. People expect me to wear it, though."
Danielle snorts as she makes her way inside, ducking her head just a touch before parking her rump on one of the seats. "Listen, I'm a full-blooded Cheyenne. I'm familiar with what 'people' expect," she remarks with a sardonic little smile. "Sometimes the costume makes it easier for 'people' not to actually see us, and my grandfather was constantly telling me to /see/ people. Old coot drove me crazy sometimes." After a moment, she nods towards a few of the decorations, "This is nice. Comfortable."
Smiling, Amanda gestures to a small table covered in an immaculate blue tablecloth. She ventures behind a curtain (a quick peek reveals there's a living area back there) and returns with the cards wrapped in silk. She sits down and places the wrapped deck between herself and Danielle. "You may cut the cards as you like," she murmurs. "Or shuffle them. When you're done, hand them back to me."
Danielle frowns slightly as she sits at the table, and carefully unwraps the deck of cards. She glances again at Amanda, then picks up the deck, looking curiously at a few of the cards. For a few seconds, she overhand-shuffles the cards, then cuts the deck (roughly 1/3 to 2/3), puts it back together, then hands it across the table with another little grin. "How many people make a dumb joke about poker at this point?"
"Nobody," Amanda says. She smiles again. "In Europe, this is seen as a little diversion, for the most part. Over on this side of the ocean? People are scared, people want to know their future SO badly. They think by joking they might offend me." Which is part of why Amanda tries to be so warm and friendly. Usually it works. Looking at the deck reveals nothing. It might look unusual if Danielle's never seen a Tarot deck before, but it's just a Tarot deck. She takes the deck to her side and flips over the first card. If she reacts, she tries her best to hide her immediate surprise.
Death. "You've experienced something new recently. It has transformed, changed your life entirely, letting you see in ways you've not considered before. From now on, you know deeply that this change marks the ending of your old life and the beginning of your new one.
She draws another card, placing it over the first, but tilting it slightly so both cards remain visible. The Hermit. "But because of this, you're wondering if you are still you. You keep to yourself and think on yourself very much. How can you still be yourself after your life has changed so radically?"
She draws another card, placing it to her left, beside the original two cards. The Tower. "This caused these two things," she says, pointing. "Something happened to change your life in a small way, but it seemed like such a disaster, you had no choice. You went and sought your big change, something to counter what had happened."
The Cheyenne almost continues the chitchat, but falls silent when the other woman begins laying out the cards one by one. Dark eyes narrow slightly at the Death card, but she doesn't interrupt. It's the second card that nearly drags a protest from Dani, but she exhales slowly. And listens. And watches. She watches the cards, and she watches Amanda herself, searching for… who knows what. But she's clearly taking it with more due consideration than the typical city rube.
The next card is drawn and placed to the right (her right, that is) of the initial two cards. The High Priestess. "Someone you may know, someone you met not have known. She is someone who can and will help when you need it most, and represents an aspect of reality you may be unaware exists on the same level as the rest of this plane." Amanda continues, seemingly unaware of Danielle's reactions to the cards as they are laid out.
The Queen of Swords. She places this card above the initial two, making it the closest card to Danielle. "This is what you want others to see. Everything else about you - race, occupation, gender - you don't want any of that to matter. You want others to see you as a quick-thinker, perceptive and intelligent. Like the bird on the card, you want to soar above it all in order to see the truth of every matter."
Below the initial two she places another card. The Ace of Wands. "Whether you know it or not, this is your truth. This change?" she taps the initial Death card. "You allowed it because of this." She taps the Ace of Wands. "You will use what you have to inspire. You WANT to be an inspiration to others. To show that if you can rise, so can they."
Some might giggle nervously, suspecting a clever trick. Others might be scared, certain of 'witchcraft'. Danielle has too much experience to react either direction. Instead, she places her left elbow on the edge of the smooth blue tablecloth, bringing her fingers close to her lips, thumb absently rubbing a bit of skin near her nose. "I allowed it to happen.." she repeats quietly, losing herself in thought for a few moments. "So.. /am/ I going to rise?"
Here, Amanda stops. It's now she takes Danielle's reactions into consideration. Her hand hovers over the deck. "Are you all right?" she asks between the statement and the question. When Danielle asks her the question, she counters with one, nodding to the deck. "Should I continue then?" A simple question, softly spoken. No force. No desire to push if Danielle is unsettled. "We don't have to go on."
Danielle wiggles her fingers quickly in a dismissive gesture, "No, no, I'm okay. It's a lot to think about already." She smiles across the table and nods, "Please continue."
Nodding, Amanda takes another card. The Three of Cups. She places it away from the rest of the cards, to the side. "The best course of action for you, when all is considered? Reconnect with friends. Meet others. Reach out to others around you. Connection with others is important and will give you the strength you desire."
The next card is flipped and placed directly above the one she just overturned. The Magician, reversed. "This is someone who seeks to influence your actions. Someone of great power that tries to force your own gifts to stagnate. They will try to manipulate you in doing what they want."
Danielle shifts her weight unconsciously, a subtle movement of uncertainty, as the Three of Cups is laid out and the meaning explained. The thought of 'reconnecting' is possibly the most uncomfortable one so far. But as Amanda continues, (and again, despite herself) Dani can't stop herself from scowling at the Magician. "..manipulate?" Yeah, that word's one of her buttons. "What else?"
Justice. The card is placed above the Three of Cups. "This is the world you hope you live in. A world of justice, hope, truth and fairness. And yet, whether you admit it to yourself or not, you have seen your fair share of the reverse, and you fear that the world really may be worse than you thought." Then she draws one final card, and places it above Justice.
The World. "You will see through what you strive for, but I cannot promise it will be an easy path. But even here, at your goal, when your challenges have been met, there will be another road, another adventure, more people to meet, more people to help. The path will yet continue for you."
As the last card is placed, Dani listens as closely as before. A few heartbeats pass, then she exhales slowly and sits back in her chair. Her eyes study the cards, replaying the order without rushing. It takes her a few minutes of processing before she finds her voice again. "I don't know these cards of yours, but I know truth when I hear it. You have a …." Here she pauses, searching for the correct adjective. "A fascinating talent, Amanda."
The cards remain spread, should Danielle wish to examine them further. Amanda makes no move to retrieve them. She nods her head slightly, an almost modest gesture, and she smiles. "Thank you," she murmurs. "I had a very good teacher. Card reading runs in my family, and I do my best to honour that tradition." Which is why she's here. Well, that and it became a safe haven with people she knew and languages she could speak.
At first, Danielle leaves the cards as they are, perhaps from caution or respect. "I get the sense that we have more in common than I would have guessed," she remarks with a smile. "Family, tradition, awareness of things people out *there*.." She jerks her chin towards the wagon door, to indicate the general direction of the city beyond, ".. have forgotten. If they ever knew." As she talks, she begins to relax again, and curiously pulls the reversed Magician over to inspect it. "This is the only one that came out upside down."
Whether or not she knows of such things, Amanda keeps quiet on that topic. But when Danielle turns her attention to the cards, she speaks. "Yes. We call that 'Reversed'. When a card is Reversed, all the qualities it represents become their opposites. The open, trusting ally to an underhanded liar, in this case." Of course, what qualities it represents depends largely on where she draws the card, but that goes unsaid for the moment. In her deck's case, The Magician is represented by two beings, seemingly whirling through the air, while a third being below grasps a wand or stave of some kind.
Whatever 'things' Dani is referring to, she doesn't list any specifics. But she also doesn't pursue it. As Amanda explains the card, and 'Reversed', Dani turns the Magician rightside up, then upside down, looking at it from both angles. "Hmmm. Beautiful artwork…" She lays the card back where it was, in the same Reversed position. "And a good warning. If underhanded liars were easy to spot, they'd be powerless." She trails off with a deep frown, eyes distant. "… or unsettlingly powerful. I wonder."
"Or both. But then they'd have no allies to draw from, and would be alone. Their power undone." Amanda smiles again. She has a habit of doing that a lot. "Can I offer you tea, Danielle?" It is a bit of a ritual for her, after she's done a reading. "If you have other questions, please feel free to ask."
"Hmm? Oh, sorry, yes, tea would be wonderful," Danielle smiles as she's brought out of her woolgathering. "What about this one? The…" She cranes her neck to get a better look. "Priestess? You said she'd be an ally…or guide or something?" She's picked the two cards indicating 'other people' to ask about first. One an enemy, one a friend. "I do have a number of friends that… I've lost touch with, honestly, but you made it sound like this one would be new to me."
Amanda pulls the curtain aside. That wood stove is more obvious now. There's a bookcase back there, and a bed tucked away further back. The vardo is bigger on the inside? No, but it looks deceptively small from the outside. She selects the appropriate items she nees and gets water boiling atop the stove. "It could be. Or it could be someone you've lost touch with. In a way you can think of the cards as archetypes. The High Priestess represents certain qualities. You might know a lot of people that fulfill some, few, or all of them. You may meet more people who do the same," she explains.
"I see. I think." Dani sits quietly for a few more minutes, reflecting once more. She gives herself a small shake, then glances over towards the back. "You really do live here. Hunh. Very clever use of space." Her weight shifts, turning slightly away from the cards on the table. "My parents died when I was very young. I was put in a 'normal' house with a 'normal' family, and a 'normal' school, and spent more time than I want to think about in a child psychologist's office, to help me be 'normal'. The amount of steaming manure that woman threw at me…" She snorts quietly, then finishes her point: "I prefer your cards to that quack's opinions."
Amanda nods at the observation. "I live and work out of here. Some of the other performers have similar wagons, but few do their business from it too." She pours the tea into a pair of mugs and brings those to the table, placing each away from the cards before she gathers them up, covers them with the silk, and sets them aside. "It's convenient. Management was talking of the possibility of buying a train to move us around and live in, but I'm not sure we'd enjoy that."
Gratefully accepting the mug, Dani sips the tea carefully, nods her approval of the taste. "This is good stuff. Mmm. Train is a very convenient way to travel, if you want to get from here to there. But you don't experience the journey at all. You arrive faster, but…" She smiles as a happier memory comes to her. "Even up in the mountains, riding horseback was my favorite way to travel and explore. Folks had a car, but I hated being cooped up in it for long."
"You should see the horses we have here," Amanda says as she slips back into her seat. "I couldn't tell you what breed they are, but they are lovely animals. Very friendly." She's had to get to know the animals well, since two of them will pull her vardo along when the circus changes location. "I've never actually been in a car."
"I would love to meet them," Dani's smile is warm, happy. Horses bring that out of her. "You haven't missed much. Cars are cramped, noisy, and stiff. They're a necessary evil, at best, but…" She makes a rude noise to punctuate her opinion, then smiles apologetically. "Sorry. I'm biased."
"We can swing by after tea. It should be their feeding time," Amanda murmurs. In the meantime, there will be chatting. And more tea!