Celeste Academy - Date with Lulina

Carida's body sways slightly as the trolley bell rings, and the car jolts to a stop. She descends the steps patiently behind a young man with a cane, the only other one disembarking, turning to give the driver a wave as she hops from the final step before realizing that there isn't one. Of course--she remembers with a smile as she notices the faint aura running along the wires racing down the road parallel to the rail. It's still surprising that they would send these new cars to this part of town. Or maybe it makes more sense to run a trial on a less crowded line?

Either way, this is a most unlikely place to be going, and Carida has certainly never been here before. She walks along the block and rounds a corner, and is greeted by a sight even more peculiar than the half-empty street she just came from. She stands still as she looks around the little square--or more accurately the octagon--formed by rows of small, dark shops that all face in on a central feature: a round stone fountain with a spout carved like a lion, or at least what looks like it used to be a fountain. The pool that should be full of water has been filled in with dirt, and a low, flowering moss sprouts from most of it, vines climbing up the sides until they dive into the lion's mouth.

Carida pulls her phone from her bag and checks the message again:

In Pontica Alley, where the king dons his emerald coat.

She tilts her head to the side, and looks back up at the fountain. Well, this is definitely Pontica Alley, according to her map, and as for the other part... 

A warm hearth, with a cauldron, overflowing.

Before she has time to contemplate this riddle, a soft voice sounds from just a few steps behind her, sending a shock up Carida's spine, and her phone nearly tumbling from her hands. She collects herself and catches her breath, and finds herself face to face with... well, a face, one that she's only seen from a photo.

"O-Oh! Eh-hem," she clears the squeak of surprise from her throat. "Oh, you must be..."

"Some call me the Dark Violet," the girl answers in a low voice. 

Her lips curve upward gently at the corners, her long hair falling in bouncing curls around her face, her gaze so direct it's almost unnerving, and yet somehow Carida feels a warmth from it. There's a hair piece shaped like a bat at her crown much like the one in her profile picture, that flaps its wings faintly as Carida stares at it, and complements the lace cape around her shoulders and her ruffled skirts. "But you can call me Lulina."

"Carida," she replies, shaking the offered hand. "People call me... Um, well usually just Carida."

Lulina's smile widens as her heavy-lidded eyes narrow, catlike. "And it's a name that suits you well. Like molten crystal, churned into clouds... Shall we?"

A scent of spiced potpourri trails behind her as she turns and heads purposefully past Carida, toward one of the shops on the opposite side of the fountain. Carida blinks, then follows right behind, in through a faded red door that creaks when opened, a small choir of bells chiming beside it. She only half-notices the strange assortment of artifacts situated atop the front counter, as she is greeted by a wave of incense and dry air, the interior of the shop narrow and dusty, every available space crowded in with boxes and jars and shelves packed with things she can only vaguely name. On the same counter, beside a wicker basket filled with crystals, sits a small but plump brown rat, wiggling its nose keenly at the pair; behind sits an old woman, who only smiles and nods politely, exchanging a few words in a language Carida can't seem to place with Lulina before the young woman heads deeper into the store.

Not sure if she was still supposed to be following, Carida lingers in the entryway, examining a set of braided cords on a nearby rack, with a sign that curiously just says, 'Wish.' The material is cool to the touch, and smoother than it looks. She goes to touch one to her cheek and then stops, feeling a twinge of something behind her. Slowly releasing the cord, she turns, and finds the brown rat staring directly at her--though maybe it's just her imagination. Either way, she quickly decides it would be better to see where Lulina has gotten to. She's the reason that Carida's here, after all.

"I'm so pleased you could come," Lulina says over her shoulder as the Carida squeezes in behind her, into a room little bigger than a closet, yet somehow less oppressive than being under the rat's scrutinizing gaze. "I admit this must be a bit unorthodox."

"Believe me, I've had stranger," Carida laughs, picking up a small tin and looking for a label. "So, what is this place, exactly?"

"A hint," Lulina replies, pulling the velvet wrapping from a dark glass ball and holding it up to the dim light. "A tool box, the path to the path."

If Lulina has noticed the puzzlement spreading on Carida's face, she doesn't make note, but a zap of recognition snaps Carida out of it. 

"Oh!" She points excitedly to the globe in Lulina's hands. "That's a seeing stone, isn't it?"

A shine comes to Lulina's eyes. "I didn't know you were a fellow diviner."

Carida scratches her head bashfully. "Well I'm not, actually. I took an elective on it once, though."

Delighted, Lulina presses the globe into Carida's hand. Her skin is soft, her fingertips leaving a soothing chill where they brush Carida's. There is a faint, silent crackling of energy running from Lulina into the sphere, tingling with resistance at the current of Carida's own power. For a moment, Carida thinks she sees something forming on the dark, reflective surface. 

"Oft we forget to think about what it really means," says Lulina, "to look into truth. To converse with the divine. You..."

She stops, and the crackling and the shape in the globe stop with it. Carida follows Lulina's turning gaze to the floor of the doorway--where sits the plump brown rat, peering clearly up at them.

"Alright, yes I know," says Lulina, taking the sphere back and slipping it back into its covering. "No 'trying before I buy,' I'm sorry."

The rat chitters something with a tone that Carida can only assume is chiding before it turns and scampers back down the hall.

"Can you speak with animals?" Carida asks, feeling an odd deja vu, but Lulina shakes her head.

"No, Coco and I just have an understanding."

She follows Lulina back into the main room, winding around the cramped aisles, marveling at all the strange trinkets that she has only the vaguest concept of. Normally this would be where she would start to make small talk, but something about the selection in the store is dizzying, or maybe that's just from being around Lulina? Either way, it takes everything in her to keep her head straight and keep from bumping into any of the items sticking out from the shelves.

"So you're an alchemist," Lulina says finally, holding up a sprig of something that looks like dried chamomile flowers beside Carida's face. "The bones showed me a mortar and pestle."

Carida realizes only then that they hadn't exchanged very many messages before this meeting, other than arranging the date and time. She smiles and shakes her head. "Culinary arts. Cooking Attunement."

Lulina waves the sprig in front of her like a charm. "What is cooking but alchemy of the home? You transform materials, don't you? From one crude state into something magical, refined. That sounds to me like the essence of alchemy."

A flush colors the grin that grows on Carida's face. "Well, when you put it that way. So, you're studying divination, then?"

Lulina tilts her head, in a way that suggests she doesn't understand why Carida would ask something so obvious, and smirks. "As much as one can study speech or thought," she says mysteriously, before wandering towards the front counter, a number of items Carida hadn't noticed her collecting bundled up in her arms. She goes through the motions of a transaction, the rat tidily scooping coins and bills into the register drawer as the old woman nods approvingly, putting Lulina's purchases into a large paper bag. Just before they leave, Carida notices a bowl of charms at the familiar's other side, and decides to buy one as a souvenir for her roommate. As she hands over the money, the rat places a tiny paw upon the back of her hand and squeaks something. 

"A gift, she says," the old woman says warmly, pressing the money back to her when Carida tries to protest. She thanks the woman--and Coco--kindly, and follows Lulina back out into the door.

"Sometimes I wonder who really runs that place," Lulina says as the door jingles shut behind them. "Coco must really like you."

Carida giggles. "Apparently familiars are pretty fond of me. So..." She eyes the bag in Lulina's arms. "What now?"

The young woman looks up at the sky thoughtfully. Her hair piece flutters its wings. "It's not time yet... When the gold has dipped closer to the sea..."

"Um, sorry," Carida laughs nervously, "time for what?"

Lulina halts, and for the first time something like concern spreads over her features. She tilts her head at Carida. "The ritual? That's... why you came, isn't it?"

Carida's feet come to a stop as well. "The... ritual?" Where had she heard something like that? 

Lulina's expression goes sour. "You read my invitation, didn't you? That was why you responded to me."

Oh. Suddenly the wording of Lulina's profile springs to mind, and a pang of anxiety hits Carida's chest. "Oh, I, haha... I kind of thought that was a metaphor? I thought that maybe you were a writer."

"A metaphor?"

"We were both on Wondr, so... I assumed this was a date?"

Carida scoops forward to catch the bag before it falls from Lulina's arms, which Lulina thanks her for as she comes back to her senses. She hugs her arms around the bag and presses a palm to her face, clearly mortified.

She sighs deeply.

"I've done it again..." Her eyes turn up to Carida, brows furrowed, apologetic. "I was told that that app was a good place to find partners. I suppose they meant... Oh, oh yes I see that now, goodness..." Her smile is an uneasy one, but she smiles nonetheless. "I do perhaps sometimes let the spirit of verse move me just a little too deeply..." 

She places the bag down at her feet, and clasps her hands around Carida's.

"I see that I've brought you here under false pretenses. I'm sorry to have asked you to journey so far." Finally, the smile softens, tinged with warmth. "I feel I should make it up to you, if you'll let me. I can... finish this some other time."

For just a moment, Carida wonders very hard if there isn't something wrong with Wondr itself. How is it that things keep seeming to go just a little bit strangely around her?

"Actually..." Carida laughs, gripping her hands back. "I'm kind of curious, about this 'ritual.' I mean, it sounds like something that you can't do alone, right? Why don't you let me help anyway?"

Lulina studies her carefully, and then nods. "Well, if you're sure, then. But still, I think I at least owe you something. There's the coziest little cafe nearby. My treat?"

"I can cover that actually, if you let me pick up a couple things." Carida pulls open the flap of her bag to reveal a small assortment of spices and cutlery.

"My," says Lulina, blinking. "Do you always carry your trade with you?"

"You never know!"

Lulina titters. "Some sustenance for the evening, then. Come on, you just must try the hot chocolate there..."

Carida is glad, in retrospect, that she let Lulina talk her into visiting the cafe before they boarded another trolley to the edge of the city. The hot chocolate was superb--in fact she made a point to try and ask about the recipe before they left--and still warms her bones as the evening air now cools around them, the dewy fallen leaves on the forest floor sticking around her ankles as she finds herself again following Lulina into the unknown.

Well, unknown is kind of an overstatement; she's fairly certain that she's visited this patch of woods before when completing her foraging unit, but with Lulina walking ahead, her pale hair tinged pink with the light of the setting sun and her lacy cloak swaying from side to side as she walks, there's an otherworldly feeling to the unfamiliar path.

"How far in are we going?" she asks, skipping a couple steps to keep up.

"Not much farther. There's a certain place, where silver falls like a silk curtain." She laughs with a sound not unlike the door bells of the shop, and glances over her shoulder. "I'm doing it again, hm? ...There's a spot where the moon shines just right."

"The moon is the best light source for scrying, right?" Carida offers excitedly, glad to have retained anything from her lessons.

"That is right. Someone must be smiling on me, to have sent someone who knows, after all," the other hums. "It's harder to find a good partner than you'd think."

Basking in the glow of Lulina's praise, Carida thinks it might not be the best time to mention that she actually only received middling marks in that class, in the end.

However, she starts to regret the decision not to speak up sooner as they actually begin preparing. The pair stand in the middle of a small clearing in half-darkness, the sound of a stream somewhere nearby. Carida lingers to the side while Lulina begins moving around in a wide circle, making markings on the ground, moving small rocks back and forth. Lulina calls out a few of the items from the pile, both things that she purchased and some it appears she brought with her: a feather, a bird skull, a collection of strung beads, and finally the black sphere that she obtained from the shop's backroom. She gives Carida directions on placements and angles as she continues her work, which Carida tries her best to follow... If the feather is supposed to be sea-ward, does that mean to point the quill tip or the other end?

When it looks about right, she rejoins Lulina in the middle. Lulina looks around them, and gives an approving nod. "One more step," she says, and picks up a shallow silver bowl, disappearing through the trees. When she returns, the bowl is filled with water, presumably from the stream.

"Is everything ready then?" Carida asks, gazing into her own reflection in the bowl now at their feet.

"Just about. And now we wait." Lulina glances at the sky. The sun has almost vanished entirely, and opposing it, the outline of the moon is just visible through foliage. "Oh, of course. It would help if you knew the question, wouldn't it?"

For the first time Carida realizes that in fact, she's not entirely sure what this ritual is for. "Um... yes, maybe."

Lulina takes her hands, and leans in close. "The answers that we seek are a secret, known only to we, and them." She looks around them, and presses her face just shy of Carida's, whispering something in her ear.

Carida blinks a few times, flushes, and nods.

And then, the two wait.

Just as the moon begins to show its face over the tops of the trees, Lulina gestures again to the center of the circle, where the two stand face to face. Just before it falls into position directly overhead, she picks up the black sphere, and places it gently down into the middle of the bowl, not even sending a ripple as she does, where it sits like a small, round mountain poking out of the sea. She stands and stretches her hands out, on either side of it, and Carida hesitates, but clasps them in turn.

She wonders if Lulina can tell that her hands are trembling, and tells herself that she's just shivering from the night air, trying to concentrate on the question but finding it increasingly difficult, as Lulina closes her eyes right in front of her, long lashes falling over her cheeks and the bright full moon highlighting the gloss of her lips, which move quickly, forming quiet words. A current, familiar in nature but so unlike anything Carida wields, circles in the air around them, channeling into her right hand and out through her left, and as the light shifts, out of the corner of her eyes she notices a faint glow forming around all of the items on the ground, and then finally the bowl itself.  

The moon glints into place over the top of the orb, and the feeling of energy rises, the water around the orb seeming almost to dance and churn, and then...

It stops. Carida is sure there was a sound of winds just moments ago, but silence falls. The motions cease, and the magic fades.

She looks up at Lulina, and sees her staring down at the bowl, brow furrowed. She says and does nothing, until she lets go of Carida's hands, breaking the circuit. Her skirt sweeps the ground as she crouches down, looking closer.

"What... happened?" Carida asks.

"...Nothing." Lulina extends a finger, rolling the ball around in the water. "Did I do something wrong?"

She sits down on the ground, surprisingly unconcerned about getting dirt on her nice clothing, and leans back on her hands, gazing up at the moon. "I guess I picked the wrong words? Or maybe the wrong evening? Hm... or maybe they just weren't feeling talkative tonight." As she looks back down at the circle around them, something catches her eye. "...O-oh." She looks up at Carida, and then flushes, pressing her lips.

Carida frowns back. "What is it?"

"I, um... I guess I should have been a little more clear." She holds out her finger, and points to something at her side. "The feather's backwards."

"Oh."

A wave of gloom falls over Carida's shoulders. She sinks slowly to her knees. "I'm really sorry," she says, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "I guess I don't remember as much as I thought. I should have asked. And... I really should have paid more attention in the first place, huh? You could have had someone more useful come along."

Lulina shakes her head emphatically, her hair following along. "That part was my fault. I'm told I... get carried away."

"Even so," says Carida. "I'm sorry that I messed this up for you. Can you try it again later?"

"Other nights, other moons... The world turns and the universe never ceases. There's always an again... Oh." She gasps softly, lifts her hand, and points over Carida's shoulder.

Carida lifts her head, and sees lights. 

It shouldn't even be the season for them, but all around the circle that Lulina drew, a line of fireflies hover and sway, bobbing up and down in a wave, their glow fading in and out. A few of them stray inward, floating around the two girls, one playing briefly against the still fluttering wings of Lulina's hair piece.

Carida nearly forgets how to breathe. "I've never..."

Lulina smiles, more widely than she has the entire day, and looks straight into Carida's eyes, moonlight and insect light sparkling in her own.

"There's no such thing as a mistake," she says, laughing as a light drifts right between them. "I'm sorry to have misled, but... I knew there was a reason I was drawn to you." She reaches out, and takes Carida's hand, and presses it close to her. "This couldn't have happened without you."

Carida doesn't know what to say, so instead she just smiles back. She squeezes Lulina's hand, and the fireflies dance.

Carida swears that one of the little lights follows them all the way back to the edge of the forest. By now, even the trolleys have stopped running, so Lulina calls them a cab when they reach the main road again.

"When you try again later," Carida asks as they roll back into town, "Maybe I could help you again? If you can't find someone else, that is? ...You should probably clear up that profile, while you're at it."

Lulina's eyes narrow in a smile. "You're right. And, I think you might have to brush up a little bit first." Carida sticks out her tongue, and she giggles. "But I would be more than happy to have your help... A kindred spirit is worth more than a thousand sages." She points her finger toward Carida. "A lantern that glows so bright can shine through any darkness."

Again, Carida is lost for words, so she only smiles. A feeling of warmth hangs within her, and a faint fairy light guides her, all the way to the threshold of her dorm.

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