The Ace of Cups [Open to All]

[overdrawing]

It's Mira's mother, he thinks. She's left things in the guest room for him in the past. Little things, really, like a packet of cookies or a book he's never been allowed to read. Today it's a deck of cards with a sticky note explaining that shuffling them might help his nervous fidgeting. He'd been pleased, tentatively grateful, until realizing that these hadn't been normal playing cards.

They had been Tarot cards.

Shuffling them helps, certainly. Gabe cuts the deck, cascades it, shuffles the cards back and forth constantly in his little corner at Quill while he waits for his shift to start at Finn's. In all his shuffling, he's been avoiding actually looking at the cards or the booklet with them to explains their meanings. They're occult, pagan...Wrong. He shouldn't look.

Then a card falls out and Gabe's breath catches in surprise. A golden goblet crowned with a dove. It looks like something he'd see in church except that it's on a tarot card. His brain tries to reconcile the familiar symbolism and he can't help it, paging through the booklet to find the Ace of Cups.

Ace cards always mean new beginnings. The Ace of Cups are a new beginning in one's emotional life, finding love, trust, and blessings. This is a card of happiness.

Gabe is pretty sure it wrong to feel this way, but it's comforting that this is the card that's fallen out.

Curious, he spreads the cards on the table and starts reading through their meanings.

[[Find him at Quill all by his lonesome]]

Comments

[overdrawing]

"Very," he admits, voice dropping down to barely audible. "I got here a couple of weeks ago and I just..." Gabe shrugs, still a little uncertain of what story to tell.

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan smiles kindly. He can feel the nerves almost emanating from this new person. He's not sure what to say. "I'm Dylan." He offers a hand for shaking, and realises once he's done it that that's probably a bit weird.

[overdrawing]

Because it's polite, Gabriel takes Dylan's hand and shakes it very quickly before withdrawing, nervous of touch. "Gabriel. I'm...not very good at any of this. I'm sorry."

[tothelighthouse]

"Oh don't worry about it. Me neither." He takes another sip of coffee. Sensing Gabriel might need a friend, he tries to start a conversation. "So. Where are you from?"

[overdrawing]

"Pennsylvania." The answer is mumbled into his cup and Gabe pulls the cards into his hands again, fiddling and shuffling. "Are you from here?"

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan nods. "I'm from the UK originally. Moved here when I was about... 12?"

"I don't know much about Pennsylvania. What's it like there?" He was going to ask why the move, but Dylan senses that might be a touchy subject.

[overdrawing]

"It's...hilly? There are lots of Mennonites in our area?" What is there even to say. "We went to Philadelphia when I was twelve, my whole family, and saw all of the historical sites."

[tothelighthouse]

"Cool. Cool." Dylan nods. "So um. What are these cards for?" He gestures to the cards he'd been fiddling with.

[overdrawing]

Gabe's voice drops down to barely audible again, "For me to shuffle." He holds up his hands and then takes up the cards again. "I...fidget."

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan nods. Not sure what else to say, he comes out with a quiet "cool". Cool? Really Dylan? Wondering why he ever talks to humans, he takes another gulp of coffee. Say something! "So uh, why the move?"

[overdrawing]

"Still trying to figure out the reason, exactly," he admits, shuffling and shuffling the cards. Gabe is only half aware of what his hands are doing, the motions completely automatic.

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan nods. "I see"

"Well, if you ever need someone to show you around a little bit, I can be your guide, if you want." He hopes he's not being too overfriendly, it just seems like Gabriel needs a friend, and boy does Dylan know how that feels.

[overdrawing]

Gabe lifts his head and puzzles on the offer, honestly thoughtful. He's been in the town a few weeks but aside from a few key locations, he's done his best to avoid exploring. Excessive curiosity is, to his knowledge, a flaw.

But he's already flawed.

"Yeah. That'd be nice, actually."

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan smiles. "Well uh, take my number and you can text me or something if you wanna have a wander." He pats himself down for a pen and scribbles it down on his receipt. "Here ya go." He grabs his coffee. "I'd better get going but it was nice to meet you."

He smiles at Gabriel again as he leaves, hoping he's helped at least a little.