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[cache_coeur]

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”Allô, mon amie! Je ne suis pas disponible pour le moment, mais laissez-moi un message et je vous rapellerai dès que possible! À bientôt!”

CODING

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[cache_coeur]

[Ominous.]

How sweet. I'll be home in a few hours.

[... She is presently having a picnic with a stranger.]

[maellum]

I'll be here.

[Because she doesn't roam too far from home. She does love to sprawl on the sofa, though, and no, she's not sad!!! She's just napping in the middle of the day. Can't be sad when you're asleep.]

[cache_coeur]

[As promised, Sciel is home a few hours later, wearing trim trousers and a silky tank top that looks like it might just blow away in a stiff breeze. There's a picnic basket hooked onto one arm, and Maelle might judge it empty by the way it swings, if she were awake to do such a thing.

Sciel just smiles at the sight of the girl and tosses her keys onto the console by the door before making her way into the kitchen. Might as well unload what's left in the basket.]

[maellum]

[The closing of the door is what makes Maelle stir, stretching out and rubbing her eyes. Sleeping at night has been difficult since they returned from the mission. Dozing in the sunshine like a cat has been easier, but it's no replacement for a good night's rest.

She pushes herself to her feet to go be nosy in the kitchen.]

Did you get a name, this time?

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel turns to say hello, a smile on her face, but when that trots out of Maelle's mouth a laugh slips onto her breath.]

I did!

[She’s seen Gustave get clowned on enough, she knows better than to mount a serious defence.

She pulls out some dirty glasses and plates and puts them in the sink.]

Did you have a nice nap?

[maellum]

[Not volunteering the name, hmm? Maelle smiles sweetly and rocks on her heels. Keep your secrets, Sciel.]

I did. You should try it sometime.

[Maybe if she keeps coming home late!!]

[cache_coeur]

[She gives Maelle a wry look.]

Why, do I look tired?

[She certainly doesn’t feel tired, despite getting home at some ungodly hour of the morning and then crawling out of bed by ten to dress and wash her hair, but the dark eye makeup does wonders to hide the bags.]

[maellum]

[Maelle keeps the smile on her face. This feels like a trap.]

I'm just saying it's cozy.

[cache_coeur]

Hmm! No comment, I see.

[She pulls out her tarot cards, which are bundled together with a strip of gingham cloth, and sets them off to the side so she can dump any crumbs out of the basket.]

Are you saying you miss me, during the day? That you’d like me to stay in and curl up with you under a sunbeam?

[maellum]

[Oooh, her tarot cards. Maelle goes to pick them up and take a look. Now that they live together, what's asking permission?]

I wouldn't say I don't miss you. The sunbeams are quite nice. Big enough to share, I'd say.

[cache_coeur]

[She watches Maelle move for them and does nothing to stop her. It’s not like she’s going to hurt them. Besides, Sciel has dishes to do. She starts arranging everything properly in the sink to soak.]

I see, I see! Next time some new company appears, I’ll check with you first, to see if you’re in the mood to have a quiet afternoon.

[maellum]

[Maelle glances over at the sink, then back to the cards, pulling one and looking at the picture before putting it back into the deck. She has no idea how Sciel interprets them.]

Oh, don't let me stop you. Naps can only occur when Gustave isn't doing Gustave things.

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel breathes an amused sound out. Dishes can wait a minute, actually –– she bumps Maelle’s arm with her elbow.]

Shuffle them first, then spread them in an arc on the counter. What’s Gustave up to?

[maellum]

[Hmm. Maelle looks amused, and splits the cards in her hands to shuffle them.]

I think he went to go find parts for... something?

[She spreads the cards out. Now what?]

[cache_coeur]

Something?

[She has no earthly idea either.]

Think about your question or subject, and then draw a card. Pull it from the bottom and flip it over by turning it towards you.

[maellum]

You can look at what's on his table and guess what he's working on today. It's a fun game.

[Maelle shrugs with a smile.]

You did readings for everyone. Should I do one for you?

[cache_coeur]

The little contraption? A bridge?

[She thumbs the elastic off the hose's trigger before turning the tap on, starting to fill the sink.

Has she ever let anyone do a reading for her? No. But it also doesn't feel like something safeguarding for a special moment, so:]

Sure. I can tell you what it means.

[maellum]

Yeah. We saw the real one. I think he's obsessed.

[And while Maelle would smile fondly at that, Sciel discovering the elastic makes her frown. Boo. Sciel really does see everything.

She'll pretend she didn't totally put that there, though.]

So. What were the categories? Love, money...?

[cache_coeur]

Love, money, health or the soul.

[A more fun gamble: what of that she's willing to share with Maelle, and money is only there as a polite out. But you can't ask for vulnerability from others and not offer it in return, so might as well let the cards do the same for her as they've done for anyone else.]

Let's do... love. You know, I should have pulled that one for Gustave, the answer could have been about trains.

[maellum]

[She makes a soft soubd of amusement.]

Nah. I think it would still be about Sophie.

[Maelle shrugs again and looks at Sciel. Love? Sciel has a big heart, that's for sure. She pulls a card and turns it over, frowning.]

The Fool? Ouch.

[cache_coeur]

[Sciel glances over hand under the water to feel the temperature change as the sink fills, her smile gentle but her expression carefully neutral otherwise.]

So... despite the funny name, the Fool actually means "a new journey." It's about freedom and adventure and living in the moment. It's telling me to follow my heart, and to not worry about what's ahead.

[All of which she has in spades, of course, but journeying anywhere means leaving something else behind.

She turns off the water, and turns her attention back to the dishes.]

When it comes to love, it's a suggestion to let go, fall in love, to ignore your uncertainties. Which sounds lovely, of course, but the Fool isn't like other new beginnings. The Fool thinks nothing bad can happen to him as long as he's enjoying himself... see how he's about to trot off a cliff? How he ignores the dog's warnings, and journeys without a map?

[If only that was Gustave's card! He could do with a little bit of recklessness in love.]

[maellum]

[Maelle leans her elbows on the counter, listening, looking down at the backs of the remaining cards. She does look back down at the Fool when she mentions the particulars, the dog, and she tips her head left and right as she mulls it over.]

Do you feel like it applies to you?

[cache_coeur]

[She glances sidelong at Maelle, at the tangle of red hair falling over her shoulder as she leans, and starts properly washing the dishes.]

In some ways. I don't feel like I'm likely to fall in love any time soon, but if it's a new beginning, it's at least a possibility. And I like the Fool as a warning –– maybe it's saying that I won't survive this new adventure on my own. Or that I need to heal to enjoy what's coming to me next to the fullest.

[She shrugs, and gives a little chuckle.]

I used to draw the Fool all the time, you know. It's been a while.

[maellum]

So for all the healing you say Gustave and I need to do, you need to do some, too.

[Not that she thinks Sciel would deny it. They're all pretty fucked up just by nature of being from Lumière, aren't they? Their fractured world.]

[cache_coeur]

[She nods. Her voice is a smidge more careful, but this is life, and there's no sense in not being frank.]

Well, yes. I didn't really plan to be here, nor did I think I'd have a future after the Paintress.