Third Prayer: The Future is Written in Flames [Voice/Action] Forward Dated to June 13th

[faithfulflame]

Voice

Good afternoon everyone. For those of you who have not met me, my name is Rei Hino. I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all of the New Feathers. I'm sure that you will find something that you enjoy here, and that you will be able to make many friends. If you need any help, please feel free to contact me at any time.

On to other matters, though. Its taken me some time, but I have managed to prepare and purify a small area on the edge of the forest where I can perform flame readings and other types of fortune telling. I do not have much in the way of a shrine, merely a tent and a small consecrated area with which to work, so I hope that doesn't reflect poorly on the experience. In my world, I am a priestess, and I'm fortunate enough to have a gift when it comes to doing such things. If anyone is interested, I will happily use my blessings to offer a reading of your future. It would be my greatest honor to provide my services.

While I cannot guarantee perfect results thanks to our hosts weakening my powers, I feel that its not out of my reach to offer answers to simple questions that you may have about your near future. All that you need to provide is a question and a single hair for a flame reading, or just your question for other types of fortune telling. I have a set of tarot cards if anyone prefers that, but I'm more confident in my abilities at flame visions.

I hope that you find my fortune telling to be enjoyable!

[An elegantly drawn map pointing to an area on the edge of the forest is included with the broadcast pointing it out]

Action

[Rei can be found at the site depicted on the map for most of the day. Its simple enough, a tent that she and the other senshi had found in the item shop, erected as a sort of open air shrine with a carefully prepared brazier on the outside. Near the center is a small round table she'd hauled out of her house, and at the entrance is a bucket of purified water meant to cleanse oneself before a reading. A pair of crows, Phobos and Deimos, dart playfully around the area, hopefully adding to the impression of the site.

Rei greets anyone who comes by with a happy smile and a great deal of enjoyment. She loves using her gifts, and if it brings a measure of peace or enjoyment to someone she's more than glad]

(OOC: If you have Rei do a reading, I'll offer up a generic enough fortune, since they tend to be very vague most of the time. However, if you wish for something more specific or want to use the reading to set something up for future plans, foreshadowing, whatever, please speak with me and we can work out some details! Hit me up in a PM and we can work from there.)

Comments

[faithfulflame]

Who is that, Viral?

[no_compromise]

A man I'd rather not think about too much.

[faithfulflame]

An enemy, or a rival?

[no_compromise]

...

That's hard to answer right now.

[Because the lines between friend and foe, comrade and enemy, blurred behind prison bars. Simon was a rival...but what Viral couldn't distinguish what kind of rival he was anymore.]

[faithfulflame]

Well, the flames don't lie. He's going to become an ally in the future, without a doubt.

[no_compromise]

And that's a future I find very hard to believe.

[faithfulflame]

Fate works in strange ways, Viral.

[no_compromise]

...I never held much belief in fate, and have always believed that my actions decided my own course. But, perhaps...

[Perhaps it was a valid factor, given the fact that the Moon is falling just as the Spiral King said it would. Was it destiny? Was it fate?

There were so many questions for the beastman to consider.]

[faithfulflame]

The spirits will us along as they will, we have a choice, but some events are predestined. Its just the way of the universe, Viral.

[no_compromise]

It's a very strange thing...but. I'll try to remember that.

[faithfulflame]

As I said, the flames don't lie. That is in your future, someday.

[no_compromise]

I'll keep an open mind and pay attention then. Thank you...Rei.

[faithfulflame]

Of course, Viral. Its my duty, to help a...man, woman, or beastman who wants to know their future.

[no_compromise]

[The commentary goes past his observation, distracted as he is by her vision from the flames. Simon was a rival, a man he's sworn to defeat, and a continuing source of frustration...and no more than a helpless ape without his drill. It was why escape was futile, and why he would break the bars himself if given the chance.

Her words give him pause, that her fortunes aren't lies. Visions weren't to be taken at face value though, right?]

So it is. How did you get into this position anyway?

[Because inquiring beastmen want to know.]

[faithfulflame]

Well, my grandfather is the head priest at a large shrine in my home world. When my mother died, I moved in with him. I...was always different as a child, and with time we found that I had special powers. I can see things in flames, and my fortunes are rarely wrong. Thats...how I got started at home.

Here? I do it because I love it.

[no_compromise]

[So she was something 'other' too...

Viral nods in understanding--his life was much the same at the key points. He was created to have a talent for fighting, and even with the lack of true military structure, he continued because he loved to--so long as politics weren't involved any longer.

It was hard finding a good, honest fight anymore.]

That's a good, even noble reason too keep doing this then. If you have a way to continue plying your talents, there's no reason why you shouldn't.

[faithfulflame]

Its part of my duty. To offer peace of mind, and answer questions. Its even more important for me here, where our futures are so uncertain.

[She shrugs]

Its what a priest does.

[no_compromise]

...so you give hope to those that are uncertain?

[It was a...noble calling.]

[faithfulflame]

Thats what a priestess does, Viral. Thats...the purpose of religion. To answer difficult questions. Maybe its different in your world, but...thats how humans answer a lot of things.

[no_compromise]

...I've never known a beastman to have religion, but humans do have it sometimes within their villages. Maybe that's how some of them were able to keep going...

[And maybe it was one of the keys to Spiral Power.]

[faithfulflame]

It could be. Perhaps thats one of the things that the Beastmen could learn from humans, yes?

[no_compromise]

[Beastmen learning from humans...

It was a strange concept, but not as strange as seeing a child defeat an immortal king with little more than a pendant. The thought was only uncomfortable.]

Maybe. [He doesn't want to fully admit to it.] Though I'm not sure that I want to learn anything from a people that can't even take care of their own.

[faithfulflame]

Oh? I'm sure humankind is able to care for its own, in its own way. Faith in oneself and ones friends can go a long way.

[She knows this better than anyone. She's ready to die when she returns home, and even knowing that is still anxious to return and let Usagi finish what she started]

Thats the thread that all humans share. Faith and hope.

[no_compromise]

[Viral had to wonder if forcing their own kind from the homes that they loved counted as 'taking care of its own,' but doesn't voice it. The people of Luceti didn't need to know the conditions of his world, nor did they need to know why he disliked humans so much.

It wasn't their problem. It was his.

But there were those words again; faith and hope. A belief in something that couldn't be verified by any of the senses or by technology. Viral didn't understand it, and was almost certain that he never would.

Almost.]

Hm...that would be something interesting to learn about then, wouldn't it?

[faithfulflame]

It would, if its not something you already know. Do Beastmen not have hope?