Pitado Street, Unit 3-6
Crunch!
Klein sighed with contentment as he set down his buttery toast and lifted his chilled tea, savoring the moment of peace.
Pulling out his pocket watch, he glanced at the time and nodded slightly.
'There's still time... If no one comes in the next half hour, I'll put up the do not disturb sign and start the interview... For a new member of the Tarot Club... Sigh'
Raising a hand and scratching his hair with some force, Klein grabbed what was left of his cream toast and finished it in three bites. He then grabbed his cup of tea and finished the remainder in one big, deep sip.
Grabbing the silverware, Klein took it to the kitchen, washed it, and put it away. That done, he grabbed one of the multiple books he had around his flat and began reading it in the living room to kill some time.
'Well, at least I know it's impossible to be more nervous than Mr. Chariot's partner; I'm sure she's about to have a panic attack.' Klein pondered as he turned to the next page of his book.
The pocket watch rested beside him on a small table, open and showing how slowly but surely the appointed time was approaching.
...
"How do I look? Do I look all right? The clothes aren't too tight, are they? Revealing? Oh, Steam, what do I do if I accidentally offend him?" Fors exploded in nervousness as she tried to fix her hair with a comb.
Xio was trying to stay calm, but honestly, she wasn't much better off than her friend, whose hair looked like it would turn white with anxiety at any moment.
"Calm down, Fors! Being nervous won't accomplish anything; you need to calm down!"
Still combing her hair, the writer turned and looked at her indignantly. "How can I be calm? I'm going to have an interview with a- Urgh!" Lifting her leg and grunting from the pain of being kicked with a steel-toed shoe.
Glaring angrily at her friend, Fors screamed indignantly with a vein in her neck. "What the fuck Xio?!!! That hurt- Ehhh!"
The writer would have continued her ramblings of indignation if it weren't for the death stare her friend was giving her.
The majestic aura that the petite woman always carried was now much more intense, making her look a little taller. Her green eyes had a certain gleam in them, and her brow was deeply furrowed.
"I won't save you next time; let that be the last time you almost do such stupidity." With that said, Xio turned around and walked to the room's door.
Turning around, Fors shrank from her cold stare.
"I'll be back in a moment, and when I do, you'd better be ready and your mind sorted."
With that said, Xio opened the door and walked out, leaving alone a silent Fors, who could only lower her head in shame.
With a shaky sigh, the writer painfully lowered her right leg and grabbed the comb that had gone flying. She went back in front of the mirror and fixed her hair again, her gaze focused on the blonde waves and she growled in frustration.
"This isn't a holiday, Fors; you can't take this lightly. The reason you left home was to survive, not to go to the beach. Xio followed Adryan Kenway not because he was her friend, but so she could fulfill her revenge..." Mumbling under her breath, Fors lowered the comb and fixed her dress.
"You can't keep making these mistakes... Your life depends on it, from now on, any slip up means death... And not just yours this time, but your best friend's..."
Satisfied with how she looked, she looked up and saw her own reflection. Her brown hair was gone, now a soft yellow. With a little make-up, her nose had become deeper, and her cheeks a little fuller.
Physically, the only thing that remained of Fors Wall was the sapphires staring back at her.
She was now Livia Storm. A young Trickster aspiring to be a writer.
'That lunatic made me change many things to go along with him, but the only thing he made me keep was being a writer? What is he planning? To make me write a biography of his life and how I ended up in the mental asylum?' Wailing pathetically, she grabbed the notebook lying beside her bed and the fountain pen.
Opening it to the first page, she sighed wearily as she read the title.
She shook her head and placed her notebook and pen on her bedside table. She would have to continue writing it later when Miss Serena and little Jerry returned.
But until then, she had an interview with a Hidden God...
...
So, with each on their own side, the appointed time arrived. The hands of the clock struck 9:29 a.m.
Clenching the edges of her dress, Fors could only regret for a few seconds that her hands were wet with sweat before a flash of crimson blinded her sight.
Fors could only shiver slightly in the next blink as she saw how the scenery before her had changed completely.
Instead of her living room with brown carpet and warm yellow walls, she was now surrounded by a thick grey haze. Sitting in a high-backed chair in front of a long, musty bronze table, she was surrounded by multiple of those same chairs, one at the back and one at the top.
In the chair at the top, the Seat of Honor was a seated figure surrounded by the same grey mist. This figure emitted a mysterious and ancient air that froze Fors.
Immediately realizing who the figure in front of her was, the writer stood up, grasped the edges of her dress, and curtsied deeply.
"It is an honor to be in your presence... Mr. Fool." Fors said with as much respect as she could muster and bowed a little more.
Despite how much she felt this was immensely disrespectful and that she should be on her knees with her forehead to the ground, Adryan Kenway had told her that the God before her did not like such reverent acts. A polite bow was more than enough.
'If I die because of him, I swear I will haunt him as a ghost until the last of his days on earth!' The writer mentally wept as she waited for the God to say something.
Klein kept silent as he looked at the woman in front of him. He noticed she was wearing a fine going-out dress and looked like she had applied a little makeup before attending.
'Looks like she got a crash course in how to act... It's obvious Mr. Chariot wouldn't let his companion offend his Lord's 'ally'. She also prepared herself quite well, if I were the head of a company I would be very pleased with her... Although I am technically already a boss...'
While judging the woman's appearance, the clown also noticed how the back of the chair she was sitting on began to change. The mysterious symbols and stars began to take on a new shape.
In just two seconds, the inside of the room was covered with interposed and interposed illusory doors that seemed to contain the same stars and worlds!
'Doors... This should be the symbol of the Apprentice....' Pondering within himself, Klein smiled and nodded slightly.
"Good morning, Miss Fors Wall, right?"
Swallowing a bit of saliva, the writer maintained her same posture. "Y-Yes, Mr. Fool, that would be me."
"You may take a seat," Klein said calmly.
Nodding still a bit nervously, Fors did as requested. She kept her eyes on the brass table, completely unable to look at the face of the Being before her.
"I'm going to assume your boss filled you in on what this is about?" Klein looked at the woman before him, easily noticing how nervous she was and how she was trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Yes, Mr. Fool..." Gathering her courage, Fors looked up at the figure shrouded in grey mist and asked hopefully. "Is it true that you can help me with the ravings?"
"It's a simple problem," Klein said without haste; after a second, he added. "How long does each full moon last?"
'A simple problem... Yes, yes!' Trembling with excitement, Fors was quick to reply. "Five to ten minutes. If it's the night of the Blood Moon, it can easily take 20 minutes."
Klein listened to the woman's words, frowning internally. 'Ten minutes shouldn't be a problem. But I've never been here longer than 13 minutes, with my current spirituality it should be possible but it would be better to reach Sequence 7 to avoid any danger...'
Leaving that problem for the future he, Klein smiled. "It won't be a problem."
Fors felt her eyes water, and she quickly wiped them with her wrist. "Thank you so much, Mr. Fool!" she said a little breathily. Her voice was full of gratitude.
'Please miss. No vomit here. I might be able to clean it up with a thought, but I'd prefer my table to stay clean.' Nodding softly, Klein raised his head a little more.
"What's your answer?"
While the way he had said it was nothing special and had even been gentle. Fors felt like large stones were placed on her shoulders, making her back buckle.
She had immediately understood what the Fool had meant. This was something Adryan Kenway had told her in preparation for this interview.
She would have to join the secret gathering in exchange for helping her with her Full Moon raving problem.
Swallowing a large amount of saliva, the writer gathered her courage and nodded. "If you permit, I would like to join the meeting."
At this point, she could no longer slack off so much. It was time to get up from the couch and take the first step to not fear if the next day would come.
'Besides, if I want to help her, I must be more than what I am now...' Nervous but just as determined, Fors looked to the seat of honor.
Klein looked at her for a few moments, "Good. Previously, the meetings were held at three o'clock in the afternoon, Tingen time, every Monday, but recently, I've changed it to three o'clock in the afternoon, Lenburg time."
Smiling, the clown pointed to the cards that suddenly appeared before her. "The members have chosen to use the names of the tarot cards as code names. From those, you can choose one, but you can no longer choose the ones that have already been chosen."
Fors stared incredulously at the cards in front of her. 'Just this? So easy?'
Of all the things, she had thought about how all this could have unfolded. This was not one of them.
Not wanting to offend the great existence by making him wait, Fors just reached out a hand and grabbed a card at random.
'May fate guide me...' Fors thought as she turned the tarot card over.
Watching her choice, Klein smiled, "Welcome to the Tarot Club, Miss Magician."
...
Opening her eyes after the crimson flash diminished. Fors found herself back in her living room and next to a worried Xio, who was looking at her expectantly.
Something warm began to fall down her cheeks, but the writer didn't care; she smiled broadly and said, "It worked"
Xio also began to cry and quickly wrapped her arms around her best friend, a huge weight lifting from her chest.
Finally, they would no longer worry about another sudden full moon!