ORIGIN - a meeting; a trade

She had to admit, she did like this place.

Perhaps it was a little out of the way, but the river was nice and the plants were vibrant. Cerilaine found herself quite enjoying it- except, perhaps, when she had to look for someone.

"Kitty!" Her voice was loud, even to herself. She wouldn't be able to hear a call from so far away, she knew, and she wouldn't be able to project that far, either. In truth, she'd been walking around the whole damn cave trying to get this being's attention. What were they- merchant? Diviner? Soothsayer, was the description she was given, and she grumbled when said soothsayer didn't seem to respond.

Leaping up to a higher vantage point atop a smooth, bulb-weathered rock, Cerilaine stretched herself out and cried into the open air. "KITTY!" At this point, she could feel her voice wearing thin, and she clenched her teeth at that. She was interested in Kitty's supposed magic, interested in learning something like it, perhaps, or seeing what methods she used. Was it even possible see fate with magicka?

Perhaps she'd find out. Her spotted coat stood out as she stood tall on the rock, glaring to the surrounding woods as if she were offended that they hadn't turned over her quarry already. 'Come on,' she hissed in her mind, straining her ears forward for any noise. 'Even another Greater would be good, by now...'

@Kitty

Kitty had heard her the first time, but with her flair for the dramatic, she'd found it prudent to scurry home and grab some of her accessories before rushing back through the trees. She knew this land well enough that she stopped well before she might be visible, took a deep breath, straightened herself, and then crept forward with her eyes bright from her perch on a branch cast into the light.

The panda certainly looked out of place. A pair of round, black metal frames sat neatly on her nose, a pocket watch on a tied chain dangling around her throat and resting against her chest. She had a somewhat messy crown of flowers atop her head, mostly white and pale pink. They were a bit lopsided -- she was still trying to figure out how to chain flowers together well, and while she had passable thumbs, they weren't all that dextrous, so she tended to break the more fragile stems. As usual, though, her fur was pristine, and perfectly groomed.

She sat down, tail curled around her paws and then shifting to dangle off the branch. "Hello," she said, voice slightly higher than her natural speaking tone -- customer service voice. "How may I help you, my friend?"

@cerilaine

Cerilaine waited as patiently as she could, her tail-tip flicking as she stood perched on her vantage point. Her gaze had softened, and she sat after a moment, head low to look through the trees. Her own glasses were close to falling off- quickly, she pushed them back up her muzzle, curling a paw back in a practiced motion to fix its hook around one ear.

Motion from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she slowly turned to regard its source, expression back to its blank default and ears high on her head. This was Kitty? They weren't a cat- and Ceri ever so slightly cocked her head at that, thinking about it to herself. 'Who am I,' she mused, 'to question names?' Shoving the line of questioning out of her mind for now, the leopard dipped her head and shut her eyes briefly.

"Hello," she returned the greeting, opening her eyes once more and pulling her limbs in a bit closer. This must be Kitty, as they hadn't given their name otherwise. "My name is Cerilaine. I've heard you can look into the past, and look into the future- soothsaying, if I'm correct?" The term was strange and unfamiliar on her tongue. While her words were said with ease, she had to hold back excitement from rolling over her pelt- the extent of magic going this far was so very interesting to her, and she watched Kitty with obvious interest.

One paw moved forward as she remained seated, almost a step if it weren't for her position. "I'm interested in all forms of magic," she explained rather hastily. "I've never witnessed looking through time before. I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer in trade other than my own magic if you do soothsay for others- even then, ice doesn't seem to stay for very long." Her paw drew back again, and her tail thumped twice on the rock, her pelt rippling once with anticipation.

"I can try a theory I've had- enchanting some water with it- though I'm not certain if that would hold well. Otherwise, I can do something else for your services?" Her head tilted at the offer. It was clear from her body language that she was ecstatic at meeting someone with Kitty's powers, though her voice was level and calm throughout it all, only raising just slightly at the mention of said theory she had yet to try out. After all, she'd aimed to make some sort of dye- she'd seen unnatural patterns on others, before, so certainly she'd be able to recreate it herself with a bit of magic.

@Kitty

This one reminded her of Madhukar's friend. "Hello, Cerilaine. A pleasure. Your information is correct -- I can indeed." Soothsayer. She rather liked that one, despite how close it was to truth-sayer. Which she was not. But, her guest didn't need to know that. Suddenly, she realized that she perhaps had a need to keep herself safe now -- she eyed Cerilane a moment longer, until she was finally satisfied with her deduction of Cerilane's intentions.

She couldn't help but to feel flattered, though the prospect of being placed under scrutiny like with the Voidmother made her feel a bit chilled. Still, she was excellent at not letting on such things, and flicked an ear as Cerilane continued. What was it with these recent customers and not bringing things to pay with? Surely she'd set her rumors appropriately--? At least, she hoped so.

Kitty took note of the fact that Cerilane seemed eager to test her theory. "You are welcome to provide whatever you'd like," she replied, thinking to her bowl of ever-filling water. She'd emptied it this morning, so it was lower than she would have liked, if she was performing a reading today. "I can provide the reading prior to payment if you're willing to sign a contract, however." "Sign" was a strong word, admittedly, but she'd gotten the idea from the Collector. If she couldn't read, she seriously doubted Cerilaine could.

Speaking of... "Can you climb?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. "I prefer to perform readings in my den, but it's... ah, arboreal. And now that I'm thinking about it, it might be a bit of a tight fit for you." She sighed. Kitty couldn't exactly bring Cerilaine along on the ground, because that would lead her to the Voidcrawlers's camp -- but, then again, she was pretty sure nobody was home at the moment.

@cerilaine

Cerilaine bowed her head again-- so, Kitty was a soothsayer. A strange word, but it described what she had been searching for perfectly. Not that she had anything to be seen, but the magic behind it all was truly intriguing to her.

Hopefully she wouldn't get too excited over this prospect.

A smile graced her muzzle (as much as felines could smile, anyways) as Cerilaine slid down the rock, landing on the grassy terrain below. Signing a contract- the idea was familiar to her, but placing it seemed outside of her reach, somehow. Signing... Her mind rolled that one over for a moment. No, not the time to contemplate, and Cerilaine approached Kitty from below. "I'd rather provide payment first. Do you happen to have a container for water?" Her head cocked slightly as she stopped, her tail curling about herself.

"I can climb," she confirmed with a nod. "And, if it's too high, I can fly with magic. If the den's too small, is there a branch outside of it thick enough to hold me?" It wouldn't be the first time she's been in trees, not by a long shot, but she knew the troubles of finding branches that were thick and comfortable enough to stay on. Leaping from branch to branch, however, may be an issue- but, maybe she could use her magic there.

@Kitty