Achronum
KawaiiOtakuGirl
Kirah
Fish of Oblivion
Trainerblue192
Nallore
hanzo
Forsythe
Vampiretwilight
The tent flap shut behind Mary Sue as she stumbled inside, giving her privacy from the outside world. The inside of the tent was clearly much bigger than the outside, and far more magical. Candles and tarot cards and runes and crystals floated through the air, all seemingly under the control of the elderly witch seated at a small circular table. A panther rubbed its face up on Mary Sue's legs, before letting out what could only be described as a comforting purr.
"Oh, my dear, you are exactly where you ought to be," Agatha said, her voice gentle and withered. She rose to her feet and removed her purple shawl from her shoulders, and draped them around Mary Sue's. "Sit and tell me all about it. Let me know what Agatha Harkness can do to help, child."
Mary Sue had failed to properly take in her surroundings when she had first entered, and thus was shocked by the TARDIS of a booth. The panther rudding against her htough, gave her pause, and grounded her to where she was. This place was so astronomically different than the outside that she felt herself calming almost instantly, let things had almost reset. As the shawl was draped over her, she found herself drawing deep breaths, and though she was shaky, she was decidely safe.
Her head was throbbing and her eyes were wet, but even then, she kenw who was in front of her, and that was a very old, very badass witch. This was, almost inarguably, one of the safest places she could be right now. Nodding mutely, she found herself sitting across from Agatha. "I just... I feel wrong? I don't know. I want to be here, and I want to leave things better than I left them, but I don't... know how to play the hand I've been dealt." She looked at the woman across from her, who, from everything she knew, had steeped in greatness. "How... can I do that? Every thing I've done today has gone terribly. I ripped my top, I think I put the fear of the gods into a girl, and I... lost my nerve. Everything is too much, Miss Harkness." Her voice clipped a bit at the end, and her eyes averted themselved to the table in front of her, as she realized another mistake she'd made, and quickly muttered out, "My name is Mary Sue Sullivan, by the way, and... thank you for letting me escape to here."
Agatha nodded, as a tea kettle floated on over and poured out two cups of tea - both of them chamomile. "Drink up, child, it'll steady your nerves," Agatha offered. She had found over her long life that there were few problems made worse by tea - and many that could be improved. She paused for a moment, intentionally so. Mary Sue reminded her of a fragile little doe - she wanted to take things slow. "The first day in any new place is always the hardest - particularly for a young girl with the weight of destiny and ancestry on her shoulders, Mary Sue," Agatha then said.
"I see great things in your future - but none of it shines brighter than the girl I see in front of me now. I may not be able to set everything right, but as for the top," Agatha snapped her fingers, and the top began to mend itself, until it was brand new. "I can at least do that much."
Mary Sue gently took the tea in front of her, and sipped away at it, listening as Agatha spoke. Those words, Ancestry and Destiny make her pay attention. "Children of SHIELD Agents can't be rare here." She said carefully, looking down into her cup. It had to be true, she supposed. This was the premier school for heroes, and SHIELD was great and all, her parent saved the planet plenty, but compared to Avengers? They were small potatoes. That could just be her biases though, or her need to look down on herself.
As her top was healed, Mary Sue couldn't help but keep herself from smiling. "You're... very kind, and I appreciate you taking me in here." She said, taking a brief look at the fabric of her clothes. There were sparks of curiousity in her, what was seen of her future, or how much of Miss Harknesses powers were real or just show. "I just... feel weak I guess. What would you do, if you were me? In a new place, with amazing people, and wanting to make a difference? How do I... do that?" she asked, hoping that the witch might have some experience that could be relevant to this situation.
"No, if you were to throw your cup out of the tent, I would guess you would hit at least five agent-lings," Agatha agreed. "But that does not make you any less special or important, Mary Sue." She then paused, listening to Mary Sue's questions. Her intuition was guiding her, and while otherwise she might've just given straight advice, Agatha had a feeling that Mary Sue needed to hear advice from within herself. Tarot cards not only predicted the future, but held up a mirror to oneself, allowing hidden and mysterious things to come to light.
Agatha felt compelled to draw six cards, each card fluttering down in front of her, and resembling a certain concept - concepts that were deeply embedded in Mary Sue's ancestry. Space, reality, power, mind, time, and soul. The Devil Reversed, the Wheel of Fortune, the Hanged One, Four of Pentacles Reversed, Three of Pentacles, and Two of Wands Reversed. Agatha hesitated, the candlelight in the tent flickering. If she had not felt the weight of destiny on Mary Sue's shoulders before, she did now. "In this reading, each of these cards represents an important concept that makes up our universe," Agatha began softly.
"The space that you inhabit, the reality you experience, the power you wield, your state of mind, the flow of time, and your immortal soul. I see that you are your own greatest obstacle right now, my dear, chaining yourself and preventing yourself from evolving. You are at a new beginning, a bright new turning point, and in it you can find new perspective, should you pause and surrender to this change. In your mind, I sense a great deal of fear and conflict, an urge to protect yourself. You are entering a new phase of your life, one of learning and collaboration - of friendship - but in your soul... You are afraid of the unknown. That is your greatest challenge, your greatest weakness."
"You must learn to let go of that fear, Mary Sue, or it will ruin you," Agatha warned seriously. "Do not deny yourself your power."
Mary Sue's eyes flitted down to the cards before her as they were drawn before her. She could almost hear how her father might of reacted to this in his head, thinking not much of divination or any purported magics. He was the type of dismiss it out of hand, to insist that there was some deeper, scientific method that could be applied to any system to understand it. She wasn't that though, she felt something deep here. One of the oldest witches alive was giving her insight into herself and that mattered, She shuddered at the words she spoke, and closed her eyes, trying to sort through the complicated emotions.
"I-" She started, before stopping herself. She was about to get defensive, to bite back against the words being said to her, but instead, she opened her eyes, nodded and said, "I understand. I will try." That was all she could promise. The unknown shadowed all she did, she found any bit of uncertainty so paralyzing, she knew she couldn't just... stop overthinking things. But she could make incremental progress, maybe. "I... don't know how I'm going to do it, but, you're right. And I promise I'll do something and... " her voice softened, almost to a quiet whisper, "Thank you."
"You have everything you need inside of you," Agatha said softly. She stared at Mary Sue, considering what she could bestow upon her to give her some confidence, something to help her guide herself through the treacherous waters ahead. The idea that came to her was perhaps unusual, something unique, something that she hoped Mary Sue would make the most of. Agatha's hand reached into thin air, as if grabbing something, and a moment later she had what looked like a shiny pink makeup compact, with a moon symbol detailed onto it. Agatha then tapped it once and it floated over to Mary Sue.
"This mirror shows the truth of things - I hope you use it well," Agatha offered. "Every magical girl needs a talisman."
Mary Sue watched as the compact was snatched out of the air, allowing herself to feel thrill at the minor display of magic. She gently took it, and stored it away in her pocket. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She said, her cheeks blushing red at being called a magical girl. With that, she rose to leave, and said, "I'll um. If you're ever back around the academy and want to get tea, I'd love to see you again." It felt a little silly to branch that to the great Agatha Harkness, but she still did, a part of her hoping she'd be interested in such a thing.
