A Matter of Fate
"Come on, Clarke, it'll be fun," Raven said, tugging on her friend's arm.
"I'm not going in there."
"Not even if I told you the psychic was actually really good?" Raven said, raising her eyebrows.
"No. I'm not going in there. That stuff is a waste of time, Raven."
"It's just a bit of fun. Besides, don't you want to know when you're going to meet that tall, dark stranger and find your fortune?" Raven teased.
"I'm fine now."
"It won't hurt, Clarke, come on."
'Why don't you go in?" Ever since Clarke had met Raven at the fair, she hadn't shut up about the psychic that had set up shop in the fair. Clarke had never really seen the point in getting her fortune read. She was fine without knowing her future, thank you very much.
"I've already been in there twice. Apparently there's a lot of money coming my way and I should look out for the number six."
Clarke rolled her eyes. Of course Raven would've gone in twice already. Her friend, despite being from a distinctly scientific background in mechanics, always had such a fascination with the mystical. Clarke didn't understand it. Sure, it wasn't like psychics were fake, there was reason behind it all, but Clarke didn't like it. Knowing your fate was unnatural.
"I'm not going in there. It's twenty bucks," Clarke argued. Maybe it was better to argue on the side of money this time, since surely Raven couldn't argue with that.
"I'll pay for you. Just go in there," Raven replied unexpectedly, handing Clarke a twenty-dollar bill.
"Alright then," Clarke said. She wouldn't say no to cash. Besides, maybe she could go in there a while, refuse a consultation and then spend the money on something else. She did need a new sketchbook.
"Get on in there," Raven said, and shoved her friend towards the tiny tent. Madame Callisan's Fortunes, the sign read.
Clarke walked in, rolling her eyes at the decorative curtain and the overabundance of crystal balls and wind chimes inside the tent. Not to mention the overpowering scent of incense.
There was a small table inside, where a girl sat, dressed in surprisingly normal clothes.
"You're Madam Callisan?" Clarke asked.
"No, I'm Lexa - I'm here while she has a smoke break," Lexa said. She looked about the same age as Clarke, and pretty attractive with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes (Clarke had a not-so-secret thing for brunettes, especially girls).
"Do I need to wait?"
"No, sit down. I'm just as good as her," Lexa replied, a note of pride in her voice.
"So, what kind of reading is this?" Clarke asked.
"I hold your hand, get a reading, and then I tell you about it."
"Okay," Clarke said warily.
"I know it's not the usual thing. Madame Callisan likes to work with cards, but I'm a more physical person, I guess," Lexa said with a shrug.
"Alright then," Clarke said and held out her hand.
"Well, before we begin, I want you to know I'm aware you're not much of a believer."
"I think it's a waste of time. I don't need to know any of this. My friend wanted me in here, so here I am."
"You're a purist?"
"I wouldn't put it like that but I think it's easier living without having some damn path already planned out."
"That's not how it works. Fate can change," Lexa replied.
"Well, then, let's do this," Clarke said and glanced at the empty table. "No cards?"
Lexa smiled. "I prefer a slightly more physical approach. Cards always felt a little too cold for me."
"How long have you been...doing this?"
"I figured it out when I was eight. Before that, I'd always had premonitions, but I never got tested."
"You're unregistered?" Clarke said, surprised.
"My parents weren't exactly conventional," Lexa said sadly. "But I did get myself tested a few years back. It's Clairtangency."
"That's...different."
"My gift relates to touch," Lexa explained. "I can work with cards, yes, but not as comfortably as a Clairvoyant can."
"Alright then, what do you want to touch?" Clarke asked, then immediately blushed at how sexual that sounded.
Lexa smiled. "Just your hand."
She held out her hand and Clarke placed hers in it, suddenly feeling shy. Clarke watched her, kind of fascinated. Her eyes were closed, and she kept muttering some kind of words under her breath that Clarke couldn't quite make out. It was strangely charming.
After a long moment, Lexa opened her eyes. "You have a strange path, Clarke."
"I didn't tell you my name," Clarke said, feeling on edge. How much did Lexa pick up then?
"You didn't have to. I tend to get those kinds of details when I touch people. Like, for instance, I know that when you were seven you-"
"Okay, I get it," Clarke said, blushing embarrassedly at the memory. "I don't need you to tell me about the past. What's for my future?"
"Well, I see you've had a fair bit of hurt in your life, but it'll be fine soon. There's better out there, I can promise you that."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"There's more. Your path is a strange one, Clarke. There's something there, but I can't see much about it. There's a split in your life."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"It's, well, different. I haven't seen this before in real life."
"What does it mean then?" Clarke asked, despite herself.
"Your life, at some point, just kind of separates, like there's more than one."
"Like reincarnation?"
"More like, parallels," Lexa said, tracing the lines in Clarke's palm.
"And you got all of this from one touch?" Clarke said. "Imagine what you'd get from more."
"It's a lot more intimate," Lexa replied.
Clarke found herself blushing a little. God, I hope she's serious, Clarke thought, doing a quick up and down glance of Lexa's body.
"Well, maybe we can try that out sometime," Clarke said boldly, suddenly feeling confident.
"That might be a good idea," Lexa replied with a smile.
Clarke smiled back at her. "I'll look forward to it," she replied, and let go of Lexa's hand so she could rifle around in her purse for a scrap of paper and a pen. Thankfully, she found both and scribbled down her number and passed it to Lexa, along with the twenty. "Call me sometime."
"I can see it now," Lexa replied, pocketing Clarke's number.
/
"So, how'd it go?" Raven asked her excitedly once Clarke had walked out of the tent.
"I got a date," Clarke said, unable to hide the news.
Raven frowned. "Isn't Madame Callisan a little old for you?"
"She has an assistant who was filling in," Clarke explained. "And she's pretty hot."
Raven whistled. "Damn, I walked in there too soon."
"Well, I guess that's fate," Clarke said with a grin.
A/N: this was written for the femslash big bang 2015, for May's monthly challenge prompt, "mythology". I was planning to do something more epic, but this kind of just happened at the last minute and I decided I should roll with it anyway. (for more info about that, check it out on tumblr at femslashbigbang or livejournal at femslashbb).