milliways_bar | (no subject)

"Readying to read tea leaves?" asks an Artemis who drops into the chair across from Mia, only half-distracted by the PDA he carries with him.

"Not in the least. Until coming here, I had never been too fond of divination."

For understandable reasons, if they care to go into it.

She gets her spare cup and pours some tea out for him.

"And here - thank you," He pauses to take a sip of the newly poured tea. "- I was hoping that you could tell me whether the Stockholm 30 was going to drop or not."

He is, of course, joking.

...Well, half joking anyway.

"I suppose you could tell me what is wrong instead though."

"It sounds to me like you're looking specifically for a seer if you're really interested in that. And while the one I know here was in a good mood the last time I saw him, I can't assure you that he'll be happy to answer such a question."

Dominic has to be one of the most talented seers she knows, considering the detail he sees. Of course, this is assuming that the seers at home who don't divulge the same information Dominic does withhold it because they truly don't know.

And while Professor Deegan is not fond of stupid questions, as he'll likely take the Stockholm 30 question, he might do it as a favor to Mia if she asks.

"I don't know if there's anything really wrong, though one could consider it's related to divination if there is."

She takes a sip of tea herself.

"No," Artemis says, waving off the whole Seer-Stockholm discussion. "I can already tell how it would end: I'd probably be accused of insider trading if I started playing the market that well."

But never mind all that:

"Wrong or not, you seem distracted. Unless you'd rather not say why?"

"I don't mind talking about it with you."

She might not share ever gritty detail, as he might not be interested in hearing. After all, Draco wasn't exactly thrilled and he knew it was important for him to know.

But she doesn't mind talking about Tower.

"There are cards here, and when I say that I mean human-like representations of cards from the tarot. The last one I spoke to was Tower and he gave me a card and its meaning. He said I would experience a loss, and after that things would get worse before they get better."

And for a moment, her tea is unusually interesting.

"I'm just not certain if I have experienced the loss he spoke of or not."

Artemis frowns, taking a moment to think about what she said. And he pauses another moment to take a sip of his tea before posing a question to Mia:

"Well, I suppose one way you could ascertain whether or not you think you've actually experienced the loss this Tower has said you would is by asking yourself this question: Would you otherwise consider what you lost a great loss had you not had this pre-knowledge of it?"

"My thoughts on this have been influenced by many," she admits. "If it was just me by myself, I don't know if I'd consider it so much a loss as it is a relief, and in a sense it still is. But others before Tower had started to change my mind about that and that is what makes me wonder if this is a loss at all. So I don't really know if I would be much different from what I am now without knowing I was to experience a loss."

Artemis' frown deepens and he sits back in his chair, fingers steepled as he decides: "I think, because a part of you still considers it to be a relief in a sense, that this is not necessarily the loss Tower was talking about. But, if you come to see it as such, then you can only prepare yourself for the worst to come."

He snatches up his tea, taking another sip as he shrugs. "Either way, he said things will be better again after the worst has past, correct? Usually that tends to be the case anyway."

"That's true..."

She thinks a little longer.

"There might be another loss ahead for me, past this somewhat relieving loss, but I do have a lot of friends to help me through."

Just as they were going to help her through if it wasn't a loss.

"Percisely," Artemis agrees, nodding. He's come to learn just how valuable friends can be.

In fact, he wonders now, what might have happened to him if he hadn't had Butler or Juliet and, now, even Holly these past couple of years at his side.

She even smiles a little.

"It's nice to be able to say that. I never did have many friends growing up, not until a couple of years ago."

It's amazing what saving the world can do to your social life.

It's amazing what kidnapping and extorting the People has done to Artemis' social life?

"Neither did I," he admits, thinking now of Minerva and even Mulch and No. 1. (Maybe even Foaly too. Just a little.) "In truth, even now, my closest friend is my bodyguard whose been with me since the day I was born. I don't suppose many other fifteen year old boys would say the same?"