The woman placed a pot of hot water in between you, and then fetched a strangely styled cup along with a small box of tea leaves.

Tea was becoming much harder to find, and more expensive to buy. It was surprising that she had managed to get her hands on it.

"Tell me," she inquired, as she added the tea leaves to the hot water. "Are you familiar with this method?"

"Tasseography." You answered. "The art of reading tea leaves."

"Impressive." She remarked. "No one has been able to name it. But I'm afraid you forgot to add that not just tea leaves can be used."

Pouring the tea into the cup, she continued. "Coffee grounds and wine sediments can suffice. Tea leaves are more often used."

"Wine sediments?" This surprises you. Though you weren't sure if it was the fact that you had just learned of the existence of wine sediments, or that they could be used to read fortunes.

The woman looked at you with her sharp eyes, and smiled slightly with her thin mouth. "Yes indeed. Quite popular with the higher end fortune tellers."

You frowned. "Let me guess, the nobles are just looking for someone to tell them they're not pieces of crap. They don't appreciate the craft at all."

"Well, you've figured it out." She studied the shapes of the steam. "All one has to do is tell their employer what they want to hear and they'll both walk away thinking they're happy." She scoffed. "Such fools."

"And is that what you plan to do?" You asked, testing her reaction.

She smirked as if she realized your play. "No." She pushed the cup towards you. "I find myself just as curious as you are."

Somehow you did not feel suspicion or resentment as usual. In fact you felt completely secure and at ease. Taking the cup, you raised it to your lips and drank.

Despite having no additives, the tea tasted sweet. In its flavor you could recognize certain plants, this must be herbal tea. It had been so long since you last enjoyed a cup of tea.

You almost drained your cup, but you carefully made sure not to swallow your tea leaves, and let them sit at the bottom.

Finishing the cup, you placed it on the table before the woman picked it up. She studied it intently, moving it carefully in her hand.

You had the impulse to ask her what she saw, but you didn't want to break her concentration. Somehow the prospect of knowing your future filled you with fearful excitement. You found yourself yearning for a complex and perhaps disastrous fate, something to remind you that you still lived, still felt pain.

The woman's voice broke through your thoughts. "Ah, there it is." Her lips bore a slight knowing smile. No, it was much closer to a smirk.

"What do you see?" You enquired. Her words had you on the edge of your seat, now completely invested in learning your fate, just as any clever fortune teller would have their customers. And you both knew it.

"Here." She pointed a thin finger to a symbol in the tea leaves. "I see.... this is a symbol for suffering in the past. And here..... loss of hope." Her predictions didn't practically impress you, most anyone these days had suffered, and living in a world of Titans, was to live in a world without hope. "Hm." She tilted her head, studying the contents of the cup. "That's no good."

"What isn't? Tell me." You said, somehow still invested in learning more about your supposed fate.

"This here." She tapped the cup with a long pointed nail. "That's an omen of death. Curious though, this over here is one for rebirth. They may cancel each other out." Pausing, she met your eyes. "Though if they do, I can't promise it will be pleasant."

She looked disdainfully at the cup. "Betrayal. You have been wronged in a cruel and unjust way."

That caused you to halt. Even if she was just guessing she had hit her mark on that one. "That one.... that one is right."

"Have faith." She replied. "Karma always collects, and you've already paid your debt."

Looking back at the cup, her face registered slight surprise. "Interesting, a soulmate symbol."

"Soulmate?" You questioned. "I think you've got that wrong, I don't have a soulmate."

"This isn't a symbol of the past, or present. This one is of the future." She answered, her expression unreadable. "However this type of soulmate symbol literally means a lifelong bond, and gives no specifications as to what kind. However this symbol here," she pointed to another close to it. "Can often make it mean a romantic soulmate. It means passion or lifetime commitment. It's usually unimportant on its own."

Placing the cup on the table, she continued. "It could simply mean you dedicate yourself to your passion or a cause. These ones are quite tricky."

You briefly lingered on the thought. A soulmate was impossible for a great number of reasons, perhaps you'd simply find a passion of some sort. But, despite not wanting to admit it, she had been completely right in all her other predictions.

"That was... impressive." You admitted. "Is there anything else?"

She briefly looked at the teacup on the table. "Afraid not. There's only so much one can get out of tea leaves. Let us not forget that the future is subjective."

She rose and glided away, removing the teapot and cups from the table. "This will only happen if you continue in your current path. Change the right thing, and your future becomes something else entirely. No one has a definitive fate."

She then looked at you in a sudden serious way, and spoke in an almost foreboding voice. "But everyone has a role to play, [Y/N] [L/N]."

Before you had time to consider her words, a call pierced the air. "[Y/N]! Hello? [Y/N] where are you?!"

Recognizing the voice, you responded. "In here Hange!"

Hange burst through the door and caught sight of you. "Oh there you are! I've been looking all over for you, you really do wander!" She looked around, taking in the shop around her. "This place is interesting, find anything you like?"

"Yes." You responded. "I found quite a lot of things that'll be very useful."

"That's good. We've got to get back though, we can't stay out all day." Hange motioned to you and walked out of the shop.

You turned to the woman. "Thank you. It's been... informative." You looked in your bag for some money.

She held up her hand. "No need. It's my pleasure."

Shocked, you questioned her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She chuckled. "It's perfectly fine."

You smiled slightly. "You have my thanks."

"Of course." She responded, clasping your hands. "Spirits protect you [Y/N] [L/N]."

You exited the store and met up with Hange, before the two of you started making your way back.

If only you had looked more closely, if only you had paid more attention to her words, if only you had let your paranoia take the reins this time, you might have noticed the silver star like mark on the woman's hand. The same as the mark on your book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I actually researched
Tasseography a bit to write this chapter. And yes, it isn't just tea leaves. I was originally thinking of doing cards because that's what my Oma does, but this definitely seemed like fun