At his invitation, Boula
heard also the words of her mother, echoing with warning; but it felt so nice to be invited. And anyway, they were all quite kind-looking. And anyway, who was her mother to speak of those she had never met before?
The others all walked together, though at different paces, the Tonsor male stepping double the others at the front of the group and turning back to catch "down" frequently, the Frux male walking aside without rush and without looking around. Though there were at the center of the group, the Gia siblings (she could only guess they were siblings — they were both named Luculo after all, though maybe it was different in Gia) were clearly leading their small herd, and when they turned right towards another building both Tonsor Salt and Frux Melior altered their courses accordingly.
It seemed they all knew each other well enough already and spoke with ease. Gia Luserna was talking about how she hadn't been able to make it into her course; Gia Nivus was sympathizing somewhat, and mentioned something about next quarter, at which point Luserna scoffed.
"They won't teach it next quarter," she grumbled.
Nivus looked confused. "I saw it on the offering, I'm sure —"
"It just won't," Luserna snapped, and Nivus opened his mouth to speak again and then closed it, saying, "Oh, I see."
"What?" Boula asked. She'd missed something.
Luserna turned toward her, just enough so that she could see Boula from the edge of her left eye.
"I can smell it," she explained, and Boula blinked, and understood. So Luserna could smell the future. There were certain ungu in Terrai as well that could scent beyond the fences of the present, but in general the winds of fate rendered this ability useless unless the time scented was very close, or the power itself very strong. Boula's mother had this power but its greatest expression caused her to furrow her nose horrendously on the days when Leucan got into fights.
"You're going to do it again," Boula's mother would warn, nostrils flared, and Leucan would glare and argue and leave and indeed Boula's parents would receieve a slyph later informing them of bruises on some poor ungu with bruises in the shape of Leucan's horns.
"It stinks," Luserna continued, shaking her head. Her hair swung back and forth like pale fluid. "I hate it when my plans go wrong."
"Is that what you usually smell?" Boula asked. "When something you've planned goes awry? My mother could smell whenever my sister got into fights, for example."
Luserna wrinkled her nose at Boula as if she emitted some greater stink. "I can smell a lot of things," she said. "One of my secondary licenses is prophet. I can smell my plans going wrong and I can smell bones breaking and illness. I can smell when soulmates meet. I can smell the endings of books I haven't read. And I can smell when I meet friends. And enemies."
This was obviously a pointed remark and the hairs on Boula's nape rose.
"And you're sure they're not just self-fulfilling prophecies?" she asked, aware that in doing so she was herself pressuring the future to bend the certain way that Luserna wanted.
Tonsor Salt, several lengths away, laughed; Luserna flushed angrily and opened her mouth to snap back, but before she could Nivus said, "Ah, here we are."
The others all walked together, though at different paces, the Tonsor male stepping double the others at the front of the group and turning back to catch "down" frequently, the Frux male walking aside without rush and without looking around. Though there were at the center of the group, the Gia siblings (she could only guess they were siblings — they were both named Luculo after all, though maybe it was different in Gia) were clearly leading their small herd, and when they turned right towards another building both Tonsor Salt and Frux Melior altered their courses accordingly.
It seemed they all knew each other well enough already and spoke with ease. Gia Luserna was talking about how she hadn't been able to make it into her course; Gia Nivus was sympathizing somewhat, and mentioned something about next quarter, at which point Luserna scoffed.
"They won't teach it next quarter," she grumbled.
Nivus looked confused. "I saw it on the offering, I'm sure —"
"It just won't," Luserna snapped, and Nivus opened his mouth to speak again and then closed it, saying, "Oh, I see."
"What?" Boula asked. She'd missed something.
Luserna turned toward her, just enough so that she could see Boula from the edge of her left eye.
"I can smell it," she explained, and Boula blinked, and understood. So Luserna could smell the future. There were certain ungu in Terrai as well that could scent beyond the fences of the present, but in general the winds of fate rendered this ability useless unless the time scented was very close, or the power itself very strong. Boula's mother had this power but its greatest expression caused her to furrow her nose horrendously on the days when Leucan got into fights.
"You're going to do it again," Boula's mother would warn, nostrils flared, and Leucan would glare and argue and leave and indeed Boula's parents would receieve a slyph later informing them of bruises on some poor ungu with bruises in the shape of Leucan's horns.
"It stinks," Luserna continued, shaking her head. Her hair swung back and forth like pale fluid. "I hate it when my plans go wrong."
"Is that what you usually smell?" Boula asked. "When something you've planned goes awry? My mother could smell whenever my sister got into fights, for example."
Luserna wrinkled her nose at Boula as if she emitted some greater stink. "I can smell a lot of things," she said. "One of my secondary licenses is prophet. I can smell my plans going wrong and I can smell bones breaking and illness. I can smell when soulmates meet. I can smell the endings of books I haven't read. And I can smell when I meet friends. And enemies."
This was obviously a pointed remark and the hairs on Boula's nape rose.
"And you're sure they're not just self-fulfilling prophecies?" she asked, aware that in doing so she was herself pressuring the future to bend the certain way that Luserna wanted.
Tonsor Salt, several lengths away, laughed; Luserna flushed angrily and opened her mouth to snap back, but before she could Nivus said, "Ah, here we are."
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