"Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have yelled at you. You said you found it in a dumpster, and I believe you. Sorry for yelling at you.." You mumbled out, wiping strands of wet hair out of your face while Damian copied your actions, running his fingers through thick dark hair.

"And we're still standing out here in the rain, why?" He replied to you, tinges of impatience in his voice as he takes no notice of you apologizing to him. Yes, this bothers you. But lately? You can't seem to pay much mind to it. As in, this has become a normal thing that you've dealt with about Damian. He gets arrogant, plays things off as him not caring about it.

But when he walks past you and his hand just slightly brushes against your own for literally less than a second? It's an unfamiliar feeling that you're not exactly familiar used to comparing to your emotions on Damian strike your head. His hand just barely brushes against yours as he walks away from the Bookstore, your chest grows warm aside from all the cold rain water drenching everything.

Makes you stop everything you were thinking about, and stutter your words that break your train of thought. And you knew Damian probably just planned on going home, to be out of the rain most likely. But when you words stumble across your tongue, it's too late to take them back and you've already made the invitation.

"D-Do you want to stay a little bit? My shift doesn't start until another hour." You said, shoving your hands into your wet and soggy pockets while pointing the toe of your boot to a rock and nudging it a little bit while you waited for Damian to answer you.

He turned around, slowly at best. Crossed his arms and gave you a look that basically screamed, what are you doing? One minute, you're yelling at him and accusing him of stealing a ring. Not just any ring, but a family ring. The next? He doesn't know if he thinks this counts as you asking him out on a date, or just your way of making up for it.

"C'mon, you must live pretty far. At least wait till the rain clears up." You have a point, and Damian knows you do. But just to spite you, Damian would walk all the way home without taking any buses or taxi's. Just to spite anybody, really. But instead? He finds himself agreeing with you, not exactly heartfully really, but none the less? He's walking ahead of you into the Bookstore anyways.

**

Alright, so maybe Damian didn't stay for more than fifteen minutes. He stayed long enough for hot coffee and a single piece of cake that he more or less picked at with a plastic fork. It was weird, because the entire time he didn't seem like he was really there. He'd talk to you, but ask you about fencing. God, he's gotta be the only friend you have that actually cares about fencing.

And whenever you caught him scowling at nothing or just spacing off on the wall behind you, you'd ask him if everything's alright. He'd call your concerns ridiculous and irrelevant, but everything was fine.

He asked which part of fencing did you take in the most, and you responded with sabre. At that, he seemed to smirk a bit. Why? Sabre is one of the more aggressive parts of fencing. The sabre sword is different from all the others, it's slightly more curved and has the handle that's more different and easier to hold. You always found epee handles too confusing, and hates having the wire a chord through your suit that would let out a loud dinging sound if you were the one who lost the bout. Thankfully, that only happens to you when you aren't paying attention, or you let it happen.

What you like about Sabre fencing is you can score by using the edge of the blade, instead of only the tip of the blade. And that's exactly why sabre fencing is more more of a faster and offensive type of fencing. Somebody is always moving before the other person, and when you aren't on the offensive side? You're only trying to be a stronger offense. Self defense? What's self defense? All jokes aside, if you have to fight on the defense, you will. But it doesn't happen often.

One thing annoying in sabre though, is the right of way rule. And when you brought that up with Damian, the two of you verbally groaned out your actual opinions on that. Which gave you the indication that he did fencing too, which honestly? Made sense. You started to assume this after he started talking about fencing like he knew about it, and not just from watching the sport. More so from doing it.

Like mentioned, he didn't seem all there. Seemed distracted. And when his watch started beeping loudly, and he got a text at the same exact time? You figured out he was probably waiting on somebody. He was for the most part all dried out, and so were you. No longer soaking wet from the rain. Just a tad bit damp and a little pathetic looking. That's all, really it's true.

With a little persuasion, you told him he should come back another day and maybe you can round up Maps and Olive and hell, maybe even Pom. Round the lot of all your newer friends up and just have a complete marathon of classic movies that Damian should really see. He mentioned how it was ridiculous, but eventually agreed.

After Damian left, you went back up stairs to Julian's apartment above the bookstore to check some things out. He lets you in, never locks to door anyways. gotta say, out of all your cousins? Julian really trusts you the most. Liberty and Michael seperate themselves more often than so. You don't know what that's about, really. It's not like they hate you or anything, but Liberty has her own way of communication. She doesn't talk  much, she's practically a mute, and whenever you and her were in the same room? She'd just look so damn sorry for you. She's the oldest cousin. Michael is two years older than you, and Julian is just a year behind Liberty. Though her name is Liberty, she's gotten in trouble with the law a little more often for her name to matter.

Mom gave him some things to hold onto, all the while everything could get moved into the house you and her and your step-dad are staying in. The box of heirlooms and family items was one of the many things she trusted Julian with.

When you were younger, you use to play with this ring a lot. Wear it along with costumes for dress-up. You were one of those kids, alright. Sometimes you'd even wear it to sleep. Normally, parents wouldn't be okay with stuff like that. Taking the ring away out of fear the kid might lose it or ruin it. But your mom trusted you, that was until you got nail polish on the back of it. Knowing full well nail polish remover might ruin the precious artifact, she decided to let it go. It was red nail polish on the very back of the ruby. Nobody would notice it unless they were looking extremely close with an intention of looking for just that.

Your mothers side of the family is a lot different from your fathers. Your past relatives on your mothers side? Pirates. And good ones, at that. Well, you're not so sure if good is the word to use. good at being pirates, but bad people? Bad people?Does that make them bad? Or good at being bad? None the less, they were pirates. And they collected lots of treasures worth lots of money. Back then, it was only probably thousands of dollars. But now? With currency changing so much, and the fact they've become long lost artifacts? Probably millions, hell maybe billions.

But the lot of it went missing, and this ring was one of the few things left. The entire ship sank somewhere in the middle of the pacific ocean, and the only thing your mother has left of anything like that in her family are a bunch of old notebooks and maps that aren't even legible, and this ring.

The rings been passed down generation of generation of each (L/n). It'a been used as an engagement ring at least twice, but it's kept in the family. Nobody would have had it otherwise, it's just impossible. Your mom got it from her grandmother, who got it from her father, who got it from his mother, who got it from her mother, so on...so on.

But a dumpster? Something in you is almost forcing you to believe this, even though apart of you knows that it can't be true.

The box of all these heirlooms is a medium size brown box with white leather lining. Bronze corners to keep the leather from fraying, and a small keyhole  for a silver skeleton key. One that Julian keeps on top of the box, at the moment.

You're just going to put the ring back in, that's all.

Julian kept the box on top of an old bookcase, one that you'd climb the first two ledges of just to be able to reach the box. The old wood creaking under your weight, dust going into the air and past your lips as you inhaled the particles in your lungs. Holding in a cough while you scooped up the box with a single hand before leaping back onto the ground, key nearly falling off of the box.

You place the box on a near by table, it's orange lining over the oak wood glinting in the dim light above head. your hands traced over the box, picking up the old and brittle key that has to be at least as old as the ring it's self. It's so old, there's rust forming on the silver. You're pretty sure you wouldn't have to try so hard to break it, really. But you're obviously not going to do that, because mom would only make a new key- out of your bones.

Skeleton key. Funny, right?

The key fits into the lock as perfect as it always done, the satisfying clicking sound initiates you to place your fingers on the edge of the antique box and pull up the lid of it, just to put the ring back in it's place. You tell yourself.

Your breath stops. And so does your heart, it seems. Your skin goes cold, and goosebumps start to display themselves on your arms and legs. The hair on the back of your neck goes straight up, as your eyes widen in shock and surprise.

Every bone in your body feels like ice, every muscle feels like bone. Your brain feels cold and your feet started to tingle.

The ring is already in the box.

Suddenly you're able to hear your heart beating like it's a drum right next to your ears, and your hands quickly go to grab the red gemmed ring held inside it's golden case. Fingers nearly fumbling with it, you hold both rings side by side. One in your right hand, the one you received from Damian. And the one that was in the box.

They're identical in every single way, even the slight flecks of red nail polish on the back- wait a minute.

The one Damian handed you has a small crack in the ruby. It's just the smallest crack, a tiny fracture. But mom would never have allowed it to get damaged. Not in her entire life. Another thing you've noticed is that there's slight scrapes along the gold frame. It's like this ring has seen more wear and tear, and that it's older.

You held them closer together, to compare the size. But the second both rings made contact?

You shocked yourself enough for you to drop them both back into the box. Your hands were hot, and they felt a little numb after that.

You placed one of the rings in a plastic baggie, the one with has the crack in it. And you kept the one that's fine out of a plastic baggie. You weren't going to let that happen again.

That's the exact same ring, even if you don't want to believe it? It's true, and it's something you're going to have to start wrapping your head around pretty quickly.

**

It's been no more than ten minutes, and you're trying to comprehend this all in silence. nobody around you, nobody to talk to you. Really, you kinda wanna talk to Damian about this since he found the second ring. But it's too noisy in the bookstore right now. Which is strange, hence it's a bookstore. But some woman brought her five year old in here and he's screaming about wanting her to buy 'Clifford the Big Red Dog's Spring Cleaning Day!' for him, when she's just trying to buy a college textbook. You've decided to extend your break, making it so you don't have to go on your shift for another thirty minutes even. Julian agreed to take care of it, as long as he's able to tease you for the rest of the week about Damian. you refused, but that's not gonna stop Julian from teasing his 'baby cousin and her first real crush'. God, he can be so annoying sometimes. But he's family, so you guess that makes it fine. Annoying, but fine.

Since it's been so noisy, you've decided to give the other part of the building a try. Knowing it's so much more quiet in there, but you've never actually been in that part of the building before. You seem some shady people come in and out of it, but you don't stop to pay too much attention.

She's a fortune teller, and her name is Madame Xanadu. One of her clients that you've actually come to somewhat know and recognize, is Zatanna. She smiles at you and gives you a small wave whenever she leaves the store. Never stops to talk to you, but doesn't outright avoid you. She looks nice, and she's a little younger than your mom. With long black hair and fair skin that seems lightly tanned. Bright blue eyes and a smile just as bright. 

Madame Xanadu on the other hand, looks maybe just a couple years older than your mom. She doesn't smile too often, but you don't seem her very often. She has dark brown hair, only parts of it going grey at the roots. It isn't much, but you can tell the grey is from stress and not exactly aging. She keeps it up in an odd way, a small bump of her hair on her head.

she's got these cold grey eyes. Like she's seen too much. Trust would be hard to come by, and it's from just what you can see. And you're good at reading people. No clue where you picked this ability up, but it's been useful once or twice.

Your hands knocks on the old door, the sign that reads 'come in' means nothing to you when you just want to come in and sit to think, not get an actual card reading.

But when the door opens on it's own and she's looking right at you? You feel a little stupid.

Obviously, you don't believe in magic or ghosts or demons or whatever or any of that bullshit crap load. But it's more like you're refusing to admit that you really do know all of that exists. The fact you keep your biological fathers business card under your pillow just proves otherwise.

"Neat trick. Button under the table?" You asked, raising an eyebrow as you jut an index finger towards the table she's sitting at. It's covered in a purple cloth, with some type of runic design that you don't understand. There's a large skull on top of it, alongside a crystal ball being held in some type of golden looking base. Tapestries all over the walls of the room, designs of what you're assuming are gods or other deities. And right behind her, is a stained glass window that you're sure would look absolutely amazing if the sun were up right behind it.

"No. You do not believe?" She asked, copying your facial expressions and raising an eyebrow.
"You could have walked in, save yourself the headache." She added. Crossing her arms as a light glinted off of the jewelry piece she wore on her forehead. A gold band with a purple gem spot in the center between her eyes up a couple inches.

"Sorry, I just came in here hoping to get away from all the noise. Is that okay?" You asked, trying your best not to offend her or anything.

She knows who you are, though. Of course she's not going to say anything, just yet at least. Though she doesn't get along with your father, she's not going to project her annoyance for him onto you. You're just a kid, and as far as she knows? You don't have anything to do with him. You're just the result of another one of John's many flings, only that this one lasted longer than most. But since she knows how john is, she can't rule anything off of the table.

"I'll let you stay, if you come here and take a seat so I can give you a reading." To you, this seems weird. Like she's just making a small bargain to quench her curiosity. But to her, it's more or less her own way of checking you out. Making sure her assumptions are true.

"Um, isn't that like a double win for me? You're letting me stay here, and you're giving me a free reading." You replied, narrowing your eyes and none the less, stepping into the room past the open door and shutting it behind you once again. The smell of incense flooding through your nostrils while you look to the source of the smell. Eyes following a steady line of smoke to an incense that burns on a metal incense holder with the pattern of birds all over it.

"I do this often. Sometimes, it's more for me than my client."
"It's just cards. None of it's real." you stated calmly, taking a seat on the small plush chair close to the ground. It;'s more of a cushion that's on the ground, to a short table.

After she told you what to do, you did as you were told. Waved your hand from the right to the left over the three cards she laid out, and then waited for her to turn them over.

"The lovers, The Devil, and Death" She started reading, unflipping each card as she read the words out loud. You watsed no time with wide eyes and scowling features to cut her off as soon as she read the three out loud.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" You stated, stiffening up and straightening your back while you stared at the three cards.

Death. A skeleton holding a scythe while standing over a severed arm. The sun is setting in the background, but the sky is grey. In the top right corner of the card, the moon is just barely visible. And the skeleton is smiling fairly maliciously.

The devil. A man sitting on a thrown with fire burning beneath him. He's not red, but he has horns. Curving downwards and that stereotypical pentagram connecting each point in the star. There's smoke and fire surrounding him, far from beneath the throne he sits on. He's also smiling in a twisted way. In one hand, he holds a scroll. In another, he holds a skull.

The lovers. A card with three people in it. One, you can assume is a god of sorts. Her face is blocking the sun, and she has outstretched arms that lead to two people. A man and a woman, both who seem to be reaching for each other with longing expressions.

The death card was reversed, it was upside down. This generally means that something is going to change in this person's life. An ending to something. Major change, but not for the good. A severe difference, usually it isn't something good.

The Devil card. It appears when the person is feeling trapped- held down by conflicted feelings. It shows the possibility of this person going into a spiral that only leads downwards, falling into darker thoughts. This card was upright. Which is more dangerous than being shown reversed. Strong forces of negativity, that are bound to take over a person's life.

The Lovers card was upright. Which shows that most of the persons harmony goes along with another, and the choices this person makes end up being revolved around the second in the equation. This shows up in people who commonly think they are helping the other person by throwing themselves into danger.

Madame Xanadu thinks this is wrong at first, that there's no way any of this can be correct. But when you storm out of the room and the sound you you slamming the door outside is heard? She looks down at the table you shoved to get up. Just a tiny drop of blood is there, and its relatively close to the crystal ball she has.

You must have scratched yourself during your fit of anger, fit of anger that resembles a child. Exactly what you are. Which makes you getting these three cards all the more confusing to her. Constantine or not.

She leans across the table, dips her thumb in the warm liquid and presses it to the crystal ball.
It takes her a minute, but what she see's leaves her breathless and worried. Scared even.

She's never seen that happen to a kid before. Blame your father for your luck, she might.
But what she saw was so wrong, so terrible. Sometimes being a clairvoyant comes at a great cost.

Most of the time when she does this for people, she just see's business booming for a person. Probably a child in their future. She's only seen a person die when she isn't telling people their fortunes for a living.

But she's never seen a child be tortured.