They were a long way from home, that was for sure, but something pulled them north, and Fuji wasn’t about to leave her sister to come this far alone. After all, she had her own stop off at the strange statue. It felt a little irreverent to use the green glowing bonfire to heat the water for their tea, but the familiars didn’t seem too put out, at least outwardly.

Her mother’s opossum handed her the tea canister, a blend of peppermint, chamomile, spearmint and lemon peel. She wasn’t quite sure it was transcendent enough for the occasion, but she also knew Otis would rat them out if she went for the mushroom blend so with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she served out the leaves in equal portions between the two cups. Water was poured reverently and the leaves were allowed to steep. She would give it a few minutes to cool down before carefully sipping at the tea. “I’m not even sure what question I should be seeking answers for, how about you?”

“Speech”

Just move those left feet, go ahead, get crazy

She was thankful that Fuji had joined her on the trip north. With her own offerings placed upon the altar down in Auster, she had felt the urge and call of the festival in Boreas. Something about the glowing green of the dropped veil pushed her forward. Being able to watch the ghosts mingle about was an odd phenomenon. If Fuji had risked them drinking the fungal concoction, she perhaps would have blamed it on that. Slightly distracted by the oddity of the happenings among the Stone Steppe, she blinked a few times when Fuji filled her cup and asked her what she would ask.

Grabbing her own cup to sip at carefully, Rheum let out a quiet hum. "I s'pose I'm not sure either. I don' care for love or honor or glory, so maybe will I always be happy?" Her brow furrows a bit as she purses her lips and glances at her sister. "Do y'think mum and da will have more pups? Or I dunno, will we ever be mums like mum? Is that too many questions?" Rheum laughs as she continues to sip her tea. The ever-inquisitive one, she looks once more to Fuji. "What's one question ya always wanted to know the answer to?" It was easy for her to formulate a bunch of questions but finding the right question was the hard part.

R H E U M

Fuji wasn’t as free of aspirations as her sister. While she wasn’t sure she would ever fall in love or have kids of her own, she did have her sights set on glory (or perhaps even infamy). But she had a long way to go before that would be a consideration for her. Right now, her biggest concern was glaring in the comparison of her sister standing taller than fuji standing on her own shoulders, and it wasn’t like Rhu was even the tallest of her siblings. “I hope they don’t, at least not unless I suddenly get taller.” There was the edge of a glare in her eyes as she spoke the words, waiting on her tea to finish steeping, “Heh, maybe the leaves can answer that for me?”

“What about ‘will I have a grand adventure?’ or ‘will the winter be a hard one?’” Not that Boreas winter would have any bearing on the Tojo wolves, but it might present a pair on young entrepreneurs a market to exploit if they knew of an opening coming up.

“Speech”

Just move those left feet, go ahead, get crazy

Rheum had to stifle a laugh. Fuji get taller? She couldn't quite place her paw on it, but her sister actually seemed smaller. Not that she was going to point that out. Unlike her siblings, Rheum had no mutations and she wasn't going to risk getting head-butted by those horns curling from her sister's skull. As she was near finished sipping her tea, she smiled at the question suggestions from Fuji.

"Oh, I like those ones. I think a grand adventure would be fun! If the winter isn't too harsh, maybe we can make our way north?" Rheum's tail gave a few wags as she looked down at the opaque water. The tea was pleasantly flavored and she hoped the dredges would show a good sign or two! It was her hope to leave home soon once she felt comfortable leaving on her own. Maybe if Fuji wanted to come with her, they could travel together! But only if winter wasn't going to leave them to perish. Closing her eyes, she finished slurping her tea as she thought hard on the question.

R H E U M

She smiled a small smile at her sister. It was clear Rhuem was a wanderer at heart, whereas Fuji’s aspirations lay closer to home. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t join her sister on some of her adventures, but she was certain that for a while yet, she would keep finding her way back to the bamboo. The Archer-Genji upended her cup over the makeshift saucer and left it to sit for a few minutes before turning the up the right way up and rolling the thing from side to side, tilting her head as she considered the layout of the leaves. Not that tasseography was her forte or anything… They kinda looked like circles to her? But didn’t that have something to do with gifts? And maybe that was a dagger. Her brows drew down. “Help from friends in the form of gifts maybe?” She tilted her cup for her sister to see, wondering what results she might have.

“Speech”

Just move those left feet, go ahead, get crazy

As she neared the bottom of her cup, Rheum pulled it away from her lips and followed her sister's movements. Flipping the cup over to lay flat upon the saucer, she let it sit for those minutes before swishing it around and pulling it away. At first, she didn't see anything. Flicking her gaze toward Fuji's saucer, she saw the confusion on her sister's expression as well. Was this supposed to be hard to do? Focusing back on her soggy tea leaves, Rheum leaned closer in to get a good look. Was that a heart? Or a fish? Maybe an hourglass? She looked over to Fuji when her sister questioned her reading. "I think mine is good news from another country but there could be possible danger?" Rheum wasn't sure if she was looking at it the right way, but at least their outcomes weren't terrible.

R H E U M