(no subject)

[lucillefer]

Dustin receives:

A deck of cards, the same gift she’s given other squad members on their birthdays so far. This time, though, she's wrapped the box with a black ribbon quite like the ones she often wears around her neck.

When/if Dustin opens the pack, he’ll discover an unexpected card:

The well-loved Devil from one of Lucy's tarot decks.




Wear and tear shows it’s obviously been held, rubbed, and carried around in pockets quite often. A number 27 has been written on the devil’s breast, and around the outer edge of the card are four dates in Latin numerals: the day Lucy signed her contract and all three exploration outings thus far.

An attached sticky note reads:

is this lucky or cursed? you tell me. x lucy

Comments

[highercalling]

Dustin likes seeing the gift-giver reflected in his presents; it's why he's so easy to shop for. Bamboo and planners and books about potatoes — he likes them, if not for what they are, then at least because of what it is they say about each of his friends. This gift, though, is a little more overt than most. A deck of cards (beautiful, wrapped in ribbon), and then Lucy's arcana. A signature, certainly, and perhaps the real present here.

It's worn at the corners and some of its stiffness has started to fade in a way that doesn't feel antique so much as loved. Dustin turns it over in his fingers, imagining it tucked in a wallet or maybe between the pages of a favourite book, and that makes him laugh to himself because the image he's conjured is soft and sweet in a way he so rarely associates with Lucy.

He's probably projecting, he realises, and he doubts she'd appreciate it. But still, he recognises the numbers on this card. It reminds him of his own journal in a way — neatly dated and, for better or for worse, holding so much of himself — and he runs a thumb over one corner before slipping it into his breast pocket. He feels grateful that she'd trust him with this. He feels touched that she'd even let him see it. He feels a funny clench between his ribs that he doesn't have the words to explain.

Well! What a nice gift. He'll have to thank her in person when she comes back. And tell her that it's lucky. At least he's sure of that.