[hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=ed1c24]Percy Novikov[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://img.wattpad.com/7bef7bb2df2407b7a126ff2d06ce52b3e7841d05/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f345144486b5f686c4c417a7949513d3d2d313131333330353138352e313639396563653435346339393531383632303232343135333831382e676966[/img][hr][b][color=ed1c24]Location:[/color][/b] the Field (School Carnival) - Agatha's Tent
[b][color=ed1c24]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A
[url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1063984384832704654/1071655146855080019/aidan-gallagher-1488366999.png]~New Outfit~[/url][hr][hr][/center]	Percy was quietly vibrating with excitement as he entered Agatha's tent. It was filled with a thousand curiosities, and he wished that he had the time to sit down and dissect them all, one by one. He could already invent a myriad of stories in his mind for each and every thing - maybe the tea set carelessly set on top of a trunk had been used in the poisoning of an ancient princess. Maybe the broom leaning up against a cabinet was the inspiration for Disney's Sorcerer Mickey. The jeweled brooch Agatha wore might contain the soul of the god of a long dead religion, fueling her eternal youth. 

	He was [i]fascinated[/i]. 

	But Percy did not vibrate the way that others his age did - he wasn't shaking or twitching. No, it was more a sort of restless hunger in his eyes, a need to devour all of the mysteries inside Agatha's tent. The fact that it was bigger on the inside than the outside hardly struck him, he was so focused on the wonderment all around him. 

	[color=ed1c24]"Nice cat. It's on brand for you, Agatha,"[/color] Percy said casually, offering his hand to the tiny black cat. He didn't make eye contact with the kitty cat, not wanting to come off as a threat. [color=ed1c24]"I'm Percy Novikov, I've heard of you from a family friend."[/color] That family friend happened to be one of Agatha's former pupils, as his mothers were both Avengers and had been on a squad with the Scarlet Witch for a bit. 

	Agatha was somewhat relieved to see just an ordinary mutant boy standing in front of her - no hints of divinity, no omega level potential, nothing special. It still struck her from time to time how intertwined with the fate of the universe the students of the Margaret Carter Institute could be, but this boy, he was no one. It was comforting. "I'm sorry that I can't say the same," Agatha replied. "Take a seat, dear. And let me know what the sorceress Agatha Harkness can divine for you?"

	Percy raised an eyebrow. Agatha was one of those types who spoke in the third person, then. He hated it when people did that. It made them all seem like they came out of a comic book, rather than real life. Though, he supposed the lines between those were blurred at this point - the truth was pretty much just as strange as fiction in his experience. And he hadn't even been alive that long - just thirteen years or so. 

	[color=ed1c24]"Dealer's choice,"[/color] Percy settled on. [color=ed1c24]"Despite popular belief, I don't actually think I know everything, so I don't know what question to ask. I'd like a birds eye view of my future,"[/color] he requested. He had been mulling this over in the back of his mind since talking to Diana about it, and this ended up making the most sense. If tarot predicted the story of his life, his story had just begun. He didn't have a good idea for the themes and the motifs yet. 

	Yes, this boy was ordinary, normal, and safe. Agatha nodded and twitched her fingers. The tarot cards flew up into the air and shuffled themselves, making intricate patterns - including an inverted mobius strip and briefly the spoke of a wheel - as they danced. Agatha gasped suddenly, a burning image appearing in her mind. She saw a floating white tower, gleaming in the sun. And then it was gone. The vision faded. 

	[color=ed1c24]"Is there a problem?"[/color] Percy asked, somewhat concerned she might be about to die on him - she was rather old. 

	"No, child," Agatha mused, her mind racing. She had recognized the tower. She looked at Percy again and something struck her. She paused for another moment, before three tarot cards settled down in front of him - the first card tried to somehow pop up twice, sitting down and hopping up and then settling again. One by one, they turned over to reveal their contents. 

	"The past - the beginning of your story - is the [url=https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5916d4da2994ca3bd87b3a87/1510242369060-AINSBHLTA3EJPKOBCBGP/IMG_0002.JPG]Ace of Swords[/url]," Agatha narrated. "Swords as a suit in tarot represent our intellect, our mental powers. As this is your story, I believe this is you - your personal card, if you will. A bright young man with a fierce and dedicated mind, facing a treacherous path stretching out ahead of him. 

	"Now as for the present, you drew a card from the Major Arcana. These cards indicate major spiritual forces at work in your life - the will of the universe. This card is [url=https://static.displate.com/857x1200/displate/2021-05-08/9222b31c867e243ff99bf61cf38097f3_f970a4c9b476fc94446d302caddcac57.jpg]the Lovers[/url]. As I am sure you can gather, the Lovers is a card of love - of communication and connection, emotional vulnerability and honesty, a love that is meant to be. You, Percy Novikov, are in love." 

	Percy scoffed. [color=ed1c24]"I was with you up until then - I'm not in love,"[/color] he interjected. [color=ed1c24]"Unless we're talking about [i]self[/i]-love, then sure. I love myself. But I'm not [i]in[/i] love with anyone."[/color] His face betrayed him though. As much as he wanted to convey annoyance, a slight reddish tinge rose in his cheeks. He wasn't in love with anyone. But if there was anyone he had been attracted to, even briefly... 

	"The cards do not lie," Agatha said firmly. "You are in love, Percy Novikov," she continued, somewhat harshly, as her gaze settled on the third card - the card dictating his future. "You drew another card from the Major Arcana, another spiritual force. [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7e/01/24/7e0124820fcdf0794edec60e9007466c.jpg]The Moon[/url]. This is a card of wild forces, of intuition and fear and confusion and the unknown made manifest. This is a card of the lone wolf who howls in the darkness, whose goals and actions are ineffable. You will be alone, Percy Novikov - and at the whims of madness."

	She flicked her hand and another card shot down - [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Pents08.jpg]the Eight of Pentacles.[/url] "Yes, you are at the mercy of an unknowable mistress, a powerful being who moves under the pale silver light."
	
	His eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't know what to think of any of that. It had seemed plausible at first - that he was starting out his journey with a keen intellect and ready mind, Percy already knew that to be true. But being in love with someone? And then... serving some sort of mad force of the moon? Percy didn't know what to make of that. It sounded ridiculous. The first bit more than the second part. Maybe the Moon actually was referring to his sister, Diana, and that she was going to need his help with something in the future. Agatha didn't know anything about him - how could she begin to interpret these cards?

	[color=ed1c24]"If I'm alone, then that's so much for this love,"[/color] he said somewhat antagonistically. [color=ed1c24]"And got it, I won't sell my soul to any creepy women glowing with moonlight, that sounds easy enough to avoid."[/color] As soon as he said it though, he felt fate's threads tighten around him. That was how most Greek tragedies happened - someone trying to avoid something, and instead, it happened. 

	"Yes, I am sure that is a comfort to you, knowing you will lose your only love," Agatha said dryly. She did not like Percy Novikov. He had gone from being comfortingly ordinary to frustratingly not. And now he was arguing with her about her reading. Agatha hated it when people argued. 

	[color=ed1c24]"I'm not the romantic type,"[/color] Percy agreed, standing up from the chair. [color=ed1c24]"But you know that, don't you? You saw everything about me unfold before you in those cards, there's no way that a single detail could've been misinterpreted, but let's see... [i]Who[/i] am I in love with, Agatha? Because I sure as hell don't know and your entire thing falls apart right there!"[/color]

	Agatha saw red. She ordinarily would not have revealed a detail like this about the future. She tried to keep things vague, to keep things open to interpretation. She didn't want to force things like this on a person. But he had challenged her. And Agatha Harkness did not back down from a challenge. Another card hit the table like a bullet - the Wheel of Fortune. Another Major Arcana pull. Another major force. Agatha's eyes let her see what others could not. 

	"You are in love with Dorian Gray," Agatha said, her words cutting like a knife. 

	[color=ed1c24]"[i]What?![/i]"[/color] Percy shouted, unable to help himself. His heart was pounding a million miles a second. Dorian Gray?! The asshole who had possessed him with the gorgeous eyes?! There was no way in the world that Percy could ever love him - ever love someone like him. [color=ed1c24]"You must be looking into someone else's future - I [i]despise[/i] that idiot."[/color]

	"Love and hate, how easily the brain confuses them," Agatha shot back. She did not mean her own brain. 

	[color=ed1c24]"This is - this is [i]insane[/i]."[/color] He barely bit back a comment that Agatha needed to get her eyes checked - or that maybe she was actually being [i]fired[/i] because she lacked any magical skill. But logically, he knew neither of those things were true. Agatha Harkness was the greatest witch of countless generations. Her tarot readings were not a parlor trick. If she predicted something would come to pass... 

	Percy vowed right then and there to avoid Dorian Gray at all costs. 

	He would not fall in love. 

	He would not let this prophecy come true - self-fulfilling or otherwise. 

	[color=ed1c24]"Thanks, I think I've heard enough,"[/color] Percy said abruptly, getting up from his seat. The chair scraped the ground. 

	Agatha almost said [i]good[/i]. She did not really want to give this boy a trinket. But she really did need to clear out her stuff and make more room for new relics once she had moved to New Orleans. She reached into thin air and pulled out a pocket watch. She had acquired it from a friend of hers who had been interested in whether or not Agatha could translate the transcription - as far as they could tell, the language was nonexistent. It was untranslatable. But the watch itself was nice, correctly telling time no matter [i]when[/i] they were. 

	"Take this, [i]young hero.[/i] You'll need it," Agatha said. She tossed the watch to Percy. 

	Percy caught the watch, and his eyes briefly crossed as he stared at the inscription. He couldn't read it. Percy had never been able to not read something in ages. He couldn't remember a time when all languages just made sense to him. [color=ed1c24]"What's it say?"[/color] he asked Agatha. 

	"I have no idea," she replied. "If you ever figure it out, do be a dear and send a raven my way with the translation. I have a standing bet on it."