Alright, shut the gypsy tent, this women was freaking Joe out. He kept as straight a look as he could, even after she spoke Ilaria's name and that she was a healer. He was nervy, his fingers were tapping on his knees and thighs as Rosella began speaking about him. He nodded along, as everything she was saying was true and correct. He couldn't not.

"...you are troubled by your dreams, and you seek me to know what they mean."

His fingers stopped tapping. Surprised was how he felt. He didn't have a mirror to know how he looked, but he imagined it to be the same.

"What did you see?"

The image he couldn't escape. It was clear as what his eyes had fallen down to space out and use as a background against, the crystal ball. He'd wake up in a cold sweat every other night. His drinking kept him from tapping into the dream realms the others. Heavy, drinking. The kind of session that would make him infamous around his old New York haunts.

Staring at the crystal ball, Joe told the young gypsy women of how the recurring dream.

With one hand still holding the strange pendant, Ilaria reached her free hand over to Joe, resting it on his leg as he spoke.  He'd told her of the dreams before, but she really had no idea what to make of them.  She only knew that she wanted the visions to stop torturing him.

The gypsy woman listened as he spoke, looking occasionally at Joe, and sometimes down at the cards which still laid face-down on the table.  She nodded a few times.  Finally, when Joe finished, she brushed a thick lock of hair behind her ear.

"Dreams are a link between what we know of ourselves and what we do not know of ourselves. Most people think of dreams like a film- what you see is what must be.  That is not the case in the dream world."

Her hand hovered over the first card, which she flipped over. The card depicted a skeleton riding a horse.

"You dream of death- the end of the life of the woman you love. But your dreams are not prophetic. This dream comes to tell you that there are great changes coming, for her, and therefore, for you as well."

Nodding toward Ilaria's belly, she continues.

"Some of these changes you are aware of, others, you are not.  It is the uncertainty that causes you to have these dreams of death.  We do not know what waits on the other side of this life, so it is that we do not know what our futures hold; which taps into fear."

She turned over a second card and looked at it for a few lingering moments.

"But the changes that come to you will not lead to destruction.  Instead, they will bring progress."

Another card is turned face-up.

"You must be careful, though, as there are armies that will seek to bring down your empire of gold. Boastfulness and pride can blind you to the gathering storm. The comfort of riches can be soft, but you must remain sharp to protect your treasures."

With that, the gypsy woman stood.  Barefooted, she walked slowly to where Ilaria was seated and stood behind her.  The woman closed her eyes and held her hands, palms down, over Ilaria's head. Silently she remained there for a moment, then moved her hands over Ilaria's shoulders, down to her arms, then reached around Ilaria to her hands.  Ilaria glanced uncertainly at Joe, but the allowed the woman to take her hands.  The pendulum dropped to hang by its chain, looped over Ilaria's finger. The gypsy then opened her eyes and watched as the pendulum swung this way and that over Ilaria's stomach.

"Your son will carry your legacy in his spirit, but he will not follow your path. You must let him learn his true nature, guide him, but do not force him. He will be a prince in a golden kingdom, but a priest in the streets of the oppressed."

There was so much to take in yet somehow Joe's mind wasn't ticking over like it usually did. He felt a little serene as she spoke her words of interpretation, like she was weaving the fabric of the universe into a soft blanket that was surrounding them both. Joe hadn't smoked weed for some time, since with Flexx in Detroit. He surely wasn't high.

With his attention casually focused on Ilaria, Joe watched the inner city gypsy work her magick. She looked like she knew what she was doing, Joe thought, even if he didn't. She did odd things, said odds things, yet was so much in her own conviction with what she was doing and saying it came across genuine, and if Joe were being honest, real.

Everything until now seemed insightful. Marvelous, even. And all worth paying attention to. But as soon as Joe heard Rosella mouth a certain paragraph of words, he felt something well up in him.

"Your son will carry your legacy in his spirit, but he will not follow your path. You must let him learn his true nature, guide him, but do not force him. He will be a prince in a golden kingdom, but a priest in the streets of the oppressed."

He'd never forget them till his dying breath. Something about them spoke to him more than anything else she had said or would say. Maybe it was because it contained information about his legacy, something his ambitions had sought since before he even knew it, and then since before then too. Or maybe it was the instructions on how to properly set the kid on the right path. It may have been a dash of both, mixed with a whole heap of fatherhood in general.

He'd never imagined it before. Being a father. But if he were going to do it, he'd sure as fuck do it right. His own father was an amazing person that was loved and cared for by the community he served fruit and vegetables to. If anything, he was well equipped to take on the task. And it wasn't until right in the moment the gypsy's words spun the emotions, that he was excited for it. He'd been looking forward to it, to see how he'd do and how he'd fair. But this solidified his inner delight for the task.

With a squeeze of Ilaria's thigh he sat with the thought, Joe Adonis is gonna to be a gangsta of a mother fuckin' role model.

Ilaria gave Joe an excited smile at the mention of his son. Maybe her dream was right after all. The gypsy used such cryptic language, but she seemed extremely sure of what she was saying. 

Rosella returned to her seat, watching Ilaria again for a moment with a strange smile. 

"Healer, your gift is highlighted by an indomitable patience and kindness, but you must know that there is a wolf inside of you. Cunning, loyal, protective...and vicious. The she-wolf ferociously guards her mate against enemies. This is where you will find yourself, and your strength. Do not fear her. The mother wolf is stronger than most, and she will teach you."

With that, the woman went silent. Both Joe and Ilaria seemed to be far away in thought, simmering on what they'd learned from this mysterious guide.