Unwelcome Child
Value: 5
Notions • Cats • Clocks • Wind
Meanings: Bad luck, imbalance, things undesired, outcasts, duplicitousness
The Unwelcome Child is unwelcome because she is a horror. No one sees her for what she truly is, and they assume that the terrible things that happen around her have other causes. She maintains a facade of sweetness and love, exploiting our own inherent affection for children. She uses our desire to nurture against us. At best, once we have realized her nature, all we can really do is cast her out. Anything more would be wrong, for she is, after all, only a child. The Unwelcome Child is the apprentice of the Notions family and brings them no joy.
Divination: A negative card to be sure, the Unwelcome Child almost always involves one getting something they do not want. Alternatively, the person in question could be the unwanted one, and they might be exiled or cast out. The Unwelcome Child suggests a lie or something out of balance. Something that should be positive is not, but unlike with the Misunderstood Beast, this comes through no fault of the person in question. It is the result of an accidental imbalance at best or an intentional deception at worst.
Game Narrative: Disaster strikes. A curse or plague ravages the area. An NPC has deceived someone. Someone is exiled. An NPC infiltrates a location under false pretenses to do something awful. A child is involved in something of import.
Joy: An NPC foe experiences terrible luck. An NPC foe places their faith in something that they should not.
Despair: The PC experiences terrible luck. The PC’s own magic becomes a curse that afflicts them. An NPC has deceived the PC. The PC is given a gift that is, in fact, something awful.
The cat knew the truth, but no one would listen to it.