Starfish on the Beach

[Miranda Collins]

Sagittarius sat alone in the café, sipping on some herbal tea mix that was apparently a house specialty. He'd added a generous amount of sugar from the sugar bowl on the table to bring it up to his standards. He'd never tried it before, and upon tasting it discovered it was not as sweet as he would have liked.

He checked his watch: 10:42.

Exactly three minutes later, the café's front door swung open.

Capricornus stalked into the building; her hooves clicking on the tiled floor. She found Sagittarius quickly – it wasn't a large restaurant, and he'd worn a form she'd know. She purposefully made her way over to his table, ducking under the lights hanging from the ceiling so she wouldn't get her great, spiral horns caught, and set herself down on a chair.

Behind her followed Libra, and Sagittarius noticed that, though Capricornus' relatively loud entrance was what initially drew the attention of the café's other patrons, Libra held their attention far longer. Libra: of average height, average weight, indeterminate sex; with grey hair, grey clothes, and grey eyes. They walked at an average pace – neither too fast nor too slow – and when they sat down at the table, they adjusted their chair so that they sat the same distance from both Capricornus and Sagittarius.

This was Paragon, however, and even Libra's unnerving average-ness wasn't enough to hold the attention of the other patrons for long.

One of the young waitresses rushed over, notepad in hand. “And what can I get for you two, um, ladies?” she dared, eyes flicking to Libra.

“Nothing for me,” Capricornus said, smiling to show off her rows of sharp, pointed teeth. “I just ate.”

Sagittarius rolled his eyes behind Capricornus' back: though she looked every bit the monster, the Sea Goat had a soft spot for natural creatures, and was as much a herbivore as he was. But she did enjoy unnerving the mortals.

“I would like,” Libra said evenly: even their voice didn't give a clue as to their sex, “a regular tea. Now, listen carefully. I would like,” they counted off on their fingers, “one third of the cup to be tea. One third should be milk, and one third should be sugar. I would like it heated to exactly fifty degrees.” They continued on with a list of about ten other requests that would make their tea perfectly balanced. “Do you have all that?” they asked once they were finished.

The waitress took a second to answer, still scribbling the last couple of requirements. “Yeah, got it all.” Libra ordered the same thing every time they came here, but this waitress was relatively new, and hadn't gotten the routine down yet.

<<So,>> Sagittarius started once the waitress had gone to fulfill Libra's order, <<anything new to report?>>

Capricornus shook her head, idly picking at her teeth with a sharp claw. <<The bloody 'lock's got himself squirreled away somewhere. Probably hiding behind Scutum.>>

Sagittarius raised an eyebrow. <<And Scutums helping him?>>

Capricornus shrugged. <<Taurus' bunch are mostly indifferent; you know that.>>

<<Nothing on my end either,>> Libra added. <<He's very pointedly not summoned any of my people when he's doing his... research.>>

<<And of course,>> Sagittarius added grimly, <<Gemini is all over this.>>

<<Gemini was all over Ptolemy, too,>> Capricornus joked.

<<Not funny, Goat.>> Libra frowned. <<Ptolemy was->>

<<A monster?>> Capricornus finished their sentence for them. <<I know, Libra: I was there too, remember? Thing is,>> she leaned back in her chair, <<all we've got now is suspicion: a 'lock is spending a large amount of time with the Twins, and, more importantly, keeping most of the rest of us out of it. Something's up, that's for sure, and I don't think Robert's planning us a surprise birthday party. But until we know more, there's not much we can do at this point but watch and bore ourselves to Hades and back.>>

Sagittarius nodded. <<She's got a point, Libra. We're doing what we can at the moment. Telescopium and Reticulum are watching at all times. I, Sagitta, and Pyxis all have Pacts with his daughter; not that that's given us any intel yet, but it doesn't hurt.>>

Capricornus snorted. <<I don't see why we don't get the novice in on this: he'd never suspect his own daughter of espionage.>>

Sagittarius didn't even bother answering. Outside of their Pacts, the Celestials had agreed to pretty much leave the humans alone: interfering with the mortals could tip an otherwise precarious balance of power between the constellations. In the interest of peace, they'd agreed amongst themselves not to interfere... too much. Or at least, not get caught. Except now, of course, it seemed that the Twins were up to their old tricks...

<<Maybe I should just Pact with the girl, and tell her that she's got to spy for us if she doesn't want to break Pact.>> Capricornus continued thoughtfully.

<<You will not,>> Libra countered, seconds before Sagittarius said the same thing. <<There are rules to be followed; you know that. Sagittarius' Pact was too soon as it was, and the girl almost didn't have enough power to survive it. It's a wonder no one noticed that she hadn't actually summoned him. It'll take another couple of months before she's got enough excess for even one of our people, and at least until the New Year before she can handle another one of the Twelve. Unlike some,>> they added pointedly, <<we are not killers.>>

<<I know, I know,>> Capricornus said stubbornly. <<I was just sayin'.>>

“One tea,” their waitress appeared as if by magic, and placed a white mug in front of Libra who subconsciously slid it across the table until it was centered in front of them.

The waitress disappeared almost as quickly as she'd come, and Libra took a sip of their tea... then sighed. <<Too cold.>>