Aries: A people torn asunder by war over the ashes of their god-king. A fragile and tired peace. Grand bridges destroyed by the giants who built them. Tales across the dune seas, beyond the asundergrowth. Tales of an ancient and forbidden city at the waterfall valley, the oldest and greatest of its kind.
Taurus: A great and powerful king known as the architect. A lifelong infatuation with the builders of old, with their mountain temples and yawning stone aeries. A palace commissioned in their style in the hopes of gleaning new wisdom. Legends of the ancient and hungry thing that returned home to roost.
Gemini: A young solider, captured by the enemy, an impossible game of marksmanship for her release. Victory. The goddess of the hunt who took up the challenge herself. A star knocked from the very sky. The crossbow made from it.
Cancer: The poet with the feather in her cap. A life of travel and adventure, countless lines of romance learned and translated, all for a dream of the true language of love. Tales of trysts with queens and bandits and soldiers alike.
Leo: A corrupt and heretical priest, strangled in a fit of righteous fury with a thorned rose vine. Prostration before a loving god. A mantle of heretical miracles, to be wielded only against the apostates who would twist the divine will for their own gain. Thorns of iron dig into the flesh. A reminder.
Virgo: Whalers returning with wide-eyed tales of the colossal thing that broke from the clouds and stole their catch. For the first time in generations, the tundra goes silent for the lowing of sacred horns.
Libra: An uncharted island deep in an old and churning sea. Strange creatures and alien wildlife, evolving untold in years of isolation. Explorers and scientists climbing to the peak of the untouched jungle plateau, only to be met with one of the old whistling stones. A path marker of a forgotten people.
Scorpio: A young man sat in the imperial study, secret sacred tomes spread across his desk by candlelight. In a rough hand he carves the symbols of arcane calculus, shaping the block of fine wood into a prosthetic for his wounded mother.
Ophiuchus: The loom mother is long gone, but still her children’s children know how listen to the hatchlings, to hear them whisper of the secrets of herbs and stones. An empire built sulfur, silk, and saltpeter.
Sagittarius: An abandoned castle town. The site of an old atrocity. The market square where the mass graves were dug. The fruitless crimson tree that grew there. The sound of creaking wood in the night.
Capricorn: A great and powerful king. A man who built an empire.. Effigies carved into the rock of the great harbor. Epics of conquest still sung in the great halls. A legacy of untarnished glory, until the necromancers dug him up, and learned it was all a lie.
Aquarius: They say the college goes back to before the second era. That it used to be a monastery, that the library goes deep, deeper than the librarians say. The truth is that even the librarians didnt know what wandered the endless frozen sub-basements. How could they?
Pisces: Nobody remembers the people that lived here. Nobody even remembers their name. The roads through this place haven’t been maintained in centuries. Nobody remembers the people who lived here, but their god still stalks these old woods.
Reylee crouched down by the pond, cupping her hands and lifting the foggy water to her face. Jack’s face contorted in disgust as her sister slurped the fluid loudly.
“You know animals piss near their water sources, right?” She took several steps away from Lee as she stood, looking over her dripping hands and face in disdain.
“You see any other water nearby? We’ve been looking for this damned cave for weeks, Jack. ‘Sides, there’s no tracks, it’s been weeks since anyone else found this place too.” Lee smirked as she noticed Jack’s face, kneeling back down and dipping her hands into the water. “You sure you don’t want some~”
Jack’s eyes widened as she quickly backed up, but Lee moved just a little faster, flicking the handful of water at Jack. Most of it missed, but Jack scowled at her anyway. “You fucking heathen,” she took a menacing step forward, just as Lee scooped more water and threw it at her, Jack getting hit in the face this time. She stopped dead in her tracks, blinking in confusion. Did she actually just..?
Lee fell back laughing, narrowly avoiding landing in the pond, to no conscious thought of her own. Jack shook her now-wet hair out of her face, white strands still clinging to her forehead while she glared at the dumbass literally rolling on the grass.
“Are you done?” Jack’s irritation only made Lee giggle more, a hand coming up to cover her reddened face.
“Y-you should’ve seen-! Your face!” Jack’s frown deepened, before she huffed and turned on her heel. She walked towards the woods they had come from, not turning to look back once.
There was a splash from behind her, and she sighed and called over her shoulder, “Yeah, good luck getting me from over here, asshole.” There was no response, but Jack didn’t bother turning.
Another, louder splash, followed by a panicked, “Ja-!” had her spinning around though, just in time to see Reylee’s bright red hair disappear under the water.
And it turns out they see the person with the tattoos first. Ray lets out a quiet “Damn,” before he points the pair out to Sav. She turns and walks over to them, waving slightly as she gets close.
“I see both the lanky redhead and the badass tattoo sleeves, would you happen to be the right people?” She tries to sound confident, but she cant help looking around to make sure there wasn’t another pair that looked exactly like them.
The redhead bounces up, grinning. “Sav n’ Ray, right? You found the right guys!”
Besides him, Sofia offers a softer, warmer smile, standing and offering a hand to shake as well. “A pleasure to meet you two in person. Everything alright getting here?”
“Eyyyyy! Hell yeah, its good to meet you guys too!” Sav speaks louder than was probably acceptable for the quietness of the cafe, but she doesn’t seem to mind as she takes Sofia’s hand and shakes it. “No, no trouble at all! Since you got here earlier than us, im guessing you guys got here okay too?”
Ray stands next to her with a soft smile on his face, offers a wave instead of shaking her hand. “Those are some sweet tattoos,” he eyes her arms with a bigger grin.
“Good to hear! And we did, indeed. Take a seat; do any of you want any coffee?” Sofia hears Ray and beams slightly, and then in front of his eyes, the tattoos seem to shift, the inky patterns becoming a more floral design, though just as bright. “I’m glad you like them! They’re… a bit of an artistic outlet of mine.”
“They’re cool as fuck, and she loves to offer them to the rest of us except getting the tattoos doesn’t involve getting stabbed over and over, which is in my opinion, much better.” Will keeps his voice somewhat low so that he’s not shouting it, calmer now.
Ray doesn’t hear her coffee question at all, instead lighting up in a very “!!!!!” fashion as he watches them move. “Thats so cool, holy shit, fucking rad outlet, dude!” His gaze shifts over to Will as he speaks up, and his eyes widen as his jaw drops. “And do you guys not accept or are you rocking some too?”
Sav, meanwhile, pulls out a chair and sits down, resting her cheek on her fist while she listens to the three of them talk. During a pause, she says “I could actually go for a coffee. Want me to go grab you one too?”
Brightening, Will rolls up a sleeve to indicate an intricate phoenix that curls across his arm. “Hell yeah I accepted, it’s freaking wicked. I think Kit and Cal and the others also have some small ones, because it’s a neat little individuality thing and it’s also a mark we prefer to. y’know, strings, with their connotations and all.”
As the two talk, Sofia looks over at Sav. “It’s quite alright! Thank you, though, Sav.”
“Oh.. my god, thats fucking sick, dude!” Ray’s eyes are as wide as the moon as he looks over the phoenix, reaching his hand out to touch before pausing and waiting for permission. He glances up at Will, before looking back at the design. “If i hadn’t already been sold, you just got me hook, line, and sinker. Those count as your strings?” He reiterates, his mind racing with pure “!!!!!” energy.
Sav smiles at her a little sheepishly. “I wanna apologize for getting off track, but this is the liveliest he’s been since.. the Thing with you-know-who, so i cant in good conscious. The uh.. Those don’t hurt right?” She looks pointedly at Will’s arm too. She kind of remembers Ren asking, but figures now was as good a time as any to get her questions out of the way, and that was a decent enough segue.
And it turns out they see the person with the tattoos first. Ray lets out a quiet “Damn,” before he points the pair out to Sav. She turns and walks over to them, waving slightly as she gets close.
“I see both the lanky redhead and the badass tattoo sleeves, would you happen to be the right people?” She tries to sound confident, but she cant help looking around to make sure there wasn’t another pair that looked exactly like them.
The redhead bounces up, grinning. “Sav n’ Ray, right? You found the right guys!”
Besides him, Sofia offers a softer, warmer smile, standing and offering a hand to shake as well. “A pleasure to meet you two in person. Everything alright getting here?”
“Eyyyyy! Hell yeah, its good to meet you guys too!” Sav speaks louder than was probably acceptable for the quietness of the cafe, but she doesn’t seem to mind as she takes Sofia’s hand and shakes it. “No, no trouble at all! Since you got here earlier than us, im guessing you guys got here okay too?”
Ray stands next to her with a soft smile on his face, offers a wave instead of shaking her hand. “Those are some sweet tattoos,” he eyes her arms with a bigger grin.
“Good to hear! And we did, indeed. Take a seat; do any of you want any coffee?” Sofia hears Ray and beams slightly, and then in front of his eyes, the tattoos seem to shift, the inky patterns becoming a more floral design, though just as bright. “I’m glad you like them! They’re… a bit of an artistic outlet of mine.”
“They’re cool as fuck, and she loves to offer them to the rest of us except getting the tattoos doesn’t involve getting stabbed over and over, which is in my opinion, much better.” Will keeps his voice somewhat low so that he’s not shouting it, calmer now.
Ray doesn’t hear her coffee question at all, instead lighting up in a very “!!!!!” fashion as he watches them move. “Thats so cool, holy shit, fucking rad outlet, dude!” His gaze shifts over to Will as he speaks up, and his eyes widen as his jaw drops. “And do you guys not accept or are you rocking some too?”
Sav, meanwhile, pulls out a chair and sits down, resting her cheek on her fist while she listens to the three of them talk. During a pause, she says “I could actually go for a coffee. Want me to go grab you one too?”
And it turns out they see the person with the tattoos first. Ray lets out a quiet “Damn,” before he points the pair out to Sav. She turns and walks over to them, waving slightly as she gets close.
“I see both the lanky redhead and the badass tattoo sleeves, would you happen to be the right people?” She tries to sound confident, but she cant help looking around to make sure there wasn’t another pair that looked exactly like them.
TW: lots of fire and panic, mentions of death towards the end :)
---
Lex jumped across another gap, a small grin on their face as they shot across the roof, hearing Jackie getting farther and farther from them. Whether he was letting them win this race or they were genuinely faster, they weren’t sure but they didn’t care either way; being chased was fun and this was the first time all night Jackie had let them run off.
They were both quickly skidding to a stop though, when they noticed the plumes of smoke coming from the apartment building in front of them. “Clear out the first floor-” Jackie ordered quickly, stepping back so he could get a running start into one of the building’s windows.
Alex didn’t wait to see if he’d make it, jumping to the fire escape and sliding down to street-level. Glass shattered above them, and they hoped it was Jackie but knew better than to look up, instead following his lead and smashing the window next to them. Smoke immediately billowed out into the open air, but they took a deep breath and held it as they entered the room. A quick search had them realizing the apartment was empty, so they made their way to the main hallway.
There were only 6 apartments on the floor, so they made quick work of the next 2, finding both empty. On their hasty path towards the 4th, they passed a fire alarm that was shooting sparks from it, the lever completely missing.
They didn’t have time to dwell, so they continued along. They finally established the first floor was totally clear, so they took the stairs two at a time to the third floor. It was then that they finally registered that the flames were neon green and scaling upwards along the walls. Their breath hitched as they heard someone scream from one of the rooms at the end of the hall, quickly taking off to the sound.
The apartment door was hot, so they knew the fire was right on the other side, but they kicked down the door anyways, quickly stepping back so they didn’t get burned by the escaping flames that had been crawling up the doorframe. Just on the other side of the door was a young man, coughing and shaking, his eyes wide and teary. Lex sucked in a sharp breath, ignoring the burn in their throat as they leapt over the door and through the flaming frame, landing just in front of the man.
He went to ask them something but cut himself off with a coughing fit. Lex didn’t wait for him to come down from it, quickly grabbing him and hoisting him over their shoulders into a fireman carry. He yelped, or close to it, clinging tighter to them as they leapt back over the door. The flames along the frame licked at both of their clothes, the man screaming as he felt the heat through his jeans. Lex couldn’t feel it through their costume, but looked down to make sure they were clear.
They made their way back to the stairs as quickly as they could, avoiding the long lines of flames that almost appeared to.. Be snaking towards them? The guy was whimpering, his chest jerking as he tried to hold back his coughs, so Lex jumped back down the stairs, two at a time, almost carelessly. The flames along the first floor had gotten worse, the walls were creaking ominously as the wooden beams inside them burned.
Alex’s heart sank as they heard, running even faster to deliver the man outside of the building. There was a crowd outside, a few people on their phones, talking to who Lex hoped was emergency services. A couple people took the man off of Lex’s back, a gasp resonating through the crowd as several windows blew out on all three floors.
“Everyone stay back until more help gets here!” They shouted, running back inside without waiting for a response. The smoke had gotten thicker, the flames louder and bigger, and Lex’s chest was screaming again. They couldn’t stop, couldn’t wait for the fire department, so they rushed back up the stairs through the haze of black clouds. They threw a quick glance into the floor Jackie had landed on, anxiety doubling as they noticed the flames seemed worse there.
Still, they had to keep going, so they ran back up the next flight, seeing knee-high walls of fire everywhere along the ground, in front of the doors, and everything about this was off, but there were people yelling for help behind at least three of the doors, and there wasn’t enough time, they had to fucking move-
Another door went crashing down as Lex threw their shoulder against it, the people inside the apartment screaming. The hair on Lex’s neck stood on end as they ran up to the trio, noticing the two little kids being held protectively against their mother’s sides.
“I can take them, we gotta evacuate!” They yelled over the roar of the flames, the flames that seemed to be closing in on them and the room, the mother was crying, ushering her kids to Alex. They picked the two up, clutching them to their sides awkwardly as they then gestured for the mom to follow. They rushed back through the apartment, the mother skidding to a halt as she noticed the door had been engulfed, just in front of the doorframe. Lex didn’t notice she had stopped, using her momentum to leap back over the flames, quickly turning as if to catch the mother.
“Go! Get them safe!” She was yelling, but Lex took a step towards her.
“I won’t leave you!” These kids wouldn’t end up orphaned if they could help it. A cold shiver ran down their spine despite the heat of the flames, and the kids were coughing into their hands
“Please! Come back for me once they’re safe!” She took a step back further into the apartment, and Lex sucked in a shaky breath. Their anxiety spiked harder as they registered why they had shivered: someone was watching them.
“I will, I promise,” they yelled back, turning just in time to notice the flames had snaked closer and were biting at their costume. The heat was finally permeating the fabric, and they knew it would burn through soon if they didn’t hurry. A quick glance around didn’t reveal who was watching them, but the feeling hadn’t faded at all. Their vision was blurry and tears were streaking down their soot-covered face, so they took off as fast as their aching lungs and shaking legs could take them, stumbling down the stairs and nearly crashing to the ground outside. The kids were deposited safely, despite Lex’s knees giving out as soon as they were free.
An older woman was at the front of the group, and she ushered the kids towards her. “I’ll watch them, you need to rest-”
Lex didn’t let her finish, forcing their aching body up to their feet. “Their mom is stuck, gotta get her, I got this,” their words were slurring and the haze from the smoke had followed them outside, but their heart was pounding in their chest and they had to get everyone out.
They were swaying, someone was coming to help them stand upright, but the sound of wood splintering inside the building had their adrenaline racing harder, giving them the energy to spin and run back upstairs. There was barely a path to the stairs, but they jumped over and through what they could, ignoring the pain from sparks finally searing through their costume. Their hands were sweaty but a cold spike had settled into their stomach, and they just had to keep moving, had to get upstairs.
The second floor was nothing more and a black cloud, thick enough that Lex couldn’t actually see the flames through it, but they could hear them crackling and roaring, and more support beams were creaking and snapping below them, and they had to keep going.
The stairs were little more than a blur, panic seeping into their bones as they swung too fast around the landing rail, slamming into the cement wall; they were shaking and they couldn’t control their limbs as well as normal. They were gasping for breath as they ran up the stairs, wiping furiously at their eyes just in time to come face to face with a wall of flames taller than them.
They gasped harshly as the excessive heat slapped them in the face, taking a step back down the stairs as the gasp finally set off the coughing fit they had been fighting since they got into the building. They searched desperately for a way around the flames through their cloudy vision, not seeing anything but the flames and smoke. There were people yelling, screaming and begging for help, and Alex tried to push themselves up, but the flaming wall had gotten closer, forcing them back down the stairs.
Heat seared at the back of their neck, making them notice a new wall of fire had formed on the landing too; they were cornered and the walls were closing in. The wall in front of them jumped towards them, a large tongue flicking towards their face, eliciting a scream as they rapidly backed away. They were too aware of the fire behind them, their heart racing as it closed in further.
There had to be a way out, someone had to be coming- a dark figure was at the top of the stairs, just behind the wall of flames. “Get back! Help’s coming!” They didn’t know that, but they wouldn’t risk more civilians. Distantly, they realized the figure shouldn’t have been as close to the flames as they were, but another round of coughing dislodged the thought.
The walls were still closing in, and Lex’s heart was in their throat; the figure hadn’t moved, seemingly watching them as they struggled for breath, the remaining tenants were screaming, nothing more than panicked sounds as the fires raged around them all, and their mind was racing, clinging desperately to any hope they had that help was-
All at once they remembered their comms, tapping into Jackie’s channel. Their voice was raspy and hoarse, every word hurting, “Need help- please.” There was a long moment of silence, static and flames the only response. They were surrounded on all sides by the fire, and it was too close, far too close. The heat was unbearable, and they were coughing more and more as the smoke finally pushed its way into their lungs fully.
They switched channels quickly, hoping Ace was awake to answer. They were quickly coming to terms with this being the end, and their heart was clawing at their throat, pounding nearly out of their chest. They couldn’t die here, they had to save the people, had to fucking get out, where was the fire department- was the figure getting closer?
Ace answered just as another coughing fit took over, his first words were that the fire department were already en route, and would be there within the minute. Despite themself, Lex breathed a small sigh of relief, their body still tense. They might not get out, but everyone else still had a shot-
The wall of fire behind them singed the hair on their neck, and they jumped forward, their legs giving out quickly. Ace was calling their name, begging for them to respond, to hang on, to pull their shirt over their mouth. Lex realized they should’ve done that far before now, and now they couldn’t get a grip on the neck of their costume.
The flames were practically on top of Alex, licking at their whole body, burning through their costume. They ducked their head between their arms, finding it ever-so-slightly easier to breathe here.
“D-dad, love you, love you all-” they forced the words out, tilting their head to the side to cough. He had to know, the three of them had to know, Alex needed them to know before they- The figure had gotten closer, still just a fuzzy dark shadow, silhouetted by the flames. Something was wrong; the person looked like they were on this side of the flames.
Lex’s trembling hand reached out, to touch them? To see if they were even real? Before it gets close, it falls limp against the concrete stairs as they gasped, desperately pulling what little air there was into their lungs.
Were they really going to die here, alone and with people they hadn’t saved? Their vision was darkening, another twinge of panic racing through their veins. They heard a cruel laugh blend with the scream of the flames, and then-
I'm really not the best, but I'm glad to be able to giive you guys optiions to work around Asshole McGee's bullshiit :P
^ At the very least, youre pretty great :p I think Ren’s talking with Sofia rn, hopefully they can work something out, cause the less we have to worry about that dickbag, the better. Also, i love your nickname for him XD
I am indeed, and Sam’s being a grumpus abt it :P how’re you doing, Will?
She worked around it by beiing the scariier puppetmaster to fuck wiith, we thiink. Won't fuck wiith your puppets iif they're bound to a biigger fiish iin the pond.
^ Oh hell yeah, that would make sense, in which case im actually kinda excited to meet her??? Fucking hell yeah, youre the fucking best :D i.. hope she can help us out too, even if im not really- you know what, i wont jinx stuff XP
Hey uh... yeah, you should diiscuss the whole bound thiing wiith her, yeah, but for what it's worth... the majoriity of us were bound to Scriibe before Sofiia came iin, so iit honestly iis possiible that she could protect you guys. Hey, Sav. I'll DM you guys her stuff and you can reach out from there.
Thanks Will, youre amazing and im so glad you checked in. Youre.. quite literally a lifesaver
^ Exactly that. But also, how the hell did she work around the bound thing? Cause if she can actually free these two, then we dont necessarily have to even stick around and bother yall!
Want me to giive you her contact iinfo? She's open to talkiing to you guys about that, I'm pretty sure. Sam, don't worry too much about iit; not liike any of us are scared of the sack of gliitches anyways. If we can help you guys out... hell, why not?
Could you? Would you mind?
$ *Ren*, do- did you forget the fucking??? Mark on our arm? I know you guys arent scared of him, which is a whole different thing, but we *just* finished saying how you should rest and have a break. Us bring him to you is.. dangerous and dumber than most of the shit I do, and exactly opposite of yall having a break
^ I heard Sam was being overprotective and dumb? Hi Will, who's contact info? What about axel?
I'm fiine now, don't worry. Fae heal fast :P And yeah, iit was... somethiing. He took Cal to- I dunno, make a poiint or somethiing, and she tracked hiim down, got them outta there and... I heard she carved him up pretty harshly to make her poiint.
$ that why he’s been so quiet? ha, im glad.. that you heal fast, i mean.. she sounds like she does actually keep you safe tho, and thats the most important thing..
You know what im gonna ask, right Will?
$ ren, dont. how did we both have such big 180s, you fucking sound like me, and you know damn well where ive gotten us, so fucking please stop while we’re ahead and not on anyone’s hit list?
Sam, when I say iit took me a whiile to actually trust her, I mean iit took me nearly a month, her protectiing Cal after Axel came after them, and a couple unrelated stabbiings that weren't taken advantage of- and she never triied to forciibly recommend the striings. I thiink she's legiit. It iis super fuckiing weiird, just by how rare that iis, though.
$ holy fucking shit.. i.. im so glad you found her then.. n.. n hopefully she is legit, you guys need so much of a break, and quick tangent, stabbings? are you okay?
Um, you said she actually protected Cal from him..?
Superfamiily :P And... yeah you've got iit all. iit's?? Weiird? Trust me, iit took me a whiile to even accept her offer (because, siide note, she's one of those PM's that waiits for your acceptance before she giives you her striings?) There apparently wasn't a catch to iit at all. Sofia- that's her name- just... wanted to protect us because thiis iis a thiing that she does regularly, apparently. Not gonna liie, she does giive off hardcore mom friiend viibes.
$ you say that like it happens often?? the whole “waiting for permission to give their strings” thing???? when has that e v e r happened before this, apparently?
$ i.. mom friend or not, theres gotta be something, something she didnt tell you, i- like, not to be that negative bitch, but this sounds like the exact definition of “too good to be true”, n i just.. really want you guys to all be safe
Sam, what if it isnt tho? That.. Will’s smart, and so are the rest of his friends, from the sound of it. She waited for permission??
$ why am i the wary one?? what the fuck, i dont like this, take it back
Yeah- count your blessiings, pretty much. Y'all are made of fuckiing steel, I swear. Shiit- my bad, not the greatest wiith words. Yeah, we're all good. We uh... okay, we found a puppetmaster who was pretty much wiilliing to take us under her wiing and offer protectiion from other puppetmasters, whiich iis... a pretty lucratiive deal for a lot of us.
$ pff yeah, call me kara zor el, sav’s alura, ray’s clark, cause hes a strongest of us.. n that makes trevor connor, we got a whole wack ass family tree in Superman canon, wack
$ not the point, you wanna run that by me again? you guys. found a PM, the same word that describes Axel and that Scribe motherfucker, but this one’s willing to protect you from those two n any other motherfucker running around? have i.. got that right?
$ cause if yes, what the hell is the catch? she take your soul or something? shes a vampire so its a blood donation daily? like, thats too fucking good to be true, will???
Nah, I get iit. That shiit shakes you and really shiifts your outlook on some thiings. Is Ray doiing okay? I've been doiing... better, actually. We've all been doiing a lot better lately, though we've had a few major shiifts around here.
^ You can say that again.. Ray’s um.. hes okay, just.. we’re all still fuckin reeling, basically. Its been a fuckin month but its still like it was yesterday..
$ we took him to a hospital, told the doctors that some prick tazed him a bunch, n they got him checked out. apparently, hes lucky he doesnt have a stutter? which like.. wack, lucky isnt the word id really use, but you uh.. take what you can :p
$ major shifts meaning? are you guys okay? like, better yeah, but that sounds sus af?
