Zodiac Glimpses

[Zodiac]

Sacramento.

She didn’t recall the last time she’d been in the California area. It was probably irrelevant. SMCC was what was relevant at that precise moment. A collection of artifacts that had piqued her curiousity, though she’d yet to hear anything about what was there. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t.

“We would’ve heard something more if there was something to be concerned about,” she stated to the person over the receiver as she watched the truck calmly from her vantage.

“It’s hard to say for sure, Mandy, but use your discretion about it.” Her discretion. That was funny. “Just don’t piss off the local Mysterium this time?” The sigh from the phone was resigned. Eclipse knew all too well how the brunette felt about the Mysterium and its collections. Fools. Arrogant fools at that.

“It’s not like they’ve even figured out what happened,” Mandy responded with a small snort. “They think they’re so clever-“ she cut off in her speech as the line went dead, leaving her to roll her eyes and detach the receiver from her ear. “Thanks for that,” she muttered with a sigh as she shifted in her perch to make herself more comfortable.

Breaking in just for the sake of looking around was silly. She needed a more substantial lead in this instance – especially with the headache she knew she’d get from Eclipse later on if she didn’t. Resting her chin in her hand, she huffed a little for a moment before pulling out her cellphone and checking the time. Nearly nine… no wonder if was getting dark.

Giving the building a last look of contemplation, she shook her head. There would be a better time for this. She could check it out during the day, when it was open. No need to start a fuss or create issues. It was just that easy, really. No need to use magic unnecessarily, no need to create a big deal. Hell, maybe she’d even check in on the local consilium first so she had an idea of who she might piss off.

Getting to her feet she brushed a little dirt off her cheek, succeeding in simply smudging it across her face as she turned and headed off. She supposed figuring out the way things were in this area wasn’t such a bad thing, nor would it be so bad to alert her local compatriots of her presence – they generally appreciated that.

Moving into a light jog, she headed towards the lights of the city thoughtfully. She had a place she was staying for now, but she was hardly going to cozy herself in before she checked in with the consilium. Of course, she was reasonably good at keeping her presence unnoticed if she didn’t want to be heard from or noticed. A disgruntled furrowing of the brows followed that as she conceded even in her own head that there were others who were better. It just meant she had to get better.

It meant continually pursuing excellence, even when it was excellence in something terrible.

[Zodiac]

The only lights that lit her room were a pair of tall beeswax candles settled on the table and the warm glow of the coal that faintly reflected off of the tinfoil that surrounded it. An L-shaped couch had been settled into that corner, across which Zoey sprawled comfortably in an oversized button-up shirt with a blanket cast over her legs.

A tall hookah – fondly named Absinthe – sat in the middle of the table, the pipe itself settled at her lips as she inhaled slowly and deeply, placing her thumb over the nozzle as she pulled away and rested her head back against a pillow. A soft click click click sort of noise came from her as smoke rings puffed from her mouth, leaving her to watch them with a contemplative expression.

Everything could be read, in its own way, blades of grass to puffs of smoke. There was no SOS in the smoke she blew, though, only relaxed thoughtfulness. The scent of raspberries filled the room with each puff of smoke, and each time Zoey worked to shoot a small ring of smoke through a larger one. This was a ritual, of a sort. Every night Absinthe and she had some bonding time, contemplating life and its purpose and meaning, occasionally opening her journal to jot something down, or to read something else over.

She had briefly considered the possibility that the smoke might bother her fauxbalmates, to begin with, but eventually decided that the room itself was large enough that it would air out just fine all on its own. Besides, it was raspberry scented. If they had a problem with raspberry scented shisha then there was definitely going to be a problem, but it wasn’t on her for now. This was how she relaxed. This reminded her of days she missed terribly.

Looking at a pair of pictures that had been in her journal, Zodiac sighed to herself a bit, running her fingers along the edges of the image fondly, though her expression was wistful more than anything. Eventually, she might go back. But she had never been the settling in sort… and that felt weird to her even now. Despite the theatre, despite the fauxbal, despite the consilium… she’d chosen a place to settle.

She took a long puff from the hookah and closed her eyes, not bothering to try and make smoke rings as she slowly exhaled. She still had to report in to Eclipse about the development, though she didn’t relish the conversation with the Banshee. But then, she never really relished conversations with any Banshee.

Of course, that being said, she had to find her path, as well. She knew what she needed to do – the problem was simply finding a mentor in that process.

Another puff of smoke escaped her, a large donut settling in the air before she waved a hand through it. She had a lot of work to do.

[Zodiac]

Interviews weren’t much her thing, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t reasonably good at them. When it came to work, she was dedicated and serious, and her professional attire said nothing to the contrary. Her hair was thoroughly straightened and pulled up into a bun, a small folder was prepped in her messenger bag and a warm smile settled on her face as she stepped into the building, her heels making a soft clicking noise against the flooring.

“Good afternoon,” Zoey greeted the woman behind the desk, “my name is Rhiannon Ecklund, I have an appointment to see the curator?”

This could’ve been done much faster, but the process behind working in an area like this was excruciating. The SCS examination had been interesting enough, the classifications she’d been offered were… also interesting.

As the woman looked up, she offered a smile and a nod. “Just a moment, please, miss Ecklund, I’ll page him,” she quipped, lifting up her phone quickly and dialling a number. “… Mister Reighter? You’ve a Miss Ecklund to see you. Yes, yes of course,” she chuckled a little, looking up at the woman for a moment before smiling. “Well, you know I can’t leave the desk, but I’ll get Sarah to show her the way up. Uh huh. Uh huh. Alright. Thanks.”

Hanging up the phone, the woman looked around for a moment, before waving a young blonde thing over. “Sarah! Hey,” she called, moving around her desk as Sarah approached and gesturing between the two. “Sarah, this is Miss Ecklund, she’s got an interview with Mister Reighter. Can you show her to his office, please?”

Shrugging a little, the all-American looking blond nodded, offering her hand. “Hey,” or maybe she was all British? That accent said something other than American. “Sarah Jones.”

“Rhiannon Ecklund,” she introduced herself in return, smiling to the younger girl, who gestured for her to follow after a quick shake of the hand.

“Applying to work with us, huh? They haven’t been taking a lot of applications since they first filled this place out, so you must have some pretty fancy credentials under your belt,” Jones chuckled to herself as she led the way towards the back, and up a staircase.

“Harvard U, Classical and Mediterranean Archeology,” she stated with a smile, “plus some groundwork experience in Europe, South America, a little in Egypt, that old shtick.” They took credentials pretty seriously, did they? Seemed strange that the girl was working there, then. “How about you?”

“Harvard, huh?” the blond paused to look at her in wonder. “Yeah I don’t have a big-name school. I’m studying Anthropology at CSU,” she chuckled, “um, this is just an internship thing, so I don’t really get to brag or anything. Still, it’s a pretty cool place to intern!” she laughed as she stopped outside of a door, knocking lightly.

“Come in!” sounded from a burly voice on the other side of the door, and the blond opened the door to poke her head in.

“Mister Reighter? Miss Ecklund,” Jones introduced politely, holding the door open to give Zoey a clear view of the man in the room beyond. There seemed to be a little black left to his mostly grey hair, but he looked up over a pair of glasses to the pair of women in the doorway.

“Thank you, Sarah.” He stood, moving around his desk, and offered a hand to Zoey as she stepped in. “Miss Ecklund, thank you for coming. Please, have a seat,” he gestured to a chair as he leaned against his desk.

“Thank you,” she stated quietly to Jones as the door closed, before shaking the man’s hand and sitting herself in the offered seat, pulling her bag over her shoulder and reaching in to withdraw the portfolio of papers and degrees. “Thank you Mister Reighter. I hear this is an honour – you don’t take many new applicants?” Zoey inquired, chuckling lightly before offering the portfolio.

"Indeed we don't tend to, but it happened that we had an opening for someone with your talents." The man took the portfolio, but set it aside without looking at it for a moment to simply watch the woman. “So as I understand it Miss Ecklund, you’re here to apply for a position as the Collection and Archives Manager,” he stated, not yet looking away from the younger woman.

Zoey simply smiled with a nod. “I spent plenty of time collecting items elsewhere in the world, it’ll be nice to compile the work for others to enjoy. Plus I enjoy cataloguing – as bizarre as I’m sure that may sound,” she added with a little chuckle.

Reighter smiled in response, granting her a nod before flipping through the folder absently. “Your documentation was already forwarded to me, Miss Ecklund, and your professional and academic resumes are impressive. I’m sure there are many places you could choose to work and get a job no problem. Why here?”

That question caught her off-guard, and she took a moment to think on it, her expression serious when she finally did. “Because I’m at a time in my life where I want to settle down somewhere. As exciting as digs are, it’s hard to do the get-married-and-have-kids thing when you’re constantly on the go. Sacramento is the place I chose to settle down, and this is a highly esteemed museum. State of the art equipment, a high trained staff, great access to a wide variety of artifacts… it’ll feel a little like being in the field without having to do the travel.”

He seemed to contemplate her words for a few minutes in turn, absently browsing over the documents in his hand. A part of her wanted to bend this in her own favour – check his aura, emotionally urge, something to that effect – but the brunette was reasonably confident that her work would speak for itself. And when the folder clicked closed and the man looked at her over the top of his glasses, any nerves she had were settled.

“Welcome to the team, Miss Ecklund. You have a seven thirty start on Monday. We’ll get you familiarized with the layout of the museum and set you up with some of the archival work. You’ll have time to set up your office as you like, but day one you should really meet your team.” Standing and offering her back her folder, the man smiled. “I have a good feeling about you, Miss Ecklund. I look forward to working with you.”

“… thank you, sir,” she smiled as she stood to take the folder, putting it away before offering a hand politely. “I look forward to working with you and your team as well.”

[Zodiac]

There were a hundred and one things reeling through her head that made her feel every part the antisocial bitch that the preeners might've thought her to be. The car door was closed hard enough to catch the skirt she was unused to wearing in it, leaving her to frown and open the door, tucking the skirt inside before closing it again. She wasn't sure who her fury was most directed at. Star, for bringing his pretty little friends over and intruding on something that she had blatantly advised him was her plan? Possibly.

The intrusive duo? Of course she was infuriated by their presence. And of course the fucking little blonde diva wasn't intimidated by the cybergoth, they were both fucking gorgeous, pair of fucking bitches. Not like either of them had any idea about the history she and Pepper had to go making judgments. Pepper was apparently having a rougher day than she'd figured.

But wouldn't it just figure that she couldn't go to a damn bar with someone and bring them home, or just have a good time with a friend without people coming by to rain on her parade. She was out to celebrate. She was out to celebrate getting her new job, and she'd meant to do so with her cabalmates. Nous, too, when she'd noticed the other woman. And, hell, even Pepper, when she'd realized. People she knew. Enlightened individuals. Not a pair of dumb-ass bar whores.

And of course that was the kind of chick that Star hung out with. That figured, didn't it? Totally figured. At least he'd clarified that neither of those twats were his girlfriend, cuz she'd be making a damn clear rule of 'keep that bitch out of my place' as a rule number one for the 4th Wall. She wasn't liable to wait long, she'd offered a ride and that was about all the offering she was doing, and her waiting even as long as she’d planned was about as polite as she was feeling.

It didn't stop her from turning on the car, though, music promptly filling the vehicle. Her kind of music. The sweet sound of a violin opening the Lindsey Stirling Phantom of the Opera medley that swiftly turned to a heavier rock version. Her forehead rested against the steering wheel as she took the few moments of peace to try and feign some form of calm.

She recalled her father back in high school... she recalled his expression when she'd expressed that she wanted to play the violin, and the way he'd scoffed and laughed at her. She remembered how painful that feeling had been, and how quickly she'd gotten over it when he explained his reasoning.

"I don't think I could live in the house with the high pitched squealing of you learning to play the violin, peaches," he'd told her. He made a fair point. She wasn't very good with instruments, anyway. She'd played percussion briefly, because high school demanded some form of music be taken. People who could play instruments were rather lucky individuals, really. Singing was something of a joke to expect from her, realistically, just as most things of that nature were.

Elegance. Grace. Beauty. A quick glance flicked to the rearview mirror before she sat back in her seat, reaching to pull her seatbelt on. Things that just weren't her. Stick to dead civilizations, Rhea, she sighed to herself. People aren't worth much effort, given what pitiful things they strive for.

But she strove for some of that herself, didn't she? She was flawed. She recognized that. She'd recognized that plenty of times over the years. There was no one in the world who would state that she was perfect - least of all herself - and she refused to try to stack up to that, either. She was flawed. And people needed to recognize that flaws existed in people. They needed to see the flaws in themselves, as well.

Hell with it.

Just to hell with all of it.

She couldn't be bothered to care. Every time she started to open up this shit happened. So why should she invest the time and energy? After the song had ended, she shut it off and looked to the passengers for a moment. She’d already waited longer than she’d intended. If anyone else was coming, they would have come already.

[Zodiac]

The envelopes that she had prepared unfortunately were distributed after she received Star’s, though she had the courtesy not to unfold the letter that had slid under her door before she put it in the envelope. From there, the empty envelopes were left at the table in the seats usually frequented by Avis and Asp.

As for herself, she had a challenge to write of her own. Her… ‘friends’… likely expected a couple things in particular from her, which was why it had taken her the amount of time it had to come up with an idea. This wasn’t meant as a means of showing off – this wasn’t meant to be a shining example of her skills. This was meant to find flaw in her own abilities… In their abilities as a unit.

And yet that didn’t stop her from wanting to give them a puzzle. A real puzzle. Not some game-like puzzle or riddle, but a true code. It took her some time as she jotted down a couple of things before a small smile settled on her features. A teamwork challenge. Something that was distinctly difficult for her – working as a team to solve a puzzle. She had a tendency to take charge, she knew that…

… she also knew that VT had a tendency of following their own whims and not necessarily listening to reason. That was what this needed to be about. Puzzles. Working together. Teamwork.

Somehow she just knew, though... this challenge would be more frustrating to her than to anyone else in the group. Even once the letter itself was completed, Zodiac wasn't finished. A piece of paper made its way onto a large surface in her room and pencil began to scribble across the map. There were a number of ways to solve this challenge - of course there were - but she was curious which method their unit would take.

Once she'd achieved a series of sketches, she began her work on clarifying them and breaking them down. In the end there were only going to be two options - the day the selection was made for the challenge, she would pull which maze to create. A set of reasonably simple - well, at least by her standards - puzzles and statements were laid out with each. Memory Hole was going to be her resolution to knowing the correct paths in this case.

She'd need to make a few preparations, of course... and probably get a hand from someone better with crafts than she was... but this was certainly working itself into something solid...

The Letter

Find the way to the correct exit in under three hours without destroying or altering the maze. Each doorway can only be opened by a majority vote.

[Zodiac]

You’ve changed…

Grey eyes watched the rather tired-looking frame of the woman who entered the house. She slunk herself slowly to a bench and sat, assaulted by a pair of young children before she could even take her coat off.

… Are you okay?

The brunette smiled to the children, too young to fathom the older woman’s mood, and a small wrapped parcel was given to each of them, excited shrieks escaping the two as they clutched the gifts to their chests.

“Now, now, go put those under the tree,” the blonde instructed the duo, and watched the momentary sulks before the two disappeared from the room. The smile on the brunette’s face continued, though she knew the woman well enough to see right through it. Even still, the false smile… was new.

Once she’d divested herself of her coat and shoes, the homeowner finally moved in and wrapped her arms carefully around her ordermate.

“Welcome back, Mandy,” she greeted the still quiet brunette, feeling the arms of the taller woman wrap around her as the brunette wordlessly buried her face into her shoulder. She wasn’t ready to talk… and that was okay, too. If the Moros knew anything it was that the woman would talk when she was ready, and no sooner.

The hug was short-lived as Ozymandias offered the briefest of smiles to her again and sighed. “It’s good to see you Mel. And the kids… they’re bigger than I remember.”

They’re not the only ones who’ve grown…

“Well, Celeste is almost twelve now,” she pointed out to the other as she escorted her companion into the kitchen, “I mean, we’ve actually had to get her a bra with an underwire – can you imagine?” It was a light, teasing tone that left her as she spoke. “And Sol is nine…” Eclipse shook her head a little bit. Her kids really were growing up. “He has a girlfriend, supposedly. They hold hands and everything.”

Mandy’s brow rose at the blonde as she sat down at the island in the kitchen, overlooking the beautiful living room. Of course, a Moros had no reason not to have beautiful things… but then, the necromancer also knew that the value of those things was essentially non-existent. The only things in the room that had worth, truly… were its occupants.

“Well, I suppose that does make him all grown up, then, doesn’t it?” Mandy rolled her eyes a little bit, but for a moment a hint of true mirth showed on her features. Eclipse smiled to herself. She was winning. Talking about the problem wouldn’t fix things until Ozymandias was ready to talk about things.

The children were finally granted their leave to open the multitude of gifts under the tree, and distraction commenced effectively, leaving the pair of mages to their cups of coffee – Mandy offering praise for the quality of the Moros’ coffee, as always.

And business… a little bit of it.

“So… Zodiac, now, is it?” Eclipse asked of the other curiously. “An interesting, if apt change.”

“What can I say? You follow the theme posed by your cabal when you join one.”

Eclipse felt the same unpleasant jolt she’d felt before at that statement. There was only one time she’d ever known of that the woman had considered the notion of permanently remaining in one place… and that time had passed. Yet now… she set aside that feeling with a false smile – a thing she was much better at than ‘Zodiac’.

“I suppose that’s true. I hope they’re doing well by you,” though judging by the affection with which Mandy had made her statement, they were. “And from what I hear you’ve got a certain other pair of darlings quite well in hand, hm?” she chuckled absently as she thought on Mace and Pepper. She missed those little devils.

… ready for a family, huh?

Dinner came and went, and the kids were sent to bed, leaving the Moros sipping at a glass of wine while her house-guest took on task of dishes. A thing that used to be common. Used to be…

A soft sigh left her. “I’m… sorry about your mom, Mandy,” she offered as she set down the glass. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to be there with you.”

“… thanks for… y’know, keeping an eye on her. Letting me know what was going on… that sort of thing,” the brunette responded, glancing up as she finished loading the dishwasher, and dried her hands. “Not looking forward to telling my dad, though.” The Mastigos sunk into a chair herself, resting her head against the blonde’s shoulder, leaving Eclipse to stroke her hair gently.

“Things will be okay. You have the funeral date set and everything, right? Once that’s done… you’ll have the time to relax and mourn properly,” she stated softly.

“I don’t want to mourn,” the brunette frowned deeply, “I want to not hate myself for this. I mean, for the love of…” She sat upright, blue eyes settling on grey with a kind of ferocity. “I let my mother die. I let [i]my own mother[i] die, rather than creating some sort of miracle that could be veil-breaking. I know why I did it. I do. But…”

It was only a moment, and then silence again after a heavy sigh.

The silence lasted, and Eclipse poured her companion a drink before reaching to her pocket and setting something on the table. The silence endured, even after Mandy looked up.

Finally, a soft chuckle left her as she curled her hand around the ring and held it gently. “… you still have this, huh?”

“… Mandy, you know you can always come home, right?” If she was finally ready to settle in with a cabal… then maybe there was the chance… maybe she was ready for the commitment now…

“Now, more than ever, I can’t.” The words were heavy, on both of them, and Eclipse sighed. "I'll be heading back to Sacramento when things are dealt with here, I've a lot of work to do..." As Mandy began to hand the ring back, however, the blonde shook her head.

“Keep that. It belongs to you, after all.”

Keep it… and come back some day.

[Zodiac]

Some of these things were easier than others.

For instance, writing her goodbye to Aquinas was infinitely easier than writing it to Star...

Letter to Aquinas

Hierarch Aquinas;

It is with great dismay that I write you to inform you of my leaving. Certain local events, and certain events afar, have led me to return to Boston more permanently. I'm certain that you can understand that when it involves family, there are certain things that one must make a priority of.

I believe that this city will be in good hands under your careful guidance, and I'm certain that you'll find Veiled Threats has managed to organize many things that are ready to be implemented in their plans against the Banishers.

I thank you for the opportunities you've granted me here, and the lessons I've learned are those that will not go unheeded. I wish you, your family, and the Consilium of Sacramento all the best in the future. The Consilium of Boston, given its ties to those who now reside here, stands at the ready to offer what assistance it can should it be required.

Warmest regards,

Zodiac

Letter to Star

Councillor The Last Starfighter;

It's difficult to write this with any degree of seriousness when I open a letter with a title like that, I hope you're aware.

I'm certain that by the time you get this letter Councillor Avis will have made her statements on this subject, but regardless I feel that it's only appropriate that I inform you of my decision to leave Sacramento permanently. There's someone waiting for me in Boston, a woman and her children all of whom want me to be their family, for some reason I've yet to fathom. It seems I'm ready to make her a 'very happy woman' as it were.

I wish nothing but the best for you, this cabal and this Consilium on whole. You've done remarkable work in changing my opinion of you from day one. I have a lot of respect for where you've come from and what you've accomplished. I expect to hear many more great things from you in the future.

Best wishes,

Zodiac

There were those she'd grown close to, and those she'd remained at arm's length from all over the place, though none yoyo'd as much as Avis. Avis, whose last words to her were to say that she was weak. Words that she ignored in the moment, but that ate at her in quiet times.

Letter to Mace

Councillor Mace,

It's time for me to return home. Eclipse has been waiting a long time, and I think now is the right time for me to remove myself from this location. Don't let people's words run you down - take them as advice and improve with their support. Harden your shell, and fight.

But more than anything, don't let anyone force actions upon you that reflect poorly on you. That includes Nous, and Pepper if it should come to that. Remain true to yourself.

Respectfully yours,

Ozymandias

Letter to Pepper

Provost Pepper,

You've come so far, but there's still a long way to go, Hellion. Do as you always have - take all criticisms in stride, and learn from them. Learn and strengthen yourself. And remember - Nous is not your sister. She's your Cabalmate, but that doesn't make her perfect, either. Don't let her bad decisions draw you down that path.

All of this said, it's time to say goodbye - at least for a while. Eclipse and I will be getting married in a couple of months - you and Mace are both welcomed to attend the wedding, of course. In the mean time, stay strong and work hard. You'll get there.

Best wishes,

Ozymandias

But somehow the letter that was the hardest the write - the most painful - was the one she saved to the very last. An uninvolved casualty... an innocent bystander in the situation. One who wasn't at fault in the slightest... one with no contributions in the event who was the most likely to be hurt...

She sighed a bit as she put her pen to paper, sighing a little.

Letter to Asp

First Talon Asp

My dear friend Asp,

This letter comes with news that is both happy, and sad. Happily, I am getting married in a few short months - you are entirely welcomed to attend, of course! - but this does mean that I will be relocating to Boston once again so that I may be nearer to my wife and family.

You have my number, and you are always welcomed to call. I welcome you to stay in touch, and even to visit some time if you wish. You're an upstanding individual that I am proud to have known, never mind to have been in a Cabal with - and most of all, I am proud to call you a friend.
Never stop fighting, Asp. Never stop being you.

Sincerely,

Zoey

Each letter was settled into an envelope, a name written in flowing script on the front of each, before each one was distributed to the place it needed to be - a little touch of Fate settled on them to make certain they got to those they were meant for. The last box loaded into her little car, the brunette didn't look back as she started the vehicle, readied for a long drive.

It was time to go home...