how we saved the world •a zodiac story•

elegantly lying

"Everyone wake up! North is that way," Virgo announced and pointed to the direction perpendicular to the sun. Speaking of which, sun had hardly been out for long. Leo groaned, reluctant to wake up, much like other members of Virgo's team.

Scorpio playfully nudged Aquarius with his foot. A long, muffled groan sang from below him. As she limply was still half asleep on the ground, Scorpio nudged her some more.

"This isn't like you," Scorpio whined. For as long as he could remember, Aquarius was always up before the sun rose and asleep long after it set, no matter what planet they were on. It was an easy observation since they both shared ungodly eye bags.

Aquarius muffled into her jacket. Only unintelligible muffles could be interpreted. Her voice sounded hoarse. What he could definitely understand was that she opposed.

  He gave one last sigh and lifted her by her arms. Her head drooped down and for the love of god, her body radiated heat! Circles of an unusual color painted under her eyes. Like a zombie, she coughed.

Scorpio's hand immediately retracted and left Aquarius to drop. She groaned and got up.

"Uh, are you okay?" Scorpio tried to sound not concerned. Knowing Aquarius, she would take it as an insult.

"Uh, yeah," she lied in a stuffy tone. Her legs stumbled as she walked, causing her to nearly fall over if Scorpio hadn't caught her.

"This is embarrassing," she rocked on her heels until she balanced herself. She tightly closed her eyes, trying to stop her head from spinning.

Taurus raised an eyebrow at her, "Hey, are you okay?"

With a sidelong glance, she gave a positive response. Leo on the other hand, stretched his arms and yawned.

"I feel fantastic! Missing my friends already," Leo happily chanted, "You look terrible!"

Scorpio facepalmed. How did she manage to get herself sick?

Capricorn and Virgo exchanged glances and sighed in unison. It was a pity how the two with the most  potential were stuck guiding arguably the most disobedient spirits in the universe.

"We have a long way to go, so let's begin our journey, shall we?" Capricorn said nervously. Beside him, Leo held back any noticeable criticism.

"Allow me," He offered, "Everyone, we have a spring to find!" He ordered, "Follow Virgo, she knows the way."

Taurus audibly agreed and Scorpio shrugged and followed. From what Leo could gather, was a subtle virtue. One that didn't make him look like a god. But then, it wouldn't make sense for the Keeper to give him a virtue that powerful. He looked back from the times he convinced people to do obscure things they otherwise, would find outrageous.

Eventually, everyone, was following Capricorn and his clone, which shortly trailed behind Virgo. In the back, he stationed a clone to make sure nobody wandered off. A particular Air spirit didn't like this.

Nevertheless, Aquarius, who was in the back of the line, couldn't keep from staring at Capricorn's clone. What really captivated her was that it mirrored him completely.

She pinched the clone out of curiosity. The clone stared back at her in bewilderment.

"What the hell?" it demanded.

"I was just wondering, okay?"

"Wondering what?"

"If it's you."

"...Yes."

They didn't speak any further. Mainly out of discomfort, she scooted herself up by Taurus and Leo. It was a long walk but it was a nice day out, so nobody complained.