(Content warnings: There's a reference to murder in a joke. :) )
I sat up and he sat down. We showed each other our gems. I had made mine into a necklace charm that I put on a silver chain. He kept it in his pocket.
Luna and Mercury were still under the blanket. I was fidgeting with a loose wire on my charm and Jupiter was looking over my shoulder at Mercury's saddlebag. A pair of black combat boots with purple laces appeared in my view.
"Hey Jupiter"
Jupiter turned with a start.
"Oh hey, Celeste!"
"Celeste?"
"Oh hey, stranger! I'm Celeste, and you are?"
"Andy."
"But her real name is Andromeda!"
"Nice."
Celeste had dark purple hair cut short on the sides and curly on top. It had some loose bleached blonde hairs spotting the top that looked like stars from the right angle. They had light grey eyes that looked kind and playful.
They wore a black leather jacket, lavender leggings, and black combat boots. They sat down with us and showed us their gem. It was the same color as their leggings with spots of dark purple.
"How do you know each other?" I asked.
"I murdered their sister!"
"He's my cousin."
"Just joking. They are right."
"That's cool."
We all talked. Well, Celeste and Jupiter talked. I watched them and I pet Mercury and Luna.
"It's cold out here."
"Where do you think the map will take us?"
"Maybe the mountain? It is the highest point anywhere around here."
I fidgeted with my gem. I was tired of listening so I decided to talk to them.
"Lupus scared me when he appeared."
"...What?"
"Did you not see Lupus? He gave me my gem."
"Ursa minor gave me my stone."
"Ursa Major gave me mine."
"So you saw a huge wolf? In your backyard?"
"I met him right here."
"I've never seen a real wolf before! Let alone one made of stars."
Why did we not all see the same constellations? Why did they both not see Lupus? Jupiter seeing Ursa minor made sense. He was the younger of the two cousins. Celeste saw Ursa Major.
I heard a rustle in the woods behind me. We all looked up and saw the shadow of a person. They walked into the clearing and sat down with us.
"Um... Hi."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Virgo."
She had dark grey eyes. Her hair was long and dark blue. It was tied back with two buns and two chunks of loose hair tightly curled in front, and all of the hair below the top of her hair was in loose curls. She wore a white shirt with the Virgo constellation and a short, dark blue petticoat with a light blue over-skirt. She wore white, knee-high boots and tall dark blue socks.
"Hi, Virgo."
"I'm Celeste."
"My name is Jupiter."
"And I'm Andromeda, but I like to be called Andy."
"Hi, guys."
"So now what?"
"I think we put them together and they will show us where we need to go."
"Ok."
We tapped them all together. Tapped. It wasn't a puzzle like I expected. The map appeared in the air.
"I was right!"
"I guess we scale the mountain then."
"Wait, how do we get there?"
"There are no trails up there either!"
Virgo and I talked away from the others, away from the chaos.
"How do we get up there?"
"There is an animal path that coyotes, deer, and other animals use to get up and down the mountains. It's a risk but it is one we need to take."
"How long do you think it takes to get to the peak?"
"At least 6 days. It's a tall mountain and we won't walk at night because that's when most animals use it."
"So it will be a camping trip then?"
"The longest camping trip I've ever been on."
"Let's tell the others."
(606 words)
(3323 characters)
[A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope your day is going well, and if it isn't, I hope it gets better. I hope you enjoy this story. I missed an update yesterday. Sorry guys. New chapters will be posted every other day. Have a good day everyone :) ]
