Star Crossed Myth: Black Holes

Chapter 5: Aftermath

I have gone for five whole days without any weird incidences. I have managed to work quietly and fully, to my boss' pleasant surprise. I believed I would be able to go one more day, but I was wrong. On the fifth day, halfway through work, a confused and lost-looking child wandered up to the ticket desk, where I was stationed. I would not have thought much of it, but after his blonde little head poked out over the edge of my desk, I began to question this small child.

I peek over the desk at the boy. "H-hello, Lady Zuvan." He stammers, scared and wide-eyed. Why does this small child know my name? "Hello? Are you lost?" I ask, barely smiling. He shakes his head no. "U-um. Mr. Scorpio sent me to collect you." When I hear that name, my shoulders slump and my eyes roll. "Collect me." I say in the blandest voice I have ever managed. I sigh, irritated, but I quickly change my face when a customer comes forward. I greet them, take their money, hand over a ticket and a pamphlet and wave them goodbye. I turn to the child, who looks like he wants to merge with the wall. Why is he so jumpy? "Ok, kid. I can't leave work right now, so you'll have to wait till I'm done." He nods tentatively, and I give a quick smile. "Meanwhile, you can sit on this side of the desk instead of trying to shrink yourself into nothing." He looks at me with humongous blue eyes, and I can only think of how he looks like a freaking doll. "I-I can s-sit there?" "Yeah. Actually I'd much rather you sit here. You'll block the customers if you stay there. And not to mention you'll look mighty odd."

The kid is a nervous wreck besides me. His nerves are so tense even I can feel them. When I finish with the customer, I turn to him. I see his tiny body twitch when I look at him. "Are you scared?" his face breaks into one of utter panic as he opens his mouth. It hangs open, like he wants to say something, but nothing comes out. I sigh. "What's your name?" I ask, not even attempting to smile. He doesn't look at me as he somehow manages to say, "Altair, Miss. Zuvan." I nod my head. It's a pretty cool name. too bad it's owner is...whatever this is. "Altair. You're a god, am I right?" he manages to nod, albeit shakily. "So, pray tell, why is a god so scared of a human?" I ask. I know I'm not handling this very well, but I really don't care. "I-it's b-b-because... I-I..."

"Is it because I gave Leo and Scorpey a public beating?" I ask, supporting my chin with the back of my hand. Now he does not move. I sigh again. "Ok. Let me tell you a wonderful little story. How about that?" he looks up for a split second, but immediately lowers his eyes. "There was a little kid. Very cute, with pretty big eyes. His name was Altair. Although he was a very wonderful-looking kid, he was scared shitless of a woman called Zuvan. He knew that Zuvan was an amazing, strong and intimidating woman. What he didn't know, however, was that Zuvan was a very wonderful person who liked to eat candy and joke around. In fact, she offered the wonderful Altair a lollipop she bought from an expensive candy store." I say, pulling out a huge lollipop. I nudge my head, urging him to take it. Hesitantly, he reaches for it, and I hand it over.

"Now. Altair, being such a darling, took the expensive lollipop, because he understood that although Zuvan was a very scary woman, she just wanted to make friends. She loved making friends and she knew that Altair would be a wonderful friend." Altair looks at me now, with adorable wide eyes. "The moral of this story, Altair, is that I am a very chill human being, and I promise that I do not give my friends a pubic beating. So the real question is, do you want to be my friend?" he looks at the lollipop, then me, then slowly nods his head. "Vundabar!!" I say, breaking into a wonderful smile. He gives me one too.

"So, tell me, 'tomodachi'. What is the deal with the gods?" I ask as I type information into my laptop. There is a little silence before he says, "Well, I don't know what you mean, but the gods were exiled by the king. Teorus likes earth, and I don't know about Huedhaut, but I know Scorpio and Leo don't like it." Figures. "And why don't those two like each other?" I see his face change a little. "Because Leo is the Head of the Wishes Department, and Scorpio is the Deputy Head of the Punishment Department."