war had taken up a lot of lucy’s mind since. well, really, since it began and even more so now that it ended and she somehow left it alive despite all the odds. and certainly, the odds were stacked against her just so. but, she was happy for an opportunity to be able to live on and lend a hand to the rebuilding efforts as she had for the past ten months now, but still, something in her felt. wrong. she was confused about where she wanted to go from here. she loved her guild (she loved her friends and the family she was able to create here) but she wasn’t sure if she loved where she was at life.not. not so much.

and talking about it with someone inside the guild was a task she was still scared to do. and the idea of approaching someone outside the guild (someone who did not understand why she felt compelled to be there all the time, someone who did not understand everything and why there were some Soured Thoughts) was also something she was scared to do. both felt too close to a form of treason. with that in mind, she has something of the best of both (or three?) worlds in her hand. she triple checked her chart and knew that leo was available and had waited a bit for this moment and was now standing there ever so patient.

his hand ached as he wandered through the empty corners of the realm. he was not just bottling up his emotions, he was bottling up his power, too, and both was backfiring on him. but he would not lash out, he was the leader, he had to be above this. hearing footsteps behind him, he was glad not to have punched the wall, because, and he knew this before he turned or she spoke, it was aries who had found him. and she was the last one who should see him unravel, come apart at the seams.

he would never burden her again.

“ aries, ” he said quietly, not quite daring to look at her. she was despairing, was hurting. and there was nothing he could do to change it, to help her. or anyone else. he was failing, was failing worse than ever before, and for the first time, he dared to wonder if maybe, capricorn had been right to question why it was leo who was made leader, why leo was leader still, despite having failed twice and made a spectacle out of it.

casually, he let his hand disappear behind his back, casually, he made himself try a smile. it did not feel right. it felt like a carricature, like something drawn by someone who had never seen another being smile before. it would not fool her. still he had to try, had to at least attempt normality when nothing was normal.

“ what … what brings you here? ” he asked, eyes searching for libra. they had not been apart much, as of late. to see aries without her shadow felt … odd. heavens below, if something had happened to libra, too — he did not think they would ever recover. frankly, he was not even sure if they would ever be fine without aquarius.

through the eternity they’d all started on together, aries had been hurt many times. she suffered from pains she could barely recall & most days it felt like all that was left of her heart was scraps. there never seemed to be enough, enough of her to matter, to change anything. 

she hadn’t been able to save leo. aquarius had gripped her arms tightly, keeping her from throwing herself at kings feet to beg && plead after his banishment &&& now she hadn’t been able to save aquarius either. 

mortals, with their feeble, delicate life spans - they lost people so often. aries didn’t know how any of them could bare it, if they loved anyone else at all, because she was crumbling under the despair like wet paper & she was no stranger to pain. 

“leo,” she says, voice too fragile && aries hates it.  she hates this. she’s always the vulnerable one, always the one with sorrow in what’s left of her bones, always the one too frail to cope. but she’s still here, still came searching for him because being alone is too great a pain to swallow. 

libra is with pisces, she was always closer with the mother &&& son than aries ever had been. it was good, really, that libra had someone else to bring her comfort in this time of pain. aries could only empathize, she’d never been able to fix anything. even temporary patches seemed out of her reach. 

too tired for excuses or half-truths, she stares at his broken smile & what’s left in her heart aches all the more. she is bolder in her sorrow, bolder still faced with his - “I don’t like to be alone,” she breathes, her limbs feeling like lead. “not when I feel like this.” 

before - before aquarius vanishing, before lucy, before leo being banished, before - aries had never allowed herself to lean on leo. not in any way he’d be able to see. she pushed herself through, cried against libra’s shoulder, or fell into scorpios hugs or let aquarius’ hands in her hair soothe her to sleep. but she never let herself crack around leo, she knew the burden would be too much for him to bear. 

meme

“i think you’ve had enough wine, aion.” lucy said and she swiftly confiscated the bottle they had been sharing. she felt warm and bubbly though and was happy and smiling. and she did so much support aion and cimeria. they would make, in her opinion, the CUTEST couple. like. ever.

scorpio was lounging across the furniture when the newly returned “Leader Of The Zodiacs” entered the room. the spirit realm was one that evolved, stuck in no time or place - but there were a few things that remained ever constant. this was gearing up to be one of them.  

really, it was almost like leo had forgotten who scorpio was. 

“Don’t?” deliberately bewildered, he moved to sit up straighter. eyes wide, he made a confused sound. 

if he was being honest - scorpio didn’t tend to tease the others as often as he did leo. he joked & jested, poked at aries’ horns or tugged on capricorns tie every now && then to lighten the mood. but leo was just so serious, shoulders rigid from bearing the weight of his golden leash &&& there was something painful in it. 

even now, maybe especially now, leo remained burdened by things he shouldn’t have had to hold in the first place & scorpio was never one to pick at the real scabs others wanted to hide. but he knew as much as leo grudgingly endured his jokes - they were helpful, in their way. 

plus this one was just so much fun.