[Sarah]

The twins, for they were twins despite their many differences, settled on the wall that surrounded Lamenolai. The city below was sleeping unseen under the darkness of the new moon. The twin’s mission was unknown. Most everything they did appeared an enigma.

A god’s mistake was so rarely stable, and these twins were hardly an exception. Most of the Stargazer species was created individually, those that had been born since their fall to Evelon had been born alone.

(Move to Lamenolai please)

[Sarah]

The twins had been delivered upon the world only minutes apart. Although they were not treated unkindly it was clear they were considered outsiders at best. At worst they were considered a bad omen. Bad things had happened enough to the Stargazers, but instead of rejecting the twins they sought to teach them kindness and balance. Whether or not the teachings worked remained to fully be seen. The twins were kind and generous, but they were also trouble makers and danced the lines of chaos in a way that made everyone around them uncomfortable.

[Sarah]

They grew, and they found their place in society as the other Stargazers had. Society as it was wanted nothing more than to kill or enslave the celestial species. Humans were undoubtedly the lowest on the food chain that commanded Evelon’s species, yet they still boasted their total control over their world. If the Stargazers hadn’t been a shadow of their once mighty species, they would have easily held their own on this new world. Evelon’s magic, and the warring non-native species cut drastically into the power the species once had.

[Sarah]

In their naiveté of the new world they didn’t have the time or tools to protect themselves. They lost many of their own in the first months, and many more were still missing. That was one of the reasons the twins were in Lamenolai to begin with. Their kind was scattered across the world, and none of them had a way to recognize the other unless there was pre-established familiarity. The new generation of Stargazers were strangers to their relatives.

[Sarah]

Perched on the tall walls surrounding Lamenolai the twins scanned the dark city. Their black wings might have been silhouetted – a strange splotch on an otherwise bright night – but not tonight. Their wings melted into the background of space, allowing for an absolute cover in the darkness. They moved their bodies forward off the wall and fell into the streets below. Powerful wings slowed their descent and only the faintest sound of wind betrayed them.

[Sarah]

They touched down on worn streets and instantly they knew something was off.

“What the fuck?” Apollo gasped, lifting a foot and glaring at the offending substance. Some kind of mist had pooled in the holes and rivets in the old road. From what could be seen nothing had followed onto Apollo’s foot, but the mist was disconcerting regardless. “What do you know of this?” He asked, turning to his sister.

“Nothing brother,” Artemis replied just as disgusted and disgruntled as Apollo.

[Sarah]

“You’re certain?” Apollo asked. He crouched down and dipped two fingers into the mist. It was cold, perhaps wet, and markedly ethereal. He dared to go so far as to think it might not be of Evelon. Some sort of disease from space. It was not uncommon for other-worldly beings and things to find themselves on the magical rock.

“What reason do I have to lie?” Artemis asked after a short pause. She too was curious about the strange substance.

[Sarah]

Apollo looked up at his sister. She had a fair point, but she so often lied only to him. It was intensely annoying. More often than not he could find no discernable reason for her lies, other than perhaps the fact that they were siblings. “This will affect our mission,” he said, and stood.

“Naturally,” Artemis responded dryly. Not for the obvious observation, but out of annoyance that they must be hindered at all. It was a rare day that nothing went wrong.

[Sarah]

“Let’s focus on what we know,” Artemis said, moving forward through the streets. “Whatever hinderance this might cause will be unknown until it is upon us,” she said. There was little she was sure of, but she had been on enough missions to know better than to prepare against something they could do nothing against. It was frustrating to have this strange substance appear, but its consequences were totally unknown, and they didn’t have time to change their plans.

[Sarah]

“Reports are from the market district of the city. They either live there, or work there,” Apollo said. He walked next to his sister. In the middle of the night there were less people to notice them, and the darkness was a good cover for the parts of them that were less than human. Most of their kind could disguise themselves completely as humans, but Apollo and Artemis could not. Their wings were folded as smoothly along their back as they could make them, but enough light would give away the dark feathers.

[Sarah]

They were able to maintain cover until they reached the market district. Although many of the shops were closed, there were just as many still open. The mist, in this case, acted as a distraction. Anyone still out in the dead of night was more focused on the strange substance than their surroundings.

The two ducked in and out of shadows. They were only half aware of the people around them. Their primary goal was to find the Stargazer and bring them home. To do that they needed to open their senses to the universe.

[Sarah]

“Inside. Get inside now,” the command was hissed at them. A hand darted out, grabbing Apollo by his arm and dragging him into a building. Artemis followed closely after. Her senses were attuned to the universe and she could see the stranger was the being they were looking for. The inside was about as dark as the outside, but Artemis could see the state of the building was poor. She stood in the doorway waiting.

[Sarah]

Apollo was freed and stepped to join his sister at the entry to the building. He stayed silent. Questions and explanations were on the tip of his tongue, but if his sister was not going to engage then he would not either.

“What brings you so far from your home?” the Stargazer asked.

“You,” Artemis replied.

“Ah yes - your growing city in the jungle… I’m not interested,” the Stargazer said. They seemed annoyed and defensive.

[Sarah]

“Not interested?” Apollo echoed. The twins looked to each other, confused, and then back to the Stargazer.

“Not interested,” the Stargazer agreed. “I spent my life along among the stars. My siblings did not care for company then, and they do not care for it now. I have a life here, and I know I will only be used as a pawn to get us back into the cosmos,” they said. “I do not wish to be used, and I do not care to go back to the life I had before,” they added.

[Sarah]

There was a finality in their voice that the twins could not challenge. They had not met a Stargazer that didn’t want to be reunited with their family. Perhaps they had just not met a Stargazer that did not want to go back to the stars. “What do you do here? Are you safe?” Artemis questioned.

“I’m a teacher. I help people learn about the world they live in, and the spaces beyond this world that remain a mystery to the people here,” the Stargazer said. “I am safe here,” they insisted, “the people I am close to do not know what I am, and if they did I am certain they would not turn against me.”