Centaurus: Not only a bright constellation, but one of the largest as well.
— — —
Third Person
River woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of someone bumping into the table.

As they looked at the time, River found themself shooting up in place. 5:48 AM? Alarms sounded off in their head. Someone broke in.

River slipped soundlessly out of the bed, wearing just a pair of blue pajama pants and an oversized gray shirt. They didn't bother with grabbing a weapon- given they practically were one with their abilities mixed with the fact that they were in water- and quietly made their way down the stairs.

Rounding the corner, they noticed that someone seemed to be crouching, trying to put the table they had moved back as soundlessly as possible. Narrowing their eyes, they tried to see if they could make out who it was, but the darkness didn't work in their favor.

It was only then that the figure noticed them, and rushed towards them suddenly. River tried to do something- anything really, alarmed by what was going on but they were much quicker.

A hand covered their mouth, shushing them softly. "One second." Their voice betrayed their gender, revealing it was a girl speaking. Now with silence filling the room, a loud chatter of voices seemed to be passing by. The girl held her breath, then let it go once they were gone, relieved.

"Whoops, sorry about all of this." She finally took her hand off of River's mouth, making them shake out of it, blinking. "That wasn't supposed to happen, honest. Have a little faith in me."

Questions filled River's mind and poured out their mouth in an instant. "Who are you? What's going on? How did you get in here?"

"Whoa, hey! One at a time please, I'm only human." The girl chuckled, moving through the dark until she spotted a light switch and flipped it on. How she could so easily was beyond River. It was as if she could see perfectly clear in the dark as she could in day.

Blinking at the sudden burst of light, the blue eyes examined the intruder in front of them, though didn't feel as threatened once they did.

She looked around their age, with strange, white hair in a braid, and a lavender headband keeping it pulled back. Her hair must've been pretty long without it, given the braid was reaching fair down her back. Her eyes were green, and shined with mischief, along with a smirk on her face. At that moment, she was wearing all dark clothing, and nearly all parts of her skin weren't showing, outside of her hands, neck and face. She wore a pair of black fingerless gloves with a little hole cut out in the middle.

"'Name's Faith, nice to meetcha." She bowed, though it seemed to be in a joking manner. "I usually use this house as a hiding place seeing as nobody is ever home. Makes breaking in even easier when nobody's around to see it." Faith dug into her pocket and pulled out a lockpicking kit, grinning from ear to ear now. "Normal household locks are a joke, I've been able to pick them since I was five."

River gave her a long stare. She returned it before finally caving, giving off a laugh. "Not enough, huh? See, I got into some trouble with the guards again. Like I said, your place has been empty for years other than the fact that I once saw some pink haired lady here once a few years back. Haven't seen her since so I figured it was safe." Faith shrugged her shoulders. "Didn't know it was occupied again. Happens to the best of us."

"Why were you in trouble with the guards?" River didn't even hesitate to keep asking questions. Their mind just kept running, trying to piece together if they knew this girl at all, and why she reminded them of someone else... Or who that someone else was in the first place.

"How do you think? Broke the law." Faith rolled her eyes, laughing as she did. "Honestly, what answer did you think you were going to get? Anyways, I broke into this candy store I really like. I was going to grab my usual order and leave money on the counter, honest. I'm not a thief, I'm just impatient." Faith huffed slightly. "Apparently someone saw me and called the guards on me so I had to split. Luckily, I know how to lose them since this isn't my first time. Oh, and don't worry about getting in trouble, I can get out of it. I got friends in high places."

River surprised both of them by chuckling. They didn't know why, but Faith was oddly endearing. "And they do laugh! What's your name, random-person-whose-house-I-broke-into? Also, pronouns?"

"River and they/them." They responded. "You're an odd one, Faith. I like that."

"Ditto, Cotton-Hair." She stepped forward until she was in distance to ruffle their hair, grinning. "Hey, it's fluffy!"

Before River could respond, there was a frantic knocking at the door. Both looked over and Faith quickly slipped behind the cover of the stairs as River walked over. "Psst, River, don't give me up to the guards, alright?" She told them, getting a slight nod.

River opened up the door, surprised to find Phoebe on the other side. "Why are you up at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" She told them, entering and glancing around. Her armor was gone and replaced by a onesie with yellow and orange patterns. She just woke up too, River noted. "Have you- uh- seen anyone suspicious? Possibly has white hair..?" Her voice was hesitant.

River opened their mouth with the full intent to not give away the girl who broke into their Mom's house, but instead the girl in question spoke.

"Oh wait a minute, Pheebs, is that you?" Faith poked her head out, a grin on her face. Phoebe sighed with relief and nodded. River let her in and seconds after closing the door, turned to notice that Faith had engulfed her into a hug. "Hey girl! You know Cotton-Hair too? What are the odds?"

"You'd know that if you remembered to check your phone." Phoebe scoffed, though it seemed lighthearted than actually mad. She must know her well. "I told you about River and I tried to tell you that your little 'Hiding place' was occupied but do you ever listen?"

"Aw, gimme a break, Pheebs!" Faith laughed. "I was busy and my phone died a few hours ago. Haven't been able to charge it. Plus, y'know, busy with the guards."

"Speaking of," Phoebe gave her a hard look. "Stop breaking into places, "Just because you can!" I know you have a number of people wrapped around your finger but that doesn't mean you can keep getting in trouble just to get out of it! I get that you're trying to one up your Mom's stories by making up your own adventures or whatever-!"

"We have a competition! She said I shouldn't try to do anything near the level she did and I beg to differ. I bet I can do more."

"That's not a competition, you're just competitive! She didn't agree to it!"

"Who's your Mom?" River asked at last, breaking them out of the argument. Faith smirked, turning towards them and crossing her arms.

"Only one of the most mischievous people in Atlantis. Samantha Siren, or you just might know her as Sam."

Sam. River recognized that name in a heartbeat. Their father had mentioned her in his stories about the city. Apparently she had caused him quite a bit of trouble back in the day, though whenever he talked about her, it was often with a softer tone. A friend, despite the trouble she might've caused for him. Given all the stories Pikalus mentioned her in, River isn't too surprised to find her daughter is also a bender of the rules.

"Ah." The edge of River's mouth tweaked up. "That makes sense. Has your Mother mentioned Professor Niall Pikalus at all? He's my father."

Faith lets out a laugh, wrapping her arm around River's shoulder and squeezing it. "I should've known! I've seen the pictures, you've certainly got his hair type." Further demonstrating her point, she reaches up to ruffle their cloud-like hair once again. Her eyebrows quirk up as she touches it. "Huh, didn't notice it was wet before. I didn't think it was possible to have wet hair in Atlantis outside of maybe the shower or the denser water at the beach."

"Oh, that's just how my hair normally is." River shrugs their shoulders. "I'm a water elemental. I subconsciously collect moisture due to how my abilities work so it tends to collect in my hair."

Phoebe's eyes light up with curiosity and soon enough, River has two different hands in their hair, patting it. River nearly says something but finds the feeling to be strangely... Pleasant. They let them pat down their hair for a few moments before Faith finally stops the both of them. "Okay, that's enough of that." She gives River a little nudge. "Very nice to meet you, we should really hang out sometime. You busy later today?" River shakes their head. "Perfect, I'll come get you at a more reasonable hour. Phoebe, you too."

"Wha- but I was going to show them more of the arena! I was hoping to get some practice in while I'm on duty-!" Faith cuts her off with a 'Shhh' and patting the side of her face. Phoebe's face scrunches up but she doesn't do anything else, seemingly used to it.

"You don't need to practice every day, take some breaks, girl!" Faith grind at her, then turns back to River. "Best head home. Chill or not, Momma Sam doesn't like me saying out so late. Plus, if I manage to not wake her up- if she's not already- she'll step in and call the guards off."

Faith gave a little 'Goodbye' gesture as she headed out the backdoor. "I'll catch up with you too later. See ya!"

River and Phoebe watched her, making the Trainee Guard sigh. "I can never keep up with her. Sorry if she scared or pressured you at all, she doesn't mean anything-!"

"I like her." River nodded to themselves decidingly. They barely even processed Phoebe's words. The winged girl just stared at them. "I'm not entirely sure why, but I just do."

Phoebe smiled after a while. "Yeah, she has that effect on some people. I best be going home, see you in the morning."

River murmured a 'Goodbye' and Phoebe left.

River attempted to go to sleep but couldn't after that. They were already up, they decided to make the most of it.

River dressed up for the day and spent the rest of their morning reading through some of their mom's books. Most were just informational but once River got their hands on a journal, it got interesting.

River had heard and met a few of Atlantis' friends but reading about them brought them to life. They laughed as they flipped through the entries, but there were a few that confused them. It was like someone else other than Atlantis had written in them because the way they were talking sure didn't sound like their mom.

Not to mention, Atlantis seemed to favor a blue pen over everything else. This one was written not only in orange but had completely different handwriting. Not messily looped together but neat and smaller. Not to mention the signature at the bottom wasn't even a name. Just a symbol.

Signing Off,
~🔺

"Triangle?" River squinted at it. "Strange... Maybe it's some friend that I don't know about."

Still, River couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day.

—

"The market's probably the best place to go if we wanna grab food. Lots of places to choose from." Phoebe explained. River nodded but noticed Faith only seemed to be half listening. Instead, her eyes were everywhere else, searching the stores like she was looking for something in particular. River couldn't help but notice she seemed to relax.

"Psst, Pheebs!" Phoebe instantly looked over to Faith. "You go get us some of the good stuff from the grocery store. Stuff for pizza, we'll make it. I'm taking River over to Willa's."

"What? But that's the best store, I was going to show them that!"

"Yeah but ol' Landon doesn't like me. You could easily get stuff for a discount, you're nice to the coot!"

"He'd probably like you better if you didn't call him a coot..." Phoebe huffed.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'Have fun!'" Phoebe gave a weak smile. She waved to River before heading over to a shop full of various foods.

Faith watched her leave with a grin. "Yeah, that's what I thought. C'mon, River! Let's go."

Faith led River into a darker shop filled with potions and ingredients of all kinds, not to mention miscellaneous items. She instantly started to look over the items at the 'New Arrivals' shelf as she spoke.

"This is probably the most interesting store in this town. Every once in a while, you'll find a diamond in the rough. Something cool and magical." Faith pulled out a jar of what looked like eyes. All of them turned to Faith, staring at her. She laughed and put it back on the shelf. "Or sometimes, you'll find a jar of eyes. All harmless stuff, though!"

"As long as you don't abuse its power, yes. Harmless." A woman's voice spoke. Faith didn't turn around but River was soon found face to face with an old woman with green eyes, gray hair and a soft smile. She nodded at River. "You seem familiar... You wouldn't happen to be associated with a woman named Atlantis, would you?"

River blinked and nodded. She laughed slightly. "Thought so! You got similar auras. Though, your looks make you seem closer to Professor Pikalus. Tell me, did they end up getting together?"

"They're married and had me." River informed her. Their interest rose. Neither of their parents talked about the olden days much so River always paid close attention when they did. Why they didn't say much about themselves was beyond River. Though, just could've been a parent thing.

"Ha! Knew it. And ol' Pikalus called me crazy. But my readings don't lie, I tell ya!" The woman laughed. "Call me Willa. I'm a witch, see. Taught your momma a few tricks. Been years since I've seen her. She in town?"

River shook their head. "She's visiting someone with an old friend."

"Eh, figures. She's a traveler, that one." Willa laughed softly. "Always trying to make her own dream catchers or sleep concoctions or something like that. Seemed to want to control how she dreamed or whether or not she had one at all. 'Course I told her the number one cure was to stop overthinking all the time and to let things go but eh," Willa shrugged. "Doesn't work for everyone."

River's mind spun with information. As Willa dusted off her counter, River cleared their throat. "You mentioned a reading of some sort. Can you tell the future?"

"Sorta. I can predict what's probably gonna happen but the future is ever changing and I'm not proficient in any sorta temporal magic. Only aura reading." Her eyebrows rose. "But, if you're interested, I can give it a shot. See what's in store."

River smiled brighter. Magic was another interest. Seemingly able to pull off anything if you knew what you were doing. Seeing a possible reading of the future? Impossible to pass up.

"Faith? I'm-!"

River didn't even get to finish before Faith waved them off. "Yeah, yeah, I heard ya. Go get your fortune read, I'll be out here." She didn't look up at them but still gave a thumbs up. River took it and followed Willa when she went into a back room.

"You friends with that girl?" Willa smiled. "She comes by often, though she's only taken up my reading for the future once. She tells me that she likes to live life unrestricted by what fate tells her. She's one of my best customers."

"But she's only asked about the future once?"

The witch nodded. "Indeed. Just between you and me, she asked about her father." Willa frowned to herself. "The poor thing has never met him once in her life. He left before her mother even knew she was pregnant. Sam used to say he would come back but... Well, these days, she assumes the worst, even if she doesn't say it out loud."

River knew they should've stopped digging into their friend's personal life but the question rolled off their tongue before they could stop it. "That he left her?"

Willa shook her head. "Oh no. He was quite infatuated with her, he left quite reluctantly but I never found out why. No, she's afraid that he's dead. It's been fifteen years after all."

There was a long pause before Willa moved to the table in the backroom with a crystal ball already prepped on it. "Shall we get this started?"

River stared at the sudden shift for a moment. Willa sighed at their look as they sat down. "I know I sound a bit apathetic but when you get to my age, you see a lot of things in life. I find that as wonderful as life can be, it's also full of tragedies as well. Sometimes, people die before their role is complete. Sometimes, unexpected surprises happen. And sometimes, you end up living without a mom or a dad and that's just something you have to deal with. Everyone has their demons, little one. You just have to learn to live with them."

Willa didn't give River a chance to come up with a response. She simply extended her hands across the table and nodded to them. "Give me your hands, let me see if I can spot any of yours."

River obeyed and Willa held tightly onto their hands before staring into the crystal ball. River watched as smoke began to swirl around it, entranced.

"Some futures are harder to read than others, especially for someone like me who isn't proficient in it. Yours is very cloudy but..." Willa's eyes narrowed, concentrating.

The smoke began to take shape slowly.

"I see a family that has grown distant." Willa said slowly. River had to bite their lip not to comment on the fact that they already knew that. It had been growing close to six months since they last saw their father. They shoved that thought away as Willa continued. "I see a storm and untapped potential. I see an opportunity and..."

Willa hesitated. "I see a crossroads. Choices that need to be made and several different ways it could go. In fact, these crossroads have been inherited. One of your parents before you had one too, and they have made their choices to lead to where you are now. They've passed it onto you and can no longer take control. Only you can decide where this crossroads lead."

River waited patiently, unsure of what to make of what they had been told. A few minutes later, River asked, "Is that all?"

"I feel that's there's more but I can't seem to-!" Willa suddenly clutched their hands tighter, eyes widening as the smoke began to spin around rapidly. "I see... I see-!" Willa suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and let go of River's hand. River suddenly pulled back but didn't move. "...Too fast. I could barely make any of it out but,"

Her eyes locked onto River's deadly serious now. River felt a spike of anxiety in their chest. "You must be careful, especially of who you trust. The lines of right and wrong are often grayed."

River blinked fast, mouth opening and shutting. They tried to respond but Faith walked into the backroom suddenly and grabbed River by the arm. "Alrighty, no more magic for this one." She tugged them along, muttering to herself. "The future doesn't know anything anyways."

—

"How does she always manage to stick me with the boring job?" Phoebe mumbled to herself as she picked out a few snacks and stuffed them into her basket. "She didn't even have to try that hard that time."

Phoebe was a little disappointed she didn't get to show River Willa's shop but decided to shrug it off. Faith could be frustrating and a little inconsiderate at times so she could get her way but she was a good friend deep down.

Phoebe had known her since the second grade. She knew that even if Faith borrowed something you really wanted or dragged you away from something you were doing to entertain her, she'd make it up to you later. She always knew how to too, buying something you had been wanting for awhile or making you something- she always found a way to prove that while often egotistical, she did acknowledge your efforts and appreciate them.

It didn't take Phoebe that long to not only find the ingredients, but also find enough snacks that could last them the day (and then some) and that all of them could eat. (Phoebe herself didn't like to eat anything with feathers. Felt weird to).

After paying for it all using her allowance, she checked through the bags to make sure she wasn't missing anything important. Halfway through, she heard a pair of voices from the crowd.

"Why the market again? Neither of us brought money."

"It... It just feels important to come here. I know it's hard to explain my gut feelings but-!"

"It's alright, you don't need to explain anything to me. I trust you."

Phoebe looked up and spotted a pair of boys around her age entering the market to her right. Both had pale blonde hair, one combed down and straight while the other had more fluffy hair. From their similar facial features, they seemed to be brothers. One was shorter than the other and had cat-like yellow eyes. He had a striped yellow sweater and sweatpants on and seemed a bit nervous, judging by the way he seemed to avoid anyone but his brother's gaze. The second, presumably older, was taller, only a little shorter than Phoebe, and had pale blue eyes. He wore a dark purple leather jacket with a black shirt, navy blue jeans and held himself a little more casually, though the way he scanned across the marketplace betrayed that thought.

The older stopped his gaze on Phoebe when he noticed her looking at him. It then occurred to her that he looked familiar. Then, it hit her.

His name was MacKinley and he had gone to her school for a few years. Phoebe herself hadn't talked to him much but he seemed quiet. She had worked with him on a group project in the fifth grade and found him to actually be a decent partner, pulling his own weight unlike some of the other people she had been paired with before.

And if he was MacKinley, that made the other Dusk, his younger brother. Phoebe didn't know Dusk very well either, he was technically two years younger than her but she did have an art class or two with him. He always seemed so timid all of the time but he seemed nice enough from the few interactions she had with him.

MacKinley made his way over to her with Dusk hesitantly following behind him. He nodded at her once he was close enough. "It's Phoebe, right?" He asked, stopping right in front of her. Phoebe gave a firm now, smiling. "Hey, I'm MacKinley and this is my brother, Dusk." He gestured to his brother before continuing. "Have you seen anything..." He glanced at Dusk, who gave a helpless shrug. "New?" He said at last.

"What kind of new?" Phoebe asked.

"I wish I could tell you." MacKinley suddenly chuckled at himself. "I'm suddenly feeling very silly for asking, sorry. Truth is, we came here on a gut feeling."

"Oh, I don't mind!" Phoebe quickly corrected, giving a friendly smile. "It's no problem at all! Besides, a harmless 'Hello' never hurt anyone." She held out her hand to the both of them. "Nice to formally meet you!"

MacKinley shook first, firmly while Dusk was a little more loose in his grip but he still looked up at Phoebe and gave a little smile. "Nice to meet you." Dusk echoed. "Sorry if we interrupted anything."

"I already finished my shopping you you haven't interrupted much." Phoebe showed off her bags. "You really don't need to apologize, I-!"

Phoebe stopped when she noticed two figures exiting Willa's shop. Sure enough, River and Faith were done checking the place out. Though, Phoebe couldn't help but notice River looked a little pale, almost as pale as Faith was. Faith said something and Phoebe was able to read her lips to get a, "You alright?" which concerned her. River replied with, "Yeah, I'm fine." which was better but now Phoebe wasn't sure what was going on.

MacKinley and Dusk both followed her gaze. MacKinley mumbled a slight, "Oh no, get ready for it." to Dusk. Phoebe might've asked if Faith didn't look up and a big grin spread across her face.

"Well if it isn't the golden bros!" Faith laughed, running over and wrapping one arm around each brother and pulling them close. "Haven't seen you two in forever!"

Phoebe blinked. "Wait, Faith, you know them?"

Faith winked and released the pair from her grip. "Pheebs, I know everyone." She pointed to Dusk. "Dusk Kid- yes, I did my research, Kid really is his last name. Also, his eyes glow in the dark, it's rad and I'm a little jealous."

Dusk's cheeks dusted pink but he didn't say anything.

Faith then pointed to MacKinley. "And here's Mr. No-Last-Name. How that's possible, I have no idea but there's not one on his school records and I couldn't find his birth certificate. Also, these two are only half brothers. Same mother, different fathers."

MacKinley gave her a surprised look. "...I have several questions but how did you know about the half brother thing? Neither of us have ever mentioned it."

Faith shrugged almost cockily. "I like to keep tabs I find interesting. I did some digging and figured it out."

"That's rather nosey, isn't it?"

Faith matched MacKinley's gaze evenly. "I prefer the word 'Curious.'"

They both stopped when River spoke up. "Hang on, I didn't realize it at first but I know you."

MacKinley looked up and met River's gaze. Dusk glanced between the two of them but seemed to recognize River when MacKinley did.

"You're Atlantis' kid!" MacKinley said at last, then grinned slyly. "Been too long since I've seen you. My mom- Ice- has been meaning to set up a playdate of sorts with yours for ages but school kept getting in the way on my end. You're taller than I remember."

River looked MacKinley up at down and softly snorted. "You're one to talk, you had to have grown three inches since the last time." River glanced down at Dusk. "You're taller too."

Dusk perked up slightly. "You really think so?"

"They did meet you before you hit puberty, Dusk. You were tiny back then." MacKinley pointed out.

Phoebe watched the lot of them interact with bright eyes and a huge smile. Her hands clapped together excitedly and her wings fluffed out for a second, reacting with her. "We all know each other, this is perfect!" Phoebe held up her bag of food. "I got enough for everybody! Anyone else know how to cook?"

MacKinley nudged Dusk, giving him a grin. "Your time to shine."

"I'm not that good." Dusk tried to protest.

"Your food is godsent, the world has to know."

"I vote Blondie Boy Number Two." Faith interjected with an equally excited grin. "Show us what you got."

River laughed quietly. "Dusk, I think you're up."

Dusk chewed his lip slightly but seemed to smile and nod. Phoebe cheered and lead the way. "River, your house?"

"If you all don't mind the mess, yes."

"Tonight, we FEAST!" Faith announced, putting her arm on River's shoulder and leaning against them. "Cotton-hair, we're gonna have some fun!"

———————

Meme I came up with while editing:
MacKinley, trying to have a normal day: What a lovely d-
Faith, a gremlin, screaming in the background: HEY GOLDEN BOY
MacKinley: Motherfu-

Anyways, I didn't get to edit this earlier but I finally sat down and finished it and so HERE! Chapter three, baby! Since Chapter four is shorter, it'll likely come out within a day or two as editing won't take that long.

I hope y'all liked this! Comments are heavily encouraged as they fill me with pure joy and are great motivators and thank you if you have! Farewell!

—JustAnAtlantisWriter