Those Who Control The Water

      “The humans are getting out of hand.”

           Three brothers, all alike in dignity, sat along a secluded spring. The second brother looked at his elder with interest. “How so?” he asked.

           “You didn’t hear? Our poor lion friends have lost more of their land. The goats keep moving further up the mountains,” he explained, “and the crabs have started attacking the humans who dare step foot on their beaches.”

           The second brother scoffed, his dark blue hair falling over his eyes. “They know nothing. They harass the beauty of this world and claim to harness it.”

           “I agree, I agree,” said the first brother, “shall we give them another freezing winter? Or another flooded spring?”

           “I say both!” Shouted the third brother. The third brother was the youngest, barely even 130 lunar cycles old.

           “Shush,” came the eldest. The eldest brother was the wisest of the three, over 400 lunar cycles old.

           The third brother flushed with anger. “Don’t shush-”

           “Silence!” Shouted the first brother, pausing and then staring directly into the water before him. “Show yourselves!”

           Out of the water emerged four beings. They looked like monsters a human would create, an unholy being that belonged to a place called ‘hell’. But the brothers knew these beings, and they knew them well. Two had scorpion tails and large pincers along with their human arms, with multiple sets of eyes that were notorious for staring through lies.

The other two looked more human than their scorpion counter parts, but the gills that rang along their necks kept them tied to the water. Only their lovely human faces emerging from the water. “Oh great,” said one of the scorpions, “it’s the water spirits.”

“Show some respect!” Shouted the eldest brother, “Why are you here?”

“You might be water spirits,” spat the other scorpion, “but Scorpios and Pisces rule the water itself.”

“Don’t bother reasoning with them,” said one of the fish women, “Aquarius never listen. Their stubbornness challenges Aries and Taurus’.”

The second brother rolled his eyes when the fish woman spoke. “Hello, Clearwater. I see you’re doing well.”

The Pisces chuckled. “Hello to you too Elijah. Your brothers kill the human race yet?”

Why are you like this Clearwater? “That was never our intension, you know that.”

The eldest brother placed a hand on Elijah’s bare shoulder. “That snowstorm was not our fault. If you have an issue, take it up with the Libra’s and Gemini’s. We don’t control which way the wind will blow,” he warned the water creatures.

The four water creatures glanced at one another then back to the water spirits. The scorpion woman tossed her blond locks over her shoulder revealing her many eyes. “You think you can lie and get away with it?”

The scorpion man snapped his pincers at the youngest brother. “Why are Aquarius water spirits? Why not us? The ones who live in the water? Can you answer that young spirit?”

Elijah saw how his brother froze in fear through his peripheral vison. Do not cave little brother, he’s just messing with you. As if he heard Elijah’s thoughts the small boy huffed, “Because we control the water!”

The scorpion man let out a hollow chuckle and submerged himself into the spring water. His sister, the scorpion woman narrowed her many blue eyes and followed her brother. Clearwater and the other fish woman glanced at one another and laughed. “Your brother is pretty stupid, Elijah!” Clearwater heckled.

Before Elijah could produce something witty the other fish woman nudged her companion, “You’re one to talk.”

“Enough!” shouted the eldest brother, “why are you here? Speak now or leave us in peace!” his voice booming for miles around.

The fish women gave each other another glance before Clearwater spoke, “Follow us.” As if by magic the two women transformed into two river salmons and flopped back into the water, leading them to the river.

Elijah looked at his brothers, the youngest was still mad about the scorpion man. The eldest eyes narrowed, lost in thought. “We should flow,” Elijah broke the silence.

“What if they want to trap us!” argued the youngest brother, “Water signs are liars!”

“Clearwater doesn’t lie.”

The eldest brother stood up abruptly, he didn’t say a single word. He stepped onto the water and began following the Pisces out of the spring and up the river. Elijah and the youngest brother instantly followed. Where the eldest Aquarius went, his brothers followed.

Three Aquarius walking on water, two Pisces leading the way, and two Scorpios watching them with their lie detecting eyes. “Where are we going?” Elijah asked.

“Aquarius!” came a third-party voice.

The group froze, ready to fight or flee. At least until the eldest brother held up his hand. “Greetings Capricorns.”

“Ew, goats…” mumbled the youngest.

There were five of them, four men and a woman, the only woman among the herd shouted, “Jun!”

She called him by his name… Elijah thought.

The goat-people approached, their strange goat eyes showing no fear. The woman stepped as close as she could to the river. The eldest Aquarius brother, Jun, lowered his hand. “It’s nice to see you as well,” he greeted, “I’ve been told your herd moved further up the mountain. Be careful, Yukino doesn’t like sharing her mountain.”

“She’s dead.” Elijah never saw Jun’s face contort with so much pain. He didn’t cry, he didn’t even let out a pained squeak. He just stared at the tiny Capricorn woman as she continued with her news, “The Aries are no more…”

The Scorpios and Pisces reappeared from their animal forms and looked to Jun. The herd of Capricorns stared at him with their goat eyes. Yukino was the last Aries, Elijah’s thoughts rang, and if she’s gone then… “Brother-”

“Permission to send a whiteout to the human settlements?” Jun was staring right at the water signs and repeated, “Do I have your permission?”

“H-hold on,” Clearwater stammered, “there must be another Aries somewhere, the stars would never… would they?”

Squeak

“Who’s there!” Jun shouted; anger laced his words like venom.

One of the Capricorns tried to hold a straight face as a little hand grabbed onto his horn. The creature stared intently at this man, watching a little girl crawl her way onto his head. But she did not have horns or goat eyes. Her eyes were that of a feline, with sharp teeth and a little tail curling its way around the man’s neck. “She was…” he started but couldn’t finish the sentence.

The girl let out a pitiful attempt for a roar and gripped onto the man’s horns tighter. She looked around and asked, “Where are my brothers?”

Brothers… her pride… Leo. Oh no… poor little lioness. What is a Leo without her pride?

“They belong to the stars now,” the Capricorn man tried to soothe, “it’s okay.”

Jun’s body tensed up, his head snapped to the water signs, the crack of his neck was nauseating. “Permission?”

Clearwater looked at Elijah, fear flowing through her veins like water. “I… I…”

Jun looked to the Scorpio’s. “Permission?”

“Kill them all.”