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The Zodiac were often isolated in their job of holding the line. Space was lonely enough as it was, and Soldier Pisces was lucky if she could glimpse Neptune among the other stars. She was so far away from home. Then again, it wasn't easy for the others, either. She was certain, sometimes, that Aquarius would love to see a glimpse of the planet Uranus, and it must've been even harder for the prince and princess. The two of them were constantly moving around the fortresses, wishing the Zodiac luck and pep-talking them into a stupor. Pisces wondered what 'home' was for them. She was lucky that she wasn't constantly in motion, lucky that she could lift her eyes to the stars and watch shooting stars and the like. There was a reason that Pisces was called "The Poet" among the Zodiac signs, after all.

Valentine's Day was a foreign holiday mostly celebrated by the Earth Kingdom. When Soldier Cancer had first told her about the concept, he said that it was a day of celebrating love and all aspects of it. Ah, so it was an excuse for him to leave his post and screw the other Zodiacs! To be honest, Pisces was a little surprised. Normally, he didn't need the excuse of a holiday. But the idea had grown on her, especially when Cancer had decided to bring her pretty baubles and chocolates every February 14th.

Plus, did she really need an excuse to bang Soldier Cancer? Really?

"Hey Pisces!"

It was another February 14th, and Pisces was already waiting for the Water Cardinal. He was her leader, in a way, and didn't really mind being subservient to him-- as long as he didn't mind her babbling about the delicate graces of their princess and the other female members of the Zodiac. Ah, well.

"Soldier Cancer," the blue-armored woman crossed her arms. "I was expecting you sooner! We can't spend all this time waiting, we have to... you know..."

Soldier Cancer grinned and said, "Hold the line?"

"Well, yes, that," she replied.

"You know I'll let you hold my line any day, Soldier," Cancer threaded a hand through his hair and flashed Pisces one of his wicked grins.

Pisces rolled her eyes.

"Hey, don't give me that!" the blue-haired man put a hand on his hip and held up a gloveless hand. On it was the white burn that signified him as a Zodiac. "We're married, remember? Married couples do stuff like this. Besides, I have a present for you!"

This made Pisces look at him. With a flourish, Soldier Cancer flipped off his cape and revealed ... well...

"I have crab meat!"

***

Pierrette's jaw slowly lowered to her collarbone as she stared at the memory-inducing can. With all of these amazing revelations abound, why did she have to remember things like that? She took the can in her hand, letting her fingertips rest over Abeline's. The redhead looked at Abeline's deep blue eyes and knew that she had the same memories. It was like the two of them had a porn stash linked telepathically.

"Tradition..." Pierrette trailed off. "I'll probably have a lot more of this in my diet now, won't I?"

Her smile was only somewhat innocent. For an almost-fourteen year-old girl, it was strange, and a lot more like her past self.

"But we'll talk about this later. It's the Princess' day today."

Something seemed to be troubling Sue at that moment. He was staring, face pale, at the scene unfolding in front of him - body tense, wrong, frozen in place. Aside to Andeon, he muttered worriedly - "She's crying. ********, Andeon, she's crying--" Sue remembered to inhale, a quick and nervous sound. Chewing at his lip, he seemed to make a decision. The purple-haired boy took a quick look around, scanning the grounds; and, seeing no one outside of their group, disappeared with a small pop.

Or, as the case turned out, shrunk. Where the boy had been standing was now a large, fluffy, and impossibly grumpy-looking feline. In Sue's voice, the cat glumly concluded his train of thought, "We ******** up, didn't we," and pressed forward without waiting for an answer.

Even if he wasn't the same Zue that had been the Princess's companion a year ago, he was still way better at doing that whole "comforting" thing when he looked the part. Winding in and out of the crowd of legs, praying the whole while please don't step on my tail, PLEASE don't step on my tail, Zue finally managed to work his way to the Princess. There, he paused uncertainly, settling down to a sitting position after a few seconds as he stared up at the girl he was somehow supposed to comfort.

"Princess...." IT WAS ALL ELKE'S IDEA, some part of him wanted to howl - that part that couldn't stand to think that he'd caused Serenade any pain, that he could be responsible. He didn't think that that would make anything better, though, and mumbled instead: "We, uhm. We...."

Cat form or human form, it didn't matter. Zue: Not the most eloquent kitty around, and triply so when things started getting all touchy-feely. It was much easier - and meant a lot more - when he just reached out a paw to pat her on the ankle, softly. Because that was what he was trying to say, even if he couldn't remember the words for it.

There, standing behind a nearby grave was Topher. He'd actually gotten into the cemetery before he'd heard his name being tossed around. The few flowers he'd bought on his way there were now bent and snapped beyond recognition in a violently shaking hand. He really had been missing. All this time he'd just let all of his responsibilities go. He hadn't heard from anyone on his team. Scorpio was gone. Aquarius he saw in passing and Leo...had just stopped showing up entirely. And yet, Topher still felt the biggest stab of guilt for not being there. He was supposed to be a leader and here everyone was actually wondering where he was.

The whole thing made him feel like a failure. He had disappeared off the face of the earth and was late to quite a special event. Very late. There really was no excuse for it. Saying that there was pressure from school or staying up late to listen to his parents rambling was not going to cut it in this group.

Even as he took a few steps closer, something was trying to pull it back. Was it the fact that he barely remembered the man who's grave everyone was standing over? The few fleeting dreams he'd had were confusing at best. The dreams themselves had been so vivid and full of color almost as if he'd been living them in his own head but, whenever his eyes snapped open, it was all over. Every face was a blur. There was absolutely nothing he could do to make up for that. It was almost as if Soldier Taurus rarely spent time with the team either. Like he was much too stubborn in his own ways to spend time with the only people who could save his life when the time came.

...Or the fact that he felt as if he'd abandoned them all in a time of need?

He was reminded of this as he look down at the bent stems of the flowers he'd bought and quickly stuffed them into his pockets as best he could. Even they were useless now. Nothing but a impromptu stress ball for him to squeeze. He stopped where he had felt comfortable, close enough to be seen but far enough away that he didn't feel as if he was intruding. That was the problem. For Topher, it actually felt as if he was intruding on something sacred that he had no business interrupting. Coming here in person was starting to feel like a bad idea but this was Serenade's day. That's why he was here. It was a day for those they had lost. Not a day for him to wallow in his own self pity in front of them. That could be done in private.

All the Zodiacs seemed to be present, save Scorpio, now. Giselle shook her head at Mackenzie. "I don't play an instrument," she said, a tad enviously. Giselle had grappled with the musical world and lost, and she had never really forgiven musicians for it since.

As Serenade approached, she saw the smile, and when the tears came, she frowned. This was Elke's area of expertise, Giselle wasn't good at the touchy-feely stuff, couldn't be good at it even if it was her Princess who was crying. She felt a stab of guilt, though, as she eyed the affair.

"Victoria cried for Albert," she offered hesitantly. Probably. History did not relate, but if it fixed things, she would actually stretch historical facts to do so.

Another new thing: Giselle's urge to do anything in her power to please Serenade Soriano.

She looked up at the last few arrivals, not sure what else she could do. The other zodiacs seemed to be doing the best they could to cheer up the Princess as well, and the best they could was considerably better than the best Giselle Petrova was capable of. She gave a nod to Topher, who looked incredibly uncomfortable, a sensation she could relate to. She also noted Tara out of the corner of her eye, and bit her lip. She and Tara hadn't spoken since Barren Pines, but they had to arrange a meeting soon. They couldn't continue their feuding now that they were Zodiacs, and a peace treaty would have to be arranged.

Barren Pines seemed like a whole other lifetime ago, anyway. It was strange to even remember the days when she and Tara would spend an hour fighting over the same cafeteria seat.

Trust Elke to fall into a situation where her father's advice would be completely useless. "What Giselle means," she translated to Serenade, "is it's okay."

She stepped back a bit--she just felt like she should, didn't know why, but the Captain and Zue and the Princess in the same place, she felt more like standing near the Mutables. Which was odd, but not something she was going to question, because she was all out of things to say.

"Salad," was the first thing she said, because it was the first that popped into her mind. "With butterhead lettuce. And baked macaroni and cheese, because it is good comfort food and stays warm for longer, it should still be hot 'cause that's the dish my grandma uses. And, and lunch meats and bread and--" She was reciting the list (and the reasons) she'd written out sprawled on Andeon's couch when they'd come up with this idea. "--Lemonade and iced tea and--"

Here she cut herself off, smiling at Serenade again. "What do you want, Princess? I'll get it for you, if you like."