The Games Begin…

Uranus, stands in the dusky 
foyer, and speaks a Story
to Life.  "It was 
a stormed, and tormented
Night, when Venus walked 
up to a Path, gone dark,
and whispered a poem,
to herself."

Suddenly, there's a spotlight
on the stair, and Venus
stands where 
it snakes, in two 
directions.  Dressed, 
the Fool, with a look
like a long tunnel...

Venus’ Swan Song…

"0 The Fool
My love has made it
back to the beginning
of the arcanum, I amble

1 The Magician
through the fields of my entrance,
to find myself, quite literally, in
the forest, among the many ancient

2 The Priestess
wands that hold the space
so well.  There is little I fear
here.  In the darkness I sing,

3 The Empress
as I walk without a lantern
through a whispering corridor
I know like my own vein,

4 The Emperor
into the crossroads
I have chosen for my altar.
I sing to the beasts

5 The Heirophant
so that they might hear me coming,
and neither of us has to
be frightened.

6 The Lovers
I would stay here
forever, but I know
this is just the beginning,

7 The Chariot
again.  And sooner
or later,  the Chariot
always comes."

... and then she collapses
to the floor, a slow clap
echoing through the hall.

"Did you like it?  Thank you,
it's a poem I call, 
'Venus Retrograde' get it?
'Cause I'm dying?"

"You already died,"
Dr. Fairly-Whethered says.  
She scowls, and returns
to Death.

“So who killed her?”

U asks Mars, blandly.

"Shh," Lilith strokes
his arm, smiling, brushing
past him,  "Dr. Fairly-Whethered, 
I am, B.B. Gun," Lilith says,
as she shakes U's hand
vigorously.  "It seems 
to me, you have a murder
on your hands.  Let me
assure you, I am 
the straightest shooter 
there is.  Give me,
the guns."

Uranus glows, "HEL-Lo,
B. B. GUN, GREAT
ta meetcha.  HEL-No
fucking Way, am I 
giving you the guns.  
Respectfully,
we still don't know,
who done it, yet, and
I don't fucking know
you."  He sniffs, and turns
his nose away.  "Doctors,"
B.B. Gun scowls, as Lilith
pivots back, and grins
into Mars' face.  She loves
to play.  She whispers,
"I was told from a young age
that my imagination was
a positive trait -which makes
these kinds of creative intimacies,
easy for me.  For you, Miss,
someone's got to break
the ice.  Consider me,
your ice-breaker,"  B.B.
Gun winks, and tips her head.

"My Hero," Mars flatly sighs,
and rolls his eyes away.

Lilith Sits Down, Next to Mars, in the Conservatory…

"How do you catch 
a lamb, B.B. Gun?"

"You move slowly,
and in wide arcs, 
and then, you see
where the stream
of movement enters them.
They will be shocked,
and perhaps unable
to connect their mind
to their body.  A firm
hand, pressed purposefully,
pressure distributed
widely and evenly, across
a beings body, soothes
the nervous system."
She smooths her palm,
just firm enough
from his knee to his
hem line, "Always
flushing towards the
heart," her smile
flashes.  "We call this
space, 'Point Zero.'
It is a crux; A location
of mild discomfort,
where transformation 
happens. How are you
feeling, Miss Scarlet?"

Mars gulps, "How 
do you catch,
a ram?"

She leans back,
and lets her hand 
slip off him, arms
moving behind her 
head.  "I make myself 
large, and unpredictable.  
I run them through systems
of pastures, to move them
where I want them to go."

"Why do that at all?"

"I don't anymore," Lilith
goes dark.  "They pay 
someone, to do that Now."

Lilith gets up, and walks across
to the bar.  Uranus slides in
next to Mars, with a shit
-eating grin.  They watch her.

"B.B. Gun is temperamental, 
isn't she, Miss Scarlet?  
There is an allure
in unpredictability."

"My body feels all kinds of 
Ways, Dr. Fairly-Whethered."

Uranus claps Mars, on
the back, "Welcome, 
to Second Puberty."