Page 26 of Zodiac Monsters

Why did that feel like a personal jab…

“So what was the Aquarius?” Linda chimed in again, most likely because that had been her star sign. “If I recall correctly, the Aquarius is a caring sign who’s very in tune with their partner’s pleasure, right?” She squeezed her ample chest between her arms. “So shouldn’t that make them a compromising sign as well?”

“That’s an interesting interpretation.” Professor Karras nodded along. “But interestingly enough, the way the Aquarius tends to their lovers is quite different from a mutable sign. On the contrary, an Aquarius is a fixed sign, and as such, is particularly stubborn and set in their ways. While they care tremendously about pleasing their partner, they also believe they know what’s best without necessarily taking into account feedback. Where a Pisces will change to better serve others, an Aquarius will hold to their values, and choose a partner who already suits their sensibilities.” He spoke to a completely captive audience of one. “Both signs love deeply, but that love manifests with very different expectations.”

I about wanted to groan at the way he was stroking that Aquarius ego, but instead, I tuned it out to glance at Marcus again. He’d been oddly quiet, even with my poking. Usually he would be making trouble, prodding Adrian about his star sign, but he was instead staring at the wall with his cheek in his palm. I was trying to be playful and tease him, but maybe asking if he was mutable was the step too far.

I was only kidding. I thought to myself, hoping he was listening. I was sure there was value in any sign’s innate characteristics and modality, but somehow Marcus was all bitter about it.

Considering I was the mutable sign among us, I should have been the offended one.

Marcus ignored me, so I made a mental note to not be so stand-off-ish with him. I was trying to stick up for myself, but I didn’t want to push him away and lose his friendship.

I inhaled a deep breath through my nose before I made myself engage in the conversation again, hoping to soften the blow. “So a Capricorn like you must be fixed then, right?”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “Did you have to get him started?” He said through his silent channel.

Adrian’s smile was eerily friendly as he shook his head. “No, the fixed modality is made up of the Aquarius, Taurus, Scorpio, and Leo.”

The professor returned to his white board and drew a grid with three columns and four rows. The rows covered each element, while the columns were labeled Mutable, Fixed, and something called ‘Cardinal.’ He listed each sign under its designation. Virgo was earth and mutable, Leo was fire and fixed, and Capricorn was in the last column.

“Interestingly enough,” he went into that over excited, buzzy nerd energy that he had in Physics, and I didn’t know why that did things for me. “Capricorns start the Winter Season and belong to the Cardinal modality. Cardinal signs are typically characterized as the leaders and visionaries of the Astrological wheel. Tying into the endless ambition of a Capricorn, cardinal signs are the go getters who take risks and are very self-motivated.” He paused a few moments, as if that statement had struck some revelation in his mind. He cleared his throat upon finishing whatever internal conversation was prattling through his head, then he faced me. The intensity of his attention had me shrinking away in my seat.

What was I playing at here by participating so much?

Instant regret.This forced boldness wasn’t working for me. I would not be doing this again.

Adrian resumed the lecture. “Other Cardinal signs include the Libra, the Aries, and the Cancer. Similar to how the elements rotate one after the other each month, so, too, do the modalities. Every element gets one of each, and this adds additional nuance to compatibility within the signs.” He started adding dates and seasons to the chart. “If you struggle to remember which sign is which, you just have to look at where they fall within the season. A Cardinal sign starts each season, as an initiator and leader. A Fixed sign maintains the middle of a season, like a stable and reliable workhorse. And a Mutable sign ends a season, creating a smooth transition to begin the cycle anew. Every modality is needed and important to the flow and cycle of life.”

“You do seem like a born leader.” Linda popped in again, and this time, I was okay with her cringy flirting that took the attention away from me.

“That’s probably what attracted me to teaching.” He was so proud, it would have almost been cute if there was anything soft and safe enough about Professor Karras to call him that. I wondered if those statements were real or fabricated. He seemed so prickly, but I wanted to know more about that passionate mentor side of him.

“That seems a little unbalanced though.” Linda noted, and I had to agree with her. It must have been nice to know you were born to be the potter instead of the clay.

I was just clay.

I frowned and played with my fingers.

The professor shook his head. “It may sound somewhat unfair and demeaning if you’re born under a sign thought to follow rather than lead, but every personality type is necessary for the world to function smoothly. A group of a thousand uncompromising Alphas will accomplish much less than a single leader and nine-hundred-ninety-nine loyal and attentive warriors. People are so quick to put all of the value on a singular figurehead, when that man at the top would be nothing without the army lifting him.”

I’ll admit that I smiled a little at that. I still wished I could be the leader, but then… I went into a borderline panic attack every time I had to make a presentation in front of a class of thirty, so maybe being mutable was a more innate truth than I wanted to admit. I’d have to ask how introversion and extroversion played into the signs next.

What am I even saying?I visibly laughed at myself, before I covered my mouth to hide the act. I was starting to buy way too deeply into this nonsense. The existence of magical zodiac shifters didn’t actually prove the ridiculous personality parameters. I would never believe planets retrograding had any bearing on real life, nor would I believe that everyone born in a certain month had the same base characteristics. It was all arbitrary bullshit.

I nodded as if I’d just won an argument with my brain, while Adrian continued preaching his rubbish.

“As a reference point, let’s look at two signs of the same element but different modalities. For example, the Cardinal Earth Capricorn is an interesting match with a Mutable Earth Virgo.” My face blanched. Marcus seemed unusually annoyed. “Being a Cardinal sign, a Capricorn’s ambition and drive can often be the catalyst to initiate change in the Mutable Virgo. The push and pull encourages the two to learn and grow together. So while the elements already lend to certain commonalities and compatibility, the modalities bring in an added layer of complementary but different approaches to the same base.”

Not sure what to make of all that. Even less sure why Adrian decided to publically pick our combined signs without being prodded and poked by Marcus first. He could have talked about any other set of elements, but no, let’s go with the one that has the whole class staring at my now blazing red face.

I dipped my chin, hoping my long hair would help with the visible mortification factor. What the hell was he doing?

The lecture wrapped up with the usual buzz. I looked to Marcus, who stood without saying a word. I pursed my lips, puzzled and feeling a bit apologetic.

Are we okay? I thought, in hopes he was listening.

He met my eyes, betraying no emotion in the flecks of gold that swam through his unusual irises. He held his eerily intimidating expression for about fifteen seconds before one side of his lips lifted, and he sent a message straight into my mind, “I will always be okay with you, Baby doll. But… don’t ever call me a mutable Beta again.”