[12/11/2015 6:02:47 PM] Kyralih: "Welcome to my Observatory," Nephrite greeted, throwing open the doors to invite his guests in. The night was young, the sky was dark, and the dome was open.

[12/11/2015 6:11:41 PM] Kyralih: As he strolled through the opulently decorated room, his boots clicking on the mosaic tile flooring, he found his were the only steps echoing in the great cathedral. He paused, turned, and waited for his guests to join him. "You're welcome to come in," he prompted.

[12/11/2015 6:14:22 PM] Princess Moon: Standing in the cold dark, with arms crossed and legs shivering, Kiyoko smiled as the doors finally opened, greeting the tall man in front of her and slowly entering the observatory. 

Admittedly she wasn't really attached to astrology or fortune telling or anything like that, it always seemed like a waste of time to her - however, seeing that poster back then, gave her some sort of feeling, some sort of intuition, telling her to visit it and to check it out. 

Surely she didn't know if it was right to come there tonight or if she should have better stayed at home and went to bed. But for now, the only thing she knew was that night was young and that lots of things were about to happen, so instead of walking with a gloomy face around the observatory, Kiyoko just waited patiently for the astrology session to begin.

[12/11/2015 6:15:38 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: Yuuta stopped staring up at the entire building at Nephrite's words, remembering why he was here in the first place. Right, the astrology. To be honest, he had been more interested in the dome and cathedral itself. He took a few long strides to catch up to their host.

[12/11/2015 6:21:58 PM] Kyralih: As the small group slowly entered, Nephrite turned back around and continued walking towards the open dome, "The stars have a show for us tonight; as it is the night of a New Moon, there won't be any pesky glare to deter the starlight from getting in; we can start by looking at some of the better-known late-autumn constellations so later you can find your way around the sky to view the meteor shower tonight and---" he finally caught himself. Astrology, he repeated, mentally grumbling, as he made something up, "And... prepare for the omens the meteor shower will bring."

[12/11/2015 6:25:04 PM] Jasper: Jasper approached the observatory, wearing a charcoal gray business suit with a clean white shirt, black tie, and matching pair of black slacks and shoes. He kept to the back as Nephrite offered his invitation, maintaining a quiet demeanor so that their gracious host would continue with his explanation.

[12/11/2015 6:25:27 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: Omens? You could tell fortunes from meteors as well? Yuuta thought it was just the stars that could be read, but what did he know about astrology? Looking at constellations sounded fine with him though. Maybe he'd finally start to see the shapes in the sky as well. The stars never seemed to make the neat lines he'd seen in books, much to Yuuta's frustration.

[12/11/2015 6:25:56 PM | Edited 6:27:49 PM] Princess Moon: Looking up to the thick darkness above her, Kiyoko stared with fascination at the stars and the moon, amazed by their beauty and their serenity.

Somehow, it was even much more enjoyable than random fortune telling - yes, in fact, she could have stared at the sky for the next few hours, maybe even until the new day would have dawned. 

But this was an astrology event, she reminded herself, taking a deep breath and looking back at their host.

[12/11/2015 6:28:55 PM] Kyralih: Oh, no, he lamented, looking back on their faces, they liked the 'omen' stuff. Should the omens be good or bad here? Quickly he mentally maneuvered, and continued. "Tonight's meteor shower, the Geminids, foretell the end... of a season, of a year, and of bad times for many of the zodiac constellations." 
Nailed it.

[12/11/2015 6:29:17 PM] Kyralih: "Who here has been feeling a little frustrated lately?"

[12/11/2015 6:30:04 PM] Jasper: I never put that much attention to the stars themselves, Jasper mused to himself. I'm simply glad that there's no overly bright objects or light pollution to interfere with Nephrite's work.

That, and well, it was more refreshing to him to not be blinded by unwarranted levels of light.

[12/11/2015 6:31:30 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: Bad times? Yuuta thought about his life recently. It was coming close to the end of the season for his high school sports team, and everyone got stressed out at practice. But was it really the fault of the meteors? "I guess I have...." Yuuta said.

[12/11/2015 6:34:26 PM] Kyralih: Nephrite turned to the young man, "You are a Capricorn, aren't you?" he asked.

[12/11/2015 6:35:28 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: Yuuta was shocked at his guess. How did he know that? Could he just tell by looking at someone? "Y-yeah, I am," he admitted.

[12/11/2015 6:35:38 PM] Jasper: Jasper raised an eyebrow and pointed to himself, as if asking for clarification. He then looked in Yuuta's direction, as he was the most recent speaker.

[12/11/2015 6:36:22 PM | Edited 6:40:27 PM] Princess Moon: Looking at the young man that stood at the entrance with her just a few minutes ago, Kiyoko started to think about her own life, wondering if she had any bad times lately or if she felt a little frustrated at the moment.

It wasn't worse than it was most of the time, she thought, thinking about the last months and years as she listened with half an ear to her host and the young man.
Or had her stars been in a bad constellation throughout the last years?

[12/11/2015 6:38:29 PM] Kyralih: Nephrite nodded his head sagely, "The stars know everything," he intoned mysteriously, And I do, too, thanks to those RSVP's. 

...Now what?

[12/11/2015 6:42:14 PM] Kyralih: Ahem he cleared his throat and walked over to the large, open ceiling, and quickly located Cassiopeia, and started pointing out its shape. "We'll start tonight's viewing--er reading with Cassiopeia, our guide to finding the North Star now that the big dipper is so low on the horizon. You'll find it in the bright stars just over there -" he gestured, "The constellation itself looks like a big letter "M" or "W", but it is supposed to stand for the old Queen of Ethiopia, who angered the god Poseidon with her claims of great beauty. The Shape is supposed to represent her reclining on her throne."

[12/11/2015 6:46:02 PM] Kyralih: ((http://i.space.com/images/i/000/021/066/i02/perseid-meteor-vegastar.jpg?1346265175))

[12/11/2015 6:46:29 PM] Princess Moon: With her head lifting into the air again, Kiyoko listened carefully as her host gave some facts about Cassiopeia, a constellation she remembered from her school time back then, but which history of was gradually forgotten as time went by.

It was interesting to hear little facts like these, though.
"Say," she eventually spoke up, looking at the brown-haired host in front of her. "Can you tell us something about this constellation?"
Pointing with her finger a little more Northern from Cassiopeia, she curiously looked at her host, hoping for some more interesting stories.

[12/11/2015 6:46:31 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: Yuuta waited for a follow up to Nephrite's statement about his star sign, only for them to move onto different constellations. Well that was... lackluster. Oh well.... People really saw a queen in that zigzag of stars? That was pushing the whole imagination thing a bit, wasn't it? "It reminds me of a beach chair," he mumbled, hopefully low enough to be unheard by Nephrite.

[12/11/2015 6:51:30 PM] Jasper: Jasper tracked his gaze upward to the ceiling, following Nephrite's direction and description of the star grouping. I should have brushed up on my history studies..

Ultimately, did it cause Cassiopeia to be thrust amongst the stars as a punishment? Either she told big lies, or Poseidon was thin-skinned. Perhaps it was better he look away from that subject and await further context from Nephrite.

[12/11/2015 6:55:12 PM] Kyralih: Nephrite followed the young lady's finger and guesstimated she was pointing towards Ursa Minor; he took the bait and launched, "That's Ursa Minor, the little bear, and you've got a good eye for spotting it; it's among the faintest of the better-known constellations, but it's well known for a good reason. If it's a little difficult to make out, don't worry about it - what you're looking for is something that looks like a measuring cup with an upward-facing handle - the asterism for the little bear is the littel dipper, and that's what most people recognize. Now, do you see that star there, at the edge of the handle? That star is arguably the most important star - er, night-time star - for Earth. That is Polaris, the pole star - the North star."
"Our northern pole points directly to Polaris, and as we rotate around our pole, it appears that the sky is rotating around Polaris. We've been using the North Star for over a thousand years for navigation during the night; if not for it, our species would have been more limited in its exploration."

[12/11/2015 6:57:58 PM] Kyralih: "All constellations have stories, and the Little Bear is no different; the bear's name is Arcus, and it shares its story with its mother, Callisto."

[12/11/2015 7:00:58 PM] Princess Moon: Her mouth dropped and a faint smile emerged on her face as her brain got more and more information with every sentence leaving the host's mouth. 

So the little bear was one of the faintest better-known constellations? And its name was Arcus?
Well, learning never stopped.

Arcus was a cute name, though.

"Ah, I see!" She responded contently, giving him a friendly smile before starting to talk again. "Can we see Ursa Major at the moment too? Or isn't it visible at our place right now?"

[12/11/2015 7:01:56 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: Yuuta was pulled out of his beach chair musings by Nephrite's talk about Ursa Minor. So Polaris was like some kind of ancient compass that people used to figure out where they were? Interesting. But the name Callisto grabbed his attention more. "Yeah, which constellation is Callisto?" he asked.

[12/11/2015 7:04:58 PM] Kyralih: Nephrite motioned to the big dipper, below the little dipper, near the horizon. He took a moment to point out its shape, and how the dipper transformed into the shape of a Bear, given a few surrounding stars and a little bit of imagination. "These bears have long tails for a reason, and it's not just to make the story fit the shape. Callisto's story is a long and sad one; there are many different versions, but I prefer my favorite," he smiled, so that's the only one I'll tell.

"Callisto was a great huntress; she was one of Artemis's chosen few, accepted into her party after swearing vows of chastity, to forgo men in order to better take on the Hunt. However, she had an admirer in the King of the gods - Zeus, a notorious womanizer. She turned him down, but he does not easily take 'no' for an answer. Zeus disguised himself as Artemis herself, and through his disguise, he seduced Callisto, and from their union Callisto became pregnant."

"Having broken her vows, she was expelled from Artemis's group, and went off to hide in a remote village so she could have her child. However, when the child was born, Zeus's jealous wife, Hera, found Callisto and tried to have her killed; to save her, Zeus transformed her into a bear, and her son, Arcus, was raised by local villagers after his mother's mysterious disappearance."
"But it doesn't end there."

[12/11/2015 7:06:06 PM] Jasper: A smirk crossed Jasper's lips as Nephrite concluded his summary of Ursa Minor with its name and the relation to Callisto. The latter constellation raised his interest, though he could not recall why this was the case at the given moment in time.

(I also need to be going, only now instead of at 7:15. Sorry I couldn't do much for participation, but it was fun! This trailer needs to arrive by midnight and I have about 1 hour left of free time to make that happen)

[12/11/2015 7:10:09 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: "Woah...." Yuuta hadn't expected such a deep story of lovers, jealosy, and broken vows about two bear constellations, but it was certainly entertaining. Maybe Kumoka would like to hear it later...

[12/11/2015 7:11:08 PM | Edited 7:11:35 PM] Kyralih: "Though Hera had been thwarted, she did not give up. Arcus grew and matured, and as he learned to hunt he was approached by Hera in secret, and told of a great bear that lived in the woods, the bear that had killed his mother. Not knowing of her deceit, Arcus took to the woods, intending to kill this bear to avenge his late mother once and for all. The bear he was after was, of course, Callisto."

He paused for dramatic effect.

"Just as he had her in his sights, Callisto unwilling to defend herself against her own son, Zeus appeared and transformed the child, that he may recognize his own mother. The pair happily reunited, but still their trials were not over. Hera then sent hundreds of hunters into the woods after the bears, and so, to save them Zeus grabbed them by their tails, slung them around his head, their tails growing with the strain of their weight, and threw them into the sky, where Hera could never threaten them again."

"And so here they are today, and yet Hera had her last laugh; they are the northernmost stars, the stars that will never dip below the horizon and into the celestial waters, and so were to never be cleaned again.   That punishment was also used for Cassiopeia and Cepheus, but their story is a little longer than this, and involves many more of the constellations that stretch across the night sky."

[12/11/2015 7:15:30 PM | Edited 7:15:39 PM] JupiterThunderCrash: "That was even sadder than I thought it was going to be," Yuuta said. Who even made up these kinds of stories? And what if they really did happen at some point?

[12/11/2015 7:18:47 PM] Kyralih: Nephrite chuckled, "Not a lot of star stories are happy, I'm afraid. Some get happy endings, but it's always after facing darkness..." He paused, looking at the time, "Oh! Well, here I've gone and talked away the evening. Listen, about those meteors - they peak just after midnight tonight and put on a great show - the night of the 13th / morning of the 14th will be the best time to view them." He started walking away, back towards an office door in one of the far walls, "Just look for the twins, Castor and Pollux, of the Gemini constellation near Orion, and you'll have a great show!"

[12/11/2015 7:18:52 PM] Kyralih: http://earthsky.org/tonight/december-geminid-meteor-shower-2015

[12/11/2015 7:19:51 PM] Kyralih: " In the Northern Hemisphere, this meteor shower often rates as one of the best – if not the best – shower of the year on a dark, moonless night. " guys, that's tonight. It's a new moon. No moon tonight. Dark skies, bright meteors, it's going to be fabulous. Totally expect a nerd report on this on the forums tonight after I make this dinner XD
[12/11/2015 7:24:46 PM] Princess Moon: Still speechless from the depressing stories behind those rather beautiful constellations, Kiyoko almost overheard his announcement about the meteors and the great view they could have the next night - however, only almost. 

Kindly she smiled at him and gave thanks to him for the nice evening before turning around and heading back to the exit, already excited to tell Vulpix all that interesting stuff she got to know tonight and to look out of her window once the meteors showed up. 

"Well then - see you!" She only waved at the others before entirely disappearing in the dark.