Chapter 89: A Chance Meeting

The Keystone public library isn't Lecia Bowden's first choice when it comes to research.

After all, in this day and age of the internet, she'd rather organize her notes fully on a computer. It's only after re-reading her copy of Layna Moore's "Fallen Star" that she felt continuing the momentum might help her find insight, especially with material that isn't so easily available online.

That's the logical excuse, anyway.

Emotionally, she's been feeling trapped ever since the ghostly warnings from Victor Grayson and the news of the assault on Mike's team in Egypt. Thus, getting out and taking time off from her company duties is the biggest reason for her dive into physical books, even if it might not pan out.

She sighs. 'Instead of looking to others, I just want to know the truth of the book I dug up and what we've released. Is that so hard to ask?'

Nothing in life is given, but regardless of summoned creatures or old men with magic, the former archaeologist decides to start her journey with the astrology book section. Her stomach curls with all the extra nonsense she'll have to digest, especially as it relates to Layna Moore's claim of the "flood" based on the Aquarius constellation, but it's necessary.

If only she knew the status and whereabouts of the author. Her goal isn't so much to study the claim as it is to understand Isis, her followers, and any dangers that exist in the present to herself and her members as they get closer.

In her worried thoughts, she stops by a shelf for a book that seemed good enough to start out as a reference to constellations. Her hand draws to it, then flinches. Beside her, a blonde woman in blue scrubs gasps slightly as she's about to pick up the book too.

'A nurse?' Lecia cocks her head.

As they stare at each other, the former archaeologist backs away and coughs. There were plenty of other books she could read on such basic matters.

"Sorry, miss, you can have that one."

Paying no further heed to the blonde, she passes around her to continue the search.

"Um, w-wait!"

Lecia's shoulders stiffen as the blonde calls back. Curious, she turns around to meet the supposed nurse's gaze a second time. "Yes?"

Was this stranger trying to be courteous and offer her the book?

"If it's about the book, no worries. I'm not specifically looking for anything particular," she adds, not in the mood for a back-and-forth.

However, this blonde, known as Viviane, hesitates.

In their initial meet, it didn't occur to the elder slime that she and Lecia never met. Since all the memories and suspicions of this woman are shared with her by Anne and Daniel, it's easy to get mixed up in the feeling of knowing someone. Lucky for her, and especially Daniel tucked within, that isn't the case.

Yet, something compels Viviane to not waste this chance meeting.

Of course, snug inside her gooey body, Daniel has other thoughts. He breaks from his stun to exert control and turn their head away. In haste, his slime mother seals her lips while unsealing her son.

"Puah! What are you doing? Just let her be!" He whispers sharply as the slime slips out of his mouth.

Viviane feels Daniel's sweat as her own, then glances at the increasingly confused Lecia. Aside from her perplexity, she doesn't seem to hear the artist she commissioned. Even so, it's not good to keep her waiting.

"She doesn't know me, Daniel. I know this seems bad, but let me try speaking with her. Maybe we can learn something!" Viviane insists.

Unfortunately, there's not enough time to elaborate as Lecia furrows her brows. "Uh, is...everything alright?"

Shlip!

Daniel's mouth is taken over before he can protest. Although reluctant, he lets go of any resistance as soon as Viviane twists back to face her son's client with a stiff smile. There's no retreat now that they have the Stonehenge leader's attention.

Laughing silly, Viviane rubs her neck. "Ahaha, sorry about that! I just realized: You're Lecia Bowden, correct?"

The former archaeologist blinks, then snorts. The girl's strange reaction makes some sense if she's a fan. Although rare, she had people recognize her for her work in both academia and her role as President of her company.

"Yes," She confirms, smiling amusingly. "I didn't know I was famous, though."

Viviane waves frantically. "Oh, I...I don't mean to make you uncomfortable! It's just that you run a pretty notable company in this city. Plus, I've read some of your introspection between Stonehenge and the digs in New Mexico. They're fascinating!"

"I'm flattered," Lecia chuckles, keeping a professional air about. If anything, she'll take talking to an interested stranger to delay her long descent into the city library's books.

"But I don't think it's fair that only you know who I am," she continues, crossing her arms. "What's your name?"

"People call me Vivi," the elder slime answers, closing her eyes cheerfully.

Even if he could control his mouth, Daniel would still be speechless at how easily his slime mother has been able to establish herself, even hiding behind an easy nickname!

'Wait, this is...going good? I didn't know Mother dug into Lecia's work before.'

His heart beats a little slower as he relaxes, something that helps his mother unwind too. Of course, they can't be too at ease. A small part of Daniel still worries they'll be discovered in some way.

At this moment, Lecia hasn't noticed anything amiss. "Well, Vivi, can I assume you're a nurse?"

The elder slime flinches. She figured that because of the stolen scrub attire, she might get approached about it. Her excuse to a random, fleeting stranger would be to claim to be a nurse or resident; however...

"I'm...actually not a nurse."

This meeting might be more than fleeting.

Wriggling her lips as Lecia raises her brow, the elder slime tries not to overthink now that she's being somewhat truthful. With a huff, she forces a confident hand to her chest as she looks into the tanned woman's eyes.

"I just love wearing comfy scrubs, that's all!"

...It's true they are pretty comfortable.

Yet, a terrible silence fills between them, causing Viviane to drip. She can feel her borrowed heart rise again, undoubtedly due to her son. In fact, Daniel wishes he hadn't thought well of the engagement beforehand.

'Great, Mother. Really, great.'

Although the artist complains, he understands it would be harder if she lied about being a nurse without the employment or knowledge to support such a claim if questioned further.

"Well, um, I suppose everyone has their own preference," Lecia gives, forcing a smile. Although it's strange, there's no rule that only medical professionals can buy and wear them. She also wasn't sure if she wanted to dig deeper. Thus, she moves on. "Any reason you're looking up astrology?"

The elder slime breathes out silently in relief, then straightens. "I...I was about to ask you that, actually!"

The former archaeologist can't stop her lips from rising before placing a hand on her hips. "Oh, I just love reading about shiny astrology, that's all."

Like a switch, Viviane heats up as she registers the mocking excuse and tease in the woman's voice. Adding to that, her son's second-hand embarrassment within isn't helping.

She swallows and lowers her eyes. "Oh, well, ha ha, you got me there. As you say, everyone has their own preference."

Lecia brings her hand up to her lips to stifle a giggle. 'She's...quite adorable.'

Although feeling silly, Viviane is at least encouraged by Lecia's reaction. Not to let herself be played around, though, she decides to be more forward, especially with information that's already publicly known.

"A-anyway, I was just interested in looking at the history of constellations ever since news broke out about the disappearing Al-Bali star. Not to mention, there's that crazy book by Layna Moore that's now going viral with the prediction of a star disappearing."

'Ah, of course,' Lecia snorts, only barely preventing her eyes from rolling. "I'm glad you think it's crazy too, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence. The author didn't even specify which star of the constellation would pop out of existence."

'She's aware, huh,' Daniel observes. Of course, who wouldn't be? At the very least, it confirms that his commissioner is paying enough attention to the connection.

His slime mother has similar thoughts as she hums. "Maybe, but given your preference, what could a former archaeologist be looking for in this section if not related to this great mystery?"

Lecia shuts her eyes and sighs. "I never said I'm not interested..."

She pauses, wondering if it's wise to indulge this stranger in her goal of finding the author and group her grandfather belonged to. At the same time, it's one of the major questions floating around as well online, so it's not like she's uniquely asking with swaths of people of the same mind.

'What the hell. Maybe someone with a little outside perspective can help me,' she decides, but goes in with low expectations given she read all the opinions she could about it.

"If I'm honest, I'm interested in the same. For me, it's more about the author and her grandfather's journal. Frankly, don't you find it strange that there's no word with all the public attention? Some say she's even dead, but then there would be a record, wouldn't it?"

Viviane widens her eyes, delighted to see the Stonehenge leader opening up. It's regarding an open mystery, but still.

"I think so too!" She chirps. "Especially when you consider 'Fallen Stars' was her last book a few years ago and nothing else, doesn't that make it even more strange?"

"Sure, but it only emphasizes the radio silence," Lecia notes. Before going off the deep end, she slides out the reference constellation book they were aiming for and then waves it in front of them.

"Do you want to look into it together, Vivi?" She offers with a smile. "That's if you have time, of course."

"I've got time, but..." Viviane narrows her eyes. "I would've thought someone like you would have better things to do."

'I wish there were better things to do,' Lecia mentally agrees while smiling bitterly.

She coughs. "Well, curiosity isn't exclusive, no? Besides that, what about yourself?"

Closing her eyes, Viviane lifts her chin. "Let's just say I'm a writer taking a creative break and looking for inspiration!"

Inside, Daniel groans.'Oh god, when did she come up with this? Actually...hold on,is she's adapting Mary's excuse to her uncle?!'

Nonetheless, Lecia's forehead stretches as her free hand hugs her chin. "Oh, I guess that certainly makes sense. Have you published a book?"

Viviane breaks, then opens her eyes, glancing away. "L-like I said, a creative break."

Shaking her head, Lecia snorts. 'How weird...'

However, for the stressed-out Stonehenge leader, meeting "Vivi" is certainly a breath of fresh air. Whether she'd continue feeling that way after exchanging their thoughts is another matter.

══════════ ∴ ══════════

Back at Mary's apartment, many fresh clothes in bags were bought and carried in to match the British artist's current bodily measurements. To that end, Anne wraps a tape measurement around her fellow mother's torso, having checked the waist and hips to ensure nothing changed from the accumulated fusions they incurred while shopping as Marianne.

"It looks like you're still the same...I mean, as far as your new measurements go," Anne concludes. "I think this just confirms we have to be more aware of our combined form. There's no telling how we'll lose sight of ourselves otherwise."

Mary raises a hand to her mouth as she snickers. "Oh, love, you say that, but I think you may have added to me with that burger and fries you certainly lost yourself in."

The slime mother coughs and turns away. "W-what? No! Y-you were enjoying it just as much when we were together."

"Whatever you say," Mary shrugs, her smile wide. Moving to snap back her bra, she avoids teasing the slime further with another topic. "Daniel should've been done with his check-up by now. Any update?"

Anne pulls out her phone, then hums. "Last I got a text from Viviane saying they're finished. It doesn't say if he's fine or not, but they're at the library to research more of the past."

"Well, if I'm anything to speak of, they probably won't notice a thing," Mary dismisses. "Being the case, would you merge with him like Viviane if we assume he's in the clear?"

Anne frowns, then lowers her gaze. "I was interested, but after Vida, I don't think it's right anymore. While it'll be fun to share bodies like we had done, I think I share my sister's feelings of wanting to know our baby is present in mind."

Mary hums, pulling over a light t-shirt. Since they were going to prepare for dinner later, she didn't want to change into something nice too early. Not only that, she first had to start organizing her closet.

"I get that," she agrees, then refocuses her gaze. "But that's not the only reason, right?"

The slime mother flinches. After a moment, her eyes narrows with guilt. "Of course, you and Viviane would know. Then, do you think I'm being silly by worrying over sharing what Amy and Rachel experienced that day?"

The British artist crosses her arms. "The 'classified' observations, you mean?"

She recalls the concerns she and Anne held as Marianne before Viviane merged with their boyfriend and son.

"Stop! Viviane, there are things he should not know! Even if you're confident, I wouldn't even be trying something like this."

"I'm aware, sister, but this is our child's decision. I will, however, avoid sharing Amy's more classified discoveries, which she took to her grave. Those aren't relevant anyway."

'Those aren't relevant anyway, huh,' Mary repeats in her mind, unsure whether that's fair to claim.

Although she didn't mean to discuss the specific memory in question, the can of worms has already been opened.

She breathes out. "Okay, first, let's drop the pretense here, love. There's nothing that would bother our son related to the strange radio waves and weird ambient lights you witnessed. Like, come on...really?"

Anne bites her lips.

In silence, Mary shuts her eyes, then steps forward to squeeze the slime mother into her arms. "My view is that it was an untimely omen, but what ultimately happened afterward wasn't Amy's fault. It's not something we should bear, either."

The slime mother squeezes back, burying her face into the artist's shoulder. "I-it's easy to say that, but it doesn't excuse what happened. If our son knew, he..."

"Amy is afraid. We feel that, but it's also in our way of completing our bond as a family. Do you want that?"

Anne closes her eyes. After a few seconds, she pulls away and huffs. "Of course not..."

After some silent thoughts to herself, she hums. "You're right. I'll talk to him about that asshole, but just...not now. There's too much we have to deal with anyway."

Mary closes her eyes, tilting her chin. "Fine by me. Although I am his dear Mummy, I feel that it's not my place to reveal personal matters as his girlfriend."

Widening her eyes, the slime mother scoffs. "That's a load of bull! In that case, I'm also his girlfriend! If you're going to have it both ways, you need to feel responsible for this as well!"

Coughing, Mary pulls up her phone. "Oh, look at the time! I should start organizing now. Anne, would you help prepare dinner with the ingredients we bought?"

"Mary!"