The Zodiac Spirit Guardians

Her Majesty's Dog

After a few seconds, I hear the familiar footfalls on branches close to me. "It's nice to see you've come crawling back to us." I don't look at him, knowing good and well that the inevitable circles under his eyes will be too much for me to still, confidently, rip him a new one. "How did freedom taste?" I smirk.

"Shut up already, Haruka." Ezra spits, hardly keeping up with me. His softened tone is what leads me to make the mistake of peeking over at him. I notice the even darker circles and the sunken in cheeks. The Treachery Treaty has drained him of so much, torturing every body he has even when he isn't using them, I can see the agony in his eyes. "You would've done the same thing..." He trails off, narrowing his eyes at Akira.

"I did, actually." I stare at her too, loathing everything about her and how she makes me feel, "At least, I tried." Ezra breaks his gaze from Akira, gaping in response to what I said. The only word I have to mutter is, "Steele." And it registers, sending a wave of sympathy over Ezra's face.

"He's such an asshat." Ezra glares with sharp precision at the back of Steele's head. I can't help a short laugh slip through my cynical composure, and a small grin makes its way onto Ezra's face.

The wind rustles the few leaves on the trees our feet brush past, creating a soothing rhythm. It calms my mind, forcing the bitterness to subdue.

Ezra stays with me the rest of the way to the Cave of Words, making snide comments about what's stuck up Steele's butt. It's good to know someone else finds Steele excruciatingly hostile all the time.

We've officially arrived at the cave. It isn't much, just a hole in the forest made out of tree trunks and branches that have curled inward toward each other to create a sort of archway. The space it contains is relatively small. The legend claims whoever enters must enter alone in order to hear the secrets the Gods have to tell them about their destiny. It's completely absurd to believe such a rumor.

"Glad you could join us again, Ezra." Steele asserts after setting Akira down next to the entrance of the rounded trees. She glances to Ezra and I, searching our eyes to determine our moods. Ezra looks away, noticing her tactics, but I glare at her. I refuse to hide my hatred.

"Ezzy's back!" Rayce shouts, "Now we're a family again!" He continues with the naive optimism that makes each one of us uncomfortable. We all know we haven't been all that close in a long time, but Rayce likes to pretend everything is right in the world. Just another reason we try to keep him in his human body.

"Akira," Kappie begins, glad to change the subject, "Try and remember what you've heard in the cave that might help you remember something." He places a restrained hand on her shoulder, reassuring her that he believes in her. A large knot grows in my stomach as I force the vomit to subside and retreat.

All Kappie receives in response is a stiff nod. Akira turns around slowly, closing her eyes for what I assume is to focus. Anxiety rolls through my veins, time is ticking and this will take an eternity. We shouldn't have to rely on her this much.

I tilt my head to the sky for a distraction. My fingers lace themselves together behind my neck as my eyes relax and close. I haven't realized how tired I am until now, the exhaustion sweeps through me in a haze. I can feel the sore muscles in my arms and legs, even the pain from splinters in my calves. Those trees are not merciful.

This precious time cannot be wasted though. Pent up stress and turmoil keeps me from fighting at my peak performance level. Since I don't want to be the weakest on this team due to mental tension, I allow my nerves to soften my unease, and I rest my mind for a moment or two. I hardly enjoy doing this since thoughts I don't care for tend to surface in these quiet times, but today I need the peace.