The Zodiacs

18. Tau of Taurus

Lazily laying back on the solid bed he'd created for himself, Tau lazily tossed up a rock into the air, catching just above his face. Only a few others remained in the cave that had grown to become their home, while the rest were training outside. He'd considered going out to join them, but the relaxation that came from the dimly lit and peaceful interior made the idea quickly flee his thoughts.

They'd cleaned the excess dirt on the ground to keep it from getting blown into their faces every time the nightly wind dared to strengthen. Well... it was mostly Asarte, Akil, Keket, and Suma who seemed most bothered by the dirtiness and inorganization. Gradually, it was starting to grow on everybody.

"I'm hungry," Tau mumbled to himself, running one hand lazily over the little hair on the top of his head. If it hadn't been a slight shade darker than his pale skin tone, the twenty-four year old might just look bald. But he wasn't... not yet, at least.

An inner voice of reason urged him to get up and cook something from what Akil had brought back a couple days before, but another voice easily persuaded Tau that eating could wait. He was too comfortable in this position to stir it with the decision to eat.

"Tau!" Keket skipped through the large entrance of the cave, a physical shadow because of the brightness that poured in from outside. He only recognized the girl by her happy voice.

"Yes?" He answered, tossing the rock up once again. It flew through the air with unintentional power and speed until it slammed into the solid rock above him, bringing more debris down with it upon return. Watching the three pebbles and two rocks falling back down, Tau waited until they were the perfect distance away from his head before swatting them to the side --hitting his palm against every single one with a simple flick of his wrist.

Keket hopped to his side, energetically clasping her hands behind her back as she peered down at the older boy. "Akil says you should go practice now," she stated.

Tau furrowed his eyebrows when he looked back up at her, realizing that his plans to remain in his comfortable position were about to be soiled. He should have just gotten up to make food because that was easier than having to train with the battling Zodiacs outside. "I thought I was going tomorrow," he mumbled.

"Suma was supposed to go today, but she's practicing with the swords instead of her powers which means that someone else has to fill the slot," the girl shrugged, glancing outside of the cave when another loud sound echoed through. They were clashing outside.

"Who am I going against?" Tau asked, hoping not to hear the one name of the boy he preferred not to go up against.

But Keket didn't seem to realize. "Aharon."

Tau groaned, dropping one hand over his eyes as he let out the bothered sound. "I'm not mentally prepared to fight today, much less with the hothead fire sign."

"Do you want me to get someone to go before you?"

He shook his head, realizing there was no getting out of training today if Akil had called for him. "No," he grumbled, putting all physical effort into pulling himself into an adequate sitting position. The girl moved aside to give him room to place his feet on the ground. "Why didn't Akil tell me I was going to train today... yesterday?"

She shrugged.

"I need to be aware of things. I need to have a day to motivate myself enough for things like this," he frowned, pushing himself off of the comfortable bed to begin walking toward the bright entrance.

"What are you going to do if somebody attacks you then? You won't have a prior warning," Keket chuckled, following Tau to continue their conversation. She was going to watch the others train since she was no longer needed after completing her own.