Responsibilities (a zodiac story)

Chapter 8

(map of the kingdoms above)

Aquarius's POV

We found a couple of snacks in one of the drawers and had a quick breakfast that consisted of some biscuits and Pringles. It was nothing like the breakfasts I was used to but at least we didn't have to eat that French bread that a saw probably couldn't cut through. And we set off to Wurro which was east.

"This is bad." Cancer muttered "I did the calculations. Gem has fourteen more hours before...." He paused uncomfortablely.
Aries asked curiously"Before what?"

Gemini sighed. "Before I die."

I hardly even knew the kid but I did feel sorry for him and I hope that everyone else did too. I looked over at his brightly coloured wings that actually looked kinda cool in my opinion.
Pisces' eyes widyin realisation "we won't even make it to the borders of Wurro in time if we carry on walking!" She complained.
Leo crossed her arms and looked down as she kept in walking "we have to try."

We walked and walked for an hour in the forest as Vulpeca led the way with a map and compass that just spawned out of thin air.
And if you were asking, I don't trust her one bit. She's way too familiar. I know I saw her guilty face somewhere.
As we walked Vulpeca suddenly stopped and looked around confused. "Is something wrong?" I asked.
She turned to us and showed us the compass. It was going Haywire, like the needle was waving at us. We couldn't determine where north was or east for that matter. "Without the compass the map us useless." Vulpeca folded up the map "especially in a forest where everything looks the same." She added.

"So you're basically saying that we're lost." Taurus summerised with her cat (Coffee) in her hands. I forgot he was with us. Vulpeca gave a sad nod.
I looked around. It was autumn and all the trees looked identical with their orange and red leaves that kinda reminded me of Gemini's colourful wings. The leaves just needed a bit of blue and they would be identical to the wings. The grass was a similar color because of all the leaves on the floor that crunched under each step anyone took. The branches of the trees were wierdly shaped like arms. The aura was different though, It looked normal but there was a light grey mist around. One of the trees looked like a person with at least six arms that were actually branches. I imagined them waving at me. Naturally, I waved back.
Then I felt a hand squeeze my cheek making me snap my head towards my brother.

Sagittarius sighed "who are you waving at?" He asked.
"The trees." I said as if it was obvious. Libra chuckled."we have been calling your name at least three times." He looked at me amused.
"Uhm... Sorry." I apologizeed

"As I was saying..." Vulpeca continued. "We need a plan."
"Well no flip Sherlock." Scorpio said.

A squirrel suddenly bounced out of the bushes making Leo yelp and jump into Orion's arms in suprise. It started talking in it's animal language that I didn't understand. Taurus bent down and placed Coffee down and lifted the squirrel. And I could've sworn that the cat looked jealous. The squirrel started chattering as if trying to tell Taurus something. She nodded but looked uneasy. She looked at us and said four words.
"I can understand animals."

We all looked at her confused. "You sure?" Virgo asked.
"Yea!" Taurus said with excitement and I swear I saw her bushing. Capricorn sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "another crazy one. Great."
"I'm not crazy! She's taking to me!" Taurus protested as she stood up. Coffee obviously wasn't liking the way Capricorn was acting because he let out a loud purr that sent shivers down my spine.

"Well.. what did it say?" Pisces asked trying to be understanding.
"Belive it or not, she realised we were lost and told us that east is that way." Taurus said and pointed to her right.
"Are you sure? How would a squirrel know that?" Virgo asked. Come to think of it, hearing Virgo talk to others is like finding a hundred tons of diamond at your doorstep one morning. So I'd say it's rare.