Zodiac Signs - Way of the Stars

Chapter 4: A Bit of Training

"Watch out!"

Cancer jumps out of the way of a burst of fire. Pisces rushes over to them before another ball of flames could hit them.

"Oh, heck yeah! I flippin' did it!" Aries shouts as she stares intensely at the small ball of flame that danced on her palm with intensity.

"That's hella cool!" Scorpio yells from afar.

Aries smiles and yells a "thanks man!" to the water-sign.

The sign of the crab sighs in relief. At least the fire-sign did not get hurt like last time. They eye the burn marks on the flamboyant person, hoping that they would not scar. The Signs had recovered enough to begin their training, but there are still minor cuts and bruises from the earlier attack.

"Concentrate, my child." Rise's soothing voice snaps Cancer out of their thoughts. "Distractions will only hinder your progress."

"R.. right." They try to conjure up some healing magic to heal the pre-made slashes on a tree. It's much harder than they had expected and so far they made no progress.

"How do I make this thing bigger?" Aries leans on her weapon, which is a sword. It first came out as a flickering image between a sword and a javelin, but the fire-sign had decided to stick with the sword for now.

"How about willing it to enlarge by concentrating your energy into the flame's life force?" Aquarius suggests with slight excitement as they draw back their silver bow.

Cancer smiles fondly at the air-sign. Aquarius is usually quiet and aloof but when they are caught up in a moment of excitement, they allow their warmer, exuberant side to run freely.

"That might just work. Good idea, Aqua." Aries creates a small fire once more. Her amber eyes sharpens in concentration. The fire stretches from the size of a strawberry to the size of an apple. A small change, but a change nonetheless.

"Oh, hell yes! It actually worked!" Aries practically yells in excitement.

"Hella cool!" Scorpio shouts again from afar.

Cancer smiles at the excitement. Despite the trauma they had faced earlier, the fire-sign still manages to keep herself from getting dragged down by the darkness.

"Oh! I think I did it!"

Cancer turns to look at their new friend Pisces, who's deep blue eyes are widened in awe. The front of the damaged tree is starting to grow; the bark covering the softer, broken areas of the tree.

"Great work, Pisces!" Moon praises as she walks past. "Just a little more."

Cancer smiles, feeling inspired to work harder. They're glad that they're not competitive like Sagittarius - they only wish to improve.

Pisces, unlike Cancer, only wants to learn the basics of healing magic. She does not plan to become a main healer and actually wants to learn combat. The creative water-sign had gotten a dagger as her weapon. She was actually unsure about her weapon of choice, but she decided to give dagger-using a try.

Cancer had gotten a sword and a shield - just like Capricorn. The shield has a symbol of a crab. The water-sign had learned the basics of using a sword and shield but their main focus is healing.

"Break time!" Moon calls. "Everyone, come here to the benches. We have refreshments."

"Come on," Pisces murmurs with a soft smile. "Let's sit together."

Cancer and Taurus had helped Rise with baking cookies before training. Rise was delighted about the fact that the Signs were growing up and finally learning combat. Cancer just couldn't say no to Rise's joyful smile. Besides, they enjoy baking with Rise anytime.