The Zodiac Cycle

1.13 Adventurous sign

"Oh, my god." Brianna looked out across the large, open field we had been led to next. We were still in Axton, chasing after the purple dot.

I shielded my eyes from the sun directly above us and scanned the area. There was a cluster of trees surrounding the clearing and a slight outcropping of them to the left.

"Theres nothing here." George crossed his arms.

"The Sagittarius is heading this direction." Keih was looking at the Tracker. "For some reason, they're going at a faster rate than you would think."

Just then, a large movement caught our eyes. Out from behind the outcropping of trees came a large group of therianthropes. Centaurs, Satyrs, Minotaurs, you name it, they were there, stampeding across the feild looking as free as a flock of birds out of their V shape, swarming.

"The dot isnt out in the clearing yet." Keith added.

So they aren't among the group.

"Now they are."

Nevermind.

Bursting out of the treeline, nearly twice as fast as the group was a red blur, weaving between the others as quickly as a fox. They were shouted at by a couple older members of the herd as they passed.

The whole herd circled around the field once or twice before settling and dispersing throughout the area, sticking to smaller groups.

A couple of them ended up near us, casually coming over to chat.

A large Centaur leaned down and poked my ears "are you an elf?"

I flinched, how rude! "Yes, I am."

"I've never seen one before!" She tilted her head, smiling at me.

"This one is nearly as tall as you Adora!" A young faun was standing looking up at George.

"And this one is half your size." An Echidna slithered off of the centaurs back and spun around Iris.

"Of course she's small, shes a flying fey, only Emu Fey get any taller than 5'5" a Minotaur in the group huffed.

"I'm not that small." Iris mumbled.

"Oh, but I've heard some fey are even smaller, like fox fey." The Centaur added.

"Fox fey are untrustworthy." The echidna grumbled.

"Not really," Nolan chimed in "in fact, they're actually a lot more kind than other fey I've met."

"Really?" The faun gasped. he stepped toward Nolan, circling him, and crouched down toward his tail. "May I touch your tail?"

"Uhhh." Nolan looked a bit uncomfortable "no."

"Alright." The faun smiled anyway and stood up, wandering through us before finally stopping beside the Centaur.

"Guys!" We all turned to see a Satyr come running over, waving his arm.

"Done with your joy ride Carson?" The Minotaur teased.

"Har har, yall are just slow." Carson laughed.

I looked over the group carefully. The centaur had on a white crop top and her horse half was a beautiful, sleek black that matched her long hair. She had black eyes and white freckles that were well defined on her dark skin and high cheekbones.

The Echidna also had black hair, cropped short and wavy. She had thin arms, but her snake body was lithe and toned to perfection and colored in a beautiful forest green with a golden belly. She wore no clothes as her scales covered her body up to her collarbone.

The Minotaur had a brown upper body and head, and had a bit of his left ear missing. His eyes were round and brown and he wore a simple pair of tan trousers and bare feet.

The faun was thin and delicate, with white spots along his nose, shoulders, and hips. He had curvy antlers on his head and light brown fur that resembled chocolate chip cookies, without the chocolate. He was shirtless, but had some bracelets, golden armbands, and a necklace.

The Satyr was something else, stood out among his friends to me. He had bold red hair that had a long strand hanging between his horns. The hair came down to his chin and was straight and well kept. The red theme continued on the tops of his ears and below the belt, fur covering him all the way down to his hooves. His skin tone matched mine and he was coated in freckles. He wore a white and grey striped long sleeved turtleneck. His tail was long, and skin colored, with a poofy red cluster of fur at the tip of it. It was also coated in freckles. His eyes looked like they had thick eyeliner over them and were a brilliant purple.

Carson looked at us, his eyes stopping at Avery, gazing at his neck, where his sign sat, and he gasped.

"Where did you get that?!" He pointed at Avery's neck.

"Uhhh." Avery didnt seem to know what to say.

"I have one too." Carson pulled at his collar, revealing an arrow with a line through it on the right side of his neck.

"We really have the best luck with this, huh?" Ash chuckled.

"Luck with what?" Carson asked, tilting his head a bit. He looked directly at me, locking his purple eyes onto mine. "Oh-" He stepped over to me slowly. "An elf?"

I looked at him without moving and nodded.

"What's your name?" He gently lifted my hand and tapped it on his forehead. It was a traditional elven greeting that not many other species knew of.

I felt hot and cold as shivers went down my spine at his voice, and his touch as it warmed my skin.

Oh. My. Gods.

"Amber." I couldnt tell if I had said it or someone else.

"It's nice to meet you Amber." He smiled at me.

Is my hair in my face? I'm pretty sure my hair is in my face. I ran my finger across my cheekbone, tucking my hair behind my ear, and tilting my head down a bit, embarassed.

"You two just keep staring into each others eyes, we can save the world without you." George said sarcastically.

Carson released my hand and we both took a step back.

"Save the world?" Cason asked, his ears tilting in a curious way, and his eyebrows drew in slightly, confused.

And I was staring again...

I looked away, locking my gaze onto a rock on the ground as the others gave Carson the rundown.

His friends kept trying to interrupt and ask random questions, but Keith kind of shooed them off so we could talk to Carson.

"So, you in?" Ash asked him.

"A life of deadly adventures and constantly having to save the world..." Carson laughed "I've been waiting my whole life to get this chance! Of course I'm in!"

"Hah" Keith chuckled. "The most adventurous sign indeed."