Four of Breaking

CRIT FOR FOUR:

This was also good, only I didn't read it all at once...so yeah.

I think there could have been more to this, but other than that it was just another scene between taj and kath. This is just turning out to be a romance, there's no action, no drama that I can find. It's become all about them and that's it. I'd love to see more to this than just that.

Good job, I hope to see mroe of this soon =D
-JC

Thanks for the crits everyone. I'm glad the whole taping thing didn't go over everyone's heads. I was hoping people would be familiar enough with the whole athletic training thing that it wouldn't just confuse the heck outa them. That whole scene kinda got cut in half so it wouldn't be way too long on the post, but here's the rest of it. Crits appreciated, as always




I finished icing and headed out, because once the trainer had returned there had been an immediate swarm into her room, and I knew I’d be late to practice if I had to wait for it like so many of them would. Even our trainer in all her glory couldn’t tape that fast.

I headed down to the equipment room, where I found her digging through crates of shot-puts.

“Hey Kath,” I called, leaning against the doorway. “Can I take you up on that taping thing?”

She waved me over and I went, seating myself on a stack of gymnastics mats as she pulled the medical kit from its shelf.

“Inside or outside?” she asked, drawing out the spray, pre-wrap, and tape.

“Out,” I said promptly, and she sprayed down my shin and proceeded to tape as I watched, fascinated. She was efficient at it, that was certain.

When both shins were finished, she patted her tape job and sat back. “There you go.”

“Queen of my heart,” I declared, flexing my foot experimentally and finding it as good as when our trainer did it. “The woman can tape, indeed. I don’t suppose you manage soccer too?”

“No,” she said. “I take it you play?”

“Yep.”

“I did too, for a while,” she said, storing the medical kit back on its shelf.

“Yeah?” I asked interestedly. “What number were you?”

She paused, eyes wide, then she smiled a bitter smile, resuming her movement. “Three. I didn’t even realize.”

“Realize what?” I asked, puzzled.

“Three.” She turned, indicating her shoulder, leg, and side. “Three fates, three Sorrows. Three… way too many threes,” she finished abruptly. “Sorry. Ignore me; I don’t know why I’m telling you this. What number are you?”

“Four.” I watched her closely, head cocked to the side so my hair fell in my face again.

She slowly looked at me, and I wasn’t certain what I was seeing in her face just then, so I ventured to go on.

“I come after three,” I said with a shrug and a grin.

She snorted softly. “After the three Sorrows comes the fourth horseman, Taj, and you aren’t him.”

“Death?” I said with a raised eyebrow. “Death doesn’t always come after the three Sorrows, Kath.”

“He does in my experience,” she murmured, and glanced at me. “Don’t mess with threes, Taj, because everything I’ve seen so far points to him coming after.”

“Not really.” I’d seen where this was going; at least, I had a good guess as to what she was talking about, based on what she’d said and what I’d read when I finally tracked down that article. “Threes aren’t always trouble, Kath, and death isn’t the end result of every set of threes,” I said carefully.

“Oh?” she asked quietly, eyes downcast as she stared at something only she could see, some memory held inside of her which I would never know.

“Yes,” I said, just as quietly, rising from my seat. “I don’t think all threes are trouble.”

She glanced at me again as I moved, circling pensively behind her still form.

“And I don’t think death is the only follower of three, either.”

“What else follows three, then, Taj?” she asked, hooded eyes looking up at me. “He’s the fourth horseman. What else is there?”

“Well,” I said with a shrug, and paused to put a gentle, albeit tentative, hand on her shoulder from where I stood behind her. “There is me. I’m a four, Kath, and I’m not death, but last I checked I followed three, right?”

She stared ahead in stony silence, ice-blue eyes fixed on the opposite wall. “I think you should go.”

I didn’t like the look of this. “Kath-”

“Taj.”

“Come on, Kath.” I took my hand from her shoulder, moving around to look at her.

“You may go, Taj,” she said impassively.

“Kath,” I began again, an edge of annoyance creeping into my voice.

“Taj.”

“Kath.” I pushed away my annoyance and looked her in the eye, waiting until her gaze finally slid down to meet my own. “Come on, Kath,” I said again. “Don’t do that. You’re smarter than that, and I know you’ve figured out by now that I’m not going to hurt you. And…” I ran an agitated hand through my hair, grimacing. “And damn it, Kath, I’m not Dodge, got it?”

Her eyes narrowed at this. “Oh really?”

“Yeah- really.” I glared back at her. “Now look, I’ll go, but… I’m coming back, eventually.”

I turned and walked away, but her voice stopped me just outside the doors.

“What do you want, Taj?”

What do I want? I stopped dead, and a grin slowly spread across my face, remembering the conversation I’d overheard the day before; I turned that bright grin toward her, calling, “I want you to be there at the meet tomorrow, alright? I’m running both the 500 and the 100, so be there!”

Whistling to myself, I sauntered off, supremely pleased with myself and grinning as my ears caught her irate answer.

“I’m a manager, you idiot, of course I’ll be there!”

Interesting, interesting. The relationship between Taj and Kath is growing. I liked how you brought back the three thing. There hasn't been mention of that in this one until now... I think.