The Forgotten Zodiac

Eve gave a slight nod to Arachne, then explained her questioning. "You see, there are many interpreters in my village. It's quite common. Maybe we're related, somehow," she said, smiling a bit. She fell silent, though, as Aries started speaking. "So it's most vulnerable now, is it?" she asked, looking at the small tree. "It is good we came here, then. Shall we set up camp?" she asked, turning to look at the other three.

"It really is. Let's do that," Aries nodded, pulling the tent out of the bag that she had collected. "Better brace yourselves, guys...it's going to be a very long winter."

It wasn't long at all before the tent was set up, and Aries was quick to get a fire going. She was careful to keep it a good distance away from the Tree of Seasons, obviously. There was silence as they ate a small dinner. "Aries...?" Arachne asked quietly.

"Yes?" The rabbit woman replied, smiling a little at the girl.

"We'll get the others back...right?" Tears sprang to the girl's eyes. "A-and my brother...him too...right? Right?"

"Don't worry, Arachne," Byrne assured the little demoness. "I'm certain that they'll be fine. We'll get them back in one piece, don't fret."

"I dunno...something's been nagging me. I dunno." Arachne sighed, rubbing her arm.

"What?" Aries tilted her head, smiling slightly.

"It's like my brother is dying. Over and over and over again. It was really sharp earlier, but it's slowed down...only once in the last hour. I'm scared..." She murmured.

"They dumped him in the ocean." Rush's voice came from one of the nearby trees. He looked like a mess; two arrows in his arm, three in his right wing. "Tied him to an anchor and just let him drop. I couldn't do any-anything but watch...I'm sorry," He muttered.

"Rush!" Arachne exclaimed.

"How long have you been here?" Aries questioned, standing to help him out of the tree.

"A few hours, maybe..." Rush muttered, sliding into Aries' arms. She quickly realized that his wounds were more severe than that; he had been scratched up, he looked half-drowned, he wasn't breathing properly, and he was shivering terribly. He felt feverish, to boot. She realized that his wings were basically heavy blocks of ice; the water had long since frozen. "I didn't know how to get to you directly, but I knew where you were going. The Library gave me a spell to use, and...I wound up in a tree. My wings were waterlogged, but now...frozen stiff..." He sighed, pressing closer to her.

"It's alright," Aries soothed, taking off her tunic and wrapping it around him. "It'll be okay. Thank you...for telling us what happened. Did you see where they took Bermuda?"

"No," Rush muttered.

((Hannah's post))

Eve's eyes widened slightly and she stood, her form shimmering slightly, then givin way to her other, large serpentine one. She coiled herself loosely around Rush once or twice, hoping to help warm him up. "That's all right," she said quietly. "Will you be okay?"

Rush relaxed in Eve's grip, closing his eyes. "Eventually..." He murmured. There was silence for a very long moment, then Rush suddenly said loudly, "Aries,"

"Yes?" Aries looked up at her friend. "What is it?"

"Don't let me...die...okay?" Rush quieted down again, obviously starting to fall asleep within the warm coils of Eve's embrace.

"We won't." Aries smiled slightly, then looked at Eve. "His internal temperature is dangerously low, and he has water in his lungs, from what I could tell. Get his wings melted and dried, then move into the tent. It's almost night, anyways." Aries sighed. "I might have to sit on him to get the water out of his lungs..." She frowned thoughtfully.

"I could coil a bit tighter without causing him harm," Eve suggested, looking to Aries. Byrne added a bit more wood to the fire, making it a bit larger.

"Do what you can," Aries nodded. Rush groaned, trying to fight the wave of exhaustion that had hit him; but there was no point in trying to fight it. He was just wondering if this could be a hallucination or not. He could fall asleep...and not wake up again. But VCF reassured him fairly quickly that there was no way on earth that this was a hallucination or an illusion.

Eve wrapped a little tighter around Rush, letting out a soft, humming sound as she did so. Byrne came over and sat closer to Arachne, sighing. "You okay?" he asked.

Rush started coughing slightly, and a bit of water leaked out of his mouth, but it wasn't much.

"Yes...I'll be okay." Arachne nodded, smiling up at him. "I'm just..." Her smile faded a bit and she looked down. "I'm just worried. That's all. But who am I to...to be so concerned? I'm just the little sister..." She sighed, suddently shifting and leaning against him. She shifted away again quickly, still looking down. "Sorry. I'm tired," She shook her head, looking into the fire after that.

"It's all right," Byrne said, tapping his shoulder in invitation. "We're all tired. You can lean against me, I don't mind," he said.

Arachne looked up at Byrne for a moment, then sighed and leaned against him again. She quickly relaxed, and was falling asleep before sundown. "Into the tent," Aries sighed a bit, shaking her head. She picked up Aranche and carried her there, although she couldn't hide her small smile.

((I think it's about time for a time skip, no? Like...season skip. xD))

((Okie dokie. Should we go to another group? Say, Israel and Verdi?))

((I'VE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN WHERE THEY ARE. .3. But remind me, and sure. We can go there.))

((They're... in the circus, I think? For the Naiads.))

((The circus? Alright. I suppose we can take a peek at everyone current day before season skipping.))

Into the tent, indeed. "They're fine specimens," Someone said, peeking under the curtain that covered the cage. "I just don't know if they're worth the price you say."

"Come on, just give the rabbit a flute and he'll play. The boy...I'm sure you'll find some use for him. Maybe pick at him a bit, put some stuff inside him and watch him cry." A squawking voice, obviously a Siren, spoke next. "It's all a wonderful investment, if I do say so myself. You've got entertainment and a test subject wrapped into one package."

"Isn't that kid Vela's son?" The other voice sounded suspicious. "How do I know this isn't a scam?"

"Look, do you want the monkey and the kid or not? I can find someone else to pay me for these things, you know! Vela has no use for a traitor, and that demonic little bunny can be fed to lions, for all I care. Just hand over the money."

"Fine, whatever," There was silence for a moment as money was exchanged, sealing the fates of both Verdi and Israel at once. The Moot wasn't taking it well. He started crying quietly. He had just been rescued, just warmed up to his friends again, gotten over his initial fear of people...and now this. He was tucked into Israel's arms, trembling terribly.

Israel let out a soft, comforting chirp, holding Verdi a bit closer. He wrapped his wings around the both of them like a comforting blanket and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the voices outside the cage, beyond the curtain. The Siren began to tremble slightly at the thought of more testing being done on him, hoping that their purchaser would think of something less... painful to become of him. "It'll be okay," he attempted to comfort the Moot, though fear ebbed into his own voice as he spoke.

Eventually, there was the sound of wings as the Siren took off and left. There was movement, then a flash of light; they were elsewhere, judging by the light change and the sound...no longer were there the sound of waves washing onto a beach. Now it was still and quiet. There was silence for a long time before the curtain was pulled back.

A beautiful Naiad woman stood before them, dressed in a flamboyant gown, decorated with shining scales and a frilled hat. A young girl stood behind her, dressed to look like what appeared to be a purple jellyfish. "Mama, where did you get these people?" The girl asked, blinking into the cage. "They look hurt."

"The Sirens had them. Goodness knows why..." The woman sighed, shaking her head. "But I paid good money for them, so they'll be helping us with our act."

"They'll be the replacements? But they don't look evil, mommy."

"We'll use makeup. Run to the kitchen and see if we have any seaweed soup for them, alright? Don't let the Ringmaster see you," The woman called after her child, smiling slightly. She looked back down at Israel. "You got yourself in quite the jam, didn't you?" She shook her head. "My name is Atlantis. Oh," She blushed. "That's my show name. My actual name is Ela."

"I...Israel," the Siren stammered after a moment. "It's... a pleasure?" he attempted, not really sure if his feelings matched his words. He spread his wings slightly, though still held Verdi close. "Where... are we? Who are we replacing?" he asked, selecting to ask these out of all of the other questions his mind was bombarded with.

"You're replacing two knuckleheads who couldn't do their job right. Our show is about the betrayal of Fashas to the fish queen. We have several others who play civilians, but Fashas and his assistant, Buenor, both need to be played by someone. I can't exactly pay you, but when you've done enough shows, the play will change and you can play a different role." Ela shrugged, smiling. "As for where, you don't really need to know that. I don't...trust you not to run off." She sighed, then looked up as the door opened again. "Lilac, good job." She smiled as the girl put the two bowls just inside the cage.

"Eat up, please! It's seaweed soup, the very best." The girl beamed, but she frowned after a moment of looking at them. "Momma, they look...beat up. What happened to you and your rabbit, mister?"