The Forgotten Zodiac

Byrne slowly climbed out of the tree - now that the dog was gone, he was worried about the hawk again, not having seen the bird fly off. "Well... will it be back?" he asked, looking to Arachne.

((Got to go. Merry Christmas!))

((Merry Christmas to you too!))

"Yes, he will." Arachne nodded confidently. "He just went to hunt for us. He'll bring back plenty of food. Lumpy stopped to count us before Gumpy could run off, so I know he'll be good and bring enough food for all of us."

"Well that's... convenient," Byrne said, sitting down underneath the tree. He looked up between the branches until he spotted Aries. "Hey, you can come down now, you know!" he shouted.

"No, no, no," Aries shook her head, still pale and trembling. "I'm not coming down. Not for a second. He'll be back soon, you know! He'll be back, and he'll hunt me!"

"Oh..." Arachne blinked. "She really IS scared."

"She's irrational when she's afraid," Rush chortled.

Byrne looked up at Aries, trying to rationalize with her. "Aries, you could totally take him," he said, hoping that would make her feel better.

Eve laughed, then looked to Byrne, wondering something. "Hey, Byrne, how does the dog look to you?"

The human blinked. "What?"

"You know," Eve said. "You still say that our faces are strange. How about the dog's?" she asked.

"Oh," Byrne said. "No. He's fine. Just looks like any other dog... with two heads," he said.

"Are you getting better, then? Or does it just not work the same for animals...?" Arachne tilted her head to the side.

"I would imagine it doesn't work the same." Rush shrugged. Aries realized that he was sitting up, though he was still half inside the tent.

"I think Rush is right. You look as weird as ever," Byrne teased, grinning at Arachne. He chuckled softly, then looked around as he heard something come barreling through the forest. "That'd be him... or, them, maybe I should say," he said, standing poised under the tree in case he needed to get back in it in a hurry.

"I think Rush is right. You look as weird as ever," Byrne teased, grinning at Arachne. He chuckled softly, then looked around as he heard something come barreling through the forest. "That'd be him... or, them, maybe I should say," he said, standing poised under the tree in case he needed to get back in it in a hurry.

Gumpy and Lumpy were quite happy to return, dropping a few birds at Arachne's feet. "Good doggies! Good dogs," She praised them, scratching him behind his ears on both heads. "Sit," She ordered, and they did so. Arachne picked up the birds and handed them to Rush. To clean and cook, of course. As Aries could not, seeing how she refused to come out of the tree.

((But Aries is still in the tree. D:))

((I FIXED EET. SORRY. I was tired last night. xP))

((:D))

Byrne looked at the two headed dog curiously, getting abit closer to them. "H-hi there. Thanks for dinner," he said carefully, as he was still a bit offput by the large beast.

"Yes, yes," Gumpy yipped. Lumpy was silent, aware that Byrne was nervous. Arachne said that these were friends, so he wanted to make a good impression. He forced Gumpy to stop moving and hold still, but he didn't have any influence over Gumpy's mouth. "Hi, person! Hi, hi, hi. How are you? Are you doing good? I'm good. I'm a dog! This is Lumpy. He's serious all the time, but I'm not. Are you a serious person? You look afraid. Do not be afraid, for I am Gumpy!"

Byrne smiled a bit wider as Gumpy spoke. "I... nice to meet you both," he said. "I'm... I'm Byrne." He reached his hand out to stroke Gumpy's head. "Good dog..."

"Byrne! By-urrrnn!" Gumpy overpronounced his name, licking the boy's fingers. "Good boy, good boy." He copied Byrne, yipping happily. Lumpy leaned over and put his head in Byrne's hand.

"Pet me," He practically ordered, flicking his ears back.

Byrne laughed, reaching out and complying with Lumpy's request/command. "There you go," he said, smiling at the pair of dogs. "You're pretty sweet. I've never met a Cerberus before," he said.

"We are particularly uncommon pets. Mainly because females of our kind are extremely rare, and--" Lumpy started, but Gumpy took over.

"They bite each others necks out. Like this!" He twisted his head around and somehow got his jaws around Lumpy's neck, but he didn't dare bite down. He went back to licking Byrne's hands. "You have funny paws. Your toes are so long!"

"Yes, well...we have fierce loyalties to our owners, and...most of the time, a strong patience and tolerance for our body-mates."

Byrne smiled at Lumpy. "That sounds like a good attribute. Both of those things." He looked over to Arachne. "I like him. Them. Yeah."

Arachne giggled. "He's cute, isn't he? Big, yes. But he's a good doggy." She was helping Rush pluck the birds, which was easy enough. Just grab feathers and pull. When they were done, Rush managed to conjure a flame to cook it over, but one that wouldn't burn the grass or trees. Magical fire was just as good as any other.

"Yeah, I like him," Byrne said. He looked up at Aries, shaking his head a bit. "Come on, Aries, he doesn't bite. He's a friend!"