The Forgotten Zodiac

The Phantom glared at L'arc, but gave up. "Fine. Go to your death in the Palace." He sneered, letting L'arc go. The portal sucked the forest prince in, but not before the Phantom threw something; the arrow that had been in the back of Althos' neck. It hit the forest prince in the knee, making it impossible for him to run anywhere.

The palace was...still there. Thank goodness.

L'arc let out a yelp as the portal deposited him near the Manakete Palace. His hand moved to clasp his knee, grimacing as he tried to pry the arrow from it. He let out a cry, looking up at the palace. He had to hurry... or... or...

What he wouldn't give for a sending stone right now.

"Bermuda? Sylas, Jarod? Anyone? Someone? Help!" he called, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Reetah, by chance, was flying by at the moment. Her sharp nose detected blood, and she was quick to look around, spying L'arc. She landed easily, transforming and frowning at him, though she did move forward to help. "What's going on? Why are you here, I thought you were with your friends..."

"We got captured by the Phantom... he..." L'arc shook his head slowly. "We have to find Sylas. We have to," he said. "There's a bomb... the Phantom's trying to blow up your castle! We have to find Sylas!" L'arc said, his voice rising a little in panic.

"Sylas...Sylas? We haven't seen Sylas. We found a blood trail, though. Leading from the castle steps down here...I was flying around, trying to find any sign of him..." Reetah frowned. "A whole bomb, though...? Poor Sylas..." She strolled away a bit, looking for more signs of the trail. "Here," She knelt next to a groove that had been marked in the dirt. "He's been dragging himself. Broken legs, maybe. Or just exhaustion..." She followed it for a few steps. "But then it stops here. Someone else came along and picked him up or something..."

L'arc rose shakily to his feet, a small whimper escaping his lips. "Who?" he asked, knowing she didn't know the answer. "Why? Where could he be?"

Reetah glared at the tracks on the ground for a moment, and where they led. She returned to dragon form, and took in a deep breath. "The only human I can smell is Sylas. They're likely Foresters, whoever they are...I don't smell demons or anything else. Just forest." She transformed into her smaller form and started forward into the forest, following the tracks as closely as she could.

"What'cha dooo-oin'?" A squirrel bounced along their path. Reetah stared at it for several long moments, then said,

"We're looking for someone. Might you know where a human might be around here?"

"Sure. They went that way," The squirrel pointed with its nose.

"Who are 'they'?"

"The animal guardian, and her dog pack."

L'arc blinked at the squirrel. "Oh. Is it one of those years?" he questioned, then shook his head slowly. "The animal guardian? Who's that?" he asked, suprised he'd never heard of such a thing.

"Yeah, the Animal Guardian. She only comes out during these years. I'm not surprised you don't remember her; the last time she was around, you were a wee little baby!" The squirrel chuckled. "Come on, then," He darted off into the bushes, leading the way.

Reetah was quick to follow (in spite of her utter confusion), but she came to a screeching stop as her eyes fell on the Animal Guardian's camp. It was a single tent and a small fire. There were at least six dogs near the fire, and four lazing around in the tent. There was a woman there, tall and straight-backed, sipping on a cup of tea in front of the fire. She was quite the sight; she had a peacock-feather trimmed gown that glittered with golden sparkles. Her straight brown hair was framed with antlers that served as a laurel. She turned her delicate blue gaze upon Reetah, who glared back at her.

Sylas was lying among the dogs. They sniffed and put their teeth around his arms and legs, but they didn't bite down yet. They never ate living things; they weren't meant to kill. They would stalk around dying animals and wait until they finally gave out before eating. And that's what they were doing to Sylas, who was staring numbly at the sky and trying to remember how to breathe properly. All he could manage was a faint wheeze and a trembling (due to fear) inhale.

"Sylas!" L'arc stumbled into the clearing, glaring at the dogs and their "guardian." "Leave him alone! You can't eat him! He's my friend!" he cried.

The woman blinked. "L'arc of the forest, friends with a human? Not likely." She chortled. "He's not dying, though...he's ridiculously resilient and quite the fighter..." She raised a brow at the boy. "But he has a darkness in him that should not be. It should not be inside him, it should not be in the forest...much less in the palace of dragons." She turned to her dogs in spite of her words and tutted once or twice in a low pitch; the dogs stopped checking the human for signs of life and backed away. All but one, who stood at attention.

"My apologies, your highness." He spoke quietly. "We did not know better."

"Well, at least they know you..." Reetah sighed.

"This is Sylas, he was raised by Jemina, the Tree of Gifts. He is one of my closest friends, and I would really appreciate it if you would help him out," L'arc said. "The darkness inside him is a bomb made of Dark Matter. Do you know how we might be able to get it out?" he asked.

The woman stared at him for a long moment, but let the dog speak. "I could eat it."

"What?" Reetah blinked in alarm. "Wouldn't that hurt you?"

"Mmm...maybe."

"I don't...think that's a good idea, then..." Reetah shook her head. "Maybe we should just cut it out of him."

"Stop talk...talking...like I'm not here..." Sylas whispered.

"Would you care if we cut it out?"

"No. Just...keep Bermuda away..." Sylas huffed. "I was lucky...no one saw me drag myself away...and then these dogs dragged me here...I was almost happy, until they said they would eat me..." He whimpered a bit.

L'arc went over to Sylas's side, then glanced up at Reetah. He remembered well what had happened last time he had went along with one of the manakete's plans - he, of course, had no reason to not trust her, but her track record with him wasn't that great.

"Well, we'll figure something out," he assured. "But first, we need to get your wounds tended to. Can you," he said, turning to the Animal Guardian, "do anything to help him?"

"Do I look like a healer, boy?" She asked him wryly. "Do you not understand the rules of the wild? If he was stronger, then he wouldn't have gotten beaten up in the first place. Survival of the fittest. And he, clearly, is not one of the fittest."

The dog looked at her, then sighed a bit. "That is Erwin. She ensures that while this spell is over the animals of the forest, they don't say more than they need to. If she were not around, every word would be heard by anyone; the gossip of birds, the whispers of hunter stalking prey...with her, we have a choice of whom to speak with and whether or not you understand. Without her...well, let's just say that little chirping of birds outside your tent would become extremely irritating to you."

"Hmph. I still say we just cut it out of him..." Reetah grumbled.

"We could take him to the Rabbitzen camp," The dog suggested. "There is one of few, very small camps nearby. I believe they have a healer with them. They could heal his wounds, and make an attempt to purify him."

"Rabbitzen? Ari-Aries will like that..." Sylas chuckled a bit.

"Then let's go there," L'arc said, standing. He seemed to have a hard time with the action, as his knee had been damaged rather badly, but he was no pushover. And Sylas needed help. "Reetah, will you carry him? If the dogs will lead us... how far away are we?" he asked, not knowing how much time they had to get Sylas to a healer.

"Only about a mile. Won't be long." The dog stood, then looked at Erwin. "I won't be long."

"Of course." The woman smiled happily. "Good luck, Stien."

"Thank you, m'lady." He dipped his head, then padded off quickly towards the setting sun. Reetah picked Sylas up and followed, though she clearly wasn't too trusting of the dog.

L'arc followed after Reetah, a slight limp in his gait. He pursed his lips as he braced himself for the walk - it was not too far, but it would still hurt him. He only hoped the healer that they were being led to was good, and that he or she could heal both the druid and Sylas.

The dog led them along happily, his tail wagging more as he approached the camp. It really was small; There were perhaps three Rabbitzens here. Two of them stood at once; one raised a spear, and the other, a bow. But when they saw who it was, they quickly relaxed.

"L'arc. You're bleeding," The third stood more slowly. She was an older woman, much older than Aries, but she looked...happier. Aries always carried an air of business, while this woman was bursting with smiles and happy cheer. "Who's this?" She inspected Sylas carefully, then tutted. "Not good, not good at all..."

"What's wrong, lady Rhre ((pronounced 'Reh-ray'))?" The man questioned quietly. The woman, who looked preganant, only frowned.

"He has a large cluster of Dark Matter abundant in his chest. Not good in the slightest. You would have us take care of him, prince?"

"Yes, please," L'arc said, sitting down as soon as he found a suitable place to do so. Which, really, was just the softest pile of dirt he could find. He flopped onto his back and closed his eyes. "Take care of Sylas. I can wait a while longer." Opening one eye to glance at Reetah, he smiled. "Thanks for bringing him," he said, knowing that he wouldn't have gotten far without her help.