The Forgotten Zodiac

"I'm saving you! Just like you saved me!" Ullar yelled back, flying ever faster through the hallways and to the front door. He did a little detour through the kitchens, startling a few cooks and snagging a whole roast in his claws before flying out the back door and onto a balcony, where he soared towards the forest.

Reetah immediately transformed and took off, flashing through the hallways faster than Ullar had. But he had the advantage; she couldn't fit into the kitchens as a dragon. She had to transform, and with her bleeding injuries, it took longer than normal. She ran through the kitchen as soon as she could, but by the time she reached the balcony, she realized the true severity of the bite mark on her shoulder. Running had only made it bleed more, and it wasn't showing any signs of slowing. She couldn't transform like this again, it would kill her...

She could only stand on the balcony and scream out her pain at watching Ullar fly far, far away.

Verolen woke up immediately, freezing up for a moment before relaxing. "Oh. Minori. What happened?" He blinked, sitting up and wiping some of the blood off of himself. "Yech, that kid...screamed something about being hungry, and attacked me...threw me against the wall and raked his claws against my throat. That's all I remember. What else happened?" He looked around. "Where's...where's L'arc?"

"L'arc just got..." Minori appeared to be at a loss for words. "Hopefully Reetah caught up with him..."

L'arc struggled as he was being carried through the castle, but immediately stopped as Ullar carried him out into open sky. "Ullar!" he said, but that seemed to be all he was capable of as he wondered how strong the young manakete's grip was, and if he should be worried about falling more than about how he had just been kidnapped.

Ullar flew on and on. It seemed like he would never tire before finally, he started to descend. He landed easily in a clearing, panting a bit. "Whoaah...I never remembered the trees being so big," He let go of L'arc and spun in a circle, grinning. He held the roast out to L'arc; it was already cooked, so it clearly wasn't for him. "I got you some food. Let's go explore!"

L'arc looked a bit shell-shocked, and for a while all he could do was just stand there, repeating "Ullar" under his breath for a good three minutes. Finally he mananged to form a sentence. "You... you just kidnapped me!" he said. "What... why?" he questioned.

"Kidnapped? No, don't be silly! I saved you. You're the forest prince, right? You belong in the forest. Reetah told me about you. She talks a lot, when she visits with me. I never really say much, but I love listening to her. And your name is L'arc, and L'arc is the forest prince, and so you belong in the forest! Not some mountain castle. Grimy old thing. I like this much better, myself." Ullar grinned. He shoved the meat into L'arc's hands, then went around smelling everything. Leaves, grass, weeds, it didn't matter. If it was there, he smelled it.

When he was finished with that, he went back and hugged L'arc tightly. "You're my new friend. I like you a lot, so you're my friend. Friends aren't food, so I guess that means I should find something else to eat."

"Uh... ah..." Was all L'arc was able to get in as Ullar gamboled about, doing this that and the other. When the manakete finally calmed, L'arc got some more words out. "Erm... thank you, but really and honestly, I was safer at the Manakete Palace," he said. He glanced at the meat in his hands, then, somewhat nervously, said, "You can have some of this, if you want it. I can't eat the whole thing, certainly..."

"Nah, I'm good." Ullar shook his head. "I want raw things. Raw things taste a lot better." He shrugged, then turned to the trees. He frowned, then said hesitantly, "Hello? Who's there?"

Rush stomped out of the bushes, holding an unconscious Byrne. Rush blinked in surprise for a moment, then grinned. "Mosin! Dragoon?"

"Eh...gibberish. Hello, food! How are you today? You're not sick, are you? If you're sick, your blood won't taste good..." Ullar tilted his head to the side.

"Rush?" L'arc asked, looking stunned. "Is that... is that Byrne?" he said, looking down at the human. One hand reached out to grab Ullar's arm. "No, don't eat them, they're my friends," he said, but looked prepared to restrain the manakete if he had to.

"Your friends? Friends are not to eat." Ullar blinked, then sighed. "I'll have to find someone else, then...who are they, though? I've never seen 'em."

"Mosiiiiiin." Rush shook Byrne up and down once or twice, then gently set the boy down on the grass. That move revealed the chain.

"Aw, they're stuck together! They must be brothers." Ullar giggled.

"Rush, what happened? What are you saying?" L'arc asked, looking utterly confused as he approached the Chimera. "Did the Phantom do this? Gah, you're bleeding!" The forest prince finally realized this, looking all the more worried. "Ullar, listen, we  have to get these two to a healer... or some Viera or something," he said.

((Now that I think about it, didn't Rush and Byrne run into Viera or something? Did Rush eat them? 0.0 ))

((No, they drove him off. Nobody likes monsters. The healer lady will explain that when we find her again. xP))

Rush just blinked at L'arc, then shook his head. "Ku'urin. Nagat chip-ton!" Rush purred, patting L'arc on the head.

"Viera? I can smell Viera. They're over that way." Ullar pointed off in a seemingly random direction, but he seemed to know what he was saying.

L'arc nodded quickly. "All right, all right. Rush?" He waved his hand at the chimera, trying to get his attention. "We need to go this way... do you understand me?" L'arc asked, speaking slowly and loudly as if he thought that would help.

Rush blinked at L'arc again. He saw the movements of the prince's mouth, but...

"Hey, his ears are bloody," Ullar giggled, then put on a straight face again. "I don't think he can hear you. Looks like he's deaf. We can just lead him using this," He pulled on the chain. Rush trotted towards Ullar, but he paused to pick up Byrne's limp form before following. "He's like a doggy."

L'arc nodded, seeing how using the chain as a leash might work. "All right, all right," he said, thinking aloud. "Ullar, if you could lead us to those Viera..." he said.

"Sure," Ullar nodded, grinning as he led Rush along. A few tugs on the chain made Rush speed up to a quick jog, and he led the chimera-thing off into the trees.

Before long, Ullar pushed through the bushes and found himself staring an angered Viera male in the face. He was holding a spear, pointing it right in Ullar's face. He quickly switched it to Rush at the sight of him, though. "Back! Back!" He snarled, holding his ground. Rush just growled deeply.

L'arc followed quickly, and arrived at the clearing just after Ullar and Rush. Seeing the Veira with a spear, he hurried forward. "Peace," he said. "I am L'arc Semperverde. Who are you?" he asked, eyeing the spear a bit warily.

The Viera didn't lower his spear. "I am Guro, hunter for the group you found not so long ago, my prince," He said quietly. "But this beast has already been chased off once, and now he comes again?"

"His friend is hurt. He probably came to you for help," Ullar quipped.

"He attacked Lora! The child she bears was threatened to be lost by his agression!"

"You silly rabbit. This man here has no more brain functions than a dog. He's deaf, too, which don't help none. Tell 'em, L'arc, we aren't here to hurt anyone. We just need help." Ullar tutted, his chin lifted in a haughty demeanor.

((The Verdi. PFfff.))

"I can keep them under control," L'arc assured, looking at Guro. "I promise, we mean you no harm. As for Rush... he's not normally like this. He's usually... there's something wrong. Perhaps you can help?" he asked.

((I was on my phone. xD By the time I noticed the mistake, I was too lazy to fix it.))

Guro couldn't hide his frustration, but he wasn't mad at the prince. "Fine," He finally grumbled, lowering the spear. Rush still looked unhappy, but he stopped growling. "This way." The male viera turned and led the way to the small camp, which had moved since L'arc saw it last. It wasn't nearly as close to the Manakete palace anymore.

"Greetings, young prince," Rhre was sitting in her usual crosslegged position. She spoke even before she saw them. "The grass sings with joy at your footfalls. But then cries in despair as blood is shed upon it..."

"Barbara!" Rush barked oddly, but his loudness was more or less ignored.

"Curious..." Rhre turned and blinked at Rush. "He speaks a language of insanity. He thinks he knows what he is saying, but it is little more than nonsense...and his own ears cannot hear it. How sad. Isn't this the creature you drove off not long ago, Guro?"

"Yes, m'lady. But L'arc insisted..."

"He was captured by the Phantom of the Darklands," L'arc said, glancing over at Rush with some concern. "And so was Byrne. I don't know what he's done to them, but they look like they're in trouble in a bad way."

The forest prince went over to Rush, gently putting a hand on his shoulder and pressing down lightly, indicating for the chimera to sit. L'arc looked at Byrne, who was solidly unconscious, and saw the strange coloration of his hand. Wincing, L'arc looked back to Rhre. "I think it might be more Dark Matter."

As an afterthought, L'arc turned to Ullar. "No eating these people," he murmured under his breath, knowing full well that the Viera, with their improved hearing, could hear his words.