The Forgotten Zodiac

((That doesn't make any sense according to my table, then. I have my stuff set up (including Nate's story/age) so that the war started...under ten years ago.

We have some communication problems, I think.))

"Yes, none could be more different than you and I in regards to our childhood, I should think." Nate laughed a bit, then mulled over what she said in his mind. "Was it Cynyr?" He asked quietly, clasping his hands behind his back as they walked. "Random guess. I shouldn't have, I apologize. I'm a curious being by nature, though, so forgive me if I ever seem nosy." He smiled, finding that he was already warming up to these people. At least he wasn't being bombarded with questions.

((Nah, I'm good with ten years. I just have extreme time problems when it comes to picking out times. Ten years is good.))

Seria immediately blushed and looked away from him, tilting her head downwards. She didn't answer for a while, then finally said "No use in lying, I suppose. Y-yes, it was Cynyr." She sighed deeply, glancing over at Werr and Welk to make sure they were out of hearing range but still close by, then continued. "He didn't always used to be so...angry and grumpy. There was a time when he was a quiet, thoughtful person. A kind person. His innocence was ripped away from him, however, and he was never the same afterwards. He became so mean-spirited and hateful, even towards me. Eventually...our love for each other just...stopped completely." She didn't look like she was going to cry or that she was upset. She looked resigned, as if this was something she had dealt with before. "I hadn't seen him in several years before this time, but I can tell you this; he's gotten worse. He actually never used to be this mean. I...worry for him." She closed her eyes for a moment and let her ears go back against her head, then opened her eyes and sighed.

((Haha. Well, these are very vital things to know. 'Cuz see, that would put Nate's age at 28-ish. Let me go edit my story post, in that case...))

Nate was silent for a bit, then nodded. "I see. Thank you for that explanation. If I may ask, what will happen to that young girl? Airlia? I can guess his reasoning behind allowing her to follow him, but...I do wonder if he'll abandoned her like he left Welk." He said, rubbing his chin a bit. "Even I could sense her power...leaving someone like her alone could be disasterous, especially considering her age, and the troubles going on in this area now..."

((Hrm. Also, Cynyr's already adandoned Airlia. She should catch up to them soon. He didn't know she followed him out or else he would've made her stay there from the start.))

Seria shrugged, then said "I would not be surprised if Cynyr leaves her somewhere on purpose. He isn't exactly a person that enjoys company." She snorted, then said "True. If he were smart, he would keep her with him, but I doubt him on both accounts. Brain-wise and other." She flicked her tail several times, looking around for a moment, then looked over at Werr and Welk. "They make such a young and innocent pair." she said softly. "They are lucky to have found each other as friends. That is something many people do not have."

((Hm, did they go the same way Cynyr went, even if only for a little bit?))

"Poor girl. I would suggest going to find her, but we can't be certain that Cynyr abandoned her, and I'm not sure if Werr would agree to take a detour..." Nate frowned a bit, then looked back at Werr and Welk. They were walking together in silence, Werr with his hand behind Welk's ears still. "Indeed. They seem like very good friends, and from what I've gathered, they've only known one another for a few days. They have shared troubles, which makes it easy to share their burdens as well. They support each other. It's almost poetic." He chuckled a bit at himself.

((No. I thought they went in the opposite direction and that Airlia would, naturally, go back to the fortess and follow their footprints.))

Seria smiled slightly when Nate chuckled. "Yes." she said, looking back over at the two. "It's good to have someone that your trust close by." She turned her head and fixed her gave up at Nate, looking right at his eyes. "Trust is something that must be earned, after all. Whether by protecting someone, simply speaking to them...or keeping no secrets, perhaps." She said nothing more after that, simply concentrating on walking.

((Yes, but they could have gone the same direction as Cynyr for a little bit, 'cept Cynyr would change direction.

And that wouldn't make any sense, 'cuz if Cynyr told Airlia to stay or go back to the fortress, she'd do that and nothing else. And she sucks at tracking. xDD I was thinking our little group stumbles upon Airlia crying. I dunno, I magically got that image stuck in my head. :I))

Nate nodded, and smiled a bit. "Some secrets are better left untold," He said, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "Tell you what, you keep your secret about Cynyr, I'll keep my own about myself. We can talk to and protect each other to get our trust together, no?"

((Okay. That'll work. :3 ))

Seria smiled, which looked a little more guarded than happy. "Very well then." she said, her voice smooth as honey, then she turned and trotted ahead, leaving him behind.

Welk stayed by Werr for a while longer, then started to get a bit antsy. He hadn't expended much energy in the past few hours, so his energy was starting to build up. He started bouncing near Werr as he walked, his tail flicking crazily behind him.

Nate watched her, smiling in return, though apparently he was better at forcing his smiles than she was. His looked perfectly normal; he was smiling most of the time, actually.

Werr saw Welk's antics and had to stifle a laugh. He stopped after a moment, however, hearing something. "Hold on a sec, do you guys hear that?" He asked, cupping his hand around his ear to try and hear better. "It sounds like...is someone crying?"

"Should we go investigate?" Nate asked. "It might put us behind schedule."

"We have a schedule?" Werr blinked at him.

"...Nevermind. Should we investigate or not?"

Welk tilted his head to the right, listening intently to the sound, then said "Hold on a second. There's something extremely familiar about that crying." His hearing was much better than any of the human's hearing, so he could hear it more clearly than them. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm investigating for sure!" he said, bounding off of in the direction of the crying. He crept through bushes and around trees, heading towards the source of the sound. What he found, however, was something he didn't expect.

Airlia, curled up behind a tree, sobbing.

She wasn't hurt (not physically, anyways), but she was crying fairly loudly. This was due to a few things; one, she didn't know where she was or where she could go. Two, Cynyr had ordered her not to follow her and left. Three, she was completely and utterly alone. That was one massive fear of hers; she couldn't fend for herself, so being alone was like being back in her cage, the one she was kept in by her old master. She was helpless.

Werr and Nate followed, hurrying after the half-cat.

"Airlia!" Welk said, hurrying around the tree and turning into a human. He crouched down in front of her, watching her in concern. "What happened? Why are you crying? Where's Cynyr?" The questions came out of his mouth in rapid fire, and he quickly looked around to see if Cynyr was around, not knowing that he wasn't.

Seria followed after the other two, wondering what was going on.

"Welk!" Airlia choked on her tears, lunging forward and grabbing the half-cat in a tight hug. "We-Welk, he left me!" She wailed, clinging to him like she thought he would leave her, too.

"Well, that stills one worry of mine," Nate smiled a bit, happy to see the angelic girl again. Well, more relieved, really...not that it made much of a difference, which word is used in this instance.

Welk was pushed backwards into a sitting position, but he didn't care. He wrapped his arms tightly around Airlia, hugging her close to him. "Woah, slow down! Cynyr....he left you? Why? Where did he go?" His concern was growing rapidly now. When Cynyr had left before, Welk had been sad, yes, but he had known that Cynyr was with someone. Now, with Airlia here, Welk knew Cynyr was alone in the world and probably very far away by now. "Why did he leave you?" he asked, trying to get some words out of the girl. He hugged her close, not about to let her go now that he had her back.

Airlia sobbed, trying to calm herself down now that she knew that at least someone was here. "I-I-I don't know...h-he didn't say where he wa-was going, he ju-just told me to...to stay, and of course, I-I followed orders, an-and..."

"Calm down," Werr said, crouching next to them and patting Airlia on the back. "You're safe now, everything's going to be alright." He said, wanting to ask Welk whether they should go after Cynyr, but not wanting to upset Airlia even more.

Welk sighed, understanding how Cynyr had managed to get away from the girl. By tricking her and telling her one thing when he really meant to leave her behind. Welk nodded when Werr spoke, saying "Don't cry anymore, Airlia. You have us with you, and we won't leave you behind."

Seria walked up, already in human form, and bent down near the girl, activating a heal spell and putting her hand gently on the girl's head to try and help her with some of the emotional pain. "Shhh." she said, brushing her silky red tail against the girl's arm. "Everything will be okay, as Werr says."

Airlia choked back more tears before Seria used her magic. She calmed down quickly, closing her eyes as she let the magic do what it was intended for. She held onto Welk regardless of this, though her grip loosened a bit. "Y-yeah...I'll...I'll be okay..." She nodded, brushing Seria's hand off of her forehead. "Thanks..."

"All better?" Werr smiled a bit at this.

"More or less..."

Welk let her hold onto him, keeping his arms around her to let her know she was okay. "Don't worry about anything, Airlia. We won't leave you behind. You're staying with us." He stood up, taking her with him and helping her stand up.

Seria followed the movement, gracefully getting to her feet in one smooth motion.

Welk patted Airlia on her shoulder, saying "Sorry about all of this, Airlia. I don't know what's gotten into Cynyr lately, but we can't worry about him right now. We're going to the war-zone. Right Werr?" He looked over at his best friend, waiting for an answer.

"We are," Werr nodded.

"The war..." Airlia bit her lip. "I don't want to..."

"Well, you either come with us, or you go search for Cynyr...and I must say, the chances of you actually finding him..." Nate put in. "Not to mention you'd be alone. We'll be looking for Cynyr as soon as Werr finishes his investigation, though."

Airlia was silent for a moment, mulling it over. "Alright...I'll come with you guys. I don't want to be alone, s-so..."

Welk nodded reassuringly, then said "Natey's right." When Airlia agree to come with them, Welk smiled. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll take care of you and keep you safe." He closed his eyes, barely containing the fact that he was extremely mad at Cynyr for just leaving Airlia like this.

Seria nodded, then said "We should keep going, then."