The Forgotten Zodiac

((Did you mean to say pacience? Not patients, like a doctor has patients. xD))

Werr trembled, then grew angry at himself. Showing fear to a wolf? His frustration was easily overpowered by terror as he guessed why the wolf was putting its face so close to him. "D-don't..." He murmured, almost desperately. His mind churned with muddled thoughts; why was he suddenly so afraid?

Pain, he realized after a brief moment of thinking. He didn't want to feel pain. Though he knew it would be nothing like the pain he had felt thanks to Kolo, it would still be pain. Kolo had forced the fear of pain upon poor Werr, with his horrid torture.

Nate was not so intimidated. "Ask what you wish," He growled, drawing closer, though he had slowed. He made sure to keep his sword down, attempting to look as little of a threat as possible. "Though I do not guarantee an answer."

((No, patients means two different things. It also means 'ability to wait', and that's what theyr'e doing. "So willing to try our patients." = "So willing to try our ability to wait."))

The white wolf bared his teeth in a snarl, keeping the fangs close to Werr's arm as the black wolf spoke. "I am Nelu. My sibling is Luen. We are personal trackers for King Asmodius, and we seek the mage that we know was once part of this group. Give us a false answer and we will slaughter the lot of you." She growled and let the fur on her back bristle, then suddenly transformed upwards, taking on a human shape. Wolflings, it seemed, were like half-cats. They had the power to turn from animal to human, like Nelu did now.

She turned into a lethal teenage girl with long black hair, pale white skin, black wolf ears and a bushy wolf tail. She had a full arsenal of weapons strapped to her body, and looked like she was ready to fight an entire army. "Answers, please." she said, flicking her tail at Nate.

"He no longer travels with us." Nate's eyes narrowed. He had no authority over them, or he would have revealed who he was; he doubted they'd listen, anyways. "He left without a word of where he was intending to go, as well. We have no answers to give you. Now, release the boy. He has no more information than I."

((Yes, patient means 'the ability to wait'. That would be the adjective form, as in 'I am patient', 'she is patient', 'we are patient', and that does fit. But patient, as in a possessive noun, to go with 'my' and 'our' and 'we have', really would be patience. 'Don't test our patient' would be doctors saying, 'don't run tests on that patient'. 'Don't test our patience' would be 'don't irritate me anymore, or I'll tear open Werr's arm'.

I guess you can leave it. It doesn't affect me personally, but it's incorrect as it is.

Er...sorry, I'm not trying to be rude! D: -flails, then hugs- DON'T BE LIKE THE 14 OTHER PEOPLE WHO LEFT ME BECAUSE I ARGUED THEIR GRAMMAR. TT___TT))

Nelu snorted at him, then turned to her twin and said "Well?"

Luen growled, then said "You may not know where he is, but I sense that your kitty friend over there," He gestured with his nose at Welk. "knows the direction."

Welk froze and tensed up. How did the wolfling know that?

Luen snarled, his open mouth dangerously close to Werr's arm, then said "Speak now, cat, or let your friend suffer."

Welk's eyes shot around desperately, looking for anything that he could use to help get himself out of this mess. There was none. He gulped, then stammered "I...I...d-don't know..."

"You are lying." Luen said. "I can feel it as clearly as the sunlight that warms my pelt." He shrugged, then turned to Werr and said "I guess your friend doesn't care about you losing an arm."

((Nah, I'm okay. I didn't remember that, so thanks for telling me. That'll help me with some of my original works too. Thanks. -hugs- Don't worry, I'm not mad at all. I would never leave you just because you corrected my grammer.))

Werr shuddered, then forced back his fear. His voice was shaking, but he did his best to say in a fierce tone, "D-do it, then! I-if it's that imp-important to Welk, then...then I'm glad to give up my arm!" He was definitely fearful of feeling such a pain, but he meant what he said. If Welk wanted it to be kept hidden, he wasn't going to demand that he tell just to save his limb.

((H-haha...-is hugged-

Thank goodness. You wouldn't believe how angry people get sometimes, just because you try to teach them something. T~T Many a wubberful roleplay hath been lost in such a ways.

-cough- Anyways, as always, you have my permission to hurt Werr if you want? :T))

Luen immediately grinned and raised his eyebrows in a mocking stare, then said "If you insist." Before anyone else could move, the white wolfling had sunk his sharp teeth deep into Werr's right arm, crunching down through skin, muscle and bone. He shook his head back and forth violently, which further injured the boy's arm and sent blood spraying all about.

Nelu took that opportunity to pull two swords from her belt and attack Nate.

((That's dumb. A good RP/friendship shouldn't end just because someone helped you with your grammer. I would never be like that. I welcome corrections, especially when they are given nicely, like you did. You're my friend, and I would never get mad over a grammer fix. ))

((Hear, hear. Grammar is important, people forget that sometimes. ono

Haha, thanks for not even being slightly annoyed. xDD))

Werr had never said he'd be silent. Nope, he screamed his head off, kicking and fighting desperately. He tried punching Luen in the face, to no avail, of course. Airlia screamed too; she had been watching the scene in horror. Werr being injured was too much for her to bear.

Nate already had his sword out, using one to block one blade, while utilizing the knife in his sleeve to block the other. He felt something boiling in his gut; not now, not yet! He could still fight them off without using it, couldn't he? Werr's screams were only making it feel worse...

((S'alright. ))

Luen was suddenly knocked to the side, though he managed to keep his grip on Werr's arm. Welk moved in an instant, leaping high over the wolf. Welk landed squarely on Luen's back, digging his claws into the wolfling's flesh as deeply as he could go, which created several bleeding wounds on the wolf's body.

Luen was forced to let go of Werr's arm and concentrate on fighting off his attacker, which proved to be difficult for him. He seemed to be more delicate than Nelu was, and it was obvious that he was a long-range fighter of some sort. He managed to shake Welk off, and within seconds, the two creatures were deep in the throws of battle.

Seria turned into a human and scrambled forward to Werr, quickly scooping him up into her arms (proving that she was strong enough to carry his weight) and scurrying backwards to a safe distance, where she set to work. She set him down and took his arm into her hands, activating a healing spell immediately. She was able to completely heal the wound in about ten seconds, though it left her weakened.

Nelu snarled at Nate as he blocked her attack, then she reared back and ripped her swords out of the deadlock. Once they were free, she whipped one down at his legs while she drove the other towards his neck, intending on killing him right then and there.

Werr was shaking badly until the wound was gone. Until the pain was gone. He watched in fear, having no idea what he could do to help. If only he had a bow or something...but no, even then, he'd probably shook Welk on accident! There was nothing he could do but watch, and that was upsetting to Werr. His friend was getting hurt, and he couldn't do more than sit idly by and watch.

Nate swung his swords around, forcing them to collide with the attacker's blades. His sword made the blade aimed at his legs go lower than intended, driving it into the ground. Nate's dagger slammed upwards into the blade swinging for his neck, forcing it high. With the blades out of the way, Nate took a deep breath, then blew at Nelu.

The buildup had been too much. Nate had no choice now, but to let it go.

Namely, he blew fire at Nelu rather than air.

Nelu's eyes widened, and she was forced to let go of both blades in order to save herself from getting hit by the blast. She flipped backwards, turning a quick spin to avoid the fire, then growled at Nate, deciphering what she should do next.

Luen was having a harder time against Welk. The nimble half-cat was proving to be more than a match for the wolfling, but what won their battle was Nate's blast of fire. When Nelu dodged it, it raced past her and slammed into Luen, who had been right in the line of fire. Welk quickly scrambled backwards as the fire ignited the white wolf's fur and body into flames, sending the creature into a screaming panic.

"Brother!" Nelu shouted, spotting the burning mass that was her sibling, then was forced into retreat when Seria jumped out at her, hissing. Between Seria and Nate, Nelu knew she had no chance against them, especially with her brother injured. Her eyes widened when she saw Luen collapse from the fire, which soon went out, leaving him with horrible burns. She moved to go to him, only to have Welk stand in her way. Nelu howled at them all, wishing she could kill them all but knowing she stood no chance, then transformed into a wolf and raced away, shouting a threat back at them. "I'll come back for you monsters!" she howled. "And when I do, your blood with drench the ground!"

Then she was gone, leaving her injured brother behind.

Nate watched her leave, his eyes burning with anger. That was gone in an instant as he turned back to the others, brushing himself off. "You okay, Werr?" He asked as the human approached.

"Uh...yeah." Werr blinked at him in confusion. "Are you...?"

"Perfectly fine." Nate said, but coughed slightly, a couple leftover embers escaping his lips. "I'll explain later. What should we do with him?" He asked, looking towards Luen. Now that the danger was gone, Airlia scrambled to her feet and moved closer to Welk, hiding from Nate behind the half-cat.

Welk was staring at Nate like he expected the man to suddenly grow another head or limb or something of the sort. Finally, he shook himself and said "That...was awesome! I had no idea that you could do something like that!" He grinned, then trotted over to Werr and rubbed up against him several times, since he was still in cat form. "I'm so glad that you're okay." he said, purring lightly. "I thought that wolfling might've killed you or something." He looped around Werr's legs again, then stopped, staring at the downed wolf laying on the ground nearby. "Should we kill him?" he asked, glancing up at Werr.

Seria was back in human form and staring at the ground, her hands pressed to the sides of her head like she was in the throws of a horrible headache. "I can feel his pain." she finally said, gesturing with one hand at Luen. "I'm having to hold back my natural instinct as a healer to heal him."

Welk glanced over at her, then back up at Werr, repeating his question. "Should we kill him?" he asked quietly.

"I thought I'd be killed, too..." Werr said, but stopped when Welk asked him that question. He thought for several seconds, which stretched into a full minute. "No." He said finally. "We can't stoop to his level. He hurt me, but to take revenge by killing him..." He shook his head. "Is there a way to heal him without waking him up? You don't have to heal him if you don't want to, but..."

"I'm not sure if I should have expected that answer or not," Nate smiled a bit, but that faded quickly. "One way or another, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. Are you alright, Airlia?"

"Y-yeah...I'm okay," The girl nodded. She was still recovering from the shock of seeing Nate blow fire; she had seen such things before, but that hadn't been a magical fire. It was different, and people didn't just suddenly start blowing non-magical fire.

Welk nodded at Werr's answer, then walked over to Luen and carefully poked him with one paw. The wolf immediately whined softly. Welk stared at him, then nodded again and said "Werr's right. Even though he attacked us, we shouldn't just kill him."

Seria glanced at him, then answered Werr and said "I can, but it is difficult to do. I can give it a try, but there's a good chance that he'll wake up anyways. Be prepared for the worst." She stood up and walked over to the wolf, kneeling down next to his head. "Poor thing." she said softly. "So misguided..." She took Luen's head in her hands and started to heal his wounds, using one hand to cast the spell and her other to stroke the white wolf's head.

Welk frowned when she said 'misguided', wondering what she meant by that, but he didn't ask her.

"If need be, I've already proven that I'm very good at knocking people out." Nate shrugged, keeping one eye behind them. He didn't know if the other would possibly be coming back or not, so...

Werr took a couple steps back, wondering if he had done the right thing. There was a good chance that Luen would wake up and run back to the other wolfling and then just plan another attack. That would be bad. Werr sighed, shaking himself out of his thoughts as Airlia put her hand in his, clutching his shirt and peering around him at Nate.

"Are you alright?" Werr said, blinking down at her.

"What? Yeah, I'm...I'm okay," She replied, not looking up at him. "Really, I'm fine." She had her wings tightly folded behind her, as though she were afraid that Nate might decide to burn them off. Werr remembered how she had shied away from the cooking fire. Airlia was afraid of fire, Werr put together silently.

Seria continued to heal the wolfling, working diligently until most of his wounds were gone. She had put all of her energy towards the really bad burns that had been along his back and sides, so she didn't have enough power to heal all of the wounds. Once she had done all she could, she retracted her powers and immediately took in a deep breath of air, breathing hard. She ran a hand over her forehead, then turned to them and said "He'll live."

Welk cautiously crept forward and stared at the wolf, then gave him a careful sniff. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Because he looks pretty dead to me." He reached out a paw and poked the wolf again, which got an instant reaction, which was not what he was expecting.

Luen's eyes flew open and the wolf gasped, letting out a pained howl as his body throbbed.

Welk leapt backwards in shock, jumping well over two feet into the air as he did so. He quickly took refuge behind Nate, staring at Luen with wide eyes.

Luen's eyes quickly shifted around, trying to figure out what happened, then his eyes widened when Seria's face came into view. "Do not move." she warned. "Consider yourself captured and wounded. If you wish to keep your life, don't make any trouble."

Luen nodded slightly, fear settling in his green eyes.

Nate frowned, his uncharacteristic anger returning. He crossed his arms and marched into Luen's field of view. "I doubt he'll make much more trouble. Unless he wants to be a wolf barbeque." He said, his tone harsh and threatening. "Why are you after the mage?"

Werr blinked in surprise. Normally Nate was so calm and understanding. This Nate was definitely different. Was he just acting tough to get answers? Airlia had moved behind him, now hiding from both Nate and Luen.

Welk also moved near Werr, but he chose to stand in front of the boy. He watched them all closely through his crimson eyes.

Luen growled at Nate, then said "I won't tell you, firebreather. I am a trustworthy student of King Asmodius' will, and I will not be broken by mere threats!" He snarled at the man, though his eyes showed his fear. He was actually very scared.

Nate growled right back, showing his teeth for the first time. They were pointed, though probably not as sharp at Luen's. "You will tell me. I am Nate Flint, the head of King Asmodius' Honorary Guard and servant of his majesty's real will. And if you won't tell me, you should say goodbye to what's left of your fur!"

Werr frowned. This was seeming less and less like an act. Pointed teeth and fire breathing? And now Nate was saying he was the 'head' of the honorary guard? And just a few minutes ago, Nate had been a quiet, gentle human.

Well, Nate had clearly given up on that cover.

Luen panicked almost instantly, glancing around rapidly for some sort of escape route, but finding none. "W-we...I..." he stammered, flicking his ravaged tail once. "I don't know." he finally said. "K-King Asmodius gave us the order, we didn't dare question it! He told us to track down a mage that had surfaced and capture him alive, no matter the cost! A panther half-cat mage. We caught the faint scent of a mage from your group and it matched the one we were seeking, so..." He trailed off, tucking his burnt tail between his legs fearfully. "If you're done with me, do be so kind as to kill me, please." he said, lowering his head to the ground.