The Forgotten Zodiac

"Yes, he's fine. Like I said, he gets really hyper." Airlia nodded, scraching Luen behind the ears happily. "You'll come with us, then?"

"W-Welk, come on, calm down," Werr said, though he was laughing a bit.

"Yes, I'll come with you." Luen said, still watching Welk nervously.

"Fine, I'll try and calm down." Welk said, running over and rubbing up against Werr's legs. "Since you asked so nicely." he said, grinning, then said "Hey, while we're walking, would you scratch behind my ears again? I'm addicted to your scratches!" He purred loudly and flicked Werr with his tail, then walked over and rubbed up against Nate as well, but only for a little bit. "Let's go, people!" he said, then trotted off. "I want to get to that town!"

And to think that Cynyr had actually lived with Welk. It seemed impossible that someone like Cynyr had been able to deal with Welk's rambunctious personality for so long.

Seria laughed, unable to help herself, then followed after him, shrugging at the others.

((Airlia is treating Luen like a puppy. Don't be surprised if she calls him that if she gets upset again. 'I'm just so sad, puppy! -cries into fur-' xDDDDD))

"Wonderful! Let's go, then." Airlia smiled, standing up and hurrying after Welk. Werr followed, catching up to Welk and scratching him behind the ears like Welk requested. Nate followed silently, but not without glancing behind him every once in awhile. He feared that the female would come after them still.

((Cute! Ha ha.))

Luen staggered up and slowly limped after them, doing his best to keep up. He figured that he would probably be able to keep up better in his human form, but he wasn't ready to change into it just yet. He hadn't been in that form for several years, so he was nervous about changing back. So he stuck to his wolf form for the time being.

Eventually, they made it to Ulles, appearing at the edge of the town when it had just grown dark.

"Finally." Welk said, sounding tired.

Luen looked exhausted and like he could fall over at any second.

((So that was the time pass to the town, yes?))

((Yepyep~

Apparently. :3))

"I don't think they allow pets at the inn here," Nate said quietly. "You two will have to change to your human forms before we go in." His eyes fell on Luen, and he frowned ever so slightly. "The sooner you change, the sooner you'll be able to rest."

"Stay awake," Airlia said, patting Luen on the head. "Come on, hurry up and transform so we can get into that inn. I'm tired too."

Welk transformed into a human immediately and he leaned his head on Werr's shoulder, yawning softly. He was tired from the many events that the day had held for the group.

Luen looked a bit scared, but he managed to nod. He took a deep breath and concentrated, trying to rouse a part of himself that he hadn't used in years. Slowly, his wolf form melted away to reveal a white-haired, fair-skinned boy of about eighteen wearing a loose white outfit that was a bit baggy on him. He had a small, gold chain necklace around his neck. It took him almost a full minute to get into his human form, and by the time he was finished, he could barely stand up. His arms and legs were still covered in harsh burns from Nate's fire attack. He panted for a second, then carefully stood up. He immediately swayed backwards, frantically pinwheeling his arms to stay upright. He hadn't walked in this form for so long...

Nate stepped forward, catching Luen by the hand and pulling him upright again. "Careful there," He said, supporting Luen easily. "Come on, we're almost there. Let's get to that inn, and quickly. Do you need help walking?" He asked.

"Where's the inn here?" Werr asked, looking around. The bustle of daily life had slowed down, and most of the townsfolk were retreating indoors for the evening. Ulles was a fairly quite place, despite its size. It certainly was larger than Werr's hometown, he knew that for certain.

"Towards the center of town. I'll lead the way, it's fine." Nate nodded.

"No...I can manage." Luen said, flinched when Seria suddenly appeared on his other side. She stared at him hard for a moment, which made him feel uncomfortable, then moved on without a word.

Luen shuddered, then took his hand away from Nate and started walking, being careful with each step. He glanced back fearfully at Nate once in a while, and it was clear that Nate had left a bad impression on the wolfling from their earlier encounter.

Welk took his head off of Werr's shoulder and walked next to his friend, his tail curled up around Werr's left wrist. His enthusiasm had dulled somewhat from the long walk, but he still had enough energy to glance this way and that in awe of his surroundings. He had never been in a place this big before, and it was exciting for him. He kept quiet, however, though whether that was due to him being tired or intimidated by the unfamiliar buildings was debatable.

Nate allowed his hand to drop, but made no motion to suggest he was upset in any way about Luen being afraid of him. It had been many a year since people had shied away from him in such manners, but Nate had grown apathetic about such things. He passed Luen and Seria, and Welk and Werr as well. "Come on then, let's head to the inn. I'm pretty sure there's a restraunt on the first floor, so we can eat before we sleep, as well."

Werr was looking around in awe as well, curious. "You said this place was called Ulles, right?"

"Indeed it is." Nate nodded. Werr dug around in his bag a bit, pulling out one of his many books. He flipped through it, then found what he was looking for.

Information on Ullar, to be precise. "Ulles is one of the oldest towns in the kingdom of Alastor. It's really interesting, the captial city used to be here, until it was moved to the city of Helios. The church in the center is what used to be the castle," Werr said, closing his book at smiling. "My father did a lot of research on this place."

((I thought the town was called Ulles.))

Welk smiled as well, unwinding his tail from Werr's wrist and flipping it around several times. "This is so neat!" he said. "I've always wanted to go to a bigger town, but I've never had the chance." He grinned, then let it fade. "Except...I always thought Cynyr would come with me." he said softly. He sighed, then perked up and said "His loss." He flicked his tail against and accidentally bumped a passing man with it. "Watch what you're doing, cat filth!" the man growled, and Welk looked taken aback. For a moment. "Why don't you watch where you're going instead, ugly!" he snapped, glaring at the man.

"What'd you say to me?!" the man growled.

"Only that you're the ugliest thing on the planet!" Welk snarled.

((...It is. -facepalm- I'll change my last two posts, then...))

"W-Welk!" Werr exclaimed, dragging his friend back. "S-sorry, sir," He said quickly, pushing himself between Welk and the man. "It won't happen again..."

"Is there a problem?" Nate had heard the argument and turned, tapping the man gently on the shoulder from behind.

"Yeah there's a problem!" the man growled. He gestured at Welk and said "This mangy cat hit me!"

"Accident, jerk!" Welk shouted, straining to get around Werr. "I would never want to hit you with my precious tail on purpose!"

"You little rat-eater!" the man shouted. "You're gonna lose that tail by the time I'm done with you!" He cocked his fist back to hit the half-cat...

...and suddenly found himself incased in ice from his neck down.

Luen was leaning against a building nearby, breathing hard, leftover snowflakes from his ice spell still curling off of his fingers. "Can we move on, please?" he said, panting. "I can't stand up for much longer."

Nate had been about to knock the man unconscious with a high kick from behind, but he relaxed once the man was in ice. "Very well then," He nodded once and turned around, continuing on.

"Here...do you need help?" Airlia said, offering her hand to Luen. "I can help. I'm a good helper." She nodded, smiling a little bit. Werr found himself staring at the man in shock; he hadn't been expecting such a spell...he tore his eyes away and took Welk by the hand, pulling him after Nate.

Luen hesitated, then took Airlia's hand and let her help him move. He had looked weak before, but he looked even more weakened from casting the spell. The burns on his body didn't help at all with his strength.

Welk strained against Werr for only a moment, tempted to go knock the frozen man over, but decided against it and let Werr pull him along. His ears stayed flatly back against his head, and he kept his tail wrapped around his own leg to prevent another fight. Though it hadn't been much of a fight. "Sorry..." he said once they were out of range of the man. He didn't look up at Werr or any of the others. "I guess that was my fault..."

Airlia seemed happy at this. She was glad to be at least helping a mage. Luen wasn't her master, but she had to somehow fill in the void that Cynyr had left.

"Don't worry about it," Werr shook his head, letting go of Welk's hand. "The guy was a brute. Possibly a drunk," He shrugged.

"We're here," Nate said, stopping in front of a two-floor building a couple houses away from the church. 'Ulles Inn', boasted the sign above the door. A little 'open' sign hung in the window. "Let's not wait around."

They walked inside and found themselves in a living room of sorts, with a few chairs around the tables and some seats near the windows. There was a front desk with a lady working on some papers behind it, which was obviously where they were to get their rooms. A large set of stairs leading to the second floor was set to the right of the desk.

Welk glanced around in awe, but he had the sense to not touch anything. He stuck close to Werr, not willing to let the boy get too far away while they were in these unfamiliar settings.

Luen sat down in one of the chairs with his hands folded in his lap, looking meek and tired. He carefully tugged up the edge of the neck of his shirt, which was falling down on his left shoulder. His clothes were a bit baggy on him, giving him a much too thin appearance.

((Lady behind the desk can be used by either of us.))

((Shared Side Character, ohkay.))

The woman looked up as they entered. She smiled as Nate approached her desk. "We'll be needing three rooms and dinners for six. What's on the menu tonight?"

"Pork roast with potatoes. That'll be seven silver and one bronze," She said, glancing in Luen's direction. "Would you like some water to clean him up as well?"

"Yes, please. Thank you." Nate dipped his head, fishing the coins out of his bag. The woman got up and moved off to get their dinner, and a bucket of water for Luen.

"Come on, Welk, let's sit," Werr led the way to the table next to the one where Luen had sat at. He overheard the woman speaking. "Pork roast? I can't remember the last time I had that...I don't know how to cook it."

Welk pranced over and sat down in the chair next to Werr's, staring around him. "This is neat!" he said, speaking in a relatively quiet tone. He yawned, then glanced over as Seria took a chair on Werr's other side.

The female half-cat was watching everything around them with a careful look in her bright blue eyes, not fully trusting their environment. Her tail was fluffed up a bit, but she seemed to be settling down as the time passed.

Welk smiled at her, then turned his head. "Luen's out." he reported, gazing in the wolfling's direction. The ice mage had fallen asleep in his chair, his knees tucked up against his chest and his chin resting on them. Welk watched him for a moment, then asked "What about him? Is he going to stay with us? I mean, can we trust him? What if his deranged sister comes back?"

The inn was fairly nice. It was dimly lit, with wooden walls and woven rugs. The tables were square, allowing four people to sit at one table with ease. There was a staircase leading off to one side, heading upwards; obviously, the rooms were on the second floor.

Werr was quiet, observing his surroundings and pondering Welk's questions. "I don't know. I meant it when I said we shouldn't kill him..." He said quietly. "As for trust, I...I don't know. But there might come a time when we need him..."

"But he might also cause unnecessary danger," Nate pointed out. "He's a mage. It's not just his sister we need to concern ourselves about; what if more people like Kolo come around? I do not wish harm upon him, but I doubt we'll even make it to the war zone while we're dragging him along..."

Welk nodded thoughtfully, then said "He's been kind of weak so far. If we get to the war-zone, I don't know how long he would last."

Seria leaned her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. "I trust him." she said. "I can sense the kindness deep inside of him. While he may be weak outwardly, internally he is a strong being. Plus, I felt his power levels while I was healing him earlier. I think he quite possibly could overpower Cynyr if the two were to compare powers, even if Cynyr had decent training."

Welk frowned, then said "Yeah, but at least Cynyr could keep up with us. Heck, he even led us at times."