The Forgotten Zodiac

((Oh, moar ideas come to mind. xD))

Werr hurried ahead after Welk, looking down at the town. This one was even bigger than the last, with a larger building in the center, a bell tower at the very top. Quite a few people, though seemingly small from up on the hill, were gathered in what appeared to be the town's plaza. They were setting up lights and stands, though it looked like they weren't finishing up.

Nate glanced at Luen, feeling a bit bad about the bald spots, but he directed his attention to the town. "Looks like they're setting up for a festival."

"A festival?" Airlia repeated, sounding excited. "Tonight?"

"No, it would be set up by now if they planned for tonight. They must be planning one for tomorrow." Nate shook his head.

((Awesome!))

"Festival?" Welk said, staring wide-eyed at the lights and other items. "Neat! I've never been to one before! Do you think we can stay and go to it? It would be so awesome!"

Luen sat down exhaustedly nearby, panting. Seria paused near him and brushed her tail against his shoulder, then turned into a human and looked down at the busy people below. She had an uneasy feeling about this place, but she ignored it for the time being. It seemed safe enough...

((She's still getting kidnapped tonight, but tomorrow evening is the fest. :3))

"I don't know." Nate said, looking at Werr. "It's your mission. Do you think we could spare a day for the festival?"

Werr thought about it. Airlia grew quickly impatient. "Oh please, Werr, I've never been to a festival! I would always hear about parties hosted by the king, but I never even got to go to those. Please, please!" She practically begged, tugging on Werr's sleeve.

Werr frowned, thinking about it. "Nate, how far is the next town?"

"Since we're headed to the ruins, we have one town left to pass before we arrive at our destination. Guiller is a half-day's travel from here, and then it's a full day to the ruins."

"Hm...I suppose it wouldn't hurt..." Werr thought, glancing at the others and noting how tired they all looked. "Alright. I say we could stop for the festival. What kind of festival do you suppose it is?"

"I haven't the foggiest. But judging from the stands they're setting up on the ends, I'd say it has something to do with masks." Nate replied, pointing at the end of the line of stands. Werr blinked, shading his eyes to look. "There's boxes with with word 'masks' written on the side." Nate elaborated. Werr looked at Nate, perplexed.

"How on earth do you see that far?"

"Oh. Right." Nate just smiled a bit and started down the hill.

"Sweet!" Welk said, fidgeting from paw to paw. If he had more energy, he would've bounced. "This will be so cool! I can't wait!" He charged down the hall, quickly leaving the others behind.

"Welk, wait for us!" Seria shouted, running after him in human form.

Luen got to his feet and trotted after them, whimpering softly at the thought of more walking. He followed dutifully, however, transforming into a human halfway down. "There's something wrong with that half-cat..." he murmured, picking his way down as delicately as he could.

"Yes, well...there's not much you can do about that, is there?" Werr pointed out lightly, before hurrying to catch up with Welk.

"If you're not careful, you'll get yourself on both of their bad sides," Nate said quietly. "Goodness knows you don't want that."

"Sorry..." Luen said softly, following in the back. "I didn't mean anything about it. It's just...every other half-cat that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting has always been a tad withdrawn and...well, cat-like. I've never seen one as...happy and energetic as Welk. Also, he seems to hate me for some reason. I'm worried that he'll try to kill me if I so much as look at him..."

"No matter. Your comments mean nothing to me, but I understand Werr's position as well." Nate shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much about that, you're far stronger than him and Werr combined. Come along then, you look exhausted. I can check around town for some salve for the rest of those burns, as well. And from the looks of things, we all might need masks for the festival tomorrow."

Luen nodded, then followed after him, looking slightly brighter at the mention of something for his burns.

Welk, meanwhile, had managed to get lost from both Seria and Werr, though he wasn't concerned with that. He knew he could find them again. He had taken to his human form and was now looking around excitedly at everything, having never seen sights like these before in his life. He turned to go see something else and bumped into someone. "Sorry!" he said, not pausing to look up at the person. He ran off without hesitating, disappearing into the crowd. The woman he had bumped into had been going to say that she was sorry as well, but she had stopped when she had laid eyes on Welk. She watched him run off, not able to see his face well from this angle. The woman was a half-cat herself, but that was not why she had stared at Welk. She looked after him for a moment, then turned and walked back to her mask stand and seated herself behind it.

((This woman is important. Natey or Werr should totally talk to her.))

((Natey it is.))

"Sorry ma'am!" Werr called over his shoulder, hurrying after Welk. "Wait up!"

Nate emerged from the crowd a few moments later. He eyed the masks, smiling lightly. He looked at the woman sitting at the stand, and was mildly surprised to see what she was. "Good evening," He said quietly, his eyes trailing to the masks again. "What are your prices? I'm going to need six, you see..."

The lady had her back turned when Nate spoke to her, straitening a few boxes, then she turned and answered him with a cheery voice. "Only two bronze for one mask." she said, smiling at him. When she finally faced him, however, it was shocking what was seen.

She was an almost exact female replica of Welk.

Soft blonde hair and slitted, crimson red eyes met Nate's. She smiled, flicking her fluffy blonde tail, then said "Six masks? That'll be twelve bronze, right? Apologies if I'm wrong. I'm terrible with books and math and the like." She laughed, then said "Pick what you like. I made them all myself."

Nate stared at her for several moments, then shook it off and smiled again. "Correct. Did you really make them? They're quite stunning. May I ask what materials you used?" He asked, switching his gaze to the masks again. For someone who was ill-trained in mathematics and the like, the masks were certainly something to look at.

((You should describe some of the masks so I have an idea of just how fancy I can get here. xD))

She beamed and said "Thank you, sir. The mask are made of thin iron that I heated up and bent into the shapes I needed. They won't break unless you take a hammer to them." She laughed softly again, sounding eerily close to how Welk laughed, then said "Once they were ready, I chisled the designs into them. Anything I thought of making. Curls, swirls, flames, flowers...anything. Then I paint them and add feathers and little decoration stones." She smiled, then asked "You mentioned needing six masks. Are you here with family or friends?"

((Well, some of the masks just cover the eyes, while some have bird-like beaks to cover the nose. Some have the feathers, like she said, and some have little gemstones around them. The feathers can be big and hang off of the top and sides, or small and cover parts of the mask. She paints all of them, usually two colors. For instant, one he could get for Airlia is obviously a girl's mask. Pink with gemstones and swirls designs. One for a boy like Welk could be one decorated in blues and blacks with horns chisled into it. Go crazy.  ))

((So like Venice masks? Good. I like masks.

I'm just gonna have Nate pick out a few and then you can describe the masks for your characters.))

"Well, they're quite stunning." Nate took his time picking out six, and handed over the money. "One last inquiry, miss, do you know where I could purchase some healing salve for burns?"

((And now we skip back to the others, unless you have any objections.))

"There should be a small general store near here that sells medicines like that." she said, smiling at him. She took the money and slid it into her pocket without counting it. It seemed that she trusted that he gave her the right amount. "Have a nice day, sir." she said after it was clear that buisness was done. She flicked her tail at him, then turned to her next customers.

((Yep yep. And this female half-cat is what you should think she is, based on her looks.))

((Welk's twin? Either that, or mother. 8I

And skiparoo.))

Werr had located the inn, apparently. He was dragging Welk towards it when Nate came up behind them, carrying the masks and the salve. "I concur, we should get some rest," He said simply, looking around. "Do we have everyone?"

"I'm here," Airlia's voice came from the inn. She was waiting by the entrance, clearly intimidated by the crowds.

"Good. Seria? Luen?" Nate said, turning on heel and looking for them.

((Mother.))

"Here." Seria called, jumping down from the roof. Luen came around from the side of the inn and said "I'm here too."

Welk was trying to get Werr to let go of him, but was having little success. "Come on! Just one more run around the stalls?" he begged, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "It was so fun! I don't even feel tired!" He was lying, however. Werr could feel the half-cat's hand shaking, and not from excitement.

Luen walked cautiously over to Nate and peered at the masks he was holding, then said "Are those for us?" He was curious about them, but severely withdrawn. He had never seen such brighty designed things before and that made him suspicious.

((Yay for Welk. : D

This will probably make Werr very sad though, I hope you realize that. xDD))

"Good. Let's all go inside, find a table, and we can sort out who gets what." Nate said, moving towards the inn. "Yes, I got these for all of us. And here, for you," He put the salve in Luen's hand, smiling. "I can help you apply it, if you need the assistance."

"Come on, Welk," Werr said gently, shaking his head. "You need sleep more than I do, you've run around so much today. Come on, we'll see if we can't get two warm glasses of milk before going off to bed, how does that sound?"

((Of course, even if he was face to face with her, Welk wouldn't know it was her at first. He doesn't have any memories of her, because he was really small, 'just a kitten', when he was found by Cynyr.

And I know that. >:3 ))

"Curious." Luen said, staring at the masks, then smiled slightly when Nate gave him the salve. "Thank you." he said softly. "I don't need help with it, though. I think I can manage." He turned and went inside the inn, not really taking much interest in the masks.

Welk paused, thinking about it, then sighed and said "Okay, that actually sounds really good." He grinned, then tried to stifle a yawn. He was unsuccessful. "We can run around some more tomorrow." he said, brushing his tail against Werr as he passed him. The joyous twinkle in Welk's eyes wouldn't be dulled because he was tired, however. "I get first pick of beds!" he called, racing into the inn and disappearing from sight.

((Yes, but he'd realize it eventually, no?

You know what I like already. : D))

"Yes, we definitely can," Werr nodded, then hurried after his friend.

"I suppose we can wait to pick out masks," Nate said, entering the inn after Werr. It was brightly lit in comparison to the last one, and finely furnished. The polished wood of the table gleamed in the torchlight, the cushioned chairs seemingly perfect, as Airlia flopped down in one immediately, exhausted.

Nate headed to the front desk and ordered their rooms, as well as two cups of warm milk for Welk and Werr. He looked towards Seria and Airlia. "Anything for you two?"

"Just sleep," Airlia said quietly. "I'm not even hungry. Just really...really tired."

((Yep. The others, like Werr, Nate and Seria, would realize it first, of course, because Welk is as clueless as they come. I would be surprised if Natey didn't make the connection that they have to be related already.

Mwahahahaha. >:3 ))

"I would rather sleep than eat as well," Seria said. "but I'll eat something anyways because my body needs nutrition. Just some fruit would be wonderful."

There was a crash from the bedrooms and a loud yelp of "Crap!", then silence.

Seria glared in that direction, then said "I don't want to know."