The Forgotten Zodiac

Werr was taken off-guard by the mention of Welk's decision. He just nodded, not sure what else to do. "It's okay..." He said, patting Welk on the back. "I...I understand. Do what you need to, okay? We should probably head back to the inn..."

"I concur. I don't think these humans enjoy their roads splattered with blood. We ought to leave and perhaps get me patched up so I stop bleeding everywhere." Forin tutted.

"Will you be okay?" Airlia asked, backing away a bit. "You won't like, bleed to death or anything, right?"

"Certainly not. The rate at which I'm bleeding is far too slow for me to bleed out in the next ten minutes or so, but if you wait an hour and get back to me, we'll see where I am then."

((All of my developed characters are similar. xD Calculating, quiet, and Forin adds coldness to the mix. xDD))

Welk sighed, then stood up and stayed as close to Werr as he could while the others prepared to go back into the inn.

Seria was checking Luen over one last time before Nate would pick him up to take him inside. She shook her head slightly as she looked down at him, then sighed and stood up, moving over to Forin and Diana. "I can give you some of my energy like I did before." she said. "I have enough now, thanks to Welk. The energy will go to your wounds alone, though, so you'll have to walk under your own power." She shrugged, not really knowing what else to offer him.

((Forin sort of makes up for Cynyr being gone. Temporarily. o3o Trust me, when Cynyr comes back, it'll be worse than before.))

((I'm considering having a completely mental-but-good character, but I think I have too many compared to yours. xDD))

Nate carefully scooped Luen up, carrying him towards the inn, making sure not to jostle him too much.

"Do what you will," Forin said, slowly pushing himself into a sitting position. "But I hope they have bandages at that inn. I'm afraid the one roll I have won't quite be enough."

((Yeah. XD I don't have anymore characters I'm ever going to add, so. -shrug- Relic was my last one. Ever.))

"I have some in my bag." Seria said. "I am a healer, after all. I'll give you some when we get back to the inn." She walked over to him and bent down, putting her hands on his forehead and chest. She concentrated and cast the spell to transfer her energy into healing power for him, then gave him over half of her energy. Once she was done, she pulled back and turned to Diana, saying "Hey sweetheart. Why don't you come over here and let me carry you? We need to give Forin some space." She spoke sweetly and gently, bending down so she was level with the little girl. She held a hand out reassuringly, giving her a tender smile.

(('Sides Asmodius.

And no, Trin. That's bad. :C))

"...um...you must not know Forin very well yet..." Diana murmured, watching as Forin pulled himself unsteadily to his feet. Diana blinked at Seria and looked between her and Forin.

"It's fine," Forin sighed, moving forward. "I don't like it, but I'm beginning to put a little trust in her. You should be safe enough in her care, and she likely won't carry you far. I doubt she would make the attempt, anyways. There is no motive present." He said, stumbling over to an abandoned foot stand and leaning against it for support. "It's safe enough to go with her, mistress."

"Oh...okay..." Diana watched him for a few moments and then turned, taking Seria's hand hesitantly.

((Yeah, Asmodius.

I don't have anymore ready. I've got one WIP, but he/she won't be finished for a while. I still haven't decided if I want it to be a girl or a boy. It's a gryphon creature.))

"Don't worry." Seria said, gently picking the little girl up and settling her against her hip. "I'll stay close by Forin, if that makes you feel better. And I mostly meant that we needed to give him some space as in not getting close to his wounds." She stayed close to Forin, keeping about two feet of space between them. "See? This isn't so bad." she said, giving Diana a small smile. "I would never do anything to hurt you or Forin. I mean, if I had wanted to hurt either of you, I've had plenty of chances to do it. I won't hurt you."

((...it's very strange that you have to prepare characters beforehand, but to each his own, I suppose. -makes everything up as she goes-

How old do you think Diana is? Just curious. I haven't mentioned any actual age, just that she's younger than Welk. xD))

"Forgive us if we come off as untrusting," Forin tutted. "She's seen very nasty things before, and fairly recently. I...well, let's just say I come from a place where trust can and will get you killed."

"Very, very nasty things." Diana sighed, wrapping her arms around Seria's neck. She watched Forin quietly for awhile, then said, "You can tell her. But later. After I'm asleep, okay?"

"Yes, mistress. It shall be done." Forin nodded, moving from stall to the next, slowly but steadily.

((I usually don't have too. Like, I made up Jirios just like that. And Cynyr. And Welk. And Luen. Seria took some time, actually. Relic was a long time coming. Now that I'm starting to use most of my ideas, I'm having to think out the characters first.

I dunno. Around nine, maybe? -no idea and hates guessing this sort of thing-))

"It's quite alright." Seria said in reply to Forin. "I don't think of either of you as 'untrusting'. More like...cautious." She listened to Diana and Forin speak, then nodded once and said "I will listen when you are ready to speak." She opened the door once they got to the inn, holding it open for Forin, then followed him in and glanced around. Werr was sitting on the couch with Welk curled up in cat form next to him. The blonde-cat had his head resting in Werr's lap, his ears tilted back sadly against his head.

((Hm. I've been roleplaying since I was...ten or eleven. I've never planned out characters before hand. Maybe I do mentally, without thinking too much about it, but I've never really just sat down and thought about it.

I pegged her as around seven, to be perfectly honest, but nine does make a little more sense. She's rather small for her age then, but no matter. xD))

Werr was petting Welk's head, also looking somewhat upset, but struggling to get his facial expression under control. Nate was behind the bar, serving himself a bottle of rum, as the innkeeper was nowhere in sight. Airlia, who had gone ahead of Seria and the other two, was sitting at one of the tables. She was chewing on some jerky that she had gotten out of Werr's bag without his knowledge; it was quite tasty, actually.

Forin stumbled past them, leaving a trail of blood drops that had started up as he had walked. He somehow managed to make it up the stairs, into his room and onto the second bed. He flopped down, breathing heavily, a visible tremor in his hands and legs.

((I've been roleplaying for...7 months. XD

I LIKE SEVEN. How about eight? Compromise.))

Seria stayed downstairs, gently setting Diana down on the floor and simply holding her hand, ready to let go if the child wanted her to. Seria could feel the tension in the air and it was making her a bit sad. She decided to go upstairs and get Forin those bandages he needed. She led Diana up the stairs and into her room, where she grabbed her bag, then went back out and into the room Forin was in. "Here, Forin." she said, letting go of Diana and walking over to him. "I'll help you with this." She moved forward and shoved one arm under him, helping him sit up, then started wrapped the bandages around his wounds.

((...You hash natural talent. oDo I've seen definite improvement on my skills over the years, but that's because I work really hard for it. Writing is the one thing I really, REALLY have a passion for. But...7 months? ._. You're like, on the same level that I am. NOT FAIR.

Okay. Eight. :3 It works with my plan for Diana's sad wittle story that Forin has to tell now, because he took her words as an order. xD))

Forin groaned, trying to ignore the pain. But with no danger to Diana, there was no reason to and he knew it, so his body was refusing to let him ignore it. He felt every scratch, every cut and every gash, and it hurt like crazy.

Diana walked forward, climbing up onto the other bed to watch. She seemed unfazed by the blood and wounds, but looked rather worried for Forin. She watched silently, wondering if there was anything at all that she could do to help.

((Thanks. And I know for sure that it was around 7 months because I met Hannah shortly after I joined dA, and through her, met all of you. Things Forgotten was my first RP. -sniffle of happiness-

Okay. :3))

Seria bandaged up all of his wounds, then let him lay back down, being as gentle as possible. "I wish I could do more." she said, sitting down in a chair nearby. "I'm afraid my heal spells don't work on you, though. You won't die, but I can do nothing for any of your pain. I'm sorry." She hung her head a little, frustrated at her inability to help. She flicked her fluffy red tail, curling it around to rest in her lap.

((: D Hannah is awesome. She and Sage introduced me to both you and Tasumi. And now I have a tight circle of Christainly roleplaying friends. It's amazazing. -happy tears-))

"I've lived through worse," Forin said, looking away. Seeing that Seria was done, Diana slid off of her bed and climbed up next to Forin, wrapping her arms around his arm. She was content to sit there like that, watching Seria quietly.

"It's okay," She said at last. "Forin is strong. I summoned him because he's strong. Because I know that I'm not strong at all, so...he helps me. So I know that he's strong, and that he'll be okay. So don't worry, okay?"

((She is. I met Sage second, after her. I actually only spoke to him because I thought he was insulting me in a conversation with Hannah. XD We were friends ever since!))

Seria sighed quietly, then lifted her head a bit and said "Okay." She smiled a little, then started organizing the contents of her bag. Various small potions in red, blue and green colors, bandages, a needle with special thread, a medium-sized box with a drawing of a leaf on it and a few clean white rags. Seria carefully rearranged the items inside, sometimes placed something in her tail to hold until she made room for it. She held things with her tail much better than Welk had.

((I met him because Hannah suggested I find him. xDD And then they both suggested you, and you all suggested Tasumi and we're all one big, happy family now. :3))

"I need a nap," Diana announced, crawling behind Forin to sleep. Indeed, within a few minutes of silence, she was fast asleep. Forin watched Seria in silence, apparently waiting for her to finish organizing her bag or something. He didn't speak, but he clearly wanted to, as he reached out with his foot and pushed the door shut. He examined the bandage job Seria had done as he waited, wondering vaguely if he could find any place to clean himself up at. He was certainly a mess.

((I have none to suggest you find. 'Cept maybe Sirloin. He's a funny guy. I talk to him a lot on dA. Sage talks to him too. He's not a good roleplayer, though. DX But he always reads our stories, like Darkness Rising. He's cool.))

Once the female half-cat was finished, she set her bag to the side and glanced at Forin, seeing how tense he looked. Seria immediately guess at what he wanted, so she transformed into a cat and jumped up on the other bed, laying down so she would be comfortable while she listened to him. She gave him a single nod, letting him know he could talk whenever he was ready.

((xD S'alright, I don't really care to meet MORE new people. :T))

Forin sighed, sitting up and clearing his throat. "Mistress Diana said that she wanted me to tell you her past. I'm not entirely sure why, and I don't wish to repeat any part of it, so you best listen. Diana is eight; you can guess what that means. She was born not long after the purge of mages and witches. At the age of four, she discovered her summoning powers with the summoning of a Tikal. An ancient beast, similar to a wolf, with the ability to speak human tongues. She was quite happy with her friend, and he was happy with her.

"But King Asmodius would have none of that, I suppose. He sent agents, when Diana was six. Two years ago, and on her birthday, no less. Diana's friend protected her and her family, and drove off one agent. Two more came the same day. Savages, more like. They slayed the Tikal with ease, tied Diana up and forced her to watch as her parents were quite literally torn apart. Limb by limb.

"Diana's screams of fear and anguish called me into this world. You would think a summoning would require a bit more complex spellwork; I don't understand how she did it, myself. Regardless, I arrived as she was being dragged off. I killed the agents and fled with her. It took her half a year for her to start talking again, and a full year before she talked to anyone but me. I'm surprised she's taken to you lot so well. Humans can be surprising, I suppose. At any rate, that's all I have to say right now. As I said before, I'm not going to repeat any of that, so I do hope you payed attention."

((Yeah, I think we have enough people in the story.))

Seria listened intently as Forin spoke, her ears tilting back against her head as the story came out. "The poor little thing." she murmured once Forin was done. "I'm so sorry for her loss." She lowered her head for a moment, then lifted it and stared at Forin. "She's lucky she has you, creature of Tartarus. I can think of none better to care for her than you. You've done a good job protecting her." She spoke quietly, her pretty blue eyes fixed on the boy. "I think I'll go now." the red half-cat said, standing up and hopping off of the bed. "I'll leave you both to rest. I'll come back when we prepare to leave. We should head out by nightfall. I wouldn't trust those townsfolk to let us stay much longer, especially after the display outside. Some of them saw Luen using his magic, and it won't take long for it to sink in that he's a mage. We must leave soon." She flicked her tail in a wave and trotted out of the room, wrapping her tail around the doorknob and closing it softly behind her.

((...nevaaahhhh.))

"Indeed," Forin closed his eyes, nodding a bit. "Very well then. I shall prepare myself, as well. Thank you for concerning yourself enough to listen. While it may not seem like much to you, Diana has never wanted anyone else to know..." He watched her leave, then sat back to watch Diana sleep. She would probably be waking up with nightmares soon, anyways.

((Seriously, Bun. -3- I'm probably not going to get my gryphon done in time to do anything with him anyways. (yeah, it's a guy now) ))

Seria trotted downstairs and glanced around. Everyone was still where they were when she had left. She nodded and trotted over to Nate, flicking him lightly with her tail. "Hey." she said, stopping near him. She tilted her pretty feline face up so she could stare at him. "We should get ready to leave soon. The townsfolk will not take kindly to the fact that we have Luen in our group. They saw him use magic, so it'll sink in sooner or later that he's a mage, and that'll be dangerous for our whole group. We should leave by tonight."

Welk lifted his head from Werr's lap and said "Tonight? O-oh..." He suddenly stood up and jumped off of the couch, then transformed into a human. "Um, I have to...go and do something." he said, then ran upstairs and grabbed his bag. He came back down with the bag slung over his shoulder. "I...I'll be back. I promise." he said not making eye-contact with anyone as he moved towards the door. "I'll come back tonight, at the exit of the town, when we're going to leave. Y-yeah. I...I'm...I'll come back..." He paused at the door and glanced back at Werr, then immediately looked like he was going to cry. He quickly darted out the door and raced off.

Then he was gone.

Seria sighed, letting her ears tilt back sadly, as if she already knew what Welk had been so upset about.