The Forgotten Zodiac

((No, I'd definitely tell you if I was planning that.

To be perfectly honest, the main reason I don't tell is because it's a good way's off, and I'm still putting things together mentally. If I tell you one thing, then get a different idea, that'd be no good. So I'm just better off not telling and doing whatever fits best. I can also say that it'll happen after Cynyr shows up again. Definitely after.))

Nate blinked at Luen for a long moment. "...Luen? Are you okay?" He asked, frowning uncertainly.

"Curious," Forin looked up at Luen, his own eyebrow raised in mild surprise.

"Er...maybe the trauma did something with his head?" Werr looked around at the others.

"It must have. Luen, hold still," Nate stepped forward, looking closely at Luen's eyes in the late evening sun. He was searching for unusual pupil dilation; that was often a sign of some head trauma cases.

((Okay. :3))

Luen blinked as Nate walked over, a dull look in his eyes, then held still like the young man wanted. It was true. Luen's pupils were resting at an off size for the current evening lighting. His dark green eyes looked almost lifeless.

"He's got something wrong with his head!" a voice suddenly shouted, and they whirled around to see Relic hanging by his legs from a high up branch in a nearby tree, watching them through his yellow eyes. "He's hurt inside." the raptorix said simply, flicking his pointed ears.

Forin grabbed Diana, remaining behind the donkey and covering as much of Diana as he could by hugging her from behind. "Obviously," Nate frowned unhappily at this. "What do you want now?"

((Failpost. D: ))

"Just to chat." the raptorix answered. "Nelu's not around, on account of she's got sick because she was in that ice. I can't go after the wind mage without her, so I came to find you guys, because you're fun and interesting and much better than Nelu. But if you tell her that, she'll kick me. But it won't hurt, on account of I'm crazy." He started humming and swaying back and forth from his upside-down spot on the branch, letting his tongue hang out of his mouth. "Sorry 'bout your magey friend." he said, glancing down at Luen. "I saw Nelu hit him on his head with the butt of her sword while they were fighting. That must've been what did that to him. Oh well! Now you can find a new mage that isn't broken."

((Nah, it was okay. It was better than nothing. :3 ))

"We don't want to chat right now," Nate crossed his arms. "We're busy, here. Thank you for the information, though, it answered my question." Blunt force trauma, then. Possibly a concussion. They needed to chill the injured area to stop any swelling and prevent permanant brain damage. After that, Seria would have to think of something, or they would have to wait. Luen could very well pull through on his own.

"Go away," Werr shook his head at Relic. He didn't like the guy, and he definitely didn't want anything to happen to his memories. They were important to him...

((Here you go. I redeem myself. xD))

Relic stuck his tongue out at them and said "No." He climbed up onto his branch and crouched there, then sprang out of the tree and landed easily on the ground below. "I don't wanna go." he said. "Besides, if I go, I could just go tell King Asi where you guys are and he'll send guys out after you! So I'm not leaving until I'm not bored." He suddenly paused, then said "I'm not bored anymore. Bye!" He trotted off, singing a loud song as he left. Eventually, they could no longer hear him.

Welk shook his head and said "That guy's nuts."

Luen watched the raptorix go with a distant look in his eyes, then sighed and hung his head, staring blankly at the saddle he was sitting on.

((Yeppers.))

"Only slightly," Forin commented sarcastically, climbing back to his feet and letting Diana up again. "I've seen people like him before. Not raptor-people, but completely insane people. It's unpleasant."

"More like completely," Nate agreed. "Now come on, we've got to get that tracker destroyed before anyone gets any ideas. How are we going to destroy it?"

"I dunno," Werr frowned, shaking his head. "Luen? Luen, do you think you can do something for us? We need you to use your powers for something...can you hear me?"

"He's not deaf," Nate rolled his eyes a bit at this.

It did seem, however, that Luen wasn't able to hear them very well, probably from the damage to his head. He just sat there for a moment longer, then suddenly blinked and said "What happened?"

"Nothing." Seria said, moving forward so his attention was on her. "Can you do us a favor real quick?"

Luen blinked, staring at her for a moment, then said "A favor...? I can do that..."

Seria touched his arm and said "We need you to use your ice powers for something. Do you think you can do that?"

Luen blinked again, still staring at her, then thought hard for a moment and said "My ice powers...?" Realization kicked in. "Oh, right. Yes, I can." he said, staring down at the saddle.

Seria backed up a short distance, letting Luen focus on Werr.

"Here," Werr led the donkey towards the trees. He found a sizeable rock and pushed it into position between two trees. "We need you to make a large ice block, and a pole to support it above this rock. Pretty high up, so that when the ice melts and gravity takes hold, it'll fall on the rock, so...uh...yeah." He explained, wondering if Luen was hearing him at all.

Luen blinked again, a bit slower than before, then silently lifted his hands and closed his eyes, concentrating as best as he could in his current state. It took him almost half a minute, but he managed to make what Werr asked for. Normally, it would've had them done in mere seconds, but the important part was the he had been able to do it. Once he was finished, he lifted a hand and held it to his head, closing his eyes in pain for a moment. A few seconds later, he let his hand fall, his eyes once again growing lifelessly dull.

Werr smiled at this, nodding in satisfaction. "Alright, Welk, put that device here, and let's get out of here." He said, glancing at his friend before looking up at Luen again. "Get better soon, Luen. We need you to get better..." He said, sounding truly concerned.

"'Kay!" Welk said, trotting over and plopping the tracker down where Werr had said to put it. "So long, tracker." the half-cat said, then turned and trotted back over to the others.

Luen stared at Werr as the boy spoke to him, then sighed and went back to staring at the saddle.

Welk paused near the donkey, looking up at Luen for a moment, then turned to Seria and asked "Isn't there anything you can do for him?"

Seria shook her head. "I'm sorry, Welk. My powers work in ways I sometimes don't understand. I can heal inside wounds, but something like this is beyond what I can do. The only other thing I have is knowledge. We need to keep him as still as we can and get something cold around his head. If his brain is damaged, which we know it is, it could swell. Since his skull keeps his brain in place, the swelling won't be able to go far, thus potentially causing him permanent brain damage. If we can keep something cold on his head, however, that will lessen the swelling greatly." She walked over to Luen and took his hand, then said "Luen, look at me."

He did.

"I need you to use your powers on yourself." she said.

"My...powers?" Luen said, then again remembered. "Oh."

"Yes, your powers." Seria agreed. She moved his hand up and put it against his head. "I need you to keep using a little of your power up here. Don't take your hand off unless one of us tells you that you can. Use enough power to make your head get really cold, but don't take your hand off. We'll tell you when you can stop. Okay?" She spoke gently and calmly, as if talking to a small child.

Luen blinked at her, then went back to staring at the saddle as he did what she asked him. He generated a small ice spell that immediately scattered snowflakes through his hair as it lowered the temperature of his skull and the swelling inside it. The spell was just enough for it to be cold, but not cause him any harm.

Diana peered up at Luen, taking the reins that were hanging limply from the burrow's bridle. She started forward again, Forin limping next to her, though he was able to keep a fairly steady pace. They all moved off again, and Werr cast one last look behind them at the town in the distance. Kash...he didn't quite know why, but he had a feeling that they'd never see this place again. It was a bit odd, but...

Werr shook it off after the city was cut off from sight as Nate led the way down a hill. "We've got a long night ahead of us, and the chill in the air that I'm detecting hints towards a cold one. Best bundle up, if you can," Nate spoke as he looked down at Diana, who's tunic was torn up from earlier; he sighed and removed his own cloak, biting the edge with his sharp teeth and tearing a large section off of the bottom. He put the shortened cloak around her with a smile.

She blinked at him, recoiling a little bit. "But...I'm not cold..."

"You might get there," Nate shrugged. "I don't get cold unless there are extreme conditions at hand, so you can have that."

((WHY DID HE FEEL THAT. TELL ME NAOW. BECAUSE WELK'S MOMMY IS IN THAT TOWN.))

Seria smiled at them, then turned into a cat and walked with the group in this form. Her furry red coat would keep her plenty warm.

Welk copied her, taking his cat form easily. He flicked his tail back and forth as he walked, glancing around and watching the environment as they passed it. He took a moment to rub up against Werr, making a quick loop around the boy's legs, then went back to walking normally. "Hey, Werr?" he said, glancing up at the boy. "What do you think Cynyr's doing right now?"

((WELL, FINE. I'LL TELL YOU. IT'S BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO BLOW THE PLACE UP. KA-BOOM.

Not now. Much later. And it might change anyways. She has plenty of time to get out of it, if that DOES happen. Which, it probably won't.))

Werr blinked at Welk, surprised by the question. "Cynyr? He..." Werr thought for a long moment, then said, "He's probably wondering what we're doing right now. He might even be missing you. He's most likely hunting for dinner, though," He grinned a bit as he looked out at the fast-descending sun. His stomach let out a growl and he remembered that he actually hadn't had any dinner. The festival food had all kind of been ruined, what with the attack...

((..THAT IS TERRIBLE. Welk would be heartbroken if that happened, because he's waited all of his life to find his mother. He would seriously regret staying with Werr and the others, that's for sure, because then he would feel like he could've convinced Briana to leave if he would've stayed with her. She won't leave by herself because her home and her business is there and without Welk, that's all she has.))

Welk sighed and nodded, saying "Yeah, you're probably right. It's just...I worry about him sometimes. I mean, he's never gotten sick before, but he has hurt himself a number of times. What if he gets hurt while he's alone? I was always there to help him, but...now nobody is." He closed his eyes, then tilted his ears back and said "Werr, what if he's dead or something? How do we know if he's alive? I know he's strong, but if he's alone out there, anything could happen. A pack of wolves or a few bears like the one we saw? If he's dead, we'll never find him and we'll never know what happened to him." The teenage half-cat paused and rubbed his face with one paw, then trotted to catch back up. "I know you've said we'll find him, but what if we can't?" he said. "What if..." Horror entered his crimson eyes. "...what if I never see him again for years?"

((Hmm...what if Briana didn't die? What if she was captured before that happened, and Welk was just led to believe that she was dead? If it happens, anyways. Nothing is set in stone until it's typed and the post reply button is clicked. xD))

Werr sighed. He wasn't sure what to say to this. "Don't think like that, Welk. What happened to the optimistic fuzzball I knew before? I'm supposed to be the pessemistic one, here." He smiled a bit, taking hold of Welk's tail again. "Let's just keep moving forward, okay? If we hit a bump or a wall along our path...we'll overcome it. Get it?"

((That would be more acceptable. IF it happens, of course. :3))

"Hey, you're dealing with the king of the fuzz-balls here, buddy." Welk said, grinning. He purred when Werr took hold of his tail, then nodded and said "Yeah, I get it. I shouldn't worry about Cynyr. He'll be fine. He's always liked being alone and isolated, after all." He closed his eyes for a moment to purr contentedly, then said "Pessimistic? You? Huh. I guess you kind of were at first, when I first met you, but you've sort of gotten...happier, I think. More willing to show emotion." He smiled up at the boy, his slitted crimson eyes bright.

((Of course. :3))

Werr smiled, but this time it was a bit sad. "Do you remember me telling you about my friends before the war? They were mages. They left for a mage academy not far from where our hometown is. One of them returned, battered and bleeding, a-and...I remember seeing his body being dragged off by soldiers. And then, not long after that, my father had to go off to the war, and my mother went insane...I was turning into a self-destructive mess, and I knew it. My friends were dead, and my father was dead too. My mother was crazy. I was going crazy. So...I put it all away. I locked up my emotions and put my own feelings aside to take care of mother." He sighed wistfully, shaking his head. "Then you came along, and I had a friend again. As much as I wanted to keep my feelings under wraps, after mother died...I realized that there was no point in keeping them locked up anymore. I can't really think as well as I used to...but that's okay. I can survive without thinking too hard."

"Your emotions cloud your better judgement," Nate put in quietly. "I've seen it all the time. You'll get used to it. You're a sharp kid, Werr, despite your grief-riddled past." He laced his fingers behind his head, smiling contently.

Welk listened intently to Werr speak, taking in every word. He really was a good listener despite his rambunctiousness. "You know, now that you've talked about this, I realize Cynyr's like a more advanced version of you while you were like that." he said. Realization dawned on the cat. "Cynyr locked away all of his emotions too, but he never had anyone to bring him out of it. I came when you needed me, but Cynyr never had anyone for him when he needed it. Even when I was around, he never, ever, cried or laughed or anything like that. Just the anger. You saw it too, Werr." Welk's ears went back. "I should've been there for him, but I was too wrapped up in my own feelings and my want to have fun to ever notice his pain."

Up ahead, Seria sighed. "Welk, it isn't your fault. Cynyr has carried a pain with him for nearly his entire life. It is a pain that can never be removed or healed. He bears it because he cannot escape it, however hard he has tried. That pain drives him to push away those that would care for him. It forces him to seek solitude and to hate the world he lives in, and to keep all of his emotions to himself...including love." She close her eyes for a moment and sighed, then opened them and said "He is a scarred being. In more ways than one."