The Forgotten Zodiac

((True. XD))

Jag screeched to a halt, frowning at the broom handle in his beak. He spat it out and wiped his mouth off with a large paw, then said "Lily, I told you not to do that anymore! It's gross!" He clicked his beak near her, but didn't come anywhere near hurting her. He stood there in silence for a moment, a huge gryphon near a little girl, then said "I'm not silly. I've never been silly." He tilted his head back in mock shame, but there was a joyful glint in his bright bird eyes that the girl could easily see.

((I don't think things with beaks can frown. xD))

Lily just beamed, reaching up with her small hand and patting down Jag's ruffled chest feathers. "Of course you aren't silly. But I can't get you to hold still without saying something like that. Here," She pulled a clean rag out of a basket nearby, reaching up and wiping a little dirt off of Jag's beak. "There you go, sir. All clean." She smiled happily. It was quite strange to see any servants smiling; they were beaten upon for no reason, overworked and underfed, and they all had to sleep in one small room, often with no light. Lily was particularly strange to be smiling and happy; her mother had just recently been killed for trying to escape with her and her brother, who had gone missing ever since. Lily had been punished as well. Her shirt hid bruises and cuts from whippings, and there was a dent-like scar over her stomach where the master had driven one of his spikes into her.

It was all very unfortunate, and perhaps upsetting to those with a strong sense of justice, but Lily showed no signs of sadness. Perhaps she did when Jag wasn't around, but she was full of smiles and laughter when he was.

((Yes they can. XD))

Jag sighed quietly and closed his eyes for a moment as she touched his beak and chest feathers, flicking his long tail around from side to side, then opened his bright blue eyes and stared at her. Lily was the only servant that had never felt the snap of Jag's beak against her skin. Probably because she was the only one who understood him.

He glanced around and made sure no other servants were around, then bent his head forward and brushed his beak against the girl. "Are you okay?" he asked, letting the faintest hint of concern tint his silky voice.

((They dun has the facial muscles. o3o))

"Hm?" Lily blinked at him, confused. "Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She smiled, but immediately paled when there came an obvious clicking from down the hall. Princess Holly was moving to her room, her heeled shoes clicking noisily against the tiled floors. Lily scurried back to her broom, sweeping the pile of dirt and dead leaves she had collected into a dustpan. This hallway was connected to the garden; unfortunately, all the trees did anymore was grow leaves and immediately drop them. The grass was shriveled and crunched underfoot, and the flowers were completely gone. The leaves and dead plants would blow up with the wind, getting inside through the windows. There were times when this hallway would be strewn with dead plants.

Lily did her best to keep looking happy for Jag, but the sound of Holly approaching struck something near terror into her, even when she had done absolutely nothing wrong. But this time, it seemed, she had done something very wrong, even if she didn't realize it just yet. Holly was passing by, and things seemed fine. She hardly glanced at Jag and Lily as she passed, at that.

Click, click, click, click, crunch.

Silence. For a very long moment. Holly stopped in her tracks, moving the folds of her dress to look at what she had stepped on. A brown leave sat there on the floor, broken into pieces by the heel of her shoe. "Well," She pursed her lips, looking around with a sharp gaze. "Who is responsible for this, exactly?" She asked quietly.

((This one does.))

Jag's eyes narrowed slightly. He breathed out softly, then stepped forward and said "It was me. It must've been on me from my mission. It probably stuck to my fur." He stared back at her without a hint of fear, barely blinking an eye at the thought of taking a punishment. He would not let Lily suffer for something so small and meaningless. Though he rarely showed loving emotion to anyone, Lily was the only person in the world that had ever seen that he was more than a tool to be used as their higher-up saw fit.

((Well, fine. :T))

Holly glared at Jag, frowning unhappily. Her eyes locked on Lily. "Slave, clean it up." She stepped back, watching as Lily scurried forward with her dustpan, sweeping up the broken leaf and inspecting the floor carefully, making certain that there were no pieces left. Lily finished within seconds, hurrying back to tremble behind Jag.

Holly 'hmph'ed and walked away, her shoes clicking just as much as ever. It eventually faded and stopped, and only when that happened did Lily let out a short sob. "Th-thank you, Jag..." She set down the dustpan, holding back tears. "She would have stepped on my hands again...I-I was so sure I had gotten all of them, though, I-I..." She smiled again, this time gratefully.

"Don't mention it." Jag said, turning to face her. He hesitated, then risked a step towards her and gave her a gentle nuzzle, flicking his long ears back. "Don't cry." he said. "Remember what I promised? I said that someday I would take you far from this place. You just have to be strong until then. I will get you out of here. Someday." The gryphon released a puff of soothingly warm air from his nostrils, then pulled back, looking a little ruffled. He tilted his head back at Lily and opened his mouth to say something, then sighed and looked away.

"Yes," Lily smiled, wiping her eyes quickly. "I remember." She nodded. Jag had promised that not too long ago, after her punishment for trying to run. "Thank you, Jag, again...I-I think I would be a mess without you. You're like an older brother to me..." Her face fell again. "I wonder what happened to Tristan..."

Jag turned his head away, erecting the crest of bright blue feathers on his head. "I'm sure he's okay." he said softly. He couldn't tell her that he knew what had happened to the poor boy. "Wherever he is, I'm sure he's happy." he said, turning back to her once more. A faint blush had crept along his cheeks when she spoke of him being like an older brother. The reddish-pink tint was safely hidden under his feathers, but would've been plainly visible in human form. He didn't dare take that form now. "Just hold on for a while longer, okay?" he said. "We'll both get out of here. Someday. Like I promised." He moved back a step, which caused the silver cuffs around his front legs to jangle softly.

((Do I need to make her a little older? xDD It seems like Jag has a crush on her. o3o))

"I can wait..." Lily nodded. "I...I heard rumors about what you do when you're out. You...need to be careful, so, um..." She shuffled her foot, pulling something out of her pocket. It was a small, heart-shaped locket with a simple L engraved on the front. "Here. It's my luck charm, it should keep you safe no matter what you're doing." She smiled, holding it out to him. "Take it, please. Keep it close, so I know you'll be okay..."

((Older would be better. Awwww, that would be so cute, now that I think about it. I mean, the only other romance relationship in Darkness Rising is Cynyr and Seria, and that one...well, you've seen how that one is. I think this would be so cute. They should totally be boyfriend and girlfriend. It would also better explain his want to protect and free her, rather than any of the other girl slaves.))

The gryphon took a step back, sheathing and unsheathing his black claws, then reverted back to his human form and carefully took the locket. He held it in his hands for a long moment, not saying anything, then looked back up at Lily. There was a silent, unreadable emotion in his eyes, but it faded a few seconds later. He sighed, then said "Okay." He reached up and slid it around his neck, tucking the pendant down under his shirt, where it would be safe and hidden from view. If anyone ever found out about their relationship, it would be disasterous for them both.

((Okay. She'll be 14-16, then? You 'ought to change it in thems earlier posts you saved, I definitely mentioned her age. She can still look fairly young, though. Heehee~))

Lily beamed at this, picking up her broom again. "You should go, then...I'll be okay. I'll hold on." Her hand settled on her stomach, and she winced a bit as she remembered the sheer agony that the small wound had caused. The master was insanely powerful, and he was not one to be trifled with. He had made that very clear. "Just hurry, okay?" Lily nodded, shuffling her foot again, a smile around her lips again.

((Okay, I did.))

Jag nodded, then, after glancing around and hesitating, moved forward and wrapped her into a hug, folding his blue-jay wings around her. "Everything will be okay." he said. "I know it." He gave her a small kiss on her forehead, then darted away, not wanting to risk her safety by getting caught. He made it to his room and shut the door behind him, locking it firmly. He sighed, then moved over to his bed and collapsed onto it. Just a little longer. Soon, he would find a way to free them both from the tied that held them to this cursed place. Then they could be together without worry for anyone finding out.

Jagat buried his head into his blankets and folded his wings against his back, sighing softly in the silence of his dark room.

((What did you change it to? xD So I can fix my post?))

Lily, in the meantime, went back to sweeping. There was nothing she could do but wait, and that was getting riskier and riskier...

((Skiparoo back to Werr and themz?))

((I had gave it the full sixteen. :3

And yes, but I think you should do it, because you made the town their going to and I don't know how to make them approach it. 939))

((I put her at sixteen. :3

And yeah, but I think you should do the skip, since you made the town they're coming to and I don't know how to make them approach it.))

((Just collect my updated post. I initially had her with wings, but I decided that it would make so little sense, since her brother didn't. So yah. Took that off entirely. And we didn't mention them past that point, so...easy fix.))

Nahran. Nate hadn't lied when he said it was a pleasant place; it was settled at the crest of a large hill, overlooking a large plains with farmland dotting the area here and there. The hill wasn't very steep, thankfully, as everyone in the group was exhausted as they trekked up the slope. "Ugh, we're finally here..." Werr groaned, leaning against the fence around the town, that he supposed was there to keep farm animals out.

((To be perfectly honest, I've forgotten what I wanted to do in this place.))

((I got it. And yeah, that was a good fix.))

Welk panted as he padded over near Werr, sitting down and leaning against the boy's legs for a moment. He sighed, then glanced over at Luen and Diana. The wolfling looked dead on his feet, with dark circles under his emerald eyes and occasional fluffs of fur falling from his tail and ears. He was still holding Diana, and he didn't intend on putting her down unless it was necessary.

Seria was in cat form, like Welk, but she wasn't as tired as he was. It seemed that the young blonde cat's energy had finally ran out. He closed his eyes for a moment and nearly fell asleep against Werr, but managed to wake himself up at the last second.

((I'm sure we can think of something. XD ))

Diana was stirring in her sleep, and mumbling something incomprehensible. Forin still looked pretty grumpy, but he slid off the donkey once it stopped. He limped over to Luen and Diana, resting his hand against her forehead for a moment. His hand pushed into her head, though Forin pulled it out a moment later. Diana stopped stirring at once. Forin was now holding a small black gem; he took a leather pouch out of his bag and dropped it in with several others similar to the newest one. "Nightmares," He mumbled, turning away.

Nate finally made it up the hill after the others, Airlia hovering behind him. "Right, then," Nate puffed. "Let's get to that inn. It's only a little ways away from here, we should be able to make it. Then we can all get some much-needed dinner and sleep."

Luen watched Forin a bit warily, but without much concern. He was too exhausted to be scared of anyone at the moment, even Nate. He moved forward, heading in the direction of the inn that Nate had spoke of.

When Werr moved away from him, Welk fell over with a yelp. He had been falling asleep again, and when he had suddenly lost Werr's support, he hadn't woken himself up fast enough to catch himself. He shook his fur coat out, then walked after Werr. Even though he was tired, that didn't stop him from keeping his tail held up in the air like a flag. He walked close to Werr, as usual, purring softly.