The Forgotten Zodiac

Forin followed the others, leading the donkey, though he was still limping. Werr looked back at his friend and smiled tiredly. "Stay awake for little more, okay?" He said, scratching Welk behind the ears. "We're almost there. Right, Nate?"

"Right," Nate took the lead and stopped in front of a small building. It didn't look like much, but it was the largest building here. The rest were small shops and homes. Not very much of a city, but the displays in the shops were quite pretty, and the bakery that sat next to the inn gave off an incredibly wonderful smell.

Welk sighed, but nodded and followed his friend closely. "Augh, don't scratch my ears right now." he said, pulling away from Werr's hand. "You'll just make me fall asleep faster." He said it seriously, but couldn't stop a purr from rising up in his throat. He smiled up at his friend, then almost tripped over a small rock in his path. He glared at it, then looked up when they approached the inn. "Finally." he breathed, turning into a human and walking forward.

Seria reached out and rubbed his back lightly, giving him a reassuring smile, then glanced around as they neared the inn.

Welk's sensitive nose quickly picked up the smell of the bakery nearby, and he glanced in that direction in curiosity. "Wow." he said. "That smells really good." He flicked his ears back for a moment, then wrapped his tail into Werr's hand and trotted forward.

Luen bumped into the door as they walked into the inn, blinking in shock as he shook his head and realized what he had walked into was not something alive, then shuffled around it and went inside. He immediately made for a chair nearby and sat down with Diana still in his arms, sighing deeply.

"Sorry," Werr smiled a bit. He sat down in a chair next to Luen, relaxing his legs at last. Nate dropped money on the counter and immediately headed back out of the inn again. Forin took the chair on Luen's other side, though mostly for Diana's sake. He pulled out the bag of 'nightmares' and put one in his mouth, cracking it easily between his teeth.

Werr watched him for a bit, then simply had to ask, "You said that was a nightmare..." He frowned a bit in confusion.

"Things have to take a physical form for me to remove them. My magic can revert most things into something physical, like this. If I were to tear out your soul, it would be a shining crystal." Forin answered simply.

"Okay, so why are you eating that stuff, then?"

"It tastes good." Forin shrugged. "Would you like one? I have plenty, and Diana here nightmares almost every night..." He held out the bag to Werr and Welk. To him, it tasted good, certainly; but to those who weren't from Tartarus, it would taste like a mix of rotten eggs, year-old fish and unfermented alchohol.

Welk took a cautious sniff of the contents of the bag, then quickly backed off, saying "I think I'll pass. It smells terrible. I don't see how you can stand to put them in your mouth." Obviously, his sensitive nose would pick up on things that Werr's couldn't. He took refuge under Werr's chair, in human form, folding his arms and resting his head on them. He was asleep within seconds.

Seria bent down and rubbed one of his ears gently, spotting the small patch of white fur behind his left ear. She smiled and gently touched the little patch of snow-white fur, then pulled back and said "Let's all go get some rest. Come along."

Luen was also asleep, his head tilted down so his chin rested lightly on Diana's head. The little girl was still sleeping soundly in his burn-scarred arms.

Forin shrugged and took the bag back, munching on a few before putting them away again. He stood and pulled Diana out of Forin's arms, letting her lean against him instead. She slept soundly, barely even stirring. He limped into one of the rooms (they were all on the first floor) and closed the door behind him.

Werr heaved himself onto his feet again, debating whether to pick Welk up and drag him to their room, or leave him there. He decided to head to his room on his own, dropping his things beside the bed and crawling into it without bothering to even pull the covers over himself. It was still early in the evening, but Werr was fast asleep in moments.

Airlia followed Seria, just as quiet as ever. She never really said much; she was trained not to talk unless spoken to, of course. Though recently, she hadn't really been doing that very well. She had reminded herself of her place since Cynyr had left, and she had been quiet ever since. It wasn't hard, really...

((Airlia has become deadweight. We need to either fix it, or I will kill her off.))

((YOU CAN'T KILL HER. She'll be back in play once Cynyr returns. Now that the dark magic is infecting him, he'll realize just how much of use she can be to him.))

Welk woke up when he heard them leaving the room, so he got up and walked after Werr. As it turned out, Werr didn't have to worry about the covers. Welk turned into a cat and jumped up onto the human boy's bed, stretching out so they laid back-to-back. He started up a reassuring purr, then slid into sleep moments later.

Luen didn't move from his chair in the first room. He was out like a light.

Seria noticed Airlia's silence and turned to face the younger girl. "Airlia? Is something wrong?" she asked.

((Nnnggghhh. -fidgets impatiently-))

Airlia blinked at Seria for a moment, then smiled. "Nothing at all, why do you ask?" She asked, pulling off her boots to climb into the bed. "Nothing's wrong, really. I mean, my master isn't around, and that's definitely wrong, but...I think I'm doing okay without him so far. And Welk and Werr are going to look for him as soon as Werr is done with whatever he's doing, so..." She shrugged. "I just have to wait."

((Just to the war-zone, Bun. Just to the war-zone.))

Seria frowned slightly and sat down on her own bed, pulling her boots off and getting her brush out of her bag so she could brush her long red hair. "It's just...you've been so quiet lately. I'm a little worried about you." She was quiet for a few seconds, then asked "Do...do you miss Cynyr? Besides the fact that he's your master. What did you think of him?"

((Myrah, the ruins are another half-day's travel off...and also the ruins are going to be full of traps and they're gonna get trapped and maybe hurt and captaahed by teh badguyz. Cynyr comes in then, or after they get dragged off and they makes a shocking discovery?))

Arilia crawled under the covers, shrugging. "I'm supposed to be quiet. I'm just a simple servant, if there's no need for me to talk, then..." She thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not really supposed to have an opinion on my master...he's better than my last two, that's for sure, though. He was a little kinder than them, at least."

((That would work, but it depends on what the shocking discovery is.))

Seria nodded, then said "I just...I don't want you to judge him too badly. He's had a hard life for someone his age." She sighed, then said "Let's sleep. We'll need our energy for tomorrow." She slid under her own covers, sighing as she fell asleep.

((I no tell.))

"I've had a hard life too, you know," Airlia sighed, patting her pillow before putting her head on it. She was asleep in seconds, just as tired as everyone else.

Werr's sleep was troubled again. Just flashes of images, really; mother, with the arrow caught in her chest; Welk being threatened by Kolo; the giant bear that Cynyr had fought off once, not so long ago. Except now, there was no Cynyr. Werr could only watch as Welk and himself were torn apart by the beast.

Werr woke up with a shuddering gasp, sitting up suddenly. It took him a few moments to remember where he was. He forced himself to lay back down, unhappy with himself. Why did he have so many nightmares these days? He never had them at home...perhaps the stress of all their travels and fights was getting to him. Werr sighed, rubbing his eyes. He couldn't decide whether he should get up, or wait for Welk to wake up.

((But it will help me decide when to put Cynyr back in. ))

Welk, still sprawled out next to Werr in the bed, woke up a few seconds after Werr had woken. "Werr...?" the feline murmured, blinking open his crimson eyes. He lifted his head and rubbed his eyes with a paw, then rolled over and leaned against Werr, resting his head and a paw in the boy's lap. "Are you okay?" he asked, staring up at the human boy that had become his best and most trusted friend.

((But it will spoil things. You decide on the spot. xDD))

Werr was still a little pale, but he shook it off as Welk woke up. "I'm fine," He smiled and nodded. "Just a bad dream. I'll be okay. Come on, let's go see if the others are up. I'm ready for some breakfast."

Nate was already downstairs, though he wasn't awake. He was sleeping in one of the chairs, a bottle of wine in one hand and his other propping his head up with his elbow on the table. It was easy to tell that he had visited the pub when he had left last night. Forin and Diana were also awake, though they were just returning with hot and sticky pastries for breakfast, from the store nextdoor.

((BAH. I'm not good at that. >:T ))

"Okay." Welk said, running his rough sandpaper-like tongue over one of Werr's hands. He got up out of the bed and stretched, arching his back, then turned into a human and trotted down the stairs, Werr following.

Luen was still asleep in the chair he had sat in last night. He was resting against the arm of the chair, his head laying on his arms. He still looked drained and pitifully exhausted, having not recovered enough from his severe blood-loss and from the months of having the tracker inside of him.

Seria came down the stairs a few moments after Welk and Werr did, tossing Nate a glare. She sidled over to him and dug a claw into his side, an icy glare in her deep blue eyes.

((TOO BAD. 'Cuz I will spoil absolutely 0 percent.))

Nate let out a yelp, wide awake in seconds. He batted Seria's hand away, frowning at her. "Good morning to you, too," He grumbled unhappily.

"She is a healer. You should expect her to be unhappy with your drinking habits." Forin smirked a bit, setting several of the pastries on the table in front of Nate. He and Diana sat next to the sleeping Luen, though Diana didn't want to disturb the wolfling.

"Hey, it's not like it hurts me. Not drinking would hurt me." Nate sighed.

((COME ON. TT~TT))

"If you're trying to make me care, you're doing a bad job." Seria snapped, turning away from him and hitting him with her tail in the process. She stalked over to the table and sat down, brightening once she had gotten away from the dragonian. She glanced over at Luen sympathetically, then reached out and brushed a hand against one of his fluffy ears. His eyes blinked opened for a moment at the touch, but when it didn't come again, he fell back asleep.

Welk trotted over to the table and sniffed the air lightly, saying "Holy cow, those smell good! I hope I get one!"

((NO. LET ME HAVE MY SUSPENSE-FUL FUN.

Also, I have decided on what I want to do here. Drop me some opportunities? :3))

Nate looked grumpy indeed by now, and he sounded like it, too. "You can have one! There's enough for everyone, can't you count? Go ahead and have mine too, it's not like I can eat it!" He stood, snatching his bottle of wine off the table and storming out the door. "I'm going to the butcher's shop for breakfast!" He announced loudly, slamming the door behind him as he left.

There was silence for a long moment, which was broken by Forin's sniggering. "Do you people not know that dragons can't drink cold water? It has to be boiling for them to even think about it. It hurts otherwise. With that human mouth of his, he certainly can't drink boiling water, can he? Alcohol is the only thing he can drink!" He started laughing, but he cut himself short when Diana frowned at him.

((BAH.

Like, having characters separated from each other? Like, if Welk went out for a run to burn energy?))

Welk flinched as Nate slammed the door, then frowned. "Hey, it's not like I said anything. And I can so count! ...Just not very well." He plunked himself down at the table and started munching on pastries, flicking his tail around happily.

Seria sighed, then said "I know dragons cannot drink cold water, and I know the drinks Nate partakes in do not hurt him, but I have had bad experiences with people consuming drinks of that ilk. I just...I do not like to see it. And you were right, Forin. As a healer, I cannot stand being around drink that dispel the mind such as those." She shrugged, then said "I'll apologize to Nate when he returns."

((Tell you what, if this goes well and I'm in a good mood, I MIGHT tell. A little bit. :T

Yesh, but I think I already made one for myself. Nevermind.))

Werr grabbed two to save from Welk's hungered rampage. He ate one, saving the other for Luen.

Forin just smiled again. "That's not why he's upset. You shame him for something he cannot avoid, for avoiding it would be death. That's what I saw amusing. He feels like you hate him for his drinking, and that makes him upset. He doesn't want you to hate him. I imagine he gets enough hate already, and--" He cut himself short as the door opened again.

Nate walked in again, though he didn't have the wine bottle anymore. He cast a glare at pretty much everyone and sat down at a table away from all of them, giving off a general air of grumpiness. It was a bit unusual for him to stay grumpy; normally he would be happy again after eating something. Although really, he might not have eaten anything; he came back far too quickly for him to have even walked to the butcher's shop. He likely just threw the wine away and decided not to go anywhere.

((:D))

Seria sighed, then stood up from her chair. She walked over to Nate and simply stood near him for a moment, debating about what she wanted to say. Everything she thought of sounded fake or meaningless. She was suddenly reminded of when Nate had hugged her when she had been upset by Tristan's death. He hadn't said anything, but that had been just enough to comfort her and let her know that he cared enough to do something. Before she could talk herself out of it, she stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around the dragonian from behind, crossing her arms delicately over his chest. She ignored the flush of heat that rose to her cheeks with the knowledge that the others could see this display. She didn't care. She wanted Nate to know that, while she didn't approve of his habits, she did like being his friend.

Seria put her chin down on his shoulder and murmured "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how what I was saying made you feel. I'm so sorry..."