The Forgotten Zodiac

Werr sighed, pushing away his tears and his general need to cry. He needed to be strong, right? Werr held Welk tightly, smiling weakly. "You were...beat up by the soldiers that took you away. Your...um...you have an infection. Just rest, you'll be okay..." He decided to say nothing of Welk's tail yet, or the fact that he had tried to off himself only a few minutes earlier. "Just rest, alright?" He said again, forcing himself to hold his smile.

Welk closed his eyes for a moment, starting to breath easier. Then he flicked his tail up to wrap it around Werr's arm. Or at least, he tried to flick his tail up. Welk opened his eyes in puzzlement, wondering why he couldn't seem to reach far enough all of a sudden. He curled his tail around under him, twisting it into view.

The ragged, torn end of what was left of his tail met his eyes.

His eyes widened in horror and Werr felt him go completely still. Welk stared at his tail for a good, long moment, lightly turning it this and way that is if making sure half of it was really gone. As soon as reality set in, tears started casscading down his cheeks. "My...my tail...!" he sobbed, pressing closer to Werr. "My t-tail...it...it's gone!" He wailed, clutching onto Werr as if he thought the boy were going to disappear. "It's gone...!" he cried, sobbing miserably.

"I know..." Werr said quietly, not letting go of his friend. "It's okay...you'll be okay. But you have to get better first, okay? Please, just focus on getting better..." He said, knowing how lethal infections could be, in the right places.

Welk hiccupped softly, panting, then drifted off into unconsciousness, still holding weakly to Werr's shirt. His hands were shaking, and within seconds of slipping into darkened sleep, he lost his grip on Werr. His hand slid down, falling to rest between himself and Werr. He was still far too warm to the touch, but he was breathing easier, which was a good sign. The half-cat whimpered softly, but other than that, he was silent.

A knock came at the door, then it opened to emit Seria. She tilted her head slightly to the side and asked "Is everything all right? I heard noises." She stepped up into the carriage and shut the door behind her, sitting down in the chair opposite of the two.

"He woke up...we were talking," Werr shook his head. "He'll be okay, right? He's breathing better..." He didn't move, not wanting to release his friend. He couldn't believe he had even thought of killing himself. How could he have been so stupid? Welk would likely lose his own will to live, especially with this infection...Werr shook the thoughts from his head, seeing his eyes fill with tears. Enough, he told himself forcefully. No crying. He wondered if the others saw him as an overdramatic, angsty teen. Which, he probably was, to some extent...

Seria reached out and gently rested the back of her hand against Welk's forehead for a moment, then pulled back and said "He's recovering. It's slow, but the fever is lessening." She shook her head, saying "Strange. I spent many minutes trying to heal him with no success, yet you show up and spend scarcely two minutes with him and he's already getting better. I don't understand you, Werr. You have an odd healing quality about you that I don't seem to carry." She shrugged, then said "Perhaps I'm just tired and thinking random things. When you're ready, you can bring Welk outside to sleep. I feel that the night air would do him, and yourself, well." She stood up and gently brushed her tail against Werr's arm, then exited the carriage.

Werr frowned. "I...didn't cast any spells or anything, I just..." He stopped, realizing that Seria was already gone again. He looked down at his friend, wondering what to do next.

Eventually, he emerged from the carriage, holding Welk gently. He set the half-cat down on one of the sleeping mats that had been rolled out, and stood. "You okay?" Nate asked, watching at Werr brushed himself off.

"Yeah," Werr said, letting out a sigh.

"Good." The next thing Werr knew, Nate had slammed his fist into his face. He was on the ground again in a second, staring up at Nate in shock. The dragonian looked annoyed. "Don't do that again. Or have you forgotten about your mission to stop this infection stuff?"

"I haven't forgotten! How many more people want to hit me?!" Werr demanded, standing up again. He ignored Forin, who raised his hand with a smirk. "Luen hit me once already! I'm sorry, okay? I sure as heck don't want to do that again, especially since you people seem to have a thing for hitting others who do stupid things!"

"Oh, Luen already talked to you?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Good." Nate smiled. "Sorry about that, then. " Werr glared at him, putting a hand to his lip, which was quickly swelling.

Luen, laying in wolf form nearby, chuckled softly at the display. "I swear, you people are so strange." he commented, smiling. He was in a much better mood than he had been when he spoke to Werr a while ago. He was back to normal, for now. Werr was the only one who had seen his temper flare up like that.

Seria smiled as well, looking only at Werr. "I would think you've learned your lesson, correct?" she said playfully.

((Ssssoooo, during all that, I was thinking about the light-magic thing that we talked about a little while back, that only Werr will be able to weild and stuffz. What if it just turned him into a light mage altogether? -still thinking and needs suggestions-))

Werr smiled a bit, though it hurt now to do so, due to his lip. "Yeah...I would say I have. At least I know you all care about me enough to hit me for doing something like that."

"To be perfectly honest, I just want to hit you for the heck of it," Forin grinned from his place on top of the carriage.

"Forin, stop it! What's gotten into you lately?" Diana fussed at him, still feeding the horses.

((That seems a little bit stretched, if you ask me. We've got a fire mage, an ice mage, a wind-mage-to-turn-dark. Another mage starts to get a little repetitive. That's just my personal opinion, of course. Werr's pretty much the only 'normal' (regular human) person we have left. XD I'd prefer if we kept him that way. But he's your character, so if you wanted to do that, I'd have no say against it. My vote; just let him be able to use the light-magic thing. Nothing more. OR, it could give him the power to heal through touch. I think he would make a good healer like that, if he didn't have to channel spells. Just the energy, which is something Seria finds it hard to do. It would also explain one of the reasons why Welk started to get better after Werr held him. The ability is there, but the light magic thing would bring it up to a stronger level. Also, it would be a unique ability. Like, he wouldn't be able to heal random people unless the person trusts him. For instance, Welk trusts him fully, so he would be able to heal Welk within a few minutes of touching him. While his power may not work as fast as Seria's, his would have longer effects.

Or something. o3o ))

Luen smiled, then rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

Seria flicked her tail back and forth, then said "We should all get some rest. Some of us need it more than others." She glanced over Welk, watching him clench and unclench his claws into the sleeping mat he was laying on. He was resting easier than he had earlier, but he looked exhausted. Seria sighed, then turned into a cat and curled up close to Welk, incase the other half-cat had a problem in the night.

((True. That's actually not a bad idea, though I never really intended for Werr to be much of a healer. I should also think of the shape...should it double as a weapon, or no? And where should they find it? It would make sense for it to be in Obelisk's palace somewhere. 'Find the thing that has the potential to become your downfall, and protect it if you cannot destroy it', so on.))

Werr nodded and pushed out the second mat so that it was overlapping Welk's a little, so he could curl up close to Welk as well. Diana was still fussing at Forin, though their conversation was hushed and incomprehensible, even to Seria. It sounded muffled to the female-half cat; probably a spell Forin had used to keep them from eavesdropping.

Nate climbed into the carriage, deciding to sleep in there. There were, after all, seats in there.

((Yep. It was just a suggestion, after all. Or maybe the thing can give Werr all the powers of a light mage, but only when he holds it. Then it could be a weapon as well as a healing device. And it burns anyone else that tries to hold it. -shrug- It should definitely be in Obelisk's palace. Insert the line you said. XD It makes sense for him to keep in near him where he can guard it.))

Welk sensed that Werr was near him and unconsciously scooted closer, pressing against the older boy. He was too tired to take cat form, sticking with his human body for the time being.

Seria started grooming her furry red paws with her rough tongue, smiling slightly as she watched the two boys near her. It seemed like their bond of friendship had only gotten stronger since Werr's near-fatal incident earlier. She smiled again, then curled up and fell asleep.

Luen was already asleep by this time. Soon, none of them were awake to take notice of the pair of yellow eyes watching from the darkness of the trees. These were not Relic's eyes, for the raptorix's were a light yellow in color. Not the deep, piercing sun-yellow color these held. The slitted black pupils darted around, scanning the camp, then rested on Werr and Welk. For a moment, the eyes softened. Then they hardened again, hatred seething from the dark gaze.

They flashed shut and, seconds later, the being was gone.

(( o3o...! ))

((Maybe not all of them. But I was thinking it would be capable of releasing Obelisk's control on things, and holding back Dark Magicz (though maybe only in the early stages)? I was thinking something more along the lines of a sword, but that makes no logical sense, since Werr does not do well with swords. xD HMM. A pendant of some sort, or a staff? Ohh, a staff that creates light barriers, but it depends on his soul's strength rather than energy? So if he was emotionally hindered, he'd be unable to make themz.

Also, that's either Briana or Cynyr. And I'm too lazy to do a time-skip, and it's your turn, anyways. :T))

((Briana has red eyes and would not hate anyone. :T

Staff works out. It'd be easier for him to wield. And yes to the soul stuff, that sounds pretty good. Yep yep yep, and we need that to fix Cynyr. Because without that, he's going to die. All dark mages eventually do die from the dark magic in their systems, even the ones that survive the first infection part and are able to use the magic. It still kills them in different ways, as you'll find out.))

The next morning, Luen was first up. He yawned, standing up and stretching with a doggish demeanor, then shook out his white fur. He rubbed his snout with one scarred paw, then trotted over to the river to get a drink. He bent his head down and lapped at the water, then returned to his spot to wait for the others to wake up.

Seria was the next lerloch to wake up. She opened her blue eyes and yawned, then started grooming herself. Neither her nor Luen were in any hurry to wake the others just yet, as they both knew they all had needed the extra rest.

((Ohyeah. It's Cynyr! :3

Yepyepyep. Otay, Soul-Staff, it shall be called. -nodnod- I like how we've managed to divide the creative control. xDD That doesn't happen often.))

Forin, of couse, hadn't slept at all last night. He still refused to sleep; he never needed it, and the only time he allowed himself to relax like that would be when he had no other choice. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the carriage, watching the others quietly. The horses were tied to a tree with ropes, though they had been given enough slack to walk around and graze.

Airlia was next to wake up. She had curled up on top of the carriage, for lack of anywhere else to sleep. She sat up and stretched, yawning a bit, but then just sat there. She was about as quiet as Forin was, as usual.

Werr, in the meantime, was having yet another nightmare. He didn't even understand what was going on this time; there was fire and floods around him, the world burning and being washed away at the same time. He wanted to wake up, to get back to reality, but he just couldn't. Forin wasn't paying attention to him, so the creature of Tartarus didn't think to remove said nightmare.

((That's a sign of a good RP. ;D ))

Luen quickly noticed the boy's turmoil and got up, padding over to him. The wolfling stared down at him, then bent his head and lightly nipped the boy's arm. "Hey." he said, passing his tongue over the spot he had nipped, though he hadn't broken the skin. "Werr! Wake up, please. You seem to be having a nightmare." He nudged the boy with his snout, then backed up as Werr woke, careful to avoid bumping Welk, though the half-cat wouldn't have woken up even if he had been touched or bumped. He was still deeply unconscious.

((No duh! >:3))

Werr woke with a start, staring up at Luen in surprise. "O-oh...thanks..." He sat up and rubbed his eyes before standing, moving over to the river. He cupped his hands and drank, then splashed his face with the cold water before backing away from it. He wiped his face on his sleeve, turning back to Luen. "Sorry. Thanks for waking me up, that was just insane..."

Luen nodded, saying "It was no trouble." He backed away again, then turned and trotted over to the carriage to wake Nate. He turned into a human to open the door, then turned into a wolf and jumped in. He moved over to the sleeping dragonian and stared at him, then decided to have just a little bit of fun with him. He stuck his tongue out and used his ice powers to get it really, really cold, then walked over and licked Nate's face.

Nate yelped and pushed Luen away, laughing a bit. "Okay, okay, I'm up! Jeez, I nearly blew fire at you. That was cold!" He wiped his face, smiling a little. "Good morning. Did anything happen while I was asleep?"

Luen smiled widely, closing his eyes for a moment, then said "I'm glad you didn't really blow fire at me. I think I've lost enough fur to you already!" He laughed, then said "Nothing serious happened. I was simply thinking it best if we moved out. We've still some ground to cover." He flicked his tail, then turned and trotted out of the carriage.