The Forgotten Zodiac

((Okay. :T But she was traumatized by what happened to her mom and herself, so she acts younger? As an explanation of her actions and attitude as of yet.))

Lily let out a sob, but quickly moved off. She found Jag's room rather quickly, but found it locked. She curled up outside the door, dropping her head into her arms. She cried there for what felt like forever, feeling cold and alone. The thin burlap of her clothes did nothing to keep out the chill that hung around this place. There was a pinprick of pain at the back of her neck, but she did her best to ignore it.

((Okay. Sorry for the changes on the ages for them so much. I wanted Jag to be a littler older than originally planned. :I ))

Jag returned to her about five minutes later, panting and out of breath. "Sorry for the wait." he said. "Obelisk made me get three different boards before he found one he liked. That jer-...Lily?" He stopped when he noticed her tears. "...Lily..." He bent down next to his love and scooped her into his arms, pressing her close to him. He held her with one arm and both wings as he unlocked the door and opened it, then carried her inside. He locked the door behind them, preventing anyone from intruding, then walked over to his bed and tenderly set her down on the covers. He pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, kneeling down in front of her on the floor. "Hey." he soothed. "Don't cry, love. Please. It's okay. I'm here now." The wing-cat flicked his long black-tufted tail around and brushed it against her arm.

((That's okay.))

"He wa-wanted to...wanted to..." Lily trembled in Jag's arms, though her tears had run dry already. She wrapped her arms around Jag, burying her face in his shoulder. It was a long moment before she stopped shaking, and longer still before she pulled away from Jag, wiping her eyes. "I...I'm sorry, I sh-should have been more careful with that board, I...I know how Obelisk favors those things, a-and..." She stammered, wringing her hands with her head bowed. She sniffed, then whispered, "I don't know how much longer I can stay here..."

Jag lowered his head against her shoulder as he thought over what she had said, then spoke. "Then let's leave." he said. "I can't bear it anymore either. Tonight, when I have to go get Gurushi, you meet me outside at the west gate. We'll leave together, find somewhere to go. What do you think?" He fluttered his blue-jay colored wings, spreading them around her.

Lily hiccuped, hugging Jag tightly. "B-but what about Gurushi? Obelisk will realize you left...won't he se-send someone after us? To...kill us?" She nearly sobbed at the thought. Deaths at the hands of Obelisk's men were unpleasant, she knew.

((Hmm, maybe they could run into our hero group? xD))

((Of course. They won't be trusted at first, but, all things in time.))

Jagat hissed softly, moving up to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled Lily into his lap, holding her close to him. "I'm not going anywhere near Gurushi. He can stay out there and rot." he said. "And if O-blah-lisk sends anyone after us, we can fly away. We'll find somewhere that we can be safe, I know it! I can make weapons and objects, remember?" He swirled an arrow to life, holding it where she could see it. It was tipped with a feather similar to his own. Blue with black stripes.

((Maybe they could help with the dancing-gone-wrong thing?))

Lily took the arrow, holding onto it tightly. She carefully picked off the feather and clutched it until her knuckles went white, curling up in Jag's lap. "...Okay," She said at last, though fear still filled her heart at the thought of trying to run away again. The first attempt...hadn't worked out so well, truthfully.

((YES! Oh man, that gave me a great idea! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Especially for the music. Yes yes yes YES, this is SO gonna work!))

He seemed to sense her trepidation. He nuzzled her gently, then took the feather from her hands. "You don't need that one." he said. He then reached up and took hold of one of his beautiful crest feathers, then closed his eyes tightly and plucked it out. He winced at the first initial pain, then shook himself once it dulled. He held out the soft blue-jay feather, twirling it lightly in his fingers. "You need a real one." he said gently.

((You're welcome. :T))

Lily smiled a little bit and took the feather, running her fingers over the smooth surface. She leaned against him, closing her eyes. Then she pulled away, putting the feather in her apron's pouch. "I should go, I have...duties to attend to. They can't know anything is up, s-so..." She hurried off, shutting the door gently behind her. "I'll see you soon..." She murmured before the door clicked into place. She left in a hurry, making plans to secretly pack her few belongings; a straw hat she had made once, her thicker shoes, a change of clothes...maybe she could sneak some food from the kitchens again, too. They might need it, after all, and by the time they figured anything out, she'd (hopefully) be long gone.

Jag watched her go, then turned and began packing his few possessions. A change of clothes, his wrist bangles, and the one thing that meant the world to him besides Lily. He bent down and reached under his bed, pulling out a brown leather case that was scuffed and nicked. The item inside of it, however, was in perfect condition.

Jag's precious violin.

He loved playing the violin and was very skilled at it. He commonly played it to relax himself, usually outside or in his room. At rare times, Holly ordered him to play for her, during which many of the servants would come to listen as well. He was different from most other violinists. His music seemed to float on another level, to fill ears and bodies with the need and desire to dance or tap their feet to the music. He could play haunting, enchanting slow songs or giddy, upbeat tunes, whichever he preferred to play. He never played for anyone's request, and if he could, he would never play for Holly either. He rarely played for Lily either. The violin was the one thing she could never get him to open up over. Sometimes, if he was in a good mood, he would play when she asked. But rarely. Jag played to his own tune and beat, whenever he felt to need to fill the air with sound.

The sun, though obscured by the gloomy clouds that had moved in, was finally starting to set. Lily found herself by the west exit, though she was early; she was far too excited and nervous to notice, though. She was pretending to be pulling weeds out of the stone frame of the gate, and she could feel her hidden stash with every movement she made. She had shoved most of her things in her bag, but she couldn't hide the food in there, as well. She had grabbed two loaves of bread and a little cheese, enough for herself and Jagat. But with nowhere else to put it, she had wrapped the food in cloth and tucked it between her shirt and apron. It was a bit uncomfortable, but she only had to keep it hidden for a little while longer.

But one thought hung in her mind, blotting out most others like a disease. If they were caught, they would be killed. Lily was certain of it.

A shadow passed over her and a soft bird call entered her ears. Jag landed near her, very carefully, in gryphon form. His only bag and his violin case where strapped to his furry blue body. He scraped his claws over the ground, flicking his long tail from side to side, then said "You came early too, huh?" He smiled at her, the edges of his beak turning up slightly, then lowered himself a bit so she could climb on. "Hurry." he said. "Obelisk thinks I've left to get Gurushi. It should be awhile before he knows something is up."

Lily nodded eagerly, climbing onto the grypon's back. She wrapped her arms around his collarbone, careful to not choke her dear friend or pull out any feathers. "Thank you..." She whispered, a few tears coming to eye. Finally, she could say goodbye to this terrible place...

((And she has nnnooo idea that she's probably gonna land right back here. xDDD))

((Lol. XD))

Jag tilted his head back slightly to watch her through one bright blue eye, then spread his wings and ran forward, swiftly gaining momentum, then leapt upwards, catching the air. He soared up, flapping his wings to gain altitude, then, once they were high enough, flew off in a direction opposite of Storaph Palace. Finally, after all of this time...they were free.

Lily hung onto her friend for dear life, afraid that she might slip and fall. Eventually though, after a few minutes of gentle gliding, she relaxed and opened her eyes again. The world was spread out below, like a beautiful, detailed map of some kind. As they broke out of the black clouds, Lily found herself staring at the orange sunset that cast brilliant red and yellow hues across white clouds. It was the most beautiful thing Lily could remember seeing; she and her family had been servants for the king since she was very young, and a slave for Obelisk for almost half her life now.

To be honest, she didn't know whether to weep or laugh. It was finally over. Lily leaned forward again and wrapped her arms around Jag once more, a smile spread across her face. She didn't know where they were going, and she didn't know how they would survive on their own, but she didn't care. She was with Jag now. He would know what to do.

The flew onwards for a while, until Jag decided that they needed to land. He himself wasn't tired, but he could feel Lily's grip on him starting to weaken. She was exhausted and he didn't want her to fall off. He gently flew downwards, flapping his wings gracefully to hover. His wings, which were nearly as big as his body, made a soft rushing sound as his feathers brushed against each other. The blue-jay colored gryphon landed on the ground, barely making a sound. He had no idea where they were or if there were any other people around them, but at the moment, he didn't care. He padded over to a groove under the spreading roots of a tree and dug it out a bit more, then slid Lily off of his back. He laid down in the shelter of the tree and curled Lily against his furry white belly, keeping her warm with his thick coat. He clicked his black beak once, then slowly drifted off into sleep.

((And soon our heroes will come along the pathway near them and someone will sense their pressence while they're asleep, then lo and behold, find them. Yes or no?))

((Sure.))

"How much longer are we going to walk?" Diana asked quietly. The sun had set awhile ago, and she probably would have run into things if there were any trees or rocks around. It was too dark for her to see; the moon only gave off so much light, and with the clouds rolling in, it wasn't much.

Though she had been asking Forin, Werr decided to answer. "We'll probably have to stop for the nig--"

"No. We keep moving until someone either passes out or feet start bleeding." Forin growled.

"What? Don't be crazy, we're not that far from the encampment my father was stationed at, and we'll be able to see in the morning."

"I don't care. We have to keep moving."

"No. We're stopping here. What about Diana, Forin?" Werr frowned, spinning on heel and stopping. He had to balance himself however, taking a step back to do so; he found himself falling next, landing hard on a big rock. They had been walking beside a long-since dried up riverbed, the ground cutting into the bed at a sharp angle. Werr had slipped and toppled over, landing him where he was now. "Ow..." He groaned, rolling off of the rock and stumbling to his feet. In the dark gloom, he could just make out a large collection of such rocks, jutting out from the ground here and there. He could see a tree as well, on the other side of where he fell off.

"Werr, come back here," Forin said warningly, his eyes locked on the tree. He knew that aura...there was another too, certainly. He looked at Luen with a frown, a pointed glare of, 'be careful'.

Welk trotted down after Werr as the boy fell over, not noticing the aura that Forin was sensing. He pressed against the backs of Werr's legs, helping to keep the boy up.

Cynyr was in panther form, bristled up and glaring at the tree that held the presence of the people Forin had sensed.

Luen also sensed the two beings hidden near the tree. He was in human form at the moment, and he carefully formed his ice claws. His magic was his only defense, after all. When he extended his magic outwards to sense the people on the other side of the tree, he shuddered and pulled away sharply. He knew one of those beings. He could remember that person. "It's the gryphon." he murmured fearfully, his arms shaking slightly.

"Gryphon?" Cynyr said, snorting at the tree. "What are you all so scared of? It's just a huge bird." He crouched for a moment, then jumped forward and landed near the tree, sniffing cautiously.

((Oh yeah, were we gonna move from this area at all?))

Forin growled, but said nothing to Cynyr. He stepped in front of Luen and Diana, growling still.

"Gryphon? That thing that nearly killed Luen?" Werr whispered in horror. "What's he doing here?"

Lily opened her eyes tiredly, thinking that she heard voices. Was Jag trying to wake her up? She looked up at the Gryphon, seeing his eyes still closed; she crawled out from underneath him cautiously, peering over the roots of the tree and promptly coming face-to-face with the masked panther that was Cynyr. She paled at once and trembled, trying to scream but finding her voice caught in her throat out of fear.

((Once they settled down with this new encounter, I should think. Unless you have different idea.))

Cynyr growled deeply, a threatening, rumbling sound that was very unlike him. Yes, he had growled before, but to those that knew him, they knew this was a growl that was sinister and dark. This growl held a level of evil that was never there before. Before he could hurt the girl, however, he suddenly found himself knocked sideways by a gryphon. "Get away from her!" Jagat snapped, standing protectively in front of Lily with his wings spread high.

Cynyr snarled and swiped at Jag, ripping through his soft feathers and into his flesh. The wing-cat's pain cry was piercing and loud, and he quickly retaliated with a staggering blow that sent Cynyr reeling.