The Forgotten Zodiac

((I thought they should stay until morning.

Also, I hope you realize how threatening Lily and Jag's presence is, to the plotline. They know too much. Too much information could potentially get revealed at once, without us reaching the main climax...))

"Stop, stop!" Lily wailed, distressed by the sight of blood that was already dripping to the ground. She whimpered, feeling cold steel against her back. She was grabbed by the arm and turned around, and gasped with surprise. "Nate! I-I..." She stammered, looking from the blade to Nate's bewildered face. She remembered the head guard from before he had been thrown out. Was he working for Obelisk too, though?

"How do you know my name?!" Nate demanded, frowning, the tip of his blade pointed at her neck.

((They won't reveal anything. Jag would never tell anyone about anything like that. He keeps his secrets from everyone, including Lily.))

Jag whipped around and screeched at the sight of Lily with the sword pressed to her. "Let her go!" he snapped. "We haven't done anything to you!"

"You almost killed Luen!" Welk shouted, making the gryphon look at him.

Jag turned to face Luen, recognizing the wolfling. "Wait...you!" he said, backing up a pace. "Stop, stop, everyone STOP!" he screeched. "We're not here to hurt any of you!"

((Lily probably wouldn't either, unless she was threatened and Jag wasn't there to save her. :T))

Nate frowned, thinking about it. "Very well then," He said at last, sheathing his blade. He looked down at Lily harshly regardless. "Do tell."

"I-I remember you from the palace...I was a servant wh-when you were the head guard..." Lily whimpered, then scrambled back to Jag, cowering under his wings. "I-I'm so-sorry, plea-please don't hurt us..."

Nate sighed a bit. "My apologies. I was being hasty again...if you have no intents to hurt us, then we have no intentions of hurting you. Right, Cynyr?" He glared pointedly at the mage.

"Why are you here, then?" Forin demanded, eyes glinting coldly in the dim moonlight.

((He wouldn't leave her alone. Ever.))

Cynyr snarled at Nate and said "If I want to hurt them, I will." He made no move to carry out the threat, however.

Jag curled his wings gently around Lily, staying in gryphon form. "We left." he said. "We didn't want to work at the palace anymore, so we left. The king, Asmodius, is mad. His orders grow worse by the day. We couldn't stand what he and his cohorts had us do anymore, so we fled. We have no reason to hurt any of you. If I wanted to kill one of you, I already could've." He glared pointedly at Luen, who shied backwards fearfully, his emerald eyes wide.

"They're telling the truth." Seria said, glancing at Nate for only a moment before looking away.

((Good.))

"Good," Nate sighed again, more heavily this time, with a bit of relief added to it. His glare softened, but only a little. "So why come to Alastor? Those from Storaph aren't exactly...liked, here. If you're discovered, it would be a tight spot for you and your girlfriend."

"G-girlfriend?" Lily peered out of Jag's feathers at Nate. "W-we didn't--"

"I'm not daft. Who on earth would care to drag around and protect a servant girl from the palace, if you weren't either related or had a different relationship going on?" Nate tutted. "Since you clearly aren't a Gryphon, it's safe to bet that you two aren't directly related."

Jag lowered his head for a moment, then said "Yes, she is my girlfriend. So what? You have a problem with two different species getting together?"

"I have a problem with you in general!" Cynyr snapped, growling.

Jag tilted his head at the panther and said "I don't remember you being in this group. Newbie?"

Cynyr snarled and lunged forward at the gryphon, but Welk slammed into him in midair and stopped him. "No you don't!" the smaller half-cat said, pinning his brother firmly to the ground.

"Get off me!" Cynyr shouted.

"No." Welk said firmly, sitting on him.

"I hate you!" Cynyr shouted.

"No you don't." Welk answered.

Jagat watched them in confusion, wondering what the heck was going on.

"He's not a 'newbie', he left awhile ago...shortly after I joined Werr on this quest of his," Nate explained. "He's kind of...well..." He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Personally, I have no idea what's wrong with him."

"Get off of him!" Airlia shrieked, grabbing her bucket and hitting Welk over the head with it. It was a feeble attack, but she had no idea what else to do.

Welk yelped and jumped out of the way, giving Cynyr the chance to get up and swipe at him. He missed Welk by several inches, which was surprising. He had always been very accurate and skillful.

"He's my brother!" Welk snapped at Airlia. "I can sit on him if I want!"

Cynyr was breathing hard, as if from running a long distance, though he hadn't done anything strenuous. A breeze kicked up, ruffling hair, fur and clothes alike. He lifted his gaze and pinned Welk with such a hateful glare that, for several seconds, Welk could swear he was looking at a different person completely. This was not the grumpy, yet silently caring person Welk had known.

That was enough to send Welk scurrying for the comfort and safety of Werr, quivering fearfully.

"Wha--Cynyr!" Werr yelped. "Okay, that's it! We're setting up camp now!" He practically ordered. "You all are tired, Cynyr's being overly grumpy again...I'm not leaving from here until we're all completely rested and ready to go. So everyone, stop fighting, get over yourselves and get some sleep, or we'll be here for a very long time." With that, he sat down in the grass, crossing his arms annoyedly over his chest.

Lily watched with wide eyes, unsure of what to do next.

Welk immediately flopped down behind Werr, his ears pressed back against his skull. He curled himself around the boy, putting his head softly against Werr's hip.

Slowly, everyone else backed away from each other and moved apart, giving each other room. Jag and Lily returned to the dip in the ground near the tree, where the gryphon turned into a human and removed his bags. There was still tension between the two and everyone else, but it was dulling as they got used to each other.

Cynyr growled darkly, the haunted, cruel look still in his eyes, then blinked. The look vanished. He shook his head, looking confused, then sighed quietly and padded over to sit alone, slightly away from everyone else.

Jagat watched him closely, then opened his case and pulled out his violin, deciding to care for it like he normally would.

Seria inadvertently sat down a short distance from Nate.

Luen remained near Forin and Diana, hovering nervously nearby, scared to death of the blue-jay gryphon across from him.

Forin and Diana settled against the wall of the riverbed, Forin wrapping his cloak around Diana to keep her warm. As usual, he didn't sleep, and had no need to. "You can sleep," He said quietly to Luen. "I'll keep watch. I shall awake you first, should anything happen."

Lily curled up behind Jag, looking as tired as ever, but now too scared to try and sleep. Eventually, though, she drifted off into unconsciousness, her hand tight around the feather that Jag had given to her before they had left together.

((I wanna do the time skip. :T -has somethin' planned, obviously-))

((Fine, just remember that you owe me a dancing scene. xD))

Luen nodded tiredly, still skeptical of Jag, but knowing that he needed to sleep. He turned into a wolf and curled up near Diana, giving her something she could rest against if she so wished it. Though he was permanently missing most of the fur on his arms and legs, he still had the fur on his body, which was thick and full.

Cynyr didn't go to sleep either. He simply laid nearby with his head on his paws, his emotionless eyes rivited on Werr and Welk. His gaze never wavered from them, his yellow eyes burning in the dark.

Other than he and Forin, within a few minutes, everyone was asleep.

((Yeeep. :3))

The sun rose, though it was mostly unnoticed; dark clouds hung low over the riverbed, threatening rain and storms. Werr was the first to wake, dragging himself out of yet another nasty dream. He rolled away from Welk and sat up, trying to recall what this one had been about. He couldn't really remember, but he knew that it had something to do with fire again.

Werr groaned quietly and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, he spotted something he wished he hadn't. Werr slid into the riverbank, taking a step forward and wiping the dirt away from the face of the rock he had fallen on last night. There, engraved into the stone with bold lettering, was a name. Werr looked up and around at the other rocks; he couldn't have seen it before, but they were all in neat rows, all with different names on them. Werr, trembling, looked back to the one he was crouched in front of, reading the name again. Just to be sure.

Darius Grehi.

Welk didn't wake when Werr moved away from him. He was firmly sunk in slumber.

Cynyr, however, was still awake.

The panther half-cat watched Werr closely through his slitted eyes, already knowing what was wrong. He had seen the graves during the night. It had been easy to figure out what they were, especially with his excellent night-vision. He hadn't read any of the names, but he had known they were graves, nonetheless.

Cynyr stood up and padded over near Werr, standing next to the boy in panther form. He tilted his sleek head down and silently read the name of the grave Werr was looking at, then looked over at the boy. "Your father?" he said softly. For a moment, it seemed as if he were back to his old self. The faintest hint of mild concern in his voice, the not-quite-a-glare look in his eyes. Both of those things screamed that this was the normal Cynyr.

Werr fought back tears, only glancing at Cynyr. "I-I...I thought that we were further away from the place, I..." He swallowed hard, stumbling away from the rock. He rested an arm against the riverbed's wall, feeling much like he needed to throw up or something. He had fantasized about his father still being alive somewhere, but the letter that Nightlash had translated, and then this...it was true, then. He really was an orphan.

He felt a wave of loneliness wash over him. He really was an orphan. And probably the only normal person in his little group, as he had no idea what Lily could do, if anything. He couldn't help but feel alone; Welk had Briana waiting for his return. Cynyr had Seria, even though he clearly didn't seem to like her anymore. Forin had Diana, and Nate...well, Nate probably had someone back home, too. And even the gryphon and the servant girl had each other!

Werr felt sick, but he knew that this sort of thinking would get him nowhere. He needed to calm down, but for some reason, he just couldn't...

Cynyr watched him for a moment, then sighed. "You know..." he said. "...I don't have any family left either. Real family, not Welk. I had them once, just like you. I had a real mother, a father, and I even had two sisters." He looked pained just talking about it, but he continued. "They're all gone now. I know they're dead. Don't you dare ask me how I know, but I do. I have Welk, it's true, but I don't have related family members anymore. Just like you." He paused, turning his head away from the boy, then said "But the thing is...even if he's not related by blood, Welk is still my family. I...do...care for him, and he cares for you." His eyes flickered closed for a moment, then he opened them and said "Just know that our family has a open space for you, if you ever decide you want it."

It was a lot to come from the cold panther, especially with all of the family talk. He almost never spoke in such a way, so to hear it now was a truly rare moment. He usually always kept his harsh walls up. Now, for a moment, he had let them down.

"I-is that why you said you hated Welk, last night?" Werr replied bitterly, before he could stop himself. He was angry and upset, and Cynyr talking like that, now of all times, well...it was confusing. Werr cast a glare at Forin, who was watching them with boredom. "And what about you? You gonna give me a sob-story, too?" He spat in annoyance. Forin was always watching, only cutting in when he cared enough to give some snobby remark...

"No. I have a mother and father." Forin shrugged, a bit of his own annoyance seeping into his gaze and tone of voice. "They try to kill me every time I attempt to return to their home, but it's no big deal." He stated bluntly, perfectly masking his inner turmoil. All night, the monster known as Gurushi had been pestering him and pestering him. Forin had hoped it would leave to where it came from while it had the chance, but he knew that it wouldn't likely happen.

Gurushi had skipped around his mental and emotional walls, stirring up memories and reminding him of how much he hated everyone on this world. Coaxing him towards murdering everyone in their sleep. It had quieted since it had grown light enough to see, but Forin was guessing that the creature had only gotten bored momentarily. But now, with Werr awake, he could barely hold himself back. He could feel his true powers bubbling in his chest, angered about being left asleep for so long.

"Tch," Werr turned away, climbing up the riverbed wall. "I'm going for a walk. I need to...clear my head."

Cynyr blinked and looked down. "I don't know what I was thinking when I said that." he growled, though he sounded upset. A few seconds later, however, his whole demeanor changed. He snapped his head up and snarled dangerously at Werr, backing up. "Fine." he snarled in a slithering tone of voice that made him sound like he was deathly sick. "Next time you feel like crying like a worthless baby, don't expect me to try and comfort your sorry self. I'll let you rot away into nothing. Forget anything I said earlier, because you'll never have a place with this mage." He had no idea of what he had just said, as obvious by how he suddenly blinked and looked around in confusion. He didn't even notice how his speech had changed around the end of his words, saying 'this mage' instead of 'me'.

"Maybe I don't want to have anything to do with you!" Werr snapped back, not even noticing the change. "I'm not going to waste my breath on you, then, you--" He didn't see the...whatever it was...coming at him until it was too late.

"Me, me, me..." Werr could feel hot breath on his face, and he looked up at the man holding him by the collar. He was surprised; it closely resembled...Forin? Yes, it was Forin, but he looked much older. He was bigger than Werr now, thicker in muscle and taller by a landslide. Dark leathery wings spread out behind him, and his cloak had turned black. His eyes were flashing between their normal blue color and a solid black. Despite his new figure, he seemed extremely distressed and kept looking around at apparently nothing. Black and red runic symbols shifted and moved on his body, apparently warring. If Werr had the time to watch, he would see that the black symbols were obviously winning.

"You humans, so self-absorbed...why don't you take a moment to relax?" Forin grabbed Werr by the neck, throwing him over the riverbed with one hand. He smashed into the tree and fell, rolling back into the riverbed, where he lay still. Forin staggered, and for a moment, he looked more like his usual self, but then he snapped right back into this monstrous phase. His eyes fell on Cynyr, and he snarled. "Such a jerk, unaware of how your words affect others...you have hatred, though. I like that." He laughed a bit, then bolted forward, his claws (now larger and serrated) slashing out at Cynyr with breakneck speeds.

Cynyr lunged backwards, snarling in anger, using wind under his paws to avoid the attack. He was faster than normal, but barely able to dodge the attacks that came at him. All of the noise woke the others, some of whom panicked. "Werr!" Welk screamed, racing forward in cat form and quickly kneeling down near his friend. He glanced up in horror at Forin, wondering what had happened to him.

Luen stood protectively over Diana, watching in fear. He knew he had to do something, anything, to try and help, but he didn't know what.

Cynyr turned into a human and started flicking out sharp bursts of wind, throwing them out like knifes.