The Forgotten Zodiac

Luen didn't say anything. His voice had grown hoarse from the howling and crying. He just sat there, miserable. He managed to stop crying, weakly rubbing a hand across his eyes to wipe away his tears. He took wolf form, keeping close to Nate, and curled up into a tight ball, covering his muzzle with his paws.

They didn't notice Cynyr open his eyes.

He didn't say anything or move around. He simply woke up and glanced at them. He didn't care about what had happened to the wolfling. Personally, he wanted to tell him to shut up. A splash of water and a giddy shout from outside made him flick his ears slightly in a small effort to hear better. It was Welk, shouting "I just dried off, Seria! Why'd you push me back in?" He laughed and Cynyr heard Seria giggle, then squeal as Welk grabbed her and dragged her back into the lake with him.

Airlia was singing a different song now, though mostly out of boredom as she watched the others play. She had never been a good swimmer; the water soaked through her feathers and dragged her down, as well as making it next to impossible to fly until she dried out. "H-hey! Guys, we should start getting on the move again!" Werr exclaimed, but he was laughing.

"Never!" Welk said mischievously, letting go of Seria and plunging off into the water.

Seria shook her head, then climbed out of the lake and started drying off again.

Slowly, Cynyr unwound himself from his protective ball and got up, moving slowly and carefully over to the door. He lifted a bandaged hand and placed it on the door handle, opening it and cautiously stepped down, out into the light.

Welk had been about to send a huge wave of water at Werr, but when he spotted Cynyr out of the corner of his eye, his smile faded and he grew still.

Seria noticed this and turned, freezing when she saw the panther half-cat.

He didn't meet her eyes. He couldn't. He remembered what he had said to her and what he had done to the others. He was ashamed. He moved off by himself, to the edge of the water, gingerly sitting down away from everyone else. He kept his ears flat against his head, knowing the others were watching him.

Welk moved over in the water, wading over to his brother. "Cynyr...?" he said softly, stopping near the bank. He lifted a hand to gently touch the older half-cat, then hesitated. He didn't know how the wind mage would react.

Cynyr's eyes flickered over at him, then looked away again.

Welk looked sad, throwing Werr a helpless look. He didn't know what to do or say.

((This will be one of the last moments with Cynyr in his right, normal mind until Werr heals him with the light staff. Cynyr will be normal until he next goes to sleep, then when he wakes up, the dark magic will have destroyed his mind and taken total control.))

(( Ohnoes. D: ))

Werr took one look at Cynyr and groaned inwardly. He collected his wits about him and moved closer, putting a hand on the half-cat's shoulder gently, careful not to touch any of the bandaged areas. "Hey, Cynyr. You okay?" He asked, smiling a little. Seemed like the fun and games were over, then. "You look upset. Anything you wanna talk about?"

Cynyr cringed when Werr touched him, but didn't say anything. "No." he said softly. "I...I don't really want to talk."

Welk saw a flicker of emotion go through his brother's eyes. A deep, painful sadness. When Welk saw that, he didn't stop to think over his actions. He reached up and  wrapped his arms around Cynyr, pressing his face close to his beloved brother's body. "Oh Cynyr..." he murmured sadly. "What happened to you?"

Cynyr closed his eyes, quivering at Welk's touch. "I don't know." he said softly. He sounded confused and infinitely sad. He twitched his long black tail a few times, then, after hesitating and fighting with himself, slowly curled it once around Werr's leg. Werr could feel the half-cat's tail shaking weakly.

((I know. Which is sad, because Welk and Werr don't know. It's like a last good moment between the three of them.))

((Lulz, and then Werr is going to be kidnapped soon, at that. xD))

"It's okay," Werr said, moving his hand. "We forgive you, at least. You should take a drink and stretch your legs a bit, I think we're going to get back on the move again..."

"Here, let me," Airlia flew down and pulled out her little bucket again, filling it easily with the fresh water and offering it to Cynyr, hovering in front of him like an angel of some kind, offering her simple gift of water.

((ono))

Cynyr carefully reached up and took the bucket, but he didn't drink from it. He just held it, staring into the water. He lifted a bandaged hand and lightly touched his clawed fingers to the surface, just feeling the texture of the water against his pale skin. He finally lifted the bucket to his mouth and took a cautious drink through his mask, as, of course, he would never take it off.

When he lowered the bucket again, Welk tugged on his arm. "Cynyr? Hey, Cynyr?" he said.

"What?" Cynyr asked exhaustedly, turning to face him.

Welk leaned in and said "I think you need to relax and...have some fun."

It only took a second for Cynyr to realize what was coming next.

Welk threw his arms around his brother and yanked him into the water, giggling excitedly and nervously at the same time. He vaguely realized that he had probably just made a huge mistake, but he didn't care.

Cynyr quickly stood up in the waist-deep water, gasping and wondering what had just happened. He quickly focused his gaze on Welk, glaring horribly at him.

Welk gulped, staring back at him. There was complete silence for several long, tense seconds, then Cynyr moved his hand and held it under the water, pointing his palm at Welk.

One burst of wind later and Welk was drenched in water.

Welk immediately laughed and turned into a cat, plunging off into the water as Cynyr used his wind powers to shoot blasts of water at his brother. The panther half-cat slid his gaze back at Werr and smiled faintly under his mask, then whipped around and drenched the boy with a huge gush of water.

Welk burst out laughing, nearly swallowing a mouthful of water in the process.

Werr found himself soaked, and coughing on water, but he was grinning ear to ear. Giving up on getting dry for the trip, he kicked water at Cynyr with his feet, splashing widly. Forget Forin and Diana, Nightlash, his disceased parents, his current destination, all of it. Right now, he was going to have fun, and nothing was going to stop him.

((We can timeskip to just before they arrive, unless you have something else planned.))

((I don't really have much more planned. -shrug- We'll time skip after my next post.))

Cynyr held up a hand to avoid some of the water, closing one eye, then got an idea into his head. He backed up and closed his eyes, quickly turning in a smooth circle in the water, then curved his hands up.

Huge tidal waves of water rose with his wind powers, splashing nearly all of the contents of the lake out onto the surrounding ground.

Welk let out a whoop once the rush of water had died down, shouting "That was awesome! Do it again!"

Cynyr smiled slightly and shook his head, saying "Nah, we should probably get moving." He glanced down, realizing that the shallow water now only came up to his knees, then moved over to the edge and pulled himself out. His outfit was soaked, but it would dry off quickly. "Come on, Welk, let's get ready to go." he said, loud enough for Welk to hear, and the younger half-cat came obediently at his call. Cynyr offered his hand and Welk took it, allowing his brother to help him up. Then Welk turned into a cat and shook off, scattering water everywhere.

"Ack, Welk, stop!" Cynyr yelped, covering his head from the drops of water. "Here, just hold still." he said, holding his hand out in front of Welk. He sent a sharp gust of wind out at Welk, drying him off in a matter of seconds. Welk looked fried, his blonde fur sticking out crazily in a bunch of different directions. He grinned at Cynyr as the panther used his wind powers to dry himself off, then did it to Werr and everyone else he had drenched with his explosion of water. Only Nate and Luen had escaped the blast, simply because they were already in the carriage. Once everyone was free of water, Cynyr moved over and opened the door of the carriage, saying "Come on, in you go. We need to get moving."

"Ha, thanks," Werr grinned, brushing off his now-dry clothes and shaking his head a bit to let his hair fall forward again. "That was pretty cool though, Welk was right." He climbed into the carriage, noticing that there was a lot more room now. He saw Luen and his face fell a bit as he remembered Forin and Diana, but he refused to let his high spirits be dampened entirely by the sight.

Luen didn't look up when Werr climbed into the carriage. He had closed his eyes, still pressed up against Nate, and was trying not to cry anymore. He wasn't going to fall asleep, but that didn't mean he wasn't exhausted.

Welk scampered up into the carriage, sitting down next to Werr and smiling at the boy. "Coming, Cynyr?" he asked, glancing at his adopted brother.

Cynyr shook his head, saying "I'm going to run beside the carriage. I need to stretch my legs and I think that would be the best way."

Welk nodded, watching as Cynyr moved away and turned into a panther.

Jag led Lily over and helped her up into the carriage, deciding that since there was room, it would be best for her to ride inside. Once she was settled, he took up his position on the driver's seat, watching as Seria and Cynyr took up their positions on either side of the carriage. When they were ready to run, the gryphon snapped the reins and got the horses in motion.

It was hard for Cynyr to keep pace at first, but as he loosened up, it got easier for him. His eyes were bright as they left the lake behind. It seemed like his streak of odd behavior was behind him, now.

They rode on. Lily listened to their various idle chatter, mostly interested. After what felt like ages though, the group settled into comfortable quiet, and Nate mentioned that they should be arriving at Liadaph soon. Lily peeked out of the small window, seeing the scenery; the dirt road had quickly changed to stone, obviously signaling their approach to the city. What would have been a four-day hike had taken a single day in carriage, which was a wonderful thing, indeed.

However, what Nate dreaded the most was quickly coming next. Of course, Liadaph was a city with plenty of inhabitants; as such, they had a tall wall and a wide gate, and plenty of soldiers and guards to watch the entire town. And of course, a carriage like this was routinely checked for anything suspicious. That was hardly the problem, though.

For one, he was the head guard of Alastor's enemy at the moment. Anyone learned in recent history would know that; people had made quite a fuss about a Dragonian being the closest guard to King Asmodius, for whatever reason. On the other hand, he was also traveling with several mages and a pair of traitors to whoever they had served previously.

Jag slowed the horses to a walk, trying to be inconspicuous. Cynyr and Seria also slowed, glancing around them. Seria turned into a human and moved up to the carriage, opening the door and darting inside. "We're nearing the city." she reported. "We need to be very careful. There are lots of guards and soldiers running around. We'll have to be very discreet, which means no healings from me unless we're completely hidden from sight and no magic from any mage. Understood?"

Welk and Luen nodded.

"Good." she said. "Nate, you face us with a problem. You are Asmodius' head guard. You'll be the easiest to recognize. You should probably stay outside of the city, but it wouldn't be good for you to be on your own."

"I'll stay with him." Luen immediately said, lifting his head slightly from Nate's shoulder. "I wouldn't be of much use to you all anyways. I also served as one of Asmodius' minions. It would not be good for me to be seen around a city this big."

Seria nodded, then said "We'll meet back up with you all once Werr's task here is complete. Any questions?"

Welk raised his hand.

"Yes?" Seria asked.

"I have an idea for how to disguise Cynyr." he said.

Seria blinked, then said "Okay. What?"

Welk grinned and looked at Luen. "Can I borrow that?" he asked, pointing at the wolfling's gold chain necklace.

Luen blinked in puzzlement, but unclasped the long metal chain and dropped it into Welk's hands.

The half-cat grinned and jumped out of the carriage, calling for his brother. "What?" Cynyr said as Welk neared.

"Hold still for a sec." Welk said, clasping the chain around his brother's neck. It fit nicely around the panther's neck. The blonde half-cat then ran around to the back of the carriage, keeping up easily with it, and dug some rope out of a compartment on the back. He ran back over to Cynyr and tied the rope to the chain around his neck, then said "Lo and behold, we have a pet panther!"

"I'm going to kill you." Cynyr growled, swiping at the boy with his sharp black claws.

"Eep!" Welk squealed. "What? It's a good idea!"

"It actually is a good idea, Cynyr." Seria said, smiling slightly. "I think it will work."

Cynyr snarled, but didn't do anything else.

Werr grinned. "Alright, then. You two should stop here, before we get too close to the wall. Nate, are you sure you'll be okay with just Luen?"

"Of course I'll be okay," Nate chuckled a bit. "I'm still pretty weak, and it hurts quite a bit, but Luen will take care of me. Right?" He grinned, patting Luen on the shoulder. "Do we have any of that food left?"

"I'll check," Werr slid out of the carriage, and returned a few moments later. "Nope. I think Forin took what was left."

"That's alright, then," Nate shrugged a bit. "Luen, can you hunt?"

Luen nodded. "Yes, I can hunt." he said. "It's easy."

Seria nodded, then leaned out of the window and waved at Jag to stop the carriage. He did so. Seria opened the door and stepped out, holding it open for Nate and Luen.

Welk was petting Cynyr, who looked throughly annoyed at the notion of being anyone's pet panther, but was dealing with it for now.

"Be careful, okay?" Seria said gently, sounding concerned as Luen and Nate stepped out of the carriage. "We'll pick you both up again once Werr is finished here."

Luen nodded at her, then blushed when she hugged him. She then turned and hugged Nate, though she gave him a little extra. She leaned up and kissed him softly on his cheek, saying "Be safe." Then she got back in the carriage.

Cynyr's jaw had dropped open wide.

Welk's had too.

And Luen's.

((If the carriage wasn't already stopped, how did Welk AND Werr get out without hurting themselves? xD))

Nate chuckled, though he was leaning against Luen for support. "Of course, miss Seria." He waved them off before looking down at Luen. "Let's get off the road, shall we?"

"What was that about?" Werr asked in bewilderment, blinking at Seria as the carriage started moving again.

((Eh, I'll fix it around to say it stopped. Somewhere. I was tired. :3 Besides, it was going at a walk.))

Luen nodded, eyeing Nate slightly, and turned to help him move from the roads.

Seria watched them go, then turned to Werr and shrugged, smiling slightly. "I don't know." she said. "Why? You want one?"

"I do!" Welk said.

"Shut up!" Cynyr growled, smacking his brother with a heavy paw.

"Ouch!" Welk cried, falling backwards.

Cynyr promptly jumped on him, pinning him to the ground and debating about mauling him.

Seria shook her head, then said "I just felt like it, is all. No problem in that, is there? Nate's been kind to me."

"No, I guess there's no problem," Werr shrugged. "I'll pass on taking one, though. We should get back to the road. Did anyone check the back for weird weapons that could get us in trouble?"

"I can!" Airlia said, dropping down from atop the carriage. She opened up the back again and peeked into it, finding only spare rope, a couple pieces of flint and paper for kindling. "Nope, no weapons."

"Alright. You should probably ride inside from now on, Arilia, people aren't really used to seeing angelic-looking people sitting on top of moving carriages..."

"Oh. Okay." Airlia shrugged, moving to sit inside.

Cynyr watched Airlia closely, then got off of Welk and let the boy up. They started walking, following along beside the carriage, Welk holding tightly to the rope that served as Cynyr's temporary leash.

"We'll be fine." Welk said. "I'm your guard, after all."

"Moron..." Cynyr muttered.

Welk yanked on the leash.

Cynyr nearly choked. "Don't do that!" he snarled, coughing.

"Both of you be quiet!" Jag snapped, opening and closing his wings against his back. "We're nearing the gate. If Cynyr's going to be our 'pet', he needs to shut up. A lot of people sometimes get wild animals as pets, but they don't talk. So don't provoke him, Welk."

Welk pouted at the gryphon, but he kept quiet like he was asked.

"Halt!" The guard at the gate said as soon as they were close enough. "Your carriage will have to be searched. City policy, we apologize for the inconvenience." One the carriage was stopped, several guards poked around the carriage. Rather unapologetically, at that. They checked under the carriage, on top of it, in the compartment in the back, and they even checked under the seats. It was a good thing Nate had taken his bag; Werr remembered him talking about all the weapons he had. Werr wondered why Nate had never really used them before, but he was shaken out of his thoughts by the guard jabbing at his sides, looking for any weapons.

One of the guards peered at Welk and Cynyr suspiciously, but he said nothing. Another was glancing at everyone in the carriage and jotting down notes. "Alright," The first guard said, waving at the men at the top of the gate. At once, it started opening until it was just tall enough to let in the carriage. "Carry on, then." He waved them through.