The Forgotten Zodiac

Cynyr's ear shot up when they came into sight of the skeletons. He smiled under his mask, his yellow eyes glancing around and taking in the deaths that had happened here. He almost looked...happy, to say the least. Actually happy.

Welk was too distraught to notice him, however. His young mind was shocked by the sheer number of corpses and skeletons he found himself looking at. A crow called ominously from somewhere out on the field, making Welk flinched. It was moments like this were he missed Werr and the old Cynyr the most. Moments where Cynyr would quietly comfort him with a touch or a lick with his rough tongue, where Werr would scratch his ears and say that it would be alright.

His tears fell soundlessly as he walked, trying to ignore the pain in his heart.

The group plowed on, past the carcasses. Nate kept them moving, but at a much slower pace than before. They had to be careful not to step on anything, of course. "This is so sad...does no one really care about all these bodies?" Airlia pouted.

"They fear for traps," Nate sighed. "Well...fear isn't the right word. They're cautious of traps. All this will likely be cleaned up after the war is over, by whichever side who won. It's not uncommon to place traps in areas like this, for scavengers or soldiers morning their dead comrades...just don't touch anything." He gripped the hilt of his sword regardless, eying their surroundings warily.

"Of course fear isn't the right word. Alastorian soldiers are trained to fear nothing." Forin grumbled, unhappy due to the noises still filling his ears. "I don't like this place...something doesn't feel right."

"I'm scared..." Diana buried her face in Forin's arm, starting to cry. Before long, though, they were past the majority of the skeletons, and nearing a forest. It would be impossible to make the horses run in such a place, the trees grew too close together for any sort of navigation. So they stuck to their slowed pace, and before long, it grew dark.

"Alright," Nate stopped once it was getting hard to see. "Airlia, you're good at finding water, go see if you can track some down for us. Do it quickly, scream if you see anything out of the ordinary." Airlia nodded and moved off. Nate continued, "There'll be no fire tonight. The light would alert predators to our presence. We're behind enemy lines now, we have to be careful."

"We're behind enemy lines," Nightlash corrected him. "You're home."

"Yes, well...I haven't been here in many years." Nate frowned at him. "And at this point, Storaph is as much of an enemy to me as it is to any of the rest of you."

"Bah." Jag said, giving his large wings a few flaps. "You're all just scared little cats."

Welk and Seria glared.

"Er...never mind." the gryphon said, sitting down nearby. He kept Lily close, protective of her as always.

The lerloch didn't have a problem with the dim lighting of nighttime. Their night vision was excellent. They were tired, though, so their vision wasn't at 100% percent.

Welk paced in rapid, agitated circles, his demeanor screaming that he was on edge. He widened his circling, wincing as the newly healed muscles in his once-broken back legs ached in protest. He passed Nightlash and paused, staring at the duke in the darkness. "I still hate you." he said darkly, then continued on his pacing.

Seria sighed and took human form, moving over to Nate. She brushed her tail lightly against Nightlash's arm as she passed him, whispering "I'm sorry about Welk. He isn't normally like this, honestly. He's a good person." She moved away from the duke and sat down near Nate, resting her head against his shoulder and sighing.

"It's fine," Nightlash smiled. "I have plenty other people who hate me, why would I be concerned about Welk? It's no big deal, after all. I would only be concerned if he started attacking me, which isn't likely to happen unless I were to start attacking one of you. Which, I won't."

"It's still certainly possible, though," Forin said quietly. "Which is why I'm keeping an eye on you."

"Naturally. I don't suppose creatures of Tartarus are naturally trusting people?"

"No. We're not."

Luen was in human form and was rubbing his lower back, which was sore from bouncing around in the saddle of his horse. He sighed and moved over to Forin and Diana, sitting down next to Forin and reaching out to pull Diana between him and the summoned creature, where she was safest. Then he took wolf form and curled up, resting his head on Diana's lap.

It was so dark by this time that Cynyr literally blended in with the shadows, making it very hard to see him.

Eventually, Lily dozed off, as did Diana. Nightlash relaxed as well, obviously turning in for the night. Spy curled up on the back of one of the horses, sleeping peacefully. Nate eventually fell asleep too, knowing that both Cynyr and Forin would remain awake throughout the night.

Dawn finally came. In Alastor, they would have been met with chirping birds, but it wasn't the same here. The silence was almost suffocating. Nate was one of the first ones up, already starting to prepare the saddles. After a few long moments though, he realized something. He looked at Forin and Cynyr. "Did Airlia come back last night?" He asked, cursing himself quietly for not paying attention or remembering. Airlia was always so quiet, it had been too easy to forget her...

Welk had eventually fallen asleep in the night, but he woke instantly at Nate's voice. He rose up on his paws, stretching quickly and popping kinks from his back, then glanced around for the winged girl.

Cynyr didn't move or look at Nate. He was completely still, not even his tail moving. He slowly lifted his left paw and turned it over, staring at the star-shaped mark on his paw pads, the symbol of his bond with Airlia. "No." he rasped. "The girl did not return in the night."

Seria, who had woken when Nate had first gotten up, glanced over at the panther, wondering why he sounded so strange. "We have to go find her." she said, taking cat form. "I fear something bad may have happened to her."

"Obviously something bad happened, or she would be back, wouldn't she?" Nate frowned unhappily. "We have to go find her."

"I would come, but my mistress is sleeping still, and I do not wish to wake her." Forin tutted.

"That's fine. You can stay here with whoever else is staying. If you're coming, I'm going now," Nate said, prodding Spy awake. "Hey, do you remember Airlia's scent?" He asked, looking around for something they could use in case the little guy didn't.

"No." Spy blinked. Nate sighed in exasperation, then spotted a small, fluffy white feather. It was down, but too big to be a bird's. There weren't many birds here either, apparently. Nate held the feather out to Spy, nodding. He took it and sniffed it quickly, then slid off of the horse's back and started off in the direction Airlia had left in last night.

Cynyr wordlessly got up, his head low and his body language screaming 'predator'. He walked off after Spy, following with his head and tail low.

Welk didn't move to follow, going back to pacing in exasperation.

Seria got up and trotted after the ones who were going to find Airlia.

Jag also got up to follow, leaving Lily behind and trusting that she would be safe with Forin, Luen and Nightlash. He took gryphon form and sprang into the air, his wings creating a soft flapping sound as he rose up into the air. He flew easily between the gnarled trees and branches, not taking any chances against getting stuck.

Spy led them in a fairly straight line, eventually coming to a stream. "She's very good at finding water," Spy said happily, lapping up a bit of the precious liquid before crossing over it, padding around in circles at the base of a tree there. "Okay, found her." He stopped and sat back, looking up at the others.

"...Where?" Nate frowned down at him.

"Up there," He said, tilting his head back. Not a second later, vines burst forth from the ground, wrapping around the legs of everyone on the ground, holding them fast. Spy screeched as he was engulfed in the vines, being so small.

Indeed, Airlia was up, tied securely to a high branch by the same sort of vines. She was blindfolded and gagged, and it looked like she had been crying. Standing on a branch nearby was a strange figure clothed in mottled green colors. His hair was black and long, braided in a thick rope which hung behind him, secured by a green ribbon. He wore an ugly smirk on his face, glaring down at the others with dark green eyes.

"Hello there," He chortled. "Come for your little girly? It's about time. You people are terrible, forgetting about a poor girl like this. She was crying for her master all night, I had to gag her so I could focus properly! And then she kept glaring at me, so I blindfolded her, too. I would have ripped out her tongue and eyes, but then I would get my clothes all dirty. You would not believe how hard it is to get bloodstains out of these clothes."

Seria and Jag both screeched and struggled against the vines, but Cynyr didn't do anything. He was limp as they took hold on him, not moving to say or do anything. When the person spoke of Airlia, however, something in Cynyr just seemed to snap.

He slowly lifted his feline head and fixed the man with a dark gaze that was seething with hatred. "You would dare?" he snarled, concentrating his wing powers with thought alone. The wind thinned into knife-sharp gusts and cut through the vines holding them, allowing them to fall to the ground. He was gone as soon as his feet touched the ground, leaping around the trees and jumping up into the branches, easily keeping his balance with the speeds he was moving at.

"Ohh! Fiesty, I like it! At least someone cares about her now, unlike last night," The man laughed, putting his hand onto the trunk of the tree. It seemed to sink into the tree itself, as though the tree were absorbing it. The tree itself seemed alive after that, attempting to bat Cynyr off of itself. Nate watched, unsure of what to do. Airlia seemed to be struggling now, though mostly unable to move due to the vines that held her fast. Spy just watched, certain that he'd be incapable of doing anything.

Cynyr lunged off of the tree, falling to a rough landing on the ground below. He landed with a sharp thud and the sound of a rib breaking. Slowly, he rose, taking human form in the process. No pain showed in his eyes from his broken bone. It was like he couldn't feel it. "Care?" he growled, twisting his hands into an X over his chest. "You misunderstand. I don't care one bit for her. What I care for is her ability to make my own powers grow stronger. That is all. She is a power source, and a good one at that. That is all I want. I am her master after all."

He threw his arms out and wind shot forth, ripping the trees and forest around them to shreds. The wind sliced down Airlia's bonds, freeing her, and arched towards the man that had held her captive.

Airlia fell at once, spreading out her wings to catch herself in a glide. She fell awkwardly, but Nate caught her, gently setting her on the ground and pulling off the gag and blindfold. She started crying immediately. "I-I'm sor-sorry, Nate, I co-couldn't scr-scream, he thr-threatened to cut my throat o-open, so..."

"It's fine," Nate shook his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sent you out alone. I'm just glad you're in one piece."

The man slid down the tree trunk, narrowly avoiding getting his head sliced off. He jumped to another tree, running vertically up the trunk. Vines snapped at Cynyr and the others. Nate defended himself, Seria and Airlia by blowing fire at the ones that attempted to attack them. They crumbled under the heat, easily.

Cynyr snarled and threw an arm out, ripping his powers through the vines coming at him. He suddenly winced and pressed a hand to his head, then whipped around and shouted at the others. "Go!" he shouted, clutching his head. "Go now or you'll die! I c-can't-" He screamed and threw an arm out, destroying an entire tree in an instant. "I can't hold it back!!" he screamed, digging his hands into his head.

Seria didn't know why, but for some reason, she knew that they had to get far away from him right then. "Come on!" she said, turned and running back in the direction they had come from.

Jag grabbed Spy and took to the sky, trusting that Nate would get Airlia and move away fast enough to avoid...whatever Cynyr was talking about.

Nate scooped Airlia up, charging back through the forest. He slid to a stop where Forin and all the others were, wondering if that was far enough away. "Get on the horses," He snapped. "We're leaving. Cynyr will catch up," He assumed such, anyways. Nighlash quickly set about helping Airlia up onto their horse, climbing up after her. Forin reluctantly scooped Diana up and did the same with her.

"Oh? Sending your friends off to fight me alone?" The man growled, then grinned. "Are you sure? Maybe I have a proposition for you. You want power, right? Power, power, everyone wants power. I know someone...well...something that can get you more. More than you could ever believe existed."

Luen quickly got on his horse, but Welk was hesitant. "What about Cynyr?" he said fearfully.

"Just go." Seria said, nudging him into a run. "He'll follow. Don't worry." Inside, however, she thought "I hope." They started moving, soon clearing the forest and speeding up until they were racing over the ground.

Cynyr tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck sharply, then rolled his shoulders. "Ah. Much better." he said, bouncing lightly from foot to foot. He glared at the man and said "Sorry, my friend, but..."

In an instant, he was at the man's side, his claws dug into his throat.

"...I already know who you are speaking of." he finished, pulling his claws out of the man's throat and watching him slid to the ground. "Hmph." the half-cat snorted. "Such a weak being. Pitiful, really." He smiled, then whipped around and used his powers to cut a tree in half. He watched it fall, then smiled wider and cut down another. And another. He moved faster and faster until he was leaping through the trees, felling them as if they were nothing more than blades of grass. He laughed wildly and dark black smoke trailed from his mouth, then he flung his arms out powerfully.

Within seconds, the entire forest lay dead around him.

He grinned darkly, then took panther form and followed lazily after the others.

Nate didn't slow up, and even picked up the pace as he saw Cynyr coming up behind them. They ran hard, and didn't slow again until noon was approaching. Nate kept them going at a slow trot, looking at the others to make sure they weren't too tired. "We should reach the castle by sundown," Nate said as he pulled his horse to a full stop near a rocky outrop. Since the forest, things had changed. The grass underneath had turned brittle and oddly crunchy. As though there were a thick layer of frost over them. The wind had also taken on an unusual chill, the sky having darkened as clouds gathered overhead. Forin was getting fidgety.

"We'll rest here for now. Is anyone hungry?" Nate sighed, pulling a small bag out of his horse's saddle-pouch; food that Thelma had given them for the trip. It was half-empty, as they had eaten quite a bit of it the last time they had stopped. It wasn't going to last for the return trip, but he figured that they might as well eat it while it was still more or less fresh.

Cynyr strolled into the camp, looking sly. He glared up at Nate and said "I require nothing at all." Then he stalked to the edge of their camp and just stood there, staring in the direction they were heading in. He didn't move to sit down or even look around. Just endlessly stared off into the distance.

Seria watched him, puzzled by his behavior, then called "Cynyr? Are...are you okay?"

He didn't answer for a long moment, then said "Yes, healer. I'm perfectly fine now."

Seria blinked, feeling a disturbed shiver run through her body at his words. He had called her a healer before, yes, but never like that.

Welk was back to his pacing, which was more frantic than ever.

((Trin, this is the last stop before the castle. If you were gonna have Cynyr go there before we got there, now would be the time. But you could always have him stroll casually up to Obelisk and pledge is allegiance right there in front of the others. xD))

Airlia was curled up nearby, her head buried in her arms and her wings wrapped protectively around herself. Nate gave a little food to Spy and Diana, who requested it, but Forin mentioned that Werr would possibly have a serious need for food when they reached him. Nate sighed and put the rest of it away, looking at the others. At least none of them had been injured by that man, though Airlia still seemed rather distressed. Nate didn't notice Cynyr's behavior, though Forin did. The creature of Tartarus, ever watchful, was quite curious to know why Cynyr was acting the way he was.