The Forgotten Zodiac

"Silence." Luna said. "Silence is the command for shutting up your summon when you do not want them to speak. Again, Release frees them." She flicked her long tail around, folding her wings into her back. "Why should your summoner release you if you are only going to kill her and all else here? She can keep you bound like that for as long as she wishes, because there is no way for a summoned creature to break the commands their summoner uses. It is absolute."

Welk was curled up in human form against Zephyr's belly, his eyes open even though he still looked tired. He couldn't make himself sleep again, no matter how hard he tried. Finally, he weakly stood up on trembling legs and crossed over to Cynyr, who was snoozing in human form. The blonde half-cat flopped down next to him, waking him instantly, and wrapped his arms around him. His ears hadn't lifted into a happy position for quite some time now. Cynyr gently hugged him back, glancing over at Werr with a 'come here' look in his eyes.

"You think I don't know that?!" Necropolis snarled at her, before Vidia snapped the command to make him shut up. Which, of course, he did.

Forin, who was awake now, watched quietly. It was obvious that not all summons followed the same guidelines as he. He made it a point to ensure his summoners knew all the common commands as soon as he could tell them. Diana knew them, but she had never bothered to use them. Of course she didn't; Forin always took care of here. There was no point in using commands that would limit his assistance.

Werr did, wrapping his arms about the both of them. "We'll protect you, Welk. Don't worry." He said comfortingly, though he thought in the back of his head that they needed to leave sometime before night. Otherwise, they could freeze to death. The sun was out right now, providing a little warmth, but it wasn't much.

Cynyr tensed at the hug, but only slightly. Other than that, he was okay.

Welk tilted his head back and pressed his cheek against Werr's head, closing his crimson eyes. Cynyr and Werr could both feel his body quiver once in a while. The process of losing his memories and then promptly gaining them back had done a severe number on him.

Zephyr moved his head from the ground and tilted it skyward, blowing out a huge burst of billowing fire. Once he was finished, he lowered his head back to the ground, smoke drifting out of his mouth and nostrils. His immense mind pressed in on Werr's, forcing the boy to open it to him before he even had a chance of defending himself, so the dragon could speak right to him, which required no translating from Nate. "We must leave before nightfall. It would not do for us to stay here another night. Welk can move if he absolutely must, and, unfortunately, he must."

"I know..." Werr thought, wondering if Luna would be able to hear him too. He tried. "Luna, where should we go? We need direction, and as soon as possible..."

Vidia listened as Forin spoke up. "There's one command designed specifically for Tartarans," Forin explained. "It's a bit difficult to say, but it causes a complete and total blackout of senses, magic and movement. Completely instantaneous. It was set in place because of how ridiculously dangerous Tartarans can be from time to time, but I'm sure you can find a use for it. The order is Zelepharisu." Luna might recognize that as the ancient Tartaran word for 'stop'. Simple enough.

Luna's delicate voice touched Werr's mind, saying "I will lead you and the others to Nanilai Viha Mortala. I might as well, since I am here. I would have done it anyways, through your minds, but someone..." A glare in Necropolis' direction. "...decided to be unruly and make us come here." She dug the claws of her feet into the ground, tossing her silver hair behind her. She hadn't left anthro form since she had first taken it, and she wasn't going to leave it.

Welk was asleep again, his body still shaking slightly once in a while.

Diana sniffed, a little confused. "Zelepharisu?" She whimpered, and Forin's eyes rolled back into his head. He collapsed at once, even his breathing becoming miniscule. Diana wailed at this. "Release, release!" She started crying, though Forin was sitting up again.

"Yes, that's the one," He sighed, brushing snow off of his shirt. "It's alright, mistress, it doesn't hurt."

After a few more minutes, Werr sighed. "We have to go," He said, standing up. "I don't want to leave with Welk in this condition, but...we have little choice."

Zephyr craned his head around and looked at the boy, then bent his huge muzzle forward and flicked the tip of his thin dragon tongue out of his mouth, licking Werr lightly on his left cheek. Then he folded his wings, but he didn't let them on just yet. He reached a hand up and ran it over the scales on his neck, feeling each and every one of them. "Nate." he said, looking to the dragonian. "Come and stand by my neck, please." The dragon pushed his mind into Seria's head, saying "Get something that will hold liquid, please, and give it to Nate." Seria looked confused, but she did as was asked and located Airlia's trusty bucket, handing it to Nate as Zephyr asked.

"Yes, of course," Nate nodded, moving into position at once. He took the bucket from Seria, guessing what Zephyr was doing. He held the bucket out, ready to catch whatever dropped. "I'm ready," He said, nodding again. Werr watched curiously, wondering why they weren't leaving right away, when Zephyr had insisted upon their immediate departure.

That was when Zephyr dug his claws into his neck and ripped off several of his emerald scales, holding them tightly in his hand. Blood welled at the wound in his neck, releasing several thick drops of scalding blood that fell down into the bucket in Nate's hands. "Quickly, while it's still hot." Zephyr said, pushing his mind into the other's heads. "Drink it. Make certain you get a mouthful."

"What?!" Cynyr said, noting that Welk was woken by Zephyr speaking to him. "Why?"

"Do it and you'll know!" Zephyr said, holding the place on his neck where he had ripped his scales off. "Nate, you do not have to do this. Just give someone else the bucket, quickly! While the blood still steams!"

Seria decided to trust what Zephyr said and took the bucket from Nate, steeling herself and taking a good drink of the blood in the bucket. She gasped for breath once she was done, her throat burning from the heat of the blood. It quickly faded away, however, leaving her entire body tingling. Then she handed it to Cynyr, who growled and flattened his ears against his head but did it anyways. He coughed when he finished, his throat burning. Welk took the bucket when Cynyr gave it to him and drank from it without hesitating. He was too exhausted to care about anything at the moment, and he didn't cough or gasp once he had swallowed. He held the bucket out to Werr, staring up at him with crimson eyes that matched the color of the liquid in the bucket.

Werr gagged a bit at just the thought of drinking the blood. Vampires did that, not him. He choked down a mouthful anyways, shivering in disgust. Forin outright refused to force Diana to drink it; she was crying silently at this point, anyways; she had no idea what was going on.  Forin himself, however, took a swig out of curiosity. After seeing Forin do it, Diana took a drink from it, though she was left spluttering and crying all the more.

The bucket was quickly passed around to the others until there was but a single drop left, which Spy lapped up (which he wasn't too happy about drinking blood, but everyone else was doing it).

"Okay, we just drank dragon blood. What was the point of that?" Werr made a face once the empty bucket was handed back to him.

Zephyr chuckled, then he spoke to them. "A valid point, little one," he said, in the language of the dragons like what Nate could speak.

And everyone that had drank from the bucket understood him.

He smiled at their confused expressions and said "Those who drink the heated blood of a dragon gain the knowledge of their language. Now, there is no dragon to whom you cannot speak with." He thrummed deep in his throat, a pleased sound.

"So," Cynyr said, using the dragon language. "You can understand this?"

"Yes," Zephyr answered, breathing a plume of smoke from his nose. "Without even trying, you can now speak to any of my kind." He smiled and shook his head, moving his hand away from his neck to check it. The bleeding had stopped, but there was an open wound left behind. He turned his attention to the scales in his hand, studying them closely.

"Should we try to put them back on?" Nate looked at the scales as well. "I'm sure Seria can fix them up with no problem." He looked at the others, and had to suppress a laugh. Werr was staring up at Zephyr in shock as realization of all this sunk in. Lily looked a little frightened, and Diana had choked back her tears to peek at Zephyr from behind Forin. The Tartaran was silently watching, as usual, but Nate didn't put anything past him anymore. He wouldn't be surprised if Forin were silently working through the complex magicks and the like that enabled them to now speak with Zephyr.

Which, he was.

Spy, in the meantime, had lost intrest. He was running around on top of the snow, chasing down his own tail. Vidia was trying to get Necropolis to listen to her, but he just snorted at her and went to ignoring her again. He was still incapacitated and muted, though, unable to give snide remarks or foul curse words.

"A-anyways...as...you were saying..." Werr struggled to recompose himself, shaking his head. "We should probably get a move on..."

Zephyr curled his lips and smiled at Werr, then turned to Nate and said "No. What use would pulling them off be if I were just to put them back on? I pulled them off for more of a reason than just granting you all my language." He stood up, the scales still clutched tightly in his hand, then took one between the tips of his claws and held it out to Nate. "Here." he said. "For one who is noble and, at times where companionship is involved, indecisive."

He turned to Seria and pressed one into her hand, saying "For one who is willing to give a part of herself away to save the lives of others."

To Cynyr, saying "For one who is learning to love and trust again, who has lost much and gained much."

To Welk, who wordlessly took the scale. Zephyr said "For one who depends greatly on other to survive, who is a strong light in any kind of darkness."

He swiveled his head around and tilted it at Forin, handing him a scale and saying "For one who is firm and strong-willed, who protects his friend with otherworldly powers and a sharp mind."

He turned to Diana, smiling down at her, then said, with a soft voice, "For one who needs the comfort." He nuzzled her gently, blowing a warm breath against her skin, then turned to Luen, handing him one of the emerald scales. "For one who is weak on the outside and strong on the inside, with a kind spirit."

He turned his head to Werr and brought his head a few inches away, pressing one of the still-warm scales into his hand. "For one who has many fears and shortcomings, but many strengths as well. You just have to find them and believe in them." And he licked the boy on his nose.

Then he turned to Vidia and gave her one, saying "For one who has suffered a great injustice and is living a new life."

To Luna next, saying "For one who is beautiful and bold, who opened herself to mere mortals from another world."

He reached up to the smaller scales around his eyes and pulled one off, holding the tiny scale down to Spy. "For one who helps and is helped in return, who loves and is loved."

He turned to Jag and Lily, handing them both scales at the same time. "For two who are together as one, for each makes up for a missing part of the other. Lily gives love and Jagat gives strength."

He next held out a scale to Airlia, saying "For one who has withstood many things in her life, good and bad combined."

He now had one scale left and he gave it to the one person they didn't expect. He pushed it into Necropolis' hand, blowing smoke over his body. "For one who causes trouble and mischief but maybe, just maybe, could be misunderstood. Maybe."

They all could feel the magic radiating from the emerald scales. The simple objects were filled with energy and were as hard as diamonds, glittering in the sunlight, endowed with healing powers when used right.

After he gave the last scale, Zephyr said no more and simply waiting for them to climb onto his back.

Werr blinked in surprise, looking at the others. Forin had set about tying a leather string securely around it, which he already had around his neck. The other thing on the string was a small silver locket that Diana had asked him to keep safe. Inside it were the images of her mother and father. She had never asked to see it, and she didn't glace twice at it as Forin revealed it again. She just handed him her scale, asking him to do the same with her own necklace, which was just a simple string with a wedding band around it. Her mother's, to be precise.

Forin tied the second scale onto the necklace, placing it back around Diana's neck. "Keep it safe. We may need it some day." He smiled slightly, wiping Diana's cheeks free of tears. Diana just nodded, tucking her necklace back underneath her shirt as Forin did the same.

Spy had tried to gnaw on the scale at first, but eventually he gave up and tucked it into a small pouch concealed in his fur. It was a bit like a kangaroo's pouch, only just above his back leg to the side, and much smaller. Like where a pocket would commonly be on a pair of pants. "Thank you!" He purred, curling up in Luna's lap.

Vidia wrapped her fingers around the scale, before looking up at Necropolis. "Release," She commanded.

Necropolis, surprisingly enough, didn't move for a few long moments. He then sat up, tugging his blindfold down. He set his peircing gaze on Vidia. He didn't look angry or upset. Or even sad, nor happy. He looked...kind of like how Forin looked most of the time. Serious, calm. He spoke. "Before you go anywhere...release me."

"I just did?" Vidia shook her head at him, confused. "Are you going to behave now?"

"No. I won't behave. So send me back to Tartarus." Necropolis frowned at her.

"Wha--" Vidia managed to start before squeaking to a stop, feeling breath on her face. Necropolis had grabbed her by the arms, putting his face close to hers.

"Unsummon me. I...ple...please?" He stumbled over the word, as though he had never said it before.

Cynyr stared at his scale for a long moment before finally tucking it down in his shirt, somewhere inside the overcoat. He held his hand over the spot where it was for a few minutes before moving it away.

Welk just held his and stared at it, unmoving.

Seria was awed by the gifts the dragon had given them. First the ability to speak to any dragon they ever encountered and now the scales, which were awe-inspiring of themselves. Any illness or wound would be restored with the magic the scales contained.

Luna scratched Spy behind his ears as the chimera sat in her lap, watching as Necropolis spoke to Vidia. "Let him go, Dear One." the leopard said. "Trust me. He has a very good reason for wanting to return to Tartarus. Let him be. You do not need him anymore as it is." She flared her wings open and whispered to Vidia the words to release Necropolis from his summon contract with the girl. "If you decide to let him go, those are the words you would say." she said, running her fingers over the red feather Relic had given Spy.

"But..." Vidia rubbed her arm. She thought that Necropolis was supposed to be like Forin. Protective, caring...a little stern, perhaps, but still more or less nice enough. She failed to realize that Forin was unlike any other Tartaran in such regards. Even his true form never intended harm upon Diana, though it still hated everyone else. "Well...maybe..." She thought, shuffling her feet in the snow. "Why do you want to go so badly?"

"There's someone I need to help. And with this..." Necropolis clutched the dragon scale tighter still. "I can save them. So...would you?"

Vidia sighed quietly, then nodded. "You're telling the truth. I can tell. Um...Nealu horiatz Ka'ael, korora tsurio...Necropolis!" Literally translated, it meant, 'Return to where you hail from, unneeded guardian, Necropolis'.  The effects were instantaneous.

Necropolis was gone.

Luen lifted his head from where he was examining the scale he had been given and flicked his ears back when Necropolis was unsummoned. He was perfectly okay with letting the Tartaran go, of course. He hadn't liked him, especially after what he had done to Werr. But something about Necropolis had seemed so genuine right then, and Luen gave him credit for actually saying please.

Welk had flopped over onto his side and was asleep again. This was the most he had ever slept within about two days worth of time, and the few times he had woken, he had still been exhausted. Cynyr reached out and rubbed his shoulder, sighing when Welk did nothing but flick his tail.

Zephyr watched them, then said "We should be going now."

"Yeah, probably." Werr sighed, nodding. "Welk," He said, gently shaking his friend awake. "Come on, get on Zephyr. You can sleep in front of me, I'll make sure you don't fall off."

"Let us go, mistress," Forin stood.

"Forin..." Diana climbed to her feet as well. "Do you...have you...ever wanted to return to Tartarus?"

Forin didn't hesitate before answering. "No. It is my duty to protect you. I do not wish to be returned to Tartarus, unless my presence here endangers you. Besides...you save me from a great deal of suffering, keeping me here. You always have." He took her by the hand, smiling gently. It was still somewhat forced, but then again, all of his smiles were.

Luen stood up and walked over to Zephyr, pulling himself up onto the dragon's back. He leaned forward and hugged the dragon's immense shoulders, sighing as he felt the warmth seep into his body. He didn't like a lot of fire and heat, obviously, being an ice mage, but there were random times when he enjoyed the warmth that other beings provided.

Welk blinked his eyes open and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He didn't say anything, just stood up and took Werr's hand, letting the boy lead him wherever he wanted.

Zephyr leaned around and ruffled their clothing and hair with a short blast of hot air from his nose, then turned to the others and said "Everyone on, please. We should be off."

Cynyr moved forward and paused, glancing over at Seria. He flicked his tail and shook his head, then moved to jump up on Zephyr's back and promptly slipped on the smooth scales. He fell backwards and slammed the back of his head into the ground, his vision flickering for a moment before resuming normalcy. He sat up, his pale white face flushed in embarrassment, and held a hand over his mouth, which was filling with blood from his lip, which he had sharply bit when he had fallen. He spat out a mouthful of blood and stood up, trying hard to regain some dignity as he mounted Zephyr far in the back and sat there with his head turned from them.

((What are you doing to Cynyr? -narrow eyes-))

"You okay?" Werr asked in concern, blinking at Cynyr. The half-cat was probably just tired. Or perhaps he needed another scrub for Dark Magic.

"Right, so...where are we going, anyways?" Nate blinked at the others.

"Luna is going to lead the way," Forin answered, shrugging as he climbed up onto Zephyr's back, helping Diana up next.