The Forgotten Zodiac

Vaira snarled at him and Zephyr chuckled. He turned from Nate and looked at Vaira, and it was clear that he was interested in her. It seemed obvious that he would be attracted to her; like he had explained before, male dragons typically were supposed to court females that were younger than them. He was older than her by almost two-hundred years.

Tasia entered the house ahead of Nate, looking nervous. She wasn't wearing any shoes, as her slightly turned in feet made it hard for her to walk straight anyways. If not for her tail providing some balance, she would've fallen over quickly.

Nate watched her walk, frowning a bit. "Do you remember when you started walking like that? Perhaps I can help you work on that, too," He said thoughtfully before closing the door and walking ahead, leading the way to a room on the first floor. Inside was little Vidia, running her small fingers along different materials. Velvet, silk, leather...she was determined to learn things by touch, smell and sound, and that's what she was doing at the moment. Luna had gone off to find more things for her to learn. Nate knocked on the door, waiting for a timid 'come in' before opening it.

"Vidia, I brought you Tasia." Nate said, motioning for Tasia to come into the doorway, waiting patiently.

Tasia shook her head at Nate's question, then was silent as he led her along. When they came to Vidia's room, Tasia stopped and didn't go inside until Nate managed to reassure her that nothing was going to hurt her. She carefully stepped into the room and hung around the door, not going any further in. She watched Vidia closely, curling her wings around herself for protection. She moved her tail around and carefully brushed the tip against Nate's leg, conveying her fear through the one little touch.

Vidia put down the items she had been holding, standing up (though she still held onto the bed for balance). She looked upset, and she turned her face towards the floor. "I...um...I'm very sorry, about hurting you before..." She trembled a bit. "I didn't mean to, and I tried to stop, but...I'm sorry..."

Nate had overheard Vidia talking with Luna; the blind girl had said how much she wanted to apologize, and Nate had decided to give her a chance. As always, Nate wanted little more than to help.

Tasia listened quietly to Vidia speak, then looked down when she was finished. She was still nervous, but she was obviously smart enough to push past her fear and not let it hold complete control over her. She carefully shuffled forward and walked over to Vidia, then paused in front of her. "I accept," she said. "You didn't mean it. It's okay." She carefully reached out with one hand and touched the girl's shoulder, noting that the girl was blind. The female dragonian carefully took one of Vidia's hands and lifted it to her mouth, making a smile and touching the girl's fingers to her lips so she could feel it. She took her hand away after a moment and said "See? It's okay." She hesitated, then gently gave Vidia a small hug. Then she turned and scurried behind Nate, suddenly shy.

Vidia smiled happily, nodding. "Thank you," She said quietly, moving her hand back to the bed and sitting down again. "I'll...try harder next time..." She picked up the silk again, smiling lightly as she rubbed her fingers against the material.

"There you have it," Nate chortled. "Now, come along, Tasia. You can join me in some exersizes. It's important to stay fit and healthy, especially in this group. You never know what'll pop up next..."

"Queen Galai, Werr is back again," Cici chimed as they entered the castle. "You know, the little human boy who always seems to have problems? That Werr." She giggled as Werr frowned at her.

Welk glared at Cici and said "Don't talk about him like that. Besides, I've gotten him into plenty of trouble." He grinned, then moved out of the way when Cynyr headed past him. "Don't hold up the line, Welk." the panther said, frowning at him.

"Sorry," Welk said in return, sticking his tongue out at his brother. He turned his gaze forward, looking up at the queen of Amnairus.

Galai was seated in her usual place, her six wings folded delicately against her back. "Ah," she said, smiling slightly as they entered. "Welcome back, little ones." She curled one hand around her scepter and said "What have you come to ask me?"

"Well...we really should have asked this the moment we got here, but..." Werr frowned a bit. "We need to ask if you can hide the gate. It'll be disastrous for all worlds if Obelisk somehow made his way here. He can control Tartarans, I've seen him use his power on Forin. If we can't keep him out, he might cut straight into Tartarus and force them to attack this world. I know he would, because...it would be what I would do. I know it sounds strange, but Obelisk is far from stupid. He's as much of a strategist as I am, if not moreso...and that's the most logical tactic I can think of. Create a war between worlds, destroy hope for all three...it sounds perfect for someone like Obelisk. Which is why it's imperative that the gate be hidden as soon as possible."

Galai listened to Werr as he spoke, then looked down and nodded once to herself. "Your point is seen," she said. She closed her eyes for a moment and held one hand out, concentrating, then said "It is done. The gate is now hidden from all possible magic sense, along with the entrance to the mountain that hides it. Unfortunately, I cannot hide it from sight. Only sense. You must speak with Titus for hiding it the rest of the way. He has the strength to cover it from sight. Once his end is done, there will be no possible way for anyone to find the gate." She looked down at them and smiled, saying "Also, we have the Divine guarding the bridge. If it sees so much as a finger out there, it will contact us immediately,"

"Still...I don't want to take any chances." Werr shook his head. "We'll visit him next. Although...I think we should probably take everyone for that part. From what Forin's said about that place, it's not somewhere I want to head into without assured safety."

"You shouldn't go at all! Send some of the others," Cici objected.

"No, I want to talk to him myself. Think about it, Cici, he made the puzzle to hide the forest, he can hide things from sight...he's a trickster, in layman's terms. He might try to pull a fast one on us."

"He will, probably. Or he'll make a deal and force you to give something up." Cici sighed, understanding what Werr was getting at. "You have the highest chance of catching something like that."

Werr nodded, and then said, "The second matter is Luen. Will he be released from the jail soon? I haven't seen Forin or Diana, but I'm certain that they're both worried for him. Well...Diana's probably worried, Forin's probably hating you all for keeping him this long. That's just how he is..."

"Well..." Galai started. "...about the wolfling. Has he always been so...demented?"

"What?" Welk said, blinking. "That means crazy, right?"

"Sort of," Cynyr said. He looked up at Galai and said "What are you talking about? He's a perfectly calm wolfling. Surprisingly, really, considering wolves."

She shook her head and said "Not from the reports I've heard from my guards. From what I've heard, he appears to be traumatized and insane. You're free to go and talk to him, if you like. I would've released him sooner if not for his current state. By all rights, he's been free to go since we cleared up that Bala was the one who attacked your friends." She closed her eyes for a moment, then said "He is in cell thirteen in the lower level of the jail. My guards will let in whoever decides to visit and leave them alone. Just find the stairs inside and go down, then find the cell."

"Hm..." Werr said thoughtfully. "I don't think we should try to talk to him. We'll get Forin and Diana to, though. He'll definitely calm down once they talk to him. Come on, guys, let's go now," He said, turning away. He paused and turned again, bowing slightly. "Thank you for everything you've done for us so far, Galai. We would be lost without you and your hospitality."

"Be careful in Tartarus," Cici patted him on the head. "I'm going to hang around here with the queen. Going to Tartarus would be crazy for me, anyways. So yeah, be careful."

"Er, yeah, I guess..."

Galai smiled at him and said "Think nothing of it. Your status here was determined long before you arrived," A distant look passed over her face, then she said "Anyways, your friends may come and go in the prison as they please. And take care when you go to Tartarus. My mate is, as you stated, a trickster," She tilted her head slightly and closed her eyes, then murmured "...I love him," where they couldn't hear it.

Welk took lion form and turned, saying "Come on, let's go," He flicked his tail and tilted his head up at Werr, closing one crimson eye in a wink.

Werr nodded, climbing onto Welk's back so they could move more quickly. The first order of business would be to get Forin and Diana to calm Luen down and get him out of the dungeons. As soon as they were calmed down, Werr would ask who all wanted to go to Tartarus with him. He would force no one; and he hadn't been planning to take Luna, Vidia, Lily or Spy. Nor did he really want Diana to come, which would cause both Forin Luen to stay behind, as well...no matter. They weren't planning on fighting, Werr just wanted to have enough people to force whatever Tartaran's to think twice about attacking for any reason.

Welk trotted out of the room happily, purring loudly. Cynyr rolled his eyes and shook his head at his silly little sibling, but said nothing. He reached out and stroked Welk's head, prompting a louder purr from the lion. "So," Cynyr said. "We're going to Tartarus. I'll work out supplies we might possibly need and do a weapon check, then I'm heading to the courtyard. You have an hour to meet me there if you want to throw in your first round of training while I still feel like giving it."

Welk purred and nuzzled Cynyr's leg, getting one more ear-scratch out of the wind mage before he turned away to do what he had said he would do.

"I'll be there!" Werr called after him, smiling. They reached the guest house, and were quick to make it up to the room they last saw Forin and Diana in. Werr knocked on the door, expecting to be snapped at to leave.

Instead there was a crash, like a glass being thrown against the door. "What?!" Forin's voice demanded. "Didn't you listen to your annoying fairy friend? Leave me alone!" He screeched. Werr recoiled at once, looking down at his feet. Liquid was forming a puddle beneath the door, supposedly where the glass had been broken.

Werr crinkled his nose, knowing exactly what it was. The smell gave it away. "Forin, are you drinking? Seriously?"

"Just...leave...me...alone..." Forin groaned.

Welk hissed and moved backwards, flattening his ears against his head. "Something's not right, besides the fact that Forin would even consider picking up a bottle when he's a guardian," he said. "Come on, Werr, let's go. I'm sure Luen will be fine a few more hours in prison. Let's go!" He moved his head up and took Werr's sleeve into his feline mouth, tugging on it in effort to get the boy to move. "C'mon," he said, his voice muffled slightly by the fabric. "Please."

"Wha...hold on," Werr pulled his sleeve out of Welk's teeth. "Forin, if you want to get Luen out of prison, you're going to have to go there and calm him down. That's all I came here to tell you." He said before he allowed Welk to pull him away.

"Well..." Werr sighed once they were out of earshot. "That was a little...odd...why would Forin be drinking? Much less be drinking around Diana? I hope, for her sake, that she's sleeping like a log in there..." He doubted even a drunk Forin would dare harm his summoner, but things were getting to be a bit ridiculous with him. "Whatever. Let's just...go see Cynyr, I guess."

"Because he's a nutcase with a bad attitude," Welk said. "Well, I say forget him. Let's catch up to Cynyr before he bores himself silly." He bounced along next to his friend, meowing in what was developing into a more growled lion sound. He paused and brushed a paw over his muzzle, then followed Werr out to the courtyard.

Cynyr was already there, of course. The agile mage was whipping a sword around in expert swings and slices that would've desembowled and decapitated any enemy. The open courtyard was a perfect place to train, with few Amnairians around. Those who were there had stopped for a moment or two to watch the panther, then had carried on their way.

Werr thought about it on the way to the courtyard, but he gave up once they arrived. He picked up the spare sword Cynyr had set aside for him, moving a little closer to Cynyr to watch. Such fluid movements...and so fast, too. Werr doubted he would ever reach that level. Anytime soon, at any rate. He cleared his throat, wanting to catch Cynyr's attention without startling him.