The Forgotten Zodiac

Namanai didn't smile, but she did reassure him. "I understand your fear," she said. "I can tell by just one look at those." She gestured at the faint scars lacing his chest and stomach. "Just know that we're not here to purposefully hurt you. We actually want to help."

The table was soft against Forin's back. It really was like a bed with blankets under him, though the settings were hardly peaceful. Namanai carefully reached out and gently began strapping Forin to the table, murmuring about how they had never had to use them before. She closed the straps around his wrists, upper arms, forehead, neck and ankles. She left the chest one undone, since that was where they would be working. Once that was done, she delicately placed one of her hands on his chest, sensing all of what she would be working on. Forin occasionally felt one of the other healers brush their mind against his, but it never lasted more than a split second. They mostly got their information from Namanai and what she sensed. When she finished, she took a moment to discuse with the other healers what they would do, then nodded. "Simple enough," she said, moving to stand on Forin's right side. "Alright then. Heggei, block all pain receptors in his mind, please." Forin didn't feel the spell move over him until all of his internal problems ceased giving him pain. Even the slightest flicker was blocked completely. "So your name is Forin, correct?" Namanai asked. "A good name. Well, Forin, I'm going to allow a temporary dulling spell to help you relax. Heaven only knows you need it." The spell slowly began to take effect, which resulted in a sleepy wave to come over the Tartaran. It dulled his senses to a just-conscious-enough level, like someone who was very tired but not quite asleep yet.

Forin mumbled something about his last name being 'Dulce', but he didn't get very far into his sentence before it just trailed off into a quiet moan as both spells took effect. His worn mind stopped thinking as the second spell came over him. All his questions about what could go wrong, his visualizations of such things coming to pass, the majority of it left with his pain.

No pain...Forin had to force down relief before he could even think about feeling it. Soon...soon, he wouldn't have to do that. He could laugh for Luen, smile for Diana...he would be free. Forin closed his eyes, not wanting to see any incisions.

Namanai smiled as she saw the spell take effect, then glanced up as Seria came in. "Good," the older healer said upon seeing the girl. "You're here. We're just beginning, so pay close attention, little one."

Seria nodded, then took up a place nearby, where she could watch and still give her energy if it was needed. She moved over to Forin's head and gently began brushing his hair out of his face as Namanai made her first incision on his body. She opened him up from the top of his chest to just above his navel, knowing that he hadn't felt it. The spell was absolute.

Seria spoke quietly to Forin as Namanai worked, moving a hand to the first organ they would re-grow. With the seven skilled Divine healers working, they easily created the needed part out of pure nothingness. His liver was repaired even faster, though it took some time for them to fix his sickly lung. They prepared the magic, then Namanai severed the organ and removed it, quickly moving her hand back to hold it over the empty place, where the new one formed seconds later. The ribs were simple, and then came the hardest part.

Removing the explosive device in his heart.

Here was where they had to be extremely careful. If they put too much or too little magic into it, they ran the risk of setting the device off. It took them several long minutes, nearly ten in total, to prepare the spells and magic needed and be certain of what they were doing. Then Namanai gently pushed her hand in and located Forin's heart, searching until her hand rested on the metallic bit lodged there. At her order, the spells were cast, carefully and in an intricately planned out order. The explosive device was slowly forced out, inch by tiny little inch, while the knew part of the heart grew behind it. Finally, the piece dropped into Namanai's hand and the last bit of the heart was formed. She retracted her hand and handed the metal piece to one of the other healers, who was waiting nearby. The other healer took it and tucked it into her robes.

Namanai pulled her bloodied hands from Forin's body and wiped them off, then began sewing the Tartaran up. "You did good," she murmured as she worked. "That went smoothly. Well done, Forin," She smiled slightly and said "Forin Dulce." Then she continued on her work, knowing the mind-slowing and pain spells would still be in effect for a while.

((Oh yeah, dun remove the scars. Scars are important to Tartarans. Namely, if he went back to Tartarus with no scars, they'd think he was an imposter and probably kill him. Scars = identity, as well as trophies.

:T))

Forin stared up at Seria.  Numbing his mind had obviously been a terrible idea, obviously. That spell, combined with the alcohol continuing to fuzz up any remaining logic he had, was enough to allow the next words to slur from his twitching mouth as his eyes were locked on Seria. "Cynyr's one lucky half-cat. I don't think I remember how to love." He murmured before he let his eyes wander. And of course, they landed on Namanai's bloody hands. He groaned something while his slowed mind struggled to make connections.

He finally landed on a conclusion. That this was a ridiculous dream. It didn't make much sense, seeing how Tartarans didn't particularly have dreams, but nothing made sense to him anymore. He relaxed completely after reaching his conclusion, going back to staring up at Seria.

((They didn't. They can't reform scars, or else Cynyr could get his face fixed and I'm never having that happen. -is mean- :3))

Seria just smiled at him, knowing he was under a strong dulling spell. "You'll remember soon enough," she assured, continuing to lightly mess with his hair and keep brushing it away from his face. "Just lay still and let the healers work. They're almost done, anyways, and then you can rest."

Namanai carefully closed the last inch of the incision on the Tartaran's body and inspected her work, then nodded and put a hand on Forin's chest, using a spell to sense what they had acomplished inside of him. "Alright then." she said. "We're done here." She looked up at Seria and said "Now he just needs to lay still long enough for that cut to heal, plus I wouldn't be surprised if he's sore inside for at least a day. We can't keep the pain spell on in the case of him not feeling if he hurts himself. The mind-dulling spell will wear off within the hour. Kateek, take the Tartaran back to his room so he can rest."

The said healer, Kateek, nodded and began unstrapping Forin's restrains. Once the Tartaran was free, Kateek gently slipped her arms under his shoulders and knees, lifting him off of the table and turning to the door. Seria followed, pausing to thank Namanai and the other healers before opening the door for Kateek and following her out.

Namanai just smiled and went back to her other duties.

Forin, however, started struggling at this point. "No, no, no, put me down," He objected sluggishly, twitching. His slowed mind hadn't quite caught up with the fact that he was unstrapped now, so he wasn't even trying to struggle physically. "I want to see Luen, take me to Luen, not my room! S-Seria, make her take me to Luen...I don't want him to be alone, and I don't want to be alone!"

Seria reached out and brushed her fingers against his forehead, saying "All things in time, Forin. For now, you're going to your room to rest. If you want, I'll bring Luen to you so you can talk to him. But either way, you're going to your room and you're going to lay still." She spoke sternly but gently. "At least until that spell wears off and you can think properly again." she said, smiling slightly as she flicked her tail.

They walked on until they made it to the room Forin and Diana were staying in. It had been cleaned of the broken alcohol bottle mess Forin had made and was all cleaned up, with the beds made and the curtains pulled near closed, to dim lighting. Kateek gently laid Forin down on the bed, being mindful of the healing cut on his body, then left the room to go back to her job.

Seria sat down on the other bed for a moment, watching Forin closely. "I'll go get Luen in a moment," she said. "How are you feeling?"

It took Forin a moment to answer. "Better." He mumbled. "It's starting to hurt...but...I feel better." He jerked, nearly attempting to sit up when he remembered something. "Diana! Where's Diana?!" He demanded, obviously not remembering much.

Seria pushed him back down and said "She's safe. If you lay still, I'll go get her and Luen now." She stood up and leaned over, gently brushing a lock of his hair out of his eyes, then turned and left the room. She trotted off and quickly located Luna, who agreed to take Diana back to Forin while Seria sought out Luen. When Seria asked the snow leopard where Luen was, Lune replied that he had disappeared after they had gotten him out of his cell. She didn't seem very willing to talk much about what had gone on inside the cell, but she was willing to take Diana back to her summon. She and Seria parted ways, then Luna led Diana back to the room the Tartaran was in. "Remember," the leopard said. "Seria said Forin shouldn't move much, so be careful. Make certain that you don't touch his cut." The snow leopard opened the door and carefully led Diana inside, letting go of the girl's hand and resting her own hand on her shoulder.

Diana moved forward cautiously, putting her hand in Forin's. "Are you better now?" She asked, running her petit fingers through his bangs. "You need a haircut soon," She commented lightly, giggling. Forin smiled weakly, managing a small nod.

"I'll be better soon." He said quietly, then frowned up at Luna. "Where's Luen? I want to see him..."

"Seria should be locating him," the leopard said. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be back soon, with the wolfling in tow."

Seria, however, was having a hard time finding him.

She searched all through the glorious white city, only to come up empty handed. It seemed that Luen had either vanished or left Amnairus completely. Finally, after asking around for a while, she found him.

He was sitting on a bluff outside of the city, in human form, watching the sky. As Seria approached, she heard him sigh deeply and murmur something quietly.

"Luen?" the half-cat said softly as she walked towards him. "Hey. Are you okay?"

No answer.

Seria frowned slightly, then said "Forin wants to see you. He just had surgery to remove an explosive device from his heart and have some organs repaired. He...really wants to see you. Do you want to go?"

Luen didn't say anything, slowly raising a hand to rub his ear. The cuff and chain around his wrist clanked and clicked as he moved. He hadn't been able to get them off himself and he hadn't gone to anyone to get them removed. He still had them around his wrists and neck. "I...don't know," he finally murmured. "I...I want to go. I do. But...I'm...scared."

Seria blinked, then said "He really wants to see you, Luen."

The wolfling sighed, then said "I know..."

Seria looked down, then said "Well...if you chance your mind...you know where to go." Then she turned and walked away, heading back to Forin's room, leaving Luen there.

Alone.

Forin was quiet while Diana talked to him, until Seria came back. Alone. Forin stared at her for a long moment before promptly smashing through the window and jumping down to the ground below. He managed to climb to his feet, leaning heavily against buildings as he staggered along. He made it almost halfway before sinking to his knees, noting that the cut on his chest was bleeding again. He ignored it though, opting to crawl on his hands and knees instead.

"You idiot!" Seria shouted, rushing to the window after him. "What's wrong with you?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!" She rolled her eyes and leapt out the window, landing easily on the ground and catching up to the Tartaran quickly. "You are asking for it, mister," she snapped. "If you think you're going to run off like this, you've got another thing coming! You pull one more stunt like this and I'll knock you out! With a bat, if I have to!" She was furious with him, for good reason. As a healer, she knew what was right or wrong for a patient to do, and what Forin was doing was clearly wrong. She swept him up into her arms, grunting softly under his weight, then marched back into the house, still scolding him angrily.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Forin screeched at her, struggling against her grip. "Take me to Luen, now! I'll drop out of a million windows, I'll crawl a million miles if you won't take me! Or so help me, I'll tear our your free will and MAKE you take me!" He started thrashing the second he was set on the bed again. He tried to stand again, if only just to spite Seria. "I don't care about what you want me to do, I need to see Luen! I need to! I--"

"Zelepharisu!" Diana wailed. Forin collapsed the instant the word came out of her mouth, his eyes closing and his breathing becoming almost unnoticeable. He looked dead. Diana sniffled, wiping her eyes with trembling hands. "You should listen to Seria. She knows what's best." She said ever so quietly, her eyes locked on the blood spilling from Forin's chest.

Seria sighed deeply, then said "If I force Luen to come when he doesn't want to, it won't have the same reaction if he comes willingly." She moved forward and touched Forin's chest lightly, closing the wound back up so it would stop bleeding and continue to heal. Luna stood up moments later and said "I think I shall take my leave now. There's no reason for me to be here any longer." She turned and moved over to the broken window, jumping out lightly and spreading her wings. She flew off, sailing high up into the air. Several minutes passed in quiet, unnerved silence.

That was when a delicate, timid knock came at the door.

Seria smiled slightly and looked up, then called softly "You can come in, Luen. You don't have to be scared."

Slowly, the door opened to emit an obviously frightened white wolfling, who carefully shuffled in and closed the door behind him. He slowly moved in and sat down on the other bed, resting his hands on his knees lightly, his eyes going everywhere except to Forin.

Seria decided to make her own exit at this point, knowing that her presence was no longer needed.

Diana didn't release Forin yet. She sat down on the bed, looking up at Luen. She inched towards him, slowly wrapping her arms around him. She pressed her thin body up against Luen, hugging him as tightly as she could. She didn't say anything, she just hugged him silently for a long while.

Luen quivered, the chains around his neck and wrists shifting ever so slightly. He lifted his hands and pressed them over his eyes, sobbing quietly. Finally, he carefully moved his pale hands and slid them around Diana, pulling her onto his lap and holding her close. A faint doggish whimpering sound rose up in his throat as he pressed his cheek to Diana's head, holding her close to his chest. "I'm scared of him..." he murmured, shuddering slightly. "I'm afraid of what he could say or do to me... But I had to come. I had to..." He trailed off, closing his deep emerald eyes.

"He didn't mean to be bad..." Diana whimpered as well. "I know he didn't. It's...it's my fault. I should have commanded him to stop...I'm so sorry. I let him hurt you." She sniffed, wrapping her arms around Luen's neck, ignoring the chains. She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll never let him again. Never. I'll make him be silent around you, if that's what it takes. Just...p-please don't be mad at me..." She shivered at the thought, not letting go of Luen.

"Oh, Diana..." he said softly, hugging her closer. "I could never be mad at you..." He froze slightly when she kissed his cheek, but other than that, he did nothing. He sighed deeply, then said "No. No, don't keep him silent." In his mind, he thought "Seria said he had the explosive device in his chest removed. Does that mean...he...could...?" He let his thoughts trail off and blinked wearily, then murmured "Just let him be... Please. Keeping locks on him will...will hurt me too..." He forced away his fear and sat up slightly, then murmured "Let him go. I...I want to talk to him."

Diana hesitated, then nodded. She pulled away from Luen, stepping delicately over to Forin and saying ever so quietly, "Release."

Forin woke up instantly, though the mind-numbing effects were still there. It took him several long moments for him to realize what all had happened. When he finally did realize it, he settled his eyes on Luen, making no attempt to hide his sadness. "Whatever I did...I don't know what it was, but...I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I was too weak to stop myself..."