The Forgotten Zodiac

Seria blinked as Nate spoke to her, flicking her ears up to catch his words. Her mouth opened slightly, shocked, then she looked at Werr up ahead of her. He seemed perfectly fine and in order. He seemed like...well, Werr. How could this be a clone? Was Welk wrong? It was a possiblity. Seria knew he was stressed out and wearing down as time passed, so it was possible that he was just making an assumption. Still...she knew Welk. He was overly excitable and happy, but when he was serious, he meant everything he said. And this sounded serious.

"Don't do anything or say anything until we know for sure," Seria said, glancing back at Nate. "We don't want to be hasty."

"I know," Nate nodded. "I don't have any proof, but Welk knows Werr best...the most we can do is keep an eye on him. If he causes any trouble, I'll incapacitate him." He said with a short nod. "Let's just go. It's getting to be dawn, though...I would suggest that we stop and rest, but at this point, we should just keep moving." He looked up at the sky; the dark clouds around the castle were finally disappearing, showing the pink hue that was creeping through the black of night.

Vaira picked up Boko in her mouth and tucked him down into her pouch, then took off and circled overhead. Once everyone was on, Zephyr followed, lunging up into the air and leaving the crumbled remains of Storaph Castle behind.

*

Cynyr sneezed, lifting his head and shaking his reptilian skull back and forth to get the dust away from his nose.

He and Werr were still in the castle library, as they had been for awhile. It had been perfectly peaceful and quiet here, quite soothing to them both. The living shadow had warded off advisor and servant alike with barely a look; he was a foreboding sight without looking at them, anyways. He sneezed again, flicking his tail, then stood up and moved over to a shelf nearby. He stared at the books, then looked down at his long-fingered, thick-clawed hands. He slowly lifted one and picked up a book, then tried to open it and turn a page. The result was the page being ripped out of the book and stuck on his claws. He hissed and dropped the book, ripping the pages off of his claws. He turned away from the discarded book and flopped back down near Werr, sighing at his lost abilities.

Werr had fallen asleep in his chair, looking wearier than ever, even as he slept. He stirred at the ripping sounds, yawning as Cynyr laid down next to him. He blinked blearily at the window, realizing faintly that it was just reaching dawn. He closed his eyes again, swallowing dryly. He jerked awake a moment later though, remembering what all had happened. He looked around warily before relaxing again, though it was far from actually relaxing. He couldn't stop tears from welling up in his eyes when he thought about Welk and the others. Where could they be right now?

Werr sighed as there was a knock on the door. "Your majesty," Hurst called from outside. "Breakfast is prepared. Are you awake in there?"

"Yes," Werr moaned. "Have it brought to the throne room."

"You don't want to eat in the dining room?"

"I'd rather not risk having that massive chandelier fall on my head," Werr mumbled, closing the book that was open on his lap; he had fallen asleep shortly after reading about King Fuerger the fourth, who had died two days after his coronation. An assassin had cut the chains keeping the chandelier in the dining room up, crushing the king. He had survived the initial incident, but they couldn't get him out in time. The chandelier had since been repaired, but Werr didn't want to go anywhere near that place now.

Cynyr curled his lips back into a snarl when he heard Hurst's voice, then snorted when he left. He turned his head up to Werr and crooned softly, moved his head up to nuzzle Werr's hand. He then stood up, rolling his huge shoulders and tilting his head on one side to pop a kink out of his neck. He looked down at Werr with a questioning look on his face, then bent forward and carefully sniffed the boy's neck, where the bandages were. He breathed in and out slowly, taking in the scents clinging to the bandages, then let out a long, low, dangerous hiss. His pupil-less eye narrowed, his tail held straight behind him in a sign of aggression. He didn't do anything to Werr, just pulled back after a moment, now seemingly in a bad mood.

Werr tensed, closing his eyes. "I can't do anything..." He shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself. "I can't say a-anything, or..." He rubbed his wrists, gritting his teeth as he stood. "Just...please, Cynyr. Don't leave me. I...I need you..." He looked down unhappily, shaking ever so slightly as he clenched his fists and moved towards the door.

Cynyr closed his eyes, moving his head back around to brush Werr's cheek. His skin was cool to the touch, though hard like armor. The lizard-thing lowered his head back down to Werr's neck, blowing warm puffs of air on his skin as he sniffed the bandages again. He looked down at Werr's wrists, then lowered his head to them and opened his mouth.

Carefully, he nipped at the bandages, snipping away at them with his sharp, serrated teeth. He answer to this was simple; "You're not hurt anymore, right? There's no reason for these things to be here." He didn't touch the needles, knowing that was too dangerous, but the bandages he could handle.

Werr nearly screamed, jerking his hand away from Cynyr and backing up. He tripped and fell backwards, letting out a cry of pain. He buried his face in his hands, while the cut bandages clung to Werr's skin still. He started sobbing once the pain subsided, shaking his head. "D-do-don't do th-that again..." He whimpered painfully, clearly just as pathetic as ever. For all the pain he had endured, his tolerance for it hadn't gotten any better.

Cynyr snarled and slammed his tail into the ground, snapping his jaws angrily. "Fine, then," the living shadow growled. "Keep them on. Just know that they're practically soaked in Obelisk's scent, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's doing something to you by them. But go ahead; keep them." He tossed his head back and forth, then moved over and grabbed the back of Werr's shirt, hauling the boy to his feet. He moved one hand around behind Werr and picked the boy up, holding him easily in his hand. He moved the boy up to his shoulders and lumbered towards the door, not saying anything. He pushed the doors open with his snout and headed towards the throne room, still silent.

Werr sat in silence, wiping his eyes. Cynyr didn't understand...he knew that Obelisk was doing something to him. He was being watched through them. Which was why Werr had cried out when Cynyr had cut them; Obelisk had taken notice, sending mental word to Nightlash to activate the needles. It had hurt, of course. It was nowhere near his fault, yet...Werr realized that Cynyr might be driven away by his actions and words. And yet, there was nothing he could do about it. He could only hold on while Cynyr took him to the throne room.

Werr sat on his throne, wiping his eyes a final time before the maid with the food tray moved forward, setting it gently in his lap and moving away. Werr looked glumly down at his delicious-looking meal of pancakes and eggs, still unhappy.

Cynyr watched Werr for a moment, thinking hard about the boy's actions since they had arrived at the castle. It had all started around the advisor meeting, which was the one moment Cynyr had been away from Werr's side. Which was obviously the moment when something happened.

The living shadow snarled, then turned and slammed his head against the wall with such force that his top skull plate cracked slightly, sending a light stream of black blood dripping down his face. That actually seemed to help him with some of his current anger. He sighed and looked back to Werr, understanding that the boy was upset. He leaned closer, opening his mouth again, but he didn't move for the bandages.

He licked Werr's arm between his wrist and his elbow, passing his tongue slowly over the lightly tanned skin. "...Sorry," he murmured, looking downcast at saying that word. But meaning it. "I didn't mean...to hurt you." He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "I just...don't know what to do anymore. I can't figure out what's wrong with you and you obviously can't tell me. I didn't mean to get mad, I just..." He clenched his hands into fists and snarled, then relaxed. "...I want to help and I know I can't," he finished, closing his eyes. He turned away from Werr, laying down near the throne with a depressed sigh. "...I need you too, you know," he murmured. "If something happened to you..."

He went silent, feeling ashamed of his previous outburst. He didn't know how to explain his fear to Werr of getting close to people and then losing them.

Werr looked sadly at his friend. "I always feel that way," He smiled a tiny bit. "You fight for me all the time...Welk nearly died fighting for me once. I wanted so desperately to help, and I still want to help...but I never can." He picked at his food, closing his eyes.

"There's the castle," Werr said from the sky above, pointing at the stone structure that represented the strength of Alastor. Hopefully, this one wouldn't be made rubble before they left...

((I already fixed these to their spots before and after the *.))

Cynyr lifted his head and watched Werr for a moment, then stood up and leaned over the boy in the throne, moving one arm around him in one of the most simple yet comforting gestures all of time; a hug. The living shadow hugged the boy close, nuzzling his black hair, then pulled back and rested his head on Werr's shoulder.

*

Welk glanced over Zephyr's body, peering down at the huge castle below. He flicked his ears back, frowning. He felt a strange senes of eagerness come over him when he looked at the castle, like he just wanted to run inside and...something. He didn't know what, but he felt both bad and good about coming here. For some reason.

Zephyr suddenly shifted and began the downwards descent, slowly flying down and coming to a halt near the castle, Vaira following him down. Zephyr shook his head at the guards, warning them away with a growl, then flinched when a shadow fell over him and Vaira.

Naybrin stuck his head up from behind the castle, curious as to what had made the guards start yelling.

"W-what the..." Nate's jaw dropped in shock. That dragon was just short of huge. Where the heck had it come from? Boko started squeaking once the scents reached his nose. He was far from knowledgeable here; Drakelings were difficult for real dragons to beat due to their superior speed and ability to claw through scales, but all of them were aware of who Naybrin was. Naybrin could eat up a Drakeling as though they were strands of spaghetti. Boko let out a cry, obviously afraid.

"Zephyr, who is that?" Werr questioned, frowning.

Zephyr's eyes grew wide, along with Vaira's, then both dragons practically threw themselves at the much, much bigger dragon as he walked around the castle and came to the front. "Naybrin!" they both called, making happy thrums in their throats. Naybrin was so tall that they both had to get up on their back legs to reach his mouth, which they did. Everyone on Zephyr's back had to hang on desperately to avoid falling off. Both younger dragons eagerly licked the bigger one's jaw, whining. Naybrin laughed and licked them back, passing his huge tongue over their foreheads. "Little ones! It's good to see you both again," he greeted, letting them go back down to all fours.

"We thought you had died, Alpha," Zephyr said, his voice incredulous. "In the Dragon War. You and all of the others."

"No, we are very much alive," the light blue dragon answered. "We life in a safe place now, where no humans can find us. Save for one, but I doubt he'll hurt us." He chuckled, then moved his head around and peered at the people on Zephyr's back. His eye was absolutely gigantic, at least five times bigger than Zephyr's. "Well now, it seems that you have some little humans of your own," he said, his huge slitted pupil roving around from person to person.

He paused on 'Werr', frowning.

Boko dared to peek out of Vaira's pouch, but he quickly ducked back in, squirming and fidgeting unhappily, fearfully.

Werr recoiled a bit, a small amount of fear crossing his face. "Z-Zephyr, maybe you should let us off," He stammered, shaking his head. "We need to get ready for Obelisk, he could already be here, for all we know."

Naybrin's great gaze followed the boy closely as Zephyr laid down and let them off, then he said something that froze them in their tracks. "I didn't know Werr had a twin. What is your name, little human?"

Welk's eyes widened, then he said "What...what did you say?"

Naybrin peered at him, then said "Don't you already know? I figured if one was with you, you would already know. Isn't this Werr's twin? He looks exactly like him. I should know; I brought Werr here on my own back."

Welk took lion form and leapt off of Zephyr's back, racing into the castle with all speed.

Naybrin blinked at his departure, then shrugged his thick shoulders.

"W-what? I don't have a twin..." Werr shook his head in confusion.

"That settles it, then. The Werr we have here is an imposter," Nate growled, standing confidently on Zephyr's back and drawing his sword, pointing it at Werr. The human recoiled, staring up the blade at Nate in bewilderment and fear.

*

"Good morning, your majesty," Nightlash approached from the other end of the throne room, Hurst and Blackwood escorting him on either side. "I thought you might like to go over what needs to be accomplished today, and--" He stopped short as Welk barreled past them. Guards came out of nowhere, crossing their blades in front of Welk and forcing him to stop.

"Halt, intruder!" They ordered, moving to stand in front of Werr. The king had dared to open his mouth to shout Welk's name in surprise and joy, but the needles had stopped him. He knew what Obelisk wanted, too, but the last thing he wanted was to make it happen. He couldn't let that happen. The pain started to increase the longer he fought it off, though...

((So we remember: LE SEQUEL. Obelisk isn't actually evil, just controlled by a fallen deity of some sort! We keep the two roleplays mysteriously unconnected and related to this one as little as possible, until BOOM! Obelisk appears, now unhindered by the seal Cici had died placing all those years ago. And somehow, MAGIC and TRICKERY and DECEPTION and LIES and AWESOMENESS all come together in a magical barrage of magical colors and it will be EPIC.

._. I am so tired...))

"Hey! Get away from me!" Welk shouted, snarling at the guards and swinging out a heavy paw. "What the heck?! Werr! Werr!" He reared back on his hind legs and clawed at the guards with both front paws, growling with a hint of fear in his voice.

Cynyr jerked his head up and glanced around in bewilderment, saying "Welk?"

The half-cat spotted his brother and shouted "Cynyr! You're here!" He yelped as a guard managed to throw a loop of chain around his neck, yanking back on it to prevent Welk from getting any closer to the throne. Welk threw all of his weight into pulling against the guard, fighting to reach his best friend and brother. "Let...go!" he shouted, lunging for the guard holding the chain.

Another chain flew out and encircled his neck from the other side, bringing him instantly to a halt.

He coughed at the pain, then snarled in a choked tone and dug his claws into the ground, refusing to be subdued by the guards. He threw his weight against the chains, pulling one guard off of his feet, then roared when yet another chain landed securely around his shoulders. He found himself suffocating instantly, unable to get in a single ounce of air. He fell to one front leg, still fighting to get back up, then yelped when a guard sliced their sword over his fur. It opened up a deep cut, which was followed by more when three more soldiers moved in. A moment later, he was knocked unconscious by a guard with the end of a lance.

The guards loosened the chains so they wouldn't kill him, but he was now injured and unconscious.

"L-lock him up..." Werr said at last, squeezing just above his wrists as though that might help the pain ebb. "A-as for the ones outside...d-don't attack them all at once. C-capture the healer first, then deploy the cannons t-to take care of the dragons." He choked around tears and gritted teeth. Only when the last word was out of his mouth did the pain begin to subside.

"You heard him," Nightlash snapped. Hurst and Blackwood moved off at once, while two of the guards started to drag Welk off to the dungeons.

If Werr's orders had been followed to the letter, Seria would have been kept safe from the cannon fire. For of course, if she was injured or killed, it would be disastrous for the others. But no, his 'soldiers' had ignored that part.

There were echoing, obvious booms as cannons were fired from the roof and towers, one after another. A total of twenty-four cannons, all firing metal orbs at velocities that were enough to decapitate a man's head if he got hit in the right place. Or, to be more specific, break several dragon bones with a single shot.