The Forgotten Zodiac

Luen flicked his delicate ears, listening softly, then said "Oh...nothing you need to be concerned with, Nate." He nuzzled the dragonian again, then sighed deeply and said "I missed you while I was gone, Nate..." Tears budded in his large, almond-shaped eyes. He brushed his soft black nose against the dragonian's cheek, stiffling a small sob. "I missed you all..."

"I know," Nate said, hugging Luen as tightly as he could. "I missed you too. And Forin spent two years searching for you, you know. Cern was always a step ahead though, I imagine..." He said gently, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. You're here now, with us. That's all that I care about." He looked up as the castle came into view. "And look, we'll see Galai again, too."

The kirin nodded, then slowly difted back off into unconsciousness.

The castle was a shimmering and shinning as ever. "Hey!" a familiar voice suddenly called out, and a shape darted down from the sky. "It's you all!"

Luna landed delicately on her paws, smiling at them. "Hello!" she said, closing her wings against her back. "It is good to see you once again. All of you. Some less than others..." She threw Forin an obviously playful glance. "...but good nonetheless."

Forin frowned. "Nice to see you, too. We're in need of some assistance, as I'm sure you can tell. Several of us are injured beyond the healing capabilities of Seria, and others require a lot of rest."

"And a dark room," Obelisk growled unhappily, not paying attention enough to realize that he was getting a lot of looks from the Amnarians. Most of them were awful looks, but a few were only interested in the conflict of magics that was happening around the elongated human.

Luna grew serious and said "Alright then. I'll inform her majesty of your arrival and send someone to show you to your rooms." She turned and flew off, flying rapidly.

Luen watched her go, then slowly struggled to stand up. Zephyr lowered his hands and let the kirin off, watching as he slowly stood tall and managed to walk without falling over. He stumbled once or twice, obviously not used to his new body, but he managed to keep his noble head up and walk evenly enough.

Needless to say, he caught the attention of several Amnairians.

Obelisk slid off of Zephyr, setting Ophile down gently. The wolf laid there, unmoving. "Oh," Obelisk turned the wolf over, inspecting the wound. "It seems this is worse than I thought..." He turned his head up at those on Zephyr's back, frowning still, ignoring the magic around him. "Seria, yes? I do not think he will survive until the healers here can lay hands on him..."

Seria slid off at once, having not known the wolf was there until Obelisk had mentioned it. She ran over and gently slid her hands through his fur, closing up the wound with her magic. It took about a minute, but it closed up completely. "Poor thing," she murmured, stroking his head. She scratched his ears with her clawed fingers, then stood up and guided Obelisk to pick him back up.

Luen stuck close to Zephyr, swaying unsteadily on his feet but still trying hard to walk alone.

Forin got Diana settled onto his back and he jumped off of Zephyr's back, walking next to Luen. He didn't try to help, knowing that the Kirin needed to be able to walk on his own, but Forin allowed his presence to be a comfort.

He still hid behind Luen when they entered the castle, though. He wasn't afraid of Galai, but the castle was as shining as ever, which was a little painful. Obelisk's magics crackled all the more, even, though he was apparently growing annoyed from it.

Slowly, as they walked, the lights dulled significantly, signalling that Galai was aware of their approach. When they got to the throne room, the queen was waiting, just as stunningly beautiful as ever. She smiled at their approach, blinking her pupil-less white eyes softly. "Greetings," she said, her voice smooth and elegant. "I see many familiar faces here, though some do not look as they did once before."

"Queen Galai," Werr said, dipping his head. He ignored the pain in his chest, waiting for an opportunity to get Seria without interrupting or himself. "It's very good to see you again," He smiled happily. "I'm afraid we didn't come for a pleasant visit, though, unfortunately. I have a few questions for you, and my friends need to rest here for a little while. I apologize for intruding and coming without notice, but it's kind of important..."

The queen smiled and said "Pay it no heed. I am always willing to help someone in need, and you clearly are in need." She waved a hand off, summoning her guard, then said "Go and find Airlia. Have her led her friends to where they should stay. I'm sure she, and they, will enjoy seeing each other again."

Cynyr's ears perked up at Airlia's name, but other than that, he did nothing.

Werr smiled and nodded, settling back down next to Welk. Airlia came a few minutes later; a large white dove, as tall as an average human, landed nearby. In a second, Airlia was standing in its place, shaking off a couple loose feathers from her wings. She smiled widely at the group, walking forward. "Cynyr...Werr, Welk, everyone, it's so good to see you again!" She said, overjoyed. She kept her eyes away from Obelisk, wanting to enjoy her friends' presence.

Cynyr smiled slightly when he saw her, flicking his broken tail lopsidedly. Seria was working carefully on his broken bones, trying her best to fix him up. Once she was done and the panther could once again walk, he stood up and moved over to Airlia. He put a hand on her head and ruffled her blonde hair, saying "So you found your true form. It suits you." His smile was genuine, though guarded as always.

Airlia smiled brightly. "It's not very strong when I have to fight something, but I've been practicing. And my powers are a lot more than they were before! I can give you energy without you having to use it," She took his hand, pushing a small amount of energy into Cynyr gently. It wasn't much, but it showed how much her powers had advanced.

"Here, let me show you all back to the guest houses. Werr, you should probably let the guards take Welk to the healing springs." She said, smiling still. "He seems to be in pain..."

"Y-yeah..." Werr nodded a little, wondering if the healing springs would actually do anything. He pressed his forehead to Welk's before pulling back. He didn't really have much of a choice; he let the guards take Welk from him, though he made them promise that Welk would be taken well care of and brought right back to him as soon as the half-cat was done soaking.

Welk was completely limp in the guards arms, still just blinking slowly and rambling inchoherently about things they didn't understand. Cynyr watched after him sadly, but he trusted the guards to take care of him. He turned to the others and said "Let's go."

Luen collapsed, his long legs folding under him. He sank down onto his side, panting from exhaustion, then wearily took human form. That was the last straw, as it turned out, and he passed out completely moments later.

Forin let out a heavy sigh, kneeling and picking up his now-Kirin friend. He walked after the others, straining under the weight of Luen and Diana combined, but he didn't care put either of them down. He carried them dutifully to the guest house, where he was able to put them down gently in separate beds. Diana curled up there for a nap, falling asleep quickly. Forin remained awake, sitting in the open doorway. That way he could watch the hallway and the window at the same time.

Obelisk retreated into the first bedroom he saw. He shut the door, and darkness immediately began seeping from the crack under the door, crackling with the light still.

Luen woke up a few moments after Forin set him down, slowly sitting up. He shook his white-haired head slowly, then carefully stood up and wandered over to the Tartaran. He put a hand on Forin's shoulder as he walked over, giving him a small smile. He sat down next to him, leaning against the Tartaran, back-to-back. "Hi, Forin..." he murmured, closing his emerald eyes.

"You should rest, Luen..." Forin said quietly, leaning his head back against the back of Luen's neck. "I tried to save you..." He said quietly, letting out a heavy sigh. "Cern...he knows what people are thinking. Not literally, he's just...that good at reading people. He knows me, too...it's like he can predict my every move. So he was always two steps ahead...I couldn't catch up before this happened. I'm so sorry, Luen, and I have to ask...

"Do you hate me because of that? I...wouldn't blame you..."

Luen laughed quietly, his unique little chuckle that ended in an almost-hiccup. "I would never hate you, Forin," he said, tilting his head enough to the side to nuzzle the back of the Tartaran's head. "You're one of my closest, best friend. I can't hate you. I once said that you could kill everyone in this world and bring me to the point of death, yet I still wouldn't hate you. And I don't hate you." He flicked his fluffy little deer tail several times, then turned to the side so he could loop an arm around the Tartaran's shoulders.

Forin snorted, turning into Luen's arm so that he could be closer. Almost hugging, though not quite. "Thank you," He said quietly. "I'm sorry I had to ask that, I just...I was afraid that..." He trailed off, putting his forehead on Luen's shoulder. He looked up a few minutes later as Diana cried out in her sleep. He sighed, standing up and moving over to her, extracting yet another nightmare. She calmed down immediately, slipping back into deep sleep. "She still has these. Almost every night," He said quietly, moving back and popping it in his mouth, cracking it between his teeth and moving back into Luen's arms. "We have to save her from them...make more memories to overwrite the bad ones...like you said."