The Forgotten Zodiac

((Yaay?))

Diana sniffed again, staying close to Luen. At least she wasn't under the bed anymore. "Well," Nate sighed through his nose. "Diana, dear, I'll just guess that yes, you do want to be the flower . I think Forin can walk with you down the aisle, so..."

"Okay..." Diana murmured.

"Perfect." Nate nodded with a sympathetic smile, looking over at Naminai. "Sorry about her. She's a bit of a handful sometimes, to be honest...but she's a cute regardless."

Zephyr wiggled out from under the bed just in time to see Namanai flick Nate's forehead. "If you think THAT'S a bit a of handful, then you better not be expecting kids anytime soon. She's as innocent and well-mannered as any child I've ever seen." The forest-green dragon frowned at her, then purred as Firestorm nuzzled him. Zephyr licked the younger dragon's snout, then said "Oh Nate, did I entroduce you to Firestorm? I don't believe I did." He pushed Firestorm forward, who nipped at him, then eyed Nate. "A dragonian?" he said, growling darkly. Zephyr knocked his head into the red dragon's, saying "Don't you dare growl at him, little brother."

((I'll take that as yes, 'tis a yay.))

Nate folded his wings tightly behind his back as the new dragon was introduced. "Greetings. My name is Nate Furhblast. And yes, I am indeed a Dragonian. Think nothing of it, though; I'm a peaceful being. I mean no harm to those who mean no harm to me. And my friends." He looked at all of them, then nodded a bit. "Well, you all seem to be doing well. I'm going to go check on Werr and his knights, as well as invite them to the wedding." He took off after that, smiling happily again.

Werr and one of his knights were still in the guesthouse, while the other knight remained in the jail. Cynyr's tail was still held tightly in Werr's hands, both asleep. Cynyr was still sitting on the edge of the bed, one leg bent up so he could lean on it. He was sleeping lightly; he hadn't sleep deeply for years, unless it was unconsciousness. He sighed and a small burst of wind escaped his mouth, ruffling Werr's black hair gently.

Werr jerked awake when the door opened, blinking groggily at Nate. "Hey," The Dragonian said, stepping into the room. "Jeez, what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost or something..."

Werr just moaned and rolled over, rubbing his chest. It had hurt the most. He was healed now, sure, but he couldn't get the image of Wulf out of his head. The image of Wulf smashing him into the ground repeatedly until things went black. Werr didn't respond when Nate walked forward and pulled the blankets over him.

"Alright, stay in bed. That's fine," Nate nodded, understanding that something had indeed happened.

He did notice, even, Welk's absence.

Cynyr was awake in seconds and half-glaring at Nate, flicking his tail agitatedly. He curled it around Werr's shoulder, moving a heavily scarred hand out to pat his head comfortingly. He looked up at Nate through the single eyehole of his mask, his ears tilted back. "What do you want?" he asked, frowning all the more. If Nate had only come to chat...

Cynyr's glare worsened a bit more.

((Will Nate go talk to Welk after this or not?))

((Probably, if you want him to. If not, he won't.))

"Er...I was just wondering how you were doing. I haven't been around for a day or so, I've been spending time with Taisa. So I don't know what you all have been doing, but..." Nate blinked, noting the glare. "It looks like you lot got attacked or something. Where's Welk?" He questioned, looking around curiously.

Werr lost it at that point. He came close to screaming in rage, throwing his pillow in Nate's face. "Werr, what the--" Nate recoiled, backing up. "Ahh!" He yelped as Werr threw his shoes at the Dragonian. Nate backed up and slammed the door, flinching as another shoe hit the door. "Okay, I get it. Sorry." He said quickly, staring at the door in confusion.

Werr buried his face in the blankets, trembling a little bit.

((Gogogogoggo.))

Cynyr wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him close, then called "If you want to know, go down to the jail. That's...where he is." He nuzzled Werr's head gently, stroking down his arm comfortingly with his rough hand. "Shh, everything will be okay," he said, curling his tail around to brush against the boy's face.

Werr sighed heavily, nodding a bit. "I...should apologize to Nate..." He turned and pressed his nose into Cynyr's fur, almost crying. He stifled it, knowing that he had already cried enough for one day.

Nate frowned and headed up to the castle and down to the jail. He found Welk, brows furrowed as he heard Toro rambling to himself about something or other. "Welk?" He said quietly, looking into the gloomy cell.

The half-cat slowly lifted his head and managed to focus on the dragonian. He looked terrible, like he hadn't slept since he had been put into the cell. His movements were creaky and stiff from being locked up with the chains, which allowed for limited movement. When he saw Nate, he nearly started crying and tried to go forward to him. He pushed himself up and took a few quick, trembling steps before the chains stopped him. They pulled tight in mere seconds, choking him and causing him to stumble back, coughing hard and rubbing as much of his throat as he could around the chain. He looked up at Nate through weary, broken eyes, eyes that bordered on complete and utter shut-down. He wanted to lock himself away in his mind, where he would't have to be in pain anymore. His eyes begged Nate to do something, say anything.

They begged him not to leave.

"Welk, are you alright?" Nate frowned, sitting down and pressing himself as close to the bars as possible.

"He's going crazy." Toro chortled. "He likes people. There's no one here but me, and I'm not his friend. You are though, apparently. He wants you to stay or something." The Rabbitzen rolled around on the floor of his cage. Nate blinked at him, then shook his head. "Come on then, talk to him!" Toro stopped rolling and giggled, looking up at Nate.

"Welk, I don't know what all happened, but...Werr got hurt somehow. I'm not sure what happens, but he threw his shoes at me. That probably means something is seriously wrong."

Welk listened silently, then started crying when he heard about Werr. He sobbed so quietly and in such a tormented way. He tried again to come forward to Nate, but the chains were unmoving. They held him fast, a few feet away from the bars. He had already tried melting the metal, but they had fireproof spells cast over them. The Mark on his shoulder throbbed for a moment, glowing a hot red color that made Welk whimper, then dulled back to dark red. Welk sobbed quietly for a moment more, then suddenly raised a hand and threw it as hard as he could against the chain on his wrist. He strained to push it further, to reach Nate through the bars. But of course, he couldn't do it and was forced to stop trying, panting.

Nate frowned, then promptly stood and jammed his sword into the lock on the door, trying to break it open. No such luck. He slashed at the bars, only to watch as the metal melded itself together again after it was cut. Most odd, indeed. "Well," He sighed heavily, sheathing his sword again. "I don't think I can reach you..."

"No one can. That's probably part of why Werr threw a shoe at you. He's going a little bonkers because his best friend is in jail." Toro chortled, rolloing around some more.

Welk sighed hard, then looked up and said "W-well...thanks for c-coming anyw-ways...Nate..." He shifted away, his hacked-up tail dragging behind him. He curled back into his corner, then managed a pathetic, weak smile. "Y-you...have wings now...Natey," he said, closing his eyes. "That's nice. G-glad you got those b-back." He smiled for a moment longer, then sighed and felt his smile fade away.

"Yes, I do." Nate smiled in return, keeping his firmly on his face. "The healers here repaired my back, and they repaired my wings and tail. I didn't even ask for it, but I wouldn't have it any other way." He looked back at them, then sighed. "Welk...I'm going to try and figure out what's going on, okay? I'll help however I can. This is a bit upsetting to tell you, but...I'm getting married to Tasia tomorrow. I had hoped that you would attend the wedding, but...would you like me to bring you some cake tomorrow?"

Welk nodded slowly, then sobbed once and said "I w-wish I could be t-there for you, Froggy. I'm s-sorry…" He wrapped his arms around himself, shaking, then said "I…hope y-you and Tasia have a g-good time tomorrow. I...I'm sorry..." He turned away, not wanting to face the noble dragonian in this pitiful state anymore. "It's disrespectful," Welk decided. "To Nate...to Cynyr...Werr...all of them. I'm a mess and...I can't stop it." He sniffled and breathed a short breath of flames over his hands, trying to warm up a little. It was so cold here, against these unfeeling stones...

"I don't blame you at all, Welk." Nate shook his head. He stood again, nodding. "Get some rest, Welk. It looks like you really need it."

"A wedding, you said?" Toro stopped rolling again, apparently thinking hard. Weddings had crowds, and crowds needed entertained. "Sounds like fun, can I come?"

"Absolutely not. I don't know who you are, but her majesty Galai wouldn't put anyone in a cell without reason. Least of all you, Welk..." Nate said, thinking. There had to be a reason. And it had to be a very good reason, at that. "Well...I'm off. I'll tell Werr to come visit you, you look like you could use his company for a bit."

Welk nearly burst into tears again upon hearing Werr's name, but he held it back. He nodded once at Nate, then tucked himself back down into his protective ball. Here, everyone was safe from him. He was tucked away where he couldn't hurt anyone, where Malice couldn't make him hurt the people he loved. It hurt him, however, to think of the things he was missing. Nate's wedding. Nate was getting married to Tasia and Welk wouldn't be able to go and watch. He looked down at his chains through a gap in his arms, then a thought hit him. He said nothing to Nate, gave no sign of the dark thought that had just crossed his young mind.

Nate smiled once more at Welk before taking off again, up through the dungeons and out into open air again. He sighed, growing weary of the back-and-forth between the castle and guest house. He hovered at the window of Werr and Cynyr's room, knocking on the glass and peering into the room. He didn't want much; just to tell Werr that he should go visit Welk. Yet Werr still didn't seem too happy; another pillow was thrown, hitting the window with a noticeable 'whump'.

The window opened to reveal a slightly ticked-off panther mage, who glared at Nate for a moment before asking "Now what?" He turned and walked back to Werr, sitting on the edge of the bed and curling his long tail around where the boy could hold it. He glanced back to Nate, then looked down to Werr and bent close to his ear, saying softly, "You said you were going to apologize, not throw more things at him." He ruffled Werr's hair lightly, then settled into a gentle stroking motion, brushing his claws through the boy's black hair.