The Forgotten Zodiac

Nate stood once he was free, bowing low. "Yes, your majesty..." He then he turned on heel and followed Tasia out of the throne room, keeping his head low. Luso followed him as well. Once the doors were closed, Nate glanced up at Luso. "Keep...keep him safe," He murmured, moving off again. He knocked on the door to Seria's room, watching as flakes of dried blood fell away from his hands with every movement.

Nate sank to his knees in front of the door, leaning his head against it and knocking slowly until Seria opened the door.

Seria came to the door shortly, finishing a last twist in binding her hair into a ponytail. "Yes?" she asked, then saw Nate and gasped. "Nate?! W-what happened?" she asked, quickly bending down and helping him up, taking him into her room. She led him over to a chair so he would be more comfortable, placing a blanket over the back of the chair before he sat down so it would be softer on his back. She trotted around the room without hesitation, grabbing her bag and a wet rag before returning to Nate's side. She carefully cleaned the blood from his hands, then brushed his hair back and asked "What happened, Nate?" in a no-nonsense voice. Her other hand moved around to administer a healing spell to his spine, helping to ward off his pain.

Nate took in a breath and explained his story again. Forin waited by the door; he didn't dare get any further from the still-sleeping Diana, but he needed to know what was going on. By the time he finished, Nate was having serious issues in keeping his tears from falling. He explained that Tasia was now gone, and they had to leave the palace to find her, and Asmodius had ordered that he leave. This basically meant the end of pretty much everything Nate had ever known as a younger man; he knew the castle like the back of his hand, even the parts that were new or being rebuilt. And now he was to leave it as though it were fruit peels on the side of the road?

Seria listened to the poor dragonian as he spoke, her gaze shocked and deeply concerned. "Nate..." she murmured, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck in a hug. "I'm so sorry..." She gently traced small circles with one claw over his back, weaving a small runic design that released a soothing wave of calming hormones into Nate's bloodstream. "Calm down," she said, pulling back and moving her free hand up to rest against his cheek. "It was an accident, Nate. Yes, she's dead, but it was Cern's fault, not yours. I know you're upset right now, but you have to think logically. If Cern hadn't moved, Holly might've been okay. Besides, Cern was probably going to kill her anyways, if he had the nerve to break into her room at night. He just set it up in a way to frame you and get the blame away from himself. This is not your fault, Nate. Let King Asmodius have his time to mourn. He needs it. Let him be."

Nate closed his eyes, leaning into Seria's hug. "I was a fool and once again, someone else paid the price for my actions...will that never stop?" He shuddered, not bringing himself to look up at Seria. "I don't want to hear what could have happened, it did happen. It's already happened, and it's my fault for not reacting on time..."

Forin moved away from the doorway. He passed by again shortly after, Diana trotting along happily behind him,

Seria moved her hand down to his chin and forced his head up. "Nate, you look at me," she said sternly. "If I can agree to marry a person like Cynyr, who's seen terrible things and killed many people before, then I can choose to be friends with you. Now you respect me like I respect you and look at me. Because there is nothing you could ever do to make me lose the trust I hold in you. Don't shut out the love I hold for you, because if you push away everyone that's willing to look past the bad things you've done, you will end up with no one in your life. Cynyr tried to push me away and it worked for a long time. We never would've been together if he hadn't finally stopped shutting me out." She brushed his black hair out of his eyes, staring at him with compassion in her soft blue eyes.

Nate hesitated for a long while before looking up at Seria. His eyes filled with tears and he leaned forward, dropping his head on her shoulder. "I told Tasia I didn't love her, basically...I was afraid I would hurt her like I've hurt all the others...we have to find her, Seria, something could happen...and then I'll have even less to live for..."

Seria cradled him against her, rocking him back and forth gently. "We will," she said, stroking the back of his head as she rested her head against his. "She'll be okay, just like you. Shhh..." She held him for a long time, then pulled back and said "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but we need your help here. Cern is going to try and kill Asmodius, using Luen. This might be our only chance to finally save Luen from that insane Tartaran's clutches. Plus, if Luen kills Asmodius, then this kingdom will crumble away like dust in the wind and affect many people. We can't help Luen alone, Nate. We need your help. ...No. Luen needs your help."

Nate slowly nodded. "I know...I know...but we can't stay here, I was fired..." He wiped his eyes. "And we'll be doing this without the command of the guards. In fact, if the wait gets to be longer than a day, the guards might become obstructions...why did you leave Werr behind, again? This would be an ideal time to have him..."

Actually, Werr wouldn't be able to do much to help right now. It was early; Cynyr was still asleep, surprisingly. Werr had taken off the half-cat's mask, looking closely at the burns and cuts. It was exactly as the book described, he was definitely fascinated by how...real the book seemed.

He still had the mentality of a five year old or so, but he seemed to be beginning to make crucial connections. It was nowhere near a total memory recall, but at least he wasn't flinching back as he examined Cynyr's burnt and scarred face.

Cynyr slowly roused from his sleep, having been exhausted from the tiring day he had yesterday. He blinked open his eyes, his empty socket looming, then flicked his single eye up to Werr's face. It took him a moment to remember what had happened to the boy, and when he did, he heaved a deep sigh. After an equally long moment, he realized that the boy was holding his mask in his hands. The panther quickly sat up and snatched it out of Werr's grasp, growling as he put it back on his face. "There are only three people in this world I'll let come close to my face," he snapped. "And what's sad is you used to be one of them. Not anymore, though, and I don't know if that'll ever be normal again..." He clamped a hand over the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply, then said "Are...you okay? Do you...need anything?" He had to remind himself that this was still Werr and that the boy's consciousness was just locked away somewhere inside, where they couldn't reach. Cynyr slowly reached out a hand to pat Werr on the shoulder and hesitated, his hand hovering over the boy's shoulder. Slowly, he forced himself to complete the movement, gently rubbing the boy's shoulder and back. "This is why I don't get attached to people," he thought. "It just ends up causing pain. Maybe I should start distancing myself from him again..."

Werr shrugged, allowing Cynyr's back rubbing. "I'm okay," He nodded. "I'm...I'm sorry for freaking out before, when I saw your face.for the first time...I shouldn't have. Anyways, what's for breakfast? I'm starving!" He grinned, climbing out of bed. He didn't notice it, but a tear slid out from his right eye.

Perhaps it was the locked-up Werr, upset over the mind he could not reclaim. Or perhaps he just have something in his eye.

Cynyr just sat there for a moment longer, staring at the boy, then slowly forced himself out of the bed. "I...don't know," he said, walking over and standing next to the boy with his arms folded over his chest. His eye, which had once held compassion and love for the human, now held a distant, aloof air. Much like when Werr had first met him. "Come on. I'll take you to the kitchen and you can get something," the panther said, heading towards the door with his arms still crossed. His long black tail swayed with the movement, flicking once as he opened the door.

"Okay!" Werr grabbed his journal and smiled, watching Cynyr's tail with curiosity as they walked. Without warning, he reached out and grabbed the flicking furry tail. "How are you a half-cat?" He questioned, giving it a small yank to see if it might come off. "Do you have a magical artifact, or did you drink a potion to be like this?" He smiled, reaching up to feel Cynyr's ears.

Cynyr screeched immediately and whipped around, yanking his tail away from the boy and flattening his ears against his head so hard that they seemed to disappear into his hair. "Don't do that!" he shouted, bearing his teeth in a snarl. "A half-cat is a species, like humans. Don't pull on my tail again, do you hear me?" His single pupil had thinned down to a narrow slit, but he slowly seemed to realize his mistake and it returned to a wider degree with a single blink. He looked down, flicking his tail around behind him, then said "...Sorry."

Werr had fallen backwards at Cynyr's shouting, covering his head with his arms as though he expected to be hit. He sat there for a moment, then peeked up at Cynyr nervously. "I'm sorry..." He murmured, picking up his book again and holding it close to his chest, not looking up at Cynyr as he slowly stood. "I won't do it again..."

Cynyr sighed, then looked over at the boy and found that he could only sigh further. "Well...come on," he said, taking the boy's hand and leading him out of the room. "Might as well get some breakfast inside you before you pass out or something. Besides, I have some...business, to deal with." He walked with the boy down to the kitchen, where he guided him over to the table and made him sit down. "You stay here and eat. I'll be back very soon for you. Okay? Don't get up and leave. You stay in your chair," he said, motioning at a maid to get the boy some food.

"Oh...okay," Werr nodded solemnly, keeping his eyes on the table as a food tray was quickly put together and set down in front of him. He seemed to brighten up as his eyes fell upon the stack of pancakes that had been prepared for him. He quickly started eating, setting his book down next to him so it wouldn't get messy. "I love pancakes! Thank you!" Werr called to the maid who had served him. She bowed quickly, scurrying off to sweep a floor somewhere.

Cynyr snorted, then turned and stalked off down the halls, heading to the infirmary. Once he got there, his gaze went right to the being still laying on one of the medical beds.

Obelisk.

The wind mage growled and moved over, grabbing the creature by one long arm and hauling him upright. "Wake up," he snapped, flicking his tail. "I have questions for you and I intend on getting answers."

Obelisk sat up slowly, twisting his body one way until several painful-sounding pops were heard. He sat up fully after that, his covered face turned down at where Cynyr was seated. "I have little to hide at this point. Ask away." He tilted his head a little one way, prepared for Cynyr's questioning.

"How much do you know about the person who 'controlled' you?" the mage asked immedaitely. "I still find it hard to believe a single letter of any word coming out of your mouth, so I suggest you start talking. Do you know anything about the person? Looks, voice, powers, species? Anything." He leaned against a wall, clearly taking note of all exits and items he could potentially use against the dark lord.