The Forgotten Zodiac

Sylas was out cold in a matter of minutes. The sun set and the moon rose high in the sky, then faded as the sun rose again; Sylas stirred as it was steadily rising; he stared up at the trees, feeling numb all over. He wasn't entirely certain if he could move. He flexed his uninjured hand and pushed himself upright with it, shivering a bit as he felt his damp clothes. A thick dew had settled on him when the sun had risen. He scooted a little closer to the dying fire, then looking up and around.

He let out a heavy sigh after he didn't see Leo. He couldn't blame the half-cat; Leo had said he would be leaving. He didn't even give Sylas a chance to say goodbye, though...the human boy had no choice but to let him go, though. But he also had nowhere to go. He was cold, beaten, hungry and alone. Not to mention he had lost half of his hearing, which meant that sounds would be impossible to locate the orgin of, and it would be harder to pick them up in the first place. He would die if he didn't find someplace where he could be taken care of, or someone to take care of him.

Whump!

With a lifeless thud, a freshly killed rabbit was flopped onto the ground in front of the boy.

Moments later, Leo stalked into the clearing, his long tail held up proudly and his eyes rather at-ease. "That's for you," he said. "I already ate, so ya don't gotta worry 'bout me." He picked up a log in his mouth, then moved it to the fire and put it on, stoking the flames higher and warmer. "Dunno if you noticed, but all your wounds have been takin' care of. Your ear, too. I couldn't get the inside damage, so it won't work quite right ever again, but the nail's out." He sat down not too far from Sylas, blinking at the boy while his soft, thick black fur blew in the breeze.

Sylas jumped when the rabbit landed in front of him, looking up at Leo. He felt his ear warily; indeed, the nail was gone, and the bleeding had been taken care of. Even his arm had been splinted. "Thanks," He looked up at the half-cat with a smile. "To be honest, I thought you had left already." He picked the rabbit up in his free hand, looking from it to the fire; he knew enough about survival to know how to cook food over a fire, but the flames were too low to cook even a mouse. "Hey, could you show me your powers again? The only mages I've seen are entertainers. The guards never trusted anyone they knew was a real mage, registered or not."

Leo looked pointedly at him, then said "You must think I'm stupid. If you just want me to heat up the fire..." He put a paw out, claws extended like warped fingers, and shot flames into the fire, sending it into a rousing blaze. "...you just have to say so," he finished, snatching the rabbit from the boy and proceeding to stick a stick through it and put it over the flames to cook. "You just rest," he said. "That drug I gave you last night numbed you completely and made you fall asleep. I could throw a rock at your head and you wouldn't feel it."

Sylas laughed a bit, then shook his head. "I wasn't sure if it would be exactly tactful to ask you directly. I'm used to manipulating people...when I was a young kid, I would talk the local candymaker into giving me a piece of candy. Every day for three years straight. He always said, 'you won't be getting any free ones tomorrow!' But he always gave it up in the end. I had a gift for that, my mom would say..." He stared into the fire, watching them flicker. He shook himself out of it when Leo started talking again. "I still feel a little numb," He chortled, then sounded serious. "Don't throw any rocks at my head though."

Leo snorted, then said "Sure. For now." He flicked his tail, then said "So where will you go now? Ya don't gotta home, your family is all dead, ya don't have any money, you're injured and in need of recovery, which means ya can't hunt for yourself or walk well, and ya have enemies that could potentially kill ya if ya don't get far enough away." He obviously was a blunt talker, because his words were delivered without tact or reserve.

"I...I don't know." Sylas said quietly. "I was thinking about that, before you returned. I have no idea..." He looked up at the sky, sighing again. "I guess...I could find a town, maybe see if I can't find a place that can use my skills. A mayor's secretary, maybe...I dunno." He scratched the back of his neck, looking up at Leo and back down to the fire.

((And Leo can briefly mention reading about Amnairus in a book, or something like that. xD))

Leo listening without moving, giving no outward sign that he even WAS listening. Once Sylas was finished talking, the half-cat decided to speak. "Or you could just go where ya want. That's what I do. Go from town to town, doing whatever odd jobs I come across to make the day's money or following a tip from someone to find where some fool hid his treasure. I take the treasure, of course, and then I'm set for however long that lasts. I even heard tell of a city made outta clouds and silver. Somethin' called Amnairus, I think. Some people call it the city of the Gods." He shook his head, then said "All kinds of places like that just waitin' for someone to find it."

Sylas blinked at him, then weighed his options mentally. He could continue to do lonely, boring work behind a desk or table, dealing with papercuts and late payments. Or...he could travel, never staying in one place for long, going from town to town and picking up rumors about rarities and legends, and then actually hunting those things down.

"I...yeah. That..." Sylas frowned thoughtfully. "That seems like it would be pretty interesting. A lot better than sitting around all day, that's for sure..."

"Ya got nothin' better to do," Leo answered. "'Specially if I'm taggin' along." There was silence for a moment, but before Sylas could say anything, Leo raised a hand to gesture for continued quiet. "I'm not coming to be friends," he said. "I just have nothing better to do, so I'll travel with ya for a while, until I get bored or fed up with ya. We're not going to be friends, ya hear?" He glared at the boy, his yellow eyes dark.

He had no idea how wrong his statement of non-friendship was.

Sylas couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Sure, why not. I do need some help getting started, what with me being injured and so on. So thank you," He smiled at the half-cat, quite happy to have found a friend--or rather, travel companion, as Leo insisted. It was a bit funny the way the half-cat insisted that they would never be friends, yet he was still starting to act friendly with Sylas. "Is the rabbit done yet?" The human questioned when his stomach growled.

"Check for yourself, duh," the half-cat snapped, hauling himself up into the tree in order to rest without being near Sylas. "I'm doing as little as I possibly can for you." He kicked back in the tree, putting his arms behind his head and closing his eyes, his long tail hanging down near Sylas' head. It flicked slowly back and forth, like it had a mind of its own.

Sylas blinked at him, then carefully took the rabbit off the fire. He propped the stick up using his feet, as he could only really use one hand. He pulled a bit of meat off, inspecting it to make sure the meat was cooked fully, then started eating. He ate quickly; of course, he had been famished. Terribly hungry. "Right," Sylas said, hesitantly wiping his hand on his shirt and setting the stick aside. "Thanks for catching the rabbit for me. Were we going to go anywhere, or should I rest more?" He questioned, feeling the numbness start to ebb. Oh, how he hurt...all over, too. The pain was just everywhere...

"If you can walk, we're walkin'," Leo said, not even bothering to open his eyes. "If you can't, stay seated. Simple, really." He glanced down at the boy, then looked up as a wolf slunk into the clearing. It had smelled the cooking rabbit and had come hunting, but before it barely had a chance to snarl, Leo flicked his tail and sent a wave of fire out at the creature. It yelped as it was engulfed in flames, then moved no more as the fire consumed it and it died. The flames kept going until the wolf was a pile of ashes littered across the ground. Nothing was left but the small pile of ash, where a mighty hunter had just been standing.

And Leo still hadn't even opened his eyes.

((He glanced down at the 'boy', he looked up, and didn't open his eyes?

SKILLZ. xD))

Sylas watched in mingled shock and relief, as well as a bit of uncertainty on whether he should be disgusted or intrigued. He was quiet for a minute or two, then decided to try and stand up. It took a try or two, but he finally managed to make it to his feet. "We should find a river," Sylas said, brushing himself off. "If nothing else. I'm getting dehydrated, so..." He leaned against the tree, shaking his head to try and clear the blur at the edge of his vision. It did hurt, but he had to push himself in order to find a water source. "I can rest more when we find water. I'm sure moving the fire won't be an issue for you," He smiled a bit, not sure of which direction to head in. There had to be a river here somewhere...and if they found a town, at least they could use the public well or something.

((I was tired. =.="))

Leo finally opened his eyes, watching Sylas for a moment, then deftly slid to the side and out of the tree. He landed with a thump next to the boy, then straightened and said "Well, then let's go." He started walking, not paying attention to the human following him. When Sylas started to inadvertantly lag behind, Leo rolled his eyes and came back around, taking panther form and stopping pointedly next to him. "If I have to say anything, I'll claw your leg," he said flatly, then just waited.

"What?" Sylas blinked down at him, then smiled when he realized what Leo wanted. He swung a leg up and slid onto Leo's back, settling into a position he could stay in while Leo trotted along. "Let me guess; you aren't doing this to be friends. You just don't want to spend an entire day waiting for me to catch up." He said with a small smile. "I think I'm beginning to understand you, Leo."

The panther snorted, then sprang into a smooth, rolling canter, his gait easy and gentle. "I should hope so," he growled. "Because if I have to keep repeating myself with you or explaining things, I'll get fed up in no time." He moved through the forest, keeping away from the roads, where people could potentially see them and tried to catch them. It wasn't everyday when a beat-up kid passed by riding on a large black panther.

It wasn't too long before Leo tracked down a small river; it was slow moving and looked clean, and had a few tiny fish flicking along just under the surface. Sylas slid off of Leo and plopped down next to the water, using his uninjured hand like a cup to bring the water up to his mouth so he could drink. It worked well enough, as Sylas stood and leaned against a tree and slid down to sit between its large roots, relaxing. "I think I'll rest more, if that's okay with you..."

Leo shook his fur out, snorting through his nose. "I don't care. Anytime to rest is a good time," he said, laying down and folding his paws together, then resting his head on them. He was a long, dark shape on the ground, especially when he took human form and laid on his belly, flicking his tail back and forth. "If you need food, just say it," he said.