The Forgotten Zodiac

Luen muttered something unintelligable, sighing deeply as he nuzzled his best friend. Finally, he pulled back, wiping his eyes with his pale fingers, then shook out his white hair and looked up at Werr. "We've been around, your Majesty," he said, his eyes seeming to look through Werr. "We've both been training and gaining power so we don't have to be left behind by you all so much." He almost started to sound bitter, but the tone quickly went out of his voice. The way he said 'you all' had just sounded so...distant. He wrapped an arm around Forin's neck, leaning on his shoulder and closing his eyes. "So we can actually protect those most dear to us," he murmured. "Perhaps you should take to your own blade, king Werr. If I and Diana can gain power, you surely can. You have a trainer right by your side and an excellant weapon. Use them or throw them both away."

Cynyr flinched and blinked hard at him, then leaned against Werr fearfully, as if afraid that the boy just toss him aside.

Werr blinked at him, then frowned. "I'm not going to throw them away. Don't talk about Cynyr as though he's an item. Even if we're too busy to train, people are not like a piece of paper to be used and tossed in the bin. You should be grateful I didn't find you to be useless, Luen."

"You're starting to sound like Titus, Werr. Watch yourself." Forin snapped at him. "And don't make me want to make my five years turn six."

((Yeah, we'll need some bonding between Luen/Diana and Werr. xD They're kind of clashing, which is bad. :T))

((Yes. Luen used to like Werr. Back with the tracker and whatnot. THEY MUST BOND.))

Luen pressed hard against Forin, glancing up at Werr with baleful, sorrowful eyes that held a lot of pain. He quickly looked away, instead meeting Cynyr's sun-yellow eyes. Panther and deer stared at each other for a long moment before Cynyr looked away, unable to stomach staring into Luen's intense emerald eyes. When Cynyr looked away, Luen merely closed his eyes, putting his face down against Forin's shoulder.

((Perhaps they could get into a fight that Cynyr can't do anything about and decide from that it would be best if they went seperate ways, and Luen/Diana get caught by the Silver Tornado and Diana is threatened to be killed if Luen doesn't capture Werr and bring him back and so he goes and does that only to return and find that Diana had resummoned Forin after they gave her a little 'taste' of what would happen to her and Forin breaks Diana and Luen out but they can't find Werr so they leave and explain what happened and Luen feels bad and somehow that makes him decide to be friends with Werr again.

And Werr is found dead and everyone is sad and Luen cries and then they collect artifacts and tally ho, whatnot. :T If you understood any of this, you get an A+ for effort.))

"Come on, Cynyr," Werr finally said, turning away unhappily. "Let's just go back to Amnairus. We're not very welcome here, apparently..." He paused as the doors opened, thinking that his father had returned, but was surprised to see Ophile. The new, more threatening Ophile, at that. He was bigger than Cynyr now, albeit only by a little, and looked quite formidable as he approached the pair.

"Greetings to you both. I'm sorry I'm late, I was having a chat with a couple Tartarans who spotted me." He shook his fur out, then looked towards Cynyr. "You look ruffled, friend. Did someone rub your fur the wrong way?"

((Yes, I understood it.))

Cynyr shrugged slightly, saying "Yeah, you could say that." He walked forward and rubbed up against the wolf, letting him absorb his memories and just feeling comforted by touching him. Once he was satisfied, he walked over and made loops around Werr, rubbing up against him and just trying to comfort him as best as he could.

((A++. xD))

"I see. How unfortunate." Ophile flicked his ears back, especially when Werr started scratching behind them. He leaned into the human's fingers. "Welk is quite correct, by the way. You do seem to have a talent for ear-scratching."

"Glad to help," Werr smiled a little, then straightened up again. "Did you see my father on your way in?"

"Sylas? Yes, I did. I didn't question him, though. We crossed paths in the place between worlds. He was headed back to the Eternal Garden." Ophile nodded once or twice thoughtfully. "He seemed rather determined to do something. He didn't even respond to my greeting, which is awfully odd. Your father is a most interesting man, I dare say I wouldn't dare step in his path when he wants to get somewhere or do something. So I didn't, and here we are without him."

Cynyr shook his head, then said "I'm sure he'll be back eventually. Don't worry about it too much." He nuzzled Werr's hand, then said "Let's go. I don't know where, but...let's get out of here." He glanced to the side as Leo returned to the room, then muttered "I can't stand some things in here anymore." He bent down onto one front leg, offering his back to Werr. Being his father's son, he was a very big panther. Leo was next to horse sized, and Cynyr wasn't too far away.

Werr climbed onto Cynyr's back without argument, letting out a sigh. "Alright. Let's just go, then..."

"Farewell for now, friends." Ophile dipped his head, stepping aside and letting them pass. He padded over to Leo, looking at the smaller half-cat. "You're quite a sight," He said quietly, sniffing him a bit. "Cynyr's father, correct?" His tail wagged slightly. "As you've been keeping an eye on us, you must already know who I am."

He shrugged dismissively, clearly not wanting to talk to him. He wasn't about to let the wolf touch him, having known about the wolf's abilities. "Back off, mutt," he said flatly. "I'm in no mood to chat." He stood up and stalked off, deciding that he was better off going to find Sylas. As much as he had once hated him, Sylas was now the only person he had left; if anything happened to him, Leo knew that his own life would end shortly after. By his own hand.

"Very well then..." Ophile watched Leo go, shaking his fur out yet again. He then trotted off, deciding to go speak with Luen, Diana and Forin. They all seemed somewhat unhappy, but that didn't stop Ophile from anything. If nothing else, he wanted to make them smile again.

Leo would be unable to find Sylas; not in Amnairus, certainly, but not even in the place between worlds. Resu waited in front of the gate, watching a single crystal orb. She looked up when Leo arrived, though. "Leo. I would congratulate you on completing your trial, but I'm afraid that trial is now invalid...Sylas did not have much faith in you and your son."

"What?" Leo said flatly, not believing her, then blinked himself out of his shock and thundered "WHAT?!" He pressed forward, taking human form and wrenching the orb out of her hand. "I went through ALL THAT and he goes off and...and he was...HE'S SUCH AN IDIOT!" He shouted the last line at the top of his lungs, raging like a demonic wraith at the end of some invisible line that prevented it from murdering all around it. "Where is he?!" he shouted, rounding on Resu, his tail lashing from side to side.

Resu didn't even flinch. "He completed the trial given to him in your stead, so that is of no use to you," She snatched the orb back. "But by law, I cannot assist him. He is in the forest, just past the gorge. Do hurry. His blood stains the river, and if too much gets in the water, it will be harmful to all life here." She stepped aside, allowing Leo to pass.

Leo seemed to vanish into thin air, his wind powers coupling with his fire powers to provide the utmost in speed. If one could be the fastest on the planet, that one very well could've been Leodhaius.

*

"Sylas!" Leo shouted, bounding towards the place Resu had said he was at. He could only wonder what his crazy companion had gotten himself into now. He followed the scent of Sylas' blood to the river, his eyes searching for his friend.

Sylas was in the river itself, the sluggish water dragging at his clothes. The water past him was mixed with blood, obviously so. Sylas was conscious, just barely. He seemed to be in shock, just lying there and staring up at the trees with a look of dull terror on his face. His wounds were many; at least six arrows were embedded in various spots, his legs looked twisted and broken, and blood was pouring from deep gouges in his chest and sides, obviously caused by knives and swords. All in all, he looked clearly defeated. Even his hands looked destroyed; cut, torn, and broken.

As Leo approached and called his name, poor Sylas attempted to cry out, but only managed to start coughing up blood. That was that; the dirt bank he had been leaning on gave way. Sylas could do nothing but allow himself to be carried away by the tide and try desperately to hold his breath as much as possible, which wasn't very possible due to his coughing.

Leo didn't even hesitate. He shot one hand out, closing his eyes and whispering words so dark and twisted that, for all a listener knew, could've been used to summon a demon or wraith. "Methusa du laka, elnira kaino tus bakai, elesemurta karenbanna, liflarin!" he cried, and his powers obeyed. Wind and fire shot out of him, racing along after Sylas. The fire lined itself along the sides of the river while the wind formed barriers a few feet in front and behind Sylas, cutting off the water. The fire raced out, covered by the air, and swept over and over, like waves, until the water was gone. Sylas was shielded by the wind magic, so the flames didn't touch him. Once the water was gone, the wind and flames picked the downed man up and carried him very carefully out of the river, then let the water flow once more. The wind and fire remained, flickering and dancing, under Sylas, holding him much gentler than any human ever could.

"Sylas!" Leodhaius shouted, racing over to his friend. He stared at him in horror, already moved a hand out to guide the wind and fire towards Amnairus. "What the HECK is wrong with you?!" he spat, anger flooding through his quivering body.

"Resu wou-would have killed you...I did...i-it....instead," Sylas breathed, barely loud enough for Leo's ears to pick it up. He tried to extend an arm, but failed; he went limp again, and the object slipped from his fingers, . A necklace with a single sharp tooth on it, now splattered with Sylas' blood. Taken right off of Leo's neck without him realizing it. The same important necklace that Sylas had taken from Leo all those years ago. "It's...important to y-you..." He started coughing again, on the verge of passing out. And with all the damage he had sustained, he might not wake up.

Leo's jaw quivered as he stared at the necklace, then he swallowed heavily and turned on his heel, whisking his friend off to the healers. "Don't let him die," he begged any gods out there. "He's worth more than a stupid necklace. He's all I have left." He left the necklace there, knowing that he could always come back for the little item.

*

"So it will hurt?" Tasia said, biting her lip fearfully.

"Yes, dear," Namanai said, nodding once. "Labor always hurts, but there are things we healers can do to dull the pain. Besides, you have a few good months ahead of you before you're anywhere near labor. A dragonian's gestation is shorter than a human's, so you're looking at about six solid months of carrying that growing bundle around."

Tasia smiled, then flinched as Leo burst into the room, panting from the run. No words were needed, really; Namanai took one look at Sylas and summoned her sister healers, moving over to lace Sylas with the proper spells to help him breathe and keep his heart beating.

Leo collapsed into a ball on the ground, pushed into a corner and staying there.

Sylas was weak. Dangerously so. But something was blocking their pain relief spells, and the mind-numbing spells weren't working even slightly; he cried out the moment he had the strength to, unable to help but writhe as his bones were forced back into place and his skin healed over the wounds. He had to be given blood and his heart stopped twice throughout the procedure. But after two hours or so of work, Sylas was finally left to rest and relax.

He hadn't passed out, not once, even now; he stared up at the ceiling, blinking slowly.

((He made a deal with something that if he gave over something, they would give him the ability to block magic. Unfortunately, he made the deal without determining which magics would be blocked, so only his mind is protected from magic. Which isn't helpful at all, as you see here. o3o))

((Yes. -too tired to make a real statement-))

Leo remained in his corner, holed up like some wounded animal. He refused any and all treatment, growling and hissing darkly. Once the healers left, he finally moved, crawling to Sylas' side. "Sylas," he rasped, dreadfully tired. He pulled himself up and just sort of leaned against the man's bed, resting his head exhaustedly against the covers. "Sylas...what have you done?" he whispered, barely able to keep his eyes open.

((Sorry. ono))

Sylas didn't answer for a long while. When he did, it was small and sorrowful and filled with pain. Even though his wounds were healed, he still seemed...broken. Even his voice cracked when he talked, as he held back suspended tears. "I...didn't have any faith in your son...I didn't think he would forgive you..." He moved his arm, grabbing onto Leo's shirt. "I refused...to let Resu kill you...I-I demanded to be a scapegoat for you. I took on the other trial. I would have succeeded, too, if not for..." He trailed off, groaning and pushing himself upright feebly. He shook and was clearly in pain, but didn't complain or lie down again. "W-Werr. My own son cut my chest open, then the rest of them were on me like flies. So many enemies...s-so many...y-you were there, too. I thought it was the real you. I reac-reached out to you, thought y-you would help me...but you clawed up my hands and th-threw me back to the others. It wasn't really you, I-I know that...so I too-took the necklace and jumped into the river, a-and..." He suddenly lurched to the side, the remains of his strength leaving him. His hand slipped away from Leo and he fell to the floor.

"I deserve this pain...a-all of it...I was stupid and I...should have had more faith in you and Cynyr...I-I'm so sorry..."