The Forgotten Zodiac

The man just snorted, moving off. There was the slam of a door, and silence followed. Then Diana's sobs were heard; quiet, terrified. Lonely. "Jag..." She whimpered, moving towards the bars of her cage once she was certain the man was gone. "Th-they're going to kill me..."

He pulled at his bars for another moment, then was forced to let go. It wasn't doing anything to help him, after all. He spat at the door, hissing darkly, then turned to Diana and sighed. "I'll try not to let anything happen to you," he said. "But if they do something to me, then...well, it's over. I'm sorry." He took human form and leaned against the bars, stretching his hand out towards her as far as he could reach. If she stretched hard too, they could hold fingers. He flicked his long black tail, his eyes soft.

Diana stared at his hand for a very long while. Finally, she decided that there was no other comfort for her here. She stretched out her arm, touching her finger to his. Her fingers were a little wet from wiping her tears, but she was still crying. "I'm scared...th-they'll come for us, right? Luen will come for me..." She murmured.

Jag sighed, rubbing her fingers gently with his own, then murmured "By the gods, I hope so..."

*

Cynyr shook out his black hair, not liking that it was so windswept.

They were heading towards their first destination in the hunt for the Artifacts. They had to go to Storaph's capital city, somewhere in the Hadaarak Desert, the capital city of Alastor and the underground city of Raften. Not nessisarily in that order.

He glanced back at Seria, watching her as she held gently onto Luen. She had returned not too long ago, with the now single-armed kirin. She hadn't spoken much since returning from the aputation, and Cynyr knew she was upset. But he could comfort her later, when they could be alone. For now, they had things to do.

Luen. His right arm now a stub at the shoulder, wrapped in bloody bandages. He looked dazed, sitting there blearily on Zephyr's back, which Cynyr knew was the painkillers and medicines Seria had given him. The panther turned his gaze forward again, watching Boko, who was sitting on Zephyr's head. Rather than have him traspe across the country alone, Zephyr had brought his son along.

Of course, Zephyr didn't want a repeat of what happened last time. And neither did Boko. He was curled around one of Zephyr's horns, squabbling happily and gnawing on the tip. Werr watched in mild interest, wondering what other strange customs Drakelings had. He was just grateful that the little one had the sense not to try and bite any of their heads.

Werr returned his thoughts to their plans. They would move in a line; Storaph was the furthest, so they would collect that one, first. Then on to the capital city of Alastor, then to Raften. Finally, they would scour the desert for the final one, then they would be closer to the Temple of Stars, where they would rejoin all of the artifacts. It didn't seem like it would be easy; the sun was rising in the sky and Werr could feel fatigue tugging at his eyelids. But they were already getting close to Storaph, there was no time to sleep.

Zephyr made it to Storaph as night fell, landing on the outskirts. Everyone got off, then he told them he would wait outside the city with Boko. The drakeling couldn't shrink like Zephyr could and the emerald dragon didn't want to leave him alone. They settled down in the forest, with Zephyr curling himself around his son and starting to lick him gently.

The others headed towards the city.

"The king won't be too happy to see us again," Werr sighed. "Perhaps we shouldn't stop by..." He murmured. But Luen and Nate needed rest. At the moment, the Kirin was being carried by Ophile, and the Dragonian was leaning heavily against Luna, who was helping him walk. To be dragging those two all the way around the city would be a serious hassle. Visiting the king and asking for a room would be their best bet.

"I don' ((not a spelling mistake)) wanna," Nate said drearily, his words slurred. "The king...I don' wanna."

Luna flicked her tail around and shushed him quietly, saying "You and Luen can't keep going like this. He's already lost an arm. What more needs to be lost? Look at him." She glanced back at the poor kirin, who looked near-delierious. "Just shut up and walk," Luna said, setting her gaze strictly forward.

They approached the castle cautiously, where they were stopped by guards. "Halt," one said, holding up his torch in the dim lighting to get a look at their faces. "Who goes-" He cut off when he saw them properly, blinking in shock. Fear passed over his features, but he steadied himself and asked "What do you lot want? Haven't you done enough damage here already?"

"We just need a place to stay, that's all," Cynyr said smoothly, gliding in between Werr and the guard. "Our friends are hurt badly. We're all exhausted. No matter what happens, you're currently stronger than us. We're not a threat."

The guards exchanged a look, not noticing that he said 'currently'. "Alright," the other said. "We'll take you to Asmodius."

"Mmft..." Nate mumbled through loose lips as he looked over at the guard. He diverted his gaze, closing his eyes and nearly passing out again. He flapped his wings once or twice to steady himself again, accidentally hitting Luna in the back of the head as they started forward again. "Surry," He huffed. All in all, he was starting to act a little drunk, although anyone who knew him knew better than that.

((Now I'm imagining Boko sleeping in Zephyr's mouth. xDDD))

((Awww.))

Luna yelped softly, but shook herself and brushed it off. She continued helping him along, until they had made it inside. The guards led them along to the throne room, where a very different figure was sitting on the throne.

A fox was curled up there, talking to one of the biggest, burliest guards they had ever seen.

"Caldir!" the guard leading Werr's group said. "What are you doing on king Asmodius' throne?"

The fox's eyes flashed as he stood up and slunk off, taking human form. He was a foxling, which was a lesser breed of wolfling. He had bright red hair that was tinted with white, despite him looking very young, with pointed fox ears and a long, fluffy tail. "My apologies," he said in a voice like butter. "I was merely...seeing things." He winked at the guard, then turned and said "Come along, Danbo."

The hulking guard followed him as they walked off.

The other guard sighed, then said "Stupid fox..."

((Well, he's used to sleeping in warmer environments than normal. Actually, being a Drakeling, he would normally sleep while pinned to the ground under his mother's stomach, as Drakeling females don't have pouches like dragons.))

"Who was that?" Ophile blinked, mildly confused. "Where is the king?"

"None of your business," One of the other guards growled. "Keep moving. We'll take you to your room, but you better not be planning on prowling around or anything of the sort."

"Don't talk to my friends in such a manner," Werr frowned. "We're not prisoners here. Without my assets, this castle would still be a wreck. I can have you fired."

((Nod-nod.))

"That was the king's heir. Caldir Reginald, foxling, 26 years of age. He's a bright young fellow, but...he gives me the creeps." The guard shivered, then said "Asmodius should be here..."

"I am," came the familiar voice of the king of Storaph. He walked in, holding a few books and looking much better than how they had last seen him. He looked much older, with more gray hairs than before, but still healthy. He sighed upon seeing them, saying "What do you all want now?" Instead of sitting on the throne, he stood before them, looking down tiredly at Werr from his height.

((Enough about that, though. xD))

"Good to know you chose a new heir," Werr said quietly. "We only wish to stay for a little while. Within your captial city lurks a criminal with a very important and deadly weapon. We'll find that, then be gone again. We mean no trouble to you, your heir, or your kingdom. In fact, if we do not get our hands on this important and deadly weapon, the entire world is at stake. Again."

Asmodius sighed, then said "Every time you've come here, something bad has happened to me. I would wonder over how you conduct yourself, King of Alastor, but I have other things to do. Besides, most of what's happened involves the company you keep." He didn't look at Nate. There was no need to. He did glance over at Cynyr, however, mostly out of curiosity.

He quickly looked away out of disgust, though not in an intentionally bad way. Cynyr's scars weren't something people like him saw everyday.

Cynyr seemed to wilt a bit at that, though. It was another painful reminder of what he was.

"Well, we'll be out of here before he's on his feet. With any luck." Werr sighed heavily, feeling as though he should have some sort of superiority over Asmodius. Of course, he restrained himself, knowing that it would only get him in trouble. "Please, just let us stay for a day or two. That's all I ask."

"We could! Go ellllse...where." Nate spluttered. "Get ourselves captured...or killed dead. Doom the rest of the world, too. Sounds like fun..." He moaned, then blacked out, falling over.

Werr sighed testily, rolling his eyes.

Asmodius closed his eyes for a moment, then waved a hand and said "Do whatever you want. But I warn you to be on your best behavior...Rowe." He turned back towards his throne, saying "You are not above me." He settled himself in his chair, and Cynyr blinked a bit. The king was very thin despite his height, and he looked frail and old. Cynyr couldn't feel a shred of sympathy for him, but...it was a bit of a sad sight. Guards that worked under Asmodius could remember a different time, where the king had been healthy, happy, and his eyes had danced with a young and energetic light. All of those things were gone now. It reminded Cynyr of Naybrin, and that made him feel a tad of pity.

"Come on," he said, bumping Werr lightly with his shoulder. "Let's go."

Werr nodded, watching as Luna started to drag Nate off towards their room. He moved along after her, sighing heavily. He knew that he shouldn't feel indignant about Asmodius, but...he was angry, tired, and he only remembered that Asmodius had killed Luen. He knew what Nate had done, but...that was an accident. Perhaps this was all a big misunderstanding, but...Werr was still mad about it.

When they got into their room, Werr flopped down on one of three beds and was out in seconds. Ophile eased Luen onto another bed, then moved to help Luna with the knocked out Nate.

Between the two of them, they got Nate up onto the bed and settled in. Luna sighed, then moved over to a bed to lay down. She was in human form, surprisingly. With her long silver hair and pretty turquoise eyes, she could've easily turned a lot of heads. Her mind was only on one, however, as she fell asleep. Someone with shaggy black hair and bangs, and piercing silver eyes... She fell asleep thinking about him, a smile on her face.

Cynyr sat down on the edge of Werr's bed, tucking Welk into the boy's arms. He reached out and gently brushed the teddy's cheek with the backs on his claws, then transfered the touch to Werr. He patted his shoulder, then spotted a flash of red just outside the door.

Seria was waiting for him.

He stood up and walked out, craving her touch and scent. He followed her out to a balcony in the castle, slinking around near the door before going out to join her. She was standing near the barrier on the balcony, looking up at the moon. He stepped close, noting that she was already in her sleep-wear. A simple one-size-too-big shirt and loose pants. He moved over and put an arm around her, cradling the small of her back. She smiled and leaned against him, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "The moon is so pretty," she said, nuzzling under his chin.

"Yeah...it's beautiful." He wasn't looking at the moon when he said this.

Seria smiled softly. He cradled her gently against him, with as delicate of a touch as any lover there could've been. He rocked her back and forth lightly, then stopped when she turned in his arms and faced him. She tilted her head back and smiled softly, then moved her hand up and carefully took his mask off. He blinked once, but didn't do anything else. He closed his eyes down to narrow slits as she reached up and carefully ran the tips of her claws around his missing eye, the holes in his face where his nose should've been, the endless, tragic scars.

"You're handsome," she said, ever-smiling. She hadn't even hesitated.

He looked down, but she put her fingers under his chin and made him look at her again. "You are," she said softly. "I look at you and all I see is my handsome soon-to-be husband. Nothing else. You mean so much to me, Cynyr."

He let out a small chuckle, saying "I'd be lost without you. I look at you and see my life. My future." He started to lean in, his lips parting to whisper "My Seria."

She smiled softly, then her lips met his in a soft, tender kiss that quickly grew deep and passionate. When they pulled back, Cynyr's eyes were distant and Seria was blushing. The mage and the healer both took animal form and walked slowly back inside, each purring softly as their tails twinned together. They went back to their room and took human form again, both settling down in the bed right next to Werr's. Cynyr's tail slipped out and wrapped once around Werr's wrist, letting him know he was there, then he and Seria spoke a bit more and kissed a bit more than that, before they finally fell asleep, content that they were loved.

The night passed with little issue. Ophile stood watch overnight, content to allow the others to sleep. Nate was the first to wake; it was clear that he was doing better, too. He tested his own speech and spent awhile stretching. After a bit of quiet questioning and a memory transfer, Ophile realized that the poor Dragonian had suffered a concussion from the blast, but was doing much better today.

Next to wake was Werr, though he laid in bed in complete silence. Ophile knew, just from the emotions flowing from that side of the room, Werr had been disturbed by another of his nightly terrors. But something still bothered Ophile. Poor miss Diana was missing, and that bothered him. Diana carried with her a sense of innocence and quiet happiness in spite of their troubles. There was none of that with her gone.

Cynyr woke next, pulling carefully away from Seria and sitting up. His hair was tossled and stuck up in a way they hadn't seen before, which was from Seria running her claws through his hair. He shook his head, then got up and flicked his tail. He had slept in his clothes, as usual. In fact, they didn't even think he owned a pair of pajamas. He glared at them all, daring them to laugh at his hair, then took panther form and stood next to Werr's bed. He padded to the boy's head and put his muzzle on the matress space right in front of his face, staring into Werr's eyes with his own single one. Within the span of a second, his pale pink tongue flashed out and caught the tip of Werr's nose, then withdrew as Cynyr turned to go find the kitchen. He wasn't hungry. He just wanted to find some weak-willed people to intimidate.