The Forgotten Zodiac

"Of course not," Werr shook his head, holding onto Welk tightly. "I won't let you go anywhere, Welk. I won't let you." He took it from Cynyr and hugged it tightly for a very long while before returning it to Cynyr's hands, though he held onto one hand. "You're one of two things that keeps me going anymore. My kingdom is in ruins, Amnairus and Tartarus are falling apart...there's just too many things for me to even list. But I won't...I won't allow myself to fall. Not now. As long as you and Cynyr are holding on...I have a reason to."

Welk sniffled, then murmured "It's so...dark in here. It feels...like I'm a weak blob, floating in an endless abyss. There's no light, just darkness. And...I'm scared..." Suddenly, for only a moment, Werr and Cynyr saw what Welk saw.

They had a vision of a tiny silver-gray figure, human in shape, but with no discernable features. It was curled up in sheer darkness, legs tucked tightly against its body and arms wrapped around itself as tears leaked from closed eyes. The air of depression clinging to the little figure was so crushing and dark that it was nearly suffocation. But slowly, the sadness was lifting. When Werr spoke, he saw a tiny light flicker to the side. When Cynyr's voice was heard, the light flickered. As time passed, the flickering was growing bigger and brighter. Slowly, the eyes on the tiny figure opened, revealing bright crimson red irisis. Welk blinked softly, then looked up at them and vanished.

Cynyr and Werr blinked a moment later, cast out of the relm Welk was trapped in.

"Oh, Welk..." Werr sighed heavily, pressing his face against the little bear's head. "It doesn't matter how small or weak or feeble you feel. You...you still saved my life, Welk. I would be dead if it weren't for you. You aren't as weak as you feel. You're not. You just...have to reclaim power. Get your strength back. Like...like working out to get stronger, maybe?" He didn't sound too certain, but he was definitely certain that Welk would be okay in the end. Welk had to be. Or neither Werr nor Cynr would be okay.

Inside, Welk wiped his eyes softly, staring down at his featureless body. No tail, no ears. The only actual part he had now were his eyes. But he could hear Werr's voice, talking to him and assuring him. It made him feel safe and secure. Some of his bleak depression lifted, albeit only a bit. "Okay..." he said quietly, starting to doze off. He was exhausted. "I believe you... Cynyr?"

The panther nuzzled the bear, and Welk wanted to giggled at the snuffling sound he made, but he instead almost cried. "Watch Werr...okay?" he said softly, starting to drift off. "Watch our brother..." Then he sighed as he passed out.

Werr pressed closer to Cynyr, closing his eyes again. "He'll...he'll be okay, right?" He questioned, opening his eyes a bit. "We have to be careful...if this bear is damaged at all, we could lose him. A-and people...want me to suffer. They'll take him away if they get the chance. We can't give them that chance, Cynyr..."

"Then don't." Ophile said from behind them, pushing his nose under Werr's hand. Werr gave him a quick scratch, smiling a little. "Don't give them the chance, Werr Rowe."

Cynyr touched his muzzle gently to Werr's temple, nuzzling him softly before saying "We'll protect him. He's a tough little feline; he'll always bounce back, no matter how long it takes." He wrapped a thick paw around Werr's shoulders, putting his chin on top of the boy's head.

Nobody noticed Luna slip off to go and clean the blood from her clothes, still fingering the blonde wig Forin had gotten for her. She paused, glancing over at where the Tartaran was sleeping, then hesitated and glanced around. Nobody was watching her. That, coupled with the fact that several people were still asleep, prompted her to be brave and quickly move over to Forin, kneeling down next to him before glancing around again. She looked down at him, watching his sleep for a moment before leaning forward to gently kiss his forehead, soft and sweet. "Thank you..." she whispered.

Then she quietly scrambled up and headed for the lake.

Forin opened his eyes slightly, though he said nothing. He merely rolled over and draped his arm over Diana, tucking her close.

Werr drifted off into sleep again soon after, between Cynyr and Ophile. They both kept him warm and he felt...safe. He awoke again when he heard...horses? Yes, horses. Werr opened his eyes and pushed himself upright, realizing that a certain silver-haired boy was standing over him. "Toro...? What are you doing here?" Werr questioned, rubbing his eyes.

"I was just delivering a letter to Jag. And your father told me that your wallet was a little flat after a run in with a thief, so I wanted to give you this." He held out three small bags; the largest one was filled with gold and silver coins, and the other two had pearls and rubies.

"Oh...okay," Werr didn't argue, taking the gifts gratefully. They might need it, after all... "How did you get here?"

Toro just smiled and pointed behind Werr. He turned and looked up, seeing two winged horses tethered to a carriage, which also had wings. "Galai let me borrow it. She has four others, too! Titus has some too, but those looked...scary."

"Right. I'm glad you're doing well," Werr said with a small smile.

"Yep! Galai says that I'm not only a good messenger, I could also be her representative in case she ever needs one. Just like Kiraki is Titus' representative. There's a lot of work involved, but I'm actually helping people. I like it a lot."

Cynyr stared at Toro for a moment, then just put his head in Werr's lap and ignored the rabbitzen.

Seria smiled at him, then glanced over when Zephyr opened his eyes. After a moment of pause, the dragon lifted his head and opened his mouth, extending his tongue with a small drakeling nestled on it. He rolled Boko off and pulled his tongue back into his mouth, tucking his son up against his warm belly. He curled close around him, humming a soft, comforting note.

Seria looked back up at Toro and smiled at him, moving away from Cynyr and taking human form in order to start on breakfast.

Werr and Toro spoke for a few minutes more before the Rabbitzen was called back to the carriage by one of the horses. "It's not good for you to stay away from Amnairus for too long," The horse insisted. "I understand that you are among friends here, but--"

"Come now, Vee. Let the boy have a few more minutes of peace." Sylas snorted. "This place isn't any more dangerous than that town full of corpses off that way."

"Sylas, you--"

"'Are a magnet for trouble and I don't like your tone'. I remember. You said that when we first met." Sylas grinned. "I won't forget that favor, though. Carrying me back to Alastor rather than letting me walk...very kind of you." He patted her on the neck and offered her an apple that he had procured from who knows where. The winged horse brought her hoof down on his foot, causing him to yelp and drop the apple, backing up a bit. She lowered her head and ate the apple, while the other horse whinnied with laughter.

"Is there anyone you don't know?" Toro tilted his head to the side curiously.

"The more people you know, the easier it is to have people to depend on if you need it."

Seria chuckled and Cynyr laughed at Sylas' pain before Werr gave him a look. Seria was checking on Jag, trying to make sure that he was okay despite his beautiful wings being gone. He hadn't woken up yet, the bound stumps of his wings rather sore and painful-looking. The half-cat healer took the letter from Toro and tucked it into Jag's hand, making sure it would be there for when he woke up.

The letter was from Lily, of course. It hadn't been long since Jag had left her, but she had important news to tell him, which was encased in the letter. Toro made a mental note to tell Lily what had happened to Jag, too. But...maybe later.

Toro moved towards Zephyr, but Nate grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back before he got too close. "But..." Toro blinked. "Vaira asked if it would be possible for me to take Boko back to her."

"Boko was hurt. I don't think he or Zephyr will trust you enough to let you..." Nate shook his head, looking towards the Drakeling. He had his head pressed very close to Zephyr. His coils were relaxed, though, surprisingly sprawled lazily behind the proud little creature. He didn't seem to be about to move, at any rate.

Zephyr had his tail tucked around Boko, making sure nothing got near him. Zephyr moved only his eyes as he looked over at Toro, but a moment later, he looked away. He lowered his head down to his paws, sighing.

Jag slowly opened his eyes a moment later, but he seemed distant and not truly 'awake'. He just laid there, blinking slowly. Seria walked over and touched his shoulder, watching him for a moment before shrugging and moving back towards Cynyr.

"Zephyr...will Boko be okay?" Nate wondered aloud, wanting very much to comfort his dragon friend.

Diana was apparently the last to stir. Forin was, of course, already awake. He just hadn't moved until now. Now, he sat up and helped Diana do the same, wrapping his arms around her at once. She pressed close up to him, then leaned up and whispered something in his ear. Forin frowned, but sighed and hugged her still regardless of that. It seemed like everyone needed comfort at the moment. Even Sylas was leaning against Leo now, though he was smiling a bit. There didn't seem to be an idle moment where Sylas wasn't either smiling or using his incredible charm to persuade others to do his bidding.

Werr was pretty sure that if he ever wanted to, Sylas could likely pull strings and have his own son removed from the throne and himself placed on it. Not that he would. Yes, if Sylas had evil intentions ever in his life, a lot of people would be in trouble. Yet Sylas had a good heart and a bit of a noble air about him; confidence practically leaked out of his ears. A trait that Werr hadn't gotten any bit of.

So as they all sat around, recuperating in more ways than one, Werr couldn't help but watch his father chat with the horses to keep them distracted from Toro, who was still waiting to see if he would be taking Boko back or not.

Leo looked bored, like he wanted to be anywhere else other than here. Which of course, he didn't. Zephyr flicked his ears at Toro, then said "I will see what he wants. If he wants to stay with me, then I'll keep him here. If he wants to go, then I won't stop him." He bent his head around and nuzzled Boko gently, licking his flank.

Luna came back around this time, with a new outfit on that Seria had given her. It consisted of a white tank-top and vest, with tan shorts. It was a simple outfit, combined with the white bandages still wrapped around her wings. She glanced over to Forin, watching him hug Diana, then looked down and moved to sit by herself under a tree, just...waiting. It wasn't like she had anyone to hug or be hugged by here. And the one she wanted to be held by probably wouldn't aknowledge her feelings.

So she sat alone.

Toro quickly grew tired of waiting, and walked over to where Luna was sitting. "Hi there," He said quietly, not too sure who she was. They hadn't met before, of course. "My name is Toro." He said, then paused for a moment. "Want to see a trick?" He asked, already pulling out a deck of cards. Of course, he had a keen sense for those who were troubled or lonely. And Luna fit the bill, so Toro wanted to cheer her up.

Luna slowly looked up at him from where she had folded her arms over her knees, heaving a small, yet deep, breath. "Okay..." she said quietly, seeming to bright just a little bit more. She lifted her head and fiddled with the lock of her original silver hair in the blonde wig, feeling the soft hair. She looked at Toro's furry rabbit ears, then watched the cards in his hands, wondering what he meant to do.

"Here, pick a card! Don't worry, it won't be boring. It really won't, I promise. I know a lot of magicians open up with a card trick like this, but really. Pick a card, memorize it, and then put it right back. Alright?" He spread the cards out in the fan position in his hands, beaming as he offered them to Luna. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Toroph, and I live in Amnairus, too. I only recently moved there, though..."

Luna tilted her head slightly to the side, saying "Oh yes. I've seen you around. At first I thought you might've been a Tartaran that came in with all the rest, but then I realized that you were too light for that." She moved her hand forward and gently pulled a lock of his silver hair, though she didn't smile. Her wig slid slightly to the side and she quickly had to adjust it, nearly looking like she was going to cry as she did so. But she did what Toro wanted and memorized her card, then put it back.

"Yeah, I'm not a Tartaran. To be honest with you, some of them scare me." He laughed a little, then looked down at the cards. "You know, let's set these aside here. Right here," He shuffled the deck for a moment and put it down in the grass next to them. "Let's just talk for a minute. You look upset," He tilted his head to the side a bit. "I dunno what happened, but you should know that you aren't alone. I've had a pretty hard life myself. My tears turn to pearls and my blood into rubies. People have used me to make themselves rich, and it...it's hurt me not only physically, but mentally sometimes. But Galai showed me a kindness unlike any other, and here we are today. So...what kindness can I show you to make it better? I can't do much...I don't have very many special powers. But I can give you some jewelry, or...or maybe I can just start simple and get you some water? Anything. Please, I want to help you feel better."

Luna, touched by his willingness to just make sure she was okay, felt tears bead in her eyes. She sniffled, then said "I'm not sure how much you'll be able to understand how serious this is, but...I'm in love with a Tartaran. That one over there." She pointed at Forin, keeping her gaze down. "It's a serious crime in our worlds," she mumbled. "But I don't care. Love does odd things to creatures, and I'm no exception." She draw one of her delicate fingers through the dirt, then blushed and murmured "I think he's very handsome...but I know he doesn't have any thoughts towards me." She slowly reached up and slid her wig off, tears dripping down her pale cheeks. "Then he goes and gets this for me when nobody even mentioned anything like it, and it makes me wonder." She was quick to put it back on, sighing. "If we were to come together as mates, we would be put into prison or killed. If a child were conceived, when we aren't the king and queen of our worlds, then the baby will be killed off in my womb, with me along with it. But I sometimes wonder. The Divine is dead, and Titus and Galai are no longer young. They won't die for thousands of years to come, but they could retire. It's happened before. But I know that's impossible. Everything just leads to me and Forin getting in a lot of trouble. ...If he even ever loved me. And you know? I don't think it's fair. Why can't our two races be allowed to mingle and love each other? They are our brother race; why can't we couple? If not to mate...but just to love."