The Forgotten Zodiac

"Forin..." Toro looked over at the Tartaran, who had gotten up to get Diana something from someone's bag, apparently. He recieved a glare for looking, and turned back to Luna. "You're questioning whether he has feelings for you or not? Well...couldn't you just ask him?" He questioned. "I mean, even if he really doesn't like you back, I don't think he would tell on you...I mean, I guess you know him better than I do. Please don't cry," He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing her cheeks with it. "I don't like it when people cry. If you want, I can talk to Galai about it. I can...I can talk to Forin, even, if you want. I mean...I understand if you don't want me to. But I want to help. I don't want to see people crying."

Luna jerked her head up and said "No, please don't tell Galai! I...I know she would be more willing to understand than Titus, but...no, I just can't tell her. I..." She went quiet, sniffling softly as the sweet rabbitzen dapped at her cheeks. She watched Forin move around, then sighed and said "I'll talk to him. At the most, I can just talk to him. Prepare myself for his answer." She sighed deeply, trailing her nail through the dirt, then said "Thank you, Toroph. For...helping me out." She finally smiled softly at him, then gently took his hand and kissed his knuckles, her way of saying thanks. Then she watched Forin again, wondering if he would let her talk to him.

"Of course." Toro smiled at her, then looked down at the cards again. There was only one there now; just one single card. "Here," He offered it to her, beaming. It wasn't Luna's card, the one she memorized. It wasn't anything close to it. Instead, it was the two of hearts. He put it in her hands. "Good luck. And for the record, I didn't even realize it was a wig until you adjusted it. It definitely suits you." He said, standing up and walking over to Nate and Zephyr again, watching the great dragon and the Drakeling.

"Boko wants to meet you first. He doesn't know you, but at least he wants to. Namely, he wants to return to Vaira, but he doesn't know if you should be trusted to take him there." Nate said. "You won't be able to understand him, though, which is a bit of a problem."

"You...can understand them?" Toro blinked at Nate. The Dragonian flared his wings, smiling a bit. "Oh. Dragonian, right."

"Indeed. My dragon blood gives me the ability to hear and understand every word Dragons and their cousins speak. I can translate for you, but it's still troublesome. Boko is a baby. He'll be tempermental and expect an immediate response, and he might move in a way that suggest he's attacking you. If that happens, just...hold still and let me translate, alright?" Nate explained. "He...probably...won't hurt you. And if he does, he certainly wouldn't mean it."

"I understand." Toro nodded, looking towards the Dragon and Drakeling pair. "Um...hi, I'm Toroph. I'm the one who's going to take you home, okay?"

Boko peeked over his father's tail, then opened his mouth and let out what sounded like a mix between a screech and a growl. Nate was quick to translate, of course. "He wants you to come closer so he can smell you." Toro did, walking forward until he was within arm's reach of the creature his size. He watched, a bit nervously, as Boko slid out from behind Zephyr's tail and twisted himself all around Toro, sniffing him in circles until his coils were wound tightly around the poor boy.

Boko then said something extremely unexpected, letting out a roar that sounded like a high-pitched wail to Toro. "You'll never take me from daddy! Boko will squeeze the life out of rabbit-boy, so rabbit-boy can no take Boko from daddy!" He started squeezing before Nate could say or do anything. Toro immediately felt the air crushed from his lungs, and was unable to even wail as Boko took his claws to Toro's exposed back. Boko's sharp teeth tore into one of Toro's rabbit ears, as the Drakeling's strong coils crushed him more and more with every second that passed.

"Zephyr, do something!" Nate yelled, immediately moving forward and trying to pull Boko's teeth away from the Rabbitzen who was trying desperately to breathe again. Pearls bounced into the grass, one after another. Nate worked his hand in between Boko's teeth, pushing his entire arm in once he had enough room too. That forced Boko to release Toro's ear, but the Drakeling clamped down on Nate's arm with a vice-like grip. Nate only saw madness and a feral light in Boko's eyes as the Drakeling swung his head around, throwing Nate away from himself and returning to biting Toro's ears.

((Boko is hurting on the inside. As Nate said, he's still just a baby. And with the bad things he's been through lately, it's struck a cord with the real Drakeling inside of him. Drakelings are known for their nastiness and cruel violence. They're uncivilized, at best, and they can't tell friend from foe if it's not another Drakeling. Or in Boko's case, he can't tell friend from foe if they're not a dragon. Which is why there are not (known) Draconians. It just doesn't work.

On another note, Boko will be fine after a very long period of seclusion either in a cage or some other place. He wouldn't get better in Vaira's pouch, though. At this point, he has to re-learn how to interact peacefully with non Dragons. But if he can't, it turns into a serious problem. But, he will learn, and he will return to his adorable Boko self in due time. :T))

A boomed, echoing roar bellowed out across the land as Zephyr snarled to the air, then brought his head down around and right near Boko. "BOKO!" he shouted, and his voice was absolutely terrifying. "YOU LET GO OF HIM THIS INSTANT! AM I UNDERSTOOD?" He grabbed the little drakeling into his jaws and yanked him off of Toro, growling. He hadn't wanted to do this, but he could see that Boko needed a stern parent just as much as a caring and kind one. He set the drakeling down on the ground a short distance away, growling in the tone of a disappointed parent. "Boko," he said, his voice low and foreboding. "What you just did was bad." He emphisized the word bad, knowing that Boko didn't like it. "I love you, my little one, and that's why I can't let you do things like that." He bent his head forward and nuzzled him softly, his eyes sad.

Seria got straight to work, gently stroking back the rabbitzen's silver hair.

Zephyr looked sternly down at his child, then said "Boko, Toroph is a friend. He wouldn't hurt you. You did not need to hurt him like that. It was very bad." He's forgotten how to deal with creatures much weaker and more delicate than dragons, Zephyr thought. This isn't good. He could've killed the rabbitzen. I suppose I can only do one thing to him so that he understands. "Boko," the dragon said again, his eyes sad as he stroked his muzzle down his son's back. "You're going to time-out until you can control yourself again. Little creatures like Toro are not like dragons. You must be very gentle with them. Until you can be nice and control yourself again, you are going to time-out."

"Boko," the emerald dragon said, the tone of his voice silencing his son instantly. "This is more serious than running away to the salt caves. You will have time-out until you fully understand what you've done wrong." He glanced over at Cynyr for a moment, who nodded once, then bent his head forward and picked Boko up into his paws and jumped into the air, heading towards a place only known to dragons. A special cave, sealed with thousands of years' worth of dragon magic, that was used as a safehouse for infant dragons. It could only be closed and opened with dragon magic, and for the second time, Zephyr would now use it as a pen in order to help his son learn. He loved Boko dearly, both he and Vaira did, and he knew that if he let this slide, Boko would know he didn't get punished for hurting someone. Zephyr wanted to change the way humans saw drakelings; no longer as dark, twisted monsters, but as gentle giants. So Zephyr scooped up his child and flew off with him, cradling him against his belly and comforting him.

Seria frowned, then walked forward and carefully touched the back of her hand to Diana's forehead, then spent a moment studying her flushed cheeks. What had happened hit her in an instant. "She's drunk," she said, stunned. She sat back on her heels, frowning in confusion. "How did she get drunk? Do you know how bad that is for her little system?" She stood up, casting Forin a look. "Who wasn't watching her?" the healer asked. "Who let her do this?"

Seria sighed, then said "Oh, Forin...Diana... We're your friends too, you know? We all formed this group together, as one, with the same goals in our minds." She slid close and hugged Diana gently, then hugged Forin too, ignoring Cynyr's look. "If you believe it or not, we do care about you both," Seria said, patting Diana on the back. "We love you both. You're part of this group too." She touched Forin's shoulder, tilting her head sadly to the side.

Seria sighed, then said "It's true. Some of us haven't made a lot of effort to accept you three into out group. I don't know what else to tell you, other than that without your power and support, we would've fallen long ago. But I tell you what; we have some politics to deal with here, first. You take Diana and go after Luen. Take a break from us. And if you don't want to come back...then we'll understand." She stood up, fiddling with her bag straps sadly. "But for now, you should go and find Luen. You need that vital piece to keep yourselves together." She stroked Diana's head gently, saying "And besides, Luen could get hurt without you."

((...NOOOOOOOO. HE'S SO CUTE.))

Luna looked up, blinking in shock, then nodded and said "I am." She carefully stood up, clasping her hands in front of her shyly. She glanced up at him from behind her bangs, then looked away and murmured "I...I don't have anything to pack." She dragged the toe of her boot through the dirt, then mumbled quietly something that sounded like "I'll follow you anywhere." She fiddled with her fingers, then smiled at Diana and gently brushed back her hair, saying "We'll find your friend, angel. Don't worry."