The Forgotten Zodiac

"And you're free to stay for as long as you want." Werr said quietly. He looked up quickly as the familiar tug in his gut and the dimming of the lights signaled Obelisk's return.

Obelisk was frowning, as usual, shuffling along. Werr looked down, not sure what to say, if anything at all. "I acted with haste," He said simply. "I am sorry for my actions before."

"You got what you wanted," Werr sighed. "Why aren't you in your new body?"

"Because I have no method of getting into it at this time. In order for me to do that, I require the other Artifact...and thusly, Malice's defeat. Which will render me dead, thanks to Cici. Which is what I truly desire."

"So really," Werr snorted. "There was no point in any of that? None whatsoever?"

"I acted upon the emotions and thoughts of Remor." Obelisk replied quietly. "It's not the first time. Miss Lexi...I have upset you. I have no excuse for that."

Lexi stared up at Obelisk, hiding part of her face behind Werr's shoulder. She held his hand tightly, and he could feel her trembling. She put her mouth against Werr's shoulder, thinking for a moment, then she quietly murmured "It's okay...I forgive you." Her voice quivered softly, but she kept composed, other than some stray tears that still slid delicately down the side of her face.

"Well," Obelisk sighed. "You might forgive me, but I won't forgive myself for that." He shuffled away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to see if Cynyr will at least listen to my apology."

"Good luck with that," Werr sighed. "Obelisk, here," He held out the guantlet. "You can return this to him, too..."

"Very well then," Obelisk took it, noting the hesitation from Werr to let go of the powerful object. He released it, though, and Obelisk took it carefully, then moved away.

"Well..." Werr muttered, watching the old being move out of earshot. "He reminds me of a child sometimes. Even though he's eons older than me..."

Lexi gave a slow nod, mostly content to just sit there against him and breathe softly, holding his hand.

*

"Cynyr?" Welk carefully poked his head into the wind mage's room, glancing around until he spotted him, sitting on the window sill with his head on his knees. The Spectral floated forward, frowning. "Cynyr? Are…are you okay?" Welk asked quietly, carefully moving a bit closer to his sibling. "What happened?"

"…I'm just worried, Welk," Cynyr said quietly. "Worried about too many things. You, Werr, Seria…I'm getting married tomorrow, and that's…that's…" He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Well…it's just getting married, right?" Welk said, flicking his silver tail as he floated closer. "It's not a big problem. It's not like things will be any different than they are now."

"They will be, Welk. You don't understand," Cynyr said, turning to face the window.

"I would, if you told me," Welk said.

"Welk, just…" Cynyr started, but Welk pushed forward and settled right in front of the wind mage, touching his mask with his small fingers. "Don't shut me out, Cynyr!" the little Spectral said. "Tell me what's wrong, please! Something is just eating away at you, I can feel it."

"Stop it!" Cynyr said abruptly, standing up and pushing Welk back. "Just…just stop it! You don't know what being married to Seria means to me, especially now! With all of this crap with Malice and everything that's happened to me! I don't think I'm ready for it…in fact, I know I'm not ready for it!"

"Ready to get married?" Welk said, confused. "But…you were ready for it when you said so this morning."

"It was different then!" Cynyr shouted. "Because this morning I didn't know I was going to be a father!"

Silence.

Cynyr slapped a hand over his mouth in shock, his eyes wider than Welk had ever seen them. "I…I…" he stammered, falling into a sitting position on the ground.

"Wha…what?" Welk said, completely stunned. "Y-you mean…Seria is…?"

Cynyr gave a single, short nod. "She told me today. She said she hadn't wanted me to worry, but she was stressing herself out because she didn't want us to be married without me knowing what I was getting into. So I found out that my fiancée was pregnant the day before we were going to be married."

He folded his arms tightly around himself, closing his eye and looking down. "We hadn't meant to do anything. It just sort of…happened."

"Me and Werr are gonna be uncles!"

Cynyr's eyes shot open at Welk's voice, especially when the tiny Spectral raced forward and tackled his sibling as hard as he could, hugging him. "Cynyr, that's so great!" he said. "I'm so happy for you!"

"You…what?" Cynyr said, sitting back a bit in shock and staring at the little being hugging him. "No! This isn't good! I'm not ready to be a father, not at all! I won't do good…"

"You'll be perfect," Welk squeaked. "So what if Seria's pregnant? At least you're marrying her and not leaving her. You weren't going to leave her, were you?"

"Heck no…" Cynyr said quietly. "I could never leave her."

"That's good, then!" Welk said. "Cynyr, I love you and I know you'll do just fine. It was bound to happen sooner or later; it's just fate that it happened now. You'll be a great daddy, and me and Werr will be right here with you. Don't worry so much, okay? You'll both do great as parents."

Cynyr sighed heavily, then gently cradled the little half-cat Spectral against himself, letting all of his hundreds upon thousands of fears slowly ebb away.

"A baby!" Welk squealed, grinning widely. "I can't believe it! Seria's going to have a baby! This is so awesome, Cynyr."

The wind mage finally gave a small smile, saying quietly "You know…it really is."

Obelisk was about to knock on the door, then hesitated. Was it worth facing Cynyr? He would probably just be attacked. It didn't matter too much to him, it would just mean more scars on this old body of his, and he didn't particularly care. As it was, his blood still soaked his bandages. And then there was the conversation currently...Obelisk personally didn't care one bit about who was preganant or not. He wouldn't really tell people, either. There'd be no real point.

After a long moment of thought, Obelisk knocked on the door, but when Welk turned to look to see, all he saw was the guantlet on the floor. Next to it was a small note, scrawled in flawless handwriting. 'However meaningless it may be, sorry.' From Obelisk, obviously.

Welk glanced around, then shrugged and tugged the gaunlet into the room, unable to stop grinning. "Is it okay if I tell Werr?" he asked.

Cynyr shook his head. "No. Seria was going to tell at the wedding," he said, running his clawed hand through his hair. "Sheesh..."

Welk flew over and sat on his head, saying "Cynyr, it's okay. You're not the first person in the world who didn't wait, and you won't be the last. The important thing is that you had full intentions on marrying her, before and after. It wasn't right, yes, but I don't think the Goddess can stay mad at you for long. Especially when she sees your adorable kid!"

Cynyr scoffed, then said "I suppose we can tell Werr. He's our other brother, after all." He picked up the gauntlet, sighing when he read the note, then put it into his bag and headed out of the room, slouching off down the halls until he located Werr.

Werr looked up as Cynyr approached. "Did Obelisk give you the guantlet?" He asked, not really worried or anything, but he couldn't help but ask. Lexi was still sitting next to him, focusing on her breathing. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, smiling at her before looking back at Cynyr to wait for an answer.

"Yeah, he did," Cynyr said, his eyes distant. He didn't seem to care that Lexi was there. "And...I feel that you should know...Seria is pregnant."

"Isn't it great?!" Welk said, divebombing his best friend and landing right on Werr's head. "We get to be uncles, Werr! Seria is going to have a baby version of herself and Cynyr mixed together~."

Welk's happy attitude over it seemed to help Cynyr feel better over the whole thing.

Werr blinked, smiling at Welk's excitement. "What? That's silly, they're not even...married...yet." His smile faded as he looked at Cynyr. "...you're sure she's pregnant?" He tilted his head to the side a bit. When the half-cat gave confirmation, Werr sighed heavily. "Well, that's wonderful, then." He smiled again. "It's wonderful that you're staying with her. The marriage is still tomorrow morning, correct? Most of the preparations are complete, I've been told. You'll be wed tomorrow, and come spring, we'll have an adorable little niece or nephew to help you care for. It's wonderful," He smiled, truly happy for Cynyr. "Congratulations."

Cynyr nodded slightly, then took panther form and rubbed his head against Werr's knee. "I know it was too early, but Welk started that way too. Leo wasn't married to Briana, yet we have this dorky little half-cat with us now."

"I'm no dork," Welk peeped. "But it is true. And Leo couldn't stay with Briana, even though he wanted to. But if they hadn't done what they did, I wouldn't be here! So I'm not worried or ashamed at all for you, Cynyr." He rolled around on Werr's head, almost falling off at one point, where he grabbed onto Werr's hair to keep on.

"Right. And goodness knows we would all be lost without Welk," Werr smiled, no sarcasm in his voice whatsoever. He sat still while Welk rolled around. "We'd definitely be a lot less happy without him, too." He pulled Welk off his head, hugging the little Spectral close. "I'm glad you're feeling better, little brother." He smiled.

Welk smiled and hugged Werr's fingers, smiling widely. Lexi, still sitting next to Werr, smiled a bit, but other than that, kept quiet. Cynyr was also beginning to truly feel the joy at the thought of being a parent. He had fears, of course, but more than that now, he had hope. Hope that he could be a good parent and that it really was fate for he and Seria to have this little one.

That night, he was able to sleep peacefully, ready for his marriage in the morning.

The others slept well as well. Nate didn't wake up until morning, upon which he realized that he was lying next to Zephyr still. He stood and stretched, yawning groggily as church bells rang overhead. "Eh? Oh, right. Cynyr and Seria are getting married today." He smiled a bit as Boko approached. "Hey there, kiddo."

"Hello!" Boko purred cheerily, pushing his muzzle up against Nate. "Noble-Wing snores loudly."

"Did I? Sorry." Nate chortled.

"I wasn't affected by it," Zephyr said, giving a long yawn. "I feel fine. But come along, we should make ready and head over to the wedding room. Don't want to be late." When they were dressed and ready, they headed to the correct room and stepped inside. Like Cynyr and Seria wanted, everything was simple. Red roses and bright yellow sunflowers decorated the room, and that was pretty much it other than normal things like cake. All in all, it was perfect, considering who was being wed.

As Cynyr had requested, of course, there were no guests other than their group, and the priest that would be wedding them. Werr was already there, standing next to Cynyr as they waited for the ceremonies to begin. Welk was, of course, on the king's shoulder.

Nate led the way into their seats, silently wishing Tasia was here. No matter, though...she was safe. That's what mattered. Obelisk was not attending, probably something that Cynyr wouldn't mind. Along with pretty much the entire group.

Once everyone had arrived, Seria walked down the isle, a wide smile on her face. She was wearing a long, beautiful white dress, and Cynyr could only stare as Seria carried herself, and the newly-developing baby in her womb, down the way. Once she made it, the two stood across from each other and listened to the priest who was to wed them.

"We have come together here, on this bright, joyous day, to bring together two half-cats in marriage. We are here to witness the joining of Cynyr..." Here she paused and had to stare at her notes. "Excuse me," she said. "But there's no last name here. Young man, what's your last name?"

Cynyr slowly turned pleading eyes to the tall, dark figure standing at the back.

Leo sighed heavily, then gave a small nod and Cynyr quickly turned back to the priest. "Kaelen," he said. "My name is Cynyr Kaelen."

She nodded, then said "The joining of Cynyr Kaelen and Seria Auryn, the latter of whom will today lose her Auryn title and become Seria Kaelen.

"I ask that the skies look down on them with kindness and love, and that they might look upon each other in this way as well. I ask that their lives be long and prosperous and that they have success in anything they try their hand at." She turned to Seria and asked "Seria. Do you take Cynyr to be your husband and mate, to obey his rule and be mindful of the things he does? To help him in all things and to stand at his side, to bear his children and his alone? To be the respectful keeper of his money and affairs and offer your strength when his weakens?"

Seria smiled and took Cynyr's scarred hand, saying "We do."

The priest looked a bit puzzled by that, but she moved right on. "Cynyr. Do you take Seria to be your wife and mate, to listen to her when she speaks and be mindful of the things she does? To help her in all things and to stand at her side, to look respectfully upon her body and hers alone? To give her the strength and safety that only you can provide for her and love her until death parts you?"

He nodded and stared right into Seria's eyes when he said "I do."

The priest nodded, then said "Then I now pronounce you both man and wife. Cynyr, you may-" She cut off as Cynyr pulled Seria close and kissed her. "-...well then," the priest said, smiling away. "I suppose that concludes our ceremony." She clapped with all of the rest stepping back to allow their friends to come close.

"Thank you, priestess Miola. You can return to the chapel now. Or stay and have some cake!" Werr said, grinning happily as he turned around and hugged Seria quickly. "I'm so happy for you two,"

"YAY! Boko is happy!" The Drakeling squealed, flying in circles around the ceiling and letting out high-pitched roars. Diana, who had been the flower girl, of course, threw rose petals up in the air over Cynyr, giggling as one landed right on the half-cat's head.

Seria smiled and hugged Werr tightly, saying "You've done so much for us, Werr. I'm so happy to have you as part of our family too." Welk flew into Cynyr again, and of course, it wasn't as hard of a hug as he would've liked. Cynyr pulled the flower petal off of his head and held Welk close, smiling at the little half-cat, then he called for a moment more of silence. "We have one more thing to tell you all," Cynyr said, his voice unwavering. "Seria?"

She smiled, one hand resting over her belly. "I would like for you all to know that I am pregnant," she said, smiling widely. "With the way this world is going, I wanted to start our family as soon as possible. Tomorrow isn't given to us, what with Malice running around, and I feared that if we waited too long, Malice would destroy everything and never give us a chance to have the family I've always dreamed of having. And now I'm as happy as they come, because my family is perfect. I have all of you in it and a wonderful husband, and I'm going to have a sweet little baby." She hugged Cynyr and he held her close, nuzzling the top of his wife's head.

Werr let go of Seria and turned to Cynyr, hugging him as much as he could without crushing Welk.

Diana squealed with excitement. "Yay~! A baby, a baby! Hey, didn't Lily have a baby, too? They can be twins!"

"I don't think it works like that," Forin frowned.

"How does it work, then?"

Forin just blinked at her, not really knowing himself. There were still human things that he didn't understand, obviously. "Let's go get some cake," He changed the subject.

"Cake! I like that stuff," Diana smiled, darting ahead to the table.

Cynyr smiled and hugged Werr back, resting his head on the boy's shoulder for a moment before pulling back. "Thanks for understanding everything," he murmured, looking right into Werr's dark eyes. "It...means more to me than you could ever understand."

"IT'S TIME TO PARTY!" Welk squeaked loudly, flying around in rapid circles around them. He dove for the cake, but Cynyr quickly grabbed him by his little ghost tail and said "I'll cut you a slice. Don't ruin it for everyone else."

"You're no fun, you know that?" Welk said, crossing his arms and smiling.

Cynyr gave a dry chuckle, then promptly dunked the little half-cat Spectral into Werr's pocket. "Here, this is yours," he said, taking Seria's hand and leading her to the dance floor, where they stood close and enjoyed their time together.

Welk stuck his head out from Werr's pocket, smiling at them. "Everything is perfect, huh Werr?" he said softly, leaning on the edge of the fabric. "They're married, they're having a real family...and there's cake. It's definitely perfect."