The Forgotten Zodiac

Titus wrapped his arms around Galai, frowning still. "Fine. Leave here, Death. You have no further business here."

"That's not very nice, is it?" Obelisk clicked his tongue.

"You should leave too, eternal one."

"I'm trying to."

"That's not what I mean. You know as well as I do that Death cannot touch you." Titus snapped at Obelisk, clearly still annoyed.

"Hmph," Obelisk just grunted, reaching out a hand and attempting to touch Death's cloak. But no, it was as though an invisible wall was there, that stayed there no matter how hard he pushed.

Death watched Obelisk quietly, then said "It is not mine hand that will grant thee thine forever-sleep. It is the hand of another. But I cannot tell thee who it is. That is not mine place." He stood up, cracking his spine, then shook himself and flared his wings, hovering off of the ground. "Good day, young ones," he said, then vanished into thin air.

Galai held tightly to Titus, shivering. The delicate drip of blood from the tiny pierce on her neck stilled, ceasing to flow after a moment longer. "Titus..." she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Well..." Obelisk sighed, watching him leave. "At least I know I'll die someday. Probably Cici," He told himself, tutting a bit as he turned and left the throne room.

"I know, dearest," Titus murmured, holding her close. "As much as I hate to admit...perhaps Death is right. And of course, you were right all along. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry." He wiped the blood off of her neck, then kissed the small cut. He was no divine healer, but he was able to heal something small like that. He then kissed her forehead before looking over at Forin and Luna. "From this day forth, Amnairians are not capable of bearing children, but the restrictions on their interactions with Tartarans are lifted. I will not return emotions to the Tartarans unless they request it, however. Galai and I will work on the former together. You three...leave us." He waved his hand, and Forin staggered to his feet as the bindings on him vanished. He leaned heavily against Luna, feeling very bruised and battered. He didn't have any breaks or fractures though, thankfully.

Luna held him close, murmuring into his ear. She turned her gaze over to the king and queen, and Galai could only smile weakly at the amazement and wonder in her eyes. Galai nodded once, resting her head on Titus' shoulder, then watched as Luna kissed Forin and let him lean on her, helping him move towards the doors.

"Touri," the queen said, addressing her guard, who had been stoically silent the entire time. "Please let the others know of our decision."

The unicorn nodded, then turned and trotted off, a certain spring in her step.

Momeki also turned and ran off, smiling.

"Ophile," Titus snapped as he turned with Galai. "Stop hiding."

"Sorry, my leige," The wolf licked his muzzle as he appeared. "I was just observing the recent events, and I'm wondering...something."

"No, Ophile. I never took your emotions away. I trusted you with my life, why would I tear that from you?"

"Ah. Well, this explains quite a bit, then. Thank you, my lord. I'll inform the others of your choice." Ophile dipped his head, darting off.

"Right." Titus grunted, shaking his head. He sat down and pulled Galai onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. After a few long moments, he sighed. "Cern is loose again. He got out before the lockdown. Vidia summoned him by mistake, and I imagine he snuck out as she slept or something. But we can do nothing for that now..."

Galai leaned against him, sighing softly, then said "Cern has yet to play a part in this new world that's forming. We can only see what he chooses to do and either offer support with him or defense against." She touched her neck gently where he had kissed her, smiling softly, then kissed his cheek in return, her long blonde hair draping over his shoulder.

"We can only wait, then." Titus leaned back in his chair, sighing yet again. It could be months before they heard from Cern again, though. Maybe even years. "I already am giving him the benefit of a doubt, though...he left Vidia without even her knowledge that he was there. No taunts or teasing. He just...left. I don't know his motives, but something tells me he didn't head off to join Malice. He's not that stupid. At any rate...we should get to work now, dearest," He kissed her on the forehead again, then took her hands in his and held her close.

Back in the guest house, Diana was dancing around Forin, singing about how he and Luna were going to get married. Forin had tried to quiet her down, but at least they were indoors. When she finally finished, she hugged Luna and Forin in turn, then took Forin's hand and smiled. Forin looked up at Luen. "She was in a terrible mood when I left her with you, and now this? You, my friend, have a gift." He smiled at the Kirin.

Luen blushed and looked down, scratching the scar on the back of his neck. "You know I don't take compliments well," he said, flicking his ears. "It was nothing." He opened his eyes and then closed one in a wink, saying "But I heard it's working out for you and Luna. I'm happy for you." He took deer form and rested his head on Forin's shoulder, sighing and putting his velvet-soft nose against the Tartaran's neck.

"Yes..." Forin sighed slightly, looking down.

"What's the matter?" Diana frowned up at Forin.

"Well, my brothers...they won't be happy. They really won't. It's very sad, but it's true...Amnairians confessing their love for them will just push some of them over the edge. And when they figure out who made it so that our two kinds could be together, I...well, they won't have anyone else to turn their anger on. I fear that some of them may just ignore Titus' laws. They'll come after me, and more importantly, they'll come after you." He put his hands on Diana's shoulders. "I fear the worst. Hope for the best, surely I do, but I doubt it will come about the way I wish it. Titus didn't fear someone taking over his throne, he feared the reaction of the Tartarans. Personally...I fear for whoever got sent to give the message to my brothers..."

Luna watched him quietly, then said "Believe it or not, Amnairians are mostly the same. Very few of my kind feel this way, and I am the only one to actually have a love interest. It would take them meeting and greeting, just like we did, for any such feelings to come about. And I didn't exactly like you at first." She smiled and leaned forward, kissing his cheek gently.

Luen lifted his head, glancing out the window. His eyes slowly fogged over, and he sank back into an awkward sitting position. Deer weren't meant to sit down, after all, but with his legs splayed, he managed. It didn't seem like he had much of a choice, either. He continued to stare off into space, as if hearing something from far away or seeing something they couldn't.

"I know this. But you saw Lu...at even just the suggestion of one of his brothers being joined in love with an Amnairian...if they can get past me, they'll throw you into the Eye of Ka'ael, Luna. So you need to be careful, too..."

"Luen?" Diana looked over at her Kirin friend. She moved over to him, stroking his fur gently. "Luen, are you okay?"

The white deer blinked, the foggy look vanishing from his eyes. "What?" he said, turning his head to face to Diana, and the movement broke his already unsteady position. He toppled over with a yelp, flailing his three legs in the air until he could wiggling onto his side. He shook his head, then turned his delicate muzzle up to Diana and nuzzled her gently, saying "I'm fine. It was just...I don't know. It was strange. Like wandering through mist..." He shook off his thoughts, slowly managing to stand on all three skinny legs again.

"Mist?" Forin frowned. "Odd. Regardless...as I was saying, we all need to be--" He stopped himself short as a howl of pain could be heard from outside. "...careful."

"Oh. That sounded like Ophile." Obelisk commented from his dark corner of the room. Who knows how long he had been there.

"Yes. Yes, it did." Forin clenched his fists.

Luen turned at once, exchanging a look with Forin before turning to Diana. "Stay in here with Luna," he said, nuzzling the girl's cheek before lifting his head, giving Obelisk a look. He didn't trust the bandage-wrapped creature, but at the moment, Ophile needed them, and Luen was determined to stand by him and Forin. So the kirin tossed his head, his sharp antler glinting in the light, then trotted out the door.

Ophile howled again, but this one was cut short. He wasn't too far out; just in the center of town, near the golden fountain. He was fighting; several of the guards had attacked him, as well as Lu and one or two others. Ophile, being larger now, had few problems at first, but when Lu had struck...well, Ophile was caught in Lu's coils and was being strangled while his flailing legs became chewing bones for the wolves.

"The healers can't help you if you're dead!" Lu spat at the wolf, his coils ever tightening around Ophile's neck.

Lu suddenly found a sharp set of tines sticking into his coils. "Get off of him!" Luen shouted, working his neck and managing to somehow heave Lu off of Ophile. He left the wolves to Forin, glaring at Lu. "Why in the Goddess' name are you doing this?" he said, shaking his bloodied tines in Lu's direction.

Lu hissed and recollected his wits, hissing dangerously. "He's tries to fool us by spreading such ridiculous rumors...and he continues to tell people, even after he was told to stop!"

"It's not a lie, Lu," Forin snarled, slashing out at the other wolves and keeping them away from Ophile, who was attempting to drag himself away from the scene, bloodied and unable to walk normally. "Titus' descisions are final."

"And you would know this how...?" Lu hissed. "You...your lady friend...their choice...you did this?!" Lu's jaw dropped, then it closed and twisted up into an evil grin. He turned and slithered away, apparently calm and not as angry as he had been moments before. Then he turned his face upwards and yelled, "FORIN DULCE LOVES AN AMNAIRIAN!"

Silence followed.

"So he does!" Luen shouted angrily, his voice ringing into the silence. "What does it matter? Just because you're too weak to see it?" He threw his head back, calling as loud as he could, "WHAT DOES IT MATTER?!" He turned his muzzle down again, saying "This world is on the verge of total collapse! What does it matter if a Tartaran and an Amnairian fall in love? If you see a problem here, then tell me now so I can rip you through! Just because you can fall in love now doesn't mean you have to! Perhaps you're just too stupid to understand the power having someone support you gives." He turned his head with an upset snort, and realized that snow had started falling in droves around them.

Forin could hear his own breath in the stillness. Then something slammed into his back, sending him face-first into the snow, keeping him pinned there. "Now, brothers, this is no way to treat one of our own. Listen to the Kirin. I understand that things are very tense at the moment, but collect your wits and realize what you're doing." A large black owl, larger than Airlia's dove form, with sharp yellow eyes was standing on top of Forin's back, his claws closing around the Tartaran. "Go home, mutts," He snapped at the wolves, which had been poking towards Ophile again.

"Drew, you don't--" Lu started, but the owl cut him off.

"I do understand. You're confused. You don't understand what's going on, and it completely goes against what you've been raised to know and live with. But go home. Simply continue on with your lives as though nothing has happened. This is the only known current case of love between our kinds, so you can just ignore it, really." Drew clicked his beak, watching as Lu hissed and then turned away, apparently fuming. Drew hopped off of Forin at this time, bringing his head close to Luen's muzzle. "You are very wise, Kirin," He cooed, using his beak to ruffle the fur on Luen's head between his antlers. "Get the blood cleaned off before you return to your small human friend, yes?"

Luen blinked, seemingly shocked by this behavior. He closed his eyes at the ruffled petting, trying to understand what had just happened. He wasn't inclined to trust Drew at first, but he felt...okay, with talking to him. So long as he continued this oddly kind attitude, Luen felt he wouldn't have any problems with him.

"Thank you," he said, dipping his head. "I will. Thank you." He stopped himself, not wanting to go on rambling until he felt like an idiot, then bent his head forward and, ever mindful of his antlers, gently nuzzled the owl's black feathers. "You don't know what this means to me, you helping us," he said, pulling back and ducking his head down to Forin. He nudged the Tartaran gently, helping him get up, then turned to Ophile and carefully laid down next to him. With ever persistant nudging, he got the wolf up onto his back and stood again with Forin's help. Luen looked to Drew again, his slitted emerald eyes shinning, then he turned to Forin and said "Come on. We should go."