The Forgotten Zodiac

Werr smiled sheepishly at Welk, then wrapped his arm around Lexi, shifting a little closer to her. "It'll be okay," He said softly. "I'll make it okay. You'll see..." He wasn't entirely sure how he would make this, the fact that she killed her own father, 'okay'. But he was nothing if he didn't stick to his word, really. He'd find a way to make it better, no matter what it took.

Welk sat back on the top of the chair, smiling at his friend for a moment before turning and slipping out of the room by going under the door. Outside, he curled up in a small heap, waiting patiently for as long as it would take for Werr to emerge again.

Lexi soon stopped crying, simply leaning against him and breathing quietly. She was able to calm down quite a bit, her hands still holding tightly to his shirt. She opened her soft brown eyes, staring up at Werr through the few tears left to fall, then nuzzled closer. He could feel her trembling; she was exhausted and weak, and she desperately wanted him to stay close. She was reassured by his presence, and she believed that everything would be okay when he said it.

Werr slowly wrapped his other arm around her. He closed his eyes and murmured softly about how everything would be fine and how he would make sure that things would be okay in the near future. How they were going to take Malice down, and then return to the castle where they could live in peace. Other things of that sort.

In a different room of the guest house, Lily finally stirred from a long nap. She opened her eyes, watching Jag sleeping next to her. And between them...nothing. Lily stared at the empty space, panic seizing her heart and causing it to skip a beat. She sat up slowly, her eyes falling on the snoozing Spy at the foot of the bed, and...sitting beside her, with her baby in his ugly arms, was Obelisk. The infant was sleeping peacefully still, but the sight of Obelisk holding her newborn child struck panic in Lily's heart. She nudged Jag, her eyes flicking from the child to Obelisk in sheer terror. What was Obelisk doing? Rocking the baby, it seemed...but there was no way in the world Lily trusted Obelisk. It was impossible.

Jag stirred next to her, wincing at the pain from his missing wings. The leftover stubs had healed quite a bit, but it made sleeping on his back painful. He was awake in an instant when Lily nudged him, and he sat up, brushing his hair back with one hand. His eyes shot to Obelisk, and his jaw dropped open. "Give him back," he warned lowly, holding his arms out for Cinnoa. "This instant."

Obelisk tilted his head to the side for a long moment, his head still tilted down slightly. "Remor wanted to hold it." He said softly, as though he didn't want to wake the sleeping infant up. "My apologies. I should have asked..." He slipped his hands around the child and delicately placed the infant in Jag's hands. Lily was quick to take the child back into her arms, checking him quickly for any signs of Obelisk's magic or anything of the sort. She found nothing, and slowly eased herself back down on the bed, holding her little baby close while Obelisk watched in an odd fascination.

Jag stroked Cinnoa's head gently, then turned his sharp blue eyes onto Obelisk. "I'll ask you never to touch my son without my knowing again, thank you," he said. His voice told of a newly-made father, who was protective of his first and only son. "Remor or not, you can't just pick up someone else's child without their knowledge." He winced sharply as his shoulders twinged in pain; he had started having spasms in the muscles that used to control his wings.

Obelisk climbed to his feet, turning away without giving a response to Jag's request. He opened the door and left, closing the door quietly behind him. His business was done. Lily leaned against Jag, closing her eyes. "Thank you," She murmured, shivering as she thought about what Obelisk might have done to her child. Her precious baby boy.

He put his arms gently around her, but his gaze remained on the door. "I don't trust him," he said. "Let's have Namanai look Cinnoa over. For all we know, he could've implanted something in him. If he did..." He exhaled heavily, gritting his teeth. "I swear I'll make him pay," he snarled, then quieted down and put his face close to Lily's hair, sighing.

((The baby is okay, right?))

((Yep. Perfectly fine, not lying either. Remor is just throwing fits again. xD))

Lily nodded once, then slid to the edge of the bed and slowly stood, still not wanting to awake the poor child. Cinnoa...such a perfect name. Lily started smiling again as she looked at the baby Gryphon. "Let's hurry," She said softly, looking back at Jag. Spy hopped off the bed, ready to follow.

Namanai would find nothing. Remor had once been a father, you see. But Obelisk destroyed all that. Remor was throwing temper tantrums over the tiniest things, things that remind him of how things were before the war. Obelisk was merely doing what he could to keep Remor from doing something stupid. Holding a baby seemed to have worked, for the most part. Remor had fallen silent once more. Obelisk doubted he would be able to try that again, though.

To think that all this had started from just a simple drawing...

When they stepped out of the room, Jag sighed. "At least he's okay," he murmured, stroking his son's tufts of ginger hair back. He took gryphon form, shaking his feathers and fur out alike. He visibly twitched as his muscles twinged again, then shook it off and nudged Lily gently towards his back. "Come on, you need to rest still. We should stop by the kitchen for some food first. What you eat goes to him, after all, and you both need nutrients in your bodies."

"Right," Lily smiled gently, easing herself onto Jag's back. "I love you," She said suddenly, sitting herself close to his head so she could kiss behind his ears. "I know that things aren't exactly...the best right now, but I know that it'll get better. I know you'll take care of me. I feel sorry for other people sometimes because I know that some of them don't have great husbands like you." She giggled a bit, then hummed a calm note as the tiny bundle in her arms started to move slightly. Just a stir in his sleep; Cinnoa went right back to it after a moment of groggy blinking.

Jagat tilted his head around, nipping gently at her leg in a loving gesture, then moved out at a quiet walk. His front legs, which were bird-like, clicked softly as he walked, while his back legs, which were cat-like, made more muffled sounds. He flicked his crest of feathers, spreading them wide before letting them lay flat again. When they reached the kitchen, he pushed his head through first, glancing around before pushing the doors fully open and walking in with Lily still seated on his back.

"Oh, hi!" Toro was there, his voice muffled through a mouthful of apple. "Jag and Lily, right? I don't think we talked much...but I know you're a guest here. So, um...can I get you anything? I can make you lunch." He offered, tilting his head to the side.

"Oh," Lily blinked. "We don't want to be a bother..."

"It's no trouble at all, don't be silly. You have to eat right so your baby can, too, right? And I'm pretty good at cooking, my aunt made me learn. So...a sandwich, soup, or something else?" He questioned, beaming.

Jag stood still as Lily slid off, then he shifted upwards into human form and helped his wife over to a chair. He let her settle into it, then turned to Toro and said "Instead, why don't we both work together? I'm not going to let just you work, I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you." He brushed his crest back, watching the rabbitzen quietly.

"Sure," Toro nodded. "I'd be happy to help you."

"Soup would be nice," Lily said thoughtfully. "Maybe some tea, too..." She watched as Toro's ears perked up at that.

"Vegetable soup it is!" The Rabbitzen beamed, darting around the room and collecting the vegetables required, as well as a pot full of what appeared to be chicken stock. He handed the vegetables to Jag. "Here, these need washed and sliced. Then just dump them in the pot while I work on the fire, okay?"

Jag nodded, slowly getting to work. He could've argued that his skill at playing the violin made him nimble, thus helping his cooking ability, but this wasn't so. He cut himself at least three times while slicing the vegetables, and one time of that was due to his muscle spasms. He tried to keep his temper, but after the next cut, he just felt frustrated. "I'm a talented violinist that can't even cut vegetables? Really?!" he said, glaring at the knife in his hand.

Toro looked up at him, smiling a bit in the light of the fire he had started. "It gets easier," He said, pulling another knife from the drawer. "It just takes practice. You practiced the violin, right? Well, think of this as the same. You have to be careful not to hit the wrong note when you're playing the violin. Here, if you hit the wrong note...you cut yourself. Not...exactly the best metaphor. But making me cook is how my aunt figured out my curse. Not that it matters, I'm here now, but..." He looked at the knife in his hands, letting out a small sigh. Then he shook it off and took a carrot from Jag and started slicing it quickly, his small, young fingers finding ease in the job.

The gryphon blinked, then gently patted the rabbitzen's shoulder. "Don't worry about it much, okay?" he asked, his crest involuntarily rising off of his head. He turned back to his work, going at a much slower pace then before to try and avoid cutting himself again. His muscles spasmed hard and the knife cut deeply into his hand, making him drop the knife on the counter and grab his hand, holding it tightly. His expression, however, was very downcast as he muttered "Stupid wings..."

"Oh dear," Toro blinked, grabbing a rag and handing it to Jag. "Here, um..." He rummaged around, trying to find something else to clean up the blood. He found another rag and used it in the washbasin to clean off the vegetables. "It's okay, I can cut the rest. Here, find and measure out some spices," He reached into a drawer and pulled out measuring spoons. "I need two tablespoons of parsley, one of thyme, half a teaspoon of salt, half of pepper, and two basil leaves. The spice cabinet is right there," He pointed with the knife and got back to work on slicing the rest of the vegetables.

Jagat did as he was told, trying his best to ignore the pains in his shoulders. He did well enough, and before long, himself, his family, and Toroph were enjoying their food and talking about this and that. "I bet that kirin would like this," Jag commented. "He's mostly a vegetarian, I'd assume."

Seria entered the room then, with Ophile at her side. She guided him along with one hand on his back, for reassurance and help in the case that he wobbled. "Hello," she said brightly. "Oh! That smells wonderful."

"There's enough for everyone," Jag said, flashing a bowl in the air.

"Thank you!" Seria said, fixing Ophile a bowl first and setting it on the ground, where he could eat it. Then she took her own seat and took a bowl, eating surprisingly ravenously. "Sorry," she said, blushing when she realized that they were looking at her oddly. "I'm feeding two now," she explained.