The Forgotten Zodiac

Werr didn't react, unconscious as a rock. Toro had run into the main room, looking for a kitten that had strayed; he had looked under the couch, and noticed something. He shook it off, looking around again with fear and worry. He had seen Obelisk pick it up and decided not to do anything, but now...

Toro looked high and low, but decided to peek behind the couch before moving upstairs. And what he saw there made him let out a bloodcurling scream. Sylas was there, lying in a large pool of blood. Quite literally, his stomach had been torn out, spilled out onto the floor. He didn't seem to be breathing, either. Ophile was next to him, his leg torn off down to bone, and his tail taken off entirely. They had been the first to be attacked; they hadn't had help from Obelisk or Keir.

His scream roused another Divine healer from thin air. The old man touched Toro's shoulder, saying in a scratchy voice "Don't scream. Just help me. Find the wolf's tail, please." He bent and began work on Sylas, watching as his organs floated and moved back into place, and the open wound closed. A mere touch on the man's throat and chest was enough to get him breathing again. He placed a hand on Sylas' head, sending him into a dreamless sleep, then moved to Ophile, beginning to work. Once Toro located the wolf's mangled tail, the older healer, whose name was Barui, started repairing it with soft, quiet skill. The same sleep spell was given to Ophile, and neither of the injured was able to wake from the dreamless, forced sleep.

((Derp. Trinny, remember that Sylas has that protective seal on his mind that keeps spells from fiddling with him there? He'll wake up soon. And feel the pain, too.))

Toro whimpered as he watched the repairs being done. He had never seen anything as serious as that. To make matters worse, the healer had to deal with the fact that parts of the stomach were missing entirely; devoured by the Things. Sylas wasn't breathing easily and was already seeming to stir.

Toro darted away first chance he got, running up the stairs. It wasn't much better up here, there was still blood everywhere...he looked around fearfully, his eyes falling on Obelisk. "Where's Jojo?" He questioned quietly. "The kitten..."

"Hm? Ah, Lexi had him," Obelisk pointed into Werr's room. Toro scurried in, trembling at the sight of Lexi and Werr hooked up to the needles and tubes. He looked from Lexi to the unconscious and bloody Werr, unsure of what to say, or how to ask if the kitten was still alive.

((Whoops. I'll change it. Stupid seal.

And the healer wouldn't have put his stomach back inside with chunks missing.))

There was a mewling sound from nearby, and the white kitten wiggled out from under a low couch. At the first sign of danger, he had taken cover, and the Things had left him alone, instead going after the taller, larger, more tasty-looking people. He scrambled over to Toro and jumped up at him, meowing loudly.

Witty, the little golden bug, fluttered past, pausing to stare at Toro for a moment. Then with a chirp and an extra flap of his wings, he wiggled on his way to Keir, who stroked his back and put him into his pocket again. "Ya never know when you'll find somethin' magic," the thief said with a grin. He was fiddling with the black skull that had soaked up all of the Things. He had the key in one hand and the skull in the other, tilting his head to the side as he studied it. It's cheeks had puffed up and its eyes were now glowing red, a sign that it was full.

((I know, Toro was talking about the regrowth of said chunks.

And yes, it's quite literally a blessing and a curse. xD Illusions, confusors, and other mind tricks (like Sirens) don't work on him, but at the same time, neither do pain-numbing or drowsiness spells. I should explain this to the readers soon. .3.))

"Jojo!" Toro exclaimed, stooping at once to scoop up the kitten. He held him close, breathing out a low sigh of relief. He looked over at Lexi again before turning to Keir. "Um...yes, I know. Magic can be very powerful, too..." His eyes flicked over to Obelisk for a moment, before he looked back at Keir. "I-I'm sorry, am I in the way?" He stepped back, out of the doorway.

((Yus.))

"Not to us," Keir replied. "Just pip yer mouth and cop a squat and maybe we'll get 'er done." All Toro could do to that was stare and try to figure out what the heck Keir had just said.

Namanai turned and seized the thief's hand, saying "You're one to talk. If you're going to tell someone else what to do, then I'm going to tell you what to do. Sit down by Werr and give some blood, eh?"

Keir blinked a few times, then put his hands up in a surrendering move, saying "Hey, who'm I to argue with High and Mighty?"

She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jerked him forward, glaring right into his eyes. "That's MISS High and Mighty to you. Am I understood?"

Keir swallowed and said "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Sit down," she snapped, and he slouched his way over and sat down, remaining motionless as the older healer fixed him up with the tubes. Lexi stayed close even after her tube was removed. She put her head against Werr's shoulder, sobbing quietly. His hand was held tightly in hers.

Werr was definitely breathing easier. Toro tilted his head to the side, wondering how much damage Werr had to have suffered to need two blood transfusions. He looked to the girl crying on his cousin's shoulder, remembering her name. He inched forward, then slowly placed Jojo on her lap. "Please, don't cry," He said, biting his lip. "Everything will be fine, right? Werr's not dead or anything..."

The kitten mewled and purred, rubbing against her arms and putting his paws up on her, meowing softly. Lexi sniffled and moved her free hand down, scooping the kitten up and pressing him to her neck, a few stray tears slipping down her pale cheeks and into Jojo's fur. She put her forehead against Werr's shoulder for a moment more, then looked up at him and took in a deep breath. She leaned forward a bit, as if to kiss his cheek, then hesitated and talked herself out of it, still a bit uneasy over kissing him.

Toro shifted his weight from side to side for a moment, then turned away, fairly certain that Lexi needed Jojo more. He walked down the stairs, only to stop in his tracks and sit down right then and there when he heard another scream.

Sylas had woken up. He sat bolt upright, only to fall onto his side, clutching his newly healed stomach. About half of it had to be regrown, and Sylas was apparently feeling pain still. The older human scrabbled for a hold on the back of the couch, dragging himself upright as far as he would go. He only made it to his hands and knees, which allowed the bloodsoaked man to start crawling away from the mess to try and find Leo. He only got about three feet away before screaming and falling over again, hugging his stomach tightly.

There was a crash, and a moment later Leodhaius fell in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. Namanai shouted after him, hollering "You thick blockhead! Are you insane?! Let me finish healing you this instant!"

Leo snarled so loudly and so violently that Namanai flinched and went quiet. Still dripping blood from his nose and from multiple wounds on his body, he stood up and limped heavily towards his friend, leaving bloody paw prints across the ground. He panted hard and quickly, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, and he finally made it to Sylas and flopped down next to him, exhausted.

"L-Leo..." Sylas spluttered, wrapping his arms around his panther friend and sobbing into Leo's fur. He relaxed noticeably, though, overjoyed that his dear friend was alive. "I thought y-you di-didn't make it...I didn't make it, f-for a sec-second there..." He let out a single laugh, then fell silent again, returning to his crying and tight hugging. He didn't even see poor Toro, who had basically thrown himself into overdrive trying to get out of this house. Everything was too much for the poor boy, and Leo nearly falling on top of him had been the final straw.

Leo just kept quiet, panting heavily and pressing his bloody nose into his friend's side. The huge panther curled around Sylas as best as he could, his lungs working to bring in enough air to keep him alive.

Outside, the little Amnairian guard Momeki was standing with the crowd, and when she saw Toroph come outside, she quickly ran over to him. "Toro!" she said. "Are you okay? Is everyone alright?" She seemed more concerned for him out of everyone else.

Toroph looked at her, then back up at the guest house. He walked away from the crowd a bit, and promptly threw up, shaking terribly afterwards. "I-it was awful...som-something bad happened, th-there's blood everywhere..." He suddenly moved, hugging Momeki tightly. "Uncle Sylas was almost dead, Werr had two whole blood transfusions, Ophile was missing an e-entire leg...th-they all look scared, more scared than ever, a-and they were crying and everything...everything scared me..."

Momeki hugged him tightly, blinking her soft eyes in concern. "Oh, Toro..." she said quietly, stroking his back. "It's okay, it's okay. Shh..." She pulled back, taking his hand and moving her other hand up to stroke his soft white rabbit ears. "Would you like to walk with me?" she asked gently. "Moving sometimes helps people feel better." She was blushing ever so slightly as she held his hand.

"Yes..." Toro nodded, slowly letting go and wiping pearls from his eyes. "Yes, thank you..." He murmured, allowing himself to be pulled away from the guest house. He glanced back. The group really had looked scared, aside from Keir. Terrified. Even Obelisk seemed uncomfortable. Of course, they were with the knowledge that it could happen again. At any given moment, they could be attacked again. The guest house had been compromised, and it was dangerous for anyone to be there.

Momeki stroked his fingers with her thumb, smiling softly at him as she lead him to the gardens, walking close and letting him know he wasn't alone.

Inside the house, Namanai had finished with her healings and was checking up on her patients, tapping Cynyr lightly on the muzzle as he roused. "Welcome back to the living," she said, watching as he slowly stood up, his entire body shaking with the effort. He slowly walked towards the door, looking inside and spotting Werr. He walked over, carefully pressing his muzzle to the boy's cheek.

Werr jerked at the rough skin touching his cheek. He slowly opened one eye, peering at Cynyr before relaxing again. He opened his hand then, finally relaxing his grip on Welk. He shakily raised his hand and let Welk slide off his hand and onto Cynyr's head. Werr's arm dropped like a ragdoll's after that, although he kept his eye open to watch Cynyr. Toro had been right; even with the blood transfusions, Werr was pale. It shone in his eyes, it showed with the small tremble of his lips.

He was scared.

Welk was still crying; he hadn't stopped since the attack had started. Cynyr turned his ears down sadly, keeping his torn muzzle pressed to Werr's cheek. He had to pull back a moment later, though, turning his head to look for Seria. When he didn't see her, he spoke to Namanai about her.

"She was taken to the infirmary," the healer instructed. "You are not allowed to see her until she's deemed...ready."

"What happened to her?" Cynyr said, worry creasing his voice. "And the baby? Are they okay?"

Namanai said nothing for a moment, then she whispered "Spend time with Werr until your wife is ready for you. You'll need it." She turned away and it was obvious that Cynyr wouldn't get anything more from her.

The panther now looked worried, and he slowly turned back to Werr and laid down next to him, keeping his head raised and pressed to the boy's cheek.

Werr fought to keep his eye open, and it paid off when Sylas and Leo were ushered (half carried) into the room. His open eye widened a bit and he opened the other slightly when he saw how bloodsoaked Sylas was. His father seemed to be okay, though. Ophile was carried into the room as well, and it soon became apparent to Werr that they were getting the whole party together so that if anything happened again, no one would be left defenseless. Not that any of them seemed to be in any sort of fighting condition, aside from Obelisk. Which, when they motioned for Obelisk to enter the room as well, Werr realized that he was their only protection at this point. And the healers realized it, too.

Obelisk seated himself in the only unoccupied, clean corner of the room (as Sylas and Leo had retreated to one, Forin, Luen, Luna and Diana took up another, and the last was covered in blood).

As time wore on, however, nothing happened. The guest house fell under silence, and the streets outside were quiet. The storm continued on, unbroken, as if nothing had happened. When morning dawned, everything grew brighter and it seemed the worst was over for now. Most of the blood had been cleaned up by this time, and any remaining wounds had been healed. Now everyone was just tired and unsettled, worried for what the future held.