The Forgotten Zodiac

Luen stood nearby, watching Forin work and ignoring the entirely new rant Vorpal had gone off onto. He offered guidance and assistance when it was needed, helping Forin shape the thick material. When they finished, they had created a sheath that only had leather on the edges, so the sharp blade couldn't hurt anything, but had small chainmail all on the sides, so Vorpal could speak properly. Luen spent a moment, at Vorpal's demand, staining the brown leather black with some ink he had found, then he detailed the leather with some lines of delicate stitching. Once it was to Vorpal's liking, he admitted that the sheath was decent enough.

"Good. Glad you like it." Forin said, sheathing Vorpal at once and strapping the weapon to his back. "It's a good fit. Thanks for creating him, Luen." He smiled at his Kirin friend, taking Luen's hand. "Let's go get some lunch with Luna and Diana now. Or did you have anything else in mind?" He asked, smiling still.

Luen smiled shyly, then said "No, let's go find them. I could do with some salad anyways. Deer food, you know?" He laughed softly in his hiccupped little tone, then glanced at Forin's back as Vorpal spoke. "That laugh was so adorable that it nearly made me sick," he growled. "How CAN you stand to be around this kirin, master? Mistress Diana, I can understand. I can even understand Luna, as much as I would rather you become simply a lone wolf. But this? Bah. I'm going to sleep, so I don't have to hear anymore." He hummed with energy for a moment, getting settled, then dozed off, leaving them in wonderful silence.

Luen sighed heavily, slowly pulling his hand from Forin's and holding it behind his back, looking sad. "...Let's go, then..." he murmured softly, keeping his head low and turning away from Forin so the Tartaran wouldn't see his tears. He knew it wasn't Vorpal's fault that he said such things. Luen had created him by accident, during one of his more depressed days. His thoughts during the sword's accidental creation had been simple; he hated himself and his weaknesses, while thinking Forin was amazing, with his power and strength. Thus it was Vorpal's entire nature to glorify Forin while hating Luen. Because Luen had hated himself.

But that didn't mean the words didn't hurt.

"FINALLY, he's asleep," Forin spat, annoyed. "Ignore everything he says, Luen." He patted his friend on the shoulder. "I don't think anything of the sort about you. You aren't weak, and you're definitely far from annoying. Heck...I owe you my life, more than one. You're the best friend I've ever had, and nothing a dumb sword can say will ever change that. If it depresses you, I'm okay with throwing this thing away, too. I really don't care too much."

Luen nodded, releasing a shuddering sigh as they walked slowly along. He moved his hand up, wiping his tears away, then rested his head weakly against Forin's shoulder. His left hand took hold of Forin's side belt loop, using that to help guide himself along, following his friend's movements. "...Thank you...Forin..." he murmured, a single stray tears sliding down his frosty cheek.

"It's alright," Forin's smile faded a bit, but he forced it to stay on his lips. "Really." He led his friend into the kitchens, were Diana was sleeping, her head on the table next to her sandwich. She had eaten most of her lunch before falling asleep, at least. Forin's smile grew again at the sight. "I wonder if she'll have a growth spurt soon. Goodness knows she needs it. She's almost 10, and she still is no bigger than a 6 year old. She'll be harder to carry before long, with any luck."

Luna smiled at them, watching as Luen bent and kissed the top of Diana's head, then moved over to find something to eat.

Luna slid her leg out as Forin moved past her, blocking his path and making him stop. Her slender, pretty leg was hard to ignore, and she slid out of her chair and leaned against him, smiling at him. She kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and trailing her delicate nails over his back. She moved her head closer to him, just within reach of his lips, and said "Hi, Forin." Then she pulled back with a flirtatious smile and giggle, taking her seat again.

Forin smiled and flushed a bit. "Nice to see you too, Luna," He said with a small chuckle. He turned to help Luen find the salad and other greens, then found a bit of Cacklegoat Steak for himself. He sat down next to Diana, managing to get settled before Diana shifted, leaning against him as she slept. Forin shifted to where she could be a bit more comfortable, then relaxed and let her sleep while he ate. "How have things been going? Any news from the others? I heard that there were still a few Things crawling about, but I've noticed that Obelisk has the place under constant watch...kinda creepy, if you ask me..."

"Everything so far is fine," Luna said, watching Luen as he took deer form and stood next to the table, munching his way through the salad on his plate. She reached out and patted his flank, smiling when he twitched his skin in a bit of a startle, then looked back to Forin and said "I'm very grateful for what Obelisk is doing. It is a tad creepy, yes, but moreover I'm thankful that he's doing something like this. The more good he does, the more I find myself able to trust him. I can overlook the bandages fairly easily." She leaned over the table, reaching out and touching Forin's nose gently. "Isn't that right, Forinny?" she said, smiling away.

Forin sighed through his nose, shaking his head. "True, but I still get...a terrible feeling. Like...he's not really searching too much. He's watching us, instead. But why?" His frown deepened and he fell silent as the usual shadow passed over the kitchens. It hesitated for a moment, but continued on. "It's not right...the only reason Titus didn't do it is because searching this place for so long...it's incredibly draining. But Obelisk didn't seem to be affected by it at all. It makes me wonder just how powerful that...freak is."

Luna nodded, resting her hand over one of his. "It does give me a strange feeling. I know he doesn't really care what happens to us, but...I don't know. It's just so odd." She sighed, fiddling with a lock of her long silver hair, then said "I suppose all we can do is wait and see what happens. And make sure to protect ourselves well."

A scream tore out from a hallway, high-pitched and full of horror and fear.

Luna jerked up, listening for a moment, then said "That was Lexi!"

*

Speaking of Lexi, at the moment the girl was screaming her head off, trying desperately to get away from a Thing, which had grabbed her leg as she had walked past a small couch. It was trying to drag her under with it, where it would kill her. It was already gnawing on her legs, making her scream louder as she dug her nails into the floorboards, wailing for help as it dragged her closer and closer...

"Luen, stay with Diana!" Forin snapped, standing and charging through the door and out into the hall. By the time they arrived, however, the scene had changed dramatically. Obelisk was standing over Lexi, reaching down to pick her up. The Thing in question was above them.

Impaled on the chandelier. Forin stared up at it as Obelisk opened his mouth to speak. "Miss Lexi, you mustn't wander alone...there remains five Things." Forin frowned deeply. Obelisk had been on the other side of the castle last, at the healers. How the heck did he get down here so quickly?

Lexi cried onto Obelisk's shoulder, her legs bleeding from multiple bite wounds and claw marks. "I-I was...j-just going...to see W-Werr..." she sobbed, closing her eyes and pressing close against him. “I d-didn’t…kn-know it was th-there!”

Luna moved forward, gently starting to use a few minor healing spells to stop the bleeding on the girl’s legs.

"It's okay," Obelisk soothed, stroking her back while the darkness crept up and tore the Thing off of the chandelier, dragging it off to wherever Obelisk had put the others. "I will take you to Werr, if you wish. I will not allow you to be attacked again, dear Lexi." He said gently.

Forin watched, very, very confused. Obelisk wasn't exactly the person he saw doing this job. Being first on the scene, comforting the hysterical Lexi...somehow it seemed...just wrong. Completely wrong. Obelisk knew he was there, too. Obelisk knew he was watching. It was kind of obvious.

"Y-yes, p-please…" Lexi stammered, sniffling and wiping her tears, trying not to get any on Obelisk's bandages. She put her forehead against his neck, trying to stop crying so hard.

Luna backed up, Lexi's legs now bandaged tightly. "That should do," she said, taking Forin's hand and standing a bit behind him. She too saw how odd this situation was. She didn't know if it was simply because Obelisk liked Lexi and didn't care if they saw his affections to her, or if it was something else entirely. But this was, indeed, quite strange.

"Come now. You can thank Luna later," Obelisk stood up at his full height, carrying Luna effortlessly away. Obelisk's shadow, however, lingered. It waited until Obelisk was out of earshot before doing anything, though.

"Was that shocking for you to see?" The darkness spoke in Obelisk's voice. "Did that display of tender care towards anyone else blow your mind?"

"What are you doing, Obelisk?" Forin growled. "What are you doing to that girl? Worming your way into her head in order to get to Werr?"

"Is that what you think?" Obelisk chortled. "Maybe. I could be. For all you know, I could be plotting out your downfall with every ticking second, couldn't I? You want that. You want that reason to go after me. Well, I'm not. What I don't understand," He sounded more angry, now. "Is why it's so unbelievable for me, a human at the core, to show basic affection for another human. The only human in this backwards place that ever spared a thought towards me. Is that really so wrong, so convoluted, that you have to invent some ridiculous story in the back of your head in order to explain why I can only ever be the epitome of evil in all worlds? Think, Tartaran. You've emotions, yourself. You would do the same thing I just did for Diana. Because you care about her. Maybe that's it; I'm not allowed to care. I'm an ever-living, twisted freak who hates all of humanity, and so I'm not allowed to care for any instant of time about any mortal that stands under me. Is that what you two are thinking?"

Luna shivered at the anger in his voice, then said "Maybe it is what we were thinking. Who can say? You're right though, Obelisk. You are a human inside, and we've no right to question you." She held Forin's hand a bit tighter, looking up at her lover's face. "You weren't hurting Lexi. We can see that. She was comforted by your touch. Perhaps we should trust in her judgement of you. She's quite the bright little one, and with her pure heart and all...I'm sure she knows what she's doing." She sighed, then gave Forin's hand a gentle tug and said "Let's go back to Luen and Diana. Goodbye, Obelisk. Thank you for helping the girl."

"Well, if that was what you were thinking, maybe you should visit my room in an hour or so. Where the shadows never sleep." Obelisk tutted, his shadow fading as it moved on to continue scanning.

"Let's...not." Forin shook his head the second they were away from the hallway. "Obelisk...I can say with honesty that he scares me. I don't care what he says, he's always up to something. He has to be. But still...it doesn't make sense to me. Why does he care about Lexi to the point where he would save her in person rather than just having his shadows do it? And--" Forin stopped short as they reached the kitchen. Luen and Diana weren't there. Forin's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to calm down when he realized that there wasn't anything suspicious. No signs of a struggle. The dishes were put neatly in the sink. Luen must have just taken Diana to their room for her nap. Nothing more.

Luna nodded, then said "Don't worry about it so much, Forin. I'm sure Obelisk had his ulterior motives. Everyone has some in someway. In fact…" She smiled and gave him a small push, making him lean against the wall, then pressed close and said "...I think I might have a few of my own." She leaned up and kissed him, closing her eyes and enjoying every moment they had together, while they were alone.

Forin smiled a bit, holding Luna close.

Obelisk set Lexi down gently in front of the door to Werr and Cynyr's room. "They won't want to see me right now. Go on ahead." He murmured, stroking her hair a final time before stepping away. Lexi would blink, and then he was gone. Vanished.

Inside, Werr was still sitting in silence with Cynyr. It was hard not to. He didn't have anything to say...