The Forgotten Zodiac

His plan was met by little resistance. Cynyr didn't want them to go, but he knew finding the others was important. So he remained quiet, other than a soft "Be careful out there."

Naybrin nodded, saying "I will do as you ask, Werrin." He shook his head, then shrunk down and curled up in Werr's pocket.

Welk turned circles around the boy's legs, then carefully flexed his golden wings. Seria had healed his injury, and he was as good as new, ready to carry his friend wherever he needed to go.

"Right. We'll do one or two sweeps before heading back here, alright?" Werr nodded to the others. "Shouldn't be more than an hour or so. Let's go, Welk," He nodded, urging his friend to take off.

"I dunno, Balt. It just doesn't...seem human." One soldier said, staring at the writhing thing under their net. It looked human enough, he looked like a human boy of some kind. But the way he spoke was unfamiliar and creepy, and his eyes...it almost seemed like he was possessed. Either way, Newt didn't trust it. His twin had other thoughts, though.

"Look at him, though! He's clearly a Herrace spy. We're lucky he was caught in these traps, or he might have slit our throats open while we slept." Newt scoffed. "See? He's wearing the clothes and everything." The 'trap' had been a tripwire trigger that threw a net over the unsuspecting boy; it had been difficult to see the dark lines through the shade that the Morrow grass provided.

Thus, Forin had triggered one by mistake. And now, Newt was prodding him in the side with the wrong end of a spear. Of course, Forin was squirming and swearing (in Tartaran) at them. At the moment, he couldn't remember enough Bulliete to explain himself. Newt spoke again. "Well, what do we do with it? Human or not, it's only going to be a nuisance..."

"We could ask that scout woman for some of her fast acting poison," Balt suggested.

"It'll take to long to find her. Let's just use some of ours." Newt said, turning the spear around so it was facing the right way. He pointed it at Forin, who immediately snarled and started trying to claw at the human's leg. The Tartaran screamed when his arm was peirced by the spear, pinned to the ground. Newt borrowed his brother's spear and coated it with a foul-smelling liquid, promptly jabbing it into Forin's shoulder. Balt shrugged and started rummaging around in his bag for something.

A screech sounded, then Balt was suddenly pinned to the ground by something.

Zelana hissed and pressed her claws to his throat, saying to Newt "If you want him to live, you'll let him go. Now." Her tone was cold and dark as she pinned Balt to the ground, straddling him in gryphon form. Her soft, light-blond feathers billowed slightly in the breeze, and though she was beautiful to look at, she was a foreboding, ferocious sight indeed.

"A-ah! Yeah, okay, okay," Newt backed up quickly, dropping his spear at once. "Please, don't hurt him!"

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me," Balt whimpered pathetically.

"KILL HIM! SLAY HIM! RIP HIS BONES OUT OF HIS BODY AND GOUGE HIS EYES OUT!" Forin screamed at the top of his lungs, finally remembering how to speak Bulliete. Balt fell silent at once, his eyes wide as he wondered whether the Gryphon would actually do those things or not.

Zelana threw a leg out and kicked Forin solidly in the stomach, getting an "Oof!" out of him before he went quiet for a bit. "I will let you both go," she spat at Newt. "But if I ever see hide or hair of you around me or any of my companions again, I will not hesitate to end you. Am I understood?" When neither spoke, she screeched at the top of her lungs, making them put their hands over their ears. "AM I UNDERSTOOD?!" she bellowed, and upon comfirmation, she stood and released them, watching as they both fled. She snorted, then turned to Forin and said "Kindly shut up."

"Th-they killed my arm..." Forin squirmed, still under the nets. "Killed it! Look at it!" He snarled, looking down at his hand, which was limp. It looked fine, other than the fact that it wasn't moving. "I can't feel it...it hurts at my shoulder, but my arm...it's like it's not there anymore." He grumbled, clearly furious.

"Yes, I can see that," she said flatly, shaking her beak back and forth. "It's just another poison. We'll find a healer and they'll remove it." She bent her head and sniffed his wound lightly, then said "I've seen this poison before. You'll live." She bit through his bonds, saying "Get up, come on. We've got to get moving."

She tilted her head with a frown, then took human form and stood. She bent and stuck a hand down into her boot, retieving a small bottle and holding it out to him. "Here," she said. "It's a healing elixer, from the Hadaarak desert. If you don't trust me, I'll use some first." She grabbed him by the edge of his shirt, looking hesitant to touch him, and pulled him upright, saying "I think I heard someone from your group mention you, but I don't remember your name. It's not like Werr made a priority out of naming you lot off..."

"I never spoke bad about anyone," she said, closing her eyes and turning away huffily. "I don't have to help you." She was silent for a bit, then slowly said "But...I admit that I need help. I can't go home alone." She turned and looked back at him, then said "Will you...please help me? I...really need it." She fiddled with a lock of her long blonde hair, then said "I need help," rather meekly.

She shook her head, saying "No, I haven't seen her. I smelled the scent of humans when I found some old deer tracks, but that was it. It smelled like two younger girls." She shrugged, then said "Other than that, I've been alone out here. Completely alone." She twisted her hair around her finger, sighing quietly and following after him. She stared at him, then said "So. You have a girlfriend?"

"Deer...hm." Forin said thoughtfully. "Two younger girls...probably not Seria...Lexi and Diana, most likely. Perhaps Luen is with them." He then looked at her suspiciously. "Yes, I do have a girlfriend. And honestly, if we can just find her, she can fix my arms up a little better...I still can't move either of them. But...just because I have a girlfriend, it doesn't mean I'm unwilling to help you out. Are you done with the petty questions?"

She snorted, then said "Fine, whatever. I was just wondering who could possibly stand to be around someone as brutally honest as yourself." She snorted, then said "I can lead you to the deer tracks, if that's what you want. I can fly." She flared her wings, causing her various bangles and dangling gold jewlerys to clink and make noise. "Unlike yourself, I am in top physical condition," she said, tilting her head away from him.

"People tend to be more insulted when I'm not honest about things." Forin snorted. "There's a time for subtle lies and flattery. There's a time for complete and utter concealment of the truth. Otherwise, I really do prefer to just speak the truth and get it over with. Don't worry, though, I get a little...gentler...when I know you better." He eyed her with annoyance when she mentioned physical conditions. "The only hindrance I have is the fact that I can't move my arms. Don't brag about being uninjured, at that. This is a warzone. You don't know what can happen here." He sighed. "But yes...please, lead me to the tracks. We'll follow them."

The winds from the evening had long since died down to a gentle breeze. Luna and Nate had stopped to rest and hadn't started moving again yet. It just seemed...so foolish. They were more or less safe here, near another pond. They had a water source, and they hadn't seen any signs of anyone since last night. The only problem was the fact that they were practically starving. No food was bad for Nate's current condition.

"Smell deer," Nate said suddenly, lifting his head. "Hunt. Kill. Eat." He hissed, eyes narrowing.

((Remember, if he kills anything, his mind snaps under the serum's influence. :3))

((Nuuuuu.))

"No, no," Luna said, gently stroking his shoulder. "You need to rest. I'll go bring you something to eat, okay? I don't have a problem with hunting." She got him settled again, then picked up her knife and slid off into the underbrush, moving quietly. There was a small herd of brush deer nearby. She could smell them just as well as Nate could. She was a fairly adept huntress, and she slowly crept closer. Once she was close enough, she struck as quietly as she could, throwing her knife with skilled precision. Once she had felled a deer, she walked out and started dragging the body back to Nate.

((This was not Lexi and Diana's herd. That would be sad.))

((It was supposed to be that herd. xD Oh wells.))

The rest of the deer, naturally, fled. Nate was busy when Luna returned; he had collected a few dried leaves and twigs from a nearby tree, one of few and far between. He was currently trying to break a large branch into what they could use as logs. When all was said and done, he slowly breathed in and let out enough flame to light the fires up. He clearly didn't like breathing fire in this state; it singed his throat slightly. His usually flameproof saliva was starting to feel - and taste - like sand. Drinking water didn't help. He knew what he wanted to drink instead, too. Blood. But he held back, forcing himself to remain calm at the sight of the deer that Luna had dragged back.

"Food," He said with a smile, his stomach growling.

((Yeah no. xD I had other plans for them. 8I ))

"Yes, there's plenty here," she said, struggling to pull the dead deer closer. "Just gotta...urg...pull this thing...closer..." She finally gave up, deeming it close enough, then slowly glanced sideways at Nate and said "Do you want me to cook it or...are you good? Because I'm going to cook some." She used her knife and carved several pieces from the carcass, setting them near the fire to roast.