The Forgotten Zodiac

Marion did her best to keep the scents out, but it was no good. Allie suddenly looked up, her eyes locking on Welk, Werr and Naybrin. She brushed a hornet off of her shoulder, which flew away mindlessly. The carriage stopped with a pull on the reins, and Allie waved up at the king and his companions.

"Um...let's land, I guess..." Werr frowned, suspecting the worst.

"Your majesty, I have the prince!" Allie called, warding away his fear. "Prince Dmitry."

Welk eyes widened, then he said "You captured the prince? That's pretty daring."

"Not captured, youngling," Naybrin said, sensing the troubles in the carriage. "I believe the term is rescued."

Welk frowned at him, slowly coming to a landing nearby. Once Werr dismounted, he pulled his golden wings into his body and shook himself, then looked up as Naybrin shifted to human form, stepping forward lightly and gently opening the carriage door. "Oh dear," he said at once. "This is rather serious." He tilted his head delicately at Marion, saying "Good day, ma'am. Might I ask permission to approach?"

Naybrin glanced Allie's way, instantly capturing her with his ancient, celestial gaze. It was like staring into space; vast, wide, and filled with small lights. He turned his gaze away then, instead looking towards Dmitry. The boy was nearly withering in pain, having to cough to clear his throat so he could breathe. Naybrin stepped close, slowly shifting to dragon form, and gently pressed his muzzle to the boy's chest.

The power surge they felt fill the room was awe-inspiring. Dmitry grew still at once, panting quietly, then slowly fell limp. He still looked troubled, but was able to sleep.

Naybrin pulled back, saying "He will heal while in this forced slumber." He shook his horns lightly, flicking his tail, then said "A Strider now, eh? How odd. It feels quite weird. Familiar."

Marion moved in at once, draping herself over Dmitry again, determined to keep him safe. And she was glad that she had moved back over, because there was a noisy thump from outside.

Werr found himself on the floor, staring up at Nate, who had tackled him. But...it was strange. The Dragonian's eyes were a paler green than normal, and his pupils were white. But it definitely looked like Nate. Werr couldn't hold back a panicked yelp as Nate moved his skinless hand up, slowly dragging a claw down his face. He didn't break the skin, though. Just gently scratched him, almost playfully.

"Found it," Allie blinked. "It's not completed yet...how sad. It must be hurting..."

Welk sputtered a muted curse at once, yelping "N-Nate?! Good goddess, man! What the heck happened to you?!" He pushed the dragonian off of Werr, very gently, then said "Naybrin! Can you do anything to help him?!"

The dragon wordlessly shook his head.

Welk looked angry, scuffing the ground with his claws. He looked up as Luna wandered over, calling "Nate? Oh, Nate, where did you...hey!" She spotted the others, her face lighting up, then ran over and tackled Welk in a hug.

Nate watched them for a moment, almost glaring. He turned away, sniffing Allie's 'feet'. He pushed her false legs aside, crawling up onto the seat and leaning up, sniffing her hair. Without warning, he bared his teeth at her in a snarl, but the legless girl wasn't intimidated.

"Down!" Allie said forcefully. "I'm not food!" She snapped, and Nate jerked backwards, stepping away from the carriage. "Skies above, I'm so glad you're not hungry right now...how on earth are you fighting it, anyways?" Nate only tilted his head to the side, still growling. "Can't talk anymore, huh? Hm...Amnairian, how did this transformation start, in the first place? Was he bitten by something, force-fed, injected with something? From the king's reaction, I can guess that he hasn't always been like this...hey, no, no, no!" She suddenly yelped as Nate peered into the carriage. Allie was concerned that he would try to go after the Prince, but the Dragonian remembered Dmitry. All he did was shut the door to the carriage, after that.

Then he went back to lingering around Allie. Like he was waiting until he was hungry before pursuing his next meal.

"I think he was injected," Luna said, still hugging Welk uncomfortably tight. "Can you do anything about it? I don't know how much longer he can last." She sighed quietly, then said "Is Forin with you all? Diana? Luen?"

"Let go of me!" Welk said, wiggling out of her arms. "We found Luen, but...meh, you'll see when you get near him. Forin and Diana are still missing, along with Lexi." He scratched the back of his head, then looked up at Allie. "You know a lot about Skinless Striders. Do you know any cure? Any at all?"

"Injection...so it was definitely caused by that serum..." She looked pointedly at Welk. "The only reason I know so much is because this body and mind used to belong to a Witch. She kind of...stole my own body, and I had nowhere else to go...but I'm not going to bore you with that talk," She shook her head, clearing her throat as she forced down the memories again. "The serum which causes one to slowly transform into a Skinless Strider does indeed have a cure. But if he loses himself before I can make that cure...I don't know if he'll be able to come back completely. I brought a few of my chemicals and a few other tools with me, so I'll see what I can do."

"Who are you, exactly?" Werr questioned, frowning.

"Just a humble slave of a twisted temple. Your Kirin friend promised me that he would come back for me, but then he wound up here...so I'm chasing after him as well as I ca--ahh!" She winced, looking down. Nate had bitten down on her hand, but by the time she moved, he had already let go and scurried back to Luna. He buried his face in her shoulder, falling still again. "Skies above...I know that it hurts, but try to ignore the voices. Eating me won't make it stop hurting. Well, it will, but...it'll kill you at the same time. So don't." Allie snapped, snorting.

"Voices..." Werr shivered. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on inside poor Nate's head right now.

Luna stroked Nate's head very gently, saying "It's okay, just sit still. Alright? Here." She reached into her bag and pulled out some of the cooked meat from the deer, pushing it gently into his hands. "Munch on this for a little while, okay? It'll help curb those instincts." She looked up, saying "Please, let's go back to the others. We can settle down there, and maybe having Luen close-by will help Nate feel better."

Welk barely bit back his answer. "Um...sure," he said. "Let's just go, then."

Nate nodded, tearing off a chunk and putting it in his mouth. He didn't chew or anything, he just held it in his mouth for awhile, rubbing his tongue against it and tasting the juices. It was still a little warm, which was good.

"I hope you don't want to ride in the carriage, because there's no room," Allie said, shrugging. "I guess you can ride on top, but then people can see you easily. And someone has to lead me to Luen, I can't exactly find him on my own..."

"Well, you were heading in the right direction," Werr shrugged, sitting on Welk's back again. Nate, in the meantime, slid behind Luna and picked her up again, flaring his wings and waiting on Welk. He didn't know the way, either.

Welk jumped skyward, flapping his wings rapidly and quickly gaining air. They headed onwards, soon making it back to the small cave they had set up their camp in. Everyone was still there, and to Seria's relief, Luen was sleeping. He woke as the carriage approached, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his single living hand. At least he had gotten some sleep, Seria was glad to think.

Allie watched him from her spot on the carriage, the hint of a smile on her face. Spy, Ophile, and Cyprus were all smiling -- until Nate landed.

Cyprus was the first to react, his arm changing into a long sword that changed colors in time with his eyes. "I won't allow your evil to touch these people, Strider!" He snapped, brandishing his arm at Nate. The Dragonian just blinked at him, not moving. He could smell the Demigod's fear. Well...honestly, it was more like utter panic. Of course, the Demigod had seen the creation of the Strider, something that had happened when Naybrin was still young. The Goddess had created a Guardian for holiness, but that had gone south rather quickly; humans were and still are flawed. That's what made them special. The Goddess had meant it to be so. But the Guardian thought that humans could be improved; the Striders were the result of that.

There were other kinds of Striders; Headless Striders, Heartless Striders, and worst of all, the Pheonix Strider. What the Guardian had called himself after changing his form and twisting his own mind around. Skinless Striders were the most common. Easy to make, easy to control, but hard to kill. Yet Cyprus had thought that they all had been put down. They all had been banished from the mortal realm shortly after Prince Yeshas (the Goddess' half-human child) had been slain in battle against the monsters.

But clearly, Cyprus thought himself mistaken. The poor Demigod didn't recognize Nate in the slightest.

"No, no!" Luen cried at once, quickly grabbing onto Cyprus' arm in an attempt to push him away. "Stop! This is Nate!" Of course, the kirin recognized his dear friend at once. How could he not? Nate had saved his life and been such a close comfort through the years. Suddenly angry, Luen jerked Cyprus forward and yanked his sword-arm behind him, holding it tightly in the painful position. "Don't you dare threaten my friends," he growled, his long ears flicking back against his head, then he blinked and realized what he was doing. He quickly let go of Cyprus' arm, looking shocked. He scurried over to Nate at once, hugging him tightly.

Cyprus wailed, his sword arm returning to just an arm. He curled up where he lay, clutching his arm and crying pathetically. He scrambled behind Seria, curling up around her legs. Where he had been lying, there was a patch of black grass.

Nate patted Luen on the head, smiling. He still said nothing. He had apparently lost that ability entirely. Nate nuzzled his dear friend, still holding the piece of meat in his mouth. Allie cleared her throat; Marion had lowered her into her wheelchair, and she was now next to Luen and Nate. "Excuse me, Kirin, I believe you promised me something..."

Looking slightly dazed, Luen blinked, staring at her for a moment before recognizing her. "You! Um...Allie, right?" he said, his gaze brightening a bit. "I am SO sorry for not coming back to you," he said, patting Nate on the shoulder before moving towards the girl, already fumbling at his waist for the red collar. "Here," he said, holding it out to her. "I really did mean to come and give it to you. I'm so sorry..."

"Understandable. You woke up the next morning and were dragged off to a warzone. It's fine," Allie said, quietly taking the collar. She fumbled with her own, struggling to get it off; they were designed to be impossible to unlock by those wearing them. But of course. Luen had to help her get it off, which didn't take long.

"At any rate, you're at a disadvantage. I'm afraid I've told the prince my saddening tale, yet I haven't even told my savior yet..." She said, fiddling with the symbol on her new collar. "So...I technically belong to Welk now, don't I? Well...I suppose that's alright, if...so long as you...keep me safe." She flushed, then quickly shook it off. "At any rate, I need my chemicals. I'm supposed to construct the cure for your friend..."

He blinked quietly, then gently took one of her hands, startling her into stillness, and said softly "I will keep you safe. I promise, just like I promised to get that collar around your neck." He let go, saying kindly "Would you like some help with your...chemicals, you said? I'll get you anything you need, and I can push you in your chair or carry you anywhere. I suppose you'd rather be pushed, of course." He tilted his head lightly, his bright emerald green eyes holding a tender light.

((Heehee, violent Luen will be fun for you, I think. >:3))

"I would rather be pushed, but I understand if the terrain doesn't allow it..." She peered around. The group had done a good job of clearing enough tall grass to accomodate their needs, but it was clear that they had no food, and pretty much all of them were awfully tense. "My bag is in the back of the carriage," She said. Normally, she would have forced the wheels into movement herself, but she decided to allow Luen to push her.

Nate started picking at the grass, nibbling on it until he decided that he disliked the taste. Then he started shredding it, peeling it apart blade by blade.

"Allie better hurry with that serum...who knows when he'll start to try doing that to us..." Ophile murmured. "Can you comfort him at all, Seria?"

((Just a little.))

Seria nodded, then bent and gave Cyprus a reassuring hug before moving away, walking calmly towards Nate. She sat down next to him and put her arms around him, kissing the side of his forehead. She was acutely aware of a certain single-eyed yellow gaze that was watching her while she was doing this, but she knew Cynyr didn't mind. She stroked Nate's back gently, saying "Hello Nate. Are you okay? Can you last until Allie can help you?" She glanced up as Luen carefully began pushing Allie's wheelchair towards the carriage, to get her bag for her.