The Forgotten Zodiac

"Fine...much better than before. I kind of...merged my hand with you for a second, there. I think that made you black out. I'm sorry..." Forin said, leaning back against the tree. He wasn't exactly...well, he didn't have enough strength to walk around or anything of the sort. So he laid back and closed his eyes again, stabbing Vorpal into the ground next to him. "I'm not dying anymore, though...isn't that good, Vorpal? I'm not dying..." He smiled slightly. "We're gonna be okay. Zelana will be back with Seria eventually..."

Ophile turned his attention to Luna. He didn't want to hurt the Amnairian, but...she just seemed so...out of it.

She was sitting motionless, her eyes wide and fixed on a single point on the ground, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, which were pulled up to her chest. Tears were dripping down her cheeks, and she almost looked like she was in another world. She clearly wasn't 'there' at the moment...

Seria carefully stepped close, then touched Luna's shoulder gently, calling "Luna? Luna, are you okay?"

The reaction was instant.

Luna screamed and lunged frantically away from Seria's hand, wailing "Don't touch me!" She scrambled up and raced out of the cave, crying at the top of her lungs. The fire was just passing by this time, and the air was filled with ash. Luna didn't care, however. It was like she had...snapped.

Ophile darted after her, tackling the Amnairian to the ground. He didn't care how much she screamed and cried, He wasn't about to let her run out and get burned to a crisp. "Pull yourself together!" He snapped, pinning her to the ground with his heavy paws. "I'm not hurting you, I'm trying to help you! Let me know what's wrong, let me see, Luna..." He whimpered, lowering his muzzle down to her face. "We have to help you. Forin will be so upset if he sees you like this...

"No, no, no!" she screeched, flailing under his paws. "Don't touch me, don't bite me! Don't, don't!" She sobbed, cringing away from Ophile as if he were something trying to kill and eat her. Her long silver hair was becoming tangled beneath her as she struggled, wailing about...voices. Like a being gone insane, she cried into her hands, saying something about how afraid she was of something. Something wrong and terrible and so very, very frightening.

"Luna, Luna, Luna," Ophile wailed, lying down on top of her and ceasing movement. He was careful to place his chin on her uninjured shoulder. He didn't let her move, keeping her pinned to the ground, but he curled himself around her and forced her to stop moving under his hulk of fur. He whimpered and cried, desperately wanting Luna back to her old self again. This wasn't like her. Honestly, he was more frightened for her sanity than the thing she was afraid of.

"I want to get away!" she cried. "I need to get away, make them stop, I can't do this! Someone, anyone, please help me!"

"Luna!" Luen cried, darting out to kneel next to the Tartaran and frantic Amnairian. "Luna, stop! You're hurting yourself! Please, what's wrong? Let us help you." He gently touched her shoulder and she fixed him with her wide turquoise eyes.

Instantly, as she stared at him, with a sudden surge that Ophile (with his innate wolf senses) picked up on, her fear levels peaked.

She went limp under the Tartaran, sinking so quickly into unconscious that it was clear it was a way of self-defence; so the voices and horrid waking-nightmares she was having would stop.

Ophile stood and stepped away from her, shaking his head with a small sigh. "This is not good...I have no earthly idea what to do now. I think the most we can do...is get her into the carriage or something..." He sighed, shaking his head. "At least Seria can fix her shoulder now."

Luen nodded, not liking the look she had given him before she had passed out. He carefully picked her up, finding her weight not a problem at all despite his normal fraility, then carried her into the carriage and set her down gently. Seria came in next, gently setting to work on the Amnairian's shoulder. Once it was healed, she pulled a brush from her bag and began working the knots from the other girl's hair. "I don't understand this behavior," she said softly. "I hope she hasn't gone insane..."

Ophile hung around near the door, his eyes filled with worry. "I hope so too..." He flicked his tail, accidentally whapping Nate in the face. The Dragonian groaned and stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He twitched oddly, but quickly realized that a couple more of the bunny babies had settled on his chest. He slowed his breathing again, not wanting to disturb them very much. He had no idea what was going on, or where they were, but that was a moot question, at this point. The others were here. Everything was okay.

Seria glanced over at him, then finished with Luna and moved over to him. "Nate," she said softly. "Are you okay?" She sat down by his head and gently stroked his hair back, saying "We were so worried about you..."

When he saw Seria close to Nate, Luen moved over and hovered close-by, worry etched into his expression.

"Some more than others," Seria commented lightly, smiling.

Nate blinked at her, then slowly nodded. "I think..." He said hesitantly, swallowing a bit. "I think I'm okay...I feel better. Much better. Weaker, but...doesn't matter.Rather be weak and right-minded than strong and eating people..."

"I concur," Ophile snorted, sounding bitter and angry. "You should have thought about that earlier."

Nate stared at him for a moment, then looked up in Seria in confusion. Then he relaxed again, looking down. "I...attacked someone, didn't I? I remember eating...who? I...I didn't kill anyone, did I?"

"You didn't kill anyone, but you did try to eat Luna," Seria said quietly. "I think that might be another part of her current trauma." She glanced over at the unconscious girl, then looked back at Nate and said "But you're okay now! That's good." She sighed, then murmured "We thought we had lost you..."

Nate closed his eyes for a moment. "Luna...of all people...she helped me, Seria. She kept me sane. I would have broken a long time before I did, if she hadn't been there..." He sighed, opening his eyes again. "Trauma?"

"She's suffering from waking nightmares and hallucinations. She was hysterical before she passed out...at least we got the wound fixed before too long." Ophile snapped unhappily.

"Oh...are you angry at me, Ophile?"

The wolf hesitated, but he spoke openly. "Yes. I am a bit...'angry'. I don't want to be, but my sister has apparently lost her mind, and...you're somewhat at fault. 'Somewhat'." He snorted and curled up in front of the carriage,

Seria sighed, then turned to Nate and said "Don't let it bother you too much. You couldn't control yourself. I understand." She kissed his forehead gently, saying "Get some rest. That's probably just what Luna needs too. I know she was very tired." She held Nate's hand then backed up with a smile as Luen moved over in deer form, laying down next to Nate and curled his narrow head close. "Oh, Nate..." he said quietly, closing his eyes and pressing close.

"Luen..." He sighed, shifting closer to the Kirin. The rabbits, in the meantime, fled. They had taken one whiff of Luen's scent and high-tailed it away from there. Nate watched them go, then looked down at himself. He still lacked skin, which was starting to get...painful. "Luna helped me tear some of it off...it was itching badly, and it hurt...but in the end, taking it off...just made me realize that I was quickly growing into a monster..." He said softly, pressing his face into Luen's side. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."

Luen nuzzled Nate gently, saying "Shh, shh, it's okay, Nate. You're here now, and you're healing up nicely. Everything will be okay." He curled his shaggy-furred body around the dragonian, beginning to tenderly groom his friend's hair. "You'll be fine, Nate," he said, breathing out an icy breath over the wounded dragonian. "Okay?"

"When I saw those mice...I don't know why, but they made me think about Tasia and Airiana...so helpless...S-so when I killed them, I..." He whimpered. "I lost it. I thought I had actually killed them...it was all my fault, Luen, all my fault! I did it, I killed them, and I can't bring them back!" He sobbed weakly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

When he was finished wailing, he quickly relaxed and pulled himself together. "But...they aren't dead. They're back home...safe. Safe and sound. They were just mice...just mice..." He started drifting off again, exhaused from crying and moving about.

Ophile sighed. "If you get Cyprus to sit near him, his skin will grow back quicker," The wolf said quietly. "And Nate...I forgive you. I'm sorry I was angry at you..."

"That's okay..." Nate murmured, starting to close his eyes, his arms still wrapped around Luen's neck and his face still buried in fur.

Luen lipped gently at Nate's hair, nuzzling him over and over. "Sleep," he said quietly. "Just sleep. "You need it." He lifted his head, watching the world for a moment, then said "Everyone will be okay. I'll make it so, if I have to." His eyes fogged over for a moment, then he shook himself and sighed. He lowered his head to the ground, then gave a very slight smile.

"I will make it so," he repeated, his eyes gleaming brightly for a moment before he closed them, dozing off.

Nate sighed and dozed off as well, though his sleep was clearly unsettled and full of terrors. Ophile eventually walked over to Cyprus, nudging the Demigod towards the Kirin and the Dragonian; Cyprus didn't quite understand, nor did he want to; Nate still looked like a Skinless Strider. But Ophile made him sit close anyways, and made him stay. And eventually, Cyprus fell asleep, lying against Ophile comfortably. The wolf lowered his own head to doze. Just for a bit.

((Shouldn't it be about the time that Zelana shows up?))

((I hadn't forgotten. :3 I was just about to.))

Their sleep was interupted, however, by the arrival of a large blonde gryphon.

"I thought I smelled smokey humans and lerloches!" Zelana squawked, coming just short of a crash landing outside of the cave. "Finally! I need you the one called Seria to come, right away! I've left him by a tree, but I suspect he's going to die or get captured any minute now, so-"

"Wait, wait!" Seria said, hustling over to the gryphon. "What are you talking about? Who did you leave by a tree?"

"Why, Forin, of course!" Zelana said loudly. "Isn't he with you all? Never mind, we don't have time for this! Just come with me!"

Seria's eyes widened, then she turned to grab her bag.