The Forgotten Zodiac

She gave a weary smile and said "It'll all be better for me once my husband gets here. I hope Cynyr's okay." She sighed, then leaned against Nate and said "Do you need anything? I know some pain-blocking spells and can mix up a few good potions, if you need them." She leaned up and gently kissed his forehead, saying "I'm glad we didn't lose you, Nate."

"What does that mean for you, though? Can you...never be rid of them?" Seria said, tears entering her eyes. "That...surely that can't be." She reached up and stroked Nate's hair back, saying "You're our Nate. You must get better! You have to! So you can eventually go home and see Tasia again. And your daughter, Ariana."

"You won't be," Seria said ferociously, then put her hands on Nate's cheeks, saying "Look at me, Nate. Look at me!" When he did, she continued. "You are no monster. You will never be a monster. I won't let you. We'll find a way to remove those urges, to truly purge the Strider-ness from you. I promise. Hear me?" She brushed his hair back, saying "Don't beat yourself up over this. I promise everything will be okay."

Nate looked at her, then wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck. He pulled her close, kissing her on the forehead. Then he stood, smiling a little. "Somehow, this will all work out...we normally make it work out." He murmured, then walked towards the entrance. "I'm going to be on the lookout for Cynyr and Naybrin for now," He said over his shoulder, then sat down in the mouth of the cave, staring out at the smoke-filled sky and wishing strength upon his wife and daughter. Wishing they would stay safe while he was away. And that no matter what happened, they'd understand...

"Lexi...how far are we going?" Diana asked for perhaps the fifth time. They were walking deeper and deeper into the caves. Ronan and the herd of deer seemed perfectly okay with it, but...Diana was nervous. As usual.

"I...I don't know," the older girl answered, holding Diana's hand gently. "I'm sure Ronan wouldn't take us anywhere unless it was for our safety." She glanced around, sighing heavily. The deer had been a bit on-edge ever since something weird had happened in the other cave. All of the glowing pixies had suddenly twinkled out, like they were scared of something. Ronan still looked completely at-ease, but if something hadn't been wrong, he would've stayed in the pixie cave. So something was obviously wrong with the way outside through the other cave. Now Ronan was leading them all the way around.

Diana squeezed Lexi's hand, trying to stop her fingers from trembling. The deer stopped for a moment as Ronan lifted his head, apparently listening for something. Nothing. Once they got moving again, Diana peered back the way they had come, for perhaps the fifteenth time since they had started moving. "Lexi..." She murmured. "Last night, I woke up...a-and I saw the scarecrow thing from before. I think it's following us..." She said nervously, unable to hide a tiny whimper.

"What?" Lexi said, glancing fearfully over her shoulder. "Oh no... Well, if it was something bad, Ronan wouldn't be letting it follow, right? He's such a kind, noble deer. I think he really knows what he's doing." She squeezed Diana's hand, then picked her up and moved ahead to where Ronan was walking along. The stag tilted his head to look at her when she approached.

Lexi gently slid Diana onto the stag's back, wondering what he would do at the close touch.

He merely flicked an ear and kept walking, and Lexi even though she saw him slow his pace a bit so Diana would have an easier time staying on.

((Awww, that's so saaaaaad.))

The stag glanced over his shoulder, then lifted his head, seemingly listening for something, then shook his head and picked up their pace a bit. Lexi glanced back at the Scarecrow, then sighed and slowly dropped back to walk with him. She hesitated, then very carefully moved her delicate fingers out and touched his shoulder. "Are you...okay?" she asked softly. "You just look so sad...I don't like seeing people upset..."

((Also, he's really tall. The most she could reach is his elbow. xD))

Cern looked down at her, heaving a sigh. "Not...not really...upset..." He said in his growled voice. He spoke slowly, as he had before. Like words were painful for him to get out. "Sad...yes. I...I cannot find...home. Lost home. No...home lost...me." He sighed heavily, pausing for a moment to try and bend his knee. It creaked and groaned, and only bent about half of what it was apparently supposed to be. He went back to his hobbling gait after that. "Do you have...a home, Lexanna Jura?"

((Oh. Goodness. o3o))

She tilted her head, then said "Well, I lost the home I grew up in, but I have a new one, with people that love and care for me. I live in Alastor castle with my boyfriend now. But...I don't think of the castle as my home. Werr is my home; wherever he goes, I'll follow. Because without him, I have nowhere to go..." She sighed, then said "But because I have him, I have a place to live." She patted Cern's arm softly, saying "Home is what you make of it."

"No...home is a...a place. No one is home...for me..." Cern murmured. "But...I don't...remember. Can't remember." He paused for another moment, this time stretching his elbows. Those worked much better, clearly. He got on the move again, looking as downcast as ever. "Who is boyfriend? Master...loves you like...a daughter. Does...he know?"

She blinked, then said "I though he did. He saw me many times with him. Werr is my boyfriend. And someday...I hope more." She sighed, looking a bit misty-eyed, then shook herself and said "Do you need help walking? It looks like you're having a really hard time." She pressed close at once, taking some of his weight onto herself as she helped him walk.

Cern leaned against her, and together, they were able to catch up to the herd. "Oh. Werr." He sighed. "Yes...master has...mentioned him to me. Do not...know him..." He murmured thoughtfully. "But the name...I know his name. Do not...know how. Or why. Forgotten...everything is forgotten..."

"Lexi? We're almost at the exit..." Diana said from Ronan's back. Indeed, they could feel a gentle draft, a warm breeze of fresh air.

Lexi nodded, then said "That's good. I'll be glad to get out of here." She looked up at Cern and said "That's strange. Maybe we'll figure out what's wrong. Together." She patted his back, then blinked sharply as the warm sunlight outside hit her eyes.

Ronan stepped forth, leading his herd out of the caves and into the sunlight. He snorted, shaking his large, elegant antlers, then turned to let the others out, watching as the does and fawns bucked with happiness at being outside again.

Cern stayed back a little bit, but let Lexi move forward. Diana slid off of Ronan, but stuck extremely close to the herd's leader, clearly afraid of Cern. The scarecrow hesitated to walk out in the sunlight. He did eventually, and nothing really happened, though it was obvious that he didn't like being out in the light. It was because of his appearance. He just didn't look...right. Somehow, he was more terrifying in direct sunlight than he was in the blanket of shadows.

((I'm leaving where they come out to you. xD))

Ronan bent his head and nuzzled Diana gently, then ushered them forward. They had came out in a beautiful, hidden meadow, surrounded by trees and flowers, with butterflies fluttering and rabbits hopping. It was surrounded by mountain, so the fire hadn't touched it. No, the foreboding flames had gone right past it. There was a space in the mountainside that served as the mutual entrance and exit to the meadow, but for now, Ronan was content to let his herd graze and eat.