The Forgotten Zodiac

Diana smiled and waved to him, trying her hardest not to cry. She wasn't too sad...Ronan was alive and well and would hopefully be okay for a long time. But it was will upsetting to see someone that cared for them so diligently to just up and leave...Diana turned to Forin and hugged him, not wanting her dear guardian to leave. He quietly assured her that she was loved, then pulled Luna into their hug.

"Luna...would you like to talk to the newcomers with me? I want to meet Dmitry and Marion and Allie and the soldier man before we leave..." Diana asked, smiling a little bit.

The Amnairian kissed Diana on her forehead and said "Of course. I didn't get to meet them well enough either." She moved a hand up and gently slid her fingers under Forin's chin, trailing her nails against his throat ever so delicately before pulling away and guiding Diana towards where the large wyvern was laying outside.

Dmitry was curled up with Marion, quietly grooming his rough tongue down her back scales. Both were in animal form, and enjoying their time in the fresh air.

"Oh? We have visitors," Marion said, sliding down Dmitry's back and slowly curling a wide circle around Luna and Diana. "I don't like being interrupted, you know. What do you need?"

"U-uh...we just wanted to...say hello," Diana said, pouting a bit. She looked around at Marion's coils, and she quickly pulled them back. "We don't really know you too well, a-and...no time like the present..."

"Sorry. Habits. I didn't mean to spook you, child." She said gently, drawing back. "That's very kind of you, actually. What are your names?"

"I'm Luna, and this is Diana," the Amnairian said, stroking Diana's hair back gently. She flinched when Dmitry moved his large head around and peered at her through his brilliant blue eyes. "Greetings," he said. "I am Dmitry Shoko." He tilted his head, then said "What are you? Are you a...lerloch, as you say?"

"No. I'm an Amnairian, from Kaislun," she said, tucking her silver hair behind her ear.

"An Amnairian? Oh," Dmitry said. "It's times like this when I wish I had a new study book..."

"I'll find you one," Marion said with a small smile.

"Luna is an Amnairian, and Forin is a Tartaran! They're from a different world," Diana grinned.

"Like Cyprus?" Marion suggested. "Cyprus and Yemara used to live on a different world, but it was still closely connected with ours. I think Bulliete's capitol was built on top of the place where the gate used to be...poor guy, he can never get home again..."

"Well, Forin and Luna's gate is still intact. Maybe he can go to Kaislun when all this is over?" Diana said, smiling.

"That would be nice," Luna said, though she didn't exactly know how that would work out. It was definitely something to hope for, though.

Dmitry bobbed his head lightly in a nod, then said "It's possible. But I've a question. What is a little girl and a young lady like you doing here, of all places?"

"We go where our family goes," Luna said. "And...well, when we first came here, we didn't exactly know we were going to get caught up so deeply in this war."

Dmitry snorted, then said "You aren't the only one. I...I lost everything..."

"You did not," Marion retorted at once. "I'm still here. I told you I would be your everything for you." She flicked him with her tail, both playfully and lovingly.

"Forin is my guardian. He's sworn to protect me no matter what. So, uh...don't hurt me, please. He gets really angry, really quick. Even if it's just an accident. Werr and everyone else knows to be really careful so I don't get hurt." Diana said, tilting her head to the side. "I've...never actually seen Forin too angry. Aside from that one time, but that was someone else in his head. He's gone now, though."

"So Forin protects you even mentally, huh?" Marion blinked. "Would he...tell you what he's done?"

"If I asked. I don't want to ask."

"Right...let's change the subject. What do you two think of Werr and his little main group? How are you attached to him?"

Luna smiled slightly and said "I think Werr is a good person. They all are, at heart. And we need no other reason to be attached then being friends. We stick with our little mismatched family, huh?" She hugged Diana and kissed the girl's forehead, saying "We watch out for each other."

Dmitry stared at them for a moment, then bent his head and gently nuzzled under Marion's chin, humming a soft note.

"I see...friends..." Marion thought long and hard. "That's not exactly something that comes easy to us. We've seen too much of the cruelty in the world...but I suppose you're going to say that it's the same for everyone else. Diana, you said he was your guardian?"

"Yes." Diana smiled. "He's the best one ever, too."

"Hm...I read somewhere that Tartarans were summoned by females with needs that no other could fufill. And they were often summoned when the summoner witnessess or suffers a great anguish..."

"My parents were killed in front of me..." Diana said, suddenly very quiet. "I have nightmares about it almost every night."

"Ah. Goodness, why do I keep trailing back to horrible topics?" Marion shook her head, flustered. She had upset the girl, and she had no idea what to do about it.

Luna scooped Diana into her arms, hugging her tightly and saying "Don't go there, Diana. Shh, shh, it's okay. Don't think about it, okay? Shh..." She stroked the girl's hair back, then looked to Marion and said "You're a...naga, right?"

"She is," Dmitry said, licking Marion's nose once in a light dragon-kiss. "The best one in the entire world."

Luna smiled, seeing their love easily, and said "She must really be special to you, then."

"More than my own life," he answered softly.

"You look like a dragon," Diana said suddenly, her eyes fixed on Dmitry. "But you aren't a dragon, right? You look...different. Not a Drakeling, either. You're missing the shovel claws," She cupped her hands in an imitation of the curved claws that Drakelings had, part of a cute game she and Boko used to play where they would pretend to be one another.

"He's a Wyvern." Marion smiled, lifting her head and setting it on Dmitry's muzzle. "I'd give anything for him," She said quietly, the collar around her neck a painful reminder of how things used to be. But it wasn't that way anymore, not at all. Marion transformed and pulled on the collar, though she knew it would only shock her if she tried to take it off alone. That was standard. The mark of ownership had to be run across a small metal plate on the back in order for it to be unlocked. "Dmitry, don't you think it's time to take this thing off?" She questioned, smiling slightly at him. "We're free now. I don't want to wear this collar. Especially if we're going to Herrace. They don't want slavery there, and this makes it too obvious to tell where we're from..."

He blinked at her, then transformed and pulled the approprite object out of his pocket, passing it over the release latch and freeing his girlfriend. "There," he said, fiddling with the collar. "You're free now. Just...don't leave me." He tilted his head down quietly, then flung the collar as high as he could and readied a blast of flames, which engulfed the collar and burned it down to ashes. He smiled slighty at the falling ash, then turned to Marion and pulled her into a kiss.

She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. When she pulled away, she said, "There isn't a thing in the world that would make me want to leave you." She dropped her head onto his shoulder, carresing his neck gently.

"We're going to go meet Allie now," Diana said, knowing when it was time to leave. "Come on, Luna, let's go," She tugged on the Amnarian's hand, smiling up at her.

Luna smiled, then guided the child back towards Allie, who was sitting quietly in her wheelchair. "Hello," Luna said softly, smiling at her. "I'm Luna, and this is Diana. We just wanted to say hello to you, you know. Make you feel more welcome." She sat down nearby by, pulling Diana into her lap and letting her sit quietly.

Allie clenched her fits, staring at the ground. "G-give me a moment," She said quietly, looking away. Diana frowned a bit, leaning into Luna's embrace a little more, but she relaxed when Allie did. "Sorry about that. I have a few mental problems. No big deal, really..." She murmured, looking up at them. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Oh, you're the Amnairian. And the summoner of the Tartaran. I've been meaning to talk with one of you...why on earth are you here? I thought Summoning was a dead practice..."

Luna smiled slightly and said "My last summon was many long years ago. I haven't had one since." She started gently braiding Diana's hair, saying "We've had good ol' Forin for a long time, hmm, Diana?" She smiled wider and said "He's also my boyfriend. It wasn't so long ago that such a thing was outlawed in our world, but, here we are." She flicked a lock of her hair behind her shoulder, where it wouldn't bother her.

"I see...so it's a rarity, then." Allie said quietly. "There was once a time when it was as common as freckles! Goodness, how times change..." She smiled down at Diana, who was looking suspiciously at the place where Allie's legs were not.

"Where did your feet go?" She questioned quietly.

Allie thought for a moment, then said, "A witch stole them...but I don't think I can ever get them back." Diana looked a little down after that, so Allie started rummaging through her bag. "Diana, right? Is that your name, little priestess?"

"Yes, and this is Luna." Diana said happily, though she was a bit confused about the 'priestess' part.

"Well, would you do me a big favor? I don't want to be a slave to the temple anymore. Would you cut this collar off for me?" She placed what looked like a clunky pair of scissors in Diana's hands. Diana nodded hesitantly, then leaned forward.

She took one look at the mark on Allie's collar and promptly screamed, dropping the scissors. She tore away from Luna, running to where Forin was and burying herself in his embrace. "What on earth...? Diana, mistress, what happened? Are you hurt, bleeding, what's going on?" He checked her over thoroughly, then was reduced to just hugging her to get her to calm down.

"Did I say something wrong?" Allie blinked.

Luna froze, staring at the symbol on the collar, then quickly grabbed the scissors and practically ripped the collar from Allie's neck. "We do not hold any accounts with Yemara here," she said sternly, not mad at Allie but letting her know that anything relating to the demigod wouldn't be allowed at all. "Don't ever speak about her or show anything relating to her again. It's for Diana's well-being," the Amnairian said, looking sad, then turned and marched out of the cave, where she stuffed the collar into Dmitry's wyvern mouth without hesitating, then walked away.

Dmitry blinked, then closed his eyes for a moment. When he pursed his lips and tilted his narrow head back on his long neck, all he blew out were cynders.

"Oi, neither do I. I was sold to the temple. Who in their right mind would actually like something like that?" Allie snapped. It wasn't her fault, she hadn't known Diana would react like that.

"Uh-oh. You got on the Tartaran's bad side." Cyprus whimpered, peeking over the back of Allie's chair. "They don't like that. You might get a very stern talk."

"Some welcome..." Allie frowned unhappily. "Do they like you, Cyprus?"

"More or less. I think. They don't talk to me too much, but that's not their fault. They don't understand me. And sometimes, I don't think I quite understand them..." He murmured, then jumped when Werr called.

"We're packing up and moving out," The human king told the cave's inhabitants, smiling a bit. "We'll stop for some food about halfway to Herrace for dinner, but we need to get a move on for now." He said, climbing onto Naybrin's back without hesitation, knowing that they didn't have much to 'pack up'.

The others started moving towards Naybrin, gathering some rope from the carriage to help them stay on.

Luna walked back over to Allie and said "Sorry about that stuff with Diana. We're just...very protective of her." She sighed, then said "Here, let's get you settled in the carriage. Naybrin's going to carry it, after all. You might as well right there."