The Forgotten Zodiac

"I can see that. But I really didn't intend for any harm, mental or physical. Thanks for getting the collar off, I suppose...now, would you please help me get into the carriage, and get my wheelchair strapped on? I seem to be a bit...unable to fend for myself here. Terribly sorry about that. I don't like being a burden..." She sighed, shifting uncomfortably.

"Hmm," Cyprus hummed, poking her in the back of the head. "So a witch took your body?"

"Yes, a witch took my body, leave me alone, Demigod." She snorted and swatted at him, clearly grumpy now.

"Sorry." Cyprus backed up, turning and climbing up onto Naybrin's face instead. He sat on the great dragon's muzzle, smiling a bit. "Hi."

((And that basically told Luna what happened to her. Rumors may now spread. xD))

((Rumors? Luna wouldn't spread rumors idly.))

"You aren't a burden," Luna said kindly. "Now come on. Let's get you set up." She pushed Allie over to the carriage and lifted her inside, settling her on one of the seats before folding up her wheelchair and setting it on the floor, tying it down with some rope. "There you go," she said. "Would you like me to stay and keep you company? I can tell you anything you need about our little group members."

((Yes, but others can hear Allie talk. o3o Like Ophile. Ophile is big about rumors. xD He knows everything about almost everyone in the group, so he spreads important things around. Important things might be lost to some parts of the group if he wasn't actively telling things.))

"Um...sure." Allie said quietly. "I guess I can tell you how I got here, too." She murmured, settling down on the seat and getting herself comfortable. She peeked out the window curiously, then sat back again--only to realize that Forin was now sitting across from her, looking...dark. Angry.

"Listen here and listen good. If you ever make Diana scream and cry like that again, for any reason...it won't just be your legs missing. I don't care if it wasn't your fault. I don't care if you don't like Yemara. You must understand something; Diana was nearly sacrificed to Yemara only a year and a half ago. We kept her away from the temples, and we kept her away from the people. I don't know how they got the idea that she was the priestess of Yemara, but she's far from it, and I won't let anyone touch her if they mean to harm her. Do you understand that?" He snarled at her, his eyes almost...glowing. Glowing with a dark red light.

Allie swallowed hard. "Got it. I won't even mention that twisted Demigod anymore. My lips are sealed shut." She backed into the corner of the carriage as much as she could, trembling a bit. Forin swept out of the carriage, returning to his calm state and Diana's side.

Luna also shivered a bit, shocked by his intense level of anger. Once he was gone, they both sighed. "Don't mind him too much, okay?" Luna said, shrugging half-heartedly. "He's really quite nice..." She sighed, then said "Just get comfortable and keep the windows closed, alright? It can get really cold in the air." She stepped out and retrieved something, then gently handed Allie a blanket. "Here," she said. "Just...I'm sorry, for that. He really means well, I promise..."

Then she quietly ducked out, closing the door tightly behind her.

"Alright..." Allie sighed. If she had them, she would have curled her knees up to her chest. But instead, she wrapped the blanket around herself and tried to relax. The next person to enter the carriage was Carlyle; the human wasn't comfortable with riding on the back of a dragon, so...carriage it was. It wasn't much better; he had heard that it would be carried by the dragon. Well...it would be better if he couldn't see anything, he thought.

Spy crawled into the carriage as well. He wasn't scared, but he looked...hungry. He hadn't eaten anything in days. Not many of them had. He wasn't the only hungry one.

They hadn't been able to find anything due to the fire burning, and nearly all plant and animal life was still scarce. It would be for a while. But Naybrin promised they would probably find something in Herrace, so they had something to look forward to. Once everyone was settled, Naybrin took off and hovered over the ground, delicately fastening his claws around the carriage and lifting it off of the ground. He soared off into the sky, easily keeping hold on the carriage.

((I thought Luna was going to stay in the cart with her? Oh well. Dun matter too much. xD I'm skippin' to the dragons and drakelings. >:3))

The days drawled by slowly, crawling like snails, one after another. Vuker recovered slowly, but soon enough, he was working side-by-side with Boko to ensure that things ran smoothly. Boko was excellent at hunting and fishing, and he was a great digger. He and Vuker had dug out an escape tunnel, its mouth hidden so the youngest of the dragons could escape first and gain a little distance in case the Drakeling attacks made it to this area.

It slowly became apparent that something was happening, though. One of the dragons had found an entire Drakeling corpse - recently slain - dropped in the middle of a forest. Just left there to rot. Only a day later, we come to the present.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy," Boko wailed at the top of his lungs, flying into the Sacred Plains and crashing into his father's side. He fell to the ground, winded but uninjured. He was quick to recollect himself and look up at Zephyr. "Daddy! Minna is outside, she's hurt, and she has other Drakeling younglings with her, daddy. We have to help them, I saw her being attacked!"

Indeed, the child spoke the truth; not a mile away, a drakeling female was fighting ferociously against two larger males, and she was losing. She seemed more focused on defending a single spot than attacking; a single spot on the ground where the dirt had been recently dug out. The younglings had hidden themselves, obviously. And Minna was keeping their hunters away from them. Her blood soaked the ground, but she didn't care. Her claws were broken and torn up from fighting, and the number of wounds on her were climbing into the hundreds, but she didn't care. She was far too determined not to let either of these drakelings lay a claw or tooth on the younglings trapped below her.

Zephyr jerked his head up, mouth agape, then snatched Boko up into his mouth without thinking and lunged skyward, feeling the universe tug and pull him towards the fighting. He flew quickly, the wind at his beck and call, and made it to the fight just in time to roar and slam into the two males, pinning them to the ground under his claws. "What is going on here?!" he thundered, bugling his voice down into their ears as powerfully as he could. With ears back, tail low, and wings curled to the sides, he was an intimidating force to be reckoned with.

Boko held onto his father's teeth, so he wouldn't fall out. The two drakelings thrashed, one of them raking his claws up and down Zephyr's leg to try and make him let go. A third, larger Drakeling barreled into Zephyr's side after a moment. This one went straight to clamping his teeth down on Zephyr's neck, clawing ferociously at the dragon king's back.

Zephyr bellowed and tossed his head back, then turned his head around and gently flung Boko into the bushes, so he could have use of his mouth. With that, he screeched and entered into a ferocious fight with the three drakelings, all of whom, when working together, equaled an opponant easily Zephyr height, if not more.

The drakelings were feirce fighters together. They tore through Zephyr's scales easily, and were relentless in their attacks. Minna, however, wouldn't stand for this; she smashed into one of the drakelings, screaming at the top of her lungs. Boko, in the meantime, crawled around the fighting and started digging up the younglings. He was quick to lead them away, guiding them to the Sacred Plains without a second thought.

Zephyr roared and struggled under the drakelings, kicking one off only to be leapt on by another. He was a powerful fighter, every bit Naybrin's successor, but faced with this many foes at one time, he knew he was in trouble. Minna's assistance, however, saved him a bit of damage, and he was finally able to beat the drakelings down and stand over them, snarling and dripping blood.

The male drakelings turned tail and fled at the first chance they got. The two under Zephyr threw sand in his face and took off, screeching loudly. The third tore away from Minna, promptly stomping down on the soft dirt with all of his weight before Minna could stop him. He took off then, leaving Minna to wail and claw desperately at the dirt, digging up the entire patch until she found what she had been looking for. She didn't even seem to notice that the younglings weren't there. When she dragged herself out of the hole, she was holding the shattered, bloody remains of a broken egg. She laid down and wept over it, her tragedy obvious. Her wounds were heavy, and so now was her heart.

Zephyr panted, looking nearly red with all of the wounds and blood on him, then turned to Minna and gently cradled her against himself, caressing his tongue down her back like he would do to comfort Boko. "What happened here?" he asked softly. "Why were they trying to kill you and these younglings? What would possess them to turn against their own?"

((Minna's a fully grown Drakeling. Just so yah know. xD))

"Th-the war amongst ourselves...it's getting horrid. There ar-aren't any nuetral forces anymore, everyone's picked a side. And their side is bigger." She murmured, her wounds great and plentiful. "The very first thing they did was take the younglings. They've been killing the ones who's parents have sided with the traitors. I did everything I could...I got my own daughter and a handful of the other young, and ran for it. But my baby, my baby..." She murmured, then sobbed weakly, her claws scratching at the mess that had once been a large egg, almost ready to be hatched. There was no hope for it now. The egg and the life that it had held only minutes ago were both crushed beyond the point of repair.

((I know.))

Zephyr hummed sadly, then said "There is a place for you in the dragon home. Please, come there with me. You will be safe and taken care of, I promise..." He groomed down her scales again, his kindness overwhelming. "Come with us," he said softly.

Minna pressed her teary face into Zephyr's chest. "T-the other children...if you're taking them there, then I-I'll go too. I promised I would keep them safe...I can't forget th-them just because I lost my own..." She sniffed, lifting the remains of her daughter again. She gently put them in the hole she had dug out, then covered the shell again. She spent a few good minutes crying over the grave, then turned and followed the scent trail of the younglings. Her wings were torn to shreds, there was no way she could fly.

Zephyr watcher her go, then turned his gaze down to the little patch of dirt and closed his eyes. He bent his head and pressed his muzzle to the dirt, then threw his head back and roared out the dragon song of mourning. It was unbelievable to think of the dragon king himself sorrowing so greatly for the loss of a drakeling baby, but he was a passionate, caring dragon. The loss of any life, even that of their enemy race, was a horrible one. He bent his head again and touched it to the patch of dirt, murming a saying they used to bless the souls of dead dragons.

"Felenai uri na tati keshiki."

May you sleep in peace.

Then he turned away and moved over to Minna, bending his head and offering her back for her to sit on, so he could carry her while she was so injured.

Minna refused, but she did lean heavily on Zephyr as they walked. The Sacred Plains welcomed them, and so did the younglings; Boko had led the younglings through the quickest route here, and most of them were uninjured. The younglings crowded around Minna, thanking her and sniffing her wounds curiously. Vuker was among them. Minna saw this and crooned happily; Vuker was her late sister's son. Her nephew. She was definitely glad to see him.

Vaira rushed Zephyr as soon as he got close, setting to licking his wounds. "What happened to you?!" she shouted, snapping her teeth angrily at the scent of drakeling on his wounds.

"Tend...to Minna first..." he said, moving to drag himself into the shade of a large tree, where he collapsed in a heap.

Vaira was not deterred, however, and she was quick to shove Mithor towards Minna, saying "Work on her."

Mithor nodded, then bent his head to Minna, saying "If you would allow..." before gently curling his huge tongue over her, clensing her wounds.