The Forgotten Zodiac

"You would still have me throw aside my own child for your gain," Salana snarled, pulling Lutrez close to her belly. The boy was crying now, not having any idea what was going on. Only knowing that Zephyr and Vaira wanted to take him away from his mother. Salana shoved Lutrez into her pouch, covering him with her paws. "You won't take him from me. I won't let you. I'll fight you to the death if I must!" She hissed at them.

Zephyr said nothing for a long moment, then said "You would condemn him to death, then? If we give him up, then at least he will be able to remain alive. If we don't, then the drakelings will murder every child here. They'll crush your egg before it even has a chance to see you! And all of the other eggs in the Sacred Plains! You would just let them eradicate ALL of us?! I won't allow our kind to die off under the oppression of another! If one must be sacrificed to save hundreds of others, then so be it."

Salana fell silent, and Lutrez slipped out of her pouch. He sniffled, looking fearfully up at Zephyr and Vaira. "I'll go..." He said quietly.

"No..." Salana whimpered.

"If it saves my baby sister, I'll do anything..." Lutrez looked back at his mother and the egg, then up at Zehpyr and Vaira again. Of course, they didn't actually know whether it was a boy or a girl within the egg, but Selana had wanted a girl.

"Give me more time with him, give me one more day," Salana wailed, dragging her child back towards her while steaming tears pooled on the floor.

Vaira fell on the other female with licks and caresses, tears dripping down her own face. Before Zephyr could even open his mouth, she said "We'll give you a day. You KNOW that if there were any other way, we wouldn't be doing this, Salana. I'm so sorry..." She licked Salana's muzzle softly, then turned away and pushed abruptly past Zephyr, making him blink. She was upset and he knew it. He sighed heavily, then looked down at Salana and whispered "I'm sorry... Somehow, someway...I'll make it up to you. I don't know how, but...I will." He turned away, but not before looking back at the single little egg, sitting in the nest. "...It is a girl, you know," he said softly. "She'll look like you. And she'll be beautiful."

Then he slowly walked out.

Salana didn't move, didn't say anything. As Zephyr and Vaira left, they could hear the dragon song of mourning erupt from the cave. Boko's own wail arose from where he lay next to Mithor. The poor 'Dragon Prince' felt horrible. Terrible. Someone was losing their child because of him, he felt. He didn't like it, he hated it. He wanted to run away or something, but...he knew that bad things happened when he ran away.

Vaira walked over, bending her head down to touch Boko's muzzle gently with her own. Zephyr paced back and forth, raging silently. "Du'uru is going too far with this," he spat. "Never before have drakelings been this unruly. Neither of our sides has ever made such terrible demands of the other! Not in Naybrin's day, yet in mine? How can this be?" He sank down, digging his claws into the ground angrily. "Ever since Du'uru was made leader, things have just been going downhill for the both of our kinds," he said quietly, resting his head on the ground and sighing, tears forming in his eyes.

"Du'uru..." Boko murmured. "He was never taught patience. He's the fourth king of his kind...all others were killed by humans when they attempted to make peace. Du'uru hates humans for that. We Drakelings can't fly as well, we're vulnerable to humans. But if a dragon was on their side, even a single dragon...I fear he may use Lutrez against the humans. To slay them, town after town, city after city..." Boko sighed, speaking honestly. They were just facts. He didn't know how he knew them, at that.

Zephyr closed his eyes quietly, then said "Why am I not strong enough to stand up to him?!" He punched the ground, snarling, then said "Naybrin wouldn't give in like this! He would fight! Du'uru's demands are unreasonable! Why should we separate a family like this?! We FOUND and ADOPTED Boko! We didn't steal him, we didn't kidnap him!" He threw his head back and screamed so violently and so loudly that it was heard for miles.

Boko turned to Vaira, flopping his front half down against her muzzle and letting his tail hang as he cried more.

Miles away, Du'uru's ears perked at Zephyr's cry. A dark shape on the Drakeling's head whimpered slightly at the sound.

"Oh, shut up," The great Drakeling growled. "This war has been pending for a long time now...now that it's finally coming to frutition, you want to back out?" The shape muttered something. It sounded like hissing, but Du'uru clearly understood it. "Yes, I know you've never wanted a war. How could you? But you're on our side, so you'll do as I say." No response. "Good."

Du'uru took off once more.

((Skip to dawn?))

Lexi slowly opened her eyes, hearing the sounds of birds chirping and horses moving about, coupled with a large lion half-cat purring in his sleep.

The girl blinked her eyes slowly, moving a hand up to rub them. She sat up, brushing her hair back, then looked to the bed just to the side of hers, were Werr was laying with Welk, back to back. Welk purred even in his sleep, and Lexi had to smile at the two friends' bond. She slid to the side of her bed, her soft white nightgown moving behind her, and nearly yelped as her bare feet came into contact with something warm and leathery.

Naybrin blinked and glanced up at her, eyeing her toes, which were touching his belly. He had been sleeping contentedly on his pillow, between Werr's bed and Lexi's, and he had been woken at Lexi's touch. She hadn't hurt him, of course; it was just a small tap. He gave her foot a soft lick, saying "Good morning, Echo-Song."

She moved her feet away from him, more out of a quiet, fearful respect than not wanting him to touch her, and said "G-good morning..."

Werr was the next to wake up, though he laid there and listened to Naybrin and Lexi talk for a moment, then he pushed himself upright as Nate opened the door. "Good morning to you both," He said with a smile. "I hope you're well rested, Naybrin. Breakfast is here, by the way," He tossed a bag of what appeared to be pastries on the bed. Doughnuts, croissants, and a few tarts. "Courtesy of the baker next door. We're like celebrities...terrible. I hate it. We can't sneak around like this at all..." He sighed through his nose, then smiled again. "But, I suppose it's unavoidable."

"Yeah," Werr nodded, picking up the bag and pulling out one of the tarts. They were absolutely delicious, all of it. Perfect, tasty, and filling.

Lexi smiled and picked up a tart, nibbling quietly on it as Naybrin climbed up onto Werr's bed, plunging his head into the bag and pulling out a croissant, plunking down on the edge of the bed and munching away.

Welk woke up not long after, smelling the sweet scent of the food. He took human form and took two doughnuts, taking a bite out of one and then the other.

Werr chortled at this, then looked up as Nate spoke again. "The townsfolk keep saying something about a priestess. I barely understand their questions, I dunno what to do..." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Ignore them," Werr shrugged. "We don't have any priestesses here. They must be confused or something. We don't have time to answer questions, anyways. Naybrin, are you ready for another flight? This one is shorter, we should be at the capital city by noon, and you can take as many breaks as you need to." He smiled happily.

((We'll have to take one break, preferrably just south of the capital city, where there's a waterfall. :3))

((Mew.))

"I assure you, Dark-Eyes, that I am well rested," Naybrin said, fluttering his wings. He bit off another chunk of his croissant, crunching it up with his sharp teeth. Once he finished, he stood up and walked into the bathroom, saying "I'm going to take a bath in the sink. Hope you don't mind." He left the door open and they heard the water start running, followed by soft splashing a moment later.

Welk kept eating away, looking perfectly content.

Werr folded his fingers behind his head and leaned back, smiling happily. "At any rate, Nate, go make sure the others are fed and ready to go."

"Of course." Nate nodded and moved off.

Before long, they were all climbing on the back of Naybrin again, the townsfolk cheering and waving them off. "The crowd loves you," Werr nudged Welk with a grin.

"Of course they do!" Welk said, wrapping an arm around Werr's neck and waving crazily, closing one eye in a wink. "I'm freaking handsome. They can't help but love me." He let go and laughed, and Cynyr, who was sitting behind them, found himself very grateful for the sound. Not too long ago, they had been worried about never hearing it again, what with Malice haven't been running loose...

Werr smiled as well, then braced himself as they took off. He watched as, once again, the world opened before them like a map. The land here was...different. Werr noticed that at once. It was incredibly hot here; the trees were massive and tucked extremely close together, the floor invisible due to the thick canopy of trees. It would be...disastrous if any of them were to be lost. It seemed as though there were a few places that seemed tamed enough; the areas around the river were mostly clear, and a large main road was visible, cutting through the huge jungle. Another road was visible not too far off; it seemed as though all the major cities were connected directly to the capital. Werr knew this to be so from the maps he had read and memorized before coming here. Werr also knew about the Wall; a massive cliff, seemingly unnatural in the way that it suddenly jut upwards. It cut across the entire peninsula, at that; a huge waterfall cascaded down the cliff a few miles south of the capital city.

It was beautiful. This land...it was strange, foreign, but it held a certain beauty in the way that it was formed. So even though the sun beat heavily down upon them, the ride was most enjoyable.

Welk jumped off of Naybrin at one point and flew for a while beside him, working on his endurance. Naybrin had to slow down a little at this, but nobody really minded. And when Welk finished, he was grinning, feeling like he had accomplished something. Finally, Naybrin landed on the edge of the cliff, far enough away from the edge to ensure that nobody could fall off of his back and end up going straight off of the cliff. Once everyone was off, the First King walked to the edge and peered over, spotting the water far down below. "An amazing sight, this is," he said, smiling slightly. He felt something brush against his leg and glanced down to see Welk nearly about to fall off of the edge, he was leaning so far over. All it took was a small bump from Naybrin to send him over completely, giving a sharp screech before remembering that he had wings. He flew up over the edge, crossing his arms and frowning at Naybrin as the dragon chuckled.

Werr laughed at this, grinning. "Take me for a fly, Welk. Just a quick one?" He asked quickly, beaming. Nate stayed away from the water.

"Be careful," He warned as Diana leaned over to drink a little from a trailing stream next to the huge, rapid river. "Just one trip could send you over," He said, taking a swig from a bottle. Rum today, certainly tastier than wine, in his opinion.

"Yes, thank you, Nate," Forin snorted, insulted by the thought that Nate assumed he didn't realize this. "We'll try to keep our balance when we go for a swim," He said, grinning when Nate did a small spit-take.

Welk nodded, smiling and shifting to lion form so Werr could get on. Once the boy was settled securely on his friend's back, Welk moved to the edge and leapt off without hesitating, arching up strongly into the air. He had trained hard in the short amount of time since gaining these wings, and he was a good flier. Since his wings were so big, he could easily carry his own weight, along with Werr's.

Naybrin watched them go, then said "There's a pond not far away that I wish to bathe in. I'll probably sleep, so do send someone after me once you're ready to leave, yes?" He crouched for a moment, then jumped into the sky, flying off towards the northern pool.

Cynyr laid down with a grunt, looking positively ragged. Seria watched him for a moment, then knelt next to his head and gave his fur a soft stroke. "I'll go find you some herbs to soothe your joints, okay?" she said quietly. He turned his eyes up at her, then said "That would be great. Thank you."

She nodded, then took cat form and trotted off into the forest, rubbing up against Nate as she passed him.