The Forgotten Zodiac

"Oh, yes...Mirage. How on earth could I forget. I recieved an hour long lecture on prisoner security because she somehow slipped right past me and escaped..." Obelisk snorted. "No matter. You can wait here for as long as you need to. They'll be here by tomorrow morning, knowing them; Diana, the girl who summoned Forin, has a curse laid upon her by Yemara. She'll be dead by tomorrow evening if Welk does not sacrifice a young woman upon the altar in Yemara's old temple. In fact, Diana isn't even with them; she and Forin are in the mountains to the south, searching for their dear friend Luen, who happens to have been bitten by a werewolf. All very unfortunate. Oh, dinner is ready," He sat up a little more as Fawn brought out a tray.

She set it on the dining room table, smiling brightly. It was delicately prepared turkey, set on a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy, with dried cranberries sprinkled on top for flavor. "Oh, my favorite. You spoil me," Obelisk smiled, standing and picking up Malice. He set his son in one seat, pulling up another chair for Zephyr. "Join us, friend. We have more than enough to share."

Zephyr smiled at once, slipping easily into his chair and perching just so. He was able to sit neatly on his hind legs, resting his forearms delicately on the table. Lucky, he thought, that dragons can walk on two legs or four. He turned his eyes to Malice, who was sitting quietly in his seat, watching his mother move through his dark-rimmed eyes. His eyes, so framed in a ring of black, looked vaguely like racoon eyes, peering out from underneath his black hair. Zephyr guessed, without thinking on it long, that Malice had a hard time sleeping at night. His old powers probably kept him awake with nightmares. Another reason, most likely, why he clung to his parents so much.

Zephyr blinked, watching the child shift his gaze to his father, just...staring. Staring with such a dull, sullen look on his face.

Fawn served Malice, then Zephyr, making sure they both had enough food before serving her husband, then herself. Obelisk was distracted at the moment, his eyes fixed on his son.

"Eat up, Malice," Obelisk said quietly. "Your mother worked hard to make you this meal. Perhaps it'll help you feel better," He smiled a bit, though it was obvious that he worried for his son. "While we're here, you can tell me...was there something on your mind?" His food didn't matter; he mostly ate to taste things. It reminded him that he was indeed human, even if starvation didn't affect him.

Malice picked up his fork and carefully got a bite of turkey into his mouth, chewing quietly as he watched Zephyr, who flipped a bite of the turkey into his mouth and swallowed without chewing. "...Dad, something weird has been happening to me," he said. "While you're gone. When nobody is around." He said it quietly, as if he were either afraid to admit it or simply didn't care. "Remember how you and mom told me I used to be a bad man?" he said. "With bad, bad powers? ...I think those old powers are trying to...I don't know...leak out? So...I've...I've been..." He had put his fork down, slowly fiddling with his fingers as his eyes misted over. "...practicing," he said. "I've been using my old powers. And...and...it...it feels...good."

Silence.

Obelisk blinked at him, then sighed slightly. "Your powers aren't bad, Malice. What you do with them determines whether they are good or bad. Look at me, for example...I'm nothing but power. Dark magic with its own mentality, who formed its own soul and gave itself a name. I am considered the epitome of evil, by some; darkness magic is unnatural and...well, to most, bad. Am I bad, son? Am I a being who wishes nothing but pain upon others? Do I cause chaos and damage with intent?" Obelisk shook his head. "I think you'll agree with me in the notion that I am not a bad person. I use my powers to protect my family and provide for them. Saying that your powers are bad are similar to calling a knife or sword evil, because someone brandished it against you. The tool is not what determines good or bad, Malice. You must remember that, child."

The look on Malice's face clearly told that he thought he was going to have gotten a severe scolding. He blinked his eyes, then looked up at his father with something akin to worship there. "R...really?" he said softly. "So...I don't have to give my powers away or anything? I can keep them? I promise I'll only use them for good things!"

Zephyr smiled at him, then said "I'm sure Obelisk can teach you a few things about controling them. You probably should've come to him right off."

"Zephyr is quite correct. You should have told me the moment they started emerging again. I knew this time would come, but when...I had hoped it would have been when you were a little older, but there's no time like the present, I suppose." Obelisk smiled at his son. "I would not take your powers away from you. Only if they threatened your life. Even then, I would do everything in my abilities to help you control them better, first."

Fawn beamed at her husband, clearly happy with his words. She finished her meal, watching happily as Obelisk started eating. When he was done, the man stood and wiped his mouth, smiling. "That was quite delicious. My compliments to the chef." He smiled curtly. "We'll begin training tomorrow, Malice. Fawn, I remind you to give the leftovers to the Peacekeepers, as usual." He returned to his seat in the living room, happy and comfortable. The Peacekeepers distributed the donations to those who needed it; those without homes, depending on such meals to scrape by.

((We should go back to Werr and everyone else. : P))

(('Kay~

Also, when will we go to Forin, Diana, Vorpal and Luen? Perhaps after they break the curse, shortly? That would give us a second reason to flick to them, to see Forin's reaction to the curse being broken.))

Zephyr finished his meal with a quick snap of his jaws, then licked his lips and said "I tire. I think I'll sleep on that nice couch by the fireside. I like where it's warm." He gave his wings a stretch, then bent his head to Fawn as she passed, giving her a gentle nuzzle of thanks against her neck. He looked up as Malice moved to follow his father into the living room. "Hold, little one," the dragon said, making the boy freeze at once. Zephyr moved his head out towards him, watching as Malice cowered lower and lower as the dragon's snout neared his head.

Zephyr blew out a warm breath that ruffled Malice's hair, then gave him the briefest of touches with his nose. "You're warm," he said gently. "When you were at the peak of your prowess, you were cold to the touch. Cruel, and lifeless-like. You're warm now. That's a good sign."

And he turned and walked into the living room, leaving Malice to stare after him. The boy thought about what he had just been told, then, ever so softly, a smile moved to spread over his face, and he followed after the dragon.

*

Cynyr grabbed the edge of a tree branch at the last second, flipping himself up and over around it, landing deftly on the branch. He shook his hair, which was looking a bit fluffed and windswept from his leaps and twists, and glanced down at the road, peering into the street.

He was waiting, rather impatiently, for Naybrin to come out from speaking to the Peacekeepers. He was supposed to be settling the matter of Nate being held captive, but it was taking a while...

So Cynyr went back to his aimless jumping from tree to tree, with not a goal in mind at all.

((I was thinking that Naybrin could know one of the Peacekeepers from a long time ago, and they had hit it off and were talking this whole time. xD))

Werr was still sleeping at this time. Isslia was awake, quietly talking with a man who intriqued her; Sylas, Werr's father. He was most interesting, and he seemed to know quite a lot. Although really...Isslia wasn't the one doing the talking. Any of it. She was technically eavesdropping on the conversation between Allie and Sylas.

Finally, Nate emerged from the jail, his tail dragging on the ground. He was still clearly upset, but as the light from the sunset hit his face, he seemed to cheer up a bit. He was free again...Naybrin had distracted the peacekeeper on duty long enough for them to get away. Seria had helped him get out. It was as Minerva had said, though; he wasn't completely off the hook. He was going to be a wanted man with a price on his head. But he didn't care.

((Haha, nice.))

Cynyr swung up into another tree branch, then sensed something behind him and leapt to the side, whirling and tackling the strangely familiar black shape behind him to the ground.

It was only once he had the other form pinned with his claws to their throat why he realized why it was so familiar.

"Dad?!" he said so quickly that he hardly had time to realize what had just come out of his mouth. He hadn't called Leo 'dad' in so long that it seemed impossible for it to ever happen.

Leo pushed the young man off, saying "Yes, me. Now get off! What was that for?!"

"You were following me!" Cynyr said, his ears flicked back and a hiss in his voice. "How was I NOT supposed to attack you?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry, okay?" Leo said, standing slowly and stretching. "I just wanted to talk with you."

Cynyr glared at him, then seemed to soften ever so slightly. So slight that only Werr or Welk or Seria, someone that knew him well, would be able to discern. "Okay," he said warily. "Let's talk."

Welk glanced over at them from where he was laying with Werr, then shrugged and returned to licking Werr's hair softly. He could talk to Leo later.

"We should probably leave soon," Nate said, sitting down and soaking in the sun, deciding to meditate a bit to gather the rest of his wits about him. Ophile started pacing, also eager to get a move on. Werr stirred at the voice, opening his eyes and looking over at Welk.

"Oh...hey," He smiled a bit, shaking his head a bit. He looked up sharply as he heard a familiar voice. "Dad?"

"Werr, you're awake! Did I wake you? I'm sorry, I was trying to talk quietly..." Sylas smiled as he looked over at his son. "Excuse me, miss Allie, I must converse with my child now..."

"Go right ahead," She shrugged, looking away.

Sylas sat down in front of Werr, smiling. "Hey there, kids." He waved a bit. "Good to see you lot aren't hurt too much."

Welk wagged his tail once at Sylas' approach, noting that Dark was hanging around him quite closely, almost afraid of everyone there. "Yo Darky," Welk greeted nonchalantly, giving a wave at the artificial being, who jumped and stared at him. "Oh...it's you," he said, turning away from Welk at once.

Welk frowned, then shook it off easily.

Naybrin stepped out of the Peacekeeper's office, a happy smile on his face. "I just spoke with an old friend," he said giddily. "I never thought I'd see him again! He believed me when I vouched for Nate. Said he would try to help convince the others that Nate should be left alone and not killed." He smiled happily again, then said "But come, come, we should leave. If worst comes to worst, I'm sure we can pay any bails Nate would need to be a free man again. One of my scales alone would sell for quite a lot." He crouched so they could begin mounting him, ready to leave.

Isslia was first to climb onto his back, eager to get away from the strangers. Werr and Welk were up and on next, followed by Sylas; but of course, the ever thoughtful man stopped to help Allie up, first.

"So we're just going to leave the carriage behind?" Allie frowned.

"We'll come back for it later," Werr shrugged. "We hid it well enough. Right now, saving Diana's life is the priority. We can probably stop by an inn in Vernine. You can stay there while we work on getting rid of Yemara's threat, Allie."

"Right," The girl shrugged, sighing unhappily. She wanted to be more of a help, but...

"It's alright. I should stay with you. Goodness knows we wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Carlyle reassured her as he climbed onto Naybrin's back.

Once they were settled, Naybrin called for Leo and Cynyr, who were still off in the forest. They were hardly kept waiting for long before they arrived, both looking dour-faced. "Cynyr, kindly go and get Luna out of her room, okay?" Naybrin said.

Cynyr stared dully at him, then shrugged and did as he was asked. He brought out a rather limp, lifeless-looking Luna, whom he had to carry because she couldn't stand. He took her over to Naybrin, who held her in his hands instead of let her onto his back. She couldn't hold on anyways.

Cynyr jumped up right as Leo did, except both jumped from the opposite side, resulting in them not seeing each other.

Thunk.

The sound of their skulls colliding was a terrific sound that echoed subtly through the air, and both fell over in pain, rubbing their foreheads and muttering things that the others knew were probably curses.

Nate cheered up a little more as amusement glittered in his eyes. He smiled a little wider as Seria emerged as well, but that quickly faded when he looked down at Luna. "What...on earth happened to her? Where's Forin...and Diana? Did something happen?" He questioned.

"They went off to find Luen." Werr shrugged. "We'll find them later, don't worry."

"Right..."

Cynyr and Leo climbed up onto Naybrin's back from different ends of the dragon, making positively certain that they were seated near their comrades. Leo inadvertantly sat behind Welk (still in front of Sylas, of course), and the movement caught his younger son's eyes, making him turn to face his father.

For a moment, Leo's heart gave a faint flutter. Welk looked so much like Briana. Leo had wanted to try again, wanted to love her...but her family...the threats they had made... Leo hadn't even told Sylas of a few of the things they threatened to do to the unborn infant Welk inside Briana's womb...

"Hi dad!" Welk said eagerly, then promptly hugged his father tightly, burying his face against his shoulder and exhaling.

Leo blinked in shock, then slowly relaxed and slipped his arms around his child, holding him tight and close as he closed his eyes. It felt so good; to hold him close and not have to worry about him reacting badly. Like his other son...

Cynyr was currently pretending that Leo didn't exist and that Welk wasn't hugging him.

"This is...your dad?" Isslia turned, blinking at the pair. She almost looked...jealous. She hadn't hugged - or allowed herself to be hugged - like that in a long time. No matter..." She turned back to the spike in front of her to hold on as Naybrin lifted off into the air, leaving behind the town that hated them so.

Allie held on for dear life, not having legs to grip the great dragon very tightly. Nate had thought to tie her securely down, but she wasn't very confident in ropes. Oh, how she wished Luen was here...he would hold onto her, wouldn't he? No one else really payed her too much mind...

Naybrin, who was flying along steady as they arched into the clouds, gave a soft glance backwards at Allie, somehow drawn to her thoughts. He wiggled his voice into her mind, saying softly I had a very quiet conversation with him not long ago, mind-to-mind, where no other could hear us. He would hold onto you like he holds no other. I do believe the feeling of love has taken his heart, a love he could never hold for Forin or Diana. Their love is different. A close, sibling-love he holds with Diana, and a beloved, loyal brother-love he holds with Forin. Even Luna holds a special love in Luen's heart. But you...he confided in me his feelings. He's watched you, you know. When he was first stricken with his illness, he watched you from afar, simply studying. And his feelings have only grown. He wants to care for you, hold you, do nothing but tend to your every whim. He wishes to be your legs where you have none. For it seems that he loves you.

The king exhaled, then shifted his gaze elsewhere.

Allie only seemed more upset at this. Luen was in danger unlike anyone else here; werewolves were impossible to return to normal. She had once considered the chance that perhaps, someone could love her; she had decided that it would be awfully difficult for anyone to. Yet, Luen had come from the blue, and...well, he loved her. And now he was practically dead. Allie felt like crying, but she held it in. There was no point in sobbing over something like this...

((We can go to Forin/Diana/Luen, or just time skip.))

((Foween, Dinaa and Luween tiem. :dummy: And Vorpy too.))

"Master Forin, do you have the slightest idea of where you are going?"

Vorpal had asked the question four times in as many minutes, and he seemed unsatisfied with any of Forin's answers. He probably could've said 'Yes' point-blank and Vorpal wouldn't have believed him. "He could be anywhere," the sword said, his tone on the verge of simpering but managing to keep it neutral. Ever since his hour-long punishment in the ground, he had been a rather reasonable weapon.

Quite unlike his usual raging self.

"We have to be lost," he decided firmly. "We should turn back and ask for directions. Oh, wait...there are none."