The Forgotten Zodiac

Diana giggled and kissed Luen back. "Yes, I'm alive and well. Yemara put a curse on me, but that's gone now." She snuggled up against him before glancing back at the entrance. "Forin...are we going to walk back in the dark?"

"I was...planning on it, but I suppose we can stay here and rest a little more..." Forin sighed.

((Ghoooooost pack.))

((How does she know? ))

Luen sighed quietly, then suddenly jerked his head up and froze, his ears cocked forward. He hardly even breathed, he was so concentrated on listening. His black nose quivered ever so slightly, then he gave a fearful bark and said something that made their blood run cold.

"We've been discovered. The Ghost Pack is here."

And a lonely, haunted howl echoed through the air.

Luen snarled, his ears flicking back, then moved in front of Forin and Diana, saying "Stay inside...no matter what. Their bites...won't hurt me. Still have that...flower...working for me. You both don't..."

Forin growled at this. "No. No, no, absolutely not. They'll tear you apart, Luen." There was an audible snap, and a crack appeared down the middle of his face. He shook off his crumbling skin quickly, moving towards the entrance. "I'll kill them before they get the chance. In this form...I don't know how, but I know that they can't turn me. I'll destroy them all," He said dangerously.

Luen suddenly grabbed Forin by his shoulders and barked "No! This form no good!" into his face. He calmed quickly, slowly letting go of Forin's shoulders, then said "Forin...something...this...I don't...this form not good. Something bad is here, where it not need be." He brushed his claws against Forin's chest, saying "Feels like it...eating you...piece by piece..." He cupped his claws under Forin's chin, looking so sad. "Don't go," he said softly. "You come for me...when could have left me...don't leave me again."

"I'm fine, Luen. And I can't let you be killed...I'm not going to leave you. Nor am I going to let you leave me." Forin pushed his way out of the cave, drawing Vorpal. "Can I merge with you? I can be faster and stronger if I have your power helping me...but I will not force you, my friend. Only if you allow such a thing." He said quietly, awaiting the arrival of the threatening 'Ghost Pack'. They were no ghosts. Ghosts could not be killed. These wolves would die at his hand today. Every last one.

Luen whined, then his head suddenly throbbed and he whimpered, clutching his skull. He snarled when he heard the approach of the starved, feral wolves, who were rapidly closing in on their location.

Vorpal woke quickly, giving a stifled yawn before listening to Forin and sensing the situation they were in. "Yes, Master Forin," he said quietly. "I am only your weapon. What you would do with me is your will, not mine. I am only to obey." He steeled himself, saying "I'm ready, Master Forin."

Forin nodded, his crystalline skin stretching up over his weapon and attaching it to his arm. He looked back into the cave. "If one of them slips past me, Luen, I'm trusting you to keep her safe. Don't let her get bitten." He said quietly, then stabbed the rock above the entrance and sealed it from the outside again. He turned towards the oncoming wolves, his sword-arm glinting in the light of the sun.

Luen let out a strange sound, almost like he was in pain, then went silent when he heard the air grow still.

The wolves were creeping up from all sides, their frothy mouths dripping their sick yellowed poison. They were bony, twisted creatures, with hardly a sense for pain or fear. The pack had clearly suffered hard hits since the last time Luen had seen them; there were only about thirty left in total. They had no pups anymore; they weren't healthy enough to successfully breed and produce litters. Knowing they were on their dying legs (literally), they slowly approached the mountain-side cave, snarling and padding as quietly as they could.

Forin didn't seem afraid. He certainly didn't feel afraid. This power...not only did it lend him strength and energy, but it held back his fear and panic, and let him think straight no matter what the situation. It was wonderful. He loved every second of it--and he was getting more and more dependant on it, he realized quietly. But he didn't see what was wrong with that. He didn't see why Luen hated it so much. He could do anything like this!

So when the first wolf lunged to attack, Forin easily slashed out, slicing it literally in half. "Come on, then! Meet your last foe, breathe your last breath."

The wolves all leapt forward at that, teeth flashing and claws arching down to connect with the Tartaran. He heard the sounds of snarling, yelping and yowling from the cave behind him, and he realized that several wolves had dug in through the ceiling, working feverishly to get in. Luen protected Diana with his own body, ripping the wolves apart before they could so much as look at her.

The pack attacked relentlessly, sweeping here and there to avoid Forin's attacks.

Forin sliced through one after another, after another...there were only around thirty, but it seemed to be hundreds, the way they relentlessly attacked. Once Forin found space, he attacked the ones digging into the cave; he furiously grabbed one by the tail and wrenched it out, throwing it against the rock face. Forin found himself being bitten before long. They weren't mindless animals; one of them grabbed the shoulder of his sword-arm in its jaws, while another two grabbed his other arm and apparently tried to rip it off. While he was distracted with that, his middle was vulnerable, which met quite a bit of clawing and biting and snarling. But he finally managed to get himself free, tearing viciously through the ones holding him still. Diana's scream alerted him to the fact that they were still going after the ones in the cave.

Perhaps they already knew that they couldn't turn him, and were going for Diana. Forin was filled with an unspeakable hate the second he realized that. "DIE!" He screamed with rage, dragging two at a time out of the hole and slaying them.

Luen bellowed as several more wolves slipped through the hole, tearing them to shreads as they sank their teeth into his arm and shoulders, trying to get at his neck. More kept piling in, while several others distracted Forin. Luen's white coat was turning red, but he fought well, keeping the wolves away from Diana. He refused to let them near her at all. And she had Spy in her arms, too, so that was two lives he was protecting.

Diana shrieked as a set of claws scraped her leg. Luen was on said wolf before it could bite her, thankfully.

By the time the last of the wolves were dead and deader (so to speak), Forin was bleeding profusely, more red than black. He dropped down into the hole, immediately moving towards Luen and hugging his dear friend. "You're alive. You're okay. It's all okay now." He murmured gently, returning to his normal body as he said that. It hurt...skies above, it hurt. But there were no bite marks. His power had removed them all, but he was definitely still clawed up rather badly. He nearly went limp against Luen, barely managing to keep himself on his feet.

Luen ignored his own furious bleeding in order to comfort Forin and Diana, bathing them both in turn with his tongue. Big tears leaked from his eyes, slipping down into his thick fur, where they were lost. He whimpered in pain again, then nosed Forin's pocket and dug out a few petals from the Wolf's Bane flowers that had been there. He barked a few times and whimpered and cried, but he forced himself to swallow them, muttering "They bit me a few times...gotta make sure..." He was shaking, his limb barely able to curl around Diana and hold her close.

Forin leaned against his friend and stroked him gently. "Okay. Okay...and we'll find more, if we need it. It's all okay now," He murmured gently, burying his face in his dear friend's fur.

"Thank you, Luen," Diana said quietly, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Luen..."

"Yes! Yesyesyes, I love you too. Thank you for not letting us die." Spy whimpered, clearly scared beyond wit's end.

Luen gave Diana his snuffled kiss again, tears dripping from his eyes as another harsh pain shot through his brain. He whimpered and cried softly, then slowly calmed and wrapped his arm around them all, trying to hold them all as close as he could. He snuffled his nose against Forin's forehead too, then buried his muzzle against Diana's neck, sighing heavily.

Diana fell asleep there, while Forin dressed up her wounds along with fixing himself up. He did what he could for himself, but he knew that he would be weakened in the morning. And they couldn't afford to stay in one place for much longer...

The inn was warm and cozy, but Werr couldn't sleep. He kept thinking that something was off...something very, very bad. That same feeling again. A familiar feeling that he couldn't put his finger on...it was stifling. But indeed, eventually he succumbed to exhaustion and fell fast asleep.

But when he woke up, it was essentially pandemonium.

Cynyr and Welk were both nowhere to be found. Werr found himself tied to the ceiling, secured with thick ropes and his voice blocked by a gag. His initial thought was that they had been attacked, but...that didn't make sense. Why would he be left behind?

He couldn't see the rest of it, but Nate was gone, Cyprus was tied to his bed, and Allie's wheelchair had been destroyed. She was currently trying to free Cyprus, who was very much unhappy.

((They're tied up in the closet. xD You can think of things for the others. Nothing...fatal. Just pranks, mainly.))

There was muffled noises, like bumps and thuds, coming from one of the closets, and it soon became obvious who was inside.

"Welk, get off of me!"

"I can't!"

"Why?!"

"Well, there's a really high chance that I might be tied up."

"You're sitting on me!"

"You make a very comfortable pillow, bro."

"You are dead meat."

"I thought I was a lion. But no time to discusse, we need to get outta here! Werr! You out theeeeeere?!"

"Sheesh, you're loud. And you're still sitting on me. GET OFF!"

"I'm trying!"

"You're hurting me!"

"Glad to be of assistance!"

"WELK!"

"That's my name."

"Argh...that's it..."

Wind suddenly knifed through the door, slicing it off of its hinges and allowing it to fall to the ground with a thud. Immediately, Welk was kicked out with a shriek, falling with a loud bump nearby. Both he and Cynyr were tied so thoroughly that they could hardly move.

Werr squirmed and tried to call out to his friends, then realized what was below him. Someone had broken mops and brooms, the broken wood jutting up from the floor. It wasn't immediately obvious, though, but falling on them would skewer him through. He stared at said objects, hoping that Cynyr would look before cutting him down.

Cynyr sliced through his own bonds, ignoring Welk, who was wiggling around like some sort of freaky lion-worm on the ground. "You're embarrasing," Cynyr said, then his ears flicked. He caught the sounds Werr was trying to make and glanced up, his jaw dropping open in one of his more comical expressions. He blinked up at his dear friend, then suddenly crouched and leapt for it.

It happened so fast and so skillfully that Werr hardly knew what had happened.

Wind ripped ever so neatly along his back, severing the ropes around him, but he barely had time to fall before Cynyr caught him. A quick, tucked roll later, and Cynyr was sitting delicately on one knee, lowering Werr to the ground. "There you go," he said, in his usual slightly-scratchy voice, with the gentle tone only a few people heard. "I have to go find Seria. You take the worm." He meant Welk, by that, who was still wiggling around on the floor.