The Forgotten Zodiac

Werr smiled a bit, then hugged his friend tightly. "I get it...thanks for telling us, Sylas."

"Of course. And, uh...if you see your mother again, do...try to avoid her. Her spirit was sent to the Goddess, but her body is being used..." Sylas sighed, clearly very unhappy and torn up about the whole ordeal."

"Got it." Werr nodded. "Alright then. I really need to apologize to Lexi, now." He grabbed Welk by the hand and pulled him down the road, smiling now.

"Lexanna Jura..." Cern approached quietly, sitting down next to the weeping girl. She was on the roof of the inn, next to the chimney, where Nate's pained grumbles could be heard echoing up the brick shaft. He wasn't stuck anymore, but no one wanted to move him from next to the fireplace until Seria could fix him. His bones were broken in several places, which made sense. Being shoved into such a tight space wasn't easy on his body. Cern was indifferent about the sounds of pain, though."Why doest thou weep...? I do not...like it. Please, do not cry..."

Lexi turned into him at once, crying into her hands against his chest. Her nightgown was smuged with black from the roof now, but she didn't care. She sniffed and gulped, then slowly looked up at Cern, her eyes foggy. "He just...doesn't...li-listen..." she gasped, coughing weakly. "Wh-what...d-do...I do? I c-can't...sh-shun Obelisk...j-just because W-Werr...doesn't li-like him..." She wiped tears from her eyes, leaving a soot smudge on her pale cheek.

"Werr...and Obelisk. They are both...human. Differing...humans. With different views and opinions...perhaps...if you helped Werr see my master as his equal...and if they focused on what is similar between them, rather than what is different...then perhaps they may agree on something. They...are humans. They have people...they care for, and would do anything for...they have...homes..." Cern trailed off, wiping her face off with with cloth fingers.

She sniffed and gulped quietly, trying and failing to stifle her tears. She let Cern comfort her, slowly managing to stop crying, then brushed her beautiful black hair back and looked up at him. "Th-thank you..." she said softly, her voice a tad scratchy. "I'll...try my best..." She sniffed again, looking so utterly petite against him. She heard the sound of Werr and Welk approaching from the street and glanced up. She could hear Welk's chatter from here. "I sh-should go down and t-talk to them..." she said softly, then took Cern's hand and, ever so softly, kissed his fingers. She then stood up and walked uncertainly towards the hatch that lead inside.

That's when everything went wrong.

As she neared the hatch, her eyes suddenly grew blurry and unfocused with another of her strange attacks. Her legs shook and seemed like they stopped being able to carry her tiny frame. A moment later, this became frightfully true.

She collapsed and fell right off the edge of the roof, plunging to the ground below just as the two boys turned the corner.

She hit the ground hard.

Blood started gushing from her mouth.

Cern dropped down, blinking in surprise. Werr ran forward immediately. "What did you do?!" He snarled at the scarecrow. "Who are you?"

"I did nothing...she fell. My name is Cern." He rasped.

"Cern...wha...you did nothing at all?" Werr frowned.

"I comforted her on the roof...then, as she was going to greet you upon your return...she became distant and collapsed...she fell." Cern explained slowly. Werr impatiently knelt next to Lexi, putting his face in her view.

"Wh-whatever, just go find Seria!" Werr snapped at the scarecrow, pulling his girlfriend into his arms. Tears welled up in his eyes. "L-Lexi...I'm sorry, I-I'm so sorry, this is all m-my fault..."

"Werr, don't touch her!" Welk cried, noting how utterly limp Lexi was. "She might be hurt inside, you could make it worse..." He couldn't bear to make Werr let go, however. He knew how badly a sight like this must've hurt.

Seria hustled out of the inn, where she had been tending to Nate, her blue eyes wide. "What happened?" she snapped, demanding an answer as she began checking Lexi for vital signs. Once she determined the girl was still alive and that her heart wasn't failing her, she began carefully dragging a hand down the girl's arms and legs, finding any breaks in her bones. There were many.

Cynyr sidled over, still clutching his broken shoulder, but said nothing of his own pain. He merely lasped into a description of what had just happened.

Zephyr shook his neck lightly, saying "I believe you. As you know, I was here. I hardly sensed movement at all within the house, unless it was someone shifting in their sleep." He let out a small croak, sounding faintly like a bird, then said "At least hear him out. And perhaps speak to the little gray-haired girl that sticks close to Welk. From what I've heard from Naybrin, she saw something when the 'pranking' was carried out. Either way, I-" He cut off when there was a booming thud from outside, and Naybrin pushed the door open with his muzzle, saying "Zephyr!"

"Naybrin? What's wrong?" he asked, immediately concerned.

"Lexi has fallen from the rooftop of the inn!" Naybrin said urgently. "She's in a most critical condition! Spine broken in three places, numerous breaks along her legs, internal bleeding...it's a wonder she survived the fall! It's a very tall building."

Obelisk practically collapsed in his chair, groaning. "Am I cursed as to have those I care for injured almost daily? Why, why must all this happen..." He eyed Zephyr in a small amount of irritance. "Isslia Royal may not want to speak with me. My job in Bulliete required some unkind actions at times...she tried to run from the castle before the 'king' arrived, and I was forced to tie her down. She seemed to think that I would defile her, she put up such a racket, which leads me to assume she's had such crimes against her in the past. But...I suppose I can try speaking to her, and now I must go and visit Lexanna, as well." He looked up as Cern hobbled inside.

"Master...I could not catch her..." He rasped, looking miserable with himself.

"It's fine, Cern. You are not at fault. We have no one to blame but gravity; and that will not yeild to our complaints. I ask that you would increase the security on the house while I'm away. If anything else happens to Malice or Fawn, I don't know what I'm to do with myself..." Obelisk sighed unhappily, standing slowly. "Let us go, my scaled friends. Your companions await."

Zephyr and Naybrin immediately fell into step with him, but not before Malice darted out of his room and ran over, grabbing onto his father's leg. "Dad, let me come!" he said urgently. "Just for a little while! There's...something I wanna see... Dad, let me come, please! And then I'll come back home."

Naybrin studied the young boy closely, then said "I can return him later, Obelisk, if you like."

Malice's large black eyes bored into his father's, begging him to let him come along.

Obelisk looked down at his son, worry etched into his features. "Alright...you can come. But you musn't wander off, or pester anyone...they may just remember you, Malice. Werr is irrational, at best...I don't want anything to happen to you." He took Malice's hand, holding it tightly in his. Then he looked to Cern. "Keep. Fawn. Safe." He ordered. Cern bowed, and as the four left, the entire house seemed darker than ever.

"I'm fine, Seria, focus everything you have on Lexi," Nate insisted. His legs were healed, but his arms were still broken; broken arms, however, couldn't stop him from seeing what was going on. Poor Lexanna...she seemed almost dead in Werr's arms. And the way Werr was crying, she very well could be.

But of course, he couldn't ignore Ophile's voice. "Lennon? What are you..." He paused as Werr practically pushed the wolf away, although it was more of a rough pet. "Ah. Obelisk." Ophile watched as Nate retreated into the house as Obelisk approached; naturally, Nate didn't want anything to do with the man that had tried to turn him into a Strider.

Seria guided Werr into a private room, saying how she needed to work on Lexi. Once Werr was settled on the bed, holding the bloody girl in his arms, Seria slit the back of her nightgown in order to work on her damaged spine, knowing Werr would preserve Lexi's modesty. The girl's soft, pretty back was marred with bruises, and right along her spine, there were three huge bloody patches, more bruises than ever surrounding these broken spots. One was right between her shoulder blades, another at the base of the small of her back, and the last just between them. Her breathing was very, very shallow as Seria instructed Werr to hold her just so, in order to let the healer work on her and yet let Werr comfort her (and himself).

Werr held Lexi as still as possible, but he couldn't stop crying over her. He felt like his entire world was about to fall apart, and all because of his stupid emotions. But he wouldn't just bottle them up again...well, he could, he certainly could, but there was no way he would be able to show Lexi love (or accept the love she had for him) again if he did that. He didn't want to put her through that. If...if she still loved him at all.

The thought weighed on Werr's mind like a two-ton boulder. He slowly managed to stop crying, resigning to just holding his dearest girlfriend. He nearly jumped when Obelisk's voice sounded near the door, out in the hallway. "Misfortune often befalls the good, Malice. Do you understand what I mean? Somehow, the fates seem to dispise the ones with truly pure hearts..."

Seria glanced towards the door, but said nothing. Instead, she got back to work, pushing Lexi's cut gown further to the side as she worked feverishly on her spine. If she didn't get this right, Lexi would never be able to walk again. If she lived. Before she could even work hard on her back, Seria had to heal her insides and stablize her. Once that was out of the way, she could begin working to fix her broken back.

Seria glanced up at Werr, then gently touched his shoulder and said "It wasn't your fault, Werr. It's something like this that cements your love for each other. Just comfort her. She'll be okay." She got right back to work after that.

Werr didn't seem to hear her, too focused on holding Lexi tightly. But finally, he said, "Cern...I don't care why he's here or why he looks like that...b-but he said that she suddenly became distant. It happened again, I know it did..." He spoke softly. "S-Seria, when you're done fixing her back, would you please, please scan her mind again. See if there's anything wrong. A curse, a hex, a tumor or a stroke...it has to be something..."

Seria pursed her lips, but said nothing. She would check, but only after Lexi was stable enough for it. A few hours passed in tense silence, during which Seria worked tirelessly. She hardly even paused to take a drink of water in order to keep herself going. It was grueling work, but eventually, she was able to sit back and wipe her bloodied hand across her forehead, saying "She's healed, now. It'll take her some time to recover, however. And a lot of bedrest." She abided by Werr's wishes, then, and placed her hands on either side of Lexi's head, scanning for any signs of disturbence.

She found nothing, and reported it so to Werr, looking just as confused as he did. And as concerned.

Werr shook his head slowly. "That...doesn't make sense. I don't understand..." He said tiredly, shaking his head. He had to ignore it, though. He set Lexi in bed alone, putting her into a more comfortable position, but one that wouldn't put too much strain on her back. "Thank you anyways, Seria...n-now, you should probably go heal those last few broken bones. Thank you for all your hard work regardless..."

"Indeed. Without you, this entire group would have died a long time ago." Obelisk said quietly. "Forgive the intrusion. I was wondering if Lexi was healed enough for me to look at her myself." Werr said nothing, choosing to ignore Obelisk.

Seria stood, saying "Obelisk," gently in greeting. She folded a soft blanket over Lexi in order to keep her warm, then noticed Malice clinging to his father's leg. She blinked, recognizing him quickly, but said nothing, incase Werr didn't. Instead, she brushed Lexi's hair back and said "She's stable. Just don't jostle her too much."

Lexi stirred at that moment, shifting a bit and immediately whimpering ever so softly.

Werr leaned forward at once, running his fingers through her hair again. "Shh, Lexi...it's okay. I'm here."

"I am present as well." Obelisk announced himself, summoning a chair from the shadows. He seated himself next to Werr, pulling Malice onto his lap. Werr eyed the kid, and he looked angry and bitter for a moment, but he clearly didn't want to strike up another argument. Not in front of Lexi, at least. So he kept his mouth shut and watched as Obelisk leaned forward and put his hand on Lexanna's. "Dear child...I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Lexi shifted again, as if wanting to move, but the slightest effort caused her emense pain. Slowly, she opened her chocolate brown eyes, blinking softly, then took in where she was. She looked weakly over at Werr, but said nothing. Her fingers twitched under Obelisk's hand, but she could hardly bend her fingers. The break in the middle of her shoulders had been just high enough to interferre with her arms. She forced herself to move one arm, however, and slowly, painfully, lifted her hand and placed it over Werr's hand, still on the side of her head.

Her lips formed his name, but nothing came out. She was too weak to even speak.