The Forgotten Zodiac

Obelisk wrapped his arms around his son, closing his eyes. "It's fine...it's all okay...it wasn't entirely your fault, you weren't trying to hurt anyone...right?" He pulled away and looked his son in the eyes. "Even if it was your fault, even if you had killed someone, I would still forgive you, child. But it wasn't your fault, and you didn't kill anyone. Calm down, my son." He hugged his son again. "I just have to help you. Understand? I have to help you get control of these powers of yours so that they'll never accidently hurt anyone ever again."

Malice sobbed and kept trying to wipe his eyes, but he wasn't very successful. He cried into his father's shirt for a while, then hiccupped "I w-w-wanted to c-c-control my p-p-powers! But...but...it...f-felt...like...I c-couldn't! Like s-s-someb-body t-took them f-from me!" He cried freely, obviously very torn-up over the entire thing.

Someone suddenly took him by his chin and forced him to look at them. They were probably all startled to see that Cynyr was the one who had grabbed him.

There was a distant look in the panther's eyes as he said "Stop crying. We're not mad at you." He then let go and returned to his chair, flopping back into it with a rusty sigh.

Malice's crying immediately became pin-drop quiet.

"There, there," Obelisk lifted his son and sat back down in his seat, hugging his child close. "I'll fix it. I'll find out what's going on, and fix it." He murmured. "And I'll make sure that Werr isn't mad with you still, too. No one is allowed to be mad at my dear son. Especially when he did nothing wrong."

"Hmph...whiny children," Marion snorted, still in the bathroom with Dmitry.

"Well, this is an interesting development and all, but what on earth are we planning to do next?" Sylas scratched the back of his neck. "We should all just go home...but I doubt Werr will want to leave. He wanted to evacuate the people of Bulliete, didn't he?"

"But Izan will not allow such a thing. Therefore, Werr will want to make efforts to stop the war..." Obelisk tutted.

"We must do all we can to save the lives of these people," Naybrin said from his place on a pillow near the fire. "Even if they might not want our help. But we've clearly been brought here for a reason, so I suggest we attempt to gain audiance with the king of Herrace. That's our first step, at least."

Zephyr bent his head and gently licked at a patch of Naybrin's scales, then looked over at Dmitry, who caught him staring. Zephyr turned slowly, making it look as though he had merely glanced, but Zephyr could still swear he had seen Dmitry somewhere else. And evidentally, Naybrin did too. He stared without looking away or pretending.

Sylas looked between the wyvern and the dragons, then sighed a bit. "All talk and no action! Quite boring. I'll do my best to try and talk us onto an appointment list." The silver-tonuged human slipped out the door, hardly even waiting for Leo.

"I'm going to go make some purchases. I'm going to need to refill my pantries if you lot are going to be staying at my place. Which...I insist you do. It's much safer in the richer district, and while it seems I need to assist you and your group, I would much prefer to be closer to my wife." Obelisk stood, carrying Malice. "I'll wait there when I'm done shopping. Pack up your things and hurry."

"Hey!" Leo called, pausing to give Cynyr a sideways glance before lunging out after his friend. His footfalls, much heavier than Cynyr's, echoed for longer as he walked off.

Surprisingly, Welk stood to face Obelisk and hesitantly held out his hand to shake. "I...er, I mean, we...thank you. We've been such jerks to you, but you're still helping us out. Um...thanks. For...everything." He blushed furiously and sat back down, daunted by his own daring.

Obelisk snorted. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not helping you because I want to. If someone's hunting me, I need your help as much as you need mine. Don't be all sentimental about this." He headed towards the door, but paused for a moment. He returned to Welk and shook his hand, looking ever so slightly flustered and embarrassed. He didn't particularly think of himself as above them, but he knew (and they knew) that he was worlds stronger than any of them.

At the same time, if he really was being watched, they now knew that this group was on his side. If it wasn't obvious enough. They could potentially be targeted more than before...

((Aaaand Remor knows Obelisk's thoughts. Thought I'd mention. xD))

((Oh dear.))

Welk immediately grinned and said "Great! We're settled, then!" He turned back to Isslia and took her hands, rubbing her fingers gently with his warm ones.

Cynyr eyed Obelisk as he passed, but said nothing. Seria had been watching him since his odd calming of Malice, and she suspected what his intentions, or rather, his mind, had been when he had done that.

Centered around the thing that haunted her dreams nearly every night. Their lost child, the one they had never even gotten to see, that Seria had miscarried due to a blow to her stomach.

She brushed her thoughts away and curled up next to her husband, sighing when he kissed her brow ever so softly.

"Indeed." Obelisk nodded, making for the door again. He paused as Cyprus' usual tinkling voice sounded from the corner; the Demigod was speaking with what appeared to be a mouse. "Cyprus. Of course...how could I forget that you were here? How rude of me." A pause, then, "Well, my wife fell ill again. But it's quite alright, Zephyr helped me cure her with one of his scales. Yes, he's quite the kind being." Another pause. "Very well." He looked back towards the others. "Cyprus is coming to my house early. He wishes to visit my wife. Is that alright with you lot?" He didn't wait for an answer before leaving, but Cyprus definitely did, not even moving until Naybrin said that he could go on.

"Well...I suppose we should pack up, like Obelisk said." Nate sighed and stood. "Seria, is Lexi well enough to be moved? I think I can take a load again, and you know my flying is as smooth as butter." He smiled slightly.

Naybrin watched Cyprus go, then turned when Seria bit her lip and answered "Yes, but...it's a very delicate process. If she's jostled too much, even my magic won't be able to repair her spine again. It could kill her... I trust you, though, Nate. I'll go start preparing her for a trip." She slipped into the room, confirming with Werr first before beginning her work.

Welk stood, helping Isslia stand too, then said "I'll help pack up!" and the two trapised off upstairs together, with Welk already beginning his talent for endless chatter.

Dmitry and Marion stepped out of the bathroom, then, though the prince still looked quite pale.

Werr agreed, of course. He couldn't carry Lexi by himself. He trusted Nate completely.

Isslia nodded. "U-um...Welk, I don't want to go outside like this..." She murmured. Her only spare set of clothing had been in her bag, which - of course - had been taken away before they had been put on the warzone. She still had the blanket and Werr's shirt on, and she definitely didn't want to be seen like this...she wanted to ask him to go out and buy her some cheap clothing, but at the same time, she definitely didn't want to intrude.

Welk blinked at her, then said "Obviously. But what do you...oh!" He seemed to catch on to her thoughts and said "Okay, I'll be back in just a bit! Stay here, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his bag and rifled through it, finally locating a smaller bag, which he shoved into his pocket. Then he turned and ran out of the room, shifting to lion form immediately.

He returned not long afterwards and handed Isslia a bag, panting. "Here," he said. "I didn't know what you would like, but I hope it's good enough. I'll just hop outside real quick..." He slid out of the room without a moment of hesitation, leaving Isslia to open the bag.

She was immediately met with a beautiful pink sleevless dress, embroidered with little white flowers and complete with a pair of white shorts to go on underneath it. There was more in the bag than just that, of course, but it was definitely a beautiful little dress.

Isslia flushed immediately. She hadn't meant for him to spend money on something like a dress. She actually rather disliked dresses (they were too similar to robes, which had been what she was forced to wear at the Informant academy), but the thought was nice. And it was indeed a pretty dress...

When she emerged, though, she was wearing a frilly white blouse that fit her well enough, and black shorts that revealed her skinny legs and knobbly knees. She was also wearing a straw hat, which was a nice accent - even though she had cut holes in it to fit her floppy ears through. She was carrying the bag of clothing, not wanting to leave any of it behind. "Alright," she smiled a bit. "I'm ready to go."

"Good, the rest of us are, too." Werr nodded, watching nervously as Nate cautiously lifted Lexi; he had literally chopped the legs off of a short table, using that to help him keep the girl's back even and steady. He walked slowly, taking extreme care. It would take awhile to get her to Obelisk's house, but it was better than rushing things and having her injured to the point where she couldn't walk.

Much better.

Feverish, Lexi's head lolled weakly from side to side on the table, and she moaned and shivered as if freezing. Seria trotted along beside them, biting her lip nervously and trying to judge whether or not Lexi's condition was stable or not.

Welk smiled at Isslia, saying "You look really nice. Do you like the clothes? I wanted to get you something nice, but I'm not exactly an expert on girl's clothes..." When she tried to hand him back his crimson shirt, he protested. "You might as well keep it," he said. "I've got plenty. In fact..." He took it for a moment and delicately trimmed up the front with a claw, then slid it around her arms. "There. A jacket to go with your outfit." He slid into lion form, padding along lightly, then looked up at her and said "You can ride if you want. I don't mind, Werr does it all the time."

Isslia smiled a bit, nodding at his questions of whether or not she liked the clothing. She did indeed like the clothes, although she hadn't really wanted so many choices. She eyed his back, and slowly shook her head. "No...I'm good. Really." She insisted, and was happy when Werr interrupted them with a question.

"You lived here for a little while, didn't you, Isslia?" Werr questioned. "What's the king like?"

"U-um...I didn't live here for very long. I've never met the king. I only know that it's the peacekeepers who mostly take charge in things here..." She answered, ever quiet. "I don't really know, so--" She halted like everyone else when Nate did. The Dragonian had only stopped because a Peacekeeper had nearly run into them. Nate pushed the man aside with his tail.

"Don't mean to be rude, but this is a delicate load," Nate said, his feet hardly touching the ground with the help of his wings.

"I can see that. Allow me," The man walked in front of Nate, guiding people out of the way so he had a clear way ahead of him. It was a big city, and they were passing through the more inhabited and busy area, so his actions were extremely helpful. He cleared their entrance through the gate to the richer district, and even walked them to Obelisk's house. The ancient one was standing in front of his gate, awaiting their arrival.

"Ah, you escorted my friends. Thank you very much, good sir," Obelisk fetched a few coins as a tip out of his pocket.

"It was no problem at all," The man took off his helm, smiling a bit with a short bow. "See you around, Sir Remor."

"And the same to you," Obelisk dipped his head, then opened the gate for Nate as the Peacekeeper left. "Glad to see you made it without casualty," He quipped lightly, his head tilted ever so slightly to the side.

"Well that was lucky," Welk qipped with a small smile, shuffling forward inside the house. Malice, who was just inside, peeked out from behind a chair at them, still looking puffy-eyed from crying. Welk mostly ignored him, glancing around and studying his surroundings. He turned to watch Isslia for a few minutes, then suddenly puffed up slightly, as if he really, really wanted to say something. But then he exhaled and said nothing at all, instead choosing to sit in a chair by himself. Usually he liked to cram himself right in with Werr, enjoying the close company, but he decided to wait until Werr wasn't so busy.

"Not particularly. The Peacekeepers, especially the lower ranking members, enjoy helping out citizens. It's their job." Obelisk snorted. He led Nate into one of the guest rooms; this place seemed larger on the outside, really...but perhaps that in itself was an illusion on its own. But it was definitely cozy, and actually had plenty of room; there just weren't many areas that didn't have some kind of furnishing.

Indeed, Werr was busy. Pacing, mostly, just outside the room where Nate and Obelisk were putting Lexi on the bed. When that was done, he moved right in and sat down next to the bed, taking Lexi's hand in his again. He'd probably sleep there.

"I saw you lot just in time, I suppose. I would have gone all the way back to the inn if I hadn't!" Sylas practically pranced in, chortling. "I got you all an audience with the king. It's right this evening; you'll be visiting for the evening banquet."

"How the heck did you manage to pull that off?" Nate seemed confused.

"It's...uh...probably best not to question my methods." Sylas cleared his throat a bit. "I have connections, see. And information."

"So...you threatened them?" Nate frowned.

"Oh, no, no, no! I'm not a very threatening man, am I?"

"Then explain yourself."

"Fine!" Sylas put his hands up in defeat. "Look, I know the tailor in town from a long way back. I managed to get my hands on a quickly sown messenger outfit. It was easy to get into the castle from there, and I forged a letter with a royal wax seal that I may or may not have carved into the bottom of a twig. Basically, the king thinks Welk is coming to discuss Bulliete's betrayal, and whether or not Herrace is any more trustworthy. I'd double check the food for poison before eating, by the way."

"Not to worry. I can test it." Obelisk shrugged.

Leo rubbed his head under Sylas' hand, closing his eyes lightly as he purred, then pulled away as Welk spoke up. "That's awesome! Thanks, Sylas!" he chirped. "I can work with this. Werr can give me some pointers on kingliness, as always, but I've been getting better at acting the part. We're on a roll!"

Cynyr peered over at him from where he was sitting quietly in a chair, then let out a yelp as Welk bounded over and wiggled into the chair with him. "Welk, get out!" Cynyr growled, pushing at his sibling, who merely burrowed tighter. "No," Welk said. "I don't want to sit alone anymore."

"Then go sit with Isslia or something!" Cynyr snapped, but he had stopped pushing so hard at his brother.

"Are you nuts?" Welk said, in a much, much quieter voice. "If you haven't noticed, this is a very close-quaters spot. She wouldn't let me, like you or Werr."

Cynyr said nothing, then shifted with a sigh so Welk could curl up behind him in lion form, making a big, fluffy pillow of himself. Cynyr sank back against him with another sigh, this time out of some sort of relief. Like he had been in pain.

Isslia was sitting on the wider couch, pretty much alone. She flinched when Sylas sat down next to her, Leo on his other side. "Yes, I know, I'm amazing." He chortled a bit, then shook his head. "On the other hand, I don't know if Werr will want to go anywhere...who all plans to--"

"Intruders," Cern, standing by the door, suddenly hissed. Obelisk stood and pulled the curtain back a bit, peering out.

"Oh, it's little Spy. Forin, Diana, and Luen, too." He smiled a bit, opening the door for them. Forin was carrying Luen on his back, and had clearly strained himself doing so. He literally collapsed the second he got into the door, landing himself underneath the kirin. Diana backed up, while Spy screamed, "I FOUND HIM" several times whilst running around Welk and Cynyr's chair.

Forin heaved Luen off of him, his arms the crystalline substance that glowed black and red. He wasn't entirely that...other thing...but it had definitely helped him.

((Dis can be changed if you want, but I'm tired of not having him around. xDD))

((Nah, that's okay. xD))

Luen was currently unconscious, having passing out shortly before they had decided to leave. He hadn't woken since, as his mind was busy repairing itself. He was pale and looked dead on appearance, but they could see several of his features had mended themselves. The lengthy muzzle he had was slowly shortening back into human features, his antlers were slowly dropping their extra, spiked tines, one by one, and though his fingertips were bleeding profusely, they could see that was because the sickening claws on the ends were shrinking down into normal nails. And the thick, plush white fur all over his body was receeding by the minute.

Welk clambored out of his seat, accidentally stepping on Cynyr a few times before getting out of the chair and running over with Seria behind him. "You're back!" he said, then suddenly froze, stiff-legged, when he caught Forin's scent. It was an instinctive thing, he realized, why he had froze up with his back arched. He shook it off, slowly poking closer. "Are all of you okay?" he asked, rubbing up against Diana happily and then risking a small nudge against Forin's leg. "Luen looks dead."