The Forgotten Zodiac

((Forin is still the crystal-skin Corruption, you know. xD))

Most everyone was already there. The only one missing was Obelisk. No matter, he'd turn up eventually. He usually did.

The house was mostly silent. Allie was waiting by the fireplace. Diana smiled as they entered through the door. Fawn was in the main room too, looking very small next to Cern, who was supporting her easily.

"Thank goodness she's okay," Forin relaxed when he spotted Cynyr and Seria, unconscious next to each other. Werr was there, checking their vitals. Everything was fine. Cyprus, however, looked less than 'fine'; he was curled up next to the fire, hurting and crying silently. But he would rather suffer a million times than let any of these people live with pain.

((I know that. What's the problem? .o. ))

Naybrin wiggled in, then, from a mouse-hole, taking a normal size momentarily. "My word, that was fun!" he trilled, giving himself a shake. "Did you accomplish that which we set out to do?" He glanced over and spotted Seria and Cyprus, his scaled brows lifting as his long ears flicked lightly. "Good, good," he said, watching as Luen moved over to Allie, who slid her arms around his neck, and he held her close. They went quite well together, especially since he was so eager-to-please and utterly kind. Naybrin walked over to Cyprus and bent his head over him, gently touching his shoulder and exhaling.

((It's grown too much. He used it too often. Embraced the power too quickly. .3.))

"Indeed, we accomplished it." Obelisk sighed, closing the door behind him as he stepped in. "Snider got away. There was nothing I could do. He just...vanished." He looked towards Forin, who was sitting next to Diana, looking exhausted again. "You made quite the ruckus. Congratulations, your majesty. The Peacekeepers are meeting now to figure out what to do. Doublessly, the witnesses to your short hold on the throne will tell them what they heard."

"I said the Peacekeepers should be in charge..." Forin said quietly. "I don't want more power to abuse..."

"I know you don't. Knew. That's the other half of why it had to be you. Your behavior fit perfectly."

((Yeah. I still don't know how to fix him.))

Luen, with Allie laying against him, leaned back against Forin for some support and comfort. He sighed, tilting his head back against the couch and closing his eyes exhaustedly. He didn't fall completely asleep, but he didn't stay completely awake, either. He sort of floated between states, trying to rest his tired eyes.

Welk curled against Werr's legs, nuzzling him and rubbing his face against his leg before going to find Isslia.

((Neither do I.))

Isslia was in the kitchen. Fawn still couldn't stand without pain; her lower intestine had been ruptured. Obelisk had discovered it the night before, and had been quick to heal it himself, but he wasn't Seria. He couldn't do it all completely.

So, of course, Isslia had taken it upon herself to cook lunch. She was quite happy with working; she could keep to herself a little more, but still work hard to help the group. They needed food, after all. Carlyle was helping her, quiet as ever, but clearly very good at staying on task.

(( 8I < ...))

Welk shifted forms and watched her for a long moment, smiling softly, then walked up behind her and slipped his hands over her eyes, purring. "Yo," he said, forcibly deepening his voice. "You only get one guess." He couldn't stop his purring. He was far too pleased by the mere sight of the girl. Being close enough to touch her, even if it was just his hands over her eyes, was even moreso.

"C-Carlyle, stop it," Isslia immediately dropped the knife she was working with, trying to pull away as panic overcame her. She sat down abruptly and turned to see her 'attacker'. Carlyle chortled as she immediately turned bright red. "Sorry, Welk, I-I thought..."

"You're far too jumpy, child," Carlyle smiled a bit. "Learn to relax a little."

"Nah, I'm the one who should say sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I couldn't resist," he said softly, staring right into her eyes. Again, not for the first time, he looked like he wanted to say something to her, but he stopped himself. He flicked his hacked tail, then said "Sooo...can I help you with anything?" The eager light danced in his eyes, shimmering brightly.

Isslia brushed her hair back and stood, getting back to slicing. "Actually...the stove isn't lit." She pointed to the large metal stove that doubled as an oven and a heater. It used coals and wood, which were stacked and piled next to its large metal body. Isslia grabbed the meat she was cutting, putting it into a pan and handing it to Carlyle. He'd be handling most of the actual cooking, but Isslia had come up with the ingredients and recipie, and she had helped with prep work.

"Ah, I can get it!" Welk said, and of course, instead of using a match, he merely stuck his hands inside the oven and lit it up with his fire, grinning at the flames. He proceeded to bounce a ball of fire back and forth in his hands, fasinated by the flames. He let it dissipate, staring at Isslia again. Yet again, his lips parted as if to make words, but he said nothing. He shrugged and fiddled with a few wisps of flame, sighing.

Isslia smiled at him, a soft, genuine smile that wasn't held back. She didn't quite know why, but she felt like smiling at him. Carlyle got to work on cooking the meats, while Isslia turned back to the chopping block to cut a few more vegetables. After that, she gave him instructions and left him to work, moving to stand next to Welk. She put her hand in his, lifting it up and examining his fingers. "Does it never burn you? The fire?"

"Nope. In fact, even before I got my powers, I've never burned even once. I guess, even when the magic was dormant, it still protected me," he replied. He tilted his blonde-haired head at her, gently folding his fingers around hers, then said "And I can choose who the fire burns or not. Like this..." Fire immediately ruptured along his arm, creeping to her hand, but she hardly even felt the heat. The flames licked happily up her arm, like some sort of living fire-snake, hissing giddily in her ear. They were comfortingly warm to the touch, but nowhere near burning tempurature.

She panicked a bit at first, but slowly relaxed and allowed herself to trust Welk. "Magic...that's incredible. There are lots of mages here, but they normally stay out of each other's way and refuse to use it to fight. Most of them, anyways. Magic is dangerous, after all...a common cause of death here is people overusing their magic for mundane reasons. Magic was banned in Bulliete long ago, so you likely won't find many mages there...not sure why they banned it, but..." She sighed a bit. "My mother and father both had magic. My mother was an incredible healer. She gave up her arm to be even better at it, too. My father could control fire...just like this. I've always wondered why I don't have any magic...but I suppose I don't need it. I might not be able to protect myself, but I have you--" She cut off, immediately turning bright red. "Y-you...and your friends now. Most of them are very kind and understanding..."

His blonde ears jerked up happily at her words, until she stopped herself. He looked a bit dulled after that, but still calmly pleased. "Ah, it's no trouble," he said, waving one hand lightly. "We take good care of our friends and family." He dropped his voice dramatically and leaned in, saying "I don't know if you've been told this, but many, many years ago, I almost died for Werr. It was this test we had to get through. He had to...solve a puzzle, and I had to defend him while he worked. And it was brutal." The giddy tone of his voice quickly vanished, replaced by a sense of seriousness. "It was...scary," he said slowly, the flames on Isslia's arm dissipating. "But...I wasn't scared for me. I was scared for Werr. I couldn't...I wouldn't...let him die! Even if...that meant I had to..."

"Oh...I would be sad if you had died..." Isslia murmured, squeezing his hand a bit, as she hadn't yet let go. "But...you would really suffer that much damage for him...?"

"He did. That scared me more than him," Werr snorted as he stepped into the kitchen. "Is lunch almost ready? We didn't get breakfast, so..."

"Yes, it's nearly done." Carlyle said over his shoulder.

((I would think that someone would want to talk to him (Carlyle). xD He kinda admitted to being as suicidal as Allie. e3e))

((Zelana would be a nice match for him. -wiggles eyebrows-

And Allie has lost all of her suicidalness, for she has an amazing boy to love her now.))

"Ha! And I'd do it again in the flick of a tail!" Welk laughed excitedly, easily regaining his spry spirit. He looked over at Isslia again, his smile fading down to a more tender look, and he moved a hand up and gently stroked her cheek, letting his hand rest just to the side of her neck, against the bottom of her cheek. He leaned forward just a bit, then froze and let go of her, genlty taking his hands away from her and moving towards Werr. He quickly grew happy again, but he still seemed a tad distant. He flung his arms around Werr's shoulders, pretending to bite his arm lightly. "How's Lexi?" he asked, peering at Werr through his bright red eyes.

"Hey, Luen got lucky. It's not everyone that can just tap right into the true love vien. I hear Naybrin comment about it. I guess he can sense their feelings and whatnot. He said it was 'a rare thing, love like theirs. Pure, true, and easy to let surface'," Welk said, taking cat form and rubbing all over his friend. "Isslia...is different, I know that much. I don't mind taking it slow, but...well, I wish she would let me touch her. Not...not like that! Just...you know." He ran loops around his friend's legs, purring loudly.