The Forgotten Zodiac

((Why do we always blow up the limits? xD))

Werr mumbled something in his half-consciousness. "S-sorry, Naybrin...I coul-couldn't let Welk or Isslia g-get hurt..." He stammered, straining to roll over onto his side, where Zephyr could heal the wound on his back. Werr draped one arm over Naybrin's muzzle, then went limp again. The electric shock he had been dlivered had been a little more than surface damage. Heck, there had hardly been any surface damage at all. The voltage had been dumped directly into him.

But he was far from the worst off. Obelisk carried in Nate and Carlyle; the Dragonian had literally been brutalized, with wounds ranging from burns to cuts to drowning. The drowning was the more dangerous one, for him. Bloodloss didn't help. Carlyle had nearly been strangled by the ropes that had secured him to the ceiling, and his pinkie would never go back on right; neither would three of his toes, or his ear.

But Cyprus seemed to be the worst off. The second Obelisk brought him back into this world, he was screaming as though the sky were falling down on him. He had no physical damage, but internally...well, he was totaled. He wailed for his mother, begged the Goddess to take him away from this 'awful place' and the 'awful silence'. When he did calm down, he sounded like a madman. "The silence is everywhere, the silence cannot be broken, the silence will eat us all..." Over and over again. He only shut up when Obelisk forced him into unconsciousness.

"Skies above, what a mess..." Obelisk muttered.

Naybrin settled Werr gently over one arm, taking over licking him as Zephyr ran his tongue over the First King's flanks.

Seria stumbled past just outside the room, blood covering her clothes and arms up to her elbows. She stumbled and Ophile, who had been faithfully trotting beside her the whole time, caught her on his back. She panted hardly, finally rising again and grabbing several rolls of bandages from a cabinet before turning away. If someone would've followed her, they would've seen her kneel next to Cynyr and plunge her hands right into his open abdomen, sinking deeply into him as she worked, looking pale and still shaking.

Welk stumbled past and sank down into a chair in the living room, curling up into a tight ball, not wanting to be touched.

Isslia stood next to him, looking guilty. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she felt...at fault. At least somewhat. She almost put a hand on his shoulder, but she gave up and just quietly sat down on the floor next to his seat.

"Nate and Carlyle both need blood transfusions," Obelisk observed. He looked towards the girl sitting next to Welk. "You...your blood is special."

"What...?" She blinked at him.

"Healers have knowledge of blood being different types. Healers themselves naturally have a type that agrees with all. You have that kind of blood, Isslia. May I use some of it?"

"U-um...yes, I suppose..." She nodded slowly, unsure of what Obelisk was talking about. But soon enough, the transfusions were set up and ready to go. Obelisk finally looked over at Welk.

"A life is fragile and can be taken away if mistreated. But those who take away lives are often damaged...are you quite alright, Welk? Are you...unhappy at what you've done? You prevented him from hurting others. You realize this, yes?"

((RAWR. She was about to touch him of her own accoooooord.

There will be time for that later.))

Welk didn't say anything or move, then he finally let go of his head and allowed his head to drape over the back of the chair, one hand over his aching eyes. "Yeah, I realize. I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he muttered, stretching his legs a bit. "I've killed before," he croaked. "But...every time I have to, it reminds me of the people I've killed. Urg..." He rubbed his eyes wearily, then curled up again and said "I guess I'll just get over it...like every other time..." His crimson eyes were dull as he stared at a knot on the floor.

He shifted his gaze over at Isslia, staring in a way that was just so sad and morose, when suddenly his head came up and his mouth opened, and this time, unlike all of the others, he was completely at a loss for stopping himself.

"I love you."

He instantly looked like someone had dunked his head in red paint. He slammed his hands over his mouth, looking mortified. He scrambled out of his chair so fast that it tipped over, tripping once or twice before making it to the door. She had to hate him now, he knew it. After all of those terrible things that had happened to her, now he was saying he loved her? She would hate him for it! Because love brought with it kissing and touching, and that eventually bled into marriage, and once two were married, that brought with it a bit more than just kissing and touching...

Welk fled from the room, his face red as a beet, his ears down and his tail tucked.

Still healing her husband, Seria shook terribly, resting her forehead against Ophile's, crying softly into his black fur. Once she had Cynyr somewhat mended, she started wrapping his chest and abdomen in bandages. "He'll scar," she whimpered, nearly crying again as she spoke. "As if he doesn't have enough!" She kissed her husband's lips softly, then began to tug him towards the room with the others, glancing up as Welk stumbled past. "Welk?" she called, concerned, but he ignored her, running out of the house. She shook it off, knowing he would come back, then kept trying her best to pull her mate into the room with the others, knowing she had yet more healing to do.

Seria whimpered, bowing her head and curling up on the couch, still crying and shaking.

When Ophile looked into Lexi's room, he saw the girl awake, looking around curiously and rather sleepily. She was obviously upset, but she couldn't move. The heavy spells Seria had placed on her were still in play.

"Ophile," she said sadly. "What happened? Why can't I move? What happened out there?" Able to move her arms a bit, she extended a hand towards him.

Tears budded in her eyes, but when she tried to get up, her back hurt so badly that she had to lay still again. "I can help," she panted plantively. "I'm getting better at being a healer every day, you know I am. Please, Ophile, I can help!" Her desperation was pitiable, and Ophile had to admit that perhaps this ordeal would end up being worse on her. For she, unlike Seria, unlike anyone else, was trapped; unable to help heal so much as a cut or comfort not a one.

"No, Lexi, you can't move, you can't..." Ophile pushed her down again and put his head over her chest, his nose touching her chin. "I won't let you hurt yourself, Lexanna, it's not worth it." He sighed. "But perhaps...perhaps you can still help. Stay here, don't move. I'll see if Obelisk won't bring in Nate or someone for you to heal..." When he was sure that Lexi wouldn't move, he got off of her and grabbed Cern, dragging him back into the main room.

He returned a few minutes later with Nate carried by shadows next to him. "Here, see? This way, you don't have to get up out of bed. The shadows will move Nate so that you hardly even have to move your hand." He hopped up onto the bed, licking Lexi's face once or twice. "You're too kind, Lexanna...you really are. You're willing to hurt yourself to help others, and that...that is admirable."

"It's not something to be made admirable by," she said quietly. "It's just something I believe the entire world needs a bit more of. Compassion and the strength to carry it through." She forced her weak hands to move, knowing while that her frails hands were shaky, her powers were not. She began to work, even while still bedridden herself, determined to at least help someone. She worked dilligently, steadfastly, and it was clear that her powers did differ from Seria's. Seria was a powerful healer, very strong, but she could easily weaken if she had a lot of people to heal. Lexi's powers were slower, a bit more sluggish, but she had grand endurance. It took quite a while, but she finished healing Nate completely and looked no worse for the wear.

Nate would still be affected by the water he had consoumned, but he looked worlds better now. The shadows carried him off into another of the guests rooms so he could rest, then in came Carlyle. When he was done as well, Cynyr was lifted into the room, followed by a shaky Seria.

Ophile stood and pressed his muzzle against her leg. "Calm down, Seria...we're all alive. There's no need to cry quite so much..." He murmured, closing his eyes. "Please, don't be upset."

She nodded briefly, sitting down on the ground and watching as Lexi unwound Cynyr's bandages and began working on his torn skin. Seria wrapped her arms around Ophile, trying not to cry into his fur, and he was witness to a small memory from her.

She wanted another chance at a child. She wanted to try again. But Cynyr refused any advances by her. While she might be ready, he clearly wasn't. There was nothing she could say or do to get him to agree or want to mate with her. He did love her, she knew, and he would kiss her if she wanted, but he would refuse to even so much as touch her shoulder after she mentioned her desire. Though they slept in the same bed, Seria felt an aching distance from her husband, one she desperately wanted to fill...but couldn't.

"Shut up and kiss me," Lexi said desperately, grabbing the edge of his shirt and yanking him down to her, crushing her lips against his and closing her eyes. Tears leaked anew from her eyes as she kissed him firmly, trying to push closer to him but finding herself in too much pain to be able to move. When she drew back for breath, she could only stare up into his eyes and captivate him with the deep, dark chocolate depths of hers. "Oh Werr..." she exhaled, kissing him again.

Werr leaned a little into the kiss this time, but it was obvious that he had suffered a lot of damage that Lexi would have a hard time fixing; even if she did manage to heal him, it would only come back. Naybrin was with the same damage, but...well, he was larger and had more tolerance for pain. Werr, not quite so much. It was hard for him to move. He was laid down next to Lexi, the shadows tucking them both in under the blankets.

"There's no one else who needs immediate attention," The shadows said quietly before leaving. Ophile smiled a bit, lingering by the door, but Werr and Lexi would be fine. They had each other.

Welk, on the other hand, was more or less alone. Isslia had fallen asleep on the couch, her back to the rest of the room. Otherwise, the room was pretty much empty, aside from Cyprus and the dragons; the Demigod was lying between the kings, needing their warmth. Apparently, his body had stopped heating itself. It was definitely odd, but Obelisk wasn't in the mood to answer questions.

It was practically midnight when Welk returned. After getting some much needed air, he had grown fearful for his friends and returned. Once he had quietly scoped out where Werr was, then had checked to make sure Cynyr was alive, he quietly passed by Isslia's couch, heading towards Werr and Lexi's door, where he figured he would sleep beside it to better protect them. He had to stop next to Isslia, however, knowing she was asleep.

He sighed heavily, not really knowing when he started talking, knowing that not only her, but everyone else too, was asleep.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to say that, earlier. I just..." He lifted his hands, clenching his fists so tightly his palms bled a bit. "...I can't...stand...the thought of someone hurting you. I can't take away the past, I know, but...from the moment I saw you, I was in love. I wanted to fill your mind with good memories, so the bad ones would fade away into dust. I just wanted to...to take you away and love you and show you the honest way of things, not the terrible way you've been shown. I wanted to kiss you and touch you and hold you close, and...and..."

He sighed heavily, then murmured "I was us to be together. I really, I...well, my thoughts went so far as to think that someday I'd marry you. That I'd marry you and take you away, away to Alastor, where I could give you everything you ever wanted, where I...could love you like you'd never had before..."

He glanced again at her still, small form and sighed, turning his crimson gaze up at the sky, wondering if at least the Goddess had heard him. Had heard that he wanted to make things right, in some odd sort of way, for one lonely young girl. He lowered his gaze back to the ground and moved towards Werr and Lexi's door.