The Forgotten Zodiac

((Yus.))

Welk gave a small whimper and seemed to stop crying for just a moment, then remembered what he had lost and just pressed all the closer to Werr, wailing.

*

When Forin woke, he found himself pressed between two warm figures. Luen (in deer form) and Luna were curled up on either side of him, both sleeping quietly, looking exhausted. Luen just looked downright sick, to be frank. Luna had her arms wrapped tightly around her boyfriend, and there were tears on her pale cheeks. Luen's head was resting on Forin's chest, and Allie was curled against his other side, asleep.

Forin's wounds had been healed and his arm was reattached, not leaving so much as a scar.

Namanai passed her in the doorway, coming to see Forin's wounds for herself. She hadn't been the one to attach Forin's arm; that had been another of the Divine Healers, since she had been resting. Now she was here to see about his scars.

The first thing she did, however, was slap his forehead.

"You're a foolhardy little thing," she said, already poking and prodding at his cheek. "Honestly, you could've died out there." She went on and on, fussing at him near-constantly, then slowly began to prod at his arm.

Luen, Luna and Allie all jerked away at Airlia's scream, glancing around quickly. "What happened?" Luen gasped as Luna leaned in to make sure Forin was okay. "What-" Luen stopped as Airlia showed him the mirror. "Wh...what happened?!" he gasped, staring into the frame. "He's not...surely he can't be..."

"No..." Luen said softly, turning his gaze from Forin to the mirror. "They...they can't be...just..." His jaw quivered, then he pressed his nose to Forin's neck, panting softly. He was shaking slightly against Forin, and he was very, very warm.

More tears trailed down Luna's face, then she pressed her head into Forin's shoulder, hugging him tightly. "What do we do?" she asked quietly, watching as Namanai sank down into a chair after removing the scar from Forin's face. That was all she had been able to manage, really. She really was getting old. Now she looked upset; she couldn't believe Naybrin was dead.

((So Luen's going to get drastically sicker and sicker, on account of Vorpal's spirit invading his body, since Luen is his creator. Until Vorpal's spirit is ready to be expelled again, like he was the first time, it'll be unconsciously leeching off of Luen's, making him super-sick. And once it's ready, Vorpal's soul will be pushed out from Luen's mind and into the environment.))

((Vorpal should push out of Luen inside Forin's mind when they train again. xD))

"We have to...to go and collect the bodies. We should bury them here...in Kaislun. They would want that." Forin murmured, struggling to stand. "We can't wait around, one way or another..."

"No, Forin, you need to rest! You'll kill yourself," Airlia quickly pushed him back down. "Please, Luen, make him lie still..."

((Ooo. Maybe I'll do that. :3))

Luen obliged, pressing his muzzle to Forin's chest and pushing him back down. "You just got through the worst fight of your life," he said quietly, and Forin saw a small tear slid from under the edge of the cloths around his eyes. "You have to recover more first." He turned his head to Allie and kissed the side of her face softly, as if trying to comfort himself, then turned back to Forin and nuzzled into him.

Forin hugged Luen tightly, closing his eyes. "It...wasn't the worst fight...I was able to fight back this time. Remember? Michaelis..." He rubbed his chest, over where his heart was. Where the bomb had once been. He had struggled to keep his emotions calm and he had only ever been angry for years. Looking back on it, he was greatly saddened...he hadn't even allowed himself to laugh, before. He had distanced himself from Luen and even Diana, and forced away any and all happy feelings. That had been the worst...the absolute worst.

But...physically, perhaps, this had been the worst. Forin sighed heavily and curled up next to Luen. "Okay...I'll rest more. Just for you."

Allie smiled and rubbed her cheek against Luen's flank; she still couldn't move her arms. That spell had taken a lot out of her, but it had been worth it.

Luen lipped gently and slowly at Forin's hair, running his muzzle through it and enjoying the softness of it, then turned his head to Allie and licked her cheek with his small deer tongue. She could see gray lines in his fur, which were places where sweat had trickled down his skin. He was burning up hot, clearly growing feverish.

"Luen, you're warm," Luna said, pressing her hand to his forehead.

"No, I'm fine," he said, his teeth chattering suddenly. "I'm just...c-cold..."

Luna raised an eyebrow. An ice mage, cold? Usually, ice mages could never, ever get cold. Their natural ability gave them protection from it.

Forin didn't seem to notice, already passed out again. Allie, however, was immediately worried. "Luen, you're getting hot...I think you need to take off the blankets," She insisted. Airlia moved forward, as well, pressing her face to Luen's.

"You...ARE hot. You're running a fever! Luen, how could this happen to you?" She frowned, then focused. She pulled the extra heat out of him, although she knew it wouldn't last long. Heat was energy, after all. She could manipulate energy, and in more ways than one, now.

"I-I d-don't kn-know," he chattered, shaking like a leaf in high wind. He tucked closer to Forin, wondering why in the Goddess' name he had to get sick right now, when Forin was the one hurt and weak. The kirin couldn't be sick NOW. He had to help his friend. Luen was always hurt or sick, and Forin always took care of him. The one time it was Forin, Luen couldn't take care of him in return. He had again grown sick. Why?!

Angry but too weak to show it, Luen merely tucked his nose down under Allie's arm, shaking and wishing he could pull the covers back up.

Allie held her dear boyfriend's muzzle close, closing her eyes. "It's okay...you can just sleep it off. Sleeping off a fever works really well, I know." She curled as close as she could to him without disturbing Forin. She stayed awake, though, determined to do so for as long as Luen was up.

"Zephyr...? I...I'm not sure how to say this..." Airlia landed on the great Dragon's muzzle, her step light as she looked him straight in the eye. "Naybrin...the first king...he's dead." She bit her lip, flapping her wings and hovering a few feet away. She wasn't really afraid of him biting her, but she didn't want to be thrown off when he roared out his anguish.

Zephyr stared at her, his dark red eyes glistening in the light. "Wh…what?" he said slowly, shaking his head. "That…that can’t be. You must be mistaken. Naybrin…Naybrin wouldn't die. He's much too powerful for that." He exhaled heavily, clearly disturbed, then said "You have to be wrong. There's no other answer for it."

"That's what I saw, Naybrin...the looking glass never lies." Airlia shook her head. "I...I dunno. Maybe it's confused. I asked for Naybrin, and it showed a human...but that has to be Naybrin. And he was dead...there's no other explanation for it, Zephyr...Nate is dead, too..."

Zephyr stared at her, his eyes wide, then slowly clenched his powerful claws into the ground, growling. "No," he said, quite firmly. "No. It...cannot...be possible. Do you hear me? N-Nate can't...he wouldn't...NO!" He threw his head back, tearing the ground behind him up with a swift lash of his spiked tail. "They can't be dead!" he raged, digging his claws into the ground and ripping up the street in waves. "NO!" He thundered a roar to the sky, bellowing loud and long in anger.

Then came the tears. Hot, boiling tears spilled over the rim of his lids, hitting the ground with sharp hisses. He looked down to Airlia and extended his sharp talons towards her, but she shouldn't have been afraid.

He cupped his claws about her and pulled her to his chest, sobbing.

Airlia started crying with him. Welk, Cynyr, Werr...all of them dead...!

"Calm down, you two." Titus snorted, stepping out of the castle doors. "Their souls are in limbo. They're not dead, I would know. Their souls have not passed on, so they must be elsewhere."

"T-Titus? What do you mean?" Airlia sniffed, watching him walk past. He didn't normally leave the castle... "Where are you going?"

"I mean what I said. I'm going to deal with this small...rebellion that seems to have cropped up. Some do not agree with the fight earlier. They're demanding to fight Forin, but he's not ready for anything of the sort. I have to stifle this before it gets worse, of course."

Zephyr tilted his head, saying nothing for a moment, then said "Forin won his fight. Dulce agreed to all terms. A rebellion is just dishonoring for themselves. Not to mention dishonoring Vorpal, who died for his master in the arena." He shook his head, then said "As soon as Forin is well, we should leave to rejoin the others, be they alive or dead or soulless. They need our support."