The Forgotten Zodiac

"Who said I'm shutting them out? I'm merely...righting my wrongs. Lexi wants me back, so here I am. The advisors want me to be king again, so here I am. There will always be a...a hole, where he once was, but I think I can ignore that now." Werr said sullenly, walking down the stairs to the cellar. He paused to clear his throat on the stairs, and coughed a couple times as he opened the door. "My, it's dusty down here," He commented dryly, his eyes falling on Nate and Lexi.

Spy was there, too. "He said he was done or something, I'm afraid he might do something--Werr?" He blinked, turning his little gaze on the king.

Lexi looked up sharply, blinking her eyes quickly. "Wh...what are you doing?" she asked weakly, a few stray teardrops still clinging to her long lashes. She didn't move from Nate yet, as if afraid that Werr was some sort of vision. She caught sight of Naybrin curled against Werr's neck and held out a trembling hand towards him, but when he didn't move, she pulled it back.

"Apologizing." Werr said quietly, stepping into the cellar. He paused and scuffed his foot against the markings he had dug into the floor. "This was stupid of me. I shouldn't fool around like this, if Aries knew..." He sighed and looked back up at Nate and Lexi. "I'd like to extend my apologies towards you both. My actions and words over the past weeks have been ridiculously uncouth, rude, uncalled for, and hurtful towards you and many others. I will be partaking in no such behavior any longer, I assure you, and I ask for forgiveness."

Lexi's deep brown eyes searched his coal-black ones, feeling as though her head was tearing in two. More tears dripped down her cheeks, then she silently parted from Nate and slid past Werr, walking away without saying anything. She was wiping her cheeks, her expression torn. In this moment, she just needed a break from the rollercoaster of emotions.

Werr watched her go, sighing a bit. He looked down at the runic circles again. "This has been here for weeks. I wasn't sure if I could tell anyone...I guess I was right. Some things are just not meant to be told." He looked up at Nate again, then turned to follow Lexi up the stairs.

((Switching to Forin and Luen and stuff now. :3))

"This is it. They've gotta be here." Forin said quietly. He and Luen were in a slightly cramped hotel room; the room itself was so small, the beds met the wall on both sides, head and foot, with just enough room to walk between them. The town they were in - a tiny village within Storaph with nothing to its name but a large belltower - was named Calentan. It was quiet and quaint, but it was almost literally a ghost town. Those who could have moved already had; the elderly, orphaned, infirmed and stubborn confined themselves to their homes most hours of the day. They had been lucky to get their room in the inn.

"Calentan Manor. Exactly one mile north of here. People have been describing what I can only identify as Striders. Skinless and Soulless both. It started with missing people; poor souls have probably already lost their minds to the sickness. We'll be lucky to get away without an injection, ourselves...Remor already knows we're here." Though he spoke softly, he knew that their words were being monitored. Remor had been waiting on them. He had been waiting for this. He had hidden himself away, run for so long...there was no other explanation. He would have left before they had even crossed the county line, if he had wanted to run more. But he was done running.

And they were tired of chasing. Four months. Four months, searching for this disgusting excuse for a man. He wasn't immortal, but he was still worlds more powerful than the two of them combined...and it was that power, the Dark Magic that didn't belong to him, that they would have to fight past. As soon as they were ready. Soon...very soon.

Luen was sitting on one of the beds, his legs folded lightly under him, his gaze trained on Forin as the Tartaran stalked back and forth. Vorpal was resting in his lap, having warmed significantly to his creator in the months of travel. The tiny weapon imp hadn't changed physically at all, but with regular training, he had developed several abilities. Now, he could change into a wide variety of weapons and creatures, ranging from all manner of sizes and shapes.

There was a knock at the door and Luna entered a moment later, slightly out of breath. They had been taking turns scoping out the place, but this time, it had been a food mission Luna was on.

She set her bag down and she and Forin spent a moment kissing (Luen looked politely away) before pulling apart. She went through her bag, pulling out a few various things before finally sitting down.

Luen stroked his hand down Vorpal's back, making the imp glare at him, but was content to say nothing, simply watching Forin closely.

"I just don't get it. Why would he stop running now? You know what Galai said...he wanted to make her into a Heartless Strider. But...he can't do that in such a short amount of time, right? Soulless striders are corrupted corpses so twisted out of shape that they don't even resemble humans anymore. Hunched backs, stilted arms and legs..." Forin paused and frowned. "And Skinless Striders are corrupted and stripped of humanity. Literally. We've seen both of those, but what is a Heartless Strider? It can't be lack of compassion or love. It can't be. Diana wouldn't even begin to fit such a bill..." He sat down and ran his fingers through his hair, again and again. He finally reached into the food bag and grabbed some bread and jerky, munching on it as he puzzled over the same question that had hung over their heads for four months now.

"Best eat up," He said through a mouthful. "We're heading out at midnight."

Luen nodded once, still not saying anything as he rose up on his lanky legs, moving over to take his share from the bag, returning to his place on the bed and folding his legs under him once again. He wasn't upset or hurt; his silence was just him saving energy. He sat quietly with Vorpal, munching away and watching his friends closely.

Forin finished his meal quickly, however small of a meal it was. He grabbed some water and poured some into his mouth, then most over his head. He was stressing, that much was very obvious. Diana was his summoner. He had failed in his job to protect her for almost half a year now. His connection to her had grown very weak over the days, especially over the past two weeks. It was like she wasn't there anymore, but he knew she hadn't died. He would have sensed it.

After a long moment, it became evident that Forin reeked something feirce. Not of an actual odor, but of fear. He couldn't sense it anymore; he knew she was alive, sure, but she could be hurting, in agony, tortured, scared...he just didn't know. She could hate him for not being able to save her...

Luna slipped up behind him and clasped her hands gently around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Forin...we'll get her back," she murmured, nuzzling into his neck. "I promise..."

Luen gave a light cough to clear his throat and, finally speaking, said "I'll fight until my last breath to bring her and Seria home. You know that."

"Yes, Luen...I know. I know..." Forin sighed, turning and pressing against Luna in a very tight hug. He picked up his bag, letting out a heavy sigh when a toy fell out. He had been lugging around an entire bag full of Diana's favorite toys; a little metal train, ducks, dolls, everything that Forin could grab out of his toyshop before leaving. He didn't even know why; he just knew that Diana liked them, so he brought them.

Luen blinked down at the little toy, then closed his eyes. Vorpal looked up at him and shifted a bit closer to his chilly creator when the ice mage moved his hand out. Snow swept under the toy, gently lifting it higher and higher, until it formed a neat little spike of snow sticking up out of the ground, waiting for Forin to take the toy from it. Luna reached out first, however, gently sliding her hand under it and lifting it from the snow with a sigh.

Luen and Luna followed quickly and quietly after their friend, both keeping pace easily with him. Vorpal balanced on Luen's open palm, and at some silent signal from Forin, gave a short leap that carried his tiny form into the air. Forin shifted once, moving his shoulder perfectly into range, and Vorpal caught it and pulled himself up, standing at the ready on his owner's shoulder. Luen lowered his hand, lifting his right arm (his mechanical one) instead in order to grasp Forin's other shoulder. "We're here," he murmured softly, his voice drifting into Forin's ear.

Forin looked over at Luen, and immediately smiled. He could hardly look at his dear friend, though, for his eyes were hazy and filled with tears. "I know. And I thank you for it..." He reached out with his free hand and took Luna's fingers with his, holding tight for all he was worth. Even though he was a miserable failure of a guardian, he was backed by two who would never dream of leaving him. And they were going to help him save his guardian, even though it wasn't any fault of their own that she had been taken.

Luna held his hand close, kissing his fingers once before transfering her lips to his jaw, planting a soft kiss there before straightening and looking forward, trying to be alert.

Luen's soft ears were flicked up, listening intently for any small sound or movement from the surrounding area. His bright emerald eyes flicked to and fro, always searching.

Calentan Manor was a quiet place, but it was large. Cobwebs criss-crossed the space between the iron bars of the gate, and the manor looked rather...abandoned. Windows were boarded up, and the door itself was hanging off its hinges.

The courtyard was swarming with Things. Mostly Skinless; as they approached the gate, the monstrosities pressed forward, trying to reach the three through the bars of the gate. "We'll have to find another way in..." Forin mused, frowning deeply.

"We can go over," Luen said, lifting his hands - mechanical and living - and twisting them in an intricate pattern that Forin recognized easily. He had seen it weaved many times. It conjured a stream of ice and snow from his hands, which he used to create a thick platform, suspended on a heavy, tree-thick trunk of ice. "Come on," he said simply, hopping up onto the platform and offering his hand down to the others.

"Ah, good idea." Forin took Luen's hand and turned to help Luna up once he was up. "This won't last for too long...we should get in...through the window," He pointed to one window, which was ripped out of the wall almost entirely. "And we should be careful if Striders are inside..."

Luen nodded, expertly casting ice and snow here or there in order to guide the swiftly-moving platform to the window. Once there, with a quick twist of his hand, he caused the snow to lift them and place them inside, surrounded by a thick wall of ice for protection. Luna snapped a small orb of light open in her hand, lifting it where they all could see around them.