The Forgotten Zodiac

"Your touch...makes me so very happy. I am filled with joy. I haven't felt joy in a very long time. My name is Sooth Suntouch, simply put..." He flicked his ears, a smile spreading over his scaled lips. "Would you please bring me food? You don't have to do it now. Sometime soon. I'll give you some of my scales," He bargained, his yellow eyes fixed upon her. "Or maybe you'd like some saliva? Or maybe tears?"

"H-how are you doing that...?" Zex watched Luna touch the dragon. "It was roaring just a second ago, screaming about food, a-and...you told him to sit and he did!" He trembled. "You really are like the Goddess...she told a whole volcano to stop once, kept it from erupting and made it dormant again..."

Luna frowned over her shoulder at Zex, saying "For the last time, I'm not the Goddess or anything to do with her! I mean, really." She patted Sooth's nose, saying "You poor thing, of course I'll go get you some food. But I won't take anything from you in return, that's not nice. After all, I think you might be able to help my friend get out. I'm Luna, by the way."

Zex looked down and away, shutting his mouth. Luna didn't like his mentioning of the Goddess, clearly. But he couldn't help himself. It was all just too similar, it was almost scary...

"Get your friend out? You have a friend here? I'll help her. Sure, I'll help." Sooth bobbed his head.

"Wh...why are you so eager to help her?" Zex questioned quietly.

"Because. I saw it in the future. I heard her voice. A prophesy of sorts." He tilted his head back and gave his 'prophesy', his voice solemn and deep.

"Golden wings, bound by chain; heavy heart, eternal shame.

Freedom comes on gentle hand, with a quiet girl not from this land.

Burden lifted, heart rejoice; But lasty comes a dreaded choice."

"What...what does that mean?" Zex stammered. "Dreaded choice?"

"I haven't a clue. It could be referring to a choice I must make, or perhaps a choice you must make, miss Luna. The golden wings are obviously mine," Sooth shook his scaled wings, rattling the chains wearing them down. "So is...the shame. But that's a tale for another time. Luna, you're not from this land, are you? No, you are not. You are from a different world entirely, I can sense that much. And your touch is as soft as silk. That's obviously you. My own prophesy is coming true, this is exciting," He smiled brightly.

Luna scoffed, saying "I don't know anything about any prohesies, and I've heard a lot already. I even made one, a long time ago. But I've never been part of one, and I'm fairly certain you're mistaken. But for now, I'll go get you some food." Figuring she wouldn't be able to get rid of Zex, she simply put him to work. "You can help me," she said, walking off quickly.

"But...oh...okay..." Zex walked after her.

"You are in my prophesy, Luna. I've seen it. Whether you want it or not, you're the one freeing me already; I have to get your friend out, after all." Sooth murmured, mostly to himself as he climbed back onto his pile of bones. His legs trembled with every motion, as if unsure of how to proceed. Unsure of how much longer they could move before hunger took him. It hadn't been just one year since his last meal, after all.

It had been three.

Zex led the way to the kitchens, then the frozen room; it was designed to keep the entire room as cold as possible. Which was pretty cold. Slabs of meat hung from the ceiling. "How much do you think he wants?" Zex questioned, frowning slightly.

((Also, the 'choice' is for Zex. Veros will, naturally, threaten to condemn the poor boy to the underworld unless he does his bidding, but Zex will choose to help Werr and Welk and them instead.))

((Aww~))

"Let's see. It's a dragon that hasn't eaten for a long, long time. I think we should bring a lot," she answered, not even hesitating to start gathering meat in her arms, ignoring the blood and mess. She gathered a bunch of meat in her arms and moved for the door, saying over her shoulder "Hustle up, I'm already going!"

"Well, I'm hopeing you can still change size," Luna said, crossing her arms as she thought. "Once I get my friend Isslia out of her cell, I would come and get you, then you would fly her out. I can't leave until I get this thing off." She pointed down at the thing around her ankle, frowning.

"And what if you're stopped by guards? Questioned for bringing a prisoner out of her cell and marching her through the halls?" Sooth tutted through a mouthful of his meat. "I think a wiser choice would be to get me out of here, first. Bring me a scent for me to track down, and I can find your friends. I'll fly her out of here in a whisk, no worries." He flapped his wings, just to stretch them. "Flying is dragon instinct. It has been many, many years since my last flight. But I will do my very best to remember how it works. For you, and your friend. I hope you would trust me; I could very easily fly off on my own and leave your friend here. But that is not something I would do. I owe you a great debt, and I would be foolhardy not to repay it. Food and freedom is what you offer me, so I gladly agree to assist your friend as half my repayment."

Luna nodded, saying "I suppose that works instead. Alright then. I trust you." She moved forward when he was finished eating and stroked his nose, leaning against him and just running her fingers all over his scales. Where this innate ability to comfort had come from, she didn't know. She had always had it, after all. Even with Vidia or Diana, and even Forin, she had always known just the right things to do or say to comfort them. Certainly, there were times where they tried to resist or push her away, but she had always gotten through, never giving up until they had accepted her advances and allowed her to hold them close.

"Your gentleness speaks many words of kindness," Sooth murmured, resting his nose lightly against her shoulder. Not heavy enough to push her over, but it enabled her to reach behind his ears better. "Why do you not offer such comfort to the undead one? He bears such sadness, more than I myself hold. Misery beyond my understanding. He shakes his head in protest, but his eyes speak for him." He flicked his ears again, closing his eyes. "Oh yes, that's the spot," He stuck his forked tongue out slightly as Luna found a good spot just at the back of his neck.

"I guess I haven't been able to forgive him for kidnapping me," she said, scratching the dragon's ears. "But maybe it's time to put the past away." She was incredibly forgiving once she had gotten over her extreme anger, really. Forin knew the best out of anyone how easily her moods could change; she could go from ferocious and angry to kind and loving.

"He's quite willing to do as you ask, I've noticed. Perhaps you should have him fetch you some fresh clothing. I didn't intend for you to make such a mess on your outfit," Sooth snorted. "But yes! Bring back a fresh scent sample as soon as you want me to free your friend, and it shall be done. She and I will fly as far away from this place as I could ever hope to manage." He practically purred, smiling away.

Luna nodded, then spent a moment fussing over the bloody state of her clothes before sighing and turning to Zex. "I forgive you for kidnapping me," she said tartly. "Clearly it was destined to happen for a reason, because now I can free Isslia and Sooth. So I forgive you." She didn't smile, but her tone and posture told that she was calm and collected.

Zex blinked, then smiled a bit. "I'm still sorry. It was very much uncalled for...but thank you for forgiving me." He smiled a bit. "I can get you some clothes. I'll go right now," He darted off before Luna could say anything else. Sooth, in the meantime, curled up on his bone pile to eat more of his meat.

"See you soon," The golden dragon smiled.

Luna watched Zex go, then sighed and turned to Sooth, planting a light kiss on his muzzle before walking off to wait outside for Zex to return.

*

Welk was sick.

It had come up slowly, completely unnoticed at first, but now he was painfully sick. He had developed a fever that refused to break, and he sounded as though it pained him to breathe. Luckily for Werr, the sickness hadn't translated to him through their bond. Galai explained why when he came to her for advice out of worry.

"His return to life is not completed, it seems. That's why he's been so tired and un-energetic lately, quite unlike his normal self. His return will be finished only when the final piece of what makes him truly him is at his side once more; to put words to it, it means you must find Isslia, and soon. Welk will only grow worse as time wears on."

"He's not fit for travel, though..." Werr fumed. The sudden fever and coughing had delayed their initial flight. "I...Cynyr, I..." He looked towards their older brother, frowning. "I can stay here and watch over him. Can you...fetch Isslia? Take Spy with you, of course, and Zephyr too."

"But the poison, Werr," Airlia interjected. "It could start to affect you..."

"That's why I have to stay. If I were to pass out or start coughing blood or anything of the sort, it could scare Isslia more than convince her to come. Cynyr, we don't have much choice, you have to go find her. Save Isslia so we can save Welk. You move fast, too..."

The black panther stood rather solemnly nearby, his expression torn. He didn't want to let either of his brothers out of his sight, but at the same time, he understood that they had to work quickly and do what was needed.

He sighed, instinctively rubbing the bridge of his nose in a sort of fretting move, and jumped, not even close to being used to the feeling of his repaired face. His questioning gaze told Werr everything; in the years that they had been friends, Werr had learned to speak the panther's more subtly, almost unseen language; What if something goes wrong and I'm not there to help you or Werr? What if something happens?

"Galai and Titus are here. We have the healing springs, the Divine Healers...if something goes wrong, if anything goes wrong, I'm certain we'll be okay. We always are, after all..." Werr smiled a little. "We're counting on you, Cynyr..."

"I'd like to come, too." Airlia stepped forward. "In case she's hurt. Seria's a better healer than I, certainly, but...I'd hate to put her in more harm's way than absolutely necessary."

Cynyr sighed, then looked down at Airlia, giving a faint smile. He was glad for her suggestion, as Seria was only growing bigger by the day, and he didn't want her to travel if she couldn't help it, much less work. He portrayed his gladness for her company by letting his scar-free hand rest on her shoulder, his parchment-pale skin smooth and surprisingly warm. He looked up at Werr, giving a hesitant nod.