The Forgotten Zodiac

Ink stared at his younger brother for several moments before smiling. "Riordan! Hi!" He climbed to his feet and hurried over, though he hesitated to touch his brother. He seemed like he wanted a hug, but quickly shook it off when he noticed how angry Riordan looked. "Oh. Have you met Luna? She's around here somewhere. Zex brought her back from Alastor. He was in Alastor, brother, isn't that exciting?" Ink grinned, practically skipping with joy in front of his brother.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Riordan answered, moving his hand from his neck and shoving both into his pockets. "I was just wondering if Veros was aware that the First King, Naybrin, passed away. He gave all of his power to a much younger, stronger dragon, which makes it worse in the long run. The younger ones are harder to wear out, and this one doesn't have a bond we can manipulate."

"Veros knows." Zex said quietly from the corner. "It's why Veros is so...giddy. This new dragon has different liabilities. A mate, and a son. We can hurt him without hurting the Alastorian king, and...powers that great will take time to adjust to. Time that we won't give him. Veros never wanted to manipulate the bond. He wanted to break it, but oddly enough, it still exists...between Werr and the half-cat we once thought dead. Veros sensed his return to life. But without it being between Werr and a strong magic user, breaking it will be so much easier."

"So you see," Ink smiled. "Naybrin's passing was the best thing that could have possibly happened!" He clapped and bounced up and down for a moment, then suddenly turned on heel and walked towards a wall. There, he had painted what acually looked like Riordan. Smiling. "You never smile around me, so I painted it. Just so I could see." He grinned. "It looks close, I think."

Riordan stared at the image, stunned into silence. His mouth was open slightly, and he just...stared. For a long moment, nothing was said, until he finally shook himself. "Er...it's, uh...great...Ink." He spoke slowly, as if not trusting his voice. "I uh...really...like it?" His body posture and expression told otherwise, but he strained not to let Ink know, and managed to cover it well with a distracting cough.

"You shouldn't lie, you know. It's not healthy." Ink blinked. "I like it a lot, though. Even if you don't. So you're not allowed to mess it up, okay? It's funny, I wouldn't have been able to make it without the red color. Veros told me how to mix colors to make more. It's exciting! I can take blue and yellow and get green, and if I add more blue it's a different color entirely. I really like painting." He smiled and showed Riordan his hands, which were caked with layer upon layer of dried paint. Hardly any of his skin was showing. He plopped down and started peeling the paint off, humming quietly as he did so.

When Zex next spoke, he was beside Riordan. He spoke quietly, and Ink didn't seem capable of hearing him. "Is this really the best way to raise him? Confine him in his own world with minute understanding of the outside, of reality? How long has it been since he's seen the sky, Riordan? What other secrets are you hiding? I saw the dragon. What...what kind of monster are you, keeping your own brother locked up like an animal? Veros may not mind it, but this..." Zex shook his head in disgust.

((PUNCH HIM OUT OF RAGE >: D))

((Riordan doesn't punch people. xD He grabs them by the throat. .3.))

Riordan growled and turned, grabbing Zex by the throat and shoving him against the wall. He did it quite subtly, so as not to draw his brother's attention. "Do not pretend to understand me," he spat. "My reasons are my own simply for that; they are MY reasons, not yours. Do not call me a monster until you have found yourself standing in my shoes, forced to keep the scales in the tiny world around me that I have control over intact. If I ever hear you saying stuff like that about me again, I'll have you locked up with your throat cut out. Am I understood?"

((CLOSE ENOUGH))

Zex didn't struggle for freedome, but was unable to respond. Riordan was much larger than him, and Veros had once ordered Zex to never harm the king. Therefore, Zex couldn't do much more than glare at the man holding him by the throat. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Ink was still a person; how he had survived like this for so long was far beyond Zex's understanding. By the time Riordan gave up on getting a response out of Zex, the boy was desperate for fresh air. He ran to his waiting lantern and grabbed it up, vanishing in an instant.

He found himself on the roof of the castle, sitting on the edge, his legs dangling over the side. There he sat, and not for the first time, he started to cry. He just...didn't understand...

Back in the dungeons, Veros cleared his throat. "My apologies, your highness. Zex is...troubled. I'll sort it out. His feelings don't reflect my own. After all, you must do what you must do. There's so little choice involved these days. But besides that, we must discuss something. As you are aware, the bond between Werr and Naybrin has shifted. It now lies with Werr and one of his knights, a half-cat named Welk, who was revived by the power of the First King's sacrifice. This is fine and dandy, quite, but...are you aware that Welk's beloved, the one he holds dear, was put in your jail just this morning? Miss Isslia Royal, what a tortured soul she is."

"I want her executed as soon as possible. Keep the head. When Welk sees what's become of her, the shock of it will travel through the bond with Werr, and activate the poison I've had set in the king. Heart attacks are so very common these days...it will be as though nothing happened at all...and everything happened at once. You don't have to, of course, you could do something else with miss Isslia, but...that's just my idea. Feel free to spice it up."

Riordan glared, but merely inclined his head lightly and spoke to his brother instead. "Ink, before Zex interrupted me, I was going to tell you something. I'm going to have something built for you. Out...outside."

The silence after this line was nearly defeaning.

"I have workers on it, and it should be done tomorrow. It's...another thing for you to understand. And I'm giving it to you." He folded his arms calmly over his chest, staring at his older brother.

Veros smiled, and left control to Ink again.

"Outside? What is it?" Ink practically jumped up with excitement. "Is it a horse? A boat? I've read about boats. Remember?" He picked up the child's book about boats he had read many times over. "Boats are fun. Oh, and horses too! Hmm...I suppose I can just wait for it. Will I be able to paint it? No, no, don't tell me, I want it to be a surprise." Ink grinned, giddy with excitement. "I can't wait."

"You'll see tomorrow," Riordan said, his expression turning from his furrowed-browed frown to a calmer one, albeit still not smiling. He never smiled, really. Even around Valley, smiles were extremely rare. It was as if he carried a great weight on his shoulders, one he refused to tell anyone about or share, but they could see it slowly pushing him down anyways.

"Tomorrow!" Ink clapped happily, smiling away. "I'll wait right here. Now, you go on upstairs, I'm sure Valley is waiting for you. Have a good night, brother."

"Don't forget about Isslia."

((Dunno who to switch to now. .w.))

Riordan nodded, turning away and stalking off with a strange expression on his features.

*

Vaira stalked back and forth over the Great Plains, her expression utterly shocked and confused.

Ever since the strange blast of magic had hit her, she had felt different. It was the oddest sensation, and she hadn't been able to calm down or rest since it had happened. Something was different, but she couldn't tell what it was yet.

"Mommy, why are you walkin' around so much?" Boko watched her pace, halfway through his meal of broiled Salt-rock Fish. His dear friend Shiya had made it for him, and he found it quite delicious. Lutrez was sharing with him.

"It's called pacing," Lutrez giggled. "Mommy does it all the time."

"Oh. But your mom isn't my mom. Mom, why are you pacing?" Boko asked again.

Vaira didn't seem to hear him for a moment, then finally blinked when he practically tackled one of her hind legs to get her attention. She paused and sighed, lifting her leg and bending her head around to take Boko by his coils, pulling him off and setting him down gently nearby. "I'm...not sure, baby," she said softly, stroking her muzzle down his back, the way he liked it.

"I'm not going to forget," she said, laying down so he could crawl onto her back. "But...something just feels different. I...I can't tell what." She licked his muzzle gently, still looking concerned, then said "I think I should go see Salana. She has a more innate sense than I do. Maybe she can tell what's wrong..."

"Okay! We'll come too!" Boko purred, and Lutrez nodded.

"Mommy will know what's up." He giggled, then trotted after the young dragon and Vaira.

Salana was busy grooming her egg. It was so very close to hatching day, her beautiful little daughter was so eager to emerge...she looked up as Vaira, Lutrez, and Boko entered her nest cave. "Oh, hello there."

"Hi, mommy!" Lutrez sang as he rushed forward, slipping into her pouch. She nosed him gently, then looked up at Vaira.

"What can I do for you?" She purred, her tail wrapped around the near-hatching egg. "Little miss Fiona is going to hatch in just two days. It's so very exciting. Aren't you excited, Lutrez? You get to be a big brother!"

"I'll be the bestest big brother ever!" Lutrez exclaimed happily.

Lutrez's aunt, Kelora, was laying nearby, two small dragonling's laying at her belly. It was rare for a dragonness to have twins, but her delivery of their eggs had gone surprisingly smooth. Now, after their hatching, she had two little twin girls, both a beautiful bright-yellow color, like their mother. She smiled and nudged one of them towards her hind legs, incase the baby wanted milk. Dragons were unique in this manner; they were built almost like wolves, which fed their babies with milk before they were old enough to eat meat.

Selana followed Vaira's gaze, smiling. "And you're already an excellent cousin, little one. How about a snack, hmm? I managed to save your favorite from the food pile. See?" She dropped a squirrel just outside her pouch. Lutrez squealed and slipped out, eating the small animal quite happily.

"Thanks, momma!" He purred.

"You like squirrels, Lutrez? I can catch you tons of squirrels!" Boko jumped up and down with excitement. "I didn't know you liked them, I catch 'em all the time!"

"You do? I rarely ever see them in the food pile..." Lutrez blinked.

"Oh. Well, I like 'em too. They're tasty." Boko giggled.

Selana laughed a bit, shaking her head. Then she looked up at Vaira again. "What can I do for you, Vaira?" She asked again, smiling away.

Vaira swallowed softly, then bent her head slightly and said "I think...something's wrong with me. I feel...different, and I don't know what it is. I've never felt this way before, ever, and I'm worried I'm getting sick. What...do you think it could be? You have the highest sense out of all the dragons here. Can you...feel anything odd?"