The Forgotten Zodiac

Sam smiled back, giving a gentle nod to Isslia as Welk licked through her fur, purring loudly. His tongue groomed over her forehead, parting her fur neatly.

Corban's eyes flashed and he shifted forms, standing tall on his long, lanky legs. "Hey there," he said to Lexi, winking at her. "What's a beautiful doll like you doing with this guy? Sure, he's a king, so I see the pull, but there's more exciting matches that could be made. Ya know?"

Lexi stared up at him, quickly pressing further against Cynyr's thick fur.

Werr frowned at the half-cat, then looked over at Sam, still looking thoroughly annoyed. "Who's your friend? He looks like quite the fighter."

"ISSLIA!" A roar made all of them jump. Sooth the golden dragon was stomping through the halls, just small enough to fit in the hallways. "Isslia, lookit me!" He purred, lowering his head close to her. "Hello, kitty. Do you know Isslia? She's a cute one."

"He's my boyfriend," Isslia smiled. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Sooth."

"So you do have someone to watch over you, then. That's a very good thing. Hello, Isslia's boyfriend. My name is Sooth. I saved her from that bad palace. Hey, do you like fish? I ate a whole lot of fish earlier. It was good. Did you know there's a huge lake here? It's great!"

"Technically, I'm now your fiancé," Welk said proudly, then turned his attention up at the huge dragon. "Yeah, I like fish! And lakes are really fun!" He settled immediately into conversation, as was his nature. Purring, he bent his head and nudged Isslia against his warm chest, then put his head against Werr's leg, sounding like a literal chainsaw or motorboat.

"Sweet! We can be friends. What's your name?" He smiled, sticking his tongue out a bit. "Hey, have you seen that giant dragon around? He's pretty scary. And huge. And scary." He tilted his head to the side, smiling. "How old are you? Are you a real lion, or can you be a person like Isslia? Isslia's pretty. Did you know that? Of course you do. What's a fiance?"

"A fiancé means we're going to be husband and wife! Mates, to put it in dragon words," Welk said, grinning from ear to ear. He flicked his long tail energetically, rubbing his chin all over Werr's leg. "I can be a person too!" he chimed, practically radiating the urge to bounce all around.

"I've never had a mate," Sooth blinked. "People are fun! Except when they're stabbing sharp pointy things into my scales. I was younger then, so I couldn't fight back as much. They tried to kill me. A lot of times." He shrugged. "But I ate a few people and they left me alone in a cave and built a castle on top of it. I broke a lot of things in that castle," He chuckled. "I'm gonna go find the big dragon and try and talk to him. He seemed friendly enough, so." He wiggled all about until he managed to turn around, stomping off briskly.

Welk tilted his head slightly as Sooth walked off, then said "He seems nice," while leaning his head against Werr's hand while the boy administered his usual scratches to the skin beneath the thick blonde fur. He purred loudly, half-closing his deep red eyes, looking utterly content and happy.

Lexi watched now as Sam said goodbye and he and Corban headed off. She wasn't sorry to see the cheetah go, and was able to relax as she stroked her fingers through Cynyr's thick fur. The panther wouldn't purr for her, but Werr saw the way his tail was flicking calmly behind him, his ears set at a normal angle.

"I need to run an errand," Werr announced, standing up. "You can stay with Isslia, Welk, it's okay. Lexi, you should stay with Cynyr." He smiled, hurrying off. Rather, starting to. He stopped short as a small group crossed the hallway on the other side. Zex, being led by his guards.

"Why...why is he here?" Werr stumbled back, crouching next to Welk. It made him feel a little safer, at least. "He's with guards...h-he must have been captured or something. Right?"

Welk blinked, immediately shifting forward slightly so Werr was better protected. Lexi felt Cynyr go rigid under her, a growl working into his torn throat.

"Maybe," Welk said, kneading the ground beneath his paws lightly. "Hopefully. I mean, surely, right? Right." He didn't sound too sure of himself however, so he just ended up ushering the group off in the other direction.

"Cynr..." Werr said quietly. "You should interrogate him. I want to know why he's here. Who else he plans on hurting..." He shivered a bit when he remembered the poison coursing through his veins. Ready to attack at any given moment. He didn't wish it upon anyone else...no, far from it. This was terrifying, every second of his life now was spent in fear of that attack. It was a fear of death unlike many others.

Welk looked sad, nuzzling Werr lightly, rubbing his furry cheek against the boy's knee.

Cynyr lashed his tail from side to side, saying As you wish, with a dark hum along the mental words. Clearly he was more than happy to cause misery to someone who had hurt one of his friends, and a moment later, he disappeared.

Well, sort of.

He left behind an odd spectral version of himself to serve as a guard, with Lexi still perched on his back. She stared down in shock at the see-thru panther before quickly scrambling off, unnerved.

"It's okay," Werr said softly, touching her arm. "It's still Cynyr."

Although he wasn't honestly too sure if the panther was still himself at all.

The Amnairian dungeons. Quiet, empty. White stone lined the walls and floor, and the bars were made of a humming sort of metal that chimed a note at the slightest touch. One could play music on them if they wanted to, but their true purpose was simple; the metal was a blessed steel that repelled the darkest of evils. Zex found a curious peace of mind here, but it was not so for long.

Even here, Veros could reach him. Zex felt the cold hand on his mind. The Titan wasn't even apologetic at what it was doing. He had been waiting for a chance to do this. To manipulate Zex like a puppet. The undead instinctively fought back, squeezing his eyes shut tight. But when he opened them again, it was dark. Everything was dark. He could still see...his chained wrists and ankles greeted him when he looked down. The wolf guard outside his cell snoozed peacefully. But it had grown considerably darker, to near terrifying amounts.

And it had nothing to do with Veros.

((Welk: It's time we had an intervention for Cynyr!

Werr: ...Get the unbreakable chains.))

Little lost boy, hiding in the forest, scared of all the wolves. There's much worse than wolves here, kid.

Cynyr slid out of a corner of the jail, as if he was made of the darkness himself, his lips pulled back into a thinly-veiled smile. They usually forget about the panther, he growled, moving towards the shadows again, so that all Zex saw was a vague shape, slithering like some twisted serpent through the dark. A single golden eye flashed open, sharp and piercing, like a spear of color pinning the boy to the ground.

"I'm not lost," Zex muttered, sitting down and returning the stare. "What...you're Cynyr. One of Werr's knights. Come to hurt me to pay back what I did to him? It won't help anything...you should know that." He sighed, looking down. "Whatever. You're probably going to hurt me anyway. Just get it over with..." He couldn't hide his shaking hands. He didn't like this. Why was the guard leaving? Shouldn't he do something? But wait, he was a Tartaran...he wanted Zex hurt as much as Cynyr did.

Zex sighed and accepted his fate, preparing himself to be clawed up or something.

Cynyr was completely silent - not that he could talk anyways - for a long moment. Then he shifted forms and removed a knife from his belt, drawing it painstakingly slowly across one of his fingers, to feel the blade's sharpness. Can I make you scream, I wonder? Can I make you cry? I can't make you bleed, that's for sure. He purred in his throat, a dark, guttural sound, then bent close to the boy.

And cut his bonds.

Better hurry up and go, the panther said darkly, slipping the knife back into his belt.

Lord Veros gets impatient fast.

Zex stared at Cynyr for a long moment, then stood and wrenched open the cell door. His lantern, he had to find it. No, no, it was long gone. Galai would have disspelled it by now. He'd have to get out of this city, first and foremost. And he couldn't get out of the city if he stuck out like a sore thumb. Veros guided him to the armory. He spent a few precious minutes in there, putting on light armor. His clothes were off to the side, neatly folded; he ignored most of it and grabbed only his mask, covering up the horrible scar on his face. The rest of his outfit was normal Tartaran garb.

It proved good enough of a diguise to get him through the hallways. Right, left, another right--he stopped short. The hallway he was meant to go down, approaching fast, were his two Amnarian guards. They were giggling with each other, not paying attention. Zex swallowed hard and started down the hallway, attempting to look as normal as possible.

"Hey, Tobias, tell Molly what happened last--" One of the guards grabbed him by the arm, apparently thinking he was someone else. But when she looked at him, she flinched back.

Bad idea. Zex bolted, and not to his surprise, one of the girls started throwing spells at him. He was good at avoiding them, though; he dove through the nearest door--directly into the throne room. Titus stood abruptly, but Zex didn't linger. He dove through the front doors and slammed them shut behind him, just as the chasing Amnairian threw another spell at him. It hit the door and spread quickly, sealing the door. On the other side, it began spreading over Zex's arm. He looked around wildly, desperately searching for an escape.

By the time those on the other side got the doors open, Zex was gone. Most of him, anyway. A decorative axe - which had been held by an armor statue next to the door - was on the floor. Right next to Zex's severed arm. One of the Amnarians let out a horrified scream, while the other just stared in shock. Titus growled, picking up the limb and burning it in his own hands. "It's no good. He's long gone..."

Galai closed her eyes, extending her powers out in massive waves, searching for any sign at al of Zex. When she received nothing, she slumped back slightly in her chair, sighing. "How could he have gotten away?" she asked, turning her gaze up at Titus. He had no answer for her, so she simply closed her eyes again, holding her head in her hands.

"You could examine the bars on his cage. Question the guards. Surely there have to be some clues as to who did this." Titus muttered. "One way or another, he's lacking an arm now. His right arm. I doubt he'll be doing any swordfighting anytime soon. Veros can heal injuries of his lackeys, but he can't regrow limbs...Toroph, call the guards I assigned to Zex. All three of them. I want to hear what happened."

"Yes, sir." Toro dipped his head.

"And warn Werr and the others of his escape. It's possible...he took Luna, he could take another. It's all a lure to drag them to Gossain...another capture would spur them into action..." Titus muttered, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, while they puzzled over Zex's escape, Cynyr had re-teleported back to his spectral form, which suddenly filled in in front of the others. He shook himself off, snorting once, then looked around. Welk was lounging in a chair with Isslia curled on his lap, laying against his chest and looking so utterly overjoyed. Welk stroked his fingers through her hair gently, savoring the feel of her against him. Lexi was sitting nearby, talking to Seria, whose pregnant belly only seemed to be getting bigger as the days passed. Cynyr stared at her for a moment before shaking off some unknown feeling and moving over, surprising her with his presence by rubbing his new nose against her skin.

((We're going putput golfing today! Dunno what time we're leaving or what time we'll be home, though. I sowwy, I really thought I was gonna be home today. :c))

Werr, oddly, wasn't there. Off to do his 'errand', he had said. Welk didn't seem to mind, occupied with Isslia. She was busy telling Welk all about her time with the Stray Guardians. She had been taught quite a bit, particularly how to fight. Hand-to-hand combat was what she did best with, although she had a little training with a sword. They had been a small group, but had grown while Isslia had been with them. They now boasted 15 members and were quite helpful to any traveler through the woods or mountains.

"So, Welk," She smiled a bit when she was done telling her story. "What happened in Alastor? Werr seems different than before..."