The Forgotten Zodiac

"No, Issi..." the lion said, blinking in shock as he shifted his arms (a pained look crossed his face here, but he shook it off), pulling the small puppy as close to his neck as possible. He cuddled her right up close, stroking her fur over and over as he held her tenderly between neck and shoulder. "Don't cry...please, I hate seeing you cry..." In little more than a whisper, eyes closed tight as if afraid he'd cry himself, "Don't cry, my Golden-Flower...I love you..."

"I ca-can't...I can't stop...I'm just so happy you're okay," Isslia whimpered, licking his chin. "I was so worried..."

"So worried that she nearly hurt yourself trying to get you aid, Welk. She was walking around yesterday, but I wouldn't be shocked if she's incapable of that today." Obelisk said quietly as he entered. "Almost everyone's awake, then. That's good. I would like to suggest that we move to Kaislun as soon as possible. It's far from safe here..."

((I'm going to have some fun next post. Or after next post. Sometime soon.))

((Oh dear. Will I not like this?

Also, it looks like it might be missing a word in le post. "shocked if she was  ". No punctuation makes me think a word decided to ninja. xD))

Welk glanced up at Obelisk, then slowly pushed himself up right, still cradling Isslia against his neck. He glanced over at Werr and Lexi, then looked back up at Obelisk. "What about Cynyr? I mean...how do we move him? Can we move him? We can't leave him here, with that thing ravaging him..."

((It would have been eventful, but I decided against it.. And I fixed my last post. xD))

"And we cannot feed ourselves to it as well as him." Obelisk said quietly. "I understand your hesitation, but that thing went after you, Welk. It could have killed you if not for Isslia's quick thinking and Seria's magic. It took seven Striders to subdue him when we first arrived, and I suspect it would take more to do so now. Do you not understand the gravity of his situation? It will leak to the others. It attacked you, next could be Seria, or Werr, even Ophile. You would be foolish to risk anything of the sort."

((What was it gooonna be?))

"But he's my brother."

The plaintive sentence fell quietly from Welk's lips, his gaze turned sorrowfully up at Obelisk. "I don't want him to die. I don't want him to suffer alone," he said softly, stroking Isslia's gray fur as he cuddled her close. "There has to be something, anything, that we can do to help him. ...Isn't there?"

((It would've been the castle guards marching in and arresting someone under orders from 'Nate'. I was gonna have the whole crowd, but maybe just one or two. It would open up a chance for that demon to attack 'em. Maybe Forin...

Also, it would be interesting if Luna were the one to free Cynyr, or at least help him control it. o3o))

Obelisk watched Welk for a moment, then sighed. "Cynyr knew about the demon within him before Veros made himself known, or shortly after. He struck a deal with the Titan, I imagine, and served him in the mission to kidnap Isslia and Lexi. The Titan either made a loophole with his promise, or Cynyr failed to ensure a promise was made, because that demon is still there. If you think I am not upset by this, you are wrong; I am merely attempting to find the safest course of action. There is no way even I can remove it. That is a task for dieties."

((Then I think it's time for Luna to 'wake'. ;D))

Welk seemed like he wanted to say something in reply to this, but he just ended up lowering his head slightly with a sigh, murmuring "Okay..." He touched his chin gently to one of Isslia's shoulder-blades, moving his chin up and down through her fur.

No one really noticed when Luna, laying still and silent nearby, finally blinked, her eyes regaining their light.

((BUT I WANTED TO HAVE FORIN ARRESTED FIRST. I'M DOING THAT.))

Everyone looked up in alarm when Diana ran in, falling against Luen, who had been near Allie. She panted desperately, as though she had run a great distance.

"Diana? I thought you and Forin went out to the garden...what happened?" Allie questioned, frowning.

"They...they arrested him," She whimpered. "They said they would take him to the dungeons and Forin told me to run here and...and I'm pretty sure they fought him and I peeked out of the bushes and they were dragging him away, and...and..." She sobbed, clearly upset. "They said Nate ordered them to!"

"Veros...!" Obelisk was out the door before anyone could say anything. Most likely to try and stop the Titan from doing anything else.

((.D.))

Luen's eyes widened in horror, but he quickly shook his shock off enough to pick Diana up and cradle her against his hip, stroking her hair gently. "He'll be okay," he soothed, holding her close. "It'll be fine. Everything will be fine."

"You are correct, kirin."

The ethereal, ancient, feminine voice seem to resonate throughout the entire room. Luen felt like he nearly had a heart-attack upon hearing it; like it was something grand and so utterly...powerful.

It stunned him to find that the voice was coming from Luna, who was now sitting up in her bed, glancing slowly around the room as if she had never seen the place before.

((FORIN MUST BE PUNISHED FOR NOT HAVING BEEN PUNISHED RECENTLY.

THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE.

Also, Luna will not cleanse Diana because I still need her Pheonix Strider-ness. It's too powerful for Veros to touch, so it's best that she keeps it anyway.))

Diana hiccuped and fell quiet, staring at the Amnarian. Something stirred inside her, and she felt compelled to hide from Luna's presence. The young girl tucked her face up against Luen's chest,

Even Werr was stunned by the voice. "Y-yeah. We'll get Forin out of there right away. I'm the king, remember, Diana? I'll order them to let him out, and set them straight on who Nate is right now." He stood, straightening his shirt and heading for the door.

"Hold, child."

Luna's voice alone made Werr freeze in his tracks.

"Take caution. Veros is an age-old foe. I fear you may yet walk into a trap. If they took the Tartaran under these dire reasons, they may not be so willing to release him."

Luen, holding Diana close and standing just in front of Allie, stared at her in shock. "You...you aren't Luna," he accused quietly, eyes wide. "Who...what are you?"

"I?" the person said, turning to face Luen and stunning him with the fact that Luna's eyes had lost their pupils, reducing them to completely white orbs. "Is it not obvious, little one? Has my touch truly fell so far that none can recognize my voice?"

They were all very much perplexed, until someone familiar slammed open the door, stumbled into the room, and sank to his knees in front of Luna. "Mother!" The Demigod of Order and Chaos, Snider. Trembling from head to toe. "Mother, you've finally returned, I sensed it and came running immediately, oh, how pleased I am to see you!"

At the very sight of him, Diana started to cry again, Werr stood protectively in front of Lexi, and Obelisk came barging back into the room with the fury of a thousand suns. But even he stopped in his tracks, his gaze locked on Luna. Apparently, whatever Snider had sensed, Obelisk sensed it too. A circle of darkness swirled around his feet, more of a protection than anything else.

After all, he was a being that was never meant to exist. There was only one thing that could completely destroy his body and self-made soul, and apparently, she was here. The Goddess.

((SMACK HIM. SMACK SNIDER'S FACE. SMACK IT SO HARD HIS EYES WATER. DOOOO EEEEEETTTTT))

"Wh-what...are you talking about?" Luen said softly, staring between the three. "L-Luna?"

"Luna is of me now, young kirin," the Goddess said, blinking the solid white eyes at him. "She was created for this sole purpose. She is me, and I am her. She is my reincarnation. I, Aveta Nantosuelta Sirona, Goddess of the Heavens, have finally managed to reach the world below thanks to this young girl."

She turned her attention to Snider, her face taking on a deep frown that sent shivers down Luen's spine. "I am severely disappointed in you," she said, her voice echoing strongly throughout the room.

"Er...yes, uh...it may have...looked like I released the Titans, but...it was actually  Zephyr. He's the one who destroyed the Temple of Stars, you should talk to him." Snider said nervously, also doing a good amount of shivering.

Not surprisingly, Cyprus entered next, pushing past Obelisk. He looked much happier to see her, compared to Snider. "Mother! Mother, it's so very good to see you," He took her hand in his as he knelt, beaming happily. "When I saw this girl, I knew you would use her for something. I'm so happy to see you here!"

"Tch, buzz off! I was talking first," Snider hissed at him. Cyprus didn't respond, fully ignoring him. Obelisk, in the meantime, did his best to quietly leave the room again while 'Aveta' was distracted.

She smiled gently at Cyprus, bending to kiss his head lightly before returning her gaze to Snider. "You think me to be blind? You think I cannot see you lie, even here before me? You DARE to lie to my face? I KNOW you, Snider!" Her fury was terrifying as she slid from the bed, standing in front of the demigod. "I saw when you tricked the dragon Zephyr, using the threat of death of his beloveds over him! Thanks to your foolishness, you have released things into this world that should never have existed again! What have you to say in your defense now? By all rights, I should remove your essence of life here and now, and place you forevermore into the clouds above!"

Snider flinched and went into a full bow, on all fours now, not daring to look up at her. "I...I thought you had abandoned this world!" He said, his voice pathetic and weak compared to her anger. "Your attention was so focused on Heaven, I...I didn't think...we mattered anymore to you..."

"Luen," Diana said softly. "I don't want to be in here. I want to go to our room, can we please go?" She whimpered.

The kirin nodded quickly, ushering Diana and Allie out of the room at once.

"I have never once abandoned this world, but it appears that, until Luna, there were none who could hear me anymore. Not you, not anyone. My voice went unheard for eons. Why? I had nearly given up hope that there would ever be one left who could hear me!" The Goddess tilted her head back, closing her eyes quietly.

"Humans are hopeless, foolish beings," Snider interjected, growling. "They replaced your worship with the worship of Demigods and powerless idols. Your priests were determined to be liars and heritics. The heart of humanity grew cold, and..."

"They wouldn't listen to us. We could only try and point them in the right direction, but..." Cyprus lowered his head, fully aware that he had enjoyed the attention after he had gotten over the sin that it was. "They were so stubborn."

"So wait," Werr frowned, finally starting to catch up to what was going on. It was a bit hard to think with that celestial voice cutting into his heart and mind every time it spoke. "You...are the Goddess. The real Goddess. Queen of Titans, ruler of dieties...why are you here?"

"I am here to try and right the wrongs that have been done, to finally break through the silence that has passed for centuries. I was only recently awoken to this goal, to the way I would be able to finally reconnect with my world. I believe it was...my firstborn, who truly showed me what I was missing, upon his return to my realm."

Welk blinked, thinking hard. Firstborn...of the Goddess? There was only one he knew of who was the Goddess' 'firstborn', and the realization of this made him cast a furtive glance at Werr, stunned.

((Also, I hope you know what this means for Zex. >:]))

Werr looked down. "I...I see..." He lapsed into silence, biting his lip a bit.

"We should slay the humans that wronged you," Snider, of course, was the first to speak up on the point. "Cyprus and I--"

"I'll partake in no such thing under your orders, Snider," The second Demigod interrupted, looking mad at the suggestion. "We should forgive them. It's not their fault, it's ours; we weren't trying hard enough to--"

"You revel in the attention! They all but forgot about me, and they turned to idols instead. You captivated their hearts and kept their eyes and ears towards you for selfish reasons! I had no such chance as you,"

"I-I..." Cyprus flinched, not having much of an argument to that. It was true, of course.

"I think the both of you should just shut up!" Isslia snapped at them.