The Forgotten Zodiac

Israel swept by the tree and grabbed a pear in his talons, turning so quickly that if he had gone any faster he might have broken his neck. He made his wings beat faster and willed the strokes to take him further... he had to beat Nana! HAD to....

Nana's broomstick may have been fast, but it only moved so quickly. Without her spells, she wasn't going any faster than she already was. She raced along, close to the ground, weaving this way and that to avoid the occasional rock or tree. She pulled up, narrowly missing the gate that bordered the Manakete realm. From here on, it was rocks and hills, and the mountain that housed the palace was fast approaching.

Israel pulled ahead of her as they got to the ascent of the mountain, his breath heavy in his throat. He was so, so close...

He felt himself land on the balcony before it really registered that he was there. His wings trembled from the output they had just given as he handed over the blue pear to Verolen.

Verolen grinned. "Looks like you won, Israel. Where's Nana?" He questioned. His answer came with a wail from in town. Nana had crashed into one of the buildings' roofs. The hard rock had been merciless; with the speeds she had been going at, it was surprising she had stayed on the roof. Nana's broomstick was totaled, and she would have gotten hurt if not for a quick spell she had cast.

Israel flapped his wings once or twice before lifting off the balcony and going to land on the roof beside Nana. He let out a soft chirp and knelt, offering her his back to ride back up to the palace.

Nana sighed, graciously accepting the ride after picking up the shattered remains of her broom. "Well, I guess that means you won. I shouldn't have been flying so low..." She sighed. "Alright. Fair's fair. I'll get my sisters to fix Rush for you."

Israel chirped happily and flew back up to the balcony, joining the others. He reverted forms and sat Nana down, then sighed. His wings hung low, their tips brushing the ground, but there was a smile on his face. "Did I do good, Verolen?" he asked.

Verolen smiled. "You did. Thank you, Israel. Now then, Nana..."

"I know, I know. Chill. I'll go have a word with my sisters. You should bring Rush by sometime soon, okay? I'm gonna take Horace home now, I suppose." Nana shrugged. "See you later." She skipped off, smiling.

"Can I take the pears to Sylas?" Israel asked, looking hopeful as he held out his hands. "I mean it was your idea and everything, Verolen, but I..."

Verolen smiled knowingly. "Sure, Israel. You did all the hard work, anyway." He put the pears back in Israel's hand. "Let's go, we can give the others the good news at the same time."

Sylas was finding it hard to sleep. It was...painful. Just lying there, he felt the line down his chest burn and ache. Breathing was worse. His legs hurt, too; he wanted desperately to get up and take a walk or something, but he knew he might hurt himself if he did. It was troubling and annoying...he was exhausted, and he knew he needed to rest, but...he was getting very bored very quickly.

Israel ran into the room, chirping happily as he hustled over to Sylas' bed. "You should eat these!" he declared, pushing the fruit into Sylas' hand. "You'll feel better, that's what Verolen says!"

"O-oh," Sylas blinked, inspecting the fruit. "Uh...these are Verros Apples. Poisonous. Why on earth would I feel better...?"

"They're not blue pears?" Verolen frowned.

"What the heck is a blue pear?"

"It's a...plant in the Darklands. I saw a similar tree bearing the same kind of fruit, so..."

Sylas started laughing. "Verolen, this is probably a blue pear for a demon, but it's definitely poisonous for me. Stick to this world's fruits and berries next time." At least he had good humor about it.

Verolen chortled as well. "Sorry about that, then. Is there any fruits Israel can fetch for you that would help you feel better?"

"Sure." Sylas grinned, describing a Sera tree to them, and the fruit that grew on it. "But you don't have to get one, Israel, I'll be fine without it." He added quickly, still chortling about Verolen's mistake.

"I can get one," Israel said, nodding. "I don't have much anything else to do. I'll go now. What color were they again? I can't see much other than blue and red, but I'll do my best!" he assured.

Sylas grinned. "Can't see anything but red and blue? That's a good thing, I guess, Sera trees have a blueish-silver leaf to them. You'll be able to tell, they're really shiny, and the fruit looks like a big raspberry. Unmistakeable. Oh, and the leaves are like pine, really spiny and stuff. You'll do fine."

"I'll be right back!" Israel said, then catapulted off the balcony, flying back to the forest. "BE BACK SOON!" he shouted back.

L'arc rolled his eyes slightly at Sylas. "Really. Me sitting here practically the whole time means nothing to you?" he asked somewhat flatly, showing that he was just kidding. he followed up the question with a smile and a laugh, shaking his head.

L'arc waved off the comment with a smile. "Yeah, yeah. Think nothing of it, okay? You know I wouldn't leave you. Unless I was being attacked or something."