The Forgotten Zodiac

"I guess," Rush sighed. "I'll get back to this, then. Don't bug me." He waved and left, grumbling something or other in his wake.

"We should start planning a trip to the Tree of Rebirth. With the fires out, it's safe to travel now." Sylas said quietly. "Do you think...do you think Jemina will be the same? Will she remember me? Will it still be Jemina at all, or a different Tree Spirit...?"

((I'M REALLY TORN BECAUSE BIRD WOULD BE SO INTERESTING IF HE COULD SPEAK BUT BECAUSE I MADE HIM NOT SPEAK I DUNNO I'M KINDA REGRETTING IT.))

((HE CAN BE A SELECTIVE MUTE. I HAD A FRIEND THAT WAS LIKE THAT.))

"I'm wondering the same thing, about my mother," L'arc said quietly, drawing his knees to his chest as he slowly met Sylas' gaze. "It's so strange, that I... never thought about that before. That they might come back. If I had... I wonder if I would have acted faster, and ended this war sooner. I... I know, it doesn't do to dwell," he said, giving a small shrug. "But I... you know."

((THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. EXCEPT WHY WOULD HE BOTHER TRYING TO WRITE OUT STUFF AND CHARADE INSTEAD OF TALKING?))

"There's no way it would have worked. We couldn't have done anything," Sylas said quietly. "Don't fret about that. Just...tell me the forest will go back to being the same. Tell me I can help, with the Ether shards and all...even if the Jemina I know is gone for good, and replaced with something else, I...I don't care. I just want the forest to be better again."

((BECAUSE HE CAN'T SELECT WHEN HE IS MUTE. IT JUST HAPPENS TO HIM. MAYBE WHEN HE'S FEELING EXTREME EMOTIONS.))

"It will be," L'arc said. "I'll see to that, I promise. And you'll be around to get on my case if I'm ignoring anything, right?" he asked.

((THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING. MY ORIGINAL PLAN FOR THE EXPLANATION WAS THAT HE GAVE UP HIS VOICE AFTER THE ROSA SACRIFICE WORE OFF. HOW EXPLAIN ODD RANDOM TALKING.))

"Right." Sylas nodded a bit, smiling. "I've got your back. Don't worry." He smiled a bit, then stood. "I guess we should go and talk to Bird now, maybe. See if he's done with his mask, right?" He smiled a bit.

((THAT MAKES LITTLE TO NO SENSE.))

"Probably a good idea," L'arc said, standing with a nod. He smiled at Kendra, who'd been sitting quietly in the corner trying to read one of the scrolls. She smiled back and waved the two boys off.

"I'll speak with you later," she assured, returning her gaze to the tattered parchement.

((WHAT DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? ROSA KILLED HERSELF NEAR THE BEGINNING AND IT WORE OFF SEVERAL YEARS LATER AND SO HE HAD TO GIVE SOMETHING ELSE UP. SO HE GAVE HIS VOICE.

BUT THAT WOULD NOT EXPLAIN INTERMITTENT SPEECH.))

"Er, yeah. Sorry." Sylas nodded and waved, feeling a bit guilty as he left the tent and left Kendra to her lonesome.

Bird was almost done with his mask, clearly. He was just finishing adding another line of paint; when he saw L'arc and Sylas approaching, he was quick to put the mask on, tying it tight. It was a very well crafted mask, and left his lower jaw uncovered, so they could tell if he was smiling or frowning. And right now, he was smiling a lot.

((And now he's trying to get used to their no-mask culture, it's so cute))

((AWWWW BIRD YOU ARE CUTE.))

L'arc could not help but smile in return at the nymph, glad that he was so happy now. "Hey, Bird. I like the new mask, it's wonderfully made," he complimented, going over to him. "Were you finished, or did you want us to leave so you could do more?" he asked, trying to be polite.

((xD YAY FOR CUTE CHARACTERS.))

Bird shook his head, still smiling. "That's great, Bird." Sylas grinned. "And now we know if you're happy or not, too. Even with the mask on. It's perfect." Bird nodded happily. Clearly that was intention. The mask was shaped like an owl's face, with a small beak and feathers on the side. It was well carved, with a nice touch of paint here and there. Red and brown on the feathers, orange on the beak, and a bit of blue detailing here and there. Bird was clearly very good at making masks.

"I like it a lot," L'arc affirmed with another nod. He waited for a moment, then said, "Verolen's going to make you an instrument. I know that, after what I've done, it's selfish of me to ask any favor of you, but... it'd be greatly appreciated if you would be willing to help us restore the forest."

((Okay, explanation for intermittent speech; they're so in tune with the forest that whenever it's damaged, it hinders them in various ways. Some will become crippled, others blind, and with Bird, incapable of speech. But because the damage to the forest is patchy, so is his voice. Does that make sense?))

Bird's smile faded a bit, but he nodded. Sylas got right back into conversation, not letting him dwell on unhappy thoughts. "Do you like wind instruments, or string?" Sylas asked, grinning.

Bird pulled at his hair until he got a strand of hair loose. He pulled it taut. "So a string instrument?" Bird nodded, and Sylas grinned. "Alright. I'll go tell Verolen and we'll see what he makes."

((THAT IS A GOOD EXPLAINATION THERE.))

L'arc watched Sylas move off, then looked back to Bird. "I'm descened from Nymphs, you know," he said. "I mean, it's not exactly a unique thing among druids, but... we're kin, sort of, so..." he wasn't exactly sure where he was going with the thought, so he cleared his throat awkwardly. "...I'm still really, really sorry."

Bird looked away, rubbing his arm. "That's okay," He said, much to L'arc's surprise. Sylas was already off in the other direction. "You didn't really put anything to waste, your majesty. My older sister's sacrifice kept the barrier solid for many, many years...I don't think it would have been intact when you came along, if not for her. She ensured that Dark Chaos was locked away...until the right time."

"You... so you can speak?" L'arc said, trying not to sound too shocked for fear of insulting the nymph. He listened carefully to Bird's words, then said, "So there was a 'right' time? ...I hope I didn't interfere with it," he said, sitting down nearby.

Bird nodded. "My voice reflects the damage to the forest. Sometimes I can speak, sometimes I can't...I have a few minutes with my voice. When the forest is repaired, I'll be able to talk more freely. I don't know when the 'right time' was, but...I don't think you messed with it too much. It's been years and years, after all..." He blinked as his stomach rumbled, and pulled out a few of his rats. He had several in his bag, and he bit into it without even bothering to cook it. At the look of digust on L'arc's face, he smiled. "I've been living off of stuff like this for ages now..."

"Well... would you like some fruit or something? There's plenty to go around, now that the humans have taken up gardening," the King offered, still frowning slightly at the rat.

Bird shook his head. "I can't eat things that humans touch. I'll get sick." He finished off one rat and licked his lips. He looked down and shuffled his foot against the ground. "King L'arc, what would you say if I wanted to hold the Mother Tree child? I've wanted to hold it for a long time, but if I ever moved it, the seal would break, so..."

"I would say, yes, of course you can," L'arc said, smiling. "Afte guarding it for so long, it's practically your right to keep it until we find a place to get it planted."

Bird blinked in surprise, then nodded. "I would be grateful. Did you notice the way it calmed you when you held it? It was happy. Beyond happy to be held in your hands. It sensed a new era of peace...but now there is Chaos to confront..." He looked at L'arc sharply. "Are you to follow him into the human realm? Seek out his trail and follow it? Are you prepared to fight back against him when you do find him?"

"I will do whatever I must to ensure war does not come back to us," L'arc said. "It was my hope to have a reign of peace... so if quelling this new evil will help ensure that, I will do whatever I can to see it eliminated," he said with a nod.