The Forgotten Zodiac

L'arc smiled slightly at Bershee. "That's easy to answer," he said. "But hard to do, I know. Get up and try again," he answered/

Bershee smiled. "That's good. That's a very good answer."

"I'm sorry, but I never got your name..." Versha's smile had turned a bit taut.

"Hm? Oh, my name is Bershee. Sole survivor of the Octi race. A pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand, which was oddly...slimy. Much how a mother made milk, Bershee's body naturally made food to feed her young. Not quite milk, though. It was the same substance that held the eggs to the rocky surface now. It was starting to leak from her pores. She noticed and wiped her hand on her dress, blushing a bit. "Sorry..."

"Oh, no. Don't worry about it. I was just reassuring L'arc here of his kingship..."

"So I heard. I just thought perhaps a bit of my wisdom could be of help to him. Sorry if I interrupted."

"No, no. It's fine." Versha shrugged. "I'm sure L'arc appreciates the help. Do you?" She was beginning to sound a bit...hysterical.

((Haha, Bershee interrupted Versha's advice-giving moment. xDD))

L'arc couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as the two bickered. "Yeah, it's fine," he replied to both of them at once. "Thanks for the reassurances, both of you," he added, then turned to Bershee. His smile wavered slightly, then he asked, "Any news on how Bermuda's doing? How long until he wakes up?"

Bershee sighed. "No, L'arc. I don't know when he'll wake up, if at all. His condition is stable. That's the most I can tell you. The healing waters did its work. He's in the tub still for comfort's sake now."

"Oh, if only he were a forester...I could easily help him." Versha sighed.

"But he's not, so I'm helping him." Bershee smiled.

"He's not even awake yet. I don't think you're helping at all."

"What? He could be dead now if not for my waters balancing his magical output!"

"But he isn't awake yet, so clearly, something is still wrong." Versha pointed out.

"Hey, tree lady, I can only do so much." Bershee snorted. "Anyway...if you'd like to visit him, L'arc, that's fine. The waters will amplify your voice, he'll be able to hear you just fine."

"Thank you," L'arc said, leaving quickly before the two's arguing started to stress him out any more than he already was. He only got a few paces away before realizing he'd left Sylas back there, so he quickly motioned for his friend to follow.

Sylas blinked and followed willingly, but Bird didn't. He was still hanging around Versha, despite the fact that she was outright ignoring him at this point in favor of bickering with Bershee.

"Women are hard to understand," Sylas muttered as they hurried away. "I don't think Versha likes Bershee too much...poor Bird, I wonder why he's still over there...it's only a matter of time before they turn on him."

"Yeah," L'arc said, glancing over his shoulder. "Aries and Eve never went on like that," he said, going over the behaviors of the women he knew. "And Kendra's been all right, too. ...weird."

"Probably something like that," L'arc said with a nod. "And Kendra seems like more of a peace maker type. ...glad for it, too," he said.

"Definitely." Sylas nodded. "Oh well. Bershee probably won't kick up a strife with anyone else. I think part of it was the fact that Versha was talking to you and Bershee interrupted. Versha is probably used to being respected. Bershee just treats everyone the same."

"That's true," L'arc said again, nodding. The two approached the tent Bermuda was resting in, and after a moment's hesitation, L'arc pushed his way inside.

Bermuda was indeed still "asleep", curled up on the bottom of the tank Bershee brought. L'arc sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then looked to Sylas.

"He'll wake up soon, right?" he asked.

"I hope so." Sylas murmured. "I'm tired of seeing him like this..." He sighed a bit, then patted L'arc's arm. "Even if he never wakes up, we'll protect him in his time of need...right?"

"That's right you will," Rush said from the tent entrance. "Adhare is gone now. As soon as the senators in Oceanica realize that...they'll be after his head..."

L'arc sighed and nodded sadly. "Yeah, I know. But... at least he's still in there."

"At least." Rush nodded.

"Hey, what did you find from that book?" Sylas questioned.

"Um...a lot, actually. This Dark Chaos guy...I'll...I'll tell you at dinner," Rush rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want to tell the same story repeatedly, so..."

"Understandable," L'arc said, going over to sit on the edge of the tub. He peered down at Bermuda for a moment, before shifting and moving to sit on the floor. He let one hand drop into the water and grab one of his brother's. "I'll be there later. I think I'll sit here a while."

"Okay then." Rush shrugged, turning away.

Sylas followed, but only out of L'arc's earshot. "Rush," He grabbed the Chimera by the arm. "Can you just...just...tell me how bad it is? L'arc feels like it's his fault..."

"It is his fault. And he's going to be a big boy now and clean up his own messes. We'll help him of course," Rush shrugged.

"But...how hard is this going to be?" Sylas bit his lip.

Rush sighed heavily. "Let's just say...this guy makes the Phantom look like a shadow you mistake for the boogeyman. Just a shadow."

Sylas dropped his grip and returned to L'arc and Bermuda, but with very heavy thoughts on his mind. How many lives would they be forced to give up to beat him? Jemina, Rachel, Assegai, Nornan, Adhare...so many lives destroyed at the cost of beating the Phantom.

Sylas couldn't help but wonder who else would have to die for this.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Israel touched down nearby, pulling his wings to his back as he landed. "Has someone died? You both look so serious," he asked.

Sylas sighed heavily. "No, Israel. No one's died. But Rush is going to explain some things to the group over dinner. Don't worry, you'll know everything then."

"The forest may be out of danger, but our war for peace is far from over. Enjoy these last days of rest we have before we set out, Israel." Rush patted the Siren on the shoulder. "That being said...Zex should be able to return Arachne soon. Wasn't the contract for the war between the forest and the demons and humans? We just have to clear the humans out of the rest of the forest. Zex will bring her right back." He smiled.

Israel brightened considerably at the news that Arachne was coming back. "Is that all?" he asked, grinning. "Oh, I can't wait to see her again!" he said cheerily.

"Yeah. She'll be back in no time." Rush smiled, glad to see the Siren happy. So was Sylas; but he decided to leave it at that and return to L'arc's side.

"Hey, Israel." Verolen approached with a smile on his face. "They're nearly done with the town hall. I was wondering if you wanted to help us put a cross on the roof."

"A cross?"

"Yeah, it's some human thing. I try not to question it too much. If they want a religeous symbol on their building, that's what they'll have." Verolen shrugged.