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Kitsune Lina
Shadow Plays "This is bad," Lina muttered from her vantage point on the cliff. Below her men were setting up a base camp. For the first time in months she actively missed her magic. Pregnant or not she could have handled this as a sorceress. Lina grimaced as she began to slink back to her cave.
"I feel like a damn pig in a dress," the word dress was the most emphasized, Xellos had brought for her as her travelling clothes began to be ill-fitting. At least the dress was loose enough that she didn't worry about ripping it come nightfall. It more than a little worse for the wear now, though. Blood from past meals, tears from thorns from catching branches, it was in pretty bad shape.
Their were further problems that she saw with this group. Most people thought that every bandit looked alike, if you saw one thug, you'd seen them all. That was pretty much true, but it was still easy for someone like Lina to tell the difference between the various groups. This was a branch of the people that had been at that trap Martina had set for her.
She hated feeling helpless like this, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She didn't even have the full moon to fall back on, both the more severe transformations had ceased as she started to show. Lina sat back in the soft chair, a recent addition of Xellos's, as soon as she returned to her cave. Here was Martina again, ruining her life. Never mind, of course, that she had been looking for the sick twisted little green-haired trollop.
"I'm not far enough away from them," she grumbled. "And I have more important things to worry about." Looking about the cave that was becoming something more like a home she sighed. Lina gripped the amulet and reached out toward Xellos. It didn't take him long to show up.
"What's wrong?" the mazoku asked anxiously as soon as he appeared in the cave. Lina was almost as depressed as she had been when Xellos had first found her in that inn. He'd been about to decide to pop over anyway, so the call made him jump. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Xellos breathed a sigh of relief. "There are some bandits forming a camp a few miles away."
"There's more to it than that," Xellos guessed.
"They're the same group from Martina's trap," Lina told him. "If I could still cast magic..." She sniffed once and then wiped her eyes. "Do you
think Filia would freak out much if I stayed with you two?"
"Do you think that's safe?" Xellos asked, feeling moderately guilty that he was feeding off her emotions. Not that he could stop himself, soaking it in like a flower with sunlight.
"Its safer than here," Lina sighed, brushing red hair, grown long again, out of her face. "There's not enough hunting that I could avoid them noticing me." She blinked and then looked up. "And maybe she won't recognize me."
"What, do you plan on only being there at night?" Lina had already closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating. Xellos blinked as he watched Lina transform to her humanoid form despite the sun being high outside. She examined the change, laughed and then hugged Xellos. "How?"
"I've been studying the change," Lina told him, tail swishing happily. "I thought that I almost had it last time, guess I was right. Shall we go?" Xellos wondered at the sudden good mood, but shrugged. Lina was right, she couldn't stay here. "The prince's daughter and her friends are here," Reginald informed his mistress.
"What?!" Martina, her green-hair dyed black. "What are they doing here? It's too early!"
"Do not worry," her servant spoke monotonously. "Lady R'lyeh will be called away on temple business, you can lay low with the forces we have in the forest."
"Hmm, very good," Martina thought about it. "But how are you going to get them to leave, they've heard about the marriage by now."
"I shall take care of that, mistress, now the important thing is to stall for time." Reginald reached to his side and opened a fold in space leading to the spoken of camp.
"Yes, well, carry on," Martina yawned as she walked through the portal. As the portal shut behind her the staid, unimportant looking man smiled. "Lady R'lyeh?" Zelgadis repeated. That name brought uncomfortable thoughts, but he couldn't put his finger on the details. The discomfort was all he needed to decide that there was certainly nothing good here.
"Yes, her temple has been doing great things for the poor of the kingdom," Phil told them all. "And she is really a wonderful person, great sense of humor."
"But isn't marriage just a little rash?" Amelia asked.
"Come, come, as soon as you meet her, you'll change your mind," Phil repeated as they walked down the hall. Ahead of them the chambers of Lady R'lyeh closed behind a particularly indistinctive man. "Aww, Master
Reginald, I've come to introduce my daughter to my love."
"I am afraid that Lady R'lyeh has been called away on temple business," the man said in a monotone. "She had wanted to give her farewells, but the circumstances really were quite unexpected."
"I'll bet they were," Zelgadis muttered.
"What temple does she serve?" Gourry asked.
"The Temple of She with a Thousand Young," the man responded in his one voice.
"I've never heard of them before," Amelia noted, suscipiciously.
"It is a relatively young group, you may not have heard of it."
"They do excellent work with the poor," Phil told them again. "They really make sure that justice is given to those for whom it has long been denied. The lady is such a sweet and charming woman." Reginald dared a questioning glance at Phil. "But how will she now meet my daughter and her friends?"
"She was away before news of their arrival reached my ears," Reginald sighed apologetically. "But I will have word sent, perhaps she will finish her business with a little more speed in order to meet her future family."
"That would be wonderful," Phil shouted. "And until then we must celebrate the happy occaision! Bwuahahahahahhahahahahhahhahahhahahah!!"
"Hey, Zelgadis are you coming?" Gourry called back as they followed the laughing prince, who happened to be king, back down the hall. The chimera looked up at the swordsman away from his appraisal of "Reginald."
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