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Kitsune Lina
Evasions "Mommy," Filia turned to look at Val Garv. "Who are those people, and why are they fighting with Rannaur-san?" Filia reached down and picked up the little dragon.
"They're old friends of mine and Xellos'," Filia told him. "They just got a bad start with each other. They're going to stop fighting now, aren't they?" She leveled each of them with a glare.
"Its our fault," Amelia said rising out of her chair. "We should go I guess, find Gourry and collect Martina."
"No, no," Lina protested, the anger left her voice. "I'm glad to see you, really."
"Is there room for us here?" Zelgadis asked. "Plus three more?"
"It'll be cramped, but I think so. The women can stay in my room, and you and Gourry can stay in the front room. I'll stay in Val Garv's room, and Xellos and Ra...Lina can keep their room."
"I think she may have dropped the rock," Amelia said.
"Sylphiel?" Zelgadis asked.
"Either that or they haven't moved for the past thirty minutes," Amelia said. Lina felt Xellos's grip on her hand tighten.
"Can you give me the trace?" Xellos asked. "I'll find them." Amelia looked at him for a moment before casting the spell to reveal the trace to all the magicians in the room.
Lina shifted to let him up and watched him cautiously, he flashed one of his closed eye smiles at her, but she could tell he was nervous. He had been talking about prophecies and destiny off and on since he had discovered who was behind Lina's predicament.
"Hurry back," she whispered as the mazoku faded away. "I think that I'm going to take a nap." She stood up and waddled towards her room.
"Come on Val Garv," Filia said walking out of the front room with the boy. "Let's go prepare those rooms."
"Do I have to mommy?"
"Yes, it is important to learn about honest labor." "Not this a-gain, we've possed this 'ere tree six times," one of the men whined.
"All we've managed to find is a pair of bleeding horses," the second added.
"Qwa-it, the Lawdy ohdered us to find them 'eros and we's gonna do it." the third asked. The four bandits stopped in the clearing to scan about for some legible tracks.
" 'Ow we gonna do it wit'ou' dem dawgs?"
"The lawdy sayid dat the fawks is 'ere."
"Dat's wot de siver is fo'," the apparent leader of this party shouted. "Ah cant fond any tracks 'ere."
"I wouldn't worry about it," they turned to look at a slim tall man with a staff and purple hair who was apparently investigating a rock. He looked like some sort of priest. "You have a larger problem on your hands."
"'Ere now, wot's you then?" The priest waggled a finger at them, smiling behind, completely unconcerned with there presence.
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he told them playfully. "Did I hear you say something about silver?"
"If'n you noh wot's good for you, you'd leave."
"Oh staying is going to be VERY good few me, I can guarentee you that. You four might not like it much though." Gourry and Sylphiel stopped as the sound of human screams pierced the forest. They continued for nearly a two full minutes before ceasing with a long strangled cry.
"What was that?" Sylphiel asked. "Did they catch some poor hiker and mistake them for us?"
"I hope not," Gourry whispered, perched on a rock overhang. He was setting up some sort of trap. After their initial retreat from their position over the bandit camp, Gourry had turned about and resumed his attempts to find and recapture Martina. Sylphiel had confidence in his abilities, but she still would have preferred to rejoin Zelgadis and Amelia.
"So where do we go from here?"
"Well I was going by the circle, but that seems like a bad idea now." The circle was a series of deliberately laid tracks and scents that had the one ill-fated patrol wandering in circles for the last hour or so. It was amazing how many similar tricks and traps Gourry had laid without seeming to try at all. The thing was that he didn't really set traps, he laid tracks leading to hazardous or confusing situations. This he could do on the run, and Sylphiel doubted that she had caught even half his gambits.
"We're heading back to the camp again, aren't we?"
"With a fair amount of their men looking for us, yes." She let herself be picked up off the ground and held in the tall swordman's arms.
"At least there's something good about all this," she sighed with mock resignation, happy that her lack of experience in counter-tracking made this a necessary burden.
"What?" Gourry asked, Sylphiel rolled her eyes as the forest moved past them. Amelia and Zelgadis sat in a fairly uncomfortable silence, unsure of what to do at the moment. They could hear Filia and Val Garv bumping around in the bedrooms, the child mildly complaining about the work. Every few moments the quiet was punctuated with the sound of Lina snoring.
"This is a nice place," Zelgadis said suddenly.
"Its certainly better than those cabins we always end up getting stuck in," Amelia agreed.
"Nice distance from the town, too," he added.
"I'd like to be closer to town actually," Amelia noted.
"That's expected." The silence descended again, filling the few feet between them and making it seem a few leagues.
"I was wondering something," Zelgadis broke the silence again.
"What was that?"
"Something Gourry said when this all started, its been on my mind off and on since then."
"What was it?"
"He said that you were attracted to me," he stared at each other blankly for a moment. "I knew it was..."
"I am," Amelia said, cutting him off. There was another long pause.
"That's not possible," Zelgadis protested.
"Why not," Amelia asked.
"Why do you think?" Zelgadis snapped. "Just look at me."
"Actually you're very good-looking too, but that isn't what I was talking about."
"Okay, then what, praytell, were you talking about?"
"You're a loyal, determined man who's main problem is that you're a little moody sometimes, but you're cute when you're moping so I don't mind."
"I'm cute when I'm...?" he blushed slightly, a surprising feat considering his stone skin. "You can't possibly be in love with a freak like me."
"Why can't I?"
"Because..." he couldn't think of any practical reason just off the top of his head. "Just because."
"Do you love me at all," Amelia asked, deciding to get all her cards on the table now that she was ahead.
"You deserve better than me."
"I don't want better than you. And that isn't what I asked"
"I might never find my cure."
"Zelgadis-san, that doesn't matter. If a mazoku and a werefox can get together, why not me and you."
"Do you really think Lina is happy with...him?"
"You're avoiding the question, but yes they seem quite happy to me, as much as I fail to understand it."
"Okay, yes I do have some feelings for you," Zelgadis admitted.
"Would you marry me?" Amelia asked. Zelgadis's eyes widened and the chair fell out from beneath him. The shocked chimera tumbled to the floor and then looked back up at her.
"What did you say?"
"I asked if you would marry me, after we settle this latest problem, of course." Zelgadis righted his chair and considered the question for a moment, looking into Amelia's hopeful eyes.
"This is a reverse," Zelgadis grumbled. "You really want me, you can't find anybody else?"
"Yes, who else would I want?"
"If we survive this, I'll marry you," he agreed finally. Amelia virtually squealed in joy and enveloped the golem in a tight hug which he was fortunate not to feel through his skin. "One thing Amelia, about Xellos and Lina."
"You're going on about that again?"
"Bare me out, even if he does love Lina, his soul isn't his own, what could Xelas force Xellos into doing." Amelia considered the problem carefully and shivered, what did Xelas think about her priest's activities recently? Floating along and picking out the swordsman's emotions from the crowd of passing bandits was easy. There he was full of optimism and confidence, moving right along side him was a bundle of worry, tension and love that had to be Sylphiel.
Then he looked towards the the approximate direction of the bandit camp and his eyes blasted open. Regin was here, and it wouldn't be long before he noticed Xellos. This time Xellos would have to fight, and he didn't want that to happen yet.
The mazoku teleported behind the two humans and then teleported back to Filia's home. Sylphiel screamed and Gourry let out a simple, "what" as the tree vanished.
"What happened," Gourry asked. Next to him Sylphiel turned around and saw Zelgadis and Amelia. "I was close, I could see them.
"Zelgadis-san, Amelia-san, how did we get here. The couple pointed absently above the priestesses head, looking up Sylphiel saw Xellos floating above her. She screeched out the trickster's name. "Xellos!"
The priestess skittered towards Gourry as Xellos landed, smiling as usual.
"Could you be quiet in there?" a muffled voice called from Lina's room. Xellos put a finger to his mouth calling for silence and then snuck cartoonishly into his and Liina's room. The next thing they heard was a brief spurt of surprised giggles followed by shortly by silence and then snoring. Filia entered the room shaking her head irritably.
"Okay, let's get you all settled in her for awhile." Zelgadis and Amelia kept quiet on the subject of their conversation. Distractions would not be a good thing at the moment.
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