Author:  Za Metallium
Title:  The Sky is a Poisonous Garden

The Sky Is a Poisonous Garden
by Za,
Trickster Priestess




"The Sky Is a Poisonous Garden" was written by Johnette
Napolitano and B. Moreland, and was performed by Concrete
Blonde. The original (and superior) version was released
on Bloodletting, while a live ven wan was released on
Still in Hollywood. Song lyrics are in italics.
Note: "Eleanor," the name used in this song, comes from
"Helen," which comes from the Greek word "Helene," which
literally means "torch." Therefore I think it works
with Lina, fire incarnate, quite well.

Also, consider this disclaimed; don't own Slayers nor the song.





The stars above shine down below
The fever you hold on this night deathly cold
He can feel from his side of the door
He can feel Eleanor


Startling Xelloss Metallium is no simple matter, to say nothing of truly surprising him.

Lina-chan managed to flat-out astonish him.

He'd been traveling with her—and, by default, her oft-amusing companions—for several weeks, and the little group had stopped at an inn to take a little breather. Oddly, Lina-chan had insisted upon individual rooms, instead of the others sharing rooms (he was always required to get his own room—one would almost think he wasn't trusted). At the time Xelloss hadn't thought much of Lina-chan's edict; it hadn't seemed particularly important.

After eating a quite a bit less than her normal fare, Lina-chan had claimed weariness and had gone to her room, though not before assuring everyone that she was just fine. Xelloss, though he'd smiled and nodded as was required, resolved to watch Lina-chan all the closer the next day.

Some time later, Lina-chan's friends had agreed it was time to go to their rooms, so Xelloss followed suit. Having nothing better to do, he'd gone to his room as well, even changed into his nightclothes on a whim. He'd been studying a particularly interesting magical tome when he'd sensed Lina-chan outside his door.

His curiosity piqued by this, Xelloss set aside his book and floated over to the door. Some moments later, he heard a timid knock, and he opened the door.

Lina-chan, dressed in a fluffy white robe, had been standing outside the door, chewing on her lower lip as she studied the floor. She'd looked up as he'd greeted her, nodded her head in greeting, and had pushed past him into his room.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Lina-chan?" he'd asked.

Lina-chan's mouth had quirked briefly as she'd looked at his face, her eyes fever-bright. Then, she'd shed her robe.

She was totally nude beneath the robe.

And that was what had totally astonished Xelloss for the first time in a long while.


He said, "Sun don't rise"
He said, "Sun don't shine"
He said, "Don't bring tomorrow to justify tonight"


Lina-chan laughed softly, something in-between a grin and a smirk on her lips. "I've never seen you look so surprised," she commented as she sat down on the edge on his bed.

Xelloss shrugged, speech still a bit beyond his reach at this point. He had known his Lina-chan was beautiful, but he had never seen her nude like this. Most certainly not flat-chested... he thought distantly. She was smooth curves everywhere, actually: neck, shoulders, breasts, back, hips, legs...

Xelloss forced himself back to the here-and-now. He didn't trust himself to be eloquent at this point, so he opted for body language to get his message across: he walked over to Lina-chan and kissed her deeply.

And Lina-chan answered in kind: instead of beating him senseless, as he'd half-expected her to, she kissed him back.

At length they parted, and Xelloss studied her flushed face. A rosy blush tinted her cheeks, and she suddenly looked nervous. "I—"

"Shh," Xelloss suggested, placing a finger on her lips. "You don't need to say anything, Lina-chan. Don't bring up yesterday or pull in tomorrow to justify tonight. If this is what you want..." Xelloss trailed off, tracing his finger along the outline of her lips.

"I dot tht this," she breathed against his finger, her self-assured expression returning. "I want you," she added, then kissed his finger, regarding him with bright eyes.


The moon is full and the stars are bright
And the sky is a poisonous garden tonight


They stayed that way, gazes locked, for some time. Finally, Lina-chan reminded him, "The window?"

Xelloss nodded and moved to close the shutters, admiring the full moon a moment before doing shutting the rest of the world out.


Sip your tequila, give me some time
To unlearn all I've learned, for the spring to unwind


Lina-chan knelt down and extricated a flask from the pocket of her robe. "Sake?" she offered.

Xelloss shook his head. Lina-chan shrugged and took a sip.

Why now? he found himself wondering as he watched her. Why like this?

n Lin Lina-chan smiled up at him, and Xelloss dismissed the questions as unimportant.


And then came your sweet, gentle mouth
I began to move mine


"Xelloss..." Lina-chan breathed, her voice husky. She put her hands behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Xelloss was vaguely surprised to feel his small, moist tongue tracing the shape of his lips.

Surprise soon waned in the face of waxing desire, and Xelloss plunged his tongue into Lina's hot mouth. Lina-chan obligingly gave him several moments to explore her mouth before attacking his tongue with her own. Xelloss pulled her closer, the feeling of her nude body pressed against him eliciting a moan. The intimate duel ending only when Lina-chan had to pull back for air.

"You," Lina's eyes sparkled, "Are wearing too many clothes."

"Hai, Lina-dono," Xelloss teased, saluting her before removing his clothes.


They knew with the dawn, they knew with the day
They knew what they had would be young naked prey
And attacked from all sides by a world full of poison and hate


This would complicate things, Xelloss noted somewhere in the back of his mind. He could just imagine Lina-chan's companions chasing him across the continent, intent of removing a piece of his anatomy he would like to keep in-tact, thank-you-very-much.

Besides that, he had no clue as to how Juuou-sama might react. Becoming intimate with Lina-chan had not been expressly forbidden, but it hadn't exactly been encouraged.

Not to mention Lina-chan had the disarming habit of making him feel things more deeply than he cared to...

Of course, all these arguments held little weight with Lina-chan standing nude before him, flushed and breathing hard.


Out of this world
Out of this time
Out of control
They were out of their minds


With a sensual, beckoning expression that would've done a succubus proud, Lina-chan sashayed to the bed and reclined, giving Xelloss a very nice view of her secret places.

He wondered vaguely wondered if Lina's studies weren't limited to tomes of magic, or if she simply wasn't as innocent as she seemed.

Xelloss decided on the latter when she artlessly—but oh! so enthusiastically—reached for his hardness as he climbed onto the bed beside her. He hissed at the sensation.

To keep himself from getting to carried away, he decided to distract her by suckling on a firm breast. Perhaps not the best idea in retrospect, as it had the effect of making Lina-chan gasp and grasp him even more firmly. He groaned, the sound muffled against her chest.

To Xelloss' relief and disappointment, Lina-chan released her grip. She buried both of her slender hands in his fair and pulled his head up to hers, kissing him fervently once his mouth was in reach.

Xelloss let his hands wander freely, pinching a taut nipple here, caressing the gently sloping plane of her abdomen there. Finally he let his hand wander lower, his fingertips brushing against swollen, wet flesh.

Lina-chan gasped, her hands now clenching spasmodically and her hips jerking upwards, seeking his touch. With a soft chuckle, he began slowly exploring the sensitive, heated cavity beneath his fingers, one digit working its way inside teasingly.
"X
"Xe–xelloss..." Lina-chan gasped breathily, changing her grip so that she was digging her short nails into his shoulders.

"Shh..." he cooed, adding another finger, smiling at the feeling of her most secret place desperately squeezing, seeking more.

It was not longer before she was practically sobbing. "Please..."

"Of course, Lina-chan. Anything for you."


The moon is full and the stars are bright
And the sky in a poisonous garden tonight


Carefully Xelloss positioned himself, debating for a moment whether he should enter slowly or all at once. Lina-chan's insistent hands pushing at his hips made him decide upon the later, and he entered her burning passage with one powerful stroke, tearing away her maidenhood.

Lina-chan moved her head to the space between his shoulder and neck and began ardently kissing and nipping at the flesh there. Xelloss moved one hand to a rosy breast and kneaded it, all the while thrusting deeply into her.

Presently Lina-chan's movements against him became increasingly frantic, and Xelloss knew she was near release. With his free hand he reached between them and caressed the swollen nubbin of flesh there. With a sob, she found her release and Xelloss let himself let go as well. They climaxed together, calling each others' names in passion-filled voices.


Eleanor trembles, Eleanor moans
Somehow this body is someone she always has known


In the afterglow, they lay twined together, covered in a sheen of perspiration. Lina-chan moaned softly and grasped Xelloss tightly.

"I knew it would...be like this..." she whispere str strange, almost distant timbre to her voice. "Beautiful..."

"Lina-chan..."


She cries tears on his chest
O so silent and slow
She said, "Please don't go"
She said, "Please don't go"


Lina-chan buried her face in his chest. "Xelloss..." He felt more than heard his name.

"What is it, Lina-chan?"

"Please, Xelloss..." This time his name was accompanied by the dampness of tears. Xelloss frowned a little, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"Please, don't go. Please, please don't go," she sobbed, clutching at him. "I'm so tired of being by myself; I want to be with you. Please...don't go."

Xelloss' face twitched in concern and he tightened his embrace. "Never, Lina-chan, never."


And she sighed and she died in his arms
And he cried nevermore
The moon is full and the stars are bright
And the sky is a poisonous garden tonight


"Thank you..." she sighed. And then she was still.

For a moment, Xelloss would not let himself grasp the significance of her stillness. "Lina-chan?"

There was no response. A sort of panic, like liquid winter, started at the back of his neck.

Xelloss gently turned Lina-chan over and placed his hand above her slightly-opened mouth, checking for breath.

Nothing. The panic flowed into the rest of his body.

His hand started to tremble almost unnoticeably as he reached for her wrist and checked the pulse point. Be alive, Lina-chan. Please.

Not believing the stillness of her wrist, Xelloss check the pulse point on her neck. Again, nothing. Desperate, he put an ear to her chest, wanting nothing more than to hear the sound of her heart—his heart, their heart—beating.

"NO!" he cried, hitting her chest. He then attempted to bring life back to her with his own breath. After several toous,ous, ineffective minutes, Xelloss stopped his frantic attempts at resuscitation.

Panic morphed into dull horror and concentrated in Xelloss' chest. He stared at the beautiful corpse in his arms a very long time.

Finally, two drops of blackness, curiously like tears, fell from his eyes, dark as the new moon, bitter as the winter wind.


The sky is a poisonous garden tonight
The sky is a poisonous garden tonight
The sky is a poisonous garden tonight


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