This is my first serious Lina/Gourry ficcie, so forgive me if I make either of them OOC or anything, okay?

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, though I wish I did, and if you don't the the routine by now, you never will ^_^

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"Stupid jellyfish!" Lina shouted. It was right around 'that time of the month' and she was really pissed off at not being able to use her magic. For some reason, Gourry couldn't stop acting like his usual, stupid, idiotic self. "Get away from me!" she screamed as Gourry took a step closer to her.

Gourry backed up cautiously. Lina was in one of her moods, and he didn't really want to bother her. They just kept walking in silence, Gourry making sure to stay behind the extremely ticked off red head.

After a while, Gourry hurried ahead, and stood in front of Lina. "Lina, can I ask--"

"BUZZ OFF!!" Lina shouted in his face, thunking him. "I'm TIRED, I'm HUNGRY, and I'm REALLY not in a great MOOD right now, so STAY OUT OF MY WAY!"

Sighing, Gourry took his place behind Lina.

Lina didn't know why she was so angry. Then she added everything up: They hadn't slept, because they had been walking for three days, because they couldn't find a town anywhere to get anything to eat. And since they had been on the road, she hadn't been able to get bath. Plus, it was 'that time of the month' and that never really made any other girl very happy.

The silence of the forest was interrupted by Lina's growling stomach. She groaned, and stopped in her tracks. "I'm HUNGRY!!!!!" she screamed.

"Hey, Lina--"

"SHUT UP!!!" Lina shouted. She really didn't feel like listening to any of Gourry's stupid comments right then. "JUST STAY OUT OF MY SIGHT AND DON'T SAY ANYTHING, GOT IT?" she demanded. Then she resolutely started trudging ahead again.

Gourry hung his head, and stared at the ground as they walked. He should learn better than to bug Lina while she was tired and hungry. But, of course, he was tired and hungry too. Then, also, he didn't have to worry about 'that time of the month' and so he wasn't quite as miserable as Lina was.

Lina grumbled to herself as she forced herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Her hair was oily and dirty, her clothes were sticking to her from sweating, and her stomach growled loudly.

As Gourry stared at Lina in front of him, he found himself thinking that she probably wouldn't even notice if he wasn't there. She was trapped in her own miserable, grumpy world for the time being. He considered walking off, and trying to find a town on his own, so he wouldn't have to put up with Lina's grumbling and shouting, but he decided against it. He was Lina's protector, after all, and he couldn't protect her if he wasn't with her.

Lina cursed with each step. She stared at the ground, glaring at it like everything was its fault. She started noticing things around her. The birds were too cheerful, and the crickets were too loud. The sun was too hot, and the wind wasn't strong enough. And stupid Gourry hadn't made a single comment for a long time.

She turned around to glare at Gourry. When he caught her staring at him, he put his hands up defensively, and asked, "What did I do?"

Shaking her head, Lina turned to face forward, and kept walking.

Ahead, Lina heard voices. Loud, drunken voices. And the clank of money, and the chink of beer canteens. There was shouting and singing. There was also the smell of roasting chicken.

Her mouth drooling, Lina started running forward.

Gourry noticed the smell, and ran after Lina. Pretty soon he caught up with her, and they ran side by side, shouting, "Chicken! Chicken! Chicken!"

The small group of bandits in front of them stopped their talking and drinking, and looked up. They saw the hunger-driven pair of travelers, and stared. When the leader jumped up and shouted, "Run! It's Lina Inverse!" the entire bandit gang grabbed gold, beer, and supplies, and bolted away.

Lina and Gourry both saw the single chicken roasting on the spit. They raced each other for it, each of them trying to get there first. They both reached it at the same time, and dove on top of it. They wrestled back and forth, throwing the usual insults at each other. Lina would have thrown more than insults, maybe a Fireball or two, but she couldn't use her magic.

After a particularly vicious tug, Gourry managed to wrench the chicken out of Lina's death grip, and wolf it down in two bite.

"YOU STUPID JELLYFISH!!" Lina screamed, kicking Gourry in the head. "THAT WAS MY FOOD! YOU GET AWAY FROM ME RIGHT NOW! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR STUPID FACE EVER AGAIN!"

Gourry, sincerely stricken and sorry, stood up, and took a step towards Lina, who was sulking with her knees drawn up to her chest. "Lina--"

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Lina shouted. She didn't want to see that stupid jellyfish ever again. He ate her food, the only food she had even seen in three straight days.

Knowing that Lina should never be disobeyed, or a harsh punishment would follow, Gourry turned slowly around, and walked back in the opposite direction.

Lina grumbled to herself for a while, before she stalked over to a tent the bandits had left behind, went inside, and forced herself to go to sleep. She would double-time it tomorrow, and find a town to eat at, or else she'd have to hurt someone.

AN: This is kinda short, I guess... the whole ficcie is going to be short once I finish it... Well, short compared to some of my other story ficcies. Please, R+R minna! ^_^

-Shira