Disclaimer: I own nothing from Slayers. I just like to write.
First Impressions
By Kuroneko
"It's kinda funny how things turn out in the end, isn't it?" Lina remarked as she looked out over the decimated remains of Taforashia.
Zelgadis looked up from his own musings and cocked an eyebrow in her direction. "You mean what happened with Taforashia and Rezo's involvement?" He looked out at the same scene along with her, their position on one of the terraces of the King's Manor overlooking the recently awoken kingdom commending an excellent view of the sprawling countryside. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I never expected to be wrapped up with anything involving him again." His fists clenched together, shaking. He let out an equally shaky sigh. "Talk about being naïve. I should've known I hadn't seen the last of Red Priest."
"I think we were all under the same impression, Zel." He looked over to her questioningly, only to find her ruby eyes staring out somewhere in the distance, past the wreckage and debris. A light breeze picked up, sending the long, currently stark white strands fluttering in gentle ripples behind her.
She sighed as well before turning her gaze in his direction. "It's funny how first impressions work out, isn't it? My mom always told me that first impressions speak volumes, but sometimes I wonder how she meant me to interpret it." Upon seeing the inquiring look being shot in her direction, the Bandit Killer raised one finger. "Take Rezo, for example: a powerful mage, known far and wide for his extraordinary talents and accomplishments. He was revered as the legendary Red Priest whose benevolence knew no bounds and whose kind deeds left others in the dust despite him not being able to see. I bet that none of his fans would ever have been able to guess that he was hell-bent on healing his eyes so he could be able to see the world and that he would stop at nothing in order to accomplish that goal."
"He was really good at hiding who he truly was," Zelgadis concurred, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he leaned forward. "In all my years of living with him and working alongside of him, I'd only thought of his obsession with gaining sight as nothing more than just that – an obsession. I used feel sorry for him when I was younger; I became his eyes because I thought that maybe it would ease away some of that heartache he experienced." He averted his eyes from the distant landscape and looked miserably down at one stone-skinned hand. "It wasn't until so much later that I saw him for the monster he truly was."
"I'm still not sure that Rezo was the real monster, Zel," Lina countered, looking at him intently. "Even though Rezo was definitely driven by his obsession to gain sight, he still had that fragment of Shabranigdo buried inside of him. Since the fragment was actually embedded in Rezo's soul, it's likely that a lot of his more malevolent actions weren't entirely his doing."
"But they were still fueled by his desires." Zelgadis gave her a narrow look. "We've gone over this countless times before, Lina. Nothing is going to change my opinion that Rezo was accountable for a good majority of his actions, including what he did to me."
"And like I've said before, I have a feeling that Rezo wasn't as evil as you make him out to be." She sighed and flopped down on her back. "Oh well. You're entitled to your opinion just as much as anyone. And you're still as stubborn as ever."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard." She winked in his direction. "Stubborn as a pig and still brooding. At least you're better than you used to be."
"And you're still as warped as ever," he muttered, but smirked at the same time.
She returned the smirk. "Here's a question: What was your first impression of me?"
Zelgadis blinked several times, taken aback. "Are you being serious?"
"Absolutely," said Lina. "I'm stuck resting until Sylphiel says otherwise, and you and I never get a chance to really talk, so I'm taking advantage of this occasion. Besides, I'm curious."
He processed this statement for a moment. He was a bit stunned that Lina would even care about something like personal conversations. Then again, he supposed that perhaps he'd never given her an opportunity to really talk with him about things. The only time he'd ever spoken to her about himself had been after he'd helped her escape from Rezo, but even then it hadn't been truly meaningful. Despite the agony of having never opened himself to anyone before, Zelgadis had swept that one moment aside in favor of pursuing the Philosopher's Stone.
He'd never broached any further personal conversation with anyone after that. All he'd done was reiterate what his friends already knew.
"Uh, Zel? Are you still with me?"
He came back to reality with a jolt, suddenly realizing that he'd been staring off into the distance. "Sorry."
Lina rolled her eyes. "Honestly, there are times when I wonder if Gourry hasn't rubbed off on any of us."
"What was your first impression of him?"
The sorceress frowned. "Of Gourry?"
"Yeah." Zelgadis rested his chin in the palm of his hand and inwardly gloated at having seized an opportunity to redirect the subject.
Lina snorted. "Honestly, I was hoping he'd be some kind of knight in shining armor who'd sweep me off my feet after rescuing me. But noooo. What I got was a swordsman who possessed the Sword of Light and the brains of a jellyfish! And he thought I was a little kid!" She let out a long-suffering groan. "I met that idiot after raiding some bandit camp. It happened so long ago that I forgot who they were."
"The Dragon Fangs." She gave the shaman a confused look. "I had Zolf infiltrate them to look for the orihalcon statue, remember?"
"Oh, yeah! Wow, talk about a nostalgia trip." She looked skyward and smiled. "Now I remember it! Their leader actually thought he could outrun a Fireball!"
Zelgadis smiled upon hearing the sorceress laugh. "I'm impressed. With all the bandits and innocent bystanders you keep blowing up, I'm surprised you can remember any of them."
Lina's laughter died quickly, and the shaman found himself on the receiving end of a very cold stare. "Like you're one to talk. Just how many people did you blow up while looking for a cure, Zelgadis?"
He gave her a rather withering look in return. "Touché."
She smirked. "Thought so. Never try to get into an argument with Lina Inverse."
"Oh, believe me, I know. Never try to bargain with her, either. I've already been on that end of the spectrum."
"Yeah, but at least you learned," she said jovially. "Prince Phil needs to get a grip of things in that department. Heck, he still owes me from that whole mess with Kanzel and Mazenda!"
The shaman gazed at her questioningly at the mention of the acting king of Saillune. "Just how did you meet Prince Phil, anyway? Was it through Amelia?"
"Nope." She sat back up and stretched a little. "I met Prince Phil before I even met Amelia. He was travelling with his brother, Randy, and asked me to help them flush out some demons or something. It turned out to be Randy trying to take over the throne, and that's when I met Amelia."
Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "I'd heard something about Prince Phil's brother trying to take over the throne, but I never realized that you'd been a part of it."
"Yeah, and that right there convinced me that the entire royal family is full of crazies." Lina yawned and looked at the Taforashians below. Pokota was somewhere down there, along with Amelia and Gourry, dictating and assisting as best as his little stuffed body would allow. She caught sight of the prince quickly, finding him talking to Amelia over large parchment held by one of the more official-looking men roaming about. She smiled, reminiscing. "Amelia was such a naïve little kid back then. Everything to her was black-and-white, and all she could talk about was Justice and all the other stuff they uphold in that kingdom. The only reason she followed me around was because she wanted me to teach her the Dragon Slave. She thought I was some kind of hero." The sorceress chuckled a little. "She's grown up since I met her. I don't think I realized that until just now."
"Whoa, hold on a second! Is Lina Inverse, the notorious Bandit Killer and Enemy of All Who Live, getting sentimental?" Zelgadis made a gesture of mock horror. "The world's coming to an end!"
"Shut up!" she said, smacking him playfully and instantly regretting it. "It's not like that at all! You can't deny that Amelia's matured the most out of any us."
"True, but she's still the same Amelia we all know and love," Zelgadis agreed, taking the sorceress's stinging hand and channeling his own white magic to it despite the glare he received in the process. "And you, I might add, are still as much of a firebrand as ever."
She snatched her hand back with a scowl and shook it, wincing. "Don't count on me changing anytime soon."
"I don't." He folded his arms and smirked. "Here's another one: what was your first impression of Xellos?"
Lina cringed. "If you want to know the truth, I think that was when I met my first sociopath. Xellos is one of those people who just strike you in an odd way, and you can't tell whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. The only thing I could figure on him was that I couldn't trust him entirely."
"A first impression that's proven very true." Zelgadis nodded. "I personally couldn't stand him."
"You still can't stand him."
"And I never will. Xellos is a bastard."
"I won't argue that point. But he's been very helpful in a way. I would never have learned some of things I have without him dragging us along, and I never would have gotten my talismans." She looked at one of the bracelets in the sunlight and grinned evilly. "That was one deal I've never regretted!"
"Never mind the fact that he's bargained with your life on more than one occasion," Zelgadis reminded her.
"That's his nature as a Monster. I've pretty much come to accept it. Besides –" she flicked a few stark white strands from her shoulder "– if Xellos was really intent on trying to kill me, he'd have already tried it. The Monster Race isn't going to bother with me just yet. This whole mess right here in Taforashia is proof of that."
"That may be." Zelgadis zoned out a little, looking past the swarms of citizens and farther out beyond the wreckage. His mind was somewhere clear of the mountains when Lina's voice brought him back, teasingly.
"And let's not forget Mr. Mystical, Heartless, Sorcerer-Swordsman over here."
He looked at her searchingly, one stony eyebrow cocked beneath his wiry bangs. "What about me?"
The grin she wore was downright insidious. "Well, what were your first impressions, Zel? I've shared all mine."
"Not quite all," he noted. "You never mentioned me."
"Yes, I did."
"When?"
"Before you asked me about Gourry."
He regarded her narrowly. "All you said was that I was stubborn and brooding. You never told me your first impression."
"That was basically it."
"Those are hardly grounds for telling someone you would rather die than work with him."
Lina laughed nervously. "You still remember that, huh?"
"I find it an interesting little point in my life to reminisce on, considering how things actually turned out." He leaned forward and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "Was I really that bad?"
"Actually, I couldn't figure you out," she admitted with a shrug. "All I knew was that you were trying to get something from me. Rezo said you were trying to summon Shabranigdo, and I wasn't about to trust him. I got the impression that he was powerful, but not necessarily someone I could readily ally myself with. It was easy to tell that you were after the statue, but with nothing else to go on and all the craziness going on at the time, I wasn't about to start jumping to conclusions. It was easier to not trust anyone but myself and Gourry until I had more facts."
"That makes sense," he conceded. "I wasn't being particularly kind to you at the time."
"Yeah, and kicking me in the stomach, electrocuting me, and having me all tied up like that really didn't put any points in your favor, believe me."
He winced at the accusatory tone in her voice. "It wasn't like I had any choices in the matter. You were my enemy at the time. Going on your reputation, I had to take precautions."
"I know. That's why I don't hold any of that against you. If you'd been half the bad guy you had pretended to be at the time, we wouldn't be here and having this conversation. You said you would have to kill me back when you were working in Zoanna, but you didn't follow through with it. You were just trying to find your cure. All of your actions since we first met are all that really matters."
He pondered her point for a moment, absorbing her words and whatever meaning was behind them. "So, when you agreed to help me look for the Claire Bible…?"
"Pure greed," she answered pleasantly. "And the only reason I told you about the Book of Zoanna was because I was disappointed. I also figured it wouldn't be fair to let you be swindled any further, so calling the King of Zoanna out on it at the time several a dual-purpose."
"Gee, thanks," Zelgadis muttered acidly, folding his arms and glaring out towards the mountains once again.
She allowed him to brood not even half a second. No sooner had Zelgadis condemned his mind to the passes beyond his sight, a firm hand had grabbed his shirtsleeve and yanked frantically, it's owner stating that it was now his turn to divulge.
"C'mon, Zel! Gourry, Amelia, Xellos, and the Great Lina Inverse herself – what were your impressions?"
"An idiot swordsman, a crazy girl, and a smartass sorceress."
Zelgadis leaned back a little, his arms folded and his face a stern mask as he thought. "Let me see… In that order: an idiot with a sword, a little girl who was trying to play paladin, a fruitcake…" He cast a glance in Lina's direction and fought back the urge to smirk. "And an incongruous redheaded sorceress."
Her reaction was exactly as he'd anticipated. Her amusement at his first three assessments quickly faded into mild confusion, immediately followed by outrage.
Zelgadis was no fool. He knew better than to tell her the truth – that he'd thought her a madwoman from the reports and a disappointment in reality. His envisioning of Lina Inverse hadn't added up to the scrawny fifteen-year-old he'd met all those years ago. But appearances were deceiving, as he so well knew. She'd intrigued him, cornered him. She was everything he wasn't, and he'd known it even then. The perfect accomplice, the perfect adversary. He would never mention that he saw her then as a means to an end.
He also would never mention how his opinion of her since then had changed. She still intrigued him, still overwhelmed him with her personality and power. She would always be his equal and his better. He longed to oppose her yet still fight by her side. Their adventures had transformed his opinion of her from a scraggly girl with insane power to a confident young woman who held herself well against all other misguided first impressions and conceptions. While others saw a beanpole with an attitude and a bottomless stomach and envisioned a demon from lowest bowels of hell, he saw her as so much more. She'd taken him from his lowest and brought him out of it – a light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. He would never admit to seeing her as anything beyond his friend. He couldn't. She'd never accept him seeing her as his saving grace.
It was just better to lie a little, take the beatings, and laugh it off later.