Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or concepts of Slayers.
Gourry knew that the easiest way to get on Lina's bad side was to either tease her about her lack of breasts or to somehow sabotage the food supply.
He could probably shove more food down his gullet than Lina any day, but it would take a desperate situation for him to risk Lina's wrath by either eating all the food or losing it somehow. Besides... Gourry could be careless sometimes, but he would never risk the safety of chicken, rolls, sausages, fish, peaches, or a number of other delectable treats that they would normally carry with them on their travels.
Unfortunately, Amelia didn't know any better. Also unfortunate for her, she was a clumsy justice-loving sorceress that couldn't keep herself from falling asleep standing up, let alone land safely on the ground from a high precipice with Lina, Gourry, and half a dozen bandits floating precariously in her way.
'But why did she have to ruin the food, too?' Gourry thought miserably as he half-listened to Lina explain why she was so upset.
"And I ruined all the food!" he heard Amelia shout happily before Lina turned around, glaring.
"Rest in peace, Amelia," Gourry said under his breath, honestly feeling sorry for the girl.
"Oh, that's it! I'm going to..." Lina stopped short, casting a confused glance at Gourry.
"What?" he looked behind him, sure that she was looking at a green polka-dotted monkey with the kind of expression she wore.
"Gourry... what did you just do?"
"Nothing!" he put his hands up in defense, "I didn't do a thing Lina, I swear!" 'It must have been the monkey...'
"Nothing bad, you dope. I mean with your hand," Lina tried to duplicate Gourry's motion, moving her right hand from her head to her chest, then right shoulder to left.
"Oh, that?" Gourry let out a relieved breath, "I was just crossing myself."
"Crossing?" Amelia asked, genuinely interested (and also quite relieved to be temporarily out of trouble).
"Yeah, it's something that we used to do in Elmekia. Whenever we felt troubled, or grateful, or a bunch of other things, we'd cross ourselves," and Gourry repeated the action.
"Is it a spell?" Lina asked, her eyes glowing at the idea of having yet another weapon in her arsenal.
"No!" Gourry answered emphatically, "It's just something to... I don't know, help you remember to have faith, I guess."
Amelia smiled, "Oh, I see! So it's like meditation! The motion is like a symbol, meant to reaffirm your beliefs and to help you focus your energy!"
"Yeah!" Gourry smiled, even though he had no idea what Amelia had just said. 'It sounded good..."
"Well, whatever helps you focus, Gourry," Lina smiled and slapped him heartily on the back, "But where did that come from, exactly? I've never seen anyone do that before."
Gourry shrugged, "I'm not sure. It was a traditional mannerism within my family, and I guess I just picked it up. I think that it was religious, and that it was supposed to remind you to be a good person or something..."
"And does it?" Amelia asked as they began walking again.
Gourry shrugged again, "Does it really matter? I'm a good person, aren't I?"
"Yeah," Lina observed, "You are. But you know, this sort of thing could catch on. I bet you could even start a cult!"
Gourry just laughed.
Author's Notes:
This short piece was inspired by the episode in Slayers when the bounty is put on Lina and Gourry in order to lure them to Sairaag.
In this episode, Lina and Gourry are complaining as they travel because they gave all their money to Amelia to buy food, and she promptly jumps off of a cliff and ruins all of it.
During Lina's tirade, Gourry says something to the effect of, "Rest in peace, Amelia," and then crosses himself. I actually had to watch that part a couple of times, because I was sure I'd seen wrong. There's no Christianity in Slayers!
So.. My desire to justify Gourry's action (because there are no mistakes in Slayers! Ever!) Resulted in this short fiction.
Also, let me begin by letting you all know that I'm 100 Jew, and therefore my knowledge of the Christian faith is limited. Secondly, I in no way meant to insult anyone of any faith in this piece.
Lina's last line is also in no way meant to insult anyone. Christianity did start out as a cult. And every line concerning the meaning of crossing yourself is my own interpretation. Like I said before... Me, Jew. I don't have any practical knowledge of Christianity, only my own observations and viewpoints based upon those observations.
Sooooo... now that I've thoroughly explained my thought process (which was probably longer than the fic itself) I hope that you enjoyed my justifications.
By the way... did anyone else notice this? Or did those sleeping pills just make me especially observant??