When I'm with you, this emptiness I've felt my entire life is gone. A sobbing girl cried to the bloody empress left in the prison cell.
Gabrielle stirred uncomfortably as this less-pleasant memory stirred in her dreams, but a smile crossed her lips as a happier one pushed it aside.
Loud music filled the stage as the people of Athens joined Gabrielle, Xena, and Jace in happy song and dance, celebrating the defeat of Draco and his goons and the return of the lyre to the musical capital of Greece.
I bet Xena loved me in that outfit... Gabrielle thought, as the image of herself in the go-go dancer outfit popped into her brain.
A loud bard stirred her from a small trip down memory lane, and she was nudged up by a wolf that had marks on her chest suspiciously resembling those of Xena's breastplate.
Another bark pierced the bard's ears, except this time it wasn't a bark. "Look at us Gabrielle!"
Is that Xena's voice? Gabrielle asked herself, shocked and scared to look down at her own body.
"Gabrielle!" Xena barked again in urgency and annoyance, ready to nudge her from thought if necessary.
"Sorry, Xena…I'm just so…. Shocked…" Gabrielle responded, "How did this happen?" she asked her soul mate.
"No idea." Xena answered, "I just woke up, scratching furiously, and I was a wolf." A glint appeared in Xena's now smaller eyes. "But you know… you do look kinda sexy as a little wolf." She said, flirting with her bard.
Evidently, Gabrielle wasn't in the mood for sex games. "Xena, I don't care about that right now. I just want to get back to normal. I can't write, I can't think, I can't function."
Xena's tail stopped wagging, and her ears and head drooped sadly at Gabrielle's unexpected response. "I…just thought…we could take advantage of the situation. Try something new. You might never get the chance again…" Xena said, looking up slightly to see Gabrielle's expression. "If you don't want to though, that's fine…"
Gabrielle smiled at Xena's response. "You know just how to get me, warrior princess." Snuggling up to her, the bard pondered, "How would we do "it" though? It would be kind of hard…"
"We'll find a way." Xena said confidently as she nibbled Gabrielle's ear. "But first, we have to see Ares."
After recovering from Xena's tease attack, Gabrielle asked her, "You think he will understand us?"
"He's a god. If he can make ME fall for HIM, I think he can understand what simple wolves are saying." Xena replied with a slight snarl.
Gabrielle's chuckle was interrupted by a louder, more heartier belly laugh coming from behind the warrior and bard. Small growls came from Xena's mouth as she turned around and saw the God of War.
"Somebody bark for me?" he started to laugh again, but was able to control himself. "Ah… I kill me." He muttered audibly with a final sigh.
"Fix this Ares!" Gabrielle barked at him, ready to pounce at any moment..
Turning his attention to the warrior princess, he remarked, "It's going to be kind of hard for you to rule Mount Olympus with me as a wolf…"
The bard growled, and pounced on Ares. "She will never love you, after all you have done to her. She might like you, tolerate you, but she is my soul mate!" Gabrielle barked madly.
The God of War backed up slowly with his hands raised. "Whoa there, Gabby. It seems you tow haven't had proper "alone time" since Xena's been back." He said with a wink to the growling bard. "If you catch my drift."
Xena advanced slowly on Ares, teeth bared. "Alright God of War. You're hiding something. I know you enough to know that you have the secret to getting us back to normal."
A twinkle in Xena's now puppy eyes hit a weak spot in the God's stronghold.
She always knew how to get me to talk he thought with a slight grin.
"Well…it isn't really me who has the powers to get you to your normal state, but I can get you to the people who do. I do need a favor though, if I tell you, Xena."
Rolling her eyes, Xena asked him what she knew was coming, "What do you want Ares?"
Chuckling, he edged Xena and Gabrielle to the portal. When they were on their way through, he yelled back at them, "You will see when you get back!"
