Disclaimer: I do not own Zatchbell, nor any of its characters.
The Green...Make That Red-Eyed Monster
Sherry was irritated. Of course, that's only to be expected when you're slowly beginning to realize that you've fallen in love with an emotionless, taciturn, demonic CHILD...who is himself irritated almost all the time. They tramped through yet another set of woods, looking for yet another book-holder, as he berated her for being weak and slow yet again, and her irritation grew with every passing moment.
It's bad enough to fall in love with someone that will never, ever return your feelings. It's even worse when that someone not only has nothing but contempt for you, but your entire race. Brago despised humans. He put up with Sherry because he had to, because the twisted method of determining the next Mamodo king demanded it, but he had nothing but contempt for her, she knew. She wondered how she could have possibly fallen in love with an unfeeling monster, but no answer was forthcoming. So instead, she followed in the tradition of many a holder of unrequited love before her, and tried with all her might to make Brago see her in a different light, hoping against hope that something would change.
Over the past several months she had trained ever harder, pushing her body and mind well past their limits, fueled both by her drive to save her friend from the clutches of the evil Zofis, as well as her newfound love for her partner. The result was a 16-year-old girl that some would say had exceeded the limitations of humanity. Not that it was good enough for Brago. Impressing him was an impossible feat, for not only was he a Mamodo, a race that was far beyond humans in strength to begin with, but even among his own race he had few equals, if any. He was as far beyond the average Mamodo in strength as a Mamodo is beyond a human child. Making him lose his contempt for her, though it seemed on its face to be a modest goal, was proving to be outside of her capabilities. Thus, her current irritation.
"You might as well stop now and rest before you collapse," the Dark Mamodo sneered. "I know how much you weak humans need your sleep. Better to be delayed now for a short while than to be delayed far longer when your weak body gives out on you completely."
"Weak, weak, weak! Is that all you ever say?! I'll stop when I have to, I know my own limits, thank you very much!"
It was a conversation they had had many, many times since pairing up. She was determined to be more than she was, more like him. He, ever logical, didn't see the point in pushing herself so hard. He also expressed extreme displeasure at having to carry her when she inevitably collapsed after...was this four straight days without sleep this time? It was hard to think straight, with a sleep-deprivation headache the size of France plaguing her. She was more or less used to it by now, doing everything on auto-pilot. Walking, conversation (what little there was with Brago), eating, it all happened with less input from her concious mind, since it was taking everything she had just to stay awake. Until there was a break in the routine.
Brago stopped walking. "I sense a human up ahead. If we continue on at our current pace and path, we will encounter it shortly."
"Good, maybe it's a book-holder!"
Brago shook his head. "That's not very likely, Sherry. If there was a mamodo I would have sensed its presence long before now. It's probably just a traveler. We should avoid contact, it would be nothing but a distraction."
"Well, maybe they just got separated, and now the book is vulnerable. This could be perfect! We're catching up to whoever this is."
He scowled, but didn't argue. This was yet another aspect of Brago's personality that was an enigma to Sherry. Despite his pride and forceful attitude, he let her make all the decisions. He would voice his opinion, then leave it entirely up to her, no matter how much he disagreed. He didn't try to argue or force her to do what he wanted. Not ever. Even when she let the red book-holder go, something he clearly thought was stupid at the time and still to this day didn't see the point of. She supposed it was just a combination of his general apathy toward everything in life combined with extreme confidence in being able to turn any situation his way, with maybe some pragmatism concerning her own willingness to continue to read his spells if he bucked her will thrown in...but sometimes it seemed like more than that. No doubt wishful thinking on her part. Whatever the reason, he spoke not another word about her frivolous decision to pursue an encounter with some random human.
They continued on their way up an old animal trail they'd been following, and soon a figure carrying a backpack came into view.
"Hello there!" Sherry called, waving. The figure turned around. It was a man, somewhere in his mid-twenties by the look of him. As they got closer, Sherry could see that he was exceptionally good-looking. Dirty blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, muscles on his muscles.
"Why hello! I didn't expect to find any other travelers this deep in the woods." The man replied as they approached.
"Yes well...it's kind of our hobby, hiking and camping out here. Yourself as well, from the look of it? I'm Sherry, by the way." She offered her hand.
"Oh, yes, you can see by my attire that I'm no stranger to camping out myself. Pierre Leone is my name." He replied, shaking the outstretched hand, then bending over to kiss it before releasing it slowly. "Forgive me if I offend."
"Not at all," Sherry replied, blushing.
The man smiled and turned toward Brago. "And you are?"
Brago just stared back at him sullenly.
"I'm very sorry for his lack of manners. He doesn't like to talk much. This is my, uh, younger brother, Brago."
"An unusual name, to be sure," The man said dubiously. "I can't say I see the family resemblence, no offense."
Sherry laughed uproariously. "I assure you none is taken. Heaven help me if we looked alike."
Brago scowled and turned away, losing interest in the conversation.
"But I must say, and again I beg pardon if I offend, but you seem to be more prepared for a tea party than camping out. Do the two of you even have a tent? How did you make it so far out here with so few provisions?"
Sherry looked down at herself and realized that the average person does not go on multi-day hikes deep into the woods in a sundress and dress boots, without so much as a backpack. In fact, the average person in her position would have starved or died of thirst long ago, a fate she avoided by leaning entirely on Brago's hunting and ability to find water. With him, she didn't need any provisions to make deep treks into the woods, all she needed was the skill to make fires to prevent hypothermia, which she had. Of course, more practical clothing would be ideal, but she'd never even considered changing her manner of dress for any reason.
"Well...we get by." She replied weakly.
"I'm sure you do." Pierre said condescendingly. "Just in case though, and since we seem to be headed in the same direction, maybe we could travel together?"
"Yes, please!" Sherry answered. She was enjoying the unusual situation of receiving attention from a charming, handsome older man. Brago would never give her this kind of attention, and being flirted with by an attractive man was very flattering, no matter her complete lack of intention.
"Excellent. There is safety in numbers, after all. You never know what might happen out here in the wild. I mean, what would the two of you do if you came across and angry bear?"
Sherry just smiled, laughing inside at his obliviousness to the irony of his question. Of course, how could he possibly know that if they encountered a bear out here it was because Brago had hunted it down for their dinner?
They hiked along, Pierre and Sherry continuing to make small talk, his flirting growing more outrageous and overt over time. Brago spoke not a word the entire time, and his face grew more sullen as the day wore on. Sherry fantasized that he was jealous of the attention she was getting, though she knew how absurd the very idea was. Eventually the novelty of it began to wear off, and she was grateful and readily agreed when he said, "The sun is beginning to wane, it's probably time to start looking for a campsite. I'll scout ahead for one."
As he sped up and faded from sight, Brago finally spoke. "Why have we wasted so much time with this idiot? I thought we were just going to find out if he's a book-holder or not, then go on our way."
"Well, Brago, it's not like we could just come right out with questions like that. It needs to be a natural part of the conversation. There is such a thing as common courtesy, you know."
"Courtesy." He sneered. "Another useless affectation of you humans. We Mamodo don't need such a thing."
"Oh, yes you do. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean you shouldn't." Sherry snapped back.
"Whatever. A piece of human garbage like that doesn't deserve anything like courtesy anyway, from me or you either."
"Why so angry, Brago? Could it be that you're...jealous?" Sherry allowed herself to voice her dearest wish, even knowing the answer would only disappoint her.
"Jealous?! Of a HUMAN?!" Brago was incredulous. "I could defeat him and hundreds more with one hand tied behind my back. The day I'm jealous of the power of a mere human...honestly, Sherry, you say the most ridiculous things sometimes."
"No, not his power, jealous of...nevermind." Sherry realized that even if she tried to explain, he wouldn't understand something like being jealous of someone's looks or charm, and certainly not being jealous over her getting attention from an attractive male obviously interested in her. And, even if she was somehow able to explain all of that to him, he would only laugh at her after understanding. He just didn't have those kinds of feelings.
They continued to walk in silence for a few miles, until Pierre rejoined them. "I found a perfect spot in a clearing not far from here. It is beautiful. Though not as beautiful as yourself, of course."
"That's great!" Sherry flashed smile, her frustrations over her unrequited love causing her to want to flirt back with the charmer.
He sidled up to her and whispered, "You know, my bedding is very spacious. There is room for two. After your younger brother falls asleep, of course."
Sherry was taken aback. None of the previous flirting had prepared her for such a blatant invitation. She had thought it innocent, considering the age difference. Obviously, he had thought differently. As attractive as he was, there was no temptation for her whatsoever. She was in love with Brago. Besides, his assumption that her 'brother' would fall asleep before them, or at all, in fact, was false.
"I apologize if I have made any indication otherwise, but I have no interest is such a liaison. Please do not take offense, it is nothing against you." Sherry said as politely as possible, though inside she was cringing.
"Oh, I see. But I thought...well...alright then." That was clearly not the response Pierre was expecting. He seemed like he was unused to rejection, and wasn't quite sure how to respond. Things got awkward, and there was no more talking until they actually reached the clearing.