Author's Note: I do not own Slayers or its characters.
All That Love Can Be
Lina glanced down the open road with a smile. It was still light out, but they would have to find a place to camp soon. Not that she minded. It had been a good day though. Lina had gotten the chance to toast a group of bandits, and they had made good time. The two of them were headed to a temple known for its library collection. Though for once, they weren't researching a cure. No, that was pretty much taken care of. She glanced over at Zel.
It was just the two of them traveling together right now, and that was perfectly fine with both of them. To tell the truth, they were remarkably well suited to one another and tended to get along fine on their own. Lina considered it part of her mission in life to tease Zel, and he seemed to consider trying to make her abide by common sense part of his. Besides, they understood one another quite well. In many ways, they were opposite sides of the same coin. And in the past six months of traveling together, they had found that their chemistry extended beyond just friendship.
Zel had found a partial cure about halfway through their traveling. It hadn't exactly worked the way he expected it to, but now if he wanted to, he could shift between his chimera form and his human form. Of course, it took energy and concentration, and currently, he couldn't stay in his human form for more than an hour or two, but it had been enough for him. With the cure had come a loosening of his tight rein on his feelings as well. Their romance was still fairly young, but Lina could see them still enjoying each other's company fifty years in the future.
A familiar gloved hand slid into her own, and Lina looked over at Zel with a grin. He arched an eyebrow at her.
"What are you up to now? I know better than to trust you when you're smiling like that."
Lina laughed. "Remember one of those bandits mentioned a hot spring near here? I was thinking that would be a good place to camp. Or we could just keep going until we find an inn. I have enough loot to buy a proper meal and--"
"Why don't we look for those hot springs?" His voice lowered. "I don't need to deal with another traumatized innkeeper."
"I heard that."
"And what are you going to do about it," Zel taunted back.
She released his hand to begin forming a fireball only to find Zel already dashing down the road ahead. With a laugh, Lina gave chase. Love was so far the greatest adventure she'd had yet.