The next day, exactly twenty snore filled hours later, things were a little different. Gourry had gotten to bed early, but was still quite tired from the night before last. All he wanted in life right now was just to lie in bed for a week or so. His wounds were still healing and things still ached.
Apparently, Lina disagreed.
She'd forced him several miles into the wood, pushing, threatening, kicking, shoving and at one point, literally dragged him with her typical amount of kindness. If Lina had said anything about why they were out here, Gourry, still techniquely asleep throughout the most of the hike, had missed it.
Tired, the swordsman sat on a tree stump and wiped sleep from his eyes. Lina usually slept in as long as she could unless it was an emergency or she was eager for something. And, using all the deductive reasoning he possessed, came to a conclusion: since no one was throwing things or chasing them at the moment, the red-haired girl must be looking for something.
"Gourry, do you understand what that old guy said?"
"What old guy?"
"The one who healed you!"
"Whatever you say, Lina."
Lina saw red and had to remind herself that it would be easier to teach magic to a live Gourry. Slowly, she unclenched her fists and counted down from ten. When the sorceress regained the closest thing she had to calm, Gourry was cooking breakfast.
"…how long…?"
"Not too long. Here, try this." He handed Lina a plate piled high with fish. The sorceress decided out of the goodness of her heart to forgive her friend and to try to only steal half of his food.
None of the fish stood a chance against the two black holes and the red-head destroyed her fastest fish-eating time record. She watched him thoughtfully, wondering where and how to begin. Maybe using puppets and diagrams? No, he would just end up distracted by her amazingly skillful artwork and craftsmanship. She prayed that there was nothing shiny out in these old woods to distract him, not knowing that shiny things tended to distract her rather than her partner.
"Now, listen up. I'm going to make this quick and easy."
"And painless?" Gourry piped up hopefully. At Lina's irritated look, he lowered his heads and continued washing the plates.
"Let's start with the basics. Magic originates from a place of nothingness."
"Um, okay." He wiped down a bowl and nodded, not paying much real attention. When it came to things like magic, Gourry had learned it was best just to nod and pretend he knew what was going on. Lina didn't really want to tell him things, she just wanted to show off and have someone to bounce ideas off of. The fact that he rarely, if ever, had bounced any thing back didn't seem to concern her.
"Are you listening?"
"Sure." He wiped another dish and wondered what they were looking for exactly. It didn't really concern him, but Lina's tone had been surprisingly different when she'd mentioned the magic thing. Instead of absent minded or superior, it was more lecturing and…maybe even patient?
"Sure." The swordsman repeated. "You said something about magic being…something about magic."
"No!"
"What, didn't you mention magic?" Feeling a bit confused and uneasy, he continued to clean the dishes, but at a slower pace. His Lina-danger sense was acting up, speaking to him, urging him to run while there was still time. Gourry ignored it. Since when was Lina being patient and not sounding like an ego-manikin (or was it manicure) a bad thing?
Wait…
"No…yes, never mind, just listen." Obediently, the swordsman stacked and covered the dishes and turned to her. She still was using that odd, odd tone and he suddenly had flashbacks to his early sword lessons. His master had told him then to trust his intuition, and yet here he was years later (how many, Gourry wasn't sure off the top of his head) and still not trusting his danger-sense. Gods, what was she planning and why did she sound so determined? And why was she talking to him like his opinion mattered?
Gourry sat facing her, resting his chin on his hands comfortably. At his piecing look, Lina shifted and tried to remember where she'd last left off.
"Okay, so when invoking magic here, in the physical world, a spell acts like a medium to draw power from the astral side."
"Astral side?"
"Just think of as the backside of the world."
"It's butt?"
A rock hit Gourry's head with a disturbing 'crack' and he coughed up a few tongue depressors. After spending a minute or so staring down at the sticks, Lina decided to ignore it and continue on. Hey, he hadn't even asked that many questions. Maybe this wasn't impossible after all!
…Or maybe 'astral' and 'side' were the only words he knew how to pronounce…?
"The boundary separate the two worlds are very thin. That's why Mazoku's are able to appear here in the physical world."
"Hmmm?" Gourry toyed with a piece of grass and spat out more wooden sticks. "What?"
"What do you mean 'what'? Mazoku's true forms are on the astral plane."
"Oooooh. Alright. Sure."
"'Sure' he says…So, elemental spells, like earth, water, fire and air, are manifestations of physical forces. Those spells can be powerful, and are embedment of physical concepts. Meaning physical things can defend against them.
Shamanisms, which is elemental and spirit magic, like the stuff Zel and Amelia use, summons forth the power of spirits. And black magic calls on the power of the most powerful Mazoku. That's my specialty." She paused to polish her fingernails on her tunic.
"White magic and holy magic call on the power of the Gods. Filia and Sylphiel use that type of magic. So does Amelia. Are you listening to me?"
"Yes. Completely." Gourry mumbled while rubbing his aching forehead. Why exactly was this important for him to know? He could barely recognize any of the words she was using, but if Lina wanted him to know, (or at least repeat things back to her) he would do it. "Black magic makes things go boom, right?"
"Not necessarily. It's usually Shamanism. People have a misconception about that. Like the Fireball. It's actually Shamanism, but lots of people think its Black magic. That's why so many sorceresses like myself get such a bad reputation. I mean, sure it's Black magic, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad or anything." Lina settled in for a rant about her misconstrued, often mistaken reputation, how people were completely wrong about her and Black magic, and the general stupidity of those around her.
Gourry covered his face with his hands and moaned gently.
"I mean, how hard can if be just to get a few things right? Remember last week at that restaurant? Just because I blew up a few towns (which was completely not my fault. I had to in order to destroy that dragon/Mazoku/falling piece of ruble/random monster), it doesn't mean I should have to eat near the entrance?--And don't tell me it was just because that was the only empty table; I'm pretty sure there was a table in the middle of room-- Just who did those guys think they were?"
"So Shamanism makes things go boom, right?" Gourry asked, drool running down his chin, trying to keep hold of his consciousness and sanity. He wiped frantically at his face, trying to stay awake.
Let it not be said that when Lina went on a rant, she did it half heartedly or with her spirit not in it.
"Yes, pretty much." It was a description a kid would use, but at least Gourry was technically correct. Sort of. Kinda. Nearly. In a way. Lina sighed, feeling a headache looming over the horizon.
Gourry's question had disrupted their interesting and heated conversation, and Lina felt annoyed by the distraction. But, maybe it was time to get back to what she'd dragged him all the way out here for.
"Anyway, let's talk about magic capacity. According to that healer, you have a lot of this; almost enough to cast a Dragon Slave."
"Really?"
"That's what that guy said. So, casting spells requires the channeling of energy. Magic energy to be exact. A person has only a certain amount of magical energy and every time they use magic, the energy is used up.
"…"
Silence. Was he in awe of her intellect?
No, wait, what was that?
A breathy moan of admiration? A bit inappropriate, but Lina could forgive him. She was amazing in about every single way. It was really surprising he didn't do this every time they were together.
No…
…it was…
… a snore?
Lina slapped Gourry's face and kicked his leg awkwardly. She'd been aiming for a tenderer spot, but his knee would have to do.
"As I was saying, the magic energy depends on the person's condition. If someone's really tired, they can't use much if any magic."
"So, when it's your 'time'—"
Ah, a boot never sounded so good against someone's face.
"Let's talk about a few simple spells…."
It was nice to see Lina so happy and energetic about something. Since last night, she'd been moodier than lately. One moment, Lina'd be her usual self, such as hitting him, then she'd do something odd, such as going to bed early and not saying much to him. And hell, she'd even missed dessert.
It reminded Gourry uncomfortably of his brother, the silence, (Gourry'd learned quickly that silence with Lina was a bad sign) and made him slightly nervous. Nervous about his missing magical sword and his limited strength and his relationship with Lina.
He didn't enjoy dwelling on things, especially things that he couldn't change. Alright, the Sword of Light was now officially gone. In a way, that was a relief. Less pressure, less bad memories and it meant that he'd completed what he'd left home to accomplish.
And there was nothing stopping him from finding and getting a better sword. Lina had been telling him some stories, rumors really, about a special magically enhanced sword around here. Maybe that's why they were out here?
"And their astral bodies are much larger--"
As for his relationship with Lina…there wasn't much he could do there. He couldn't (and wouldn't) force Lina into anything. And there was no way he could be completely blatant about how he felt for her.
The swordsman could just imagine Lina's face and reaction if he suddenly just went up to her, declared his undying love in a flowery speech full of words he didn't understand (He could even use some of the poses he'd learned from Amelia during their time with those weird old people. Gourry couldn't quite remember the words Amelia had taught him for speeches, but the physical stuff he could remember somewhat. Just waving and looking heroic would be enough), and ending with a marriage proposal—
Oh, things would certainly end. Like their easy going friendship. Lina would either think he was joking and hurt him; or just run screaming from him, also hurting him if in a different way.
The sorceress just wasn't ready for a relationship and since he was a patient man, he could wait. He would always care for her, protect her and if she wanted to continue this way until whenever, Gourry could deal with that. For now anyway.
Maybe in time he could finally tell her everything she meant to him, if there were words to describe it, but for now he was willing to wait—He smiled, satisfied and a bit more relaxed.
//////// A few hours later
"So…" Lina panted and tried to regain her balance.
"That's how you make a hexagram, a pentagram and…how you manage to kill a flock of birds." She looked guiltily toward a charred pile of feather.
Gourry came awake with a start and was eternally thankful for the bright sun. It gave him an excuse to wear sunglasses and cover his previously closed eyes. Lina had been suspicious at first, but after asking a few questions and proving that he was indeed conscious, she'd let it slide. Then, only ten seconds after her last question, Gourry'd drifted off.
"Still, we're making progress and I learned how to sew and to do the tango."
Unnerved and wary, the swordsman rubbed his eyes and looked about. How long had he been asleep? The sun was still up, a good sign, but it had been a couple of hours.
The entire clearing where they'd settled was covered with scorch marks, undeterminable, yet obviously crude, drawings and rough dolls made of sticks. Disturbingly, all the dolls looked vaguely (as in, a tiny, tiny way) like Lina and him. Even odder, the dolls that had yellow hair (that she'd obviously pulled from his head while he slept) were in much worse shape than the ones with red hair. In fact, the ones with yellow hair were pretty badly damaged and barely disguisable from the twig that littered the ground.
Wait…they were different…
"….Ready to try?"
Say, were those dolls made from those sticks from the healer's home?
Gourry's head snapped up and looked closely at his quite possibly disturbed partner. Lina was radiating confidence and good cheer. Definitely disturbed. She'd been under some stress, had been since they'd met and been 'hired' by Filia. But it wasn't like Lina to just snap under pressure and turn into a, well, cheerful person.
But there she was, still smiling pleased at him for some unknown reason.
Somehow, Gourry didn't think it would last long. Unsure of himself or his surroundings, the blond man looked around again and tried to remember some of the things Lina had said about magic and not focus on the creepiness of the surrounding clearing.
Nothing really came to mind besides the world's butt being an anal. Or was it an assho--?
"Alright, now it's time for some practice." The sorceress grinned at her friend.
Gourry's expression didn't quite match Lina's.
"Are you sure about this?" Practice what? And why was she so happy?
"Don't worry; I'm a great teacher, you'll have this all down soon enough."
The look on Gourry's face only intensified.
"And, if you think you're going to blow up or something, just do that thing I taught you."
Gourry began to cry.
"Okay, we'll go over it again."
"No, not all of it!" Gourry glanced, trembling, at the dolls and drawings. He didn't know what she had done to those Gourry-dolls, but he was sure that it couldn't be good…and his best friend would probably enjoy demonstrating on him.
Lina just shrugged.
"Fine, but do you remember what I said about simple spells?"
"No." Nonchalantly, the swordsman tried to slip on his sunglasses. The sorceress slapped them off his face in a millisecond.
"Let's talk about Fireballs. They belong to the fire shamanistic field. It's simple, easy and popular."
"How easy?"
"….so, a ball of fire—"
"Lina."
"It's…well, for a beginner, it's moderately difficult. But! But, I have faith in you Gourry. You can pull it off, no sweat."
Guilty at his inattentiveness and unsure of the praise, Gourry tried his absolute best to pay attention and not let Lina down. Then Lina began to get into her lecturing tone and Gourry's eyelids began to droop.
"A ball of fire appears—"
"Where?"
"What? What where?"
"Where does the fire appear?"
"In the hands of the caster."
"Wouldn't that hurt?"
"No. Anyway—"
"Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"
"Baby."
"I need my hands, Lina!"
"For what?"
"What?"
"What do you need your hands for?" She leered at him. "For things concerning your not-so-magical-sword?"
Outraged and defensive, Gourry covered his chest with both hands. "How dare you? I'm an innocent swordsman/guardian. And what do you know about my 'not-so-magical-sword'? How do you know it's 'not-so-magical'?"
Lina grin diminished. "This is beginning to get a little creepy."
"I'll have you know my not-so-magical-sword is very magical. And what I do with that in my free time is my business."
The sorceress began to sweat and steer her mind away from Gourry's possibly-magical sword. She had magic to teach, real magic, (although, who knew if Gourry did indeed have a magical sword? No one had better know.), and couldn't distract herself at thoughts of Gourry's sword.
"Was that you in the bushes peeking…?"
"Wha'? I have better things to do in my time than peek at your definitely-not-magical-sword, Gourry."
"Sure…" Gourry looked his red-haired friend over, hands still covering his innocent swordsman/guardian's chest. "Pervert."
"You're lucky I need you conscious. Anyway, the ball—"
"What?"
"The fireball!"
"Oh."
"It explodes upon contact, spreading flames. Lots and lots of flames and fire." Turning around to stare at her collection of voodoo Lina and Gourry's, she winked at them.
"Don't try this at home kids."
The sound of her friend's choked whimper made her turn around. Is he choking on those sticks again?
The both scrutinizing and frightened look on Gourry's face made Lina stare at him. Her relief at not having to perform a complicated anti-choking procedure (a swift kick to the stomach) was forgotten.
"What?"
"Why…why did you wink at them?"
"I don't know; it just seemed right."
"Do…do you think they are actual children?
"What?"
"Your children perhaps?" He looked closely at the dolls. "Our children?"
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
If he kept this amount of much crazy up, he would have a chance to really study a Fireball up close. Maybe even get to dissect one.
"What?" The swordsman gave a puzzled look and continued to eye the dolls.
"They are not our children Gourry." Lina managed to grit out. Where had her brilliant--if not completely planned--lessons gone? Everything had seemed to be going fine, and now it was chaos. And Gourry seemed to have lost whatever tenuous hold he had on reality.
"I know that, but do you?"
"They're sticks!"
"Hey, you're pretty skinny yourself."
"…A fireball is very dangerous so don't do it inside unless absolutely necessary." Her knuckles cracked and popped as she struggled to keep from hurting her best friend. She was beginning to regret even attempting to teach Gourry magic. What had gone through her head in order for her to think this was going to be a good idea? Had she been possessed again?
"Do your babies have names?"
"Shut up Gourry!" The amount-of-crazy-she-could-take-meter was steadily edgeing into the red Fireball-his-Ass section.
"But…"
"Let's just practice the Fireball."
"Repeat after me: Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball!"
A large ball of fire appeared between Lina's hands and grinning, she threw it towards her friend's head.
Screaming, Gourry dodged to the left, scrapping skin off on the rocks and stick-people littering the ground. A hasty jump helped him barely avoid the fiery ball of pain before he attempted to leap over another fireball. Behind him the grass, feathers and trees began to catch fire.
Lina grinned as she watched Gourry roll around trying to put out a small forest fire,
"Our children, my ass."
"Okay, look at me."
"At me, Gourry! Look at what I'm doing!" Bent over with a stick held in hand, the sorceress turned her head as best she could and tried to gain Gourry's attention. She was currently competing with a flock of birds as well as a small snail.
"Gourry!"
"What?"
Damn that snail. "Do you see the shape I'm making in the dirt here?"
"Sure. It looks a little crooked."
"No it isn't. It's perfect."
"The circle's all messed up."
Lina seethed and did her best to straighten the lines. Thankfully, he at least seemed to be paying attention.
The sorceress straightened suddenly and gave her guardian a suspicious look. "Are you watching?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Still mistrustful, Lina bent (unknowingly giving Gourry an excellent view of her behind) and added the finishing touches to her pentagram.
"Not too complicated. A pentagram or even just a plain circle can concentrate the magic in the certain place you want it to go. Very simple."
"Now, make a circle." She handed him the stick.
"Sure." Easily, he made a perfect circle in the dirt and, without being told, added a large star in the middle of it. Lina's surprised and admiring stare was oddly gratifying. It almost made what had happened today worth it.
Almost.
…Those dolls had been pretty weird…
"Great." She gave him a painful slap on the back. "Now, the easy part is done and we can really get to work."
////////// A few hours and healing spells later
"Again!"
"No, we've been here all day! Let's go back to the inn. I'm starving; we never even got to eat lunch." He prayed that the mention of food would distract her. If that failed, Gourry had a bit of gold in his pocket. He figured if he threw it far enough, when Lina chased after it, he'd be able to get away.
"No! I said I'd teach you magic, and damnit, I'm going to teach you!"
"But you ruined the panty-gram"
"Its pentagram and we don't need it anyway." Alright, so the pentagram might help keep the destruction to a minimum, but sacrifices were necessary. Plus it might be fun to see how much damage Gourry could do. The fact that she could begin blaming some of her 'accidents' on her friend was also a nice bonus.
"But, I still can't remember the incan-thingy."
"Then I'll beat it into you!"
"Wait! No--Not in front of the children!"
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"It'll be fine."
"But, what if something goes wrong?"
"What could go wrong? I'm here after all." Lina posed with a flourish. Gourry remained unimpressed. He was tired, sore, hungry, and after he'd thrown the gold piece, Lina had managed to not only get it and chase after him, but also beat him up for 'wasting good money that probably rightfully belonged to her.'
"Do I have to learn a fire spell? What if I cause a huge, uncontrollable forest fire that no one, even you, can control?"
Lina rolled her eyes and waved away Gourry's remark. "That's not going to happen, Gourry. Now, get chanting."
"Can't I learn something simple that doesn't involve flames and pain?"
"No, that's too boring. You need a challenge."
"I need a challenge?"
"Just do the spell."
"Oh, source of all power… "
"Did you forget the rest?"
"…sorry."
"That should be it."
"Alright." The sorcerer-in-training held his hands out and began mumbling the incantation.
"Wait!" Lina yelled, her hands held up defensively. Gourry gave her a blank look. What had he forgotten this time?
Hurriedly, the sorceress began running away from her friend. This time, she had her hands over her head. After safely distancing herself away, Lina gave her student thumbs up. At least, Gourry thought it was thumbs up. She was so far away it was hard to tell if her hair was even red.
So much for her confidence in him.
The swordsman took a deep breath, filling his lung. Muscles relaxed. A soft breeze blew by, gently mussing his hair. Too bad they were working so hard at the moment. The weather was so nice, it would have been perfect for a picnic or just a relaxing walk through the country side.
Casually, Gourry stretched, working out the kinks he'd acquired over the last two days. He adjusted his shirt and straightened his pants. From a distance, the swordsman could hear birds singing. He didn't know which ones where chirping away, Amelia and Zelgadis had been the experts on any pleasant wildlife they'd seen along their adventure. Gourry'd often seen them together, sitting close to each other, just watching any birds or squirrels or whatever, talking quietly. Neither would say anything particularly interesting or memorable or exciting (to Gourry anyway), but both looked content and relaxed. They seemed to have some kind of unspoken conversation between them at those moments, like the one he and Lina had, only a little calmer and less violent.
Speaking of which...
All she had to do was give him a look, and he'd get the general idea. Most of the time anyway. It was almost comforting. She was a constant in his life, judgemental and rash and a bit unstable at times, but always there.
Lina, who had dropped to curl into a ball with her hands over her head, now opened her eyes slowly and stood. His best friend in the world stared at him intensely. He could feel her gaze on him, accusing and threatening bodily harm if he dared to escape. Her bright eyes were focus on him, the red of her irises appeared to be attempting to burn a hole in him.
He idly noticed the aura surrounding the sorceress. It was dark red and glowing and growing. She was getting mad. Patience had never been her thing.
Maybe it would be best to finish this before she got really angry and came back. Besides, if he did this, they might be able to call it a day and head back to the inn. That warm, comfy bed that all beds strove to be was calling him. And the food was screaming for him to come and gobble it all up. Gods, he was hungry.
"Oh...how did it go again?"
And he was a bit lost. He had heard Lina repeated the in-can-whatever thing several times just a few minutes ago, but the words had appearently escape his head and dissapeared with Lina.
"Oh,...scone? No, scoure? No, it was...source! Oh, source! Of all power! I got it!" He patted himself on the back.
"Oh source of all power...how did the rest go?" The swordsman rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Something something about light or burning or criminal...
"Light...something that burns."
"Light, light, light, which! There it goes. Light which. Like light the witch on fire." He turned around aruptly, looking for Lina. Still there, still looking at him impatiently, tapping her foot, arms crossed.
"Light which...what was it? Something to do with Lina...oh, burns. Right-o. Light which burns."
He was getting there, putting pieces together slowly, but steadily. Wait, wasn't he supposed to be closing his eyes and concentrating? Uh-oh...
"Light which burns...beyum. Be young. Be...something. Beyo..Beyong! No, that's not it. Beyond? Is that it? That doesn't sound right. I wish Lina was here." Gourry crouched and began playing with a stick, drawing in the sand. He made a perfect miniature version of that circle thing Lina sometimes drew. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. What had Lina said, focus on the magic energy...
--A sharp slap drew him back into reality.
"Jellyfish! Moron! Goldfish poop! Hey, it's been awhile since I've used that one."
"Lina?"
"Yes, Gourry?" Lina managed to grit out. She'd been waiting there for half an hour and nothing!
"How does that incan-thing go again?"
One more slap.
"Again, damnit, repeat after me: 'Oh, source of all power,'"
"I remembered that part."
"Just repeat it. And concentrate. And close your eyes."
"Oh source of all power."
"Light which burns beyond crimson,
"Light which burns beyong--"
"Beyond!"
"Light which burns beyond crimson."
"Let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball!"
On reflex, Gourry jumped to the side and began rolling around.
"No! No, I didn't do anything!" She hastily held her fire-free hands up.
Gourry paused.
"Um, how did that thing go again?" Lina shook her head and began walking away, dejected. She ignored Gourry's calls. If they hurried, they could make it back to the small villiage and settle down into their lives and how wrong she'd been...
"Wait, wait!" He'd wanted to escape this mess, but that look on her face...
"Oh, source of all power--"
Oh, now he felt a warm surge of strength. Gourry supposed this was that magic stuff.
--light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball--"
Bang!
Gourry watched amazed as Lina went flying up and backwards, towards him. Though he couldn't know it as Lina was faced in the opposite direction, the confusion on his face mirroring Lina's, who was still flying towards him. All too late he realized that the circle thing he'd drawn had kind of 'contained' the magic, keeping it in place. And where had the circle been located? Damn near under Lina's feet. The blonde could smells the heels of her boots smoking. Then he tried to raise his arms to catch her, and felt the pain from his burned hands, making him unable to move in time.
It seemed to take forever, the sensation of flying, the pain in her feet and pain in her spine and back of her head where she crashed into her guardian. Lina was a small girl, and even with the explosion, she only came up to Gourry's chest. Right into the armor. She saw stars and little naked Angel versions of Amelia and Zelgadiss. They were tooting on little ribbon covered horns and what had happened?
Gourry lay there on his back, moaning and holding his hands above his head. Lina moaned as well. They moaned together in harmony, perfectly in sync with their pain and hurting.
Lina clumsily rolled off of her friend. The air from her lungs rushed out of her as she landed on her stomach. The sorceress extraordinaire reached out in front of her and began dragging herself forwards. She didn't feel strong enough to stand up just yet.
They both moaned again, for slightly different reasons.
Lina, after some inspecting, decided she was alright. She was breathing, her back might, just might, be broken and she might've gotten a mild concussion. But she was still okay enough to do some more magic. In fact, this was nothing compared to the first time she'd attempted magic.
The swordsman continued to lay on his back, focusing on breathing. In time, he looked down at his pained hands. A blackened, coin sized spot lay on the center of his palms. Gourry watched blood oozing from the center of his cracked skin, mind blank. He could smell his charred hands, like cooking pork, and felt sick. Once things stopped moving in every direction, Gourry managed to rediscover his legs and that he could indeed stand up.
Grimacing, the swordsman held his hands close to his chest, feeling blisters forming seemingly everywhere. Lina looked closely at Gourry and after a moment of squinting, realized something was wrong. The sorceress hurried to his side.
"You okay?" Lina asked, gasping for breathe, feeling a stitch in her side. He seemed to be okay and better yet, he had done magic.
"Sort of. There was smoke and you flew and a fire." Gourry said, dazed. He showed the sorceress his burned palms.
Lina grinned triumphantly and flashed one of the poses she'd stolen from Amelia. "Soon, Gourry, you will be a master of a magic."
"Do I have to wear a cape?" Things kept spinning and he thought he might need new armour and a pair of new hands, but the cape was the first thing to pop into his mind.
"We'll see." With an insincerely apologetic expression on her face, she patted his pained back roughly.
"Can you at least heal my hands?"
"Fine, fine. Weakling." Lina didn't really mean it, her blonde friend could tell the grin lighting up her face was more sincere than her words.
"How can you do this all the time?"
"You get used to it and once you control it, it doesn't hurt. Plus, you don't should try to avoid blowing up your friend's feet for the most part."
Gourry supposed Lina knew what she was talking about, but didn't quite trust her when it came to measures of pain. Especially pain that might involve him.
"Let's try it again." Her shark-like grin guaranteed that he would indeed 'try it again' and left no hope for escape.
A few more hours and healing spells and beatings later
"Okay. I've come to a conclusion."
Gourry looked up hopefully. One of his eyes was swollen shut, scorch marks covered him and his hands were better left unmentioned. Lina's healing spells were pretty good considering she focused in black magic, but they could only do so much against constant burns and scratches.
For a second, Lina realized how badly beat up her guardian was and thought about allowing him a little mercy. Then she remembered how Luna's training involved and that Gourry seemed to be purposely forgetting things, and all the kindness died in her heart.
He would use magic, no matter what cost.
Lina pulled out a slipper and eyed the blond swordsman threateningly. He gulped and tried to look as pitiful as possible. It wasn't very hard considering all the injuries from both their magic.
"Let's see what you're capable of."
"I thought that's what we've been doing all this time?" If everything they'd been doing beforehand hadn't been testing, what exactly was going to be the test? What more was she expecting?
He felt a small spark of anger underneath the tiredness and draining energy. Hadn't Lina mentioned something about magic and tiredness? He couldn't remember, he couldn't remember a damn thing. Why did he have to learn magic? Wasn't magic Lina's thing? The spark began to grow.
"Yes, but I need an estimation of how strong you are."
"How are you going to do that?" This was a turning point. Right now, he could just walk off and give up on magic. A large part of him wanted to do so. His injuries were still aching, his palms seared worse than the steak he'd eaten last night, and Lina just kept wanting more. If he left, Lina would be angry, but Gourry was sure she would eventually forget about this whole day and they could move on.
It would be so nice to just get up and leave…
He eyed her warily and rubbed at his various wounds.
"You just cast a powerful spell and let's see what we get from it." If this didn't work, at least it would relieve the tediousness of repeating the same spell over and over again.
"Um, Lina, I don't think—"
The swordsman imagined her expression if he finally said he'd had enough. She'd be so furious…
"Just do what I say! Okay, repeat after me:Source of all power,'"
Then he remembered the proud grin on her face after he'd finished his first Fireball, the way she'd slapped his back after completely that circle-thing…
"Source of all power." Gourry echoed.
"Crimson fire burning bright."
"Crinson--"
"Crimson!" Lina corrected loudly.
"Crimson fire." He looked to Lina for confirmation and was rewarded with a nod.
"Now, crimson fire burning bright."
"Crimson fire burning bright." Gourry murmured, not paying much attention. His hand mirrored Lina's but his eyes were far away.
"Now, do you feel the build up of energy?"
"Kind of." He scratched his cheek with one hand. In fact, Gourry could easily feel his energy 'building up'.
It reminded him of when he would use the Sword of Light and could feel the powerful energy of the sword and in his very body. The awareness was familiar, but without a sword in his hand, it felt awkward and he didn't completely trust it. It was very different from the Sword of Light, an actual object that you could touch and move with your body. It involved muscle and flesh, not mere words that he had a hard time keeping track of. He closed his eyes and focused on the energy steadily building up and Lina's voice.
"Okay, now imagine where you want it to go."
"Where I want what to do where?"
"Huh? I mean, where you want the spell to go. Target it, and the ball will explode."
Gourry's eyes snapped open, understandably alarmed.
"Now, again, source of all power, crimson fire burning bright. Gather together in my hand and become an inferno. "
Gourry dutifully repeated Lina, feeling the energy building and feeling a sensation of powerfulness and a warm rush from it. If this is what Lina felt when she did magic, it was no wonder why she was a sorceress. It also helped explain her ego.
Smiling, he tried to 'target' a safe area. A small ball of light appeared next to the small empty dirt road they'd traveled on. So far, no one had passed them so Gourry assumed the area was safe.
Lina took a deep breath, smiling at Gourry's peaceful face and focused on an area far away from their camp site. Finally, the red-haired girl felt her guardians built up energy and understood exactly what that healer had been talking about.
It was almost frightening. He had potential that was for sure. Who knew Gourry was capable of such power?
How could she have missed it--?
"BURST FLARE." An explosion, loud even from this distance, went off behind the swordsman. Gourry didn't seem to notice or be bothered in the least. If anything, he looked calm and steady. Not much like she felt when she was doing magic.
The smile on Gourry's face remained for a few seconds, then his mouth and eyes widened with shock. His calm, confident air vanished and was replaced with fear. Not for himself, but for Lina. Again. The swordsman reached out, yelling the sorceress' name.
Lina suddenly felt a very hot, very strong push of warmth hit her back and suddenly she was flying without use of a Ray Wing or Levitation spell. Wait, hadn't she just gone through this? The red-haired sorceress took a nanosecond to think. This was certainly familiar. But this time, she was flying far faster and higher than before. And this time, she didn't think she was simply going to crash into her friend. However, it was again Gourry's fault.
Maybe this wasn't such a good--
Then the explosion deafened her and her whole head began to ring, and everything was hot and fire and burning, wiping out all thought. The ground, only a few feet in front of her came closer and she held her hands out to protect her face. The last thing Lina noticed before darkness took her consciousness was Gourry frantically yelling her name.