~* SLAYERS: FALLEN STARS *~
First, I must apologize, or at least explain my two week absence. It started with planning my little sisters birthday, then winding up sick and a virtual vegetable for a few days right after. The weather has not been very helpful either. Just as I was getting better, we've had some of the coldest weather in fifteen years, complete with rolling blackouts and me banging myself up falling down numerous times walking through the ice and snow to work (I don't have a car). I didn't get a decent night's sleep for a whole week and a half. I also wanted to hold this chapter back to make sure I didn't skimp on quality (I certainly hope I don't disappoint). I originally wanted this to go up on the seventh of February because of my parent's anniversary in memory of mom, but I wasn't satisfied with it at the time.
Okay, enough about my life. Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Good Old Fashioned Festival Fun Part V
A few seconds later, Jean pulled away from Miranda's lips. The warmth from them still tingled where they had touched his. His headache from the flowers around them faded a little, and Jean did not notice anything else in the room but Miranda.
Miranda blushed, thinking maybe she went a little too far, but the look on Jean's face was more of wonderment than disgust.
"Jean-?"
Jean pulled Miranda off her seat, put his arms around her, and kissed her back. He never thought kissing a girl could feel this good.
Miranda's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling them closer together. Jean felt her mouth open slightly, so he stuck out his tongue like he had seen teenagers do.
Miranda jerked back a little in surprise.
"Sorry!" Jean yelped.
"No, I… I-Its okay." Determined not to ruin the moment, Miranda kissed Jean again, but she allowed her mouth to be opened on purpose this time.
Jean responded more bravely and tried the tongue thing again. They spent a couple of minutes trying to get it right. Eventually they found somewhat of a rhythm without clacking their teeth too much.
A short time later, Miranda heard the florist's footsteps coming closer from behind the door, and she panicked. She shoved Jean, who was by then not paying attention to anything beyond what his mouth was doing, backwards off his seat, knocking the air out of him, just in time for the florist to open the door.
A pretty middle-aged woman with long wavy brown hair stared at them confusedly. "Miranda, you okay? It got quiet back here, so I was worried."
"E-everything's f-fine, M-miss Anna!" Miranda couldn't control the horrible stutter in her voice.
Jean, now jolted back into reality, got up carefully and straightened himself out in his seat. "I just fell back."
"I can see that," said Miss Anna. "You need to be more careful. I don't need you getting yourself killed in the back of my shop after the stupidity you pulled participating in that contest today."
"Yes ma'm," Jean answered. He eyed Miranda, who was pale faced and looked sick to her stomach.
Miss Anna sighed. "Okay. If everything's fine, I need you two to get moving. I have one final delivery coming shortly, and I won't have any room left back here."
Miranda nodded stiffly, not saying anything, and grabbing Jean's hand, made her way out of the shop.
When they were two streets away from the shop, Miranda apologized. "I'm so sorry, Jean. She's my mother's best friend, and I could let her see us like that."
"Um, that's okay, but can we do that again?" Jean asked.
Miranda stared at him. "What? We were in there for ten minutes doing nothing but that!"
Jean scratched his head embarrassingly and grinned. "Yeah, but it was a lot of fun."
"Ugh, please don't tell me you're gonna turn into one of those boys who only have one thing on their minds," Miranda said as she rolled her eyes.
"Um, what one thing?" Jean asked, confused.
"I'll let you figure that one out." She began pulling him towards the East gate. "Right now, all I wanna do I dance." It was the one thing she enjoyed doing whenever she was nervous.
"Okay. Then can we make out later?" Jean asked cheerfully.
"Listen, Jean!" Miranda huffed as she turned around, "If you're going to expect me to-"
Jean caught her in his arms and kissed her. "Love you too, Miranda."
"…Y-you love me?" she asked, her voice small.
"What did you think I was doing today?" he replied. "I'm not willing to die for just anyone, you know."
Miranda blushingly pushed him away. She grabbed his hand again. "Come on, silly goose. Let's go dance."
The sun was setting behind the mountains as the semi-finals were coming to a close. Samira went in search of Jean after her last match and came across Filia watching Torrin anxiously. Torrin himself did not look any better.
"He's not concentrating," Samira noted.
"I know," Filia replied, never taking her eyes of the match. "He's been on edge since the semis started."
Torrin managed to lock his opponent's sword down with his axe and catch him in the neck with his knife, ending the match. The point was awarded, and he walked towards Filia and Samira feeling a little worse for wear.
"So, you think you're ready for the finals?" asked Samira.
Torrin opened his mouth to say something, but Janna's voice rang out from the crowd, greeting them. She was still wearing the turkey costume and was tugging a tall young man also dressed up as a bird with his right arm in a sling.
"Filia! Oh, I'm so glad I found you! Did I miss anything?" she chirped. Then she spotted Samira and ran over to hug her. "I've been wondering if you would show up again!"
Samira hugged back. "I did tell you I never back away from a promise."
"You're just in time," said Filia. "The finals will start soon."
"Oh good! I never thought I would get out of the shop! And bird-brain here," Janna jerked a thumb at her partner "Had to go and break his arm last night! He didn't even tell me until just now!"
"What happened, Marcus?" asked Filia as she looked over his arm.
Marcus rubbed the back of his neck. "Fell down the stairs. I didn't want to worry anyone."
"Well, you certainly did a good job of that! I was looking all over for you last night!" Janna turned to Torrin. "Good thing Mr. Egan here took me out for a dance." She winked.
Marcus looked at Torrin. "So, you're…just like Miss Filia?"
"Yes, I am." Torrin was getting a little tired of everyone pointing out that he was a dragon. Despite Filia's reassurance, it still made him uneasy.
"I've been wanting you meet you! Janna talks about you all the time!" Marcus exclaimed.
Filia gave Janna a condescending look. "Yes, I'm sure she does." Much of what her girls at the shop were saying about Torrin and Gourry were a little too graphic for the ears of innocent boyfriends.
Janna laughed nervously. "Heheh, yeah well, Marcus would've been in the contest today, but sadly his accident forced him to quit."
Marcus laughed with her, not completely sure why. "It's a real shame. Going up against a dragon would have been amazing!"
"Maybe you'll have your chance, as soon as your arm is healed." Torrin was hesitant to mention that he could heal it himself, so he said nothing.
But sure enough, Marcus asked, "Say, do you know of anyone who can perform a healing spell? There aren't many on this continent who can."
Filia cleared her throat. "And I'm not one of them?"
Marcus flushed, embarrassed. "Oh um, I guess I could've gone to you, Miss Filia. I didn't think of it at the time."
"Well, then let me see it. You should've thought of it this morning." Filia carefully took his arm out of the sling. "Now, hold still."
A soft glow came from her hand. Marcus felt a warmth spread through his arm, and for a moment felt like it had fallen asleep. He then felt the bone snap into place, without pain, then his skin tingled as the nerves in his arm reawakened. Filia pulled her hand away.
Marcus flexed his arm, opening and closing his fist. "Amazing."
"I never get tired of watching that," Janna said, amazed herself.
"Shall we get going?" Samira suggested. "I'm sure Mr. Gourry is done with his last match by now."
"Sure thing!" agreed Janna. "But lets get something to eat too. I'm starving!"
As they headed towards the next arena, Janna hung back and pulled Torrin aside. "Have you talked to her yet?" she whispered.
"I was thinking about it, until you showed up," Torrin whispered back.
"But you had all day!" Janna said frustratingly. "What about before the semis? Didn't all of you get a break?"
"Lina managed to ruin that for me," Torrin grated.
"How?" Janna asked.
"She…got into a food fight with Jean, and I lost my temper," he admitted with some effort. "I couldn't do it with everyone staring at me."
"Well, you have another chance coming up. I'll tell her you're waiting for her at the dance platforms. You'll have an hour. Don't waste it, okay?" With that, Janna caught up with the rest of the group and started chatting away.
"I'll try," Torrin grumbled to himself.
They found Lina and Gourry at arena twelve celebrating Gourry's latest victory. Apparently, Gourry suffered a small gash from his opponent's mace when it came down a little too hard on his arm. Aside from his injury, Gourry was in high spirits as Lina healed him.
While they set off for the snack stands to wait for the finals to start, Torrin made an excuse to look for Jean (who was still missing) and hurried over to the East gate to wait at the dancing platforms.
The mountains' shadow now kept much of the town in the dark, but the sun was still shining brightly on the East end, fighting a losing battle with the gloomy peaks encroaching upon it. On the other side, deep blue clouds gathered above the Demon Sea, threatening to give the festival goers a good shower later in the evening. Torrin observed them for about fifteen minutes wondering if what he was about to do was the right thing.
He was still thankful for Janna's enthusiasm and support, but after allowing himself too much time to think it over again Torrin was in doubt.
Filia's dress could be seen coming several blocks away even with the sun shining in Torrin's eyes. He watched her for a couple of minutes as he made one last effort to convince himself to take this chance. I'll be spending a lot of time with her the next few months if things go to hell. I need to resolve this now.
Filia rushed up when she finally spotted him. Torrin put on a smile, so to not worry her. "I should start calling you 'Tulip.' That dress is very eye-catching."
Filia smiled back at his compliment. "Mrs. Gillet's beaten you to it. But then, she's been naming all her girls after flowers during the festival. She found it was easier to keep up with all of them."
"So, you're one of her girls now?' Torrin teased.
"I guess so!" replied Filia. Then her smile faltered a little. "What is it you've been wanting to talk to me about?"
"There are…several things, actually." Torrin gently took her hand and led her over to a platform. "First, I wanted to give you the dance I owe you."
"But, you don't owe me one," said Filia as they took their position and began moving around the platform.
"For what I'm about to ask, hopefully it'll make up for my stupidity," said Torrin. "But let me ask you this first. Have you thought about where you would go if things in the monster world suddenly got crazy?"
Filia immediately wanted to grab her pendant, but fought the urge. "No, not lately. Why?"
"I was thinking maybe you can come stay with my clan," Torrin suggested. He had figure this one out a long time ago, but with everything that happened lately he hesitated to mention it.
"I don't know. What about Val?" The idea of Val surrounded by strange dragons made Filia nervous.
Torrin tried to reassured her. "The Dimos do not have anything against Ancient dragons. I know we're not as strong magically, but we have a tough defense and a special magical barrier that's been there since before the Dimos came. Its literally one of the safest places in the world."
Filia looked down, still not sure. There have not been any issues regarding the current power grab going on between monster factions. It felt a little silly at this point to even consider moving. If she ever had another nightmare attack, she doubted moving would even help.
"Have you experienced any losses in your abilities?" Torrin asked, breaking into her thoughts.
She shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of, other than being unable to sense monsters. I didn't have any problems healing Marcus' arm."
"That's pretty good, considering your age," said Torrin. "You need to tell me if anything else happens. If it gets worse, you'll need another dragoness to help. Its not just about monsters, its also about your health."
Filia still did not bother to look up. "I'll think about it. But, what about…Lord Milgazia?"
"I told you I would deal with him when the time comes." Torrin let go of her hand for a moment to nudge her chin up. "Val will be fine," he said gently. "He shouldn't be hidden away from the rest of his kind anyway. As his mother, its your responsibility to give him a healthy view of the world."
Slowly, Filia nodded her head in agreement. "I promised that I would make up for everything my race did to him."
Torrin still thought of it as a burden that was not hers to bear and again did not voice his opinion on the matter. He would deal with that later. "Okay then. And promise me that you will not reveal your condition to Xellos. I don't think he understands what's going on. He probably just thinks you're too used to him to notice his presence half the time."
"Well, he hasn't bothered to ask." Filia never really thought about it, but Xellos did not appear to realize anything was out of the ordinary. "I only failed to sense him twice, and the third time he showed up, I was under attack."
"Good." One less thing to worry about, Torrin thought. "And that pendant will help mask it, so never take it off."
That's what Xellos said. Xellos was not what Filia wanted to dwell on at the moment. The thought of last night crept in, stealing away any enjoyment from her time in Torrin's arms.
Damn him. Filia shut it out. She looked into Torrin's concerning green eyes and felt a tug in her chest. She asked gently, "So, what do you owe me this dance for?"
Now Torrin had to address the final issue at hand. Here we go. He took a deep breath. "I…wanted to ask you…how do you feel about me?"
Filia felt her heart stop for a moment, and she stared at him. "I thought…you said…we couldn't…" She struggled to put a full sentence together but only managed a confused, "Why?"
"I made a mistake," Torrin said plainly. "I want to know if I still have a chance."
Inside her head, Filia could hear herself screaming Yes! However, another voice claiming to be sanity was recounting to her all the reasons why this would not work. She finally answered with what was probably the weakest excuse. "I've never courted before…"
"I wouldn't worry about that," replied Torrin. He could tell she was having trouble collecting her own thoughts and tried to draw them out the best he could. "Don't think about what other dragons do. You're not part of a clan anymore, and I can tell you that dragon courtships aren't always what they're built up to be. You've already shown me you're capable of making your own decisions. I meant it when I said you should be proud of yourself for what you've accomplished."
Relief and happiness slowly sank in for Filia, squashing the 'sane' voice with their weight. "What about you?" she asked.
Torrin lifted her hands up to his neck and encircled his arms around her waist to pull her close. He had been wanting to do this all day. "I think about you all the time. I've been beating myself over the head about you. I've had to endure Janna's relentless curiosity to the point of being convinced I had to ask you for another chance."
Filia flushed madly and was having a hard time not giggling. "Janna always tries to take good care of me. I'll have to thank her for it."
"Just as long as you tell me what you want," Torrin said, smiling.
Filia flushed even more at his comment as she was trying her best not let her thoughts fall into the gutter. Now, Filia, you know better than that, she scolded herself. But one recent memory was taking hold, and she had to put a little distance between her and Torrin before she reduced herself into a laughing fit.
With a huge grin on her face, she let go of Torrin's neck to adjusted herself to a safer dancing distance, but as Filia did so, her hands slid down Torrin's chest.
The motion made Torrin's heart jump, and he silently hoped she did not notice.
Filia was all too aware of what she just did, but it was too late to take it back. A male dragon's chest was sensitive to the touch and can be easily aroused by it. She heard a funny story once about dragons encrusting their front side with treasure they hoarded because they were the most vulnerable there. One part of that story was true, for sure, she thought as she stared at her hands a little too long.
Now. Torrin covered her hands with his before she could pull away, and before he had time for second thoughts he pressed his lips against hers just as she looked up at him.
Out of nowhere came Jean's voice. "Hey! Miss Filia!"
Filia immediately backed away before Jean had them in full view, leaving Torrin a little frustrated.
Jean came up to them with Miranda in tow. He halted when he noticed Torrin. "Oh, are the semis over?"
"Yes," Torrin said keeping his irritation in check. "And where were you this whole time?"
"I was beaten out." Jean grinned nervously.
"But he was very brave about it," Miranda interjected. "He didn't give up, even when he got hurt."
Torrin looked at her curiously. "And you are…?"
"That's Miranda," said Filia. She turned to the girl. "I thought you said you weren't coming?" Miranda squeezed Jean's hand. "I changed my mind," she said blushingly.
Torrin studied them for a moment. The two apparently had made amends. Makes two of us, he thought. He then looked over to the mountains and saw that the sun was now completely hidden behind them. "We better head back."
"Wait," Filia urged, "I need to heal Jean first."
"Aww, but Miss Filia-" Jean started.
"No buts," Filia insisted. "I'm not letting you go home like that. I don't want your mother to worry."
Jean looked over to Miranda who nodded. "She's right. You're mom would have a fit."
"Alright," Jean sighed. He did not want to face the wrath of his mother and aunts, but he was rather proud of his injuries as they were much like his first 'battle scars.'
Filia stooped down to his level. "Just point me where and hold still."
She did his knee and ankle first, then moved to the cut on his cheek, and finally his arm. The arm took a little longer than expected.
"Did you know you had a hairline fracture in your wrist?" Filia asked.
"Um, no." Jean stared at his right arm. "How could you tell?"
"It comes with the ability to heal." Filia stood back up. "Next time, don't hesitate to come to me when you get hurt, okay?"
Jean nodded obediently as he kept staring at his arm. "Wish I could do that myself."
"Most people can do simple spells, if they just apply themselves," said Filia.
"But, how can you tell if someone can do it?" Jean asked.
"There are ways. You might want to ask Miss Lina about it," Filia suggested. "She's one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world."
"That red-haired lady's a powerful sorceress?" Jean exclaimed in disbelief.
"I know, I was surprised myself, but she's the real deal," added Torrin. "But we better get going. You can ask her about it during the finals."
They made their way to some nearby steps. Jean and Miranda went first, followed by Torrin, then Filia last.
Filia took one step down and suddenly felt very dizzy. She latched herself to the railing to keep herself from falling. Her stomach felt queasy, and her whole body shivered and grew cold, as if she lost a great deal of blood.
Torrin turned around in time to see her face pale and double over the railing like she was going to throw up, and he rushed over. "Filia!"
Jean and Miranda then turned around as well and came over to help.
Torrin pulled Filia toward him flopping her over into his arm. With Jean holding her other side, he guided her down the rest of the steps to an empty table at a nearby refreshment stand.
Miranda grabbed one of Filia's hands in a panic. "Miss Filia! Are you okay?"
Filia felt too sick to answer. She plopped onto the bench seat beside Torrin and laid her head down on the table.
"Can you understand what I'm saying Filia?" Torrin asked as calmly as possible. "Move your head if you can."
Filia moved her head up and down.
"What happened?" asked Jean.
"I think she just wore herself out healing you," said Torrin as he stroked Filia's hair.
Miranda started crying and squeezing Filia's limp hand.
Jean put an arm around Miranda in an attempt to calm her and himself. "Miss Filia, you didn't have to do that."
Torrin did not want to explain what was really happening, but seeing the kids upset, he could not leave them totally in the dark. "She's going through…some changes. She's a nursing mother, and it just throws her abilities out of whack, that's all."
"I-Is she…o-okay?" Miranda asked between sobs.
"She'll be okay, as long as she rests for a little while," Torrin reassured. He got up and turned to Jean. "I'll need to tell the others. You two stay here, and don't let her get up until the color comes back to her face."
Torrin took off down the street, leaving Jean and Miranda alone to watch over Filia. Both of them sat down on either side of her to make themselves feel like they were giving Filia some sort of protection.
The ache in Filia's stomach slowly diminished as each minute went by. Warmth returned to her body, and she was able to breathe more easily. She maneuvered her head in her arms to the right so she could see what was going on around her.
Jean was sitting on that side. "You feeling better now, Miss Filia?" he asked when he saw her head move.
"Yes. Thank you, Jean." Filia gave him a weak smile. "I am a little hungry though."
She watched Jean jump up to get something from one of the stands and thoughtfully noted how much he was like Torrin. I'm certainly in good hands tonight.
The dizzy spell had not dampened her spirits. At this point nothing could. All she could think about was the last part of the conversation she had with Torrin on the dancing platform. And the kiss.
It was short, and Filia knew that Torrin did not like the interruption. She saw it all over his face he wanted to continue. It made her happy to see the affect she had on him.
"Um, Miss Filia?" It was Miranda's voice.
Filia lifted her head carefully to look at her. Her face was red from the tears, but she was no longer crying. "What is it, Miranda?"
"What was Mr. Egan doing here with you?" she asked.
"W-we were talking," Filia answered truthfully. "He needed to ask me a few things."
"Oh." Miranda looked in the direction Torrin went then looked back over to Filia and leaned over. "I think he really likes you," she said, almost whispering.
"How can you tell?" Filia asked, feigning innocence.
"He looked so scared when he saw you get sick," Miranda answered.
Filia stared at her for a moment. This was something she never bothered to assess. She understood Torrin had a protective side, but she never wanted to scare him out of his wits.
"Here you go," Jean said hopping back with a plate of bread and cheese. "Its better to eat something simple if you have a tummy ache."
"Thank you, Jean. You're very sweet." Filia swept a hand through his hair affectionately.
Jean blushed a little and grinned. "You sure you don't feel like throwing up anymore?"
"I'm feeling fine. The worst is over," she assured him.
At that point a faint glow came from Filia's pendant. Her stomach dropped.
Jean felt a strange shiver go through his body. "What's that? Its making me tingle!"
Filia clamped the pendant in her fist. "He's here."
Dad loves talking about the times right before he started dating mom. They've seen each other for years ever since they worked at a grocery store together during high school. During his breaks he would get a little bottle of milk and a box of those animal crackers and go stand in her line at the cash register. I remember he said he never got up there because the line was always too long and had to go somewhere else. He always claimed it was because she was very pretty. Later, they went to the same community college, and he said he found it hard to talk to her because she was always surrounded by a bunch of other girls. I don't know how many of you are Harry Potter fans (my dad is), but there was a part in the fourth book that dad always referred to whenever he told me this story where Harry or his friend Ron noted that the girls always seem to travel the halls of Hogwarts in groups. It was before a ball the school was hosting during the Triwizard Tournament, and poor Harry wanted to asked this one popular and pretty asian girl named Cho to the ball, but felt intimidated by her group of friends always hanging around her. Dad said that's how he felt whenever mom walked by with her friends.
Whether you like Valentine's Day or not, remember your loved ones, or take a chance with someone you're crushing on. Love is the most powerful force in the world. I've always loved the fact that there was a day dedicated to love and didn't give a damn about where it originated. Mom and Dad always gave me something, and I always gave my friends something. I've never had a date on Valentine's Day but always knew that I was loved.
To Time Flower: Thank you for your wonderful compliment. I must confess, the only writing experience I've ever had was a couple of writing classes and hanging around this website a lot during my college years. Learned a lot and made some great friends. I hope you and everyone else here continue to feel a real connection to these characters. Its true when they say they become like your children.
I'll leave you with another fun fact: Torrin Ru Egan is Gaelic/Celtic roughly meaning "From the Hills of Fire, or brightness, or splendor." The 'Ru' part is used as a connector, like you see in 'Filia Ul Copt'. So, basically, that makes Torrin a real 'hottie' from the hills.
Couldn't resist. Now go review. ~NB~