~* SLAYERS: FALLEN STARS *~

Sadly my poor immune system took yet another beating last weekend, so I apologize for it being such a jerk. Apparently, I can't take the heat as well as I used to, and I used to go to band practice in 110 degree weather!

WARNING: In case you haven't noticed, this story IS in the mature section, so if you can't take it, its your own fault. Yes, I'm FINALLY getting to some of the lemony stuff. I'm actually new at writing such scenes (partly because I'm seriously not that dirty in real life), so forgive me if some of it seems a little awkward. I'm putting this warning out because I don't want any trouble. Past experiences have taught me to be cautious, and the fact that this is labeled as mature does not necessarily mean I'm home free.

Okay, okay, I know you wanna get on with it, so enjoy!

Chapter 21: Settling In

"I can't believe you couldn't remember where you've seen him before, Filia!" Lina exclaimed, trying her hardest not to move her head as she did.

Samira was sitting on the edge of Amelia's bed brushing her just-dried hair so she could put it in a neat non-ponytail braid, starting at the top of her head. She had already done Alyssa, who was modeling her twin non-ponytail braids in front of Amelia's full length mirror. Amelia herself only had a small braid on the back of her head laying on top of the rest of her short hair. Everyone except Audrey who was just getting off her shift and wanted to join was in their nightgowns or, in Alyssa's case, borrowing one.

Filia was pacing around Amelia's room with a sleepy Val in her arms, her own hair in a loose spiral braid. "I know, I shouldn't have said anything until I was sure. The only thing I recognized was his eyes."

"But there are a lot of people with blue eyes," said Amelia, propping herself up on her bed. "Mr. Gourry has blue eyes too."

"No." Filia shook her head. "Those eyes are nothing like Gourry's. They're just a little too familiar to be mistaken for just anyone's."

At this, Alyssa turned away from the mirror. "I had the same thing happen when I first met him," she remembered fondly. "It was like I knew him, but I knew I've never met him before."

"He's probably just one of those people," Audrey added sitting down at Amelia's vanity.

"Maybe," Filia sighed, unsure. "The way he carried himself and treated everyone didn't strike me, but then if it was someone I only met in passing of course I wouldn't know anything about his character."

Lina studied the intense look on her face for a moment. "The way you burst out suggested otherwise. How could you remember the eyes of a stranger that did not hold any special significance to you?"

"Maybe you could if they were pretty," Amelia smilingly suggested. "Mr. Aldrich's eyes are very blue. I've never seen anything like them."

"They might have been pretty," said Audrey, "but they were nothing compared to Torrin's." A wistful sigh escaped her lips.

"Sounds like you have a crush on him, Audrey," Lina said slyly.

Audrey lifted her chin up but with a smile on her face. "So what if I do?"

"He's a dragon," Lina stated matter-of-factly.

Amelia giggled. "She loves dragons, so of course she would have a crush on him!"

"That's the best part about him," Audrey sighed.

"Yeah, but you're forgetting one thing." Lina pointed to Filia. "He's already taken."

"You know, I don't really care if she has a crush on him," said Filia.

"And its not like its permanent, is it Miss Filia?" Audrey clasped her hands hopefully.

The other girls laughed.

"Well, its not like I'm the only one in here with a major crush!" she accused them.

All of them went quiet. Audrey could see the wheels turning in their heads and knew exactly what they were thinking about. Amelia's face was the one that looked the saddest as she obviously regretted how she treated Zelgadis earlier. Audrey had been in earshot when it happened. Lina's face was wracked with worry, like she did not know what to do with herself when it came to Gourry. Even Filia seemed to have some sort of secret buried deep down, and Audrey hoped she was not hiding something important from Torrin. Alyssa was the most innocent looking of the bunch when it came to crushes. Though Audrey could tell she had some major secrets of her own, the one she was least able to hide was the fact she had fallen for Aldrich, and she did not even know it yet.

Samira was the coolest of the bunch. Nothing to hide there.

"And what about you?" Audrey addressed her. "You've been awfully quiet. Any crushes or boyfriends we should know about."

"No need," Samira said simply. "I'm already married."

"And what does his eyes look like?" she inquired.

"They're a very soft brown." A gentle smile appeared on her lips. "They're the handsomest I've ever seen, especially in the evening. Very romantic."

The other girls stared at her with fascination, except for Audrey, who knew what she was talking about.

Samira laughed. "I think all of you will understand someday," she said as she finished up Lina's braid. "There you go Miss Lina."

"Finally!" Lina jumped out of her seat to look at herself in the mirror.

Alyssa moved out of the way for her and watched with some interest. A few seconds later she blurted out, "I think Mr. Gourry will love it."

Lina's face turned almost as red as her hair. "W-who said anything about Gourry?"

"Well, I thought that you and-"

"We've been friends for years!" she quickly waved Alyssa off. "He wouldn't notice a little thing like this."

"Oh, so you were hoping he would notice?" Audrey teased. Amelia covered her mouth with her comforter to keep from bursting out laughing at her comment.

Lina glared. "That's not what I meant!"

"Sure, whatever you say," said Audrey as she casually got up from her stool. The rest of the girls giggled.

Val yawned softly as his eyes finally closed, cuing Filia to take him to bed. "Okay everyone, I gotta go."

"Are you coming back? Can I help?" Audrey asked longingly.

"I don't know," Filia replied thoughtfully. "I might be going to bed afterwards, but if you want, come by a little later and ask."

"Okay." The handmaid tenderly petted the little black wings on the hatchling's back. "Good night sweetie." The wings stretched in response, and Audrey bit back a squeal.

Filia walked out into the hall as she listened to the girls start talking about babies. Lina's voice was the loudest, declaring she was not even bothering thinking about babies yet. At this, Filia smiled to herself and shook her head because she knew Lina had been watching her and Val very closely ever since she arrived at Filia's shop.

The dragoness kissed the angelic looking Val on the forehead. "I think she likes you, hon."

The boys were spending the remainder of their evening in the royal library sharing stories and browsing through. Jean nearly fainted when he saw the size of it. Never in his life did he imagine that so many books could have existed, let alone be kept in one place. All the bookshops and libraries at home combined simply could not compare. He begged for a more detailed tour, and since Amelia was busy catching up, Zelgadis willingly stepped up to help. Alyssa had been interested as well, but it was obvious to Zelgadis she also wanted to get to know the other girls better and offered to show her the ropes the next day.

The first book he took out for Jean to read was the first volume of a series that had one of the most accurate detailed accounts of the history of the peninsula which had some interesting bits on the magical history as well. It was one of the many books Zelgadis planned on introducing to Alyssa as well but for slightly different reasons.

As Jean sat at a table thumbing through it, looking at the old maps (he was very interested in maps and loved to compare them), Zelgadis was enjoying some lively conversation with Torrin, taking his mind off of the fight he had with Amelia earlier. It was a nice change from struggling with a dense Gourry, though Gourry was still good company nonetheless. Pokota had challenged the blonde swordsman to a game of chess despite Zelgadis' warning. He soon found out why the chimera would never play with Gourry: Though is brain was made of jelly, like his sword skills he was hard to beat in a game that taught strategies much like one would use on a battlefield.

After each critical move Gourry made, Pokota would glare at Zelgadis as if it was all his fault. Zelgadis would simply smile and continue talking to Torrin.

After mentioning what had to be the hundredth time that day how much he did not like Aldrich, the conversation steered toward relationships and in particular Torrin and Filia's. Zelgadis himself had a bit of a protective streak, mostly directed towards those he knew and found very trustworthy, so naturally he had a few questions to ask before he felt he could trust him. The vibe he received from the dragon was very different from what he felt whenever he saw Aldrich, but he had to ask anyway just in case as being a dragon did not automatically let anyone off the hook. Filia would have agreed. Torrin took his questions in stride until he was quite satisfied.

Jean was off in his corner of the table listening intently to the last part of their conversation and had a random thought. "Say, what do you think those girls are talking about?" he wondered aloud.

"Why do you ask?" Zelgadis replied.

Jean shrugged. "I'm just curious. I asked Miranda once, but she never gave me a clear answer."

Zelgadis turned to Torrin. "Who's Miranda?"

"His girlfriend back home." Torrin smiled surreptitiously as he said it.

The chimera smiled back and looked over to Jean. "They're probably talking about us."

"Why?" Jean asked.

"Don't you have a bunch of aunts and cousins to talk to back home?" Torrin asked in turn.

"Yeah," Jean huffed. "But they only talk to me about chores, my manners, and school. And why would they talk about guys if most of them are already married?"

"There's not a requirement to be single," Torrin said, speaking from great eavesdropping experience. Married dragonesses were no exception.

The look that Zelgadis gave said he had heard his fair share of gossip from married women. "However," he chimera added, "With this bunch, I'm not sure if they would be willing to admit anything."

Jean wrinkled his nose at him. "Admit what?"

Before either could respond Pokota cried out in frustration. "Argh! I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!"

Gourry had put Pokota's king into a checkmate.

"Problem?" Zelgadis asked with a smirk.

"No problem," Gourry said, thinking the chimera was talking to him. "Anyone else wanna play?"

Pokota did not say anything. Both Zelgadis and Torrin watched him jump out of his seat and go over to Jean's end of the table to find something to read in the stack of books that stood in front of the boy. He was about to pull the top book off the pile when he noticed them staring. "What?"

"Your mood swings are more erratic than usual," said Zelgadis.

"Shut up," Pokota snapped before taking off with a book.

"He's definitely more sensitive than he used to be too," Zelgadis muttered to Torrin.

"Especially when it concerns you," Torrin replied.

Zelgadis crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Yeah, we didn't exactly start off on the right foot."

"I know, Lina told me." Torrin tried not to laugh as he said it. In the distance, a bell tolled the hour of the night, and he got up. "I think I'll turn in." He walked past Jean who had is head buried in his book again and lightly ruffled his hair. "Don't stay up too late and strain your eyes."

"'Kay," Jean mumbled absently.

Zelgadis asked from behind, "By the way, any chance we can spar later after the celebration?"

Torrin turned around. "Well, Gourry and I have a routine of sorts already, but you're welcome to join us."

He nodded. "Just tell me when, and I will."

The dragon returned the nod and walked out of the library with the echo of Gourry's voice bouncing off the shelves and walls talking to Zelgadis about his version of the festival tournament, and it reminded him of something. I'll go see Filia first, he decided.

Filia heard a soft knock on the door and went over to open it thinking it was one of the girls coming to ask her to rejoin them. Instead it was Torrin still in his robes, indicating he had not yet begun to get ready for bed. Filia shrank back behind the door as she felt rather exposed in her nightgown.

Torrin smiled at her shyness. "May I come in?"

"U-uh…s-sure," she stuttered, blushing. "Let me…let me get something on."

Torrin pushed the door a little further. "It doesn't matter to me what you wear."

"But still…" Filia halfheartedly pushed back.

Torrin pushed the door further. "Then maybe I can help?" He teased, sneaking a hand around to her waist and hugging her against the door.

"That was one time," Filia said holding up a finger.

Torrin slipped in and closed the door, then pulled her into a kiss before she could protest anymore. For a full minute he held her feeling the curves of her back through the thin fabric of her nightgown and thought of the other day when she had shown it to him, wishing he had seen more.

This was not the reason he was here tonight. He broke away reluctantly before his imagination ran away with him, but he went ahead and let one of his hands slide down to her bottom to get a reaction from her.

Filia slapped his hand away. "Don't," she said trying to be serious.

Torrin gave her a small kiss. "Sorry, Tulip."

"Don't start anything. I just put Val to sleep," she reprimanded right before she heard Val fuss in his crib. She hurried over to him to find he had thrown his blanket aside and sat up to look for her. "Oh dear." Filia picked him up and rocked him against her chest.

Torrin came over. "What's the matter?"

"I think he just had a nightmare," she said worriedly.

He patted Val on the back gently right under his wings, and the hatchling turned his tear-filled eyes toward Torrin and reached out in recognition of a protective figure. "He usually doesn't take to me so easily," Torrin noted.

"He knows you're a dragon and that you're safe. That's all that really matters to him at the moment," said Filia.

Torrin stepped closer and held them both in his arms. "Do you think it was because of the monsters that attacked us the other night?" he asked.

"Most likely." Filia laid herself back on his chest, thankful for his presence. She honestly did not want to be alone with a scared little hatchling.

Val calmed down quickly after seeing Torrin but had a look on his little face that said 'Don't go.' His small hand grabbed a piece of Torrin's robe and made a fist as he held it as tightly as he could. He laid his head down on Filia's shoulder with a small whimper.

"I'm not going anywhere," Torrin assured him, and Filia held onto Torrin's arm in appreciation.

He responded with a kiss beside her ear. There was something he wanted to say but was hesitant because it had been a long time since he had honestly expressed such a sentiment. "Did I ever tell you… how… beautiful you look?" he said awkwardly.

Torrin was unable to get the memory of her clinging to her dress covering her chest out of his head. Torrin always thought she was pretty, but in that moment she was the picture of femininity and the hope of something that had been missing in his life, and he preferred that image of her above many other dragonesses who had already shared themselves freely with him but with no promises of a future .

Filia had turned around when he said it and saw that his eyes had a very gentle look. It made her feel very happy. "Even now?"

"Especially now." To make his point Torrin kissed her lightly on the lips.

Val began making tired noises, and his grip on Torrin's robe was loosening. Filia wrapped his blanket around him and carefully sat him down again.

In the middle of this Torrin spoke. "I need to talk to you."

The very somber tone made Filia's back stiffen, but she managed a calm face as she turned around. "Talk about what?"

"About why I turned you down at first," he said.

Filia relaxed. "I understand why. It was because of Milgazia's request."

"Actually," Torrin slowly pulled her to him, "It's…a more personal reason."

Never had Filia seen him so worried about something that was not threatening her life. "You can tell me," she reassured him, bushing his right cheek.

He took a deep breath. "Remember…when I told you that dragon courtships aren't always what they're built up to be?"

Filia lightly nodded.

"That was not just a casual observation," Torrin said. "I went through the courtship myself twice. The first time was not of my choosing, and the second time I fell in love."

She sensed the sadness he felt as uttered the last word. "What happened?" Filia asked.

"She…convinced me to break one of the rules, thinking we would be together eventually anyway once she convinced her parents, then she…" he took another deep breath, "…backed out."

"Convince her parents?" Filia repeated. "The only thing they would have a say in is if you were wanting to make a formal commit-…oh…"

The realization of what he just said came over her, making her very aware of his arms wrapped tightly around her like he was afraid she might run away. She had been suspecting it for a while, but to hear him say it made her feel both relieved and nervous. However, finding out the manner in which he had his own first experience made her heart ache for him as she believed he did not deserve to be treated as such.

Filia laid her forehead against his chest. "I'm sorry," she said sorrowfully.

Torrin gave out a thankful sigh, and gave her a small squeeze. "Don't be. I was not much older than you, and I just wasn't thinking straight." He lifted her head up and managed a smile. "I'm sure you understand how little boys can get when they're tempted by a pretty girl."

"But it must have been hard carrying that around with you all this time," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his forehead down to hers. "Is that the only reason why?"

Reflexively he said, "No," before he could stop himself. Torrin was not quite ready to tell her everything, but he could not take his answer back now. Deliberately, he continued, "There were other dragonesses, but…I did not…go through anything…formal…with them. I'm not very proud of it, and if you think less of me because of it, I understand." He quickly finished his last sentence.

Filia could hear the nerves shake his voice as he confessed, and a small bit of guilt rose up in her chest. He was doing his best to be honest with something he was ashamed of, and she could not bring herself to tell him what really happened with Xellos during the festival, even though it was not her fault.

She opened her mouth again as she tried to say something but instead gave Torrin a kiss. Samira's advice was echoing loudly in her head as she said, breaking away, "Thank you for being honest with me."

At one of the city's inns, Dark Star laid on his bed in his room, stripped to nothing but his pants with his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling as he waited. The only light came from the moon poking through the window curtains making odd shadows on the walls, and nothing but the faint whisper of voices coming from the lower floors and the street filled his ears as he thought over the days events.

He never thought he would meet the dragoness in person so soon after the monsters' failed attempt to capture her, but he quickly figured that it would work far better to his advantage. She only vaguely recognized him and by keeping to his 'Aldrich' character she quickly began second guessing herself and apologized profusely. Dark Star was immensely pleased with himself for pulling it off so well that the dragoness even went into detail about how she met the princess.

The chimera had kept a respectful distance during the brief visit before, keeping his promise not to directly interfere with whom the girls associated with. The rest of the princess' friends received him warmly as he had hoped. Alyssa was her usual cute self while hiding the familiar swirl of emotions inside. As for Lina Inverse…the legends of her fireball attitude did not do her justice, and he had yet to even see her in action.

In the middle of the visit, Dark Star managed to pull Alyssa aside while the chimera was not looking and invited her on an outing to the market tomorrow and to bring anyone that was interested with her. He did not want it to look like he was luring her away, and if anything, bringing more people along could give him a chance to talk with her more without much suspicion. If all goes well, he could soon have her do whatever he wished, including falling in love with him if he wanted. As he told himself before, Alyssa was not an idiot, but there were ways to get to the heart of even the most intelligent people, especially with fear.

A familiar vibe of energy manifested on the bed beside him and felt smooth cold fingers run across his chest.

"Good evening, my Lord," Edina's voice rang softly like a small bell.

He looked over at her. She had taken her hair down, letting it pour around her shoulders and back, and had changed her clothing to what looked like a simple flowing black robe with long puffed sleeves. Her leg peeked out and rubbed against the inside of his, revealing her lacey black underwear.

"Dear Edina." Dark Star took her hand and kissed it. "Where have you been?"

"Working," she said in his ear. "I have the other lieutenants in charge of terrorizing some villages as I speak. In a few days, the rumors will start spreading throughout the countries, keeping the local heroes busy."

"Remember, they must not appear too organized," said Dark Star. "We don't want them to get too scared just yet."

"I made sure they got the message." Edina's fingers went down to his stomach in slow circular motions. "Lord Dynast has given me a bit of his power tonight."

"Good," he said, sounding very satisfied. "I should reward you."

Edina lifted herself up and straddled Dark Star's hips. "Do you have anything particular in mind?" she asked while playing with the top button of his pants.

"I'm thinking about it. There are a couple more things we need to do before we can sit back and watch the fun unfold," said Dark Star. "Even then, we will have to be careful."

Edina smiled at him as she undid three of his buttons and trace small patterns on the exposed skin. "That's understandable."

She felt him respond to her touch between her thighs, so she let her hand move further down inside to encourage him.

Dark Star grabbed her arm. "Not…tonight," he said, stifling a moan.

Slowly Edina took her hand back out. "Are you sure?" she asked sweetly. "It feels like you have a lot of built up tension."

"I'm really tired. Living in a human body full time has its drawbacks, so I'm afraid I would only disappoint you." There was teasing in Dark Star's voice, but he was honestly exhausted.

"You're just being modest," Edina giggled. "Perhaps, this will help."

She untied the top of her robe and opened it, letting it fall fluidly off her shoulders to reveal all her bare curves and nicely rounded chest in the pale light of the room. With a look of longing, Edina led his hands up her stomach to cup her breasts and for the sake of indulging her, Dark Star began massaging them.

Edina kept her hands on top of his mimicking their motions, feeling every muscle in his strong fingers. Her eyes fluttered closed as her breathing grew harsh from the stimulation, enjoying it immensely. She had perfected this and many other human reactions a long time ago to the point where she did not even have to think about it anymore, which was quite an accomplishment for a monster of low status.

Since not as much effort was put into creating someone like her, it made it far more difficult for her physical body to respond naturally like a human, but even without all the hard work Edina had put into this useful skill, it was not impossible to arouse a low monster through touch. Her obsession in exploring this ability had drawn much criticism from more powerful monsters who, ironically enough, possessed more detailed human forms with much better responsive systems that what she started out with. Sometimes Edina wondered if they were just jealous of her achievement, or threatened by it.

Edina let out a few soft moans as she opened her eyes. "M-my Lord." Her body was begging for some sort of release. Her hands went back down to his half-opened pants. "Please…"

Dark Star let his hands fall from her breasts to catch her hands. "I said not tonight," he scolded but without any sense of authority in his voice.

Edina pouted mockingly as she laid herself down on his bare chest and let her lips hover above his. "You're just a big tease, aren't you?"

Dark Star traced her spine with a single finger up to her neck, then spread all of his fingers into her hair, pressing down on her head to catch her mouth in a deep kiss. He let of her after a long moment. "I guess I am."

She gave him a couple light kisses in turn. "C'mon, please?" Edina begged again as her human body had not quite settled down yet. "I could even put on a little show for you."

"You're persistent," he said as he teased her back some more.

"I had a busy day, and I wanted to do something fun." Edina came down to his neck to leave a few kisses there. "I had an interesting conversation with Xellos this afternoon while he was watching his pet dragon."

"You mean Filia?" Dark Star asked, uttering the dragonesses name for the first time.

"Uhuh." She laid one more kiss. "He follows her around like a puppy."

Interesting, he thought. "Did you tell him everything?"

"Only what I had to tell him. He'll easily figure out the rest." She lifted her head up. "Xellos had the nerve to call me your official bed warmer!"

Dark Star simply smiled. "Really?"

"And he insulted Lord Hellmaster!" she quickly added. "How could he possibly contradict himself by putting down one of the masterminds behind the War of the Monster's Fall, a war he thoroughly took pleasure in?"

He found her indignation amusing, but there was an underlying tone of admiration that really interested him. "You'd still sleep with him, wouldn't you?"

Edina squirmed a little. "Depends on the situation," she admitted. "He knows me too well to fall for anything I can throw at him, though. I've tried it already. Such a shame. I'm sure he has plenty of secrets that would be very useful to us."

"Then just keep following him for now." Dark Star yawned, feeling his eyelids grow very heavy. "Dear Edina, I'm afraid I have to cut your visit short," he said as he brushed her hair with his fingers.

"As you wish," Edina sighed disappointedly. She gave him one last kiss. "Goodnight, my Lord."

"Goodnight, Edina. Don't forget the market tomorrow," he reminded her.

Without another word, Edina phased out of the room. With everything going as planned and nothing more to think about, Dark Star allowed his eyes to finally close and his mind relax.

Some of you may have been wondering where all the Xellos/Filia stuff is. All I have to say is, patience, grasshopper, patience. You will soon be rewarded a hundred fold. Hopefully, the constant expansion of new chapters will not delay it too much later.

I seriously feel this chapter was a little off for me, but that could have been the ill me talking this week. So, if you have something to point out, or just wanna say hi, leave a review. ~NB~