Episode 037: Emotions! Beating Hearts
Xellos was quite displeased with the revelation of him being an empath. "This annoyance isn't just because I'm stuck as a human. It's because I'm an empathic human, meaning I have it worse than most. I wonder what other diseases I'll discover as time goes by."
"It's not a disease!" Filia insisted. "What you call an annoyance is a wonderful ability. You'll be able to understand so much!"
"Right now the only thing I want to understand is how to get cured," Xellos let the words flow out without thinking of them. Tired humans were certainly stupid; they had a great knack for saying what they didn't want to say. He missed having the well rested clear head of a monster who didn't have to worry about the effects of exhaustion like a human did.
"Do you have any clues?" Filia questioned with interest. It probably wouldn't be long before Lina started asking about it. But that would probably come when the battles started to bother her and the easy cash stopped being easy.
"Yes," Xellos admitted cautiously. He would sound stupid if he lied and said no, but admitting that he did have a clue also meant that Filia would want to hear it.
"Well?" Filia prompted after Xellos remained silent following his single syllable response.
"Well what?" He gave her an innocent look and grinned, much like he used to do before.
Filia was too tired to snap, thus she stretched her patience to conserve energy. "What clues about your cure have you found so far?"
"Only rumors," Xellos made another long pause, while Filia stared at him expectantly. He considered waiting for another verbal prompt from her, but instead got a more amusing idea. "One of the rumors is that I should eat the heart of a golden dragon." If it was taken as a metaphor, a very odd metaphor, then it was in a strange sense true.
"You're lying," Filia accused unsure. "You are lying, aren't you?"
"I might be inclined to test that theory if worse comes to worse," Xellos gave Filia a teasing grin, feeling a little more comfortable now that he was in the familiar territory of trying to get on her nerves.
Remembering that Xellos was currently lacking in the power department, Filia gave him a stubborn and triumphant look. "How would you manage? You can't kill me."
"That's what servants are for," Xellos retorted.
It took Filia a moment to realize who he meant. "Your bodyguard?" She paused and mused over it. "This is Lina Inverse we're talking about, she's greedy but... I don't think she would go as far as turning against me."
"I suppose I could just send her off to slay some other golden dragon," Xellos conceded. "That's where her favorite spell got its name after all. It would be good if she got to use it properly."
Filia didn't like where the conversation was going. Slaying some stranger for money, yeah, Lina would do that. At least Filia knew that she, Tiffany and Phythan were safe from Lina's rage, or at least she liked to think they were. Either way, she still didn't like the idea of Xellos eating a dragon's heart. "What other clues do you have?"
"Love," he stated boldly.
Filia couldn't help it but to gasp. "Love," she repeated. "A cure like in a fairy tale? Falling in love breaks the curse? Or maybe..."
Xellos knew that Filia was close to theorizing about a loving kiss and he didn't want that theory to reach her so soon. It might seriously mess things up in the long run. Instead he grinned seductively and clarified, "making love with a golden dragon, in human form that is."
Filia's face immediately turned crimson as the images of the accidental fan service she got from Xellos resurfaced in her mind without her consent. "Now I know you're lying! Those are not real clues!"
"And if it was true?" Xellos proposed the possibility, his eyes unblinking on Filia's.
"Ah... that's... impossible..." Filia stuttered, unable to look away. "I'm tired; I'm going to sleep... now."
"Running away?" He leaned forward and she leaned back.
"No," Filia further backed away on the couch as if being pushed back by an invisible force.
"It sure looks that way," Xellos kept on leaning forward until he saw Filia's head touch the soft surface of the couch. "Then you're staying?"
Filia tried to register her surroundings. She was on her couch, in her living room. That much made some sense, what didn't have a shred of logic in it was the fact that Xellos was on top of her. How did he get there anyway? It's not like he could teleport as things stood. "Sleep, just go to sleep and quit keeping me awake already! You're a terrible house guest!" Trying to argue with Xellos was the only method Filia could come up with to inject a tiny amount of logic into the situation.
"Okay," Xellos face was so close to Filia's she could feel his breathing. Then he surprisingly released her from the lock his eyes had on hers and laid his head down. "Good night, Filia."
"Night..." Filia pushed the words out, only managing the latter half of the phrase. She tried to take deep breaths and calm down, but the task of being calm was difficult since Xellos was still on top of her. Her hand slowly reached over and she ran her fingers through his hair while she fought with herself to react in a less welcoming way. Then finally she did, "get off you pervert!" Her voice came with less anger than she had hoped but the little shove she gave Xellos was enough to make him lift his head off her.
"Pervert?" He repeated the accusation in perplexity. "I wasn't the one who got a full view of fan service." He reminded, knowing it would embarrass her more than anything.
Again the images of the fan service she had received assaulted Filia. The pictures in her head were far too clear, too detailed. She didn't even know how she managed to take in everything in the short time it took her to react and get herself out of there. "You... touched my chest." She protested weakly, as if her will just wasn't in it.
"My hands are here," Xellos massaged Filia's shoulders to remind her in a rather tactile way of where his hands were currently positioned.
"With your head," Filia pointed out. "I never said you could do that."
"I see, how rude of me not to ask," Xellos mocked. "Body, it looks like your consent isn't enough to get you what you want, you'll have to convince Mind first. Good luck with that, I know that Mind is very stubborn and hardly ever agrees with you, Body."
"Stop talking to my mind and body as if they were too separate entities!" Filia snapped in annoyance. What really bothered her was probably the fact that he had a point, not that she would ever admit it.
"As much as I hate to admit it," and he really hated to admit it. "We both know that if you wanted me to get off you, you could have thrown me clear across the room, or even out the window and across town, without much effort."
Filia opened her mouth to protest then closed it again. He had her there, being a dragon, Filia was strong. The weight of a human man was nothing to her and she had picked up and carried Xellos before just as easily as she would carry a feather. She sat up, pushing Xellos to do the same. "I forgot," she was only half lying. She had not forgotten the fact that given the current circumstances, she held the greater power; she had just forgotten that she wanted to fight back, because maybe for a while she didn't want to.
Filia's opportunity to just get up and walk back to her room came and went quickly. Xellos wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on the couch on the opposite side this time. "If you want to be on top that badly, I suppose I can humor you. Comfortable?"
Filia slightly pushed herself up and looked at Xellos, her golden hair cascading like a curtain around their faces. "It's too crowded in my room and you can't sleep with the noise of snoring in the guys' room." She tried to find some sort of excuse for the arrangement and realized that everything she came up with severely lacked in the logic department. It's not like she couldn't go sleep on the couch opposite to that one on the other side of the living room with the coffee table and some false conclusion repelling distance between them. Then again, this was her house, her living room, her couch, why should she move? Yet Xellos was too stubborn to move. The argument would end in nothing, so they might as well share, forget if it was reasonable or not, it was possible, it was happening.
Then the sound of a continuous rhythm cut into Filia's thoughts. It was strangely comforting. Xellos had somehow gotten her to lay her head down while she was lost in thought, one of his hands now caressing her hair, the other arm around her waist. She closed her eyes to curiously hear the sound that was somewhat fast, but not in an agitated way, it was calm and content, yet energetic. A heartbeat? Of course, it was a heartbeat, no human could live without one and that heartbeat's rhythm was not within Xellos' control in his current state. Filia was almost hypnotized by the continuous sound, focusing on it and allowing herself to relax until she drifted off to sleep.
xoxox xox xoxox
Filia was woken up the next day by the sound of someone tearing her kitchen apart. She stretched on what she thought was her bed and wondered why the atmosphere was so loud. She tried to get a few more precious seconds of sleep, but found it impossible as dreamland faded away to make her senses clear. Then she realized that she wasn't on her bed and she wasn't alone. She jumped several feet in the air, landing in a perfect standing position next to Xellos. He grinned in amusement, "nice jump," then got up in a much more normal way.
Mortified at the possibility that someone had seen her cuddling Xellos in her sleep, Filia rushed to the source of the sound coming from the kitchen. Her embarrassment faded into anger as she saw Lina tearing through her icebox and cabinets. As expected, everyone slept in and it was already mid day. In the middle of the war that was just getting started in the kitchen, Jillas popped his head into the war zone and insistently requested, "can you keep it down, I'm trying to talk to someone."
The person, or rather people, whom Jillas was attempting to converse with were revealed when a small fox boy curiously wondered into the kitchen. "Are they your friends, uncle?"
Jillas took a moment to study their wild behavior and recall their past encounter, but in the end he sighed hopelessly and replied with a simple, "something like that."
"I found pancake batter!" Gourry victoriously announced, before Lina snatched it away.
Realizing that she couldn't eat it as it was, Lina looked at Filia with pleading eyes. "I want pancakes!" She held out the ingredient. "Please Filia, I'm too hungry to make them myself, besides, I'm a guest here and this is your kitchen."
"Exactly!" Filia blew up, though thankfully it was only metaphorically, "it's my kitchen and you're tearing it apart!"
A fox woman with fur the same light blond color as the young boy now stood at the kitchen door along with her son and dear friend. She smiled sweetly and laughed cutely, "your friends are so energetic." She then proceeded to make an offer no one could refuse, "how would you like to come have a meal at my house?"
"Yes!" Lina immediately agreed, she glanced at Filia with a big grin, "now that's hospitality."
Jilla's jaw dropped as he looked back and forth between Lina and the fox woman. "Elena, are you sure? I thought you only made enough for Palou, you and me."
"I could always cook more," Elena assured.
"Elena and Palou," Lina moved forward, shaking Elena's hand. "It's nice to be formally introduced, I think I've seen you before, but I might have been in a rush at the time. Anyway, I appreciate your invitation, lead the way!"
"We're having a lot of friends over for lunch," Palou cheered, "this is great!"
"You got it kid," Lina patted the boy's head in a big sister fashion, "you can have us for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time as often as you want!" Palou looked happy with Lina's statement, proving that he was an optimistic child too young to know what ultimate doom was, even if it was right in front of him.
xoxox xox xoxox
The entire group, consisting of Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis, Filia, Xellos, Naga, Gravos and Jillas went off to the new home of Elena and Palou. There they piled around the table as well as they could, elbow with elbow trying to fit. Elena served the food she had prepared and immediately got ready to make some more. Feeling guilty at the invasion, Filia and Amelia offered to help at the kitchen, while Gravos and Jillas were the waiters and took care of washing the pots, pans and kitchen utensils. Gourry tried to help too, but after his third broken dish, Elena politely insisted that he should just sit down and enjoy his meal, to which he gladly agreed.
While they cooked and ate, trying to stop Lina from chewing up the table cloth, they talked about the first time Elena came to town. She had left the countryside along with her son, after running into a bad harvest that forced her to sell the lands. "Palou and I were just passing through town, we didn't know if we would move here or not. We went into the Vases and Maces shop out of curiosity and were surprised to find Jillas there. After I told him the story, he helped me pick out a house in town and even went out of his way to help furnish it. Jillas and Gravos have been very kind to us, they've also spoken very highly of you, Filia. I couldn't wait to meet you."
"Wow, it looks like a lot has happened while I was away," Filia observed. "It's good to meet you too, Elena, I can tell Jillas is very fond of you and Palou. If you ever need anything, you can count on me too."
"Thank you," Elena smiled. Filia wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she thought she saw a faint blush through Elena's pale fur when she mentioned Jillas was fond of her. The fox lady sighed in a motherly fashion as she glanced at her son, chatting animatedly with everyone at the table. There was only a counter between the dinning area and kitchen, thus the brunch guests were easy to see and hear from the small kitchen. "I'm so glad Palou was able to adapt to living in a new town. He was sad after we left the farm; it was the last thing we had left of his father. But when he saw Jillas he cheered up almost instantly."
"Palou's father..." Filia couldn't help it but to wonder about him. She immediately stiffened and wished she could take the words back. She didn't want to put Elena in an uncomfortable position.
Noticing Filia's reaction, Elena tried to reassure her with a smile. "He passed away many years ago when bandits attacked us. He managed to drive them away and kept Palou and me safe, but his injuries were grave. I mourned him for a long time as calmly as I could, so as to not make Palou sad. Many years have passed, Palou was just a baby when it happened. I think what's best is to go on with life and make the best of it."
"I agree," Filia voiced with admiration. "You must have a strong will to have managed the farm on your own, and even after you had to leave it, you stayed strong for your son." Filia smiled with some of Elena's contagious cheer. "Like I said, if you need anything, please let me know. As far as I'm concern, you and Palou are part of our little family." Filia had an unusual family, she mused, Gravos, Jillas, Val, none of them were everyday beings.
Amelia's eyes shone with admiration. "You're a truly amazing person, Elena, you can count on me too!"
"It's good to know I have someone to count on, thank you both." Elena set another dish on the counter, this time lasagna, which was swiftly taken to the table and devoured just like the barbecue ribs before it.
Filia sighed with grim discomfort, "I feel bad about how everyone is consuming a month's supply of food in just one meal that started out as breakfast and turned into lunch."
"Don't worry about it, I love to cook and have thought about starting a restaurant in this town. I always wanted to have my own restaurant," Elena confessed. "At least this way I could get some recommendations."
"I know I would definitely recommend your cooking!" Amelia happily exclaimed. Though she and Filia were helping cook, they did have time to eat a little too.
"I agree, you're cooking skills are amazing," Filia added. Thus the lunch went by pleasantly without any major incidents.
After everyone was full, or at least satisfied, Xellos approached Lina with a request, while the group was caught up in pleasant small talk. "I think it's time to discuss some business with you, if you don't mind accompanying me for a while."
"Business?" Lina's thoughts were occupied only with the sweet memories of the delicious recent meal so it took her a moment to realize what Xellos was talking about. Then the notion came to her, of course, she was his bodyguard. Where could Xellos be planning to go that he would need to be guarded? "Oh, that business, what about it?"
"There's just some matters I need to take care of in the outskirts of town. It won't take too long," at least Xellos hoped it wouldn't.
"Right, I guess it is sort of my job. You should at least tell me what I'm up against before it becomes obvious." Lina inquired, giving Xellos an urgent look that reminded him that if his bodyguard fell in combat, he would be virtually helpless.
"It's nothing difficult or dangerous," Xellos assured as he got up from his seat, thus getting a few glances from the group. "It's been a wonderful meal, but I must go tend to some business now."
"Aw, you're leaving so soon, Xellos?" Palou seemed to have taken a liking to Xellos. Then again, the fox boy took a liking to the entire group quite easily. Needless to say, he wasn't picky.
"I just have a few things to do, but I'll be in town for a while." Xellos ruffled the boy's headfur, with his usual cheery grin, which Palou returned.
"Time for me to get to work too," Lina stretched as she stood up. "That was an awesome meal, I can't say it enough. See you later guys!"
"I'm happy you both enjoyed your time here, drop by again soon." Hearing Elena's words, the group concluded that she was simply too nice and Jillas made a silent vow to protect her from any trouble that being too compliant with Lina Inverse could get her into.
"Do you need help with the business?" Gourry inquired curiously.
"Do we?" Lina gave Xellos another suspicious look.
"No further assistance is needed, but I have nothing against any additional presence," Xellos calmly replied. He didn't voice it, but the exception to that was Filia, he had his reasons for not wanting her along. For the same pride related reasons, Xellos would prefer to have as few witnesses as possible while he carried out his business, but saying that would just make the group curious. Thankfully, Filia was feeling too guilty about the remaining mountain of dishes and eating utensils that still needed to be washed to go anywhere.
To be Continued