Episode 038: Enigma! The Unanswered Question
At Elena's house at Filia's home town, Lina and Xellos were just about to leave to tend to some business that she still wasn't fully certain about. Lina shrugged; maybe she was blowing this mysterious business out of proportion. Maybe Xellos just needed some fresh air, or he wanted to look around town or investigate something or other. Maybe he was just being careful by asking her to tag along. "You guys should stay here," she then gave Gourry an 'I know you' look. "That goes for you too Gourry, I'm sure you'll have fun playing soccer with Palou as soon as you're done digesting."
"Okay!" Gourry smiled happily with a similar reaction from Palou. Thus, Lina and Xellos left the group crowding at Elena's small home and exited to the town street.
Outside, Xellos led the way down the main street, towards the edge of town. "You said you needed to go to the outskirts of town. What's there, a clue for your cure maybe? We haven't really talked about that."
"You don't need to worry about it; I'm conducting my own investigation constantly. Leave the cure to me." Xellos assured with a hint in his voice that he wanted to stop discussing the topic. Before Lina could further comment about the cure and its apparent research that she had not noticed he was doing, Xellos went on to the next topic, the most immediate matter at hand. "The reason why I need you to come with me just outside of town is something that will make your job easier in the future." He could hardly believe he was actually asking for this, but it could really be a necessity for survival next time. He didn't want to fully depend on the protection of his bodyguard all the time.
"If it'll make my job easier, then I'm all up for it!" Not surprisingly, Lina was all too eager to make her reward even easier to obtain. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"I need to train in the use of magic," Xellos revealed as Lina's face indicated she made the connection. If Xellos could defend himself, then he wouldn't need to play the bodyguard card quite as often in the future. "My monster magic is no longer with me, but I'm sure I'm able to cast spells, I just need a little training on how to focus my energy in this form."
"Alright!" Lina cheered as they reached a wide open area just outside of town. There was plenty of space to practice there. "You got yourself a magic teacher, but don't expect me to go easy on you. If you want a passing grade, you'll have to earn it!"
"I expect as much." Xellos had his cheerful grin that he often showed as a monster. He was starting to get better at controlling his expressions though his face still acted on its own now and then, especially around Filia.
xoxox xox xoxox
Later, Gravos returned to the Vases and Maces shop for a late opening. He assured Filia that nothing like this happened while she was away and that today had been an exception. Filia was inclined to believe it and let it pass. She was the official shop manager and she had not done anything to get it open on time that day either. Naga was eager to help play shop keeper, maybe too eager, but Filia let her be. If having beastmen around the shop didn't bother her customers, they wouldn't mind a scantily clad human.
Leaving Gravos in charge of the shop while Jillas got the day off to help Elena entertain her guests, Filia had gone to the market. She would need to have a lot of food available if she was going to survive being what Lina would define as a decent host, though she could never explain why she felt so compelled to try. She also still felt bad about Lina and company consuming Elena's food supplies, especially since she was planning to start a business in a town that she was still new at. Filia remember how difficult it was to first establish her shop and it would have made it harder if her raw materials were taken away before she could even truly start.
While shopping for herself and secretly shopping for Elena, Filia ran into one of her neighbors. "Filia, you're back in town," the old lady smiled fondly in a grandmotherly way.
Filia immediately felt guilty that she had not gone to Hanna's house upon her arrival in town. She had simply been so busy it slipped her mind. "Yes, I just got back..."
"Good to see you, child," Hanna didn't seem to have any intentions of bringing up Filia's quiet return. The old woman ran a hand through her gray hair, her bright blue eyes a testament of the beauty she once possessed in younger days. "It's a fine day here at the market in terms of weather, but not so great in terms of merchandise. It seems the crops were bad this year. I heard a lot of farmers got into trouble for it," Hanna sighed in pity. "I do hope the harvest somehow improves, or else I might not find the ingredients I need for your welcome back stew."
"Aw, you don't need to," Filia's guilt increased, even though Hanna was clearly trying to make her feel welcomed. She glanced at what was in the market place. Elena must have brought over what she managed to harvest at her farm to get her business started and now even that was gone. It was clear the market didn't have much in stock. Filia sighed sadly; the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in the market was depressing.
"I know what will cheer you up." Hanna may not have enough ingredients for her family recipe, but she could make something else. It was something simple, yet delicious and refreshing. "How about you come over for a milkshake later?"
Filia knew that Hanna would appreciate the company, which she was all too happy to provide. Talking to the old lady was always fun, she had many stories to share and delicious treats to go with them. Her home was flooded with a familiar atmosphere that would make people feel as if they were walking into their grandmother's house from their very first visit. "I would love to." Filia agreed, a nice relaxing time in the company of kind Hanna was just what Filia needed.
xoxox xox xoxox
At the edge of town, far enough not to disturb the residents, Lina threw a freeze arrow into the air. "Fireball!" Xellos hit the target perfectly.
Lina grinned, "good, looks like you got the hang of that, now, let's try it in rapid succession. Melt all the arrows. Freeze arrow! Freeze arrow!" Lina continued repeating the spell as fast as she could, making Xellos push himself to cast fireballs faster.
The fireballs had to be strong enough to melt the arrows of ice, fast enough to keep up with them and well aimed, since Lina was throwing the icy spells in every direction. The exercise continued for several minutes until Lina thought it was enough. Xellos felt his energy starting to run low, but he wasn't about to stop now, not when Lina was still in top form. Casting spells with a smaller supply of different energy to back them up was tricky, but he could manage. It was a challenge he would have to conquer the sooner the better. Xellos wasn't planning to bother training as a human at first, but since the process of obtaining the cure was taking so long, he might need to be better versed in combat in his current form, just in case something unexpected came up.
"Very good, you're a pretty clever student," Lina commended with a sadistic grin. "Now on to the advanced lessons and if you make a mistake I'm afraid there will be consequences..."
xoxox xox xoxox
Later that day, Filia was on her way to meet Hanna for milkshakes. As she walked down the street, she saw Lina and Xellos having returned from taking care of business. Xellos' black hair was standing up in every direction, he was covered in dirt and his clothes were singed. Filia felt her heart sink as she worried about the worse. "You were attacked out there!" She jumped to conclusions as she ran to meet them. "Look at him!" Filia tried to smooth out Xellos' hair, only to draw back her hand upon noticing the surge of static it carried. "You were supposed to be his bodyguard!" She scolded.
"I am," Lina feigned innocence, "but at Xellos' request, I was also his magic trainer. I'm sure the static will go away in a little while. The electric shock discipline made wonders for his progress." Lina still had the same look of innocence in her face, but her eyes were full of mischievous vengeful malice.
"Magic lessons..." Filia stared back and forth between Xellos and Lina.
Seeing that Filia had fallen into a silence of surprise during which she tried to picture the process and wished she had been there to see it, Xellos found it necessary to break the quietude. "I passed."
"That is an achievement not to be taken lightly," Lina assured with a severe look. Her serious expression morphed into a carefree face after the endorsement. "Is everyone still hanging out at Elena's place?"
"Mostly, yes," Filia finally found her voice to reply.
"I guess I'll head on over there, see you two later." Lina continued on her merry way down the street off to Elena's house.
Filia decided not to ask why she assumed that Xellos would want to be left alone with her instead of going off to meet up with everyone or taking off on his own around town. She tried not to think too much about it and assumed that some of her healing magic would come in handy. "C'mon, you can get cleaned at my house and I'll heal you. I have some anti-frizz shampoo that will fix your hair too."
"Filia being kind, the world is a truly strange and random place!" Xellos followed the golden dragon with no resistance.
Filia only rolled her eyes at his teasing. "You know that's not true. I won't let your teasing criticism get to me."
"Really?" Xellos grinned, he was exhausted from his brutal magic lesson, but being around Filia somehow filled him with energy. He leaned close to her and whispered something in her ear.
Filia gasped, her face turning red, "Xellos!"
"If teasing criticism won't work, how about a teasing compliment?" That certainly did the trick.
Filia pouted and glared. "That was... it took me by surprise that's all, and it was too forward." She quickened her pace, hoping that when they got to her place Xellos would stop teasing her in favor of getting cleaned up.
Filia entered her shop to find Naga putting up a few vases she didn't recognize. "You're back, what do you think, nice isn't it? Ah! ha ha ho ha ha!"
"You made those?" Filia hated to admitted, but Naga had real talent shaping the vases and decorating them. "They're good."
"Gravy thought so too," Naga smiled victoriously as she glanced at Gravos with a wink.
"Gravy?" Filia repeated in confusion. She glanced at Gravos who only shrugged with a slight pink tint on his cheeks. What in the world had this woman done to him.
Before Filia could further inquire about what was going on between those two, Xellos linked his arms with hers and took her away. "Good job managing the shop, keep at it, don't mind us," then he led her to the living area of the structure.
Once they were out of earshot, Filia frowned deeply. "There's something going on between those two and I don't like it. That scandalously clad woman is not right for Gravos, not to mention they're not even the same species!"
"I thought you had gotten over your racism," Xellos reminded critically.
"I'm not racist, if I was, I wouldn't have the family I do!" Filia argued. "I'm just worried about Gravos. I mean sure, Naga is Amelia's sister, but she's nothing like Amelia. Her morals seem rather loose." Filia paused upon realizing that Xellos seemed distracted. He had led her back to the bathroom, where he was sorting through her personal hygiene supplies. "Are you listening to me?"
"Which was that shampoo that you wanted to recommend?" Xellos continued examining the multitude of bottles; they all looked the same to him. "It better not smell like flowers or fruit."
"You can't just brush off my concerns!" Filia pointed her accusing finger at Xellos, her expression growing in anger.
Xellos shrugged, "Gravos can decide for himself what he wants to do. It's just like you golden dragons to try to control everyone and push them to your standards."
"I'm not pushing them; I haven't even said anything to them!" Filia argued adamantly.
"You're pushing me to back you up so I would help you push them." Xellos pointed out with an extremely annoying smile.
Filia opened her mouth with a comeback in mind, but before the words could roll off her tongue, she stopped herself and instead went for a simple, "I hate you."
Xellos maintained his cheerful smile and replied with a terribly vexing, "I love you too."
"Don't even joke about that," Filia scolded. She had quietly decided that Gravos was a big boy and could figure out what he should and shouldn't do on his own. She wouldn't interfere with him and would advise him only if he requested it.
Maybe getting cured was further away than Xellos thought. He was still curious to know about how far it really was though. "Is it really such a terrible catastrophe?"
"It is," Filia firmly stated with a hint of hurt in her eyes, "because you're lying. You shouldn't tell someone you love them as a joke. Do it only if you mean it. If you don't mean it, don't say it. Don't say it for pity, don't say it for influence and definitely don't say it as a joke."
Xellos raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "touchy," his empathic abilities allowed him to feel what Filia felt. Frustration? Pain? Longing? "Did someone break your heart in the past or something?"
Filia blinked, strangely enough, Xellos' question didn't sound teasing. His eyes revealed more curiosity than concern, but he wasn't mocking. True perplexity was projected by Filia, further confusing Xellos. "No," she finally answered after giving it some thought. "My feelings have been hurt and the list of those who hurt them certainly includes you. But I can't say I've been heart broken in the romantic sense."
"Really?" Xellos' curiosity increased. "Then why does it bother you so much if I say I love you?" He noticed that she almost cringed at the phrase and there was that deep longing again.
Filia didn't know how to properly answer. She didn't fully understand it herself. "It's because you don't mean it," she insisted. He could criticize her and it would bother her, but it wouldn't hurt this much. He could even criticize her in a truthful way if he wanted, no one was perfect and the golden dragons had their history. It would hurt to hear his reproach even if he said it in an impersonal and unconcerned way, but it wouldn't hurt as much as this.
"Do you want me to?" Xellos finally asked, "do you want me to love you?" He knew he was threading on dangerous ground. He could feel Filia walking along the edge of an emotional break down. One false step when she was so sensitive and he could ruin all his progress. He had to push away his curiosity and hold back his questions. For the sake of the greater good, he had to be gentle with Filia right now. Besides, he didn't particularly enjoy such emotions as the ones she was feeling pouring into him so uncontrollably. "Do you really think you have something here that can fix my hair?"
Filia seemed to be woken up from a dangerous daze. She held on to the cue for a normal conversation as if it were her only life line. "Yes!" All too eager to leave the unusual conversation behind and focus on hair products and their familiar logic, the golden dragon began to sort through her supplies, making recommendations.
The heavy question remained unanswered for the time being, but Filia couldn't help it but to hear it echo in the back of her mind every now and then in Xellos' curious and not mocking voice. 'Do you want me to love you?' Why would she want that? Why would she wish for the impossible?
xoxox xox xoxox
After Xellos was cleaned up and healed, with his hair looking as pretty as ever, Filia realized that she was running very late to meet Hanna. She should have just gone while Xellos was still in the bathroom, but she couldn't help it but to sit by the window stealing glances at the closed door in deep thought. "I was supposed to be meeting someone," Filia stated, trying to inject as much anger into her voice as she could. "It's your fault I'm late for distracting me!" She accused with little energy. "Poor Hanna is going to think I've forgotten all about her. She doesn't have any children to keep her company and her husband passed away years ago. I shouldn't have kept her waiting this long!"
As she spoke, Filia picked up a pink towel and placed it over Xellos' head to dry his hair. "So you waited for me to finish getting cleaned up to tell me all this instead of rushing over to meet that poor old lady who's all lonely waiting for you?" Xellos retorted from under the towel, he did not like pink. Sure, it looked good on Filia, everything looked good on Filia, but he didn't like the color on himself. Wait a minute, where had those thoughts about everything looking good on Filia come from?
"I just remembered it now," Filia tossed the towel aside. She didn't feel like being tidy, which meant she wasn't in the best of moods. She picked up a brush and put it to use on Xellos' hair.
"Are you sure? It looks more like you stayed behind just to play with my hair," he teased.
Filia pouted, "someone has to take care of you."
"I'm not helpless," Xellos reminded for what felt like the millionth time.
"I know," satisfied with her work, Filia put the brush away and glanced at the pink towel she had tossed aside. She couldn't resist the urge and picked it up too, nothing good would come out of being a slob. Feeling that her response wasn't enough she added, "I just wanted to help," then she left it at that with nothing more to say.
"Well, let's go," Xellos prompted.
"Go where?" Filia's confusion was evident on her face.
"Are you suffering from memory problems?" Xellos mocked, "you said it just now. Some lonely old lady is waiting for you, so let's go meet her. If she's as lonely as you say, she won't mind if you bring an extra guest."
Filia pouted, narrowed her eyes suspiciously and placed her hands on her hips. "You're not coming, you'll just embarrass me!" An argument followed concerning the matter. The bickering went back and forth for several minutes until predictably, Filia gave in.
Xellos sported a victorious grin as he and Filia made their way down the street towards Hanna's house, while Filia fought with her face to stop pouting.
To be Continued