Shadowed Reflections
"They're coming this way," Tes whispered. "Even that prudish mazoku." Her gaze settled on the party's addition. "Zelgadis dear?" The blue-skinned shadow-Zelgadis shifted languidly and regarded her with a yawn.
"Yes, milady," he asked.
"Lina's friends have a new companion." Zelgadis came to look at the leather-armored huntress and smiled.
"Quite a lovely little girl isn't she, if you like that sort of half-primitive amazon look." Tes focussed the scrying in on the huntress, no warrior would feel the scrying after all.
"In other words, she has no money, and no power and therefore you aren't interested."
"I wouldn't put it as insultingly as that, but that does about cover it yes."
"I don't like it when there is a hole in my knowledge," Tes said, nonchalantly. "Perhaps I should arrange for her to be brought here."
"Hmph, you tell me this because...."
"Because I'm bored." she shrugged. The subject of the discussion stopped suddenly for a moment and looked confused, before travelling on. "What was that?" The girl travelled a few more feet and then seemed to look right through the scrying portal and mouth the words. "Hello Tes." The shadow Amelia cut the spell and recoiled in fury.
"That is no simple huntress," Tes hissed. "Sherra!"
"I would remind you of your pledge, Your...Majesty," the forming mazoku growled behind her.
"I know what I pledged very well," Tes smiled. "Now, Xellos and the princess travel with a new companion. Bring that new girl to me, I want to know who she is."
"Don't overstep your bounds, your majesty." The adolescent mazoku vanished to perform her mission, and Tes smiled, causing the scar along her cheek to shift along her face.
"I know the pledge that I made," Amelia laughed. "Perhaps she should take a moment to consider just what was said." The shadow-Zelgadis regarded her curiously and filed away the information for later. "Now why did I summon you?" she asked herself, then smiling. "Ah yes that is right." And she gestured for the chimera to join her in the bed.
Xenith was considering her problem.
"Scratch that," she thought. "Make it problems." First she had to get Amelia and Xellos closer together. As much as it rankled her to admit it, she did have a duty to Zelas to consider. Second she had to get Gourry to notice her, absolutely had to that wasn't a question. Finally she had this strong urge to figure out just what business Juuou-sama had with the dragons. Before she had di....been reborn, she would have spent a moment to wonder about it and then filed it away for later, spending energy on more important things. Eating and killing bandits for example. Now, however, she knew nothing more than that there was something she didn't know and she couldn't stand it.
Xenith scanned about the room at the other slayers sitting at the table. Guilt and anger was still prevalent about the room. It might be a while before that changed, after all she had lost them in a manner and it was going to take a while for her to get used to that. And as far as they were concerned, their loss was greater than hers. They didn't know that Lina's soul and memory resided in this mazoku body.
~Well let's see,~ she thought as she tore through her order. She didn't really need the food at all, but old habits were tough to break. Besides with these new senses everything tasted so much more exquisite. ~First things first.~
~Hey, bro.~ She felt the wave of irritation and inwardly smiled.
~What is it?~
~Didn't Juuou-sama have something she wanted...~ "Hey! That's mine!" She snatched at the chicken leg and then growled as it disappeared into his mouth. Secretly she was happy at the occurence, just a bit of nostalgia and maybe somebody would figure it out. Juuou-sama said she didn't want Xenith telling them, but never said anything about letting them figure it out for themselves.
"What?" Gourry asked genuinely confused.
"You don't even need to eat," Zelgadis reminded her. "What do you care if he takes your food."
"It's the principle of the thing!"
"Did I just hear a namagomi mazoku mention principles?"
"Oh never mind, I guess there's plenty left." She slumped down in her chair, it wasn't working and she didn't really feel like arguing over something she didn't really need.
~What are you disappointed about?~ Xellos asked her telepathically.
~Oh nothing, thought there'd be more of an uproar.~ she sighed mentally, which was an odd feeling.
~I see, not enough feeding with what's already there?~ She shrugged as she scanned her food for the next thing she wanted to try.
"Why are we walking to Sailoon?" Xenith asked outloud. "We could always teleport. Xellos, Filia and I could bring you three."
"Xenith-san is right, why are we moving so slow?"
"We don't want to just drop into a situation we know little about," Xellos noted.
"I don't see why not," Gourry popped in. "Isn't that pretty much the why Lina did things anyway? Blow it up and ask questions later?"
"And look what it got....her." Xenith snapped. Everybody glared at her then. "I'm sorry if I'm being insensitive, but I didn't know the woman, and I'm supposed to be training here, not sitting around watching you all mope!" Lying came easy to her of late.
"Since you obviously agree that just barging in is stupid, what were you about to suggest?"
"Teleport like part way there and scout out the situation from somewhere nearby," she suggested.
"Remember when Lina had her powers sealed away?" Gourry asked. "Wasn't there some sort of village you met her in Zelgadis?"
"Actually, that was me," Xellos corrected.
~Same old Jellyfish brains.~ Xenith thought to herself, her eyes narrowed with a bittersweet variation of irritation.
"Well, it certainly sounds like a good plan to me." Amelia said in support. "It is certainly better than letting that woman sit in my place a while longer just because we decided to walk there."
"I have to admit that I like the sound of it better than a full journey."
"Okay then, we should probably..."
"Hey Xellos, why don't you take Filia since you need to talk to her anyway?" Xellos glared at her as jealously flared in varying flavors from Zelgadis and Amelia.
"I'd rather go with Zelgadis-san," Filia said. "Besides, I'm one of those doing the teleport so it doesn't really make sense."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Xenith waved the retort away, yawning.
"I think I'm hungry."
"You think that you are hungry?" shadow-Xellos scratched his head in confusion.
"mmmm...." shadow-Filia thought about for a few more seconds. "Yes, I'm hungry."
"Then why don't you hunt something?"
"Well, I could, or I could go into that town over there, what do you think?"
"Why do you want to do that?" Xellos asked nervously. Towns and people made him nervous recently. Of course, so did all these wide open spaces, and the cramped forests, and the birds, and if he stopped to think about it, so did Filia.
"Ummm....I don't know," Filia thought about it for a moment. "I'm hungry, no its the beds, no I'm bored....oh what ever."
"We don't have any money," Xellos noted. Filia produced a collection of coins. "Where'd you get those?"
"Filia's dimensional pocket," she said. "I couldn't figure out how much we'd need so I just took all the platinum."
"But that's stealing," shadow-Xellos stammered.
"Is it, I couldn't figure that out, after all I am Filia....I guess."
"But, but," shadow-Filia passed him by and started walking towards the town.
"Now is it the beds, or the food, or the music, or the..."
"Wait, what if we're still in Sailoon!" Next thing shadow-Xellos knew, he was sitting in the corner of an inn watching the people nervously while the shadow-Filia expounded endlessly on the pros and cons of each menu item.
"May I help with anything?" shadow-Xellos looked up at the waitress and had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Lina-san?"
"Oh no, sorry, I'm not Lina Inverse," the red-haired girl said. "Now what would you like?"
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