Chap 6 - Tea Cups and Staffs
Xellos smirked as he hung in the air just out of the dragon's reach. "Well, good afternoon Filia. And how is the former golden dragon priestess today?" Filia growled and threw her mace at him. As always, he teleported out of the way which only further angered the blond dragon in human form. Somehow, the mace managed not to hit anything valuable as it smashed in to a wall, where she retrieved it. He relished in her powerful emotions when he was around. You're not here for that, he reminded himself, but there's no reason I can't have a little fun while I'm here. "Val looks quite well. Don't worry, he's still sleeping, or at least he was when I was up there." This only provoked her further. She threw her mace again with the same results as before. "Oh, almost got me that time. You aim is getting better," he teased as he tapped her on the top of her head with his staff. She threw her mace for a third time. He teleported, appearing under the table next to the quivering girl. As he turned to look her over, he was suddenly hit by something. "Owe," he mumbled as he caught the object that had bounced off his forehead in his hand...an acorn? He peered at the girl through one open eye. She tossed a second one at him but he caught it. "Now that's not very nice," he chided.
"Neither are you," she retorted.
He smiled brighter, both eyes closed again. "Oh, so you noticed." He reached out to try and grab her, but Xaina quickly scrambled away from him and ran to the other side of the room. Does she think I can't get her over there? he wondered. Something in the back of his mind said he was missing something...crack! A sudden sharp blow on the back of his head sent him flying across the room. He teleported instantly after he felt the blow to avoid crashing in to the wall.
"Alright! You got him!" Xaina cheered as Xellos reappeared right up next to the ceiling, rubbing the back of his head.
"I know," Filia replied, somewhat shocked. "I got him. I got him!"
"Only because I let you," he pouted.
"What's going on in here?!" an all too familiar voice shouted as she came running into the room. Both sorceress and swordsman looked less then happy about the noise.
"She hit the creepy monster guy," Xaina reported as she pointed up at Xellos.
"I'm a creepy monster guy?" the purple hair monster questioned in a rather disappointed voice.
Lina and Gourry both peered up at Xellos. "Oh," Lina sighed bitterly. "It's you..."
"Were you hoping for someone else?" he questioned, not liking this new effect he was having. He far preferred for them to be weary or angry, not annoyed or proud that they hit him. Stupid dragon, he mentally scorned.
"What do you want, you filthy monster!?" Filia barked as she brandished her mace at him.
Xellos put on his usual mischievous grin, and replied, "To bring a gift to little Val, of course. Am I not aloud to give him something for his second birthday?"
Filia glared at him. "And what do you want from me in return?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," he beamed. He turned his palm up and produced a hand sized green ball out of thin air. "I think he might like it. I wasn't sure. I don't really buy gifts for babies much." No one could tell if he was being honest or just toying with them. He dropped it. Filia easily caught it and looked it over to be sure it wouldn't cause the young dragon harm or had been spelled in anyway. It seemed like an ordinary wooden ball that wouldn't splinter. She blessed it just to be sure. "Don't you trust me?" he teased while still keeping out of her reach.
"No," the golden dragon spat. "If this so much as..."
"It's just a normal ball," Xellos replied, now getting annoyed with her. Now she was just plain insulting him. See if I ever try to be friendly to you again! he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Xaina staring at him...no, not him, his staff. She seemed very interested in it. When he looked fully at her, she quickly looked away and pretended to be interested in the ball Filia was holding across the room. His smile somehow became bigger. "I brought something for you too, Xaina." The girl jumped at the mention of her name.
"And who told you my name?" she demanded arrogantly. She was trying to hide her sudden discomfort brought on by him. Lie all you want, little one; I'll still be able to read your fear, he thought at her, though he knew she wouldn't hear it.
"He probably sat by listening to us when we didn't know it," Lina sighed, knowing some things about him all too well.
Xellos just smiled and held up his palm again as a small object appeared out of thin air. It was a purple band of sturdy violet cloth matching the color of the girl's eyes with a silver bell on it. Her eyes are the same color as mine, he mused. He floated down slowly, trying to show her he wouldn't hurt her but she shrank back a little from him anyway. He took her small hand in his, making note of all the tiny bones he could distinctly feel, and slipped it on her wrist. She stared at in curiously as it shrunk to perfectly fit her wrist. "It's a bracelet," he explained, his eyes now open and staring into hers. "It will always fit to the size of your wrist, no matter how big or small." He let go and she didn't move. The familiar, child-like grin reappeared on his face. "Don't you like it?"
Xaina started out of her shocked state and examined the bracelet, keeping her eyes away from his. The bell jingled as her hand moved. "Thank you," she muttered. "You brought our stuff back, didn't you?"
"Why, of course. How did you guess that?"
"What!?!" Lina roared from across the room. "You were there!?! And you didn't help us!?!" Xellos spied over in the sorceress' direction. She looked like she was about to literally burst into flames. She balled her hands into fists as she stomped over to him. How entertaining, he teased in his mind. This is turning out far more worthwhile then I had thought.
"Is something the matter, Lina?" he said in a mock concerned voice.
"If you were there last night, why didn't you help us!?!"
"That's a secret," he responded, teleporting out of the room. he reappeared in Val's room where he was sleeping quite happily in his small crib. He was curled up in a ball with his feathered wings curled up around his tiny dragon body. It was almost hard to believe that something this small would grow up to be even bigger then Filia. He poked the baby a few times, whispering, "Wake up Val. It's time to get up and start crying. I need you to make a little distraction for me..." The baby's little black eyes fluttered open slowly. The second he spotted Xellos standing over him, Val began to cry. Xellos teleported back down in the room where everyone else had been in before, standing on the small table. "Oh, my, it seems Val's awake. Perhaps you should go take care of him, Filia," the monster sighed.
Filia glared at him. She knew he had awaken up her adopted son, even if he did try and play innocent. She didn't bother to say anything to him. She had long since learned it was useless to try and insult him. The dragon straightened her posture to look as tall and proud as possible, turned sharply, and left the room. Gourry watched her, silently. He wasn't exactly confused, he just didn't know what to say. Xellos would have preferred it was Lina who had been quiet, but hey, you can't be choosy about you friends/toys/meals, now can you.
"Now," the violet haired priest commented as he set down his staff while jumping off the table, "Let's see just what Filia has been up to for the past two and a half years, shall we." He glanced at Xaina and gave her a small wink before teleporting out into the main shop room.
"Hey, Xellos, I don't think Filia would like you touching her things," Gourry commented walking to where Xellos had reappeared. The monster was examining a finely painted tea cup with golden dragons on it.
"Come back here, Xellos!" Lina half screeched as she dashed out of the room after him.
"Xellos! Put that down!" Filia screeched as she came tromping back down the stairs with Val in her arms. He had stopped crying but was now sniffling and hiccuping.
"As you wish," he happily replied as he shot her an evil smile. Horror spread over the blond's face as he let the precious china that she had spent hours upon hours painting go. It shattered in to a hundred pieces on the floor with a terrible clack.
"Xellos!!!" she roared, sending Val into another fit of sobs.
~*~*~
Xaina winced as the cup hit the floor. She peered out the doorway of the side room she was in to get a look at just what the monster had broken. The baby black colored dragon was crying again and Filia looked ready to kill Xellos. At the monster's feet were the remnants of a once beautiful tea cup. Filia wont dare use her mace out there, Xaina concluded in her mind, He may just get away with that.
Her eyes darted back to the staff. He'd left it there. In the back of her mind, she knew better then to go anywhere near it, but sheer curiosity kept her close. That red orb was so familiar. She glanced back out at Xellos. Was he been the one from the other night? Had he tried to take her away before? She looked back at the staff. I need a better look, she decided.
She tottered over to the table and climbed back on, sitting with her knees tucked under her. From where she was, it looked like a normal staff with a blood red jewel embedded in the end. It wasn't glowing like the one before had been. Perhaps if I pick it up... she thought. She reached out to grab it, but hesitated. Bells sounded off in her mind, warning of danger. This was not a good idea. This wasn't safe...and yet...he wouldn't notice, would he? Not if she just picked it up for a moment. He wasn't even paying attention. He was too busy annoying Filia and getting yelled at by Lina to notice.
Her hand shook a little until it rested on the cool wood. A serge of unfamiliar energy ran through her hand as she touched it. She lifted it. The staff was surprisingly light weight and she could lift it with no trouble at all. The wood was hard, unlike any she had ever seen before. It could take a lot of force without breaking. Her hand traced over the surface of the smooth orb. It was warm to the touch and she could feel a magic of some sort coming from it. It was odd, sort of dark, though not unpleasant. The power was intoxicating, hypnotizing....
~*~*~
Xellos snatched up yet another delicate cup. This one was painted with a cobalt net and gold flowers on the intersections. The pure, raw hatred foaming off her was perfect. He couldn't have asked for anything better. She always was his favorite pet. I'll have to pay her more visits when all is done with, he played with the idea in his mind.
"Why, Filia, this one has to be the nicest one you have here in this little store of yours," he commented, pretending to look over the cup.
Filia growled. "Put that down, you filthy monster! On the shelf!" she added so he wouldn't drop this one on the floor too. He teleported across the room, floating in the air, and set the cup high up on a shelf the dragon maiden kept her most expensive things on that was out of her reach. He fiddled with it, pretending to try and place it where it would look best among all the other things she had. "What're you doing!?!"
"I thought it would look nicer up here," he smirked. "Don't you like it?"
"Put it back!" she wailed.
"But it looks better here," he mock protested. "Really, Filia, you should lighten up. I do have quite an eye for design."
"Put it back!!"
There was a slight tug in the back of Xellos' mind. His staff had been moved. Got ya, he though triumphantly. "Oh, all right." He waved one finger and the tea cup teleported back to where it was unharmed. He rubbed a hand behind his head and sighed. "My, my, would you look at the time. I really should be going. Perhaps we'll meet again later...oh, and Lina, thanks for the lovely parting gift." Lina stared at him, completely confused. He held out both his hands, calling his staff back to him. In one hand appeared the staff; in the other was Xaina. "I do appreciate it." On instinct, Xaina instantly tried to jerk out of his grasp.
"Xaina!" Lina cried as the monster and girl disappeared. "Xellos! Bring her back!" Lina snapped. "Xellos!"
"Guh! What's he doing!?!" Gourry yelled out. Filia just stared in shock, still supporting Val in one arm. None of them know...good, he concluded in his mind while still keeping a firm hand on the squirming girl before completely leaving the location.
Xellos smirked as he hung in the air just out of the dragon's reach. "Well, good afternoon Filia. And how is the former golden dragon priestess today?" Filia growled and threw her mace at him. As always, he teleported out of the way which only further angered the blond dragon in human form. Somehow, the mace managed not to hit anything valuable as it smashed in to a wall, where she retrieved it. He relished in her powerful emotions when he was around. You're not here for that, he reminded himself, but there's no reason I can't have a little fun while I'm here. "Val looks quite well. Don't worry, he's still sleeping, or at least he was when I was up there." This only provoked her further. She threw her mace again with the same results as before. "Oh, almost got me that time. You aim is getting better," he teased as he tapped her on the top of her head with his staff. She threw her mace for a third time. He teleported, appearing under the table next to the quivering girl. As he turned to look her over, he was suddenly hit by something. "Owe," he mumbled as he caught the object that had bounced off his forehead in his hand...an acorn? He peered at the girl through one open eye. She tossed a second one at him but he caught it. "Now that's not very nice," he chided.
"Neither are you," she retorted.
He smiled brighter, both eyes closed again. "Oh, so you noticed." He reached out to try and grab her, but Xaina quickly scrambled away from him and ran to the other side of the room. Does she think I can't get her over there? he wondered. Something in the back of his mind said he was missing something...crack! A sudden sharp blow on the back of his head sent him flying across the room. He teleported instantly after he felt the blow to avoid crashing in to the wall.
"Alright! You got him!" Xaina cheered as Xellos reappeared right up next to the ceiling, rubbing the back of his head.
"I know," Filia replied, somewhat shocked. "I got him. I got him!"
"Only because I let you," he pouted.
"What's going on in here?!" an all too familiar voice shouted as she came running into the room. Both sorceress and swordsman looked less then happy about the noise.
"She hit the creepy monster guy," Xaina reported as she pointed up at Xellos.
"I'm a creepy monster guy?" the purple hair monster questioned in a rather disappointed voice.
Lina and Gourry both peered up at Xellos. "Oh," Lina sighed bitterly. "It's you..."
"Were you hoping for someone else?" he questioned, not liking this new effect he was having. He far preferred for them to be weary or angry, not annoyed or proud that they hit him. Stupid dragon, he mentally scorned.
"What do you want, you filthy monster!?" Filia barked as she brandished her mace at him.
Xellos put on his usual mischievous grin, and replied, "To bring a gift to little Val, of course. Am I not aloud to give him something for his second birthday?"
Filia glared at him. "And what do you want from me in return?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," he beamed. He turned his palm up and produced a hand sized green ball out of thin air. "I think he might like it. I wasn't sure. I don't really buy gifts for babies much." No one could tell if he was being honest or just toying with them. He dropped it. Filia easily caught it and looked it over to be sure it wouldn't cause the young dragon harm or had been spelled in anyway. It seemed like an ordinary wooden ball that wouldn't splinter. She blessed it just to be sure. "Don't you trust me?" he teased while still keeping out of her reach.
"No," the golden dragon spat. "If this so much as..."
"It's just a normal ball," Xellos replied, now getting annoyed with her. Now she was just plain insulting him. See if I ever try to be friendly to you again! he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Xaina staring at him...no, not him, his staff. She seemed very interested in it. When he looked fully at her, she quickly looked away and pretended to be interested in the ball Filia was holding across the room. His smile somehow became bigger. "I brought something for you too, Xaina." The girl jumped at the mention of her name.
"And who told you my name?" she demanded arrogantly. She was trying to hide her sudden discomfort brought on by him. Lie all you want, little one; I'll still be able to read your fear, he thought at her, though he knew she wouldn't hear it.
"He probably sat by listening to us when we didn't know it," Lina sighed, knowing some things about him all too well.
Xellos just smiled and held up his palm again as a small object appeared out of thin air. It was a purple band of sturdy violet cloth matching the color of the girl's eyes with a silver bell on it. Her eyes are the same color as mine, he mused. He floated down slowly, trying to show her he wouldn't hurt her but she shrank back a little from him anyway. He took her small hand in his, making note of all the tiny bones he could distinctly feel, and slipped it on her wrist. She stared at in curiously as it shrunk to perfectly fit her wrist. "It's a bracelet," he explained, his eyes now open and staring into hers. "It will always fit to the size of your wrist, no matter how big or small." He let go and she didn't move. The familiar, child-like grin reappeared on his face. "Don't you like it?"
Xaina started out of her shocked state and examined the bracelet, keeping her eyes away from his. The bell jingled as her hand moved. "Thank you," she muttered. "You brought our stuff back, didn't you?"
"Why, of course. How did you guess that?"
"What!?!" Lina roared from across the room. "You were there!?! And you didn't help us!?!" Xellos spied over in the sorceress' direction. She looked like she was about to literally burst into flames. She balled her hands into fists as she stomped over to him. How entertaining, he teased in his mind. This is turning out far more worthwhile then I had thought.
"Is something the matter, Lina?" he said in a mock concerned voice.
"If you were there last night, why didn't you help us!?!"
"That's a secret," he responded, teleporting out of the room. he reappeared in Val's room where he was sleeping quite happily in his small crib. He was curled up in a ball with his feathered wings curled up around his tiny dragon body. It was almost hard to believe that something this small would grow up to be even bigger then Filia. He poked the baby a few times, whispering, "Wake up Val. It's time to get up and start crying. I need you to make a little distraction for me..." The baby's little black eyes fluttered open slowly. The second he spotted Xellos standing over him, Val began to cry. Xellos teleported back down in the room where everyone else had been in before, standing on the small table. "Oh, my, it seems Val's awake. Perhaps you should go take care of him, Filia," the monster sighed.
Filia glared at him. She knew he had awaken up her adopted son, even if he did try and play innocent. She didn't bother to say anything to him. She had long since learned it was useless to try and insult him. The dragon straightened her posture to look as tall and proud as possible, turned sharply, and left the room. Gourry watched her, silently. He wasn't exactly confused, he just didn't know what to say. Xellos would have preferred it was Lina who had been quiet, but hey, you can't be choosy about you friends/toys/meals, now can you.
"Now," the violet haired priest commented as he set down his staff while jumping off the table, "Let's see just what Filia has been up to for the past two and a half years, shall we." He glanced at Xaina and gave her a small wink before teleporting out into the main shop room.
"Hey, Xellos, I don't think Filia would like you touching her things," Gourry commented walking to where Xellos had reappeared. The monster was examining a finely painted tea cup with golden dragons on it.
"Come back here, Xellos!" Lina half screeched as she dashed out of the room after him.
"Xellos! Put that down!" Filia screeched as she came tromping back down the stairs with Val in her arms. He had stopped crying but was now sniffling and hiccuping.
"As you wish," he happily replied as he shot her an evil smile. Horror spread over the blond's face as he let the precious china that she had spent hours upon hours painting go. It shattered in to a hundred pieces on the floor with a terrible clack.
"Xellos!!!" she roared, sending Val into another fit of sobs.
~*~*~
Xaina winced as the cup hit the floor. She peered out the doorway of the side room she was in to get a look at just what the monster had broken. The baby black colored dragon was crying again and Filia looked ready to kill Xellos. At the monster's feet were the remnants of a once beautiful tea cup. Filia wont dare use her mace out there, Xaina concluded in her mind, He may just get away with that.
Her eyes darted back to the staff. He'd left it there. In the back of her mind, she knew better then to go anywhere near it, but sheer curiosity kept her close. That red orb was so familiar. She glanced back out at Xellos. Was he been the one from the other night? Had he tried to take her away before? She looked back at the staff. I need a better look, she decided.
She tottered over to the table and climbed back on, sitting with her knees tucked under her. From where she was, it looked like a normal staff with a blood red jewel embedded in the end. It wasn't glowing like the one before had been. Perhaps if I pick it up... she thought. She reached out to grab it, but hesitated. Bells sounded off in her mind, warning of danger. This was not a good idea. This wasn't safe...and yet...he wouldn't notice, would he? Not if she just picked it up for a moment. He wasn't even paying attention. He was too busy annoying Filia and getting yelled at by Lina to notice.
Her hand shook a little until it rested on the cool wood. A serge of unfamiliar energy ran through her hand as she touched it. She lifted it. The staff was surprisingly light weight and she could lift it with no trouble at all. The wood was hard, unlike any she had ever seen before. It could take a lot of force without breaking. Her hand traced over the surface of the smooth orb. It was warm to the touch and she could feel a magic of some sort coming from it. It was odd, sort of dark, though not unpleasant. The power was intoxicating, hypnotizing....
~*~*~
Xellos snatched up yet another delicate cup. This one was painted with a cobalt net and gold flowers on the intersections. The pure, raw hatred foaming off her was perfect. He couldn't have asked for anything better. She always was his favorite pet. I'll have to pay her more visits when all is done with, he played with the idea in his mind.
"Why, Filia, this one has to be the nicest one you have here in this little store of yours," he commented, pretending to look over the cup.
Filia growled. "Put that down, you filthy monster! On the shelf!" she added so he wouldn't drop this one on the floor too. He teleported across the room, floating in the air, and set the cup high up on a shelf the dragon maiden kept her most expensive things on that was out of her reach. He fiddled with it, pretending to try and place it where it would look best among all the other things she had. "What're you doing!?!"
"I thought it would look nicer up here," he smirked. "Don't you like it?"
"Put it back!" she wailed.
"But it looks better here," he mock protested. "Really, Filia, you should lighten up. I do have quite an eye for design."
"Put it back!!"
There was a slight tug in the back of Xellos' mind. His staff had been moved. Got ya, he though triumphantly. "Oh, all right." He waved one finger and the tea cup teleported back to where it was unharmed. He rubbed a hand behind his head and sighed. "My, my, would you look at the time. I really should be going. Perhaps we'll meet again later...oh, and Lina, thanks for the lovely parting gift." Lina stared at him, completely confused. He held out both his hands, calling his staff back to him. In one hand appeared the staff; in the other was Xaina. "I do appreciate it." On instinct, Xaina instantly tried to jerk out of his grasp.
"Xaina!" Lina cried as the monster and girl disappeared. "Xellos! Bring her back!" Lina snapped. "Xellos!"
"Guh! What's he doing!?!" Gourry yelled out. Filia just stared in shock, still supporting Val in one arm. None of them know...good, he concluded in his mind while still keeping a firm hand on the squirming girl before completely leaving the location.