Half and hour later, Gourry was safely ensconced in a soft chair beside Zelgadis's bed side. The Chimera himself was dried off and changed into a set of complimentary pajamas provided by the inn keeper.
In deference to the sunny weather, Lina left her armor and cloak at the inn and carried her money in a belt pouch. Sylphiel had changed into a spare set of trousers and tunic that were easier to get in and out of than her normal clothes and were also much cooler.
"Oh, Lina-sama! Look over there!"
Lina sighed and looked in the indicated direction. Sylphiel had spotted a clothes merchant who displayed, among other things, a lovely rust colored blouse. The dark-mage paused to look at the blouse, it was loose and looked to be about her size. The color would compliment her hair and eyes and if she went through another growth spurt the strain wouldn't show so soon and so badly as her normal tunic.
"Nice." she agreed.
Sylphiel beamed. "I saw a leather lace-up vest a few stalls back that would look wonderful with it too!"
Lina hummed to herself thoughtfully. "I'd have to get new trousers and boots to match, not to mention gloves." she stalled.
"You'd have to do that anyway!" Sylphiel urged.
As it turned out, Sylphiel talked Lina into the blouse and the vest as well as a matching set of trousers that the vest merchant had and a pair of black half boots.
And so, bedecked in her new, and vastly more comfortable, garb (having done away with her old clothes that no longer fit) Lina dragged Sylphiel to a Swordsmith.
"... but Lina! Won't Zelgadis-san want to pick out his own sword?" she protested.
"Not unless he has to buy a new one." Lina said firmly. "If we're lucky, he won't have to."
An iron bell clanged as Lina dragged Sylphiel into the area of the forge where customers were seen to. There was a scruffy old man lounging at the counter, he came slowly to attention at the sound of the bell.
He was an older man, anywhere from forty to fifty, and made older by the rigors of his work. His black hair was still thick but receding at the brow and laced with shots of silver. He watched them approach with keen blue eyes the shade of a summer morning.
"How may I help you two ladies?" he asked in a gentle baritone. "I'm Aiden Corbin, the Master Smith."
"Lina Inverse and I'm looking for a sword."
The smith whistled appreciatively and looked Lina over again, this time with more interest. "The dramatta? I thought you would be taller."
Lina rolled hereyes and let the jibe pass. "Can you help me?"
Aiden braced him elbows on the counter, laced his fingers together, and set his chin down on them. "That depends, what kind of sword would this be?"
"A stolen one." Lina said shortly and Aiden's eyes went chill.
"I hope you aren't suggesting that I fence stolen goods. This forge is only for custom work." he said in a curiously bland tone.
"My mistake." Lina said in a flippant tone. "I must have seen the Theives Guild mark on your sign and thought..."
Aiden's mouth quirked. "I'm an artisan, little ember." he chuckled. "I copy keys and make duplicates of certain... artifacts. I'm not in the re-distribution or borrowing guilds."
"Then maybe you could do something else." Lina suggested. "Something that I would make worth your while."
"And that would be..."
Lina smiled. "The Black Fox, the one who operates in Dimston. If you could send him a message saying that Lina Inverse is in Canturbury and in need of his... expertise?"
Aiden whistled. "You do know some people don't you? What exactly is this sword? The Sword of Light?"
Lina shook her head. "No, it's called Astral Vine, it was forged by Rezo the Red and belongs to a friend of mine. We found him floating in the town square fountain and relieved of all his possessions. I want to get what things of his back that I can before he comes to."
Aiden frowned and nodded. "I see. I'll have my boys look around town for it and if nothing shows up I'll send word to you and relay your message to Black Fox."
"If you could I would be most grateful." Lina reached for her belt pouch but Aisen shook his head. "No. This is on the house. I have a boy going the Fox's way anyway. You'll know by tonight."
"Thanks." Lina grinned at him. "While I'm here, do you have anything in my size?"
***
Zelgadis was awake when Lina and Sylphiel returned to relieve Gourry from the bedside watch. He was sitting up in bed with a tray on his lap and was wolfing down large amounts of the thick savory stew served up by the inn's kitchen.
"Wow, Zel!" Lina mused as she stuck her head in the door. "When was the last time you ate?"
Zelgadis looked to the sound of her voice. "You're here too, Lina?" he nodded his head at Gourry's peacefully slumbering form. "When I woke up to find him watching me, I thought I'd accidentally caught He and Sylphiel on their honeymoon."
Lina chuckled. "You did, they just refuse to let me out of their sight so I got dragged along. We're going to the Hot Springs at Mipross with a stop in Atlas city to see the Royal Menagerie." she pushed the door all the way open and entered.
Zelgadis gave an appraciative whistle as he got a look at her new ensemble. "Very nice." he looked her over critically. "You've grown three inches and not all of that up."
Lina made a face at him and shook Gourry awake.
"Huh!" the man's hand flew to his sword before he realized it was jsut Lina. "Oh, you girls are back?"
"Mmhmm." Lina nodded. "Sylphiel's in your room, she wants your opinion on her new tunic and she has those sugar rolls you wanted."
"Oh... okay!" Gourry leapt to his feet with the agility of youth and went off to see his wife's new shirt... and probably take it right off again.
Lina shook her head disparagingly and claimed Gourry's seat by the bed. "Go ahead, eat." she made shooing motions with her hands. "Don't let me stop you."
Zelgadis returned to his meal and cleaned his plate before continuiong the conversation.
"Wow!" Lina murmured as Zelgadis wiped up the last bit of gravy from the bottom of the second bowl with a peice of bread. "I was kidding when I asked you how long it was since you ate."
"Two weeks." Zelgadis replied gruffly. "Three weeks since I ate anything I care to remember." he shuddered. "Four since my last cup of coffee."
Lina frowned. "Are you in trouble?"
The chimera snorted. "Yes. You found me unconscious in a public fountain, robbed, and starving." he sighed. "If you must know, I got lost in the Mountains looking for a Shrine that is supposed to grant wishes."
She winced. "Did you find it?"
"Yes." he growled. "It only grants wishes for wealth."
"Ouch, I suppose you just got into town?" she hazarded.
Zelgadis nodded again. "I can hear you thinking it. Yes, that's when I got knocked out I was already weakened enough that it put me out." he glanced at his pajamas. "Did they take my clothes too?"
"Nope." Lina said shortly. "They're out back drying. They did get your money, your dagger, and Astral Vine."
Zelgadis winced. "Astral Vine? I can replace money and daggers but not that sword."
Lina grinned. "Don't worry, I talked to some members of the Theives Guild and they're looking for it, if they can't then they're passing the information onto a friend of mine who should."
Zelgadis blushed. "You don't have to..."
The young woman laughed. "Zel! Don't think I haven't seen you sleep with that thing like it was a security blanket! I know it means a lot to you and if we can find the sword then we can probably find the jerks who attacked you."
Zelgadis grinned nastily. "Revenge sounds good to me."
"I thought it would." she paused and then leaned forward. "Hey Zel, when was the last time you have yourself examined. To find out what you could about your body?"
Zelgadis blinked. "Examined? What do you mean?"
Lina shrugged. "Exactly what I'm saying, have you ever had another mage take a look at your body to see how Rezo made you the way you are?"
He blinked again... once... twice. "Would that help me find the cure?"
Lina choked. "You mean... never!?"
He shook his head. "I wasn't aware it was possible."
***
Journal entry #457
Moon Phase- full
I knew it!
The apocalypse is coming! All the signs are here! Sylphiel shouted at Gourry and now it turns out that Zelgadis's knowledge of practical magic is so full of holes it could win a swiss cheese beauty contest!
I can't see how I could have overlooked it though, he's always seemed so... learned? Dependable? Smart? Studied? Oh hell, but now that I think about it I see that his knowledge of the arcane is restricted to battle magic!
It turns out Rezo taught him everything he knows, and it's not much let me tell you! Zel's pretty embarrassed about the whole thing and refuses to apprentice himself to another mage to fill in the gaps.
I quote 'It could take years, Lina! I haven't got years! I won't spend a second longer in this body than I have to!'
Sylphiel and I pow-wowed and we agreed that since I had the most knowledge od Shamanisim, Zel's specialty, I would teach him everything I know... starting from the ground up. Zel's agreed to travel with us, but he's being awfully pissy about it.
Aiden's head apprentice came by with Zel's sword, apparently some joker came by and wanted it melted down. That I don't understand, as a sword Astral Vine is worth way more than the cost of the metal put in it. Zel even let me check it out in case it was made from Orihalcon or something (it's just plain steel and brass). I even looked at the stone in the hilt, the only thing I discovered was that the spell that makes Astral Vine special is stored in there, no biggie.
I'm not going to think too hard on that, though. There are too many possible explanations that I just don't want to deal with. I paid Aiden enough that he could melt down some scrap steel and buy some smelted bonze to give the guy, I even got him a stone to match the one in Astral Vine's hilt. That ought to cover our bases.
It was worth it, though. Zel was real glad to have his sword back, I guess he has some sentimental attachments to it (can't imagine why, he hated Rezo's guts after all) At least now he has something other than the clothes on his back.
We've decided to stay an extra day in Canturbury so Zel can replace everything he lost. We haven't found the a-holes who did this to him, Aiden never saw the guy who brought the sword to be melted down and his apprentice didn't look too close. It's only a matter of time. Their days are numbered.
***
"Gee, Zel. You need to shave?" Lina asked as Zelgadis pored over a shiny selection of shaving kits.
"Yes..." Zelgadis murmured as he inspected a dark brown case. "In the mornings my skin gets soft when the hairs push their way through my skin and when they're new they're soft." He indicated a nick on his cheek. "I can even cut myself. After a few hours the hairs harden until they're like the hair on my head and then I'd have to soak them until they softened up again."
"Wow." Lina whistled. "Complicated."
He snorted. "You have no idea. What do you think of this one?"
Lina peered down at the kit in his hands. "Is the blade honeable? Sometimes they aren't."
Zelgadis checked. "Yes, it comes with a mirror enchanted against breakage as well as a whetstone, a block of soap, and a brush."
"That one is... wow, two silvers. Get it!" she grinned. "that's a steal! Wow, that's cool..." she turned away to look at something.
Zelgadis gave miniscule sigh and watched her out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to examine the shave kit. Her new costume flattered her, the rusty reds and blacks brought out the dazzling fire in her hair and made her eyes dark as crushed rose petals. He especially like the way her black vest laced tightly around her pert figure and the tails of her blouse gave the suggestion of a nice skirt.
The sorceress didn't often wear feminine clothes and Zelgadis found he mourned it. Something about her delicate frame and tiny body coupled with her explosive temper made her the ideal woman (to his mind at least).
His attraction to Lina wasn't something Zelgadis had liked to dwell upon before now, especially when Lina and Gourry had shown every sign of evolving into the Perfect Couple.
"Zel, check this out!" she thrust a leather bound book into his face.
He accepted it and flipped through the pages. They were all blank except for some faint lines inscribed onto the vellum. "What is it... a journal?"
Lina shook her head. "No it's an apprentices note book. It's got a spell on it so that you never run out of pages until you graduate to journeyman status. The inside doesn't matter, what do you think of the outside?"
Zelgadis looked at it dubiously, "It's nice." it was bound in dark brown leather woth antiqued brass bindings at the corners. A smile touched his face. "Let me guess..."
Lina grinned. "Yes, get it if you like the cover. You're going to need it."
***
There would come a time in the near future when Zelgadis would look back on that leisurely shopping trip with longing, before Lina threw herself into teaching him magic from the ground up.
What no one in the group had been aware of was that while Gourry and Sylphiel had been planning their wedding Lina had done a short stint as a Professer in the Spell Academy where she'd learned magic. In addition to her monikers of 'Dramatta' and 'Bandit Slayer' she was also 'Shabrinigdo on a Podium' and the 'Lord of Nightmares Incarnate' (of course her one-time students had no idea how very accurate that last one had been)
What Zelgadis would never be aware of until he too visited that academy was how very easy Lina had been going on him compared to what she had put her other students through.
***
"Recite for me the five elemental summonings one more time." Lina instructed the unhappy chimera between bites of her dinner, which took up half the table on it's own.
Zelgadis frowned thoughtfully and paused his own meal, which took up the other half (he was still trying to regain lost calories) "East Winds that blow have you as their source, into my hand ignite all their force." he said slowly.
"Right, and who is it you're summoning?" Lina interuppted.
"Aereal, the Royal Falcon who lives in the deserts." Zelgadis replied.
Lina nodded. "Good, continue and keep telling me who you're talking about."
Zegadis scratched the back of his head and took another bite of some vegetable dish he couldn't really put a name to. "Crimson fire bruning bright, come into my hands and become and inferno. That would be Darastrix, the dragon who lives in the bottom of the Ircilan Volcano in the southern tropical islands."
Lina nodded again. "Very good, west?"
Zelgadis grinned. "You who sail between Earth and Sky, raging water lend me your strength. That would be Leviathan, dweller in the deep seas. Then, You whose heart beat holds life close, gift me with your benevolence and guard me. That's Gaea, the Serpent coiled around the staff thrust into our world. North would be, Saphire flames engulf me, imbue your wisdom at my command."
Lina smiled her approval. "And who would that be?"
"That is the Hermit dwelling on the summit of the Mountain of Tears, Golgothan." Zelgadis relied and took an bite out of his chicken dinner in triumph.
"Not bad, you pick this up quicker than my other students." Lina took a swallow of peppermint tea and looked around the restaurant. "You seen Gourry and Sylphiel today?"
"I saw them going upstairs." Zelgadis demurred and Lina blushed.
"Oh." she said. "Nevermind then... they -are- newly weds."
A busty waitress approched the table Lina and Zelgadis shared. She carried a carafe of hot tea. "Would either of you care for a fresh pot?"
Lina was the only person at the table drinking tea, Zelgadis had coffee. The sorceress shook her head. "No, mine's fine."
"A refill would be nice." Zelgdis nodded to his coffee cup, which was drained.
The waitress nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Lina watched her go.
"She looks familiar..." she murmured then shrugged. "Oh well."
Zelgadis looked in the direction the waitress had left in. "Don't you have a sister who..."
"NO!" Lina shouted then blushed when people in the restaurant turned around to stare. "Er... sorry!" she leaned over the table to whisper. "That wasn't Luna. She works in the First Watch in Sailoon."
"You mean that restaurant that you won't go near?" Zelgadis asked hesitantly. He rememebred the one and only time Amelia had recommened it (for it's takoyaki) Lina had turned such a deathly white that even Xellos had been worried.
He didn't finish the thiought for the waitress chose that moment to reappear.
"Your coffee, sir." she said in clipped tones. "Please... enjoy." she bowed to Lina and took off.
"I know I've seen her before..." Lina repeated as Zelgadis took a drink from his coffee.
Two things then happened at once. Lina leapt to her feet and knocked the coffee cup out of Zelgadis's hands just as he spat out the mouthful of coffee and threw two glowing bands of energy through the air trhat warapped around the waitress's hands and ankles. The waitress fell to the ground.
"Eee!" she cried as Lina and Zelgadis crossed the room to flank her on both sides.
The Maitre'de came to the girl's rescue. "You will not harrass my..." he paused as he looked at the girl. "Hey! I don't know you!"
"Poison doesn't work on me." Zelgadis told the pseudo-waitress grimly.
"I'll try a knife next time." the waitress replied venomously then turned a spunky smile on Lina. "Hello, Lina my love! Did you miss me? I saw that your air-head bodyguard ditched you for the raven haired girl."
Lina scowled down at the would-be poisoner. "You don't give up, do you Black Fox? You didn't try to poison Gourry last time we met."
"That's because Gourry was never a serious threat to my suit." The waitress levered herself up. "This guy, however..."
Zelgadis looked incredulously to Lina. "This is Black Fox? I heard he was a man!"
"I am!" Black Fox retorted. "I am also a Master of Disguise."
In deference to the sunny weather, Lina left her armor and cloak at the inn and carried her money in a belt pouch. Sylphiel had changed into a spare set of trousers and tunic that were easier to get in and out of than her normal clothes and were also much cooler.
"Oh, Lina-sama! Look over there!"
Lina sighed and looked in the indicated direction. Sylphiel had spotted a clothes merchant who displayed, among other things, a lovely rust colored blouse. The dark-mage paused to look at the blouse, it was loose and looked to be about her size. The color would compliment her hair and eyes and if she went through another growth spurt the strain wouldn't show so soon and so badly as her normal tunic.
"Nice." she agreed.
Sylphiel beamed. "I saw a leather lace-up vest a few stalls back that would look wonderful with it too!"
Lina hummed to herself thoughtfully. "I'd have to get new trousers and boots to match, not to mention gloves." she stalled.
"You'd have to do that anyway!" Sylphiel urged.
As it turned out, Sylphiel talked Lina into the blouse and the vest as well as a matching set of trousers that the vest merchant had and a pair of black half boots.
And so, bedecked in her new, and vastly more comfortable, garb (having done away with her old clothes that no longer fit) Lina dragged Sylphiel to a Swordsmith.
"... but Lina! Won't Zelgadis-san want to pick out his own sword?" she protested.
"Not unless he has to buy a new one." Lina said firmly. "If we're lucky, he won't have to."
An iron bell clanged as Lina dragged Sylphiel into the area of the forge where customers were seen to. There was a scruffy old man lounging at the counter, he came slowly to attention at the sound of the bell.
He was an older man, anywhere from forty to fifty, and made older by the rigors of his work. His black hair was still thick but receding at the brow and laced with shots of silver. He watched them approach with keen blue eyes the shade of a summer morning.
"How may I help you two ladies?" he asked in a gentle baritone. "I'm Aiden Corbin, the Master Smith."
"Lina Inverse and I'm looking for a sword."
The smith whistled appreciatively and looked Lina over again, this time with more interest. "The dramatta? I thought you would be taller."
Lina rolled hereyes and let the jibe pass. "Can you help me?"
Aiden braced him elbows on the counter, laced his fingers together, and set his chin down on them. "That depends, what kind of sword would this be?"
"A stolen one." Lina said shortly and Aiden's eyes went chill.
"I hope you aren't suggesting that I fence stolen goods. This forge is only for custom work." he said in a curiously bland tone.
"My mistake." Lina said in a flippant tone. "I must have seen the Theives Guild mark on your sign and thought..."
Aiden's mouth quirked. "I'm an artisan, little ember." he chuckled. "I copy keys and make duplicates of certain... artifacts. I'm not in the re-distribution or borrowing guilds."
"Then maybe you could do something else." Lina suggested. "Something that I would make worth your while."
"And that would be..."
Lina smiled. "The Black Fox, the one who operates in Dimston. If you could send him a message saying that Lina Inverse is in Canturbury and in need of his... expertise?"
Aiden whistled. "You do know some people don't you? What exactly is this sword? The Sword of Light?"
Lina shook her head. "No, it's called Astral Vine, it was forged by Rezo the Red and belongs to a friend of mine. We found him floating in the town square fountain and relieved of all his possessions. I want to get what things of his back that I can before he comes to."
Aiden frowned and nodded. "I see. I'll have my boys look around town for it and if nothing shows up I'll send word to you and relay your message to Black Fox."
"If you could I would be most grateful." Lina reached for her belt pouch but Aisen shook his head. "No. This is on the house. I have a boy going the Fox's way anyway. You'll know by tonight."
"Thanks." Lina grinned at him. "While I'm here, do you have anything in my size?"
***
Zelgadis was awake when Lina and Sylphiel returned to relieve Gourry from the bedside watch. He was sitting up in bed with a tray on his lap and was wolfing down large amounts of the thick savory stew served up by the inn's kitchen.
"Wow, Zel!" Lina mused as she stuck her head in the door. "When was the last time you ate?"
Zelgadis looked to the sound of her voice. "You're here too, Lina?" he nodded his head at Gourry's peacefully slumbering form. "When I woke up to find him watching me, I thought I'd accidentally caught He and Sylphiel on their honeymoon."
Lina chuckled. "You did, they just refuse to let me out of their sight so I got dragged along. We're going to the Hot Springs at Mipross with a stop in Atlas city to see the Royal Menagerie." she pushed the door all the way open and entered.
Zelgadis gave an appraciative whistle as he got a look at her new ensemble. "Very nice." he looked her over critically. "You've grown three inches and not all of that up."
Lina made a face at him and shook Gourry awake.
"Huh!" the man's hand flew to his sword before he realized it was jsut Lina. "Oh, you girls are back?"
"Mmhmm." Lina nodded. "Sylphiel's in your room, she wants your opinion on her new tunic and she has those sugar rolls you wanted."
"Oh... okay!" Gourry leapt to his feet with the agility of youth and went off to see his wife's new shirt... and probably take it right off again.
Lina shook her head disparagingly and claimed Gourry's seat by the bed. "Go ahead, eat." she made shooing motions with her hands. "Don't let me stop you."
Zelgadis returned to his meal and cleaned his plate before continuiong the conversation.
"Wow!" Lina murmured as Zelgadis wiped up the last bit of gravy from the bottom of the second bowl with a peice of bread. "I was kidding when I asked you how long it was since you ate."
"Two weeks." Zelgadis replied gruffly. "Three weeks since I ate anything I care to remember." he shuddered. "Four since my last cup of coffee."
Lina frowned. "Are you in trouble?"
The chimera snorted. "Yes. You found me unconscious in a public fountain, robbed, and starving." he sighed. "If you must know, I got lost in the Mountains looking for a Shrine that is supposed to grant wishes."
She winced. "Did you find it?"
"Yes." he growled. "It only grants wishes for wealth."
"Ouch, I suppose you just got into town?" she hazarded.
Zelgadis nodded again. "I can hear you thinking it. Yes, that's when I got knocked out I was already weakened enough that it put me out." he glanced at his pajamas. "Did they take my clothes too?"
"Nope." Lina said shortly. "They're out back drying. They did get your money, your dagger, and Astral Vine."
Zelgadis winced. "Astral Vine? I can replace money and daggers but not that sword."
Lina grinned. "Don't worry, I talked to some members of the Theives Guild and they're looking for it, if they can't then they're passing the information onto a friend of mine who should."
Zelgadis blushed. "You don't have to..."
The young woman laughed. "Zel! Don't think I haven't seen you sleep with that thing like it was a security blanket! I know it means a lot to you and if we can find the sword then we can probably find the jerks who attacked you."
Zelgadis grinned nastily. "Revenge sounds good to me."
"I thought it would." she paused and then leaned forward. "Hey Zel, when was the last time you have yourself examined. To find out what you could about your body?"
Zelgadis blinked. "Examined? What do you mean?"
Lina shrugged. "Exactly what I'm saying, have you ever had another mage take a look at your body to see how Rezo made you the way you are?"
He blinked again... once... twice. "Would that help me find the cure?"
Lina choked. "You mean... never!?"
He shook his head. "I wasn't aware it was possible."
***
Journal entry #457
Moon Phase- full
I knew it!
The apocalypse is coming! All the signs are here! Sylphiel shouted at Gourry and now it turns out that Zelgadis's knowledge of practical magic is so full of holes it could win a swiss cheese beauty contest!
I can't see how I could have overlooked it though, he's always seemed so... learned? Dependable? Smart? Studied? Oh hell, but now that I think about it I see that his knowledge of the arcane is restricted to battle magic!
It turns out Rezo taught him everything he knows, and it's not much let me tell you! Zel's pretty embarrassed about the whole thing and refuses to apprentice himself to another mage to fill in the gaps.
I quote 'It could take years, Lina! I haven't got years! I won't spend a second longer in this body than I have to!'
Sylphiel and I pow-wowed and we agreed that since I had the most knowledge od Shamanisim, Zel's specialty, I would teach him everything I know... starting from the ground up. Zel's agreed to travel with us, but he's being awfully pissy about it.
Aiden's head apprentice came by with Zel's sword, apparently some joker came by and wanted it melted down. That I don't understand, as a sword Astral Vine is worth way more than the cost of the metal put in it. Zel even let me check it out in case it was made from Orihalcon or something (it's just plain steel and brass). I even looked at the stone in the hilt, the only thing I discovered was that the spell that makes Astral Vine special is stored in there, no biggie.
I'm not going to think too hard on that, though. There are too many possible explanations that I just don't want to deal with. I paid Aiden enough that he could melt down some scrap steel and buy some smelted bonze to give the guy, I even got him a stone to match the one in Astral Vine's hilt. That ought to cover our bases.
It was worth it, though. Zel was real glad to have his sword back, I guess he has some sentimental attachments to it (can't imagine why, he hated Rezo's guts after all) At least now he has something other than the clothes on his back.
We've decided to stay an extra day in Canturbury so Zel can replace everything he lost. We haven't found the a-holes who did this to him, Aiden never saw the guy who brought the sword to be melted down and his apprentice didn't look too close. It's only a matter of time. Their days are numbered.
***
"Gee, Zel. You need to shave?" Lina asked as Zelgadis pored over a shiny selection of shaving kits.
"Yes..." Zelgadis murmured as he inspected a dark brown case. "In the mornings my skin gets soft when the hairs push their way through my skin and when they're new they're soft." He indicated a nick on his cheek. "I can even cut myself. After a few hours the hairs harden until they're like the hair on my head and then I'd have to soak them until they softened up again."
"Wow." Lina whistled. "Complicated."
He snorted. "You have no idea. What do you think of this one?"
Lina peered down at the kit in his hands. "Is the blade honeable? Sometimes they aren't."
Zelgadis checked. "Yes, it comes with a mirror enchanted against breakage as well as a whetstone, a block of soap, and a brush."
"That one is... wow, two silvers. Get it!" she grinned. "that's a steal! Wow, that's cool..." she turned away to look at something.
Zelgadis gave miniscule sigh and watched her out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to examine the shave kit. Her new costume flattered her, the rusty reds and blacks brought out the dazzling fire in her hair and made her eyes dark as crushed rose petals. He especially like the way her black vest laced tightly around her pert figure and the tails of her blouse gave the suggestion of a nice skirt.
The sorceress didn't often wear feminine clothes and Zelgadis found he mourned it. Something about her delicate frame and tiny body coupled with her explosive temper made her the ideal woman (to his mind at least).
His attraction to Lina wasn't something Zelgadis had liked to dwell upon before now, especially when Lina and Gourry had shown every sign of evolving into the Perfect Couple.
"Zel, check this out!" she thrust a leather bound book into his face.
He accepted it and flipped through the pages. They were all blank except for some faint lines inscribed onto the vellum. "What is it... a journal?"
Lina shook her head. "No it's an apprentices note book. It's got a spell on it so that you never run out of pages until you graduate to journeyman status. The inside doesn't matter, what do you think of the outside?"
Zelgadis looked at it dubiously, "It's nice." it was bound in dark brown leather woth antiqued brass bindings at the corners. A smile touched his face. "Let me guess..."
Lina grinned. "Yes, get it if you like the cover. You're going to need it."
***
There would come a time in the near future when Zelgadis would look back on that leisurely shopping trip with longing, before Lina threw herself into teaching him magic from the ground up.
What no one in the group had been aware of was that while Gourry and Sylphiel had been planning their wedding Lina had done a short stint as a Professer in the Spell Academy where she'd learned magic. In addition to her monikers of 'Dramatta' and 'Bandit Slayer' she was also 'Shabrinigdo on a Podium' and the 'Lord of Nightmares Incarnate' (of course her one-time students had no idea how very accurate that last one had been)
What Zelgadis would never be aware of until he too visited that academy was how very easy Lina had been going on him compared to what she had put her other students through.
***
"Recite for me the five elemental summonings one more time." Lina instructed the unhappy chimera between bites of her dinner, which took up half the table on it's own.
Zelgadis frowned thoughtfully and paused his own meal, which took up the other half (he was still trying to regain lost calories) "East Winds that blow have you as their source, into my hand ignite all their force." he said slowly.
"Right, and who is it you're summoning?" Lina interuppted.
"Aereal, the Royal Falcon who lives in the deserts." Zelgadis replied.
Lina nodded. "Good, continue and keep telling me who you're talking about."
Zegadis scratched the back of his head and took another bite of some vegetable dish he couldn't really put a name to. "Crimson fire bruning bright, come into my hands and become and inferno. That would be Darastrix, the dragon who lives in the bottom of the Ircilan Volcano in the southern tropical islands."
Lina nodded again. "Very good, west?"
Zelgadis grinned. "You who sail between Earth and Sky, raging water lend me your strength. That would be Leviathan, dweller in the deep seas. Then, You whose heart beat holds life close, gift me with your benevolence and guard me. That's Gaea, the Serpent coiled around the staff thrust into our world. North would be, Saphire flames engulf me, imbue your wisdom at my command."
Lina smiled her approval. "And who would that be?"
"That is the Hermit dwelling on the summit of the Mountain of Tears, Golgothan." Zelgadis relied and took an bite out of his chicken dinner in triumph.
"Not bad, you pick this up quicker than my other students." Lina took a swallow of peppermint tea and looked around the restaurant. "You seen Gourry and Sylphiel today?"
"I saw them going upstairs." Zelgadis demurred and Lina blushed.
"Oh." she said. "Nevermind then... they -are- newly weds."
A busty waitress approched the table Lina and Zelgadis shared. She carried a carafe of hot tea. "Would either of you care for a fresh pot?"
Lina was the only person at the table drinking tea, Zelgadis had coffee. The sorceress shook her head. "No, mine's fine."
"A refill would be nice." Zelgdis nodded to his coffee cup, which was drained.
The waitress nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Lina watched her go.
"She looks familiar..." she murmured then shrugged. "Oh well."
Zelgadis looked in the direction the waitress had left in. "Don't you have a sister who..."
"NO!" Lina shouted then blushed when people in the restaurant turned around to stare. "Er... sorry!" she leaned over the table to whisper. "That wasn't Luna. She works in the First Watch in Sailoon."
"You mean that restaurant that you won't go near?" Zelgadis asked hesitantly. He rememebred the one and only time Amelia had recommened it (for it's takoyaki) Lina had turned such a deathly white that even Xellos had been worried.
He didn't finish the thiought for the waitress chose that moment to reappear.
"Your coffee, sir." she said in clipped tones. "Please... enjoy." she bowed to Lina and took off.
"I know I've seen her before..." Lina repeated as Zelgadis took a drink from his coffee.
Two things then happened at once. Lina leapt to her feet and knocked the coffee cup out of Zelgadis's hands just as he spat out the mouthful of coffee and threw two glowing bands of energy through the air trhat warapped around the waitress's hands and ankles. The waitress fell to the ground.
"Eee!" she cried as Lina and Zelgadis crossed the room to flank her on both sides.
The Maitre'de came to the girl's rescue. "You will not harrass my..." he paused as he looked at the girl. "Hey! I don't know you!"
"Poison doesn't work on me." Zelgadis told the pseudo-waitress grimly.
"I'll try a knife next time." the waitress replied venomously then turned a spunky smile on Lina. "Hello, Lina my love! Did you miss me? I saw that your air-head bodyguard ditched you for the raven haired girl."
Lina scowled down at the would-be poisoner. "You don't give up, do you Black Fox? You didn't try to poison Gourry last time we met."
"That's because Gourry was never a serious threat to my suit." The waitress levered herself up. "This guy, however..."
Zelgadis looked incredulously to Lina. "This is Black Fox? I heard he was a man!"
"I am!" Black Fox retorted. "I am also a Master of Disguise."