Amelia had been traveling for days, but she knew she couldn't hold out much longer. She hadn't eaten anything sustaining in days, as the rope binding her mouth prevented her from opening it. She had really only managed to drink a bit of water, and only when she found a puddle or small creek. She was beginning to get delirious with hunger.
As she walked ever onward, a wonderful scent wafted through the forest air. Whatever it was, it was close, so Amelia followed the scent. She came to a clearing inthe trees; in the clearing was a campfire with a pot over it. That must be where the sensational smell is coming from! Just as Amelia made to move into the clearing, another scent came to her.
Man.
Normally she would have moved on, but at this point she was too starved to care! Amelia stepped into the clearing.
Zelgadis Greywords was down in the dumps. As of late he had found no new information on potential cures, nor was he having any luck finding any jobs whatsoever to continue funding his search.
On days like this Zelgadis just wanted to get away from everything, and that's exactly what he was doing. He stirred his small pot of soup (the last of his provisions), until he heard a slight rustle in the bushes and looked up.
A wolf. Such a sighting was rare enough, but this wolf hadn't stopped when it saw him. Oh no, it kept on approaching, unnerving Zelgadis with it's blue eyes staring right at him. Zelgadis could stand it no longer so he stood and tried to shoo the wolf away.
The wolf kept coming.
By now it was only three feet away from Zelgadis, and it was going for the soup! This enraged Zelgadis. No way was he going to let a wolf eat his last decent meal! Zelgadis whipped out his sword, slashing at the wolf's face. Zelgadis knew by the loud yelping that he had made contact. The wolf fled instantly.
"Good." Zelgadis smirked.
At least he could still fend off the local wildlife. Zelgadis decided it was best to eat his meager meal before something else came looking for it. He had just taken his first spoonful when another racket came from the surrounding forest.
"Not again. What is wrong with this forest?" Zelgadis stood again, preparing to make quick work of his newest foe.
"Come on, Gourry, it sounds like she ran into some trouble!" Lina came crashing through the bushes.
"What? Lina? And Gourry?" Zelgadis gaped.
"Mm?" Lina looked up to see a familiar face. "Zelgadis! What are you doing out here?"
"I should be asking the same of you?"
Gourry came crashing out of the bushes. "Oh, hi Zelgadis! You didn't see a wolf, did you?"
"A wolf? Yes, actually. Just a moment ago."
"Argh!! We missed her again! Why didn't you stop her?!" Lina grabbed Zelgadis by the scruff of his shirt.
"Erk! Lina! How - was I - supp-osed to know - you were - af-ter her?" Zelgadis choked.
Lina dropped Zelgadis. "I wish this nightmare would end already!"
"Lina, why are you chasing a wolf? That seems rather the unusual job, even for you." Zelgadis frowned.
"Even I know that one! We're chasing after Amelia." Gourry smiled.
Zelgadis could only stare in shock.
"Believe me, Zelgadis, you don't want to know. All I know is Amelia has somebody out to get her. So you saw her?" Lina asked.
"That was Amelia? Amelia is a...a wolf?" Zelgadis gaped.
"Yes Zelgadis, try to stay with me here. What happened, anyway? We heard something." Lina said.
"...I attacked her."
"You did what?!?" Lina lept at Zelgadis, putting him in a headlock. "After all we went through to make sure nothing else happens, you attacked her?!?"
"C-can't breathe!"
"Hey Lina, calm down. It's not like Amelia had a name tag on, or anything." Gourry attempted to calm the raging sorceress.
"If anything happens to her I'm sicing Phil on you!" And with that Lina released Zelgadis,
Zelgadis spent a moment regaining his breath before speaking again. "If that was Amelia, then why aren't you going after her?"
"Yum, good soup!"
"You can say that again!"
"Hey, that was mine!" Zelgadis watched the two consume his food.
"Consider it payback for chasing Amelia off like that. Now it's going to take even longer to find her!" Lina looked up at the setting sun. "And there goes our daylight. We'd be better off to camp here and start again tomorrow."
Zelgadis moved to his things and began to pack up.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lina demanded.
"To tell you the truth Lina, I'd rather not get involved with you again. Nothing personal, but I'd prefer to stay out of trouble this time." Zelgadis replied.
"Then you should have thought twice about attacking Amelia. Besides, we need a decent cook. I for one have had it with fish!"
"What if I said no?"
"I've got a Dragon Slave with your name on it."
Zelgadis dropped his things, then sat cross-legged near the fire, arms crossed in irritation.
"It's not so bad, Zelgadis." Gourry said.
"Easy for you to say. Let's just get this over with as soon as possible." Zelgadis huffed.
"Quiet over there! Some of us would like to get some sleep!" Lina growled.
Gourry was instantly quiet, leaving Zelgadis to stare at the stars. Off in the distance a lone wolf howled a mournful cry. Zelgadis had troubled sleep for the rest of the night.
Amelia staggered on, being in no better shape from her encounter with Zelgadis. The only good gained from it was that Zelgadis' attack had sliced through the rope, freeing Amelia's jaw. Not that she had escaped unscathed. Even now her jaw ached with pain. She had no idea how deep the cut was, only that it had hurt when she licked it.
Suddenly Amelia's feet got wet. In her state she hadn't noticed the river she now stood in. Nor did she care! She was so overjoyed to find water that she even ignored the pain to lap some up. Content at last, she curled up on the bank of the river and fell asleep.
The sun was just coming over the horizon when Amelia woke up. She got up and stretched, then filled herself up on river water again. As she was drinking, she noticed her reflection: the image of a dark brown wolf with bright blue eyes stared back at her. Her gut instinct told her this image was terribly wrong, but she had no idea why. She then continued her journey, not sure what she was journeying for, only knowing that she had to escape her pursuers.
Many hours later Amelia came across a scent that made her senses go wild! Some animal was near, although she had no idea what. So she trailed the scent until it led her to a clearing. In it she saw what she had been trailing: another wolf.
Amelia was very unsure of what to do so she stayed out of sight. An easy task since the other wolf was moving away from her. Not wanting to be left behind, Amelia trailed after the wolf. It must have been going back to it's pack because soon Amelia heard other wolves, then she saw them before her.
Something about the creatures intrigued her! They looked just like she did, and yet she could not understand them. Determined to learn, Amelia stayed hidden in the bushes. Well out of range of the pack, but close enough to study them. And so she watched, listened, and learned.
"If I had known we were going this far north, I would have brought a map." Lina exclaimed.
Zelgadis gave Lina a startled look. "You mean you don't carry one?"
"Nope, never had the need. I just let the road lead me where it's going! Although for special trips I usually ask the locals for directions."
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this." Zelgadis sighed.
"So Lina, where are we going?" Gourry asked.
"Wherever this trail takes us. We haven't found any reasons not to," Lina glared at Zelgadis, "so we'll keep going."
"It's getting dark though, Lina. Don't you think we should stop?" Gourry asked.
"Yeah, I suppose so. I just hope we come across a town or even a village soon. I'm tired of camping out! Ooh, when I finally get my hands on Amelia..."
"You'll what?" Zelgadis gave Lina a look.
"Make her pay Gourry's weight in gold, of course! Or even better, yours! Then I'll never have to work again. But wait! We're all involved in this, so maybe if we combine all three..." Lina gave an evil grin.
"She scares me when she gets like that." Gourry whispered to Zelgadis.
"Now you know why I don't stay with you two more often." Zelgadis replied.
"Hey, what are you two saying about me? Now less talking and more work! I want to eat some time before dawn if that's all right with you two."
Zelgadis and Gourry glanced at each other, trying not to laugh, before dashing off to work.
"Men. Why do I put up with them?" Lina removed a small bundle from her pack. "At least we happened across you, my lovely tidbit. I can't wait to have rabbit stew!" Lina drooled. "Hey Zel, hurry up with that fire and get cooking!"
The pack was in an uproar. Humans had been seen nearby, and what was worse, they were preying off of an already dwindling supply of food. The leader would have none of this! Amelia couldn't quite understand, but the leader intended to raid the human's camp, killing the intruders if need be. Some of the pack weren't quite so eager about this, but the leader would have none of it. The humans had to be kept away at all costs! Finally the pack moved out, Amelia not far behind.
It was well past sunset when Lina's prized dinner was ready. Zelgadis wasn't sure if it was ready or not, but Lina and Gourry had been ready to eat as soon as Zelgadis had everything in the pot. To hold those two off any longer would be suicide!
Lina happily ladled some stew into a makeshift bowl. "Nothing like life on the road to boost your appetite!"
"Not that you need it."
"If it weren't for this delicious food, you'd be toast, Gourry."
Zelgadis sat back and watched the two go at it. There were just some things about Lina and Gourry that he'd never understand. As he thought, a slight noise caught his attention.
"Did you hear that?" Zelgadis asked.
"Hear what?" Lina asked back.
Just then eight wolves burst into the camp! They lunged at the three diners, who were quick to get out of the way.
"What is this?" Lina demanded.
Gourry didn't respond, as he was busy fending off the wolves as he went for his sword.
"Flare Arrow!" Lina began to attack with her tamer spells.
Zelgadis was doing fairly well himself, slashing into his attackers with his sword.
While everyone was engaged in battle, Amelia crept into the campsite. She found Lina's discarded stew and began to eat it. This did not go unnoticed.
"Why, you little... Burst Rondo!" Lina sent her spell into the midst of the wolf pack. Lina took a closer look at her stew thief. "Wait a sec... Gourry, get that one!"
"Right!" Gourry tackled Amelia.
The remainder of the pack quickly fled, leaving the campsite in disrepair.
Lina growled in frustration. "Those pests! Oh, and Gourry, that's not quite what I had in mind."
Gourry got off of the flattened wolf. "Sorry Lina, but it seemed like the best option at the time."
"Why did you go after that one, anyway?" Zelgadis asked.
Lina knelt down by the knocked out wolf and took out a rope. She then tied and end around the wolf's neck, also being sure to loop a part around the muzzle.
"Because, if I'm right, then our search is over."
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Nothing much to add here, other than I'm glad to finally include Zelgadis in on this crazy story. (Don't think he gets off easy, either!)