Kin & Kind, Part 2
A few weeks later, Lina and Gourry sneaked across the Elmekian border a bit south of the Gabriev lands. They didn't want to alert whomever had sent the assassin that they were in the Empire, especially if border guards farther north happened to catch them.
While on their way, Lina noticed during their meal times that Gourry was obviously anxious. He only ordered double portions of everything, not triple. He seemed more maddeningly distracted than usual. Conversations were very unsatisfactory as his responses often consisted of "Uh," "Huh," "Uh huh," and "Uh uh." Taking out a couple bandit gangs didn't relieve the tension, for Gourry had always been uncomfortable with Lina's method of replenishing the travel purse.
After three nights of his flailing about in his sleep and his yelling in Elmekian, which she only slightly knew, the petite sorceress had had it. Gourry was looking confused, more so than usual, and haggard. She couldn't believe the normally easy-going swordsman could be so angst-ridden. Even in the preludes of their encounters with the most powerful mazoku and Shabranigdo himself, Gourry had seemed so calm in comparison.
After completing a breakfast where he had stolen only two sausages and one fried egg from her, and that, it appeared, only out of habit, Lina stood up straight and, fists propping her up, she leaned across the table. With her face inches from his she bellowed, "Ok, Gourry, what the heck is eating you instead of your eating your food?! Are you losing your nerve with the thought of perhaps running into your older brother or other relatives by accident?"
With a unhappy, confused look instead of his usual cheerful visage, he whispered, "No, not that, Lina. I don't know. It's something to do with being back in Elmekia, I think... I feel so uneasy, like something from my past is going to bite me, a bad memory of some sort."
A snide remark started to come to her mouth, but retreated when his tone of voice and look overcame her brash side and awoke her newly discovered affectionate one. She went to his side, put her arms around her husband's shoulders, and hugged him closely and comfortingly. He sighed and smiled lovingly at her.
A couple days later, they came upon a vastly devastated land, where ruins, scattered weapons, and rusted armor gave proof that an enormous battle had taken place. From their vantage point on the edge of the terrain, they could see maimed ghosts, their business unfinished, flit over the landscape. Lina heard a painful gulp come from throat of her mate as they surveyed the desolation. Looking over at him, to her utter surprise she saw tears streaming down his face and his left hand covering his mouth as though to stifle any sorrowful sound he might make. Standing straight and stiff, he made a manly effort to control his emotions, but he suddenly bent over, and his abdomen jerked in spasms as he fought down sobs. His eyes held a haunted, horrified look. "Gourry!? What the....?" she inquired gently, shaken by his very uncharacteristic reaction to the sight before them.
"I remember, Lina, oh gods, I remember. I've always have been successful at blocking out bad stuff and focusing on the now, but...!" he broke off and sank to his knees, his hair swinging forward and hiding his agony. Lina could just make out a few of his whispered words, "There and there...Innocents...Kids, women, ...friends... Ghastly deaths... Senseless war... greed...betrayal..." He turned a stricken face to Lina and spat out, "Each side made grand declarations that they had the good of their subjects in mind. But they all lied, Lina, they LIED!"
Lina decided her usual method of administering tough therapy wasn't called for and, kneeling in front of him, she gently pushed back his hair. His tears weren't the comically spurting ones of self pity or streams of slapstick pain. They were the slow trickles of sorrow felt for the loss and waste of the lives of others and for a survivor's remembered helplessness to prevent it. Somehow surviver's guilt manifested itself in Gourry here, while even the destruction of Sairaag hadn't. She cradled his face in her hands and softly said, "Let it out."
"M...m...mercenaries supposed to care only about getting paid, but, Lina, I couldn't think only of the spoils...I couldn't fight just for fighting's sake either, unlike poor Grize... I need a purpose, pure and clean,...like protecting you."
"I know, I know, Gourry. Say, after defeating that cult trying to raise a monster and war, we never saw your friend, Grize again."
"He was one of them. I...I...I had to kill him. He was a true warrior and couldn't live without war. He almost murdered you while you were counteracting the summoning spell."
"No, Gourry, YOU are the true warrior, because you do what you can to avoid conflict and apply your skills full heartedly only when you feel it's necessary and just. (Gads, I sound like Amelia. She does grow on you.)"
With an effort, he got a hold of his control again and continued, "But so many in the armies didn't care about anything else but loot, fighting, and...and...other lusts. There used to be a peaceful town here. A few weeks before the battle, my mercenary group stayed in this very place. The people were friendly, and the food was good. One afternoon I did sword tricks for the kids. One of them took me home to meet his brothers and sisters and to have his mother feed me. One of his sisters near my age was so lively, self-assured, and pretty. She wasn't a clinger. Not much in the figure department, but..." Gourry trailed off and wiped his eyes with his forearm. "She was studying magic, but wanted to learn swordsmanship. I spent several days instructing her and her brothers. She would have been a fine companion to any wanderer."
Lina felt a stab of jealousy and sat back on her knees from him until he added, "She could have been almost as good as you are, though not as beautiful. Then the final battle of the Empire's civil war came here. The leader of our mercenary band sent Grize to the leader of another to ask for reinforcements. Grize was wounded and couldn't return. I was fighting back to back with my fellow mercenaries and thought of the family that had made me so welcome. I managed to fight my way to their home, but it was too late...Gods, Lina, the expressions on their faces, at least of those that still had faces left. And she..." Gourry paused again with shudders running throughout his large frame.
He clutched Lina tightly in his arms and silently held her for a few moments before resuming, "I saw the boy who had delighted in my swordplay suddenly dash from the ruins of his home. An arrow took him in the throat...from someone in my mercenary company! Our s were on the arrow. As I ran toward the boy and knocked aside other arrows, swords, maces, and whatever, I saw several soldiers from each side fighting over the spoils they found in the house. Our captain so strong and good tried to restore order but was slain from behind as I tried to run to her defense. Then I was suddenly knocked unconscious."
The swordsman rose to his feet, and Lina slipped her arm around his waist, love and concern shimmering in her big, dark-cherry ed eyes. She agreed with his request when he pleaded, "Please, Lina. Let's detour around this area. I don't know how I would take it if I saw more of their ghosts." He then mused gratefully, "Lina, it's so good to have a strong woman as my wife instead of a constantly clingy one. You're there for me when I need you."
As they slowly walked, her arm around his waist, his across her shoulders, a faint smile crossed the the man's face. "The next thing I remember is waking up in a warm, comfortable bed. I had been found and physically healed." A thought occurred to him. "Lina! Maybe it was one of my old mercenary companions who sent the assassin because of what I saw. Or someone from this village is taking revenge on the members of my old company for betraying hospitality."
"If they did, they must've gotten rich after the battle, if they could afford that particular assassin," Lina snorted.
Just then a young person suddenly appeared, ran and embraced the blond. "Master Gourry, is it really you? And who is this lady? She looks like a sorceress." Realizing from Lina's outfit that she wasn't from Elmekian Empire, out of courtesy he had spoken in the common trade tongue.
The couple stared in startled amazement at the young man who had addressed Gourry. He seemed to be about 13 or 14 years old, for his voice was just starting to change. His light brown hair was in a short bowl cut and he was clad in a homespun, rust ed, long sleeved tunic which fastened at the side of the collarband and down one side of his body. The tunic was simply embroidered along the edges and reached mid-thigh. A woven belt bunched it together around his narrow waist. Semi-white wrappings covered ankles and calves and the lower ends of his loose dark brown trousers. His shoes were woven straw and tied on with cords that laced up around his lower legs. A bulky bag was carried over his shoulder.
"Oh, that's right. After that bad head injury, your memory was kinda affected," the young man continued. "We had hoped it wouldn't be permanent."
For the first time in days, a true, radiant smile adorned Gourry's face. "I have a hard time following long conversations and remembering stuff, but I do recall when people have been kind, Elyah! I'm surprised you recognized me. You were much younger. You've grown splendidly."
"Ahem!" Lina interrupted.
"Uh-oh, I'd better introduce you before fireballs fly. This is my wife, Lina Inverse, now Gabrieva."
"THE Lina Inverse? You actually MARRIED her?"
Lina started to turn a dangerous shade of red, but before disaster, i.e., Lina, could fall on the youth, Elyah exclaimed, "Wow, that's so cool! We heard you had incredible adventures, and now I find you have married the world's most famous sorceress!"
The air chilled down to a comfortable temperature.
"Elyah and his grandmother found me almost dead on the battle field, Lina."
"Yeah, Baba and I had been counting supplies in a hidden storage cellar near our house when the battle reached the town." A very sad look crossed Elyah's face. "The rest of my family didn't survive," he added softly, but continued more cheerfully, "My gran'ma used to be a pretty powerful shrine maiden and is still real good at healing. She was doing what she could after the battle when we discovered Master Gourry. His injuries seemed to be healing pretty fast, even before Baba got started on 'em, but he just lay on his bed, face to the wall for a very long time. When a few of his merc friends finally found him, he just sat there dull-eyed and holding the empty hilt of his sword, saying, "I've forgotten what this sword is for. Go away." Yet after that he had a blade inserted in the hilt, and when some nasty leftover bandit scum tried to take what little we had left, Master Gourry suddenly got up with his sword and sent what remained running. I asked him why he said he had forgotten how to use the sword."
As Elyah paused for breath after this torrent of words, Gourry sighed and said, "I answered that I didn't mean I had forgotten how to fight with it, although my fellow mercs interpreted it that way. I had been so caught up with earning my living on my own and with the excitement of fighting side by side with those I thought were great warriors, that I ended up using the Sword in a dirty war where innocents were killed and hurt. Your granny helped me realize having the Sword of Light gave me a duty to live in the moment and protect those I could. She convinced me I couldn't spend my time grieving over what I couldn't change. It was much like the advice my old master of the sword used to give me."
Lina patted her husband's chest and looked about her. "What are you doing around here, Elyah? It's hardly a fit playground for a young one," Lina inquired.
"Oh, I gather old weapons, metal, stuff that can be recycled for money. Most of the other kids don't like to scavenge around here. It's too depressing and scary, but we need the money, and Baba's given me some protection spells against ghosts and such...Hey, you guys hungry? Baba will be awfully glad to see you, Master Gourry."
The couple's eyes lit up.
"Lead on!" cried Lina.
The grandmother was indeed overjoyed to see her former patient in good health and married. Her pale blue eyes sparkled, and her old, rosy cheeks plumped up like apples as she smiled at the couple. A brightly ed, flowered scarf covered her grey hair, wisps of which escaped around her face. Lina noticed the old woman still had her teeth. The sleeves of her peasant blouse were pushed up, and the front of her floor-length, brown, formless jumper and green apron, which reached from the top of her chest to the edge of the embroidery on her jumper, were covered in streaks of flour. She was in the midst of baking potato filled pastries and bread, but welcomed them inside with enthusiasm.
Although her home was sparsely furnished, the smell of healing herbs drying and shelves of books gave it a comfortable feeling. Lina recognized most of the titles dealing with magic and had a very pleasant conversation with the old sorceress. The food was basic, and, while not enough to fill them up, they were satisfied and conscious that if they were their usual gluttonous selves, the boy and woman, given their meager means, would be sorely tried to replenish their stocks. After spending the night and entertaining their hostess and host with the tales of their exploits, Lina and Gourry left the next morning. The joy was back in Gourry's strides, and he seemed more alert. He had come to terms again with the past. Lina smiled at the resumption of their banter as they traveled.
As she made up the bed the couple had occupied, the old woman discovered a small bag of gold coins with a note in a feminine hand that just said "Thank you for saving him."
During their passage through a mountainous forest with immense trees a few weeks later, it seemed to Lina that eyes in the trunks watched them, and she felt very uneasy. Gourry, however, looked about as if he was expecting someone.
"Gourry?"
"I think it's too soon for the Leshy of this forest to be reborn. It's not really spring yet, but I'm not sure. Sometimes he'll take the form of someone you know. You just have to be very careful," he replied.
Suddenly, three swans seemed to emerge from the trunks of three oaks. These changed into three tall, blonde women with wings, which folded and disappeared. They wore long white, diaphanous shifts and seemed to float toward the couple. One was taller than the other two and wore a wreath of flowers. The sorceress blushed and swallowed envy as she noticed their chest assets gently bobbing. At first, they ignored her and began hugging and kissing her husband, who responded in kind.
Lina's anger began to rise, resulting in her starting to ready a Mega Brando. Gourry saved his butt by giving a cry of delight and speaking in the common trade tongue for Lina's benefit, "Auntie Neda, Auntie Dora, and, gods, can it be, Granny Samovila? Is Moma nearby, too?"
"One of those tall, young, gorgeous women is his granny?!" Lina asked herself in amazement.
The women looked expectantly from Gourry to Lina. Grabbing Gourry by a lock of his long hair, Lina pulled his head down to whisper in his ear, "Gourry, I take it was your father's mother that told you with her last breath to be kind to women and children?"
"I said something like that? That last breath thing must have been just me joking around. I probably winked at you, didn't I? This is really the one that said it."
Lina narrowed her eyes and looked more closely at the women. She recalled some of her ethnic studies. "Crap," she thought to herself, "They're the legendary vili, the guardian beings of the Elmekian forests. Aieee! In some parts of the Empire they're rumored to lure men to their deaths, especially those who betray innocent maidens. No wonder Gourry remembered his granny told him to be nice to girls. Wait a minute! Hello. This means Gourry's mother was a vila? Well, that explains the hair, reflexes, beauty and damn good moves in bed." She felt her blood rush to her face as these thoughts raced through her mind.
Meanwhile, standing behind her and putting both his hands on her shoulders, Gourry introduced her to his relatives, who had stood patiently by during the couple's exchange of words, "Granny and Aunties, this is my wife, Lina."
Lina was still in shock at this latest revelation as to her husband's background. "P-p-leased to meet you," she stuttered.
"Ah, the famous little Lina Inverse." As the redhead began to bridle at the 'little', Granny amended, "She's quite an excellent catch, Grandson. Yes, we know who you are, Lina. You are as cute and powerful as we heard. Hmmm. Good hips, too. When are you gonna take that birth control spell off this boy, Dear?" She grinned at the couple.
Lina had basked in the 'cute and powerful,' but her jaw gathered wild flowers when it hit the ground at the audaciousness of Granny's question. While she blushed furiously, she reminded herself, "It wouldn't do to blast Granny to the moon at our first meeting."
To her satisfaction, Gourry yelped, "When we're good and ready, and it isn't now!"
Granny Samovila giggled mischievously, "I may be a vila, but I do like little babies. Revenge for the trouble parents gave as kids is sweet. Besides, it's what I'm supposed to say as an old lady, isn't it?"
"Yeah, right. Except old ladies usually don't look like the center-fold of a pornographic manuscript," Lina snorted to herself.
Gourry quickly tried to change the subject and repeated his earlier question, "How's my mother? I've been worried about her all these years. She's the one who sent me off with the Sword of Light."
Samovila gave a heavy sigh, "She disappeared the same night you did. The trees tell me she still lives, but not where. My heart has been sore many years now, but is eased somewhat by seeing you again." She pinched his cheek playfully, but a small tear traced down her own face at the same time.
"Do you think my brother...?" Gourry started to say as he hugged his grandmother to comfort her.
"You both are part human. Who knows what taint affected him?"
"Hey, now," Lina broke in, "We humans aren't perfect, but not all of us are so bad!"
"Yes, Lina, that is true." Samovila shook her head as if to clear it. "Well, tears are not the welcome you two deserve. Come. Let's feast and be merry. You must tell us your adventures yourself. We've heard such strange things."
Near the kolo [dance] area of the vili, a box of eyes of male malefactors who had the misfortune to stumble onto the dancing of the vili reminded Lina that the beautiful, immortal beings could also be very dangerous. She gave a little shudder. That evening the young couple were given a feast, and the beautiful voices of the vili were lifted in song.
Giving Gourry a narrow bag, Samovila smiled and asked, "Grandson, do you still remember how to play the flute for us?"
"I don't know. It's been a very long time since I've played, but I'll give it a try."
The swordsman removed the pieces of a well polished wooden flute from the bag and fitted them together. Putting it to his lips he ran through a few scales and softly and slowly began to play a dance melody.
The vila nodded and, holding Lina's hand, gathered the other vili to begin a simple circle dance. As the night progressed, Gourry seemed to remember more dance tunes, and the circle dancing became wilder and the footwork more intricate. Lina had to sit down eventually, and some of the vili joined her off and on to speak to her.
In the course of conversations Lina learned more about her husband's family. To her surprise, she discovered Rowdy had not married the elf maid. He had aged much faster than she, and they had grown apart. However, a grandson did take her as his bride, and so there was some elvish blood in the Gabriev family after all.
The vili also revealed Gourry's older brothers and sister were step-siblings. Their mother had died, and the Swordsman of Light had wandered into the woods of the vili. He encountered Neda, Dora, and Gourry's mother, Ivana, bathing in a stream and was entranced by their beauty, especially that of Gourry's mother.
Like Gourry, he had had a mischievous streak not helped by intelligence and stole their robes. It was fortunate for him that they recognized him as the Swordsman of Light and were in a good humor. As a payback, the elder two wanted to invite him to the vili's evening dance, where he would have been caught and suspended in time for many years, but the youngest, Ivana, didn't want to play that trick on him. Her sisters saw the instantaneous love that was developing between the young vila and Swordsman. They adored their youngest sister and would do anything to keep her happy, even if it meant losing her to a mortal. As the eldest managed to snatch her robe from his hands, she whispered in his ear to cover the youngest with his cloak and to hide her robe. Otherwise, she would not be able to stay with him outside the circle of their influence. After a long, laughing struggle for the middle sister's robe, they all went to the Samovila.
She, too, loved her youngest mightily, but reluctantly relinquished her daughter to Gourry's father.
After the dancing and a few glasses of excellent wine, Lina got up the courage to ask, "Do you know anything about an magical Elmekian belt?"
"Oho, you ARE thinking about children after all!" Granny chuckled.
"No, no, no!" the couple yelled. "We investigating it for friends," Lina hastily added.
Aunt Dora informed them, "It disappeared with Gourry's mother."
Lina gave herself a mental slap and realized, "So that's how Jelly-fish knew about the belt. I wondered."
"Well, I guess we have two reasons now to hunt for the belt," Lina said out loud.
"You changed your mind about having kids?" Gourry asked incredulously as he disassembled, cleaned and put away the flute.
"Gods, no!" Lina roared as her head enlarged and her fangs appeared. A gloved fist lowered the unfortunate man to the floor. "We're going to search for your mother as well, Idiot!"
Samovila hastily interjected, "As to where to look, probably far north is best. South is the desert where no trees grow. We vili cannot live long without them, and if she had been taken there unwillingly, she would have perished. We know she is still alive. The vili and rusalki of the farther north have hinted she is somewhere there, but they are more aligned with Darkness than we. To my sorrow, my daughters of those far reaches are more about revenge than protection. To fill their ranks, they capture the spirits of women betrayed by lovers. Our communications are rather strained.
"Then further north we shall go." Lina confirmed and elbowed her husband awake.
"I think we should travel farther north, Lina," Gourry sleepily muttered.
"Grrrr! Jellyfish-brains!
As they journeyed northward, Lina tried to convince her husband that they would have to visit the rest of his family after all in order to discover the fate of his mother and the Belt.
"You know, Dear, we could disguise ourselves so none of your family would recognize you," Lina batted her eyelashes innocently at him.
"Nuh-uh. Nope. I'm not letting you 'drag' me to my family's home! Gods!" he protested as he back-pedaled away from the sorceress.
Lina started to run after him, when a strange sight met her eyes. Standing in what seemed a giant mortar and holding an equally large pestle, a wizened old lady with a brightly ed kerchief on her head suddenly floated down before them.
"Baba Yaga!" yelled Gourry, and his hand flew to the hilt of his sword.
The old lady squinted at the two and exclaimed in Elmekian, "Ah, there you are, my golden Knight of the Day, but what is the fiery red Knight of Evening doing with you? And where are your horses, you naughty boys?"
Before Lina could fire off a spell, Baba Yaga gestured and the couple found themselves frozen, crammed in the mortar with the witch, and flying away.
As she paddled with the pestle, Baba Yaga muttered, "First I lose my spectacles, and then two of my Knights lose their horses and play hide and seek with me. You boys are gonna be sorry!"
Immobilized with the spell the witch had put on the couple, Gourry was rigidly holding on to the sides of the mortar. Lina had picked up enough Elmekian by then to cause her to gnash her teeth and be frustrated at being taken for a boy yet again. Suddenly she noticed something flashing on the top of Baba Yaga's head.
"Uh, Lady, what's that on top of your kerchief?"
"Eh? Oh, my glasses!" exclaimed the delighted witch as she pulled them off the top of her head. She put them on and blinked. "Ooo, Blondie, you're even cuter than my Knight of the Day. I think I'll give him a little vacation. Sorry, Red, I don't need a girl servant right now. Besides which, you're too scrawny to eat." And she pushed Lina out of the mortar and flew off.
Lina gave a yelp of surprise and cast levitation, the witch's spell having dissipated once she pushed Lina out of the mortar. Gathering her breath quickly and shouting "Ray Wing!" she discretely followed the speeding mortar to the stockade of Baba Yaga. The stockade made her grimace as skulls with fiery eye sockets lined the top of it, but the sight of the house made Lina's eyes glow as well. It was situated on the biggest chicken legs Lina had ever laid eyes on. True, they still hopped around and needed de-feathering, and there was that matter of a highly intricately carved house on the top of them. But a nice big fireball would help take care of that.
As she hovered above, she noticed a handsome, blond man in shorts, sunglasses, and Hawaiian shirt happily speeding out the stockade gate. Gourry, still immobilized by the spell, was getting outfitted in golden and white armor by Baba Yaga, who was explaining the route he should take in the morning.
"That's a big mistake," Lina giggled. "She'll be lucky ol' Mister Can't Find the Way Out of a Box With a Map ever returns."
Leaving the swordsman still as a statue, the old witch again mounted her mortar and flew away.
Lina's growling stomach told her to take care of those chicken legs first. The aromatic burning house roasted them quite tastily. Lina felt great satisfaction as she picked chicken bits out of her teeth. With Gourry unable to move, she had had the big treat all to herself.
It was unfortunate, however, that Lina's meal wasted too much time. The shock Baba Yaga felt at seeing the destruction of her home and guardian lasted only long enough for Lina to cast Flow Break on Gourry and scoop him up to Ray Wing away.
Baba Yaga jumped in her weird transport and screeched after them "Come back here, you little..." All of a sudden, though, she stopped and began laughing her head off. She had realized Lina's Flow Break spell had cancelled more than her own spell. From what she sensed, revenge could be nine months in coming.
To be continued...
(More action next time as well as Zelgadis and Amelia.)
Yes, quite a few may consider there is massive OOCness going on. Blame it on wanting to take characters beyond the stereotypes and what we see officially because they're so loved. In the fifth episode of the Super Explosive Demon Story, I was intrigued by Grize saying he had heard Gourry was worthless and that Gourry had forgotten how to fight. That episode of the manga made Gourry less the cheerful, clueless sidekick and more a man with depth and history who could stand on his own if ever Kanzaka chose to deal with dark spots of Gourry's past more fully. Lacking anything canon I came up with this explanation.
I like to play with mythologies and folklore, being an international folkdancer until my knees gave out. This time I went for the Slavic because of the pseudo-Slavic last name of Gourry, '-iev' being a common ending to Eastern European surnames. It means basicly 'a male of the family of...' (Female ending would be '-ieva'.) For a better use of Slavic folklore in fiction, try reading the science fiction writer C. J. Cherryh's RUSALKA.
I thought a flute would be appropriate for a traveling swordsman to know how to play and perhaps later carry as it can be disassembled easily or even used as a weapon. I remember being told in an ethnomusicology long ago that the Japanese warriors did that with the shakuhachi. The New Grove Dictionary also mentions that the Satsuma warriors of 16th century southern Japan carried a flute type instrument called a tenpuku.