Author notes: Thank you very much, Ukchana, it was your comments that hit the nail so eloquently on the head as to the problem contained in my story thus far, which gave me the insight and time to lead it in the direction it is now....

Also I haven't read the name of Lina's hometown in a very long time so I am only approximating here, if anyone knows one or more of the correct spellings/pronunciations please feel free to inform me of them, Thank You.

ANN: I have also forgotten if Filia has pointed ears, its not really important but if anyone knows that would also help me a lot Thank Thank You

The Status Quo

Chapter Four: Toward the Sea We Go!

The afternoon sun was beginning to droop in the western sky. The beautiful oranges, reds, and yellows that filled and mixed in the sky were lost to two people. Xellos stood in an open field adjacent to the house, his staff in hand. The red stone shined brightly as it tapped the ground creating a shallow gouge in the earth. Filia gently placed the body of her dear friend into it wiping away the last of her tears as she piled the earth on top of her, covering her dull green eyes and beautiful brown hair that was once the envy of many in the small town, and Zephalia alike.

Filia remained knelt against the pile of earth her hands clenching the loose soil. Xellos had watched the procession and all the time the name of this person who had just been buried ringed in his mind, "Filia who was this person that you would trust Val with?"

"She was a dear friend, a fourth generation Master Cleric, Merri Thompson..." she forced herself to look from the grave she herself was responsible for, to Xellos who stood next to her.

He was shocked, "You can't mean the Merri Thompson, the next in line for the position of Knight of Ceiphied?"

"yes, that's why I can't believe this happened! I thought that if not with Lina-tachi or Luna, the best protection with Val was here" she stood up tears threatened to fall once more, "but now she's dead and its all my fault, so the only thing we have left to do is to go kill Beastmaster and get my Val back!" she screamed with determination into the falling light of the sun.

She calmed down slightly after her say, the burial done it was now time for vengeance it was now time to return what was taken.

"I don't think it was Beastmaster who was responsible"

Filia turned to meet Xellos's gaze, "what do you mean?"

"I can't be completely sure because you ran into the house, but when I was inside I couldn't smell the scent of any wolf or other beast, all I could find was dragon and.....fish"

"fish?" Filia remarked in disbelief

Xellos walked toward the house Filia followed him as he sat down on its porch, Xellos sighed, "This leads me to believe that there are only two possible suspects..."

He looked toward the south, "either Lady Deep Sea Dolphin, or the dragons"

Filia had an answer to this already formed in her mind, "It has to have been Deep Sea Dolphin then!" she said this though in her mind it was only too possible that her brethren had done it, If my own kind were to betray me again, I don't know what I would do...

"I don't think so" was Xellos's reply, "Out of those two I would say that the dragons are probably responsible" Xellos commented,

"why?" was Filia's only reply, Xellos got up from his seat grasping his staff as he did.

He walked a few feet toward the south before turning around his smile had returned and his eyes were closed, "because she's too nice"

The heavy padding of feet was distinctly heard as a white wolf made a mad dash from her room nearly sliding into the wall as she struggled to stop in front of Lord Beastmaster's throne room. She had heard from the others that Zellas had returned so that must mean that the mission was completed and... "that dragon bitch is dead! That dragon bitch is dead!" continued to ring in her mind as she halted in front of her master's throne panting heavily. Her tail hung low as she looked around to see no one but Lord Beastmaster sitting in her chair, "Can I help you with anything Snowy?" she sat cross legged smoking yet another cigarette leisurely, Ku stood at attention in the shadows observing the scene. The white wolf took one more look around before speaking, "I heard the others say that you had returned master so I assumed that Xellos would be here as well"

Zellas took another pull on her cigarette blowing the smoke into the air, "May I ask where Xellos is master?" she questioned almost pleading, this doesn't seem right...

Zellas casually tossed her cigarette to the ground in the company of countless others. She stared at it for a few moments before returning her gaze to the wolf before her. "It would seem that rather than fulfill his mission he has instead decided to betray us" her dangerously sweet voice echoed in the chamber

"that...that can't be, your lying! Why are you lying master! Xellos wouldn't betray us... He wouldn't betray me!" Tears filled her eyes as she dashed from the room her whole world felt wrong, she ran and ran until she collapsed to the ground in some faraway chamber. Her form shifted and she ceased to be a fearsome wolf. She lay sprawled on the ground a little girl whose face ran with tears. "He wouldn't betray us, I know he wouldn't... its all just a game he's playing, that has to be it! He's going to come back tomorrow carrying that dragon's head in one hand, and that brat in another." She sniffed as she wiped away the tears that fell, "I know! I'll go find him so that I can see for myself what devious trick he's playing" she could feel the strange uneasiness well within her as if something was terribly wrong yet terribly right, weakening yet holding great strength. She shook off this feeling before disappearing into the darkness...

"Too nice! How can a Mazoku be too nice it doesn't make any sense!" Filia rambled to herself as they walked. Night had fallen and the beautiful starry sky shone above them in all its celestial glory, it made one feel small. More to the point it felt lonely, to be walking down a dusty road with Xellos and without the son she missed so much. She looked ahead noticing that Xellos was glancing back at her every so often as they walked. She realized she must have a very depressed look on her face. She shook her head to clear those thoughts as she concentrated on the task at hand.

She was lagging behind Xellos so she ran to catch up with him until they were now side by side.

"Daijobu?" Xellos looked at her with a comforting smile, "un" was her response as she continued to walk beside the Mazoku.

Suddenly a thought crept into her mind, "Xellos why don't we just use the astral plane to get to where Deep Sea Dolphin is?"

He shook his head, "because a servant of a Mazoku Lord is only allowed one trip through the astral plane that is undetectable, if we were to travel to Umika and Deep Sea Dolphin now she would be able to find us instantly"

"I see" she looked down slightly as they walked, "then why didn't you travel farther the first time? You didn't know how close Val was to the town"

Xellos put a hand to the back of his head, "well, I was going to... but it didn't feel like you were taking it too well"

Filia looked up at him, "you were squeezing my hand pretty hard" he concluded as he returned his gaze to the front

They walked for a time more before a cool wind began to blow from behind them. Filia noticed a clearing below them that was like a tiny niche almost completely surrounded by boulders and shrubbery.

"I think it might be a good time to make camp" she stated stifling a yawn as she approached the clearing,

"hai, Fi-chan" was Xellos's jovial reply

Of course making up camp for two travelers who had not brought anything with them and where only a few miles from the nearest town consisted of a small fire in the center of the natural ring formation of the site.

The two leaned against a rock close to the fire as the night, for some reason, became inexplicably colder. The gathering clouds blocked the light of the moon. Filia stared into the flames, memories came to her of the day that Val was born...

She was staring into the basket as the egg within continued to fidget and crack, "It was so lucky I had to use the bathroom or I might have missed this!" she squealed as she beamed through sparkling blue eyes into the basket. She had been coming up the stairway when she first heard the movement and knew instantly what it must be. Crack another fragment of shell flung from it as more of her darling Val was revealed to the world.

Filia struggled to restrain herself from just tearing the egg apart, "it was mother's rule of thumb to always allow the child to break free from the egg itself, it was said to be a sign of good health after all" was her thought as she continued to stare excitedly her heart beating into her throat. She heard a sound coming from downstairs, she recognized it immediately to be Xellos, but surprisingly at this moment she didn't care, "Is that you Xellos, I'm in Val's nursery he's about to hatch come and see!"

In an instant the purple haired Mazoku was standing in the doorway his features seemed serious

*crack crack crack!* the shell broke apart into fragments as her squealing baby was revealed to the world as a beautiful baby boy. "aww he's so cute!" Filia squealed as she picked off the remaining bits of shell and wrapped him in a fluffy towel. She turned to see Xellos with an oddly distracted look on his face as he stared at them, his eyes were open and his hand gripped his staff for an instant he looked like he was steeling himself to do something. It was at that point that the baby squealed for comfort as it lay in its basket bringing both adults back to reality.

Xellos put his hand behind his head closing his eyes, "what can I do to help?"

It was a day Filia felt she wouldn't forget for the rest of her life, a day when her son was born and the first day she didn't care that Xellos was a Mazoku. For awhile afterward Xellos was there helping and though on her frazzled days she would call him nanogami and revert to calling him 'Mazoku' for awhile, but the same loathing that she had felt before never returned.

A thought had come to her at that time. She had been preparing for Val's arrival for... well about as long as she had had the egg itself. She had gossiped with most of the local mothers around town and seen the local doctor for advice, on more than one occasion. However she found that on the actual occasion that those tips and advice were needed she wasn't that adept at using them.

"Xellos?" She had wanted to ask this for some time...

"hai?" he turned his head so that his gaze reached hers, (a little upward being he was shorter than most)

Filia stared at his usual jovial face that stared back at her, "How did you get so good with children?"

Xellos leaned into the rock more for a few moments before answering, "Back before I became Lord Beastmaster's Priest and General I was a lowly servant whose main job was taking care of the pups" his smile had an almost laughing quality as he finished,

"You mean like a babysitter?"

"I suppose you could say that..."

There was a further gust of cold wind which blew through the area. Filia shuddered as the breeze hit her, she looked around to see that Xellos was still looking at her with his bright yellow eyes.

She felt a strange anxiousness in the air as she stared into those eyes.

"aah!" she screamed surprised as a sudden force pushed her forward. The scream was stifled as she fell to the ground her lips connected briefly with his. They lay there in shock for a few moments before Filia rose swiftly a blush burning her entire face, "ah...ah That didn't mean anything Xellos! Somebody pushed me, and..."

"shh!" he put a finger to his lips as he got up from the ground quickly, "there's someone here"

Filia calmed down as she scanned the forest grove above them. Their was a sharp snap somewhere within the darkness of the forest. "Over there!" Xellos pointed to a bush some distance away. The figure in the shadows must have heard them because its fast footfalls and the sound of thrashing bushes was heard and then silence. Xellos was about to follow when he sensed something from the intruder that he couldn't believe...

Xellos sat to the ground near the fire sighing, "I wonder what that was all about" If only I could use the astral plane I could have been on top off whoever that was in an instant..

He sighed again, "yare yare, my senses must be broken" he lay down on the ground resting his staff beside him,

"I could have sworn I sensed an Ancient Dragon, an adult one, but that's impossible" he yawned, "there aren't anymore of those after all"

Filia couldn't think of anything to say at that moment her mind was still reeling from what had just occurred. "I just kissed Xellos! I just kissed Xellos! I JUST KISSED XELLOS!" those words continued to repeat inside her head until one weak, yet incredibly powerful word that set her mind at ease for the moment and allowed her to sleep that night.

So?...

Unbeknownst to our two protagonists as they slept in the waning light of the fire, a second pair of eyes had witnessed their little display. Snowy stood in the distance her right hand digging into the soft earth and her left was clutching a small pendant that hung from her neck. Tears were falling anew from her eyes, "Damn you golden dragon, Damn you for taking my Xellos away..." more tears fell to the earth before she slowly disappeared,

Why couldn't things have stayed the way they were!

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Chapter Four: Toward the Sea We Go! End

I hope people enjoyed this installment, I'm sorry about its briefness or inaccuracy, I've been beating myself up over some of the issues in here that I've been struggling with, mainly the flatness of the dialog. And the fact that for some reason this scene was so much more inspired in my mind than it sounds on the written page...

To Ukchana I hope that a 4th generation cleric and heir to the position of Knight of Ceiphied was a good enough character for you, and yes, English is my first language

To anyone else who might have suggestions I value you and your input above all else as this is the first story I have ever split into chapters in this way it has been an interesting (and harrowing) experience...

PS: Author hits self on head

Next Up! Chapter Five: The Most Unlikely of Suspects