SEYRUUN HIGH JINX -- 10 year Reunion Story –-2004-07-04
"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives." – C. S. Lewis
Note: We do not own or claim any rights to the Slayers characters; we just wish to borrow them a little while longer. Also, if you leave an e-mail address we can respond to any questions you might have.
Chapter Two: What Are Friends For?
"To be natural is a very difficult pose to keep up." – Oscar Wilde
Over a light breakfast of juice and herb rolls, Xelloss explained why he hadn't stayed over with Zel. "Zelgadiss was stuck with the Mayor's entourage for some affair in Sairaag having to do with keeping something running for his presentation or ... I don't know. He said I could tag along, but I couldn't face all that."
"The mayor? How about Amelia? Is she a part of that too?"
"It was she who roped him into it, I'd imagine. They are still...more than just friends, you know."
No, I didn't. Something else that had escaped my notice. I'd have thought Amelia would have confided in either Lina or me. Not wanting to admit that I wasn't privy to her innermost secrets, I blamed Xelly. "In all our visits, you never mentioned that. How much more?"
But Xelloss just shrugged, so I changed the subject. "How about your stepfather? Rezo would expect you to visit. You could have stayed with him."
Xelloss shook his head. "I can't face him yet. Zelgadiss was right about the man. He's a hard man, Rezo is. He does not accept failure or weakness in people. It shaped Zelgadiss' personality and, well, he wasn't for my marriage in the first place– said it wouldn't last a year. He said a good deal more about my incapacity to sustain a decent relationship. As if he could! He said, and I quote, 'don't come whining to me about it when she sends you packing.' So, you see, I couldn't face him last night."
"Gourry's folks..."
"Have taken off to the mountains for a vacation, with Gourry and Sylphiel– who is pregnant by the way– if you can believe that."
"Really? That was fast! Gods...the idiots... So, I'm your last choice."
"Actually, you were the second, after I contacted Zelgadiss."
"Oh? Well, I'm honored."
"That's a nice way of putting it. More like 'obligated' from a clan standpoint." He set down his roll and stared at it as he continued to speak before I could object, "I needed a friend and a change of scenery."
"And a shower," I added.
He smiled then looked up at me, his eyes open and dark. "Sorry. I have a suitcase back at Val's place. I'll be out of our hair so you can get ready for the festivities."
"Only if you promise to return with Val for dinner," Mom declared as she entered the kitchen. "Milgasia will be here and his wife and her two nieces, whom you met here years ago..."
The twins...of course.
"And Luna, Julian, and Lina, naturally."
"Lina?" Xelloss raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, she and I are roommates, you know that. She stays with her sister when I come home. Beats being alone."
"I see..." Xelloss hid his eyes again. "Well, dinner...yes, I'd like that, Mrs. Ul Copt, thank you for the invitation."
"You are most welcome, Xelloss. And Filia? Brad's coming too, right?"
Oh yeah, Brad. "Yes, mom. He driving up with the twins tomorrow." I turned to Xelloss to explain, not that I owed him an explanation, but it would save time later, I figured. "He's a guy I met going to the university from their part of the country."
"So, he's clan, then?" Xelloss asked.
I don't know why I was reticent to tell him that.
"Yes, he is. A very nice young man. I'm glad Filia is finally meeting some boys with promise."
"Mo-thur!"
My mother laughed, "Well, it's true! You haven't dated much lately and I was afraid you'd never meet any Cephied Believers at school. Anyway, I'm happy to find you in better spirits this morning, Xelloss. I have to go out and pick up a few things from a neighbor's before I start cooking. Can I give you a lift to Val's?"
He declined in favor of a walk in the misty rain. He gathered up his belongings and left soon after.
The next evening we were all gathered around the table having 'conversation' with tea and dessert—never a good thing. We made a merry little group. My parents sat at opposite ends with Luna, Julian, Milgasia and his wife to one side and Brad to my other. Sitting across the table from me was my brother, Quentin Shadowrun. He was nearly five years old and a noisy, vociferous little monster when playing one-on-one, but shy in crowds. Thankfully. Val and Xelloss sat on either side of him, treating him like 'one of the boys', which made his day. At least he didn't squirm and mess with his food like usual. Val was dating one of the twins, Penny, who was seated to his right. Polly, her sister, was sitting to Xelloss' left and making it sickeningly clear to Xelly-bean that she'd like to revive the past, if only for the one evening. Lina sat on the end beside Polly. Anyway, with that many people we had to put all the leaves in the table!
Val caught on. In a low voice he said, "Aren't you a married lady, Pol-lee? And you know Xelloss tied the knot a couple years ago."
"I was just suggesting we get together later for drinks, Val," Polly said slyly. "Besides, being married doesn't mean all that much. And it gets lonely when my man travels on clan business."
Val stared at Xelloss, waiting for his opinion. He and Xelloss had talked briefly when he came home. Val felt bad for him, and somewhat protective, but he didn't want to be the one to announce Xelloss' news.
"I'm afraid I'm not up to much socializing. My divorce was finalized yesterday and... I'm sorry, but that was something that meant a lot to me. Excuse me, Mrs. Ul Copt, but I-I..."
"Can I go play too!" Quentin shouted.
Xelloss smiled and nodded, "Let's see if your mother thinks you've had enough to eat yet, okay?"
Without a glance at my brother's still nearly full plate, my mother answered, "Go ahead, boys. Just play quietly."
Luna followed Xelloss out of the dining room with her eyes. "I thought he looked down when we arrived. What a shame; he'd put some effort into that relationship. Did you have a clue?" she asked her sister from across the table.
Lina stopped eating and looked up. "No. He never tells me anything."
"I meant, had you noticed? But what was I thinking? He nearly died for you and you hardly noticed that, why should I think you'd start caring now?" Luna muttered.
"I care!" Lina's voice rose. "Oh, hell, I'll go talk to him." She hustled out of the room without another word.
"She's a volatile one," Brad commented in my ear, "...as usual." He was my current boyfriend-in-the-making. I'd brought him home to meet my family before, but this was a family gathering and it meant a bit more. He had met Lina a few times on campus so she was no surprise.
Not long after, we cleared the table and broke into groups-- the old fogies clustering in the front room around the fireplace, and the 'kids' on the floor in Quentin's room. Luna and Julian joined us for awhile, then left to the front room, then filed back to us, uncertain where they fit in, I guess.
Xelloss was teaching my brother to play drums. He'd sent him a toy set for his last birthday, which after a noisy couple days was left to gather dust in the corner of his room. Not tonight. Lina had to sing, with Val and me on harmony, while Xelloss showed Quinny where to bang and when. Luna and Julian left us to our noise, while Brad, Penny, and Polly joined in for a little while, then grew bored and talked amongst themselves. It wasn't long before Mom came in and relieved us of babysitting duty and we all traveled over to Val's.
I don't recall much good about that evening except that for the first time I noticed that Xelloss had changed. He was quiet, thoughtful, and calm. I asked him about that and he told me it was the new ADD medication. He lay off it when we were at gigs so he felt energized to play, but his wife had insisted that he take it regularly so he wouldn't be so 'fidgety'.
"That was her word for me when I would be all wound up and jittery. She also hoped it would settle me down and keep me at home more."
"My mom got our tom cat fixed to solve that problem," Penny giggled.
Val and Xelloss both winced at the thought and Brad muttered blushing, "That's an awful thought."
And when Polly, the little harlot, started being all cozy with Brad, my Brad, Xelloss led him away from her and planted him by my side. "You don't need them all, when you have the best," Xelloss told him.
That was sweet. Me, the best? Hardly true, but it was sweet of him to say, just the same, especially when I knew Xelloss still had the hots for Lina. That was the other funny thing I remembered from that night– Xelloss was not drooling over Lina. 'Course, he was hurting from the divorce, but he had Lina right there to schmooze, and yet he hardly did more than speak casually.
Then Polly and Penny started giggling over some book. Val managed to get one of them to read the amusing passage.
"It's from a Susan Albert mystery book I found at Milli and Mil's. Listen to this, Xelloss and see if you can figure it out," Polly said. Then either she or her sister read, "Created by the color opposites of hot red and cool blue, purple is associated with spirituality, royalty, and nobility–but also with creativity, unpredictability, and mood swings."
"Isn't that just you, Xelloss?" Polly asked in a simpering voice.
Gods, I was tiring of her fast.
Polly was still jabbering, "You're a priest–the spirituality part, a musician–that's the creativity thing, you're unpredictable and moody tonight, that's for sure. I don't know about noble, but your position in the syndicate pretty much makes you royalty..."
That was a surprise to Brad, who wasn't up on that part of the Slayers story at all. Xelloss and Lina assured him Xelloss wasn't actually an evil syndicate leader, but he was redistributing the wealth, so to speak.
Brad looked Lina over and said, "Well, you must be the 'hot red' part of the quote... So, who's the 'cool blue'?"
Lina pressed her lips together in a thin line. She didn't like Brad. Right now I was wondering who did, besides Pol-lee and me. Lina called him 'a perennial flirt like that Allen Schezar guy' after the first time she met him. I knew that she was probably right, but he looked good and had potential. Actually I can write all that now, but at the time I thought he was 'the one' and his occasional dalliances hurt my ego.
"Zelgadiss is Mr. Cool Blue, Brad!" Penny slapped at his arm. "He always sings the blues and he's so cool. Don't you know anything about the Slayers? And you're dating one! Where have you been the last few years?"
He was about to say 'college', but I beat him to it and then moved the conversation on. As it turned out, his clan was not far from the twins', out in the desert, which was why they drove in to our settlement together. Anyway, that gave him some excuse to talk with them more, leaving me to the observation post.
Val (I was over him of course by this time) was latched on to Penny in a big way, I could tell. Not that I thought they would last. Neither one were much for commitment. But for now, they seemed infatuated with one another.
Lina was playing solitaire with Xelloss kibitzing. Xelloss was also fading.
"Hey, maybe we should go and leave the guys to their house, okay?" I suggested. See, I could be sensitive to others!
Val, the twins, even my supposedly devoted boyfriend all pooh-poohed that idea.
"Thanks," Xelloss said. "I'll just go crash in the guest room where my stuff is. I'm tired enough to sleep through just about anything."
"Maybe some fresh air first," Lina hopped up.
"'Kay," Xelloss agreed. "You too, Filia. So we don't get lost around here."
"Sure." I decided that Xelloss didn't trust himself alone around Lina, and given his current vulnerable state, I agreed and joined them.
I loved, and still love, the settlement. At night, even in winter it was beautiful. The earlier rain storm had blown away, leaving the dark sky cloud-free. The stars sparkled. I felt relaxed and light-headed (probably due to all the blood leaving my brain to digest that huge dinner!)
When we returned to Val's, the place was dark.
"Everybody's gone. I may as well go home, too, then," Lina sighed and picked up her deck of cards and bag containing her ID, money, and writing tablet which she was never without. Ever since Lina's stays in the hospital, she learned to travel prepared, or be prepared to be bored.
"Brad?" I called down the hall to the bedrooms. I opened the door to the bathroom. Xelloss was right behind me.
"Brad?" I called.
"Is he staying here or at your place?" Xelloss asked.
"Mine," I answered as I put my hand on the guest room door handle. "Unless he forgot and crashed on your bed. What?"
Xelloss put his hand on mine, stopping me from entering. "Don't go in there."
"Why...?" I had a flash of insight, and got mad at Xelloss. "Move it, Xelly-pod. If he's in there I just want to say good night."
He was in there, and so was Polly. Xelloss pulled me back out kicking and screaming for all I was worth. Val shot out of his room half dressed to find out who was being murdered.
"It's...Brad. Uh... if Filly finds something heavy she can pound him with," Xelloss explained in gasps, "you'll have a murder in your house to explain. Help me!"
You have to understand. I was only an inch or so shorter than Xelloss and not that much lighter in weight and, most importantly, I was angrier than hell at my not-to-remain-much-longer boyfriend.
"He sleepin' with the Parrot (his clever nickname for Polly)?" Val asked.
"Not so much sleeping as fu-- oomph!" Xelloss began. I punched the air out of Xelloss since he was close.
"Shiiiii-t. I thought he'd left," Val sighed, making no attempt at all to help Xelloss contain me. I guess he knew better than to tangle with me.
Xelloss? Well, for all the messes he had been in throughout his life, I assumed him to be some form of masochist. "He...h-hadn't," Xelloss assured him.
Xelloss wrestled me out the door and somehow got me back to my house and into 'our' den. The walk over in the cold helped cool my temper. He helped soothe my breaking heart in the quiet darkness of the room. He simply held me while I took my turn sobbing my sorrows and disappointment into his shirt. What a wretched pair we made.
I woke up at...I checked my glowing watch face... 3 AM. I sat up. I was on the sofa. Xelloss, I found, was on the floor, his head cradled under an arm.
"Hey, Xelly-bean. Get up...yeah. I'm going to my room now. Take the sofa. And here's a blanket. Oh, and thanks for just being you."
Xelloss later told me that what I had said had meant a lot to him. He heard ingenuous compliments so very rarely.
By the time I awoke, Xelloss was up and at Val's bathing and changing his clothes. Val trotted by to tell me that and to deliver a note of apology from Brad.
"He's waitin' for an answer. He wants ta make it up to ya, but... Well, Fil, even I was better to you than that dude."
I ran the folded paper down the garbage disposal without bothering to open it. "That answer enough?" I eyed Val meaningfully.
"Got it," he grinned.
Brad and Polly and Penny were gone an hour later.
Val, Xelloss, and Lina joined Mom, Quinny and me for lunch.
Val explained why Brad was gone. "Fil can do better. Don't worry, Mrs. 'C', there's a guy for her out there, but it wasn't that dude. Thanks for lunch. I'm headin' over to Mil's to ...oh, I dunno. Nothin', I guess."
Lina looked us over, that's apathetic-as-always Val, sad-sack Xelloss and miserable-me, and shook her head. "Let's all go someplace. You gotcher van here, right Val? Yeah, and go to a movie, okay?"
It was a plan.
"So, Xelloss, where are you living now-- as in, 'where are your belongings stored'?" Lina asked him. We were outside the theater, walking to a coffee shop in downtown Seyruun.
"Want to see? It's not far from here, actually."
"Is there something to eat there?" Val asked, beating Lina to it.
"No..."
"Then, lets eat first, then walk over," Lina said, and that was what we did. Lina nearly always still called the shots. It was just easier that way and I was too numb to care.
Along the way we were greeted by fans, not aggressively, not in this part of town. A few autographs and an exchange of kind words passed for 'polite acknowledgment' and satisfied the kids. A few years ago we couldn't have all gone into the movie heater without disguises. Thank goodness for change!
Later, with Lina all stuffed and happy at last, we walked arm-in-arm the few blocks to the Diamond District, as it was called. It was becoming a really upscale neighborhood.
"I own several buildings here," Xelloss pointed out. "In fact, Gourry's company is developing that one over there for me. See the tall crane? Gutting the warehouse and putting condos up top and offices below– the usual. Where I'm staying now was completed a few months ago."
"Miwan and John still running the hotel?" Lina asked.
"Yeah. They are doing a great job too—a Four Star restaurant, couple hundred rooms, with a few permanent residents. They think of the residents as their 'children'. Funny guys, but still together."
"You did good getting them together," I said. "Next time, "I'll let you do the matchmaking for me."
"Okay..." he smiled, as he opened the door to show Lina, Val and me around.
Val snorted, "Yeah, so you can hold Xelloss res-pon-si-bull next time the dude's a dud."
I strode past Val and only poked him in the ribs for that smart remark.
The place was immaculate. Not a speck of dust or out of kilter picture on the wall. "One of Zel's?" Lina asked as she looked over the wall of smaller framed prints.
"All of them. Good, aren't they? He was letting them get dog-eared in a drawing book so I took them and had them framed."
"Yeah, that's right. You put them in a show, I heard him say, but he never told me where or when," Lina said.
"Next year, the date is not yet fixed. You'll get invitations to his grand opening. Black tie and champagne."
"You're kidding," I said, thinking that for sure he was.
"Nope! Something black and slinky for you," he smiled at both of us girls.
"I'll wear the tie," Lina smirked.
"Is that all, I hope!" he laughed.
Need I say that Lina punished him for that?
It was time to go back. Xelloss just decided to stay, leaving his bag of clothes at Val's. I promised to wash what was dirty, or get Val to do it, and then we drove back to the settlement.
The rest of the vacation was uneventful, thank the gods. Winter Solstice was only a month away, and I was not looking forward to it now, without Brad. As it was, it took all my concentration at school to not think about, mull about, or bemoan my broken heart. And if you think all this was easy for me to write about, well...it happened awhile ago and things changed.
Yeah, lucky for me, things and people can transform with time.
End -- SHJ Ten Year Reunion-- Chapter Two.