Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.  They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

Chapter Eight - Call of the Wild

A Song by Roxette

Italics – Song Lyrics

Black – Any Narrative

I know her, and every notion I get from her I wear inside me.
I know her, all of the broken leaves of love she leaves behind.

Four paws stampeded the earth. Xellos was no stranger in this forest. There was an incline in the woods here. He would find what she was looking for.

He howled.

One animal should be able to track another.

He thought about Filia, and he was more confused than ever. So, she hadn't recognized him as himself. He was starting to get a better idea about what happened. He wasn't exactly sure, but from what he could tell; she had met someone who looked exactly like him and somehow become such close friends with him as to allow him to spend the night resting in her cabin. It didn't make sense, but it made less sense that any part of him would have been able to accomplish that.

Oh - don't you hide away from the rain.
Oh - can you tell me the name of this game?
I got to get thru to you.

What had he said? What had he done to make her want him near her like that? And why couldn't he do it now? He saw her there in his mind. She looked miserable, but he received no pleasure for it. That was unlike him.

He had to find Val. He took a deep breath – he was that way.

Behind the door, another wall, a lonely cry

A call of the wild.
A dancing daze, an empty face, a crystal high

A call of the wild.

He stopped. He didn't need a rest. He needed to find out which way Val had gone. Val had wings. Xellos wished his target hadn't taken flight. It was harder to track animals with wings. He brought his long velvet ear to the ground – no, it was all right, Val was there – close; a hundred meters, perhaps two hundred. He was lucky the little scamp had not left the forest.

And Filia . . .

And there is something that sweeps the dark, a lover's dart,
The call of a broken heart.
Wrapped in the night, behind these eyes, oh hear the cry,
A call of the wild.

"Who are you?" a young dragon asked. He was crouched low to the ground, his wings spread. He had a spear in his hand, but he was not as fast as Xellos. The boy was still very young indeed. "You look like the priest/general of Zelas Metallium, wolf," the boy said.

"Very good," Xel smiled at the boy showing his fangs.

"Are you going to turn into a man now?"

"Not for your amusement," Xel answered. "Is that why you run away from Filia – you think you're so much smarter than her?"

"Leave my mother out of this Xellos!" the boy said sharply.

"She asked me to find you," Xel replied dangerously.

"I don't believe it. My mother commands the Lesser Beast?"

Xel laughed, "she asked me to do it as a favor. We are very old friends."

"So, you're going to force me to go home? I would be considered a man now in my tribe. It is unjust for you to force me Xellos."

"Sama," Xellos finished for him, prowling closer to the boy.

"I will not call you my master," the boy shouted.

Xellos lifted one of his front paws, displaying his claws in the moonlight for the boy. "You're so young," he said in a silky voice. "There aren't really very many dragons left you know, and you really are the last of your tribe. Would it really be wise of you to force my hand to commit genocide over such a small thing?"

"She wouldn't want you to kill me," he said, his voice a little less confident than before.

"Any more than she would want you to grow up without proper manners to those more powerful than you. That could be one of those things that lead the inexperienced into trouble later on down the line – wouldn't you say? Besides, you didn't even say good-bye to her," Xel said the last line with a touch more emotion than the rest. Who knew you had to force a dragon to do the right thing? As wise as they were. As foolish as they were.

I know her and in my mind I dream of her, how she aches without me.
I know her and every heart is a lonely hunter when she walks by.

She hugged Val very closely.

"Filia," Val said. "Not in front of the scary mazoku – please."

She let him go and stood up. "Thank you so much Xellos. I am really grateful."

"Sama," Val finished for her. "He likes being called Xellos-sama."

"So ka," she nodded.

"Such a clever boy Filia," Xellos said charmingly. "Now I believe we had an agreement."

"Yes," Filia said. "Just let me talk to Val for a few minutes alone, please."

"Of course."

Xellos watched her walk with Val into another room. The boy was not tall like his mother. He was too smart for how young he was. There were going to be problems if that boy was not properly taken care of. Perhaps Filia was not strong enough to govern him. History might repeat its' self if Val was not given proper nourishment and discipline. He'd better keep an eye on him.

Xellos took off his cloak. The house was really a mess. It desperately needed to be scrubbed. Xel would have done it himself if he was not afraid that he would suddenly fall into a daze. Instead, he simply took out a handkerchief and dusted off a chair before sitting down.

Filia seemed to be taking her time.

Finally she and Val did come out. She had been crying. There was a major disaster brewing in this house. Filia looked infinitely sad.

Oh - can you read the hurt in my eyes?
Oh - don't you leave without saying goodbye.
I got to get thru to you.

"So, his name was Lex and he looked exactly like me?"

"Yes."

"You asked him if he was me I assume?"

Filia nodded. "He said he didn't know who you were or anything about you. Actually, he didn't like me very much for not believing that he was not you."

Behind the door, another wall, a lonely cry

A call of the wild.
A dancing daze, an empty face, a crystal high

A call of the wild.

"Indeed," Xellos said. "I think I understand. Thanks for explaining all that to me."

"Has he done something bad to you? Are you going to go after him?" she asked with large eyes.

"Can I spend the night here," he asked, testing her. He wanted to see if she would give him, Xellos, that same favour that she gave Lex. Would she let him stay the night?

"I have a guest bedroom on the second floor. I usually keep it locked up, so it should be ready for a guest as long as you don't mind that it will be a little stuffy. It should at least be cleaner than the rest of the house."

"I'm sure it will be fine. Will you show me where it is?" he asked lightly. "I have one more question Filia about Lex. What did you think of him?"

"He was wonderful," she said - and she smiled - the first smile he had seen her wear since he appeared.

And there is something that sweeps the dark, a lover's dart,
The call of a broken heart.
Wrapped in the night, behind these eyes, oh hear the cry,
A call of the wild.