It was nearly two hours after Sylphiel had left that he felt her pull on his power, and Kopii could even tell what she'd used it for and figured that she'd probably taken care of things in town well enough, unless they'd been dead before she got there. He continued to talk at Lina and Gourry, using his link to Sylphiel to gage where she was on the road. Getting to his feet in the middle of whatever Lina had been musing through, he turned and headed for the kitchen where he started hunting through the cupboards.
"What're you doing?" Lina demanded to know as she followed him to the threshold.
Looking back at her from under his arm, Kopii replied, "My Shrine Maiden is on her way back- soaked and cold." He left it at that, figuring that Lina was intelligent enough to understand what he meant.
She did, apparently, for she pulled out the teapot and took it to the pump to rinse out and fill. "Can you tell when she'll be here?"
Pausing, Kopii's eyes fell half-closed as he pondered that, "A half hour. She's borrowed that man's horse again and is riding back."
Finally finding up leftovers from some meal Sylphiel had made two days ago, before he and Lina had shown up, Kopii started that to heating up on the stove. Lina joined him and assisted in finding enough to feed herself and Gourry as well as the two with more normal appetites. He took a moment from cooking to go to Sylphiel's room and find something warm and clean for her to wear and took it to the bath. Once that was done, he joined Lina at the stove once more, monitoring her work there to keep her from burning anything. "You know," Kopii stated absently as he gazed off into space, "It's your use of overpowered spells that has made you the way you are. Magic preserves people, and burns stores of fat. The truly powerful are never all that-"
Stopping in her work, Lina scowled at him, "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked in irritation. "You saying something about my-"
The door opened and Kopii looked towards the soaked and tired Sylphiel, "There are clothes for you in the bath," he told her. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."
She stared at him for a long moment, then looked around, spotting Gourry lounging at the fire and at Lina who was scowling at the dinner on the stove as if that would make it cook faster. Finally, she dropped her bag beside the door and headed towards the bath, "Thank you, Flagoon," she told him as she passed, favoring him with a smile that warmed his heart.
Kopii was nearly taken with the urge to sweep her into his arms and kiss her right there and then. Instead, he tried to hold his blank expression, though he was sure his eyes gave him away. Maybe she was too tired to notice?
Turning, she headed into the bath, not wasting any more time to get warm and clean.
"You're attracted to her," Lina observed once Sylphiel was out of the room. Kopii briefly scowled, having not taken into account the fact that Lina had been there, watching him.
"She is my shrine maiden. It is my duty to care for her."
Thankfully, Lina let the subject drop and stirred a pot of soup.
Sylphiel had wonderful timing, for it was as Lina and Kopii were working together to get the table set and dinner on it that the shrine maiden appeared, combing her damp hair. She smiled at the scene and the echo of warmth rattled back along her link to Flagoon, and Kopii looked up, feeling as if he'd been hit in the back of the head. He'd just picked her clothes at random, but what he'd picked seemed tailored to display her perfectly. Her sweater was of smoky blue and loose, her leggings of near-black with thick white socks. Simple, but he thought she looked like an angel.
Swallowing, he set his expression back into his stoic mask, hoping she hadn't caught his lapse and reigned himself in by telling himself that it was because of Flagoon's meddling and that this whole infatuation thing was merely a byproduct of Sylphiel's love for Flagoon, which only seemed to be a love for him to which he was responding because she was the only person in his incredibly short life who'd ever given a damn about him. That was it; the simple and dirty truth of it. She had no feelings for the copy of Rezo that had murdered half the city of Sairaag with an overpowered Mega Brunt. And she never would, likely.
She stepped forward and picked a seat, Kopii taking the seat to her left with Lina across from him and Gourry- when he entered from the living room- across from Sylphiel. She spoke a brief prayer to Cepheid, then Lina and Gourry set into dinner, leaving Kopii and Sylphiel with what they could get on their plates before it was all gone.
Wishing to find a way to ignore Gourry and Lina, Kopii looked towards Sylphiel as she finished sipping some of her tea, "How did it go?"
Casting a smile at him, Sylphiel replied, "Well, actually. They weren't injured too badly for all the damage to the house. The worst was a frontal head injury."
He nodded, "Lots of blood," was his agreement, "More frightened than anything, I guess."
It took Sylphiel a moment to respond, having been in the middle of a bite, her eyes glued to him even as she spoke, "Yes, they all thought he'd bleed to death before I got there, but once I got it cleaned up, it was obvious that it was just a little cut. I Healed them anyway for good measure." She smiled at him, and Kopii savagely stomped on that fluttering feeling in his chest.
"Bah!" Lina shouted, "All that Healer-talk about blood is disgusting at a dinner table!" she said with her mouth full.
Kopii smirked at her faintly, inadvertently using one of Rezo's 'Better Than Thou' expressions, "We could be talking of intestinal reconstruction surgery," he offered, "Or would you rather hear about gangrene infections and bubo lancing techniques instead of simple stitches and a bruise or two?"
Sylphiel giggled behind her teacup.
Pulling a face, Lina slapped Gourry's hand away from her plate and replied, "Why don't you just cast a spell and be done with it?" she demanded.
Before Sylphiel could answer, Kopii shot back, raising his fork in a vague gesture, "Because casting a spell on some injuries can cause death faster than treating it with herbs or potions. Infections, for example-"
Lina waved her hand dismissively, "I don't need a lecture! Gourry, that's MINE!"
Glancing back towards Sylphiel, Kopii found her still laughing behind her cup and trying hard not to spew tea out her nose. This sight infected him, and he had a difficult time keeping his face straight. Instead, he applied himself to his dinner and tried to ignore the loud belch that one of the two at the other end of the table had erupted with.
At last, everything was eaten, and Kopii began picking up dishes, heading towards the sink to set them in for soaking and once the table was cleared, he refilled tea for everyone and took his seat once more. "Thank you, Flagoon," Sylphiel said and smiled at him again.
Gourry, master of asking the stupid questions, looked up from his teacup to abruptly ask, "So where's he now? I mean... the guy who used to be in that body?"
Kopii froze rather abruptly, hand stopped between lowering his teacup, eyes going unfocused and pupils shrinking to tiny specks.
Within his mind, Kopii fought a valiant battle against Flagoon; but it was a losing battle. The tree was not only stronger, but more insistent, running over its host's objections, covering them with sap and solidifying, leaving the poor Kopii completely immobile in its grasp. He wasn't convinced that this course of action was right, but he would go along with it- just for the pleasure of going 'see, I TOLD you' after the fact, which he likely would be doing as soon as he got finished speaking. Flagoon had been building up to this all day, apparently; gathering momentum back where Kopii couldn't sense it until finally, Gourry had asked just the right question.
And just as suddenly, Kopii continued his movement of putting his cup down with a firmness that was either caused by final decision or a way to hide his shaking hands. Expression touched his features then, and Kopii took a breath, "I'm right here. Flagoon ...couldn't function as a human without having inside knowledge of how to be one. I'm merged with it even more deeply than I was with Zanafaar. I ... am Flagoon, and most of the time what I'm saying is really Flagoon's knowledge though my phrasing. Trees don't normally talk with speech, but it's learning. Your discussion about magic earlier was all Flagoon talking." He addressed to Lina, then looked away, pointedly avoided Sylphiel- who'd gone pale.
Taking a breath, he continued, "When Hellmaster resurrected Sairaag, he intended to have me as well, but Flagoon prevented him from getting me. Hellmaster destroyed Flagoon's tree-self in fury, and Flagoon fled into me, then we slipped between this world and the Other, where we hid, till now, when Flagoon felt it was time for it to reemerge." His fingers toyed with the cup, slowly turning it. "I'm not what I was," he restated, "I am Flagoon, not merely joined with it. Its knowledge is mine, mine it's, we cannot be separated, for it would destroy us both. ...as well as a large amount of surrounding landscape due to the energy such an attempt would require, as well as release."
Lina was ominously silent.
Sylphiel hadn't even breathed.
Gourry... drank his tea and nodded sagely. "Hm. Okay," he said, "I think I get it. You're like a ... Rezogoon. Like a Chimera."
Lifting his head, Kopii simply stared at Gourry. "...Rezogoon?" he asked slowly, then started laughing, covering his face with a hand as he sniggered uncontrollably over the name- going from terrified to laughter in seconds. "Or maybe Flagrezo," he added, sobering quickly, "Call me what you want. Names don't matter, results matter, the way things flow getting to them doesn't. In short, I don't care about anything I used to care about. I think differently. Slower. Trees take their time deciding anything. A blessing in my case- it was snap decisions that got me in trouble." He lowered his hand finally, eyes devoid of emotion once more, face expressionless, as if that break into true animation had been swept away and covered by sap, buried beneath the flow to become amber eventually, and forgotten. "Flagoon was the one that decided that I had to tell you now..." he flicked his tongue across his lips, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the teacup in front of him, "It- wasn't that I wished to trick you, I just thought it would be simpler if you thought of me as just Flagoon and you wouldn't have to deal with me. I'm only here for Flagoon's convenience and nothing more."
At last, he looked towards Sylphiel, to find her silently crying, face pale as a ghost's. She doesn't look well at all, he thought sluggishly, and finally remembered to shove Flagoon's stoicism aside. "I never lied to you," he stated. "The time wasn't right." And from there, Kopii skittered into the back of his mind, gibbering in terror and shame, leaving Flagoon to sit there and stare around the room in confusion at the situation as the atmosphere turned decidedly cold. Softly, he sighed, "Inconvenient," he muttered.
"Out," Sylphiel hissed, "I want you out!"
Flagoon paused, sluggishly attempting to make sense of this sudden turn of events. She was his shrine maiden, and yet she was ... angry because he hadn't told her he had preserved the soul of the copy of Rezo. Yes, that was it. Wait, there was a bit more; something to do with the copy of Rezo destroying Sairaag. Hm, Flagoon decided he needed to think about that one a bit more.
"GET OUT!" Sylphiel shouted at him.
Lina got to her feet and Gourry followed, confused, but ready to back his sorceress if she needed it. "She told you to leave, Rezo," Lina reiterated.
"Ah," Flagoon murmured and set his teacup down, "I see. She is angry. Hm. Unfortunate." He stood unsteadily and turned, heading carefully past Sylphiel to the door, and stepped out into the darkening rain-drenched night, barefoot and soaked as soon as the door shut behind him. Kopii was no help at all, that part of Flagoon that was human was doing strange things to his body, making his heart hurt and stomach clench, but the mind remained calm as the Holy Tree stumbled out into the forest. "Inconvenient," he muttered again, "But this will pass," he told the human portion of himself. "She cannot remain away for long."
Idiot. I give you advice and you don't listen! You say you want to function as a human- NEED to, but don't listen to me when I say you shouldn't tell her about me! Fool tree! You may only care about results, but the means DO matter! I killed her family, her friends, destroyed her home, and threatened you. You may not care, but SHE does. She cares a whole lot about it. It may be balance, but those involved don't see it that way. Loss is loss to us. We can't- CAN'T see the end result of things. We haven't the ability, or the need to. Oh Cepheid- I hate you. I really hate you Flagoon. I wish you'd left me dead!
Flagoon continued to walk as the copy berated him, coming to realize that perhaps his captive human soul was correct. "It is past," he stated, "We are here, the truth is known. The result will be the same."
No it won't. She'll never trust me. She may be forced to let us come back, but she won't trust me, and honestly, Flagoon... That hurts. She...she was ...so nice and gentle and now she'll never ... Used, I'm always used by one thing or another. You're not going to take my advice, so I'm not going to give it. With that, Kopii closed himself off, locked himself into the back of his mind and left Flagoon standing in a cold, wet, forest with the wind rising and thunder rolling across the stormy sky with only a vague knowledge of how to control the body he now found himself in and no notion of how to keep said body from being wounded or healthy. On top of that, Flagoon... did not like storms. Rain was good, plain old rain was very nice indeed, but thunder meant lightning- and being that Flagoon had been the tallest thing around for the last thousand years- he had been hit numerous times. He did not like lightning. A flash above sent him ducking, hands over his head as he crouched on the ground, beginning to shiver with cold and wonder at the pain of sharp objects prodding his bare feet.
The latest storm broke in full as thunder deafened him.