Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer here, I wish I owned Slayers and everything with it, but I don't. If I was making money off this, I'd be rich...but I'm not. I'm just a poor college student with too much free time.

Sorry to all for the delay...I will try to pick up the pace now that winter is over. Summer is far easier on my carpal-tunnel.

Blind Leap of Creativity - Chapter 3

A chorus of pots and pans hitting tiled floor was the first thing to greet her. Eyes flying open, she sat bolt upright in bed, wondering who had invaded her home. It took a moment or so, but then the flood of memory hit her, and her mood switched from fear to anger.

"Not only does the idiot keep me up half the night, he also wakes me up at…" She paused in the rant, looking over at her alarm clock. "6:30 am?"

The yell was Zelgadis's only warning that someone was awake… and very angry as well. When a blur of red hair came charging down the stairs and straight for him, he at least had the decency to look a little fearful.

"I won't ask what you're still doing here. I don't want to know why you delight in annoying me. I don't even care to hear why you're cooking me breakfast…" The rant cut off abruptly, as Lina took a second look at the food.

With a speed Olympic athletes would envy, the food disappeared from the stove and reappeared on a plate. A moment later silverware and a cup of juice appeared next to it on the table. It was only after a cup of coffee joined the set that Lina sat down, Zelgadis all but forgotten.

Taking a moment to switch from startled fear to safety mode, he finally realized Lina was eating. "Hey, who ever said that food was for you?"

The following look of death was sharp enough to strip paint from the walls. Realizing it would be safer just to make another meal, he left her to her food. Smiling, Lina noted that even magical beings could be cowed under the right conditions. It helped that separating Lina from food was considered by many to be as dangerous as any natural disaster.

A short time later he joined her at the table, a small plate of eggs and a cup of coffee serving as his entire meal. She didn't bother looking up, and he took the hint, staying silent as well. It was only after eating, when they were both down to their drinks, that she looked up at him.

"So…are you planning to hang around all the time now? While you're a good cook and all, I didn't exactly plan on sharing my house with some magical figment of my imagination."

He bristled at the last part of her statement, but kept his temper in check. "I'm a muse, not some figment. I'll have you know that historically my kind hold a lot of weight, so you really should treat me with a bit more respect." Lina started to interrupt, but he held up a hand. "That aside, no, I do not plan on staying. I never intended to arrive in the first place. Muses are supposed to stay in the background, not appear in the real world."

"Lucky me for breaking the odds." She interrupted again, twirling a finger.

"I don't know why I'm physically here. I can only guess the entire system crashed in shock from you actually listening for a change." He snapped, smirking when she let out an angry exclamation.

"Fine, I don't care what you do while you're here. Just do me a favor, and try to keep this little 'visit' as short as possible." With that, she stood up and walked into the front room.

She wasn't surprised to see Zelgadis follow. He stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, watching as she put on her shoes.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. I'll be back later."

By the time she had her coat on, he'd walked halfway into the room. "You actually trust me enough to leave me alone here?"

"No, but I don't think the general population is ready to handle you. You don't exactly blend in you know."

He looked himself over, but stopped at the jingle of car keys being picked up. "So I'm just supposed to wait here?"

Opening the door, she looked back a moment. "I don't know. Watch tv, drink coffee, do what you want." Stepping outside, she stuck her head back inside. "Just don't touch my painting gear." Without another word she shut the door behind her, and walked out to her car.

- - -

"You've really outdone yourself this time Filia." Lina commented, looking the piece of pottery over.

Filia hovered at her side, letting out a sigh of relief at the good review. Normally Filia didn't put much stock in opinions, instead creating for the fun of it. Idly Lina wondered if this particular piece was for a specific someone.

Not that Filia had any cause to worry. The vase before her was elegant, crafted thinly enough to keep the weight light, but thick enough that it wouldn't easily break. The shape itself was classic for holding flowers, but it was the intricate details that set the piece apart. A flowing waterfall covered one side, serving as a single handle for the vase. The foamy waves at the bottom of the falls turned into a river, which led the eye to the vase's other side, where it channeled into a lake. In the center of the lake sat a single swan, in the midst of taking off for flight. Once painted, the entire piece would make a wonderful gift, or sell to a stranger for a high price.

Picking the vase up, Filia hummed to herself as she moved it to a small table for painting. Recognizing the love song, Lina couldn't help smiling.

"So, who is it for?"

Lina was forced to dive for the vase when it slipped from Filia's fingers. The woman turned a bright shade of red, the tune cutting off abruptly. A moment later the flushed smile turned to horror, then relief when the vase was neatly caught by Lina's outstretched hands.

Setting the sculpture safely on the table, she turned to the tall blond. "Filia, I have never seen you drop a single thing in your life! Whoever he is, he must be special to make you react like that!"

"No! There's absolutely no one!" Filia screeched, turning about as red as Lina's hair.

Deciding it might be best to let the subject go, before some helpless pot suffered, Lina changed the subject.

"So, did you have any particular color scheme in mind for this?"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Filia started explaining, and the two spent the next few hours in comfortable silence.

It was by the third hour, while Lina waited for one coat of paint to dry, that she was sick of the quiet. At the best of times she wasn't exactly what someone would call 'patient', and today wasn't exactly the best of times. Deciding that some noise was needed, and knowing the one topic she needed to get off her chest, she started up the conversation.

"Hey, Filia?"

A soft 'mm?' came from the other side of the room. Looking up, the blond removed the plastic sculpting brush from her mouth. Lina couldn't help laughing, realizing how she must look while painting.

"Filia, do you have a muse?"

The blond looked thoughtful for a moment. "A muse? Well, I have creative inspiration, if that's what you mean. I've never really been one of those people to follow those old stories though. I can't imagine some woman in flowing clothes wandering around my head offering advice."

Lina beat back her growing curiosity. "Are muses always women?"

Returning to the delicate shaving she'd been working on in her sculpture, it was a moment before the answer came. "Depends on who you believe. Some legends talked of women dressed in flowing robes, other of mischievous children, others of mysterious elves. The individual bits are different, but almost always it's some figure from another plane…some magical being, maybe even a lesser godling.

Satisfied, Lina let the matter drop, hoping to think on what Filia had said. In the middle of mixing two colors for the next coat of paint, Lina heard Filia speak up again.

"Hey, Lina?"

"Yeah?"

"Why the sudden curiosity about muses? You've never been one for history, or mythology."

Lina almost spilled her paint in surprise. "Um…no reason at all!" She replied in a rush, fighting off a blush. She would not think about Zelgadis, she would not think about having an elf in her home, and she would not tell Filia about him!

There was a startled 'ack' as Lina noticed Filia beside her. Once interested, the woman never let go. "Filia, don't do that!" Briefly she wondered if the blond had teleported to her side somehow.

"Lina, you're blushing!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No, I am definitely not!" A pause. "And stop smiling like that Filia!"

- - -

It took an entire hour before Zelgadis was bored. Television held no interest for him, even at the best of times. While Lina had a fairly decent collection of books, he was in no mood to relax and read. Mortals didn't realize it, but a muse, when left alone, had a very short attention span.

"My job is to create, and she decides to leave me behind, confine me to this small house, and take away the one thing I might enjoy." Zelgadis sulked, eyeing Lina's painting equipment.

"Well, I've never been one to follow the rules before…why start now?" He decided with a growing smirk.

Heading downstairs, was stopped by a mirror hanging on one of the walls. Remembering Lina's earlier…comments, he gave himself a quick look over.

The clothing seemed fine. It matched a number of students he'd seen Lina draw inspiration from. The colors were a bit off, but he'd never been one for the black wardrobe that was popular at the moment. Blues would suffice. Looking a bit higher, he pulled at a strand of hair. The color was a bit odd, but he wasn't about to dye it. Mortals may hide under a range of colors that would make a chameleon proud, but he'd looked the same way for centuries…he wasn't about to change for one simple girl.

Even his ears weren't that big of a problem. He was certain Lina hadn't thought of it, but a hat would cover them easily. Conjuring one of the floppy beret-style hats he'd seen Lina paint a dozen times, he tucked his ears inside, easily hiding the pointed tips.

Taking another look in the mirror, he smiled. "Well Lina, seems I proved you wrong. I should blend in fine this way."

Still smug, Zelgadis made his way to the door. Realizing he wouldn't need a key to come and go, he locked the door behind him. Deciding to go for a walk around the area, he didn't even look back as Lina's home faded in the distance.