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. (Again, many, many thanks to those that comment - you drive me to continue and finish this story, thank you!)

Blind Leap of Creativity - Chapter 8

From one corner of the room, two narrowed purple eyes regarded the growing scene of chaos with amusement. Already Sylphiel had sent Amelia to fetch some ice, while she moved the unconscious muse to the couch. Leave it to Zel to fall into a table corner, only adding to his pain.

Despite the two roommates efforts to assist the injured Zelgadis, Lina was still on the offensive, alternately cursing or beating on the poor muse. After one particularly strong insult, a chiding look from Sylphiel finally cut off her attack. Stalking over to a nearby chair, Lina contented herself with angry glares.

'My, my Zel…you certainly do have a talent for mischief. One would almost think you were trying to upstage me.'

Gradually a thin smile worked its way across his face, as narrow and dark as his gaze. 'Well, I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?'

Xelloss hovered several feet off the ground, in a thin slice of existence meant only for creative spirits. Even though the mortals couldn't see him, Zelgadis certainly could…assuming he was conscious at the time. With his fellow muse currently indisposed, he couldn't resist taking slight advantage of the opening he'd been given. To miss observing such chaos and drama would have been a crime.

'I must remember to thank Miss Inverse for the nickname. Always nice to be given a way to torment a friend…especially when the gift is wrapped in such a delicious mix of emotions. Pity that Zel got to her first, we could have created some grand works together.'

Still smiling, he left his spot in favor of heading home. 'Then again, there is a chance we still might…'

- - -

"Really, Lina…did you have to hit him?"

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stared straight into Sylphiel's eyes. "It was only a little punch. Anyway, the table did most of the damage. Not my fault you have a table of death in your kitchen." She replied in a huff.

When her friend continued to stare, with that special look of parental disapproval she had, Lina decided that she'd had enough of being on the defensive. "Just how do you know Zel anyway? I only met him the other day and he hasn't been out of my sight…" She trailed off, realization dawning on her. "He visited you yesterday, didn't he?"

While Sylphiel tried to stammer out a suitable explanation - one that wouldn't earn her a piece of Lina's wrath as well - a light groan caught the attention of both women. They were both at Zel's side in a moment, one with a face of concern, the other one of annoyance.

Belatedly, Sylphiel elbowed Lina. "No more hitting him-" When Lina started to interrupt, she continued in a rush. "At least not tonight, in my home."

"But-"

"If you do, I won't cook for you anymore."

Adopting a look of pure horror, Lina came as close to begging as she ever did, her eyes wide and pathetic. "Please Sylph, anything but that!"

Though she didn't show it, it took most of Sylphiel's willpower not to laugh. There were moments when Lina was far too cute for her own good. "No more hitting?"

"No more hitting…for tonight."

An exasperated sigh was her response.

- - -

'Three injuries in less than a week…this is a new record for me.' Groaning a bit, Zelgadis tried to open his mouth. He received a lance of pain for his effort. 'Ow! What in the world hit me?' The past few minutes replayed themselves in his mind. "That's right - Lina did…and then a table couldn't resist joining in as well.'

Grumbling a bit, he managed to prop himself up into a sitting position. 'I'm really starting to get sick of this trend for hitting me. The next time Lina tries one of her little attacks, she'll be in for a surprise.'

"About time you woke up."

Opening his eyes, two human-bound eyes of flame filled his vision. He jerked back out of reflex, sending the room into a dangerous tilt.

"Joy, I'm still dizzy."

At his flat comment, Lina opened her mouth. A look from Sylphiel cut off whatever she'd been about to say. Zelgadis invested enough of his energy in a smile of gratitude to Sylphiel, a gesture that, when returned, Lina pounced on like a starving lioness.

"That's the last straw! Just how do you two know each other? Someone's been lying to me…and I do not appreciate being left in the dark. I had enough of that from my sister, I'll be damned if I'll take it from my friends…or some crazy muse."

Zelgadis corrected her automatically. "I'm not crazy. I also didn't lie to you."

Lina pinned him in place with a knowledgeable look. "Lying by omission is just as good. You're not getting out of this with some easy loophole of words, Zel. Fess up - now."

Holding up a hand, Sylphiel saved Zelgadis the effort of a lengthy explanation. "You are right Lina, we owe you the truth." Taking a seat, she gestured for Lina to do the same before continuing. As an afterthought, she looked over at Amelia. "Amelia, would you please run to the store and buy us some more coffee? I have a feeling we will be up for some time."

Grabbing her coat, the younger girl chuckled. "Really, Syphiel…I'm not a kid anymore. You could have just told me this was a private matter."

Sylphiel blushed in response. "I'm sorry Amelia. Still, we could use the coffee. Something gourmet, please." She knew how much the muse depended on caffeine at the best of times. Better to prepare now for the long night ahead.

"Sure thing. Back in a bit."

She waited until the front door had closed before turning back to Lina. Her usually light voice had an almost parental seriousness to it, something that both comforted and set Lina on the defensive. There was a certain level of guilt that automatically came with upsetting Sylphiel; like smudging a finished painting, or refusing to help an old woman across the street. She was raining on an innocent picnic, trampling on a perfect flower. All told, it was a lousy feeling. Not for the first time, Lina wished apologies came more naturally to her.

"Before I get into past issues Lina, I have to make a few things clear. I didn't realize you knew Zelgadis, especially not his true nature. I didn't even know he was still around…I haven't seen him for some time. When Amelia ran into him the other day and brought him back here, I only thought about seeing an old friend again. I didn't stop to think about why he was back…or who might be his new student."

Lina already knew what direction things were going. "So, he used to teach, err…inspire, you then?"

She nodded softly, sparing a glance at the muse. Currently Zelgadis was drifting back to sleep, though he was fighting it all the way.

"When I was young, back when my best art came in the form of finger-painting, I had an imaginary friend. He was tall - well, tall to a child anyway, overly serious, and a bit of a grump." They both shared identical grins at that, grins that turned to laughter when they realized the object of their discussion had lost his battle with sleep. "One day, after I finished one particularly nice drawing, I saw him smile for the first time. After that I threw myself into artwork, promising myself that I would make him smile more."

"Aww…little Sylphiel had a crush!" Lina teased.

She blushed, but didn't deny it. "Things went well for some time…until I hit Jr. High. You know how it is Lina, especially for art students. I was a bit awkward outside of my artwork…over time I had drifted a bit, understanding inks and paints better than other people."

"It's hard to picture you being awkward around other people, Sylph. I've seen you at school and the restaurant. You naturally attract friends; play big sister to almost every girl I know, and are either loved by, or protected by, all the guys." She didn't say it, but they both heard the unspoken though. 'I admire you too.'

"Much of that is due to him. I was lonely in school, enough that it started bleeding over into all my artwork. By then I realized he was more than an imaginary friend, it didn't surprise me when he saw the signs."

"He can be blind about a lot of things…but other times he's too observant for his own good. The smart-ass knows it too." Lina muttered.

"It came down to an ultimatum. Either I would start reaching out to others, or he would stop inspiring me. Horrified, I tried being social. For the most part, it worked wonderfully."

"For the most part? That sounds a bit ominous."

"Well…"

"Don't you dare go silent on me now. You're too nice to be that cruel."

Encouraged by her humor, Sylphiel continued.

"I started going out with a classmate. He was brilliant Lina, kind as well. We were both on the student council and after working on several major projects, we just hit it off one day. In a lot of ways Zelgadis reminds me of him, or the him I first fell for. He was quiet, soft-spoken, always out to help the younger students. Very devoted to what he loved."

"He was an artist?"

"No, science. He seemed born to invent and tinker. If he wasn't covering a blackboard with formulas, he was buried away in the chemistry lab."

"I take it things changed?"

"The was an accident in the lab one day. It was April Fool's Day…someone had exchanged labels…there was an explosion."

Before Lina could offer any condolences, or even a sound of shock, Sylphiel continued in a rush. "He ended up severely burned across most of his face and chest. He also lost his sight. I tried to be there for him, but he kept pushing everyone away. He started obsessing over his lost sight, believing he could invent something to cure himself, or replace the lost eyes. By the first year of High School, he had shifted his focus to medicine, surgery specifically. Given his age and disability, no one took him seriously. In the end I was the only one left. I kept trying to help, but everyone has their limits. A younger student, a girl devoted to science as well, took my place immediately."

"I…I'm not sure what those two worked on. But one night I was staying late to finish some work for an upcoming art display. Eris showed up, a rag in one hand, a bottle in the other. I hadn't worked with Rezo for nothing - I knew a bottle of chloroform when I saw it. She rambled something about needing a healthy specimen to work with, and how fitting it would be for the ex-girlfriend to offer her life for the greater good."

Lina was speechless for a change, mouth open in obvious shock and horror. "My god…"

Surprisingly, Sylphiel dredged up a thin smile. "I know. Sounds more like a movie than real life, right? People are supposed to hear about crazy things on the evening news, not experience it themselves."

"Did you deck her?"

"Really Lina, do you always have to sound so excited about violence?" She shook her head softly. "No, I didn't attack her. I'm not like you Lina, I'm not brave enough to stand up for myself like that. Instead I ran away, screaming for a teacher, another student, for anyone to hear me. Eventually I found someone, an English teacher that was working late. I was crying to hard to explain anything, but I guided him back to the art room."

"Wait, that crazy girl didn't chase after you?"

"I know, that surprised me too. At the time I assumed that she expected me to find no one else there, or maybe Rezo was supposed to catch me elsewhere. It wasn't until we reached the art room that I realized why she didn't follow. Someone had beaten Eris to within an inch of her life. We walked into the room to find her a bloody mess, while Rezo stood over her body, screaming and crying. His hands were coated in blood, so everyone blamed him."

"Who really did it? Blaming the blind man seems a bit too convenient, but - no offense - you don't look capable of an attack like that."

"Zelgadis."

"Zelgadis!? He strikes with sarcasm, not fists."

"He admitted it himself a week later, after things had settled down. He had watched over me all those years, first in art, then in general. When I was threatened, he took care of her while I ran to safety. The only reason he didn't go after Rezo was that he had already vanished before Rezo arrived."

Lina looked over at the sleeping muse, who once again looked rather innocent when not awake. She wanted to say that he didn't seem the type, but she knew first hand how much people could change when threatened. It should have bothered her, but instead of shock or disgust, she found herself respecting him for it. Anymore, people were quicker to turn to a lawyer than deal with their own problems. Everyone was afraid of saying the wrong thing, hurting feelings that were already pathetically fragile to begin with.

She preferred to stand up for herself, face down anything the world threw at her. Knowing that Zel had his own line that shouldn't be crossed…if anything, she felt closer to the muse. He felt more human, more real in her eyes. True, he could have shown a bit more restraint, but it was easy to focus more on protecting than judging blows. At least he hadn't killed her…she had already seen that he had the power to do so. It should have been easy to kill someone that couldn't hope to hurt you.

Realizing that Sylphiel was still talking, Lina set her thoughts aside for the moment.

"Hurting mortals directly is forbidden for muses…Zelgadis had not only arrived to tell me the truth, but to say goodbye as well. He never said what his punishment was, and looking back on it, I wish I had been strong enough to ask. Instead I was hurt and scared, enough that I refused to go near him. Instead of a goodbye hug, or even a smile of understanding, he had to fade out to the sounds of me crying and yelling."

Lina whistled softly. How did someone respond to a story like that? Sylphiel had been almost kidnapped and possibly murdered, while her imaginary friend and muse defended her by almost killing someone. Her ex-boyfriend gets charged for the crime, and the muse confesses to it just before vanishing for what could have been forever.

She had always looked at her friend as having her life together. Sylphiel was pretty, she had several jobs, a thriving art trade, and more friends that Lina could count. She always smiled at others, comforted their smallest woes, listened with the patience of a saint. Never had she seen her friend play the victim, or even ask for sympathy for any problem. She seemed perfect…but it had come at such a surprising cost.

Oh, it would have been easy to claim it was all an act, some elaborate mask Sylphiel hid behind…but she wasn't that kind of person. Lina had seen enough smiles in her life that she could recognize a fake one instantly. Hell, she'd given enough of them herself over the years; from smiles meant to hide pain, to smiles meant to dazzle judges from the stage. When Sylphiel smiled, it was a smile of warmth and welcome. It sounded a bit cliché, but it was the kind of smile that came with slogans of baseball and apple pie, something meant to symbolize family and a life of joy.

"I've got to admit it Sylphiel, I'm not really sure how to respond to your story. It is a lot to take in at once and I wasn't the one that had to endure it. I have learned one thing though."

Sylphiel looked up, sorrow fading to curiosity.

"You have a reason for disliking violence…one that I need to respect as much as I can. I can't promise to be a saint, but I can try improving a bit. One bit of warning though; if I can't beat on idiots as much, I may turn to yelling at them more...and all that yelling will take more energy"

Lina's humor was rewarded with a smile, and after a bit of movement, a hug. "Energy that only my cooking can replace?"

"Of course!"

They were still laughing and joking when Amelia returned.