Hello, all! As per usual, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!
17- Cold Enough for You?
"Whoever drew these maps must have been colour-blind… I can't make heads or tails of this…"
Lina turned the map over and over several times before she finally balled it up in frustration, tossing it to the ground.
"H-hey! Don't just mess it up like that! Let me see it! The last thing we need is to be wandering around out here without knowing which way to go!" Gourry fumbled to catch the paper before it fell and was soaked through by the snow. Lina scowled at him.
"I'd like to see you do a better job." she quipped.
"Well… I…" Gourry unfolded the map and tried to smooth it out as best he could. Lina's outburst had torn it in a few places, but the writing was still legible. "I guess… we're here on the coast with the bay to the west of us… so if that way is west, then this way must be east… which would lead us toward Zoana if we kept walking… but we shouldn't go that way… and…hmm…"
"There's nothing here but mountains and snow." Lina huffed, having taken a seat on a nearby rock. "I think we should just get back on the boat and go back to Seyruun."
"Right, because that boat should be happy to take us back to the Seyruun coast."
"You know what I mean." Lina side-eyed him with her arms crossed defiantly.
"The ferry won't be back for another two hours, Lina. We should at least try to find what we're looking for." Gourry sat down beside her, showing her the map. "The lady we talked to on the boat said that the old monastery was once located in this general area. I'm figuring that, with everything covered in snow like this, a big building will be hard to miss."
"I don't feel like wandering aimlessly, though." Lina sighed. "I don't want to have to walk a long distance. I got the mistaken impression that this building was right on the beach."
"I got that impression too…" Gourry nodded. "But it's not, and there's nothing we can do about it. I'd say… why don't you stay here while I scout out the area for a little while? There's no use in having you wandering around too."
"You'll come right back if you find something?" Lina didn't even confirm Gourry's plan; she seemed to think that the way she was making herself more comfortable was confirmation enough that she planned to stay right where she was sitting.
"I will- even if it's just a nice place to camp for the night."
"Well, hurry up, would you? It's cold out here."
Gourry sighed. "Are you sure that you'll be alright all by yourself?"
"I'll be fine! I still have the magic vessel that Pestis gave me, remember?" Lina held up the small red stone that she had placed onto a necklace for safekeeping. "If there's an emergency, I can always blast the threat to pieces."
"Alright, then. I guess that's good… but only in case of an emergency, got it? There's no use in firing off spells just for fun. If you do that I'll have to take it away from you."
"Don't worry so much, Gourry!" Lina laughed. "I promise, I promise! You don't have to threaten me!"
"…okay then…" Gourry turned away and started exploring the forest in another direction. Lina watched him until he was out of sight. The sky was clear and sunny, but that only made visibility more difficult, as the sunlight reflected off the snow made it hard to look in any one direction for too long.
Lina pulled out a book from her bag and began flipping through it- she'd planned to read it on the way to their destination, but being on boats right now made her too sick to focus on anything. It was one that she'd borrowed from the Temple of the Aqualord, though it wasn't about gods at all, but Mazoku. Followers of the Temple of the Aqualord at the time of the War of the Monsters' Fall had created a documentation of all the major players in the Mazoku's assault on humans and dragons. Surely, if it was as detailed an account as it advertised to be, it would have some sort of information on Azarel…
Huh, Xellos would probably be thrilled to know how much this book talks about him. He'd consider himself a celebrity or something… it's probably best not to let him get his hands on it.
The sorceress was too wrapped up in her reading to even pay attention to her surroundings. One or two people at least passed by on the trail without acknowledging her presence, and so she took no note of them until after they had gone. It was only afterward that she considered the fact that she could have asked them for directions, but it didn't matter anymore. Besides, if the trail really was that well-travelled, surely Gourry would meet someone he could ask for directions as well.
He probably won't though… what is it with men and asking for directions, anyway? I wonder if I should ask the next person who comes by here…
It wasn't until a few minutes later that a group of people finally did pass by, and when that happened they were the first to acknowledge Lina's presence- much to her dismay.
"Hey, miss! What are you doing here all alone?"
Lina looked up and groaned. Just my luck that I'd get stuck with dorks like these…
The three men seemed nice enough, but it was likely that Lina wasn't going to get any useful information out of them, so she might as well stop the conversation before it got any further.
"Go away." she stated, focusing her attention back on the book.
"I'm sorry- we didn't mean to pry. We're just trying to help. A place like this isn't anywhere for a young lady to be all alone, y'know; it's dangerous. Can't we be of any assistance?"
Lina frowned indignantly and grabbed for her necklace, but held it firmly in one hand. I can't use this. It's not an emergency… is it?
"My husband should be back here any minute. There's no need for you guys to stick around."
"Oh, you hear that?" one of the men laughed. "She's waiting for her husband! Isn't that cute?"
"Hey, don't laugh. It's not funny." Barked another.
They don't believe me, or…? Lina ground her teeth in frustration. Where is Gourry when you need him? I'd like to see him pound these guys into the snow. Maybe then they won't be so quick to laugh at me…
"Listen, we're just concerned that you shouldn't be out here on your own. The weather's getting bad, and it wouldn't be very chivalrous of us to leave a helpless girl all by herself-"
That does it.
"ZELAS BRID!"
The explosion and yelps of surprise from her targets were far more satisfying to Lina than she'd remembered. It was funny that something as small as a single spell could cause so much damage.
There was a circle on the ground where all the snow within a certain radius had been blasted away. The men hadn't been hurt- they shouldn't have been; she'd aimed at their feet, after all- but they were certainly not happy with her.
"H-hey! We were only trying to help!" "Yeah, geez. Could'ya lighten up a little? That wasn't necessary!" "We could've really been hurt, y'know! Shooting off spells like that is dangerous!"
"Dangerous?" Lina twirled her hair in her fingers. "I thought that a young lady being alone out here was dangerous. Weren't you going to assist me? If you're too scared of danger to be of any use, you should probably just go away."
"Give us a break! We didn't mean any harm!"
"Your insinuations were a little too insulting for my liking. Are you maybe not as powerful as you made yourselves seem?"
"Hey, we're warriors, not sorcerers. Plus, you caught us off-guard. Surely, if we were in battle, we would-"
"DARK CLAW."
Another attack sent the men scrambling for cover.
"D-d-don't do that, I said! Are you out of your mind?!"
"Maybe." Lina murmured thoughtfully. "Would you still like to help me?"
"I think you're perfectly capable of caring for yourself…" "…Yes, we're in a hurry anyway; we need to catch up with the rest of our group…" "…It was lovely meeting you, miss, but we should really be-"
"Now hold on a minute." Lina stood up and approached the men, a dark smile spreading across her face. "You can't leave… the fun was just getting started…"
Lina was right… the colours on this map are really distracting… Gourry wasn't having much luck with his search, and was almost ready to call it quits and head back to the ferry. I'm sure, if she were here, she'd be telling me to stop and ask for directions… what is it with women and asking for directions, anyway?
"Hey there! Excuse me- are you lost?"
Gourry looked up from the map with a jump. He hadn't been paying attention to the other people on the path, and didn't noticed two men approaching him in concern. One was a tall, older-looking man, and the other was a young man- actually, it probably wouldn't have been a stretch to call him an older boy. Judging from the looks of it, they must have been father and son. The resemblance was too close to think otherwise.
"Oh, uh, no!" Gourry assured them. "I'm fine, really! I was just looking at… er, well… I was trying to find… that is… uh…" He finally gave up and hung his head in shame. "…yes. I'm lost. Please help me."
"Hey, don't be ashamed!" the boy replied. "It's way too easy to get lost with all this snow, especially if you don't know the way. We'll be happy to help you."
"Yeah; take it easy." the father chuckled. "There's no prize for foregoing help, you know."
Gourry thought it over for a moment. "I've heard that advice somewhere before.. but I can't remember where."
"It's probably a common saying." The older man waved his hand dismissively. "It's something I always used to tell my boys back when I trained soldiers in-" He stopped abruptly. "...wait a minute… are you… you can't be… Gourry Gabriev?"
At the sound of his name, Gourry instinctively straightened up and a name came to his lips before he even knew what he was saying.
"Captain!"
The man chuckled. "At ease, kid! Or… so I say, but you're not much of a kid anymore, are you? How long has it been… 9… almost 10 years?"
"Has it only been that long? I don't quite remember it like I should…" Gourry's voice trailed off. "B-but I do remember you! You were one of the best leaders we had!"
"Aw, now, no need to be formal anymore. I've retired from the militia anyway… just call me Gene, okay?" He laughed. "And you remember my son Jason, don't you?"
"Jason?! Is that you?" Gourry lost his balance for a moment in surprise. "I didn't recognize you at all! Last time I saw you, you were just a little kid!"
"I remember you too!" Jason replied. "I never expected to see you again, though! What a small world we live in…"
"Yeah, I know." Gourry nodded breathlessly. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"
"My son and I always go out camping with some friends of mine in mid-September. We almost decided against it this year, due to the crazy weather and everything, but my friends wanted to brave it out anyway, so… here we are." Gene explained with a grin. "They're pretty stubborn fools, but we're having a good time anyway."
"So… uh… where are your friends?" Gourry looked around.
"Oh, we split up to scout out a good campsite." Gene replied. "The one we usually use is too piled up with snow- it's no good. We have to find a place that's better sheltered, so they went searching in another direction. Jason and I found a place, so we're trying to meet up with them again. Once we do, we can start having fun, like always."
"Sounds nice! It makes me wish I had the time to enjoy myself like you're doing."
"Oh? What brings you here, then? What do you do for a living now, anyway?"
Gourry scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well… it's a really long and complicated story that I don't quite remember all the way, but… I work as a private bodyguard for a wealthy travelling merchant. I get to go places with her and see the world- it's a nice job."
"Sounds like it!" Gene exclaimed. "You haven't done badly for yourself, kid! I'm proud of you!"
"Do you make a lot of money for it? Does she pay you by the hour, or is it on commission, or something?"
"Jason!"
"What? I'm curious!" the young man defended. "Surely if she's so wealthy, she'd pay her bodyguard well-"
"Hah! I'd be lucky to get much out of her! She's the most miserly person I've ever met." Gourry responded. "I've never known anyone to be so greedy… and yet, she's successful in business because she's good with money- she knows how to make proper investments when buying and selling… a whole bunch of complicated stuff that I don't understand… but it all works out in the end."
"It sounds like you really admire her."
"Aww, is it that obvious?" Gourry finally folded the map up and put it back in his coat pocket. "She really is an amazing person; sometimes moreso than I can really comprehend. She's incredibly intelligent, talented in all kinds of fields… she's a hard worker with determination; not the kind of person to take 'no' for an answer… she can be tough and feisty, but she's also a caring friend and loving mother…"
"It seems as though she's an incredible woman." Gene smiled at the description.
"How old is she? Is she pretty?"
"Jason!"
"What? I'm curious!"
Gourry just laughed. "Don't worry, don't worry! She's young and beautiful! Don't tell her I said this- she'd kill me for it- but I think that it's adorable how tiny she is. She's only about this tall," He motioned to Lina's height with his hand. "but she has a tough-as-nails demeanour that scares even large men."
"Even you?" Jason asked.
"Especially me." Gourry smirked.
"Aww, look at you blushing! You are so sweet on her-" Jason teased, though his father was quick to interrupt him.
"Oh, be quiet! It sounds like she has a family of her own."
"It's just us." Gourry quickly responded. "I didn't happen to mention that we were married, did I?"
"Well, no, that would've been nice to mention toward the beginning!" Gene seemed a little exasperated. "But I guess that I don't even have to ask if you're happy with your marriage or not. Sounds like a resounding 'yes!"
"How many kids do you have?"
"Jason!"
"What? I'm curious!"
The pattern was becoming apparent, and it made Gourry laugh. He could remember Captain Copeland having this same problem years back, when his son had been just a little boy. It seemed as though time hadn't changed them at all.
"We have two wonderful children-" Gourry began, and then stopped. "-well, one wonderful child right now... But it will be two very soon."
"How soon is very soon?" Gene raised an eyebrow.
"Well, uh… that is… it's about… uh…" Gourry counted out on his fingers for a moment, and then suddenly turned very pale. "…ten weeks."
"From now?!"
"Yes! Agh! I knew this was a bad idea!" Gourry tugged at his hair in frustration. "She should be at home, bundled up in bed reading books and drinking hot cocoa by the fire… not out here in the middle of nowhere searching for some building that may or may not exist! Why does she have to be so stubborn?!"
"Stubborn? Mister Gabriev, what are you talking abo-"
The atmosphere around them was suddenly rocked by the sound of a distant explosion. All three of them turned abruptly in the direction of the noise.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" Gourry murmured, recognizing the sound of a magical spell.
"What was that?!" Jason gasped.
"I think I know…" Gourry responded. "And it can't be anything good!"
(A/N: Ah… oh dear… Seyruun doesn't have a coast. Ha… hah…)