"Ya know, Gourrin, I'm really glad you spotted that sign. This is wonderful." Zerena stated as she leaned back against the side of the hot spring.
"Me too" Gourrin replied, seating himself across from her.
Leila and Valterra mumbled their approvals from the opposite corners.
Ah, I'm glad you pretty ladies are enjoying yourselves!" came a voice. Zerena sat up to get a look at the speaker. It was a strange looking boy with spiky black hair.
"And who are you?" Valterra asked.
The boy glared at him "I believe I was addressing these lovely ladies."
"Well excu~use me!" Valterra answered leaning back and closing his eyes.
"Fine then, And who are you?" Zerena asked.
The boy grinned "I'm Gerik Xoana the prince of this kingdom."
"Oh joy" Zerena said leaning back and putting a washcloth over her eyes.
Gerik looked at Leila "Well perhaps a beauty such as yourself can appreciate true beauty when they see it."
"Yeah I can, and you are most definitely not it" Leila replied opening her eyes, then promptly reclosing them to grin.
Gerik gaped and was unable to say anything except a few vowel sounds. Zerena chuckled and gave Leila a mental applause. Martina chose that moment to show up.
"And how are our champions doing?" she asked with obviously fake courtesy.
"Just fine" Leila said.
"Great" Martina said.
"My my it looked like you weren't doing so great a minute ago." Xelloss replied appearing above the center of the hot spring.
Leila grinned the promptly latched onto him with a cry of "Daddy!"
Martina blinked then clasped her hands together and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Master Xelloss! You're here in Xoana."
"Yes well I'm merely keeping an eye on my daughter and son." He replied.
"Step son" Valterra broke in shooting a nasty glare at Xelloss.
"Why do you insist on that? You're just as much my son a Lei is my daughter!" Xelloss said grinning.
Valterra growled.
"Now now you two!" Leila broke in "Why can't we just get along and be one big happy family!"
Xelloss twitched slightly at the positive feelings Leila was emitting, however faint, then continued the charade "Yes, Val, Why can't we be one big happy family?"
"Well let's see, there's the fact that I don't like you. Then there's, oh!, the fact that I hate you!" Valterra said glaring at Xelloss.
Everyone else merely sat in silence watching the exchange, Martina had wandered off sometime during the argument.
Zerena pulled herself up on the side of the hot spring then yelled "Shut up! Both of you!"
Valterra, Leila and Xelloss promptly silenced themselves and in Xelloss's case shifted away.
Zerena squeezed some of the water from her hair, shook some hair out of her free eye and glared at Valterra and Leila. "Now I came here to relax and enjoy myself, and your not helping! Even I'm tolerating Lei for the sake of peace and quiet."
Valterra and Leila bowed their heads and mumbled "I'm sorry."
"What did you say? I can't hear you." Zerena said.
They lifted their heads and said louder "We're sorry."
"You're sorry what?"
"We're sorry Ma'am."
"That's better. Now behave yourselves!" Zerena sunk back down in the water and replaced the washcloth over her eyes.
Meanwhile in Dragon Valley, a blonde haired, blue-eyed girl was in her room throwing things around and mumbling about 'damned dragon boys'. She'd just heard her father and a few elders discussing the newest news, the offspring of the Slayers of Gods and Monsters, and she was dead set on finding and joining them. 'It' be a lot better than hanging around here doing the same things every day and listening to the lectures from the elders about finding a mate already. Most of the guys around here are either older or younger than me or they're just plain hideous! She shuddered at the thought of one of them as a mate. She looked in the mirror and brushed her hair. She started to walk away then turned and grabbed a container of light pink lip rouge, applied some, then put the container in her traveling bag.
As soon as she got outside she focused on her future traveling companions, hopefully, then teleported.
At the hot springs, Zerena was enjoying her peace and quiet, Gourrin was asleep, Valterra was sitting on the side & glaring at Leila, Leila was trying to ignore the looks Gerik was giving her & Xelloss had disappeared around Zerena's outburst.
Then the peace was shattered as a blonde girl suddenly appeared above Valterra, promptly falling across his lap with an 'oof'. Everyone's attention turned to the scene, except Gourrin.
The girl blinked then looked up and noticed the position she was in. She blushed then scrambled off and onto her feet. Still blushing she mumbled a soft apology.
Leila was the first to speak up "As amusing as that was, who are you?"
The girl blinked then replied "Oh! I'm Milissa, a golden dragon, and I was hoping to be able to travel with you. Of course I'll help out, I can cook well and I'm a good healer." She clasped her hands together and her eyes sparkled with hope.
Zerena thought for a moment then sighed "Alright but if you prove to more of a hindrance than a help, you're gone. understand?"
Milissa nodded and meekly asked "if you wouldn't mind, miss, would you please tell me your names?"
Zerena raised and eyebrow then obliged her "I'm Zerena Greywords De Seyruun, heir to the heir of the city-state of Seyruun and expert Sorceress and Swordsman. Sleeping beauty over there is Gourrin Inverse-Gabriev, he's the son of Lina Inverse & Gourry Gabriev and the swordsman of Light. The grinning Fruitcake is Leila Ul Copt Metallium, she's half-Mazoku/Half-Golden Dragon."
Milissa gasped at this.
"And last is Valterra Ul Copt, Leila's half-brother and a full Golden Dragon. That enough for you?"
"Yes, qui -- "
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Gerik interrupted.
"How I wish I could" Zerena said, but Gerik chose to ignore her.
He walked over and kissed Milissa hand, much to her chagrin. "I'm Gerik Xoana, Prince of the kingdom of Xoana, which your beauty currently graces."
Milissa jerked her hand back and looked ready to slap him but instead turned and walked to the other side of the spring.
Zerena climbed out and wrung out her hair. "I think we should head to our rooms, the sun will be setting in a moment." The group nodded and they all headed to their respective rooms. Zerena kicked Gourrin to wake him up and told him to go to his room, he complied. Zerena looked back at Milissa "You can stay in my room for the night."
Milissa smiled and followed Zerena.