navy = flashback
"Are you sure this is going to work, Xel-san?" Xel smiled brightly, looking like a powerfully-built human with scruffy black hair and dull blue eyes.
"Of course it will, Ser-chan, I know them very well." Ser nodded slightly, her clothing made to look more worn than normal. "Come on, destiny awaits!"
"Gimme back that drumstick!"
"But you've already eaten five chi - " Gourry's reply was cut short as Lina bonked him on the head, snatched the chicken leg and promptly ate it all in one motion.
"I'm a growing girl, after all," she said around a mouthful of food.
"Growing where?" Lina narrowed her eyes at the swordsman and he smiled nervously. A fireball without any visible effort from the redhead left a rather crispy blond behind.
"Get in there, you," a loud voice practically yelled. Lina and Zel, who was nursing his usual coffee, looked up towards the source of the voice. A pair had entered the restaurant they were in. The tall guy was scary-looking and looked like he could break a table with one finger; the girl he was pushing around seemed almost an exact opposite, pale and petite with little physical strength.
Lina frowned and glanced at Zel. "The poor girl, we should do something for her." The chimera nodded, eyeing the black-haired man.
"Doesn't have a magical aura, this should be easy." Lina nodded and stood, shaking Gourry back to consciousness.
Xel watched the slayers out of the corner of his eye, and smirked. "Sit down and be quiet, kainashi!" Ser played her part, bowing her head submissively and sitting in an empty chair.
"Hey, you!" Xel smiled to himself.
That's my Lina-chan. He turned towards her, looking very menacing. "What do you want?" Lina stood tall in front of him, even though he was easily half a foot taller.
"Leave her alone!" Xel chuckled lowly.
"And what you going to do about it, mister?"
After the smoke cleared, Lina looked around for the small blond girl. When she was found, Ser had a practiced grateful look. "You saved me... how could I repay you?" Without thinking about it, Lina said what was expected of her.
"Gold would be ni - ouf!" Zel had intercepted the sentence with a "gentle" elbow to the stomach. Ser caught it anyway.
"I... I don't have any money..." Ser sighed quietly, Xel hadn't told her what to do after being saved, only to trust him. How would she be accepted if she didn't have any gold, though?
Tell them you're a white mage. She blinked, hearing Xel's voice in her head.
... Xel-san...? His soft chuckle carried over the strengthing telepathic bond.
"I'm... a white mage..."
"Yeah, so are Amelia and Sylphiel, that's not so incredible." Ser swallowed, eyes paled
slightly.
"P-please... I'll travel with you, you won't even notice I'm here," she said quietly,
Xel's guidance helping her along. Lina sighed, considering having someone else to drag along.
"Maybe, but one more thing: can you defend yourself?" Ser swallowed again, starting to
sweatdrop nervously.
"I..."
Tell her yes.
"... yes."
"Then let's prove it." Lina started outside and Ser was almost covered in nervous
sweatdrops.
Xel-san, I can't do this...! It's been so long since I've handled a sword...
You'll do fine, Ser-chan. Don't worry. Encouraging, but it didn't make her feel
better.
Outside the inn, Lina was waiting, sword in a relaxed grip at her side. Zel and Gourry
were off to the side, just in case the blond stranger tried anything. Seraya meanwhile was
walking slowly towards them, emitting nervousness and a little fear. I sense her magic,
she's so powerful, Xel-san... I'm scared...
Don't worry, I said. I'm watching and won't let anything happen to you.
Comforted a little, Ser stopped when she stood in front of the sorceress.
"Well? Where's your sword?" Ser closed her eyes, holding her hands at her side where a
sheath would be. Chanting quietly, she seemed to draw a sword out of thin air. The slayers
watched, a little surprised. Lina nodded and held up her weapon. "Alright, let's see what you
can do." Ser nodded slightly, raising her sword to tap lightly at Lina's.
The sorceress made a slow swing from the side and Ser blocked it easily. Slowly
increasing her speed, Lina's attacks became more complicated. The blond girl was able to
block, and soon the air was filled with the sounds of metal hitting metal.
A few minutes into the mock fight, Lina found herself blocking as well. Wow, she's not so
bad. Using what she considered to be a large portion of her skill, Lina didn't see very many
openings. Ser was able to defend herself well.
Taking a risk, however, she swung high and out towards her opponent. Ser ducked and
quickly returned the attack, her blade slicing the air towards Lina's exposed side. The
redhead saw it coming and tried to jump away, but it was just barely too late. Ser's sword
nicked her side, cutting the cloth and leaving a long, shallow cut on her skin.
Lina hissed in pain, a slow trickle of blood starting to ooze out of the wound. A moment
after, Gourry and Zel sprang into action. Gourry jumped between Lina and Ser, holding up his
own sword and ready to defend. Zel used his demon speed and came up behind Ser, knocking the
sword out of her hand. Then he got a grip on her wrists and held them behind her back.
Ser's eyes widened and she gasped weakly in pain from the chimera's steel grip. "I'm
sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Oh, you will be," Zel whispered harshly, tightening his grip on the girl's wrists. Ser
cried out softly, bones of her arms cracking in protest of the awkward position.
"Please, let me heal her! I'm sorry..." Lina looked around Gourry, holding her side. Ser
looked back, eyes pleading to be given a chance. "Please..." The sorceress watched her
thoughtfully.
It certainly wasn't meant or I'd be cut in half... this is barely a scratch.
"Let her go." Zel's visible eye narrowed.
"But she - " Gourry made a similar protest.
"But Lina, she - "
"I said, let her go!" Gourry reluctantly resheathed his sword, and Zel hesitated another
moment, then released his hold on Ser.
She lightly rubbed her wrists, glancing down at her sword where it landed. Not yet,
I'll get it later... no telling how they'd take it. The look didn't go unnoticed as
Gourry tensed a moment. Ser swallowed and looked back at Lina. "Please, let me heal what I
caused..."
Lina nodded and the blond girl slowly walked towards her. Ser held a hand over the small
slice on Lina's side and chanted softly, a weak white glow enveloping her hand. A moment
later, the cut was completely gone.
"I can't do anything for the shirt..." Ser blushed lightly and looked back up at Lina.
The sorceress smiled at her.
"Not bad, I can't even feel it anymore. What's your name?"
"Seraya," she answered quietly.
Lina.
"Mine's Lina - "
Zelgadis.
" - that's Zelgadis - " The chimera eyed her, still suspicious of the petite blond.
Gourry.
" - and that's Gourry." He waved cheerfully, quickly forgetting the earlier incident
since the wound had been healed. Ser smiled weakly. "Well, you know I'll have to think about
this, having someone else tagging along and all."
"I understand, Lina..." She nodded and started towards another building near the
restaurant they had left.
"Now come on, let's get back to the inn."
Later that night, while everyone else was asleep, Lina ... wasn't. She was still awake,
reading through a few scrolls she had found the day before. This distraction was why she
didn't hear the first quiet knocks on her room's door.
"Nani? Who'd be up at this hour?" She went over to unlock the door, intent on sending
whoever it was away. Lina opened the door, however, to discover Seraya standing outside,
looking very nervous. "Seraya? What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, I..." She blushed and looked down. "Lina, I just.. want to apologize for
earlier, I..."
"Hey, come on, it was just a scratch."
"Yes, but... ... Lina, I just want to be accepted, it's.. I.." She quieted again, not
sure what to say and frustrated with herself. Lina watched her a moment.
"Well, come in and sit down, this isn't the best place to talk." She backed into the room
and Ser slipped in. Lina closed the door and locked it again, then glanced back.
Ser was seated on the very edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap and fingers drumming
nervously. Lina sat down on the bed, forcing Ser to turn and sit cross-legged, facing the
redhead. "Hey, relax, what are you so nervous about?" The white mage lowered her head.
"I'm... I'm afraid you'll... decide not to let me tag along... and then I won't know what
to do..." Lina smiled and rested a hand on Ser's shoulder, making her look up again with
hopeful eyes.
"I've already made up my mind, you can come with us." The smaller girl's eyes started to
glow weakly.
"Really...? Oh, thank you, Lina-san!" She leaned forward and hugged Lina, greatly
relieved and glad. The sorceress blinked, then blushed and hugged back lightly.
"Erm, sure, you're welcome."
"MINE!"
"MINE!"
"MINE!"
"MINE!" Lina hit Gourry in the head a couple times with one hand, the other with a death
grip on a plate of pancakes.
"Ow! Fine!" Lina smiled triumphantly and finished off the pancakes in a few seconds.
"I told ya they were mine." Zel rolled his eyes and sighed.
The same thing happens every morning. He shook his head and took a sip of his
coffee than glanced over the cup's rim, sensing a subtle white magic presense.
Seraya was walking slowly down the stairs. Ah, yes, her... She paused at the
bottom of the stairs as if she heard something. Her blue eyes met Zel's and she trembled
slightly. The look he gave her could've frozen fire. Lina and Gourry were too busy stuffing
themselves to notice.
Ser swallowed nervously, not sure what to do. Lina glanced up and choose for her. "Hey
Ser, come on over and have some breakfast." The blond smiled weakly and made her way to their
table, but got nervous again as she found the only chair available was across from Zel.
He's still... suspicious, but Lina and Gourry have forgiven me... She pushed
onward and sat down, avoiding Zel's icy glare.
"So, Seraya, where are you from," Lina asked as she actually handed the smaller girl a
plate of food. Ser looked at the large breakfast thoughtfully.
"Well, uhm..." She chewed a bite of sausage, thinking how she could explain something she
didn't fully understand. "See... I'm not from this world."
The shock value was particularly potent. "A-another world?" Even Zel had forgotten his
suspicion to look at Ser in awe. Gourry, of course, missed it completely and continued eating,
pleasantly surprised that he didn't have to fight Lina for more. The blond nodded weakly.
"It's... I really don't know how it happened, but I ended up here..." Lina and Zel
recovered their normal composures.
"So what about that guy?" Ser closed her eyes a moment, recalling the story she was to
explain.
"If you tell them we found you, they'd never trust you," Xel said to
her as they traveled the Astral Plane.
"What can I tell them, Xel-san?" He kept smiling brightly as they reappeared in normal
space.
"Say I, as an 'owner' found you." The petite girl nodded and looked up at the inn they
were heading towards. "He found me soon after I was teleported here.. he brought me back to health, then..."
She sighed and shook her head, letting the slayers' imaginations fill in the rest. Lina
cringed sympathetically.
"Well, it's obvious you don't want to talk about that.. hm, you said you were a white
mage, what's your talent?" Ser smiled weakly, glad to have gotten past the tough part of
"bending the truth", as Xel called it.
"I'm really good at healing... and it draws from my own energy so there's little side
effect on the person I'm casting it on." The sorceress nodded, recalling the healing spell she
had experienced.
"But since it draws from your energy, doesn't that drain you?" Ser nodded slightly, a few
strains of hair falling over her lowered face.
"Yes, but... I can recover... someone that dies of injury can't..." Lina chewed
thoughtfully, mulling that philosophy over. Very selfless, up to the point of nobility. Zel
was also thinking about the young mage's words. He was still suspicious, of course, but it was
quickly becoming more difficult to remain that way.
"One thing I'm wondering," the chimera started quietly. Ser looked up at him for the
first time since sitting down. "Where did you learn to handle a sword like that?" The healer
sighed and hugged herself, the breakfast before her cooling and forgotten.
"My brother taught me to defend myself.. how to get out of situations and avoid them as
well."
"Sounds kinda like my brother," Gourry commented around a mouthful of eggs. Lina
sweatdropped and peered at the swordsman.
"You don't have a brother." He paused a moment.
"...Oh yeah, I forgot." The other three fell out of their chairs, facefaulting loudly.
After they had paid for their food, the slayers plus their new traveling companion
started out on the trail. "So where are we going, Lina?"
"Zoana, been hearing some good things about the place recently." Idle chatter continued,
and they didn't notice when Seraya waited behind at a bend in the path. After they disappeared, she looked up. There, perched lazily in the tree was Xelloss.
"I did it, Xel-san," she said quietly, a little relief seeping into her voice. The Mazoku
smiled brightly and floated down to her eye level.
"I knew you could, Ser-chan." He opened one eye, proud of this quiet girl's
accomplishment. She smiled back and hugged him.
"Thank you.. for everything," the blond girl whispered. Xel chuckled quietly and returned
the hug.
"Of course, Ser-chan, it was my pleasure... now get along or the others might start
wondering where you are." She hesitated a moment then let go.
"Will I see you again soon..?" The Trickster Priest closed his eyes and smiled again,
waving a finger at her.
"Normally I'd say 'sore wa himitsu desu', but this time... I'll have to say yes, you will
see me soon. Now, run along or do I have to teleport you," he asked with a laughter in his
voice. Ser nodded and started running down the path.
After the white sorceress was gone, Xel's smile remained. This girl is special... I
wonder what will happen. He giggled softly and teleported away. I look forward to it.