Zelgadis blinked as his eyes adjusted to the early morning light. It was a fairly decent morning. Ther weather was nice, the scenery was grand, and no one was trying to kill them at the particular moment. Zelgadis slightly smiled as he sat fully erect, pushing away from the tree he was sleeping against. Sheilding his face with one hand, he overlooked the campsite.
A small pile of still smoldering, blackened peices of wood lay in the middle of a clearing. Gourry was sprawled , spread-eagle, on the ground, snoring loudly. His head was propped against a lopsided rock and Zel wondered how confortable a rock could really be....
His gaze then fell to the right, where Amelia was lying on her cape. Part of it was bunched together to make a fairly decent headrest. She started muttering something while half giggling. Zel turned away with a sneer. He didn't want to know what she was giggling about.
Finally, his eyes went to where he really wanted to look; the last member of their little party. Only to find an empty space where the grass was slightly flattened; indicating that someone had been there. He looked around the surrounding area, but found her no where in sight.
Where did Lina go?
She was sure she had heard someone laughing....and that laugh was unmistakeable. she should have been running as fast as she could away from the laughter. But....there was something different about that laugh and it disturbed her deeply.
Lina Inverse, you must be mad to actually try to find her... she thought to herself sourly, but stopped when she heard the laugh again.
Taking off at full speed, she soon came to a small clearing. Quickly stopping, she stood before a large log cabin, smoke coming out of the chimney. Inside, she could hear the laughter...
Where the heck did she go! Zel thought heatedly while calmly sipping his drink of choice. Amelia and Gourry were worried too. They had been since they woke up and found Lina gone as well. Zelgadis assured them that she would probably be back soon. She probably went to the next town to see how big it was. It was a fairly small town, more like a village, and it wasn't that far away.
"Wouldn't she have told one of us?" Amelia voiced. All of the girl's pacing had started to dig a trench in the ground. Zelgadis sighed.
"She probably expected to be back before we awoke. She must have gotten caught up or, knowing Lina, is sampling the food in a nearby restaurant." he answered, taking another sip. Amelia seemed slightly assured by that, and Gourry had already drifted off into a trance while staring at a bug, but Zel was not. Even his thoughts seemed irrational.
Why am I so worried? Lina can take care of herself. he tried reassuring himself, but wasn't successful. Why do I care...why do I care so much about her? He looked up to where Lina had been sleeping and noticed something he hadn't seen earlier. He stood and walked closer and it came into clearer view with each step. Amelia, and even Gourry, watched intently and tried to see what Zel was looking at.
A path was made through the forest by broken branches and brush that had been pushed out of the way.
Lina wouldn't have done this much damage unless she was running...and the town is in the opposite direction! he threw his cup over his shoulder, spilling its contents onto the ground. Before the dirt had fully absorbed the liquid, Zel was off and running. Amelia and Gourry rushed to their feet and tried to keep up, but were soon falling behind.
"Mr. Zelgadis! Wait for us!" Amelia half-whined, half-panted. He didn't hear her though. His thoughts were only concentrated on following the path that Lina had taken...and wondering why she had left so suddenly without telling anyone...