It was well past daybreak when Lina woke up. Normally she would have slept longer, but the sun was streaming in her room window and a bird was chirping annoyingly loud. Throwing off her covers, Lina wasn't surprised to find the young princess awake and gone from the room. That was fine with her; Amelia was far too cheerful for morning.
Okay, so it wasn't technically morning...actually somewhere near noon in most aspects, but it was close enough. The bird was still chirping away and for some reason it was grating Lina's single already half-worn morning nerve.
Stomping towards the window, Lina grabbed the first thing she could find - which just happened to be Amelia's pack. Opening up the window, she chucked the pack out at the bird, who promptly flew away. That left the pack...dangling from a branch. "Tch!" Lina scratched the back of her head and shrugged. Amelia could always get her things when they left.
After getting dressed and putting on her headband, Lina went downstairs to the tavern where the rest of the group was waiting at the table from the night before. Gourry was eating from a large pile sitting before him while Zel and Amelia looked over a map. "Isn't it a little early for lunch?" At the sound of Lina's voice, everyone turned.
Zel glanced over and Gourry and frowned. "He's still eating breakfast." Shaking her head, Lina sat herself down and grabbed herself a sausage from Gourry's plate.
"Hey! That's my - " as Lina shot a death-glare in his direction, Gourry quickly shut his mouth. Best not to tempt Lina's temper after she had just woken up.
"Oh, by the way Amelia...when we leave you'll have to get your pack out of the tree outside our room's window." Lina muttered through a mouthful of sausage, then leaning forward and spearing herself an egg.
"Um...Miss Lina, why is my pack in a tree?"
"There was a bird being annoying outside the window and I didn't feel like using a spell right after I woke up." Somewhere along the line, Lina had finished off Gourry's leftover breakfast and ordered three more plates for herself. She was starving!
"I thought our window was closed?" Amelia asked cautiously, scratching her chin.
"It was."
"Then how did you hear the bird?"
Lina just shrugged. "I dunno. It sounded like it ws chirping right next to my ear."
Zel raised a brow. Heightened hearing perhaps? Every now and then he would wake up to the same thing. Perhaps it was because... "What do you keep looking at?" He had to interrupt his own thoughts to ask that question. Lina kept flickering her eyes to stare off at something just over his shoulder. Lina didn't answer, but stood up and walked to the tavern door. Swinging it open angrily, she held it open and began yelling.
"Look, if you want to ask me something or get a good look, then just come inside and do it! Quit staring at me through the doorway!" Slamming the door again, Lina stormed her way back to her and chair and sat down.
"Who were you yelling at?" Gourry asked, trying to hide the sausage that was crammed in his cheek. At Lina's departure he had decided to claim a little retribution for the sorceress's earlier thievery.
"Some guy out on the road. He's sitting across the street and everytime the door opens I see him staring at me." Lina huffed, wolfing down her 'breakfast'. She hadn't noticed the missing sausage; or, if she did she didn't say anything about it.
"But the door's all the way across the room, plus the width of the street and not to mention the people walking all over the road and blocking the view." Zel had to point out the facts.
"Yeah, your point?" Lina couldn't see what he was tryingi to say.
Zel knew what he meant though. Heightened sight too. "Nothing." He would keep his theories to himself...for now.
It took another hour or so for Lina to finish her breakfast. During which, Amelia went and retrieved her pack and Gourry and Zel packed their things. After grabbing her own gear, Lina and the rest finally left the inn...only to run into someone directly outside the door. Literally.
"Ow! Hey!" Lina rubbed the tender spot on her head; the spot where her skull had knocked against the skull of the man she ran into. She was about to send a nice fireball to remind him to watch where he was going next time...but she stopped when she noticed he was staring very intently at her. His face looked very familiar...
"Hey! You're that guy that was staring at me through the door!" Lina was definitely about to send a fireball on him now.
The man's face went from an intense stare to one of almost complete hatred. "Give up the key."
Okay...that made her a little curious. "What key?" She still had her fireball on hand, but she wanted to know what this guy thought she had...or maybe she did pick up something during a bandit raid. Hey, it happened before.
The man wasn't very cooperative. Reaching forward, he grabbed Lina by her shoulder-guards and pulled her forward violently. "Give up the key or you and your friends will all die." At that, he quickly let go and ran off, dissappearing within the crowd.