"Sylpheel ..." His hands upon my shoulder root me down to my spot, unable to move. When had there ever been such tenderness in his grip, such concern in his voice? ...
"I just want you to know I'm always here for you, no matter what happens." He speaks softly, caringly.
"You've always been there for me ... it's one of the reasons why I love you, Gourry-sama." As soon as the words escape my lips, I want to pull them back. How could I put such a burden upon him? The knowledge that I love him would only drag him down ... Why is he smiling?
"I've been wanting to hear that for a long time, Sylph-chan."
Amelia grinned happily, watching Gourry kiss Sylpheel from behind a bush before sneaking back to the main party. Spotting Xeros across the room, she headed over there, grinning.
"It worked!"
A brief grin spread across Xeros's face, before returning to it's previous expression of paranoid worry.
"What's wrong, Mr. Xeros?"
"That damned groundhog ..."
A hand tapped Xeros on the shoulder, making him jump. Amelia, who was looking in the direction of who the hand belong to, began blushing, staring unashamedly. Xeros whirled around, glaring in annoyance at the young man who had tapped his shoulder. The youth reached up and pushed his tan-blonde hair out of his eyes, his coffee-with-lots-of-cream-colored skin marking him as foreigner, being too dark for a visitor, way too light for a native.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?" The young man asked, his brown eyes darting between looking at Xeros, to lingering on Amelia. "I am Prince Toma, and myself and my people have come here by accident."
It was at that point, tipsy and wearing a small paper lantern on it's head, that the groundhog decided to make an entrance. Being chased by several of the native girls for the large collection of sarongs it was dragging along behind it. In a blur of inebriated action, it wrapped the sarongs around Xeros's ankles, stole his belt, and went zipping off across the dance floor, snitching various other shiney things. Including the ring Zelgadis had just been giving to Lina.
It's fuzzy rampage ended on a rather crispy note.