"Lina, sulking won't do you any good."

Lina stopped in mid-stride, cloak drawn tightly around her little form and she stared hard at the ground. "I lost the talismans..." She replied numbly. "I'm such an idiot!"

Zelgadiss rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm sorry, I suppose that's my fault."

Lina spun around and looked him in the eyes. "No it's not! I chose to help you out and that's that. You just chose a bad time to run into me." She sighed and dragged her feet through the dirt road as she continued on ahead of him.

"Lina, let me carry you at least. You'll wear out your feet." He came up behind her and laid a hand to her shoulder, pulling her close. "Lina?"

The redhead let a smile escape. "You would?"

"Yes, and I'll get us to the next town in no time. Just let me carry you."

"I can raywing myself you know." She replied in defense.

"Yes, I know that, but have you thought of the looks you'd get from below, as you are so scantily clad, Lina?" He smirked.

Lina's face colored. "You have a point there." She cleared her throat. "Okay Zel, carry me. You win."

"Halt! This time Lina Inverse, you die!"

Lina froze and turned slowly to see a familiar man come towards them, sword drawn and eyes flashing angrily.

"Oh, hi there, back for more trouble I see." Lina smirked at the bandit.

"You killed the boss. Now you are going to pay with your own life!" Snarled the young man as he closed in, not before noticing her traveling companion move in front of her protectively, sword unsheathed.

"Leave now and I'll let you live." Zelgadiss spoke coolly.

Lina scowled and whispered under her breath. "Oi, Zelgadiss, I'm going to handle this jerk."

"What the hell are you?" The ruffian stepped back a few paces, suddenly wary. "Some sort of freak?"

Zelgadiss flinched slightly and realized he'd forgotten to raise his facemask; but it would take an absolute idiot not to realize what he was. "I suggest you run if you value your life." His eyes glinted in warning.

"You really are a monster." The man realized, eyes widening. He backed away in uncertainty, retreating into the woods.

Zelgadiss sheathed his sword with a sigh. "Well, where was the challenge in that?" He gazed down on Lina's troubled features. "What is it?" Though his sensitive hearing could already pick out the rapid movement of many bodies rustling through the forest cover.

She simply pointed.

He followed her gesture as a group of twenty or more angry men emerged from the dense foliage on either side of the path. "Oh, I see."

"Lets kill the both of them!" Shouted the man who'd confronted Zelgadiss. "Get 'em!"

The shaman wasn't in the mood to battle a small army of pissed off bandits, especially after the fact that Lina wasn't appropriately dressed for such an occasion, so he scooped her into his arms and took off speeding down the road, firing a flare arrow behind him.

Lina raised her head over his shoulder with a scowl, her long tresses whipping against his face. "Oi, Zel! What are you doing? I want to blow them away! How dare that pig-faced moron call you a freak! Turn back; I going to blast them!"

"Sorry, Lina, but do you really think you can do much the way you are right now?" He continued to gain speed, and batted her hair aside in slight annoyance. "I think not."

"Okay, fine then. Fireball!" She cast the spell behind them.

"What good is that going to do, Lina? We are out of range." He gasped.

"Yeah," She smirked. "but I was just covering our tracks."

"Covering out tracks? Don't you mean letting them know where we've been?"

"Oh shut up." She grumbled. "I was letting off some steam."

"Sure, sure. Raywing!"

"Egad, Zel, warn me when you do that." Lina yelped and threw her arms about his neck in a suffocating lock.

"L-Lina-can't-breath!" Zelgadiss squeaked.

"Oh!" She loosened her hold and laid her head against his neck.

"Warn you? Lina I'm not going to drop you. Don't you trust me?"

"Yeah." She viewed the land below and saw the next town approaching. "Well, now we can finally get some food and boarding for the night."

"Not until we find you a new set of clothing." Zelgadiss replied and landed just outside the town gates.

"So what were you after, Zelgadiss?" The newly clothed sorceress inquired as she rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

"Hmm?" The chimera glanced over the articles of paper he was scanning over.

"You aren't listening to me."

"Yes I am..."

"Then what were you looking for?"

"What I am always after. A cure."

"What was it this time?"

"Information on chimera genetics, somewhat like mine." He shuffled the parchment in his hand and continued to read.

"Oh, but you don't have it?"

"No, unfortunately."

"What are you reading now?"

"None of your business."

"Humph!" Lina scowled and hopped off the bed. "Oh really?" She rushed over to his side and peered over his shoulders with a grin.

"Do you mind?" He looked up at her with a slight smirk, while folding the papers and laying them on his lap.

"Why so secretive?" She asked, coiling a strand of his wiry hair about her fingers.

"I'm not being secretive. You are just distracting me."

"Then tell me what you are reading about and I'll leave you be."

"It's just information, bits and pieces of articles I picked up on my travels for leads on a cure." He shrugged. "I'm just marking off all the failures and dead ends..."

"Dead ends; are you sure about that? You may just have overlooked something. Don't be so glum!" Lina backed off and sat on the edge of the bed. "Anyway, I guess saying this to you a hundred times plus won't change your opinion of yourself, but..."

Zelgadiss met her gaze with a slightly amused look. "What's that now?"

"Zelgadiss do you know what I see when I look at you?"

"A chimera."

"No stupid, a human being!" She barked back, almost falling off the edge of the bed.

"Lina, don't-"

"Don't you understand that it matters not to me what you look like? And you are and always will be human. Furthermore," She rose from the bed and grabbed the papers from his hand and tossed them to the side. "I think you are one of the most handsome men I've ever met. Regardless of being chimera..." Her voice took on the most serious tone he'd heard her use in a long time. The type of determined voice she used against her deadly foes. "You know I don't willingly hand out compliments." She bent over Zelgadiss, hands gripping the chair arms, her impassioned gaze melting him from the inside out.

Zelgadiss swallowed hard. "I understand you quite well."

Lina's face brightened. "Good then." She stood up straight and stretched. "Well, I'll see you in the morning." She moved to the door, not before pausing to view herself in the vanity mirror. She adjusted the chocolate brown, fitted leather vest over her cream blouse.

Zelgadiss rose hastily from his seat. "Umm."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "That is, unless you want me to stay."

"Well, I." He cleared his throat. "No, you go get some rest. We both need it."

Lina nodded and left quietly, shutting the door slowly behind her. She lingered outside his door for a short while in slight disappointment before retreating to her own room.

Back~