"Jellyfish brains! How many times do I have to explain?!"
          Zelgadiss sighed. "Oi Lina, if we don't hurry we won't make it to town before sunset." These daily stops they had were slowing them down tremendously. It always started with Gourry asking some question about why or where they were going. Lina would then get pissed off and start beating him.
          "...and I already told you three times!" Lina shouted, pulling some sort of odd wrestling move on him. A tiny pearly-white fang showed at the corner of her mouth as she continued to strangle him.
          "ow...Lina let go...ow..." Gourry cried between chokes. He tried to call Zelgadiss and Ameria for help, but they ignored him to stay out of the fight. Ameria was busy giving the horses water while Zelgadiss began calculating the distance left before they reached town.
          "So do you remember now...?" Lina asked with a ferocious gleam in her eyes that made Gourry's hair stand on end. Before he could reply, however, Xelloss appeared before them with an amused look on his face.
          "Yare, yare. Fancy running into you all here!" he said, his usual cheerful expression on his face. The reaction he got from the others was rather peculiar, however. Lina blinked, Gourry silently pleaded him for help, Ameria sneezed, and Zelgadiss gave him the side glare. Xelloss seemed confused. "What's the matter?"
          Lina dropped Gourry and turned around, keeping her gaze connected with Xelloss's until the last moment when she said, "Nothing." She mounted her horse and directed it back to the trail.
          The others exchanged odd looks, then mounted their own horses and followed behind Lina, leaving Xelloss behind. He had a quizzical look on his face, then shrugged it off and phased out.

          "Lina-san! Wait for us!" Ameria shouted, trying to hurry her horse. When they finally caught up to her, Ameria asked, "Lina-san, what was that for?"
          Lina sighed, dropping her head slightly. "Ameria... Xelloss means nothing but trouble for us. I think we should avoid him if we can." Yes, that mazoku meant nothing but trouble for them. In fact, they were probably getting mixed up in another plot as they rode towards Miran, a town in the outer continent. They had heard of an artifact buried deep within a tomb there that would supposedly grant one's true desire. Zelgadiss had thought he could cure his body with it. Of course, the entire legend was simply a rumor, so they had to be prepared to find something else. Xelloss's appearance, though, made its existence seem entirely untrue.
          Much to Lina's annoyance, Xelloss phased in just beside her. She glanced at him through the corner of her eye and asked, "Why are you here?"
          He smiled, raising a finger and using his trademark phrase - Sore wa himitsu desu. Lina groaned and sped up her horse a bit, already disliking the priest's presence. He chuckled lightly, then levitated above the ground to match her speed. Once he was in talking distance with her again, he told her, "Lina-san, the townsfolk don't take too lightly to sorcerers."
          She blinked in surprise, then turned to him and asked, "How come? Do they think of magic as witchcraft too?" That was the thing about the outer continent. No one had ever seen magic in the shape Lina and co. were using. Most of the cities they had stumbled by so far thought of it as "witchcraft" or "demon's magic", which wasn't really far from the truth, though.
          Xelloss broke eye contact with her, looking around with a thoughtful expression on his face. He had a finger pressed to his bottom lip as he seemed to ponder out loud. "Well I suppose it's something along those lines, though it may have something to do with that ancient artifact you all have been searching for..."
          Lina sighed. Of course something like this would come up. She glanced back towards the others to find them watching her in anticipation. She sighed again, then turned back to Xelloss. He seemed to be looking at something interesting before them. She followed his gaze and found that a huge, dense forest stood between them and Miran. At first, she simply thought they could fly over it, but then she remembered what Xelloss said and muttered something.
          Lina slowed her horse down to let the others catch up to her. She had to enlighten them on the situation before someone let something loose. She gave Xelloss a quick look that read, "Stop flying and start walking," before speaking.
          "Ok here's the deal: From what Xelloss has told me, the people in Miran don't take kindly to sorcery, which would mean we have to dress differently and keep from using our magic." She saw Zelgadiss and Ameria nod, but Gourry still had a questionable look on his face. Though before he could say anything, Lina continued, "We'll have to spend the night in the forest to make preparations. I'll take the first watch."

          After saying goodbye to their horses, the gang headed into the forest to find a secluded area where they could rest. When they were inside, however, they realized it would be fairly easy to get lost if they were careless. Much to Zelgadiss's dislike, they had to rely on Xelloss's natural sense of direction. Though, to make sure the mazoku priest wasn't leading them in circles, Zelgadiss would make marks with his sword in a tree here and there.
          "Well this looks like a decent place to set up camp," Xelloss finally commented, gesturing at the area before them. It was just barely spacey enough for them to pitch a couple of tents and a campfire in, but one could see the sky from there, and that was more important at the time.
          Zelgadiss and Ameria set up camp while Gourry went to get them some firewood. Lina was about to scout the area when she happened to notice Xelloss sitting up in a tree. "Hey Xelloss, shouldn't you be helping out too?" she called up to him in a slightly irritated voice.
          He grinned and replied, "But I am Lina-san! I'm watching out for any disturbances!" He gave her a wink and waved at her in a carefree type way.
          She glared at him, but turned back to camp feeling grateful, for he had just relieved her of one of her duties. She then picked up a stick and went to search for the nearest river or pond for water, and possibly, dinner.

          About an hour later, when the sun began to set, everyone arrived back at the campsite: Lina with a horde of fish, Gourry with a pile of firewood, and Ameria and Zelgadiss. They started a fire (having made sure no one was around to see the tiny fireball), and began their dinner. Xelloss watched them from his spot up in the tree, looking amused when Lina and Gourry fought over the larger fish. He laid his staff across his lap and looked up at the stars. It was going to be an interesting trip with them, or so he thought.

          Everyone but Lina had already quietly retreated to his or her tents. She sat down on a log by the fire, gazing into its flame deep in thought. Why were the people of Miran, and most of the outer continent for that matter, so against sorcerers? What exactly was this "lost artifact"? Whose tomb was it buried in? These were all questions that had been plaguing Lina's mind, but the question whose answer she most wanted to know was why Xelloss had suddenly appeared. What kind of orders had he received from the Beast King this time?
          As if on cue, something dropped beside her, startling her out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Xelloss with a grin on his face, waving at her to come up and join him. After a moment's hesitation, Lina cast a soft raywing spell and lifted herself off the ground.
          Xelloss suddenly felt lightheaded as he watched her fly up to him. The campfire behind her illuminated her body, forming a silhouette of something close to an angel. When she was eye level with him, he motioned for her to sit against the tree trunk beside him. Lina on the other hand, had a different opinion on that idea and settled for a branch across from him.
          After a brief moment of silence, Lina asked, "Well? What did you want to say?"
          "Oh Lina-san, I just wanted to spend some time alone with you, that's all!" he replied with a soft, fake pout. He couldn't help but chuckle when Lina rolled her eyes in response. Lifting a finger, he said playfully, "Now where would the fun be in telling you right away?"
          Typical Xelloss. She should have been expecting this. Instead, she asked, "So why are you here?" though she highly doubted he would give her a straightforward answer. Trying to pry answers out of the Trickster Priest was about as easy as prying answers out of a brick wall, near impossible.
          However, much to her astonishment, he grinned and told her, "I'll tell you this, there was an unknown mazoku sensed in this area, a mazoku of enormous power. I was sent here to find out what it was."
          Lina blinked, trying to accept the fact that Xelloss had actually told her something for once, though if he was actually warning her to be prepared or not, she couldn't tell. Though, if it was something that required Xelloss himself to come out here...it had to be something to be reckoned with or avoided, whichever would happen. She recollected herself from the minor shock, then asked, "So why did you come to us?"
          "Oh..." he paused to think of an answer, but covered it up with, "well I just happened to run into you all and decided to say hi..."
          She snorted, obviously not buying any of it. "Don't try to work your way around it. Tell me now, or do I have to force it out of you..."
          He shook his head slowly, then opened his amethyst eyes and looked up at the sky. He had his elbow resting on his raised knee and was leaning against the bark of the tree casually. "I just didn't want to see you all do something stupid and get yourselves killed...that's all," he answered softly.
          Her eyes narrowed slightly. It was a little hard to believe someone like him would be worried about her. "Why do you care?"
          His eyes glanced over at the full moon, which happened to be a little to the right of where he had been staring. "Oh you know...after all the things we've been through..."
          She interrupted him. "Just answer the question."
          He still had his gaze on the full moon. The moonlight was soft that night, and he wondered how something so peaceful could light up a world full of chaos like this. He whispered softly so as to make sure no one but Lina would hear, "I believe you already know the answer to that, Lina-san."
          She had a guess at what it might have been, but that couldn't have been it. Instead, she replied, "Well since my sister and your master are friends, maybe..."
          Xelloss scoffed, then looked her straight in the eyes, causing Lina to instantly stiffen up. Without thinking, he blurted out, "No, silly. It's because I love you."
          ...You WHAT?! - Was what Lina wanted to say, but she was too stunned at the moment to speak. She saw him flinch in realization and look down from her. Was he speaking the truth? Or was this another one of his games? He certainly looked sincere enough, but this was Xelloss... trickery and manipulation were daily events in his life. Most likely this was another one of his lies.
          Lina pretended to laugh, saying that he must be joking; that mazoku couldn't love. He bit his lip, fighting back tears that were threatening to fall. He clutched his staff tightly; his hands forming fists of anger as he silently scolded himself for being so naive. He looked up at her, eyes glistening from pain and voice wavering in hurt as he spoke, "I meant it. I honestly love you, Lina Inverse."
          She stopped laughing and stared at him in shock. Never had she expected to hear his voice so strained. At first, disbelief clouded her mind as she watched him, but the truth finally swam in when she saw tears slide down his cheeks. Her throat tightened, her heart stopped beating for a moment, and suddenly she wished she hadn't eaten so much. One thought coursed through her mind, and she barely whispered, "Oh dear Suifeed..."
          Xelloss chuckled slightly, but it was heartless and made Lina feel sicker. "I must've been delusional, actually thinking you might have felt something." He shook his head slowly, still not looking at her. "And I was once human... I remember what all those emotions feel like." The tears seemed to have stopped flowing, but the stains had been left on his face. He stepped onto the branch between them, placing his hand against the tree trunk for balance. Before Lina had time to react, he had his free hand on her shoulder and his lips pressed to hers.
          It felt as if all his emotions were pouring out onto her, but it was still only his lips, so why...
          She told her body to push him away, to stop him from doing any more, but her body didn't obey, and an unnatural shiver crawled its way up her spine.
          Their lips finally parted, but he still had a look of agony on his face as he sat down on the lower branch. He let his hands dangle between his legs as his head drooped and he said, "Please leave. I'd like to be alone for a while..."
          Without saying anything, Lina had herself levitated back to the ground. She nearly tripped over the firewood as she scrambled to someone's tent in an attempt to relieve her watch and get her away from Xelloss for the time being. Before she could pull aside the flap, however, Xelloss's voice rang through her head - Please stay where I can see you...
          She stopped and dropped her hands, still shaking from the intensity of his kiss. She stumbled back over to the fire, sitting back in the spot she had vacated recently with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if she could repress her shivering by doing so.
          "Are you cold?" she heard, or rather, felt him say. It actually was a chilly night, and the fire provided very little warmth. She was about to reply when she suddenly felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her from behind and drag her into his lap. She blushed, still shaking, and looked up to see Xelloss's face a few inches from hers, watching her with a look of worry on his features. Somehow, she wasn't surprised at all to see him and held her hands to her chest as she eased against his body. He shoulder guards and cape had long been shed, and now she discarded her gloves and boots as well. He wrapped his cloak around them both, pulling her up against him to try and stop her shivering. "Better?"
          She nodded; gazing once again into the flame that burned before them. She wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment and decided to ask why he came down after asking her to leave.
          "Because I realized it's easier to think when you don't have to worry about someone..." he answered, his eyes resuming their closed state. He noticed she had stopped shaking violently and was now relaxing against him with her head on his shoulder. "Are you tired?" he asked.
          She mumbled something, nodding groggily. That..."seizure" she just had actually took a lot of energy out of her, and she felt very weak. She slowly closed her eyes, taking one last glimpse at Xelloss before giving in to sleep.
          Unbeknownst to the pair, a set of sapphire eyes had been watching them from behind a tent flap. They now quickly retreated back into the darkness, and a pair of hands deftly fastened the opening closed again.

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