A Misadventure

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Slayers world, including its characters.

Xelas lounged quietly in her den, ensconced upon a throne-like pallet of animal, mainly deer, skins. Her long nails tapped gently upon her armrest, save those nails on her left hand, which were daintily enclosing a fine crystal wine glass, filled midway with a dark red Zephilian wine of excellent vintage. Wolves of all shapes, sizes, and colors lounged with her, around her, and near her. She made the perfect picture of a royal queen. Except, that is, for her thoughts, which went somewhere along the lines of:

Bored. I have never been this bored in my life! Xel’s off on what could be potentially be a looong mission…I’m so freaking bored I could kill myself!

A large white wolf, sensing her distress, nuzzled up against her. The Beastmaster sighed and scratched Ren’s furry head.

“What’s that?” she asked him. The wolf apparently said something to her again, for she set down her crystalline glass and stroked her chin thoughtfully. “You know, you might have something there.” She waved her free hand and a picture appeared, suspended in air.

“Now, where’s my little Trickster…Ah! There.” The white wolf, Ren, raised his head and looked over her shoulder at the scene unfolding before them.

Xellos was standing on top of a large hill, cape billowing dramatically behind him, one hand raised to shield his eyes, the other clutching his staff. All in all, he made quite a dashing figure. Suddenly, Xel stopped and looked around him, as if he could almost feel the eyes of his creator on him. Xelas smiled.

“That’s my Xelly-boy,” she said proudly. “He doesn’t miss a trick…” her voice trailed off as Filia crept up on Xellos and slammed into the back of his head with her mace. With a beatific smile on her face and her cape and golden hair billowing dramatically, she shielded her eyes from the sun and watched Xellos fly across the sky. Xelas raised an eyebrow.

“Well,” she conceded, “ He missed that one.” Ren, eyes slightly wider than normal, nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the Beastmaster’s eyes lit up. Ren looked worried. “I have an idea…” Ren looked very worried now.

***

Filia watched with satisfaction as the namagomi flew through the air. She turned back to her companions, still smiling peacefully.

“We will go this way,” she stated calmly. No one decided to argue.

A mile along, the group came to a small town, where Xellos waited for them. He smiled and waved, sitting calmly on the edge of a fountain.

“XELLOS?” Lina wondered out loud.

“How’d he get here?” Gourry asked blankly. Zelgadis sighed.

“He teleported, you idiot.” Filia said nothing. Instead, she stormed past him and pushed him into the fountain. Amelia looked between them.

“Filia-san looks angry. Is there something I missed?” Zelgadis patted her on the shoulder.

“Amelia—those two are always angry at each other.” Amelia made a little ‘oh’ noise and watched in fascination as Xellos picked himself up out of the fountain, a mad grin on his face.

“Oh, Filia!” The blonde Priestess whirled around.

“What?!” Xellos teleported until he was nose to nose with the irate Golden Dragon.

“You’re so cute when you’re angry!” Then he pecked her on the cheek. Filia shrieked and swung mace-sama with the accuracy of a professional Brass Rackets player. Unfortunately, even a pro can’t hit a ball that isn’t there. Mace-sama smacked into thin air. Fangs flashing, Filia screamed incoherently again. Lina-tachi edged away from her, especially since she seemed to be frothing at the mouth. The group found themselves in a nice restaurant. Lina’s eyes widened.

“ALLRIGHT!! All you can eat for a silver piece!!” Lina, Gourry and Amelia stormed to a table, followed by a much more sober Zelgadis, who, despite his misgivings, chowed down with the best of them. It was their feast that kept them from noticing the prolonged absence of Filia.

***

Filia had to get away. She had to get away from the others—especially Xellos. She shuddered. That demon made her so angry. Filia pulled out her mace and smashed a tree she happened to be passing. A poor, hapless pine crashed to the ground and a tree nymph screamed in agony as a result of her assault.

The Golden Dragon soon found herself in completely unfamiliar territory. She looked around her, a sheepish expression on her face.

“Whoops. I guess I was walking faster than I thought…”

Thunder sounded in the distance.

***

“Hey, has anyone seen Filia lately?” Zelgadis asked. Lina looked up from her map of the area. She shook her head and went back to studying it intently. Zel frowned. She was being unusually quiet. Amelia was in the baths, and Gourry was snoring away in an armchair. For the first time in a long while, Zelgadis found himself amazingly bored. The inn’s great room had pitifully few books, most of which he had already read at least once. He had heard of no clues to the whereabouts of anything that might have a lead to his cure. It was times like these when he liked talking to Filia about the Dragon race and their knowledge of the centuries. Filia alone had seen many more years than he ever would, despite the lengthened life chimeras lead. Deep in thought, Zelgadis didn’t notice the woman who had come up him until she cleared her throat.

Zelgadis’s eyes traveled from the dull book in his lap, up long, tan, slender legs, to a shapely body clad in a short, white, tight fitting dress that showed off every curve. Her meticulously cared for nails held a cigarette holder delicately; silver rings and bracelets adorned her fingers and slim wrists. Red lips curved into a smile when Zelgadis finally met her gaze. White hair framed her alluring face, and her voice sounded like the whispering of willows.

“Are you Zelgadis Greywers?” Remaining outwardly composed, Zelgadis raised an eyebrow.

“I might be.” The stunning blonde’s smile widened.

“And I might be the Lord of Nightmares.”

“Should I bow?” The blonde waved her hand with the air of a lord.

“That won’t be necessary. To tell the truth, I’m not the Lord of Nightmares.”

“Ah, but I am Zelgadis Greywers.”

“Good. I have a message for you from your Dragon Maiden friend.” Zelgadis frowned.

“You know Filia?”

“You could say that.” She continued to smile. “To make a long story short, she wanted you and your friends to know that she was called back to the temple suddenly. She won’t be with joining you for a while, and she sends her apologies that she couldn’t tell you in person.”

“Why was she called back?” The woman shrugged, affording Zelgadis a nice view of her cleavage.

“I’m afraid I’m not allowed to discuss that.”

“Is it a secret?” Her smile widened even more, giving her a predatory look.

“That would be right.” Zelgadis stood, pleased to note that she was nearly as tall as he was. Offering her his arm, he asked,

“Would you care to join me for a drink?” She took his arm and smirked up at him.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

***

Filia groaned to herself, sitting up. Where am I? she thought blearily. And why am I wet? She looked around her , then rubbed her eyes to try and focus them. Darkness…wait, no…there was some light filtering through. Images of her last conscious moments flitted through Filia’s mind.

It had been nearly an hour after leaving the town and about ten minutes after realizing that she was lost, when it began to rain. And not a happy rain, either. A sudden, drenching, down-pouring rain that soaked Filia to the bone in less than a minute. A few minutes into the drenching rain, Filia had blindly stumbled across a medium sized, relatively dry cave. Filia had gratefully praised Cepheid for the respite and she had curled up into the corner the farthest from the entrance and immediately fell asleep.

That had been the last thing she remembered. Now…Filia couldn’t figure out why there wasn’t an entrance to the cave any longer. Judging from the sunlight that filtered in, it had stopped raining outside. She thought it over and concluded that the sudden downpour had caused a rock slide that covered the cave’s entrance. Filia scowled. Then she yawned involuntarily, showing off pointed canines. Well… she thought, I’ll just transform and burst out of here after another little nap…

***

Light filtered in through the curtains of Zelgadis’s room. Clothes were strewn about the place and he was naked. Zelgadis frowned. He didn’t usually sleep in the nude. Bits and pieces of the night before crept back into his memory. That blonde…damn. He didn’t even know her name. Zelgadis groaned. The

beginnings of a hangover were knocking around in his skull. Flopping back onto the bed, Zelgadis felt something poking into his stone back. Grumbling to himself, he rotated around and found the object. He held it up in the minimal light.

A cigarette holder. Zelgadis shook his head.

***

Xellos!

The purple-haired priest in question looked up and smiled. Juu-ou-sama was calling again. He looked at his comrades.

“If you all will excuse me…” With that, he disappeared. Lina shook her head.

“I do wish he wouldn’t do that.”

“Well,” Amelia spoke up, “At least he told us he was leaving.” Lina nodded.

“True. It is an improvement.” With that said, she went back to studying the same map she had been looking at the night before. Zelgadis looked over her shoulder.

“Just what, exactly, are you looking at, Lina?” he asked. She went red a little at his accusing tone and retorted,

“It just so happens that there is a promising temple around these parts…and since Filia had to be called back suddenly, I thought we might be able to make a side trip.”

“Lina-san!”

“Oh, come on, Amelia! Lighten up! It’s just a little treasure!” Zel looked at her suspiciously. She certainly was studying that map awfully carefully for it to just be a small treasure. He figured it had to be at least a magical item of some sort…or a really big treasure.

***

“You called, Mistress?” Xellos asked, bowing to his superior. Xelas grinned and took a drag from her new cigarette holder.

“Yes, yes, Xellos. I have a small mission for you…”

“And it would be?” The Beastmaster waved her hand extravagantly.

“Oh, nothing really. I just want you to retrieve the Chalice of Immortality for me.” Xellos raised an eyebrow, then tried to recover as Ren slammed his large head against Xellos’s leg, asking plaintively to be petted.

“Chalice of Immortality?”

“Don’t worry about what it is,” Xelas snapped. “Just bring it to me.” She took a sip of Cabernet. “As I said,” she continued, “this will be a small, trivial task, but I want you to do it anyway. Understood?”

“Yes, Juu-ou-sama.” She smiled.

“Good. Here is a map to the Chalice. Have fun!” She waved her hand, and Xellos left, dismissed. Xelas took another drag from her cigarette and smirked to the wolves around her. Then, she couldn’t help it. The Beastmaster began to giggle. Finally, entrenched in a debilitating fit of giggles, she gasped,

“Ooh! This is going to be so much fun!”

***

Xellos looked down at the map in his hands. He looked back up, studying the entrance to the cave intently. This was the right place, he was sure of it. However…there wasn’t an entryway where there was supposed to be one. Xellos frowned. It just must be blocked. A rumble in the distance caused him to look up at the sky. Dark thunderheads were building on the horizon. Xellos grinned. He liked thunderstorms. He turned back to the former cave entrance and contemplated it for a moment. Then Xellos pointed at it and blew it to rubble.

“Eeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!” A shrill scream pierced the air, startling our “hero.” Xellos opened both eyes in shock as Filia emerged from the wreckage, hair tousled and singed, dress torn and singed, face bleeding and singed…you get the picture. Her eyes were blazing with ill-concealed fury, and Xellos could see the anger in her battle aura, which surrounded her, burning with intensity.

“Filia?”

“NAMAGOMI!!!!” Xellos cringed almost imperceptibly. “What in the Hell do you think you’re doing!?” Xellos quickly shut his eyes and grinned.

“Why, Filia! If I had known blasting open that cave entrance would produce you, I would have never done it.” Filia was silent for an instant before shrieking unintelligibly and whipping out her mace to bash Xellos’s head in. He teleported to miss her swing. Reappearing behind her, he commented, “You know, you really should work on your aim.” Enraged, Filia continued to swing, missing each time.

Ten minutes later, when Filia stopped to catch her breath, a second, longer peal of thunder echoed throughout the heavens. Filia shaded her eyes with one hand, leaning on mace-sama for support.

“Ooh, those clouds are getting close.” She shivered involuntarily, remembering the last thunderstorm she had been caught in. Filia was too busy thinking whether or not she should go ahead and take cover in the cave to notice Xellos next to her. With an irritated sigh directed at the world, Filia turned and found herself nose-to-nose with a pleasantly smiling Trickster Priest. She stifled a yelp and glared fiercely at him. “Xellos…” she warned. And then the clouds broke. For the second time in two days, Filia was soaked to the bone.

“Yes?” Xellos asked pleasantly, drenched purple hair covering his eyes, and a smile still on his face. Filia scowled and walked around Xellos into the cave, back straight, salvaging the little amount of dignity she still possessed. Xellos giggled slightly and followed her into the cave.

***

Amelia watched the rain pour steadily from the armchair she had obtained in the great room of the inn. A fire was blazing in the large hearth and her friends were situated around her, having finished dinner a short time ago. Lina was hiding something from them all, she was sure of it, and it bothered her not to know what it was. Actually, she was more bothered by the fact that Lina wasn’t trusting enough to share with the rest of them what it was she was after. Amelia sighed to herself and rested her chin in her hand.

“Something wrong, Amelia?” She jumped a little at his voice.

“Oh! No, Zelgadis-san,” she murmured, hoping that the dim lighting hid her blush. “Nothing’s wrong.” Zelgadis smiled faintly to himself.

“I don’t believe you,” he replied. Amelia could have sworn she heard amusement coloring his voice. But she couldn’t be sure. “Are you worried about the way Lina’s been acting?”

“Well…yes. I am,” she said. “It’s just that she’s usually so open and honest, and then she buys this treasure map, and Filia-san leaves…” Amelia stopped abruptly, realizing how silly that must have sounded.

“It’s all right. Lina’s just like that sometimes. It must be something to have her so secretive, though.” Amelia nodded.

“I guess that’s it, then.” She sighed again. “I just hope it’s all over soon.”

***

Filia glared at Xellos from her side of the cave.

“You do realize that this is your fault.” Xellos raised an eyebrow, a sneer on his face.

“And just how do you construe that we are in this predicament because of something I did?” Filia sniffed and stared at the wall.

“It doesn’t matter how you did it. It’s your fault.” The Mazoku twitched.

“You know, that’s just like a Golden Dragon. Always willing to take the credit and never willing to take the blame.” It was Filia’s turn to twitch.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Xellos grinned.

“Nothing. Just that you’re a selfish, annoying, scheming Golden Dragon. In other words—a perfect model of your species.”

“What did you say?”

“You heard me perfectly well the first time.”

“Oh! That’s it! I cannot take being cooped up with you any longer!” Filia began to concentrate on the gem on her chest. It began to glow and give off an eerie light in the darkness. And then the light died.

Filia blinked in shock.

“What happened? I can’t transform!” Xellos smirked.

“You’re even less trained than I thought! Stuck in your human form? Tsk, tsk, Filia-chan. I’m surprised at you.” Filia growled low in her throat.

“I am not stuck in my human form,” she snapped. “I can’t transform! It isn’t my fault! There’s something in here preventing me from transforming!”

Xellos ignored her and stared at the spot where they had come in. The entrance of the cave was once again blocked by mud and rocks. He sighed and raised a finger. He didn’t care if the Beastmaster had told him to do this job. It wasn’t worth being stuck in a cave with Filia for any length of time. Xellos frowned and concentrated.

“What’s the matter, Namagomi? Can’t use your magic? Or are you so poorly trained as a General/Priest that you can’t even blow away a simple mud slide?” Filia’s taunting voice pierced his veil of concentration. Xellos whirled on Filia, his own fangs bared.

“If you don’t stop your bellowing I’ll—“ Filia smirked.

“You’ll what, Namagomi? Blast me to bits like you did the rest of the Golden Dragons? With what?” She hefted her mace and began to advance on him. Suddenly, she stopped, nose twitching. Filia’s eyes went wide and her mouth parted in astonishment. “AH! Aaaa---cccchhhhhhoooooooo!!!!” Mace-sama dropped to the ground. “What the Hell was that?”

“I do believe that is what mortals call a sneeze, Filia.”

“A sneeze?”

“It is an involuntary reaction caused by having a cold.”

“A cold?” Xellos patronizingly replied,

“Yes, a cold. It is a sickness humans get.”

“But I’m not human!”

“Nooo. You aren’t human. And it isn’t strictly humans who get it. Obviously, something has triggered this. It was probably being soaked to the bone that made your body’s normally strong immune system susceptible to the infectious agents.” Filia blinked.

“Well…I suppose being soaked to the bone twice in less than a twenty-four hour period probably didn’t help, then, did it?”

“Nope.” Filia sniffed and wrapped her arms around herself.

“I’m cold,” she muttered. Then louder, she said, “And neither one of us are able to use our magic?” Xellos leaned back against the cave wall, hands cushioning his head.

“That would appear to be correct.”

“How is it then, if you could use your magic out there, you can’t use it in here?” Xellos grinned.

“Sore wa himitsu desu!” Filia growled low in her throat, but ended up in a fit of coughing. She groaned and laid down.

“I feel horrible!” She looked up at him upside down. “Can’t you start a fire or something?” Xellos looked around the dim cavern. There were some dry branches scattered around, and, to tell the truth it wasn’t that bad of an idea since he couldn’t magically get himself dry or create new clothes any longer.

“Hm. I do believe you might have an idea there, Filia. Do you happen to have anything we could start a fire with?” Filia sniffled again and rummaged around in her cloak.

“I have something…would this work?” She held out a rock to him. Xellos took it and examined it closely.

“Why do you have flint in your cloak?” Filia looked at him askance. Then she grinned.

“Sore wa himitsu desu!” Xellos raised an eyebrow as he gathered a bundle of twigs and sticks together, arranging them in a teepee-like structure. Then he struck the flint against another rock, creating sparks that finally lit the kindling. Filia watched on with a fascinated air, sniffling every so often. Once the blaze was going, she asked Xellos,

“How do you, a high-ranking Mazoku, know how to make a fire using mundane means?” Xellos grinned and wagged a finger at her.

“Sore wa—“

“Xellos.” Filia glared at him. “If we’re going to be stuck in here, you might as well try to get along. Can’t you answer a question straight?”

“Well, to tell the truth…” Xellos paused for a moment. He didn’t understand why he was telling Filia this. “I wasn’t always Mazoku.”

Filia had sat up and took off her headdress, setting it beside her on the ground. Her long ears perked with interest as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

“Honto ni?” Xellos grinned, taking off his cloak and laying it to dry by the fire.

“Really. You should take off that cloak.” Filia went bright red.

“How dare you! I will not take off my cloak!” Xellos sighed in exasperation.

“For L-sama’s sake, Filia. What was it you were saying earlier about getting along? It’s not like I’m asking you to get naked or anything.” Filia went even redder in the face, this time from embarrassment. Carefully, she unpinned her cloak and laid it out in similar fashion next to the fire. Underneath, her torn pink dress was just as soggy as her ripped cloak, her hair, and everything else she was wearing.

“I’m…sorry…Xellos,” she murmured under her breath. Xellos beamed at her.

“Now, Filia, was that really so hard to do?” Filia glared at him.

“Yes.” Xellos continued to grin mindlessly as he extended his hands over the fire to warm them. Filia tentatively did likewise. Through partially open eyes, Xellos watched her face as it gradually changed from miserable and wary to happy and unguarded. Her range of emotions still fascinated him, seeing as how she went for happy to murderous even faster than Lina. He had to say or do something to provoke Lina. His mere presence provoked Filia. Xellos smiled again. Filia’s aura became wary almost immediately.

“What are you grinning at?” she practically spat. He held his hands up in a placating manner.

“Nothing, Filia!” She glared and returned her hands to the fire, never losing that wary posture. Xellos continued to smile, though it was becoming somewhat strained. Eventually, he leaned back against the wall and pulled off his boots, stretching his feet out by the fire. Filia was staring into the flames, a blank look on her face. Xellos continued to watch her.

***

Lina was also staring out the inn’s windows at the rain. It wasn’t for nostalgic purposes, though. Her foot tapped impatiently. One hand clutched the treasured treasure map fiercely, and the other rested against the fiery redhead’s chin. The Sorceress Supreme jumped at the sudden pressure on her petite shoulder. She whirled around to face the normally vacant blue eyes of her partner. Only currently, Jellyfish Brains’ brain seemed to be functioning. Lina heaved a sigh.

“Gourry, you scared me! Don’t do that!” The exclamation was punctuated by a half-hearted punch. Gourry didn’t seemed fazed by the right hook. His eyes retained their uncannily knowing stare. Lina licked her dry lips. “What’s…what’s wrong, Gourry?” He continued to look at her, staring into her eyes. The flame-haired girl backed away nervously until she bumped against the wall.

“Lina. What is this about?” Lina blinked.

“I…I don’t know what you mean, Gourry.”

“Yes you do, Lina. Whatever this is…it’s very important to you.” His voice left no room for arguments. “Lina. Promise me something. Don’t let this come between the group.” Lina opened her mouth, but Gourry cut her off. “Don’t let this come between the group.” His voice dropped. “But whatever it is…I’ll be there with you.” Gourry straightened and turned away from her to go.

“Gourry, I—“ He turned at her voice and his blue eyes were once again vacant. But Lina knew better. She had seen him drop his act.

***

Xellos added another piece of wood to the fire, still watching Filia across from him. She had nearly forgotten he was there, and had laid down, stretching out. She was staring at the roof of the small cavern, watching the smoke escape through cracks in the fissures.

Shit. Shit, shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit, Filia thought silently to herself. I knew this was going to happen, and I still allowed myself to be trapped in here. With him, she added to herself, shooting him a disgusted look. Despite the warmth of the fire, Filia was freezing. From her skin, down into her organs and soul. She shivered and inched closer to the fire.

“Filia?”

“What?”

“If you move any closer to that fire, you’ll roast yourself.” Filia lifted her head long enough to glare at the offending demon.

“I don’t care. I’m cold.” She closed her eyes and scrunched up her nose for another sneeze. When she opened them again, Xellos was sitting next to her. Filia shot into an upright position and immediately regretted it. A loud roaring filled Filia’s ears and her vision blackened. Xellos’s voice was muffled and Filia blindly groped for anything to keep herself steady as she struggled to breathe. When the spell passed, Filia found herself clinging to Xellos. With a startled little yelp, Filia released him like the Plague and scuttled back on her hands. Her face was burning. Needless to say, Filia was no longer cold. Her eyes were wide and her breathing was coming much more rapidly.

“What in the hell is wrong with you, Filia? You’re acting even more psychotic than normal.” Filia didn’t respond. She hugged herself and rocked back and forth, murmuring to herself.

“It can’t be. This isn’t…I can’t…”

“What? What is it? Is your cold getting worse?”

You can’t fight it, Filia.

No! Leave me alone! I will not do it!

You do not have a choice, and you know it, Filia Ul Copt. It is your duty to your race!

But…but…with HIM! Filia could almost feel the mental shrug of her sense of duty.

It doesn’t matter who. You reacted, therefore, you must.

But the Supreme Elder…

    It isn’t an option. Filia shook violently.

“Filia?” The Golden Dragon looked up at him. Xellos opened his eyes fully. There was something different in her eyes. Something…predatory. She had stopped shaking and was gazing at him. Every inch of him. Meticulously. She started at his bare toes, wiggling next to the fire. Then her eyes traveled up his long legs, narrow hips, slender waist…her eyes lingered on his chest, still clad in the damp, clinging turtleneck. Filia licked her lips. Xellos sweatdropped. “Er…Filia? Is something wrong?”

“No…nothing’s the matter,” she murmured back. Her voice had changed too. It was…lower… more husky…almost hypnotic. Filia’s blue eyes were narrowed as her gaze lingered on his lips for a minute. Xellos, uncomfortable with being sized up like a prime steak, began to edge away. Filia began to move closer.

***

Xelas was on the ground, laughing her ass off. Ren sat nearby, one wolfish eyebrow raised. Xelas gasped for breath and finally sat up.

“Oh, I can’t believe this!” she exclaimed. “This is too good!” the Beastmaster crowed. “The Golden Dragon has become responsive to receiving a mate! And the one she responded to is my minion!” Xelas Metallium gulped down a nearly-full glass of wine. Then she leaned back and slapped her knee in mirth. “Ooh, this is too rich.” Xelas suddenly stopped laughing. “Ren—what would happen if a Ryuzoku and a Mazoku breed?”

The wolf shrugged his massive shoulders noncommittally.

“The possibilities…Darkness and Light…and with that Dragon’s lack of control…” Juu-ou stroked her chin thoughtfully. “This could prove very interesting. And destructive.”

***

“Eek! Filia! What in the Hell are you doing? Stop that! Get your hands away from there! Hey! Hey! That does not need to be examined! What is wrong with you?”

“Oh, come on, Xel. I’ll be gentle…just let me…”

“Out! Get out of there!”

“Don’t be such a spoilsport…you act like you’ve never had sex before.”

“I haven’t!” Filia giggled.

“Well, neither have I…but it can’t be that hard, can it?” She giggled again at her unintentional joke. “We’ll just figure it out as we go!”

“I thought that you hated me!” Filia had pinned Xellos down on the ground by the fire.

“I do, Namagomi,” she whispered, nipping his neck playfully. “Love has nothing to do with this.” Her sharp teeth left a thin trail of black blood as she nibbled up his throat. “This.” She was at his jugular vein now. “Is.” At his chin. “Purely.” Now meandering around his jaw. “Physical.” Filia captured his lips and kissed him ferociously, sucking the very breath from his lungs. Xellos attempted a small resistance, but the pain was intoxicating. He soon found himself kissing her back as she further invaded his mouth with her tongue. Filia’s hands began wandering down Xellos’s rather warm and inviting body.

“Mmmrruuuppphhh!” Xellos exclaimed, lips still occupied with Filia’s mouth.

“What is it?” she murmured around his tongue. Her hands began fiddling with the waistband on his pants.

“Mmmmmmmm,” he groaned. “My god! What did they teach you in that temple?!” Filia merely giggled and continued her roaming.

***

Xelas raised one delicate white eyebrow in surprise. Truth be told, she was quite surprised at her Priest’s…ardent…response to the Golden Dragon’s overtures. She frowned slightly, the expression marring her perfect face for a moment. Her servant was not created with such a sex drive. Curious indeed. I guess he is his mother’s son, isn’t he?

She put the question of Xellos’s heightened sexual activity out of her mind and instead began making plans for the result of her minion’s extracurricular activities.

***

“Mmm.” Xellos mumbled in his sleep and rolled over, arm encountering another warm body. The body stirred as well. Strange feelings washed over Xellos, satisfaction being the most prominent. Silky hair slid over his bare skin as the body began to stretch out before nestling back against him. Xellos opened his eyes to stare down at the golden head nuzzled sweetly against his chest. Xellos resisted the urge to snort derisively. After last night, “sweet” wasn’t an adjective he would use to describe Filia’s disposition. Neither was “innocent” or “gentle,” for that matter. He grinned as more memories flooded back…oh boy. He was going to have a hard time explaining that wound to Xelas-sama. Filia groaned again, this time beginning to wake up.

“Oh, Cephied…why am I so sore?” she moaned. Xellos debated whether or not he should say anything to her, or just let her—

“OH MY GOD!!” Xellos supposed he didn’t need to say anything. “Xellos! What in the Hell do you think you’re doing!?!?” she shrieked, jumping away from Xellos. Idly, he admired the way her hair covered her body. Unfortunately, Filia realized that her hair was the only thing covering her. Swiftly, she snatched up the nearest cloak and wrapped herself in it. Xellos raised an eyebrow.

“My, aren’t we modest.” Filia’s race went red from anger.

“What are you insinuating?!”

“You certainly weren’t this modest last night. In fact, you were rather—“

“What do you mean, Namagomi?!” she cut him off. Xellos stared her straight in the eyes.

“Just how much of last night do you remember, Filia?” Filia thought for a moment and then paled. “Paled” would be putting it mildly. The Golden Dragon went from an abnormally healthy color to corpse white. “I see you at least remember some of it.”

“You…you…you seduced me, Namagomi!” Xellos went pale.

“WHAT! I seduced you? Wait a minute, I think that you have your story backwards.”

“Wha—“ It was Xellos’s turn to cut her off.

“You, Filia, were the one who seduced me.” Filia’s mouth gaped, moving without making any sound. Xellos stretched backward and used his arms as pillows. “Gape all you want, Filia. It’s the truth.”

“I—I—I—“ she stuttered. Xellos smiled. Filia really was a funny little dragon. So amusing…and creative. He really didn’t think that the prudish dragon would have had it in her. Xellos chuckled. He wouldn’t have thought sex would be so much fun, either.

“What are you laughing about!? I—I—I…Oh, Cephied…” Filia’s laments continued. Xellos hummed a little tune and decided to get up. As if everything was normal, he stood up and began walking around, collecting his scattered clothing.

“Filia, you might as well get over it. After all, it was merely the draconic mating instinct, wasn’t it? There really wasn’t anything you could have done about it.” Filia looked up as he was pulling on his pants. She averted her eyes, face flushed.

“But…but…it was with you!” Xellos raised an eyebrow and turned to face her, tying the drawstring on his pants. He opened his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

“L-sama, Filia! Was it really that bad?” His grin widened considerably when her face got redder. Shutting his eyes, he continued. “Really, Filia. You ought to learn some tact. You hurt my feelings.” Filia looked up again and glared.

“Mazoku like you don’t have feelings,” she spat. Xellos’s infuriating little smirk widened.

“You know, Fi-chan, you’re a lot more Mazoku than you admit.”

“I’m nothing like you,” she hissed, standing up in rage. “How dare you insult me like that, filthy Namagomi scum!” Still grinning.

“I dare.” Grin.

“Kuso kurae! (Eat shit!)” Xellos raised an eyebrow.

“Gesu-batta koto wo iu na, Fi-chan. (Watch your mouth, Fi-chan.)” Xellos replied cheerfully, pulling on his shirt in the process. “By the way, Fi-chan. You might want to get dressed. Unless you enjoy walking around naked as the day you were born and catching cold. I certainly don’t mind.” He opened both eyes and looked at her. Filia felt as if his eyes were staring right through the cloak she was covering herself with. She went red again. Realizing she was already feeding him enough, she calmed down enough to ignore him, and began to look for her dress and underwear. Upon finding them, she sent Xellos a Death Glare.

“Turn around, Namagomi!” He did as she told, still grinning.

“I still say that this is a waste of modesty, Filia. It’s nothing I haven’t seen already…extensively.”

“SHUT UP!” she yelled. Xellos chuckled maddeningly.

By Filia Umbrae