Snow fell from the sky in a blur of soft white feathers. Lina stared at it from her window in her inn room. Winter celebrations were starting and where was Lina? In a small town almost in the middle of nowhere. But why was she there? To take shelter from the blizzard. She and the others were treasure searching as usual and they ended up being stuck in the middle of a blizzard. They didn't think too much of the snow when it started up but things got worse and the colder it got. They were even lucky to have made it to this town. But they didn't all reach the town unharmed. Amelia was sick with the flu and Gourry had broken his leg when he slipped on some ice. Amelia would have casted a healing spell on Gourry but the flu that she had was bad and she could barely cast a light spell let alone a healing spell. But then why didn't Lina do it? Well perhaps she would have if it hadn't been that time of the month. As for Zelgadis well he was having magic problems too. On his last cure lead he thought he had found cure for his curse, when in fact it was a cure that only returned his body to it's original strengths. Meaning all the abilities he has as a chimera were taken away from him while he still remained a chimera. Now thankfully this wasn't a permanent situation, he would indeed gain back his chimera abilities in time, but for now he had to remain this way.
Lina was both bored and homesick. Not only were they stuck in a town, but in a building as well. Until the storm let up they couldn't even get out of the inn. Which of course left Lina with very little to do. And she missed being back home. Her home had much more warmer weather and her family was there. What was stopping her from going back other then the storm? One word, Luna. As much as Lina wanted to go home, Luna still scared the hell out of her and she didn't want to go anywhere near her.
She shuddered and she wondered if it was the cold or was her thoughts. In any case she was sick of watching the storm from her room, so she ventured through the inn to find something to do.
Zelgadis shivered despite the fact that he was sitting right in front of a large fireplace, with the fire roaring away. It gave off a lot of heat but still he felt cold. Normally he wouldn't be this cold. Being a chimera made both the heat and the cold not effect him as it would most. But since that last false cure incident he was defiantly more sensitive to the temperatures.
What a great help I am to the group huh? A chimera with only the looks of a monster but not the power. Couldn't even cast a simple healing spell. What am I going to do if I find a cure anyway? I'll be weak like I was before, like I am now. But at least now I still have my stone skin to protect me from certain injuries. But what about if I become normal again? I wont have this defensive power nor will I have my speed or my strength. What would I do? Zelgadis thought the same questions that he usually thought when left alone to brood like this. And what if there is no cure? What if I am only fooling myself? Can I really accept myself being in the form of a monster forever?
He closed his eyes and huddle up more in the blankets he had around him and let out a sigh. He was more depressed then he usually was.
Lina being as cold as she was eventually found herself heading towards the fireplace. What she say when she got there was Zelgadis all curled up in two or three blankets with his eyes closed. Is he sleeping? She wondered but then noticed that even though his eyes were closed he was indeed deep in thought. She cleared her throat to let him know that she was there and sat down next to him and huddled in her own blankets that she has brought. "Cold huh? I am too."
"Yeah but you are supposed to be cold. I'm not." He said with another depressive sigh.
Lina didn't say anything to him she just stared up at his face as his eyes focused on the fire. One thing about Zelgadis was that no matter what he always seemed to hiding under this carefully maintained mask of coldness and very little emotion in his face. Only that mask didn't seem to be up at the moment. Zelgadis had his guard down and Lina could truly see how disappointed and depressed he was. I guess that's understandable, that was a mean trick played on him with that fake cure.
"What am I going to do Lina? Look at me, this is what I'll become if I ever become normal again, weak and unable to do much. And if I don't I'll remain looking like this monster forever."
"You do not look like a monster Zelgadis." Lina said very sternly.
"Oh really then what do I look like?" He asked bitterly.
"Well if you look like monster or the hideous creature that you claim to be then that doesn't say much for my cousin Devon. He's a chimera too and you look better then him." Lina tried to sound confident and unwavering with her words only mentioning her cousin just brought back that cold feeling of longing to be home.
"I look better then your cousin? I didn't even know that you had any relatives who are chimeras. And I'm better looking then him? Well he must be pretty unlucky."
"Well not really. He's actually a casanova whom always chaises after pretty girls. And there hasn't been one girl that I know of that has turn him down yet. So basically my point is Zel you don't look as bad as you think. But what are you going to do if you find a cure?"
Zelgadis' mood might have been a little better if Lina hadn't asked that question. "I don't know I'm pretty useless now and I'd probably be just as bad if I was ever turned back too normal."
"And what makes you useless right now? You think just because you wouldn't be a chimera that you wouldn't have any power? Good god Zelgadis if that was the case then me Gourry and Amelia would be in a lot of trouble. So what you wouldn't have as much strength as you used to have. But you could train and work on that and get stronger. And you wouldn't have as much speed as you did, well you could train and work on that too. And as for magic and swordsmanship, well Gourry and I can help you with those ones. So the way I see it once you're normal again we could just take a few months off to get your skills up to par and then go traveling again. That is if you still would want to go traveling with us after you've gotten your cure." Lina said the last part softly and she too stared into the fire. But Zelgadis' eyes traveled over to her face.
Was she really serous about that? Would she really do all that for me and still want me to travel with them? "Why would you even bother helping me get my skills back up?"
Lina snapped her head to look him in the eye. "Because you're my friend you idiot. If my friends need help I help them. You mean you wouldn't do the same if you were in my shoes?"
Zelgadis didn't say anything to her. Perhaps if she had asked him a long time ago he would have said no. But now after being around with people who care about him for who his is despite what his was, he couldn't say that for sure. As much as Lina and the others annoyed him from time to time, he still in a small way enjoyed being around them. They treated him like a person, not a thing or a freak. Sometimes he would go off on his own and leave them because he was getting too used to their company or he was getting a bit too soft. At first he didn't care if he left. But the more times he spent time with them the more he regretted leaving every time.
"I don't know. I'd like to think that I would..." Even though he definitely would he couldn't just come right out and say it. "But would you still really want me around to travel with?"
"Idiot of course I would! Damnit you mean you really think that I'd really like to be left alone with jellyfish brains and little miss justice, adventure after adventure?! I'd go nuts! As nice as the two of them are, they can be so irritating." There were many little things that Lina could have pointed out to prove her point, but she didn't need to, Zelgadis understood what she was getting at.
The two of them were silent for a few moments with only the sound of the crackling of the fire. Both them in the silence were left to their own thoughts. Zelgadis thought about how annoying it was to be cold. And all Lina's thoughts were all about how she wished she were home and about how unhappy her life really was. She even let out a sad sigh unconsciously. Zelgadis looked at with suspicion. Lina whom was normally radiant with energy and wild fire in her eyes seemed subdued and sad even. This wasn't a side of Lina that you saw that often. Normally she had her own little mask of happy cheeriness. And she didn't ever let down her guard for practically anyone. But why let her guard down now? Was it because Zelgadis had let his down?
"Lina what's wrong?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"What me? Nothing at all! Couldn't be better!" Lina said with a cheery smile. Only Zelgadis could clearly see the her eyes said otherwise.
"You are always getting angry at me for not telling me what's wrong with me and here you are being a hypocrite."
Lina didn't say anything. She just continued staring into the fire.
"Lina I was just joking. Okay? Lina?"
"No you're right I am being a hypocrite. What's wrong with me? Well I'm a little homesick right now..."
"Oh."
"But there's more then that..." Lina trailed off. Zelgadis looked at her with a quizzical expression.
"I guess I'm a bit sick of pretending to be me. Of always acting like I'm happy even when I'm not. Of being fearless when I'm really scared. I can't show my depression around anyone because that isn't what Lina Inverse is. She's always happy, powerful, fearless and to be feared. Sometimes I'd like be treated like a person and not a thing." Lina said with a sad sigh. Her last statement eerily reminded him what he had been thinking before.
"You know I'm Mr. All Depressive Man you can act as depressive around me as much as you want, I wouldn't mind."
Lina gave him a small smile. "I'll know to remember that for future reference."
They were quite again for little while. "You know it's still too cold." Zelgadis said with a grumble and the two of them laughed.
"Well maybe some wine would do us some good. I think I've got a bottle in my room. Wait a minute I'll go and get it." Lina even though she didn't want to leave her place near the fire but still she got up and went to her room.
Lina got into her room shivering and picked up the bottle of wine and succeeded in knocking over a small box. Oh yeah that... Well should I give it to him? I doubt he's even expecting a present. And it's not like I could give it too him with everyone else watching... Like looked down at the little box with a deep blush on her checks. Am I nuts? I can't give it to him it would be too embarrassing. But... Unknowing on whether or not she would give Zelgadis his winter holiday present she still took the little box with her.
Zelgadis himself was also having a similar problem. He had a present for Lina with him and he didn't know whether or not to give it to her. Oh well guess I'll just have to wait and see.
When came back to her spot near the fireplace she was very relieved to feel the heat of the fire.
"Did you bring the wine?"
"Yup right here." Lina handed him the bottle and he opened it. He was silent for a moment and then he pulled out a box.
"Um Lina...?"
"Yeah?"
"Well since it's the winter holidays and I haven't always been with you guys I kinda um..."
"You what?"
"I got you a gift." Zelgadis handed Lina the box and regarded it with suspicion. Then she slowly proceeded to open the gift. What she found in the box was a phoenix opal amulet that was on a gold chain. What a phoenix opal was, was a red opal the sparkled various shades or red, orange and yellow so it appear as if it was made of fire. But the reason it was called a phoenix opal was because there was a legend that long ago of a shrine maiden that befriend a small bird. One day that bird was cursed and hurt very badly. The bird was going to die and the shrine maiden did everything in her power to save the bird but it was in vain. The bird died and shrine maiden was very sad. A merciful goddess took pity on the on the maiden and made the dead bird into a beautiful and grand phoenix and locked in the opal necklace that the maiden was wearing. It is said that if you looked in a phoenix opal very closely you can see the image of the phoenix.
Lina was speechless. It was so beautiful. The necklace was a good side and the opal wasn't too big or too small. "Zel... it's beautiful..."
"Well when I saw it you were the first person I thought. You know, fire? So you like it?"
"I love it." Lina said with a victory sign. "Um... I've got something for you too." Lina avoided looking him in the eyes and handed over the box. Zelgadis examined it. It was relatively light but he could tell that there was something in there. Now what is this? Zelgadis opened the box to find only a piece of paper. He slowly picked up the paper and unfolded it and he could see a neatly printed message on it. It said, 'Look Up' And Zelgadis did, and much to his surprise he found himself being kissed by Lina Inverse.