Slayers - Ancient Grudges Unravelled 6
Title: Ancient Grudges Unravelled.
Author: Shaded Mazoku.
Email: herukatto@hotmail.com.
Part: 6/?.
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly. It belongs to a lot of people that aren't me. I'm merely playing with the characters.
Warnings: None for this chapter.
Rating: PG-13 at the moment.
Summary: Chasing an artefact lands Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia in a town ruled by magic-hating priests. They decide to stop their reign. However, this might me harder than it seems. And a certain trickster priest seem to have an agenda of his own in the town.
Pairing(s): Xelloss x Zelgadis.
Fandom: Slayers.
Words: 1489.
Notes: Not dead yet, just uncooperative muses. They apparently don't like sharing space with the giant robots and Heartless.
*Chapter 1*Chapter 2*Chapter 3*Chapter 4*Chapter 5
Zelgadis scrambled backwards, his chair tipping over, causing him to slam his head into the table as he fell, taking a chunk of the table with him as he did. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing his head. It wasn't as though it could seriously hurt him, but it was still sore.
Chuckling softly, Xelloss bent down and picked him up, placing him on the stone bed, an underlying comment about how he couldn't break that unspoken. Zelgadis stifled a shiver. It was easy to forget just how strong the Mazoku really was. Apparently determined to remind him, Xelloss sat down next to him, touching his fingers to the sore spot in the back of his head.
"Careful, Zelgadis," he said softly, petting the wire under his fingers hard enough to make it bend under the pressure. Warmth seemed to spread from the points where the fingers touched his scalp. "Of all you little mortals, you have some of the best brains. Wouldn't do to knock them out prematurely."
Ideally, he should pull away, Zelgadis knew that. It was far too long since anyone had touched him like that, though. When you had stone for skin and wire for hair, even casual touch was not all that casual. Xelloss, though, was strong enough to make a touch felt, and wasn't exactly going to care if he cut his fingers on the sharp wire. The heat, though, was something different.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, though he didn't actually pull away.
Xelloss smiled at him, smoothing his hair, the warmth still spreading. "I am a priest, Zelgadis-san," he said, amusement in his voice. "I can heal, you know. Granted, I can only heal you because of your demon blood; it's not as though I'm a priest of light."
Zelgadis wasn't entirely sure he liked the implications of that, or for that matter, that he liked the fact that he liked Xelloss' touch. But it was something pleasant about it, and it wasn't as though yelling at Xelloss ever did anyone any good. Besides, he couldn't help wondering at what the Mazoku had said before and what it'd meant.
"What was the proposition you mentioned earlier?" He asked, trying not to lean back into the oddly gentle touches at the back of his head.
"Oh, it's just a little offer. Nothing much, maybe, but..." Xelloss smiled like a reptile, too wide for his otherwise human shape. "Before I give you the offer, I guess I should warn you. This is an offer from a higher authority."
Zelgadis blinked. "You're the Priest of the Beastmaster. The only ones who out-rank you are the..." Realization hit him like a sledgehammer, if there had been sledgehammer among the weapons of Light. "The Beastmaster. What would the Beastmaster want with me?"
Xelloss shrugged. "She tells me more than she tells anyone else, but that doesn't mean she tells me everything. Not even close." He removed his hand from Zelgadis' head and stretched, cat-like. "But I know it irked her that she could never lay claim to your grand-father."
"So it's about Rezo's blood, then?" Zelgadis didn't know why he was surprised. He had lived most his life in Rezo's shadow, one way or another. The worst part was that he doubted his grand-father had even meant it. The Red Priest was larger than life without even trying. Rezo had been gifted with more power than anyone he knew except maybe Lina.
"I wouldn't say that, no," Xelloss mused, getting to his feet.
With his outer robe off, the rest of his outfit looked much like the one he usually wore, though the colours were different. He wore his human form with a relaxed ease that Zelgadis couldn't help but envy. Xelloss was a far worse monster than he was, but he looked so human. Only his eyes gave him off, and they were easily hidden. It was actually really unfair.
Xelloss smiled, in that smug and infuriating way that told Zelgadis he knew exactly what he'd been thinking and that it amused him greatly. "Actually, she thinks, and I agree, that you have your own potential. After all, she already has a priest. You're something new and different."
Zelgadis groaned. The prospect of being intriguing to one of the Mazoku Lords wasn't exactly a happy one. The Beastmaster had never tried to kill him and the others, but that didn't exactly make her nice. From what he'd read, she was one of the more ambiguous Mazoku Lords, more interested in her own agenda than in what the other Lords were doing. In that aspect, she was probably a lot like her Priest.
"Is this the part where you say this is an offer I can't refuse?" he asked, scowling at Xelloss. He wasn't sure what annoyed him more, the perpetual smugness the priest had, or the fact that it was largely justified.
Still smiling, Xelloss shook his head. "I try to not be a walking, talking cliché. It's so predictable." He took the brooch from his discarded cloak and toyed with it, seemingly absently. "It wouldn't be a good idea to refuse, but free will is important."
Zelgadis understood that part. Mind control was relatively easy. Making someone want to do something out of their own will was much harder, and quite a few rituals demanded that the participants were willing. The implications of that in relation to an offer from a greater Mazoku wasn't exactly something he wanted to consider.
Xelloss idly tossed the brooch into the air and caught it again, proving that he definitely didn't need to use his eyes to see. “You're smart. You've probably realized that it is going to be a job offer.” He flickered the brooch it into the air again. It glowed, though it didn't seem to be catching any light from the lamps in the room, nor the fireplace. “I doubt you've realized the nature of the job, though.”
Resisting the urge to throw something at the smug Mazoku, Zelgadis sighed. “Do you ever give a straight answer?” He asked, catching the brooch in the air. He'd intended to make some sort of comment, but it was forgotten as the brooch pulsed in his hand, with the rhythm of a slow, languid heartbeat. The inner light pulsed together with the rest, and suddenly, Zelgadis realized where he'd seen the brooch before. A round, crimson stone set in a frame of polished wood.
Xelloss still smiled, but his smile had turned almost predatory, his eyes clearly open under the narrow sash that covered them. “I see you've realized what that is,” he said, as though objects that were technically his body parts ended up in other people's hands all the time. Of course, considering that Mazoku bodies weren't truly real, it was to be expected. “I would appreciate if you didn't drop it. It has sentimental value.”
“It feels like it's alive,” Zelgadis said, resting his fingers on the red orb. It pulsated under his fingers again, warm and smooth to the touch.
Xelloss gave him another of those predator's smiles. “It is. Not just as a part of me, but as part of other things, too. I'd tell you, but I don't really feel like it.” Another smile, this one more like his usual, sillier ones. “Besides, I've got an offer to make you, so stop trying to sidetrack me.”
He moved, faster than even Zelgadis could see, pinning both of the Chimera's hands to the stone bed. The brooch rolled to the side, glowing to itself as always. “You seem to think that if I don't ask you, it doesn't count. Sadly, for you, Mazoku rules don't work that way.”
Zelgadis didn't bother trying to get loose this time. It wouldn't work, and it wasn't as though it wasn't mostly another of Xelloss' games. Maybe one played with the Beastmaster as a referee. “Do I even have a choice in this?”
“Of course you do, Zelgadis-san,” Xelloss said, his voice clearly amused. “Just make sure it's the right one.”
Snorting, Zelgadis glared up at the Mazoku priest. “Fine. Just make the offer so I can turn it down.”
Xelloss leaned in, his lips once again brushing the tip of Zelgadis' ear. “We want you to come work for the Beastmaster,” he murmured. “You'd be high ranked, with options of climbing further in rank.”
Zelgadis opened his mouth to protest but Xelloss interrupted him.
“And as a bonus, the Beastmaster is willing to give you the power to go with the position. Basically, you'd be half Mazoku, which you'd probably say is a bad thing, but you'd also be half human, which you might find an improvement.” He paused for a moment, then smiled so obviously that Zelgadis could feel it against the tip of his ear.
“That means, Zelgadis-san, that you'd look human. More than me, most likely.”
Author: Shaded Mazoku.
Email: herukatto@hotmail.com.
Part: 6/?.
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly. It belongs to a lot of people that aren't me. I'm merely playing with the characters.
Warnings: None for this chapter.
Rating: PG-13 at the moment.
Summary: Chasing an artefact lands Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia in a town ruled by magic-hating priests. They decide to stop their reign. However, this might me harder than it seems. And a certain trickster priest seem to have an agenda of his own in the town.
Pairing(s): Xelloss x Zelgadis.
Fandom: Slayers.
Words: 1489.
Notes: Not dead yet, just uncooperative muses. They apparently don't like sharing space with the giant robots and Heartless.
*Chapter 1*Chapter 2*Chapter 3*Chapter 4*Chapter 5
Zelgadis scrambled backwards, his chair tipping over, causing him to slam his head into the table as he fell, taking a chunk of the table with him as he did. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing his head. It wasn't as though it could seriously hurt him, but it was still sore.
Chuckling softly, Xelloss bent down and picked him up, placing him on the stone bed, an underlying comment about how he couldn't break that unspoken. Zelgadis stifled a shiver. It was easy to forget just how strong the Mazoku really was. Apparently determined to remind him, Xelloss sat down next to him, touching his fingers to the sore spot in the back of his head.
"Careful, Zelgadis," he said softly, petting the wire under his fingers hard enough to make it bend under the pressure. Warmth seemed to spread from the points where the fingers touched his scalp. "Of all you little mortals, you have some of the best brains. Wouldn't do to knock them out prematurely."
Ideally, he should pull away, Zelgadis knew that. It was far too long since anyone had touched him like that, though. When you had stone for skin and wire for hair, even casual touch was not all that casual. Xelloss, though, was strong enough to make a touch felt, and wasn't exactly going to care if he cut his fingers on the sharp wire. The heat, though, was something different.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, though he didn't actually pull away.
Xelloss smiled at him, smoothing his hair, the warmth still spreading. "I am a priest, Zelgadis-san," he said, amusement in his voice. "I can heal, you know. Granted, I can only heal you because of your demon blood; it's not as though I'm a priest of light."
Zelgadis wasn't entirely sure he liked the implications of that, or for that matter, that he liked the fact that he liked Xelloss' touch. But it was something pleasant about it, and it wasn't as though yelling at Xelloss ever did anyone any good. Besides, he couldn't help wondering at what the Mazoku had said before and what it'd meant.
"What was the proposition you mentioned earlier?" He asked, trying not to lean back into the oddly gentle touches at the back of his head.
"Oh, it's just a little offer. Nothing much, maybe, but..." Xelloss smiled like a reptile, too wide for his otherwise human shape. "Before I give you the offer, I guess I should warn you. This is an offer from a higher authority."
Zelgadis blinked. "You're the Priest of the Beastmaster. The only ones who out-rank you are the..." Realization hit him like a sledgehammer, if there had been sledgehammer among the weapons of Light. "The Beastmaster. What would the Beastmaster want with me?"
Xelloss shrugged. "She tells me more than she tells anyone else, but that doesn't mean she tells me everything. Not even close." He removed his hand from Zelgadis' head and stretched, cat-like. "But I know it irked her that she could never lay claim to your grand-father."
"So it's about Rezo's blood, then?" Zelgadis didn't know why he was surprised. He had lived most his life in Rezo's shadow, one way or another. The worst part was that he doubted his grand-father had even meant it. The Red Priest was larger than life without even trying. Rezo had been gifted with more power than anyone he knew except maybe Lina.
"I wouldn't say that, no," Xelloss mused, getting to his feet.
With his outer robe off, the rest of his outfit looked much like the one he usually wore, though the colours were different. He wore his human form with a relaxed ease that Zelgadis couldn't help but envy. Xelloss was a far worse monster than he was, but he looked so human. Only his eyes gave him off, and they were easily hidden. It was actually really unfair.
Xelloss smiled, in that smug and infuriating way that told Zelgadis he knew exactly what he'd been thinking and that it amused him greatly. "Actually, she thinks, and I agree, that you have your own potential. After all, she already has a priest. You're something new and different."
Zelgadis groaned. The prospect of being intriguing to one of the Mazoku Lords wasn't exactly a happy one. The Beastmaster had never tried to kill him and the others, but that didn't exactly make her nice. From what he'd read, she was one of the more ambiguous Mazoku Lords, more interested in her own agenda than in what the other Lords were doing. In that aspect, she was probably a lot like her Priest.
"Is this the part where you say this is an offer I can't refuse?" he asked, scowling at Xelloss. He wasn't sure what annoyed him more, the perpetual smugness the priest had, or the fact that it was largely justified.
Still smiling, Xelloss shook his head. "I try to not be a walking, talking cliché. It's so predictable." He took the brooch from his discarded cloak and toyed with it, seemingly absently. "It wouldn't be a good idea to refuse, but free will is important."
Zelgadis understood that part. Mind control was relatively easy. Making someone want to do something out of their own will was much harder, and quite a few rituals demanded that the participants were willing. The implications of that in relation to an offer from a greater Mazoku wasn't exactly something he wanted to consider.
Xelloss idly tossed the brooch into the air and caught it again, proving that he definitely didn't need to use his eyes to see. “You're smart. You've probably realized that it is going to be a job offer.” He flickered the brooch it into the air again. It glowed, though it didn't seem to be catching any light from the lamps in the room, nor the fireplace. “I doubt you've realized the nature of the job, though.”
Resisting the urge to throw something at the smug Mazoku, Zelgadis sighed. “Do you ever give a straight answer?” He asked, catching the brooch in the air. He'd intended to make some sort of comment, but it was forgotten as the brooch pulsed in his hand, with the rhythm of a slow, languid heartbeat. The inner light pulsed together with the rest, and suddenly, Zelgadis realized where he'd seen the brooch before. A round, crimson stone set in a frame of polished wood.
Xelloss still smiled, but his smile had turned almost predatory, his eyes clearly open under the narrow sash that covered them. “I see you've realized what that is,” he said, as though objects that were technically his body parts ended up in other people's hands all the time. Of course, considering that Mazoku bodies weren't truly real, it was to be expected. “I would appreciate if you didn't drop it. It has sentimental value.”
“It feels like it's alive,” Zelgadis said, resting his fingers on the red orb. It pulsated under his fingers again, warm and smooth to the touch.
Xelloss gave him another of those predator's smiles. “It is. Not just as a part of me, but as part of other things, too. I'd tell you, but I don't really feel like it.” Another smile, this one more like his usual, sillier ones. “Besides, I've got an offer to make you, so stop trying to sidetrack me.”
He moved, faster than even Zelgadis could see, pinning both of the Chimera's hands to the stone bed. The brooch rolled to the side, glowing to itself as always. “You seem to think that if I don't ask you, it doesn't count. Sadly, for you, Mazoku rules don't work that way.”
Zelgadis didn't bother trying to get loose this time. It wouldn't work, and it wasn't as though it wasn't mostly another of Xelloss' games. Maybe one played with the Beastmaster as a referee. “Do I even have a choice in this?”
“Of course you do, Zelgadis-san,” Xelloss said, his voice clearly amused. “Just make sure it's the right one.”
Snorting, Zelgadis glared up at the Mazoku priest. “Fine. Just make the offer so I can turn it down.”
Xelloss leaned in, his lips once again brushing the tip of Zelgadis' ear. “We want you to come work for the Beastmaster,” he murmured. “You'd be high ranked, with options of climbing further in rank.”
Zelgadis opened his mouth to protest but Xelloss interrupted him.
“And as a bonus, the Beastmaster is willing to give you the power to go with the position. Basically, you'd be half Mazoku, which you'd probably say is a bad thing, but you'd also be half human, which you might find an improvement.” He paused for a moment, then smiled so obviously that Zelgadis could feel it against the tip of his ear.
“That means, Zelgadis-san, that you'd look human. More than me, most likely.”