Requiem
This fic is also dedicated to Phillip
Mak, the founder of shoujoai dot com, who passed away
recently.
"Gourry," Sylphiel's eyes filled with tears, "you
idiot!" The black haired girl struck him them with a
swirl of her black cloak she was gone, tears streaming
down her cheeks as she raced away into the night.
"What did I do?" Gourry Gabriev asked, the tall blonde
warrior looking honestly confused. He turned to look
over at Lina Inverse helplessly, his cheek already
showing a throbbing red hand print.
"Baka," Lina sighed, the redheaded sorceress poking at
the fire with a stick. She got up, her usual
sorceress' uniform glittering with gems, "She went to
all that trouble to see you, she's hung around our
camp for days making you food and being attentive and
all you had to say was what a good cook she was?"
"Yeah?" Gourry blinked innocently in confusion.
WHAM! With a loud clang the still hot frying pan hit
Gourry in the side of the head, sending the taller man
crashing to the ground. "Keep an eye on the camp,"
Lina snarled at him as she hurried after Sylphiel,
"I'll go see where she went."
The trail was easy to follow in the light of the full
moon, the rough dirt raising little puffs of dust as
Lina angrily walked. Her irritation with Gourry
simmered within her, as well as a fair degree of
concern for their mutual friend. She wouldn't admit it
to anyone but Lina rather liked Sylphiel, despite
their seemingly opposite personalities. The other
woman was gentle, kind and in all ways the opposite of
Lina, who in her more honest moments knew herself to
be crude, tough and lacking in girlish charm.
Entering a clearing in the forest Lina saw Sylphiel
was sitting on a boulder, her shoulders shaking as she
tried to contain her crying. Feeling massively awkward
Lina walked up to where she was sitting and put a hand
on her shoulder as she quietly said, "It's all right."
"Oh Lina-sama!" the tearful Sylphiel cried out as she
shifted on her seat and pressed herself up to the
startled Lina.
"Eeep." Lina made a soft sound of surprise, the crying
girl pressing against her less than impressive chest.
Without really thinking about it Lina gently drew her
close, wrapping her arms around the slightly older
girl to offer what comfort she could. "There, there,"
Lina murmured, patting her on the shoulder.
Finally Sylphiel's tears slowed to a stop, the taller
young woman gently pulling back to gaze at Lina with
tired afection. "Thank you, Lina-sama," Sylphiel said
with a sad little smile, "I feel better now."
"Good," Lina nodded while trying not to let on how
confused she now felt. Holding Sylphiel like that she
had been very aware of the sweet scent coming from the
other woman, the softness of their bodies pressed so
close together... it had made her heart race in a way
that had surprised her deeply.
"I suppose I shouldn't even be upset," Sylphiel
murmured as she used the corner of her cape to wipe at
her eyes, the gold decorations on her mostly purple
garb gleaming, "I know what Gourry is like."
Lina patted her shoulder as she felt a very surprising
surge of jealousy. "You deserve better than that
jellyfish brain," she said dryly.
Sylphiel chuckled softly, amusement returning to her
eyes. "How do you come up with such vivid insults?"
she asked.
"Trust me," Lina rolled her eyes at Gourry's general
foolishness, "with him it isn't very hard." She
offered Sylphiel her hand as she said gently, "We
should probably get back to camp. Dinner's getting
cold."
"I suppose so," Sylphiel took Lina's hand and
gracefully got to her feet. She looked down at Lina
affectionately, "Thank you for coming to get me."
Lina felt herself blush, and silently cursed her fair
skin. "It was the least I could do," she as hand in
hand they walked back to camp beneath the moonlight.
"Uh, hi," Gourry stood uncomfortably by the fire and
the now crispy food as the two young women returned.
Smiling at them a bit foolishly he said, "I'm really
sorry, though I'm not quite sure what I did."
"Hmmph," Sylphiel strode on by him, ignoring him.
"Way to go," Lina murmured as they settled in for the
night.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Sylphiel found herself strangely bothered as they
traveled over the next few days through the thick
forests of the south. The decision to give up her
persuit of Gourry had been a surprisingly easy one,
considering the lack of interest on his side, but more
and more she found her thoughts drifting to the third
member of their party.
Lina Inverse was something of a enigma to Sylphiel,
honestly. On the surface she was a mercenary
sorceress, out purely to make a buck, yet there were
other sides to her too. On more than one occasion she
had risked her life, soul and very existence to save
the world, showing a courage and strength of character
few could match.
Even more surprising had been the tenderness the
seemingly brash Lina could show on occasion. Even when
Sylphiel had been in the worst stages of her
infatuation with Gourry Lina had at most been amused,
and after their fight Lina had been remarkably kind.
When Sylphiel's tears had overtaken her Lina had been
so gentle, so very kind...
Sylphiel blushed, suddenly reminded of another moment
between them. Lina, injured and not breathing and
Sylphiel crouching over her, brushing that lovely red
hair back before pressing their lips together in the
breath of life. Remembering it now she's shocked by
the thrill she feels, of how sweet it had been holding
Lina like that...
'It's not possible,' Sylphiel thought, her eyes
widening. 'Could I really be attracted to Lina?' she
wondered, gazing at the redhead.
"You all right?" Lina seemed to feel Sylphiel's gaze
on her as the shorter woman turned to meet her eyes.
Sylphiel felt herself blush. "I think so," she
answered wryly. They walked on a moment, "Lina, have
you ever... been in love?"
Lina looked faintly startled, "Me?"
Sylphiel smiled at how cute Lina looked with that
surprised face as she said with a gently teasing air,
"Yes, you."
Lina fidgeted a bit under Sylphiel's gaze, walking
along as nonchalantly as possible. Finally giving in
she answered her hesitantly, "No, not really... there
was one friend I was close to, but that's all."
"Gourry?" a whispering Sylphiel reluctantly asked,
aware of the young man walking not far away from them.
Lina looked even more embarrassed, if that was
possible, "Him?!"
"Shhh," Sylphiel shushed her.
"Huh?" Gourry blinked.
"Never mind," Lina shouted to him. Dropping her voice
she told Sylphiel, "The person I liked was Naga."
"Naga," Sylphiel blinked then her eyes widened, "the
White Serpent? The Sorceress?!"
"We traveled together," Lina looked faintly defensive,
"she was... my very good friend."
"I'm glad," Sylphiel said, more than a little stunned
by how glad she felt. The idea that Lina could care so
strongly for a woman made her heart leap joyously in
her chest.
"Good," Lina gave her a suspicious look, but Sylphiel
simply looked innocent.
Sylphiel smiled as she saw Lina stomp off to berate
Gourry about something, the redheaded spitfire waving
gracefully as she scolded the swordsman. She was glad
because knowing that Lina gad once cared for a
woman... meant there was hope for her, too.
'I wonder what Lina-sama most likes to eat?' Sylphiel
mused, already plotting her campaign to win the
redhead's love.
End?
Notes: This is my first attempt at a Sylphiel/Lina
fic, and I think it works pretty well. Sorry for the
Gourry bashing but he's SUCH a easy target. lol
Philip Mak, in addition to founding shoujoai dot com
also created the Sylphiel and Lina Shrine. With
fanfics, images and speculation on the love between
them, it's a lovely site. Now sadly I never had the
chance to interact with Mr Mak, but his sites have
been a large part of my online life and I wanted to
pay him back somehow. So, this fic. :)
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