Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Dramata Kurage! ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Slayers and their characters are not owned by me. They belong to Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi and any other companies which own them. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit and I promise to give them back all in perfect working order.

Writer's Note: We currently have 25 chapters of this story completed but I have decided to slowly add each chapter otherwise the amount might be overwhelming. Of course if you guys would like all the chapters up quickly then just say so in a review and I'll get to work. We're slowly working on chapter 26 at the moment and once we're up to date, the chapters will be posted once they're complete. But if you want to see what's going on part by part, then check out our livejournal under our username, dramatakurage

Thanks

1.1
Rummaging around recently burnt things has always been a fun pastime of mine. Especially if it was me who did the burning. That always adds an extra element of fun to my activities.

Oh, by the way, hi. In case you had no idea who is addressing you, I'm Lina Inverse, your current narrator for the time being. The first couple of sentences are usually used in a story to explain to the reader how things begin, and I guess that is the best way of starting. After all, it did begin with that. What came after that is still amazing to me. I still sometimes have trouble trying to figure it all out. But, I will try my best to explain what I can.

So yes, where were we? Ah, me rummaging through charred remains. You needn't worry too much about what the remains used to be; all it had been was a bandit camp. See what I mean? I bet you didn't even blink. So you can imagine why I went ahead and did it.

However, this is a story, so in case you can't, I'll plot it out for you.

For the past two years, myself and my partner/guardian/person-I-cannot-get-rid-of/useful swordsman Gourry Gabriev had been potting about the new continent, checking out the new foods and the like. Usually this entails a few explosions on my end, but that's only because bandits are apparently EVERYWHERE. It can hardly be my fault that they run in mobs, now, can it?

Anyways, just recently we had come across this particular annoying band that wouldn't leave us alone. Now, if you know us, you know that Gourry and myself are quite capable of taking care of ourselves, no problem. However, when a bunch of arrogant, annoying, and smelly bandits start to razz on you just because you want to go to an inn that they apparently believe they own and oh, by the way, there are no other inns for miles (and we should know! It's been days since we have even BEEN in one!), well, you can imagine that patience tends to wear thin, right? Even in patient individuals such as myself, right?

My reputation usually precedes me, and not in the most flattering ways, as I have come to discover. Most of the time it's a good thing, although there are occasions where it can be a pain in the ass. However, the outer continent had never even heard of me, let alone cared who I am, despite having two years to learn about Dark Star and what he had done close by. You would think that having a looming Dark Lord outside your window would make you want to find out who the hell defeated it for you.

Not that I'm bitter about not being recognized….who needs that kind of publicity?

So of course, when Gourry and I, cold and starving, come across the first inn in YEARS (okay, days, but it felt like longer), OF COURSE we come across bandits, the first throughout this WHOLE TRIP, I might add. And of course this band has no clue who I am and what I do. Of course not. To them, Lina the Pink might as well be a fluffy bunny they stole.

Whatever. I'm not that vain. I don't care too much.

I care when smelly annoying bandits get in my way of bed and food though.

So we took them all out, Gourry and I. He, in his quicker-than-light sword slices, I, in my kickass magical superiority. It wasn't much of a fight, but at that point I was so annoyed I didn't care.

Now it was time for rummaging, a job I enjoy, because if you know anything about me, you know I love finding rare treasure amongst bandits that are too stupid to realize what they have. Which is most of the time.

“Hmm…” I mumbled, walking over the newly-charred terrain, my boots crunching over charred randomness. My eyes were focused on a large slightly-burned box over near one of the bandit tents. Without much thought, I hopped over random bandits, ignoring them and their whining.

Honestly, if you go around and pillage people for a living, you would think you would be a little bit braver when it happens to you.

I knelt down in front of the box and examined it. It was a sturdy-looking thing, which explained why it hadn't burnt up in the explosions. It was locked, but the lock looked like it was on its last legs. I unsheathed my dagger and hacked away at the lock, and after a few unsuccessful tries, it came free.

I tossed it over my shoulder without another thought, and opened the box eagerly. Inside, surrounded by fancy cloths and the like, was a slight-worn book. On its cover was the basic standard symbol for black magic. The very black magic I was an expert in.

So you can imagine my glee.

I jumped up and started dancing, clutching the book to my chest tightly. I giggled with glee, dancing around in circles. It must have been a weird spectacle; such joy in such a battlefield.

“Wa-hoo!” I shrieked, thrusting a fist up into the air. “Finally, this week is looking up!” I looked around, hoping to spot my AWOL partner amongst the mess. I couldn't see him.

“Gourry!” I shouted, my voice still high-pitched with excitement. “Gourry! You won't believe what I found, Gourry!”

Now I was getting annoyed. I wanted some mutual excitement for my wonderful find. Where was that idiot?

“GOURRY!” I screeched, the annoyance in my voice obvious.

Dramata

1.2
You would think that after all the years I've been travelling with her, I would finally get used to the way she overkills these bandit camps, slaughtering the entire group, and then happily running away with the rewards like a little girl who just got everything she could ever want on her birthday.

I sheathed my sword after finishing the final bandit, and looked over to Lina, the small flat-chested, chestnut haired explosive sorceress. Or beautiful sorcery genius as she loves to call herself. I'm just amazed that now she's no longer a teenager, she still has that shape.

By the way, I'm Gourry Gabriev. I'm a swordsman, and that's pretty much it. I'm not smart, I don't know anything about magic. I still mess up Shabra-whatshisname. I used to be the Swordsman of Light, but gave up the Sword Of Light two years ago after the big fight with Dark Star.

It seems Lina pretty much covered everything that we have been up to for the past two years. Seems though she neglected to mention about our search for a new sword for me. You see, this normal sword is fine and dandy when you're beating up bandits left right and centre. But when you have to face up against the likes of the mazoku, well you need something a little more special. That's why the Sword of Light was so handy, but I didn't feel right keeping something that didn't belong to me. I forget where it belonged, but I just know it was somewhere far away.

Anyhow, we decided not long after giving up my sword that we would have to find a new one, so if we did have to face any new mazoku, I wouldn't have to be cannon fodder for Lina, and I could be of some actual use. Of course finding a magical sword is a lot harder to do, then it is to say. Or is it harder than it sounds? I always get confused with that one.

You see, the first sword we found was part of a trial in a small village in the outskirts of Saillune. The legend was that the sword instilled great power and justice into the wielder. So we figured we would go take a look. The trials were pretty easy, and ended up being how good of a justice speech you could make. I started to wonder if Amelia had heard of this place.

Unfortunately when we got the sword it ended up that it had no magical powers whatsoever, except it placed a curse on the user, and forced him (me!) to go round and preach justice to any evil-doer. That one was pretty embarrassing, and it took a painful fireball from Lina to break.

The rest of the leads were pretty similar in that the sword was either a dud, didn't exist, or had some stupid crazy power, it rendered it completly useless. I can see how Zel can get so frustrated when lead after lead to find his cure ends up being all for nothing. But back to events, we were still on the search for a decent sword for me, and to adventure across the land, seeing what nice food we could find along the way.

Anyway, Lina had ran off to some chest, to try and see what she could take, and throw away the rubbish that she didn't really care about and she figured was useless. I found myself however more interested in whether the man that lay before me was alive, rare, or well down. I knelt down, grabbing a charred stick and began poking. There were no groans so I figured this one was dead, but there were noises from the others, all groans and whines of pain.

Suddenly Lina started squealing and jumping up and down, and started calling for me. I sweatdropped and dropped the stick to the ground and stood up. I figured from her reaction that she must have found something that she would really love, but I would have no clue whatsoever about what she was talking about. That would then lead to me getting a beating for being stupid. You don't travel with the infamous Lina Inverse for 5 years and not pick up on her actions.

"What is it now Lina?" I responded relunctantly and carefully tread my way towards her, trying to avoid the burnt bodies. "Is it some more gold? Or maybe it's a talisman. Oh no wait, it's a crummy old book. What's so great about that, Lina? How are we supposed to eat and rent a room with a book!" I grumbled, my stomach responding in agreement.

Kurage

1.3
Oh, right. Gourry's sword. Yeah, we're looking for a new one and blah. Now you know. I have to admit though, listening to Gourry blather on like Amelia had its perks. It was almost worth the cost of the tip for it.

ALMOST.

Anyways, back to where we were. As usual, Gourry was being his clueless self. No big surprise there. You would think after all of this time with me, some of my intelligence would rub off on him. I have tons of it to spare. But no, he hardly changed at all. Oh well.

“This is not just any book, Gourry!” I declared, waving the book in his face. “It's a black magic book yet! Sure, I have no clue what exactly it is yet, but I WILL find out!”

I looked at him, and noticed just then how absolutely PATHETIC he looked.

I huffed. “You could at least feign interest, Gourry. I know you're hungry, and YES, I have every intentions of getting into the inn now that the idiots are gone out of our way, but come on…pretend at least!”

Nothing but a blank stare.

I growled and turned, starting my way towards the inn. “Come on then, you idiot.” I didn't turn around to see if he was following; I knew he would. That's one of the great things about Gourry; he always follows, no matter what, no questions asked.

I guess it really didn't bother me when he didn't care. I was kind of used to that. My passion was magic and his was swords. We differ, but still. Could it kill a guy to pretend every once and a while, especially if the person bragger had won the day?

Pah.

Dramata

1.4
It's funny how that works out. I'm supposed to be interested in her magic and history, and all those kinds of things. Which I might add I can have no use for, it's not like I'm gonna start casting Dragon Slaves and fireballs! Yet when there is something that interests me, she considers it not worth knowing about. You know what I like to call that? Double standards.

So yeah, she was there jumping up and down happily with this crummy little book in her hands which looks like was about to fall apart, and she goes on at me, telling me it's some black magic book. Of course I just give her my blank look, basically questioning why I should be as excited as she is. It's not like I'll be getting any use out of it. She'll probably just learn some other overkill spell that she can threaten me with.

Anyway, she didn't seem happy that I wasn't the least bit interested. No not very happy at all and was asking if I could fake it or something. All I really caught onto was the bit about me being hungry, which I was, very. I also caught that now we would get back to the inn now that the bandits were dealt with.

I have to admit, I still get uncomfortable with the way we go in and obliterate these bandit camps. Sure they go around stealing things, and I don't like the thought of some innocent woman with some children being attacked and robbed of their money. So shouldn't we be taking them to the authorities and let them deal with it? ...Although I guess that way we no longer make any money, and the authorities will probably just let them go again to go off and steal more. You see why I'm not the one who does the thinking around here? I have morals... But these bandits were stopping us from getting rest and having food, so even I couldn't stand for that.

So I just blanked again on her, thinking about all the food I could be eating right now, especially if that book was maybe alot of gold instead. She really didn't seem happy about that, so she turned tail and stormed off to the inn. And yes, of course I followed, I wouldn't make a particularly good guardian if I was no where near her would I.

I caught up to her and started walking along beside her, and looked over to her as she held the book tightly. I did start to wonder what was in it now, I mean if it excited Lina, then I guess it had to be something good. Lina had that sharp eye of hers where she could just tell whether something was worth something or not. Apparently that was due to the merchant blood she inherited from her parents.

I looked back then towards the path as we walked the same track back to the inn and I starting thinking. We'd been together for five years, and to be honest, I really don't know much about her past, since before I met her. I only really catch the occasional mention of her past or family when she talks about something, like having a good eye for a deal because of her parents. You see that's all I really know, her parents are merchants, and I know she has a sister who she fears even more than slugs.

I guess I'm not to open on my past either, but I kind of have my reasons for that. Plus I don't see there being much point about worrying about the past, or the future since we're living now. So that's all we need to be concerned about, and that's all I ever really do. I looked back to Lina again as she started to look through the book.

"So what's in it? Another one of these over kill spells of yours that you can learn, or maybe it something perfect for threatening me with. Something non lethal but extremely painful." I tried to joke, and maybe make her a little happy. Hey, at least I was trying for once. I just hoped I hadn't set her off on a long talk about the minor details.

Kurage

1.5
I stared at him, bewildered. Sometimes, when you think you know a guy, he ends up surprising you. Here I was, ready to dismiss Gourry and completely ignore him for the night due to his utter lack of interest in the magic book, and now all of a sudden it's as interesting to him as a steak. Sometimes I wonder if he's bi-polar, or just eager not to be left out of the loop.

So I took that very fact to heart, and I was gentle with him. “Meh, don't worry yourself about it. Let's just get into the inn and get something to eat.”

I led the way and burst my way into the slightly dilapidated and seedy-looking inn, hiding the incriminating book in my cloak. Even if the innkeepers recognized us from the melee outside, they knew better to question us about it. I knew our money would be more interesting, and I was right. They looked at us politely as we walked in.

I carefully accessed the inn, knowing that even if it was sub-par we would be staying in it anyways. I was way too tired to care at that moment; just as long as I didn't wake up with rats on my face, I would be happy.

The inn wasn't too bad. The outside actually looked worse than the inside. The downstairs was a modest dining area with a few scattered tables here and there, and the kitchen was small and stained with charcoal and grease. From what I could from the upstairs, it was pretty modest too, but the rooms seemed to be large enough, and frankly, as long as there was a bed, I would be happy.

I walked up to the desk and paid the innkeepers. “One night, for now, and two clean rooms. And dinner. Lots of dinner,” I ordered, showing them the colour of my money, which seemed to please them, despite my threat of dinner.

They gave me two keys, and I handed one to Gourry. I was feeling pretty generous that night, due to the fresh raid and my new find, but it wouldn't last. When we got back out there, Gourry would pay for the next inn, and he knew it, if he didn't show it.

I sat down at the nearest table and examined the menu. The one thing I learned from my sister was this: if the best dishes are ordinary, run-of-the-mill dishes, the chances are that the place you were at was not much to brag about. It turns out that this one had perhaps two dishes I had never heard of, and all of the rest were old news. I ordered the new dishes and a couple of my favourites, but to be honest, my heart wasn't into sampling the new food. I was eager for the meal to be over with so I could curl up into a bed or possibly a bath and read my new find.

Dramata

1.6
I blinked a few times as I watched Lina give me a completly bewildered look. It wasn't like I just cast a Dragon Slave right infront of her face. I just wanted to cheer her up and wonder what was in the book. In the end, I know whatever more she learns, can only become more of a help to us if anything arises.

Anyway, it seemed like she shook out of it and told me that I need not worry about it, and that it was time they got to the inn. My stomach growled immediately in response. I swear it has it's own brain and it thinks for it's own! I followed Lina into the inn and stood beside her as she rented the rooms for the night. Then I watched in shock as she handed the money over herself... LINA PAID FOR THE ROOMS! My jaw slacked open in shock until I caught on that since she paid, I would have to pay at least the next ten times!

I took the key from Lina and thanked her, placing it into my pocket. I then followed her over to the table and sat down opposite, taking the menu and having a good old look. Nothing really seemed to excite me this time, despite being absolutely hungry. I recognised a few things that I really enjoyed, and could hear Lina ask for the things I hadn't heard of that were on the menu. I figured I could steal some of hers to see if I like it or not. I dislike anything bitter, it's the one thing I won't eat, so I'm not gonna buy whatever this thing on the menu is if it's bitter. That would be a waste.

I leaned back into the chair as we waited for our food and I placed my hands behind my back, then closed my eyes for a moment. It was then I realised how tired I really was. It's tough to get a night's rest when you spend most of one up on guard. With that bandit group on our tails, I wasn't gonna fall asleep so they could come in for the easy kill out in the open air. Plus no matter what Lina says, she can never stay up longer than an hour at night unless she's physically moving, and even then I swear she falls asleep whilst walking!

I opened my eyes slowly and looked over to Lina who seemed to be a lot more interested in what was in the book. I was slightly frustrated on not finding any decent swords. You'd think a bandit group would hold a magical sword or something because then it would be a good treasure, but they could use it too. Yet they seem to be the least likely to have one, judging by all our efforts over the past coupld of years. I looked down at the sword I got the second we got into a town after the battle. It was just a normal sword but we made sure that it was well made, and I admit, the sword is good. It's extremely sharp, but manages to be pretty light in the hand. It was then I realised that there were a few nicks in the blade due to the battle. I guess that means I'll have to work on it before I go to bed that night.

By the time I looked up, our food was just being brought out towards us. "Hey Lina, the grub's come." She then scrambled to hide her book and then grabbed her knife and fork, ready to go to battle. The second the plates had gone down, my fork was into the nearest steak and I was chewing it down and swallowing in seconds before grabbing the chicken leg and chewing on that. Eating food with Lina is almost as intensive as a good sword fight, and certainly just as quick. I even consider it part of my training!

Just as I went to place my fork in another one of the steaks, Lina's fork came into to. We locked forks immediately and I glared at the brunette. I was pushing my fork against hers, and she was doing the same against mine. The bone of the chicken leg was hanging out my mouth and my teeth started to grind against it. I then swiftly turned my fork and pushed hard, causing her to lose a grip on her fork. I slammed my fork down onto the steak and devoured quickly, enjoying a short little celebration.

Note...never celebrate in the middle of a meal. I looked down and half of one of my favourite dishes was gone, being shovelled down Lina's throat. "Hey! Knock it off, Lina! You know I like that one!" I grumbled and slapped her hand away and tried to relish what was left of my food. At that point I swiftly stole some of that dish I hadn't heard of. "Hmm, not bad." I grinned, before happily reaching for more, only to feel her fork sink into my hand. "YEEEOOOWWW!" I recoiled and held my hand protectively, sniffling slightly, feigning like a little child to try and gain sympathy, but I wasn't getting any. I grumbled and continued to finish the rest of my meal.

Kurage

1.7
After the clearly eventful dinner that Gourry and I “shared”, I decided it was a fine time to head up and get settled for the night. Settled, meaning, a nice warm bath, a steaming cup of tea, and of course, my new book. I got up and smiled warmly at the servers, who gave me and Gourry dark looks of disdain. Poor servers. They never get that this would be happening in less than ten hours all over again.

I turned to Gourry and sighed. “I'm pooped. I'm heading out for some relaxation and shut eye. I heard that those bandits had a spring around the back, so of course I'm going to take full advantage of it.” I winked, then turned on my heel and walked towards the back door, clutching my book tightly to me.

One of the few (okay, many) things I love about traveling on the road is the springs. I love jumping in and getting warm and clean as well as refreshed and de-toxed. Each spring is different, but they are all always hot, always steamy, and always enjoyable.

Thank god that this time the springs were divided by sex. It's awkward and time-consuming, traveling with someone of the opposite sex when you're both tired and dirty and all you want is a bath. Gourry and I have had many fights in the past, and I'm glad this time I was able to avoid it. Plus, I could take as long as I wanted, and not have Gourry whine at me to hurry up.

I got undressed, threw on a robe, tied back my hair, and darted outside, peeking out first to see if the spring was empty. When it was, I grabbed my book and practically danced over to the spring. I looked around again before I flung off my robe. I'm sort of self-conscious that way. I think I look great, but I was in no mood to have perverts spying on me.

I jumped into the spring, enjoying the splash I created. I giggled and sunk down into the water, letting loose a huge sigh of contentment. The water was so warm and comforting, the tight muscles all throughout my body instantly loosened and I was able to practically melt into the water. I shut my eyes and just lay there, savoring the feeling of the water on my skin.

After a few minutes, it grew boring. Oh come on, I have a short attention span. I enjoy luxury; of course I do. It's just, I like being stimulated somehow. So I chose to be mentally stimulated. I grabbed the book from the side of the spring (it had a few drops of water on it from my splash) and opened it up to the first page.

“Oooo…” I mumbled, my eyebrows going right up into my hair. From the looks of it, the contents were not your average state-of-the-art, how to make a spell cookie-cutter. For one thing, it was written in some sort of dead language I couldn't decipher (but I KNEW I had seen it before…I just could figure it out). For another thing, there weren't any diagrams, which was common in most sorcery books. It seemed like pretty hardcore material.

What the hell were a bunch of smelly bandits doing with a book like this? They obviously hadn't a CLUE what it was, when they took it. They just took it and ran, the morons.

Well, okay, so did I, but at least when I took it I had an inkling for what it was!

What really annoyed me was that I couldn't translate it. I'm proud to say I'm fluent in quite a few magical languages, but this one was a complete stumper, even though I KNEW I had seen it before…the question was…where, exactly?

The answer eluded me, and by that time I was so disappointed and tired I didn't care. I set the book down, lowered myself into the water, and mumbled angrily. This was not the night I wanted. At all.

Dramata

1.8
I looked over to Lina as she stood up and excused herself, and headed off for the springs. I nodded a little and watched her disappear into the back, the book clutched tightly against her. I just leaned back into the chair and closed my eyes as I tried to let the food settle. At that point the serving hands cleared up the table, all grumbling amongst themselves at the amount they had to deal with. I then thought that Lina's idea was a good one and that I should have a little relaxation too. However instead of the springs I decided to take a bath in my room.

I stood up from the table and grabbed my belongings, then headed off to my room. I took the key out of my pocket and unlocked it slowly, and peeked inside. I know, it seems silly to peek inside your own room, but travelling with Lina for so long causes you to peek instead of storm in. You face very serious consequences when you storm in on Lina, so it becomes natural reaction everytime I open the door to a room at an inn.

I placed my things by the bed and was about to head off into the bathroom when I remembered about my sword. I went back to the bed and sat down, taking some stone out, an old rag and a container with oil. I took the sword out of it's sheath and began work. I took the stone and rubbed it along the blade. This helped sharpen the blade and also remove any scratches or kinks in the blade. After working hard on that, I put down the stone and took the oil, pouring a small amount into the old rag. I then started rubbing the rag against the blade. I did this to polish the blade, and also help keep it strong. You don't want your blade breaking in the middle of a battle, and considering all the shocks it can go through, it can very easily happen.

Once I finished maintaining my sword, I sheathed it and headed into the bathroom. Already waiting was a large jug of hot water, fresh from being heated by the spring. I poured it in to the bath and noticed a few oils by the side. I looked at the bottles and tried to read them, I just figured some relaxed and others rejuvenated. Right now I wanted to relax so I removed the top of the bottle and poured it in. I then mixed it up with my hand and noted a nice smell of lavender.

I removed my clothes and dipped into the bath slowly. Testing the heat of the water and allowing my body to slowly get used to heat. I inched my body in till I was fully in, with my head resting just above the surface. I leaned back against the side and closed my eyes, sighing in contentment. I had to admit this felt really nice, but unlike Lina I could stay like this for hours. I enjoyed the silence and breathed in the scent of the oils, and felt it relaxing me, removing the aches of the day, and turning the tiredness into calmness.

After some time later I opened my eyes. It was then I realised I must have dozed off, but for how long I didn't know. I leaned up and grabbed the bar of soap and started to clean my body of all the dirt and grime from the day. I then soaked my long blonde hair and scrubbed it with the soap, cleaning out all the dirt and grease, then rinsing it dry with more water. Then happy enough that I was clean, I stepped out of the bath and took a couple of towels and wrapped them around my body so I could dry.

I took out my night clothes from my bag and laid them on the bed and got to work drying my body and hair. Once done, I combed out the tangles. The problem with long hair is the amount of work it takes to comb through it all and sometimes it gets tangled. It's pretty annoying but I've always had long hair and have always been happy with it, and I feel like it's a part of me now. Lina is always pestering me about getting it braided though, it's the rare occasion that she really acts like a little girl. I swear when I sleep in the same room, I have to keep one eye open incase I wake up in the morning with my hair in pigtails and pink ribbons!

I put on the night clothes and folded my travelling clothes up neatly, ready for the next day. At that point I thought about Lina. I wondered if she'd read through that book and also maybe she was in her room, finished with the springs. I took the key to my room and left, locking it behind me and then walking the short distance to her room. I knocked a little nervously on her door and spoke a little softly so that no one else oculd really hear. "Hey Lina, are you back yet? It's me, Gourry..."

Kurage

1.9
I looked up at the sudden knock at my door. I had been staring at the book, trying to jar my memory of where I had seen those symbols, when I heard the knock and the voice that accompanied it.

What could he want now? I was tired and in need of some serious pondering time. He never usually bothered me like this after a bath; he knows better. Or so I thought. You think you have trained a person all about your habits, with constant beatings and flinging of magic, but they still manage to evade your hard work and have it their own way anyway.

Sheesh.

I glowered at the door and set the book down hard, making sure that the thunk of the book hitting the counter would be loud enough for Gourry to hear through the door. I got up, flung my robe on (which was piled onto a chair) over my pajamas, and threw the door open, glowering at Gourry who stood there, looking, as usual, bemused.

Don't get me wrong. When Gourry is, like that moment, washed up and clean and even smelling a little like a flower garden, he has his moments when I would like to forget how dumb he can be. He is a very attractive male specimen. I mean, come on, long hair that looks all silky (which it IS. You don't battle side-by-side with someone and not get smacked in the face by their long hair), huge, slightly confused blue eyes…and the muscle thing. The lean, built, muscle thing. Especially in battle.

Ahem.

But once he opens his mouth and all of these damn insults and rhetoric and idiocies come spewing out, well, it's hard to remember the rest of him. Especially when I have his head in a headlock and I am bashing my fist onto his nose.

I sighed, sagged a little, and leaned on the door. “I'm obviously here and I'm still awake. What do you want?” I asked.

Dramata