Gourry heard a few hurried and guilty noises as he came around the side of his tent. Amelia seemed to be trying the sprints-and-weight-lifting combo, hurrying out towards the nearby meadow with some kind of huge burden on her shoulders; Sylfiel was watching her run, shaking her head a little sadly.
"Hey, Sylfiel! What's up? Where are Zel and Lina?"
She spun around, startled, but her eyes took on an expression of relief and gratitude when she recognised him. "Oh--it's you, Gourry-dear! Miss Lina and Mr. Zelgadis had a fight earlier, and they both stormed off. In opposite directions."
"Ahh, so that's why Lina nearly fried me."
"She what?" Sylfiel's face instantly took on a look of distress, but he waved it off.
"She was just upset, I guess." In fact, now that he thought about it... "She doesn't really get into fights with Zel that often, does she?"
"Not that I know of."
"I guess that's why it hit her hard, then. She must not like fighting with him! Why didn't I think of that before?" He beamed. Maybe girls weren't that big of a mystery after all.
Sylfiel, on the other hand, was completely mystified by this. Even she, who was fonder of him than she'd ever been of anyone, had to admit he'd always been completely clueless when it came to relationships... had that just been a lucky guess, or was there something else at work here?
"Hey, Sylfiel..."
"Yes, Gourry-dear?"
"Want to go see if we can get some breakfast?"
"Uh... sure."
It was an hour or so before Lina came back to the camp; when she got there, Sylfiel and Gourry were deep in conversation over a couple of roasted fish.
"Hey, guys. Where's Amelia?"
"Out running," Gourry replied. "Where did you go?"
She looked down at herself. After venting her frustration on puddles, rocks, and innocent trees, she'd managed to become covered in mud and dust.
"I went for a walk. Is Zel back yet?"
"Not that we know of, Miss Lina," Sylfiel said. "You know, I have an, um, outfit you might want to borrow--"
"That's okay. I'll just wash up and then join you guys for breakfast."
As the tattered-looking little sorceress disappeared into her tent, Sylfiel sighed. "Sometimes I wish Miss Lina would be a little neater about her appearance. She can look really pretty, when she tries."
"I don't know. I don't think she's worried about impressing anybody with her looks. Can I have another fish?"
"GAHH! GAHHHHH!"
Sylfiel gasped in surprise. "That... that came from Miss Lina's tent!"
"GAHHH! GET THIS THING THE HELL OFF ME!!"
The tree seemed to be determined to keep hold of Zel's arm. He'd been trying to get free from it for what felt like hours, without success. It was too close to him to cast any kind of spell on safely, and brute strength didn't seem to be working.
"Zel?"
He turned so fast he nearly jolted the trapped arm out of its socket. "Lina--?"
"Zel, what's--oh, God, your arm! Are you okay?"
She was at his side in a heartbeat, both small hands on his sleeve.
"I'm okay," he said lamely. "I just, uh... got a little wrapped up in what I was doing..."
"Looks like it," she said, with a sweet smile. "Here. Let me help you out with that."
"I'll get it in a minute. Aren't you--ngh--supposed to be back at camp?" He turned back to the tree.
"Nah, not really. C'mon. Quit tugging for a second."
Zel obeyed--there wasn't much else he could do. Lina came around the other side of the splintering trunk and took in the situation, then smiled and laid both hands on his. Very gently, so gently he had to struggle to keep from blushing, she eased his fingers out of the tight fist, then said, "Just pull back slowly."
He did. It worked.
"Thanks." He took a few steps back, flexing the now-cramped muscles in his hand.
"No problem." She leaned against the tree, crossing her arms over her chest with another brilliant smile. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what I said to you this morning. I was in a really bad mood."
"I forgive you."
They shook hands, but Lina didn't let go when Zel tried to draw back.
"You mean that?" she asked softly. "I was pretty rough on you."
He swallowed hard and tried for a nonchalant tone. "Yeah, I mean it."
To his surprise, she leaned in close, pushing her snub nose close to his, and grinned. His throat went completely dry, and his pulse started double-timing.
