Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, but not for lack of trying, though I am attempting to get an amazing artist I know to help make a doujinshi of this story with me—I can draw well enough, but not like she can! If I did own Slayers, I might have expanded more on the other races involved in the Slayers world. I know that the show is primarily about Lina and her compatriots, but some of the other races are really cool, and it'd be nice to know a little more about them. The Slayers world is just so awesome. If you are reading this far into my story, you must agree with me.

AN: Arrgh, there be a lemon or two in this here chapter. If ye be squeamish, or if ye blush like a virgin in a brothel, ye may want to turn back. I be giving ye fair warning. Arrgh.

Really though, NSFW. This part with Devorit is particularly dark. And kinda explicit. I mean it.

Devorit growled. He had sent out at least nine parties of warriors to kill Lina Inverse and so far she had killed five of those groups. He was pissed. How could one lousy little human bitch kill his warriors so easily? His fists smashed into the walls of his lair, chips of stone and dust flying because of his rage, rage he dare not show to his fellow Golden Dragons, who were beginning to wonder at the darkness surrounding him.

His two human pets cowered in the farthest corner, knowing that when their master was in such a foul mood, they would be black and blue before the day was through.

The female in particular tried to make herself as small as possible, hiding as much as she could behind her brother. She knew he wouldn't protect her even though they had been born in the same litter. Long ago, they had learned what it meant to try and protect the other from their master—typically the one doing the protecting ended up in a worse state than the one being beaten. Being bound by blood meant nothing when their master was in one of his tempers—on occasion only Devorit's resurrection spell could bring them back from death, and it would only be enough to make sure they lived, it would not heal them of their wounds and broken bones. But even though the two of them had no allegiance to each other, they still hid together when their master got into these moods—they had tried hiding separately before and the second one found was typically the one beaten worse, and since they never knew who their master would choose to find first, they knew it was just marginally safer to stay together.

Unfortunately his foul moods were happening more and more often as of late as their fellow human Lina refused to die.

Devorit turned and glared when he heard a whimper come from his female pet. The logical part of him supposed she was right to weep, even if the sound currently grated on his frayed nerves. He had taken to using her more often in his rage, wishing the things he did to her would somehow transfer to the Supreme Whore.

He smiled at the little female and walked towards his two pets. The male seemed to cower even further as Devorit walked closer, nudging his sister out of his space in his attempt to get Devorit to take his rage out on her.

The female whimpered again.

Devorit grinned, the sickness in his soul clouding his visage. He began reaching for her, his eyes on her brother the entire time. The male was only watching his arm, and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that his master was once again going after his sister. Devorit's grin widened, his fangs gleaming in the low light.

The female curled even further into herself at hearing her brother's sigh. Previous experience had taught her to now expect the worst. Devorit pet the top of her head, fingers curling into her shorn hair as his claws gently scraped against her scalp and she sobbed at the touch.

Devorit watched as the male slowly crept further away, inch by inch, knowing that he was safe now that his master's attention was on his sister. Devorit's ire was raised with his male pet—how dared he think he could get away so easily? Devorit's arm quickly snaked its way towards the male, grabbing him by his hair.

The male screamed with surprise and pain as he was yanked to his feet. He knew better than to fight back against his master—despite the fact that his weak blows would do nothing to harm the large man—Devorit would not tolerate any retaliation or rebellion from those so far below him.

Devorit snarled. "Think you can let your sister take all my rage? Think again. That little human slut got away again, and killed two of my best fighters while she did. There's no way I'm going to let you get off without some of the pain I'd like to inflict upon her."

The young male didn't really understand what his master was saying, not entirely. But he knew the anger in his master's voice and he knew that scooting away from his sister meant he would get the beatings worse tonight.

His sister still hadn't moved from her spot. She would get it bad enough—she was female after all, but she wouldn't necessarily be beaten as she had remained in her spot.

Even as Devorit threw the young male into the center of his lair, he looked down upon the female. He ran his hand through her short filthy hair once more. "Go. Clean. Bed." The commands were short and simple. They had to be for the stupid humans to understand. He had gotten them at such a young age, and he refused them their learning so to keep them ignorant and unable to escape him.

The female sobbed as she nodded her head. She scampered off toward the area where Devorit allowed her to do her bathing. She wasn't to use it unless he said so, and when she did bathe, she was expected to do a complete grooming procedure on herself. He disliked how humans smelled in general, and if he was to utilize his female pet's body the way she was meant to be used, she would need to smell as close to a female dragon as possible—not the dirty sweaty human way she smelled now.

He didn't mind the fear that rolled off of her. He practically basked in that. But even the joy in using her body properly was lost when he had to smell her human rank.

Satisfied that she was following his orders, he turned his attention back to his male pet. The male had remained exactly where he had landed, his gaze focused entirely on the floor by his face.

Devorit smirked. At least the churl was beginning to learn his lesson. The smirk turned into a snarl.

Too late, for Devorit was far past the mood to be openhanded to his cowering pet.

He kicked the male, slamming his foot into his pet's unprotected stomach, relishing the gurgling scream the male made as a few of his ribs broke once more, some of his internal organs rupturing. Devorit closed his eyes for a moment, replaying that scream in his head, imagining that it came from Lina Inverse's throat. That kick would have terminated her pregnancy, just as she was responsible for the death of his own young that were still in his pregnant mate's belly.

Devorit picked up his male pet by the ruins of his smelly tunic. Tears and bloody snot poured down the male's face as he sobbed out his misery. The male's only warning that another blow was coming was from the vicious snarl Devorit made as he pummeled his fist into his pet's face. A sharp crack came as the male's nose broke once again under the force of such a blow, and the male screamed again—as much as he could with a broken jaw. Devorit reveled in such a sound.

Humans truly were such fragile creatures.

Even so, it somehow made him angrier knowing that all the pain and suffering that he inflicted upon his pets could not be inflicted upon the bitch who had been the cause of death for his beloved Evanth. He looked down on the male who hung limply in his grasp.

It was not enough.

It was never enough.

No matter what he did to these two pitiful excuses for humans, it would never be enough to satisfy his bloodlust for Lina Inverse. Devorit slammed one more punch into the male's unprotected stomach, hearing the satisfying muffled cry come from his pet as the blow once again landed on his tender and broken ribs.

Devorit then threw his human pet against the wall of his lair. He heard the enjoyable crunch that meant that he had likely broken the male's back again.

He walked over to the broken form lying crumpled on the floor against the wall. His pet didn't even move in fear to get away from his master, and his breathing was very shallow, almost non-existent.

Devorit snarled in impotent anger. He'd have to expend his magical energy yet again just to make sure the male survived the encounter.

Still, it would be too much work to actually try and find another, and he'd have to get it young to keep it stupid. Which meant he'd have to wait at least ten years until he could truly lay into it like this one.

Devorit called forth his healing magic and cast it over the limp and broken male. He healed various parts of the male, the broken spine in particular, the punctured lungs and ruptured organs, most of the broken ribs—but only just enough so that the male could move around once again and serve his master his meals. Devorit was tempted to leave the nose alone, but decided that hearing a rasping wheeze come from his pet every time he breathed would likely make him kill the male, so he healed it just enough so that the pet's breathing wouldn't annoy him. He finally decided to halfway heal the jaw as well. It would do him no good after expending all that magical energy just to have his pet starve to death because he couldn't use his mouth.

His male pet looked up at him, his bloody face still bruised, his nose still broken, and he began sobbing again. Devorit snarled in warning. The male quieted, and curled into as much of a ball as he could despite the pain, his body still horribly bruised and disfigured from all of his previous beatings. His bones may have been healed, but only enough for him to be moderately functional and the pain would always remain.

Worse, he had been brought back from the precipice of death once more.

Both he and his sister craved death more than anything in the world. They knew what it tasted like, for they had always had a sip of the sweet nectar after the horrendous beatings their master was capable of. But their master was beyond cruel, for he would always steal them back before they could do more than sip the euphoria of oblivion.

Satisfied that his pet would do nothing more than lay there, Devorit headed back to his private room, fully expecting the female to be waiting there for him.

If she wasn't… well, he hadn't nearly satisfied himself with her brother.

And if she was, imagining the beating of Lina Inverse always left him aroused.

Her tunic was in a crumpled heap by the door to his private nest, and the female laid spread eagle on his nest of furs, her frail scrawny body completely bare to his rapacious gaze. She was completely underdeveloped for her age, but he'd had to make sure she was fixed very early on in her life, and that had stunted her hormones to the point where she would have looked almost male if not for the fact that she did not have the corresponding parts. He had not wanted a litter of humans running around his lair considering he had both a male and a female of the same race—and he wasn't sure if a human female could become pregnant from a dragon in human form, for weirder things had happened. Not that she could survive carrying the eggs to full term if she could get pregnant, not even female dragons could carry a full clutch at the end of their cycle unless they remained in their dragon form.

It didn't matter.

She was fixed, and that's what mattered.

Her undernourished body reminded him very much of the scrawny bitch Lina Inverse the last time he had seen her almost ten years ago—the time his Evanth had died—and his violation of his pet's body would bring him greater pleasure as he imagined it to be the human whore Lina.

His female pet was always dry when he started on her, so every time he started with her, he had to bite her on the neck, near her jugular. This was perhaps the only time he was truly gentle with her.

The first time he had ever bitten her, his strong jaws—even in human form—had almost ripped her throat out. He was very lucky that he had always been a skilled magical healer, or he might not have been able to save her. As it was, her blood had covered the furs of his hidden nest for days until she was well enough to help clean them along with her brother.

Another reason for his gentle bite was his venom.

A male Golden Dragon injected venom into his female mate to make her more receptive to his intent—and the first few times claiming a female were always the most difficult until the male could bite her. Even so, the male had to bite the female about three times before a sufficient amount of venom could be injected to take enough of an effect on the recalcitrant female for her to become aroused and a willing participant in the act.

The first time he had mated with his Evanth, he'd had to bite her five times—three times while in dragon form and twice more in human form—before she allowed him to complete their first mating.

He groaned in appreciation at the memory, even being less than half his age, she had been a tough female to mate with—making her all the more desirable in his eyes.

With that in mind, after he had very gently bit his female pet the second time he intended to use her, he had injected a full dosage of venom into her. It had done its proper job in making her body instantly aroused—but it had also put her into a coma that lasted about a week. He hadn't noticed until he had finished up that drool was coming from her mouth, and that her breathing had practically slowed to a stop. Once again, he'd had to use his healing magic on her for she had almost drowned in her own saliva even as she had begun to choke on her tongue.

It had taken months of experimentation to finally get it right, but he had eventually learned how much venom to inject a human female with to get her aroused without making her comatose at the same time.

As Devorit looked down on his female pet, he stripped off his outer robes, and shalwar kameez, before he finally joined her on the bed. The female opened her eyes as she felt the weight of his body compress the furs and cushions around her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and exposed her scarred neck to him. She was better trained than her brother in regards to her Master's desires, and never once disobeyed him especially when trapped below him, despite the pain of the act. As a male Golden Dragon, he had designed his human form to be well endowed, and her frail human body was not meant to take in his size or handle his weight.

He smiled. He doubted that the first time he did this to the Supreme Slut, that she'd be quite so calm about it. He planned on tearing into her without biting her first, for he wanted his violation of her body to be as painful as possible.

But right now was about getting satisfaction.

It had been a long time since he had been with a female Golden Dragon as there were not many who were worthy of his attention, and none of them were anything like his Evanth. He supposed he would have enjoyed teaching that traitorous bitch Filia a lesson, but she had disappeared and though his scouts were on her trail, they had yet to find her. He supposed it was too much to hope that she would have stayed at her little shop in the Outer World. He knew she had visited the Supreme Slut in the barrier lands, but his scouts had lost her in the unfamiliar territory.

So it was that his female pet was the only one he allowed himself to enjoy, for she had belonged to him almost all of her life.

It was his right to receive the pleasures of her flesh.

She whimpered as his sharp incisors pierced the sensitive flesh of her neck. Devorit delicately pressed the tip of his tongue into the roof of his mouth, gently forcing the venom from his gland into her body along the rivulets of his sharp teeth. The whimper of pain slowly became a moan, and he knew that the venom was doing its job. He released her throat and waited a few moments to be sure that the venom had coursed its way through her body before he spread her legs further, checking her to see if she was ready for him. When he knew that she was by the smell her body began to produce in its arousal, he began pounding into her weak flesh, enjoying the whimpers and moans that issued forth from her throat.

Those sounds begged him to increase his pace and force, but he dare not.

The first time he had allowed his instincts to take over, he had pounded into her so hard that he had broken her spine and almost shattered her hips. He had once again had to heal her after he had finished, for he did not stop in the middle just to make sure she was okay when her cries had become screams and then nothing as she blacked out.

Her body had never quite recovered after that instance, but she could still walk once he had completely healed her, even if it was with a limp.

Devorit could feel his orgasm approaching and groaned as he released his seed into the female's body. He pulled out of her and flopped onto his back, a foot away from the female.

She didn't move away. She never did. She was always exhausted, for a Golden Dragon's stamina far surpassed a mere human's.

Devorit waited some time before he kicked her out of his nest, literally.

He did not want her thinking that it was okay to sleep in her Master's nest, especially if he was in it. Her place was on the floor with her brother. Besides, he couldn't stand the stink her body produced, and he knew it would infuse into his furs and then he'd always have to smell her. His hidden lair smelled enough like unwashed human stink as it was, he did not need his nest to smell like it too.

The kick was mild enough, just a gentle nudge of his foot against her side to roll her out of the nest. She flopped onto the floor with a thud. He heard her crawl to where her discarded tunic lay, and instead of dressing in his private room, she made her way to her brother before she finally covered her body. He could hear the two of them cuddle together, attempting to take whatever warmth or comfort they could from each other.

Devorit snarled with impuissant rage. The female had been satisfying enough, but only just enough to take the edge off his desire. Her weak human body could only handle his fucking once every couple of nights, and Devorit was still on edge, still needed release.

He needed his Evanth. Only she had been able to ever satisfy his lusts, and she did it without complaint, as a proper mate should.

"Oh, poor little Golden Dragon. All that sexual tension, and no one to release it into."

Devorit sat up in his nest with a growl. He had not felt the Mazoku enter his private lair until she spoke up, and he did not like that she could catch him off guard so. He looked her over. Still wearing the exact same thing she had been in last time, still wearing an outfit that begged someone to take advantage of her. Except last time he had gotten his frustration out with a war rally and now he was infernally angry at that human bitch Lina for not dying or being captured by his strongest fighters.

His anger had no proper outlet unless he wanted to kill his two human pets. He needed a submissive female, and this Mazoku's delectable outfit practically screamed that she was into what he wanted. He could even feel his dick twitch with anticipation.

But he could not sully himself with her kind. He was not that desperate.

He glared at her. "What do you want, Mazoku?"

Her grin was absolute sin. "Apparently, the same thing you want, if your rigid cock is anything to go by…"

Devorit could feel a soft teasing caress up his hard length, like that of a finger or maybe even a tongue, even though the Mazoku before him made no move to get closer, her arms still bound to her sides, her tongue still in her mouth. He closed his eyes and fought his groan with all his strength, not sure if his desire was beginning to cloud his mind and make him imagine such wonderful delights.

He heard the tainted creature chuckle with evil satisfaction.

"Leave me in peace you foul temptress. I am not interested in your kind."

Suddenly she was above him, leaning over him as if her still bound arms could actually support her body in such a way. Devorit had never tried to understand the mechanics of Mazoku, so he wasn't sure how she was capable of such a thing, but he still growled in warning to her.

She was not the type to heed it. "How will you know until you try me out? I can assure you, I am up for anything. I happen to like pain… a lot. And I know for certain that you do as well. Your thoughts are like honey to me, and I wish to taste more of those deep dark fantasies you hold in the twisted recesses of your soul. I will last far longer than any female you could ever try. Certainly longer than that weak little human bitch you keep for your pleasures."

Devorit pushed the Mazoku away from him and got out of his nest. "Leave me. I am not interested in entertaining your demented cravings, no matter how much in need I am. Your kind disgusts me."

He could feel the Mazoku behind him as he felt a hand grasp hold of his throbbing member, slowly stroking him up and down until the groan he had tried so hard to suppress ripped out of his throat.

Her touch felt so good.

She seemed to know the right amount of pressure to put on his organ without her grip being overly tight.

"Are you so sure I disgust you? Admit it, you want to take me, brutally. You want me to submit to your power. Make me beg for release. You want to prove that Golden Dragons are more powerful than Mazoku, and you want to prove that through me. You want to use me, to abuse me, to hurt me and make me cry out in pain and pleasure." With each word, the stroking grew stronger, harder, more forceful, and felt more delectable than anything he had felt in so long.

Even his Evanth had not been this forward with him. He had always had to instigate anything with her. She had never once pleasured him without his prompting her to.

Devorit fell towards the wall, or maybe he was pushed—he was so far gone, he wasn't sure which.

"Tell me what you want Golden Dragon. Tell me how I can make you explode. Tell me how to make you spray your seed all across the walls of your lair. Do you need to imagine your cream coating my inner walls as I bring you to climax over and over again with my sweet tight pussy? Or would you like me to swallow it down as my mouth sucks you hard and my tongue deftly swirls around your shaft?" The words poured from her delectable lips like sweet dark mead, and were just as heady.

Devorit shuddered as he felt his throbbing balls suddenly being massaged by the hands of a master.

His beloved Evanth had never done anything like this.

What this Mazoku was doing to him should have angered him, but all he felt was unimaginable pleasure, and he just wanted more. Those masterful hands got faster and he knew his release was upon him. His hips began trying to buck, to speed up the process and end her control over him, but something held his body firmly and he was a slave to her movements, her speed.

"More… Give me more…" he demanded, hating that she was in control of his release. He was so damned close and she was somehow preventing him from coming.

"You will call me Milady." The tone of her voice was now commanding, and the movements on his cock had completely stopped, though her hands had not released him.

Devorit hissed. He was so fucking close.

"Give me more you Mazoku Bitch."

Milady chuckled behind him, before she slapped his bare ass, hard. "Milady."

He grunted with surprise and pain, but the sting quickly faded, building up his pleasure at the touch, but not bringing him over the precipice.

"Fuck you, Whore."

She wrenched his throbbing cock, gripping his sensitive balls to the point of crushing them, causing an explosion of pain down his entire length and then to all his extremities and he cried out at the force of it.

"Call me Milady, and I will allow you your climax."

Devorit managed to growl through the excruciating pain, "Fuck you… Milady."

With her name, he felt a pulse shudder through him and he suddenly exploded, a pleasure so great he had never known its like. When he finally became aware of himself once more, he realized that he had just allowed a Mazoku to have power over him, even if it had only been sexual. He looked at the wall next to his nest. Evidence of just how powerful her control was, was splattered against it, and some was on his bare stomach, dripping back onto his hardening cock.

He turned to where he could feel her presence. She sat on his bed, leaning against the empty air, her arms still bound to her sides, a smug smile gracing her features. When she was certain she had his attention once more, she spread her legs only slightly, as if inviting him to partake.

After what she had just done to him, he happily would, but on his terms.

He walked to where she sat, her face in the perfect position. "Lick it off. You made the mess Milady, you clean it up."

Milady's grin was hell itself.

Devorit's smirk in response was his own twisted version.

xxxx

Lina had long since released Xellas, much to the Mazoku's chagrin, and was silently admiring her new outfit while the Mazoku Lord silently admired her. The girl's chaotic energy did wonders to her power, and the longer she held Lina, the stronger she became.

If she could, she may just have to subvert and steal Lina from Xellos. Then again, she'd likely have to destroy Xellos to do so. He was becoming more possessive of Lina the longer they stayed in this little camp. It was why she had sent him away to do her bidding.

Lina was obviously unaware of her true effect on the Mazoku of her party, or she might have reacted more violently to all the physical contact she was receiving from her Mazoku traveling companions.

Even Bleed and Blut were starting to become slightly more powerful. They'd never match Xellas—hell not even Xellos would ever match Xellas. And she was steadily draining a lot of the power from her most powerful servant to ensure he could never become a threat to her. She allowed Bleed and Blut to gain that steady power build-up because they needed to protect Lina, but she'd stop them at some point eventually. She was even allowing Xellos a slight increase in his own power gain—allowing him to achieve what he had lost when he had made his own children all those centuries ago—though she was certain he hadn't noticed it… yet.

He was too focused on Lina to notice what his mistress was doing, and how Lina was truly affecting him.

Xellas was certain one of her siblings would eventually notice the effect Lina was having on any Mazoku near her. It was why she was so intent on making sure Dynast and Dolphin had no clue about Lina and her new abilities. It was also another reason why she was not allowing Xellos to gain such a significant amount of power so quickly.

Dynast would notice if Xellos suddenly became stronger quickly as he always kept an eye on Xellas and her servants—and he'd want to know why; though he'd most likely assume she had found another human with a piece of their Mao in him. But if Dynast found out about Lina… Dolphin surely would too—Dynast never could keep his big trap shut!

Dolphin was simply a wild card that even now, after all these many years, Xellas still didn't truly know her sister. There was just no telling what Dolphin would do day to day—hell, the chick didn't even wear the same type of outfit day after day, the design and style changing with her dramatically changing moods. It was why Xellas typically avoided her. The crazy bitch was wacko more often than not. So Xellas wasn't sure what she'd do if she found out about Lina Inverse and her newfound power—though she was definitely certain that Dynast would not find out through Dolphin.

Xellas did not want either of them to find out about her new treasure in Lina Inverse. And she absolutely did not want either of her siblings getting their grubby hands on her prize.

It still left a problem with Xellos and his constant need to be around Lina Inverse.

She supposed she could just let Xellos have Lina after all. It wasn't like she couldn't drain his power from him, if she did allow such a thing. And it would get rid of the unpleasant need to kill him… But Xellas was the alpha, the Queen Bitch. She did not like not having the best pets, cubs or toys in her possession. She was much like Xellos in the regard that she did not like sharing.

But technically, not that it mattered much to her, Lina had become Xellos's possession first. Though she was not above stealing the toys of her servants, it wasn't truly one of her habits. She also knew that Lina's preference was Xellos over his mistress, but that could easily change if Xellas wooed her away with enough presents and riches. She knew Lina could be bought with the right types of gifts, and Xellas had amassed a wealth far greater than anything Lina had ever laid eyes upon—and she knew for a fact that Lina had seen a great amount of treasure in her very short lifetime.

Xellas supposed that if Xellos kept Lina, he would feel obligated to share her with his mistress. In truth, Xellos had never denied his mistress anything she ever wanted out of him—it was why he was such a great lover, even if the Mazoku version of sex was a bit different than what humans typically experienced—it was also why he was still alive. She allowed him some leniency in how he followed her orders—his methods would have gotten him killed had he been a servant under the Hellbrat or the Chaos Dick. Hell, even Dynast the Prat would have killed Xellos just because he was so different, and since Dynast did not like going outside the bounds of his neat little box, his servants shouldn't either. Dolphin… well, the Psycho Hose Beast could go either way, though she'd most likely bet that Xellos would live.

Dolphin liked to have fun as much as Xellas did—and Xellos was a lot of fun to have around after all.

As she thought that, she realized she'd already made her decision. She had put a lot of work and training into Xellos, and though he had had his own personality the moment he had come into existence, he was still her child, her creation. And as long as he got to keep Lina, he wouldn't mind that Xellas stripped some of his power from him, or absorbed more power from Lina. Lina was supposed to increase the power of the Mazoku anyway, and in his eyes, Xellas's power base was the most important besides that of their Mao. Xellos didn't really like any of the other lesser Mazoku that were technically his cousins and half-siblings, and he hated that there were two other Mazoku who were more powerful than he was. So he would welcome any power that his mistress gained as long as she allowed him to be more powerful than his aunt and uncle.

And if Xellas just so happened to gain that power while the three of them were in an ménage à trois, or having an orgy involving some of the rest of Xellas's servants, cubs and toys… so be it.

Lina did not like the devilish grin that had spread across Xellas's face. She had been absorbed in admiring the abilities of her new outfit, and had almost forgotten that it showed more skin than her usual bathing suits did—but that smirk of Xellas's gave her the willies.

And she suddenly felt naked once more.

"Um, Xellas, did you perhaps think a cape might be in order? I never travel anywhere without one."

Xellas cocked her head to the side, that smile still gracing her lovely features. "I didn't, but I shall rectify that soon enough."

Lina blinked. Shit, maybe Naga had an extra one?

Not likely.

It's not like magic users truly carried replacement outfits with them when they traveled. You got used to wearing one specific outfit, and you usually didn't change it. In all her years of traveling around, her outfits had seen some damage, but she was enough of a seamstress that she had always been able to patch them up when needed. Plus, as a sorceress, you couldn't exactly just take your magical garments to any regular seamstress. If there was any damage ever caused to them, you either had to fix them yourself using a combination of a spell and sewing, or send them to a magic shop where the proprietor or his wife would fix them using magic. If magic was not involved in fixing it, the clothing would shred more quickly once you got into an arcane battle. She had made that mistake once or twice in her early years and had nearly flashed her opponents just because she had been too cheap to have magical clothing, and then once she had proper magical gear, to have it fixed magically.

And of course while she had been under the influence of the Chaotic Claws, she had practically torn her own cape in half. It had truly been a stupid move on her part. Her cape had been made out of a dragon's stomach, so she had always been protected against fire had she ever not been able to block or dodge a fire attack of any kind. Plus, she had had a spell woven into the very fabric of the lining that allowed the cape to become a sort of Bag of Holding—those spells were very difficult and expensive to place upon ones equipment, especially a cape. What made her especially angry was that she had kept a great number of pouches containing her gold and gems in that magical dimension. And she needed the cape to be in its entirety in order for the spell to work—but the Chaos spell had not only ripped the cape in half, it had also eaten some of the fabric—so there was just no way that she could just sew together the leftover pieces and hope to get her pouches back. Those pouches were now lost to whatever magical realm or dimension that held them. Likely, knowing how some magic worked, the extra loot ended up in some dragon's hoard the moment the spell broke. And without her fire-resistant cape, or a cape at all, she was not about to delve into a dragon's lair just to replace her loot.

Oh well, it's not like she could do anything about it now. She'd have to wait until she got to a town to get a new one, and without her reserve of gold, she'd have to dip into her emergency platinum piece fund. She really hated the idea of that, as she had never once in all her traveling had to touch that pouch.

She frowned; maybe some bandit slayage was in order…

Lina knew she had agreed to think more when entering a battle especially if she knew it was an ambush ahead of time. But she had never agreed to not just arbitrarily attack bandits. And Luna would likely forgive her the time taken out of traveling it if meant she returned home wearing something a little more modest than her current mode of dress.

Besides, she still really felt naked in this damned chainmail bikini!

"All right, let's get this over with."

Xellas smiled at her. "Get what over with, dear?"

"Showing off this damn outfit."

"Oh, so it's back to being 'damn outfit' again, even after all the special abilities I said it had? If you really don't like it all that much… then I'll take it back." Xellas growled, her fingers already rising to magic the chainmail bikini off of Lina's body, ready to leave her naked as the day she was born.

Lina's eyes widened. She had forgotten, just for a moment, how volatile Xellas could be. And Xellas would take it back; Lina knew that for certain. The slight weight of the material resting against her skin seemed to be disappearing even now.

Especially since Xellas's newest cub had just walked into the clearing. "Lady Lina, are you— Whoa. Wow." Rolf's eyes were as big as dinner plates as he looked his chosen goddess over. Lina looked like a barbarian sex kitten, and the mist floating over her body seemed to be undressing her before his very eyes, revealing more of her body to him than he had ever dreamed possible.

"It's not a damned outfit! I love it! I do! Please Xellas, please let me keep it!" Lina shouted in despair as she did her best to cover her breasts and groin.

The mist surrounding Lina stopped swirling over her skin for just a moment—not taking any more of the outfit away, but not returning it either. Rolf was definitely getting an eyeful, and could now certainly attest that yes, Lina was a true redhead, even if he was only getting partial glimpses. Xellas regarded the little human, and then her cub, a nasty smirk forming on her lips as she eyed the young man.

"Wolfy dear, you need to wipe that drool off of your chin, it's not very becoming on a young man."

Rolf immediately complied. There wasn't really anything there, but he did close his mouth.

Xellas then turned back to Lina, her eyebrow cocked, as she looked the girl over, a frown marring her lovely feral features. "This is the second time you've disparaged something I've done especially for you, and I don't appreciate it. I put a lot of time and effort into making that set one of a kind, made to survive your type of combat. It has tricks to it that will astound you, but most importantly it was made as a gift to you.

"So: I got rid of the rags that your little Chaos spell almost destroyed. They were showing far more of your delicate areas than this does at all. So: I got rid of your research outfit. You and I both know how long that would have survived in traveling to the next town, and let's not even think about what might have happened should you have been attacked by bandits, a sorcerer, or far worse, the last four groups of Golden Dragons that are still hunting for you even now. You'd be completely naked at the end and you know it. And your underwear-" Xellas barked a laugh, "It was pitiful in the extreme and you should be ashamed of wearing such tasteless material.

"So: I took some liberties with the design. You should know well enough that Orihalcon is hard to come by—even for a Mazoku such as myself—and making it into just a chain mail shirt would have been a waste of that precious metal considering the purpose I have put to it. As I told you before, the design itself allows the metal to work perfectly when worn with the gloves and boots, giving you more protection from magic than even you can imagine. The fact that I put my signature into it means most Mazoku will leave you be—especially after you help us gain our power back—that will include both Dynast and Dolphin. Even lesser Masterless Mazoku will leave you be.

"You should be grateful, yet you complain. I grow tired of it. I am tempted to take back my gift." This last was said softly, with just enough malevolence to let Lina know that Xellas meant it.

Lina hung her head with shame. Xellas was correct in that. She may not have wanted such an incredibly revealing outfit, but it was a present and she had spurned her gift-giver once too often. She quietly responded, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Even when the present isn't what you wanted or expected, it is still a gift and should not be rudely rejected. I apologize for my behavior Xellas. I thank you for the effort you took in making this for me. Please do not take any more offense at my lack of acceptance for your gift and know that I will appreciate it better."

Xellas nodded once, and the mist disappeared from around Lina, leaving her completely covered once more by the small amount of leather and chainmail that wrapped her body—a slight sound of disappointment could be heard from Rolf.

Rolf blinked once, as if coming back to himself then looked to his mistress. "I almost got to see all of her."

Xellas then smirked as she looked to her cub, "Little pervert."

Lina glared at the young man, but did not dare look at the Mazoku Lord for fear that the woman wouldn't think her contrite enough. That had been close, and it was not in regards to Rolf seeing her naked, though that was bad enough.

No, she had truly forgotten that the Beastmaster was a force to be reckoned with. She had gotten so used to Blut and Bleed and now even Xellos, and the way they acted around her, that for some reason she had begun to regard their mistress in the same light. She had gotten used to bantering with Xellas, and that was a mistake because the woman could take offense at the slightest of things, though perhaps this instance involved a little more disrespect from Lina than she should have dared given.

And Xellas, like her Mother, also seemed to have a mercurial nature. Lina knew this incident would make sure she never forgot that again, and the outfit would always remind her to be wary of the Beastmaster.

Lina sighed as she bent over to gather her things. Rolf was there in an instant, picking up everything that she had spilled out of her pack, and trying very hard not to look at her while he did it. At least there weren't any unmentionables for him to accidentally pick up.

She wondered for a moment if he were the type to steal them.

Lina mumbled a halfhearted, "thanks" and stood up.

Rolf smiled to her, "you're welcome." But though he was just as tall as she was, Lina realized his eyes were not on hers when he said this.

First the first time ever, a man—a boy really—was staring at her chest and was… enraptured. She didn't include Gourry in that count, as he only truly looked her over when she was naked, and Xellos wasn't included either, because he didn't want her for her body.

Lina wasn't sure if she should be upset or happy about this development. She settled for being bemused. She cocked an eyebrow at the young man. "My eyes are on my face."

Rolf's eyes flitted between her breasts and her face, and Lina could tell he was trying very hard to focus on her own gaze.

It was very difficult for him.

Now she was bordering on upset. She had always wondered what it'd be like to have this happen, and now she realized she didn't like it all that much.

She was not a piece of meat.

Xellas giggled.

Lina crossed her arms over her chest, as if to shield her suddenly exposed cleavage from Rolf's gaze. It sort of helped; he was now able to focus on her neck. She growled. "It's not like you haven't seen exposed boobs before, especially with what Naga, Xellas and even Blut wear."

Rolf looked down as he mumbled, "but they're not yours."

Lina wanted to say that all boobs looked the same, and that if you'd seen one set, you'd seen 'em all, but she knew this was not truly the case. None of the boys looked at Naga like this, she was sure, and Naga had huge gazoongas.

Damned teenaged boys and their hormones to hell anyway.

She roughly grabbed her pack from him and stalked back to the camp. She knew that Xellas and Blut followed, though their footsteps really didn't make much sound compared to those of Rolf's. This was why she damned the outfit and why she most wanted her cape; she could practically feel Rolf's gaze licking up her nearly exposed backside. Thank the Lord of Nightmares that she had amazingly long hair, and it was at least partly covering her exposed back.

If she had been concerned about Rolf taking advantage of her, now she was slightly afraid, even though his behavior did seem to indicate that he was still rather shy about it.

Although with the Beastmaster around again, for however long she chose to be around, Lina could be certain that he'd get over that shyness really quick.

Oh she really hoped like hell that the crazy bitch wasn't changing her physical projection so that she looked like Lina. Lina knew that Xellas could, but would Xellas do it while she and Rolf were about to… Lina did not want to know.

Lina looked back a moment, and saw that damned shit-eating grin on Xellas's face. That woman was certainly playing for keeps. Lina huffed and began walking faster toward the camp, not realizing that such a pace gave a lovely sway to her hips, the pieced chainmail skirt swinging with her step.

She heard Xellas's voice after what seemed to be silence. "Don't worry Wolfy, in due time. Patience is a virtue."

Lina could only guess to what that had been in response of.

When they all finally arrived back in camp, she noticed that the three other boys were all sitting around the campfire; the twins in particular were nursing very large welts across their foreheads, whilst Sian was just clucking his tongue and preparing what seemed to be two poultices for the boys. When he looked up, he dropped what was in his hands and just gawked at Lina. The twins, noticing the lack of movement from Sian, looked in the direction he was, and just stopped moving.

There their goddess stood, wearing the most revealing outfit they had seen her in to date, and she looked hot. The blush that rose on her cheeks added to her charm, making her seem a rather demure barbarian sex kitten.

Surprisingly, Sian did not faint. Instead, he found his voice first. "Oh Lady Lina, you look lovely!"

This drew the attention of both Gourry and Naga, who had both been occupying themselves elsewhere when Lina happened into the camp.

Naga spoke next. Well, laughed. "OH HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO! It seems you have finally gained enough confidence to show off your assets properly my young rival!"

Lina's blush only intensified.

It was just as bad as she was expecting it to be.

Nope, make that worse; Gourry was adding his two coppers.

"Where did you get that Lina?! You're practically naked! Don't you have something that's a little less revealing?"

Lina sighed as she shook her head. "All of my clothing was in this pack. And it mysteriously disappeared." She began to turn her head to glare at Xellas, but recalled her earlier conversation with the Beastmaster and stopped herself just in time.

It would not do to suddenly go naked in front of such an audience. There would be mass fainting all around, and she'd likely be one of them, which would not help her situation any.

Lina tried hard, but could not entirely keep the grumble out of her voice even as she spoke again. "Xellas was kind enough to give me an outfit that would survive some of our journey until we found a town with a magic shop where I could get some proper sorceress clothes once more."

Gourry nodded. "We'd better hurry then. I don't want anyone looking at you any more than they have to. I'd have you borrow something of mine, but unfortunately the wagon carrying some of my stuff was one of the ones that the drovers took with them, and I've only got the clothes on my back."

Naga shrugged. "I think that was the case with most of us, which explains the smell of course. They took the wagon that was of the least use to them, tactically at least as it didn't have much in the way of food, but managed to get all of our stuff except what we were carrying on our backs."

Not so strangely enough, none of the four boys piped up with suggesting they share their clothing with Lina. Lina knew she didn't need to wonder why.

Brats.

Lina growled. "I'm gonna be in my tent. I'm feeling a little lightheaded again." She didn't wait for a response.

xxxx

Lina didn't emerge from her tent until it was well past sundown. She was starving by then, but at least the boys wouldn't get as much of an eyeful if there had still been daylight out. She figured her stomach could handle waiting if it meant it was less embarrassing for her.

As she walked back into the clearing, she noticed that it was quiet. That was strange. Every time she had exited her tent, there had always been noise. Even during her period of sleep, where she had only been half aware of her surroundings, there was always chatter going on between the boys, and Naga, who always listened in and happily added her opinion or laugher. And it wasn't as if no one was there. They were all just sitting by the fire, eating another of those delicious meals of Sian's. Naga looked up and waved her over. Lina quickly complied, her stomach wanting a sample of that delicious food that Sian would definitely become famous for if he ever decided to do it full time.

"Where's Gourry?"

Naga chuckled. "He wanted to leave you in peace while you rested, but then Sian said dinner was ready. The strangest thing about that was that instead of inhaling all food available, he said he needed to get cleaned first."

Lina nodded. That was weird. Gourry didn't care about the state of his clothing or if he smelled or not. Especially not if food was available; it didn't matter if the food was edible or not, though he would never have missed out on Sian's cooking. Not if he could help it. "Did he say why?"

Naga smirked. "He mentioned something about wanting to be clean for you after dinner."

Lina blushed. She had to admit, she had wanted some alone time with Gourry since their talk earlier this morning. And she was suddenly not feeling quite so hungry as she had been. Well, maybe a little hungry. For Gourry Tube Steak… "How long has he been gone?"

"Long enough to make me wonder what he's been up to. Cleaning is cleaning, but we all know how delectable Sian's food is. Unless he's imagining something much more appetizing than food…"

Lina's eyes widened. She couldn't believe Naga would actually say something like that out loud, especially where the brats might hear. She quickly looked over to the boys, but they were all still quietly eating their meal, and none of them even glanced her way, not even young Rolf. Something in her compelled her to respond to Naga despite this. "I better go check on him then, he might need assistance."

Gah! Why the hell would she say something like that?! Out loud? Where the brats could hear her?!

Naga giggled. "I'll bet."

Lina blushed once more as she stood up and headed towards the small pool she had made, part of her not caring if the brats knew what she was planning. If Naga was telling the truth, then she'd likely find Gourry there—all naked, and hot, and bothered. Perfect for her intentions. Which was getting laid.

She really needed to get laid. She almost didn't care by whom.

But if Gourry was ready and waiting for her, she wouldn't have to think about anyone else satisfying her needs.

Soon she was near to the pool, and though she had yet to sight it, she did hear some splashing. Good, he was still there. All her cares about being found out by the boys or the Mazoku, faded away. She had been without Gourry sex, hell even just sex, for almost a month, and she really needed to remedy that.

But before she had a chance to take another step she was slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree, a mouth covering hers, muffling her scream of surprise.

For a moment, Lina closed her eyes, just enjoying the kiss being given her. But the logical part of her mind caught up, realizing that the person kissing her was not taller than she was, and she was not wet…

At least not by the body pressing into her.

Her eyes flashed open, and she was staring into the brown eyes of young Rolf.

Had he dared follow her out here?

She used her hands to try and push the boy away, but he was a lot heavier than she had anticipated, and he was not intent on moving anywhere except further into her body.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

Both his hands grabbed onto her wrists, forcing them above her head even as he pressed closer against her. When his lips finally left her own, she began berating him as loud as she could. "Damn it Rolf, you let me go this instant or I'll cast such a strong Fireball on your ass you won't be able to sit for a year!"

He placed a finger against her lips, and she realized he still held both her wrists, but in only one of his hands. She hadn't realized he was that strong. He couldn't possibly be that strong. Not when she was pissed off. She had been known to take down larger men than he with just her fists! "Shhh, Lady Lina. Master Gourry might hear you. And then I won't be able to give you pleasure beyond your imagining."

That totally flabbergasted her. "W-what?! Rolf?" Then she remembered that Gourry was in earshot. He would come to her rescue for sure. And then Lina could beat the living tar out of Rolf.

But why did she need Gourry to help her? She wasn't some weakling female, some damsel in distress! Her voice cried out despite her reasoning. "Gourry! Gourry, come-

Rolf's mouth silenced her cries for help, his deft tongue making her forget to bite him in response. That Bitch Xellas had taught him how to use his mouth, that was for sure.

Another moment of delicious kissing passed, and Lina wondered just how much Rolf had learned under the Beastmaster's tutelage, and if she should just let Rolf show her…

No! No! She could not allow this!

She bit down as hard as she could on Rolf's tongue, fully expecting him to scream in pain and release her.

But he didn't. What the hell?!

Her teeth had been known to bite through leather, muscle, even bone! She should have had a bleeding chunk of his tongue in her mouth!

Rolf just pulled back and clucked his unwounded tongue at her. "Tsk, tsk Lady Lina. You are a ball of fire aren't you? I was right to choose you as my Goddess." His mouth was on her again, but this time he was kissing her exposed throat, nipping at her neck and she couldn't stop her moan.

Holy shit, he was hitting all her spots, and he was using his teeth! And Lina was practically trembling from her pent up desire.

Xellas had definitely taught him well.

"Oh, Lord of Nightmares, don't stop."

No! She should not be saying things like this. She was supposed to be Gourry's lover. No matter her transgressions. No matter that she didn't really want to be anymore.

"That's the spirit Lady Lina. Let me show you how capable I am. I promise you'll love every second."

He didn't release her wrists, but his free hand had traveled the length of their bodies to rest just on her hip, below the chain mail skirt.

"Do you want me to show you how much better I am than Master Gourry? I am an excellent pupil after all."

Lina couldn't answer, not verbally. To do so would be admitting that she desired another man over her lover. And she couldn't say that, not out loud.

So Lina just nodded her head instead; she couldn't believe one of her little daydreams about the young man was coming true and that she was letting it!

Rolf must have been keeping careful watch of her expressions because the moment she nodded, his fingers slipped under the leather of the bikini bottom. She groaned as he began to touch her as intimately as possible.

"You're so wet Lady Lina. You must want this as much as I do." Rolf rubbed his hips into hers and she could feel his arousal pressing against her, and what an arousal!

She moaned, unable to believe just how much she wanted this, wanted him. Wanted him to do this to her.

What was wrong with her? First Xellos. And now a young man who she should have never dreamed of having relations with, whom she now was.

He began placing more pressure on her as his fingers continued to stroke her, and she couldn't stop the whimpers of pleasure escaping her throat as she begged Rolf to go faster. "Oh, please. More!"

"Say my name, Lady Lina. Cry my name out as you climax."

Lina shook her head. She didn't dare do that! She couldn't! Gourry might hear her! She didn't want to get caught on her second act of adultery, no matter how good it felt to finally have some release.

"Do it Lady Lina. He hasn't come to assist you yet. Why would he appear when you're about to come all over my fingers?"

Her hands tightened into fists far above her head, her body wanting this release more than anything. Why did he have to be so good at this? Why did it have to feel so right, when it was obviously so wrong?

"Say my name Lady Lina. It's not too hard is it? Just cry it out as you come. I want to hear you sing. I want my name to spill from your delicious lips."

Oh how she wanted to. But she couldn't! It just wasn't right!

"Please Lady Lina. Do this for me. Just hearing you cry out my name will be more pleasurable for me than sex with Xellas ever was. I just want you, and your voice, to drench my hand and my soul."

It was all so dirty.

So wrong.

So sexy.

And at such insistence, as the curling of his dexterous fingers brought her closer to her rapture, Lina finally did as he suggested.

She cried out Rolf's name.

And sat up with a jolt.

Lina was still inside her tent, and there was the orange light of the afternoon streaming through the opaque walls as the sun began its descent into the horizon. "Shit!"

"Well, that was interesting." At the sound of the sardonic female voice, Lina turned to see Blut looking at her with a bemused expression on her face. At least she was sitting on the opposite side of the tent, and it looked like she hadn't helped Lina reach her climax faster.

"Please tell me I didn't actually shout out his name."

Blut chuckled. "Oh you did, quite loudly in fact."

Lina moaned, and placed her head in her hands. "Fuck!"

"But don't worry. I have exceedingly good hearing, and once I phased in here, and realized what was going on, I used a silencing spell on the tent walls so no one else would come in to check on you. Especially your blond. That would have been embarrassing, I'm sure."

Lina's fingers spread and she peeked up at Blut. "Really?"

Blut chuckled as she leaned back. "Yep. And you're very lucky it was I who heard you, and that I like you. If my mistress had been here, and heard you… Well, let's just say that everyone would have heard it at a magically amplified sound level, and Rolf would have suddenly found himself in your tent whether he walked in on his own two feet or not."

Lina's hands dropped from her face as she looked at Blut, wonder in her eyes at the kindness of her newest friend.

"It would have been worse if Xellos heard you though. Rolf's head may have landed in here instead, punishment from Beastmaster at killing her newest cub not withstanding."

Lina shook her head. "Thank you Blut. I mean it."

"Oh, it's not like I didn't get anything out of it. I got to see you writhe in pleasure all over your bedroll. Your orgasms are pretty powerful, you know that? You give off a lot of energy, and it's pretty potent stuff. Bleed was right about that at least. And the fact that that was just an orgasm during a wet dream… Shit, I wonder how yours are like when someone's helping you along."

Lina's face turned bright crimson.

"Whelp, disaster averted. I'll just be going now so you can clean up a bit in a little privacy. Ta!"

Blut phased out of the tent at that, and Lina placed her head back in her hands once more. "Shit."

"Oh, one more thing." Blut had phased back in the tent, an outright grin on her face. "You might wanna release that sexual tension more often if you don't want a reoccurrence with you lover, Beastmaster or Xellos around. I'd be more than happy to help you out with that, just in case you weren't certain of my interest."

Lina's pillow landed in the empty space Blut had occupied just a second ago.

xxxx

To say that Lina was in a foul mood as she exited her tent hours after she had first gone in to rest was an understatement. It seemed like she hadn't gotten the respite she wanted, and her tempered appear to flare as she looked at all the Mazoku and all the men in her group. She stalked straight to Naga, grabbed her arm and hauled her away from the camp, not a word coming from Lina, and protests streaming from Naga's as she was practically dragged into the forest in the direction of the bathing pit that Lina had made earlier that morning. One glance, snarl really, from Lina silenced Naga until they were both standing directly in front of the bath.

Naga pulled her arm from Lina's grasp, once she was certain that they were stopped. "What in the name of all that is holy is wrong Lina?!"

Lina looked away, her face red with anger. "How do you clean your leather bikini?"

No, that red wasn't anger. It was embarrassment. Well, mostly embarrassment. Some anger. "Excuse me?"

Lina turned to face Naga. "How the hell do you clean your leather bikini?"

Naga frowned. "Like on an everyday basis?"

Lina threw up her hands. "No! I mean, if you have an accident in it."

Naga shook her head. "Like, if you peed in it cause you couldn't hold it?"

"No! Not that type!"

"What? Like you shit-

"No! No no no no no!"

"Then what are you talking about Lina? You're really confusing me here."

Lina sighed as she looked down. "Like, if you, accidentally, you know, creamed in it. Like, from an accidental, you know, wet dream."

Naga blinked a few times. She pointed at Lina. "You mean, you're actually human?"

Lina snarled.

"What's the matter Lina, not getting enough from Gourry? Or the sounds coming from Rolf's tent finally penetrate your-

"Shut up Naga. And, just, how do I clean it?"

"I didn't hear you cry out anything. Or was it a silent one?"

Lina's blush burned brightly once more. "It was a silent one. Or couple of them."

"Oh really? Missing Gourry that much? It's only been a week since you passed out."

Lina frowned and turned away again. "Gourry and I haven't had sex in about a month."

"Really? But I thought-

"You thought wrong. He hasn't touched me since Seyruun. At first I hadn't really wanted him to. But now…"

Naga nodded sagely. "Ah. It's the pregnancy. That's all. It happens all the time. At first you can't stand the idea of being touched, and then all you want is sex. I wear Finn out every time I get pregnant. Those damned pregnancy hormones can really make a girl horny."

Lina looked down at her feet, not wanting to tell Naga the truth of the matter. That she hadn't stopped being horny, just that she wanted other men besides Gourry. Men like Xellos, and Rolf, and even the other brats. Sometimes she wanted them all together in one weird massive orgy. Sometimes individually. And the dream with Rolf that she had woken from had only been the first of a few wet dreams in the few hours that she had been left alone. The last few dreams she had had were exceptionally telling. At least Blut had kept the silencing spell in place because Lina was certain she had needed it. But in all those dreams, Gourry had not been a major player, and in some of them, had not really been there at all.

She hadn't wanted Gourry.

At all.

Even in the dreams where Gourry had been a figure in them, she had really just been focused on him because she wanted sex and she hadn't wanted to commit adultery again on the father of her unborn child. But after he made a token appearance, he was shuffled to the sidelines so that Xellos and the brats could take over. And now, she was trying to hide what had happened from Naga so Gourry wouldn't know or find out.

She was going back to Gourry because it was habit, and she had been with Gourry for so long, that it seemed wrong to want someone else. She had truly loved Gourry entirely before and during the night of the ball, well, up to the point that he left her alone to fend off all those men. She had even believed that she loved him when she thought he was holding her the next morning, when she had forgotten her transgression with Xellos.

Now, Lina felt guilty.

She still loved Gourry, but not like she used to. And she couldn't understand why. Lina didn't want him anymore, and she couldn't understand that either. But part of her felt she was supposed to go back to him, that because they had always been together, that they should always be together, even if it didn't feel right.

Maybe it was just the hormones running rampant through her body…

Maybe after all this was over, and she was finally in Zefilia, she would want him again.

Maybe she would love him again, like she used to.

And maybe she'd give up her vast hoard of treasure and become a beggar…

Naga misread Lina's frown. "Don't worry Lina. He'll figure out you want him again. Even Gourry isn't that dense. And with you wearing that outfit, he'd be an idiot indeed if he didn't find a way to get his hands back on you."

Lina sighed, not wanting to admit to her present turmoil, and so went back to the original subject. "But how do you clean it?"

Naga smiled. "Rags, water, soap and oil. Don't worry, I'll show you. I'll even show you a spell I created to keep bodily secretions from soaking into and ruining the leather. It always looks horrible if you have sweat or crotch stains in your leather when that's all people see on you."

Lina sighed with relief. It didn't matter that the chainmail hid most of the leather anyway. She didn't want to take the leather off and have dark pink stains in suspicious places. Especially when a certain blond might ask why they were there. Cotton panties kept that from being an issue. This pink leather wouldn't, especially if she wore it to sleep and had another set of those racy dreams…

"Thank you Naga."

Naga smiled in response, relieved that Lina's bad mood was a simple matter of Lina not having enough life experience to understand everything she was going through. It wasn't like a lot of the facts of life had ever been explained to Lina properly when she had been younger and could have used such information. "Of course Lina. And just my suggestion, you may want to take some alone time in the bath afterwards to relieve some of your tension. You can get pretty nasty when you're stressed out. And you've obviously been stressed since that little party in Seyruun. I'll even do my best to keep everyone distracted, if you'd like."

Lina perked up. "You'd do that, for me? Even after I was-

Naga laughed. It was not her typical laugh. She could see how worried and embarrassed Lina was. She'd twit Lina on it later, but not right now. When all was said and done, Lina was a friend, and almost like the little sister she had left behind when she ran from Seyruun. She loved the younger girl. It was why she had added herself to the party when Lina said she was leaving, even though Amelia could have used the help with the triplets. "Definitely. Especially since you were. Trust me. I do not want to get dragged off again like that if at all possible. Knowing those boys, they're probably thinking all sorts of dirty things, and the Mazoku won't be helping the situation any. Let me head back to camp and get some of my supplies and we'll take care of the issue right now."

"Thank you Naga. Really. Thank you."

Naga shook her head as she walked off. "Don't worry about it Lina. Just strip down, and clean off in your little bath. No one will be the wiser unless those Mazoku are mind readers."

Lina sighed. Some of them were. Like that sneaky little bitch Blut. Though Lina was grateful to her for keeping a silencing spell on the tent while Lina was likely being vocal, she didn't make Lina feel any better about the situation. And the way Blut suggested she help Lina out, just made Lina even angrier.

She was not some slut who was in need of instant gratification from anyone who happened to be available. She'd just rather not have sex if that were the case.

Lina did her best to undo the bikini top, forgetting that it was a complicated outfit. She mentally cursed Xellas. It was definitely going to take some practice to finally figure out how to undo all the clasps easily.

Once she had finally gotten all the clasps and ties undone, and she was in the hot water of the bath once more, she heard Naga coming through the brush of the forest.

"Feeling better?" Naga asked as she looked over Lina's calm expression from the lip of the stone bathtub.

Lina nodded. There was nothing like a hot bath, to soothe the savage beast in Lina's soul.

"Good. You look a little calmer." Naga sat down, placing the bag that she held, in front of her. "Now, I'm going to show you how to clean the leather using your bikini top. And then I'll show you the spell I use and I'll leave the instructions for it so you can then clean the bottom yourself and then protect it. I'd recommend that you recast the spell at least once a month, though I'd really recommend that you do it more often like once a week. That way, if you get covered in monster guts, or bandit blood, it won't soak into the leather and you won't have to clean all that stuff out. Blood is a bitch to get out of any material. Of course you will need to rinse any liquids other than water off, and you will need to oil the leather every so often so that it stays supple, but the spell will make sure that the leather never stains when it gets splashed with anything other than water."

"That sounds smart to me."

Naga chuckled. "Of course it's smart. I realized the necessity of it, especially when wearing such a revealing outfit. You do not want to know about my first experience during That Time Of The Month while wearing this outfit."

Lina winced in sympathy. "Bad?"

Naga shook her head. "A true horror story. I haven't been back to the town it happened in since. Thank Ceified I had a cape, or it could have been even worse. It was bad enough as it was. Now, let me show you what I use." Naga showed Lina the soap, made especially for leather to keep it from drying out while cleaning it, and then the oil to rub into the leather to condition it. "I keep the oil lavender scented, but you'll probably want to eventually pick your own essence. When we get to Zefilia, I can ask Finn to make you something, if you'd like. He's a wizard when it comes to things like that."

"I would like that. Thank you Naga."

"Of course. What are friends for?"

Lina smiled in response, grateful that Naga wasn't going to make fun of her for such an unexpected issue, especially while she was still embarrassed. She watched as Naga dutifully cleaned the leather bikini top, giving tips on the most effective way to clean the leather with soap and water without damaging it, staining it, or drying it out. After she finished she then grabbed another set of rags and showed Lina the best way to condition the leather. When she finished, she then cast the spell that would keep the leather from absorbing fluids. It was a variation of a water spell that helped to repel water and other fluids. A very simplistic shamanistic spell, but one of Naga's own design.

"Now, preferably, you'll want to cast the spell when you're not wearing the leather. In a pinch, you can do it while it's on your body, but that tends to make it difficult to bathe or even drink water since it's an area effect spell, and the effects can be disastrous if you haven't been good about your fluid intake."

"I can imagine. How long did it take?"

Naga chuckled. "A day and a half before I could drink. Four days before I could bathe, and mostly that was my feet, hands, and face. A week before I could take a full bath, and man was I rank!"

Lina giggled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well then, if that's all, I'm going to head back to camp." Naga made the motions to get up.

"Um… Naga?"

At the seriousness in Lina's voice, Naga sat back down, and turned her full attention on the other girl. "Yes?"

Lina blushed, no longer sure if she should say anything. But with Naga being so helpful, she really wanted to know if what she was feeling was normal. And she needed to talk to somebody who wasn't a Mazoku, and therefore with a biased opinion. "Have you ever… desired another man?"

Naga frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lina looked down, unable to hide her mortification. "I mean, have you ever wanted to be with someone else, even after you pledged yourself to your husband?"

Naga's eyes widened. Lina would not look her in the eyes. She spoke softly. This was a very delicate subject. And if Lina was daring to ask, then it was obviously bothering her. "You mean, like while I was pregnant?"

Lina shook her head. "I don't know. Nevermind. Forget I asked."

"Nah-uh. You brought it up. We're going to talk about it."

"Oh hell, I don't know. I'm just so conflicted right now. I've never once even thought about anyone else. It had always been Gourry. And now, it's not. I keep thinking of other men. Namely the brats. And sometimes…"

Naga waited for Lina to finish, but it looked as if Lina could not continue. So she prompted her. "And sometimes?"

Lina looked away, distress in all of her features. "I swear I've never really thought about him like this. I mean, I know what he is, what he's capable of. And I know nothing but bad will ever come out of it, but still, I can't stop thinking of him."

Naga was afraid to say anything. Afraid that the one Lina was talking about was actually the purple-haired nuisance. Afraid that if she asked, Lina would agree that he was the one she was lusting after. She wouldn't ask if it was him, though, because she was mostly afraid of being right. So she kept quiet.

"He's always just annoyed me. But lately, he's become something more important to me, and I don't know why."

Naga swallowed. She didn't personally care one way or another about Mazoku. If Mazoku didn't exist, something else would. But meshing with them was just something that humans should not do. It was dangerous, and left the human worse off. There was a reason they were known as the Evil Race. "Is it because of the Beastmaster?"

Lina looked sharply up at Naga. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Are the dreams about him?"

Lina shook her head, and Naga almost sighed in relief. Except it would have been premature with Lina's response. "Not just him. The brats, Rolf in particular, have been in them as well."

Naga remained silent for a bit, digesting the information. "How long have the dreams been going on?"

Lina sighed. "The dreams about Rolf and the other boys… Today. The other dreams about him, have been for a bit."

"So then, about the time the Beastmaster appeared?"

Lina blinked and really thought about her desire for Xellos and when it became really apparent. "Yeah, I think so. Maybe."

Naga finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Let me guess, you got them in earnest right around the time of the ball."

Lina, catching on to what Naga was implying, let out her own sigh, and finally relaxed her body. "Yes. Oh my goodness, I never really thought about it that way. You think the Beastmaster has been messing with me?"

"I'd like to think so. You've been completely devoted to Gourry this whole time. And then the Beastmaster shows up, messes with your head, makes you think thoughts you wouldn't have even considered without her influence, and then takes away the man who has promised to love and protect you, right when you need him most. And then in your hour of need, someone else comes in to rescue you. If it had been one of the boys, I'm sure you'd be thinking of one of them instead. I'm not saying he was part of that plan, but let's consider just who his mistress is. He became your hero, when your real hero had disappeared. And he was a complete gentleman besides." Naga wasn't sure if this was true, but she had to convince Lina that what she was feeling was natural, "I'd probably feel the same way, if it had happened to me."

"Really?"

Naga nodded. This was for Lina's benefit, so that she would realize that the man she was supposed to be with was Gourry. A human. "Of course. It's that damsel in distress syndrome. As soon as we get away from them all, especially Beastmaster, you'll realize that that is exactly what's going on. You'll be embarrassed of course, considering. But you'll realize that the one you have always wanted is Gourry."

Lina slowly nodded, "I hope you're right."

"Oh I am. You really can't go anywhere with a Mazoku as a lover anyway. It just won't work. Their interests are different than ours. We want life, and they want oblivion."

"True."

"Don't worry about falling for the hero while you were a damsel. It can happen to the best of us. Just remember that your true hero actually loves you. And that you love him."

Lina looked ashamed. "I do love him."

"Of course you do. But remember Lina. You've always been your own hero. You've never needed a man to take care of you. So you've never had the experience of some man saving you. It makes sense that you'd develop an attraction to one who did rescue you. But it won't last. Your love for Gourry, while seemingly not as strong right now considering the events of the past few months, will rekindle. You'll probably feel a little foolish, but as long as you don't act on these desires, you should be fine."

Lina looked down with a wince, unable to tell her friend that she had acted upon her desires. Oh Lord of Nightmares, what had she done?!

It seemed as if Naga hadn't noticed, because she continued. "Give yourself some time, and really think about what makes them attractive to you. You'll find that you lust after them and that's all. It's perfectly natural to do so. But once you work past the lust, you'll realize that's all there is to it, and you'll want to be with Gourry once again."

"I hope you're right." Lina smiled, trying to put on a brave face, if only to once again distract her friend from the truth. "He's always been there for me."

Naga smiled once more. "And you've always been there for him. And you always will be." Naga stood up. "I'll give you some time to mull over what I've said. Remember, it's okay to lust after them, just don't act on it, and you'll be fine."

Naga walked away, proud of herself for helping her friend in her time of need.

Lina, on the other hand, was far more conflicted. She had acted upon her lust. And, having experienced sex with a male who knew exactly what he was doing, she wanted more. And the Beastmaster had emphasized that she was training young Rolf specifically for Lina's pleasure. And Rolf had indicated more than once that he would love to show Lina just what he had learned in order to best please her. Lina sighed. It'd be difficult for any red-blooded woman to not find that arousing.

She leaned back in the bath, starring up into the foliage of the trees, watching as the orange light of the sky slowly darkened into dusk. Lina had always thought of herself as a one-man woman. She'd find the man she loved, and be with him the rest of her life. When she had met Gourry, she was absolutely certain that he was to be that one man. Hell, even Auntie Aqua had seen the bond between the two.

But had she been right in her assumption? It had taken so long for the two of them to finally become an official couple. Well, official as far as sex went. Though, if she thought about it, it had taken Zel and Amelia almost as long. But Amelia had never been shy about her desire for the Chimera. She saw what she wanted and practically made no secret about it. But Amelia was also a princess, the Crown Princess, with an exceptionally doting father. King Phil would never have pressured her into a marriage with someone she didn't want.

Lina sighed again. What did this all have to do with her? Well, Amelia and Zelgadis had never been with anyone else, at least to her knowledge, and they were happily married, with children. Lina had been with Gourry for a while, and the idea of marriage, of something so permanent, still scared her. She was pregnant with the man's child, and she still didn't want to even consider marriage.

What was so wrong with her?

Why couldn't she be happy with what she had?

The problem was, she wasn't happy. She still didn't really want to be pregnant. And, even worse, to obey the laws of the good morals she knew her older sister would throw in her face, she needed to marry Gourry so the child would not be born out of wedlock.

Though to be perfectly honest, the same thing had happened to her mother with her eldest sister. Her mother refused to follow the laws, and had had Lina's oldest sister out of wedlock, just to spite everyone who dared say she was a tramp. Of course, Mina Inverse was a law unto herself. All Inverse women were, when all was said and done. And sometimes Mina would do the exact opposite of what she was told just to be contrary. It hadn't made Lina and Luna's lives any easier, but that was just the way that Mina rolled, and everybody had damned well accept it.

Lina rubbed her belly under the water. As much as she didn't want to consider it, she really should do what was best for the child. Marrying Gourry would be the right thing to do, and it'd be opposite to what her mother would do. Lina may not love Gourry as completely as she once had. That night at the ball, after he hadn't shown up to rescue her had really thrown a kink into their relationship. But she still did love the idiot, even if not as much as she once did.

She just needed to force herself to accept that perhaps Gourry wasn't as dependable as she had always hoped he was. It wasn't like Lina couldn't take care of herself. She was an Inverse, after all. And the Inverse women were a tough lot. Lina would marry Gourry, just as her mother had eventually married her father, but she'd have to watch her heart. Lina was doing this now for the unborn baby. Not herself. She'd love Gourry, if for no other reason.

AN: Sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I moved a little over a year ago, and then my mother died, and it's just been hard to deal with that sort of grief, as she is constantly in my thoughts. But I will continue with this story and all of my other stories because that is what Mum would have wanted. She had really loved watching Slayers with me and was always interested when I told her what my plans for my story were. Thank you for reading. And for being patient.