Well, there are only three reviews to reply to this time, sadly. Maybe I'll have fifty by the time I get the next chapter up. Anyway, here's the usual bunch of replies. Saki: The last moment of that chapter's sweetness was somewhat in reaction to the rest of what happened. I'm glad you liked the tale from Xelloss's youth (though I'm not sure I'd say that Xel's confiding in Filia _just_ yet)... I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. Lauren-sama: Everybody seems to like that ending bit of fluff... I'm glad I was successful in my goals for it -- I wanted him to come off as lonely and vulnerable, partially because I wanted to end that one with fluff. It made this chapter easier to write. I'm afraid, though, that this chapter won't advance the parts of the plot surrounding the stolen Eye. That's for later. I've got some other sections of the plot that need moving forward now, after being neglected over three chapters that were almost completely set in the distant past. I hope you don't mind. Ludacris: What can I say, but thank you? I made an effort to make those three chapters of 'flashback' work, and to create a believable younger Xelloss. I hope you find this chapter just as good as the previous ones. Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. All lyrics used in this story are from the songs of This Mortal Coil. The original version _Mr. Somewhere_ was performed by The Apartments, and is copyright P. M. Walsh & Complete Music Ltd. +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ Mr Somewhere +=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi 13 +===+ Waves Become Wings Mr. Somewhere missing somewhere never did figure just how much Missing somewhere never did figure just how much -- Mr. Somewhere "Filia..." Xelloss murmured, feeling languid and at peace with the world. The sheets felt soft against his skin, almost as soft as her own, and were so pleasantly warm... "Why?" "Maybe it's because I'm sorry I made you remember what happened with Hellmaster that time...?" she said softly, cradling his head against her bosom. "You looked so..._lost_." "Oh. Maybe I should look lost more often." She giggled, her chest doing what Xelloss considered to be _quite_ interesting things. "It wouldn't work for too long, Xelloss. I'd eventually just throw you out." "And you think I'll _let_ you throw me out of anywhere...?" he said, with a challenging grin. "Oh, I'm sure I could convince you that you didn't mind it at all..." she replied, her grin echoing his own. Words weren't used much for a little while, the feelings -- physical and mental -- being too satisfying to leave much room for such minor things. Xelloss sighed, feeling quite satisfied with himself. The tart taste of Filia's physical pleasure was _much_ better than the slightly burnt flavor to her sympathy. He was starting to find the taste of her pleasure a bit addictive, too. That reminded him of something he had been wondering about for a bit. "Filia..._why_ do you seem to enjoy it so much when I bite your neck and shoulders while we're having sex? I may not know _much_ about dragon anatomy, but several of those spots _should_ cause you extreme pain, not pleasure..." "Oh... Umm..." He smiled, enjoying her embarrassment. "Well... The matrons always told us that when a man and a woman mated, if she was too enthusiastic for her mate he would bite at nerve centers in her neck to keep her still. We all thought that it must be quite painful..." "Hm. So I'm not the only one who has problems in bed with enthusiastic dragon ladies. But I feel a bit cheated; you get mind-numbing pleasure, I get a mouthful of sweaty dragon." For several long minutes, there was silence. "Filia, if I promise to gently nibble on those nerve centers after getting you aroused enough for it to feel good, will you let me back into your bed?" "No." "_Please_? The floor is hard and cold!" "Not until sunset." "But Filia, you said you'd let me back into your bed at sunset!" Xelloss dropped the dishes he had been carrying into the sink, being careful to make sure none broke without it seeming like he was paying attention to *that*. "You're welcome to go ahead, Xelloss. I should wait up a while, in case Jillas or Grabos return. Now that the weather's finally turning, they should be back soon..." "But I'll be lonely! Do you have to...?" Filia sighed at the look on his face, knowing that he must be only acting and that she was about to do something rather foolish. "If you've any suggestions on what to do to leave some light out for them, without risking burning the house down, you could convince me to _not_ wait up and keep an eye on a candle." Xelloss looked at her curiously. "Why don't you use a light spell, Filia...?" "Well... It doesn't look right to the locals, since it's not attached to a lamp or a candle, and even though the barrier's been gone for a few years they're still not quite comfortable with magic being used _that_ casually..." "Why don't you attach it to a lamp? It should be rather easy to make the globe stick to the wick..." he said, thoughtfully. "It'd only take a little alteration on the spell..." "You speak like it's so easy to convince it to stick to a solid object," she said, trying hard to hide her annoyance and barely missing success. "Do you have a lamp?" he asked, apparently oblivious. "Preferably one that's been dry for a while?" Filia sighed. "There's one in the linen closet, on the top shelf. You should recognize it; you managed to somehow make it impossible for me to refill it back when I had just settled down, and I didn't notice until after burning all the oil in it. Please be careful with it. It _had_ been my favorite lamp, back when it worked." Xelloss sweatdropped. That little prank _had_ slipped his mind... _I hope she's not going to try to punish me for that trick again; I really *hadn't* known how much she had liked it._ He decided to go get it immediately, in hopes that maybe she'd calm down a bit by the time he got back. _Just_ long enough afterwards for Filia to have calmed down some, Xelloss returned with the lamp. It was a small work of art, made entirely from good, clear crystal with an etched fine floral pattern covering the base, with a matching thin ring around the upper rim of the chimney. It appeared to be already lit, and though it was clear to Filia's more experienced eye the unwavering clear light was definitely that of magic it was very unlikely that the locals would think it was anything but a _very_ good lamp full of top-quality oil. Xelloss looked _very_ pleased with himself. Filia had only seen him smile _this_ enthusiastically a few times, all of them recently, and, come to think of it, for the same reason. _He must already be thinking of his reward for this little feat_, she decided. "Look, Filia! I even lit it for you! I even managed to set it so it'll go out of its own accord at dawn, so you won't have to get up to move it out of the window!" "How thoughtful." Though turning down the implied offer there was tempting to her, the power of Xelloss's puppy-dog eyes, which she _knew_ he'd use if she didn't accept it, was too great to risk encountering if she could avoid it. "Since you _have_ gone to all this trouble...let's put it in the window by the door, and go to bed." _Time to plot ways to wipe that smile off of his face..._ Jillas and Grabos stopped in front of the house and put their bags down. They had met up just outside of town, and had walked in companionable silence to Filia's home. They always spent the first night back home at Filia's house, both to make sure Filia knew they had returned and so they could get her to let them into the shop since they invariably had lost their own keys. Of course, this meant that they also had lost their keys to Filia's house, since they kept them on the same key ring. To get her to let them in, they had taken to having Jillas toss pebbles at the window; Grabos threw them too hard, and neither had mastered the fine art of knocking on doors at night. However, after going through a pawful of gravel with no response, they got worried. In silent coordination that would have surprised nearly everybody who knew them, they tried the door. Upon discovering that it was unlocked, they quietly slipped inside, worried. Filia sighed, happy to have succeeded. Success, and the means she had used, felt _good_. Xelloss didn't seem to mind losing, either, since he had wrapped his arms around her afterwards, and was now gently nibbling on her ear. "Xelloss, are you trying to convince me to give you a repeat performance?" she murmured, any reluctance in her words and tone contradicted by her expression. He chuckled, surprising Filia. "That, Filia-chan, is a secret." _One that you should have no trouble guessing, too,_ he added mentally. Filia grinned. "I'll take _that_ as a yes..." and moved to kiss him. In a display of fantastic bad timing, Jillas flung open the bedroom door. There was a short moment where everybody was still and silent and time seemed to have stopped. Then it resumed its flow just as abruptly as it had halted. "Oneesan!" There was the distinct click of pistols being cocked as Jillas prepared to protect Filia from Xelloss, even though that wasn't necessary at all. It became even less necessary as Xelloss abruptly teleported away. Jillas lowered his guns in relief, not really wanting to have to fight Xelloss, and dashed to Filia's side. "Are you alright, oneesan? How much did he manage to do to you?" he asked, misunderstanding her shock at Xelloss's sudden disappearance if he noticed it at all. +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ +===+ I don't have much in the way of notes this time. Starting from the top, here's this chapter's notes. Xelloss, it seems, has a tendancy to do and say things that make Filia want to hurt him. I'm not sure why. Maybe he can't quite bring himself to stop annoying her, no matter what his feelings are towards her. The bit about draconian mating habits is inspired almost purely from animal mating habits. (The rest of the inspiration was a desire to give poor Xelloss _some_ way to hang on when they're having passionate sex.) Xelloss didn't know about it because (accurate) information about courtship and mating rituals among the Golden dragons is passed down purely by word of mouth. Manuals are considered cheating when it comes to courtship rituals, and are simply unthinkable when it comes to the mating rituals unique to their own people. (Other races' sex manuals, though, are discreetly but freely used among some clans.) I have no idea where the lamp came from, but I liked it so I used it. Jillas and Grabos found Filia's door unlocked because, when he brought in the morning's delivery of milk, Xelloss didn't bother locking the door. Xelloss felt that anything that might attack that he couldn't take care of wouldn't be something put off by a mere locked door. He's quite right. I don't know where Grabos was when Jillas checked Filia's bedroom. I have a sneaking suspicion that he was raiding the kitchen, but I don't know why. All I know is that he wasn't with Jillas then. Reviews would be liked a lot, particularly if you give me dark chocolate with them. That will encourage me to continue working on this story as quickly as I've been doing so far.