If I don't sleep, Amelia won't sleep.
I keep waking up stupidly early, so here's more ficage, this time only interrupted by my cat, Ralph, since Zachary is still sleeping in bed. Lucky kid. So sleepy...
****
Amelia frowned. “Elmekia? What were you doing all the way out there?”
Lina replied by pointing a finger at Zelgadis. “His idea, not mine. Well, not entirely. He had heard about a golem master of sorts, some retired guy who wanted to get away from it all, and man, did he. But that’s not important.” Lina tsked. “Once Zelgadis learned what he wanted to know, we left to find some place off the beaten path so Zelgadis could try out his altered spell.” Lina stared at Zelgadis for a moment, who finally seemed to be settling down for the night. “Oh, good, he does know how to sleep still.”
Amelia glanced over to see Zelgadis’ head had drooped, his eyes slowly closing as his breathing slowed. “Has he not been sleeping?”
Lina rested her chin in her hand, as if deep in thought. “Well, truth be told, I haven’t really watched him too closely. This whole no body thing has been interesting, as I can move about easily without much thought. I’ve really just checked in on him now and again.” Lina looked over to see Amelia watching her with a bit of a shocked expression. “Hey, don’t look at me like that! I’ve been trying to find Gourry. I already know where Zelgadis is, so it’s been easy to wander away from him. He’s not really been traveling with any real purpose, as far as I can tell, mainly just foraging for a decent meal.” Lina paused in her talking, as she absently rubbed her stomach.
“Poor Mister Zelgadis,” Amelia sighed. “Without you or Mister Gourry leading the way, I guess it’s not been so easy for him.” She quietly put more wood on the fire, so as not to disturb Zelgadis’ sleep, but to hopefully help keep him warmed through the night.
“Yeah, well,” Lina scowled, “being dead isn’t exactly a joy. I miss the simple delights, like being able to be seen by my fellow human being. Or sleeping in a nice, soft bed. Or food! I don’t feel hungry at all anymore, and it’s just strange. Being a ghost is pretty dull!” Lina drummed her fingers absentmindedly on her knee, more out of habit than anything. “I mean, here again comes another sunrise, and what have I done all night?”
“What?” Amelia looked to the horizon as best she could through the trees, but sure enough, the sky was beginning to show streaks of color. Morning approached. She sighed, her shoulders drooping. “I was really looking forward to some sleep, too.”
Lina shot Amelia a look. “What’s keeping you? It’s not like you had anywhere to be, did you? Camped out in the woods like this? No one is going to kick you out.”
“Uh,” Amelia stammered, “No offense, Miss Lina, but this whole experience startled the sleep right out of me.”
Lina’s mouth grew large as she realized what Amelia was getting at. “Oooooh, riiiight. Sorry.” She sheepishly rubbed her head.
Amelia didn’t reply, having busied herself by packing up her bedroll, mostly. She decided to drape a blanket over Zelgadis, to make him at least a bit more comfortable. Done with that, she picked up her pack, slung it over her shoulder, and looked to Lina. “On the plus side, this gives me a chance to walk to the nearest town in time to get some breakfast. Mister Zelgadis ate everything I had packed with me.” Amelia turned her gaze to the surrounding forest. ‘And it gives me time to clear my head.’
Lina sighed at this, shrugging her shoulders. “I said I was sorry. Wait,” she sat up and squinted her eyes at Amelia, “are you saying you want to go without me?”
Amelia nodded. “Someone needs to keep an eye on him,” she gestured to Zelgadis, who was quietly snoring by this point. “Please, Miss Lina?” Amelia made a pleading gesture with her hands.
Lina harrumphed as she crossed her arms in annoyance. “Fine, fine! Just…don’t take forever. This guy is so boring now, if I weren’t already dead, I may fear death by boredom.” Lina’s expression suddenly softened. “Just, keep an ear out for Gourry, okay?”
Amelia nodded. “Of course. I will. I will be back before Mister Zelgadis wakes up…I hope.” Amelia looked to Lina one last time before turning her back to walk away from the clearing, down a deer trail, and back onto the beaten path to the nearby town.
Lina watched her leave, before glancing back over to Zelgadis, who had finally slumped to the ground in a ball of blanket. “Oh, yay, looks like it’s you and me again, just like old times. Be glad she cares about your wellbeing so much. Maybe there’s a way out of this mess yet.” Lina looked up to the brightening sky, the lighter blue hues reminding her of a certain someone she could only hope was still alive and well out there.
“Where are you, Gourry?”
*****
Zelgadis was still sound asleep when Amelia finally reemerged into the clearing, which made Amelia smile. It would be nice to have some time to prepare him a decent meal before he woke, else she suspected he would gladly eat everything raw. Amelia stuck her tongue out at the thought. “Yuck!” Dropping her now heavy pack, she quickly got to tending to the dying fire, doing her best to bring it back to life enough to make a decent cooking fire.
“Oh, good, you’re back,” Lina suddenly appeared as of from nothingness.
Amelia replied by shrieking and dropping her stoking stick as she leapt back to her feet. It took a moment of worried glances throughout the clearing before her eyes settled on Lina, who was floating a good three feet off the ground. “Miss Lina, you scared me!” Amelia clutched her hand over her heart, as if to calm it.
“I suspect I’m going to be apologizing a lot, so lets just skip past all that.” Lina simply shrugged. “What’s for breakfast? Find anything good in town?”
Amelia quirked an eyebrow at Lina’s offhanded apology, but returned to her task. “Nothing fancy, just your basic campfire meal, as taught to me by one Lina Inverse herself, long ago.” Amelia grinned as she speared some sweet potatoes and placed them around the fire. “Oh, and I was able to find an herbal tea that Mister Zelgadis likes. I hope that’s still the case.” She took out a small cook pot, poured water in it from her waterskin, and put it directly in the fire.
Lina nodded in approval. “Good, good, nice choice. But you didn’t hear anything about wayward swordsmen?”
Amelia shook her head. “Nothing. It’s pretty quiet around here. No need for mercenary work.” Amelia tried to turn her attention to making sure the sweet potatoes cooked evenly, and the water heated up without boiling over. Mister Zelgadis didn’t like his tea too hot, she had accidentally learned in a previous adventure. “No burned tongues this time.”
“Excuse me?” Lina put her hand up to her ear and leaned in closer. “What are you muttering over there?”
“Nothing, Miss Lina,” Amelia kept working over the fire. “I am trying not to burn anything, that’s all. Ouch!” She shook her hand, having gotten too close to the heat.
“Let’s not have a repeat of last night,” Lina descended to the ground, watching the cooking sweet potatoes with eagerness. “I wish I could smell those. They look good.”
Amelia just nodded her head, having placed her finger in her mouth in an attempt to cool it. If it was anything more than a minor burn she’d heal it, of course, but at the moment she was more focused on making sure nothing else burned.
Lina and Amelia fell into companionable silence as they watched the sweet potatoes cook. After the water had gotten hot enough, Amelia prepared some of the herbs in her cup. Before she knew it, Zelgadis was suddenly awake, staring intently at her work over the fire.
“Good morning, Mister Zelgadis.” Amelia smiled. Lina likewise greeted him, but Amelia didn’t see him react at all.
“Food,” Zelgadis answered quietly, before turning to gingerly fold the blanket that had tumbled from his back. He offered it to Amelia without a word.
Amelia took the offered blanket, to pack up with her bedroll later. “Thank you, Mister Zelgadis. I hope you slept well. Did you want to eat some breakfast?”
Zelgadis’ eyes lit up, as he nodded with great enthusiasm. “Food!”
“The sweet potatoes aren’t quite done yet, but you can have some tea for now. Just be careful,” Amelia held out her small cup, “it’s still hot.”
Zelgadis carefully took the offered cup, letting the steam waft over his face a moment, just deeply inhaling. Amelia watched to see if he did anything else, but for now he seemed to just want to enjoy a moment of peace. She hadn’t noticed in the dim light the night before, but where a nose once was, she could only see two slits, making his face all the more serpentine. His eyes didn’t seem to be glowing so intensely now, at least.
After what felt like forever, Zelgadis finally took a sip of tea. “Fooooood,” he sighed. His mouth looked nothing like it had before, so Amelia couldn’t tell if he was smiling or not, but he sounded happy, at least. Zelgadis continued to silently sip at his tea.
“Huh,” Lina commented, “That’s the most normal I have seen him in a while. You know, considering.” Lina studied her demonic unintentional traveling companion. “I mean, of course Zelgadis has to still be in there - we only removed the golem, after all. He just hasn’t really acted like himself.” Lina paused. “Then again, I’ve never really seen him when he didn’t know I was with him. Maybe he’s more a recluse than I’d have guessed.” Lina got lost in thought.
Amelia nodded quietly, having turned her attention to removing the sweet potatoes from around the fire to allow them to cool slightly before giving them to Zelgadis. He accepted them without a word, but unlike last night, he ate them slowly, as if savoring every bite. Amelia frowned, turning to look to Lina. “You said you do not know how long he - ah, you, have been like this?”
Lina shook her head. “I’m guessing a month. Maybe more, maybe less.”
“Hmm,” Amelia mused, “but I never heard anything from you. Unless you meant to send me a letter, but never got around to it?”
“Hey!” Lina scoffed, “I’ll have you know I have a letter right here-“ she tried to search the pockets of her cloak, but quickly realized that they were empty, “Umm…ah, darn it! Well, I guess I have a letter in my physical cloak that I was going to send to you, to let you know what was going. Share the good news, you know, fun stuff like that. I guess that’s not going to happen.” Lina frowned. “This is depressing.”
“Oh no,” Amelia frowned herself, “I didn’t mean anything by it, Miss Lina. I was trying to maybe help narrow the time down. It’s been months since I last heard anything, but I hope this hasn’t been going on for longer than one month. It’s awful to think about.”
Lina shot Amelia a look. “Try living it.” Lina suddenly looked like she had eaten something sour. “Ugh, no, I hate this! Let’s change the subject, okay? I don’t want to dwell on the past, let’s worry about the future, and how it’s going to be much better than the now, complete with me walking and breathing again.”
“A-me-li…a.”
Amelia turned at the sound of her name, seeing Zelgadis looking to her in apprehension. “What did you say, Mister Zelgadis?”
Zelgadis cocked his head to the side, gave what sounded like a cough, and replied, “A-me-li…..a. Ame-li…a. A..me-lia.” He seemed confused by his own speech.
“Oh, Mister Zelgadis!” Amelia was quick to embrace her confused companion, who responded in kind. Amelia tried not to gasp when she felt his claws press into her back. “Don’t worry, Mister Zelgadis, we’ll fix this. Somehow.” Amelia looked to Lina, who could only shrug in response.
“Ame…lia. Th….th-an..k.” Zelgadis made a coughing sound again, shaking his head as if to loosen his tongue.
Amelia just hugged him tighter. “It’s okay, Mister Zelgadis, you don’t need to talk if it’s too difficult.” She felt him nod his head into her shoulder, before releasing her from his grip. Amelia smiled up at his still alien face, doing her best to show him everything would be okay. She took the moment to study his face, noticing, if for the first time, that his eyes didn’t seem so yellow anymore. They were barely visible, but she could just barely tell a pair of human pupils peeked out from those demonic yellow eyes.
“Don’t think too much on it,” Lina muttered nearby. “You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of it, Amelia. Trust me.”
Amelia quietly nodded, before turning to look back to see what had gotten Zelgadis’ attention. As she watched, he quietly reached out for the now empty cup, before holding it out to her.
“Food?”
Amelia gave a small smile. “Of course, Mister Zelgadis. More tea, coming right up.”
*****
Can you tell I like camping? Because I like camping. Still learning how to properly cook over a fire, though. And I managed to marry someone who is big on his herbal tea, so it's made writing Zelgadis and his tea-loving ways that much easier. I've tried it, but it just tastes like slightly more planty-tasting water, when it could just taste like normal water, so I can't say I really get it. But oh well! Now to figure out where this is all going...
****
Amelia frowned. “Elmekia? What were you doing all the way out there?”
Lina replied by pointing a finger at Zelgadis. “His idea, not mine. Well, not entirely. He had heard about a golem master of sorts, some retired guy who wanted to get away from it all, and man, did he. But that’s not important.” Lina tsked. “Once Zelgadis learned what he wanted to know, we left to find some place off the beaten path so Zelgadis could try out his altered spell.” Lina stared at Zelgadis for a moment, who finally seemed to be settling down for the night. “Oh, good, he does know how to sleep still.”
Amelia glanced over to see Zelgadis’ head had drooped, his eyes slowly closing as his breathing slowed. “Has he not been sleeping?”
Lina rested her chin in her hand, as if deep in thought. “Well, truth be told, I haven’t really watched him too closely. This whole no body thing has been interesting, as I can move about easily without much thought. I’ve really just checked in on him now and again.” Lina looked over to see Amelia watching her with a bit of a shocked expression. “Hey, don’t look at me like that! I’ve been trying to find Gourry. I already know where Zelgadis is, so it’s been easy to wander away from him. He’s not really been traveling with any real purpose, as far as I can tell, mainly just foraging for a decent meal.” Lina paused in her talking, as she absently rubbed her stomach.
“Poor Mister Zelgadis,” Amelia sighed. “Without you or Mister Gourry leading the way, I guess it’s not been so easy for him.” She quietly put more wood on the fire, so as not to disturb Zelgadis’ sleep, but to hopefully help keep him warmed through the night.
“Yeah, well,” Lina scowled, “being dead isn’t exactly a joy. I miss the simple delights, like being able to be seen by my fellow human being. Or sleeping in a nice, soft bed. Or food! I don’t feel hungry at all anymore, and it’s just strange. Being a ghost is pretty dull!” Lina drummed her fingers absentmindedly on her knee, more out of habit than anything. “I mean, here again comes another sunrise, and what have I done all night?”
“What?” Amelia looked to the horizon as best she could through the trees, but sure enough, the sky was beginning to show streaks of color. Morning approached. She sighed, her shoulders drooping. “I was really looking forward to some sleep, too.”
Lina shot Amelia a look. “What’s keeping you? It’s not like you had anywhere to be, did you? Camped out in the woods like this? No one is going to kick you out.”
“Uh,” Amelia stammered, “No offense, Miss Lina, but this whole experience startled the sleep right out of me.”
Lina’s mouth grew large as she realized what Amelia was getting at. “Oooooh, riiiight. Sorry.” She sheepishly rubbed her head.
Amelia didn’t reply, having busied herself by packing up her bedroll, mostly. She decided to drape a blanket over Zelgadis, to make him at least a bit more comfortable. Done with that, she picked up her pack, slung it over her shoulder, and looked to Lina. “On the plus side, this gives me a chance to walk to the nearest town in time to get some breakfast. Mister Zelgadis ate everything I had packed with me.” Amelia turned her gaze to the surrounding forest. ‘And it gives me time to clear my head.’
Lina sighed at this, shrugging her shoulders. “I said I was sorry. Wait,” she sat up and squinted her eyes at Amelia, “are you saying you want to go without me?”
Amelia nodded. “Someone needs to keep an eye on him,” she gestured to Zelgadis, who was quietly snoring by this point. “Please, Miss Lina?” Amelia made a pleading gesture with her hands.
Lina harrumphed as she crossed her arms in annoyance. “Fine, fine! Just…don’t take forever. This guy is so boring now, if I weren’t already dead, I may fear death by boredom.” Lina’s expression suddenly softened. “Just, keep an ear out for Gourry, okay?”
Amelia nodded. “Of course. I will. I will be back before Mister Zelgadis wakes up…I hope.” Amelia looked to Lina one last time before turning her back to walk away from the clearing, down a deer trail, and back onto the beaten path to the nearby town.
Lina watched her leave, before glancing back over to Zelgadis, who had finally slumped to the ground in a ball of blanket. “Oh, yay, looks like it’s you and me again, just like old times. Be glad she cares about your wellbeing so much. Maybe there’s a way out of this mess yet.” Lina looked up to the brightening sky, the lighter blue hues reminding her of a certain someone she could only hope was still alive and well out there.
“Where are you, Gourry?”
*****
Zelgadis was still sound asleep when Amelia finally reemerged into the clearing, which made Amelia smile. It would be nice to have some time to prepare him a decent meal before he woke, else she suspected he would gladly eat everything raw. Amelia stuck her tongue out at the thought. “Yuck!” Dropping her now heavy pack, she quickly got to tending to the dying fire, doing her best to bring it back to life enough to make a decent cooking fire.
“Oh, good, you’re back,” Lina suddenly appeared as of from nothingness.
Amelia replied by shrieking and dropping her stoking stick as she leapt back to her feet. It took a moment of worried glances throughout the clearing before her eyes settled on Lina, who was floating a good three feet off the ground. “Miss Lina, you scared me!” Amelia clutched her hand over her heart, as if to calm it.
“I suspect I’m going to be apologizing a lot, so lets just skip past all that.” Lina simply shrugged. “What’s for breakfast? Find anything good in town?”
Amelia quirked an eyebrow at Lina’s offhanded apology, but returned to her task. “Nothing fancy, just your basic campfire meal, as taught to me by one Lina Inverse herself, long ago.” Amelia grinned as she speared some sweet potatoes and placed them around the fire. “Oh, and I was able to find an herbal tea that Mister Zelgadis likes. I hope that’s still the case.” She took out a small cook pot, poured water in it from her waterskin, and put it directly in the fire.
Lina nodded in approval. “Good, good, nice choice. But you didn’t hear anything about wayward swordsmen?”
Amelia shook her head. “Nothing. It’s pretty quiet around here. No need for mercenary work.” Amelia tried to turn her attention to making sure the sweet potatoes cooked evenly, and the water heated up without boiling over. Mister Zelgadis didn’t like his tea too hot, she had accidentally learned in a previous adventure. “No burned tongues this time.”
“Excuse me?” Lina put her hand up to her ear and leaned in closer. “What are you muttering over there?”
“Nothing, Miss Lina,” Amelia kept working over the fire. “I am trying not to burn anything, that’s all. Ouch!” She shook her hand, having gotten too close to the heat.
“Let’s not have a repeat of last night,” Lina descended to the ground, watching the cooking sweet potatoes with eagerness. “I wish I could smell those. They look good.”
Amelia just nodded her head, having placed her finger in her mouth in an attempt to cool it. If it was anything more than a minor burn she’d heal it, of course, but at the moment she was more focused on making sure nothing else burned.
Lina and Amelia fell into companionable silence as they watched the sweet potatoes cook. After the water had gotten hot enough, Amelia prepared some of the herbs in her cup. Before she knew it, Zelgadis was suddenly awake, staring intently at her work over the fire.
“Good morning, Mister Zelgadis.” Amelia smiled. Lina likewise greeted him, but Amelia didn’t see him react at all.
“Food,” Zelgadis answered quietly, before turning to gingerly fold the blanket that had tumbled from his back. He offered it to Amelia without a word.
Amelia took the offered blanket, to pack up with her bedroll later. “Thank you, Mister Zelgadis. I hope you slept well. Did you want to eat some breakfast?”
Zelgadis’ eyes lit up, as he nodded with great enthusiasm. “Food!”
“The sweet potatoes aren’t quite done yet, but you can have some tea for now. Just be careful,” Amelia held out her small cup, “it’s still hot.”
Zelgadis carefully took the offered cup, letting the steam waft over his face a moment, just deeply inhaling. Amelia watched to see if he did anything else, but for now he seemed to just want to enjoy a moment of peace. She hadn’t noticed in the dim light the night before, but where a nose once was, she could only see two slits, making his face all the more serpentine. His eyes didn’t seem to be glowing so intensely now, at least.
After what felt like forever, Zelgadis finally took a sip of tea. “Fooooood,” he sighed. His mouth looked nothing like it had before, so Amelia couldn’t tell if he was smiling or not, but he sounded happy, at least. Zelgadis continued to silently sip at his tea.
“Huh,” Lina commented, “That’s the most normal I have seen him in a while. You know, considering.” Lina studied her demonic unintentional traveling companion. “I mean, of course Zelgadis has to still be in there - we only removed the golem, after all. He just hasn’t really acted like himself.” Lina paused. “Then again, I’ve never really seen him when he didn’t know I was with him. Maybe he’s more a recluse than I’d have guessed.” Lina got lost in thought.
Amelia nodded quietly, having turned her attention to removing the sweet potatoes from around the fire to allow them to cool slightly before giving them to Zelgadis. He accepted them without a word, but unlike last night, he ate them slowly, as if savoring every bite. Amelia frowned, turning to look to Lina. “You said you do not know how long he - ah, you, have been like this?”
Lina shook her head. “I’m guessing a month. Maybe more, maybe less.”
“Hmm,” Amelia mused, “but I never heard anything from you. Unless you meant to send me a letter, but never got around to it?”
“Hey!” Lina scoffed, “I’ll have you know I have a letter right here-“ she tried to search the pockets of her cloak, but quickly realized that they were empty, “Umm…ah, darn it! Well, I guess I have a letter in my physical cloak that I was going to send to you, to let you know what was going. Share the good news, you know, fun stuff like that. I guess that’s not going to happen.” Lina frowned. “This is depressing.”
“Oh no,” Amelia frowned herself, “I didn’t mean anything by it, Miss Lina. I was trying to maybe help narrow the time down. It’s been months since I last heard anything, but I hope this hasn’t been going on for longer than one month. It’s awful to think about.”
Lina shot Amelia a look. “Try living it.” Lina suddenly looked like she had eaten something sour. “Ugh, no, I hate this! Let’s change the subject, okay? I don’t want to dwell on the past, let’s worry about the future, and how it’s going to be much better than the now, complete with me walking and breathing again.”
“A-me-li…a.”
Amelia turned at the sound of her name, seeing Zelgadis looking to her in apprehension. “What did you say, Mister Zelgadis?”
Zelgadis cocked his head to the side, gave what sounded like a cough, and replied, “A-me-li…..a. Ame-li…a. A..me-lia.” He seemed confused by his own speech.
“Oh, Mister Zelgadis!” Amelia was quick to embrace her confused companion, who responded in kind. Amelia tried not to gasp when she felt his claws press into her back. “Don’t worry, Mister Zelgadis, we’ll fix this. Somehow.” Amelia looked to Lina, who could only shrug in response.
“Ame…lia. Th….th-an..k.” Zelgadis made a coughing sound again, shaking his head as if to loosen his tongue.
Amelia just hugged him tighter. “It’s okay, Mister Zelgadis, you don’t need to talk if it’s too difficult.” She felt him nod his head into her shoulder, before releasing her from his grip. Amelia smiled up at his still alien face, doing her best to show him everything would be okay. She took the moment to study his face, noticing, if for the first time, that his eyes didn’t seem so yellow anymore. They were barely visible, but she could just barely tell a pair of human pupils peeked out from those demonic yellow eyes.
“Don’t think too much on it,” Lina muttered nearby. “You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of it, Amelia. Trust me.”
Amelia quietly nodded, before turning to look back to see what had gotten Zelgadis’ attention. As she watched, he quietly reached out for the now empty cup, before holding it out to her.
“Food?”
Amelia gave a small smile. “Of course, Mister Zelgadis. More tea, coming right up.”
*****
Can you tell I like camping? Because I like camping. Still learning how to properly cook over a fire, though. And I managed to marry someone who is big on his herbal tea, so it's made writing Zelgadis and his tea-loving ways that much easier. I've tried it, but it just tastes like slightly more planty-tasting water, when it could just taste like normal water, so I can't say I really get it. But oh well! Now to figure out where this is all going...