Slayers: Alive

Slayers: Alive 3

Slayers: Alive - Episode 007: Furtive! In The Privacy Of My Mind

It looked as if the wind was blowing, judging by the multitude of cherry blossom petals flying around Filia's dream. Yet the visual effect didn't come with the actual feeling of wind, in an odd contradiction that could only occur in dreams. Filia took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she stood in an endless field with colorful flowers, vibrant blues skies, a few fluffy white clouds scattered about and a pretty rainbow. Cute little birds were perched on the branches of the trees while bunnies and kittens played tag all around.

Xellos twitched, "you're a horrifying person," he tried hard to sense the meager presence of the dream eater. "It looks like the dream eater is gone."

"Of course it is, I was trained to take control of my dreams. I was just a little out of practice, that's all," Filia explained with a smile on her face. Then her smile melted into puzzlement. "That's odd, why are you still here? The nightmare is over. Really, I don't know what's worse, Xellos taking over the world or Xellos playing the role of my knight in shining armor in my dreams." She shuddered. "I think of that idiot too often, now I can't make his image fade away," she glared.

Xellos was feeling rather exasperated. The invisible mist was still around though the lesser imp had turned tail and ran. Regardless of his attempts to run and hide, Xellos would surely hunt him down... and he would find him. He realized that Filia seemed to think that his presence was only part of the dream and the dream eater alone was responsible for the disturbances. Maybe he could use that in his favor. "You know, Filia, if I'm a fragment of your imagination, then anything that happens here is known only in the privacy of your own mind. Which means that no one can pressure you into doing anything and any actions you take are yours alone."

"Why is this subconscious aspect of me stating the obvious?" Filia wondered, then shuddered again at the thought of any aspect of hers looking like Xellos.

Okay, so he would have to be more hands on about this. If he could get Filia to kiss him now, his torture would be over. Xellos approached her slowly and wrapped his arms around her, his face an inch away from hers.

Filia seemed more confused than unnerved, since she thought this was all her. "Ah, of course, dreams reveal one's hidden fears. I should stop being afraid of Xellos' idiocy," she pushed him away with more nonchalance than she had ever before displayed around him. "Now, how to spend the rest of my dream?" She sat down on the ground to ponder.

"Facing your fears? Satisfying your hidden desires?" Xellos suggested as he sat behind her massaging her shoulders.

"Hmm..." Filia allowed herself to relax for a split second before she caught herself and slapped his hands away. "Even in my own imagination this is wrong." She searched for a hidden motivation she might have to keep Xellos in her dream. Usually she got lost in dreams and let things flow naturally, most of the time not even realizing she was dreaming until she woke up. This was one of those rare lucid dreams and she didn't want to waste it. Why was Xellos there? She came up with a theory and grinned. "I see, after that nightmare it's logical that I would want some payback." She snapped her fingers and Xellos found himself wearing a completely silly pair of pink bunny ears and a big frilly pink collar with a large golden tag hanging from it. The inscription on the golden tag read, 'Filia's slave.'

"Are you under the effects of another of those special berries again?" Xellos tried to annoy Filia, but she barely blushed.

"I suppose it wouldn't feel like payback without a little realism. It's creepy how well my subconscious can reenact Xellos." Filia turned away from him again and patted her shoulders. "I'm feeling kind of tense, right here."