Slayers: Alive

Alive 64

Slayers: Alive

Episode 132: Presents! Gift Wrapped Hidden Desires

"You stupid piece of raw garbage!" Filia screamed in frustration, her voice echoing through Zephilia. "Why do you have to listen to Beast Master all the time? How can you live with yourself being a slave to someone like her? How can you tolerate your own existence?"

Angered by the path the argument was taking, Xellos shouted back. "Stupid dragon, it's my terrible existence that's keeping you alive!"

"What's that's supposed to mean?" Filia demanded.

"Beast Master is sparing your life allowing me to keep you as a sort of pet," Xellos explained. "If I displease her, my punishment might be to lose my pet. If I wasn't there to convince her that it's convenient to keep you around, she would have killed you and taken the last ancient dragon as her slave."

Filia was taken aback by the revelation and was definitely upset by it. She didn't want to be protected like that, but she didn't want to risk Val either. "I don't want sacrifices," she voiced in a quieter tone.

"I'm not particularly bothered by this sort of thing but... Sometimes you just have to choose what is most precious and hold on to it. Sometimes you can't have it all," Xellos stated truthfully. "I thought you weren't sheltered and naive enough to believe that anymore."

Filia did not reply. She just let his words spin around in her head continuously until they were so overanalyzed she didn't know what to think anymore. 'What is most precious...' Filia thought. Was he telling her to hold on to Val and forget about everyone else, to ignore the suffering of strangers? Or was there a deeper hidden meaning to it? "Take me home," Filia finally broke the long uncomfortable silence.

Without saying anything more, Xellos teleported Filia to her shop at Seyruun and left. Filia stepped out to the balcony and admired the sunrise; it was the start of a new day...

xoxox xox xoxox

Earlier that night at Dragon's Peak... "Wake up!" The sudden voice made Milgazia jump out of bed and land on his feet in an alarmed automatic motion. He glared at the source of the voice, Beast Master Zelas Metallium, who had the daring audacity to teleport right into the middle of dragon territory, specifically to the dragon elder's house, to his room no less.

"What are you doing here and why at this hour?" Milgazia fought and successfully defeated a yawn that had attempted to make its way out. He maintained a serious stare despite standing there wearing only shorts... hey, it was a warm night. At least Zelas seemed to be gracefully ignoring his lack of full apparel.

"It's one minute past midnight, it's morning and it's about time to get up, even for someone as lazy as you. I'm here for my present," Zelas stated in a demanding tone as she tossed a box at Milgazia, who caught it. "Here's yours. Give me my present, I have to go back to Wolf Pack Island and start opening the many presents I'm getting from my minions. Some of us do get busy during Christmas, unlike you whom I'm sure no one would care to gift anything to, except for the coach's suggested pity gift. Hurry up, you're making me hungry."

Okay, so maybe she did notice his lack of apparel after all, in a purely culinary way. Before she got any ideas about turning him into dragon cuisine, Milgazia quickly retrieved the gift box containing Zelas present, which he thought was very fitting for her. "Ladies first."

Did she just detect a hint of sarcasm in his otherwise diplomatic tone? She decided to ignore it and tore the wrapping paper apart, curious to see what this mysterious present was. "Coal? Really Milgazia, I knew you were cheap but not this cheap."