______"And what in the seven circles makes you think I'll believe that load of--"
______"Now, Jason, calm down." Peisha said softly, taking hold of her brother's
arm. "Maybe he's telling the truth."
______"Have you been listening to this old man babble on?" Jason barely held
back from screaming as he turned towards his younger sister. "Have you
heard a single word?"
______Peisha closed her eyes and looked down, not caring to see the violent
anger written in Jason's pale green eyes. "Look at yourself Jase, is what he
said so hard to believe right now?"
______Jason straightened himself and let out a long sigh as he pushed a few
strands of fire-red hair back from his face. "Fabulous. Just great. I go to see
some foolish old man, and end up screaming at my sister."
______"I would advise that you take my words seriously young man, lest you regret
it," The bone-thin and wrinkled soothsayer warned in his cracking voice.
______"I would advise you stop bothering me with this quest business and let
me get back to the fields old man," Jason warned, anger still glinting in his
eyes. "Some people have to work for their food. Come on Peisha." He walked
out, pulling his sister along by her wrist.
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______ "What if he's right Jason," Peisha asked softly once they were on the path back to town. "Maybe you were meant to go on this quest thing."
______ He looked into her large violet eyes and stopped dead in the middle of the path. "Peisha," He said chidingly as he mussed the dark purple curls crowning her head. "You've been reading too many old legends. There are no dragons anymore, good or evil, and the same for the Mazoku. Even if there were, I'm a farmer, not a knight or something."
______ "Well I think he's right," She said flouncing ahead of him on the path as she straightened her hair. She turned at the crest of the hill to give Jason a teasing smirk as she winked one eye and held the index finger of her right hand in front of her mouth. "And I'm going to ask
mom and dad if there really is a secret about us!" With that, she disappeared over the crest of
the hill.
______ "Lady Nigh' preserve us," Jason cursed just a notch above being under his breath. He picked
up his own feet and hurried after his sister.
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______ The woman with her long red hair pulled up in a messy excuse for a french twist turned as her purple-haired daughter bounded excitedly into the room. No doubt, Peisha had probably found another legend about the destruction of a dark lord or yet another copy of Rezo.
______ "Ready for dinner so soon?" she teased, knowing all to well that was the last thing on the
sixteen-year-old's mind.
______ "I don't think that I'll be able to eat or sleep for a week," She buzzed excitedly.
______ "Oh, really." Her mother smiled, "And why is that?" Jason, her eighteen-year-old son burst
into the room breathing hard just as she finished the sentence and shot an accusatory look at
his little sister.
______ Peisha took on her trademark mischevious look, raising one finger to her lips, "That's a secret."
Jason looked like he was going to lunge for her throat, so Peisha quickly ran outside.
______ She was talking more to her brother than her mom, but the woman shuddered despite herself,
it was creepy every time Peisha did that. Where had she picked up that habit anyways? It was soE
Xellos-y. But Xellos was gone, and so was every other Mazoku.
______ Jason shook his head in frustration, not even bothering to attempt to chase her down. "Mom,"
he tested worriedly. "What did she say?"
______ "Nothing yet," She said with an all too knowing smile. "You want to give me your side first?"
______ Jason sighed the way he always did when he felt he had no options open, and began to explain,
______ "We went to see that crazy old man on the outskirts of town today; you know, the one that thinks
he can see the future. Well, Peisha got him to do us, and it was kinda creepy."
______ She raised a wary eyebrow, "Uh-huh."
______ "Well, he said something about a gate guarded by a statue that was a man, but was not a
man." He looked down sheepishly. "And there would be a creature with purple hair pretending
to be a man, that would trick the guard into freeing the ones on the other side of the gate."
______ Her eyes widened in panic, if anyone knew those descriptions, it was the sorceress supreme,
Lina Inverse. It can't be, just when I thought Gourry and I were going to have a nice, normal
life together. Can't a girl get some time off? "Go on," Lina prodded her son.
______"He said that there was some great secret about Peisha and me," Jason paused unsurely for
a moment. "And that I was going to be the one to lock the Mazoku back up and free the dragons,
but it would be at the loss of someone I loved."
______ Oh, Inverse, this is bad. Very, very bad.
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