Darkness had set in and Lina and Zelgadiss were sitting at a square table, opposite each other in a cheap restaurant. Zelgadiss had removed his hood and mask and stared at his empty tea cup. They had finished eating and a waitress carted away the last of Lina's dishes and refilled the hot water for Zelgadiss' tea once again.
    "A kid, huh?" Lina remembered Zelgadiss' question from earlier.
    He stirred a fresh tea bag in the small, ceramic pot and put down the spoon, "Yes, his name is Garabe."
    There was a silent pause before Zelgadiss resumed, "He was convinced that something was after him and bribed me to protect him."
    Lina raised an eyebrow questioningly.
    "I agreed that he would lead me to Medina in return for protection. I had no idea he was so serious about it." he elaborated.
    "Medina? Why did you want to come here?"
    Zelgadiss poured himself a new cup of tea, "Because I was told I could find a cure here."
    "Oh...right," Lina acknowledged that statement.
    "'The City of Prophets'? Well nothing has convinced me that my journey ends here yet. It seems I've run into another dead end."
    "Zelgadiss?"
    He looked up from his tea.
    "I've been meaning to say this for quite a while, but," Lina closed her eyes, "you really don't need a cure."
    There was another odd silence, "What do you...mean?"
    Lina stared at him hard, "Your chimera form gives you so many advantages...I know if I were the one who was the chimera here, I wouldn't want to become 'normal' again. What good would it do me? I would lose my strength, my magic abilities, my physical defense...I'd regret it."
    Zelgadiss looked at Lina in surprise.
    "I wouldn't want to lose that gift. It would make me feel special to have it," Lina looked off to the side, "besides, you look good in blue."
    Silence repeated itself for quite a while and neither of the two looked at each other in mutual embarrassment.
    "You're right," Zelgadiss said at last and returned his attention to his tea.
    Lina shifted her sight back to him, "I ...am?"
    He nodded and gave a faint smile, "I suppose I would regret it. At least this way, I'll always have something to remember Rezo by..."
    Lina smiled, crossing her arms, "Good! Now, about that kid..."
    "LINA!!" Kagemi burst through the door of the restaurant.
    "Ka-Kagemi...!?" she turned in her seat.
    The murmur of the other people in the eatery died down momentarily but picked up once again as Kagemi made her way to their table dramatically flinging her cloak back and forth as she walked.
    "Who..." Zelgadiss trailed off as the girl approached their position.
    She stole a chair from another table, pulled it to rest beside Lina, and plopped into it. She looked at Zelgadiss with interest, but he maintained an expressionless composure.
    "Why did you leave me behind?" Kagemi asked Lina through her teeth in almost a whisper.
    "Uh...I left-oh...sorry 'bout that!" Lina looked back at Zelgadiss, "Zel, this is an old friend of mine, Kagemi. She's a bounty hunter," she turned toward Kagemi again, "Kagemi, this is Zelgadiss, one of my traveling companions."
    "Oh...right, that group of yours that you were telling me about earlier," Kagemi nodded in understanding, "So nice to finally meet one of you," she smiled at Zelgadiss.
    No one engaged conversation, so Lina spoke up, "Please continue, Zel."
    "Oh my God!" Kagemi gasped.
    Lina and Zelgadiss glared at her unpleasantly for her outburst.
    "I didn't realize it was so late!" Kagemi knocked the chair backwards as she stood up, "I need to meet a potential employer right now-or should I say, two minutes ago! I'm sorry!" she tucked the chair back into its rightful place at the other table, "When you vanished on me, one of the men you crashed into asked me if I was a hunter...this really is the City of Prophets!"
    Finishing her explanation, she left in a rush without saying good bye. Zelgadiss ignored the whole incident and revealed the object that Garabe had given him to Lina, "Garabe gave this to me today. I'm guessing that he took it from those ruins he described to me."
    Lina took it and made the same observations that Zelgadiss had noticed earlier, "It doesn't seem special. Just an antique if you ask me."
    Zelgadiss swallowed some tea and set down the cup, "I'm beginning to worry. Maybe something has happened to him..."

To Be Continued...