Who: Lina & Gourry What: A sorceress is reunited with her dumbass swordsman - and they eat, a lot When: Today Where: Renaissance Faire Rating/Warnings: Family friendly Status: Complete!
The tunic, the jeweled armor, the earrings and headband, the gloves, boots, black mantle, talismans representing the four dark lords - Lina couldn’t remember if she ever had the opportunity to dress fully in the sorceress ensemble, but here it was, fresh out of the medieval dreamscape of her homeworld. Most of it wasn’t exactly practical in everyday life, but in a scenery that tried to rewind time centuries back, the mage accessories and clothing were a perfect fit.
So was the food. Yum.
Sword sheathed at her hip, the bone of the turkey leg in her dainty fingers, she happily strolled - with a purpose. Gourry wasn’t hard to find. Never in a million years would she miss the towering built and the lost, hazy look in his eyes. And if there was one person she wished that would ever be here to meet face to face, in what was a fourth lifetime, it’d be him. Her idiot swordsman, her rock, the dumbass that fought her at the dinner table every time and who fell asleep when she tried to explain important crap to him.
Also the one that she had almost destroyed the world for, twice. Possibly a third time with the way these dreams were going, but the point was? Gourry was always there. Every step of the way. It was natural to miss him.
Now how long would it take for him to notice he was being tailed through the crowd, she wondered? Tune in to see.
Of course it wasn’t hard to know he was being followed. Ignoring the fact he was just that good at keeping tabs on his surroundings, it was hard to ignore the gasps and surprised, excited cries of people admiring the red head’s clothing. Authentic, he kept hearing them say, while the other workers just looked on in praise. The more people that got into it, the more everyone felt happy--and the other visitors were just that much more excited.
He wore a regular blue tunic and slacks that tucked into mid-calf length black boots. He’d been a fan of blue for a long time, so it wasn’t a surprise either that he’d found himself the Blue Knight. On his hip was a sword, but something always… felt off about it. Still, the familiar weight around his waist was comforting. He’d been doing his rounds to make sure everyone had stayed out of trouble, and would be going to his little blacksmith booth soon enough. But, he had miss follower to contend with first.
With a sudden halt in his tracks, he spun to look at her. “Hi!” he grinned wide, flashing his pearly whites at her.
Lina had almost, almost walked into him. Good thing she halted in time, boots digging into the soft dirt, and she wasn't startled, not really - she wasn't going to let him ruin the vibe of her jolly meat munching like she was sinking her teeth into a cob of corn.
"Hi," she replied after a chew, swallow, and a wipe of the corner of her mouth. Her grin mirrored his, although hers was devilish. Matched the garnet eyes and hellfire hair. "You look the part. You're missing armor, though."
The dragon-scale armor he always wore in the dreams - sturdy but lightweight for combative movement. Toss the Sword of Light his way and the look would be complete.
“Yeah, left it at home,” he laughed. Gourry stopped, though, staring at her hard suddenly. His eyes looked her over, taking in the costume she wore, from the top of her head down to her feet, before back up again… Something… Something about her… was almost…
“Oh, you’re the married mother on the net, aren’t you?” He SIIIGHED.
Uh.
Well.
Gourry wasn't wrong, but goddamnit, was his initial reaction to meeting her face to face in any world just an exasperated motion of disappointment? That 'married mother' was a lot better than 'flat chested kid' by a million notches, but.
Soon, there was only bone left of her turkey leg - wiped clean and all white - and then she pegged it at him, hard, like she was throwing a knife. "My name's Lina, you moron," she groused. "And, yes, proudly married with a kid - wanna fight about it?"
He blinked. She threw a bone at him. “Maybe I do,” he huffed, hands on his hips as he leaned down, still towering over her. “Let’s fight about it.” But the seriousness only stays for so long, he’s soon laughing loudly and happily. “Nice to finally meet you, Lina.” Gourry held out his hand.
You're going to eat those words one day, Gabriev, I swear to you.
Lina's arms were crossed for a minute there, eyeing him up and down like she was contemplating what was the best spell to toss his way for a grand deliverance to Kingdom Fucking Come, but she tried to keep the property damage to a minimum - most of the time. Getting arrested again wasn't on her bucket list.
But his stupid, stupid grin and stupid, stupid laugh was contagious. There wasn't any laughing, but a smile broke through and she shook his hand - confirming he was actually here. "You have no idea," she told him. There was so much to tell him and all of it insane. "You want to get something to eat? I could go for another bite." Or four.
“If you pay,” Gourry winked at her, waving at a few people that walked by with a laugh. He turned back to her. “I still don’t see how we ever met. I’d definitely remember you.” He looked her over again. “But I’m sorry that I forgot,” he frowned. “I’ve always had a memory issue too. So I’ll do my best to make up for forgetting you.”
"Ho ho, sir, I know your appetite," Lina huffed, a chuckle with it. Not far from them was the vendor with the cheddar-beer soup in a bread bowl, and she was sauntering towards it with hands to her hips. "There's no way in hell you'll con me into paying for you, but - that whole forgetting thing, it's -"
There was a heavy exhale she let out. Complicated was definitely the word for it. "It's kinda weird, but you'll see what I mean." We were strangers, on a crazy adventure. "For once you can't really blame the fact that your head is stuffed with seaweed."
Gourry followed her loyally, which surprised him in how easy it was to fall into step slightly behind her. “I’ll keep that in mind. Your get up’s nice by the way.”
"Thanks!" Her head turned for a wink, and she patted the hilt of her sword. "Sword's pretty legit too." Good timing that he showed up, funny enough. Lina did want to get back in the swing of things when it came to the skill of the blade. He'd also been giving her some lessons at the point where her dreams were, all because she'd been sucking and everyone was out trying to kill her. Kinda embarrassing. "So what's the scoop with you, Gourry? How come you're out here by your lonesome?"
Oh, she knew what beast she was poking. The Gourry she knew had something of a gritty past he hadn't been proud of, and one of his war buddies had actually tried killing her once. There was something beneath those still waters that was hard to drag out in every life they met. Lina knew how things paralleled. It wouldn't be that different here.
Gourry chuckled. “Just finding my own place in the world. Moved here some time back and just been keeping to myself since.” And that’s probably as much as she’d get from him for now. “How about you? Lived in the OC long?”
Hrmmm. Lina detected his evasion of the topic. That was fine. Maybe she'd warm him up to opening up a little later.
"A couple years," she answered with her hands newly occupied with a literal bowl of carbs. "I ended up here after I got into some trouble and been here ever since - found a home, my own place in the world. I met my husband here. I threatened to set him on fire, but we ended up alright."
Talking to Gourry about Pete. That's something she ever predicted. In other worlds she and the swordsman were bound, glued to the hip, but things turned out differently here - very different. There was no denying she was happy, either.
Gourry laughed, loud and happy as he ordered his own, taking a long, long sip. What was spoons for? “Yeah? And the kiddo?”
Mmm, this was fucking delicious. Lina was so ready to eat her way through the faire - she'd have to drag Pete out here with Amelia, dressed in her Godzilla costume for the dragon look. "A year next month," she answered proudly, having the same train of thought as he did. Screw the spoons. Drink straight from the bowl and then take a nice bite out of it too. It was there to be eaten. "Living here turned out pretty damn good in the end. Some crazy stuff happened, but, I mean -"
For a moment, the sorceress hesitated. All the crazy stuff that happened, from Shabranigdo to Hellmaster - how much of that was going to translate here for him?
She cleared her throat awkwardly. "It all works out. But when the crazy stuff hits you, I'll be here. You're gonna need me," snickered the redhead.
“Need you, huh?” Gourry rubbed his chin, munching on the bread for a moment. He was quiet for a long moment, head slowly tilting to the side in thought. He looked over to her, and smiled, soft and sincere. “I probably will.”
There was a moment of pause (she also had to slip off her gloves, she didn’t want them to get too messy) before she continued, humming pensively. “You’re trusting me pretty easily already,” she pointed out. “I could be an arsonist.” Former, technically. Lina slurped up the rest of her soup, lady manners absolutely lacking because screw you. “Or a serial killer.”
Never that one, though. Never that one.
Gourry paused in his eating to smile at her, warm and kind. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. Plus, you say we met before, and I don’t feel like you’re lying. So you can’t be that bad if seeing me show up surprised you.”
Fair enough logic. Gourry always did have impeccable instincts - better than hers. “Just don’t judge me too harshly when you start remembering things,” she advised, mostly because one of their first days together was running from an angry mob because, oh, Little Miss Explosion put a crater in the center of a village (while trying to defend it from a dragon, mind you, she was trying to do the right thing). “But anyway, don’t you owe me a bracelet? Or do I have to wait until you finish my commission, hmmm?”
It was their first time meeting face to face, but Lina just felt comfortable - it was an effortless adjustment to be around him, even if they’d been lifetimes apart until now. Connected whether they liked it or not.
Gourry finished the bowl and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He hesitated, eying her. “Uh… Will your husband mind you getting jewelry made by another man? I’m not interested in being a homewrecker.” Even though there was something about her that lit a fire in his belly, he had more honor and righteousness in his being than that.
“Depends - are you giving it with the attentions of seducing me?” Lina snorted, raising an eyebrow. That’s something she highly doubted. It’s not like it was ever a ‘love at first sight’ deal with the two of them, and intent was the most important thing anyway. “He’s protective.” Severely. He was a surly Brit with a temper as hot as his those knives he summoned from solar absorption, but he also wasn’t unreasonable. He’d known about her adventures with Gourry on the other side - he knew how important having her best friend around was to her.
She delivered a hardy pat to his back. “Besides, you do know friendship bracelets exist, right? This can be ours. Considering how much I have to put up with you from here on out, I think I deserve one.” There was a righteous huff. He hadn’t tempted her to punch him in the face yet, but it was coming. Soon. Only a matter of time.
“Just making sure!” Gourry smiled. “I don’t want anything to be complicated between a married couple.” He turned, ushering her. “This way to my booth.” He turned and led her through the crowds until he got to his little hut that had an anvil and forge. He pulled his thick black apron on and turned to her, offering his hand. “Let me see your wrist?”
Nope, no complications - she always knew there was a chance Gourry would appear one day, stumbling into her life like the lost and hopeless doofus he was. But Pete was Pete, all hers, nothing could or ever would change it. The Lord of Nightmares making her infamous cosmic debut definitely didn’t.
“Uh, hold on -” That bread bowl was finished off in a couple massive chomps, obviously, and then when she could breathe again after all the chewing and swallowing, she offered her wrist to examine. It was pathetically bitty. “Okay, here! It better not be ugly. I won’t wear it if it’s ugly.”
Hey, she was just being honest.
Gourry moved his hand over and took the size by putting his thumb around it and touching it to his index finger. He pulled away, eying the size and reached up to find a mold. “It’ll take a bit and be loud. You ready?”
“Reaaaady,” Lina sang, grinning wide, and she found herself a nice patch of cubed hay to sit her tush on for the show. Gods, when had she seen Gourry blacksmith before? There’d been times in between, not often - but it was funny how it all paralleled. It seemed things were more kindly mirrored for him here.
At least, she hoped.
Gourry set to work with the molten metal, and the forming, and the cooling, and the banging… Banging. Banging. Let’s just say a while passed before he turned, wiping sweat off his forehead and holding something horseshoe shaped in his hand. “Let me see your hand?”
Lina’s patience with Gourry was, for once, a full well - which was rare. At least compared to their other lives, where he often ended up getting kissed by her fist or blasted off somewhere for inserting his foot into his big mouth (usually a comment about her modest bosom, ahem).
“You’re good at this,” she praised, offering her hand. “I might have to take a look at my sword and fix it up a little.”
Gourry slipped it on her wrist, shifting it around. “Thanks. It’s nothing pretty like what would go with your eyes, but it’s nice enough. And sturdy.” He lifted his gaze to her. “Don’t have to wear it, either, can just take it home as a prize from the Faire.”
It was pretty. Simple, light. And it was also something he made, so there was always a part of her that’d cherish it because of it. Not that she’d admit it, anyway. “I like it,” Lina chirped, twirling her wrist to admire it. “It’s a good friendship bracelet. Once you like me enough, make yourself a matching one.”
She was teasing. Mostly. But c’mooon, Gourry.
Gourry laughed. “Sure, sure.” He turned around, pulling his apron off. He headed over to her, patting her hair. “Hopefully I’ll remember you soon.”
Must he do that? Lina rolled her eyes. So it begins. “In due time, jellyfish brains,” she said, the nickname more of a term of endearment than insult this time around. “If you’re free, wanna hit up the rest of the food stands? I’m planning to eat my way through the day. You know you wanna join.”
Gourry patted his stomach. “Yeah I do!” He laughed. It was already growling loudly.