Aliar stirred from her nap. Stretching, she leaned against the trunk of the tree she had slept under. She blinked her large, deep green, pupilless eyes, which sat slightly slanted in her blue face. *Ah, nothing like a good nap*, she thought, *especially after a hop.* By this she meant a "hop" between realities. Aliar Greymage, journeywoman mage, was one of the few known Worldwalkers, blessed (or cursed) with the ability to move between universes. *I wonder where I am. I kinda left in a hurry* She grimaced. Maybe that was what her friend Jim was always harping about. His precious "Prime Directive". She shrugged. Earthers were odd. Odd world, odd machine-magic, odd cultures. "GOURRY!! You BUFFOON! WATCH IT!!!!" a loud, female voice shreiked. "Gee, Lina, I'm sorry. But it's just food. Why are you so- OW!" came the (not so bright) reply. A short, redheaded girl girl burst into the clearing through the underbrush, sucking a (presumably) burned finger. She looked... mad. Very mad.She started to yell something, then stopped when she saw Aliar. *Blue skin...odd.* "Who are you?" she asked (snapped, actually). Aliar stood and bowed slightly, the way she had learned at her father's court. "I am Aliar tzi'G'shier Greymage. And you, lady? Sir?" she added when a (decidedly confused) blonde guy stumbled into the clearing, rubbing a bump on his head. "I'm Lina Inverse. This baka is Gourry." She replied, pointing. (And if you didn't see that a mile away, why are you even reading a Slayers fic? Were you looking for Buffy? Fool.) The blonde's jaw dropped as he gawked at Aliar. "Are you related to Zelgadis? He's blue, too." "Not to my knowledge. If he's a demon or god, though, it's possible. My father is... was... a demon lord, and my mother is a goddess" Her face clouded momentarily, then cleared. "Demon? You mean like a mazoku?" Lina demanded. "Um... i dunno what that is." Suddenly, Lina and Aliar's stomachs growled simultaneously. "Oooh, i'm so hungry! Gourry burned the last of our provisions." "I don't know how much I have. I packed in a hurry" Aliar blushed a faint purple. She pulled out her pack and rummaged through it. "AARGH! Grothol'ck, you pig!" She fished a small, matte black demon from her pack. It resembled a small, winged lizard. Groth chirped apologetically, then burped. "I guess I don't have anything, either." She and Lina flopped to the ground, dismayed. "Need... food." they moaned in unison. A manic giggle startled them. "Dear cousin. Still thinking with your belly, I see. And kicked off yet another world. My heart breaks for you." the voice mocked. "Jessamine!! YOU PATHETIC,MISBEGOTTEN JACKAL'S OFFSPRING EXCUSE FOR A BEING! What. are. you. doing. HERE???" she bellowed, punctuating her last sentence with stomps in the direction of the voice. The psychotic laugh resumed, but now a new voice cut in. "Sore wa himitsu desu!" Aliar heard Lina gasp. She turned and looked at the redhead.Lina returned the look grimly. "L-sama help us, it's Xellos Metallium." Lina moaned. "Why do I always have to deal with that fruitcake mazoku? Why?" "Don't ask me. That is also an apt description for Jessamine. She's half river nymph, but her father is my uncle, a sun god. She's not quite there in the head,and has a malicious streak.However, no one suspects her of it, because she looks like a little kid." "L-sama, why?"