"Get outta my room, Namagomi," Filia said weakly, her pulse beginning to quicken a little. She rolled over onto her stomach and lay on her hands to make sure they didn't do anything without her permission. A chair skidded across the floor and came to rest in front of her bed. There was a rustle of clothing as Xellos sat down.

"That wasn't very nice of you," he remarked evenly, "Amelia said you don't want anything to eat." Filia could tell he was trying to see what was wrong with her. Was he really worried about her? She didn't want to feel like she was stupid enough to believe something as romantic as that, but she was certainly entertaining the idea.

"I'm not hungry," she said again, sounding a little less venomous this time, "Why do you care, anyway?" She felt like he was studying her or something.

"I was only curious what was wrong with you," Xellos replied, "And a little worried." Filia's heart began to pound and she started feeling like she so hot she was on fire. She clutched the sheets underneath her hands and fought to stay still.

Xellos sat watching the dragon maiden quietly. She was certainly acting odd, like she was ill. He ran through a list of ailments in his mind while taking note of just what appeared to be wrong with her. She was covered in sweat and panting slightly. Her legs were exposed, sticking out from underneath the sheet she was using to cover herself, and she appeared to have taken all her clothes off. Xellos followed her legs down and saw that the tip of her tail was twitching slightly while the rest of it was limply lying to one side of her body. He wondered about that, noticing that it looked a little odd. He hid a smirk, thinking just how alluring she looked when she was helpless.

"I have a fever," she said quietly, her voice husky, "So just go away now." Xellos did nothing of the sort. He continued to study her, wondering idly what she looked like from the front.

"Roll over," he commanded, "I want to see how hot your forehead is." The twitching of her tail turned into a limp swish as Filia contemplated rolling over to face him. Her face and most of her body slowly turned a bright red. She knew that if she could look at him, she'd likely throw herself at him as well. "If you don't roll over on your own," he said, teasingly, "I'll roll you over myself... You don't want the big, bad Namagomi to touch you, do you?" Filia knew he was trying to use that as a threat, but at that particular moment she liked the idea of him putting his hands on her. She didn't respond, half hoping that he'd just leave her alone and half hoping that he really would touch her. She suddenly felt a cool hand grip the shoulder closest to the wall and a jolt went through her body. She gasped at the contact as he rolled her onto her back.

Xellos drew a sharp breath as he looked Filia over. The sheet that was covering her body had slipped off, revealing her chest and she made no motion to cover it back up. But what was more shocking was her overall appearance. Her lips were fuller and bright red and her cheeks were full of blush. Her eyes were half-open, giving them a more seductive appearance. Her breasts had swollen and were now round and full. Her hands, which were now resting on her stomach, were adorned with gracefully long nails. Her hips had widened a little, giving her the appearance of having a fuller bottom. Her body had changed to make her look more 'womanly' to attract a mate. Xellos sat back down, taking all this in and trying to make sense of it. He even thought for a moment that his eyes might have been playing tricks on him, but another look at her confirmed that she had indeed changed.

"Filia," he said quietly, "You look different." He leaned over and placed a hand on her forehead. She did nothing to stop him, instead opting to feel his cool hand on her face. 'She's as hot as fire,' Xellos thought, taking his hand away. He watched the lamplight shimmer off the beads of sweat that clung to Filia's body as he thought. Her chest heaved up and down, her breathing having turned into a heavy panting. She watched him think, looking at him with round, saucer-like eyes. "This isn't a fever," he said seriously, "Is it, Filia?"

"No," she whispered, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around her stomach. She couldn't stand being so close to him now. All she could think about was dragging him into bed with her and undressing him with her teeth. He sat there, watching her and thinking for a few more moments before he spoke up again.

"You're in heat," he finally said quietly, smirking, "Aren't you? Must be hard for someone as... pious as you." Filia's eyes snapped open and her jaw dropped, sensing the sarcasm in his voice. Her entire face turned beet red. She brought her hands up to her mouth, trembling.

"How do you know about that?", she asked nervously, fearing the knowledge he now had, "What all do you know about it?" Xellos, satisfied that he had guessed correctly, leaned back in the chair, crossing his legs.

"I know something of your kind's anatomy," he replied smugly, placing a hand on his chin, "So how long has this been going on?" Filia looked down at her feet, wiggling her toes in an effort to take her mind off of him.

"A few days now," she answered shyly.

"How long?", Xellos asked again, beginning to lose his patience. He knew it was dangerous for her to just lay here like this and the longer she did it, the sicker she would be, until at last she died. He really didn't feel like letting one of his favorite toys just kill herself.

"...Seven...", Filia finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"So did you intend to ask for help?", Xellos asked, his voice acidic, "Or did you simply intend to lay in here and die?" Filia didn't respond. Instead she played with a piece of her hair. Xellos was getting irritated with her. Sometimes he just couldn't understand her stubborn, self-righteous, overly-moral behavior. He hoped he wouldn't have to take her by force just to save her life. After a few more seconds of tense silence, Xellos finally spoke up again. "Is this the first time?", he asked, some of his irritation seemingly dissipated.

"No," she replied meekly, "The first time was almost three hundred years ago..." She purposely avoided his eyes, embarrassed. She felt vulnerable with him knowing this much about what she was going through. But at the same time, she felt hopeful that maybe he would feel like helping her with this little problem.

"What did you do up until now?", he asked evenly, "How did you suppress this before?" Filia tried to find somewhere in the room to look other than at him. She tried the floor. That only showed her his feet. She tried her lamp. That only caused her to glance at his lap. Finally, she settled on staring at the ceiling.

"The priests would cast spells on us," she replied weakly, "The spells would hold off the heat." She could feel her whole body burning, particularly her chest and the area between her legs. She didn't really want to admit it, but it felt almost nice now.

"Then I can learn the spell," Xellos said firmly, breaking her out of her thoughts, "I am a priest, after all. Remember?" Filia glanced shyly at him, becoming immediately transfixed by his open eyes.

"Silly," she said softly, "Only dragon priests can cast it. And there aren't any around..." She broke off her stare, shutting her eyes and turning away. She could tell he knew exactly what she was thinking about. His eyes seemed to have the power to see right through her.

"I see," he said slowly, "Poor little dragon... Doesn't want to mate with anyone... You know I'm not going to let you just lay there and kill yourself, Filia." He sat silently and watched her for a few more moments, smirking. Filia could hear her heart beat echoing in her ears, silently praying he'd go ahead and offer himself to her.

"Why not?", Filia asked hoarsely, "Why not just leave and forget about me?" That was the part that didn't make sense to her in the part of her mind that could still make sense of things at all. He shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, his smirk fading. Honestly, he didn't know why he was so concerned. He should be happy that she was suffering, that one of the members of the race that hated him so much was dying. And it was true, he was getting nourishment from her pain. On the other hand, he knew he didn't want her to die. Not only was she much too amusing to toy with, but he'd begun to find himself strangely attracted to her presence as of late. He wasn't sure if it was her negative emotions or if it was simply her, but he could feel himself becoming drawn to her more and more.

"If you insist on knowing the truth," he replied unwillingly, sounding a little bit edgy, "I really have grown rather attached to you. If in no other way, then as a sort of investment." Filia didn't respond. The only sound she made was the sound of her breathing, thick and heavy, while she stared at him in shock. He seemed to have been made nervous by the last statement. Now he looked like he was considering deeply what he was about to say next. "Filia," he finally said, "Would you consider... mating with me?" Filia couldn't believe her ears. She smiled weakly, her breasts burning.

"I... I would mate with you," she said softly, blushing, "I... want to mate with you..." Filia watched him for a reaction, half expecting it to be a joke. Instead, he smirked, removing his gloves with his teeth, then unclasping his cloak and sliding his shoes off into the floor. As soon as he was done with that, he stood up beside his chair, making no motion to come toward her. Filia watched him, almost too nervous to move.

"Stand up," he commanded, holding out his hands to her, "Walk over here." He wanted to make sure she was going to go through with this on her own. She would probably be angry enough over this when she came to her senses in the morning as it was. In truth, he'd been hoping to save seducing his little dragon into giving herself to him for a rainy day, kind of like one saves a special candy for a special occasion. But this would be acceptable. He'd wanted her for awhile now, her fiery spirit and explosive emotions becoming a treat for him.