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An Artist Among Monsters	By : ClanCrusher Category: +M to R > Ranma ½ Views: 21243 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fanfiction. Ranma 1/2 and Monster Girl Quest are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Torotoro Resistance respectively.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
“I want to spar.”
Ranma opened an eye and looked up at the dragon woman who had pulled his tent flap aside and now loomed over him, fully armed and armored. Slowly, that eye moved to the blade at her side.
“Live steel ain't exactly a sparring thing,” he pointed out, fighting back a yawn as he rose up in his tent. Just as early as his morning sparring sessions with his old man. At least she nudged him awake instead of throwing him out a window.
“I can control myself,” said Granberia.
Ranma thought on that for a moment. “I believe you,” he said, grabbing his shirt and quickly dressing before joining the dragoness. They walked together some distance away from the sleeping lamia coiled around one of the tree branches. “Alice not the morning training type?”
“Used to be. Once she became the Monster Lord, her duties turned more towards politics than fighting. Doesn't make her any less of an opponent though.”
“You fought her?” asked Ranma curiously as he went through a few warm-up stretches, idly thinking about how to approach the upcoming spar.
“Once, about two years ago now. There was a big fight between powerful monsters for the title. I was a part of that.” The ring of steel sounded as Granberia unsheathed her sword, looking the blade over before taking a few practice swings.
Ranma stared at her in mid-stretch. “Do you dabble in politics on the side of being a swordswoman or something?”
“I wasn't actually trying to become the Monster Lord,” retorted Granberia with a huff. “It was just the only opportunity I had to fight someone from the Fateburn family.”
“Why not just ask her to spar?”
“Would you ask a human king to fight you if you were one of their knights?”
“Yeah, I guess that would be a little awkward,” admitted Ranma, standing up and giving his neck a roll. “How did it turn out?”
“She won. What about yours?”
“She probably would have won if it had gone on longer.”
The two of them stared at one another, pausing in their warmups. Ranma was the first to break the silence. “That bad, huh?”
“I was woefully unprepared at the time. I've learned, since then. You?”
“Couldn't even make her flinch. Still learning.”
The faintest hint of a smile appeared on Granberia's face. “Then I suppose this will be good for both of us.”
Despite her claims about desiring a sparring session, it quickly became clear that the dragon didn't do anything halfway. While she didn't ignite her sword or use any of her special techniques, she was still incredibly quick and had a masterful grasp of swordplay. True to her word, she had more than enough control to pull her blade back from giving him any wound more serious than a nick to clothing or skin.
For his part, Ranma kept his ki use to a minimum. He didn't manifest any visible energy attacks and stayed ahead of her blade for most of the session using light blows rather than debilitating ones. More often than not, Ranma found himself on the defensive, and was forced to give her sword a healthy amount of space. Granberia seemed wise to his techniques now, and in the corner of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder how a full-on rematch would go.
“I hope one of you remembered to make food in between hitting each other.”
The voice of the Monster Lord caused both of them to pause in mid-attack. Slowly, Granberia sheathed her blade. “Lord Alice-”
“If you're going to pretend to be seeing to my needs while stalking your husband-in-training, the least you could do is fix breakfast,” said Alice pointedly. “Or did you need another hour to hit on each other some more?”
Flustered, Granberia looked between Alice and Ranma.
Ranma jumped on the excuse. “I'll fix something right now,” he said, avoiding looking anywhere near Granberia as he pushed through the trees and back to the campsite.
Fortunately, it didn't take long to push the embers into a fire, and thanks to the completion of his 'quest' to defeat the fearsome bandit gang, he had plenty of rations to make into a decent meal. It was almost an echo of his first training journey to China, though he wasn't sure his current traveling companions were an upgrade to his deadbeat father. Sparring with someone who trained seriously was a nice change of pace, yet considering what the two of them had done at the Sutherland Inn...
“Are you finished yet?”
Alice's voice shook him out of his thoughts. “No, and it's not going to cook any faster if you pester me,” he added.
With a huff, Alice coiled up near the fire and waited, watching Ranma at work. “You're asking for trouble, flirting with her like that.”
Ranma's hand slipped and nearly went into the fire. “That was sparring!”
“It's the same thing for dragons. Especially one like her who is constantly searching for an opponent who can test her abilities. I have a feeling that if she weren’t traveling with us right now, she'd be stalking you constantly, looking for opportunities to ambush you.”
“You can't expect me to believe that I'm the worthiest opponent she can find when there are monsters like you around,” Ranma protested.
“Oh, there are plenty of monsters stronger than you,” agreed Alice while ignoring the glare that earned her. “But add in 'dedicated to fighting', 'willing to spar', and 'unattached male' then that list shrinks down to near nothing.”
Unable to think of a good response, Ranma simply turned his attention back to the frying pan and flipped the omelet over one last time before adding a touch of seasoning and sliding it onto a plate. “Don't eat it all at once,” he grumbled. “Hey Granberia, breakfast is ready!”
“A human that can cook is another nice bonus,” said Alice cheekily. “At this point, all you'd need to do is show her a few more techniques-”
“Hey Granberia, do you know anything about Happiness Village?” asked Ranma as the swordsman appeared from the tree-line, cutting Alice off.
“Small and inconsequential,” replied Granberia as she took her meal and dug into it. “I didn't bother to look into it since it provided no tactical value and the monster queen in the area is reclusive rather than active. Hmm...this is rather good.”
“Not my first trip into the wilderness. You either learn how to cook, or you suffer,” replied Ranma with a shrug. “How does a monster queen even set up here?”
“By being far out of the way of the major travel routes,” replied Alice. “Much like Happiness Village itself. I doubt anyone except the innkeeper is even aware of their problems right now.”
“But what is the problem exactly?” asked Ranma.
“I don't know,” said Alice simply. “I could theorize, but it's better to simply see the situation for myself.”
“And what if it's the fault of the monster queen living there?”
“Then things get complicated,” said Alice sourly.
Ranma stared.
He really shouldn't have been surprised by the monsters in this world given what he'd already seen, but the creature he was looking at now was just...bizarre. Her legs were a segmented chitin which extended all the way to her mid-chest, where the hard shell turned into soft looking skin and a pair of human-like breasts. Delicate wings spread from her back and two claw-feelers jutted out from her shoulders.
Far and away the strangest thing about her though, was the giant honeycomb that hung off her back like a pack.
“You know, I didn't think to ask...but are these the 'bees' they're using to make Happiness Honey?” Ranma asked, throwing a glance over to Alice beside him.
“On this continent? I doubt it,” she replied. “The substance they produce would be more of an aphrodisiac if anything. Are you going to fight her?”
“I...wasn't planning on it,” said Ranma carefully.
“She's likely out here hoping to ambush travelers and feed on them. Isn't that the kind of thing a hero should be worried about?” asked Alice.
“I'm really more of a tourist without a passport,” reasoned Ranma.
Alice cocked her head. “Without a what?”
“Never mind,” said Ranma with a sigh, walking out from his hiding place and approaching the bee girl, very careful not to let his eyes move from her face. “Hey there.”
The girl's body jerked in surprise, her wings flaring outward as she quickly turned around, showing that she had more than enough strength to carry that odd honeycomb on her back despite how awkward it looked. “Oh! A human! You startled me.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. Hey, you weren't waiting along this road hoping for some travelers to come by so you could ambush them, were you?”
“Me? Oh no, I'm a bit too old for that these days,” said the bee-girl with a wistful sigh. “Maybe if I were a few years younger...but nowadays I only indulge myself in the flowers around here.” Opening her mouth, the bee-girl let a long, pink appendage slither out and twist like a snake through the air towards one of the flower buds at her feet. The tip swirled around the flower repeatedly before it pulled back and brought with it a golden-colored nectar.
It took Ranma a couple moments to find his voice. “Ah...well good luck with that then.”
“Thank you. Please be safe on your travels.” With one more smile, the bee girl took off into the air, flying just above the tree-tops before vanishing from view.
“Well...she was friendly enough,” Ranma said after a moment of watching the sky.
“That's not going to work on every monster,” noted Granberia as she emerged from hiding.
“You weren't exactly in the mood for talking the first time,” retorted Ranma.
“I didn't need words to know you were eager for a fight as well.”
Silently, Ranma conceded the point, though he didn't say anything aloud.
“Traveling with you two is going to be exhausting,” said Alice, from right beside him. He restrained the urge to leap back on reflex. “I imagine you'll be fighting the harpy queen before the day is finished.”
“I don't go looking for fights ya know,” grumbled Ranma. “Most times they just find me.”
“They're back! Get inside! Run!”
“Attack! The village is under attack!”
Ranma's head jerked towards the noise. In the next second, he was gone, sprinting towards the village. On the wind, he could hear the faintest hint of conversation behind him.
“How about it, Granberia? Wager your next meal that they'll fight?”
“No bet.”
Ranma focused as the village came into view. His eyes darted left and right, looking at the fleeing villagers. Women...more women...and a single child fending off a winged monster which had its talons in his shirt and had taken flight.
“Claws off!” His shout had the desired effect. The girl turned in surprise just in time for Ranma's kick to land hard on her side. Her wings flapped wildly and her talons released the boy, but she didn't have a chance to recover before his second kick struck her back and sent her spinning to the ground. It took even less time for Ranma to take a seat on her back, crossing his legs over her waist as he stared down at her.
“Owww! Hey, lemme up! No fair, I wasn't even ready!” Unfortunately for the winged girl, lacking arms made Ranma's position quite easy to maintain, her feathers unable to get any real purchase against the ground.
“You were trying to kidnap a kid! What part of that was 'fair'?” demanded Ranma.
“I wasn't kidnapping him! I was trying to bring him back to my village so I could mate with him!”
The boy spoke up. “Erm...what's mate mean?”
“Beat it, kid!” snapped Ranma.
“Eep! Sorry!”
Letting out a sigh as the kid turned tail and ran, Ranma returned his attention to the girl he was sitting on. “Why a kid? Is this another one of those monster things? Or are you like...a fully grown teenage monster?”
“Hey! I'm an adult by harpy standards!”
“Well, you are, but he ain't, and that just makes you look worse!”
“Nnhh...alright fine, he was the only male in this village I could find! All the others were snatched up already!”
Ranma blinked. “All of them? Like...every male here?” Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any fleeing males, and no one had shown up to help the young boy either.
“That's what I said, didn't I? Although...” Her squirming stopped as she turned to get a good look at her captor. “I'd much rather have a man like you. Are you on the market?”
Reaching a hand forward, Ranma noogied her headtop. “Focus, I'm asking the questions here.”
“Ow ow ow! Okay okay, I'll be good!”
“The queen. Did she order you to do this?”
“Um...well she did encourage us to seek out mates of our own and didn't really say that the village was off limits- ow ow ow! Okay, yes, she said we could!”
Removing his knuckles from her head, Ranma slowly got to his feet, letting the harpy free. “Well, there aren't any left. So get lost.”
The harpy blinked, clearly surprised by the show of mercy. “You're letting me go?”
“That a problem or something?”
Her wings shook and dislodged the dirt that had accumulated while she got to her feet. “No, it's just...the queen said that adventurers like you would cut us to pieces, tear us to shreds and-”
Ranma cut her off before she could go into more vivid detail. “I'm a martial artist, not an adventurer.”
“Ohh...so what does that mean?” the harpy asked with a very avian-like tip of the head.
“It means I'm giving you one chance to fly away before I change my mind!” snapped Ranma.
With a yelp of surprise, the harpy took flight, startling like a sparrow and hurrying off.
“So this is you 'not' looking for fights?”
“Shut up,” grumbled Ranma, not even turning to look at the disguised Alice.
“Bit of a sad display. Running from a single young harpy and not even trying to defend a child. Do you think he's an orphan, or are his caretakers just that cowardly?”
“I'm still inclined to blame the ones doing the kidnapping,” countered Ranma, finally spotting some of the villagers as they emerged from their homes.
“Did you see him?”
“He took out that harpy with one blow!”
“The Goddess has finally answered our prayers!”
Someone from the crowd approached, an elderly woman who walked with a gnarled stick. “Brave adventur...er...martial artist, thank you for driving away that monster. Might I have your name?”
“Ranma Saotome. I came here 'cause the Sutherland Inn owner asked me to check up on ya.”
The woman let out a sigh. “It’s truly a dire situation. For the past several months, our village has been raided numerous times by that vicious harpy tribe. At first it was just the men, but it wasn't long before they were kidnapping the elderly, and now the young boys. Even my own husband wasn't spared.”
“Was it really a kidnapping?” asked Alice with a raise of her eyebrow. “Given the way you abandoned that boy, it seemed more like a sacrifice.”
An uncomfortable silence followed. Several of the women in the crowd looked toward the ground.
“What chance do we have against monsters?” replied the elder. “We're nothing but a simple farming village. We have no choice but to seek help.”
“Really? How many adventurers have you sent out to solve your problem before asking Ranma?” demanded Alice.
“Five others,” admitted the elder with clear reluctance. “But what would you have us do?”
“Stand up for yourselves! Or at the very least don't abandon a defenseless child for your own well being.”
“Alice,” murmured Ranma softly as the group of women began to mutter amongst themselves. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Making a point,” replied Alice while doing little to keep the tone of her voice down. “This is what blind faith in Ilias does to people. They sit around and wait for deliverance without even taking the most basic steps towards solving their own problems.”
“I thought the whole point of this adventuring thing was to help people do what they couldn't.”
“There's a difference between being unable to do anything and not even trying,” retorted Alice. “Even the guards in Iliasburg tried to fight Granberia.”
“So you're encouraging them to attack the harpies? Shouldn't you be against that?”
“It won't come to a fight,” muttered Alice. “Not if the Harpy Queen is doing what I know she's doing.”
“You said you didn't know her!”
“She's still a monster queen, and there's really only one purpose these kidnappings serve.”
The clamor of the villagers started to get louder. Soon the voices were loud enough for Ranma to hear.
“She's right. We need to do something.”
“I'm tired of sitting here and being useless! We've got plenty of sharp farming tools!”
“We should start a bonfire and make some torches.”
“Maybe I could turn our bees into a weap...no, that's a stupid idea.”
“Hang on a sec,” interrupted Ranma as he stepped into the middle of the fast forming mob. “How much do you actually know about your opponent?”
“What do you mean?” asked the elder.
“Yeah but...how many are there? Are they keeping the men hostage somewhere? Who's leading them?” pressed Ranma.
The building rancor seemed to cool a bit at his questions.
“I'm still going,” said the village elder, resolute. Her resolve was quickly echoed by the mob, which had only grown larger as more and more of the villagers joined.
“Let me go first,” insisted Ranma. “Lady Sutherland asked me to help out, and I could at least check the place out and see what's going on.”
“Probably lots of sex,” said Alice flatly.
Ranma twitched slightly, but it seemed he had been the only one to hear her.
“We'll only wait for so long,” said the elder. “We'll still need some time to organize ourselves.”
“Just give me a couple hours,” urged Ranma. “It'll be better than charging in blind.”
“But you're so good at charging in blind,” murmured Alice.
“Yeah well I'm going scouting first so you should be proud of me,” huffed Ranma.
“We'll wait,” agreed the elder.
“Good. Now, where can I get some cold water?”
“You're planning to fight the queen as a female?”
Ranma's eye twitched slightly at Granberia's first question. “I'm not planning on fighting anyone. It'll just be less awkward if I do fight.”
“Not the worst idea you've had,” said Alice on his other side as she moved through the forest in her snake form. “Outside of succubi, there aren't many monsters who play the field.”
“That has nothing to do with it!” lied Ranma quickly. “I jump higher and move faster like this and my opponents can fly. I need to be as nimble as possible.”
“They might actually go easier on a potential husband they can capture,” said Alice, amused.
“Then I'll stay like this.”
“Whatever. Granberia, did you find the location of the village?”
“Of course. I followed the harpy that flew from Happiness Village. It's just over a mile northwest of here,” said Granberia.
“You did?” asked Ranma, surprised.
“Good. Take Ranma there so she doesn't end up wandering this forest for hours,” ordered Alice.
“You're not going to intervene?” asked Granberia.
“I'd prefer not to,” said Alice, her amused tone disappearing. “I don't know enough about the current queen and things have been strained between the harpies and the throne after what happened with Refletsia.”
Granberia's brow furrowed slightly. “Who?”
“The last harpy queen. She didn't give up her throne peacefully. I've heard nominally positive things about her successor, Lucretia, but she's clearly been in open defiance of my orders for months now.”
“So why not just go in there and make her stop?” asked Ranma.
“Because that's not going to solve the underlying problem.”
“And...you think I'm going to do a better job?”
“Not a chance in hell,” said Alice immediately.
“Gee, thanks...”
“The only ones who are going to be able to solve this problem are the women of Happiness Village. It would help if the men stepped up, too.”
Ranma's confusion was plain. “The men? What are they doing?”
“Easier for you to just see for yourself,” replied Alice. “Good luck fighting the queen.”
“I'm not going to fight the queen!” protested Ranma, hotly. “I'm only going to look around.”
“How exactly were you planning on doing that?” asked Granberia. “It's broad daylight and you stand out.”
“By using a secret technique.”
“Hmph. I knew you were hiding more techniques.”
“I wasn't hiding it, it wouldn't have worked against you. Are you going to be doing anything?”
Granberia looked hesitant before she cast a glance towards Alice.
“If this actually turns into a full-scale war, I'll be counting on Granberia to stop it,” said Alice. “Until that happens, I'll see if the humans and the harpies can sort this out on their own.”
The trees thinned out until finally the harpy's village came into view. The sight was rather spectacular to behold. In the middle was a giant tree, one of the largest Ranma had ever seen. It stretched skyward with several sections hollowed out into homes with several harpies just barely visible inside. Numerous branches twisted away from the tree, many of them supporting more human looking homes of their own, while some of the surrounding smaller trees were connected to the central one with rope bridges.
“I'll be back in a bit.”
Striding forward, Ranma looked towards the sky. No lookouts, no soldiers, or at least they weren't visible. By all accounts it seemed as though the place was just a normal, if slightly oddly situated village.
Ranma waited until Alice and Granberia were out of sight before she began to steady her breath, and focus on her Soul of Ice. Slowly, she slipped into the Umisenken.
Her presence faded away. First with her ki, then from the five senses. By the time she set foot on the first ramp, the harpies lounging in the trees nearby didn't even glance in her direction. It didn't take long before snippets of conversation to reach her.
“Reina came back empty clawed today. Said the village got a new mercenary, and he's quite a looker.”
“Think he'll attack us too?”
“Maybe, but Lucretia will deal with him just like the others.”
“I dunno...she's been kind of depressed lately...”
Moving past the pair in the branches, Ranma glanced in on the houses. Very few of them were actually 'private' in the sense of having drawn curtains or locked doors. Many of them were open, letting in the cool breeze and giving Ranma a clear view of-
“Do you like it when I squeeze you like this?”
“Haaa...oh Pina...I can't hold back!”
“Don't try dear, Pii really wants a new sister. Let it aaaaaalll out~”
Stumbling back from the window, Ranma caught herself on the rope bridge, a bright blush on her face.
Could have at least closed the damn curtains!
Despite the sounds from the house, none of the harpies seemed to take notice, and it soon became apparent that this was far from the only household engaged in such activity.
“You want me to move my wings like this?”
“Ohh...preen me...just like that!”
“Isn't this much better than adventuring out in the wilderness?”
“Ahh...y-yes...I never want to leave...”
“My wife never treated me like this...”
By the time Ranma finally reached the top of the tree, she was nursing a small headache from exasperation. “No chains, no cages, nothing keeping them here but sex,” she grumbled to herself. It was the only thing that seemed to be on the village's mind, as even the ones not engaged in sex were talking about the potential new 'adventurer' and who might be the lucky harpy to nab him.
Now everything Alice had hinted at made sense. This wasn't a community of warriors so much as one starved of males. Even the elderly males had been cuddled up with harpies, escape the furthest thing from their minds.
The erotic sounds faded as Ranma made her way higher into the tree. The last house nested in the uppermost branches had to belong to someone important, and unlike the others, there were no ladders or paths connected to it. None of that was an obstacle to her though, and with a few well-placed jumps, Ranma slipped from the trees and into the spacious house.
Even though the outside was inaccessible to humans, the inside wouldn't have looked out of place for a human's house. A large circular bed took up one corner, hidden slightly by a curtain. A single bookcase rested against the wall, and a hearth for cooking was tucked away in the corner. The only thing that hinted at this occupant's importance was the plush, red rug beneath her feet and a throne facing the entrance.
Already, Ranma could see problems with a frontal assault. Short of outright burning the tree down, the narrow walkways and ladders that made up a majority of the paths were barely fit for two people at a time. Against flying opponents, using those paths was out of the question.
Not that these idiots want saving.
A rustle of wings drew her attention to the outside. A moment later the doors to the house were pushed open, admitting the largest harpy Ranma had seen yet. Even if she couldn't have sensed her energy, the poise and presence alone would have been enough to identify her as the queen, and the pink feathers combined with the violet hair made her stand out far more than the other harpies.
Ranma moved ever so slightly, just to make sure she didn’t get brushed as the queen passed, yet there was a slight tilt of the harpy's head in her direction.
Slowly, the harpy made her way to the throne before she turned and sat down, her piercing green eyes staring right at the corner where Ranma was standing.
“If you'd wished for an audience with me, you only need to have asked.” The way the harpy queen was looking at her suggested that she had an idea of where her body was, but not her eyes. “You hide your presence well, but you can't hide from the wind. Why not reveal yourself so we might talk properly?”
Ranma didn't drop the cloak immediately. Instead, she took a few steps to the side and watched as the queen's head followed her. That more or less proved it. Releasing the hold on her ki, the umisenken dropped. “Guessing you’re Lucretia then. Don't know what you want to talk about. I've seen everything I need to.”
Lucretia examined Ranma, with her wings settled on the arms of her throne. A clear indication that she wasn't about to jump into a fight. “You guess correctly. I am Lucretia, queen of the harpies. Tell me, just what have you seen?”
“Enough. Men here are pretty pathetic. Not even sure why you’d want 'em.”
“It's not ideal,” she agreed, to Ranma's surprise. “But it has been years since there were so many men in our village. Some pampering is to be expected.”
“Why even bother with the kidnapping? Don't see anyone in a hurry to leave.”
“It's because opening up a dialogue with the humans was rendered impossible by Ilias' edicts. There was simply no other way.”
“Yeah, I'm hearing her name thrown around as an excuse a lot in this world and I don't buy any of them,” said Ranma flatly.
“Then what would you do?”
“Send some of the men back,” answered Ranma. “Let them talk to the village.”
“But none of them want to go back,” countered Lucretia. “They're simply too embarrassed about betraying Ilias' ideals after following them for so long.”
“Yeah, sure they are. And I bet the fact that they skipped out on their village has nothing to do with it.”
“That may be true, but that doesn't mean we can force them to be diplomats.”
“Didn't seem to have a problem kidnapping them in the first place. Including the kids.”
The queen's eyes narrowed. “I specifically forbade anyone from laying a single claw on the children of Happiness Village!”
“Yeah, well, they're not listening. One of your harpies had her claws in a boy before I kicked her off.”
That brought a small sigh out of the queen. “Reina failed to inform me of that. Although...she did say that the one who had defeated her had been a black-haired male.”
Crap!
“That's not important,” said Ranma quickly.
“You don't seem to be in disguise. There is a hint of magic about you, though,” continued the watchful harpy.
Ranma now noticed that the wind was moving subtly around her. It was oddly soothing, almost as though it were caressing, rather than pushing outright against. The only sign that the queen was doing anything was a slight movement of her wings.
“You're getting all that from the wind?” asked Ranma, impressed.
“The wind tells me many things. Such as how your body is tense and ready to react like a tightened spring, and how you're nervous about this mysterious male.” Lucretia had a calm smile on her face now that only made Ranma more uneasy. “So what is your secret?”
“An ancient Chinese training ground and a cursed spring. Can we go back to talking about your village?”
The smile only grew. “Did you disguise yourself to avoid temptation?”
“It's not a disguise,” snapped Ranma, her cheeks growing hot with a blush.
“If I promise not to seduce you, will you show me?”
“No! What kind of promise is that anyways? I got somewhere to be!”
Ranma turned towards the door...and then suddenly jumped away from a pink blur as the queen's wings swept through the air like a blade. The brush of feathers was just barely felt against her arm as the wind rushed to catch up with the queen's movements.
“You dodged,” said Lucretia as she brought her wings back to a neutral position at her sides.
“Why...why wouldn't I?” said Ranma, trying to hide the fact that she was as surprised as the queen. She hadn't seen or felt anything from her...how had she known to move? Something must have given her away.
Lucretia's surprise faded into playfulness once more. “It seems your gender isn't the only secret you're keeping. Now I'm very curious.”
The curtains fluttered inward as the wind picked up and blew in a swirl around the queen. Her wings spread and her stance changed, the regal aura faded, and a more predatory one took over. “What's your name, adventurer?”
“Ranma Saotome. And I'm not an adventurer, I'm a martial artist.”
As the words left her mouth, Ranma knew she'd made a mistake. Lucretia’s grin widened, and the next few seconds were a blur of motion.
Graceful as a dancer, the harpy queen rode the wild winds and lunged forward, sweeping out her wings in powerful strikes that cut into the wooden walls of her house and scattered the furnishings. The feathers that looked so invitingly soft before were now like steel, turning aside Ranma's blows while the crosswind staggered her balance. She could feel the queen's energy both in the air and the wings, but it was moving too chaotically to keep track of.
Worse still, Ranma could sense she was being toyed with. Lucretia was holding back from the lethal strikes those wings were certainly capable of. She was trying to catch her, and the confined space was only working to her advantage.
Grimacing, Ranma brought some energy to her hands and prepared her special technique...
Roderick let out a small sigh as he felt feathers tickling across his bare chest. Defiantly, he turned to his side and tried to tug the blankets over his body, but his wife of three months was insistent, continuing the gentle torture until finally he opened his eyes.
“Nnhh...what time is it?”
“It's afternoon, sweetie. You're going to ruin your sleep schedule if you stay in bed for much longer.”
“Pipa, you were the one who made me exhausted in the first place...”
“And now I'm going to make you exhausted again so you can sleep properly,” came her playful reply. “Now let's-”
“MOKO TAKABISHA!”
CRASH!
“Coming through!”
Roderick jerked up in bed as a bright blue ball of energy lanced down through the ceiling, continued through the floor, and left a pair of large holes in its wake. A second later a green and red blur went straight through them. Before he could even fathom what he'd seen, a second blur followed, larger than the first, widening the holes further with her passage.
“You can't run from the wind!”
The voices faded into the distance, more crashes and startled shrieks rang out as the two carved a path of mayhem through the harpy village.
“Should we...” started Roderick.
“The queen can handle it,” insisted Pipa, moving to block her husband's view of the twin holes that now decorated their house. “Besides, you're awake now, right?”
Ranma wasn't fleeing as much as she was creatively falling through the various houses, structures, and pathways.
Giving close chase, Lucretia swooped, dived, and lunged, the wind always at her back and working with her while constantly buffeting Ranma. Every so often Ranma was forced to take a destructive detour through solid obstacles to hamper the queen's flight path.
The ground was in sight though, and the forest was visible beyond that. Kicking off the base of the tree, Ranma rolled as she impacted the grassy floor and sprinted towards the treeline, confident that her legs would carry her through the dense foliage far more readily than the queen's wings.
And then, in the back of her mind, she felt the wind shift and compress. The energy in the air flowed into a new shape, the element bending before it was unleashed. Even though she couldn't tell how she could feel it...she felt it all the same.
Her body shifted, her foot turned, and with a harsh kick, Ranma struck out at that energy, directing her own ki to channel it into a new path. Beside her, the grass was torn up and dirt went flying, the immense blade of air carving a swath of destruction that continued well into the forest and stripped the bark from trees.
Slowly, Ranma turned back around and watched as Lucretia gently landed on the ground, her eyes wide as she looked at the path her attack had taken. “Ah...that...was excessive.”
Ranma looked down at the scar in the ground and then back towards the queen. Her expression had changed from the playful smile to a far more somber look, her wings falling to her sides.
“I'm sorry, I did not mean to escalate things so rapidly. It's just been...years since there was anyone who was even close to being my equal. Please, leave this village in peace and-”
“Do it again.”
Lucretia quieted abruptly and looked at Ranma in surprise. “...what?”
“Do it again. I felt something. I don't know how to explain it but the way you were pushing that energy around...I wanna feel it again.”
“But that attack could have killed you!”
“I'm fine, really! Let’s go! This was just getting interesting!”
“I thought you were running away...?”
“No, I just didn't want to fight you up in a tree with unstable footing. Come on, please?”
“I'm...really not much for violence...”
“Well could you at least tell me how that wind thing works? I've been feeling that energy prickling at the back of my neck ever since I got here and it's driving me nuts.”
“Here as in...this village?” Lucretia, puzzled.
“No, I mean this wor- actually, that would take too long to explain. Let's just keep going. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.” Rolling her neck, Ranma brought her arms up at the ready, eager to start the next round.
The queen seemed less enthusiastic. “I'm sorry Ranma, things never should have come to this. Maybe we can-”
“There she is! Attack!”
Ranma's head whipped around just in time to see the first of the Happiness Villagers break through the treeline, the women brandishing pitchforks, lit torches, and sharpened sticks. There was a clear nervous tension in the air, but mob psychology seemed to have taken the place of fear. And yet...
They don't stand a chance!
A single sweep of her wings and another burst of air like before would easily scatter all of them...yet the queen remained still, a melancholic look on her face as she watched the mob get closer without so much as a twitch from her wing.
She isn't doing anything. Why isn't she doing anything?
Right before the first villager could get within striking range, Ranma moved, interjecting herself between the queen and the sharp farming tool being pointed at her. “I've got things here, go rescue the men!” she ordered. When she saw the uncertainty, Ranma upped the volume of her voice. “What are you waiting for? Go!”
Thankfully, it didn't take much encouragement to turn the mob's attention elsewhere and the leader of the group turned the charge towards the interlaced trees and nests where the other harpies were emerging to see what the commotion was.
“You shouldn't have done that,” said the queen at her back. “They're right to turn their hatred on me.”
“That doesn't mean you deserve to be run through,” replied Ranma.
“And my subjects do?” asked Lucretia sharply. “It would be better for them to turn their anger on me.”
“Yeah that’s not gonna happen,” grumbled Ranma as he looked towards the village.
“Wait, Maria! Stop!”
“Ashley, please, put down the torch!”
“Shirley, I can explain!”
Stumbling out of the houses in various states of dress, the 'captive' males began to emerge, quickly trying to calm the mob.
“Alan? You...you're okay!”
“Mom, I'd like you to meet my new wife...and my two daughters.”
“Clara, I'm sorry, I meant to write you...but, well, I'm married now. This is your new mother in-law.”
“We're family now! Family shouldn't fight family!”
The anger had broken, giving way to confusion as families were reunited and the health and well-being of the men were assured.
“You knew this was going to happen?” asked the queen.
“Trust me, it's not the harpies that are going to need protecting,” murmured Ranma, letting out a sigh as the mob’s mood shifted from confused relief back to anger.
“What do you mean you're happily married? What about our daughter?”
“W-Well, we can be a big family together, right?”
“You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried we were?”
“Were you going to abandon us to take care of the village all by ourselves?”
“I was meaning to say something but-”
“But what? Were you too busy with your new wife?”
Similar arguments were breaking out all over the place as everyone 'discovered' their new extended families.
“You lazy ass! I'll kill you!”
“Hurk! Gak...we should be at peace! Ow!”
“Ahh! Lina I'm sorry! Mercy!”
“Forgive me Ranma, but I should see to my kin,” said Lucretia kindly.
“Yeah I know...wish they could have waited a couple minutes longer,” said Ranma as she waved the queen off. With her arms placed behind her head, Ranma flopped backwards and watched the queen join the mob. “I'm never going to get to see that technique again.”
“I thought you didn't want to fight her?”
Tilting her head slightly, Ranma peered up at Alice, who had again made a stealthy approach. “Yeah yeah, you were right. I ended up fighting her. Gloat about it why don't you?”
“Maybe later,” said Alice. Her gaze turned to the infighting villagers. “Are you going to just lay here and let things play out?”
“Hell if I'm getting in the middle of that,” scoffed Ranma, waving her arm in the direction of the crowd of harpies and humans, the former of which seemed to be holding the human women back from throttling the missing men. “It's actually kinda nice to be on the sidelines rather than the middle for once.”
“You've been in the middle of something like that? How would you solve it then?” asked Alice, taking a seat next to Ranma on the grass, legs crossed.
“I dunno. Usually they just take a few swings at me until they're tired out.”
“That's a terrible way to resolve arguments.”
“Hey, I didn't say it was the best way, it's just what’s worked for me! Why did the villagers charge in anyways? I thought they were waiting till I came back?”
On her right, Ranma briefly felt a surge of energy as Granberia seemed to step straight out of thin air and into the space beside her. “They were, until they started hearing the crashing and the roaring winds. At that point they assumed you were in danger and were set on coming to your aid. A shame, I would have enjoyed seeing the harpy queen really cut loose.”
“You and me both,” agreed Ranma. “Whatever. Not my problem anymore. Did you know this was happening, Alice?”
“Not entirely, but it seemed the most likely case. Harpies are very family oriented and nurturing. It was highly unlikely any of the men were being forced to stay.”
“So why didn't you do anything?”
“Who says I didn't?”
Ranma opened her mouth but paused. A few pieces of the puzzle pulled themselves into place. “You...goaded them on purpose? Why?”
“Because I can't very well tell my subordinate to let her race die out and I couldn't convince the humans of the queen's intentions when she'd been kidnapping males. I can, however, feed their rage some, put a volatile human into the mix, and force a confrontation that both sides were avoiding.”
The confrontation in question seemed to be reaching a bit of a lull now as the queen's presence calmed down the harpies and the males both. The village elder she'd seen earlier was talking directly with her now while her 'kidnapped' husband seemed to be staying out of her line of sight.
“What a mess,” said Ranma, turning her head to the sky.
“It's a microcosm of what this world is going through right now,” said Alice. “And every single region has its own unique problems.”
“The real problem is Ilias,” said Granberia with a scoff. “Although these pathetic males who would rather live a life of being coddled aren't helping.”
“You do remember the harpy that tried to kidnap that kid, right?” reminded Ranma.
“Hmph. Perhaps both sides are hopeless in that case,” Granberia conceded.
“Like I said. Giant mess. At least they've put the weapons down...for now. You gonna help out now?”
“Only if the queen requests my presence,” replied Alice. “Otherwise it will be best for her to make a deal on her own terms.”
Arguments continued long into the afternoon, the torches the villagers had brought being put to use in making a bonfire while the debates continued. For her part, Ranma was content to stay out of it, even getting a brief nap in and a small meal when food was brought out. Tensions finally ran dry at the eleventh hour with the village chief and harpy queen speaking carefully with one another as they finalized an agreement.
“So...in exchange for your village helping out in the fields and helping to take care of the bees, we in turn will send males from our village to be wed with the harpies in your village on the provision that no one is separated from their family.”
“And we, as a village, accept the terms of your agreement,” concluded Lucretia. Around her, the crowds of harpies and humans seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief, though there were still those among the crowd shooting dirty looks at one another. With the agreement reached, however, the crowd began to disperse, the humans heading back to their village while the harpies took to the trees.
Letting out a small yawn and stretching her arms, Ranma glanced around to see where Alice had gotten to and was completely unsurprised to find her sitting near the makeshift table laden with food. Before she could make her way there, however, a rustle of wings and a calm voice drew her attention.
“Your companion...am I right in assuming that she is the monster lord?”
Even though the negotiations had clearly worn her out, Lucretia looked a lot more relaxed than she had before, as if a weight had been lifted from her.
“When she feels like it, I guess,” replied Ranma.
“I've never met her before today. What kind of monster is she?”
“Beats me. I've known her less than a week.”
The harpy queen looked surprised. “And...she's traveling with you? Why?”
“Dunno. She won't give me a straight answer.”
Lucretia’s wing moved to her face, hiding a small smile. “Does that mean she has yet to properly claim you?”
Ranma choked slightly. “What? No! No one has 'claimed' me and no one is going to 'claim' me! Besides, I'm a girl, remember?”
“That doesn't stop every monster,” said the queen, clearly amused with Ranma's flustered state. “But tell me...what is your secret? What turns a handsome dark haired male into a lovely, red-haired female so easily?”
Ranma avoided her gaze. “Nothing. I don't even know who you're talking about.”
Even though the lie was obvious, Lucretia never lost her smile. “What if I were to tell you a secret in exchange? You were curious about how I used the wind, yes?”
Despite herself, Ranma couldn't help but show curiosity, watching as the queen spread her wings and rose into the air, keeping aloft while the wind picked up around her. “It is simply a natural element of the world. With time and patience, anyone can sense it, manipulate it, speak with it, and play with it.”
Her body twirled, a rush of wind accompanying her ascent, yet it was focused to the point where Ranma could only feel a fraction of it brushing against her arm. Just like when she'd been using it to attack, the wind seemed to follow her desires, rather than be actively bent to her will, almost as if she were coaxing it rather than pushing it like she did with her Hiryu Shoten Ha.
“And then, when you've achieved this state, you can move with it and let it carry you!” Lucretia’s wings flapped and suddenly Ranma felt her feet flying out from beneath her. In a single instant the wind had turned from a soothing gale to a thunderous storm. Her body twisted in the air, poised to land properly, but the harpy queen was already on top of her, swooping low and digging her talons into the waist of her pants.
A hard flap of her wings took them both skyward. The wind raged around them both in a tightly controlled tornado, their bodies suspended in the air before the queen wrapped her wings tight around Ranma's back and pulled her smaller body into hers.
“Hey, what's the big id-mmph!” Ranma scarcely get the words out before Lucretia’s lips pressed against hers. The kiss wasn't demanding or forceful, but it was insistent, and Ranma's panicked tongue was no match for the queen's skilled offensive.
Impossibly soft and gentle feathers were rubbing over every inch of her back, her clothing doing little to diminish their comforting touch. In the places where Ranma’s skin was bare, the feathers felt absolutely heavenly, and teased her relentlessly as the kiss deepened and grew more passionate. She barely even noticed when the winds around them had stilled, though when Lucretia finally landed, it was only her strong wings keeping Ranma steady.
Slowly, the kiss relaxed and then broke, though the wings seemed to grow tighter when Ranma tried to catch her breath, her covered chest pushing at the queen's barely clothed one. “You and your companions are welcome to stay the night here,” said Lucretia as her feathers gently stroked Ranma's back and arms. “And if you wish to learn more about the wind, you need only visit me in my home.”
Another squeeze, another soft kiss on Ranma's open mouth, and with a flap of her wings she was gone, a faint breeze rustling the grass as she left.
Ranma took several seconds to collect her thoughts, a hand slowly moving to her lips. “Wha...what just happened?” she murmured quietly.
“She invited you to have sex with her, idiot.”
The blunt and sudden response from Alice made Ranma jump in surprise as she realized she was right next to the food table. “No one asked you!”
Finishing off the last of the bread she'd taken from the table, Alice looked up to where the queen had flown to. “Are you going? She does know a lot about manipulating the wind and clearly wouldn't mind if you showed up female.”
“No! I'm not doing anything like that!” replied Ranma hotly.
“Why not? She seems to like you. Are wings not your thing?”
“That's not it at all! Just...”
“You're not going to survive long in this world if a kiss gets you this flustered. Maybe you should visit her. Might be worthwhile training.”
“I'm going to bed,” said Ranma abruptly, whirling around to hide her blush. “If anyone comes into my room, I'm blasting them.”
“Might be a risk some harpies are willing to take,” called Alice after him.
Deciding it was better to let her have the victory rather than encourage her, Ranma quickly made his escape, vowing to block the door and the windows for good measure. Yet even after she'd found and secured her room, the queen's offer lingered in the back of her mind and the phantom touch of her feathers took some time to fully fade.
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An Artist Among Monsters