Odd, thought I had posted what I had written here, guess not.
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Ranma woke up with a loud gasp, crawling slightly out of the covers before she realized her dream hadn’t been real. Sighing in partial relief, she tried to focus her mind away from the memory of the mute Tiefling’s cruel death. Shifting her wings about, she drew her covers back up over her body.
‘At least Saffron being-- put in that egg isn’t burned in my memory.’ She thought hollowly, still struggling to resolve her feelings on allowing the helpless infant to be forcibly imprinted on another.
“Are you okay?” Pepa asked, the fairy had been sleeping on one edge of Ranma’s pillow, and had been jostled awake.
“Yea, just a bad-- memory.” She answered, her voice still a whisper, and girlishly cringed as something shifted next to her side. Lifting her blanket up, she rolled her eyes at Hana. The weasel now twisted into an uncomfortable looking position while still sleeping soundly.
Letting her blanket fall back into place, Ranma found another familiar problem. Pepa was laying on her stomach at the edge of pillow with her head propped up in her hands watching Ranma intently. “Pepa-- I get that you’re-- concerned about me. But you don’t have to stare at me all the time.” She felt touched over the spell creatures desire to watch over her, it just felt too weird to show or voice that.
“Okay.” Pepa smiled brightly at being acknowledged and fluttered her wings to rise up off the pillow to drop back down in a crosslegged sitting position. “What should I do then?” She asked, tail curled upwards vertically and twitching back and forth in anticipation.
“I don’t know, isn’t there anything you want to do?”
“I was doing it.” Pepa answered with several confused blinks of her large eyes.
‘That’s depressing.’ Ranma slowly thought back and realized that Pepa didn’t really do anything for herself. The fairy was always waiting to help someone else or just fluttering around watching. “I meant you.” She pointed towards the tiny girl. “What do you like to do?”
“I don’t understand.” The fairy answered truthfully, eyes crossed in confusion.
“Alright, how about this--.” Ranma sat up, giving up on spending more time under the warm blankets. “If no one else was around, what would you want to do?”
Pepa crossed her arms and stroked her chin in thought. “Find out where everyone has gone?”
“It doesn’t matter where they went, they’re just not there.”
“But shouldn’t I be worried about where they went? They could be in danger.”
“No danger, everyone is perfectly alright, they’ll all live long happy lives-- okay?”
“Okay--.” Pepa agreed slowly and uncertainly. “But why can’t I be there too? Would that make them unhappy?” She asked as her wings and tail drooped.
“Ignore them, this isn’t about anyone else. What I want to know, is what would make you, Pepa, happy?”
“I’d certainly be happier knowing where everyone is. That’s just not normal, so obviously there’s some nefarious plot going on.” Pepa scrunched up her face in deep thought and crossed her arms.
“Just nevermind.” Ranma sighed, deciding that she had been asking a question beyond the spell creatures reasoning abilities. It could be easy to forget that Pepa was created by a freak occurrence and even though she was intelligent, there was no guarantee for just how smart.
“Ranma, are you going to spend all day in bed?” Kasumi’s voice came out of nowhere.
Ranma eeped and slipped back under her blanket in embarrassment before she realized that she was having such a stupid reaction. But then she buried herself underneath the covers completely upon further realization of how bad that first reaction had been.
“Kasumi help!” Pepa shouted desperately. “Ranma wants to make everyone vanish! That’s bad, isn’t it bad? Can you stop her, please?!” Ranma peaked out from her blanket to see Kasumi was actually barely over a meter away reading from a scroll.
“I don’t think that’s what Ranma meant Pepa.” Kasumi gave the fairy a patient smile.
“Ungrateful fairy, I was just going to do something nice for you.” Ranma’s voice fluctuated from normal volume to a whisper as she popped up into a kneeling position.
“Really?” Pepa spun from her place hovering in front of Kasumi with her hands clasped under her chin, and eyes sparkling with joyous tears. “I knew you liked me!” The fairy flew in an erratic path to slam into Ranma’s chest next to her collarbone and hug her.
“It’s just cause you saved me.” Ranma protested, looking to Kasumi for assistance. “I mean helped me, I could have got back to town on my own.”
“Nuh uh! You said I saved you, you wanted to do something nice for me, so you must like me! No take backs!” Pepa happily nuzzled against Ranma’s neck.
Seeing that Kasumi wasn’t going to back her up in anyway, Ranma reached up and gently patted Pepa. ‘I’m never going to get rid of her now.’ She thought without conviction, the prospect far less gag inducing than when the fairy had first shown up.
“What’s going on?” Hana asked sleepily, slithering her way out from underneath the blanket as though she had no bones.
“Ranma said she liked me.” Pepa proudly told the familiar and stuck out her tongue.
“So?” Hana rolled her head to one side. “Wasn’t that obvious?” The familiar asked like Pepa was a complete idiot.
“No fighting, you’ll--.” Ranma was about to say that they would wake Saffron but he was gone. “Just no fighting.” She finished softly.
“Okay.” Hana spun around to face her. “Did you have a message for me yet?”
“I guess I do.” She nodded. Ranma didn’t know if it was a good one but she didn’t think she would ever come up with anything better. “Ready?” Hana nodded rapidly in response.
zx
Nerima
Kneeling on the wood floor, Akane scrubbed at a stubborn stain that Happosai had created with enough force that the protective coating was being worn off. “Kasumi is going to kill me.” She groaned and settled back on her heels to see that the stain had soaked so deeply that even taking away a layer of wood hadn’t removed it.
The situation felt so hopeless. Her house was falling into squalor by her inability to perform simple everyday tasks, her father and Genma leaving their messes all over, and Happosai destroying anything the moment he was reminded that he could no longer bother women.
‘Kasumi always makes it look so easy, why is it so hard for me?’ She tossed the rag back into a bucket filled with soapy water dejectedly.
It wasn’t even noon yet and she could hear Happosai berating Genma about the spell Michiko had put on him. Demanding in drunken slurs for him to force his daughter to remove it. Genma had halfheartedly talked to Michiko about the issue but the tiefling had stood firm. ‘Too bad she couldn’t make him crawl back into whatever hole he crawled out of.’
A light and awkwardly paced knocking on the front door was a welcome distraction from her failures as a woman. ‘Why didn’t the bell chime?’ Her question was answered as she slid the door open and felt the blast of cold air come rushing in.
“Michiko?” She asked hesitantly, barely being able to see the tiefling’s black eyes as her head was wrapped completely in a red scarf. Thick layers covered her body, making her nearly three times as large as she normally was. A black cloak was draped over her wings and the girl’s tail was covered in a sleeve.There was a muffled response and a nod from the girl.
“Do you want to come in?” Akane asked and stepped aside. An emphatic nod was Michiko’s response as she quickly tottered inside, her legs unable to bend properly due to the bulky clothing. The temperature had taken a nose dive to below freezing and with it came several centimeters of snow but it wasn’t anything that warranted the clothing Michiko now wore.
Closing the door behind the tiefling, she watched as Michiko struggled to bring her mittened hands up to pull away her scarf. “Let me.” Akane offered and unwrapped the girl’s face.
“Thanks.” Michiko smiled brightly as her face was revealed.
“Why are you dressed like this?” She asked with a barely restrained snicker, pulling off the cloak to hang off to the side.
“Cause it’s so cold outside!” The younger girl animatedly waved her arms about. “And all that-- frozen white stuff! How do mortals deal with all this?”
“Not like this.” She answered in amusement and began to help Michiko remove her outermost layer. “Not even when we get over a meter of snow.”
“No way!” Michiko exclaimed dramatically and fell into her, causing Akane to automatically catch the girl under her arms. “That doesn’t happen does it?” She asked in horror, staring up at her with wide eyes.
“Every few years it does.” She smiled nervously at the contact and pushed the girl back into a standing position before helping her remove the extra layers. Michiko was wearing a thick long sleeved green tunic fitted to her form and a darker green set of slacks. “So you do wear normal clothes.” Akane joked, having only seen the tiefling wear overly skimpy outfits.
“Mom didn’t want me to freeze.” Michiko backed away a step, while rapidly running her hands through her hair to try and straighten out the frizz. “I look good though, right?” The dark haired girl asked in concern, tugging worriedly at the bottom of her tunic.
Akane wanted to fume at Ranma’s sister who made anything she wore look cute or sexy, except she seemed genuinely worried about looking unattractive in her new garb. ‘Can definitely tell those two are related.’
“Why is there a bucket on the floor?” Michiko asked before Akane could form a thoughtful response, the girl leaning slightly to the side to see down the hallway.
“Happosai made another mess. I was trying to clean it up.” Akane admitted, immediately trying to think up ways to direct Michiko away from her failed cleaning attempt.
“Are you practicing something? I mean, shouldn’t your men take care of this?” The tiefling asked curiously.
Akane didn’t immediately realize what Michiko had meant but eventually she realized what had been implied. “My father and uncle Saotome aren’t-- my men.” She explained. ‘It would make things significantly easier if they were though.’
“But you all live together, shouldn’t they at least earn their keep?” Michiko asked in confusion.
“Yes but-- well-- I volunteered to take care of the house for Kasumi. It’s my responsibility.” Akane answered, agreeing that the two who made the mess should really be the ones to clean it up.
“I could help.” The younger girl offered helpfully and clasped her hands behind her back, with her tail playfully flicking back and forth.
“If you know how.” She gestured towards the hall, chewing on her lip uncertainly. Akane had found out that Michiko was excellent in the kitchen for her young age. But it seemed quite odd for someone raised as a succubus to also be good at something requiring physical work.
“Sure do.” The dark haired tiefling chirped, excitedly clapping her hands together before skipping over to where that particular stain had embedded into the floor.
“So you know how to cook-- and clean?” Akane frowned as she watched Michiko kneel down to rub her hands together.
Michiko nodded and whispered a chant under her breath. Lowering her right hand to hover just over top the wood, she made wiping motions from left to right, the stain vanishing as she went. “I don’t know anything that can fix the wood, though.” She added hopping up to her feet. “Mom always says that a Succubus must know how to take care of herself. But a proper Succubus should never need to.” The half demon explained glibly.
“That’s a nice choice to have.” Her shoulders slumped, whenever she finally found someone to marry she would be expected to take care of the home.
“What’s that mean?” Michiko asked without comprehension to Akane’s cryptic statement, pure black eyes looking into her own for an answer.
“Well--.” Akane looked away from the inhuman eyes, uncomfortable with how Michiko reminded her of her sister. “It’s complicated.”
“You can tell me, if you want.” Michiko came in close to grab Akane’s left hand tenderly. “I came to spend some time with you today, is that alright?”
“Of course.” She nervously blushed and pulled her hands away from the younger girl.
“So what do you want to do first?” MIchiko asked expectantly, her tail animatedly swishing back and forth with little pauses at the far sides.
“Uh-- while I don’t like it, could you remove that curse?” Akane asked, even though the curse on Happosai was the best thing ever as far as she was concerned. But he was destroying Kasumi’s house because of it, and she would rather have a home that still stood for when her big sister returned over anything else.
“Why would I do that?” The Tiefling’s mood immediately soured. “That gnome refused to accost me and had enslaved my mother.”
“I know! And I hate the idea of letting him get away with anything but he’s even worse right now.” She pleaded, feeling physically ill to beg on Happosai’s behalf.
Michiko’s gaze softened. “If-- I remove the curse-- would you do me a favor in return?”
“Wha-- what kind of favor?” Akane asked nervously. For all that Michiko acted mortal, the fact remained that she was still a half infernal who grew up on an infernal plane of existence. Everything she did could still be an elaborate and wicked game.
“Yes or no?” Michiko asked hastily, her eyes moving in a way that she couldn’t track due to their single coloration.
Sighing in defeat, she nodded her head, hoped that her sister would understand the great sacrifice she was making. Michko latched onto her like a barnacle and squealed happily. “But I can say no if I really don’t like it.” Akane added immediately, arms windmilling out to the side.
“I promise you’ll like it.” The younger girl rubbed her head against her horns digging slightly into Akane’s side. “Hmm?” Michiko pulled back enough to look up at her. “You don’t like hugs either?” She asked sadly.
“I’m not used to them.” She laughed nervously. “None of my friends are huggers.”
“I don’t get you mortals!” Michiko exclaimed with a huff and let go of her to take a step back. “You live in this cold and scary plane and fight each other all the time, but you’re terrified of a hug.”
“I’m not-- terrified, and mortals don’t always fight each other.” She reached out to pat the younger girl on the shoulder, trying to sound reassuring. “Why don’t you tell me about your plane?”
“Really? You want to know about home?” Michiko asked with a brief squeal of excitement.
Akane nodded somewhat hesitantly and was enveloped in another hug. “I take it hugs are big there?” She joked awkwardly and didn’t know what to do with her arms.
zx
Kiima listened absently as Masara relayed to her what had happened while she had been recovering. She felt little joy upon learning the news that Raxus had met his end, or that his Demonic sire had also fallen, or even that her Lord Saffron had been recovered. Because it was not by her hands that justice had been brought upon the monstrous Tiefling.
Trying to raise her left arm to silence the male Phoenix, she was instantly reminded of yet another piece of her that Raxus had taken. Closing her eyes and taking an emotionally pained breath, Kiima reached up with her one remaining arm to cover her barely movable stump. “I’ve heard enough.” She interrupted, silencing the other Phoenix.
“Would you like me to bring your dinner?” Masara asked as though he had done something wrong and wanted to placate her. “The doctor said that you should try to keep something down.”
“Thank you.” She nodded, not feeling up to pointing out that she had been here when the doctor had explained that it would be difficult to eat any food for some time. A consequence of her organs having been almost completely liquefied by the force of Raxus’ blow.
“I’ll go inform the staff.” Masara bowed his head and left quickly to retrieve her food.
Left alone for the first time since waking, her eyes slid lazily over the simple hospital room she had been moved to in order to be monitored. Simple and utilitarian, but obviously a room for a richer patron by the quality of the limited furniture, and the nicely polished stone floor. It was the quality of the room she had had at her true home, back before it was taken.
‘He may as well have taken my wings.’ She squeezed her eyes shut and groped awkwardly at her stump of a limb. Groomed her entire life to protect her lord and people, she had failed utterly when called upon to fulfill her duty. She had consoled herself that she would have her chance, that she would avenge her people. But now that was forever out of her reach, leaving nothing but a hollow ache in her heart for what should have been joyous news.
A light rapping on her door followed by the creak of the metal handle made her once more aware of the room around her. Watching the wooden door to her right open, the corners of Kiima’s mouth curved upwards into the barest hints of a smile.
Ranma was not so reserved, walking in with a bright smile spread over her face. “Kiima, you’re up!” The redhead exclaimed in a hoarse voice, she took two confident steps into the room before her hoof slipped mid step on the polished floor. Yelping in alarm, she fell flat on her face with her wings making one pitiful spreading motion before drooping to drape over the floor in defeat.
‘It’s like nothing happened for her.’ Kiima thought morosely.
While she didn’t feel in a particularly joyful mood, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the redhead’s flub. Though she did notice that both of the Tieflings seemed to have a distinct and stronger presence to themselves upon entering that she hadn’t noticed before.
“Our savior.” The dragon tiefling, Kasumi affectionately introduced as she stepped around Ranma’s prone form.
“Did that hurt? It looked like it did.” Pepa asked worriedly, hovering over Ranma’s head.
“Only my pride.” Ranma mumbled into the floor.
“How are you feeling?” Kasumi asked in concern as she sat down on a wooden chair next to the bed. “You’ve been out for some time.”
“I’ll live, but I’m not well.” She answered, trying hard to face her future with bravery. “Not that being a cripple will hinder my future tasks.”
“You’re not a cripple!” Ranma declared, suddenly hopping up to her feet, before dropping down on the bed close to her. Pepa fluttered over to sit on the girl’s shoulder as soon as she had settled. “You’re just--.” The redhead trailed off while searching for the right word.
“What?” Kiima snapped and clutched at the stump of her arm. “I’ve done nothing but fail my people. The only thing they’ll have left for me is to lay on my back and push out eggs until I’m all used up.” She snapped angrily, the intensity of her feelings beginning to overwhelm her.
“Eggs? Really?” Ranma carelessly asked and blinked owlishly towards her stomach.
Kiima’s face twisted into an angry scowl at the unthinking response, the feathers on her wings ruffling.
“What do eggs have to do with anything?” Pepa asked in confusion.
“Why did you save me?!” She screamed and backhanded the redhead across her face, her talons leaving four shallow cuts on her cheek. Kiima’s hand exploded in pain, the deceptively soft looking Tiefling barely budging from the blow. “I could have died with honor instead of living in shame!”
“Kiima?” Ranma asked in shock, gingerly raising a hand to touch her cheek. Pulling away enough to confirm that the wetness was blood. “My face.” She mumbled in horror.
“Why are you being such a meanie?” Pepa moved to hover partially between them to glare at her with her arms crossed.
“Get out!” She snarled, holding her stinging hand to her chest. “All of you get out!”
“We should go.” Kasumi quickly grabbed Ranma by the shoulders to try and get her to leave.
“You cut me.” Ranma’s eyes watered slightly in betrayal, allowing herself to be pulled off the bed.
“And you destroyed me!” Tears burned her eyes as she screamed at the redhead. “I fell for your charm and you took everything!”
“I didn’t charm you!” The tiefling shouted in denial, her voice catching at the end leading to a violent coughing fit that nearly brought the girl to her knees. “I never.” She wheezed, struggling to catch her breath.
“It’s what your kind does.” She remarked coldly.
Kiima should have been helping her people, being the leader that she was born to be in their time of need. Not wasting her time on personal pursuits with some deviant demon. For a very brief instant she locked eyes with Ranma and felt the sharp presence of her demonic aura wash over her and suddenly Kiima was falling. Tumbling endlessly down into a lightless void, unable to catch herself as she flailed about helplessly into darkness from a black sky. And then the moment had passed and she was once again a cripple in a hospital bed, unsure if anything had happened at all.
Across from her, Ranma stood completely straight, struggling to keep her composure. “Fine.” Her shoulders shook as she slowly turned to leave the room, passing by Masara who was peeking his head in through the doorway.
“I hope you feel good about yourself.” Kasumi gave her a smoldering glare as she quickly followed after the redhead.
The last one to leave was the little scowling fairy girl. Pepa breathed in deeply as though she might start yelling but chose to dart off after the other two without a word.
Masara watched them go before slipping back into the room. “Was that wise? She did save Lord Saffron and the elder has given her a place of high honor.” He asked timidly, fearing her rebuke.
Kiima didn’t even bother to look at him. “As if your opinion ever mattered.” She replied sardonically.
The other Phoenix winced and stared down at the floor without a word. He flexed his wings once before taking a position next to the door waiting for an order.
‘I shouldn’t be so dismissive of him.’ She made a tight fist with her one remaining hand. Masara had always been a loyal subordinate and as close to a friend as she had had before Ranma. Not that she would really need him now. She better get used to serving in the home with Samosa, Eiriasa, Dahana, and even Cassia since she may as well be a wingless groundling now.
zx
Sitting on Ranma’s shoulder and nestled in the hood of her cloak, Pepa held onto the long warm fur that surrounded her as the Tiefling calmly walked down the street. It was getting warmer and she didn’t really feel the cold, but it felt very nice to be surrounded by the enchanted warmth of the garment. That and she really liked being allowed so close to Ranma. Especially now that that long white rat had ran off back to its demon master.
“Why was she so mean?” Pepa asked to break the silence. A fair amount of mortals were out doing their day to day business and a few approached Ranma to offer their thanks. Some came forward but quickly noticed that both Tieflings were in bad moods and kept their distance. Ranma herself was quite subdued but Kasumi, who for the first time Pepa knew about, looked ready to explode.
“I think it’s cause she’s scared.” Ranma answered, her voice soft, and filled with sadness. She turned her head enough to glance in Pepa’s direction with four thin red lines barely visible on her cheek. The Tieflings body having nearly repaired the cuts done to her face in the short time since leaving the hospital.
“Of what? The bad dragon is gone, right?” She asked in confusion, having felt the tumultuous twisting of Ranma’s emotions run through her when being insulted by the bird woman. “And she hurt you.” Pepa reached out to lightly touch the smooth skin of Ranma’s cheek near one of the former cuts.
“Of not having anything to fight for anymore.” Ranma stopped briefly to take a deep breath.
“She should know better than to start creating enemies.” Kasumi added hotly.
“Kasumi, she lost her arm, nearly everyone she ever knew was killed, and the one thing that kept her going all this time is gone.” The redhead looked shocked at the venom in the taller Tiefling’s voice.
“What would have happened if you hadn’t been here? How can she be so ungrateful for everything you did?” Kasumi nearly spat, her voice becoming a hiss. “And how can you be so calm about this? Those hateful things she said to you?”
Ranma moved so suddenly that Pepa had to grab onto the fur surrounding her otherwise she would have been thrown off. Jostled again when the redhead stopped moving, Pepa saw that Ranma had pulled Kasumi to the entrance of a narrow alley to get some privacy. “It hurts alright? Is that what you want me to say? Why can’t you let me deal with it how I want?”
“At least show that you feel something. You’re never this-- this--.” Kasumi looked away, unable to finish her thought.
Ranma bent forward and to the side to force Kasumi to look in her eyes. “What? Do I have to cry and lose control of myself? Is that all that you expect of me?” She asked, clearly hurt by the implication.
“That’s not what I meant.” The other Tiefling protested, wringing her hands tightly together.
“Kasumi, I’ve been called a Succubus once already today, I can’t deal with knowing you think the same of me right now.” Ranma’s soft voice hardened like she was preparing to yell like Kiima had.
“Are you two going to fight now too?” Pepa asked in horror, flying off of Ranma’s shoulder to hover between them. She could live happily without Kiima around but she didn’t know what she would do without Kasumi.
“No, no we’re just talking.” Any sign of Kasumi’s anger evaporated quickly as the Tiefling reached out to offer her a place to sit on her hand. Pepa merely looked down at the hand in worry.
“How about sitting on my shoulder till we get home? Give Ranma a break.” Kasumi suggested and Pepa hesitated before quickly resuming her place in Ranma’s fur lined hood. Kasumi continued to hold out her hand for a moment in surprise before dropping it back to her side with a false smile on her face.
“If that’s what you want.” Kasumi added dejectedly. “I’m sorry, Ranma. I never meant to imply that. And you’re right that I shouldn’t be getting so upset over what Kiima said.”
“She’s the one who should be apologizing, not you.” Ranma remarked with a happier lilt to her voice and leaned in to hesitantly hug the taller girl around the waist. The redhead seemed like she wanted to say something but quickly backed away and blushed. “Sorry, I know you don’t like that.”
“Let’s not start an apology war.” Kasumi laughed lightly. “And I don’t mind an occasional hug. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
“Alright then, no more apologies for the day then.” Ranma declared, now smiling brightly, and with a much happier air about her. Even if it was forced.
Pepa refrained from voicing her approval at the happy conclusion to their fight, unlike the one Ranma had had with the nasty bird woman. Primarily because she still wasn’t sure what they had been fighting about in the first place. So she chose to quietly enjoy the rare moment.
“Say Kasumi?” Ranma started and began to fiddle with her fingers in front of her. “I was wondering-- since I have to keep my promise to Favian, would you like to come with?”
“Come with? Where are you going?” Kasumi asked in confusion.
“Honestly-- it’s kind of someplace I’d rather not go.” Ranma admitted.
zx
Kuno Tatewaki fell heavily against a moss covered tree and slid lifelessly to the forest floor. How long had he been searching for his Goddess? Weeks? Months? It was impossible to tell, the sun never set here, instead it made a wide circular arc in the sky. The shadows were always dancing, making him wary of any darkness that would stretch too close. (1)
He hated to question her, but he could not fathom why Mico had tasked him with finding her in such a bleak and dark landscape. An endless maze of trees that he felt no closer to exiting then when he had arrived. If that wasn’t bad enough, the only sounds that filled the air was the rustling of leaves, and the creak of trees. Rarely he would catch sight of one of Mico’s attendants, fairies made of various colored light flittering about, beyond reach, and always vanishing before he could get near.
He couldn’t keep his eyes open and only realized that he had dozed off when he awoke with a jerk. Calming down, he tried to get himself more comfortable before getting some sleep. Rubbing his arms together, he felt the results of his lack of food and water. When he had arrived he had been the picture of youth and manly vitality. Not now though, he was a weak and shriveled thing, kept alive by Mico’s mercy as he sought her out.
His hunger and thirst were cruel temptations that gnawed at him constantly but he dare not drink from the many ponds and streams that he came across. Kuno’s magical knowledge was quite limited outside of the spells Mico had given him but even he could tell that every drop of water was saturated with something he wanted no part of. Some time ago he had been ready to brave the consequences up until he had seen his reflection change in the water, becoming a grizzly bear.
‘Transformation magic.’ He would have laughed at the irony of facing the same danger that his brave friend Ranma had come across if he wasn’t dying from it.
zx
Ranma landed from her long flight heavily in a crouch, at the same time letting Kasumi out of her arms. 'I forgot how much that took out of me.' She grinned cockily at her former cargo to try and stave off any questions about how she was doing. It was easy to fly by herself but the added burden of carrying the larger Kasumi and troubles breathing had nearly made her drop from the sky.
"I'm tired, too." Pepa gasped and wheezed, collapsing onto a ledge of rock nearby. The fairy had decided to fly all the way by herself.
"But I'm not tired." She protested weakly, feeling the cool wind as it attempted to freeze the layer of sweat glistening on her face.
And then there was the harsh extremely hot winds that came down from the volcano along with all the noxious fumes it produced. Even with her enchanted cloak helping to regulate her temperature, she was stuck for the moment alternating between uncomfortably warm and dreadfully cold.
"Thank you, Ranma. That was amazing." Kasumi sighed and looked back the way they had come. "The airship was wonderful but that was--." The larger tiefling trailed off, unable to choose a word to describe her feelings.
"It’s why I do like having wings." She admitted with only the tiniest feeling of shame.
"Why did you want to come here, though?" Kasumi asked, looking around their place on the side of the volcano doubtfully. "It doesn't feel right at all."
"I know." Ranma nodded, feeling the lingering pressure of all the evil magic that had been concentrated in this one area. It would be a long time before Ladon's influence ever truly vanished, if it could be removed at all.
Pepa appeared at the corner of her vision to land on her shoulder, looking uncomfortable being so deep into the infernal aura, her bodies brightness fluctuating more than normal. Ranma pulled up her hood slightly to help with the wind, and to subtly create a little alcove for the fairy.
"I think it's around here." She indicated an outcropping just a short distance away where the cave should be. There had been no time to leave a marker or memorize the way it looked in her desperate flight away from the volcano back to Lutansk. Easily finding spots to step, she made her way quickly to where only a small human sized tunnel was burrowed through the rock, its opening hidden underneath an overhang of sharp black stone. "Ah! Here!" She announced, looking back to see that Kasumi was having a far more difficult time with the crossing.
"Ooh! What's in there?" Pepa asked with intense curiosity, struggling to sweep aside fur from her hood to see.
"You doing alright, Kasumi?" Ranma tried to raise her voice but still couldn't get it much past her normal speaking level. 'Ugh! This is annoying!'
"I'm fine. I'm just not as-- sure footed as you are." The dragon tiefling smiled genially but Ranma caught her glance down at her hooves.
"Um, right." She nodded, shuffling her feet in the dirt somewhat embarrassed for even that amount of attention being given to their deformity. Holding out her hand, she helped Kasumi up onto the tiny platform just outside of the tunnel. “Maybe I should have had you change into something else. Forgot that we have to crawl a bit.”
“You’ve seen me gardening, I’m not afraid to get my hands and knees a little dirty.” The golden haired tiefling turned back toward the city far across the open plane covered in a fresh layer of snow. It was hard to see the damage to the exterior wall from this distance over the bright gleam of sunlight reflected off the white painted stone. “It really is pretty to look at.”
“Is it?” Pepa asked, back to hovering near Ranma’s shoulder. “There’s only one color, though.”
“How many colors doesn’t matter, Pepa.” Kasumi told the fairy patiently.
“Too bad it’s run by a bunch of morons.” Ranma answered, seeing nothing but the rot of corruption. That Dorik and several of his flunkies had met their ends at the hands of Ladon’s assassins during the siege was a small consolation after what he had done to her.
Ranma felt a tiny shiver run down her tail and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, feeling like someone was watching from nearby. Her eyes quickly darted around the near vertical face of the mountain, searching for any signs of movement.
“Ranma, are you alright? You’re not having any problems breathing are you?” Kasumi asked worriedly and moved closer.
“Just got the feeling like someone was watching.” Shrugging away the ridiculous thought, Ranma stuffed the front corners of her cloak into her pants so it would stay out of the way. “Ready?”
“Are you sure that it’s just a feeling? We still don’t know what happened to the last of Ladon’s children.” Kasumi’s golden eyes scanned the rocks as well. “We should call out and see if they’ll give themselves up.”
“What?” Ranma looked at her former fiancee like she had grown a second head.
“Don’t they deserve a chance? Maybe they can be reasonable?” The blonde tieflings jaw was set tight, desperate for her statement to be true.
“Sorry, Kasumi. But his eldest hated him and she still chose to kill me over helping me against him.” She pointed out sadly, the nameless woman’s last moments flashing in front of her vision again. “Sides, If they were in any way sane they wouldn’t be skulking around here.” As if to punctuate her statement, the volcano rumbled loudly, and sent a tremor vibrating through the ground.
“Maybe we can talk about this later?” Ranma looked doubtfully up at the collapsed volcano, noticing Pepa nodding enthusiastically out of the corner of her eye.
“I guess you’re right. So what do we do first? I’ve never been on an adventure before.” Kasumi asked eagerly, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet in excitement.
‘We were on an adventure just to get to Lutansk.’ Ranma mentally shrugged having long ago explained to Kasumi that the majority of an adventurer's life was boring travel. “Just follow me, at the end there’s a drop so I’ll need to carry you down.” Casting a light spell to hover in front of her, she crawled inside.
The tunnel was large enough to easily fit through but she still had to crawl on her hands and knees across the sharp stones, and her wings would occasionally bump against the sides. After approximately five meters the tunnel made a sharp downward angle that led to a drop down to the room fifteen meters below. Shuffling herself to sit on the edge, Ranma let Kasumi squeeze in next to her.
“Ready?” She asked and put an arm around Kasumi. The other Tiefling nodded somewhat hesitantly, eyes never leaving the floor below. “Hang on.” She instructed and pulled her over the lip. There was a brief moment of freefall before she could spread her wings and Kasumi nearly crushed her in panic before Ranma could begin to glide them gently to the floor. Landing she immediately cast a much larger light spell in the center of the room to illuminate the massive amount of precious metals and gemstones contained within.
"You can let go now." Ranma gently placed a hand on Kasumi's own when the larger girl remained locked onto her. The blonde nodded but didn't take her eyes off the gleaming treasure stretched out before them.
"This is--." Kasumi gasped, staggering from shock to lean on her shoulders.
"Ladon's hoard." Ranma summarized as Pepa left the inside of her cloak to float nearby.
"Neat." Pepa added and zipped forward and to the ground to poke at a blue gemstone nestled between coins. "What's a hoard do?" She asked cluelessly.
"It's money-- a lot of money." Ranma answered, her eyes lingering on several book shelves she had missed before hidden in a small alcove to the side. "And ancient knowledge which is even better than money." She left Kasumi's side, opening her wings to leap forward clearing the distance to the small library in a single bound. Feeling strongly that this was where something very important was kept. Something that she needed to have right now.
"Ranma, what's over there?" Kasumi called out in concern.
"Lots of books." She answered quickly and hastily dug out an empty bag of holding to start shoving the ancient tomes inside. As she was busy putting them away, she heard the jingling of Kasumi's steps as the older Tiefling made her way across the sea of gold.
"What are we going to do with all this?" The blonde asked, opening a smaller book bound in thick leather to pick through the pages. Pepa peaked over her shoulder to look as well. "Spells, but it's all in some weird language."
"I think grabbing as much as we can before the volcano gets any more unstable is a pretty good thing to do first off." Ranma answered giddily. She would be able to pay off any outstanding debts hanging over her head or her old man's. She could afford to speak to the most knowledgeable magic users out there.
"But there's so much." Kasumi stared doubtfully at her. "Nobody could need all this."
"I know, that's why I want you to have some, and then we'll give the rest to the Phoenix-- even Kiima if she apologizes." Ranma explained, having been thinking about what to do with all this wealth since waking up in the hospital. "The city can have some to help rebuild, your family, and I guess my Pop too."
“Do I get anything?” Pepa asked hopefully, having been quiet since her earlier question.
Ranma paused and regarded the spell creature, having completely forgotten that she may feel left out, or would even care. “Sure, what did you want?”
“I don’t know.” Pepa crossed her arms and put a single finger to her lips. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.” Kasumi answered with an amused smile before turning to her. "You're really not thinking to keep it all for yourself?" The blonde Tiefling asked her incredulously, kneeling down to pick up handfuls of gold to let run through her fingers.
"That thought crossed my mind." She admitted and felt her cheeks heat up, feeling shame at being so monumentally selfish.
"Oh good, it's wasn’t just me." Kasumi sighed in relief before laughing nervously.
"Oh?" Ranma knelt down and glanced slyly over towards the taller girl.
"Well, I am descended from a dragon." She laughed even more awkwardly, tail swishing side to side through coins, and burrowing down as though to bury itself. Picking up a single coin, the blonde held it up to her ear in confusion.
“What is it?” Ranma looked at Kasumi quizzically.
“Can you hear that?” She held the coin out to her with one hand and picked up a second to hold to her ear with the other. “It’s like someone is singing. This one is doing it too. So pretty--.” The dragon tiefling sighed.
“Ooh, what is?” Pepa swung around next to Kasumi’s ear to try and hear.
“Hmm, guess it’s true what they say about dragons and gold.” Ranma chuckled, hearing nothing from the coin Kasumi was insistently shoving at her.
“They say what?” Kasumi asked quickly in irritation, finding offense at the comparison.
“I just meant--.” Ranma stuttered, realizing her faux pas, and how similar it was to Kiima’s earlier remarks. “It’s-- said that when there’s enough gold near, dragons hear it singing. And since you have some dragon ancestry-- maybe that’s why you hear something. That’s all-- sorry.” She bowed her head in shame at her careless comment.
“I didn’t know that.” The blonde patted her on the shoulder before hesitantly putting one of the coins in a pocket of her skirt. “Sorry I snapped at you. I was always too embarrassed and scared to learn anything about Dragons.”
“I should have said it better.” She admitted and reached up to grab Kasumi’s hand. "Let’s find some more good stuff."
“Sure." Kasumi nodded eagerly.
zx
Genma crouched stealthily outside of Akane’s room, listening intently as his estranged daughter chatted animatedly with the youngest Tendo daughter. It hurt to know that he had missed out on Michiko’s entire life. Even if she was a Succubus, Nodoka could have at least mentioned that they had conceived a second child. He could have sent birthday gifts when he could afford it. Not like raising Ranma on his own had been easy, even when he did get help.
‘She must take after me, Nodoka never would have stood up to Happosai like that.’ He thought proudly and puffed up his chest before immediately deflating. He didn’t know much if anything about his daughter and his son had ran off without him. Some father he had turned out to be.
Slim arms gently encircled his neck from behind as a curvy form pressed into him. “Anything interesting happening inside?” Nodoka whispered in his ear, her gentle feminine perfume slowly invading his nose.
“They’re getting along.” He answered, reaching up to hold her hands.
“It’s wonderful that Michiko has made a friend but it will make things harder for when we return home.”
“So stay on this plane.” He gently rubbed his thumb against her smooth skin.
“Silly man.” Nodoka purred while nuzzling her head against his neck. “You know there’s no place for demons among mortals.”
“Then why are you here?” Genma stood up and turned around to face the Succubus.
Her beautiful blue eyes twinkled in amusement as she stepped forward to lean against his chest. “I was wondering if you would come over to enjoy the evening with me?”
‘Why can’t I ever say no?’ He sighed and nodded his head. Nodoka was using him in what would be the most pleasurable way possible. Maybe someday he would be able to decline but today was not that day.
zx
Akane purposely blocked out the mental image of Genma and Nodoka and the kinds of activities the two would be partaking in, having overheard the tail end of their conversation outside of her door.
(akane kind of summarizes michiko’s school system in moderate horror)
zx
Inside his library, Favian leafed through a book with complete disinterest in the content before roughly dropping it on the table to his left. Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, he stared forward blankly at the far wall. He had never thought that victory would weigh so heavily on his mind. Orchestrating the downfall of his brother, Ladon had consumed him and now he wasn’t sure what to fill his time with.
Soon enough his former students would leave to return home and he doubted that he could convince either to remain. Neither had enjoyed their time in Lutansk and at this point he was fed up with the city as well.
‘Preparations to move will be tiresome.’ He rubbed at his chin, irritated at the difficult and pricey process that he would need to endure with chartering an airship. ‘Not that an ocean going vessel would be any less expensive.’
Lutansk’s coastline was treacherous with jagged rocks lurking beneath the surface and unpredictable tides that often generated incredibly large waves. Adding to the difficulty of creating a dock for ships were the mountain ranges that surrounded much of the island. Few paths existed between the peaks and in winter were completely impassible. Not that this stopped someone from suggesting they attempt the momentous task of creating permanent roads to establish a port every summer.
‘I’ll have to start having my effects cataloged.’ He could probably have that done within a couple weeks but first he’d have to find a new residence. If everything went smoothly, he might be settled by summers end, hopefully in a much warmer climate.
A knock on the door broke him out of his considerations. “Come in.” He absently instructed and one of his maids stepped in, and came over to stand primly at his side.
“Lord Favian, Lady Ranma and Kasumi are here to see you.” She explained curtly.
“Of course, see them in.” He answered and nodded towards the young woman who left to bring the two to the library.
Sitting up straighter in his chair, he nervously picked at the fabric of his armrest. He trusted Kasumi but he remained worried she would tell Ranma about her ancestry. And considering Ranma’s interactions with his brother, he was rightly concerned with how she would react. Though the fact that she hadn’t barged in or blown up his house from the exterior made him feel reasonably safe. Even if he had ways of dealing with a Tiefling as powerful as Ranma, he would end up doing irreparable harm to her in order to do so. Something he couldn’t bring himself to do.
He was surprised at how happy the two Tieflings seemed as they came through the doorway. When he had last seen them, Ranma had been radiating a palpable aura of depression which had been affecting Kasumi. But now they were both all smiles. Even Pepa, who was perpetually positive seemed in remarkably good spirits.
“Has there been good news?” Favian asked in lieu of a greeting. More curious over what caused the change in attitude than simple pleasantries.
“There has.” Kasumi answered first, which was a tad unusual as she was the more reserved of the three.
“Today I get to pay you back for those bags of holding.” Ranma announced with a musical lilt to her voice, tail happily swinging side to side behind her.
“I really wasn’t that worried about repayment.” He slid to the edge of his chair, watching as Kasumi took a seat across from him, and Ranma knelt down at arms length away from his chair.
“Forty gold a piece, right?” She asked glibly and pulled out one of the bags of holding he had loaned her.
“Closer to fifty but yes.” He watched intently as she upturned the magical bag spilling gold out on the floor. Dozens then hundreds of coins clinked against each other, pooling into an ever larger mound of gold at his feet.
“Two hundred seems fair.” Ranma answered and sealed the bag back up before it emptied further and began to count.
“Hold-- hold on.” He leaned forward and stopped her by grabbing the redhead’s left hand, forgetting that she had said he wasn’t allowed to touch her. “Where did you get all of this?” There had to be over five hundred pieces of gold haphazardly spread out on his floor.
“Ladon won’t be needing it anymore.” The half succubus stated in a way that sounded both proud and sinister at the same time.
“You found his hoard.” Favian breathed out, remembering the vast treasure that he and Ladon had amassed in their long lives.
“It was incredible to see.” Kasumi added, reaching down to pick up a coin that had rolled next to her feet, and held it to her ear. “And because I’m part dragon, I can hear it singing.”
He smiled warmly at his great granddaughters enjoyment. There were many negatives to her ancestry so he was happy that she had found some small part to enjoy. “And what are you two to do with your newfound wealth?” He asked in amusement.
“I have a few ideas but nothing for certain yet.” Ranma answered, her hands blurring into motion as she started to count coins faster than he could follow.
“How should we handle it? Where should we store the coin? You know, to keep it-- safe?” Kasumi asked calmly even though her eyes darted nervously to the gold Ranma had finished counting.
“Since I know you’re going to be leaving within a month or two, I think you should be fine storing it in your apartment so long as it’s not out in the open. I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to break into your home to steal anything at this point. Though if you want, I do have some space here where it would be safe.” He offered helpfully, wanting to do as much as he could for one of his descendants.
"Please, tell me what it was like to see a dragon's hoard." He asked, feigning ignorance for Ranma's sake, already knowing full well what they would have found. He was just hearing about the small library of ancient books and scrolls that the two had come across when a soft knock at the door interrupted.
The same maid who had alerted him to Kasumi and Ranma took a step inside the door. “Lord Favian, there’s a messenger here to see you.”
He was tempted to send them away, not wanting to have this time with his granddaughter interrupted further. “Give us a minute.” He instructed and the young lady obediently stepped out. “Ranma, put that gold away.”
“But I just counted it.” The redhead whined and slumped her shoulders as she slowly started to shove the gold back into a bag of holding. Pepa began to giggle loudly in response, the fairy sitting on one of the largest coin stacks.
Ranma had just finished and taking a seat next to Kasumi when the door to the room opened again. Marching in purposefully was an immaculately dressed young man carrying a leather satchel tightly under his right arm. Stepping smartly up to stand between the seating, he came to an abrupt halt, and clapped his heels together.
“My lord.” The young man quickly bowed his head in Favian’s direction, completely ignoring the two Tieflings.
“Yes?” Favian asked casually and slouched backwards in his chair.
“I’m here on behalf of Lord Morri Seran.” The messenger introduced and pulled out an expensive looking letter from his satchel to hold out waiting to be taken. “This is his formal invitation for you to attend the gala he is holding to celebrate the death of the dread dragon, Ladon.”
“A celebration?” He leaned forward and took the waiting letter, his eyes drifting over to his granddaughter. Kasumi was sitting with her hands clasped in her lap, trying to look like she was waiting patiently for the young man to be done. Save for how the tip of her tail made quick tapping noises as it rapidly twitched back and forth against the floor. “I’m generally not one for such public forays.”
“But this is a very special occasion.” The messenger stressed heavily.
“So you say.” He remarked unimpressed, breaking the wax seal to break open the parchment and glanced at Ranma. “Will you also be inviting the one responsible for Ladon’s demise?” He asked.
“Of course, that is my next appointment.”
Pepa flew into view for the man and animatedly pointed behind him towards Ranma. “You don’t have to go anywhere, she’s right here.” The fairy happily announced.
“Thanks, Pepa.” Ranma grumbled looking away. The redhead had scrunched herself up making her look even smaller like she wanted to be overlooked and ignored. With her wings flattened against her back and her tail wrapped tightly around both legs.
“Welcome!” Pepa beamed, not picking up on the sarcasm. The spell creature then quickly flew over to sit behind Ranma on the back of the chair.
“Apologies, my lady.” The man stuttered, his face turning red in embarrassment, hastily digging into his bag. “I wasn’t expecting to see you. Obviously I should have been paying closer attention. Of course, here is your invitation.”
“Not interested.” Ranma answered plainly, making no move to take or push away the envelope.
“You’re-- not?”
“No, you assholes did your best to run me out of town. And now because I was useful you think I’m just going to forget?” The redhead scoffed and sat up straighter.
“Well-- um--.” The man’s mouth opened and closed as he attempted to form a response.
“Ranma, don’t be so hasty.” Favian butted in, quickly rising to his feet to take the invitation from the messenger, and purposely shove it into Ranma’s hands. “She’ll need some time to consider it.”
“Right, my lord. Stress I’m sure.” The man quickly nodded, giving Ranma further scrutiny but finding that she only glared at him defiantly.
“Stress-- yes. And does Miss Tendo also have an invitation buried in that bag of yours?” He asked, glancing towards his granddaughter who was waiting excitedly.
“Apologies Lord Favian, but I wasn’t given any other invitations.”
“In that case you can go tell your Lord, that neither Ranma or I will be attending without Miss Tendo.” He demanded, refusing to let Kasumi be left out.
“I will--.” The messenger quickly nodded his head. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go relay your concern to him immediately.”
“Of course.” He answered, gesturing for his maid waiting patiently at the door to see his impromptu visitor out.
The moment the door closed, Ranma spoke up. “What do you think you’re doing?” She angrily snapped.
“Grandfather, if I wasn’t invited then I don’t want to go.” Kasumi added a half beat later.
“Grandfather?” Ranma turned to give Kasumi a questioning look while Pepa quickly flittered over to land on the arm of Kasumi’s chair.
“It’s a term of endearment.” The Tiefling answered uncertainly.
“Really?” The redhead asked cluelessly before shaking her head rapidly. “Whatever, I don’t want anything to do with these people.”
“This kind of thing isn’t really about what you want--.” He started while trying to sound as calm and collected as he could. “It’s an opportunity for you to make connections. They aren’t inviting you to be nice, it’s all politics. You should be taking advantage of this, there isn’t going to be a better opportunity to use all the goodwill you have from killing Ladon to ingratiate yourself to influential people who have influential friends back on the mainland. I know there is a brain underneath all that hair, use it.”
“I guess that makes a tiny amount of sense.” She remarked in half concession and crossed her arms irritably before instantly reaching up to brush back her long bangs. “And leave my hair out of this.”
“He has a good point, Ranma. And it would also be good for me to get out more.” Kasumi conceded to the red head and nervously tugged in her ponytail.
“I’ll think about it.” Ranma admitted weakly, clearly just wanting to be difficult and drag her hooves.
“If I have to suffer through it, both of you do as well.” He teased while returning to his seat. “Let’s forget about that unpleasantness, tell me about this hoard.”
Two hours later, Favian watched as his three guests took their leave while idly tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. In his other hand he held one of the gold coins Ranma had given to him in repayment for the bags of holding. If he was reading the coin properly it was gold from three hundred years ago, taken from a country called Clastos. Which if he recalled correctly had been a small nation off the far southern coast of the continent that had been destroyed by a hurricane.
It had been so long since he had heard the siren song of gold calling to him that he had almost forgotten. Staring at the coin for several minutes and hearing nothing from it, he carefully put the piece down. “I’m too old for dreams of gold.”
-----
This next scene will be going at the very end. Since it hasn't really been mentioned since chapter one, Mico is Josh Temples analog who personifies his general traits, so it should be obvious what kind of monster she is.
-----
Tatewaki found himself staring at his reflection in a small pond. The image that he saw wasn't of his handsome self but an impressively large tiger with thick fluffy fur. While the creature was majestic and regal in appearance, he couldn't help but notice that it also looked more juvenile as though it was a large kitten.
'I could live with that.' He rationalized, his thirst overcoming his wariness towards the magical water. Most of the animals he saw reflected these days were quite cute and harmless. If he was to be cursed then it should be into a form he could be proud of.
Not for the first time he wondered if he had been tricked by some evil spirit, using the name of his beloved Goddess to lure him to this place. The warmth and light of Mico was not here. He would never find her in this place and would end up slowly going insane.
His eyes shifted to the left, seeing the sun's reflection in the tranquil pool, appearing as though peering over his shoulder. It was the only thing in this forsaken forest that reminded him of her. "I'm sorry, my Goddess." He sank to his knees in the mud, feeling so tired that he believed he would never rise again. "I fear I was not up to your task." He spoke upwards and squinted his eyes closed as he stared at the sun. It seemed as though the light grew in intensity as he acknowledged the glowing orb.
Dropping his head, he licked his parched lips, and bent forward to gather some of the cool liquid within his hands. 'Tis better to cut to the chase and not prolong the inevitable.' He rationalized and drew his withered hands up to his face.
Soft and gentle hands gripped his own stopping him from taking in the magic water. He stared in amazement and let the water slip through his fingers back to the pond below. Slowly he turned to the figure standing to his left with dozens of multi-colored light fairies hovering behind her creating a halo of light. Fiery red hair fell behind her like a cloak to dance along the forest floor, intricate braids wove through unbound sections creating a complex pattern he didn't recognize. Sprouting from her back and held high and alert were great bird wings with feathers that were a mesmerizing mix of iridescent blues and greens with round eye shapes at the tips.
Dancing up a skin tight sheer shoulderless gown that trailed behind her were golden flowers, vines, and leaves that barely hid the exquisite form underneath. For an infinitely small time he thought he recognized Saotome's enchanted form before he was caught by the woman's purple eyes that glowed with a visible aura.
"My-- Goddess?" He hazarded to ask hopefully, his voice coming out in a harsh whisper.
“You’ve suffered much in your life.” Her voice was soft and sweet, with a subtle undercurrent of power emphasizing every word. She raised her left hand and magic sparkles swirled into her palm forming a golden chalice polished to a mirror shine.
“I’ll now bestow upon you a blessing for your efforts.” Several of the attendant fairies came forth carrying a gold pitcher to pour a thick honey colored liquid into the chalice. “Take.” She extended her hand forward halfway, expecting him to meet her halfway.
Tatewaki stared enraptured by the offered chalice, so transfixed by a gift from his Goddess that he only dimly realized that he had reached his hands out to take it from her. Mico’s purple eyes watched him expectantly, hyper focused on his every move. Raising the chalice up to his lips, he hesitated, unable to stop himself from being apprehensive over her intense clinical gaze.
The intoxicating sweet smell of the liquid erased all doubts and he raised the chalice. He almost fell backwards as the taste assaulted his tongue. Liquid fire tore through his mouth and set his throat ablaze as it raced downwards. Dimly he noticed that the cup was now empty but his hands clutched it so tightly that the metal was being bent. He felt so wonderfully calm as the intense warmth spread throughout his entire body.
More of Mico’s attendants arrived and featherlight touches accompanied them fluttering in to surround him. Their multi-colored forms began to glow brightly and filaments spread out to intertwine, cocooning him within. All at once, the weakness he had fought for so long caught up with him, and he fell to the side succumbing to his Goddess’ magic.
-------
Ranma woke up with a loud gasp, crawling slightly out of the covers before she realized her dream hadn’t been real. Sighing in partial relief, she tried to focus her mind away from the memory of the mute Tiefling’s cruel death. Shifting her wings about, she drew her covers back up over her body.
‘At least Saffron being-- put in that egg isn’t burned in my memory.’ She thought hollowly, still struggling to resolve her feelings on allowing the helpless infant to be forcibly imprinted on another.
“Are you okay?” Pepa asked, the fairy had been sleeping on one edge of Ranma’s pillow, and had been jostled awake.
“Yea, just a bad-- memory.” She answered, her voice still a whisper, and girlishly cringed as something shifted next to her side. Lifting her blanket up, she rolled her eyes at Hana. The weasel now twisted into an uncomfortable looking position while still sleeping soundly.
Letting her blanket fall back into place, Ranma found another familiar problem. Pepa was laying on her stomach at the edge of pillow with her head propped up in her hands watching Ranma intently. “Pepa-- I get that you’re-- concerned about me. But you don’t have to stare at me all the time.” She felt touched over the spell creatures desire to watch over her, it just felt too weird to show or voice that.
“Okay.” Pepa smiled brightly at being acknowledged and fluttered her wings to rise up off the pillow to drop back down in a crosslegged sitting position. “What should I do then?” She asked, tail curled upwards vertically and twitching back and forth in anticipation.
“I don’t know, isn’t there anything you want to do?”
“I was doing it.” Pepa answered with several confused blinks of her large eyes.
‘That’s depressing.’ Ranma slowly thought back and realized that Pepa didn’t really do anything for herself. The fairy was always waiting to help someone else or just fluttering around watching. “I meant you.” She pointed towards the tiny girl. “What do you like to do?”
“I don’t understand.” The fairy answered truthfully, eyes crossed in confusion.
“Alright, how about this--.” Ranma sat up, giving up on spending more time under the warm blankets. “If no one else was around, what would you want to do?”
Pepa crossed her arms and stroked her chin in thought. “Find out where everyone has gone?”
“It doesn’t matter where they went, they’re just not there.”
“But shouldn’t I be worried about where they went? They could be in danger.”
“No danger, everyone is perfectly alright, they’ll all live long happy lives-- okay?”
“Okay--.” Pepa agreed slowly and uncertainly. “But why can’t I be there too? Would that make them unhappy?” She asked as her wings and tail drooped.
“Ignore them, this isn’t about anyone else. What I want to know, is what would make you, Pepa, happy?”
“I’d certainly be happier knowing where everyone is. That’s just not normal, so obviously there’s some nefarious plot going on.” Pepa scrunched up her face in deep thought and crossed her arms.
“Just nevermind.” Ranma sighed, deciding that she had been asking a question beyond the spell creatures reasoning abilities. It could be easy to forget that Pepa was created by a freak occurrence and even though she was intelligent, there was no guarantee for just how smart.
“Ranma, are you going to spend all day in bed?” Kasumi’s voice came out of nowhere.
Ranma eeped and slipped back under her blanket in embarrassment before she realized that she was having such a stupid reaction. But then she buried herself underneath the covers completely upon further realization of how bad that first reaction had been.
“Kasumi help!” Pepa shouted desperately. “Ranma wants to make everyone vanish! That’s bad, isn’t it bad? Can you stop her, please?!” Ranma peaked out from her blanket to see Kasumi was actually barely over a meter away reading from a scroll.
“I don’t think that’s what Ranma meant Pepa.” Kasumi gave the fairy a patient smile.
“Ungrateful fairy, I was just going to do something nice for you.” Ranma’s voice fluctuated from normal volume to a whisper as she popped up into a kneeling position.
“Really?” Pepa spun from her place hovering in front of Kasumi with her hands clasped under her chin, and eyes sparkling with joyous tears. “I knew you liked me!” The fairy flew in an erratic path to slam into Ranma’s chest next to her collarbone and hug her.
“It’s just cause you saved me.” Ranma protested, looking to Kasumi for assistance. “I mean helped me, I could have got back to town on my own.”
“Nuh uh! You said I saved you, you wanted to do something nice for me, so you must like me! No take backs!” Pepa happily nuzzled against Ranma’s neck.
Seeing that Kasumi wasn’t going to back her up in anyway, Ranma reached up and gently patted Pepa. ‘I’m never going to get rid of her now.’ She thought without conviction, the prospect far less gag inducing than when the fairy had first shown up.
“What’s going on?” Hana asked sleepily, slithering her way out from underneath the blanket as though she had no bones.
“Ranma said she liked me.” Pepa proudly told the familiar and stuck out her tongue.
“So?” Hana rolled her head to one side. “Wasn’t that obvious?” The familiar asked like Pepa was a complete idiot.
“No fighting, you’ll--.” Ranma was about to say that they would wake Saffron but he was gone. “Just no fighting.” She finished softly.
“Okay.” Hana spun around to face her. “Did you have a message for me yet?”
“I guess I do.” She nodded. Ranma didn’t know if it was a good one but she didn’t think she would ever come up with anything better. “Ready?” Hana nodded rapidly in response.
zx
Nerima
Kneeling on the wood floor, Akane scrubbed at a stubborn stain that Happosai had created with enough force that the protective coating was being worn off. “Kasumi is going to kill me.” She groaned and settled back on her heels to see that the stain had soaked so deeply that even taking away a layer of wood hadn’t removed it.
The situation felt so hopeless. Her house was falling into squalor by her inability to perform simple everyday tasks, her father and Genma leaving their messes all over, and Happosai destroying anything the moment he was reminded that he could no longer bother women.
‘Kasumi always makes it look so easy, why is it so hard for me?’ She tossed the rag back into a bucket filled with soapy water dejectedly.
It wasn’t even noon yet and she could hear Happosai berating Genma about the spell Michiko had put on him. Demanding in drunken slurs for him to force his daughter to remove it. Genma had halfheartedly talked to Michiko about the issue but the tiefling had stood firm. ‘Too bad she couldn’t make him crawl back into whatever hole he crawled out of.’
A light and awkwardly paced knocking on the front door was a welcome distraction from her failures as a woman. ‘Why didn’t the bell chime?’ Her question was answered as she slid the door open and felt the blast of cold air come rushing in.
“Michiko?” She asked hesitantly, barely being able to see the tiefling’s black eyes as her head was wrapped completely in a red scarf. Thick layers covered her body, making her nearly three times as large as she normally was. A black cloak was draped over her wings and the girl’s tail was covered in a sleeve.There was a muffled response and a nod from the girl.
“Do you want to come in?” Akane asked and stepped aside. An emphatic nod was Michiko’s response as she quickly tottered inside, her legs unable to bend properly due to the bulky clothing. The temperature had taken a nose dive to below freezing and with it came several centimeters of snow but it wasn’t anything that warranted the clothing Michiko now wore.
Closing the door behind the tiefling, she watched as Michiko struggled to bring her mittened hands up to pull away her scarf. “Let me.” Akane offered and unwrapped the girl’s face.
“Thanks.” Michiko smiled brightly as her face was revealed.
“Why are you dressed like this?” She asked with a barely restrained snicker, pulling off the cloak to hang off to the side.
“Cause it’s so cold outside!” The younger girl animatedly waved her arms about. “And all that-- frozen white stuff! How do mortals deal with all this?”
“Not like this.” She answered in amusement and began to help Michiko remove her outermost layer. “Not even when we get over a meter of snow.”
“No way!” Michiko exclaimed dramatically and fell into her, causing Akane to automatically catch the girl under her arms. “That doesn’t happen does it?” She asked in horror, staring up at her with wide eyes.
“Every few years it does.” She smiled nervously at the contact and pushed the girl back into a standing position before helping her remove the extra layers. Michiko was wearing a thick long sleeved green tunic fitted to her form and a darker green set of slacks. “So you do wear normal clothes.” Akane joked, having only seen the tiefling wear overly skimpy outfits.
“Mom didn’t want me to freeze.” Michiko backed away a step, while rapidly running her hands through her hair to try and straighten out the frizz. “I look good though, right?” The dark haired girl asked in concern, tugging worriedly at the bottom of her tunic.
Akane wanted to fume at Ranma’s sister who made anything she wore look cute or sexy, except she seemed genuinely worried about looking unattractive in her new garb. ‘Can definitely tell those two are related.’
“Why is there a bucket on the floor?” Michiko asked before Akane could form a thoughtful response, the girl leaning slightly to the side to see down the hallway.
“Happosai made another mess. I was trying to clean it up.” Akane admitted, immediately trying to think up ways to direct Michiko away from her failed cleaning attempt.
“Are you practicing something? I mean, shouldn’t your men take care of this?” The tiefling asked curiously.
Akane didn’t immediately realize what Michiko had meant but eventually she realized what had been implied. “My father and uncle Saotome aren’t-- my men.” She explained. ‘It would make things significantly easier if they were though.’
“But you all live together, shouldn’t they at least earn their keep?” Michiko asked in confusion.
“Yes but-- well-- I volunteered to take care of the house for Kasumi. It’s my responsibility.” Akane answered, agreeing that the two who made the mess should really be the ones to clean it up.
“I could help.” The younger girl offered helpfully and clasped her hands behind her back, with her tail playfully flicking back and forth.
“If you know how.” She gestured towards the hall, chewing on her lip uncertainly. Akane had found out that Michiko was excellent in the kitchen for her young age. But it seemed quite odd for someone raised as a succubus to also be good at something requiring physical work.
“Sure do.” The dark haired tiefling chirped, excitedly clapping her hands together before skipping over to where that particular stain had embedded into the floor.
“So you know how to cook-- and clean?” Akane frowned as she watched Michiko kneel down to rub her hands together.
Michiko nodded and whispered a chant under her breath. Lowering her right hand to hover just over top the wood, she made wiping motions from left to right, the stain vanishing as she went. “I don’t know anything that can fix the wood, though.” She added hopping up to her feet. “Mom always says that a Succubus must know how to take care of herself. But a proper Succubus should never need to.” The half demon explained glibly.
“That’s a nice choice to have.” Her shoulders slumped, whenever she finally found someone to marry she would be expected to take care of the home.
“What’s that mean?” Michiko asked without comprehension to Akane’s cryptic statement, pure black eyes looking into her own for an answer.
“Well--.” Akane looked away from the inhuman eyes, uncomfortable with how Michiko reminded her of her sister. “It’s complicated.”
“You can tell me, if you want.” Michiko came in close to grab Akane’s left hand tenderly. “I came to spend some time with you today, is that alright?”
“Of course.” She nervously blushed and pulled her hands away from the younger girl.
“So what do you want to do first?” MIchiko asked expectantly, her tail animatedly swishing back and forth with little pauses at the far sides.
“Uh-- while I don’t like it, could you remove that curse?” Akane asked, even though the curse on Happosai was the best thing ever as far as she was concerned. But he was destroying Kasumi’s house because of it, and she would rather have a home that still stood for when her big sister returned over anything else.
“Why would I do that?” The Tiefling’s mood immediately soured. “That gnome refused to accost me and had enslaved my mother.”
“I know! And I hate the idea of letting him get away with anything but he’s even worse right now.” She pleaded, feeling physically ill to beg on Happosai’s behalf.
Michiko’s gaze softened. “If-- I remove the curse-- would you do me a favor in return?”
“Wha-- what kind of favor?” Akane asked nervously. For all that Michiko acted mortal, the fact remained that she was still a half infernal who grew up on an infernal plane of existence. Everything she did could still be an elaborate and wicked game.
“Yes or no?” Michiko asked hastily, her eyes moving in a way that she couldn’t track due to their single coloration.
Sighing in defeat, she nodded her head, hoped that her sister would understand the great sacrifice she was making. Michko latched onto her like a barnacle and squealed happily. “But I can say no if I really don’t like it.” Akane added immediately, arms windmilling out to the side.
“I promise you’ll like it.” The younger girl rubbed her head against her horns digging slightly into Akane’s side. “Hmm?” Michiko pulled back enough to look up at her. “You don’t like hugs either?” She asked sadly.
“I’m not used to them.” She laughed nervously. “None of my friends are huggers.”
“I don’t get you mortals!” Michiko exclaimed with a huff and let go of her to take a step back. “You live in this cold and scary plane and fight each other all the time, but you’re terrified of a hug.”
“I’m not-- terrified, and mortals don’t always fight each other.” She reached out to pat the younger girl on the shoulder, trying to sound reassuring. “Why don’t you tell me about your plane?”
“Really? You want to know about home?” Michiko asked with a brief squeal of excitement.
Akane nodded somewhat hesitantly and was enveloped in another hug. “I take it hugs are big there?” She joked awkwardly and didn’t know what to do with her arms.
zx
Kiima listened absently as Masara relayed to her what had happened while she had been recovering. She felt little joy upon learning the news that Raxus had met his end, or that his Demonic sire had also fallen, or even that her Lord Saffron had been recovered. Because it was not by her hands that justice had been brought upon the monstrous Tiefling.
Trying to raise her left arm to silence the male Phoenix, she was instantly reminded of yet another piece of her that Raxus had taken. Closing her eyes and taking an emotionally pained breath, Kiima reached up with her one remaining arm to cover her barely movable stump. “I’ve heard enough.” She interrupted, silencing the other Phoenix.
“Would you like me to bring your dinner?” Masara asked as though he had done something wrong and wanted to placate her. “The doctor said that you should try to keep something down.”
“Thank you.” She nodded, not feeling up to pointing out that she had been here when the doctor had explained that it would be difficult to eat any food for some time. A consequence of her organs having been almost completely liquefied by the force of Raxus’ blow.
“I’ll go inform the staff.” Masara bowed his head and left quickly to retrieve her food.
Left alone for the first time since waking, her eyes slid lazily over the simple hospital room she had been moved to in order to be monitored. Simple and utilitarian, but obviously a room for a richer patron by the quality of the limited furniture, and the nicely polished stone floor. It was the quality of the room she had had at her true home, back before it was taken.
‘He may as well have taken my wings.’ She squeezed her eyes shut and groped awkwardly at her stump of a limb. Groomed her entire life to protect her lord and people, she had failed utterly when called upon to fulfill her duty. She had consoled herself that she would have her chance, that she would avenge her people. But now that was forever out of her reach, leaving nothing but a hollow ache in her heart for what should have been joyous news.
A light rapping on her door followed by the creak of the metal handle made her once more aware of the room around her. Watching the wooden door to her right open, the corners of Kiima’s mouth curved upwards into the barest hints of a smile.
Ranma was not so reserved, walking in with a bright smile spread over her face. “Kiima, you’re up!” The redhead exclaimed in a hoarse voice, she took two confident steps into the room before her hoof slipped mid step on the polished floor. Yelping in alarm, she fell flat on her face with her wings making one pitiful spreading motion before drooping to drape over the floor in defeat.
‘It’s like nothing happened for her.’ Kiima thought morosely.
While she didn’t feel in a particularly joyful mood, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the redhead’s flub. Though she did notice that both of the Tieflings seemed to have a distinct and stronger presence to themselves upon entering that she hadn’t noticed before.
“Our savior.” The dragon tiefling, Kasumi affectionately introduced as she stepped around Ranma’s prone form.
“Did that hurt? It looked like it did.” Pepa asked worriedly, hovering over Ranma’s head.
“Only my pride.” Ranma mumbled into the floor.
“How are you feeling?” Kasumi asked in concern as she sat down on a wooden chair next to the bed. “You’ve been out for some time.”
“I’ll live, but I’m not well.” She answered, trying hard to face her future with bravery. “Not that being a cripple will hinder my future tasks.”
“You’re not a cripple!” Ranma declared, suddenly hopping up to her feet, before dropping down on the bed close to her. Pepa fluttered over to sit on the girl’s shoulder as soon as she had settled. “You’re just--.” The redhead trailed off while searching for the right word.
“What?” Kiima snapped and clutched at the stump of her arm. “I’ve done nothing but fail my people. The only thing they’ll have left for me is to lay on my back and push out eggs until I’m all used up.” She snapped angrily, the intensity of her feelings beginning to overwhelm her.
“Eggs? Really?” Ranma carelessly asked and blinked owlishly towards her stomach.
Kiima’s face twisted into an angry scowl at the unthinking response, the feathers on her wings ruffling.
“What do eggs have to do with anything?” Pepa asked in confusion.
“Why did you save me?!” She screamed and backhanded the redhead across her face, her talons leaving four shallow cuts on her cheek. Kiima’s hand exploded in pain, the deceptively soft looking Tiefling barely budging from the blow. “I could have died with honor instead of living in shame!”
“Kiima?” Ranma asked in shock, gingerly raising a hand to touch her cheek. Pulling away enough to confirm that the wetness was blood. “My face.” She mumbled in horror.
“Why are you being such a meanie?” Pepa moved to hover partially between them to glare at her with her arms crossed.
“Get out!” She snarled, holding her stinging hand to her chest. “All of you get out!”
“We should go.” Kasumi quickly grabbed Ranma by the shoulders to try and get her to leave.
“You cut me.” Ranma’s eyes watered slightly in betrayal, allowing herself to be pulled off the bed.
“And you destroyed me!” Tears burned her eyes as she screamed at the redhead. “I fell for your charm and you took everything!”
“I didn’t charm you!” The tiefling shouted in denial, her voice catching at the end leading to a violent coughing fit that nearly brought the girl to her knees. “I never.” She wheezed, struggling to catch her breath.
“It’s what your kind does.” She remarked coldly.
Kiima should have been helping her people, being the leader that she was born to be in their time of need. Not wasting her time on personal pursuits with some deviant demon. For a very brief instant she locked eyes with Ranma and felt the sharp presence of her demonic aura wash over her and suddenly Kiima was falling. Tumbling endlessly down into a lightless void, unable to catch herself as she flailed about helplessly into darkness from a black sky. And then the moment had passed and she was once again a cripple in a hospital bed, unsure if anything had happened at all.
Across from her, Ranma stood completely straight, struggling to keep her composure. “Fine.” Her shoulders shook as she slowly turned to leave the room, passing by Masara who was peeking his head in through the doorway.
“I hope you feel good about yourself.” Kasumi gave her a smoldering glare as she quickly followed after the redhead.
The last one to leave was the little scowling fairy girl. Pepa breathed in deeply as though she might start yelling but chose to dart off after the other two without a word.
Masara watched them go before slipping back into the room. “Was that wise? She did save Lord Saffron and the elder has given her a place of high honor.” He asked timidly, fearing her rebuke.
Kiima didn’t even bother to look at him. “As if your opinion ever mattered.” She replied sardonically.
The other Phoenix winced and stared down at the floor without a word. He flexed his wings once before taking a position next to the door waiting for an order.
‘I shouldn’t be so dismissive of him.’ She made a tight fist with her one remaining hand. Masara had always been a loyal subordinate and as close to a friend as she had had before Ranma. Not that she would really need him now. She better get used to serving in the home with Samosa, Eiriasa, Dahana, and even Cassia since she may as well be a wingless groundling now.
zx
Sitting on Ranma’s shoulder and nestled in the hood of her cloak, Pepa held onto the long warm fur that surrounded her as the Tiefling calmly walked down the street. It was getting warmer and she didn’t really feel the cold, but it felt very nice to be surrounded by the enchanted warmth of the garment. That and she really liked being allowed so close to Ranma. Especially now that that long white rat had ran off back to its demon master.
“Why was she so mean?” Pepa asked to break the silence. A fair amount of mortals were out doing their day to day business and a few approached Ranma to offer their thanks. Some came forward but quickly noticed that both Tieflings were in bad moods and kept their distance. Ranma herself was quite subdued but Kasumi, who for the first time Pepa knew about, looked ready to explode.
“I think it’s cause she’s scared.” Ranma answered, her voice soft, and filled with sadness. She turned her head enough to glance in Pepa’s direction with four thin red lines barely visible on her cheek. The Tieflings body having nearly repaired the cuts done to her face in the short time since leaving the hospital.
“Of what? The bad dragon is gone, right?” She asked in confusion, having felt the tumultuous twisting of Ranma’s emotions run through her when being insulted by the bird woman. “And she hurt you.” Pepa reached out to lightly touch the smooth skin of Ranma’s cheek near one of the former cuts.
“Of not having anything to fight for anymore.” Ranma stopped briefly to take a deep breath.
“She should know better than to start creating enemies.” Kasumi added hotly.
“Kasumi, she lost her arm, nearly everyone she ever knew was killed, and the one thing that kept her going all this time is gone.” The redhead looked shocked at the venom in the taller Tiefling’s voice.
“What would have happened if you hadn’t been here? How can she be so ungrateful for everything you did?” Kasumi nearly spat, her voice becoming a hiss. “And how can you be so calm about this? Those hateful things she said to you?”
Ranma moved so suddenly that Pepa had to grab onto the fur surrounding her otherwise she would have been thrown off. Jostled again when the redhead stopped moving, Pepa saw that Ranma had pulled Kasumi to the entrance of a narrow alley to get some privacy. “It hurts alright? Is that what you want me to say? Why can’t you let me deal with it how I want?”
“At least show that you feel something. You’re never this-- this--.” Kasumi looked away, unable to finish her thought.
Ranma bent forward and to the side to force Kasumi to look in her eyes. “What? Do I have to cry and lose control of myself? Is that all that you expect of me?” She asked, clearly hurt by the implication.
“That’s not what I meant.” The other Tiefling protested, wringing her hands tightly together.
“Kasumi, I’ve been called a Succubus once already today, I can’t deal with knowing you think the same of me right now.” Ranma’s soft voice hardened like she was preparing to yell like Kiima had.
“Are you two going to fight now too?” Pepa asked in horror, flying off of Ranma’s shoulder to hover between them. She could live happily without Kiima around but she didn’t know what she would do without Kasumi.
“No, no we’re just talking.” Any sign of Kasumi’s anger evaporated quickly as the Tiefling reached out to offer her a place to sit on her hand. Pepa merely looked down at the hand in worry.
“How about sitting on my shoulder till we get home? Give Ranma a break.” Kasumi suggested and Pepa hesitated before quickly resuming her place in Ranma’s fur lined hood. Kasumi continued to hold out her hand for a moment in surprise before dropping it back to her side with a false smile on her face.
“If that’s what you want.” Kasumi added dejectedly. “I’m sorry, Ranma. I never meant to imply that. And you’re right that I shouldn’t be getting so upset over what Kiima said.”
“She’s the one who should be apologizing, not you.” Ranma remarked with a happier lilt to her voice and leaned in to hesitantly hug the taller girl around the waist. The redhead seemed like she wanted to say something but quickly backed away and blushed. “Sorry, I know you don’t like that.”
“Let’s not start an apology war.” Kasumi laughed lightly. “And I don’t mind an occasional hug. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
“Alright then, no more apologies for the day then.” Ranma declared, now smiling brightly, and with a much happier air about her. Even if it was forced.
Pepa refrained from voicing her approval at the happy conclusion to their fight, unlike the one Ranma had had with the nasty bird woman. Primarily because she still wasn’t sure what they had been fighting about in the first place. So she chose to quietly enjoy the rare moment.
“Say Kasumi?” Ranma started and began to fiddle with her fingers in front of her. “I was wondering-- since I have to keep my promise to Favian, would you like to come with?”
“Come with? Where are you going?” Kasumi asked in confusion.
“Honestly-- it’s kind of someplace I’d rather not go.” Ranma admitted.
zx
Kuno Tatewaki fell heavily against a moss covered tree and slid lifelessly to the forest floor. How long had he been searching for his Goddess? Weeks? Months? It was impossible to tell, the sun never set here, instead it made a wide circular arc in the sky. The shadows were always dancing, making him wary of any darkness that would stretch too close. (1)
He hated to question her, but he could not fathom why Mico had tasked him with finding her in such a bleak and dark landscape. An endless maze of trees that he felt no closer to exiting then when he had arrived. If that wasn’t bad enough, the only sounds that filled the air was the rustling of leaves, and the creak of trees. Rarely he would catch sight of one of Mico’s attendants, fairies made of various colored light flittering about, beyond reach, and always vanishing before he could get near.
He couldn’t keep his eyes open and only realized that he had dozed off when he awoke with a jerk. Calming down, he tried to get himself more comfortable before getting some sleep. Rubbing his arms together, he felt the results of his lack of food and water. When he had arrived he had been the picture of youth and manly vitality. Not now though, he was a weak and shriveled thing, kept alive by Mico’s mercy as he sought her out.
His hunger and thirst were cruel temptations that gnawed at him constantly but he dare not drink from the many ponds and streams that he came across. Kuno’s magical knowledge was quite limited outside of the spells Mico had given him but even he could tell that every drop of water was saturated with something he wanted no part of. Some time ago he had been ready to brave the consequences up until he had seen his reflection change in the water, becoming a grizzly bear.
‘Transformation magic.’ He would have laughed at the irony of facing the same danger that his brave friend Ranma had come across if he wasn’t dying from it.
zx
Ranma landed from her long flight heavily in a crouch, at the same time letting Kasumi out of her arms. 'I forgot how much that took out of me.' She grinned cockily at her former cargo to try and stave off any questions about how she was doing. It was easy to fly by herself but the added burden of carrying the larger Kasumi and troubles breathing had nearly made her drop from the sky.
"I'm tired, too." Pepa gasped and wheezed, collapsing onto a ledge of rock nearby. The fairy had decided to fly all the way by herself.
"But I'm not tired." She protested weakly, feeling the cool wind as it attempted to freeze the layer of sweat glistening on her face.
And then there was the harsh extremely hot winds that came down from the volcano along with all the noxious fumes it produced. Even with her enchanted cloak helping to regulate her temperature, she was stuck for the moment alternating between uncomfortably warm and dreadfully cold.
"Thank you, Ranma. That was amazing." Kasumi sighed and looked back the way they had come. "The airship was wonderful but that was--." The larger tiefling trailed off, unable to choose a word to describe her feelings.
"It’s why I do like having wings." She admitted with only the tiniest feeling of shame.
"Why did you want to come here, though?" Kasumi asked, looking around their place on the side of the volcano doubtfully. "It doesn't feel right at all."
"I know." Ranma nodded, feeling the lingering pressure of all the evil magic that had been concentrated in this one area. It would be a long time before Ladon's influence ever truly vanished, if it could be removed at all.
Pepa appeared at the corner of her vision to land on her shoulder, looking uncomfortable being so deep into the infernal aura, her bodies brightness fluctuating more than normal. Ranma pulled up her hood slightly to help with the wind, and to subtly create a little alcove for the fairy.
"I think it's around here." She indicated an outcropping just a short distance away where the cave should be. There had been no time to leave a marker or memorize the way it looked in her desperate flight away from the volcano back to Lutansk. Easily finding spots to step, she made her way quickly to where only a small human sized tunnel was burrowed through the rock, its opening hidden underneath an overhang of sharp black stone. "Ah! Here!" She announced, looking back to see that Kasumi was having a far more difficult time with the crossing.
"Ooh! What's in there?" Pepa asked with intense curiosity, struggling to sweep aside fur from her hood to see.
"You doing alright, Kasumi?" Ranma tried to raise her voice but still couldn't get it much past her normal speaking level. 'Ugh! This is annoying!'
"I'm fine. I'm just not as-- sure footed as you are." The dragon tiefling smiled genially but Ranma caught her glance down at her hooves.
"Um, right." She nodded, shuffling her feet in the dirt somewhat embarrassed for even that amount of attention being given to their deformity. Holding out her hand, she helped Kasumi up onto the tiny platform just outside of the tunnel. “Maybe I should have had you change into something else. Forgot that we have to crawl a bit.”
“You’ve seen me gardening, I’m not afraid to get my hands and knees a little dirty.” The golden haired tiefling turned back toward the city far across the open plane covered in a fresh layer of snow. It was hard to see the damage to the exterior wall from this distance over the bright gleam of sunlight reflected off the white painted stone. “It really is pretty to look at.”
“Is it?” Pepa asked, back to hovering near Ranma’s shoulder. “There’s only one color, though.”
“How many colors doesn’t matter, Pepa.” Kasumi told the fairy patiently.
“Too bad it’s run by a bunch of morons.” Ranma answered, seeing nothing but the rot of corruption. That Dorik and several of his flunkies had met their ends at the hands of Ladon’s assassins during the siege was a small consolation after what he had done to her.
Ranma felt a tiny shiver run down her tail and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, feeling like someone was watching from nearby. Her eyes quickly darted around the near vertical face of the mountain, searching for any signs of movement.
“Ranma, are you alright? You’re not having any problems breathing are you?” Kasumi asked worriedly and moved closer.
“Just got the feeling like someone was watching.” Shrugging away the ridiculous thought, Ranma stuffed the front corners of her cloak into her pants so it would stay out of the way. “Ready?”
“Are you sure that it’s just a feeling? We still don’t know what happened to the last of Ladon’s children.” Kasumi’s golden eyes scanned the rocks as well. “We should call out and see if they’ll give themselves up.”
“What?” Ranma looked at her former fiancee like she had grown a second head.
“Don’t they deserve a chance? Maybe they can be reasonable?” The blonde tieflings jaw was set tight, desperate for her statement to be true.
“Sorry, Kasumi. But his eldest hated him and she still chose to kill me over helping me against him.” She pointed out sadly, the nameless woman’s last moments flashing in front of her vision again. “Sides, If they were in any way sane they wouldn’t be skulking around here.” As if to punctuate her statement, the volcano rumbled loudly, and sent a tremor vibrating through the ground.
“Maybe we can talk about this later?” Ranma looked doubtfully up at the collapsed volcano, noticing Pepa nodding enthusiastically out of the corner of her eye.
“I guess you’re right. So what do we do first? I’ve never been on an adventure before.” Kasumi asked eagerly, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet in excitement.
‘We were on an adventure just to get to Lutansk.’ Ranma mentally shrugged having long ago explained to Kasumi that the majority of an adventurer's life was boring travel. “Just follow me, at the end there’s a drop so I’ll need to carry you down.” Casting a light spell to hover in front of her, she crawled inside.
The tunnel was large enough to easily fit through but she still had to crawl on her hands and knees across the sharp stones, and her wings would occasionally bump against the sides. After approximately five meters the tunnel made a sharp downward angle that led to a drop down to the room fifteen meters below. Shuffling herself to sit on the edge, Ranma let Kasumi squeeze in next to her.
“Ready?” She asked and put an arm around Kasumi. The other Tiefling nodded somewhat hesitantly, eyes never leaving the floor below. “Hang on.” She instructed and pulled her over the lip. There was a brief moment of freefall before she could spread her wings and Kasumi nearly crushed her in panic before Ranma could begin to glide them gently to the floor. Landing she immediately cast a much larger light spell in the center of the room to illuminate the massive amount of precious metals and gemstones contained within.
"You can let go now." Ranma gently placed a hand on Kasumi's own when the larger girl remained locked onto her. The blonde nodded but didn't take her eyes off the gleaming treasure stretched out before them.
"This is--." Kasumi gasped, staggering from shock to lean on her shoulders.
"Ladon's hoard." Ranma summarized as Pepa left the inside of her cloak to float nearby.
"Neat." Pepa added and zipped forward and to the ground to poke at a blue gemstone nestled between coins. "What's a hoard do?" She asked cluelessly.
"It's money-- a lot of money." Ranma answered, her eyes lingering on several book shelves she had missed before hidden in a small alcove to the side. "And ancient knowledge which is even better than money." She left Kasumi's side, opening her wings to leap forward clearing the distance to the small library in a single bound. Feeling strongly that this was where something very important was kept. Something that she needed to have right now.
"Ranma, what's over there?" Kasumi called out in concern.
"Lots of books." She answered quickly and hastily dug out an empty bag of holding to start shoving the ancient tomes inside. As she was busy putting them away, she heard the jingling of Kasumi's steps as the older Tiefling made her way across the sea of gold.
"What are we going to do with all this?" The blonde asked, opening a smaller book bound in thick leather to pick through the pages. Pepa peaked over her shoulder to look as well. "Spells, but it's all in some weird language."
"I think grabbing as much as we can before the volcano gets any more unstable is a pretty good thing to do first off." Ranma answered giddily. She would be able to pay off any outstanding debts hanging over her head or her old man's. She could afford to speak to the most knowledgeable magic users out there.
"But there's so much." Kasumi stared doubtfully at her. "Nobody could need all this."
"I know, that's why I want you to have some, and then we'll give the rest to the Phoenix-- even Kiima if she apologizes." Ranma explained, having been thinking about what to do with all this wealth since waking up in the hospital. "The city can have some to help rebuild, your family, and I guess my Pop too."
“Do I get anything?” Pepa asked hopefully, having been quiet since her earlier question.
Ranma paused and regarded the spell creature, having completely forgotten that she may feel left out, or would even care. “Sure, what did you want?”
“I don’t know.” Pepa crossed her arms and put a single finger to her lips. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.” Kasumi answered with an amused smile before turning to her. "You're really not thinking to keep it all for yourself?" The blonde Tiefling asked her incredulously, kneeling down to pick up handfuls of gold to let run through her fingers.
"That thought crossed my mind." She admitted and felt her cheeks heat up, feeling shame at being so monumentally selfish.
"Oh good, it's wasn’t just me." Kasumi sighed in relief before laughing nervously.
"Oh?" Ranma knelt down and glanced slyly over towards the taller girl.
"Well, I am descended from a dragon." She laughed even more awkwardly, tail swishing side to side through coins, and burrowing down as though to bury itself. Picking up a single coin, the blonde held it up to her ear in confusion.
“What is it?” Ranma looked at Kasumi quizzically.
“Can you hear that?” She held the coin out to her with one hand and picked up a second to hold to her ear with the other. “It’s like someone is singing. This one is doing it too. So pretty--.” The dragon tiefling sighed.
“Ooh, what is?” Pepa swung around next to Kasumi’s ear to try and hear.
“Hmm, guess it’s true what they say about dragons and gold.” Ranma chuckled, hearing nothing from the coin Kasumi was insistently shoving at her.
“They say what?” Kasumi asked quickly in irritation, finding offense at the comparison.
“I just meant--.” Ranma stuttered, realizing her faux pas, and how similar it was to Kiima’s earlier remarks. “It’s-- said that when there’s enough gold near, dragons hear it singing. And since you have some dragon ancestry-- maybe that’s why you hear something. That’s all-- sorry.” She bowed her head in shame at her careless comment.
“I didn’t know that.” The blonde patted her on the shoulder before hesitantly putting one of the coins in a pocket of her skirt. “Sorry I snapped at you. I was always too embarrassed and scared to learn anything about Dragons.”
“I should have said it better.” She admitted and reached up to grab Kasumi’s hand. "Let’s find some more good stuff."
“Sure." Kasumi nodded eagerly.
zx
Genma crouched stealthily outside of Akane’s room, listening intently as his estranged daughter chatted animatedly with the youngest Tendo daughter. It hurt to know that he had missed out on Michiko’s entire life. Even if she was a Succubus, Nodoka could have at least mentioned that they had conceived a second child. He could have sent birthday gifts when he could afford it. Not like raising Ranma on his own had been easy, even when he did get help.
‘She must take after me, Nodoka never would have stood up to Happosai like that.’ He thought proudly and puffed up his chest before immediately deflating. He didn’t know much if anything about his daughter and his son had ran off without him. Some father he had turned out to be.
Slim arms gently encircled his neck from behind as a curvy form pressed into him. “Anything interesting happening inside?” Nodoka whispered in his ear, her gentle feminine perfume slowly invading his nose.
“They’re getting along.” He answered, reaching up to hold her hands.
“It’s wonderful that Michiko has made a friend but it will make things harder for when we return home.”
“So stay on this plane.” He gently rubbed his thumb against her smooth skin.
“Silly man.” Nodoka purred while nuzzling her head against his neck. “You know there’s no place for demons among mortals.”
“Then why are you here?” Genma stood up and turned around to face the Succubus.
Her beautiful blue eyes twinkled in amusement as she stepped forward to lean against his chest. “I was wondering if you would come over to enjoy the evening with me?”
‘Why can’t I ever say no?’ He sighed and nodded his head. Nodoka was using him in what would be the most pleasurable way possible. Maybe someday he would be able to decline but today was not that day.
zx
Akane purposely blocked out the mental image of Genma and Nodoka and the kinds of activities the two would be partaking in, having overheard the tail end of their conversation outside of her door.
(akane kind of summarizes michiko’s school system in moderate horror)
zx
Inside his library, Favian leafed through a book with complete disinterest in the content before roughly dropping it on the table to his left. Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, he stared forward blankly at the far wall. He had never thought that victory would weigh so heavily on his mind. Orchestrating the downfall of his brother, Ladon had consumed him and now he wasn’t sure what to fill his time with.
Soon enough his former students would leave to return home and he doubted that he could convince either to remain. Neither had enjoyed their time in Lutansk and at this point he was fed up with the city as well.
‘Preparations to move will be tiresome.’ He rubbed at his chin, irritated at the difficult and pricey process that he would need to endure with chartering an airship. ‘Not that an ocean going vessel would be any less expensive.’
Lutansk’s coastline was treacherous with jagged rocks lurking beneath the surface and unpredictable tides that often generated incredibly large waves. Adding to the difficulty of creating a dock for ships were the mountain ranges that surrounded much of the island. Few paths existed between the peaks and in winter were completely impassible. Not that this stopped someone from suggesting they attempt the momentous task of creating permanent roads to establish a port every summer.
‘I’ll have to start having my effects cataloged.’ He could probably have that done within a couple weeks but first he’d have to find a new residence. If everything went smoothly, he might be settled by summers end, hopefully in a much warmer climate.
A knock on the door broke him out of his considerations. “Come in.” He absently instructed and one of his maids stepped in, and came over to stand primly at his side.
“Lord Favian, Lady Ranma and Kasumi are here to see you.” She explained curtly.
“Of course, see them in.” He answered and nodded towards the young woman who left to bring the two to the library.
Sitting up straighter in his chair, he nervously picked at the fabric of his armrest. He trusted Kasumi but he remained worried she would tell Ranma about her ancestry. And considering Ranma’s interactions with his brother, he was rightly concerned with how she would react. Though the fact that she hadn’t barged in or blown up his house from the exterior made him feel reasonably safe. Even if he had ways of dealing with a Tiefling as powerful as Ranma, he would end up doing irreparable harm to her in order to do so. Something he couldn’t bring himself to do.
He was surprised at how happy the two Tieflings seemed as they came through the doorway. When he had last seen them, Ranma had been radiating a palpable aura of depression which had been affecting Kasumi. But now they were both all smiles. Even Pepa, who was perpetually positive seemed in remarkably good spirits.
“Has there been good news?” Favian asked in lieu of a greeting. More curious over what caused the change in attitude than simple pleasantries.
“There has.” Kasumi answered first, which was a tad unusual as she was the more reserved of the three.
“Today I get to pay you back for those bags of holding.” Ranma announced with a musical lilt to her voice, tail happily swinging side to side behind her.
“I really wasn’t that worried about repayment.” He slid to the edge of his chair, watching as Kasumi took a seat across from him, and Ranma knelt down at arms length away from his chair.
“Forty gold a piece, right?” She asked glibly and pulled out one of the bags of holding he had loaned her.
“Closer to fifty but yes.” He watched intently as she upturned the magical bag spilling gold out on the floor. Dozens then hundreds of coins clinked against each other, pooling into an ever larger mound of gold at his feet.
“Two hundred seems fair.” Ranma answered and sealed the bag back up before it emptied further and began to count.
“Hold-- hold on.” He leaned forward and stopped her by grabbing the redhead’s left hand, forgetting that she had said he wasn’t allowed to touch her. “Where did you get all of this?” There had to be over five hundred pieces of gold haphazardly spread out on his floor.
“Ladon won’t be needing it anymore.” The half succubus stated in a way that sounded both proud and sinister at the same time.
“You found his hoard.” Favian breathed out, remembering the vast treasure that he and Ladon had amassed in their long lives.
“It was incredible to see.” Kasumi added, reaching down to pick up a coin that had rolled next to her feet, and held it to her ear. “And because I’m part dragon, I can hear it singing.”
He smiled warmly at his great granddaughters enjoyment. There were many negatives to her ancestry so he was happy that she had found some small part to enjoy. “And what are you two to do with your newfound wealth?” He asked in amusement.
“I have a few ideas but nothing for certain yet.” Ranma answered, her hands blurring into motion as she started to count coins faster than he could follow.
“How should we handle it? Where should we store the coin? You know, to keep it-- safe?” Kasumi asked calmly even though her eyes darted nervously to the gold Ranma had finished counting.
“Since I know you’re going to be leaving within a month or two, I think you should be fine storing it in your apartment so long as it’s not out in the open. I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to break into your home to steal anything at this point. Though if you want, I do have some space here where it would be safe.” He offered helpfully, wanting to do as much as he could for one of his descendants.
"Please, tell me what it was like to see a dragon's hoard." He asked, feigning ignorance for Ranma's sake, already knowing full well what they would have found. He was just hearing about the small library of ancient books and scrolls that the two had come across when a soft knock at the door interrupted.
The same maid who had alerted him to Kasumi and Ranma took a step inside the door. “Lord Favian, there’s a messenger here to see you.”
He was tempted to send them away, not wanting to have this time with his granddaughter interrupted further. “Give us a minute.” He instructed and the young lady obediently stepped out. “Ranma, put that gold away.”
“But I just counted it.” The redhead whined and slumped her shoulders as she slowly started to shove the gold back into a bag of holding. Pepa began to giggle loudly in response, the fairy sitting on one of the largest coin stacks.
Ranma had just finished and taking a seat next to Kasumi when the door to the room opened again. Marching in purposefully was an immaculately dressed young man carrying a leather satchel tightly under his right arm. Stepping smartly up to stand between the seating, he came to an abrupt halt, and clapped his heels together.
“My lord.” The young man quickly bowed his head in Favian’s direction, completely ignoring the two Tieflings.
“Yes?” Favian asked casually and slouched backwards in his chair.
“I’m here on behalf of Lord Morri Seran.” The messenger introduced and pulled out an expensive looking letter from his satchel to hold out waiting to be taken. “This is his formal invitation for you to attend the gala he is holding to celebrate the death of the dread dragon, Ladon.”
“A celebration?” He leaned forward and took the waiting letter, his eyes drifting over to his granddaughter. Kasumi was sitting with her hands clasped in her lap, trying to look like she was waiting patiently for the young man to be done. Save for how the tip of her tail made quick tapping noises as it rapidly twitched back and forth against the floor. “I’m generally not one for such public forays.”
“But this is a very special occasion.” The messenger stressed heavily.
“So you say.” He remarked unimpressed, breaking the wax seal to break open the parchment and glanced at Ranma. “Will you also be inviting the one responsible for Ladon’s demise?” He asked.
“Of course, that is my next appointment.”
Pepa flew into view for the man and animatedly pointed behind him towards Ranma. “You don’t have to go anywhere, she’s right here.” The fairy happily announced.
“Thanks, Pepa.” Ranma grumbled looking away. The redhead had scrunched herself up making her look even smaller like she wanted to be overlooked and ignored. With her wings flattened against her back and her tail wrapped tightly around both legs.
“Welcome!” Pepa beamed, not picking up on the sarcasm. The spell creature then quickly flew over to sit behind Ranma on the back of the chair.
“Apologies, my lady.” The man stuttered, his face turning red in embarrassment, hastily digging into his bag. “I wasn’t expecting to see you. Obviously I should have been paying closer attention. Of course, here is your invitation.”
“Not interested.” Ranma answered plainly, making no move to take or push away the envelope.
“You’re-- not?”
“No, you assholes did your best to run me out of town. And now because I was useful you think I’m just going to forget?” The redhead scoffed and sat up straighter.
“Well-- um--.” The man’s mouth opened and closed as he attempted to form a response.
“Ranma, don’t be so hasty.” Favian butted in, quickly rising to his feet to take the invitation from the messenger, and purposely shove it into Ranma’s hands. “She’ll need some time to consider it.”
“Right, my lord. Stress I’m sure.” The man quickly nodded, giving Ranma further scrutiny but finding that she only glared at him defiantly.
“Stress-- yes. And does Miss Tendo also have an invitation buried in that bag of yours?” He asked, glancing towards his granddaughter who was waiting excitedly.
“Apologies Lord Favian, but I wasn’t given any other invitations.”
“In that case you can go tell your Lord, that neither Ranma or I will be attending without Miss Tendo.” He demanded, refusing to let Kasumi be left out.
“I will--.” The messenger quickly nodded his head. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go relay your concern to him immediately.”
“Of course.” He answered, gesturing for his maid waiting patiently at the door to see his impromptu visitor out.
The moment the door closed, Ranma spoke up. “What do you think you’re doing?” She angrily snapped.
“Grandfather, if I wasn’t invited then I don’t want to go.” Kasumi added a half beat later.
“Grandfather?” Ranma turned to give Kasumi a questioning look while Pepa quickly flittered over to land on the arm of Kasumi’s chair.
“It’s a term of endearment.” The Tiefling answered uncertainly.
“Really?” The redhead asked cluelessly before shaking her head rapidly. “Whatever, I don’t want anything to do with these people.”
“This kind of thing isn’t really about what you want--.” He started while trying to sound as calm and collected as he could. “It’s an opportunity for you to make connections. They aren’t inviting you to be nice, it’s all politics. You should be taking advantage of this, there isn’t going to be a better opportunity to use all the goodwill you have from killing Ladon to ingratiate yourself to influential people who have influential friends back on the mainland. I know there is a brain underneath all that hair, use it.”
“I guess that makes a tiny amount of sense.” She remarked in half concession and crossed her arms irritably before instantly reaching up to brush back her long bangs. “And leave my hair out of this.”
“He has a good point, Ranma. And it would also be good for me to get out more.” Kasumi conceded to the red head and nervously tugged in her ponytail.
“I’ll think about it.” Ranma admitted weakly, clearly just wanting to be difficult and drag her hooves.
“If I have to suffer through it, both of you do as well.” He teased while returning to his seat. “Let’s forget about that unpleasantness, tell me about this hoard.”
Two hours later, Favian watched as his three guests took their leave while idly tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. In his other hand he held one of the gold coins Ranma had given to him in repayment for the bags of holding. If he was reading the coin properly it was gold from three hundred years ago, taken from a country called Clastos. Which if he recalled correctly had been a small nation off the far southern coast of the continent that had been destroyed by a hurricane.
It had been so long since he had heard the siren song of gold calling to him that he had almost forgotten. Staring at the coin for several minutes and hearing nothing from it, he carefully put the piece down. “I’m too old for dreams of gold.”
-----
This next scene will be going at the very end. Since it hasn't really been mentioned since chapter one, Mico is Josh Temples analog who personifies his general traits, so it should be obvious what kind of monster she is.
-----
Tatewaki found himself staring at his reflection in a small pond. The image that he saw wasn't of his handsome self but an impressively large tiger with thick fluffy fur. While the creature was majestic and regal in appearance, he couldn't help but notice that it also looked more juvenile as though it was a large kitten.
'I could live with that.' He rationalized, his thirst overcoming his wariness towards the magical water. Most of the animals he saw reflected these days were quite cute and harmless. If he was to be cursed then it should be into a form he could be proud of.
Not for the first time he wondered if he had been tricked by some evil spirit, using the name of his beloved Goddess to lure him to this place. The warmth and light of Mico was not here. He would never find her in this place and would end up slowly going insane.
His eyes shifted to the left, seeing the sun's reflection in the tranquil pool, appearing as though peering over his shoulder. It was the only thing in this forsaken forest that reminded him of her. "I'm sorry, my Goddess." He sank to his knees in the mud, feeling so tired that he believed he would never rise again. "I fear I was not up to your task." He spoke upwards and squinted his eyes closed as he stared at the sun. It seemed as though the light grew in intensity as he acknowledged the glowing orb.
Dropping his head, he licked his parched lips, and bent forward to gather some of the cool liquid within his hands. 'Tis better to cut to the chase and not prolong the inevitable.' He rationalized and drew his withered hands up to his face.
Soft and gentle hands gripped his own stopping him from taking in the magic water. He stared in amazement and let the water slip through his fingers back to the pond below. Slowly he turned to the figure standing to his left with dozens of multi-colored light fairies hovering behind her creating a halo of light. Fiery red hair fell behind her like a cloak to dance along the forest floor, intricate braids wove through unbound sections creating a complex pattern he didn't recognize. Sprouting from her back and held high and alert were great bird wings with feathers that were a mesmerizing mix of iridescent blues and greens with round eye shapes at the tips.
Dancing up a skin tight sheer shoulderless gown that trailed behind her were golden flowers, vines, and leaves that barely hid the exquisite form underneath. For an infinitely small time he thought he recognized Saotome's enchanted form before he was caught by the woman's purple eyes that glowed with a visible aura.
"My-- Goddess?" He hazarded to ask hopefully, his voice coming out in a harsh whisper.
“You’ve suffered much in your life.” Her voice was soft and sweet, with a subtle undercurrent of power emphasizing every word. She raised her left hand and magic sparkles swirled into her palm forming a golden chalice polished to a mirror shine.
“I’ll now bestow upon you a blessing for your efforts.” Several of the attendant fairies came forth carrying a gold pitcher to pour a thick honey colored liquid into the chalice. “Take.” She extended her hand forward halfway, expecting him to meet her halfway.
Tatewaki stared enraptured by the offered chalice, so transfixed by a gift from his Goddess that he only dimly realized that he had reached his hands out to take it from her. Mico’s purple eyes watched him expectantly, hyper focused on his every move. Raising the chalice up to his lips, he hesitated, unable to stop himself from being apprehensive over her intense clinical gaze.
The intoxicating sweet smell of the liquid erased all doubts and he raised the chalice. He almost fell backwards as the taste assaulted his tongue. Liquid fire tore through his mouth and set his throat ablaze as it raced downwards. Dimly he noticed that the cup was now empty but his hands clutched it so tightly that the metal was being bent. He felt so wonderfully calm as the intense warmth spread throughout his entire body.
More of Mico’s attendants arrived and featherlight touches accompanied them fluttering in to surround him. Their multi-colored forms began to glow brightly and filaments spread out to intertwine, cocooning him within. All at once, the weakness he had fought for so long caught up with him, and he fell to the side succumbing to his Goddess’ magic.