A most odd sound woke Natsu up this morning. There were no birds outside singing and Happy wasn't calling out to him. Not even the winds blowing through fallen leaves outside of his window had affected his slumber today. No this sound was much softer. It was also accompanied by a certain feeling. A feeling of warmth, but also constriction. There was also a muttering in his ear. A sweet voice belonging to someone who had just recently slithered into his life.
"Darling, this dress is wonderful. I can't wait to wear it on our wedding day."
"Darling? Wedding day? What?"
Natsu tried to roll over, but found himself instantly coiled in something. "What the hell? I can't move!" the dragon slayer struggled as best he could, but the pressure only increased the more he moved about. "Dammit. What's going on? Why can't I get free?" He heated his body up using his magic, but whatever was holding him tightened even more.
Natsu heard those peaceful moans in ear become more lustful and heated.
"Slow down, darling. Otherwise I'll lose myself."
Turning his head – the only part of his body that would move under his control – Natsu's eyes fell to a sleeping Miia.
"We can have as many children as you want, darling." She muttered to herself, her smile growing wider as her cheeks reddened.
It was then Natsu finally realized that he was once again caught in the iron grip of Miia's tail.
"Miia! Miia, wake up!"
"Five more minutes…"
She squeezed harder, the end of her tail slowly wrapping around Natsu's neck.
"M-Miia! Wake up…you're…choking me!" Natsu gasped. He desperately tapped on the Lamia's tail to get her to ease up, it didn't work.
"Oh, darling, you're so affectionate today." Miia nuzzled her head close to Natsu's chest, and her grip tightened one final time.
The next sound was Natsu's shoulder popping out of socket.
Gray and Gajeel had been rolling on the floor for well over two minutes now, their mocking laughter echoing throughout the guild hall. Natsu was so mad that he was starting to shake.
"Hold still." Carla scolded. "Wendy is almost done."
"Please bear with it a little longer, Natsu." Wendy said softly. Her small hands hovered over her fellow dragon slayer's shoulder, her magic working through his injury.
Lucy glared at the two young men on the floor. "Don't you guys think that's enough? It's not that funny."
Gajeel and Gray finally started to calm down and picked themselves up from the floor.
"Sorry." Gray apologized as he wiped a final tear from his eye and sat next to the celestial wizard. "You gotta admit that it was at least a little funny."
"I don't see what's so funny about one of our friends getting hurt."
"Then you must not have been paying attention, blondie." Gajeel interjected. "Also. 'Friend' is pretty strong word. If anything we're co-workers."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."
"There. All done."
"Thanks, Wendy." Natsu rolled his newly healed shoulder around to get out the remaining kinks.
"How do you feel?"
"Much better thanks to you." Natsu's wide smile made the young girl blush.
"I'm so sorry!"
Everyone turned to Miia. The lamia had her head bowed so low that she was practically touching the floor.
"I never meant to hurt you, darling!"
There was a brief silence.
"Darling…?" Lucy questioned.
Miia's face flushed red. "I-I mean Natsu! I would never hurt you on purpose, Natsu!" She threw her head down again. This time it slammed on the floor.
"A-are you alright?!" Lucy shouted in fright.
"I'm…just…fine…" Miia dizzily replied, nursing the bump on her forehead. Wendy promptly went over to heal her. "T-thank you."
"No problem." The youngest dragon slayer smiled.
Miia turned to Natsu, guilt still clearly etched on her face. She was anxiously awaiting the scolding he would no doubt give her for once again sneaking into his room at night. That anxiousness turned to confusion when Natsu simply sighed.
"It's fine. Just try and stay in your own room from now on, ok?"
Miia nodded with a smile. "Right."
"You have to admit that this is a more than a little ironic." said Carla to Lucy. The blonde agreed with an amused grin and a sagely nod.
"Yeah. Now Natsu knows what it feels like to have someone invade his personal space. He probably won't learn his lesson though."
"Naturally."
"I think I understand how you feel now, Gray." Natsu realized. He placed his hand on his rival's shoulder.
"Aye." Happy agreed with a knowing nod.
"What are you talking about? Stop touching me." The ice wizard retorted, recoiling from the dragon slayer.
"Yes. My darling is nothing like the two of you." Juvia added.
"Where did you come from?"
"So what's on the agenda for today?" Carla asked her team.
"Same old. Same old." Replied Lucy. "We're waiting on Erza so we can pick a job."
"Where is she anyway?" Natsu asked.
"I think she's still at home." Wendy spoke up. "I think there is an inspection at Fairy Hills today."
"Well that sucks." Natsu groaned. He sat back in his chair, Miia quietly at his side.
It was an odd feeling the lamia experienced as she casually listened to the conversations being carried on by the wizards.. She was still very much nervous when it came to interacting with humans, but she managed to carve out a somewhat comfortable residence at Fairy Tail thanks to Natsu and his friends. Although there were still some things she wished she could become comfortable with, namely Kinana.
From what Miia gathered from talking with people Kinana was a snake creature as well...sort of. She had been apparently changed into a snake when she was very young by a very evil wizard. It wasn't until many years later that she was changed back into a human by Master Makarov. In a sense Miia felt a sort of kinship with her because of this, but she was much too afraid to talk to her about it because of her limited social skills with humans.
Miia looked over shoulder to the bar, and sure enough the barmaid quickly averted her gaze as if to imply she wasn't looking. The constant staring didn't help matters either. Ever since she arrived, Miia had noticed Kinana watching her whenever she was in the guild. No matter what she did she could feel Kinana's eyes on her. It was more than a little unsettling.
Is she afraid of me? Does she hate me? Why does she keep staring at me? It really freaks me out.
"Miia?"
The lamia snapped at attention and turned to Natsu. "Yes?"
"Something up? You spaced out."
Miia smiled in reassurance. "It's nothing."
"Are you still nervous around us?" Wendy innocently asked.
"A little, but not as much as I was at first."
"Oh, there you all are. Looks like I have perfect timing. Gotta thank my horoscope later."
Ms. Smith descended the stairs leading down from the second floor. With a bright smile on her face, she cheerfully approached the table.
"Good morning, everyone. How are you today?"
The wizards and Miia answered the Council Coordinator civilly. Natsu on the other hand was skeptical.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded with eyes narrowed. Smith's smile never wavered.
"I was speaking to Master Makarov more about our branch of the council and what we do. Just to see if we could get some sort of working relationship going. He said he was all for supporting us in anything should we need it." She leaned in, covering her mouth from view of the others in the guild. "Between you and me I think he just wants to look at pretty girls." She whispered.
"I wouldn't doubt that." Lucy chimed in.
"Neither would I." Carla added. Wendy and Juvia nodded as well.
"I also came here to give you your first assignment." Smith revealed to Natsu.
"What assignment?"
Smith fiddled around inside her suit jacket. "I know it's around here somewhere. I really hope I didn't leave it at home. I don't wanna travel that far just to come back and…got it! Here you go." Smith removed a folded piece of paper from her suit's inner breast pocket and handed it to a still confused Natsu.
The dragon slayer and his friends read over the paper. It looked very similar to a guild job posting, but it was much more neatly organized than what they were used to. For starters the paper was much nicer and softer than the parchment that was posted on their job board, and the font was much easier to read. There was also a picture of some sort of flying beast, but it was too blurry to clearly discern what it was.
"Possible Liminal Sighting near Oshibana. Investigation Requested." Lucy read the title aloud.
"So there's another one out there?" Gray asked.
Smith nodded. "Oh yeah. Liminals are all over the place. Normally he already know what Liminals are already out there in the world, but from time to time our department gets jobs like this dealing with ones that have somehow slipped under our radar. Sometimes the sightings are nothing more than pranks. Other times it's just normal run-of-the-mill beasts. But on occasion the sightings are actually Liminals."
"Which category does this job fall in?" Carla asked.
"We're thinking the latter. Based on our preliminary investigations there is about an eighty to ninety percent chance we're dealing with a Liminal."
"So why do I have to do it?" Natsu questioned.
Smith looked genuinely surprised for a moment. "You don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
"You're officially a deputized member of the L.C.P.P.D."
"Lcppd?" Natsu repeated. "What kinda weird name is that? I never singed up for anything."
"Not 'Lccpd'." Lucy corrected. "L.C.C.P.D. The Liminal Culture Preservation and Protection Division. Remember? The branch of the Magic Council that helps people like Miia? The one Ms. Smith is apart of?"
It took a few seconds, but eventually everything started to click in Natsu's head. "Oh yeah….I remember now. I still didn't sign up to join it though."
"Actually you did." Smith reached inside her suit again, this time pulling out a rather large stack of papers. When she set it down the table shook, the document had to be at least four hundred papers thick.
"How did she keep that heavy stack in there without falling over?" Gray wondered.
"Perhaps she uses some sort of strength enhancement magic." Juvia surmised, her face dangerously close to Gray's.
"No magic, just good old-fashioned muscle." Smith boasted, flexing her somewhat slender arm. She flipped the packet to the last page and pointed to a crudely written signature at the bottom. "This is your handwriting, right?"
Natsu looked where Smith pointed, sure enough that was his name.
"Yeah, but I don't remember signing."
"Well you were nursing a bump Miia gave you at the time, but I'm pretty sure that you signed it. This signature not only means that you have agreed to house Miia until we have deemed her suitable for human society, but that you also agreed to be a deputized member of my unit."
"What?! That's unfair."
Smith shrugged. "I'm sorry, but that's how it is. You should really read the fine print next time."
"What if I don't want to be apart of the council?" Natsu argued.
"We find Miia a new home and throw you in jail for breach of contract."
"You can't do that!"
"Let me see." Lucy snatched the contract from Natsu and read it over with her Gale-Force Reading Glasses. Because of how dense the stack was Lucy had to use her 18x pair. When finished she placed the packet on the table and took off her glasses.
"Well?" Natsu prompted, hoping his partner had found some sort of loophole. His spirits fell when she shook her head in failure.
"It's ironclad. As long as you're hosting Miia you're pretty much a deputized member of the council."
"This sucks!"
"Maybe next time you'll look before you leap." Gray commented. Natsu threw a chair at him.
"I looked that time." The dragon slayer smirked. Gray quickly got into his face.
"You wanna go right now, pyro?!"
"Fine with me. I need to blow off some steam anyway."
"Can't you two go a single moment without bickering?" Carla sighed.
"Please don't fight." Wendy pleaded.
"Yes, please calm down, beloved." Juvia said to Gray.
"Natsu, you should really apologize." scolded Lucy.
"For what?!"
"Well throwing a chair for one. It's not Gray's fault you're in this mess."
Natsu sat back down and crossed his arms over his chest in a huff. "Whatever. Sorry I guess."
"What kind of half-assed apology was that?" The ice wizard retorted, staring daggers at his rival. Natsu didn't say anything more. Knowing that was the best he was gonna get Gray sat down as well. "You're lucky I'm too tired to fight right now."
Weren't you the one who challenged him in the first place? Lucy, Wendy, and Carla wondered.
Miia couldn't help but feel responsible for the whole affair as she watched Natsu's irritated expression. I'm causing him trouble again. She thought dejectedly.
"Don't get all bent out of shape about it." Smith chimed in with a smile. "You don't have to go to any meetings or any of that boring stuff. You also get paid for any job you complete for us."
"So I'm basically the council's lap dog?" Natsu guessed.
"Quite the contrary. While technically employed by the council you will retain your autonomy as a wizard of a legal guild, you report directly to me and no one else. No overhead from my bosses. You also have the right to turn down any job you feel is unsuitable to your tastes. You're freelance in basically every sense of the word. I kind of envy you a bit."
Natsu pondered Smith's explanation for a moment. Truth be told he had no idea what she had just told to him. Auto what? The only words he understood were independent and freelance, and that was only because Lucy mentioned them once or twice that that was her status at Sorcerer Weekly. A "freelance reporter" as she called it.
"So I can still do what I want?"
Smith nodded. "Within reason. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but I'd appreciate it if you took these jobs every once in a while. You'd be doing me a big favor." With a pleading smile Smith winked at Natsu from above the rim of her shades.
Natsu sighed. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Great! You're a lifesaver."
Natsu looked at the blurry picture on the paper. His friends crowded around him. "What's it supposed to be?"
"Well preliminary investigations say that we're most likely dealing with a Harpy."
"What did I do?" Happy asked.
"Harpy." Carla irritably corrected. "Pay attention."
Smith reached into her bottomless suit pocket once more and pulled out a small black book titled: "Liminal Species Field Guide". She opened it to a page with a picture of a slender girl with bird's wings in place of arms and talons instead of legs.
"This is a Harpy." She explained. "Completely mono-gendered, Harpies are an all female species. They usually colonize in mountainsides and high secluded places like that, but on rare occasions they do come down to mate. Just as their body would suggest they can fly like birds…but they aren't the brightest bulbs out there. Also like their namesake they tend to forget things after taking more than three steps."
"So what do you want me to do exactly?" Natsu asked.
"Just find out whether the sighting was of a Harpy or not and report back to us. We'll take it from there."
"What do you mean 'take it from there'?" Natsu's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Smith seemed on the up and up, but he still didn't fully trust the council.
"Oh come now don't look at me like that. We're not some big, bad, shady organization. We want to help Liminals. If it is a Harpy we'll either take her home, or find her a host family. Simple as that really. Can you leave in an hour?"
"I guess I-"
"Great! Here's a communication lacrima and a map of the area. Call me when you know what's going on. See ya then." Smith tossed the items into Natsu's hands and with one final wave she made her way to the door.
"Wait!" Lucy called out. "Can we go with him?"
"Sure. The more the merrier." Smith answered. "Speaking of which, you go too, Miia. It'll be a good chance for you to see more of the country."
The lamia's ears perked up. "What? M-Me?! But I-"
Just as Miia tried to offer a rebuttal Smith was long gone.
"She really does go at her own pace doesn't she?" Juvia asked to no one.
"This is the place." Said Lucy.
After an awkward train ride followed by an even more awkward – not to mention crowded – carriage ride, the team of Natsu, Miia, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, and Happy arrived in the small forest village of Poppy. According to the map Smith gave them, this was where the Harpy was last seen.
"Ok then. Where do we start?" Gray asked.
"Perhaps the townsfolk." Carla suggested. "I imagine they would have to know of any odd happenings around them."
Juvia looked around the outskirts of the village. They were surrounded on all sides by tall trees, bushes, and shrubs. "This Harpy creature is part bird, yes? She could be hiding in any one of these trees."
"Aye. We could be here all day." Happy added with a hint of exasperation.
"Well how about this? We'll search through town and ask the villagers if they've seen anything, while you and Carla fly around and search the forest." Lucy suggested.
Carla nodded in acceptance. "A fine plan."
"Yeah you can be pretty smart sometimes, Lucy." Happy smiled. The blonde was not amused.
"Watch it, cat."
"We should get started then." Gray said. "This place will be a nightmare to search at night."
"We'll report back if we find anything." Carla sprouted her wings. Happy did the same.
"Good luck, guys."
The exceeds flew off into the forest while everyone else started for town. That is everyone except Miia.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Wendy fretted.
Miia started to fidget. Unable to look at the wizards directly she chose to focus her worried gaze on the ground instead. "I…I don't think it's a very good idea for me to go with you all inside the village."
"What are you talking about? Of course you're coming. Don't be crazy." Natsu grabbed Miia's hand and pulled her along.
"Natsu, stop." Miia begged, trying to free herself. "I really can't go in there."
"Why not?" Suddenly Natsu's feet froze in place. "What the hell are you doing, Gray?!"
"Stopping you from doing something stupid, flame brain. She said she doesn't want to go, and honestly I don't blame her."
"Beloved?" Juvia wondered.
"What do you mean by that, Gray?" Lucy inquired.
"Think about it." the ice-wizard began."This village is supposedly being terrorized by this Harpy thing or whatever it is, right? That means the townspeople must already be on edge. Now, imagine what would happen if a group of strangers suddenly bring a snake girl into the village. It would be chaos, and we wouldn't get anything done."
"Miia's not some crazy monster!"
Gray remained clam in the midst of Natsu outbursts.
"I know she's not, but these villagers don't. I'm just trying to keep her out of trouble. Which, if I'm not mistaken, is your job."
Gray's icy glare was focused directly on Natsu. The dragon slayer felt his blood boil at the sight of his rival, the ice around his feet starting to melt into a puddle.
"Please don't fight." Miia begged. "He's right. I'll stay here and wait until you all come back."
"But, Miia-"
"It's ok. Really."
Natsu could see the pain behind Miia's smile. It was clear she wanted to interact with humans, but she was also fully aware of how they might perceive her. Lamia hadn't been seen for hundreds of years. They shouldn't have expected one village to be immune to time. Even still it was a frustrating situation.
Natsu sighed. "Fine. We'll stay behind and wait for you guys."
Miia was shocked. "Natsu, you don't have to stay."
"Yeah I do. As much as I hate to say it, the stripper is right. I'm supposed to be looking after you. That means I'm not leaving leave you behind. If you stay. I stay."
Miia felt that warm flutter in her heart again.
"Then we'll head in. We'll let you know if we find anything out." Said Lucy.
"Be back soon." Wendy waved. The four wizards made their way into the village, leaving Natsu and Miia alone on the path.
Natsu sat on the ground, and started fiddling around with the rocks. "This sucks." he complained.
Miia sat down next to him, her face once again clouded with shame and worry. "I'm sorry. I'm always causing you trouble."
"Hm? No you don't." Natsu denied. "I don't mind waiting with you, I'm just irritated that Gray was the one that told me to do it. If it was Erza or Lucy I wouldn't mind as much, but I hate when that jerk is right."
"Is Gray your enemy or something?"
"Not really. I mean I don't like him all that much, but I don't hate him enough to call him an enemy. We're guildmates after all. He's more like a rival."
Miia watched Natsu stand up and stretched his back. "Waiting here is going to get pretty boring after a while. Let's go help Carla and Happy in the forest." He held out his hand to Miia with a smile.
Miia nodded. "Ok." She reached out to him, but just as their fingers touched Natsu was suddenly snatched into the air.
"What this hell is going o~n!" he shouted in a panic as he flew away. Miia looked on in horror.
"Natsu~!"
Natsu regained consciousness sometime later. His head was throbbing, and for some reason his mouth felt very dry. When he coughed, he saw a couple of blue feathers float out of his mouth.
"What happened?"
When he tried moving he noticed that his legs were dangling in midair. Looking down, he realized that he was hanging from the branch of a very tall tree in the forest.
"How the hell did I get up all the way up here?"
"You finally wake up?"
Natsu followed the cadence of a rather cheery voice to a petite girl hovering directly in front of him. She had slightly messy, light-blue hair with a cowlick that fluttered in the breeze, and bright orange eyes that were enhanced by her rather innocent smile, but the most important features that Natsu noticed about the mysterious girl were the blue wings in place of her arms, and the razor sharp talons in place of her feet.
She smiled wide at the astonished Dragon Slayer.
"I'm Papi!" she introduced cheerfully. "Papi the Harpy!"
New chapter! This one featuring the introduction of my personal favorite MonMusu girl: Papi! (Zombina, Lala, and Arachne are close seconds). I honestly got this chapter out much quicker than I thought I was going to. Guess I just had the ideas flowing with this one. Lucky me I guess.
As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)
