Chapter 4: Month Two
"Look, I'm not saying no, I'm just saying that you are too inexperienced. Maybe in a couple years you can try." Darkrai argued.
"But you started using one when you were a lot younger than me!" Luka countered. "Besides, you always talk about how its more useful than a sword! Wouldn't it make more since for me to use one?!"
Not that this was the first time Luka asked, but this time he was much more persistent in his request. Ever since Darkrai gave him a lesson in weapons, Luka became mesmerized with the idea of using a scythe. The way Darkrai talk it up, it seemed like the ultimate, uncounterable weapon. Though of course the reason for this was Darkrai's obvious basis towards the weapon.
Darkrai sighed, "Luka, I am a vampire. That means I have strength that far exceeds that of a normal human. Meaning I can make full use of a scythe. Not to mention I've been trained to use it since I was five and I'm still a novice." Darkrai explained while walking to the middle of the training grounds. "Besides, a war scythe is not a weapon for someone with your build. You're thin, lean and small meaning you can move quicker with a lighter weapon. A perfect body for a swordsman."
Luka glared at Darkrai from the spot the two were resting prior. "So what? I can train and get stronger! I'd be able to use that scythe by the end of the year if I work hard enough!"
The vampire raised a brow and chuckled. "Really? You think that you'll be able use this by the end of the year?" He said gesturing to his scythe.
Luka nodded his head, "Yeah! I'd just do more strength training than swordsman training! I'd be big and buff and able to use it just as well as you!"
Darkrai place the scythe gently on the ground and stepped back, gesturing to the weapon again. Luka tilted his head slightly and looked from him to the scythe. "Go ahead, try to pick it up. If you can, I'll start teaching you everything I know right now. And if you can't pick it up, you stick to what I've been teaching you. Agreed?"
Luka nodded excitedly, confident that he could at least lift the scythe. Even if he was a monster, Darkrai was only a couple of years older than he was so he couldn't be too much more physically adept than he was. Besides, his scythe didn't look very heavy. Despite its height, it was fairly thin with the blades being the only part that seemed to have any weight to them.
With those thoughts, Luka walked up to where the black, metallic weapon lay. He looked towards Darkrai who had his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. Luka bent down and took a firm grip on the polearm with both hands. He took a few quick breaths before taking a deep inhale and lifted with all his might. Though, despite his efforts, the scythe didn't so much as budge. Confused, he tried again. And again. And Again. Which each passing attempt, Darkrai's laugher grew from a chuckle to full blow hysteria.
After a 10 or so minutes, Luka finally yielded and fell on his rear, red from ear to ear while gasping for air. Meanwhile, Darkrai was still howling with laughter, clutching his sides while holding back tears. After the two regained their composure, Darkrai walked over and offered a hand. "I told you you weren't ready."
Luka accepted his hand begrudgingly and mumbled, "You can't blame me for trying" while being pulled to his feet. He watched Darkrai walk back to his scythe and effortlessly pick up the weapon with a single hand and rest it on his shoulders. Luka knew that Darkrai was strong, but still couldn't believe that Darkrai could pick up something that heavy. He's seen Darkrai have trouble carrying large pieces of wood during his carpentry job he picked up last month that had to be much lighter than how heavy the scythe felt.
Darkrai watched Luka's expression for a bit longer before chiming in. "How about I give you a quick history lesson Luka?" Luka looked up, his face still having a confused expression but now with a twist of curiosity.
Darkrai held out the scythe in front of him, allowing the middays sun to fully envelop it, showing its intricate design. The polearm's design made it look to be wrapped in steel vines with two black skulls right before the blades and a circular decoration of an foreign symbol at the bottom. The blades themselves were a dark steel, with 20 cm of space between them. The lower blade was slightly shorter than the top, though it looked to be sturdier.
"This is my masters scythe," Darkrai began, "but more than that, he's an artifact from the First Monster War. Created by the first Vampire, Dracula, and used by her to slay thousands, she named him "Darkrai". And yes, I'm named after him. He's crafted from Dragon Forged steel and imbued with magic from Dracula and the First herself." He paused to look at Luka who was now starring mesmerized. Clearly having a different interest in the scythe than he had before. "With such strong magics circulating inside of him and the care and precision that was taken to make him," Darkrai continued, "the magic gave birth to a spirt that lives inside. He dwells within a pocket dimension created by the mixing of the two magics and deems who is fit to wield him. If someone who he does not recognize as worthy attempts to wield him, then you might as well attempt to pick up a mountain because he will never move."
Luka continued starring in awe for a while before something seemed to dawned on him. "That means that I would never have been able to pick it up in the first place! You tricked me!" Luka cried out.
The white haired vampire gave a light chuckle. "Found me out did ya? Shame you already made that promise, huh?" He finished with a wink.
Luka puffed out his cheeks and glared at him before sighing in resignation, still peeved at being tricked. He picked up his wooden sword and walked back over to the training dummies to continue his routine. Darkrai gave a content huff and went back to his own training. He was in the middle of his second chapter, which was on basic Vampiric magics. Something he was greatly looking forward too.
The past six weeks have been majorly uneventful save for Darkrai taking up a job in carpentry after the villagers learned how good he was with his hands. Must be a monster thing. Through that he made a fair amount of gold quickly due to him being stronger than the average human, even in sunlight. Though most villagers still tended to not talk to him and treat him coldly despite his growing renown, simply for his affiliation with the local outcast. Thought it didn't bother him a bit, in fact he appreciated the fact people left him alone. He had nothing to say to bigots.
Another change was how often Lime would be around. After her and Darkrai's first encounter, she had started showing up more and more often till eventually it was uncommon for her not to be around during Luka and Darkrai's training.
At first, Luka was scared and warry, always giving her a sideways glance to make sure that she wasn't up to anything. Darkrai didn't blame him, he had never seen a monster that couldn't pass off as a human. Though in less than a week he had already seemed to accept her and attempted to make friends. It took her a little bit to realize that any lewd remark or action pushed him away, but she was willing to tone it down to make friends with Luka. The two actually became really good friends too. Whenever Luka wasn't training, studying or spending time with his mother, he would spend his free time visiting and playing with her.
There was one more thing that was worth noting. The small spring that Lime lived in had a small, two story cottage built by the side it. It had fallen into disrepair long before she made the spring her home so she made no attempt to fix it nor live in it. Darkrai offered to fix it up if he could have access to it, but she had no interest in living in the cottage so she gave it to the two a month back. Darkrai, Luka and Lime had worked on it every day after the boys training sessions and finished their project last week. The spring was only 5 minutes away from the training grounds, so it became habit to go to the cottage after training and drop off the gear and dummies and have some tea with Lime before going back to the village.
Lucifina even started coming to the cottage after it was finished. She and Lime got along immediately due to Limes childish nature and Lucifina's motherly nature mixing well. Lucifina even watched Luka and Darkrai train for the first time the day before. She babied Luka whenever he was hit too hard earning her many groans from the young boy. Which of course made Lime and Darkrai tease him over it.
After finishing up their training, the trio cleaned up and brought the gear back to the cottage. Soon as everything was put away, Luka plopped on the loveseat and let out an exhausted sigh, nursing his sore shoulders while Darkrai took a seat in the chair next to him, tea in hand.
"Uuuuuuuuuuugh," Luka grumbled, "300 swings was way too many for a cooldown."
Darkrai took a sip of his tea. "No, 300 swings is a fine cooldown after the workout I had you do. Now if you do 800 swings, that would be a little much for now." Darkrai responded nonchalantly. "But don't worry, I'd say next year I'll have you do that many for a warm up."
Luka groaned loudly before face planting into the cushions. Lime chuckled as she made her way across the room to get some tea from the kettle. "Soooooo, what's your guys plan for the rest of the day?" Lime asked. "You gonna go back to Lucifini's?"
Darkrai nodded while taking a sip of his tea, "Yup, I wrote up some notes the other day on Yamatai's culture for Luka to study. Figured I'd teach him about something other than monsters for a bit."
Luka groaned again into the cushion in obvious disappointment. "Why do I have to learn about human culture?" Luka complained barely raising his head. "I'm already human, I know what it's like!"
Darkrai gave an annoyed sigh. "Because, Luka, not all cultures are the same. In Ilias Village, monsters are hated and killed on sight. In Port Natalia, Mermaids are accepted as equals. In Grand Noah, all monsters have the same rights as humans. In Yamatai, monsters are worshipped and treated as higher beings. You need to learn about all these places and cultures if you are going to travel the world one day."
Through his speech, Luka had slowly began to perk up more and more till his eyes were practically gleaming. "You mean there are already place where humans and monsters live together?!" Luka practically screeched.
"Yea! Lots of places!" Lime replied. "On Sentora, there are a lot of places where we coexist with humans! Before I came here, I used to spend a lot of time in Grand Noah! The humans there were kind to me and much more willing to spend time with me. And some of them were veeeery eager to spend time with me~."
Luka cocked his head slightly at Limes last comment before realizing what she meant making him break into a full blush. Which of course earned Darkrai and Lime had a good laugh at. Luka shook off his embarrassment before looking back at Darkrai. "I wanna learn about all those places! They must be so cool and interesting!" Luka excitedly chirped.
Darkrai gave a light chuckle. "I was planning on it. And I know you'll love Grand Noah, they have this amazing colosseum where people…"
Darkrai was cut off by a loud knock at the door. Both Lime and Darkrai shot up, starring at the door intently. Darkrai already had his scythe in his hand while Lime was poised to strike. Luka looked at the two quizzically then to the door before another series of knocks followed by a deep, booming voice.
"Yo vampy! Is it your people's custom to leave company at the door or what?!" The deep feminine voice called out.
The tense atmosphere quickly dissipated as Darkrai holstered his scythe and ran to the door with a huge smile leaving Luka and Lime to stare at each other in confusion. Opening the door, Darkrai was immediately jumped and thrown to the floor by a short, green haired girl who wrapped him in a bear hug, squealing in glee. "DARKRAI! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! DID YOU MISS ME!?"
Darkrai rose, Hobgoblin still wrapped around him as he patted her head, earning him a gleeful hum. "Yes, it's good to see you Kali. You too Nikki, I honestly didn't expect to see you guys for a while."
Nikki gave a curt nod. "Well you know how Kali is. She just wouldn't shut up about you and I'll admit, I was a little worried too. So, we decided to come visit and make sure you were acclimating well. Though," she looked around the cottage and whistled, "I'd say you've been doing pretty well for yourself given that you've only been here a couple months."
The vampire laughed while prying off Kali. "Well I'm not actually living here. Lime didn't have any use for it so she gave it to me, but we really just use it as a hang out spot and storage."
Nikki cocked her head at the mention of the name and turn towards the slime. "Guessing that's Lime?"
Darkrai flinched and rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. "Sorry, where are my manners? Lime, Luka. These are my friends Nikki and Kali. They helped me out when I first got here. Luka I'm sure you remember me telling you about them."
Luka nodded sheepishly as he stared up at the towering ogre with starry eyes, while Lime and Kali shared greetings in their own bubbly way. The ogre returned his stare, though more in confusion in sharing than Luka's interest. "Why do you have a human child with you?" She asked greatly confused. "I thought you weren't a fan of holding people against their will?"
"No no no, he's just a friend of mine!" Darkrai quickly corrected. "I'm staying with him and his mother in the village while I train here."
Nikki nodded, accepting the reason for the child's presence. Kali, however, stopped dead in her conversation with Lime and started stomping over to Darkrai, leaving Lime starring at her quizzically. Darkrai broke into a cold sweat as he felt her approach, knowing exactly what had her pissy. "OOOOHHHHHHH!" She yelled while stomping to him, "So you'll stay with some humans but not with me and sis?!" She grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up. "What happened to not wanting to get distracted, huh?!"
Darkrai twirled his thumbs attempting not to make eye contact with the hobgoblin while being hoisted. "W-Well, a lot of things happened and I ended up staying with them. They don't get in the way of my training and they've been good to me. So it works out! Heh, heh..." Darkrai attempted to explain still sweating.
Still glaring, Kali let go of Darkrai and puffed out her cheeks before running over to Lime to complain. Darkrai gave a relieved sigh while Nikki couldn't help but chuckle. "She'll get over it in an hour," Nikki commented, "She doesn't know how to hold a grudge."
Darkrai gave a light chuckle as he dusted himself off. "I hope so. Something tells me it wouldn't be good for my health to be on her bad side for too long." The two shared a brief laugh in agreement. Turning to talk with his guest, he noticed a large sword sheathed at her hip. "Nikki, what kind of sword is that? Is it yours?"
Nikki nodded as she unsheathed the long blade. "Well of course its mine! What do you take me for, a common thief?" She exclaimed in mock disbelief. She held the blade out to Darkrai so he could get a better look. "This is a Nodachi, a popular sword used by the warriors of Yamatai and others of that area."
Seeing she still had Darkrai's interest, she sat down at the table and continued as he sat across from her, Luka sitting next to him, just as curious. "As you know," She directed towards Darkrai ", me and Kali left home a while ago to travel on our own. While we were on our journey, we ended up in Yamatai for a couple years. While we were there, I worked at the Blacksmith and became good friends with the forge master. When we decided to leave and continue our journey, he gave me this as a goodbye gift. He used a white metal alloy of some kind to forge her blade and made the handle out of ivory with a Dragon Steel guard. Since then, I've been practicing with it whenever I have time. To show my appreciation. I figure once I master it, I'll go and show him my skills and maybe even settle down there…eventually."
"Does she have a name?" Darkrai inquired, eyes still glued on the blade.
"Shiroi Kiba, or White Fang is the swords name, but I call her Shiro when we talk. Kali thinks its cuter."
That caught Luka's attention. "Wait you talk to your sword? Does that mean that it has a spirt inside of it too!?" Luka yelled excitedly.
"She," Nikki corrected, "And yes. She started talking to me early last year. Scared the living shit out of me when she did. And I'm guessing it's your scythe the boy is referring too?" Nikki questioned Darkrai to which he simply responded "Luka. And aye, that he is."
"Cool, maybe we can schedule a play day or something one day." Nikki joked before sheathing her blade. As she sat back down, Lime came over and set a cup of tea down for Nikki who thanked her. Kali followed soon after
For the next hour, the five sat around the table, sharing stories and telling jokes. It wasn't till Luka looked out the window and noticed the sun going down that Darkrai and him decided to head back, not wanting Lucifina to worry.
"Why don't you and Kali stay here for a while?" Darkrai offered Nikki one his way out. "It's a long ways back to the mountains from here I imagine."
"Well I'm not one to turn down a free bed and roof." Nikki replied. "Sure, I'll let ya feed me and sis for a while. Keep in mind though, we've got a big appetite."
Kali's quickly perked up after hearing her sister agree to Darkrai's proposal. "YAY! Darkrai wants us to stay!" She shrieked in joy before tackling Darkrai to the ground in a bear hug. "I thought you didn't like us around!"
"Now why would you think something like that?" Darkrai questioned in a raspy voice while trying to stand up with the hobgoblin still attached.
"Y-You stayed with that boy and h-his mom but not us," She weezed through happy tears," so,so I thought you just didn't like us!"
Darkrai blushed and patted her head before Nikki pried her sister off him, allowing Darkrai and Luka to escape with a wave.
Days turned to a week, a week to a few, and a few to 3 months, yet the sisters never left. Over time, they too fell under the same spell Luka and Lucifina seemed to cast on their white haired friend. During the second month, they decided to stay in the cottage which Darkrai had happily offered after Luka and Lucifina told him they wanted the girls to stay. They didn't even need to go to their old home to get anything that wasn't already offered by Darkrai.
They were a great deal of help in teaching Luka as well. Nikki was very knowledgeable of people, places, and cultures on Sentora, which Darkrai didn't have near as much know how about. He only knew what he read and learned, but the girls experienced it first had making them much better teachers. Though they were not used to teaching, so Luka's learning on that field was slow, but Darkrai was happy to have a helping hand.
Luka made friends with Nikki and Kali quickly due to his experience with Lime. Nikki being a katana-meister in training probably had a bit to do with it as well, with them having something in common.
Kali was surprising lax with Luka, not flirting or taunting him. She just played games, talked, and hung out with him like old friends. Nikki and Darkrai attributed that to their childish and naïve natures. Peas in a pod so they say.
Luka wasn't the only one who enjoyed the girls. Lucifina and Lime became great friends with the sisters. Lime was closer to Kali (obviously) while Lucifina's and Nikki's calmer demeanor synchronized well. Lucifina and Nikki just seemed to click the moment they met. Nikki even nicknamed her Luci to match her own name.
Darkrai benefited just as much if not more than Luka with the sisters staying. With Nikki, he had a sparring partner who matched him in wits and strength which helped quicken his progress with his training. They practiced and learned new moves, spells, strategies, and technics together. Both for their own styles and ones they could teach each other.
Kali far surpassed Darkrai in strength so she and him did strength training together. And by far, the first week of their strength training together was the worst pain Darkrai had ever experienced. She would literally lift boulders and trees out of the ground and use them as weights, expecting Darkrai to do the same. After realizing he didn't possess the strength to uproot a half ton tree, she cracked a large boulder into different sizes (with her fist mind you) and made a range of free weights for them to use. Suffice to say, she works him hard. She and Luka even did lighter work outs together.
It seemed that the original family of 2 had yet grown again.
"Do you know anywhere I can get a charm made?" Nikki asked Darkrai from the loveseat where she was cleaning Shiro.
Darkrai looked down from one the beams he had perched himself on to read. "Charm? What do you mean? Like a safety charm or luck charm?" He teased. "Safe labor?"
"Yes Darkrai, I want a piece of paper that says I have a better chance at finding a four-leaf clover than anyone else. Don't be ridiculous. I want a magic charm that will let me and Kali turn human when we want."
"So for an ogre and hobgoblin that would be a ether a weak sealing charm or a transformation enchantment." He thought out aloud. "But why would you two want those? Getting tired of seeing yourself in the mirror?" Darkrai continued to tease.
Nikki rolled her eyes with a chuckle, used to their casual banter. "No but that would be a plus. We are getting tired of being stuck here all the time, not being able to go into the village or even traveling to the city. I've been looking for an enchanter of some kind for a while on this continent, but the only one I could find was the Harpy queen and I doubt she'd make time for us."
"Uhhhh, I actually don't know. I don't know anyone who knows magic of that caliber on this continent." He admitted. "Though I do remember hearing about a monster village a little ways to the west. Probably a 2 or 3 days round trip. The blacksmith in Iliasburg told me about it when I picked up Luka's new sword the other week."
"Really? Is it in the mountains or the forest? Not a lot west of here except those."
"Edge of the mountains, deep in the forest." He replied while jumping off the support beam. "Do you wanna head there tomorrow? Wouldn't hurt to go there and if nothing else make some connections."
Nikki stood up, sheathing Shiro. "Why not go now?" She inquired. "We still have plenty of daylight. It would only take 20 minutes for me to pack enough for the two of us."
Darkrai raised a brow. "Just us? What about Kali? Imagine she'd love to take a trip after being stuck here for 3 months."
Nikki looked at Darkrai deadpan. "Do you really trust Kali to behave? Not to mention we don't know anything about the village save for what the blacksmith told you. You and me could run if things get hairy, but she's not fast nor stealthy."
"Well you got me there." He conceded. "Sure then, we'll head out in 30 minutes or so. Just let me go tell Luka and Lucifina before we head out. I'll be back in 20." He said as he walked out the door.
After a few quick goodbyes, and prying off Luka and Kali who were begging to go (The latter being much harder to get rid of), the duo being their journey west to the village. Save for occasional chat with other monsters and their usual banter, the first part of the trip was uneventful.
The sun started going down when the forest just came into view, so the two made camp on the forest's edge just as the last of the suns lights fell below the horizon. Darkrai went into the forest to hunt for dinner for the two, being the better nocturnal hunter. He later came back with a young deer and a couple rabbits.
"Ok, I've got a good one." Darkrai said while poking the fire. "Being a Succubus in Grand Noah during the First's Birthday or being a Dark Elf during the Festival of Wind and Earth in Yamatai?"
"Oh damn, that's a hard one." Nikki admitted, scrunching her brows. "So pretty much, thirty or forty men one-on-one or a three day orgy?"
"Respectively, yes." Darkrai confirmed. "A lot of men for personal use or an orgy with your Dark Elf sisters."
Nikki sat in silence, contemplating while munching on a deer leg. After 5 minutes of silence, she gave her answer. "Succubus during the First's Birthday. Having all those men to myself sounds fucking amazing."
"Really?" Darkrai stated surprised. "I would have thought that a three day orgy would have been much for attractive."
"Nah, me and sis normally share our men. So, having a lot of men to myself sounds much more enticing. Plus, I'd be a succubus, I'd be MADE to take all those men. Think about it. Their tail, huge tits, soft hands, one of the most complex vaginas of any monster. All topped off by crazy pheromones that act as a heavy aphrodisiac. That would be a hell of a day!"
"Fair enough, you've convinced me!" Darkrai wheezed through his laughter. "Alright, your turn."
"Hmmm…Ok got one. At the peak of your power, would you rather have a 1v1 with Fernandez or with Desuriea?"
"Oooooh, two Cursed Sword masters. Another hard one…would this be a fight to the death or only a spar?"
"With Fernandez, first one to tap out. With the Desureia, a fight to the death."
"Desureia, easy. I would love to have been the one to put that bitch in the ground." He growled, his voice dripping with resentment.
Nikki winced slightly at the hostility. "Take it you weren't a huge fan of her?"
Darkrai's eyes narrowed as hints of red swirled underneath the sapphire haze, threatening to rise above. "She stood against the 15th's beliefs and nearly got her race wiped out. She betrayed her lord and people, and you know how I feel about betrayal. I would have happily done away with that cunt in the name of the 15th and her dream."
Nikki raised a brow in question. "You seem awfully loyal to the 15th, given she must have died when you were quiet young." She accused.
Darkrai's eyes softened, the red glow of his eyes quickly dissipating into light of the blue fog. "After my mother died and master took me as his apprentice, she became an idol to me. An unreachable goal. The pinnacle of achievement. Her speeches of peace and harmony among all humans and all monsters ripped me out of despair and into her light. I've even been able to speak with her a few times when master brought me along on his debriefs and dinners with her lordship. She was so majestic and motherly. So regal and radiant. The only person I have ever been willing to bend my knee too."
Nikki couldn't help but smile as she watched the boy talk about his idle. His blue eyes had lit up almost like little candles, his gaze showing undying adoration, him slightly bouncing as he talked about her. It was like she was seeing how he would have been like if he wasn't forced into the sterner path he now walked.
But as quick as it came, a more somber expression replaced it, almost forlorn. After a short pause, he began to speak again, though very bitter, while looking into the flames. "But then not two years after I met her, she died, and that solace I had found crumbled into nothing. Some bastard "heroes" came and murdered her. The very people she had wanted to befriend and make peace with, who she had so much hoped to have at her table one day, preformed her execution. I was devastated and thrown into turmoil. My lord and idol, the one I used to fill the void my mother left, was gone. But what could I do? I could blame humanity and vow vengeance, raising villages and pillaging towns, but I would be going against her lordships dying wish. Or, I could follow her wishes and forgive her killers and their race for their bigotry and her murder, but my pride and loyalty would never allow it…at the age of 7, I was thrown into despair twice. It wasn't easy for master ether, he shared her dream and loved her as a mother."
Nikki couldn't help but be distraught at his story. She had her own demons, but those were experiences that she's gone through over her life. Though nothing happened as early as his. "So what did you decide on?"
Darkrai snapped out of his gaze at her question, "Huh?"
Nikki leaned forward towards him slightly, "What view did you decide to follow? You are living with Luka and Luci so I'm guessing you didn't go the vengeance route."
They look at each for a short while before he gave a halfhearted chuckle. "Well," he started. "After months of mourning, I decided on three things. I will train under master and become a strong and loyal subject for her lordship. I would follow her lordships will and do whatever I can to achieve her dream, even after her passing. And any human or monster I come across that threatens her lordships and my masters dream, I will deal with personally. These and my views on betrayal are my personal code."
Nikki nodded, "A code worth following." Nikki agreed as she grabbed a rabbit from a spit.
The rest of the night was spent star gazing and casual banter between the two before they decided to head to sleep. Darkrai jumped to the highest point of the canopy with expert dexterity while Nikki took comfort by the fire. Leaning against the trunk of the great tree, Darkrai fell asleep.
The next morning, the two had breakfast of rabbit and vegetable stew. With a brief warm up spar before packing up, they continue to the village through the dense forest. After a couple hours of traveling aimlessly, they happened upon a dirt road that they presumed led to their destination as it had multiple different monster scents.
As the two neared what they believed the to be the village, a small group of 5 elves seem to materialize from the foliage. Three of the elves had bows drawn and trained on the duo while two dark elves stood in front, one with a short sword and the other with a grotesque, twisted mass tentacles slipping out from under her dress. Darkrai and Nikki remained still, not reaching for their weapons as to not give reason for the elves to fire.
"Not any further, trespassers." one of the archers barked. "You are nearing Enrika village. Turn around and leave, or we will shoot you through!"
"Friendly bunch, this lot." Nikki joked just loud enough for Darkrai to hear.
Darkrai shushed her before turning back to the would-be village guard. "We didn't mean to cause any alarm, we just want to come in and…"
"Silence!" The Dark Elf with the short sword yelled, "Go back to wince you came. No man is allowed to enter. The only humans allowed in the village are a select few merchants, and you don't look like you have goods to sell." She turned to Nikki with a more respectful expression, "I'm sorry Ogre, but your husband cannot come in village, only monsters are allowed to enter."
Nikki and Darkrai froze, then turned to each other. They looked at each other in the eye before blinking in unison. After which they fell to the ground in hysterical laughter.
The elven entourage kept on their guard, but looked amongst each other with confusion, unable to understand the comedy or joke from the Dark Elf's statement.
"Hus-Hus-Husband! By the First my sides!" Darkrai howled rolling the ground.
"Well, sorry husband!" Nikki wheezed at Darkrai getting his temporary attention. "But it looks like only monsters are allowed in the village!"
The two began roaring with new vigor at that, Nikki kicking her legs in the air while Darkrai rolled, both cackling the whole while. The elves loosened their bows strings, still very confused while the Dark Elves cautiously made their way closer to the odd duo.
The two attempted to remain composed but were obviously interested in what joke was made. "What are you two laughing at?!" The short sworded, silver haired elf demanded.
The two attempted to compose themselves as they stood up still laughing, leaning on each other for support. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Darkrai turned to the Dark Elf. "We're sorry about that," Darkrai wheezed, "it's just that you were so far off, it was comical."
The Elf narrowed her eyes at the boy, "Off? What was off about what I said? Why else would a male be with a monster?"
"Well first off," Nikki cut in finally semi composed. "There's no way in hell this scrawny kid would be my husband." Darkrai gave her a glare and a low growl for that one. "And secondly…" She looked over at the glaring boy, giving him a teasing wink. "Do your thing."
"Scrawny boy can still kick your ass…" He mumbled earning him an amused chuckle. Darkrai met the awaiting Elf's eyes. He stared into her brown eyes, and watched her expression fluctuate as the blue of his iris were slowly conquered by a glowing ruby hue and as his fangs slowly extended. Of course, he stretched out the duration of the change for added amusement. At the end, he ran his tongue leisurely across his grin. "This, my tan friend, is why we were rolling on the ground a minute ago."
The archers began murmuring to each other, obviously surprised about the showing of a young male Vampire. The other Dark Elf didn't seem as impressed as her companions however. She walked up to him, letting her long black, lacy dress cover the tendrils as she strode confidently, giving off an air of pride. As she reached him, she leaned in and sniffed the air around him. As she pulled back, she scoffed and gave the pair a snide look. "Amusing trick child. But changing your appearance is nothing more than that, a parlor trick." She taunted degradingly. She then waved her hand over her face, changing small features and her eye color to prove her point. "Anyone with a small understanding of magic can do something so simple."
"Not to mention," she continued, "You don't smell like a monster. You certainly have a few scents clinging to you, but none of which are yours. You smell of animal blood and dirt, a common human hunter scent."
Darkrai's eye twitched, blood rising from her demeaning tone. He glared at the Elf who continue starring down pompously. Darkrai breathed out slowly, attempting to claim his nerves. The Dark Elf chuckled, knowing she was getting to him. "But I will give it to you, humans capable of magic are quite rare. How about I make you mine? Your seed would be excel…"
Darkrai's arm shot out and gripped the Elf's neck before she could finish and hoisted her into the air. His eyes were now burning red with anger, even his nails grew slightly longer and sharper causing him to draw tiny beads of blood from his grip.
Her eyes shot open, stunned from the speed the boy grabbed her and shocked at his inhuman strength. She gasped while kicking her legs, attempting and failing to fill her lungs. She looked down at the boy, confusion and fear evident in her eyes.
Darkrai gave a wild grin, staring at her with a devilish look. "You want to make me yours?" He hissed. "Well then. Lets see the quality of the meals you'd give your husband." He quickly brought her close and bit down on her neck before she could react.
The others, saved for Nikki who gave an approving nod, all looked on in horror, not making a move or firing their bows, worried about injuring their ally. The silver haired Dark Elf made a move to help the other but was block by Nikki, who gave a huge grin looking down. "Yeeeaaahhh," Nikki started, "Naw, you're good riiiiight here moonshine. But I'll admit, that surprised me the first time I saw it too." She finished by throwing her thumb towards the scene bellow.
The silver haired Elf watched helplessly as her blonde haired, corrupted sister was slowly drained, knowing that she could do nothing against the towering ogre. Though the blonde haired elf didn't seem to be trying to escape. In fact, she wasn't struggling at all but clinging onto the boy, breathing heavily with the occasional moan escaping her lips. This, of course, greatly confused her sisters.
When Darkrai had his fill, he dripped his fangs out with a satisfied sigh, then dropped the Elf onto the ground into a trembling heap. Her eyes were rolled upwards and she was drooling, occasionally twitching with a lewd, satisfied smile wide across her face. The fire eyed vampire looked down, licking the remaining crimson off his fangs. "Pompous bitch." Was all he said before walking to his place beside Nikki in front of the wide-eyed elves.
"So." Darkrai said, making all the elves snap their attention from the one on the ground to him. "Can we come in now?"
The archers drew their bows and aimed at the pair again and the remaining Dark Elf pulled her short sword into a battle stance. Nikki and Darkrai in turned drew their weapons and readied themselves. And that way they stood, tension heavy enough to cut through with a butter knife, waiting to see who would make the first move.
Said tension was quickly cut by a curt, yet demanding remark, "What is going on here?". At the sound of the voice, all the elves put their weapons away and gave a polite bow to the newcomer. Darkrai and Nikki eyed each other questioningly before following suite. They rain checked the bow though.
The silver haired Dark Elf ran to the newcomer and started talking to her, presumably about what had just transpired. Darkrai took the opportunity to look over the new girl. She had long, bright blonde hair that rode past her hips, and a thin, fit figure, deep blue eyes. Her outfit was a mixture of greens with gold detail and an opening tastefully revealing part of her chest, all tied together by a red gem broach and topped off by a resting bitch face. Darkrai and Nikki gave a low whistle, appreciating the beauty. "She kinda reminds me of Luci." Nikki whispered to Darkrai. "But more…luscious."
"Oh, hell ya." Darkrai agreed quietly. "12/10 bombshell."
After the elf finished talking to the so called bombshell, she made her way to the duo. As she made her way to them, she glanced at the blonde elf who was now in a blissful sleep. When she stood in front of the two, she eyed them up and down, seemingly gauging them. After she was content with her observation, she gave a small chuckle. "A Vampire and an Ogre." She stated casually. "Not a common sight on this continent."
The two blinked at her statement, expecting a question on the very…content dark elf. "Well, we aren't from around here actually." Darkrai admitted. "Though I imagine you've already figured that out."
The girl nodded. "I figured as much. Though I must admit, I am surprised to see a male monster here. You are quite a rare breed. I imagine that is why my friends took such hostility towards you. None of them have seen a male monster before. I apologize for their actions, this is supposed to be a place where our kind can live in peace." The women said giving an apologetic bow.
"No no no! It was partly my fault for getting aggressive that quickly!" Darkrai exclaimed, not expecting such a presence to bow. "I should have just fed from my friend after I claimed to be a monster."
Nikki flinched, then quickly looked at Darkrai and gave him a dirty look. "And let you do to me what happened to that poor sod and Kali? Yeah, no, wouldn't have happened." Nikki retorted defensively.
Darkrai gave her a low growl which was returned by a glare from her. They broke their glare as the women chuckled behind her hand, gain their attention. "You two are good friends, aren't you?" She accused to which both nodded still glaring at eachother. She gave a brief smile before realization seemed to dawn on her. "I'm sorry, I haven't even given my name yet. I am Micaela, head of Enrika Village. You are…?"
"Darkrai Kai, son of Lucine Scarlett Thana. Pleased to meet you." Darkrai replied with a polite bow.
"I'm Nikki Crack'Jaw, daughter of my mom's snatch …nice to meet ya." Nikki said with a welcoming smile.
Darkrai stared at Nikki incredulously. "Crack'Jaw? That's really your last name?"
Nikki shrugged with a smile, "Didn't like my mom's last name so I made my own couple decades back. It's Kali's last name too."
"Well it's nice to meet you both." Micaela chuckled. "Why don't you two come and have some tea? I'm sure you didn't come here just to get a meal out of Marion over there, though I'm sure she didn't mind." She offered gesturing towards the blonde Dark Elf who was now being carried back to the village by the prior entourage.
The two gratefully accept and followed Micaela to her house. Walking through the village, Darkrai earned many onlookers. Looking around, he saw many elves and women who he couldn't determine their race. Though there were plenty of other types of monsters around like Minitours and a few Insect types. Overall, it was a very diverse community. Though, as the silver haired elf implied (who they learned was named Lona), there were no humans.
After they reached Micaela's house, she made tea before they all sat in her living room.
"So, tell me," She began. "Why did you two come to Enrika?"
Darkrai took a sip of his tea before starting. "My friend here was looking to get a charm made for her and her sister so they could seal their monster forms to go in cities and such." Darkrai explained. "We didn't know anyone with that kind of magic on this continent, but I heard from a Blacksmith in Iliasburg about this village so we thought we'd check it out."
Micaela nodded in understanding. "I can understand your dilemma. It isn't easy for monsters here on this continent, being the focal point on Ilias's followers." She finished the last part of her sentence with spite. "Well, you'll be pleased to know that we do have a few mages here that will be able to help you with those charms. It won't be cheap, but I can guarantee the quality."
Nikki's countenance quickly lit up at the news. After getting the mages names, one of which being Marion, she left to place her order, leaving Micaela and Darkrai alone. Micaela turned back to Darkrai, obviously having more questions.
"So where did you two come from? There aren't many places where someone like her can live openly." She inquired
"Believe it or not, we live in Ilias Village." Darkrai admitted.
To that, Micaela eyes widened in disbelief. "Ilias Village?! You and her live IN the village where Ilias's temple, the place nearly all Hero's pay homage, to get baptized?"
"Well I live there with some friends. Nikki, her sister and Lime live in a cabin about a 10 minute walk from the villages edge…Oh, Kali is a hobgoblin and Nikki's sister and Lime is a slime."
"You four are in a very dangerous area." Micaela warned. "All of the hero traffic in that area might get you killed! Why don't you four come here? There will be no danger and you'll be among your own kind. And I can't imagine you are more than 15. Such a dangerous place is nowhere for a child of your nature."
"I appreciate the offer, but funny enough, the family I'm living with made me the same one." Darkrai replied with a chuckle. "Plus, we've all grown quite fond of them. Not to mention, we'd hate to see Luka and Lucifina saddened by our leaving. But thank you, you are very kind to worry."
Darkrai took another sip of his tea after giving a bow of appreciation, not noticing Micaela's eyes were now the size of dinner plates. When he looked up to continue, he stopped after seeing her face. "Is something wro…"
"Luka and Lucifina?" She asked in almost a whisper.
Darkrai blinked. "Um, yes? Do you know them?"
Micaela simply stared at him before shaking her head briefly to regain her composure. "Goddess, coincidence is a funny thing, isn't it?" She said to no one.
"Pardon?" Was all he could manage to say while raising a brow.
Micaela laughed at Darkrai's reaction. "Lucifina is my sister and Luka my nephew."
"Ooohhhhhh", Darkrai hummed in understanding before sipping on his tea…Before promptly spitting it all over the wall.
"WAIT, WHAT?!"
Finally back folks! Only took me 2 months and a little! (My B). I won't make excuses for my absence, they are all made up anyway. I just got lazy for a bit cause I was stuck with what I was going to do. Again, my B. HOWEVER! There will only be two maybe three more "Origin Chapters" before the story we all know and love begins!
Soon you'll realize why MGQ Requiem has Requiem in the name (Yeah, I didn't put it there to sound cool, it has a purpose! ... [it also sounds really cool]).
Few Notes
- I have fixed up the other chapTers a little in the grammar and spelling department
- Finals finish May 5th sO I shoUld be uploading more regularly after wards (Can't joke this time...Hopefully...inbox me hate messages iF I Let up too way mUch)
- A Few lore changes have been tweaked For reasons
- Darkrai will now refer to his scYthe wiTh mAle pronouns [if not fIxed when this is reLeased, I will fix them before the next chapter]
- Darkrai adopted Adamant's last name (will explain later)
- Possible change to Luka's or Darkrai's age (not determined yet)
- Will most likely be doing a pole to determine whether Lucifina should live or die (No major effect on the main story until near the end of MGQ's Chapter II or Beginning of Chapter III, will explain more if I launch a poll). Will also change some of the core dialogue between Alice and Luka, maybe even their relationship and end game.
*** BIG NOTEs ***
- If anyone is interested, I will want to see what monsters don't appear in MGQ vanilla that you guys want to see in this fanfic. I will not notify you if they will be used or not, but you will get credit in the chapter or side story it appears in! Not sure if that last part matters to any of you, but I still wish to show my appreciation!
- Side note, if you give me a scenario how they meet that would be lore friendly, I might use that as well
- This could be past, present or future mind you. Even in times where there are leaps in time (The 10 or so years that will pass after Lucifina [Dies/Lives])
- I am trying to determine if I should switch the story to Darkrai's point of view (First person), rather than third person limited which I am currently using. I won't open a poll for this one, just write in the reviews or pm me personally and I will keep a tally. Should I switch and you guys don't like it, I will rewrite the chapter back to TPL. However, I will not change the first 4 chapters to first person until I finish the first chapter of MGQ (So not until after Gnome is obtained).
- I could also write a short, trial chapter so you have an idea
Thank you all so much for following MGQ Requiem! As always, please leave a review with what you like and dislike about the chapter or fanfic as a whole. All criticism is welcome, and will make the story more enjoyable for you the readers!
ArmoredDiclonius
