MTP Ch13 - Time Slip arc Pt 3: Establishing Familiarity
Author's Note: Oh holy hell, has it been a loooooong time. I really have to apologize for allowing nearly 2 years to pass by without giving my stories any love. Well, now that the college degree is done, Final Fantasy XI is on its last legs, I have a cross country move behind me, and I'm settled in to my new home, hopefully I can dedicate time back into my writing hobby.
A/N 2: For the sake of avoiding confusion with character names, any time BoF2 Nina is mentioned, she will be referred to as Nina Black. Likewise, BoF2 Ryu will typically be referred to by his title as chief of Township.
It didn't take long for Chief Ryu's meeting room to get less crowded. As Momo and Hana began bombarding Eichichi with technical jargon and equations, one by one, their friends began to excuse themselves. Even the usually stout and tolerant chief found himself overwhelmed by it all and beat a silent retreat.
He too stepped outside, and once his head stopped spinning, he noticed the two groups congregated at the fountain beneath his statue, engaging in small talk. It did his heart good to see that the tension that was flowing through the air just a short while before had completely subsided, replaced by an almost giddy excitement being exuded by the two groups as they interacted with each other.
Princess Nina doted on her ancestor, amorously admiring her striking black wings. For her part, Nina Black indulged her, reveling in all the positive energy she was putting off. Because of the prophecy that a black winged figure would bring untold ruin upon the people of Windia, Nina Black was so used to people avoiding her or outright cursing her very existence. Having Princess Nina practically shower her with such affection had a positive effect on her normally demure demeanor.
Chief Ryu's younger sister, Patty, had paired herself off with Teepo. During their introductions, Teepo took notice of her regarding him with a rather discerning eye. Once they had gotten out to the fountain, the reservation she had before while actively being mindful of her tongue and manners completely faded. Patty was overtly, almost aggressively, flirting with Teepo. He certainly didn't mind. He happened to think she was a very beautiful specimen. Of particular note to him were her legs. Though Patty was not very tall at all, her legs were long relative to the rest of her body. And given her choice of wardrobe, a red leather leotard, her legs were on full display, much to the violet dragon's delight. He could appreciate the strong contrast that the bright red leather created with her light blue hair, as well as the fact that it looked right mean on her lithe and fit form.
Rei, the Woren tracker, was fully engaged with Woren brawler, Lynn. "Katt", as her friends called her, was fascinated with Rei. Even before she left Worent, she had never met a pure bred Tigren. Of course she had heard the stories of the wars between the classes of Woren and how the end of the wars brought about marriages between the classes. Being part Tigren herself, Katt grew up with tales of how no matter how dire their circumstances, the Tigren of old refused to call upon the beast within to combat fellow Woren. She admired the restraint and integrity that took. She and Rei spoke about their inherent differences and Rei's ability to transform into the beast.
The last pairing the chief saw chatting it up was the tandem of Ryu, his Brood counterpart, and the serpentine sorceress, Deis/Bleu. Deis seemed content with mindlessly complimenting herself, going on about how powerful her magic was, how stunningly beautiful she was, and how awesome she was to lead them to victory over Myria in the future. All the while, Ryu stared blatantly, unashamedly, at her obscenely large breasts. Realizing that only poured fuel over her ego's fire.
Katt caught sight of her beau in her periphery. When she recognized it was him, she turned to greet him. "So your head finally went 'splode too, huh?", she said with a playful grin. Chief Ryu merely nodded and leaned down to kiss her. He had to lean quite a bit given he stood about a head and a half higher than her.
With Chief Ryu now standing in frame, Deis took notice of both Brood warriors at once. She was taken aback by how strongly they favored each other, right down to having the exact color of hair. "Ryu," she called out. Both of them looked to her. "Come closer." Both Ryu and the chief closed some distance toward her. Deis then summoned her staff and used it to manipulate both dragons at once, first closer to each other, then closer to her. When they were shoulder to shoulder and down on her knees about a foot in front of her, she said, "The two of you could really pass for brothers."
With them that close, everyone else there also took the chance to make the comparison. Katt approached Ryu with the curiosity of a Woren kitten. "You look just like him," she said as she began to examine him. She took a big whiff. "You smell just like him." With both hands, she prodded and grabbed all over his face, head, arms, and chest. "You feel just like him." Deis was still holding Ryu in place with her magic, so he couldn't have moved to avoid it all if he wanted to. What Katt did next seemed to surprise all present except Rei. She ran her tongue up his cheek. In a sure voice, she said, "You even taste like him."
A mischievous smirk found its way to Ryu's lips. Just as he was about to comment on what had just occurred, Rei interjected. "Now Ryu, before you go and say what I know you're about to say, bear in mind that we are guests here." That seemed to take the wind out of his sails as Katt could feel his face droop somewhat in her hands.
In that instant, Teepo had a moment of clarity. "Well everyone, the answer to that lies with these pretty little things," he said motioning toward the Wing clan maidens. "It's well obvious that if we could have a Windian princess and her descendant in our midst that the same could be true of Ryu. They really do look too much alike for it to be mere coincidence." All present nodded and murmured in agreement. The logic stood to reason.
"Well don't that beat all," Rei said with his own smirk. "Though even if logic dictates you are related, there's one thing that certainly doesn't carry from one generation to the next." Rei crossed his arms and said confidently, "Personality."
Princess Nina was quick to pick up what Rei had put down. "Good point, Rei. Even from what little I have seen of him so far, Chief Bateson's persona seems leaps and bounds different from our breast addicted goof nut."
An eye brow on the chief's face rose. "A breast man, eh? I guess we all have our vices in life," he said. By then, Deis had released her hold on the two of them and Chief Ryu sat on the ledge of fountain. Katt let go of Ryu and sat next to her dragon.
After nestling in close to the chief, she turned back to Rei. With a bit of a grin, she said, "If he's got it bad, you may want to keep your little brother on a leash." Rei and Teepo both a raised a brow to that comment. Chief Ryu and Deis both had the same knowing look on their faces. Katt continued. "Our town's engineer, Eichichi. You might not have been able to tell because of the lab coat and her goggles hanging down around her neck, but she stacked higher than the snake lady here."
Rei, Teepo, and Ryu all froze in place for a moment as the weight of what Katt said sank in. After a brief respite, Ryu's jaw dropped and he just stood there, maw agape. Both of his brothers just started snickering and Princess Nina approached behind him. With a playful slap to the back of his head, she quipped, "Pick that up dummy, before something starts nesting in there." To punctuate the gag, she put a hand on his chin and closed it for him. That set his brothers from giggles to full on laughing. The princess let off a chuckle of her own until she noticed Ryu wasn't even paying attention. Grin intact, Princess Nina said, "Oh boy… I can practically hear the imagination gears in there turning. Any second now, I fully expect there to be drool." Ryu didn't disappoint and Princess slapped him again, still playful but a bit harder to snap him out of it.
Nina Black, who had been content to just observing in the background, chose then to interject herself. After stifling her own giggles, she spoke in her high pitched, low volume voice. "Um… I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but it may not be a good idea to allow him to be himself around Eichichi."
That piqued Ryu's curiosity. "Oh? Why is that?" he asked inquisitively.
Nina Black fidgeted nervously for a second. "Well," she began sheepishly. "We have a friend that is a member of the Hometown Ranger Corps. Normally you would have had a chance to meet Bow, but he's in the hospital right now." As if feeling the shame for Eichichi's actions upon herself, Nina Black looked down at her feet and continued. "The last time he was here Sergeant Bow made a random comment to Chief Ganer of Gate about a woman he had an eye for. Eichichi hadn't heard the entire conversation and took what she did hear out of context. She also didn't realize he wasn't talking about her." Princess Nina and company could put the pieces together. Nina Black finished her piece by adding, "Eichichi, is VERY self-conscious, very emotional, and being of the Iron Ox clan, also incredibly strong."
Ryu took her meaning. "Uh, yeah. I like my bones just how they are; NOT broken. I'll behave."
With yet another playful slap, Princess Nina said, "You had better start behaving now, or I'll inform Hana about your… 'lack of discretion' with regard to our serpentine friend's 'physical attributes'."
"Say what now?" he said in response to the princess's robust choice of vocabulary.
In a moment so out of character, it even shocked those present that had only just met her, Nina Black retorted with, "Quit gawking at Bleu's tits or my granddaughter will sic your bunny babe on you." In that instant, every head snapped to her and just stared in silent disbelief for a moment. Then, the entire bunch burst into joyous, hysterical laughter.
Author's Closing Note: Rei = Ass man. Ryu loves titties. I had to make Teepo all about legs. It was a natural progression for a set of brothers.