Spice: Hello once again, folks, Spiceracksargent001 here, with the next chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh Virtual: Enter the Element Reavers. Sorry it took so long, summer between my last posting and now has been pretty hectic for me, so getting the chapter finished up and posted here took longer than I'd hoped it would. Anyway! In this chapter, Cloud makes it to the Harpies' Hunting Grounds and begins his training, but his arrival there doesn't go unnoticed by the local Monsters.

ELFI: As always, the captain would like to give mention to Phoenix Champion's story: Yu-Gi-Oh Virtual: Alpha Gear Chronicles, which runs parallel to, and inspired, this story.

Spice: Seriously, if you've read my story but haven't seen Phoenix's yet, go read it. David Drakon of Alpha Gear Chronicles has made cameo appearances a couple times here already, so you really ought to go see his story so you know what's happening in Alpha Gear while my story unfolds. Anyway, enough chatter: onto the story!

-Cloud's P.o.V.-

I'll admit, it was a bit hard at first to actually fall asleep once I was properly settled into the giant rosebud that is Alexandra's flower base, but once I was, I was pretty much out like a light. It was certainly a lot softer than the bed in my player's room… or maybe that was just Alexandra's breasts pressing against my back as she snuggled into me while I slept, I'm not quite sure which is the case. Either way, I was actually quite comfortable.

About an hour and a half of restful napping later, two things woke me up. One, the winds, with some difficulty because of the giant rose bud that is Alexandra's flower base, told me that the storm had finally passed. Two, well… it got kind of hard to breathe all of a sudden… in a "smothered by a soft pillow" kind of way, which made me open my eyes to find that my head was currently lodged between a pair of "pillows"- otherwise known as the bust of one Alexandra Rose, who was asleep and now using me as a human body pillow.

Embarrassment and the need to breathe warred for dominance in my head while my face, while initially a bright red, began growing purple from my embarrassment and present lack of oxygen. Any sane human male would probably love to be in my position right now, but I had somewhere to be right now, so I quickly managed to get my arms working again and started trying to pry myself from my slumbering captor. Gonna have to give this to her, Alexandra's got some pretty impressive arm stren-did she just grope my butt!?

My captor was soon roused from her slumber, both by my struggle to get free, and my involuntary, wordless shout of surprise (for that is what it was; definitely not an embarrassed squeak at having an attractive woman grope me in her sleep), and, thankfully, released me from her grip, allowing me to free my head from its soft prison and take a much needed breath of air.

"Mmm… sleep well, Feather?" Alexandra asks sleepily as she rubs her eyes with her right hand, propping herself up with her left arm in a way that both kept me pinned beneath her and still allowed her breasts to be in my face.

"I-I-I u-uh…" I stammer incoherently in embarrassment at our current positioning, face still red as a tomato from being groped and used as a body pillow.

Alexandra chuckles as she gets off of me, allowing me to sit up and face away from her, trying to get my blush under control. "Y'know, Feather, most ladies prefer either a man who plays hard to get, or a man that chases after them," she quips while pressing her breasts onto my back again, which does not help me at all with my embarrassment, "though I suppose that cute, easily embarrassed types like yourself do have a charm of their own."

As if to emphasize what she said, Alexandra blew onto my ear without warning, making my blush intensify and for me to jump away as best I could inside this giant rose bud with a surprised yelp. On the one hand, I was now out of Alexandra's reach until she pulled up her roots. On the other hand, doing so made me tumble out of the giant rose bud and nearly land on my face. It was only a quick casting of Gust on pure instinct that allowed me to slow my fall enough to catch myself and get back on my feet. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to calm my frayed nerves, I opened myself up to the winds and let the forest breeze soothe me further. Despite the comfort, it was rather claustrophobic inside of Alexandra's flower base, especially for someone like me, who shares a close bond with the wind.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that Harpies' Brother and Wynn were, thankfully, still napping up in a nearby tree, Wynn snuggled in Harpies' Brother's wings. The sound of flower petals being rustled alerted me to Alexandra retracting her flower base, and when I looked, she was looking at me with an amused smirk on her face. "Well, that was my good deed for the day. Places to go, Monsters to recruit, an' all that jazz, so I'll be seein' ya, Feather," Alexandra says and throws me a lazy wave from over her shoulder as she goes to leave, heading deeper into the forest with an obvious sway to her step. "Don' be a stranger if we ever run into each other again, Feather! You're rather pleasant company."

I blink, but nod, eyes glued to her a bit due to the way she was walking away before blushing again and shaking my head to clear away those thoughts. Looking to Wynn and Harpie's Brother, I note Wynn stir as she wakes up. Waving to her, I grin as Wynn smiles and waves back before nudging Harpie's Brother to wake him up. Once we'd all gathered, Wynn and I called upon the winds again as Harpie's Brother began flapping his wings, the three of us taking to the sky as we make our way back above the forest and continue on our way to our destination.

-Hours later, no P.o.V., Harpies' Hunting Grounds-

A lone Harpie Girl was flitting about the Hunting Grounds without a care in the world as she stretched her wings. Her Queen had warned her not to venture too far from the nest without an escort, which she had, her caretaker hovering overhead.

Movement out of the corner of her vision drew the Harpie Girl's curiosity. Focusing in on it, she could make out three figures approaching in the distance. One was distinctly a Sky Scout, and one looked like a young Spellcaster of some kind, but the third one was who drew her attention.

He looked to be in his late teens and was carrying a longbow in hand. She might've thought he was a Warrior, were it not for the fact he was flying on his own without wings, which indicated that he was a Spellcaster… and had a Bracer, which got the Harpie Girl's eyes to widen, realizing she's just found a Player and his Monsters. Flitting up to her babysitter, a Cyber Harpie Ladie, she gets her attention and points out the Player and his Monsters. The two look to the trio as they land, then to each other, nod, and the Cyber orders the Girl to follow the Player from a safe distance before flying off to inform their Queen.

-Cloud's P.o.V.-

I smile and nod to Wynn and Harpie's Brother as we touch down in the Hunting Grounds. "Well, we made it, finally," I say as we start looking around.

"Right, we'd best be a bit cautious, groups of Harpie Ladies and Sky Scouts often patrol around here, both for prey and to ward off Phantom Gryphon packs, and who knows how hostile they'll be to our presence," Harpie's Brother warns. "We'd also best turn back if we happen upon any Birdfaces. Running into those means we're encroaching upon a Harpie nest, and they tend to be protective of their nesting sites."

"Right, keep our eyes peeled; avoid large groups, fights, or Birdfaces," I summarize. "We'd best get moving then. Let's see if there are any lone Harpies without a nest that we can recruit. Maybe also beat up some Ojamas and/or Gryphons to train up for that Beginner's Tournament."

Wynn and Harpie's Brother nod to me as I summon Petit Dragon so that Wynn can use Possession if need be. Once our small party was fully assembled, Petit Dragon perching itself on Wynn's staff, we started making our way deeper into the Hunting Grounds, Wynn and myself tuning our senses to the winds for advance warning and relying on Harpie's Brother's sharp eyes for specifics at a greater distance than Wynn or I could see. As we walked, despite how exposed to attack we were out here, I couldn't stop a content smile from making its way onto my face, feeling more opened to the winds than I'd felt in my entire life. It almost made me not notice the Harpie Girl following us a fair distance.

...Almost. I'd been aware of her following us since I first felt her presence on the winds. I simply haven't reacted to her because A: Harpie Girls are pretty harmless with only 50 ATK and DEF; what harm could she possibly do if she decided to attack?, and B: Harpie Girls are basically children; chances are high that she's following us from a perceivably safe distance because of simple curiosity.

After a few minutes of occasionally running into an Ojama and wailing on it for experience and money (as well as getting a couple of Ojama cards to sell for some extra funds), I'd begun to feel a tension on the winds.

"You guys feel it too, right?" Harpie's Brother asks as his eyes shift back and forth, eyeing the horizon. "This tension in the air."

"Yeah, we feel it," I reply as Wynn nods warily, clutching her staff while I draw an arrow, already infusing my magic into the projectile without knocking it. "The winds are growing uneasy. Something's coming, and it isn't friendly. Better get ready, you guys. I get the feeling we're about to be attacked by Phantom Gryphons."

At the mere mention of the Monster that is essentially the Harpie's natural enemy, it was like a switch was flipped in Harpie's Brother's mind. His shoulders became squared, wings outstretched, clawed bracer seeming to hiss in the air as he brings it to a ready position, and eyes darting back and forth with purpose now. Wynn' grip on her staff tightened as she began looking around as well, more for a safe place for her and Petit Dragon to merge should the situation call for it, the small, serpentine dragon helping its Master in her search.

I knocked the arrow as I continued to infuse wind magic into it for what I've come to term my Power Shot, eyes scanning the horizon as I fully opened myself to the winds, ready to let fly at the first sign of hostilities, all the while keeping aware of the Harpie Girl; she'll get two-shot by a Gryphon, and if she's from a Harpie nest, it may buy me some brownie points with her resident Harpie Queen if I help her get home safe.

-No P.o.V.-

The Harpie Girl continued trailing the Player and his Monsters faithfully, as per the Cyber's order, and taking note of how he and his Monsters simply wailed on any Ojama dumb enough to cross their path. It was as if the Player was reading when an Ojama would be in sight before they even appeared, almost like he had some sort of future sight.

If that was the case, then maybe he could help the Queen with their Griffon problem… if he can figure out their locations and formations before they're even in sight, then…!

She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard the Player issuing orders to his Monsters, but from the distance, she couldn't tell what he was saying he'd sensed with his special foresight, but she could tell the effect as they got ready for a serious fight.

Before she could contemplate what he was sensing, a sound she'd been raised to both fear and hate reached the Harpie Girl's ears from directly above her, and she knew instantly what he's sensed.

Fear shot through the Harpie Girl as she looked up to see a Phantom Gryphon diving right at her, with more of a small pack getting ready to dive as well! She barely managed to evade the beast's outstretched talons, but that left her wide open to a smack from the griffon's Wing that sent her flying uncontrollably. The feeling of the air slowing her down made the Harpie Girl dare to crack open her eyes to see a swirl of air as a wind bubble slowed her down and brought her to the ground. Looking in the direction she was going, she saw the small Spellcaster Monster had her hand outstretched in her direction, eyes and outstretched hand glowing with magical power as the Player let his knocked arrow fly, the projectile traveling at insane speeds and striking the Griffon right in the flank, stunning it as the Sky Scout came at it from below, catching the beast with a rising slash from his clawed bracer, felling the creature and making it explode like glass. She saw the Sky Scout grab a quartet of gold coins that spawned with the Griffon's demise and toss them to his player, who retrieved and pocketed the coins with a rather skillful use of magic even as he grabbed another arrow from his quiver and began infusing magic into it…

-A short distance away-

The Cyber Harpie Lady that had been watching the Harpie Girl was now making her way towards the battle getting underway with new, grim determination, the Harpie Lady Sisters at her side following with the same determination. They'd heard the Phantom Griffons' war cry, and knew that the Harpie Girl was likely in the middle of their pack, trying desperately to stay alive.

The Cyber wasn't too terribly worried for the chick's safety, she had told her to trail the Player at a distance where he would be able to help her if the Griffons did attack, but it was still better to ere on the side of caution since Players are unknowns.

Upon arrival at the battle, the Harpies took a moment to assess the situation. The Player and his Sky Scout were fighting against the Phantom Griffons with claw, arrow, wind blade, and air blasts, but they didn't see the Harpie Girl in the fur ball. Had the Griffons gotten her…?

The Cyber looked groundward towards the Archer and let out a relieved sigh. The young Spellcaster Monster had the chick with her, shielding the young Harpie from stray fighting with a large dome of raging winds. Motioning to the Sisters, the four had a quick discussion before nodding and diving into the fray. Their Queen wants to meet this Player, and if he was keeping their chick safe, then he may just be the one they'd been waiting for.

-Cloud's P.o.V.-

So far so good.

With Wynn keeping the Harpie Girl safe, Harpie's Brother and I were free to let loose on the Griffons. I'd quickly foregone infusing magic into my arrows, trading out the power per shot for damage per second as, without having to worry about the enchantments and instead focus on archery and magic I was able to put out a lot more arrows and magic bursts, using wind blades on single targets and explosive air blasts to damage and stun groups. Since a Phantom Griffon only has its 400 LP and mid-air maneuverability to rely on for defense, my volume and precision of fire combined with Harpie's Brother's mastery of the skies allowed us to effectively stalemate the Gryphons, and we'd already managed to kill another 4 after the first one we combo'd. Problem was, with Wynn and Petit Dragon playing bodyguard and out of the fight, the Griffons had us outnumbered nearly 6 to 1. Not good odds for us, and the Gryphons had already made a few passes to try and get at the Harpie Girl, but Wynn and Petit Dragon combined were effectively able to play goalie until Harpie's Brother or I could spare the time to take the heat off of them, but I could tell it wouldn't work if the Griffons went at them more than one or two at a time, and I saw a group of four getting ready to dive them. Wynn and Petit Drag were gonna get overwhelmed by that before Harpie's Brother or I could get to them…

A shifting of the winds, however, turned my stressed scowl into a predatory grin, however, as a quartet of Harpie's dive-bombed the Griffons that'd split off to try and go after the Harpie Girl Wynn was defending, outmaneuvering the solitary Griffons and ending them in three blows each, and the numbers they were dealing confirmed who our reinforcements were: a Cyber Harpie Lady and Harpie Lady Sisters, all powerful fighters and nothing to sneeze at in a fight. With the odds now effectively 2 to 1, the Griffons were now hard-pressed to gain any ground, and were actually losing it as Harpie's Brother and I began coordinating our moves to the Harpies Ladies' timing. When the odds had went two to one in our favor, the surviving Griffons finally wised up and flew away, tails between their legs.

I let out a sigh of relief as the battle ended and exchanged a brofist with Harpie's Brother as he landed before giving Wynn a thumb's-up, the Charmer nodding and dropping the wind dome as she gently coaxed the Harpie Girl over to me to check her for any injuries. Fortunately, it seems Wynn's quick save spared the chick any damage, and I gave the frightened little Harpie a reassuring pat on the head before being roughly shoved out of the way by the Cyber Harpie Lady, who fussed over the Harpie Girl like a mother hen. The Harpie Lady Sisters were looking at Wynn, Harpie's Brother and I with predatory grins, however, and I felt another uneasy shifting in the winds, the feeling now coming from my one-shot allies.

Before I could ask Wynn to cast a translation spell to ask what they were planning, the Harpie Lady Sisters sprang into action. One grabbed me by the shoulders with her feet, another grabbed Wynn by the hem of her cloak, and the third grabbed Harpie's Brother by his wings, and all three soon began lifting us into the air despite our struggle. The Cyber and Harpie Girl looked at us gratefully before the Cyber nodded to the Sisters, who nodded back as all eight of our group (three of us unwilling passengers) started flying off somewhere. Based on how they were acting, I could only guess that our destination was a Harpie nest.

'I wonder if Diana is having better luck than I am right now,' I wonder idly as my captors fly my Monsters and I to our fate.

-Diana's P.o.V.-

I sneezed as Relena and I walked through the main square of the Village of Beginnings, perusing the Open Market so the spearwoman could try finding her brother one last time, drawing the attention of Relena, Sparkman, Dance Princess, and Inner Guard.

"You okay?" Relena asks.

"Yeah, I'm good," I reply, waving off the question. "Come on, let's keep going. You're still trying to find your brother before the day's up, right?"

"Fair point," Relena concedes after a second, "seeing if my knucklehead of a big bro is still around is a little more important than a little sneeze."

'Was someone thinking or talking about me?' I wonder as I nod and motion for Relena to take the lead again as our small group continues walking. 'Cloud, maybe, if he ran into anyone new to make friends with on his way to his destination.'

-Alexandra's P.o.V.-

I held back a sneeze as I finished talking to a nice Flying Kamakiri #1 and recruiting him to my Deck. After the Insect was in my deck, I looked over to my Beautiful Headhuntress. "I think someone's talkin' 'bout me."

"Why do you say that, mistress?' Headhuntress asks.

"Dunno, had this sudden urge ta sneeze as I was wrappin' up my lil' chat wit' the Kamakiri," I reply with a shrug. "Prob'ly nothin'. Let's keep movin'."

"Of course, Mistress."

-A little while later, Cloud's P.o.V.-

I'd given up struggling against the Harpie's grip at this point and was busy consoling Wynn, who was practically a bawling wreck by this point. Harpie's Brother had, somehow, talked his captor into letting him fly on his own, and was flying next to us with the Harpie Lady Sister that grabbed him flying above and behind him, an ideal spot to react if he tried anything, as he also tried to calm little Wynn down. I sent the Harpie manhandling Wynn a glare, and she, rightly, looked apologetic.

It did little to deter me from plotting a Power Shot or a wind-infused punch to the face in that Harpie Lady Sister's immediate future, though. Nobody makes Wynn cry and gets away with it unscathed if I have anything to say about it. If only looks could kill…

A quick look ahead and feeling the winds told me that we were nearing our destination, as I saw a small picket patrol of Birdfaces, which meant we were about to enter these Harpies' nesting grounds. With that now confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt, I went back to trying to console Wynn and set fire to the Harpie carrying her with my glare.

After another ten minutes or so - and wow it was getting late, the sun's nearing the horizon - and we finally reached the Harpies' nest, as the Cyber and Harpie Girl broke off to go elsewhere in the nest, while the Harpie Lady Sister set Wynn and I down near the entrance of the nest, Harpie's Brother landing close by me. Immediately after Wynn was on her feet and free to move again, I stalked over to the Harpie Lady Sister that's been carrying her with a murderous glare on my face. The Harpie rightfully looked fearful of the vindication I was ready to unleash, and I unleashed a wind punch right to her face, her sisters wincing as the damage seemed to be shared by all three Sisters, not that I really cared about that at the moment, knocking her to the ground as she clutched her nose and looked up at me with tears eyes.

"That was for making Wynn cry," I growl as I point at the guilty Harpie before taking the still crying Wynn into my arms, lightly bouncing the Charmer in my arms as she immediately started clinging to me like a lifeline. "Shh. It's okay now, Wynn. Don't cry, big brother's here. The mean bird lady won't hurt you anymore, little gust."

Wynn kept crying for a few more minutes as I held her in my arms and comforted her. After a bit, her crying died down to the occasional hiccup before she tuckered out a little, lightly napping in my arms.

Looking to the Harpie Lady Sisters, the one that'd carried me looked stuck between wanting to scold her sister and wanting to gush at either Wynn or myself, the one that'd carried Wynn looked like she desperately wanted to apologize, but was worried that'd I'd do worse to her than the wind punch, and the one that'd carried Harpie's Brother was actually scolding her sister. Or, at least, I think she's scolding her sister. It's a little hard to properly tell when I can't understand her without Wynn's help… wonder if she can possibly teach me how to talk with all Wind-Attribute Monsters? I'm naturally attuned to the winds and a Spellcaster now. Is there still something I'm lacking, or is that all I need?

Before I could think of shaking Wynn awake to ask her, the Cyber Harpie Lady from before returned and beckoned for my Monsters and I to follow her. With Wynn still asleep in my arms and her Familiar now perched on my shoulder, I looked to Harpie's Brother and motioned with my head towards the Cyber, getting a nod in response and him falling in step with me as we followed her to, presumably, meet the resident Harpie Queen.

As we walked, I took the time to look around the nest to see the variety of Harpies I could possibly recruit if I can talk the Queen into joining me. There was several members of the Harpie archetype here and there, going about their end-of-the-day activities. A Harpie Channeler was busy corralling a Harpie's Pet Dragon into a cave for the night, and I even saw the Harpie Girl from before, I could tell it was her because she smiled and waved to me, which I returned with a smile and nod since my own arms were too full to wave back, playing with a pair of Harpie's Pet Baby Dragons with two more Harpie Girls that seemed to shy up as they looked at me. A trio of Harpies consisting of a Harpist and two Dancers leered at me as we passed by them in the middle of their practice winding down, earning them a blush from me, especially when the two Dancers smiled playfully to one another before they twirled towards each other and hugged in such a way I was obviously meant to see, and could quite clearly see at that, their breasts squished together and winked at me. A second Cyber Harpie Lady passed by soon after as we walked and gave me a sultry smirk and a slap to the butt as we passed each other, which caused my blush to intensify and me to jump a little, which I could see got the Cyber leading us to look at me from over her shoulder with a smirk of her own as she looked me up and down for a moment before returning her attention to the direction we were walking.

Before long, we stood before the resident Harpie Queen and the Cyber Harpie Lady bowed before her as they conversed briefly, though it sounded like little more than chirps and screeches to me, so I got to shaking Wynn awake so that she could work her magic so I could actually understand what was being said.

It took a couple of tries, but I eventually got Wynn awake and on her feet again and subtly motioned between the Harpies and my ears, which Wynn thankfully understood what I was silently asking her and muttered a brief incantation before waving her staff at me, the jewel in the center glowing a soft emerald for a moment.

"I see," I heard the Harpie Queen mutter in thought, telling me that Wynn's spell worked, before she looked to the Cyber Harpie Lady. "I wish to speak with him alone. Leave us."

"Of course, milady," the Cyber replies as she nods to me with a soft smile and flies over the small rock archway that separated the Queen's personal area from the rest of the Harpie Nest.

Of course, this also left me alone with the Harpie Queen, who looked at me indifferently. "You know, Human, most are supposed to bow when they stand before a Queen such as I."

I blinked twice and then quickly realized my folly. "O-oh, apologies, your majesty," I reply hastily as I bow, Wynn and Harpie's Brother mimicking my action. "I meant no disrespect to you, but my Charmer companion was still asleep and I needed her awake to cast her translation spell so that I could properly converse with you and yours."

"Your reasoning is sound and your apology accepted, Human," she assures before motioning for me to rise, which I do, Harpie's Brother and Wynn standing upright soon after. "Step closer, Human, and allow me to look upon you more closely. Your Monsters are to stay where they are, however, for I mean you no harm unless you provoke such a response of me."

I nod and look to Harpie's Brother, who nods at me, then to Wynn, who looks worried, though I reassure her with a quick pat on the head, before walking up to the Harpie Queen until she motions for me to stop about three feet in front of her, to which she gets off of her throne of stone and natural bedding materials, mostly moss and some feathers, now that I look at it more closely, and starts walking in a circle around me, a single talon lightly tracing itself along me shoulder blades as she does so, evoking a slight blush from me at the contact before she comes to a stop in front of me again.

"You fought today to protect one of my children from a pack of beasts that have been troubling my nest for some time, and for that, you have my gratitude," the Queen says as she looks at me dead in the eyes. "However, a Human such as yourself would not do so purely out of the goodness of your heart. Speak, who art thou, and why have you come here, to these Hunting Grounds of the Harpie race?"

"M-my name is Skywind. Cloud Skywind, your majesty," I reply, stuttering a little bit at first from her piercing gaze. "I came here to train and possibly recruit any Harpies without a nest to call their own. I've always had a particular fondness for your kind, and was hoping to gather a small flock of my own to travel with. You may ask my Harpie's Brother and Wynn yourself if you wish to confirm my words."

"I do not feel that shall be necessary," the Harpie Queen reassures as she walks back to her throne with a sway to her step that gives me a hard time keeping my gaze above her shoulders, continuing when she sits down again and crosses her legs. "Your scent carries the mark of one close to the winds; I can feel the sincerity of your words. If it is a Harpie flock you seek the company of, fair Skywind, me and mine might be willing to answer your desire. You have aided us already, and that gives me cause to grant you favor. We will not join you without something in return, however. I believe your Human system would refer to this as a… Request, I believe is the proper term. Tasks that can be found in Towns and Cities, or sometimes happened upon outside the boundaries of your kind's larger settlements."

I motion to my Bracer and the Queen nods, allowing me to open my menu quickly and check the help menu for a moment. "The term is indeed Request, your grace," I inform her as I close my menu and return my arms to my side.

The Queen nods in thanks before getting to her Request. "Those Phantom Gryphons you fought were but a small element of the pack that has been competing with my flock for control of the part of the Hunting Grounds you stand in now," she says, going straight to the heart of the matter. "Help us deal a decisive blow to their pack, and I will see to convincing my flock to join you. What say you, Skywind? Shall you aid us with this problem, and receive my flock into your ranks in turn?"

I actually had to stop and think about this, looking to Harpie's Brother and Wynn, who looked equally surprised at the offer. This sounded like a pretty good deal, but at the same time, even without Defense, Phantom Gryphons are no mere pushovers with 200 Attack…

Fortunately, the Harpie Queen caught unto my group's present indecisiveness, and decided to give us a better deadline to answer her Request. "I see I have given you and yours much to think about, fair Skywind," she says, regaining my attention. "You may stay here as my guests, I'm sure you and yours tire and hunger from your travels and recent combat. Take the night to rest and revive yourselves, and give me your answer in the light of Dawn."

"O-oh, t-thank you, your grace," I reply in surprise, bowing to her again.

She nodded her head and bade the Cyber Harpie Lady from before to come back. "Inform the rest of the flock: this Human and his Monsters are our guests this night. Treat them as we would another of our kin."

"Yes, my Queen," the Cyber Harpie Lady replies dutifully with a bow before flying off again to do her assigned task before I notice the Queen rise from her throne again and offer me her hand.

"Come, I wish to give you a proper tour of my flock's nest, and for you to meet all of my flock," she says with a rather enchanting smile on her lips.

"U-uh… thank you, your majesty," I reply, a bit uncertain, as I take the offered hand, the bird-like palm feeling hard, yet surprisingly smooth to the touch as her talons wrap around my hand and she guides me back into the nest proper.

-about an hour later-

Well, that had been enlightening.

Despite being one of the smaller flocks out there, apparently, this Flock had a good assortment and plenty of elites about it. Beyond the Harpies I'd already seen, there were two more pairs of Harpie Lady Sisters, a Harpie Lady 1, another Channeler, and two more Pet Dragons. There were also about six or seven Birdfaces and about four Sky Scouts whom Harpie's Brother quickly became buddies with. The Harpie Girls became fast friends with Wynn once the one I'd saved finally convinced the other two that my Monsters and I were friendly.

All the other Harpies… well…

"Ugh," I groan as I carefully flop down on the "bed" provided for me by the Queen, which equated to a soft patch of dirt with moss and some molted Harpie feathers for bedding material, Harpie's Brother sitting quite comfortably on a nearby rock and Wynn sitting down beside me while Petit Dragon, funnily enough, decided to make a nest out of Harpie's Brother's hair. "I didn't think the Harpies would be so eager and determined to jump me like that… guess that's what happens when you save one of their chicks and promise to help them deal with a pretty large Phantom Gryphon pack…"

Yeah, after being introduced to the rest of the flock and getting an estimate for just how big this Phantom Gryphon pack was, I'd agreed to help them out. Turns out that, counting each trio of Harpie Lady Sisters as three separate Harpies and not including the Pet Dragons, this pack we'd be dealing with outnumbered the Harpies somewhere around, like, five or six to one, and there's a possibility of them being led by a Boss Monster, which would make the fight that much more dangerous.

"Look at it this way," Harpie's Brother offers, "with how many Phantom Griffons are in this pack, we're bound to get a metric crapton of experience, Gold, and even a bunch of Phantom Griffon cards on top of the Harpies, Sky Scouts, and Birdfaces that nest here in preparation for that tournament."

"Yeah, I guess that's true…" I hum in reply, folding my hands behind my head while Wynn yawns cutely and starts snuggling up to me, nodding off already. I smile and ruffle her hair a little before looking to Harpie's Brother with a nod. "Right, well, guess we start getting to work tomorrow. Good night."

"Night," Harpie's Brother returns before stretching his limbs and making himself comfortable against the rock and falls asleep. Sleep was coming for me as well, and being so open to the winds meant I closed my eyes with a smile, the gentle breeze easing me into slumber's refreshing embrace.

Spice: And that's chapter! Next time, we check in with Ms. Mordred and see what's happening with her and Command Knight while Cloud's been traveling to and spending time in the Hunting Grounds. I will also be writing a separate lemon chapter for that, which will be posted on a separate website when I, eventually, get around to it.

ELFI: Spiceracksargent001 would like to extend his public thanks, once more, to Phoenix Champion, for providing him with a Pseud on Archive of Our Own, where the Captain will be posting work unsuited for this site.

Spice: Thank you, ELFI. As always, folks, constructive criticism is welcomed and highly appreciated, and flames will not be tolerated. Until next time, this is Spiceracksargent001: signing off!