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Year 16 AL, Of Hearts and Harpies Part One: Trying For Compromise
An odd sense of unease hit Luka as he walked into the entrance of Happiness Village. He couldn't place why he had this feeling though, as seemingly nothing too out-of-sorts was occurring. The plain farm folk of the town seemed to be going on their way, more or less. The purple-haired boy glanced about the wooden cabin-like houses, seeing many women comings and goings as they transported crops and other wares. He even saw some transporting Beehives.
'Thankfully the non-Monster kind...' Luka thought with a shudder, his earlier encounter with Honey still a bit fresh on his mind.
Luka lightly tensed his right hand, yet again missing the feeling of his familiar walking stick. He had tried searching for the item but had no luck in finding it. Yet again, Alice claimed that she knew nothing of its whereabouts though the oddly satisfied smile she had worn seemed to suggest otherwise. He had simply let the matter drop for the moment, not wanting to stick around too long.
After all, there was no guarantee that Honey wouldn't eventually break out and come looking for him. That alone was reason enough to keep moving.
Luka clicked his tongue as he glanced around Happiness Village, taking in every scant detail until he realized what was off: There were no men around. There were plenty of women, even a young boy here and there, but they all seemed to be in the range of eight to ten at most. However, a majority were younger than even that, still needing to be shepherded by their Mothers or Sisters.
"Where are all the men at?" Luka wondered out loud, glancing about the village with curious eyes. Alice replied, "As I said, more likely than not a Harpy problem." Luka gave her a questioning look, "You really think the Harpies took them all?"
Alice just shrugged, nodding over to one of the women diligently working. "Well, you're the Hero. Go do some Heroic detective work." Luka nervously shuffled his feet in the grass, "A-Ah, yeah. You're right." He walked up to one of the more senior ladies of the Village, his approach catching her eye.
"Oh, a traveler?" She questioned, turning away from her work to appraise him. "Hmm, a young one, at that."
She approached him, a gentle breeze blowing her grayish-brown hair and modest dress around. "I'm sorry to say, but there isn't much here to entertain a traveler such as yourself, young man. And if it's Happiness Honey you're after, we're on a shortage if that as well due to certain a... shortage in manpower."
Luka bowed to her, "I've heard, that's actually why I'm here." He raised his head to meet her gaze. "I'm wanting to-" Before he could finish, his pale-blue eyes caught sight of a small shadow quickly zooming across the ground near the center of the town. For a second, Luka's heart froze as he thought that somehow Honey had caught up to him, but a sudden scream and the sound of a scuffle showed him something entirely different.
He watched as one of the older boys, a scrawny raven-haired one looking no older than twelve, was pounced on by a Harpy!
The feathered Monster's clawed feet grabbed a hold of the back of the boy's shirt as he screamed, thrashing in her grip. The Harpy grunted, viciously kicking up a cloud of dirt as she flapped her wings in an attempt to carry him off. Luka heard screaming resounding through the village, the rest of those walking around running to their houses.
"H-Help! Somebody, please!" Luka watched the struggle for a hairbreadth longer as the boy yelled and pulled away frantically, the Monster's grappling forcing him to the ground as she squatted above him. Upon seeing the young boy fall, Luka's face fell into a scowl and he broke into a sprint. Within seconds, he reached the Harpy, tackling her off the boy with a fierce yell.
"RAHH!" The Harpy let out a bewildered squawk as she was dragged into the dirt, rolling in the tight grip of Luka. They fought on the dirt road for a moment, the purple-haired boy releasing the Monster to avoid the sharp talons she had been kicking toward him. They both came to a stand soon after, Luka's face determined as he shouldered off his bag to pull out Angel Halo, while the Harpy's was that of annoyed confusion.
"Wh-What the... Oh, haha, now I see." The Harpy's bright blue-eyed glare was emphasized by a cunning smirk. "You don't look familiar; you must be just passing through. Lucky me." Her odd wing-like gray ears folded back, her gaze locked in on him.
Luka ignored how the Harpy began licking her lips, backing up towards the boy while offering his free hand. "H-Here, get up and get out of here." The boy took his hands shakily, "Th-Thank you, sir!" The young boy sped off, disappearing into a nearby house.
Luka focused his glare back on the Harpy, who had started circling him with her body low to the ground. Her feathers were a light brown and shook as she strutted around him. "Jumping on me like that was rude, but I'm glad you came. I was going to settle with having to take the boy, but you're a bit more my type, I think~" Her unusual pink-purple hair waved around as she bobbed, almost dancing in circles around the boy.
Luka's scowl only became more pronounced at her words, "So you were just going to steal him away like that?" He accused, pointing the sword towards her. "Have you no shame, no decency?"
The Harpy cackled, giving a little shimmy with her shoulders, "Wanna find out? My nest is free tonight, and tomorrow night, and every other night of the week~" Her chest shook with the movement, the wide blue ribbons decorating her chest doing little to inhibit them. Her bangs dangled likewise in the peculiar show she was giving. Luka wasn't dissuaded, planting his right foot forward as his anger grew.
The Harpy's eyebrow rose at his movement, amusement in her eyes. "Oh, wanting to join in my dance? Maybe we can cut to the chase right here, instead of waiting 'till tonight!~"
"Demon Decapitation!"
Luka flew forward, his left arm suddenly feeling as if it was burning as he began to swing, hampering his aim some as drew nearer. The cut struck the Harpy on the left side of her face along the jaw, causing the Bird Monster to panic and flap into the air.
"A-Ah! What did you do!?" The Harpy questioned as she landed on one of the nearby housetops, clutching at her face with a wing as she felt for blood that wasn't there. When she revealed her face, there was nothing but a scar running along the bottom left of her face. She nervously glared at him, "He-Hey! I don't like it that rough! Cool down some!"
Luka kept a steady gaze, trying to ignore the soreness that was beginning to form in his left arm. He pushed away the odd pain, dashing over to the house and using a nearby wagon to hop up and climb onto the roof after the Harpy. She watched his climb with surprise, not having expected this much doggedness from the boy. The Harpy flapped her wings, charging at him with outstretched as he rose to the top.
Luka raised his sword, connecting with the Harpy's claws. He became alarmed when she grabbed onto the sword and began flapping furiously, causing him to rise off the rooftop some. "L-Let go of my sword!" The young Hero called out, grabbing onto one of her legs with his free arm. She tried to kick him off, but he only became more persistent in his yanking until she let go of his sword as well and kicked at his face with a claw.
"Gah!" Luka yelled as he felt the flesh of his cheek be cut open, the injury causing him to drop his sword down to the ground below. Cursing himself, he held on for dear life onto the Harpy's feet, which flailed madly in his grip. Luka heaved himself up in a desperate attempt to force the Harpy to ground them, grabbing for one of her wings. After a couple of swats, he was able to get a hold of her left wing.
The Harpy shrieked as he stopped her mid-flap, the two plummeting down and rolling off the roof soon after. The two fell in a heap at the foot of the house. Luka coughed, sitting up slowly at the same time as the Harpy, who was attempting to push herself up as well. The feathered Monster shrieked again once she did, this time in pain instead of surprise.
Luka sprung to his feet, finding Angel Halo on the ground nearby and raising it towards the Harpy. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stop right now!" She looked up in fear at the sword, scooting away until she hit the wooden wall of the house's porch. "Pl-Please, enough, enough! I'm done, I-I swear!" Upon seeing her distress, he lowered Angel Halo some but kept his eyes on her. He raised his right hand to his face, wiping at the bloody cut the Harpy's talons had caused on his cheek.
"You promise?" He asked pointedly, searching her face for any disingenuous ticks. However, all he saw was fear. Luka grimaced at the fact, not entirely comfortable with having someone fear him. The Harpy nodded vehemently, "Y-Yes, I promise! J-Just don't hurt me!" The purple-haired boy frowned, placing Angel Halo on his back.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to let you go, as long as you're being truthful." The Harpy looked at him with scrutinizing eyes, "Let me go? I don't believe tha-" Luka cut her off by holding out his left hand to her, beckoning for her to take it. Her face softened at his display, not understanding why he would be nice to her after they had just been fighting moments prior.
Hesitantly, she held out her left wing to him. Luka very gently grasped her wing and tugged, helping the Harpy to her feet.
The feathered Monster stood shakily, her blue eyes watching him cautiously. The Harpy made to move but flinched, holding her right arm close. She stumbled away, leaning onto the house behind her with a cry. Upon hearing her pain, Luka rushed forward. "What's wrong?" He asked in a hurry, somewhat startling the Bird Monster. She eyed him warily while she answered, "My arm... I think it's broken..." Luka frowned, realizing that his actions had caused the Monster's wing to be injured.
He took off his gloves while giving a questioning look. "May I?" He asked, holding his hands out expectantly. Her face still seemed unsure, but she shuffled over to him all the same, her right arm quivering as she held it out to him. He lightly grasped the arm with his right hand, running his left hand along her arm until coming to her elbow.
Even his light touching caused her to flinch, crying out again. Luka sighed, "Thankfully, it isn't broken, but it is sprained." He let go of the wounded arm, "Here, give me a moment." He jogged back to where he had dropped his traveling, bringing it back to the onlooking Harpy. He rifled through it some before bringing out a roll of bandages.
Luka pulled on it a bit, looking at the Monster with an apologetic look. "Now I'll be honest," He said, coming in close with the white wrappings in hand. "I'm not the best at this, so you might wanna get this double-checked later. But it'll have to do for now." He began wrapping the bandages around her elbow, an action that caused her to hiss and squint harshly. "I know, just give me a moment, alright?" He asked, trying to calm her down some.
After a few seconds, Luka was finished with the wrappings. He moved away, allowing the Harpy girl to move it around some. She seemed to have a bit less pain now that the wrappings were on, able to at least move without flinching. She looked at him with conflicted eyes, "Thank you... but..." She searched him with her eyes, her earlier lust gone and replaced with uncertainty. "...Why did you do that for?"
Luka took a page out of Alice's book as he crossed his arms, the stern look returning to his pale blue eyes. "Because, while what you were trying to do was wrong, I didn't want you to suffer for it. As a Hero, I can't let people go through pain if I can help it." She tilted her head at him, the boy's words seeming contradictory to her. "But Heroes... don't care about Monsters, they only care about Humans."
Luka simply shook his head before giving her a small smile. "Not me, I care about everyone. As long as you aren't doing bad things, I'll make sure bad things don't happen to you."
The Harpy watched as he glanced around to the houses, a somewhat nervous look on his face. He leaned in a bit to whisper, "Hey, you might wanna get going now, miss Harpy. I'm not sure that anyone here would want to see you here still, so it'd be safer if you left now." He turned away to leave before he felt her wing on his shoulder. He gave a questioning hum, looking back to her with a raised brow.
"Reina is my name." She gave him a wink, "Just thought you should know, in case you change your mind about my offer~" Luka gave a quick chuckle, "Haha, ah, y-yeah sure. Thank you." The Harpy dashed around the house and into the forest, leaving him alone. Luka picked up his bag and walked towards the center of the village.
Luka glanced around, seeing that none of the villagers had left their homes during his scuffle. He lifted his hands to his mouth, "Hey, everyone! You guys- erm..." He grimaced, quickly fixing his mistake. "...Ladies, can come out now!" Slowly, the doors began to open, the women of the village peering at him in wonder. He heard them speak amongst themselves in hushed whispers.
"What happened, did he actually do it?"
"That boy, he fought away the Harpy? Amazing!"
In short time, a substantial crowd gathered around him. Luka's gaze fell away from theirs, lightly kicking at the dirt ground with a bit of timidness as the group of onlookers started to grow.
From the crowd stepped forward a shorter, older lady. Her clothing was a bit more regal than the others, and her gray hair was done up in a bun. "To drive away a Harpy by yourself..." She said, shaking her head some in disbelief, "...You must be a truly skilled warrior." Her tired face looked to him with a bit of awe, though Luka tried to wave it off.
"Oh n-no, I'm just doing my d-due diligence. I couldn't just stand by and let that all happen." The elder nodded, her voice holding a bit of hope. "Yes, I see that. Which is why, as the current standing-in village chief, I must ask something of you..." Luka met her serious gaze, intent on listening to the older woman's plea.
However, a familiar presence made itself known, striding uncaringly through the crowd of women. It was his disguised traveling partner Alice, and judging by the look on her face, she didn't have any good intentions. "So, you're the leader here? Not much of one, if you're way of leading your home is by barricading yourself inside your home while a child was being attacked."
Luka felt as if the entirety of Happiness Village froze over, the group becoming deathly silent at Alice's harsh put-down. The purple-haired Hero watched on in mute horror as Alice continued, "In fact, no one here seems to have much courage, seeing that of it weren't for Luka, your village would be a boy short right now. Not a single person here even tried."
It was hard to argue against the disguised Lamia, this much evident by the downcast looks of the women all around, who couldn't even raise a single look of objection at her words. Luka could feel their shame second-handedly, as he looked at Alice with disapproval, "A-Alice, you shouldn't say those things... It isn't their fault that they can't fight back, most Humans don't stand a chance against a Monster."
The Elder woman seemed to share the boy's sentiment, looking with some indignation. "What are we supposed to do? None of us are strong enough to fight off a Harpy." She argued before looking back to Luka. "We hate to impose onto you, traveler, but we have a favor to ask..." Before the elderly woman could even ask, Alice let out a humorless chuckle, "Ah, see, now they're going to force their problems onto you. How nice of them!"
The short woman aimed a tense glare at Alice before refocusing on Luka. "...It goes without saying that we are in dire need of help. There are no men here, just the boys they have left behind. But as you saw, the Harpies are even starting to some of them as well."
The woman that he had met upon entering the village spoke up. "Hero, th-they took my fourteen-year-old just last week. I haven't seen or heard from him since!"
Another younger brunette, probably only a handful of years older than him, voiced her loss as well. "They took the man I married just a month ago! He hadn't even been from here, I just got him to move in with me two weeks ago!"
Luka shook his head wordlessly, 'I can't believe this! I know Alice had said that Monsters are in need of men, but to steal them away from the families and loved ones!?' A throb of pain came from his heart, the idea of the children here being without their Fathers hitting a bit too close for him personally. He frowned as he glanced around the crowd, 'This can't go on, I have to do something about this.'
The elder woman stepped up to Luka, bowing her head. "Please traveler, we beg you to bring back our men." Luka opened his mouth to reply, but Alice was quicker. "Why doesn't your village go and do something about it yourselves?" Luka's head snapped towards Alice, who had stridden up to stand beside Luka. Her golden eyes seemed unreasonably upset at the woman's pled.
"Alice, p-please..." Luka pleaded, trying to get the disguised Lamia to refrain from her comments.
Alice looked down to him, "Am I wrong? Why bring peace to a people who won't even raise a hand towards injustice happening right in their own village?" She looked out to the crowd of women with disgust, "To rely on anybody happening to come by for help, what would they do if you never came, Luka? Just let every man be taken?"
Luka raised a hand at Alice, "H-Hey, there's no need for that now. That's why I'm here a-anyways, to do what they can't!" He turned back to the elder, intent on hurrying along this increasingly uncomfortable situation. "Where do they take the men, do you know?" The older woman nodded, "Yes, they seem to have a village of their own just east of here." The women of the village looked to him with hope.
A hope that was soon doused like a flame swallowed by water as Alice yet again shoved her way into the conversation.
"You all seem so happy to force another young man into the Harpy's nest. Tell me, how many others have you sent over there like lambs to slaughter?" Luka considered Alice's question and looked to the elder, who suddenly couldn't find it in her to meet the young boy's gaze. Unable to answer, the younger lady before was able to give a number. "Seven... seven others have gone..." She trailed off, unable to finish.
Luka couldn't stop his alarm from coming out, "S-Seven!?" He exclaimed, garnering another laugh from Alice. "Well, there's your innocent villagers in need! And they want you to be number eight!" Her golden eyes flashed as they fell on him, "You are much too trusting, they'll happily keep sending people to their deaths after you, when you fail. Why bother?"
"That's enough, Alice!" Luka finally snapped, putting his foot down literally and figuratively. "Nobody else will be going after me, because I'm putting an end to it all." A dull silence overcame the village as Alice stared down at Luka. His face was hardened, frustrated at the disguised Lamia's behavior. He turned to the elder without saying anything else to Alice. "When I am ready, I'll go to the Harpy's village, and I'll get the men back. I promise."
The elder's face seemed conflicted, as did many of the women around him, but she nodded anyway. "Th-Thank you, traveler. We are in your debt." Luka waved her off, "No need, don't burden yourselves with that kind of talk." The crowd, somewhat shamefully, started to disperse. None of them were able to look him in the eye as they left.
Luka turned to Alice, who had her arms crossed. "You're really going to take on their whole village by yourself? That's suicidal..." She paused, something about the idea causing her distress. Luka mustered a small smirk, "W-Well, I am the Hero here. So I need to act like it, and shoulder the burden others can't." Those lingering around seemed to quicken their shuffling, obviously not wanting to involve themselves in this disagreement.
"That type of thinking is going to get you killed, do you not understand that?" Alice asked,
Luka shook his head, "I-It's possible, but I have no choice. What type of Hero would I be if I turned a blind eye to this? Besides, you were the one who wanted to come here in the first place. We would have just wasted our time if we came here just to turn around right after."
Alice groaned, closing her eyes. "I don't get it, first the bandits, then this. Do you have a fetish for crashing head-first into possible annihilation?" Luka tilted his head at her, "N-No, I'm just trying to save lives and bring peace. So, if that m-means my life is on the line, then so be it." The Monster Lord seemed to take his words into some consideration, tapping her crossed arm with a finger as she thought about his words.
"Have it your way," She said, "But if you're going to run in there to die, then you should at least die while knowing what you're getting into." She opened her eyes, the familiar golden pupils looking down at him. "The easiest way for you to do this is to get to the Harpy's village around sunset. Harpies aren't nocturnal by nature, so the majority of them should be asleep or going to sleep around then."
Luka cut in, "So I should sneak in, then?"
Alice nodded, "Yep, sneak in and find their leader. Typically, the Harpy's Queen will be at the very top of the nest. Take her out and you'll solve half your problem like that. Without a leader, they tend to scatter." The purple-haired boy made a small grunt of understanding. It made sense; after all, regular flocking birds worked the same way. Although, instead of "taking down" the Queen, Luka had a different plan.
The young Hero turned to the sky, seeing that the sun had fallen a bit more since he had last looked. Evening time would probably come within an hour or so now, it seemed. Luka started to pace away, not wanting to simply stand around in the middle of the village waiting idly.
"Why do you care about these people so much?" He returned his attention to Alice, her eyes peering down at him with a somewhat softer edge as she followed. "They're using you, just like they used those seven others. What the Harpies are doing is bad, sure. But these people haven't done much better."
Luka didn't have to give it much thought, "Maybe there are, but that doesn't mean they deserve to be abandoned. Doing bad things doesn't always make you a bad person, just a bit misguided, that's all." Alice hummed before replying, "By that logic, you have just as much reason to fight for the Harpies than the Humans."
Luka nodded, "Exactly, which is why I won't just go in there looking for a fight. When I find their Queen, I'm going to talk to her. I'm sure something else can be figured out here than one side forcing out the other."
"And when, inevitably, that plan fails, what will you do?" Alice countered.
The purple-haired boy paused, then simply said, "I'll do what I'll have to, I suppose." Alice frowned but said nothing more.
The passing hour was alarmingly short, the sun having begun to fall behind the horizon with no time at all.
Sitting against the side of the building, Luka had his bag and sword by his side, having taken them off as he waited. In his lap laid his journal, but the newest page remained unfilled. He had gotten used to writing in new entries fairly soon after encountering a Monster, but this time he was hesitant. The page sat blank next to the entry about Honey, one that gave him pause for thought.
'That Bee had wanted much of the same thing, right? She wanted to start a nest, these Harpies are probably trying to maintain theirs. Or at least that would be my guess.' It was a difficult issue for him to face. Both the women of this village and the Harpies of their village wanted to have children, to have families. But there weren't enough men to go around to something. Having one man for one woman or Monster was just impossible, that was a factual truth.
Luka lightly tapped on the paper with his pen, still not quite finding it in him to write down Reina's entry. He sighed, his heart having a great deal of conflict in it. He glanced around, looking for something to capture his attention. Alice looked like she was asleep, lying against a large hay bale across the road. Her face seemed a bit strained, though. A slight frown was on her lips, and her body seemed a bit tense.
Even her arms were crossed in her signature "Annoyed At You/Better Than You" position.
A frown grew on Luka's own face, wondering if his words had really upset her that much, or if she simply was that bothered with the whole ordeal becoming a setback.
Luka groaned, his mind bouncing between far too many subjects at the moment. He needed to focus! Putting the pen and paper into his bag, the purple-haired boy put a hold on updating his little journal of Monsters for a moment. 'Maybe a snack will help clear my mind.' He thought, rummaging through his bag for a bit before taking out a carefully hidden sweet: Chocolate chip cookies. Not like his Mother made, thankfully, as those tended to go up in flame.
It really is a good thing that he learned how to cook so quickly.
Luka chuckled some, the memory of having to help his Mother frantically put out that particular fire being an amusing one, despite the severity of the incident. He looked down at his cookies with a bright smile, one he felt as though he needed at the moment. The young Hero hummed, breaking one of the larger ones in half. 'If only my problems were as simple as this. You can just make more cookies if everyone wants more cookies. Can't really do the same with men...'
Luka peered down at the golden-brown baked good, pondering the thought. '...Of course, you don't even have to do that much if people are willing to share. Not everyone wants that much, so some could split...'
He broke the half into another half, staring down at the two quarter-pieces he now had. He frowned at the pieces of chocolate-chipped goodness, '...But then there's people who don't want to share, or even those who want more than one. Maybe they want two, or ten, or even more than that. In that case, then everyone would start fighting over who gets how many cookies.'
Luka took one of the crunchy pieces in his mouth, taking his time in chewing the snack. 'Unless you baked a gigantic cookie for everyone to have. But that would have to be a pretty big cookie-' Luka stopped his train of thought, realizing that it had lost its original point somewhat. The purple-haired boy shook his head, scoffing at himself for a moment.
'It doesn't matter either way, you can't share men like you share cookies. That's just impossible!' Luka paused mid-bite, suddenly feeling as though he was being watched. Instinctively, he looked to Alice. However, she was still asleep. Peering to his right, he caught a small glimpse of black hair disappearing around the corner of the building he was sitting against.
Raising an eyebrow, Luka got to his feet and quietly snuck over to the end of the outer wall. He jumped around the edge, finding himself looking down at the boy he had saved earlier.
"W-Wah!" The boy yelped as he jumped back, his dark brown eyes going wide at Luka's sudden appearance. The purple-haired boy quickly raised his arms, trying to calm the younger boy. "Hey, it's alright! There's no need to panic." The boy gave a deep bow, ruffling his short black hair as he did.
"I-I'm sorry, mister Hero, s-sir. I didn't mean to bother you..." Luka gently raised him with a hand, somewhat startling the boy again. "Nonsense! I'm not bothered at all. In fact, do you want to join me?" The boy quickly shook his head to the taller Luka.
"I c-can't. I would if my Mother let me, but she doesn't want me being out too late." Luka's face fell some, but he understood the importance of such an order. "Alright, I gotcha. You listen to her, huh? And..." He handed over the half-piece of cookie he had broken off previously. "Take this, you deserve something after that whole mess earlier."
The boy took the cookie piece with a thankful smile, biting into it with vigor. The sight caused a wide smile to form on Luka's face. However, the boy's face became worried, and his next words caused Luka's smile to vanish. "Will you be coming back, sir?" The young boy's dark brown eyes looked at him with fear. "Everyone else who said they would go help us never came back..." The boy stopped, his shoulders quivering from distress.
Luka looked the boy over, his pale blue eyes taking notice of the sadness in his posture. The purple-haired Hero turned away, walking back to his discarded bag. The young boy followed him some, looking around the corner to watch Luka as he grabbed the bag. 'Won't be needing this until I come back anyways...' He thought, coming back to the boy with the bag in hand. Luka held it out to the boy, who looked up to him in confusion.
"Here," Luka said, "I want you to hold onto this, to keep it safe for me when I do come back. That way, you'll be one of the first to know that I've handled everything." The boy took the bag, fumbling a bit from its weight. The young boy looked up to him with awe-struck eyes. He stammered, "Y-You'd really let me w-watch your stuff, sir?"
Luka laughed, "Of course I will, as long as you don't keep calling me sir. Just call me Luka!" The boy grinned a bit, holding the bag close. He bowed to Luka again, "Al-Alright, I'll take care if your stuff, Luka!" He exclaimed, rushing back into his home now. Luka watched him run off with a smile of his own.
After a moment more of deliberation, the purple-haired boy raised his eyes to the sky, the sun now halfway under the horizon. He felt a presence appear at his side as he came back to where he had somewhat carelessly left Angel Halo lying on the ground. He didn't need to look to know that it was Alice.
"Time to go now, I suppose." Luka said, looking at his traveling partner with a bit of uncertainty. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't nervous now. To proclaim that he would take on an entire village of Harpies was one thing, actually doing it was another.
"It is, if you're aiming for the highest chance of success." Alice simply said. He nodded wordlessly at her, beginning to head Eastward for the Harpy's Village. Unknown by either, was the growing collection of women inside the village behind them...
The vibrant yellows and dying reds flared in the evening sky, an otherwise beautiful sight despite the circumstances. The grass and twigs crunched beneath Luka's feet as he trudged on, a silent Alice following close behind. The purple-haired boy's face was somber, a conscious effort to mask the lingering fear he had inside.
Eventually, the two arrived at the Harpy's Village. Luka saw the housings standing tall in the treetops above, all of them looking to be devoid of Harpies. 'It looks like what Alice said was true. They must all be inside their nests, sleeping. So this will be my chance to go, while they're unrested and unprepared...' Even still, his heart's throbbing quickened as the gravity of the situation really began to hit him.
This would be, without a doubt, his gravest undertaking thus far.
"Hey, Luka..." The young Hero turned, looking over his shoulder to look at his traveling partner. The dying sun reflected off her white hair jarringly, giving off a glow almost strong enough to hide Alice's encouraging visage as some kindness actually came into her tone. "...Make sure to come back, okay? Losing here wouldn't be very Heroic." Her comment actually gained a smirk from Luka, a bit of confidence growing inside of him.
"Yeah, I can do that." He turned back forward, steeling his pale blue eyes in preparation for his little infiltration scheme. He tip-toed forward, looking throughout the village with a critical eye.
From what Alice said, the leader will be at the very top.
Luka grimaced, taking note of the fact that there were multiple trees with wooden housing in them, the largest of them being the one in the middle that towered over all the rest. 'Dang, that has to be at least twenty or thirty meters tall! How the heck am I supposed to get up there!?' Luka wasn't a novice climber, so getting up the main tree would be impossible for him. However, upon taking a second glance, it seemed as if rope bridges were going between the tops of each of the trees.
'I can't say I like the idea very much, but I could at least use those to get from tree to tree. That way I don't have to do much actual climbing.' He quietly dashed across the clearing to the nearest and shortest tree, putting his gloves and boots to good use as he went from branch to branch, precariously lifting himself up the limbs.
It wasn't too difficult a climb, but his limbs felt like they were on fire from the strain. Each shuffle of leaves put him on edge as he imagined any small noise he made waking up the whole tree of Monsters. Despite this, he diligently continued on his climb, eventually being able to pull himself up to the wooden balcony each treehouse had.
Luka kept still for a movement - listening for any sounds of stirring Harpies - before taking slow and easy steps along the wooden pathway. He peered into the hut's window as he passed, discovering something a bit surprising.
The dying rays of the sun showed that there was, in fact, nobody inside the small house. In the corner, there were vacant beds, and along the ground were scattered items that seemed to just be left there as if the occupants were in a hurry. 'Huh, but Alice said they should all be asleep or at least preparing to sleep...'
The thought gave Luka worry, his mind suddenly wondering if perhaps the Harpies somehow knew of his coming and were hiding away to ambush him. Tensely, the purple-haired boy moved away from the window, taking more hesitant steps away from the house and taking a small and slanted walkway up to another Harpy house, one that was a little bit higher up the tree. This house, too, was vacant.
In fact, upon checking all of the houses on his way up, he found that all of them were devoid of Harpies.
'What's going on!?' Luka thought, panicking a bit as he found every hut on that tree completely empty. 'Okay, okay. Calm down, Luka. Maybe these ones are just late to coming back to their houses for the night? If that's the case, then I should just move on before any of them come back and find me here.'
The young Hero moved on, coming the topmost house of the tree. Like the others, it was empty as well. On its balcony, however, was one of narrow wooden ladder bridges he had spied from the ground. It went from the tree he was on currently, to one about a dozen meters away, connecting at its topmost hut.
'It looks a bit rickety, but it'll have to do. Just don't swing too much.' He took a cautious step forward, holding onto the ropes that ran along either side of the precarious walkway. 'Just don't look down, and you should be fine, Luka. Nice and easy now.' He thought, forcefully keeping his gaze facing forward. After about a minute's worth of walking, he was almost to the other tree. Some of the lower housings were right beneath him as he neared the end of the bridge, only a handful of steps away now.
Then, disaster struck.
"Ugh!"
Luka yelped as his right foot suddenly fell through one of the boards, causing a third of his body to fall through the hole! His hands desperately held on to the ropes as he struggled to - as silently as he could - not panic and fall through the bridge. The young Hero's left leg was hung up awkwardly, still up over the boards as his right kicked around underneath the boards. His breathing became quick hisses, his face turning red as he fought to pull himself up.
Suddenly, more boards broke under his other leg.
Luka fought the urge to yell out frantically as he now dangled from the ropes. His fingers started to hurt from the strain, his grip loosening from his weight. His pale-blue eyes looked down below, seeing one of the Harpy houses a couple of meters below. Luka huffed and puffed as a questionable plan of action came to mind: If he couldn't pull himself up, he'd have to let himself down.
Luka eyed the hut one more time, hoping that this idea only seemed as stupid as it looked. He swung as far as he could towards the roof and then let go.
The sound of wind whirling invaded his ears, adding to the already egregious assault that was the sensation of all his organs lifting in his body as he plummeted the short distance between the bridge and the roof of the Harpy house. Luka landed feet first onto the thatch roofing, immediately plunging through the roof.
"WAH!" He yelped as he fell into the hut.
"RAH!" An oddly familiar voice yelled out, taken aback at his sudden interruption.
The purple-haired boy landed roughly on his stomach, his thud on the wooden floor resounding out with spectacular fanfare as yellow straw from the now-compromised roof fell down on top of him. That, and a large cloud of debris, fell around him, surrounding the boy. Luka groaned and coughed, clutching his stomach as the Harpy occupying the nearby bed yelled at him.
"Hey! What the Hell is your... prob...lem?" Her anger subsided halfway through as the boy and the Harpy locked eyes, recognizing each other as the dust settled. The Harpy living in this hut just so happened to be Reina, the Harpy he had driven away from Happiness Village just hours beforehand.
Luka froze up, unsure of how to approach this now precarious situation. Worryingly, the Harpy's face went from confused to mischievous as she recognized the boy. "Oh, wow. If you were this eager to take up my offer, you should've just came with me when I left!" She gave a wide smirk, rising from her bed in delight at the sight of the boy.
The purple-haired Hero's face reddened as he noticed very quickly that the Harpy was not wearing any clothes. "W-W-Why are you naked!?" Luka asked hurriedly as he got up off the floor. Reina strutted forward, her taloned feet clacking against the wood. The Monster tilted her head, "You drop through my roof, and then start questioning my lifestyle?"
Luka shook his head, turning towards one of the windows to see that the sky was beginning to darken more. Trying to get to the Harpy's leader would only get more difficult the darker it got. He needed to get himself out of here, and quick. " I-It w-wasn't part of my plan, alright? L-Look, I'm sorry about your r-roof but I can't stick around right now, I need to g-get going!" He made to move for the thin wooden door of the shack, but Reina swiftly cut him off at the exit.
"Not so fast!" Reina exclaimed, holding out her one uninjured wing in front of the door. "You leave now, and I'll let everybody know you're here!"
Luka flinched, tensing up at the threat. He eyed her warily, his mind racing. 'If she wakes up the whole place, I'm going to have a lot more difficulties here.' He thought, not liking where this was going. 'I could just fight her, but...' He eyed the scaring on her cheek and the white bandages on her right wing, which was folded inward. '...Fighting an essentially handicapped opponent just doesn't really sound very Heroic.'
The young Hero bit his lip, hoping that he could find a way to calm the situation without having to fight Reina.
"O-Okay, I'm not wanting any trouble, I just need to find your leader." Luka said, holding his hands out towards the Harpy. She looked at him dubiously, "You're after the Queen?" The purple-haired boy nodded, hoping that simply explaining why he was there would help get him out of the Monster's home quicker.
"Yes, I'm just here to have an audience with her. That's all." He said, looking at Reina with a hopeful gaze. "I don't mean any harm; I just want to talk to her. I promise." Her bright blue eyes scrutinized him for a moment, looking for any hints of deception in him as she did. The Harpy wasn't sure of his intentions, but his pale-blue eyes were nothing but genuine.
"Alright... I believe you..." She started, slowly lowering her wing. Luka gave a nod and a smile, "Th-Thank you, I really appreciate-" However, when he made for the door, the Harpy moved to block off the door.
"Wait just a second, cutie..." Reina said, her bright blue eyes meeting his pale ones with a flirtatious light as a devious idea came to her mind. "...You can't go just yet; you still need to make up for falling through my roof."
Luka's smile diminished into a nervous look as she approached, a significant sway in her hips as she neared. "...I think a round or two should make up for that, don't you think?~"
Luka backed up some, not having to guess as to what she meant. "I-I d-don't think that's a good idea, no." He stuttered out.
Reina shrugged her shoulders, her wild purple-pink hair - and some other things - bouncing with the movement as she backed up to the door. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to let all the others know that a cute little Hero-boy is here then..." Luka frowned, effectively caught like a fish on a hook now as a sinking feeling grew in his stomach.
Reina grew a bit concerned as she peered at the sword on his back, knowing that she was pressing her luck some by trying to entice the boy. But, like most Monsters, she wasn't going to back down unless the situation actually turned dangerous for her. So, the Harpy sauntered away from the door, keeping a watchful eye on Luka as she walked with purpose back to her bed.
Luka watched her do so anxiously, feeling as though an invisible noose was being tightened around his neck. "I-I'm guessing y-you wouldn't be fine with an IOU?" He asked hopefully, but the Harpy's half-lidded gaze didn't give him any feeling that his suggestion would work. She giggled while shaking her head. "Nuh-uh, can't wait for you later when I need you now." He flinched, the phrasing being as subtle as a brick.
Luka watched as Reina sat back into the plain-looking bed, leaning back on her one good wing as she scooted into position. To his dismay, the Harpy spread her legs, revealing a pink ripple of quivering flesh amidst her light brown coat of feathers. She gave a lustful smirk, putting the boy on the spot. "So what'll it be, Hero? Give me what I need, or I give you up to the whole village?"
Luka's face blanked, his thoughts running a mile a minute. Very suddenly, it was getting difficult for him to breathe right. He couldn't do this. It would be a violation of Ilias's first and arguably most important Commandment:
Thou Shalt Not Have Intercourse With Monsters
If he, the very Prophet of Ilias herself did such a thing, it would be the ultimate insult to the Goddess! It was unthinkable, impossible! But if he didn't, Reina would alert the entire Harpy Village to his presence, and then he'd really be in trouble.
But what then, should he do?
Luka thought about using Angel Halo again, but the idea still didn't sit well with him since Reina isn't currently committing any bad deeds, other than trying to metaphorically twist his arm. Even if Angel Halo wouldn't kill her, it would still be an unjustified act of violence against a vulnerable, handicapped opponent. A handicap that he inadvertently gave her in the first place. Reina wouldn't even be able to fly away if he attacked her.
Luka bounced from foot to foot, trying in vain to calm his nerves. His moral code wouldn't allow him to fight her, but he couldn't have intercourse with the Harpy either. He was effectively stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unless he was able to find some wriggle room between the two...
...The young Hero stopped moving as an idea came to him.
It wasn't an ideal alternative, but if he could get away with doing something that wasn't technically intercourse then at the very least, a part of both his honor and his innocence could be preserved. Luka gave a long sigh that made his whole body tremble and then took a couple of steps forward to Reina, the Harpy's blue eyes lighting up in excitement as he did.
"Oh, I knew you'd change your mind! Hurry, I've been aching for something like this for weeks-" The purple-haired boy raised a hand, causing her to look at him with a tilted eyebrow.
Luka opened up his mouth slowly, his throat feeling very suddenly feeling as dry as the desert. It took him a moment to find his voice, his brain fumbling to find the right way to phrase his proposition. It felt as if someone was clutching his heart as the words fought to leave his mouth. "H-How a-a-about..." Luka started, his pale-blue eyes looking out the window again, some light from the sun still in the sky.
Now or never.
"...How about we... meet in the middle?"
I had debated trying to make this one big chapter, but from how long this is now, I figured making this the first two-part chapter would just be easier. A lot more canon-divergence is about to begin, as I'm making Luka's undertaking here in the Harpy Village just a bit lengthier. That, and a just a sprinkle of zest to come next.
It was inevitable, given what the source material is.
Nighthunter531: Well, we'll see, she may pop up again in the future...
espioll: Maybe Hostile is a bit harsh, true. Though that's why entries are subject to change, depending on how things play out if Luka encounters any certain Monster a second time. Because not every entry is set in stone. For instance, expect Alice's to be updated fairly frequently as the story plays out.
Also, not necessarily all Monsters will be that lustful as Honey. It will vary from Monster to Monster and Angel to Angel.