The Deciever and the Black Feathered Weaver (Azure;Copper)

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

The harpy went deep red in the face as Azure suggested such lewd play. Squirming even more as Azure tugged on her limited clothing, she gritted her teeth, glancing up at Azure. "I-I can use my voice t-to get you... What I stole from you!" she offered, before giving an uncomfortable motion, a struggle that continued to please Azure's snake half. "Don't get me wrong, you're not ugly or anything, but... I don't feel like becoming some smelly snake's toy right now!" she announced.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

That gets a pause out of the lamia, but maybe not for the reason that the harpy might have been hoping. The coils around her tighten just a little bit and not in the same manner that they had been. "I'd be careful with the insults, little bird. You're really in no position to be making them." Reptilian nature aside, there's a slight hiss in Azure's words. She does, though, pause, her head cocking to the side slightly. "You're willing to steal the slaves back from the dark elves? Won't they know it's you?" She seems intrigued by the idea, but at the same time, she's poking holes in the logic, possibly out of concern or maybe it's just because she doesn't think the harpy can do it. Still, the notion of swiping something from the dark elves seems a bit intriguing.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

The harpy let out a wheeze as Azure squeezed her a little tighter. "Sorry...!" she whined, before nodding excessively to Azure. "Yes-yes-yes-yes! Those elves were primitive! That's why they wanted my help! They lost their numbers in a struggle, and only ended up with treasures they considered useless. They wanted men and women, and I wanted their treasure, it was a simple trade! And they did it because they lacked the numbers and power to do it themselves! Winning them over with song would be easy... If someone else could do the other work while I focused on singing..." she suggested, the 'someone else' clearly indicated towards Azure.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Azure lets out a little snort as the harpy apologizes, but she at least relaxes her hold from the grip that it had been. She seems to be weighing the harpy's words. It was doubtful the bird-woman would have dealt with the dark elves if she felt threatened by them, but then again, she seemed pretty confident in her voice, so she might have been relying on that to protect her.

"I suppose it all depends," she told the harpy, "on whether or not they have more 'useless trinkets' left in addition to those slaves." She wasn't feeling particularly greedy, mind you, but keeping all the slaves just wasn't going to be possible, so better to have something to fall back on with a little more tangibility. "And if they do, then we probably shouldn't let them continue to get too far away, now, shouldn't we?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"They offered more money, but I turned them down... Wait!" the harpy exclaimed. "What do you plan to do with me wrapped up like this, throw me at them!?"

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"Yes, wouldn't want to cart along so much cash that you attract thieves now, right?" Azure says with a bit of a chuckle. "Well, I suppose I can't just let you go without some guarantee you aren't going to run off of me before we can seal the deal, here, and I certainly can't keep you coiled up like that the whole way." She seems thoughtful for a moment. "Half," she states. "As collateral. You help me one-up those poachers and I'll make sure you're on your way with every last bit." She pauses. "And while throwing you at them would certainly be a distraction, it wouldn't be all that effective for very long. You said you were going to distract them while someone saw about liberating them of their ill-gotten goods?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"HALF!? GO TO H-!" the siren exclaimed, before Azure stated she'd get the rest back. "... Fine. Take half, and give me my money back afterwards." the siren agreed.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"You are such a loud little thing." Azure rubs her ear as the harpy shrieks in it. "Yes, yes, collateral means you get it back. Calm down." She lets out a bit of a sigh and uncoils herself enough to give the harpy a little bit of movement. She's not completely loose, though, and it seems she's not going to be until she forks over said insurance.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Uncoiled enough, the harpy moved to grab her bag, which was rather large with the coins it was filled with, before pouring out half of the contents onto the ground, forming a sizable pile of gold on the ground. "There, that's half." the siren announced, before flapping her wings at Azure. "Let's hurry up already! I hate snakes!"

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

To save time, Azure didn't bother arguing with the other woman, simply scooping up the dumped coins and depositing them in a satchel she tended to wear when roaming about. Keeping those words in mind, she slid after the harpy as they backtracked in the direction of where she'd seen them meeting before. She wasn't entirely certain the harpy wouldn't try and abandon her, but she hoped having half of the other woman's assets in her possession might make her think twice before trying to hand her over to the dark elves. For now, she'd go along, but she was sure to keep an eye on the harpy, not wanting this double-cross to turn into a triple.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Leading the way, the siren looked back at Azure as they walked. "We could go faster if you weren't holding me with your tail. I could fly up and spot them, and catch them before they make it back to their camp." she suggested, but such an action may bring Azure's worry to light, and allow the Siren more room to betray her.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"And there's a chance they might spot you and think you're doubling back to pull a fast one. You want to take that risk?" As they moved along, though, she was trying to figure out a way to keep the harpy within reach and speed them up. Short of tethering the two of them together, which, she was a little short on rope anyway, she was coming up blank at the moment.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"I visited their camp before!" the siren flapped her wings at Azure. "Annoying... Damn annoying snake!" the siren cursed, gritting her teeth. And as Azure was drawing blanks, while their progress was slow, it was only logical that they'd never catch up before the dark elves actually came to a stop. They're gonna kill me if they find out I brought a troublesome snake like you... she grumbled, "I finally made it rich, and then what else but an ugly snake..." she growled, "Was gonna find a nice boy, live in a big mansion, the dream... Might as well marry the snake now..." and she complained.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"They'll hear us long before they see us if you keep up that grousing," Azure pointed out. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, the harpy was right. They would make better time if they were separate. The notion of giving the elves time to set up camp and post guards didn't exactly appeal to her. Better to try and catch them while they were still on the road.

Heaving a sigh that made her shoulders droop a little, she relaxed her hold on the harpy. "Go see if you can spot them," she told her, flicking a slightly irritated look over her shoulder. She wasn't going to make any comments to the harpy about not wanting her for a mate, if nothing else for the lip. Best not to antagonize her any more than was necessary, at least for now.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Flapping her wings, she made perhaps a surprising gesture, and handed her bag of money over to Azure. "Hold this." she instructed her, before flapping her wings faster, and lifting up into the sky with good speed, revealing a rather athletic side to the harpy. Looking around, she quickly soared down, closer to Azure. "They're straight that way!" she announced, pointing with her leg to the north while her wings kept her in the air. She also took care not to speak too loudly, lest she be heard.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Not so surprising, in that she probably was too heavy to fly with the bag, otherwise she wouldn't have been strolling around. Still, that she'd give up her money, it at least showed some trust, at least for the time being.

While the harpy scouted, Azure kept slinking onward, figuring they'd need to make progress regardless. Watching her dive down once again, she slowed, not offering to return the money until asked, since the harpy seemed to want to remain airborne for the time being. As she reported the direction of the elves, the lamia nodded. "About how far?" Best to know how quickly they were going to run into one another. That the harpy was keeping her voice down indicated that perhaps they were close. Not right upon them, but close enough.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

"Uh..." the siren turned back. "About three hundred feet. If we hurry we can catch them within a couple minutes!"

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Azure blinked. That close? No wonder she was keeping her voice down. Giving the harpy a nod, she dropped a little lower to the ground, a means she had of traveling just a little quicker. Hurrying along as best she was able, she kept going until she could possibly pick up on the sounds of the traveling elves herself, not wanting to stumble into their midst before the harpy could provide that distraction she promised.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Dropping down to the ground, the siren snuck along with Azure. With their pace quickened, it wasn't long before they came along the slow moving wagon pulled by several other dark elves holding poles that stuck out from the sides with several humans held captive inside. The dark elves conversed among each other, and the siren seemed to listen closely as they got near...

"What? No more deals with the harpy?" one elf who was pushing the wagon asked.

The one behind her shook her head. "The elder believes she will catch on soon, so we mustn't risk it."

The one in front laughed. "As if the bird brain would realize it's fake gold." she mocked the siren.

That comment alone made the siren by Azure become absolutely enraged, her feathers ruffling angrily, she looked ready to jump out and attack them viciously.

 

[Copper]

Re: Competition (Azure)

Holding up a hand, Azure did her best to keep the harpy from rushing at the elves. It wouldn't do to blow the plan, even if they didn't have much of one. Sliding around in front of the winged woman, Azure kept her hands up. "Hey, at least you found out now before you spent it and got in trouble, right? Let's just do them one better and leave them with nothing and no means to make it back up. Go do your thing and I'll see if I can't get the back of that wagon open, okay?"