Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"All right. If you really feel like that, I won't pressure you. That you're safe and back with us is truly enough for me. And I know you're strong - but there's always someone stronger Marla, or if not one person, then many weaker ones who can set a trap and won't play fair. Okay, I'm done lecturing now. I'll get out of your feathers if you want. Just one other question. Are you going to be all right with Raven around? The doctors say she's been through a lot, and she might be a little unstable. That means that Celes and I are going to be trying to cut her some slack for a little bit and she might say or do things that she doesn't mean. Are you okay with all that?"

Locke offered the harpy a gentle squeeze on her shoulder, to comfort her and show that everything was all right between them.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Marla waved her feathers at him in dismissal. "I don't like what happened to her either. I'll try to help out too in any way I can! Don't worry about a thing, Locke! Together, we'll stop this kinda stuff from happening, ever again! You just gotta have faith in me! I'll just keep getting stronger until none of those people can stop me from giving them what's coming to em!" she boasted.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Okay. I guess we'll just have to keep on training you until that's the case. At least you've got an actual one on one fight under your belt now and we can get you set up for an official tournament tomorrow, if it's still what you want," Locke said.

After she had answered, he bid her a good night and went back down to get some sleep on the couch. He entered to find Celes still sitting up besides Raven, humming softly to help the black harpy to sleep.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Marla nodded, "I don't mind fighting, as long as I know what I'm fighting for! And if it's so I can have a better nest, then I shall fight hard!" Marla chuckled, and then, she reached in to wrap her wings around him and drag him into her nest... Only to find herself gripping nothing but air as he was bidding her goodnight.

"Oh... Right... Goodnight... Locke..." she waved back to him, before she kicked her leg at the air. "Damn it... He got away..." she cursed at not being able to get busy with him again.

(After the fight, Marla seems to have gotten a little stronger!)

Results:
Mamono Level: 217 (+3)
Life: 102
Power: 108
Intelligence: 105 (+3)
Defense: 76 (+2)
Skill: 144 (+4)
Speed: 123

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

The next day, Locke was up at the break of dawn, setting the ranch in order before getting Marla up for their journey into the city. Celes had volunteered to be on full time Raven rehabilitation duty, seemingly eager to be in charge of something as important as the mamono's healthy recovery. Locke trusted her and told her to run to get Fio's help if anything bad happened.

Meanwhile he asked Marla if she felt up to flying a little ways with him. His goal was to get her booked for a tournament today.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Raven was silent, and unresponsive mostly. The most she ever responded was with a "Yes," or "No" to anything they may have said to her. And Fio herself was more than happy to be of aid. "I will have Hunter listen for any cry of help." Fio replied, introducing her Mantis, a rather deadly looking mamono with sharp blades on her arms.

Making his way back to town with Marla, who was happy to walk with him even to the location, Venice did not greet him with a smile as she did before. "Locke... I would like to have a word with you," she said immediately, before moving right on. "I got reports of badly wounded Magi soldiers along the road. Coincidentally, they found a red feather at the scene. That is not enough proof to convict you or your partner of any crime, but what happened there was a brutal scene, and violation of the taboo mamono have set into their chemistry. Again, I'm not blaming anything on you," she said, before quickly doing paperwork, and pushing him a pass for the tournament next week.

"... But whatever mamono did that, your's or not, is suspect to be an old type, a monster that is similar to the way monsters used to be before the succubus transformation... I would advise you to be extremely careful." Venice said strictly.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Locke nodded and took the description into consideration. "I understand, but I can honestly tell you that I never ordered my mamono to do any harm to those magi, nor did I see her do anything of the sort. As for the Magi, I don't know if they were the same ones we ran into out there on the roads, but those people need to be held accountable for what they did."

Locke related the details of Raven and her mind-tampering, and the condition she was now in back at Locke's ranch.

"As far as I'm concerned, anyone who does that sort of thing to a mamono and then unleashes her on innocent travelers - they deserve to be taught a lesson. Some things that humans do, it's worse than any monster attack."

Locke took the tournament pass in his hand. "So, with this, we'll be in the tournament next week. Does that mean I can have Marla train this week, then rest over the weekend, and be ready for the contest?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Venice nodded, "The Magi are constantly under investigation for suspicious activity... This is honestly same thing, different day at this point, and politically, any action we could take now would be an act of war. But thank you for letting me know Alexis was in the area. I'll increase my guard patrols to ensure she's kept under my watchful eye." Venice assured Locke.

Marla was silent through the conversation, not giving off any expression asides from her neutral one, letting the two talk with each other.

"I trust you with taking care of Raven," Venice announced. "And yes, you should spend your time preparing Marla for her tournament. As well, you've yet to order food for the week. I hope you don't intend to starve your mamono..." Venice said, before giggling. "I'm joking. Just make sure you do it, or else they really will starve."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Time's been going by quite quickly, and the delivery man didn't stop by to take our order. Or do we need to come into town to order?"

In any case, Locke made sure to get that sorted, buying enough food to last for the week and next week, buying cheaply if that was what was needed. He made sure to be honest with Marla about the financial situation, since he was responsible for feeding two mamono as well as two people. It really was going to be important to start earning an income, and soon.

Briefly, Fio's offer from before rolled around in Locke's head. If it came down to it, he knew he had to provide for the ranch somehow. But he honestly hoped that it didn't come to that. Maybe Marla and he could take up hunting together?

Later on, after the food was purchased, Locke brought Marla in to officially schedule some training for the week.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Venice smiled, "In truth, you could stand outside of your Ranch and shout what you want. I will hear you... Mostly because I have every Ranch under surveillance to ensure that no one is attempting to disrupt the order with which I've worked so hard to establish. You wouldn't believe how much the Black Sabbath gets up to despite the demon invasion being long over with." Venice shrugged. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow demons to participate... But that's not the kind of example I want to set for everyone to follow."

"So, what'll it be?" she asks, bringing up the short list of food available to all Ranchers, and reminding Locke that he has his own little pamphlet detailing his schedule and what appointments to make.

Potato 10
Some monsters like it, but it's not very popular.
Milk 50
Intended for smaller monsters, it tastes very good, but is not very filling.
Fish 100
Main source of food for most monsters.
Cup Jelly 150
High in nutrition, and taste. Great for busy monsters to keep them happy, and comes in a variety of flavors for all tastes.
Meat 300
High quality, delicious meat. Monsters higher up in the food chain prefer this on frequent intervals.
Golden Apple 500
Food provided by the most powerful tree of magic, said to have grown near the earth spirit gnome herself. Ancient and powerful mamono races often dine on this rare treat.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Okay I'll take two orders of Fish for my two Harpies," Locke said looking over the list provided. "And I'd like to sign Marla up for training this week on the following schedule."

He handed a filled out form to Venice.

Saturday - Rest
Monday - Domino (Power)
Tuesday - Endure (Def)
Wednesday - Run (Life)
Thursday - Endure (Def)
Friday - Dodge (Speed)
Sunday - Rest

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Venice nodded, "I'll have the apporpriate sections prepared for both of you. Be sure to arrive on time for your training." she instructed them. And after that, Marla began her training right away.

Monday:

Marla charged at the line of dominoes, and delivered a firm kick to the base of the one in front, causing a sudden, intense shockwave as they all broke into pieces!

"POW! Ha-ha!" Marla laughed.

Marla perform excellently! +9 Power!

Tuesday:

Marla stood in the stream, looking down at the calm waters. "What's so challenging about standing in still moving water?" she asked aloud, before Locke and Marla heard a loud rumble, and saw a large tsunami heading straight for Marla. "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOS-!?" Marla's exclaimation was cut off as the tsunami blasted against her powerfully. Marla endured for a few seconds, but the force was simply too much, and she was swept away.

Later, Marla crawled out of the water, soaking wet as she waved her wet wing. "I'm okay!"

+2 Defense!

Wednesday:

Marla flapped her wings fast, chasing a timid cockatrice for a fair amount of time before she collapsed. "It's impossible..." Marla whined.

+3 Life!

Thursday:

"I hate this training so much..." Marla groaned as the familiar rumbling began, and the powerful and relentless tsunami came crashing towards her. Once again, it crashed into her, and blew her away.

Marla crawled out of the water, her entire front red from the impact. "I'm still sore from last time!" she whined.

+2 Defense!

Friday:

The fairies gather together, wearing black dresses. "Ready!!! Charge!" the one in front announces, before they fly at Marla. Marla dodges a great many of them, but doesn't come out unscathed. "Damn fairies still have it in for me for hitting them..." Marla whined.

+3 Speed!

Results:
Mamono Level: 224 (+7)
Life: 105 (+3)
Power: 117 (+9)
Intelligence: 105
Defense: 80 (+4)
Skill: 144
Speed: 126 (+3)

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Throughout the training week, Locke sat beside Marla and was there to hand her a drink and a towel for drying off, as well as lending a kind word or two. He was really happy for her when her Monday performance showed a definite improvement in her power. When the tidal wave came, he massaged her shoulders afterward and assured her that Venice had probably had it on an advanced setting, but he was certain that she was steadily improving despite this. Whatever occurred, he was sure to put a positive spin on it for her benefit.

Back at the ranch, Celes was making a concerted effort to ease Raven into a natural daily routine. She fed Raven fish, attempted normal conversations, encouraged her to get up and move about if she was well enough to. She cleaned Raven's wounds and put on fresh bandages, and confidently said that Raven would be on her talons in no time and would soon be flying again as well. Though she didn't exactly want to, she tried to limit herself from too much doting, since the doctor had said Raven would need to learn independence.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

In just a few days during Marla's training, Raven displayed great recovery, able to walk around on the first day and looking just like new upon the third day, as if nothing even happened. But so long as Celes tried to make small talk with her, the black harpy was unresponsive. Eating food, and only offering a simple "Yes," upon being asked to move around, she seemed truly the opposite of the social, and energetic Marla; which the harpy herself took note of.

"Man, that's depressing..." Marla sighed as she sat on the grass, watching Celes and Raven from afar. "At least she isn't crying anymore." she shrugged, drinking some of the water Locke gave her, holding the glass in her talon, which pretty much was the equivalent of her hand. At least she wasn't using her feet.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"What's depressing? The fact that she doesn't speak or the fact that Celes keeps trying to form a bond with her? What do you know of Black Harpies, Marla? Are they truly emotionless?" Locke said to his much more sociable, feathered companion.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Marla looks over to Locke, blinking, "Black Harpies aren't known for being nice, but they're not known for being silent either. Just seems to me that she still hasn't gotten over what happened, so... It's kinda sad to watch her." she shrugged.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Locke nodded. "Ah... I see. Well, I promised Celes that she could look after Raven, so I'll leave it to her. Meanwhile, what would you like to do this weekend? It's your last two days to rest and relax before your tournament, right?"

Across the yard, Celes came up to Raven carrying a bunch of wooden planks.

"Hiya, Raven. Are you feeling better today?" She paused, waiting for a response if any before continuing. "I'm gonna go along the border of the ranch and replace any broken fencing with fresh planks. I could use a little help. Would you please grab some of these planks and then fly alongside me while we go along? It'd make my task a whole lot easier." She smiled brightly, hoping Raven would agree to help.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Marla giggled, setting the water down now that it was empty, before suddenly, but lightly, pushing herself onto Locke. "Well~ Since you asked, I would like to have my way with you again~" she cooed, pressing her average sized breasts against him.

Meanwhile, Raven watched Celes draw near with a neutral expression on her face. "I am no longer injured." Raven replied to her question flatly. And then to her request, Raven nodded and said, "I will comply," before moving to assist Celes.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Thanks! I do appreciate it, Raven." Celes said as she halved her current load and let the black harpy clutch it in her talons and fly beside her. "So, now that you're not injured, I was thinking that while Locke is busy with Marla's tournament training, you and I could see about getting you a hobby to help with your rehabilitation, and maybe earn some extra cash for the ranch in the meantime. Plus, you're gonna need your own roost here if you'll be staying with us. Please, tell me what sort of dwelling you'd like to have, and what sort of activities you enjoy -- or at least, what jobs you believe you are optimally suited for."

Celes thought that maybe phrasing questions in a way devoid of emotion might help to coax a more thorough answer from Raven.

***

"Eh heh... well, you've had another good week of training, and you tried really hard, so I guess as your trainer, it's my responsibility to reward you," Locke couldn't keep a bashful grin off his face. "But uh, where exactly did you have in mind for us to, ah, get close?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Raven was silent until she was sure Celes was done talking. "My purpose is for combat and reconnaissance. I was created with nothing else in mind..." Raven trailed off at the last part, her eyes glancing to Locke and Marla in the distance, before looking back to the path ahead. "I will sleep wherever I am able, and operate on limited to no sleep at all if it is required of me." she added.

***

"Does it matter?" Marla asked, pushing herself onto Locke as she dexterously rose one of her legs, and pulled on the waistline of his pants, trying to encourage him to expose himself. "I can feel mating season coming on~ I'm only gonna get more excited during the next month or so~"