Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Ah thanks, I think." Locke coughed to clear his throat and get rid of the uncertainty in his voice. "This is Marla, and I don't think she'll be very controlling. We met her on the way to the city and she seemed happy to be a part of my ranch. Oh this is my friend Celes, she's going to be my assistant."

"I hope to be a rancher too, eventually," Celes added. "Until then, I get the feeling Locke here is going to need all the help he can get."

"Thanks for the boost of confidence, Celes."

"No problem, bestie."

"So what's the next step, Miss Venice?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"I'm here to answer any and all questions you may possibly have over the course of the week in which I'll be helping you learn how to start your Ranching career. Let's be off to your Ranch, and on the way, you may ask me anything you like." Venice replied.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

As the foursome traveled to the Ranch, Locke and Celes covered the basics of Mamono care and culture.

"What sort of infrastructure support is there for Mamono Ranchers? How do many of them make money off of civilizing wild mamono?"

"How is Locke going to be able to keep horny mamono from jumping all over him? Do new ranchers get a jumbo sized taser?"

"Can a 'low tier' mamono be trained up to compete against the higher ranked species? And if they compete, are all the competitions necessarily violent? I don't want my mamono getting hurt."

"What are the pitfalls that most ranchers run into? Are there specific dangers for female ranchers?"

"Or male ones?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Ranchers often find creative ways to make their lot in life. Some Ranchers even assist higher ranking Ranchers with their daily troubles for fair sums of money. I'm sure Ranchers such as Melpha, Claire, and Iris can help you with any need to find a job, though beware of Melpha, she often employs female Ranchers to 'lend' themselves to her... Mixed gender mamono."

"Such is the peril of being a male Rancher. There are no males who've made it past Rank C, as they usually end up married by that point. You will have to find your own way, I'm afraid."

"There are some cases where weaker Mamono can fight stronger ones, but in too many cases to count, stronger mamono are simply better built for combat than others, like Jade, my dragon partner. And don't worry about injuries, if your mamono does get injured, we have the best Dark Priests from Pandora and the most skilled Sea Bishops from Atlantis to cure any wound, though no one has ever died in the arena thanks to powerful mamono making sure the fight ends before one can be hurt."

"Female Ranchers... Beware of becoming a mamono yourself. And for males... Beware of mamono. Period."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"What exactly does it mean to be a partner with a mamono?" asked Celes, who'd been confused by the term ever since false claiming to be Marla's earlier that day.

Along with the answer to that question the two would be ranchers and their mamono arrived at their ranch finally. It wasn't in the best of shape, but with a little tender love and care, it would likely be a wonderful place to live and train their mamono.

"So, Marla, when you're healed up, what sort of training activities would you like to try?"

"And to be clear, he means from this list of authorized training regimens... not what you were thinking," Celes added.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Venice chuckled, "Exactly what you make of it. We use the term partner because pet and slave weren't taken kindly during the first days of Ranching. For your own meaning, search it out, and naturally bond with your mamono." she said, while Marla began to rub Locke's crotch with her wing. "Not while I'm here." Venice added.

When the topic came up, Marla approached Locke, "Well~ Cowgirl would be-" she said before Celes interrupted her, and Marla turned on Celes with an angry pouty face.

"Each week you may book a schedule in our training program with a mamono of your choice. If you choose not to do that, then you may instead spend some time bonding with your mamono instead."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"I think we can do a little of both. Say, you said we had access to some healers, right? Could we have one take a look at Marla's wing. I don't want my harpy grounded right out of the gate."

"That's true. She was attacked by some thugs out on the road while she was minding her own business. Why do people hit wild mamono?"

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Venice sighed, "I'm sure they wanted to capture her," she said, before glancing to Marla, and narrowing her eyes slightly at her. "... Interesting..." she said, before nodding at Locke, "Yes, I'll send for a Priest. Keep in mind that the training program is very strict, you cannot miss a day of the week, when other people could be training in your missing spot. I punish absent Ranchers severely for this, when they sign up for a week, and don't show up!"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"I understand. I'll not miss my sign-ups unless it's a true emergency." Locke said in response to this. Quickly taking a form out from his pack he scribbled down his first week's schedule and handed it to Venice.

"As soon as she's healed, I'd like to start her out with this. You don't think it's too strenuous, do you?"

Spoiler

Locke's First Week Schedule

Mamono Training with: Marla
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Domino
Tuesday: Dodge
Wednesday: Run
Thursday: Shoot
Friday: Dodge
Saturday: Rest

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"It'll do fine. Come next week, we'll put that training to the test and we'll see how you handle yourselves in battle." Venice said, before departing for the week, and leaving them to their training.

Monday:

Marla charged at the line of dominoes, and delivered a firm kick to the base of the one in front, and watched them collapse one after another, until the last one of the dozen of the stone blocks fell over.

"Yeah!" Marla cheered!

+3 Power

Tuesday:

The fairies gather together, wearing black dresses. "Ready!!! Charge!" the one in front announces, before they fly at Marla. Marla dodges each one, bapping each one on the back. In a flash, they had all flown by, and were collapsed behind her.

"Huhuhu~" Marla chuckled confidently.

Marla performed excellently! +9 Speed!

Wednesday:

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

+3 Life

Thursday:

Cardboard rubber duckies move round in front of Marla. Gathering rocks in her talons, she flips, throwing rocks at the targets, she got nearly all of them.

"So close..." Marla shrugged.

+4 Skill

Friday:

"Revenge! Hooo!" cried the lead fairy, as another brigade charged at Marla. She dodged skillfully, until the last one slammed and glomped against Marla's face. "Gotcha!" she announced as Marla flapped her wings erratically.

+3 Speed

Results:
Mamono Level: 214 (+7)
Life: 102 (+3)
Power: 108 (+3)
Intelligence: 102
Defense: 74
Skill: 140 (+4)
Speed: 123 (+12)

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Great job, Marla," Locke said as he mopped her brow with a striped towel and then held up a juice box with a straw already poked inside it for Marla to drink from. "All in all a very productive week, and despite that one last fairy, I'm really blown away by your dodging ability. You're really fast! As a reward for your hard work, I thought we'd have some fun this weekend. Celes is going to be taking care of the Ranch while you and I head into Venice City to take in the sites on Saturday. And then on Sunday I'll be making the finishing touches on your new roost!"

He smiled winningly at her.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

As Locke got near, she stole her reward as she leaned forward, and quickly kissed him deep on the lips and pulled herself away before he could do anything about it. "So it's a date!" she announced with a giggle. And as for their dating locations...

There was the park. It's filled with a large assortment of beautiful trees and plants with a very serene environment. Locke's travel guide says that this is Rank A Iris' favorite location. Based on her picture, she seemed to be a kitsune.

There's a hotsprings location to the north where many go to bathe. Given it's popular location, the guide suggests going there to meet all kinds of new people, as it's frequented by just about everyone. You never know who you might meet. However, Melpha, Rank A and a half-angel, seems to be a frequent visitor.

A theme park was located in the eastern section of the city, and one of the main pictures was of Crystal Claire, Rank A, happily enjoying the festivities. She's likely to be found there if Locke were so inclined to meet her.

The last location seemed a bit lackluster, but there was a grand library in the far east, in a more quiet location of the town, and the guide said that Venice herself often frequents the area to continue her diligent studies.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Hey wow, a theme park! Wanna go there, Marla?" Locke grinned, looking at the travel guide. "Harpies can eat junk food right? And I don't imagine someone like you would get all sick from doing loops on roller coasters -- you fly every day after all."

He didn't really mind it being called a date. Celes, Venice, and everyone else had warned him just how friendly mamono could be to human men, and certainly Marla hadn't been any different from the expectations, but he let most of the innuendo slide off him like water off a duck.

When they got to the theme park, Locke was eager to go on the rides, but he deferred to Marla if there were some booths or galleries that she wanted to visit - it was after all her reward day for a solid effort.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Marla made a pouting face as Locke really did seem to let her advances slide off of him. "Hey... Am I not attractive, Locke? Don't you like me kissing and touching you?" she asked legitimately sounding worried.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Hey, don't take it like that, Marla. You're attractive, skillful, and yeah, you're a great kisser. But I don't want to disappoint myself or my family by not becoming a truly great rancher. And all the experts, all the female pro ranchers that you don't like, they all think that I can't do it, that I'll be forced into a marriage by a pretty mamono like you before I can even get beyond C level. I just... I can't allow myself to settle down before I achieve that one goal. So I do want to have fun with you, sure, but I need to be professional."

He shook his head, then smiled. "But hey, I'm not a complete prude. As long as we're clear about what we both want, I'm not opposed to more kissing and... other things."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Marla immediately clung to Locke the moment he said he wasn't opposed to such things, "Well~ You know how all dates end, right? He-he-he~" she giggled intentfully as they made their way towards the park. Once there, Marla was taken in with the sights of all the machinery and all the glorious lights flashing from all the magic being used to operate it. Trained professionals were near every ride, manipulating the mechanisms with their magic to provide a thrill to everyone at the park.

"Hey, Locke! I want to go on that slingshot ride, and let go so that I fly really fast into the air!" she announced, and to get the park pass in order to do that, Locke would have to fish out 200G...

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Locke dug into his pockets and paid for the slingshot ride. He kept a mental tabulation on his expenses, but seeing the joy in Marla's eyes as she was harnessed up for flight did make him happy.

"Have fun, Marla," he grinned, watching her get set for rapid takeoff.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

Strapped in, Marla's face was red with excitement. The wires were prepared, and then Marla was quickly released with a loud twang as if from a giant bow. Freeing herself, Marla soared extremely fast into the skies as a few passing members of the crowd stopped to laugh in amazement of Marla's speed. Locke saw Marla spinning with grace straight up into the sky, her wings tucked low in a way that truly made her look like an arrow. As she slowed down her ascent into the sky, he saw her flap her wings, before assuming her arrow formation again, and shooting herself down back towards the ground like a bullet, speeding towards the ground before curving upwards at just the right moment, and skidding to a halt right in front of Locke, and throwing her wings around him as she knocked him over, squealing with delight.

"That was so much fun! Ha-ha-ha! Thank you!" she announced happily.

+25 Loyalty.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"Ha! No problem. Oof..." Locke sat up, still hugging Marla. "You were amazing up there, so fast. Everyone's eyes were on you."

Once they were up, Locke brought her around to other attractions at the theme park and generally enjoyed the day together with her. He bought them both some lunch, asking what sorts of food were Marla's favorites and then getting as close to that as he could get for the adventurous harpy.

"Well that was pretty fun, do you want to head back to the ranch or do something else while we're in town?" He asked Marla.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Locke's Ranch (BlueSlime)

"That was certainly a very fun thing to watch, I enjoyed it~" said a sudden voice from behind Locke. The female voice was serene, and gentle, as if a most gentle mother were speaking to him. Turning to her, he'd see the advertised Rancher herself, Crystal Claire, one of the most famous Ranchers, standing before her. "Here~" she announced, as she was holding two sticks of cotton candy as she handed them both to Marla and Locke. The harpy gratefully accepted the treat and began to eat right away, twitching her head as a strand of sticky candy got caught on the white feathers on the side of her head.

"Hello Locke~ I'm Crystal Claire. I enjoy seeing the occasional serious face of a man trying to become a famous Rancher. I'll be rooting for you, okay~?" she giggled.