User blog:Redknight910/WWYD Harpy Billythehillbilly

Prompt:A foot in the Door

In my time here I've come to enjoy the people here. Not only do the human's and monsters live happily together, I've barely witnessed a single rape since my arrival, and almost everyone has been friendly.

I... I can't just betray the Order though. If I did that, the men on those ships would be doomed, just as much as this town is if I let them approach. I need to find a way to keep the ships away, while still not giving away my position in the town.

"Hey, watcha got there?" A harpy plucks the letter from my hands, before I can utter a word she's started to read it. When her eyes go wide I know it's too late.

"Th-this is just a joke, right?" She looks at me, and I give a nod.

"Yeah, has to be right? Found it on my doorstep. Like any kind of idiot would put something like this on a guys front porch, right?" She looks between me and the letter a few times, before slowly handing it over.

"Yeah, yeah, right!" She perks up and I breathe a sigh of relief. "Heh, whoever wrote it's got one hell of an eye for detail though. The seal looks just like the real thing." I give her a questioning look, and she ducks her head. "Oops, I'm not meant to mention that.

"What? You're not spying on the Order, are you?" She gives me this big grin. I know it from a year of watching her closely. She's confirming that she is. The small, fragile harpy I've been living next to was a spy this whole time?

"I mean, not anymore. I retired from that a few years ago, but I still remember the look of the Order's seal." She's still smiling, if she suspects anything she's not letting me know.

"Well, I should get back to it then. Lot of holes need patching after last night's storm." I pick up the few tools sitting nearby and place them into my cart.

"Yeah, have a good one Danny." I nod, and grab the handles of the small cart. "Oh, and could you do me a favour?" I turn, looking back at her, and she's got a nervous face.

"Sure, Arie, what's wrong?" She gives me probably the most serious look I've ever seen on her usually carefree face.

"Make the right choice? I'd to see anything happen to you out there." I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid, looking too deeply into things, or just plain having a mental breakdown, but I don't think she's talking about the repair work I do around town. Unfortunately she takes off before I can ask anything.

I get to my current worksite, a shop that got partially torn open by a falling tree branch. I greet the others working with me, mostly men with a few of the stronger monsters helping with the sturdier beams.

"So... saw you chatting with Ariette earlier." One of the other workers said. "Got anything you want to talk about there? She looked pretty upset. You didn't get a note from a girlfriend or something, did you?" I give him a sceptical look.

"You make it sound like I'm dating her." He laughs, shaking his head.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Man, you still can't read a mamono, huh? She was worried about you, that's the first easy tell of a girl liking you." Well, guess I should have seen that coming.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Can't say I've ever really thought about taking a monster as a bride, honestly. Just prefer more vanilla girls myself I guess." The guy gave me a suspicious look.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Well, to each their own, I guess. I wouldn't mind a cute little harpy on my shoulder though. Not that the girls we have here aren't easy on the eyes." I laugh as he gives the minotaur a wink, getting a very flirty grin back.

<p style="font-weight:400;">The day goes by smoothly, and on the way home I find myself trying to think of ways to get the ships to turn around. Then it hits me, the storm! If I tell them there's a large storm approaching the town, they'd have no choice but to turn around. The solution was temporary, but it'd give me time to come up with a more long term excuse.

<p style="font-weight:400;">Once I got home I packed away my tools and got to drafting the letter. An hour later and I was tieing it to the messenger bird. I let it go and prayed it would reach the fleet in time to prevent their arrival.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"I hope it works." The sudden sound of a voice behind me forces me to spin in shock, Ariette standing behind me with a solemn look on her face. There's still the hint of a smile, but just a hint.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Wha, how, when...." She chuckles at my stammering.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"I worked it out almost six months ago. You're good at your job, but you weren't expecting someone keen to be watching. I saw what you wrote. I hope it gets to them." I sigh, hanging my head.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"So, what's my punishment?" She chuckles quietly, before putting a feathered wing to my cheek.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Is it really that bad? You did a good thing. You didn't betray them by leading them into a trap, and you protected us by diverting the fleet. You found a way to keep everyone alive and well. If you'd been there when we... maybe things would have gone better." I spend several long seconds looking at her, trying to work out if she'll continue on her own, when she does.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"The last task I had was to watch a suspected spy. I had to keep a close eye on him without drawing attention to myself." She puts on that bright smile I see so often. "Cue bubbly, happy Arie. Simple girl with simple wants.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"I... I saw the bird land on their roof, I knew it was a message. I went and intercepted it, accidently killed the bird. The note was about an incoming attack, far larger than we were ready for." Her eyes start to tear up a little, "When we confronted him, he said he'd send them a message about reinforcements, but... but I'd...." She collapsed into me, feathered arms wrapping around my shoulders, sobbing. She didn't need to say it. No bird, no message, no reinforcements.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"If I hadn't killed the bird, if I had of confronted him earlier... so many things I could have done."

<p style="font-weight:400;">"So, you just watched me, and let me work as I would?" She nods into my shoulder.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"I did. I just... I hoped seeing things on this side of the battle would make you understand. That I'd be able to help convince you if I just kept up the happy little songbird routine."

<p style="font-weight:400;">"So, you've been playing a face just as much as I have?" She smiles and laughes at the question.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Not quite. I'm usually a happy person, now at least, but when I realised what you were, it just... it brought back all the bad memories." I find myself patting her head, trying to be comforting.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Well, let's just pray that my message makes it to the fleet in time." She nods.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Yeah. Um, also, you can trust me, I won't tell anyone about where you're from. I... if I can have a kiss?" She looks up at me hopefully. I hesitate for a few moments, but when I stat to see her look down I sigh. Leaning in I give her a quick peck on the lips, the contact making her jump slightly.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"That do?" She's shocked for a few seconds, before smiling.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Yeah. That's a nice start." She leaves me standing there, considering her shape until I catch my thoughts. I could never take a monster bride, right?

<p style="font-weight:400;">Two days later and I have a new bird on my window sill. Taking the note I'm relieved to find my ploy worked, aided by some setbacks on the fleet's end. I'm soon enveloped by a pair of wings with a happy cry from Arie.

<p style="font-weight:400;">'It worked!" She cheered, kissing me on the cheek. I chuckle and nod.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"It really did, now I need to find a way to keep them from trying again." My friend smiles and tightens her grip on me.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Well, there's a classic way of getting an intelligence based invasion stopped." I raise an eyebrow.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"You tell them you've been compromised, and that a large anti-naval brigade of mamono are on their way. Well, I guess you'd have to say monsters, but you get the idea." I nod, thinking the idea over.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"If I'm compromised I'm meant to take a boat back to Order lands, of course, if a storm is brewing it'd leave any attempts to leave by boat poorly thought out at best. If I never made it back, it wouldn't be highly suspicious." I think for a few moments, then nod.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"Okay. I think I can manage it." I write up a response, adding some mostly useless information I've heard around town, and add that I caught wind of a rumor about an Order spy in the town, followed by an attempt to reinforce the town from assault by sea.

<p style="font-weight:400;">I send the bird off with plans to send another in a few days time of my blown cover. I spend a lot of my free time with Ariette, sharing various stories about events that never happened according to history.

<p style="font-weight:400;">I send the final report away with a weighty sigh. Arie has her wings around me as I throw the bird into the air. "It's done. I'm done." I mutter, getting an affectionate snuggle from Ariette.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"You're duty is done, and you'll be remembered by no one. Just me." I can't help but smile and nod.

<p style="font-weight:400;">"As is the life of a spy." I turn to her, holding her chin and smiling. I kiss her, pressing our lips tightly together and relishing the feeling of her against me. I've made up my mind, I'm going to take her as my bride, and together we'll step into our new lives.