One of these is not like the others [Ahri]

[Anshen]

Rumblings of rumours ran amok in every little corner of local pubs. Some grounded in reality, and some so outlandish that one wondered about the sanity of its original perpetrator. Most were harmless folklore originating from the small villages dotting the landscape, tales made more to impress children and make for a good story around the campfire than to spread actual information, be it erroneous or otherwise.

But of course, this was a strange land where no one could say for sure if a rumour was true or nothing more than the drunken ravings of a man in a tavern who was having far too much fun.

And it was this exact scenario that would happen in more than a few of the taverns a traveller might go to. Especially a travelling fighter who might be itching for someone… or something to fight.

“Look, look… hear me out, there a monster out there somewhere. A demon with the hungriest eyes I ever seen! That ain’t normal, I’m tellin’ ya!”

“And I’m tellin’ you that you’re way too fucking drunk, Poki! Seriously, you expect me to just eat up that story without wonderin’ what the fock you’re trippin’ on?”

Two guys, sitting at the pub having a pint and arguing about something. A common sight for any bar, especially in smaller places. The first man was clearly the drunker of the two, still in uniform from his day at work and looking like he would fall over backwards and off his stool if he weren’t careful. His motions were off and his speech was slurred, even as he tried to muster up the willpower to sound coherent. The second, younger man seemed a lot soberer, and rather annoyed at this bogus story his friend was spinning up.

“’Ey, show sum’ respect for yer elders! You gotta… you gotta…” The older man sounded like he was about to provide a nugget of wisdom, but trailed off. He’d forgotten what he was going to say.

“I don’t have to do anything, mate. You’ll forget what’s happened here by tomorrow anyway.” His friend responded without missing a beat, before taking a large gulp from his ale, clearly tired of his friend’s antics.

…

Anshen sighed as she looked around the pub, dressed in the place’s uniform and moving around trying to ensure all the patrons were accounted for and satisfied. This was definitely an unusual experience for her, to actually be working. She’d been kicked out of her hometown almost as soon as she came of age, so she’d always been provided for. Now, she had to provide for herself. Unfortunately, most people weren’t keen on hiring a monster that would scare away the clients and start all sorts of chaos and rumours, so she couldn’t find a job. In fact, even so much as going to big cities could potentially cause a scene, so she chose to avoid them for the most part. Smaller towns and villages were far more manageable.

And it was how she found her way here, working as a waitress at the town’s local pub. She had dispatched of some wolves on the way there and got a reward for doing so, as well as the goodwill of the town, which was how she managed to land the job in the pub. It was by no means a permanent arrangement, but it let her pay for food and a decent place to sleep.

It did make for a rather… curious scene, though.

If one were to walk in, they would instantly spot which one wasn’t like the others. A blue-skinned, grey-haired, horned, eight-tailed/tendrilled girl walking around serving the patrons of the pub. She was carrying trays in her hands, and drink with all her eight tails, making for quite the efficient waitress, which the customers always appreciated. Despite her… different looks, she seemed to fit in just fine, barring the occasional awkward shuffle to make sure her tails didn’t break anything.

“Hey, Anshen, Lee’s here to take over! You can go home now.” Shouted who appeared to be the manager over the counter as a man walked in and into the back of the pub.

Anshen simply nodded, a small smile on her face. She put all the glasses on the counter and turned around, about to walk out the pub…

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A.I.

742 words/742 words total

[A.I.]

Ah, the marvellous and industrious Southern Lands. There was almost no limit when it comes to what you could possibly encounter in your adventures in these parts. From the Demon Villages in the far south, to the highlands and mountains on the opposite end, there were so many different types of people you could happen to run into. People of all shapes, sizes, colours, race, occupations and personalities, resided in the colourful territory known as the Southern Lands. Demons, Humans, Saiyans, Namekians, Beastmen, Monsters, and even more. The opportunities and possibilities were almost endless, and even so, there would always be something that surpasses your thinking. Something that surpasses your imagination, something that surprises you. There was always something different out there in the endless world of possibilities, and many people would search for their whole lives looking for said thing.
Including, Ahri. A tall, toned female fighter always looking for a challenge. Always looking for a new milestone to cross. Today, she continued on her endless journey for a challenge, and her endless quest to become the strongest in the entire world. Better than everyone. The very best. But then again, that was every other fighter's goal.

Today was a rather rare day for the female fighter, as instead of heading towards her personal gym first thing in the morning, she headed towards the outskirts of the city, passing it, now heading for the small human villages that were erected around the forests. She normally wouldn't do such a thing, as fighting was her hobby, not just her hobby, but her lifestyle. Becoming stronger every single day was a far cry from a chore for the muscular warrior. She had enjoyed it a great deal, being born into a family of fighters. However, today, she following something.... something strange, and she did not know why. There were rumors circulating. Other explorers had said they had seen things... many unnatural things. Large monsters, demons, odd looking creatures and much more, and they had piqued Ahri's interest. She certainly possessed a large amount of stamina and willpower, utilizing them both to push herself out of her comfortable bed that fateful morning. Dressed in a casual green tank top along with long, rather tight black shorts, which put her toned thighs and legs on public display, she headed out.

While walking through the forest towards a random village, she took the time to admire the colourful scenery of the place. The different beetles, bugs and creatures which lived in or frequented the forest were very much active, leaving the forest bustling with activity. The birds chirped, while placing themselves on a branch located high in the green and brown trees. The fish swam through rivers and streams, living in constant vigilance lest a bear rumble by. The four legged creatures hopped, ran and skipped through the forest, going about their daily activities. Basically, in short, the whole forest was a habitat to countless creatures, noises and random, shrill cries pierced the air around them. It was as if the world had decided to turn on an AC, with a cool breeze blowing in all sorts of directions. The female walking through the forest welcomed the sweet smelling air and the coolness warmly, taking deep breaths of air occasionally as she continued on her mini adventure. Even better, the trees blocked almost all of the scorching hot sun, with the occasional broad rays of light penetrating the green top of the forest. Today felt like a good day, and it was certainly, a good day.

Before long, she arrived at a village, much sooner than she had expected. It had seemed like a regular village, with children playing in the streets, random male adults playing games of cards, the occasional shouting and cursing, and so and so. The buildings were placed rather haphazardly, with some houses being placed extremely close to their neighbours, gasping for air, having little to no breathing space. The village ultimately consisted of multiple houses, an inn for weary travellers, a weapons shop, most likely owned by an experienced blacksmith possessing a thick beard, and the tavern, where all go to socialize, to party, to celebrate, to obtain information, to drink, to eat, and do all of the above a second time. Yep, a regular village. With no abnormalities. Yep, none. Nothing weird about it. Just your everyday village. Except for a single, sentient, being. One that was not like the others.

As she walked into the village, she was immediately greeted by a number of "Good Morning's, How are you's and Hello's." It seemed like a friendly community, although, only children and women greeted her, others just provided stares.... Anyways, she walked into the tavern, immediately taking in the scent of food, alcohol and.... other things.... There were tables scattered around the large room, with four chairs placed to the north, south, east and west of them. Many tables and seats had been occupied by a variety of men and around two females. Along with.... the waitress. Ahri's eyes grew wide, eyebrows raising higher than they ever had before, as she rested her line of vision on the creature. Dressed in a regular waitress' work clothes, was a short, blue skinned girl with long, flowing white hair. She had piercing blue eyes which seemed like they penetrated your very heart, your very being, your very soul. Sharp horns rested on her head, and she possessed eight tails, all of them wrapped around a glass of drink. She carried trays with bowls and plates of food resting on them, obviously showcasing her skill as a waitress.

Ahri was dumbfounded. Never before had she seen something like this, it wasn't only the unique appearance that shocked her, it was the fact that not one person in the tavern seemed to consider this out of the ordinary. It didn't even occur to her that the people seated in the bar might've known the creature for a while. She didn't normally care about the looks of others, but the creature looked like a demon. A demon with a job as a waitress.

What....? 

The creature had turned to leave the bar after placing down all of the items she was holding on the counter, since her shift was over. She passed Ahri, exiting the bar. That was a creature which attracted a lot of attention. And it had piqued Ahri's interest. Whipping around, she followed the blue skinned girl out of the tavern, calling out to her,

"Wait a minute-!"

Whether the demon stopped walking or not, the taller of the two would place herself in front of the other, blocking her path.

"What the hell are you supposed to be, demon? You've got a lot of explaining to do...."

Ahri knew full well that she could be harassing a perfectly normal monster if the good alignment, judging by the reactions of the people in the tavern. She didn't raise her power level, or make any threatening movements. She merely looked down on the short girl, looking her directly in the eye, catching the attention of one or two of the townspeople.

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Word Count : 1190/1190


Anshen

[Anshen]

It was odd.

Despite having left the Western Lands, she was still treated as if she were a monster. People pointed at her in the streets, whispering a lot of things about her. They knew not what she was; a demon, a monster, maybe even an alien? Regardless, it was quite clear that wherever she went, people wanted to stay away. It was even worse in big cities, where news reports of the sighting of some sort of blue monster would pop up if people caught so much as a glimpse of her. They even somehow got someone from the Western Lands to tell them about her, which never boded well. Fortunately, most dismissed that as the rambling of some religious madman.

And it was for this reason that she was on the road in the first place. More covert, easier to travel, easier to hide. Rumours didn’t spread from beyond them; in short, she could live in peace. Still, she didn’t expect people to help her or even interact with her.

But this place was different. The moment she helped them, they accepted her for who she was. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen or felt; they let her stay, gave her money and even let her work at one of the bars. The patrons much enjoyed being served drinks quickly with her many tails.

But this newcomer was a reality check.

Lost in thought, she failed to notice the muscular woman until she bumped into her. Like a brick wall. The only thing she saw in front of her were abs, causing her to look up at its owner. Brown haired, with an eyepatch, and clearly looking for her.

Her words, however, caused her to grit her teeth. This, of course, showed off her serrated fangs and caused quite the opposite effect of what she wanted. Her tails spread out for a second in an attempt to look intimidating, but she contained herself. She didn’t want a fight. With a sigh, she merged them all into one, to make herself look smaller.

“I have a lot of explaining to do? What for? Did I do something to offend you or a friend? Did I hurt anyone?” She asked. She knew she hadn’t, she wanted to put the woman on the defensive, “Unless I had a lapse in memory, I didn’t do any of that. I’m just minding my own business, and you feel the need to bother me. What for?”

Despite her relative composure, it was clear that she was very much angry at her. The townspeople also seemed not too happy with this person coming in and bothering Anshen, throwing silent stares of disapproval at the muscular woman.

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A.I.

452 words/1,194 words total

[A.I.]

Ah, demons, demons, demons. They could come in all shapes and sizes, in a lot of different colours, with horns or without them, they were just so different from regular humans. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Demons were dangerous, hostile beings, and simply having one around you was asking or begging for trouble. That was why demons and humans were separated. It was why humans remained in the cities and towns. It was why demons remained the the Southern Demonlands. Hell, most demons didn't stay put. They headed out of their living spaces, and terrorized everything around them. Demons simply weren't meant to live with humans. There are no records that she knew of where this occurred. It wasn't right. There was one problem, however.

When Ahri had entered the village, searching for the weird monster in the rumors she had heard that were circulating. Not knowing what she would find, she had entered the tavern, which yielded an immediate result. Ahri did not know if this creature was what she was hearing about. She had heard of monsters, but not monsters working a job in the tavern. When Ahri had confronted the short, blue skinned girl, she had wanted to discover a couple things. Firstly, she wanted to know if this was in fact, a demon or not. It certainly looked more like a demon than anything, but it was a waitress in a bar in a human village. Secondly, she had desired to figure out why the creature was here. Something felt wrong. Something was wrong if any demon could waltz into a village and immediately be accepted without gaining the townspeople's trust. And that, in Ahri's mind, was impossible for a demon to attain.

Clearly, Ahri had not worded her question properly. In fact, it sounded hostile and harsh, and Ahri had even doubted that the creature was a demon after the words flew out of her mouth. The little blue girl immediately pushed back, tossing several questions of her own back at the female fighter. Ahri had half expected to get a response such as that, but the questions seemed to lash out at Ahri, with the villagers spectating the confrontation seemingly taking the side of their waitress, sending a couple states of disapproval her way.

Ahri's willingness to continue the conversation nearly vanished, as one could see that if this continued down the wrong path, it would turn into a scene which would attract even more attention, maybe even turning into a fight.

Ah, so I was mistaken. Or am I? Could this really be a monster and not a demon?

Usually, monsters could possibly bore a resemblance to demons, but truly, the population of monsters normally consisted of things like dragons, dinosaurs, animals larger than the regular animal, and thing of the like. Not short, blue skinned girls with long, white hair with horns and a tail. The horns and tail just screamed 'demon' in Ahri's mind, as those were features natural to demons. Monsters tended to have horns as well, but they seemed more like regular horns. Ones that were white and made of mostly bone. Hell, most monsters weren't even in possession of a good knowledge of language. Making every sentence they say only barely coherent.

Instead of backing down, Ahri responded to the little creature.

"Do you mean to tell me that you're not a demon? If that's the case, then how did you get here? Surely you must understand that demons are destructive beings that didn't belong in civilization."

Her eyes and face had a serious look about them, as Ahri prolonged the conversation. She deliberately ignored all of questions thrown at her, knowing that if she answered them, it would be entirely opinion based. Truly, Ahri felt that she deserved an explanation, as the creature standing in front of her, bore deep resemblance to a demon. She didn't pay attention by to the villagers, nor did she seemed phased by them. Her gaze was fixated on the one not like the others.

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Word Count : 676/1866

Anshen

[Anshen]

Anshen had heard of demons. Of the tales of misfortune that they brought upon humans, that they would trick and kill people for their own pleasure or for some twisted objective only an insane mind could ever see as reasonable. It was bone-chilling stuff, what she’d heard. Everyone said it, and everyone had the notion that demons couldn’t be anything but evil.

She might’ve believed it, if it weren’t for the fact that people said the same thing about her.

As it stood, she was not wont to believe anything the humans said. Too often, it was marred by fear and say-so. Stories that went from one mouth to another with no confirmation of it actually being true, and all it did was induce fear in the populace. It was odd, why people talked about these despite it bringing negative emotions; perhaps they liked fear? Regardless, it left a bad taste in her mouth and a distrust for any tale a human may spin, including whatever they might say about demons.

So, when the woman stated that demons couldn’t live in society, it only made Anshen’s anger spike further. She contained a growl, but it was clear as day that she did not like what the woman was saying. Not one bit.

“And what does it matter? I’m minding my own business, human.” She said to her defensively, then sighed. “No, I am not a demon. I am a monster, though we might as well be the same in the eyes of your kind. I assume you’ve met a total of zero demons and just believed the stories told about them.” The girl spat angrily, “Your kind tells similar tales about me. All are false, but that doesn’t seem to matter to you humans, does it? All I want is to be left alone, and I’m being hounded as if I were some sort of violent beast.”

“Oy, lady! Leave ‘er alone, woman! She didn’t do nothin’!”

Finally, a person in the crowd spoke. The commotion has caught the attention of some people by now, several of the men in the bar watching the incident unfold. None of them looked too happy with Ahri

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A.I.

364 words/1,558 words total

[A.I.]

Once more, the little blue creature pushed back, continuing the argument that Ahri had started. The girl looked angry, and spoke angrily, and Ahri wasn't surprised. When in an argument, you tended to let your emotions break free from their chains, giving them free reign to do whatever they please. The little monster had let a bit of anger show with her next sentence, finally confirming that she was not a demon. Although, now the girl was the one speaking falsely about the other, as Ahri had met a total of two demons in her lifetime, although, that didn't make much of a difference when compared to none. Majin Zam was destructive and had the mentality of a small child, doing what she did for pure fun, while Shell seemed a lot more civil, though Ahri didn't treat him as much as a demon as she did the majin.

The tall woman had finally started to give a bit of thought to what she might say next. Perhaps it would be best to walk away, avoiding a fight or any other altercation. The monster did answer her question, at last. Plus, the villagers didn't look too happy with her just setting foot into the village and confronting the white haired girl. She had mostly acted on impulse, as the girl looked like nothing but a demon to Ahri. Although, the fact that she had formed a couple friendships with the villagers and townspeople meant something. Perhaps it meant that Ahri should simply take her leave. However, she felt that she had already come too far to simply back away. It was then she heard one of the villagers speak up, defending the waitress of the local tavern. Ahri pretended not to hear him, until she heard more shouts of protests from the villagers. Ahri's eyebrows began to furrow, and she placed her hands on her hips. Looking directly at the little creature, she spoke up.

"Wrong. First of all, I assure you that I've met several demons in my time. All of them are destructive and uncaring. Even if whatever stories you've heard about demons give them a bad image, I assure you that they come from experience. I was simply alarmed at the fact that someone like you could live a regular life in this village. Besides, only humans live here other than you. You aren't being 'hounded'. I was confronting you because I thought that you may have been one of those devilish things. Perhaps I made a mistake addressing you as demon before, but you've got no right to make assumptions as much as I."

Her voice had begun to rise as she spoke, only sounding controlled once she began to talk about why she was talking to the creature in the first place. Her little speech failed to quiet down the townspeople, but Ahri stared down at the waitress expectantly, awaiting a response.

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Word Count : 487/2353

Anshen