The thing about using magic to shapeshift, is that it tends to also add a set of preprogrammed instincts to the mix. In some cases, the effects are rather noticeable, like Mousse automatically being able to fly right of the Spring of Drowned Duck. Other times, the effects are less than noticeable at first glance, such as when Ranma, as she and her father/Panda were walking to the Chinese Amazon Village, had to use the restroom.
If Ranma were to ever look back on that day, he would wonder how he automatically knew how to use the nearest bush without making a huge mess. Considering the trauma involved in that day, he may never look back.
This is why, when Aurieste walked into Ranma’s room to give Ranma a Pearl of Tongues, the first thing that flitted through her mind was, ‘Wow, what a rump!’
Ranma, noticing the Dragon-woman at last, immediately stumbled and fell into the hot bath, sputtering apologies, but the sheer ridiculousness of the scene had Aurieste giggling in mirth, which was enough to set him off his usual game.
As she sat down next to the bath, the pigtailed boy moved to sit deeper into the bath, “Um, you’re not going to hit me for being a pervert or something, are you?”
Aurieste blinked at the odd question, “Pardon? Why would I hit you? I’m the one who walked in on you!”
The boy blinked back, “Well . . . it’s kind of a long story . . . “ he hedged.
“Well, we seem to have plenty of time . . . tell you what, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself. I’ll need to find out some of this anyways, since researching your curse would involve me knowing the situations behind you receiving it . . . “
And so, hesitantly at first, Ranma started talking about his life. He started with Jusenkyo, but filled in the time before as he went along, making mention of how Genma trained him and then screwed his life over. He spoke of the Chinese Amazons, and of Shampoo. He told her about the Tendos, and how Akane freaked out on him when she walked in on him in the bath.
He spoke about school, and then had to fill in what school involved and how little he got to go before Nerima. Eventually he had to bring in the Kunos and Ryouga, and the number of fights that he seemed to get into.
He spoke of Shampoo again, who had come to kill him, and then stayed to marry him. Of Ukyo, who had come for vengeance and then stayed for the same reasons as Shampoo. Of Akane, and the fact that he never seemed to know what she wanted.
Fiancé battles, fights with rivals, failed curses, his mother (who was obsessed with manliness), the abuses that Happosai heaped on him and all other things female, and the manipulations of Cologne. Of Herb and getting his curse locked, and, eventually, of Saffron, and the fact that nothing seemed to change after that, when by all rights, it should have . . .
While Ranma told his story, Aurieste, who had lived for far longer and had developed much wisdom, read a different story in it. She could hear and feel the loneliness and frustration in his voice. How he could never get any peace. And deeper still, she found sorrow . . .
By the time Ranma had finished, the water had long since cooled, leaving Ranma female with her breasts hanging above the water. Aurieste, on the other hand, had pulled out a small notebook to take notes in.
“Ranma,” Aurieste began, “do you know how babies are made?”
“Yeah,” the redhead hedged, kind of lost onto where her companion was going with this, “I mean, Pops took me around to a lot of farms, and I usually ended up helping with the animals . . . as long as their wasn’t any c-c-cats involved . . . “
“But nothing else? Nothing of how it relates to humans?”
“Well, I know a guy can get a girl pregnant, but I’m really not sure how or why . . . I mean, Kasumi tried to explain after . . . “ Ranma trailed off, suddenly turning a rather odd mix of red and green.
Aurieste took an educated shot in the dark, “I’m assuming this happened during one of your ‘locked’ periods?”
Ranma nodded, suddenly unable to say anything.
“Say no more; I think I see where you’re going with this . . . one more thing, I can tell that there were a few . . . oddities with your story compared to my experiences. Did you use something, some magical artifact maybe, to get to this land, or did you just happen to come here?”
Ranma blinked at this, “Well, I guess I could show you. Could you bring me my pants?”
Aurieste complied, and couldn’t help but gasp when Ranma brought out a black clothlike thing from her pockets. “Could I see that, please?” When the redhead in the bath handed it over, she continued to examine it, and then shuddered, “Ranma, do you know what this is?”
The pigtailed girl shook her head negatively.
“This is a magical artifact that I have only heard tales about . . .created by a gnomish mage, he tapped into something that could allow him to pass into other dimensions . . . “
“Other dimensions? You mean I’m not somewhere in Europe? Wait ‘til the guys at home hear about this . . . “
Aurieste winced, “Ranma, I’m afraid you might not see your home for a long, long while . . . “
Ranma looked at the dragon-girl, shock evident on her face, tinged with a bit of wary suspicion, “What do ya mean? All I have to do is . . . “
“The problem with dimension travel,” Aurieste began, talking rather plainly, “is that there are some dimensions out there that are . . . well, do your people have a concept of Hell?” When Ranma nodded, she continued, “Well, take every tale you’ve ever been told and multiply that by a million, and that is still an underestimate. The mage who created this was killed right off the spot when he opened into one of these worlds, and all but one of his fifty apprentices died trying to drive that thing back into the portal. There are things out there that make me seem like an ant, and I am of one of the most powerful races in this land. Trust me when I say you were extremely lucky in coming here, but I doubt even your luck can handle getting you back in one piece.”
Ranma paled dramatically, “But my family . . . the Tendos . . . I have to go back!”
The dragon winced at this, feeling that this was more an instinctive decision based on how Ranma was raised for most of his life. “Maybe there is a way back to your home world, but it won’t be through this portal. Odds are, the entry point you used to come here has already shifted, and we may never find it again. At best, you may have to find a God or Goddess with enough power to open a portal to there. At worst . . . “
Ranma was almost catatonic, so Aurieste put her hand into the bath, using her native dragon magic to heat the water back to where Ranma was male again, bringing him out of it. “Would it be such a bad thing to stay here? This world lacks martial artists, and I feel as if your presence may be here for a reason.”
Ranma sighed, “It’s not really about what I want at this point. My honor is at stake here, and me coming here is like running away . . . which is definitely not honorable.”
“And staying in that clusterfuck of a situation is honorable?” Aurieste asked. Ranma looked away, seemingly unable to answer that.
The doubt on his face, however, seemed enough of an answer to her, “I’ll leave you here to change, and then I’ll come back to guide you to a room for you to sleep in. With any luck, I might be able to discover some way of helping you with your cat problem. Your curse will take longer for me to figure out, and it may be a while before I find a way for you to go home, if you so desire to.”
With that, Aurieste left Ranma to change and to muddle over his thoughts.
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(Posted Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:43)
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