Monster Girls Book 1: A Tale of Tails!

Knock~Knock~Knock!

"Who is it?"

The large wooden door creaked open with just a sliver of room for a young woman to prop her head through. She closed her eyes as her smile grew from ear to ear, revealing the adorable dimples on her cheeks.

"Good afternoon, Father. The Hunter requested to see you."

Perdilius leaned back from his chair, dragging his large hands down his face and releasing an exasperated sigh. Seated as his desk, the old man dropped his quill back into its container before turning around to see her.

"Not now. Tell him I'll be busy until sunrise. Have him accompany me tomorrow when my sermon is complete."

A drop of sweat rolled down the fair servant's face, blinking her large blue eyes repeatedly with a nervous chuckle. "Ahem, of course Father. I tried to inform him that you are busy, but he is most insistent."

Perdilius scooted his chair back, a few wrinkles forming above his scowl as he glared back. "Is he now? Do tell, where is he now?"

Just then, a hand pushed the door wide open, revealing the hunter hidden behind the servant. His silver white hair waved to the side as he cocked his head and their eyes met.

"You've been avoiding me, Father." He growled under his breath; his dark cloak wrapped around his shoulders as he stepped inside.

"I'll tend to the matter, leave us." Perdilius ordered.

The young brunette held her hands together and nodded respectfully before closing the door, trapping them inside.

With a sigh, Perdilius left his chair and flipped his wardrobe open. The old man was caught wearing tight pants and the metal contraption sealed around his chest. While he got dressed, Leone looked around spotting a wide bookshelf modestly filled with scrolls in the top and different colored texts at the middle shelf. He paced around, leaning over the desk to see the journal Perdilius had been writing earlier. The desk was a mess of religious texts including a scroll propped open with several images and arrows mapped around with text. He traced his finger around, making out one of the images to resemble a black raven.

"Tell me hunter," Perdilius began, adjusting the collar of his robe and tucking his sleeves back before washing his face from a bowl of water. "Why could this not wait until morning?"

Leone turned around, leaning against the desk. "Why have I not been sent to recover Emyri and Syri?"

"Hm?" Perdilius hummed, drying his face with a towel. "Ah, the beasts."

"Yes, the beasts." He mocked, "I understand escorting Nityri and Dimyri here. But upon our arrival, I have been denied from exiting the tower alone. Your men claim they were given orders not to let me leave. Why?"

"Does that concern you, hunter?"

"You hired me to extract them for cleansing or purifying, whatever that means. I cannot bring them back if you keep me cooped in here like some caged bird." He hissed, walking forward with his eyes set on his employer's smug face. "It concerns me greatly, Perdilius."

Perdilius gave him one look before walking around the desk toward the balcony ahead. He stood gazing over the ledge with his hands firmly grasping the stone rails, the view from this height allowing him to oversee the city.

"If I recall, only one of their lives matter to me, Leone. And you have no reason to stress over her. My children were assigned the responsibility to bring her back."

"Your adopted children?" Scoffed Leone, his black cloak waving to the side from a breeze. The cold air tickled the stiff silver hairs of his stubble as he stood beside the doorway. "It's my profession to hunt monsters. If you no longer need m-"

"On the contrary, your services are needed here." He interjected swiftly, his eyes staring at the isolated portion of the city sanctioned with large walls. "You served well in catching them when we began, but your skills are required to ensure safety from unexpected outcomes."

"Unexpected?"

Perdilius turned around to face him. "We are less than two weeks away from the eclipse. Those elves have already stagnated progress by taking one of the three monsters we held in our grasp. We have other matters that threaten this city's safety."

"The Valley?"

"Those walls have kept the Valley sanctioned away from invading our city any further, and recent reports claim that it has remain calm during our absence."

Leone frowned, stepping aside as Perdilius retreated back inside. "Then what's the issue?"

"The fact is, those Rangers are growing desperate if their numbers have dwindled. I had expected their demise six months prior, but they've proven to be a resilient nuisance. Their persistence troubles me, and with the Valley looming nearby..."

"You fear that they'll use the Valley against you somehow?"

"Or the other way around." He muttered under his breath, grabbing a scroll from the shelf before approaching the door. "Come, walk with me."

Leone seemed reluctant to follow, keeping his hand beside his belt as he followed the priest. The rounded hallway was dimly lit with candles every ten paces, their shadows crawling through the stone walls as the pair calmly traversed around the opposite side of the tower. Upon arriving at a wooden door, a soldier stood by before holding it open for them to pass through.

Leone walked in, fanning in front of his face to skew the rising dust from his eyes. Glancing around, he found they stood on a balcony overseeing a wide-open courtyard. The rising dust came from the dozens of cat girls digging into the gravel with their claws, each of them lined up in rows wearing collars. Their collars were chained together to keep them from running away, with several dozen men keeping a watch over them. They were somewhat clothed, wearing brown rags draped over them with a belt in the waist resembling a used tunic.

A lone wooden tower was erected at the center, sheltering three men wielding crossbows watching over the girls. A few dozen soldiers paced around the courtyard below, checking on the prisoners with several men chatting amongst themselves, ignoring the strained gasps and coughing from the girls.

"The hells are you doing here?" Asked the hunter, leaning forward with a hand firmly grasping the rail.

Perdilius noticed the strain on his hand before tracing his eyes back to the hunters concerned face. "The Valley costed us lives and much needed grounded for the city. I'm putting these beasts to good use so that we may expand. They may be monsters, but they serve a purpose under my command. Take these felines for example, their claws make for good tools to dig through soil and gravel. The Centaurs push wheel carts and equipment around, and-"

Just then, a loud ringing emerged from the tower. One of the archers rang a bell, signaling the enslaved cat girls to stop. They stood up and formed several rows together, waiting as the tower doors opened with a deafening groan.

Leone gazed down, watching as the Nekomata were led through the doors, each of them covered in gravel with dust tangled in their hair and fur. Just as they left, a new clutter was escorted in to replace them. The hunter's eyes widened as he spotted two familiar faces among that clutter.

"I need you here to ensure that things remain uninterrupted." Perdilius explained, keeping his eyes on him.

"I-I am... uncertain that this is best. That this is the best, I mean. For them." He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "You have an army at your disposal, why call for me to remain here?"

"Because many of them are ill-prepared and untrained." Perdilius breathed in. "If you must know, I don't trust your resolve."

Leone snapped his head around. "What?"

"Your focus is wavering, hunter. Your task was to bring the three cats to me, and yet you have stagnated. It's been nearly a year of your service, and still, you have yet to fulfill your obligations. Many men whisper about your proximity to the cat mother during our travels."

Leone frowned back. "I was keeping watch to ensure they didn't escape."

"And still, they managed to flee. I am not placing the blame squarely on your shoulders, hunter. The ambush caught all of us by surprise. Be it so, I hired you because you expressed remorse for your sins. I could see the guilt weighing you down, unable to freely live your life with your spawn. I never questioned how a monster hunter could succumb to temptation and fall prey to a monster girl, nor do I wish to know. They wait until we are our most vulnerable, I know that all too well."

Leone stood by in silence, hanging his head, watching KuliKuli and Dimyri below.

Perdilius reached out, holding Leone's shoulders. "This is your opportunity to shed this weakness and begin anew. My men will watch over the others, but you will watch over these two. Think of it as a show of faith. They see all from above, let them see your strength or the weight of your sins will stall your feet, and you will be left behind."

With a pat on the back, Perdilius began making his leave when Leone called out.

"What of the others?" Asked the hunter, keeping his back to him. "What if they fail?"

"They will not."

"And what of Emyri?"

Perdilius gave it some thought. "Don't be deceived. Realize that she is a demon in disguise, and your world will be seen in a new light. Only the three cats are relevant. Everything else is fodder."

With that, he made his way leaving Leone on the balcony alone.

Down below, KuliKuli spun around scanning the courtyard. The chains linked to her collar rattled and pulled at another cat girl, causing her to yelp in pain.

She spun around and hissed at her in return. "Hey stupid! Stop doing that!"

KuliKuli jolted back, panting and shaking her head. "Sorry, sorry. Wh-where are we?"

"Hey!" One of the guards shouted several yards from her. "New girl with the brown and white fur, get to work!"

Dimyri was chained to her left, nudging her sister's arm. "Hey, calm yourself. Just look at what the others are doing and do the same thing."

She nodded, copying their movements as each Nekomata sunk to their knees and dug their claws through the gravel. KuliKuli yelped and pulled her paw back, inspecting a scrape in her paw pad. "What are we even digging for?"

Dimyri shrugged before turning to the cat on her opposite side. "Hey, we're new here. Could you tell us what they have us doing here?"

The cat on her left looked older with a few lines under her green eyes. Her black hair bobbed back in wavy patterns as she turned to her. "Hmm? They have us digging."

"For what?"

"Don't know, just digging. Making room, making the courtyard bigger. Just hunch and dig, you don't want them seeing you stop."

Dimyri looked back at her sister, both of them exchanging worried looks.

KuliKuli's ears folded back as she dug her claws into the rocky soil, scooping up large chunks as a growing cloud of dust polluted her eyes and nose. She closed her eyes shut, feeling them sting as she coughed for air.

"Use your tunic." The bitter cat girl whispered to her.

KuliKuli gave her a puzzled glance.

"Your tunic. Pull the collar up and breath into it. It helps keep you from breathing the dust in." She added, using her black tails to tug her tunic collar over her nose to demonstrate.

KuliKuli smiled back, nodding in appreciation before doing so. While she continued digging, she kept her face down before speaking out to her. "How long do they have us do this?"

"Pfft, long time. Until they sound that stupid bell." She grumbled, her brown eyes darting to her.

"I'm KuliKuli, what's your name?"

"I don't know any KuliKuli. You from some other clutter?"

"Oh," Her ears fell back again, somewhat offended before recalling her older name. "Sorry, my other name was Nityri."

"Nityri. Nityri." Suddenly, her companion sat up with a daunting look, turning her head around to face her. Without warning, she tugged Kuli's tunic away from her mouth, revealing her face. "You! You're Emyri's kid, yea you and your sister there!"

Dimyri stopped what she was doing, looking up as the cat girl stood up on her feet.

"You're the reason we're here! You brought them to us, you stupid! Stupid girl!" She shouted, raising her paws aggressively.

KuliKuli scooted back, looking terrified. "No-no! That-that wasn't all me! I-I'm sorry!"

"SHUT UP!" The cat girl lashed out with both paws, swiping at KuliKuli's face.

KuliKuli squealed out, keeping her guard up and squeezing her eyes shut. Dimyri tried stepping in to help but was pulled back from her chain, accidentally hurting the cat girl behind her. While the aggressive Nekomata fell into a clawing frenzy, KuliKuli tried kicking her away. The other guards watched and laughed, some of them whistling at the display as KuliKuli's tunic was torn up in the process.

It wasn't until someone pulled her attacker away when she felt like she could breathe again. The first thing she saw was the dozens of lacerations decorating her arms and legs, some of them trickling with blood. She looked up and gasped, kicking and crawling backwards at the sight of who her rescuer was. When a pair of arms held her from behind, she turned around to see her older sister pulling her back to protect her.

Leone pulled the raging Nekomata back, tripping her foot and causing her to fall on her back.

"THAT"S ENOUGH!" He ordered, planting his boot on her chest. "No more feuds or you'll be starving for the next fortnight, understand?"

She looked up at him, panting and gripping his leg. She raised her paw, threatening to swipe at his leg when he drew his cloak back, revealing his sword to her. It was enough for her to hesitate, and as he raised his brow she calmed down and looked off to the side in defeat.

All of the other cat girls were watching them in silence, some of them whispering to each other. Dimyri held KuliKuli close as a few gasps were heard.

Leone took his foot off and turned around, glaring at the guards in the watch tower.

"You heard the hunter." The guard announced, clearing his throat. "Back to it!"

Some of the girls hesitated before returning to their tasks.

Leone reached out to KuliKuli when she slapped his hand away. Seething, she stood up by herself, her eyes watering at the stinging feeling surging across her limbs.

"You'll need ointment to treat those-" Leone offered, reaching out.

"Don't!" She snapped, forcing him to pull back. She turned her back to him, fell on her knees and started to dig. Leone stood back, watching at the other girl glared at KuliKuli before noticing him. She faced forward and resumed digging, shaking her head.

Dimyri copied soon, keeping an eye on her sister. Her ears fell back and her tails reached out to her, feeling a bit of comfort when KuliKuli's tails rubbed back. KuliKuli kept her head down, struggling to keep her body from panting. Tears swelled up in her eyes, dropping down on the gravel below as the dust would tickle her cuts, causing a lingering pain. Her lips quivered and she clenched her teeth together, fighting through the feeling.

Unaware that Leone could hear her subdued sobbing. With a pained look, he held his chest before walking away.