Followubg the tiger from a distance, Ranmza was curious to see what it was doing. Abenti dragged the corpse into the water and took one deep breath to catch his scent before letting the body go downstream. She then stretched, waded in the water to relax her muscles and wash the blood & sweat off her body before getting out and shaking excess water off her body. It was then, that she turned her attentions to Ranmza.

Ranmza then took a few steps back. "Umm. Stay there? That's a good creature..."

Abenti snorted as she took a few steps forward. "Stay there? Where else would I go? Except where the food is hidden, that is."

Ranmza sweat-dropped. "So you really do talk. Please... Will tell me what type of creature you are?"

"From my dimension, I'm called panthera tigris in Latin, or quite simply, a Bengal Tiger. You however know me as someone different." she responded before sniffing at the ground and walking off following the scent of food.

"As somebody different? I don't understand." Ranmza scratched her head.

"Think about it...you have a brain in that noggin of yours. Ever play anagrams as a kid?" She said as she paused. "Follow me if you want to get that food back for your quest."

Ranmza followed the tiger, while trying to play anagrams silently in her head to try to figure out what the tiger meant.

Then she rubbed her head, getting a headache. "Man, you should just tell me straight out! I'm not so good at the thinking business. Fighting's easier for me. Why do you think I became a freelance warrior for hire instead of a scholar like my mother wanted me to be?"

"C'mon...it's not that hard... A Bengal Tiger... Abenti Galger." she said as she shook her head in mild dis-belief as she continued following the scent.

Ranmza gasped. "Oooh. That explains why Abenti disappeared for no good reason!"

"I didn't disappear for no good reason...I just transformed..." Abenti said as she sat down.

Ranmza then frowned. "You know, I didn't get that. When I tried playing anagrams, all I got was gibberish in my head like Bentig, Get Ben and Tan Benni. So is it any wonder why I didn't think of Abenti right away?"

Ranmza then sat down by the tiger, and then grinned. "You're so sneaky, you know! You never told me you were a Taoist who could transform into such a rare creature! Most Taoists I know... They only know how to transform into metal men or water demons."

"That's because before coming here, I was never a Taoist. I just didn't mention the transforming into a tiger, which is a common, yet on the protected species list animal from the Earth I'm from."

Ranmza blinked. "Earth? I wonder if that's just one of the many worlds within worlds that I've heard about? So why is the tiger a protected species? Are they considered very holy?"

"Mankind kills what it fears. Mankind is also a selfish bastard at times, hunting for furs and leaving the rest of the carcass behind to rot." Abenti hung her furry head low.

Ranmza stopped smiling. "Hmm. That's true. It's true even here, where there are some humans here who would go far as turning into monsters literally to gain power and everything else they wanted. How did you think those Bandits came to be? They used to be humans who were on the path to learning how to transform, but their desires got into the way and they corrupted the process. Now those Bandits lurk about, killing everyone or attacking at least, to get at what they want."

Ranmza then looked at the tiger. "But there are people who made the tiger a protected species, right? So they're taking steps to right a wrong. So don't give up on humankind, for there are good people out there who will always try to do the right thing. Sometimes they're the ones who give the rest of the people out there a swift kick in the butt when they turn a blind eye to an injustice."

"Fragile as it may seem, yes."

Ranmza started smiling again. "Then not all is lost."

"This all depends on prospective."

Ranmza's stomach rumbled. She sweat-dropped, and then sighed. "Oh man, I forgot it was about lunch time now. Oh, we almost forgot about tracking the food that the Bandits had!" Ranmza quickly stood up, her cheeks flushed several shades of red. "I can't be seen sitting down on the job talking to a tiger. It'd be so degrading to my honor as a warrior! No offense, Abenti."

"Ppphhhtt...I still have the scent...Besides; I'm the one that's the freak in this world...mutant Ratling indeed." Abenti snorted in disgust.

Ranmza giggled nervously. "Well, can you blame them? We don't have tigers in this world, and the closest thing that resembles you are those Ratlings, which have striped fur patterns just like you do."

"How would I know? I never have seen a live one... What's next...fake prosthetic parts to make me look like them even more?" Abenti muttered as she sniffed the ground and headed north.

Ranmza followed the tiger, quickly keeping in stride. Abenti then sped up as the scent got stronger, not noticing that she might have been leaving Ranmza behind. However, Ranmza stopped running and started leaping, still keeping the pace with the tiger. Abenti then plowed full force into the upcoming northern river and began swimming across to the mid-way point before pausing. Ranmza then leapt over the river, practically gliding though the air gracefully.

"Where are you going?" Abenti shouted with her head above water. "The food's hidden down below in the water!"

Ranmza stopped on the other side, blinking.

"Eh? Really? Oh man, why did those Bandits have to do that? I can't swim too well with my heavy armor on!" She grumbled.

"They probably did it because they knew it'd be a fool's wager to go get it with armor on...and for those who aren't good swimmers."

"Damned Bandits. They just want people to get off their armor off so that they can be more vulnerable. Either way, I'm screwed." Ranmza muttered.

Ranmza then looked at the tiger. "Are you a good swimmer, by any chance?"

Abenti grinned as only a tiger could. "You happen to be looking at the queen of swimming felines. Tigers love water."

Ranmza then smiled. "Well, good. You could go fetch the food while I stand watch."

"Just be careful...you know that person who thought they saw a Fire Rat...or Fire Spirit or whatever? What they saw was me. I just wish there was a way for you to tell me if someone's near by."

Ranmza grinned evilly. "Don't worry; if anybody comes I'll just make threatening gestures or something. Let them think they're gonna get killed or robbed by me. I won't actually do anything, just scare them off."

With that, Abenti took a deep breath and dived into deeper parts of the river than where she had been wading in. Ranmza whistled casually, keeping a careful look out on both sides of the river. It took several minutes for her to even find it...but by then, Abenti needed to come up for a fresh breath of air...Moments later, she submerged again and went towards the food again...slowly since even though tigers were water loving, they weren't meant for being submarine substitutions. An unexpected Bandit happened to wander by, but Ranmza quickly put an end to him.

Suddenly, a giant red Bandit happened to wander by the river. Ranmza looked at the Bandit, who was easily twice her size.

"I just had to open my mouth, didn't I? Better deal with this particular Bandit King as soon as possible." Ranmza said before she went to distract the King while Abenti worked on fetching the food.

With each stroke and paddle, Abenti grew a bit more tired. Dragging the water soaked package was making her lag. She then reverted to her human form and managed to pick up the pace. By the time she surfaced, Ranmza and the Bandit King were both tiring.

"Hey, Abenti. Back I see. Do you mind casting some lighting in the Bandit King? Just to kill him?"

Abenti sputtered and coughed up a bit of water. "Sure...let me catch my breath first...diving isn't a strongpoint..."

"No.. problem." Ranmza panted.

After catching her breath, Abenti concentrated and summoned the thunder skill to attack the Bandit King. Before they knew it, the Bandit King fell backwards, landing on the ground with a thud.

Ranmza then sat down. "Phew. Fighting a guy that size is a real workout."

Ranmza allowed some time to pass so that the two of them could catch their breath, before going back to claim their reward for the mission.

"Okay, you ready to go back? I see that you've dried off some." She asked of Abenti.

"I've been worse. As long as it doesn't start raining, I should be dry before we reach the city." Abenti replied.

Ranmza nodded. "Alright then. Off we go." with that they strolled back towards the direction of Twin city. Along the way, Ranmza started to make conversation. "Say, I was just wondering, what is your world like?"

"Well, it's different from this world. I can tell you that much. Where as there are thieves and the like, not everyone can just go out, choose a class to be in and hunt Bandits, change forms, or shoot arrows on a whim. Fewer monsters to deal with. Technology and machinery are major factors." Abenti said, trying not to say too much, unsure if anything she said would be too confusing or advanced.

Ranmza blinked. "No classes? But, how do you train to become what you want to be in life? Although, the less monsters thing does sound somewhat peaceful. Might get too boring for somebody like me though." Ranmza grinned as she said the last sentence.

"Most people become something other than a Warrior or Taoist or archer or whatever else is obtainable here. There are writers, teachers, healers, shopkeepers, game makers, resturaunteers...well let's just say there are many different job types. There are warriors there but of different types. Some train for fighting on land, others by water or air..." Abenti said while thinking about the different types of normal militia.

Ranmza nodded. "Sounds like your world is much more profitable than mine to be able to have so many different types of jobs to be. Right now the way things are here, the demand for certain classes being so high that people wouldn't even make one cent being anything else. That's why you don't see that many writers, teachers or anybody else like that here. In order to survive here, you have to at least be one of the classes in high demand. Actually now that I think of it, the jobs thing is basically the same thing as classes. I mean, think about it. It's basically the same thing, huh?"

"Life is all about learning, no matter what you're getting yourself into." Abenti replied.

Ranmza nodded. "Yeah, that's actually a very nice way of looking at it." As she looked up, Ranmza pointed to the city on the horizon, and added, "Ah, here we are!"

Walking into the city, Ranmza led Abenti up to a building near some stores, where a man dressed in white and black was standing in front.

"Hey there." Ranmza just addressed the man casually.

"Did you complete the mission I asked you to do?" the man crossed his arms. Ranmza then held up Abenti's arm, since Abenti had been the one holding the bag of food. The person squinted at the bag. "Uh... why is it wet?"

Ranmza shook her head. "Ain't my fault at all! Those Bandits actually threw it into the river!"

"Well then. I suppose that it's alright. The food isn't the type to be ruined by water easily anyhow. Here's your reward." With that, he gave her a small sack of coins.

The two women left with grins on their faces.

"Since you helped me, you get half of the reward!" Ranmza then opened up the sack, and upon counting the coins inside, she groaned. "Just a measly one hundred silver?! All that work just for this? Oh well. Here's fifty silver for you. Not that it'll get you much around here."

Several minutes later, Ranmza was still griping about funds.

"I need more money than this to make ends meet! I was hoping to expand my home. Oh well, so much for that... I guess maybe I need to go back to the mines after all."

[ Prologue | Back to the crossovers | Next Chapter ]