The battle was awesome, two of the harpies acting as a front guard while two took to the backside, making for a fortified defense on both sides, each seemingly having a class or something akin to one from what Ariara could tell during the fight from her neutral position.

One of them seemed like a dancer, pink and purple feathers adorning her body with strips of cloth stylishly put at the end of some of the feathers, making for some kind of show. During the battle she moved to make swift and carefree movements slicing up enemies while moving in three-dimensional ways, taking advantage of the battlefield to perform.

The second front liner fought... Differently, sending out sharp black feathers from its wings aiming weirdly enough at the feet of the ants, once them reaching the shadows of which they'd harm the corresponding ant, making for a front liner that demolished formation. Its whole body being covered in black and gray feathers

The first of the back liners is definitely a cleric, during the battle gray feathers would be launched at injured front liners, when coming in contact dissipating, their injuries in a way being reformed. Ariana takes note that the color of the ants and of these gray feathers is the same... Apart from the gray wings, it seems to wear some kind of robe with a yellow between the gray.

The last of the group seems to be a mage, Ariana deduces. Its style in battle was weird, however. With its wings outstretched green feathers would fly out of its green and blue wings, then it seemingly maneuvering them in the air, when an ant being hit nature blossoming around it, wrapping either it's legs or torso, the front liners making quick work of the incapacitated ones.

With the battle coming to an end Ariara swiftly turns to look behind her, having heard a bush rustle while still being alerted, her adrenaline pumping through her body. Looking behind she indeed sees the source of the noise; the horned rabbit approaching, staring a bit at her now lightly burning curse on the wings which the ants inflicted during her escape.

With a light him Ariara turns to her saviors, wanting to thank them for the rescue. "Oh! Right, how could I thank y-" She halts her speech midway. The cause being the people she talked to: none of them being there anymore, in fact, she couldn't see them anywhere! Turning around for a few times she sighs.

"Why?! I had finally met someone who could understand me!" The harpy yells to the skies, despite the ants' bodies probably being a reward, this feels to her like such a cliche moment, for such dumb unluck, especially since she'd bet a lot of money there was no reason behind this, just it being destiny...

Somewhere else in the realm...

There's a beam of pure darkness, afterward laying on some roughly made streets of a settlement are the four Harpy warriors, each of them looking up at the peculiar creature floating above them, a creature from the depths of the earth, an Imp.

"Huhuhuh~, good job on your quest, your part of the deal is done! As promised I'll be delivering the materials to the Queen directly." The Imp says, giggling to itself maniacally. This monster shows proudly a red color of skin, two wings the size of its body standing idly on it's back, not really flapping, instead the creature floating. A little tail moves around behind it, a pointy end at the tip of it.

"Why did you do that? I'm sure you teleported us away exactly when we finished because of that one Harpy, you always take your sweet time" The dancer harpy says, her feathers puffed up, being a bit troubled by leaving behind an injured person, even if the threat of the ants was now gone.

A wing is pulled on the dancer as she gets up, still facing that devil monster. "Mirmana. Even if he has a reason he wouldn't tell us." The shadow assassin tells Mirmana, her puffing out and backing down, looking around the mage has already taken the initiative, without even a goodbye already heading towards its personal tree.

"Who knows? Who knows? Wouldn't it be fun if I left you guessing? Besides! I have a message for the Queen, wouldn't want her waiting right?" The imp responds, as elusively as ever. If someone would give Mirmana a worm each time she thought in the past months that he was keeping a secret, she'd be opening up a shop and solve hunger forever.

"Doodles! Would you look at that! Doesn't time pass weirdly these days?" The red Monster speaks, looking up... Indeed, it was already afternoon and then some... Lately, time has been passing weirdly, hours going by the minute or days feeling like forever. "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be, hope you a good day Questers!" The Imp says again, snickering and disappearing before either of the three remaining get a chance to even say anything.

"We can't trust him. He's a sneaky underhanded brute!" Mirmana says to the two walking alongside her before they each take off, going to report their findings of the day.

Command room, Majesty Harpy Tree

There's a slow creaking of the door, a low-lit room being opened to the imp, disgusted by having to open doors instead of just teleporting around, but they are his orders. The door is purposefully easy to open, after all, it was made to accommodate bird-people, instead of a handle the door being one needing a push to open, like most of the ones in this settlement and the other ones inhabited by Harpies.

"I assume the mission is a success?" A figure asks, standing behind a table with a map on it. This figure revealing itself to the candlelight as a majestic being, feathers of all colors of the rainbow adorning a strong body, the Harpy Queen not minding the fact no sunlight comes into this room, no window or opening leaking into the secrets of royalty.

"Yes, yes! The reward will come from North this time, thank you for your people's hard work~" The Imp says, getting close and bumping down on the table, clearly doing so to annoy the harpy which immediately moves a wing, pushing him off. That dirty creature was then commanded to refrain from purposefully dirtying any table in her realm.

"From your over-work, I can tell something is amiss, or weird. You never stay a moment more than you need" The Queen comments, seeing as the Imp is still here after conveying the information, something that the Imp nods to, before closing in and whispering to her.

She growls from this, turning her back to the creature as he giggles "What's wrong~? Others were very delighted to know the hero of their people was doing fine." The Imp teases, pushing forward an argument he knows somewhy puts her in some kind of distress

The Queen is obviously frustrated by this information, the imp giggling at this and disappearing in a puff, dark clouds dispersing from where he was. With frustration in her mind, she slams down on the table, a feather slicing in half the map there and breaking the wooden table in two. "Damn it..." The only Harpy Royalty says, looking down at the sliced map, anger in her eyes at the discovery of the Hero of her people.

Dirka

Sorry if there may be grammatical horrors, I'm being assaulted by a ton of homework to do and despite using Grammarly and rereading it at 2 am I might've passed by some stuff, hope you enjoy the chapter anyways!