A noise in the sky (What if Harpies instead of Centaurs?)

**Hey all, Zurai here. These "What if?" branches will be updated when and how I choose. I make absolutely no promise to keep to any sort of schedule for them and they may be abandoned or revived at my whim. If any would-be authors out there want to take over any "What if?" branch, just send me a direct message and we'll talk it out; I don't claim complete ownership of anything but my personal main branch of the story. That all said, I've kind of fallen in love with Sunnild here, so you can probably expect to see quite a bit of her in the near future.

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It’s like there are two sets of wings operating on the same frequency but at a slightly different timing. Whatever is causing it, the sound is drawing nearer. You reach out and grab your spear, then roll to your feet, scanning the sky for the source of the noises. Then you feel a blast of wind against your back and a sound like someone landing after jumping down from the top of a short wall. You spin around, spear held out in front of you -- or at least you intend to. What actually happens is that the spear moves faster than your body and you end up tripping over the butt end, falling face-first to the ground.

"Owwwww..." You groan.

"I reallllly hope you're better with your other spear or I'm gonna regret this stop." You hear a woman's rich soprano voice drawl from above you.

Congratulations! Through your Cunning Linguist Trait, you have learned to speak and understand Northern Trade-Tongue.

You crane your neck back to look up at the woman. You can't make her out very well, just a silhouette against the star-filled night sky, but that is enough to make out that she is taller than you and slender, that she is wearing armor which gleams in the moonlight, and that she has four very large wings sprouting from her back.

"Please don't kill me!" You manage to babble out in the language you just learned.

"Oh, darlin', I don't wanna kill ya. But if ya stay here, that's how yer like to end up. There's a patrol of Stargrazers at the base of the hill, and they're waaay less friendly to visitors than you'd like them to be. If you'd rather not find out what they do to guests, come with me."

Wait, you think to yourself, Did she really just pull a "Come with me if you want to live"? But you say, "Come with you? Where? How?" as you pick yourself up off the ground.

"Oh boy, you sure know how to pick 'em, dontcha, Sunnild?" She mutters to herself, then says sharply to you, "Look, human, do you want to come with the gorgeous harpy who is going to let you fuck her over and over, or would you prefer to take your chances with the three centaurs heading this way who will kill you for being a human this close to their village?"

"Uhhh... how do I know you're telling the truth?" I mean, that sounds like a no-brainer, but it also sounds way too good to be true, you add to yourself.

"You don't. Choose. Or don't, and I'll just leave you here, which is really just choosing for the horses to find you."

"Well, when you put it so attractively, I guess I'll come with you then."

"FInally!" She huffs and hops towards you. "Hold on tight, this is gonna be a bumpy liftoff." You're not sure what she means until she wraps her arms around your shoulders and starts to spread her wings. Hastily you wrap your own arms around her waist and then she jumps up into the air at the same time she sweeps all four wings downward and you are flying.