The hunter rushed at the akantor his silver rathalos armour glinting in the sunlight. The akantor tried to gore him with it's massive tusks. The hunter nimbly jumped on to it's head and plunged his Icey dual blades down through it's thick scales and skull. The light in the pseudowyvern's eyes died and the body slumped to earth as it drew it's last breath. The hunter yanked his frozen blades out ignoring the spurting blood, he jumped down and walked to the tail. It was amazing the hunter grabbing the tail of the akantor dragged it all the way back to the city. Crowds of adoring people rushed out to meet him, there was a huge fanfare as he approched the guild woman for his award.
She spoke "Nyyaa!! wake up you useless pile of fur! Nyaa!"
The Hunter stared confused at the woman "What? I'm a hunter I killed that huge akantor over there! I want my reward!"
"I'll give you a reward alright, Pix you useless slacker! Nya!"
Pix woke to a swift kick in the behind, sending him flying into several pots and pans.
"Nnyyyaaaaa!!" There was a loud crash.
Pix slowly picked himself up dusting his fur and loin cloth. A large yellow felyne wearing a chef's hat scowled down at him. It was Raei the chief chef of the master's house.
"Cheh" she said "I should put you in a pot and boil you in a stew to feed to the Master with but he'd probably throw you up, Nyaa, seriously I have no idea what the master was thinking when he took a melynx desendant like you in, Nyaa you're always daydreaming about being a hunter, if you like hunters so much you should become a felyne fighter, Nyyaa!"
Pix didn't speak his mind, the fighters weren't real hunters, they couldn't take guild quests and were only really support for hunters. They were felyne fighters not hunters, and Pix wanted to be a hunter,
he knew he would be could be good at it, his size would be an aide rather than a hindernce , he would dance about on top of the wyverns , stabbing inbetween the scales with a pair of blades and sinking them in when the wyvern tried to get rid of him, and his equipment wouldn't need as much materials as a big hunter needed.
Scratching the back of his head Pix replyed to Raei "Nyaa, I like it fine here, I'll try harder not to daydream Raei-dono!"
Raei looked at Pix sniffed and walked away "Clean up that mess and finish cleaning those dirty dishes nyaa" She called back to Pix. Pix looked despairingly at the mountain of dirty dishes the Master had left, he wished that the Master didn't eat so much...
As Pix cleaned he thought, why was he here what was he doing, did he really want to spend the rest of his life daydreaming and working in a felyne kitcen. Anger burned in Pix's heart then an idea hit him, he knew a bit of smithing, he could buy a hunter's dagger and make a pair of blades and some armour from it! Pix grinned evilly and cleaned the plates with the speed of a kirin.
Pix rummaged through his stash of junk he grabbed two things a giadrome scale he had found and his money bag, he looked into it 700 zeni , he'd have some left over from buying the weapon.
The man he bought from just thought Pix was a servant buying a blade for his master. Pix didn't think that would be the hard part. What was going to be hard was using a smithry, he would have to do it at night while everyone was asleep and he would have to do it without waking Archindaulus
the smith Pix planned to exploit. Arch was a good smith one of the best in the city but people said he would often fall asleep, sometimes even smithing when asleep. Strangely Arch sleeping while working didn't affect the standerd of his work. Pix knew however that if he was caught Arch would skin him and use his remains for a bowgun.
So Pix waited for nightfall, when he would take the first step to become a lyian hunter!
Pix crept silently into the smithy, he looked around, the fire was still hot , it wouldn't take long to build the fire up to the right heat, it was the rest of the work that was going to be noisy. All the tools he needed were there. Pix went up the stairs of the smithy, into Arch's bedroom. This would be be the most dangerous part, he needed to put beeswax into the ears of Arch as so he wouldn't hear the hammer hitting the metal. Pix creeped closer to Arch taking out the beeswax he had specailly brought for this purpose.
Pix filled one ear, then Arch shifted "Hmmm, stoke up the fires summore will ya" he mumbled in his sleep. Pix relaxed, he filled the other ear, then he crept back to the stairs, that was when he tripped and fell down them.
"Nnyyyaaaaa!!" Pix chrashed into a stack of weapons, which fell on him, he was nearly decapitated several times. Pix waited a few minutes then came out from the pile of weaponry. He began to forge his equipment, he had gotten as far as melting down the hunter's dagger when he felt a heavy breath on the back of his furry neck. He made a dash for it but was caught by the scruff of his neck.
Lifted face to face with Arch. "Nyyaa?"
Arch's eyes were still closed and he was snoring softly, Pix prayed that Arch wouldn't skin him in his sleep. Arch then started touching him all over as if looking for something or measuring him.
Arch then set Pix down "Felyne equipment" he muttered. Pix was about to flee, when he saw what Arch was about to do, he was starting to make Pix's equipment.
Pix watched in amazement as Arch began to forge a small suit of armour. It was quite stylish, and looked strong, the helm would hide most of a felyne's head, perfect for Pix's purpose. Pix wasn't quite sure how Arch did it but when he made a pair of blades, the right size for a felyne, he used a bunch of giaprey scales as well as the giadrome scale Pix brought and forged them into one of the blades.
When the blades had cooled and been set in thier hilts Pix took the giaprey blade and slashed it at a block of wood that Arch kept around for testing weapons. It went through easily. Pix inspected the cut, there was a bit of frost where he had cut, Pix was impressed Arch had managed to get an elemental effect from so few materials.
So equipping the armour, putting the blades on his back and leaving the money left over from his purchase of the now reforged hunter's dagger, Pix left. He paused at the door looking at his new thing he spoke "I'll call the blades Icepick and Poker and the armour... Nyaa.. Melynx Hope! Nya!!"
With that Pix ran off to test his new equip in a hunt.
A little while after he had gone Arch opened his eyes and smiled. "Nice names little hunter, I hope you will become a hunter like the one in your dreams, he was cool"
A voice spoke seemingly from nowhere it hoarse and raspy "For his sake I hope so"
Arch laughed "Yeah well whatever happens, we stand to gain, any way maybe now I can get some sleep"
As Arch went upstairs to his bed he muttered
"I wish he hadn't used beeswax, the stuff was a pain to get out"
The city where Pix lived was called Alicia, the oasis city, it was in the desert lands and quite ovbisoisly was built around a oasis. Pix had just sneaked out the city gates, Pix knew a bit about
being a hunter, so he knew it was important to collect things. Pix walked about the desert picking herbs, mushrooms and anything else he could get his paws on.
After a while of gathering Pix began to feel the cold of the desert night "Brr, Nya I should have brought a hot drink with me... Nya! I'll make a fire!"
Pix being in the desert ovbiosly found very little in the way of firewood but as he was searching he came across a trio of apceros. Pix grinned these would be good prey to test his swords on. Pix silently rushed towards the closest one, he jumped on it's back and before it noticed he severed it's neck the other apceros froze staring at their companion in shock, they could barely see Pix in the dark of the night. Pix gloated over his kill "Nya! I did it hehehee!" because he was gloating he failed to notice the spiky club like tail of one of the other apceros wooshing towards him
*thwack!* "Nnyyaaaa!!!" Pix crashed into the sand, this head buried in it. Pix struggled a bit , then his head popped out of the sand. "Oww, Nya, that was sore.."
A blast of hot air blowed at Pix, filled with dread he turned around. Pix stared at the apceros' beady angery eyes. He rolled to the side it just as it tried to headbutt him. Taking the advantage he thrust one of his blades into the ear hole of the apceros, killing it instantly.
Pix jumped on top of the corpse and prepared to fight the third apceros, but just then several piercing bird-like srieks sounded and several genprey converged on the remaining apceros.
It barely had time to scream out in pain as it was ripped and torn to pieces, the genprey gorging themselves on it.
Pix was wondering wether to run or fight when one of the genprey saw him, it leapt at him screeching. As Pix doged he felt one of it's claw scrape off his armour. Pix slashed at the prey's face blinding it, it flinched screaming and Pix cut it's throat. The other genprey circled around Pix now.
Pix rushed one but was hit on the side. Pix stuggled bravely, the monster had him pinned down and was snapping at Pix's head. As it snapped it tore one of Pix's ears off, yelling in pain he thrusted
Icepick into it's snapping maw of it, he pierced the roof of it's mouth and it keeled over, giving a feeble croak as it departed this world.
Wiping blood from his eyes, he looked around, there was still many genprey, they were more careful now, they were wary of this ferious little being. Pix rushed them again, jumping on the back of one of them. The other genprey turned to this one and to it's dismay attacked. Pix jumped off as soon as the others had attacked. By the time they realised that Pix had moved the unfortunate genprey was dead. Pix stuck out his tongue and taunted them.
The Genprey danced about with rage at being tricked like this. They were about to attack Pix when another genprey screeh rent the air, to Pix something about it sounded wrong, Pix hoped he hadn't brought a gendrome apon himself.
The genprey parted for this new arrival, It was slightly larger than the other genprey, but it wasn't a gendrome, Pix wondered why it was being treated with respect by the other genprey. Pix nocticed a bulge on it's throat. It faced Pix.
It was then that it breathed fire.
Pix had no time to dogde as this was a completely unexpected action coming from a genprey. As Pix flew through the air on fire he wondered why it was that the monster was breathing fire, he concluded that it didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was staying alive and/or tearing the monster apart. Pix hit the ground rolling the sand helped put the fire out.
He barely avoided the next burst of flame. Pix quikly scrambled up, he looked around , all the genprey were in a circle watching... this was very strange behavoir the whole thing felt wrong. As Pix leapt out of the strange genprey's line of fire. He ran in to attack as he slashed at the genprey he saw that it's mouth was smoking, and when Pix dodged it's fire breath again he noticed that it was causing it pain to breath fire.
Suddenly it changed the direction it was breathing fire, Pix held up his blades knowing it would do no good. A few seconds later Pix blinked, he couldn't believe his eyes, Icepick 's element had slashed through the fire. It must be because the fire beath is weaker than normal fire breaths, he thought.
An Idea then occoured to Pix. He jumped right in front of the fire spewing genprey. It breathed fire at him. Pix waded through the fire his blade, Icepick, splitting the flames allowing him to walk through. When the fire stopped the genprey barely had time to look surpiresed as Pix thrust his blade up through it's jaw. The genprey tried to open it's mouth put the blade kept it shut. Then the genprey did something very very stupid.
It tried to breath fire.
All the other genprey fled when they saw the firebeather's head explode. Icepick flew through the air narrowly missing Pix's head. Pix slumped down, for a monster hunt test, it had been really crazy.
Pix drunk a potion then, carved the genprey corpses. Putting it all in a bag he brought with him.
Then Pix went over to the firebeather's corpse. What he saw shook him badly.
The head was completely gone but the neck was still there. There was a strange bulge on the throat looking closer Pix could see there was stitches connecting it, It was as if someone had sewen it on.
Pix cut it open, as he suspected there was a fire sac inside, with various tubes sewn on into the throat. Pix was very worried this was totally unnatural, someone or something had done this to this genprey. Pix sighed , he harvested the fire sac, and put it in his bag.
Pix thought hard on his way back to the city. He had no clues or leads to help him discover who or what had done that to the genprey, He had problems of his own anyway he wondered how he was going to explain his sniged fur and torn ear. It was going to be hard to get new equipment too.
Pix decided he would ask for a few days off, then in this time he would set up his hunter person, he could sell some of the stuff he had collected, then use that to upgrade his equipment, his problem before had been that had no money to pay a smith.
As Pix came to the city gates, he would have do a hunter's test to get a licence. He would do the hardest test, an non-hunter could do. Most tests were hunting genprey or the like, this training would end with hunting a drome, but If a person took the yian kut-ku test , he could bypass all other training and instantly get a hunting licence. That is if he beat the kut-ku on one try.
Pix hoped people would find the idea of him taking the test amusing enough that they would let him take it... but first he needed to upgrade his equipment
"Nyya! So let me get this striaght , you got your ear chopped by a falling knife, then in shock you fell into the ovenfire? Nya?"
Raei stood before Pix shaking her head and tapping her pawfoot.
Pix nervously scratched his the back of his head with his paw "Uh, nya that's right"
"Hmm , and you want a few days off as well, nya..."
"Yes"
Raei turned her head to the side squinting at Pix
"I'll think about it, nya, but in the mean time show me your ear, it doesn't look properly binded, nya"
Pix let her unbind it and then dress and re-bind it. As Raei finshed she wisphered in Pix's ear,
"I may be only as old as you are, but I've tended to the wounds of the master many times, so I know the difference between a cut from a claw and a cut from a knife"
Raei tripped and pinned Pix as he tried to run,he pleaded feveredly.
"Nya! Don't tell the guild, nya, please you know what they do to unregistered hunters and felyne fighters!, I just needed to test my equipment, I'm going to take the test!, nya!"
Raei sat on top of Pix and sighed. "It's one thing" she started "being a useless daydreamer, that's dispicable, but actually putting your dreams into action, that's a whole different barrel of sushifish, that is something to be proud of..."
Pix looked up at Raei, he couldn't help but notice the way the sunlight playing on her yellow fur "Raei"
Raei stood up on top of Pix winding him, then walked off. As she pulled Pix off the floor she spoke,
"Nya, I'm not going let the guild know, I'm going to help you Pix" She smiled at him.
Unexpectedly she hugged him, "I'm so glad that you aren't a useless daydreamer and if you fail I'll make a terrible meal from your corpse, Nya..."
"Err, thanks, I think, nya..."
It was then that Raei kicked Pix out the kitchen door.
"Nnyyyyaaaaaaaa!" Pix sailed through the air hitting the ground face first.
"Bring me your stuff so I can have a look at it! If you prove me wrong about you I'll skin you alive myself, you useless ball of fur, get moving!!! Nya!" Raei yelled at Pix. He ran swiftly to his stash.
When he got there he started to hear a voice, "Teostra's fire!! I'm really lucky who would have thought there was all this neat stuff lying around, abandoned! Hey cool!! there's even a fire sac here!!"
Pix rushed in shouting "Nya!! get away from my stuff you dirty thief"
Pix started to have misgivings when he saw the man, he was young, not big but had a well trained body, he had a pair of goggles resting in his hair, which was black and unkempt. It looked kind of was wearing chain armour. He raised an eyebrow and scratched the stubble on his chin.
"Eh, yours? Me a thief?, you just trying to con me out of my find, you mangy moggie"
If there is one thing that felynes and melynx don't like it's being called a cat.
The man was about to get a facefull of Pix's paws...
The young man was not expecting a fight, generally felynes don't go around beating humans up, but Pix was angery and wanted his stuff. Pix flew into the man's face hitting him with all four paws.
The young man smashed head first into a pile of rubbish near Pix's slowly got up from junk.
"Oww, Whotca do that for?" He pulled some junk that had gotten logded in his messy hair "You got rabies or summit?"
Claiming a Felyne has rabies is an extremly insulting thing to do, It is likely you will get scratched repeditively and if you are a man, a strong hit to the meat and vegtables.
Pix came at the man in a flurry of claws, he screamed very loudly.
"Ahhh... not the face, not the face", Pix obiliged the man , "Ahhh the face, the face, please, daora's wind! just hit the face."
Pix suddenly stopped, The man looked up removing his hands from his face, he was covered in scratches and cut. Pix walked over to his bag of stuff as he picked it up and put every thing the man had looked at back in it, Pix asked the man a question "What is your name, Nya?"
"Elruk Verdain..." he said with confusion.
"Good" Pix stated as he began to swing his bag. He hit in between Elruk's legs.
"I'll remember it, nyyaa!!!" Pix shouted
"AAAARRRRRGHHH, my loot"
Elruk rolled around on the ground in pain, weeping.
"Heh, did you mean mine or yours, nya?" said Pix, rattling his bag of things.
Pix then brought down his bag on Elruk's head, knocking him out cold.
Back at the kitchen Pix unloaded his junk for Raei to look at. Raei shifted through the stuff, looking at the fire sac and the genprey materials, she was quite impressed by the armour and swords.
She put it all down and stared at Pix.
"Nya, there is some adventures you have to tell me, you couldn't have forged that stuff your self and a fire sac is an impressive find for a beginner, nya."
So Pix told her all about Arch smithing in his sleep, and about the altered genprey.
Raei tapped her paw foot, thinking, she spoke "That last bit you told me is worrying, nya, well now you have a higher reason for becoming a hunter, if you become a hunter then I will be easier to find out whats going on, nya. Hmmm as for Arch I think we might be able to force him to upgrade your equipment, I think you should get genprey armour and change Poker to a fire element genprey sword, nya, we need to do this before you go to try get into the test."
Pix nodded in agreement, then hesitated, "What about money,nya!!, I need to sell some stuff to pay for the smith"
Raei grinned "Thats where I come in, the Master gives me quite a generous salary, nya, you can think of me as you patron , many hunters starting out have patrons"
"Thanks Raei!"
Grabbing a Knife from the wall, Raei hissed at Pix "Nya!, if it turns out you were a waste of money I'll skin you alive for conpensation, nyarr!"
Instantly Raei turned back to a sunny dispostision.
"Nya!, Alright we go to Arch's smithy, Pix then to the hunter arena!"
Deep in a back alley Elruk was still clutching himself wondering if he would ever be able to give children, when he remembered he needed to sign up for the hunter test at the arena.
Arch was sleeping when he was thrown from his seat, he opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him was not the best; his appentices were running around like headless chickens and there was a particulary evil, sadistic looking yellow felyne on top of his chest, pointing a very large, sharp butcher knife at him.
Arch quickly decided that it would be best to close his eyes and pretend he was still asleep. He began to feel a pointy object poking his stomoch.
"Nya! Get up you lazy excuse for a smith I know you aren't asleep!" said Raei
"Nya!, don't kill him Raei!, please!, Nya!" Pix pleaded
"I'll skin him alive if I have to, nya!!"
"Why must it always be skinning with you Raei, nya?, You are such a violent person nya!"
Raei sighed "Alright... nya... , if he doesn't get up I'll just cut a toe off... or maybe his nose, nya!"
Pix was surprised at how quickly Arch got up.
"You... you're Simeon's cheif chef, aren't you? What do you want?" Arch asked, though he was fairly sure of what was wanted.
Raei grinned "Nya! You are going to upgrade Pix's equipment!, nya!"
With a flourish Raei presented Pix, who for his small size looked quite impressive in he armour.
Arch laughed, "I better get paid properly this time, ha I can recognise my own work anywhere, I wonder what the money left on my anvil was about, HA! So what kind of stuff do you want"
Pix showed Arch the genprey matrials and the fire sac, taking the armour off and giving one of his swords, Poker, to Arch, he said "Nya, Genprey armour, and a fire sword using those genprey materails aswell, nya, you'll be properly paid."
Arch scratched his beard, then gave a manic grin. He grabbed Raei and Pix and threw them out the door, slamming it he shouted "This won't take long, just wait out there until I'm done"
There was various hammering, hissing, whooshing, clattering, manical laugher, a scream or two and the odd stream of cursing. After a while the sounds stopped and the door to the smithy slowly creaked open.
"Come in, it's done"
Pix and Raei went in, what they saw imrpessed them, the suit of armour now looked like a hunter's genprey armour. The sword was still iron but had genprey scales, worked through it, the hilt used a genprey hide and there were fangs attached on the back for a backswipe. Pix picked it up and slashed the testing wood, small flames licked the wood, leaving scroch mark at the slash.
"It's a fairly weak elemental effect, but I only had a fire sac to work with, Oh just so as you know , there is a change of a weak paralising ability, though only if you slash with the fangs" Arch explained.
Raei and Pix paid Arch, they ended up having to pay a lot money, which Raei wasn't happy about.
As Pix went off to sign up for the hunter's test he thought about Raei's parting words to him. She had said "Nya! Right you must walk and speak with confidence, you must make the guild masters think that you will be a hunter, also, nya, I suggest doing the teamed test, fighting a Kut-Ku on your own with no experiance is a bit risky, you would be on a team with one other hunter, make sure that you are the one giving the orders, nya, otherwise they will just think of you as a felyne fighter. Nya!
Now go out there and become a hunter and remember if you fail I will skin you alive! Nya!"
Pix grinned, this was going to be fun.
"Bawhahahahahahahaha... ha!!!!"
Pix gritted his teeth, letting himself growl slightly, he was at the arena. There was three people behind the application desk for the hunter test, two men , a old and young one and there was a woman. All three were luaghing so hard that they were crying.
The woman pointed at Pix laughing "Heehee, Let me get this striaght, haha, you want, *giggle* to do the, Wohhahahaha!, the Kut-ku test!" She had to stop talking as she burst into a fit of laughing.
She suddenly clutched at her ribs in pain, "Arrgh, my old hunting wounds!" The other two ex-hunter tester laughed harder.
"A small cat like you has no chance at his, this is a test for people who are going to be hunters!, not a scruffy cat like you, if you want to go on the hunt become a felyne fighter!" the woman siad rubbing her ribs.
On the outside Pix was calm and cool, on the inside he was thinking of a miriad of ways of repaying the insulting woman. Pix scowled "Look, nya, I will become a hunter, there is nothing to lose by having me do the test,nya and besides think of the crowds you'll draw to the arena, nya."
The young man grinned "Hmmm, we could get a lot of mone.., er I mean the soul of a hunter is more important than the body"
A harsh cynical laugh came from the mouth of the old man "Heh, we don't have anything to lose, if he passes the guild gets a new hunter, if he fails we get some paperwork"
The woman stared at Pix "We'll have to pull a few strings, Felynes aren't really allowed to be hunters, not that there's an actual rule, it's just that... Felynes don't make good hunters"
"So , will you solo or team?" Pix barely heard her, I'll show them he thought, I'll become a great hunter...
Pix filled out the nessarcy paperwork and paid the entry fee, he was told when to come to the arena, it would be in the evening. As Pix went out the corridor to outside he let his anger out on the walls.
Later, people wondered what kind of demon had caused such deep groves in the wall.
There are nearly always people in the dark, commanding, one said, let the cat take the test, But a man much deeper in the darkness said "spice it up a bit"
It was early in the evening just about to get dark, Pix put on his armour and put his blades on his back. Then he went to the arena. He was lead into a small rest room that was connected to the arena.
Pix looked out the gate into the dusty arena floor, it was very bare, they had removed all platforms.
He looked up at the stands they were packed with people.
Pix sat down on one of the benches provided and began to sharpen his swords on a wetstone. He pondered tactics in his head for fighting a Yian Kut-ku. He wondered when the hunter he would team up with would arrive. Pix's ear's jerked when he heard the sound of someone walking.
Pix turned to meet his teammate. His eyes widened in shock then narrowed in rage.
"Nya!! You!!!"
"Gah!! You!!!"
There standing shocked infront of Pix was Elruk Verdain, in his chain armour, wearing his goggles and holding a sword and shield.
Elruk Verdain was not a man to hold grugdes, but the rules slightly change when you get hit in the sack and laserated all over. He was about to start a fight when he realised he would need the extra help.
Pix disliked being insulted and someone trying steal from him, he wanted to teach Elruk another lesson. Pix was about to empart seven different kinds of fear into him when he realised he would need the extra help.
Both Elruk and Pix were surpised when the other didn't attack. They circled around each other like a pair of monsters that were unsure that they wanted to attack. Pix was the first to break the ice, he did it with a slegdehammer.
"Nya! I didn't know they were accepting thieves into the guild nowdays." Pix sneered
"I didn't realise that cats were allowed to be fed to kut-ku, I heard that it plays havoc with thier fire sacs"
Pix eyed Elruk's weapon, it was large for a one handed sword, being bigger than the usaul size of one handed sword but smaller than a greatsword. The odd thing was that the shield didn't match the sword.
Pix was about to make another insult when the call for the hunters to enter was given. Pix swallowed then held out his paw.
"Nya! Look I don't like you and you don't like me, nya, but we need to pass this test, so what do you say, nya, work together to beat this Yian Kut-ku? Then we can go our seperate ways."
Elruk scratched at his stubble then gave a manic grin. He shook Pix's paw.
"Alright lets do this , wild cat!!"He yelled
Pix grinned caught up in the intisipation of the hunt, "Sure thing, thief! Nya!"
Pix and Elruk went out to the middle of the arena, the crowd cheered. Raei looked down from the crowd, she dicided to shout some incouragement, "Nya, Beat that Kut-ku or I'll boil you alive Pix!!!!"
Even over the crowd Pix could hear her, he sighed. Elruk looked down at Pix still grinning.
"Pix eh? Your girlfriend up there or something?" Elruk asked.
Pix was going to reply when a large roar came from the gate the monster would come through. Something was wrong, Kut-ku don't roar like that, Pix thought. He watched the gate of the monster gate slowly open.
Instead of a Kut-ku what rushed out was a Yian Garuga, Pix and Elruk only just managed to dodge it's charge. They both slammed into the dirt.
"WHAT THE HELL!!! WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING A KUT-KU NOT AGARUGA!"
Screamed Elruk.
Pix could only assume that somebody had switched monsters on them, Pix was about to signal to be taken from the pit, when an insane idea hit him. Pix started to laugh then he shouted over to Elruk who had dodged to the left when Pix had dodged to the right.
"Nya! Hey Elruk!, let's take this Garuga down, we''ll get instant fame as hunters and we'll get the materials too,nya, it would be great start!! nya"Pix yelled manically
Elruk wasn't the kind of person to back out of a fight and he always liked a challange. When Elruk was a kid he was always getting beaten up, the reason was that at the age of 6 he was already growing facial hair. After so many times of being beaten by bigger kids he discovered that they no longer hurt him, their hits did nothing, it was not long after that, he learned he could hit back. After that he became a bully, until his father a master gunner beat Elruk up and gave a badass speach about being badass.
Elruk's father died after that speach, on a hunting Azure Lao-Shan Lung stepped on him.
Elruk after hearing the bad news vowed to become one of the most badass hunters in the world. Elruk then ceased his bullying and consentrated on becoming a hunter. But there was one other thing he got from his father.
Elruk laughed "Pix wanna know why I decided to take the Kut-ku test?"
Pix looked at Elruk wondering, then Elruk threw away his shield, Pix wasn't sure but there appaered to be a one handed bowgun in Elruk's hand where the shield had been, it was smaller than a light bowgun and there was a very small bow part, it was made from bone and metal. Pix rekoned it probably had a short range.
Elruk shouted "Like I would give up a chance like this! If we defeat this guy, the guild will have to accept my experimental weapons and they'll have to accept you too!!"
Elruk held up his small bowgun, "I call it, the 'bowpistol' !"
With that proclaiment Elruk sunk his blade into the ground then leapt behind it, he fired a shot or two from his bowpistol, then ducked behind his sword.
The sword was more like a shield, that was why it was such an odd shape, being flat on one side and curved on the other, with a blade edge running more Pix realised, the sword could be used like a small hammer. You could also hide behind it while reloading, Pix was impressed. The Garuga gave a scream, having recovered from being shot in the face. Pix sped forwards towards the Garuga.
"NYA! Cover me while I make a run for it's legs" Pix yelled.
Elruk obliged peppering the Garuga with four more shots, Pix was surprised that the small bowgun had so much power, it wasn't that much weaker than a light bowgun. Reaching the Garuga's legs Pix rolled forward slashing at them, the blades bounced and the garuga kicked Pix away.
"Nnyyyyaaaaaa!!" Pix flew through the air, the Garuga was about to pounch on him, when Elruk started to fire again.
"Go for the back of the head or the tail Pix!"
Pix rolled as he hit the ground then he ran towards the Garuga. It swung it's tail at Pix.
It looked around confused as Pix appaered to have vanished. A stab of pain told it where Pix was the Garuga shook it's tail trying to fling Pix off, but Pix had sunk Fire Poker deep into the tail and was hanging on to the hilt with both paws, he had Icepick in his mouth.
If the Garuga had been given time to think it would have smashed it's tail on the ground, but Elruk was arrivating it with his attacks. Pix Slammed Icepick into the tail, he would climb all the way to the head using his swords.
Elruk watched as the Garuga hopped about and fire licked around it's beak. Elruk swore, the Garuga was seriously pissed.
Elruk grabbed his blade and jumped out of the way as the Garuga came charging past, as he evaded he caught sight of Pix grimily climing up the back of the bird-wyern.
"Nya! Elruk aim for the legs, we need to decrease it's mobility, Nya!" Pix screamed.
Elruk slammed his sword into the ground and took aim.
Pix climbed onwards, each plunge of his blade causing the garuga to scream in pain. He knew this was the best plan for beating this monster, his and Elruk's weaponry was too weak to kill it any way other then damaging it's brain.
Raei was surprised at first she was raging and going to demand they be extracted from the pit as a garuga wasn't twhat they were to fight against, but as she watched it became clear that, Pix and Elruk were winning, the Garuga was confused and on the defencive, and whats more Pix was giving the orders.
Pix was on the middle of the back of the Garuga, he looked up and swore, it was headed for a wall.
"Nya! Elruk stop it!! It's headed toward the wall, nya!, I'll be flung off!"
Elruk put his blade on his back then ran at the Garuga holding the bowpistol in both hands firing.
It wasn't powerful enough. Elruk still running unloaded his bowpistol, and pulled out some priece S lv2, he hoped it work... he hadn't tested it with anything other than normal S lv1. He jammed them ammo in and fired the pistol, much to his surpise the bowpistol didn't explode. As he fired at the Garuga, it flinched a bit but kept charging onwards. It slammed into the wall.
Pix lost his grip on Icepick which was stuck in the back of the bird-wyern. He went flying into the wall and was dazed. The Garuga recovered quicker, it stepped back and went to bite Pix. Elruk rolled in just in time, he slashed the Garuga's head then slammed the flat of the blade on the top of the head dazing the Garuga. He grabbed Pix and woke him.
Pix wispered "Nya, Elruk while it is still dazed throw me on top of it, Nya!" Elruk threw Pix.
"Nnyyyyaaaaaa!!"
As Pix flew through the air he managed to grab hold of Icepick's handle, it hurt a lot but he clung on. The garuga went into a wild frenzy hopping and spinning and flapping. There was no way Pix could move while it was like this.
"Elruk! Nya! I need it stopped for a few seconds!!"
It was all very well to say that, but Elruk was sure that the pistol wouldn't be capable of handling something powerful enough to stop it. He sighed and shoved a crag shot into pistol. He fired. As soon as nothing came out from the barrel, he threw the bowpistol at the head of the Garuga, the bowpistol exploded. The sound and the force of the explosion stunned it. Pix wasted no time and pulled Icepick from the Garuga's body. He lept for the head.
Elruk, Raei and the whole crowd held their beath as Pix's blades sunk into the back of the Garuga's head. The bird- wyvern colasped, Pix slowly climbed off it's head. Everyone cheered loudly
They had killed a Yian Garuga first time! They were Hunters in all but paperwork!!
Rimesaw, Red hot poker, Demon spittle, bitter aegis,
"What do ya mean you won't let us be hunters!!!"
"Nya!! Yeah! We beat that monster fair and square!!,nya, It wasn't even the monster we were supposed to fight!! Nya!"
The three guild judges, flinched as Pix and Elruk slammed their fists down at the table the judges were sitting at, It crumbled. The judges were getting very nervous, there was an encreasingly angry mob behind Pix and Elruk... and then there was the felyne with a butcher knife, she was scary.
Raei hissed "Nya! THEY FOUGHT A GARUGA AND BEAT IT FIRST TIME AND YOU SAY YOU AREN'T GOING TO MAKE THEM HUNTERS!!! NNNYYYARRRR!!"
The crowd roared in unision with Raei, they liked Pix and Elruk's Judges were quickly coming to the point where they would have to choose between orders they recieved and thier lives.
They chose thier lives.
The paperwork was filled out amid cheers. When Pix and Elruk got their hunter cards, they were lifted by the crowd and brought to a tavern where a party ensued. Later after things had died down
Pix and Elruk grabbed thier Garuga materials and headed towards Arch's smithy, on the way they talked.
Pix looked up at Elruk "Nya, didn't we say we would part ways after the test...? Nya?"
Elruk shrugged and scatched his chin "Yeah we did..."
"Nya, we made a pretty good team didn't we"
"Yeah we did..."
"Nya, well, I don't think I dislike you as much now thief..."
"I'm starting to warm up to you too, wild cat"
"Nya, I think this is the start of a partnership"
"Could be, could be, I'm only with you cause your fighting style is badass"
"Nya, I'm only taking you cause I think your weaponry is really versitile..."
They reached Arch's smithy after some name calling and pointless conversation. Arch looked at the materials and shook his head, "This is no good at all, I need gendrome hides for your armour and ores for your weaponry, Pix I need more Giaprey and blango materials if I'm to make Icepick stronger,some icecrystals would be good"
"Hey! What about my stuff!" said Elruk
Arch looked at Elruk oddly, "Hey I make things for hunters here... not tramps and hobos"
Elruk's jaw dropped. Pix quickly spoke.
"He is with me, nya!"
Arch guffawed "You're just like master Simeon, picking up tramps and the like and turning them into hunters, anyway, for your weapons... I can make your sword into a posioned blade with those garuga materials, and I can keep the idea of that sheild/sword thing, I need ore though, some bones to give it a bit more flexibitly too... I have no Idea how that small bowgun of yours works so you'll have to do that yourself."
Pix spoke "Nya allright we'll be back before you know it!" Pix dragged Elruk out, as Elruk was unable to move after being mistaken for a tramp.
When Elruk recovered, Pix told him their plan of action, they would take two guild quests, one after the other, first a giadrome hunt in the desert, they would gather hot peppers and bitterbugs to make hot drinks there too. Then after they had done that they would hunt blango and Giaprey in the mountains, and mine for ores and icecrystals while they were at it. Then they return and upgrade thier equip!
Pix looked at the quests on offer, There was a lot, he managed to find a quest for hunting two gendrome in the desert. The other quest was for a bulldrome hunt in the snowy mountains. What worried Pix was that when he took the bulldrome hunt, the gildlady told him that there had been strange sightings and to be careful. Pix walked over to Elruk who was sitting at a table tinkering with another bowpistol. There were all kinds of strange bits and pieces. Elruk let out a yell holding up the bowpistol.
"Aha I've improved it, it should work better now!"
The barrel fell off. Elruk slumped in his seat.
"Oh well I guess I'll have to take an unmodified prototype"
He sweeped all the junk into a bag and took out another bowpistol. He looked down at Pix.
"We ready to go?"
"Nya!, we are! We'll go through the gates for our first quest and then for the second we'll take the balloon.
Pix and Elruk went to the designated campsite. They took some supplies and went out. They followed the tracks of the two gendrome, it wasn't long until they heard the first were two feasting on a apceros' corpse. The first drome fell quickly, it was completely surprised, a shot to the head from Elruk and Pix slashed its throat. The second jumped at Elruk who slashed it out of the air. It recovered quickly and fought off a very furious attack from Pix, there was a slight wind around him and a faint red glow from his blades.
"Devil dancing" Elruk whispered.
The gendrome pounched on Pix sending him through the air. Elruk fired some more shot and charged the gendrome. He slashed its side open. Pix recovered and cut it's legs. Elruk delt the finishing blow with the flat of his blade, splitting the gendrome's head open. Pix and Elruk carved the gendromes for their hides. They collected some bitterbugs and hot peppers then they called the balloon. Then it was onward to the snowy mountains.
Pix stepped through the snow, amazed. Elruk laughed loudly.
"What... you never seen snow before?"
Pix shook his head as he poked the snow with his paw.
"Nya, I've lived in Alicia all my life, what is this stuff?"
"Its water, the cold makes it like this or something, I don't know how works, I'm a hunter not a scolar... so I take it you have never made a snowman or had a snowball fight...?"
Pix looked at Elruk and blinked "No, nya... Wh..."
The snowball caught Pix full in the face and he toppled backwards.
Pix quickly caught on what to do and a snowball fight ensued. After Elruk showed Pix the joys of snowman making. Eventually they had to stop, they had a quest to do.
They mined all around the mountains collecting ores and Ice cystals. They got stabbed by vespoids and charged by anteka but they got what they wanted. They went in serach of the bulldrome, the quest information said that it was somewhere at the peak. They passed the time of searching by killing any blango and genprey they passed by.
Eventually it was the Bulldrome that found them.
It was a monsterous one, much bigger than the usual bulldrome, Its small eyes glinted with madness and there was a large hump on its back.
When Fighting a bulldrome you most commonly spend your time rolling then attacking while it was preparing to charge. Pix and Elruk were dealing with the monster very well. This was confusing Pix, he could see the stitches connecting the hump to the bulldrome but it wasn't doing anything strange.
Pix had warned Elruk when they started fighting, and told him of his previous encounter with a modified genprey.
Elruk believed Pix, after all, Elruk could see the stitches on the bulldrome. The bulldrome was fighting completely enraged. Pix didn't dare try to get on it's back. Elruk peppered it with shots, and came in for the occasional slash and bash. After a while Pix noticed that the hump rippled a bit when ever the bulldrome was hit. Pix decided to test this out. The bulldrome charged past him, Pix rolled and slashed it along the side. The hump rippled and the bulldrome grunted in pain. It changed direction and charged Elruk tossing him in the air.
"You can't do this with a bowgun" Elruk shouted and fired the bowpistol in midair. The Bulldrome was knocked to the ground. Pix ran over and slit the throat of it. The bulldrome breathed it's last.
Pix and Elruk went over to the corpse to carve it.
"What do you think is in the mystical mystery hump, Pix?"
"Nya... I don't know, it's weird that it didn't do anything strange, other than ripple ominously"
"Hmm... I think I shall call it the rippling hump of DOOOOM!!"
Pix raised a furry brow "Nya... shouldn't it be the rippling hump of anticlimax? Nya?"
Elruk shrugged and laughed. Pix joined in then went to carve. As Pix came close to the body, a wave of cold and revulsion sliced through Elruk, quickly he grabbed and threw Pix behind himself then he jammed his blade down.
Seconds later the body exploded a tusk whizzed through the air and lodged itself into Elruk's sword shield. Slowly Elruk moved the sword away.
A screech rang out in the cold air.
"Nya!! What the hell is that!!"
A creature similar to the shape of a gendrome stood, blood pouring and dripping off of it. Pix's mind reeled at the fact that this was what had been inside the hump, no wonder the bulldrome had been so maddened. As the blood fell from it, it became clear that the horror of this monster did not end there.
Kushala Daora skin had been grafted on to the gendrome, so had the horns. The tail had been cut off and in it's place was a lot of the tail of a Daora. Pix wondered how the monster had survived this horrific treatment. What was to happen next was to surprise Pix and Elruk the most.
The creature started a wind shield.
This Kushadrome, for want of a better name was obivously not a kushala daora but it felt like one. Pix felt that he was looking at an Elder dragon even though this abomination was not natural.
The Kushadrome noticing Pix and Elruk, fired an icy blast of wind from it's mouth both Elruk and Pix managed to jump clear of the wind but they got sliced as it passed, Pix felt the frost form on his armour. Unsheathing Icepick and Fire poker, Pix rushed the Kushadrome. Pix slashed expecting to connect but he only got air. The Kushadrome had disappeared.
Just then Elruk shouted out "Pix!! It's using the wind to make its jumps more powerful!"
Pix turned to see that the monster was on top of Elruk's sword-shield. Suddenly it was gone. Pix went flying through the air as the Kushadrome hit him.
"Nnnnyyyyaaaaaa!!" Pix hit the snow head first, thankfully the snow provided plenty of cushioning, so he didn't get wounded, his armour was fairly shredded by the attack of the Kushadrome. Pix quickly recovered and rolled to the side, his intuition served him well, a second later the Kushadrome landed where pix had previously been, raising a cloud of snow. Pix slashed again this time Pix was rewarded with a screech of pain. Pix then quickly hopped away.
Elruk was having problems. He fired his bow pistol several times but failed to get anything other than glancing hits. He shouted to Pix.
"I can't hit it while its got that damn'd wind shield! Pix! You'll have to break it's horn... WAIT! Do we have any flash bombs?!?"
Pix was busy keeping the Kushadrome from shredding him to pieces, the monster was hellishly fast.
As Pix fended off its claw, his eyes went red, and his blades glowed, he devil danced right in the face of the monster. It quickly leapt back so as to avoid being lacerated by Pix's insane attack. Pix stopped, sheathed his blades and put a paw into his pack, he had remembered that he had grabbed some flashbombs from the itembox before they had headed out. Pix barely managed to defend himself when the Kushadrome jumped him.
Pulling the flashbomb from his pack and screaming at Elruk to close his eyes, Pix smashed the flashbomb against the Kushadrome's head.
It arched up screaming, it's wind shield falling, Pix slashed it's legs wildly. Elruk took careful aim, holding the bowpistol in both hands. He sighted along the barrel at the horn of the Kushadrome. Then he fired, It was a pierce shot, it was going to hit but then the Kushadrome turned it's head at the last second, the shot tore through the side of it's head, blinding one eye then it embedded itself in the body of the Kushadrome.
It roared in rage and fired a wind beam in Elruk's direction, Pix hopped away from it, Elruk rolled to the side and fired a few shots into the Kushadrome. Pix rushed at it but was tail whipped back. It started its wind shield again. Elruk holstered his gun and ran at it. He rolled as the drome jumped.
Pix chased after it.
It turn quickly and let loose a blast of wind, knocking Elruk to the ground. Pix then slammed into the side of the Kushadrome. When it regained it's balance it jumped back away from Pix and Elruk.
It's eyes started to glow and the wind around it swirled faster and faster obscuring it in the snow blow up. The snow raced around like a miniature tornado.
Arcs of cutting wind randomly burst from the mini tornado, Pix and Elruk had a hard time avoiding the unpredictable attacks. The arcs stopped coming. Instead the snow tornado seemed to get bigger.
Unexpectedly it sucked Pix and Elruk in. Pix looked around, he had never even heard about anything this, from what he understood about Kushalas they can't go a thing like what they were experiencing...
They appeared to be on the inside of a swirling snowy dome. The Kushadrome was nowhere to be seen. Pix glanced at the snow of the dome... a silvery glint caught his eye.
"NYA!! DOWN ELRUK!!!" Pix dived into the ground and Elruk followed suit. A wind beam burst through the dome slicing where Pix and Elruk had been.
Pix got up shaking snow off his body, some of his armour crumbled off. Pix cursed. He went over to the racing snow.
"Nya I'm gonna go through!" he stated walking towards the whirling snow.
Elruk grabbed Pix and threw him back. Taking a bone from his pack, he stuck it halfway through. There was a cracking sound. Elruk drew the bone back half of it was gone.
"I don't think that it would be a good idea to try going through, looks like we're stuck in here."
Pix kicked the snow in frustration.
"Nya what are we going to do..."
Elruk sat and shook his head.
Another wind beam burst through, the pair rolled out of the way.
"Nya!!! I've got an idea!!" Pix unsheathed his blades and demonised, a red glow surrounded Pix, getting stronger and stronger, punctuated by white flashes of light.
Elruk looked at Pix in amazement. "What the Fatalis shit? Thats a charge type demonisation! You are only supposed to do that with hammers or greatswords what are you playing at Pix!"
With a final burst of white light Pix flung Icepick at the side of the dome. Icepick whistled through the air glowing a bright red of demonisation. It hit the snow, disappearing. Pix waited patting the snow with his paw. Elruk scratched his head, he was clueless as to what Pix's plan was.
After a while there was a sharp screech and the Kushadrome fell down into the dome, Icepick stuck in it's side.
"NYA! Shoot it now, keep it from jumping away, nya if we distract it enough the dome will fall"
Elruk slammed down his sword-shield and loaded up pellet shots. He peppered the Kushadrome.
It screeched in pain and fired a beam at Pix, who jumped clear.
As he dodged Pix noticed that the Kushadrome's mouth was bleeding, it seemed that this thing was doomed to die as soon as it was made, it's inner body must not have been coping with the bizarre wind powers of the kushala daora.
Pix rushed it, and tore Icepick from the Kushadrome. It tail whipped Pix throwing him back. Elruk quickly countered firing at it, to keep it from attack Pix. It shook it's head and fired a beam at Elruk
Forcing him to get up and run. Pix recovered and demon danced the drome, It swayed under the ferociousness of Pix's whirlwind like slashes, but Pix soon found himself slashing at air. Pix turned to shout at Elruk
"Nya!! Elruk! It's jumping at you!!"
Elruk had barely enough time to pull his sword-shield in front of him, when the Kushadrome clashed against him.
Elruk slowly opened his eyes, he found him looking straight into the face of the Kushadrome, he was about to yell out when he noticed the glaze to it's eyes.
"Oh" he said "It's dead"
He slipped out from under the thing's body and his own sword.
Pix wiped his blades on the snow and walked over to the body of altered monster.
"Nya, Looks like it got impaled on that bulldrome tusk that got stuck in your freak sword"
Elruk nodded.
"Yea... HEY! You just called my weapon a freak sword! I'll have you know that this weapon is a brilliant joining of the concepts of a sword and that of a shield!"
"Nya! It's basically a smaller greatsword" Pix said flatly.
"No it isn't, er okay maybe a little bit, but it works really well"
"Nya, you have a point... it still looks like the illegitimate child of a shield, Nya"
"Whatever I'll call the balloon and bring this sucker in..."
Pix stopped him. Looking at the dead body of the Kusha/prey hybrid he spoke.
"Nya... I'm not sure... I think we should take some evidence, nya and then make the bulldrome body look a bit more normal"
"Why?"
"Nya! Do you really want to attract the attention of whoever did this? I don't, someone who is doing something like this... Nya I hate to imagine what he'd do to witnesses."
"Hmm, I think any option that doesn't end with me being experimented on is fine with me, I'll dig a hole for the body and you carve the bulldrome"
"Nya! We'll leave a marker where we buried the Kushadrome"
"Huh, Kushadrome... that's a pretty cool name!"
So Elruk went dig a pit and Pix to carve. Pix managed to get quite a bit from the bulldrome, he was getting better at carving, but then a bulldrome was easier to carve than a yian garuga. It wasn't too hard to make the back of the bulldrome look like it had been near a bomb going off, he dealt with the blood splatter by scuffing the snow, the blood splatter previously hadn't looked like the result of a bomb's damage. The stitches were easy to take. As Pix was doing all this he noticed a patch of the bulldrome's hair had been branded, it was hard to make out but it looked like a serpent or dragon biting it's own tail. Pix carved it off carefully and put it in his pack separately from all the other carves.
He heard the sounds of Elruk huffing and puffing, there was an amusing plop sound as Elruk managed to get the body in the hole. Pix helped cover it over. They both stood inspecting their handiwork.
"You've done a good job on the bulldrome"
"Nya you dug a hole fast..."
"What'll we mark it with?"
Pix looked around he spotted a large stone standing upright. "Nya! That!" He exclaimed loudly.
Elruk dutifully brought it over. Pix asked for Elruk's carving knife. He scratched a wriggling snake on it.
"Hey! My carving knife! *sigh* It's ok I can get another" sighed Elruk.
With that they sent for the balloon. When it came their quest was declared clear and no one found out that anything strange had happened.
Pix slumped down, he and Elruk had told Raei about their encounter, after Raei had cooked a delicious meal they all slumped down, trying to think about the odd symbol Pix had found and who was doing strange things to monsters. After a while of wild conspiracy theories, Raei exasperated told Elruk and Pix to get their worthless hides out as she had work to do.
Pix and Elruk wandered a bit, then remembering why they went on a few quests in the first place, the went to Arch's smithy. They came into the smithy. Arch was busy with making items. He seemed to be working on monoblos armour and a crimson scythe. The odd thing about the monblos armour was that there was no left arm being made. Arch's apprentices were speeding around, Arch noticing them shouted. "Just leave your materials here! I'm busy at the moment, I'll have your armour and weapons done by tomorrow."
They left the materials need.
"Now scram!!" Arch shouted red faced.
Pix and Elruk scrammed quickly, not wanting to end up as a limited edition armour set.
They wandered about the city for a while.
"Hey I'm bored wanna go on a hunting trip?"
"Nya... Arch has our stuff, so we can't"
Elruk shook his head "Nahhh I've probably got some stuff you can use at my place"
The inside of Elruk's house was filled with workbenches that had experimental weaponry everywhere. There were bladed things , bowgun experiments, one of the more bizarre things was a round spiky ball it was like several blades joined facing outwards. Elruk noticed Pix looking at it.
"I call this the bladebomb, it didn't work that well... the person who used it would be in danger of being impaled when it went off."
Pix was amazed, he wandered a bit he came across a pile of gunlances.
"Nya... What?"
"Ah I was trying to find out how gunlances work... I mean people know how to make them, and can make lots of variations on the basic design but nobody really knows how they work."
"Nya, how did you get a hold of all this stuff"
Elruk grabbed somesort of bladed whip experiment, and swooshed it about, it locked up and a few of the blade part fell off.
"You wouldn't believe some of the things people throw out, and my father tinkered around some as well so there's things left over from him"
"Nya what is that?" siad Pix pointing at a large but rather stubby looking barrel with legs it pointed up a an angle slightly.
Elruk's eyes brightened, "Ah this I am proud of, it is a prototype of my bowmortar, with it taking down larger wyverns will be easier, it would probably be useless against really fast moving monsters though, it takes a while to position and load"
Elruk bent over and picked up a large bullet it was a bit bigger than Elruks fist.
"These are the shots... transportation of them is a bit difficult... as I said, this thing is the prototype"
As Elruk was talking the door to the house shuddered. It started to rattle and shake.
Then the door stopped shaking. Pix and Elruk went towards it.
It was round about then went the door burst inwards, hitting Elruk.
"Nya! Master?" said Pix looking at the large silhouette standing in the doorway
The man was large and strong looking, his hair was red and wild, he had goatee. He was missing an arm, the left one to be exact. Pix's first thought was why his master was missing his left arm.
"Master! How did you..." Pix was cut of as he was kicked through the air by the master.
"Nyyyaaa!!" Pix crashed into a pile of junk. The man walked over and pulled Pix out from the junk.
"Have some respect for yourself, you are a hunter now! A hunter has no master, call me by my name: Simeon Russk!" Simeon said.
Pix eyes widened. "Thank you Simeon!"
Simeon put Pix down. "Right, course now that you aren't a servant of mine you have to find a place to live, Ah I've got it"
Simeon pulled the door off of Elruk and slapped him a few times to wake him up. Elruk looked about with confusion. Simeon lifted him from the ground.
"Right, you're Pix's partner right?"
Elruk looked at Simeon trying to clear his head, "Yeah what of it you got a problem be me being a hunting partner with a Felyne?"
Simeon gave Elruk a manic grin "I like that attitude Kid, You are gonna let Pix live at your place
*whisper* that or I'm gonna use your skull as a drinking cup"
"I'll let him stay... he has to clear up after him though, I don't want cat hair everywhere."
"Good man" said Simeon throwing Elruk to the ground.
Simeon headed for the doorway, he was stopped by Pix.
"Nya! Simeon we have something to tell you, it's very important!" Pix yelled.
After Pix had explained all about the incidents with the altered monsters and the strange symbol, Simeon got up and went to the door.
"You said that the body of the kushadrome is in the snowy mountains right?"
"Nya right!"
"All right I'll go get the body and lug it here as part of my training!"
"Nya? Training?"asked Pix, confused.
"Yeah, I need to be able to wield a sycthe one handed, the journey from the mountains to the desert will help with that, so will lugging back a dead drome body while running"
Simeon was in the doorway.
"Nya!, wait! What do we do?"
Simeon talked without turning around.
"Do more quests get your hunting rank up, listen out for rumours, I'll give you and Elruk some training when I get back!" with that statement Simeon left.
Elruk looked at the doorway that Simeon had left through.
"Will he live?"
"Nya yeah! , anyway Elruk where is this equipment you said I could use? We've got a hunt to go on!"