Disclaimer: The Monster Hunter series does not belong to me, obviously. Enjoy the two-shot.

He was a tough old bird; that was certain.

With practiced ease, she clutched her bowgun close to her body and threw herself to the side into a roll, the monster's charge sailing past her by mere inches. For the briefest of moments, her eyes met its eye as she dodged its attack. This single connection was acknowledged by a gleam in its eye she barely caught before her sense of time sped up and she was back on her feet, turning to see the monster doing the exact same thing as it eyed her. It let out a low, guttural growl and she felt her lips pulling back into a feral grin, reloading her heavy bowgun with a solid cha-chunk as she brought it to bear.

They'd been at this for nearly twenty minutes now. She could see the puffs of air it let out, rising from its nostrils atop its head like steam from a boiling kettle, the way its movements had slowed since they'd begun their little battle. Not that she wasn't a little tired either, but they both knew they both had the stamina to continue fighting. After all, this wasn't the first time they'd tangled. The huntress had lost count of how many times they'd clashed, but she knew it was well over thirty by now.

Maybe one day I'll get bored of all this and stop coming out to find him, she thought with amusement before shaking her head. No, then it'd just find a more surefire way to get her attention. The beastie was a clever one.

Too clever, actually. Barroth weren't even supposed to be in the Moga Woods, but this one had somehow managed to find its way here from the Sandy Plains. She supposed it was partially her fault, but how was she to know that this particular Barroth had a vengeance streak? For some reason or other it had marked her out as a "rival" of some sort. Probably because of the vicious scar she'd left on its face during her quest to drive it away from the caravan paths. Never let it be said that monsters were just mindless beasts.

It was even surviving pretty well. She knew because of the tales other hunters who had visited Moga Village told, those who had come to hunt the out-of-place Barroth. Either they wouldn't find it at all, or it would ambush them before jumping back into the shallow water or tunneling underground before they could counter or mark it. After a few months of this, the number of hunters who showed up to remove it dwindled to none, leaving her to face it herself. Not that she minded; the only hunter it seemed to want to have a proper battle with was her and she was more than willing to oblige.

There was also the little detail that she kept finding evidence of dug up Altaroth nests, but that was currently neither here nor there as she began pumping out the rounds, unloading them into the hardened mud on its legs. As expected, her clip ran dry before she had so much as cracked the hard, thick mud armor and she was forced to roll to the side once more as it lowered its head and charged straight at her. She rolled again as its mud-armored tail came swinging 'round, nearly clipping her head as it passed by.

As she took advantage of the brief lull in the battle to reload, she chuckled darkly at the fact that this lone Barroth was a tougher foe than some of the bigger monsters she'd faced. Sure it was lower on the food chain than, say, an Uragaan or a Rathalos, but it was also tougher than other Barroths she'd hunted down for parts to craft into armor, back when she was a young hunter working her way up the ranks. For one thing, its body was covered in countless scars; her little addition was probably just the most recent, but it was also the only one placed over one of its eyes. And she doubted the other scars were caused entirely by other monsters; from the looks of it, it had tangled with quite a number of hunters before she came along. Considering it was alive and fighting her right now, the thing was probably damn tough to survive the countless beatings it had clearly been through.

For another, they'd fought so many times it knew her moves uncannily well. Just as she finished reloading, she felt her breath being forced out of her as a heavy weight collided with her midriff and sent her flying. Luckily, her armor was sturdy enough that nothing was broken, but she still winced as she got back to her feet. No doubt there'd be some ugly bruises waiting for her in the morning. Even worse, the Barroth looked positively smug as it gave a short flick of its tail before letting out an ear-splitting roar and charging at her. As she began to dodge, it suddenly smashed its head into the ground, sending large globules of mud flying everywhere.

To be fair, she knew its moves just as well as it knew hers. Quickly bringing her bowgun to bear, she pumped out two rounds in rapid succession and allowed the recoil to yank her back away from the mud. Sure, it wasn't as sticky or quick-drying as the mud back in the Sandy Plains, but it was still bad to get caught in it. She'd read once that Barroth mixed some kind of special bodily fluids with the mud to give it that special quality it had for making anyone caught in it as helpless as a baby Aptonoth. She didn't even want to think what kind of fluids the process entailed.

Still the damn beastie had figured out how to make the best of the moist Moga Woods soil. As she emptied out the rest of the clip into its armored torso, hoping to break the armor so she could bust out the Flame rounds, it slammed its tail into the ground and sharply dragged it through the soil, sending up a thick cascade of mud. With a growl, the huntress jumped back from the mud, thankful that it only caught the tips of her boots. It was a lot easier for it to dig up the Moga Woods soil than the dryer soil of the Sandy Plains, and it didn't need to keep returning to a single muddy flat to replenish its supply of mud. It was even worse after a good rainstorm.

Its stupid charge attacks were also more annoying now, as it sent of waves of mud and loose soil on either side of its head as it barreled towards her, making her have to time her rolls just right to avoid both portions of the attack. Then roll again to avoid the tail swipe. Sometimes she'd roll twice if it pulled that little tail-dragging stunt.

But there was some compensation. Occasionally it would strike the soft soil a mite too forcefully, getting its head stuck just long enough for her to pump a clip or two into it. As long as she kept her distance from the tail; that bit swung about wildly whenever the beastie got its head stuck and was hard to predict. Except whenever she was near it, then it somehow always managed to land a blow; that at least was predictable. Whether by luck or some unknown sixth Barroth sense, she had no clue. Either way, it still hurt like hell.

The two foes glared at each other, the huntress clutching tightly to her heavy bowgun, her finger pressed lightly against the trigger, the monster shifting its stance, ready to charge at any moment. They stood like this for a moment before the Barroth snorted, releasing large plumes of steam from its nostrils, and turned to submerge itself in the nearby river, disappearing from view. With a sigh, the huntress dropped her weapon and flopped down onto her back, feeling the pain and exhaustion uncomfortably strongly as the adrenaline wore off. It wasn't long before she grudgingly got back to her feet and released the latches of her heavy bowgun, activating the built-in contraption that allowed it to fold itself in half for easy transport. Slinging it across her back, she turned and began making her way back to the village, ignoring the cautious hoots and growls of inquisitive Jaggi checking to make certain it was safe to come out of hiding. Unlike their brethren in the Sandy Plains, the Barroth was a rather new sight to them. It scared them almost as much as a Rathian. Not that she minded; she hated fighting large monsters when there were smaller ones running about. They always got in her way.

It was only about two hours of walking, but by the time she reached the village gates the sun was already well on its way to its rest. I didn't think I'd been fighting the beastie for that long, she thought with a wry grin, waving at the sentries. They waved back at the huntress and opened the gates to allow her entry, then closed them as soon as she was through. Well, it was getting dark; the last thing anyone wanted was a monster slipping into the village and causing havoc.

Moga Village. She remembered when she first arrived at this admittedly backwater port village, as a young greenhorn with some skill but no experience to back it up. Not that she wasn't young anymore; she was only in her late twenties, but she felt she'd matured rather well since then. Now she had plenty experience; hell, she had a necklace of Lagiacrus teeth to prove it.

Though it was late, there was still plenty of activity in the small village; fishing boats returning from a trip, fishing boats setting off for another voyage, shopkeepers packing up their wares for the day, among other things. The huntress pressed her way through, acknowledging the villagers she passed with a smile or a wave, making her way to where Moga Village's Guild Representative was stationed. Well, she preferred the term "Sweetheart" but as the woman was already married and with a kid, the huntress didn't think she had the right to hold onto that title.

"Welcome back!" she chirped sweetly, briefly making the huntress reconsider her decision. Okay, maybe she did still have some rights to the title. "How was the hunt?"

"Good. I cleared out the Jaggi nest as requested; it was nothing compared to a Rathalos, of course, but I let the Great Jaggi and some of its flunkies go. They know better than to come back any time soon anyways."

The Guild Sweeheart rolled her eyes, leaning over the counter to give the huntress what was probably supposed to be an interrogatory glare. "I figured you'd finished that, it's a walk in the park compared to everything else you've accomplished! I was asking about… you know, the big guy. Ol' Scarface."

"Ah." Somehow, the people of the village had taken to calling the Barroth "Scarface" on account of the scar she'd left on its face, ignoring the fact that about ninety-percent of the rest of its body was scars, albeit mostly hidden beneath layers of mud. "Well, what do you think happened?"

The Guild rep gave her a once over, her brow knitted in thought. "I guess… oh! Oh. He got away, huh?"

The huntress nodded. "Yup. Neither of us were really landing critical blows; we've fought each other too much to allow the other to get the upper hand, at least not for very long. And we were both getting tired too. He left sooner than I thought, though. Usually our fights last longer."

"Maybe's he's still feeling out of it from yesterday's fight."

"Possibly. That Qurupeco showed up out of nowhere; I'm surprised it didn't run like the Jaggi though."

"Well," the Guild Sweetheart pulled out her trusty guidebook, flipping through the pages. It had really filled up since the huntress first met her, especially with all the extra information she scribbled in there from books brought by traders. "Here! It's the migratory season for Qurupeco, so that one probably came all the way from the Sandy Plains. I bet it's had a few encounters of its own with a Barroth. It was probably tired from traveling, too, so it must've been pretty grouchy when it found you guys in its fishing spot."

She snorted. "Great. So that thing nearly broke my arm because it was grouchy? Eh, there're worse reasons for a monster to pick a fight." She didn't mention that the Barroth hadn't been pleased with the interruption either. During their unintentional team-up against the Qurupeco, while she'd managed to do quite a bit of damage, the Barroth had been the one to land the killing blow when the bird wyvern tried to escape. At least it had had the courtesy to leave to tend to its own wounds instead of picking up where they left off; the Qurupeco had broken off a good chunk of the armor that hadn't already been shattered by her bowgun, and bare Barroth hide fares rather poorly against fire, thick as it is. "At least there wasn't anything in the area willing to come to its aid. The Barroth scares 'em, I think."

"What do you expect? He's a monster they've never seen before and stronger and more intimidating. And I bet he beats up the Jaggi in his spare time, too. Barroth can be pretty territorial and Old Scarface seems to have taken a liking to his particular patch of the Woods."

The huntress groaned, slouching over and banging her head on the counter. "Fantastic. Just what I needed. The Guild's already giving me enough crap about that Barroth finding its way here; last thing I need is for them to find out it wants to stay here permanently."

"Aw, don't be like that! Tell you what, I'll leave that little detail out of my next report, m'kay?" With a giggle and a wink, the Guild Sweetheart began digging through a box of papers. "Oh and a quest came in that I think you'd like…"

"Not today. I want to get some rest." Stretching, the huntress turned and began making her way to her home with a tired wave. "I'll look at it tomorrow. See ya."

"Sleep well!" she heard her call out, and smiled as she slipped through the doorway and was greeted by her Felyne helper. The "Chamberlyne" as he liked to be called. That was the only pause he took as he continued sweeping; the huntress was grateful for that, as she really just felt like sleeping now. She eyed her bed, wondering if it'd be alright to just flop on top and fall asleep. Then, with a weary sigh, she turned away and set her bowgun to the side before unbuckling her armor.

And let it fall into a heap on the floor before leaping gratefully onto her bed, ignoring the fact that the sheets would have to be cleaned of blood and dirt the moment she woke up in the morning. Especially the dirt; battles with a Barroth, any Barroth, tended to leave one particularly filthy. Her Chamberlyne grumbled good-naturedly upon seeing the unceremonious heap of armor left on the floor, but left it alone. He could handle her armor back when she was a rookie and using lighter armor, but now? He'd be surprised if he could lift the helm, even if bowgunners in general used lighter armor than blademasters. So she could put her own armor away in the morning; he wasn't about to injure himself doing it for her, and he knew that she knew that.

So it was in the morning that the huntress found herself tugged unceremoniously off the bed as the Chamberlyne moved on to remove the sheets to get them cleaned. Sitting up with a weary groan, she stretched and yawned, blinking sleepily as her mind struggled to shake off her lingering attachments to sleep.

"Wake up, boss. You've been sleeping long enough, nya. And a bath would do you good too, nya."

Just nodding, the half-awake huntress stumbled to her feet and began making her way to her washing basin… before tumbling off the railing of her veranda and into the ocean. Sputtering indignantly, the now fully-awake huntress splashed about wildly to keep her head above the water's surface before taking a moment to calm down and figure out where she was. After that, she swam over to the edge of the veranda and hoisted herself up before clambering over the railing, brushing her wet hair out of her face. She grimaced. "Well, I'm clean now, right?"

The Chamberlyne chuckled and nodded, not wanting to say more lest he embarrass the poor woman. She was lucky the fishing boats had already headed out or the fishermen would've gotten a good view of her taking an unwanted swim in her undergarments. If that'd happened, she'd probably have barricaded herself in her home out of indignant embarrassment, like another half-awake incident involving her mixing up her armor sets and creating a… shall we say unique style. Or when she had to walk all the way back to the village because she'd forgotten her ammo pouch.

Still, once she'd dried off and buckled her armor on, the huntress stepped out feeling refreshed but hungry, ignoring the protests of her injuries from the day before. She'd been munching on nothing but roasted Aptonoth meat for the past few days while hunting, she felt she deserved to take the time for a proper meal. And the canteen was near the Quest Counter anyways; she could chat with the guild rep while she ate. And any other villagers who hadn't already had breakfast, but she doubted there were many.

"Ah! You're finally awake!"

"Morning to you too," the huntress said, smirking at the Guild Sweetheart as she sat at the canteen's counter and made her order. The Felyne cook nodded and turned away to begin preparing yet another dish; the huntress removed her helm and set it on the counter, shaking her hair loose from the unattractive helmet-hair style it had been pressed into. The guild rep laughed. "That's a good look you had there, you know, very pretty. Should've left it alone, maybe you'd find yourself a husband."

"Ha ha," she said sarcastically, frowning at her. "Just because you have a husband doesn't mean you can heckle the rest of us unmarried women like that. Besides, I'm fine without one and even if I was looking for one, I'd much rather prefer another hunter. No offense to the Moga men, but I like men who are able to keep up with me in the field."

"Really? But you didn't seem all that interested in the hunters that kept showing up to hunt Ol' Scarface…"

"And they got their asses handed to them, didn't they? He didn't even kill any of them, just roughed 'em up enough to send them packing. They weren't worth his time and if that's the case, they aren't worth any of mine either."

"Ouch, harsh," the Guild Sweetheart laughed again before giving her a thoughtful look. "It's almost like you enjoy fighting the big guy when you go out. Haven't you hunted monsters three times his size? What's the hold up?"

The huntress shrugged, thanking the cook when he handed her a plate of food. As she dug in, she continued to talk between mouthfuls. "I dunno. Maybe I do like fighting him; I certainly haven't heard about any other Barroths wandering away from their home territory into a completely new one. Even Jade Barroth are born and raised in the Tundra. Besides, I've never had a monster take such a… personal interest in fighting me before. It's rather flattering."

"You sound like you've got a crush on the monster or something," the Guild Sweetheart pointed out, eyebrow raised. This gave the huntress pause as she tried to find a better way to word her thoughts.

"That's not… what I mean is that, aside from the Lagiacrus, literally no other monster I've repelled instead of killing or capturing has actively tried to seek me out for a rematch. Or in this guy's case, multiple rematches. And don't tell me monsters are stupid, I've found that they can be pretty damn clever. Especially the older ones. I swear, I think that Barroth's fought another bowgunner besides me before, he certainly knows how to block my shots with that thick bony crown of his."

Thanking the cook again, she handed the Felyne a small pile of zeni before grabbing her helmet and moving a few steps over to the Quest Counter proper. "So, aside from the Barroth, you said yesterday you had a quest I might like?"

"Eager to go out again, huh? You aren't injured from your hunting trip are you? Because you know…"

"Yes, yes, if I'm too injured I should avoid hunting until I'm fully healed, I know the drill. But aside from a few bruises I'm fine; like I said, the Barroth was probably still tired from the Qurupeco incident, so his attacks weren't particularly terrifying. Now, the quest, if you please."

Rolling her eyes, the Guild Sweetheart pulled out a quest flyer and handed it to the huntress, grinning at the eyebrow she raised. "So? What do you think?"

"You're kidding me…"

"Nope! Looks like our favorite pair of Shakalaka are back in town… and they're probably lost, by the looks of it."

The huntress sighed. "They've followed me dozens of times outside the village to hunt; you'd think they'd have learned the local terrain by now." Shaking her head, she grinned and pocketed the flyer, handing the guild rep the small quest fee required. "This shouldn't take long. The Barroth probably won't be too eager to challenge me today, so I should be back… oh, around mid-afternoon at latest. If those two haven't gone and challenged something big out there anyways. They're not bad at hunting now I'll admit, but if I find them fighting a Rathian…" Shaking her head again, the huntress waved as she left for her hut to grab her bowgun and some extra supplies before heading out, the Guild Sweetheart waving in return.

About half an hour later, sometime after the huntress's departure, the Chief sidled up to the counter, grinning. "So! How are things?"

"Just fine, Chief," she chirped, eliciting a chuckle from the man.

"That's good. I'm guessing you told her the news?"

"Yeah! It'll be good to see those two rascals again, don't you think?"

He frowned at her. "That isn't… that's not the only news you told her, is it?"

She stopped shuffling papers and shot him a confused look. "W-What do you mean?"

He merely pointed at an official-looking piece of paper that she'd somehow missed and she snatched it up, her eyes quickly scanning the letter before they widened in shock. The Chief sighed. "She's gonna be in for a big surprise when she comes back."

The guild rep smiled sheepishly. "Unless she gets back early enough to…" She stopped when they heard the gate opening, a relieved smile on her face. "Wow! That was fast! I didn't think she'd… find… oh…" She trailed off when they saw who it was that had come through the gate, and it was definitely not Moga Village's huntress.

Well, it was still a huntress, but one who was clearly as green as theirs had been when she first arrived, if not more considering she appeared to be only seventeen. Her armor was slightly better at least, but it was still only stock Hunter Armor and strapped across her back was what appeared to be an old, slightly worn Bone Axe. If anything, the fact that she had no issue carrying it was a sign that she was physically fit for the job, but the uncertainty in her body language despite the confident smile gave her away. And even the smile seemed a bit forced. She perked up upon spotting the Guild Sweetheart and quickly walked up to the Quest Counter, clearly uncomfortable with the inquisitive stares of the villagers she passed by. "You're the guild representative of Moga Village, right?" she asked, uncertainty in her tone. The Guild Sweetheart and the chief exchanged looks.

Their huntress was certainly going to have her hands full with this one.

Turning back to the girl, the guild rep nodded. "That's right. My name is Lyllia, but everyone here knows me as the Guild Sweetheart," she said, smiling. The girl couldn't hold back a laugh at that, and was definitely a little more at ease. "You're the rookie hunter the Guild sent, aren't you?"

She nodded. "I'm Meri, Rank 1 hunter. I, uh, just recently earned my hunter's license but…"

"The Guild wants you to build up some experience, right?" Meri nodded. Lyllia smiled at the girl, wondering how she passed the psychological portion of the exam. She seemed a tad meek for a huntress. Then again, she only knew one huntress personally and the other huntresses she'd met hadn't lingered long enough for her to get a good idea of their personality. This girl, on the other hand, was pretty clear about her dominant personality trait. "Don't worry, Moga Woods is a pretty easy-going place to hunt. The largest monsters that ever appear are the occasional Lagiacrus and Raths, and they won't bother you if you don't bother them. And even if they do give you trouble, our local huntress will help you out."

At the mention of Moga Village's huntress the girl's expression brightened considerably. "You mean Nora, right? I heard she fought off a Jhen Moran, sent it packing all by herself!"

Lyllia laughed. "No no, there were other hunters there, too. Though it is true that she landed the killing blow; she even had the parts she carved off the thing fashioned into a new bowgun since it had smashed her old one to bits."

"Really?! But wait… then how did she kill it if her weapon was broken?"

"She borrowed a light bowgun from one of the shipment crates; trust me, she was complaining about it when she told us what happened. Said it didn't feel like it was packing the… what was her word for it? Oh yeah, the 'oomph' of a heavy bowgun. She's pretty picky about her weapons." The guild rep grinned at the young huntress. "But enough of that, you'll meet her soon enough. She's out taking care of a quest right now and it shouldn't take long. As long as nothing—"

A loud roar interrupted her, the Rathian's battlecry far enough away not to affect them, but close enough to give a general idea of what was happening. It was closely followed by another roar, one that clearly belonged to her angry mate. Lyllia blinked then grinned and shrugged at Meri. "…goes wrong. Well, she'll be back around sunset hopefully. Raths aren't too much trouble for her, not after everything else she's been through." Privately she was a little worried, since Nora was also probably protecting a couple of Shakalaka at the same time, but she didn't let it bother her. Nora was more than capable of protecting and fighting at the same time.

"Anyways, we should get you settled in." Meri's eyes widened when she saw the intimidating stack of paperwork the Guild Sweetheart pulled out from under the counter, looking as though she were about to flee from the sight of it. Lyllia chuckled. It seemed like all hunters had a thing against paperwork. She was better than Nora had been at least; the huntress had looked like she wanted nothing more than to burn the stack of papers when she pulled it out. Knowing her, she probably would have made good on that, too.

"Don't worry, it's mostly just signing stuff. There are only a few things you really need to get filled out and I'll help you with those. Now let's get started so that you're ready when Nora comes back…"

When Nora arrived at the gates with two chattering Shakalaka in tow, it was already an hour past sunset. She was not in a particularly good mood. Finding that the little idiots really had gone out and challenged a Rathian was one thing, but when she found that they'd also decided to pick on one with a mate she'd been quite furious with them. Luckily they were a young pair of Raths, so she had simply battled them to the point where they chose to flee rather than continue fighting her. She was still covered in ash and soot, but at least she wasn't as badly injured as if they had been, oh, a Gold and Silver Rath pair. She had only done that the once and was eager not to repeat the experience.

Her guess that the Barroth wouldn't want to pick a fight was off, too. When they were following the river on the way back to the village, the damn beastie had popped out of the water and roared at her in a way that she recognized as a Barroth "challenge call" of sorts. She didn't even know the river was deep enough to hide such an exceptionally large Barroth! Even worse, he was back in top physical condition and the battle raged for several hours as they exchanged, blocked, and dodged blows. Grudgingly she had to admit that Kayamba and Cha-cha were much better now than they used to be; their healing dance (however the hell it worked) brought her back to peak physical condition as well and allowed her to go toe-to-toe with the wyvern. Any other attempt they made to assist earned them the attention of the Barroth, however; clearly it didn't want anyone interfering. Nora made a face at the implications of its reactions to interference. It had clearly formed a bond with her, and would probably continue to seek her out and challenge her until one or both of them were dead. Not a pleasant thought. In the end, with both parties thoroughly worse for the wear, the Barroth had apparently decided to call this latest tussle another draw and had promptly left.

So, covered in ash, soot, and mud, the huntress raised a hand as the sentries recognized her and the Shakalaka duo with her, opening the gates to allow her entry. The two Shakalaka rushed ahead of her, and for that she was glad. She wanted a bath. Badly. The sooner the better. And without the two of them bothering her, that made things much easier. That and she was rather annoyed with the two of them at the moment. If they'd continued to hang around she probably would've throttled them.

After crossing the bridge and making her way to her hut, she was a little surprised and annoyed to see Lyllia waving her over to the Quest Counter. Can't the report wait until later? Grumbling under her breath, Nora removed her helmet and shook her hair loose as she approached the counter, her frown deepening when she noticed an unfamiliar face. Check that, an unfamiliar hunter who looked wet behind the ears. This did not bode well.

"What happened? We heard the roars from all the way out here," Lyllia said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. A little singed, but nothing noteworthy. Also, the Barroth showed up. If it weren't for the dunderheaded duo over there it might not have turned out so well. But I'll give a more detailed report later. In the meantime," she turned to regard the unfamiliar huntress, who flinched slightly under her stern gaze, "who is this rookie?"

"I-I-I am Meri, Miss Nora," the girl stammered out, and Lyllia hid a grin behind her hand. Nora didn't seem to notice, but Meri was obviously awestruck at having her idol standing there right in front of her, acknowledging her presence. Though there were plenty of female hunters, they were still far outnumbered by their male counterparts and all the notable ones had fans and admirers abound. Lyllia wasn't too surprised that Nora was well-known, but seeing Meri somehow made that fame feel… more real, somehow. She's really grown since she first came to this little village. "T-The Guild sent me here t-to train under an experienced h-hunter and g-gain experience before I can go on quests solo."

At this Nora groaned and smacked a palm to her forehead, instantly regretting it when the sudden pain reminded her she'd taken off her helmet. Making a mental note to remember to take a break for the next few days, she glared at Lyllia, who raised her hands defensively. "Don't look at me, it's not my fault! I didn't put in a request for another hunter, nosiree! It was the Guild's choice, not mine!" Wisely she kept quiet about forgetting to mention the Guild's notice; no need to annoy Nora any more than she already was.

Nora turned back to Meri, still frowning. "Look kid, I'm sorry, but I think you should head back. I'm saying this for your own good; it's too dangerous. There's a Barroth out there living in the woods that's actively gunning for me and it doesn't appreciate strangers. If you were more skilled, I wouldn't mind at all if you stayed here. But as things are, Moga Woods just isn't safe for a rookie like you to hunt in."

"Aw come on, give the girl a chance," Lyllia started, but the huntress cut her off.

"No. She has to go back to the Guild and request somewhere else to be trained, because that Barroth has caused enough trouble for hunters and I'm the only one it bothers sticking around to fight. The only reason it hadn't killed the other hunters who had shown up was because it considered them a waste of time and energy. If it saw her with me and came to the conclusion that I was bringing her along as backup, it would not give her that same leniency. And she is far too green to be fighting a Barroth, even if it weren't one as strong as the one we've been dealing with. Look at her; Hunter Armor, probably fresh from an armory, too, not even upgraded properly, and a simple Bone Axe that's probably older than she is. There is no way that I will let her—"

"I-I'll stay out of the way!" Meri interrupted, drawing Nora's attention. She held the huntress's stern gaze with a nervous but determined expression of her own. "If that B-Barroth shows up, I'll just run off and hide somewhere or something. I'll do something to prove I'm not a threat to it, w-whatever! I'll just start with hunting Jaggi and work my way up! You can handle the Barroth by yourself, I just need training so that I will be able to fight monsters like the ones you've fought."

Nora's expression grew sterner. "Kid—"

"I'll collect materials myself, too, a-and get my weapon upgraded! O-Or get an even better one forged! Just give me a chance! Please just let me have a chance to prove myself!"

Lyllia watched as Nora's expression changed for the barest fraction of a second, noticeable only to those who knew her well, to a troubled, almost saddened, look, before settling once more into a stern glare. As Meri continued to match Nora's gaze without flinching, Lyllia knew that Nora's resistance was crumbling and knew exactly why, too. It's like they say, the ghosts of the past always come back to haunt you. Finally, with an exasperated sigh, Nora looked away, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose before looking back at Meri.

"Fine. You can stay." Before Meri could say anything, the huntress quickly added, "But as you will be training under me, that means you must follow the rules I set down. Number one, you are not to go hunting without me supervising unless I give you explicit permission to do so. Number two, if I give you an order you must follow it; whatever orders I give you will be for your own safety, so I suggest you try to resist the temptation to ignore any of them. Number three, I will not be giving you free handouts, meaning you must maintain your armor and weapons yourself and the materials and funds for new equipment are to come out of your own pockets. Number four, if for any reason I find you are not suitable for training here any longer, you are to head back to Loc Lac and request a new place to be trained. Number five, as I am in charge of training you, you will do your best to complete any and all tasks I may give you, including restrictions if I see fit to include any. Am I making myself clear?"

When Meri nodded mutely, a happy and excited look on her face that she tried to hide behind a more serious expression, Nora sighed. What did she just get herself into? "Good. However, I'm taking a break from hunting for the next few days or so to recuperate from today's hunt. Therefore, I suggest you find other ways of making yourself useful during your stay here until I am ready to go hunting again." As she turned away to head to her hut she said to Lyllia. "I'll have the report on the quest ready for you tomorrow. Right now, I really need a rest."

"T-Thank you!" Meri suddenly exclaimed, her face flushing when Nora looked at her. But the older huntress just gave her a small smile and a weary nod before continuing on her way. There was a period of silence for a moment before Lyllia giggled.

"She seems to have taken a liking to you, Miss Meri. Congrats!"

"She's stricter than I thought she'd be," Meri admitted softly. "But… I feel like I might be being a bother to Miss Nora…"

"Nonsense! Trust me, I've hardly seen Nora take such a shine to another hunter before," Lyllia said with a grin. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she has plenty respect for other hunters. But haven't you wondered why she's still here in Moga Village instead of moving on to a big city like Loc Lac where there are more hunters and plenty of high-paying quests to go around? I mean, the Guild could easily arrange for a new hunter to take up the position as our local hunter, but she refuses to even consider leaving."

When Meri gave her a surprised look, confirming she hadn't considered the question before, Lyllia just winked. "I won't say too much; I like a good gossip now and then, but she's my friend so there's stuff I'm not allowed to tell. But I can say that for her, willingly working together with another hunter—even if it's just so you can get some training—is a big step. We don't get many visiting hunters around here, y'know. She'll be teaching you, but I think there are some things you'll be helping her with, too." With that Lyllia grabbed a large stack of paperwork and carried it away, whistling all the while.

Meri stared after her, confused. "What do you mean by that?" she called out after her, but the Guild Sweetheart apparently hadn't heard her and disappeared from sight. With a worried frown she turned and began walking to her own hut, mulling over what she'd just been told. Well, she had a few days to get acclimated to her new surroundings; when Nora was ready to start hunting, she'd make sure that she would be too.

Author's Notes

I've been playing a lot of MH3U recently, so I've had this rattling about in my head for a while. It's nothing big and it won't interfere with my other stuff I'm working on so no worries. Anyways, part 2 of"The Paths We Walk" will be up whenever it's finished. Also, this is my very first MH fanfic and I'm not entirely caught up on the canon of the MH universe so... sorry if I get any facts or stuff wrong! Au revoir! *bows*