"There comes a time in a hunter's life when they have to take a job that no one else will," Lucille's father said as he met her eyes. "No matter how dangerous it might be, a job is a job, and it has to get done, whether or not they survive."
"But-"
"Shush, Lucille. I have to go. Whether or not I come back... Well, that's up to fate at this point."
He gave Lucille one last pat on the shoulder as the Dundorma quest gate was raised, revealing the waiting airship. "See you whenever."
"Yeah... See you whenever," Lucille waved as her father left and the gate closed once more.
Lucille gazed up at the Grand Hall of Dundorma, the guards at the bottom of the stairs keeping a close eye on her. That day kept flashing in her mind as she took in the intimidating architecture. Her father had spoken of it many a time when he returned from his hunts, telling her how many hunters dreamed of taking jobs as an esteemed G-Rank Hunter and how just as many would never once see its interior. The irony of his statements weighed heavily on her as she drew one of the blades from the sheathes on her back and studied the blade.
It was her first day as an official hunter of the Dundorma Guild, and the previous excitement that she had felt had disappeared as anxiety set in. She had her own goals, and she wasn't about to die without fulfilling them.
A hand came to rest on her shoulder, and she jumped, turning to give her sudden companion a mouthful only to find the Ace Commander standing before her. Lucille relaxed a little and returned the blade to its sheath before locking her eyes on the Ace Commander's own.
"Ace Commander," she greeted him, a tone of mild annoyance lacing her voice.
"Lucille. Ready for your first hunt?" The Ace Commander stared at her, unblinking. His intimidating aura left Lucille feeling more anxious than ever, but she kept eye contact with him.
"Of course. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't would I?"
"Good answer. I've already posted the quest at the counter, so claim it whenever you're ready to go. I'll be waiting for your report." Without another word, he left Lucille to her worries. She watched after him, contempt written all over her face. She'd met him once or twice while her father was still alive, and she'd disliked him even then. He always seemed to have this air of superiority about him, and he never seemed to hold any real respect for the average hunter.
With one last disgusted grunt, she made her way towards the quest gate where a make-shift quest counter awaited her. One of Dundorma's Guild gals sat with the quest board beside her. The Guild gal before her was different than the one that she had known before. Apparently, the old one had taken a job at the Wycademy, and the Guild sent one of the newer gals to replace her.
As Lucille approached, the gal glanced up at her with the most disinterested look in her eye that Lucille had ever seen. Much to her surprise, the new gal's level of disinterest seemed to surpass the Ace Commander's.
"Now that's quite the feat..." Lucille accidentally said aloud, causing the gal to raise an eyebrow. Lucille quickly dismissed it, and the gal pointed to a half-sheet in the center of the quest board with Lucille's name in rather large letters. It seemed that the Ace Commander didn't yet trust her to even be able to find a job properly. With an exasperated sigh, Lucille removed the half-sheet from the board and reviewed the details.
It was a simple quest: slay five Jaggi in the Ancestral Steppe. After a moment of thought, she decided that she should be thankful as it was better than most hunters received for their first job. She then proceeded to fill in the necessary information and handed it back to the guild gal who dropped it onto a rather disarrayed stack of papers that would certainly leave her wishing that she'd been more careful about it when the time came to file it all.
For the first time all day, Lucille found herself smiling. Just imagining all of the trouble that the guild gal would have to go through was enough to make Lucille both cringe and chuckle. She would never want to go through that, but that's what the gal would get for caring so little.
With all of the little details taken care of, Lucille turned to face the guard in front of the Quest gate. She gave him a small nod to tell him that she was ready, and he set to raising the gate. Once more, that day flashed in her mind.
"It's been a year already..." Lucille muttered to herself. She stared as the gate lifted, revealing the airship that she would be boarding. She hesitated, and the guard watched her expectantly. Her father's words sounded in her head again, and she took a deep breath before stepping out through the gate and heading towards the airship.
The airship set down gently at the foothills of the Ancestral Steppe, just inside of a small ravine where the usual camp awaited Lucille. As she stepped out, the on-board Cattendant pointed her in the direction of the camp. Lucille thanked the Felyne and made her way through the rocky ravine, taking careful steps as she went. Soon enough, the sounds of trickling water made their way to her ears. She followed the sounds until she came upon the small camp where the rest tent, Delivery Box and Supply Box awaited her.
She made her way over to the Supply Box and inspected its contents. Within, in neat, segmented compartments, were the supplies that the Guild had granted her for the job. She pulled the First-Aid Meds and Map from their compartments and shut the Supply Box before opening the map and inspecting it. The region seemed have been mapped according to several large, key points along the Steppe, with the paths between remaining unmapped. Lucille felt another wave of hesitance at this, but she assured herself that there had to be a reason for that and proceeded towards the first area.
In the first area, a small herd of Aptonoth grazed peacefully, as Lucille had more or less expected. Aptonoth were native to most regions, so it came as no surprise to her to seem them here.
"Alright, now, let's see here..." Lucille said to herself as she studied the map. She had done some prior research on the region, and she made her way east towards the base of nearby mountain, where Jaggi were said to frequent. The next area was mostly barren with a small path leading up the base of the mountain and another leading towards a small valley which was marked as Area 4 on the map.
Finally, a brief bark-like noise brought her attention away from the map, causing her to look up from the map and find a small pack of three Jaggi staring at her some twenty feet away. She folded the map while they still eyed her curiously, and one of the Jaggi let out a cry and stamped its feet.
"Here we go, then..." Lucille muttered and drew her dual blades. She slowly approached the pack, and the Jaggi met her movements, step for step. The first Jaggi leaped at her, and she side-stepped, slashing across its side as it passed her. Another Jaggi attempted to bite her leg, but she kicked it aside and swiped at the third, catching it in the snout. This went on for a couple more minutes, but she finally dealt the finishing blow to the last of the pack. She began to feel that she was finally starting to get into a rhythm, and a smile spread across her face. She was taking the first steps, and it felt good. She set about carving her share of the spoils, failing to notice as a large shadow fell over the area.
As Lucille carved a part from the last Jaggi, a blast of wind hit her, almost knocking her over. She turned to see what had caused the wind only to see a Rathian setting down on the ground. She stared in shock, even as the lady wyvern turned to face her. The Rathian met Lucille's gaze, and it quickly became apparent just how dangerous it was as a black smoke began billowing out of its mouth. Lucille sat, frozen in fear as the Rathian reeled back for a roar. She was about to cover her ears when a voice called out, stopping her.
"Cover your eyes!" the voice shouted, and Lucille quickly turned away from the Rathian, shutting her eyes tight. Her vision flashed red very briefly, and she heard the distorted, pained cry of the Rathian as it yanked its head back, blinded by the flash bomb. Lucille turned back to the Rathian and saw a Lancer clad in golden armor standing in front of her, Lance aimed at the wyvern. He turned his head towards Lucille, eyes fierce, and barked at her to get back to the airship. Lucille quickly reclaimed her Dual Blades and sheathed them before taking off in the direction of the base camp. As she ran, she glanced backwards once more to find the Lancer charging the stunned Rathian.
With that sight in her mind, her fear was met with a single-minded determination to live, and she ran as fast as she could, not once looking back.