The Wyverian in gold and white robes hung to the back of the cheering crowd as the hunter stepped off of the airship. The male Stygian Zinogre armor she clad shone in the rays of sun that broke through the clouds. The Wyvernian flinched as the sun that had shone through glinted off the raised hand of the hunter as she greeted the people of Cathar once again.
The Caravan leader stood beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder and immediately addressing the leader of the small village. The crowd soon dispersed and the Wyverian dressed in gold and white stayed back, very skilled in making herself seem invisible. When most of the village had left and the only people left at the airship docks were the hunter and the leader of the Village, the Wyvernian decided to go back to her hut for the night. Feeling a tug at her heart to stay, she fought it, knowing that there wasn't much she could talk to the hunter about anyway.
As she turned, she heard a call from behind her, "Ah! Angela! Come meet Fareeha!"
The Wyvernian turned and hoped that her ears weren't as obviously red as she thought they were. Having large ears didn't help.
As she approached the hunter she had fantasized over and thought about for weeks on end, she felt her tongue rise to the roof of her mouth. She couldn't see her face through her helmet, but she knew that she must have been amazing underneath.
"Hello!" Angela welcomed the hunter with a shy smile, "Welcome to Cathar!"
"Happy to be here." The hunter replied in an ethnic accent, her words peppered with quick syllables and smooth ends. She bowed politely and held out a hand for Angela to take. The Wyvernian paused and tried to hold back a blush that she felt creeping from her ears over her cheeks. She reached out to touch the armored hand, amazed at how smooth and warm the metal seemed against her fingers. Stygian Zinogres were almost impossible to kill, at least in Angela's mind. They were incredible beasts full of terrifying almost supernatural power…and this woman had killed enough to carve its body and make it into a set of armor that would protect her against monsters that could go toe to toe with the beast itself…
She was brought out of her marveling as Fareeha lifted her other hand to pull off her helmet. Angela pressed her lips tightly together as the tattoo was the first thing she noticed under the dark eyes of the woman looking down at her. She must have been Native to Val Habar. Angela didn't have any time to think about what she thought of Fareeha before the intimidatingly handsome woman bowed, lifting Angela's hand in her own, and kissing the back of her hand with a surprising gentleness.
The Wyvernian woman let out a giggle of disbelief and giddiness. She was beyond panicking over being in the presence of the person she idolized most. Fareeha smiled at her, the warmth behind her eyes making Angela's heart feel light in her chest.
"This is our village's finest healer." The leader said with a grin, placing a hand on Angela's back, "I highly suggest going to her if you have any questions about your hunting supplies or medical assistance seeing as how you're going to help us with our problem."
"I will definitely." Fareeha said, never looking away from the beautiful Wyvernian in gold and white, "Angela is it?"
"Yes!" Angela replied, "A…and you're Fareeha."
The hunter nodded and smiled again, "I see you know my name!" Angela blushed, "I'll come by your house later to see what kind of medical supplies you have to offer but until then, please excuse us."
Angela smiled and backed away, waving shyly at the handsome woman as her expression changed from kindness to intent focus and interest. The village leader must have been telling her about the threat that was coming to Cathar…it was some sort of rare and terrible happening that only a hunter could prevent or else the village would be destroyed and lives would be taken by a savage beast. Looking at Fareeha however, Angela had no doubt that she would be able to handle whatever the nameless threat had to throw at her.
Angela hurried back to her hut, making sure that everything was tidy and clean, rearranging some potions on display. A few steps into the main room of the house there was a store counter and shelf she had gotten some of the men of the village to help her built to make her home look more like a shop when one stepped inside. Making sure the labels were able to be seen perfectly from every angle of the room, Angela even put them in alphabetical order. She swept the floor and debated mopping but then decided it would take too much time. She wanted everything to be perfect for when the hunter visited her. She wanted her to be impressed, even though all she could offer was potions.
Angela sat at the round table for two at the back of the large room, looking at the woven rug and sighing quietly. She wished that she could meet the hunter with something that was relevant to her own interests. Angela had always wished she could be a hunter herself, but never had the courage to buy herself a sword from the armory so she could try it out. She doubted her physical strength. If only she was a hunter too…then maybe Fareeha would take an interest in her.
"Hello?"
Angela looked up from where she had been sitting and smiled as she watched Fareeha duck into the little hut, hitting her head lightly off the top of the doorframe. She had come right from the discussion with the village leader! She looked distracted however, for a reason Angela couldn't place. Perhaps she was nervous about the upcoming fight?
Angela stood and crossed the room to address her respectfully, "Hello! It's such an honor to have you here!"
Fareeha lifted a hand to rub the back of her head shyly before replying, "I'm just a regular person."
Angela paused.
The hunter then noticed the shelf of potions beside Angela and began reading the labels, her eyes widening. She reached out to pick up a particular potion that had been labeled: Stamina enhancer. Angela watched her eagerly as she turned the bottle over in her hand to see the ingredients on the back, then she placed it back on the shelf and looked at another.
"Those potions are all homemade." Angela said proudly, "I go out and gather the herbs myself. We don't have a lot of hunters around here, but the men that do go out and protect us from the occasional monster threat always come to me for my potions!"
"I can see why." Fareeha said, completely astounded, "This stuff is all natural?"
"Not an artificial chemical in them like those guild supported potions." Angela confirmed, "It's healthier and the effects are stronger for some. It took me years to perfect them…I hope you'll find some to your liking."
Fareeha lifted her head to look at the Wyvernian and Angela smiled sweetly, feeling comfortable in the hunter's presence. She was intimidatingly attractive, but not to a point where Angela felt a level of nervousness that prevented her from acting normally around her. Fareeha seemed flushed again, letting her eyes fall.
"These are all incredible. I'd love to try them all." Said the hunter, "I'd be happy to assist you with getting ingredients for these potions sometime. I'm sure they can't be easy to produce…"
"Not at all." Angela replied, moving around the counter to stand beside the hunter, "But you can have any one that you like for free."
Fareeha looked down at Angela and laughed gently, "I can't take these potions for free!"
"Sure you can!" Said the Wyvernian, "It's my gift to you…to welcome you to Cathar."
Fareeha stood silently for a few moments, looking down at the Wyvernian who looked back shyly. A silence fell over the two and Fareeha took a potion off of the highest shelf labeled, "Adamancy enhancer."
"I'll take this one." Said the hunter.
Angela grinned and said, "Try it out when you go out on your hunt tomorrow. I hope you find Heaven's Mount just as interesting as all the other places you've traveled."
Fareeha smiled and said gently, "If you wouldn't mind I'd like you to accompany me into heaven's mount tomorrow to show me around. Would you be alright with that?"
Angela paused, looking up into the dark eyes of the hunter. There were monsters out there…she had seen them roaming around, prowling through pathway after pathway. She never went out of the village by herself. She rarely went and got the items herself, she usually paid the men of the village to get her own supplies.
"Sure." She said without thinking, "I'll be more than happy to be your guide."
"Great!" Fareeha grinned, "Thank you for the free potion! I'll be around tomorrow bright and early so we can get going."
Angela nodded and watched as the hunter left, ducking to avoid the door frame this time. As soon as she had left, the Wyvernian began pacing left and right, nervously. She had said yes purely out of want to get to know the hunter more. Why had she done such a thing? She barely knew Heaven's Mount herself! The other people of the village were brave enough to go out, even the children went so long as they didn't stray too far from their homes.
She stopped pacing, then sat back down at the table at the back of the room. She would be alright…she would get to ask a real hunter questions she's always wanted to ask. Maybe she would be kind enough to demonstrate her fighting technique on the smaller animals that lurked around.