Son of the Hunter

Chapter 1: The Son

A calm spring afternoon. A large tree with a picnic blanket and a nice variety of food on it. A beautiful, slender woman sat with a large, rugged man, and their young son sat between them. Immediately, I recognized the child as myself. That's how I knew this wouldn't end well. I should've been used to it by that point. This scene had played over and over again, but it didn't get any easier to watch, especially with what happened this time.

My parents and I were enjoying ourselves. We laughed, ate, my dad roughhoused with me while mom egged him on. Then the sky began to go dark. Dad set me beneath the tree, and both he and my mom stood up. They walked off, promising they would return, though I knew they wouldn't. They then disappeared into the dark mist that had enveloped the area, which was where things usually ended, but not tonight.

Two screams. The first a female cry, piercing and bone-chilling. The second a man's cry that sent chills up the spine and struck fear into my heart. Finally, a paralyzing, horrific roar that jerked me from my sleep. Were anyone in my house, they'd have heard my own loud scream, come running to my bedroom, and seen the tears falling down my face.

Ever since I lost my parents, nightmares like that visited me regularly. It didn't help that I, myself, was a hunter, but I wasn't about to let the family tradition die. The nightmares always seemed to end at the same time, too; looking out the window showed a very early sunrise, and my clocked showed me that it was four thirty-two in the morning. I had sat up in my bed after waking up, but I fell back into my pillow when I saw the time. My eyes slowly closed again, but didn't stay that way for long.

My phone began buzzing on my bedside table, and despite how much I didn't want to, I answered it. Before I could even say "hello", the deep voice of my best friend, Wes, sounded from the other end.

"Yo, Adam, you up?"

"Nope. This is the Ghost of Christmas Past answering Adam Delvin's cell phone."

"Haha, very funny. I know it's early, but we need to get our asses over to the Lodge. We've been called for an assignment."

"Oh joy. What for?"

"Nothing too major, just a Lagombi that's been hanging around one of the Walls a bit too much."

I signed and nodded, even though he wasn't here to actually see it. "Alright, I'll meet you there."

"See ya."

He hung up with an audible beep, and I followed suit. I usually had the clothes I planned to wear the next day out on my couch before I went to bed, and today was no different. A pair of jeans, my favorite white Okami shirt, and my trademark, a flannel shirt. Wes teased me for owning at least ten of them, but I really liked the look.

I didn't bother making my bed, I just grabbed my phone, glasses, and house keys off the bedside table and took off. Near my door was a small hook, upon which was hanging a pendant in the shape of a wolf's head; my dad's armor charm. I grabbed it and set it around my neck before leaving; I never left home without it.

Once I was out of my room, it was down the hall and to the right to get to the kitchen. Wes was probably already at the Lodge, so I just opened a cabinet and grabbed a granola bar, and got a bottle of Faygo out of the fridge. My last stop was what I referred to as the back room. It was a den-like room where I kept my weapons and any special armors. I tied my boots on, grabbed my True Yokumo Longsword, locked the door behind me after I walked out, and headed down to the Lodge.

Virginia always had pretty comfortable climates, and while I was used to the weather in Georgia, I wasn't about to complain about the cool Virginia Beach morning. I walked along the boardwalk, munching on my admittedly paltry breakfast, when I heard faint shouting that began to grow louder and louder.

"Hey, dude with the sword! Wait up, man!" I turned to my left to find the source of the voice; a small redheaded girl sporting a simple black t-shirt and denim shorts. She kind of looked me over for a second after catching up with me, and that's when I noticed something odd; her eyes were yellow, and I was pretty sure that wasn't a natural eye color in people.

She then backed up just a little and nodded. "I take it you're a Hunter, considering that weapon on your back?"

I returned her nod, turning back towards my destination. "I am. Uh, I hate to be rude, but I'm also in a hurry."

As I began walking, the girl just came up beside me and matched my pace. "That's fine! We can talk while we walk."

I let out a sigh. I had gotten a good enough look at the girl; she was slender with well-developed curves, and her hair came down to her shoulders. Not only that, but her voice was soft and very cute. As dumb as it probably seemed to her, I had to look away to keep from getting nervous.

She gave me a nudge and giggled. "You okay, bud? You seem kinda off."

I just nodded and kept looking forward. "Fine. Don't worry."

"Hm… sorry, not buying it. You're gonna have to try harder."

After clearing my throat and trying to think of a way not to sound like a complete dork, I came to the conclusion that there was no way to do so and still be honest. "Sorry, I just… don't really talk to many girls."

She simply giggled again and playfully hit my shoulder. "Well, you're talking to one now. My name's Nymira, nice to meet you."

I bit my lip and tried to keep my focus. Being around cute girls always made me a nervous wreck, and Nymira had already picked up on that. "…Adam."

A quick glance showed me that Nymira's eyebrows were turned up, and she had one of those worried smiles on her face. "Hey, you gonna be alright? You really don't seem comfortable right now."

"I'm fine. It's cool, don't worry."

She let out a sigh, patting my shoulder. "Look, I can see how uncomfortable you are from miles away. It's okay, I can work with this though."

Her words caught my attention, causing me to turn to her. "Um, excuse me?"

Without even acknowledging my question, she turned away momentarily before turning back to me. "Look, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you again, soon. See ya later."

Before I could even say anything else, Nymira was off. I paused for just a moment before sighing. I was paying so little attention to my surroundings that I didn't even notice that I was standing before the massive, log cabin-like building before me. A few windows were on either side of the large door, and above it was a big sign that read "The Lodge" in fancy calligraphy.

I opened the door and was immediately greeted by the muscular, dark form of my friend, Wes. I took the hand that he thrust in front of me and shook with a smile on my face. He looked so much neater than me already; dreadlock ponytail, bowgun on his back, Wroggi armor already on save for the cap, and a wide grin on his face. He was good foot taller than me, too.

"Wow, I really am late. Did you have time to finish a watermelon while you waited?"

Wes let out a hardy laugh and patted my shoulder. "Oh I get it, just because I'm black, you assume I eat watermelon for breakfast!"

All I did was shrug, but eventually I chuckled. "Maybe."

He laughed again and walked with me to the front counter, where the secretary handed me the mission file. "So, what took you so long, man?"

I paused for a moment. Telling him about Nymira might not have been a good idea. It wasn't often girls approached me, so I wasn't too certain Wes would believe me. Regardless, I wasn't too keen on lying, either.

"I know this is gonna sound like a load of shit, but some girl held me up. She randomly just called to me and started talking."

All Wes did was raise one brow. "And?"

"Well, she didn't stay long. She just asked me about my comfort level in regards to being approached and then said she'd talk to me again soon. You know a girl named Nymira?"

He lifted a bulky arm and rubbed his chin. "Hm, not off the top of my head, no. But hey, let's not waste time. We can talk about this on the way."

I gave him a nod, skimmed over the file, and handed it back to the secretary. She had already had my alloy armor brought out to the lobby, so I got into it and waited for the secretary to prepare the Wall. A door next to the counter slid open, and behind it was a bright purple portal.

The secretary adjusted her glasses, turned to us, and nodded. "Standard equipment for this mission. You're going to the tundra, so there's a share of Hot Drinks for you, as well as some rations, first aid kits, your map, and paintballs. I know Lagombis aren't exactly a challenge, but still, be careful."

We both gave her a nod, but Wes spoke up before me. "You know we will."

She smiled and nodded in response. "Good luck."

Wes went through first, and I followed quickly after. We closed our eyes to shield ourselves from the bright light that usually accompanied the movement between worlds. Upon opening our eyes, we were still caught off guard by the bright white that surrounded us. Snowy hills and plains greeted us on all sides, save for our right, where a chilling river carried chunks of ice down a waterfall.

A small, bipedal cat greeted us and motioned forward, pointing out the bed not too far away. It had an awning hung over it to keep the snow off of it, and next to the large bed were two boxes, one red and one blue. Beside the boxes was a cooking spit pole, which my friend picked up and latched onto his back. Wes and I had done this plenty of times before, so we knew how this worked.

The big guy walked over and opened the blue box, handing me two first aid meds, a map, two small whetstones for sharpening my weapon, two rations, two Hot Drinks, and two paintballs. Once I had my supplies, he took what was left. There were two walkie-talkie like devices in the box, but not only did they have speakers, they had large screens that displayed a map of the area. Wes and I had done challenges where we navigated without the map, but not this time.

I gave him a smile as I hooked the map onto my belt and downed one of the rations. It was standard practice for us to wolf one of them down before a fight. "What ammo are you packing?"

He grinned and took the massive Tigrex Howl off his back. "I brought plenty of fire shells. That Lagombi ain't gonna last if I get a few good shots in. He's usually in Areas Three, Two, or Six."

I checked my map, giving him a nod. Going directly north took us to Area One of this place. West of that was Area Three, northwest was Area Two, and east was Area Six. Given the fact that I had a plan for how to navigate, I gave Wes a nudge.

"Last one to find him buys lunch?"

My friend paused for a short moment before letting out a hard laugh. "You're on, bud!"

He held his hand to me and I gave it a shake. "You take Three. I'll take Two, and if neither of us finds him, we'll meet up at Six. Deal?"

Wes rubbed his chin, probably just for suspense, before giving a nod. "Deal."

After each of us downed a Hot Drink to keep the cold from bothering us, we took off to our respective areas. We had to keep an eye on our maps; there were indicators with our names on the side of the screen that would show the other if we got spotted. Not only that, but we had little health bars; it was a funny way to keep track of our limits and how much abuse we could take. I wished many a time that these devices could do the same for enemies. It always seemed like things were tougher in this world; you couldn't just chop something's head off, you had to wail on it a lot first.

As we went into Area One, we stopped so a herd of Popo could pass through. I'd hunted many of these mammoth monsters for a good meal, but we decided to pass them up this time. My friend made his way into Area Three, and I hustled my way to Two. The terrain was awkward to navigate; this tundra was a series of open areas connected by caverns and valleys formed through or between giant glacial structures, and sometimes those valleys and caverns got very small and cramped. Such is the life of a Hunter.

I checked my map as I got into my destination, squatting down so the beefy, boar-like Bullfango wouldn't chase and attack me. Wes still hadn't gotten spotted, so I pressed the button on the side of the map to talk to him.

"Anything yet?"

"No giant bunnies sighted. How's life in Area Two?"

"Nothing but bacon."

I could hear his laugh on the other end of the device, and couldn't help chuckling myself. "A'ight, Adam, meet you in Area Six, then."

"See ya then. Don't be slow."

Looking at the map again showed that two large caves, Areas Four and Seven, stood between Wes and Area Six. However, I only had to go through Seven. I mean, Area Two did connect to Area Four as well, but hey, I wasn't about to pass up free lunch. I immediately headed to the northernmost section of the area, which took me to the mouth of the cave that was Area Seven.

Darting inside the cave, I noticed it was completely empty. Honestly, I was happy not to have been assaulted by three or more Baggis for once. They were the worst raptors in all of Teios. Their absence also meant an even quicker trip to Area Six, so I decided to get a bit cocky and take a leisurely stroll through the cave. Once I was out, I was in Area Six; a wide open space of nothing but thick snow and a single pine tree.

Sure enough, the giant white rabbit was wandering around near said tree. With a grin, I grabbed my map, pressed the button, and proclaimed my victory.

"Found it."

I heard a "Damn" as I set the map back on my belt and grabbed a paintball from one of my pouches. I made sure to keep my distance from the beast, even as I chucked the paintball at him; the impact would alert him to my presence, but I'd still have enough time to get a preemptive strike.

Once he was marked, I charged forward and unsheathed my blade in a powerful downward strike to his side. Lagombi recoiled from the hit, but immediately swiped at me with one of his front claws. The hit sent me flying into the tree, and the monster reared up to strike again before I could get up. However, the attack never came.

A loud shot rang out, and it appeared as if the rabbit's face had exploded. Lagombi drew away, giving me time to look to my left and see Wes readying another shot.

"You won the race and I still gotta save your ass! You sure you deserve free lunch?"

I started laughing, but Lagombi charged at Wes before I could respond. I ran at it, but Wes slammed another shot into its face, causing it to fall over. With it struggling to stand back up, both of us took the opportunity to get some good hits in. I managed to get about five strong swings in, but it still wasn't enough for me to ready up my longsword's power.

Lagombi backed up just a little, but then spun around in an attempt to hit us back, but we both saw it coming and backed off. With it on its feet and me on mine, it was now my job to keep the monster away from Wes so he could keep pelting it. I liked to think I did a good job of it, too; the rabbit beast only managed to hit me one other time, and that was after I had hit it enough to feel my longsword resonate. Sadly, I couldn't act on it, as Wes' blast to the Lagombi's face took it down.

Putting his bowgun away, my friend threw his fist in the air and hollered. "Woo! Man, easy fights are the best, yeah?"

He laughed as I stood up and brushed the snow off myself. "Yeah, such fun. Very wow. But hey, we got us a nice meal here."

Wes nodded in agreement and we both drew our carving knives. We cut out the good, edible parts of the beast's meat, and each cut a section of pelt as well. They actually sold for a decent price in Keios markets, so it was worth it. Once we both had carved what we wanted, Wes skewered the meat on the pole he brought with him. I grabbed the other end and helped him carry the meat back to the starting area.

It was clearly too large for us to carry back, so we wrapped up our respective shares and set them in the red box for delivery to our homes. After another hand shake, we walked through the portal back to the Lodge. The secretary congratulated us once we were on the other side, stamped our contract with the "completed" stamp, and took our armor back for repairs and storage. One of these days I plan on asking why we couldn't just take our armor home, considering we spent our own money to make it.

A quick glance at my phone told me it was now seven fifteen in the morning. After getting an idea, I judged Wes' arm with a chuckle.

"I may not have earned a free lunch, but how about coffee?"

My friend let out another hardy laugh; it seemed like that was his default reaction to things. "A'ight, that I can do." He then looked as his phone and nudged me back. "Hey, it's Saturday, so Sarah's working. You want to go to her café?"

He laughed again when I groaned. "You know damn well that's not why I made this suggestion." I then put my hands in my pockets and made for the door.

Wes followed behind me, giving me a pat on the back. "Ah, come on, man, I was just messing with you. I really just like that place's drinks. And hey, Sarah already knows what we get, so that's an added bonus."

I just rolled my eyes and turned in the direction of Honey Drop, my and Wes' favorite place to get coffee and breakfast. It was a decent walk, but we made it there before eight. It was a part of one of the numerous strip malls along the beach's boardwalk, and one of the smaller ones, as well. Being on the corner, and one of the few brown buildings on the entire strip made it easy to spot.

A young woman stood behind the counter, preparing the various machines needed to fill the many orders that would come throughout the day. However, as we opened the door and she heard that welcome bell, she turned to us with a bright smile on her face. The glare from her glasses kept us from seeing her eyes, but her shoulder-length blonde hair with the red streaks stood out amongst all the grey and black behind her, verifying for us that it was indeed Sarah.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite guys! Y'all look like y'all had fun. What are the both of you doing up so early?"

Wes always amazed me. I had even finished forming a sentence in my head by the time he was getting his out.

"Just finished a nice hunt. I may or may not have lost a bet and now owe your eyesight buddy here a free drink." He laughed and patted my back once before approaching the counter and seating himself. "Besides, Adam couldn't wait to see you again."

The big guy turned to me, chuckling when he saw how red I was. Sarah giggled to herself before nudging Wes. "Come on, don't tease him, Wes. Look at how flustered he is. Be nice."

She motioned for me to sit. Though I eventually did, my gaze stayed on the floor the entire way there. I took a quick glance up to see where Sarah was, lifting my head when I saw she was looking away.

"I take it you two will be getting your usual?"

I had expected Wes to answer, but after a moment of silence, I noticed he was waiting for me to talk. Jerk. "Y-Yeah. Same as always."

Sarah gave us a nod and went to work flipping switches, pulling levers, and pushing buttons. I heard some voices in the back as well; it was nice to know the baristas weren't forced to work alone. For some reason, looking at Sarah made me think of Nymira, and her last words to me kept echoing in my mind. That is, until a decent push brought me back to reality.

"Ey, earth to Adam, I'm talking to you, pal!"

Wes thumped my shoulder again, finally getting my attention. "Sorry… my mind isn't here, I guess."

"I could tell. I was just asking if you wanted to join me, my sister, and my brother after this. We're taking a bike ride."

I shook my head, nodding to Sarah as she handed me my cup. "I wish I could, but I already made plans. Sorry, Wes, I'm heading up to the fitness center."

All he did was shrug. "It's cool, man. A hunter's gotta stay in shape, I ain't gonna fault you. By the offer's always open if you change your mind. We're leaving at around eight, but we'll be on the park trails, so you can meet us any time."

"I'll remember that. Thanks."

He gave a nod before downing the large cup Sarah handed him. How this guy's throat didn't have severe burns was a mystery for the ages. Wes opened his wallet and set a 20 dollar bill on the counter before standing up.

"I know it's a lot, Sarah, but keep the change. You earned it. I gotta get going, so I'll see you both around."

I waved at him as he walked out, looking away a little as Sarah took the cash and stashed it away in a register. "He's learning. He left before I even had a chance to argue with him."

As much as I wanted to say something, I kind of just stirred a straw around in my cup. I finally turned my attention to Sarah when she set a lid before me on the counter. "You okay, Adam? You look a little down. Before you asked what tipped me off, you didn't offer your mason jar. That… and the constant distant looks."

"I guess. Just… thinking about stuff." My friend put her hands on my hips, and she didn't even need to tell me to elaborate. "Some girl randomly came up to me on my way to the Lodge. All she did was point out how awkward I was, and then said we'd meet again before taking off. I'm just not sure what to make of it."

She held a hand against her chin, propping up the arm with her other hand. "Hm, that does seem strange. Did you get her name? Do you remember anything about her?"

I set the lid on my coffee and took a sip before responding. "She said her name was Nymira. She was… around your height. Waist length red hair." Her yellow eyes were something I had to pause and think about before bringing up. I mean, who would honestly believe that? "She also had… bright yellow eyes."

Hearing this, Sarah clapped and nodded happily. "Oh yeah! She came in here about an hour ago, just asking about the town and stuff. She was really sweet, but she left before I could do anything but answer her questions. I'm sorry Adam, but I don't know where she went."

She looked a little disappointed, but I just shrugged. "No worries, I… I'm just gonna go. I do have somewhere to be, so… yeah."

My friend sighed softly, grabbing a rag and wiping the counter off as I picked up my cup and stood. "Okay, see ya later."

"Yeah, later."

I got home at around eight twelve, which left me a little less than two hours before I needed to be at the fitness center. After I walked through the front door, I went to the backroom to hang my sword back up. On a desk nearby the weapon rack sat a picture of me and my parents, and I couldn't help but just… gaze at it.

"So is that your family? My condolences."

Anyone else who was there would've thought I was a Scooby Doo character with the way I jumped. Immediately turning around, I had to take off my glasses and wipe them to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

A young woman in a flowery, short, blue dress stood before me. Her shimmering, blue hair came down to her waist, and translucent butterfly wings extended out of her back. She let out a giggle when she saw my face, leaning forward to tap my forehead.

"Hello, anyone home? You there, dude?"

After coming to my senses, I still couldn't manage to say much. "Uh… who… what?"

She let out a sigh and curled her lip. "What, are you saying you don't recognize me? Don't you remember this pretty face?"

"Wait." My eyes widened when I got a look at hers. Bright. Yellow. Eyes. "No."

She nodded and gave me a pat on the back. "It's Nymira, from this morning! Told you we'd meet again!"

I immediately shook my head and crossed my arms. "Now hold up a second. I don't remember you having blue hair or wings. You playing dress up or something?"

Her hand smacked her forehead almost instantly after I said that. "For someone who has literally seen another world entirely, you don't think about fantasy that much. I'm a fairy, Adam. A love fairy, to be exact. We're attracted to strong feelings of loneliness, and I have to be honest, you seem pretty lonely."

I just tilted my head, my arms still crossed. "Love fairy? So… what exactly are you here to do?"

Nymira crossed her legs, still floating in midair as she cleared her throat. "What else? I'm gonna take the nervous wreck that is Adam Delvin and turn you into a walking chick magnet! We're gonna score you so many broads that you won't even know what to do with them!"

"Score broads? You make it sound so… methodic."

She gave me a "Mhm" and closed her eyes. "I'm gonna get you introduced to a bunch of girls and get you so many dates that you'll have to hire an agent!"

"That… sounds terrible, in all honesty."

The fairly let out the loudest groan I'd ever heard after I said that. "See, that's what you need to change. I saw just how freaked out you were around me earlier. You're a nervous wreck around girls, dude."

Now it was my turn to groan. "That may be, but that's not the poi—"

Before I could even finish, she cut me off. "So come on! I've already done some scouting around the area, and I found a lot of potential girls for you to get with."

This time I turned away from her, heading towards my living room. I could see her following me in the reflection of my glasses, turning around and holding my hand out.

"Look, whatever it is you're doing, stop. I may be lonely, but I don't need to be surrounded by women to make myself feel better. First off, I'm not really looking to date right now, and second off, I'm a one woman man."

All she did in response was shrug. "I can respect that. The fact remains that you suck at talking to the ladies."

"Nymira, I have somewhere to be, soon. Can we do this later?"

Right after I asked, she began shaking her head. "How long ya got?"

"About an hour and fifty minutes."

"Perfect. Pack your shit, you and I are going on a date right now."

At this point, I threw my hands up and let out a loud sigh. "Okay, okay, okay, slow down." Seeing as how the kitchen and dining room was between the back room and my living room, I simply pulled out a stool from the counter in the kitchen and sat. Nymira quickly sat next to me, propping her head on her hand. "Now explain to me exactly what in the world is happening."

The fairy took a deep breath and lifted her head up. "I am a love fairy. We're attracted to strong feelings of loneliness, and our goal is to hopefully get rid of those feelings. I can tell that losing your parents has left you empty, and my hope is that I can at least ease that pain, alright? It's the wish of all love fairies."

She paused and gave me a slightly concerned look, but continued when she saw me nod. "I approached you this morning to gauge your communication skills and, to be quite honest, they're very lackluster. I took a look around your house to get a feel for the kind of person you were, and then went scouting around for possible girls that would make a good match for you."

Again, I found myself crossing my arms. "So you're not only some kind of matchmaker, you're also a trespasser?"

Nymira's mouth slowly morphed into the straightest, most perfect line I'd ever seen. "You'd be surprised what you can learn about someone by looking through their home. You like video games, your parents are dead and you miss them terribly, you're a Monster Hunter, you value your friendship with the big black guy greatly, you like to collect things, you have poor eyesight, you have some kind of workout routine, and you have a strange affinity for flannel shirts and mason jars."

Once she was done I just sort of… paused. Everything she said, while very condensed, was all true. "And you learned all of this… just by poking around in my house?"

She gave a nod and a satisfied "Mhm". "Pretty impressive, huh? I like to do my research. I'm actually competing with a friend of mine; she has a perfect track record for these things."

Now my mouth was the one that was a perfect, straight line, as were my brows, probably. "Oh, I get it. I'm just a contest, is that right?"

I must have freaked her out, because she began shaking her head furiously. "No, no, no, it's not like that! I really do want to help, believe me."

"Uh huh. Look, I really don't need your help, okay? I'll be fine on my own."

She stuck her tongue out at me. How mature. "Right. So then how many dates have you actually been on?"

I began rubbing my chin, trying to think of answers that wouldn't completely invalidate my previous statement. "Uh… define 'date'."

I could see the effort on her face as she tried to keep from laughing. "Oh. Wow. This is worse than I thought. Alright, that settles it. Pack up, Adam, we're going on a date right now."

"You're joking, right?"

Nymira stood and gave me a good thwack over the head. "I said 'right now', as in 'let's get going'!"

"You're going out looking like that?"

She shook her head, snapped her fingers, and was soon drowned in a flash of blue light. Once I had my sight back, Nymira was sporting the same look she had when I first met her.

"We fairies can change our appearance to anything we want at any time. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, time to go. We're heading back to that café and I'm going to show you the ropes."

I barely even had time to groan before the fairy grabbed my arm, promptly leading me out of my house.