Today was the day at long last. She woke up from her bed and looked around her room slowly. The usual knickknacks she collected were stowed away and packaged carefully inside her pack. She went over to the wall and collected the bow she spent all her time in crafting. It was a fine bow. It wasn't the strongest one out there, but it did the job. It was upgraded by the local smiths to a point that it would do a bit more damage than most. She had spent months finding the right monster cards to place into it, and she had worked it into a nice piece. The cards she used in the bow would slow down the monsters she attacked, helped her add more damage to her attack, and added a boost to her arrows when they struck true in a critically wounding way. She picked up some items and crafted as many arrows as she could out of them. She glanced around once more and picked up her pack. As she prepared to leave, she counted the zeny that she had, which was the currency throughout the land.

"Not much at all. I'll need to hunt and sell what I find," she sighed. She walked over to the only mirror she had in the room and brushed out her straight, waist length, brown-blonde hair. Her soft, deep brown eyes blinked back at her under thick, yet neat, dark lashes. Her small mouth seemed to frown at her, though she was smiling. Her skin was tanned to a point that it was noticeable, but that was all she needed. She could be quite stunning to look at, if she applied blush, or even some rouge, but she never bothered with it. She always hated being the center of attention, anyways.

She straightened out the traditional two-piece Huntress garb and seemed to nod at her appearance. The cloth was actually sturdy cotton with leathery pieces of monster hide stitched in, and it was dyed orange and brown. She had a very gentle figure for it, and it flattered her form. Her toned, flat belly was showing, but the leather skirt covered over the darker shade of heavy brown cotton shorts underneath. Her chest strained lightly inside the upper piece of the outfit, but the leather stitching balanced it out. She had thought of dying her garments white, but she was told that white wasn't a proper color for hunting. She would have stood out too much. Sturdy boots protected her feet, and a small, purple ribbon clung to her hair in the form of a cute bow. She was hoping to upgrade her armor whenever she found the funds, but it was hard to do.

She whistled, and her falcon flew over to her. It hovered over her protectively before gently landing on her shoulder. The extra leather padding on her shoulders kept the claws from sinking into her skin. The hunting falcon was a common breed, and she had to rent it the moment she was able to. The feathers were a deep brownish gold. The eyes of the falcon were stark yellow and exceptionally sharp. She considered it the only friend she had, and it was exceptionally protective of her when it had to be. She gave a final yawn to remove the sleep from her. Then she stretched and walked out of the room.

She was quite happy today. She decided she would go out and spend the day finding herself a pet. She didn't know what kind, but she would go for any type. She wouldn't have even thought of a pet, if it wasn't for the Novice she saw with a pink, jelly-like Poring. She didn't want to travel alone anymore, and she knew that a pet would make it easier on her. She knew her falcon could be seen as a pet, but it didn't feel the same. She needed something that could show more affection to her. Thinking back, she wasn't always alone before. A few memories of old friends came up, and she frowned, pushing them away. Now was not the time to think about them. It's been three years now, and it was still quite painful to think of them. Those times were gone.

To refocus on other things, she made sure she bought herself a small meal for the road, as she started her journey to anywhere she could travel. She found herself going to the main city of Prontera, since it was closest to the town of Izlude that she was staying at. She stopped to see what she could find at all the Merchant shops that lined the main road sides. Not finding anything of interest, she moved on, but she did stop and buy pet food for her future pet, hoping it would be the kind to eat it.

"Now to hunt for something to sell," she sighed and walked onwards. She found her way out of the city, and made her way to one of the smaller towns called Payon. She knew the town quite well. I became an Archer here. Once again, the memories that came up were painful when they reappeared, and she fought back tears. She forced them away once again, as she refocused on why she was here and regained her composure. She always got hurt thinking about the happier times of her life. The sooner I got a pet to help distract my thoughts, the better.

She saw other adventurers walking into a cave, and she followed them. She recognized the cave as a holding for the undead, and she crafted several Silver Arrows in case she had to fight. She moved forward, making sure her falcon was ready for battle. She inched her way into the cave, dodging new adventurers and old ones alike. She always kept to herself and didn't truly trust anyone. She killed whatever attacked her quickly and skillfully, ignoring the lesser creatures that couldn't touch her if they tried. She made her way deeper into the cave.

She paused, as she spotted an undead girl in a red dress approaching her. It wasn't truly a dress, but almost like a long, red pullover with gold markings on a darker red under-dress that ended in billowing pants. She wore basic shoes, and she wore a large red hat with a long yellow talisman tassel stitched on the front of it. She had her long, black hair tied back into a braid. The pale face was emotionless, as the monster started to bounce sharply towards her. She recognized it as the Munak. She thought before she attacked the pitiful thing.

"Undead girl...not really a nice form of pet," she sighed and watched the body crumple with a squeak and fade away to dust. Collecting the braid that was left behind, she set it into her pack. Merchants accepted Munak hair, since they used it to make the hair for dolls. More undead girls followed after that, and she collected what she could from them. She paused when one dropped a diary. She picked it up and looked at it.

"Strange...why would one drop something like this? I can't even read it!" she wondered. She decided to find her way out. She stopped when an undead boy in a blue fighting outfit bounced over to her. He was wearing a blue button down vest that fit over a darker blue tunic. It appeared to be rather loose, and a set of loose pants completed the outfit. A set of shoes adorned his feet, not that he would have needed them. He also had long, black hair pulled back, but it was in a shorter braid. Like the Munak, he also wore a giant hat, but it was blue like the rest of him. The talisman tassel on the front, however, was ripped in half. She recognized that one as the Bongun. She paused and killed it quickly. She watched his form crumple into a pile of dust silently, and she collected the bit of braided hair that was left behind.

"Undead boy...interesting. I don't see many of them around," she thought, as she found her way out of the cave. "Is the diary meant for one of them?"

She found her way out of the cave and decided to ask around with the diary in her possession. She stopped and ate something while she traveled. As she took the diary out to look at it, a traveling Knight stopped up next to her. He was riding on a large, yellow bird called a Pecopeco, and he pulled the reins around its beak to stop it.

"What's that you have there?" he asked curiously. "I think I've seen that before."

"Oh...I found a diary, and I don't know what to do with it," she smiled. He remembered what it was for and explained to her that there was an old woman in the city of Comodo that was looking for a diary much like the one she had. He gave her the location of where to find the old woman, and he nodded as he left, wishing her luck.

"Funny...some people can be so kind, and others wouldn't even care," she sighed, as she got up and made her way to the unknown town. The Kafra Agent in the town of Payon was able to transport her, since she had enough funds.

As she got there, a flurry of fireworks startled her when she entered. She set her jaw and found her way over to the old lady. She learned that the old lady was actually the grandmother of the Munak that was killed. It was a bit odd to her, since Munak was a monster, but she didn't argue with the old lady. The diary was read aloud, and it was so sad at what it revealed! The grandmother then took the diary, and asked if she had a strand of hair from Munak. She wanted some form of a keepsake with the diary to ease her heart.

"Yes..." she said softly. She handed over a lock of Munak hair, and a new book was given to her. This one was blue in color, when the diary she gave over was red. It even had a heart on the latch! She was instructed to show it to a Bongun so that he would find peace and happiness. It was actually something to help a random Bongun come to her side. She blanched. I have the opportunity to get a pet already? Now she thought. What did a Bongun eat? She stopped by a Merchant stand and sold what she didn't need before heading back to the cave in Payon. She stopped by a local Pet Merchant along the way to pick up an incubator. On asking what a pet Bongun would eat, she was shown the pet food. A larger stock was quickly purchased.

She made her way back to Payon and back through the cave system. She went down to the area she found the diary at. She killed any Munak that attacked her, yet she paused when a boy approached her. When she reached for the book, he attacked her right away. She killed him and thought carefully on how to approach this.

"No...something tells me I will know when to take out the book," she thought aloud. She killed several more Munaks and found another boy. He attacked her, and she killed him quickly in defense. She sighed and shook her head. Not once did she feel the urge to use the taming item. She sat down on the ground to rest and got out something to eat. As she sat there, a shadow loomed over her. She turned quickly and found another boy standing over her. As she stood up, he remained still. Why wasn't he attacking me? Then she thought and remembered that, on various occasions, certain monsters wouldn't attack her, and she always wondered why that was. On a closer study, she saw he looked a bit more than a boy, and she blinked in wonder. His body was built far better than the others, and his muscles were still highly defined, as though he had a lot more time to develop before his death. His hair seemed a touch longer, too. How could that be? Even his clothes appeared to be in better shape.

She realized that he was studying her, as though wondering about something himself. Even as he bounced in place, he was confused. There was something about her that I liked. He couldn't place the feeling. She pulled out her book without thinking and showed it to him. He paused and looked at it. She swallowed. Was my effort in vain? Very slowly, he took the book and gazed it before becoming an egg. An intense joy overcame her, as she bent down to pick it up. Then she thought, as she held it. Should I hatch it now? Or should I wait? She made her way out of the cave and outside. She walked along until she found a secluded area. She hatched the egg there with the incubator and fed her new pet when he looked hungry.

He watched her curiously, not wanting to leave her side. She had sparked something that he felt was gone. He wanted to know why. Something had pulled him to her, and it puzzled him. He bounced slowly next to her, as he watched her sort through her pack. He studied her, as she decided what she needed and didn't need. She was different, he knew that. Even though he was enthralled with the company of the other undead monsters, and always attacked adventurers on sight with them, he didn't want to attack her. He had attacked other intruders in the past and won, but he encountered her when she was defenseless. When he saw her sitting there, his instinct to attack was there, but he didn't. He had seen her kill others, and he felt no remorse. It was as if they deserved to die for attacking her. Why he felt like this, he had no idea. He only knew that it was ages ago when he last felt the urge to protect another. Maybe even care for her...

She yawned and stretched, feeling tired. She looked at her new pet and smiled. Should I refer to him as a companion? She chuckled to herself and wondered why she would think such a thing. She knew she was looking for a pet to be like a companion to keep from being lonely, since she always traveled alone, but she was starting to think of him as something a bit more. He was a pet, yet the way he watched her made her wonder. Why didn't he attack me when I sat there defenseless? She knew he was somewhat shy of her, since he had just been received, but that was fine. In time, I will get to know my new pet, and he would learn to know me. Then I can decide what to really think of him.

"I should think of a name for you. However, I think I'll wait until we know each other better," she said aloud. The Bongun seemed to nod at this, and she looked at him with surprise. He understood me and agreed with me? Most pets would either shrug indifference, or even ignore new owners the moment they met them. She found it rather intriguing. Maybe this one was truly different than the others I've seen before. She kept watching him curiously, and she handed him another piece of pet food when she saw signs of him being hungry. After he ate, she got up and decided to hunt something.

He followed her around obediently and watched how she hunted. He seemed to wince when she got hurt, and felt relieved when she drank a potion when she needed to Heal herself. She fed him when he needed to be fed, and he was amazed that she seemed to have no loss of stamina when she hunted.

As the days went by, he began to appreciate how she worked, and he really liked how she tried to avoid others. Yet, he felt stupid when he was referred to as a pet and had to perform simple tricks. He knew he was a pet, but he didn't like being called a pet. He didn't mind it when it came to others asking about him. It was only when she introduced him as a pet that he felt upset about it, but he resolved to put a stop to it when he was able to learn more about her.

As nightfall came about on the seventh day he was with her, he started to see the exhaustion set in for her. She sat on the ground and made a small camp.

"I should get a room, but the towns are always so crowded!" she sighed. All he could do was watch her. He saw her falcon still hovering in the air before alighting to a branch, as she took out a small blanket to curl up in. Did she always sleep alone? Why does she allow herself to sleep on the ground? Doesn't she have any friends? He started to make a list of questions to ask her. He watched her as she slept. Why were these feelings coming up now?

He was getting hungry, and he saw the bag of food. Normally she gave it to him, but it was right there. Why not? He bent down and started to eat. At the sound of a small gasp, he looked up and saw her looking at him.

"How are you able to do that?! Others never did that!" she asked with a smile. She had awoken to the sound of him eating, and she was simply in shock of what he was doing. He realized that she wasn't mad, but was rather amazed.

"Hungry..." he said softly. Her eyes widened. He was talking to me already! It was far too soon for him to start talking, wasn't it? I only had him with me for a week. It usually took up to two months with others, from what I was told. She wasn't going to complain with this stroke of luck. She had learned long ago that some things happened for various unexplained reasons, and that it was best to simply go with it.

"Then eat. I will get more food in the next town. I still don't know what to call you. I am not sure if you even had a name before."

He looked at her silently again as though in thought. What made me think that he had a previous name? He was someone long ago, wasn't he? Maybe he already did have a name. Would he remember it?

"Keltin," he said softly. She blinked at him.

"Keltin? Is that your name?" she asked with a soft smile. His voice sounded stern, yet extremely soothing when he spoke to her. It wasn't an undead voice at all! It almost sounded as though he didn't want her to be afraid of him. He looked at her and nodded, as he bounced. Then she was surprised again when he stopped bouncing.

"You?" he asked.

"Sarine. That is my name."

"Sarine..." he whispered before falling silent and went back to bouncing. She never knew what her last name was, and she always said that she preferred to keep it simple that way if others asked. She nodded and smiled again. He tilted his head, as he watched her lie back down to sleep. Would I ever be able to sleep? Could I even try?

**Author Notes**

This is a Ragnarok Online fan fiction. I have been working on this story for a very long time. Here is a brief summary of what it contains.

Various MvP Monsters do have a back history and will eventually be tied into the story.

Much of the various lands, towns, and cities are featured solely around the game.

The time this starts is right as Transcendence/Rebirth is available and may go through to where third classes appear.

There are quite a few areas of this story that are not related to the game, itself, but are interwoven. As you read, you will understand. :)

I am constantly updating my story and adding on to it. Will it come to an end? Only time will tell! I thank anyone that takes the time to see what I have written.