As Joan dusted herself off, Sparks got out of the nest to look for the Popo carcass they left last night. Because they lived in the Tundra, they didn't have to worry about the smell giving it's hiding place away. There were plenty of other monsters around who would gladly steal it.
"Hungery?" the Khezu asked.
"Always," Joan replied and he tossed her a rib. In the time it took for him to break off another, she had already picked it clean.
"Here," he tossed her another and she devoured it with surprising speed. When she realized that his eyes were on her, she blushed and started nibbling on the bone. She was still young for a Deviljho and her chin fangs didn't even show until it came time to replace a tooth. The smooth skin was only slightly lumpy, meaning she had teeth in there, they just didn't show.
Joan had been with Sparks ever since she was just a hatchling. He found her when she was an egg and kept her around for some extra protection from the locals. As a whelp, he didn't have any electricity to defend himself with. Now, years later, he was almost fully-grown now and looked much more mature than she did. Joan needed at least another ten years to put on the pounds she needed to grow. But it didn't help that she was the runt of her cluster. She was nine years old and yet she was only half the size and weight she was supposed to have already. In Hunter years, she would almost be in her late teens.
She was glad that she had Sparks, for his electricity scared off other Deviljhos who wander this part of the Tundra. She didn't even want to think what they had on their minds if it wasn't to eat. She just wished that the Khezu didn't put her hair on end every time he sneezed.
Joan still couldn't help but feel embarrassed about her situation. She was a young Deviljho who was best friends with a Khezu. She even nested with him from time-to-time for the comfort he gave her. But he only accepted those times as long as she didn't try to eat him. She just wished that she didn't try to do it anyways while she slept. It really didn't help that she found his skin so tasty. Her habit of sleeping with a leg to snack on didn't do him any favors either.
While he was gulping down a frozen Kelbi whole, she finished off the rib bone and grabbed herself a few more. As a Deviljho, her body was always always burning calories. She once got trapped under a piece of ice for a week. Her body heat ensured that she always had water, but she lost over three hundred pounds because of that incident. She was sick and unhealthy for nearly two months as she hunted for food. None of the other Monsters appreciated her terrorizing the local Popo population. A few of them even had to move out because she scared them off when she found them in her desperation for food.
"Joan, snap out of it!" Sparks suddenly cried.
"What! What is it?"
"You got my tail!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry!" she let him go and wondered what happened to the ribs. Then she realized that she had arleady eaten them, bones and all. "Sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"You're thinking too much again." Sparks wrapped his arms around her, his flabby wings were cold against her skin. "And stop apologizing so much, it's so unlike a Deviljho."
"I'm sor-" she caught herself and buried her face into his neck. She regreted doing that because he was still moist and she couldn't breath. "Thank you," she said with a smile.
"No problem. So, what should we do today?"
Her mood picked up almost immediately, "Eat?"
He chuckled, "I have to go out and collect a few Kelbi. My food stash is low. You'll be alright on your own, right?"
"I don't think there's anyone who here who would mess with a Deviljho, even a small one like me."
"I sure hope they do, cause then you'll have something to eat." He must have seen how her tail began to wag, for he added, "Just don't go looking for trouble."
"Ok, you have fun on your hunt."
He licked her cheek and leaped onto the ceiling. Even if he didn't look it, he had quite a bit of leg muscle under his hide. Joan did too, but she couldn't leap anywhere as high. And she never would have been able to stick to the ceiling anyways. Her species was never known for their upper arm strength. She was more likely to bring the ceiling down with her weight anyways.
As Joan left the cave, she came across a strange sight. There was a pile of snow with a blue tail sticking out. It appeared that someone had been waiting for her to come out. They probably didn't know that she liked to sleep with a leg bone handy, so she would stay the whole night. They were one of the few pieces that she couldn't readily chew apart.
"Um, are you alright?" she asked, but there was no responce. She tilted her head and thought it would be best to leave them for now. She knew it was a Great Baggi, but she was on a no-Baggi diet. Every time she ate one, she would always have to sleep it off, leaving her even hungrier than before.
She sniffed the cold air. A fresh layer of snow had fallen last night, so any tracks would be fresh. But she would have to be quick or else she wouldn't find anything today. Joan took off down the path, following her usual trails. They haven't failed her yet, they weren't going to now.
After an hour of searching, she came across something that smelled strange. She followed it into another cave, but the lack of light made it difficult to see anything. So she followed her nose until she walked into a wall.
"Ow!"
"Hey, who's there?" a voice called.
Joan rubbed her nose, "Sorry, just looking for something to eat."
"Plants or meat?"
"Meat."
"Small stuff, or do you need something bigger?"
"Bigger, I'm a growing Deviljho after all."
"Joan? Devil Jaw Joan?" the voice asked.
"You know me?"
"It is you! Let me get down first." A shadow fell from the ceiling and landed flat on the ground, her body stretching out. It was fortunately that she was a Gigginox or that would have hurt. But her kind and the Khezu were used to falling like that. It was part of how they hunt their prey if surprise failed.
The Gigginox brushed herself off, "I guess you don't remember me, do you? It's me, you found me when I was lost."
"Little Gig!" Joan cried in surprise. "It's been a long time." She had first met her as a little Giggi, hence her name, who had wandered off on her own and got lost. When she was found by the Khezu and Deviljho, she was barely any bigger than a Hunter's head. But at that time, Sparks was only as big as a Hunter's leg while Joan was the size of a full-grown one.
"I know, it has, hasn't it. How's my cousin?" She considered Sparks her 'cousin' because the two shared the same kind of flabby skin and prefered being inside caves.
"Sparks is just out hunting. I didn't know you lived so close by." Joan looked around for the Gigginox, but she couldn't see anything.
"Why, where do you live?"
"I live in the cave on the other side of the woods."
"No way, I always thought some jerk of a Gigginox lived there. He always got a little too close to me when I'm laying eggs."
"He's not there anymore, but he did give me a bit of indigestion."
"Ya, we're known for giving Monsters food poisoning. I'm surprised nobody has ever told you that."
"Hey, where are you?" Joan had been wandering about, but she couldn't tell where she was going. She walked right into a wall before she knew it was there. But her night vision sucked at the moment, leaving her barely able to walk around, much less know where she was going.
"Oh, sorry, I'm so used to seeing heat that I forget that other Monsters can't." She put a hand on Joan's shoulder and guided her outside.
Joan was shocked by what she saw, "Looks like I can't really call you 'Little' Gig anymore."
The Deviljho had always thought of her as the Giggi that she was. Little Gig was always so soft and squishy that she found it difficult not to hug her and squeeze her. But now, she was probably the most gorgeous member of her species that Joan had ever seen. Her body was so sleek because of the way her skin and tail held itself like a flowing dress.
Unlike a Khezu, who had a hood of skin over their eyes, Little Gig's bright violet eyes were out in the open for all to see. Her hair and much of her skin was white as the snow around her while a striking shade of red covered her front.
"Is it getting colder outside?" Little Gig asked as it was snowing.
The Deviljho was confused, "I don't feel anything."
"Of course you wouldn't, you were as bright as the sun in my eyes. I could barely see you from all the heat you were giving off. I wasn't sure where you were as much as you were having trouble finding me. It's a good thing I always know where the exit is in my cave."
Joan was about to reply when her stomach did so for her.
"Oh, looks like you're in need of something. All I got are some frozen Kelbi." Little Gig pointed a thumb claw at a nearby snowbank.
Joan shook her head, "I need something more than that. They barely make a snack."
Little Gig raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Boy, you really haven't changed much. There should be a herd of Popo around, either that or some Hunters. I had to chase off a group of them when they came after my eggs. Trust me, having to listen to three dozen kids all day will drive just about anyone crazy. But I love them all the same."
"Good thing I don't eat Giggies, but while Hunters are crunchy, they don't keep me satisfied long." Her stomach growled again.
"By the sounds of it, I should let you find yourself something to eat before you start looking at me funny."
"Alright, it's been nice seeing you though." She gave the Gigginox a big hug and giggled. "Even all grown up, you're still so squishy."
Little Gig gave her a hug back and giggled too, "And you're still much too warm. Be sure to give my cousin a hug from me too."
"Ok, I'll do that."
Joan waved to Little Gig as she walked back into her cave. The Deviljho didn't know what she could hunt because there weren't many Monsters around. This was the Tundra after all, it wasn't the best place for a wide selection of food. Even the Kelbi only came around during the warmer days, and that wasn't saying much about the change in temperature here. Sparks usually had to leave for one of the warmer areas to along the Tundra's edge to find his food. That was at least if there were no Hunters wandering into their cave.
In the distance, she thought she heard a loud roar. She didn't recognize it at all and was on the move as soon as she had a clue as to where it was coming from. She followed the path until she came across a clearing where two Monsters were fighting over the territory. She recognized one being a Barioth by his mix of white fur over his shoulders and bare shell along his lower back and tail. But it was his opponent who caught her attention.
Actually, it was the ball of ice he sent flying that caught her face.
She shook herself off and watched as the Barioth fought a Monster with a similar build. This newcomer could move on all fours like the Barioth, but his scales had no fur and were a color she didn't normally see in the Tundra. But what she noticed most about him was the size of his jaws compaired to the rest of him. When his mouth was closed, it was difficult to notice at first. But when he opened his mouth to roar, his jaw opened at a near ninety-degree angle.
This strange Monster lunged at the Barioth, sinking his teeth into the white Monster's wing. The Barioth roared in pain and slammed his palm into his attacker's face. But he didn't let go, the Barioth breathed a concentrated burst of ice that exploded and swirled around them both. The other Monster was covered in snow and ice by the attack, but quickly shook it off.
Then he did something unexpected, he twirled on the spot. The Barioth was taken off-guard by this move and was slapped across the face by the Monster's tail. This was followed by a charge that knocked the Barioth off his feet. The Monster lunged at his opponent's tail, sinking his teeth in deep.
Joan was shocked and grabbed her own tail when he removed the Barioth's with such ease. While the two fought, she snuck out from her cover and went for the tail.
"Nom!" she scooped it up in her mouth and made a break for it. While tails could grow back if the wound was allowed to heal properly, losing one was a sore spot for anybody. It would take time, energy, and plenty of food to grow another one. To make matters worse for the Barioth, there had been a hungry Deviljho nearby, and she already made off with it.
She found herself a quiet area to sit down and enjoy her meal. The white shell that covered it took awhile to chew, she enjoyed it nonetheless. The meat was tough, but that was just the way she liked it.
While she never did find out who that Monster was, she burped after finishing her meal and was starting to wonder if Sparks was back yet. She'd only been out for about four hours and she was wondering what to eat next. Being a Deviljho was a tough life, but she wasn't about to just give up.
Joan wandered around the area, hoping to find some Popos. Instead, she came across someone she didn't want to see: another Deviljho named John. While she was a runt of her kind, he was a superior specimen. He stood twice her height and was packed from head to the tip of his tail in hardened muscle. His body was still cooling off after he became enraged during his fight against another Deviljho who must have wandered into the area.
He shook his head and roared while his opponent lay motionless. He had won, meaning the other was no longer amongst the living. But before he could begin to eat, he and Joan noticed another Deviljho, another male, wandering into the area. This was a surprise, because Deviljhos were never good amongst each other, much less anyone they thought as food.
The second noticed the body and roared his challange. John put his face close to the ground and used his chin fangs to scoop up the body and hurled it into the air. This was quite the feat because Deviljhos weighted several tons at least. This was nothing like the boulders that they were known for throwing at Hunters.
But this second intruder would not back down and charged. John ducked his head and slammed him with his shoulder, knocking the wind out of him. The two bit at each other's necks and swung their tails, bringing down a couple of trees in the process. The Deviljho stomped the ground, creating a shockwave, but John was unaffected. But when the Deviljho hurled a rock that shattered against John's head, that was the breaking point.
John threw his head back and roared, his body turning red as his rage increased. Scars from former battles appeared as bright lines in his hide. The pain these brought as they were stretched open again pushed his anger even farther until he stood a step forward and breathed.
A destructive wave of black lightning erupted from his mouth. The Deviljho had to run to keep from being hit. John, still enraged, wasn't about to let up and chased after him.
Joan watched as the two left the area, making sure to keep her head down until they were out of sight. She was still young and much too small to handle either of them. Then a scent caught her nose that drew her attention away from the fight.
The fallen Deviljho wasn't going anywhere soon, and for all she knew, John had already forgotten about it. If he won his current fight like he did with this one, he would had something to distract him right there.
Not caring that this was a member of her own species, Joan dug in. The smell of the flesh was so pugnent that it assaulted her senses and drove her into her a feeding frenzy. This was just one of the many reason Monsters never hunted a Deviljho. The smell of a dead one was a enough to knock out a Congalala. But to another Deviljho, it was one heck of a meal.
As she was chewing on the tail, she bit into something that broke two of her teeth. There was a rock or something in the flesh of this Deviljho's tail. It was some kind of violet, almost black, sphere with a large crack down the middle because of the strength of her jaws. She looked down at her fallen teeth, surprised by how strong this rock was. Fortunately her teeth would grow back, she lost teeth all the time. She licked her lips, finally content for maybe the next few days. Because of a Deviljho's diet, their flesh was almost toxic in how potent it was. She was hoping that this would help her grow a little bit.
When she heard a roar in the distance, she got up and ran for it, taking a leg bone with her. She wanted to make sure she wasn't around if John returned and find the body had already been eaten. The snow sould cover up her tracks.
Once she was back in her home territory, she spent some time licking her hands. She was a mess and needed to clean herself. She had to lick the blood off becuase she didn't like taking cold baths. There was always so much ice around here that she could lose maybe twenty pounds shivering her tail off. And it always made her very hungry afterwards. She was happy right now and didn't want to ruin it.
As she came across a herd of Popo, one of them had to lift the hair over their eyes to realize who was coming. The Popo cried, "Deviljho!" and everyone took off. She ran after them, her predator instincts working in full drive. She loved to run after her prey, almost as much as she loved eating. If she could catch one, she could put it away for later. That was only if she could catch one on a full belly.
Because life was full of danger from predators, Popos were known for their running endurance. While they simply wanted to live day in and day out eating and sleeping, things weren't always that easy. This was why they could run longer than most Monsters. This was how they dealt with predators, they ran until the predator tired themself out. This was good for the Popos for sometimes the predator sometimes became the prey to something else.
These Popos were no different as they started to run as fast as they could. But Joan wasn't about to let them get away. Although they appeared big to Hunters, the Popos were thin enough to run through the trees without too much difficulty. But for a Deviljho, even a small one like Joan, she had to watch where she was running because she wasn't good at turning at these speeds. Joan also got caught between two trees more than once and had to thrash about to get loose.
After chasing them for nearly an hour, Joan almost had one of the smaller ones when the little Popo fell into a ditch. While she was ok, Deviljhos were not very good at stopping at these speeds either. Joan leaped into the air, propelled by her powerful legs, only to crash head-first into a tree.
"Um...ouch?" she muttered as she stumbled to her feet. "Hey, who put that Gravios there?" She shook her head and charged after the Popo once again, which had gotten a good lead on her yet again.
But as the herd left for the next area, they suddenly scattered as one of them hit the ground. Joan had to stop and wonder what was going on for a second as four tiny figures came out and started carving the Popo. She couldn't believe that the Hunters were chopping up her food!
Joan threw her head back and roared, causing three of the Hunters to run. But one decided to stick around and shot his bowgun at her. The Pellet Shot hardly did a thing to her thick hide as she almost dove for the Popo. She was pulling it away when she felt a slight pinprick in her shoulder.
But what she really felt was the explosion that followed.
She screamed and fell over when the Crag Shot burned her arm. There wasn't too much damage, but her hide was burnt and bleeding. She got up and turned to run, bringing the full weight of her tail around and slapping the Hunter unconcious. The Hunter was fortunate that Joan wasn't in the mood to fight or she would have come after him and his group for hurting her.
By the time Sparks got back, he found Joan in the nest, crying her eyes out. He dropped the four frozen Kelbi and crawled in beside her. The Khezu knew what happened to her when he got a look at the burn marks on her arm. Only Hunters used such weapons in the Tundra.
Joan flinched as he pushed her on her side so that she was facing away from him and started to lick at the frozen flesh. A whimper left her lips as the acid started to burn, but she didn't say a word and let him continue. Her hide was more than strong enough to handle it, but it still hurt. Once the wound was clean, he rubbed her arm, covering it in the film that covered him. It would act like a bandage, protecting her from infection while she healed. Then he threw his wing over her and held her close against his body. He was so much colder than her, so this quickly brought her temperature down. Her sobs subsided and her breathing returned to normal as she cooled off. After just a few minutes, she was sleeping softly.
Sparks wondered what sort of day she must have had. He rubbed her belly and noticed how full she was. She sighed and licked her lips as she slept, a good sign coming from her. He slipped out of the nest to pick up the bone she had dropped by the enterance to the cave. It was there that he noticed a small pile of snow.
"Hey, we don't eat your kind. So if you're looking for trouble, better just leave now."
The Baggi shook himself off, "I'm looking for my brother. I was told that a Deviljho ate him."
"Not this one, I live with her and can tell you that she doesn't like Baggi. They make her tired and that only leaves her even more hungry when she wakes up. Besides, if a Deviljho ate your brother, you're better off leaving them alone. You're only likely to join him. Even a small one can take down a whole pack of your kind, along with your leader."
The Baggi looked surprised and decided that it was best to leave now while he could.
The Khezu had to wonder what was with this little Monster, "Must have hatched only half a year ago. Looks young enough. Too bad about his brother though." Sparks went back inside the cave and put his frozen Kelbi away before crawling into the nest. Joan didn't have to be awake to take the bone from him and started to lick it. This was another good sign because it meant she wasn't about to bite him by mistake.
"Sweet dreams." Sparks covered the young Deviljho with his wing and fell asleep too.
Joan woke up the next day with her wound covered in film and feeling so much better now. One thing about Sparks was that the Pale Extract his body produced had amazing healing properties. This was why things like scars never really showed and toxins didn't last long on them. And because the two shared the same nest together, his film always helped to heal her wounds. Joan touched the burn on her arm and flinched. A few more days and it would be gone without a trace.
Sparks was just finishing off a Kelbi for breakfast when she threw her arms around him. She caught him off guard and recieved a jolt for it when he suddenly let off a full-body electric shock. The two tumbled to the floor, Sparks falling too because his tail wasn't keeping him grounded. All that electricity came back and zapped him too.
"Told you not...to sneak up on me..." was all he could mutter.
"Sorry..." Joan replied as she sat up and crawled over to put her head on his chest. "I met Little Gig yesterday."
"Oh? What was she up to?" he asked as he stroked her head.
"She lives in the cave just down the path. I found her when I was looking for food."
"I hope you didn't try to eat her."
Joan's head came up suddenly, "How could I eat your cousin?"
"I was joking. I know you better than that." He sat up and hugged her. As she pressed her hand into his back, he felt something there. "Hey, what's this?" he pulled away to see the stone she still had in her hand. "Where did you get this?"
"Another Deviljho."
"You're not injured, so you couldn't have fought them."
Joan shook her head, "He was already dead when I found him, John killed him."
Sparks pulled his hood of skin off his head, revealing white hair and sky-blue eyes, "You saw John?"
"Another Deviljho came around and challanged him to a fight. I couldn't resist having a bite of the other when the two left. I lost a few of my teeth when I bit into this." She held up the stone for Sparks to get a good look at it.
"I've heard of Wyvern Stones growing in some Monster's insides, but I never seen anything like this before." He took it from her and hid it inside a crack in the wall before blocking it with snow. "There, this will keep it safe." He was caught in yet another hug, this time he wasn't sure why. "What's up?"
"I don't know, I just wanted to hug you."
"It's good that you're so small, or else you would flatten me." When she didn't respond, he knew what was going through her mind. "Joan."
"Hmm?" she looked up.
"You're licking again."