Rainy Days

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine, unless otherwise noted.

Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk and DinoJake


Bram let out a long, weary sigh as he exited the Lintukoto smithy, pausing at the edge of the awning to avoid getting caught in the rain. He could feel the irate glare of the smith drilling into his back, but he'd been expecting that when he'd entered the smithy in the first place.

It had been another month of training under Tuulikki since their first successful Seltas hunt, and things had been picking up for the Therians. With one complete hunt out of the way, their vertically challenged master was more willing to let them challenge other large monsters as well, though it was slim pickings in this area for a group of apprentices. The trio had taken down at least half a dozen Seltas by now, a few Great Jaggis, and several Velocidrome as well. Those creatures were far nastier than Bram would have thought, given their relation to Great Jaggis; they were thinner and weaker, but they were much faster and more agile, giving the hunters a run for their money.

Bram, Sonia, and Logan still hadn't managed to beat the Training Hill sandglass themselves, though they were shockingly close. Not even Tuulikki could find it in her to rebuke their determination or potential now. Sonia was still doing the best of them, clocking in at just a few seconds over a minute, with Bram tailing close behind. Logan was still stuck a ways behind them, but even he'd managed to drop his time down to about a minute and fifteen seconds.

They'd also spent a little time training under Violetta and Leon, or rather, under Violetta and alongside Leon. The lancer had been joining them in their climbing and mobility training ever since his return to Lintukoto, though he hadn't been going with them on any hunts. He didn't seem to be taking parts in many hunts at all, but when he did he went out and completed them with Violetta while Tuulikki remained behind to oversee the Therians' progress.

When she wasn't out with Leon, Violetta had been trying her best to teach them how to be stealthy, but it just wasn't going well. Despite her enthusiasm to help out and her natural skill at being sneaky, the huntress just lacked the proper knowledge on how to teach them. She could show them how to walk, how to know where to step and what to avoid, but the way she could just vanish in the blink of an eye was utterly indescribable. She tried to explain it, but it just sounded like nonsense to Bram.

"It's like, you try and imagine yourself as a shadow, and the world is a bigger shadow, and you need to vanish into it. Become one with the world-shadow, right? It's like this swishing feeling, like pushing through vines or hanging branches of trees. Oh, and you have to clench your gut like you're trying to tie it into a knot, specifically a chain hitch knot…"

Her explanation continued on for the better part of twenty minutes, with none of the Therian hunters understanding a bit of it. Tuulikki and Leon had just sat to the side through the whole lesson shaking their heads, clearly just as confused. Despite her skill, teaching was not Violetta's forte.

Leon couldn't offer much more than what Tuulikki had already taught them, but he was able to provide Logan with some tips and tricks from one heavy-weapon user to another. The lance didn't have as much weight as a great sword, but it was challenging to traverse the country with both shield and lance, and time and experience had given him a little insight on how to better move with such a cumbersome weapon. Unfortunately, with his bulky equipment, he was forced to climb in very stilted and sweeping motions to keep his shield from scraping against whatever wall he was scaling, something Logan didn't need to worry about with his great sword strapped to his back. He did seem to have surpassed the Hill at least, beating the falling sand by a couple seconds even with the bulk of his weapon and the awkward motions he was forced to make.

At least when they weren't out on hunts they'd had the time to get to know the lancer. Bram found him to be pretty friendly, if a bit stuffy… though he knew he had no room to speak on that matter.

"So are you Violetta's apprentice or something?" Sonia had asked one day.

"Hmm? Oh… yes, but not really. She's sort of my interim hunting master while I'm living in Lintukoto."

"Like a student-teacher?"

"I suppose that description fits."

"Who's your original hunting master then?"

"My mom!" Violetta had cut in enthusiastically. "Kumin tar'Osmund. She taught me and Leon how to hunt when she wasn't helping Dad with his business. Used to be a really skilled archer back in the day, but she still knows her stuff."

"She really was," Leon agreed. "Out of the game for almost fifteen years and she can still hit you between the eyes at fifty yards."

Bram had raised an eyebrow at the phrase. "'Hit you between the eyes'? Was she shooting you with arrows?"

"Erm… well, no. She used this slingshot-style bow and pelted us with paintballs. It was an official hunting weapon, so they hit hard though, and those casings aren't really soft when they burst. But it was only painful, not lethal. She used to… teach me how to block properly by shooting paintballs at me and trying to get them around my shield."

"Sounds… challenging."

"It certainly encouraged me to improve. But if nothing else, I learned how to protect my vitals fairly well. The welts were certainly a good indicator of where my openings were…"

"At least you had a shield," Violetta grumbled. "I had to dodge them all. I swear Mom could curve those shots around trees."

Logan chuckled at that. "Heh, sounds like my mother's training. If I come home without a new bruise, then she wasn't working me hard enough, and she'd double down the next day. And she was a mean shot with her bowgun."

"Yeah, that sounds like Mom…"

"The training was good, but not without its flaws," Leon sighed. "Kumin is an excellent ranged huntress, but dealing with melee battles wasn't her forte. A shield is good defense against a large monster, but that doesn't really help against multiple monsters coming at you from different directions, and a lance can only do narrow piercing strikes. I did… decently against the first Seltas I ever fought, but even now if I'm taking on a Great Jaggi or Drome with more than half a dozen ankle-biters around, I get overwhelmed. I can't really spin on a dime with all this weight, and back-hopping and sidestepping will only get me so far. The best I can do is get the sturdiest armor I can and hope that's enough to keep Jaggis and Prey from biting through it."

"You know any other good lancers that could help you?" Logan asked. "Back home they was a couple lancers I knew that was real good at dodging attacks."

"Dodging with a lance?" Leon asked dubiously.

"Is true, hey?" the great sword user shrugged. "Don't know how they do it, but they fancy footwork could slip through attacks in ways that put dual blade users and sword users to shame. Was like the attacks was going right through them, like they was ghosts or… or, uh… hoy, Sonia, what those sneaky folks in black called?"

"Ninjas?"

"That's the one."

"I think that kind of thing might be a little beyond my capabilities," Leon chuckled. "I'll keep it in mind, but phasing through solid objects seems like much higher-level skill than what I can pull off now."

"Why not switch weapons then?" Sonia suggested. "Get something with a little more versatility and mobility to it. Go sword and shield like me! A little less defense but a fraction of the weight."

"I've considered it," Leon replied after a moment of silence, "but I'd rather stick with my lance. It's been the only weapon I've used since I started my apprenticeship, and with the exam so close, I don't think it would be wise to change things up now."

"That's too bad. Well, they're a little too bulky for my tastes, but if you don't want to change things up too much, you could find a smith that'll let you try out a gunlance - erk." Leon's expression had darkened at the mention of the gunlance, and Sonia had raised her hands. "Eh, sorry! Nevermind that last bit. I, uh, forgot."

The lancer blinked in surprise and quickly shook his head and gave Sonia a guilty smile. "You don't have to apologize. But no, thank you. I'll stick with what I have."

"Erm, right."

Over the next month, the training and hunters slowly improved their speed and mobility, but all their work was showing in other ways as well. Their weapons and armor were taking a beating, and there was only so much they could do to keep them whole. Bram had answered Tapio's questions about why there weren't any Royal Ludroth in Gahiji, but now that fact was coming back to get him; his armor was getting worn away, and he didn't have many spare materials left to repair it. Sonia was having the same issues with her Ludroth dual swords, though the Great Jaggis they'd killed had given her the materials to keep her armor repaired.

The archer's bow had nearly reached a point beyond repair, however, and none of the Therians had any Wroggi supplies to fix it. Thankfully, all the Seltas they'd been killing had given him materials for a replacement. It was a shorter bow than his Wroggi bow was, yet had more power behind each shot. Unfortunately, the Seltas materials were somewhat unwieldy in bow form: the limbs of the bow weren't as supple as other bows, making it creak and groan when he pulled back the string and making some of his shots fire inaccurately. Bram didn't have any other options at the moment short of purchasing the beginner's Hunter's Bow, so he would have to make do. The smith had suggested making a bow from Kelbi horns, but the design was more akin to a slingshot than anything else and appeared rather weak, so Bram had turned down the offer.

In the meantime, he'd tried to improve the other weapon he was proficient with, but… it had gone about as well as he'd expected.

Sliding to the side, Bram darted between the awnings, trying to avoid getting too wet from the downpour. It had been raining almost constantly for the last couple days, driving hunting in the village to a standstill, and making the waters of the river below rise several feet, only a couple yards from the base of the lowest huts. A few hunters were willing to brave the torrential storms, but Tuulikki had kept the Therians from venturing out. The terrain became even more dangerous during the rain, and she wasn't going to risk having them go out in the storm. At least it had given them a couple days to have their weapons and armors repaired. Bram was just glad there wasn't any lightning… he hated thunder.

Bram managed to spot Sonia fairly easily, sitting under the awning of a cantina at the edge of the walkway. It was always rather easy to find her and Logan in a crowd, since the three of them stood out from most of the other villagers. Most of the locals bore similar traits to Tuulikki: darker skin, light-colored hair, and bright blue or grey eyes. From what he remembered of Val Habar, it was much the same there as well. Even their clothing separated them from the locals. Perir's fashion had taken cues from the cities along the coast to the west, and so Sonia's casual clothing consisted of a small shirt and vest that left her arms and stomach exposed, with loose trousers that went down just past her knees and a pair of leather sandals. Bram had spent his early years up in the mountains, and so favored long-sleeved shirts and boots, but the warm weather in both Perir and Lintukoto made that kind of clothing too sweltering for him to bear, and he'd taken to wearing only an open vest and pants in an attempt to stay cool. Lintukoto's clothing was incredibly modest in comparison, wearing tunics and trousers with light sashes across their torsos and shawls over their heads. Needless to say, Bram and Sonia stuck out fairly well while in the village with their exposed arms and stomachs, whether they meant to or not.

As Bram approached, Sonia was nibbling on some leftovers from breakfast and tossing some scraps down the ravine into the rushing waters below. Every once in a while, one of the scraps would be gobbled up by a fish that leapt out of the water; apparently it was the Whetfish migration season, and hundreds of the fish were making their way upstream. Bram had heard some of the hunters and locals complaining about it, wishing that more valuable or more delicious fish would make their way through town. Whetfish had little value, and their hard scales and fins made them challenging to eat. A few hunters would fish for them when the sky was clear, though; Bram had heard that some of them would cut off the fins and use them as replacements for whetstones, though he didn't think that would work too well himself.

Sonia perked up as he approached, pushing herself to her feet and stretching. "Any luck?"

"Unfortunately not," Bram sighed as he wiped off the water dripping down his face. "She doesn't work on switch axes, but I didn't have high hopes in the first place. Most of the people in Lintukoto are Purist, so why should the smith be any different? No switch axes, no gunlances, very few kinds of bowgun… and she distinctly said that she didn't make something called a 'charge blade'."

Sonia raised an eyebrow curiously. "What's a charge blade?"

"I don't know," Bram shrugged. "I hadn't heard of it either. The smith mentioned it in passing, but when I asked her about it she said if I didn't know, I was better off not knowing and wouldn't give me anything else."

"Weird… I wouldn't have thought Gahiji had a tech weapon that you couldn't find in Theron."

"No kidding." Bram sighed again, pulling his switch axe from it sheath on his back, holding out in front of him. The blade was crafted from Qurupeco materials, and was just as vibrant as the monster the parts had been carved from, a vibrant orange and green. "I know I don't use it that often, but I was hoping to get this upgraded. We've gotten a lot of Seltas and Velocidrome carves recently, and I was hoping to use some to improve this…"

"I think you'd have trouble upgrading your weapon here anyway, even without all this Purist stuff," Sonia noted. The huntress reached forward and flicked her finger against the glass phial at the core of the weapon, which glowed a burning red. "Dad always used to complain about having to buy phials when his started to lose their potency. Not many shops carry spares. You have to go to large towns or cities to buy them, since they're so expensive, so I'm not sure what the odds of buying them in a small village like this would be. And you might need new phials with your upgrade; would Seltas or Velocidrome materials work well with a fire element phial?"

"Good point. Well that's just wonderful, there really isn't much I can do while we're here in Lintukoto, is there…"

"Have you tried the smith that works with Caravan Stellazzio? That woman is a brilliant weapon smith if you ask me." The apprentices turned at the voice, finding themselves face-to-face with an unfamiliar hunter standing behind them. The man's eyebrows raised as he looked between them, an amused expression on his face as he gave the pair a foxlike smile. "You're a couple of new faces in town, aren't you? Nice to meet you."

He was a vibrant young man. He stood a few inches shorter than Bram, with a slim and mobile frame, though he had strong legs and solid core muscles. He had fairly tanned skin and a thin, triangular face with narrow brown eyes and a curled smile. His hair was a bright orange-red, kept a medium length and combed back across his head. There was a rather notable scar behind his left eye which trailed to the back of his skull, and he was missing a decent chunk of his left ear as well.

His hair was bright enough to make the man stand out like a beacon as it was, but his equipment didn't dampen the effect at all. His armor matched a Qurupeco's plumage for vibrancy, though made of more sturdy-looking materials: thick scales and plates were colored a vibrant lime green and orange, with wide, frilled pauldrons and faulds, as well as a winged helmet which the man carried under his arm. The whole set was accented with inner leather lining that had been dyed a deep royal blue, with a three-pronged sash hanging down from his waist. He had a two-toned switch axe slung across his back made of azure and pink scales. Bram didn't recognize the armor, but the weapon was clearly made from Pink Rathian and Azure Rathalos materials.

With a wide smile, the man dipped his torso in an exuberant bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Reynardine, Rey for short, and I can't tell you how great it is to finally see another switch axe user in this village!" In a flash, the man rushed towards Bram, grinning excitedly and scanning his weapon eagerly. "I swear, even among the Progress faction, you really don't see many switch axe hunters in this country. This craftsmanship is pretty good, too! The materials themselves are kind of low quality, but the axe itself looks very well made! You don't really see that kind of artisan skill in Gahiji…"

"Ah… Well…" Bram looked at Sonia uncertainly, but the huntress gave him a flabbergasted look. "Uh… actually, I had it made in Theron."

"Aha, of course," Reynardine sighed, stepping back and giving the weapon a forlorn look. "But that must mean that you two are a couple of those Therians that came into town a couple months ago."

"Yes, that's right," Bram nodded. "We-"

"I knew it. Though, to tell the truth it was pretty obvious. Your accent gives you away. And your outfits too, but I'm not going to complain on either of those regards."

"Accent?" Sonia muttered. "We don't-"

"Upupup! If you're going to say you don't have an accent, you're wrong, little huntress. You have a Therian accent; you sound like snakes when you use your S's. Dead giveaway. Perhaps the Gahin dialect would be strange in your country, but you're not in Theron anymore, lovely."

"He's right," Bram shrugged, as Sonia frowned concernedly. He could see her muttering under her breath, likely speaking out words with lots of S's in them out of confusion of Reynardine's comment. Bram shook his head and returned his gaze to the other hunter. "I suppose our nationality is rather obvious. And so are your… personal leanings in terms of technology. You're clearly a Progressive."

Rey grinned and nodded. "Not everyone in this village keeps to that sort of crusty old Purist mindset. A few of us think that clinging to old ideals and traditions just holds everyone back. They all talk about that 'advancement with caution' nonsense, but that kind of thinking just makes the world grind to a halt, don't you think?"

"Ah… well, it's not really our-"

"Seems like just an excuse to me," Rey pressed on. "Just because they don't like it doesn't mean they have to try and hold everyone else back with their outmoded ways. Change does come with risks, but no good changes can ever be made without risk of the bad, right? There's a difference between caution and being stubborn."

"Well, yes," Bram nodded, "but wouldn't it-"

The man grinned excitedly before Bram could reply though, reaching back to grab his switch axe and swinging it around to hold it out in front of him. "And… well, I'll be honest, at the core of it… doesn't this weapon look so cool? Much better than a boring old slab of metal. What I wouldn't give to take all my materials across the border and mold them into a finer weapon than they make here…"

"Your switch axe looks very nice to me," Bram replied, but the other man simply shook his head as he lowered his weapon around to rest the head on the wooden boardwalk under them.

"It only looks nice because the materials I used to make it were good quality, but the weapon could have been so much better if I'd found a more experienced smith to do the work. I suppose it's still too early for a young hunter like yourself to really appreciate the subtle nuances in a switch axe… Ah, but it looks like the cute girl here gets it."

Bram glanced sharply at Sonia as the huntress scratched her head sheepishly. "The switch axe does look nice… but the mechanics along the shaft look a little clunky to me, and the sliders don't look very sturdy either… It looks like the energy coils coming off the phial are inefficiently wired, too. Honestly, it looks like the smith that designed the weapon built it to look interesting, but not really for damage or extended use."

"See? She does get it!" Reynardine laughed as Bram raised an eyebrow at Sonia.

"What? Dad used to complain all the time about things like that when we used to visit switch axe vendors. And there was a time when I thought about using a switch axe before I realized how heavy they were."

"Looks like the huntress knows more about the weapon then the man who uses them," Reynardine chuckled. "She's right, too. The smith that made this had only been working on them for a couple years at most, and was more interested in having it look flashy than be functional. But he was the only one I could find that knew how to work with Azure Rathalos and Pink Rathian materials, so I really didn't have a choice. Maybe the next time I'm down near the Primal Forest, I'll slip over the border and hit up a smith in one of those mountain towns… But enough about my troubles. Now I'm wondering what kind of people these two Therians are…"

The hunter's gaze snapped sharply to Bram and Sonia with a scrutinizing gaze, examining both of them up and down. Bram noted that Sonia tensed slightly next to him, and the switch axe user circled around them, examining them from all sides before snapping to a halt in front of them. Reynardine tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment before splitting a wide smile.

"Well, you two are certainly interesting-looking, aren't you? Certainly not the brutish thugs people say about your countrymen… You seem fairly lithe and nimble to me. Not the seven foot tall, three hundred pound great sword users with two left feet and muscles for brains." Rey paused, looking between Bram and Sonia nervously. "Wait, neither of you uses great swords, right?"

"Uh… no, but-"

"Oh, good. Wouldn't want to get off on the wrong foot right out of the gate, would I?"

"Mercy, Reynardine, give the kids a chance to get a word in edgewise. You never know when to shut up, do you?"

This new man who approached was vastly different from Reynardine. He was shorter than the switch axe user, a couple inches smaller than even Sonia, but was built broad, stocky, and muscular; this man was built like a safe. He wasn't overly bulky, but gave off an impression that anything that tried to hit him would find him to be a brick wall. His skin was relatively pale, and he had a square face, which seemed to be stuck in a hard frown. He had trim, short-cut hair and a full, well-trimmed beard, both which were a dark brown with a grey tint to it. His eyes were a light blue color, with a permanent, stern borderline glare.

His armor was appropriately cold-looking for such a hard man, a solid plate armor made of icy blue and aquamarine materials with steel lining along the chest and upper arms. The pauldrons were tall, nearly creating a barrier on each side of the hunter's head, but just low enough to provide decent visibility to the left and right. The faceplate on the helmet he held in one hand was closed, as opposed to Rey's own open helmet, having only an inch-wide slot allowing him to see out. He had a gunlance slung across his back, folded in half to keep the chamber open to the air. It was a long, solid-looking weapon, with the main shelling cylinder made of solid metal. The 'lance' of the weapon wrapped around it, made of what appeared to be a near rock-like material, colored an ashen grey color and sharpened to a jagged point. A wide tower shield hung from his left arm, made from the same stony materials, with red and orange orbs attached as decorations.

Rey grinned and turned at the sound of the voice. "Better a bright and friendly voice that never stops than one that's all gravely and rough and only utters insults, don't you think?"

"Pah, even my voice would be a welcome relief after listening to you prattle on for an hour or two." As he strode up to stand next to Reynardine, he glanced up at the Therian hunters, taking note of Bram in particular. "A switch axe user, huh? No wonder you're all riled up, Rey… Who are these brats?"

"They're the Therians that came into town a couple months ago! The ones that were guarding Stellazzio."

"So you're the ones Tapio hoisted onto Tuulikki?" the man asked, staring between the two of them. "The ones that couldn't kill a Seltas? Hmph. No wonder the old dog foisted escort duty on us."

"You were guarding Stellazzio?" Bram asked, glancing up towards the top of the ravine. "The caravan's returned, then?"

"That's right," the gunlancer grumbled. "Returned to pick up their wayward hunters, though I don't know why they're bothering. Neither of you look that impressive, and if you can't even kill a Seltas…"

"Hey, we've killed a Seltas!" Sonia snapped back. "Over half a dozen by now!"

"How impressive," the man scoffed. "Don't act all high-and-mighty, girl. I've killed more Seltas than that by accident. Get some real skill under your belt before you try and brag to me."

"Oh, don't mind him," Rey chuckled as Sonia huffed indignantly. He swung his switch axe over his back again before sliding over to the gunlancer's side and wrapping his arm over the other man's shoulders, much to the gunlancer's disdain. "Let me introduce my friend here. This is Ysengrim, Grim for short. A fitting name, right?"

"It really is," Sonia muttered, earning a glare from Grim and a laugh from Rey.

"He's just a big old grump who's angry because his hair's greying and he's not even thirty years old yet. Also, I told him when we were kids that his face would get stuck that way if he frowned so much, and sure enough it did! And he likes to think he's always been as skilled as he is right now, so he forgets to show rookies respect."

"Get off me," the man growled, pushing the switch axe user away from him. "Say what you want about my personality, I've still got no reason to be nice to these kids. They're the reason we had to babysit a caravan the last couple months. Why should I pretend to be impressed by them? If they can name one thing that they can do that I'm not capable of doing myself-"

"I can swim underwater in full armor and can kill monsters who spend their whole lives in rivers and oceans," Sonia replied quickly. Bram glanced over in surprise at the assertion, and Grim's eyes widened as well. Rey whistled, impressed, and Sonia puffed out her chest a little.

"Well, can you do that?" Rey asked with a smirk. "Can you even swim?"

Grim turned and glowered at the grinning switch axe user before huffing and shaking his head. "Fine. No, I can't swim. You proud of yourself, girl?"

"A little," the huntress admitted.

"Girl's got attitude, if nothing else," the gunlancer muttered. "You still haven't earned my respect, though… but having another couple hunters around with the Progress mindset isn't so bad, even if they are only a couple of wet-behind-the-ears rookies."

"See, he can be nice!" Rey chuckled. "Sort of. But you've got some spunk, little huntress! Bet you made little Tuli's life fun the last couple months."

"Are you friends with Tuulikki?" Sonia asked.

"Has she said more than four words to you lot?" Grim grumbled.

"No no, she hates us," Reynardine replied with a sharp laugh. "Her disdain for us burns with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. It's a little frightening… but kind of cute. She's rather adorable when she gets huffy."

"That girl's got a foul dislike for people that are members of the Progress faction, or folks that just want to use the more technological weapons." Grim motioned sharply to the gunlance slung over his back, and Reynardine spun about, showing off his switch axe again. "Reynardine and I both fall squarely into that ideology, and aren't afraid to hide it. Top that off with a few… other reasons, and needless to say, we butt heads if we get close enough to talk."

"Ha, that's half the reason old Tapio wanted us out of the village in the first place."

Bram raised an eyebrow at the words. Tapio had intentionally picked these two out because they were rabble-rousers in the village? Now that he thought about it, Tuulikki had become more compliant about training the three of them after Tapio had offered Steward their services in exchange for the Therians… But did that mean Tuulikki had such a feud that she wouldn't have considered taking on the Therians unless these two hunters were out of town? No, wait… there had been three hunters assigned to Stellazzio in their place, hadn't there? So who was number three?

Bram paused his thoughts as Ysengrim scoffed. "Hmph. What a cowardly guy. But that reminds me: we need to go. Come on, Rey, we need to speak with Tapio, and Rikki will be waiting for us."

"Hmm? Oh, right, I'd nearly forgotten," the switch axe user replied, before reaching up and stroking his chin. "I wonder what the old dog will have us do next to sweep us back under the rug?"

"Pah. If he keeps pulling this crap, people are going to talk more than if we'd just stayed in the village," the gunlancer chuckled darkly. "Let's go."

With that, Ysengrim turned, barely sparing a glance at Bram and Sonia before striding out from under the awning with hardly a care about the rain pouring down on him. Reynardine sighed and shook his head.

"You'll have to excuse him. He acts like a jackass… well, actually, he is a jackass, but he's a pretty good person inside. Really, really deep inside." The switch axe user turned, smiling cheerfully. "But it was nice to meet you. Both of you."

"You as well," Bram replied. "Maybe next time we meet, we'll will be able to get a word in edgewise."

"Ha! Fair enough. You can talk my ear off if you want. If you manage to survive Tuli's training, we should go on a hunt together. Once you're legally allowed to, of course. I want to see what you Therians are really like."

"Rey!" Grim's voice barked through the rain.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" the switch axe user snapped, before returning to grin at the two apprentices. "Well, see you two around, hopefully."

With that, the man gave an overly dramatic bow before darting after the gunlancer, holding his arms over his head as he slipped between awnings. As the two men disappeared up a ramp leading towards the longhouse at the village's center, Bram turned back to face Sonia.

"Well, that was an odd interaction."

"No kidding. I could barely say a thing… Did we even give them our names?"

Bram tilted his head for a moment before shaking his head. "No, we didn't. I'm sure if they want to find us again, it won't be that hard. How many Therians are there in this town beside you, me, and Logan?"

"Hm, good point."

Bram glanced out the side of the cantina and up towards the top of the ravine. He couldn't see the wagons from this angle, of course, but there seemed to be a few villagers making their way outside the walls of the gully. "Want to head up and visit the caravan?"

Sonia hesitated for a moment, before nodding and smiling. "Yeah, let's. At the very least, we can talk to Steward and Selene…"

"Hoy, there you two is." Bram turned at the sound of Logan's voice, to find the great sword user striding towards them. The man shook himself off as he pulled to a halt under the awning with them, before giving them an eager grin. "You two heard the good news yet?"

"Which good news?" Sonia asked. "The fact that Stellazzio's back, or something different?"

"Actually… wait, what?" Logan muttered in confusion. "How you two know that already? They only been here fifteen minutes."

"Bram's latent psychic powers awoke yesterday night and he predicted their arrival."

"...What."

"Yes, it's true," Bram sighed, pressing his fingers against his forehead. "I'm clairvoyant now. I've also foreseen plague and calamity, war and betrayal, and the increase in the price of dash juice."

Logan stared blankly between the two apprentices before shaking his head. "Where you two get this stuff?"

"Stage shows at the theatre in Perir," Sonia replied.

"And a couple books I've read," Bram added.

"Hoy… Whatever. You two wanna head up or what?"

"Yes, let's," Bram replied, but winced slightly as the sky flashed and a roll of thunder sent shudders through the wooden walkway. "Hmm… Perhaps we should wait until the storm lightens up a little bit first? I'm sure Steward wouldn't mind us waiting a little bit before coming up to see him…"

"He fights beasties twenty times his size but gets jumpy 'round thunder… Eh, fine, we wait for it to let up a bit."

Thankfully it didn't take too long for a break in the storm to come, and within half an hour the rumbling in the sky began to fade. It was still sprinkling, but it was light enough for the three hunters to make their way up the ravine without getting completely soaked. As they reached the top of the ravine, sure enough, Caravan Stellazzio was sitting there just over the edge, though the shops and stalls weren't being set up quite yet, thanks to the rain. The skies had calmed down somewhat, but the dark clouds threatened to unleash another torrent at a moment's notice, and none of the caravan members wanted to ruin their wares by soaking them.

Bram couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as they approached the wagons. As glad as he was to see that Stellazzio had really returned for them, he wasn't sure how well they'd be received. They must have been a terrible disappointment to the people of the caravan after their poor job defending them against the Seltas. Would they even trust the Therians? Would they be getting uncertain and untrusting looks the entire time once they did join up as the guards again?

"Oh! Hello!" The archer glanced up to spot Selene leaning out the side of her wagon, smiling at him enthusiastically. The Guild rep leapt to the ground, her taloned feet splashing against the wet earth as she strode over to them eagerly. "It is good to see you all again! You are looking well! Or, I hope you are doing well. These last couple of months have not been too hard on you, have they?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Sonia replied emphatically.

"Then you have your hunting master's approval?"

"Eh… not yet," Logan growled with agitation. "That girl set us up with a really rough test we gotta pass 'fore she says we good. We ain't quite there yet… but we gonna have this beast beat 'fore you guys take off again, hey?"

"Ah, that's wonderful," the Wyverian replied, clasping her hands together. "We planned to stay for about a week, depending on how much business there is… You'll want to speak to Steward, won't you? Allow me to find him for you, and you can-"

The Guild girl paused, however, and looked up. Bram followed her gaze, and flinched as a spatter of rain fell against his face. A swift gust of wind and rushing sound caught his ears, and glancing towards the village, he saw a wall of rain sweep over the Lintukoto ravine, enveloping the caravan in seconds. Instantly the four of them were soaked through, and Selene yelped, turning to dart back towards the caravan.

"Yeep! Quickly, into my wagon!" The hunters didn't need any further prodding, darting after the Wyverian girl as she pulled open the door to her wagon, leading them inside.

It took a few moments for Bram's eyes to adjust to the dark interior while he wiped the water off his head. By itself it seemed rather spacious; the left side was open, while the right side had a wide desk and dresser that were bolted to the wall, and a long fold-down slat seat in the back which stretched across the entire rear of the wagon. He didn't see any bed though, until he realized that the ceiling over the left side of them had a cloth strapped up, which Bram figured was a hammock. All in all, a very efficient space.

What caught Bram off guard was that Selene's wagon was far more cluttered than he would ever have imagined. Not just general mess like Sonia's living spaces tended to become if Bram didn't pester her to keep things clean, but organized chaos. Papers, notes, books, and maps covered nearly the entire wagon, except for the floor. Almost everything had something to do with monsters or the Guild in general, with scribbled notes and half-written memos all over them. The books that weren't set out had dozens of pages bookmarked or dog-eared. The only items that were more personal in nature were a couple stuffed toys sitting on the seat in the back, a collection of personal knick-knacks sitting on top of the dresser, and a large box under the desk filled with what Bram thought were chessboards, as well as small monster figurines, blocks, and dice.

The entire left wall was covered in a large map of the whole country, with thin strings of thread pinned to the board. One bright red thread following what Bram realized was the path that Stellazzio had taken and was planning to take. It looked as though Steward had led the caravan up along a northern path over the last two months, looping through several small villages that were scattered through the forests. Several large nails were pinned to the wall, with large monster images glued to their heads. More threads connected from those nails, pointing in various directions, some of them crossing near or through the path of the caravan. Bram took a moment to search for where he thought Lintukoto was, and saw several pins surrounding the village, mostly Seltas, Great Jaggis, and the occasional Rathian. There was one orange-colored image that had string that actually followed the road the caravan had returned here from…

Selene slipped her way over to the tall dresser, opening it up and digging through it before pulling out some towels. Unfortunately, with all the papers and books and maps lying around, the hunters couldn't really wipe themselves off easily without worrying about getting some of the documents wet.

"Ah… ah, I do not believe I thought this through properly," Selene muttered, fidgeting about as her pointed ears drooped slightly in embarrassment. "It is perhaps a little more cramped than I thought it would be with four of us in here. Please try not to get anything wet."

"It's not… that bad," Bram replied. Admittedly, the ceiling was a little low for his height, with his head only a couple inches from grazing the ceiling and giving him a mildly claustrophobic feeling, and there truly wasn't much space for four people to stand up. "There's much more space in here than I would have guessed, looking at it from the outside."

"Nicer than mine… And you have a hammock?" Sonia asked. "I didn't take you for the type to use one of those."

"It's efficient," Selene replied, puffing her chest slightly. "And much less likely to wake you up if your wagon must cross over a large rock or short ledge."

"Huh… maybe I should rig one up for myself… I kept hitting my head on the shelf over my bed back before the Seltas…"

"May I suggest Lagombi fur if you should do so? I would not go so far as to consider myself a hammock connoisseur, but I am rather confident in-"

Selene paused as a strong gust of wind made the wagon shiver, and a sheet of rain struck against the windows. The room grew a little darker as the storm raged outside, and soon the light from the glowstone perched over the desk was providing more light to the room than the light from outside.

"Such a fierce storm…" the Guild rep whispered. She frowned and looked curiously towards the hunters. "Can you appease your hunting master if this rain continues for the rest of the week?"

The three hunters looked at each other in concern. Bram hadn't considered that… The rain had been coming down almost constantly for the last couple days; what would they do if it continued to pour for as long as Stellazzio was in Lintukoto? Tuulikki was barely willing to let them leave the village in this weather, much less hunt anything or even train themselves on the Training Hill.

"We figure something out," Logan replied stubbornly. "They's gotta be something we can do…"

Selene looked nervously between the three Therian hunters as a slightly gloomy atmosphere filled her wagon. The Guildie abruptly clapped her hands together, drawing the attention of the hunters. For a moment she didn't speak and presented an uncomfortable smile as she attempted to think of something to say, before finally speaking in a nervous stutter.

"I… I, I am certain you've all improved dramatically over the past month, yes? The… the Seltas! Surely you have handily defeated one or two since last we met?"

"Ja… ja, we done that," Logan replied with a small smirk. "You interested in hearing 'bout it, girlie?"

"Yes! Yes, please! I am sure it was quite the exciting battle!"

The Therians needed no further motivation, and both Sonia and Logan got into the swing of it. Soon enough the hunter and huntress were deep into going into great (and mildly exaggerated) detail about their first successful Seltas hunt. Bram stood back and let them talk, however, only interjecting when their hyperbole got a little out of hand. For the next twenty minutes or so, as the rain drummed against the roof and windows of the wagon, the hunters cheerfully regaled Selene of their victory against the first Seltas they'd managed to defeat. Selene reacted appropriately, gasping and cheering at all the right times.

Bram glanced out the window as Sonia and Logan began telling about their first tussle with a Velocidrome. The rain had abated, and though the sky was still quite dark, the downpour seemed to finally be coming to an end, fading away into little more than a light pattering against the windows. Bram hoped it was finally done; several days' worth of rain was more than enough, and the Therians needed to get back to training. The archer sighed, returning his attention back to the others.

"So what should we tell next?" Sonia asked, looking at Logan.

"That one Velocidrome we killed down in that creek bed was a pretty nasty customer, hey? Or that one Seltas that was real small-like?"

"Right, that one. It had to be at least twice as fast as the first one we fought. It shot around so quickly that it kept ricocheting off the trees in the area. Oh, and Bram did that really cool thing with his arrow-"

"That Seltas also managed to escape," Bram cut in. "Not exactly the most valiant finale to a tale of derring-do, Sonia."

"Oh, right… Kind of unfair for it to be so quick and use all that speed to escape."

"There's more to survival than being able to overpower anything that threatens you, Sonia. Any monster that wishes to live longer than its peers needs to know how and when to run away just as much as it needs to know how to fight. Its speed and aerial maneuverability certainly made it a threat during our fight, but it also allowed it to make its escape when it realized the odds were against it."

"Still feels a little cowardly."

"I believe Bram is right, Sonia," Selene noted. "I am no hunter, but a living being must know when is best to run away, and live to fight another day. Judging from Guild reports and analyses, the monsters that are wise enough to run are usually the ones that grow to be the most dangerous, provided they live long enough."

"That's what makes Goliath so dangerous back in Theron, hey?" Logan laughed.

"Goliath? But he's huge! Or… so I've heard. He's supposed to be a really nasty customer. Why would he need to run?"

"That's true. He really is a big boy; seen him myself in passing once few years back, and I think I was the size of his flipper. Could crush a hunter into a flapjack with its tail. But that big beastie ain't all strength and power, hey? He smart, too. The Guild sent they best hunters after it a few times, but when things looking sour for him, Goliath runs off. That's why he's lived so long: he knows when to book it. And any monster that survives a fight lives long enough to learn what it did wrong and get stronger."

"Huh… I guess so…"

"I… I apologize," Selene cut in. "But who is 'Goliath'?"

Before anyone else could respond, however, there was a rapping on the door and a moment later Steward pushed his way into the wagon. The weather had grown less torrential in the last couple minutes, but the older man was still dripping wet from the rain and wiping his hair out of his face. As he looked up, however, he grinned broadly at the sight of the Therians.

"Daguerreo said he'd seen you three coming in here. You're looking well, my friend!" Steward laughed, stepping forward to pull Logan into a tight hug. The man was still sopping wet, however, and the great sword user found himself soaked once more. Bram, Sonia, and Selene were forced backwards to make room in the tight quarters of the wagon, and Bram found himself and Selene getting pushed back to the other end of the wagon. Logan awkwardly patted the Caravan Master on the back before pulling away from him. "You have been successful in your training, I assume? You do not carry yourself in the manner of a broken or defeated man, so you must have overcome the challenge, yes?"

Logan sighed, scratching his head sheepishly. "Eh… we ain't quite there yet. We almost got it though. Just need a little more work and we there, hey? Been training hard getting better, taking down Seltas and Velocidrome as much as we can."

"Ah, very good then. I have the utmost faith in you three."

"Don't think we've really earned that trust you got in us…"

The caravan master smiled wryly. "I like to believe that my eye for the potential and personality of those I ask to join this caravan is rather exceptional. Since I brought together the first members of Stellazzio, this caravan has fostered a number of exceptional hunters and huntresses. Even if you three are here only for another few months, I am certain that all of you have the potential to prove yourselves, even by Gahiji's strict standards, and I am very rarely wrong about these things."

Logan chuckled sheepishly at the praise, and both Bram and Sonia felt a little embarrassed at the words. However, behind them, Selene cleared her throat quietly. "Ah, Master Steward… far be it from me to question your judgment, but there was that one hunter from Triptile Village you hired for a few months…"

The caravaneer's face soured slightly at the words. "Ah yes… I had nearly forgotten him. That was a rather poor appraisal of talent and personality on my part… I admit I was not averse to seeing him leave our company. But I suppose my track record is not entirely unblemished…"

"And there was the huntress that joined us between Jurian Village and Gargantola."

"Who…? Forgive me, my dear Selene, but I don't recall…"

"That would be because of the concussion. The doctors in Gargantola said it caused some memory loss."

"Ah… yes. I vaguely remember that. She was a… hammer wielder, wasn't she? How did-"

"The rest of the caravan has agreed that it's probably best you don't recall the details, Master Steward," Selene replied, shaking her head apologetically. "We made sure she was gone before you recovered."

"Hmm… right." The caravan master glanced at the Therian hunters, realizing they all had flabbergasted expressions before clearing his throat. "Selene, my dear, I do think you need to work on your tact…"

"Oh? Oh! Oh, I apologize…"

"Well… I did say that I was rarely wrong. However, aside from a few uncommon instances, my intuition of an individual's character and skill are generally quite accurate. Nine out of ten times, at least."

"That's still a thirty percent chance about you being wrong about at least one of us…" Bram muttered.

"And, uh, when exactly was the last time you chose poorly?" Sonia asked.

"Hmm… well… It would have been going on about three or four years now since the last incident…" Steward replied, scratching his chin. "Ah! However, I'm certain you three are not among those numbers. I am utterly confident that you will meet the expectations that have been set down for you."

The hunters looked at each other uncertainly for a moment, but before they could retort, there was another rapping against the door to the wagon.

"Is Master Steward in there?" a familiar voice shouted.

"Is that Tuulikki?" Bram asked.

Steward reached for the door and pulled it open, and sure enough, on the other side of the frame stood the glaive wielder, pressing tightly to the wall of the wagon to protect herself against the light rain coming down. As per usual, Ketrak was with her, through the Kinsect had perched itself to the wall of the next wagon, which remained unprotected from the rain. He seemed to be actively enjoying the weather, however, spreading its wings and allowing the water to patter against the translucent film. Leon was standing next to Tuulikki as well, wiping the moisture from his face and hair as he tried to dry himself off a little.

"Aha, the hunting master herself," Steward said, nodding politely.

"It's nice to see you again, Master Steward," the huntress replied, nodding as well. "How was your journey?"

"Profitable and uneventful, which is just the way it should be. There was a small nuisance during the last few days, but it is nothing to worry yourself over."

"A nuisance?" Tuulikki asked with a slight edge. "Was it the hunters that my father sent with you?"

"Nothing like that," Steward replied with a smile. "Those three were nothing but helpful and courteous. They were exceptionally efficient at their work, even if only young Reynardine was any at all sociable."

"I… see…" The huntress glanced into the wagon, catching sight of the Therian hunters. "Ah, you three are here already. That makes things easier. We need to discuss-"

The glaive wielder jolted, however, as a flash of light and crack of thunder ripped through the sky. Bram inhaled sharply and felt his fists clench, and the archer instinctively pressed himself tighter up against the wall of the wagon as the rumbling shockwaves echoed through the caravan. He felt a tug against the lapel of his vest as Sonia pulled slightly on it, and allowed himself to relax slightly. As the last shocks of the thunder faded, however, there was a rush of wind as the sky opened up once more, unleashing a deluge down onto the earth which struck the roof of the wagon with a sweeping roar. Outside the door, Tuulikki shrieked and Leon cursed in shock as a cascade of rain crashed against the caravan, soaking her and Leon through.

"Can we enter, please?!" the huntress asked desperately.

"Yes, hurry!" Selene replied quickly, and the two hunters slipped through the door. Steward made to close the door, but Tuulikki caught the edge and turned back towards the outside.

"Ketrak!" Tuulikki shouted, but the bug had perched itself happily on the peak of the next wagon's roof, and was skittering around in small circles under the torrent of rain. The huntress groaned and waved her hands. "Fine! Don't blame me if you get blown away!"

As Tuulikki and Leon slipped through the wagon's door and closed it behind them, brushing off the water that clung to their clothing, everyone else in the wagon was forced even further back. Bram, Sonia, and Selene were pushed back until they had to sit down on the slat at the back of the wagon to give room to everyone else. It wasn't exactly a spacious seat either, and the archer found himself tightly wedged between the Guildie and his best friend. Selene was more focused on the glaive wielder and lancer as they wiped themselves off, however.

"Please don't get my papers or books wet!" she cried, reaching over to her wardrobe and pulling another few towels out to hurl them across the wagon.

"Ah… my apologies," Leon replied, trying to keep away from the desk and the map on the wall as he gratefully wiped himself off. "We meant to come here when the rain was less fierce, but we were caught off guard as we were leaving the gully."

"It… It is fine. Just… be careful please." The Wyverian fidgeted nervously in her seat, her ears twitching slightly every time a drop of water fell uncomfortably close to some of the papers that littered her wagon. "I hope it stops raining soon…"

"We all do, girlie," Logan grumbled.

As Tuulikki and Leon managed to wipe off their heads, Steward smiled politely at them. "I'm glad to see you here, young Tuulikki. There was something I wished to speak with you about."

The caravan master motioned to the Therian hunters behind him. "My friends here have been telling me that they are getting close to meeting the goals that you've set for them. Do you think they'll have met your standards by the week's end?"

"No, I don't," Tuulikki replied. The Therian hunters groaned in dismay at the words, but the glaive wielder simply shook her head. "I don't say that out of spite or cruel intentions. While you three are close to accomplishing your goal, I do not believe you three are capable of overcoming the Training Hill within the week… at least, not all three of you. You, Logan, still have much room for improvement, and there is not enough time for you to succeed between now and then, especially with the weather as it is, and I will not trust you three with the defense of the caravan until you do so."

"I suppose that brings up another point I must discuss with you," Steward asked seriously. "During the initial… issues we had upon our arrival in Lintukoto, I neglected to think of how we would handle our return. Should these three pass your… hill, how would the caravan proceed from there?"

"What you talking about?" Logan asked. "If we pass, it means me and these two can… aw, hell."

"What?" Sonia asked.

"Even if we pass the hill, we can't guard the caravan," Bram groaned in realization, covering his face with his hands. "Passing the hill doesn't mean that we're official Gahin hunters or anything, so we can't guard the caravan as we are either way. I never thought of that…"

"Exactly," Steward replied. "It shames me to admit it, but the thought didn't occur to me until after we'd left Lintukoto two months ago. Young Tuulikki, though I'm certain you have your own business to conduct here in your village-"

Tuulikki cut in, however. "If you are planning on asking whether I would be willing to accompany the caravan once you leave Lintukoto, Master Steward, then I can certainly oblige that."

"But surely you… You can?"

"Yes, I can."

"Wait, really?" Sonia asked. "I didn't think you'd…"

"I am not as obstinate as you three seem to think I am. That being said, I do have ulterior motives. Master Steward, I assume Stellazzio will be passing through Dundorma Town before the next hunter's exam?"

Steward immediately nodded. "We are indeed. In fact, we plan to arrive there about two weeks beforehand, and remain in the area until after the exam is completed. The hunter's exam is a fine time to be in Dundorma, very profitable for caravans. The causeways around the city proper will likely be filled with wagons, on a scale matching Val Habar."

"Excellent. In that case, I would be more than happy to accompany you." The glaive wielder reached up and patted Leon on the shoulder. "My friend Leon is planning on participating in the exam then, and Violetta and I want to be there to see it. If your caravan is traveling to Dundorma, then it would be convenient for us to join you."

"But what if we don't pass the Hill before then?" Sonia asked.

"Then you will be given minimal tasks while we are journeying. You will be able to hunt the weaker monsters we come across, but nothing more."

"But-"

"As I have said before, it's a matter of trust," Tuulikki said sharply. "Until you prove yourselves capable, I cannot and will not trust you to defend the caravan, and the only way to earn my trust is for you to meet the Training Hill's time trial. That has always been my price, and the bare minimum of what you must do to earn it, and I cannot in good conscience consider you skilled enough to act as Stellazzio's guards before then."

"But they are close?" Steward asked.

Tuulikki sighed, crossing her arms. "Much closer than they were at the start. However, as to whether they will pass before Stellazzio must set off again, I will say again that I do not think they will manage such a task…"

"Why not give them a new challenge?" Steward suggested, and Tuulikki blinked in surprise.

"A challenge? What kind of challenge?"

"Give them something more dangerous and wily to test their mettle against. They've told me that you have sent them against little more than Seltas and Velocidrome at worst. I have heard countless stories from hunters over the years, and one of the many themes in the tales laid before me was the idea that a new, unfaced challenge could enable them to drastically improve themselves, or overcome a skill block that was formerly hindering them. It is rather cliché, perhaps, but such a thing might aid their growth, no?"

"Hmm… yes, I recall hearing such tales before. But verifiable truth rarely walks hand-in-hand with hunter's stories. This isn't a fireside tale told to entertain a crowd, Master Steward."

"I don't know, Tuli, there might be some merit to the idea," Leon chimed in. "It's nothing so dramatic as magically overcoming your failings, but I recall having trouble figuring out how best to carry myself when blocking until I first battled a Tetsucabra. While being forced to deal with its charges didn't exactly spark an epiphany about how to bear my shield, protecting myself from its attacks over and over again did help me figure out which stances allowed me to keep my ground better than others."

"I suppose you may be right… the three of them did hit a wall some time ago, which they managed to push pass after challenging Seltas and Velocidrome… But there is the matter of finding a suitable challenge for them to face within the next week-"

Steward raised a finger. "Aha, well as it happens, a Kecha Wacha has pestered Stellazzio for the last few days before our return to Lintukoto Gully. Perhaps you could send these three out to deal with it?"

"A Kecha? Really?" Leon asked. "I didn't think their kind attacked caravans. They're supposed to be more curious than aggressive."

"That is correct, they usually are," Steward nodded. "They are quite the playful species. Most of the time, they only get close enough to the caravan to take a look at the colorful wagons rolling through their territory, and once they realize we're not a threat, they usually leave us alone. The children in the caravan enjoy watching them when a Kecha Wacha follows us for a mile or two. Some may try to steal food, but some light dissuasion, courtesy any hunters that guard the caravan, is usually enough to make them run away."

"But this one is different?" Bram asked.

"Precisely. This one seems to be more aggressive than its brethren. It attacked us without warning, and left several long claw marks in Daguerreo's wagon before the hunters caught up and chased it away. It has been hassling us the last couple days, screeching at us from the trees and lobbing mucus at the wagons, but never getting close enough for the hunters to attack again. The three of them used sonic and flash bombs to try and stun it, but the Kecha would simply flee the moment it recovered. Needless to say, the beast became quite an agitation to us. If we are to return to that path once we leave Lintukoto, I would greatly prefer that particular Kecha Wacha to be out of our hair."

"A Kecha Wacha is certainly a step up in difficulty from Seltas and bird wyverns. However, fighting one would be a good test to see how far they've come in the last month," Tuulikki noted, crossing her arms thoughtfully.

"Then you have no qualms with them fighting this Kecha?"

"No… However, there's something I want to add to this hunt," Tuulikki replied, before turning to face her friend. "I want you to join the three of them on this hunt, Leon."

"Hmm? I don't mind, but why the sudden desire for me to join them?"

"I'd like you to get accustomed to working together with other hunters at your skill level." The glaive wielder crossed her arms. "Most of your hunts have been with myself or Vi, or with hunters that are less… teamwork oriented. These three work together well, and I'd like to see if they can maintain that teamwork with a fourth hunter joining them."

"I'm alright with that, as long as the other three don't mind."

"Of course you can join us!" Sonia replied enthusiastically. "The more the merrier."

"Since you seem so eager, it should be an appropriate challenge," Tuulikki said. She glanced up, staring intently at the Therian hunters. "You may have thought a Seltas was challenging with its ability to fly. A Kecha doesn't have the same gift of flight, but its speed and mobility are unmatched by few monsters in this area."

Sonia's eyes lit up, however. "So, this Kecha thing doesn't fly?"

"No, not at all," Tuulikki replied. "It can glide, but true flight is outside of its capabilities."

"Great!" The huntress clenched her fist and grinned eagerly. "I'm sick and tired of having to stand back and wait while Bram tries to shoot our prey out of the sky, or for Logan to stop it in its tracks. I want to fight something on equal footing for once!"

"Velocidrome don't count?" Bram asked.

"No, they don't count. They're just skinny Jaggis, and I want to fight something new and unique."

"A Kecha Wacha will certainly offer you that much," Steward nodded. "It is a rather unique creature, even here in Gahiji. Now then, Selene, do you have a guess as to where our friends may find the Kecha Wacha?"

"Ah… ah, yes, one moment please, Master Steward." Selene stood up from the slat seat and slipped between the others standing in the wagon, muttering quiet apologies and pardon-me's until she reached her desk. She dug through a stack of papers, eventually plucking a small notebook out. She flipped through the first few pages, glancing back and forth between the notebook and the large map on the opposite wall. "Let me see… Judging by the frequency and location of sightings, I assume that the Kecha's territory is located a couple miles north of the road… Are there any thick, forested areas in that location?"

"Indeed," Tuulikki replied. "There is a willow grove off in that area which would make a fine home for a Kecha Wacha. It is a rather notable distance away from the village, however, and will take the better part of the day to travel there. We will need to bring supplies to camp out if we can't track it quickly."

"That shouldn't be too much of an issue," Leon replied. "If this Kecha is really as aggressive as Master Steward has claimed, we won't need to track it down: it'll come to us."

"Hmm… You may be right, but it would be better to get the drop on it. These three need to learn how to be properly stealthy sooner or later. I don't think Vi's lessons are sinking in…"

"To be fair, I don't think Vi's lessons make sense to anyone other than her," Leon sighed. "I've known her since we were kids and I still don't get it."

"I need to learn how to tie a chain hitch knot…" Sonia muttered, getting an odd look from Selene and Steward.

The glaive wielder shook her head in dismay before glancing out the window as a gust of wind sent a spattering of raindrops against the glass. "Hmm… we may need to wait until tomorrow. This storm doesn't look like it'll be letting up today."

Logan smirked and laughed darkly. "What, afraid you gonna melt if you get wet?"

Tuulikki only blinked and frowned in confusion at the words. "Why would I melt if I get wet?"

"It's 'cause you-" The great sword user petered to a halt, however, looking around the room. Nobody else in the wagon seemed to understand what he was talking about. Bram thought the concept sounded familiar, maybe something he'd heard in passing, but he couldn't place it. Logan shifted uncomfortably where he stood, his face reddening slightly. "Is just… eh, forget about it…"

Tuulikki gave him a distrustful look before shaking her head. "Whatever. That's the plan then, we'll hunt down this Kecha whenever the rain stops."

"I'm looking forward to it!" Sonia said eagerly, and Bram nodded in agreement.

However, next to him, Selene grumbled in agitation. "Yes, wonderful. You're going to fight a Kecha Wacha. Now that this is all settled, can you all please get out of my wagon?! It's much too cramped in here for this many people!"


Author's Note: Please Review! Thanks for reading this chapter about poor weather conditions!

And thus we reach the first chapter I had to break into two. I was intending for this chapter to go all the way through the Kecha hunt, but the words kept piling up. So, short chapter here, longer chapter coming up. Also, I hid a pretty major spoiler about one of the characters in this chapter. I wonder if any of you can figure out what it is…?

Also, I had to struggle to make this Kecha a bit of a bastard. If I hadn't, I'm not sure I could have properly written a hunt against a Kecha Wacha. They're just too… playful a monster, and they really don't seem like really nasty monsters. There's a Youtuber/Twitch streamer I like called RisingFunGaming, who tries to never kill Kechas, only to capture them, and the one time he messed up and killed one he gave it a funeral and did a three bowgun salute. I'm not quite that bad, but Kechas are generally playful enough that I'm almost to the point where I'd consider capping them instead of killing them.

I've been on a bit of a web novel kick recently. For those that don't know, 'web novels' are stories written in Japan that are released online, usually slightly altered versions of officially printed light novels that are sold as books. I've been reading several translated versions recently that have held me good and captivated recently, most of them with the theme of 'someone from our world is summoned/reincarnated in a world with magic'. Sounds familiar, huh? Anyway, a few good ones are Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (a.k.a. Shieldbro and Friends), Tensei Shitara Slime datta ken (guy reincarnates into a slime of all things), and Overlord (screw being a hero, let's be a villain). Just started another one called Knight's and Magic (about… magical robots? idk), so we'll see how good that one is. The Shieldbro web novel was really great (slightly bland ending, tho), but the light novel apparently branches off pretty significantly after the second story arc, so I've been searching for a translated version of that. If all else fails, I might need to see if I can buy a translated version from Japan. I don't really have the capacity to learn Japanese, unfortunately. All the ones mentioned have mangas available to read as well, if any of you readers are interested.

Playing: MH4U (I… should probably start playing other games again), Bravely Default, Batman: Arkham Knight, GTA5
Listening: Mystery Skulls, Roman Candle, Owl City, Plain White T's, Pet Shop Boys, Silversun Pickups, The Decemberists, Rainer Maria, The Divine Comedy, Wilco, The Album Leaf, My Morning Jacket
Watching: Overlord, Gate, Kekkai Sensen
Reading:
Overlord by Maruyama Kugane, Gate by Takumi Yanai, Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Den by Fuse